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[vohtaro]

[kinktae]

novocaine pt. 4 || (M)

↳ PART OF MY REWIND SERIES

Going home was hard – painful even. But falling back in love with Jimin, the boy you left behind? Downright gut-wrenching.

pairing: punk!jimin x reader

word count: 8.7k

genre: 1990s au, exes au, angst, smut

warnings: 90s slang, alcohol, fighting, car sex, oc has dead parents, bittersweet ending

A/N: PLS MAKE SURE REREAD 1-3, I KNOW ITS BEEN A FAT MINUTE BUT PLEASE CONSIDER ALL CHAPTERS WHEN READING THIS ENDING

01 | 02 | 03 | 04

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PART FOUR (FINAL)

“You’re gonna break my damn neck!” Jimin complained, eyes shutting as you moved his head closer to the shower’s stream.

“Shh,” You giggled, fingers gingerly rinsing your boyfriend’s head. 

Jimin was fully clothed, head thrown over the tub’s edge, insisting that he remain dry as you washed the orange dye from his hair.

Just the other day you had MTV playing in the background as Grams and you were making cookies when the video for The Flaming Lips’ She Don’t Use Jelly came on. You hadn’t heard the song in ages; Hoseok used to belt the nonsensical lyrics religiously on early morning bus rides to high school. But more importantly, you had never seen the music video and became consumed by the lead singer’s tangerine-colored hair. 

It quickly became a topic of conversation between you and Jimin, nudging a shoulder into his side anytime you’d pass by an orange car or a shelf of hair dye. A week of your less-than-subtle teasing had gone by when he finally begrudgingly agreed to dye his hair orange. You were beyond excited, even if he had only agreed to get you to finally shut up.

So here the two of you were, kneeled on the tile floor of your bathroom, random splotches of bleach and dye on your shirts, the sound of The Smashing Pumpkin’s latest CD coming from your room.

“You should be grateful you have a girlfriend that’s willing to dye your hair for free.”

“Is that what you’re doing? I thought you were trying to drown me.”

“Alright, you big baby,” You rolled your eyes, reaching over him to turn off the shower head. “I’m done.”

“Pass me a towel, please?” 

His eyes were scrunched shut, hand flailing about for the towel rack aimlessly. Chuckling, you passed the wet-haired boy a towel, sitting back on your heels as you watched him pat his face dry.

“Here, let me get your hair.” You offered, grabbing the towel back from his face and onto his head, careful to be gentle as you had bleached it earlier today.

Jimin sat obediently, quietly admiring the way you took your time and cleaned the dye-stained skin around his hairline. He loved having your attention; you were always so gentle with him. His chest tightened as you hummed along to the song in the background, oblivious to the splashes of orange dye that had found your cheek.

“Oh my god. It’s hella orange.” You giggled. 

Jimin pulled you onto his lap, partly to help you work more comfortably, mainly because he liked having you close.

“Does it look bad?” His warm eyes peered into yours, sounding somewhat unsure. 

Brows furrowing, you paused to press a kiss on Jimin’s pouting mouth. As if there were any universe in which Jimin looked bad. Seeing as his frown ceased to let up, you kissed him once more, “You look great, Minnie. My little pumpkin.”

“Real convincing.” He glared. Stealing one more kiss from you, he helped you off him and back up off the bathroom floor.

You watched intently as he moved towards the bathroom mirror. You weren’t anticipating him to hate it, but should the situation present itself, you had made a point to buy an emergency bottle of black hair dye, ready to remedy the situation at a moment’s notice. 

Jimin said nothing at first, merely tilting his head from side to side as he ran his hands threw his newly orange, somewhat damp hair. A smile broke across his handsome face.

“It’s actually pretty sick.” He grinned, clearly pleased with the final result. You let out a breath of relief.

“I told you! Admit it, I was right, you look fucking hot. No one ever trusts my artistic vision.” You sighed dramatically, earning you a chuckle.

“Alright, Picasso. Remind me again the plan for tonight?” He rolled his eyes, reaching for the hairbrush he had laid out on the sink counter earlier.

“Well,” You watched as he sorted through his hair, “Hobi left a message saying he scored all of us tickets tonight for the drive-in theater but failed to mention what time or what movie it was.”

Jimin chuckled, “Typical. And you tried calling Hobi’s line?”

“No one picks up. I went and knocked on his door before you came over. The Jungs are out of town so he’s probably kicking it at Gwen’s.” You shrugged.

While you could in theory go and look up Gwen’s landline in the phone book, it seemed like a tremendous amount of work just to locate someone who quite literally lived right next door. He’d show up eventually. He always did.

You sighed, “Man, I can’t believe that old drive-in is still kicking. I thought for sure it went under in the time I left town.”

Jimin nodded, “Nah, it’s still around. But the only people using it are the old folks who were around when it was first built. They’re still playing the same ten shitty movies on repeat.”

“Let’s just get ready and go hunt him down in an hour, yeah?”

And so the two of you spent the next hour readying yourself, Jimin styling his new hair and you waging war against the blue eyeliner Gwen had somehow convinced you to purchase.

It was just around the one-hour mark that you received a call from the very person you had been hoping to find.

“Yo, kid! Come on out, I got two tickets with your name on them!”

Jimin and you ran out onto your grandmother’s driveway eagerly, laughing as Hobi slammed on his car horn melodically, a bright smile written across his face.

“Great timing, we were just about to go break down your door.” You smiled, grabbing the two bright yellow admission tickets that Hoseok had dangling out his car window. “Thanks, Hobi.”

“Where’ve you been, man?” Jimin questioned his best friend.

“Why? You keeping tabs on me, Carrot Top?” Hoseok giggled, eyeing your boyfriend’s new hair. 

“Funny.”

“I’m playin’, it looks fresh, dude. I dig.” Hoseok assured, holding his hands up as if to show he meant no harm.

You rolled your eyes, “Lemme guess, you were at Gwen’s.”

“You kidding? Her place? Her dad’s sheriff— hell no!” Hobi shook his head before a greasy grin took hold of him. “Besides, I’ve got the open crib, a pretty girlfriend, and stamina like a racehorse.” 

Jimin’s giggle was instantaneous, immediately clueing you in on what exactly Hobi was implying.

“You pig. I rang you and knocked on your door!” You scrunched your nose at him.

“Like a racehorse, kid,” Hobi emphasized, only furthering your frown.

“Jeez, okay, got it… TMI.”

“So we ready to watch Jurassic Park or what?” Hoseok first pumped the air.

Jimin’s eyes went wide, “They’re playing Jurassic Park tonight?! Sweet!”

You too were shocked. The film had come out only a few years ago.

“How the hell did that lame-ass drive-in get the license for a film that recent?”

“Got the old lady to pull some strings.” Hobi flashed you both a smug look, reaching over to pop his collar out theatrically.

“So your mom gave you the tickets? Councilwoman Jung sure has pull in this town.”

You were thoroughly impressed. Hoseok struck out in the parents department. Not only did they tolerate his tomfoolery throughout his teen years, but as his mother was on the city council, they were often occupied with work, giving Hobi free reign to do as he pleased as long as he remained out of jail. 

His mother’s words, not yours.

“Oh Nah, I got the tickets myself.” Hobi corrected.

You squinted at him, suspicious, “…Should I even ask how you got these tickets?” 

“Depends,” His voice lowered suddenly, eyes flickering from side to side, “are you gonna snitch?”

“No?”

“I broke into the ticket booth last night and just grabbed a bunch of tickets from the drawer.” He shrugged.

Your jaw fell, “Hobi!”

“Dude!” Jimin burst out laughing. 

“What?!” Hoseok’s eyes went wide, as if entirely innocent of any crime. “Why are we wigging out? It’s not like I stole money from the register! Besides, is it my fault that so many places here are easy to break and enter?”

“Tell that to Gwen’s dad when he finally locks your ass up.” Jimin teased. Your childhood friend tutted, shifting his car into reverse.

“Whatever. You still took the tickets, ungrateful bastards. Your hands aren’t clean either. The movie is in twenty minutes. I dropped Gwen off at hers so she could go get changed so I gotta bounce and pick her back up. You guys need a ride?” 

“Nah, we’ll take my car,” Jimin assured him.

Hoseok began to pull out the driveway, window still rolled down. “Meet up at mine after for drinks?”

“Sure. Thanks, Hobi!”

“See ya later, man!”

The three friends waved goodbye to one another as the eldest pulled out onto the street and drove off.

“Do you really think he and Gwen were busy fucking all this time?” Jimin pondered the second Hoseok was out of earshot, making you scowl.

“I think that Hobi is like a brother to me and if I think about it too much I’ll actually barf.” 

Jimin chuckled, throwing an arm over your shoulder as the two of you made your way to his car.

———

“A medium popcorn, one Junior Mints, and Buncha Crunch please.” You smiled at the concession’s attendee.

You were about 20 minutes into Jurassic Park and could make out the sound of the film as you ordered Jimin and yourself some snacks. He had offered to go make the snack run himself, of course, but seeing as it was his favorite movie playing, you decided that the sacrifice would be yours to make.

Handing over the necessary cash, you moved to the side, watching patiently as the attendant assembled your order. Just then, someone else approached the concession counter. You glanced over at the person not particularly interested, before realizing at once just who the next patron was.

“Yoongi?” You called out before you could stop yourself.

A head of faded mint hair turned towards you, his dark eyes meeting yours, and took on an expression that you could only guess mirrored your own. The kind of expression that can only be shared between two people who had their tongues down each other’s throats not too long ago.

A pregnant pause fell between you. 

“Y/N. Hey.” He breathed after a beat.

Chewing on the inside of your lip, you contemplated your next words, wondering what exactly to say to your boyfriend’s ex. You know… the one you had tried to have sex with.

Thankfully, the arrival of your popcorn and other snacks made it so you didn’t have to respond, a flustered ‘thank you’ escaping your lips as you grabbed your order.

“Uh, two medium sprites,” Yoongi told the attendant once she moved to take his order. You tried your best to look occupied, not wanting to look like you were waiting on the mint-haired boy even though you most definitely were.

Within a minute, he moved towards you, drinks in either hand and a sheepish smile on his face.

“So, uh… this is awkward.” He admitted honestly, joining you as began to walk away from the concession stand, deciding the spare the innocent concession girl from the unfortunate conversation that was about to unfold.

“Super awkward.” You affirmed with a nervous chuckle, hands gripping around your bucket of popcorn.

He nodded.

“Hey, so,” He came to a stop suddenly, halting your stride. “I’m sorry if I caused problems for you the other night. I wouldn’t have… I mean, I didn’t know that you were… We were also both probably way too drunk–”

“No, no, honestly, don’t sweat it!” You were quick to cut him off, not wanting him to assume that he had done anything to make you uncomfortable that night. “I didn’t know who you were either. You seemed cool and hot and, you know… I wanted to. So… yeah. ”

Wow. This just nearly beat the moment Jimin walked in on you two in the scale of awkwardness. At least you weren’t sober then.

Yoongi nodded once more, “Cool. I also wanted to. But, um… listen, you’re a cool chick and all but you should know there’s someone else. Plus, there’s the whole you being my ex’s ex thing…”

Oh god. Was Yoongi… rejecting you? Fuck, he totally thought you were still coming onto him. How utterly humiliating. 

“Yeah, no, gotcha. That can literally never happen again. It’s all good.” You laughed, purely because of how ridiculous this entire conversation was. He grinned back at you, remembering exactly why he liked you in the first place that night at Guyi’s.

“No hard feelings?” He offered you a crooked smile.

“Deal.” You mused, eyes falling on the two drinks in his hand. “So are you here alone?”

You watched in interest as Yoongi suddenly turned a shade of pink.

“No, actually… I’m here with a coworker.” He told you, a certain bashfulness to his tone.

“Oh, a coworker.” A knowing smirk grew.

“I’m kind of seeing him, I guess. I don’t know, it’s too soon for labels.” He shrugged.

“So you’re seeing your coworker. Scandalous.” You teased.

“Again, sorry. If you were literally anyone but Jimin’s ex-girlfriend–“

“Oh, shut up.” You rolled your eyes at his joke, making him laugh.

The sound of various screams rolled over the area, catching both of your attentions, undoubtedly belonging to the moviegoers in response to a scary scene that must’ve just played out.

“I’m not really into dinosaurs,” Yoongi admitted lightheartedly to which you giggled, agreeing.

“Where do you work by the way?” You made casual conversation. “I just realized I never asked.”

“I work at a daycare.” He told you, making your smile drop.

Right. The daycare. 

You supposed that was the thing about ghosts. They tended to haunt you.

Your chest felt hollow once more as he took a sip from one of the drinks. “Not huge on snot and boogers but the pay is decent so who cares, right?”

“Whatever happened between you and Jimin? I mean, why did you guys break up?” You said suddenly. 

It had just made its way out like word vomit, desperate to change the conversation. The last thing you wanted was for him to ask if you were at all familiar with the property.

Yoongi looked at you in surprise for a split second before shaking his head.

“Jeez, how ironic.” He said, mostly to himself.

“Huh?”

“No, nothing I just… it’s funny you asked me that. Because it was you. You were the reason we broke up.” He confessed, bringing the straw of his drink back up to his mouth.

Weirdly, a feeling of guilt washed over you at his words. It rendered you silent.

“At the time it pissed me the hell off. He was dumping me for an ex-girlfriend he hadn’t seen in what? Four years? Took a hit to my ego for sure.”

All you could do was stand there looking dumb. You hadn’t the slightest idea how to react to what he was saying. Part of you was… delighted? Happy that Jimin wasn’t as dedicated to that relationship as you feared he might’ve been. But another part, a much more prominent part, felt awful. Terrible that you had hurt Jimin so deeply that he couldn’t even commit himself to another person. That he couldn’t move on.

“But anyway, it was for the best. Weirdly he did me a favor. No point in being hung up on a guy who was still hung up on the past.” Yoongi paused suddenly, scrunching his nose as he shook out his mint locks. “Dammit, I sound like such a cliche bitter ex, huh?”

“At least you’re not the shitty ex who broke his heart.” You offered half-heartedly.

Yoongi stared at you for a moment, allowing himself to freely admire the girl who had captured Jimin’s heart all those years ago. Despite your otherwise neutral expression, there was a gloom around you that he couldn’t quite ignore. 

He pressed his lips together, wondering if he could offer you any solace.

“If it makes you feel any better, there’s no guarantee it would’ve worked out even if you had stayed.”

Your head tilted in confusion. Yoongi stole a piece of popcorn cheekily, popping a piece into your mouth.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you told me yourself that night. You’re a city girl. You would’ve wanted to go see the world eventually and everyone knows Jimin has no plans to ever leave this tiny ass town. Maybe you just got the inevitable over with. So don’t beat yourself up over it.”

You were suddenly acutely aware that Yoongi had no idea that you and Jimin were back together. A wave of nausea rolled over you as you considered his words.

He was right, of course. You had always dreamed of making it out of here. Even when you were young and running down the halls of your grandmother’s house, your adventures took you far away, towards weather unlike your own, towards faces and cities you’d never recognize. 

So what was it that you were doing now? Getting closure by opening up a chapter with Jimin you had closed years ago?

Jimin was the boy who had his kids' names picked out when he was in elementary school. He was the boy whose biggest dream was remodeling his parents' home so that it would one day fit his own family, the family that he wanted to start here. He was the boy who looked for you months after you went missing, and who ended a relationship because he was unable to let go of the past. He put his life on hold for you. And who was to say he wouldn’t do it again when you left?

Your feet felt heavy as if you were sinking into the dirt of the drive-in lot, crushing guilt piling onto you.

“Hey.” A voice called out, making both Yoongi and you turn to face whoever was trying to grab your attention.

It was Jimin. Of course, it was. You had gotten caught up in conversation, taking far too long to get snacks. It was only a matter of time that Jimin would head over to check in on you. His hands were tucked away in his jeans, expression unreadable as he eyed the two of you from where he stood.

“Oh. Hey.” Yoongi replied, eyebrows pulling up in surprise. His surprise was quickly replaced with confusion as Jimin walked over, pressing a kiss to your cheek as he took the snacks from you, always the gentleman.

“Sorry, I took so long. We bumped into each other and lost track of the time.” You explained awkwardly to your boyfriend through warm cheeks.

“I see that.”

You could see the way Jimin’s jaw was tense as if swallowing back words that weren’t exactly pleasant. You almost see the puzzle piece coming together in Yoongi’s mind as he looked at the two of you interact.

“Well… it was nice seeing you again. Good luck with everything.” You waved Yoongi goodbye, already heading back where Jimin had set up the car, eager to walk far from the second most awkward situation the three of you had found yourselves.

“You too.” You heard Yoongi called back, a note of disbelief in his tone, one that you forced yourself not to dissect further.

———————

You did your best to keep your eyes on the screen ahead of you, but the tension in the car was palpable. Jimin was taking those sharp short breaths through his nose like he always did when he was angry. You licked your dry lips.

“You’re upset.” You broke the ice.

“No, I’m not.”

You tilted your head against the car seat’s headrest, facing your troubled lover.

“Yes, you are.” Your tone took a soft timbre. “You’re doing that angry sulky thing you do.”

“I don’t sulk,” Jimin said, bottom lip jutting out ever so slightly.

“Minnie, you sulk.” You chuckled but failed to receive a chuckle back in return from him.

You straightened up in your seat.

“Nothing is going on between Yoongi and I.”

“I know.” He said.

Your brows furrowed at his words, “Okay. Then is it something else?”

Jimin said nothing, eyes pressed against the movie screen but clearly not paying attention to the film at all. You sighed.

“Can you roll your window up?” You asked. Your boyfriend met your eyes curiously, seeing that you had done so on your side before complying and rolling his up.

The second his window was up, you were unbuckling your seat belt and maneuvering yourself across the car and onto his lap.

Pressing kisses onto his neck, you felt as he noticeably relaxed, a soft sigh falling from his pillowy lips.

“Talk to me.” Your mouth traveled onto his jaw, kisses sweet and reassuring.

“I love you.” Was his breathy response, hands gripping to sides of your thighs, pulling you closer to him.

He couldn’t say how insecure seeing Yoongi made him feel. He didn't know how to say that if you left him once, what was to stop you from leaving him again? If he wasn’t good enough to make you stay all those years ago, what would be different this time?

“I love you too, Minnie.”

His hand found the side of your cheek, drawing your mouth into his, kissing you with intention. 

You pulled back suddenly, “Wait, this isn’t talking.”

“Don’t wanna talk. Just wanna touch you.” His voice was lower than usual.

Your face flushed at his honesty, unsure of whether to press further. Ultimately you gave in.

“Okay.” 

Your fingers curled into his t-shirt, tongue finding his, heavy breaths filling the small space of the car as you lost yourselves in each other.

Breaking the kiss with a groan, you pulled up at your shirt. You nearly laughed at the way Jimin had already begun to tug at your bra clasp before you had even successfully removed the garment from you. 

The lacy bra fell down your body, tossed aside mindlessly as he pressed a kiss onto your chest, hand working your soft flesh. You let out a breath as he sucked the supple flesh into his mouth, thumb rolling over your pert buds.

“Wait, drop your seat back, I don’t want someone from another car seeing.”

Jimin nodded, leaving your chest to comply with your request. Immediately though, his hand found the back of your neck, pulling you towards him and into a kiss.

Making out in Jimin’s car was admittedly nostalgic — the two of you having spent many afternoons fooling around whenever you got the chance. And maybe that's what the two of you were going for, slipping back into each other in a way that came naturally.

You rolled your hips into his desperately, every inch of you buzzing at the way you could feel the way he had hardened underneath you.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He muttered as his thumb lolled over your sensitive nipple. You whimpered.

The sound took him back to the night of the bonfire when he had buried his head between your angelic thighs that night of the bonfire, your greedy fingers tugging at his scalp as you cried against the feeling of his tongue.

Fuck, he was hard.

His hand reached down to undo his jeans in desperation, the pressure of his strained cock in his thigh jeans too much to bare. His actions caught your attention, your teeth finding your bottom lip as you watched the anguished boy reach into his underwear and readjust himself. 

Suddenly, his mouth was on yours again, hand angling one of your thighs so that he could grind his hips against it. 

You were getting far more worked up than you anticipated, his hot mouth leaving marks across your exposed skin. You needed more of him.

“Do you wanna fuck me?” You asked innocently, hand pressed against his abdomen.

“Fuck yes.”

“Hm...”

Your hand dipped into his underwear, eyes glimmering in mischief as you pulled his cock out, wasting no time in working the shaft. 

“Fuuuuuck.” Jimin’s voice was drawn out and pleading, chest rising and falling in rhythm to the pace your hand had set around his cock.

“Does it feel good, Minnie?” You cooed teasingly, sucking a bruise into his pretty neck.

You preened as his hips suddenly jerked up, a whine pushing past his swollen lips before he cleared his throat.

“You’re gonna fucking kill me. Sit on my cock already.” He begged.

You smiled into his skin, head moving back up to kiss him as you ran your thumb over his red tip, swallowing his moan.

“You feel so good in my hand though.”

You weren’t lying. Hot, engorged, and pulsing under your fingers, his cock was truly a fine piece of craftsmanship. If it weren’t for the cramped location that was the front seat of his car, you would’ve had your lips wrapped around him, using your tongue to remind yourself of every vein and ridge.

“I promise I’ll feel even better inside you.” He groaned.

“What’s the rush? I don’t remember you ever turning down a handjob.”

“And I don’t remember you being such a fucking tease. Clearly, things change.” He tutted.

You frowned at his tone but allowed one of Jimin’s hands to push its way between your legs and down your underwear.

You stifled a noise as he ran his fingers up and down your slit.

“Oh, love bug, you’re so wet. That for me?”

You fought back a blush, somehow still flustered at the way Jimin’s dirty talk after all these years.

“You got yourself this worked up over touching me, yeah? Fuck.”

A shutter ran through your body, pleasure running over you as he toyed with your clit. Your hand fell from his member altogether, finding leverage against his thigh as you pushed yourself closer to his feathery touches.

Your hips moved on their own accord, mouth opening as a silent moan tumbled out.

“Bet that feels so good, huh? So cute.” He praised, pinching one of your cheeks.

“Now whose teasing?” You pouted. 

A whimper escaped you against your better judgment as his fingers suddenly made their way down, spreading you open as he lightly pressed against your entrance.

“Acting so tough but losing the act as soon as I touch you.” He placed a kiss against your head, spurred on by the way you had suddenly become pliant and placid under his touch. “You're practically sucking my fingers in.”

You weren’t certain if the whine that greeted him in response was from his words or the way he pulled his hand back every time you tried to sink onto his fingers.

“Please.”

“Sorry, angel. I’m not gonna finger fuck you. Just gonna sit here and play with what’s mine.”

Jimin was not usually particularly possessive but god was it hot.

If his fingers hadn’t immediately moved back to roll over your clit, you might have had the energy in you to complain, but instead, you found yourself plaint in his arm, thighs trembling.

“I’ll... shit... I’ll cum if you keep that up.”

“Bummer. Guess there won’t be any need to fuck you then.”

“Dammit! Just fuck me, Minnie!”

“Hm... I dunno, I think I’m going to need a little bit more convincing before I do–“

“Oh, please, please!” You were rambling before he could finish his sentence. “Fill me up, Minnie. I need it so badly. I can take it I promise.”

“H-Holy fuck, okay. Dirty fucking mouth. Come here, baby.”

And just like that, you pushed yourself back up onto your knees, moving to hover over Jimin’s painfully erect cock. 

Your boyfriend’s hands cradled your hips as you aligned the two of you, kneading the soft flesh tenderly.

“I love you.” You promised as you sank down. He threw his head back as you fell into the rhythm that felt as natural as breathing with him.

“Damn right you do, you're my fucking girl. Mine.”

He loved the way you moved with him - loved the way you felt like the piece he was missing. He loved everything about you and couldn’t help but shower you with praise as you rode his cock, wishing he could give you more than just car sex. He felt helpless near you, nowhere near as confident as he came across. You were spectacular in every single way, smiling as you leaned over to kiss him.

——

“Tell me about New York City,” Jimin ran his fingers down your arm.

The two of you had long forgotten about Jurassic Park, now reclothed and cuddled up in the back of his car.

You raised an eyebrow, “Honesty? It’s loud and dirty. Not to mention traffic is shit.”

“That sounds… terrible?”

“It is,” You breathed, “But it’s not. It’s the perfect place to disappear. No one gives you a shit about what you’ve got going on, no matter how fucked up you feel. Everyone is just trying to deal with their own chaos and get through the day.”

“Sounds kind of lonely.” He muttered. You hummed in contemplation, wondering how it was that you felt just the opposite. It was weirdly comforting to know that no matter your story, those in the city had seen worse.

“Did you know that when you’re deep in the city, there isn’t a single star in the night sky. Not a single one.” You recounted.

Jimin tilted his head, “What do you mean there are no stars?”

“It’s like they’ve all gone missing and the sky is just this massive empty black hole.”

“How can there be no stars? Where do they go?” He laughed.

“My theory? The city needs so much power to run that they had to steal every star from the sky above them… Though I’m told it’s something called light pollution that just covers the stars.”

“I like your theory better.” He smiled.

You turned towards the massive screen, watching as dinosaurs wreaked havoc.

“There’s a complex above the bar I used to work at. They have a rooftop that you’re not technically supposed to access but everyone does anyway. At night you have the most perfect view of the city skyline. The sky is just this hazy gray color but the further out you look, the lights from the surrounding buildings start to look like little stars sprinkled on the ground. I’ve always thought of it as New York’s version of the night sky. Like looking at the world upside down. It’s just… spectacular.” You marveled.

You could still see it so vividly in your mind, how the empty sky glowed and the buildings twinkled.

“You’ve always had stars in your eyes,” Jimin said suddenly, eyes fixated on you. You turned to meet his gaze.

“Hm?”

There was an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face, “Do you remember the first night we met?”

You blinked, taken aback by his abrupt question.

“Hoseok introduced us. Second year of high school. Homeroom.”

Jimin shook his head.

“Do you remember the last home football game of our freshman year?”

Freshman year? Football game? Yeah, you remembered that.

“I mean, yeah. That was before I decided I hated school functions and only wanted to hang out with social rejects and lowlives. First and only high school football game I attended. Why?” You pondered.

“You and Hoseok were standing on the top of the bleachers. I think the two of you were trying to figure out how to climb the announcer building without dying or getting caught.” Jimin went on to recount.

“Oh, snap! I remember that! We did it, too. I remember it took me ages to convince Guyi to come climb up. Hoseok got a bunch of kids to come and join us… You were there?”

Jimin nodded at you, also remembering the way you and the thick-framed girl were close back then.

Jimin actually remembered much more than that. He recalled almost vividly how he and a few friends were called to follow the rowdy boy he knew from history class and how he led them through the bleachers and toward side the side of a building. There were two girls sitting on top already, the louder of the two turned around and waved at the newcomers, before turning back towards the sky, legs stretched out in front of her as she chatted with her best friend.

The other girl you were with, which he would later learn was Guyi, was sitting away from the edge, arms wrapped tightly around herself as she shivered at the night’s chill. She looked uncomfortable and he could hear her muttering about wanting to go back down but you insisted that the view of the stars was better where up here, leaning back on your palms as you faced the night sky.

He was taken by you immediately and spent the rest of the time on the roof glancing your way in hopes even just a quick peek of how the twinkling lights reflected off your irises.

You were all he could think about, even as the principal came screaming at you guys to come down. He thought of you as his older brother Jihoon drove him back home, silent in his seat as he stared up at the very same sky that captured your attention. He thought of you throughout that following summer and the very first day of your sophomore year, when he finally worked up the courage to tell Hoseok how he felt, leading the more extroverted boy to introduce the two of you.

And he had loved you ever since. Even now he loved you, eight years later, sat on Hoseok’s couch as you and the people you grew up with all played a drinking game, the movie since wrapped up, and the function heading back to Hoseok’s place.

He watched as you smiled and laughed with the others and imagined a world in which this could become your guys' new normal. Where every day could be just like how things were and he could just love you as easily as breathing.

But real life was never as easy as fantasies. Real-life consisted of messes and trauma and hurt feelings; there was no glossing over the past four years. And the more Jimin drank from his cup, the harder it was to keep up this game of pretend the two of you agreed on. One day you would have enough and you would leave him again. 

He knew this was temporary - he agreed to it after all. He had kept you in this town despite how much he knew it hurt you to be here. Truthfully, as he sat on the couch getting far more inebriated than he should’ve, Jimin was angry. Perhaps with himself, perhaps with the world, perhaps with both — it didn’t matter in the end. 

Because every day with you meant waiting for the day you would leave and what was he to do but keep on loving you?

He felt helpless.

“Where did you go?” Were his words as you sank back next to him on the couch, having been eliminated from the game taking place at the coffee table. Hoseok, Gwen, and a few other familiar faces were still sitting around it, laughing and joking with one another drunkenly.

“Huh? What do you mean? I was sitting right there.” You giggled, glancing down at the cup of liquor that Jimin had in his hand. “Don’t tell me you’re still a lightweight, Minnie?”

He was boiling, and the words were spilling up and over faster than he could make sense of.

“Where were you, Y/N? I tried to find you I– You left me.”

Something was wrong. You could hear it in his words, and see it in the way his glossy eyes threatened to spill over. He brought his cup back up to his mouth, taking a large sip. You took it from him the second you realized just how drunk he was.

“Hey, that’s enough… let’s go outside, okay? Get some air.” You were up on your feet in an instant, eyes flickering over to the group to see if anyone had heard.

“You left me,” Jimin repeated.

“Jimin. Please.” There was a desperate look in your eyes, clearly not wanting to have this conversation with other people present.

Blinking away the lump in his throat, he got up from the couch and followed you out of the room, slipping through the sliding glass door onto the patio.

The patio door shut with a quiet click, the chill of the cold night greeting you both.

“How did you just... pack your bags and leave it all behind? Leave us behind? I thought you loved me.” Jimin wiped away at his cheeks blindly, unsure of when he started crying. 

“I did— Minnie, I do.” You tried your best to keep your voice level, growing emotional at the topic at hand and at the man you loved hurting.

“Was I not enough of a reason to stay?”

Your mouth opened and closed repeatedly as you struggled to answer him. You, just like him, were intoxicated and nowhere in the right state of mind to be having this conversation.

“I mean, fuck, love bug! You just left!” His voice pitched up in disbelief, clearly not aware of his volume raising as well. 

You were trembling. Though from the cold or the guilt you weren’t sure.

“I-I know, I-”

“You just left and never came back? This is your home–”

“Don’t fucking say that!” You snapped, surprising both you and Jimin.

A tsunami of emotion crashed into you.

“My parents are dead, Jimin. And I know you get it, I know you lost your brother but… Minnie, I couldn’t breathe! I-I felt trapped, and… god, after they died— it was me who was dying. Yes, I was wrong to leave but I was young and hurting and.. I just couldn’t let this town kill me too.”

Your hands found your face, covering it as a wave of melancholy rushed over you. 

“I was supposed to be in that fire. I ran off to Grams because of a stupid, meaningless fight with my mom. After they died, I spent an entire year wondering if I shouldn’t have just died right there with them.”

You couldn’t bear to look up at Jimin. You couldn’t bear to see the pity in his eyes as you laid out the worst of you for him to hear.

“The second I stepped out of this town was the first real breath of air I had taken since they died. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing with my life but I know that this town stopped being my home the second they died.”

Any and all anger had melted away from the orange-haired man.

“Y/N–”

You looked up suddenly, frown furrowed and eyes blurry with tears.

“I don’t need forever. I just need right now, okay, that’s what you said to me the night of the bonfire. You said that, remember?”

“I remember.” He sounded sorrowful.

“I love you, Minnie. I never stopped loving you. But they’re gone.” You mourned, breaths uneven. “And they’re everywhere I look in this town. I mean… why can I come back but they can’t? How is that fucking fair?!”

You were nearly inconsolable, watery eyes barely widening as your face was suddenly taken into Jimin’s hands, his thumbs brushing past your wet cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. You’re right. I’ve already asked so much of you. This town has taken too much.” His eyes searched yours. “I... I wish you would’ve told me. When they died… for a year you said nothing. I thought you needed your space so I gave it to you, but I never would have if I knew you were planning to leave. What if I could’ve helped? You helped me when we lost Jihoon, remember?”

“I know...” Your answer was lackluster. Because you didn’t have an answer for him. You didn’t know why you pushed away those who loved you when your parents first died.

Was it teenage naivety? Was it fear of losing anyone else? 

You wished you could give the sweet boy a solid answer. But you weren’t even sure that sober you could. God, he deserved so much more than you had given him.

“It was you and me against the world, remember? Through all the shit and garbage life throws at us. You were my person. You still are.”

“I just… there is so much out there, Jimin. So much this small town can never offer. If you only saw the cities, the kinds of people that come in and out.” You emphasized, suddenly inspired.

“What if… what if you come with me.” Your voice was small, knowing the impossibility of what you were asking him.

His eyes told you the answer to your question he even spoke.

“Bug, I… My family needs me here. Everything is here… I don’t know if I can just leave. This… this is my home.” His brows fell, rubbing your cheek apologetically.

“I know. But I can’t let you put your life on hold for me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I strung you along for another four years. When I leave I don’t want you holding onto me. You deserve to move on and find a life here like you’ve always wanted.”

“The life here that I always wanted was with you.” Jimin cried, pulling you into him. 

You buried your face into his neck and for a moment the two of you just held each other and cried.

“I’m sorry.” You said, knowing that neither of you could do this anymore.

“I’m sorry, too.” He held you tighter.

The game of pretend had drawn to a close and neither of you had won.

—

Your grandmother was awake and doing a crossword in the kitchen when you walked back home later that night without Jimin.

“Hi, darling.” Your grandmother greeted, only noticing the way your hair stuck onto your wet cheeks once you came into the kitchen light. 

“Oh, bless your little cotton socks, come here.”

She held you as you cried — she cried too, knowing that this meant goodbye in more ways than one. 

She slept in your bed that night, holding you close in a way that she did for your mother and that your mother once did for you. There was so much you could never repay your grandmother for. You’d spend the rest of your life calling her from every city apologizing if that's what it took for her to forgive you for choosing to leave once again. But even if hadn’t told your grandmother you were leaving, even if she didn’t help you pack your bags that very next morning, she would forgive you because all she ever wanted was for you to follow your heart. 

The same heart that had her drop you off at Jimin’s the next day.

Your knuckles rapped a somber tune onto his door, the sun pleasantly hitting on your skin, very polar opposite to how cold your insides felt.

You could hear a scuffling from inside the shed, suddenly embarrassingly aware of how little soundproofing Jimin’s room had. Thank goodness it was far from the main house.

“Y/N?” Jimin called out, the door handle turning. 

Panicking, you gripped the handle, holding the door shut.

“Wait! Don’t open the door.” You warned, not exactly sure what came over you.

“Why? Bug, what’s wrong?” Jimin sounded concerned but let go of the handle regardless.

You fought with your thoughts for a moment.

“I can’t... If I see your face I’ll...”

You were a coward. You swore this time you wouldn’t just disappear, you had seen the pain you had caused him. But even still, even when you came to tell him you were leaving, you couldn’t bear to see his face. You could not see the face of the man you loved so much and tell him you were leaving him. You just couldn’t. 

You didn’t feel strong or brave or anything Jimin insisted you were. Hand pressed against the closed door to Jimin’s room, you felt small and pitiful, far from someone who should be asking what you were about to do.

“I’m going to say something. It doesn’t need a response now, okay?” You called out, loud enough so he could hear.

You swallowed roughly, your throat dry. “My bus ride back home is today. Noon.”

Silence fell.

Your heart was pounding in your throat, nearly blocking out the words you had spent all night rehearsing.

“If you don’t show up, I’ll go. And I won’t come back. I mean it. I want you to move on. You have to try. Don’t give up your life for me.”

Jimin was just on the other side of the door, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, having just rolled out of bed. You didn’t explain yourself further, and perhaps you didn’t need to. He mulled over your words in his head. 

If he didn’t show up, you’d hop on the train and slip out of his life forever. 

“But if you show up...” you trailed off as if losing your nerve. But he understood all the same.

If he showed up to stop you, you’d stay. 

You knew he could never physically ask you, but if he wanted you to stay, you would. Just seeing him would crumble your resolve and you’d stay with him here forever, even if it killed you.

“This isn’t a test or anything.” You said after a moment as if the thought came to you suddenly. “I know you love me. You don’t have to prove that to me.”

His shoulders sank, realizing what you were asking of him. 

“I just... I didn’t give you a choice last time.”

Your words wrapping around Jimin like an old shirt— warm but ill-fitting.

How many nights had he dreamt of you saying those exact words? How many times had he pictured the night you left going different, with you telling him your plans of leaving and him convincing you to stay? Nothing would’ve changed and you’d go back to spending every night tangled up together and every day in his passenger seat, window cracked and wind brushing past your hair as you sang along to one of his playlists.

All he ever wanted was to go back to loving you like he used to. Loving you and imagining the life the two of you would build here.

“I-I’ll stay here and… and love you and figure out all my emotional garbage. I won��t leave you again.” Your voice was shaking. “If you ask me to, I’ll stay.”

Tears found Jimin’s eyes. 

From the moment he met you, way back in high school, you had talked about seeing the world. You had big dreams that couldn’t fit in this tiny town. You were larger than life and he always knew to an extent that he have to spend the rest of his life running in order to catch up to where you were.

He just never thought you’d run further than he could go.

Don’t give up your life for me, you had said as you offered to do exactly that for him.

He saw the spark behind your eyes whenever you spoke of the city. He saw the way you turned into a shell of yourself at old memories. He would break his own heart ten times over before he would ever keep you here. 

But you would break your own heart ten times if it meant you could save his heart from breaking again. Because if he wanted you to say, you could try to be happy here. Maybe you could try to be happy and try to be with Jimin and try for a nice ordinary life. You wouldn’t stay for you but you would stay for him. 

Because you loved him far more than you loved yourself.

“If this is goodbye, then just know that… I love you. And I’m sorry.” 

Sorry was all you could ever feel in this town. Sorry for all the hurt you caused and the mess you always left behind. Sorry for yourself and the life you would never get back. Perhaps it would’ve been better if you had turned down Jimin’s advances that night at the bonfire. More likely it would’ve been better if you hadn’t come back at all. 

But the one-sided conversation through Jimin’s door was your best attempt at undoing a fraction of the hurt you had caused him, however pathetic it was.

——

You were standing amongst a crowd of moving bodies, watching anxiously as other buses began to board.

“He might show up.” You muttered to yourself. “It's not too late, he might show up.”

“Darling!”

You heard your grandmother call out, and you scoured the crowd before finding her, a breath of relief finding you. She had driven you to the bus station and left momentarily to use the bathroom for a moment — you feared you might have to board your bus without seeing her again.

“They just called for my bus.” You said the second she was within earshot. She looked around with you, watching as a line began to form in front of your bus. But your eyes wandered further, looking past the line, past your bus, and Elvie knew at once who you were looking for.

“You don’t have to go, you know.” She placed a hand on your cheek, pulling your attention back onto her.

“I know…” You nodded back at her, biting on the inside of your cheek.

“…But you want to.” She acknowledged. You were her blood after all. And no time apart could undo the way she knew her grandchild.

You met her eyes regretfully, guilt written all over you.

“I’ll call you every week.” You promised.

She pinched your cheek, “Even every month would do. I will miss you greatly. And I love you dearly.”

“I love you, Grams.” You pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Stay safe, darling.”

The two once estranged family members shared one final hug before the final call for your bus rang out. Shooting the bus station one final once over for a shade of orange, you waved your grandmother farewell and joined the line, boarding and sitting on the bus within a few minutes.

Elvie stayed at her spot for ten minutes, watching as the bus drove off and took her grandchild with it, waving goodbye even when you were too far to even see her.

A tear ran down her face as she clasped her hands together, hoping that you might find whatever you are continuing to search for.

A man joined her just then, emerging from behind the wall where he had been hiding, yanking off his grey beanie to reveal a bright mop of orange hair.

“There you are. Thought you were going to stand behind that wall forever.” Elvie acknowledged him, wiping away her tears.

“Sorry... And sorry to bombard you while you were on the way to the bathroom. Did you manage to slip it into her bag?” He asked.

“Of course I did. She was too busy looking for you to even notice.” Elvie reassured, watching as Jimin stared off in the direction you had left.

Jimin wasn’t sure when you’d find it, but eventually you’d find the black cassette tape he had dedicated to you all those years ago.

“It’s a playlist I made of all the songs that remind me of you.”

If it weren’t for you rummaging through his car, the tape would’ve continued to slip his mind— a forgotten relic forged from the time in which he swore he would never see you again. Carefully selected songs forming a cacophony of bitterness, longing, anger and sorrow.

After you left him this morning, Jimin lay across his bed, listening to your mixtape for the first time in years. An emotional time capsule in the form of plastic film and faded sharpie. He remembered vividly what every song meant, he remembered every raw unfiltered feeling he held for the last four years.

He held onto you for so long.

"Thank you for giving that to her."

“I have to ask… I mean, you showed up. You could’ve given her that mixtape in person. Why hide?” Your grandmother pressed.

“I had to see her. But I knew if she saw me she wouldn’t have left, and she would’ve continued to hurt herself just for me.” Jimin’s eyes welled up with emotion. “She deserves so much more than that, even if she doesn’t see it yet.”

Because you were the girl with stars in her eyes and big dreams and he was just the boy who loved you just enough to let you go.

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

THE END and before you yell at me, please respect my artistic vision EEEEP!! I love these characters and want what is best for them and the only way to do that is to honor the life that both truly deserve, even if that means it's not a life with each other. I thought long and hard about how to end this series, just putting that out there bc I know a bittersweet ending can be disappointing. AAHHH ILY MWAH! <3

[nerdyenby]

I get most of my news either online or from a newsletter I subscribe to, but I’m feeling pretty good right now about our democratic candidates so I sat down to watch Walz’s debut at the Philadelphia rally and here are the highlights (imo, of course)

“Before I was elected vice president or elected a United States senator, I was an elected attorney general, and, before that, an elected district attorney and, before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor. So in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds: predators who abused women, fraudsters who scammed consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.” -KH

KH talking about fighting for a future where every American can afford to own a home hit me so hard. Why is that such a fantasy? Why have I never even considered it possible?

I am obsessed with the confidence, this is the energy I need. We have plenty of reasons to be afraid but goddamn did I need someone to stand up and calmly declare that we will be okay, and I am so fucking glad it’s a Black woman.

A history teacher as our next VP <3

Their motif of fighting for the future is so much more potent coming from a woman of color and a man who has dedicated so much of his life to youth and to supporting them and their futures. Like damn, maybe the kids really will be okay. Fighting poverty, securing free school lunches for kids, protecting bodily autonomy, and founding his schools first GSA as a straight white man? I don’t know much about Walz but what I’ve learned so far has earned him a lot of respect in my book.

Fuck, Harris talking about Walz’s background and reputation in his school has me tearing up.

“We will win.” Okay, yeah, I’m crying now. These two make me feel so safe, it’s not fair I’ve never felt this way before.

Friendly reminder that one of our main political candidates does not value disabled lives and will openly say as much. Trump wants us dead, don’t let him win.

“Tim and I have a message for Trump and others who want to turn back the clock on our fundamental freedoms: we’re not going back.” -KH

“After Roe was overturned [TW] was the first governor in the country to sign a new law that enshrined reproductive freedom as a fundamental right.” -KH

“Ultimately in this election, we each face a question: what kind of country do we want to live in? A county of freedom, compassion, and rule of law or a country of chaos, fear, and hate?” -KH

“We love our country, and I believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country.” -KH

“Don’t ever underestimate teachers.” -TW (preach)

“It was my students, they encouraged me to run for office. They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them: a commitment of common good, a belief that one person can make a difference.” -TW

“Now, Donald Trump sees the world a little differently than us. First of all, he doesn’t know the first thing about service. He doesn’t have time for it because he’s too busy serving himself. Again and again and again, Trump weakens our economy to strengthen his own hand. He mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division, and that’s to say nothing of his record as president.” -TW

“Some of us in here are old enough to remember — I see you down there, I see those old white guys — some of us are old enough to remember when it was republicans who were talking about freedom. It turns out now what they meant was the government should be free to invade your doctors office. In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: mind your own damn business. ” -TW

“When Vice President and I talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make your own healthcare decisions and for our children to be free to go to school without worrying they’ll be shot dead in their classrooms.” -TW

“Vice President Harris’s idea: freedom is a ticket, for education to be that ticket to the middle class. Not crippling debt, air that’s clean, water that’s pure, communities that are safe.” -TW

TW: “Donald Trump isn’t fighting for you or your family-” random audience member: “You are!” Walz: *allows himself a breath of a laugh before continuing on just as strong as before*

“I gotta tell you, pointing out just an observation of mine that I made, I just have to say it. You know it, you feel it [the republican candidates] are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell.” -TW

“So we got 91 days. My god, that’s easy. Well sleep when we’re dead! Over those next 91 days and every day in the White House, I’ll have Vice President Harris’s back, every single day, and we’ll have yours.” -TW

This is the broadcast I watched

[thetorturedpoetsfest]

Welcome to Day 2 of The Tortured Poets Fest!

Click the links listed below to check out all of the content our lovely Tortured Poets have created for all of us today! (and go to our bio to access the rest of the AO3 Collection)

✍️ Barty or Lily or Benji or Fabian by @katie-blackcat

Ship: Regulus Black/James Potter

Rating: M

Summary:

Regulus and James broke up 5 years ago. This is the story of where they have been and where they are now.

Does he ever think of him? Of the nights they spent curled up in each other’s arms? Does he wonder? Will I always wonder…?

🕯 So Hogwarts by bookish_clf

Ship: Daphne Greengrass/Ron Weasley

Rating: E

Summary:

Daphne Greengrass, Senior Correspondent for Foreign Wizarding Affairs at the Daily Prophet, is forced to cover the Conference Championship Quidditch game when the entire sports department falls ill with Spattergroit.

At the game, she’s surprised to find the star Keeper of the Wimbourne Wasps, Ron Weasley, has grown up from the scrawny Gryffindor she knew at Hogwarts into someone quite…sturdy. When she snags an interview with him post-game, things spiral from there as she’s thrust into a whirlwind romance with Wizarding Europe’s most valuable player.

🗝 They Tried to Warn You About Me by @midnightstargazer

Ships: Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks, Narcissa Black Malfoy & Andromeda Black Tonks, Alice Longbottom & Ted Tonks

Rating: T

Summary:

They say you’ll know your soulmate by the way the world bursts into color when you meet them. Andromeda has always been warned to avoid hers at all costs - and when Ted’s friends learn who his is, they tell him she’ll never choose him. But over the years, the two are drawn together. Is a life filled with love and vibrant colors really something to fear?

📜 who's afraid of little old me? (you should be) by Sagiko_AKA_RegulusBlackKinnieBITFW @themoonthesunandthestarsbetween Ships: Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew/Severus Snape; [Background/future] Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Regulus Black/James Potter, Mary Macdonald/Lily Evans Potter Rating: M Summary: “I don’t have to tell you a damn thing, Peter.” Lily shook her head as she walked up, choosing to stand beside Dorcas. “I know what you two have been up to- I know you’ve been opening your useless legs for an utterly useless man. Now, leave.” “I’m not afraid of you.” Peter sneered.

“You should be.” Lily smiled politely.

🖌 you don't have to be alone (when you're the place i wanna go) by @quiethauntings

Ship: Remus Lupin/Sirius Black

Rating: E

Summary:

"You’ve claimed the shit bed,” Sirius says from the doorway.

Remus looks up, suddenly aware that for the first time in years, it's just the two of them.

“You don’t like sleeping next to the door.” It comes out before he can think of something different. A fact he’d learned when they were twelve, the first summer they all stayed with the Potters’.

He should be embarrassed, remembering something like that, but Sirius tilts his head. Bright-eyed and soft. He smiles, and it’s worth it.

Or, an unexpected invitation reunites Remus with his friends at a cottage in the Scottish Highlands. **************

Be sure to check our page for Day 3’s reveals! Until then, Tortured Poets <3

🩶 Your mods,

@wolfpadx @multiimoments @heartsoncover @lemonlans @mercurial-witch @steveahoi damagecontrol & shewritesmaybe

[itsdappleagain]

It's time for the end of season 2- The Deep Dive Caper!

What an absolutely showstopping finale!! I'm so thrilled to liveblog it. This episode gets serious like no other episode really does before or since. Lets get started!

Late, as usual. Buy a lottery ticket the day I do one of these on time. Notes under the cut as always!

right off the bat this episode is pretty much unlike any other. they try to have a caper setup- the vile drive- but it's not long before we realize that EVERYTHING is gone. even in the last finale the sort of "caper" of the episode was rescuing devineaux. this episode is all about answers.

"all on my own. the only sure way i know." hrnnrgh carmen

their boat is being so nice and stationary in the middle of a raging storm and waves taller than they are

"MY FIST IS GOING TO MAKE YOUR GUTS EXPLODE" ivy never change

its ALLL GONE

rip vile island we hardly knew ye

the cs team is just showing off their background artists 😌

ah would you like some mashed shadowsan with your steak

maelstrom your plan sucked babygirl sorry. should have sic'd brunt on her on the train like a rottweiler

interesting plan though. if shadowsan really had killed dexter, what would carmen have done? beat him up? sent him to acme? just thrown him out? she promises to hunt him down if he runs but like what were you going to do after that? murder for a murder?

malestrom: maybe she'll show up in botswana ✨ carmen who's been out for the count for half a year and has no reason to have even shown up in botswana as early as she did:

the teddy bear <3

in love with cleo's boob straps. that safety harness does not even clip in the front its like if a backpack was securing you to a car

that explosion animation is so good though its so impactful

its a damn good thing devineaux showed up when he did he could have been blown to the gates of hell in one second flat and no one would have been any the wiser

chase drinks so much disrespect women juice the first two seasons that he blames julia for an impression of her that his own mind dreamed up i love him for that

angry carmen is so babygirl to me. go bestie show emotion. get so mad about that shit

mmm and theres the shot i used for our title card! and what a fantastic one it is. shadowsan's motif playing in the background as carmen pauses at the oni, but the show itself telling us that he is still on her side with that gigantic, massive symbol of him framing carmen in a circle of red. if you pay attention and learn the colors the team likes, you don't even have to worry about this ep its all cool

you know what the dominant color in this entire scene of carmen trying to find out the truth is, though? blue. even when she's in the server room or staring at shadowsan's oni, the water isnt tinted green like they easily could have made it. its. all. blue.

obsessed with how zack wakes up he's being exorcised and the demon was the peppers and onions

agree it would have been hilarious if devineaux finally gets rescued and it turns out to be a really, really pissed off carmen sandiego

roundabout has the air of a theater kid who always got the leads but had to act surprised about it

evil ihop

i love how confused roundy looks its so funny

devineaux stabbing himself and the scream makes me cry laughing every single time

devineaux really goes ↘️↗️↘️↘️↘️↘️↘️↘️↘️

i would watch a series about devineaux being left to fend for himself on the island and slowly losing his mind

his supervisor was so excited about firing him

okay here we go it all gets real now

carmens realization going from my dad was a cop -> my dad was literally the exact opposite of a cop and neither of those things being things she is happy about

i love the realization hitting her face (even if it was animated. a touch blandly)

shadowsan's face s just animated fantastically here. his eyebrows are up- he realizes carmen is there, maybe confused about why she isnt saying anything. then his eyebrows drop, his face falls ever so slightly. he knows the jig is up

also. yes. "your silence is like thunder" is just. ough its such a good line

he isn't even surprised by the question he knew it was coming eventually

"if you run, I will find you." its not a threat its a damn promise. for older viewers its easy to draw the connection between the famous i will find you and i will kill you. it doesnt have to be said.

mm and carmen rejecting the offer to sit and be comfortable around him. she just can't

even in the flashbacks your can see so much of carmen in him its so great. its dishonorable, and everything carmen stands against, but she is undeniably her father's daughter

the plot for this flashback is so sophisticated its so so good. they treat the audience really well about it

also young faculty designs <3

the red on the inside of dexter's jacket to symbolize his secret with carmen im sobbing

also the decision to make carmen have his eyes is. hrngh.

already been pointed out but the way the music softens when shadowsan says "you" HURTS

THAT BABY IS A SNITCH. carmen. snitchdiego

the heartbreak when present carmen speaks again gfgrgh

i like the new mask he hangs behind him before carmen confronts him, by the way. its green and white- the shadow of vile and his past looming over his shoulder, maybe- but also the mask of vile he had to put on to lie about what really happened to wolfe

BABY CARMEN CRYING AS DEXTER TRIES TO HIDE HER :(((

the dolls rdhg im not crying you are

anyone have any thoughts on a dexter voice claim btw?

also also i sprang this on rueitae already but "dexter" while referring to dexterity and his skill as a thief can also mean "the one who dyes" which. jesus. it refers to dying cloth but the double meaning is ouchie

he locks her in gay baby jail!!!

i gotta stop making jokes about the most serious part of the entire series sorry

there's a little bit of a pink panther hint to his theme as he sneaks out the window which is interesting

rue's also already covered it but what WAS this man's plan for just leaving baby carm in there. like shadowsan says desperation i guess

god young chief shooting and killing an unarmed dexter wolfe and presumably orphaning her is the twist. of a fucking lifetime

the despair in the music cue when it reveals it was only his car keys

the matryoshka dolls getting burned in that fire ahrhgfrdshgsghds

love that shadowsan not only sets the house on fire while he and a baby are still in it but gives said baby an object that just got set on fire

also vile protocol dictating that he should have just burned a baby alive?? what the fuck!

bellum's apathy, mael's mild interest/concern, and cleo's disgust towards baby carm shdfjads

little tiny baby carmen shunting her butt at cleo is hilarious

faculty: omg she's a real natural thief she stole that thing without anyone noticing baby carmen in broad daylight five seconds earlier:

btw bb carm is so cute she's so round

carmen finally just sliding to the floor under the weight of all of that information. now that she has at least the idea that shadowsan was not the one who murdered her father, even if she still needs proof

"why would you make me find out on my own?" is one of the most heartbreaking lines in here. she had to go through this realization almost completely alone. her trust in the man she was coming to see as a father was shattered and he could have just told her. he could have just told her

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shadowsan crying theyre so family

you can just hear the regret and fear and sadness in his voice paul nakauchi is literally so good

REAL CHIEF!

COMMANDER!!!! oh shittt i missed the one and only canon commander caturday rip...

ivy violently hitting the cash register is a mood

the little reveal even in the music as it pans to ivy in the starbucks uniform

chief nailed the good natured but a little exasperated "hmm" when dealing with people who have no idea what they are doing

ivys little look as she sees carmen walk in. the smile drop off her face as she walks away

carmen's theme ahrugdhjdsg the music in this show is so good

what is her hand doing

oh chief no honey

the deadpan "i wouldnt drink it"

i love the little nod/head bow thing of acknowledgement of carmen's efforts

the sinister music as carmen ever so casually pulls off her little trick is GREAT

i didnt know chief could open doors 🤨

congrats on being gay agent argent you did it again

player hack chief so bad the logo goes off of the screen

"somethings wrong" yeah no shit julia

chiefs oh shit face is so funny shes like aohhhhhhhhhhhh noooooooooooooooooo

little guy

im so mature

we love digging up graves

that dawning apprehension on carm's face as she realizes there's a chance she might be about to see the decayed corpse of her twenty-years-dead mom in there

carlotta being modelled after old carmen was a cool choice. lots of fan theories about old carm being her mom this day 🫡

"are you with me?" "to the end of the line." grgfhgjhsdhjsgds im shaking them violently in my teeth if i ever got a cs quote tattoo or something it would probably be that line

the only thing i dislike about this cliffhanger is that in s3 they kind of try to deliver on this big wide promise that this finale gave us and then give up until the last episode of the entire series. like. isk. i feel like they should have either gone harder on the carlotta mystery or left it alone although they did leave me the opportunity to write a 66 thousand word fic series on the concept so i guess i cant complain

half clean shaven half very unshaved chase is so funny its cursed. he shouldnt have no hair but he shouldnt have that much worst of both worlds

devineaux's theme mixing in with that iconic action/danger soundtrack as he grins devilishly is just fantastic shit

chief waiting for a response as chase just silently smirks into the mirror

anyway GOODNESS GRACIOUS i cannot believe we're already through season 2????? what???? tis the end of my favorite season :( but s3/4 are nothing to sneeze at, either!! im super excited to get into more. (plus tsonts? are we doing that?)

[yellowaugustnights]

3 ep Nong Last

OK, Mork took the position of caretaker seriously, using the chance given to him to the maximum. Already in the opening scene, he examines Day's previously injured leg. 100% care. Day is sitting in Paradise utopian world T-shirt with images of records (I have already talked about the final scene with records earlier, also records mean sound, and there were many points about sound in this episode: headphones and speaker, audio books, do you like to listen to my voice, Mork's bag with the words I love to here your voice, to focus on the voice of Mork during a panic attack, to hear the voices of his friends at the university, etc., I can list for a long time). I will also note that the room has become more focused on yellow things (an armchair, a seat on a chair, inscriptions on Day's and Mork's T-shirts, yellow flowers in the background, yellow walls flash more often, a pale yellow small T-shirt on Day), so we are moving in an optimistic direction. Day's world, unlike the first episode, is really moving towards something more… paradise.

We also have goof mistake with sunglasses. And groping tits. But I won't dwell on it again.

The guessing game seems to enter into their daily routine. It equalizes their chances and, even if it's just a game, we can see how it makes Day happy when he guesses. Even though he is blind, his other senses are sharpened to the limit and he may have advantages over others. A simple guessing game brings Day a little self-confidence. Also, the way Mork treats Day like a child, using silly methods of influence with him - I just melt from it. At first, he dragged him out of the room under silly pretexts. Now he says with silly childish excuses that it was just practice. Gmm correctly wrote on the poster for episode 3 - Day is Mork's stubborn boy.

It probably makes no sense to say that on this stage I imagined their future together and I am sure that they will not be bored with each other at all, because these idiots are on the same wavelength.

What a revealing scene with the sauce. What a surprise Mom and Night are in, and what a calm Mork. Previously, none of them had thought that Day could do simple household things instead of complete isolation.

They kept the billiard scene. Even Porjai's blouse is the same (it's a pity they didn't leave the ring earrings). Porjai, my girl, why do you say "I" and not "Us"? Already at this point, questions arise, why is groom silent and does not correct her? Who does he work for and does he work at all? Apparently it was assumed that he would embezzle all her money and rush off into the sunset with his "sister". Mork may have been rude to leave you when he was in prison, but at least he was honest with you. He sincerely assumed that he was only capable of dragging people to the bottom and did not want to be such a person. Despite his reputation as a "bad guy", Mork is very kind, realistic and smart.

Apparently we can say with confidence that the color of MorkDay is shades from yellowish to brown, sandy, orange, like Songkhla with its hills and ledges, like the sunset they will see there. The number of yellowish-brownish shades in this episode is still off the scale.

It was at this moment that I remembered the photos that Day had taken and thought that the corneal transplant was unsuccessful and Day would no longer be able to see. Hope should always be in our life, it moves us forward, gives us an incentive, but sometimes it can no longer be and then comes humility. For some reason I thought it was waiting for Day. Damn it, why am I always getting into pessimism?

The way Mork is watching Day closely at this moment… And not just this one. Mork is always watching Day: his emotional state, his needs, he knows when to push Day to get him out of the room, he also knows when not to push, for example, if it concerns the university, or when he knows that Day is unlikely to go to the market for a book again another day. Consciously or not, Mork made Day's welfare a priority for himself. Even during a fight with groom, he remembers Day, runs to him, while a year ago he ignored the call of a loved one and allowed his weaknesses to take over. Development? Definitely. And this is only episode 3.

I want to know the circumstances of Day's accident as soon as possible. We know that he panics next to busy traffic. He also panics when he is afraid that friends and acquaintances will see him like this. In the next episode, will he panic again when Ji calls out to him? Will the panic with people continue to fade away? After all, he looks much calmer in the bar scene. Could it be that he got into an accident in the noisy company of his friends?

I will not dwell on the moment in the audio library. The fact that everything there is stuffed with references to Vice Versa made me yell yesterday in such a foul language that I thank God that I am unemployed now. It feels like P'Aof called P'X and said that he would make a bunch of references to Vice Versa and P'X should help him with a selection of the most epic moments. P'X asked which places would appear in the series and P'Aof said there would be a library and P'X interrupted him in mid-sentence saying THEY SHOULD LIP-READ. There are too many references to PuenTalay in this scene, and I haven't even gotten to pink yet. If MorkDay ever talk about parallel universes and Day says he wants to be a colorist, and Mork says he'd like to be an actor, I'll pull out all my hair. Of all the fucking colors choose pink. No, Jimmy warned us about pink, but he didn't say a damn thing about references to Vice Versa. What about my prudence? And thank you for taking this phrase from the pilot trailer.

The very case when I didn't even realize that it was an advertisement for oishi. Why couldn't do the same in Vice Versa? No mention of 0% sugar * crying*

For some reason, I thought that this habit of looking around appeared in Mork in prison. I've seen him look around several times over the course of three episodes.

Stay close to me, Day asked him. And it meant not only the subway. And when there was a fight scene, Mork rushed back to get back to Day.

I liked the scene in the fitting room. I won't say another word. Everything is fine in it: angles, sound, namely focusing on breathing, and acting with the voice, because the voices of Mork and Day were trembling. And yes, now Mork can take a good look at everything, because last time there were the wrong circumstances. Well done, man, take the opportunity while Day licks his lips, waiting for you to fasten his buttons (which you didn't actually fasten, but just pretended to fasten and just wanted to touch him). That's it, I'm silent, otherwise I'll start parsing into atoms and molecules.

It's funny that in the episode where bright colours are poked in our face, we see a book about the harmony of colors. As a result, Mork found the right book in the gardening department😂 Hia, you should sort out your counter a little.

The way Mork, step by step, through games, through his tea purchases or subway fare, through searching for things, helps Day replenish his self-confidence - this is such a precious moment. He allows him to do independent, simple, but very important things, make decisions, and asks Day about something, showing that Day's opinion is considered that he is a person, not an invisible.

Day needs this self-confidence, which he had with him all the time when he saw, played sports, won. It's important for him to be an ordinary guy now, it's important to know that he looks normal. It is also important that in addition to Mork, other people will gradually appear who will instill confidence in Day. Like Hia, who praised him for finding the book. Look how important it was for Day to hear this. I'll bet my head, the last time he was praised, when he received some kind of prize in badminton. But no one praised him for his simple home successes after blindness, that he was just able to find ketchup on his own. Small victories are also victories.

A book with an open ending, but with the inscription good night, meaning closed eyes and darkness? Well, that's it, bye.

It's yellowish-brown tones again, but despite the situation, wearing the same optimistic attitude, as Mork stops in time and runs to Day.

Also Sea, doing something unimaginable with his eyes, not forgetting that he does not see. How do you do it, boy?

Pink again (no comments). Yellow inscription everyDAY. Yellow color on the background. Pink outdoor umbrella on the background. PuenTalay's vibes. Hugs, apologies (we met in our universe, right?)

I have already written about this scene. I really love this scene. It is important for all its participants. For Mork, who was given a chance despite his prison past (someone doesn't see the tracker on his ankle). For Day, who admits that he needs only Mork as a caretaker. For Night, who is always protecting his little brother. For Ramon, who was opened her eyes to what Day feels. I will only add that Night supports Day again in his decision regarding Mork, as in the last two episodes (Night, everything will be fine, my boy, you will make up, and in the meantime I will hug you both)

And again, this is an amazing episode, sinking into the very heart. The plot does not sink, it only becomes more interesting. You can feel the gradual change in the relationships of the main characters to each other. There are a lot of questions that should soon be answered little by little. And again I wonder where are the views? That is, Nong Last is a really good show, very well done. It has a prime-time broadcast, which means that bets were suddenly placed on him, although before the trailer was released on Twitter, he was discounted. Nong Last has an ad block present only before the episode, and at the moment a light product placement has been introduced once. I do not know how things are with television in Thailand, but in my country in prime time advertising just kills you, because ad blocks last more than 10 minutes. If the bosses put Nong Last on the air in prime time, it means they felt something (for once). And here the question arises: where are all those on whom the bosses are counting? Also, I do not understand the number of views in each episode of part 1/4 exceed the number of views of other parts at times. How does it work? Do people leave after watching the first part, or is YouTube somehow magically counting the views? Oh, I don't understand. Not that I've ever been interested views anything. I generally have a specific taste for Asian cinema. But I worry that because of this, JimmySea may be pushed into the background, because, as I have repeatedly said, the guys have potential, they know how acting, and they can become even better, but only if they are not put in the basement. They still have a lot to grow, but the potential is huge. In general, I hope for word of mouth that will lead people to Nong Last.

[aomasade]

Tutorial Map 1/3

Finding your way around an alternative fantasy universe when reading a story can sometimes be a challenge. So many new terms, places, landscapes. A map is very helpful and self-explanatory.

That's why I designed a map for my story SPIDER. It always starts with research. How have other artists designed maps? What they like, what they don't like.

First, I drew up a rough outline with the main points of my story.

Then I took a marbled background that reflected well the ups and downs of a landscape and added lakes with shoreline shadows to create a more vivid effect. Since my story was not set in desert and steppe regions, I colored the ground green. Using cartography brushes, I began to draw mountains, hills, swamps, forests and meadows. Now I colored everything dark green, brown and blue. Then I painted the rivers. The next step was to add the places. To emphasize the contrasts, I used different colors to characterize the two capitals. Caracas, with its dark red bricks, looks gloomy and Spider City, with its light gray design, looks bright and inviting. The other unimportant places are kept simple in beige. Of course, a compass rose should not be missing.

Finally, I labeled everything - the two important places with white banners, the mighty spider kingdom with the largest font and spider symbol, followed by the free lands in slightly smaller letters and finally the conquered provinces in even smaller letters. And Ta da - my first digital map was finished.

I designed this map on my PC with the graphics program GIMP and a mouse. Of course, it would be much easier today with Procreate and Pencil.

Story, more pictures and informations in my storypost on AO3

SPIDER

Summary: Ever since he lost his family in the war, Jensen has hated spiders. Then he is mistakenly fed to the monster under the city with convicted criminals. They successfully fight back and manage to escape. Prince Jared is trapped in the cave in his giant spider form. Due to the fight with his "food", he comes in contact with the blood of his companion and can finally change his shape again and escape as well. He chases after the fugitives because one of them is his companion. Jensen is able to shake off his eight-legged pursuer several times, but the damn giant spider just won't give up. Finally, he moves to Spider City to his uncle's house to hide in the crowd. Then he receives an invitation to the royal ball in the spider's castle, which he can't refuse as a new resident of the city.

[flower-boi16]

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is AWESOME!!!!!!

OK so, have you ever went to watch a show, that you expected to just be a fun 7/10 series only for it to absolutely blow you away with how well-written fun, and GREAT it is? Well, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur was that show for me. This show only has 1 season released so far and it has already become my new favorite cartoon of ALL time. But why is that? Well, let's dive into why Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an awesome series.

NOTE: I have not read the comics this show is based on, so this is judging it as a stand-alone show and not an adaptation. Oh, and this review contains spoilers for the series, you've been warned

1. The Art Style & Animation

I LOVE this show's art style. It looks like it comes straight out of a comic book with the character designs, the backgrounds, the thick outlines on the characters, the bright colors that pop in every scene, this show looks GREAT! The animation also gets cool and creative in the show's action-music video like sequences at the end of each episode where they change the colors of each character AND they use some cool ass and creative animation in each of these sequences too, whenever these pop up in an episode, they are always great to look at. And then there are the fights in this show outside of that and they look great too! Overall, this show has a fantastic art style that looks pleasing and fun to look at.

2. The Music

DAMN does this show have an amazing soundtrack. I LOVE every single song here. They are just super catchy and great to listen to, and remember those sequences at the end of each episode I mentioned in the previous section? Well, these sequences have some of the BEST songs in the whole show. My favorites are definitely the ones in the last two episodes, both of which are 70s remixes of the theme song, which is also a BANGER too! Other great songs include My Hair is a Mood, The Wave, The Beyonder's Song, Out of My Mind, Go Big, The Look in Your Eyes, and MANY other ones as well! This show has the best soundtrack out of ANY cartoon I've seen. Go listen to this show's soundtrack right now, it's actually amazing.

3. The Characters

Okay, enough of praising the superficial aspects about this show, now, it's time to praise the other parts of it; that being, the characters.

Lunella- The main protagonist of this show, and she's great. The show does the usual things that all good shows do and that is teaching its protagonist lessons, however, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur does this so incredibly well that it makes Lunella a great protagonist. You have Lunella learning pretty basic lessons like being patient and not feeding internet trolls when they say mean things about you online, they also have her grow as a character like learning to face her childhood fears in episode 14, and learning that, fear isn't something you should get over, it should be something you should get through.

There's also episode 7 where she learns to overcome her awkwardness whenever she's in a slumber party and becomes better at making friends. Even basic lessons she learns like in episode 4 where she learns that she shouldn't be overly competitive add so much nuance to that moral. LOS-307 (the robot Lunella competes against in that episode) wants to try and connect with Lunella because they don't really have any friends, yet Lunella ends up ignoring that and gets so focused on the game that LOS ends up being turned on while they are on charging for so long and overheats, because Lunella was too caught up in the game. She was too obsessed with winning and that cost her almost getting killed. Other episodes like the one where she learns that it's ok to say when you need a break from stuff, the one where she learns that what makes life special are all the fun moments in between are also all great too.

But the episode where her character is at her absolute best imo is in episode 11, AKA; the gentrification episode. In that episode, she learns that she, as Moong Girl, is a voice for the community of the LES, and a role model, and she meets these two guys Marty and Marcy, who want to revitalize the LES to be "better". She thinks that it would help the LES only to see that the changes Marty and Marcy make are affecting the LES for the worse, gentrifying it. She then gets scolded by her mom as Moon Girl saying "how could you support something like this?". She used her voice in a way that badly affected her community, and then there's that AMAZING scene with her mom as herself, and says that she tried to use her voice, but it turned out it didn't matter.

And then she learns that she needs to use her voice wisely as Moon Girl, and that her voice does matter, she just needs to make herself heard. And then goes to fix this and bring back her block from it's gentrified state. I'll talk about this episode more in the next section, but it did such an amazing job of making Lunella a FANTASTIC protagonist. She's flawed, she makes mistakes and those mistakes have big consequences, but she learns and grows from those mistakes. Oh ya, I could also mention many other episodes like episode 5 but I think you could get the idea; Lunella is a great protagonist. Grows throughout the whole series and each episode finds a new way to make her develop in a way that's compelling.

Casey- I have a lot less to say about Casey than I do about Lunella, but I still really like Casey. She's the social media-obsessed popular girl in this show and normally with these two types of characters Casey would be a bully to Lunella, but that's subverted here which is nice. I also love Casey and Lunella's friendship, it's really cute and they a lot of great chemistry with each other that makes their dynamic interesting and fun!

Episode 12 is the episode where Casey goes through a bit of character growth, as she throws bat mitzvah and has Moon Girl make an appearance so it could be the most epic one, only for Casey to become too obsessed with the bat mitzvah to the point it creates a rift in her friendship with Lunella. I think that episode did a good job of making Casey go through some character growth, and overall, she's a fun character and a great tritagonist.

Devil- Devil's cute. I like him. Devil is Lunella's suto pet/crime fighting partner, and I do like him. Like with Lunella and Casey, there are episodes that give him a little depth, like episode 8 or episode 13, these episodes focus on Devil and they are pretty good, not the best episodes of the series but they are still great. Devil's friendship with Lunella is cute too, they have such great chemistry with each other. Devil is a good deuteragonist for this series.

So Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur has a pretty great main cast. The characters are likable, and get great growth throughout the series. Now let's talk about...

4. The Villains

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a superhero show, so it's going to have a lot of villains. Most of the time these guys usually appear for only one episode to serve the plot for each episode. The first villain, Aftershock, is the main antagonist of the pilot, and she does a decent job as the show's first major boss. She's funny, she's threatening, and her design looks pretty cool. Next is the Syphonater, AKA Angelo. Angelo wanted to help the community but never got noticed, and when Moon Girl got all the attention he never received, he became jealous of her which made him susceptible to being a host for the Syphonater. Again, he serves his job fine as being that episode's main antagonist.

Other villains include Gravitas, a villain with gravitation powers who went after Moon Girl and Devil because they accidentally destroyed his car, Mane who is all of Lunella's natural comprised into one giant hair monster thing, Abbyss who can shoot dark cloud things and who doesn't want to be evil, but since she's apart of a family of supervillains she has no choice, LOS-307 who's a supercomputer that turns evil after overheating (I actually got worried for them when it looks like they were about to die like, damn, this show got me to care about a robot...how) and many, many other villains. All of them serve their purpose for the episodes that they are in and they are entertaining to watch. However, there are two villains that I think are the most worth talking about. Those being The Beyonder and another antagonist I'll talk about later in section 6.

The Beyonder is my favorite villain in this show so far. He reminds me a lot like HIM from the OG powerpuff girls; an all-powerful being that likes to torment our heroes for the fun of it. He's just such a fun villain, he basically was sent to Earth so he could study about humans, and when Lunella says one thing about Eduardo being a useless partner, he takes that like her saying that humans are worthless and says that if Lunella doesn't complete her school project with Eduardo, he'll wipe out the human race. Nah, turns out he was just messing with Lunella there. The Beyonder is just such an fun entertaining villain, he's no doubt my favorite villain of the show.

The villains in this series are relatively decent, most of them serve their purpose for each episode that they are in, some are sympathetic and get redeemed at the end of each episode, most of them don't, so this show's villains are pretty solid, now let's talk about...

5. The Morals & Messages

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur has the basic kinds of lessons you would see in most kids shows; however, it's the executions that matter here and they way Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur teaches it's lessons is great! Let me give you an example; Episode 3, this episode has Lunella learning to be patient and that she shouldn't rush things. Basic moral on paper. Then later in episode a villain named Gravitas shows up and begins recking things. How is he defeated? Lunella goes and waits for him to run out of juice so he can't use his gravity powers.

What I like here is that the episode gets its moral across in a creative and interesting way; Lunella defeats Gravitas by waiting or being patient for him to run out of juice so he can't attack her anymore. It gets a moral across in a way that's both creative and entertaining to the audience without it feeling hamfisted. Another example; Episode 4, I already mentioned this episode in the characters section but this is one of my favorite episodes of the show so far. Like episode 3, it takes a pretty basic moral; don't be overly competitive, and does something interesting with it.

In the episode, a new AI comes to Lunella's school named LOS-307, a robot who was just built eight months ago, and Lunella goes to play chess against it. The robot tries to connect with Lunella and become friends, but Lunella is too focused on winning against them to connect. It gets so bad to the point where neither of them beat each other and Lunella is still playing against them even after school is over. And then later in the episode, when Lunella sneaks back into the school to beat LOS once and for all, they end up overheating which causes them to go evil, LOS tells Lunella this before this happens but Lunella is still so focused on winning that she doesn't listen.

Lunella was so focused on winning that she didn't get to connect with someone and she ended up almost getting killed because she didn't listen to LOS's warnings. It takes a moral that has been done to death and does something interesting with it. Another example is episode 9 where Lunella creates a app so she can skip all of the boring parts of her life like doing chores, waiting in lines, and other stuff, only learn that life isn't meant to be a highlight reel, rather its about the small moments in between that give life meaning. Episode 14 is another example, where Lunella has to overcome some childhood trauma where she got lost in a theme park without her grandma Mimi, and encounters a scary clown.

Normally the message here is that you should get over your fear, but the show takes a different direction with this and says that fear isn't something you should get over, it's something that you should get through and that it's OK to be scared, as it's something that we always have to deal with.

This show is great at teaching morals in a way that's both entertaining and doing different and more interesting things with those morals. They never feel hamfisted or anything, and the show adds it's own spin on morals that have been done to death by doing them in interesting ways. But there are two episodes that I think are the best at this, both of which are the two best episodes of the show. Those episodes are episodes 5 and 11. These episodes tackle the topics of hair discrimination and gentrification respectively, which are both topics you wouldn't see being talked about in a kids show, especially in a Disney TVA show.

Now, I'm not the one to judge how well these episodes handle these topics, but by the looks of it from other people who have seen this show it looks like both episodes handled these topics very well. Episode 5 has Lunella try to make a hair relaxer for picture day that is coming up after a girl from school made fun of her hair. Unfortunately, she ends up becoming bald as all of her hair falls of and gains sentience in the form of a villain called Mane, who is all of Lunella's hair. And then later in the episode Mane goes and sabotages random stuff for Lunella and then after they both meet eye to eye Lunella goes to talk to her family and reveals to them what happened.

And then we get this wonderful scene with Lunella's Mom and Grandmother after Lunella tells then what happened. Lunella's Mom and Grandmother both comfort Lunella by telling her that they've been in similair situations like Lunella, where they both tried to "fix" their hair but they ended up getting bald as well. And then they tell Lunella that she shouldn't believe the lies people say about her hair, that it's messy and ugly, and that to love your hair is to love yourself.

It's a new spin on the "looks aren't everything" message, except it talks about hair issues, Lunella got caught up in what one person thought of her hair so she tried to fix it, and then later in the episode when Lunella goes to stop Mane, she realizes that she has been fighting herself and that she wasn't loving herself when she tried to "fix" her hair when she thought it was ugly because someone said it was. This episode imo did a great job with its moral and the fact that the show had the balls to cover a topic like this is impressive. And then there's episode 11, I have already talked about this one in the last section so I won't repeat myself here, but as I said in the characters section this episode talks about gentrification very well and it does absolute wonders for Lunella as a character.

Lunella learns that, as Moon Girl, she has a voice and that voice is one for the community, and she approves of the changes Marcy and Marty propose at first, until she sees it's changing the block for the worst. And then in the episode she learns to use her voice wisely. Episode 11 is just a phenomenal episode for how it tackles gentrification and what it does for Lunella's character, best episode of the show hands down.

This show is great at teaching lessons and the fact its able to cover these topics so well is amazing. But wait, there's one more thing I need to talk about in this show, and that's...

6. The Finale

Ok so, this section contains MAJOR spoilers for the final two episodes of the first season. If you don't want to be spoiled, skip this section. Now. You have been warned. Anyways, the finale comprises of last two episodes; episode 15 and episode 16 titled "OMG Issue 1" and "OMG Issue 2" respectively. Episode 15 has a lot of reveals thrown at you, such as the reveal that Mimi is the original Moon Girl, ya know, the scientist that Lunella got her superhero name from? And it also introduces a new antagonist in the series who will likely be the big bad of show; Maris Morlak, who used to be Mimi's partner/best friend before turning evil.

First, let's talk about Morlak as a villain; he's definitely intriguing. His backstory is that he and Mimi built a machine that could create portals into other dimensions, and their racist boss presented it without them and took the credit. After the portal gets opened and the boss gets grabbed in and his ring falls off, Morlak now wants to use the portal to open dimsions so his and Mimi's work will never be erased. He's a good villain, his threatening, he has some great charisma, and his motivation is solid. I'm very interested to see what the series does with him in season 2, he has a lot of promise and I can't wait how the show fleshes him out further in the future.

Now let's talk about what these episodes do for Mimi as a character. Mimi before these episodes was just a cool grandma who supported Lunella throughout the series, but these episodes reveal that she was the previous Moon Girl who built the portal with Morlak as I already stated. Episode 16 is a really beautiful flashback scene of Mimi's life after she went into hiding from Enclave (the evil organization that Morlak is taking control of) which shows her first meeting Lunella's grandfather, all the way to when Lunella was little. It's a really cute flashback and it got me in the feels for a bit. So I think these last two episodes did some great stuff with Mimi's character, and I can't wait to see what they do with it in season 2.

Alright, now let's talk about how these final two episodes end; to add in a little context here, Morlak captures both Lunella and Mimi to rebuild the portal after destroying pretty much everything in Lunella's lab, but Lunella escapes while Mimi stays probably to try and protect Lunella. And then Lunella and Casey along with Devil go and devise a plan to save Mimi and stop the portal. They go there and have a fight and then the episode ends with Lunella sacrificing herself by going into the portal so her and Mimi can push the buttons on the opposite sides so the portal can close.

Wow...those episodes where fantastic! They threw so much at you and I'm so intrigued to see how season 2 will play out considering how episode 16 ended. Like, damn, Lunella is in another DIMENSION now. I have so many questions, but not the kind where I'm confused, the kind where I'm wondering what's going to happen next. How will the rest of Lunella's family react to her being missing? Will they also get to now that she's Moon Girl? What kind of dimension did Lunella end up on? What are they going to do with Morlak? I am SO excited to see where this series goes after these episodes, I can't wait for season 2 to come out so I can see where the show takes all of these major new plotlines revealed in these last two episodes. Oh and did I mention that the songs in these episodes were FIRE??? That song in episode 16 is my favorite song of the whole show, it's just SO damn catchy and I love how it's a 70s remix of the show's theme song (which is already great btw). These episodes were overall fantastic.

I have one complaint though; and that's with one scene in episode 16. So basically while Lunella runs back to lab to save Devil the lab blows up with Devil inside, so it looks like he's dead...until it's revealed that he escaped the lab. Um, HOW did Devil escape the lab before it blew up? The timer was already up by the time he woke up from all of his wounds so...how did he escape??? That's the only thing that bothered me about these last two episodes though, aside from that, these episodes were great and a fantastic finale to the first season. I can't wait to see where season 2 takes this series.

7. Conclusion

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an AMAZING series. It's so damn well written with loveable characters great messages and an awesome finale. The songs are great, the animation is great, the characters are great just...everything about this show is great. It's so damn fun, and after watching some garbage like High Guardian Spice or PPG 2016, this show felt like a breath of fresh air for me. I highly recommend you watch this show, its one of the best Disney TVA shows out there and my favorite TV series from the channel.

Score: 10/10

[waitingforwinterwinds]

ASOS; Steel and Snow: 12 TYRION II (pages 161-172)

Tyrion visits Varys to arrange a date with Shae, then sics Bronn on a bard.

-

The eunuch was humming tunelessly to himself as he came through the door, dressed in flowing robes of peach-colored silk and smelling of lemons.

lemon(s) = 🥛

also I have just had the best mental image of Modern Day AU Varys as a Drag Queen. Probably runs a club with all the best gossip.

"I am full of surprises. Are you cross with me for abandoning you after the battle?" "It made me think of you as one of my family."

Ha! that is both a sick burn, and also really sad.

... damn. Maegor: 3 x Grand Maesters by Axe Aegon II: 1 x Grand Maester by Dragon Digestion

That "maesters wrecked the Targaryens actually" theory sounding more and more likely. Look at all this extra motive.

Bronn had turned up all he could on Ser mandon, but no doubt Varys knew a great deal more... should he choose to share it. "The man seems to have been quite friendless," Tyrion said carefully. "Sadly," said Varys, "oh, sadly. You might find some kin if you turned over enough stones back in the Vale, but here... Lord Arryn brought him to King's Landing and Robert gave him his white cloak, but neither loved him much, I fear. (...) Ser Barristan was once heard to say he had no friend but his sword and no life but duty... but you know, I do not think Selmy meant it altogether as praise.-"

OOOHHHH!!!! I just had a conspiracy theory.

Cersei didn't hire Moore to kill Tyrion, Moore was taking a chance to kill who he believed was responsible for Jon Arryn's death after getting news from the Vale from on old friend who still lives there re: the very rigged Trial and Lysa's (very loud and false) claims. Moore was taking the first opportunity for vengeance that he thought he could get away with.

What do you think? Feasible? Too much crack?

One day, I am going to come up with a conspiracy theory that contains so much pure crack, the cops will break down the door for a drug bust.

But also, given how this series uses perceptions and assumptions, even if we're in some one's POV, we don't always get the full story, but it is the best way to be sure someone actually did something for realsies.

... You know, I'm actually kind of surprised they let Lollys keep the foetus (or are forcing her to keep the foetus) to term. You'd think, given how they treat bastards and such, that they'd remove 'such a stain' before it became a problem.

(Or at the very least they wouldn't force a young woman who's been violated to carry a baby she never asked for. But then again this series does not care very much for the female members of the cast. The kind ongoing of trauma and dysphoria that is probably giving her, whether it looks that way or not in her current mental state...)

"To guard the king's life, you surrender your own. You give up your lands and titles, give up hope of marriage, children..." "House Tyrell continues through my brothers," Ser Loras said. "It is not necessary, for a third son to wed, or breed." "Not necessary, but some find it pleasant. What of love?" "When the sun has set, no candle can replace it."

D&D suck at their job = 🥛

I'm sorry, but can we just take a moment and appreciate the depth of Loras' grief? Like, I have no trouble believing Book!Loras loved Renly for real. Truly, honestly loved him first and foremost before he saw him as a pawn to get at the throne.

Show!Loras and Renly? I forgot they even fucked.

Loras being gay in the show felt like a background joke. "LoL, Sansa has a crush on a gay boy," or "LOL, Cersei is getting married to the gay boy."

Even between Loras and Renly, in the show, the first time we really saw them together, Loras was talking Renly into vying for the crown and Robert wasn't even dead yet. It was manipulation and titillation. Were they in love or was Loras just using him? Who knows, but after Renly died no one really cared, and I forgot they fucked, forgot Loras was even gay until it was shoved back in my face like a poor tasting joke.

Book!verse though? I can believe those two were in love, I can believe Loras is grieving that loss so quietly because he can't say what he's lost, what he feels, he can't express the depth of it and he has to listen to everyone around him belittle that affection and connection, and oh my gosh that poor boy.

A woman sidled into the light; plump, soft, matronly, with a round pink moon of a face and heavy dark curls. Tyrion recoiled. "Is something amiss?" she asked. Varys, he realized with annoyance.

Drag Queen!Varys is canon. Pry it from my cold dead hands. Just cross-dressing, I know, shhhh, let me have this.

"He's gone," Shae said. Tyrion turned to look. It was true. the eunuch had vanished, shirts and all. The hidden doors are here somewhere, they have to be.

You wanna bet they're under the giant stone slab of a bed? You know, that thing that our attention was directed to the last time he was talking about hidden doors?

(also, it made me think of that scene from the animated Secret Garden, with the secret door under the window seat when they were talking about it earlier, but it probably slides like that giant coffin door from... oh gish, what's the movie... it's going to come to me right as I'm drifting off to sleep. It's like an entire trope to be fair, "giant stone altar/coffin is actually a sliding door" so I'm probably thinking of several movies.)

Her cunt gave him a little squeeze, and he started to stiffen again inside her.

'cunt' = 🥛

... you know, the longer Shae talks about Lollys, the more I prefer Show!Shae to Book!Shae, just for the fact that the show version has some level of empathy for other people. I understand it's probably a coping mechanism for some kind of hidden backstory trauma (no one in this series is without), but damn the way book!Shae treats sexual assault is icky AF.

Then he made a round of the walls, tapping on each in turn, searching for the hidden door. Shae sat with her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, watching him. Finally she said, "They're under the bed. the secret steps." He looked at her, incredulous. "The bed? the bed is solid ston. It weighs half a ton." "There's a place where Varys pushes, and it floats right up. I asked him how, and he said it was magic." "Yes." Tyrion had to grin. "A counterweight spell."

Ha-ha! I was right... about the location. Not the door type, though. The magic in this series is so low key or background I tend to forget it's a thing.

This does explain how he got out of the room without being heard. half-ton stones are not quietly moved, even if they have mechanisms to help them.

!! Alayaya made it back to her mother's brothel! Phew, I was low key worried something had happened to her on the walk back. you know, after she was whipped and kicked out the Keep naked?

"There is a singer who calls himself Symon Silver Tongue," Tyrion said wearily, pushing his guilt aside. "He plays for Lady Tanda's daughter sometimes. "What of him?" Kill him, he might had said, but damn the man had done nothing but sing a few songs.

You'd think Bards would do better in life, what with being a Charisma class, but no, no one likes Bards here.

And fill Shae's head with thoughts of doves and dancing bears.

... well now I have "Once Upon a December" from Anastasia (1997) stuck in my head.

Dancing Bears Painted Wings Things I almost remember. And a song someone sings Once upon a December.

[nieithryn]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN.

respond to the prompts out of character!

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? These days, especially in this fandom, it's usually the relationships between either a friend's muse and the character, or another of my muses and a character. But looking at some of my main kiddos, or my OCs? I write characters that embody something that fascinates me. Frequently it's a new take on strength through adversity, or the reforging of the self after trauma. Sometimes it's something I identify with deeply, like Mace and Quinlan's struggle with the Dark from a young age. Or Yularen being willing to do bad things for the greater good as he sees it. Or Cody being a protective big brother who can't always protect his brothers. And sometimes, just because it seems fun, like with Zam!

is there anything you don’t like to write? There definitely are, though they're rare. Few and far between, aside from the obvious hard no's of various kinds. I'll write almost anything if a partner and I have enough chemistry. But some of the things I'm less comfortable with are crossovers (never been quite sure why, fandom AUs are fine, but crossovers I struggle with), true crack, and angst or smut without some kind of purpose or plot. I love me some angst, but I need the comfort after, unless I'm writing a symbolic unhappy ending for some reason. There's a few muses I have for whom that would be appropriate or canon compliant, but otherwise the angst needs a gentle comfort after or some reason.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? Basically anything else! I'm pretty flexible, if my partner is interested I'll do damn near anything tbh. I love hurt-comfort especially, but I love me some good canon divergent "what ifs" and alternate takes on how characters meet or even hook up. It's fun sometimes to see how a complicated relationship can go so many different ways, where along the forks they might have gone different directions. I love writing the inbetween moments canon never shows us, because there's never enough time to. The ways those inbetween scenes might affect entire relationships, or should have. Honestly, give me all those little bits inbetween.

how do you come up with headcanons? Usually headcanons develop from my analysis of whatever canon I accept for my muse, sometimes from small facial or body language tells during a panel/scene, sometimes by extrapolating from something they say or are described to do. But sometimes it's actually extrapolating from their relationships with other characters, both the muses of my partners and the people they interact with canonically. You can tell a lot about a character by how they interact with loved ones, for instance.

do you write in silence or do you play music? This depends on the ADHD mood of the day. Most days, I have 1-3 songs on repeat to become such a smooth background I can write without silence, but not get distracted by lyrics or the instrumentation. But some days, I need complete and absolute silence because any noise will distract me and the replies will never happen. Oh the joys lol.

do you plan your replies or wing them? Kinda both, and it usually depends on the muse the reply is for. Some I can plot out really well, or get so excited to write that I spend hours plotting the right reply. And some either flow so naturally I can wing it, or unexpectedly just decide the plotted reply isn't the vibe of the moment when I'm actually writing, and off we go to the races!

do you enjoy shipping? Oh hells yes, absolutely. Romantic, platonic, absolutely I love shipping. In the purely romantic sense, while many of my muses over my time RPing are demisexual, I am always down to give them partners, and in platonic senses, family and friends and found family are just. So wonderful.

what’s your alias/name? Liz or Argent

age?  25

birthday? April 2nd

favorite color?  Dark Blue, Silver, Gold

favorite song? 

last movie you watched? 

last show you watched?  Uhhh Family Feud I think lol.

last song you listened to? Will The Circle Be Unbroken by Peter Hollens & Malukah (Honorary shout out to Baba Yetu as well bc they've been on a two song repeat lol)

favorite food?  Oooh hard choice. Steamer clams or steamed artichokes.

favorite season?  Autumn

do you have a tumblr best friend? I used to have a really close friend group on Tumblr I would've tagged, but many have since disappeared. Now it's @strcngered and I against the world, lol. Though @valorums/@prodijedi and @mayxthexforce are very very swiftly making it into that same level of vibe, so I'm rebuilding slowly but surely.

TAGGED BY: @valorums

TAGGING: Ohhhh just steal it, Callie snagged most of you anyway lol.

[thekenikaridevblog]

uhh kenikari dev fun facts because why not

Under spoilers bc this thing is long with tons of images and text, but it doesn’t spoil any future game events dont worry

this was the first ever sprite I did for the game! I ended up discarding it bc it was more like a joke to see how the style would work and all. I hadn’t settled on a color for the tongue yet and I already had half of what would become the hair shading style

Originally I wanted to made the sprites more simplistic so to speak by adding next to no shading, because I wanted to draw them in far more different poses n stuff. In the end i realised that you would literally be looking at these for 90% of the game so they should probably be nicer and have actual shading

I made an alteration lol

Here’s the first ever shaded sprite, with Chuyo. The shaded hair had settled in, though I would end up giving him a different symbol thingie. I still followed the rule of somewhat minimal shading, but as my style developed I put it more details in the sahding and cloth folds. A fun fact about him is that I made him and the sprite and I put a name to the sprite and then i put it in my pc folders

And then I couldn’t find this sprite but it was okay bc his wheelchair design had changed and my style had too so I redid him completely. and gave him a nose lol. and then when it was time to present him in the game i DEADASS FORGOT I GAVE HIM A NAME. SO I MADE ANOTHER ONE.

his og name was Misuke and that’s the name of this file lol

A forgotten sprite for Lare’s presentation that i didnt end up using bc it kinda looked like an ahegao. if we push that aside you can compare it to the sprites that do appear in the game and see how I altered them later down the line to give her slightly more complex and accurate shading to the game’s current style. I’d say the biggest difference is the whole collar thingie. Originally the dress and shirt were meant to end like. the same way. but then i dont know how i came up with it but i started making the dress more square-y and it differentiated itself more from the shirt, so i changed the sprites to reflect that specifically

a lil drawing I made in 2019 with a laptop trackpad of Mako. I made another one before that and it was the first ever drawing of her, but I can’t find it so I can’t put it here

Originally Mako was meant to have more bruises and bandages but i ended up simplifying it so it could be easier to animate her and draw her from afar. She was the most complex design I’d made back then and I still kinda think she is, topped with other characters like Mero (he doesnt appear in the game its a sepparate mf)

the og Lare sprites that i made before i figured out how RPGmaker XP worked. she hasnt changed much, just removed the background and moved them around so that the walking cycle worked properly

in one of the incredibly early builds of the game that I only showed to my parents to test, I made some quick sprites of myself to announce that the demo had come to an end. These were rushed as hell and have a lot of imperfections and color spills, and I only made like 4. They have been removed from the files bc i wouldn’t use them again

the ending screen actually started as a quick doodle in my notebook. I liked it so much that I took a picture of it and digitalised it, and then I decided to use it in the actual game. I would show the original drawing, since i do actually have it, but it’s spoilers. idk maybe ill show it when the part it spoils comes out

This actually got me thinking that it wouldnt be fair if only alex were the one to say goodbye, since he’s not even the damn protag, so I’ve started to form ideas of end screens with the rest of the cast. Maybe the full chapter will have a different end screen, maybe it won’t. It depends if I do actually feel like doing it mid development bc i got bored with other stuff

That’s all, goodbye! :3

[zaradrawsyourmom]

So…gonna talk abt these designs…just a lil bit…just a tiny smudge of commentary….the teeniest tiiiineist bit….

-I’m not a big fan of Cure Sky’s cape. I can hear everyone in the replies right now….but hear me out. The red-on blue cape doesn’t really fit with her blue and pinkish purple color scheme. They could’ve made a white cape….or a warm pink? They could’ve even done a blue-pink two tone ombré cape…? Idk. Just a thought. Also the angel wing-thingies on each side of her head? Hate those with a passion. It literally made me say “OH COME ON..” they should’ve done those lil angel wing-hair clips for her hair (picture 2☝🏾) they’re adorbs!

-Cure Prism is probably one of my favorites out of the main cast! Her hair’s a bit too long tho, would’ve preferred a bit shorter hair. Also the little opening in her frilly skirt with the dark blue and yellow star kinda annoys me. Also also, what the heck were they thinking when they designed that bow on her head. I would’ve liked if she had the bow in the back of her hair and maybe it could’ve been a translucent white glittery bow (picture 1).

-Princess Ellie i have a love-hate feeling about. She reminds me of Hugtan (that’s her name right?) from Hugtto Precure. I like the purple hair she has but where is her neck lmafo. That’s really it lolol

-Cure Wing. CURE. 👏🏾 WING. Oh my sweet god almighty. Ok before i violently rip them apart I’ll discuss some things i like about the design. I like the little collar they have on and the hat looks ok. And…that’s basically it…lmfaoo. Im sorry but what the ding dong diggity damn is this color scheme. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it but it’s not my favorite. I think Wing is supposed to be the yellow cure but they absolutely missed with the color coding. orange with yellow is acceptable, but this orange is SO dark. Does not fit with the rest of the cures at all. I would’ve preferred a lighter orange.I also hate the rat tai-I mEAN ponytail. It’s so weird looking…. And the cape. OH MY GOD the cape. It is atrocious. Yellow and teal are ok colors but you decided the best way to use them was in a cape…?? Another thing, i dont like how this design is so…orange. Not really any other colors are being used here. With the other cures, they have all sorts of diff color combos that actually fit with their designs. Cure Sky has a blue magenta thing going on that i really enjoy. This is also kinda a problem with Cure Butterfly but it’s not too much of magenta. Whoo, got off track for a bit..anyways yeah, Cure Wing, least fav design period. Pretty bad, and, dare i say, overrated. *insert boo sound effects in the background* BOO HOO ALL YOU WANT YALL’ KNOW ITS TRUE! *in sing song voice* CURE WING’S OVERRATED! CURE WING’S OVERRATED! THEY LOOK LIKE A SWEET POTATO! THEY LOOK LIKE A SWEET POTATO! (I enjoyed writing this too much lmfaooo)

-WHEW! That was a long boi. Let’s slow it down and talk about my second fav cure Cure Butterfly. Mostly i have no problem with her, good design overall, maybe they should throw in some teal for a nice fresh look. Don’t like the belt tho. And the hair color. Would’ve preferred it shorter, and no weird orange hair fade-in.

And….that’s it! Hope you enjoyed baiiii :3

[liches-covered-in-lich]

A bit late but *glares at tumblr* it's better be late than never ey?

But here is my 2023 art roundup! :D

General retrospectives under the cut per month if anyone is curious 😘

Jan: This was a gift I made for a buddy of mine! It was of his oc that the friend group collectively simped for and cultivated together, as a family. He's a great lad and a starting point for me to use stock textures for the general look of my art

Feb: An older design of my Miraak, but I really still like this piece. It was the starting point of me trying to learn how to draw characters interacting together. While I do think I can improve in some aspects, I still think it holds up really well and looks super cute!

Mar: Ah, gore. This was the beginning of me doing a 'soft' art style. It's of a melting Emperor Belos for the Tales of a Tyrant Zine (I believe the link is still active for access to the pdf? If curious, I should still have it around somewhere. It's pretty sick ngl). I really like this piece, it helped me deal with my imposter's syndrome in the group of Amazing artists as they really liked this piece of mine! And generally I love drawing gore

Apr: This was a commission for someone on tumblr! I used my softer style for this piece and had fun figuring out how to make the light imposing but not loose the main colors and details! Also fun fact - I had a friend pose for me holding a sign so I can get GOOD hand references as google was no help

May: Ah the first full drawing on Krita. This was a test on the art program as Autodesk Sketchbook was no longer working for me on desktop (tho I still use it for my ipad art!). It's of my HOK who I don't talk much about as they're just a Dude. Sorry Jhyth, I should do more with you

Jun: This bitch. Elyden I adore you, you're my favorite oc and one of my longest lasting ones but. . . It took so damn long to get a good design with him that showed his personality and wasn't a pain to draw. I really like his design here, I think he looks wonderful

Jul: A commission done for my Skyrim fanfic's editor actually! She's pretty cool and greatly improved my writing skills! And she paid me to draw a mudcrab in Sovngarde! What more do you want? I love this piece too as I learnt how to do backgrounds in my style that won't kill me in my detailed art style

Aug: Another commission done for a friend of mine! It was based off a doodle I did of his oc as a gift but he paid me to finish it as a full rendered piece! :D I got to draw a tiddy window and an evil throne!!!

Sep: An art collab I did with a friend of mine! Where we split the image in half and drew each other's ocs interacting! It's actually the same dude as the Jan's piece. I both hate loved working on this. His hands gave me so much trouble

Oct: My second favorite oc's revamped design, Lorelei <3 I love her a lot and I really love her design. I think it fits her perfectly and you can tell what she's about immediately by just looking at her. I adore this lady (also fun fact, she's the older sister of Elyden!). This drawing means a lot to me as it was me figuring out that I like drawing character references only in more fun poses in a sense

Nov: Funny thing, I finished that drawing yesterday. But it's a reference of my Rahgot! I chose this as my Nov piece as I feel like it was when I was getting better at character designs. In terms of practicality, function, aesthetics, colors, and visual language

Dec: A commission for an old friend of mine that I knew since...fuck me, I think...6 years? He wanted me to draw an antagonist for his body horror gundom ttrpg campaign! Even though he doesn't draw, his designs fuck so hard and I'm so glad I got to draw one fully <3 I love this piece and I think it was a great send off to the end of this year

I feel like I exploded in improvement this year. My skills and my methods for art became more practical and made my life a bit easier in general in the process (especially in the coloring department). And I cannot wait to see what I'll make for next year :D

Thank you all for coming with me to this journey <3 and have a blessed new year

[maddsmallow]

tagged by @thirium-800 !!! fuckin love doing these things lmao let’s goooo

Rules: Tag 10 (or less) people you want to get to know better

relationship status: married for 3 years! will be 4 in september, and we’ll have been friends for 11 years in october ❤️

favorite color: i’m honestly not sure i have a favorite color. it was indigo for a really long time, like during my entire teenage years, but when i moved to be with my husband, i went from trad-goth to more cottagecore?? really weird lmao, so these days i REALLY love, like, muted browns and greens. it’s pretty funny how much it contrasts with the music i listen to, i’ll be in a soft blue sundress with a petticoat and pastel moomin clips in my hair, and then have fuckin like, type 0 neg playing or some shit idk lmao. ANYWAYS to answer the damn question. maybe brown. maybe green. i like those. earthy tones. good stuff

song stuck in my head: ‘runaway’ by aurora. i knew it was popular on tiktok for a while (at least during the short time i used it) but i never heard anything past the little sound clip that was used over and over again, but literally last night i was like, i should hear the whole thing. and holy fuck, the chords n shit that start like halfway thru the song?? goosebumps, its SO GOOD

three favorite foods: [my type 1 diabetes screaming in the background] CHOCOLATE. and then i guess maybe cereal? real healthy stuff i know. and then i guess anything chicken-and-rice related. big slut for rice these days

last song I listened to: besides the one i just talked about above, i think it was ‘i love you’ by woodkid. i got over my stupid fuckin superiority complex about only listening to 60s/70s/80s that i had as a teen a few years ago and i’ve been trying to catch up with more 90s/00s and especially 10s and now 20s music since then, so i really dont know anything about that artist because im still really not like, “in the loop,” but i do really like that song. idek how i found it, probably randomly payed on spotify or something lmao

dream trip: no idea tbh. pretty much just anywhere with my husband [audience boos me off the stage for being sappy] no but real talk, maybe germany? i wanted to go there when i was in elementary school but i cant even remember why. i have a friend here who’s from germany and is moving back in a few months, which makes visiting a lil easier, so that’s cool. i guess japan and china and maybe thailand would be cool to experience. maybe this is really stupid but a video game i liked as a kid made me really interested in like, tibetan monasteries?? so i think it’s be dope to see something like that, assuming it’s, y’know, a respectful thing to visit. i’ve never actually looked into it cuz i just always assumed i’d never have the money to travel :P

last thing(s) i googled: a picture of a poster frame i wanted my husband to get for me haha

tagging: this is always the hardest part im such an open fuckin book when people ask me shit, but reaching out to other people?? im so shy uhHHHH just ignore this if you dont wanna do it, dont feel obligated!! @versailles-dove @the0ldmann @marieantonanton @walkingencyclopediaofweirdmayo @styx1an @felinaszsz @pure-plums @partyinthemysterymachine @starlitflowers-secretgarden @silverloreley TEN WHOLE PEOPLE WHEW

okay byeeee i love uuuuu

[demonfox38]

Completed - Star Fox Zero

Before we can get into a proper conversation about "Star Fox Zero", you have to understand three things about my particular brain and biases:

I don't like claiming that I am good at anything. (Mostly, because I am not definitively the best at anything. All I can guarantee is base competency.)

I am good at "Star Fox 64."

I am a proficient bassoon player.

1 and 2 relate in a comedic way, sure. What's up with 3, though?

Well, I bring up the whole bassoon background because the bassoon is one of the more mainstream weird-ass musical instruments. It's a double-reed bass instrument that requires proper breathing control, responsive embouchure, memorization of proper fingering techniques (ha ha, yes, I know), and the ability to read in bass clef (and tenor, if you're dealing with some real dickhead composers.) A music ed teacher does not just hand a child a bassoon and tell them, "Good luck!" It requires musical competency and practicing. Just absolute shittons of hours of practicing so you don't sound like a dying duck. But, if you get good at it, you'll always have a seat in a band or orchestra. It's weird, sure, but it adds warmth and speed to bass lines. There's value in its weirdness, which I hope is something we know and appreciate, being denizens of this so-called hellsite.

What's the point of me bringing up playing the bassoon in a "Star Fox Zero" review? Because I am used to practicing weird shit, and that's 100% going to color my perspective in this game.

Also, I might like this series.

Just a teeny bit. (Hell, I even forgot a few things...)

"Star Fox Zero" is a 2016 rail shooter / driving game for the Nintendo Wii U. It is best classified as a soft reboot of both SNES' "Star Fox" and the Nintendo 64's "Star Fox 64", although it is far more comfortable hanging in the pockets of the latter. The beats should be fairly familiar to most "Star Fox" fans. Doctor Andross is being a scientific asshole; he's got the Lylat System curb-stomped; General Pepper hits up mercenary team Star Fox for help; lasers get jammed up nasal cavities. Ya know. Standard "Star Wars" meets "Bambi" plot, if you have the mind for it. (Or, if we want to be hyper specific, Shinto iconography meeting "Thunderbirds". The former comparison may be a bit more parsable, though.)

There's a veil of pity and tragedy around this game, which caused me to stay my hand in playing it until 2023. First of all, it's one of the last projects associated with former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who effectively died in the saddle. Like, what can I say about that situation but "Damn" and "RIP." Secondly, a lot of people were bitching about the controls. A lot. Lastly, I didn't even own a Nintendo Wii U until April of this year. I wasn't going to buy a console for one goddamn game, alright? That's not what a reasonable person does. Besides, so many Wii U games were being ported to the Switch. I was willing to wait a little while just to see if "Star Fox Zero" got to jump ship as well.

It's 2023. The Switch ship has sailed. Nintendo's eShop has closed. Wii U consoles are succumbing to memory loss. It's not now or never, but…c'mon. I know how the Nintendo used game market works. This is about the lowest price point before nostalgia and console degradation jack prices back up. And hey—the Wii U I bought did come with "Super Mario Maker." So I didn't buy a console for just one Wii U game. Ha! Ha…

Whaddya say? Want to start with ripping a bandage off first? Has to hurt more with fur, I'd imagine…

About those dreaded controls, then. Honestly? I didn't find them that unintuitive. I do think there's a problem that happens when a "Star Fox 64" brain maps onto them, though. Considering how outrageously popular that game is in comparison with its sibling titles, that's a fairly big hurdle to leap.

For the sake of this conversation, I'm going to show you my controller grips between "Star Fox 64" and "Star Fox Zero."

Here's "Star Fox 64":

(Manual image sourced from: https://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/USA/NFXE/NFXE_E.pdf)

Here's "Star Fox Zero":

Obviously, we're working with wildly different control sets. The initial brain shock comes from moving primary functionality from face buttons to controller triggers. Like, when it's been memetically drilled into your head to tap the Z or R buttons twice to…well, you know the line. You're going to try that with the Wii U controller as well. Then, you're going to be very surprised to find bombs and lasers going off instead.

Basically, in "Star Fox 64", your left thumb is navigation, your pointer fingers are used for defensive actions/threading, and your right thumb is used for offense and specialty actions (evasive maneuvers, going into different perspectives, and hailing calls.) In "Star Fox Zero", your thumbs are handling navigation and evasive maneuvers while your pointers handle offense. For three out of your four play-responsible fingers, that's an inverse of operational duties. A bit tricky!

Having said that, I picked up on the thumb stick shortcuts within two practice sessions. Once I understood how to somersault with the sticks (left down, right up), I thought, "Well, can I U-Turn by left and right down?" And by God, that was correct! Didn't need anyone to tell my ass how to barrel roll. Figured that out, too!

Weapon targeting is a particularly contentious subject in this game. The game wants you to improve your accuracy by using both the cockpit (first person) view and the gyroscope controls in the Wii U gamepad to pick up your targets. While it can't be completely turned off, you can set the controls to only take gyroscopic input into account when you are charging lasers. And you know what? 100% do that. No need to have that always slipping around. There's exactly one boss I've encountered where having them on all the time helped, and that one was optional. And a dick. But, I suppose that's to be expected of a boss…

The last major controller issue has to do with the split of external ship and cockpit views being simultaneously displayed on your TV screen and your Wii U gamepad. Now, which view is where can be toggled by hitting the minus button, so you don't necessarily have to crane your neck down every time you need to consult something in one view or another. However, this dual screen setup is wholly a bad design choice. "Star Fox 64" was able to have the same functionality with a single screen and a dedicated button for flipping back and forth between views if you really had to do that. Which, honestly, was pretty rare to begin with. If something really needed to be put on the lower screen, that should have been a radar/map. Even, then. Lower-right corner of the TV screen. That's where "Star Fox 64" had it. Dead horse, beat.

It could've been fun to have a set of "Call Teammates" buttons down on the Wii U gamepad. Ya know. Just to harass Falco in the middle of a firefight. "Hey, girl. How's it going?" "NO TALKING WHILE THIS LIZARD IS TRYING TO EAT ME!" That kind of vibe.

And if for some reason you thought of something dirty involving Leon Powalski, that's between you and your morality-affiliated consultant of choice, my dude.

So, alright. You get your Arwing controls down. Congrats! You've got four more machines to learn! The main ship variants this time around are the Walker (think like "Star Wars"'s AT-ST, but made out of Arwing parts), the Landmaster (a tank with its own aerial form now because why not?), and the Gyrowing (a helicopter used for stealth and hacking missions.) The fourth, the Roadmaster, gets tossed in after you finish the game, so you don't have to sweat learning that one too much. It's like a hostile RV toy.

Of these, I took the most issue with the Gyrowing. It is easily outclassed and thrown away the first opportunity the game gets. Honestly, I know the Blue Marine gets shit-talked, but that submarine was at least solid at offense and chugging along. Gyrowings, oof. Not so much. Even the baby toy machine can outperform that thing. Absolutely ridiculous.

If I may speak positively, for just a moment—I actually liked the Landmaster design scheme better in this game than "Star Fox 64." Heresy, I know! I just didn't feel weighed down using it like I did in the past. And, granted, that may have been because the Titania level in "Star Fox 64" could really chunk up its framerate. But, here? It was smooth and responsive to what I needed it to do. Gotta award points where they are due.

Although, if you want to see some chunky framerates, go fight the Aquarosa boss. Or don't. (It's the pain-in-the-ass optional boss that I was ragging on earlier.) It's just one of those things where if you commit to fighting it, you've got to do it twice to get into two bonus stages. And, I mean, hell. Even Hercules did good enough fighting the Hydra once…

If I may give more credit, I also found the aesthetics of this game to be strong. I could have used better camera positioning for what I saw, sure. But, I genuinely liked what I saw. In particular, I really thought that the Titania level for this game was oddly beautiful, with pieces of debris from a nearby fight raining through the storm-swept desert atmosphere. The music for this game is on point, too. While some themes are recycled from "Star Fox 64", there is quite a bit of new music diversity. It's all composed gorgeously as well (if a bit excessively for Andross' theme.) If you want some samples, try out the following links:

Boss A

Inside the Colony

Planet Fortuna (and child track Dangerous Skies)

Return to Corneria (My favorite track!)

Stage Selection

Training (Part 2) (There's actually five parts to this!)

In additional audio perks, there's a lot of returning voice actors from "Star Fox 64." I mean, not everybody. (Rick May's a notable exception, but the guy was having awful health towards the end.) Whoever couldn't get picked up got pulled from the 3DS remake as well. Considering how much the English version of "Star Fox 64" thrived on its hammy performance and cheesy dialogue, this is definitely a point in "Zero"'s favor. Frankly, I think some of the voice actors have even gotten better over time. Lyssa Browne particularly has come leaps and bounds in her performance as Slippy Toad, if you'll forgive the pun.

Appreciation of late 90s English video game dubbing is wholly a subjective matter. But, I do find something charming about its raw authenticity and goofiness. We might still have meme culture without one or two titles. But, man. "Star Fox 64," "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night," Metal Gear Solid," all of those "Resident Evil" games…The Internet would be a duller place without the vocal work from those games.

Speaking of all these credits—what credits is "Star Fox Zero" going to give you? Outside of general plot advancement, you can get medals for excellent performance. These are usually granted for kill counts, sequence breaks, collecting certain items, finishing a fight under a certain time limit, or general competency. Granted, earning these doesn't seem to reward the player with much. You do get access to bonus missions, but the greatest rewards are model swaps of your Arwing, a model viewer, and a sound test. Completely pointless—especially if you have access to the OST on YouTube or a couple of Amiibos laying around the house.

Beating the game will also open up an arcade mode where you can shoot through the entire game again in one run. That's a bit more tempting, but honestly, quite overwhelming even to someone like me. I mean, I can handle "Star Fox 64" because it's a quick hour. Going through a "Star Fox Zero" run could take several hours. That's a pretty big gamble, man. It feels like going back a step as well. Like, you know how much more polished I could be at "Star Fox 64" if I could just re-run specific levels on demand? I mean, I guess there's always save state abuse, but I'm trying to discuss playing these games through legal means, here.

I don't think the plot here is enough for a casual player to cling onto, either. Especially, again, if they've played "Star Fox 64" before. It's mostly just rehashing that script, but with Andross dicking around more with space portals than bioweapons. The whole experience comes off as less thought-out and/or mature than "Star Fox 64," even if that's a weird detail to bang on about. Like, I shouldn't complain about seeing clowns in a circus, should I? Trust me, I love the goofy goober banter everyone has. I just wish a little extra polish went into it. Especially for the intro. Like, God. I'm pretty sure that some Cornerian Minister of Propaganda wrote that thing.

Although, General Pepper is a huge asshole this time around. Like, holy shit. It would have literally been more ethical if he put two rounds in the back of Andross' head. You can't toss a mad scientist into another dimension and not expect him to come back and kick your ass Krang style. Not to mention how quick he was to ditch Peppy when the latter was in distress. Like, geez, dude. Isn't he your friend?

I did end up liking the Star Wolf beats better here. Mostly, because they weren't just chumps for the easy pickings, this time around. Also, the implications of whatever James McCloud is in this universe is significantly more horrifying than it was in the past…

In some ways, the problems with "Star Fox Zero" are the problems that have been with the "Star Fox" series since Game One. These games are siblings to titles like "Devil May Cry" and "Parasite Eve" in that all three were accidentally successful betas. ("Star Fox 64" and "Devil May Cry 3" may be even closer related in the "Oops! We succeeded even harder!" department.) If you don't anticipate something being successful, how much thought are you going to put into its future? Perhaps the only reason fans and executives sweat over this detail is in relationship to Fox, Falco, and Wolf's "Super Smash Bros." related popularity. Although, I pity anyone who would fret over lore for Ice Climbers or Mr. Game & Watch like some do for "Star Fox" characters…

Harder still is trying to keep gameplay fresh and relevant to modern audiences. I mean, let's be real. "Star Fox" games are essentially souped-up "Space Harrier" titles. They're concentrated, arcade-difficult challenges meant to test your memory and reflexes. In a world that values a game's breadth of content over mastery of skill or difficulty (minus FromSoftware titles), that's always going to chop off the tails of these kinds of games.

And, hell. I've heard the "controls suck" complaint before, too. It was just for "Star Fox Assault" instead.

My personal problem with "Star Fox Zero" lies more with my thoughts about stagnation versus radicality. Plotwise, this game takes its events way too conservatively. Control-wise, well…we know about how that ruffles feathers, don't we? If there was an inversion with these two details—having a wild, engaging plot with a standard control scheme—this could have been the revival Nintendo wanted for the series. At least, that would have made for a sweet struggle.

Developers and players want "Star Fox 64" again. But, what does that look like in a modern era? Hell, what's even the silver title to that game's gold? I mean, I'd accept several different answers, depending on what a player got out of each title. The only wrong answer would be "Star Fox Command." That melodramatic, noncommittal garbage got us into this mess.

Personally? If I had to make another "Star Fox" game?

The "Star Fox" series appeals to me in not only its learnable difficulty, but its comradery. Fox McCloud would not be the sort of character that I would want to play if he begrudged his teammates. (Eyes on you, Slippy haters.) He's trying to do the right thing, not only for his father's honor, but for their sakes as well. I would want to construct a game that puts more emphasis on teamwork, even in a single player setting. Now, what that looks like could be tricky. "Star Fox 2" and "Command" fell into traps trying to do that. But, I'd have to try to do something, even if it's banal as stat boosts or motivational dialogue via radio communications. (Although, resource scouting/sharing might be an interesting twist. Does your partner trust you enough to attempt shield repairs in a firefight? Hell, would you for them?)

Even if a single confrontation is all it takes to knock Andross out of a timeline, it's harder for another villain to get out of his shadow. (It doesn't help that every other Nintendo character gets dedicated villains as well. It's all patterns fixing patterns.) Maybe, we don't need to. Hell, I could easily see scenarios where investigating some forgotten lab of his unleashes some horrific bio-techno monstrosity that lays waste to a handful of planets. It's not the most intelligent solution, but hell, neither were Aparoids. Didn't mean they weren't a legit threat.

I mean, if we really want to get messed up, the Lylat System is very poachable, if you get my drift. Particularly, if the wrong set of hunters were to come across it…

The simple answer would be just to make "Mass Effect" or "Halo," but for furries. But, personally? I'd want to toss "Star Fox 64," "Star Fox Assault," "Sin and Punishment: Star Successor," "Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin," and "Resident Evil 4"into a blender and chug what comes out. I know. Absolute madman shit, especially considering how I kept getting sick from "Resident Evil 4"-related adrenaline rushes. I know what I want out of a "Star Fox" game, and that's to go fast, kill some messed-up stuff, and vibe with my teammates. If I do it with my head in a bucket, then it'll at least be authentic to what it'd actually be like if I had to dogfight.

The flesh is weak, but the brain is sharp. And man, does it crave high-speed violence.

"Star Fox Zero" brought a lot of emotions out of me. Satisfaction, for having finally experienced it. Frustration, for letting the opinions of others cloud my interest with it. Sadness, for how the series has languished. But, it's all in perspective. Yes, this came out a decade after a predecessor that I found distasteful. Yes, it's been seven years without another game. (Well, hell, not even that, if you want to toss in "Starlink: Battle for Atlas" or "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.") The past is written. The future is unknown. I have what I have now, and I can find value in it. And, hell. As rough as that might feel, it's still not as raw as "F-Zero" fans have got it. Or even harder, "StarTropics" fans.

If you're looking for anything like a course of action from this evaluation, then I must recommend that you play "Star Fox 64" first. OBVIOUSLY. If that whets your appetite, fantastic! I can recommend you harder and/or weirder shit after that. Hell, maybe even this game, if you want to roll up your sleeves. As an introduction to the "Star Fox" series, it's about as appealing as a haunted house. But, if you are desirous of that kind of nail-biting shock, this is a solid game to play.

I wouldn't say that you have to be like me and pick up a Wii U for just this game. But, if you've got the console and ten bucks to spare, this game is cheap enough to pick up. And if you hate it like saner people do? Then, all you'll be out is a cheeseburger. Benefits of being a late adopter to a Nintendo game, for once! How often does that happen?

Do yourself a favor; dodge "Star Fox Command." Do an indie developer a favor; pick up "Ex-Zodiac." Do Rick May a favor; get your COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. And, obviously…the last order writes itself, doesn't it?

[mareastrorum]

WIP Wednesday: TF&TS (Molly's Book)

Here is a scene from chapter 3 of a longfic I am working on.

Fanfic Summary: Mollymauk Tealeaf survived the encounter with the Iron Shepherds, but a short time later, a spirit had begun hunting him, claiming that he stole his body. This Campaign 2 AU begins with Episode 26 and continues on from there.

This fanfic will be posted on AO3 starting in June or July.

Molly hung half off the bed to reach his coat because hells if he was getting up when it was that close. He snagged the end and then rummaged the pockets while dangling. He managed to find the book and pull it out of a pocket just before he lost his balance and crashed forward onto the floor.

No one saw that.

Caduceus huffed quietly and made a point of pulling his covers over his ears once Molly turned to look. Caduceus was already well aware he should not sleep facing Molly’s bed for a variety of reasons, but, well, he did have large ears.

So, fine, someone heard, but no one saw that.

Molly gracefully got up, climbed back under the covers, and got comfy before he pulled the book up to inspect. It was rather small compared to all the tomes Caleb usually lugged around—smaller than the size of Molly’s hand if it laid flat. The cloth binding was fairly worn. The colorful flower prints had faded along the corners. The title on the cover was in a fanciful lettering that was far too complex to read, though it had clean and well-practiced line work.

It reminded Molly of Desmond’s elegant handwriting. Desmond had said that the point of calligraphy was to make letters almost illegible and so damn pretty that everyone would forgive you for it. Molly had never been able to read them anyway, but he never held that against Desmond because he could barely read regardless. Desmond had made some especially fancy-looking flyers for some of the bigger towns the carnival had traveled to, so Molly had pulled those out for snootier looking commoners.

I hope he’s found a way to cheer up.

Desmond must have had a reason for going his own way after the carnival disbanded. Going out on his own might have been better for him anyway, since those years working as a musician had not cured his melancholy. Well, that was Desmond’s burden to carry, not Molly’s. He’d figure it out eventually, and Molly wasn’t going to sour his own mood over something out of his control.

Molly gave a brief shake of his head (jewelry not jingling since he had taken it out for the night), then opened to the first page with text, which had the title and a handwritten note:

The Forest Witch and Other Z-E-M-N-I-A-N Folk Tales:

tran-slat-ed from Die Wald… W-A-L-D-H-E-X-E(?) (the rest made no damn sense).

To Mollymauk

From Caleb

Molly grinned as his tail shifted back and forth under the sheets. He wasn’t sure if that was actually the right spelling for his name (he had seen a few in the carnival, but Gustav used this one, so it was his preference), but that was sweet nonetheless.

Below was a sketch of a witch approaching three children. It must have been from one of the stories. Hells if Molly was actually going to read though, that was for nerds. Instead, he flipped through the book, content to browse the paintings.

Caleb had been right: they resembled the art style on the oracle cards. The background scenes had similar amounts of detail, and they only used a handful of colors in each image. Simple at first glance, with lots of easily missed finesse and skill in the final touches. His cards were more colorful, though that was due in part because Molly was still improving at mixing paint. Color matching was far more difficult than it looked, so he found it easier to be creative with the colors he happened to mix than to waste all the paint trying to get it exactly right.

Molly stopped on one intriguing illustration. It featured a snake slithering out of a hole at the bottom of a wall and looking at a tiny gold crown sitting on a piece of cloth. A young girl watched from the top of the wall. She had something small in her hand, but Molly did not recognize what it was; it looked almost like a top with a handle the length of her arm, and a bunch of thread wound around it.

Well, the story on the opposite page likely explained. Molly narrowed his eyes at the book for a moment, tail twitching slightly, as though it was the book’s fault that the image didn’t make sense on its own.

At least it was short.

Molly sighed deeply and started reading, mouthing the words to himself:

An orphan…

Orp-han? Or-pahn? Or-p-han? Context!

An orphan child…

Oh, orfan.

An orp… orfan child was sitting on the town walls spinning, when she… (Spinning what? What did the kid spin? Herself? Is that a top? Sure, a top.)

An orfan child was sitting on the town walls spinning (a top), when she saw a snake coming out of a hole low down in the wall.

Swiftly, she spread out beside this one of the blue silk handke… han-d-ker… hand-kerch… ker-chi-efs… (Hankercheef? Why did they write it like that? That couldn’t be right.)

Swiftly, she spread out beside this one of the blue silk hand… hankercheefs which snakes have such a strong liking for (What? Really?), and which are the only things they will creep on. (Was creeping different from slithering? How else did it get around?)

Molly looked up a moment, trying to recall how snakes move, weaving his hand back and forth through the air. They just moved in smooth curves, right? Was there another way? Maybe like a caterpillar.

Whatever.

As soon as the snake saw it, it went back, then returned, bringing with it a small golden crown… (Why did she have a crown? Well, maybe she liked to dress up. Or maybe she’s royalty. Sure, she’s a queen.)

As soon as the snake (queen) saw it, she went back, then returned, bringing with her a small golden crown, laid it on the handk… hankercheef, and then went away again.

The girl took up the crown: it glit-tered and was of deli… de-li-ca-te… delakit golden fi-lig-ree work.

Molly stopped again. What’s fi-lig-ree? That’s familiar. Oh, filAgree. Artsy curves like on the back of the cards. Nice.

It was not long before the snake (queen) came back for the second time, but when she no longer saw the crown, she crept up to the wall, and in her grief smote her little head against it (Oh, shite) as long as she had strength to do so, until at last she lay there dead. (It’s just a crown!)

If the girl had but left the crown where it was, the snake (queen) would certa… cer-tain-ly… (sir-tan-lee?) have brought still more of her trea-sures out of the hole.

Molly stared at the page, confused, then around the room as though that might provide answers. Wasn’t this supposed to be a story for kids? With a snake committing suicide? Over a crown? Fairy tales had a lot of murder, but suicide was new. And the lesson was don’t steal from a mark that has some nice gear until you were sure you had gotten an idea of what else you could loot. That was not wrong, but still a strange lesson for children.

Sure, Molly had taught Nott to steal from grumpy people, but the fact she was so young was what made it amusing. He hadn’t expected old folktales aimed at children to teach something similar as a matter of course. Zemnian stories were weird. Caleb had said he read all of these, too—no wonder he was a bit odd.

Molly looked back at the book. After a moment’s pause, he opened to another random page.

Maybe one more.