#tried to capture his character but idk how well i did lol

[smilesrobotlover]

Ok that’s it. I’m just gonna scream about echoes of wisdom:

First off, this game is amazing. Like I’m so impressed with it and had a blast with it. I’m very impressed with how fun the gameplay was. I was nervous that it wasn’t gonna be fun, but no it was actually tons of fun! It’s not perfect ofc. I wish you didn’t have to sit and scroll through hundreds of echoes, I wish they separated monsters and objects to make each one easier to grab, and the amount of times I pressed the sword button instead of the echo button was insane. Fighting enemies is also a pain since it takes so long, and I wished I could just directly fight them, and it’s super easy to soft lock yourself as well. But all those negatives don’t outweigh the positives, because regardless of those flaws, it was still VERY fun to play through. Once you get powerful monsters, fighting is kinda fun to watch. I loved placing like, 7 fire octos against one ice octo and just watch it get destroyed. I loved setting things on fire, I loved climbing on trees, and overall I just, loved finding ways to solve puzzles. Thinking outside the box was a lot of fun in this game. Now, in some places like the Faron temple, it wasn’t fun BUT, still. I loved it

And the story, omg. This is the first Zelda game that I’ve played since becoming a fan that has a new link and Zelda in a new Hyrule, and it was so refreshing to see! I’ve seen the same ones for years now since joining the fandom and I love seeing new ones! I love how Zelda doesn’t know Link at all, that he’s just some swordsman who saved her. I just love what they did with Link in general. He wasn’t reduced to a damsel in distress, he had his own adventure, we just didn’t see it. He was competent and was fighting In the rift before Null captured him. Fighting along side him was SO fun and the final dungeon was very unique and fun to go through. I also loved fighting as him in the very beginning. They gave him an interesting backstory and I almost wish we got to see his adventure! But oh well, this game is about Zelda anyways :)

And Zelda is fun too, I love all the characters that know her. They were all so competent and didn’t actually sit around like a bunch of idiots. I wish Zelda wasn’t a silent protagonist though, but idk how else they would’ve done it. Oh well.

And I didn’t like Tri in the beginning but they really grew on me towards the end. They were very bland but some personality came out as we progressed further into the story, and I laughed out loud at some of the things they said lol.

But let me talk about my fav part of the game: Null.

I cant tell you how much I love the concept of Null. The idea of some creature that is the embodiment of nothingness that has been there since before the creation of the world is SO FREAKING COOL. It’s nice having a story where Ganon isn’t the big bad, it’s this ancient being that is powerful and very dangerous. Far more dangerous than Demise. And it doesn’t contradict the established lore? Like this makes a lot of sense that Null was imprisoned in the world, but was creating rifts because they wanted to go back to nothingness. It’s spooky to think that they were there the whole time, just trying to escape.

Though it does make me wonder about the timeline. My guess is that this game takes place before or after botw/totk with hebra mountain existing and things generally being in the same spot (except death mountain, but volcanoes move anyways right?). And no one knows what the Triforce actually is, which is also very interesting. It’s an ancient power that’s not well known which is very cool, and I LOVED seeing it again! Having them discover the primal energy being the Triforce was so freaking cool, and the legend of the princess (or priestess) and the hero defeating evil was cool, but it does make me wonder where it is in time.

But yeah, all in all, I loved this game. It was incredible and so much fun with amazing characters and great lore that expanded on the universe. Very very neat.

But I’m giving it a 2/10 cuz Linebeck wasn’t in it

[greasegotahold]

This post started out with a point then turned into rambling abt the stage show lol

So like. at least in my irl circle and from what I heard yesterday, a lot of ppl prefer the musical to the movie. Acknowledging the bias of theatre ppl toward theatre, that's not the reason I heard most; what I heard most is that the musical stays closer to the book than the movie. Granted idk how many if any of these ppl have seen the complete novel extended cut of the movie, but even so this argument sits wonky with me

Bc the musical takes quite a few departures from the book, some p dramatic. Darry is not the gang's leader, Dally is. Randy is an ensemble part with one line; Cherry gets his ending "even if you win, nothing will change" moment. Sandy is already gone. Evie and Sylvia are gone. Steve is not a big part of Soda's life. Two Bit isn't acknowledged as an alcoholic. Johnny was only jumped a week ago, and it's not a secret who did it. Bob is the one who jumps Pony at the start and even comes up with an excuse for it. Dally doesn't give Johnny his heater, Dally commits a far more direct suicide, no sickness or court proceedings, so on and so forth.

Now I understand why we made just about all of these changes: the show is just about 2 hours as is, not counting intermission; streamlining needed to happen, for time and for clarity of storyline. I even prefer a lot of the changes (Cherry is just. Such a livelier character lmao. She's given stuff to DO. I love her in the book and movie but the stuff they added in the musical I simply love.) I bring this up just bc it. Is honestly just as different as the movie if not more so in how it departs from the source material.

Which means when ppl are saying it's closer to the book, they mean in feel.

And in many avenues; talking about the the extreme accessibility of the book as an adult with other adults, attempting to articulate my issues with the film adaptation, and then later attempting to defend the movie on those same shortcomings, I think I know why.

It's the ever-present narration. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Ponyboy tells his story, he doesn't show. And that makes the book an extremely straightforward read, and absolutely how he can tell us so much shit that happened in so little time, but it also makes it hard to capture in a standard movie adaptation, especially when the movie also needs to trim down and streamline characters and plot points.

But what does Pony do throughout the musical? He narrates. Yes the story plays out real time, but it's still interspersed with these slowdowns where he talks to the audience, where he's narrating.

And I think that's what's really clicking so well with the musical, despite all the changes to characters and their dynamics and plot beats.

And for certain things, the impact is still there, they just changed it around. Johnny was jumped last week instead of months ago and we don't get the excerpt abt how he wound up buying his first blade, and how he would kill the next soc who tried to jump him, and Dally no longer gives him his gun, but he does give him the 6 inch switchblade when Johnny is genuinely worried his dad will kill his mom, and then shows him how to stab to kill. The circumstances are different, but we still get Dally giving Johnny a lethal weapon. The motivation changes for why Johnny carries his blade, from self defense to an explicit want to protect others, but this makes it a more direct setup for when he kills Bob to save Pony.

And a lot of the straight up original additions to the plot feel seamless. The added backstory for Cherry's parents, her dad's alcoholism and her mom's kind of just. Surrender to hopelessness and despair. Not only explains why she's so touchy about Bob drinking, but it makes the change from going along with him to stop a fight into her refusing to back down after breaking up feel justified. To be clear, I don't fault book and movie cherry for doing what she does in that scene, she's trying to keep everyone else safe, I just think that the change was set up and well executed in the musical.

Also sidenote but in Justice For Tulsa...I have so many feelings after getting to see it. The cop shining his flashlight down on Two Bit as he gets jumped, but then he just keeps on walking bc why would he care abt a greaser...Bev buying right into the boys' escalation against the greasers vs Cherry's outright rebuke and then Marcia is over here looking genuinely Physically nauseous over having to choose a side. And of course the moment where the cop beats Dally after handcuffing him, that speaks for itself.

(Sidenote, unrelated to anything, I just wanna say when I listened to the soundtrack for the first time, years since I had read the book or watched the movie, somehow I just knew when the soc boys started singing their threatening section, that they were jumping two bit. I guess I just had a faint buried memory that Two Bit was the revenge-jumping victim lol)

[corvidares]

thoughts and feelings about fnaf: into the pit

(spoilers! talk of endings!)

so, while i enjoyed playing this game a lot, i am left feeling dissatisfied in a lot of ways, mostly in relation to what the hell just happened

on the side of things i LIKED:

the pixel style!!! good god this feels so perfect for fnaf. obviously we've always had the minigames in the retro style, and while fnaf has had a fine enough "look" for years, i really hope to see more stylization like this. the pixel art and animations are beautiful and full of character

there's a lot of visual detail, both in the sense of easter eggs (of course) and background clutter. fnaf games are always good at having gross settings, and this definitely does that. even the cloud of dust that pops up every time you jump in the ball pit is yucky, lmao

speaking of details, the sound design is also VERY good. it conveys a lot of what is not seen; the closer you get to a kid thats been captured by spring trap (pit trap? guys idk what to call him) the more you hear their cries and whimpers. of course, as always, sound is a part of the gameplay too, helping you know if spring trap is close and that you need to hide

the writing in terms of dialogue and such is good! i like that oswald is.. well, he's kinda dumb. rightfully so, for a kid! he does things that arent always logical, it takes him a hot minute to figure out that hes in the past, etc

its also genuinely distressing and sad to see him suffering, to see him try to tell his mom that something is deeply wrong, only to be brushed aside because (presumably) the possession magic is invisible to adults. to see his trauma get worse and worse as the days pass; nightmares, visions, straight up sleeping through his school day because he's been up all night! even his idle sprites are always sad and scared

the gameplay itself! the learning curve felt appropriate, i liked the strategy of using the noise makers, hiding, and the vents. fwiw i did play the "creepy" setting which is essentially easy mode. but i still died plenty, its not a complete cakewalk or anything.

the classic fnaf snark sense of humor is definitely here in this game, and i love it. the achievements? hilarious. the tips on the loading screens, jeff's entire character?? good stuff.

misc things i noticed:

for whatever reason, after night 1 i had a constant "bloody/strain" filter at the edges of my gameplay. not sure if this is like, random? game footage ive seen doesnt have it, and one even had a different filter. not sure what to make of it, it seems odd to just be a meaningless, randomized detail?

i got one glitch: after checking the cameras while the other kid is in security with me, oswald's sprite didnt reappear and i couldnt do anything. so i had to restart the game lol. not major, and i have no idea how common it is. otherwise everything was quite functional iirc

regarding the more critical side of things.. im mostly frustrated. now, i know fnaf, i know it never serves you answers on a platter. i know theres always an abundance of easter eggs and secrets (which i have tried to research, tho the game is still new). but upon finishing the game and seeing all the endings, i realized i didnt get answers about a lot of things i thought i would. for example;

where the hell is foxy??? the other core three are there and get added as enemies when you progress. his stage is present and some kids at the past party mention they miss seeing him. but he's not on ANY of the imagery throughout the pizzeria. in fact, we don't see him at all. if i didnt know who foxy was, i would only know his name. the only exception might be some empty masks in the backgrounds, but honestly i doubt it. this seems.. really strange to me. ill elaborate later

why did spring trap tie up oswald's dad? what was he going to do to him? did.. did anyone even die? oswald rescues everyone!

this is probably silly and i acknowledge that. but what was up with the giant spider jump scares..... i assumed itd be a new enemy or something but nah. THAT SPIDER WAS TOO BIG. WHY

what was oz's dad doing this whole time? was he trying to escape at some point? why is his shit all over the resturant?

onto just general critiques:

the gameplay did get a bit formulaic and sometimes fetch quests felt repetitive and/or like busy work. like why did i have to get five different sets of keys. bruh

the story has a lot of plotholes. and again, this is fnaf, these games have always looked like swiss goddamn cheese. but i can still be frustrated about it

for example, how is time passing in the past versus the present? IS it passing if we're not there? how do we affect the past? why does no one in the present acknowledge what happened here?? did spring trap get caught in this timeline? did anyone die? was oswald always a part of these events or did he change the timeline? this is presumably the first four/five murders, but a lot doesnt add up. is there a timeline where oz is one of the murdered kids? in the bad ending, he gets possessed, but not stuffed in a suit.

how does spring trap's possession even work? back then he was still alive and perfectly mortal... right? but then again, he supposedly strangles himself in the end, then leaps back to life to kill jeff? huh???

why is spring trap so animalistic? he doesnt seem human, and his eyes glow, which i dont think is something that suit can do (though i could definitely be remembering wrong)

speaking of which, i dont think the og four's eyes glow either, but they do in this game.

the "true good" ending does not make any fucking sense, first of all. second of all, considering the amount of work one would have to do to get it, it is extremely minimal. if i had done all that and only gotten a slight dialogue change as well as a "yay happy eating pizza at jeff's" scene i wouldve been PISSED.

also, speaking of not making sense, im sorry but oswald's lie to his dad about what happened is so obviously not true. why does he not question this at ALL? ESPECIALLY considering he has a fucking CHUNK OF HIS ARM BITTEN OFF. we see in jeff's ending that that shit bled a fucking lot! was his dad too concussed to call him on the obvious lie of "you fell and hit your head". and if he was, he would OBVIOUSLY NOTICE LATER THAT FIVE DAYS HAVE PASSED. AND THAT SOMEONE WAS WALKING AROUND PRETENDING TO BE HIM. WHAT (and dont say "oh he thinks he just lost his memory of those days" YOU DO NOT LOSE HUGE CHUNKS OF MEMORY UNLESS THERE IS MAJOR BRAIN DAMAGE OR TRAUMA. UH UH)

while talking to my gf, we came up with a couple theories.

one, she thinks its likely this game had more planned. and i agree - the missing presence of foxy is the biggest indicator, in my opinion, but theres other things too. for example, despite the fact that we're never able to enter the library or mill, both places have a map that can be pulled up when you press the map button outside those buildings.

the mill, especially, obviously has a ton of animatronic parts in the trash, and we all know that can be important... it seems to be too big a thing to be a simple easter egg, but what do i know.

another thing that feels way too big to be an easter egg is gabrielle; the girl who gives you a notebook with information about the animatronics (not foxy :( ) that provides hints for later. she mentions that her grandfather was a technician that worked with them back in the day. he never talks about it now though (the ONE acknowledgement we get in the present that bad shit went down!!!)

like.. is this henry? someone else? SURELY that is not a random guy. but it's a one and done interaction. i thought, when meeting her, that she would become a friend and ally, that we'd be able to learn more. the writing seemed to slant that way, but no. we're never able to talk to her again afaik

all this lends itself to the idea that the game was pushed. i can perfectly picture, like a year ago, someone telling the team "fnaf 10th anniversary is august 2024, get it out for then" and them having to cut stuff they had planned (but perhaps not developed, as afaik there are not missing assets showing foxy or the other things mentioned)

which is obviously a shame, and if thats the case i of course commend the team! this is a great game, especially if it was rushed. but this is becoming a pattern with fnaf games, and considering this is such a big successful franchise, that should not be the case.

anyway! overall, i truly did enjoy playing into the pit, and im very glad it was my first experience playing a fnaf game myself rather than watching a playthrough. and there are secrets that seem to be deliberately cliffhangers, in true fnaf game fashion. such as the photo that stuns spring trap, or the minigames.

[yeahiwasintheshit]

i watched 'Gummo" last tonight and as i was watching it i vaguely remember why i hadnt seen it before, cause a friend back in college said that its "art school garbage", and as someone who helped a lot of film majors on their films and sat thru A LOT of art school garbage while in school, i didnt need to see that lol. all these years later, watching it now, its certainly more than just art school garbage, but ehhhhh not THAT much more. its very of its time, in that it felt very 90s... and not even in terms of what people are wearing... styles of clothes or whatever, but in the look of the film, like the shaky camera, fast editing, cameras it was shot with... like one scene is in 35mm, another its 8mm, another is video or theyre shooting a tv playing a scene... it felt very mtv music video in that way. but it was of its time, so i dont really fault it that much for that.

i do think there is something there, tho, that elevates it to something more interesting than typical crappy art school garbage. before i started watching it, i tried to think of what i did know about it, and all i could think of was the poster, the kid eating spaghetti, the kid with rabbit ears, chloe, and the girl creepily shaving her eyebrows. and even only knowing that, that pretty much kinda sums up the whole movie. gummo is experimental and non-linear with no real plot. its just kind of a bunch of scenes of these mostly young people in this town... not even sure id say its a character study either, cause there are no arcs to any of them really. it really is just scenes of all these very poor people. id say the dialogue is effective and rings true to these people. like it all felt very naturalistic. but just one scene after another. they could have jumbled up the scenes in almost any order and it wouldnt have mattered.

so at the beginning, the narrator comes on and says that this town, xenia, ohio was hit by a tornado where alot of people died many years earlier, and now these people have been surviving in this desolate town. then we meet the 2 protagonists, and theyre almost immediately about to kill a cat. what doesnt work for me is the director, harmony korine, trying to be shocking. like i get trying to establish how fucked up these kids lives are now, and that them killing small animals for money, and sport, is not a big deal to them, that they dont have morals or conscience, but its sort of the way it was shot and constantly going back to a dead cat, like close-ups of it hanging with its tongue out, it just said to me, "oh look at me, im a shocking young director, look at me, look how punk and shocking i can make this movie". its kinda juvenile and.. yes well... kinda art school-ish.

also its kinda exploitative, just to be shocking. like the 2 main kids go to this guys house to pay for sex with, idk if its his sister or who, but they pay him and one by one they go in, and then you discover the girl who is being prostituted out is a girl with down syndrome, and its almost kinda played as a joke, cause they put some homer simpsons shotgun whore make up on this poor girl. idk... it just feltl like a joke and not real to the scene... not that these horrible people in this town wouldnt take advantage of vulnerable people for their own gain, but idk, its the way it was shot, and almost the reveal of the fact that she was someone with disabilities, was a joke or exploitative or something. like i dont think id be opposed to using someone with downs in a scene like this JUST BECAUSE they have downs, but just the way THEY filmed THIS scene or edited or presented did not work for me. all it said was "wow look its downs syndrome girl" and nothing more than that.

what did work is that most of movie felt very real, almost documentary in how it captured these people, and also just how viscerally gross looking everything looked. like really truly disgusting. all these people are wearing rags, and have greasy hair and sweaty faces and the houses are in shambles, some like clearly hoarder houses. the one scene that was prob the grossest for me, (and it wasnt the scene of the kid eating spaghetti in the bathtub, cause eventho i think that scene is synonymous with the movie, the bathtub water was like fake dirty looking or something. it looked like it was colored greenish brown, and it just really didnt feel as real as the rest of the sets in the movie. like as im watching i was thinking did they dye the water with a green brown dye? it was sort of jarring and kinda took me out of the scene a bit.) but actually the one scene that really felt like it was an encapsulation of the whole movie, was (in the gif above) of this little boy, maybe 5-6-7 yrs old and hes barefoot in this disgusting, clearly hoarder house standing on this pile of garbage, and hes next to a wall and jiggles like a painting or framed art on the wall and you just see this one cockroach just scurry out along the wall, but then right next to it is a framed photo of this family all sitting together in like a sears portrait, but the kid grabs the photo off the wall and you just see dozens of cockroaches just all scurrying off into all different directions, and i felt a little queasy. it was kind of the most real scene in the whole movie. the kid then climbs down off the pile and you see the 2 young protagonists on the couch sitting next to a girl and all 3 are huffing glue out of a paper bag, and this young child just crawls into the arms of the girl, and you kinda get the impression shes maybe his mom? all of it is so depressing and gross. then the camera zooms in as the young boy is laying on this girl huffing from the bag, and you see an extreme close up of the boys legs and they are bitten up by bugs. like i dont know if that was makeup or if that was real real, but damn if it didnt really look real, and you felt sad for this kid, kinda sick to your stomach. it was truly maybe the most real and disgusting scene in the whole movie.

for me, that scene of the kid and cockroaches really WAS the whole point of the movie. the mess this house was in was like the aftermath of the tornado, just a complete disaster. the happy photo on the wall was all the families before the tornado, and the roaches scurrying are what was left of these poor people in this town, scared of the light and running around in all directions. idk if harmony korine planned this, but this scene in particular, out of everything seemed to sum up everything the movie was trying to say. it was gross and heartbreaking and you feel bad these people are still living this way so many years after the destruction the tornado left.

the one other kinda complimentary thought i had about how the movie was presented, was i thought the parallel of movie being just a bunch of jumbled scenes of this town that hasnt recovered from the tornado, and the tornado itself being this destructive force that jumbled up the whole town, idk maybe some kind of parallel between those 2 thing kinda worked some. not really a fully put together thought, but something i thought of.

overall it was a compelling watch, i didnt really get bored of these weird people, some scenes may have gone on a little longer than necessary, but for the most part i was always interested in seeing where it was going next. theres some highly uncomfortable scenes, some worked and some didnt. the actors were fine, you can tell some were professional and some the director prob just found, but for the most part no one stuck out as inauthentic to where the movie was set. there was also a lot of shaky cam which a couple times i had to look away cause it was making me feel dizzy. but the movie looked pretty good, naturalistic for the most part, that felt appropriate for the scenes. i never picked up my phone, so i was never bored. not sure if id watch again, but maybe. i didnt love it, i didnt hate it. its kinda hard to say i didnt feel anything for it, cause it was shocking and gross and disgusting in many parts, but it kinda felt like it was shocking for shocking sake, with no real reason other than "look at me i made a shocking movie". worth watching i suppose if something like this sounds like something youd maybe appreciate.

[lunosou]

Aren't I mean~? (Ensemble Stars!!)

Summary: No matter how hard you try to be mean, you just can't. But what would the Enstars characters think of your behaviour? Will they find it amusing? Will they help you and give you tips? What's their reaction to you miserably failing at being mean?

A/N: Hello! My friend told me about this idea she got. She was inspired by Luca Kaneshiro's stream where he'd basically call a few friends and tried to be mean to them and kind of failing at doing so.

This can be read as platonic or romantic!

Reader is gender neutral!

I didn't want to write for all the characters 😅 So since my friend decided to give me this idea, I'll write this for her favorite characters (+ Nagisa because he's my favorite character and I refuse to not include him)

Characters: Nagisa Ran, Ritsu Sakuma, Mika Kagehira, Sengoku Shinobu, Jun Sazanami

Warnings: Swearing/Cursing

Sorry if Jun's was short idk what to say for him lol

Just to clarify! You are not Anzu/the producer! Just pretend you're part of another unit. What unit, you may ask? Just make up any unit you want lol

Well, well. You headed towards Nagisa. What were you doing to do? Well, you're going to try to be mean of course! Your unitmate (or friend if you don't have a unitmate like Madara for MaM) decided to tell you that you're not scary and that you can't be mean to someone to save your life! You don't think so. You need to prove them wrong! So what do you do? Well as bad as you may feel, the first person that comes to mind is Nagisa. So you're going to do the "mean" on him.

(Don't commit the mean people)

Oh! You spotted Nagisa reading! Better go over to him.

"Nagisa!" You yelled to capture his attention. He looked up from his book. "Y/n? Hello. Is there something you needed?" He asked you. "Uh... let's see..." you began searching your mind for any insults you can come up with. Alas, you finally found something to say!

"You—uh—you! You're—You're a gerbil!" You yelled. You had said something without even processing what you had just said. Nagisa tilts his head to the side a bit and asks, "A gerbil?"

Nagisa gives you a confused look. Oh no. Did you mess up? Was it too mean? Well, not by the chuckle that he gives you, I don't think! "What do you mean by that Y/n?" He asks you. Your brain starts short-circuiting.

"Uh—well... you're adorable?—wait no. Uh, forget that!" There was no recovering from that embarassing experience. Nagisa chuckles once more. "Thank you, Y/n." Nagisa pats you on the head.

"No! Wait! I have something else to say!" You exclaimed. Nagisa watched as you tried to think of any more "mean" things you could've said to him. "I won't trust you with my pet rock!" You exclaimed.

...

"What?" Nagisa chuckles. "You have a pet rock? Can I see it?" He asked. Uh... do you have a pet rock? Welp better go find one because Nagisa wants to see!

You can hear your unitmate/friend laugh at you from a distance. You groaned in frustration. "Sorry Nagisa. Uh—I'll see you later!" You exclaimed, running away from whatever that was. Leaving behind a confused and amused Nagisa.

"Ah yes, you were sooooo mean." Your friend/unitmate taunted you. "Shut up." You pouted. Unbeknownst to you, Nagisa wasn't reading anymore and was chuckling at your miserable attempt to be mean. He thought it was cute.

Ritsu was sleeping on some grass. You figured that this was a good time to see his reaction if you were mean to him. Of course, you won't go too far... you hope.

You snuck up on him and started to nudge him awake. "Hnn... Y/n?" Ritsu yawned. "I have something to say to you!" You announced to him. "Yes...?" Ritsu questioned.

"I—Uh—I hate you! I won't talk to you again!" You exclaimed to his face. He stared at you sleepily. "Oh no... what did I do?" Ritsu feigned being hurt. "I must be a really awful person to be around, huh?" Ritsu pretended to cry.

"W-Wait! No! Wait! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" You exlaimed. He quirked a brow. "Wha—uh... I mean go ahead and cry! I don't care! Hmph!" You said. "I guess I really did make you hate me..." Ritsu pretended to cry once more.

At this point you two were just going at it. You trying to be mean while Ritsu was very unimpressed with your shenanigans, but decided to play along anyway.

"Ah... FORGET THIS! I'm so confused..." You sighed. Ritsu laughs at you. "I guess you can't even be mean to save your life." He flicked your forhead.

"No no! I can be mean! It's just... uh.. I just don't want to be mean to you!" You tried to come up with an excuse. "Listen, Y/n. You might need someone to help you with your little stunt... maybe I can teach you a few things." Ritsu yawned.

You were about to say "Really?" when you looked at him and saw him fast asleep. You decided to back out for now and find a new way to bother Ritsu.

One day... one of these days you'll get him back for always teasing you! Mark your words! You'll just need to find some reinforcement!

Mika, Mika, Mika...

Poor boy. You didn't have a choice. He was right there. And unknowing of what you're planning. He walked up to you.

"Y/n!" He waved at you. You looked at him and internally went "Oh no". You didn't want to be mean to poor Mika. But you didn't have a choice. You inhaled deeply and decided. Okay, you'll try it.

"Mika... I've thought about this for a while..." You started. Mika looks confused. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

"Mika, you're a loser." You said. "What? Y/n?" Mika said, "Yer not normally like this... are ya okay?" Mika asked you. You feel really bad! But you have to keep the facade up just for a bit longer.

"Did ya jus' call me a loser? That's kind of mean Y/n..." Mika looks down. You feel really bad now! "Ngahh..." Oh no. Not the sad Mika noises.

"Yeah! I-I don't care!" You huffed. "Yer usually so nice.. what happened to you?" Mika asks, "Did ya get possessed by a spirit or somethin'?!" Mika concludes. "N-no? What do you mean I'm always like this!" You said.

"I won' let the spirit possess ya Y/n!" Mika exclaimed. Oh god what direction has this conversation gotten to. Is Mika going to attempt to exorcise you?! What's going on?!

"Mika! No! I'm not possessed!" You exclaimed. He doesn't look like he believed you. Are you doing any better than that time where Ritsu pretended to be dead and Mika attempted to bury him?

"Ngahh... I don' understand what's going on... did I do somethin' wrong to make ya mad?" He asked you. "No... it's alright Mika, forget what just happened! Everything's alright!" You comforted him.

Now he's REALLY confused. You're suddenly back to normal? What's going on? Why were you being mean to him?

Lesson learned. You don't wanna be mean to him. Unless you want to get unprofessionally exorcised by Mika Kagehira.

Boi's still confused on wtf just happened

OH NO. DO NOT BE MEAN TO POOR NINJA BOI. HE'LL ACTUALLY TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY EVEN THO EVERYONE AROUND HIM KNOWS THAT YOU SUCK AT TRYING TO BE MEAN.

"Shinobu." You tugged his sleeve. He looks at you joyfully. "Y/n-dono!" He exclaimed. You feel bad for what you're about to do. "Ah! Y/n! Did you need help with something!" Chiaki exclaimed. The rest of Ryuseitai's here so it wouldn't be too much trouble, right?

"Uh, you're... uh... short and uh... dumb!" You exclaimed. You didn't wtf you just said but you're going with it anyways, trying to look mean while you're at it.

"Y-You think so?" Shinobu began sniffling. Kanata is going to kill you, well he would if he didn't know that you were trying to actually upset Shinobu. Kanata can laugh at your attempt tho. Midori on the other hand, just looked at you with the most dead inside look ever. He's probably thinking, "Shinobu really fell for that, huh?"

"Y-Yeah! Ninjas are—uh—like cheese! They crumble easily?" You can hear Midori face-palming in the background. Shinobu has tears in his eyes now. Crap.

"Uh... Shinobu?" You nudged him. "That was the worst attempt at trying to be mean." Midori exhaled. "FU HA HA HA HA! If you wanted to be a villain you could've said so! That was a really good attempt! Shinobu found it quite convincing!" Oh god.

"Oh... I thought you were being serious de gozaru." Shinobu looks at you, wiping his tears. "You did really good Y/n-dono! I honestly believed you de gozaru!" Shinobu says, clapping.

They thought you weren't being serious. Were you really that obviously bad? "We can give you a few tips! I can give you some examples of villains I've seen on tokusatsus!" Chiaki exclaimed, patting you on the back.

"If you're trying to be a villain, then you'll be a perfect counterpart for Ryuseitai!" Tetora exclaimed. "I'll help you become a better villain de gozaru!" Shinobu seems to really support you. This isn't how this was supposed to go.

Congratulations! Now Ryuseitai is hyping you up for your next victim! What has this become? Ryuseitai's own tokusatsu where you're the villain?!?!

You kinda don't wanna do this. Not going to lie.

But hey, here we are anyways.

You tried of thinking of some insults before you approach him.

"Hey... uh... bitch!" You exclaimed, almost laughing at yourself for saying that.

...

"What?" He quirked a brow at you. "Did you just call me a bitch?" He slightly laughed. Uh... okay. "What the hell is going on." He asked.

"Uh... you're not pleasant to be around?" You said. Yeah i think you lost Jun. He started laughing. "You call be a bitch and now this?" He started laughing.

"I'm really mean! Say I'm mean!" You gave up at this point 💀💀

"Yeah... uh... thanks but no. I have other stuff to do. Thanks for the, uh, whatever that was." He waved at you and walked off.

"He didn't even care lmao" is what you heard your unitmate/friend say in the distance. You sighed, you should be more prepared next time... a script maybe?

Later that day you got a text from Jun that just said "bitch"

©lunosou

[Without my permission do not: repost, translate, or use my work for your personal benefits/purposes]

[maplebean2003]

I went into wish by Disney with an open mind even while knowing people seem to have hated it and we all wish (haha) that the concept ideas were what they stayed with but alas here we are,anyways -

I found this movie genuinely beautiful with the mix of 3d art and 2d art it's the ONLY time I've seen it done so well as if it were concept art painted upon a canvas! It felt very much like classic Disney however it was very unmemorable and I can't see myself rewatching this

There was one song out of the whole movie that I could say I would've enjoyed hearing as a kid but now it's kinda meh

Another song slapped but not hard enough for me to want to sing it

The villain was just...super relatable and frankly I don't understand why he was seen as so bad when he had very valid reasons to be upset - did he take it too far? Absolutely

It almost feels like they forgot half way their plan with his character as I was expecting him to be MUCH worse when in reality he deserved a redemption arc

An apology even from the kingdom for abusing his powers so much and only seeing him for that alone

His song was not a villain song either it was nothing sinister or evil even so that was disappointing

The side kick goat seemed very annoying to me where they tried too hard to make him funny or even likable when he probably could've just not existed and the movie wouldn't have been changed in any way shape or form

The star was cute and I enjoyed how it was a different media form than she was but I found myself not caring if he was captured or not really as I felt I didn't get to bond with it at all in time for the ending to have any impact on me

Though that may be because I am 20 lol but I think even as a child I wouldn't have been bothered by it much

Id rate it a 3/5 but really the three only goes to the art because that's the only thing that saved this movie for me unfortunately

I wanted to like it but at least it wasn't AS bad as people made it out to be

Id say watch it once at least but I watched it in 2x speed sooo...idk lol the plot felt very simple honestly in a bad way

The characters felt human enough but just...very flat at the same time where I just couldn't connect or relate to anyone except the villain

I don't see why he got such a bad wrap when Elsa did pretty much the same thing and she got a redemption

Why's it okay for her but not this man?? Idk it was odd to me

Also Bambi was in it with John from Robin Hood in the background which I actually thought was super cute :)) Bambi is all grown now!

Anyways I'd watch for the art but nothing else

My hopes weren't high to begin with so I wasn't really let down by it

It surprised me twice at least with certain twists and one instance of actually evil action being taken where the king shatters a wish of a woman....but my shock was quickly taken away unfortunately when the wish was immediately brought back like 5 minutes later somehow which didn't make any sense to me at all :// it seemed like they just didnt want anyone to complain but I think it would've been better to depict the woman either repairing her wish with help or having a new one instead of just... immediately having it back just perfectly fine

The other scene that had my jaw drop was a surprise betrayal that I won't tell cause it genuinely surprised me as it was not hinted at in the slightest beforehand

I understand why the betrayal happened though at least so it wasn't half baked like most of the movie seemed to be

But yeah Id say 3 outta 5 or 2.5 out of 5 somewhere between those and no higher as the art was the only thing that REALLY saved it for me

Now being stingy I would've LOVED watching the original plot they had for this movie as a lil star twink guy would've been goals /gender envy to the max but alas I get why

They wanted merch to sell easily most likely so they dumbed it down and made him more marketable ;-; twink death pipeline for sure

[bloodredfeathers]

Hands

What I think the boys hands are like (in a non sexual way stfu)

Characters: Jamil Viper, Idia Shroud, Jack Howl, Trey Clover

A/N: My first fanfic/hc work that I wanna post because I've been tempted to start but idk I've just been hesitant, please enjoy and send requests if you want! Also the drabble parts kinda get longer with each character I'm sorry I couldn't control it lol 🧡

Gender neutral reader, established relationship in Jack and Trey's parts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamil Viper

Soft hands

Very gentle

Long and slim fingers

His hands have a very comfortable warmth to them, even in winter

They never get sweaty. Like...absolutely never. It's almost weird

"Jamillllll!" Yuu whined. "My hands are cold!"

"Well I told you to bring gloves," Jamil sighed. Yuu never listened, insisting that they'd be fine because "the cold never bothered them anyway!"

Yeah no, it was mid winter, and incredibly cold.

"Please! At this rate I'll get hypothermia! Or frostbite!"

Jamil rolled his eyes, taking his hands out of his pockets and encasing Yuu's hands in his own.

"There, is that better?" Jamil asked.

Yuu nodded, feeling very happy with this outcome. You see, they weren't exactly THAT cold, they just wanted an excuse to hold his hand.

Idia Shroud

Bros got cold hands lol

But it's like that comfortable cold if ykwim

His fingers are also long and thin

And he has that skin whiter than Casper The Ghost so you can see a lot of his veins

Since he's a gamer boy too, his hands tend to be a little shaky when not occupied

I just wanna hold his hand tbh I love him

Idia jumped in surprise when his bedroom door suddenly (and loudly) slammed open and in stomped Yuu, red faced and slightly sweating.

"Um..." Idia hesitated. "Are...you okay?"

"No! I am not okay!" Yuu growled in a frustrated manner. "It's hot as balls out there and Coach Vargas had us run a mile before making us play a horribly intense round of capture the flag! And of course I just HAD to be the one to go against Jack who's naturally good at everything workout related!"

"Woah, bummer," Idia had no idea how else to respond, Yuu had already been panting and sweaty when they entered his room, but now after their vent, it seemed like they could hardly breathe.

"And now I have a horrible headache and feel like I'm going to die of heat stroke!" Yuu sat on Idia's bed, looking dejected.

Idia stood from his gaming chair and grabbed a soft cloth before sitting beside Yuu.

"Idia, what are you doing?" Yuu asked a slightly red faced Idia.

"I uh..." Idia paused. "Just...just be quiet and put your head down!"

Yuu did just that, and Idia used the cloth to wipe the sweat off of the back of Yuu's neck. He then placed his hands there, feeling just how hot it was.

"Great sevens your hands are cold!" Yuu exclaimed. "But that does feel nice..."

Idia smiled, glad he was doing something right.

(Sorry that was really long I've had Idia brainrot for like two weeks-)

Jack Howl

Big hands big hands big hands-

Another man with warm hands

Sort of rough and callused to the touch

But he knows he's strong so he tries to be gentle

Still very pretty hands, like Hozier's but with thicker fingers

My dirty thoughts are taking over JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL-

"JACK!" Yuu yelled before pouncing on Jack's back, clinging like a koala. He dropped the ball he was holding to quickly secure his hands around Yuu's legs to keep them in place.

"Hey Yuu, what brings you here?" Jack crouched, and Yuu dropped to the ground.

"Nothing really," Yuu said, smiling. "It's just a really nice day so I figured you'd be out here!"

Jack's ear twitched before his tail began wagging subtly. Of course Yuu knew that, with the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze, Jack would take the advantage to be outside.

"Ah yeah," Jack said, unsure of exactly what to say. "I just thought I'd do some outdoor training while the weather's nice."

Yuu smiled and picked up the ball Jack was holding before.

"I never knew you liked rugby!" They said in wonder. Jack's ears flattened slightly in embarrassment.

"I'm not really into football," he said. "But I do like rugby. I find it fun."

Jack reached out to take the ball from Yuu, his hands brushing over theirs. He tucked the ball under his left arm as Yuu grabbed his right hand.

"You have nice hands..." Yuu said as they inspected Jack's hand, playing with his fingers and running their own over the back of his hand. Jack's ears flattened to the sides even more and he felt his face heat up, but his breaking point was when they raised his hand a bit and placed a gentle kiss on it.

He couldn't focus on anything after they said goodbye and left. He just sat in the cool grass, looking at his hand, still blushing at the thought of their lips on it.

Yuu broke him. It's his first relationship cut him some slack!

Trey Clover

He also has long slender hands and fingers

And his can range between being warm and being cold

Usually though his fingertips are cold but his palms are warm

His hands are always clean, a habit he picked up because of baking is constant hand washing

It's obviously not a bad thing, I'm just saying he's always washing his hands out of habit

Trey whistled a cheery tune as he mixed the egg whites and the sugar for his meringue. Once the desired stiff peaks formed, he retrieved the ice cream and cake layers from the freezer, finally coating the treat in the meringue.

Yuu walked into the kitchen, sighing happily at the scent of the sweet treats their beloved was making. They wrapped their arms around Trey, hugging him from behind and leaning into his back, enjoying the comforting warmth.

"Whatcha makin?" They said lazily. Trey smiled.

"Baked Alaska," he said. "I've never made it before, but it seems to be going well! I'm almost done, I just need to torch the meringue."

Trey grabbed the crème brulee torch he had on the side and lit the baked Alaska, watching it be consumed in gentle orange and blue flames.

Soon enough, they extinguished themselves and the meringue had a beautiful, crispy golden brown shell.

"Wanna try some?" Trey asked, and Yuu nodded excitedly, watching as he carefully sliced the baked Alaska and offered them a spoonful of the treat. They gladly accepted it, and it was absolutely delicious. Trey chuckled quietly and used his thumb to wipe a bit of ice cream off of the corner of Yuu's mouth.

His hands were gentle, and Yuu couldn't stop watching everything they did. He moved gracefully, but his hands especially so. As he washed his hands, grabbed something to cover the rest of the dessert, placed it in the fridge, cleaned up his workspace, all Yuu could do was watch how his hands worked.

"You're staring," Trey observed, not looking up from where he was wiping the counter. "Is something up?"

"Nah," Yuu said. "You just have really pretty hands."

Trey stopped working and looked at Yuu, then at his hands, and back to Yuu.

"You really think so?"

Yuu nodded, placing a hand atop his, running their thumb along the back of his hand and smiling gently, which in turn, caused Trey to smile as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And we done! Lmk what you thought and if you think I should write more!

💥~Akira~💥

Also bonus for what I mean by Jack's "Hozier Hands"

Hozier has like the prettiest hands I'll cry

[gone-series-orchid]

I wish there was more on what happened to the characters after the FAYZ. The sequels weren't really about that at all. Do you have any theories?

i agree, i wish we got more information, too!

i'll admit, my ideas for what characters' lives would be like post-fayz is a bit fuzzy. i think the closest i get to articulating what i'd like to see is my au where the kids don't get emancipated, lol. and this post about astrid being sent to catholic school, which i still maintain would be a wonderful way to explore astrid's trauma and her atheism, plus her past. and her relationship with her parents. i just think it's a really fun au, lol.

i guess my main wish for astrid post-fayz canonically is for her to continue her education and explore her identity outside being sam's girlfriend. maybe by taking a break from him for a bit, idk. definitely not getting married at nineteen. i just want some self-actualization for her tbh. she deserves it!

i mostly would think that sam and diana would struggle to adapt, as well, but i have no idea what they would actually do. how would they fill their days once they're emancipated? i have no idea. take correspondence courses? marinate in their trauma? idk i feel like being around fayz survivors constantly would just re-traumatize them but i've already groused about that in my no emancipation au

i hope that bug survived the fayz, i guess. no confirmation either way but i hope he did. he's just a little boy! i like to think he'd be happy to reunite with his parents. he's a creep but he's still human.

i've talked before about how much i wanted orc to survive the fayz because i think dealing with his relationship with his parents, howard's death, his religiosity, etc. would be super interesting. an orc survives au would be so fun to write about. i tried with this fic, but i'm not sure i captured all the potential.

sorry if this answer is unsatisfactory, anon! i'm pretty hazy on what the kids' lives would be like after the fayz. i just feel like we aren't given enough information to speculate on how their lives woudl be now that they're emancipated from their parents. another source of tension/conflict gone, i guess. feel free to send more asks, if you'd like!

[myloveforhergoeson]

number 28! (for the spotify thing lol)

send me a number 1-100 for a little tasw blurb!!

Song 28: Windows Down by Big Time Rush!

it's windows down adjacent if you remember chapter 17 and idk how i feel about this one but please enjoy

There was nothing in the world James loved more than spending time with Roxy... Except maybe his personalized hair and skincare regimen.

But, he figured, he'd even give that up if it meant he could spend more of their time together uninterrupted.

Tonight, they had been hanging out in her apartment, cozied up on the couch together as she absentmindedly scrolled through the TV channels to pick out something to watch.

Well, something she thought she was going to watch; He wasn't planning on letting her focus be the TV for too much longer.

"Hmm," Roxy had mused, pressing the same button on the TV remote a few times until the guide landed on the CW channel. "I don't think I saw this week's episode of New Town High... We were too busy in the studio."

What she really meant to say was she was too busy in the studio on the night the show normally aired. Gustavo was always keeping her back so they could have their own little songwriting sessions or so he could have her play the guitar or piano for a demo track he was working on. Nights like those were typically ones where the guys just hung around in the lounge, watching TV or goofing off with one another as they waited for her to be done so they could all carpool home together.

Kendall, of course, never missed an episode, even if it meant watching Jo's character, Rachel Blesse, get into a world of supernatural trouble with her costar Jett's character, Drake Steele.

He didn't have the heart to tell her he had already seen the episode while she had been held back that week, so instead he pulled her just a bit closer when she selected the channel while she muttered something about the plot from the previous week's episode.

It took all of five minutes for James to let loose, a light tug on her necklace here and a few kisses to her cheeks there, until he had completely captured his girlfriend's attention. He could hardly contain his smile as she shifted around in his arms, pushing him back into the cushion as she leaned into him, stealing a few kisses of her own while one of her hands hesitantly ran down his chest.

James always wondered if she did things like that on purpose, just to see how he'd act in return.

As his own hands made their way to her hips, dragging her over into his lap, an obnoxious honking sound ripped through her speaker system, signaling the arrival of Drake Steele in his light blue convertible to pick Rachel Blesse up for their special date that episode.

While the long-haired boy thought nothing of it, continuing to indulge his girlfriend for a few more seconds, he felt her jump at the noise before pulling away from him completely.

"Shit..." She mumbled, prompting her boyfriend to immediately take his hands off of her and shoot them into the air like he was caught in some kind of old cartoon bank robbery.

Searching her face for any kind of further explanation, James wasn't quite sure if something was wrong as he watched her eyes narrow and glance over to her kitchen counter.

"Um... Everything cool? If that was too much we don't have to-"

"Oh!" Roxy's attention was on him again, strands of her hair obscuring some of the parts of her face as she looked down at her boyfriend. Something was clearly bothering her and he knew she sometimes had trouble putting her feelings into words. Tonight seemed to be one of those nights. "No... No, it's not that..."

A bit confused, James lowered his hands and tried to guide her in the right direction. "But?"

With a big sigh, she turned again to look at her songbook, "But, uh..."

Roxy's gaze turned back to him again, then to her book, then back to him. Maybe it was silly, but he wondered if she could feel his heart stop every time she looked him in the eyes.

"Babe?"

"Remember that song I had you write in my book a few months ago? The one in the Pontiac?"

Though it took James a second, eventually he did vaguely remember something like that happening so he nodded in response.

"The sound of the horn it..." One of her hands left his chest and circled a few times as she tried to pick the right way to phrase what she wanted to say. "I've got a lyric idea I think I should write down so I don't lose it but I really, really don't want to stop."

To say James was relieved was an understatement. The moment she had pulled away from him he was worried he had moved too far too fast and made her uncomfortable, but she had just found herself trapped between two choices she didn't really want to pick between.

It might have been a bit rude, but the boy felt himself begin to laugh out of pure relief. Oh, how silly she can be...

"Well, lucky for you, I do value my career quite a bit... How about you write your idea down and we can see what happens from there?"

Famous last words.

For the next hour, Roxy had poured herself over her songbook, even going so far as to bring out her electric guitar and amp into the living room to try and nail the melody stuck in her head.

Now, James stood in the kitchen, sipping from a glass of water and mentally kicking himself for making what he now decided was the wrong choice. Though, he told himself he should be thankful she was so dedicated to her craft.

More often than not, she made the songwriting process look effortless. Every once in a while a lyric or melody would pop into her head and she'd silently jot it down and she and the band would go about their day, but now that they had begun to spend more time together, James was learning just how much effort she put into the music she created for their band.

It was stupid to begin to think of the songbook as his enemy, a distraction even, because this hadn't been the first time something like this had interrupted their time together.

So, yeah, if he could trade his hair and skincare routine for some uninterrupted quality time with his girlfriend, he probably would.

Or so he thought until she strummed out a minor chord and offhandedly mentioned, "Your handwriting is so pretty, James."

The boy nearly choked on his water.

Roxy was always saying things like that to him now that they were together and every single time she did, he felt his chest swell with pride.

In Minnesota, he hardly ever heard praise from his parents, and at work, all Gustavo could do was yell at him and his friends. So, when a genuine compliment came from his girlfriend's lips, he never, ever knew how to respond.

"I actually think you're the only person besides me who's ever written in one of my songbooks... Isn't that cool?"

Now he wished he could remember the words he had written down for her... Maybe he would've added a little love note if he had been brave enough.

Maybe he still could.

Wordlessly, he took his glass over to the couch Roxy was sitting on, making sure to place it far away from her book and amp when he set it down.

Plopping himself right down next to her, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as a distraction, taking the red pen off the table from beside her journal. Then, while she was busy swatting him away and telling him she needed to focus, he caught her journal, jumping up and running to the other side of her apartment.

"Hey!" She protested, far too encumbered by her guitar to get up and catch him quick enough before he scribbled out a message on the very last page of the book.

By the time she had made it over to him, the damage was done. James shut the pages with a satisfying snap and held it high above his head, somewhere completely out of Roxy's reach.

As she looked up at him through her thick lashes, he almost caved and handed it back to her, before a better idea popped into his head.

She let out more words of protest, puffing her cheeks out a bit as she reached up on her very tip-toes to try and get her book back. All the while, her boyfriend was trying not to double over from a hearty bout of laughter.

Waving the book around a few times, he finally managed to push out, "I'm gonna need a little more than that, babe..." as he made a loud, exaggerated kissing noise with his mouth.

The way she rolled her eyes was just too cute, but in an effort to get her book back as soon as possible, she gently reached out to cup his cheek, giving him one quick peck in exchange for her item.

That action also made him chuckle, especially when she crossed her arms and impatiently tapped her foot on the tile flooring as she waited for him to hand it over.

Once it was back in her hands, James thought she might actually tear a few pages out based on how quickly she flipped it to the back page, eyes scanning over the note he had left for her in his apparently pretty writing.

Songbird - Don't ever stop writing songs about me.

It took Roxy all of two seconds to shut the book and send the cover flying into his arm. "That's not a lyric idea!"

"It can be if you work a little bit of your writer magic..." Her boyfriend teased, slightly wincing, before grabbing her free hand and bringing her back over to the couch so she could continue to work.

"Bold of you to assume this one's about you..." Roxy shot back, giving him a little bit of side-eye.

What she couldn't tell, however, was how the tops of her ears were beginning to turn a beautiful shade of pink. Just from spending so much time around her, James knew that this meant she was about to share something incredibly sweet, so he figured his little stunt hadn't actually landed him in any trouble.

"But... No, I don't ever plan to stop."

[capricioussun]

Sorry gamers I fell asleep and also appear to have a throat infection(?) BUT I am awake now so

The hashtag Commentary on the artists and styles✨ (under the cut ⬇️ )

⭒ Up first is decafcoffee00 - decaf's art is so next level, everything is so SHAPE and there's personality in every line istg. Surprisingly, this one didn't fight me as much as I expected! I don't think it's half bad, and I had an easier time w/ this one than any other lol, but fr if you're not following him uhhh you should <3

⭒ The next to the right, minksinty - phenom's art inspires me SO so much, the way they colour things is absolutely stunning and life just flows through it, even the doodles! I think this one is probably the one I did the worst on lol, idk! It just doesn't seem to have any of the right energy, but it'd be more than worth it to do a more thorough study bc uhhh absolutely gorgeous art fr

⭒ And the third in the top row, bonetrousledbones - the only one I've actually tried before! So I had a liiitttle more familiarity with it, but it's such a fun, super expressive style. Their art just seems to translate the characters feelings and personalities so strongly, it's like. A narrative art style. If I had more time and focus I'd have loved to do a full body shot like this, especially to get more into studying their Clothes Technique, of which they are a master in their craft !!

⭒ Now on to the bottom row✨ jnpie - this one is small bc I was so happy w/ the first sketch I didn't want to try making it bigger and having it get all fuzzy lmao, but! Jnpie's style is so cute and like. Idk what would be a good word for it, sincere? It really is an expression, and you can feel how much they put into their art just by making it, it's just so -gestures emphatically in a positive way-. This is also the only one that didn't have a direct ref to look at! So pls forgive any discrepancies 🙏

⭒ On to the right, savestar - her art always exudes such a softness to me? Almost like a somberness that I don't quite know how to describe but its sooo pretty and makes their stuff feel very nostalgic when you look at it. It probably comes in second for the ones I struggled w/ a bit and feel I couldn't quite capture, but you can make the judgement for yourself by checking out and following her :*)

⭒ And last but certainly not least, owl-bones - this one was very fun, I'm not sure how obvious it is but his art has definitely been an influence on whatever direction mines taken for how I draw these bone boys, as it should! Rayne's art is sooo cool and pretty and this is another style I'd love to try doing a full body shot w/, the way he poses and draws clothes is so fluid and appealing and !!!

-

Sorry if this reads a little off I'm a bit fog brained atm and did NOT check for typos well but I didn't want to put this off any more! Bc seriously while I was working on this I kept getting distracted just scrolling through everyone's art these ppl r sooo cool and good at art and just 🌟❕💗

I wanted to get to the second part too yesterday but I was flagging so hard man, so next week! And until then don't forget to rest and stretch and hydrate <3

[bonesandthebees]

I just got around to reading the new chapter, so here’s random reactions I saved in my notes so I wouldn’t forget (two parts)

(Wilbur tried to imagine what Phil would say. How Phil would look at him after he learned what he did.)

Wf flashbacks I might re-read the fight scene again

(“Like, I thought I could read you pretty well even with the blindfold on, but now it’s, like, too easy but not at the same time.”)

It’s because he’s so expressive but has a permanent sad face that masks everything else :((((

(“I mean you kinda look like you’re about to start crying, but you also look like you just took a shot of moontane and you’re trying not to be a pussy about it but you really wanna spit it out.”)

LMFAOOOO

(“If we go to Jack’s room are we gonna find out he’s gone missing in the middle of the night?” Techno tried to joke.)

HELP I love techno, you always capture his one liners so well, and they’re always so hilarious

(Wilbur couldn’t blame him. He didn’t want to look at his own face either right now.)

I don’t even have words for this part but it stood out to me. I feel like Spruce is my new matpat, and whenever I see a line that looks like it could be significant I turn to them to tell me what it is immediately. Thankfully we’re working with religious trauma rather than dead children this time.

(“Because I want to talk to the Pythia alone,” Phil said, carefully watching him as he said his title.)

So no sandduo?? *throws phone* 😾 /j

(His breathing hitched as he cut himself off, the blood roaring louder in his ears. He wrapped his arms around his chest, gasping as he fought for air. - “I just feel so fucking useless,” He murmured, curling in further on himself. - but it has to be me. I’ve failed at my purpose for existing,)

WILB,,,,,

The angst is delicious but at what cost

Reminds me of the only time I ever ate in New Jersey. We went to Olive Garden, I ordered one of my favorite foods, I ate too much, puked it all up, got back to the table and wanted more of it bc it was really good food. Then we left NJ.

(“But that’s what I’m supposed to do,” he whispered. “That’s what I was created for.”)

I- I don’t even know what to say,,, these two sentences fill me with so many emotions

(“I can’t tell you much right now, but it won’t be long before things start moving very quickly.)

Oh???

(know m-” - your name?”)

YOUR NAME?? LIKE STRI-💥💥💥

But also yes wilbur it’s /your/ name 😭😭

(I might not know your name)

Is he gonna,,, do I dare hope

(Phil gave him a small smile. “You’ll tell me when you’re ready, mate.”)

IS HE

Dammit

I do 100% believe that Phil is next on the name reveal list though

Watch me say that and the next person will be someone I didn’t expect at all, like Ponk or Sam or something

(1/2)

- 🪐

hello hello ty for the reactions these are always fun

well it's partly that he looks very sad without the blindfold bc he just has Sad Victorian Child Eyes but also tommy has learned how to read him with half his face covered. now he gets too much information at once compared to what he's used to dealing with, so he's second guessing his own judgement because he doesn't know how wilbur shows emotion through his eyes. does that make sense? idk. I'm tired. I wrote over 3k words today.

lol thank you I have so much fun with techno's one liners. so many fics make him super serious which is such a missed opportunity bc techno cracks jokes all the time in canon!! let him make awkward one liners it's a very important part of his character

LMAO yes ty spruce for pointing out so many important lines

i'm sorry you puked at a NJ olive garden but also the irony there is that the last time I ate an olive garden was also when I was in NJ. I also don't live in NJ.

he'll tell phil when he's ready :)

[brw]

thoughts on the new Wasp issue? The whole thing where they were in a world where hank never existed was pretty interesting or could've been I think & nadia having to become an assassin instead of being able to evade it due to them wanting her to work on her father's research makes sense kind of except that it's weird she didn't try to escape? idk it's not like anyone else broke her out or redeemed her or anything so it's a little weird. The thing with janet I did not like because her wanting to avenge her father's death makes sense & she found a way to do it without becoming the wasp (weird thing to happen in the only solo series she has though) which is realistic but the avengers being "a group of operatives who are specialists in their respective fields" doesn't really capture the magic of how they assembled in the first place to me... also what do you think janet is a specialist in? also what did the hulk specialise in lol? I also don't like ewing's voice for janet.

hi anon!

i think it's a marked improvement from the first two issues but i won't lie, i'm still not convinced. there's two major problems i have with it so far; first of all, it feels incredibly drawn out n poorly paced. we have one issue left and i still feel like the conflict is yet to actually happen in the comic, which is suprising considering how well-paced the rest of ewing's projects are, even just thinking about storm and the brotherhood which came out on the same day but especially compared to ant-man. it's possible the final issue will change my mind, but it so far feels like something that could have been done in two issues and probably would have been better off for it.

second; this isn't a janet book, simple as. it would not surprise me in the slightest if i found out that this was originally a vague plot for nadia, and then ewing awkwardly placed janet in it afterwards when marvel asked him for a sister series to ant-man. janet has not done anything interesting and i have learned literally nothing new of her character so far, except that apparently she is smart enough to sort out the whole alien thing on her own without hank n without being the wasp. i guess.

i guess i'm just missing what made the ant-man series fun. i'm not expecting a clone, but the shifting tones between the classic 60s vibe and more contemporary comics and the sleaziness of early 2000s comics really suited the tone and made me think a lot about how hank and the legacy of ant-man has changed over the years. janet's missing all of that fun vibe, and it just doesn't feel like the kind of homage to janet van dyne and the wasp mantle you would expect from an anniversary issue. it feels like a forgotten arc of the jeremy whitley unstoppable wasp run.

anyway nadia as an assassin was fun, n made sense! her not having someone to look up to and make her inspired to be heroic and becoming a star assassin is a fun beat, it's interesting that without that she never tried to leave but i suppose it makes sense. janet as "the avenger" is interesting, but i'll be honest i'm still waiting on janet to feel like janet. there's no reason why without hank she would stop being fun and flirty and a bit of an adrenaline junkie. like, in avengers origins: ant-man and the wasp she feels like a distinct person, but those traits are still there. i dunno.

anyway i hope the last issue is good, but i really do feel the pacing is off and the characterisation of janet especially feels a bit weird. it's not that he can't write janet; issue one of ant-man jan was great! it's just that it feels like in a need to show janet is mature and an adult he's squeezed a lot of her out n i'm not vibing with it unfortunately :(

(also this might sound awful of me to say but i think janet would have been more likely to become a villain without hank, because it's really on the avengers as a team member where she learns a sense of responsibility and maturity IMO. her father dying gave her a sense of injustice, but if you ask me it's growing as a team where she really grows as a person. before then she's very much so still a privileged upper class girl with an adrenaline problem, and i can't help but think it would be both fun and make sense for her to be a campy fashion themed supervillain. but that's just me)

[cleanlenins]

Hello Lenn!

I’ve been following your mc sideblog for a like, a few months(?) and have been reading to be truly free since the first chapter and I just have to say:

You are literally my favourite fanfic writer. Between updates I just keep rereading to be truly free over and over again. It’s just so brilliant, every sentence is just so !!!! Idk how to describe it, I don’t think I can describe it, you can just tell you poured a lot of love, energy and time into it and it paid off so well! All the scenes just work so well. And the characterization! You capture everyone’s personality perfectly and I love how you write Techno. I get so hyped for your updates I’ve literally spoken about it to real life friends lol. Also! You introduced the politics and worldbuilding so well so well that I just me wanna know more.

I’m sure you get this a lot, that you’re a wonderful, really talented writer.

(Also that ask you sent anarachy-and-piglins, yeah how are you able to get me SO hooked with one tumblr ask? that was amazing I will be thinking a lot about it thank you very much, if you have even one crumb to share about it I would love to hear)

You know anon, first I gotta thank you because I did NOT realize I had asks turned off on paladinpalindrome. That's a big oopsie on my part. And you sending this ask let me know I did that so now I can fix it. So, omg thanks.

Second of all, I am currently a puddle of goo. Just, goo on the floor. This comment was so nice, I just completely melted. I am the first goo to be able to use a keyboard because you are just SO INCREDIBLY NICE. I don't even know WHAT to do with you telling me I'm your favorite fanfic author. I am overjoyed that you enjoy my story that much. I'm having a blast writing it, and it just makes it so much fun knowing that others like it to.

You saying you reread it is breaking my brain. Like asjkhks. Someone liked it enough to reread. I'm blushing. Blushing is something goo can do, right?

I do pour a lot of effort into it. I want it to be good. I enjoy making it good. Even if sometimes I get a little stuck, I love the story so much and want to do it justice. Sometimes I feel a little like I am being a bit too much of a perfectionist with it, seeing little flaws that are probably not there or not a big deal, but I think that is everyone who tries to make art or write or create in general. Like, Characterization? I try really hard on that. Like really really hard. I want it to feel authentic. I don't want the characters to feel ooc. But I also want to indulge in the writing tropes that I find fun. Which means thinking of realistic reasons for those situations to occur. And I am so so touched to hear that I am doing that successfully. It makes me feel great.

Also, the politics and worldbuilding is so fun, but also INCREDIBLY exhausting. Why did I make the world so big, oh ancients. (The answer was because it's fun but keeping everything straight is very hard).

I'm so incredibly happy that you think I am doing a good job. That is-well, goo-inducing. I don't have the words to describe the happy bubbling feeling. I am twirling my hair.

I'm assuming you mean the Dark Royal SBI ask I sent to Anarchy-and-Piglins. I don't have a ton of concrete ideas on it yet. If I do write it, I won't post it until I have the whole thing written out. Just because that would maybe help me NOT blow it up into a 100k word monster like To Be Truly Free has become. Maybe. Hopefully.

As for crumbs with it, hmmm. I kinda like the idea that Tommy doesn't like Techno at first? You know, he's jealous of all the time that Will spends with Techno and so he isn't warming up to him. But at a dinner, Techno secretly offers to eat Tommy's vegetables that he doesn't want to eat (they were carrots, why would Tommy want to eat carrots? ew). When Phil turns his back for a second, Techno scoops them up in his hand and shoves them all in his mouth in one bite. When Phil turn back, all of Tommy's veggies are gone so Tommy can go play. Techno has to pretend that he doesn't have a mouth full of food, because that isn't very polite. Luckily, its not all that strange for him to be a little less talkative. Tommy starts to warm up to him after that.

Phil knew, of course, but he wanted his new sonboy to get along with his kids. However, he doesn't give them a chance to do it again so Tommy still has to eat his veggies.

Thank you so much for the ask! And thank you for your kind words <3 <3 <3

[i-never-forgot]

Sofiiiiieeeee😭😭😭YOU DREW MY BABY AND YOUR BABY SO CUTE AND AAHHHHAHHHHHH!!!

Rambling under the cut!🤭

Twig automatically going into deflection mode isn’t surprising, and neither is Eliana calling her out on it bc she has been guilty of doing the very same! She has the terrible habit of putting others before herself to a fault (including trying to keep them from feeling concern), but as soon as she sees Twig doing the same she’s just like “nope. you’re so young and you need support and please God don’t push people away like I have.”

You drew Eliana so in character. Her dialogue is *chef’s kiss*. I cannot. I am kicking my feet and squealing and—

Twig saying Eliana reminds her of her Dusknoir (Papanoir?) cracks me up, and Eliana being a little indignant of it makes it even better. She is extremely fond of him at this point since they’ve reconciled, but being told that she has assimilated some of his personality rankles her (in a humorous way, I promise). More like the “pfffft I totally don’t sound like that old man (affectionate)” when, in fact, she sounds like that old man.

TWIG ALMOST CALLING HIM “DAD”—DON’T THINK YOU SLIPPED THAT BY ME YOU SNEAKY LIL SKELETON YOU🥹

Also Eliana just totally pulling a mom with “are you sure you want to be with Ark. you deserve so much better. he tried to kill you, Twig” (to which Twig would be totally within her right to point out that “Dusk tried to kill you, too”🤭)

(I haven’t decided where I’m going to go as far as Eliana and her Darkrai are concerned, but you’d best believe that her eventually making friends with Ark would improve her understanding and sympathy…but I would always be open to plot suggestions tbh lol)

I was a little worried Ark wasn’t quite proportional bc I had to shrink him a little to fit into the frame, but I’m so glad he turned out. You draw him so…idk, elegant like smoke? I wanted to convey how soft and wispy he looks. (And I spent an embarrassing amount of time on that eye lol, I’m so glad I managed to capture the feathery look I was going for!)

Now that I’m getting the hang of it, Twig is so fun to draw! You have such a unique way of expressing her shape (kind of slender and long) that I adore, as well as the heart motifs! And her scale freckles!!! I love her so much and I���m relieved I did her justice!😭

You’d best believe Eliana’s sixth sense is going off! She adopted Grovyle as a Treecko and Lu as a Riolu (and would also snatch up Ribbons and Aimilios in a heartbeat) so there would be no stopping her from finding Twig the instant she lays eyes on her. (I also wonder if heroes/humans-turned-Pokemon would be able to instinctively tell. I do know that if my Rescue Team hero Ty ever showed up in Treasure Town Eliana would immediately notice. Food for thought?🤔) But yes that is accurate. Absolutely leaving Lu and Dusk and co. to adopt another eepy baby. They’re starting to get a little concerned about the amount of food they’ll have to start keeping in stock in their larder bc you know she’s not going to let them go without feeding them.😂

And oohhhhhh my God you don’t know how insecure I am about my handwriting, and you saying that made me float to cloud nine🥺I was worried about it being illegible bc I’ve always been told it’s just chicken scratch but tysm Sofie!

And yes, Eliana is very black and white when it comes to people, no middle ground. She distrusts Ark, figures him out, then becomes his biggest wingman. (It would absolutely drive her crazy to witness Ark and Twig dancing around each other’s feelings for so long, too, fyi—it would take a lot of restraint and reminders from Dusk to leave them alone to figure things out in their own time to keep her from smushing their faces together.) But the more that I think about it, the more that I realize you’re right—since he’s become well-adjusted and accepted himself she would find a lot of peace in being in his presence since he’s so chill all the time. He never had support for so long so him being able to prove that he’s trustworthy and earning Eliana’s undying loyalty would heal him in a lot of ways, I think. I sure know that she would just add him to her adoption list lol (just pray she never figures out that it was Cresselia that pushed him over the edge to start with👀just like it’s a good thing Twig’s aunt still isn’t around tbh lol)

Also I’m so glad you noticed that oh my god—she is terrified of what her Darkrai did in her world, to her and Lu and, indirectly, Grovyle, and even though he hasn’t turned up since Palkia collapsed his escape Dimensional Hole Eliana still has nightmares about him coming back to haunt her family. She would go into immediate defend-others-at-all-cost mode upon first meeting him, and like I said it would take a long time for her to even let her guard down at all. She has enough experience by now to be able to take on almost any fight she faces, but the lingering trauma from Dark Crater and the circumstances leading up to it—while she was still more vulnerable being unevolved and at a significant disadvantage, mind you—would come back like a storm. Ark would be wonderfully patient with her, I imagine, understanding that not all of his counterparts might be as willing to change🥺

You’re so very welcome🥰—I have some more ideas on doodles I want to sketch with your bunch and Fujii’s, so make sure to leave room on that board!👀

The fervency with which i am churning out these sketches is startling tbh

Eliana would clock this poor girl's trauma a mile off. She would proceed to want to bring down the wrath of heaven upon all those that wronged her. Twig would have to talk her into reigning it back in a little since she has the uncanny ability to befriend everyone who treated her poorly lol. otherwise she would mother the fool out of Twig! that poor girl needs all the love she can get!

Similar to Dusknoir, she would be extremely wary of Ark at first—even more so, in fact. She wouldnt get close nor would she trust him until much later, likely after Twig would explain how hes changed. She'd sympathize him in the long run.

anyways i hope you like it @sincerely-sofie🥺I want to draw your Dusknoir too but im eepy atm, so keep an eye out for that!

[aidemint]

reflection - bucky barnes

word count: 3k+

notes: god i just love Bucky so much asdkjahdkfjhskdjfsdf his character is kinda hard to capture because of the layers that marvel set up but i tried lol

warnings: angst turned to fluff with a lil bit of spicy kissin with a hickey 😏😏 but mostly (?) wholesome bucky n his beautiful partner 🥰✨

Ever since Bucky moved into the Avengers compound, he was always distant. He’d go out of his way to avoid close contact with anyone besides Steve, even going so far as to skip meals or lock himself up in his room all day, reading books that Steve delivered to his quarters. And despite all the pleading and beckoning from Steve’s end, it seemed like nothing could get Bucky to open up and spend at least a few hours with the people around him. 

Perhaps his self-isolation was a form of self-punishment. Perhaps he didn’t truly believe that he deserved anything, or that he wanted to be with people, that he wanted to laugh and have fun with friends. There was an amalgamation of repressed emotion behind those piercing, dark blue eyes. 

In understanding this, I was fortunate enough to get close to Bucky -- not as a means to fix him, but to understand and comfort him when and where he needed me. We’d spend nights together looking at the stars, talking about the bits and pieces of our childhoods that we could remember, or simply laying next to each other in complete silence, relishing the peaceful and serene atmosphere that the evening brought.

 And it was in that setting in which we shared our first kiss. 

From then on, we always shared a special, intimate relationship. He opened up to me, as I did to him. We were equals -- something that Bucky had never known, being trapped in the Hydra system ever since he got out of ice. 

But I’d only known him for a few months. I’d only been with him for a shorter amount of time. There was so much more to uncover, so much more that he had yet to choose to speak with me about because he just wanted to keep everything stuffed inside a tight little jar and ignore it. He wanted to ignore it because he was scared. He was afraid that the soldier would come back and he would lose everything all over again. 

He was scared of the monster, of the ravager that lived inside of his mind in the minefield of memories. 

A habit of his seemed to sprout from this inherent terror.

Whenever I talked to him, he could never keep his gaze trained on mine. His stare wandered to every inch of my face but never seemed to pass my eyes. He’d look at my forehead and the bridge of my nose at an attempt to fool me into thinking that he was lost in my eyes, but I knew. And it was the same with reflective surfaces. He’d turn away from mirrors and slightly opaque windows with a wince, hide behind his cap and stare at the ground in elevators, among other acts. 

For days, I wondered why. I even mustered the courage to ask him, but he’d deflect, then changed the topic as soon as he could. I didn’t prod, as I didn’t want to venture in a space beyond his comfort zone, so I just left it. 

Yet it still seemed to haunt me. I figured it would be an inquiry that was to remain forever unsolved, but it lingered at the back of my mind whenever I saw Bucky. This was beginning to form a bad habit. I didn’t want myself to become fixated on “helping” him in a zone that he’s clearly not comfortable talking about. I couldn’t allow for myself to spiral into obsession over such a thing.

So the question remained unanswered.

__

A week had elapsed since the thought had initially come to mind. It was midnight and I was finishing up some research about a newer perpetrator that was affiliated with a series of bombings in Berlin. As I sent the documents to Tony so he could do some deep diving, someone entered the hall, light footsteps padding towards the small kitchen island where I was sat. 

I lifted my head up only to see Bucky moving towards me. Closing my laptop, I gave him a small smile and turned to him.

“Buck? What’s up?” He sucked in a breath and let it out shakily as he took a seat on the kitchen island next to me. I couldn’t tell what emotion his expression was of, but it wasn’t something pleasant. No, his brows were furrowed and his lips were pulled into a deep frown with unexpectedly prominent wrinkles forming underneath his eyes and on either side of his nose. It didn’t foretell the beginnings of devastation, nor desolation, but a simpler feeling that I didn’t recognize. 

“I need to talk to you,” he spoke lowly. I nodded, holding my hands out so that he could place his in mine. Not minding that his gaze was lowered as to avoid mine, I still stared at him attentively, making sure that he knew that he had every bit of my attention. 

“I’m here for you, sweetheart.” I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “You can tell me anything.” The brunette gave a small but appreciative smile, then cleared his throat before speaking. 

“You know the question you asked me before?” I nodded. “I think I have an answer.” 

“I’m all ears,” I murmured in response, rubbing the tops of his hands with my thumbs, “Take your time.” Bucky opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it soon after, unable to unstick the words that were lodged in his throat. 

He looked as if there was something restricting him from telling me -- a higher, greater force that forbade him from speaking about this taboo topic that was his issue. His irises, normally a deep shade of clear blue, were stormy, clouded with dark thoughts that swirled around his mind. The sight was uncomfortably familiar -- I’d seen that face before, when he first arrived at the Avengers compound. His hair was disheveled and he looked like he hadn’t showered in a week, but what stood out to me the most was how pained his gaze was. The complete and utter wreck that he was inside only showed through his stare and it hurt me more than expected. 

I never truly believed the ambition of the saying “the eyes are the window to the soul,” but for the first time, it became my mantra. How torturous was Bucky’s inner state, how unbelievably despondent he was. That chest of his lacked a spirit because it had died in the wasteland of the mind. There was no shred of hope left in his consciousness. 

There was no sparkle in his eyes. 

I wondered where that gleam had gone.

In the present, I kept waiting for his response, patiently sitting and holding his hands until he was ready. 

Bucky drew in a breath, then let it out, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on clearing his mind and seeking comfort in our bond, in the trust that he’d so courageously given to me. 

He fluttered his eyelids open once he found his place.

And then it all came out in carefully chosen words and cautious sentences.

“I hate seeing my reflection. I hate it. If there was a stronger word, I would use it, but i-it’s all that I can come up with right now. I-I just- Every time that I see myself I just think that this was the last face that people saw before they died, that this was the face plastered across the news, that this was the face that served for Hydra.

And it’s pathetic, I know. I know that I’m an Avenger now, and I know that I’ve somehow changed, and I know how much effort you put into each and every moment, in trying to understand me, and I feel so horrible every single time you look at me and I can’t seem to return that… that hopeful smile, or lovestruck gaze because I just-” He paused, an influx of emotion surging through his body. I rubbed a thumb against the back of his hand to assure him that everything was going to be alright. 

“I can’t look at you because I can’t stand seeing that… that man in your bright eyes. Those bright eyes that are filled with so much life, so much joy whenever they’re on me. I don’t- I don’t want him to be in there. I don’t want him to hurt you, (Y/N). I don’t want-” The brunette stifled a sob by tugging his bottom lip in between his teeth. My heart ached at the sight, my grip on his hands becoming tighter as I watched him come undone. He turned to me with tears in his eyes, tears that threatened to fall onto his cheeks, threatening to stain his skin with the colors of sorrow.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered. A trembling breath flew out of my mouth as all the wind seemed to be knocked out of my lungs at the impact of his words. I took him into my arms, pressing his heart to mine and clenching my fists around the fabric of his shirt. Bucky slowly wrapped his arms around my body, finding comfort in my touch, resting his chin on top of my shoulder blade, drinking in my scent in heavy but silent gasps.

“Oh sweetheart…” I flattened my fingers to softly pat his back, attempting to ease him into a less panicked state. “Everything’s gonna be alright. We’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay, I’m not going to get hurt because of you. You’re not going to hurt me, honey.” The brunette in my embrace shuddered, hopelessly clutching onto me in desperation, almost at a mad scramble for some sort of safety. 

We sat there, intertwined with one another as I whispered words of solace until Bucky’s breaths became even and his hiccups subsided, making way for a smoother airflow and a stable, steady heart rate. Unlocking my arms so that we could separate, I gingerly placed my hands on Bucky’s chest and delicately pushed away enough for me to brush all the hair out of his face and press a kiss to his forehead.

“Bucky, I want to show you something.” 

“What is it?” 

Taking his left hand, I led him to the bathroom down the long hallway on our floor. He sensed what was going on and immediately stopped in the middle of the hall, his grasp tightening around my hand. 

“(Y/N),” he spoke, “(Y/N), please.” I clasped my hands around his metal one and gave the back of it a kiss, my gaze full of sorrow as I stared at the brunette. 

“Please, Buck. Let me help you.” Bucky could hear the pleading tone about my voice. He hesitated for a moment, pausing to take a breath, but eventually gave a reluctant nod as I led him to the bathroom. Upon entry, Bucky immediately bowed his head, completely avoiding the centerpiece mirror as he moved to a spot in front of it. I gave a soft, sympathetic sigh and hopped on the table that was built into the giant vanity, making sure that my boyfriend was positioned right in front of me. 

“If you’d like, you can close your eyes, sweetheart,” I hummed, “Can you lift your head up for me?” The brunette did as he was told, fluttering his eyelids shut as I gently raised his chin so that it sat at a normal angle. Letting a breath out, I admired his features with despairing irises. I looked on at his red, puffy eyes and unkempt skin as a pang of heartache reverberated through my body. Despite how painful it was to see him in such anguish, I managed to swallow the lump in my throat and opened my mouth to speak to the broken man.

“Honey, I-I don’t know how you feel. I can’t even begin to imagine what you must have gone through during your darkest times, but I want to be there for you. I want to be there for you whenever you crash or you forget that your actions in the past don’t dictate your future. You’re not the person you were a year ago, Buck. Your face doesn’t remind me of the desolate times, but of the happiest moments in my life.” Noticing that I was getting loud, I paused for a few seconds to cool off, then continued. 

“Whenever I see this face,” I murmured, cupping Bucky’s cheeks in my palms, “I see my Bucky. I see the face of the man who has been nothing short of sweet, understanding, patient, and oh-so dear to me.” My view flitted to his hair, to which I reached for to slowly entangle my fingers in. Bucky gave a small hum as I brushed my digits through his hair, instinctively collecting the brown locks into a half-bun. His neck arched at the feeling, his shoulders sinking while I continued to play with his hair while talking freely. 

“I see the face of the man who is selfless, caring, who is willing to change and diverge from his past to strive towards a brighter future.” As I secured the half-bun in place with a hair tie, I smiled at the sight of Bucky’s expression: his eyes were still closed, but the edges of his lips were curled up in content and comfort -- a rare but always stunning sight. 

“I also see the face of the man that I love with every single bit of my heart, and who I know loves me all the same.” Finishing the look, I leaned back and reveled in the newfound freshness to the brunette’s complexion. 

“If you want, you can open your eyes, Buck.” To my complete surprise, his eyes shot open the moment those words left my mouth. Without missing a beat, he jerked forwards and looked at the mirror with sudden resolution. My heart jumped upon seeing his readiness and the sudden jerk his body took upon, but soon melted as I recognized spots of determination and wholehearted faith in his expression. 

He was slowly shifting out of his comfort zone. 

The progress made here tonight would’ve taken weeks if we attempted this a few months ago. 

It was an understatement to say that I was absolutely ecstatic about this huge leap we’d taken together. My emotions were beyond elation, beyond excited -- the mere thought that Bucky had felt comfortable enough around me to do this sparked a fire within my chest, one that sent flames rushing through my veins so that the tips of my fingers tingled, trembling as they struggled to contain the enhanced level of exhilaration. 

“Baby,” I breathed, “Oh, Bucky.” I turned around to look at the mirror and watched in pure joy as a delighted grin spread across my lover’s face, lighting up his features in the best ways possible. His gaze shifted to my reflection, then back to his, soaking in the wholeness of the image before us. 

“You’re beautiful,” he spoke, “You’re so beautiful, (Y/N).” My heart leapt to my throat as I burst into laughter, my cheeks rosy and my head spinning. He’d called me beautiful in the past, but it never felt like this -- so pure, so close to the heart and endearing as ever. The brunette stepped back to gaze at me as I giggled with a hand clapped over my mouth. 

“Doll, don’t you dare cover your face, now.” Bucky gripped both of my forearms and pulled down so that the big, dopey grin on my face was fully exposed and my laughter could finally echo freely through the chamber of the bathroom. The brunette drank in the melody of merriment with a big, dopey grin of his own as he started to slide his hands down my arms and to my thighs. 

“Hey, look at me, beautiful.” Instinctively, my gaze shifted to meet Bucky’s. The world seemed to slow moments before our eyes met. Waves of motion blurred and the background turned into white and beige gaze as my pupils started to fixate on my lover. 

There was silence, seemingly senseless blindness, even.

And then this brilliant wave of blue, the crashing of cymbals, the tidal wave that immediately swept over my eyes. 

I started to cry as I saw the way his irises glimmered underneath the bathroom lights as they bore into mine, those beautiful dark blue irises finally making their way into the depths of my soul. I cried my heart out, hot tears streaming down my flushed face, cascading down my cheeks and dripping onto my chin. God. I was breathless. 

“Doll,” he said, brushing a tear off of my cheek, “Hey, what’s wrong? Are my eyes that ugly?” I laughed at his jokes, lightly shoving him in response to his cheeky comment. 

“I-I’m just so happy,” I sobbed, “I’m so happy, Bucky.” The brunette smiled and leaned in, nearing my face as his eyes grew half-lidded. He gave my thighs a squeeze before whispering against my lips, his hot breaths bearing down on them, filled with want. 

“I am too.”

His lips pressed against mine and suddenly everything was right in the world. As my hands slid up to cup his face in my palms, I wrapped my legs around his torso, bringing him closer to me, his lower stomach pressed against my core. I hummed at the sensation of his finding their way to my waist, fingers smoothing over my curves, cherishing every small wave that they found themselves riding. 

Gasping softly as his mouth moved to layer kisses down my neck, I moved my hands to rest comfortably on Bucky’s shoulders as he started to lap at a spot at the base of my neck. Small huffs of breath and mewls spouted out of me as the brunette worked on forming a bruise.

“God, I love you,” he murmured into my skin, “I love you so much.” I could only hum in response, toes curling at the sensation of his teeth gently nipping at my collarbone as his tongue coaxed my nerves to scream in delight. 

Once he was done, he parted from my collarbone with a satisfied glint in his eyes and lifted his head to fondly gaze at my relaxed features. 

“Thank you, (Y/N). For everything,” he spoke. I kissed his forehead and beamed at him, overjoyed to finally have seen him like this -- relaxed, with a radiance about his expression that could not be attained from anything other than pure laughter. 

And with that, I pressed my lips to his again, only parting to reply to his expression of gratitude. 

“You deserve it, baby. You deserve it.”

[seethefakemuses]

idk how but lwj is somehow the least traumatized character in the novel everyone else has a brother/family killed and too much responsibility placed on them after their loss meanwhile lwj is just gay like thats his entire character arc so how is he supposed to understand or have chemistry with wwx, extremely traumatized alcoholic necromancer who got revived into a random kid’s body 16yrs after his death and clearly has not coped with his past mistakes or the ghosts of his past

wwx: has wen mark branded on him to selflessly save a girl by scummy wc (who he later tortures tf out of which lwj does not approve of)

jwy: has discipline whip scars on him after getting captured and tortured with his core destroyed by the wens as a prisoner of war to save wwx after his family was massacred

lwj: has scars from getting whipped by his clan for breaking the rules trying to protect wwx and branded himself w the wen mark to feel connected to wwx(?)

wwx about lwj post revival: oh yeahhh that guy from gusu lan w all the rules

wwx about jwy post revival: no matter where we are in the world as long as we are alive we will meet </3 i must avoid him as my actions have hurt him so much </3 i must never let him know that i sacrificed my core for him i hope he is well 😔😔💔😢😢😫😫💔💔

lmfao yeah exactly. man’s got no real trauma and his scars are either self inflicted out of drunkenness or bc he’s stupid. he tried to protect wwx but he only did it halfway, and then he went back and was whipped 33 times (once per elder? how lenient can they get) and went into seclusion afterwards. he’s still got his brother and uncle who take care of him and protect him, his sect still holds him in high standing, and he’s just out here making the stupidest decisions and acting erratically.

i loved that scene lol. wwx’s just declaring his deep and abiding bond with jc to the world while lwj’s standing on the side, impotently jealous:🧍the amount of time wwx spends thinking about jc in the novel is truly something. the way he’s managed to delude himself at the end of the novel into thinking he’s done with that part of his life and that he and jc are now passing strangers is astonishing. he’s reached a new level of ‘how far can i run from my emotions?’.