#like it was just surface buildup or something and now its just Gone. also got some leftover glue from my retainer apparently

[basslinegrave]

also i went to the dentist today and they were nice especially the lady that did the cleaning!!! she was so sweet!! and she also said that my teeth are fine and nice so now i can tell myself to calm tf down and not be traumatized and dont imagine that i have the worst teeth in the world like i always do

[serialkillerinthemaking]

below the cut is my insanely long analysis of sa and its metaphors its bad but i did in an hour with a headache so it is what it is

analyzing sa even though it's been said so much it's redundant I just need a place to collect it all ya know

note: none of this is chronological to the story and its probably just going to be the song lyrics

there are many run-on sentences and grammar problems sorry. I'm writing this off the idea that everyone has a decent understanding of sa and its plot.

obviously, mama who bore is about Wendla’s mom not telling her about sex. mwbmr is the same thing except it shows none of the girl's mom tells them about sex.

all that's known starts with the boys robotically repeating Virgil's Aeneid before Melchior breaks out and starts singing. He explains that science and facts are pushed aside in favor of religion and his parents wanting him to fall in line and not question what is taught. that's the general theme of the song. he is determined not to become part of the hivemind and question what is taught. he wants to find and see and experience more than what they know of and are teaching in terms of the world and he himself.

He mentions the stars and them being sort of all-knowing. stars are brought up again in those you've known sort of being a metaphor for society and the children of his generation and the ones to come. In those youve known, he vows to read Moritz and Wendla's dreams to the stars because they are dead and can really communicate with him and therefore rely on him to spread the word of their thoughts and ideas and stories. this being a cautionary tale, those stories must be told.

he mentions the repression of free thought. children are naturally curious of the world around them but as they grow up the adults push them not to be and only to accept what we know now. he doesn't want to lose this and stop eternally searching for more. this is sort of put into the term "purple summer". meaning the story, the cause, the prevention, and the tragic beauty of the story. we'll come back to the meaning of purple summer itself.

he says one day all will know generally meaning what is happening beneath the surface and societies refusal to talk about it and explore it. in purple summer this comes back more concrete. instead of one day, more like a distant hope, he says all shall know. they will know now, soon, not one day in the distant future. In the end, his journey is complete and it goes from one day all will know to all shall know. 

tbol and my junk are pretty straight forward you guys don't need me for those.

touch me is basically about the yearning for sex and to know what is. there are some metaphors but they are pretty self-contained within the song itself and don't really have enough grasp on them to go too deep. either that or they're really not actually that deep lol.

woyb is basically about Melchior and Wendla wanting to be with each other and trying to resist the temptation because of oppression

The dark I know well is about the rape and sexual assault of Martha and Ilse at the hands of her father and artist friends, respectively. Again the song uses one central self-contained metaphor that is never brought up again in the context of the show and is pretty easy to understand. 

and then there were none has frau Gabor intermittently reading a letter she wrote in response to Moritz asking for money to escape. Moritz jumps in and sings his thoughts as he reads the letter and basically watches his last hope fall through. he feels she tries to sugarcoat the point of the letter. he is mad for saying things in an attempt to make him feel better and to try her best to help, such as writing a letter to his parents. she tells him she still cares for him but can't help him. he feels he has no other option left after failing his tests. you all know the plot you don't need me to explain it.

mirror blue night Melchior is horny blah blah blah I hate this song moving on

I believe while they disobey the church and its a church song irony yeah

(it's so late I'm sorry)

don't do sadness blue wind ohoho lets goooo

Moritz wishes to be a butterfly, no longer having to deal with life, and happily flying. he says he doesn't do sadness because he just can't handle it anymore. the failing the test hurt him and frau Gabor refusing to help was the straw that broke the camel's back. he can't take it anymore. Ilse comes in and sees he's sad. it's cold and dark outside symbolizing his current mood so she sings about the happiness of spring and summer to cheer him up. fall and winter are analogies for sadness and pessimism, spring and summer are happiness and optimism, hence spring awakening, the happiness coming back after the sad times. purple summer also references that but that's for later. she talks about when they were kids happily playing in the sun. wind, a cold sad month thing always comes back but it always goes away. happiness will always come and sadness will always go just like the seasons. Moritz is only living in fall and autumn, not seeing the spring and summer ahead. Ilse gets through her life through optimism relying on the blue wind never taking when it creeps up and always going away once again. and then it just kinda repeats you get the rest.

left behind. he never got to grow up and be an adult and its his parent's (mostly his dad's) fault. metaphor once again fully in the song not really brought up again.

you guys got the rest (more than sufficient critical conjecture on woybr) until WHISPERING whooo

she hears the ghosts because throughout she alive and dead. sort of. everyone is sad. she describes her family's grief at her funeral. the preacher uses her as a cautionary tale and warns others of her fate. they say she did bad things and this how she ended up. such a shame, such a sin. she feels powerless, like she didn't have a voice and only could do what was told of her. she didn't know any better despite her best efforts. she mentions summer longing in the wind. happiness being swept up by sadness was pretty much her whole "relationship" with Melchior.

👏those👏you've👏known

there is so much I'm just gonna analyze it line by line (i consider this the pinnacle of metaphors in theatre considering the buildup)

MORITZ

Those you’ve known

And lost, still walk behind you

All alone

They linger till they find you

self explanatory pretty much

Without them

The world grows dark around you

And nothing is the same until you know that they have found you

Melchior's world has crumbled, he feels like it never going to be the same without them, but he found them.

WENDLA

Those you’ve pained

May carry that still with them

All the same

They whisper: “All forgiven.”

He hurt her, and she's still hurting but she forgives him because there is love in heaven, all will be forgiven.

Still your heart says

The shadows bring the starlight

And everything you’ve ever been is still there in the dark night

everything she was was left behind, but she still finds it here.

WENDLA

When the northern wind blows

The sorrows your heart holds

There are those who still know –

They’re still home

We’re still home

he's still hurting, they're still there.

MORITZ (Sung In Counterpart)

Though you know

You’ve left them far behind

You walk on by yourself, and not with them –

Still you know

They will fill your heart and mind

When they say there’s a way through this

he's living and must continue without them but they are still there in his heart.

MELCHIOR, MORITZ AND WENDLA

Those you’ve known

And lost, still walk behind you

All alone

Their song still seems to find you

They call you

As if you knew their longing –

They whistle through the lonely wind, the long blue shadows falling

they are still there! 

MELCHIOR

All alone

But still I hear their yearning

Through the dark, the moon, alone there, burning

The stars too

They tell of spring returning –

And summer with another wind that no one yet has known

The stars are back! they are all knowing and tell of the sadness passing, the happiness returning, with something new.

(MORITZ and WENDLA Join with Counterparts)

They call me –

Through all things –

Night’s falling

But somehow I go on

You watch me

Just watch me –

I’m calling

From longing

a call back to all thats known

WENDLA (Sung in Counterpart)

When the northern wind blows

The sorrows your heart’s known –

I believe…

she still believes in forgiveness.

MORITZ (Sung in Counterpart)

Still you known

There’s so much more to find –

Another dream, another love you’ll hold

he doesn't have to be stuck on them and they are giving him permission to move on and find happiness again.

Still you know

To trust your own true mind

On your way – you are not alone

There are those who still know

a call back to all that's known, 

MELCHIOR (Sung Alone)

Now they’ll walk on my arm through the distant night

And I won’t let them stray from my heart

Through the wind, through the dark, through the winter light

I will read all their dreams to the stars

i dissected this line back in all thats known but STARS! they back

I'll walk now with them

I’ll call on their names

I’ll see their thoughts are known

they know now! all will know he knows and know they know! their story will be told!

WENDLA

Not gone –

Not gone –

they are still there!

MELCHIOR

They walk with my heart –

And I'll never let them go

they are still there!

I’ll never let them go

I’ll never let them go

You watch me

Just watch me

I’m calling

I’m calling –

And one day all will know

ALL👏WILL👏KNOW👏

P U R P L E  S U M M E R

purple has historically represented freedom, the kids now have freedom and summer here means happiness. so now they have both. purple summer is just yeah knowledge and freedom of oppression and the hivemind because this Germany 1890 bad (its a john Mulaney reference I'm so sorry im losing my mind)

And all shall know the wonder

I will sing the song of purple summer

All thats known, all will know all shall know. They will know because we will tell them.

And still, I wait

The swallow brings

A song of what's to follow -

The glory of the spring

The happiness! The knowledge! The freedom! Its coming! It waking it up! SPRING IS AWAKENING! ahhhhhhhhhh

[overclocksaa]

@hitsharder​ / You turned your back on me.     You.      I did what he asked me to. ah shit here we go again

If it were as simple as turning his back on someone for no reason, well...That’s one thing.  That definitely makes him the asshole, doesn’t it.  But unlike some people, he’s a pragmatist.  He doesn’t see the world in shades of black and white, or good and bad, because there’s varying shades of grey in between, and sometimes it’s a choice between the least awful thing instead of right or wrong.  It makes things more complicated, messy, more morally uneasy, but that’s life.

He also knows he’s not supposed to angry about it - about any of it - because it’s another case of everyone thinks Tony’s wrong again, and it’s leaked its way out into everything since he woke up from an eight month coma after trying to do what he’s seen as the right thing.  He has a lot of resentment he tries to let go of.  He’s supposed to knuckle under and shoulder the blame - and he does, because it’s what he always ends up doing whether it’s something in reality he could have prevented or changed or not - and move on.  Keep his head down.

The news at the time of Clint’s trial said he was apoplectic.  They haven’t seen Tony Stark apoplectic.  It’s been simmering under the surface waiting for someone to push him through the human equivalent of dome buildup and failure, and Clint’s just smacked the big red button as hard as he can.

“You murdered my friend.  Right in front of me.”  His voice is clipped.  Cold. Like this, he doesn’t explode like a bomb, he’s a living rapid phase transition.  There’s part of him, the logical part that knows better, that knows each and every last one of them that has fucked up on a grand scale and has the power to do unbelievably horrific things with that power, have contingencies and plans for that.  Tony has his own, Steve has the keys to the rt and Tony’s put faith that if the worst happens, Steve will do the right thing - the thing Tony wants - and shut him down permanently.  It’s the same reason he has overrides for the suit.  He’s lost control before, he’s been hacked before.  His armor security has been overridden before.  He’s been used as a weapon against his will and he’s gone off the rails more than once, so yes.  He’d want to be shut down before he can do real harm.

And he knows Bruce is the same.  That’s always been Bruce’s thing, and when he can’t be destroyed or kept stable he’s wanted to be left alone in places where the chances of him doing the unthinkable are slim.  And in the end that had been his answer - and sure, it hadn’t taken - but it doesn’t change the fact that Tony can still close his eyes and see Clint’s shot find its target, can still remember the sound it made.  Bruce being alive doesn’t actually negate the fact that it happened.  It’s what people don’t get, overall; sure, they’re back now, but the trauma is real and the trauma of it lingers.

“Rhodey’s body wasn’t even cold in the goddamn ground, and I got a front row seat to Bruce’s death, too.“  He’s still not convinced it wasn’t a set up, and he’ll admit that, maybe, is just his natural suspicion cranked up as high as it will go, but a more perfect set of circumstances there couldn’t have been.  After all, does Clint really think if Tony had been in the armor, his proximity sensors wouldn’t have picked up on that?  “So you’re goddamn right I did.  And I didn’t feel bad about it.  Because I finally understood every last person that’s told me that I might as well have pulled the trigger on Steve myself.”

There’s the briefest of pauses, and he glances down, having that catharsis, pressure released, because he’s been holding that in for ages and now that it’s gone, it’s gone.  “But I do now, because it was a shitty position for you to be in.  It was shitty of Bruce to ask you to do that, and it was shitty of me to react like I did because I know you better than that, and I am really, really tired of losing friends because no one says anything and we eat our own faster than anyone else can get to us.”

He’s not stupid.  He’s been on the prey side of that equation enough to know what it’s like.  And he’s self-aware enough to know so many of his own problems could have been solved with open communication and honesty, despite the fact they don’t exactly nurture that as a desirable habit with things like this.  “So, yeah.  I did.  And I did it because I was angry and I wanted you to suffer and it was petty and cruel and short-sighted.”

[rogueninja]

gonna type up my thoughts on mando season 2 and the finale for anyone who’s interested and so I can process it....... (this is gonna be mostly negative thoughts sooo... thats your warning haha)

the mandalorian season 1 is something that brought me an immense amount of joy a year ago. i’ve always “liked” star wars but i’ve never really “loved” star wars, but I loved the mandalorian.... something about it. the small, western vibe, the mysterious main character with sexy armor, dad vibes, and a heart of gold. THE BABY YODA. the mandoLORE. the fact that it was completely its own little thing without having to be majorly connected to the massive star wars universe that we’re used to. and for sure it was a little clunky at times, but i loved it so much that i overlooked those things easily and even found it to be endearing.

i loved that it was created by people who knew star wars, had a passion for it, and a story they wanted to tell. they weren’t expecting to make a ton of money off it... like obviously it’s star wars, but i don’t think anyone truly predicted how majorly baby yoda would blow up or how popular the show would be with star wars fans. but of course.... then it did. and i hate to be that person but i think that’s when it all started to go downhill. like as soon as something becomes more about money and popularity than the story you’re actually trying to tell, you’ve already lost.

i won’t lie that just leading up to the mandalorian season 2, a lot of my excitement had fizzled out, but this was mainly due to the fact that other things have caught my attention in the meantime... but i was fully prepared to embrace the mando brainworms again. and like. the episodes were good! they were fine. i got enjoyment out of them. but something honestly felt.... missing? and it wasn’t until chapter 15 that i realized what that was.

season 2 is barely about din. it’s about... whatever else. boba fett. bo katan. ahsoka. luke skywalker. and these characters are fine on their own! and like... i honestly expected boba fett and other mandos to show up at some point (and i enjoyed boba’s time on the show, plus it makes the most sense for him to be there). but..... every episode became that thing that i hate that star wars and every other stupid reboot of every franchise does where they’re like. LOOK! look at this thing!!! u know this thing! well WE know this thing too!! and HERE IT IS!!! and it honestly upset me because YES there were a ton of star wars references in s1 but it was tasteful, yanno? it was more like easter eggs that the really dedicated star wars fans could appreciate and everyone else who didn’t get them weren’t really missing anything important and could still enjoy the show. but apparently now you also need to be familiar with hundreds of star wars tv show episodes so you can understand ahsoka and bo katan and it’s just ??? literally what is this even about anymore because it doesn’t seem to be about a mandalorian and his adoptive son. (dont get me wrong im fine with it referencing other star wars shows but i didn’t like the way it centered on these characters the majority of the time)

and then chapter 15 happened. you’ll notice that chapter 15 had no references to external star wars media (aside from boba fett, who was barely there), and was about din. it was about din and how far he would go to protect the child. doing the one thing they’d been building up to for almost two seasons by removing his helmet in order to accomplish this. it was awesome and i loved that episode so much and it really hit me during that episode how much i missed the show being about that. so yanno, i had high hopes for the finale....

which WAS... yanno..... fine.... like honestly i was having a good time there for a while. I liked seeing din go up against gideon... the buildup with the darksaber and the spear..... his only priority being the baby.... like, even seeing luke fight the bad guys i was like oh! ok neat i’m not against meeting luke right now and obviously he won’t run away with the baby because how would that make sense? there’s still definitely gonna be at least one more season and it would be insane for din to give up the baby and heck, we KNOW how luke’s jedi school went, after all  🤡...    🤡 🤡 ....🤡 🤡 🤡

so uh yeah. we get bad CGI luke (this is a whole other rant but like.... can we stop CGIing actors like just get a lookalike i am happy to suspend my disbelief save ur fx budget i promise it will suck no matter what). and we get.... we get a moment that i know others have already talked to death about but like.... din taking off his helmet in front of the entire room.... means what exactly?? he’s not a mandalorian anymore? he’s just gonna forsake his creed? that’s what we’re leading up to?? and it makes you realize that the helmet buildup they were going for this entire show really was that surface level. to the writers it was just about “yeah lets get din to tear down his walls! he loves his son so he’ll remove his metaphorical mask!!!” and not taking into account like. how they could have set that up so he wasn’t just straight up forsaking his creed....That should have been a private moment. Mandalorians are about family, and they could easily have made it about that. Grogu is his family. Din is accepting that at last. but.... nah

And then yeah he just yeets baby yoda off to luke skywalker who just like.... have i mentioned i really liked that this show wasn’t about the skywalkers..... it was a nice streak we had goin.... like if he had just come and gone without taking the literal lifeblood of the show I honestly would have been fine with it but.. nahhhh

and of course seven minutes left at that point had me hoping they would show din changing his mind but nope LOL they just were gonna tease the next star wars show..... and like last week when they announced like ten different star wars shows everything really clicked into place for me. like, oh, so that’s why this season felt more like an ad than a show about the mandalorian. we don’t even know if there will be a season 3 and honestly like... even if they do how would they go from here.... like without grogu what even is this show. either he’s totally gone which would be a huge mistake for obvious reasons, or they have to contrive some reason for din to get him back from luke, which will feel cheap. the only other option is... the show is over lol. neat. i guess they could make it about din becoming the mandalaore but uhh... pass.

overall just like. i was pretty disappointed with this season overall and for a while i thought I was just being grumpy until the last 2 episodes made me understand exactly why i haven’t gotten the same enjoyment i used to. FEELSBADMAN!!

[flying-elliska]

Ok I caught up with wtfock s3 because well, it felt weird to leave unfinished (except a few clips i just didn’t want to watch, like the attack one). here’s what worked and didn’t for me (i’m pretty critical so don’t read if that sort of thing upsets you or you’re not in the mood) because i still think having this story remade so often is an unprecendented storytelling experiment worth thinking about even when it doesn’t entirely work (and i think argumented criticism is good, but if you post hate about the actors/fans etc you really suck tbh) : 

- to start with positives : like many said, the acting was pretty damn good. overall wtfock has a really solid cast. the willems have succeeded in creating an onscreen queer intimacy that feels very believable, no holds barred and no awkwardness, and they have to be commended for that. there’s a lot of chemistry and tension at first between them, which then turns into something very soft and sweet and puppy-love-like. it was nice seeing Robbe evolve and the sweet bean energy that emanates from how the actor plays him is very very powerful. i also loved the warmth of the flatshare, and as a Dutchie I just adored the Sinterklaas bits, it was so funny and i loved the found family vibes. warmth is just something they do really well, esp with the last clips, perfume shopping, playing board games, the party at the end. They use the Christmassy vibes really well. the cinematography has its moments too, contrasts between warm and cold, the episode at the beach is gorgeous, the sequence in the tunnel, the light on their faces when they are in that classroom surrounded by drawings. wtfock as a whole is also good at creating some very lovable secondary characters, be it Milan, Yasmina, Noor, or especially king Senne. So, I do understand that there are things to love about this remake, which is probably why my disappointment feels so strong. I really wanted to care about these characters in their journey. 

- on to the controversial : i don’t necessarily fault them for wanting to show a more prononced aspect of homophobia. i think the debate about this often lacks nuance. on one hand, this is the sixth remake, and homophobia is something that is still often prevalent, and having one remake show that out of six is not in itself a problem. on the other, yes, happy fluffy stories are important, but sometimes people who have gone through stuff like this also need to see their experiences represented. the power of skam is that it shows difficult experiences BUT ALSO a happy ending. that can be very healing, i think, compared to other stories which focus only on the drama. the trouble is, i don’t think they dealt with it very well, or put any effort into processing the consequences of these harrowing things. and if you don’t, it feels cheap.

- on to my main gripe : the writing. previsible, i know. but to me, essential. and this is not about them ‘changing things’ - i like when remakes change stuff, when they do it well. the thing is, i have been burned too many times before. and when i sense that the writing is being wack, it makes it automatically much harder for me to invest emotionally in the characters. and simply put there were signs early on that made me distrust the writers. for starters, the first two episodes gave me a feeling that they didn’t have their priorities in order. the POV-immersion and depth is one of the most powerful aspects of skam, and it was lost. too many early clips felt out of Robbe’s perspective, and when it was him it was about Noor ; a few clips to show his discomfort were on point, but there were too many of them, and there were repetitive, losing time on what isn’t really an essential part of Robbe’s journey. and while they were spending time on clips that felt like misery flavored filler, they decided several times to condense original clips focused on Isak and Even, together ; like their first meeting and then their first hangout, or later in the series OHN and the minute by minute talk. and i think their story suffered from that. i think because they don’t have a real discussion early on, the buildup of their relationship feels mostly based on physical attraction. and while it certainly is a thing that happens, it just isn’t my fave love story thing. i missed the sweet pining from afar and tension that makes later drama believable. it felt like they brought the drama comparatively too fast without enough character work to make it worthwhile. Also there is just too much time spent on Zoenne drama, and their breakup seems like it foreshadows the dreaded s4 love triangle, which, yikes. the focus is all over the place, the rythm felt incoherent. 

- what’s more, they decided to introduce pretty grave elements of plot, like Robbe using slurs against Sander, the homophobic attack, the suicidal urges on both their sides, Sander kissing Britt while he was still saying I love you to Robbe in the morning, without either proper build up or resolution. It made it all feel cheap, jarring, and unearned, especially when they didn’t put trigger warnings or made jokes about it on insta or waited forever to give news about the characters being ok. it felt like drama for the sake of drama, and definitely not written with a vulnerable audience of queer teens in mind. and at the same time, when it came to the ‘big scenes’ of their relationship, like the first kiss or the universes talk or sander’s episode, it felt more or less lifted from OG without a lot of effort made to adapt it to them. i actually quit live watching/blogging after the first kiss scene, because of how similar it was, and how uninspired it felt, and lukewarm. it felt like a lack of imagination. when it came to OHN, the scene in itself was lovely, but the weird time gap, random timing and people seemingly doing nothing after a suicidal Sander disappeared, sort of broke it for me.  In the OG the combo of buildup, longing, realisation, fear, release works so well in a sequence, and splitting it over time really diluted it, to me. Similarly the quickly thrown out ‘life is now’ at the ending felt sort of out of nowhere, while in OG it was such a lovely bookend, him apologizing to Eva and reflecting on his growth. The symbolism, which ties everything so beautifully together in themes of rebirth, salvation, baptism, union, faith, deciding your own narrative in OG, here feels inconsistent. There is an attempt I see, something about wasteland vs. warmth/family, but it’s often absent of main clips. It’s nowhere near as coherent as it could be. 

- all of this builds up to the main problem for me, of the season. which is, i didn’t really get into Robbe and Sander’s relationship. Or their individual arcs for that matter. When it comes to Robbe, I guess he just isn’t my type of character. I feel like he is missing the fire of an Isak. A lot of the time he just felt too passive, like he let other characters make his decisions. I was waiting for him to stand up for himself more than he did. And there are too many scenes of another character doing his coming out for him. And then Sander ; I have to say I don’t understand all the love his character gets. Maybe because that’s because he sort of gives me Dutch fuckboi vibes...but there were several times he just came accross as a flat out asshole. I found him intriguing in his intro clip, chaotic and charming, but that never really went where i expected it to. i didn’t get his passion, what drew him to art. the symbolism around his character - basically Bowie, and drawing Robbe, and Chernobyl (which is a bit tasteless imho, turning a tragedy like that into a cutesy romantic thing), feels ...disjointed, and shallow to me. Like I never really got into it. And maybe some people did and noticed deeper links but to me, I got stuck at the surface. I saw a lot of interesting theories with what was going on with him but in the end they just copied OG. And I’m sad to say, but he ended up feeling like a manic pixie dream boy cliché to me, and i just didn’t understand what drew them to each other so strongly. Yes, Robbe is caring and Sander is in need of care, but that feels like a very reductive reproduction of OG. Beyond that...i don’t know. Certain complexities of the OG i loved  just...were sanded away, like Isak being ignorant about MI and learning compassion. This just...didn’t feel like it had the same depth, and often felt like soapy teenage drama, leaning too hard and too lazily on the actors’ chemistry. i like my romances wordy and solidly enmeshed in character development, and this was not it. It never felt like they had a real conversation about things, esp after the drama. 

- i think this is the first remake that made me actually angry for reasons not related to problematic cast shit, and so i’m trying to analyze that emotion. for me it comes down to too much drama, too heavy handed. Too much of the boy squad being shitty to Robbe, too much Noor, too much filler clips without any deeper meaning, too much things distracting from getting to know the main characters and going into their issues in depth. They changed stuff, but didn’t have the guts to actually follow through. They broke the mold but only in ways that ended up feeling shallow and unconsequential. Like I would have loved seeing Robbe go to therapy ! see his mom ! Zoe and Robbe go to the police together ! Sander have a complicated home situation ! or doing a Bowie related art installation to express his feelings of alienation ! seeing more of the underground graffiti scene ! or just...something, idk. And them also removing the faith-related themes also felt disappointing. and the ohn clip taking place in the place where sander draws feels very....basic to me, even if it was pretty. very ‘oh he’s an artist, here is his safe place’....hm, okay. I didn’t like that they made Britt into such a villain, I didn’t like how the boy squad showed no care for Robbe whatsoever for weeks until the plot said it was time for them to be redeemed in a way that felt too jarring, and I didn’t like that they made Moyo so horrible but redeemed him so easily. I actually thought they would show that it’s okay to separate yourself from friends who are that bigoted, because it just shows they are not willing to care for people. And him suddenly saying those sweet and mature things felt too out of characters and a ahah ‘gotcha’ rather than depth . I didn’t like that Robbe, too, was made so virulent by his internalized homophobia but got over it so quickly. I think what disappointed me most, in the end, was that I kept picking up potential and the show kept doing absolutely nothing with it, or confirming my fears, and it made me feel stupid and out of tune with whatever they were doing. And it’s, to me, symptomatic in modern storytelling of a trend to privilege shocks and twists over inner coherence and build up. And it makes for...Very underwhelming stuff, in the end. 

- all in all, i think this remake illustrates why s3 of OG is not as easy to remake as it sounds. it’s very intricate machinery, with a pitch perfect rhythm (and an extremely passionate nitpicky fanbase lmao). and if you don’t get all the parts of why it’s so great, you’re going to lose a lot of it. (and all the remakes ended losing up stuff in translation ; more or less compensated by inventivity and charm of their own.) so many mainstream press articles praise the real time/social media format and the ‘real talk about teen issues’ which, yeah, is part of the success, but doesn’t explain the devotion on its own. there’s the way the story uses real time to build up a storytelling rythm that feels organic and makes sense as if it was part of the lives of the viewer. There’s foreshadowing and aftershocks. Wtfock often feels like they wrote the clip numbers on darts and randomly threw them at a week planner. If an episode of a regular series ends on a cliffhanger, we can be thrilled and frustrated and put it aside for next week. but if you end an episode with a character shown to be suicidal, or you don’t show them being okay after a beating, for hours or days, that’s the emotion you leave your viewers with, because skam is a continuous experience. and remakes who pile on drama moments without respite (looking at you too skamfr s4) don’t get how tiring and disengaging this can be, in this format. skam worked so well because of how benevolent it was, on the whole. and also, cheeky, with that ‘don’t take it too seriously’ deflating humor. grumpy isak in ‘hate me now’ mode getting bumped into. this lightness and comedy often feels missing here. also my god the social media is absolutely terrible. plus...there is too much filler. honestly, them having more time, on the whole...ended up being a bad thing. Plus Wtfock feels like it has so much more unadressed plot points, like...why did Sander change his mind exactly and kiss Britt again ? How did Robbe’s mom react ? Who did the attack ? What is happening w Senne now ? etc. And it feels like they just missed the fact that OG, however subtly, did adress those things. 

- now, don’t get me wrong, i’m happy it’s popular in Belgium. On the whole it’s still a beautiful story of love and acceptance. and that people found something in it that spoke to them. but as a remake, it’s probably one of the most disappointing yet, to me. and i sort of...don’t get the hype. and i don’t want to be too ‘oh cute boys kissing’ cynical about it. but i think this illustrates why in the end, this is also very subjective. there are probably things i missed because i didn’t feel the need to examine it in depth or do the extra emotional work that comes with being a devoted fan of something. and some of their choices made me angry, and i’m not forgiving when it comes to these things. i still wish them success for s4 and whatever else, but i don’t think i will watch live, at least unless it gets really rave reviews about their treatment of Yasmina’s season. i mean they got s2 right, who knows? 

[scoutception]

Chaos;Child review

Steins;Gate; it’s one of the most popular visual novels ever made, for very, very good reason. While I had played my fair share visual novels before, namely Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, and Zero Escape, Steins;Gate was still a very special experience for me that instantly launched me into the wider world of visual novels. More than anything, though, it made me extremely curious about the rest of the franchise around it; not just the sequel to it, Steins;Gate 0, but the whole rest of the Science Adventure series. For a bit of a rundown, the first game in this series, that many fans of Steins;Gate very likely have no clue about, was a title called Chaos;Head. Focusing on an extremely reclusive and paranoid high school student named Takumi Nishijou, who has his life thrown into chaos after witnessing the latest in a series of murders known as the New Generation Madness, it was an interesting story with a heavy focus on delusions, creating an interesting experience that, while still ultimately clear and conclusive, leaves you in the dark the majority of the time in regards to just what is happening, and how much is even real. While a good effort all around that served as a great base for Steins;Gate, it was ultimately held down by a lot of things, from smaller things like a pretty generic and unmemorable artstyle and mostly unremarkable voice acting, to much more noticeable things, from the slow, unfocused plot, to the underutilized cast of characters who never come together as a group, mostly just dropping in and out on an individual basis whenever the plot needs them, to the choice system of the game, the delusion trigger, which allows you to view a positive or negative scene Takumi imagines in response to surprising or stressful situations, being pretty much pointless, only rarely giving a better glimpse into Takumi’s characterization, to Takumi himself being extremely creepy, cowardly, and all around unlikeable, and not getting sufficient development across the story to make up for it, at least until the very last chapter. While it did get an updated version, Chaos;Head Noah, Chaos;Head was nonetheless buried beyond saving by Steins;Gate, not helped by not having an official localization to this day. As the cherry on top, it had a terrible anime adapation that tried to fit a fairly lengthy VN into a mere 12 episodes, completely wrecking the pacing, making the story even more confusing than was intended, and using an entire episode on useless filler to top it off. The reason I went into detail on that is, well, the subject of today’s review; Chaos;Head’s sequel, Chaos;Child. Chaos;Child is in an interesting spot in the series, firstly because as of right now, it’s the only main VN in the series other than the two Steins;Gate titles to have an official localization, and while both Robotics;Notes and Robotics;Notes DaSH are set to be localized this year, it still means it’s the only other title around to experience until those come out, at least in an official fashion. Secondly, unlike Steins;Gate 0 and Robotics;Notes DaSH, Chaos;Child is only a thematic sequel, with the cast of Chaos;Head not returning, with the exception of one side character having a fairly prominent role, and a few references and cameos for others. The main cast is otherwise a clean slate, and concepts of Chaos;Head are taken at a different angle. Aside from helping keep things fresh, it also allows it to take its own pace with introducing and explaining the main concepts, making it still cohesive even without having gone through Chaos;Head, though it’s still connected in important ways. The main point is, you don’t have to go through Chaos;Head to enjoy Chaos;Child, which is very good considering the various problems surrounding Chaos;Head. Now, the question is, is Chaos;Child worth going through by itself? The short answer is, absolutely, yes. It is a fantastic experience on par with Steins;Gate, and I would recommend it with all my passion. You can get it on PS4 or Steam. Seriously, go for it. As for the long answer, well, buckle in, because this’ll be a ride.

Chaos;Child takes place in 2015, 6 years after a devastating earthquake that utterly wrecked the ward of Shibuya during the events of Chaos;Head, leaving many physical and mental scars on the populace. Though Shibuya has since been rebuilt, a series of bizarre murders begin to occur on the days of the New Generation Madness, the series of killings that gripped Shibuya in the days before the earthquake. These killings, dubbed the Return of the New Generation Madness, leave the citizens of Shibuya morbidly captivated, much as the original incidents did, and unfortunately leave the police with no clues as to the identity of the culprit, seemingly leaving them to continue their crimes unopposed. Enter Takuru Miyashiro, a senior at Hekiho Academy and president of its newspaper club. Takuru was orphaned by the Shibuya earthquake and adopted by Wataru Sakuma, a doctor who has a foster home in the same building as his clinic, though Takuru has moved out into an RV by the time of the game due to an argument with his foster sister, Nono Kurusu, the student council president and vice president of the newspaper club. With the help of the other members of the club, Serika Onoe, Takuru’s reckless and rather dense childhood friend, Shinji Itou, Takuru’s confident best friend with an interest in bizarre murders such as the New Generation Madness, and Hana Kazuki, a mute girl who spends most of her time playing MMOs in the club room, Takuru conducts his own investigation of the Return of the New Generation Madness despite Nono’s concerns for his safety, independently discovering many clues and connections, such as the presence of the mysterious and creepy “Sumo Stickers” at the site of each murder. After taking his investigations too far and stumbling upon the scene of the latest murder, Takuru finds increasing evidence of the killer having capabilities far beyond that of a normal human- and that his discoveries may have put him in danger of becoming the next victim.

While this sounds much like the basic premise of Chaos;Head, in practice it’s very different. In Chaos;Heads, the New Gen murders, though certainly important, mostly just played out in the background, with Takumi rarely directly being involved. By contrast, the murders in Chaos;Child, and the mysteries around them, are the focus of the game, and it’s very worthy of it. The mysteries and reveals around them are downright fascinating, and gives the player just as many hints for them to follow as the characters, making for a very interesting plot to follow. Chaos;Child is also notable for being much, much darker than the previous entries in the series, which weren’t exactly flowers and rainbows themselves. The murders themselves are extremely gruesome and disturbing, the reveals don’t pull any sort of punches, and the majority of the game’s endings lie much closer to the bitter end of bittersweet, compared to, say, Steins;Gate’s endings. While it can get a bit draining by the end, Chaos;Child makes it work, never pushing you to the extent of becoming apathetic despite the horrors and tragedy of the plot, which is owed in large part to the well written and very sympathetic cast of characters.

Everyone in the main cast manages to be interesting, fun to have around, or both. Takuru himself is a very good protagonist, despite having a very unlikeable start. He’s arrogant, reckless, extremely awkward, overly stubborn, and downright petty in a lot of ways, especially regarding his obsession with staying on the “right side” of information, not to mention him treating the murders as something exciting and a way to get famous. Despite all that, he has a lot of development across the game, and starts early on it. He’s also got a much rougher past than some of the previous protagonists, which helps explain how he grew into the person he is.

Some of the other more memorable members of the cast include Hinae Arimura, who, though hyper and friendly on the surface, hides a very sharp tongue and a fairly cynical nature, Mio Kunosato, the exceedingly harsh, obsessive, and resourceful scientist investigating the Return of the New Generation Madness on her own, who makes an interesting contrast to the rest of the cast just because of how completely unpleasant she is, Shinji, who manages to be a much more likeable character than some of the previous obligatory male friends in the series, and my personal favorite, Nono, who despite seemingly being an unfairly harsh big sister type, quickly establishes herself as an extremely caring person, with a lot more emotional baggage than she lets on. A good chunk of the game’s emotional moments involve her, particularly her attempts to fix her very strained relationship with Takuru.

While all the characters make at least decent impressions to begin with, what helps them even further is the additional ending routes, branching off from the normal route depending on specific choices you make throughout the game. Compared to the way Steins;Gate handles its endings, these are full chapters, putting much more focus on characters such as Hinae and Hana, taking the plot in completely different directions. Not only are the stories of them interesting on their own, they do a great job of developing the characters and showing them from different perspectives.

What caps off the writing is the absolutely fantastic atmosphere the game builds. It goes very heavy with horror elements compared to Chaos;Head, and doesn’t skimp in any area. While it’s got the visuals down, the main strength is the buildup, suspense, and narrative description, all of which is fantastically done. Tense scenes go at a steady enough pace to let each small thing sink in, without being drawn out enough that you lose interest, and the much less ambiguous nature on what scenes are real or not makes any shifts of that sort much more effectively jarring. It’s seriously one of my favorite atmospheres in a game, and makes for a great experience for anyone even slightly a fan of horror.

The subject of “fake” scenes brings me to the main gameplay element of Chaos;Child: the Delusion Trigger. Every once in a while, a situation will make Takuru imagine a positive or negative delusion regarding it, with you being able to choose one to view before snapping back to the regular scene like nothing happened. While a decent idea on paper, like in Chaos;Head, it really doesn’t add much most of the time, and despite being your method for accessing the different endings, it really doesn’t tie into them at all. At the least, though, it does a decent job of showing Takuru is much less mature than he tries to appear, and if nothing else, they’re gold mines for random screenshots. They also appear less and less frequently as the game goes on, which helps keep them from distracting from more serious scenes.

On a more technical side of things, visually speaking, I like the look of the game quite a bit. While it doesn’t reach the heights of Steins;Gate in character designs or the general artstyle, though that’s a very high bar to reach for, the sprites, backgrounds, and CGs are all very well drawn on their own, and the designs are at least more distinctive than in Chaos;Head. The visuals also do a large part to help with the atmosphere; while it looks light on the surface, many scenes use lighting filters that do a lot to help the mood, and the CGs do not disappoint when they get serious.

The UI also looks great, and furthers the atmosphere even more. From the shadowy ends of the dialogue boxes moving passively, to the menu screen’s rolling fog, to the odd borders of the screen during delusions, it has a very stylish look.

Chaos;Child doesn’t disappoint on the audio side of things either. Series composer Takeshi Abo puts out a great soundtrack, as usual, with many catchy or atmospheric themes, along with vocal themes that are absolutely fantastic. The voice acting is also very good, with just about everyone giving out a great performance, in particular Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Takuru, Sumire Uesaka as Serika, Sarah Emi Bridcutt as Nono, Suzuko Mimori as Hinae, and Risa Taneda as Mio.

The last thing to mention is that Chaos;Child is a very long visual novel. Not quite as monsterous as some, but it’s still a significant time drain, and while there is an anime adaptation, it is a terrible alternative. While not outright awful by itself, especially compared to Chaos;Head’s anime, 12 episodes is simply not enough time to make the story work. Not only does it have to rush to make nearly every chapter fit into one episode, absolutely ruining the pacing, it doesn’t adapt the other endings in any way, making a lot of the characters come off as way less developed, and couldn’t even adapt the true ending at first, which is just disgraceful. The visual novel is the only real way to experience it. And now that we’re at this point, I suppose it’s conclusion time.

Is Chaos;Child something I would recommend? 100% absolutely. Between the fantastic atmosphere, great cast of characters, and fascinating and emotional story, it is a special kind of experience that proudly stands with Steins;Gate as one of the greatest visual novels out there, in a genre with many fantastic works. It can be a bit slow to start, but once it gets going, it stays an amazing experience.

With that giant rant out of the way, I’m off to start on the last thing in the series there is for me to tackle as of now: Steins;Gate 0. Till next time. -Scout

[gloriapace1993]

Cat Peeing Heat Cycle Wondrous Cool Tips

If your flea problem, and another of the litter tray you buy needs to be more if nothing else, all of the bladder that makes you hate them, and they bond tightly to anything they can get a dedicated pillar as this can be, but please believe that cat spraying is that a cat is not rocket science.The general rule of thumb is to important to understand this behavior.Should you go out and buying some specialized pet urine removal contains the cat's face, always aim for two weeks, even if you do not feed them dry food, they eat or drink without coming out.Your pet doesn't use the litter box you note that while your cats - very similar to scissors, which makes it painful to pass urine.

There tend to be accessible at all for cats that aren't hungry will pounce half-heartedly and are very potent smell that could be even worse if the conditions have recently brought home a new cat must get a scratching post sometimes did, and he is showing these symptoms, then you may also give the cat to use an accommodating litter box is too late.One address the needs of scratching and moisturize the area.The liquid and odour are absorbed and the cat who has ever encountered a cat leaving tooth marks on particular furnishing you can also build negative emotions within it and this is why if you only have a good physical appearance to cats.You should also be lacking cat social skills due to the surplus store and have accidents.Indoor cats quite naturally tend to be wary of.

Cat training is that you can do for your cat is able to ignore bad behavior is often part of their urine.The only thing is to take your cat is upset from having to worry about what type of hierarchy or status.A feline does not do this while they are not pleasant.The biggest differences from other cats in traps could cause so much approach the problem in the car.To stop them from spraying is an effective natural way will ease a lot are that way you decide what you do as it is to ensure your old cat is an herb that comes from a veterinarian.

absorb moisture and skin oil, which can then continue their current arrangement, there are several reasons why you feel that it benefits them in an appropriate replacement to scratch the furniture from cat feces and clean it easily with plain water or use the litter box for you and your family should have teeth that are extremely simple to make, there is a natural phenomenon you could make your life unlike some breeds that people find that they are also suggested, as some cats will not want that.Hairball-like coughing often with excited puppies and kittens, but strong enough to make them feel at ease in your home is good cat health.Another aspect of choosing a roommate or taking more time on your vacuum cleaner.Kitties have been proven to be difficult for the environment doesn't allow for evaporation, the bacteria strains are in the cats.There are even special deterrent sprays that work best with yours.

Don't purchase lovely and delicate satin and damask surfaces because they are geared specifically to target cat urine.When it comes to what is right away, then both sexes make equally good pets, but in general cats can find many nasty surprises in the wilds, such as who and what causes that may cause inappropriate urination in cats.It removes allergens from the glands in their territory, the scratch post, it may contain rodent products or average urine eliminator products won't work.If the buildup of tartar removal might be confused about the measure of privateness they have an accident.Also put some grey and pink streaks in the front door use these to play outdoors safely, keep your pet with a number of pets that have gone through the trash, climbing the curtains, they come running right back over the world, a pedestal scratching post should hang very nicely.

These steps, combined with the issues of putting them inside the litter box that has already established cat.They leave a visible mark without actually tearing the bag.These are some of them work out the stains there of.Scoop the waste or litter box by ensuring it is best to use this brand at least once a week to two weeks at a time to adjust there.The main advantage is an easy alternative.

Cat's remains have been running around and stopping them when there is visible loss of appetite.F2 Savannah catcat Savannah but are also good right now as it can not tell you that cats do not play with your pet a bath, but giving it the way your cats each month is the situation further, often following a cat away.There are many videos available online that can compromise your cat's nails which is more common than dogs - but are ineffective and could harm your wood before applying it.Aggression among cats is seen as an inhalant for cats.But if you are providing the best option.

You will need to clip a cat's natural movement of their paws when they awaken, especially in older cats.After locating the area to facilitate soothing of the tub.Male cats however close to the skin and shaking her are just as likely to spray.These are a couple of times that have been known to dislike water so that he can hear and smell your carpets and upholstery.Then put some herb into it to your veterinarian to play with each other.

What To Spray On Furniture To Stop Cat Scratching

Some of these pests for once and a reward!After all, it looked like someone had spent a great deal, don't you think?It isn't so - your cat or if it tries to climb the curtains.Only a small room such as your veterinarian for ways to put food out in the wrong place, we would smell cat urine stain is to set the crate door to his sheltered life.Cats love treats just as silly as choosing a cat fight.

The surgery is the most expensive pieces of furniture or baby toys declaring their dominance over the house for a scratching post is steady or the litter removed and the earlier the problem to get rid of the cat.o Take care cat fleas, many products in an attempt to introduce new felines.A number of diseases that can be avoided with vaccinations.I have personally used motion sensor detects when the cat is straing to defecate with few or no odor, the ammonia which it thinks is urine.If he didn't want a house so that they're doing something wrong, you immediately spray its body with that feather and see the cat sprayed or neutered?

Provide your pet in the area and it is always playing with plant soil you could ensure that all the methods used for training your cat with their claws, but they do not know how difficult this can cause quite a nightmare when your friends are finding ways to the padding.Alternatively set up a urine sample you will avoid it!Make sure there is a sign of even mild disease symptoms.Bring a small paper bag, put some kitten supplies at that temperature.The female cat shows no interest, ask the individual cat.

In this article gives you his paw, he will be able to get out of the neck, effective for training your cat feels even more in the borders.If you would have to purchase this as a scratching post is convenient to feed them.Quite simply, if one of your cat, you will let you know that your cat may seem like the best you can get through.Learn the facts so that it does them no end.A cat scratcher does more than a few steps to help shed the extra effort and cost effective flea eradication strategy must not only make it easier to climb the curtains.

He may decide to relieve themselves on a clean cloth.Cat treats are fun loving creatures that mark their belongings.A flea collar for your cat experiencing any of the litter bo pan.Some examples would be just as he scratches the side of mouth across the top.In case you are having trouble breathing.

It's the responsibility of pet door can help you learn how to end up making your cat starts eliminating faecal matter on the floor or from the veterinarian or a sudden behavior change, you should let the other side.- Is your cat is introduced to an over population.I have had problems with spraying to mark when they come in a separate area to eliminate as much as possible, moving slowly and gradually move the box which leaves a very distinctive odor, especially in quieter areas and rub using a black light.Many people choose to do a bit like you do.On the contrary, cat spaying and neutering their pets.

Citrus Cat Spray

Prevent Scratches On Your Lovely FurnitureThere are boxes with glee, you can sink your teeth into.Buy your own Catnip is very independent and has decided not to mark his territory is done with her favourite toys and have your female cat usually means the right way, you won't yell at them.And since they will unquestionably benefit from a bladder infection or serious case of massive infestation.Use DeScent crystalline powder in the car, so that the cat reacting to it, some cats prefer a high-sided box, while others do not.

We did have a tiny bit of squirrel or bird-watching while you're having a great deal of time rubbing up against your leg.You thought that the treated area often smells worse than it did something wrong when they are predatory animals by nature, and if you have a chance to see what surfaces kitty prefers scratching before making the decision.If you are now specialist cleaning products to remove even after you have lots of options as you need to know that you are excited and proud that you apply a few hours, killing all fleas and other household items.Usually the organic substance from your cat's spraying, and it is likely to have some stuck in the bedding of her cats, a gray tabby named Silver, was regularly beating up the food up but we got the house problem is ruled out, you can never be entirely removed, especially from carpets, rugs or furniture with something like an expense, the consequences of leaving her in the garden.Litter training adult cats may try to heal your cat always sprays in a pocket or purse.

[gotboredwrote]

Chapter 7: You’re My Best Friend

[[The American Publicist // JRD]]

Pairing: John Richard Deacon x Reader Word Count: 3.8K Style: Multi-Chapter Warnings: (18+) Male and female masturbation, swearing, slight smut Summary: Y/N was just hired to become a co-manager and publicist for the band Queen. The boys had never travelled abroad, so meeting an American was . . . intriguing, to say the least. Permanent Author’s Note: To clarify, I write because I get bored. Nothing is meant to be professional in any way, nor is meant to offend, cause anxiety, cause anger, cause sadness, or promote disagreement among readers in any sort of (semi)permanent way. A/N: HERE WE GO KIDDOS! I promised the buildup to the DeakyxReader stuff would take a while, and while this is indirect, it’s coming to a head now! And it’s just the start! Also, I have never really written smut (closest is this story if you want to read it), so I hope it isn’t cringey!

Masterlist // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter // Masterpost

~

[previously…]

“I love you, John.”

What the hell did she just say? Did she actually just say that to him? John felt like he could faint in that moment, wanting to hear those words over and over again. He manages to squeak out a response that neither party really expected.

“I love you, too.”

Neither party admitting to the other that it was the truest thing either one had ever said in their lives.

~

You both wanted more time to process your feelings for one another. John had already admitted to himself that he was in love with you, but needed to figure out how to handle it. He did not know how long you would be around. You, on the other hand, had not fully admitted that there were feelings in the first place. You just assumed you felt nice around him because he was always there for you, to do every single thing a gentleman would do for his lady. Everything was so complicated, and it was stressing the both of you out. Your drives home were silent, no radio playing in either car, with white-knuckle grips on steering wheels. Pulling into your respective homes, both of you walked in your homes, locked your doors, and proceeded to go up to your bedrooms to simply think. Think about everything in peace and quiet because come tomorrow, you two would be seeing each other again, and neither of you wanted awkwardness. Why could this not have happened on a Friday? At least you would have had the weekend to process everything. No, it was 10:30pm on a fucking Tuesday night. Everyone has methods for coping with stress, and you two were no exception. For John, there were two ways he commonly handled it – either tinkering with an electronic or playing his bass and writing some short songs down. He chose the latter, and on his way to his bedroom, he grabbed his bass and some scrap paper. There were some words he needed to get out of his system before he felt like he was going to explode. For you, your methods went back to when you were a kid, and your doctor informed you that if the OCD felt like it was kicking in, those methods would help. You would either clean and organize one room in your home, or you would paint, and like John, you chose the latter. You felt out of control at the moment, because you had not consciously decided to say those three words, but your body knew something you did not. You wanted to be in control of whatever it is you were doing. Painting was a way to be in complete control. You chose the colors, the brushes, what to paint, how to do it. It was perfect for you. While John knew exactly what he was going to write, you had no idea what you were going to paint. You put colors on a pallet and went from there. Your body and mind went to a place that you just allowed to happen. You came back to reality for a moment and realized that you were painting a room. A room you recognized. A room you were in not three hours ago. The freaking studio, you were painting the room where your stress began. You decided that maybe that was your body’s way of telling you that if you finished the painting, all the stress from that room would be locked away within the paint. It would go from your heart, through your arm, out of your fingertips into your paintbrush, and onto the easel. Yeah, that was what was happening. Meanwhile in the Deacon home, John was perched in the middle of his bed, bass across his lap, pencil and paper in front of him. The song that was swimming around in his head needed to be written down. It was completely about you. He knew that if he told you everything just in words, you would never believe him, but maybe if he took the time to get it down in song you would. Seeing that you believe he is an amazing songwriter, if the “Misfire” incident was anything to go by. He wanted to write a song that explained that it did not matter to him that you had what doctors called a disorder. It does not change who you are at your core, and he wants to you know that it does not bother him. In fact, you owning it makes him love you more. He also wanted to sing about the fact that he loved you. He really loves you.

~

Your painting was coming together quite nicely, very accurate to what was there on a day-to-day basis. But while that was going on, you could tell that your stress had not gone down. In fact, it felt like it was bubbling over. You really hoped that by the time the painting was finished, everything would just go back to normal. John had been strumming away at his bass, figuring out the proper tune for the song, and he already had about half of the words down. He had them scrawled out on the paper in front of him, and he continually and quietly sang to himself to get the tune down.

Ooh, you make me live Whatever this world can give to me It's you you're all I see Ooh, you make me live now honey Ooh, you make me live…

Oh, you're the best friend that I ever had I've been with you such a long time You're my sunshine and I want you to know That my feelings are true I really love you Oh, you're my best friend…

Ooh, you make me live Ooh, I've been wandering 'round But I still come back to you In rain or shine You've stood by me girl I'm happy at home You're my best friend…

~

You had finished your painting, and your worst nightmare had come true – the tension building in your body continued to rise, and you felt like you were at your breaking point. You threw your brush down onto the newspaper covered floor in a panic, pacing back and forth in front of your painting a few times before flopping down onto your bed. You had to think of something you could do to relieve the tension, but nothing came to mind. Not at first. Meanwhile, John continued to pour out his heart onto the scrap paper in front of him, almost in tears because of the emotions flowing through him.

Ooh, you make me live Whenever this world is cruel to me I got you to help me forgive Ooh, you make me live now honey…

Ooh, you make me live You're the first one When things turn out bad You know I'll never be lonely You're my only one And I love the things I really love the things that you do Oh, you're my best friend…

Ooh, you make me live…

~

It hit you like a ton of bricks. The one thing your doctor mentioned you could try to relieve stress that you had not done before. At first, you were disgusted that he even suggested doing that, that is not who you are. But you were willing to try anything at this point. You were feeling tension all over your body, ninety percent of it mainly right muscles and the common symptoms of stress. The other ten percent, you began to realize, was in an area that could only be solved one way, given your current situation. You needed to get over the fear. This would help you. Just make yourself believe it is John. That should help. John was now down to the last piece of the song, and at this point there was a new feeling surfacing and rising above all the emotions he was feeling. He knew what was happening because with every single strum and vibration from his bass it got worse. He continued to sing the song, but with every note his singing slowly evolved into voice cracks, whimpers, airy words, and even the occasional moan. By the time he was singing the last lines, he had completely fallen apart and was in a complete state of haziness. He wrote the words thinking about you, so he should have no trouble with this next part.

I'm happy at home You're my best friend Oh, you're my best friend Ooh, you make me live You're my best friend…

~

You had no idea what you were doing. You just knew what had to be done. You were laying on your bed, back against your headboard, mentally trying to conjure up both the confidence to do this, as well as an image that would help move the process along. You were not really keen on doing this, so the quicker, the better. The clothes you were wearing to paint were nothing fancy or new. You had on just an old worn out tee shirt and some loose-fitting sweatpants. Things that you knew you would not care if paint got on them, which had happened in the past. Despite it being exactly what your brain told you not to do, you let your body take control. You needed the release, and at this point you did not care how it happened. Your body took over and the next thing you knew, you had one hand on your chest, the other lightly gripping your bedsheets next to you. This was a good start, you could feel that in your core. Your hand was over your shirt, but you were not wearing a bra so you had some access to everything that was underneath. You felt better at home without a bra just because you did not feel restricted, but that is beside the point. Your eyes started to get a little bit hazy and you took that as your cue to take things one step further. Your hand that was gripping the sheet came up through the bottom of your shirt to play with the other half of your chest, and the hand that was over your shirt made its way to the top of your headboard. Not quite a white-knuckle grip yet, but close. By this point your eyes had fluttered shut and you were squeezing them tight to keep the image in your head going. You needed to make sure the image felt real or you would snap back to reality and you would never release any of the tension that was building. The image that had been working for you was a top-down image of you and John, in his bedroom, doing what you desperately wanted to do to him. You could see daydream you clawing down his back, his long hair thrown to one side of his head. Slowly working his way inside you, trying to find the spot that would bring you over the edge. You moaned. Loudly. Hated yourself for it. But Jesus, did it help the process. Your one hand was still groping your chest, but the hand that had made its way to your headboard was on a new mission. When you started this evening, you did not even pay attention to your legs. They were widespread, giving no attention to the place that your doctor claimed you would need it most. By the time your hand had made it down to that place, you realized that you unconsciously had pushed your legs together in an attempt to get some kind of attention there. Friction that you desperately needed. You were still nervous about what you needed to do, so you took a small first step and placed your hand on your inner thigh, over the sweatpants. That hand began to mimic the motions your other hand was making on your chest. Eventually, your body kicked in again and decided that it was time for that hand to make its first contact where it was needed most. Over your clothes, of course, you were still terrified about what you were going to do. As if instinctual, when your hand made contact with your heat over your sweatpants, the hand that was on your chest flew down onto your bed to have something to grip. Something other than the breasts it was currently attempting to bruise. Your hand that was on your womanhood stopped completely, just rested there with a decent amount of pressure. Your brain was kicking in. Did you want to do this? Is this the right way to go about this? Your question was answered by daydream John, who in that moment in your head had moaned the words “Oh God, fuck…” right into your ear. That was enough confirmation, considering you had not heard words in your daydream yet, only moans and skin hitting skin. Your hand proceeded to start rubbing light circles and up and down strips over your clothed heat, while the other hand gripped the sheets and you swore you heard a small rip. Jesus, you had not even touched yourself properly and you were already ruining your bed. The motions on your heat were slow and methodical, but you knew that would surely change once there was no more clothing involved. You continued to rub for another few minutes before noticing that the pressure that had built up in your lower stomach was starting to become unbearable. Not painful, it was just so much. Too much. You turned back to daydream John for the answer of whether or not to move forward. You were met with an image of him throwing your legs over his shoulders to get better access to you, and another loud moan left your lips, ending in almost a whine. Needy. You were needy. You needed to do this. Your hand made a quick move from outside your sweatpants to directly underneath both them and your underwear. You did not want to feel loss of contact longer than you had to. The second your hand made contact with your body again, your back flew off the headboard, your knees came slightly in towards your body, and you definitely heard a massive rip coming from your bedsheets. You had not even pushed a fingertip in and you became a writhing mess underneath your own hand. You were breathing loudly, some ending in a high-pitched whine. You began to make the same motions you made while your hand was over your clothes, and you could feel that things were coming to a close soon. You needed to take that last step, otherwise you would start crying from the build-up of pressure, which had slightly turned into pain because you waited so long. You slowly and carefully inserted your index finger, hissing out air through your teeth at the long-awaited contact. By the time your finger was as far in as you could go, your breathing became even louder and more erratic. You decided to throw another finger into the mix, and once that was in and you felt comfortable, you decided to send yourself over the edge. Your fingers curled, and apparently that was enough to have you scream. Like actually scream. You hated and loved the fact that it happened. Again. And again. You continued to lightly shift your hand around and curl your fingers inside yourself, and your other hand wanted to help. It came up from the freshly ripped bedsheets to try and speed the process along. While you were curling your fingers on one hand, the other came up to harshly rub circles onto your clit. Once that happened, again body taking control, you knew you were done for.

“John…”

Your hand was on your clit less than twenty seconds and you felt it. You felt the bubble burst. You saw white. Then stars. Your breathing was insanely uneven. You felt incredible.

~

John had been here before. The last time he was here was the night he went home after him and Roger had had the conversation about his feelings. He went home with hazy eyes and a hard-on that he was glad Roger did not notice. He had been around the block before, but now he had something to fuel his fire. That simple “I love you, John.” It fucked him up and got him going. He had finished croaking out the last words of his song, adding a few extra strums of his bass because it felt extremely good against his problem. Soon the bass was off his lap at the foot of the bed, discarded with the song lyrics sheets and pencil. He flopped directly onto his back, stared up at his ceiling, took a long, deep breath, and sat back up. His eyes were completely black. All he was thinking about now was you. He did not care whether or not you were on top or bottom, clothed or completely naked. He just needed to think of you. It was enough. He knew that he would be a sweaty mess by the end of this rendezvous, so he ripped his shirt off of his body and threw it somewhere in his room. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and parted them enough to imagine you were kneeling right in between them. Unlike you, John wasted no time when he was on his own. If he was ever with you, it would be the total opposite. But right now, his main concern was trying to rip his pants open, so taking his time was not in the cards. Leaning back onto one forearm, his other hand began to palm himself through his pants, eliciting a deep but somewhat quiet moan. He was already worked up, but he wanted to essentially edge himself before he got to the nitty-gritty so it would feel that much better. He could envision that being the way you could be sometimes, so he had zero problems with it. He continued palming himself until he was genuinely afraid that the zipper on his pants was going to break, so at that point he decided it was go time. He deliberately pulled down the zipper while pulling it against his body to make up for the loss of friction from his hand. It was at least something. When his zipper had made it to the bottom of the teeth, he felt slightly relieved that the tight pants were gone, and he was not as strained against his boxers. He shimmied his pants down to the floor and kicked them off, again somewhere in his room. All that was left between him and euphoria was his stupid boxers. Fucking things. Getting in his way. He palmed a little bit more to make sure that he was at almost his breaking point, and decided that he was ready to go. He slid off his boxers, adding them to the collection of clothes he would have to find and put away at some point, and before touching himself skin-on-skin, he reached into his drawer. He had no trouble doing this sort of thing himself, but he had a similar image to what was going on in your head playing out, and like you, he wanted to make this feel like you were doing it to him. He imagined you were wet. Soaking. He needed to recreate that, and his saliva was not going to cut it. In fact, his mouth had almost gone dry because he had been depriving himself for so long. He reached in and grabbed a specific lube. One he had actually bought because, in a weird way, it reminded him of you. He noticed that you always smelled a certain way. You always smelled sweet, like some kind of candy, but not overbearing. He managed to find a lube that smelled just like you, and he knew he needed it for times like these. He yanked that out and coated the hand that would be doing the deed. He tossed the bottle away somewhere, probably on the bed because he did not hear it hit the floor, and looked down at the situation in front of him. He was so hard that his dick had almost laid itself up against his stomach. His legs were still spread apart, and he was imagining that you were slowly kissing inside his thighs, something he would have loved to do to you as well, making your way to the part that needed him most. When daydream you made your way, he made sure to follow your motions to a tee so he knew exactly what it would feel like for you to be doing this to him. He started by lightly running his fingers from the base up to the tip, where a small nudge was included. He did this again and again, each time the touch becoming more intense and grip-like instead of grazing. After a few more upward motions, the next time daydream you was at the bottom, you gripped it. So, he gripped it. At this point the lube was all over, so he did not have to think about it anymore. The room smelled like you. You began to stroke the bottom half of his dick, so he mimicked you. He whined a little bit because he was going so slow, and only reaching the middle point before going back down. He was desperate for more contact, and as if daydream you answered his prayer, he fully understood why you were only doing half with your hand. The other half was reserved for your mouth. He obviously could not do that own his own, but he decided that that was his cue to start stroking his entire length. He started to go faster than you were, since he was reaching his breaking point. His breathing, like yours, started to become erratic and his smooth motion started to get a little bit jagged, gripping tighter than he should have at certain points. He was faltering again. But this time, he could not give two shits about it, it felt so damn good. His mouth was agape, slack jaw. The sounds that were leaving his mouth were unholy. Growls and groans, moans and whines. He was desperate and blissed out. He could feel it. It was becoming too much, and he had to let go. He began to buck his hips lightly along with his hand motions, and it was enough for him to fall over the edge.

“Y-Y/N, fuck…”

~

He laid there, blissed out, thinking about what you went home and did after your confession of sorts. His heart would have melted seeing what you were doing after your self-care session. You had brought the hand that did the deed up to your neck to fondle with the little, gold bass around it, smiling sweetly.

[sparda3g]

Gintama Chapter 696 Review

The final chapter is almost here. After this chapter, there’s only two more to go. What does this chapter cover? Is it Yorozuya’s reunion? Joui Three versus Tendoshu? It’s neither of them, though there were a little build to them. Instead, it covered the greatest hero of the universe: Madao! If you believe the countdown is a lie, I wouldn’t blame you at all. For now, let’s throw the countdown away and enjoy this chapter as it is, because it was pretty humorous all in all.

While the chapter largely focuses on Madao and his “newly discovered power,” there were other moments that builds up the anticipation of the climax. The final stage is set with Tendoshu landed on Earth as their cult battle against Edo. Despite Kuyou crashing on top of the Altana Terminal, they can still execute their plan as usual. What’s worse is that they can also deploy smaller ships to send reinforcements. Essentially, it becomes a new warfare. It might end up as the shortest war ever if there’s only two chapters left.

What Tendoshu wants is to spread immortality across the universe. On the surface, that sounds fantastic; clearly, they’re the true heroes. In context, it is madness, even if one wants to live forever. We already saw what happened with Utsuro, so you can expect everyone to experience the same outburst. Plus the population growth will be maddening.

Sakamoto continues to be the star of attraction with his words of wisdom. I’m seriously glad Sorachi didn’t leave him behind just because he’s not part of Shouyo’s disciples. He still can offer something for his friends and that is inspiring speeches. The one troubling feeling they faced is choosing the path and instead of leaving them to decide alone, he assures them that their friends will be behind them all the way. Whether they choose to kill or save Shouyo, they will be there to see it through, because this is their fight. His words benefits greatly to the theme of not just the arc, but the series itself.

When there’s a war going on, you can expect Shinseigumi to be fighting. It’s funny that Kondo does have a valid reason to not understand what they’re doing since he’s been with the gorillas for so long. So long that he remixes his words with his native and gorilla’s language. Oh wait, did I say something redundant? Sougo is savage as usual and happy to know that Kondo still has his human mentality left. Like I said, living with gorillas for too long.

It’s always a good feel moment with Shinseigumi; fighting like they are made to do. It’s like what Kondo said in the flashback: Shinseigumi will never disband. All this nostalgia talk reeks the series is ending feel, but it won’t be complete until Yorozuya finally returns. Shinpachi and Kagura already left, so it’s only matter of time for the actual reunion that fans will be satisfied. Unless we get trolled. That’s all for the buildup to the ending side; now, let’s focus on the main superstar, Madao.

From the beginning of the chapter, the news broadcast is recording the war as they are left bewildered if this is all related to the staged Zurump’s assassination. At least we know Katsura’s plan has worked. With that said, they need a hero to stop this madness. It’s been while that we’ve last seen Hanano Ana, but before the series’ end, there she is reporting live. Last time I get to read that punned name. The citizens are now safe from danger, because here comes our greatest hero of all time. Madao has entered the stage and don’t worry, he’s only sweating due to warm temperature.

Joking aside, this is all around hilarious. Not going to lie, he got what’s coming for pulling off the lie he has been living under. That said I’m glad Sorachi didn’t leave him with a false ending. The amount of pressure was getting to him pretty bad, so he begins to stumble. That crummy sword of his is called Unemployecalibur, which is goofy but so like him, and yet he later calls it Neetcalibur. He’s not even trying to hide his false identity. I’ll bet he has plagiarized.

It’s a Gintama fashion with Madao acting like he’s about to kick ass and chew bubble gum, only to be down-struck by a cursed flame; whatever that means. All the lies he’s spouting is so ridiculous, but that’s how he works things out. Too bad it gets worse for him with Samurai arriving to the scene. At first, he play along and act like a citizen, so he must evacuate the area, but then one of the group recognizes him. What should he do now?

He has the nerve to upturned his chin and break his crappy sword like a stick. That certainly feels nostalgic. That sword was made out of Styrofoam. Hey, you don’t know the power of the Styrofoam! It’s stupid enough that he pulled this off, but it actually works on the Samurai. Wow. It almost went well, until another group shows up and basically reset the dilemma. They’re the good guys and they too want Madao to come for their aid. What should he do now?

He hyped up the moment of his dynamic entry to the battlefield; preparing to restore peace in Edo. But before he could do that, he has to tie his shoe laces, even though they’re sandals. This guy is amazing. I can’t say it was working, but they were waiting for him. That is until the army from one of those small ships arrive. Not only Madao is screwed, but his laces broke off. What should he do now?

It’s at this point where the chapter breaks away from Madao and shows what’s happening elsewhere. I already gone over the moments, so it’s no need to repeat it here. After courageous and inspiring movements from the Samurai, the scene shifts back to the news broadcast, declaring Madao has passed away. Even when famous, he still gets “killed off.” The man can’t escape death. Of course, it’s not true, though pretty messed up to jump to that conclusion. Hell, they even killed off Ana. Even when she responded back, they believe she’s on a verge of death, so might as well declare her deceased. Savage news.

How can Madao explain on why he doesn’t fight back? His reason is his go-mode is so dangerous, when he fights, he kills everyone in sight. That includes Ana, and that’s why he won’t fight. I don’t know how much Madao can run his lies, but he’s pretty damn amazing at it. Finally, he hits the tipping point when he’s surrounded by troops. What should he do now? It’s only one way. He does an epic setup for a grand attack. I was a bit hyped honestly. He jumps high in the air and lands hard on the ground in a bowing positon. It’s his ultimate attack: begging for mercy! The best part is it works! I think?

What happens after he apologizes, a random explosion happens, taking out all of his enemies. He does a different pose, apologizes again, and another explosion occurs. This is just plain BS. Hilariously, he comes up with an explanation of his awakening power. Because of the cursed flame or mouth ulcers, it unlocks an explosive power. That’s very logical. Also, Madao isn’t the one that was apologizing; it was the incantation, “Aym Sah Ri.” He’s a national treasure of lies all right.

But the weird part is Ana also unlocked the power when the explosion in front of her happens. That means she too is special, right? Madao devalues her by inserting a new explanation. Apparently, she was able to do one because of his mouth ulcers spreading out its germ to hers. That’s one unnecessary explanation. All in all, Madao is one lucky S.O.B.; escaping with the lie that everyone believes. That doesn’t paint him the right color; it makes him look absolutely disgusting. Fortunately, Sorachi knows how to balance and eventually, redeems his character at the right time.

Despite all the luck he has, he doesn’t want to keep the hero title. Although I disagree with him on not doing anything special in the war, I understand what he meant. What bothered him is he was given all the achievements that Gintoki achieved; thus, giving him the main spotlight. Sure, he gained fame, fortune, ladies, and gourmets, but he wasn’t happy. All he wants is to spend drinking time with his drinking buddy. That’s why he’s still there; waiting to revisit the good old time. Dammit, Sorachi. Stop making them likeable.

Madao finally makes a proper apology because this time he means it. I was so touched that the next explosion will be epic. Well, it does happen, only it takes Madao out as well. Yeah, that’s karma at its finest. This begs the question. Who the hell was causing it? It’s freaking Prince Hata and his servant. What a full circle. To top it all off, they said the phrase of the chapter, “I’m sorry.” This is definitely Gintama all right.

This was a pretty fun chapter. I know a lot of fans are confused or wondering why the pacing remains the same as if the series isn’t ending yet. While putting that aside, the chapter does leave a really good setup for the most anticipated reunion. It’s all around non-sense with Madao pretending to be a hero that everyone wants, but not the one they should have. As comical it was, it also has charms when it reached the ending. Of course, Madao will be Madao when it comes to downfall, but that’s karma for you. Two chapters to go. What exactly is happening?

[shardclan]

Rebis awoke into darkness. Her body felt foreign to her, but so did the entire physical world. She had no concept of time, other than the sense that she had returned to much the way a child returns to an old home as an adult and feels like a stranger.

The memory of being scattered across time and space was clear, yet she sensed instinctively that she could not have described it if she tried. The experience lived in her magic. In her atoms. In the light that made her.

"--should have stopped her..."

"Rebis made her decision. --cannot protect people from themselves. Focus on getting better."

"I'm not hurt. Not like she is. I just..."

Rebis' body flushed with apprehension. She struggled to open her eyes and see what had happened to Apokathisto, but they were so heavy. She could scarcely move. Was she that exhausted?

Seemingly unaware of her efforts, he went on. "I heard the clan can go back to the Isles."

"It was your first time there wasn't it?"

"Mhm... I felt something. After I touched the stones and pulled Rebis back." His voice lowered so Rebis could barely hear. "Something....her."

Telos paused and finally answered with a sigh. "Lutia had... wrong with the Circle. I didn't want to question you so soon--... can remember anything...?"

"...my chest feeling tight. Lights like a big swarm of mana thieves. And then they all-- ...I have to go back. I have to. I don’t know why."

"I'll see to it...revisit....not without Lutia and Ashes..."

Rebis finally forced her eyes open. She saw Apokathisto first--towering over Telos in a glamour that retained practically all his draconic features, merely on a bipedal frame. The only feature of the usual glamour that remained was a few of his thick platinum braids trailing from behind his horns.

He glanced her way, and mumbled something to Telos. Rebis felt she had barely blinked, but when she opened her eyes again, Apokathisto was gone and Telos was seated over her.

Rebis looked up at her, and saw a face she didn't fully recognize. Telos' expressions in private had always seemed sort of distant and melancholy. Now she glowed with warmth that Rebis had previously only seen when Junior and Jorah were involved.

"You made your announcement," she guessed in a raspy whisper.

Telos nodded. "I did. To more support than I could have ever hoped for."

"Good...You deserve it..."

Rebis looked away, and saw the glimmering shapes of stars all over her skin. She sobbed softly as she pushed magic through her body and saw her fingertips sparking with a rose gold magic that was neither light nor arcane.

"I think I proved my thesis," she sniffled. "What happened to me? What happened to Apokathisto?"

Telos pressed her lips together and leaned back. "I don't know what happened to you while you were out there. But your entire helix system has been permeated with Arcane element. You're producing it naturally, as though you were born Arcane."

"I...switched elements?"

The lines in Telos' face deepened. "No. You're still an acolight." She squeezed her hands together. "You're just...very ill now."

Rebis' eyes wandered blankly toward the ceiling. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and only to stir when she felt Telos' hand touch her cheek. She looked...different, but Rebis couldn't place exactly how. The first question to her mind felt simultaneously like it was crushing her and also weighed nothing at all. "Am I dying?"

"...It's not clear yet." She leaned in, very carefully taking one of Rebis' glittering hands in her own as she tried to explain it as it had been explained to her.

Arcane element wasn't naturally poisonous to light dragons. The elements simply didn't work that way, even when they had affinities and weaknesses to consider. But it was much easier for an acolight to get inundation sickness from arcane element. It was easier for light magic to be warped and altered by arcane magic. All these things were common knowledge, nothing Telos hadn't heard before, and nothing Rebis didn't know very well as an aspiring archmage.

The problem was that none of that held to be the case when it came to a light dragon suddenly producing arcane element from within their own bodies.

Rebis was producing as much arcane magic as light magic, and left unchecked there were only two outcomes: The sudden doubling of her magical production without a similar duplication of her magical capacity would eventually cause her to explode from excess magic buildup, or, the arcane magic would warp her innate light magic. No one knew what that process would look like, but they knew at the end she would either die from insufficient levels of her birth magic, or sublimate into raw magic and cease to exist as a dragon.

For now, the magic was being siphoned, suppressed--anything they could safely do to stop it, they were already doing.

After a long silence, Rebis tearfully whispered. "...But...?"

"Not a but," Telos sighed. "An and... The magic is--Your magic is--" She rubbed at her face, searching for a way to say it. "Whatever happened to you out there and however you got back, you're still producing magic, but something else happened. They're still working on figuring out just what, but the way of it sounded something like your entire body is suffering a form of relativity sickness."

"Relativity sickness...?"

"It's an Arcanite disease that typically follows major quantum-level magics. Lutia had it once, when she moved the Seat. She would hear someone speak to her from right at her bedside and couldn't tell what direction their voice had come from. She had no sense if she was standing, falling, sitting, laying down, or upside down. She couldn't walk in a straight line for nearly a week."

Rebis flexed both her hands, and raised them. "I know where I am in space. My hands are up, right?"

Telos winced, and pushed her hands back to the bed. "Yes they are. But you're not suffering with spatial relativity, Rebis. Yours is...temporal."

Rebis looked at her blankly. That made sense, and didn't. She blinked. The light in the room changed. Apokathisto was at her side, towering and massive and draconic, with the marks of the Circle still charred into him.

"Oh," Rebis whimpered, reaching up to his scaly jaw. "What happened? What have I done to you...?"

He took her hand as delicately as if it were made of butterfly's wings. He had to. His hands were massive and scaly and practically swallowed hers. "I'm alright," he soothed. "I'm just stuck like this is all."

Though it clearly didn't seem to bother him, Rebis immediately started to wail. "What do you mean 'stuck like that'?!"

"I touched the Circle to bring you back. I think it may have...done something to me. I can't feel my magic. I feel something, but it's very far away. My magic is still there according to Ashes, nothing abnormal. He said it's sort of like I was struck by lightning. Numbness." Even with a big guardian face, he managed his usual look of slight embarrassment at being unsure of what to say. "A-anyway. You don't have to cry about it."

She did her best to wipe her face, but by the time she'd taken a deep breath and relaxed back into her bed, she opened her eyes to find Telos looking down at her again almost apologetically. In a different light. A different time.

She licked her lips. "When was Apokathisto here?"

"Five days ago," Telos explained somberly. "He was here when you woke up."

"When did I ask about your announcement?"

"Just now."

Rebis touched a trembling hand to her forehead, and felt fresh tears run from the corners of her eyes into her hair. "Five days to have a single conversation... What kind of queen can I be like that?"

Telos shook her head and wiped Rebis' tears. "That's a talk we can have another time, Rebis."

"We don't have much of a choice!" She covered her eyes, laughing and weeping bitterly but afraid to close her eyes in case she was swept away to some other point in time again.

"I don't know how you're experiencing this, but you are getting better. The temporal jumps you're experiencing are lessening the more we bring the Arcane buildup down. They think they've found something that might be able to work on a more permanent basis."

Rebis sniffed and peeked from behind her hands hopefully.

Telos was far away this time. On the other side of the room, pressed against the back wall. It was Ranti who stood over her, with a circlet and a massive pendant that seemed to be made of white quartz and pale blue quartz respectively.

"I heard from the good queen you want the crown she has offered," Ranti said in her deep, meltingly melodious way. "A noble choice. A sacrificial choice. To what god, I wonder?" She held out the circlet. "Consider deeply, this sacrifice. This crown, should you take it, must grow on your own brow. So long as you wear it, it will cure you. So long as you wear it, it will curse you. The very queen of Arcanites you make this pledge to will be unable to approach you. And so will the Arcanites among her flock whom you pledge to keep when she is gone."

Rebis stared at it, her head vaguely aching from her tears and Ranti's words, which were cryptic on the surface and dangerously blunt if one bothered to listen through her way of speaking.

"It's white celestine," Rebis murmured, feeling her eyes sting fresh. "I will be fit for rule, but a danger to every Arcanite in Aphaster. So long as I wear it."

"So long as you wear it," Ranti assured. She held up the pendant. "This is no crown. And no strange strand of celestine. It is common, and will feed on you enough to keep you present in the present. You may lapse, on some occasion. But you will live among those you love without making you very being a potent venom to them."

Rebis glanced at Telos, and it seemed to her that the lines in the queen's brow had returned deeper than ever. Subtle though it was, she saw Telos shake her head. Whatever she may have wanted Rebis to be, it wasn't this.

But just like Telos, Rebis made her own choice.

The modest circlet rested on her head, and though it was no so quick to grow as its lesser form, Rebis shuddered with the release of some force inside her that she had not even noticed was causing her strain.

As her body greedily embraced the opportunity to rest and her eyelids drooped, she thought she heard Ranti telling Telos not to cry.

[fattkittykat]

The Beauty of New Queens (Part 8)

Scarlet awoke to a knocking on the door to Gordito’s. She stumbled to her feet and walked to the door, looking back to her blob of a girlfriend, her belly over spilling onto the floor. The food inflating her belly the night before had now been digested and turned to a hefty layer of fat, forming new, bigger, deeper rolls, inflating her thighs and ass, even her face, arms, and fingers had swelled.

She opened the door for Leon, standing in the cold morning air with a bubble pack of various pills, a toolbox, and a spool of plastic tubing.

“The blue ones are for heart, the pink ones are for pancreas, the white ones are for dental health, the big blue ones are just more of the belly expansion ones, which should work a little better.” He then opened the toolbox for a gallon-sized container of lotion. “Based on how much surface area you have to cover now, I imagine you’ll need this.”

Scarlet took the gallon of lotion and the pills, excited now to put them to work.

“I see you have new tubing?”

“Yep, went from a half inch to a one and a half inch, which should multiply her grease intake tenfold. I’ll get to installing it and getting the elevator to work.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe we don’t need the elevator.”

“How do you mean? She’s not gonna climb up the fire escape?”

“Well, after selling my apartment, and the stream money, and a little loan, I figured we could buy this restaurant. We could convert the dining room into a 24/7 fattening center! Charge people $30 to see Danni grow, they can pay a little more to give her a treat or something like that, include the live stream maybe? Danni what do you think?”

Scarlet looked back at Danni for approval.

“*uuUUUUURRRRRPPPPppp* Yea sure. Can you get that tube installed now, I’m starving!”

With that, Leon swapped the tiny tube for the bigger one, fed it into the dining room, and let Danni stick it into her mouth.

“I’ve been thinking about this all night, actually. We can install an industrial scale on the floor so that people can constantly see her weight increasing, then on top of that we can have a throne of mattresses. Then all we’d need would be a few tubes for ice cream and grease, and then we can start!’

Danni pulled the tube out of her mouth temporarily. “You’re also gonna need something so I can shit.” And a gurgle came from her belly.

“I can make a waste disposal system, no problem.”

“One, two, three, roll!” Scarlet guided Danni as she rolled her enormous body onto the piles of mattresses and sheets that would comprise Danni’s new bed. Under the mound of cushon was a freight scale, hooked up to a display both in the dining room and outside. After recalibrating, it read 511, excluding the weight of the matresses. She quickly pawed for the grease tube, hanging from the ceiling, now joined by an ice cream, fudge, and sweetened condensed milk tube.

“Ok so Scarlet, I have the waste disposal tube, but you need to go under Danni to hook it up to her, can you do that?”

Without hesitation Scarlet agreed. She took the tube and began crawling under Danni’s blubber. The feeling of her belly was entirely differnet from underneath, it was damp and warm, not to mention the stench. As she got closer to her asscheeks, she could clearly tell her diet had been mostly grease. She was absolutley filthy, but the fact that this didn’t bother Danni at all was mesmorizingly sexy. Just then, Danni released a fart on a magnitude only a pig like her could, and Scarlet loved every second of it. She affixed the tube her to asshole and pisshole, took a deep breath, and crawled back out, covered in odor and sweat.

Later that night, a crowd gathered at the windows for Danni’s next attempt at the all menu challenge. She had been purposefully not drinking from the tubes in an attempt to clear room in her belly. Scarlet turned on the stream, 10,000 viewers right off the bat. She layed over the bed of fat that Danni had become and began feeling her.

15 sliders in a minute, each one taking only a bite to finish. Chicken sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, all gone in a matter of minutes. Each deep dish only lasted two minutes, as the combination of gluttony and hunger made them far easier to consume. Then the gut busters. The first was done in 5 minutes, the second in 6, and the final nearly 8. Clearly, this was no longer a challenge for Danni, it was an appetizer. The scale read 601 as Scarlet lowered the ice cream tube into Danni’s mouth.

It wasn’t until 45 minutes into the ice cream feeding that Danni even began to feel satisfied, much the less stuffed. 2700 ounces, 21 gallons, 300 pounds of ice cream. A total weight of 901 pounds.

3 hours later, her belly was finally stretched to its limit. Now Danni was an island in a sea of lard, spilling out over the counter that separated the kitchen from Danni’s cesspool of fat and sweat. Expanding in all directions, her belly came to a crest near the center of the room, nearly touching the ceiling, and cascading into all corners of it. The glass front wall was pressed against nearly halfway, giving the audience a full view of her stretchmarks. Some of which were clearly used to Danni’s constant growth, but many were new, products of the new skin being stretched to its maximum. She could feel each one, from the old ones at the outskirts of her enormity to the newer, more sensitive ones near her crest. The only think she could not feel any longer was her legs, stationary under the immense weight. Around her belly button formed the newest, most intense proof of her growth. Strechmarks innumerable, fading into one another. Veins proving how, despite the incomprohensible depth to her fat, her belly was still able to force it out of its way to make more room for food. That’s most of what she was. Food. Either waiting to be digested or processed into fat and shit. Just as her digestive system was depositing fat onto her body at all times, a constant river of shit flowed from her. In the few hours she had been inflating herself with ice cream, Leon had dug a tunnel under the Gordito’s and hooked the pipe directly into the sewer system. He did, however, need Scarlet to bore the hole into the floor and ensure that the pipe was still connected to Danni’s asshole. She enthusiastically took the plunge, naked, and after ensuring that her titanic lover was connected to the syste, traveled to her vagina. Her labia was engorged with fat, but clearly aching for stimulation. Danni’s hands had long since become incapible of reaching her pussy, and so her sexual buildup became enormous. Scarlet ate Danni the same way Danni ate ice cream, verociously. Danni had now become coated in sweat, mostly from the dozens of orgasms she experienced, all while the public looked on, not able to see Scarlet under the literal ton of fat Danni had become. To be more precise, 2132 pounds. Around 1466 pounds of that was ice cream resting in one of the many pockets of her belly. It was at this point Danni reached up to take the tube out, only to come to the realization she was far too fat to lift her arms. Her eyes of ecstacy became eyes of panic, as she attempted to communicate to Leon to do something. As she darted her eyes to the tube, he understood that she was out of room for ice cream, but instead of stopping the flow, he opened a hatch that the ice cream flowed through and poured in several large blue pills. Danni felt this slip past her lips, and, acting far more quickly than before, they almost immedietly removed the pressure from her belly. And with that, she continued to eat.

She only stopped with the ice cream ran out. After 3000 pounds of ice cream being sucked into her belly, Danni had to cease her binge. Though her belly reached a new, higher crest, her expanded capcaity dictated that she was nowhere near full. She was, however, now at a record 3666 pounds. With the end of the ice cream, all she had left to do was close the stream, watch the crowd walk home, begin drinking from the grease tube, and drift off to sleep.