#the visuals are also quite nice but the SOUNDS.........

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

ok i'm not rolling for him but Alhaitham's attack sound effects are SO yummy

[fairsweetlonging]

time travel au where liu qingge and shen qingqiu (yuan) end up accidentally traveling a decade back in time before luo binghe was amitted to qing jing peak and before shen qingqiu had his qi deviation, but after their generation has risen to peak lords.

which means, shen yuan realizes quickly, as they're accosted by said peak lords, that he will have to face shen jiu.

as they're being cleared for demonic energy and the likes, mu qingfang of course instantly detects the poison without a cure eating away at shen yuan's meridians. liu qingge pulls a copy of the treatment plan out of his sleeve (shen yuan blushes a bit, did liu qingge always keep that on hand?), and just like in the current timeline, they agree to keep it under wraps.

shen jiu tries various times to get a moment alone with shen yuan, but he never quite manages because liu qingge is there, who is also... nice?? to him?? for some reason?? shen jiu gets a bit flustered at the solemn politeness and skitters off.

it comes out pretty quickly that shen yuan has "memory loss", and thus can't remember anything that's currently taking place in this time. shen yuan expects scorn, hatred and disdain from shen jiu, expects to be grabbed and interrogated, to arouse suspicion.

but shen jiu looks....... sad???

being transported here threw shen yuan's qi off-balance (even liu qingge had to sit down, which means it's bad), and his cultivation is already so unstable, so when the peak lords are all squabbling and arguing and threatening and raising their voice, he can feel his body shut down. he sees yue qingyuan start to move towards him, which, knowing the future yue qingyuan, he really isn't up for right now—but before the sect leader can get to him someone else is at his back, transferring him qi, holding him up gently by his shoulders, then coaxing him up, leading him outside

shen yuan's been fed qi by every peak lord at least once. he doesn't recognize this one. that means it can only be one person.

he looks up. it's shen jiu.

and it's bizarre, getting fussed over by the scum villain, having gentle hands run along his back, his hair, that clear, soothing voice calming him down. and somehow shen jiu knows exactly what to do?? somehow it works perfectly on him?? it's almost as if shen jiu has known him his whole—

oh.

bodies, like homes, hold memories, even if the original occupants are no longer there. it's the milestone marks on the doorpost that chart a child's growth, blurry photographs faded by time, scuffed floors from well-walked paths, and tiny holes in the walls where pictures once hung.

shen jiu takes him to the bamboo house, pours him tea, and asks, calmly, what he remembers from their childhood.

it's not his childhood, so shen yuan doesn't actually remember anything, but the body he's in does. the memories it holds are emotional rather than visual; he remembers being alone, scared, and hungry. he remembers anger, pain. a dark room. loud voices. he remembers his heart skipping a beat when heavy boots stomp his way. the sound of a whip.

he doesn't have to lie. the memories aren't his own, and they're from long ago, which means shen jiu has them too. and, he supposes, this is his only chance to find out what really happened.

but shen jiu doesn't say anything about it. he just nods and stares, intensely. then he asks shen yuan if he remembers yue qingyuan. shen yuan says no, he doesn't. the conversation takes a very strange turn after that. shen yuan can't help but feel a little queasy when shen jiu asks him if yue qingyuan has taken advantage of his memory loss.

"has he come into your home? has he brought you gifts, sweets? does he invite you for tea? did you accept?"

he has. shen yuan doesn't know why that would be a problem, the sect leader has been nothing but kind and helpful and patient. and generous, too.

when he says yes shen jiu looks furious.

liu qingge (his one) comes to pick him up, and his time with shen jiu is cut short. somewhere he's glad, cuddling into liu qingge's back as he holds him while they fly. he feels a little bad for yue qingyuan, knowing he's probably caused a big fight, but it doesn't sit right with him. he wishes he knew what happened.

.

liu qingge, meanwhile, is having the time of his life fighting himself. it's good practice!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Many Tiny Idiots, Some Irreverent Hotness & an Engagement

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Oct 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 4 of 16 - OK so Hill has really been trying to pick him up from the beginning? I don’t understand why there’s any doubt around girls at all. He Gay everyone. Why is Tatch (2 Moons Ambassador) the only seme in Thai BL history allowed to actually just say "I don’t date women.”

Why is that so hard?

This show is definitely frustrating me, but I must admit that it’s the one I look forward to the most each week.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 6 of 15 - I am now only watching the uncut version, and I gotta say it makes all the difference. Please don’t watch the cut version of this show if you can possibly help it. It’s like cliff's notes of cliff's notes. I love the tiny side couple of tough kid + the dork of the music club. Ah the beach sequence. Condenced WAY DOWN, I see. We lost one of the most iconic lines in all BL but i think everything is improved by how much tighter the plot is in the remake (6 episodes became 1!). So I’m enjoying it. Weirdly, I'm not sure I would be enjoying it, if I hadn’t seen the original.

Is anyone watching this on iQIYI who hasn't seen the original? Just out of curiosity. Tell me how it's going for you, would ya? 

I'm doing a face-off style watch along of this new version versus the original 2014-2015 version.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 8 of 12 - I don’t entirely get it. They were apart for approximately 11 minutes. I would’ve thought GMMTV would’ve drawn it out for longer and more angst. Smiley face kiss was cute, but the star of this ep was that gorgeous pale blue waffle sweater on Q. What a great color for Leng! 

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 7 of 12 - I do like that we’re seeing an honest exploration of poverty and hopelessness. I’m not sure how I feel about it inside my BL, tho I’m willing to persavere for this pair.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 12 end - Someone said recently "just imagine what TutorYim could do with an actual script." And you know what? I agree. Because they sure as shit haven’t gotten one yet. And it’s getting quite frustrating. I’m having JaFirst flashbacks. Frankly, 2024 has been a year of unmitigated BL nonsense narratives. And I’m tired of it. I know it’s bog standard for the genre, but it feels like there’s been more than normal faff this year.

Summary 

An incredibly convoluted, disjointed, and badly-paced drama that is about(?) some writers writing a thing and some boys who knew each other when they were kids, lots of pretty sexy times, and not much else. The visuals are gorgeous, the side couples are overly appealing (with little to no screen time), the dubbing and sound is absurdly bad, and the fantasy novel (play within a play) makes no sense whatsoever while also managing to be the show that we all actually wanted to see instead of what we were given. 6/10 

In conclusion, I have no interest in attempting to understand or revisit this show, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it, but if you have nothing better to do…… the sex is good (frankly I have exes that satisfy all the same criteria). So there it is: this show is like a bad but still hot ex.  

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Nice to see Fiat in something again. Namping is very angel baby.  This episode made me think that this pair would do a great Thai remake of Love Tractor, and now that’s pretty much all I want in life. I enjoyed wardrobe in this episode. It looks like we get the same characters next week. Cool. 

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I guess everyone is messy slutty bisexual in this show? Do I care? Not even slightly. BLabies, I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I might have to drop this one.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 1-2 of 13 - I adore it, what a wonderful meet cute. I love a Taiwanese BL that starts with a gratuitous kidnapping, some chasing, and a bit of a fight sequence. We in OLD fashioned territory. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 5 of ? - I continue to enjoy it very much.

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 4 of 7 - Oh! Is the sleazy boss gonna turn out to be actually a sleazy player? That would be an interesting twist.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 3 of 8 - I’m really not a big fan of my pain coming from Korea. I’m getting a whiff of To My Star 2 from this one. And that does not make me happy. I know: high quality high angst yada yada blah blah blah. But also unnecessary pain? No thank you. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 12 end - Of course, I love the part where Reese and Orca spoke each other’s languages.

Conclusion

Had this been produced a mere 3 or 4 years ago, I would’ve been quite enamored. But by comparison to what we’ve been getting, this is a lackluster offering. A has-been musician and a much younger composer meet, fall in love, and attempt to rectify his stalled musical career. Cute side couple of a Thai popstar + his Korean manager. Everyone is very fine and it was a fine show. I wasn’t disappointed, but I wasn’t impressed either. 8/10 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 6 of 10 eps - It was a fun little confession and climax, there was crying, and a bridge kiss (been a while) all of this appeals to me even if they are tiny idiots (in the immortal words of @heretherebedork )

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 5-6 of 12 - More tiny idiot boyfriends who don’t realize they’re boyfriends. That’s it, that’s all that’s happening. Ostensibly there’s some kind of murder. But it seems to be acting more like set dressing than plot.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) 10 eps - Supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

In case you missed it

Mew & Tul legit engaged.

Love in the Big City (Korea Viki) 8ep - Vicki dropped them all at once which means I did what I do under such circumstances and skipped to watch the final episode. (I am well aware that this makes me a monster. ) Anygay, that told me that I’m not gonna be bothering to watch the series. Now y'all can tell me how amazing it is and what I’ve missed and blah blah blah. But I’m comfortable with my choice. It’s ICRY 2.0 + HIV. And I’m not willing to play its literatti game. At some point I might watch it on fast-forward for the sex scenes, but I’m not at that point yet. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming:

10/27 Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) 24 eps! - New directing yet another university BL with engineers + their mentees. Based on a Jittirain novel. with a massive cast and massive run time. We will be watching this until APRIL of 2025!

ForceBook playing the same old characters = enemies to lovers tsunder/sunshine jock/nerd thing.

PerthChimonSanta are doing the cohabitation cool guy/dork trope.

JuniorMark are doing popular sunshine meets lonely sad boy (the only interesting pair IMHO).

I think Blue Canvas of Youthful Days has started on iQIYI but I only get it on Viki and that doesn't drop for a few days, plus...... CBL......? Not sure I'll report on this one unless it's really good.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

From Uncle Unknown which is truly terrible but this was so SO funny. I'm still chuckling when I think about it.

The first representation of shipping in a BL that I actually enjoyed. Also Dat's clear approval of being shipped didn't hurt. (Judge)

(lask week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[eyrieofsynapses]

why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

---

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.

[pookietv]

delays | george clarke

the most voted for in my poll! also i love cute meeting fics so :)

the airport was always a liminal space. seeing people getting drunk on seven pound pints in the airport, people with suitcases and business wear waiting impatiently for their plane, and parents with kids waiting in hopes of the family holidays.

you, however, could not be as thrilled to be at the airport. your plane delayed at least three hours due to issues at the other end in greece, when all you were trying to do was join your friends on holiday, after you could only make half the holiday due to work.

your gate was relatively empty, people leaving to get food or have a drink in anticipation of having to wait even longer for the planes arrival. you, on the other hand, had no where to go or nothing to do, so sat mindlessly, music playing on your headphones and looking at the other planes in the taxiways and aprons, almost willing time to move quicker, when someone came and sat pretty close to you.

at first you found it a little strange, that he had sat only one seat apart from you when there was a practically empty gate, until he turned to you with a slight smile, and you saw him say something - which you couldn't quite hear with your headphones loud, so you quickly moved one from the side of your head.

"sorry?" you said softly, indirectly asking him to repeat.

looking at him properly, he was attractive. broad shoulders that were only more accentuated by the tight-ish sky blue top he was wearing, light brown hair and a beard that seemed to suit him almost too well.

"i was just saying i wasn't trying to be weird, just this it the only seat next to a charge port," he laughed slightly, and you nodded a little awkwardly, smiling back.

"yeah, we're probably gonna be stuck here a while," you said with a grimacing smile, and he rolled his eyes in agreement.

"so, are you going anywhere nice?" he asked whilst popping the charger into the socket next to his seat.

you quirked your head a little, "well, we're probably going to the same place, no? i mean, we're at the same gate?" you laughed a little quietly.

"oh, nah, i more meant like, are you going on holiday or something?" he grinned a little.

"oh! yeah, sorry, um, i'm going to meet my friends, they're already on holiday, i'm just joining them late cause i had work, go figure," you smiled back at him, "what about you?"

"oh, i'm pretty much the same - my friends are already on holiday, i'm joining them late." he returned back.

"well, small world... though, i suppose mykonos is kind of a popular place for holidays," you said, a hint of amusement in your voice

a comfortable silence came for a moment as he looked at his phone, now charging, and you couldn't help but watch him for a moment, noticing his eyes were blue now from the light on his phone. but as quickly as he picked it up, he put it back down, and looked at you.

"so, you work?" he said, breaking the silence, "what do you do?"

"well, kind of work, i'm doing a masters, but i have a work placement kind of thing, but i'm doing fashion design," you offered with a small grin, "what about you?"

"oh, well... it's always the most jarring thing to tell people, but i guess i'm a content creator?" he laughed a little, "not that i don't love it, cause obviously i do, but i always feel like it sounds self important or something."

"i don't think it sounds self important," you reassured, "it's quite nice when people love what they do and you can tell, i think at least."

a genuine expression lit up his face, and he nodded a little, "thanks. so, what kind of fashion do you do? not that i know a lot about fashion, but there's like... runway and high-end and streetwear and stuff, right?" he laughed a little awkwardly.

"uhm, i mainly work with avant-garde, which is like.. it's pretty much like very artistic runway, if i had to describe it? a lot of impractical outfits that look visually interesting, basically," i giggled a little as i explained, "but on a personal level, i quite like just making pretty outfits, god knows i have too many clothes."

"i can tell. even in a stuffy airport waiting for a delayed plane, you do make it look good," he complimented, and you could see his eyes lingering on what you were wearing.

you tried your best to sound nonchalant as you felt blush creep on your cheeks.

"i mean, you don't look awful yourself, considering the circumstances," you offered, trying to stay casual, as you watched his eyes flick to your lips for a moment, before a playful smirk tugged at his own.

"so you could make me look cool with this?" he grinned, gesturing down to himself, the plain blue shirt and black shorts. you had to admit, even if it wasn't the height of style in any way, he looked good - effortlessly, it was a 'i've just come back from the gym and i still look good' kind of outfit.

"i mean, don't knock it! in modelling they often say that if you give anyone a nice outfit, they can look good, but only someone who already looks good can look nice in a plain outfit," you quirked an eyebrow up.

"so, what you're saying is i'm drop dead gorgeous?" he teased, and you rolled your eyes.

"hey, you're in gym shorts, i wouldn't go that far," you returned, and he grinned. "but you're definitely above average. not that your ego needs boosting anymore,"

"is that a professional opinion?" he asked, leaning towards you slightly, his eyes almost twinkling with amusement.

you scoffed playfully, "it's an honest opinion."

the low hum of the airport was the only noise for a brief moment, and you could almost feel his eyes flickering over your face.

"so, you're pretty, and charming, and stuck alone in an airport waiting to go on holiday with your friends. your boyfriend also waiting for you there?"

you choked slightly on your laughter, his directness taking you aback slightly, "uhm, wow, okay, straight to the point, are we?" you managed to reply, your cheeks burning, "i don't have a boyfriend."

he grinned, "that's useful." he said, almost matter of factly.

"so, no girlfriend for you?" you giggled back, and he rolled his eyes and huffed mockingly.

"well, it's not my fault i'm the loneliest man ever," he laughed slightly, "i mean, clearly i've got good chat, you're sat here, aren't you?"

you guffawed playfully, "hey, who says i'm not just sat here because i have to be?"

"well, what kind of guy would i be to let that opportunity go to waste?" he asked, smirk playing on his lips.

there was something undeniably attractive about his confidence.

"is that so?" you replied in a mock tone.

"absolutely. but i think i may need a name to call you other than 'you'," he said, leaning a little closer.

you could feel the warmth creeping up your neck.

"it's y/n." you said with a slight giggle, "and you?"

"george," he grinned back. "so, any chance you maybe want to waste some of the three hour delay by going for an insanely overpriced airport drink?"

"can't suppose it could hurt, especially since my friends are almost definitely drinking already."

"likewise with my friends. i mean, we can't let them have all the fun and fall behind ourselves, can we?" he grinned.

[cosmerelists]

Favorite Video Game Genres of Cosmere Characters

As requested by @thesternest :)

1. Silence

Silence: Don't know why, really, but I like casual games, games that are just like real life. Silence: Something about doing your daily life, but in game form--very relaxing. William Anne: Uh, mama? I think "Silent Hill" is a survival-horror game. Silence: It is? How so?

2. Marasi

Marasi: [Looks around nervously] Marasi: I...well, I like first-person shooters. Marasi: I-I just like to pretend I'm in the Roughs, like Wax! Marasi: I don't want to be Wax in real life or anything, but...it can be fun in a game!

3. Dalinar

Dalinar: In real life, war is a terrible necessity. Dalinar: In games, war is fun. Dalinar: ... Dalinar: I like tactical RPGs.

4. Vin

Vin: Huge fan of platform games. Vin: Jumping from ledge to ledge, controlling my speed and trajectory, occasionally swinging from hooks or managing double jumps... Vin: It's just like moving through the city as a Mistborn! Elend: Your high-score is RIDICULOUS, Vin! Vin: I'm also REALLY good at it.

5. Yumi

Yumi: I wasn't allowed video games for a long time, but now that I can play them... Yumi: [eyes sparking] I've become a HUGE fan of visual novels! Yumi: It's like Seasons of Regret, only *I* can be the one making the choices!

6. Leshwi

Leshwi: Like many Fused and Singers, I find myself quite taken with Rhythm games. Leshwi: Now that it is no longer appropriate for me to fight the Windrunners, I do like to challenge them to Dance Dance Revolution instead. Kaladin: OH COME ON I DEFINITELY HAD THAT Leshwi: I always win.

7. Steris

Steris: I used to think games were a waste of time, but then Wax introduced me to these construction simulators. Steris: My city is a paradise with excellent infrastructure, logical layout, and plenty of greenspace. Wayne: You should try to mod that makes a tsunami hit your city! Steris: Oh please, I beat that mod yesterday on my first try.

8. Navani

Navani: Recently, I've gotten into Tower Defense games. Sibling: I can defend myself, thank you very much.

9. Vivenna

Vivenna: Love a good roguelike. Vivenna: It's something about trying it over and over again until you're perfect. Vivenna: The victory is sooo sweet when you've worked hard to achieve it, dying many times. Siri: Oh me too!! I especially like Hades--the art is AMAZING. Vivenna: (scoffs) You mean a rogue-lite? Siri: I'm telling you--you should try one! Getting powerups in between runs is pretty sweet. Vivenna: Hedging out a difficult victory after hours of blood, sweat and tears is also fun! Siri: If you say so...

10. Lightsong

Lightsong: Soooo addicted to Candy Crush. Lighsong: Can't even tell you why. Llarimar: Perhaps your divine eye is drawn to the bright colors. Lightsong: Whatever makes you feel better, Scoot.

11. Adolin

Adolin: Lately I've become completely engrossed with life simulators. Adolin: I make my character get up, make breakfast, go to work, go on dates, learn the piano... Adolin: WHY IS IT SO ADDICTING?? Shallan: This may be a sign that your actual life is incredibly stressful and the allure of a simple, daily life is drawing you in? Adolin: No, that doesn't sound right... Shallan: You want to date a bisexual vampire? Adolin: ...That could be it.

12. Rlain

Rlain: I'm quite taken with these cozy farming games. Rlain: You just build a nice farm, meet the villagers, explore around. Renarin: Rlain, please, it's been six hours! Rlain: Just one more day...

13. Tress

Tress: I've been enjoying survival games! Tress: It's fun to gather and cook and build a base! Tress: A little bit unrealistic, because the rain doesn't make anything explode, but I guess they wanted to make it easier than real life, not harder.

14. Shallan

Shallan: It has to be MMOs for me. Shallan: I like a game where I can do pretty much anything I want. Shallan: Advance the story, collect every type of mushroom, fill in the whole map... Shallan: Plus, I like leveling every class and giving each one their own outfit and personality. Veil: You named the rogue after me, I see. Shallan: It's a compliment.

15. Kelsier

Kelsier: There's only one type of game for me: and that's a game where the name of the, uh, game is survival. Kelsier: And I especially like it when you have to survive as a team. Kelsier: Especially against great odds--like lots and lots of real-life players. Kelsier: Yup, yup. Kelsier: It's all about Fornite for me.

[sinsofsummers]

Hey Girl,

I was wondering Dark! Joel x female reader where he fucks you while he's wearing his gas mask 𓆩♡𓆪 love your fics btw 𓆩♡𓆪

hiiii i'm hoping this little thing was kind of what you were looking for! i found this post that also gives an actual visual of game!joel with the mask on. i'm not sure if i'm great at writing dark!joel yet, but this was definitely good practice :) maybe i'll call this more...depraved!joel than entirely dark!joel for now .. ty for the request! he can do whatever he wants with me

vicious

1.1k | depraved!joel x f!reader

summary: joel fucks you in his gas mask. warnings: literally all smut, 18+, mdni. depraved!joel, gas mask-wearing joel so like...mask kink, free-use vibes (ALL VERY CONSENSUAL), joel gets mean when he's annoyed, semi-public sex, rough p in v, orgasm denial for a moment, fingering, some degradation, hair-pulling, creampie, slight cumplay (i think that's all of them). note: okay this is so filthy. jesus. this is quite literally just porn. no plot. don't even look for one.

There's something so addicting about Joel when he's wearing his mask. Maybe you're sick and perverted for feeling your stomach flip and your thighs squeeze together at the sight of him like that, but you don't care. With his face hidden, you don't have to look at the haunted memories in his eyes when he fucks you. You can just enjoy the way his body fits over yours, taking everything from you and giving you everything he has in return.

You're not saying you have a mask kink or anything, but...Joel looks really good with that thing on.

Sometimes it's not even you that initiates things; on particularly long days, Joel will come back to you, too exhausted even to take the mask off and reveal his tired face to you. On those days, he'll come in with his fists clenched and his pants already tight against his growing bulge.

"Day can't get any fuckin' worse," he might say to no one in particular when he comes home, tossing his pack to the floor. You might be surprised to see him return, or you might have been expecting it, your gut clenching at the sound of his rough voice. "Get over here," he'll growl, and you'll know better than to disobey.

You'll get within a few feet of him and he'll grab your wrists, wrenching you close to him until you can feel your pelvis fit roughly against his hips, his hardening cock eliciting a moan from your lips. "Joel—"

His voice is muffled with the mask on, and you can hardly see the darkness in his eyes when he interrupts you. "No," he snaps, a hand snaking up your side to latch onto the spot between your neck and your shoulder. He squeezes, just hard enough for you to swallow the lump of desire that rises. "None of your dumb whinin'," he retorts. "Don't wanna hear your fuckin' cries. I know you're already desperate for this cock, babydoll."

The pet names he'll use give the impression that he'll be nice, that maybe he'll let you come over his fingers or while he's stuffing you to the brim, but you've known him long enough to know that this isn't the case. Joel gets annoyed on these long days, and when he's annoyed...he can get mean. So you'll let every ounce of resistance ooze from your bones and prepare for being everything he needs.

He'll lift your hands to his gas mask and make you cup it in your palms like you might cup his face, and—the first time he did this was when you realized that he likes this, too. He gets off on seeing you so wide-eyed and needy for him, even with his mask covering his familiar features. It's almost romantic when he makes you hold him like this, but then he'll move his hand to your neck properly and put enough pressure on the sides to pull a squeak from your lips.

He can be as mean as he wants, he can slip his cock into your entrance whether you're overwhelmed with need for him or just beginning to drip with want. Joel Miller's had plenty of bad days. It's about time he uses you to make it a good one.

With bruising hands and punishing thrusts, he'll fuck you against any surface he can find, but he loves taking you like this against the nearest wall, making you notch your ankles around his waist and lock the two of you together as he drags his cock torturously in and out of you.

You'll slip up sometimes, drop a few moments of, "Fuck—Joel, please," into his ear, and he'll stop moving, shove his fingers into your mouth until you shut up. Only when you're reduced to soft whimpering will he continue his movements. But he won't let you come, not until you've apologized—in the form of letting him spill inside you.

"Such a dumb little slut, huh?" he'll grunt as he pulls out of you, reaching down to catch his release as it leaks out of you. He'll roughly push it back inside you with two of his thick fingers and chuckle darkly as he watches your legs nearly give out with sensitivity. A harsh swipe across your puffy clit is the last thing he does before he's done with you.

And that's just on the days that he'll even speak to you.

Some days he'll come in, drop everything, forget his mask is still on, and find you wherever you might be, whether that's on your makeshift bed, or even in an alley where someone might see you. He'll walk up behind you, press his hips against your ass and grind into you before hooking his thumbs in your waistband and practically tearing your pants from your body.

You'll gasp and feel your core pulse with the way that he knows he can do this to you, he knows you'll always let him use you. You'll moan and reach behind you, pawing for his wrist, his thick forearm, something to hold onto when he takes his cock out and rubs it against your slick heat.

He'll swat your hand away and press his own against your spine, pushing you to bed at the waist and present your ass to him in all its glory. If he's feeling particularly gracious, he'll deliver a few smacks that can be mistaken as affectionate when he rubs the sting away.

If he's feeling vicious, he'll forego any type of warning before he's dragging his tip from clit to opening, groaning as he feels you pulse against him. And then he'll push inside you with a cruel thrust, burying himself to the hilt in one go. Broken moans will fall from your throat and he'll reach up with one of two things in mind:

To cover your mouth with his hand and silence your whimpers, or to trap a hand in your hair, wrapping it around his fist and tugging you back towards him, forcing your back to arch and causing his tip to hit that delicious sweet spot inside you.

With nothing but his sharp thrusts, growing harder and faster with every second, Joel makes you fall apart underneath him. Each stroke more punishing than the last, he'll remain silent but for the muffled grunts under the mask that alert you to his pleasure. He'll come inside you with no warning except for the way his hips stutter before he topples over the edge, swiftly reaching down to rub your clit and bring you to ecstasy with him.

"Good girl," he'll murmur quietly, and you'll shiver at the sound of his mask coming off, his chapped lips brushing your ear. "Always such a good girl."

tysm for reading, i love you all!! hope this surprise was fun tonight :)

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Snow Block

Debut: Super Mario Kart

Super Mario Kart is such a funny game! It really makes me giggle to play. This is because, though it is the progenitor of such a legendary franchise, it is not a good game. There is fun to be had, but that fun will be janky as can be, and the visuals probably some degree of disorienting! I'm sure this game was impressive at its time, and I can respect that. And I can also call it bad!

No course is quite as funnybad as Vanilla Lake 2. The sequel to Vanilla Lake 1, a course that is also quite bad, but the developers thought "We can do better. We can make it worse." and they succeeded! Great job!

Vanilla Lake sounds like a delightful place. A lake is already a nice place, and this one is VANILLA! You could slurp up that water and it would be a delicious flavored beverage! Except, sadly, it wouldn't. These places are just NAMED after foods, and don't have anything to actually do with them. But maybe you would still like the flavor of Vanilla Lake, if you like the taste of non-running water that has been passed through the cloacas of no doubt plenty of hibernating turtles! You would also probably get salmonella because of that. I don't like salmonella, so I would not drink it.

Now that you are immersed in the world of Vanilla Lake, let us focus on its very special inhabitants! Snow Blocks! Blocks, made of Snow. That is definitely a Mario shape for snow to be in. But watch out! If you crash into them, you will stop and lose all momentum just like this post.

[purpleph4se]

nsft alphabet - hwei

lukai hwei x reader

warnings | smut, afab!reader, switchy hwei

a/n | can i say how cute he looks in this gif omg i love him sm. but um hello again ykw back again with the most random shit ever. tryna get back to writing slowly but surely, the nsft alphabet is just to dip my toes back into writing since i’ve haven’t i so long. so i got into league of legends which i hate myself for but now im obsessed. i started playing lol for jhin but when hwei came out i was done for. as always enjoy my nonsense.

A - aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

- oh he’s so soft and gentle. doesn’t matter if he was on top or bottom he would just want to lay with you after, he’s absolutely mesmerized by the afterglow, especially how it looks on you. just wants to hold you close, taking every emotion in. 

B - body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

- on you - he could never pick one thing he likes about you just because he simply loves all of you. might sound corny but he loves how you make him feel more than anything, he loves loving you. 

- on him - his hands i think. he’s not self absorbed, but his hands are what help him create his art so he keeps them nice and pretty without really realizing. also he can’t help but melt when you kiss his hands at any moment. and he enjoys the sounds he can pull out of you with just his hands.

C - cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

- loves to cum inside of you. i feel like it's not even in a possessive manner but he feels more intimate and closer to you. like he’s literally part of you now. likes to cockwarm you after. gets extremely embarrassed seeing it drip out after and offers to clean it up for you  <3

D - dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

- oh to be tied up and at your mercy. the desire of being roped and gagged, laid down on the bed and at your utter mercy as begging you with his gaze to straddle his hips and use his cock to your heart's content. he needs you to take your pleasure from him, to use his body to make yourself feel good, while he whines into his gag. 

E - experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

- little to none i feel. he has had crushes before and small flings (jhin) with partners but it never went far enough especially after the incident. but once it does happen i think he’d take it real slow, to really get to know what he likes and what his partner does, super gentle but quickly learns. 

F - fave position (this goes without saying)

- visual link (nsfw!) = 1 2

- missionary or cowgirl, just any position where he can see your face. he just adores being able to look into your eyes. it just makes it all the more intimate. his arms are wrapped around your torso, your chest pressed up against his as he sloppily thrusts into you, wantonly moaning into the curve of your neck. gets so desperate that not even fucking you properly, just grinding himself into you. loves being able to kiss you and swallowing your sweet noises and vice versa. would live in your skin if he could,,

G - goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous?)

- i wouldn’t say he would make jokes but he’s able to laugh something off and he wouldn’t be bothered if something embarrassing happened. 

H - hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes?)

- not super hairy, the hair he does have is sparse and thin. hes quite bare actually, does do a little self grooming to keep himself neat.

I - intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

- so so intimate!!! he doesn’t call it sex or fucking it’s ~lovemaking~ in his book. his main turn on is to show how much he loves you and loves sharing pleasure with you. spoils you from head to toe with adoring kisses, fingers painting the shape of your body as they worship each groove, curve, and imperfection—he whispers quiet praise. to hwei, you are the most precious thing in his life, and he needs you to understand that fact to the very depths of your soul.

J - jerk off (masturbation headcanon) 

- yes and no. my depraved mind is telling me yes, bc i’m just imagining him desperately humping a pillow while whining out your name. but also realistically, he might just be too caught up in his own mind to even think about it, especially if he already has you to take care of him. 

K - kinks (one or more of their kinks)

- praise - he lives to praise you. telling you that he loves you, nudging his face into your neck and moaning, “you’re so beautiful, my love”. and he also thrives off of attention from you, too. poor boy is not used to hearing praise, so when you first tell him, “good boy”, or “you’re perfect”, it sends a shiver down his spine and ensures to pleasure you harder so he can hear it often.

- submission - as well as living to praise you it goes hand in hand with living to serve you. wants to make you feel good at every second of the day, at your beck and call, damn near worships the ground you walk on. (could spend hours in between your legs but i’ll elaborate on that later). but when and if you take control and ~take care of him~ he’s such a good boy and he follows your every command without question. be sure to praise the poor boy to really break him~

L - location (favorite places to do the do)

- his preference is in his own bed or house, where he can be assured that it’s just the two of you and you have all the time in the world together. he’s not really picky about where in your shared home, just as long as he can take his time. however, one days he gets especially desperate for you and he can’t take his time he wouldn’t mind taking you to a secluded little area at koyehn, he’d feel so bad but he cannot deny the thrill of reveling in the desperation.

M - motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

- he wants to make you happy all the time, and he’s learned there is no greater bliss than coming undone for one another. so just just knowing he’s got the power to make you writhe and sob with pleasure is enough to get him going.

N - nope (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

- would never never hurt you whether it be physically or emotionally, he’d never degrade you or hit you. he cannot bear the thought of hurting you. to hwei, your body is a temple for his reverence and worship—never to be hurt by a violent or cruel hand.

O - oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill)

- hwei prefers giving. not because he doesn’t like receiving it but rather that he just too sensitive (and he’d rather just give you pleasure).

- receiving - he gets rather shy, because of all the noise he makes and just how early and quickly he finishes, often without warning. but of course you don’t mind.

- giving - there’s just something so absolutely beautiful about being able to bring you so much pleasure and listening to your sweet voice rise an octave higher while lapping at your most sensitive parts. he gets so pussydrunk and loves to have you on his tongue for hours. when it comes to skill, he wasn't particularly skilled at going down on you at first. but with a little gentle instruction, hwei now makes your legs tremble and give out with only a few swipes of his talented tongue. sit on his face plz 

P - pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual?)

- it could really depend! usually it’s always slow paced and sensual, almost always containing foreplay to worship you. if you ask hwei he can go faster and treat you a little roughly, but he likes to take his time, enjoying the connection of your bodies completely and thoroughly, his every move laced with sensuality and passion. he likes to find that perfect little spot within you and land every hard, deep thrust right against it, making you shiver and curl your toes. however, if he’s feeling particularly desperate….

Q - quickies (their opinions on quickies, how often?)

- on days he’s desperate and especially needy he would actually initiate a quickie, just one look at the vivid pink swirling in his eyes and you know. both of you often have to cover the other’s mouth to muffle any sounds that try to come out. but you do find yourself braced against the wall with your legs around the painter's slim waist fairly often. he walks out with so much shame afterwards tho.

R - risky (are they game to experiment? do they take risks?)

- pretty open minded, likes to explore with you in the bedroom. he’s always interested in trying different positions or indulging you with different kinks and scenarios. when it comes to risks, hwei would not do anything to harm you physically or any heavy degradation to you. 

S - stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

- he really strikes me as someone with low stamina. he's usually spent after one round, poor thing! but you are unbothered by it and hweis lack of stamina certainly doesn't stop him from letting you leave the bed unsatisfied. just because he’s too exhausted for one more round, doesn't mean he can't make you cum in other ways~

T - toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

- now let me think of this realistically in runeterra terms…most likely no, simply because the thought hasn’t crossed his mind before and i don't think vibes would exist. but if they did however! and you told him he’d be very interested to try them with you. and also strap ons particularly piqued his interest! 

U - unfair (how much they like to tease)

- once he gains the confidence he can be a little bit of a tease, but he gives in so easily. just one little pout on your pretty lips has him giving in to you. if he does tease you it’s when he worships you which can sometimes be so long and intense, you actually beg hwei to take you already. but if anything, he loves to be teased and wants you to keep teasing him until he’s sobbing for you. 

V - vocal (how loud are they, what noises do they make)

- whining, whimpering, sobbing the whole nine yards babe. poor boy is always in tears at the end. at first he was so shy about the sounds he makes. he went as far as trying to muffle them by kissing you, or burying his face into your neck, releasing only short whines and whimpers every now and again. as he opened up to you heard how he loses himself in pleasure, his volume rises and his moans and whimpers grow in number and intensity, as well as volume. as he nears his peak, his voice often breaks under the amount of raw bliss. and every single sound that leaves his pretty lips is like angelic music to your ears.

W - wild card (random headcanon for the character)

- CUCK ACTIVITIES!!!!!! this is just my depraved mind speaking but him watching you get absolutely ruined by jhin sends him spiraling, his two favorite things putting on such a pretty show. actually just a threesome with both of them is my personal dream, or let’s reverse it, jhin watching as he orders hwei on how to make you feel~ 

X - x-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

- hwei genuinely thinks he’s not big, it's kinda adorable. he’s pretty long but not all slender, his cock has a curve upwards when it's stiff and the tip takes on that pretty, purplish hue when he's really needy, he's also got a few visible veins running up the length of it that are even more sensitive than he is. he can’t help the pang of confidence he gets when you lower down on him that first time and he sees the way you gasp and flinch as you try to adjust. 

Y - yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

- ranges from standard to low depending how he’s feeling. while hwei enjoys sex, to him it’s only one of the many ways in which he can show his affection towards you. cuddling with you under the covers, opening his heart up to you with hushed whispers in the dead of night—all of these are ways in which hwei reveals his yearning for you.

Z - zzz  (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

- it depends! sometimes poor boy is honestly out like a light afterwards, but on other nights he stays up watching you drift off taking the opportunity to trace your body with his hands. admiring the work of art that is you.

[matchamilkislover]

White Horse, 2. (a.a.)

pairing: knight!abby x princess!reader

cw: fantasy!au, fem!reader, a tiny bit of blood mentioned, eventual displays of fighting and violence bc it’s fantasy, kind of slow burn?, tension, reader has an attitude, tall af!abby bc size difference, royalty!au, mentions of arranged marriages, some mentions of au politics, abby in armor is a warning in itself

synopsis: you are the youngest princess of the royal family that rules over your kingdom, Aphrynia. now a young adult, you’ve come of age in a tense time, and your personal protection is of utmost importance — which is why the resignation of your previous personal knight means a rushed reassignment ceremony with little to no preface. That being said, why does the name of your new knight sound so familiar?

word count: 3.67k

a/n: this is a kinda slow and really dialogue-heavy chapter but i’m still giggling and kicking my feet, i am so excited for the rest of the story omllll (it’s my own story i have to write it myself but i’m also delulu)

you can read part 1 here!

⊹ ⋆｡˚ ————————— 𓆩♡𓆪 —————————⊹ ⋆｡˚

Clapping resounded in the large room, but you paid the sound no attention. Yours and Abby’s gazes were still locked on each other, like you were caught in a dance to see who would break away first. Finally, she gently kissed the top of your hand and released it, standing to tower over you with her tall, built form. The simple kiss on your hand made your heart speed up unexplainably, and you swallowed and quickly pulled it down to your side, burying your hands in the skirts of your gown. Abby’s gaze, however, was still locked on you, and you looked down and then around the room to avoid her gaze. What in the world was going on?

Realizing that everyone else in the room had moved on from the ceremony and started milling about, you too decided that it was time to go, clearing your throat before stepping out of place to find Nina. Abby opened her mouth and looked like she was about to reach out and say something to you, but was interrupted by members of the court starting to swarm and try to steal her attention. Thank god, you thought to yourself, dashing away before court members could swarm you, too.

A hand suddenly fell on your shoulder as your eyes searched the room for your lady’s maid, and you cursed in your head, turning to see which Lord or Lady (or worse, daughter or son) had gotten their claws into you. You would’ve breathed a sigh of relief when you saw that it was one of your own siblings if it wasn’t George.

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’d just seen a ghost, little sister,” he teased, that shit-eating grin of his spreading across his face. You just rolled your eyes and turned to face him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, George,” you lied, brushing his hand off your shoulder and crossing your arms. He laughed.

“Oh sure. She’s the one you always attended lessons with, right? Yeah, she was fun,” he replied casually.

“If by fun you mean insufferable, then sure,” you retorted. “Please, you only liked her because she supported your shenanigans.”

He lifted his hands humorously. “Hey, you got me there. It’s nice to feel appreciated once in a while.” You sighed and started visually searching the room again, hangover still leaving you in a mood not quite fit for George’s lovely personality.

“I’m sure it is. But you’re a big boy, so if you could entertain yourself so I can get away from this lovely conversation, that would be great,” you finally huffed and quickly strode away, back on the hunt for Nina. Finding her meant finding breakfast and a nice rant session. And, you thought as your head throbbed again, a lot of water.

“There you are!” A familiar voice squealed as you moved about the cavernous room. You instantly smiled.

“Oh, Nora, thank goodness,” you squealed back as your eyes landed on your friend approaching just from your left. The two of you met with joining hands, squeezing comfortably.

“Are you alright? You looked entirely shocked to see Knight Anderson up there,” Nora inquired, her brows furrowing in concern. You sighed for what felt like the millionth time on this already exhausting day.

“I’m fine, I just didn’t really expect to see her, that’s all,” you replied, trying your best to brush off the way your heart pounded in your chest. You really wished it would stop that. Nora suppressed a knowing smile.

“She’s certainly changed a lot, hasn’t she,” Nora noted with waggling eyebrows.

“Nora,” you gasped, fighting the urge to smile with her. “You know good and well my opinion of her, so you can stop that now!” Though it felt genuine to you, your retort was unconvincing, and Nora simply rolled her eyes.

“Are you seriously still hung up on that? It’s been what, 8 years?”

“9,” you interrupted. “It’s been 9.” Nora rolled her eyes again.

“Close enough. If you want to hold a grudge, that’s fine by me, but I am going to enjoy this while I can,” she teased, sauntering away as you gasped again and feigned reaching out to hit her playfully as she walked away.

Finally, you spotted Nina waiting patiently for you near the edge of the room and let out a breath of relief. You approached her quickly, and her face lit up as you neared, feeling much less awkward when she was with you rather than being alone as a lady’s maid without her princess. You easily hooked your elbow with hers as you took a spot next to her, desperate to seem too occupied to socialize with anyone else.

“Can we please get out of here?” You begged through the clenched teeth of your plastered smile, nodding gracefully to people who passed you like nothing was wrong. Nina almost giggled.

“Yes of course, princess,” she replied, the two of you stepping forward and turning to the door.

“Why does everyone keep giggling at me?” You questioned, again through clenched teeth.

“Excuse me for my bluntness, but your reaction to Knight Anderson was quite entertaining,” she replied, still suppressing giggles.

“My reaction? What reaction?! I was under the impression my face was quite neutral, thank you!” You replied in a way that was almost offended.

“You just seemed quite surprised to see her, is all,” Nina explained gently. “I highly doubt someone who doesn’t know you well would have noticed, princess,” she reassured as the pair of you finally approached the large doors that would lead you out of this blasted throne room.

“It’s not my fault no one told me she of all people would be my new knight! You would be caught off-guard too if you were me!” You retorted, trying to keep your voice to a whisper despite your urge to raise it.

“All I’m saying, princess, is that-” Nina’s reply was cut off by a voice ringing out over the chatter of the crowd to you.

–

In terms of the aftermath of the ceremony for Abby, it was certainly a wave of attention — attention she didn’t want even one bit, especially when the only person she really wanted to talk to was you. Judging by your reaction, you certainly hadn’t been expecting to see her. Hell, she hadn’t been expecting to see you either until maybe 10 days ago. But it seemed like no one had bothered to inform you that she would be your new knight.

“Knight Anderson?” a voice asked, bringing Abby out of her thoughts and back to the many people surrounding her in the throne room.

“Hmm?” She replied, clearly having zoned out and not heard whatever the woman had said. She was quite a sight to take in, with gaudy clothing and a tight, pointed face. The woman smiled, but it looked more like a sneer.

“Oh, I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Lady Ulfrid, I’m new here as well. I was just wondering, Queen Arabella spoke quite highly of your accomplishments, and it must be so for you to be a personal knight for her youngest daughter. What might these so-called accomplishments be, I might ask?” Lady Ulfried sneer-smiled again, and this time, Abby couldn’t help but feel like Abby saw the expressions just as they were. She was questioning her.

Raising an eyebrow, Abby let a smirk dance on the corners of her mouth and adjusted her stance. “Well, I was top of my class in training, but that’s not the answer you’re looking for, is it? So what would you like to hear about? The battles I led in our recent land conflicts with Chryiont? Or the ones I led 2 years ago in Dungard? Or was it my successful takedown of the great Pirate Duke? You’ll need to be more specific, my lady,” Abby replied with a knowing smile, satisfied by the woman’s widening eyes.

“Oh, well, I- I just meant, um-, well,” Lady Ulfrid floundered, and it satisfied something a little sadistic within Abby. She was tired of being questioned because of her age, much less her gender, and it felt nice to make people who questioned her then question themselves instead.

“Don’t worry,” she replied, cutting off the woman and leaning down to her height. “I think I know exactly what you mean.” She smirked, and stood back to full height as Lady Ulfrid’s face reddened and she sped away from the knight, muttering something incoherent under her breath.

Turning to scan the rest of the room with her hands clasped behind her back, Abby suddenly realized that talking to Lady Ulfrid had made her lose sight of you. Last she saw, you were talking with one of your court friends — Nora, was it? — and now you had completely disappeared. Something about this felt oddly familiar. Right as she thought she caught a flash of your dress — god, that dress made you look something unearthly — another person tapped on her arm, and she nearly groaned before turning and seeing who it was.

“Long time no see, huh Anderson?” George asked with a sheepish grin, pulling her in for a one-handed hug. Abby grinned back and returned the hug gladly.

“Too long,” she replied easily. “But you know, I don’t think I can condone your shenanigans now,” she continued teasingly. George laughed with a wide, open mouth, patting Abby on the arm.

“Yeah, well, I’ll just have to figure out a way around you,” he replied jokingly.

Abby chuckled and shook her head. Suddenly remembering that she had been looking for you, she snapped to attention, scanning the room quickly. Finally, she spotted you nearing the exit with your lady’s maid, and she patted George on the arm as a farewell before starting after you.

“Princess!” She called, nearly jogging across the room and swiping between different huddles of people. “Princess!”

—

Your smile dropped when you heard Abby calling after you. Shit. While you stood there trying to accept that Abby Anderson would be constantly on your heel from now on, Abby caught up, slowing to stop and face you. You looked at her, expecting her to say something, but she just stared back.

And you both kept staring.

Looking at her felt like seeing a dear old friend and someone entirely foreign to you all at the same time. Like two winds hitting you from opposite directions, pushing the breath out of your lungs and filling them back up all in one motion. She was so different but so familiar, it made you want to both run away and never leave her presence all at once. You didn’t even realize you were staring, studying her like art in a museum, until Nina loudly cleared her throat beside you.

Whoops.

You came to a start and also cleared your throat awkwardly, nodding to Abby as a delayed greeting as you shared an uncomfortable look with Nina. “Well, uh…I, we…it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” You remarked awkwardly. This was already going terribly.

“It has,” Abby confirmed with a nod. You pursed your lips.

“Well, uh, I suppose we should get going, shouldn’t we, princess?” Nina asked timidly, looking at you with wide eyes.

“Oh, yes, of course,” you replied quickly, nodding and turning with Nina to return on course to your chambers.

You grimaced uncomfortably in Nina’s direction, and she returned the look apologetically. Abby looked like she had wanted to say something else, but instead bit her tongue and followed the two of you silently. The walk through the corridors was painfully quiet, you unconsciously straining to listen to the sound of Abby’s footsteps behind your own, hyper aware of her proximity to you. For someone who called her despicable the last time you had seen each other, you were certainly strangely invested in even the smallest movements of Abby Anderson.

Once you and Nina were safely inside your chambers, with Abby standing in place just outside your door, you flopped into a chair, rubbing your forehead. “This day has got to be some twisted sort of dream,” you moaned, slipping off your shoes one at a time. Nina simply suppressed a giggle and shushed you.

“These walls are not as thick as you wish them to be,” she reminded you in a hushed voice, perching in a chair adjacent to yours while she awaited your breakfast request. You pouted and sighed.

“I truly don’t understand why nobody told me she would be my new knight! I mean, she disappeared the day after we had our millionth argument 9 years ago, and now, out of the blue, she’s going to be right behind me 24/7? Guarding me? Protecting me like someone’s out for my blood? It’s just…fucking insane!” You whisper-yell, frustration bubbling over now that it was just you and Nina. Well, and Abby, waiting just outside the door.

Nina sighed, knowing that she should try to make you feel better, even though she couldn’t help but agree with how you felt. “The queen does what she does for a reason, I’m sure. With you being young and the whispers I hear from the other servants, I’m not surprised she wants a trusted eye on you,” she replies in a quiet voice. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, nodding.

“I know, I know. It’s just frustrating that not a single soul ever bothers to tell me anything. I mean, I would have really liked a warning that the girl I basically grew up with was not only returning to the palace as a knight, but my personal knight, and, to make matters worse, she looks like—” you gesture wildly to the door, “—that! How am I supposed to deal with that!?” you exclaim, your whisper lifting a little. Nina starts giggling uncontrollably, and after a minute you join her, if only because of the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

“I think,” Nina says, taking a deep breath once her giggles finally subside, “that some breakfast and a lot of water might help make you feel better, hmm? Maybe a tonic from Dr. Anderson?” Nina offers kindly.

“Yes, please, you’re a saint, Nina,” you reply, rubbing your forehead again as the throbbing pushes forward. “But, no tonic, actually, please—I can’t handle being embarrassed by asking Abby’s father for a hangover cure the first day she returns, I think I might keel over from sheer embarrassment,” you finish with a groan. Nina chuckles and nods, standing from her perch.

“Whatever you say, princess,” she says with a pat on your shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, she pushes the door open and exits the room, mumbling an awkward greeting to Abby that makes you cringe from sheer discomfort.

Sighing, you look around at the chaos that is your room after this morning’s rushed preparation activities, and decide that the least you can do even with this raging hangover is make your bed. You stand determinedly and approach the bed, pulling back layer after layer neatly to then arrange each one on top of the last. It’s a bit awkward with the shuffling of your dramatic skirt around the edge of the opulent bed frame, but you manage to make it work.

You’re tucking in the last corner of your many blankets when an unfamiliar knock on the door catches you off guard, and you get stuck pulling your hand out from beneath the mattress. You pull harder and harder, gritting your teeth and kicking yourself mentally for the ridiculousness of it all. Stupid fucking mattress, you groan mentally as you pull, why is this thing so goddamn heavy!? With one exceptionally strong pull, your hand rips free from its feather-filled prison, only for the momentum to send you falling backwards into a heavy sofa behind you, the collision making a crashing sound that mixes oh so wonderfully with the surprised shriek that leaves your mouth. You catch yourself just barely on an arm of the sofa, but have no time to process what just happened when Abby comes barging into the room, eyes wide as she searches for you.

Just perfect.

You both stare at each other like deer in headlights when your eyes meet, unsure of what to do. It’s Abby who breaks the silence first.

“Are you alright, princess?” She asks in a concerned tone, walking over to you gingerly. Her large form seems almost unnatural in your space, and it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the proportions.

“Um, yes, I’m fine, I just…fell,” you explain awkwardly, cheeks going pink. You stand straight and pull your hand off the sofa arm, hissing quietly when the friction stings on your pointer finger. Looking down to inspect it, you notice a long splinter shoved inside of the skin and grimace.

“You just fell?” Abby asks quizzically, raising an eyebrow as she eyes the splinter.

“Well, I, um— I got my hand stuck, and when I pulled it out, I guess I pulled too hard and just…fell…” Your voice trails off as you look from her to the bed and back to your hand, touching the splinter gingerly and hissing again.

Abby nods, humming in understanding. “I see…do you need help, um, with that?” She asked, gesturing to the splinter.

“Oh no, I’ve—I’ve got it,” you reply casually, trying to hide the clenching of your jaw when you gently pull on the slice of wood. Abby opens her mouth to ask if she can help again, but you're already setting your jaw and pulling the splinter firmly, gasping at the more intense stinging when it slips out of your skin. A large bead of blood immediately forms on the spot, hinting to a stream, and your face pales at the sight as you bite your lip and look away, eyes searching for a handkerchief.

Your breath quickens in panic as you search, just the thought of the blood now seeping out of your finger making your breath quicken and your heartbeat skyrocket. A warm hand on yours and the feeling of a handkerchief being dabbed on your finger pulls you out of your growing panic, and you look to see Abby ever so gently holding your hand in one of your own while the other dabs the blood from your finger with a handkerchief.

“I remember one time when we were 9, you fell and scraped your knee on the stone while we were running in the garden, and you were very nearly screaming,” Abby said suddenly as she looked at your finger. “I guess I was right to assume that fear hadn’t changed much,” she continued, chuckling. A breathy chuckle left your mouth in return, gaze still focused on her hands touching your own.

“I never did have the stomach for it, did I?” You responded quietly, a gentle smile dancing on your lips. “I guess some things never change.”

“Yes,” Abby agreed, “some things never really change, do they?” She spoke in nearly a whisper, eyes finally glancing up to meet yours. Your breath caught in your throat, heartbeat slowing as you gazed into the stormy blue of her eyes.

“I guess not,” you whispered.

The sudden rapt knocking of Nina’s small fist and her pushing the door into your room ripped both of you out of the trance you had been in, you grabbing the handkerchief and holding it to your finger while Abby’s hands dropped yours and she stood at attention. Her mouth opened like she was about to announce her arrival before she spotted the two of you standing unusually close, and her movement stopped, brows immediately furrowing in confusion.

“I— We—“ you started.

“She fell!” Abby nearly shouted, her expression unsure. “She fell and I heard the commotion, so I came in, and she, um, got a splinter,” she finished, gesturing toward your hand. You raised your handkerchief covered finger as proof, and Nina nodded slowly. You weren’t quite sure why you felt like you had been caught doing something wrong, but it certainly did, and you certainly weren’t sure how to feel about it.

Abby cleared her throat, and nodded to the still open door. “Well, um, I should…yeah,” she stuttered, nodding a goodbye to both of you before returning to her post outside of the door that she closed behind herself.

As soon as the latch clicked, Nina’s eyes were on you like a hawk, and you were retreating back to where you had been sitting with your face in your hands. “Did I seriously just see that?” She asked incredulously, bringing a tray of food over with her and setting it on a small table. You nodded, face still in your hands, but you were quickly coaxed out by the smell of the food.

“I was just trying to make my stupid bed, and my stupid hand got stuck under the stupid mattress, and I fell pulling it out and got a splinter on my finger, and then it started bleeding when I pulled it out, and…yeah. That’s about it,” you poured the words out quickly, immediately feasting and downing large gulps of water when you finished. Nina simply nodded knowingly and watched, nibbling on a piece of toast as you ate.

“Y’know, that didn’t seem very despicable to me,” she remarked after a few minutes of comfortable silence, a mischievous grin growing on her face.

“Ughhhhh,” you groaned, turning an annoyed glance at her. “Are you going to keep being like this? It was just an awkward situation,” you complained, shoving another piece of fruit in your mouth. Nina laughed and nodded.

“I’m sorry, princess, but it’s been just too easy,” she retorted, still laughing. You rolled your eyes, but inside, your heart still skipped a beat every once in a while, thinking about her calloused, warm hands encapsulating yours, and her deep eyes gazing into yours like nothing else existed in the world.

You seriously needed to distract yourself if you were going to survive this.

⊹ ⋆｡˚ ————————— 𓆩♡𓆪 —————————⊹ ⋆｡˚

taglist: @paqerings @katniiss @dummysimp011 @chocbaleine

[saintofdaggers]

movie recs for Saw fans

Saw is a really unique franchise, for better or for worse, so finding movies with a similar aesthetic, theme or storytelling style is hard unless you're willing to dig into the really cheap ripoffs. well, I've been collecting movies that kind of helped the Saw craving, and here's my totally subjective rec list you can use as a reference point if you want to

The Collector and The Collection by Marcus Dunstan: these were written and directed by the guys who wrote Saw IV and beyond, so you're in good (?) hands here. the visuals and traps are distinctly Saw, and the second movie is giving Saw 3D if that movie drank a bunch of Red Bulls. make of that sentence what you will

Hard by John Huckert: an obscure thriller where a closeted detective has a cat and mouse pursuit with a serial killer targeting young gay men. very grimy, unflinchingly bleak and nihilistic. WARNING: this movie goes to some extremely unpleasant and upsetting places, so watch at your own risk

Pig by Rozz Williams: an art house short film where a guy in a pig mask tortures a young man in a desert. and that's it. this is pretty dreamlike and surreal and doesn't have much narrative substance, but I find it interesting to contemplate and it made me flinch more than a few times

Mindhunters: a bunch of FBI profilers in training get trapped on an empty island with a serial killer. this movie is completely ridiculous, but it gets pretty fun once the hilariously elaborate cartoon deaths start happening

X-Cross: Japanese action horror that's basically Fatal Frame doing Saw. weird editing, nonlinear storytelling, cool women, very ugly color grading. also a leg-cutting murder cult. hell yeah

Se7en by David Fincher: investigation, obsession, a dark urban environment, a serial killer with a weird method. it's considered a classic for a reason

the Broken short film by Nine Inch Nails: this is a music video that feels like a snuff film. it's disgusting, brutal, made me feel gross, and I gave it 5 stars on Letterboxd

Cure by Kiyoshi Kurosawa: think Se7en, but even colder and more mysterious.

Haze by Shinya Tsukamoto: this is one of the most claustrophobic things ever put to film. has some completely unbearable sound effects, but it's Shinya Tsukamoto, so that's kind of a given

Like Minds: an unhinged weird thriller about a psychologist trying to untangle the mystery of a high school boy's murder. very homoerotic, very weirdly structured and not exactly well-written, but the unreliable narrator gives a lot of food for thought

The Vanishing (Spoorloos): a man gets obsessed with finding his girlfriend, who disappeared mysteriously on a trip. this is one of the most chilling movies I've ever seen, with a genuinely terrifying character and an ending that took me days to get over

Cube: a bunch of strangers get mysteriously stuck in a labyrinthine structure full of lethal traps. it really gives Saw II but with a nice little sci-fi twist

Hostel and Hostel Part II: as an Eastern European, I fucking loathe Hostel and think it's very ignorant and xenophobic. however, the comparisons to Saw are pretty much inevitable, so watch it if you want and form your own conclusions (I haven't seen the second one, but I've heard it's quite good if you're into this vibe)

feel free to add your own recs to this post!

[rock-and-roll-hell]

July 25, 1980

Unmasked Tour

Palladium - New York City, NY

Eric Carr’s live debut with KIϟϟ wearing the first version of his “Fox” makeup. While heavily featuring the 1979 and 1980 studio albums, it is somewhat strange to consider that the set included three covers: “2,000 Man,” originally recorded by the Rolling Stones; “New York Groove,” originally recorded by Hello; and “King of the Night Time World,” originally performed by the Hollywood Stars (though never commercially released). “Is That You?” while not written by the band had also not been commercially released by the writer or other artists. The only United States “Unmasked” era concert and contemporary performance of material from that album. This show marked the live debut of three songs from “Unmasked” including “Is That You?,” “Talk To Me,” and “You’re All That I Want.”The Palladium was the renamed Academy of Music, where KIϟϟ had made their industry debut in December 1973. KIϟϟ spun their appearance at a smaller venue: “It was a night of nostalgia for Ace, Paul and Gene. And a dream come true for Eric Carr. KIϟϟ planned a special performance at the Palladium in New York to introduce Eric to its staunchest home town fans. There was very little publicity. The one-night-only show was mostly a word of mouth affair. Although small for KIϟϟ today, the hall was chosen for sentimental reasons. Most of the fans, as well as the band, were remembering the historic night KIϟϟ played its first important New York performance on that very stage… the show was a resounding success”.

From local press: “KIϟϟ performed at the Palladium on Friday night, which was unusual; the group usually plays venues the size of Madison Square Garden. Slipping popularity may account for the Palladium date to some extent, but KIϟϟ could certainly have filled the theater several nights running and chose not to do so. The show’s primary purpose seems to have been the introduction of Eric Carr, the new drummer, to the band’s hard-core fans. A few diehards yelled for the departed Peter Criss, but not for long. This listener kept trying to remember what Mr. Criss used to sound like, but the effort proved fruitless. Before long, he became accustomed to Mr. Carr, who played a somewhat elaborate drum kit and was sometimes a little floppy but kicked the music along nicely. The band had installed its flashy stage set and resorted to a number of its tried and true visual gimmicks, but with the scale of the event reduced, one tended to focus more on the music. It wasn’t bad. It was heavy-handed, macho to an almost comical degree, rife with bombast and excess, everything one expects heavy metal to be, but the playing was tight – much tighter than the last time the reviewer heard KIϟϟ, at the Garden – and most of the songs weren’t padded with unnecessary solo noodling. Whether KIϟϟ fans will take to Mr. Carr remains to be seen; one would think they’d be satisfied with Gene Simmons’s tongue-wagging and fire-breathing and Ace Frehley’s flaming guitar. In any event, and for what it’s worth, Mr. Carr’s addition to the band seems to have been a positive step, though it isn’t likely to make KIϟϟ’ music ‘genuinely important to life’” (New York Times, 7/27/80).

Another: “Carr proved to be a capable drummer but no Peter Criss. The show wasn’t quite the visual extravaganza I’d anticipated, nor was it the Sodom and Gomorrah meets 'The Night of the Living Dead’ I’d feared. Instead, it seemed like the 'Wizard of Oz’ gone awry” (Aquarian).

From a mainstream review: “It was apparent from the appearance and playing of Carr that KIϟϟ one of the most successful rock acts of all times, was not taking any chances with the music or the formula now that original drummer Peter Criss has departed for a solo career… So it was almost the typical KIϟϟ show. But with the new drummer now more in the background, the focus was more on the front three… And although performing on a smaller stage than usual, the show was basically the same” (Billboard, 8/9/80).

From a regional review: “KIϟϟ concerts are a little like Christmas. The anticipation is half the fun, and everyone was up for this one… KIϟϟ crashed through their 20-song set with the delicacy of a chain gang” (London, CT, The Day, 8/1/80).

[kdogreads]

Jethro Gibbs NSFW Alphabet

Jethro Gibbs x f!reader (mentions of female anatomy)

TW: VERY SMUTTY (duh)!! MINORS DNI!! Minor praise kink, size kink, gun play (if you squint), just lots and lots of sexual situations

A/N: Hiiiiiii I have been watching NCIS lately and have recently discovered I am basically in love with Gibbs 🥵 Let me know what other LJG stuff you want to see! Thank you for reading!!

——————————————————————

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Gibbs is a saint basically. It depends on the situation, but if you’re at home (or his), he’ll get a warm cloth and clean your body so gently so you can just lay there in your afterglow. He’s not a huge cuddler, but if you just give him a sweet look, he’ll snake an arm under your waist and pull you into him so you can lay your head on his chest.

If you’re in public like the elevator, his truck, the parking garage he’ll wipe your chin, button your pants and smooth out your top. He’s as cool and collected as always and he’ll help you look somewhat back to normal. A quick kiss on your temple or a smack on your backside before parting ways is customary.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His hands. Gibbs doesn’t pay much attention to his looks, just clean and put together is good enough for him, but he knows his hands are the best part of him. He can apprehend a suspect, protect his team with a firearm, smooth a rough surface, make you feel amazing, communicate in silence, basically do it all with just his two hands. You can’t say you disagree either.

His favorite part of you, as cliche as it sounds, is your face. Gibbs is old-school after all. He loves to see your smile light up a room, the minute movement of your muscles when you need to signal him during a sting, the way your features contort when you’re lost in pleasure, the empathy in your eyes when speaking with a victim’s family, the way your eyebrows raise when he makes a sarcastic comment. He’d quite literally do anything you asked of him just to see your eyes light up and you know it. :,)

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Oh man. You know about Gibbs’ past, so you knew before you ever got together that kids were off the table, and you were fine with that. This gives him the opportunity to cum wherever he wants on your body. It just depends on the circumstance, of course. If you’re at home, he’ll make an absolute mess of you. Sometimes your tummy, chest, back, wherever is closest. If you’re at work out and about, he’ll probably come in your mouth for the sake of easy clean up, but he still loves to see your lipstick smeared and drool running down your chin before cleaning you up.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Usually Gibbs is a very dominant person, both in his work and personal life. What surprises you, however, is that he doesn’t mind being bossed around in bed from time to time. Especially after a rough case, he’ll let you do whatever you want to him. It doesn’t always last long, though. You’ll be riding him nice and slow with his hands pinned over his head, then before you realize it he has you flipped over to your back and is pounding into you.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

The man has been married four times, so he’s no stranger to pleasing a woman. He’s learned exactly what to do to turn you into putty in his hands. He knows exactly what to do and when to do it, which he uses to his advantage. Whether he wants you to cum quick and dirty or to draw it out for hours, he knows exactly how to do whatever he wants to you.

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Though it sounds boring, Gibbs makes missionary anything but boring. He loves to see your face as he rolls his hips into you, spreading your legs as far apart as he can or throwing them over his shoulders. He can kiss your lips or your neck, grab at your tits and pinch your aching nipples between his strong fingers. His free hand will always slide down to your throbbing clit and send you into orgasm after orgasm, overstimulating you until you’re begging for him to stop. He loves the control being over you gives him. Oof!

Close second would be you riding him on his couch. His hands can grind your hips into his or slide down your back, making you arch into him and bringing your tits to his mouth. Any time he gets to watch your face when you come undone is his favorite.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Gibbs is usually pretty serious, but sometimes his silly side will peak through while you’re having sex. If you’re having a quickie in the elevator, he’s as serious as a heart attack.

“You’ve got three minutes to cum. If you don’t, you’ll pay for it later. Understand?”

But if you’re at home and he caught the bad guy that day, he’ll be a lot more relaxed and have some fun. He might tease you while you’re making dinner or kiss you while he’s working on his boat. He’ll laugh while you’re struggling to unbutton his shirt and take over, shoving your eager hands out of his way.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Our silver fox keeps himself well-groomed. Not completely hairless, but neat and well-kept. He shaves his face everyday, of course, but you love to feel the scratchy stubble on your face when you climb into bed or when you’ve been working late.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Gibbs is so sickeningly romantic and intimate when he wants to be. He’ll kiss every inch of your body and whisper the sweetest things in your ear while he makes love to you.

“You’re so beautiful” “M’so happy you’re mine” “Wish we could stay here forever” “You were made for me”

And the PET NAMES: sweetheart, love, honey, darling, sunshine, baby, doc (if you’re a doctor), red (if you have red hair)

He’ll sneak you romantic looks all day long and drive you crazy until you can get home and act on them.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He doesn’t really feel the need to masturbate unless he’s away on a long mission or you are. Even then, he’d much rather get you worked up over the phone about what he’s going to do to you when he gets home.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Gibbs definitely has a dominant side and loves to have complete control over your body. He also loves to praise you when he’s in the sweet, lovemaking mood.

“Atta’ girl” “You're doing so good for me, sweetheart” “That’s my good girl”

When he’s in the mood for being rough, he loves to smack your ass and leave big red hand prints on your skin. Maybe slight bondage, like handcuffing you to the bed or binding your hands behind your back with his belt.

Public sex is kind of a kink for him. The thrill of being caught or of you being found out is exciting for him.

Lowkey I see him having a thing for sliding the cold barrel of his (unloaded) handgun up between your thighs, making you shiver and beg for him to fuck you…

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

His most favorite place to take you is at home so he can take his time with you and make you scream his name. Whether in bed, on the couch, in the basement, he loves being able to drag out your time together and turn you into a whining, dripping mess.

Our man isn’t opposed to fucking you anywhere, though. In the elevator with the emergency stop pulled, in his truck before you go into work, bending you over a tree stump while you’re out fishing or hiking. Gibbs will take you anywhere he can.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Seeing you outsmart a criminal or be assertive towards a suspect makes him feral. He loves how confident and demanding your presence is when you’re working a case and how you won’t stop until you find your perp. Anytime you catch the bad guy, he takes you home and rewards you in any way he sees fit, for as long as he wants.

He also loves seeing you out of work clothes and dressed down in shorts and one of his old t-shirts. Nothing gets him going like waking up next to you sleeping in only one of his USMC shirts, or when you come down into the basement dressed in only a button-down shirt of his to coax him to bed.

Basically, this man loves your body and your mind, and anytime you show off either one he wants to show you just how much.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Gibbs would never do anything to really hurt you, so any kind of pain/choking play is off the table. He just wants to take care of you in every way at the end of the day.

Also definitely no daddy stuff. It’s too hard and uncomfortable for him.

He’d never take you if there is any chance a bad guy could be close. Even if you’re looking fine on an undercover operation, he won’t risk his focus, or your life, for anything.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Oof. He eats pussy like a starving man. After years of experience, he knows just where to lick and nibble and suck to make you lose it. He’ll eat you out for what seems like hours, until you’re so overstimulated and sensitive.

He definitely won’t say no to you sucking his cock, especially if he’s trying to work on the boat but you’re trying to distract him. He loves seeing your pretty lips wrapped around him. Gibbs is a giver, though, so he’ll rarely let you finish him off before giving you a taste of your own medicine.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

This man can switch between the slowest, sweetest, most romantic lovemaking to fucking you like a horny teenager on an absolute dime.

If he can take his time, he’ll draw every single feeling out and make you feel so loved by him. He’ll run his fingers through your hair and kiss you across your shoulders while you get lost in the rolling ecstasy he’s giving you.

If he’s had a rough day or is frustrated with a case, he’ll take it out on you and you very willingly oblige. He’ll bend you over the bed and pound into you while holding onto a fistful of your hair. Of course, he’ll still kiss you and make sure you’re okay afterwards.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

He definitely is into quickies, but they’ve got nothing on taking you in the comfort of his own home. He’ll pull you into the elevator or wake you up with his face in between your legs 10 minutes before your alarm goes off at least once a week. If he’s working a tough case, definitely more. You’re like a crystal ball for him; he always sees things clearer after being inside you.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Gibbs isn’t a huge risk-taker given the nature of his work, but he’ll try just about anything in the bedroom once, as long as he isn’t hurting you. He knows sometimes you have to put yourself out there to get the reward, but he doesn’t want it to be like that with you. You’re each other’s safe place. That doesn’t mean he’s vanilla, though. He loves finding all the different ways he can make you melt in his hands.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

He might be older than you, but he is strong and in great shape. He’ll always make you cum at least once (probably more) before he even considered letting himself go. If you have the time, he loves to get a snack or read over a bit of a case file and then dive back into you. Half the time you are the one tapping out while he has a silly grin on his face and you know he could keep going.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Gibbs is definitely not opposed to using a vibrator on your clit while he fucks you. He knows how to make you lose your mind with his bare hands, but he doesn’t mind changing up the sensations for you sometimes. He doesn’t use toys on himself, but he enjoys feeling the vibrations while he slides in and out of you.

Any kind of paddle or crop would be off the table, though. He wouldn’t like the thought of actually striking you with something, only his hands on your ass (and he always rubs away the sting right away).

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

This man will tease you until you feel like you’re going to explode. He’ll drag you right up to your peak, then stop moving and make you beg for him to keep going. Even at work he’ll whisper dirty things in your ear and make you all flustered before walking away like nothing happened, leaving you to calm yourself down. Usually if he was particularly unfair to you, he’ll make it up to you by making you cum as many times he wants you to and leave sweet kisses all over your body.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make.)

Gibbs is generally a man of few words, and he’s no different in the bedroom. Soft-spoken, but assertive. He loves to whisper dirty things in your ear about how beautiful you are, how you were made for him, how pretty you look when you cum, how good you feel around his cock. The occasional grunt and groan will definitely escape his lips while he’s deep inside you. If he’s taking out his frustrations on you, though, slews of curse words will rumble out of his chest. Of course, he’ll tell you he didn’t mean to say all that, but you’ll tell him you liked it.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Gibbs lowkey has a size kink. He loves that he stands so much taller than you and, even though he has a trim figure, he’s just stronger than you after years of physical work. He loves that he can pin you up against a wall and hold you up in his arms while he fucks you.

ALSO Jealous!Gibbs is also an absolutely animal. He’s long gotten over being self-conscious about being older than you, but any time a man flirts with you or you are a little too friendly with a male agent, he’ll pull you in for a crazy passionate kiss right in the middle of the bullpen. He’s always been a bit theatrical, and he has no problem showing the world who you belong to.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Our man is well-endowed, that’s for sure. You can’t walk around with that kind of big dick energy without backing it up. Depending on the angle, his cock will poke into your cervix — the deepest, fullest feeling. Especially if he has you bent over the workbench in his basement, between the frame of the boat, plowing deep into you. Oof.

Gibbs also 100% has a cute butt that you want to smack all the time and he’ll get mad at you every time.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

This man would fuck you day and night if he could. Age hasn't slowed Gibbs down even a little bit. Maybe he can’t go as many rounds as he once could, but he’ll have you coming over and over again before he even fucks you.

You know you do crazy things to him, too. So when you bend over just a bit further than necessary, or let you too ride up when reaching for something, stand a little too close to an attractive male agent for a little too long (Jealous Gibbs is a different breed), he’ll show you what he thinks about it as soon as he can.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Jethro has always had a hard time sleeping, so he doesn’t usually fall asleep after you have sex. Maybe if it’s been a long day he’ll just give in to his tired body, but usually he’ll hold you until you fall asleep then head down to the basement to watch old movies or work on the boat. Sometimes you’ll make it your personal challenge to wear him out so much he falls asleep afterward, so you whine and whine until he takes control and pounds into you in the most physical way. Even then, he might sleep for an hour or two, then get up again, but you do your best.

Me after writing this:

[karasukarei]

Miscellaneous WinBre-adjacent Experiences

I did lots of random stuff during my recent trip and I thought some of them would be of some interest to the WinBre circle 👀

Edit: Omg I forgot to put everything under a cut I'M SO SORRY FOR MAKING EVERYONE SCROLL

Stuff under the cut:

WinBre x Sanrio

Natori's concert

Shizuoka's tea fields

Other random things of some note

WinBre x Sanrio collab

Yeah the title says it all. If I were to be brutally honest I didn’t really like many of the collab designs… The only one I found that was pretty nice was Suou x Kuromi.

The chibis really weren’t that cute imo ;-; 

Also the collab was held at the TV station, so they had the original promo standees on display too!

Yeah this is me simping.

Ok but this was both unhinged and genius. Whoever decided to put the standee in the aquarium. You are my new hero.

Natori’s concert - 劇場〜再演〜

I managed to score tickets to Natori’s concert in Osaka! This is gonna be a mini concert review (and some mild simping, cos I followed Natori even before Wind Breaker). (Just in case you’re not aware, Natori was the artiste for Wind Breaker’s opening Zettai Reido)

Overall, it was REALLY GOOD. He’s one of the rare singer/songwriters who isn’t just a musician, but is an actual performer. I’m not even kidding when I say that he sounds way better live than in any of his recordings, and the way he changes the notes between cadences on the fly really makes each live performance unique. He’s also really big on dancing and enjoying the music, multiple times he’d tell everyone “踊ろうぜ” (let’s dance!) and he’d just start dancing as he sings, it’s just so chill and enjoyable. They also had a brass triplet on stage, they were SO GOOD, the sax player even switched to flute for some songs!

The stage decor was pretty cool as well, you can essentially split the performance into two halves. For the first half, it was a sort of halloweenish sort of situation, where there was like grey cloth (I think to mimic grey stone or thick cobwebs) draped over the stage pieces and overhanging the projector. Once he starts Gekijou (song 11), all of that falls off and you can see all the intricate wooden detail on the stage sets!!! It was SO COOL, and the different decor really complemented the two halves of the setlist.

Setlist

(source)

Commenting on just the memorable parts or areas that I found of note:

Song 2 Sleepwalk was where all the dancing started! It’s so groovy and the easy swing is SO CATCHY, I really admire how he just sings all these long run-on lyrics effortlessly! (I must admit that the way he sings the endings of a few lines, even in other songs, quite erotic cos of how he growls a bit and alters the notes x_x)

Song 6 EAT was SO GOOD live. I heard the demo before and the quality wasn’t great so I couldn’t really appreciate it, but this version was GOOD. It was so much more polished and had better mixing, and you can feel the high and low tension points in the song now, instead of it sounding a bit flat in the demo.

Song 9 Terminal wasn’t a really big favourite of mine when I first heard it, but it’s SO GOOD live OMG. The tension points were a lot clearer, and singing along with the repeating "da da da la da da da" makes it so much more immersive. This completely changed my perspective on the song, I really like it so much more now!!!

Song 10 Seishatachi I REALLY like this song (it’s the B-side to Zettai Reido), from the live you can tell it’s a pretty technically difficult song cos of the all the off-beats x_x I also realised that the very last syllable in the song is a very very long “da-“ that you can’t hear in the recording cos of all the mixing ^^; he just screams “DA——“ into the mic and holds it for a few seconds, it was SO COOL.

Song 11 Gekijou’s true stars were the brass triplet in my opinion, hearing them live was really what turned the performance into a theatre!!! Natori also welcomes you by saying “劇場へようこそ！” (Welcome to the theatre) while striking the same pose as the key visual, it’s just so cohesive and well thought-out and I was SO IMPRESSED by all the planning that went into this one song.

Song 13 Overdose had an extended mix with the chorus repeating at least 2-3 times at the end (I didn’t count cos I was having SO MUCH FUN). I must admit I wasn’t that big a fan of Overdose (yes I’m a weirdo, my favourite songs are Eureka and Cult), but DAMN the party atmosphere in this mix was amazing.

Song 15 Melodrama is his new collab song with Imase, the only note I have is that you get to hear Natori sing both parts instead of splitting with Imase hahaha (I do actually prefer Natori’s voice over Imase for this song).

Song 16 IN_MY_HEAD is an unreleased song and it is SO WILD, the video they showed with the song felt like something out of a Kyary Kyary Pamyu MV with brains spinning around on neon coloued backgrounds x_x But it’s pretty different from his previous songs, it’s far more rock-influenced with more repetitive choruses and head-banging. Part of me likes to think that Kitani Tatsuya might have had some influence on this www.

Song 17 Zettai Reido was one of the only songs he played guitar for (I can’t remember the other one but I do remember it was an acoustic guitar for that), and damn this is a REALLY hard song. I do think this is one of the few songs where his recordings were slightly better, but tbh I do very much prefer the live version because his voice wavers a bit and gives the song so much more flavour.

Songs 18 and 19 Eureka and Cult - DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HAPPY I WAS TO HEAR MY TWO FAVES IN A ROW. THE JOY AND EXCITEMENT. THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEOS WERE SO NICE TOOOO. I especially loved the one for Cult, it was an animated view of a town from up on a hill, and you can see the seasons and day/night cycles throughout the year, and was just so chill and poignant ;-;

Song 20 Itoudenwa sounds SO GOOD live, I already liked the original version but I LOVE the live version, he really sounds like he’s serenading and crooning you ;-; This was also the song where they popped streamers!!! I was surprised at how well they timed the pop, it blended seamlessly into the music and was just such a pleasant surprise.

Merch and goodies haul

GINTAPE (i.e. streamers) - THEY ARE SO PRETTY. This one is pretty beaten up after I tried to get into the case (oops) but I do have spares (might consider a giveaway in future… let’s see how things go.)

Chiitara snack collab - it’s a cheese snack (that I don’t really like…) but they gave out one to each person at the end of the concert! The packaging is limited edition, and the Osaka and Tokyo performances have different designs! The Osaka design I have reflects the food in Dotonbori, while the Tokyo one includes landmarks such as Tokyo tower. Imma be honest the collab is super funny, cos the company that sponsored the snack is a completely unrelated food company called Natori (HELP). 

Gacha album cover art pins - kinda sad I didn’t get Zettai Reido or Eureka, but at least I have Cult and Overdose!! Overdose appears to be especially in demand lmao (for obvious reasons), but I must admit it had the nicest design too.

Zepp tour early bird code - the little card you see includes a code to get access to the earliest round of balloting for next year’s Zepp tour!!! Still wondering if I should just try… Idek if I can take leave ;-;

Shizuoka’s tea fields

In one of Suou’s daily character question, he mentions that a place he’d like to visit is the tea fields of Shizuoka. For personal reasons, I really did make a trip down to the tea fields ^_^

I went tea picking here!!! It is very back breaking work and I have ever greater appreciation for the farmers who grow and process tea now (they are my true heroes; I don’t drink coffee www)

Also here’s the mountain with the word “tea” (茶) on it! It used to be planted with pine, but then weevils destroyed it so they switched to cypress ^^;

Super random but we got lost while looking for this, we ended up too close to the mountain so we couldn’t get good photos ^^; there was a tea shop there with a really kind owner that served us different types of tea and showed us the way to the best photo spots! 

^ this was the original spot we ended up in but you can't see the word really well ^^;

Random merch and other stuff I guess

Yeah I found the vegetable curry, it was the LAST ONE in store. Maybe this will make me start eating vegetables.

I also had a chance to try Wasanbon in some tea snack I bought from Ise Shrine:

It certainly tastes expensive 😳

Thanks for listening to my simping. Please have a nice day ^_^

[imthepunchlord]

So with my thought on different yin-yang pairs that would cycle between 6/7 Miraculous, I also wanted to cover the different pairs for Felix and Marinette as I do think they are a pair that can easily use both Ladybug and Cat.

So I wanted to see if that could extend to my idea on other pairs, particularly Fox/Peafowl and Bee/Butterfly.

Which, for this, there are tweaked themes for these pairs.

Fox and Peafowl echo themes of Deception and Truth/Vision.

Bee and Butterfly echo themes of Order/Notion and Chaos/Emotion.

Bonus, Turtle/Serpent.

As this got long, going to exclusively focus on Fox and Peafowl.

Initially, for me, Fox and Peafowl stand out to be the most interchangeable pair for these two.

Felix is an easy stand out for Fox. He has an eye for detail and being clever, and he's always been a deceptive character (pretending to be someone else why trying to woo LB, being deceptive in canon, pretending to be Adrien at times, ect.). Canon has also brought in Felix doing magic tricks, being something of a magician, who are illusionists. And of course, there is that little detail that Trixx and Felix both keep their hands behind their back when idle.

Felix with Fox can also work off questionable loyalties, as the Fox is often a self-serving animal, not known to be loyal and helps with their own interest (sounds a lot like Felix). Additionally, with canon, Felix also matches the Fox in terms of curiosity/nosiness and being a risk taker. And of course, doing illusions would be right up Felix's alley, as that allows him to decide when to have the stage and when to be more elusive.

With Trixx, that could've been an interesting kwami to work off Felix, being another deceiver/manipulator, and should be a little impish and selfish at least, and you get these two cunning manipulators trying to outsmart each other, clashing only because Felix prioritizes himself while Trixx is for the greater good.

And as a (dark) monochrome character, I do think it can be in the best interest to get something colorful to signify the change in life. And orange represents warmth, spontaneous, and playfulness, working off Felix needs to learn to lighten up, to be "warmer" as he's initially cold.

For Marinette, Peafowl's a pretty natural click when factoring all things that peacocks represent.

Peafowl is a big symbol of Vision, which can include having an eye for deatil/being perspective, looking to the future, being a visionary, and seeing what others do not see (including a supernatural sense). All of which matches with Marinette, being observant, having goals for the future that she works towards, and a knack for predictability and how she can pull off her elaborate plans. She's also quite vigilant, and can usually pick up on trouble or when something is off, which can work off peacocks tied to vigilance and guardianship.

Peacocks are also big symbols of incorruptibility, able to literally take in evil and turn it into beauty (which really kinda makes it weird for it be a misused villainous Miraculous). This works off Marinette as a natural creator of beauty, but it works off her role as a cleanser/purifier.

The Peafowl naturally works off Marinette's interest in fashion, as a natural symbol of beauty and vibrancy, able to stand out.

And on the topic of visual, Marinette has a nice inverse color coding to Duusu:

Visually, this nicely sets them up as foils that click and balance each other out, with Duusu being more "cool" coded to Marinette who is more "warm" coded. So where Marinette is more affectionate, energetic, and humble, Duusu in contrast should be more sophisticated, level headed, and egotistical/vain (this is not Duusu's canon personality, based on the little I've seen, but emotional birdbrain isn't what really comes to my mind for a peafowl kwami).

Working off this set up for Duusu's personality, you can get two dramatic characters with similar moral alignments working off each other, but able to balance each out. When Marinette overthinks and spirals, Duusu brings the truth and logic, where Duusu has the ego, Marinette has the humbleness. Duusu should also be a kwami who adores her interest in fashion, and should be one of the most romantically engaged kwamis, a literal wingman, who wants Marinette to display her colors and show off her interest to her crush (not that she's there yet). Additionally, Marinette can be chaotic and unpredictable, which as a peafowl, Duusu is set up to be more for integrity and order, so anything sketchy will be called out.

Working off Origins, where Marinette's biggest issue is self-confidence, Peafowl is a natural answer as that's an animal that's all about confidence and knowing your self-wroth. This can also work off Marinette getting pushed around (mostly by Chloe), giving up what she's rightfully won (Gamer), and putting herself down/shifting to prioritize someone else's feelings over her own when she also needs a chance to be upset (Glaciator).

Peafowl can also cover Marinette learning leadership as they are tied to royalty and clarity.

It could feed into her Atlas complex a bit, as this is a symbol of absolute goodness and fortune, but this animal has themes of being self-serving (flaws of pride, ego, and vanity), so it probably wouldn't be to the extent of Ladybug.

Now, on the reverse...

Prior to Felix officially joining canon, Peafowl was a natural click for Felix in fanon content, especially as an alternative to Cat. And there was a lot of merit to the possibility.

Felix is a naturally deceptive character who does questionable things, it makes sense for him to get an animal that's tied to truth and integrity, to challenge how he is. Duusu would also come with a lot of the similar appeals to Tikki if paired with Felix being more for the greater good, strong sense of responsibility, to step up to help others, and be morally upright.

Blue as a color can also work off what Felix needs growth wise, it's tied to trust, loyalty, responsibility, security, and truth. But it also vibes with him better as a cool color, one that is more passive and reserved.

But Felix also clicks as he is observant and does know how to grab attention and stand out as needed. And for PV Felix, who seems fine just minding his own business and not wanting attention all that much, that adds another nice contrast as this is an animal about having attention, and showing off your vibrancy (which can have some comedic potential for a more reserved character like Felix).

Now Marinette with Fox is another fun and interest kwami swap, one that's also pretty decently popular.

Marinette matches Fox in creativity, observation, quick wit, being chaotic, and being a risk taker. She also is someone who likes to work long range if she can (though will make do with close range). Similarly, she also knows when to grab attention and when to step back and be in the background.

Fox just very easily can click for Marinette. And the show did give us an example in how elaborate her illusions can be (Kwamibuster).

The biggest intrigue can be with Marinette and Trixx. With Marinette having more moral integrity can Felix, making her the more morally upright character, it can open up Trixx to be more of an impish wildcard. It's actually a similar appeal to Marinette and Plagg, where Plagg is up to be more problamatic in contrast to her. Given the Trixx we saw in Sapotis, I got an impression that with Marinette more likely to get involved and do the right thing, it opens up to Trixx prioritizing Marinette own needs and growth. And with foxes being a more self-prioritizing animal, that can work off what Marinette needs, while still working off Marinette's knack for meddling.

I do also see Trixx getting into Marinette's antics too and having fun with it.

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 1: Halfnelson

This album is SO GREAT!! On my first listen I was immediately very impressed by it and I really love how it has this very particular early 70s rock sound that I'm a big fan of, while still being distinctly Sparks and its own special thing, at a time when Sparks was just starting to become its thing - the heart of it all was there from the very start! While it's not my top #1 favourite Sparks album or even one of my top 5 favourites (which is a nebulous category anyway that's likely to change and shift with time of course, and not even something I pay THAT much attention to) it's definitely still UP THERE and a very special album in my heart that I revisit quite often. Especially when I need something to simply relax but also appreciate some of that early Sparks' experimental and... almost whimsical? sound.

This album also reminds me of winter, a very snowy one at that, and that's in big part because of when I started listening to it for sure, but some of that vibe is already there in the music anyway if you ask me. Walking around a Christmas market in the city and hearing random tunes from this album playing in my head all the while, that's one great memory I have from last year. If I were to give this album some sort of visual representation it would definitely involve a lot of browns and other earthy tones - it would be very dark and mysterious without being scary or truly unnerving necessarily - think something like the Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me) music video, but less colorful and involving more wooden materials (yes, this is VERY specific and also definitely an image that's supported by that wintery association, as well as the imagery that my brain came up with for Simple Ballet, but more about that below...).

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

Wonder Girl

Roger

High C

Fletcher Honorama (the entire atmosphere this song has is incomparable with anything else)

Simple Ballet (this one was a later favourite but the IMAGERY and atmopshere here is, once again, very special, I actually developed an entire music video idea in my head for it at this point, even if it feels very vague)

Saccharine and the War (probably my favourite on the album)

No More Mr. Nice Guys (THAT guitar solo!! a real mind-blower on my first listen too)