#so glad he won

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[chinese--satellite]

"we've always been friends, we always will be friends. but friends is a big word."

[tangledinink]

I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? Donatello Ref Sheet!

Yayyy, now he has a proper, actual reference sheet! Also reflects a few tweaks I've made to his design since the first original pass at it. Rest of the gang forthcoming.

(also, just for fun, donnie w/o his twists--)

[fageljar]

MY GOAT RYUJI WINNING THE 2024 PERSONA CHAMPIONSHIP?? FRIKING BONKING DUDE!!

I cannot believe ryuji actually won this is truly a moment in history, he truly deserves this win! :D

(The non text version)

[morethanwonderful]

The Winner of the Which MXTX Character do You Most Want to Study Like a Little Bug Tournament Bracket:

Winning by 4.2% after an incredibly tense and uncertain race, Shen (Yuan) Qingqiu has officially beaten Nie Huaisang and been crowned the MXTX character that the fandom would most like to study like a little bug!!!

It is truly a marvel that just some millenial keyboard warrior managed to win out over so many uber-tragic xianxia characters in the fascinating weirdness race. Congratulations Sqq for your bafflingly unhinged brain and gay denial.

I hope you all enjoy putting him in your bug jars, and thank you once again to everyone who voted! This poll was a blast to run, and y'all have brought me much joy with your tags and replies this week.

[roccooraccoon]

EDGAR WON ROBOT OF THE MONTH 🥳🥳🥳(was also requested to pet him so 🥰)

[horseshoemybeloved]

YAAAAASSS!!!!

[van-iira]

Limited Life Finale spoilers

Martyn who remembers what happened in 3rd Life.

Martyn who watched what Impulse and Scott were trying to set up and remembered Bdubs and Scar and Grian.

Martyn who remembers the pain of betrayal as only two were left standing.

Martyn who remembers green and yellow and red red red as the pain of grief wafted through the air as Grian and Scar fought.

Martyn who remembers watching Grian throw himself off the edge of the cliff to escape the pain the loneliness the grief of what he'd done being drawn out so so long–

Martyn who pierces his partner in the back (and doesn't see the smile of pride on Scott's face) and chases Impulse down to just get it over with.

And when Martyn blinks himself awake, it is him who is pulled into a bone crushing hug as he hears the tinkling laughter of Scott, cheering for his success.

It is Martyn who glances around and sees Pearl smiling at him, congratulating him on his win and jokingly lamenting that it was him of all people who won.

It is Martyn who looks higher and sees Grian, something like sadness in his eyes, like sympathy, but with a congratulations of his own and a sweeping gesture to the world around them.

To the other players.

To the Listeners, who Martyn isn't sure Grian can truly see.

To the Watchers, who Martyn himself can barely perceive.

Martyn, who has won the fourth game.

[axolotlclown]

So I finished Moominvalley season 4 and here is my review:

Of course, spoilers ahead! It's long. It's detailed. It's a bit much, and I spent hours writing it.

I greatly disliked this season, not just from one particular angle. When Moominvalley first came out, it was advertised as the first narrative-style adaptation. This would imply one concrete story that ran throughout the show. They said the story would take time and required patience, but there was a larger narrative story. What was that story exactly? In the beginning, each character was established with certain flaws that they needed to grow from.

For Moomintroll, throughout season 1, we see him struggle with his father's expectations. He never quite makes his own decisions—either doing what he's told or what other people in his life would do. In the last episode of the season, Midwinter Ancestor, Moomintroll is told by Too-Tikky to not open the closet door. Going against her wishes, he does so anyway. This is the first instance of Moomintroll making a decision for himself. In the end, it was a bad decision, and he regretted it, but it still was a big moment. We understand the importance of this journey when he changes out the picture by his bedside table. It was a baby photo with his parents; now, it's a photo of Moomintroll fully grown. This was meant to denote a journey of independence.

We see him continue with this struggle in season 2. The Hobgoblin's hat adds to the internalized identity crisis. During the lighthouse arc, Moomintroll is mostly doing his own thing, somewhat. Although, I think that cutting out his glade from the book sort of hurt this theme of independence. I hoped that they would revisit that somehow, but they never did. In season 3, Lonely Mountain, we see a sort of regression with Moomintroll. (Ignore how this affected Snufkin, I'll come back to this later.) When Moomintroll unpacks his things, we see a collection of items that represent Moomintroll's past. One of these items was the old baby picture. Aside from this episode, we don't see any notable growth from Moomintroll this season.

In season 4, we watch Moomintroll fall right back into his father's shadow. He continues to struggle to carve his own path. The set up for Comet in Moominland was promising, but ultimately did not deliver. When Moomintroll goes against his friends to make a decision for himself, it turns out to be a bad decision that he regrets later, and someone else has to guide him out of the situation.

Moomintroll ends from the same place he started as a character. All growth is erased and ignored. While this is the most egregious example—with him being the protagonist—he is not the only character that this happens with.

Snufkin probably upsets me the most, as he had so much potential to be the most interesting character in the series. In season 1, The Spring Tune, we see where Snufkin is starting as far as his strengths and flaws go. What particularly intrigued me was his relationship to attachment. We see that Snufkin ultimately fears abandonment, and he copes with this in conflicting ways. He wants to be with Moomintroll out of fear of being left behind, but he is afraid that he feels this way. He tries to create distance between him and Moomintroll in an attempt to ease what he experiences as pain. This is demonstrated further in the next episode, The Last Dragon in the World, when he frees the dragon. We see his struggle with responsibility and commitment in Snufkin and the Park Keeper.

In season 2, The Hobgoblin's Hat, Snufkin is explaining to Moomintroll what the King's Ruby is. The ruby functions as a metaphor for love throughout the season. Moomintroll imagines that the Hobgoblin must love this ruby, while Snufkin argues that he only wants to possess it. While both may be correct in their own ways, they fail to understand each other. As a result, Snufkin decides to leave Moomintroll out of fear of being possessed himself under the false pretense that he is helping with the hat (he did not). We never visit this plot point again.

Snufkin has some large developments in season 3. In the Lonely Mountain, we see Snufkin break down his walls and let Moomintroll in. He acknowledges his responsibility to him and his longing to see him. Unfortunately, this aspect of his character is completely abandoned in season 4.

Back to season 1, Snufkin and the Park Keeper, we get a flashback in which Snufkin is enjoying a party with Moomintroll until he is overwhelmed by the presence of others. He winds up abandoning Moomintroll and the valley. He does this again in season 2, The Hobgoblin's Hat, as discussed above. In season 3, Snufkin and the Fairground, Snufkin chooses not to abandon his responsibility to Moomintroll or the valley. When faced with an uncomfortable challenge, he chooses to stay and support Moomintroll.

In season 4, The Great Cold, when faced with a crowded challenge, Snufkin abandons Moomintroll again. While he appears later in the episode, it felt disingenuous to me. The original problem had already been solved. In Comet in Moominvalley, Snufkin does not abandon Moomintroll. In fact, he makes an active effort to stay by his side. But it feels strange, almost undeserved? We saw so little of Snufkin this season, and when we did, he spent his screen time backtracking his progress.

In season 3, Lonely Mountain, Snufkin has a small monologue about listening to the campfire as the sparks dance and fly. Well, the whole episode was about listening. Anyway, that was a call back to the season 1 episode, The Invisible Child, in which Too-Tikky tells Moomintroll that there are many lost souls in Moominvalley that needed to be heard. The screen then cut to Snufkin leaving the valley. It would have been really cool to find out what that meant!

His abandonment issues never really get addressed. Refusing to let Snufkin meet his father was just baiting the audience. It was also just bad writing! What's his deal—where's his lore?? Who made him like this? Why is he so afraid of intimacy? Why are basic fundamental questions about this main character being left unanswered?

It really is disappointing. Every adaptation (and the books, if we're being honest) treat Snufkin like a stoic hero. He doesn't want to be looked up to, yet he's always painted as a character that you should. This is the first adaptation that gave him flaws. He felt like a character that needed growth and time. He was never given either.

I won't spend so much time on Snorkmaiden, even though she was robbed, too. She never grew to be more independent apart from Moomintroll. In the same vein as Moomintroll and Snufkin, her character ends exactly the way she started. All of her character growth vanished in seasons 3 and 4. I love this version of Snorkmaiden. I certainly prefer it to her other portrayals. But the writers screwed her over so bad, it's heartbreaking.

None of the characters actually learn or change. Everyone sort of becomes a static character, which makes any semblance of a plot impossible to write. For the fun of it, I will try to decode a plot, anyway.

So, you're not crazy. Moomintroll and Snufkin were set up to be endgame. There was a way to make Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden endgame in a satisfying way, but the writers chose against it. It's a very suspicious backtracking that reeks of queerbaiting, but let me explain the narrative romance angles first.

I feel unsatisfied with the ending Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden got. Throughout seasons 1 and 2, they would frequently lie for each other's approval, and jealousy was a common player. They would ignore each other when someone more interesting came along. Ultimately, what led to the break up in season 2, Farwell Snorkmaiden, was the understanding that Snorkmaiden was just more mature than Moomintroll. In her own way, she was ready for a serious committed relationship, and Moomintroll was not.

However, there was never a formal conversation of them getting back together. They just sort of were? And all of the problems in their relationship were never resolved. They still lied to each other and ignored one another for something shinier all the time. It was irritating. These two became no better than Sniff in the end. I'm standing on business with that.

I'm also not convinced that Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden can have a healthy relationship after the finale. They will definitely break up again. They haven't resolved any of the issues that led to their original break.

Okay, so Moomintroll and Snufkin. Let's chat about that for a while. The first three episodes establish Moomintroll, Snufkin, and their relationship together (in that order). We, as viewers, are led to believe that their relationship (either romantic or platonic) is the key to understanding the story. Throughout seasons 1 and 2, every single motif for love (lanterns, fires, the ruby, etc.) that is introduced is done with Moomintroll and Snufkin. Regardless, different expressions of love and intimacy were the focal point of the show. That was almost completely abandoned in seasons 3 and 4. While turning the focus on the greater community could have added depth, it ultimately detracted from the close personal relationships that were driving the narrative.

So, the Groke. She does not just represent fear, she is a reflection of each character's own fears. I loved this! I thought it was a really cool concept, and the ways that she was portrayed in seasons 1 and 2 were excellent. Here's the thing. In her introduction in season 1, Night of the Groke, we are also introduced to lanterns/fires as a motif about love. The Groke is chasing love and craves acceptance. It's not quite something you can catch, and trying to is a failed endeavor. Brilliant episode. We saw what Snufkin's greatest fear was earlier in the season (loving Moomintroll), but we needed to pay more attention to see Moomintroll's fear. I think it was complex. On one hand, with the lanterns, Moomintroll could also be afraid to love Snufkin. However, as we saw at the end of Moomintroll and the Seahorses, he needs to learn independence before he can love someone. This was also reinforced through Snorkmaiden in Farwell Snorkmaiden. The fires and lanterns were constant reoccurring motifs (not just for Moomintroll and Snufkin, though that's where the focus is right now). Rewatch the season 3 episode, Lonely Mountain, and that one monologue that Snufkin gives will start to make sense.

By abandoning these important motifs, the Groke's conclusion feels unfinished. It just felt wrong. In the end, she did just represent fear. This completely erased the layer of depth that she had to start.

For Moomintroll to learn to be more independent and self-reliant, he needed to learn from Snufkin. For Snufkin to learn to accept love and responsibility, he needed to learn from Moomintroll. They were the keys to each other's growth. When they were together, the plot moved. When they weren't, the episodes felt like filler for the most part.

Also, small detail, despite the change in one photo (the baby photo to grown Moomintroll) the photo with Moomintroll and Snufkin never changed. Which narratively makes no sense.

The writers originally set this up for them to be romantically involved. Which, given the context of their dynamic in the books and comics, makes sense. It's not as much of a stretch as people are trying to gaslight themselves into believing. These characters were originally heavily queer coded. However, the original text is sort of a tragedy. No matter what happened, Moomintroll and Snufkin could never truly be together—no matter how much they tried. This mirrored Tove Jansson's relationship to her first fiance Atos Wirtanen as well as her relationship to her own queerness. However, it looked like Moominvalley wanted something different. Queer people had enough tragic stories told already. This one would tell queer kids that it was going to be okay, and that they were going to find love. Tove Jansson's original message about love and freedom was finally going to be understood.

Instead, not only was this potentially beautiful story abandoned, it was mocked. In the season 4 episode, Midsummer Meddling, there was a scene I found quite shocking. Sniff had convinced himself that he was to fall in love with somebody. One of his "love interests" was a male scarecrow. This is the only openly queer semblance of romance that we got and it was played off as a joke. In the final season. They didn't even backtrack Moomintroll and Snufkin, they just completely ignored everything that was set up.

In the final episode, Comet in Moominland, there was an incredibly brief exchange between Moomintroll and Snufkin about who looked up to who. This would have been a fantastic place to give these characters some sort of conclusion, but we don't get that. In all of the 45 minute special, the characters are never prioritized. In the whole season, even. Really, not a single character got a satisfying conclusion, but Moomintroll and Snufkin were the most important.

This is a powerful and historic piece of queer media. Tove Jansson's queer legacy was so iconic that she was directly cited as an influence in the legalization of same sex marriage in Finland. Her work proved to further the queer community. Despite sodomy laws and fear of incarceration, Jansson continued to do what she could to tell her own queer story. That is what Moomin is. That is its legacy.

I was prepared to defend Gutsy if Snufmin didn't go canon. At the end of the day, it's usually TV execs threatening to pull the whole show off the air. The show was too costly to risk any interesting writing. However, the writers didn't recover, and some of the writing just felt downright melicious at times.

Anyway, if you love slice-of-life content, you probably loved this season and the show's conclusion. It is such a shame that the creators promised something completely different from what the show turned out to be. It's no surprise that viewers are disappointed.

I do have one more thing to say ☝️😀. This is going to hurt Moomin's mission to expand to the US. It's been very obvious that they have been trying to expand to North America. Brave and bold writing would have caught the attention of new viewers. Instead, few Americans are going to recommend this show to others. Aside from that, the next logical move is to make an American adaptation. Good luck trying to find a competent YA cartoon creator that won't threaten to walk off the project if they can't have Snufmin. That being said, they'll have better luck making that canon here anyway. (Everybody say, "thank you Rebecca Sugar and Pendleton Ward.")

Well, in the end, I don't think the fight to make Snufmin a real, transparent queer story ends with Moominvalley. I can say, though, that the prioritization of profit over respect and love for others is not at all what Tove Jansson would have wanted.

Seasons 1 and 2 were peak, and season 3, episode 8, was batshit insane. That is all.

[strawbebemilk]

His reaction to winning is so !!!!

Oh masayoshi soken won best score and music, good.

[neocaridinas]

✨𝓙𝓲𝓮𝓽𝓸𝓷𝓰✨and his loser descendant

[jadewritesficshere]

What if for a moment

Steve Harrington x female!reader

Contains: drinking and being hungover, flirting, "unrequited" love (its not unrequited its just fear of change), female!reader wearing a bra, getting together, Steve calls reader "Honey", references reader (and Robin) stealing Steve's clothes.

18+ only

Your conscious slowly wakes up. Your head pounding, spinning even as you lay still. You inhale slowly, trying to steady yourself. Trying to remember what happened last night. The scent of Steve's cologne permeates your senses.

It's calming, albeit a little confusing. You start to open your eyes, but the light causes your head to hurt worse. You scrunch your eyes shut and shift in the bed. Moving causes you to notice the weight of something wrapped around your waist.

Your eyes snap open, Steve's sleeping face laid on the pillow next to yours. His arm wrapped around you, holding you close.

He looks so soft like this, so vulnerable. Hair messed up, sticking up in all directions. The subtle tension he holds in his eyebrows is gone, not a line of worry or stress on his face. His lips are slightly parted, soft exhales escaping along with a hint of drool.

You can feel your face warm. It takes everything in you not to fidget, you don't want to wake him up. You feel you shouldn't see him in such a state.

You've been friends for years, but waking up in bed like this? It's too much. Too...intimate.

You close your eyes, and for a moment, imagine this is normal.

What if those years ago, you didn't dismiss Steve asking you on a date because you thought it was a joke. What if at the last party, when you kissed, you didn't pretend nothing had happened the next day like you had the last five times it happened. What if you were honest about your feelings, your unfading love for him. What if you weren't afraid and took that leap?

You think it would be like this. Waking up wrapped in the embrace of your love. Soft smiles and kisses. You can see it clearly, you laughing as you push away, claiming you needed to brush your teeth. Steve would pull you closer and kiss all over your face. You would kiss back, brushing your teeth all but forgotten.

You'd make breakfast together. Hands reaching out and gently touching each other as you moved about the kitchen. He'd come up behind you, hands on your hips, pulling you into him. He'd gently sway with you to music, whether he hums a song or it's playing on the radio.

You'd giggle and turn so you could wrap your arms around him. You'd watch a smile spread across his face, corners of his eyes wrinkling from how wide he's smiling. Your eyes would dart down, you'd like your lips. You'd both be smiling, trying to purse your lips enough as you'd go to kiss-

"You're staring," Steve mumbles, snapping you out of your thoughts. He moves his hand off your waist and rubs his eyes. "Sorry," you whisper, feeling embarrassed at being caught.

"Don't be. I like it." Steve grins slightly at you before stretching," What time is it?". Your heart is beating faster- he likes it!- as you turn to look at the clock. You can't tell if he actually means it and is flirting or if he's just charismatic.

You told Robin that once. She stared at you for a full minute before calling you an idiot and walking away.

"It's almost ten," You sit up. The blanket tumbles down as you stretch your arms. You can hear Steve's sharp inhale. Your eyes snap to look at him. His mouth is slightly open, eyes wide, as he stares at your chest.

You look down, seeing your bright red bra. "Oh my god," you snatch the blanket up, covering yourself instantly. You hide your face behind the blanket, only your wide eyes visible. "Sorry!" You both exclaim in unison.

Steve clears his throat as his eyes dart off to the side, scratching at his cheek absently," You, uh, have nothing to be sorry for. It's a good color on you. You look good- great! Great just lovely-" Steve winces," I'm gonna stop talking now."

"Uh thanks...where's my shirt?" You ask softly. You like that Steve seems flustered, that he likes what he sees. But you also want to jump out the window and run down the street to get out of his sight. Yes, you've imagined him seeing you like this, but not in this context. This is just embarrassing.

"Uh...let me think," Steve's brow furrows as he frowns. "We were at a bar..."

"Celebrating Eddie's new job." You supply. You remember this clearly. Trying a fruity drink with Robin, doing shots as a group, getting your usual drink. It gets a bit fuzzy as the night goes on.

"Yeah yeah...did some shots, which damn i do not remember feeling this bad the day after." "Yeah, no, me neither."

Steve hums," There was a fight right?" "Oh yeah!" It's like watching a movie as the memory comes back. Two idiots at the bar started fighting, a glass getting thrown near you. Steve had pushed you behind him defensively. He was tense and ready to fight if need be, but you were more focused on how his ass popped in those jeans. You could not tell him that. But what happened next-

"Hopper showed up. He sighed real heavily when he saw us, cause we were drunker then a skunk." You chuckle slightly remembering his disapproving face.

Steve snaps his fingers and points at you," Yes! He took us home. Dropped Eddie off first, then Robin." You nod in agreement.

Steve pauses, looking at you as if he can see through the blanket you were hiding behind," Do you remember what happened in the car?" "No?!" Your voice comes out strangled, "Why, what happened?" Steve's face flushes and he looks away," Don't worry about it."

Then it hits you. You can see it all clearly. Like the last few times yall had drank together, you kissed Steve. Or Steve kissed you, you don't remember that part clearly. But you can remember his lips on yours. His hands running up your sides, you practically climbing on top of him. "Hey hey hey!" Hopper yelled. The slam of the brakes threw you off of Steve and against the front seats. "Don't you dare have sex in my car!"

You want to scream. Of course you kissed Steve, again, but in front of Hopper? With his disappointed angry dad vibes? You have to leave town and assume a fake identity, you can never face Hopper again.

"Well we made it home," Steve announces," And you said you were tired." You clear your throat. You had said that. Practically fell on your way up the stairs, Steve stumbling behind you trying to help.

"And we came in here and got in bed," you look around Steve's room and see your shirt crushed on the floor," I said I was hot and threw my shirt." "Yeah, and then you passed out. Not like actually passed out, you just said good night and went to sleep."

Steve gets out of bed, groaning slightly as his back and knees crack, mumbling something about "in my twenties...damn upside down.."

His feet make light sounds as he pads over to your shirt. When he bends to grab it you do NOT watch his ass. You don't dart your eyes to the ceiling as soon as he stands.

Steve tosses your shirt at you, hitting you in the face. "Get dressed, I'll make breakfast. If you want to wear something else, feel free to steal something." "It's not stealing if you give me permission." Steve scoffs," I'll never see it again, between you and Robin it's a wonder i have any clothes at all."

You hold your middle finger up at Steve's retreating form. The door shuts with a quiet click and you can hear him make his way down the stairs. You swing your legs out of the bed and slowly stand.

You pad over to his dresser. There are many things covering the top. A trophy from baseball, crumpled dollar bills and some loose change, a mini calender, and some folded clean clothes. You pick up the sweatshirt and watch as something flutters to the ground.

You look down at the picture looking up at you. Jonathan must have taken it at the last get together when you were drunk. Steve's arm is slung over your shoulders, he's staring down at you. You're leaning into him, arms wrapping around his middle. Your smile is wide. You look so happy to be there. And Steve looks at you with-

You inhale. Love. Adoration. The look on Steve's face.

You weren't looking into things. He wasn't just kissing you when you were drunk because he didn't want to make you sad or because he was horny. He was kissing you because he wanted to. He has been flirting. Robin was right, you were an idiot

You throw the sweatshirt on and practically run down the stairs. "Whoa, where's the fire?" Steve calls from the kitchen. You rush in, colliding with him as he's walking out. You almost fall, Steve's large hands grasping you to steady you. Your hands grasp his shoulders.

Steve's eyes dart all over your face. "What-"

"I remember. In the car." You blurt out. Steve's eyes widen slightly as he blinks at you. He licks his lips, your eyes focusing in on the movement,"You do?"

"I said I didn't cause I thought that you'd regret it. That you were just appeasing me. But you weren't, were you?" You bite your lip. Steve lifts a hand to rest on your cheek, thumb lightly pulling your lip out of your mouth, "I wasn't appeasing you, I wanted to kiss you."

"Yeah?" "Yeah, Honey." "Do you still want to?" Steve grins at your question. His thumb retreats from your lip, hand on your cheek holding you steady as he leans in. His lips are just millimeters away, you can feel the warmth of his breath. He pauses for a moment, as if to give you a chance to change your mind.

You surge forward kissing him. His lips are so soft against yours. Steve groans slightly as he deepens the kiss. Your arms wrap around his neck, hand finding his hair and carding through it. He yanks you closer to him, flush to his body.

You feel a jolt of energy down your spine, a warmth spreading throughout. You moan slightly, and Steve wastes no time. His tongue enters your mouth, brushing against yours.

You weren't expecting it but you melt into his touch. You press closer into him, gasping lightly. Steve groans into the kiss before pulling back to catch his breath. Your brain has turned to mush as you look at his slightly swollen lips and his face that's flushed.

You pant lightly as you look up at him," I'm sorry it took so long for me to say it." "I could have too, I'm sorry I didn't Honey. Thought you knew." Steve moves his thumb back and forth on your cheek. It's comforting but sends a thrill down your spine. You can feel his chest expand against yours with every inhale he takes. You can feel his hardness pressed against you, making you weak in the knees.

"You're staring again," Steve murmurs. "Sorry." "Don't be, I like it." Steve repeats. "I like you. A lot. Like like. I also like kissing you," you start to ramble but stop when Steve chuckles.

"I like kissing you too. You know what? All that time we spent apart just makes this so much sweeter. And uh if I knew at the end of the day, that by waiting I'd get to have you? I'd wait for eternity. Even if I could be with you for only one moment. Because one moment with you surpasses all the moments without. You're worth it."

You blink up at Steve as he looks away," Is...is that too much?" "No Steve. It's perfect, you're perfect for me." You kiss him lightly, heart beating fast. Because you don't want to miss this moment with him. As he said, one moment with him surpasses all without.

And you know without a shadow of a doubt that you love Steve. You always have and you always will.

[t-u-i-t-c]

"How's it feel?"

[shannonsketches]

he's so important to me

[miyawaki]

SEUNGHUN / FLOWER [240328]

[benoits-neckerchieves]

Not me watching tennis just for tiny little scraps of Daniel content

Also they’re holding hands they’re so sweet aaa