#i promise you i’ll have plenty of art that isn’t a spoiler

[raddest-laddest]

every time someone who i KNOW hasn’t played OW interacts with a spoiler post i make, i lose another inch off my peenor week off my lifespan

[nancycastrogiovanni]

Preparing for Our January Performance at ICP English Theatre Club

As summer winds down, I am getting more and more excited about the new season at the ICP English Theatre Club. We’ve just wrapped up the draft of our script for the upcoming musical, set to debut in January. While I’m keeping the details under wraps for now — no spoilers! — I can tell you this project is shaping up to be one of our most ambitious yet. We’re all filled with anticipation for what’s coming.

This year is particularly special because it marks our first-ever musical performance since the ICP English Theatre Club started. Each year, we explore different types of performances, and this time we’ve taken on the challenge of a musical to engage our audience even more. It’s an exciting new direction for us, and I’m eager to see how it all comes together.

We’ve also been fortunate to welcome some fantastic new talent to our team. It’s inspiring to see how people from such varied backgrounds come together, each adding something unique to our creative process. You can already see how their different perspectives are enriching our work.

Honestly, that’s one of the things I love most about theatre — how it brings people together in such a meaningful way.

Starting on September 7th, I’ll be away for a few weeks, but I’m leaving the group in Kamila’s capable hands. She’s one of our seasoned actresses, and she’ll be leading the rehearsals while I’m gone. Kamila has a keen eye for detail and really understands what makes a performance resonate, so I know the group will be in great hands during this crucial stage.

This production, like every show we’ve done before, goes beyond memorizing lines or nailing choreography — although those are important, of course. What really excites me is watching the actors dig deeper into their characters and make them their own. The process of taking a script and turning it into something that feels alive and genuine is what makes theatre such an incredible art form.

I’ve always believed that the real magic happens when actors start to connect with their characters on a personal level, and I can already see that happening as we prepare for January’s show.

Beyond the stage, what makes this club truly special is the friendships and bonds that have developed among the members. Over the summer, I’ve been delighted to see people meeting up for drinks in Prague’s pubs, attending opera and theatre performances together, and just generally spending time outside of rehearsals.

It’s wonderful to see how theatre has become a way not just to create art, but also to build lasting connections and community. This sense of camaraderie is something I hold dear — it’s what turns the hard work of theatre into a truly rewarding experience.

Of course, no production comes without its challenges. Creating a musical, especially for the first time, requires careful planning and constant adaptation. We’ve had moments where things didn’t go quite as planned, but that’s all part of the process.

Watching our initial ideas evolve into something real, something that feels like it’s truly taking shape, is one of the most satisfying parts of this journey. Every rehearsal brings us a little closer to our vision, and that steady progress is something we’re all proud of.

As we move toward January, I’m excited about what lies ahead. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but the enthusiasm and dedication from the team are contagious. I have no doubt that by the time January rolls around, we’ll have something truly special to share with our audience.

For now, our focus is on rehearsing and refining our performance. I invite you to follow along on this journey with us — I’ll be sharing more updates as we get closer to opening night. Whether you’ve been a loyal supporter of the ICP English Theatre Club for years or this is your first time hearing about us, this production promises something for everyone.

Ultimately, what makes this experience so fulfilling isn’t just the final performance — it’s the journey of working together to create something meaningful.

The friendships we’ve formed, the challenges we’ve faced, and the small victories along the way are what make this process so special. I feel incredibly fortunate to be on this adventure with such a talented and diverse group of individuals.

Originally Published At: https://www.nancycastrogiovanni.com/preparing-for-our-january-performance-at-icp-english-theatre-club

[ericspinkhair]

quarantine longings

pairing: best friend!kevin x fem!reader

word count: 3.2k

synopsis: you and your best friend have sex because quarantine made you horny

warnings: best friends to lovers, takes place during the pandemic, spoiler of 356 days (but not the end, just generally the plot), no use of condoms but only the pill, creampie, sexual fantasies, fingering, hand-job, sex, slight angst at the end if you squint

a/n: I would literally die for kevin, I love him so much. I'll be writing a multiple parts series about him after I'm done writing scenarios for every member first.

requests are open!

masterlist + requests

you slammed your foot hard against the wall and cursed in pain. you hopped on one foot to your bed, holding your other leg in agony and tasted blood as you bit your lip to keep the volume of your suffering groans in check. someone knocked on the door.

'are you okay?' your roommate asked concerned.

'no, leave me alone, kevin,' you croaked out. you wanted to suffer by yourself.

there was an awkward silence and then you heard him sigh. soon after, the door next to your room closed shut.

why were you so frustrated, one might ask? well, the pandemic was kicking your butt and you just couldn't take it anymore. when the news of the virus had first spread, no one thought it would become this serious. but suddenly everyone was walking around with masks and spent most of their time staying at home.

after graduating high school, you and kevin had decided to move in together for college because both of you were broke and couldn't afford to live alone. you had been best friends since middle school and had been convinced that it was a smart idea at the time.

and everything went smoothly for the first one and a half years. however, after not seeing anyone else since the start of the pandemic over a year ago, it became increasingly difficult to share an apartment, but not in the way one might assume. you were neither sick of each other nor did you fight a lot. to tell the truth, it was quite the opposite.

earlier, before you had kicked the wall in anger, the two of you had painted together. kevin was majoring in art and, since you didn't have anything better to do, you joined him while he did projects for his classes. you might have been majoring in journalism but you had always liked drawing and painting, even though you weren't particularly skilled. you were a naturally clumsy person, always tripping over air and dropping things. today you were hecticly moving around your hands while telling him about a stupid video you had seen and you accidently let go of the brush in your hand. it hit the side of kevin's face, leaving a wide splodge of red paint on his right cheek.

to get back at you, he jerked his paint brush and splattered some green color on your white shirt. you saw this as a challenge and soon both of you were both drenched in the colors of the rainbow, laughing hysterically on the floor, not caring that you were spreading the paint on the poor carpet.

you turned your heads to look at each other and you felt absolutely in peace. you loved this man and couldn't be more glad that it was him and not anyone else you were stuck with inside of this apartment.

he stood up to take off his stained shirt and your smile quickly faded off your face. your lips slightly parted and you couldn't help but stare at his now exposed biceps and abs.

your mouth watered and you felt heat pooling between your legs as you took your time to study his architecture. thoughts about how badly you wanted him to thrust into you while his strong arms held you up invaded your mind. you tried to shake them off but it was impossible.

occasions like this were slowly becoming a common occurrence for you.

having mostly stayed inside for over a year, also meant that you didn't have sex for that long. it's not like you were the horniest person on the planet but you still had needs that were being neglected. with kevin being home all the time you didn't even dare to masturbate, scared that he would be able to hear you through the frustratingly thin walls. you must have gone insane with all the lust building up inside you and that's why you suddenly craved to have sex with your best friend. this whole thing was destroying everything. it was hard to act normal when he was making you this nervous and heated but you tried to pretend that everything was fine anyway for the sake of your friendship.

that was the reason why you were angry and had hurt yourself. you hated the way you felt about your best friend and you hated the pandemic for not giving you an outlet to escape so you could recollect yourself.

what you weren't aware of was that kevin was no stranger to the exact same frustration.

he would need more than his ten fingers and ten toes to be able to count the amount of times he had to run to the bathroom to hide his boner because he had done so much as look at you bend over or stretch. he didn't want to make you uncomfortable but it was a challenge to try and calm down his hormones.

whenever he jacked off, images of you flashed through his mind; your sweet curves and pink lips drove him insane.

last week, you two were cooking together and you had asked him to get the salt. he stood behind you to reach for it on the highest shelf. he was forced to press his crotch against your butt cheeks and his dick hardened against his will. he quickly handed you the salt, excused himself and ran off before you could figure out what had happened.

he might not have known the cause of your sudden outburst but he sympathized with your fury because he had a lot of pent up anger towards covid as well.

he lay in his bed and tried to focus on the book he was reading but he couldn't tune out the groans coming from the room next to his. he cursed.

'stop it!' he was panicking as he saw a familiar tent forming in his pants. your sounds triggered some weird perverted part of his brain that sent signals right to his genitals. his dick was hardening and he saw no other solution to his problem than to give in to his subconscious desires.

he pulled down his pants just far enough so that his cock had enough room to spring out. it only needed a few strokes before it stood tall and angry. kevin pressed his head into his pillow and moved his hand fast. he wanted to get over with it quickly. he emptied his cum on his stomach while imagining your greedy little mouth being stuffed by his cock. he lay there panting as yet another round of shame flushed over him.

'get yourself together,' he whispered, mentally slapping himself.

***

'do you want to order japanese or italian?' you asked kevin. today was friday which meant it was time for your weekly tradition of ordering take out and watching a movie.

'definitely italian. we've already had japanese for the past four days. I need something else for a change,' kevin complained and shuddered at the thought of having to eat sushi again. the japanese restaurant prepared absolutely delicious food but he just couldn't stand it anymore.

you laughed at his pained facial expression. 'fine, italian it is.'

within twenty minutes the doorbell rang and after about half a minute kevin came back with two huge boxes.

he opened them on the small table situated in front of your couch and the smell of freshly cooked pasta seasoned with basil made your stomach growl.

kevin wanted to dig in already but you stopped him. you had to choose a movie first.

'let's watch tall girl. I saw everyone hate on it on tiktok,' you suggested.

'I think we should watch 365 days, that was all over my for you page as well,' kevin argued. you hadn't heard of it so you weren't sure whether it would be the right movie for you. the rule was that it had to be as bad as possible.

'according to what I have heard, it's apparently even worse than 50 shades of grey,' kevin added which piqued your interest. the both of you had watched 50 shades about two months ago and you were honestly shocked by how awful it actually was. you couldn't understand why everyone had been so obsessed with it when it was first released. if 356 days was really worse, then you'd hit the jackpot. you clapped your hands.

'fine, you win. I swear if the movie isn't as horrible as you say it is then you owe me something!' he intertwined his pinky with yours to promise.

watching horrible movies was way better than watching good ones. making fun of bad storylines, stupid characters or horrible editing was one of your favorite past times.

'I guess I'll have to add are you lost, baby girl to the top 10 worst lines ever spoken. who thought ah yes this is sexy, let's have him repeat it over and over again', you complained, shoving some pasta into your mouth.

'so he's like I won't do anything without your permission while he is literally groping her boobs against her will, like make it make sense, massimo', added kevin, ruffling his hair in frustration. he almost completely forgot about the food.

'so let me get this straight: he drugged her, kidnapped her, tied her up, hung up a painting of her just because he saw her face when his dad was shot?'

'totally relatable.' both of you giggled.

you were enjoying complaining about the plot. it was horrible.

there were plenty of erotic scenes but they were honestly so funny and kinda gross that you could bare it without really being affected by them. kevin, on the other hand, had placed a pillow over his hard-on to hide the embarrassing fact that these terrible, smutty scenes had turned him on.

and then the infamous boat scene came.

massimo and laura had a huge fight, she fell of the boat, he saved her and now she was suddenly so in love with him that she begs him to fuck her. which he does.

you felt your panties become increasingly wet as the couple had steaming hot sex.

'this is embarrassing but I'm so horny,' you admitted but in a way that should have suggested that you meant it as a joke. something about this statement stirred something in kevin.

'well, what can I say?' he replied and lifted the pillow. your pupils widened at the sight of your best friend's bulge.

his eyes darkened and he looked at you with lust clearly written on his face. you reciprocated his stare with the same intensity. you tried to focus on his dark brown orbs instead of his boner but the image you had just seen was present in your mind.

his gaze shifted to your lips and, before you knew it, kevin climbed above you and pressed your back flat onto the couch.

your lips locked and you immediately buried your hands in his hair to pull him closer. you moved in sync, his lips fitting perfectly onto yours. you bucked your hips up against his crotch and earned a moan from kevin. he opened his eyes in shock as realization hit him. he quickly pulled away and jumped off the coach.

'I'm so sorry, y/n. I shouldn't have just done that. I don't know what came over me,' he apologized profusely, staring at his feet. did he really think that you didn't want this?

'give me your hand,' you told him and held out your hand.

'why?' he raised his eyebrows in confusion. you rolled your eyes.

'just do it.'

you took his hand and led it to your crotch.

'what are you- oh my god.' your juices had completely soaked through your panties and your sweatpants. 'you are so wet.'

'for you,' you added. 'there's no need to apologize. I'm literally begging you to continue.'

you didn't have to say that twice before he pulled you closer to him by your hips and engaged you in another desperate kiss. his hands were groping your butt while you let yours slide under his hoodie. you felt his naked skin and toned abs, as you rubbed his stomach. you lowered your hands and bravely palmed his boner through his clothes.

'y/n,' he hissed out against your lips. you hooked your thumbs in the elastic of his pants and underwear, and pushed the material down to his thighs. he struggled to get them off.

you stroked his hard dick as he slipped his hand into your panties to massage your pussy at the same time.

he slipped one finger inside and began working it in and out. you finally were getting the relief you had been desperately craving for for so long. kevin was skilled and your walls were trying to swallow his slim finger. you were quickly coming close to your orgasm after having abstained for more than a year. you pulled his hand out.

'I bet you can make me come even better with your dick,' you challenged kevin.

'you bet I will.' he was confident.

'let me just look for a condom.' he was already turning away to go search in his room but you held him back by the arm.

'forget about it. I'm on the pill and I want you raw. I want you to come inside me and not spill into a stupid condom.'

the idea of this sounded very tempting to kevin. he picked you up and threw you back onto the couch, drawing your hips closer to him so he could pull off all the pieces of clothing that were hindering him from accessing your pussy.

he propped up his arms next to your sides and spread your thighs apart. strings of arousal were hanging from your folds and he saw your hole desperately clench around nothing. his dick hurt from how much he wanted to finally be inside of you. he wanted to find out how close he had been able to imagine how you would feel around him.

your hole took him in easily, welcoming him happily by embracing it tightly. kevin swore he could've cum right here and there.

he went slow at first to give you a chance to adjust but you were already fully ready, rocking your hips forward to meet his thrusts.

he crashed your mouths together and you kissed him like he was oxygen and you were short of air. you smiled and your eyes rolled back, satisfied with how things had played out today and the prospects of coming looked fairly promising.

desperate for release, kevin picked up the pace, his eyes closed while fucking into you like a horny animal. he couldn't help himself and all the 'faster's and 'harder's spilling from your mouth only encouraged him to drive himself deeper into you.

you wrapped your legs around his torso in an attempt to regain the control you were losing.

'fuck fuck fuck,' you cursed, feeling your muscles starting to contract. kevin brushed away some hair that was stuck to your sweaty forehead.

'it's fine, I'm coming too,' he announced and it took only a few more thrusts before a body shaking orgasm flushed over you, making you see only white. this drove kevin over the edge too and he spilled inside you, filling you up with his hot cum. he continued to slowly ease his dick in and out of you, fucking his semen right back into you until you had ridden out both of your orgasms. he let himself fall onto the couch right next to you, panting hard.

'I very much needed this,' you sighed in content.

'same, I wasn't sure whether I could hold out any longer without having a proper orgasm.' he watched his cum drip out of you.

'we should've thought of this sooner,' you said. 'this was a great idea.'

kevin hummed in agreement.

***

so now you and kevin were having sex on a regular basis, your high score being five times in a day. it felt good to finally live out your sexuality and not having to restrict yourself. sure, you guys did it more than necessary but it was a great way to pass time and it felt fucking amazing.

today you had done it in the shower after waking up, then on the kitchen counter and you had just finished having sex in his bed.

he was spooning you from behind, his cock still placed inside of you. he nuzzled his nose into your neck.

'stop, that tickles,' you chuckled.

'sorry.'

after a while of comfortable silence you heard him let out a big sigh.

'what's wrong?' you asked as he pulled out of you. you turned around to be able to look at him.

'I don't think I can do it like this anymore,' he confessed.

'what do you mean?' you asked. 'are you talking about us having sex?'

he nodded. your heart dropped and you started feeling dizzy. you tried to search for answers in his eyes but he avoided looking at you.

'w-why?' you stuttered, trying to hold back the tears that were welling up in your eyes.

'it was amazing at first,' he started and finally raised his head to meet your gaze, 'and I went into it without much thought. I went crazy during quarantine and began fantasizing about having sex with you. then it became reality but now I understand that was probably wrong of me. I've always thought of myself as a gentleman, yet I slept with you without much thought. you see, my issue is this…'

suspense hung in the air and you were impatiently waiting for him to get to the point.

'I like you.'

you quietly gasped in surprise. you had been expecting him to say you were bad at sex and that he regretted everything but not this.

'I shouldn't be sleeping with you unless you were my girlfriend,' he finished off his ramble. you felt immensely relieved.

'do you want me to?' you asked him.

'want you to what?' kevin was confused. he had been a hundred percent sure you'd immediately jump out of the bed in disgust when he confessed.

'be your girlfriend. after all, I like you too, you moron.' you realized that you had known this for a while. you might have even been crushing on your best friend since way before the pandemic struck but it was kind of hard to track your feelings. still, you were sure you liked him too. now that he had admitted his feelings, you were able to admit yours not only to him but to yourself as well.

'wow, I didn't expect this,' kevin confessed surprised. you laughed.

'yeah, we should've realized this sooner.' he pulled you closer and kissed you. it was different than the other times. his lips moved softly against yours, in contrast to all of your rough and passionate kisses you had exchanged these past few weeks. he conveyed his emotions through the kiss.

'you're ready again?' you groaned as you felt kevin's dick harden against your upper thigh. he chuckled.

'sorry, you just turn me on so much.'

so then you did it for the fourth time. that day, you set a new record of having sex six times. you might have been happy now but still just as horny.

[procrastinatingnerd]

Hi everyone! So this was my first time taking part in the @osemanversebigbang but I had so much fun!! I can't wait to read everyone's entries! 💜

Title: Angel Rahimi And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Lunch Break

Characters: Angel, Juliet, Rowan, Jimmy, Lister, Bliss, two of Angel’s future uni friends (OCs).

Spoilers? Minor spoilers of important events in “I Was Born For This”.

Word Count: 3.6k

Ships: Bicci, one joke about Juliet/Rowan.

~Joan of Arc (Probably)

“I am so fucking tired”

“Right, time’s up, put your pens down.” The exam officer says from the front of the room. I scribble one last sentence before my hand gives out, and I all but throw my pen onto the desk, sighing as dramatically as I can. This week is a fucking nightmare. Exams and assignments are the piss. Fuck uni, I’m ready to drop out. Or drop dead. Either works, honestly.

As I leave the exam hall, I walk past some people from the students’ union. They’re handing out flyers for the Christmas ball next week. My housemates are all planning on going, but my friends and I planned our present swap for that night, so we’re going to spend it eating a fuck ton of snacks and watching the cheesiest Christmas films we can find. I can’t wait, I bought them each a bag of their favourite sweets from the American candy shop, it's going to be so much fun!

But that’s next week. Right now, all I want is to sit at a table that doesn’t have an exam paper on it, and eat something very greasy and very unhealthy. There’s a pizza place just on the edge of campus, run by some of the culinary arts students, and they make the best sauce ever. It’s pretty cheap too, which makes it a favourite for most people, especially at the end of a semester, when everyone’s bank accounts are running low.

I have about an hour until I need to be back in the exam hall, so I take full advantage of the outdoor seating and collapse into a chair after ordering. My pizza is brought out to me not long after, and I breathe in the smell. Nothing has smelt more gorgeous than the slices sitting in front of me. It’s a surprisingly warm day, for December at least, and for a moment, everything feels calm. I can hear a bird singing in a tree somewhere, other students are hanging around campus, most with their noses in their phones or in textbooks, and I actually let myself relax for a bit. I’ve done all the revision I can for this next exam, and I’m in desperate need of a break. I deserve this.

I pick up my first slice of pizza, and bring it up to my mouth. As I’m about to take a bite, however, my phone rings. I put the pizza down with a sigh and answer the phone without looking at who’s calling. Mum probably sensed I wasn’t doing any work, and is calling to check up on me.

“Hello?” I say tiredly.

“Angel, hi! Is this a good time??” I grin at the sound of Juliet’s voice.

“Hell yeah, it’s a perfect time! What’s up?”

“Wait, you don’t know why I’m calling?” Juliet says hesitantly. Shit. What have I forgotten now? I know it’s not her birthday. Wait, is it mine?? I swear exams rot your brain, have I actually forgotten my own birthday?

“No…?” I ask after internally monologuing for way too long.

“Oh my god, you don’t know??” Juliet screeches in my ear, “Angel go look at your phone, it’s urgent!”

Now very concerned, I put Juliet on speaker and, for the first time all morning, actually read the notifications filling my lock screen. I open the Twitter news one, and my mouth drops open in shock.

“Holy shit.”

On my screen is a news article with a headline that reads, “THE ARK’S JIMMY KAGA-RICCI AND LISTER BIRD’S SECRET RELATIONSHIP EXPOSED”, and just below it sits a large photo of Jimmy and Lister, standing outside a pub, kissing. I don’t believe it.

“Holy fu- Hold on a second. Mate, isn’t that the pub by Piero’s house?!” I say, bringing my phone as close to my face as I can, as if that’ll help me see better. There’s a loud shuffling noise on the other end of the line, and then I hear a gasp.

“Oh my god, you’re right!” Juliet says. “Rowan said they were going on holiday, but I thought he meant abroad or something.” I smile at that. Ever since our little jaunt to Kent last summer, Juliet and I have kept in touch with the boys. We even have a group chat now; us and them and even Bliss is in it. I’m so glad we stayed friends.

At first, Rowan was really quiet, and if he did speak he and Juliet would almost always end up arguing, but they’ve been getting along quite well lately. I’m not saying I ship it or anything, I’ve learnt my lesson there, but I have to say, fangirl-to enemies-to lovers would make a wicked fanfiction trope.

“Did you see any of this coming?” Juliet continues. “Surely Jimmy would have said something to you?”

“He said he was dating someone, but didn’t want to give details because they were taking things slow. Well, that and that celebrity phone hacking scandal freaked him right the fuck out, remember?” I say.

"That's

right, he stopped talking on the group chat for like two weeks, didn’t he?” Juliet giggles back. “Well, nevertheless, I’m happy for them. They’re cute together.”

“Yeah, they are.” I grin again. “Oh my god, poor Rowan though! I’d hate to live with a couple, especially a new one! It’d be nauseating.”

“Oh I know, right? And imagine what’ll happen when they have their first fight!” Juliet gasps again. I shudder at the thought.

“I’m muting the group chat when that happens.” I joke.

“Not a bad idea.” Juliet laughs back, then pauses. “Oh, Angel, I’m sorry I’ve got the get going, but do you want to skype later?”

“Yeah, no problem! I’ve got a revision session at 6, but I should be free by 9ish?”

“Sounds perfect! See you then!” Juliet says, and with that, she’s gone, and I’m back to sitting alone with my pizza.

Jimmy and Lister. Holy shit. I don’t think anyone in the fandom saw this coming. Everything has been about Jowan, since the fandom started growing it’s the only ship that ever existed. No one bothered writing fics about any other pairings. The only Jimmy/Lister fics I ever came across were platonic ones, and even they made sure to mention Jimmy’s boyfriend Rowan.

Oh god, I hope they’re okay. The fans got so crazy when Bliss and Rowan’s relationship was exposed. Jimmy/Lister is the final nail in the Jowan coffin. Jimmy must be having the panic attack of his life! I’ve got to-

My phone rings again.

I look down at the screen, and see Jimmy’s name. I take a deep breath, and answer.

“Jimmy, hi! How are-”

“Have you seen it??”

“Yes.”

“Oh god. This isn’t how we wanted to tell you guys.”

“You sure? Because getting caught by the national press worked so well for you last time.” I tease. Silence. Oops, probably not the best thing to remind him of right now.

“Jimmy, you still there?” I say carefully. There’s a slight rustle on his end, which means he probably just nodded. “Everything is going to be fine, I promise. The fans will move on. They already did with Jowan, right?”

“But what if something happens again? Something like-”

“It won’t. You guys have better security now, and you’re doing less public events. You’re going to be fine.” I hope and pray that I’m saying the right things. Jimmy and I have gotten close lately, but I’m nowhere near as good at helping him deal with his anxiety as Rowan and Lister are. There’s more silence, until finally, Jimmy speaks again.

“Okay. Yeah. Yeah I think you’re right. Thanks, Angel.”

“Course I’m right! If there’s one thing I know, it’s fandom drama.” Jimmy laughs, and I grin back. “And don’t forget, you’re not alone in this. This is happening to Lister too, and no doubt Rowan and Bliss will be there to help you. Just talk to them.”

“Thank you Angel, I’ll go do that now.”

“Perfect! Love you Jim, I’ll text you later.” I say, and the call ends.

He’ll be okay. He’s got too many people who love him not to be. I take another breath and put my phone down on the table. As soon as I do, however, it buzzes again, and I see Jimmy is trying to facetime me. Now very concerned, I answer it and hold the phone up so he can see my face properly.

“Jimmy, are you okay, what’s happened??” I ask anxiously, but he looks fine. He looks at me with a confused expression.

“Nothing, I’m just talking to the others, like you said.” He says. It’s only me and him on the call. I stare at him in silence for a moment.

“Jimmy, mate… I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not any of them” I say slowly, and to my surprise, Jimmy laughs.

“Yeah I know, but I was kind of hoping to have you here, too, if that’s okay?” He says sheepishly. “It’s okay if you’re busy, it’s just that… I don’t know, you’re good with this stuff and you make me feel calm? Sorry, I know that’s a lot to just dump on you.” Jimmy doesn’t look at me directly, and I start to feel tears in my eyes.

“Well damn, Jim, I guess if you truly love me that much, I can stick around for a bit.” I laugh, and quickly glance at the time. “My lunch break is only halfway over, anyway, so I have plenty of time to hang out while you talk to the others.”

Jimmy seems to let out a breath, like he’d been holding it, and grins.

Just as I’m about to start talking again, I hear a ping, and Lister’s face appears on screen, followed by Rowan and Bliss.

“Hey Jimjam, you okay?” Rowan asks, looking as calm as ever. “Oh hey Angel.” He adds. I give him an awkward smile.

“Wait, Angel's here?” Bliss interrupts before Jimmy can answer. “Nice, how’s the week from hell going? Didn’t think we’d hear from you until you’d made it through.”

“Yeah it’s rough, but I’m getting there. This is a welcome distraction though.” I grin at her.

“So you’ve seen the pictures then. They look good, right?” Lister chimes in, before correcting himself. “I mean, it’s horrible they found us, fucking pricks, but you’ve got to admit we look good.”

“You can be so self-centred sometimes.” Bliss laughs.

“Come on Lister, this isn’t a joke.” Rowan chides him.

“Well, I guess he isn’t wrong..” Jimmy mumbles nervously and I see him smile a bit.

“See, Jimmy agrees with me!” Lister argues back at Rowan, who rolls his eyes.

“It’s still not something to laugh about.” Rowan says firmly. “Cecily’s already on damage control, cancelling some events, beefing up the security at others, and giving the tabloids hell. She’s also let your grandad know, Jimmy.”

“Wait, aren’t you guys all down there already?” I ask, confused.

“Nah we got back last night. That picture was taken when we went out for lunch the other day. Took their time printing it.” Lister says.

“Probably needed time to pad out their articles. Seriously, how can they write so many pages about two people dating?” Bliss adds.

“Probably whining about how Jowan is now well and truly dead.” Rowan rolls his eyes again. “Although I have to say, I’m pretty happy about that part.” I cringe slightly as he says that. I will never not regret being one of the Jowan fangirls.

“So Cecily’s already got a plan? That’s good, that’s a bit of a relief.” Jimmy speaks up, looking visibly more relaxed than he had sounded over the phone earlier.

“Yeah she’s got it sorted, so we can start planning our Christmas party!” Lister says, making the others groan.

“Lister what the hell makes you think we should be throwing a massive fucking party right now?!” Rowan says, his voice growing louder. Lister goes quiet, looking like he wants to shrink into his seat, before eventually speaking up again.

“Look, it doesn’t have to be anything big, I just mean… Angel, you’re gonna be in London with Juliet, right? Come over, drag Bliss with you, Jimmy can invite his grandad, Rowan you can bring Jade, and there you go, that’s our party!”

“That’s...actually a good idea.” Rowan says, surprised.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun!” Jimmy adds.

“I’m up for it, Angel, do you think Juliet will wanna come?” Bliss says.

“Hell yeah she would, let’s do it!” I reply with a massive smile on my face. Partying with Bliss and the boys sounds like the best way to spend my Christmas London trip. I’ll make sure to tell Juliet about it when I talk to her later. As I start planning all the food I’m going to bring over, and wondering what the boys’ flat will look like at Christmas, the conversation starts up again.

“You sure you’re doing alright, Jimmy? I can come back home if you need me to.” Rowan says, focusing things on the issue at hand again.

“No no, don’t worry, stay with your family. They’d kill me if I made you miss out on spending time with them.” Jimmy jokes. “I’ve got Lister here, and Cecily’s number if I need it. My head isn’t giving me too much grief right now, anyway.”

“Wait, Lister, you’re there with him?” Bliss asks.

“Yeah, check it out!” Lister says, before picking up his phone and moving. He takes us out of what I think was his room, through a hallway and comes out into a large living room, where we can see Jimmy on a sofa looking at his phone. “Say hi to the chat, Jim!”

Everyone laughs as Jimmy gives an awkward wave to Lister’s phone. Lister then hangs up and launches himself into view of Jimmy’s screen, and the two shuffle about until they’re practically sitting on top of each other, faces

squished together so the tiny phone camera captures them both. I hate how cute they look together.

“Alright, if you’re sure, Jimmy,” Rowan says, smiling for probably the first time this whole call.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Jimmy smiles back. “This whole situation is terrifying, and I’m more than ready to hide in my room and not see another mad fangirl for the rest of my life, but... if I did that we’d never get to hang out with Angel again.” He finishes, biting his lip as if unsure of whether or not the joke will hit.

“Uh..ouch!” I clap my hand on top of my heart dramatically and laugh, while the others join in. “I’ll have you know I’ve abandoned my fangirl ways. Mostly. Sort of. Okay, not completely but I’m not shipping real people anymore, so that’s something, right?!”

Lister is giving Jimmy a look of what I can only assume is pride for making a decent joke during a time of peak anxiety, Rowan has his head in his hands, probably contemplating his life choices now that Lister seems to be rubbing off on Jimmy, and Bliss still looks shocked that such a joke came out of Jimmy’s mouth, not Lister’s. When things calm down again, I check the time and speak up again.

“Well this has been fun Jim, but I’m afraid I have mad fangirl duties to be getting back to. Shrines to build, fanfiction to write, you know how it is.” I say sarcastically.

“Thanks again, Angel, for being here, and listening. And you’d better be right about that fandom drama.” Jimmy laughs again, although this time I see his smile falter a bit.

“Hey, look at me,” I say, moving as close to the screen as I can without squishing my face on it. “Things will settle down before you know it, in the meantime, we’re all here for you. You’re not alone in this.” Rowan and Bliss nod in agreement, and I see Lister hug Jimmy closer. Jimmy takes a breath and nods as well.

“Thanks Angel. And good luck with your exam. We’ll see you over the holidays.” He smiles.

“Yeah you got this Angel, go smash it!” Bliss chimes in, giving me a thumbs up and a grin. I say one last goodbye to them all, and hang up.

I look back down at my pizza, still uneaten. I need to stop letting myself get distracted during phone calls. I can eat and talk to my friends at the same time. I’m usually a master at it.

“Fereshteh!” I look up again. Either I’m going loony, or someone just said-

“FERESHTEH!” I turn around and see Mollie and Christina barrelling towards me, with the most excitement I’ve ever seen on a students’ face during exam season. They crash into my table and both start talking at once.

“Have you seen??”

“Did you know??”

“How long have they been together?!”

“Oh my god is this why you won’t tell us about what happened in Kent?!”

“Woah, easy on the interrogation! Seriously, you guys need to work on your interview skills.” I put my hands up in surrender and laugh. Mollie rolls her eyes at me.

“So? Did they tell you or what?” She asks again. I roll my eyes back at her.

“You know I don’t want to tell you guys anything about the boys. They trust me, and I’m not going to fuck that up because of some shit a tabloid prints.”

“How dare you appeal to our morality and ethics, we want gossip dammit!” Christina giggles, lightly banging her fist down on the table.

“Then stick to the Twitter pages.” I stick my tongue out at her. Mollie and Christina are two of my housemates, and are part of the Ark fandom. I never planned on telling them about Kent, but they figured out who I was thanks to the pictures of me and Jimmy on the train. I didn’t think you could tell it was me, but fangirls are like master detectives. They figured it out in less than a week. They haven’t told anyone though, they’re good mates.

“So how are you feeling about all of this? Whether you knew or not, having it out in the press like this is a lot to handle, especially after last time.” Mollie says, now in serious mode.

“It is a lot, definitely, but they’ll be fine. They’ve had this happen before and they know what to expect from the fans. I just wish I could be there for them.” I say, sitting back in my chair.

“I get

that, it must suck that you guys are so far apart now.” Christina chimes in.

“I mean it’s not like we ever lived close to each other before. The only reason we even crossed paths over the summer was because I was staying with a friend. But yeah, being away from them all is kind of hard sometimes.” I sigh dramatically, making Mollie and Christina grin.

“Are you going to visit them over Christmas?” Christina asks.

“I’m definitely going to visit my friend in London again, for a day or two, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to see the boys.” I quickly lie. “They cut back on public events but they’re still really busy most of the time. And this,” I gesture to my phone “definitely won’t help.”

“We’ll keep an eye on fandom updates for you, and try to shut any mentions of Jowan down,” Mollie says, reaching across the table and giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I squeeze hers back and give her a grateful smile. I mostly stopped interacting with the fandom after meeting the boys, reading fanfiction, and discussing theories with other fans just feels weird and creepy to do when the people you’re talking about are your friends. So it’s nice that I have Mollie and Christina looking out for them, and doing what I can’t. Christina has a pretty big following on Tumblr, and Mollie’s a Twitter ace, so I trust them to hold their ground with the fandom.

“Okay, you don’t have to give us any details, but genuinely, what do you think of Lister and Jimmy as a couple? Because I don’t think the fandom could handle a breakup.” Christina says after a while, making me laugh.

“Pfft, yeah I don’t think the boys could handle a breakup, either.” I smile. “But honestly? I think they’ll be good for each other. Lister is good at helping Jimmy relax and step out of his anxiety bubble, and Jimmy can help reign in Lister’s chaotic energy. Plus they’re freaking cute together, I mean just look at this picture!” I finish, gesturing dramatically to my phone again.

“They are so cute!” Mollie nods in agreement. “I’m actually shocked no one thought to ship them together before.”

“That’s the Jowan storm, for you,” Christina adds. “Can’t believe we ever shipped that.”

“So gross.” I shudder at the thought. Suddenly the alarm I’d set this morning went off, making us all jump.

“What’s that?” Mollie asks. I check the screen and practically leap out of my seat.

“Oh shit, my exam starts in 10 minutes!” I say, gathering my stuff up as quickly as I can. I say my goodbyes to Mollie and Christina and start running back across campus to the exam hall.

I make it just in time, much to the invigilator’s chagrin, check my bag in at the desk at the back of the hall, and collapse into my assigned seat. The exam starts, and it’s only when it does that my stomach reminds me that I never actually ate lunch. Shit.

I start to silently scold myself for being so stupid, when my mind starts drifting to the video chat with Jimmy and the others. He and Lister looked so comfortable with each other. Makes sense, they've known each other for so long. But even still, Jimmy looked so much happier once Lister sat down with him, and Lister himself practically seemed at home with Jimmy’s arms wrapped around him. I smile at my exam paper.

I’m so happy for them.

[madame-mimsy]

Theory Behind the Reward Tier Levels in Janus’ Corridor.

Has someone done this, already? Probably. But nothing says mental exhaustion like procrastinating on schoolwork by over analyzing the levels of tiers in Janus’ Corridor of Stored Rewards.

So with the release of the amazing art by James von Hollen (@ignoreitforever on Instagram) of each of the tiers (and the honestly delightfully terrifying images of Janus ripping through a wall like the Shining), I’ve had some thoughts on what the levels mean in relation to them because I am a Fander and we cannot leave well enough alone gdi.

See, at first I liked the idea going around that Janus was just giving tiers based on people he liked, as he’s stated that he prefers Remus over the others in livestreams. But the thing is, he obviously does NOT like Virgil, so that doesn’t quite fit to me. And the idea that it’s just giving preferential treatment to the Dark Sides made sense to me, until the new images came out and we had padlocks galore.

Instead, my theory is that each tier is based on how deep into the secrets he’s promised in his Corridor you go. The further along the more he WANTS to keep them secret, and thus the more money it takes, meta-wise, to pry those secrets loose, and why there is no Janus level tier. There’s no way he’d want to reveal everything he knows, no matter the amount. He (Janus) even got downright angry when people tried bugging him for spoilers in streams.

So instead he has the tiers listed by how willing he is to make that Side “public” or not. (Longwinded theory under the cut)

So first we have the Logan tier: the Federal Education Budget 

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From the Snake’s Own Mouth:

“Ohhh, so you decided to share with us? Then, I suppose I can share with you.”

Honestly, this startled me because of the fact that it looks so arcane and mystical, which doesn’t match how I imagine Logan at all. My friend @onnastik​ pointed out that the creature on the right, surrounded by sigils, is the demon Baur, who among other things is said to “teach natural and moral philosophy, (and) logic...” which fits the bill pretty perfectly. 

Speaking of a bill, the name for the tier fits Logan perfectly, too, to me. The Federal Education Budget is not only the budget used in the American system to make sure kids have free education until the highschool level, but is also part of the college loan system. It signifies public education, and that’s why I feel that Logan is the lowest, and thus most accessible, tier. Janus considers him bland, safe for public consumption, and maybe even wants to put up a front of logical intelligence first and foremost, to make even the broadest view of Thomas seem as intelligent as possible. 

And look at how much the basic tier gives! That’s a huge amount for just the lowest tier, and gives you plenty to enjoy. That fits the ideal of something like a broad education system, and gives a very open feel. Logan’s tier is literally an “Open Book” of all sorts of delights.

And with that horrible pun, we move to Patton’s tier:  The Monthly Allowance.

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From the Snake’s Own Mouth:

“That not enough for you? Fine. I'll give you everything from that last tier, PLUS...”

For all that it is creepy as heck, the fact that Patton’s tier is also a pun is perfect. The candles heat must surely make this... heartwarming. And the addition of blooper reels in the rewards, and the commentary, feel more personal than Logan’s open tier. Which is why I don’t think Patton was the first tier.

Patton wears his heart on his sleeve too much for Janus’ tastes, I bet. All of those emotions just out there where anyone could see? Those bloopers that showcase how imperfect Thomas and the crew are? Yikes. That is definitely something a certain snek wouldn’t want to be the most public option, though, at the same time, Patton’s gentle qualities and general love of the fandom also mean he’s a good symbol to push closer to the front of the Corridor, and doesn’t need to be as hidden as some of the others.

Also the fact that Patton’s tier has a sticker as a reward is absolutely perfect and you can’t tell me otherwise. Can’t you just imagine him going “Thank you so much, kiddo! Let’s watch some bloopers and play with sticker books! I’ll get the cocoa”? He’s the good goofy dad and stickers are fun. Bloopers and being silly are fun. It’s perfect for the sweet lad.

Then we have the illustrious Roman’s tier: A Prince’s Ransom.

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From the Snake’s Own Mouth:

“You want more? Really?? … You can only half tell, but I’m blushing over the fact that we’re worth this much to you. How about, everything in that last tier AND...”

Hooo boi there’s suddenly a lot more to unpack here. This is in no way an insult to the lovely Crew as a whole, but doesn’t it feel like this tier has more bribery going on than the last two? More self-centered reasons to join? It’s not just your name in the credits like Patton offered: it’s your name as a writer. That T-shirt (which I 100% leaped at when I saw this because holy heck it’s so pretty), and of course the mysterious Writer’s Room.

This tier feels very creative as well: look at all the stuff about influencing the show, the art of the shirt, etc. This is all about being showy and creative like our wonderful prince. But it’s not the first tier, even though Thomas is very much a creator. Why? Why is the tier for the showiest, flashiest Side just randomly tucked in the middle, not even the highest for show?

Because Janus doesn’t want Roman to be the first thing everyone sees. Our sweet boy is definitely eye-catching, but he can also be vain to the point of pompous, even annoying. And his fragile ego isn’t something that Janus likely wants to show off. Janus’ statement about “blushing” and “being worth that much to you” even feels like it matches that pride and ego. 

And that fragility is in the crown’s design, too. At first glance it seems fine. Very fantastic, with Roman’s sun symbol in lovely display. But a longer look reveals cracks, broken sections and fissures. And a slight, odd green shine, too. Hmm.

No, Roman couldn’t be made the first tier because of his pride, but his is also the last tier to not have any outright locks on it...

The Strange Dark Son’s tier: OK, Now You’re Making Me Feel Guilty...

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From the Snake’s Own Mouth:

“PLEASE, don’t give us any more money! I don’t know what we could possibly do with it! But alright… since I like you, you can have everything in the last tier, and I'LL THROW IN...”

“Now you’re making me feel guilty” is absolutely what I would expect Virgil to think about someone giving him money because they enjoyed Thomas’ content. He’d freak out, and want to make sure to do something equally nice in return, to say thank you. Hence the thank-you video. 

NGL I can also imagine him panicking and rushing around his room to pick up a random mug and just thrust it out at the gifter in return too, before hiding away in an anxious mess, but anyway. xD

The artwork for this seems to very much be in homage to the Annabelle Doll: a supposedly haunted ragdoll, kept locked in a case at an occult museum.

Something interesting about this doll’s story, though...

Wiki: “According to the Warrens, a student nurse was given the doll in 1970. They said that the doll behaved strangely, and that a psychic medium told the student that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a deceased girl named "Annabelle". The student and her roommate tried to accept and nurture the spirit-possessed doll, but the doll reportedly exhibited malicious and frightening behavior.”

Huh. Who else do we know that when confronted with too much coddling responds by lashing out?

And this is the first tier with a lock. The glass is chipped (from inside or out?) but the lock is holding. The doll is inert and doesn’t seem likely to do anything unless disturbed, if it matches the original story. Which seems to fit Virgil relatively well. Sure, he’ll make you anxious (maybe those cracks are where the influence leeches free), but doesn’t seem intent on outright harm. Also the cracks and the creepy living doll cabinet as a whole made me think of spider webs and our boi’s Halloween decor, so I thought that was excellent, honestly.

This tier is hidden behind Roman’s shining pomp. It’s outright locked away, as if to keep it from seeing the light of day. The Dark Side tiers both seem this way: hidden from prying eyes by the splendor of the first few tiers.

And the most hidden one of all... Gross Profit.

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From the Snake’s Own Mouth:

“Oh you bougie rascal, you! Your generosity is seen and I truly thank you for it… but a few kind words from me aren't enough, I'm sure... so how about, you get everything from the last tier ALONG WITH...”

Firstly we have exclusive tier level gifts that Janus won’t even reveal. Meta-wise, this is likely more because the team has to decide what those gifts ARE, and how to safely ship them, but the way it sounds in the description not only feels super secretive, but also very much like Remus to me, as well. I’m pretty sure any and all gifts from him are a surprise in some way. Whether that is pleasant is debatable, but it’s still a surprise!

The highest tier also looks to have the highest security. Look at that sturdy, metal bound chest and huge padlock. Not only that but it also has chains wrapped around it to hold it shut, and even then, the contents are actively seeking to escape, like our delightful trashman would. Even the shuggoth-like appearance matches his presence as a shifting, terrifying and likely quite gloopy entity, capable of squeezing even where he’s not wanted.  Even the green fabric below looks stained with mud or blood or something equally as upsetting. The image does a great job of showing how hard it is to contain Intrusive Thoughts, as a whole, and is likely a main reason Janus drinks so much “juice” on his birthdays. 

Unlike the last image, this one is outright trying to break containment, and oddly, it almost seems like someone left a golden key in easy reach for just that purpose... A key which also looks rather oddly shaped, to me.

It’s hard to tell from the angle, but it doesn’t look like the eye is a simple circle, but that it has a point, like a heart almost. Or even the ornate letter D from the Corridor logo?

I can’t be sure of that, but what I can definitely be sure of is the sheer amount of lock, key, and chain symbolism our Snekky Fren has to his name.

While Janus has no tier, the entire SITE has his symbol, like a brand. 

Every post, the icon, the about page, it’s there. And the snake isn’t trapped by the lock, but guarding it. It looks to have a green highlight around where a chip is (hmm), but other than that, it looks quite solid, and well-guarded by watchful creatures that never blink.

The shape of the lock looks like it could be heart-shaped as well, like that golden key allowing the Remus tentacles to wriggle free.

They also do a heckin blep and honestly what could possibly be better? 

So yeah, that’s my way overly long ramble about the tier levels and what I think they mean. Maybe if I’m not too lazy I’ll do one on the pictures of Janus playing peekaboo with my nightmares on the about page. 

God but this art is amazing and y’all need to go preesh the artist holy heck. 

[dear-hikikomari]

[READ ME; ASK RULES]

This is my policy on incoming asks; make sure to take a read through these before sending anything. Asks that break the rules will be deleted on sight, so keep that in mind!

All asks will be assumed as directed to Mari unless otherwise specified.

If you send an ask to the blog, I’ll answer it IC with a little Mari doodle to accompany the response. This is open to anybody, so long as you abide by these rules! That said, if you want to interact with her through a character of your own, make sure to refer to my roleplay rules first; my guidelines for that are a bit stricter. If you’d like to talk to me, the ‘mun,’ directly, make sure to address me in the ask so I know it’s to me! My IMs are also open, but I will not be answering them IC; those are for mun talk only.

Be respectful to the blogger!

Remember that this is something I’m doing for fun; I’ll do my best to get to all the asks and give fun responses, but I can’t make any promises. It’ll largely depend on what I feel up to answering, what art I get inspired for, where stuff fits best in the narrative, etc etc. If I take a while to get to your ask or wind up not answering it, please don’t take it personally. You’re always welcome to send something else! You can ask if you’re worried an ask got eaten, but please don’t try to pressure me into answering faster; that’ll just result in it getting deleted. Additionally, absolutely do not attempt to drag me into drama of any kind; I’m not here for that.

Absolutely no NSFW, but other dark content may be present.

Expect canon-typical levels of disturbing content; psychological horror, body horror, character death, self-harm and suicide, mental illness, etc will all likely be present here to some degree. That said, I am not at all comfortable with sexual content and will not be accepting any asks of that nature directed at the mun or muse. Please do not send them here. Offenders will have their asks deleted and/or blocked, depending on severity.

Don’t repost or use my artwork without permission.

Unless otherwise specified, all icons, promo images, sidebar images, and other artwork utilized in asks or the blog itself were drawn by the mun. Please do not repost it elsewhere or use it off the blog without asking me first. If you’d like to use it for roleplay icons or something I might be okay with that, but let me know and make sure to credit me somewhere. I do reserve the right to say no, though.

Please don’t reblog roleplay threads you’re not a part of.

Most of my content is a-okay for anybody to reblog, but I ask that ‘threads,’ (written interactions between two or more roleplay blogs) are NOT reblogged by people outside of them. This can mess with thread trackers and often is considered really rude to roleplayers, so be respectful of this boundary! If I see this happen, I will be coming to ask you to take it down. That said, liking a thread to show your support is 100% okay!

Crossovers with other ask blogs won’t be canon.

I’m open to doing little cameos and stuff like that with other ask blogs, but bear in mind that they very likely will not be canon to the blogs themselves; they’re just for fun and shenanigans. If you’d like to discuss trying something like that feel free to drop by and ask, I promise I don’t bite! I’m sure we can come up with something.

Some additional notes to keep in mind:

Remember that this Mari is specific to the Hikiko AU.

For reference, the Hikiko AU is an AU of my own design; it’s loosely based on Omari, but with some pretty significant tweaks and story changes. As such, these are the basics you should know; Mari is still alive here, 19 years old, and attending a Junior College a few hours away from Faraway Town. If you’d like to know more, feel free to check out the about and AU pages for everything that’s been revealed thus far! And if there’s anything missing there that you’d like to know… Well, you can always try asking Mari. Just keep in mind that this AU is quite a bit different from the canon timeline or classic Omari, and Mari won’t have knowledge of any of the events that didn’t happen in her world. Likewise, this blog is not affiliated with the Hikki or Omari projects in any way; honestly I can't even keep track of who it is that's actually making them, let alone be in contact with the creators.

This blog is not spoiler free!

If you haven’t played the game or know the story, I highly recommend doing so before interacting with this blog or reading any further. While there’s plenty of divergences, the blog also contains some parallels to pretty significant spoilers and will definitely give away some big twists. Omori is a pretty intense emotional roller coaster of a game so I definitely would suggest experiencing it for yourself if you can handle the content it entails. It isn’t necessarily mandatory to interact here, but will probably add to your experience.

Guest characters may pop up from time to time.

On occasion I might let other characters from the AU participate in an ask or pop up in art. That isn’t to say it’ll happen every time, but I figure that’s a fun way to switch things up– and possibly provide some details Mari herself might not be as keen on discussing. That said, I can’t guarantee that an ask addressing them will always make it to the intended recipient– that depends on how likely they are to be able to find it. But do feel free to try if you’d like! You might just learn something interesting in the process.

Mari is an unreliable narrator.

Much like Sunny in Omori, she’s not always going to be honest about what really happened or how she’s actually feeling. Her experiences aren’t always true to reality, often laced with hallucinations, delusions, and dissociation. After all, Mari is someone who strains herself very hard to maintain an image of perfection and stability– and that’s one thing which has remained a constant here. It’s going to take quite a bit of effort to peel back that mask of smiles.

Check here for the dedicated tags!

I have a handful of dedicated tags for different content; feel free to blacklist anything you don’t want to see. I also track the tag #dear hikikomari, so feel free to use that if there’s something you’d like me to see!

#asks - the answered ask catch-all. #threads - the roleplay thread catch-all. #main; dreaming of you - the tag for main ask blog content. #side; pure imagination - the tag for non-canon side content. #my art; through her eyes - mun art tag (posted or reblogged) #reblog; strange reflections - others’ art tag (promos and etc) #mun post; the music stops - ooc posts from the mun.

And now, meet the mun!

Hey, thanks for reading this far! Feel free to call me Timey. I’m 25, and use she/her pronouns. I’ve been roleplaying across various platforms since 2010, so this is just the latest in a long series of experiments; I’ve had this AU in the works for quite a while, so an ask blog felt like a fun and interactive way to share it with folks. Here’s hoping you’ll all enjoy it as much as I do!

[sagesilentfire]

I'm looking for a trans sensitivity reader (for Marcie) and possibly a poc sensitivity reader (for the monsters vs mewmans plot), so if you're available, please tell me, and we'll figure something out.

Forgive my inability to draw humans, please.

I know this is a big departure from my usual content, so I'd like to make sure you know that watching SVTFOE is not necessary to enjoy this AU, as everything needed to understand the plot is explained in-story. In fact, I'd love to have someone who's never even heard of a svftoe to read it so I can make sure it makes its own logical sense.

Anyways... 

(putting this under a read more for your scrolling purposes)

Hi. I'm Sage, and I would like to talk about a show I really liked. The past tense being the operative, as it used to be good, but...

I started watching SVTFOE after watching the great Steven Universe, which meant I had high expectations for it. And it met those expectations! From the beginning I was hooked. It was a good show. But as the seasons went on, it started to... rot.

Now, something to know about me is that I do not invest myself wisely. I love the things I love deeply and with passion. I get attached easily, and I love to theorize about the things I love. So I was heartbroken when SVTFOE ended the way it did, with none of my questions answered.

And when my theories were better than canon, well, that meant I had a new project: a complete rewrite of Star vs. the Forces of Evil. This AU will start similar to canon, but gradually diverge from it until it's something completely new. It will also have five separate "seasons".

So here's my AU: Star and Marcie and The Forces Of Evil (aka samatfoe). This AU will tear apart the scraps of lore that we got from SVTFOE and expand on it and make new lore, all narrated by my lovely OC, Sílthéy. And I promise I will get to as much as possible. If you're worried, check the titles of all of the chapters, which will hopefully reassure you that, yes, I will get to everything (or at least everything I've thought of ;)).

Dramatis Personae:

Star: Star will mostly stay the same in the first few seasons, but I'll try to have her actually grow and mature while staying a good person in the later seasons. She'll also be a bit more fire-aligned, because I wanted to be able to tell my Star and the canon Star apart easily. (She also doesn't get those wings until Mewberty.)

Marcie: is a trans girl. The entire second "episode" will be about her being trans. And I will, again, try to not have her act like a jerk in later seasons. She also won't be an adult trapped in a teenager's body, as that was waaay too weird for me. Instead she won't age in the Neverzone, period, and there will be an episode dedicated to her re-adjusting to Earth and discussing what the whole "spent a decade and a half in eight minutes" thing means for her. And, of course, she'll be more involved with the Mewni plot, as she will be interested in learning the lore behind Mewni from the beginning and push Star to find out more about Mewni.

Ludo: Ludo's story will not effectively end with the Battle for Mewni. He will get a redemption arc, with all the pitfalls and trip-ups that come with that. And all of his flaws and issues will be brought up, now just forgiving him for everything he did because he had bad parents. And Dennis will continue to be a cinnamon roll. Some things never change.

Buff Frog/Yvgeny: will not change. He is good lad.

Toffee: This is the big one. Where to start, and how to start it without spoiling everything I have planned? Well, let me tell you this: Toffee is getting a complete overhaul. For one thing, I now made them agender for various complicated reasons that will be revealed in-story, eventually. And for another thing, they will get an actual backstory and personality! Isn't that a novel idea! And they will not die abruptly and nonsensically in Battle for Mewni, so don't worry about that.

Jackie: Oh, Jackie. You poor dear. Jackie will not be delegated to the role of "one-time love interest who just skateboards out of the plot". First of all, Marcie will only have a squish (a platonic crush) on her, because I don't trust my aro/ace self with the weird things people in romantic love do to get together, but I do know what it's like to desperately want to be friends with someone. Secondly, while she will be out of the spotlight in later seasons, it'll be because she's on an exchange trip to France, not because we're abandoning her character and her world for no good reason.

Janna: never changes. Pretty sure she's the one constant of the multiverse.

Tom: will have his redemption arc earlier in the story so I can use him for things, but other than that will not change much.

Moon: First of all, she will not betray everything her daughter stands for by siding with Mina this time. There are plenty of other ways Mina could rise to power, so there's no need to ruin her character by making her do a stupid, illogical thing that even a five-year-old would see was stupid. I mean, she's still going to be kind of racist, but she's well-established to be level-headed and even a little clever, so she will not do something that would so obviously blow up in her face. Secondly, she will be a bad ruler, hence why Mewni is a total mess, but she will learn and become better and help Star's efforts to improve Mewni.

Glossaryck: is... changing. He won't "lose" his sanity for season three, but he will also not be in a totally heroic role. It's a complicated thing and a bit of a spoiler, so I'll leave it at that. Also, he's a dragon now Because Reasons (no, seriously, I have a reason for it. It's also a spoiler).

River: River will be goofy, like usual, but he won't be plot-destroyingly stupid. I'll try my best to not make you question why he's even king while still making him a foil to Moon. It's the tightrope I must walk.

Angie and Raphael: Will not completely disappear from the plot in later seasons, but will instead be like a second family to Star and will be a refuge when her overbearing Butterfly side gets too much.

Kelly: Will not be involved in a stupid romantic subplot with Marcie. Sorry. Other than that, Kelly will remain pretty much the same, aside from now being tiny, because that's just how she came out in my art. She's pretty cool.

Miss Heinous: Will not be Meteora this time around. I disliked how Heinous hurt so many people and was a horrible person, but as soon as her Tragic Backstory™ was revealed, all that pain and suffering she caused was ignored in favor of making her Super Duper Tragic™. So I'm separating the characters. Don't worry, though, she'll get the backstory and character arc she deserves.

Saint Olga: Saint Olga will be the main motivator for Miss Heinous's actions, as she is desperate to please the robot. Other than that, Saint Olga won't actually get much character. She's a bad guy, pure and simple.

Meteora: will not turn into a baby. She will deal with the consequences of her actions like a mature, responsible sixteen-year-old. But because she's sixteen, things won't be too harsh when she does snap. She'll still have her mother and father to help her and guide her.

Eclipsa: Regarding Eclipsa's design, I tried to make her fat, but... I don't know if it translates well in my art. I'm just not that good at art yet. But aside from that, making her cheekmarks dark gray (spades are a black card, not a red card! That bugged me so unreasonably much), and giving her as much of a connection to Toffee as the show implied, I'm not changing much about her. She was one of the good characters.

Globgor: Will have fought against mewmans in the past, but not have eaten them (what were the writers thinking?! Making your metaphorical poc eat people is... not good). And it will be more of a case of Star and Eclipsa knowing he is good and should be released from the crystal, but the general mewman populace not accepting it, until Cornonation, where he proves he's a good guy.

Shinjai: Is a new character I am thrilled to introduce to you all! She came from me thinking that for someone who supposedly wants to end mewman-monster racism, Star sure doesn't have any monster friends (Buff Frog doesn't count. He's an adult, and they don't really hang out so much). So here's Shinjai! She's a septarian, and is introduced instead of Princess Smooshy in Sleep Spells. She's a very minor minor monster noble, and her family has about as much political power as your average worm on a sidewalk after it rains, but all noble monsters must go to Saint Olga's Reform School for Wayward Royalty, so she runs away and gets help from Star and Marcie. She's mostly made to replace Pony Head: she's spunky and... uh, actually she's nothing like Pony Head. She's also unafraid of asking difficult questions and knows more about the plot than she lets on.

Rasticore: is very different from his canon counterpart: he only allies with Heinous and Saint Olga to keep an eye on them for ~someone~, and thoroughly dislikes them, despite agreeing to their mission. He also can regenerate as quickly as Toffee, he just chooses not to for ~reasons~. He also has a mysterious partner, but we all know it's – *gets clubbed over the head by Síthéy*

Mina: Making fun of mental illnesses isn't funny kids. Therefore, Mina is the only neurotypical member of the cast. She does boring neurotypical things like... I dunno, cleaning? And she's still a threat: bigotry and hatred are not exclusive to people with mental illnesses, after all.

Lilacia: Now, Lilacia Pegasus, the horse formerly known as Pony Head, will... exist. She won't be as overwhelmingly annoying, hopefully, as she is in canon. And to make sure she feels consequences for her actions, there will be a subplot in season two about her and Star growing apart as Star grows and leaves Lilacia's annoying party girl antics behind. Lilacia will have to realize that her immature actions are making Star leave her behind, and she'll have to grow as a person because of it.

Then there's a mysterious character who is very mysterious and does mysterious things and has a mysterious personality and is generally mysterious... mysterious. She'll be introduced in the second season and will be as mysterious as promised, I swear.

And finally, of course, it will be narrated by Sílthéy. She will tell this story, and her part in it, for all to hear. Or read? It's a bit of a strange medium, storytelling on paper. Or on a screen, whatever.

Now, of course, by now you must be wondering: What about the shipping? The shipping's the most important part, right? Well, here is my answer: There will be no ship wars. There will be no love dodecahedrons. There will be no cheating, no lies, no throwing other characters under the bus for stupid romantic drama. Why? BECAUSE STAR AND MARCIE ARE BOTH ARO/ACE. Suck on that, Starco! I am the last person to trust romantic drama with, so all of the romantic relationships in this bandwagon will be established, healthy relationships that have decades of chosen love and appreciation for one another behind them. And past!Tomstar and brief, schoolchild-crush-esque Star/Oskar but that doesn't count.

So, I believe that about wraps things up for this post. I'll start posting chapters soon, and will post two chapters every other week, and I'll release the descriptions of them two weeks before I post them. If you have any questions, please ask them! I want to work on my drawing skills, so I might even draw something for them!

Description for next episodes:

Star's Birthday: Star is a young, wild princess who is about to receive her family's most precious heirlooms.

Trouble in Diazland: Star is put under the care of the Diaz family, but can't quite seem to connect with their son, Marco.

And, finally, I have thank yous! These are mostly people I watched but haven't really interacted with yet, so if you get tagged know that you don't know me, I just followed you for svtfoe content. And for, you know, your personality.

Thanks to ankle-beez for being hilarious and reminding me why I made this AU when you relentlessly drag svtfoe. Thank you to @full-moon-phoenix, @dappercritter, and the lizard squad for my regular dose of Toffee. Thank you morningmark and @jess-the-vampire for keeping me invested in svtfoe as a whole. Thanks to svtfoe-critical and @twinklecupcake for good ideas. Thank you to TBlofeld on AO3 for your amazing AU, Monsters, Mewmans, Magic, that, while we took things and ran in completely opposite directions, still inspired me to complete mine. And thank you to Blue Order, whose deeply hilarious and deeply accurate video "How Star Vs the Forces of Evil Fell From Grace" inspired me to create this story in the first place. And, of course, thank you to whoever on the svtfoe wiki writes down the transcripts to every episode. You've helped me so much. I admit that I didn't follow all of your guys' advice, but you did help me get here, every one of you. So thank you.

[davidmann95]

Simply doing a full review round-up this week, since I got questions about a couple different books and there’s plenty worth at least touching on this week, though of course I’ll be going into a few spoilers:

Justice League #29: It’s weird to do a thinly-veiled recap issue when the Apex Predator arc itself worked so well as a jumping-on point, but this was still a delight that managed to palpably raise the stakes as the cherry on top. And as evidenced by what I saw of his time on Injustice, Bruno Redondo is built for this kind of charming, character-driven storytelling that still captures the fundamental bombast of the figures involved.

Year of the Villain: Sinestro: Fascinating to see Mark Russell having to reign it in and tell something not unlike a ‘normal’ superhero comic for, other than that little Superman story with Bryan Hitch, the first time in his career - or at least, close enough to it to not completely shatter the illusion of this being part of the larger Justice/Doom War narrative - and he really shines. It’s still fundamentally of a piece with the rest of his oeuvre, but played just straight enough to work on a totally different frequency. Hopefully it didn’t chafe because I’d love to see him pursue this particular vibe further.

Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #2: I liked the original Way Doom Patrol plenty, but Weight of the Worlds has been firing on all cylinders from word go and it’s precisely what I want from weird-ass superhero comics.

The Green Lantern #10: I almost feel bad that this is my favorite issue of the series so far, both because it’s Morrison returning to so many old haunts and because it’s where he finally up and abandons the premise of this not being yet another “Green Lantern deals with the Biggest Threat Ever!” story the way he promised (even if I suppose it’s justifiable as the kickoff of the ‘season finale’). But I can’t really bring myself to care because this absolutely rules, and also because even if he doesn’t bring Red Racer back from the icy grip of the reaper as delivered by the truly abysmal Multiplicity, he DOES - perhaps accidentally, which I’d still certainly be fine with - undo its dull-as-dishwater conception of Earth 14. Also Halk Kar and superheroism in general being gently condescended by the Lanterns is A+.

DCeased #4: Truth be told? I think some of the weird propulsive energy of the first two issues is, appropriately enough, bleeding out. Still definitely in the tank for the last two though.

Batman #76: It keeps on keepin’ on. I’ve appreciated the last several months for what they were, but City of Bane is feeling like something of a return to form for this run, and Tony Daniel’s turning in his best work in years. And I love that, aside from the backmatter of #75 as mandated by Year of the Villain shenanigans, Bane himself thus far exists only as a silent force here.

Lois Lane #2: It’s good in exactly all the same ways #1 was good, and you should be getting it if this sort of thing is even remotely up your alley.

DIE #6: Damn. I think I’ve already hit the part in pretty much every Kieron Gillen comic where I completely lose the plot, but damn.

No One Left To Fight #2: Not quite the same impact as the first issue, but this is still a really fun, emotional little book people should be paying attention to. Not sure about that last page though.

Future Foundation #1: Liked the art well enough, but sorry folks, this one’s a dud as far as I’m concerned.

Absolute Carnage #1: I’m embarrassed I slapped down $8 on this bastard in large part just because I want the Miles Morales and Immortal Hulk tie-ins, and equally shocked that dang folks, we’ve got a live one here. This is a top-tier event comic kickoff, certainly Cates’ best work in a minute, and even the backmatter managed to work pretty well (though holy shit, Cletus Kasady isn’t even two years older than me?!).

Daredevil #9: It isn’t picking up the same kind of attention as Life Story, and it surely doesn’t help that Checchetto isn’t here for this arc even though Lalit Sharma’s work is an excellent fit for the material at hand. But Zdarsky’s still doing the best work with Murdock and company that they’ve seen in years, easily in Marvel’s top 3 ongoings. And this issue in particular made me go “oh, god dammit, Matt”, the one true mark of a quality interpretation of the man without fear.

The Immortal Hulk #22: It’s a new issue of Immortal Hulk. Barring a truly bonkers new twist to mull over, whaddaya expect me to go over that I haven’t said already? Other than that Hulk says trans rights.

House of X #2: I’ve got a ton of smaller reactions and theories that don’t really fall under the purview of even the meager critical analysis I offer in these little quickfire reviews - at least, not unless I wanted to spend half of this post on it, which I’m not feeling tonight - but even as someone who maybe knew about a paragraph’s worth of information about Moira MacTaggert this issue blew my damn socks off, so I can’t begin to imagine how it must have read for people who’ve been following the X-Books for years or decades. As a fucked-up life story, and a simultaneous mediation on the X-Men’s narrative history and assorted philosophies of radical social change in general, this was as already usual easily the jaw-dropper of a clearly competitive week. And as I noted and someone also pointed out in my ask box, it feels like profound statement of intent that there is now no longer, and never has been, a truly major token good human in the X-Men’s orbit.

[sorcerusdragonbionics]

Reading list 6/22-6/29

So I got this from a few places, such as the FanFic Summer Reading Challenge as well as one of the profiles I’m following mentioning that they wanted to do a reading list of every fanfic they’ve read. I read A LOT, hence why wanted to do the Summer Reading Challenge, but I also wanted to share fics with people, so I’ve decided that every Sunday I’ll post the fics I’ve read in a Reading List for the week.

Fic ratings range from G to E, but all of them are labeled so if something isn’t your cup of tea, don’t read it. Since this is my first list and I want to see how it turns out I’ll keep them all together for now, but depending on how it turns out I might start dividing them up by fandom and possibly by Rating.

For Now: Tell me if this Sharable Link works for you Google Drive Folks, or Read More if you feel so inclined.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Py4njs7UTYOijl3TkGAB2MouJ4uiTa4e3uB6ThpMjs/edit?usp=sharing

Revenge of White Rabbit

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: TiBun, UnknownPaws

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4832390/chapters/11067851

Status: Complete

Series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/329461

Complete

Three works

Chapters: 14/14

Summary: They say that bad things happen in threes, but they never specify just how Nightmarish "bad things" can get.

Rating: E

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Major Character Death

Words: 45091

You’re All I Need

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: towokuwusatsuwu

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8565637/chapters/19636612

Status: Incomplete

 Last Updated 2016/11/17

Chapters: 2/?

Summary: In a world where you only see in shades of gray until you meet your soulmate, Barnaby has his literally fall into his arms.

Rating: M

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 2891

 Of Tigers and Bunnies Series

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: MarchWindsAprilShowers

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1332236

Status: OnGoing

Last Updated 2019/6/25

Works: 7

Home Sweet Home Summary: Barnaby wasn’t sure exactly what it was that made his partner’s home feel like...home. At least, he feels more at home there than anywhere else, including his own apartment.

The Group’s Couple Summary: Every large friend group has at least one honorary couple and this one is pretty annoying. (A short and completed drabble series of how the other heroes deal and interact with TaiBani.)

Already Perfect Summary: If there’s one thing Barnaby actively avoids in interviews, it's the subject of children in his future besides Kaede.

Fried Rice and Promise Summary: In which Barnaby decides to return the favor and kick down Kotetsu's door unannounced with some fried rice to cheer up the old man.

My Hero! Summary: Okay, alright. Social media has even pointed it out at this point. Barnaby will admit it. // He can be a little protective of Kotetsu. // Maybe even unreasonably.

For the Last Time, Go to Bed! Summary: Keith is sick with a cold and keeps bothering Ivan who is currently making him some soup.

Betrayed by the Heart Monitor Summary: Barnaby is injured on the job and is in the hospital. Kotetsu is with him and refuses to go home. It's 1AM, so that's the perfect time for confessions (obviously)!

Rating G - T

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 7424

The Prophecy

Fandom: BBC Merlin

Author: VikingSong 

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10463682/1

Status: OnGoing

Last Updated 2019/6/22

Chapters: 79/?

Summary: Uther learns Arthur is the Once-and-Future-King of prophecy and declares him a traitor, forcing him to flee with Merlin. The catch? Arthur has no idea who Emrys is and no desire to fulfill the prophecy. Reveal!fic. T for action sequences/some deaths; no slash, no smut, no language. Cover art by AlexandarCho on deviantART (used with permission).

Rating: T

Different Tagging System so not marked for whole work, but Author is vigilant to point out moments of violence that will be coming up in the chapter.

Words: 110584

The Only One

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: Rinienne

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7085107/chapters/16103044

Status: Complete

Chapters: 8/8

Summary: There was nothing funny about a NEXT ability which made some people lose their minds to lust, especially while it had such deadly consequences. Others were not affected by it the same way, but what was the difference between the two groups was a question yet unanswered.

Rating: E

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Warnings

Words: 46668

Zero to Hero

Fandom: Hero Academia

Author: ryrybread

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19323073/chapters/45963673

Status: OnGoing

Last Updated 2019/6/24

Chapters: 2/?

Summary: Midoriya Izuku has had a hard time getting through life as long as he could remember. Not only was he quirkless, but he was born in the wrong body, gender-wise. // If it wasn't for his childhood friend standing up for him, he wouldn't even been here, let alone being face to face with his ultimate role model, All Might. // Follow Izuku through his high school experience, dealing with feelings, villains, and transitioning to become the boy he always was meant to me.

Rating: T

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 2057

Something To Look Forward To

Fandom: Hero Academia

Author: jooniebears14

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19206946/chapters/45661945

Status: OnGoing

Last Update Approx 2019/6/25

Chapters: 2/?

Summary: After leaving his horrible middle school Izuku Midoriya starts fresh at a new one. Making plenty of friends and experiences along the way, everything was perfect until… // “Izuku were getting married” // “ Oh that’s great I’m so happy for you guys” // “ Yeah and were moving back to Musutafu” // “Wait what”

Rating: T+

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Words: 3293

Zero: the World’s Best Hero Duo

Fandom: Hero Academia

Author: Toboe1087

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18548689/chapters/43963657

Summary: There was a next to zero percent chance that it would happen. That two infants would meet each other in the park and have a soulmate connection. That they would grow up together and change the world forever. But that's the thing, the chances were next to zero, but not quite zero.

Status: OnGoing

Last Updated Approx 2019/6/25

Chapters: 24/?

Rating: G

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 40125

Three’s a Crowd

Fandom: Hero Academia

Author: ScatteredSounds

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15960185/chapters/37223450

Summary: Izuku wasn't sure if he was ready to find his soulmate, then he found two. He swears upon All Might's abs that he is not ready to handle this shit. Todoroki has had a rough past and finds it difficult to show emotion. Bakugou only know how to show 50 shades of anger. And Izuku is just so happy to have both of them in his life he doesn't really know what to do with himself.

Status: OnGoing

Last Update Approx 20169/6/17

Chapters: 13/?

Rating: E

Warnings: Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings

Words: 43949

A Suitable Nickname

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: Fujiwara_no_Seimei

https://archiveofourown.org/works/216812

Status: Complete

Chapters: 1/1

Summary: Kotetsu and Barnaby have been living together for years with Kaede, and now a teenager, she's pushing her boundries. Barnaby learns what his real role is in this dysfunctional family.

Rating: T+

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 797

Win Some, Lose Some Series

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: Lirillith

https://archiveofourown.org/series/12623

Status: Incomplete

Last Update 2012/2/13

Works: 3

Win Some, Lose Some Summary: Barnaby visits Kotetsu in the hospital after the final confrontation.

Better Late Than Never Summary: Set during the episode 25 timeskip. Kotetsu and Barnaby get their chance to talk before Kotetsu leaves Stern Bild.

Keep Your Chin Up Summary: Barnaby navigates Christmas solo.

Rating: G-T

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 7096

Potential Happy Endings for Tiger & Bunny

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: wickedorin

https://archiveofourown.org/works/308846/chapters/494248

Status: Complete

Chapters: 5/5

Summary: While I was waiting for the final episode, I had a little fun writing the possible endings that were in my head. Many spoilers, but not really for the final episode.

Rating: M

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death

Words: 5326

Seasons Will Change

Fandom: Tiger & Bunny

Author: Tru

https://archiveofourown.org/works/253126

Status: Complete

Chapters: 1/1

Summary: A "what if?" post episode 24.

Rating: T

Warnings: Major Character Death

Words: 1807

Me in You, You in Me

Fandom: Attack on Titan

Author: fromstarlighttodust

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19338721

Status: Complete

Chapters: 1/1

Summary: When an experiment goes wrong, Levi and Eren end up in swapped bodies. Unfortunately, existing as each other until they can figure out how to reverse it turns out to be more difficult than they had anticipated. Ultimately, it leads to a journey of hard truths, mutual discovery and a greater understanding of one another--not to mention an appreciation for being themselves.

Rating: M

Warnings: Underage

Words: 9732

Hero Name

Fandom: Hero Academia

Author: miarinnes

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19364635/chapters/46072966

Status: OnGoing

Last Updated 2016/6/26

Chapters:1/?

Summary: Bakugou Katsuki was visited by a "ghost" girl named Katsumi. The bubbly 5-year-old instantly got immuned by Katsuki's angry outbursts and a wide range of curses. Who was this girl, this -- Katsumi who had curly blonde hair, round ruby eyes, and freckles across her cheeks? Bakugou does not seem to care until she had talked about her Papa that reminded her of spring and the color green.

Rating: M

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 3957

I’m Only Yours (Forever and Ever)

Fandom: Attack On Titan

Author:Siamesepolyporegoat

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15778020/chapters/36707862

Status: Complete

Series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1164533

Incomplete

Last Update 209/6/20

Chapters: 26/26

Summary: Eren was the second son. He was supposed to be free to love and marry whoever he wanted. So why was he being sent to marry some stranger?

Rating: M

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage

Words: 67781

On the Shoulder of a Giant

Fandom: Attack on Titan

Author: Written By:  Emamel 

Read By: Opalsong

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2791343

Status: Complete

Chapters: 11/11

Summary: The Scouting Legion receives word of a rogue titan in the battle of Trost. // They didn't know what to expect - it certainly wasn't Jaeger.

Rating: M

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Podfic- 0 words read

Savior

Fandom: Hero Academia

Author: jaegerackereri

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18077612/chapters/42727589

Status: OnGoing

Last Update 2019/6/29

Chapters: 6/?

Summary: When Izuku's brother Kota becomes gravely ill, the only person that is able to save him is the cruel Dragon King Katsuki Bakugou, but how far is Izuku willing to go to save his brother...

Rating: M

Warnings: Author Chose Not Use Warnings, Rape/Non-Con

Words: 10232

[phoenix-downer]

I'm still crossing my fingers for Kairi being the other playable character. No offense to any other big potential possibilities but we've 2 (3 if you count kh2) games playing Riku for a big portion of the game. Roxas had a whole game to himself as well as kh2 long prologue. Aqua technically starred in 2 games too. I'd love to have Kairi jist to finally have played all Destiny trio members and to see her fighting style. Plus since Light's going to expire maybe the keyblader who's a pure light --

(2/2) will be left standing in a reality overtaken by darkness? Idk, she’s already saved Sora’s butt once by basically defying all accepted logic. I have a feeling she could do it again (plus we’ve had so much Sora+Riku development and even really cute Kairi+Riku interactions, I want some heavy focus on the Sora+Kairi bond again considering they’re each other’s most important person).Answer, here be KH3 spoilers: 

I’d love for Kairi to be the other playable character for the reasons you mentioned, but lately I’ve been thinking there’s a good chance Roxas will be the other playable character instead.

For one, his move set is similar to Sora’s, so it’s probably easier to have him as a playable character.

For another, just like how we play as Roxas for a little while in KH2 and we even have to fight him near the end of the game, it would be an interesting twist to play as Roxas again, this time as the good guy fighting Sora near the end of the game (if Soranort happens).

Plus, if Sora falls to darkness saving Roxas, I can see Nomura going for the parallel of Roxas returning the favor and saving Sora.

And, let’s be honest, Roxas is a lot more popular with the fanbase than Kairi, and Nomura is probably aware of that. He tends to give more screentime to fan favorites like Lea, Aqua, and Riku (though Riku has waned in popularity somewhat in Japan at least) than to the (as of late) neglected Kairi and Naminé, who scored third and fourth place in the female character popularity poll behind Aqua and Xion. Of course, this is arguably even more of a reason to have Kairi be playable, but history is not on Kairi’s side here.

Would I like a playable Kairi? Yes, but honestly, I probably would enjoy playing as Roxas again. I’d rather have him be playable over Riku, since we’ve had plenty of chances to play as Riku already and DDD was more his game than Sora’s. Playable Riku wouldn’t ruin the game for me though; I do think if the other playable character was him, however, Nomura wouldn’t have been so secretive about it.

The one thing I do think that might hint at Kairi being a playable character is that she has been shown on the cover art with her Keyblade: 

This isn’t by any means conclusive, but it’s interesting to note that the only other characters who have their Keyblades on that cover art are Mickey, Sora, and Riku, who have all been playable at some point or other throughout the series.

My guess is that this is hinting that these four (Mickey, Riku, Sora, and Kairi) will be the main characters of this game, but it’s hard to say, and again, hoping for tons of screentime for characters who are not Sora is setting expectations that might not get met. 

But based on what we know, I think the narrative will follow three general arcs: Riku and Mickey’s search for Aqua and whatever comes next, Sora’s quest to gain the Power of Waking and find The Key to Return Hearts, and Kairi’s training along with Lea. It would make sense for at least one of these other main characters to be playable, and fingers crossed it’s Kairi.

Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and Sora, Kairi, and Riku will all be playable though! If Soranort does happen I’d love for Kairi (along with Riku) to be the ones to rescue him because of those potential parallels with KH1.

No matter what happens, however, give me more moments of Sora and Kairi bonding, please and thank you! As friends, as allies, as potential romantic interests, because we NEED to see more of their relationship! KH1 did a good job of this, but you’re exactly right - KH3 would do well to focus more on their bond again. They’ve been separated for so much of the series and that separation has NOT done their romantic development (or friendship, for that matter!) any favors. 

Think about it: we haven’t seen them on screen together since Blank Points. It’s been eight years (nine for the Japanese fans). Now, I think Nomura has something special planned for their reunion, because he carefully avoided having them meet in 0.2, but Square Enix in general lately has… not been good about having their main couples actually interact with each other (looking at you, Noctis and Luna and Snow and Serah, though the latter was much better about this than the former). And let’s face it, interaction is VITALLY important for a good romance! Don’t tell me they are deeply in love, SHOW me.

I am a HUGE SoKai fan, as anyone who has read my writing can tell you, but… even I know that if Nomura wants to further their romance in a believable way, they actually NEED to be on screen at the same time. Talking. Interacting. Cracking jokes. Making each other laugh. Comforting each other. Cheering each other up. Lingering gazes. Lingering hand holds. Reminiscing about shared memories. Grand romantic gestures. Small acts of love. Big acts of sacrifice.

And the thing is… every time they have been on screen together so far, their interactions have been fantastic! The chemistry is there, the emotion is there. Their reunions are always the highlights of the games. There just hasn’t been enough shared screentime, and the two of them desperately need more of it for their romance to develop believably.

I’d even argue that Sora’s feelings have been demonstrated well. There’s no doubt about how he feels about Kairi; he sacrificed his life for her in KH1, Xion looks like her because of how much she means to him; Naminé replaced his memories of her with memories of Naminé because Naminé knew she was the most important person to him, he can’t wake up in KH2 until he has his memories of her back, etc., etc. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say the plots of two entire KH games (COM and Days) have been centered around how much she means to him.

It’s more on Kairi’s end that I want to see more about what Sora means to her, and it’ll help if she has more screentime. Especially if she’s playable. That being said, I don’t want her to only think and talk about Sora; she needs to have just as much depth as he does. Let her interact with other people and have friends of her own, just like Sora has friends of his own. Her growing friendship with Lea is promising, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried that that’s going to center completely around Xion, given Xion’s popularity with the Japanese fans. I’m worried Lea won’t value Kairi for Kairi, instead the audience will just constantly be reminded of how much Kairi reminds him of Xion instead of treating Kairi like her own person.

I mean, c’mon, she’s the original! Without her Xion wouldn’t even look like she does! Naminé wouldn’t exist! Sora wouldn’t have needed to sacrifice himself to save her in the first place, so Roxas wouldn’t either, for that matter. For a series so big on how special and unique every heart is, no matter how it came into existence, it’s kind of shooting yourself in the foot if you treat one of the original main characters as lesser than the people she helped create! 

To be fair, though, that’s more just my concerns, and we don’t know how things will actually play out in the game, so I’ll reserve further judgment until then.

But I actually have hope that we will see Kairi and Sora interacting more in this game, mainly because of this:

“Destinies intertwine, and an oath becomes power” - combined with the quote about a new charm that seems to imply Kairi will be giving Sora some sort of leveled up version of her good luck charm, if not a completely new one, and my guess is that they will talk at least once before the final battle. Hopefully during the battle and after the battle as well. I have a hunch that even if Kairi is not playable, she might very well be a party member along with Riku for the final world.

And I am really excited about that. That screenshot above at least is proof that they’ll have time alone together to talk, which is in and of itself huge! The last time they were alone together was in KH1. Even in KH2 other people were present for their reunions. Alone time like this is a sign of something special, make no mistake about that :) (Edit to add: and no, I don’t think this is proof that Riku is dead. Riku exists outside of their relationship, and they exist outside of their relationship with Riku. He’s a good friend and knows when to give them their space, that’s all. Riku is also the deuteragonist of the series and it would make little sense to kill him off in a game that seems like it’s going to be all about saving and restoring people, but that could be an entire post of its own and I’ll leave things as they are for now). 

Anyway, this got really long-winded, but yes, I’m hoping Kairi is the other playable character too, because I want her to get the screentime and development she deserves.

Thanks for the ask!

[zuzu-reacts]

#76: Tempo - EXO

I came to the realization recently that I did a reaction to Love Shot, but I didn’t do one for Tempo... Which is absurd because I loved Love Shot but Tempo was my BOP and I had PLENTY to say about it. So I’m here today to rectify that and share my thoughts with you darlings.

Enjoy~

⚠️contains spoilers⚠️

A moment to appreciate Chen’s angelic vocals

Mood

Since SM did our boy dirty, I will be taking the liberty of screenshotting every moment, even split second when Lay appears for this reaction so we get (somewhat) sufficient Yixing content... you’re welcome.

Of course, EXO isn’t EXO unless they got some VICIOUS hip thrusts and body rolls

Whose BRIGHT idea was it to put Kai in a crop top?

Byun Baekhyun is a fucking work of ART okay and that’s the tea

Kim Minseok Imma need you to not

Who even allows Sehun? Cuz I am TiReD of his rude ass

Suho is the #1 EXO Daddy, don’t fight me on this.

Plus with him dressed like that and saying “babygirl” that’s just fueling it. $uDaddy is out and thriving bih.

All of EXO’s hips are illegal. Every single one of them.

First of all who the FUCK gave Chanyeol blue contacts because you can fight me bish I feel ATTACKED

Second of all, don’t look at me like that unless you gonna start something

And third, YOU TRYNA START SOMETHING BY SAYING THAT PARK CHANYEOL AND I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW I HAVE A BIAS THAT I WILL REMAIN LOYAL TO

Y’all ain’t slick SM, just let them say “don’t fuck it up for me” and move on. We’re all adults here

Seems accurate. This song did steal my heart.

Listen Baekhyun is technically not even my bias (he’s my CBX bias, but not my ot9 bias) but he can get it.

I want to do some very sinful things to you Baekhyun. Choose your words wisely.

Somebody come collect PCY’s rude ass because I am tired of him

Don’t you “baby girl” me

Yixing stans how we feeling tonight?

Underappreciated is how we feeling. @ SM fight me

Just let them say “fuck” dammit they’re full grown. Everyone’s already seen that clip of Chanyeol saying “shit”. Baekhyun deadass spoke about Sehun’s dick on Knowing Bros. Kyungsoo straight up said “motherfucker” on national television. They should be allowed a curse or two or five in a song.

I was intending to pause on this split second anyways but I just randomly paused it cuz I dropped something and it somehow timed perfectly on it

Anyways look at my Daddy Kai

Because I believe in equality, Minseok stans Imma give y’all your split second shot too

This shot looks mildly terrifying but I promised a screenshot of every Yixing scene and dammit I’m gonna deliver. My boy deserves better

For the Jongdae stans

For the Kyungsoo stans

Also unless SM pulled a fast one on me, I’m pretty sure that was the last of the boys in the split second shots around this timestamp

preferably Chanyeol’s... or Kai’s... or Baek- you know what actually any of them. I ain’t picky.

:)

>:(

Kyungsoo’s vocals y’all.... don’t ever sleep on ‘em

....hol’ up

...

...why does that part feel like a personal call out to stans (like me) who always be switching lanes? I can explain-

I want someone to look at me the way Jongin looks at that piano key...

I want Jongin to look at me the way he looks at that piano key.

Welp, now we have another picture to use when making “I miss ot9″ posts

There you go

Kai and his dancing are like the butter to my toast

:)

And that was all my thoughts on Tempo. SM need to stop clowning around and doing Yixing dirty like this. Our baby deserves the world.

Anyways, hope you guys liked it. Lemme know what you guys think, if you can relate and what you wanna see me react to next. I post new reactions every weekday. 

Peace, love and prosperity to you all. Byeeee~!

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

My thoughts on Infinity War and Spider-Man’s role within it.

Yeah obviously SPOILERS

tl:dr version: It’s great but there are some problems, mostly in regards to it as an adaptation but there are some problems even taken on it’s own. Spider-Man’s better than he was in Homecoming but there are still fundamentally broken aspects to his character

Longer version:

Brolin and Saldana’s performances were utterly stellar. Like everyone did a great job but they were on another level. The Thanos/Gamora relationship was just perfect, closely followed by Wanda and Vision’s romance (WHY won’t Marvel just let them be together again in the comics!).

 The action was also just great with my personal favourite being Captain America and his team’s first appearance.

 I don’t think the action scenes were up there with the best stuff from Avengers Assemble or Civil War, but there was nothing wrong with it...well....except maybe one thing but I’ll get there in a minute.

 The Russo’s also, much like in Civil War and as Whedon did with both prior Avengers films, performed a master class in balancing out a truly MASSIVE amount of characters.

 Yes some characters got a lot more play and focus than others (Iron Man edged out Captain America, small wonder since this movie was kind of celebrating the 10th anniversary of his movie) but the amount of play each character got felt appropriate to the story being told. Like T’Challa wasn’t as focussed upon and didn’t really have a big moment in comparison to Iron Man but then again Iron Man was the guy who literally had PTSD due to the Battle of New York and that was Thanos’ fault. Also it’s appropriate given how Thanos was originally an Iron Man villain.

 There was also plenty of laugh out loud moments, especially when it came to the Guardians. In fact credit to the Russo’s they did a wonderful job of keeping the Guardians consistent with Gunn’s portrayals of them.

 Now...that cannot be said of every character. Tony Stark I felt was consistent with their take on him from Civil War but along with that movie’s rendition of him leant more towards the serious side of things than Whedon’s portrayals of him or his characterization in his solo trilogy.

But I also do not regard that as a bad thing. One of my frustrations with the MCU, especially in Phase 3 has been that they don’t take things seriously enough and undermine the characters and drama with too much humour at times.

 This is the root of my profoundly mixed feelings on Thor: Ragnarok. It IS hilarious. It’s funny and fun. But also extremely inconsistent with the other Thor films and to be blunt a downright insulting portrayal of the rich almost Lord of the Rings level high fantasy world of the Asgardians. Thor is far from devoid of humour of course but primarily he’s a high fantasy noble warrior and that’s tonally played straight. So when you have him bumbling around or facing off against Jeff Goldblum playing a character practically designed to be an internet meme it’s really going against the spirit of the character.

 As far as I am concerned MCU Thor, whilst likable enough in his own right, has yet to really nail the character. However Infinity War at least course corrected this somewhat following Ragnarok. Infinity War’s Thor is still comedic but he is also somewhat tortured and a real bad ass at various moments. However the price of this was essentially entirely undermining Ragnarok’s ending. It reads as though the Russo’s were blowing a raspberry at Waititi, much as Rian Johnson’s Last Jedi did to Abrams’ Force Awakens movie. I’m less upset about it though because all the Asgardians I gave a damn about were casually killed off in Ragnarok anyway and that movie screwed over Thor’s mythos anyway.

 I’m hoping this clean slate approach could maybe lead to a second attempt at getting Thor right but I dunno if that’s likely.

 Another character who was treated with more respect and was just over all more on point than in their solo movie was Doctor Strange.

 THIS was the Doctor Strange we were promised in his 2016 movie. The MASTER of the Mystic Arts and the dude in CHARGE of the magical stuff on Earth. Along with his absolute lack of slapstick bullshit this more competent portrayal of Doctor Strange was an infinitely better reflection of the classic Ditko character than his own movie.

 Finally as I touched on above Thanos himself needs to be lauded. He is easily one of the three best MCu villains ever. Loki, Killmonger and him compete for the top spot. His motivation is interesting unto itself and in a perverse way even sympathetic. His character has actual layers (not to the level of other great comic book villains admittedly but they exist) and in a very real sense this is HIS movie moreso than anyone else.

 Okay that’s all the good stuff that comes to mind...what about the stuff I didn’t like.

 Well whilst the humour was more finely balanced with everything else in this movie in comparison to say Ragnarok (which was a comedic action movie, not an action movie with comedic moments in it) or the slapstick bullshit that was Homecoming and Doctor Strange, there was still a little too much in there at least for me.

 I laughed for sure but it still felt a bit too ‘this is a Marvel movie so we need to have humour moments because that’s part of our brand don’t ya know!’. In particular Wong and Doctor Strange mentioning talking about ice cream in the middle of the discussion about Thanos’ impending invasion of Earth was way too far. Even if it wasn’t specifically Doctor Strange in that scene it was just stupid that we needed to cram a joke like that in a scene that realistically shouldn’t be there.

 Another of the admittedly few problems with the movie was that the Infinity Stones’ abilities were rather vaguely defined. Like...what exactly DOES the power stone do? What are the limits of the Time Stone? Because in Doctor Strange it seemed to be able to turn back all of time but in this movie Wanda kills Vision by destroying his Infinity Stone and then Thanos beats her up. He proceeds to reverse time so HE can get Vision’s stone but Wanda remains beaten. So...can he localize the effects of the Time Stone...apparently.

 This becomes kind of a plot hole considering a major point of the movie was his need to kill Gamora in order to attain the Soul Stone. But if he can reverse Time...why couldn’t he just go back in time and save her?

 Things get even more screwy because the Reality Stone enables him to apparently WARP reality. At first it seems like he can just cast convincing illusions. But no...he literally turns Drax into stone and makes Star-Lord’s gun shoot bubbles.

 He can warp reality.

 But if he can do that...why does he need the other Stones at all? Why is Gamora’s death a big deal because he could just warp reality in order to bring her back couldn’t he? Hell why did he struggle at all in ANY of his battles with the Avengers/Guardians?

 I’m not saying there is no way to explain this stuff (e.g. that he needs a certain degree of concentration to maintain his alterations to reality) but the movie needs to GIVE them to us.

 My final bone of contention would be the changes to Thanos’ character. I’m no Thanos expert but even I know the character’s drive is his romantic feelings for Death. If you didn’t know in the Marvel Universe Death is literally a sentient Cosmic entity that can adopt various forms, most commonly that of a woman.

That is how Thanos sees her and he is literally in love with her. He kills people to please her. THAT is the reason he is known as Thanos the MAD Titan.

In this movie though his motivation is to kill half of the universe’s population because the universe only has a finite amount of resources thus less people, the more people can live happily off those resources.

Like I said it’s an interesting and in a warped way sympathetic motivation.

He doesn’t hate anyone, he isn’t evil he has looked at the problem and come up with a coldly pragmatic solution...Kinda...

I guess you could just handwave this on him being so deranged as to honestly commit to murdering half of everyone alive but when you think about it his plan doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

I mean for starters killing half of everyone is a temporary solution at best. Once upon a time there were less people alive then there are today so those numbers will go BACK up given time?

Was his plan to just keep the numbers down whenever they get too big?

Secondly if his argument is that resources are finite so there needs to be less people in order to consume those resources well...that doesn’t really fix the problem. Because those finite resources are still going to be consumed, it will just take twice as long.

And what about places for whom those resources are already mostly depleted so the half who have survived can’t make that much use of them anyway?

How about those planets that are actually SO over populated that their resources are still not enough to support even half the population?

Then you have the fact that if Thanos can warp reality to the point where clicking his fingers kills half of everyone in the universe couldn’t he just snap his fingers and DOUBLE the resources for everyone?

Couldn’t he just create like more planets with more resources and more space for everyone?

See the ‘half of everyone alive are gone’ thing IS directly from the original Infinity Gauntlet storyline but in that story it didn’t raise these questions because the entire reason he killed half of everyone was because he was trying to impress Death.

I know, I know. The movie’s motivation is an easier concept to grasp and easier to sell to a mass audience than ‘Death literally looks like a woman to him and he wants to make sweet love with her’.

At the same time...it’s SUCH a bold and strong idea that it’s honestly far more original and striking than the motive this movie gave him.

More importantly though in removing that motive they kind of...eviscerated the foundation of Thanos.

Like if you are doing an adaptation of Thanos the ONE thing you need to do is have him be in love with Death.

That is literally the thing his whole character revolves around.

To not do that is to essentially just do an uber powerful purple alien who can take down whole hordes of super heroes and has the trappings of Thanos.

Like I said I like the move and I liked Thanos in it but at the same time it was a really bad portrayal of him.

Speaking of which...

Let’s talk Spider-Man

...Sigh...god dammit...

Look not much new to say.

Spider-Man in this movie much like his other MCU appearances is defined by his youth and his relationship to Stark.

The character can be summed up as ‘the young inexperienced kid hero who’s a pseudo son to Tony Stark’.

THAT is who MCU Peter Parker is.

That is also fundamentally NOTHING like who Peter Parker is!

How badly did they lean on this take on him though?

They leaned on this take on him so badly that Doctor Strange LITERALLY asked if he was Tony Stark’s ward. The film makers LITERALLY referenced how they’ve turned Spider-Man into a pseudo Robin to Iron Man’s Batman.

They also had Spidey cry and wimper at the prospect of dying.

This is something I’m conflicted over.

On the one hand if Spider-Man is the everyman, the hero who could be you, his ability to feel fear, especially over his own demise, should make such an portrayal of him permissible right?

Well...yes and no.

First of all the overwhelming majority of the time whenever Spider-Man truly believes himself to be facing what seems to be inevitable death he’s NOT acted that way. In ASM #40 he was at the mercy of the Goblin and even stated he wasn’t afraid to die. YES he was older than MCu Spider-Man but he was 19 vs 15. It’s not that big of a difference frankly.

But okay even if we ignore that we have Ultimate Peter Parker, whom MCU Spidey is clearly more based upon than the 616 version, definitely NOT acting that way during the Death of Spider-man story arc.

But honestly I think my problem with the scene (apart from him dying in Stark’s arms to further beat you over the head with the fact that he is Tony’s ‘son’) was kind of my problem with Superman murdering Zod in Man of Steel.

It’s not that you can’t have that happen but it’s when you are having it happen.

In Man of Steel it was an origin movie and the first movie to establish that version of Superman.

What this means is that we needed to see Clark become Superman but also have Superman be as definitively Superman and do the usual Superman stuff as much as possible. This is also why the Dawn of Justice version of Batman didn’t work. You can say it’s Batman at the end of his rope all you want but that doesn’t mean anything if we haven’t seen what Batman is NORMALLY like.

You need to establish the default setting for the characters, what their typical personalities are like and then you can push the envelope with stuff like that.

With Spider-Man because they’ve leant so hard on the ‘HE’S YOUNG’ thing and had him cry and whimper in Homecoming’s climax as well as this movie’s climax (which are 2 of his 3 appearances so far) it’s served to push that this is part of the ‘default’ setting for MCU Spider-Man.

MCU Spider-Man cries and whimpers as a child would. Which is not something that’s wrong  to do with Spider-Man’s character especially in context of these movies...but it IS wrong to do them at such significant moments so early in his existence to the point where it is essentially the default setting.

Spider-Man does not TYPICALLY act that way but MCU Spider-Man now DOES. It also undermines Homecoming’s climax as wasn’t that moment supposed to show Peter growing beyond that?

Hell as the trailer revealed he becomes an Avenger in this movie the very thing he REJECTED as part of his character arc at the end of Homecoming. WTF?

One some positive notes though he was not AS bad as he was in Homecoming, he had a clever plan at one point, was a FAR more competent fighter than in his own movie and the Iron Spider Suit’s inclusion surprisingly didn’t undermine the ending of Homecoming. I and everyone else suspected he would go against his decision at the end of Homecoming and accept the new suit Stark made for him in light of Thanos’ threat. But what actually happened was that Stark essentially forced him into the suit to save his life. And whilst that again undermines Spidey by making him Tony’s child, it at least avoids invalidating his rejection of the suit in Homecoming.

Over all I give the movie a solid A as a movie and like a solid B as an adaptation...except for the Spider-Man parts. Fuck those they get a D.

P.S. I feel my inner nerd needs to point out that this movie as an adaptation is actually a fusion (to varying degrees) of mostly FOUR different stories.

It takes the name from the Infinity War storyline but (much like Age of Ultron) the name is the only thing it really takes.

As most people know the movie is based upon the 1990s crossover event (back when those were less common and usually less atrociously awful) Infinity Gauntlet.

However since a significant chunk of the movie is spent upon Thanos’ acquisition of the infinity stones the movie is actually also a (very, very loose) adaptation of the Thanos Quest storyline which was the lead in story to Infinity Gauntlet.

It also took a not insignificant amount of inspiration from Jonathan Hickman’s Infinity storyline, which was Marvel’s annual event story for 2013.

At the time it’s likely that story was done to merely capitalize upon Thanos’ tease from the post-credits scene in Avengers Assemble the previous year.

Now though I’m wondering if it might have been used to generate prototype concepts for the Infinity War movie to play with.

Thanos invading Wakanda is straight out of Infinity as are (unless I am mistaken) ALL of Thanos’ henchmen. Proxima Midnight, Black Maw, Supergiant, Korvus Glaive, his foot soldiers. They’re all specifically from that story. Also fun fact I essentially had to skim that entire event for my first day and my new job in 2016.

Obviously there are other little aspects taken from other Marvel stories too, like the new Spider suit is inspired by the Iron Spider suit that originally had nothing to do with any given Thanos story.

[neingel]

Amonkhet Commander Review: Part 2

And a warm welcome back to the 2nd part of this Commander review. Amonkhet thus far has been quite an impressive set to me, and in this 2nd part of the article, we’ll be going through the remaining colors: Green,Multicolor, Artifacts and the lands of the set as well.

Green

Vizier of the Menagerie

First card off today’s write-up is the new Vizier. Just looking at that relatively derpy Naga is funny, but many have compared him to cards like Garruk’s Horde or Courser of Kruphix as a strong Green utility card in Commander. Vizier however is a 3/4 for 4, making him easy to cast and with a well-abled body. I would like to see him more in multi-color decks tho, where players with creature heavy decks such as Maelstrom Wanderer would be able to properly utilize him. Strong card overall with powerful potential in the format.

Harvest Season

Harvest Season is potentially powerful in Commander, where ramp effects are plentiful that work with some decks that want to put many lands into play at once or just simply have a ton of mana to cast huge cards from their deck. Harvest Season is very very powerful at 3 mana, providing a tapped basic for each tapped creature you control? Sure thing for almost any Mono-Green deck and bi-colored deck. It does forces you to play aggressively or find some way to tap a good amount of your creatures, something Green excels in Commander. Powerful card overall and definitely will see good amounts of play.

Champion of Rhonas

Champion of Rhonas is another toy Green has to play with, but I foresee it’ll definitely be better when splashed. Due to the fact that having an uncounterable, free creature into play is definitely powerful when it’s a 3/3 for 4, it can carry the game on it’s own if left unanswered. It also acts well with tutors, allowing you to “cheat” 2 times at once, searching for the creature and playing it for free.

Mouth//Feed

Mouth//Feed is definitely a very common effect in Commander, Mouth gives a 3/3 Hippo token early game, while Feed is more likely to be used later in the mid-late game. Feed however, is very low costed for what it does, drawing cards equal to the number of creatures you control. Green has plenty of creature-draw effects but are usually costing in ranges of cmc 5-7. Feed is the same cost as Harmonize, but does much much more to it’s counterpart. This is a fine example of a card I really can’t wait to play soon.

Manglehorn

And the last Green card on the list is actually really good at Uncommon. Manglehorn has been seen by many to be the answer to one of Standard’s biggest problems at the moment, Mardu Vehicles. It is however full of value at a 3 costed creature in Commander, being able to come down early/cheap to destroy any artifact is definitely useful, but the fact that it has a “Blind Obedience” effect specifically for artifacts is something not very common in Green, but many players would see this replacing the more commonly seen artiifact removal. Bye Reclamation Sage and say Hello to Manglehorn :>

Multicolor

Before we go into showing my Top 5 picks for Multicolor, I have to say that there are many powerful Multicolor cards in the set, I would like to mention them all but there simply isn’t a way to go through each and everyone of them. I’ll probably try to squeeze similar ones into a group and try to talk about them as a whole. However, I would include some Legendary creatures in this section.

Nissa, Steward of Elements

The new Nissa does have a slight twist. First off, it’s the first time seeing her in multicolors compared to the regular Nissa we all know staying Mono-Green with the passing of every new set, secondly, this new version of Nissa is also particularly unique as she’s the first Planeswalker with an optional casting cost of X. meaning she’ll be able to come into play with any desired amount of loyalty counters depending on how much the player is willing to cast her for. Abilities aside, it’s typical Nissa with a small hint of Blue(Scry 2) as well as the usual land/creature dig and animation of lands into 5/5s. Many have already noticed how strong she’ll be in the Atraxa Superfriends build, where you can cast her with X on 0 but she’ll come in with an extra loyalty counter instead, keeping her alive and using her abilities straightaway. Definitely a very strong utility Planeswalker guaranteed to see play.

The new Split cards

I’ve only put a few of the new multicolor Split cards here, but the others not mentioned here are still viable in one way or another. Failure//Comply reminds me a lot of Unsubstantiate, except slightly worse with the fact that it can’t return creatures. Comply does feel kinda like Orim’s Chant but not as good as you would think. Not bad overall though. Rags//Riches is probably my favorite among the 3 shown here, Rags is slightly worse when compared to Yahenni’s Expertise but it does get the job done sometimes, while Riches is value late game when creatures are scarce on the board and everyone is out of resources. Lastly, Heaven//Earth is very reminiscent of Firespout, although somewhat similar in dealing with both flying and non-flying creatures, Heaven//Earth is better in Commander due to the fact that any amount of mana can be used on it either mode. Making it a very flexible card. 

Bounty of Luxa

Bounty of Luxa might seem like a huge mouthful of words at first, but it does so much at the cost of 4 mana! When first played, it’ll give you an extra card every alternate turn or give you 3 mana(in Simic colors) every other turn. Meaning if you played it on say..Turn 4, you’ll get the extra draw on Turn 5 and the mana on Turn 6. The cycle would then repeat itself providing both much needed card/mana advantage. I love this card and would like to get it in my Maelstorm Wanderer deck soon.

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons 

Hapatra is the first Legendary of this whole 2 part article. Hapatra actually caught my attention at first as a general, where she’s low costed and that she required to work with -1/-1 counters. While that seems like a downside, there have been quite a few creatures/card support for -1/-1 counters, combine that with what Amonkhet and possibly Hour of Devastation might offer. Hapatra will probably be on many brewer’s radar for the upcoming months.

Samut, Voice of Dissent

And lastly, we have Samut. Who seems extremely decent on paper with her stars, I mean 5cmc Flasher, with a host of abilities such as Double Strike,Vigilance and Haste! She also is able to untap another creature for a measly cost of 1 White mana. Though being Naya colored normally means big creatures, Samut is able to fit in a Voltron shell perfectly due to the amount of abilities she already has even without equipment/auras on her. A bomb in Limited and sure to see some Commander play as a general or in the 99.

 Artifacts 

Pyramid of the Pantheon

Pyramid was probably one of the first cards that caught my attention during the spoiler season. Easily played on Turn 1, it fixes mana for you while adding brick counters onto itself. The second ability is very reminiscent of Mana Vault or Gilded Lotus, being able to tap for 3 mana of any color at the cost of 1 is extremely powerful ability in Commander. For such a low cost, despite it not being as powerful as Mana Vault/Crypt, it will definitely see play in most decks in time to come.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh

Throne is a good example of the strong, low-costed artifacts in this set. For only 2 mana, Throne could represent a rather speedy clock for your opponents the moment it’s played on Turn 1/2. It leans towards aggressive decks with creatures that want to turn sideways at your opponents or in any creature heavy deck that involves creatures tapping for other purposes such as mana or milling. I can’t wait to try this out when the new tribal commanders release around August :)

Embalmer’s Tools

Embalmer’s Tools might seem underwhelming at first, due to the fact where it would fit in a Zombie deck only. However, it’s first ability is actually very useful especially for graveyard decks, making activated abilities cost 1 less could mean Unearth and other abilities costing slightly lesser-which is pretty nice. Other than that, Zombie decks would love this card, having a somewhat Altar of Dementia effect is nice when you don’t need to sacrifice your own creatures.

The God’s Monuments

This new cycle of artifacts is really really cool, aimed towards mono-colored decks and encouraging the casting of creatures. Each Monument “de-taxes” creature cost, while providing a special effect for casting a creature spell, with each monument having it’s own unique ability. An interesting take by the design team that I’m sure will follow up in Commander as a staple for mono-colored creature decks soon.

Oracle’s Vault

Oracle’s Vault as from what I can recall, gave a bad impression to many players when Wizards announced it was the promo card for Prerelease and Launch Day. While I could understand why it was chosen as the promo card, it doesn’t seem that bad in Commander at all. Especially when it hits 3 brick counters, things could go out of control pretty fast with the help of Paradox Engine. There isn’t a whole lot going for this card but it does show a lot of potential seeing how players could find ways to break this card.

Lands

Aside from the full-art lands in the set, there are a few lands worth noting potential play in Commander.

“Bicycle” Lands

Despite their odd name, the Bicycle lands were a good decision by Wizards to help manabases in Standard. They are pretty useful in Commander too as they are fetchable and have the ability to cycle themselves. Wished the cycle was complete but this is pretty good for what we could’ve asked for.

Cascading Cataracts 

#betterthancrystalquarry

Nothing much to say here...I’ll just leave this picture here:

Conclusion

Amonkhet does seem like a very promising set thus far, though many are slightly disappointed due to it’s lower EV(Expected Value). It’s too early to say much about it, what I do know however is that the cards in here are going to see some good play in Commander and guaranteed much more fun now that Leovold is banned. I hope you’ve enjoyed this 2 part article series so far! As I’m guaranteed to do this for upcoming sets/releases of new products. Stay tuned for the next article, until next time!

[arrthurpendragon]

Your writing is amazing!!!!! It's nor bad at all. I will fight anyone who hates on Lydia especially! Any chance we can get a spoiler for the next chapter of "Of Love and War"?

D’awwww!!!! It was a terrible dream! haha.  Thanks for all your support, friend! :)

Spoiler?  Hmmm....how about the fact that the flashback is gonna be Ben/Lyddie at a dance paralleling what the dance with Andre.  I’ll even show you what I have written so far (which isn’t much):

Lydia sat at a vanity in front of the mirror fussing with her hair.  She wanted it to be perfect for tonight.  She was in New Haven for Ben’s graduation from Yale.  He had invited her to accompany him to the dance for a night of well-mannered frivolity to celebrate Yale’s commencement.  Of course, she had been eager to accept but she had to figure out a way for her father to allow her to travel without him, not raising suspicion.  To her delight, Richard Woodhull had agreed that Lydia could be allowed to visit cousins in Massachusetts.  

What he did not know, however, was that she planned on spending a few days in New Haven for the festivities.  Lydia knew it was wrong to lie and deceive, but she had no other way to go about things, especially things concerning Benjamin.  Lydia had given her heart to that boy long ago and she knew she would never get it back.  She assuaged her guilt knowing that she eventually would be meeting her family, albeit a few days late.  It was the only way.  So she simply had sent a letter to her Massachusetts relatives telling them to meet her at a later date than her father thought she was meeting them.  As much as she hated to admit it, Lydia was growing fairly skilled in the art of deception.

Things had been arranged for Lydia to share a room with Missus Tallmadge while Reverend Tallmadge shared a room with his sons.  The Tallmadges were fully aware of Lydia and Ben’s predicament and her father’s stern disapproval.  They, on the other hand, thought the couple to be a good match.  But Lydia could not even bring herself to tell them of her deceit against her father.  Ben was the only one who knew the truth.  He had not chastised her, so she could only hope that he did not wholly disapprove of her methods.

Lydia smiled and then pinched her cheeks to give them a rosier appearance.  She played with the curls that hung at the side of her head, still smiling.  She was glad to be able to spend the evening with Ben.  She saw very little of him during his time at Yale, but his letters always kept her pining and yearning.  Every time she saw him, she wondered if he might decide to end things with her. That perhaps while at Yale he had found someone else.  Someone smarter, prettier, better suited for him... But tonight, she did not have that doubt.  

Tonight she just looked forward to an evening with him, hoping that maybe he might finally make good on his promise to her and propose marriage.  They had talked of it plenty of times, but he had still yet to formally ask.  Not that her father would ever allow such a thing.  Although, she hoped that he would, because it was still years yet before she could marry without the blessing of her father without eloping.  While it was generally looked down upon in society, Lydia wasn’t completely adverse to eloping.  Not if it meant she could be wed to Benj.

Then some random dialogue that will likely go in not connected yet:

“What  are you doing here?  You know you’re not supposed to be here.  What if we’re seen?”

Lydia shook her head. “And to think people think you’re a well-mannered, responsible, proper gentleman.”

Ben smirked. “You know better.”

“Can’t I get just one little…”

“Out,” Lydia giggled pushing him away.  “I don’t want to get caught.

“Later.  And if you don’t leave now, Benjamin Tallmadge you won’t be getting any kisses from me tonight.”

[sparda3g]

Review Devilman Crybaby please!

I didn’t review it but since I still have my file about the series, I can share that with you if that’s okay.

I enjoyed this anime as the next person. It’s one of thefirst series that people couldn’t stop talking about it and I can see why. Butaside from that scene, I thought it was just decent. Akira is a weak and acrybaby. One day, his childhood friend Ryou asks for his help in uncoveringdevils, which Akira accepts it. However, to his surprise, the place is Sabbath,filled with demons possesses humans, causing a havoc. In order to save Ryou,Akira merges with the devil Amon and becomes a Devilman, gaining the power tofight demons. After the incident, he joins forces with Ryou to destroy demonsthat threaten the humanity and their loved ones.

This series is an adaptation or retelling of the old classicDevilman by Go Nagai. There are many changes that have to be modernized,including the use of social media and current technology, as well ascharacters’ designs. With that said I have read the manga, so seeing MasakiYuasa version with his input was refreshing. However, there were many missedopportunities, even without any comparison.

The characters started off promising, even if Akira’saltered personality is too explicit for the sake of expose changes. There areside characters that get some decent amount of focus, including the henchmen.One in which actually has a good build-up to the fateful path, which left meimpressed and somewhat sympathetic. Miki, the love interest, is nearly a polaropposite of her manga’s counterpart. The original is basically the old age of awoman doing nothing but be a love interest. This version is more outgoing andsupportive, which I find myself enjoying and backing her up for her courageousmoment, especially in a series dealing with demons. Sadly, the characters beginto falter half way through the series.

Around the last half, the pacing becomes uneven. Because ofit, the characters that have an ongoing interesting character’s arc have torush to their endgame development. It’s like the director just remember he’sadapting Devilman and wanted to stay faithful to the original, so he wants toadapt the final story arc. The problem is whether he only had 10 episodes towork with or didn’t plan perfectly, the end result felt crammed in. Therefore,the payoff isn’t nearly as rewarding or made sense as where it once promisedleading to.

Akira the protagonist suffers from the pacing as well. Itdidn’t expand enough time to give me a reason to believe his friendship withRyou. It portrayed to be strong, caring, and genuine, yet I never felt thatsensation. It also doesn’t help that he rarely gets any development until thevery end. The problem could be the length. If you were to watch the serieswithout knowing the amount of episodes, you would think the series is takingits time to develop the world and characters. Once the finale kicks in, ithappens way too quickly; makes you wonder if it got cancelled.

There’s a theme about war, but I won’t go into great detail.It’s not bad here, but there’s plenty of suspension of disbelief that you haveto accept. I know, “Anime with suspension of disbelief,” who knew. There’s alimit and this one pretty much asking a little too much, which is saying a lotfor this type of series. Also, it is clear as day on the message, while themanga’s version was more subtle yet delivered it more powerful.

The art and animation is pretty good. The exotic scenes canbe unnecessary since it doesn’t serve a purpose; just there to show how kinkyit is I guess. I don’t mind the bizarre designs of demons though. The art stylemay not be for everyone’s taste, but I like it, even with that odd runninganimation. The finale does make up for the disappointing aspects with the greatcinematic climax and battle. Personally, I like the second last episode overthe last.

I can see why people went crazy over this. I think the endingis something people don’t see often or believe it is new, which is ironic tosay the least. While I do get the value, I always feel mixed about it, butsince this is not a spoiler territory, I’ll just end it here. Overall, it’s adecent series. I like the action, the changes to the characters, especiallyMiki, some of the highlighted moments, and the final story arc, because howcrazy it gets. But the flaws are noticeable and hard to bypass. The charactersfall short, the pacing is uneven, some of the moments don’t add up, and thetheme, while good, isn’t as strong as the original. It’s a mixed bag, but Idon’t mind watching it again. Take it for what it’s worth.