#one of the only handful found in the latter arc rip

[michyeosseo]

Anita Yuen and Hsiao Shu Shen as YUNFANG & JUANJUAN LOVE'S LONE FLOWER (2005) dir. Tsao Jui-Yan

[popodoki]

Head full, many thoughts, all of them filthy x

Had to get this little bit of Catwin nsfw out, so I can focus better on the other little bits of Catwin nsfw I have planned ദ്ദി ≽^⎚˕⎚^≼ .ᐟ

Content description below the cut

Edwin with a competency kink, the Cat King shreds an enemy for him and they get off on the thrill by rutting against a wall

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The worst part of getting tied up in his own thoughts to the point of missing the impending threat until it was too late, grappling weakly, getting yanked into a malevolent demon’s terrible grip, nearly killed again was, unquestionably, getting tied up in his own thoughts, grappling, getting yanked into a demon’s terrible grip, and nearly killed, again. 

The second worst part of it was that he hadn’t been killed, thanks to the Cat King’s interference, and as a result, his obviously depraved and malfunctioning brain had been given the chance to decide it was the hottest experience of his life. 

Never let it be said that Edwin Payne was above begging. The one contingency of it happening so far, though, was that he was naked, and at the mercy of one mercilessly thorough lover. 

Watching his lover rip apart a demon with his bare hands, claws, with the same kind of merciless thoroughness, made Edwin beg to any even slightly less malevolent being in the universe. Needless, for the obvious ease with which the Cat King ducked out and around the demon’s flaying range, a controlled tension to his body that suggested, proved, his mastery of understanding his own body, and its capabilities. He danced, he played, with the promise, the knowledge of endurance. A predator prolonging the kill, not for amusement, but for the revenge of it all, revenge for Edwin. Swiping razor sharp claws in clean precise arcs towards joints, drawing blood each and every single time, blocking attacks meant to hurt with an intercepting arm, replying in kind with an expert grip, and teeth designed to hurt in turn. Edwin didn’t even know what precisely he was begging for, though his body, its reactions, made the underlying thread quite clear. Clear enough to the Cat King, as well, when he stalked up to Edwin, kill discarded as easily as it was made, crowded him against the wall of the alley, raised blood stained hands with claw tipped fingers towards his face, and found to his surprise Edwin leaning forward, eagerly, to meet those blood stained palms, at the same time the Cat King registered the red liquid dripping down to the pavement and had started to pull his hands back.  

“Please, please, oh Gods,” Edwin croaks, eyes widening in tandem with the Cat King, former in a glorious rush of awe and want, the latter in poorly hidden confusion and a building understanding that makes them both shudder with different levels of excitement as Edwin reaches out himself, “my King,” hands trembling as he cups the Cat King’s cheeks, coming off wet, and his lover smiles at him, with teeth gleaming red among the white, as he looks over Edwin’s shivering frame, sees the opposite of fear, “yeah?” tumbling off lips alongside drops of blood, answered almost immediately by Edwin’s “yes, yes, please.”  

Their lips meet, crash, they slot together, in a facsimile of senseless violence that can only be achieved by two people who know this kind of dangerous dance so well. Edwin licks into the Cat King’s mouth, swallowing down the bitter tang of blood as much as his lover’s moans. He imagines he can almost feel the adrenaline still coursing through his lover’s veins, the minute trembles that wrack the frame pushing him bodily into the bricks behind his back, though it doesn’t deter his lover, and Edwin is likewise ill-deigned to stop him in any way, when the Cat King’s hands grip his thighs and start to lift. He obligingly wraps his legs around his lover’s waist, mirrors the position with his arms flung across the other’s shoulders. There’s a time and place for foreplay, what is going to happen here and now rips the concept apart at the seams in a sense that feels far too right to ignore. The Cat King’s hand behind his head is the only thing preventing a splitting headache as Edwin curves his neck backwards with abandon, flashing the creamy expanse of his neck in an offer, a bid, for conquest, and the Cat King is long past denying them both. 

For a while the only sounds that fill the otherwise deserted alley are grunts and cut off moans, as the sole two occupants rut against each other, in varying degrees of desperation. Somewhere in the fray, the Cat King wraps a hot palm around Edwin’s searing hot cock, pulling his attention away from the throbbing of his neck, bruised and bitten, to a different kind of throbbing. He hadn’t even noticed the other opening his trousers, reaching in, and another shocked little gasp leaves him as he notices the Cat King’s equal state of lust only right as the other roughly jerks their hips together, the resulting flinch and pained hiss, as their sensitive cocks get pushed together hard and fast, rocks through both their bodies at the same time. Edwin’s own hands turn into as close as claws as he can make them, fingernails biting into the Cat King’s shoulders as Edwin’s head bows forward. “More, please. Harder.” The only answer is a snarl, a growl, reverberating through the bunched fabric slowly getting soaked with spit, where the Cat King is biting down on Edwin’s shoulder. The hips slamming into his don’t let up, increase their pace instead, so Edwin sighs, clamps his legs firmer around his lover’s waist, nuzzles his nose into sweat slick hair, and scores deeper red lines along the Cat King’s shoulders as he’s jostled, pushed and thrust into and against the brick wall.  

“There’s definitely something wrong with me.” Edwin mumbles, while he flirts with the edge of pain and pleasure, pulling the Cat King’s hair, guiding his face closer, back to his neck. A rough tongue follows a slick trail over purpling bruises, catching slightly on fang-sized punctures of various depths, followed by a similar rough chuckle close to his ear. Edwin rolls his ass against the wall, pushes back into the sparce space between their bodies, every brush of the Cat King’s cock against his own sweet, sweet agony. Hips grind into his, hard, unforgiving, as his lover whispers “Are you afraid, Edwin, just a little?”  

Edwin’s back scrapes against the rough surface of the bricks lining the wall with every thrust of the Cat King’s hips, no matter the fabric of his coat. The hands curled around his thighs are still claw tipped, blood rusted into an even darker shade of red, flaking off, littering their hips. He’s so close, they both are. The Cat King’s smile is dangerous, when their eyes meet. If Edwin pushes back, the Cat King will back off in an instant. He will have had his taste. As will Edwin. The Cat King has always been far more patient than Edwin. “Yes.” 

“Good,” the Cat King whispers back, low and dark. “You should be. I want no mere submission from you. I want you to struggle, against your instincts, your better judgement, to give yourself to me. I want you to give yourself to me, regardless. I. want. you,” the words come out with far more tenderness than the moment deserves, and his voice tapers off, into deep throated growls, the sound of victory, that lingers long after they’ve both come.  

[bloomboxygo]

ARC-V Month Day 16: Actually, he would say that

@arcvmonth

Alright, I know last post I told that the salt prompt was the next one I'd work on, but that proved to be more than I could chew. I need it to be accurate and thorough, so I'm delaying it for now, and I'll do easier, more lighthearted stuff.

I... At the risk of getting too off topic, I'm gonna mention the Monsters (mostly Melodious) a lot in these headcanons. After all, who else will? Still gonna have actual ARC-V characters here and there (Yuzu)

You know that I do Duel Spirits, so it makes sense that they have the Spirit World. The Melodious' home is a Conservatory, not a stage. They are performers who seek to soothe the souls of whoever listens (this is based off Cross Duel flavor text, RIP)

The Spirit World itself is kinda like a dreamworld crafted by the humans' desires in the real world. That's how we can get the new Melodious Fusions, the Synchro Superheavies, and all the new forms of Odd-Eyes, the performapals, and such.

Now, there's some implications that Aria and Sonata are related, as they gently hold hands to perform their techniques such as Tribute Summoning. Also Sonata is never seen without Aria. They're girlfriends. Based off of that, there are other ships of mine in this new world: Canon/Solo (graceful, but also tough with a short temper/ a cheerful, playful ball of positivity) and Mozarta/Cat Dancer

Elaboraring on the latter, Mozarta trained Cat Dancer to control her power and have her combined with the grace of a performer, as the Dancer's form wasn't refined at all. With that, Cat Dancer evolved into Panther Dancer and beat Mozarta at last, scarring her with vertical marks down her eyes, which she keeps as a reminder that she has to attain personal growth as well, and thus a rivalry, and love, was born. (She's the only maestra to have those marks in her body, and those are kept as Bloom Diva)

Oh yeah Cat Dancer's essentially Goku. Starts off as Blue Cat, the strongest of her kind, and trains more and more to protect the other Lunalights. There, she fused with Purple Butterfly to become Cat Dancer, which is SSJ1. Panther Dancer could be considered SSJ2 and Leo Dancer SSJ3.

Sorry if I bored you with that, let's get to the silly/cute stuff

The Melodious are open to new genres of music. Yuzu shows them, via Bloom Diva, some other musical trends that the Monsters have fun of. One time, Yuzu showed a famous song to Bloom Diva, who was endeared by it but also kinda confused. When she met the other Melodious, she found out that Serenade, Sonata and Solo were doing the Caramelldansen, much to many's shock.

Not all experiments were good. Yuzu had a Duel with a Duelie Club students who used autotune for her songs. It was so bad for the Melodious, it got turned into their favorite insult when they think something is really fake.

But some were great! They had an exchange program with a band of traveling performers of light and sound known as P.U.N.K.

Bloom Diva's pot is actually her feet. It's like her shins have turned into roots that could somewhat move beneath the pistil of the flower platform she's in. Nobody really knows why.

After some demonstrations by Yuzu and Mikiyo, Aria tried to emulate the more modern, idol style, as she thought that would boost her confidence and make her more open. It... Didn't quite work out, but the try was definitely appreciated.

Elegy got significantly better at performing once Yuzu's adventures were over. The Melodious felt they were affected more by her tragic, gloomier songs, and Elegy doesn't really elaborate why. Turns out, Yuzu's misadventures gave her a lot of new material and she's somewhat embarrassed of it.

Harmonia's still trying to get Melodious Pendulums to the Conservatory to this day. Sadly, her efforts seem to remain futile.

Superheavy Samurai Brave Masurawo is actually a statue built by the other big Superheavies in Gongenzaka's honor. Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakashi is a little flutist robot built by the little guys as "Masurawo's best friend".

The Lyriluscs, as you may know by my fics, are girlscouts. They were always that way as with these ideals, they've worked together and grown stronger together. Nightingale only takes the messages to heart...

While Promenade Thrush is strict about the respect of the rules. Heck, sometimes, when it's particularly bad, she turns into Sergeant Hartman for a bit.

The Windwitches can come in two forms: humanoids and constructs. Humanoids talk as a person would, but constructs only communicate with dings, bells and chimes. Winter Bell adds whistles.

I'm sure there's more I could put, but I'm a bit tired. And next part... Is gonna be a big one, let me tell you.

[nacaharachuya]

Okay so i realised im a fucking idiot and that i’ve been sending you shit through “?” And i have no idea where those messages go through so whoopdy doo ig but in my defence i wasnt able to send anything any other way bc.. uhh.. yeah my email wasn’t confirmed n all that. Im telling u man i��m a whole ass boomer rn🤦‍♀️ can’t even remember how to send an ask smh.

Anyways i only now finished reading svs because i’ve been putting it off in favour of reading different fics (works from other fandoms and… ooc soukoku fics. Listen i hate mischaracterisation as much as the next guy but i find them very entertaining okay) and AAAUURGGHH WHAT A BANGER. The way you write is immaculate if svs was a food it’d have a savoury taste like i’d be liking my fingers n shit. I found out about it when you posted on twitter you updated it (it was the smut chapter, by the way) and i was like “huh” and decided to read it and my god am i glad I didn’t skip over that tweet.

Idk if this was on purpose or not but verlaine is kinda cringefail in your fic and i love it. I am a firm believer that as badass as verlaine is he is undeniably embarrassing and i need MORE of that.

My one criticism for svs is that we needed more adam scenes. He should have been added like really, unnecessarily early on in the fic and act as a third wheel in the fic. But like a third wheel soukoku did not want or ask for but he’s just kinda there they can’t really get rid of him. Chuuya and dazai in their divorce arc arguing and adam is in the background thinking “i could crack a really funny joke from this” (on that note i added the lines “Adam’s blabbering makes more sense now, so they act as if nothing has happened. “When I lift this veil, you will seal the deal with a kiss.” He can’t stop himself from laughing, “I hope you enjoyed that joke too.” “We didn’t,” Verlaine says from across the shrine. “Paul be quiet.”” In my “collection of fanfic lines I chuckled at” in my notes. He’s so silly i love him. I love how he laughs at his own jokes he just like me fr.)

Anyways here are like two extra svs doodles. I keep thinking about how you said that chuu can fluctuate between genders (literally) and its so… zamn.

And reading the scene where verlaine is brushing chuuya’s hair inspired me to draw this

I have no idea how long chuuya’s hair is supposed to be like idk if it’s “yeah his hair is a little longer than it is in canon haha” or “yeah mf got some LONG ass hair looking like rapunzel”. Also I don’t remember if his lil ribbon was red or blue but.. i jus went with blue and i didn’t know if the pearls were supposed to be like on his head or woven into his braid so i just went with the latter. And again ALSO i know he was barefoot but i’m not drawing his fucking dogs okay.

This ask is long as hell never let me talk again LMAO

Currently looking at a detail i forgot in the drawing… not pointing it out in hopes you don’t notice it either smh but GOD DAMMIT 🤬🤬🤬

DAWG I OPENED THIS YESTERDAY IN SHOCK IA M ALWAYS BLOWN AWAY BY YOUR ASKS AND ART IT MAKES ME FEEL SO LOVED AND SO CRAZY LIKE!?!?! I'M SO GLAD YOU LOVED IT ENOUGH TO MAKE ART I SAVE IT AND LOOK AT IT CONSTANTLY ;_; IM LIKE.....

AND ALSO THANK YOU. I need svs criticism and ur right I should have introduced more characters earlier I just got carried away with skk because...IDK BUT ADAM WAS MY SAVING GRACEE. He was so silly I wanted to add him sooner but I was like wait....no... BUT HE IS IN THE SEQUEL!!! DW!!! His silly ass is there and he's cracking them jokes and Verlaine is like o_o. THE ADAM LINES WERE SO FUN TOO CAUSE HE'S NOT CRINGE HE'S JUST....HIM.

Verlaine is cringe-fail on purpose tho and I'm glad you saw that because I see him as an incredibly pathetic person who can't do normal human things. He would like bite open a metal can or rip it open with his hands because he doesn't know what a can opener is. He is that type of guy.

The art is just immaculate bro like straight-up BEAUTIFUL. Chuuya's literal genderfluidity is something I'm glad people like cause when I imagine divinity I think of someone not bound by sex or gender and whatnot plus I just don't think he'd give a fart. so like....world's most wonderful tits...but he's shorter.

THE WEDDING OUTFIT IS SENDING ME TO THE GRAVE THO LIKE. IT"S PERFECT AND IDK WHAT DETAIL YOU MISSED CAUSE I FORGET EVERYTHING BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT I"M. THE HAIR LENGTH I DIDN"T SPECIFIY !!! He looks so *crying emoji cause I don't have my phone* you don't have to draw his toes I just think barefoot chuu running up the stairs to meet dazai is very him. perseverance.

BOYCACA WHAT IS YOUR TWT LET ME FOLLOW YOU AND BOTHER YOU THERE AND SPREAD THE BOYCACA AGENDA

[the-fair-maiden-of-fandom]

more qjj livetweets but only on tumblr pt.3

|| so very many spoilers ||

omg a house on the border, the priceless smile,,,,,,,,, i cant with these two

oh damn. ownership kink really popped out there huh

so we can all agree that he's about to double cross and murder this man right

is it wrong for me to actually be kind of curious on whether he can dance. obviously he shouldn't but.

oh so he's mad mad. yeah he's going to die painfully.

HES A RAPIST ANNDDDD A PEDO??? DIE IN A FIRE

fuck that's so hot

…. dammit i had a funny feeling

he's gonna be the scraggly stranger isn't he

i stand so very corrected

i FUCKING knew it. i said!!! i said he was too nice right at the beginning but i couldn't tell what exactly was wrong about him

HOT GIRL SHIT

man the ring detail was a nice touch

ding tao badass arc?????? i love him!! go hide behind shen zechuan!!! 

fuck oh my god shen zechuan kill me next please

PUSSY

‘Zhou Gui liked Ding Tao so much at this moment that he wanted so much to acknowledge the latter as his son.’ as you should

wait what

okay there's the awful backstory id been waiting for. not as bad as it could’ve been tho. at least he’s not binghe

oh he gave him a piggyback ride,,,,, that’s totally not making me desperately want love or anything. my heart isn’t twinging at all

they’re so domestic i love them sm this scene is destroying me

jesus they’re so horny all the time

“let’s build a home” *body roll*

did they actually fuck in the hallway or did i read that wrong. 

no, they definitely fucked in the hallway

“I do not have the intention to take a concubine in this life.” yeah i bet, shen zechuan would rip his dick off. also he’s a simp

HE CALLED HIM HIS HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD??????? PUBLICALLY?????

aw, zhou gui :((

‘He remembered everything about Xiao Chiye. The only thing he could not think of was a way in which Xiao Chiye was inferior to Xiao Jiming.’ that’s love babe

ohhhhh his reunion that’s written so well what the hell my heart is so warmed

i’ll never get over just how broke xiao chiye is. the love interest is never broke

help the random wolf meme at the end of the chapter???

i can’ttttt this rando bandit is trying to marry off his sister to the guy hunting him down?? author, that’s such a random detail? i love it?

li xiong???? bro???

bro is WRESTLING a horse??? what the fuck do they feed you on bandit mountain???? protein powder and fertilizer??

alshjdnf kong ling a new addition to the wingman squad? more likely than you think

i just found this one i missed on twitter:  szc: *actively trying to kill him*    xcy, twirling his hair: omg that’s so hot do it again

“There will be a day we get to see it filled up when we are seventy or eighty years old.” planning your future together T-T

‘He looked at Shen Zechuan, who spread his hands out slightly and gave him an innocent look.’ woah babe it wasn’t me this time i promise

why are they so sweet to each other i love them and i’ll keep saying it

well of course he’s not happy. he wants to go back to bed with his boyfriend

‘If Cizhou dared lay a hand on Shen Zechuan, Xiao Chiye was sure to hasten there within a day.’ xiao chiye advocates Violence for those who hurt shen zechuan

aw, he wants to make him a fan???? if he wanted to he would

“Shifu dreads greasy food, and Ce’an gets cranky easily. Get the chef to choose and make some light dishes. You’re currently nursing an injury, so do as the physician and shifu say and get the kitchen to make an individual portion for you.” it feels like he has a little family

god i’d love to write a little adventures of zhao zui temple ficlet with ji gang and qi huilian fighting over raising shen zechuan. i feel like that’d be adorable

xiao chiye trying to win over ji gang is SO FUCKING CUTE how does shen zechuan LIVE

‘And just like this, Shen Zechuan sat in Xiao Chiye’s embrace and continued to do his accounts.’ it’s like that one gamer couple trend

OH MY GOD HE SAID I LOVE YOUUFHILIUS

[moonssugar]

wip inspiration tag 🌟

got tagged by @encrucijada​

there are A LOT of places of inspiration for my personal writing project roadtrip! and if i had to list them all i’d have pages and pages of bits of inspiration from so many different places but i think i can gather the core wells of inspiration...

list: the Northern Lights trilogy, the Oh Hellos, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky and Sprited Away

ROADTRIP! : sam, a transmasc youth, and his furry ever-companion soulmate kaid live in sunshine arizona with their new rambunctious friend who moved into the neighboring town a year ago, chelsie who has two furry companions of her own named cosmos and chrysanthemum. high school hell, summer shenanigans, friendships, chaos and fun ensue until a girl named aubry shows up in the middle of the desert following a series of strange occurrences. a week later, the three of them take a short walk and don’t return home. they find themselves in a new world, and, well, quite a few new worlds after that. they need to find a way home and they’re determined that nothing stops them, so they journey into a ever shifting, strange, curious and beautiful multiverse that unfolds before them.

this story is about changes and grappling with them, queerness (trans, lesbian/gay mostly), self discovery and becoming, love, family born into, made and found, faiths, destiny is fake, essentialism is bogus, war is hell, different kinds of trauma, the pace of healing, growing pains, be gay do crime, love for humanity, displacement and belonging, oppression and fighting it, the power in being kind gentle and merciful, and how hugs, hand holding and forehead kisses go a long way. theres a lot more but the hugs are extremely important!

The Oh Hellos

entire arcs in this story have started as seeds planted by me listening to the oh hello’s but especially the albums eurus and the other four winds albums, dear wormwood, and into the deep dark valley. ive got a deep emotional connection to their music and since i found them back in 2019/2020 which happened to be the time i started writing this wip. there are whole albums in my character playlists. they are this music on a certain level. the grip maggie and tyler heath have on me is criminal

HDM

daemons, angels and the multiverse concept not only totally ripped completely off from this series but also extremely yassified and hit with a transgenderification beam. transdimensional travel as a metaphor for being trans. a angel fabricating a physical body as a metaphor for being trans. rainbow colored openings to other worlds hint hint nudge gay. answering the age old question “trans people daemons gender what?!” with “lol whatever i have a 4D understanding of gender you wouldn’t get it”. using daemons as a way to talk about queerness, gender etc etc. also us american evengalicalism fuckin sucks, lets talk about that and religious trauma without demonizing “religion” as a whole!! this inspired me to think about the beauty of faiths instead of its ugliest sides but also honor the horrific trauma a certain brand of christianity causes. also what if this multiverse concept was executed better and the story was actually satisfying??

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the sSky (and some other ghibli movies)

okay nausicaä actually inspired a big latter part of roadtrip, mostly its solarpunk elements and focus on ecology, post apocalyptic world and humanity. and insects! castle in the sky is where i got the floating island idea from. some honorable mentions are spirited away, its one of my earliest memories of other world concepts in fiction i remember from when i was a kid, ponyo which is the favorite movie of my character chelsie + some ocean imagery sprinkled here and there and sam loves princess mononoke (this movie helped radicalize me)

Ari and Dante

the slice of life vibes, desert setting but arizona instead of el paso texas, a mexican main character, just taking it easy and being emotionally honest when writing and telling a story is something i learned from benjamin alire sáenz because its one of the first places in literature it really stuck out to me. that you choose your own methods for writing, whatever works for you even if it strays from ‘traditional’ literature structure. realizing a chapter could be 1 paragraph freed me, but now i wish i’d actually let myself apply the guy’s advice. this book had a profound effect on me when i read it at 17, it got me through a lot and its lived inside my head and my soul ever since. rent fuckin free. changed me on a molecular and spiritual level and im so glad it did

honorable mentions: a bunch of different science fiction media, fantasy media, real life locations like arizona, my own state, cartagena columbia, costa rica, peru and about a thousand other places, ecology and the concept of interconnectedness herself, class struggle, queer history, catholic imagery, ‘80s aesthetics, many romance languages, my friends and their many backgrounds, many different cultures, angelology, world history, revenge and spite but also self indulgence and falling in love with writing

gonna tag: @shapeshiftersandfire​!

[captaincolossal]

Bahahaha, these small children are bonking the zombies with putt-putt golf clubs from the tractor cart. It is quite amusing.

Oh, see! Lupita Nyong'o (with an assist from ManBaby in the latter portion) did get these 5-year-olds through the field trip (and subsequent 48-hour quarantine) safely and largely un-traumatized. Even the Important Army Man was impressed.

Okay, so critiques: ManBaby is extremely off-putting, as a main character, and his redemption arc is entirely predictable. (The entire plot is predictable, but I'm not mad at it, like I sort my saved fanfics by trope, I'm not gonna gripe at a moderately entertaining film for being predictable.) There's an exaggerated level of, like, unawareness of age in/appropriateness, that I found uncomfortable. (Like letting a 5-year-old play a violent video game and then being like, "but it's not real?? what's the problem?" when his mom is upset.) Also: weirdly and overtly fatphobic and ableist.

But overall, a not-bad zombie comedy, and Lupita Nyong'o could have phoned it in for this one, but she did not and she made this worth watching. Also the kids were cute. And, obviously the kid's show performer is an aggressively terrible asshole who gets his face ripped off by a hand puppet. And the boy who loves tractors saves the day by being the only person who knows how to drive a tractor? Where was I going with this? Oh: cute Australian zombie comedy, that just calls everyone fat for some reason.

Oh my god, the meeting I had this evening? I thought it would be 45 minutes, maybe an hour tops, and it was almost two hours, and of course I was like "I can make dinner afterwards" but not at 9pm I can't. Not when I haven't eaten in...10 hours, because I'm no longer a lunch person. Jesus. I was about to start eating the pack of gum that's probably in my bag somewhere.

Anyway, I stopped and bought an absolute pile of hot dogs from a guy who looks like David Della Rocco from Boondock Saints (1999). Complete with sunglasses. Indoors. At 9pm. (This was at my extremely reputable local hot dog place, I didn't just find a guy.)

Little Monsters (2019)

I hate these people. Jesus. She needs to dump him.

[godofsexdrugsandrocknroll]

Kali took Blake's hentai out of her room and is now openly watching it in the living room, with Blake and other people still in the house.

The point where Kali should feel ashamed of what she’d done? Come and past - probably right around the time that the animated wolf faunus with the light gray hair, gray wolf ears and large, equally light gray eyes tried to speak around the length of cock pistoning in her mouth with little regard to the fact that this was the woman’s mouth and not, in fact, the pussy, that the human male was pounding relentlessly with spit flying everywhere.

“Iff shfo glurff muffar!” Indeed.

But truly, who could blame her? After years of dealing with her daughters absence, suddenly having Blake willing to live with them was a new experience and one she probably wasn’t dealing the best with. After all, most mothers wouldn’t dream of snooping the way she did. But for all that Blake Belladonna, one of the eight 24 year old “Heroes of Remnant”, inspired awe and hope in the people of Remnant and even more in the faunus community, well...Kali remembered the little girl who’d once seen a package of fruit snacks with red gummy fish, promptly ripped it open and devoured the bag before rolling on the floor, spitting chunks of the fruity treat while disgustedly proclaiming “cherry flavored!” over and over again.

Charismatic, impassioned leader of the Faunus Civil Rights Coalition or not, there was a distance between mother and daughter created by the latter’s 12 year absence in her mothers life.

They tried of course, but Blake was used to her freedom and Kali was a creature of habit, perpetually uncaring of what many called “the line” but still desperately trying to reconnect with her daughter.

So the fact that Kali scoped out the usual spots for teenage contraband when she cleaned her daughters room really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Ghira certainly hadn’t been when Kali had, giggly as she approached, revealed the contents of a lock box Blake hid under piles of increasingly tiny and intricate undergarments. Granted it was just old photos of them together, a cheap plastic ring with a cartoonish lion heard stretching down to the knuckle and pieces of fabric that smelled of the two of them rather than anything else, but it was the thought that mattered.

She of course neglected to mention to Ghira where she had found it, amidst of a sea of panties, thongs and even a g-string or two. Where she was curious, Ghira would have been ill.

So she’d kept snooping, impressed not just at the collection of underthings her daughter owned (and very amused that her own predilection for the sexier, the better had been passed onto Blake), but at the false bottom that had been discovered and...well, novelty might be the right word for things like the crotchless panties she found there.

Then she’d found other things. A collection of muscle magazines hidden carefully behind a dresser that had seen use judging by the crinkled paper, but not recently given the finger shaped spots on the otherwise dusty covers. Lube carefully stacked behind her books.

A chest full of devices, from dildos to wands to toys and more than a few strap ons. And while Kali was surprised at the amount, she was less so when she remembered that her daughter was in a relationship with a rather...well, the polite term would be ‘generously well endowed’ blonde who was openly vulgar about what the two of them got up to behind doors; when it was just Yang (said blonde) and Blake, in what they thought was the privacy of an empty room.

The collection of nearly three dozen cases advertising Mistralian hentai hidden in a crawl space however had thrown Kali for a loop. And, well, you know what they say about curiosity and cats.

And so Kali stared wide eyed at the covers depicting cutesy anime girls, most of them faunus, in various poses and stages of undress. There was Faunus Fuck Frenzy, vol. 32 - where apparently three faunus best friends were captured in a jungle and fucked into full blown ahegao faces by tribal looking, human natives if the cover was anything to go by.

Watashi no kōkō no tōnamentoāku - a dog faunus with short brown hair, floppy bloodhound ears and breasts the size of beach balls in nothing but a pair of spandex shorts and biceps, abs that were intimidating in their intensity...but was covered forehead to navel in semen, the bodies of unconscious teenage boys and their cocks of varying size left defeated on the ground in the cover’s background.

Others, too. One where the blue haired bluebird faunus was a loli and surrounded by leering men. Another where a golden haired, golden eyed snake faunus had her faunus feature, her exceptionally long forked tongue, wrapped around a penis that was closer to the size of arm and was bulging with veins with her curvaceous body on all fours. A bushy tailed squirrel faunus bound, gagged in a contortionist’s nightmare with the shadow of a grinning man behind her.

By the time Kali saw it - it being what she was watching now, a lonely single faunus mother checking out a sex club while her children were being babysat - it was too late. Blake had arrived with her girlfriend Yang, Kali’s personal assistant, the ex-terrorist Ilia, Yang’s sister Ruby and her not-a-boyfriend Oscar Pine and the blonde, suit clad boyfriend of the Schnee heiress, Jaune Arc.

So Kali had used the kind of speed that made her a popular choice for stealth missions back when she was in the White Fang and put every single case back in the crawlspace and had all but teleported into the living room, smiling and nodding as Blake mentioned that the group was going to go discuss something-something-faunus-something-something-SDC-something-something-if-you’d-make-us-some-dinner-that-would-be-lovely-thank-you-love-you-bye.

Kali’s breathing had returned to normal even if her heart still pounded and she’d pulled Amongst Sheep from behind her back and stared at the lonely MILF, stunned at her daughter’s kinkiness. There’d been exactly 41 films in the crawlspace and aside from the muscular bloodhound faunus who’d apparently fucked her way through at least 11 different teenage boys to claim some sort of victory, each and every cover seemed to depict faunus getting dicked down by human males. Or the occasional female, sometimes simply female and other times with a dick dangling between their thighs. The faunus in question seemed to love it and almost seemed subservient to the ones doing the fucking.

While Kali was amused at her daughters apparent kink especially in light of her place as a faunus rights spokeswoman of great fame, there was a much larger problem. Staring at them all had made her unquestionably horny to the point of wetness. But Blake, her girlfriend and her friends were home. Ghira was in the kitchen just two rooms away, making a large meal for their guests happily after she asked him to do so. There were workers in the back of the house, rebuilding their back wall after Ghira had hip tossed an assassin of the rapidly dwindling White Fang remnants through it last week.

A reasonable, sane woman would have hid it and enjoyed it in the privacy of her own room later that night. Maybe give Ghira a ride while she watched it after convincing him she rented it over the scrollnet for added fun. But the idea of watching it in her living room, a living room that was open to all of the house with no doors, her husband far enough away to know she was watching something but not what and her daughter, her friends only a single floor up? With her room right above the living room?

The disc was in, Kali’s legs were spread after removing her hakama and her modest breasts were exposed to the warm air, her fingers immediately tracing her slick folds.

The plot had gone from 0 to 60 in what seemed like record time (but was probably only 20 minutes or so), the mother surrounded by horny human men while her fellow faunus were in various poses of submission. The mother partaking in the orgy and rapidly spiraling from a stereotypically sweet woman with the kind of body only art could give, to a sex crazed lunatic thanking her “master” for fucking her mouth even as her makeup ran, her dump truck of a rear was being molested by a faceless human behind her and her gargantuan tits bounced from the force of the careless facefucking all while she squealed, even as the humans made crude and rather disparaging remarks about faunus women.

Ghira: [From the kitchen] Enjoying yourself, dear?

Kali’s breath hitched as her fingers pushed in deep and she grinned, curling them as a jolt ran up her spine as the wolf faunus - Lupa, she remembered - squealed once more, her cheeks puffing out like a chipmunks at the deluge of jizz firing impossibly from the human.

Kali: Oh of course, darling! There’s a program about human-faunus interactions that’s just fascinating!

She heard no response but could practically hear her husbands indulgent chuckle. As Lupa now hoarsely begged for the man who’d been fucking her mouth to “shut his stupid dog right back up!” the floor creaked and someone moved around a bit. Kali bit her lip, eyes catching the closed window and the worker carrying tools by. Her left hand had since been massaging her right tit for some time now and she tweaked the brownish nipple on her olive skinned titty, moaning harshly as Lupa suddenly screeched! The man who’d been squeezing her cheeks had pushed her face down into a puddle of spit and spunk and forced himself in an ass that not even she could compete with! She watched as the warbling moans of the anime MILF grew in intensity.

Kali: [Sputtering] And now we’re even getting to see a faunus tribe and how they survived in the Grimmlands!

Ghira: [From the kitchen] That’s nice dear.

Kali: So nice! Really Ghira, you would not believe some of their customs!

Or her own, at this point throwing any concern of being caught out of her mind. The floor had creaked as if someone had tossed themselves on Blake’s bed, likely Blake herself after hashing out a particularly tough point. The thought of Ghira finding her was exciting, of her husband’s disbelief that she’d be so bold. One of the workers? Well, Ghira would likely punish her for giving them such a show but the idea of teasing them so cruelly, knowing that they would remember this for quite some time but never be able to do more than furiously jack their cocks off to the memory of it and just how hard Ghira would give it to her, pushing her face in a pillow as he flattened her exceptional cheeks with his angry downstrokes. Blake and her friends? As a third finger entered her lightly squelching pussy - as Lupa followed an order and lapped up at the puddle as her nearly yoga ball sized cheeks rippled in constant motion - and her palm started slapping against her clit, she squealed at the sudden increase in pleasure.

Blake would be beyond humiliated. At her shameless mother, at her own filthy little secret being discovered by anyone other than perhaps Yang. Not to mention that both Oscar and Jaune would commit this site to their memory banks, perhaps even as their flush faced friends lambasted them for their obvious erections!

The floor creaked more, as if they were moving and Kali twisted her nipple, watching as the MILF on screen started wailing from the anal assault, the man having both hands in her grey hair and pulling her head back. As the animation gave way to the light grey eyes rolling towards her nose as her tongue flopped out, Lupa’s face got steadily redder. In return Kali gasped at the mixture of pleasure and pain coming from her right tit, using her left hand to awkwardly do the same to her left and moaning as a shadow passed the window behind their television.

Ghira: [From the kitchen] Dear? Is something wrong?

Kali couldn’t help it. The thought of being caught was too good, the knowledge that this was what her daughter liked - something so disrespectful, base and diametrically opposed to her own beliefs - and the way she was handling her own body made her let out a louder groan.

Lupa: [Television] “...myself that day, lost the woman who put her children first... to big. Fat. Yummy. Human. COCK!!!! AIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!”

Kali: Oh no, Ghira! Just a quote from another bigot!

Kali’s fingers were now a blur, an eye on the window where no worker stood and an ear on her husbands response, the sound of a load of cum being pumped into an animated faunus whose face showed no signs of intellgence as a faceless human filled her anus with his release, squeezing each asscheek so aggressively he was clearly holding booty fat between his hands.

Ghira: [From the kitchen] You know how it is, freedom of speech. Is it at least handled...

She knew what he meant. Is the documentary at least attacking the negative opinion, showing how wrong it is?

Lupa: [Television] “--aaauuuuuwwwwsho good~” [giggling drunkenly]

She was close. Her heels clunked lightly against the table in front of her couch as she adjusted her legs, opening them wider as she now alternated between full thrusts and thumbing the clit, beneath her thick patch of black pubic hair. The scene changed several times, to Lupa’s ankles and wrists bound as a man pumped her full of cum. Another where a group of university aged humans were busily raining down an amount of cum only possible in hentai as Lupa serviced two cocks, one with her mouth and the other with her hand. A married couple sandwiching Lupa between them with Lupa’s cheeks being squished by the human taking her in doggy, excess ass fat bunching up as Lupa screamed into the man’s wife, her hairy human cunt. Another where Lupa sat on the counter of a sandwhich shop as an older, balding man stood between her legs as her eyes fluttered and the slick sound of her sex, of unexpected squirting. One final scene showing Lupa lying upon her shoulders, legs spread in a perfect split as a muscled man fucked down into her as she screamed “Master!” over and over.

To a final scene where a school bus pulled away and Lupa, in a white turtleneck and nothing more, leaned around a corner and had a warm, motherly smile on her face.

Kali: [Strained] Absolutely, Ghira!

Her palm made heavy clopping noises as she fingerblasted herself to that warm motherly smile staying in place...but only because it had frozen there, drool leaking from the corners of Lupa’s mouth as her eyes were all but rolled back in her skull as a random human steadily slammed into her from behind, the only sounds being the wolf’s cheeks clapping and the wet plap! of semen pouring from her currently-being-fucked pussy.

Human: [Television] Take it all, Ms. Lupa!

And then the abnornal sound of jizz being pumped into the drooling faunus and her dripping pussy, Lupa’s eyes gone pure white as they rolled back into her skull and an overlay of the action inside her happening; a sea of thick white swirling inside her and then a flash of light from an egg indicating pregnancy.

Between the two workers clearly arguing over tools outside their window but clearly not seeing her, being in conversation with Ghira and the threat of being found out, Kali felt it build.

Several things happened at once. Lupa showed up on the screen staring down at a human baby with brown hair and her eyes, before turning away smiling softly. She entered a room where an unfamiliar human sat on her bed, a member that nearly reached his own chest pointing towards the ceiling. Lupa dropped to all fours and fastened a chain to a black leather collar she was wearing, muttering “master” over and over again as she crawled forth.

Kali scraped three fingers against her g-spot and ground her palm against her clit and exploded in release.

Kali: No doubt, it’s marvelously done!

Her pitch considerably higher as she lost her fingers to the repeatedly clenching hole, knees shaking as her orgasm crashed through her like waves upon the beach.

Blake: [Shocked] Mo-ther! [Strangled] No Yang, don’t look!

Ruby: [Stammering] Y-y-y-you either, O-oscar!

Ilia: Why must the world be so cruel!?

Jaune: Mad that another hot cat faunus is taken?

Blake: [Squeals] Jaune!

Ilia: Yes!

Blake: [Squeaks] Ilia!

Yang: I mean, can you blame ‘em? I can see where you got it from, babe.

Blake: [Squeaks, chokes, growls] Stopitstopitstopit!

Jaune: [To Ilia] Same.

Blake: Butwhatno--NO! You have Weiss!

Jaune: Appreciating the view is not cheating.

Ruby: Yes it is!

Jaune: I am happy in my relationship with my fiancée. I will never cheat on my fiancée but I have no control over Blake’s mom fingerbanging herself to...whoa.

Yang: [To Blake] Heh, told you it was a bad idea to keep those here! Ooh, is that Amongst Sheep!? [Respectfully] She’s got good taste.

Oscar: Blake watches hentai?

Ruby: A-ack! Y-y-you saw!? Dammit Oscar!

Ilia: [Fumbling]

Blake: Wha-no-it’snot--

Kali breathed heavily, removing her digits from her pussy and feeling much better and with a glance at her sticky fingers, cleaned them with a quick schlup! of a noise.

Blake: AAAHH! Mother, no!

Kali: [Exhausted] Sorry sweetheart. But that collection of yours, oh my.

Jaune: [To Ruby] Okay, now I’m feeling a little guilty.

Ruby: You should!

Ilia: [Stops fumbling] Collection? She has more?

Blake: Moth--

Kali: Over forty.

Ilia: And they’re all... [gestures]

Kali: Except for one with a female dog faunus.

Yang: That’s mine. [Blake screeches in horror] Blake wanted me to ‘expand my horizons’ or something. I think Blakey just wanted me to be a perv too.

Oscar: Wait. Dog faunus? Watashi no kōkō no tōnamentoāku with Tawni Bumpus as Rei-chan’s seiyuu?

Yang: Heh. Yeah, you’ve seen it?

Ruby: Wha--

Oscar: Have you seen Tawni Bumpus?

Jaune: And now I’m uncomfortable.

Yang: Chow-Chow faunus, right?

Oscar: Yup. She’s -- a-ah... [trails off in embarassment and fear for his life at Ruby’s glare]

Yang: [Snorts] Has an ass that makes the Bellabooty look like Weiss in comparison?

Jaune: [Eyes narrow] I’m letting her know you said that, top heavy.

Yang: [Flinches, irritated] I’m sending you a picture of her. She’s got cake for days, Arc.

Oscar: Well, a-ah, the point is Tawni is very p-pretty [panics] b-b-but not as pretty as Ruby and she really does have a captivating voice.

Jaune: [Staring squintily at Yang, speaks at Oscar] Riii~iight.

Blake: Alright, stop! No more talking about my porn!

Ruby: Ah, so the degenerate admits it!

Ilia: Huh. I mean I can see Yang, maybe. But Blake?

Yang: One, rude. Two, it’s a power dynamic thing. She doesn’t really want to be treated like an animal and collared by humans all the time, but sometimes she’s in the mood and I’ll put on the strap and the things that’llmmmphh!!!

Blake: [Hands on Yang’s mouth, panting, red faced] No. More.

Kali: [Covering her chest back up, crosses legs] Dear, it’s perfectly understandable. You’re a powerful young woman with not just skill unmatched in the sword but your Shadow Clones were key in your final battle with Salem! It’s perfectly understandable wanting to surrender yourself to a strong girl like Yang! You trust her and really, Lupa’s descent into a plaything was as masterfully done as it was--

Blake then ran away screaming, hands over her face and seconds later a door slammed. Yang winces.

Kali: Perhaps that was a bit too much for her.

Ruby: [Eyes narrowed] She just discovered her mom’s a superfreak.

Kali opened her mouth, saw that despite the time passed that both Oscar and Jaune were not looking directly at her and were both at full mast. Ilia was quietly cursing at her scroll phone, which the chameleon had been aiming in her direction prior to making herself decent. Clearly cursing her poor reaction time and missing a photo op.

Kali: Hmm. I suppose that might be a fair assessment.

Ruby: [Angles her body to hide Oscar’s boner] You got problems, lady.

Kali gave a nonchalant shrug, still feeling too good to give 100% to caring.

Jaune: [Claps hands] Well, not that this hasn’t been just a blast, but I think I should go tell Weiss exactly what happened here before somebody [glares at Ruby who glares back] texts her.

Yang: [Scratching her head, staring at the stairs] Heh, you just want Weiss to “punish” you. Never met a guy so ready for a girl standing five foot nothing to take him to poundtown in the Amazon position.

Jaune: [Reddens] Then clearly you have no idea how hot Weiss is when she’s mad.

Yang: [Blinks] Huh. All that time spent around Nora and me’s doing you good, Jaune.

Jaune said nothing and turned away. Oscar was trying to engage a depressed Ilia in conversation while avoiding Ruby’s death glare, the reaper herself irritated at her “not-a-boyfriend” being a pervert. Yang stood contemplating how to handle Blake and Kali just sighed, uncrossing her legs and wincing at the stickiness and the slight sound of it as she stood. As she clapped her hands lightly, intending to try and make this better, it happened. A platter of spaghetti and meatballs hit the floor.

Ghira: What in the garlic-oregano-noodley fuck is going on here!?

The room froze. Kali gave her husband a sheepish little smile, standing with her kimono top done up poorly and missing her hakama pants, shapely legs on display. Ilia had reaimed her phone at Kali’s legs even as Oscar had a hand up to block the view, his other over his stiffy. Yang’s mouth hung open in shock and Jaune had frozen, his own hands dropping to hide evidence of his own hard on. His daughter was conspicuously absent.

The most damning thing was the menu screen on the teleivsion, showing clips of Mistralian hentai that wasn’t exactly kind to faunus. Jaune spoke first.

Jaune: [Urgently] Yeet me out the house Xiao Long and I won’t tell Weiss about the crack you made on her ass!

A flash of white aura protecting the Arc occurred and Yang grabbed him by the arm and threw him through the wall. Ruby grabbed Oscar’s hand at the same time and the two disappeared into a swirl of roses out the same hole, a distant “ouch” being heard as they likely collided with Jaune. Yang was halfway up the stairs and Ilia stood frozen, scroll aimed at Kali’s legs. Ghira glared and Ilia eeped. She glanced at Kali who gave a smirk that was unapologetic and much to Ilia’s dismay, sexy.

Kali: It’s exactly what it looks like, darling. [Purrs] Is my big strong husband going to spank his naughty wife?

Ilia’s scream of terror was muffled as Ghira’s hand clasped around her face and then faded into the distance as she was chucked from the Belladonna household.

Jaune: [Barely audible] Dammit, stop running into me! Respect the healer!

Ilia: [Barely audible groaning]

Ghira: You will explain yourself, wife.

Kali: [Flutters eyelashes, purposely ignores him] Will you promise to spank me if I don’t?

Ghira growled, angry at the situation but knowing he’d get nothing out of her now and with a grunt, threw his laughing wife over his shoulder and stomped grumpily to his room. Really, he loved this woman to pieces but why did she find it so enjoyable to test his every last nerve!? He ignored the frantic sound of what sounded like his daughter opening her secound floor window and muttering something about “not again” and threw his smirking wife on the bed, growling as he ripped his armor, his clothing off.

On the ground floor, a rhino faunus and his crocodile faunus friend gaped at the hole in the front of the house.

Rhino Faunus: Oh, what in the actual shit is this!?

Crocodile Faunus: Rich people, man. Rich people.

[cinebration]

Water-breather (Din Djarin x Reader) [Request]

I saw that at your request were open and was wondering if you’d do a mermaid au of din djarin x female mermaid reader ? — Requested by anon

Fun fact: Star Wars has an actual mermaid-like species known as Melodies. They are native to Yavin 8 and are known in the Legends “canon” of Star Wars.

Warnings: creature violence

Gif Source: djarsdin

The Mandalorian hadn’t expected to chase his bounty clear to Yavin 8, a tundra moon orbiting a gas giant. His bounty, a human by the name of Cornelis Offkin, had taken a beating from the Mandalorian’s Razor Crest, forcing the man to crash-land on the arid moon near the purple mountains ridging the surface.

Din didn’t have time to appreciate the dry beauty of the place. His bounty was somewhere here, his tracks plain in the scanner built into Din’s helmet. He followed the illuminated footprints through the dense wood at the base of the mountain range, rifle slung over his back, blaster at his hip. Strange, cloying smells wafted up into his helmet as he stepped on dense underbrush.

As he neared the base of the mountain range, Din slowed beside a small pond, confused by the footprints he was seeing. Offkin had seemed to stop, then spun around quickly, scattering dirt and detritus. Then a mad scramble deeper into the trees before sprawling to the ground.

Din scanned the area. Had Offkin been attacked? The ground beside the bounty’s footprints had been smoothed by something that had either remerged or entered the still pond. The surface of the water remained smooth.

Din reached for his blaster.

Water sprayed in all directions. Din glimpsed green-black eyes and large fangs before he was on his back, half in the creature’s mouth. Rearing back, it dragged him off the ground easily. Pain lanced up Din’s thigh, excruciating. Stifling a scream, Din tried to pull free his blaster.

The serpentine creature tossed its head back, opening its jaw wider. Din felt himself slipping further into the creature’s throat. He had never considered that he might die to a creature rather than some bounty. At least he knew the fate of Offkin.

An ear-piercing screech blasted the Mandalorian’s ears. The serpentine creature writhed, hissing.

Din glanced up to see huge wings spreading from behind the creature. Oh great, it flies, he thought.

A giant beak peered over the top of the creature’s head, followed by the predatory eyes of a raptor. Din caught his own reflection in the volucrine creature’s pupils before he was suddenly falling.

The serpentine creature rose above him, borne aloft by the avian animal.

Din hit the water hard.

~~

Din gasped for air, choking up water in his helmet and inhaling it in again. Sputtering, lungs screaming, he shoved the helmet up a fraction and spewed the water out and down his chin, breathing air. It burned in his throat, but he sucked it up greedily, only distantly noting the musty mildew smell and taste of it.

When his lungs stopped aching, he breathed easier and took stock of his surroundings. Dimly lit by bioluminescent plants, the cave in which he sat appeared endless. Stalactites hung down from the ceiling, reflected vertiginously in a dark pool to his right.

Eyeing the water warily, he slowly rose to his feet, checking his weapons. Everything was where they were supposed to be. He tried to make sense of how he had arrived in this place, the last thing he remembered being the water engulfing him.

The stalactite reflection rippled. He tensed, ripping out his blaster from its holster. The ripples slowed near the edge of the pool. Din aimed, ready to kill.

A head tentatively emerged from the water, humanoid. Din found himself staring into your eyes as your chin lifted above the waterline. In the bioluminescent light, your face was limned in soft green.

“Hello.” It was all the Mandalorian could think to say.

“Hello,” you echoed. Your voice sounded like a trickling waterfall.

“What is this place?”

“Home.”

“Okay. How do I leave?”

You shook your head. “The reels are out. They hunt.” You spoke in Galactic Basic haltingly. “Not safe.”

“I have to get back to my ship.”

“Wait here.”

Din frowned. He wouldn’t be able to collect the bounty on Offkin, which meant he needed to find a new bounty as soon as possible. He couldn’t wait around losing credits. “How did I get here?”

“One of young ones found you. Brought you here to safety. The reel was not alone in the water.”

He pictured the serpentine creature writhing in fury and pain above him. Shivering, he suddenly remembered the wound in his leg. Glancing down, he found it wrapped in some kind of plant, covered thickly in a dark paste. The latter smelled atrocious, but the wound felt cool, his leg flexible.

“How long do I have to wait?” he asked.

“Sunrise. Reels and avrils sleep.” You made a motion with your hands, imitating wings.

Sighing, Din sat back down, trying to think his way out of the problem. The snake-like thing—the reel, he corrected—had caught him in the water. Looking around the cave, all he could see beside the smooth rock walls was water.

“How do I get out?” he asked again. “How did I get in?”

You patted the top of the water’s surface, sending ripples across the water. “Through lakes.”

It took him a long moment to realize what you meant. One of your people had dragged him through a system of underground lakes to this hidden cave. The only exit was through the reel-infested water.

Sighing again, he leaned up against the rock behind him and gently massaged feeling back into his wounded leg. He felt your gaze on him trying to bore through his helmet.

She may think it’s my actual face, a little voice inside him said.

“Why here?” you asked, propping your arms on the shore of the pool. He watched in disbelief as something crested the surface of the water behind you: a fin.

“I was…tracking someone. The reel got him.”

You frowned but nodded. Din was mesmerized by the fin, watched it slowly move back and forth like a woman moving her legs.

“Rest. I come later to take you to your ship.”

“Thank you.”

With a smile, you pushed back from the edge and slipped back into the water, your fin flashing. Din thought about it for half an hour before sleep took him under.

~~

He wasn’t confident about being dragged through interconnected lakes. He didn’t have a water-breathing apparatus built into his helmet, and he wasn’t sure he could hold his breath long enough.

When you reemerged from the water, the water hovering just below your collarbone and no further, you hefted up a handful of blue-green algae.

“What is that?”

“To help breathe in water.” You mimed placing it over your mouth and nose. “Breathe little.”

Anxiety slithering up his spine, Din took the algae and turned away, lifting the helmet to plaster the slimy material over his mouth and nose. His heart stuttered in his chest, telling him he couldn’t breathe through the pond scum. Fighting it, he resettled the helmet over his head.

He found you had searching a hand from the water, reaching for him. Hesitating, he looked into your deep eyes, looking for deception. He found only an open and honest expression. Taking your hand, he let you lead him into the water. The chill sent a shiver through him as he went deeper into the water, his clothes and armor weighing him down.

You held onto him easily, wrapping your arms around his torso. Panic seized him again as you kicked hard, sending you both careering through a hole in the cave wall beneath the water. He blinked against the burn of it in his eyes as you maneuvered through the tunnels connecting the lakes.

He fought the urge to breathe despite the ache in his lungs. The algae stayed firmly in place despite the water sloshing up under the helmet. He felt stuck in a fishbowl, watching as the world rushed by, dragged along in a current with you acting as pilot and rudder.

At last, he gasped in a breath. No water entered, only a small puff of oxygen pulled off the slimy algae. He held his breath again, focusing on the feel of your arms around him, trying to lose himself in the comfort of being held for the first time since…ever.

Then you were breaking the surface, emerging into a sunlit glade. Kicking gracefully over to the shore, you pushed him onto the ground. Din turned and yanked off the algae, breathing fresh air. The Razor Crest stood a little ways off, its surface gleaming dully in the morning light.

“Safe,” you assured him, gesturing up at the sky. “No avril.”

“Thank you.”

You nodded. “Travel safe.”

He almost laughed. “I try.”

You flipped back into the water, your finned tail arcing behind you. The light glittered off your scales in a flash of brilliance.

Din didn’t leave until the water returned to stillness. The image of you disappearing beneath it would haunt him for years.

[makeste]

if there is a timeskip, how far ahead do you think horikoshi will move along the story?

okay, so... I sat here for a while trying to work out how to phrase this less harshly lol, but I think I’m just gonna be blunt: I really, really hope that Horikoshi does not give us any kind of timeskip. there are precious few things that could potentially push me to quit this series, but a timeskip is one of them. I’m not saying that to be dramatic, I’m saying it just as a fact, because it’s happened to me multiple times before. in my experience, nothing else out there ruins a story as easily or effectively as a timeskip.

but let me try to break down and explain my loathing of them a bit more in depth.

1.) they make it so the audience misses out on character development. this is probably the thing I hate the most about timeskips. so here’s the thing; there are two different kinds of shounen timeskips. the type where the characters (mostly) stay together throughout the timeskip (think Naruto), and the type where the characters split apart during the timeskip (think One Piece). and I hate both of them equally, and let me explain.

I am reading the series because I am invested in the characters and their relationships. I want to see these relationships grow and evolve. timeskips make that impossible, because the whole point of a timeskip is that it skips right over everything so the audience doesn’t get to see it. and so, if the characters stay together during the timeskip, that’s a huge chunk of time during which their relationships are continuing to evolve, and the audience is missing out on all of that. that’s like starting a book and then finding that the entire middle section of it is blank. like, sorry about that, we decided this part wasn’t important enough to write down. if you’re lucky we might show you little bits and pieces of what happened during flashbacks, but otherwise you’ll just have to deal with it. boooo.

on the other hand, if the characters all go their separate ways to train on their own during the timeskip, then in a way that’s even worse. like yes, we’re technically not missing out on any relationship development, because no relationship development is even happening. those relationships are just put on hold for the duration of the timeskip. like, to use One Piece as an example, that means that the crew was together for like six months or however long, and then they all split apart for two whole years. they were apart for four times longer than they were ever together as a crew! like, you brought this found family together and bonded them so strongly only to rip them apart again?? for two years?? and for what! so that they could become boringly overpowered?? well, speaking of --

2.) they make fights predictable and/or disappointing. now for me, this one isn’t quite as bad as the character development one, but that’s mostly because I don’t care about fights as much. that said, post-timeskip fights are usually a dime a dozen, and I hate it. because here’s the thing: the whole purpose of the timeskip was to power up the character offscreen, so that they come back ready to kick more ass. which is great in theory, but in practice, post-timeskip fights tend to feature one of two brands of disappointment. either the protagonist character powered up so much that they easily win the fight, or else they still struggle even after all of that training and effort. the latter is just frustrating, because it’s like, so then what even was the point? but meanwhile, the former is also disappointing in its own way, because there’s no challenge anymore. yes it’s cool for like two seconds, but then what? if all I wanted was to watch someone reliably and effortlessly kick ass all day, I’d go become a fan of a bandwagon sports team. for me, the appeal of shounen is that the characters are learning and growing and struggling. if you make it easy for them then where’s the fun in that? if your character no longer faces any real obstacles then it stops being an interesting story.

and last but not least, 3.) they change the tone of the series (usually for the worse). so this one is interesting because this is one of the main reasons why a lot of people advocate for timeskips in the first place. ‘they help to make the series more mature’, or something along those lines. people are interested in seeing what kinds of storylines would open up with an older, more experienced cast of characters.

except that when people say more mature, what they usually mean is one of two things. either more romance, or else darker/grittier story content (read: more character deaths). which, just speaking personally, I have approximately zero interest in either of those things. if I wanted a grimdarker shounen series I’d be reading Attack on Titan instead. if I wanted more romance, I would read... well actually don’t really know what I’d read lol, because that’s kind of the point I’m trying to make here -- I don’t read romance, because I’m not interested in it (insert aromantic disclosure here). as an element of a more complex story, sure, that’s fine. but as a focus, I’d just as soon not. nine times out of ten I will lose interest in it. that’s 100% a personal preference there of course, but yeah.

anyways, but the point is, I started reading this coming of age story about teenagers at a superhero academy because I like coming of age stories! I like reading about younger characters and their adventures, learning about themselves and the world around them, making mistakes and getting stronger and the like. this is a specific genre that has a specific appeal to me. there’s an idealism and an optimism inherent in it, and I really don’t want the series to go changing that up. especially if there’s no need to change it up. which imo there really isn’t. as it stands, BnHA is already an unexpectedly mature story in a lot of ways, and it’s already exploring a lot of darker and more complex themes as it is, and doing an excellent job of it imo. basically, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. most of the time you’ll just end up ruining what was so appealing about the series to begin with.

so yeah! thus concludes my impromptu rant post about timeskips lol, and I’ll just belatedly add in a disclaimer as well that this is just my own opinion of course, and ymmv. but for me personally, I think that shounen series in particular rarely come out better after a timeskip (in fact I can’t think of any off the top of my head to tell the truth). also in BnHA’s case I really don’t think there’s any need for one at all. maybe if we get another short one, like the three-month timeskip that took place just before the start of this arc. but even then, there is just so much going on currently in the manga that it would feel weird to just fast-forward through it. TomurAFO is still on the loose. Dabi just blew up hero society as we know it. All Might is prophesized to die in the near future. the entire Billboard Top Ten was pretty much wiped out. and so on and so forth, and that’s not even getting into all of the character development that recently took place.

it just feels like things are too chaotic right now to skip ahead very far. I want to see what’s going to happen in the immediate aftermath of all this. and I don’t feel like the villains will leave the heroes alone to recover for very long. like, I can’t really figure out where someone would even put a timeskip, I guess is what I’m saying? there’s nowhere that feels natural. I could see them skipping a few weeks ahead maybe, but no more than that. anything more, and one has to assume that Tomura simply comes back to wipe out the rest of the heroes and/or the world lol. unless they shove him into another cryotube or something, I suppose.

so yeah, I think we’ll either get a very short timeskip or none at all. at least I am keeping my fingers crossed for as much. I don’t think it needs to happen or should happen. again, ymmv, but at any rate that’s my answer.

[princeescaluswords]

Stans: "Scott was ALWAYS getting others to do his dirty work and kill for him!!!11"

*footage not found*

You know who ACTUALLY was sending others to kill for them or do things for them? Peter. Derek. STILES. The latter asked Scott to consider letting Derek die.

List of People that Scott McCall could be said to have expressed a desire or resolve to see dead in the show:

Peter Hale (Season 1 only -- the only cure for lycanthropy)

Gerard Argent (Season 3A only -- "If you lied and it gets someone hurt, I'll be back to take away more than your pain.")

Jennifer Blake (Season 3A -- "Whatever you're doing to cause this storm, make it stop, or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it does to the color of my eyes.")

Sebastien Valet (Season 5B -- "History's most vicious, most famous werewolf" and a resurrected serial killer.)

That's it. Now let's look at how they died.

Peter Hale (Season 1 -- Derek Hale ripped out his throat in revenge and to claim power. Didn't stick, unfortunately.)

Gerard Argent (Season 6B -- torn apart by the daughter he betrayed.)

Jennifer Blake (Season 3A -- attempted to be killed by Deucalion in order to remove a threat and then murdered by Peter.)

Sebastian Valet (Season 5B -- killed by Scott throwing the Pike through its discorporated form.)

In the first example, Scott was literally begging Derek to let him do it, because he was afraid that if he remained a werewolf, he would die. I would say that by no stretch of the imagination could anyone claim that this was Scott getting Derek to do his dirty work for him, but I've been on Tumblr too long to say that. In the second example, while Gerard was lying, it didn't get anyone hurt, and Scott did not actually talk to Kate for forty episodes before she kills her father, so much the same as the first. In the fourth example, well, mission accomplished.

Only in the third example did he even have the opportunity to get Deucalion to kill Jennifer for him, and that didn't happen. Scott's attention was focused on Jennifer that he wasn't even aware that Deucalion had recovered from Jennifer's earlier attack. Scott says nothing to the killer, the killer lunges forward and slashes her throat with a witty saying. Deucalion had his own motivations for ending Jennifer's threat, and the final damning detail -- he failed. She managed to crawl away only to be executed by Peter at the Nemeton so he could regain his physical potency.

So when parts of the fandom say Scott got other people to do his dirty work for him, what are they talking about?  It’s an interesting process.

Step One is to determine who a protagonist should want to die based on fandom's own black-and-white ideas of who should live and who should die (in other words, any antagonist who is not a good-looking white man). Often, this echoes the expressed beliefs of character who are not Scott, such as Derek, Peter, Stiles, Allison, Gerard, Deucalion, Noshiko, Kate, Theo, or Sheriff Stilinski. The targets do not have to actually die for this step to occur.

Step Two is to interpret the deaths or near-deaths of these individuals as Scott's responsibility even though he does not want the victims to die and sometimes even expressed the belief that it is wrong for them to die (see Josh and Tracy). They also can insist on interpreting actions taken by Scott to stop the antagonists as an intention to kill when not a single scene or line of dialogue supports that interpretation (see the Master Plan).

Step Three is to take the death of these characters at the hands of other character who are not Scott -- who always have their own motivations for killing the targets -- and assign desire, intent, and conspiracy to Scott. If Theo murders Josh for his electromagnetic powers which will allow him to use the Doctor's Mask to find the host of La Bete, this is actually Scott's dirty work, even though Scott has argued against killing chimera, has no idea of the spare Mask's existence, and it wasn't his idea for Theo to kidnap Deucalion to teach him how to steal powers in the first place.

It's a lovely trick, isn't it? Parts of the fandom get to impugn Scott's motives, calling him a ruthless schemer while somehow still arguing he's dumb, easily fooled, and naive in his beliefs. Then they get to make others crimes -- Derek's, Peter's, Gerard's, Deucalion's, Theo's -- his responsibility even when he doesn't even know they were a possibility. After they do this, they're existing in the same hyper-violent fantasy plane where Scott is a hypocrite for thinking that the death of a young man who was taken by evil men and transformed into an out-of-control monster is something that as the Protector of Beacon Hills -- his unpaid and unasked-for occupation -- he should hold someone accountable.

Try to wrap your head around this logic: Scott is a bad person for letting others do his killing for him, whether the victims be Peter or the chimeras or Gerard or Jennifer, but Scott is also a bad person when he tries to stop or holds other accountable for doing this killing for him. In their warped schema, Scott simultaneously wants Deucalion to trick Theo into killing the chimeras that he supposedly wants dead because he doesn't want to do it himself but is also angry that Stiles killed a chimera that he supposedly wants dead and so didn't have to do it himself.

It's not about a critical analysis of Scott's moral or ethical principles or his leadership style. It never has been. It's been about tearing him down because the production had the nerve to say that Teen Wolf was Scott's story. Peter and Gerard and Jennifer and Sebastian were Scott's antitheses; Derek and Stiles and Theo were Scott's foils. These storytelling techniques show Scott’s development as heroic protagonist by contrasting his actions against theirs.

They can't stand this, even though all of those characters who they liked (unanimously white men) were given arcs and stories of their own, they still functioned as part of Scott's story. So, in their rage, they have to delegitimize Scott as the central character. And they are still trying.

BUT IT’S NOT RACISM.

[aion-rsa]

Ranking Cinderella Adaptations

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A dream is a wish your heart makes, and if your wish is to see countless takes on the beloved fairy tale of Cinderella, then consider your dreams having come true many times over—including this year, with a new Cinderella by way of Amazon Studios. This latest adaptation seems to have combined qualities of many of its predecessors: it’s playfully anachronistic and eschews the traditional Disney or Rodgers & Hammerstein songs in favor of a tracklist of modern pop covers; it also engages with Cinderella’s career aspirations beyond fitting her foot into a glass slipper.

But this Cinderella owes everything to the other soot-stained girls, animated and otherwise, who wished with all their hearts for decades before her. How does the new adaptation compare to the modern fairy tales, animated classics, and another fairy tale riff with an outstanding Stephen Sondheim tune? Check out our ranking of Cinderella adaptations, from worst to best.

10. A Cinderella Story (2004)

This cult classic is a clever retelling, with peak early-aughts casting of Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray as the star-crossed, Cyrano de Bergerac-inspired lovers: Sam toils away at her late father’s Southern California diner, under the heel of a delightful Jennifer Coolidge as her vain stepmother, while Austin is the closest thing to high school royalty as the quarterback with a sensitive side. Regina King as the longtime diner employee-turned-metaphorical fairy godmother who gets Sam to the homecoming masquerade dance is the other key bit of casting, but you’d have to really be a fan of the “fairy tales in high school” subgenre to get on board. Plus, the stable of derivative direct-to-video sequels makes the sparkle wear off with each new, formulaic installment released.

9. Cinderella (2021)

Kay Cannon’s (Pitch Perfect) progressive plot urging entrepreneurial dressmaker Ella (Camilla Cabello), her bitterly materialistic stepmother (Idina Menzel), and other original female characters to choose themselves over the supposed security of marriage is not quite enough to balance the cringey modern soundtrack and anachronistic witticisms. It’s too bad, because this Cinderella puts forth ambitious ideas, and any production with Billy Porter as the fairy godmother should be nothing but fabulous. Compared to most of her predecessors, this Cinderella is a distinctively fresh role model for the next generation of kids, but adults won’t find much magic in her story.

8. Ella Enchanted (2004)

This is a tough one, because the source material—that is, Gail Carson Levine’s 1997 middle grade novel—is unquestionably one of the very best Cinderella adaptations: Ella’s curse of obedience is an apt commentary on manipulating young girls into giving up their agency under the guise of people-pleasing. But the film—despite its adorable, baby-faced stars Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy—overcomplicates an already daring plot with a throne-stealing subplot (that Cary Elwes, as the unnecessary evil uncle, can’t save) and an unforgivably cheesy cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” Hathaway’s voice is sweeter than Nicholas Galitzine’s rendition in the new Cinderella, but the giants dressed in early-aughts miniskirts strain even the most loose definitions of fantasy. Despite all that, it (mostly) sells Ella struggling against abuses of her obedience in a way that’s still more revelatory than many straight adaptations. Still, you’ve got plenty of better movie choices; forget this adaptation and just read the book.

7. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965)

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II originally wrote their classic musical for television broadcast instead of the stage, though it has found its way to the latter. CBS’ second TV production (following the original 1957 version starring Julie Andrews) introduced a bright-eyed Lesley Ann Warren (a.k.a. Miss Scarlet from Clue) as Cinderella, and unlike its predecessor was able to be recorded in color. Between the vivid hues, Warren’s expressive acting, and the array of sets, it all contributed to the feeling of watching a taped performance—an incredibly charming one, at that. But the effect does come off as overwrought at times, making it the lowest of the three specifically Rodgers & Hammerstein adaptations on the list.

6. Cinderella (2015)

While visually Kenneth Branagh’s live-action adaptation of the animated Disney classic hews so closely to its source material that it feels like a lost opportunity to be more original, there are some sly plot tweaks. Lily James’ Ella is not hopelessly naïve about her abusive home situation, yet manages to keep up the mantra of “have courage and be kind” through even the worst mistreatment. Streamlining the classic songs to score strengthens the plot, with Ella’s rare occasion of singing being what ultimately saves her. Fans of the blue dress and romantic vibe will have much to swoon over, even if they’re not surprised.

5. Into the Woods (2014)

Or, then, what if I am? / What a Prince would envision? / But then how can you know / Who you are til you know / What you want? Which I don’t… Anna Kendrick brings us a relatably existential Cinderella in this movie adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical about various fairy tale characters who wind up with questionably happy ever afters—including Cinderella, who decides “not to decide,” then ends up with a philandering Prince. It’s not a complete Cinderella story, but it’s a more memorable performance in a handful of scenes than entire movies have attempted.

4. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1957)

Despite only surviving in black-and-white form, CBS’ original TV broadcast shines thanks to its star: Julie Andrews, then performing My Fair Lady on Broadway, who makes this Cinderella both an amalgamation of her then-current and future roles and a performance all its own. You can see glimmers of her comic talents as Maria in The Sound of Music—this Cinderella also has more wit than other versions—but it’s her voice that elevates Rodgers & Hammerstein’s adaptation of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale into something timeless.

3. Cinderella (1950)

Few Cinderella adaptations have achieved the same sweeping sense of sheer romance in the Disney animated classic: the painted backgrounds, the dreamy sequences reflected in soap bubbles and sparkling through the palace gardens, the surprisingly high emotional stakes that make the resolution all the sweeter. And while it’s become a common Disney trope, the requisite scene in which the stepsisters cruelly rip apart Cinderella’s dress adds a layer of wickedness not present in the Rodgers & Hammerstein adaptations, nor successfully recreated in any of the live-action versions. The same goes for the goofy mice singing “Cinderelly, Cinderelly”—every subsequent CGI mouse lacks the warmth that goes into a believable animal companion. That said, the animated movie’s legacy is somewhat marred by its direct-to-video sequels of diminishing returns, though you also have to give them props for pulling an Avengers: Endgame 12 years earlier with Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time.

2. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)

For many of us, Disney’s animated Cinderella was a childhood classic, but The Wonderful World of Disney’s ‘90s production was the first time the story truly felt magical. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s songs were updated with contemporary beats, bridging the forty years between the first broadcast and this version: “Impossible” is one of the best songs from the show, but it hasn’t been truly sung until Whitney Houston is belting it out to a starry-eyed Brandy. The production’s effortlessly diverse casting—Whoopi Goldberg as the queen, Paolo Montalban as the prince, Bernadette Peters as the stepmother—only amplifies the universal nature of the story. Almost twenty-five years later, this adaptation still feels like the television event it was when it premiered.

1. Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

A truly successful adaptation is one that doesn’t have to feel beholden to its source material. By opening with the Brothers Grimm explaining the inspiration behind their own interpretation of Cinderella, Ever After rewrites all of the familiar themes into a historical fiction—specifically, Renaissance-era France—context. Danielle’s (Drew Barrymore) misfortune as an orphan servant girl is so believable thanks to the cruelty of her stepmother’s (Anjelica Huston, a legend) abuse, but so is her determination and ingenuity to rise above her station. While Disney’s animated Cinderella is romantic, Ever After is a romance: Danielle disguises herself as a comtesse in order to spend time with Prince Henry (Dougray Scott), and they develop an actual relationship, complete with rejection once her subterfuge is revealed. Plus, Leonardo da Vinci is there for comic relief and an unintentional fairy godmother assist! If you want your Cinderella story with a compelling feminist arc but you’re also burnt out on the songs, this is your happily ever after.

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Cinderella will begin streaming on Amazon Video on September 3rd.

The post Ranking Cinderella Adaptations appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[cienie-isengardu]

K, O, P?

Thank you for the lovely ask, it was fun to write! :D

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Hard to pick the one character, even more since the best of character development I love so much are not tied to one arc but happens through the whole story. But since I’m on OP kick lately, Roronoa Zoro gets all the honor. 

I love how at first he promised to follow Luffy as long as the rubber-man didn't get in the way of his goal (and threatened him with death otherwise) but took his commitment very seriously from day one. And somehow through the relatively short journey, Zoro literally threw away his ambitions, pride, life, everything for Luffy’s sake. And not only for Luffy, but for the crew as a whole, because  Roronoa is always ready to stay behind, to be left behind, to protect nakama at all cost. And the best part of this development is that, Zoro’s priorities changed from carrying the burden of promise and shared ambition with a dead friend being the best to giving everything to Luffy, while it does not change what Zoro is at the core. It doesn’t make him a better man in the sense of an improved attitude or outlook on life. Hell, I would say it makes him more workaholic with the need to get stronger, pushing himself harder than before once he gets to know the wider world better, but Zoro is ruthless and rude as he was. He is born killer and monster in human form that don’t give a fuck about the world, politics, what society thinks while his own moral sense does not budge at all. He was and is willing to kill, he enjoys fighting and drinking, has this ambitious as hell goal of being the best. The development does not change who Zoro is, but what matters to him the most and this growing loyalty and trust can be seen through the whole story and I don’t know what would need to happen for such dedication falter even for a bit.

And like I said, this is not something that happened in one arc, but was happening through the whole story, from earlier little occasional clashes with Luffy to being of one mind with his captain while always ready to carry the burden when Luffy can’t do it, ready to stay behind and protect nakama. What makes the final of Thriller Bark one of the coolest pledge of loyalty but not the best development arc itself, really, because Zoro’s character develops in that direction from day one and the decision made in Thriller Bark is just a result of all the previous adventures.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

I’m going to cheat with that and instead of a random song, I will give you two I have on loop already for several days: Broken Crown and I gave you all by Mumford & Sons, because both suit Donquixote Brothers so well and could tell the same events from two different perspectives. In advance sorry for ranting but these two songs kill me emotionally so much, I must talk in length about them!

Broken Crown is all about Rosi rejecting the “crown” given to him by brother (“I'll never be your chosen one”) and yet… still caring and sadly, knowing it too well he wouldn’t pull the trigger (“but oh my heart, was flawed I knew my weakness. So hold my hand consign me not to darkness“) and the final lines, gosh:

So crawl on my belly 'til the sun goes down

I'll never wear your broken crown 

I took the road and I fucked it all away 

Now in this twilight, how dare you speak of grace 

So crawl on my belly 'til the sun goes down 

I'll never wear your broken crown 

I can take the road and I can fuck it all away 

But in this twilight, our choices seal our fate

And then, I gave you all is just so Doffy about Rosinante, it hurts. Seriously. Like, I really believe he never meant to hurt his brother (and maybe never understood he did), and the whole last lines are just so on spot:

But I gave you all 

But you rip it from my hands 

And you swear it's all gone 

And you rip out all I have

Just to say that you've won 

Well now you've won

It’s just so, so about Rosi stealing Law and Opi Opi no Mi even though Doffy already “gave [him] all” what he could. And the most ironic thing? When people usually think about their last meeting, we remember that Doffy killed his younger brother, but in fact, Rosi DID WIN in the long run. He cured Law and saved him from Doffy, he stole Opi Opi no Mi and took away from brother a chance for immortality, even if just for a while. Which is like three main victories in one strike and he did sort of say it to Doffy’s face (“[Law] is already free!!”). 

Just… so many feelings from two songs that fit well two brothers so different from each other. And the regrets and hate, and lack of understanding and spite. Seriously, it makes me think about their last meeting so much :(

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

I have three major growing ideas, but since I’m in a good mood, I will share the happiest AU in which Donquixote Rosinante never played the role of spy and confronted Doflamingo in the open sea as a Marine Officer. 

Or more like: Doffy found out his bro is alive but part of Marine, so of course he couldn’t leave him in peace and like the maniac he is, chased after Rosinante across all the sea to recruit him into the Family - to no avail. So Doffy’s main reason to become Shichibukai was just so he could jump on Rosi’s warship and annoy the fuck of him, like an older brother should. And Rosi can’t kick him overboat, since as a Warlord Doflamingo is untouchable by Marines. Or at least in theory, because Rosi serves under Garp’s command*, and the old Vice-Admiral does not mind to punch some sense into Doffy (and Rosi) with fist of love, cause no punk like Doffy will tell Monkey D. Garp  what he should or shouldn’t do on his own ship and if bros are lucky, Tsuru may save them from this madman… or not). Despite that causing ruckus between sailors is much better than boredom, and Doffy seeks out his younger brother under all excuses and more often than not, visits just to rant about all annoying people and bitching on Kaido or Sengoku or Nobles or really, everything and maybe for a drink or two and napping between one and another business meeting, because there is no better nap than under Rosi’s silencing powers. It is worth, no matter that more often than not Garp is kicking his ass, even when in fact he acts as a good boy should. And maybe, just maybe Doffy is so bored with all his underground business going well that he is actually doing “government dog” work of hunting down random pirates. Or more likely, slaughtering every asshole who dare insult his clumsy brother.

Because no matter what, Rosi is his baby bro and he belongs to Doffy even if the dumbass stubbornly refuses to join the Family. Which is fine, one day Doflamingo will find a way to change his brother's mind and until that day comes, he will mess with Marines as much as he can. Which is all fair, because Rosi too does mess with Doffy’s underground business whenever he has a chance and the klutz set on fire accidentally himself AND so many Doffy’s stuff one may wonder if he really is that clumsy or does he do that on purpose. Trebol thinks the latter, cause somehow Rosi always drops things on him by stumbling or spilt hot tea in his face. Doffy finds that amusing as hell, even more when his little bro uses his devil fruit powers to mute half of the Family just to piss them off. At least, as long as Rosi remembers to unmute them before leaving (sometimes the lil shit does not unmute them on purpose and Doffy is forced to chase him around the sea to undo the damage. Younger brothers can be a really pain in the ass).

So Doffy & Rosi kinda have this I-hate-you-but-I-love-you-dumbass relationship over the years until Law comes into picture and of course, Law stab the younger Donquixote and of course, Rosinante kidnap the kid to find a cure and maybe, just maybe, kidnap his brother along the way, and drag Law and Doffy on forced family vacation that involves burning a few dozens of hospitals, a lot screaming at each other and some terapeutic honest talks that no one really wants but everyone needs. Law gets the Ope Ope Mi, Doffy and Rosi kinda explain to each other all the traumatic shit from childhood and made sort of peace.

So, in the end, Doffy does not take over Dressrosa but is still doing his shady business and just being himself, just with better mental stability (cause Rosi keeps muting Trebol and all his shitty talk about what king can or cannot do on every occasion). Rosi has a brother that is not complete monster but not the good man either, but he isn’t ordered to kill him or lie to, and even though they are on opposite side, Rosinante can always call Doffy on den den mushi and shout at him for hours for all the stupid shit he pulled without any regrets or fear (and sometimes, Doffy does listen). Law is saved but still decides to sail and causing havoc as pirate captain while both Donquixote brothers are doting on him and of course, allying himself with Monkey D. Luffy, while the poor Sengoku just gets constant migraine for dealing with all the nonsense of Monkey D. and Donquixote family drama (but secretly feeling relieved that his son is finally doing fine). Garp on other hand, find it hilarious as hell. The World Government does not find it hilarious at all.

 *Sengoku doesn’t like putting his precious Rosinante under Garp’s command because the Hero of Marines of course drags the poor kid into all possible troubles and chaos, but since Rosi is brother of Doflamingo and Doffy is hated by Nobles, Garp is the best protector for younger Donquixote. He will punch everyone who would dare to hurt the kid of his closest friend, including World Nobles and their armies. The side effect is that Rosi is looking after Ace and Luffy, once they set sails, because they are uncle Garp’s grandkids and he will happily save Ace’s ass before Blackbeard get his hand on him and be even kind enough to give the kid a choice: either he comes back to Whitebeard or Rosi takes him straight to grandpa Garp and so Ace ends safe under pop’s watchful eyes once and for good.

Here, a happy Donquixote Bros AU. You’re welcome!

ask meme

[harukamitsuki]

Aight, so I've been thinking about AUs and I just--

Hear me out, okay?

Boku No Hero Academia but it's a Music School.

Think about all the shit you can work with!! Like, Izuku is bullied for having a feminine and high voice; Katsuki is worshipped for being able to rap like a fucking god; Shouto inherits Enji's deep voice and Rei's soprano voice. Just fucking think about it--

They'd all have preferred genres too, so it could be unique. Like, Shouta would go through all at applications and portfolios, searching for kids he thinks have a good voice and are unique. And All Might literally has no reason to break Izuku's dreams so they never have the mentor-student relationship they have in canon.

The arcs would be fun to substitute as well. The quirk apprehension test would like take place in the auditorium and they'd have to sing on the spot without music and then do some DDR or something.

The Battle Training arc could be duo battles, randomised to coordinate on the spot with unfamiliar artists. Singing and dancing, if you want.

The USJ arc would be them practising performing a concert in different terrains or recording MVs. But then the villains would be anti-Yuuei people who broke in and it'd be one huge dance/singing battle - GON WRONG. Like, the Noumu is some sort manufactured human with a perfect voice box and trained to dance since it was made. They take it too far and break Shouta's leg. The students run and end up being chased into different areas. They're about to break Tsuyu's leg or arm when All Might comes in and challenges them to a dance/sing-off. He tired Shigaraki and Kurogiri (who just has like a black-purple bodysuit and mask on) and then they send Noumu out. All Might outdances him and Noumu just shuts and breaks down. The teachers come in and chase the anti-Yuuei people (fuck it imma call them villains) away.

The Sports Festival can basically be anything to do with performing. Like, it starts off as a gymnast race, sort of circus-like. There's a bunch of trampolines, monkey bars and swings. The second round is group performances. Groups of four and the team that has the most votes wins first, then second, then third, and then fourth.

The duels are where it gets really interesting. So Shouto does declare war on Izuku like canon. During the intermission (wherein Mic turns into a fucking comedian lmao), Shouto tells Izuku about how abusive Enji is. Enji picked Rei out to be his wife and to carry their children for her soprano/falsetto voice. His voice is really deep and he wanted to have an offspring with voice pitches. So, when Shouto was born with both (checked on his fifth birthday), Enji started training him. Making him hold a note while he hit his stomach or winded him. He was also abusive to Rei as she tried to protect Shouto. Eventually, again, she snapped and poured the boiling water on his face. In the present time, Izuku is horrified and then declares that he won't lose.

Ochacco loses her battle against Bakugou because he goes all out, improvising different dance moves which gets a boo from the audience because he's forcing her to dance and use her stamina up.

Hitoshi loses his battle against Izuku. He was bullied for having an insanely deep voice and being an insomniac and the song chosen sort of reflects his bullied life. (It's probably something like 'Disappear' or 'Survivor').

Then, the Izuku vs Shouto battle happens. This is the battle that has everyone on edge because they can feel the tension rising. Like, Shouto sticks to low songs like Jazz, while Izuku goes for higher songs like Ariane Grande. And when everyone thinks Izuku's gonna win, he holds out a hand to Shouto while singing 'Take the mask off to be free/Fought it out in the debris/Now you know that life will change!' from 'Wake up, Get up, Get out there' from Persona 5.

And then Shouto, while brimming with tears, starts singing 'This is the part when I say that I'm stronger!/I should be wiser and realise that I've GOT!' And the crowd is in fucking awe at the high note, because Shouto has only ever sung baritone - and he just sang a high A, maybe even F. Enji's fucking ecstatic but Shouto doesn't even care because he's not focusing on Enji anymore. He's singing for himself now, not to spite his rotten father. Shouto ends up winning and Izuku passes out from the exhaustion of winning the first and second round and all the dancing he did.

Tenya is used by Hatsume to present the microphones she's made. He has to go home early to visit his brother in the hospital. Back on that later.

Shouto loses his duel with Katsuki because trauma isn't so easy to forget. Katsuki gets pissed when Shouto faints halfway through - from the physical and mental exhaustion. They don't chain Katsuki up, but they do force him on the stand by standing in front, behind, and either side to him. Shouto gets second and Tokoyami gets third.

The Hero Killer Arc is a lot less gruesome than canon. Stain isn't a serial killer, but he does end careers. He meets artists/dancers in an alleyway and challenges them to a sing-off at a nearby karaoke bar. If they win, they can call the police on them. If he wins, he can break their legs or strangle them. So, he's more of a psychological criminal than a murderous one.

He did this to Tensei who lost and had his legs broken - though not to the extent of others who were given the hammer treatment.

Tenta finds him an alleyway, breaking Native's ankle with a gag in the latter's mouth. And he's all like, if you win, you can break my legs. If I win, I can break yours and hand you in. Stain denies. He tackles Tenya to the ground and brings out a hammer. Before he does anything, Stain messes with him ("If you were any good a person, you would save Native from being harmed any further. Instead, you challenge with the intent to damage.").

Native can't do anything with a smashed ankle and hands tied behind his back, unable to get the gag out. Stain's about to make the first break when Izuku runs in, tackling Stain and yelling for Tenya to get Native and run. Tenya tries to argue, claiming that Izuku wasn't part of this. But then Izuku rips him a new one. ("I don't care! You're my friend, Iida. I don't want to see you throw your entire career away for some petty revenge! Just get Native and fucking RUN!").

Stain is fucking delighted because finally, a music artist has some sense. He goes on about the other artists being greedy - saying that they had the choice to decline his challenge and yet they all chose pride over their careers. Even Tensei. And Tenya fucking snaps. He challenges Stain again, offering his life as a forfeit and demanding to take his. And then Izuku snaps - he's like "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?" He fucking bashes on Tenya, claiming that if he were half the man his brother was, he'd listen to him and run away with Native.

And then Stain turns the tables, turning around, pinning Izuku to the ground and snaps his ankle. And Izuku's in so much pain like -- he doesn't even have the gag so Tenya and Native hear him scream in pain. Izuku's broken bones before while dancing or simply falling, but it's never been so painful.

And Stain is just like "I want to see you become a star, so I won't end your career. I just want to make it so you can't move." And he's about to snap his other ankle when Shouto comes in and throws a fucking steeled-toe boot he found lying around. It turns out, just before Izuku ran in, he sent his co-ords and Shouto got concerned.

Tenya gets over his shit when Shouto tells him to be someone his brother can be proud of after Stain throws a broken bottle at his arm. He ends up tackling Stain and disarms him of the hammer. And he's all like "Midoriya! I apologize for my actions! I will make up for it, I promise!" And he apologises to Native for forgetting about him and focusing more on revenge.

Shouto reveals that he's called the police and Stain panics. He like throws Tenya off him (who's head smashes against the ground. He's sort of bleeding and concussed but he tries to get up) and lunges for his hammer which in Izuku's hands (who is now backed up against the wall). But then Shouto comes in again and wacks an advertisement board over his head. Izuku takes it upon himself to elbow his neck which does the trick and knocks Stain out. Tenya helps Native out while Shouto helps Izuku.

The police arrive, arrest Stain, and they all go to the hospital.

Tenya apologises again, but they're like "it's okay as long as you've learned from your mistakes". The story gets around about how Native and three artists in training survived an encounter with the Career Killer Stain and got him arrested. Because there are no laws against self-defence (especially when they only knocked him out), there is no cover story. But they still don't tell anyone about why they even encountered Stain.

The Final Exams are pretty much the same as round three of the Sports Festival, except duos against a teacher. The teacher they go up against gets to decide the contents. Like Nedzu makes Mina and Denki dance for the ten minutes and if even on of them is still able to go on, they pass. If not, they fail.

Izuku and Katsuki are paired against All Might like in canon. His is that they have to coordinate in a dance-singing battle with the song and genre alternating. As an alternative, if they are able to escape his radar, the faux paparazzi, and the arena, they win. It starts basically the same as canon, with Katsuki wanting to do the latter, refusing to coordinate with Izuku. But Izuku wants to do the dance-battle as they have a better chance with it.

Eventually, after Izuku tells Katsuki about how horrible and depressed he made him feel for the majority of their lives, and Katsuki reluctantly tells him that he was jealous that Izuku was able to sing so high, they come to an agreement. They dance and sing, edging to the exit. So, if they don't make it out on time, they can still pass. They make it out with Katsuki out of the gate and spinning Izuku into him (not Katsudeku/Bakudeku).

Shouto and Momo can only pass if they get a high enough score on the karaoke and beat Shouta's highest score (99) In the ten minutes they have, they can only sing about three or four songs. And they try so many different songs to incorporate Shouto's baritone and falsetto. He realises his mistake and asks Momo for her range. She can sing falsetto, and can even scream-whistle. So, they combine their voices simultaneously, reaching 100 and are able to pass.

The training camp arc is just building up stamina, instrument practises, practising dance moves, and expanding your range. The villains attack, kidnap Katsuki (who looked less than happy during the sports festival) and almost kill Kouta.

Kouta is saved by Izuku, again, from Muscular. He was a dancer who challenged many dancers to a dance battle. He went against the water horses and took their life as a forfeit. They managed to fight back as ice-skaters and dug a blade into his eye. Izuku carries Kouta in his arms and practically runs down the mountain, careful not to trip. Muscular tries to follow but ends up falling and knocking himself out on a tree.

Himiko is able to perfectly mimic someone's voice and dance style. Dabi is Touya, but he ran away after Enji went too far and almost burnt his throat. Muscular simply used knock-out gas. Mr Compress literally just cuffed Katsuki and Shouto, though Shouto was freed after Mezou throws like a branch and stone, causing Shouto to slip from his grasps. They escape using smoke bombs and a getaway helicopter.

The canonical rescue group go undercover. To let Katsuki escape, they get a motorbike (Momo has one) and Eijirou holds a hand out for Katsuki to hold onto. They drive next to him, Eijirou pulls him on, and they drive away.

All Might is faced with All for One. Instead of dancing, they actually fight. It's in this fight that All for One punches his wound. Unable to keep this form (because it's still like two centuries into the future and they probably made something to make this happen), All Might deflates into Toshinori Yagi. Now the whole world knows. He eventually musters enough energy to punch All for One's temple, rendering him braindead. But he receives no backlash because it's self-defence. All for One attacked first. And AfO is guilty of kidnapping, murder, extortion, blackmail and so on.

The dorms are implemented and each of their rooms has something to do with their preferred genre.

The super moves thing is just them creating a finishing move for dances.

The provision licence exam is just them meeting other music academies and having sing-offs and dance battles with them. They probably have to team up at one point, which is where the whole Inasa-Shouto problem comes in. Because they want to get a good score, but Shouto's deep voice and Inasa's mid-tone one conflict. Eventually, after Izuku scolds them, they have Shouto do a background tone while Inasa sings at the forefront.

Izuku and Katsuki dance together (AS FRIENDS) while they open their hearts. Katsuki is really affected by ending All Might while Izuku just really wants them to start over. They start calling each other by first names or just different nicknames to signify this.

The Big Three is still a thing. Except that it's talents instead of quirks. Mirio has a deep, booming voice; Tamaki is great at dancing; Nejire has mastered most of the instruments.

There's still the mafia. But instead of quirk-cancelling drugs, they kidnap and sell singers. Eri has been captured for her talents even at a young age. Nighteye is on the case, with Izuku and Mirio helping. Izuku bumps into Eri and Chisaki finds them. Instead of ordering Eri to come back, he knocks them both out and kidnaps Izuku as well. While fighting the chloroform in his system, Izuku leaves the pass that allowed him access into the staff area of Nighteye's agency.

Mirio finds his pass and brings it to Nighteye. They end up being blackmailed by the yakuza ("Bring your singers here or the boy dies"). He brings the Yuuei students in the area and the police to the Yakuza where they stage a rescue.

Meanwhile, Izuku tries to escape a good few times, always being caught and thrown back into a cell. Eventually, he gets shoved in with Eri and they bond a bit with Izuku promising to get Eri out with him.

Nighteye doesn't die, but he does get a spinal injury that will never allow him to walk, much less dance, again. Mirio also does not lose the ability to sing or dance, but he is strangled to the point that he loses his voice for a week or so.

And then the whole getting Eri to cheer up is mostly the same except it's a lot more intricate and professional than in canon.

And I'm gonna stop there so I don't go into manga spoilers.

But seriously, BNHA - Music?? Anyone interested??

[shinneth]

Okay! I’m actually really looking forward to this little series!

AzenZone has been my go-to channel for getting acquainted with the Precure franchise without having to watch the 900-something combined episodes from every series. Dude’s close to my age, so we’ve grown up on a lot of the same shows and whatnot, so I get a lot of his obscure references. I’m probably one of the few who totally got it the few times he referenced Urusei Yatsura in his reviews. :P

He’s also mentioned Ojamajo Doremi a few times in the past (even bringing up how nearly two decades prior, it did a better job at tackling racism than last year’s Precure series), and unlike Precure, I actually have a lot of nostalgia and deep love for the series. “Growing up with it” is a stretch since I was already a high school junior by the time I discovered it, but it was undoubtedly the true successor to Sailor Moon as far as my youth and maho-shoujo anime are concerned.

Because yeah, last week my eyes nearly jumped out of my head when I saw this very blatant cameo on Healin’ Good Precure. That’s one of the only times it’s ever actually happened, which feels odd, considering Precure is pretty much the successor to Ojamajo Doremi in several ways. 

Unfortunately, as stated in the video, Ojamajo Doremi’s always had a bit of a niche fandom outside of Japan. 4Kids getting their hands on the first season reeeeeally didn’t help matters, either. But it’s one of those series where I (along with @47ness​) went out of my way to find as many episodes and merchandise I could get my hands on - because it was quite a few years after Ojamajo Doremi ended before anyone started to regularly sub it. I still have a good number of raw episodes on my external hard drives (and VHS tapes). 

So I always felt a little bitter at the unfairness of Ojamajo Doremi staying in relative obscurity while Precure ended up having a much more notable following. Still relatively niche (even down to the dubs - like, Futari wa, Smile, and DokiDoki got some unfortunate localized treatment... just under Saban’s hand rather than 4Kids for the latter two), but much more prominent than Doremi’s fandom ever was. Guess some of that can be owed to the Precure franchise being much more action-oriented but, ehhh. 

Still, I couldn’t help but beam with pride when I came to learn that Heartcatch Precure, which had a LOT of staff who previously did work for Doremi (most notably the character designs), is almost universally regarded as the overall best Precure series (or at the very least, in the top 2 or 3) - like, it says a lot that according to a recent popularity poll, Heartcatch is one of the few series where every main cast member placed within the Top 25 - and Erika, pictured above, made it to #3, right behind the OG team of Nagisa/Honoka who never weren’t going to be on the top.

Still, there’s always been a unique kind of charm to Doremi that, as far as I know, you don’t really see in Precure and probably the majority of other magical girl series. It had a continuous, ongoing story for its four seasons (plus an OVA that expanded on and added some lovely details), time actually passed - i.e. characters actually got older with each succeeding series (starting at age 8, ending at age 11), and this series so often made the most of this. 

Most impressively for me was the consistent and relevant side-cast. The classmates of the main characters weren’t just background fodder or one-note plot devices - several of them had multifaceted personalities, ties to the main girls, and character arcs of their own! And this shit carried over from season to season - whatever gimmick they had would stay consistent, while at the same time they usually avoided having said character relearn the same lessons over and over again. 

So rarely does any show so admirably pull off a setting where almost everybody feels important to some degree. The FLAT4 - basically Rowdyruff Boy expys from the second season, easily could have never shown up again, but they made a resurgence in the final season. Characters carrying over across the seasons often feel like they’re in a different place than they were when they debuted, and considering how often shows struggle just to pull that off with their main characters, it’s doubly amazing that Ojamajo Doremi pulled this off with far more than just their core cast. 

It also had a very well-executed, well-paced endgame. Dokkaan! - the final season - concluded with every character going down their own path to forge their future. Their final arc wasn’t just some episodic affair that could have taken place anywhere else on the timeline. As their elementary school days come to a close and middle school is on the horizon, Doremi and her friends won’t be tackling that new chapter of their lives together. The series finale is a heartbreaking affair and one I could relate to all too well, as Doremi is forced to come to terms with the fact that all of her friends (even the long-tenured Hazuki) will be far, far away from her in this new chapter of their lives. 

While she put on a brave face for her friends and encouraged them when she first found out that, one-by-one, they were leaving her, Doremi eventually has a nervous breakdown come graduation day and locks herself up at the store where she and her friends have spent so much time together over the series. She can’t bring herself to attend the graduation ceremony - the sorrow tears into Doremi deeply as she finally admits to herself and everyone else that she can’t stand all of this abrupt change that’s going to permanently change her life. Doremi can’t hold down her selfish impulses any longer and does whatever she can to cling to what will soon be her past; her childhood, as it were, as she transitions to becoming a teenager. 

This really hit home for me in particular since I’ve gone through similar struggles. A divorce forcibly ripped me away from my home of 14 years - the lovely house I lived in on a lake ridge, the friends I had grown up with, and an entire side of my family I’d rarely see again after spending so much of my life with them - all of that, I had to abandon. I’m not a social person to begin with - and this was about 8 years before I even knew about my autism. It was a very rough adjustment period that to this day, I still don’t feel right calling my current residence “home”. Since I got a job, I’ve been able to live with this, but it was really meaningful to see a protagonist struggle to let the past go and accept her future circumstances. Doremi ultimately managed to pull through, but it’s still a bittersweet ending no matter how you slice it. 

For a kids show, Ojamajo Doremi had quite a lot to it. Which is why I really wish it was better remembered and honored.

tl;dr: I’m super excited for this retrospective series.

[blaster-aichi]

Cardfight!! Vanguard Extra Story IF 21 things

WHAT A GOOD FUCKING EPISODE

A running theme through the episode: whoever directed the visuals is a godsend.

Initially had wondered if the opening scenes within the first world were going to shine some light on the Tatsunagis’ past. Throwing the viewer into the deep end alongside Suiko was a clever decision, allowing us to feel her confusion all the more effectively.

Also the system for the girls’ ranger world is super-neat. Spin-off when?

Cards continuing their gimmick of being incredibly lethal.

The entirety of the fight with the Vanguard unit was spent thinking of the irony that it and Aichi share goals, so had a brain cell laughing at the suggestion the girls were simply on a filming set and he was the one in costume.

immediately after: Oh. Oh my fuck.

me: don’t do it. don’t do it. brain: Singularity F!

obligatory Long Live the King memeage

The claim that Kourin’ll search for a world Suiko likes smacks of irony given Suiko has her world she likes and has been fighting all along for it. It’s simply a world that Kourin approves of for Suiko to lose herself and how they handled it was stellar.

Just Miwa being cute. That is all.

Can someone inform Aichi that him getting into Vanguard has nothing to do with the Kais abandoning their son?

How dare you say such shit with such a sweet smile.

Curious how the Cardfight Club existed with four members (unless the other three were also signed up but simply not present). This world in particular is peculiar with its presumably aging up Rekka and the sisters not knowing one another to begin with. Not to mention how evidently distant Aichi is; the girls swear loyalty to him, but he minimizes his contact with them. Perhaps it’s to do with it being called the Cardfight Club but when he despises the game, have to wonder why he would choose that rather than anything else when the purpose was just to goof around.

Breaks through the door at a monument to Misaki’s existence.

Assuming she was roped into the surfing of worlds prior to Suiko, left to wonder how many worlds Rekka briefly lived in, and how many appealed to her, but she sacrificed to stay loyal to who she is, and just how difficult it must have been.

Thank you writers for giving SK4 Suiko and Rekka excellent names, rip Sanctuary Knight Ibuki.

Link Joker-hen noises in the distance.

I love this crew. That is all.

Whoever wrote this episode is also a godsend, thank you for giving the Tatsunagis some sisterly love.

Kourin: Aichi hates Vanguard. Also Kourin: [flips her shit at Suiko Riding “one of Aichi’s favourite units”].

I’M CRYING YOURE REFERENCING THE ORIGINAL ANIME? YOU DIRECTLY CONNECTED THE TWO CONTINUITIES ILY.

Rena continuing to lose her shit because this entire scene is so good and the girls’ contrasting feelings about Alfred, Vanguard, everything is so wonderfully portrayed. For bonus points; Suiko’s unit belonging to a clan that Aichi chose and stuck with whereas Kourin’s heralds from one he never played in the manga & reboot continuity and was forced onto him in the original.

Had been wondering for quite some time just how Kourin and Suiko remembered anything related to the Reboot anime, so them providing an answer is immensely appreciated.

Also still loving whoever storyboarded this episode. Also very much loving the touch of Suiko being in focus as she challenges Kourin on her choice while Aichi hovers out of focus in the background; with their respective positions in the season and in comparison to their Outside World lives as well as how Kourin risks to lose them, it’s incredible poignant.

"We move forward”. Rockets back to one of the best scenes in epi 7 that I love so much. The fact that Ibuki and Suiko are the ones to speak of the same sentiment is precious.

At the same time, turning the idea onto Kourin and Aichi, with the added visual of the latter, really brought it home. With OverDress’ new cast, our time with these characters is drawing to a close for a second time and with no guarantee we’ll see them again. It’s incredibly bittersweet, particularly when adding in how the Q4 voice actors showed how torn up they were during the live event shortly prior to G’s airing. We were incredibly lucky to get a second run with these characters, so as the audience carries on forward and part ways with them again, having this particular theme front and centre, we’re essentially in the same position as Kourin.

I love this crew. That is all.

As much as tried to discern the glitched figure, unless it’s whatever’s in/controlling/manipulating/whathaveyou Aichi (it doesn’t look human), a Deletor or something related to Brandt, couldn’t even try to guess, they did a good job of obscuring their identity.

IF 22 preview

Babie boy’s cheek looks bruised. Is he still getting bullied? Were you wandering around somewhere to prolong your mother being faced with another afterschool of being beaten up? My heart. He looks incredibly distrustful of Takuto compared to their previous first meetings.

Zooms in on that Akashic Record in Kourin’s hands. Zooms in on Aichi’s hand on his arm. Were you really beaten up? Point me to them! 9′^’9 — Alternatively, he looks uncomfortable, in the same vein as the photo of himself and Emi in their Miyaji uniforms from epi 7, perhaps Takuto's explaining the truth to him and Aichi just can't process such a world because he's weak and timid and simply doesn't have the strength to imagine it.

How can someone be so ominous without a visible expression? The Biggest Fear.

DID YOU RIP OUT YOURS AND KAI-KUN’S PAGE FROM THE AKASHIC RECORD AND THATS HOW NO-ONE CAN GET THERE?

The placement of the four cards is striking; one distanced from the other three. They may be representative of the Q4 members and how far Aichi has drifted as a result of IF’s premise. Though at the same time, even if unintentional, it could be reflective of the young Aichi, who saw Kai-kun, Ibuki and Miwa playing from afar, never closing the distance himself and allowing that space between them to remain.

I have many questions. First of all: is it next week yet?

SCREAMS IN PSYQUALIA. BUT ALSO. It looks darker compared to usual, particularly in the Reboot continuity. Maybe it’s a sign of it not being quite right? That darker huge reminds me of Leon’s Psyqualia during Asia Circuit, so the possibility springs to mind of Void (seeing as the original continuity has been drawn in directly now) or interference by Brandt. If it’s a shot from the explanation regarding what’s happened to him (INTENSE VIBRATING), it could be whatever worming its way in through his Psyqualia.

Akashic Record-related thoughts:

Suiko:

Suiko’s remembrance of handing Alfred to Aichi in the original continuity opens up a huge possibility that she’s aware of the Tatsunagi sisters’ pasts and fate of that timeline. Though the girls of that world themselves never found out about their missing memories, their counterparts may have learned the truth themselves.

Kourin:

Going along the same line of thought, it gives Kourin a much more sympathetic position in that she’s not only experienced losing her memories once, but learned it to be her fate in more than just this world. When threatened with the possibility of losing a treasured period of her life for a second time, coupled with it being apparently inescapable even in other worlds, it’s a hopeless position she’s been put in, so though her motives may be selfish, it’s difficult not to sympathize with her.

Also a curious thought; Kourin’s alternate worlds for Suiko. Using the Akashic Records to surf between them, there’s the possibility that these are all worlds that exist and continue as such without external interference; other worlds where Aichi hates Vanguard, where Ultra Rare exist in different forms. But Kourin also described her actions as “creating” new worlds, so that begs the question of if she’s nonchalantly creating and erasing entire timelines?

Aichi:

The scrap of paper from the preview could very well be the page detailing his and Kai-kun’s first meeting and whatever force is at work, the figure from the glitch, given the ability to keep the distortion locked by its possession of the page through Aichi. At the same time, it might also explain why deviating from IF World’s narrative had such a detrimental physical effect on Aichi or it could be a result of, being the Tatsunagis are the only ones we’ve seen truly handle the book, interfering with its writings without the authority to do so bit Aichi and he’s suffering the consequences of it.

Why go through all this and for someone he shouldn’t know in this timeline? After he (or rather the force inside of him that intervened when they tried to bring him around and lead him back to the correct worldline) handled Takuto and Kourin, Aichi was able to investigate the Akashic Records and see just how much damage was done to Kai-kun; in the Reboot continuity, in the original continuity, maybe even in continuities we've never known of; Psyqualia, Link Joker, Legion Mate, Neon Messiah, the PsyZombie arc  — he’s learned of them and how much anguish they put someone incredibly dear to him through (and it need not be just him; Ren, Ibuki, Leon, the Ultra Rare girls, Chrono, the list goes on for how many people have been deeply hurt by being connected to the game). So to protect him, that’s why Aichi targeted and hated Vanguard, not something that’s been brewing for years, but something that exploded when keeping him in his IF existence was threatened, allowing for Emi’s insistence that he’s always been a nice boy hold true.