#sorry this is so long i've been trying to pin point why i like them so much

[rakkuntoast]

my enjoyment of philever is a constant battle of deciding if its funnier them getting platonically involved or forever being permanently in his boyfailure era

[zeezelweazel]

For an alexia fic you could do one where shes super jealous of reader talking to an old friend or getting too close to a teammate and then roll with the jealous smut ✌️

Alexia Putellas| Does she do you better?|

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I think I've become a pro at jealous smut at this point

First top Alexia fic let's gooo (sorry if this was cringe af I'm not used to writing top ale)

TW: possessiveness, light choking (reader receiving), fingering (reader receiving), degradation, afab reader

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After Alexia's injury, practice was weird. She was there but she wasn't training with the rest of you. Instead she had a team of physicians instructing her with some specific drills she had to do. You obviously understand that her situation requires for her to be under special training but training sessions aren't as fun as they used to without her.

Ona quickly noticed how unfocused and quiet you were during training. The freckled spaniard did everything she could to cheer you up during training. You two could often be seen laughing and teasing eachother. Like right now, when you're chasing Ona with a water bottle filled with cold water after she dumped her own water on your head.

Ona is panting and frantically looking around the pitch trying to escape but she's too late. Suddenly she's hit with a wave of ice cold water and she's left standing like an ice pillar, gasping at the cold water in shock. You laugh at her face, completely uncaring about her shivering. Ona glares at you and punches your arm which only makes you laugh harder.

While you're having fun with Ona, you're completely unaware that a pair of hazel eyes is pinned on your laughing form. Alexia is sitting on the bleachers with a deadly glare and her jaw clenched tightly.

"You okay Ale?"

She barely turns her head to look at Mapi and only humms a response. Mapi frowns and follows her best friend's line of sight. A look of realisation crosses her face when she sees you and Ona. She's been waiting for Alexia to blow up about this for a long time. Mapi only smirks before walking away.

You're currently packing all your stuff in your training bag, tired and more than ready to head home. As you turn around to look for Alexia you take a step back in surprise when the woman in question appears right behind you.

"Ale you scared me to death, what are you-"

Before you can finish your sentence Alexia pulls you into her by grabbing your biceps and forces your mouths together in a heated and rough kiss. Her tongue enters your mouth and her hands find place at your neck and you moan when she squeezes.

Alexia pulls back after a few seconds, panting but not pulling away from you, with her hands still resting on your neck.

"Alexia, what is this?"

Alexia's jaw sets and her eyebrows frow dangerously. She pushes you down on the benches and forcibly raises your head so you're looking up at her, your eyes wide but dark with lust and desire. Alexia only seems to get angrier.

"You dirty slut. You like being passed around huh? Like a common whore."

Alexia's words were harsh and you had to resist the urge to rub your thighs together. You didn't know what she was referring to, or what caused any of this but currently you didn't care. You just wanted her to fuck you.

When Alexia notices your lack of response she climbs on top of you and starts harshly bitting your neck. Her teeth leave ugly marks all over your and you can only helplessly moan. You spread your legs wider, hoping that Alexia would get the hint but you doubt that she wants to pleasure you right now. This feels more like a punishment but you don't know why.

Alexia's hands sneak into your training shirt and grope at your breasts roughly pulling and twisting your nipples. You whine and throw your head back bringing your hands up to twist them in her blonde hair. The stinging pain mixed with the pleasure feels so good, you're certain that your panties are ruined with how wet you are right now.

"Please, Ale..."

Alexia pulls away from your neck, which is the last thing you wanted her to do. Her hands keep lazily working on your breasts as she stares you down with an icy glare.

"You're begging already. Would you beg for her this easily?"

You choke on a gasp when her hands return to your neck and your mind starts to turn. It all finally clicked.

Alexia was jealous.

You gulp and look up at her through your eyelashes.

"No."

Alexia's face twisted like she didn't believe you. Then in an instant her hands gripped the hem of your shirt and pulled it over your head. Your bra followed soon after and so you were left sitting on the bench in the locker room topples and ready to be fucked by Alexia. For this moment it's like both you and Alexia have completely forgotten you're in a public place.

Alexia doesn't waste any time. She pulls your hips closer to her and her hands move down your legs, teasing the inside of your thighs. Her lips move down your collarbone and your hips are starting to shift against the hard wood, you grip the bench with one hand and use the other to try and muffle all of your moans.

Her fingers move to rub you through your underwear and you throw your head back as you gasp in surprise and pleasure. You think about begging again but Alexia is shoving two fingers in your cunt before you can think twice about it. You find it much harder to keep quiet now that she's roughly moving her fingers inside you. She moves her head away from your collarbone and starts placing kisses on your neck, right over the marks she left on you earlier. When she's done she moves higher until her hot breath hits the shell of your ear.

"Who does this pussy belong to? "

You whine at her words and the movement of her hand. You don't have the mind to answer right now and Alexia only gets rougher in response. Her other hand comes down to pinch your clit and you yelp loudly.

"I asked you a fucking question."

Her hand was moving faster and your back was repeatedly hitting the lockers, the clanking noise joining in with your moans and the wet, filthy sounds coming from your pussy.

"You! My pussy is yours, all yours!"

Alexia groaned at your answer, obviously pleased with you. She kept fucking you, pulling you in for a rough kiss to quiet you down. The noises were bound to attract someone but maybe that turned you on even more.

You came with a muffled scream as your thighs shook and your walls clamped down on Alexia's hand. Alexia found a random towel to clean you both up and sits down next to you. You both sit in a quiet embrace for a while before you break the silence with a giggle.

"I guess I should thank Ona, huh?"

____________________________________________________

[jo-harrington]

Best Spring Break Ever (Eddie Munson)

Summary: Spring Break 1986, the way it should have gone.

Word Count: 3.2k

Characters: Eddie Munson, Corroded Coffin (Jeff, Gareth, Dave - Unnamed Freak), Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers, Wayne Munson

Themes/Warnings: No Upside-Down AU, Road Trip, Lighthearted, Boys Will Be Boys in the purest way possible, Nerd, Pop Culture References, one or two sneaky little references to Store Manager Verse (I had to)

Note: So a LONG TIME AGO I dropped a fun head canon that got lost to the cutthroat nature of the tags. It's not necessarily coming back to life per se but and now that I've promised @br0ck-eddie and @somnambulic-thing that I would do more Gen fics, I'm sort of giving it some more juice.

Gonna also use this for @munson-blurbs and @corroded-hellfire and their Flip Flopped Summer Writing event. (I cheated on the length, sue me.)

Enjoy!

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

---

When one thought of words to describe Edward J. Munson, there were plenty to choose from.

Daring, dashing, brilliant, handsome--

"Douchebag," Gareth muttered under his breath.

"Can it, asshole," Eddie snapped from the driver's seat of the van, angling the rearview mirror so he could pin the younger boy with a scathing look. "Or I'll leave you behind."

"He's got a point though," Dave offered. The rearview mirror shifted again, revealing dark brown eyes that narrowed angrily.

"Sorry," Dave sunk in his seat.

--adventurous, non-conformist, a music legend...

But carpool mom had never been a contender.

Until now.

For Eddie, Spring Breaks were never exciting.

A lot of families in Hawkins took the days off school to go out of town. Vacation to someplace interesting or warm, trips up to the beach, or to a distant grandparent's house for a visit.

Eddie always stayed home. He enjoyed the silence of the town and the freedom to go anywhere and do anything he'd like. Wayne picked up some overtime while some of his coworkers were away, so there were a handful of extra hours for Eddie to play his music as loudly as he wanted, and some extra cash to splurge on a few nights of takeout.

This year was different though.

This year, Eddie had the misfortune of being friend, older brother figure, and role model to Dustin Henderson and his band of merry nerds.

The four of whom decided to enter into the All-State Science Fair in May with a project so ambitious and convoluted, they were either going to crash and burn, or get some kind of scholarship long before they needed to think of college.

And of course, when the time came to gather supplies for such an...extensive endeavor, the lowly freshman came to their good pal Eddie to help them procure some interesting items.

That was the thing with Eddie, though. He was sort of known for being the guy that could find things. Yeah, weed and other drugs from Reefer Rick, sure. But the phrases "I know a guy" and "I can try and cash in a favor" and "you owe me one" often passed through his lips, followed by a glint in his eye and a quirk of his lips.

For weeks he got the little idiots various items for their project, but when things on the list began to seem impossible to find--Rick had practically thrown him out when he had asked where to get liquid nitrogen--things started to get a little tricky.

Eddie, not one to let his friends down, complained about the whole ordeal to a friend he had unexpectedly made working at StarCourt over the past Summer--the Claire's store manager--and she had an interesting suggestion.

"Why don't you just go to the Science Surplus store in Chicago?" Eddie looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "What? Don't let the Cool Mall Girl facade fool you. I'd been known to dabble in science fairs and stuff when I was still in school."

"Nerd," he snorted before he waved for her to continue.

She told him about lab coats and machine parts and mystery boxes.

"It might be fun for you and your friends to drive up there and see it."

Thus, the Great Spring Break Roadtrip of '86 was born.

---

Well, more accurately, it was the Great Secret Spring Break Roadtrip of '86.

Because what parent--specifically Claudia Henderson--was going to let their kid spend a few days with no parental supervision? Where the only adult, technically, was Eddie.

She liked him, of course. Shit, most of the kids' parents liked him. But trust him to drive their kids hundreds of miles in a van that looked like it probably wasn't gonna make it 10 miles up the road?

That was another story.

But he was a schmoozer, a sweet-talker, a charmer, and in the end he got them all to agree to a few days up at the Dunes hiking and swimming and grilling hot dogs over an open fire.

If only the parents had been his harshest critics.

"When was the last time you had your brakes checked?"

"And your oil changed?"

"I heard some squeaking when you drove us home from Hellfire. I think there's something going on with your suspension."

"When did you become my pit crew?" Eddie snapped as he leaned against the front of the van and smoked the last cigarette he would have until they stopped for gas along the way.

Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas all froze in place. The older members of Hellfire Club leaned their heads out of the van to watch the interaction like the relentless busybodies that they were. Eddie flicked the butt of his cigarette to the ground before approaching the kids with his hands on his hips.

"We just wanna make sure it's safe," Mike was the first to speak up.

"It's safe," Eddie insisted. "I checked everything myself; Wayne wouldn't let me cross state lines if I hadn't."

Mike considered it for a second, then jumped into the van.

Dustin hummed doubtfully and kicked at one of the rear tires.

"Do you have a spare tire?" he questioned. "Just in case?"

Eddie nodded and even offered how to show everyone how to change a tire if the need ever rose.

"Gotta earn your keep somehow."

He mashed his hand on the top of Dustin's head as he passed.

Lucas and Will were last; they had their backs to him, heads leant together as they whispered conspiratorially. Eddie wondered for a moment if they even wanted to go--it was ok if they were scared--until they pivoted on their heels and began a barrage of questions about handling and off-roading and how prepared he was for any emergencies.

He was about to snap at them, tell them to shut up, when he saw a rolled up copy of Car and Driver in Lucas' hand and his brief annoyance faded.

He took a deep breath and stared up into the clear blue sky, begging whatever gods or devils there were to give him the patience to survive this trip.

"Listen," he huffed, "you either trust me and we go, or you don't and we stay. Even if I didn't have a stocked first aid kit--which, I don't, by the way...best you're gonna get are some crumpled band-aids in my glove box--it's not like we have all the time in the world to put one together.

"I promise. Everything will be fine. You trust me right?"

Lucas and Will turned away from him and whispered furiously once more. Before they stood up straight, looked him dead in the eye, and asked something that made Eddie let out a bark of laughter,

"What about Second Breakfast?"

---

They stopped for gas an hour in.

What should have been a ten minute stop turned into an hour. Bathroom breaks all around and then debates over which snacks to get.

"Don't waste all your money," Eddie fussed over them, pulling bags of candies and chips from their hands and stuffing them back onto shelves. "You're not gonna eat it all for one thing. And I'm not gonna clean puke out of my van if you try and end up making yourselves sick."

Suddenly the four freshman were all talking over each other with "mom never lets me have funyuns" and "what if we get the smaller bag?" Jeff, Gareth, and Dave all snickered and watched from afar as Eddie taught them The Art of Gas Station Snacks.

By hour two, the radio stations became unfamiliar, Eddie's mix tapes got boring, and slug bug was impossible. That's when everyone began fighting over the road map to play navigator, even though Eddie insisted that it was Jeff's job, since he called shotgun. But no one cared, especially not when--

"Hey I know our cover is camping at the beach," Mike piped up from the back. "But we're actually going to pass the Dunes. Can we go?"

Some of the others started to agree, mentioning how their moms packed their swim trunks.

"Hey!" Eddie snapped at them and then reached back to jam a finger into the map. "We passed the exit already. Better luck next time."

"But how about on the way back?" Dave suggested. "It's getting too crowded in here. A little fresh air would be nice."

And Eddie would have fought them, the thing was...he kind of agreed with Dave.

The members of Corroded Coffin were used to just the four of them and their band equipment. Now there were seven of them, on top of all their backpacks and sleeping bags, Eddie's guitar, and a cooler full of snacks and drinks. There was too much noise, too much arguing. One absolutely rancid fart had been tooted without admittance, which led to everyone just ripping one without a care in the world.

On the other hand, did he really want to have to clean sand out of the van once this trip was over?

"Alright," he finally shouted over the others, causing them to quiet down. "If everyone behaves the rest of the way, we'll see about making a stop at the Dunes on the way back."

---

Their accommodations that first night were less than ideal.

Rick had mentioned something once about forest preserves and camp sites once when he'd driven up to Chicago to meet up with some fishing buddies. So Eddie figured renting a campsite would be fun, not to mention cheaper than a motel. They'd sleep under the stars, just like he'd promised all of their parents, grill some hot dogs and roast marshmallows for s'mores.

It would be great.

But building a campfire was harder than it looked--especially when you had six sets of eyes on you--the ground was hard to sleep on, and then at some point in the night, a storm rolled in and they all had to pile into the van to stay dry.

Chalk it up to Murphy's Law.

"Should have sprung for a cabin instead," Jeff joked as they all struggled to fit in the back of the van after they all sought shelter inside.

Come morning, they were all tired and sore and grumpy, and Eddie drove through McDonalds for steaming hot hash browns and egg mcmuffins to shut them all up.

Then they finally reached their true destination.

The American Science and Surplus Center was an unassuming building in a busy suburb north of the city. Busier than Hawkins, at least. Eddie had to drive around the block several times before he realized the entrance was in the back of the building, gravel parking lot and all.

As soon as they set foot inside, it was a sensory overload, but it felt like home.

Colorful signs everywhere, aisles filled with bins of bottles and beakers and corks and machine parts. There was a man who looked like he stepped out of Doctor Who by the cash register, and about a dozen lab skeletons situated around the perimeter of the store dressed to look like famous scientists.

All of the boys scattered once they picked their jaws up off the floor and they, quite literally, spent hours scouring the store finding one amazing thing after another.

Dave and Jeff went to the back corner where there was a display of army surplus. Garerth found an entire aisle dedicated to models and kits. Eddie walked around picking up things at random. Things that just seemed interesting and weird, his imagination putting different bits and bobs together to create mini figures for mechanical foes for the next--and maybe last--campaign he created as the DM for Hellfire.

It was a bittersweet moment for him.

And the kids? Well, they were either the worst customers in the world or the best. They were running around, throwing things into baskets, trying to figure out how much of this or that they needed for their project.

This was a once in a lifetime trip so they were determined to get everything they needed now.

Of course, that ended up causing a problem. Because there was only one of a certain item on their shopping list and Dustin wasn't the only person to grab it.

Eddie heard the commotion before he saw it.

"I need this."

"So do I."

"I touched it first."

"Well I saw it first. Finders keepers."

The other freshman were quick to jump into the verbal tousle, disrupting everyone in the store, and Eddie was quick to abandon his own shopping to go and see what was wrong.

Only to find the dweebiest tug of war on the planet: His four little sheepies versus three equally dorky-looking boys. It was a flurry of gangly limbs, sweaty hands, mom-provided haircuts, and pressed khakis as they argued over the one thing all of the kids seemed to need for their respective projects.

Eddie figured it was better to intervene before someone got a nosebleed from stress.

"Hey guys, cut it out, what are we arguing for?"

"Who's this?" the apparent leader of the other kids snapped. "The barber shop is down the street if you need a haircut Bon Jovi."

"Alright Revenge of the Nerds, calm down," Eddie snapped. "Just trying to make sure this doesn't end in a bloodbath. What's going on here?"

"We need that air pump," Dustin nodded down to the box he was holding onto for dear life.

"Well so do we. And we saw it first."

The kids started talking over each other again until Eddie whistled sharply.

"How about," he suggested and dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a shiny quarter, "we flip a coin?"

"No way!"

"No chance!"

"This air pump is ours," the rival nerd scoffed.

"What if we just beat you up and took it?" came a voice the next aisle over. Eddie glanced over his shoulder and shot daggers at his nosy friends.

"Not helping Jeff!" he hissed and turned back to the kids. "It's either a coin toss or nothing."

Eventually, both groups agreed, and Dustin was even gracious enough to let the other kids call it. Eddie flicked the coin into the air, the nerd called heads, and then time seemed to slow.

Eddie's thoughts raced through all of the possibilities. He really couldn't give a shit about these other nerds but...damn they deserved a fair shot at it. And his friends...he didn't want them to come all this way just for disappointment.

There was a clink as the coin hit the ground and bounced.

Then another clink.

Then a clatter as it landed.

Tails.

---

Another hour passed victoriously in the science surplus store and everyone's mood went up exponentially.

Eddie spent a little extra cash to get a soldering iron that he found in a clearance bin. Dustin and Lucas got to explain their whole project to the wannabe timelord, who was excited at the prospect of flash freezing ice cream. Not to mention Dave, who flirted with the evening manager as she came in for her shift; he even got her number, the lucky schmuck.

The sun was setting by the time they made it back outside, chattering happily about their finds, but they stopped in their tracks as they found the rival nerd standing near the van with a tall, polished boy in a letterman jacket beside him.

"This them?" the jock asked the younger boy.

"Yeah," he glared at them all and then pointed at Mike. "And that's the one who flipped me off."

Eddie could feel Mike tensing beside him--obviously regretting what he had done in the throes of victory--and he took a step forward, hands held in front of him to show he meant no harm.

"Hey guys listen," he started. "What are we doing here? What's fair is fair. We flipped a coin."

"My brother said it was rigged," the jock accused.

Eddie snorted, "how could I possibly rig a coin toss? Here I'll even show you the quarter."

The jock, curious, took a step forward, despite his brother whining for him to "just beat them up already."

Eddie shoved a hand in the pocket of his jacket and rooted around for a moment, before swiping his sneakered foot across the ground, sending gravel and sand and whatever else made up the parking lot into the two boys' faces.

"Go, go, get in the van," he hollered to his friends, who immediately crossed the lot and piled into the vehicle.

Once the doors were locked and the key was in the ignition, they all hollered in triumph, Gareth even yelling for Dave to "hit 'em with the pressed ham" as they pulled out of the parking lot.

And Eddie wondered if it was cowardly for them to have done what they did. For him to have done that.

He didn't want to be known as the guy who ran from trouble.

But hearing his friends' laughter, knowing their safety was ensured, he figured that sometimes running away was ok.

---

Dinner was reminiscent of something out of a heroic legend.

The IHOP off Route 64 had become a mead hall with drinks sloshing over the edges of cups and laughter and cheers in abundance as they regaled each other with more fantastical versions of the non-existent battle they'd just survived.

As though Eddie had been Beowulf and his foe the dastardly Grendel.

"He had to be 7 feet tall," Lucas awed. "And like...400 pounds."

"I'm never worrying about Jason Carver beating me up again if we survived that guy," Mike agreed.

"You're gonna have to fail again this year so you can stick around and protect us Ed. At least until I graduate," Gareth told Eddie, who protested that he didn't even do anything.

Then everyone erupted into a good-hearted merriment again.

Eddie felt a little bad for the waitress who would clean up after them, but he couldn't do anything to stop his friends joy and excitement.

Instead, he left a very generous tip once they left.

Their second night of camping was much more successful than the first. There were no attempts at a fire and no s'mores to be had, but Eddie broke out his guitar and strummed some familiar songs that had everyone asleep in no time.

Almost everyone.

He stayed up for a little longer though, smoking and staring up at the sky through the canopy of the trees. There was something special being out here, and he wondered if all of the heroes in his favorite stories felt like that, seeing all of their companions safe and asleep under their watch and the watch of the stars above.

There was a rustle of a sleeping bag and Dustin looked over at Eddie with bleary eyes.

"Why're you still up?" he asked. "Gotta take a dump or something?"

Eddie snorted and crushed the butt of his cigarette underfoot.

"Just thinking," he waved a hand dismissively. "Get back to sleep. Gotta drive back in the morning, and we need to hit the road early if you guys still wanna go to the beach."

He was about to take his own advice and settle into his sleeping bag when Dustin called his name again.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"I dunno," there was another rustle as Dustin shrugged. "For driving us out here, for getting all of the stuff we've been asking you to get, for protecting us...for being our friend."

"Don't mention it Henderson," Eddie smiled warmly. "What else was I gonna do? Let you guys lose the science fair."

"It's more than that."

"I'm sure that Harrington would've helped you if I hadn't."

"Steve's a cool guy but seriously," Dustin insisted. "He wouldn't have done all of this for us."

Eddie didn't know how to answer that, so he just hummed and closed his eyes.

The last thing he heard before he fell asleep, to dreams of guitar solos and bats and epic adventures...

"Best Spring Break Ever."

[misseviehyde]

BITCH-SEED: (The leaving gift)

Jenny loved her younger brother Toby so much. He was funny, kind and musically talented. He was a drummer in a Nirvana inspired school band and didn't lack for moral courage. He was a cool kid who looked out for others - she was really proud of him.

That was why she begged him to stop trying to intervene with her bullying by mean-girl Aimee and her bunch of cronies.

Aimee was a blonde, spoiled rich girl who had taken a dislike to Jenny. She was cruel, self-absorbed and malicious and seemed to spend a considerable part of her energy looking for ways to ruin Jenny's life.

The popular mean girl had a vindictive and cruel streak and Jenny didn't want her brother being targeted and victimised next. Besides, they were moving schools next week so what was the point? Her Dad was getting a job in a new town and the family were all moving. Jenny was looking forward to the fresh start.

She was by the lockers clearing out some of her things ready for the move one day, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey loooooser."

Jenny's bowels clenched in fear as she heard the teasing, superior voice of her bully behind her and she turned to see Aimee and her clique of girls standing before her.

Aimee was impossibly pretty. Her blonde hair was platinum and straight and perfect in every way. Her flawless features were smooth and beautiful, her clothing expensive and painfully tasteful. She wore white knee length boots, so shiny you could see your face in them, a pleated black mini-skirt and a cute pink sweater of some highly expensive material. A pretty pink bow was pinned into her hair.

Cold blue eyes regarded Jennny maliciously, Amiee's pink lip-glossed lips twitching into a malevolent smile as she examined her acrylic nails - long and white - and advanced on her victim.

"Ohhh are you clearing out your locker already loser? So sorry to hear you're leaving us. I guess that means you think you're getting away from me?"

Jenny backed nervously away from the other girl and shrieked as she crashed into the open door of the locker behind her. The impact bruised her back and sent a stab of pain through her body.

Amiee and her girls howled with laughter enjoying seeing Jenny make a clutz of herself as usual.

"I'll have to find some other pathetic fuck to do my homework and top up my coffee money," laughed Amiee. "You're so fucking pathetic Jenny. It doesn't matter where you go, you'll never amount to anything."

"Hey - leave her alone," snarled a voice and Jenny felt a stab of fear as Toby suddenly appeared at her side. "You bunch of bitches better leave my sister alone. I'm sick of watching you float around here as if the world owes you a living. None of you have got any real backbone. You're just parasites who live off your Daddy's money. Get out of here."

The girls all looked at one another in genuine puzzlement and Amiee smirked - tossing her hair coldly and folding her arms dangerously beneath her breasts.

"Oh yeah nerd? You think you can protect your dumb sister from us? I don't think so and thanks for helping me make my mind up about something I've been planning for a while. Girls I think it's time we gave our leaving gifts to these losers."

Holding out their palms facing up, the popular girls all began to giggle and smirk as with a buzzing, crackling sound, tiny motes of energy materialised above their open hands. They formed into small spheres of pastel coloured energy that floated in the air. The siblings gawked in astonishment.

Amiee's was the largest. A ball of bratty pink light that shone with a powerful radiance and seemed to whisper toxic ideas into the mind.

"Each of these is a bitch-seed. It's how we make more members of our clique. The seeds contain our memories of makeup, boys and fashion and also our stronger personalities and feminine desires that will corrupt and transform anyone they enter. One of you is going to become JUST like us and I think we both know who..."

Laughing Amiee turned and blew on her seed. It shot from her hand and hit Toby... crackling as it entered his body and he groaned in shock.

He gasped as the delicious pink energy throbbed and thrummed through him and around him... strange new thoughts and desires filling his mind as his bones and body ached.

Doesn't it feel good to be girly?

It did feel... good. Really good.

Toby's short brown hair lengthened and his features became softer. Pretty lashes blinked in astonishment and he tugged uncomfortably at his clothing as his hips cracked out and his chest tingled as budding breasts began to form. He was becoming a girl!

"You see Jenny," laughed Amiee. "When you start your new school - it's the perfect time to send someone to start a new clique there. I've done my research and your new school is pathetically short of bullies. I've decided your brother will be perfect to start things there. He has real leadership potential and once I've turned him into my mini-me then you'll never be free. The transformation changes reality for any who don't witness it, and soon you'll be the only one who remembers your brother. Now let's fill him up with more, girls!"

More bitch-seeds floated from the girls hands and into Toby. Pink and purple sparks crackled as they merged into him and Toby moaned as each one was absorbed into his body accelerating the physical changes.

Toby groaned as his nice personality was attacked and overwhelmed. He felt so sexy and bitchy and it felt so good to give into all the whispering girly voices telling him to accept the power.

Yesssssss let your like loser personality become ours. Be a mean girl, you know you want to.

Toby giggled and threw back his head - eagerly spreading his arms wide and accepting the energy into his body. He needed this! It felt AMAZING!

Amiee watched in wicked delight summoning another ball of energy and sending it into him.

"Yessss that's it bitch... take all our power and let it transform you. Let your new thoughts take control. Become a fucking bitch just like us."

The girls surrounded Toby and holding our their hands shot more energy into his body. Each blast caused Toby to moan in pleasure and to writhe in ecstasy - clearly enjoying the wicked energy pulsing into his body.

"Yessssss... give it to me... mmmmhhh fill me up. Mmmmh this feels so good yes I wanna be a bitch just like you girls!"

Toby moaned as wicked nails shot from his fingers and his hair lengthened and turned lighter then finally platinum blonde. His body became more feminine with tanned soft skin and beautiful features. Hips cracked out as his chest began to bulge pushing his t shirt out in interesting places.

Jenny sobbed in horror as she watched the transformation. She was powerless to stop the corruption. Toby wasn't even resisting!

The girls were all moaning in unison now, the bullies groaning like sluts as they pushed their most evil, depraved, slutty memories and thoughts into the bitch-seeds.

Toby's mind was being corrupted and overwritten by dozens of memories - Amiee's strongest of all. His own useless boy memories were being overwritten.

Memories of sucking dick, spending money, acting like a spoiled bitch filled the transforming sluts mind. It overrode now useless knowledge. Who needed to play the drums when you could be a cheerleader instead? Who needed to know the names of his male friends when he could be friends with the most popular girls in school.

Hours worth of makeup tutorials, knowledge of how to bully people and manipulate others seared through Toby's malleable mind. The bitch seeds were finding fertile ground.

"Yessssss, I love it," drooled the blonde girl happily as her pretty eyes rolled back in her head. "Give me moooooore!"

"Wow girls - she's really receptive. Pump her mind full of our nastiest memories. Turn her into the meanest, most spoiled slut ever. Burn that boy out of her. Make her into our new friend... Naomi."

Naomi moaned happily as she heard her new name. Yes... that was who she was now. Her pink lips curved into a wicked smile as she felt her breasts swell up nice and big and her useless dick retreat into being her new clit. This was MUCH better.

"Fuck yes girls - make me fucking EVIL!" laughed Naomu as she felt all positive memories and love for her pathetic sister burned out of her mind. This was glorious.

Sobbing in the corner Jenny watched her bullying sister being corrupted into the worst kind of bitch.

By now the energies had even affected Toby's former clothing. His Nirvana t-shirt was now no more, replaced instead by a tight pink dress that fit the new bitch perfectly.

Naomi's nails were long and sharp, her shaven pussy covered by a tiny black thong whose string rode up between her perfect ass cheeks. Full firm breasts, bigger then Jenny's stood proudly on her chest and her bitchy blonde hair fell like a perfect wave around her shoulders.

She and Aimee looked like sisters now.

Aimer and Naomi hugged as if they had known each other all their life and Jenny squirmed in fear at the matching smiles on their perfect faces...

*********

Linda had thought she should go say hi to the new girl on the beach. Jenny seemed nice - although the look of terror on her face as Linda approached was weird.

The chubby nerd wasn't sure why Jenny was so terrified and she didn't even see Naomi from behind till it was too late.

Linda moaned as the bitch-seed conjured by Naomi flowed into her body and she began to change. "That's it nerd," hissed Naomi, "let the bitch in you grow. Become the bitch you were born to be."

In moments Linda had been replaced and had become Leanne instead. Now a spoiled beach bitch she moved to flank her new Alpha with a wicked smile on her face.

"Thanks sis," giggled Naomi. "Another new girl for my clique. I do enjoy turning the ones that would have been your friends into MY friends."

Jenny cried as she looked into her once kind brothers sneering face. Naomi was even worse that Aimee had been. She constantly mocked and teased her sister and made her feel inferior. Worse - her parents were totally enthralled by their popular, successful, beautiful daughter and now despised Jenny.

School was a nightmare - Naomi had created a new clique of bullies and turned the school into her personal playground. She was now head cheerleader and dating the quarterback. Having to listen to Naomi scream in ecstasy as Chad fucked her brains out in hwr bigger bedroom next door was yet another indignity Jenny had to endure.

"Oh by the way loser," grinned Naomi. "Aimee and the girls are visiting this weekend. They're staying over the whole time and I bet you can't wait to catch up with her."

Laughing Naomi strutted away to the admiring stares of everyone whilst her sister cried like a pathetic little bitch.

Guess Penny wasn't enjoying her leaving gift after all...

THE END

[jasonshousewife]

Help me, I have had an idea running through my head all week, it is truly a necessity, and he is nothing more and nothing less than a vampire hunter Jason and a vampire reader, I have no idea how the plot would go, there is just a dialogue that constantly runs through my head and doesn't let me sleep.

"You're going to suck more than just my blood." HAHDJAHSJSKNFNDKFJ 😻😻😻

HJDGEKLEHS NALI IM DEAD THE LAST LINE.... YOU'RE COOKING!!!

i've been keeping this in draft for so long... I was so busy last week + mental issues kicked in lol Sorry it took so long!!

Warning: including sexual content, pnv sex

i don't really know much about vampires and vampire hunters au but please tell me them being enemies with benefits is possible cause why not??

The very first time was a mistake. Everything was hazy and adrenaline was still running wild through his veins. He pinned you against the wall and without thinking, his rough lips crushing on your soft lips. The blood red pupils of yours, and those plump limps- he couldn't help it. You both don't remember much about that night but you remember the first kiss and the taste of blood lingering on his lips. The taste of blood, the anger, the excitement. There was nothing gentle about the night, all rough and want and trying to take from each other.

And then it became a thing after that. No matter how the night starts, it all ends up with him inside you, fucking you rough. His hand in your hair pulling your head back while you're bent over for him. He knows he shouldn't do this, but fuck it this feels so good and so right. He loves the little whines you make everytime he thrusts his hips deep inside you.

It's the same on your side, you know you shouldn't but you don't want this to ever stop. And everytime you unintentionally claw him you draw a blood... you have to swallow down your thirst. If only he wasn't pinning you down and making you cum so hard.

It's just sex, no feelings included. You try to remind yourself. But it's not your fault he feels so good- he tastes your skin so deliciously, you wonder how he'd look if you're the one drinking him. Whenever he's above you with that nasty grin, incoherent babbles you hear when he cums, oh god the things he do to your stomach.

But it's not so later that you started to crave for him. Just watching him felxing his ripped muscles makes your stomach flip even when you should not. Seeing his body so thick, the scars you left on his skin so pretty, you couldn't help it. You needed him inside you, and you needed to drink in his blood. You wanted to know how he tasted.

And he seem to notice that at one point as well. He started to tease you the way he never did, enjoying every little reaction he can pull out of you.

"Do you want this?" He whispers in a gruff voice, his calloused hand holding on your waist.

"Do you want to cum for me? hmm?"

He does again, slapping your hip this time and making you moan. You nod fiercely, trying to make him keep going.

"Good fuckin' girl..."

He mutters out, breathing heavily. He begins to thrust in and out again, quickening his pace as he felt himself getting closer as well. But he can't stop it- not when you're so tight for him. He continues until he hears you mewling and feels your cunt pulsing around his cock. He stays inside you for few moments before pulling away. He makes a crooked smile as he pulls you up from bed so he could hold you in his arms by your thighs.

"I think you can take some more, can't ya?"

He whisper into your ear, stroking his cock before adjusting himself again.

"No, t'much-" You whine as you're still shaking from the orgasm. But his smile still stays the same.

"Yes you can... I'll even let you sunk those fangs in my neck later..."

He says in an almost sarcastic tone, pressing pecks on your cheek. And you feel chills going up your spine as he whispers those words. He slowly pushes himself in, moaning at the warmth of your hole and how it's squeezing him so tightly.

"Just like that..." He whispers sweetly and his grip on your hips tightened. He lets out a sigh, feeling like he's gonna cum right there and then.

"You're going to suck more than just my blood tonight."

okay sorry there is no plot just smut😭

but can you blame me i'm just horny after being so stressed for the last week!! thank you so much for the good quality content (any sexy jason content is a good quality content you can't change my mind) Nali <3

[fiorella-a]

Honkai Star Rail girls as... "Jenny" song lyrics!

(+Short scenarios)

Info:

-Gn! Reader

-Fluff

Kafka:

"you're my best friend

But there's a few things that you don't know of

Why I borrow your lipstick so often"

"I've been doing bad things that you don't know about"

"I cannot pretend

Why I never like your new boyfriends"

>> Kafka knows you like her. The way you avoided eye contact is all she needed to know before getting her plan started, what was her plan? To give you mixed signals and to see how long your patience will last (don't worry, she likes you too, she just doesn't wanna be the one to confess).

First up is to ask you what shade of lipstick fits her and after giving your opinion, she kisses the nape of your neck!

Next, Kafka requested to Elio for blade to be her companion, all they do is fight and tease each other and Blade doesn't know what the hell is up with her requesting them to be together for a mission. Kafka will try to hide the fact that she feels sorry for you! The way your eyes filled with shock when Blade and her were announced to be partners for mission, shock isn't the only thing you're feeling though, also jealousy.

As soon as she gets back from the mission, you practically confess your heart out while avoiding her gaze, "It might seem stupid and I know this isn't supposed to happen but I like you, really I do." "Aw, I like you too! All you needed is two push of a button to confess? How adorable!" Oh boy, how you wish you could wipe that teasing smile off of her face.

Serval:

"Jenny, take my hand

'Cause we are more than friends

I will follow you until the end"

>> You have always looked up to Serval, she is the woman of every possibilities! She has multiple talents, a good reputation and a brother who's well known around belebog. While you're mostly in your comfort zone and that's why she likes you. Serval once offered her hands to you and showed you around Belebog and was nice enough to introduce you to her brother while her cheeks was painted a rosy-pink color, she just said "me? Blushing? No! I'm just exhausted from our little tour. How about I treat you some snacks, yeah?" And she smiled at you. You swore to follow her path as she was your role-model (and crush)

Seele:

"I wanna ruin our friendship

We should be lovers instead

I don't know how to say this

'Cause you're really my dearest friend"

>> You had a hard time trying to confess to her, knowing Seele, she's almost always busy protecting the underworld and its people. How were you able to confess? You might ask, well when you almost got attacked by a competitive and bad mannered miner– she grabbed your hands, put you behind her while she had her left hand guarding you and her right hand pointing the weapon at the said attacker. When all was finished, your confession became your way of saying 'thank you' and her confessing back was her way of saying 'you're welcome'

Silver Wolf:

"Stealing your stuff now and then

Nothing you'd miss, but it means the world to me"

>> When she noticed one of her button pins missing from her jacket, she just dismissed it thinking it probably fell when it was in the laundry, but once she sees your bag that suddenly has a button pin that looks just like hers, she thinks otherwise 'why would they do that?' And when she ranted about it to Kafka, you bet she was teasing you but she did help you make your feelings more visible to Silver Wolf. And boy did it pay off! Because just as you were about to take a nap, you got a message from your phone;

"Give me back my button pin."

"I bought matching ones for us though."

"No need to confess, scaredy cat, I already know."

Stelle:

"I'm using your shirt as a pillow case"

>> Stelle has the same white shirt with multiple copies of it, because she says "it fits me more and is elegant yet simple to look at" and when she comes into your room while you're in the bathroom, she sees one of her shirts serving as a... Pillow case?

When you came out of the bathroom you WISH you could go right back but she's so strong and literally holds the door open while she makes you explain. "Isn't it elegant to look at? And besides, it's not the shirt you used while going in a trashcan." Her grip would loosen at the bathroom door, "and if you don't get the thing yet, I like you, Stelle." and her grip is finally out, letting go of the door while a thud follows. Did she faint while blushing? Oh gosh.

[doyouknowthischaracter]

RANDOM ASKS GRAB BAG

Putting a bunch of answered asks in one post so I don't spam your dashes too much. Under the cut because it's a very long post. If your ask isn't here, don't worry! The ask box is far from empty, and I'm sorta trying to group them by topic. Enjoy?

Anonymous asked: you mentioned in another ask that there were a few things you were probably going to check out from doing these polls and I was just curious which ones those are, if you don't mind sharing fjdjsj

I don't mind sharing! I had to go through the archive to remember which ones I wanted to check out, but a few of them would be The Walten Files, Red vs. Blue, The Murderbot Diaries, I Am In Eskew, and The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality. Many of the characters posted here look interesting, but I'm such a slow watcher/player/reader/etc. that it'd take me decades to go through everything lol

Anonymous asked: Have you considered doing like uhhh idk how to explain properly, but statistics/data from loads of polls in a summary every so often? I've seen some poll blogs do a most known/least known type bar graph every so often. And I would be super interested in seeing this sort of thing for this blog!! It's fair enough if not though, obviously this would create a lot of extra work for you. Anyway, thanks for running this blog :-) Anonymous asked: I just asked a question about seeing the data statistics/ bar graphs - please ignore it! Just reread your pinned and realised I'd missed that bit :'). BUT, last point remains, thank you for running this blog and putting up with repetitive anons I bet aksjskdjsk

I haven't put the data in a graph yet, but if I figure out how to organize that in a way that's both comprehensible and actually tells us something new, I'll give it a try for sure. Until then, we do have the spreadsheet. And no worries, I'm glad you're enjoying the blog! :)

Anonymous asked: *sees a poll blog* "I must answer each and every poll I can"

Godspeed on your journey and remember to stay hydrated! 🫡

Anonymous asked: this is my favorite blog! Every morning I wake up and check the polls like they're the paper, just to say "I don't know them" Truely a humbling experience!

Happy to be your neighborhood paperboy!

@iceice-baeby asked: Are olyou fearing the day someone submits Solid Snake from MGS and you will choose the wrong picture Because everyone always seems to choose the wrong picture

The only difficulty will be in not using this one:

Anonymous asked: Just scrolled back through your blog up to posts from Dec 3rd and I know why those polls are closed now but I cannot describe the genuine anguish I felt seeing Mr Orange and going NO I KNOW HIM - I KNOW HIM!!!! Anyway I found this blog like ten minutes ago and I love it

Don't worry, he's A-OK! 👍

(Also, thanks! I appreciate your dedication.)

Anonymous asked: scrolling through to catch up on the characters and knowing a whole three of them was so bizarre. im not supposed to press the yes i know them button, im supposed to do my sworn duty and vote no with unending confusion. the world has been flipped on its head 😵‍💫

I bet the next 30 were characters you've never heard of, just for balance to be restored.

Anonymous asked: Whenever i misclick I feel sooooo bad like im sorry my dear friend for not recognizing you I apologize for my rudeness

No polls so far ended with only one vote difference between answers, so you don't have to feel too bad. For now. 👀

Anonymous asked: this is fun cause i’ve definitely submitted some characters but i’ve immediately forgotten who. so i’ll also be pleasantly surprised to see my beloveds on the blog.

A gift from you to you, courtesy of unreliable memory! Sweet!

Anonymous asked: Devastating. I keep missing the voting for the only characters I know.

You'll do it one day, I believe in you!!

@iceice-baeby asked: Would you consider writing in the tags if YOU know a character or not You have done it sometimes before, but I'd be curious if you do recognise some of those random niche as all hell blorbos Also I can't wait for my Blorbos turn. Because either He-and-she is gonna take most obscure place, OR I will actually find maybe more than two people, myself included, who know him-and-her and who I can ramble at for hours until they block me

Oh yeah, for sure. I didn't think anyone would be interested to know, but I can do that when I remember to!

Did your blorbo show up already?

Anonymous asked: I have been having the opposite problem of everyone else, apparently. I'll see a name and be like, "I don't know who that is". But then I see the picture and realize… Yes I do!

That's why I take the time to include fitting pictures, helps jog the memory!

Anonymous asked: I feel very superior every time I know a character most people don't

Hey, nobody likes a show-off. (<- Joking)

Anonymous asked: Wait, has Beetlejuice not been submitted?? I could've sworn I submitted the musical version! Anonymous asked: Oh wait no I didn't submit musical Beetlejuice to you, got you mixed up with @/every-character-ever-poll lol my bad

Indeed he hasn't been submitted yet, maybe next time!

@thetisming asked: sorry for saying something negative in the replies to a post someone was being a dick about jukebox musicals

No worries, but don't let it get to you. People are allowed to dislike your favorite things even without any good reason. It's a matter of taste, which is highly subjective. It's more constructive to focus your attention on people who do enjoy the same things as you!

@autism-criminal asked: What is your favorite color of the rainbow (red orange yellow green blue indigo purple) ?

Orange! 🍊 What's yours? :)

Anonymous asked: "data is not accurate" bro if ur going to a tumblr poll blog for accurate data you NEED to reassess some things asdfghjkl; anyway this blog is great thank you for running it it's a lot of fun and has resulted in some very funny interactions between me and my fiance. notably "what the fuck do you MEAN 6% of the sans undertale website doesn't know who sans undertale is" and "i'm sorry i simply don't believe that ANYONE doesn't know who DRACULA is"

Different people come here with different expectations, I suppose. Which is fine, I don't mind, but they're bound to be disappointed if they expect 100% accuracy all the time. But anyway! I'm happy to hear I can provide a new form of enrichment for you and your fiancé!

@sweetpollyolliver asked: So many manga and anime characters and I know like 1% of them 😭

I'm ngl, I'm not a big manga/anime connoisseur either, so I'm just as lost as you most of the time lol 🤝 (<- shaking hands in solidarity)

@cringelordofchaos asked: If I go insane one day I am going to try to make an English translation for Mesec Boje Purpura so everyone can know who veštica Noks is

I'm fully behind you! Keep us updated if you do.

Anonymous asked: I scroll through your blog. I don’t recognise any of these characters. ‘No,’ I click, ‘no,’ ‘no,’ ‘no.’ I am content in the darkness of the rock I live under. But, alas, all things must end. I continue my scroll, the glee of the irrelevant rampant in my veins. But what’s this? It can’t be… My shelter is cruelly ripped away and the brutal light of knowledge seeks me out like a bloodhound, it gives me no place to hide. ‘Yes,’ I sob, defeated, ‘Yes, I do know the jjba character.’

A modern-day Greek tragedy, truly 💔

Anonymous asked: was really surprised to vote and see that a character was 100% know them. then I noticed I got there early enough to be the only vote

For one shining, brilliant moment they were 100% known and surely that counts for something.

Anonymous asked: You should make up a character and make a poll for them and see how many people lie or misclick

Well....... I'm not going to comment on that. 🐰

Anonymous asked: I follow this blog and another blog that does smash or pass and occassionally I will come to one of your posts and examine the images to decide and then remember this blog's gimmick before trying to hit smash

Imagine voting smash there and then coming here to vote "I don't know them at all" on the same character. Brutal.

@ink7blot asked: *sees big naturals* I hate that. *reblogs*

A job well done, then 😌

[itgr]

ITGR and the Aromantic and Asexual Spectrum

aka a long, pretentious, non coherent, semi analytical ramble I took a month to make about ITGR and how aspec coded it feels to me. Brought to you by someone who re read the series three times in the last nine months

I was originally going to write about how aspec coded every character feels individually in reference to this post but then I realised, I've always found that ITGR as a general narrative and comic had aspec vibes and I couldn't pin point why until recently. So I wrote this analysis (?) dissecting different patterns I noticed with characters and the general narrative themes and why it just feels aspec to me.

Obligatory disclaimers and preface: I will be using "aspec" as a shorthand term for both the aromantic and asexual spectrums (I will use "acespec" when talking about the asexual spectrum and "arospec" when talking about the aromantic spectrum specifically). I'm not trying to claim any of this was intentional on the part of Grave or trying to speculate that Grave is secretly aspec. I know a lot of the things I view as aspec coding could be explained away by a character's trauma or implied mental illness but I'm going to be largely viewing things through an aspec specific lens for the sake of this specific analysis (also aspec people can have mental illnesses or trauma that can feed into eachother and that doesn't take away from the fact they're aspec or vice versa).

This is all just a very aspec centered interpretation of ITGR and I'm not trying to claim it's the "correct" or "only" way to interpret the comic (also i will be sprinkling in aspec headcanons here and there and you will just have to deal with that, sorry <- some characters dont have specific orientations that come to mind for me. they're just somewhere on the ace/aro spectrums/hj). Some of this is based on 'evidence' in the text or like narrative implications and framing and the other half is based on vibes/hj and, I can not stress this enough, just because I headcanon a character with a specific label doesn't mean I think the character would ever use that label or even know what that label is. It's more about finding a term I think generally describes how I interpret that character as experiencing attraction

Word count: 4869

Part 1 : ITGR and the Performative Nature of Love and Attraction

Idk, there's just something about the way love and attraction are represented in this comic that feels aspec? Unlike a lot of other stories, I've read, ITGR kind of portrays love and attraction in such a detached manner I can't quite describe, especially early on. Love's ironically not romanticised and is either portrayed as something fucked up or as something performative with some exceptions (more on those later). Let's start with the examples in which attraction is portrayed as performative, starting with the most obvious example: Satan.

Satan spends most of his time, taunting and toying with his reapers in a number of ways with various levels of flirtation, with Scarlet being the one he flirts with the most. He makes a lot of passes and allusions to love with her because he likes toying with her and is really possessive over her. In some scenes, especially early on, he comes across more like a jealous ex-boyfriend than he does a boss. The way Satan acts around Scarlet and Brook is so interesting because I honestly dont believe Satan actually wants to be worshipped or that he has any attraction to Scarlet. He's just a bored million year old being who's trying to have fun, and he's doing whatever he thinks will make them uncomfortable because that's fun to him. This becomes more apparent with the fact that the only time we ever see him be uncomfortable is in Episode 94 when he's meeting with Ashe. Ashe (at this point) is someone who practically worships him and treats Satan how he implies he wants Scarlet or Brook to treat him. And he hates it.

Its so interesting that when Satan's given something he has been implied to "want" this whole time, he absolutely hates it and is uncomfortable. Which signals to me that he doesn’t flirt with Scarlet or mess around with Brook because he genuinely wants them to submit or because he actually wants Scarlet to fall for him. He does it because he enjoys the fun of getting reactions out of people and he likes being entertained. He likes the chase but I don't think he'd be happy long term if they ever actually completely submitted and did everything he claims he wanted. Something about the way Satan does sexual and romantic coded things in a performative way without actually wanting anything feels so aspec coded to me (diversity loses! the worst person you know is acespec and aromantic coded!).

The other most obvious example to me is Azrael (I have a separate already semi written ramble about the general queer coding in Azrael's character, but that's for another day). He's probably the other only character in ITGR that is as openly flirty as Satan and despite that, all of his scenes flirting with people just convinces me he's not interested in the people he flirts with😭. All his scenes flirting with Celeste and Bernadette feel performative and hollow because of the fact that he doesn't seem to be genuinely interested in them romantically or sexually. He knows how and when Celeste and Bernadette are going to die and I think flirting with them is either a way for him to either please them and make them happy before they die or a way for him to entertain himself or both. Like his interactions don't read to me as "Oh guy flirting with women because he wants to date them/have sex with them because he thinks they're hot." They read to me as "guy who wants to have such much fun as he can and explore as many possibilities as he can with people he knows are going to die." His entire date with Celeste was essentially a way for him to learn more about her and almost 'test' the extent of her loyalty to God because he was curious. When Bernadette dies, there's no romantic element to him comforting her at all, despite the fact he spent so much of their interactions flirting with her.

The only other person we ever see him 'flirt' with is the princess from his time being alive and even there, at no point do we get any narration of how he feels about her or any comments about having feelings for her. It's heavily implied he was only being romantic with her by agreeing to marry her because he wanted her to have one good thing before she died so her death wouldn't be as painful. I have a theory/interpretation that to Azrael, there's an inherent relation between flirting and death and that he only flirts with people if he knows when they'll die (even if the flirting isn't genuine on his part). This idea is supported by the fact that post season 4 and Nyra destroying his ability to see the future and how she'll die, he doesn't flirt with her at all (which also more evidence that his interest in her was never genuine). Anyways, because of the performative nature of his flirtation with different characters, he's aspec coded to me (and he likes men but that's for another ramble).

I think the other example of a character expressing attraction only to reveal romance/sex isn't what they're after is surprisingly Wrynn? I have less compelling case for her compared to the others but I find it interesting that it would have been very easy to just make her in love with Ashe in a conventional romantic and sexual way but no. She doesn't want to date him. She wants to go back to being one with him (something something love as consumption but we don't have time for that). Episode 182 sets them in such a specific way (by giving them a lot of romantic and sexual tension and also an almost kiss) but even then, the reason she's doing all of that is so he can eat her and they go back to sharing a body because that's probably what an ideal relationship is like to her. I guess to me, having a character have so many signifiers of conventional allo (aka not aspec) attraction only to reveal they're actually not after sex or conventional romance and more into their own unconventional form of romance (if you can call it that) feels very aspec to me.

I've just noticed this consistent pattern with characters performing acts to signify attraction only to subvert that but either implicitly or explicitly showing that sex or romance isn't what they're after and it'd be one thing if it was one character (i'd still argue that this hypothetically character would be aspec but it'd be an isolated case) but the consistent pattern is borderline fascinating to me? It just creates such an interesting narrative and almost world? In a lot of media, romance and sex are just considered normal or expected but here, in ITGR, they're really not. Characters can perform attraction but that doesn't take away from the fact that more often than not, they're usually interested in something else and I dont know, I've always found it interesting.

Part 2: ITGR and the Horror of Attraction

I feel like a lot of media treats romantic relationships and attraction as generally good things that can be fucked up but usually when it is, it's framed an isolated event and I find it interesting how ITGR highlights a lot of the more fucked up aspects in romance and relationships. ITGR doesn't frame love as something inherently good or benevolent and I think there's something about that just feels aspec to me. I'm not trying to say romance or sex are inherently bad or fucked up. I just think that, like with anything, there is a certain amount of horror that can be drawn from and created from the concepts of attraction and I feel like the potential horror of romantic relationships (not necessarily even abusive relationships. Just the horror that can be drawn from the concept of being in a romantic/sexual relationship or being in love), or the ways love can be warped and turned into something terrifying is something that stands out more to aspec people than allo people if that makes sense.

I feel like ITGR frames love and attraction as something capable of being bad and hurting people as much as anything else. Jordan, the first sinner Scarlet ever kills, uses romantic flirtation as a weapon to lure women and kill them. It highlights the darker flipside of flirting and how flirting, something very common in romantic and sexual situations which is usually seen as positive or alluring, can be used to lower someone's guard and commit harm and violence. The reversal of using something romantic/sexual that is usually used to make characters look cool or charismatic only to use it highlights how dangerous it can be in a specific context has aspec undertones to me.

Another example is how ITGR deconstructs parts of the tsundere trope in Chase's past in Episode 15 and showcases the darker aspects of being in love. Here, love isn't framed as a good and positive emotion, it's framed as something fucked up that can leave you vulnerable to abusive and harmful situations because of the ways it can make you idealise someone which can make you blind to their abusive behaviour. I find it interesting how ITGR deconstructs some parts of the tsundere trope (aka a trope where a character acts cold and hostile to their love interest but gradually opens up) by showing how someone who is constantly mean and demeaning and physically abusive to you can be harmful. I find it interesting specifically because I feel like tsundere characters' hostile actions are sometimes justified by people using the fact they're in love, which implies that just because they're in love, it justifies them hurting someone, therefore framing love as a benevolent force that can excuse certain bad actions as long as they're for the sake of love. (BTW I feel like saying: I don't think the tsundere trope is a bad character trope. I think it depends on the execution and just find the way ITGR handles it to be interesting T-T). In this episode, ITGR instead implicitly claims that love can't justify bad actions, which further its grander treatment of viewing love as an emotion as any other, instead of putting it on a pedestal or treating it with extra importance like a lot of other media.

I think the other main example of ITGR highlighting a fucked up side to the concept of love is Liam's entire character. Liam's spiral after he realises Ana is dead is both terrifying and tragic. Liam killing an innocent man so he can be with her takes something that in some contexts would be seen as romantic (the fact that someone would be willing to go to such great lengths for someone they love) and twists it to an extreme to highlight how terrifying it is that love can be so all consuming that it warps someone's values and makes them do terrible things in the name of love. I feel less strongly about this but I also feel like there's something mildly horrifying about the fact that he's willing to do this for someone might not returns his feelings. Something about him assuming they were meant to be, despite never asking her, kinda also hits that "love as something horrific" horror spot but I feel like that's a weaker point.

ITGR just consistently frames love like another other emotion that has the capacity to do harm and in contrast to the way most media places extra importance or goodness on love and relationships, ITGR views it in a very detached perspective that feels very aspec to me and I hoped I managed to express that idea with these examples.

Part 3: ITGR and OOPS! THE MAIN COUPLE'S REALLY QUEERPLATONIC AND ASPEC (coded)!

Okay so up to this point, you might be thinking "Wait, what about Scarlet and Chase? They're the main characters and they're in love and are explicitly sexually attracted to each other" and to that, I say "Well yes, but no, but yes"/lh. I'm going to preface this by saying that this is probably going to be the most incomprehensible and hard to explain part of this analysis (?). When I said there's a few exceptions to ITGR framing love as something performative or fucked up, they're one of the main examples (I WROTE THIS BEFORE VER AND EVERETTE OOPS). Chase and Scarlet's romantic and sexual feelings for eachother are framed positively and tragically, you're supposed to be rooting for these two little doomed by the narrative dorks. That being said, they're both aspec as fuck 😭 sorry, not sorry, the aspec agenda doesn't end I'm afraid. I'll start with Scarlet because my interpretation of her is a lot more based on tangible evidence (while Chase is half based on vibes tbh/hj). She reads to me as demisexual and some flavour of arospec (greyromantic or even demiromantic). I think it's largely the fact she doesnt really seem to experience sexual attraction towards anyone, including Chase, until way later on. You could argue it didn't even start appearing until after she left the 9th layer (so it took her 25+ years to start experiencing sexual attraction towards someone she has romantic (?) feelings for). I know that you could probably argue that it's a trauma thing but that doesn't take away from the interpretation (demisexual people can have trauma and still be demisexual).

I feel less strongly about her being greyromantic but I still feel like that's another possible interpretation. It's mostly because I can't really see her being attracted to anyone? I think I know why scarlets orientation is hard for me to pin down. I think it's because I can't really imagine her being interested in men or women?? Like, I'd make sapphic jokes about her but I honestly just don't think she'd be interested in women. Or men. Honestly I feel like she's not attracted to any gender. If she ever is "attracted" to someone it's because they're someone who gets close to her and she's grown an attachment to them. Like she'd still be in love with chase if he was a girl. But also, I don't think she's attracted to any specific gender or any gender in general but also has the capacity to like any gender and I feel like calling her pan just doesn't fit so. Um. Yeah, I hope you enjoyed my unlabelled Scarlet side tangent. All of that being said, her not really feeling attraction for anyone except one person and it has to be someone she's formed a pre existing strong bond with…. Yeah. Need I say more/hj. (The unlabelled demisexual arospec Scarlet agenda is real)

Now onto Chase, also known as the vibe check. I'm going to be honest, something about him screams aromantic allosexual to me in a way I can barely convey. I think it's maybe the way when he talks about his ex, he talks about how hot she is, instead of talking about what parts of her personality attracted him to her. Also, I might be projecting but something about him canonically having a lot of failed relationships also just kind of contributes to the aroallo vibes I get (I'm not saying every aroallo person is going to inherently have dysfunctional relationships but I am saying it's not an uncommon experience for aromantic people to have a lot of past relationships that didn't work out due to "something" feeling off. Gestures). There's also the fact that while Scarlet takes a while to show any overt signs of physical or sexual attraction towards him (I was gonna say, this is except for her blushing when she sees him shirtless in Episode 13 but I went back and no she doesn't so demi Scarlet is so real), he does it a lot sooner than her and I don't know, there's something about how his feelings for her derive more from the fact he sees her as his equal or even above him while he struggles with human connection and attachment with most people and how his expression of romantic love isn't really conventional which feels very aromantic and queerplatonic to me. I guess I've always interpreted Chase having queerplatonic feelings for Scarlet that are romantic adjacent (Not saying all queerplatonic relationships are the same as romantic relationships, it heavily depends on the people in the relationship and how they feel and I just think Chase seems like a romance favourable aromantic person who'd label their queerplatonic feelings as romantic <- I don't think any of these characters know what the aromantic spectrum is, much less what queerplatonic relationships are. I just feel like, if we wanted to be technically, Chase's feelings for Scarlet, to me, aren't really romantic but I think he'd feel comfortable labelling them as such. I hope that made sense). To be fair, in a comic where like, over the half the main cast is heavily coded with at least one cluster b personality disorder/hj (I might make a post of how many characters in this comic have cluster b coded traits or symptoms as someone with two cluster b disorder but that's for another day), it makes sense that a lot of the connections and attachments characters make feel unconventional because a lot of these characters have issues related to attachment but even that, I'd argue that doesn't take away from the aspec reading.

Ever since I started reading ITGR back when season one and two were coming out, I'll never forget just. Not seeing the romance between Scarlet and Chase at all and being jumpscared when it became overtly canon because there was always something about their romance that felt, for lack of a better word, empty (NOT IN A BAD WAY) to me? And I just couldn't articulate what it was about their interactions and romance that felt so off and unconventional to me until now. I think it's partially also because of the way all their romantic scenes pre the season three finale focus more on affirming how much they care about and are attached to eachother as people, rather than how "in love" they are? And also the way their main forms of affection is hugs or physical touch and there's not really any "OMG O////O ARE WE ABOUT TO KISS???/!??@?@?" moment. Even in Episode 42, when we get a bit of a kiss tease, there's not blushing on either of their ends and Chase is talking more about how much he cares about her as a person and how much he's come to respect her and how even he, someone who in a way views himself as superior to most people and tries to position himself as someone worthy of deciding what's just and what isn't, has come to view her the ultimate judgement and he respects that (THAT WAS MORE INTIMATE THAN ANY LOVE CONFESSION BUT WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT). And even when he says he wants to see her in the eyes when she kills him, it's more about wanting to see her as a person before she dies. There's love there but it feels different than romantic love to me. Like, it's so intimate and unconventional and something about how we're four seasons in and they haven't kissed yet and the way their entire relationship is written and the way they express love and attachment to eachother has major queerplatonic undertones to me.

There's just something about how the main romance in this comic has a surprising lack of emphasis on romance. Anyways, I love my little murderous aspec people in a romantic QPR/lh.

Part 4: ITGR and The Aromantic One and the One That Wasn't (aka ITGR and the Devastation of Amatanormativity)

Amatanormativity is the common belief and societal assumption that everyone desires to be in a monogamous romantic and sexual relationship and marriage and it has caused a lot of pain to a lot of people but aspec people specifically (it's similar to heteronormativity and gay people). There are two examples of ITGR critiquing amatanormativity and highlighting how much pain it can cause, one indirect and one direct. Critiques and depictions of the harm amatanormativity causes are generally hard to find in most media and are mostly confined to media explicitly centered around aspec people and that's why it's actually surprising to me that (while I don't think it was intentional at all), on top of all the aspec undertones ITGR has, it also directly and indirectly critiques a societal expectation that inherently hurts and deeply affects aspec people.

I'm actually surprised I made it this long without talking about Brook at all. That being said, there's actually one character I need to talk about before I talk about him: Ana. Despite Brook being the explicit and more blatantly canon example of an aromantic character, Ana's backstory indirectly represents a common issue aspec people face. I know it's later revealed by Liam in Episode 48 that the man Ana married was a man she hadn't met prior but I still think there's a way to interpret her backstory through an aspec lense (Misogyny definitely has a part to play in Ana's backstory but I don't think misogyny being a factor takes away from an aspec interpretation of it and vice versa). There's just something quintessentially aspec to me about Ana's horrified face in episode 11 when we see her and her fiance as she remarks that she "didn't feel anything".

Her entire life fell apart because her abusive parents pushed amatanormativity onto her. It's the way she literally tries to tell them she doesn't want to get married or have children (implying she was happy being single and pursing her writing career) and they dismiss her and call her stupid and tell her that every woman wants to get married. They dismiss the notation anyone (any woman specifically) could be happy without marriage, or a relationship. Ana decides to do what they say and I know it's never explicitly shown but I think she wanted to believe they were right and that she'd develop feelings for her husband and be happy eventually if she just conformed and did what they said. It's possible she could have felt like she was wrong (or. broken/hj) and that she wanted to believe that marriage would "fix" her and make her happy (because society and amatanormativity consistently pushes the idea that marriage = happiness) and that would explain the horror in her face when she realised she didn't feel anything. It's also further supported by her line "Where was that happiness I was promised?". Her parents, society and amatanormativity literally kept telling her that she couldn't be happy if she stayed single and childless and sold her the idea that getting married would fix her and make her happy and that destroyed her life and, regardless of if Ana was supposed to represent an aspec struggle, it still stands as indirect commentary on how amatanormativity can hurt people who don't want to be married (or in relationships) (semi related but I personally headcanon Ana as aroace or arospec asexual ^^).

And with that said, let's move onto the only actually canonically aspec character in this comic: Brook, who's canonically aromantic. Also Brook being aromantic is canon regardless of it's explicitly said or not. I could go on a whole tangent about queer representation and the double standards between other queer rep and aspec rep when it comes to needing authorial intent to be seen as "real" rep but the short of it is that Brook's aromantic, not only because he said he's not interested in romantic relationships but because, on a fundamental level, he doesn't understand what romantic feelings are like and how they work. He's confused by the concept of romantic feelings, because he doesn't feel them. I don't think there's another way to interpret that. He's literally textbook aromantic. I'm not saying that trauma hasn't maybe influenced that and vice versa but you can be aromantic and have cptsd. I also feel the need to debunk the idea that Brook's time as reaper "made him detached from romantic love so he's not really aromantic" because that doesn't make sense. Yes, Brook's time as a reaper probably made him even more detached from human connections than he already was but there is no indication that he felt romantic feelings before being a reaper. He quite literally shows no interest in romance at any point in the comic, even before he died (also, again, while his lack of general ambition in anything could be interpreted as the product of some kind of neurodivergency or mental disorder, but that doesn't mean he can't also be aromantic). The fact he doesn't understand romance to begin with heavily implies he's never experienced it and doesn't experience romantic feelings in general, hence that he's aromantic.

Now that that's established, I want to talk about how ITGR depicts the feeling of isolation that can sometimes come with being aromantic, which in itself is kind of caused by amatanormativity. There's several scenes in the comic (Episode 176 being the most obvious example) where Brook laments getting attached to Chase and Scarlet because they're in love (well. Wellllllll, adajcent anyway/hj) and he feels like he'll never mean as much to them as they mean to eachother. He feels like because he's not romantically with either of them, he'll never the first priority to them (I personally headcanon as Brook having mild queerplatonic feelings for Scarlet but its not relevant right now and we don't have time for that). I feel like it's very common for aromantic people to feel isolated as a lot of their friends gets into relationships and because of how romantic relationships are seen as "superior" and it's nice of ITGR to represent that in a way. I feel like we do sometimes get canonically aspec characters in media but usually, if they're not the main main character, we don't really get much about how being aspec affects their lives and relationships? Or what their specific relationship to being aspec is? I feel like a lot of media ignores the complexities of being aspec which is why I really love Brook as a canonically aromantic character. While in most media, the aspecness of a character is more of a footnote and is usually treated as a label that's simply slapped onto a character, Brook's aromanticism doesn't exist in isolation and it directly ties back to several parts of his characters. It informs some of his feelings and thoughts. It feels like something tangible. I think it says a lot about how the writing that Brook is written so much like an aromantic character and his struggles with not feeling romantic attraction are treated with complexity that I genuinely forgot it's not explicitly ever said he is aromantic. I don't know, I really like him as aromantic rep.

Part 5: Bonus Headcanons + Conclusion

I didn't have any specific sections to put these headcanons in so I'm just going to through a bunch out there. Ashe is so greyromantic and greysexual to me. Like he definitely had feelings for the wife he's implied to have had when he was alive but I like to think he doesn't really feel attraction outside of that one specific person. Nyra screams arospec asexual lesbian to me. That's it. Send post. Need I say more? (I'm never getting over how her date with Azrael just convinced me that neither of them are attracted to the other's gender/lh). Oddly enough, I don't have that many headcanons about Bernadette. I'd say she could be ace? Vibes anyway. Scarlet's unnamed childhood best friend is so aroallo to me (vibe checked). I wrote a lot of this before Ver and Everette's interactions were revealed so you can either interpret them as the token allos or they can be acespec as a treat/hj.

With all of that done, thank you to anyone who actually read this whole thing. I am so sorry I'm insane/lh. I hope you enjoyed hearing out this interpretation. I feel like this analysis (?) has finally allowed me to be able to articulate why ITGR has always read to me as an aspec heavy piece of media despite only one character being canonically aspec, it's a combination of several things but mostly just the way the comic views love in such a detached and unglamourised way compared to a lot of other media. Love and attraction are still in the comic but the forms of love we see are unconventional. It kind of creates a world where genuine love and attraction aren't really the default, like out of the most openly flirty characters in the comic, most of them have ulterior motive and their flirty is performative and I find that so interesting. I don't think this is necessarily the only way to interpret a lot of the characters and themes but I hope I've opened your eyes to the aspec ITGR reading ^^

[distortedclouds]

Can you really explain in detail what black water Annie’s dad has against Armin is he just “nobody can love my daughter more than me” and controlling cause hes a narcissist or is there another reason? Cause we know the hate is obviously mutual between armin and annies dad but Armin is a good guy for annie, he’s literally a commander why wouldn’t he be happy knowing he treated her horribly?? Sorry for it being so long but i had been thinking about this for a while

Well sorry this took FOREVER for me to answer, anon, but here I am! (promise im not dead)

I think one of the hardest characters to write in BW was Mr. Leonhart. because it's so easy to make him a two-dimensional villain with very little nuance. So it does help to try and see things from his perspective a little bit, even if we're ignoring the selfish/self-centered accusations made by me numerous time. 10 years ago, him and Annie made a promise that it's them against the world, that neither him nor Annie need anyone else to rely on as long as they have each other. This is when he said that she can make the whole world her enemy but he'd still be on her side and that's all that matters

By the end of the series, you can see Mr Leonhart kept good on his "promise" he seems to still be only focused on her returning, keeping to himself because that's what he told Annie to do. But now she's back, and she hadn't kept her "promise" of it just being the two of them, she now has friends she can rely on, people she trusts and loves and who love her back

I think there is a sense of betrayal on his end, but I don't see him turning against Annie after 10 whole years of waiting for her and believing she's alive. Instead, it's much more realistic of him going the route of "it's other people" who are taking her away from me so that starts causing some resentment even towards Annie herself

I've also pointed out before that I don't believe he actually knows Annie as a person. He never got to know her before he "changed his ways" so it's really hard for him to comprehend why other people may like her, especially since his own "paternal feelings" are primarily guided by guilt, rather than something more inherently positive. So, of course, anyone who's trying to get close to Annie, must have some nefarious reasoning and ill-intent towards her, so he must protect her now, unlike when he "failed" from protecting her from Marley

Armin is the target of his hatred because he is successfully taking Annie away from him, because hero of the final battle, commander in the army, and an ambassador important worldwide, surely he doesn't have an interest in a "damaged" girl beyond the fact that she's easier to take advantage of

Also, while not a part of BW, I can totally imagine his passive aggressiveness towards anyone (but especially Armin) trying to take Annie away from him if he found out that it was Armin and her friends who put her there in the first place would turn into hostility

This is all my trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the characterization I apply the most to Mr Loenhart is the one I have pinned on my blog of him focusing on his own redemption and making up for his mistakes, with being Annie's father till his last day as the only way he could do it and anyone taking Annie from him is dooming him into irredeemably. Though that's more subconscious

[sebadztian]

Hi Seb, I was spending some time thinking about something in the kuroshitsuji community and I'd like to see if more people realize the same thing as me. As you are a very active and communicative person, I thought it would be a good idea to try it for you first. So, I'll get straight to the point and then introduce my point of view, so things move faster.

For some time now I have noticed a huge amount of hypocrisy in the kuroshitsuji fandom, especially in ANTIS, like I see people who are anti Sebaciel, or anti proshipper, but who ship Ciel x Lizzy, which is incest and is included in this proshipper category, every time I question them about this I either get blocked or have my comments deleted, most of the time they use the excuse that incest between cousins ​​can or that at the time it could and that's why it's okay, but that's not really an argument that Do they hate it so much when it comes from a Sebaciel shipper?

Giving some context about myself here so as not to bring up any misunderstanding, I have nothing against anyone who likes these ships. I'm not a Sebaciel or Ciellizzy shipper, at most I like some Sebaciel AUs in which Ciel is an adult man, this comes because I have triggers and psychological traumas involving pedo and incest, on this account I have been introducing myself more into the community of kuroshitsuji and I've seen how difficult it is to build a healthy community here, it seems like everyone hates each other like... there are people I've never talked to or seen in my life who blocked me and I don't even know why, I would think that maybe this person was a anti and thought I was part of the Sebaciel community due to drawings that I repost, but in my bio and in my profile pin it is very clear that I just don't care about this ship thing.

And again this hypocrisy breaks me, I saw anti Sebaciel shipping Joanne and Sebastian while Joanne is also a minor, it seems that they are only defenders of young people when it suits them, it is really confusing trying to understand this fandom and at all times It's like I'm walking on eggshells talking here.

I hope the Google Translate translation wasn't confusing and strange, I don't speak English fluently and because of this it can often lead to misinterpretations. Making it very clear that I don't want war with anyone, I really wanted to build a community on my profile where everyone is welcome, and I was focusing on the people from kuroshitsuji because so many were super sweet and welcoming to me, but at the same time it has me created a headache.

I'm just an artist wanting to sell my daily bread, I don't need to be radical and be on side X or Y, as a professional I believe that my opinions should not influence my audience or separate them, I've always seen people from DNI is extremely privileged to be able to choose the audience they want to follow them. I just hope I can find more calm people here

Thank you for your attention and sorry for any inconvenience, kisses from Brazil

Hi, Deusa (hope it's alright to call you that)!

Since the answer is going to be quite long, I put them under the cut...

I'm going to share my own opinion with you in response to your view. Hope that's ok.

Yes, I agree that there are a lot of hypocrisy in the Kuro fandom, most especially among antis. They can't seem to decide what is it that they actually want. I've seen those who support CielLizzy, and those who are against this particular ship because of the incest thing.

To be fair, marriage between cousins (even first cousins) was very common back then in the Victorian era. Queen Victoria & Prince Albert were first cousins too and they got married. The reason why they did this is to keep the 'high blood' in the family and to strengthen their familial bond.

If Ciel & Lizzy get married, then the bond between the Phantomhives & the Midfords will only get stronger and they can keep everything (wealth, nobility, status, power) 'in the family', so to speak.

Even until today, marrying one's cousin is still allowed & legal in some places. Thus, this type of marriage might not be seen as strictly 'incestuous'.

Another reason why those antis are still somewhat okay with this pairing might be because of their age. Ciel & Lizzy are of the same age (Liz is a year older, but that's still considered as 'normal age gap'). And of course, Ciel & Lizzy are 'normal' couple (a man and a woman).

These factors might help them to justify this ship, even if they're techincally incest.

Things are very different when it comes to Sebaciel.

First, they're both males.

Second, there's the whole age gap & pedophilia thing (antis' most favourite argument). Seb is, well, we don't know how old he is, but we can safely assume that he's much, much older than Ciel and it doesn't help that he looks like an adult man. This age gap (in real life) is definitely seen as pedophilia (which I completely agree with).

And then, there's the whole Sebas is a demon who wants to eat Ciel's soul thingy - which is true, but they see Sebas as evil and they're all about 'protecting baby Ciel' because he's been abused. I'm not going to go into why this behaviour is not going to help Ciel because this answer is not about that.

About Harcourt and Sebastian shippers... Well, I can't say anything about this because this too baffles me. Harcourt is only 1 year older than Ciel (he's in second form) and I don't know why they're ok with Seb/Harcourt, but they'd burn Sebaciel at the stakes. I don't ship them, so I cannot find anything to justify/explain this. Whatever thing that Seb did to Ciel, he did it worse to Harcourt, imo, but at least, Ciel knows what kind of bastard Seb is. Seb even laced Harcourt's pie with laxatives, like... why would anyone ship them? Is it because Harcourt is seen as more... feminine & soft compared to Ciel? Shouldn't they worry about traumatizing this boy??

But I digress...

I'm sorry that you've been through such ridiculous thing and I agree that it's very difficult to find others who are neutral when it comes to shipping. In opposite of the antis, we also have the extreme shippers (Sebaciel or otherwise) and they too, are not too friendly towards non-shippers or other shippers.

I generally don't interact with antis because I've got my blog banned twice and I don't want to get a third ban, so I tend to play it safe and stick with the people that I know (either other Sebaciel shippers or the neutral/proship-safe space). Unfortunately, things are very divided in this fandom and you really have to be careful about whom you talk to/interact with.

I have my own 'limits' in the fandoms that I follow (not just Kuro). There are some pairings that I will never ship or headcanons that I will never entertain, but I try to be open until I decide that no, this is not for me.

For what it's worth, I think everyone is waaaaay too young for Sebas, even Tanaka. Some antis ship Sebagni. Agni is 31, so he's about 18 years older than Ciel. But compared to Sebas, he's still much, much too young. Yet, they don't seem to have any problem with shipping them. Maybe because they're both tall, adult men? I don't know... To be very clear, I'm not against Sebagni. It's not my cup of tea (because I think Agni's true soulmate is Soma), but if you ship them, that's cool wih me!

My point is, if you're talking about age gap, the only ones Sebas should be with are either Claude (whose existence I try to ignore/forget) or maybe one of the Reapers.

Sorry that I ended up rambling, but in summary, I agree with you.

Thanks for the ask!

[fixfoxnox]

Wrestling - Ghost/Roach/Soap

I promised some cuteness for you guys

Ghost is nearly asleep when they start this time. He should have known it would happen, it always seemed to happen on days like this.

It was an off day for the members of the 141. They'd just returned from a week long mission not even two days prior and they'd all been exhausted. They'd done longer missions before, but this one had required them to pull several all nighters while at the top of their game. Needless to say, the entire team had been a bit cranky and in desperate need of a nap when they returned.

They'd been given a week off to rest up and recuperate before they would start training again and, inevitably, get sent out on another mission.

One would think, that with how active they'd been on their last mission, the entire team would be knocked out for days. However, as Ghost realized fairly quickly, that sort of thinking didn't take into account the almost impossible amount of energy that two of the members of his team had. The two members of his team who he just so happened to have fallen in love with.

It wasn't a big deal most of the time. The endless energy that both Roach and Soap seemed to keep stored in their bodies was endlessly amusing for him most of the time. It was part of the reason why he'd fallen in love with the two. But, on days like this, days where all he wanted was to nap and feel their weight laid across him as they slept, it proved to be a bit of an issue.

It started off like it normally did, the three waking up in a pile, squeezed onto the double mattress that they'd laid out on the floor of Ghost's room, though really it was their room at that point. Ghost had been so, utterly, content in that moment. He was in the middle of their pile, Roach and Soap on either side of him with their heads on his chest, their hands linked together over his stomach. They were chatting idly, but Ghost hadn't minded, their voices helped to lull him back to sleep.

When he'd woken up again, still tired, it was to Soap and Roach returning to the room with food for the three of them. He'd gotten up long enough to tiredly eat and use the bathroom before returning to pass out in the room again, Soap and Roach still chatting away to one another at the table in their room.

Then came now. He wasn't quite sure if the two had been attempting to go back to sleep when they'd fallen into their usual routine, but what he was sure of was that it was an elbow to his side that woke him with jerk.

He sat up suddenly, his eyes tiredly tracing over to the other side of the bed where Soap had Roach in a hold from behind, trying to pin him to the bed. They were still struggling against one another when Roach looked up at him with an apologetic smile, "Sorry Simes, we didn't mean to wake you."

"Yeah, sorry babe, but look I've almost got him-" Soap was cut off as Roach managed to slip out of his grasp and flip their positions, straddling his hips with a wicked grin as he tried to pin him to the mattress.

Simon watched them continue to wrestle with one another for a moment, both of the men going flush with the effort, their hair tussling wildly. It was almost enough to make his tired brain interested in something other than sleep. Almost.

Finally he dared to ask, "Could you guys please stop?" There was no answer as the two continued to wrestle, playful growls swapped between them. They obviously hadn't heard him. "Soap, Roach," he tried again gruffly, annoyance growing in his chest. He loved his boyfriends, but he also loved his sleep. "Would you two-" an arm smacked against his leg, the two continued. "That's it," he finally growled out.

He pushed himself up to his knees, neither of the other men noticing his sudden movement until he had them both by the shoulder shoving them away from each other and holding them apart with a raised eyebrow. He was met with a pout from both of the men, he only rolled his eyes in response. "Babe!" Soap whined out.

"I am trying to sleep," Ghost told them both, his face fixed into a neutral line, "You can wrestle later or move off of the bed to do it. I don't care."

"But-"

"No buts, Bug."

Ghost slowly released the two men, satisfied that they weren't going to lunge at each other again. He watched them both closely, noting the way that they shared a look with each other before looking at him. He knew exactly what they were thinking and he opened his mouth to tell them as much. He didn't get much of an opportunity to speak when the two were leaping at him, trying to pin him against the bed by working together.

He let them try for a moment, amusement seeping back into his veins as they pressed against him. It was a little funny to see them trying so hard and failing. There was also a sense of satisfaction he felt when he finally moved, capturing one of Soaps arms first to spin him around and pin him down with one hand, his face pressed into the mattress.

A moment later and he was doing the same thing to Roach, wrangling the smaller man until he could toss him on top of Soap and hold them both down at once.

The two struggled for several moments, much to Ghosts amusement.

"Get off Roach!"

"I'm trying, he's holding me down! Let me just-"

"Fuck!"

"Did I hurt you?"

"No, you're fucking leg is between my legs and you're- oh fuck."

"Oh shit! Sorry!"

Gost watched both of the men go red in amusement, finally, he asked them, "Are you both going to behave if I let you go?"

He earned a groan from Soap, "Fuck, Simon you can't be talking like that if you want to go back to sleep."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes!"

"Bug?"

Roach turned just enough to give him a pout, "Fine."

Ghost released them both, watching in amusement as Soap immediately turned to toss Roach off of him, crawling on top of him on the bed a moment later so that he could bury his face in his shoulder and grind against him.

"Tease. You definitely put your leg there on purpose." His hands moved under Roach's shirt.

Roach gave a small whimper in response to Soap's movements, "Did not!"

Ghost watched them for several moments, admiring the way that they slid together, their mouths meeting in a sloppy kiss through their heavy petting. He shook his head at them, a yawn escaping his lips. He really did not understand how they could have so much energy all the time.

"Hey, you two, find somewhere else." He plopped back into the bed, tugging the covers over him with tired eyes, "I know you two have endless energy, but I'm fucking tired."

He looked over to meet the pleading eyes of both Soap and Roach, both men having stopped to pout at him. "You're not going to join us?"

"Later," he responded simply, "when I'm not on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. Now, out of the bed. Go take a cold shower together or something."

He rolled over away from them, noting with amusement as, only a few moments later, he could hear them getting up from the bed. There were small noises let out between them as they made their way into the bathroom, likely to do exactly as he'd suggested.

Despite how tempting it was when he heard Soap give a groan and Roach a whine before they disappeared into the bathroom, nothing was going to move him from the bed and, within a few minutes, his mind was slipping away to sleep, the sound of the shower in the other room turning on being the last thing he heard.

[velvet-games]

intro post

I'll probably add more to/change this later; I've just needed an intro post for a while, and this is what I could think of. you should probably remind me to update it if this section is still here after like six months lol.

name/pronouns/age/gay shit~

honestly you can call me whatever, but I probably won't know you're talking about me unless you use vel/velvet.

prefer they/it; any pronouns are fine.

I'm probably non-binary I guess.

I'm an adult.

I basically just identify as queer at this point, but I'm like,, vaguely aroace-spec probably? still figuring it out. I'm actually very happy to talk about it more specifically, but I might have to sit you down for an entire day to explain it lol.

what I do/post~

I mostly post fandom stuff, and my original posts include a lot of art + occasional meta. I'm starting write fic too, so that might be a more regular thing in the future :)

other accounts~

@/velvetygames -- explicit nsfw twitter/x account, not very active

@cornerbytes -- old dragon prince account that I will probably revisit when the new season comes out

@/velvet_games -- ao3 account

nsfw~

I post occasional nsfw here (never super explicit; that's saved for my twitter); it'll be tagged #nsft.

fandoms~

current fandom: hazbin hotel

previous fandoms:

hannibal (will always have a very special place in my heart)

arcane (will revisit when the new season comes out)

ofmd (literally so happy this exists; devastated it's not getting a new season)

the dragon prince (will probably revisit when the new season comes out)

good omens

lotr (I also read like 2/3 of the hobbit and will hopefully finish it this summer lmao)

things in media that make me go insane (in a good way)~

friendship

happy endings

cannibalism

(WELL-WRITTEN) romance (THAT RESPECTS THE CHARACTERS AS INDIVIDUALS AS WELL AS WHO THEY ARE IN RELATION TO OTHERS)

surrealism

good visuals (even if everything else is shit; extra points if it's animation)

angst

fake-hating

this one's weird but I love situations where a character is really helpless; I thought I liked whump because I can be borderline sadistic about it sometimes, but whump is really not necessary at all to this concept

religious stuff, mythology, angels specifically for some reason (especially when they're terrifying and/or fallen)

gay people

requests~

you are welcome to send in ideas through comments, DMs, asks, etc., but I can't guarantee I'll draw them. if I don't, it doesn't mean that I don't like your idea; I'm probably just busy or have too many brainworms about a specific thing to draw anything but what's on my mind.

notes~

I randomly get really anxious about feedback on stuff sometimes lol, but I promise I read every single comment/tag and cherish them very deeply <33

also, like/rb spamming is totally fine and welcomed! I know some people don't like it, so I just wanted to make it clear that it's completely cool with me.

mutuals~

for a really long time, this was my pinned post, and it's still true! definitely welcome any interactions from mutuals <3

I do have a problem with randomly ghosting people though; I've been much better with it recently, but please try not to take it personally if I don't respond to DMs quickly. I'm probably just being insane and in my head about it. I'm really sorry.

misc~

this is an account that is purposely removed from my irl stuff; I'm here to have fun and relax on my mostly fandom-oriented blog.

I don't block often since I mostly meet nice people on here, but I am very happy to block accounts that make my experience on this app shitty.

I try to tag triggers when appropriate, but please let me know if you need me to tag anything I haven't.

art for me is just a hobby I use for fun and self-expression, so while I really appreciate concrit, keep in mind that my goal is ultimately to make stuff that makes me happy.

I am also very protective of young artists that get made fun of for being beginners or making unconventional art; you should never assume why someone is making art, and you especially should not assume that they are focused on becoming more skilled or making things that are beautiful to you. if they're not hurting anyone and you're not their target audience, get the fuck out.

I am of the mindset that media is not real, but that your reaction/the things you learn are. liking cannibal media does not make you a cannibal, but seeing bigoted portrayals of minorities can feed your biases (doesn't necessarily mean you can't consume it; does mean its effect on you/others irl should factor into if/how you decide to interact with it).

I'm vaguely fucked in the head. just keep that in mind.

[fandomsandfairytales]

I feel like I need to give Riser Way a shoutout for Father's Day because he's been the main dad character I've been reading about for the last several months and he's awesome.

I've only got a few minutes left before it's no longer Father's Day in my timezone (update: I'm 7 minutes too late now, lol, but whatever), so here's a selection of highlights of Riser being a fantastic dad!

For this post it's only Riser and Nikki snippets from Óhchikaape—with the exception of the final snippet, which is from the latest chapter of Montana Stars because I couldn't not include it—but I'll probably do a more comprehensive follow-up post at some point with highlights of Riser being a dad with all his kids (including more Nikki).

“You’re trying to get rid of me. You can’t wait ‘til I’m gone, can you. All this trouble I’ve caused, I’m not stupid, and money I’ve cost you too. No one does what you do just to be nice , and if they do it doesn’t last long before they get tired of it. You’re ready to be done. Ship my ass home and be done with me. Get on with your life. No one has ever cared enough to come looking, not since Daddy died. No one has cared enough to make me stop .” She whirls and slams her hand into the wall, and the broken thing in it, chipping the paint and gouging the drywall. He catches her wrist and pushes it away. "If that was how things were I wouldn't'a just torn this town apart for four days and put myself in the position of owing half the people in it a favor to find ya."

^ Óhchikaape, chapter 15 "I Don't Want to be Alone Again"

"Is there anything else ya want? A doll maybe?" She gives him a black look. “One of you maybe, to stick pins in.” Muttering. “…doll…” His shoulders shake and he turns away hastily to hide his grin; rather pointlessly, since it's quite audible in his voice. "We could check out the kiddie makeup section." “I’m going to trounce you right here in the parking lot.” "Princess bedding? I was supposed to have gotten you princess bedding already but I've been distracted..." “You get me princess bedding and I’ll go sleep in the cab of the truck with your coat.  You can sleep on the princess bedding, you have the princess hair.  Like… whatshername. Pasnuzel.” "How about a nice pink bracelet?" he suggests, fighting desperately and futilely to keep a straight face. She skips around an oil slick and back in close to his side and says, “What’s with you and the pink? We can pick out some pink stuff for you, you know. I won’t judge.”

^ Óhchikaape, chapter 17 "Until You Know I Love You"

“Everyone picks on kids like that, it’s just what you do!” "No it's not. And you will be apologizing to each and every one of them when we get back, you understand me?" Her eyes go wide and horrified. “I can’t do that!” "Oh yeah?" He doesn't sound impressed. "And why's that?" “Because it’ll be embarrassing!” "As embarrassing as it was to them when you made fun?" She moans a little, shoulders sagging. “Rissserrrrr….” "Would it be?" he says harshly. "As upsetting to you as it was to them, to be taunted for something beyond their control? To be taunted for wanting to be able to see clearly?" “I never meant it like that…” "Then how'd you mean it." “It was just… I don’t know, Riser, I just… thought it would be… funny.” She trails off miserably. "Were they laughing?" “…some other kids would. I mean… did.” Her shoulders are hunched. “I’ll say sorry when we get back, okay? Let’s just… stop talking about it.” "Not until I'm satisfied that you understand not only that what you did was wrong but also why." “I don’t know, because it wasn’t… nice?” Unbidden her mind darts to her little brother and she imagines in a flash bigger kids surrounding him while he cowers on the floor, his arms over his head. She imagines Silver hunched against a locker with his hands shoved in his pockets, cruel words flung at him and no towering uncles to come to his defense. “It wasn’t… it wasn’t nice.” She looks up at him a little weakly. “Riser, no one is nice where I come from.” "I believe ya. But it's not fighting back to pass the cruelty on. I’ll help ya keep the bigger kids off ya back, but there'll be no more picking on the smaller ones, you understand me?" “Yes.” "An' you'll be apologizing to the ones you've wronged." She sticks her face in her arm with a long groan. "And you'll mean it." Finally she lifts her head, red-faced and eyes pleading. “Okay. I will. Can we be done?” He eyes her calculatingly a moment longer. "Alright. Let's go pick you out some frames."

^ Óhchikaape, chapter 25 "Eye Guy and Cabbages"

Riser stands abruptly and catches hold of Nikki's ankles, dangling her a few inches above the floor and just sweeping it with her hair. "Look! I have a new broom!" “I’m a SWIFFER,” Nikki squawks, bending like a snake to see him better. "Do you cede, kiddo?" he asks, grinning down at her. Birdie lifts one hand, groans, and lets it flop dramatically back down. "My deepest and sincerest apologies, my lady. I shall be no more aid, callously broken by my own brother and left to die." “Never,” Nikki vows, and pretends to chomp his jean-leg in her teeth and shake it like a terrier. Riser shrugs and hoists her up higher and nudges one sneaker off with his shoulder to nibble at her toes. "Ooh, yum, snack." Her snarls turn to shrieks of protest. “I’ve been wearing these socks for three days straight Riser ack! Eek! Stopit!” Helpless laughter, feeble thrashing. "Do you give?" he asks thickly around a mouthful of toes. “That is so disgusting help! Ken! Help!” A shuffling sound from the hallway and Ken emerges to glare at them all balefully through sleepily squinted eyes. "ALL OF YOU, stuff a sock in it, or I'm slinging your sorry carcasses outside and locking you out." "I've already shtuffed a shock in it," Riser points out, and earns himself the full weight of Ken's glare. “Ken! Help! He’s eating my—eep—FEET!” "Shut. Up. All of you," Ken snarls, and stomps back to his room, slamming his door.

^ Óhchikaape, chapter 25 "Eye Guy and Cabbages"

"Yup." He nudges his chin gently against the side of her head. "But I'm not gonna whup you until you can handle it." She makes a sound that’s half groan and half exasperation. “How will you know when that is? When I’m thirty, maybe? Thirty sounds good.” He smirks a little and hitches her up. "Hopefully it won't still be necessary when you're thirty. No, it will wait until you know I love you, and will know it even when your ass is smarting." She’s silent all the way to the front of the store. She’s silent as he scans things through the self-check without putting her down. She’s silent as he pays and trundles her and the buggy out into the fading light and she’s silent when he finally sets her down beside the Eagle and hands her her helmet. She holds it between her hands, staring down at it, at the sharp snap-cuffs of the soft leather jacket, at her own hands. She turns the right one to see the raised pink line across the palm. Finally she says in a whisper, “You do?” He crouches to look up and meet her eyes. "I do." Her first step toward him is a fling; she draws up, remembering the stab-wound, and hugs him very gently around the neck. He wraps his arms about her and pats her back. "Y' my kid, understand? And I love you." She’s feeling suddenly sniffly and doesn’t quite know why. She says against his shoulder, “I… don’t think I understand all of it. But I understand… milkshakes. And coats. And shoes. And steak. And…” She has to stop and take a breath. “I understand… someone looking. I understand that.” He rocks her just a little. "I'll always be here for ya. I'll always be here for you. Okay?" She laughs a little in tearful disbelief. “I still don’t think I understand why. I’m… scrawny and smart-mouthed and I run away instead of saying… thank you.” "Doesn't mean you deserve it any less," he says reflectively. "Means you need it more."

^ Óhchikaape, chapter 17 "Until You Know I Love You"

"I'm your stepdad, it's my job to notice. An' put a stop to it." “I don’t… I don’t think I like that word as much.” "Which word?" “The… sounds like Cinderella or something.” "Stepdad?" She grinds her face against his shoulder. “Mm-hmm.” "Alright. Your Riser then. It's my job to notice, an' put a stop to it." “I don’t… it’s just the… step part I don’t like.” She hides her face in his neck. Riser blinks and blinks again and then a grin stretches his face wide. "Really?" “Really what.” "You mean it?" She lifts her head and looks at him squintily. “Mean what, Riser.” He takes a breath. "Do you... want to call me Dad?" “I’m not… I don’t… I want to call you that when I… when people ask. Because you are. Riser. Aren’t you? Now?” "Yes, baby, I am," he says quietly, and pulls her close again in a tight fierce hug.

^ Montana Stars, chapter 5 "Fencing"

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Happy Father's Day, Riser Way. Not words I ever thought I'd write, but he deserves it XD

@thegreenleavesofspring tagging you to make sure you see this <3

[animehouse-moe]

Well, Tumblr decided to bug out on me and I've now lost the original question that was asked, but someone had asked for my favorite series (be it manga/anime/movies/Tv/etc), and this was my response.

(first of all, so sorry for losing the question! I should have taken a screenshot or something when Tumblr wouldn't let me post)

It's all good, I enjoy getting these types of questions because they make me think about this stuff haha. I'm not one to really do well with the idea of favorites, so having to pin down stuff like this can be interesting for me!

That said, for this one I might just stick with anime for the list to make it a little easier. I can definitely do a top ten of manga or other stuff later on though. Also, this list will be in no particular order because I'd be stuck forever trying to figure out a satisfying order for them.

Sonny Boy

I think it's a very fair point to argue, that at this stage in his career, Sonny Boy is Shingo Natsume's magnum opus. There's just not much else to it. It's a series that he created, from his own mind and talent, and he executed on that. There are very, very few people that work in anime that can manage a feat such as that. In terms of story, I don't have any issue with claiming Sonny Boy is the pinnacle of high school storytelling. It stretches the fabric of reality so far that you might struggle to claim that it's about high school, but the longer that you spend with it, the more undeniable a fact it becomes. Or maybe you could generalize it to the human condition, or how the cracks in society will fester and form no matter the condition, or how authority will always appear in a self-serving manner, or this or that or any concept under the sun.

Terror In Resonance

Call me crazy, but there's quite a few reasons why this is the Shinichiro Watanabe anime for me. Bebop and Champloo have rose colored glasses that adorn every fan in the community, so I feel like it's hard to really take a proper look at it compared to Terror In Resonance (even though it has a similar amount of users on MAL). As a Mappa project, it is simply the best they've ever been from start to finish. As a concept, Watanabe's approach is impeccable as it examines the frustration and sorrow of displaced children in a society that never wanted them. It's powerful, concise, and from start to finish an incredibly focused series filled with some of the crowning achievements of animators in the industry. Seriously. Takashi Hashimoto, the animator for this cut, actually did all the math to calculate the speed of the smoke as it fell and moved. Some of the best work you'll see on an anime.

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song

I am a big, big fan of Tappei Nagatsuki's work, so being able to experience an anime that is entirely his vision of the work is really impressive. It's one of the biggest struggles with artists, I find. Understanding their work through different mediums. What you see as an anime is not what they created as a manga, or light novel. But this is different, it is Nagatsuki's (and Umehara's) sole vision, the entire intent behind their creativity. And WIT knocked it out of the park to an insane degree. As a post-AoT studio, they showed just how far they can push their creativity and execution on a series beyond human. Incredible story, incredible animation, arguably some of the best hand to hand combat we've seen in an anime in a very long time. It's just that good.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Maybe you see a trend going on with my picks, and while yes it's partly recency bias, it's also a gravitation towards anime originals. I'll add a piece to that at the end, but this is about Edgerunners right now. I was in high school when the video game was first announced. That's a decade ago, now. I played the shit out of 2077 when it dropped, and I'm absolutely eating up Phantom Liberty currently. It is then, absolutely no surprise, that I've placed Edgerunners on a pedestal. But of course, there's also a reason that Edgerunners is in the top 100 anime on MAL, and why it's Trigger's highest rated anime. It's just that damn good. An incredible story revolving around Night City and the themes that Mike Pondsmith laid the groundwork for decades ago. A true tribute to the tabletop game and the genre at large.

The Tatami Galaxy

I don't think there's a way I couldn't put The Tatami Galaxy on this list, truthfully. Of course, that also encompasses the sequel ONA The Time Machine Blues, and spinoffs like The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl. Tomohiko Morimi is a genius, Yusuke Nakamura is an icon, and Masaaki Yuasa is a savant. Incredible work for such an incredible story and message about the pursuit of perfection and the beauty that lies in the present. Arguably, much like titles such as Sonny Boy, these are 100% must watch titles for an anime fan. I'd highly recommend the others still, but these two represent such core and important aspects to how people choose to lead their lives and the frameworks that they do so within, that I strongly believe it's a requirement. I also wrote a review on the novel when I read it in January of this year.

Heike Monogatari

I think history is a very important thing to understand. I also think that history can be presented as obtuse, disinteresting, or too literal - especially in relation to history stories or myths. Heike Monogatari by Science Saru is arguably one of the greatest examples of how to display a modernized version of such a foundational tale to the history of Japan. It's also an incredibly powerful moment for the director, Naoko Yamada, as it was their first real work since the arson attacks on her home studio of Kyoto Animation. Because of the weight of her past, her work beyond words on this anime feels that much more powerful considering its messages about the past and fear of the future. It's wonderfully emotional, and contains one of my favorite closing scenes to a series.

The Saga of Tanya The Evil

Light novel aside, anime quality aside (though both are great), there's a separate reason this title is featured on this list: the adaptation. It is, for lack of a better term, borderline insane as an adaptation. It bears almost no similarity to its source. The tone is different, the scope and scale differ, there's significant changes in terms of narrative, and even the order of large scale events differs. But still, somehow, it remains a fantastic series. Bearing nearly zero resemblance to what it claims to adapt, it is something that I love. It's an incredible feat, and the gold standard of its one-of-a-kind approach to adapting a light novel.

Mononoke

Horror is a very hard thing to do right, at least in my opinion. Many get suckered into thriller territory very quickly, and avoid the psychological nature of horror. The immovable nature of something fearful standing in front of you, the slow descent into madness and despair. Mononoke grasps that incredibly well, and earns a spot on this list because of it's appeal in that manner. Also, the art is just incredible, personifying the more classical style that would be associated with the creatures and myths that pepper the story. I'm incredibly excited to see what comes from the upcoming movie.

Welcome To The N.H.K

While it may differ between its three formats, the core of the story stands strong. Impossible to put into words, it's more of a descent than anything. A descent that turns inwards on each of the characters as they slowly lose their grip on reality, as they continue to fall apart, piece by piece. I have my qualms about how they choose to end it, but I am a very bitter man at my core so it's more a personal difference than a quality one. Regardless, if you want an acid trip down the rabbit hole of depression, mania, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and all manner of other illness, there's no better story than Welcome To The N.H.K.

Toradora!

There's something special about Toradora to me. Is it the era that the anime comes from? Is it the appeal to a classic style of romance without falling prey to the issues of the layout? I'm unsure. But something about it feels so… comfortable, to me. I could watch it again and again and enjoy each minute. It's probably not the best romance anime out there, but it's one that I'll always be drawn to.

And with that, the list is over. Just to provide some extra context and honorable mentions, I'd love to have put series like Alien 9 or Monogatari on the list, but the challenge with them is the fact that the first is a shorter OVA, and the latter is a much larger series encompasses nearly too much to explain in this sort of context. There's really quite a few series like that that I struggled with when forming this list, but they're still really great titles nonetheless.

Anyways, the anime original point. While it's sort of an unconscious thing, I do realize what I do with it. Anime originals present something that you can't experience elsewhere. They are the end all be all of their creative vision, and that excites me more than a manga adaptation. Following someone else's blueprint vs creating your own, obviously one is more interesting than the other. And that sentiment extends to some of the other titles on the list like Heike Monogatari which approaches a classic story with a radical new viewpoint, or Tanya The Evil which basically forgoes the vast majority of its source material. It's really something I struggle with at large with adaptations. So many people want to leave their marks on the work, but quit just short of doing so in a meaningful manner. Very few go the mile to say that they did something in regards to the work, and instead meddle with it in minor ways which can negatively impact its reception as the original material. A great example of valuable changes is Heavenly Delusion. The team under Hirotaka completely re-arrange the order of events in the anime, and in doing so elevate the series in a way that only they can. Anyways, I digress, a discussion that I should leave for another time. This is my list, it may not be the best list out there, but it is mine.

[yostresswritinggirl]

I GOT AN ANGST IDEA, super, super aNGST.

I just read you Tighnari x reader x Cyno! And read some sad fic's... and Tokyo Rev but that's besides the point— How about reader that's not YET on a relationship with both boys and they (Cyno and Tighnari are in a relationship) have feelings for reader! They want to include her as well but reader hides their emotion's really well, they know her because she's always "happy" and helps everyone around them but her eyes look dull (with no life) and just hangs out with both of them but—

Reader is tired? As in mentally exhausted and just wants to end it all because some dark past came to her? (It could be a trauma that's get her on that state)

Nobody expected such a twist! Cyno and Tighnari watching as she almost jumps off a cliff and ask them to let her hand go so she could finally rest— ABSJSBS IM SORRY? I BLAME THE FANFIC I JUST READ— Also I want to suffer, they're not Cyno and Tighnari angst fic's—Ejem, if you feel merciful— Probably a sappy ending or something? I would leave that at your imagination of what happens at the cliff—

Anon—🖤 Bali

Ah, next time make sure to add trigger warnings to your asks please! Since I can't really add one before your ask, just to protect everyone reading (including me) pls and thankies

Tw: please read on your own discretion, tho the word itself isn't mentioned

This actually reminded me of the Tighnari series I've been following (also has unalive themes) and a Tighnari fic in my head that also has the same theme that I definitely won't write-

And anon Bali(?, Cuz I know this isn't the actual 🖤 anon we already have), I get what you're trying to put down but I want to raise a better point

What if this was AFTER they broke up instead? Ohhh spicier and more heartbreaking, the guilt of it all and the fear on their end after realizing that they may have had a hand on why their ex is acting like this, while the reader couldn't be bothered to comfort them back

Tighnari finding them on the cliff near where their favorite spot when they were still poly, sadly smiling at seeing them still attached to the place, until they jumped - and he rushes in to grab their hand, but they were too heavy because of their adventuring bag they won't let go no matter how much Tighnari begged.

Tighnari is shouting for help, getting more frantic at this point as his strength is starting to slip and that's when Cyno heard his call and rushed over to help. Quickly pulling them up, one of them takes the bag (it's SUPER heavy) to look inside, seeing that it was actually all the mementos they had when they were all still together. Their ex planned to jump off with the items they loved.

While the other, most likely Tighnari, pins them down to stop them from trying again as he shouts at them for being so stupid, so reckless, what the fuck was that stunt you pulled?! Why didn't you listen to him?! He was crying without even realizing, eventually realizing the implications the more he calls them out.

They still love them, of course, it's not easy to move on from someone you loved for so long and so genuinely. But that doesn't mean they want you gone just because you're not together anymore. It's not gonna be a cake walk back to the relationship, be real, but it depends on why they even broke up in the first place.

With the Matra and the forest rangers tasked to look out for their ex, the two took their time to help them back to living healthily again. Back to normal, as normal as things could be. When the reader does commissions outside of Sumeru, they were always antsy and paranoid that you'd have done it, and the wait is always terrifying that they can barely function in their work.

It's always a relief to see their ex back and alive even if they promptly shove away their positive looks and go straight to Katheryne like nothing happened. I also can't think of the ending cuz I want to leave that for interpretation aaaaaa

[liskantope]

The webcomic Questionable Content dropped its 5000th comic on Friday, and throughout the weekend and today I binge-reread all of the most recent thousand. I've never had the impression that many of my followers care about QC (not ~8 years ago when I started to blog about it, nor today), but I do have a tradition, after each thousand of its comics, of writing a post reviewing that thousand. Here is where I blogged after the 1000th comic, reblogged after the 2000th comic, and reblogged again after the 3000th comic (this was all during my early months on Tumblr when I was more into reblogging my own posts), and here is my post from 2019 from after the 4000th came out.

When I look back on the pivotal moment clearly scheduled for QC's 500th comic, when it seemed that QC had already been going on quite a while and developed into a really involved storyline that had built and built to this moment when Faye would finally reveal her traumatic backstory, it's astounding to take in the fact that QC has now reached ten times that milestone.

I'm not sure I have a ton to say that isn't essentially a (perhaps more refined) regurgitation of some of the things I've said in the previous reviews, but I do feel like the webcomic has evolved somewhat significantly in its last thousand comics (though perhaps less so than in the previous thousands), and I have a few thoughts/feelings/opinions.

[Note: all of this post is substantially edited since a few people reblogged the original version.]

I would say that this is the first thousand-strip period where my enjoyment of the comic actually went downhill. (Although I would say my feeling is more positive when skimming back over the most recent thousand comics at once; it is still overall fantastic and there's a reason I've stayed so dedicated to reading it.)

It's hard to entirely pin down why I feel this way. I think it has a lot to do with the continued introduction of new characters, at a pace which has never shown any signs of slowing despite the massive accumulated cast the comic already has. While this means that some old characters are more or less abandoned or kind of shoved to the margins (which in some cases I'm quite sorry to see), by and large the comic has stretched out to make room to be shared by an ever-growing cast. At the 4000th strip, I was still doing fine with this, but by the 5000th, I'm starting to feel a little fatigued and past my capacity for keeping track of who's who (and also who knows whom; I have to give the artist credit for keeping careful track of this in the storyline and bringing it up in the dialog when long-already-established characters meet each other for the first time). Many more of them are AIs now, and I guess it may one day be judged as something-ist on my part that I find them more difficult to recognize and distinguish in my memory. Too many of the personalities are somewhat interchangeable too, which is something I should try to expand on just below.

I continue to describe the QC universe to myself using the term "utopia", even though I know this has to be somewhat of a misuse: as I've pointed out before, the characters in that universe are very aware that the broader society they live in is unjust in many ways, and some story arcs (though thankfully not most) are focused on rather futile battles against that injustice. But within the (quite large) social bubble that makes up the immediate QC universe, I have a hard time coming up with a better descriptive word than "utopia" -- maybe this could be modified to "social micro-utopia" or something? (I'm reliably terrible at coming up with terminology.) As I've been reading Peanuts steadily starting from its debut throughout much of the same period I've been reading QC, I actually see a likeness in these "social micro-utopias" and have been meaning forever to write an effortpost delving into this, but as it happens the 5000th-comic milestone has arrived first and that other post will have to wait for another time.

The attractions of indulging in the dynamics of a fictional social bubble which is this idyllic are that it provides a sort of pleasant escapism and that it's inspiring in a way that might enable someone to enact some of the practices and values seen in QC in their own IRL social lives. QC is a feel-good comic; it never tries or pretends to be anything other than a feel-good comic; and (at the risk of sounding trite and cliche) we all need more feel-good things in our lives, and I clearly continue to enjoy it after 8 years of keeping up through 5000 installments. At the same time, some of this... constant and slightly implausible pleasantness... has just gone a bit overboard for me by this point. Maybe a lot of this has to do with the fact that what little I have of a social life feels a very, very long way from satisfying (and I see that I remarked this in my post after comic #4000, with some language reflecting some optimism related to the fact that I was preparing at the time to move back to the US, and it's a reminder of how things really haven't improved for me to any significant degree. To state the obvious: completely unexpected earth-shaking pandemics really don't help. Neither does continuing to get only temporary jobs.) But back during the first half of the 2010's when I had a happily thriving social life, there was no lack of serious drama, tension, real struggles to tolerate one another's eccentricities, and undercurrents of discord. I keep waiting for the social dynamics between the QC characters to get a little more gritty somehow, to feel a little more real. I know this is an unfair expectation, since as observed above, QC never purports to be genuinely gritty.

One thing that has become a symbol for me of the seemingly incessant cheerfulness that characterizes around half the personalities in the comic is... I don't know if there's a term for this that cartoonists use, but you know the technique of drawing closed eyes so that they're concave down, meaning that it's the lower lids that are showing? Maybe this could be called "upturned closed eyes" or something? In cartoons they signal cheerfulness and easy-goingness. And sometimes it feels like half the QC characters go around showing this on their faces all the time, to the point that it's gotten monotonous and maybe a little sappy for my tastes. (This is part of what I meant above about personalities being interchangeable.) It's a constant reminder of how all the characters are pretty much automatically and immediately in lockstep on Major Social Values / Preferences, which I find pretty unrealistic for a hodgepodge of young-ish people who all gradually met kind of randomly. I honestly feel bad that this bothers me quite as much as it does, but it does kind of bother me. There could actually be some dissonance between the characters in terms of their beliefs, values, and ideas of a good time (example: a few, leaving aside Faye who is a recovering alcoholic, could view getting really drunk in social situations as kind of immature, unhealthy, and un-classy behavior -- even some 20-something people do see it that way!).

(Of course, as always, there are occasional characters who everyone has serious problems with, but they are either complete villains who get dealt with and then written out, people who are pushed to the periphery of the social circle but are visibly Trying To Be Better (actually, Sven seems to be the only one in this category), or once-somewhat-hostile characters that the cartoonist obviously wanted to keep around so had to immediately and pointedly mellow and humanize, like Yay a.k.a. Spookybot and probably like five others.)

The comic continues to follow tropes that I call Everyone Is Hot (and half of them are openly attracted to each other), Everyone's Parents Are Remarkably Cool (by the standards of young, socially progressive culture), Everyone Is Woke (in both an ideological and a "young and with-it" sense), and Most People Are LGBT+. I find the first two slightly irritating from time to time and don't mind the last two, but find all of it somewhat unrealistic.

While there is much less dramatic development regarding Faye and Bubbles, I'm glad that Faye remains sober, and that their relationship is still going strong. The profound and powerful love between them is exhibited by the most exquisite writing that the artist has done in all of his work on QC, I would say. Other relationships are going strong, too, and I'm glad. I seem to be asking for more social drama above, but I don't actually care to see loving relationships fall apart. The deep friendship between Faye and Marten is still visible although very much sidelined compared to the comic's old days. The big new relationship is between Clinton and Elliot, and it is adorable from beginning to end (although, see the Everybody Is LGBT+ trope above; there has IMO been a rather unrealistic proportion people convinced they were straight but conveniently discovering they weren't).

And now... there has been a really long story arc about Claire getting offered a job at Cubetown and visiting there with Marten, and all the while, through the very real possibility that Claire would take the job and she and Marten would move away, I have found myself steadfastly rooting against this happening. Because while I complain about there not being enough drama and dissonant changes and it being unrealistic, etc., I don't want that much of a change. The lack of turnover among the social group is absolutely unrealistic in my experience (perhaps partly because I'm a young academic who tends to know other young academics), but I guess it's a part of the escapism that I unreservedly love. Despite my criticisms (and as I've said, it's always easier to expand on criticisms than positive things in reviews!), I've obviously come to care deeply about these characters and their wonderful (if sometimes sappily and implausibly peaceful) dynamic, and I can't imagine the comic being the same with the initial main character and his girlfriend out of the main scene. Plus, their visit to Cubetown has already introduced us to a raft of new characters and... ugh, this comic's world is just getting too big for the comic to hold up.

And (spoiler), as of just the most recent five comics out of the 5000, it looks like Claire is taking the job and this move -- the most drastic change in the QC universe -- is really going to happen. I wonder if the cartoonist draw out the interim period of Marten and Claire preparing to move, have Dora and Tai's wedding as the last major event with them all together, and then retire the comic altogether. (He is certainly not retirement age yet but may have been planning to bring it to a close one of these years.) We'll see, but I can't say I'm thrilled at this very, very recent development. It's hard to imagine what kind of (questionable) content I'll be commenting on if/when the comic reaches its 6000th installment.

[EDIT: I just saw an announcement by the cartoonist that he does not intend to wind QC down, that he initially wanted to get Marten and Claire riding off into the sunset, but now he feels investigated in following both the original setting and the new Cubetown setting. The groaning-under-its-own-weight situation is about to get much worse... *sigh*]

Anyway, here are a few stray observations to finish things off:

The very slight drama that transpired when Clinton and Elliot were trying to feel each other out and there was sort of a romantic interest triangle -ish with Brun is another example of a subcultural norm that has always been baldly present in QC (and that I'm pretty sure I've aimed at describing before), and that I've come to realize is common in poly and queer groups, where people are much more open than I'd be inclined to be about their romantic/sexual interests in each other. Not only that, but it's the way they treat it as something rather matter-of-fact, not in the sense that they don't get worked up over it (they obviously do), but in the sense that it's dealt with sort of... practically? Where everyone is able and expected to just get over their feelings once they find out the party they're interested in isn't reciprocating, because it's not rationally helpful or constructive to hang onto those feelings? I don't know, I'm probably not expressing this well, and I can't judge that norm (it seems like for the most part it would be really nice actually and make for healthy social groups and I'm all for the people who can pull it off), but it's another one of those things that doesn't reflect the way the world really works for me. And I think I bear a grudge against it because it's in line with the fantasies of the anti- Nice Guy activists of a decade ago, who would go around saying, "And he should just get over it and want to still be friends even if I'm not interested in anything else! Otherwise he was just objectifying me the whole time. I'm entitled to the guy who I just spurned to feel like still being friends with me anyway!"

Every single thing about Aurelia as her Mommymilkers avatar is hilarious, the most I've laughed out loud over the last thousand comics. Sure, she's an implausibly "cool" parent, but she's a really enjoyable character.

Bemused nitpicky comment: the cartoonist Jeph Jacques makes a point of making all his characters very much "in the know" about what is "woke"/PC these days (e.g. Renee gently admonishes Brun from using the word "crazy" to describe someone) but appears to have a blind spot with the word "janitor", which I thought had been replaced by "custodian" in socially conscientious circles quite a few years ago.

The term "goblin" comes up a lot. A lot. (Half the time relating to Marigold somehow, but also in a bunch of other contexts.) I didn't entirely notice this until the past few days when I was doing my binge-reread. I'm not sure why Jeph Jacques is so amused by the word "goblin" that he is this fond of using it to refer to characters.