#like she focuses way too much on what's desirable/acceptable and what's not and that's part of what holds her back

[tvrningout-a]

clutches my heart and weeps!! as i realize that while being around other spider-folk like her is a relief bc they understand the stuff she's dealing with, it also supports the idea that chiyo is absolutely replaceable and that people could drop her if she becomes as difficult to handle as she imagines she is. it just makes her more determined to push down aaaaall the stuff she considers " ugly " and deal with her traumas and uncertainties on her own. and there are people who can probably see it happening bc despite the fact that chiyo is skilled at playing pretend, these people have done the same kinda stuff and recognize the signs. in this essay i will--

[ambrosiagourmet]

I've been thinking about Laios' succubus lately. Mulling it over a bit.

Because I've seen these pages brought up a fair bit, but almost entirely in the context of shipping (on all sides, really). And I really want to understand what they are doing for the story beyond that.

When I went back to reread the scene and section, a few things caught my interest: the way Laios responds to both forms of his succubus, the themes of the volume the chapter is found in, and the other events of the chapter itself.

So let's dive into those three things, and what I think they say about the succubus scene's purpose.

Laios is never fully frozen by the succubus

So. If you compare Marcille and Chilchuck's reactions...

to Laios':

-

There is a difference. Sure, the basics may look the same once it turns into Scylla Marcille, but even then, it functions differently.

Chilchuck and Marcille are completely frozen once they catch sight of their succubus. Izutsumi, as well, isn't able to look away, and completely freezes up once her 'mom' starts talking to her. As Chilchuck describes, "just looking at them makes you unable to move."

And yet, Scylla Marcille has to actively convince Laios to comply. He even looks away from her at one point!

Laios accepts this succubus, but he is never actually helpless to it in the same way. Taken in? Convinced? Sure, at least enough to let things happen that he probably should question more than he does. But magically compelled? Not really. Not the same way as everyone else is. So that's interesting. But let's move on for now.

2. Volume 9 is all about drive and desire

I don't often look at chapters within the context of the volume they are included in, but I think there's some really fun things to be found with that perspective in mind.

For one, volume 9 starts with an exploration of what desire brought Laios to the dungeon:

And ends with a question of what desire brought Laios to the dungeon:

It's also very concerned in general with questions of why people do what they do. Why they are in the dungeon, why they are with the people they are with, why they stay, what they fight for.

In addition to Laios, we see it with Marcille...

Izutsumi

Kabru

and Mithrun

Hell, we even get it for the demon!

It's certainly not the only volume concerned with desires and motives, but it is particularly focused on these ideas.

The succubus scene fits quite well into the ongoing question about desires, especially Laios' desires. It is even placed at an interesting spot within the volume. The volume is six chapters long, and the scene takes place at the start of the 4th chapter. It's almost smack-dab in the middle.

With all this in mind, it is interesting that, with both versions of the succubus Marcille, it's not totally clear which parts of her Laios is rejecting.

The first version of Marcille looks human, but Laios attacks when he identifies her as a monster. The second Marcille looks like a monster, but he seems to believe that she is the real (human)(ish) person that he knows. So is he rejecting the monster at first, and then accepting the person? Or is he rejecting humanity and only interested in the monstrous?

Something to consider as we look at the next point...

3. the rest of the chapter is a seduction, too

This is one of those things that might not be apparent on a first reading, but is crystal clear on a revisit. We see the succubus try and charm Laios over 7 pages, and then see the Winged Lion do the same thing for the next 19.

Much like the succubus, it offers the mingling of monsters and humans. Much like the succubus, it offers belonging.

(and this is the point where I absolutely must also link this post by fumifooms on the succubus, which has some great ideas on how the scene is informed by Laios' trauma and desire for acceptance!!!)

But, back to the point. The Winged Lion wants to feed on Laios just as much as the succubus did, and it uses similar strategies to try and make that happen. Though this chapter isn't really the turning point for the next Lord of the Dungeon (it is Marcille who will, eventually, become the Lion's next victim), it certainly behaves like it is.

Laios is convinced. The succubus gets its meal. By the end of the volume, the reader begins to understand how concerning his desires are. Together, it is all very good at building up that sense of dread and pending disaster, as we see exactly how and why Laios might just fall into the Lion's open arms and bring about the end of the world.

-

So that's the three things I noticed. But there's still something I want to touch on by looking at the way these observations overlap, and what they reveal, together.

As I said, by the end of the volume, you can feel the tension growing. Just as Kabru and Mithrun do, you look back for an answer to the questions that have been built, chapter by chapter: why is Laios here? Where will his loyalties fall? This chapter, and scene, seem to prove the inevitable truth: he will choose the monster, of course. He will choose the seductive, easy power of the Winged Lion.

But the details of what actually happens tell different story: one in which the Lion is wrong.

First, as a reminder - even in Scylla Marcille mode, the succubus never fully entrances Laios. It convinces him, but it doesn't have him completely under its thrall.

Similarly, in the dream, the Lion does convince Laios to embrace the world he is offering. But even within that dream, Laios continues to ask questions that will be vital to him later. It is because of those questions that Laios comes to a new understanding about Thistle.

And it's this realization that he cites later as part of his reason for refusing the Lion's offer.

He is thinking through things the entire time, just like he continues to question the succubus even after it turns into Scylla Marcille.

Laios also expresses an interesting reason for why he wants to see the future of this world. He's not just invested because it would mean people liking what he likes, or him getting to spend time with monsters. The thought that comes immediately before his acceptance is about what he wants for monsters and people.

I don't think it's a coincidence that this statement - "we're living beings that share the same world, but all we can do is keep killing each other" - can apply to the various humans races just as much as it does to humans and monsters. The thing he is thinking about here isn't just a matter of his personal daydreams. It's an idea that underpins every conflict in the story.

Laios caring about how people as well as monsters in this manner is something that the Lion gets wrong every time. Even at the end, he still frames Laios' desires entirely around hating people and loving monsters.

The Lion has heard him express an opinion about the future of the world! It happened right there in the dream, right in front of him! He just didn't take it seriously, and didn't view it through any lens other than "Laios likes monsters more".

He's convinced that he understands how to get to Laios. Maybe the Lion can't truly see everything, or maybe his vision into everyone's deepest desires has made it hard for him to realize how much choice still matters. That people can, and do, choose which desires to act on, and how to act on them.

Whatever the case, he's wrong about Laios, and the story shows us this over and over again.

After all, look at how the succubus interaction plays out:

A monster uses Marcille to appeal to Laios...

He realizes that something about the situation is wrong, and rejects her.

It changes strategies, and makes new offer: to turn him into a monster.

It also assures him that his friends are, or will be, taken care of.

He accepts. Or rather, allows the monster to have its way with him.

But Laios is not as helpless as he initially appears, and what the Lion thinks is a successful seduction also contains the seed of an idea that will allow Laios to later resist him.

We even get to see Izutsumi playing a similar role in both instances, as the one person fully able to take action in the face to the illusion.

The story lays out what is going happen, and then explicitly tells us that the demon and the succubus are thematically related.

The chapter performs a great sleight of hand here - everything about it seems to indicate that Laios is doomed give in to the option to have his deepest desires realized. But if you look closer, it also contains the evidence that he won't. There's a lot more going on for him.

Yes, he still falls for obvious tricks. He is still extremely into monsters, and he still doesn't feel like he fits in with other people. He may, deep down, crave to surrender to the monstrous - to let it absorb him. But he questions more than he seems to. He considers more than people realize. He cares so much more than anyone gives him credit for.

And I think this is part of why we see the succubus called back to so many times, especially with the wolf head addition to his Monster Form, which he specifically added due to his encounter with the Scylla Marcille.

This all stays with Laios. It doesn't just foreshadow the path of the story, it is fundamental to how and why he walks that path. It's not about him choosing monsters, and it's not about him choosing people. It's about how he considers both, and cares about both.

And it's about the forces that think they already know his answer. Mithrun and Kabru. The Winged Lion. The succubus.

It's about how they are wrong.

[youuuimeanmee]

I saw a comment where it says Ranma is goading Akane here, to distract her from letting go of his hands.

And I have some thoughts about it.

Tbh I don't think he's goading her here. He's just stupidly honest, because you can find some truths in his word.

Akane IS slow –slower than himself, at least. Ranma has seen this in their first spar.

It's a part of what makes her cute, but in a life-or-death situation (with the spin, the height, and the speed they're in) where a split second matters, he's worried she won't be able to react quick enough to make a safe landing.

He also knows how selfless she is, how she hates to be a burden, and how she'd help her friends in any way she can.

He's seen this when she helped him & accepted to be her friends' spare. That's one thing he likes/dislikes about her. He likes how caring she is, but he dislikes how she can be so reckless in the process.

In the battle against Ryoga, Akane was too focused on wanting to help him, she ignored the flying bandana that can slice her at any moment. When Akane accepted her friends' request to be their stand-in, he's worried she accepted it so quick without even asking, what sort of person Kodachi is –who's able to beat up girls to that extent. Again, Ranma knew how straightforward Akane's fighting style is, from their first spar. She's fair and honorable, and he loves that about her, but would she be able to handle Kodachi, whom he's seen won't even hesitate to torture helpless ordinary girls?

Anyway, back to the topic. Ranma can be brutally honest, he came off like a jerk, even though that is not his intention. The most stark example (and could be an (un)intentional parallel) is when he chosed Nabiki to save, instead of Akane.

They fell from the 2nd floor balcony, but it was just a normal fall; no crazy shenanigan, no immediate danger there. In condition like that, Ranma trusts Akane she'd be able to land safely (and she did! kinda). Meanwhile, Nabiki has 0 martial art experience, she doesn't know how to land safely. That's why he chosed to save Nabiki. Too bad he lacks the tack to say it in nicer way. He failed to convey how much he trust Akane's ability, he even insulted her unknowingly, so he came off as a dismissive, uncaring jerk.

Wanting to help a person is one thing, but endangering yourself in the process is another. For Ranma, having a good sentiment is not enough. It's also important to have a holistic understanding of your surrounding to calculate the best action to get optimal result. As much as the truth hurts, that's one of Akane's flaw; when she's panicked, blinded by her desire to help people, she can be near-sighted in the situation she's facing.

An example; Akane was too quick to jump off to save Ranma, forgetting the fact that she can't even swim. That was hella reckless of her. Ranma decided that the best action to finally end the battle quickly was to use his Cat-Fist, by using Shampoo. He was really mean when he say the harsh truth, though. Akane was able to read his mind, only after she snapped out of her emotion and see things objectively.

(tbh Ranma can be really impulsive he'd ignore his surroundings too; at times like that, Akane will be the one who keep him in check, and that's what makes their dynamic so good, but that's another story for later.)

On related topic, let's also talk about how MAPPA changes Ranma and Akane's fall.

In the manga, Ranma was focusing on the wall as their trajectory; that's why his split-second decision was to pull Akane away from the wall and let himself take the hit. He (or Rumiko) was forgetting the fact that with the speed they're in, the hard ice can also hurt Akane when they fall. MAPPA took Ranma's calculating ability a bit further. Not only did he pull Akane away from the wall, he also shielded her with his entire body to protect her from the hard ice rink.

What I'm trying to say, the way Ranma shielded Akane here is not purely out of instinct (of his love for Akane). Because, if it's pure instinct, he would be confused how his body moved that way; but he's not. He's fully aware of what he's doing. He knew the consequences, and he's willing to take it. He even demanded Akane to at least thank his effort, lol.

TLDR; Ranma said he can't leave a slowspoke like her alone to fend for herself, not just because he wants to goad her, but also because it's his honest feelings. Ranma loves Akane, he'd never let her be endangered, but he's also a calculative guy in the battle who can come off as a jerk with his brutally honest opinion. It also doesn't help that he's a teen boy who never learn how to be considerate when choosing his words, due to his upbringing with Genma. (Tbf, in an urgent matter, he's not in a position to be able to choose his words carefully either). He'd only let Akane help him & handle dangerous thing, ONLY after he calculates how much she's objectively able to handle the burden. In a world with whacky power scaling, that's one of the thing Ranma would do to protect Akane.

(just realized, my words kinda portray him as this cold insenstive guy, but isn't that part of why he's so prone to misunderstandings that makes akane wants to hit him? lol. that's also part of his learning process throughout the manga; to be a better person for akane.)

[sugar-grigri]

Crazy theory, but since I don't really read them, I don't know if it's ever been mentioned before.

I've already talked about this urge to discover the demon of death. So much so that fans see them in every new character introduced.

We know that Pochita punctuates both the birth and death of demons with his chainsaws.

I've always been surprised by the way Pochita calmly took hold of Makima, allowing Denji to knowingly save her by recommending that he give her love

Just as I'm surprised by Fami's interest in separating Chainsaw Man just as Yoru is stubbornly intent on revenge

How can these three horsemen of the apocalypse have so much interest and connection with a single demon?

We already know that Fujimoto has opted for the metaphorical, choosing the instrument designed for childbirth: the chainsaw, as the keystone of his story.

Chainsaw Man is intrinsically linked to birth and death

Denji's rebirth alone is linked to death having been cut up as well as Pochita?

Demons are born out of fear of one thing, so I know it might be strange that Pochita, representing chainsaws, represents death and isn't the chainsaw demon.

But two things: firstly, the impostor is actually the real chainsaw demon.

Fujimoto likes to undo our first impressions, so I find it absolutely INCREDIBLE that Denji should be the impostor from the start, the false Chainsaw Man in a part 2 that focuses on identity.

Secondly, how can simple chainsaws have so much power? I mean, sure, they're scary, but how can they have so much power as to be able to wipe out demons? Why should it be the chainsaw demon who's capable of this, and death remains crouched in the shadows?

This would also explain his promiscuity with the other Knights of the Apocalypse.

The demon of control wanted to play with Pochita - death was the only thing she couldn't totally control, the only thing she aspired to be on an equal footing with.

If Pochita understood her so well, it was as the fourth knight of the apocalypse. If Makima considered him her equal, it was because she couldn't control a demon she knew to be of her own rank. The logic follows with Nayuta.

The demon of war doesn't accept death, it accepts to spread it through conflicts and weapons of mass murder, but a general doesn't accept that death can touch him too. To spread death represents victory, to be touched by it a defeat that demands vengeance.

Famine works hand in hand with death, and is feared because suffering and death are the end result of not being able to eat. She's the one with the clearest goal at the moment: to save humanity. She doesn't hesitate to recruit her fellow Apocalypse members, whether it's proposing it to Nayuta, trying to recruit Asa and Yoru, or splitting Chainsaw Man in two to work with the pure state of the death demon.

The public hunters' aim is also to protect mankind from Nostradamus' prophecy, but by paralyzing death's actions as much as possible. They exploit Denji's flaws and desire to be normal to the full, threatening those around him. While the church, represented by Fami, titillates Denji's heroic side, his abnormalities, they want death to act.

It would also explain why everyone close to Denji is disappearing.

All the signs are pointing to Asa's imminent atrocity.

Wouldn't it be incredible to think that it's because death is in Denji's belly ?

Everything would then make sense: it's normal for Denji's development to stagnate, and for him to go through so many existential crises.

He doesn't know his own identity

What's more, it doesn't contradict my most meta theories: Fujimoto places himself in the work through Denji (cf. chapter 133), just as he responds directly to his fans (chapters 136 and 137).

We're all hating him, seeing all our favorite characters meet unfortunate deaths

It would all make sense if the manga we were holding in our hands, "Chainsaw Man", actually referred directly to death right from the start.

It would all make sense if we saw Part 1 as Denji's introduction to the ranks of hunters governed by an early death.

It would make sense for Aki's love for him to be a metaphor for accepting death, in the continuity of mourning.

It would make sense for Power to be reassured by Death when traumatized by the demon of darkness: she died twice for love, and the total disappearance of body and spirit allows us to escape the darkness.

I don't know if this theory holds, but let's agree...

It's poetic

[arroganceisherfavoritecolor]

bello i have come with a quest shall you choose to accept it

i’m like super obsessed with the first part of girl next door i think you wrote it beautifully and i was wondering if we could get some like semi stalker donnie head cannons? like, reader knows donnie a little bit and he’s fucking INFATUATED with her? tysm!

also if i could be 🃏anon that would be nice:) love ya!

yes i accept papa and u can be whatever anon u want to be :333 request to ur heart's desires

warnings: nsfw obvi

-well first off, it all started during the middle of freshman year

-u had just moved to Middlesex from whatever state u were originally from

-ur family moved into the house next to Donnies

-he saw u moving all ur shit into your house and he was fucking hooked

-it had been raining all day, but the moment your car pulled into the driveway of the old house next to Donnies, the sun came out. It was almost as if god shined his light upon one of his beautiful angels just for Donnie LIKE UGHHH

-2 weeks later his mom invited ur family over for dinner

-you looked so gorgeous as you stood in his doorway next to your family, a nervous smile on your face as you held a tray of cookies

-his mom introduced him and his sisters and he just stood there staring at u like a total idiot (which u found endearing!)

-as your families ate dinner he finally got the balls to talk to you

-"So...uh...new here?"

-you guys made a bit of small talk but after that you didnt speak much

-it was only like 3 months before yall became real close but during these 3 months Donnie was infatuated.

-he saw u at school, looking down at your new schedule. he took it as the perfect time to talk to you and was like "need help looking for classes? i could show you around. Or your locker? You know where its at??" and u were like "oh no its ok!"

-although he felt discouraged a bit, he was adamant about somehow getting close to you

-he'd stare at u from across the schoolyard, watching u mingle with the other students

-u js looked so carefree and happy even tho u were new

-his friends automatically tease him about it ofc

-"Keep dreamin' Donnie, that piece of ass isn't into freaks."

-"Ay, ain't she your neighbor though? Get some!"

-Donnie didnt even gaf tbh he was too busy looking at u

-u just looked so perfect in the frumpy Middlesex High School uniform (that u pulled off amazingly)

-his obsession grew day by day

-he'd plan ways and scenarios to get u to talk to him or for him to go up to you

-like he really would maladaptive daydream about u guys

-he'd write your name and his name all over his notebook pages, even drew some little doodles of u too

-in english, he'd stare at your side profile illuminated by the sunlight of the window. his mind was too focused on your beauty rather than the lesson, just like his pencil. he sketched and scribbled a small drawing of you on the side of his paper, gorgeous as ever.

-"Y/n Darko, Donnie + Y/n." was all scribbled over the pages too

-he'd walk home and see u walking ahead of him, all alone

-he wanted to catch up to you and walk with you but he was just so nervous! what if he got a raging boner while he talked to you? or what if he just couldn't take it anymore and swept you off your feet and fucked you right there?

-As weeks passed, Donnies obsession only grew

-when he realized ur window was directly in his line of sight from his own window omg

-like i said in the girl next door blurb he js looks at u

-his favorite thing to do is watch you lay on your bed, reading a book or doing homework or whatever

-donnie really really tried not to be a pervert but u just made it so hard!!

-every time he'd see u at school his mind was filled with fantasy after fantasy

-the one he thought of most was the teacher randomly changing the seating chart and then placing u next to him. he'd caress and stroke your thighs til you were blushing and squirming. then, he'd slip his fingers up your skirt and into those stupid fucking panties you love flashing to him. he'd finger you right there in the middle of the lesson, not a care in the world for who sees

-donnie definitely knew he liekd u a lot but was in denial abt lowkey being a stalker

-cus why tf does he know ur favorite bands, favorite snacks, favorite pajamas to wear to bed??? coincidence i think NOT

-after about 3 months, the seating chart changes in English class and u guys get placed next to eachother as if the starts aligned OMGGG

-u guys end up talking and becoming great friends

-donnies even more obsessed with u now that hes ur friend yayaya

(sorry dis was kinda short and took long to finish im working on a fic rn 🤤 feel free to request anything tho guys)

[princessjojo-x]

CapricornVenus ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

💝 he takes love very seriously & he treats rxships like a business contract. he wont “invest” in a rxship unless it has long-term potential. if you don’t meet his standards then he won’t waste a single second on you. he’ll put you through a series of interviews to determine the type of woman you are. he’ll closely observe your: words, actions, interactions, morals, perspectives, achievements, background, temperament, etc. he’s examining her to ensure you’re worthy of gaining access to the parts of him that he conceals from others. he doesn’t let just anyone into his life & it’s not easy to get close to him.

💝 he’ll attempt to attract & impress you with his appearance, achievements, confidence, wit & so on.

💝 he’s usually aware that he’s being flirted with but will consciously ignore it. he won’t entertain you out of boredom or for fun. however, his unapproachable vibe entices potential partners.

💝 he’s secretive abt his feelings, leaving his partner confused. this stems from a fear of showcasing vulnerability. ensure to be patient with him as he needs time to open up (esp if he has aqua placements but not so much if he has sag placements).

💝 he’s so good at hiding his attraction from you. he’ll watch you from afar for some time before making his move, meanwhile you’ll be completely clueless of his interest.

💝 since he’s rather unemotional & detached, he’s not the most affectionate & if he ever is affectionate, it will be done privately. he’s likely to show his “affection” through dependable actions, long-term planning & building a stable foundation.

💝 he’s definitely a reliable, supportive & loyal partner.

💝 he’ll prioritise his job over you.

💝 he has a lot of lessons to learn in love related situations (since saturn rules capricorn).

💝 his saturn influence makes him an unforgettable lover & friend. his past connections still love & miss him even many years later.

💝 he likes old movies & songs.

💝 he’s the type to get money randomly from family.

Turn On’s & Off’s:

💝 he won’t commit to you unless he can take pride in you. he’s turned on by money & status. he wants a career focused & goal oriented rxship, with an ambitious & responsible partner. his ideal woman has a good occupation & social dignity, with high morals & self respect. bonus points if she’s an authoritative figure in her chosen field. show him you have goals & plans. be serious abt the rxship & your life. girl boss your way into it. think power couple building successful future together vybz.

💝 demonstrate an interest in history, tradition, structure, family. he values & respects maturity, stability, consistently (even if he doesn’t possess these traits himself).

💝 he’s turned off by ditziness, irresponsibility & immaturity. he dislikes anyone with a bad reputation or low status. the worst thing you can do is lack self control, act like a complete fool & embarrass him in public. not to mention, when he dislikes certain traits or behaviours in someone, he wont even mention it to them bc he’s too polite. instead he’ll avoid them in public & criticise them behind their back.

💝 a few other things he dislikes is: overwhelming him with too much emotion, asking him to explain things more than once, talking to him abt your ex, trying to play games with him.

💝 he demands respect wherever he goes & he likes to feel in control. ensure to accept & support his rules & strict routine.

💝 he wants what he cant have & he desires romance that is unattainable to him. the tighter you hold him, the more likely he is to run away. he respects a self-preserved women with a aloof, reserved & cautious temperament.

💝 to impress him, dress simple, neat & classy bc saturn is the planet of discipline - french girl chic vibes or a woman in uniform vibes. wear boring colours (beige, balck, white).

💝 despite his reputation of being dry & serious asf, he actually enjoys being in the company of fiery individuals, esp if he doesn’t have much fire in his own chart. he’s particularly attracted to aries & leo energy bc he needs that extra boost of spontaneity & idgaf vybz. he loves someone that brings variety & wildness into his everyday life.

[nekohime19]

Mini Mac #16 : Lil guy longing

Macaque is worried about Wukong not returning, but he has the monkeys to cheer him up!

Macaque was sitting outside of the water-curtain cave, looking at the sky, trying to pierce the azure with his eyes. His tail was wrapped on his waist in a pitiful attempt at comfort as he stood still, looking upward with hope. It's been 10 years since Wukong left for Heaven. Macaque knew that time upward wasn't the same, years for him were nothing but merely days for the sage, still he couldn't help but be worried. The wind brought him distorted echoes of what was happening. It was messy and twisted, the words carried for too long to be clear, still Macaque could hear sounds of flames and cries. It worried him greatly. He spent hours each day sitting outside and looking at the sky, returning at night in the mansion with lowered shoulders.

Macaque had never bonded with someone before. He had never trusted someone like this, nor even liked someone as much as he liked Wukong. The sage had wormed his way in his heart, he was his first friend, the first person he felt comfortable with, Macaque couldn't help but be longing for him.

The wind ruffled Macaque's hair and tried to push him but the lil guy pushed it away and stayed sitting, eyes on the sky. He was so focused he didn't even notice when one monkey approached him. Macaque startled when he heard one chirp at his side, he turned and crossed eyes with a clear-furred slender monkey. One of Wukong stalwarts generals, Ma, if he recalled correctly. She was looking at him with softened eyes, sitting in silence beside him. Macaque stepped back a little to widen the distance between them and Ma seemed to respect that, she stayed silent, watching the sky with him.

When night fell she chirped at him, something soft, probably made to not startle him, “wanna join?” He looked at her awkwardly, he knew what she was referring to. Since the sage's departure, all monkeys frequently made nests in the mansion and slept together, all tangled with each other. A way to comfort each other in the absence of their King. And while it was tempting, Macaque wasn't one for that much intimacy, he wasn't part of this troop, after all.

“No… It's okay.” Muttered Macaque as he returned to the mansion, sleeping alone in his sheet.

Ma joined him often after this, sometimes she came with cubs. Lil Yong and lil Yue in particular liked to spend time with him. Macaque felt a bit better, he resumed his shadow plays, and stayed a little less still. Yet he couldn't shake off his worry, looking upward every now and then with the mad hope to see Wukong descend. One night, after spending some time looking at the sky, he accepted Ma’s offer and slept at the edge of the nest. He didn't dare enter but he curled on the border, feeling appeased by the echoing snoring.

He blinked his eyes open at one point and noticed two pairs of eyes looking at him from the nest. He recognized those eyes as lil Yue's and lil Yong's. They approached the edge of the nest slowly and curled just beside him. Not quite touching him but close enough to share their warmth. Macaque felt a bit weird, he wasn't used to so much proximity, but it wasn't bad. It felt good, in a very odd way.

Since then, he took the habit to sleep at the edges of the nests, he was still cautious but he also felt comforted. For once he decided to stop worrying about being part of the troop or not and only let himself be.

***

Sometimes, Macaque climbed the tallest tree beside the water-curtain cave and looked at the horizon. He had never liked the outside world. He had been harassed by a lot of people out there and had never truly found his place. The water-curtain cave was his sanctuary, his place of respite, he didn’t want to leave it. Yet he also felt the desire to take to the sea and search for information on Wukong. He heard echoes of the brotherhood sometimes but they never clearly stated what happened upward, nor where Wukong was. He wanted to find them. To know what happened. To find out where his friend was. But he was scared of the lands beyond the sea, and each time he thought of this he cowered and felt guilty about it.

This time, as he perched in the highest branch and looked at the horizon in guilt, he heard someone perch beside him. He looked to the side and found a gray-furred monkey with a fox snout. It was Beng, another one of Wukong's stalwart generals. If Ma tended to be silent and respectful of his boundaries, Beng was one cheeky little bastard. He always purposefully startled him when Macaque curled at the edges of the nest, perhaps liking to scare him. The lil guy glared at the gray-furred monkey, trying to convey his dislike of him, but said monkey snorted in amusement. Beng stayed with him a little, fiddling with the tree leaves in boredom, before throwing a plum at him and climbing down the tree. Macaque chirped in surprise but he caught the plum. He reluctantly cut pieces out of it and ate it, the taste of his favorite food cheered him a little.

As he chewed on the plum, looking at the horizon, Macaque heard chirps below him. He looked down and found lil Yue and lil Yong looking up at him, sitting at the foot of the tree. Lil Yong, always the bravest, tried to climb but he stumbled and fell on his butt. He pouted as lil Yue cackled at his misery.

“This tree is too steep for you, lil one.” Called Macaque with a fond huff. Yet lil Yong did not give up, he even roped lil Yue in his shenanigans. After trials and errors, they managed to reach the first branch. Macaque was quite impressed, this wasn't an easy tree to climb. He climbed down to reach them and decided to indulge them a bit, letting them pet him.

If cubs were brave enough to climb a tree too steep, maybe he could be brave enough to take the sea in search of his friend.

+ cut scenes

Stalwarts generals inner thoughts :

Ma : Our king lil shadow is feeling bad recently 😔

Beng : He's tiny, that's funny! 😀

Ch1 / Previous / Next

[666writingcafe]

Gluttony

Beel

I should have known this was going to happen sooner rather than later.

Over the last few weeks, I've gradually grown less and less hungry. At first, I chalked it up to stress from these mock classes at RAD that me and my brothers have had to take, but anything I've done to relieve said stress only seems to exacerbate it.

And then one day I overheard Barbatos tell Diavolo that according to Solomon, Zephyr's been experiencing the munchies more frequently, and the pieces fell into place in my head.

Well, all but one: why is this experience different for me? If Zephyr's getting more gluttonous, shouldn't I be, too? Why have I not been consumed by my sin the way the others have?

"You're not good enough."

Its voice calls out to me from within the void I suddenly find myself in. I don't remember nodding off, but maybe I was forced to. Like the others have.

"What?" I ask. A little red demon steps out of the shadows. This must be my spiritual counterpart: No. 6.

"Ever since the day I was born, I've been watching you," it states calmly. "And you, Beelzebub, are truly pathetic."

"Excuse me?!" No. 6 merely laughs.

"I'm the hunger that used to burn inside you. But you've proven yourself unworthy of my services, and so I've found another host." I feel my eyes widening.

"You mean you did this intentionally?" Another laugh, much more raucous than the last.

"Of course! Gods, you're slow!" No. 6 takes a moment to compose itself. "It's not just about food, you know. You have to desire more. My counterpart should want to swallow the world whole with no hesitation, but you're too sentimental and weak." This is beginning to piss me off.

"I won't hurt my brothers."

"And there lies the problem. You put their needs above yours. Avatars aren't supposed to care about others." A brief pause. "Then again, you've always been the most angelic out of everyone, haven't you?"

Instantly, the void transforms into the Celestial Realm. A rather familiar part of it.

"If you hadn't spent so much time debating whose death would affect your so-called brothers the most, you could have saved them both."

"They were too far apart!" The scene quickly materializes around me: angels on opposite ends taking aim at an already-wounded Belphie and Lilith. "I only had time to save one!"

"You can control the wind, can't you? You could have easily used it to bring them closer to you or push the angels away from them." No. 6's grin grows larger, showing off its wicked sharp fangs. "Of course, I would have focused on saving myself. The two of them were dead weight, anyway."

"They were my family!"

"They were poor excuses for angels! I mean, developing such fascination for humans that you end up falling in love with one? They are inferior in every way!"

"Stop it!"

"Not until you accept the truth, Beelzebub! What good has your dear twin been since your arrival here? He's still obsessed over those stupid humans!"

"They're not stupid!"

"Sure they are. The only thing humans are good for is being a vessel for us to control. Free will is an experiment that failed a long time ago. They're little more than sheep, and some of them don't even taste all that great."

"And some of us have horns." Lilith stands up, except she's quickly transforming into something else.

Or rather, someone else.

"You are a conniving son of a bitch, aren't you?" Zephyr continues, fully in their demon form. "You thought you could use me to hurt Beel and get away with it?!" For the first time in this entire encounter, No. 6's demeanor changes. He's no longer confident; he's actually starting to shake as he stammers incoherently.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. You did what you did, and now you must pay the price." Zephyr crouches down, staring intently at No. 6. "I have had all kinds of things in order to satiate this hunger, but none of them have hit the spot. But I think I've just found the perfect meal." Zephyr licks their lips, causing No. 6 to squeak. Turning around, it begins running away, but Zephyr's much faster.

I don't get to see the carnage that they cause, for soon I'm sitting upright, covered in sweat.

"Good. You're awake." A bowl of soup is soon thrust in front of me. "Drink. It'll last you a couple hours."

"Where am I?"

"The castle." Of course. I recognize the servant's uniform now. "I've been assigned to tend to you until you're back to normal." I bring the bowl to my mouth and gently tip it upwards. It's warm, but not hatefully so.

"What about Zephyr?" The servant grimaces slightly.

"They'll be okay. They just have to..." He swallows. "...adjust back to their stomach."

"What do you...oh." The servant softly smiles.

"From what I've heard, it's not pretty. Only those with a strong disposition can be around them right now, and I'm--"

"--not one of those people. Got it." I quickly finish the soup and set the bowl off to the side. "So, how exactly are you supposed to 'tend to me'?"

"Basically, I'm your personal food delivery service. Whatever you're hungry for, I'll get it straight to you."

"And this applies to anything?" The servant nods his head.

"Direct order from the prince himself. All restaurants are on standby. Just one phone call, and they'll prepare whatever your heart desires."

"And they're okay with this?" He shrugs.

"It's all going on the prince's tab. Plus, I've heard he's promised all of them lucrative tips for their efforts."

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @budbuddnbuddy

[michanvalentine]

Things about Vincent Valentine that I read around and piss me off. Vol.2

"Vincent was too shy and passive. He is an idiot."

Usually in reference to his attitude towards Lucrecia after the breakup. As if he could somehow save his relationship with her (and thus prevent everything else). I say yes, perhaps he could have sought further clarification, but for me the situation has never been so simple and linear.

Ok, let's start from the beginning. First of all, Vincent is a sensitive and intelligent person, with an above-average education. A person who thinks a lot, even too much. So calling him an idiot, especially in such a context, is really having a superficial reading of the character. Honestly, this statement bothers me a lot even when it is extended to the other part: Lucrecia. But that's another story... Secondly, let's remember that the two had a real relationship. In DoC Vincent was never a sort of stalker fixated on Lucrecia despite the unrequited love, as he might have appeared in the OG (unless the remake wants to tell yet another story.) Even Hojo was aware of their love story, in fact when Lucrecia pronounces the fateful "Yes, doctor" he says: "So you've come to your senses and chosen me." And I don't think Hojo was exactly the type to care about gossip.

That said, I would add my interpretation on Vincent's "passivity". A while ago I read a comment, something like: Lucrecia went with Hojo to gauge how much Vincent cared about her, since she thought he hated her due to the Grimoire's death. So she was waiting for Vincent to react and take her away from Hojo, but Vincent was just too shy and passive to do something so outrageous. I couldn't help but respond to this comment like this: This would be a really sick way of demanding attention. In this case Lucrecia would be truly mentally ill and Vincent would simply be a sane person who behaves properly. I believe there are several biases in this regard. First and foremost, the old-fashioned concept of Prince Charming rescuing the damsel in distress. Which I hate. Secondly I don't think Lucrecia left Vincent because she thought he despised her for the Grimoire incident. Otherwise she wouldn't have needed to push him away, because in that case Vincent himself would have been the one to leave her. No, the reasons are different:

Feelings of guilt led her to think she couldn't be by his side. As if Vincent didn't deserve someone as bad as her in his life.

Every time she looked at Vincent, given the extreme similarity, she saw Grimoire again and remembered the event that had traumatized her.

Obviously Lucrecia didn't put Vincent to the test, she was determined to put as much distance as possible between her and Vincent because she felt it was right for him and too painful for her to continue. Stop. The relationship with Hojo is an addition, but also desired for other reasons. She neither expected nor wanted to be saved. Not to mention that Vincent is not Lucrecia's father and had neither the responsibility nor the duty to do so. She is an adult. Certainly, by breaking off their relationship, Lucrecia has also made a decision for Vincent. He didn't object, he passively accepted and stepped aside. But are we sure he could have done otherwise? Are we sure he could change Lucrecia's mind? How exactly? Young Vincent was naive and introverted, but Vincent's passivity in this case was also determined by other factors. Maybe he could have made his feelings about Grimoire's death and about Lucrecia more clear. But at the same time I think it wasn't necessary, because they were obvious. It's Lucrecia who no longer knows what her true feelings are. And she will only be able to clarify them for herself later, in fact at the end of DoC she will confess to Vincent: "I finally realized my true feelings. Even if you may never understand them".

But let's analyze the facts and see how they unfolded. Given the above, at first Lucrecia was so focused on herself due to guilt that she was numb to everything else. Even to Vincent. In DoC, when Vincent discovers the file on Grimoire, Lucrecia yells at him to "stop it". She doesn't want to listen and at the same time she doesn't give him a chance to express himself. Likewise, after apologizing to him, she ran away without giving him a chance to reply. And let's remember that out of the blue he was left by the love of his life for no valid reason, at least from his point of view. Not to mention that Grimoire's death must have been painful for him too. Reacting is not easy when you are confused, grieving and heartbroken. From that moment on, Vincent Valentine was completely cut out of Lucrecia's life. Lucrecia keeps him at a distance, due to points 1 and 2 above, and as a final barrier she puts Hojo in the middle (of course, the scientist is there too for other reasons). In the scene around the table, when Vincent asks her "if she's sure", Hojo really seems like a wall between the two that still prevents direct confrontation. And Lucrecia appears clearly angry that he has come forward with objections. At the Shinra Mansion Vincent Valentine seems to have no say in anything. Lucrecia doesn't give him the chance to argue, Hojo first rudely silences him because he's just a Turk and then definitively closes his mouth with a bullet. But even if silenced, Vincent's feelings and intentions remain evident. Even Hojo knew them, in fact when he discovers that Lucrecia is experimenting on Vincent's body he says: "How happy this fellow must be. Helping his beloved even after he's begun rotting away." Lucrecia herself, through her data, at a certain point in DoC will say: "I pushed you away, but… now I realize, I never wanted to lose you." And again later: "I made so many mistakes. And I hurt you so, so much. Why did I do what I did?" Deep down Lucrecia knew she had pushed him away for her own personal reasons, and not because he despised her or anything. She knew she had made a mistake, of having been blinded by fear and guilt, that she had mortified his feelings and that she had made him suffer for it, especially because the breakup had been practically forced on him. So I repeat: should he continue to chase Lucrecia, proclaiming his love like a crazy in the hope of changing her mind? Let's pretend he had the opportunity (always excluding kidnappings or ambushes). He could have to, yes, but in addition to reiterating the obvious and saying things already known even to the person concerned (after all, if there is something imperishable, capable of overcoming pain, time and even death, it is the love that Vincent Valentine feels for Lucrecia), she probably wouldn't have listened to him anyway. Because, as Vincent would say, "she was always like that, only believing what she wanted to."

[luthien-under-bough]

my meandering thoughts after ep7:

i think a lot of people are overlooking the importance of daemon's scenes in episode 7 in focusing so much on oscar tully. like ok sure it is objectively funny to see daemon be read for filth by a teenager, but this is not some meta punishment doled out by the writers because they hate his character - or even oscar "gagging" daemon. this is daemon directly responding to rhaenyra's accusation during their ep2 argument: "I think you used my words as an excuse to take your own revenge… to indulge the darkness you keep sheathed within you like a blade." Oscar's own words to willem blackwood call back to this: "it is true that he made clear his base desires, but you did not have to pursue such savagery. You did it… because you wanted to."

like yes, daemon is being humbled, but he is also specifically acting contrary to his own desires, and choosing to do what is necessary in service to rhaenyra's claim. it's obvious in the look he shares with ser simon, and in his shifting expression from anger to acceptance as he realizes he must do this to earn the crucial support of the riverlords. i do not think the daemon of episode 2/3 would have responded this way. he would have given into that impulse that's telling him to smack oscar around and burn the lot of them. he is putting aside what he would do, in favor of what rhaenyra needs him to do.

And the look on his face afterwards is full of horror - for the first time we really see him haunted by his own act of violence, when we've typically seem him remorseless or flippant (rhea royce, vaemond velaryon, the unnamed body they used for laenor's "death") if it advances his aims. this contrasts with rhaenyra in this same episode, where we see her really indulging in violence for the first time - she sacrifices the dragonseeds in pursuit of finding new dragonriders, which is also a repudiation of her and daemon's earlier argument, where he accused her of being too weak to spill blood to achieve greatness.

(literally everything they do ties back to one another, their influence on one another, and which parts of each other and viserys they choose to internalize and express - two halves of a whole, indeed - so it baffles me that most daemyras are unsatisfied with this storyline just because they aren't physically together, but that's a story for another post)

daemon's scene in the Harrenhal godswood leads directly into the vision with viserys, where he is confronted with the question of whether or not he still wants the crown (really, if he ever actually wanted it - or was it just a symbol of his brother's love, of recognition, of the ultimate tool to achieve power and respect in this world). he's just had to make a choice and take an action that conflicts with his own worldview, of what strength and loyalty means, of the acceptability to the ends justifying the means, of the ramifications of the collateral damage that such choices have - which is all tied into the true weight of bearing the crown. is he really cut out for this? i think it's clear the answer will be 'no' - and it will reaffirm his support for rhaenyra, at the same time her own journey has brought her to a place where she has found a way to wield her power and authority in a way that can be respected (and feared) and is independent of her reliance on daemon's martial prowess and masculinity.

if there's still any doubt that daemon's visions all have purpose and are moving him forward, i really don't know what to tell you. it's frustrating to see his arc reduced to "daemon is doing nothing all season" because most of it has been internal. both daemon and rhaenyra have grown from the accusations levied at one another in their argument, and i think are positioned well for a reunion that allows them to "finish their conversation" from a place where they are both more able to function within the parameters of their strange and unique relationship as sovereign/consort, husband/wife. uncle/niece, and even brother/sister (as their relationship to viserys is very much reminiscent of siblings competing for their father's love and attention). it's a very clear arc to me, and i am very excited to see how it all comes together in the finale (as well as how this sets the stage for future conflict between them).

(the " but in the book…" arguments about daemon at this point are also weak IMO, because daemon basically does nothing during this section in the book. and because the show has added different dimensions to his character that simply do not exist in the source material. his time in harrenhal is summed up in a couple of paragraphs. the riverlords all honor their oaths without conflict - and he fights in the battle of Stone Hedge, which you can mourn as an adaptational choice you do not agree with, but personally i think it's far less interesting than what we were given in the show.)

this is where i wish the fandom at large would give the writers a little more credit, and extend your faith a little further. sure there are some odd choices throughout, and yes they have taken adaptational liberties you may not agree with - but as we near the end of the season, the overall vision for daemon (and rhaenyra) is clearer, and i think it will be even more rewarding looking back on the season as a whole.

[bengiyo]

Unknown Ep 12 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Wei Qian and Xiao Yuan consummated the physical desire in their relationship, before Wei Qian ended up trying to deal with his head injury on his own again. Yuan broke through that and the two went home together, where Li Li was being supported by San Pang. I'm still feeling some consternation about the way they framed that sex scene and how they handled the emotional aftermath.

Li Li is reminding me of my own sister handling my coming out somewhat poorly because she was mad that she wasn't informed sooner.

I like her moving around the table to talk more intimately with Yuan after getting the big answers she needed.

Episode 12: Us

I like everyone trying to navigate this dynamic between Wei Qian and Yuan carefully. I'm a big fan of Xiong wanting to make sure he knows he's on their side.

Wei Qian looks so much better when it doesn't look like he's being crushed by the weight of the world.

Men should grab each other by their ties and kiss each other more often.

Yuan is a menace! He was not going to keep this on the DL at all.

Oh no...top-bottom discourse. Thank you for shutting it down, Wei Qian.

Li Li is pregante!!

This hallway scene is phenomenal. Wei Qian really is such a good brother, and I really love the way this scene reminds us of that. This thing with Yuan was super confusing, but he kept his cool so quickly with Li Li and focused on the important things. Yuan coming out of her room to intercept Qian. Li Li coming out of Yuan's room to talk. San Pang entering from Qian's room, and then the ensuing fight across all three rooms.

See all of Qian's reactions here are well-grounded in what we know of his relationship with Li Li and how hard things were with their mother.

Not me crying because of this group handhold.

I'm not sure it was clear earlier that their mom chose to die. This adds another harsh layer to Wei Qian's worries for Li Li.

They're doing that thing where they focus on Yuan maybe a little too much.

I'm relieved to know that Li Li had her baby without many lingering worries.

Final Verdict: 8.5, Recommended. I think the early parts of his series were incredibly strong, but I think there were some problems after they sent Yuan away to NYC. I feel like they didn't properly capture the turn for Wei Qian where things go from fraternal to romantic, and especially sexual. They introduced terrible sexual trauma to his story in a way that went unresolved, so it hurt the big moment where he decided to accept things with Yuan. I'm also high-key mad about this head injury plotline because they ended this show without telling us about the surgery, too. It didn't fully-connect with the family angst they were going for and left me a bit unsatisfied with it as a running plot in the background. That said, I think this show took the found family and relationship change conceits seriously and I respect that.

[90sbee]

You are my canvas, I am your doll

Leon S. Kennedy x Fem!Reader

1k words. Also on ao3.

And when you two pull apart, he looks even more desirable. Full of need, of love, pupils dilated and lips parted. You caress his eyebrow gently, eyes focused on the way his eyelashes —coated with your mascara and the smudged eyeliner— look on him.

Leon and you attend a party. You just had to do his make-up first.

You know, this is not funny. You let @navstuffs read this one earlier cos you want to spoil her and she ends up giving you more ideas. Not fair. So yeah I guess I’m writing a second part actually.

Content: Mostly reader’s pov. No use of y/n. OOC Leon because he is actually living his best life here and not depressed as shit. Reader is shorter than Leon. Leon is slightly dom but he also calls himself ‘good boy’ and ‘pretty boy’. Pet names, established relationship, Leon confused about make-up items. Did I mention doing his make-up sitting on his lap because yes.

Warnings: +18 cos brief smut (Leon just loves eating pussy, actually). Minors and ageless blogs dni. Alcohol consumption but no one is drunk. Grinding aka slutty dance moves. Leon is insecure about his looks for like. 2 lines.

He is a gorgeous sight, blond strands crowning his face, the way his smirk seems to follow you as you two dance closely, bodies almost locked together. There are others around you, but Leon makes it clear that his gaze is only fixed on you, glittering blue eyes enjoying your figure.

You turn around, stop the lustful grinding against him, and cup his cheek, forcing his strong body to accommodate to your lower height. The alcohol is already making you bubbly, but he does not mind.

“Pretty. Pretty boy,” you breathe out, grazing his lips with delicacy.

“Yeah? Your pretty boy,” he repeats.

You smile.

He is a gorgeous sight indeed. Dark t-shirt doing nothing to hide his pecs, biceps stretching the thin clothing, as if teasing you —you know he is. You press a quick kiss into his lips and for a moment he frowns, surprised. He hadn’t expected it. He mouths something, but the music is too loud to decipher anything.

“What did you say?”

“I asked why just one… Do it again,” he answers, already attacking your neck with gentle bites, eager to mark his precious angel. You huff, and scratch his head, your hips moving once more to the rhythm of the songs.

“I love you.”

“Love you too,” Leon immediately replies, stealing a kiss from you.

And when you two pull apart, he looks even more desirable. Full of need, of love, pupils dilated and lips parted. You caress his eyebrow gently, eyes focused on the way his eyelashes —coated with your mascara and the smudged eyeliner— look on him.

You’re vaguely aware that your lipstick is probably messed up now, but he does not seem to care. Probably finds you the prettiest woman in the world, no matter what.

“See? Told you you’d look so hot with some make-up on.”

He chuckles, standing to his true height, and pulling you into his chest: gentle laugh emanating from his throat as he kisses your temple.

“As long as we don’t do this too often…” Leon warns you, though he is secretly amused by it. He’d do anything for you anyway. Anything to make you happy, to see that toothy smile etched on your face his whole life.

You two dance slowly then, out of beat. The world you share being the only song to follow. You close your eyes, hugging his body, face pressed tightly against him.

You love him so much. You’re so thankful that he accepted to spoil you with your little date suggestion; that after all the pain he has told you about, he is still willing to try to entertain you, even when it comes to such mundane things.

“Mine,” you mewl, gripping his body harder, suddenly feeling way too fortunate for the man that you get to call boyfriend.

Leon smiles, enjoying the touch, snorting as he shakes his head.

“Someone clingy tonight?”

“You know, you’re just looking too fine. Someone may steal you, actually”

“Doubt anyone could just steal me, I’m quite heavy,” he jokes, sliding his hands up and down your back, his fingers grazing your skin.

“I’ll put you in my pocket, young man.”

“I’d like to see you try that, young lady.”

Laughing against his chest, you look up at him, chin pressed against his pecs, the beating heart in his chest as the most joyful song you’ve heard your whole life.

“There’s my sunshine,” he says, voice raspy, caressing your cheek.

You remember then how he let you work on him, sitting on his lap.

“Pretty please?” you beg once more. Leon licks his lips, feigning annoyance though he already knows he will succumb to your demands.

“Remind me again what I’m getting out of this,” he crosses his arms, figure towering over you, a mocking expression on his face.

“You’ll be all gorgeous. Well, even more gorgeous than you already are,” you try to unsheathe your reasonings to him once more, hoping that he will finally accept them this time. And, it must be your lucky day, since Leon just smirks, nodding.

“You owe me a nice meal,” he states, before you take his hand, excitedly guiding him to take a seat on the couch, next to where all your make-up is already awaiting for him.

Truth be told, Leon is more than pretty. Handsome, strong, features of exquisite delicacy. There was nothing you’d change about him, completely enamoured as you are of him. But deep inside, burned your curiosity, how he’d look like with make-up on, lips glossy, or even an elegant smokey eye decorating his eyelids.

As you start grabbing your make-up items, taking a seat on his lap, Leon gulps. He has to admit it, the existence of that little speck of insecurity boiling in his stomach. As you examine a small black stick whose function he ignores, he frowns slightly.

“What exactly are we doing today?” he asks.

“Not sure yet. Probably just something that accentuates your eyes,” you reply, the little tub and stick nearly on his face now. “Your eyelashes are to die for.”

“Is that a good thing?” he inquires, still confused.

“Definitely,” you look at him, concentrated, and he sighs, but nods, consciously choosing to let you work on him in silence.

“I’ll let the pretty artist do her thing,” he whispers, as you start drawing a thin line next to his waterline. Your movements are slow, tongue sticking out as you make sure to nail the eyeliner trace, curling eyelashes with the most utter tenderness and then applying the mascara with very light strokes, warning him not to blink.

“What if I do?” he asks, serious.

“You’re not getting kisses.”

“Sounds like I’ll better be a good boy then,” he adds, pulling your hips closer to his, voice needy.

Leon notices your mind seems to have wandered off. He caresses your cheek with his thumb, his gaze concerned.

“Everything okay?”

You nod slowly, flustered.

“I’m just thinking…”

You just look up at him once more, and Leon swears he could die. Prettiest little thing, so small and precious in his grip, eyes hungry. And he understands. He nods, quickly, before taking your hand, head already anticipating what may fill up the rest of the night.

“Let’s go home, love.”

And when you two end up in bed that night, lipstick on each other’s faces and mascara clumps on your cheeks, framing wet kisses and hard thrusting, you find he has never looked hotter than now. With your make-up all over his face as he, gallant as usual, licks your juices off his lips.

“One more?” He says, though he doesn’t really expects an answer, as he dives his mouth once again between your thighs.

I have to stop thinking of slutty Leon with make-up or I'll go stupid. Dividers by @/cafekitsune and @/vase-of-lilies

[klauvinia]

so i'm trying to manifest and i think my problem is that i focus on the 3D too much, but i don't understand how people can make the shift from focusing on the 3D to focusing on the 4D

everyone always says it's as simple as realizing i am pure consciousness and thats it. i want to believe that it's that easy and i'm trying to get there, but i am really struggling - i seriously don't understand why it's not clicking for me

i know this is a really stupid question and you'll probably delete it, but i would really appreciate if you could make a post going into more detail about making that mental shift of focusing more on the 4D instead of the 3D (especially since all the other blogs ive looked at don't go into it)

Focusing on the 3D

Hi anon! Thanks for the question. First of all, I need you to take a deep breath and calm down. I can guarantee you that almost all of the loa bloggers once went through the same predicament as you did and they aren’t any different. I myself occasionally struggle with it but we are human, first and foremost. It happens. Here is what helped me shift my focus to the 4D instead of the 3D:

Closing your eyes.

No seriously. I know it sounds so stupid but it worked for me. Neville says that the key to living as though you had your desire is to completely turn away from what your physical senses tell you, so close your damn eyes and turn away from your senses! If I find myself worrying about 3D circumstances, I quite literally sit there and close my eyes and calm my mind for a second. I let no thought pass and just find some peace and quiet. Then when I feel myself calm down, even just slightly, I start to imagine/visualize what it would be like to have my desires now.

Let’s take sps for example. So I sit there having closed my eyes, my mind blank, then I visualize what it would be like if me and my sp were together now. What would we be doing? What would he say? Really involve your senses in it, feel your hand holding theirs, feel the butterflies in your stomach when you see them kiss you, all that cheesy stuff. You just saw that in your mind in the present moment, right? So you have your desires now, you just witnessed it from within you. To me, it’s really no different from daydreaming and I already do it quite a lot so this was not difficult for me at all.

Remember other moments

I also make it a point to recall all the times I manifested something just by really thinking about it and standing firm on my decision. I know that when I was subconsciously manifesting my dream car, my mom and I were struggling financially to find a way to pay to possibly afford it. She kept telling me how we couldn’t get the car since it was too expensive and how I should find a different one. In the 3D, I physically heard her say that, but I didn’t let it sway me at all. I kinda just waved it off and talked to myself (in my head) about how beautiful the car was and I remember this part vividly, but I imagined myself hearing the bass in my dream car as if I was inside it and how loud the sound system is LMAOAOAOA. My previous car had no bass in it at all and it was an older version. And now, I have that exact same car playing the bass that I had once envisioned myself hearing prior to getting it. Really think back to moments where you dwelled on something despite what happened physically that in the end, made you get what you wanted all along. For me, building that belief gives me proof that our thoughts do create and that this is very much a real thing.

Do not accept your 3D as final. If you can create the circumstances you are in unconsciously, you sure as hell can reverse it consciously. If you feel nervous or are riddled with anxiety, constantly worrying if you’re doing it right, remember that YOU ALWAYS DO IT RIGHT. Your worry and doubts have no effect on your manifestations, really feel the relief of having all of your dreams within reach because you can absolutely achieve all of them. See it in your mind, don’t worry about how you are emotionally feeling. As long as you stand firm mentally, you will get what you desire!

[ungodlycouple]

rambling about some of my aromantic spectrum headcanons below

knife is arospec and suitcase is aromantic and theyre in a queerplatonic relationship. knife wouldn't want to ever be tied down in a traditional relationship. he could accept casual dates, but ultimately finds more fulfillment in his closest confidants. suitcase desires a dynamic where she can fully entrust every part of herself with someone. they're each others' main person post-finale and can act as caretakers to one another (like if suitcase is experiencing her hallucinations or when knife is feeling depressed)

nickel is aroflux and balloon is arospec and they don't have a label for their relationship, they dont feel the need for one bc at the end of the day they deeply care about each other a lot. nickel struggles with his identity because at first he internalizes it as a flaw of sorts, but balloon helps him realize what aromanticism is and how expansive of an identity it is. they're complicated bc hashtag communication issues. balloon is very comfortable with his identity and feels more loose with how he interprets relationship dynamics. at the end of the day, they both desire someone they can have a good time with and someone they can trust.

oj is arospec and paper is gray-romantic. others might see them as a typical romantic relationship, they're unsure how to define themselves, they're best friends first and foremost because of how long they've known each other. oj took a while to realize he might have some sort of non-platonic feelings for paper because he unconsciously assumes everyone is arospec to a degree. paper sometimes daydreams about relationships, but almost never actually pursues it. it took them a while to communicate how they were feeling towards each other. paper and oj could be frog and toad if we tried hard enough.

apple is arospec and marshmallow is demi-romantic. their relationship blurs the lines (they probably wouldn't know what a qpr is and i don't think they would label themselves that way, they just know they're most happy with each other regardless if others perceive it as platonic or romantic) apple wouldn't register that she's arospec bc she truly doesn't think about it at all, she knows she likes marshmallow in some way and never knows how to verbalize it. marshmallow could never do casual relationships/flings, she has to be very close with someone and even then, it takes a long time for those feelings to build up and she wouldn't know how to define them. all they know is that they're dedicated to each other and wouldn't change that for the world.

test tube is aromantic and wouldn't want a qpr, she's very comfortable being single and is very dedicated to her friends and scientific endeavors. science is her love in a way and that's where she feels most passionate in life. she wants to be the best friend she could be first and foremost.

fan doesn't label himself (the closest label would likely be gray-aro or demi-romantic but he doesn't think of it too much) he probably had a hard time understanding this about himself because it almost never comes up in his life and his fixations take up most of his time. his focus in life is detaching himself from the identity of the show and regaining a better understanding of himself.

mepad and mephone are arospec too (but not because theyre robots). mepad doesn't feel romantic feelings and finds more fulfillment from helping the contestants and being the best advisor he can be. if he lived life outside of the show and without the restrictions of being in meeple, he would be that friendly neighbor that lends a hand and be lost in his own world of interests. mephone on the other hand has trouble even making friends, if someone were to flirt with him he would be more confused than anything. mephone feels more fulfilled by indulging in his creative interests. mephone also now has 3gs for company and focusing on his brother bond would be his main priority in life.

[beware-of-you-98]

bestie quick jemily prompt for you:

A: do I look like I know what I’m doing?

B: [starts to reply]

A: [holds up hand] actually, don’t answer that.

B: [shrugs and walks away]

[explosion]

A: that wasn’t me.

make it fluff, make it angst.. just no smut challenge tee hee have fun if you answer the call

challenge accepted??

Breakfast was something Emily Prentiss is good at, especially when she’s making the breakfast for her family. She has it down to a science: getting the pot of coffee ready for her fiancé, while JJ gets the twins bottle fed and laid in their bassinets, Henry settled at the table while she works over the stove.

(Or helping her out if he so desires. Emily’s not one to say “no” to the 8 year old too often.)

It’s something she’s done for years at this point, and something she refuses to accept JJ’s help with.

(It’s a small, daily act of service she does to show the blonde just how much she appreciates her, and while it’s far from the only act Emily does, there’s a part of her that still gets butterflies as she watches JJ watching her and their children interact before their day begins.)

It’s a bit more challenging, though, when both Matthew and Maggie grow into rambunctious toddlers.

Matthew’s her little shadow, and often refuses to peel himself from her side right after he wakes up in the morning.

Maggie often follows what her slightly younger brother does, craving her maman’s attention as she babbles enthusiastically about the dreams she’s had, or what her stuffed animals are up to.

It’s more difficult, sure, but Emily manages.

She has Matthew and Maggie sit down on chairs she’s pulled from the island, close enough so she can focus her attention on both children while simultaneously focusing on the stovetop.

Henry, with his long hair tied up in a messy bun not too dissimilar from Emily’s, stands beside the older woman as he makes the eggs.

He’s definitely more put together than Emily is at this current moment.

Matthew is a bit more clingy than normal, whimpering for her and not satisfied until he’s up in his maman’s arms, clinging to her tightly and refusing to let go.

Maggie, on the other hand, is very enthusiastic and talkative demanding Emily’s attention pointedly whenever she tries to focus her attention elsewhere for even a split second.

“Maman,” she demands impatiently, tiny hand on her hip. She sits up on the tall chair on her knees, making Emily’s anxiety peak.

“Whoa, bug!” she says cautiously, maneuvering Maggie’s chair close to the countertop to the toddler doesn’t go tumbling to the floor. It’s difficult with Matthew balanced on her hip, but she manages. Maggie’s giggle is shrill as the chair she’s on slides slowly towards the countertop, her hands planting on the granite excitedly. She bends down and plants a kiss on top of the girl’s long black locks.

Matthew whines, pressing himself further into Emily’s grasp. She gently bounces him on her hip, shushing him gently before planting a kiss to his temple. “Oh, buddy, it’s okay,” she coos to him assuredly.

She glances around Matthew’s head towards the empty bowl on the counter, puffing out a breath. She’s not entirely sure if she can mix the pancake ingredients with one hand, and she’s honestly not too sure what Matthew’s reaction will be once she has to set him down to cook on the stove.

From across the room at the table, JJ smiles tenderly at the scene. “Need a hand?” she offers, chin in her hand, elbow propped on the table. “Want me to take Mattie?”

Emily gently blows Matthew’s hair from her lips, tucking the toddler’s head under her chin to look over at her fiancé. Her eyes soften, smile spreading automatically on her face at the adoring look on the blonde’s face. “No way,” she insists gently. “We got this.” She grins, raising a brow. “Why? Does it look like i know what I’m doing?”

JJ raises a brow, lips curled into a smirk.

Emily’s eyes narrow, pointing a finger over at the blonde. “Oh, don’t you answer that.”

“Maman!” Maggie demands.

Emily peers down at their daughter, tenderly stroking her cheek with her index finger.

Maggie, satisfied with the gesture, goes on about her dream.

With one hand wrapped securely around Matthew, Emily cracks an egg into the bowl, pours in a touch of vanilla extract and caps it just as steadily.

From beside her, Henry slowly stirs the eggs in the pan.

Emily grins smugly across at JJ. “See? We got this,” she repeats boldly. “You just sit there and look pretty.”

JJ snorts, rolling her eyes fondly.

Emily grins adoringly over at her, before her attention is dragged back to Maggie. She murmurs in earnest at the toddler’s thoughts, looking around the countertop.

Maggie grabs her sippy cup full of orange juice, drinking from it deeply.

Emily sighs softly when the realization hits her: she forgot to grab the flour.

“We’re gonna go up,” she murmurs to Matthew, peering up at the cupboard above her head just to the right of the stove. “Careful, bug,” she adds, gently touching Maggie’s shoulder as she reaches up to open the small door.

Fear grips her chest as the brown paper bag tilts out, falling out towards the countertop.

With speed she only figured out she possessed after becoming a mother, she grips Maggie back beside her with the same arm she’s using for Matthew, her other arm shooting out to push Henry away from the stove.

She hears JJ move just as quickly, the chair she had been sitting it clacking to the floor.

The bag of flour lands on the counter with a solid thud, tearing open and spraying the four in a cloud of white.

She closes her eyes, shielding all three children’s eyes either with her arm [Henry] or tucking their faces into her neck and shirt [Matthew and Maggie].

She puffs out a breath, knowing a cloud of flour expels from her lips. “That… wasn’t me.”

She opens her eyes to the sound of the stove shutting off.

JJ is standing in front of them all, her hand over her mouth and eyes shining in amusement.

Emily grins at her sheepishly before she peers down at the kids, shoulders slumped in relief.

She’s covered head to toe in flour, her black shirt looking as if it’s been dipped in white paint.

The twins’ entire sides and hair dusted in the substance as well, Henry appearing to have avoided the flour the most. (Though, his shirt has a dusting of flour coating the front, and there’s a delicate pile in his hair).

Maggie lets out a shrill laugh, her hand coming up to cover her toothy grin. A cloud of flour falls from her tiny frame as she giggles. She looks up at JJ, beaming. “Hi, mommy!”

“Hello, little snowflake,” JJ beams, her thumb curling along the girl’s cheek before hoisting her up. Flour smears messily along her red t-shirt, but the blonde doesn’t mind.

Matthew blinks owlishly, pouting at the flour covering his body. “Mommy,” he murmurs, sighing as he tucks further into Emily.

JJ presses a kiss to the back of his head, her fingertips dancing along his back. She peers across towards Henry, eyes shining. “Baby, you okay?”

Henry shakes the flour from his hair like a dog drying off, spraying both his moms in the substance. “I’m good!” he chirps.

Maggie screams with another giggle, holding her hands out to avoid the slow onslaught.

Henry goes to poke the flour soaked eggs with the spatula he was using to stir them with. His lips press together to stop himself from laughing. “Eggs aren’t, though,” he adds.

Emily grins sheepishly, hiding her expression behind Matthew’s hair as she looks down at JJ. “I’ll order Denny’s?”

JJ raises an eyebrow over at her.

Emily presses her lips together. “I’ll clean up this mess and you’ll order Denny’s?” she tries again.

“There you go.” JJ bumps her hip playfully against Emily’s. “Love you, you stubborn woman.”

Emily stares back at her, expression completely lovestruck. “Love you, too.”

[franeridan]

okay it's been like, sixteen hours to get my brain unstuck from denki I actually want to talk about the epilogue now allow me the luxury to go on a possibily very long rant about bnha even if I haven't actively been in the fandom for about a trillion years, let's go

the thing about bnha is that talking about the epilogue by itself when you talk about whether it was a satisfying ending or not for me is sort of useless since, well, for the setup horikoshi gave to it yes! it was a good ending! I don't know how it could have been better and remained coherent with itself any other way, every plotline he'd held onto until the end reached closure and the characters, for the way they'd been written for ages by then, remained true to themselves and made all around reasonable choices with their lives and future

the problem for me has always been that at some point bnha lost part of what made it appealing to me, changed some characters in ways I didn't understand, and started focusing on morals and ideas I personally didn't share - so when you ask me if overall bnha was a satisfying manga to read, the answer is no. Especially if you don't count the new epilogue, the whole story felt like it had set up a lot of relationships and character developments in the first half that were just abandoned for no reason, and focused too much on relationships and characters I genuinely never thought would have any sort of relevance, so overall there are just some core things I'm not satisfied with, I did not enjoy reading bnha for ages before it ended, on a scale from 1 to 10 it's a barely passable 5.

That's my opinion on the manga as a whole! I've had this opinion of it for literal years by now and I will absolutely not lie, the only reason why I read it till the end is that for the past I don't know how many years I've read each chapter thinking "for sure, time another couple chapters it will end. there's no reason to just drop it if it's about to end." (spoiler, it was not about to end)

That said, when looked at through this context and accepting all the flaws I think bnha has, the epilogue was good, I liked it, it made me happy! I wanna talk about it, I wanna talk about why it made me happy despite it all

first of all, I do not like uraraka's relationship with toga, and I do not like toga - I think all things considered uraraka had no reason to be so obsessed with her, and I also don't think the positive and empathetic light horikoshi wrote toga in was in any way deserved. It's honestly somewhat ridiculous to me that when all's said and done years later uraraka is still thinking about how toga saved her life and conveniently forgetting that she was also the one that nearly killed her to begin with - but that's just uraraka for you! that's how horikoshi decided to write her in the second half of the manga! And if you accept that, if you accept that for whatever reason she was highkey in love with toga and felt responsible for her, I like that her solution to it was quirk counselling for kids. I think that's exactly where she should have gone with it - trying to help kids have a better relationship with their quirks, whatever they might be, and help them avoid whatever the hell happened to toga to turn her into that to begin with. It's good! It's very uraraka! It's also rational! And I like that it mirrors deku's choice to help teenagers navigate their desire to become heroes too

Talking about deku and uraraka, I've never made a secret of the fact that I liked ocha*deku so my thoughts on them are pretty obvious - honestly, whatever ship you might have for them you can't deny that the build up to them specifically was obvious throughout the whole manga, it did feel sorta weird that by the last chapter horikoshi hadn't done anything with it. I think I might be a little partial on this though? I did say that I've always liked the ship. And I think the way he wrote it was cute too! I like that uraraka was ready to stay friends with him and I like that deku needed bakugou of all people to tell him to get his head out of his ass - the whole "if you treat everyone as if they're special it means that no one is" is something I DO believe deku needed to hear, but I can't deny I'm sad it made it in the manga only by the epilogue

I think it should have been a core part of deku's character development. I think it should have been brought up when he insisted on saving shigaraki despite how dangerous and obviously adverse to the idea he was, I think someone should have told him that he needed to get his priorities straight way way way sooner, and not necessarily only in a romantic context. But the truth is that overall I used to have high expectations for deku's personal development and I realised a long time ago that it was just never going to happen, so the fact itself that someone told him that line at all was a pleasant surprise for me

Talking about deku and bakugou!! I can't say I liked the way hori made baku all about deku in the latter part of the manga, but whatever, we have what we have. I'll deal with it. I like that he offers deku to work with him, tbf, because I actually believe most of the things he does for deku are partly to make up for his own past actions and driven by guilt (not entirely, hori made it plenty clear he does like deku, I just think it'd make sense for his going out of his way for deku to be driven by that kind of feelings, in part), but I'm also happy deku told him no the way he did, because despite having resigned myself to character inconsistencies being the norm in bnha I do think it would have been ridiculous for them to have goals aligned enough to work together, by now

Okay let me talk about the stuff I actually care about now

I'm soooooooo pissed off that we needed an extra chapter to get bakugou and kirishima's relationship back on page, but the fact that they ARE still best friends is wonderful to me. I'll take it. I'll take the fact that kirishima can get bakugou to do what he wants by being a shit, I'll take it, whatever, I don't care, after all this time it's way more than I would have hoped for - I LOVE that he's shown to still understand bakugou best (the way he immediately understood what baku was trying to say to deku) and I love the fact that he still has the exact same hairstyle actually. I love love love that at the end it's he and mina and probably either denki or sero that are hitching a ride with baku, how long had it been since I'd last had any bakusquand interactions in the manga? Where were they, horikoshi??

On a related note, I like the dynamic between deku todo and baku. I like how relaxed it feels (I love todo too, even if his development outside of being a hero feels so rushed...add this to the very long list of things I'm glad horikoshi addressed at all, but that I wish he had brought up earlier to give them the proper attention and plot relevance they deserved)

Absolutely insane about the fact that Kirishima is one of if not the one with the highest ranking in the class after todoroki (can I be a broken record? This is exactly what he deserves but how about Showing This To Me instead of just saying it after a hundred chapters where he's done absolutely nothing, horikoshi??). Crazy about Mina's design, god she's gorgeous. Amajiki's design got me crying it's just a haircut why is he so beautiful - and the fact that he's still fat's sidekick!! I love that, I feel like that's so right for him. Sero.... deserved better. LOOOVE the implications of the fact that Aoyama is Hagakure's sidekick (did she help him after he came back to be a hero? Their relationship is so sweet... if only... horikoshi had spent more time on i-*gets shot*)

And yeah whatever I'll say it again Denki's gorgeous!! He's SO beautiful!!! He's Soooooooo insanely pretty!!! And I figure you all know that I liked kamijirou as a ship, but the fact that actually they're just friends is so sweet to me? They have such a cute relationship...... Denki saying he was nervous about starting solo so he picked the building next to Jirou please!! Besties behaviour I love them!! And the way the panel where they deny any romantic involvement is framed *shipper goggles on* with jirou leaning away from denki and on yaomomo I know what you girls are no need to be more explicit than this

(talking about having my shipper goggles on, when baku tells deku he can't see what's right in front of him... and deku says you're one to talk... what are we implying here, deku-san...)

anyway how long is this thing I dunno whatever I'm stopping now, I had a lot of things I wanted to say, I said them, I think I'll go back to thinking about how gorgeous denki is now. Like wow. Wowowowowowow. Wow