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purpleheartskies · 5 months

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Kreese, Johnny, Robby, and the cycle of generational trauma

This post talks about Robby's ultimate goal of breaking the cycle of generational trauma that is being passed down to him from Kreese and Johnny. The post goes into Johnny's Hero's Journey a bit. (The Hero's Journey is a story structure and a character transformation arc in a story. I want to do a proper post about Johnny's Hero's Journey, but I may wait until after s6 to do so. Explanations below that are about certain stages in the Hero's Journey are in blue font.) Note, the post contains spoilers for s6!

Since s3, I've been really interested in the Kreese-Johnny-Robby storyline because it's about most of the generational trauma that is in Johnny and Robby's story. (s4e4 also touched on Johnny having his bio dad's things after he had abandoned Johnny and on Robby mentioning that Johnny once leaving behind a VHS movie was the only reminder he had for months that Johnny existed.) The ending of s3 also seemed to open up the possibility of Johnny starting to truly redeem himself. Now, if you follow my posts, you know that I believe there is a difference between writers not knowing how to do storytelling versus writers making decisions that I don't like for characters and characters' journeys. Yes, I did not like where the writers have gone with Johnny and Johnny's story, but I also don't believe that that means the writers don't know what they're doing as storytellers. These are just the decisions they have made for his character. They didn't have him start growing in s4 or s5. Instead, they had him stay the same in general and get worse wrt Robby. Anyway...

At the end of s3, Johnny started the Ordeal stage in his Hero's Journey. About the Ordeal:

Things go wrong and added conflict is introduced. The hero experiences more difficult hurdles and obstacles, some of which may lead to a life crisis. Usually involves looking in a mirror, literally or metaphorically. Can include being pushed to their limit until their identity is shattered or they face death or their greatest fear, and their essence (greatest flaw) is revealed. The hero also faces his shadow (his greatest villain) and reaches his goal. The goal itself does not satisfy the hero's deepest need.

Johnny faced his "shadow" (greatest villain) Kreese and looked in his "mirror" Robby. He was confronted by both his past/present with Kreese and his past/present with Robby. Kreese had inserted himself into Robby's life behind Johnny's back. Of course, Johnny's knee-jerk reaction was to blame Robby, "Robby, what are you doing here?" when he found Robby with Kreese, despite knowing that Kreese is a manipulative brainwasher. Kreese then told Johnny that he wanted them to become the 3 generations of Cobra Kai, and Robby told Johnny to listen to Kreese because Kreese wants what's best for Johnny. Kreese would always tell Johnny that he wants what's best for Johnny when Kreese is trying to manipulate Johnny. I've always believed that Robby wasn't manipulated by Kreese in this moment but was just playing along with Kreese. After all, Robby didn't trust anyone anymore and knew when he met Kreese in juvie that Kreese was using different manipulation tactics against him. (Robby's responses to Kreese in that scene indicate so.) Anyway, Johnny attacked Kreese after Robby said this. Their fight escalated. Johnny picked up a weapon, and Robby told him "don't do it." Johnny dropped the weapon, tackled Kreese, and started punching Kreese repeatedly while he was on the ground. Robby pulled Johnny away from Kreese, and Johnny tried to tell Robby to listen to him and not to trust Kreese. Robby responded by comparing trusting Kreese to trusting Johnny, indicating that Robby didn't trust either of them. Robby then told Johnny that all those years Johnny wasn't there Robby blamed himself, that Kreese is right that Robby can't be his own worst enemy, and that Johnny can be. Robby then attacked Johnny, who tried his best not to hurt Robby, but Johnny accidentally did. While Johnny was checking if Robby was okay, Kreese attacked Johnny and started strangling him. Daniel then arrived and kicked Kreese off of Johnny. At the end of the fight, after Daniel was stopped from doing more damage to Kreese, Johnny stood next to Daniel, opposite to Kreese, and said that Cobra Kai's gotta go. This was Johnny shedding his identity as "Cobra Kai". Kreese then offered a deal that they settle things with the avt, and Daniel and Johnny accepted. Robby then came out and stood next to Kreese and told Johnny and Daniel to leave. They were simply disappointed and didn't try to stop Robby from staying with Kreese.

What's important about these confrontations for Johnny is that earlier, because of his conversation with Ali, he had decided to move on from his past and focus on his present and future. He decided to move on from Ali. Later, because of these confrontations with Kreese and Robby, Johnny also decided to move on from these relationships as well. It's why in s4 he didn't do anything for Robby and did everything he could to hold onto his relationships with the Diazs, which he now considers his present and future (as he also indicated to Chozen in s5e9). This is also why Johnny dismisses or shuts down any mention (especially by Robby) of his failures with Robby. Johnny wants to move on from the past for his own benefit and believing that he can't make up for it.

In s4, Kreese was easy going with Robby, which Robby knew was to get to Johnny. Silver also made note of this. He knew that Kreese wanted to share his legacy with Johnny and Robby more than Kreese wanted to share it with him. Silver noted to Kreese that Kreese had struck first against Johnny and took his son. Silver also noted to Kreese that he didn't have everything under control, including Robby. Silver decided to take matters into his own hands in s4e8. Silver took advantage of Johnny's weaknesses wrt to Robby. Kreese had figured out in s2 that Johnny neglects Robby, but in s3, Kreese saw for himself that Johnny refused to fight Robby. As viewers, we can doubt whether Johnny actually cares about or loves Robby, but Kreese and Silver do keep trying to use Robby against Johnny. (Although Silver did mention that Miguel would see Johnny's bruises and get thrown off balance, that didn't happen. Instead, Miguel got thrown off balance because Johnny said "I love you too Robby". Also, Silver was trying to use Johnny against Miguel, not the other way around.) Anyway, on prom night, Silver went to the Keene's home, gave Robby his car to borrow, gave Shannon cash, and offered her a job. Shannon recognized this as a red flag and went to Johnny. At first, he focused more on the fact that Robby was going to prom than on what she was saying about Silver. She forced Johnny to pay attention to the Silver part. She told him what Silver had done, why she didn't like it, and that Johnny needed to handle it because it's related to Cobra Kai.

Johnny then went to the CK dojo looking for Silver. Silver called the dojo and taunted Johnny over the phone. When Johnny told Silver to keep his cash and cars away from his son, Silver pointed out that Johnny didn't even know that Robby was going to prom. Silver said that as long as Robby was with him, Silver would take care of him. He also commented about Shannon being a beautiful woman. Silver then lured Johnny into a trap, blindsided him with an attack, and fought him. When Silver got the upperhand and wanted to show Johnny no mercy, Kreese stopped him from doing more and they left Johnny there. By the time, Johnny made it home, Johnny was drunk and in a broken state. No doubt, the experience was an insane one for him. Johnny's turmoil and grief were focused on what he has never been able to do for Robby. All Johnny has wanted to do is be a father to Robby and protect him, but Johnny's traumas and his reliance on his coping mechanisms (his addictions to alcohol and to the validation he feels in his relationship with Miguel) have really impaired his ability to do so. Sadly, despite this experience with Silver, Johnny still did nothing to get Robby back from Silver and Kreese.

I believe the prom night was part of Johnny's Ordeal. (Though, I'm still playing with the analysis of Johnny's Hero's Journey. Because the series is structured like a very long movie, some stages in the characters' Hero's Journeys can span more than one episode, as with Robby's Hero's Journey.) The Ordeal stage takes the character to their lowest state and also reveals the character's greatest flaw and Johnny spoke about some of his flaw: him not being able to be a father to Robby. In s4e7, Johnny had also spoken about how he is passing down generational trauma to Robby:

Johnny: "... I didn't have a male role model growing up. Till I met Kreese, and you know how that went. And I didn't want to be like him. Or Sid. Or my own dad. And I took all that bullshit I felt from them and I put it on Robby's life. I can never fix that."

In s4e10, Kreese and Johnny did talk at the avt, and Kreese told Johnny that Johnny didn't know what Silver was going to do. Kreese told Johnny that he could have been with his "real" son. Johnny said that Kreese doesn't care about Robby any more than Kreese cares about Johnny. Johnny then reminded Kreese that he had forced Johnny to fight dirty and sacrifice his soul so that Cobra Kai could stay number one. Kreese said that that wasn't true and that he wanted Johnny to be number one. Kreese said that Johnny was about to beaten, he was down 2-0, and Kreese knew it would take Johnny into a downward spiral and had been right about that. Kreese went on to say that it does matter whether you win or lose and, if he can help Robby win, Robby will remember it for the rest of his life and maybe Robby can keep Cobra Kai going. Johnny said that that's never gonna happen because Cobra Kai's gonna die that night.

Cobra Kai didn't die that night, though. Kreese had also been wrong about Robby. Kreese had wanted to pass down his legacy to Robby and even tried to, but Robby rejected it soon after he adopted it fully in his fight with Kenny. Robby went to Johnny after the avt and also quit Cobra Kai. Johnny of course had done nothing to protect Robby from Kreese in the first place, nor the whole time Robby had been with Kreese.

In s5e7, Kreese tried to convince Johnny that everything Kreese had done had been for Johnny and that Johnny could still get Cobra Kai back and carry on the legacy. Johnny then said that that is Kreese's legacy and that Johnny's in this fight to erase everything Kreese did, every mark Kreese left, and every memory of Kreese. However, throughout s5, Johnny continued to pass down Kreese's legacy---the generational trauma due to the dysfunctional relationships and the generational trauma due to Cobra Kai. Johnny didn't treat Robby well at all and continued to pass down trauma to Robby due to Johnny's continued dysfunctional behavior with him. Also, although Johnny taught Miguel Kreese's Cobra Kai legacy as well as Johnny's own Cobra Kai legacy called Eagle Fang, Miguel has used this legacy primarily on Robby since s1, attacking him more than once, and this has added to Robby's traumas. Robby's life has been affected negatively by the school fight the most, especially with the consequences and aftermath of the school fight continuing to add to Robby's traumas and to have lasting effects on his relationships, reputation, and present and future prospects. In s5e5, for his own benefit, Johnny told the boys to use a "Johnny classic", aka Cobra Kai, method to resolve the rivalry that is essentially Miguel's rivalry with Robby. Robby clearly didn't want to fight but did so because Miguel agreed to it. Miguel "struck first" and drew blood first. They both "struck hard" then. In the end, Robby stopped fighting back, and Miguel "showed mercy". This fight was meant to mirror the school fight.

Robby has been experiencing the generational trauma through Johnny's behavior and through the Cobra Kai teachings. Kreese's captain had used the teachings on Kreese. Kreese has used the teachings on Johnny. Johnny, through teaching and supporting Miguel and knowing that he uses the teachings against Robby, has essentially been using the teachings on Robby as well. In s4, when Robby used the Cobra Kai teachings on Kenny, Robby immediately regretted it and turned completely against the Cobra Kai teachings. Later, he didn't even join Eagle Fang but chose to join Miyagi-Do. Robby is the cycle breaker! Since Daniel's lessons about finding balance in s1e8 and s1e10, Robby has been trying to overcome his "hate"/trauma and trying to "find balance". He tried using the Miyagi-Do way from s1e10 to s2e10 but failed. He tried to use Cobra Kai to channel his hate into fighting from s3e10 to s4e10 in order to find balance. But, fully adopting Cobra Kai led to him hurting Kenny, which he doesn't want to do. He doesn't want to be like Johnny. He wants to be better than Johnny, like he told Johnny in s4e4. Robby wants to break the cycle of generational trauma, and he has actually been trying to. Whereas Johnny only focuses on how the trauma and his failures with Robby have affected Johnny himself, Robby wants to work on overcoming his trauma so that he doesn't affect others with it.

In s5e10, the juxtaposition of Johnny's and Robby's fight scenes, the parallel of Robby not fighting back against Kenny in the brawl to Johnny not fighting back against Robby in s3e10, and the line that Johnny will screw up another kid---and essentially continue the cycle of generational trauma---are very important.

The only line that acknowledges the reality of Johnny becoming a father again is bookended by these two editing cuts, one of the many subtle, visual reminders throughout the series that Robby is Johnny's son. The statement itself literally tells the audience what to expect if Johnny were to become a father again: Johnny will screw up another kid.

Johnny had left Robby with Johnny's abuser, and that's yet another irredeemable thing Johnny has done to Robby. Robby is a cycle breaker, while Johnny isn't. In s5, the last statement made about Johnny becoming a father again is that Johnny's going to just screw up another kid. Robby in contrast was shown to do more to get Kenny out of Cobra Kai and warn him of the potential dangers of Cobra Kai and Silver. In s5e4, Robby himself went to Kenny and told him that Cobra Kai would turn him into a someone him doesn't want to be. In s5e8, when Kenny approached Robby angrily, Robby discouraged him from giving into his hate and encouraged him to use a Miyagi-Do way to solve his rivalry. In s5e9, Robby went to the Cobra Kai dojo and told the students in front of Silver that Silver is their enemy. Robby looked right at Kenny and said that he has not gone beyond the point of no return and that there is another way (Miyagi-Do). In s5e10, later that day, Robby took part in the plan to take down Silver and made a point to keep trying to talk to Kenny before, during, and after the brawl. Robby didn't try to fight back against Kenny when he attacked him, and Robby also gave Kenny a meaningful look while the video of Silver's confession was playing. Although, Johnny did by chance find Robby with Kreese and tried to tell Robby not to trust Kreese (s3e10), Johnny had done nothing to prove himself or be there for Robby up until that point. Johnny had not built a relationship with Robby and didn't have Robby’s trust. When Robby attacked Johnny, Johnny didn't fight back until he instinctively did and hurt Robby by accident. Johnny did immediately regret it, but he soon after gave up on Robby pretty easily and left Robby with that mark on his head and with Kreese. In all of s4, Johnny did nothing for months afterwards to get Robby away from Kreese. That does indicate to Robby that Johnny as always truly doesn't care about Robby and/or Johnny was lying to Robby about Kreese. Although, because of Kreese's arrest, Robby does now believe that Kreese is bad, Robby still believes that Silver is the worse of the two. Robby still doesn't know about what Silver had done to Johnny on prom night. Though, Robby is also still unaware of Johnny's full history with Kreese, so Robby is still unaware that Kreese has strangled Johnny twice: first, when he was Robby’s age; second, that night at the CK dojo with Robby lying unconscious a few feet away.

The s5 finale started with Kreese saying that his best student, who was like a son to him, told him that every mark he made and every memory of him would be erased. The finale ended with Kreese escaping prison. With Kreese out in the wild and with s6 being the last season, this storyline between Kreese, Johnny, and Robby should/will now be focused on and resolved. After all the writers have always talked about the premise of Johnny's story being that Johnny's relationship with Kreese has affected Johhny's relationship with Robby. It's important to note that, in canon, Kreese and Johnny both blame Johnny losing the avt for Johnny's life falling apart, but the root of it is Kreese strangling and abandoning Johnny. That is also what makes their confrontation in s3e10 so important. Johnny relived the worst moment of his life but has never really confronted what that means for him and how that had affected his relationship with Robby. Instead, Johnny chose to just move on.

All this leads me to a thought I had for s6. Of course, this is just a musing on my part...

A few spoiler pics since s6 production resumed this year have confirmed so far that the "joint" dojo will just be named Miyagi-Do. I have believed since s3 that Johnny would become Miyagi-Do. (I talk about it a bit in this post.) It has been the trajectory of his journey from the start. The biggest indicator of this was in s2e10 when Robby told Johnny that Miyagi-Do had helped Robby and that Johnny could learn from Daniel. Robby wanted Johnny to become Miyagi-Do, like Robby was trying to become Miyagi-Do. Since then, Johnny himself chose to ally himself with Daniel at the end of s3 and then officially joined dojos with him in s5.

Marty Kove has said that Kreese will be on the warpath. Also, at an event soon after production had stopped last year due the writers' strike, Billy Zabka mentioned that they had filmed the first episode already and that it had two mega fights in it and that there's character development. Now, the thought that I had, which is pretty bleak, is that Kreese will go after Robby. Kreese has played this game with Johnny before, and Kreese knows that one of Johnny's weaknesses is that Johnny neglects Robby. Kreese told Johnny in s2e7 that, when you have a weakness, you let your guard down and it makes you vulnerable. I have mentioned this in general before, but now I wonder what Kreese could potentially do to Robby if Kreese were to approach or confront Robby in s6. What if history will repeat itself? What if Kreese confronts Robby, maybe even about his second place trophy and saying that he is weak just like his father? What if Kreese somehow ends up strangling Robby? Of course, Robby survives, but what if this were to happen? Maybe Johnny will be the one to save Robby? Would this be the wake up call Johnny finally needs? That Robby live through what Johnny has lived through? In terms of passing on the trauma, Kreese has gone to Robby directly before. Robby has also rejected Kreese's legacy, like Johnny has. Most importantly, Robby is Johnny's legacy. This bleak thought occurred to me. On the one hand, I dismiss it. On the other hand, I think it is possible. Kreese strangled Johnny in kk2, and Kreese strangled Johnny in CK s3e10. Could Kreese strangle Robby in s6? I know that people suggested this might happen right after the s4 avt, but it may be a subversion if it happens now. Of course, this is just a thought, and this likely won't happen.

As I mentioned in my post about Robby's Hero's Journey, Robby's and Johnny's Hero's Journeys are converging. The Ordeal is the 8th stage of the Journey, and the Resurrection is the 11th stage, This stage is the climax and is also known as the "dark night of the soul":

"At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero's action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved."

Robby and Johnny should/will both go through their "Resurrection" stages in s6. Each will have his moment of transformation (which doesn't have to be literally associated with a death and birth, but could just be metaphorically) after which each will start to resolve his central conflict and obtain his "need". Robby will start to find balance the correct way that is not detrimental to his mental health, and Johnny will start confronting his past with Robby and atoning for it.

I know everyone has given up on Johnny's redemption wrt Robby, but I'm entertaining the notion that the writers are going to bring this storyline of Kreese-Johnny-Robby home. They will resolve it. s5 was Johnny's Reward stage (the 9th stage). Johnny got his "wants", but the Reward is not meant to satisfy the character's internal "need". Johnny's "need" is him needing to start to resolve his relationship with Kreese and his trauma due to Kreese so that Johnny can start resolving his relationship with Robby and atoning for his failures with Robby. Johnny has to grow in order to be redeemed.

About the Reward stage:

"It is here that the hero receives the object of desire they have been pursuing in the story thus far. But it cannot be enough to fulfill the central conflict in the story. That's because your hero must have an internal need that the object doesn't satisfy." "The hero can also be too easily satisfied with the Reward, leaving unresolved conflict. This sets up an even more shocking twist later when the Shadow rears its head again, shattering the false comfort provided by the physical Reward."

Johnny's shadow (greatest villain) is Kreese. That's why Kreese's escape at the end of s5 and Johnny's promise to wipe out Kreese's legacy were left unresolved at the end of s5. It was pretty obvious from a story structure standpoint that s5 was the false victory as part of the Reward stage. Johnny for sure has yet to have his final confrontation(s) with Kreese, as I assume they will have more than one confrontation across the course of the season, at least one of which may be in ep 1 and one of which may have something to do with Robby. We'll have to see... Regardless, Robby should succeed in his goal of breaking the cycle of generational trauma. This trauma has been been Robby's main rival throughout the series.

(I'm aware that, earlier this year, after production had picked up again, Xolo mentioned in one his and Jacob's podcasts that episode one had been rewritten. We don't know to what extent, so we don't know if what Billy had said about episode one is still true. Given how much producing an episode costs and Jon commenting last year about episode one being wrapped and not being redone after the strike(s) end, it's possible that just some and not all of it has been written. There was also a recent spoiler that indicates something important about Tory that I won't say here. If you follow the spoilers, you'll likely know about it. I'm keeping all this in mind while sharing this thought for s6.)

(Regardless of what will be in s6 or what payoffs we'll get in the story, this is an analysis of what is in canon so far. Please don't reblog or reply with any dismissive comment or tag expressing negativity towards the show writers, the writing, or the serious aspects of the show. Such comments/tags minimize the contents of the post, which discusses the serious topics (such as trauma, bullying, neglect, and abuse) that are explored in the show and should be respected.)

#cobra kai is robby's story #robby keene

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sarasade · 7 months

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On Claudia, Viren, Aaravos & Claudia's Character Arc

This post is mostly about Claudia's character development or should I say character deterioration.

It's highly likely that Callum will be the one to take down Aaravos- like it all goes back to Harrow's letter in s2 and chains of history and the themes of free will vs destiny and such. Aaravos possessing Callum is all about that. He's literally taking control of Callum's faith. There is clear antagonism there that's in a direct conflict with who Callum is.

But at the same time Claudia is the one who's got the biggest personal beef with Aaravos. He exploited her grief, manipulated her and used her father to accomplish his own goals. If Aaravos didn't exist Claudia wouldn't have spent two years of her life in a complete stagnation waiting for her dad to come back from the dead instead of moving on. It seems like Aaravos has been molding Claudia into his personal minion through dark magic during the time skip as well.

Taking this into account it would be really satisfying to see Claudia snap out of it and take her revenge. Characters having a personal connection to the villain always makes a story's climax more gripping. More personal the better! And everything between Aaravos and Claudia is VERY personal.

That's why Viren worked so well as a foil to Callum and Ezran in s 1-3. Especially Ezran whose rightful place as the king he tried to take. He was basically their shitty, power hungry uncle who turned against them. Side note but if Viren is still alive I hope he makes a return as Ezran's foil.

Claudia helping to take down Aaravos would be emotionally satisfying. All the elements for that are already there. Of course Claudia should come to some kind of realisation about the way she's been used by Aaravos before she can take that turn. I doubt the show's got the time for that but it's an interesting possibility to think about.

I really like how the plot around Aaravos manipulating Claudia is done. Even Claudia's own father didn't do anything to prevent it from happening although all the signs of Aaravos having sinister plans for Claudia were there from the beginning: Aaravos calling Claudia "an asset" and encouraging Viren to lie to her in s3 therefore enabling Viren's worst impulses while also using them to his benefit. It's SO EVIL (and I love it). Viren isn't that much better since he always had some kind of excuse to ignore the red flags. At this point of TDP's run I'm convinced that Runaan's "Faith worse than death" line about Aaravos' mirror is finally paying off. It means that the consequences of Viren's actions have hurt Claudia, the only person Viren loves unconditionally, in an unfathomable way.

I think Claudia's arc is relatively subtle and very well done. It balances between Claudia being a victim of manipulation and neglect while also giving her agency to influence the plot as a whole. My only complaint is that Lost Child short story should have been implemented in the show itself and not just be extra material. I have some other grievances but those are mostly fandom related.

How some fans, especially in YouTube reviews, talk about Claudia's downfall like it was inevitable because she's always been fucked up or talking about how "trauma isn't an excuse for bad behaviour" is strange to me. Like, yeah, it isn't an excuse but it's simply just bad media analysis to instantly jump into condemning Claudia's actions, like she's a real person who uses trauma as an excuse to hurt other real people, instead of seeing it in the terms of a character study. Claudia clearly uses trauma to convince herself that what she's doing is right but never tries to manipulate anyone else by using it as an excuse. Think about her and Terry for example: she usually refuses Terry's help instead of trying to garner sympathy from him. This character trait is one of the many reasons why she felt obligated to keep her family together as well. She's extremely stubborn and not very self-conscious about her trauma brain but she does understand why others would see her actions as objectionable. I think this character type (usually a woman) has been given the playful nickname "trauma bitch" in the internet lexicon. Anyway god forbid if we actually empathise, reflect on and engage with unpleasant or problematic characters instead of instantly condemning them.

TDP is about how people can always CHOOSE a different path. Viren's dark magic hallucination in season 5 stated this very clearly.

In Claudia's case it's more interesting to think about WHY she DOESN'T choose differently. That's where all the meat of her character writing lies.

Claudia's arc is what happens when the desperate actions of someone motivated by trauma around abandonment are taken to their logical conclusion in this fantasy setting. It's a fictional story, it has metaphors and shit. Fantasy genre has used necromancy and extending one's life by magical means as a story element to explore humanity's relationship to death many times. The metaphor for loss and regret basically writes itself. Ursula Le Guin has used this trope in The Earthsea books, Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn has done it etc. Everything can't be a one to one comparison to real life (trauma rarely makes you want to kill your friends with dark magic irl. idk that's just me though) and there needs to be a level of abstraction involved in a fantasy story. Abstraction and metaphor, paradoxically, can reveal a greater truth about the world. (I'm probably accidentally quoting someone here but can't remember who.)

Anyway the rest is great. When you think of it all for a moment it's pretty fucked up how Claudia has been used by Aaravos. It's not some tiny part of Caludia's story. It IS her story. And Viren set that norm for her. Viren too has abused Claudia's trust. It's a complex subject and probably requires its own post since Viren, Soren and Claudia's situation reflects some pretty realistic dynamics real life troubled families have. That's why the characters compliment each other's stories so well. Viren is a more realistic character after all when Aaravos is more over the top and symbolic and less of a real person. Aaravos is one of those villains who embodies the opposing ideology of the heros. We (still) don't know almost anything personal about him so he matters mostly in relation to other characters.

Thanks for reading this Claudia propaganda! I've had so many of these in the drafts. Anyway TL;DR

#they did a callback to the unicorn horn spell in s5 #rule of threes guys- what if they use the unicorn spell on Aaravos?#like the whole fandom has already figured that Nova Blade is not gonna cut (heh) it #being real salty about TDP YouTube here lol #not to be that person but- is engaging with a complex female character's story really asking too much?#tdp meta #sarasade text #the dragon prince meta #tdp claudia

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readerwithsalt · 1 year

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Does anyone think the concept of tsats would have been better if instead of going to save bob or whatever the book was just set in camp the whole time. Like maybe during those six months Jason had been alive and our favorite characters were still at camp.

Like since Riordan pretty much agreed to it for fanservice and bc people wanted him to, it would’ve been WAY more interesting and satisfying to watch how Nico lives within the camp now. What friends he’s made on his own outside of Wills cabin. What he likes to do now at camp, like training other kids with weird techniques that no one’s ever really seen, him making strange looking clay sculptures in arts and craft, therapy sessions with Dionysus etc…

We could’ve read about those things Jason had wanted to do with him at the end of BOO, like eating together in the palivion, sleepovers with that creepy Zeus statue in Jason’s cabin watching their every move, playing capture the flag and for the first time ever people see Hades symbol appear across the fabric when Nico gets it to the top of the hill (instead of Athena or ares).

We could’ve seen the Stoll brothers remembering him from TTC when they’d tried to get him into poker and now they keep trying to keep him to do a bunch of illegal stuff and pranks on the other cabins because he can be the ‘getaway driver’ and shadowtravel them away. We could’ve seen Clovis helping Nico with some of Nicos dream magic he displayed in BOO and helping Nico navigate even some of his worst recurring nightmares.

We could’ve had Hazel visiting and having adorable sibling moments. We could’ve had the hunters visiting and Nico being kinda distraught about Reyna joining them but they talk about it and patch that up. Also with there being four big three kids at the camp at one time (Nico, Hazel, Percy, & Jason) camp half blood FINALLY wins a game against the hunters for the first time lol. With Hazel and Nico being the ones to get the hunters flag lol.

We could’ve had a scene of Nico babysitting baby chuck and being strangely very good with babies and his gentle and sweet side coming out and it makes some of the campers see him differently.

The progression of Solangelo could’ve been wayy smoother as well. With Will nonchalantly revealing being open about his bisexuality, and Nico realizing how many other kids were out in camp as well and finally gaining his own confidence by seeing kids his own age being themselves.

We could’ve had Will thinking Nicos darkness is cute in a way and it’s revealed embarrassingly by Kayla that all Wills past crushes have always been, like, hella goth.

We could’ve had scenes with Nico helping Will with gory injuries and Nico being delighted at the many colors wounds can take on (flashback to little Nico talking about Percy’s wound in ttc “ooh, it’s green!” Nico said with delight.’) and Will thinking it’s cute how Nico keeps commenting on the fluids leaking out of someone’s dismembered leg and the patient in question just screaming in pain while Will makes heart eyes.

We could’ve had a scene where Percy and Nico talk about Nico having that crush on him and Percy always forgetting about him and calling on his help but never truly appreciating it and they make up satisfyingly for once. (But Percy’s still a bit miffed about how much better Nico’s friendship with Jason is than with him lol)

We could’ve had another chariot race but this time with Nico and Hazel in one and everyone thinks they look terrifying. BECAUSE THEY DO.

Like, honestly we didn’t need this kind of book about the most lethal place in their universe but then have it practically only talk about couples therapy and how to like the person you’ve literally been dating for a year…. 🙄😒

Like sometimes less is more if you know what I mean.

#nico di angelo #tsats #hazel levesque #nico and hazel #solangelo #tsats spoilers #alternative story #underworld siblings #jason grace #percy jackson #the sun and the star #tsats review #chb #pjo hoo toa #fandom critical #riordanverse #will solace

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leighlew3 · 1 year

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For some reason I couldn’t send the link of this post but I could download the picture and send it (hopefully)

This is what I was references in that ask to you lol

Ah. And... yeah. A painful and unnecessary creative choice.

Look, overall I'm loving Picard, despite quite a few issues with some creative choices and contradictions, because this nostalgia is incredible and so appreciated and being able to witness these characters in action again has been WONDERFUL.

That being said... well, I'm about to launch into a ramble.

Buckle up, and keep reading if you'd like...

Picard had an ICONIC legacy female character in an interracial wlw relationship with a dynamic new Black female character -- both women over the age of 50 no less, an amazing thing to explore on screen -- and it worked. And so many fans loved it and felt represented and thrilled to kingdom come. And it fit with the Star Trek brand of inclusion and acceptance in a modern society. It also made Voyager fans of 25 years feel vindicated and seen, having Seven not only confirmed as sapphic, but actually exploring it on screen and finding love, even if a "happy ending" for Seven was never in the cards for many reasons, they could have explored why instead of just sweeping it under the rug off screen and reducing it to one awkward glance between them, a joke from Worf, and that was it. Seven and Raffi deserved better. Queer fans deserved better.

Alas, they tossed it in the trash for no valid reason at all, and at the worst possible time in our current social and political landscape of an outdated and frighteningly dangerous resurgence of homophobia, transphobia, etc. Life imitates art, and art imitates life. And thus, now we see conservative-run media companies catering again to the vocal, hateful little groups and extremist far right fear mongers. There is a very obvious bias of late again against LGBTQ content (especially wlw due to the frightening rise in misogyny yet again lately) across nearly every channel and streamer and studio.

For that matter, even beyond LGBTQ stories, there's also a significant reduction in the exploration of ANY sexuality on screen across the board lately, even for cishet couples. We somehow went from Hollywood being absurdly and unfairly exploitive towards women and putting actors in uncomfortable and unnecessary situations, to some sort of bizarre, puritanical, utterly sexless exploration of romance on screen. And even a reduction of romance entirely in many cases, for that matter. We went from one extreme to the other, and it's absolutely nuts.

Anyway, back on the topic of Picard, the two actresses who previously were captains of the ship and ALL about the pairing have since seemingly now had to backtrack, make excuses for this bizarre decision, or just not speak on it at all. And that's beyond sad.

And again, it makes me concerned that if Seven does get her own spin-off or is a part of a new spin-off again, they'd likely not include Raffi nor explore Seven being with women further. Which would just be LITERALLY going backwards in time to the days of Voyager where many (not all) straight male fans tried to claim her as theirs and theirs alone while reducing her to just "the hot Borg in a cat suit" even though everyone else knew she was three dimensional as hell, one of the best written and acted characters in franchise history, and inherently representative of the LGBTQ community.

Anyway, I really really hope they prove me wrong and Saffi get a satisfying ending in this show, and if nothing else, even if they don't have a future together in other series, any other shows at least continue to embrace Seven's pansexuality. It's important.

Alas right now my trust in creatives in the TV space who are under the pressures of conservative-run media conglomerates... is limited. Even once seeming allies are showing sides to themselves lately that are... concerning, to say the least. People who previously would tell incels to F' off, and weren't afraid to stand up to and block phobes on Twitter are now blocking queer fans for just asking "WTF?" about queer favorites being sidelined or ships being tossed in the trash. People who previously seemed to truly see and value queer fans are now bordering on just using them for clicks and stringing them along on likely hopeless efforts regarding show survival. And people who actually do mean well and usually stand up loud and strong for LGBTQ audiences are suddenly growing very, very quiet if not even in some cases TURNING on their queer fans entirely as TPTB remove more and more wlw content from airwaves and streamer services.

It's all very disheartening. As a writer who has had this conversation so often with producers and executives, I GET IT. The fight is NOT an easy one. And most the time inclusion efforts are flat out shot down. But it feels like so few people are walking the talk anymore. People who capitalized heavily on LGBTQ characters and ships and fans for a few years when it was hot are now turning their backs when the going has gotten rough. And that's frustrating for us all.

But, the good news: these things are often cyclical. So if everybody can hang in there, stay strong, and fight the good fight online and IRL, rock the VOTE, etc and drown out the hateful voices that want the LGBTQ community silenced or worse, then I believe we can set (or force, in many cases) the misguided, fearful, extremist-rightwing-catering media companies back to the proper side of history.

#picard #star trek picard #seven x raffi #saffi #seven of nine #star trek #lgbtq #representation matters

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frauleinandry · 9 months

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just finished the repaint your heart dlc! i still had fun with it, but ultimately i enjoyed it a lot less than the main story. tbh, unless you're a huge - and i mean huge - princekechi and kasumi fan, or are really interested in guernica, i probably wouldn't bother with it. it's pretty short (i completed it in less than 5 hours doing all the content), and it was less enjoyable to play than the main game.

my full analysis is under the cut - note, it contains end-game spoilers!!

if you've read my main story tactica review, you'd know one of the reasons i loved it was because it wasn't just a persona Q game with a genre shift, and avoided all of the plot/story issues associated with that spinoff series. repaint your heart's narrative, on the other hand, has all the tropes that make persona Q bad, without having any of the things that make it good.

i know literally everyone and their mum has complained about this, but i am baffled on why atlas didn't set repaint your heart during the third semester. like... there is literally no point in hiding royal spoilers anymore. the game has been out for four years. the media restrictions have been dropped. literally No One who isn't already a persona 5 fan is going to play tactica, let alone buy its dlc.

setting repaint your heart during the third semester would have worked fine plot-wise too. have it so akechi's investigating guernica's work on a whim, and make it so jerri wants to break maruki's hold on reality and destroy the world because no human should have such power. there. problem solved.

admittedly, kasumi as a character isn't too bad. i obviously would have preferred sumire, who has a criminal lack of screen time where she's actually herself, but at least the dlc's story is personal for her either way because she intimately knows what it's like to lose a sister even when she's actualised.

akechi, on the other hand, suffers from being stuck in his prince mode a lot more, and with the exception of a couple of funny moments where he got dunked on, might as well have just been a piece of cardboard. he has no personal stakes in luca and guernica's story whatsoever. quite frankly, it would have been better if he was replaced by makoto, given her issues with sae (especially during that point in persona 5 canon, when their relationship is at its worst).

what makes akechi's overall non-importance exceptionally annoying is that if the dlc was set during the third semester, he actually would have some parallels with guernica/jerri!! like, he'd totally relate to wanting to ignite the world in fury so it burns itself down to the ground, but he'd also have the wisdom to know that that's a terrible idea. akechi could have been motivated by his desire to prevent guernica from turning into another him, but he wasn't, and that is such a missed opportunity.

the OCs and their storyline are probably the strongest part of repaint your heart's narrative. admittedly, it was nowhere near as impactful as toshiro's plot due to its short length, but luca's second death was pretty emotional, and the final boss fight was satisfying. i do find it funny though that tactica's main story and dlc both feature a cognition of a dead relative who dies in front of someone again in order to make them regain the memories of their original version's death. if i had a nickel, and all that jazz.

while i've mainly been bitching about the dlc's story so far, i've got some gripes with the gameplay too. while i did enjoy the increased difficulty (quite frankly, the main story's hard mode should have been on par with it), the painting mechanic makes the battles feel a lot less well-crafted. like, the main story missions feel like puzzles you need to solve, and just flow, for a lack of a better word. the painting effect though makes elements like positioning a lot less effective, so on the whole i felt like i was just brute forcing my way through the levels instead of taking advantage of my surroundings.

still, for all my complaints, repaint your heart definitely isn't all bad! the art direction is great, and guernica's character design in particular is fantastic. not to mention, there is one thing the dlc does substantially better than the main game...

... namely, the music. i absolutely loved royal's and striker's soundtracks, but in comparison, I found tactica's somewhat... underwhelming? not bad by any means, but there wasn't a single song that stood out. repaint your heart has some absolute bangers though - the night we stood is a fantastically catchy battle theme, and quiet storm is literally one of my favourite songs in the franchise. listening to it after the backstory reveal makes it hit so differently.

anyway, that's all from me - on the whole, i still think tactica's a great but overpriced game, though i really hope atlas learns from all the criticisms of the dlc, and makes akechi and sumire their actual selves next time they're included in a game.

#persona 5 #p5 tactica #p5t #review tag

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gobbluthbutagirl · 2 years

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i’m so glad i’m not the only person who thinks schitt’s creek is overrated

i tried to watch it in like october 2019, gave up, and rewatched arrested development instead. and then i tried to watch it AGAIN like a month later, gave up AGAIN, and rewatched arrested development instead AGAIN. if i recall correctly i had watched up to like the first 3 episodes of season 5 so i gave it MORE than a fighting chance to get better and it just. Never did! it just wasn’t funny! i didn’t laugh out loud ONCE that whole time! the pacing was SO bad too. it felt like i was being tortured. it was like they thought they could only have one or two things happen the entire episode. like the description would be some shit like “david goes to the store” and then that would be THE ONLY THING THAT HAPPENED! FOR 22 MINUTES! every time it felt like they were maybe building up to some interesting drama it would just get resolved offscreen. if an episode had a “twist” (like the one where catherine o’hara’s character was mad about finding love letters to the dad and thought he was cheating and then it turned out she wrote them herself)(sorry i forgot their names but it’s been like 3.5 years since i watched it) it was always SO predictable. and not even in a narratively satisfying way, in a lazy writing way. like half the main characters were super unlikeable and the other half were super forgettable. and i have no problem with unlikeable characters but it was like they were written to be likeable and they just weren’t. and it really irks me that they were like, “oh yeah we came up with the idea for the show by watching stuff like the kardashians and wondering what it’d be like if they lost it all!” because how do you just NOT KNOW that not only does a show like that already exist but it did literally everything better. and i’d see people going, “oh it gets better a couple seasons in!” and literally no it does not. and yet everybody was heaping so much praise on it that i genuinely began to wonder if i’d somehow watched the wrong show. and then it swept the emmys that one year and i was like…am i being gaslit? like what the hell is happening? on what earth is this shit the best comedy on tv? because to me it literally came off like an instructional manual on how NOT to make a sitcom funny. but the thing is ever since it ended you almost NEVER see anybody mention it outside of like, buzzfeed lists of junk they want you to buy. which i think speaks volumes LMAO.

anyway tl;dr if schitt’s creek has million number of haters i am one of them. if schitt’s creek has ten haters i am one of them. if schitt’s creek have only one hater and that is me. if schitt’s creek has zero haters then i am no more on this earth. if world is for the schitt’s creek, i am against the world. i hate #Schitt’sCreek till my last breath … Die Hard hater of schitt’s creek. Hit Like If you think schitt’s creek Worst sitcom & Sucks In the world !!!

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shiny-jr · 2 years

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Can I ask for C,H, and Z with OctoTrio?

Warning: Yandere thing. Gender-neutral reader.

Characters: Floyd Leech, Jade Leech, Azul Ashengrotto.

Note: Of course! I don't think I've actually been requested anything for the Octavinelle guys all at once. If I have, I don't remember it. Time to replay a bunch of Little Mermaid inspired songs as I write for this. Like this amazing one I found.

Letters: C and H.

✍︎ Cruelty. How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

✒ Honestly, Floyd would mock the living hell out of you. Aww, what's wrong? You far from home? You don't wanna be here? But he's here! Doesn't that make things so much better~? Yes, he'll mock you, but he's genuinely very happy to finally have you here! It's obvious by his big old toothy grin and how he literally refuses to detach himself from you. Now that you're here, he's basically treating you as his roommate. You thought living on the same campus was bad since he'd always chase you down. Just imagine that but now you gotta sleep in the same room as him. The only good thing is, Floyd gets bored easily, so he'll take you out very often, pretty much every day.

✒ On the other hand, Jade is more low-key about the mockery. Don't be mistaken, he's not loudly mocking you like his twin but it's more like his taunting you. Oh, what's this? Is that a tear from your eye? Are you growing homesick? This just won't do! What a soft and sensitive little thing to be shedding a tear in front of him. As long as you behave and do not attempt to leave his supervision, he’ll be nothing but the perfect gentleman. Although it is unnerving how he knows things about you that you never told him, and he talks about them with a creepy grin. Oh, it’s nothing bad, he wouldn’t dream of embarrassing you (in front of others at least)! Since you’ve been good, he’ll give you more freedom. Just don’t abuse it, or he’s pulling you right back.

✒ Of course not, Azul would never mock you! Out of these three, Azul is the one to most likely comfort you instead. Yes, he understands this may be confusing and stressful, but can’t you see that this is for the best? There are so many benefits to living with him. Disregard the restrictions he puts in place as well as his constrictive grasp. Now that you are his guest, he’s attempting to treat you with comforts and luxuries. Yet it’s difficult to relax when he literally kidnapped you. Although if it hadn’t been for that, you might’ve thought you woke up in some dream vacation with how much he provides just in hopes that you’ll finally stop being so tense and anxious.

✍︎ Hell. What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

✒ Believe it or not, Floyd doesn’t actively try to hurt you. Yes, he can be rough and accidentally harm you, but he isn’t actually trying or even wanting to see you hurt. Of course, he may make a threatening offhand comment, but that is enough to scare you into avoiding stuff he doesn’t want you to do. Yes, his warnings are scary, but you’ve actually seen him lash out at others. Just because he doesn’t want to hurt you, doesn’t mean he won’t hurt other people. Your worst experiences with him are either when he was too careless and gave you a particularly nasty injury which had him tearing up and not leaving you alone until you forgave him. Or when a poor soul got too close for comfort, making Floyd jealous and causing him to beat the guy to a pulp. It was terrifying to see how he didn’t relent and was only satisfied when then guy couldn’t even look you in the eye again.

✒ Jade also doesn’t hurt you. Oh no, instead he watches as your useless attempts to escape or avoid him backfire. Only then does he swoop in, saving you from the predicament you created. Oh, but you don’t get away unscathed, he’s teasing you relentlessly. Sometimes his teasing is harsh, but that’s not the bad part about it. The worst is when his teasing takes a dark turn after you try to escape. As he treating your wounds (if you have any) and he examines you for any more injury you might’ve gained during your attempt, his teasing demeanor changes. The taunting grin he wore becomes a smile and his eyes are boring into you as his soft tone turns somewhat serious and dark despite his smile. His descriptions are vivid, and he does keep his word. You’re reminded of how cruel he can be by his vaguely threatening words.

✒ The worst thing about Azul is his clinginess. In the public he keeps up his suave business facade, but when you’re alone with him is the worst, especially when he’s feeling insecure. When someone else expresses a clear interest in you, that’s when those negative thoughts begin to bubble up in his mind, clouding his thoughts in foam. That’s when he becomes extremely desperate for attention. If the thoughts in his mind are so bad, it may cause some tears and sobs to escape as he can only think of the worst case scenario. What if you do prefer them over him? Only you can comfort him, and you will have to. It’s not as if you have much of a choice when he has a vice grip on you, as he gazes up at you while the tears are streaming down his cheeks, and literally the only thing that can pull him out of this void of insecurities are reassurances from you. And reassuring him takes hours.

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tokrev-roses · 3 years

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Cool Cool Boy

although you are happy with your love, your ex-boyfriend wants to be a part of your life again. jealous boyfriends and phones involved + NSFW (original request)

🖋Genre: Smut (Mikey, Draken Chifuyu), Fluff (Baji)

⚠️Warnings: 18+ for everyone but Baji, description of the female body and sexual acts, bad writing/grammar/spelling

👥Characters: Mikey, Draken, Chifuyu, Baji

❧ Keisuke Baji

Fancy dates are not his thing

It was not only that he had a budget, being a middle schooler and everything, he also simply didn’t vibe with it

But it was your anniversary, so he saved up all his pocket money and tried to behave so mama Baji would let him out

Cue to him waiting in front of a popular restaurant for young couples, wearing his edgy street clothes

And to both of your surprise, everything went smoothly

He excused himself to the restroom for a sec, and while you were waiting at your table, daydreaming about the beauty of this evening, someone sat down on Keisuke’s chair

You turned towards the person, fully expecting to see your boyfriend, but were met with a less than pleasant view. Your ex-boyfriend greeted you with a satisfied smirk.

“Enjoying yourself, y/n? You know, I always thought you were one of those girls who loved fancy stuff, considering how much you loved our dates and my presents. That you’d settle for someone who is unable to offer you more than this…” He made a derogatory gesture towards the other tables.

This was no high-end restaurant with view over the Tokyo skyline, but it was Baji who put a lot of effort into this, and it meant more to you than anything else

As you were about to respond, a shadow towered over your ex

“What do you think you are doing her punk?”

“This is the trash you left me for, y/n?”

As he was about to laugh, Baji seized him by the collar, lifted him up, and threw him away like actual trash

Knowing Keisuke, you tried to stop the enraged berserker he was about to turn into. No need for a brawl in the middle of a restaurant

You managed to calm him, nonetheless the manager kindly asked all three of you to leave

Keisuke kept quiet on your way home. You knew why. He actually wanted everything to be perfect, to show you how much you meant to him and it was ruined by his temper and a slimy asshole

„♪Kei-Su-Ke♪“, you poked the dimples of your grumpy boyfriend. “I loved this evening. Minus that idiot, but that was none of your fault.”

“Hm.”

He kept walking.

Ok, you’d have to bring the big guns in

With two big steps you were behind him to give him the strongest back hug possible

“Ya, you punk. Wanna pick a fight?”, your effort to imitate his voice didn’t go unnoticed.

“As if a small fry like you could win against me.”

With that you knew the ice was broken. What you didn’t expect was him turning around fast as lightening, picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder.

You tried to scream but it ended in heartful laughter

A perfect anniversary indeed.

❧ Manjiro Sano

(Future!Mikey, Dark-Haired)

King of jealousy and most possessive out of all the boys, so you can imagine his reaction as you told him your ex-boyfriend visited you at work

The mood instantly shifted

“Come on, Manjiro. He didn’t ask me to marry him or anything.”

This joke was not appreciated by him, and he stayed broody for the rest of the evening

You should have known that he was up to something as he suddenly became very touchy with you, but you pinned it on his neediness

Things got even stranger when he didn’t let you touch or pleasure him, but instead kept making you feel like wax between his fingers

It wasn’t just the way he abused your neck with longing kisses or how he caressed the sides of your body with featherlight touches as he made his way downwards. Not the way he fondled your breasts with the utmost care, kissing and sucking your nipples until you couldn’t keep your whimpers from spilling.

The satisfied smile he gave you as you made the first sound should have shown you that there was more to it, but you were so lost in pleasure, that you really didn’t care

Things got worse (or better) for you as he reached your most intimate spot

If he was skilled at pleasuring you before, he was a god at doing so today.

White pleasure blinded you as his velvet tongue explored every part of you. Every moan and whimper you gave him was met with a pleased hum that vibrated through your body.

When you couldn’t stop your own need from feeling every part of him on you, you used your hands in his dark hair to push him closer to you.

Instead of understanding your silent plea like he usually would, he just kept going and going until your vision got blurred by tears and your voice was hoarse.

Only then he let you go, mumbling something you were too tired to understand.

You slept well that night, with Mikey hugging you loke a koala

It was only when you looked at your phone the next morning, that you realized what he had done.

A chat with your ex-boyfriend, who must have written you last evening about going out for dinner, cough your eye. Your answer, which you definitely didn’t send, consisted of a 30 second audio.

Innocent you played it, of course, and it took you a second to realize what exactly you were hearing.

That was you. You, moaning in ecstasy. You were frozen in place an listened all the way through it

The audio ended with a raspy voice you knew all too well

“She is busy with me.”

❧ Ken Ryuguji

Your phone was broken.

It did not show you, who tried to call you and called people you never meant to call. That’s why instead of putting it in your pockets, it usually laid somewhere beside you. Like today as you were cooking dinner for your finance who was about to come home from his bike shop very soon

The last days had been a bit stressful, he had a lot to do, couldn’t spend any time with you and you went to meet your ex-boyfriend for coffee, as he himself was about to get married soon

Ken tried to be understanding, but the amount of your time this past fling consumed annoyed him

That’s why he wanted to make up for lost time this evening

He didn’t hesitate when he saw you standing in the kitchen, stirring something in a pan and looking so perfect

On swift move and the giant had placed you on the counter, standing between your spread legs, face buried in your neck

“Well, someone seems eager.”

He wasn’t willing to waste time with your teasing but begun to assault your lips

Heavy breathing filled the room as he cupped your chin with one hand and tried to get rid of your clothes with the other

Your bodies soon met with a pleasurable sensation, moving in synch.

You held on to him like your life depended on it, ankles hooked behind his back

He wasn’t one to moan, but his heavy breathing had something so unexplainable erotic to it, that it made up for the missing foreplay

One couldn’t be without the other and if it wouldn’t have been for the laws of nature, you would have said that your brains your hearts and your pleasure became one

Sweat made the counter slippery, and your voice became raspy as you finally reached your high together

“Well, hello there.” You could literally hear the smirk on his lips as he said this.

“…hello?”

You thought you were hallucination from your post-orgasmic bliss as you heard another voice talking to the both of you. But Ken’s shocked face as he looked towards your phone woke you up

It couldn’t be that your phone called your ex-boyfriend, right?

Right??

❧ Chifuyu Matsuno

It’s not like Chifuyu needs your attention all the time, but he kinda needs it when he wants it you know?

And today he really needed it

He had given the shop into the hands of his partner, Kazutora, to spend some time with you, as a surprise

The thing with surprises was, that they usually came at the worst times

His mood went downwards as he came home and instead of giving him a confused hug, asking him why he was home already, you were on the phone with god knows whom

He thought you’d end the call soon, so he gave you some space, but as you kept laughing 30 minutes after he arrived, he got annoyed, to say the least.

He didn’t mean to listen in on your conversation, but your constant laughter, bickering and smiling made him…curious

It seemed like your former high school sweetheart had called to “remember the good old times”, and although it wasn’t like him at all, he slowly but surely felt anger bubbling inside of him.

You had settled for the couch, and although the other party was on the phone, he felt the need to touch you, so he laid down between your legs, head resting on your stomach

You, of course, noticed the sour mood hanging in the air (not just because he followed you around like a lost puppy while you were phoning this old friend of yours)

So you petted his hair, knowing it would calm him

But the time for appeasement was over, at least for Chifuyu. He knew that you knew that he wanted you to hang up, yet you didn’t

It started as an innocent kiss on your stomach, which you answered with a silent chuckle, shaking your hand to signal him to stop

That he ignored it would be an understatement

Something you realised as he started caressing your intimate part through your clothes

As your friend on the other side was continuing to tell you about his life, your attention was captured by the innocent puppy-dog eyes your boyfriend gave you as he got rid of the annoying layers keeping him from feeling you

He began giving you kitten licks, that literally took your breath away. Good for you, the other man didn’t notice

Chifuyu, that devil, knew what he was doing, keeping eye contact with you while doing the most sinful things to you

It got worse as he took your pearl between his soft lips and started sucking

You had to press your fist on your mouth to keep any sound from spilling

He continued his assault with a steady pace, and you wanted him to stop as much as you wanted him to continue

“Y/n, are you still there?”

You hadn’t noticed that the excited voice on the phone had stopped

Faster than you could react, Chifuyu had snatched your phone away from you.

His breath tickled your now wet parts as he answered

“Something came up just now, and she needs to come. Try again, pal.”

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo manji gang #tokyo revengers mikey #tokyo manji revengers #draken x reader #ken ryuguji x reader #mikey x reader #sano manjiro x reader #chifuyu x reader #chifuyu matsuno x reader #baji x reader #keisuke baji x reader #tokyo revengers baji #tokyo revengers draken #tokyo revengers chifuyu

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elysianslove · 4 years

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what would the jjk characters’ reactions be if their girlfriend walked in on them jerking off 👀 or other way around, they walked in on their gf masturbating to them JSHSJSHSH

DJHSDJS THANK YOU FOR SENDING THIS. it’s whore knee hours 😼

nsfw under the cut, my loves! it’s really filthy. also, all characters are aged up if they aren’t already 18+. if there are mistakes in this im sorry vdhsdjs

ITADORI YUUJI

walking in on him; probably screams or something tbh. he’s not used to doing it ever since you two got into a relationship and have been sexually active, but the past few weeks and you’ve just been so busy, and yuuji’s so needy 🥺 but he doesn’t wanna bother you 🥺 so he takes matters into his own hands literally and just settles back in bed, sweatpants down his hips, shirt lifted up to reveal his entire chest, and hard cock in his hand. he’s actually rushing through it because it somehow feels wrong and he just wants to rid himself of all this sexual frustration. he’s diligently and roughly stroking himself, and it’s really obscene: the noises his hand is making, the way his hips can’t seem to stop thrusting up, the loud grunts and gasps and whines that can’t stop leaving his lips. and just before he tips over the edge, as he feels his stomach tighten, he hears the door open and your cheerful voice greet him. he screams. like yells out, but he’s also? cumming? weirdly enough? he’s too dazed as he comes down from his high to mind your teasing smile, with his heart beating to loud in his chest, and he welcomes your pretty mouth kissing up the trail of cum he’d left on his chest.

walking in on you; gets really flustered but really cocky at the same time? when he came home tired and walked into the bathroom to wash up he hadn’t been expecting your body in the bathtub, touching yourself, moaning out his name. you’ve clearly been doing this for a couple of minutes because of the speed of your fingers and oh my god are you fingering yourself? he’d been quiet when coming into the bathroom, only announcing his arrival at the front door, and it doesn’t seem like you notice his presence. he watches as your back arches, hips pushing leniently into the curve of your fingers, and you let out a frustrated whine. no, sob. you cry out his name against desperately and yuuji doesn’t think he’s ever been this horny. the initial shyness and shock has long since worn off and all he wants to do is bury his fingers in your soaking cunt instead. when you cry out again, in frustration, and pull your fingers out, he immediately kneels by the bathtub, meeting your eyes with his as he feigns a pout at you and says, “aw, can my poor baby only cum on my fingers?” he’s pleased to see you’re not even a little shy about it when you frown deeply and nod desperately.

GOJŌ SATORU

walking in on him; is not in the least bit shameful, just spreads his legs wider, throws his head back to let out another moan and says as he smirks up at you, “you’re more than welcome to join.” he’s not shy about masturbation, and he’ll even talk to you about it. this mf probably loves mutual masturbation as is. but anyway. you’d probably just left for the store, for ten minutes, and you come back and his head’s thrown back on the couch, cock in his hands as the sweatpants he wears have been pushed down to just beneath his balls. he’s being loud, like he’s giving you a show, and as soon as you enter the living room, he lets out a particularly loud grunt, thrusting his hips up. you’re not even sure if he’s dramatizing it or if it really feels that good. he’s doing it slow too, taking his time, thumbing the slit of his pretty cock and smearing the precum all over the pink head. he really is giving you a show, and god are you eating that shit up. he stares you down as he squeezes and strokes, and then, he says, “if your mouth’s gonna hang open like that, might as well put it to use and stuff it.” vdhjsdsjds gojo brainrot.

walking in on you; is so, so, so teasing about it. if you’re doing it to give him a taste of his own medicine, expect to regret it when your ass is tainted with his handprint and you’re full of his cum. but if you really are innocent about it, he’ll tease you endlessly, saying things like, “pretty baby couldn’t wait for me?” and “so eager,” and “so needy,” with a grin and a tut. he lowkey highkey loves it when he comes home and walks in on your bedroom to see your legs spread out for him so nicely, your fingers stuffing your messy cunt, your nipples all perked up and your body covered in a sheen layer of sweat from the exertion. he watches for minutes on end, and when you finally notice him, and you squeak in surprise and attempt to cover yourself, he grins and shakes his head, grabbing a chair and placing it right across from you so he has a perfect view of your spread legs and says, “i wanna watch you cum.” he’s so. shameless about it omg. if you take too long though he’ll just swat your hand away and eat you out till you can’t feel your legs <3

RYOMEN SUKUNA

walking in on him; i don’t think he masturbates, like, ever. if he’s ever horny he will just grab you, pull you aside, and fuck you. like he’s not ashamed about it. even if it’s in public, he will find some way to put his dick inside you. but! let’s say you introduce the concept to him and it’s a day where you’d just left him alone for a few hours, so he decides there’s no harm in trying. he hadn’t expected it to feel this good. granted, it’s not your mouth or cunt, but he’s still fully in control of his pleasure. he kinda gets lost in the feel of it all that he doesn’t notice you coming back home. you stay so silent, and watch the whole thing as he throws his head back and cums all over his hand and stomach, and he does it all while saying your name and if that isn’t an ego boost idk what is. he gets so embarrassed, but displays it in a different way. he just gets angry at you basically, for catching him, and when you laugh at his reaction. last 😃 straw 😃 good luck walking tmrw <3

walking in on you; oh shit okay. listen. he will absolutely get mad. like wtf only i am supposed to give you pleasure??? if he walks in on you, like yuuji, desperately trying to fuck yourself with your fingers and finding no way to reach your orgasm, he won’t do shit. he’ll just stand there with his arms crossed as you fail to reach your orgasm for the nth time and it’s literally just humiliating at this point. you’re sobbing and your cunt’s a mess, your entire tight and trembling with the build up of arousal. you can tell he’s aroused too. you can see it actually, but he makes no move to satisfy himself, and you honestly think that seeing you like this is doing it for him. the breaking point for him would probably be hearing your broken voice just sob out a mixture of a chant of his name and please, just desperate and wanting. and then, oh boy does he give it to you. makes you orgasm so many times, makes you see stars all night, just as a reminder of who you really belong to. what a sadist i love him lol

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI

walking in on him; he probably does it every once in a while because he’s a teenage boy?? (still aged up here). but he only does it to relieve himself, not for anything other than that, no ulterior motive. just to rid himself of, well, his horniness. probably the type to do it in the shower because he does not like any evidence that he ever did it. he’s hunched up underneath the water, the steady flow of it hitting his back, while he has one hand steady on the wall before him, and another wrapped tightly around his cock. he’s panting and gasping, and oh, megumi would make the prettiest sounds when he cums i just know it. probably looks gorgeous too. he doesn’t hear you come into the shower because he’s so close, shit, this feels so good — and then he feels your hands come around his waist, spinning him around and his hand’s still moving but his body’s gone into absolute shock. he hears you whisper, “let me see you, baby” and he just absolutely loses it. his face scrunches up, heat blossomed on his chest and cheeks as his hand moves rapidly on his cock, milking himself and spilling all over your stomach. when he’s well spent his head falls into the crook of your neck, and he’s just letting out tiny little gasps when you say, “you’re so pretty when you cum,” and god, is he in love with you.

walking in on you; so. shy!!!!! omg!!!! you’re probably on your bed, on your stomach, ass in the air as you rub your clit. your thighs are smeared with your arousal and your hand and palm are outright drenched and megumi feels his mouth dry, his pants suddenly way too tight. you don’t notice him for a while, and he’s just too in shock to move, until you tilt your head and catch him staring. you lock eyes with him, then sink a finger into your pussy, your eyes rolling back and your mouth falling open into a silent gasp at the intrusion. megumi’s gone crazy like his brain’s malfunctioned. but that wasn’t even the worst of it. when you start to fuck yourself with your fingers, and then bring a second one inside, you moan out his name and he just succumbs to all his desires, walking slowly over to you and lightly massaging and caressing your thighs and ass, watching up close as you continue to fuck yourself. then, gently, he takes your wrist in his grasp and pulls your fingers out, lightly brushing against your soaked folds as he hums, then says, “let me.”

INUMAKI TOGE

walking in on him; he’s actually really open about it? like he just doesn’t care. he will get a little flustered if you catch him in the moment, but that’s only for a few seconds. like he’s just doing his thing, stroking his dick and reveling in the flood of dopamine that’s overwhelming his brain, squeezing the base, tightening his fingers around the tip, urging more precum out. when you walk in, he freezes momentarily, his hand flying to the base of his cock and just shuddering lightly as he holds back his orgasm. and then he just sighs, leaning back again and stroking rougher, encouraging you to come closer with a simple look in his eyes. your mouth is almost immediately around the tip of his dick, and he just holds you there as he strokes himself, watching as you suck on just the tip. you’re a sight for sore eyes like this, and when you meet his eyes, his eyes fly up, accidentally shoving his dick further in your tight, warm mouth and cumming down your throat. he doesn’t even give himself another second to catch his breath before he’s pushing you down onto the bed, kissing you so deeply, his cock already hardening again.

walking in on you; the same way he’s so nonchalant about himself masturbating, he doesn’t mind if you do it too. it’s understandable how sometimes you just want me time, and he tells himself if he were to ever catch you he wouldn’t really react in any way. he is wrong 😃👍🏼. just like he’d pushed your mouth around his dick when you’d once caught him, he immediately rushes to you, one hand wrapped around your thigh, the other guiding your fingers deeper inside of you as his mouth latches onto your clit. his mouth??? his mouth!!! sinful!!! he eats you out like a starved man. the idea is so filthy though, like you’re fingering yourself and he’s fondling your breasts and teasing your nipples, his mouth and lips sucking so harshly on your clit and you’re so fucking wet you’re soaking the bed beneath you. the orgasm that hits you is mind blowing, and imagine your surprise when you pull your fingers out, expecting him to pull his mouth away as well, but he just replaces your fingers with his own, pushing you down harsher on the bed and continuing to pleasure your oversensitive body oof.

end note; um n e ways 😏 if you guys want other characters with this lemme know bc brain: fried :D

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k-s-morgan · 3 years

Note

Have you ever been in a fandom where the canon ending disappointed you?

For sure! It's easier to list the fandoms where the endings didn't disappoint me first :D From such examples, there is 'Hannibal' - it mostly solved every arc and brought the characters to their happy ending together in a subtle and beautiful way. I loved the end of 'Black Butler' the anime - it was somewhat open but perfect in every way to me, with Ciel and Sebastian destined to stay together forever. I loved 'Shadowhunters' ending - Magnus and Alec got the biggest and most explicit HEA imaginable. They got to address each other's insecurities, the last episode focused on their beautiful wedding, and Alec is implied to become immortal.

I was mostly indifferent about 'Harry Potter' ending. I'm glad the trio lived, but I didn't like the epilogue. Can't say I hated it, but it felt too forced and oversimplified.

Now, as for the disappointing shows... 'Sherlock' is the biggest example. I always prepare myself for the worst, but even I couldn't imagine the nightmare of S4. I managed to find some good fics that continue from S3, but all in all, I could never look at this show the same. I could deal if one or two arcs were ruined, but the writers destroyed literally everything - every character, every relationship, every plot. I'm baffled to this day.

I wasn't all too happy with 'Merlin' ending either. I would accept the outcome of Arthur dying and Merlin waiting for him if it was done in a more logical way, but Arthur's death just feels very dumb. Merlin is suddenly not a great warlock, he suddenly forgets he has a dragon and an immortal cup at his disposal, etc. It makes no sense and you have to really suspend your disbelief to buy it. But there are beautiful stories out there that helped me do it.

'Supernatural' ending is just... lol. I ignore the existence of E20 because it's one of the most ridiculous and offensive pieces of writing I've ever seen. I only accept it as a part of "Chuck won" narrative, which is what I think they'll got for if there is ever a renewal. This ending can compete with Sherlock. Dean forgetting Castiel exists, Sam forgetting about Eileen; Castiel forgetting he loves Dean and being too busy doing 'stuff' to announce he's alive; Sam forgetting their son is a God and Jack just... doing something, I guess. Dean's death is as absurd as it was in the episode where he died in 1K crazy ways. I could go on forever, everything about it is awful and illogical, and it breaks every rule all other seasons established. You could really watch E1 of S1 and this episode, and you won't feel like you missed much of anything.

'The X Files' had an open ending that I found satisfying in S9, but after that... I was more or less positive about the second movie, but other seasons were just a big no. Carter really doesn't know how to wrap things up and finish the arcs he started instead of creating new ones all the time and using cheap tricks to fool the audience.

'Queer as Folk' ending sucks. Characters suddenly regress in the last 1-2 episodes and do things that are completely illogical. Brian and Justin getting married was probably too saccharine for the writers, so they decided to remind the audience that bisexual Lindsay, who's in a long-term relationship with another woman , is actually in love with gay Brian and jealous of Justin. So she gives the worst advice, manipulates the situation, and gets Brian to think that by marrying Justin, he will be holding him back. Cue him pretending to be miserable about their upcoming marriage and Justin deciding that they don't need it & going to NY to be an artist in a way that's entirely impossible. Ugh. The whole E13 and parts of E12 are so forced and illogical.

Endings are hard, but not so hard that so many writers constantly create so much nonsense. I really don't know what it's about.

#fandom #hannibal #merlin #shadowhunters #the x files #queer as folk #sherlock #black butler #harry potter

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edelegs · 3 years

Text

Bernie’s just SO good

Bernadetta was one of my first loves on my playthrough. I immediately latched onto her as someone I wanted to help and befriend. Her supports with Byleth were some of the first I unlocked and I’m writing this all to present the hot take that her character arc is actually really good.

The change between academy and war phase Bernie is night and day--she goes from shying away and hiding in her room to venturing out and relating to her classmates. This is seen clearly on the battlefield: her reluctance turns into confidence. Instead of saying “anywhere I can hide?” she says “I do this for all of us”. And it’s not unbelievable that she gets to this point. I’ve always found the reveal of her backstory to be very evenly paced. It’s obvious when you meet here that this child is Made of Trauma. The pre-timeskip support chains that stand out are Byleth, Dorothea, Hubert, and Petra. In Byleth and Dorothea especially, you get insight on different aspects of what her abuse manifested as. In Hubert and Petra’s, you see her first failing to communicate and then recognizes her errors with Hubert/tries to take Petra’s advice. Subtly, she’s warming up to her classmates without it feeling like she just suddenly gained confidence out of nowhere.

By the time the war phase rolls around, she’s had five years with this group. With her father being under arrest in her home, she was likely encouraged to spend more time with the Black Eagle Strike Force. Her A-supports show her reaching out to others and speaking to her friends more comfortably. She and Edelgard are finally able to understand each other, she can unironically propose that Hubert wears embroidered flowers, and she can reflect on the past and what could’ve happened with Ferdinand. These are just a few examples. But what I really love about war phase Bernie is that she’s not fully “cured”. In her A support with Byleth, she still reflects a need to balance socialization/unfamiliar situations and recharging in her room. She expresses apprehension in her paralogue with Petra, but later finds that she loved travelling and wants to go even further. To me, her character growth is some of the most realistic in the game. (Let’s face it, the only therapy these characters have is Byleth, and they were gone for 5 years). I always found her arc to be amazing. In fact, I found Dimitri’s recovery to be too sudden and thought “they should’ve written his arc to be more like Bernadetta’s, where the illness lingers but he can cope better/has better support”. It’s just disappointing that a lot of her endings either imply that she became a complete hermit again or that other people had to force her out of it. (A Berniepetra ending would’ve been so good, because it references the growth from the paralogue and Petra would treat her RIGHT)

It’s interesting how people react to these characters’ trauma. The few times I’ve seen bad fe3h memes (like, the “probably made to appeal to gamerbros” kind), they’ve acted like Bernie was the literal worst. A lot of Edelgard’s trauma reactions get read as proof of how cold she is. Yet I have never seen anyone say a bad word about Marianne (that’s not to invite those takes at all). I wonder if she’s more “palatable” to some people because her trauma manifests as reluctance to talk, whereas Bernie is usually shrieking in panic and refusing to believe that nobody’s out to get her. But watching Bernadetta von Varley grow from an agoraphobic, traumatized girl with low self-esteem into a confident fighter who has learned to trust her friends is one of the most satisfying side arcs in the game. I adore the “kindhearted and unconventional teacher wins the hearts of their students” trope so much and fe3h is Basically Just That. I felt it most with Bernie and I really do love her. Also it’s 2am

#bernadetta von varley #character analysis #bernie's unstoppable 😤#one day i'll have one of these long analysis posts for each beagle #i have my copious edelgard posts #my dorothea list #and ofc the hubert one that has like almost 800 notes for some reason??#i guess the petra linguistics essay counts bc it was mostly about how she's surprisingly good ESL rep #i need to do linhardt next bc he means a lot to me

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chockfullofsecrets · 3 years

Note

"If I'm not careful I'm gonna end up writing content for a character who literally never appears in 141 episodes"

I mean, you are more than welcome to. In fact, we will gratefully encourage this.

you encourage chock? you encourage chock like the author? oh! oh! tk fic for anon! tk fic for anon for Two Thousand Words!

(also, heads up that i am moving next week! have been working on Importance of Timing when i can, but the first chapter probably won't be here for another two weeks at least.)

---

Verin Thelyss, Essek knows, is a seasoned battle commander and strategist.

He’s also in possession of the instinct to tackle people when he’s excited, so Essek is well aware that it’s only those decades of training and experience that have his little brother pausing for the briefest instant as Caleb and Jester teleport him into the hold of the Nein Heroez before he launches himself at Essek in a dead run.

Veth and Caduceus are at their respective homes, Kingsley watching over the ship, but he is far from alone - Yasha and Fjord each have a supportive hand on his shoulder, a silent assurance from the tense minutes waiting for their friends to return from Bazzoxan. They swear in unison and scramble for their weapons as Verin screeches to a halt just shy of shunting Essek straight though the hull and yanks him into a rib-crushing hug.

He burrows into the junction of Essek’s neck and shoulder, made possible only by virtue of the activated floating spell that puts the coiffed swoop of his hair a full inch above Verin’s. “Thank the fucking Light, you’re not actually dead.”

“What the fuck, he’s like a swearing puppy,” Beau hisses. There’s a soft thwap as Fjord gently smacks her across the back of the head.

Essek is feeling out the edges of friendly intimacy, still, stumbling through every brush of fingers and shared look of exasperation, but even he does not need Jester’s frantic gesturing to prompt him to lift his arms and awkwardly wrap them around Verin’s shoulders.

It’s like wrapping a single thread of silk around one of Yasha’s biceps. Clearly he is not built for comforting.

Verin stiffens with a single sharp twitch of his ear against Essek’s collarbone . Essek’s thoughts flail wildly between an expectation of tears or a dagger to his ribs, but his brother just laughs, loud and hearty, and snuggles even further into his personal space. “I see someone’s finally taught you how to hug back - you should have written and told me, this is better news than any number of pages on den politics.”

Essek bristles. “Careful, or I will stop,” he huffs, somewhat more waspishly than he intends to.

Luckily, Verin has proven immune to his moods. “Oh, please don’t,” he insists, voice still crackling with glee. He grins, warm and wide enough that Essek can feel it against the side of his neck. “It just makes doing this that much easier.”

“Doing what,” Essek says reflexively, even as the tiny portion of his brain that he allows to remember his childhood starts to blare an alarm. “Verin-”

It’s far too late to realize that Verin’s hands have somehow been maliciously positioned just along the backs of his ribs.

Jester, standing with Caleb behind Verin, perks up in clear interest as the corners of his mouth start to twitch up. On second thought, Essek thinks he’d have preferred the dagger.

“Verin,” he hisses again, fighting back the anticipatory shiver crawling up his back. “Don’t - don’t you dare-”

It’s about then that Verin’s evil, evil fingers find the edges of his mantle’s arm slits and squeeze him even closer as they stretch to wriggle under his arms.

He snatches his arms back, but it’s too late - a dismayed giggle sneaks from his throat, then another, and then he’s beating helplessly at Verin’s shoulders as he dissolves into high, squeaking laughter.

Every single nerve between his armpits and his ribs squirms in unison - a bubbly, slippery sensation even more potent for how long it’s been since he last felt it. “No,” he shrieks. “I - ahaha! eeheee! - no tickling, no tickling, Verin-”

Jester looks thrilled - she’s bouncing on her toes, babbling something to Caleb that’s inaudible over the rush of his own laughter. Light, the Nein are going to tear him apart for this-

“Yes, tickling,” Verin protests, laughing right along with him. “All the tickling! You let me think you were dead! For months! I thought I was never going to get to watch my poor brother giggle himself to pieces ever again!”

He’s not, because Essek is going to kill him. “That - nahaha, hff, ahaaa! - that was - ha - it’s been decades - stop, stop, there’s people!”

“Yeah, people,” Beau says, loud and smug and far too close behind him. “Hey - Verin, was it? - does hotboi here have a worst spot?”

Oh no. Oh no. Essek squeezes his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to focus and does the only thing he can while laughing like an idiot.

With a shaky flick of his wrist, his floating dispels. Verin yelps in surprise as gravity takes Essek straight out of his grip.

The instant his boots hit the deck, Essek twists the rest of the way out of his grip and bolts.

There’s nowhere to go, really - the Nein have a room full of Counterspells, and Verin can run faster than he can, and he’s already tumbling halfway back into laughter in giddy anticipation of being caught. Still, it’s a surprise when he stumbles into a brick wall of leather and biceps that resolves itself into Yasha as she hoists him back into the air.

“Oh, where do you think you’re going?” She sounds admirably innocent given the soft, teasing smile she gives him.

“Noooo,” Essek giggles. Heat gathers in his cheeks as he tries to make himself stop - it doesn’t make sense, he’s not even being tickled anymore, but even the potential for it flutters light and fizzy at the bottom of his lungs. “I - I’m not ticklish anymore, I’m not-”

The Nein and Verin cluster around the two of them, bubbling with various levels of amusement. “Really?” Beau drawls. “It’s cute that you think denying it has a single fucking chance of working.”

The sarcasm helps him center himself, if only a little - he buries his face in Yasha’s arm and sucks in a deep breath that doesn’t do nearly enough to get rid of his blush.

He straightens as best he can while being bear hugged by a barbarian. “I am denying nothing,” he says carefully. Jester is still bouncing next to Beau, fingertips already twitching where they’re curled sweetly on her cheeks around a mischievous beaming smile, and Essek has to look away before the nervous snickers still wobbling on the back of his tongue can worm their way free. “I am well aware that Verin is - incorrigible-”

He hisses the last word in his brother’s direction - again, harsher than he intends, but he is so unused to being soft around him - and fails to contain a shy smile as Verin sticks his tongue out in retaliation.

Jester’s tail waves its way into the edge of his peripheral vision. He jumps and looks over at Fjord instead. “-but I, ah, I would ask for more respect from the rest of you-”

“You really shouldn’t,” Fjord says, grinning boyishly back at him. “I mean, you know us.”

And then, to Fjord’s right - “Essek?”

He’s been avoiding looking at Caleb. It is foolish, perhaps, to think that after all of the incredibly stupid things he knows Essek has done he will decide to judge him for this, but he cannot help the way his shoulders stiffen as he twists a little further to meet the gaze of the last link in their semicircle. “Yes?”

Caleb looks - focused, in an offhanded way, like he’s intent on something happening just slightly out of their current reality. Stunned might be a better word for it. He blinks for a moment before focusing those keen blue eyes somewhere near Essek’s eyebrows. “Ah - did you know that when you laugh, your ears -” He puts his hands up to his own ears and flaps them a little.

Drow do not run particularly warm, but that only makes it easier for Essek to feel the heat absolutely flood back into his face. “I-” he stammers. Nearly a century of politics is nowhere near enough to help him keep a straight face. “I - ah - eeh!-”

Caleb is close enough to reach out and run a questing fingertip over Essek’s left ear - it flicks wildly, trying to dislodge the unexpected tickle, but a surprised squeak still slips out.

There’s a moment of silence before Verin starts to snicker. “Oh, I like your friends,” he says merrily, beaming. “Go on, Light knows he doesn’t let himself laugh enough otherwise.”

“Don’t,” Essek gets out hastily, but Caleb is already reaching out for another go and Yasha’s grip is firm enough that all he can do is squeak again. “Wait - hm, hnn!”

Beau sidles up to Yasha’s side and gives him a self satisfied leer as she reaches out across their little group to pluck the feather from Fjord’s tricorn. “You got him, babe?”

“I do,” Yasha confirms and lets out a little squeak of her own as Beau reaches around her, no doubt squeezing something entirely inappropriate with company present.

“Hot,” Beau smirks, and reaches to flutter the feather over Essek’s right ear. “Aw, does that tickle? Thought you said you weren’t ticklish, man.”

Essek maintains some facsimile of composure for all of two seconds before his face crumples “Nnn - hehehe - eheehe - oh!”

His lungs are surely going to burst, with the way they’re shivering out desperate giggles as he shakes his head frantically between Caleb’s fingers and the teasing feather. He can’t move his arms, so he kicks his legs instead. “Please,” he begs, nearly incomprehensible even to his own ears. “Ah - aha, heeheehee! - tickles-”

Verin leans down and scoops his ankles up with one ridiculously sculpted arm. “Essek, you’re going to put a hole in someone with those boots.”

He looks up, raising his eyebrows teasingly, and Essek’s stomach drops like he’s cast something on it. “Here, I’ll fix that.”

Essek’s eyes, narrowed with laughter, shoot wide open. He doesn’t remember Verin being this evil - but then again, his brother’s never been egged on by five other people determined to render reports of his death more realistic.

“Verin, Verin, no-” he tries, but he’s giggling so hard that he can’t even get the words out. He twists as far away from Caleb and Beau as he can, flailing frantically, but Verin’s grip holds firm.

He pouts dramatically. “What? Is it my fault that my tiny, ticklish wizard brother insists on wearing metal-tipped boots that endanger everyone?”

Essek opens his mouth to reply and promptly dissolves into another frantic peal of laughter as Beau gets bored of his ears and shoves her feather in Caleb’s direction before jabbing a finger between his trapped arm and his chest to get at his armpit. “Your - shihihit, shit, ahahaaa, not there! - your arcanist brother is going to kill you just as soon as I can- hahaha!”

Verin just laughs, unlacing one of his boots and starting to slide it off. “Is that your attempt to convince me not to tickle your feet?”

Jester, practically vibrating, emits a sound that perhaps only weasels can hear. “Oh, that’s so cute! Can I have one of them?”

“One of his feet? Sure.” Verin hands over an ankle, grinning down at Jester. “You, I think you’re my favorite.”

As Essek gasps and struggles and falls further and further into a formless mirth that makes him feel so light he can hardly bear it, there’s a different sensation at his ear. A hazy portion of his brain identifies it as the rough bristle of chin scruff and an amused huff of breath.

“You don’t really want them to stop, do you,” Caleb murmurs. “I will help you, if you do.”

It’s quite unfair, Essek feels, to try and make him explain himself while he’s strung out and dizzy with laughter. He tries anyway, for a syllable or two, but Verin digs in between two of his toes and he ends up just tipping his cheek against Caleb’s and shaking, laughing too hard to make a single sound.

“Alright, then,” Caleb says. “In that case-”

He brandishes the feather with a flourish more suited to somatic casting, swooping it down the length of Essek’s nose before directing it back to his ear.

“Tickle, tickle...”

#asks #tickling #critical role #essek thelyss #verin thelyss #caleb widogast #chocfic

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carriagelamp · 4 years

Photo

Art of Aardman

I found myself a cheap copy of the Shaun the Sheep movie, so I was rewatching a bunch of Aardman films earlier this month and decided to hunt down some books too. For anyone that doesn’t know, Aardman is a British stop-motion studio that does fantastic work like Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, Early Man… tons of cool stuff. They’re always quirky and funny and warm-hearted. This was just a very nice art book for anyone that’s a fan of Aardman stop motion and wants to see a bit extra; it shows some cool concept art and blows up the neat details in Aardman work, especially in their intricate stuff like The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

Asterix and the Picts (Asterix and the Chariot Race, and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion)

I decided to try a couple of the new Asterix comics that were done by the new team, just to see if they stand up to the old ones (that and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion cause I’d never read that one before). They were pretty decent! Asterix and the Picts was my favourite of the two though I wouldn’t say either are going to contest for my favourite Asterix comic... but still! The art looks good and the stories felt like what I would expect, they made for a pleasant couple evenings of reading especially since it’s been so long since I’ve read a new Asterix comic. If you’ve never read Asterix it’s one of the biggest name French comic series in North America, as far as I know and very worth the read. It’s about a single Gaulish village that’s holding out against the invading Romans through sheer force of will, slapstick hijinks, and a magical super-strength potion brewed by their druid. Lots of fantastic visuals and cute wordplay, even in the English translations.

Bear

I found out about this bastion of Canadian literature via tumblr post that was losing its collective mind over the fact that some bizarre bear-based erotica novella somehow won the most prestigious literary prize available in Canada. Since I too found this hilarious and unspeakably bizarre I had to give it a read, obviously. And yes, the flat surface level summary is... a librarian moves out into rural Ontario and falls in love with a literal for-real not-supernatural-not-a-joke bear. And I have to say… it is actually worthy of an award, which I was not expecting given that I was there for a laugh. It has beautiful writing, and the subtextual story is pretty interesting… it kind of makes me think of The Haunting of Hill House actually in terms of themes. (Womanhood, personhood, independence, autonomy partially achieved through escaping the male gaze by claiming non-human lovers... listen if I were still in university I would right a paper comparing the two novels).

I dunno man, it’s fucking weird. Actually a well-written book, but sure is about a woman falling in love with a literal bear. Give it a read if you want something bonkers but like… high-brow bonkers.

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites

Best book I have read in like… a while. A long while. I am not a fast reader, and I consumed 90% of this book over a weekend. It’s not at all like Terry Pratchett, but at the same time it scratched an itch for me that I haven’t had satisfied since Pratchett’s death. A very clever, hilariously funny poly romance between a disabled werewolf, an anxious vampire lord, and an incredibly powerful woman, with heaps of social satire, political commentary, and sinister undertones. The whole thing reads a bit like fanfiction and I say that in the most flattering way possible -- it is so easy to jump right in and be immediately taken over by the characters and the world and the plot, you never feel like you’re fighting to engage even though the world-building is fascinating and expansive. It welcomes you in right away, it was the book equivalent of a quilt and a hug which is something I sorely needed with all this pandemic bullshit. If you read any of the books on this list, go read that one while I sit here in pain waiting for the sequel.

Kid Paddle

I watched the cartoon of Kid Paddle as a kid and was thinking about it recently, so I decided to hunt down some of the original comics online. They’re fun and weird, with a cute art style and fantastic monsters designs. (My favourites are always about Kid either daydreaming or playing games that involve Midam’s weird warty troll creatures. It’s like a cross between Calvin and Hobbes and Foxtrot with the fun sort of quirks that I love in Belgian comics. Unfortunately, unlike Asterix, I’ve only come across these ones in French, but if you can read French it’s totally worth popping over to The Internet Archive and reading the ones they have available.

The Last Firehawk: The Golden Temple

The lastest Firehawk book. Despite being written for quite young readers, I did enjoy the early books in this series quite a bit. They’re about a young owl and squirrel who found an egg for a magical species that was believed to be extinct. With the newly hatched firehawk, the three of them head off on a mission to find an ancient firehawk magic that could save the entire forest. Very basic adventure story but a good intro to the tropes for children. Unfortunately the quality really feels like it drops with each subsequent book; this will probably be the last one I bother reading.

Lumberjanes: The Moon Is Up

I honestly think I enjoy these Lumberjanes novels even more than the comics just because it really gives time to delve into each story and examine how the camper are really thinking and feeling about everything. (Also I’m always weak for novelizations of anything.) The Moon Is Up is a book that focuses more on Jo, and takes place during the camp’s much anticipated Galaxy Wars, a competition between cabins that goes over several days. While the campers prepare for these challenges though, they also run into a strange little creature with a penchant for cheese and theft. Roanoke cabin needs to keep ahead in Galaxy Wars and somehow deal with the fearsome Moon Pirates that a closing in...

Lumberjanes v4 (Out Of Time)

One of the Lumberjanes comics, a cool, girl-focused, queer comic series. Honestly, this is just a fun series that I never got as into as I should have. My advice is honestly to skip book one because it gets better as it continues, and I’ve really been enjoying the later books now that I’ve given it another go. It follows five campers at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types (Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley) as they handle all sorts of challenges, from friendship to crushes, camp activities to supernatural horrors, getting badges to not being brutally killed. Great if you liked the vibe of Gravity Falls but want it to be queer-er.

Mooncakes

Another queer graphic novel, but unfortunately not a very good one. It really looked appealing and I had high hopes, but the book itself really didn’t hold up… I actually couldn’t even finish it, the plot was just too… non-existent. The art is fairly mediocre once you actually look at it, especially backgrounds, and it feels very… placid. Not much conflict or excitement or even a very compelling reason to keep reading. If you just want a soft queer supernatural you may get more mileage out of it than me, but it didn’t really do it for me. There’s better queer graphic novels out there.

New Boy In Town

One of the worst books I have ever read. My girlfriend had ordered a very different book online but through a frankly stupendous error was sent this 1980s pulp romance instead. Absolutely nauseating on levels I couldn’t even begin to enumerate here. Naturally we read the whole thing out loud. Probably took us 10 times longer to finish than it warranted because I had to stop every two sentences to lose my mind. If you like bad decisions, baffling hetero courting rituals, built-in cultural Christianity without actually calling it that, and gold panning then boy howdy is this the book for you.

(seriously, you better have patience for gold-panning if you attempt this one, because I sure learn that I don’t)

Piggies

This was a picture book I enjoyed as a kid and had a reason to reread recently. Honestly it’s just very cute and simple, and the art is completely mesmerizing. Wonderful if you know a young child that would enjoy a simple goofy boardbook.

Shaun the Sheep: Tales From Mossy Bottom

Related to my Aardman fascination earlier this month. I tried reading a varieties of Shaun the Sheep books — most of which are mediocre at best — but the Tales From Mossy Bottom Farm series is genuinely good. Just chapter books, of course, but the illustrations match the series’ concept art and each story feels like it could have jumped directly out of an episode. They’re just cute and feel-good! Kinda like Footrot Flats but more for kids, and from the sheep’s perspective moreso than the dog’s.

#aardman animation #shaun the sheep #lumberjanes #kid paddle #asterix #the last firehawk #hunger pangs: true love bites #marian engel #bear #canadian literature #canlit #queer lit #book review #book reviews #chatter

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