#so the ending might be a touch anticlimactic

[sshadowritestoriess]

hello! could you write something with zen echo and ramattra (sorry if that's too many characters) with a human reader who kisses them even tho they don't really have a mouth, I'd like to know their reactions

Kissing robots is so good <3

Kissing Zenyatta

Kisses aren’t a display that surprises him, really!

It might have been pretty anticlimactic the first instance that you had press your lips to his faceplate, a gesture of which he gently leaned into and remained patiently still, until you pulled away

But he would still sometimes entertain you with a prized “oh!” as if he hadn’t expected it

He only apologized the first time for not being able to return the favor the same way, but he was delighted by receiving such a human affection! It pleases him immensely that you would demonstrate this kind of love as if he were human

The best he could do to reciprocate was to press his forehead against yours, lean carefully into your touch, or nudge his jaw against your cheek

He’d be ridiculously gentle doing these things, highly aware that he was of metal and that humans bruise quite easily.

When you would kiss him where he would have a mouth, he liked to respond with a verbal “mwah!” or other kiss sound

You both would also have a habit of blowing kisses to one another as well. He loves pretending to catch yours, and would feign placing it on his cheek before signing “I love you” with his hand

But he also liked to take your hands in his and press your knuckles to the nine lights of his forehead, feeling the warmth of his glow against your hands in his own means of returning the gesture

Sometimes he even asks for kisses, very politely. It’s hard to refuse (but why would you?)

Kissing Echo

Considering her face is just a hologram, you both occasionally forget that and share an amused moment when trying to kiss each other

Sometimes it’s definitely on purpose though! Feigning a kiss upon one another’s mouth with sweet smiles, and an especially elated giggle from Echo

Your one-sided kisses always make her gasp, an expressive look of joyous surprise on her face that leaves her mouth agape

She finds it so interesting, curious, and will lift to you her hands and turn her head from side to side asking “Can you do that here? And what about from here?”

So it’s not really a one-and-done— if you kiss her, you’re gonna end up doing quite a couple. She loves it very much

She doesn’t seem bothered that she can’t truly kiss you back, and if asked she’ll tell you “I think there’s something just as special about pretending!”

And it’s true. The make-believe gestures of affection are something very unique to her that may as well be real in its own way

Just because she couldn’t kiss you doesn’t mean she wasn’t. It may not be the same, but it felt no different than if she could. And it was fun, and worth her reactions

She could never bore of your kisses, nor tire of returning them.

Kissing Ramattra

Ramattra, on the other hand, would somehow end up shocked by your kisses every single time without fail. Subtly flinching as if you’d accidentally surprised him

He’d make a disgruntled noise after your display, but he’d never ask you to stop. He would, however, make sure now and again that you didn’t think he was going to be able to suddenly kiss you back one day

Sometimes he’d mutter something about “human gestures”, but it was hard to discern if it was bringing him offense or not. But again, he never told you he didn’t like it— and he was pretty open about telling you the things that brought him unease

It was more like he was just tolerating it for a while, but he’d eventually begin appreciating it

While he can’t kiss you, he does have a similar gesture that brings him a lot more satisfaction when you attempt to do the same

His specific model can summon a very brief vibration from behind the “mouth” of his faceplate, an old discreet means of communicating that uses the gentle buzz as something similar to Morse code. The pulses produce no sound, but emits a small encoded wave between omnics— like sending a text directly into someone’s mind

It wasn’t a language any human could decipher, but he’d press his ‘mouth’ to your neck or cheek and speak a quick note of affection there, anyway.

You seemed to understand it was loving. And when one day he’d tucked his face into your shoulder and his faceplate pulses ticklishly against your skin again, he was suddenly ecstatic when you leaned your throat against his head and hummed quickly, in the same rhythm he did, mocking his gesture

So, technically, you were telling him you loved him back by repeating his ‘message’, and you had no idea.

He wouldn’t admit a thing to you, but you could tell it made him pretty happy.

And while he preferred his version of “kisses” to yours, he would never turn down your ways of showing him that you loved him

[mamapyjama]

Thought I ought to bring this over here for the Tumblr crew since it’s making a little buzz in the other place and I want to gather all my thoughts in one place.

So, back in 2022 I was in my feelings about Izuku (when am I not?) and wrote the following little sad headcanon on twt:

Made myself sad thinking about how the original Japanese word for Quirk is ‘kosei’, which means ‘individuality’ or the unique part of a personality. It’s no wonder Deku thought he was plain and useless. Everyone has literally been telling him since he was 4. 😓 Like, there’s no way at that age he could separate people talking about his lack of meta-ability from his own unique value as a person when they’re using the same damn word. That’s the kind of stuff that’s going to stick with you. 🥺

Sad to imagine, eh?

Fast forward to 2024 and chapter 412, and as always, I was browsing the jp fandom tweets for reactions after the official release. They often pick up on things we miss like Katsuki’s childlike language, the NTR implications of the kudoichi plot etc.

As I scrolled, I realised there was a HUGE disconnect between what we in “The West” were experiencing (mostly rage at yet another translation ‘choice’) and the existential questioning that was occurring among Japanese readers.

This is just a tiny glimpse, but you should know that every single one I saw was doing the tweet equivalent of staring into the middle distance with a haunted look.

It’s all about the panel below, which was mentioned by the incomparable Pikahlua, as it is unusual in writing ‘mukosei’ without the speechmarks that signify ‘quirkless’ (to use the English term) rather than ‘lacking individuality’.

Horikoshi always uses speechmarks around “Kosei” when talking about quirks, so the implication here is that Izuku never believed he had actual individuality/personality.

Using this interpretation, Kudou observed that Izuku held the hope that even people who were detestable (Katsuki) and those who had no individuality (Izuku) still had human hearts.

Read that again. Izuku hoped that both he and Kacchan, despite their shortcomings, had human hearts. He thinks his only worth is as a vessel, a holder of OFA, and without that he’s barely human.

Ever noticed how some parts of the fandom complain that Deku is a boring MC, that he’s just ‘nice’, and we never get his opinions on things? Yeah.

Remember how hard he cried when All Might said he could be a hero? That was the first time in his life that someone acknowledged him as someone with potential, with worth. (In ch2 he also says “I have no reason to refuse!!” when offered OFA, which always struck me as slightly anticlimactic but makes way more sense now).

And remember how he cried in a similar way when Ochako told the world that he wasn’t special but that he had a special power? She couldn’t have known she was reinforcing his deepest held insecurity, and for a moment his mask slipped. Or maybe he was touched by her assertion that he was just a ‘regular high school kid’? We don’t know, but it’s worth taking a look at these moments in this new light.

You staring into the middle distance with a haunted look too yet? I know I am.

If you’re interested in the bright side (I needed this, I hope it helps):

Narratively speaking, this is the angst section that will lead to Midoriya Izuku: Rising and the happy ending they all deserve.

And the person most likely to disavow him of this sense of inherent worthlessness is the one person who added to it the most in their childhoods.

✨KACCHAN!!✨

No one else can reassure Izuku that he is special, that he’s worthwhile and—crucially—that he always has been, because he’s the only one who knew that all along.

If you need more reassurance, remember that their Origin and Rising chapters so far have all involved each other and have mirrored the emotional journey they’re both on.

Bakugou Katsuki: Origin: Katsuki struggles to accept Izuku and work as a team to battle All Might. Eventually does the bare minimum to cooperate by lending him his gauntlet.

Bakugou Katsuki: Rising: Katsuki coordinates the pro heroes and sacrifices himself to save Izuku. His body ‘moved on its own.’

Midoriya Izuku: Origin: Izuku is bullied by Katsuki, tries to save Katsuki from a villain—his body ‘moved on its own’, and is consequently told he can be a hero by All Might.

It isn’t a reach at all to pretty safely assume that Izuku’s Rising chapter will also be intrinsically linked to Katsuki, and it is his cooperation, faith and love (however you interpret it) that will finally save Izuku from his own sense of worthlessness. Closing the circle.

So yeah, this bit could be rough for the next few chapters, but I have faith that Horikoshi will wrap it up in a way that will be so rewarding and satisfying.

I’m gonna stop now because I’m ill and I need to rest my head, thanks for reading! 😮‍💨

[spinderella-umbrella]

@wolfstarmicrofic | Day 11; Fake Date | 580 Words

James and Lily were on a date— and Sirius was not jealous, thank you very much Peter!

Having said that, he wanted to keep a close eye on things for when James inevitably put his foot in it and he had to rescue their date. 

So he asks Remus to come along to Madam Puddifoots, but not without assuring him it’s not a date, of course.

But no one else knows it’s not a date. And everyone has been weirdly supportive of their (made up) relationship— Marlene going so far as to exclaim, finally- as if they had been pining over one another for years. 

Remus was fit, sure, but Sirius had no interest in dating. 

Which is probably why James was suspicious of the whole thing. 

To be honest, after listing all the reasons why dating moony made sense— in fact he had been so convincing that he’d been up half the night wondering if he should date moony.

And thank you to his genius idea of this fake date, he gets a bit of a test run on what it might be like. He has to admit, it’s not much different to when they hang out as friends. They can talk about anything, they make each other laugh. The main difference is Remus taking his hand of his own volition, whispering in his ear that Lily and James were behind them and they should see them acting coupley especially when they think Sirius and Remus aren’t looking. 

His hand was soft, though his fingers slightly calloused. Sirius wonders if it’s because of all the reading Moony does, or if he does something else with his hands that’s slightly harder on his fingertips. 

The fake date had just been a really nice day at Hogsmeade, really. Eating cake at Madam Puddifoots was a bit of a hilight— he never got to do that because of it’s reputation as a sappy date spot. He’d made a comment after his first bite that he’d have to bribe Remus to go on more dates with him, for cake that good. 

Remus had laughed and said he could consider the extra books Sirius had bought him (because he couldn’t decide) at Tomes and Scrolls a bribe in advance.

It wasn’t a date, but they hesitated at the start of the path back from Hogsmeade. No one they knew was watching— they had finished up sooner than everyone else and hadn’t felt like staying back. They glanced at their hands, not yet joined, and at each other, before Sirius held his hand out, holding his breath as he turned to the path. 

Remus took it.

There was no door to drop the other off at, so they were all the way back in the dorms and the whole end to the fake date felt terribly anticlimactic. 

“Should we kiss?” Sirius jokes. 

But Remus blushes and well. Sirius would be lying if he didn’t say he didn’t like the way that made him feel. He always did like making the other boys cheeks flush, but he’s never made it happen this way before. 

Sirius steps up to Remus, giving him opportunity to back away. He doesn’t, and Sirius’ own breath hitches with nerves— he hasn’t done this before. 

“Should…” Sirius trails off, glancing down from Remus’ eyes to his lips, slightly parted. He licks his own, he thinks, and then Remus’ lips are touching his own, a small surprised sound coming from Sirius’ throat. 

[scoops-aboy86]

I guess this... is the end! With an epilogue to follow, probably, that's a little more soft feedism related, but for those who aren't into that it's totally optional. Thanks to everyone who came along for the ride, and I'll put this up on ao3 sometime soon. 😊

Part 1, part 1.5, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10 of the love spell no go au

-

The world didn’t end, so life goes on. Eddie, who is the king of casting teeny little spells so he heals fast but not too fast, gets out of the hospital and moves into a one-story little place with Wayne that’s miles from the trailer park. It’s on the same street as Robin’s house so he sees her all the time—but still not as often as he sees Steve. 

And they tell Wayne what really happened, NDAs be damned. It’s a Tuesday night and Steve and Robin have brought a couple Western tapes from their latest shift at the miraculously still standing Family Video; they put one on in the background and a flick of Eddie’s fingers make sure that’s all the government bugs scattered throughout the house can hear. 

Afterwards, when they’re about to head over to the bigger record shop in the next town over to replenish Eddie’s music collection but pulling up at a gas station first, Steve complains that the whole thing was a little anticlimactic. 

“We told him there’s a whole other dimension under Hawkins that there’s this huge government cover-up about it and he didn’t even blink.”

“Well,” Eddie starts, then abruptly reaches for Steve’s ear and produces a quarter from it. He leans over from the passenger seat and holds it up in Steve’s line of vision with a smirk. “It takes a lot to startle us Munson men, sweetheart.”

“Really?” Robin interjects dryly while Steve pulls up to the pump and cuts the engine. “Because the other day Steve asked you to get a sponge from under the kitchen sink and something touched your hand and you shrieked because you thought it was a spider.”

Steve eyes the quarter critically. “Did you… really just magic a coin out of my ear?”

“When it was, in fact, the sponge in question,” Robin finishes. 

Eddie sticks his tongue out at her. “Of course not, baby, that was slight of hand,” he tells Steve, repocketing the coin and glancing around to make sure the gas station is deserted before planting a little kiss on his cheek. 

“Oh, okay.”

“I actually magicked it from your gas money jar into my pocket.”

Steve laughs, and that Eddie wants to bottle and hoard like one of those stupid rich old men with their dusty old French wines. “Good thing I’m not just about to get gas or anything, or I might need that back.”

“I’ll get you something from the convenience store?” Eddie offers, batting his eyelashes and tilting his head in a way that he knows makes his eyes look bigger. Knows because Steve has told him, and seems as susceptible to it as cats to catnip. 

“Strawberry slurpee,” Steve says immediately. “But if they only have cherry, I want a blue one. Wait, Robs—that’s what the screaming was about?”

Eddie flails with both arms, waving at them both to get out of the car as all three of their doors pop open. “Alright, nothing to see here, some of us have snacks to buy and one of us has a car to gas up, let’s go!”

So they all pile out, and Steve points at Eddie over the car while unscrewing the gas cap. “You’re going to use that on the gremlins, right?

“Just who do you take me for?” Eddie scoffs, hooking an arm through Robin’s and dragging her towards the store. “Of course I am, Harrington.”

Robin snorts but keeps up with him, breaking into a frankly jarring skip that causes them to almost trip over the curb right in front of the doors. Once inside, they break into their customary shop-till-you-drop game of trying to grab everything they want, beat the other to the register, and get to the car before Steve finishes filling the tank. They both almost always lose, but it does help make stops like this more efficient. 

(It has been Steve’s idea.)

“You know,” Robin starts conversationally while he’s filling two slurpee cups at once and she’s flipping rapidly through a nearby magazine rack, “I’ve never witnessed the dingus in an actual relationship before.”

Eddie flicks his eyes in her direction, then to the bored-looking cashier, but the statement was vague enough and Robin isn’t stupid. He returns his attention to the slurpee machine. “I find that hard to believe.”

“No, I’m serious. He’s dated a lot, and I mean a lot, but—ah ha!” Snatching the magazine she was looking for, she moves on to the soft pretzel heater and grabs the tongs to fish a couple off the slowly rotating rack. “But no one he’s ever really gotten serious about. He used to complain to me about his dates at length… Kinda relieved that’s over. He’s literally the happiest I’ve ever seen him these days.”

As she turns away to grab a couple Cokes, Eddie hides a giddy smile behind his hair—and then beats her to the register with a slurpee in each hand and a flimsy but full little shopping basket dangling from one arm. 

Because Robin wouldn’t lie, not about Steve. She’d already threatened him over Steve’s welfare back in the hospital (and people thought he was scary, Jesus); it’s obvious that she wouldn’t encourage him if she didn’t think it was in Steve’s best interest. And, against all laws of probability and magic, Eddie seems to make him happy. 

The happiest his platonic soulmate has ever seen him, even. 

“I win,” Steve crows when Eddie is still a few feet from the car. He lifts the nozzle, blows on it like it’s a smoking gun, and pumps his fist in victory. “In your face, Munson!” 

Eddie doesn’t care though. His prize is in Steve’s beaming smile, in the energy that rolls off him that crackles across Eddie’s senses like a kind of magic all his own. “Yeah yeah, big boy, you’re a champ.” He holds up the slurpees and the flimsy plastic bag crammed with a tube of Pringles, a bag of pretzel sticks, Doritos, and various snack cakes. “Are we ready to hit the road or what?”

Robin jogs up behind him, bagless because she keeps insisting that they’re bad for the environment but barely hanging onto her sodas, pretzels, magazines, and a few odd candy bars. “Aw man, did we lose to the dingus again?”

“Yes,” Eddie tells her faux mournfully as he crowds past Steve to the front passenger door, bumping against him way more than necessary but meeting no complaints. “Almost makes me reconsider giving you the change, Steve-o.”

He does anyway, though. Drops a nice, shiny quarter into the gas money jar after getting himself situated, slurpees nestled in their cup holders and a Twinkie already unwrapped to shove suggestively in his boyfriend’s mouth as soon as the wonder twins are both in the car. Robin heckles from the back seat; Steve takes it with the ease of practice and a smirk as he chews and swallows and licks escaping cream filling from the corners of his mouth. 

It’s a beautiful summer’s day and Eddie feels like the luckiest guy in the entire world.

Tag list (comment to be added/removed): @hotluncheddie @8em-em-em8 @anaibis @connected-dots @lawrencebshoggoth @zombiethingy

[letsgobarbs]

Part I: An Affair For Research Purposes

Pairing: Tim Rockford x F!Reader

Summary: Convinced your husband doesn’t want you, you turned to Jack for some help. The situation unravels and all secrets come to light.

Rating: Explicit

Content Warning: YOU 🫵 consider cheating on Tim. But you don't at the end. Maybe it's just a little bit of cheating if you squint. Jack is nothing but a plot device here. creepy neighbour alert. Reader has anxiety. voyeurism. mentions of divorce. classism from an unimportant side character. toxic family situations for all. both Reader and Tim are a bit fruity if you squint. arranged marriage. p in v sex. oral f!receiving. loss of virginity. there is an age gap, but even i don't know what it is, go with what you will.

Author’s Note: I was so deep in the Merge Mansion lore for this one. Found out Maddie’s grandpa was a spy or something which made me think of Jack. So, this entire thing turned out way different than what I thought it was going to be. I'm fairly new to both writing and Tumblr so reblogs and comments are always appreciated. This fic exists in my ao3 as well, but I just wanted to practice posting on here. This version is just very very slightly edited. Not even slightly, it’s just re-read and adjusted.

divider by @saradika-graphics

Part II, Part III

An affair wasn’t even that bad. There could be worse things you could do. Like crimes. Crimes were very bad. Pummeling against your neighbour’s door and slamming a brick or a chair or even a vase into his stupid face would certainly be a very bad crime. One the police would be called for. But maybe your husband would finally look at you then. Ooh, that was nice, police, interrogation room, dub-con sex. Nope. Too porn-y. The blank document has been staring at you for the better part of six months and you might as well start tanning from the light of the computer screen with how long you have been despondently staring back. The irregular banging next door was spontaneously disrupted by a very loud groan followed by a noise somewhere in between a high-pitched moan and a whine— both from your neighbour. Very anticlimactic. Leslie had gone through all those efforts to put on some background music to help his thrust game for nothing. Perhaps if he could last longer he’d be able to find his tempo. You would feel bad for him, but the prospect of facing his smug grin tomorrow morning while he makes a pass at you or touches you in the hallway with his somehow always a little slimy hands stomps out any pity you had for him. He had been the very picture of a kind neighbourly gentleman in front of your husband, you had wanted to tell Timothy about his increasingly creepy behaviour towards you, but he hadn’t been home for weeks and you were scared that Leslie had started to notice this detail.

The thought of Leslie knocking on the door when you were home alone was enough to finally send you over the edge into the primordial and ever-existing soup of anxiety that you’ve always fended off to the back of your mind. Your shoulders hunched over in tense discomfort as the feel of your t-shirt became too much for your skin, the leg that had just been restlessly bobbing up and down had started to feel crawling and itchy, your eyes unseeing as the room cluttered around you and the only smell in the air is the stale pizza you had to reheat. What a mess. Not that it mattered since your husband wasn’t going to see it. Tugging on a jacket and a quick change out of the house slippers propelled you to quickly escape your home closing in on you. A walk would help. The crisp fall air helped settle the knots in your stomach as your feet aimlessly carried you through the familiar paths. The apartment complexes gave way to duplexes that led to monotonously uniform suburban homes as you made your way towards the lovely park in the better part of town.

“You didn't show,” Jack called out— Ah, yes, the prospective affair partner. Jack Daniels, the charming Southern gentleman, had shown up in town while you were away at college and taken the upper crust of Hopewell Bay by storm with his booming business and thriving investments, but mostly with his devilishly good looks. You had triumphantly returned with your PhD thinking it would finally gain your father’s appreciation for having made the family proud or society’s acknowledgement and praise. It was all for nought; your father only had a snide comment for you about only studying but never being able to make it in the real world, while his rich neighbours only took your degrees for a hobby. At first, it felt a little unfair, you had worked so hard for the recognition and acceptance of this society while he had it the moment he walked in. But there was very little to be upset over when you gazed into his warm brown eyes. They were like two drops of coffee in a cloud of milk. Jack was a complete dreamboat.

Jack and you had clicked at the Hopeberry festival several years ago when you had shared an incredulous glance over a seafood platter at Mayor Bruno’s derisive comment about poor people and handouts. Speaking of the Mayor, Jack was supposed to be with his wife Victoria tonight for another one of his illicit affairs.

“Don’t see how it could help really. Watching your performances hasn't worked for quite some time now.” You offered him an old explanation for your absence from— one of your usual activities.

“Well, at least it would've helped me. You know I like your eyes on me, sweetheart. I perform better with you watching.” Sweetheart. Those dirty lines delivered in his rich, sweeter-than-molasses voice caused a small twinge low in your belly. Guilt? Shame? Frustration? Anxiety? Arousal? The glob of mixed emotions was effectively washed away as both Jack and you burst into giggles at the precariousness of your situation. Once, you had been caught, literally, with your pants down in one of the clubhouse toilets while Jack had fucked Isabel, an architect who worked with Roddy, over the bathroom sink. The incident had been mortifying, it was worse when arousal had settled into your lower belly. The situation had then snowballed. You hadn't wanted to be a creepy voyeur eavesdropping or watching Jack have sex but he wasn't very discreet with location and you had a very very good reason.

Professionally, you were a science writer, with a steady job writing a column for the local magazine. But the stress of coming back to live under your father’s roof has pushed you to indulge in your secret hobby of writing romance novels. It was easy at first, churning out book after book with ideas that had been lying in your mind for years. Then it was not so easy. Your editor had said that the sex scenes lacked intimacy and that they were slightly repetitive and had an inorganic feel. She wasn't wrong, but porn and erotic literature had failed you. You were running on fumes.

It hadn't been long before Jack’s spidey senses had alerted him to his audience— the man had mighty fine instincts. Surprisingly, Jack hadn't shut you down following a somewhat charged and humiliating confrontation. You had let slip your secret of writing romance and struggle with writing the smut after several profuse apologies. And Jack had invited you to keep watching. He would also routinely help with descriptions and ideas; some of which he would try himself. Until that too had stopped working a few months ago, the creative juices had dried up. After all, how many different ways can you describe sex without having experienced any of it?

“You need to speak with that husband of yours, Sugar. Tell him, in no uncertain terms, that you want more than this marriage of convenience thing y'all got going on. Say you want to sleep with him. Any man would be hard-pressed to deny you that, Honey.” Jack's arm had come around your shoulders as soon as the both of you had sat on a bench, rubbing comforting circles and warmth into your arm.

“Technically, it is an arranged marriage. Also, I don't think I could've been clearer with Tim without utterly abasing myself.” The recollection of your past conversation with your husband still stung, there was a pool of dark, acrid, burning void of ugly emotions that threatened to overtake your lungs and heart. Jack winced, no doubt also thinking of how it had played out, pulling you closer into his warm side with a gentle squeeze to your arms.

For a moment there, a few years into your marriage, you had thought that Tim and you were on the same page that you had liked each other, enjoyed living together and would want to nurture your relationship into a more romantic one. A proper marriage. You had learned how to cook him his favourite meal, candlelight dinners, date nights (that you had explicitly called dates), baking together, late-night movies, cuddles on the couch, and making bucket lists together. When none of that had spurred a romantic conversation about the future of your marriage, you had gone all the way to walking around your apartment in a lingerie set and an old cardigan. Unfortunately, that had sent Tim running from your home.

Tim was sweet, he would never break your heart so callously or openly. He had only said the Boulton's case would keep him busy before he stowed away at the precinct. You felt like such a fool, butterflies in your stomach, as you would look for any excuse to go look for him at work— just dropping by to say hello, was in the area, got some mail for you, wellness checks. You couldn't even remember the last excuse you had used to visit your husband when you had met her. His new partner. Kate Sullivan. Now, you would have loved Detective Sullivan in any other situation. She was this towering goddess with her perfectly large smouldering eyes, her perfect eyebrows, her perfectly shaped nose, and those plump lips that sounded out her perfectly sexy, low, hoarse voice with the barest of lilt in her tone that suggested an accent you couldn't place. She was divine. And she had tried so hard to be nice to you, offering you donuts and coffee. Except, she had joked about you taking some coffee with your milk and sugar, calling the way you took your coffee childlike. Which wouldn't have been that bad, had Tim, your husband, not followed up her quip with a “Which donut would you like, kid?” kid. Kid. KID.

You had wanted to dig up a hole and bury yourself right there. You can't even remember if you had taken a donut. But you remember that message you had received loud and clear. Tim was not interested in you like that. He saw you as a kid. You would get over the fact that he didn't love you, it would be many years, perhaps decades, but you would get over it. But you weren't going to wait around for that man. You wanted to lose your virginity, and you needed that cherry popped yesterday. Jack is the perfect choice, he was your friend, you trust him, he would make it good for you and your friendship would still be unblemished by the incident. Plus, it would pull you out of your smut writing slump.

“Now before you jump my bones, you should still talk to your husband. Sex, is a wonderful, natural, human need. Can't expect you to live without it your whole life–”

“I don't intend to.”

“Then tell your husband that. You want, no, need, sex. There’s only two ways it can go, either he does it himself, or allows you to keep lovers. It’s a win-win, you either get the man you want or you are liberated from the guilt of cheating!”

“I don't want him to feel forced to do it with me, Jack. I want him to want me. Which he does not. And telling him I will step out on our marriage if he doesn't have sex with me feels an awful lot like coercion. I do not want to give Tim ultimatums. Have you considered a third option that comes up in this hypothetical confrontation? A divorce.”

You did not want to divorce Tim. It was left unsaid but Jack knew you enough to pick up on it.

He continued on that unspoken thought, “He will not be divorcing you, Sugar. His family has taken your daddy’s money. If there's any divorcin’ happening, you gotta be the one to do it.”

If it was what Tim wanted, you would grant him a clean divorce, not taking any of the money your father had given his family as dowry. But your heart ached at the very thought of not having him in your life anymore. Honestly, you would take every sexless minute of your marriage with him over whatever carnal pleasure life had to offer without him. You had fallen in love with Tim at the tender age of seven. Your knight in itchy sweater and baggy jeans had found you trying to fill up a broken fountain with your tears because the other kids didn't want to play with you. You couldn't remember any of the inane conversations you had with him, but he had patted your head and wiped your tears before filling up your colouring book with you all afternoon.

You had watched him growing up, nursing your little crush on him with peeks, glimpses and rare exchanges of pleasantries. He always seemed to have endless kindness and patience for you along with his crooked grin that showcased a single dimple. His soulful brown eyes never failed to elicit cosy, tender warmth inside you but it was only after you had married him did you truly learn to love him. All your romance novels carried pieces of your husband, if it wasn't his compassion, kindness, humour or persistence, it would be his broad shoulders, aquiline nose, calloused hands or the scrunch between his brows.

“I don't want to lose him, Jack. You know, I could always write clean romance novels. No sex or smut just fade-to-black scenes. I can do romance without sex. But, there can't be any love or romance without him. He's the hero of all my books.”

Jack had long pulled you into a comforting hug before you had finished your words, “Oh, Sweetheart, I know”—he abruptly interrupted his thought—“Wait, is that your husband walking towards us?”

You turned around to a sight that took your breath away. Tim, your husband, was backlit by the headlights of his car as he strode towards you. His sheer size and the expanse of his shoulders left you speechless. It was ethereal the way the lampposts illuminated your husband’s face with warmth, his skin taking on a gentle bronze tone. He looked rugged in his dishevelled suit and trench, with his scowl and dark eyes hidden behind his black frames.

“Oh that is Timmy and he looks like he's got a burr in his saddle.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means I might've found a solution to your marital issues, Darling.”

“Mr Jack Daniels?” Both you and Jack whipped around to face your husband.

“We are going to need you to come down to the precinct, we have some questions for you.”

Tim’s jaw gave a twitch before it clenched, an action you would have found dizzyingly arousing if he wasn't also glowering down at you like you were an offending piece of gum stuck to his shoe.

“Of course, Officer.” It’s detective, you had wanted to correct Jack, but he had already turned to you, handing you a package.

“Here, Sugar, you keep these—”

“You had this the entire time?” You couldn't help but interrupt, you had walked through the park and sat next to him on the bench never once realising he had a bag with him.

“—yes, these are my work shoes. Keep them right by the door, you hear me? So when that creepy neighbour of yours bothers you again he can see the shoes and realise you had a man in the house. Stay safe, Doll”

Jack was already moving towards the unmarked vehicle with a genial pat to Tim’s arm leaving you to shout your thanks at his back.

“How did you get here?” Tim wouldn't look at you even though he had addressed you, glancing at the shoebox in your hand, the bench, the tree, the pond, the lampposts, anywhere but you.

“Oh, um, I walked.”

“Come on, I'll drive you home.”

[sokkas-secret-tunnel]

Atlantis is Beautiful in Ruins Pt. 2

MINORS DNI, 18+ ONLY Word Count: 2.300 Warnings: Violence, Blood, Blood bending, not proof read by a human

--

POSEIDONIS August 27, 12:30 UTC-2

You made your way to the science center. Vandal Savage had a particular interest in the new echinoderm there. You wanted to visit Prince Orm and the echinoderm before you met with Black Manta.

"You have missed many of your studies," Queen Mera swam beside you as you made your way to the science center.

You stopped swimming to greet her. "I apologize, my queen. As Prince Orm's protégé my attention has strayed from the conservatory."

"You were a gifted student, (y/n), but your absences have affected your abilities." Queen Mera grabbed your hand and started swimming to the conservatory. "Garth and Tula are sparing today, I want you to join them."

"But Prince Orm-" You tried to protest, but Queen Mera thought ahead.

"I already informed him that you will be spending today at the conservatory, to continue your studies with me." There was no way to argue with Mera without drawing suspicions, so you followed her to the sparing deck.

Garth and Tula were waiting for you and Queen Mera.

"My Queen, (y/n)!" Garth greeted both Mera and you.

"We have not seen you for some time (y/n)," Tula swam up and hugged you, "Will you be joining us for our studies today?"

"Yes, Tula, although I do not know what we're doing today." You looked toward Mera, hoping this lesson would be short.

"We will be practicing combat sorcery," Mera swam to the sidelines to observe.

'Wonderful, like I don't already practice this with The Light.' you thought, 'If I prove I haven't lost my touch, I might be able to leave early.'

"(y/n), I would like you to be in the first round," Mera looked at Garth and then Tula, "Would either of you like to spar with (y/n) first?"

Garth swims forward, "It would be an honor to spar with you, (y/n)."

"Now, I would like both of you to start on the opposite ends of the roof," Mera instructs, motioning Tula toward her. "Begin."

"I summon the power of the Tempest!" Garth starts off with a heavy attack. You dodged out of the way, forming a sea serpent to bind him. Your attack was unsuccessful, and Garth sent small water balls towards you. It seemed like it was too much effort to dodge, so you let the water balls hit you, but no one saw the water break before landing.

"GO Garth!" Tula cheered from next to Mera.

'This is a waste of time I should be spending at the science center,' you thought. You summoned a whirlpool from under Garth that he got caught in, unable to escape. You used the whirlpool to launch him into the ground, finishing the fight.

"Perhaps your abilities were less affected than I thought," Queen Mera pondered. "Tula, would you care to spar with (y/n)?"

"If I may, my queen, I wish to spar with Tula," Garth spoke.

"I wouldn't mind letting Garth and Tula spar instead," you offered.

"Very well. I would still like you to observe this match (y/n)." Queen Mera waited for Garth and Tula to get in position, "Begin."

Garth and Tula circled each other. Tula attacked first, sending a water stream toward Garth. Garth dodged before he attacked with water balls. Tula also threw water balls back as a counter. Garth used another water stream, which Tula evaded before attempting a direct attack. Garth flipped out of the way, creating a shield for Tula's final water ball.

"Your technique is excellent, but your choices remain predictable." Mera critiqued. "What have you observed from this fight (y/n)?" Mera asked.

'It was anticlimactic. Superboy is a more interesting opponent, and all he does is punch stuff,' you wish to say. "Predictability in a fight is a disadvantage. Your opponent should never be able to guess your next move," you answered, willing this distraction to end. You closed your eyes and rolled your head back.

"Kaldur'ahm!" Your eyes shot open at Mera's exclamation, "Oh, so good to see you."

"Kaldur!" Tula shouts.

"Apologies, my queen." Kaldur swims past Tula and Garth, stopping before you and the queen, "I did not mean to interrupt."

"It is well. I have another class. Will I see you at dinner?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"We shall talk then." Mera swam away to teach her next class. You took the opportunity to sneak away then. You made it halfway to the science center before Kaldur caught up to you.

"I wish to speak with you," Kaldur swam beside you, "I thought you would have stayed and talked when I approached on the sparing deck. I wish to make up for the lost time."

"Of course, Kaldur," You respond 'There goes my plan to visit the science center,' you lament.

"Will you be at the palace dinner?" Kaldur asks.

"As Prince Orm's protégé, I am invited to all royal events." You inform Kaldur.

"Protégé..." Kaldur ponders, " It is fitting that you would assist Prince Orm as I assist King Orin." Kaldur gives you a sad smile at the thought. "I have missed you on the surface world."

"I have missed you too Kaldur," You reply, "But surely you would rather spend your time with Garth and Tula. You were very close to them during your time at the conservatory."

"Garth and Tula had other classes to attend." Kaldur grabbed your hand, leading you toward the palace. You stared at yours and Kaldur's intertwined hands, a flutter in your chest. "Tula will be accompanying me to dinner at the palace, but I wish to spend my time with you until then." The flutter died at the mention of Kaldur inviting Tula to the royal dinner.

You pulled your hand away from Kaldur, "What would you like to do?"

"Whatever you wish."

"Follow me then." You both turned toward the palace gardens.

"The coral is beautiful this time of year," Kaldur comments, trying to spark conversation from you.

"Yes, quite beautiful." You look towards some pink coral with sea horses swimming around it. "What's it like on the surface?"

"It is very different from Atlantis." Kaldur started, "It feels lighter up there, yet crushing at the same time."

"Are you sure that's not how you feel?" You asked, turning towards him, "You have many responsibilities on the surface and hardly spend any time here."

"I am afraid you are correct, my responsibilities on the surface have consumed my attention... I have been considering staying in Atlantis," Kaldur admitted, swimming closer to you.

"For Tula?" You whispered.

Kaldur shook his head and took your hands in his. "For you."

His answer shocked you, all this time, you believed that Kaldur only held affection for Tula. Never had you let yourself hope that he could hold affection for you, yet he would stay in Atlantis to be with you. If only he knew the truth, what would he think about you then? Is it possible his affections could survive such an earth-shattering secret?

You pulled away from him, still staring into his eyes, "You can't." Without giving an explanation, you swam away towards your room.

--

You skipped the royal dinner, meeting Black Manta's troops at the far edge of Atlantis' protective dome. A tsunami in Japan lured King Orin away, and security patrols were trading shifts. Black Manta's troops set up explosives around the city to distract the city guard, leaving the science center ripe for the taking.

The giant sea star was magnificent, you'd never seen anything like it. It made you regret wasting time instead of being able to witness it without a time constraint.

"Manta Sub, initiate phase four," Black Manta ordered.

The Manta Sub started melting a hole through the science center's glass dome. You stood guard next to Manta as his troops attached cables around the Ice block.

"What is it?" You asked Black Manta, swimming closer to the ice, almost touching it.

"Our objective. Do not touch." Manta ordered.

"So... you don't know?" You could practically see the scowl through Black Manta's mask. Still, you backed away from the sea star to watch his soldiers finish securing it.

You watched two of Black Manta's men come back from patrol, one of which carried a peculiar set of weapons on his thigh; Water-Bearers. You looked to Manta, who also noticed the peculiar weapons, swimming towards the intruders.

"Impressive, is it not? Aqualad?" Kaldur started shooting at Manta, who dodged his attacks before firing back. The laser gun exploded, sending Kaldur and the other flying backward. Kaldur tossed his helmet aside before creating water swords to block Manta's laser beams.

"I've missed you Aqualad, the new suit looks good on you!" You called, sending water bubbles his way.

Kaldur deflected your attack before blocking Manta's blast with one of his troopers. "You have much potential, yet you use your gifts for villainy. Why?!."

"Why not?" You yell back.

"Such a waste." Black Manta chastises Kaldur, "You really have no ambition other than serving Aquaman?" You swam up toward Black Manta, "Aren't schools of others willing to die for their king? This fool, for example!"

You took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of your nose, sighing as Garth finally got his helmet off. Kaldur pulled Garth behind a pillar before Manta's lasers could hit. Black Manta's men started firing at the pillar they hid behind, causing it to crumble. Kaldur emerged from behind a water shield, blasting some of Manta's troops.

"I summon the power of the Tempest!" Black Manta swam out of the way as Garth's water tornado caught you and three of his men, you stood your ground and parted the water. The tornado threw the men away, but you remained untouched.

"'I summon the power of the tempest!'" You broke out laughing. 'Mera was right about his combat strategy, predictable.' "That's child's play!" You called out, "And here I thought a student of the conservatory would put up more of a fight." You rushed Garth, bashing him against the wall. "Your King Orin might rule the people of Atlantis, but the seven seas bow to my command!" You start pulling at the water in his body, throwing him against the wall.

The Manta Sub's laser had pierced through the science center's dome and dropped a hook to attach to the giant sea star. Manta's soldiers rushed to attach the cables to the hook, leaving you and Manta to deal with Kaldur and Garth.

Garth's lightning strikes would have felled the strongest humans, but you blocked them with ease, countering with ice spikes. Several spikes grazed Garth, cutting into his flesh, and causing blood to cloud the water. You focused Garth's blood back towards him, creating blood shards.

"Garth, the cable!" Kaldur called, you turned to see Kaldur battling Black Manta. Your lapse in concentration stopped the blood shards and allowed Garth to hit the cable with a magic bolt. The sea star came crashing back down into the science center, breaking off some of the ice holding it. Its arm started moving. You and Manta moved to recapture the creature before Kaldur captured him. You were inches away from the ice before you heard Manta yell.

"If I can't have it, no one can!" Manta fired a missile toward the sea star's containment unit, causing an explosion.

'That lunatic would've killed me! Maniac!' you thought as the explosion sent you flying backward.

The force was concussive, but you regained your bearings after a moment. Garth used ice magic to shield himself and Kaldur from the explosion. In the cover of smoke, you chose to swim back toward the palace instead of joining Black Manta.

On your way to the palace, you shrunk your costume and mask to fit into an octopus pendant. 'How am I going to sneak back in?' you wondered, trying to avoid any witnesses. 'I could say that I was in a fight with Manta's soldiers, it's not a complete lie.' Content with your half-truth, you swam to where you saw Queen Mera and Prince Orm.

"Oh, (y/n)!!" Mera swam to check on you.

"We worried about you." Prince Orm said, "When you had not appeared at the royal dinner and when explosions went off around Poseidonis, no one could find you."

"I didn't mean to frighten you, I was feeling ill before the dinner, and I went to help when I saw the explosions."

"I am just happy you are alright." Queen Mera said when she decided you were in good condition.

"(y/n)!" You heard Kaldur call from behind you.

"Kaldur!" You swam up to meet Kaldur and tackled him in a tight hug. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I am alright." Kaldur hugged you back before he swam down toward Queen Mera. "It was Black Manta, he was trying to steal the echinoderm that was recently discovered. Garth and I intervened. Black Manta destroyed the science center and escaped. Apologies my queen."

"Apologies? What for Kaldur?" Queen Mera asked

"Black Manta escaped. I failed." Kaldur hung his head in shame.

"Nonsense Kaldur, you helped save the people of Poseidonis. For now, we must find a way to communicate with King Orin, but I assure you he would be proud of your actions today." Mera squeezed Kaldur's shoulder before swimming into the palace with Prince Orm.

"I must check on Tula. We will speak later Kaldur," Garth said before swimming away, leaving you and Kaldur.

"I'm sorry Kaldur for leaving you in the gardens." You started, grabbing Kaldur's hand. "I love you, truly I do..." You took your time to figure out what words you wanted to say next, "But you have always wanted to help others, and you were ecstatic when you became Aqualad. I didn't want to be the reason you gave up on your dream."

"I understand, but how can I be on the surface if my heart belongs here, with you?" Kaldur asks, squeezing your hand.

You brought Kaldur's hand to rest over your heart, "Perhaps knowing that our hearts belong to each other will have to be enough."

[silenthillmutual]

☕️ How do you feel about horror films in the 2010's? What were some of the best and worst to come out of that decade in your opinion?

oh hmmmmm let's look at what i've seen that came out in the 2010s

great, really loved - tucker & dale vs evil (horror comedy that will always be famous. to me.); get out (i like us and nope as well but get out to me is like the tightest writing of the three. and then nope and then us.); it ch1 (i have a fond memory of seeing this on my birthday so i have a bias for it :]); annihilation (i love sci-fi horror films so fucking much. ik there's big differences between the book and the film but i cannot wait to read the book anyway!); mandy (i have got to get high and watch this. epic film)

good, decent film - black swan (i do not get what the discourse is around this movie. no it's not the most mind-blowing film experience but idk ppl act like there's nothing worth redeeming in it.); the cabin in the woods (this is a p good movie, do not get me wrong, but it would've been better without the joss whedon stink on it); paranorman (will probably get bumped up a notch once i've rewatched it tbh); what we do in the shadows (mockumentaries i love u); crimson peak (can i just take a sec to say media literacy is ass on this site bc of that one post about crimson peak.); green room (wanna rewatch this one bc its premise is right up my alley); the boy (benefits from Better Than I Was Expecting); happy death day (groundhog day plots are really hit or miss for me but i did like this one. i support women's wrongs.); a quiet place (i need to see the sequels bc i hear day one is good but this was def a unique premise and i liked how the end product turned out); color out of space (goes on a touch too long imo but i'd love to watch it again); us (i still enjoy us just not as much as get out or nope. there's some clunkiness in us.)

a little mediocre but i'll put it on - my soul to take (no real notes on this one other than not being big happy w its ending); grave encounters (probs a little higher up on the meter bc i do enjoy saying 'im lance preston and this is grave encounters' at random); american mary (also on the higher up side bc i'd like it to have been. idk. gorier? also the ending felt kinda anticlimactic.); the babadook (film got spoiled for me long before i sat down to watch it. my partner despises it. i just wanna know why no one has pointed out that the kid is obviously autistic and him being presented as a burden is kinda fucked up); hereditary (i think this is a decent melodrama, and ari aster is not untalented, but oh my gooooood people piss me off about this movie lmao and the mom sounds exactly like my mother.); mom and dad (the parts w the parents i think are much stronger than the parts w the kids but interesting concept for a short story.); it ch2 (i think it doesn't quite match up to pt 1 but it's not bad. i might rewatch it and see how i feel.), ready or not (i'd love to rewatch this one and have my mind changed on it)

i don't remember this one love and light - the woman in black (i'll give this a rewatch later); the purge (i only have the vaguest memories of what happens in this one bc i watched it at 2 am w some classmates while studying abroad); it follows (i see both a lot of love and a lot of hate for this movie so i kinda wanna rewatch before i settle on an opinion)

boring - fright night (i watched this in high school bc i really liked david tennant but i tried rewatching it as an adult and i couldn't get hooked); the conjuring (i'm so sorry to everyone who loves these films but i could NOT get into this.); the witch (sorry.)

i dont recommend tbh - saw 3d (not one on my rewatch list in the series but it's also not the worst film in the set on account of it not being jigsaw or spiral); in fear (i watched this while studying abroad in scotland and i got very let down at just how little was going on in this film.); tusk (parts of this movie i was struggling not to laugh at. didn't feel bad for the main character in the least. not nearly as disturbing as everyone kept making it out ot be imo.); the love witch (i thought 'oh this has to be a critique of rad feminism it's too campy to be taken seriously' but alas i was wrong); midsommar (i am keeping my mouth shut on my real opinion of this movie.)

abysmal. sorry. - dark shadows (i will admit there are burton films that i still find joy in but this is definitely not one of them. really weird movie from what i remember); silent hill: revelation 3d (idk how they fucked up worse than christoph gans but they did!); jigsaw (how the fuck do you make a saw movie that's BORING. booo logan we hate ur pussy!)

woah sorry i just looked a t a list sorry this is like a massive wall of text.

[snaplight-anxiety]

okay just finished never say die and honestly….. not canon to me. trying to sort out my thoughts here so

The writing style feels different and also worse. like more childish? tbh might all be in my head bc I know it’s newer but still. I’ve been binge reading the series so it’s not like I took a huge break between it and Scorpia Rising and i just don’t remember

Definitely feel cheated out of the Scorpia Rising ending, I think that’s a popular opinion. It was this perfect culmination of the series and Alex’s story and then… WHAM all of that disappeared. I was honestly hoping that Jack wouldn’t be alive and the messege was a trick (even though I love Jack) bc it could’ve been this thing where Alex was forced to confront his grief and stuff. But no.

I started reading the series last year and I was very excited to see there were new books and that it was being continued bc I was really enjoying it so… very disappointing. Definitely would’ve been better and more impactful if he left it.

Going back to Jack’s death and the erasure of Alex’s trauma…. what WAS that. Like Alex killed Julius point blank and that was never brought up again. There was a line that was literally like “he would be okay again if Jack was alive” What. It seemed weirdly disrespectful of Alex’s character? If that makes sense?

Lwk their reunion was sooo anticlimactic. Where was the DRAMA the SOBBING the i have to touch her at all times to be sure she’s real. guys.

Retconning Ben Daniels to Wolf. Bad and should not have been done I hope that’s fixed.

Changing Ms. Jones’ character? Wtf? She was totally against Alex being brought in and did not want to manipulate him like Alan Blunt and then… what. They could’ve at least made it interesting? Like play into what Blunt was saying at the end of Scorpia Rising abt the job and sacrificing morals and such. She seems so cavalier about it.

Where is Smithers 😭😭. I feel like he was written off the show bc the actor didn’t want to be there but it’s literally a book series there are no actors. Did Horowitz just get tired of writing him???? I miss you king

Pretty sure zero mentions of his friends in london. Not super surprising but Tom I promise I didn’t forget you

feel free to add on w your views I’m curious about how other people reacted/accepted it

[atopearth]

Court of Darkness Part 14 - Lynt Akedia (Book 2)

All I remember from Book 1 was Lynt running to the heroine and everyone being surprised he was running somewhere instead of walking for once in his life lmao. Anyway, introducing the heroine to the whole kingdom as the one he's dating?! That's definitely a big deal lol, I'm surprised the heroine is so chill about it🤣 I am especially worried because he ditched his fiancee for her and I'm not sure how his family or hers feels about that. Is Lynt the Akedian to end all Akedians killed me LMAO. Why is Akedia so chill🤣 I mean it's great that all Akedians love peace hahaha. Lynt's parents are so young and pretty, not to mention much nicer than expected! Lynt is reliable when he needs to be, so I'm very glad that when there some people blaming the Lethargy (which has been affecting children and people causing some to go into a comatose state) on the heroine because it happened after she came to visit, Lynt wants to show his people what kind of person she is and that it's got nothing to do with her. I guess one really shouldn't take things at face value because I have no idea why it didn't occur to me that The Lethargy could be caused by ancient magic either haha, or that magic might be able to cure them maybe.

Considering how less Lynt talks, hearing him care so much about his people but feel so powerless when he's their prince and should be bringing peace to Akedians makes me so touched. OMG excuse me?? Luciano is so hot, he needs a route asap. I was expecting some old man lmao. Luciano is quite unsettling though, especially with him having Lynt use his ancient magic so he can study it and its similarities to The Lethargy. I just hope he doesn't do something like accuse Lynt for being the cause. As expected, Luciano wasn't as trustworthy as they thought and is most likely the culprit of The Lethargy. I want to say that Lynt is too naive, but considering how much he wanted to help his people and how peaceful Akedia is, I really can't blame him for being used. I guess my issue with this route is that I feel like Lynt could have used his privileges as a prince to do more things but he chooses to do everything himself which is good and bad? I enjoyed him having to make the difficult decision of burning these new variety of olives that are causing the sickness though, because he is finally stepping into his role as future king as he decides things for himself whilst prioritising the people and what's best for them despite opposition. It's nice for Lynt that he at least found some people who understood his actions burning down the blue olive trees. It all ended in a rather anticlimactic way but I guess it's good that they can happily get married now? Hahahaha. I love how the heroine repeated the same Akedian vow to him when she put the ring on Lynt, I thought it was so sweet how she remembered it and said it back to him.

Overall, I like Lynt but I wasn't too fond of the course of events in this Book 2, but I do acknowledge that Lynt is trying his best I guess and it was only now that he started being more serious about his responsibilities and understanding how much he loves Akedia and wants to protect his people so I guess I'll cut him some slack hahaha. I guess I just wasn't too fond of how naive he could be and how he didn't use his privileges as a prince more to solve the situation but oh well. I like how pure and sincere he is so I think that makes up for it haha. I liked how protective he was of the heroine and how he wanted to clear her name. I liked how they both tirelessly tried their best to communicate with the people to find the cure to The Lethargy and I liked seeing how decisive Lynt became as a person and a prince as he took on responsibility to help his people but also to take the "blame" for choosing to do what he did to protect them. It's something he'll constantly have to do in the future and it was nice to see him grow with the support of the heroine as he becomes a future king that will be very caring towards his people and loved for how personable he is haha. I would still like to date Luciano though.

[filmmarvel]

Initial Ted Lasso finale reaction??

Honestly found the finale underwhelming, I was disappointed. And no, that’s not just because Ted and Rebecca didn’t get together (although, I was quite disappointed by that). It just felt anticlimactic? Finales should always be really hard hitting, and this one just wasn’t. Sure there were some really lovely touching moments, but story wise? The game was such a huge part of the episode that they didn’t really get to focus on the individual characters all that much, aside from Ted and Rebecca. For example, Nate had a huge arc this season, but only a few scenes in the finale. Roy and Keeley had this long relationship arc, only for it to go almost completely unresolved in a really unsatisfying way that didn’t justify anything (and brought Jamie back into the mix romantically for some reason)?? We see Ted finally going home, but we don’t really see any fallout of him getting back? We aren’t sure if he’s back with his ex, or if she’s still dating the therapist? We have little understanding of how Ted can be happy here, since his relationship (as far as we know) still hasn’t been pieced together (and there was no other romantic arc for him), and literally his entire group of close friends are in another country. Jamie’s only big storyline this episode aside from being a star footballer was that he was back in love with Keeley? One of the entire earlier episodes was all about how he’s lost, and looking for a path in life. It would’ve been nice if we had gotten at least a hint of an idea about what might be fulfilling for him? Or Roy for that matter, pretty much the same argument goes for him. The only characters who’s endings I was happy with were Trent, Sam, Colin, and Rebecca. But that being said, I still find myself wishing Sam had more screen time this episode, and more of a satisfying arc this season. And of course with Rebecca, I’m still disappointed that she didn’t end up with Ted. Honestly that felt a bit like a tease, but I like the boat guy, so I’m trying to not let my saltiness about her and Ted get totally in the way here. I just think I’d have an easier time feeling okay about them remaining friends if the rest of the finale was satisfying. Anyways, this whole season was kind of bizarre. They did so much and so little at the same time. I guess I figured they would’ve planned for the finale a little better, but it kinda ends up coming off as though they just sorta bullshitted their way through most of the season with random storylines only to have a bunch of unfulfilled storylines by the finale. I’m honestly disappointed, I really thought this finale was gonna be great based on the last few episodes.

[pathfinderunlocked]

Possessed Anatomical Model - CR7 Construct

A monster for a haunted hospital, biology lab, or school.

Artwork by Maison Deyrolle, at Christie’s.

I created this monster because I wanted a group of enemies that a party of level 1 characters could get spooked by and run from, and then once they gained magic powers and became level 11 characters, they could go back and fight.  That required an unusual approach to make sure the level 1 characters actually survived, yet the level 11 characters were still challenged.  As a result, I ended up designing an enemy that’s very easy to escape from.

Any time characters move or do something in front of these dolls, give them a perception check.  On a DC 20, they notice that one or more of the anatomical models moved slightly towards them while they weren't looking.  If the anatomical models reach low level characters, they’ll merely grapple them and hold them in place, doing no damage - releasing the characters as soon as they look at the models.  The models will not use their spells against non-threatening enemies, and are not murderous enough to actually kill helpless victims - the spirits possessing them seek only to scare people.  They’ll tackle a helpless civilian target, pin it to the ground, and might even draw dotted lines on its body to indicate the location of its internal organs.  But if they attack in that situation, they’ll do so nonlethally.

However, when the possessed anatomical models encounter a threat that fights back, they will turn to violence in kind, casting Deeper Darkness so that they can fight unimpeded.  If a PC has the See In Darkness ability, casts Daylight, or destroys the object that Deeper Darkness is cast on, the models go back to being harmless, effectively ending the fight.  An ability like blindsight or tremorsense doesn’t actually count as being seen, and simply evens the playing field.

Its Cheat Initiative ability allows you to make sure that one of these things acts before the PCs.  It needs to be able to cast Deeper Darkness before it’s immediately incapacitated, after all.  Instantly ending the fight just because it lost the initiative roll would be a little too anticlimactic.

Possessed Anatomical Model - CR 7

In the classroom is one of those creepy, skinless anatomical models.  You stare at it for a few seconds, then turn to your allies.  As your eyes dart back to the anatomical model... you could swear it’s closer to you than it was a moment ago.  But it’s not moving.

XP 3,200 NE Medium construct Init +3 Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +0

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural) hp 80 (11d10+20) Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +3 DR 5/magic Immune construct traits Weaknesses susceptible to mind-affecting effects

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 slams +16 (1d8+5 plus grab) Special Attacks gouge eyes, constrict in darkness (1d8+5)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +9)     1/day—deeper darkness

STATISTICS

Str 20, Dex 16, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 9 Base Atk +11; CMB +16 (+18 gouge eyes, +20 grapple); CMD 29 SQ cheat initiative, incapacitated while seen

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Cheat Initiative (Ex) Once per day, a possessed anatomical model can give itself up to a +20 bonus on an initiative roll.  It can choose to add this bonus retroactively after rolling initiative.  However, if it adds this bonus, all of its allies take an equal penalty on their initiative rolls in that combat.

Constrict in Darkness (Ex) A possessed anatomical model gains the constrict ability, dealing 1d8+5 damage to a grappled target, but can only use this ability while in an area of complete darkness.

Gouge Eyes (Ex) As a standard action, a possessed anatomical model can perform a special dirty trick maneuver against a target within its reach, blinding the target for 1 minute instead of the typical 1 round.  It gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its CMB when performing a dirty trick in this way.  This combat maneuver provokes an attack of opportunity as normal (although creatures that cannot see the model usually cannot perform attacks of opportunity).

Incapacitated While Seen (Ex) A possessed anatomical model is incapacitated while any living creature with at least 3 Intelligence can see it, unless that creature is flat-footed.  Perceiving an anatomical model with other senses does not incapacitate it.

Susceptible to Mind-Affecting Effects (Ex) A possessed anatomical model’s realistic model brain causes it to lose its immunity to mind-affecting effects, despite being mindless.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 035

Vegeta!  Versus!  Frost!  No Disqualifications!  Anything goes!  Who will win this epic showdown of--

Oh.  Well that was quick.

Seriously, though, they reallllly drag this part out.  It doesn’t take up that much of the episode, but when the fight is literally one punch, taking any amount of time to set it up is anticlimactic at best. 

Basically, Frost talks, and talks, and talks.  He talks about how his ruse of being the hero has been exposed, and how Vegeta got Frost back in the tournament just to fight him, and how he only used his poison claw thing sparingly so he wouldn’t get caught.  So now that everyone knows about it he can just use it whenever he wants.  Except it’s against the rules, so Vegeta demands that this match suspend the rule forbidding weapons.  Then Frost talks about how great it is that he can cheat and cheat and cheat some more, which is pretty stupid because the only reason that poison claw thing worked in the first place was because no one was expecting it.  Now that he’s lost the element of surprise, it doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not. 

And this is all sound and fury signifying nothing, because we all know Vegeta can win this without even trying, because Goku was dominating Frost without even trying very hard, and the only thing that stopped him was the poison claw, which, again, Vegeta knows about.   Maybe this would work if it set up a cool no-holds-barred match where Frost reveals cool new tricks he can do with the poison claw now that he doesn’t have to hide it.  But no, Vegeta beats him in one punch.  

Oh, and Beerus finds the small wound on Goku’s body where Frost poisoned him during their match, and he successfully lobbies to have Goku’s loss reversed.  So for those of you keeping score, Frost has lost this tournament three times.   He was disqualified for poisoning Piccolo, then he lose by ring-out to Vegeta, and now he’s been disqualified (retroactively) for poisoning Goku. 

I think the purpose of this who business was to arrange a way for Goku to open the tournament for his team, then jump back in later at the end, even though the rules have fighters stay until they lose a match.  And this is what’s wrong with this whole damn saga.  It’s a tournament arc, but this show would rather spend all its time and energy on pointless speeches and Beerus and Champa bickering about the rules.  Even the writers seem more interested in gamesmanship than the actual competition.  If they wanted Goku to fight first, then last, then they could have just written the rules to allow for that.  Instead, they went to all this nonsense just to create a loophole.  There was no need for this!  The writers literally made up the rules!  They could make them anything they wanted!

Also, we have this bit where Goku asks to go on last, but Beerus has already given that spot to Monaka, who’s supposed to be the team’s ace-in-the-hole.   The reason Goku wants to go last is because he’s worried that he and Vegeta might sweep the rest of the matches, and win the whole thing before Monaka gets a chance to fight.  Goku really wants to challenge Monaka himself, but he’ll settle for at least getting to watch him fight someone else.  But Beerus won’t have it.  He doesn’t want Goku to fight, look at, or speak to Monaka.  This puzzles Goku, as they argue about this right in front of Monaka, who doesn’t seem to notice anything that’s happening. 

Meanwhile, Champa and Vados are constructing a big force field box over the fighting stage.  When Beerus objects, Champa claims it’s to protect the audience, since the force field dome has been breached a couple of times already.  The box will ensure that this doesn’t happen again, and Champa also proposes a rule that touching the interior surface of the box is the same as a ring-out.  Beerus is pissed about the sudden rule change, so they play rock-paper-scissors to settle it, but they tie over and over again, because this show only has so many ideas to work with, and sometimes it has to re-use a few.  

While this is going on, Vados notices Frost sneaking out of the dome.

Frost’s plan is to get the hell out of Dodge before Champa destroys him for his failure and disgraceful conduct. Over in a crater, he finds the Hexahedron, the interdimensional vehicle Vados used to bring them here from Universe 6, as well as a giant pile of cartoon treasure.  Well, I mean, this is a cartoon, so of course it’s cartoon treasure.  I just mean it looks a little more cartoony than usual.  Champa promised it to his team if they won, but Frost plans to stuff it all in the Hexahedron and skedaddle.  Does he even know how to drive the thing, though?

But before Frost can even consider that question, someone stops him.

And this is our proper introduction to Hit, the purple guy on the U6 team.  Frost knows he’s an assassin, so he assumes that Hit followed him because he was hired by one of Frost’s enemies, or perhaps Champa himself.  But Hit isn’t on the clock for this one.  He simply noticed Frost making a break for it, and he didn’t want Frost stealing the Hexahedron because it was already promised to Hit.

Back to the tournament, we finally meet Vegeta’s next opponent, Auta Magetta.  He looks like a big robot, but he’s actually from a species of metallic aliens who drink lava.  Also, he makes all these sounds and vocalizations that make no sense.  And he shoots fire and lava and steam at Vegeta.  His offense is really, really boring. 

And Vegeta concludes that this was why Champa ordered the force field around the ring.  He knew Magetta’s offense worked best in close quarters, so this way there’s less room for Vegeta to manuever.  This should also mean that Vegeta’s best bet is to stay airborne, and take advantage of what little distance he has. 

So Vegeta goes Super Saiyan and rains down ki blasts...

... But Magetta just returns fire, and nearly pushes Vegeta back against the force field.   Everyone complains about Magetta using weapons, but the referee insists that his powers are totally natural for his species.

I should point out that the Universe 7 Kais don’t even know if they have creatures like Magetta in their own domain.  Of course, the Elder Kai has an excuse, because he was stuck in the Z-Sword for a long time, but still.  Kibito thinks he read about them in a book once, but he can’t recall, so the Old Kai spits his false teeth at him. 

Meanwhile, Vegeta is getting pretty hot and sweaty in that box he’s in.  It’s almost like Champa wanted the box so Magetta’s powers would cook Vegeta alive.  Hmmm...

[incorrectlasthours]

Hey there! Feel free to ignore this, but I just needed to share some of my thoughts on CoT because I just finished the book and I don’t have any one to vent to aahhhggddhhh!!!

…Ahem…*composing myself*….so ANYWAY. This book frustrates the hell out of me. I’m not gonna harp on all of the reasons why because I think the fandom has thoroughly pointed out the biggest issues already (Christopher’s death, the Cordelia-James-Matthew love🔺, the overall pace of the book, unfulfilling character arcs, etc.). But one thing that I’m personally disappointed about that hasn’t been discussed quite as much as those other issues is Lucie’s subplot.

I’ve always treasured Lucie as a character because of her bubbliness and naive perspective. Out of all the characters, she had the most potential for growth simply because of her youth and innocence, contrasted by all of the shady shit she got involved in CoI. Although I’m glad that she and Jesse ended up together, I really wish their relationship wasn’t so rushed and focused on the physical contact between them (in other words, they were both just mad horny for each other in almost every scene). I feel like it would’ve been more natural for her character to experience some level of novelty and even awkwardness as she figured out how to finally be with Jesse, since it’s her first romantic relationship AND shes quite innocent in her idealizations of the world. Like I was just so put off by that first kiss scene where they basically just smashed faces and then Lucie suddenly was like “SUCK MY NECK”. It just felt so…unfeeling? Off-brand? Abrupt?

Also the “big reveal” about why Lucie flinched when she and Cordelia were practicing their parabatai ceremony was kinda lame imo. I just felt like 🤷‍♀️. So what if she saw some more ghosts? We already knew that her powers are trippy with spirits and shit, it just felt a bit anticlimactic. I still don’t get why CC decided to even include that whole fuss in the first place because it didn’t even add anything significant to the plot or change the characters at all.

Last lil thought about Lucie! I honestly thought that SHE was going to be the one who got kidnapped in the book when charlotte was teasing before the release. It might have been more exciting/suspenseful if Malcolm held her and Jesse hostage in his cabin when Lucie comes out of her coma—As the reader, we already know that Malcolm is coming undone at this point, so I can totally imagine him seeing Lucie’s success with raising Jesse and then deciding just to keep her under lockdown until she agrees to somehow try and raise Annabelle as well.

Thanks for letting me dump all my lil thoughts here! It’s been giving me a headache to keep it all in lol😆

Hey @banannie47 - no worries at all!! I made this blog because I love these books so much and love to chat about them online, so you came to the right place 🫶 Sorry for my slow reply - I’ve been answering this ask little by little over the past few days!

Yes yes yes let’s talk about my girl Lucie!! I’m going to respond to each of your points below - I haven’t seen too many people talking about Lucie post-TLH and I definitely think we should be!

Lucie & Jesse & kissing: I agree with you on a lot of this! Lucie can definitely be more naive and innocent, but I wasn’t quite so caught of guard by how suddenly Lucie wanted to be with Jesse. Lucie believes (somewhat youthfully) that love is good and powerful (Will and Tessa are her parents, after all) and it makes sense that as soon as Jesse is no longer a ghost, Lucie wants to take their relationship to the next level. They could barely even touch each other for so long, so I think it’s natural that Lucie would instinctively want to touch and kiss him now that she can - even when you’re young and innocent, it’s not abnormal to want to touch your partner (even if you don’t quite know why or how!)

What bothered me about this was two things: first, it was never explained why touching/kissing Jesse made Lucie fall into shadows, and that whole plot point never really came together to me. It felt like an excuse Cassie wrote to drive this behavior on Lucie’s behalf, and simultaneously to keep the two apart; Jesse and Lucie had to share intimate moments to forward the plot, and yet they were never able to have a real love scene uninterrupted by this unexplained phenomenon.

My other big issue was the scene after Lucie and Cordelia’s fight, when Lucie goes to Jesse for comfort. I loved the whole scene (I adore ghostwriter, so I loved finally seeing them together) but I HATED the line after Lucie took off her dressing gown and thought about using Jesse to make her forget her fight with Cordelia. Cassandra Clare always says she wants to model healthy sexual relationships, but using another person as a distraction is not healthy. And it’s not fair to Jesse and Lucie, either: their relationship is so much more than a “distraction” or a mechanism to help someone “forget” their problems. I thought this line was very out of character for Lucie (especially with her sweet, love-can-conquer-all attitude), and I really wish Cassie would have thought twice about how to word this/expressed Lucie’s desire in a different way.

The Parabatai Ceremony and Ghosts: I agree with you on this one 100%. The reveal was anticlimactic, and it had almost no stake in the actual plot. I honestly think Lucie was meant to flinch in Chain of Iron for a different reason (probably something a lot more tragic), and then Cassie changed her mind and had to backtrack/make up an excuse. I also think this could be why the parabatai ceremony replaced the family tree explanation as the short story - if something tragic was meant to happen during the parabatai ceremony in Chain of Thorns and then Cassie changed her mind, she probably had to cut it from the book and decided to make it the extra content instead.

Lucie & Malcolm: I’m with you on this one as well! I absolutely thought the kidnapping would refer to Lucie and Jesse in Cornwall, and I’m kind of shocked that everything associated with their excursion just kind of got brushed off? If I were Will and Tessa and my sixteen year-old daughter just spent FIVE DAYS in a warlock’s cabin with a boy she just brought back from the dead… I don’t know, I might have some questions. Also Lucie covered up for Malcolm in a lot of ways; she said that she asked him to take her to Cornwall, and she never told anyone that she was unconscious for so long. There were just a lot of unanswered plot points here, and I think there could have been a lot of potential for an exciting plot sequence if Lucie and Jesse had stayed in Cornwall a little longer!

Thank you so much the ask, and I am sorry again for the slow reply! 💛

[awaytobeunshaken]

Angstpril 2023 - Day 25: Nothing Lasts Forever

Fjord ends up being the first of them to pass. He’d retired from the sea some years ago, back to the little house in Nicodranas, though it had of course had been added onto and fixed up in the intervening years. And when Jester messaged because she didn’t want to be alone, they arrived together, though it was Essek who held her hand in her grief, a grief he was destined to share.

And she was there to take his hand when the time came, when he knelt beside that patch of ground in the Blooming Grove, with no marker save for Caduceus’s impeccable memory of the grounds, when he took that bit of soil to sprinkle on the Ermendrud plot in Blumenthal, a symbolic reunion that Essek could only hope had followed a real one.

Kingsley was next, and his passing seemed almost anticlimactic; as someone whom death had seemed to have no real hold on, there was an odd air of expectation among the rest of the Nein as he was put in the ground. But it had been decades since the Somnovem had inhabited his body, and the natural processes of time were different than being struck down by spell or blade, and it seemed that whatever part of soul or spirit that might have been there from the start would finally be allowed its rest.

Beauregard seemed to suffer no diminishment in body or mind as the years went on, and when her time came it felt almost disconcerting in its suddenness. Yasha seemed to feel the same, as she stood beside the grave, haunted, unmoving, until Essek and Caduceus took her hands and led her to a bedroom in the temple, where Essek touched his forehead to hers and muttered, “I know.”

ao3

Yasha never returned to the house in Zadash, letting the children take care of whatever belongings remained and taking up residence in a spare room in Jester’s home. Essek would stay there, too, as often as was prudent, and and they would often walk along the beach in the evenings, the fringes of the surf tickling their bare feet. One evening Jester stopped suddenly during their walk and took Essek’s hand and looked out across the water for a long while, as if she’d spotted something in the distance, just on the edge of noticing. Then she shook her head and led them back to the house. Neither he nor Yasha were surprised when she didn’t wake the next morning.

Essek again performed what had almost become habit, transporting her body to the grove, Yasha and Veth in tow, to see her laid to rest beside her mother, beside her husband. And for the first time since losing Caleb, he didn’t try to stop the tears as he knelt and placed his hands on the fresh soil, and despite all he had lost so far, and the dwindling numbers of companions surrounding him, and the thought of all the lonely years still before him, all he could say was “Thank you.”

He returned to the house in Nicodranas with Yasha—Jester wouldn’t have allowed it any other way—but they didn’t stay long. Yasha expressed a wanderlust in her later years, and as the other of their number who had been so thoroughly driven from their home, Essek couldn’t think what else to do but oblige her. In their rare forays into cities he would pose as her guide, or she as his protector, but mostly Yasha wanted to spend her time outdoors, in the wilderness where she could feel the Stormlord. Until at last, tired but fulfilled, she asked him to return her to the Grove to wait out her final days.

Veth, well, they got on well enough in the end. Essek had long kept his distance, not trying to force an unearned closeness, but after Yeza was gone she called on him more and more often, and they had the conversations that they could never quite manage when their respective partners were around, and shared stories of the man whom they had both loved in their own way. “You really were good for him,” she admitted in the end. “I hope you know that.”

After he brought her to the Blooming Grove for the last time, there was little for Essek to do but go back into the world, on his own this time, and make what life he could for himself. Caduceus was rarely inclined to leave his home, and Essek couldn’t bear to stay in the Grove for too long at a time. He made various acquaintances, some he could almost call friends, none he was quite willing to bestow with ‘family’. He made sure to return to the Grove at least once a year, though, to check in and say hello and try what new teas the firbolg had cultivated.

But eventually the day comes when not even Caduceus is there to greet him. He checks in less frequently after that, but still on occasion, otherwise continuing in his work, what work he wants to do: study, research, experimentation. He finds what companionship he can, and speaks of his old friends fondly, and finally understands why Caleb has always referred the people in his life so vaguely, because how could a word truly encompass everything these people have meant to him.

At last, after what seems an impossible number of years alone, he feels the tug towards the Blooming Grove one last time. The generation of Clays he first met are long gone, but Calliope’s daughter is looking after the temple, and Carousel greets him warmly. She doesn’t need to guide him to the place he’s looking for, but she holds him up on shaking legs, and he doesn’t kneel this time, merely presses a hand to his lips and mutters. “I’ll see you soon, love.”

And then Essek Thelyss returns to the temple of the Wildmother for his final rest.

[nerdby]

This might be wishful thinking, but since Reddit is failing I'm really hoping to see some of the people from the books and book suggestions forums come to Tumblr. I remember when I used to be on Reddit there was one forum where people would ask for recommendations for the most fucked up books ever at least once a week. And those recommendations did not disappoint.

They weren't all just horror novels, either. People recommended all kinds of controversial romance and nonfiction novels that were tragic or downright disturbing or both. In some cases, I would look the books up on Goodreads and just get this overwhelming feeling that like I'm not supposed know that the book exists. Like it's just a piece of history or whatever that everyone wants swept under the rug.

I kinda feel like a lot of people on Tumblr don't read contemporary fiction or horror or nonfiction. Which isn't a bad thing. It just makes it impossible for me to find reading suggestions sometimes. Unless it's romance but that tends to be pretty hit or miss because for some reason really unrealistic romance that's just pure wish fulfillment seems to be trending and that kind of thing just bores me. I can't read something if there's no conflict or if the "conflict" is resolved within like fifty pages by some fairy Godmother type character.

That just feels very anticlimactic and unrealistic to me. Like I get that people use reading for escapism, but I like to learn from the books I read. How can I learn from something that's not realistic? That's also why I like the genres I do because with horror, especially, the authors touch on subjects that other authors would generally avoid. They write about subjects that are considered taboos and it's not just horror authors who do this, but I feel like they tend to do it the most often.

Like right now I'm reading this social horror novel called Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang. Social horror is an up-and-coming subgenre in horror that emphasizes the atrocities that we allow to take place in the world just because those things are considered normal or because they're our jobs or part of our cultural heritage or whatever. And the book is about a former piano prodigy who takes a job at this big name beauty and wellness store, and without giving away too many spoilers......Like the general attitude of the characters in the book seems to be along the lines of,

"Feeling bad? Take these pills. They'll make you Caucasian."

That's only one of several fucked up aspects of this story, but I'm glad it's fucked up cause I feel like if Natural Beauty hadn't been a horror novel the subject would have been glossed over and prettied up, ya know? But because it's horror you can get away with being a lot more straightforward. And I'm glad cause, frankly, with some of my mental health issues sometimes these messages can go over my head and I end up even more ignorant than I started out because I misinterpreted it. That's not what I want -- I want to learn something, so that I can try to be a better person.

So it makes me really glad that authors like Ling Ling Huang exist and that they took the time to write this, and that people like the ones from Reddit are always asking for fucked up book recs. Cause I learn from those recommendations.

[asidesandbsides]

Starts With P, Part 1

The Partridge Family - Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted / You Are Always On My Mind

The sound is pretty good, and the songs are OK. We've heard from Mr. Cassidy before, and this is more in that vein of folky-teen idol stylings. The best word for it is pleasant.

The Partridge Family - I Think I Love You / Somebody Wants to Love You

I will confess that I positively enjoy "I Think I Love You," it's just goofy and endearing in the way it makes teenage romance into an object of comedy. Well trodden ground, but the melody an instrumentation heighten it a bit. The B-Side adds a touch of what might even be called rock n' roll. A good record.

The Partridge Family - I'll Meet You Halfway / Morning Rider on the Road

I think the lyrics don't really rise to meet a promising tune on Side A. You hate to see it. The song just kind of ends anticlimactically, too. Frankly, I'd rather listen to a straight ballad like "Morning Rider." How do they even pick some of these A-Sides?

Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done to Deserve This? / A New Life

Changing gears just the littlest bit, for a song that came out the year I was born. I cleared off some thick dust, but underneath the synth pop shines brightly. And Dusty Springfield is here, which is always welcome! The B-Side is not as exciting, but it is polished oh-so-smoothly. This must have sounded like the future back in the day.

Peter Paul and Mary - Leaving on a Jet Plane / The House Song

The sound quality is remarkably good, and I'm a little surprised. I would have thought it would be worn down, since I know for a fact it was one of Mom's favorite songs. But yeah, both sides have a lot of depth and character, and they're very beautiful. It's folk pop with a more sophistocated arrangement than you find with, say, the Partridges.

Peter Paul and Mary - Leaving on a Jet Plane / The House Song

Well, that's less of a surprise - there's a second copy. Still, the sound is not bad! Noticeably poorer than on the other disc, but still suffused with beauty.

Peter Paul and Mary - Puff (The Magic Dragon) / Blowin' in the Wind

A double-sided reissue, and who can say no to the beloved "Puff?" That side is a little more worn down than the side with the famous Dylan cover, but they're both classics in their way.