#the weekly one is actually atrocious

[petergabrielyuri]

my topster for this week and all of october since i forgot to post it earlier

[mousy-nona]

Headcanon that Lucifer and Alastor have two different date nights each week, one is for them to have alone time, while the other is a family date night.

“Uno!” 

“No, Dad, you still have two cards!” 

“Oh.” Lucifer dropped a +4 onto the pile. “Now uno!” 

“Hey, Big Daddy, it ain’t your turn anymore. It’s Tall, Dark, and Creepy’s turn to go.” Angel Dust peered at Alastor who, despite his trademark smile, looked like he was in physical pain. His left eye was twitching rather alarmingly. “You hangin’ in there?” 

“Yes, fine,” Alastor snapped. “I’m simply at a loss at how such a simple game can defeat Lucifer’s intellect. You would think he would have learned something after a few million years.” 

“Hey!” Lucifer threw the cards in his hand at Alastor – which, being a grand total of one, wasn’t very impressive. The sad little +4 gently tapped him on the nose before fluttering to the ground.

Alastor sighed, very loudly. “Great. Why do we bother with this again?”

“Because it’s game night!”

Lucifer was referring, of course, to the weekly tradition that had started because Lucifer had insisted if you date me, you date my daughter too, and Alastor had shuddered and agreed just so he wouldn’t have to hear him say that atrocious sentence, ever again. Then Charlie had insisted on bringing Vaggie along, because she was her partner, and therefore family.

Then Angel Dust had overheard there was a weekly game night going on, and dragged Husk into coming along. Niffty was the only one that Alastor had personally invited, although none of them knew that (it was their little secret). 

“Can we have just one game night where we actually finish a game?” Vaggie complained. “I actually have a good hand this time!” 

“I don’t know why y’all put yourselves through this,” Husk called out from the bar. Ice cubes clinked as he poured himself another stiff one. “They’re going to start trying to kill each other in five minutes.” 

“We will not,” Lucifer sniffed as he collected his card and sat back down. “And we do not try and kill each other every time.” 

Angel Dust started ticking off incidents on his fingers. “Let’s see. We never got to finish that game of Monopoly, Clue, Yahtzee, Catan –” 

“Family Feud,” Vaggie added, staring hard at Alastor. He sniffed and looked away. 

“You cannot ask a gentleman from my time to guess what you barbarians from the 21st century think about things. That was a poor choice of game.” 

“Scrabble, Secret Hitler–”

“Alastor was cheating that time!” Lucifer burst out.

“I was not,” Alastor said smugly. The rest of them shuddered at the memory. Alastor had been surprisingly good at Secret Hitler – so good, in fact, that it and any other political manipulation games like it had been banned from the halls of Hazbin Hotel.

“Apples to Apples, Sorry!, Hive Pocket–”

“That one was Niffty!” Charlie broke in, desperately trying to keep the peace. “She stabbed the game board, remember?”

Niffty started vibrating and jabbing at things. “Bugs!”

Angel Dust sighed. “My point still stands, toots. These two are physically incapable of ending a single game without flirt-fighting in the middle of it.”

Alastor snarled. Lucifer turned red. And everyone else nodded. 

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

What none of the others knew was that Lucifer and Alastor had another weekly tradition. A secret they kept hidden from the others. 

Every Sunday, after Alastor had finished his script for the next day and Lucifer had put the finishing touches on his latest invention, Lucifer summoned a golden portal and whisked them off to the far reaches of Hell. 

It was a different wonder every time. A hill near the Greed Ring, the toxic plumes of smoke creating a beautiful emerald mist over the dilapidated city. The very top of the skyscraper that towered over the Lust Ring. A relaxing dip in one of the lava pools of the Wrath Ring, which made Alastor hum and stretch like a cat as the boiling liquid lapped at the scar on his chest.

One day, Lucifer took them to a bustling street packed with street vendors and shops selling the exact same merch. The smell of caramel and popcorn and cotton candy was heavy in the air. He looked uncharacteristically nervous, his face paler than usual, and his hands were constantly picking at his hat, his coat, his staff.

Alastor peered at him. “Whatever is the matter with you?” 

“I have something to show you.” 

Lucifer led them deeper into the colorful, fantastic clutches of Lu Lu World. Past gaggles of hellborn children and their exhausted parents, past lines for rides that looped at least ten times before disappearing into the buildings proper, past storybook houses and little animatronic villagers.

“Business must be doing well,” Alastor noted.

“Terrific. Our newest ride is a hit.” 

“Newest…?”

Lucifer stopped abruptly, staring at something above them. He was sweating slightly, his feet shifting this way and that. “I hope you don’t mind,” he said, in a tiny voice. “I got, well, inspired.”

Alastor looked up, and his eyes widened. Towering above them was…him. A flawless version of him. The demon grinning at the top of the ride was perfect in every way, his smile hiding a million secrets that both enthralled and frustrated the viewer. Enthralling. Alluring. The shadow coat he was wearing created a natural barrier between him and the audience, but his outstretched hand seemed to beckon you closer, to touch what was forbidden.

Can you defeat the enigma? Was the tagline stamped at the bottom of the board.

“It’s an escape game,” Lucifer said hurriedly. “I thought of it during one of our dates, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. You don’t mind, do you? I was so nervous about it, but I thought I’d –”

“He’s a bit perfect, don’t you think?” Alastor said, his voice gruff.

Lucifer squinted at the display. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said, sounding honestly confused. “It looks just like you.” 

Alastor groaned, unsure how to handle the unfamiliar, powerful feelings batting at his too-small heart. This is how he sees me? 

“You don’t like it,” Lucifer babbled. “I’m sorry, I’ll take it down–”

“No, it’s fine.” Alastor said. “It’s…good.”

“Really?” Lucifer relaxed, all the tension leaving his tight shoulders. 

“Really.” 

They stood there a while, simply breathing in each other's company as the muse and the artist stared at the work they had created together.

Finally, Alastor spoke. "May I suggest a game for our next game night?"

"You? Have a suggestion?" Lucifer nodded warily. "Go ahead."

"Secret Hitler."

"No!"

[surreal-duck]

screw it. midoyuzu sdv au (very long bullet point post warning in advance)

midori inherits his late grandpa's farm. parents' greengrocers shop in the city used to get a good chunk of their crops from there til his passing and the farm was since abandoned

kanata is definitely handling the fishing shop. though he spends more time in the water puka pukaing than actually fishing and manning the store but its fine she manages somehow. when midori gets the fishing rod kanata just straight up pops outta to water to give him the rod and floats away 👍 souma helps out there also

chiaki owns the saloon and bartends even if he does Not drink himself and the only thing that ever plays on tv are tokusatsu shows

as for the others i havent thought abt as much and subject to change. kuro blacksmith with his apprentice tetora maybe . nagisa the museum and library curator (and by extension i think itd be really funny if ibara was a joja executive. mostly to keep an eye on nagisa but also keeping the yzib hostility). eichi is the mayor though keito his vice mayor does most of everything and his boyfriend wataru organizes the town events and such like the valley fair etc!! natsume is the forest wizard w his apprentice sora and tsumugi comes by weekly in that traveling cart thing. madara owns the ranch probably.

everybody else is probably just normal townsfolk, among others hajime and hinata take care of the towns plants n stuff!! tatsumi priest, mayoi is half shadow person and hangs out in the sewer (of which noritama at some point explore together and shinobu befriends and invites to visit the surface). i said i didnt think about this much but thats a lie at this point. mika stays in an atelier in the forest (owned by shu whos in the city but does visit on occassion) to cultivate his own art, still best buds with arashi. jun koga adonis and maybe hiiro part of the adventurers guild, trick5tar are their own lil band!!

some charas r not present most of the time or yet like tori who is off at uni w his longtime academic rival and childhood friend and also now roommate tsukasa. their presence is very important for later trust me. rich family rivalry still remains here (along with military camp Because)

due to tori being at uni and learning independence yuzuru is off of his usual butler work for a while and working in the general store owned by the himemiyas! partly to pass the time partly encouraged to find something new to do outside of his servant duties. he calls and nags at tori regularly to make sure hes fine and such

the request board outside of the store is always a good source for side jobs and one day a request for foraged spring onions is pinned up with a terrifying drawing scribbled on it. midoris head over heels Immediately and she already has a good amount to spare so why not take it

hes probably a week into living in the valley already? while yuzuru had just started working over at the store therefore she wasnt aware of this yuzuru fushimi and finds the very one while looking for who put up the request!! the master artist + fan dynamic goes from then on

other than the usual chitchats and more requests with encouraged atrocious drawings accompanying them, been thinking a good amount of the specific town events that happen through the year!! other misc things are various quests and errands from each of the characters, like helping mika gather cloth or hajime requesting various flowers to brighten up the town

Y1 Spring: egg festival, noritama hanging out, shinobu sweeping the egg hunt; flower dance , as they havent gotten to know each other to well enough to actually dance (just like in the game) (haley please. anyways) its mostly just small talk and maybe including some other side pairings i like djdhhfjdj chiaki with a suspiciously soaked kanata and hina dragging off tetsu

Y1 Summer: acquiring the rusty key from nagisa, noritama sewer exploration and befriending mayoi; luau, nothing special particularly for this one; dance of the moonlight jellies, from here yuzuru and midori get a lot closer playing in the sand and just getting along (a bit like siosai marina)!! probably some background drop for the both of them like takamine gramps' farm and yuzurus actual role as a butler while telling him about tori as well dkhdhdjs. they spot the rare green jellyfish together here too

Y1 Autumn (yeah im calling it autumn sue me): valley fair commences, led by everyones own wataru whos hopping here and there somehow managing three attractions at once. yuzuru obliterates the shooting game; spirits eve, chiaki is desperately being clingy out of fear. just more shenanigans in this one

Y1 Winter: festival of ice!! i kinda want to recreate the snow bunny/cute critter scene in jingle bells here, while the fishing contest isnt even a contest at all except between souma and kanata; feast of the winter star ill probably keep somewhat similar to that in the recent luck fest campaign gift exchange!! midori -> hajime and yuzuru -> kanata at the very least. just good vibes all around. community centre would also be finished by then so while joja closes, ibara ends up assisting at the museum w nagisa instead jshshdh

Y2 Spring: only thing of note is that This flower dance they do get to dance together!! 👍 had to get those hearts up beforehand sjhdhdjshd midori at this point fully realized he really does like yuzuru, but kind of the calm before the summer storms

Y2 Summer: gets a bit (a lot) more complicated from here. yuzuru receives word from tori that he'll be visiting from midsummer til the beginning of autumn, and coincidentally tsukasa is tagging along to meet up with his pen pal and friend sora!! bickering the entire way there and due to circumstances yuzurus hosting tsukasa as well in the end, having to share toris room with him aksjdhjwjs

tori gets introduced to midori. the famed young master of midoris crush and this random farmer boy tori had heard so much about for some reason. midoris rather intimidated in the end but it ends up not Horribly to say the least. didnt quite help how tori had noticed how yuzuru softened up even just a bit when interacting with him. sora as well finally meets tsukasa and "the torikun he's heard so much about through tsukasas letters" 🎉 toris awfully smug and tsukasa tries to salvage it saying he was badmouthing him the whole time (not completely a lie but definitely not completely the truth either. dork)

with toris arrival inevitably comes yuzurus duties as a butler, its plain to see his priorities and out of consideration midori backs off a bit. she thought he'd only have to keep his distance until tori's gone back but little did she know toris main reason for coming not only was to assess how yuzurus faring (well and to meet eichi again) but had planned on bringing yuzuru back with him too to which yuzuru of course though not without feeling a tinge of pain for a reason unknown to him agrees to it

midori hears this from tsukasa, how he didnt think yuzuru would stay in town for much longer. and of course midori ended up pretty devastated at the news but who is he to stop yuzuru from leaving? in the end yuzuru would all but abandon his duties, and after all that same diligence and devotion is what midori had fallen for in the first place. if this short year really is all he'd get to spend with him then at the very least she'll have to make the most of what time they have left

the moonlight jellies come around again, probably one of the last times they both thought they'd be able to spend together and went off with just the two of them. a bit of an awkward air around them, yuzuru comments on how toris been complaining about the sand and other attempts at casual small talk as usual but its painfully obvious theres still that tense atmosphere

midori finally asks if yuzurus really leaving after all, to which she got a yes. midori simply nods and had long since accepted that inevitability, and already resolved that when the time comes to put an end to his feelings and get rejected properly. and so he confesses, and while saying she didnt need yuzuru to give him any proper answer in return, all yuzuru could really say was an "i'm sorry" while finally realizing what that awful ache that has been eating at him the entire time was. even if he did realize he felt the same, no matter how much he wanted to say it back theyve both resigned to the fact that its not something that could or would really ever happen between them

once the jellies have all left, their parting was pretty awkward, with that one goodbye feeling a lot like their last. tori notices something off about yuzuru and that something had probably happened between them, but didnt pay it much thought until a while later

yuzurus made more mistakes than whats normal, miscategorizing the stock or putting salt in his coffee, tori and tsukasa are both shocked and tried to pry it out of him but hes a brick wall that wont budge even a bit. it was only when midori came around for his usual errands and groceries that tori could note how distant and awkward theyre both being and that slight bit of hurt behind yuzurus all perfect mask

after much uncomfortable tension and quietly longing gazes enough is enough amd tori eventually confronts him, that while he did say yuzuru could come back to the city asks him if thats really what he wanted. and of course, all hes ever wanted or rather, knew how to want was to be able to serve tori to the best of his ability and really theres no other reason to stay anyways. even more frustrated now tori brings up midori, if he really wont regret leaving things like that when theyll surely drift apart to the point of no return if he keeps it up

argues that whatever was between him and midori has nothing to do with it!! tori is Mad and says if yuzuru is hiding behind his role to run away from the depths of his own feelings hes being a freaking idiot. eventually tori calms down and while he did want yuzuru to come, never wanted him to tear himself apart so much and that he didnt need to sacrifice his desires or getting close to anyone else for his sake, and how before being a servant yuzuru is his family as well and he just wants him to be happy too. then asks one last time if leaving the valley really what he wanted

yuzuru finally thinks it over again and apologizes first. for letting himself get so caught up and carried away for even daring to get close to someone else (tori glares daggers at him. he stops) and affirms that while he did wish to stay, theres still nothing more important to him than tori and his wellbeing and even should he open up and find more people in his life its not gonna change that fact

toris finally satisfied, reminding him again that even if he were to run off to be with some farmer boy hed still be his butler and that he wishes them the best. then proceeds to grab the bouquet from over the counter, shove it into yuzurus hands and lock him out of the store until he has a proper talk with midori. yuzuru tries to argue but it all goes one ear and out the other with tori he is Not gonna let him back inside until then

eventually gives in and goes looking for midori. he asks all around town and seems to just miss him each time, til eventually it starts pouring and into a pretty hard rain. at this point all he could rly focus on though was wanting to see him so pushes on until running into her taking shelter in the forest. yuzuru is Soaked and disheveled and with the wind and rain the bouquet is stripped down to only a few of its flowers left but he does not care at this point

midori is understandably shocked and tries to dry him off with what he had, lending her jacket and asking what he was doing out in the rain like that. well with yuzuru only being able to think about wanting to meet him had completely ignored the rain and brushes it off saying there was something more important he wanted to say

even knowing that he'd (somewhat) rejected midori before, asks if he could give him a proper response this time if midori would give him another chance. she agrees, yuzuru lets him know he wont be going back to the city after all to midoris surprise. goes on that before he knew it midori had become important to him as well and that he truly does adore him, and if his feelings havent changed would like to court him properly. midoris just processing the entire thing before crying. never thought his feelings would be reciprocated and between sobs hugs him. rain clears up, a nice rainbow arches over and while midori accepts what was left of the bouquet they almost had a moment until yuzuru starts sneezing. cue them running back to the store before he gets sick

while yuzurus taking care of himself it leaves midori and tori in the store together. tori gives her a bit of a shovel talk and if he dared do anything to hurt yuzuru he could have his entire farm shut down. and asks to take care of yuzuru for him too. they do talk a bit and end up getting to know each other a bit more before tori and tsukasas impending departure

once midori leaves, tsukasa, having seen the whole conversation, asks tori if hes really okay with it and while tori cant say hes absolutely happy is glad someone cherishes yuzuru just as much. and even if he is a bit lonely will always have tsukasa anyways half as a tease and half being genuine

Y2 Autumn: tori and tsukasa leave the valley, promising to come back next year!! theres a lot more ive planned out from this point out but i am keeping it to myself for now. or maybe forever it depends 👍 my apologies if youve read this far you deserve a medal thank you for listening to my silly rambling 🏅

theres some other things like mini chara arcs/episodes and such (or stuff like specific "heart events" of a sort) i thought abt but among them is tatsumi and mayoi meeting and [omitted] or tetoras apprenticeship under kuro, or shus visit to observe mikas progress and [omitted], and specifically a certain trks episode also

[abrthephantomq]

Encoder Zim, Ch 2, pt 3

Every. Single. Class.

Zim was in every. single. one. of his classes. 

He shouldn’t have been surprised. He knew this was going to happen. Middle Skool hadn’t been much better; though at least then he and Zim didn’t have the same lunch. At least, not for the first half of the school year, anyway. 

The last class of the day was PE. At first the class went over the weekly schedule; how they’d spend two days in the weight room and the other three in the gym proper. 

Today, being the first official day for Freshmen, though, meant that an old staple came into play:

Dodgeball. 

Dib hated dodgeball. Like always, he was picked close to last – some other unfortunate looking kid he didn’t know got picked after him. 

Zim, of course, stood on the opposite team, teeth bared in a smile that could’ve doubled as a sneer in Dib’s direction. He already had a dodgeball in his hands. His blonde hair – which Dib knew was a wig; he’d seen the alien sans disguise before – already had that disheveled look to it that came with a day of activity. 

(Dib hadn’t given Zim the satisfaction of commenting on his change in hair style – the longer Dib went without saying something about it, the more annoyed Zim seemed to get. For how tired Dib was, he’d take his wins where he could get them – even if that meant Zim grew more and more unhinged as the day went on.)

Dib wanted nothing more than to get his hands on a ball and smack Zim in the face with it. Unfortunately for him, his aim was typically fucking atrocious. It was everything Dib could do to stay in the game, usually.

The moment their overly muscled PE teacher blew the whistle, Dib did his best to keep away from the onslaught of dodgeballs. He dodged and threw himself around in weird ways, keeping his eyes on Zim all the while. 

He knew Zim would cheat, somehow. 

He always did. With those pak legs, usually – he’d “jump” up higher to get a better angle and to dodge Dib’s teams balls. With multiple balls in play, though, Dib knew he was likely to get his ass handed to him – Zim or no Zim on the opposite team. 

The first hit nailed him on the side of his face, pushing his glasses painfully into the bridge of his nose. A second hit right after, catching him in the chest. The shoulder. His side as he tumbled to the ground. 

Thank god none of them had managed to hit him in the crotch, this time. He rolled away from the chaos, sitting with the other kids who were also out for the duration of the game – until someone on their team actually caught a ball. 

Which no one would, because of course – of course Zim’s team somehow had the vast majority of the balls, somehow. Dib sighed, taking his glasses off his face and rubbing at the bridge of his nose. 

All in all, the game ended swiftly after that. Zim, unsurprisingly enough, was the last one standing on his team, cackling. 

“I am ZIM!!” he shouted. “You all will bow down to ME, the dodgeball master!” 

Dib rolled his eyes as he pushed himself off the ground. “Will you just – shut the fuck up for once?” 

He hadn’t finished straightening himself out before his back was slammed against the matted gym wall. “What was that, Dib-worm?” Zim hissed, his hands – claws, really – digging into Dib’s threadbare gym shirt. 

Dib sucked in a breath, his lungs seizing for a moment due to his impact against the wall. He lowered his gaze, meeting Zim’s glare full on. He was all but gnashing his teeth at Dib. With the blonde hair and the blue eyes that Dib knew were so, so incredibly fake, he really did look almost like a fourteen year old kid like Dib himself. 

“Wait – have your eyes always been blue?” Dib sputtered, feeling his face burn as the other kids in their class began to chant FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. 

Zim all but shrieked in frustration, his grip on Dib’s shirt tightening as he then pulled Dib off the wall and slammed him back against it once more – this time even harder than the first. “You notice my eyes but you say not a word about Zim’s BRILLIANT BLONDE HAIR?!” 

Dib couldn’t help it. 

He laughed. Cackled, really – and then his laughter dissolved into uncontrollable giggles. 

“Are you fucking serious right now, Zim?” he managed. Through each round of giggles, Dib noticed how Zim’s remarkably human looking face flushed with some combination of anger and embarrassment. “I’m too fucking tired for this, man.” 

Zim looked as though he were about to demand a further explanation – but before he could their teacher caught up with the commotion, pulling Zim off of Dib and yelling something about the two of them needing to take their personal issues elsewhere. 

Dib, of course, took that moment to slip out of the gym and into the locker room. Maybe if he changed quickly enough he could get the fuck out of there and be on the way home before the final bell rang. Maybe, just maybe, he’d get lucky for once in his goddamn, miserable life, and – 

“Where do you think you’re going, Dib-stink?” Zim growled, shoving at Dib’s bare fucking shoulder, because of course Zim followed him and of course Zim had no compunctions over touching Dib when he was in the middle of fucking changing. 

“Home,” he answered, moving to put as much space between himself and Zim as he possibly could. He shoved his neutral face shirt back on before pulling his trench coat out of his gym locker. “Is that alright with you, your Majesty?” 

He was so, so glad he’d changed out of his goofy ass sweatpants before changing his shirt. Trench coat on and book bag hooked over his shoulder, all Dib had to do was shove his feet back into his boots, and – 

“Can’t go anywhere without these, can you, Dib?” Zim cackled, holding up said boots. He made a disgusted face. “Eughh – why do these smell so bad?” 

Laughter broke out throughout the locker room, and Dib did his best to ignore it and the heat building up underneath the collar of his shirt. “They just need to be cleaned,” he said, his voice thin and reedy. “I didn’t get a chance to after – after last night.” 

After he’d spent hours chasing Zim around the city. Hours he was regretting spending now, because his body ached with how tired he was. His first day in High Skool had been absolutely, incredibly fucking miserable, all thanks to the asshole standing in front of him. 

Zim narrowed his eyes at Dib, then held Dib’s boots out as far as he could in Dib’s direction. Dib didn’t grumble thanks as he snatched them out of Zim’s realistic-but-fake-as-hell hands, settling on one of the benches in the locker room as he shoved his feet into his boots. He didn’t look up at Zim, either, as he began to lace them up, doing so as quickly as he could with how shaky his hands were, just then. 

“I wish you’d just leave me alone, Zim,” he said as he straightened himself out, towering over the alien and relishing in the way Zim’s expression flattened out. 

“Nonsense, you relish in Zim’s glorious attention!” he then said, as confidently as he’d normally say anything – but Dib could hear the undercurrent of doubt that lingered in his voice. Good. “You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if I didn’t torment you every single day!” 

Dib snorted at that, shoulder-checking Zim on his way past him. Zim, of course, followed him as they made their way out of the locker room. Somehow, Zim was already changed – he probably had his gym outfit as a separate disguise or something. It probably took him just the press of a button to change. 

“I think it’s you who wouldn’t know what to fucking do with yourself if you didn’t torment me every single fucking day,” he said, once the two of them were finally, finally out of earshot from the rest of the kids in the locker room. He didn’t so much as look over at Zim; he could feel his presence to his left. Could feel Zim’s eyes on him, even, as they walked down the hall together. “I bet you can’t go a fucking month without saying shit to me. I bet it’d drive you insane.” 

“I can absolutely go a month without talking to your disgusting humanness, Dib-boy,” Zim said with a sniff. “It would be a relief not to have to engage with your big-headedness for so long.” 

Dib turned on his heel, crowding Zim against the hallway wall. “Then fucking prove it, space boy. Don’t fucking talk to me, taunt me, throw notes at me, message me – for a whole fucking month.” 

Zim’s mouth hung open, his eyes widening for a moment before resolve overtook his features. He looked so human, and yet Dib knew he wasn’t. His blue eyes narrowed, and Dib tried to ignore the way his heart twisted in his chest as Zim spat, “Fine. Zim will leave the Dib alone for a month.” 

Dib thrust his hand forward. “Shake on it,” he said as Zim jumped at Dib’s sudden movement. 

Zim took a beat too long, looking between Dib’s hand and Dib’s face before sliding his hand inside Dib’s with a roll of his eyes. “Stupid human. A month is nothing to me.” 

They shook on it. Dib did his best to ignore how he could feel the difference between the last two fingers of Zim’s hand and the three that he knew Zim actually had. “Your month starts now,” he said as he let go, turned on his heel, and marched right out of the school. 

He smirked to himself as he heard Zim sputter indignantly behind him.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Wildfell Weekly - Chapter 22, “Traits of Friendship”

This is the chapter that, the first time I read the book, made me go “this should be high school English class reading material”. On top of the entire book’s dealing with red flags and abusive relationships, this ones gives textbook examples of how peer pressure and addiction displacement work.

Poor Lord Lowborough, after getting addicted to gambling to the point of losing all his fortune and ending up heavily in debt (the fact that he is a lord is important - nobles couldn’t have their property taken away for debt or be put in jail for it as other people could), stops gambling but turns from it to alcohol, and from alcohol to opium; and when he tries to quit, and wants to quit, and knows he should quit, his “friends,” with Huntingdon in a leading role, do everything they can to stop him from quitting.

“He kept his oath about gambling (not a little to the surprise of us all), though Grimsby did his utmost to tempt him to break it, but now he had got hold of another habit that bothered him nearly as much, for he soon discovered that the demon of drink was as black as the demon of play, and nearly as hard to get rid of—especially as his kind friends did all they could to second the promptings of his own insatiable cravings.”

And later:

“‘This is hell broth!’ he exclaimed. ‘I renounce it for ever!’ And he threw it out into the middle of the table.

“‘Fill again!’ said I, handing him the bottle—‘and let us drink to your renunciation.’

“‘It’s rank poison,’ said he, grasping the bottle by the neck, ‘and I forswear it! I’ve given up gambling, and I’ll give up this too.’ He was on the point of deliberately pouring the whole contents of the bottle on to the table, but Hargrave wrested it from him. ‘On you be the curse, then!’ said he. And, backing from the room, he shouted, ‘Farewell, ye tempters!’ and vanished amid shouts of laughter and applause.

“We expected him back among us the next day; but, to our surprise, the place remained vacant: we saw nothing of him for a whole week; and we really began to think he was going to keep his word. At last, one evening, when we were most of us assembled together again, he entered, silent and grim as a ghost, and would have quietly slipped into his usual seat at my elbow, but we all rose to welcome him, and several voices were raised to ask what he would have, and several hands were busy with bottle and glass to serve him; but I knew a smoking tumbler of brandy-and-water would comfort him best, and had nearly prepared it, when he peevishly pushed it away, saying,—

“‘Do let me alone, Huntingdon! Do be quiet, all of you! I’m not come to join you: I’m only come to be with you awhile, because I can’t bear my own thoughts.’ And he folded his arms, and leant back in his chair; so we let him be. But I left the glass by him; and, after awhile, Grimsby directed my attention towards it, by a significant wink; and, on turning my head, I saw it was drained to the bottom. He made me a sign to replenish, and quietly pushed up the bottle. I willingly complied; but Lowborough detected the pantomime, and, nettled at the intelligent grins that were passing between us, snatched the glass from my hand, dashed the contents of it in Grimsby’s face, threw the empty tumbler at me, and then bolted from the room.”

And beyond Huntingdon’s atrocious conduct towards his “friend,” the way he tells Helen about it is very telling. He knows enough about her to know she wouldn’t approve, but he treats it all like a big joke, and he only tells her after they’re engaged and after she’s stuck to the decision in the face of her aunt’s opposition, so it would cost her more - in terms of self-respect and respect for her own judgement, in terms of giving up her idea of him, in addition to losing face before others - to back out now. He relishes giving her a taste of what he’s actually like, now that she’s more locked in.

[yuujispinkhair]

Hey babe! I always like to share my HC's with you~

So, back in 2020 I saw this thing on tiktok called "Shifting" so, bet, I made my script but I kept changing it over and over again bc I wanted it to go according to the jjk manga, like a self insert. Then, I decided to change things and make it more of my own story.

Yn was a foreigner student, another Gojo's adopted child from one of his missions and one day he decided to bring yn to Japan to train her because it was so hard to train when you live so far away (plus he misses your baked sweets). So the day yn arrives to Japan, she takes the wrong bus and ends up in the wrong city, at the wrong time and place. But was it really wrong?

Yn ends up in front of a school, and looks at a pink haired boy with a yellow hoodie. They locked eyes and then she senses the cursed energy and dashes inside the school to help the dark haired, emo— and pretty as hell, sorcerer. Her own cursed technique was magic, like a witch. (Let's fast foward that scene.)

So, when Yuji eats the finger and Gojo arrives and blah, blahnik, blah, yn makes a spell to unbound Sukuna from Yuuji... and it doesn't work like she intended to. Yeah, she separated them, but kept them bound like attuned twins, but she accidentally bound herself to Sukuna as well, which he hated and wanted to kill her for it. And tried to, only to find out you actually got great combat skills and you could harm him without cursed energy. Making the king of curses begrudgingly obsessed with yn.

Sukuna ends up— forcibly and begrudgingly, as a Jujutsu teacher along with his now best friend and leech, Gojo Satoru. The bound Yuuji, Sukuna and yn shares forces him not to hurt you two, and the curse ends up liking the modern world.

Sukuna being the lowkey Tsundere he is, would follow yn everywhere, would make the training sessions longer, know all your favorite foods and places where you dissapear to. He is rough, insults you constantly, flicks your forehead when you get distracted, when you do something reckless, when you eat too much junk food because he cares— he cares so much and he hates it. He hates you and how he can't actually hate you. He hates how kind and warm you are to him, how you always want to know about his past and no matter how disgusting and atrocious his actions were, you don't judge him and say "I won't judge you from your past, we only have the present moment and so far, you've been nice, Sukuna." You say grinning and the king of curses flickers your forehead "dumb brat" he mumbles and dashes away so you can't see his furious blush. Sukuna, who enjoys your banters and constant insults, how feisty you are and how you're not afraid of him. Sukuna who lowkey loves when you touch him, even if it was a quick brush.

Sukuna who hates when yn hangs out too much with Gojo or Megumi, mostly when you left for missions with them. Sukuna who only tolerates Yuuji to be by your side because he knows what goes into his mind and you're just his twins best friend— both of you dumb with barely one brain cell together. Sukuna who is proud as fuck with your perfect grades and when the higher ups ascended you to first grade sorcerer. Sukuna who often tugs down the hem of your skirt because you're dragging too much attention, or he would walk behind you. Sukuna who is a gentleman. Sukuna who almost goes feral when the Kyoto school invited you to transfer schools. He hates Noritoshi Kamo since then.

Sukuna, who actually loves teaching and being a sorcerer again (and the big, fat paycheck that comes weekly.) Sukuna who is always looking foward to accompany you to missions even though he insults you all the way and acts like you're a nuisance. But deep down he is having a heart attack afraid of you getting hurt. Sukuna who actually feels dizzy when you stand in the middle of a puddle of blood from a curse you just killed. Your pretty uniform soaked in blood and shredded organs, but your beautiful smile bright as you held the head of a special grade curse, dangling it as you cheered "You saw that? I killed it! Next time it will be your ancient ass!" Yn chirped, and Sukuna had an inner turmoil, the worry of you being hurt and his stom fluttering with butterflies from the grotesque scene that was somehow endearing.

Sukuna who made sure you were save from injuries, sighing heavily in relief not realizing he wasn't breathing all this time. Sukuna who takes you to your favorite restaurant because you are a bottomless pit and need to be fed. Sukuna who never let's you pay but he acts annoyed about it. Sukuna who often tucks you to bed "I'm doing this because you're too dumb to do it yourself, woman."

Sukuna, who took a long time to even accept his feelings— let alone confess to you. Sukuna, who the first time he had sex with you, it was slow, gentle, almost as if he was worshipping you. No. He was worshipping you. How a pretty, small and kind creature like you could help him redeem himself (he is still an arrogant asshole though), how can he not worship you all night long? He can't help but whimper when he slides inside of yn, he never knew until that moment how lonely his life was, how much he craved to feel wanted, loved, accepted. And he realizes, how much he loves you.

You can use this if you liked it👀💖

AWWW RENEE, I LOVE THIS 💗💗😭😭 I adore it when Sukuna tries to act so tough and tries to convince himself he doesn't feel any affection for y/n, but he DOES care and he DOES fall in love and AAHH I am so weak for that 😭😭

Thank you so much for sharing this with me 💗💗

[oceanlipgloss]

was belial’s h scene voice acted? ik that he can’t actually “speak” without jjyu but i still really hope there was a voiceover of what he was “saying” through touch >_<

Hey there, anon:) I'm sorry for the atrociously late response. I've been logged out of Tumblr and on hiatus, ongoing.

[THE UNWANTED INTRO]

To answer your question and please prepare to be disappointed, I'll say that I have no clue :P that's because, while I do swing between playing story scenes often with no audio to rarely with low audio, I always dive into H-scenes with my volume on zero. To me, that makes it more effective and easier to focus. I'm also not very interested in the 'erotic' genre of voice-acting, if you will.

Actually, the game altogether has been on mute for a loooong time now lol a bonus pro that comes with that is the option to listen to music of my own (were I in the mood to do so) as I get daily/weekly achievements done.

+fun fact: the only game I play with both BGM and voice on is Mystic Messenger; it's not merely a game to me, but one of the dearest things to my heart.

[THE SEMI-ANSWER]

Now I'll get to the subject at hand, so: if I were to use logic and give an answer, I'm inclined to assume that Belial's H-scene most likely had very little to no voice acting (i.e. the 'husky moan' part may be voiced), though it would be pretty cool if what he wrote on MC's body was voiced—as in, those were his 'thoughts' and 'intentions.'

However, it's noteworthy to mention that Belial can, in fact, talk without Jjyu, but the deal here is with how his voice sounds, something which makes apparent the reality that his vocal chords have been subjected to certain trauma. For citation: his voice is described in-game as though 'coming from a damaged pipe,' (and that description was made when he said Solomon's name before he and MC broke their contract, I believe).

He also did talk a whole lot before his H-scene (while he was in the hospital), which is a reason as to why I was confused once it was mentioned in his H-scene that MC had 'never heard him talk.' Perhaps that was meant to refer to how, since his voice is damaged, MC had never heard his 'healthy' voice.

[THE SECOND BABBLE]

Either way, PB should please forget about Panty Party for a minute and make an editing and polishing party for the writing 'cause it thirsts for needs that quite desperately, man lol

Improvement was made in the latest chapter, in Gamigin's event, and in Leraye's event despite the frightening mistakes, which of course is better than nothing, but damn...

And although I have no clue about the severity of the linguistical horrors that surely haunted (Selfie) Lucifer's prologue + story and (Uniform(?)) Leviathan's I didn't bother to read the prologues or pull for the cards and unlock the stories, I can definitely guess :P

[THE UNRELATED NOTE]

Belphegor's appearance fucks, and he hasn't even been entirely shown yet.

The double iris + pupil? The black, apparently slicked-back hair? The numerous silver piercings?

His eyes on their own are quite eye-catching horrific pun intended and unique. And the little pieces of trivia sprinkled about him in chats made me like him. He seems to be pretty strange lol

+edit: PB's latest post about him? He's likeable material for sure. I mean, the literal embodiment of sloth—who cannot be bothered to leave his room other than once in a blue moon and deals with a mass of stuff as quickly as possible before holing himself back up in his room—spends time and energy making a mask because he read a comic. So boyish and quirky. He then threatens to kill anyone who dislikes his craft. He's a cute one.

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update: Catch Up Edition! (03/11/24--03/25/24)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

03/11/24

We Ate the Dark by Mallory Pearson (6/10)

This was a book club pick, and one of our members actually knows the author! This book is drowning in figurative language. It could have been cut down significantly. I'm not one to hate on flowery language, but the vagueness and metaphors that overtook this writing often obscured what was actually happening. It crafted a very good, eerie atmosphere, but there was a lot of confusion for me. I also would've appreciated some clarification on the worldbuilding concerning the magic and who's aware of it and the relationships of the main cast; keeping track of who was kissing who was a struggle. On the positive side, there was a lot of good suspense, and I got confirmation that there will be a sequel, which makes me feel much better about the ending.

A Bargain with the Fae King by Megan Van Dyke (3/10)

The main character of this novel was so absolutely insufferable. Her entire character revolves around constantly beating herself up and blaming herself for everything...and then proceeding to never change anything and do things people actively warn her not to do. It's a bit unfortunate because there was some good romantic chemistry, but every time she and the love interest did anything, it was ruined by her inner monologue harping on about the same things over and over. Despite that, I still might have given this a 5 or so, but the love interest absolutely ruined it. He did something absolutely atrocious, the red flag of all red flags, and the main character forgives him almost instantly. Girl, run!

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn (9/10)

This was a great continuation to the Legendborn Cycle, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite young adult series. There were some issues with the pacing, specifically with random worldbuilding elements coming out of nowhere at oddly convenient times, but other than that I really have no complaints. There's a lot of amazing character work, especially considering the relationships between Bree, Nick, and Sel, and the ending was completely insane. I love that there continues to be a huge focus on the racism in the Order and that there's much more explained about the non-Order magical world.

Mated to the Monster by Sarah Spade (4/10)

This was a random choice since I just wanted a mindless paranormal romance, but it wasn't at all satisfying. I'm sorry, but if you're building up the whole book, a whole adult paranormal romance book to the main couple having sex, something that has both huge implications for their relationship and the magic surrounding it...it better fucking not be fade to black. I know it's such a small thing to get pissed at a book about, but it is such a huge part of the story, something that was supposed to be basically the climax (hah). I have absolutely no issue with fade-to-black, but maybe don't make that choice when your whole story revolves around these character eventually having sex.

03/18/24

Glint by Raven Kennedy (7/10)

It's been a while since I read Gild, but I did remember most of what happens because that book is practically a prologue. This book was pretty slow; there's a lot of worldbuilding, character relationship building, and some pretty big reveals around the main character, but there's a lot of downtime in this book. I was overall expecting a little bit more, but it was still an enjoyable read, and I'll probably continue the series.

The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland (8/10)

This is a reread from my childhood, and it was super fun to experience again. I was struck by how horrendously violent this middle grade novel is; what do you mean the children are trapped in a gladiator ring and forced to commit murder in order to survive? I think Clay is a great perspective to start from as both a more genial, everyman kind of character and as the oldest of the dragonets and someone who is implied to be their glue and rock. Peril is a truly insane character concept, but she is so interesting; I'm excited to get to her book, which I never got to read when I was younger. There's so much good worldbuilding for this age group, and I feel like most of my gripes lie in how convenient certain things are and how some characters' behavior is sort of excused.

Rising Storm by Erin Hunter (7/10)

Another reread, Rising Storm sort of reads like the space between major events. While this book culminates in the fire, which is so important and shocking, there's not really a lot of build-up, just a few lines about the forest going through a drought. Instead, there's a lot of focus on ShadowClan, Bluestar, and the looming threat of Tigerclaw, which is all stuff that truly comes into play in the fifth book. One of my favorite parts of this book is the relationship between Fireheart and Sandstorm, which is just so cute. Also, one of my favorite characters of the whole series is Cloudpaw, but I forgot how annoying he was in the early books (I say this with love).

Heaven Official's Blessing Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (9/10)

The horror that I was subjected to in this volume. As usual, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng are adorable and I'm obsessed with them, but this volume focuses a lot on the side characters, particularly Shi Qingxuan. There's a lot of really emotional stuff in this volume, getting into the pain that's always associated with this series. It's easy to see both sides, and I'm interested to see how the situation will resolve since it has a bit of an open ending in this installment. I know this was not written for volumes and instead chapter by chapter in one huge story, but there is a weird disjointedness to the latter third of the book, suddenly shifting focus from what had been going on almost the entire novel up to that point.

03/25/24

Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce (8/10)

This one is technically a reread, but this is one of the Tamora Pierce series I did not finished, having been a middle schooler who did not finish Trickster's Queen before it was due back at the library. This series is a bit tricky (get it?) when it comes to the social message since it deals very directly with settler colonialism and racism, compared to Pierce's other Tortall books which tend to focus more on feminism. I'm not going to make judgments until I finish the duology, but for now it seems pretty good for a novel from 2003. Concerning the actual story and characters, Aly is a great diversion from Pierce's usual serious, extremely determined protagonists as a more playful, casual character. I'm a huge fan of Nawat and Dove, who are my personal favorite side characters. The politics of the Copper Isles are incredibly interesting, especially since social lives play into it, and there's going to be a lot more in the next book.

Four Plays: Medea, Hippolytus, Heracles, Bacchae by Euripides (5/10)

This is an average rating over all the plays. For example, I loved Medea, but I did not enjoy Hippolytus and Bacchae was okay. There are some surprisingly funny moments in these plays for tragedies, but they don't really mesh well with a modern perspective. Very useful in terms of history and culture, but not exactly engaging and enjoyable.

Island of Shipwrecks by Lisa McMann (7/10)

I'm close to the end of this series, and I'm kind of glad. While this book does break the pattern that had been set so far, I think I'm starting to get a little bored. The characters have been stuck in a rut recently; while the worldbuilding and plot expand every book, there's very little development in the characters. I'm kind of getting sick of Alex continuing to prioritize Aaron, who killed his mentor and became a dictator. There was such an interesting thing going on with the men on the shipwreck island, especially since they are practically confirmed to be from Japan, from the real world, but most of their interaction was with Henry, not Alex or any of the other main characters.

[velvetwarfare]

anywhore after that unexpected bout of rancid sickness here’s some fun facts I forgot to do but it’s okay time’s an illusion

• Hi, I’m Dove. Like the bird. It was originally used for the ACTUAL white angelic aesthetic, but I never leave my goth aesthetic so HFHFHC it’s almost ironic now what w how I dress,,she/her, dresses androgynous or masculine when I’m not wearing dresses (rarely)

• Hobbyist voice actress (self taught), illustrator (used to go to art college), occasional singing (uhhh elementary to high school choir, vocal lessons for two years),,,I was meant to be a broadway kid but stage fright and bullying caused me to turn down every role and solo LOL

• Betty and Candle are two of my oldest OCs, with Candle being the oldest. They balance each other. One is raunchy, awful, and violent. The other is gentle, warm, and caring. Anarchy (exorcist) will adopt SOME of Betty’s qualities but not nearly as bad because I like to keep Betty as the world’s most atrocious vampire

• I’m in a weekly COS campaign, I larp, and I spar with other larpers with no swings checked. I like to work out occasionally but I’m lazy so. Still got some muscle lmao I want to be a gothic muscle mommy so bad so for now I just suffice w lifting and beating the loving shit out of people with a foam flail

• mommy dommy boots (knee high gothic platforms) are usually my go to just because I’m a SLUT for compliments. I do have my victorian shit kickers but it’s just not the same yanno. I don’t really have a certain gothic genre I kinda do it all — generic, lazy, romantic, business, vampiric, occasional punk (where the fuck is my studded jacket)

• pansexual with a heavy female lean but if you play your cards right I can easily eye emoji at others too lmao im also not really a sexual person but again play your cards right and that’s your problem now honey lmfao

• I have severe anxiety and depression ✨ but once I’m comfortable I tend to drop filter and talk more, will be willing to call a lot, social battery won’t run out as easily — the dove premium package

[haleigh-sloth]

What about Dabi and Hawks? Would you say their characters/arcs are well done so far? And is there anything Hori could do to Shigaraki and Toga's character arcs that would make you feel like he "ruined" them to you?

Touya yes, I would place him in the Endeavor pile for this question. Lots of layers to peel back. So much nuance that you miss if you only pay attention to what he says and don't take any external factors into account (cultural context to be precise). I do think he's consistent also, but I think I don't put him in the top contenders simply because it takes so long to get to his actual development. I do believe it was intentional that his character development come much later but in comparison to characters who've had the entire manga to develop, like Endeavor and Shouto and Bakugo, it's harder to compare him to them imo.

Hawks....yes I think he's done well. His characterization stands solid. My issue with his arc is just the pacing. I feel like the pacing will only feel right once I do a full read-through with no stops and I can see it all linearly. I think as a weekly (or really bi-weekly) serialization the pacing of his arc is atrocious. However I think the pacing is *actually* fine, just doesn't work well with how it's released.

But yeah both solid characters. I think Touya is one of the best in the manga also. Idk where I'd rank him because I haven't thought about that really beyond Tomura and Toga, but I'd definitely place him in the category of "The author is showing his skills and potential with this character." Tbh by the end I will probably say the same thing about Hawks because with the recent developments, I feel like Hori is cooking up something tasty with Hawks.

[anthroparis]

can I rag on this influencer I found. I immediately disliked her because of my extreme hatred of danish people but besides that, she did have this atrocious "wealthy person praising living naturally when she does absolutely nothing but enforce some weird colonial bullshit" energy about her

AND I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. this place they live in- "la ecovilla"- is literally like a rich person commune. not a town, not a city in costa rica. it's a closed off space full of other rich international families. for whatever reason they do not list prices on their site, but I found this elsewhere:

ONE MILLION ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. AND THIS IS ONE OF THE SMALLER ONES!

she's also stated that they live on one income and the provider exclusively works online... okay

this place has a huge pool, yoga classes, sports areas, etc. they get local produce delivered weekly. these are megamansions with wifi and full kitchens. you are not living "off the grid" or "with nature" and you're definitely not integrating with the local culture. YOU LIVE IN A RESORT. IT'S A RESORT. you are the most privileged person on planet earth.

I really liked this comment:

cause yeah let's be real, people who were actually born in costa rica are likely not affording million dollar mansions that are cut off from life outside their little jonestown operation.

anyway this isn't a callout. idc. but it bothers me. it's got such a weird colonizer edge to it, which I obviously don't know the full scope of because I'm a white person living in the united states and writing this in a language that is not native to this place. but I also think it's pretty well agreed upon that most non-natives living in america do not have the choice to leave. most of us live in poverty, do not have passports, or are ineligible to work or live overseas. we cannot leave here, even if we wanted to.

THESE PEOPLE DO. these rich people from foreign countries can live literally anywhere they want to.

and moving to places that you're not from is not inherently bad but gloating about "escaping the matrix" or whatever the fuck while you live on a resort that's completely cut off from the real world is not escaping anything. baby you ARE the matrix. especially in a country that's seen rising poverty and inequality in the past few years as the cost of living increases.

obviously this is not the case for everyone. I am no expert on this, and I'm not saying this from a place of self-righteousness cause the US deals with similar ignorance of poverty (do not even get me started on the narrative around big cities right now).

the point of this is more that I hate rich people. I hate it when people go to a place that is struggling, no matter where it is, and use the same kind of dumb ass "wahh I'm one with nature now!!!" bullshit while living in a gated community. I would bet that the people living there do minimal amounts of labor to grow their food. they are literally on vacation.

again, one million dollars. ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

[dangerously-human]

for the writing asks, 1, 6, 10, 31, 92 :)

1. do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?

I usually have an approximate skeleton outline before I start a story, yeah. A story might surprise me with the details of the ending it requests of me, but I know where it's going at a high level, at least.

2. do you have any kind of consistent writing schedule or just hoping for the best?

LMAO, bestie, even *I* have no idea when anything's getting an update, ever! I live entirely at the mercy of the muse and my real-life schedule. There was a glorious time in my Continuum days when Fridays were pretty consistently writing nights, which is how I was able to post almost weekly updates for A Thousand Reasons. That routine has shown no signs of reappearing; although I do tend to get the most writing done on Friday nights, it's nowhere near a regular schedule.

3. at what point in the process do you come up with titles, and how easy or hard is that for you?

Usually dead last, with the possible exception of tags, as I'm just about to post and AO3 helpfully reminds me I can't in fact post a fic sans title. It's an atrociously difficult process, although I do kind of like the challenge sometimes. There are other fics that come into being already titled before I start actually writing them (Those Binary Stars was a particularly serendipitous example), or stories that are written specifically because I think of a neat title (A Thousand Shards of Glass might have been one of those, if memory serves), and those are an absolute blessing.

4. tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

Hrrrgh so there are MANY, but in the spirit of choosing an answer I haven't given a dozen times lately, I'm going with Joan Thursday this time. I spent SO much time trying to understand her and her decisions, partly just as the experience being so deeply invested in Endeavour, but even more so for writing Those Binary Stars, and it's paid off in that I am now the world's foremost expert on Joan Thursday I have her voice and motivations down well enough that writing her comes pretty naturally. She's complex and good-hearted and intense, and I like her so freaking much.

5. first, second, or third person?

My default is third person, present tense. I only vary that if there's a compelling reason to do so, e.g. I've written some Grishaverse fic in first person if it's from Alina's POV, because that's how the books are written. Eventually I'd like to try something in second person as a writing exercise, though.

[wishheroes]

Weekly K-pop Round-Up (20240523-20240531) pt.1

hello and welcome to another weekly round-up! today we will be reviewing k-music releases from the last week of may which happens to be may 23rd until may 31st! due to this week being longer as it's the last week and there being a lot of new releases, i will skip some that i don't have many thoughts on. hope you enjoy!

MONA LISA - Soojin

this song is great! this release suits soojin way more than agassy did, although both are great fits for her. the sound this song has really takes me back to 3rd/4th gen which i absolutely love. the instrumental is well made, and there's a summer vibe to it which makes it a nice song to listen to in the summer season. another thing to mention is the music video, it's absolutely fantastic. the visuals, the set, the effects, i loved everything. and it looks very high quality too. such an amazing comeback from soojin.

ERROR 405 - JD1

this is a bit funny, but this song genuinely made me emotional. mainly because it reminds me SO much of dkz, and i have a strong emotional attachment to them. moving on though, as you can probably guess i enjoyed this song a lot. it's really fun and i can definitely imagine myself listening to this a lot. the music video is also fun. honestly the best way to describe this song is, well, fun! if you enjoyed this release i wholeheartedly recommend you to listen to also check out some older dkz songs like universe, all i need is you or crazy night.

Be Ur Girl - B-OURS

to be completely honest, this just sucks. the mixing sounds atrocious on this, the vocals don't match the song at all and it's all over the place! i hoped their singing would save the song but being real, it only made it somehow.. worse? i feel bad. the girls have potential, it's just the song that's terrible and they need more practice. i feel bad criticising how low quality it is because they're obviously a nugu group, but i really have nothing positive to say about this song. i liked the summer-y vibe. that's it. hopefully before their next comeback they get some vocal lessons and a better producer.

How Sweet - NewJeans

endless plagiarism allegations aside, this has to be one of their best releases to date. the beat is simple but it works so well, and their vocals mix with the instrumental perfectly. it's addictive yet easy to listen to which makes it a perfect on-loop slash re-listen track. i could probably listen to this on loop for an hour straight and not even realize it's been so long. it's a cute song. personally i'm waiting for more songs like ditto and cool with you since those were my favourite releases from them but this one is solid too.

LOST! - RM

i like this a lot! i'm not a big rm or bts fan (or at least anymore) so i haven't really listened to any of namjoon's stuff after indigo but i was pleasantly surprised with this song. it's definitely very much my type of vibe and it immediately went onto my playlist. it's such a nice song. it's one of those songs that just feels like youth to me. honestly the more i listen to the more i like this song. maybe u could even say i love it. i hope he continues this sound in future releases as well.

Armageddon - aespa

language warning for anyone who needs it.. WHAT A FUCKING COMEBACK. aespa just never disappoints this shit is SO GOOD. that music video?? insane! the song is so addictive and SO well made i'm so unwell. i have no clue if i prefer armageddon or supernova from the double titles but girl at this point does it matter both are fucking crazy. everything about this comeback screams Q U A L I T Y! imma get it done~ oh ay oh ay oh - this release was crazy good.

KING KONG - TREASURE

huge step up from the disaster that was bona bona, we have treasure with their new single titled king kong. as someone who isn't a big fan of treasure i actually enjoyed this comeback a lot. i think it feels quite reminiscent of older yg releases which might be why i like it so much. i'm especially a fan of the chorus. i love the "here we go" part so much. it suits the song so well and it's extremely addictive. it's a solid comeback! thank you for not ruining my ears this time around, treasure.

Taxi Blurr - Jay Park (ft. Natty)

okay let him cook! this guy might be terrible but oh boy does he know how to make a solid track. this song KIND OF sounds like something jongin would release, and i ult jongin, so i like this a lot. natty's feature on this song was great too, her voice fits this song extremely well and she doesn't sound out of place at all which is great because a lot of songs with features suffer from that problem. honestly i did kind of almost fall asleep while listening to this but in this case it's a good thing. everything sounds good together and everything is mixed well into each other so it's a yes from me.

Empty - CHEN

chen serving vocals as usual. beautiful ballad, as expected from an exo member. did i fall asleep? yes. but if you fall asleep to a ballad, that just means it's really fucking good. feels like a lullaby that puts me right to sleep. the instrumental is beautiful too. i'm in love with this song i feel like i could truly listen to this on hours on end.

LOOP - Yves (ft. Lil Cherry)

mother. this song is definitely one of my top 2024 releases. serving pinkpantheress realness. i mention pink a lot these days, did u guys know i'm a huge fan of her? as expected from a queer individual. anyway, this song is outstanding. perfect concept for yves, she absolutely nailed it. nothing negative to say about it at all! oh actually though, remember when i said that a lot of songs suffer from a feature that is out of place and just sounds wrong? yeah. this is one of them. lil cherry, i'm sorry, but we need you out. this is like boys a liar pt2 with ice spice except the feature is even worse. dear me. thank god the song is so good that it just can't be ruined no matter what.

click here for part two of our weekly round-up!

[wutheringheightsfilm]

idk, i always knew this but it has become really solidified in the past couple of weeks how little liberals, especially white liberals, care about other people. i'm so serious. like you sit there and claim that you care about other people, you care what happens to other people, you tout all the right slogans and claim you share all the same beliefs as radical thinkers, but the moment people tell you that voting blue does nothing and helps no one and that the democrats are just as invested in enacting oppression as republicans, you throw a tantrum.

you don't actually care about people of color, you don't care about those in the global south, you don't care about migrants, you don't care what happens to anyone other than people who might look like you and think like you because if anyone dares burst your blue bubble you scream and cry and throw up. you don't care that there's already a genocide happening at the hands of our blue president because you don't see palestinians as people. you don't see anyone who lives in the global south as people.

you would rather raise money for a slave glorifying pirate show than show support for palestinians who are getting slaughtered en masse for more than 100 days. you would rather donate to a fanfiction website than donate to those on here who risk being homeless. you would rather tell people in countries that you don't like that they should rise up against their governments but you would throw a fit if someone told you that americans need to do more than vote. you would rather pretend that you don't see biden deporting thousands and thousands of people and still keeping kids in cages because you don't care what happens to them. and for all that you guys cry about trans genocide happening if trump gets elected you don't care about trans people either, because you've likely done nothing to go against any state sanctioned violence against trans people and you sit on this website and go after trans women all day long. you cry about how you didn't know US presidents were warmongerers or bad people, meanwhile even children know that. you had the privilege to not be aware of that.

it's so hard for you, white liberal in socal, because people are telling you that voting isn't enough anymore, and you're scared because what if trump does something bad to you as if he hadn't done and enabled atrocious things against people of color for his entire tenure, as if ICE trucks weren't just picking random people off the street. it's so hard for you meanwhile palestinian children have to try and pick up the organs of the dead off the ground and lose their limbs. it's so hard for you when cubans had to make their own covid vaccines from scratch because the US sanctions and blockade on the island made it impossible for them to receive anyone else's. it's so hard for you when the people, including children, in the republic of congo die in mines and die in landslides and die trying to get the shit in your iphone. it's so hard for you when black and indigenous people in america are killed daily and weekly and the US government gleefully enables it. but it's so hard for you when someone tells you voting blue doesn't work, right?

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (04/15/24)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan (8/10)

This was a quick reread since I'm going to be reading The Summer Queen, the sequel, and I actually liked this one more the second time around! It has a sort of casual interaction with the fantastical that I love, and Aziza, Leo, and Tristan are all great characters with unique ties to each other. There are some points where I think things are just a little too convenient or rushed, but those mostly happen early on and the plot is cohesive and strong for the rest of the book.

House of Crimson Hearts by Ruby Roe (3/10, DNF @ 50%, 18+)

As I've mentioned, I was excited for this one since sapphic fantasy romances are few and far between. Unfortunately, this book was just a mess. The main characters have wildly inconsistent characterization, and it's so obvious the author wrote in certain worldbuilding elements to make them have sex without working out their issues and hatred for each other. The worldbuilding is atrocious; despite the typical vaguely historical fantasy setting descriptions and the lack of anything like lightbulbs, phones, or really any technological advancement, the final straw for me was the remote control vibrator that made its appearance halfway through. There's absolutely no effort to build a sensible setting for the story, which is barely there in the first place. The actual plot was just beginning when I DNF'd--halfway through the book! An unfortunate letdown.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang (CR, 53%)

This was another highly anticipated read of mine and, unfortunately, it's not living up to my hopes. I think a lot of flaws lay in the writing, which is clunky and over-descriptive, taking time away from character and plot developments. The worldbuilding is interesting, but it's inserted in very awkward infodumps, and a lot of the elements that caught my attention aren't being given a lot of page time.

Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross (CR, 33%)

On one hand, this is shaping up to be a brainless, fun fantasy romance, just like I thought it'd be. On the other hand, there is a place for your fandom rants, and your published novel is not it. If I wanted to read about this author's undying love for Reylo or Wolverine, I'd check out their social media. I should not have to slog through a whole chapter of the main character perusing a comic book shop so the love interest can say she's so 'quirky' and 'passionate.' It's unfortunate because the rest of the book is meeting my expectations so far.

Island of Graves by Lisa McMann (CR, 18%)

This is another book with a major pro and con. Pro: Alex instantly gave up searching for Aaron, finally letting Aaron reap the consequences of his actions. Con: Alex instantly gave up searching for Aaron, ruining the cliffhanger of the last book. If you're going to introduce a huge future plot point at the end of a book to get readers to continue your series, you can't immediately backtrack on it. This is a symptom of this series' issues as a whole, desperately trying to maintain the status quo for seven whole books, and stunting the plot and character growth in the process.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (CR, 6%)

I've barely started this one, but for now it's just sort of decent. I'm vaguely intrigued by the vampire's story, but it's also tough to get attached when a lot of the details, such as people's actual names, are missing.

[zoyaofthegardvn]

little known fact, i am a huge the walking dead fan. it's the first tv show i ever got into (i was 9 when it premiered!) and one of the very few shows i ever watched on a weekly release basis.

i remember, up until season 8 when i stopped watching, i literally had never once in over 8 years missed an episode. i was seated at 9pm every sunday evening when it released.

my whole family sat around to watch it together, but we all stopped when they killed carl because that was just unforgivable, atrocious writing that we could not look past.

we tuned in for rick grimes' last episode, and for michonne, but we never watched the show in earnest after season 8.

i did, however, tune in to the finale last night. it was a bit bittersweet, now that i have grown up so much, i had a watch party with a group of friends rather than my family being together (people have moved out, moved on).

while watching it, it was just a tad disappointing because it really wasn't the walking dead for me. the walking dead died with carl grimes.

the camera angles, the filter, the camera quality, the characters, they just aren't what i fell in love with. i miss the grain, the hazy look, the lowkey-ness of it, the tight knit cast of characters. i miss the original opening credits. i miss rick grimes more than anything.

but, nevertheless, i was actually really impressed with the series finale. i cried. A LOT. the performances, specifically from connie, kelly, magna, yumiko, and luke in that first act of the episode... wow. i was a puddle of tears. i hardly knew those characters, but the walking dead has a phenomenal, talented cast.

and rosita, my love :( full on sobbing mess. she deserved better. she deserved to live forever with her baby girl that she fought so hard for. she deserved to go swimming, in the summer, with her bestie, eugene. a beautiful, powerful performance from christian serratos. rosita espinosa is a walking dead icon, one of its best characters. she deserved to make it to the end. that was a raw, heartbreaking end to her story.

and i dont know if i can put my love and emotions during that very final scene into words. rick grimes, my beloved. one of my all time favorite characters, the first character i ever stanned, a character i will always hold so close to my heart. you cannot have the walking dead without rick grimes.

i was convinced that neither rick or michonne would make an appearance. i should have known that andrew and danai wouldn't let the show end without one more epic scene.

i screamed, burst into even more tears, and had the body high of a lifetime when i got to see rick grimes on my screen again.

perfect ending to the finale, perfect final monologue, pitched in from the entire cast, finished by michonne and rick. the beautiful montage of all the past, iconic characters. the nods to all who built the walking dead and made it as incredible as it was. seeing glenn, carl, beth, hershel, and tara grace my screen again... it was a beautiful final few minutes to a show i will always, always, always love.

rick grimes has, what i consider to be, the most epic, intense, profound character arc of all time. i've loved him since season 1, and i'll follow his path through the walking dead universe with no hesitation.

rick grimes went from believing "we are the walking dead" to believing "we're the ones who live."

rick grimes, there is no character quite like you!

thank you to andrew lincoln for his flawless portrayal of one of the most badass main characters to ever exist in television history.

the walking dead changed, for the worse. but, that finale was truly a love letter to what it used to be. it was incredible. im so sad it's over, that it couldn't end during its peak, but i cannot wait to see rick grimes and michonne grimes back on my screen, next year.