#using all screens I already had EXCEPT for the first one- made that one specifically for this XD

[abyssalmermaiden]

WoLs + text posts: Aryaille x Yloise

@yloiseconeillants

[ilys00ga]

you are my favorite!!!! super happy to know you are taking requests :D also i hope you are doing well♡♡

could i request a yoongi x f!reader possibly where they have a rlly bad argument and make it up and it ends really fluffy? maybe the argument could be over jealusy or this stuff ofc not in a toxic way. Thank you in advance :)

BLOWING SMOKE.

PAIR: yoongi x f reader

TAGS/WARNINGS: established relationship, producer!yoongi, yoongi fucks up real bad, hes lowk an ass in this one sorry xxx, he fixes things tho, misunderstandings with a great amount of miscommunication, reader thinks hes cheating, jealousy, angst, also fluff, a teenie tiny dusty bit of smut implications at the very end, but no smut I promise. that's it I guess?? lmk if I missed something. oh yeah this is probably full of unedited mistakes, just ignore :)

A/N: omg omg first off, THANK U I love u lots 💗 second, this matches the new fic I was already working on so akdjqjsjjs was in the mood for some good angst hehehe...although, I gotta say, this was pretty rushed cz I had a shit ton of things to do (I still do) but I tried to make it as good as I can, I hope u like it 🥹 also, ik u said 'not in a toxic way' but I think I might have gotten carried away? nothing too extreme I hope, but we all fuck up, and yoongi here is not doing any better.

PS. requests are still open! feel free to drop some in my ask box anytime :)

Loving Yoongi was like a field of cotton grass dancing with the wild wind on a fresh late spring day. But being in a relationship with him, much like any other relationship out there, wasn't always a bed of soft petals and a sky of warm sunshine.

“I'm sorry, darling. I have to stay here for another two hours. You can still come over if you want.” That was what he said over the phone, one day, when you asked whether he was free for a dinner date or not. It's been a hectic week for the both of you, two adults trapped in the hectic mess of what we call life. An unsettling bubble formed in your chest. You missed him, so, terribly much. The days went on, and it became harder for you to sit down with him for a genuine conversation or a wholesome meal. The mere thought that your relationship was heading towards one of those bland and colorless stages was heavy on your heart.

His suggestion sounded apologetic enough for you to swallow the pill entirely, so you immediately declared your agreement, grabbed your purse, then left the apartment.

On your twenty-minutes-long walk there, you made sure to grab a bottle or two of wine and some snacks, because, knowing Yoongi, he would let his body devore itself before he would feed himself a proper meal, once he's inside that studio.

Except that, all of your hopes of a hopelessly romantic night at his studio, and that uncomfortable couch he purchased specifically so he wouldn't doze off when he's supposed to work, vanished as soon as you pushed the door open and walked in.

Yoongi never said or did anything to hurt your trust, neither were you the type of lover to shed tears and break glass when they see their partner with another person. But seeing him sitting so close to the female producer you were already familiar with, their chairs almost touching as they fixed their attention on the large computers on top of his desk, that was a sight you weren't ready for. And it wouldn't have been so much of an issue to you if you weren't sitting in the same room with your boyfriend and the woman he used to hook up with on a regular basis before he got with you.

“It's good to finally see you, __.” She gave you a smile. A little, polite and genuine gesture that, in contrast to the smile you mirrored to her, made your stomach flip.

Another hour passed with you staring mindlessly at your phone screen and them doing their thing. You were on the verge of excusing yourself to leave, to maybe catch some fresh air instead of suffocating to death inside that closed space, when the girl finally stood up to leave.

You watched as she gave him a hug, her hand gently rubbing at his shoulder, before she faced you to bid her goodbye and left.

Throughout the entire thing, Yoongi didn’t spare you a glance. His back was the only thing you could see, along with the back of his head, covered with his favorite dark beanie. You thought her departure would soothe your heart and put your anxious mind to rest. That Yoongi would turn around and explain why the hell he was hanging out with her, and not with his usual team members. Except that neither of the above happened.

“I’m done here too, for the day. We can go now.” He said as he stood up from his own chair, stretching his arms and arching his body with a rough groan. You were left wondering whether you were the insane one there. Or maybe he was that blind to the chaos happening in your head at that very moment.

The words were on the tip of your tongue. You could no longer hold them back. They were too strong to be kept hidden deep inside your throat. And so, you cleared your throat and let them speak for themselves. “You never told me you still work with her.”

You paused, taking a deep breath as you anticipated an answer from him, which came rather more lightheartedly than you fancied.

“Oh, I didn't think it was worth talking about.” He said, hovering over the desk to turn the devices off.

“Really?” You tucked the tip of your finger under another one, his usual nonchalance was supposed to sooth you, reassure your heart that he only belonged to you, but it only served to stir something inside your anxious self. “But it's still something, Yoongi..”

“Darling, you were never bothered with who I work with.” He remarked.

“Because you never had history with your usual team members.” Your blunt argument, with all the bitterness it held, took the both of you off guard.

“Is this about what I think it is?” He glanced up at you again, finally catching up on the situation at hand. “Look at me. Are you upset because she was here?”

“Yes I am.. You never mentioned the fact that you still see her everyday. Were you planning on keeping that from me?”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I told you it was never a big deal, baby. That's why I didn't bring it up.”

“Yoongi, it doesn't matter what you think of it. I deserve to know this type of thing.”

He scoffed at that, his attention turning to his stuff as he started gathering them. “Baby, please. I was working. We had a project to do. It's not like I slept with her or something.”

“Did you?”

At the heavy implication of your short question, Yoongi froze in his place, unmoving. His eyes spoke of surprise and pain as he stared deeply into yours, sending a chill down your spine. You blinked, and the sound of crashing almost made you jump when he threw the headphones he was holding carelessly on the desk.

“You think I did?” He asked. Even as his voice was completely empty of amusement, he didn't raise his voice at you. “You think I slept with her?”

“I don't know.” You shrugged. “That's what I'm trying to know.”

Neither of you spoke after that. He continued staring at you, not providing an answer that could satisfy your clenching heart. Instead, and just like every single time the two of you had an argument before that, he faced his desk again and busied himself with his belongings, his movements harsher and rougher than before.

“It's better if you leave now.” He said, his voice disturbingly cold.

You wished he could say anything. Maybe snap at you for being so harsh with your judgment on him, or lay his heart out and tell you the thing you dreaded the most, that he indeed slept with her. But he didn’t. He just faced the other way and did utter a word. And so, you grabbed your purse, phone in your other hand, and walked out of the studio.

Deep in the darkness of your room, you lay on your bed, deep in thought, staring at the ceiling like it could crack open and show you the secret towards a blissfully happy love story to remedy your soul. Your string of thoughts was cut short when noise broke out in your apartment. The sound of the front door being locked and closed again.

You craned your neck to catch a glimpse of the digital clock on top of your nightstand. It was three am.

Having had this scenario happen multiple times throughout the years of your relationship with him, you left your tear stained pillow and followed the source of the noise, your boyfriend in the kitchen.

You found him bent down in front of the open fridge, his back, once again, facing you. If he didn't hear your footsteps against the floor, he definitely heard the soft sniffle you let out as you leaned against the doorframe, you were certain.

“It's three in the morning.” You stated, like it was the most important news you could give him at that very moment. He didn't spare you a glance, settling for a can of beer and pushing the door of the fridge closed with his leg. “You shouldn’t drink at this hour.”

“Good to know you care about me.” He said, his voice calm but dripping with the usual bitter sarcasm he often exercised when he was tense or angry.

You couldn't help rolling your eyes at that. He was really upset. “Can we just talk?”

He flicked the can open with one hand, taking a long gulp of the liquor that left you with a small frown. “Why? So you get to accuse me of cheating again?”

“Yoongi, please-”

“No, __.” He paused, his gaze felt like a freezing flame to your soul. “You feel the way you feel, yeah I get it. But doubting my loyalty like that? Thinking that I could really go out of my way to cheat like it's nothing? What the fuck are you doing?”

His words, coupled with the way he looked at you, felt like a punch to your guts in that very moment. He was right, you knew that. No matter how insecure and threatened you felt back then, no matter how fucked up the thing he did was, cheating shouldn't have been your first conclusion. Especially when you loved and cherished him so deeply. With a trembling voice, you gathered your words and tried to ignore your stinging eyes as they threatened to spill your hidden emotions out. “I... Our relationship has been so dull lately, I was hoping we could spend some time together and catch up, but then I saw her there and I just..”

“Just what, __?” He cuts your speech. “Do you even trust me?”

“I do, of course I do! But you didn’t even talk to me about it, and when I tried to talk, you were all like ‘Oh, it doesn't matter, you're just being dramatic.’”

“That is not what I said.” He hissed.

“Doesn’t matter!-” A sob interrupted your speech, you ran a hand through your hair in frustration. “Can we just- please-”

Your words were cut short when he started walking towards you. You felt his arms engulfing you in a tight embrace, your face finding its place buried into the crook of his neck, where your warm tears touched his soft, milky skin.

“Shh.. I know.” He whispered into your ear, the strong smell of alcohol, carrying a hint of coffee within, filled your senses. Your arms moved on their own, automatically hugged him back. “You know I would never break your trust, right?”

You nodded your head. Something about the softness of his voice, heavy with vulnerability, made your heart crush into pieces. The way he held you, despite the hurt you knew he felt because of you, had a toll on you.

You pulled away, enough to bring your hands up and cup his face. Your teary eyes staring into his weary ones as you spoke. “That was so stupid of me. I'm sorry.”

“I'm the stupid one here, baby..” He turned his face to nuzzle your palm and press a kiss onto its skin. “I should've thought into it. I was so immersed in work, I didn't see how fucked up the entire situation was. Should've paid more attention.”

He leaned in, pressing a kiss on your forehead and letting his lips linger on your skin there for a few more seconds. “I'm sorry, darling. I'm sorry I made you think that lowly of me.”

The gentleness of his gesture and his words made your tears flow with a mind of their own. There was never a time he made a huge mistake and didn't make you feel like the sky might fall apart at the sight of your tears. It only made the guilt heavier on your heart.

He tightened his hold around you, pulling your body flush against his as he let you cry your hearts content out on his skin. You could feel his hand on the back of your head, a silent encouragement for you to nuzzle his neck again. You obliged.

“I can't believe you made me cry at three a.m like this.” You whined, after a long moment of hushed words of love and quiet sobs, and sniffled.

“I'm sorry, darling..” He cooed at you, wiping the tears off of your cheeks with his gentle fingers. The soft expression he had quickly faded into a slight smirk that appeared on his handsome face. “It wouldn't be the first time I do that, though.”

“Hey!” Your hand landed on his shoulder in a light swat. “We're having a moment here! And I still haven't forgiven you, you know!”

He let out a light chuckle, his smirk deepening when he tilted his head and noticed the faint blush on your face. “Worry not, I'll make it up to you. I'm gonna make you cry in a different way, darling.”

“Go away!” You whined again and shoved him away. His suggestive words made your face feel a lot warmer than necessary, but you tried to sound as stern and unaffected as you possibly could, under his gaze. “I'm going to bed. You better not follow me there, you're sleeping on the couch.”

“Oh, no need for the bed, baby.” He ignored your empty threat and rejection, making a quick job of scooping you up in his arms and heading towards the living room. “We have a foldable couch for a reason.”

“It's an expensive couch, you ass!”

[chobblesomewrites]

Grumbo Professional Esports AU (abandoned work)

A collection of drabbles/scenes rearranged in chronological order featuring Team Coach Mumbo x Pro Player Grian. Warning; makes use of League of Legends/MOBA Mechanics. Unrealistic depiction of the esports scene.

No, this will not be fully written or edited. Prepare for weird pacing and incoherence. I'M JUST POSTING THIS SO I CAN STOP BEING ASKED ABOUT IT </3

—————

[ READ BELOW ]

Mumbo wasn't one for competitive games, but he had made exceptions from time to time. Those times mostly due to his online best friend wanting to drag him to experience almost anything and everything with him.

He wouldn't have even dreamed of touching MOBA games if it weren't for Grian begging him to, excusing that no one else but Mumbo was actually willing to deal with his competitive nature. He had first refused, firmly wanting to stick to his farming simulator games, but Grian knew too well how to act like a brat to get what he wanted.

So he found himself on [                ]’s tutorial screen, anxiously going through it while Grian remained in the Discord call with him, giggling at every noise he made every time he jumped from the sight of an enemy NPC.

“You lied when you said this game had a farming mechanic,” Mumbo accused his friend with a whine as he spam clicked on a highlighted enemy minion, clicking his tongue when he missed the gold.

Grian cackled, “Well, killing minions for gold is called farming. So technically I wasn't lying?”

Mumbo let out an audible huff of betrayal, which made Grian laugh even more as he tried killing his character to the minions out of spite.

—

Mumbo had thought he wouldn't be playing the game as often, for the main reason he had the game at all was because Grian occasionally didn't have anyone to play with, as he said. But he had plenty of friends so Mumbo didn't feel the need to open the game as he would probably be the last person on Grian's friendlist to be asked.

But dear lord was he wrong.

After getting bullied for his lack of game knowledge for one night, Grian kept inviting him to duo queue every single day. Mumbo would've been led to believe that Grian actually didn't have friends except for him if it weren't for their friends occasionally coming by to 5 man queue with them. But even then, that led Mumbo questioning even more of Grian's motives to specifically invite him of all people, adding to the fact that Grian apparently hated playing ADC but specifically only played it when in duo queue with Mumbo.

It was confusing. So, so confusing. Mumbo was so pants at the game yet Grian just kept inviting him nonetheless!

So, Mumbo thought; if Grian wanted to play with him that badly, he'd have to adjust his mentality to make sure that his best friend was actually having fun. He wasn't just here to keep Grian company anymore, he was here to now help Grian actually enjoy his games.

On weekday nights Grian would be too busy to get online, Mumbo used his free time to get on custom and try out other heroes outside of just support. He specifically tried mid laners in hopes to give Grian more opportunities to play roles outside of ADC, trying to prove that Mumbo was more than capable of handling himself!

He learned the map, how to invade, how to dodge, how to properly farm– everything. He needed to learn everything.

If it was for Grian, he'll take on everything.

–

[ DEFEAT ]

“....”

The call was silent, save for Grian who did horribly to muffle his laughter. Mumbo groaned in embarrassment into his hands, “Midlaning is hard,” he admitted in a mumble, which caused Grian to outright laugh into his mic.

“You didn't have to force yourself to try.”

“But you like playing jungle.” Mumbo pouted.

“Not all the time! Who on earth even says they like playing jungle?”

Mumbo sighed as he clicked off the after-game stats, returning back to their party lobby to see Grian already waiting to start the queue. The man already set himself back to the ADC role and it made Mumbo slump even more in guilt over his desk.

By some magical force, Grian probably felt his bad mood and he reassured with a smile, “I still think it's more fun if we're laning together.”

“You get to spoil me and you'd only have eyes for me!” Grian teased.

Mumbo felt himself flush red at that. Not knowing how to quip back, he simply said, “Shut up.”

–

5 man queues are always fun. It means Mumbo could just turn off his brain and listen to his friends talk and trash talk without having to say much because there's enough of them to hold the conversation together.

Mumbo was about to fully zone out while watching Grian’s character farm freely in their lane when he heard him speak up about something in their team's idle conversation on call.

“You know, I actually plan to be a professional gamer.”

From whatever conversation the call was going through, everyone in their friend group broke into laughter at Grian's admittance. Mumbo could hear Grian's pout as he tried to defend his dream, “I'm serious here!”

Their friends laughed even more, “How plausible would that even be as a job? We're just teenagers, dude. Who would wanna sign kids like us?”

Their words were obviously just trying to tease Grian, but Grian didn't take it lightly. The ADC went quiet as the friends in call continued on about how ridiculous of a scene it would be if anyone of them were to actually turn out to be 

Out of nowhere, Mumbo suddenly spoke up, “I think it's not impossible.”

The conversation paused and Mumbo suddenly felt conscious of the attention on his words. Nonetheless, he continued on, “I believe in you, if you are still going to try.”

“I'll try it with you.”

The call bursted into laughter again, even Grian couldn't help but giggle, which made Mumbo feel hot in the face from embarrassment. He spent the rest of the game making so many mistakes because the entire call kept teasing him for making such bold declarations.

He was able to live through 2 games of that until the other 3 friends in their team decided to log off, leaving him with Grian. Mumbo had thought that he would log off too, but he simply clicked the queue button without saying anything, leaving 

2 minutes into the queue, Grian finally spoke up, “I'm holding you up to that promise, you know.”

“You better go professional with me.”

Mumbo wonders if he's gonna regret promising that, given how ominous Grian makes it sound as if he's sold his soul to the devil. But if the devil were Grian, he finds that he doesn't really mind missing a part of himself.

–

Ever since that promise, Grian had been relentless with playing with Mumbo. Not that he wasn't always relentless before, but Grian was now determined to actually help Mumbo catch up to his level. They've even started custom 1v1s in hopes to improve.

Other people, if they were in Mumbo's position, would've been annoyed. Given how Grian tends to get frustrated eventually, Mumbo just takes it as a sign to be better. He couldn't slack.

He knew that Grian wasn't specifically frustrated at his skills, he was frustrated and anxious of the possibility that Mumbo wouldn't be able to sign with him if he didn't improve. They needed to do it together, Grian was stubborn to make sure of that fact.

So Mumbo didn't fault him for he loved him.

–

“Are you signed to a team?”

An account that was obviously a smurf had privately messaged him one time after a solo queue game Mumbo played while waiting for Grian. He ignored it, assuming that it was a scammer pretending to be a professional. He even went to quickly unfriend the account with this thought in mind and sat in the party lobby for a few minutes before a friend request came in.

“Xvoid,” Mumbo murmured out. He frowned and leaned back on his chair in thought, wondering if he's seen that username before. Probably in his other games, but Mumbo doesn't really actively pay attention to the randoms he and Grian match up with.

It was when he was about to decline the friend request that Grian joined the lobby with a very loud, “Mumbo Dumbo Bumbo Jumbo!”

“Grian,” Mumbo returned the sentiment, sounding more exasperated than excited like Grian. His friend must've realized something from that tone difference as he immediately questioned, “What's up?”

“Someone messaged me about signing to a team and now I'm trying to remember who this XVoid person is.”

Grian made a noise of surprise, “XVoid? Xisuma?”

“Who?”

“The Captain of [            ]! I thought we watched enough live streams together to know this?”

“... Grian, I only know Etho in that team!”

Grian made a noise of offense and went off on a tangent about each and every member of the team that was not Etho, scolding Mumbo for being a ‘solo fan’. Mumbo ignored him, hovering his mouse over Xisuma's friend request.

If it is the captain of that team, Mumbo can only assume that this was probably just a fan account. It didn't hurt to accept it. He's had a lot of friends in his friend list that he decidedly ignored a lot anyway. He just accepts them for the sake of filling that friend list.

With that over with, Mumbo started the queue, still ignoring Grian who was scolding his ear off.

–

Mumbo should've known there was going to be more to the friend request than he realized. What he assumed was a fan account was actually just the professional player's sub account.

Xisuma's team had taken notice of Mumbo, and even personally invited him to be their main team's support rather than simply being a substitute. Mumbo was about to disagree at first, discussing with Grian that he still wanted to play professionally with him, but Grian didn't stall him. He simply said;

"Go," and Mumbo had thought Grian hated him for being noticed by a team until he added, "I'll catch up."

And they left it at that. Mumbo signed with Xisuma's team as their support player but didn't even get to react properly that his online best friend didn't message him at all anymore as he was forced to move to a team provided account, leaving his personal one to the dust.

–

Mumbo's esports career didn't last longer than four years, but it was a good start for a while. He didn't have any experience whatsoever but his team was kind enough to help him throughout. He also found that a lot of people seem to like his awkward attitude so he didn't feel the need to upkeep a certain persona.

But with the constant change of meta to aggressive supports, his steady gameplay had no use in any team comps. It didn't help that, at every tournament, he got sadder and sadder the more he realized he couldn't see a certain username anywhere in both domestic and international teams even after a while. 

Grian wasn't there. The reason he was here at all, wasn't there. 

He had been moved to a substitute player midway through his career, replaced with someone more younger and aggressive in playstyle, his other teammates had also either retired or moved to better teams. The team’s management was still fond of him and he was only really kept for the fans' sentiments, but Xisuma didn't want him to live the rest of his life as a decoration, noticing the way Mumbo didn't enjoy his current status. The team they were in contract with wasn't getting any better either. They weren't going anywhere like this. Their skills could be put to more use somewhere. 

They couldn't accept the current state of things when they hadn't even won a single international championship to their name. Xisuma owed Mumbo at least a trophy for signing him up for the big leagues at such a young age that he could've used the time to explore more of his life.

He had offered Mumbo two things; Xisuma would pay so he could go back to college, or he could sign to Xisuma's budding esports company for a new chance.

As a coach, that is.

Mumbo had almost been tempted to say he would rather go back to studying, but Xisuma added more to his offer that he couldn't refuse; "You can choose the team. You'll be their main coach, after all."

Mumbo remembered that someone still promised to catch up, and he'd be willing to be a coach if it meant dragging him up here.

He promised. They promised they'd go together.

For the first time in a few years, Mumbo logged back in to his old account and clicked on a familiar user on his friend list.

"Grian,"

"You there?"

–

Mumbo wasn't confident for a while that Grian would reply back. It had been a good long while, after all. Would Grian even remember him? Mumbo's sure he himself hasn't forgotten the other, but he doesn't know if the sentiments are the same. 

Mumbo didn't really have the time to be too anxious about it either, busy helping Xisuma with properly setting up the company while also looking for managers and analysts to help him with forming the team.

The next time he finally checked his account again, he was disappointed when there was no message back. But one thing that gave him hope was when Grian’s user was lit up. He was online. And Mumbo could see damn well that his best friend, if he could still call him that, was actually just struggling to come up with a reply, especially when the indication of the other person typing kept popping up and disappearing over and over.

At least, with that, Mumbo knows that he wasn't fully ignored.

After a bit of waiting, he decided to give mercy to whatever message Grian is taking this long to send.

"Queue?"

And then the indication of Grian typing stopped. Then replying,

"You literally returned from war after how many and your first message is to ask to queue?? Not even gonna say hi to the kids?"

Mumbo burst out laughing. Somehow, it feels as if he never left for the professional scene and is back to his teenage self.

"How are you?"

"Got wife and kids."

Mumbo frowned at that, "Seriously?"

"No, you idiot. I'm this young and you think I'd have a kid already?"

"..." Mumbo rolled his eyes

"So what have you been doing this entire time?” I waited for you to catch up. Did you lie to me?

“Well one of us had to go to college, Mumbo.”

“Low Blow.”

“My bad.” Grian then typed, “Queue?”

“So now you’re trying to distract me by asking to play?”

“It's also been a while. I'm itchin’.”

Mumbo checked the time. He's fairly free for the rest of the day. And it's been a while since he's had genuine fun in the game, “Well, we ‘oughta scratch it!”

“Attaboy!”

–

They queue together for a while. Mumbo's old account had considerably ranked down so they were in lower elos. It wasn't that hard to win easily.

Grian was still good at the game, probably even better. He could catch up with Mumbo’s thinking, and Mumbo’s got the professional experience. One thing that bothered him was that Grian didn’t initiate a call like they always did years ago. Comms and all. Mumbo was left with Grian’s spam pinging and visual cues. Mumbo was too shy to ask about it, so he forced himself to be happy enough with Grian playing around with the emotes when they were idle in lane.

But surprisingly, when Mumbo thought they were about to log out, Grian told him to get in-game party call;

“Mumbo.” Oh, Mumbo has not heard that voice in a long time. Grian sounds less like a squeaker now. The long duration of having not spoken to each other was now extremely evident.

Mumbo forgot to greet back, and he didn’t get a chance to, as Grian spoke up again, “Why exactly did you message me again? Surely it's not to play, not when we could've done this for the past years.”

Mumbo didn’t know what to say for a moment. Would it be too rude to ask Grian about his previous interest in esports? Would that seem like he’s trying to flaunt at him or mock him?

His mouth twitched in hesitation, “Are you… still interested in going professional?”

“...” Grian didn’t reply, and Mumbo somehow felt even more desperate.

“You said you’d catch up.”

“I…” Grian sighed into the mic, seeming a little agitated, “Opportunities don't come as easily for me as it did for you, Mumbo.”

Mumbo furrowed his eyebrows, staring at Grian's little cat icon in disbelief, “...And so you gave up, just like that?”

“It wasn't just like that!” Grian defended. He sounded a little pissed off that Mumbo couldn't help but go quiet. At the silence, Pesky muttered an apology and calmed his tone, “Look, I- I really tried, alright? It was pressuring.”

Mumbo opened his mouth to ask what exactly pressured him but Grian beat him to it as he rambled on, “I lost my everyday duo to some team I couldn't even enter myself. Mum kept urging me to give up and go to college, but–” the voice on the other end cracked slightly but he took a long enough pause to steady himself, “I didn't want to- You, you were waiting, up on those big stages, looking around those stadiums like some lost little dog abandoned by their owner–”

“I was not some lost little dog!” Mumbo squeaked out in embarrassment, wondering if he really looked like that in the game livestreams, “How would you even know I was looking for you?!”

Grian’s smug smile could be heard in his tone, “I didn't say you were looking for me.”

Mumbo went quiet and murmured whinily, “You implied….”

The call was filled with Grian's giggling and Mumbo let himself enjoy the embarrassment for a brief moment before moving the topic along, “Anyway, I did say I was going to disagree to join them, but you urged me to accept it. I said I could've waited until we could sign together–”

“But you like the game, don't you, Mumbo?”

Caught quite off-guard, Mumbo gave his question a thought. He did like the game. Understanding the mechanics and strategy of it is fun. Winning a game was actually exciting since the winning conditions needed good skill and awareness to achieve, but… 

He only ever truly loved playing it because Grian was there. His best friend was a part of everything he loved about the game.

Mumbo was quiet and he couldn't find it in himself to actually admit his true opinions. Grian assumed that he was just embarrassed to admit that he liked the game and decided to move on, “So it was unfair to you. I couldn't drag you down. I know we promised to do it together, but that doesn't have to cost your possible futures.”

Mumbo chewed on his lip and once again quietly asked, “But are you still interested in playing?”

“Mumbo, I never stopped playing despite,” Grian said. An indirect message admitting that; he wants to play. He's always wanted to play. He never once gave up on the dream to. He's just a little late. “I wouldn't have queued with you today if I wasn't.”

Mumbo was hopeful at that admittance and he was quick to say, “Then play for me.”

“What?”

It was Grian's turn to be caught off-guard this time, sputtering in confusion and in disbelief. Mumbo could hear him sit straight on his chair, judging by the squeaking picked up by his mic, “No, that's- You shouldn't be practicing nepotism, Mumbo-”

Mumbo made a noise caught between a whine and a groan, “It's not nepotism if it's the coach's job to assemble a team of good players,” he defended. Grian was in even more disbelief this time as he caught on as to what Mumbo was getting at.

“Coach? What happened to your original team–? They still had you as a substitute…”

“Capt– X paid for the separation fee.”

Grian’s voice raised a little, “Then who and what the hell are you coaching for?”

Mumbo took a deep breath, needing to steady himself to be able to explain to Grian the situation without making it worse, “Look, I know you said you specifically wanted to play for a well-known team and, currently, X's company is just fairly knew–”

“Oh my god…” Grian muttered, his voice was muffled like he was burying his face in his hands. Mumbo ignored him as he continued to explain.

“He invited me to be the main coach, to set up the team to how I see fit since he had trust in the way I was at least aware of what was right, who was capable– Well, not to be blunt, but I have the skills to be able to strategize for an entire time and–”

Grian cut his ramble off, “You… you didn't do all this just for me, did you?”

Yes, I did. 

But, “No,” was what Mumbo said instead. “I still like the game, but I'm still not overly aggressive and competitive enough to be successful as a player, as you know.”

Silence that befell the call after that and it worried Mumbo as he didn't know if Grian could trust that reason. He was just about to continue his little persuasion when he was cut off again.

“I'm joining.”

“Before you– Wait, you are?!”

“Well, someone's gotta make sure you're not making wrong decisions! Who do you think taught you the game?! And you're planning to be the coach!?”

Mumbo couldn't even be sheepish at the underlying tone of being scolded. He was happy enough to hear Grian agree to joining even when doubt was evident in the other’s tone.

He’ll just have to show he’s capable of being Grian’s support, like always.

–

“Grian!” Mumbo had called out excitedly, approaching the man who held such a name. Maybe he was jogging more than politely approaching. Who was to blame him for being excited by the idea of finally meeting his long time online best friend face to face?

Grian’s shoulders jumped in surprise and he couldn't help but turn to look, looking even more stunned as he wasn't given time to react to the sudden hug Mumbo forced him into. His arms couldn’t find where to place itself, eventually relaxing on Mumbo’s back as he hugged back with equal eagerness.

The shorter man couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re surprisingly taller in real life, coach!”

Mumbo froze and pulled away to look at him weirdly, “Already calling me coach?”

“What? Were you actually not planning to sign me?”

Coach Mumbo winced and shook his head panickedly, “Goodness, of course we’re still planning to sign you, it’s just–” he hunched over and pouted a bit, “Isn’t coach a little too formal for us?”

Grian nudged Mumbo playfully, “Get used to it. You wanted this job. Didn’t you, coach?”

Mumbo pouted even more, slightly red in the face, “You don’t find me calling you jungler, do you?”

“I’m not signed yet so you can’t officially call me that yet,” the dirty blonde man then grinned wide, “For now, you can refer to me as darling.”

“Oh, stop it.”

–

Officially signing Grian up as the company’s first player was like a fever dream, even Grian himself would agree, and he’s had plenty of disbelieving things happening to himself. Even now when he was fully acquainted and settled into the residence provided by the team, he couldn’t believe that he was actually… what he dreamed of.

Grian glanced to his side, watching his coach scroll through some gameplay videos for possible teammates. Somehow, it felt right that the online best friend who nerds out about strategies that he can’t apply himself, was the tall man beside him.

Though honestly, Grian still expected Mumbo to be some hunched over nerd like he was. Who knew the man had not only looks and height, he had better posture than Grian.

The dirty blonde slumped in his chair and zoned out as Mumbo started introducing possible teammates, offering him options to form whatever team he wanted.

Grian didn’t listen much, still a little out of it. It is fairly weird that the coach of all people was asking the player who he wanted as teammates when it was supposed to be mainly the coach’s and the management’s job.

“Can I really pick the rest of my teammates?” He cut off Mumbo’s muttering in a familiar manner. Mumbo, as always, didn’t take offense and answered him.

“Of course.”

“And you’d support me?”

They held each other's stare longer than they should've. Mumbo broke into a smile.

“As I always have.”

–

“You’re stressing out Pearl again.”

Grian was half laying on his chair and lazily scrolling through the Grumbo tag on social media when Mumbo had come up to him with an unamused frown. Grian had half the respect for his coach to fix his seating arrangement and sat up properly to flash an innocent smile at Mumbo.

“I don’t seem to follow.”

Mumbo tugged at his hair in distress, familiar with Grian’s pretend dumb strategy. As a coach, you’d think that understanding strategies would be kept to the game, not applied even to his troublesome players.

“Sorry, let me rephrase then. You’re giving both Pearl and the PR team an extremely hard time to defend your honor.”

Grian sighs wistfully, “But you are my honor.”

Mumbo groaned and flushed red at that, “You’ve made that extremely clear with your interview!”

The dirty blonde shrugged and didn’t seem at all unapologetic. Seeing that he was once again going nowhere with attempting to horribly scold Grian, he leaned down and apologetically pecked the man on the forehead. Grian visibly perked up at that and blinked at Mumbo like he was expecting more.

Mumbo didn’t give him more, simply rolled his eyes and turned to leave, “Redo the interview tomorrow and you can negotiate for more.”

“MUUUUUUUUUUMBOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Grian’s complaints fell to no one’s ears as Mumbo left the training room.

[the-great-fusilli]

I’m pro-delulu and I too believe in shipping characters that don’t canonically end up together BUT… I will never get behind Zutara (my mind changes often, but rn no🙅🏽‍♀️.)

Maybe it’s because I don’t take colonization and eithnic clensing lightly, or maybe it’s because I disagree with the “Katara is like Aang’s mom” statement. Either way they should not be end game. People often bring up how Zuko helped Katara release a lot of pent up emotions concerning her mother’s death and who killed her, but the Fire Nation (his people) were responsible for that death. And up until that specific arc Zuko was upholding the beliefs of those people.

“Zuko doesn’t need Katara to be his mother like Aang and the rest of the group do, they’re on equal footing.” Except Aang and the rest of the group don’t need Katara to be mother either. People just view Katara as a maternal character because of her personality and that’s the only role they’ll acknowledge her having in the group. Katara’s mother showed her a love so deep and protective that she died so Katara could live. Of course the trauma of losing her mother in that way at such a young age would cause her to take on the role her mother had. Whether it be because of obligation, or simply because that’s all she knew.

Aang and all the other characters have experienced a lot of trauma, but Aang was raised by monks. He doesn’t need a mother figure because he’s never experienced gender roles in the way the other characters have. His idea of a family is being shaped as the show progresses because aside form Monk Gyatso, they are the first real family he’s had. He’s curious, fun-loving and light hearted because that’s how Monk Gyatso raised him to be, not because he’s an irresponsible little 12 yr old without a mother. His people were eradicated, so Katara doesn’t raise Aang she guides him through grieving the loss of his people. A loss she knows all too well.

Toph is blind and her family is overly protective. They don’t give her the space or freedom to be her own person or earth bend. Another experience that Katara knows all too well. Her grandmother never let her leave the southern water tribe or water bend so she gives Toph the same thing she gives Aang. Sokka is Katara’s brother… he also experienced the loss of their mother except Sokka is a boy. He’s been made painfully aware of gender roles because he watched their father leave to fight in the war instead of staying to help him and Katara. He wanted to be more like his Father because be believed that was his role in the family (to fight). So the responsibility of taking care of the both of them fell on Katara.

Katara and Zuko are not on “equal footing” especially not before he leaves the Fire Nation. He’s a prince from the Nation that has been opressing her family, her people and the world for 100 years…(he literally calls my good sis “water tribe peasant” meaning at some point he believed she was inferior because he had royal blood.) He has changed now of course and I love both Zuko and Katara, but them being end game makes no sense to me. Even in terms of chemistry… I don’t think they have any at all. Majority of their screen time together is just them fighting with each other (verbally and physically.)

People also like to use the episode where Zuko takes Katara to find the man who killed her mother as proof that Zuko was the only one who truly helped her grieve and get closure. Which honestly I don’t understand. I think he definitely aided in helping her move past what happened, but it could’ve went painfully wrong & I think it was a bit misplaced. For one, Zuko’s whole reason for doing that was to get on Katara’s good side. He said himself that everyone else had forgiven him already except Katara. He understood that his role in the group was teaching Aang to fire bend, and helping the gaang defeat his father. Which is why he couldn’t grasp why she wouldn’t put her personal feelings aside for the sake of the team. He needed to gain Katara’s trust for the sake of better team work when they fight. Katara was also extremely hypocritical that episode, and spoke from a place of anger and hurt. Aang wasn’t invalidating her feelings, he only did for her what she’d done for him. He reminded Katara that her rage and anger needed to be fueled into defeating the Fire Nation, NOT revenge. Because revenge doesn’t help you grieve & it wouldn’t help them achieve the REAL goal. {Not to mention she was so disappointed and upset with Jet for wanting revenge (a character who truly reflects her), but because the man she was going to kill wasn’t innocent somehow her revenge was different and therefore justified?…No.}

Katara would tell Aang all the time how much seeing him so enraged in the Avatar state genuinely hurt her. Yet for some reason she couldn’t fathom that he’d feel the same way seeing her blood bend in the same emotional state? No…I think in that moment she just didn’t care & wasn’t thinking about it. Zuko was counting on that, and he used Katara’s pain to get her to trust him (it was smart and it worked but still not cool.) Zuko understands Katara’s pain to an extent, but it’s not the same at all. Zuko’s mother was banished, but Katara’s mother was killed… and by Zuko’s nation at that. The only people in the group who TRULY understand Katara and that pain… are Sokka and Aang.

Aang and Katara to me are like 2 halves that make a whole. Their characters are tailor made for each other and I love it. I’ve believed they were soulmates since the moment she broke him out of that Iceberg. Katara felt a higher calling, not only to be a water bender fighting for her people, but also to be apart of something bigger than herself, fighting for everyone. Her first time experiencing freedom is when she was took on a mission to give that same freedom to others around the world as well. Its not a coincidence that in the first episode where she feels her biggest emotions, she showcase her strongest bending yet at that time in her life, AND she broke THE Avatar out of an iceberg he had been in for 100 years. It was FATE. Katara helps Aang grieve, gives him a family after losing the one he had, teaches him water bending, teaches him that the world may be counting on him, but the amount of death and pain he sees is not his fault and most importantly teaches him how to use his power to stand up for and fight for the people who can’t fight for themselves. She shows up when he needs her the most. Aang also helps Katara finally step into her own power. His arrival gives her the things necessary for her development… freedom, fun, opportunity to master water bending, a new addition to the family after the loss of her mother, and a partner in justice. The way Katara is capable of truly seeing and understanding Aang, speaking to his soul when they had just met… reflects how meeting him helped her heal. They connect so much because despite their differences they understand each other. Some of Aang’s own words were “Why would i choose cosmic energy over Katara?” He had an opportunity to master the avatar state land directly in his lap, but instead he chose her.

IM TEAM KAANG TIL I DIE

Also I think personality wise Zuko and Katara are too much alike for it to work romantically imo. They’re both sassy as hell, sarcastic, stubborn momma’s babies, who resent their fathers a lil and went through hell for a couple years because of their siblings (+ losing their moms.) In some ways they ARE opposites (especially their bending & colors,) and i agree they have character development arcs that fit together like puzzle pieces…BUT they are more alike than they are opposite. I absolutely LOVE both characters, but I fear people look at Zuko with rose colored glasses on alot of the time. Especially when it comes to Katara. Zuko did what needed to be done for the world’s sake, but he’s no super hero when it cones to Katara and she has a deep wound related to getting revenge on people people who harm her family. The main reason Zuko broke her trust in the first place was because he helped Azula kill Aang after letting Katara believe he was on their side… Aang is her family It was never about her mother when it came to Zuko’s forgiveness. She even said she would kill him if he even thought about hurting Aang when he first joined the gaang.

With that being said… I don’t have a problem with people who just like to see them together, but pls stop with the justifications because… It genuinely makes no sense to me at all.

[poraphia]

"Cooking Stream!"

➵ PAIRING! cc!wilbur x chef!streamer!reader

➵ CREATING! 12.22.23 | 3167 words

➵ CONTAINING! wholesome cooking, reader is a chef streamer, wil is on tour, wil and reader are longterm friends

➵ SAYING! i thought this would be super cute to write. a little friends to lovers never hurt anyone hehe. also hope you like the little banner! i dont really do those so this is a first. also not proofread aaa sorry

My masterlist :)

»»———-　　———-««

"How long have you been waiting to do that?" "Since we met up at the airport.."

“Hey, Wil, I’m about to start the stream. Are you ready?” I asked Wil. From my stream viewer, I could see Wil’s lengthy figure making the barest silhouette from the dark doorframe he was standing at. He insisted on making “an entrance��� for my stream, even if it meant standing ominously in the background of my kitchen.

“Maybe.” Wil replied blankly. I rolled my eyes, seeing that he was already in ‘bit’ mode.

I’ve been a cooking streamer for quite some time now. I share and teach people on Twitch my recipes live and created this community where everyone can feel safe and happy to learn. Occasionally, I even invite some of my friends to cook with me, Wilbur being no exception. This was our first time seeing each other in person, and Wilbur suggested that before his concert (which would be tomorrow) he wanted to do a cooking stream with me. It was like the stars aligned because after such a busy day, Wil specifically had a couple hours of free time to hang out with my community and me.

I stopped my intro music and took down my startup stream screen to reveal my camera, which showcased me, my kitchen, and Wilbur who was just barely visible on camera.

“Hi, friends! Welcome to the stream! Sorry for the delay, our special guest sadly couldn’t make it.” I said faking a distraught frown. I tried my best to avoid looking at chat, but just from a quick glance I could see spams of terror as they pointed out the figure behind me. I picked up a bowl and began my usual intro. “So, my lovelies, grab your bowls!” I reached over and grabbed my spatula. “Grab your utensils! and—” I looked around, acting confused. “Huh, I wonder where my chef hat is..”

Wil arose from the shadows, stomping toward me with his limbs stiff and a blank expression on his face.

“Oh, there’s my chef hat!” I exclaimed, smiling while looking at Wil. In a swift, goofy motion, Wil ducked his head down, making the hat land straight into the bowl I was holding. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing as Wil tried a desperate attempt to put the hat on my head. Once the hat laid lopsided on me, he turned around with his hands on his hips.

“Hi guys,” he smiled. “As you can see, I will not be the one leading this operation.”

“Yeah, they know.” I mocked jokingly. I placed the bowl and spatula onto the table to fix the hat. “If you guys don’t know, this is Wilbur Soot, but he doesn’t stream much anymore. So frankly, I don’t even know why I invited him.” That snarky comment made Wil nudge me on the shoulder.

“Hey! I’m still relevant on the world web!” Wil exclaimed.

“You know I’m kidding!” I laughed. “But Wil and I met like a loooong way back. Like you were doing your little livestream concerts?” I turned to look at him as he nodded to confirm my words. “And now look at you! In the middle of a whole worldwide tour!” Though he rolled his eyes in response he still had that familiar, dimple smitten smirk on his face.

I was proud to see Wilbur at his position now. I remember all those late-night calls when we would talk about what we wanted to be in few years' time. We were only small baby streamers when we first met. I did cooking streams in my parents’ kitchen and the townhouse he used to stream in was sold off long ago. Now we were in my own kitchen with tens and thousands of people watching us live, and tomorrow, thousands of more were going to watch Wil perform with his guitar and his voice.

It was time to start cooking. Today we were making strawberry cookies with white chocolate chips. I started off by giving directions as to what measurements you would need. Before I do my cooking streams, I like to post what ingredients would be needed the day because sometimes my fans would post selfies of them following my streams live while also cooking.

“So first, lets stir in our dry ingredients, yes?” I looked at Wil, who only eagerly nodded in silence. “So, of course, like all streams, I like to do my measurements while live just in case anyone needs time to catch up. So I hope everyone has their measuring utensils, because I’m about to give the measurements! And of course, I will be providing them on the screen as well.” I stated, looking at my OBS display.

Wil and I began to prep the ingredients. Each time I stated a measurement, Wil would scramble around the kitchen for the key components before emptying the powder into the bowl. I let out a small chuckle. “Wilbur, take your time, seriously! We’re supposed to be enjoying the moment.” I exclaimed.

“But but—!” Wil protested.

“Wil!”

With a defeated sigh, he slowed his movements as he scurried around the kitchen for the rest of the materials. As I stirred the flour and sugar together, I waited for Wil to come with the baking powder and salt. In the meantime, I started to look at chat.

“(y/n) is smiling a bit too much yall”

“YES WILBUR TREAT OUR CHEF RIGHT!!”

“is this (y/n)’s bf?”

Though it’s safe to say Wilbur and I had never had feelings for each other, the comments still flustered me. To prevent myself from getting more flushed, I pointed my attention back to my mixing bowl. Suddenly, Wilbur came behind me, holding the measuring cups.

“Ah, Wil—”

“This would be more an efficient way of getting our ingredients mixed in, no?” Wilbur suggested. His arms were on either side of my body, sprinkling in both the salt and baking powder carefully as his chest pressed against my back. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks from such an intimate position but tried my best not to ignore it. After he was done, he set the utensils aside and placed his hands on either side of my wrists, stirring with my movements.

Despite us both knowing that the chat was going crazy at this point, we both enjoyed the moment. Ever since Wil and I met each other in person for the first time, we had this habit of messing around with each other in physical ways. Within the first hour of us being together, we were running around the city, climbing over each other while sitting down, and Wilbur at one point threw me over his shoulder because I was “walking too slow.” It all felt completely natural to us. However, hat made me most flustered about it now in this very moment was the fact that thousands of people were watching us live!

We proceeded with mixing in the ingredients. Wilbur helped combined the wet ingredients as he gradually poured them into the mixing bowl I was stirring (of course, he again insisted that he stood over me as he poured for “maximum efficiency”). After some time with the spatula, took it out and turned towards the camera.

“Alright, so at this point of the process, it’s going to get a little hard to stir the dough, so—” I glanced to my laptop’s stream viewer and saw that Wil was doing silly faces and gestures, completely taking the attention away from me. I watched as he opened his mouth wide and inched closer to me, almost trying to bite me. Without thinking, I took my finger to get a scoop of the batter before turning around and smudging it into Wil’s face.

Wilbur stared at me in shock as a smug grin rested on my face. Swiftly, he took the spatula from my hands, gathered a large glob with his fingers, and smeared it all over my face. My cheek was now lathered with the think substance as I stared at him, bewildered. It was now Wil’s turn to start smiling with his dimples prominent as they could be. “What, you started it!” Wil argued, putting his hands up. My eyes slowly trailed to the open flour bag he had left on the counter. It was as if Wil followed my gaze, because as soon as I reached over to that bag, Wil was on the run.

“What the— Come back here, you prick!” I cried. I grabbed a fistful of flour before aimlessly chasing him around the island counter. His legs were far too long to outrun me, but that also meant he was rather clumsy with his movement as well. We returned in front of the camera when Wil began to lose balance after turning a sharp corner. I took my chance and ran in front of him before dusting him with a fistful of flour all over his apron and face.

I fell into a fit of laughter, clutching my stomach. “Holy shit, Wil! You look ridiculous!” I said in between gasps. Wil stared in utter horror, but soon enough, he started laughing as well when he saw his reflection from the stream viewer.

“This is going to be a nightmare to get out of my hair, (y/n), what have you done?!” He cried. It sent me more into hysterics, laughing as I held onto the counter for dear life. “I’m going to try and wash this out now. You better hope and pray for your restroom.” Wil said, waving me off as he made his way to my bathroom.

“In the top left drawer in my room are my baggy clothes you could wear!” I called out. I carried on with the stream, leaving where I left off. I got my stand mixer and turned on the machine so that it could start stirring on its own. I also cleaned up around the area and washed the batter off my face before reading the chat.

“Alright, chat, how we feeling about this stream, huh? Everyone doing good following along? Do you guys like Wil?” I asked. I scanned the chat, smiling at some of the comments.

“Wil and (y/n) are an iconic duo bruh”

“YES CHEF WE LOVE THE STREAM CHEF”

“I’m doing good following along :D”

“WILBUR IS SO FUNNY”

By the time the dough was done mixing, so was Wilbur, who had just finished washing up and changing his clothes. He wore a baggy Artic-Monkeys tee with gray sweatpants that suited him perfectly. “Is the dough done?” Wil said. His hair was a curly mess most likely from wetting it then drying it with a towel. His glasses rested on the bridge of his nose with his eyes just barely visible. Something about this look, whether it be his disheveled hair or the fact that he was wearing my clothes, made me blush a little.

“—Oh,” I muttered, barely realizing that he asked me a question. “Yeah, it’s done, we could start placing them on the tray now.” He nodded before coming behind me, placing hands on my waist. “Ah—! Wilbur!” he buried his face into the crook of my neck. With a defeated sigh, I turned off the machine and removed the bowl from the stand mixer. “Come on,” I said. “Help me shape the cookies.”

“Yes, chef!” he enthusiastically remarked. He stood back up, and we were back on business. We proceeded to work together to shape the cookies, making light conversation while also taking some questions from the chat. Wilbur talked about some stories he had on tour. He compared his experiences from when he used to do little stream performances to the big stage in front of thousands of people live.

Once we were done shaping the cookies, we placed the two trays into a preheated oven. I did the dishes while Wilbur offered to tend to my chat. There something so.. Domestic about Wil and I cooking. It came naturally, as if this isn’t the first time we cooked together, and it certainly this wouldn’t be the last. I scrubbed the bowl clean as I thought about the warmth of Wilbur wrapping around my body. How he nuzzled his nose into my scent, then pulling away reluctantly. A small smile formed on my lips. Though I knew deep down that I’ve never felt that way about Wilbur, and I doubt that he felt that way with me, it was still such an ideal way of moving on with life.

“Hey, (y/n)?” Wilbur called out. I shook my head and turned around to face Wilbur.

“Yes?” I asked. I wiped my hands with a dry towel before taking my place next to Wilbur, who had his waist against the counter and his hands holding himself up.

“Chat wants to do a Q&A session with the both of us. I think they’re tired of hearing about my tour stories.” He chuckled.

“Hm, I don’t think they’re tired of you, rockstar,” I smiled. “but sure, let’s do a Q&A with the two of us.”

The chat proceeded casually, and we had a fun time answering some questions. We talked about how we first met, how we grew up together as streamers, and how life has been for us more. However, there was one reoccurring question that we tried to ignore for some time, but at this point, it was rapidly coming up.

“Do you have feelings for each other?” I read out loud.

Wil and I looked at each other. Maybe it was the delusions I had, but there was something so sincere in Wil’s eyes. His eyes almost sparkled under the kitchen warm light, and his brown eyes could easily be confused for a fresh cocoa harvested from the jungle. His eyes squinted like he wanted to tell me something, but before I could ask, he turned away.

“No.” He stated but rather reluctantly. “We’ve just been really good friends for these past years, right?” He turned to me again.

“Mhm,” I hummed. My gaze then drifted to the camera. “Chat, stop shipping us together, seriously! You guys are acting like this is the first time I’ve done a cooking stream with a guy! Shame on you, chat!” I playfully lectured. But in my mind sat some heavy thoughts. I wondered if the reason why Wil was so hesitant was because he felt uncomfortable with the topic. Worry flooded my head, hoping that I didn’t ruin his time on stream.

Ding!

The oven went off, meaning that the cookies were ready. “Ah, cookies are ready!” I beamed, lightning the mood. I looked through the drawers, looking for the oven mitts. However, none were to be found. Wil noticed my confusion and came up behind me, a bit more careful on distance this time.

“Is something wrong?” He asked. His hands were behind his back as he leaned down to talk to me.

“Yeah.. I can’t find the oven mitts. Hold on, I probably left them in the washing machine room.” I turned around to face him.

“Alright, I’ll be here.” He smiled. I smiled back before moving past him, leaving the kitchen and headed down the hall to the spare storage room I had. I opened the door and looked around, finding those beige oven mitts I would frequently use while baking something. Without realizing, Wilbur was treading down the hallway.

“Ugh, where are they..” I thought out loud. I dug through the dryer, seeing if they were hiding under the freshly warm clothes. Finally, I was able to achieve the oven mitts. I stood up properly and held the oven mitts as I kicked the dryer closed. I turned around to finally get back to the stream and Wilbur. I wonder if—

Before I could finish thinking, a hand was on a hip and another hand was under my chin. Those familiar brunette curls brushed against my forehead, as I looked up to see Wilbur. His glasses were pushed up so that his face could be close to mine without any trouble. His eyes were half-lidded, almost looked like they were longing. Sparks tingled in my chest as I stared at him. A gulp running through my throat.

“May I kiss you..?” He gently asked. His voice was so low, so sensual, it was like waking up next to him after a long night of cuddling. My face burned, but not a single nerve in my body told me that I should deny his request.

I placed the oven mitts onto the nearest surface, not daring to look away from him. I could feel him getting nervous because even through the dark lighting, I could see his face turning red as the corners of his mouth twitched. Before I could even register my movements, I cupped either side of his face, and pulled him into a kiss I didn’t even know how much I longed.

His body sunk into my touch as he held me close with weak warms. His lips, soft and pink, danced with mine with a hunger I never realized he had. They were desperate, yearning for my warmth. Little did I know my movements mimicked his with just as much desperation.

Reluctantly, we pulled away as we held each other tight and close to each other’s bodies. His eyes were clouded underneath his mess of hair and glasses, but a wide smile rested on his face.

“How.. How long were you waiting to do that..?” I asked, breathless.

“The moment we met up at the airport, honestly..” He chuckled. “Come on.. You have a stream to wrap up.” Wilbur walked out of the room. His hand held mine until he was enough distance away, even clutching to my middle finger before departing. I stared as he turned the corner, joyfully greeting the chat as if nothing happened.

I realized that my cheeks were aching from smiling too much. As I listened to Wil ramble some excuse to chat as to why it’s taking me forever to return, I grabbed the oven mitts and slid down the hallway.

Maybe there was a reason why all of this felt so right. How being with Wilbur just felt so natural. I was out of frame, but I couldn’t help but stare at him.

Yeah.. I could get used to this.

»»———-　　———-««

a / n ~ aaahhh hope yall enjoyed! notes of all kind are appreciated :D and like always, thank you so much for the support.

basically tagging anyone that interacted with my previous posts whoopsies @listenheresweaty @buns-and-butter @mysticalsoot @tiredandbisexual @phxntomsdusk @themonsterunderurmom

[five-bi-five-mind]

The Collapse

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x fem!Reader

Words: 6.7k+

Genre: Smut & Angst & a touch of a dark fic vibe

Summary: Set right after Civil War, but my own take and no Vis. Wanda picked a random town to hide out in, not expecting to meet you. But when she did she was completely captivated. Except, things keep threatening to take you away and she can’t have that, now can she?

Warning: A little bit of light stalking; toxic!Wanda, like for real this isn’t the healthiest romance; jealous!Wanda; possessive!Wanda; top!Wanda, bottom!reader; strap-on use; magic strap; a lil overstimulation, rough sex. That’s a lot please let me know if I missed anything...

A/N: I really kinda... went all out for this. Like... damn I don’t know where the end of this came from, but damn. 

When the building collapsed, Wanda’s whole world froze. Her blood ran cold and her heart was pounding so loudly it drowned out the sounds of everything else around her. The coffee she held in her hands slipped, as if suddenly weighing a ton and spilled on the floor around her, the splash of it ruining her pristine shoes. But Wanda didn’t care, she didn’t even register it. Her eyes were glued to the ruin that showed on the screen.

There she was, in the middle of a coffee shop, watching in horror as the breaking news flashed on the tv. It was your apartment complex, she knew that immediately. A freak accident, is what the reports were saying, something wrong with the foundation of the building maybe. Emergency responders weren’t sure yet. They weren’t concerned about that, what they were concerned about was finding survivors. But as Wanda watched on, the number of deceased kept rising and rising.

People in the shop stopped with her, not nearly as shocked, but more morbidly curious. The people who did notice Wanda’s state of shock seemed to understand immediately what might have been wrong. It was a big building in a not so big college town, there were bound to be a lot of people who knew someone affected by this disaster. Wanda didn’t even register the patrons who already were busy cleaning up her mess, let alone thank them for what she should’ve handled.

No, she couldn’t do any of that. Couldn’t tear her eyes away from the coverage of the wreckage that showed on the screen. Her eyes darted at everything that was shown, hoping to whatever being was out there that she could catch a glimpse of you. She was fairly certain you were there when it happened. After all, she was picking up that coffee to specifically bring to you. If only she had been smarter and asked you to coffee instead. Then she could have ensured your safety. This is what happens when she takes her eyes off you. You’d somehow get into trouble. Although, as she looked at the disaster unfolding on screen, the word “trouble” was an understatement.

You didn’t even realize she was watching you most of the time. You had no idea at all, in fact. Wanda was just that mysterious woman who bumped into you all the time. She seemed to be everywhere, but you didn’t ever question it. You liked her presence, her smile made you blush, and her touch made you shiver. You’d be lying if you said you were only curious about her, you knew there was something more between the two of you. A deep connection you couldn’t exactly explain.

Wanda could though. The moment she met you, something inside her woke up. Whether it was the way you smiled at her when you greeted her, or the way you didn’t seem phased by her usual standoffish attitude, she wasn’t sure. She just knew that there was something different about you, something that broke through all the emptiness she’s felt for so long. On the first day that Wanda met you, she knew without a doubt that she had to have you. No, that you were already hers, whether you realized it or not.

So that’s what started it all. One brief moment of you smiling at her and your fate was sealed. Wanda found herself following your every move. She interjected herself into your life in ways that anyone else would’ve questioned, but yet you didn’t even blink at it. She saw you every day, somehow always greeting you the moment you left your apartment, despite not living in the same building. She ended up bumping into you in other places too. On your way to classes on campus, in the library when you studied for exams, even at your work study job at the university’s museum. You had no idea what Wanda did for a living, you just assumed it had to do with the university and didn’t question it further. Wanda was shocked by how naïve and accepting you were to believe that. Truth is, Wanda had no connection to your school, when she first met you it was a happy accident. She picked your town at random to lay low in. What surprised her more was the fact that you didn’t seem to recognize her at all, which was a good thing for her. She picked your brain for any signs, even when she gave you her name you still didn’t seem surprised. With others she could manipulate them well enough so they wouldn’t go running off and giving away her hiding place, with you she was pleasantly surprised that she wouldn’t have to bother with that.

After picking your brain a few times after that fateful first meeting, the magnetism Wanda felt towards you increased. That’s when the following started, she said it was just so she could figure out why she was so drawn to you. If there was something about you that she missed, something that said you weren’t just another ordinary girl. Over time, she realized, that’s exactly what you were. Wanda’s uncontrollable impulse to be close to you, she figured out, was coming from a primal need to just have you. Something she’d never felt with anyone until you. So then the following became more frequent, it turned into her having her eyes almost always on you. The times that she took them off you something would always happen, she told herself. A person would swoop in and get too close and you’d look uncomfortable. Wanda had to be your knight in shining armors. So, whenever that happened, when a person got too close, too presumptuous about your kind attitude, she would appear. All the while, playing it off that she was in the area and your attention would be so glued to her that the other person had no choice but to walk away.

You weren’t exactly hers yet though. Not in the way she wanted you to be. She told herself you were a fragile thing, she shouldn’t force it. She was to stay close until she was sure you wouldn’t be scared away. That’s why months had gone by and still you were oblivious to the magnitude of Wanda’s affection for you.

Now, here she was, kicking herself for every missed moment, not sure if she’d ever get another chance with you. All Wanda could do was stand there and stare, but her mind felt like it was screaming at her body to act. Go find her! Was all she could think but her feet couldn’t move an inch. She was too terrified to know the truth, to learn if she lost you before she ever really could have you.

But then she felt her phone buzz and by some miracle her hands listened to her brain and she could fish it out of her pocket. The moment she saw your name with the cute little photo she snapped of you when you weren’t looking light up her phone, she felt like she could breathe again. If it’s your name on her phone, who else would be on the other line? It had to be you. There’s no other explanation she could think of. The phone vibrated in her hand for a moment before Wanda realized she desperately needed to hear your voice and should probably answer soon.

Hitting accept she didn’t miss a beat before putting it to her ear and asking “Where are you?” Her voice was stern, even though she was overwhelmed with concern for you. She couldn’t let that show, she didn’t want you to see all sides of her yet.

“I- Wanda?” Your voice sounded distant on the other end of that call. Panicked too and that just made Wanda’s heart rate skyrocket.

“Where are you?” She repeated, her grip clenching around the phone as she impatiently waited for your reply.

“I uh… I’m safe. I wasn’t home yet.” Thank the gods was all Wanda could think as she waited for more of a response. If you weren’t there, then you’re in one piece and that’s all that mattered to her. “I was grabbing coffee with a classmate when it happened.” And then Wanda froze again. Coffee with a classmate? What classmate? You never went anywhere after class with other students. The only time Wanda had seen you interacting with other students was when you had group projects to do. This was new. What student did you even get coffee with?

Wanda shook her head. Shouldn’t she be glad that you changed your routine this once today? That student was very possibly the reason you were still alive. But still Wanda’s blood boiled with jealousy. She was on her way to have coffee with you. She didn’t want you to share that or anything for that matter with someone that wasn’t her.

Wanda’s silence didn’t go unnoticed by you, but with the situation you now faced it was not really something you wanted to address.

“Wanda?” You asked into the phone. “Wanda?” You asked again, trying to get some sort of sign that she was still on the other end. Wanda just hummed a short reply and you knew that was all you were going to get for the moment. “Wanda, I don’t think I have a place to stay. My apartment is… Well…” Destroyed? Lost among the rubble? You weren’t sure of the state it was in, but you weren’t ready to find out what was left. “What should I-“

“You’re staying with me.” Wanda cut you off, finally absorbing what you were saying. She wanted to snatch this opportunity before that mystery classmate got any other ideas. She’d be grateful that this random person distracted you just this once since it resulted in your safety, but that was as lenient as she was going to be with them.

“Just for a few days,” You reassured her.

“We’ll discuss that later.” Wanda failed to hide the finality in her tone. Somehow, you knew that your length of stay in Wanda’s home wasn’t going to be something up to you, but to her. Deep down you had a feeling there was to be no discussion, but for some reason that didn’t bother you at all.

—————————————————————-

When Wanda picked you up she was incredibly displeased to see that you still weren’t alone. You were still with the classmate you had gone out to coffee with. A girl that Wanda definitely hadn’t seen hanging around you before. It annoyed her the way this girl had a hand on your shoulder when she had pulled up to the street corner you were waiting on. But it also gave her a strange sense of pride when she watched you shrug the hand off the moment you saw her coming. Still, it didn’t sit well with her that she didn’t know the girl you were with or why you were with her. She hasn’t been in your thoughts before so you must not take much notice of her, but then why would you agree to go to coffee with a complete stranger? Because you’re too trusting. Of course, that’s what it was. It’s one of things that Wanda took advantage of to get close to you, so of course someone else would think to do the same. Too naive. Wanda didn’t want to change that, but what she did want to change was the fact that everyone around you seemed to think they could get close to you.

The car ride back to Wanda’s place was incredibly silent. On Wanda’s end, it was because she was fuming over the audacity that girl had to hug you right before you got into the car. She didn’t need to read your thoughts to know you were uncomfortable with that move. Good, she thought. If you’re uncomfortable with another person’s touch then Wanda hoped you already knew you belonged to her. Plus, she knew you didn’t mind her touch. She didn’t miss the way you’d even reach for it. Making excuses to be near her, blushing any moment that Wanda made any sort of contact with you, no matter how minor. She knew for a fact, you couldn’t get enough of her touch.

But still, she couldn’t stop herself from being overtaken with her own jealousy and possessiveness of you. Wanda was well aware you weren’t exactly hers yet. Now that you would be in her home, her space, surrounded by all things her, Wanda was going to make sure to change that and she didn’t think it would be too hard.

When you both got to Wanda’s apartment, Wanda was quite pleased that you seemed to be impressed with how pristine and tidy the place was. She was also pleased that when she showed you a few drawers of things you could use and wear, you didn’t question for a second why she already had that. She even checked your thoughts for some sign of skepticism or alarm, but all she found was your appreciation towards her.

Maybe this was it, Wanda thought, maybe this was the chance to finally get even closer to you. Not that she didn’t already know just about everything there was to know about you. Wanda wanted to get closer in a different way, to cross that threshold between friend and something more. You were practically hers already, all she had to do was reach out and touch you.

But no, no. Today was a big day for you, Wanda knew that. You were quiet, downcast, you had potentially just lost all of your belongings. This wasn’t how Wanda wanted to start. She’d wait, just a little bit longer.

Plus she still had to scope out this new mystery classmate of yours. What did this girl want? What were her intentions?

But that could wait another day too. For now, Wanda had a job to do: Comfort you. And comfort you she would. She’d be whatever you needed until you began to bounce back from this horrible accident. Then, once you brighten up, she’d pounce.

It was only a matter of time before you knew you belonged to Wanda… —————————————————————

The days following your arrival at her apartment were uneventful. You had learned quickly your apartment was nearly unlivable, but luckily could retrieve some of your things. It seemed that almost anything important to you survived. Both you and Wanda were thankful for that, but Wanda’s reasoning was quite different than yours.

You had begun to perk up after the tragic destruction of your apartment complex. Better yet, you had begun to make yourself at home with Wanda. You seemed to be getting quite comfortable and Wanda was overjoyed with how well you adapted to living with her.

Of course, it wasn’t quite what Wanda wanted yet. You insisted on sleeping on her sofa since it was a one bedroom and you had a habit of telling Wanda you would get out of her hair as soon as you could. Whenever you said that Wanda would just frown and say the same thing. “We can discuss this later” that’s all you heard on that topic from her and then she’d immediately try to distract you.

On Wanda’s part, she barely took her eyes off you. Even if you didn’t notice it. And when you were aware of it, you didn’t mind her hovering. You knew she was shaken from the accident, not knowing your fate for a good minute until she got your phone call. You just didn’t know to what extent Wanda cared for you and your safety, but you had hints. Call it an inkling, call it hope, you weren’t sure, but you were waiting.

In the short time Wanda had you within reach, she got bolder with her interactions with you. When she passed you by, she’d deliberately brush against you. Sometimes when you two spent time together she would reach for you, brushing hair from your face, wiping an invisible crumb from your lips, resting her hand on yours when you two talked. Wanda acted like it was the most natural thing in the world, but it was driving you crazy.

All the while, of course, Wanda knew. She didn’t have to read your mind to know it left you reeling. Your reaction said it all, the flush of your cheeks, the struggle mid sentence to keep talking, the way your eyes lit up when her hand touched yours. Wanda was eating it up. You were almost ready to be hers. You were so close, Wanda just needed to give you a little harder of a push.

So she had a plan to make stronger moves. Starting with “movie nights” in her bed. Wanda claimed it was for comfort. She had a long day, you had a long day, it was the perfect way to get cozy and wind down. Reluctantly, you agreed.

And that’s where you found yourself, on Wanda’s bed. The minute you sat down she smiled at you. To anyone else it was an innocent smile, but you could see the look in her eyes. It was as if she finally caught you in her trap, and that’s exactly what Wanda was thinking. Finally, she had you closer. One move and you could be all hers if she chose. The look was intense, but you didn’t mind it. The unknown of what might happen just made a shiver run down your spine.

Wanda noticed that, though. She was so in tune with your every move that there was no way she’d miss your smallest reaction. “Here, you’re cold. Come here.” Wanda didn’t even wait for you to answer before pulling your body closer to hers. You were practically leaning on her now and her arm remained looped around your waist.

The warmth and proximity was intoxicating to you, but your reaction wasn’t quite as strong as Wanda’s. She was drowning in delight, having your body pressed to hers. Wanda found your reaction to this so tantalizing. Your face flushed, your eyes glued to the TV facing her bed, too nervous to look back up to her. You were right where she wanted you and it was going fantastically.

That is, until you got a text.

You perked up at the chime of your phone, sitting almost forgotten on the nightstand. Wanda glanced at the clock and frowned. It was quite late for someone to be texting you right now.

Her frown only deepened when you pulled away from her grasp to reach for your phone.

“Who’s texting you so late?” Wanda tried to form that as a question, rather than accusation, but it was a struggle.

“Oh, just a classmate.” You shrugged as you unlocked your phone and began typing away.

Wanda desperately needed to keep her cool if she was going to finally make more progress with you. You had been right there in her arms, she could have that back if she just took a beat. But it was a struggle and her jealousy was a powerful voice in her head. “The one from before?” Wanda couldn’t stop herself from asking. “The girl you went to coffee with?”

“Yeah,” You said it as if it was the most casual thing in the world. To anyone else it would be, but to Wanda it was a threat. A threat that someone else was closing in on what was hers. She couldn’t have that. “She’s checking in. You know, after the accident and stuff. Seeing how I’m doing.”

So this girl is trying to play like she’s kind and concerned for you. If Wanda knew her intentions, she wouldn’t be bothered, but since she didn’t it only made her seeth. She kicked herself for not picking that girl’s brain when she saw her next to you, but then again she was too preoccupied by her close proximity to you. Not to mention, Wanda almost lost you that day. Still she was angry with herself for getting so distracted.

“Just checking in? Okay.” Wanda scoffed before she could repress her reaction.

You stopped. Your fingers freezing on your screen as you looked up at Wanda who now sat straight up on the bed, eyes dark with boiling anger as she watched you. “Yeah, just checking in,” you reiterated. “I haven’t seen her since we got coffee that day, since I had to skip some classes after what happened.”

“Why did you get coffee with her?” Wanda couldn’t stop now. She needed to know what this girl wanted from you. Since she wasn’t here for Wanda to invade her mind, questioning you would have to do.

“Just to chat.” You didn’t like this turn of events. It was irritating you that Wanda was being so… you didn’t exactly know what to call it. Possessive? But how could she be possessive if you two were just friends still.

“Just to chat?” Wanda fired back with skepticism.

“Yeah, believe it or not, Wanda, I can have more than one friend.” Your phone was forgotten. Dropped in your lap, mid reply to this girl. Wanda did take relief in knowing she distracted you, but your words definitely struck a nerve with her. Never had you talked like this with her and she wasn’t a fan.

“Friend.” Wanda spit the word out. “Okay.” Her arms crossed over her chest and the way she was glaring at you would send anyone cowering, but you held your ground. Angry that she was questioning your choice of words, angry that she was angry when she had no right. Not yet at least. You’ve been waiting for her to make a move, but to confirm what you two feel for each other. It was getting exhausting dancing around it. It was more than a crush, more than just a fling. Wanda was everywhere, in your daily life, in your head, in your dreams. She was the air you breathed and she was both questioning your relationship with another woman and refusing to further yours with her. “Is that all it is?”

“Yes!” You hissed. “What else would we be?”

You and Wanda were talking about two different things, you both just didn’t know it. Wanda was fuming at this point, thinking you were denying her the one thing she wanted in this world: you. She knew you felt stronger for her than just friendship. Wanda often gave into the temptation and found your thoughts filled with her. Even then, it didn’t take much to realize you were madly in love with Wanda. So why were you being so damn stubborn? Did you want this girl too? Was she better than Wanda somehow? Wanda knew you inside and out. She provided for you, she protected you. There’s no possible way this girl could be better.

But the more Wanda thought about it, the more her anger got the best of her. Wanda was done tiptoeing, done waiting. If she had to push she would push. You needed to see you were already hers.

With speed you didn’t understand suddenly you found your back hitting the bed with a thud. In one swift move, Wanda was sitting on top of you, eyes burning with rage. You didn’t miss the strange way you swore you saw red swirling in them. Your brow furrowed for a minute, but then Wanda’s hands were on your shoulders, pinning you to the bed and you were focused on something else entirely. She looked beyond pissed at this point.

“I don’t know what you want with this girl, but you won’t deny me anymore.” Wanda’s voice was low, but threatening. She didn’t yell, but she didn’t need to. Her tone sent a chill down your spine. You two had never fought before and you’d be lying if this new side of Wanda didn’t somewhat terrify you.

“What? I don’t want-“

“Yes you do!” Wanda snapped. “I- I’ve seen it! I know.” You didn’t know what Wanda meant by that, but the more she spoke the angrier she got. You could feel her practically trembling in fury on top of her. “Stop denying what we have. Whatever this girl can offer, I will give you more.” Wanda’s jaw was clenched, her firm hold on your shoulders tightened. The growing concern that bubbled inside you was surely showing on the surface at this point.

“Wanda, I don’t want her!” You knew now she misunderstood what you were saying completely and you misunderstood her anger as well. She thought you were saying you two were just friends, you thought she was angry that you had another friend. To some extent she was, but now you were starting to understand why. Still as much as you pleaded with her, the way she looked at you with such malice didn’t change. It had you shaking underneath her.

Wanda on the other hand was so blinded by her anger and jealousy she didn’t know what she was doing. But when it finally clicked her face fell and she realized just how severely she acted.

With panic in her eyes, her grip loosened and she sat back slightly, still on top of you. She blinked and tried to calm her breathing.

Wanda had scared you. She had shown you a side of her she didn’t want you to see. Not only that but she let slip things she was trying to hide, like her abilities. And she was slowly coming to the realization you two were on two totally different pages in this argument. Anxiety hit her hard as she realized just how badly she overreacted. If you wanted her before, maybe after this you could change your mind. She couldn’t have that, she couldn’t live with that. But surely, seeing her lose control would send you running for the hills.

You saw the shift as soon as it happened. You both were breathing hard as you tried to calm down. Then you saw the panic that was coursing through Wanda as she sat on top of you. Yes, she had scared you. If you were smart you’d leave, but you could never do that to Wanda. Not when she was what you wanted with every fiber of your being. Not when you just realized she wanted you so badly that the thought of not having you sent her into a spiral. She wanted you just as much as you wanted her, and despite her alarming way of showing it, you couldn’t help but revel in that. “Wanda, I don’t want her.”

Wanda stared down at you, eyes wide, still shocked by her own actions. “I don’t want her Wanda,” you said with more conviction this time. “I don’t.”

“And what do you want?” Wanda’s voice was a shaky whisper.

“You.” You watched as Wanda visibly broke on top of you from just that one word. She felt so much guilt for her anger. The shame she felt for doubting you, for terrifying the one she loved, was overwhelming.

“I’m sorry,” Wanda pleaded, the all consuming need to claim you now mixed with a staggering need for your forgiveness. “I’m sorry, I just can’t wait anymore. I can’t be without you. You have to understand, I wouldn’t hurt you, I wouldn’t. I’m sorry-.”

“I know,” You interrupted in a hushed voice. “I know, it’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry. I just need to be with you. I need you to be mine. Not hers, not anyone’s. Just mine. I need to have you.” Wanda was unraveling as she spoke. She was disgusted by her reaction to you, but you just made her so crazy. She can’t resist you. You’re all she’s wanted and she’s waited so fucking long for you. One tiny threat that you might be taken from her, whether by a horrible accident like what happened with your apartment, or by some other person who could sweep you off your feet, whatever it may be, just the idea drove Wanda to do drastic things.

You understood though. Maybe this was the breaking point you both needed. Maybe this blow up was a good thing. Finally, you two were ready to be honest. Whatever pull Wanda had over you, whatever connection you two made, you knew it was profoundly deep. There was no more fighting it.

This argument terrified you in the moment, but felt like it had finally led you to what you two should be. It gave you insight into Wanda. It gave you honesty, it gave you a Wanda that wasn’t restrained or calculated. Understanding had washed over you and you embraced whatever was to come next as long as it meant you had Wanda for yourself.

Wanda, on the other hand, felt like you could slip through her fingers at any moment. She heard your words, but still needed more. The cracks in her facade have finally shown and she didn’t know if she could stop it all from flooding out. She let herself slip and lose her resolve and she wasn’t sure she could stop herself from giving in. She had planned to be gentle, had planned to make you hers in a romantic, sweet way that would have you swoon for her. But instead, she couldn’t wait. She desperately needed to make you hers once and for all. She needed to know you meant what you said. Wanda would wait for you to give it willingly, even if she lost her cool and almost took without being given. She didn’t want that for you two. She needed the okay, but the moment she would get it, she knew her restraint would go out the window.

“Take what you need,” you offered. It was like you could read her mind too. But it was the exact words she longed to hear.

She stared at you for a moment, searching your eyes for any sign of hesitation. You showed none. You never would with her. Whatever she needed, you were eager to give.

“I need you,” she said in a low voice. “I need to feel you close.”

You nodded in response. Wanda’s hands ran down both your arms until they reached your wrists. Her long fingers wrapped tightly around them and brought them up above your head. She still looked unhinged, but this time it didn’t scare you. It was another shift in Wanda, another side you haven’t seen. She was desperate for you. Wanda glared down at you as if you were the first meal she was about to have in months. You truly were her prey and she wasn’t about to let you go.

Then she leaned down. She kissed you with all the might she had. It was almost animalistic and it left you breathless. You couldn’t keep up, but that didn’t stop Wanda from invading your mouth with her tongue and relishing in every small gasp you let out against her lips.

“I need to have you,” Wanda pleaded against your lips. She wanted to take things slow at first, but having you beneath her, Wanda wondered how she ever thought she could have any sense of control.

“You already do,” you whispered back.

“I need to be inside you,” she continued. “Please.” You just nodded, not given much of a chance to speak more with Wanda’s lips locked with yours.

Wanda wasn’t wasting any time. Secrets be damned, she wasn’t thinking when she made her next move. With the flick of her other hand, both your clothes were magicked away.

Your eyes widened in shock, but somehow you weren’t that surprised. Things clicked more in your mind about Wanda and who she was as the night went on. Yet, again you weren’t bothered.

Both of you shuddered when she pressed her naked body to yours. The feeling of her bare skin on yours was overwhelming. When she went back to kissing you just as hard as before, you didn’t think before placing a thigh between hers and feeling her immediately grind on it. And fuck she was so wet already, but you knew you were in the exact same state.

But Wanda needed to find out for herself. With one hand holding her steady, she used the other to slide down your body until she was finally between your legs. When she felt just how wet you were, the sound that came out of her was practically a growl. She knew she couldn’t wait much longer to be inside you.

Without much resistance, she slipped two fingers inside you and took in the way your body tensed for a moment as a whimper fell from your lips. Everything about this was intoxicating to Wanda. She quickly began to work her fingers inside you, pumping in and out in a steady rhythm, all the while moving against your thigh to make herself feel good too.

This wasn’t enough, though. No, Wanda needed more. She needed to fill you completely, she needed to feel your walls stretch and tighten around her. She needed to feel as connected to you as possible.

Without warning she pulled her fingers out of you, earning a huff of frustration. But then she flicked her hand again and through a red haze, a strap-on appeared on her hips.

You looked at Wanda for a moment, trying to understand why she pulled back. Your eyes followed hers down, and then you balked at the sight.

That was big. Bigger than anything you’ve ever taken, bigger than you thought would even fit.

“You can take it,” Wanda watched the reaction on your face. Not needing to read your mind to understand your shock.

Wanda began to move so that she could fully position herself between your legs. “Take it for me,” Wanda’s tone was more demanding than it was reassuring. You still were nervous, tensing as you prepared yourself for her. “Please,” Wanda’s voice softened for a moment, noticing your continued hesitation. You just nodded in response, willing to try to give her what she wanted. And with that, Wanda lined herself up with your entrance.

It took you all of two seconds to realize it wasn’t an ordinary strap-on. When Wanda pushed her faux cock into you, the satisfied groan she let out told you she could feel everything.

And you were right about it being big. She was going slow as she pushed her cock all the way in, but still you could feel it stretch you in a way you haven’t been stretched before. Your head fell back onto the pillow as Wanda finally bottomed out inside of you.

She gave you a moment, trying with everything inside her to hold onto some sort of control for even a moment so you could adjust to her. She was already losing her cool, being able to feel you like this finally was driving her wild.

Wanda couldn’t wait long before she had to move, trying her best to go slow as she pulled out and slid back in. The way you were reacting to her was quickly making the little control she still had slip, though. The small gasps you made with each movement of her hips as her cock slid in and out ever so gently was tantalizing.

You still weren’t used to the size, Wanda could tell. You still felt a twinge of pain with how stretched you were, but you also felt unbelievably good. It was almost overwhelming. Your small gasp turned to quiet moans and that’s when Wanda’s control finally broke.

Her hips snapped hard and your hands flew to the sheets of the bed, grabbing fists full as you cried out. That sound was music to Wanda’s ears and when she pulled out again and snapped her hips to push back inside you, she finally took all she wanted.

Wanda set a brutal pace. You had adjusted somewhat, but it still was overwhelming. Yet, you never wanted her to stop. She was grunting on top of you, lost in her own feelings of pleasure. Her pace was brutal, the room was filled with the sounds of skin against skin and silent cries as she pounded into you with desperate need.

Your head turned to the side of the pillow as tears fell down your cheek. Your body was finally used to the size, but Wanda’s pace, her bruising grip on your hips, and the way she pumped her cock into you with such strength were almost too much to take. Almost.  Wanda didn't seem to notice though. She was too focused on her need to have you close to be aware of anything other than the feeling of being inside you at this point.  

“I love you,” she whispered against the side of your neck, her body fully pressing you into the mattress as she continued to move her faux cock in and out of you. “Fuck… I love you.”

You couldn’t speak, couldn’t reciprocate her feelings even if you wanted to. The way she was making your body feel was too overwhelming for you to utter any coherent thought. But Wanda  needed this, needed you. She needed to devour you in every sense. That way, she told herself, you couldn’t possibly leave and nothing could ever take you from her.

“Fuck… fuck” She was groaning against you now, pulling your legs over her hips with her hands so she could fuck you deeper. Your eyes rolled back and all you could do was take her, but you loved every minute of it.

Her hips were stuttering and you could tell she was just as close as you were. When her teeth sunk into your neck that’s all it took for you to cum all over her cock, screaming her name. Wanda didn’t stop though, fucking you through your orgasm to chase her own. Your entire body shook and your hands flew to Wanda’s shoulders, nails digging into her bare skin.

Wanda was moaning on top of you, her hips rutting into you at an impossible pace. All you could manage to do was whimper as your body was quickly reaching its peak again.

“I- I think it's too much,” you whined.

“No, no shhh” Wanda pleaded, her voice trembling as she pulled herself from your neck to look at your tear stained face. “One more, you can give me one more. I’m so… fuck I’m so close.”

Her hips slammed into yours with more force as she spoke and you couldn’t stop yourself from crying out. She was going to ruin you, but you couldn’t begin to care. Not when you wanted to give her everything she asked for. Not when all you could think of was how badly you’ve wanted this moment for so long.

Wanda’s body shook above you and her movement became erratic. She was getting rougher with each thrust, fucking into you deeper and deeper. And finally, after a minute more you felt her release on top of you with a low groan. Your second orgasm following shortly after.

Her movement slowed, until she lay limp against your shaking form. She remained inside you, but you didn’t mind. You felt closer to her this way. Her hands let go of its grip on your thighs and one pressed against your cheek. Your arms fell from her shoulders to wrap around Wanda’s naked form. Wanda leaned down onto you again, pressing her head to your chest.

She laid perfectly still there, listening to your heart beating. The sound of it rang through her entire being, bringing a wave of comfort and security she’s missed for so long. Laying underneath her was her love, her soulmate, the woman she had waited to have since the moment you two met. You were hers now, undoubtedly. You gave willingly to her and she took from you all she could, claiming you entirely.

She wasn’t ever going to let anything threaten to take you. She made the silent vow to herself that night as she watched you sleep tangled in her arms. Whether you knew it or not, you were hers for all eternity now.

Taglist: @desperate-gay @zoomdeathknight @storiesofsvu​ 

Join the taglist here

[magentagalaxies]

Kids in the Archive: Episode 10

welcome back to kids in the archive! to celebrate my college graduation + KITA's 10th installment + finally honor the request i received from @oliviaskithworld multiple months ago (thank you for your patience!) today i'm going to be showcasing the classic s1e3 sketch "Citizen Kane"

even if there are other sketches that i would choose as my personal favorite, i respect "citizen kane" so much as a feat of comedic timing. the premise and dialogue are funny enough, but what puts them over the top is the perfect rhythm kevin and dave establish - fast-paced dialogue that's occasionally repetitive in its text but each repetition leads to escalation in the performance.

Citizen Kane: June 3rd 1989

I actually have two copies of the script for Citizen Kane: both dated 06/03/89, and nearly identical, to each other and to the version of the sketch that aired. There really aren't many differences to point out: some sentences are shorter or longer for the purpose of timing, and there is one specific line missing from the "white" pages that's present in the "pink" pages

i assume the version i have may not be a first draft - this was likely a scene performed at the rivoli for years before making it to the screen. or perhaps this scene was mostly created via improv, so the first time on paper was less an act of creation and more documenting what already existed. the only "big" changes are removing a section of brief physical comedy before picking up the newspaper (which was not being held by another customer).

honestly, as much as i wish i could've honored this request in a timely manner, the wait has allowed this episode to be so much better. this could have been it. i would have had to stretch these tiny differences into 3 bullet points because i just couldn't show you how the sketch evolved. except, as i write this on december 21st 2024, now i can. but we have to push a bit further...

Citizen Kane: ~2002

the kids in the hall tour-film "tour of duty" was unavailable to stream for most of this year before finally being reuploaded by a fan in november. i've previously put out a full essay with general thoughts on tour of duty, but let's examine the show's version of citizen kane.

tour of duty's "citizen kane" barely changes, especially compared to some of the other sketches in this show. sure, the words don't always line up exactly and the rhythm is a bit slower (a product of enunciating for a large theater vs recording a sketch for television), but most changes are physical. in the original sketch, a fake-arm was made for dave foley for the purposes of stabbing his hand. in this one, a prop-knife was used for the effect, freeing up both hands for motioning. most notably, this version ends with dave falling out of his chair and flipping 360 degrees before landing on the floor.

immediately following the sketch is a transitional scene with bruce and mark, where they essentially replicate the "citizen kane" bit of forgetting a name and refusing to admit you're wrong, only this time they're trying to remember the name of the sketch they just watched. it's cute.

Citizen Kane: November 25th 2024

so that's all well and good, but still not a lot of differences to parse through. what would it take for them to take citizen kane in a completely different direction?

well, what if 22 years later the kids in the hall reunited to put on a show in support of paul bellini's medical expenses, but dave foley wasn't able to attend due to pneumonia and the other kids barely had time to rehearse?

a high-quality version of the full show will be available in the new year, but recently i found a fan's uploads of a few iconic sketches from the november 2024 show, including the perfect finale to my citizen kane post, because oh boy did they go off-script. for starters, the original "citizen kane" as uploaded onto youtube is 4 minutes and 16 seconds. the "tour of duty" version (not counting bruce and mark's tag) is just under 6 minutes long. the november 2024 version is NEARLY TEN MINUTES LONG

and uniquely i am actually in a position to explain how these changes happened: scott was chosen to take over dave's part in the sketch the day of the show. they added mark walking on as "constable bobby" as a way to acknowledge dave's absence (and i was actually riffing with mark, kevin, and scott when they decided the character's name. in rehearsal, mark improvised a bit about his character going undercover as a teenager). but scott responding to kevin's "was it citizen kane?" with "yes"? bruce walking on as another officer? kevin kissing scott's forehead when scott apologized for forgetting his line? that was all truly improvised, and i was standing backstage watching it happen.

prior to the show, citizen kane was one of the sketches scott was the most nervous about since it's actually quite difficult to memorize: so much of the comedy relies on repetition and timing. i've probably watched the sketch more times in the past year than he has and even i wouldn't get it word-for-word. but once you're out there onstage, you can't beat yourself up over forgetting a line. you make that part of the gag, and suddenly the sketch becomes citizen kane on top of citizen kane: a sketch about someone forgetting something and ignoring their friend's corrections becomes about scott forgetting his lines and ignoring kevin's corrections.

there's no way the kids in the hall could've replicated everything about citizen kane on the evening of november 25th 2024: the sketch was at least 35 years old, it was being performed with minimal sets and costumes in a 1500-seat theater, and the person whose comedic voice it most represented wasn't around. but in my opinion, citizen kane 2.0 reflects exactly what a live version of a pre-existing kids in the hall sketch should be: using the well-known framework as a basis for improv while still being grounded to the important beats. this attitude carried over into the night's other sketches, even ones which didn't feature dave at all like "salty ham." it gives fans new and old something new to appreciate, and allows the KITH to focus on making each other laugh. after scott got off the stage, he wasn't upset for flubbing citizen kane. he was smiling ear-to-ear, whispering to me "i forgot how fun this was". i would take this over "tour of duty" any day

or maybe i'm just saying that because i now own 2024 citizen kane's prop-knife

oh, and don't think i've forgotten the one line that changed between my two scripts, both dated 06/03/89.

"that's a hayley mills vehicle, that's not even close"

and because of scott's role in the 2024 show, i now know that's the one line HE contributed, leading me to believe the "white" pages were just kevin and dave's writing, and the "pink" pages were after the input of the other KITH on the same day.

god, i love how things become full-circle.

...

PREVIOUS KIDS IN THE ARCHIVE EPISODES:

Episode 1 - armada finale ("do we make it?") Episode 2 - fran & gordon: the vacation Episode 3 - comfortable Episode 4 - cathy & kathi: is he? Episode 5 - danny husk: kidnapped! Episode 6 - trappers Episode 7 - sizzlers & the bank Episode 8 - darcy & francesca Episode 9 - show within a show

thanks for reading!

[johannesviii]

Parallels, foreshadowing and narrative echoes in Infinity Train Book 3 episode 1 "The Musical Car" [1/2]

I can pinpoint the moment I rewatched that episode as the one when my obsession with this show went completely off the rails pun intended in early March 2024. I haven't been normal about it since then even though we're currently in November. Of course almost every series ever made uses parallels and foreshadowing in some capacity, it's just that Infinity Train episodes are about ten minutes long and there's an amazing amount of foreshadowing, parallels and other narrative echoes packed in those first ten minutes and it drives me nuts

I'm not going to explain most of these things. Some of them are incredibly obvious, some aren't. I'm just listing them so we can scream about them together and hopefully I'll feel less insane afterwards

Also I had to make two posts cause I hit the new image limit. Kill me

Let's go

A familiar place becoming hostile and unfamiliar

The first time we see Grace in this Book, she's basically reenacting something she wanted to do as a kid, except now she's the one in control

I also can't help but notice there's three different versions of Hazel from three different angles when Grace is questioning her own decisions in her tape and her mind is basically using Hazel as a mouthpiece for that. When I look at you I see me

Dance lessons foreshadowing

The first time we see Simon in this Book, he's painting a miniature, and it's part of a series of parallels which makes me ESPECIALLY insane. Something about him seeing himself as a little soldier, then treating Grace as if she was one of his miniatures later on. Bear with me for SIX FUCKING GIFS here cause it's a whole extended metaphor which keeps reappearing through the entirety of Book 3 and I've never seen anyone talk about that specific one. Maybe it deserved its own post. Too late now

He clearly loves to collect stuff. I wonder who he got that from, uh

Cool radar design. I wonder where we saw that kind of round, clockpunk-adjacent type of tech before

So there's two halves of one mask, one half is golden and represents comedy and it's on the right, one is the mask of tragedy and it's on the left. Cool, cool, nothing to see here

Grace learned from the best

Not bad, Simon. YEAH UH, SO, ABOUT THAT-

"I was ten"

"never trust an adult!" being weaponised later on

Only one half of the mask survived - the right side, now a tragedy mask and placed on the left side of the screen. Wow I wonder if this foreshadows anything about how this story will end, uh

All of this happens before the title card even appears on screen and I already hit image limit. I'm fine! I'm fine

Here's part 2

[borrowingtheborrower]

Blue spirit productions: The Borrowers (Info we have so far 2018-2024)

Many of you may remember this video from a couple years back...

2018

This is a pitch from "Blue Spirit Productions" a french animation studio, you may know their works such as "The Blue Samurai" or "My Life As A Courgette."

The pitch is for a potential animated TV show for "The Borrowers", made for companies and audiences to watch and get an impression on what they're gonna make and if anyone would be interested.

This was shown at the Cartoon Fourm 2018 as a project pitch and uploaded by CartoonBrew online, which is where the video comes from.

CartoonBrew's review here:

We know very little about the pitch for this other than it was shown off a few times at international animation conventions. Due to that we have very little concept art other than a few online.

From what little info we had the plot was simple and already created the groundwork for things such as characters and story.

The official Blue Spirit productions website wrote:

"Whilst out on a foraging mission, Arrietty, a Borrower no taller than an apple, is spotted by Tom, a human! But what should have been a disaster turns out to be the start of a wonderful friendship"

Although there's still a few reviews where a other plot points get mentioned, such as Tom's grandma running a Hotel where the Borrowers currently reside, but this is likely many ideas from the concepts they had.

More about the creation and throught process about this pitch project can be found here in this interview:

2019 - 2021

Little was heard about the project for years despite a positive response online from borrower fans, specifically on Tumblr.

(Fun fact I was originally the first person to post it on Tumblr lol)

The only thing new info we got was in a few new images, Tom's appearance had change except his outfit, while Arrietty remained the same.

Until about 2022 - 2024 where we've gotten more news.

The series was now in development, with a new director David Lopez.

Credit: Offical art from David Lopez' Instagram account (@/el_senior_lopez)

Job listings were put up for new animators, the page about it on Blue Spirit's official website had updated and most importantly we got new images.

For a short while this was the only new official image online, with Tom and arrietty sporting new looks.

Although slowly, Arrietty specifically would be used in advertising for the company for things like new animation positions and for more international conventions.

Speaking of the conventions, a few of them had special talks at booths or even screenings of the show such as at Cartoon Fourm 2023, Annecy 2023 - 2024, Mipsjunior 2023 - 2024 ect ect.

Soon after this it was announced the team up of Blue Spirit Productions and Newen Connect, a french distribution company.

The series as of now is currently in production, on Newen connect's website we even have a new description:

(Translated from french and slighty fixed words.)

"The Borrowers are tiny people who live, unbeknownst to us, inside the walls of our homes. Their number one rule in life is simple: a peaceful existence means never being seen by Humans. Arrietty, 11 years old and 2 inches high, lives with her parents in a small community of Borrowers inside the house of a Human named Marie. Fearless and very curious, one day, Arrietty meets Tom, Marie’s grandson, and against all odds, befriends him. But shhh, its’ a secret... From this day forward, Arrietty divides her time between her daily life as a Borrower and her dream of exploring the world of Humans which takes on a whole new dimension, with her new friend, Tom. Together, Arrietty and Tom will embark on a gigantic adventure!"

Newens official website:

While it's been a long journey I genuinely cannot wait for this show, it's always exciting to see new animated projects especially a new Borrowers animated project as well. Despite The Borrowers having such an interesting idea it's only been animated once, which was about a decade ago with "The Secret World Of Arrietty" created by Studio Ghibli.

With the end of the year coming soon, let's hope to see this in 2025!

If you have more info feel free to add commentary, or if I got any details wrong feel free to message me. Thank you and have a wonderful day! <3

[arc852]

Shattered Reflections Ch. 1

Summary: Joel and Skizz wake up in the middle of a field, confused and sore. With no memories except for their names and the fact that they are borrowers, they decide to take things one step at a time. Starting with making a shelter for themselves.

Meanwhile, when Joel and Skizz never show up for the beginning of the season and messaging them yields no results, panic ensues and it's now the hermits' mission to try and find their missing friends.

Word Count: 3776

AO3 Link

I hope you guys enjoy!

______________________________________________________________

 “Um, hello, welcome to Hermitcraft season 10!” Mumbo greeted everyone despite being put on the spot. “Um, it’s really good to have you all here and uh, we have some new people on the server. Should I announce those? Should I-should I point in their general direction? Is that a good idea?” Mumbo stuttered out, looking around for said new hermits within the circle to do just that. But after a quick glance around, Mumbo realized he didn’t see them at all. “Wait, where are they?” 

 The other hermits blinked and all at once, they looked around the circle as well, slowly realizing that yeah, their two newest members were nowhere to be seen. “Did they run off already?” Iskall asked, looking behind him and out into the plains.

 Xisuma, eyebrows knit, brought up the log on his comm, looking through it. “They haven’t logged in yet.” Xisuma did a few other things on his comm, the rest of the hermits watching with different levels of patience. Their admin then looked up, catching eyes with Grian and then Impulse. “They did message you guys saying they were coming, right?”

 Grian and Impulse were the ones in charge of messaging Joel and Skizz specifically. Impulse and Skizz were obvious, but Grian and Joel also had quite the history with each other. Grian even went so far to say that Joel was one of his best friends. So it made sense to have those two not only be the ones to keep in contact with them leading up to the season, but also be the ones to invite them in the first place.

 Xisuma watched them both nod. “Yeah, I literally got a message from Skizz right before this that he was hopping on.” Impulse said, getting out his comm and showing the screen to Xisuma. “He should be here.” Impulse’s voice was laced with concern, knowing that this was very unlike his best friend.

 “Same with Joel.” Grian piped in and Xisuma looked back over to him to see he was typing something on his comm with a furrowed brow. “And I just messaged Lizzie. She said he left a while ago.”

 “Strange…” Xisuma couldn’t help but mutter out loud.

 “It’s not like Joel to get cold feet like this.” Gem said and those that knew Joel from various life games and other SMPs nodded in agreement.

 “It’s not like Skizz either. He was so excited, even if he was nervous about it, no way he would skip out on all of us like this.” Tango also chimed in.

 “So…what? We think something happened to them?” Doc said with his arms crossed. But despite his demeanor, the hermits knew he was also concerned about their new members.

 “I’m sure they’re fine.” Xisuma said, trying to calm his hermits. “Perhaps they just got lost in the Hub.”

 “Uh, guys? I think this may be more serious than we think.” All the hermits turned back toward Grian at his words, noticing how Grian was looking over at Impulse’s comm as the taller man typed away at it. Grian’s gaze seemed to shift between Impulse’s comm and his own, both hermits having the beginnings of panic on their features.

 “What is it?” Xisuma asked and Grian met his eyes. 

 “We just tried messaging both Skizz and Joel and…” Grian trailed off, lifting his comm up for Xisuma to see properly. On the screen were several messages sent by Grian to Joel within the last few minutes. Unfortunately, each one came with a little red ‘Not Delivered’ line underneath. Xisuma didn’t need to see Impulse’s comm to know the same thing was happening to his messages with Skizz.

 “Well…” Xisuma said, and even through his helmet you could see his brows furrowed in concern. “There are many reasons why a message wouldn’t go through. However… given the circumstances and our knowledge of Skizz and Joel…” 

 Xisuma straightened up, suddenly going from fellow hermit to admin. At the change, everyone was at attention. The beginnings of conversation at the revelation that no messages were getting through were cut off as they watched Xisuma bring up the code. “Hermits! We have two members who, as we know it, are missing. So here is the plan. I’m going to get into contact with some other SMP admins, SMPs where Joel and Skizz could be. I’ll send some of you there and others will go into the hub to-to…” Xisuma stuttered and trailed off, freezing like a deer in headlights as he saw something within the code.

 Zedpah, who was next to Xisuma, tried to look over at the screen of code but couldn’t read it for the life of him. He shrugged in the other hermits' directions.

 “Shashwamy? What is it?” Keralis asked gently, breaking Xisuma out of his stupor. 

 “Sorry, sorry, I…there’s something here in the code. I don’t…I don’t recognize it but it’s-that is to say I think-”

 “Spit it out already!” Bdubs exclaimed, getting antsy.

 Xisuma shook his head and finally looked away from the code and toward all the hermits. “I think Skizz and Joel are on the server after all.”

***

 Joel groaned as he came to, feeling like he had just run full force into a mountain. His whole body, some way or another, felt incredibly sore and achy, and it was just all around painful. He was lying down, that much he could tell, face down in what was probably dirt. The same mountain he had run into might as well be placed on top of him too, because it felt impossible to lift himself up.

 Joel let out a slow breath and opened his eyes. Or tried to anyway. He only managed to open one of them. His other eye was currently smushed against the ground. Which did happen to be dirt. Wonderful.

 He pulled his fingers together, getting a handful of dirt in the process. He grunted at the pain of even doing just that but at least he was able to move. He opened his fist, releasing the dirt.

 Eventually, after more tiny movements, he was able to use his sore arms to sit up. He brushed the dirt off his face and tried his best to get it out of his hair. Once he was fairly cleaned off he was able to open his other eye up and finally take a look at his surroundings.

 Things seemed normal, though he didn’t recognize the area at all. It seemed as though he had ended up in a grassy field, nestled by the roots of a tree. In the distance he noticed a river, which would be a good source of clean water but it was also quite the trek away. He would have to think more about that later. He did his best to turn his head around to try and look past the tree without moving so much, still in quite a bit of pain, and he could see the edges of a mountain in the distance.

 Despite the familiarity of the giant world he lived in, he also couldn’t help but feel a bit…off.

 His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a noise coming from beside him. He looked to his left to see another person laying in the dirt. Lucky for the guy, he was laying on his back, in that position the most dirt he would get on him was in his hair. Unluckily though, he seemed to be in the same amount of pain Joel had been in. Joel couldn’t help but wince in sympathy. “Hey, are you alright?” Joel asked, reaching down and gently nudging the guy’s shoulder.

 The guy was broad shouldered with multiple scars running up and down his arms. He even had some on his face. He seemed…strangely familiar somehow. But Joel couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

 “Hey, come on, get up.” Joel said, nudging him again. If Joel could get up then this guy could. Probably. Hopefully.

 “Nnngh…Don’t wanna,” Came a mumbled reply. At least that was a good sign, meant the guy was alive at least. 

 “Let me guess, arms are sore? Achy? Feel like you’ve hit a mountain?” Joel listed off and took notice that the guy’s eyes opened to look at him in surprise. Joel smiled a bit at that. “Well, same here.” He answered his own questions. “But I seemed to get up just fine so I guess I’m just stronger and bigger and more handsome than you.” Joel rattled off, the words slipping off his tongue easily despite the fact he had no idea where that had come from. 

 The familiar stranger groaned again but slowly moved his arms to bring himself up onto the same level as Joel. Well, mostly. Joel was annoyed to note the man was taller than him, which he could tell even with the both of them sitting.

 “What happened?” The guy asked, rubbing the back of his head with a wince. Joel shrugged, rubbing his arms to try and lessen his own ache.

 “Not sure, I’m in the same hole as you are.” Joel answered. He tried to think back on what could have made either of them end up here but he was drawing a blank.

 In fact, as Joel tried to think about other things and dig deeper into his own memory, he realized he was drawing a blank in a lot of other categories as well. No matter how hard he tried to think back to something, to some memory, to people, he came up blank.

 It was a bit terrifying.

 “Hey, uh, do you happen to remember…anything? Just curious.” Joel asked the guy, his voice going up an octave at the fear he felt. He then watched as his companion’s face went through the expressions of someone realizing that no, they did not. Joel could only assume he had had the same expressions on his face just a moment ago.

 The other guy ran a hand through his hair after a few moments. “No. I can’t remember…I can’t remember anything.”

 “Awesome, that’s…that’s great.” Joel said with a wince. “Same here, by the way.” Joel thought to say, just in case it hadn’t been clear by the fear in his voice.

 The other guy was quiet for a moment and Joel noticed he looked like he was in deep thought, with his eyebrows furrowed and staring off at nothing. Again, Joel figured he had looked much the same a second ago as he himself tried to sift through any memories he might have had. Surprisingly though, as the stranger’s eyes lit up briefly, he seemed to have found something. “Actually, I know that my name is Skizz.” The now named stranger said.

 Now that Joel was thinking about it, he also, at the very least, remembered his own name. “My name is Joel.” He said back and then continued when something else came to mind. “And I know we’re borrowers.”

 Skizz chuckled. “Well, yeah. Would be kind of weird if we didn’t at least know that.” He said, gesturing to their giant surroundings. He then frowned. “Although something about it does seem off…”

 So Skizz was experiencing the same feeling as Joel. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. “It does for me too.” Joel admitted, rolling a pebble the size of his hand along the ground absentmindedly. “It’s probably just an effect of the amnesia though.” 

 “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Skizz agreed, still staring off into the surrounding distance. As Skizz did this, Joel tried again to think of anything else he could remember. Almost desperately trying to come up with anything else. It was when Joel looked over at Skizz again and suddenly remembered his first impression of the guy that he realized he may know something else after all. 

 “Hey, it’s nothing concrete or anything but you seem really familiar. Like we know each other or something.” Joel said, gaining Skizz’s attention back. Joel watched as Skizz’s eyes looked him up and down, seeing the spark of recognition in them after a moment. Skizz’s eyes widened.

 “Yeah, yeah! I see what you mean. I think you might be right!” Skizz said with a smile. Joel returned it, thankful they had the same feelings there. If that was the case, it really did seem like the two of them were probably friends. Maybe even roommates if they had ended up here together.

 “Great!” Skizz said, genuinely enthused. He tried to make a big motion with his arms in excitement but quickly stopped with a wince at the pain. “Now that we have that little piece of the puzzle, all that's left to figure out is why we have no memories and what the heck happened to make us so sore all over.”

“You make it sound a lot more simple than it’s actually going to be.” Joel quipped with a small snort. “Besides, I think the soreness is starting to let up a little.” Joel noticed as he stretched out his shoulder. There were still little pangs but definitely nothing like when he first woke up. Joel took this opportunity to finally stand up. He was a bit wobbly on his feet but he managed to catch himself.

 The same could not be said for Skizz however and Joel rushed over to stop Skizz from falling back over. The other borrower was a bit heavy but thankfully it didn’t take much for him to finally balance out. “Geez, that was a close one. Thanks Joel!”

 “Yeah, of course.” He said, only stepping away once he was sure Skizz was balanced. Skizz stood on his own, flexing his muscles and moving his body in order to get rid of any more aches. Joel couldn’t help but let that familiar feeling take hold of him for a moment. The only thing Joel could be sure of, right now, was his name and that Skizz was his friend. And right now his only friend and companion in this weird amnesiac state they had found themselves in. The last thing he wanted was for something to happen to him and lose that one connection. “The two of us gotta stick together, ya know?” He said, voicing those thoughts in a single sentence, with little care in his voice and a shrug of his shoulders.

 Suddenly he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, jolting Joel out of his thoughts and almost causing Joel to fall over again. He didn’t though, thanks to that same arm holding him steady. He looked and followed the arm up to see Skizz grinning down at him. Once again, Joel frowned, realizing Skizz was at least a full head taller than him.

 “That’s the spirit! The two of us against the world!” Skizz exclaimed and Joel’s frown at their height difference quickly turned into a grin to match Skizz’s. His enthusiasm sure was infectious. He briefly wondered if this is how it always was between the two of them.

 Joel playfully pushed him away, Skizz’s smile still present when his arm left his shoulder and he moved to stand in front of him instead. Joel rolled his eyes. Skizz seemed to be good at making Joel feel better. Despite the worry for their lack of memories still, Joel was finding himself smiling.

 But it was time to get back on track.

 “I think our actual first order of business should be finding shelter.” Joel said after a moment of thought, his tone turning serious. He crossed his arms and looked out into the distance, eyes focusing on the river. “We might have a home already but wherever it is, it’s not going to do us any good right now.” It would be nice if they could stumble upon it, or even better yet remember where it was. But Joel had a feeling they were very far away from home.

 Skizz nodded in agreement, his smile now a little less. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Skizz also looked around. There wasn’t a lot close by to them. Other than the tree, it was an open field for a long stretch which ended at a river one way and a mountain the other. “We probably should stick close, right?”

 Joel nodded, finally turning his attention away from the river. “It would be nice if we could be a bit closer to the river but I don’t really see anywhere over there we can make a shelter.” Maybe if they burrowed underground nearby, maybe at the base of a rock. But they didn’t really have the time to do something like that. They’d also have to really stock up on water if they weren’t going to be close to it, maybe put it in a reserve. And making something to catch rainwater would be helpful too. Could save them some trips in the future.

 Joel looked back toward the tree. Yeah, it was probably better to stick close to where they woke up. The shade of the tree would also give them some protection. “I think we should get some wood and carve ourselves up some tools. That’ll make gathering supplies and materials a lot easier and it’ll help us put together that shelter we need.” Joel suggested, already thinking up some ideas on what their shelter could look like. Maybe they could make it so it was covered by the roots sticking out of the ground? That way it was at least hidden. Joel looked toward Skizz to see what he thought.

 Skizz nodded with his smile back at full force. “Sounds like a plan!” Skizz exclaimed, ready to get going. Joel nodded back with a smile, glad Skizz was easy to talk to. It wouldn’t do them any good to argue about something like this, especially at a time like this. Joel looked toward the tree, sizing it up, before bending down and picking up the pebble he had been messing with earlier. He weighed it in his hand, throwing it up a few inches and catching it again. It wasn’t too hefty or sharp but it would do the job until they could make some actual tools. 

 He went closer to the tree, his new temporary tool in hand, meeting up with Skizz who had already walked over. He noticed Skizz also sizing the tree up before letting out a low whistle.

 “Man, this thing is huge.” Skizz observed the obvious. Joel gave him a flat look.

 “Everything’s huge, Skizz. We’re borrowers.” At the face Skizz gave him, he couldn’t help but laugh.

 “I know that! It’s just…you know! It’s probably the amnesia…it’s like I’m not used to it or something.” Skizz tried to explain himself. Joel hummed in thought at that and looked directly up at the tree. From this angle, he couldn’t even see where the tree ended. He felt way smaller than what should be normal but that didn’t make any sense. He was the same size he had always been. It was one of the only things his amnesiac mind could remember.

 It was that off sort of feeling all over again.

 “...I mean, I get it. It’s the same for me too.” He revealed tentatively with his arms crossed. There had to be an explanation though. A reason why the size of this tree felt unfamiliar. “Maybe…maybe we’re not actually outdoor borrowers to begin with.” Joel suddenly came up with and couldn’t help but agree with his own statement. Yeah, that had to be it. “That could be why we aren’t used to trees like this.”

 Skizz blinked, eyes going wide for a second. Joel could tell he was thinking it over. “...That does actually make a lot of sense.” Skizz said before looking down at Joel. “If we’re indoor borrowers though, well, what happened? How did we end up outside with no house in sight?”

 Joel bit his lip. That was a very good question. “Just like with everything else, I’m not sure.” It was very weird though.

 Joel shook his head. They would have plenty of time to come up with theories or look around more later. Right now, the most important thing was to make a shelter before it got dark. “Anyway, tools.”

 “...Right. Right! Tools. Not a problem.” Skizz said after coming out of his own thoughts. He looked at the tree for a brief moment before bending down and picking up a pebble just like Joel had. 

 Now with a pebble in hand, Joel watched as Skizz took the first swing at the tree. It didn’t do much at first but has Skizz kept hitting it, some of the bark started to come off. The thing they would be using to build their first tools out of. Joel watched for just a moment longer before realizing he should probably join in.

 After some time stripping down the tree, and getting quite the collection of bark, Joel went big with one of his hits. It was to make a stubborn piece of bark finally come loose. But instead of that happening, the pebble, and his hand, went right through the bark. Joel blinked in surprise, taking his hand out of the hole he had just created. “Uh, Skizz?” Joel called out as he tried to get a better look inside the hole.

 Skizz quickly joined his side. “What’s up?”

 “I don’t know but I managed to put a hole into the tree.” Joel said, squinting into the hole’s darkness. “...I think this tree might be hollow inside.” Joel realized and decided to see for sure by swinging the pebble back toward the hole. Skizz flinched back at the power of the hit but Joel just cleared away some of the dust at the now bigger hole and glanced inside. 

 Now with some light able to hit the inside, Joel could tell for sure that the base of this tree was hollow. Joel grinned and stepped away to make room for Skizz. “Take a look for yourself.”

 Skizz bent down a little to see through the hole. While the hole may have been eye level with Joel, it certainly wasn’t with Skizz. The reminder of how much shorter Joel was put a brief scowl on his face. “Hey! You’re right! It’s like a cozy little grove in there.” Skizz exclaimed with a grin.

 Joel’s mind raced with ideas with this discovery. “If we can make ourselves an entrance and clean the inside up a bit…” Joel mumbled out loud, mostly to himself but Skizz turned to listen as well, understanding crossing his features. 

 Joel looked up to meet Skizz’s eyes and grinned. “I think we just found our shelter.”

[torturedblue]

It’s the middle of the week, have some dancing turtles

Spoilers below as I gush about my Mutant Mayhem Monday experience 🤗 please feel free to gush with me I wanna hear other people’s thoughts too!

First off… When Seth wanted to put the teenager in TMNT he meant it. Like, all the versions act like teenagers, but like Nickelodeon PG stereotypical teens. MM turtles were the realest PG-13 outta pocket 21st century teenagers I’ve ever seen and I love that shit because it’s the first time I actually felt like I was around the kids in middle school and high school again with the way they talk. Kinda appreciate Superfly cussing too? Like idk it’s Ice Cube and this villain goes hard tryna kill some teenage turtles he formally saw as his lil cousins, let the grown mutant cuss

Also uh, was not expecting to be sad so early in the movie? Like I could tell from the trailers it was gon be an emotional rollercoaster but shit like ten minutes in and these turtles are fuckin depressed. And to see it really hit me because in every other version (except for Bayverse) the turtles literally never let not being part of the human world get to them. In the shows especially they’re so well adjusted and never bothered by sticking to the shadows. Then there’s Rise where they pretty much go out whenever they want and indulge in most of the human world stuff they want to. For these guys to be so stunted and desperate to have more freedom was so heart wrenching. Especially when Splinter grounds them for a whole month and the reality sinks in of how much they know the life they want isn’t an option for them

Wasn’t expecting any kind of ship or romance but that crush Leo has on April hit me like truck because…… holy crap the Leo-April pair has never been a thing? On top of that this is only the second on screen black April we’ve seen and I’ve been a Leo kinnie across the board since day one so to see this combo of my favorite character liking a black girl is making me lose my mind 🥲 and like it got me thinking of several of my favorite shows and the single characters I kin in those and if they’ve ever had black love interests and it’s just still not a common normalized thing honestly.

I’m sure a lot of people aren’t excited for the prospect of ships coming back (especially after 2012 scarred us) but as a Leo lover and black girl it got me so excited to see something like this. I’m just hopeful and optimistic they won’t mess it up like a lot of shows do. The “this is just as friends line” already makes me a little worried bc that trope never has a good history but I have faith they’ll handle things tastefully and not make it toxic or messy

MURDER THE SHREKS!

“I assume you’d wanna be on camera. ‘Cause you have, like a very camera ready look…” OKAY SMOOOOOTH LEONARDOOOOOO 👏🏽

Could not stop laughing while he was shooting his shot my face was literally donnie’s restraining myself from bursting out laughing

Just a couple of my favorite questions that April wrote down for them:

“Do you carry salmonella?” Look I still don’t know wtf salmonella is but it’s the second time a TMNT iteration has joked about it so I’m starting to think it has something specifically to do with turtles 👀

“Have you caught covid?” Oml covid exists in this world

“Are you the source of covid?” OUT OF LINE 💀

“How many people has the red bandana turtle stabbed? Does he need therapy?” Yes.

“Does sunlight cause you to burst into flames?” They’re- they’re not vampires? 😂

Leon Ardo deserves the world and whatever he wants in it give him everything 😭

I will never understand what made Donnie laugh so hard at the name Nardo other than it being because it’s his sibling and that it bothers Leo lmao

All imma say about the puke scene is that I’m glad I heard an “out of context” spoiler about it bc I knew exactly when to look away and I’m glad I did bc the scene lasted for so long??? 😀❓But hey at least I had Unwritten to listen too while I was sparing my eyes 😂

The sequence of them going around and shaking down those gangs and Superfly’s connections. BAD. ASS. And each of them got their own moments to shine? Loved it. Like they each even got to take point and have their moments where they got to kick in the door lol. And the fight scenes were just, muah. Chef’s kiss, they all looked amazing taking grown ass adults down together

Okay Splinter definitely gets the best dad award for putting together that little surprise party, with all the celebrity Chris’s and pretending to wait on them 🥺 so pure. It did make me sad the guys immediately left and you can just see such a sad dejected look on Splinter’s face, knowing he can’t provide what his kids really want or make them happy enough without it 🥲 At the very least they say thanks and that they appreciate but I would’ve at least stayed for a lil bit and gone along with it, Splinter just looked so excited about it and it was so sweet 😭

And he doesn’t even get upset though he knows they’re hiding something, he just says he’ll help them if they’ve gotten into trouble, which is something I’m sure almost every kid has wanted instead of having the kind of relationship where they’re more scared of telling their parents they messed up instead of handling it on their own

I love how musical Superfly’s family is 😂 Ray Filet just starts sing-introducing his name and Mondo and the other couple mutants when they drive with in the car trying to find music they could all sing to together 🥹 not to mention the musical references Superfly makes later that I’ll get to. “Kinda don’t wanna murder everyone on Earth, I just kinda wanna sing” Me too bruh.

Raph immediately going “goochi goochi goo” and playing peekaboo with Genghis frog is so underrated that boy has such a soft side he’s not even that afraid of showing at times, and maybe it’s continuing the trope of Raph having a soft spot for pets/animals? Who knows 😌

Yo I was kinda shook when that government guy knocked Leo out and he just fell unconscious on the ground 😶 Like we’re used to seeing the authorities be brutal especially in movies like this but that’s a whole teenager? You just assaulted a minor? 🙂 Crazy

Also I know it’s sad they got captured and drained painfully but Mikey in that scene was hilarious 😂 like even the way he was dramatically crying and Leo was just started to cry with him like “iM sO sOrRy mIkEeEeEy! 😭” gold. When one of his children is hurting Leo hurts too. One of my favorite moments 🤣

They literally started singing BTS while being tortured they’re so unserious but like in a serious way to them and I love it. Also the fact that they did it just to make Donnie feel better? So pure. Like Raph of all turtles offered to sing while being drained of blood (bc I refuse to use the m word 💀)

The way Splinter snuck in and soloed literal government soldiers single handedly? Badass. Never loved seeing a Splinter save his sons so much 🥹

“But it’s the only way we’ll be accepted.”

“No! We accept you!”

“You can come live with us! We accept you!”

“WE VIBE!”

Oml they’re so puuuuure 😭 I really thought this was gonna be a moment where the guys invite them all to come live with them and Splinter was gonna be like ‘aha 😬 whoa slow down there’ but damn nah he was just as enthusiastic as them inviting all those mutants to come live in their home forever “The more the merrier!” Like ugh he just loves finding family like Baxter Stockman and we see where the guys got their loving nature from 🥹

The amount of his soul Mikey put into that BROSEEEPH was so real like I’ve never heard the name broseph be said in any other way, I’m so glad they put that moment in there

“New York, New York!” “I’m the king of New York!”

Oml superfly’s a Broadway baby 🤗 he’s a big bad villain marching through time square and talking about King Kong but he’s fill gonna nerd out and make his musical theatre references 😂

“For once in your life you didn’t sound lame. You actually started to sound like a leader”

“That was really heartfelt Raph”

I love the Leo Raph dynamic in this movie. Like they don’t always agree or understand each other but they will show love towards one another and show mutual appreciation

Something about any of the turtles shells cracking always gets to me for some reason like those are some serious permanent injuries so I want to see if they do anything special with that in the sequel or show maybe 🤔 And I couldn’t tell if all of theirs cracked or just one, and if so which turtle it was. I think Leo or Raph. I feel like it was Leo but Raph’s are also starting to have a trend of getting cracks in their shells so 🤷🏽‍♀️

Also I do not want to judge what other people like to wear but why are Raph and Donnie the only normal dressed ones 😭 like Mikey looks like he’s going on vacation and Leo looks like he’s going to clock in at Best Buy 😂 tell me it’s because they have limited resources for clothes lmao. HE’S LITERALLY WEARING A LANYARD

Them taking off the masks was crazy honestly… like them deciding not to wear them made my brain pause until I realize they’re kids going to school now and not being ninjas all the time… they don’t need them anymore. I’m just so pleased with the fact that this movie was willing to do what all other iterations weren’t. I see why they’re getting a sequel and show already, these guys and the plot development deserve so much more exploration

Maybe I missed something in the beginning but I’m wondering where Stockman went. Like is he still in custody? Did he die? Because not seeing him again that’s what I assumed but we only saw him get arrested or whatever, so if anything I don’t get why Superfly and the others wouldn’t try to break him out 🤔 I was surprised they didn’t make him a villain though, but I’m pretty happy about him getting to be a more optimistic kind character tho

SHREDDER HAD ME SHOOK LIKE THE ARMOR ALREADY LOOKED SO COOL AND I WAS NOT EXPECTING THEM TO GET THE BIG BAD INVOLVED AHHHH I’M SO READY TO SEE THEM REACT TO THIS ANGRY GIANT TIN CAN

Although I do wonder if Shredder’s gonna have some personal gripe with them since they have a different backstory he doesn’t seem to be a part of. And shit now that they’re public and in school it’s gonna be so much easier for him to go after them 😅 pluses and minuses…

The soundtrack: golden. Cultured. Nothing but range. Goes from a 90’s rap song to Natasha Bedingfield’s soulful 2000’s song. Most movies only ever have all pop mainstream songs or only rap songs because they think they can’t mix but MM does it effortlessly. The turtles are so versatile not just with music genres but they make old and new references ‘cause they’re well rounded kings 💪🏽 Between rizz, Adele, broski, Hey Arnold, K-Pop, Ferris Bueller, etc… I mean Donnie’s literally doing the sprinkler and the funky chicken in that gif up top 😂 they’re born in 2008 I doubt any kids today know about those dances anymore

Clearly I have all the thoughts and feelings about these boys and the movie, but I think this is probably my favorite TMNT movie? I’ve loved all of them but I think this one definitely brings me the most comfort fr

[hellobitchlet]

Thoughts on Natlan act 3 and 4:

Act 3-

- there is seriously no point to giving Traveler an ancient name. They're very obviously just being given one bc the writers want to show off how amazing they are at everything again. If the whole point of ancient names is that it's solely a Natlan thing, then there's no point in Traveler getting one. Why were they and Paimon scrambling to get one? You're already being praised and given new abilities constantly, you don't fucking need it.

- that aside, Xilonen gave a decent explanation of how ancient names and the night kingdom work. I didn't feel like act 1 or 2 explained anything properly beyond "it sure exists and is important to the super special archon's plans", but Xilonen explaining that deeds have to happen inside of Natlan and be recorded and acknowledged by the Wayob (who will only acknowledge ppl from Natlan) was easy to understand and made perfect sense. My only problem here is that it should've been explained this cleanly back in act 1, before we started using ancient names for drama. Because, you know, maybe I would've cared more about it then?

- the Ororon stuff would've been much more interesting and tense if it wasn't introduced by... being randomly told to you. In the middle of an unrelated plotline. And then spending the whole fucking time assuring you that he's a great person while you follow a trail. And doing nothing else except experience Citlali's inner thoughts. That was literally the entire build up to meeting him.

- despite it being handled in the most boring way possible (and god, do I want to emphasize that they handled it in a boring way), I do like the plotline between Citlali, Ororon, and Capitano. It's a lot more interesting than the basic ass saving Natlan plot, which is about as much of a stereotypical hero plot as they could've made it. I honestly adore Citlali and Ororon now, they're definitely my favorites of the Natlan cast. Like, they had actual on screen conflict with one another for a few minutes! They care sooo much about each other and it was shown through their actions and interactions with each other instead of just monologuing it to Traveler. The bar is below the fucking ground...

- I especially enjoyed seeing Citlali getting drunk and accidentally spilling about her problems. However... it's funny (read: annoying) to think about how long it's taken for this to actually fucking happen when Kaeya and Venti have been here since the beginning, and about how much Kaeya and Venti have been shit on for being alcoholics. It was probably one of the best character building moments I have ever seen from Genshin, but man, a newly introduced Natlan character should not have been the first one to do this.

- "we've only known each other for a few days, right? What would you think of me if I were to start dumping all my complaints on you after we've only just met?" Oh thank god she has some actual self awareness. I wish other characters (playable and npc) would stop infodumping their entire backstories the moment they're introduced. Ultimately, the awkward telepathy moment that they're probably never going to explain served the same purpose. But that wasn't something she was doing on purpose, so I'm willing to forgive her for it and pin it on the writers instead.

-it really sucks that they're being so confusing about Citlali's age. You know it's because of Hoyo's refusal to make playable characters that aren't 1000% conventionally attractive. They're seriously trying to give us a teacher/student relationship in which the teacher is supposed to be significantly older than the student and NOT give her a single wrinkle. She also kept saying stuff that implied she would age to be hundreds of years old, so I want to be interested in that, but it just got caught up in the confusion of "wtf is her age?!"

- I got increasingly annoyed every time Traveler shared the Capitano stuff with others. You fucking idiot!!! He specifically told you not to do that!!! You barely even doubted Mavuika even though you barely know her and she's mostly just been standing around going "trust me on this bc I know what I'm doing" this whole time!!! Are you sure you even care about what he had to say?! Because he specifically said he would tell you if you actually fucking listened to him, which you are going out of your way to NOT do!!! Just a few real life months ago you were acting all buddy-buddy with Arlecchino!!! Can you be consistent about your opinions on the Fatui for one second!!!

- they were really trying super hard to make Capitano wanting to save Natlan mysterious, and make him have ulterior motives (like literally every other harbinger since Scara), but like... First off, this is the last gnosis the Fatui doesn't have, and second, he directly said that Mavuika failing would be bad for the rest of Teyvat as well. He already had perfectly good reasons. You don't need to make yet another harbinger have ulterior motives.

- I almost liked the Chasca and Chuychu moment. But I say almost because... there was no fucking point to it except to tell you that the Fatui found an ancient relic. You were just stuck in dialogue box hell that made a weak attempt at pretending there was gameplay by putting a timer on single dialogue options (not even being given multiple options? really?). That whole thing should've been a sneaking sequence with Traveler. There's literally no reason why it wasn't one. It wouldn't even require good writing to add that. Just have Mavuika say that someone found a large Fatui camp, and have Traveler volunteer to sneak in to check it out. Then, you could've had Traveler finding the relic, and maybe finding Capitano and Ororon and follow them to the domain while they discuss their plan. There you go. That would've saved you a lot of time stuck in dialogue boxes, by removing this sequence and the Ororon memory sequence and replacing it with an extended period of gameplay.

-However, the role reversal and the actually showing how good the sisters are at working together improved their characters a lot for me. Chasca doesn't feel as much like a Shenhe copycat when fighting with Chuychu. But even then, it was very annoying when it turned into "don't worry, we don't actually mean what we say! We're just stubborn!" immediately after their sequence. I could fucking tell, Genshin. I'm not a child.

Act 4-

- ...in theory, initially fighting with Capitano and eventually convincing him to help us is an okay storyline. But none of this felt like fighting him! We literally spent the whole fucking time following him and his troops around and debating what his intentions are! And no, a single fancy cutscene unrelated to Traveler doesn't count! We never got to hear his side of the story until after he failed, and he just had a 10 second spat with Mavuika, revealed that he's from Khaenri'ah, and reluctantly agreed to Mavuika's plan within 5 minutes.

- also, after Fontaine offloaded the majority of Furina's backstory onto an inner monologue in act 5 that just reiterated what we already knew about her, I am not a fan of poor Ororon getting a similar treatment in the end. It's not as bad bc it served a purpose in the story besides "look at how sad he is!", but suddenly becoming one of the special heroes his super special archon wanted and having no objections was a really boring ending to what started off as the first on screen playable ch vs playable ch conflict we've had since like... Childe in Liyue I think? Hoyo is lucky that it has cultivated fandoms that see monologues and sudden info dumps as good writing.

-I'm glad that seelies are finally confirmed to be angels, and that we're getting more proper Celestia lore, but once again, Hoyo is lucky that it has cultivated fandoms that see monologues and sudden info dumps as good writing.

- I have mixed feelings about Capitano's backstory and intentions. On one hand, I like that he's from Khaenri'ah, and I'm very glad that he knows the abyss sibling and Dain. I really like the Khaenri'ah related parts. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of the Natlan parts of his backstory. As I've said before, I'm really fed up with Genshin tailoring harbinger backstories so that they're part of the lore of the nation they show up in, instead of Snezhnaya. And I'm even more fed up with them making every harbinger have different goals that are unrelated to the Fatui. I've talked about this before in this post.

-going back to the point about his goals, his backstory can still perfectly serve as an explanation for why he's helping the Tsaritsa, with or without the Natlan part. You still didn't need to pull any of the special motives stuff. It would've made perfect sense to say that Capitano (+ Tsaritsa as well maybe) was afraid that the destruction of Natlan could interfere with their plan, so Tsaritsa has been sending him and some troops to deal with the situation and try to get the gnosis in the process. But, of course, Mavuika would fight back and be a powerful opponent, so this mini war between them has been going on for a while, which would tie back to Varka's letter from Weinleslfest first mentioning him going to Natlan 2 years ago.

-...oh, wait. That Weinleslfest moment and Mika's backstory was probably just to remind you that he and Varka existed and foreshadow him being in Natlan and didn't actually mean anything. I know this isn't related to Natlan at all, I just felt like saying it. We don't talk about Mika enough, okay?

- with all that being said, after how much I hated Arlecchino, and Dottore being used as a scapegoat to make playable harbingers look better, I had little interest in Capitano initially. But I do actually like him now. Maybe even just as much as I like Citlali and Ororon?

- speaking of the Fatui, I have to mention how weird it is that the pyro gnosis being the last gnosis the Fatui doesn't have isn't treated like a big deal at all. The idea of Capitano even bringing the gnosis to the Tsaritsa is barely even mentioned. We're literally going to Snezhnaya next, and the Fatui screen time is STILL not focused on the Tsaritsa's plans?! There is no worry about what will happen if he succeeds in getting the gnosis? No talk about what the Tsaritsa's plans could be? No talk about what it could mean for Natlan or the rest of Teyvat? No connecting this story to the overarching plot beyond a few lore reveals? Nothing??

- Genshin is seriously bad at stakes. THAT WASN'T A FUCKING WAR, THAT WAS A SINGLE BATTLE! It just... suddenly sprung up, and it took about 10 minutes, but I almost started feeling tense. There were actual corpses all over the place, and I was fighting non stop instead of being stuck in a dialogue box, even if the mobs themselves were fairly boring, and then... Chasca suddenly became one of the special heroes and everything was over. All of that was like... half an act of fighting? Literally any other game would have at least finished the 'war' at... the end of the story? Obviously? We couldn't have at least waited to finish this in act 5?? Seriously?? This whole thing was just a vehicle to quickly make Chasca one of the heroes, finish the 6 heroes plot point, and then show a hint of the false sky??

- gameplay wise, why did the handle the 'war' like that? What was with the slow ass hot air balloon I was forced to use 3 times- but was allowed to teleport to places the rest of the time? Why was I forced into a situation where I couldn't leave, when I was literally just in Natlan and not a domain? Why did we suddenly switch to a different dialogue box just for a few minutes?? Someone PLEASE explain to Hoyo that adding new stuff doesn't automatically make it good. Or, I guess 'novel', as their surveys put it.

- Chuychu was the closest I've ever come to actually being sad for an npc's death. Probably because I actually saw someone react to it, instead of Genshin just expecting you to care because Paimon is telling you to. Because of the Chuychu stuff, I'm actually starting to like Chasca, and I'm glad for it. Liking a character in theory despite canon is much better for rewriting stories than disliking them entirely and not knowing what to do with them (*glances at Fontaine*).

- I'm starting to see that the 6 heroes plot is probably just their current ploy to place the focus on the characters who have come out this update, or are coming out next update. Act 2 has Mualani becoming a Special Hero, because her first banner was up at the time. Then act 3 and 4 had Ororon and Chasca becoming Special Heroes, because Xilonen already is one and they're coming out next update.

- that being said- I feel bad for Kachina and Mualani. Kachina was the obvious 'main character' of act 1, with Mualani and Kinich as supporting characters. But then in act 2, the focus was shifted over to Mualani, because she's a 5 star and her first banner is happening, so they need to convince people to like her. And in the process, Kachina was screwed over in what should've been her plotline, becoming a supporting character whose role is to prove how good at The Power of Friendship Mualani is and introduce us to the 6 heroes stuff. ...and then both are screwed over in the very next update because they're already out and don't have anything else to do.

- I know that she'll presumably get more screen time when she comes out, but it's greatly worrying me (for reasons that should be obvious) that Iansan is barely being given any screen time. I am so worried that they're trying to pull a Xinyan or a Candace with her, because of course they would.

- literally what response are you expecting me to have to Xilonen slowly dying for Traveler to get an ancient name when it's revealed in the randomist and calmest way possible?? It's obviously supposed to be cheap emotional fuel, but both Xilonen and Citlali are being so calm about this random reveal that I didn't end up caring either. I don't care so much that I almost forgot to mention it in this post.

Overall, not impressed at all, but there are a few tiny gems in here that will be good for when I eventually have to get to it in my rewrite lol.

[sorenphelps]

All the artwork I made for the fanfic Crazy Ex-Boyfriend by @amethystheart2421 for this year's @rsbigbang!

It was a wild run, we got paired up quite late due to our original pairs dropping out of the Bang, and even though it was already December and time was running thin, I decided to make this whole deal a way bigger challenge than it supposed to be... So I ended up drawing all 7 fantasy sequences, trying to mimic a different style for all of them, and finishing both versions of the banners I had in mind. I know, I know, but I swear even I wasn't aware that I am such an overachiever either!

Also, I usually like to hide little details as easter eggs on all of my artwork, so naturally this was the case with these too. I'm gonna list them one by one, also share a little story about each piece, sort of like a "directors cut werk", just so we stick to the screenplay motif. The numbers in brackets lists the order in which I drew the pictures.

The banners (1.,9.): I haven't watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriend the show, so I really had no idea about this whole thing, hence my initial idea of re-drawing one of the official promo posters of the show as the banner. But then Nicole shared the first scene with me when we got paired up, and also told me that her original artist wanted to draw the stargazing scene, which I also really liked. I sketched out both versions to see which one would look better, and also to warm up a bit for this version of the characters. (Nicole also shared some faceclaims, so except Sirius' and Lily's design, I tried to stick to her vision as much as I could.) The Netflix poster was considered the final one for quite a while. The stargazing banner was the last piece of artwork I finished, which I also edited to be used as Chapter dividers. I liked the idea so much I actually referenced the starry sky on the other pictures too. On the Netflix banner, Remus' socks and Sirius' suit handkerchief (how do you call those things in English, gahh) both have the starry pattern.

The western (3.): By this time it was decided that I'd do all fantasy sequences in a different art style, but I couldn't really come up with any specific style which could have fit the western vibes, so the characters are drawn in my own usual style, only the colouring is different. I tried to go for a sepia effect, without using a filter, I think I could pull it off well enough. I was considering to draw Sirius as a Native American for this, because I just don't see him as Caucasian in general, and also, Black Dog sounds like a badly translated indigenous name... But I discarded this idea for the sake of "historical accuracy" (and to save time, haha), as I think they wouldn't visit a saloon this way. I added the starry sky pattern to Sirius' handkerchief and... scarf? (I really should learn how certain textil items are called in English...) There is a wanted poster in the background with Voldy. And I swear I didn't mean to draw Remus looking this horny, it just kinda happened by accident! He is sure VERY fascinated by Sirius'... pistol.😜

The Star Trek (6.): My original idea was to draw like usual and just add so many lensflares to the picture that it's not visible if I copied another style or not. But in the meantime I started to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with my bf and also found out that there is a new cartoon too, so it was then settled. This style is very different from my own, but it was so much fun! It was weird not to draw every single strand of hair in excruciating detail, actually that was the hardest part, haha! I struggled a bit with the placement of the lensflares too, the first version had too many and too bright, it had a disco vibe rather than a spaceship. I wanted to add easter eggs to the background screen, but I was running out of time, so there's only one light blue star similar on the screen! Also now I know that the uniform colors are not really consistent in Star Trek, and Remus’ might have had to be gold as Captain…🤷🏻‍♀️

The Disney (2.): This one sparked the first idea in my head after I read all fantasy scenes Nicole kindly shared with me. When I first sketched this, I still had no idea that I will end up drawing for every chapter and the style copying was not settled either. It started with this piece, I had the vision of the wolf chasing scene from Beauty and the Beast, and we were discussing whether it's plausible to collect berries during the winter or not... I've tried to make the final piece look as classic Disney as I can, and since I could pull it off, it was not a question anymore whether I'd try to do this with other styles for the other scenes. Retrospectively, this one was the easiest to make, apparently my usual style is not that far from Disney (I grew up watching those movies, so it's not a surprise), but I had to really focus on drawing the animals, it's been ages since I last drew any! (The trick is to give them eyebrows, and bam, it's Disney style!) Sirius' armour, clothes and sword has the star, and I also designed his own "crest" with the black dog and a star on his shoulder plate. The whole concept of the picture is Sirius' side being very bright coloured, while Remus' with the scary wolves in the background being very dark. This might have worked better if it was not set in the winter, but I wanted to stick to the Beauty and the Beast vision I had.

The Comicbook (4.): I was very excited for this one, I really like the looks of the old Batman the animated series, and the way some of his comics are drawn. It's such a unique style, I really like the simple shapes and bold contrasts. Well, it turned out I am very bad at this! I struggled quite a bit trying to capture what I had in mind, but I couldn't even come close to it... So I kinda cheated a bit because I just traced the lineart directly from the reference pictures of Batman comic books I found online. I tried to make Remus less buff, but it looked very weird, so I let him keep his muscular Batman body instead. I drew the wolf mask and the whole Sirius panel, and the coloring went smoothly after I finalized the lineart, even though I only realized that I switched the colour schemes of Remus' superhero outfit when I looked up the quotes for the comic panels, oops. Overall I like how it looks, but I am not that proud of it as I had to "cheat".

The Hobbit (5.): I've probably spent the most time with this one! I actually really like Martin Freeman as an older Remus FC, so I was quite excited to do this piece. My original idea was to mimic John Howe's style, as he is the Tolkien illustrator god, but his level of skill and mine are very very far from each other... and as I struggled a lot with the Batman piece, I felt like going for a smaller challenge. That's why I decided to have a go at Alphonse Mucha's art nouveau style. Turned out it was the worst possible idea! 🤣 The whole point of art nouveau is depicting attractive ladies in an ethereal way... But if you switch the ladies with a fat hobbit, the vibe def won't be the same! The first version just looks so extremely absurd, it's both awful and hilarious. By the time I could fix the pose so it wouldn't look as ridiculous, the final style looked nothing like art nouveau... I still have no idea what style it is now, not my own or any of the ones I tried to capture, that's for sure. I considered adding the star pattern to that tablecloth, but I decided that the lupin flowers in the foreground and the whomping willow-like tree are enough reference for this pic! I like how it turned out in the end tho, I think I could do justice for the watercolor-looking coloring technique, and the end result looks a bit like a fancier version of old children's book illustrations... Which is essentially what The Hobbit is, so it all sorted itself out by the end.

The Anime (7.): I like anime (I'm a little picky about them tho), so it was not a question that I would give this style a try! I am a huge fan of cyberpunk (the genre), so initially wanted to do that, I'm such a slut for Ghost in the Shell and I really like the aesthetics of the Akira posters, but after reading the actual scene, it was not really fitting. So I saved the cyberpunk AU for later, and went for the post-apocalyptic vibe instead. Obviously anime had a great influence on my art style, so similar to the Disney one, it was not that much of a challenge to mimic it. However I'm not that good at drawing backgrounds, and oh boy, I really made myself get over this obstacle with this series of pictures! Also as I was more comfortable with this piece, I actually added the starry sky pattern from the beginning to the scarf/blanket Remus has on this picture!

The Sitcom (8.): The original idea was to copy Hanna Barbera's old family cartoons' style, but as my deadline was very close and after reading the scene I realized that it will have a shitton of characters, I quickly abandoned my original plan. So this one is drawn in my own style, sort of, the designs of the characters are more aligned with Nicole's vision (sans Sirius, Lily, and partly Peter). The hardest part was definitely to figure out how I could fit 10 characters into one picture, let alone sitting in a living room! Also, I had to actually draw the living room too, considering perspective and scaling... Something I am not that good at. In the end the coffee table is maybe a little too big, but I needed that to hide the legs of the characters sitting on the sofa, haha! Also, the sofa is the Millennial Dark Green Velvet Sofa, because I also want to have one and it really emphasizes the general existential dread! (Just kidding.) Also also, I just realized that I have no idea how to eat tacos without making a mess (they are not that popular where I live). I added the starry sky pattern to Sirius' shirt, and gave a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt to Peter, as he is talking about that in the scene. I wanted to squeeze in further references to the newspaper Remus is holding, but it was too tiny. The star from Knight Sirius' armour is in the background on the bookshelf. Also that globe just makes no sense but I had no better idea how to fill the empty space 😅. Molly is holding a mug with "BEST MOM" written on it, and I intentionally made Marlene's eye colour the same as Remus', who btw should have worn a bathrobe according to the original scene, but it was too late to fix that by the time I realized it. All in all, I am quite satisfied with how it turned out, it has the necessary sitcom vibes. And it is kinda a record for me in terms of number of characters drawn (the most was 12, but that one has no background, so I'd call it a tie!)!! I am very proud of myself for pulling this piece off, it really is the achievement of the year!

TLDR; (I mean really, my rambling is just too long!) I am happy that I was paired up with Nicole, working with her was such a creative process! My absolute favourite thing to do is work on AUs, and she has provided me with the opportunity to do so, I am grateful! It was truly a pleasure to participate in this (even if it's not that clear from all the complaining I just had above, haha)! If you ask me nicely I might show you the cursed first version of the hobbit picture!

[arcadekitten]

How I created a dress-up game in RPGMaker!

At least one person asked me to make a guide for this and that’s enough for me! Though, bear in mind, I may not be the best at explaining things and I used an example from assets I already had.

I made the dress-up game pictured below using RPGMaker MV, but I’m sure this method is applicable to versions above MV as well. I will be writing this post specifically through the lens of using MV (You’re also going to need some plugins, but not a lot!). At the time of typing this post, all RPGMaker engines are on sale until October 5th (just to let you know!)

(Please note: This method does not account for a game where you can freely change the colors of characters hair/clothes)

(Please note x 2: this is not a tutorial for learning RPGMaker, but a tutorial on how to make this specific type of game within the engine. Prior RPGMaker experience and familiarity is required when following this tutorial!)

I’m not the best at explaining things, but I’m sure going to try my best!

List of things we’re going to need:

-An RPGMaker Engine, preferably MV (or MZ) since they already come with mouse support.

-An art program

-A tileset consisting of words and arrows

-All your dress-up accessories as PNG images

-A blank PNG image

-2 plugins

First things first is you’re going to want to decide on the canvas size of your game. Keep in mind with the way RPGMaker works, there’s a high chance you’ll wind up with black bars on the side of your screen. If your game is intended to be played in browser on itch.io, it shouldn’t be much of an issue as you can choose the display size on the game’s page to match the visible game. (I also just personally wasn’t concerned about the black bars for a dress-up based game anyways)  The canvas I chose to work with for this game was 1152 x 864, but you can choose whatever size you feel will help you draw most effectively(just keep in mind how it might appear in browsers or if the player will have to zoom out!) If using MV, you change your canvas resolution by going into the plugin list and selecting “Community_Basic”

When making the assets in your art program, I find it easiest to have your canvas match the canvas size of the game. We’ll use Nova as our example character for everything. I drew them and all their assets in the center of the screen (for easier mirroring). The position of all the items can be adjusted later in the engine

I would start by doing a few test assets and putting those in the engine to make sure you get the hang of the whole thing, but this is where you’ll be making all your assets for a given character! (So if you wanna make some test assets and then move down to the “Putting it together in the engine” section, that might be a good idea!)

Here I create and separate every asset into their own folders(categories) and subfolders. For example, hats get their own folder labeled “hats”, and the subfolders “hat 1” “hat 2” “hat 3”, etc, each containing their own individual hat asset.

You can make as many or as little categories for clothing as you like. When you have everything you need, make at least one asset from all your categories visible, and make sure all the categories are ordered in the way they are meant to appear in game. This way, you can make sure nothing is overlapping in the incorrect way(at least for what your intentions are). When your categories are properly ordered, keep them in that order, as you’ll use it for a basis later when importing the assets into the engine. 

Alright, this next part is a little tedious. Now you’re going to save every asset individually by hiding every other folder/layer except for the one you’re saving. It might help to have a naming convention for your assets, for example all of Nova’s assets follow the scheme of “dressup nova-shoes 4.png” “dressup nova-shoes 5.png” “dressup nova-shoes 6.png” etc etc.

NOTE: In addition to these files, remember to include a BLANK png image with nothing on it! This will help later!

Once this is done, we can start importing them into the program! 

Putting it together in the engine: 

Open up your RPGMaker project’s file directory. Find the folder named “img”, and in that find the folder named “pictures”. Drop all your clothing/hair/face/etc assets into this folder.

Now we need to set the scene. The scene being…a map! I used multiple characters so my game has a different map for each one. 

Since Nova is our example character, let’s focus on Nova’s map. 

Make sure the width and height of your map is large enough to cover the whole screen (sans any black bars you might have on the sides). You can fill in the back with tiles, or you can do what I did and add a small parallax backing that loops across the screen. I made a small one with two hearts in the corners for a nice scrolling effect!

To start this map, let’s put in some of the categories to choose between. I did this by laying out the words on a tileset, and drawing that tileset onto the map. The order of categories I chose does not reflect the layer order of clothing items, but rather was organized by what I felt was a natural start-to-finish order progression in a dress-up game.

Don’t worry about putting the choice arrows next to the categories yet, though! We’ll do that in a little bit. 

Now we’re going to start with actually putting your character and their clothes/hairs/etc into the map. Double-click anywhere on the map (where you won’t put any other buttons) to create an event. 

We are going to set this event to autorun. In this event we are going to set up all your layers, even if nothing needs to be presented on them yet. To start, I added some comments to help me keep track of them.  For context, when you choose to show an image in RPGMaker, it asks you for the image number. The image number is essentially the image’s “layer”, with 1 being the bottom-most layer and 100 being the top-most layer. Up to 100 images can be displayed on an RPGMaker screen at any given time. Even though 1 is the bottom-most layer, I chose to start at 10 just in case I wanted to add more layers underneath later. So layer 10 is my bottom-most layer, and layer 24 is my top-most layer. 

Let’s start with our bottom-most layer, the background asset. 

The background is this pink rectangle behind Nova. 

Even if you change its appearance, this background itself is always visible. So we are going to show the first background on layer 10 with the Event Command “Show Picture”. 

(Note, because I wanted all the dress-up assets to be on the right side of the screen, every picture’s X position is offset by 200. You may want to offset your game in another way, or keep it centered.)

Because this is an asset that is always visible on the screen, we are also going to set up its variable. Select “Control Variables” in your event commands, set it to a constant of "1" and add it underneath the "Show Picture" command,

Don’t worry about the #number of the variable, all that matters is the number of what the variable equals. As you can see we are showing “dressup nova-BG 1”, so our variable should equal 1 to correspond to this.

The next asset up from that is our back accessory on image layer 11. (Nova can have fairy wings or a yoyo accessory, for example.) The back accessory doesn’t always need to be present, so we will simply set this image as being our BLANK png asset.

We will continue going down the column like this! Any asset that doesn’t need to be present will be set as a blank, and any asset that does need to be present (like Nova’s background, Nova’s hair in the front and back, Nova’s face, and Nova’s base) will be set as the corresponding image and have its variable set to “1”.

(Note: The base does not require a variable as it does not change)

And because this is an autorun event, we have to close it off. Add a control self-switch A, and then add a new event page. On the 2nd event page, merely click off self switch A in the conditions box

Doing this will ensure that the autorun event won’t keep trying to show the images in an endless loop.

Go into your database tab and under system, check that your starting position is on the correct map (if you have more than one) and start your game. Your autorun event should show all the images you asked it to. (I was gonna have a pic here but I'm limited on pics so)

Now, using our category list that we placed as tiles onto the map, we are going to be adding the arrows next to them to make them function.

Even though it's at the bottom, we’ll start with the category Background as an example since that was the first we implemented.

Create an event on the left side of Background and make its event image a grayed-out, left facing arrow, to communicate that the player cannot click anymore in that direction. Set its condition to be variable activated, with your Background variable being greater than or equal to 1. Leave the event page contents blank.

Create a 2nd event page on this event. On this 2nd page, replace the grayed-out arrow with a colored arrow, and set the Background variable to be greater than or equal to 2. This means that as long as the variable is 2 or above, the player can press the back button and go back to see the previous Backgrounds. 

This time, we WILL fill up the contents on the event page. 

First we are going to put a control variable command. Set your Background variable to subtract a constant of 1. This means that every time the event is clicked, it will subtract 1 from your Background variable (since this is your “Back” button).

Next, we are going to include a conditional branch command like so!

Under this Conditional Branch we put a Show Picture command, where we show an image on layer 10(the same from our autorun event). We can see that if Nova’s Background variable is equal to 1, then layer 10 is going to show the first background–that pink rectangle from before.

Let’s copy-paste this conditional branch and edit it slightly! 

Repeat this for every asset you have for a specific category. (In this case, Nova has 5 different backgrounds, with one background needing to be visible at all times.) So our 2nd event page should look like this:

This button event is now ALMOST complete–but we’re missing something! 

We need this event to activate when we click on it! Normally in an RPGMV game, when you click on an event, the player character will walk to the event before it can activate. But for a dress-up game, we want the event to activate as soon as it’s clicked on!

Therefore, we need a plugin! You’ll need a plugin that makes events activate based on a click trigger. For me, I downloaded the “TDDP_MouseSystemEx” plugin for MV found here: https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/mouse-system-ex.46511/

(Remember to follow the terms of service for whatever plugins you use!)

After adding it to my in-game plugin list and turning it on, I added the “click_activate!” notetag to the event (as instructed by the plugin) and now it works as soon as it is clicked on.

Next, we have to make the Forward Button! This is easier now that we have the Back Button as a base.

To make your Forward Button, we’re going to copy the 2nd Event Page of the Back Button event, and make it the first page of our Forward Button event. We are then going to change three things:

-Remove the condition variable

-Change the image to a right-facing colored arrow

-Change the control variable from a “subtract constant of 1” to an “add constant of 1”

So your first Forward Button event page should look like this!

For the 2nd event page of your forward button, remove all the contents in your content box. Change the arrow to gray-right-facing arrow, and add a condition variable equal to your number of assets for the category. 

Because Nova has 5 Backgrounds, our number is 5. If Nova had 7 Backgrounds, this number would be 7. If Nova had 3 Backgrounds, this number would be 3, etc.

This ensures that when a player has clicked to the last asset, they can’t continue increasing the variable past what is needed. 

You then continue making these types of Back Buttons and Forward Buttons for every asset, until you have everything you need!

But WAIT!!

For objects that don’t always need to be present, we add one extra conditional statement!

Let’s use socks, for example. Nova does not need to wear socks to complete an outfit. So for the socks’s back button, we make sure to set the variable condition to 0.

After that, under the event contents of our sock buttons, we make sure to add an extra conditional statement for the sock variable. When the variable is zero, we show the BLANK image–so there are no socks to be seen! (Remember to apply this extra statement to both the back and front buttons!) Do this for every asset that doesn’t always need to be present such as socks, dresses, hats, etc etc.

That’s pretty much the basics of all the mechanics you need to get it to work!! I won’t be going over other things like the reset game button/disabling menu access/hiding the player walksprite, as those are things you probably know how to do already if you’re familiar with the engine.

But I WILL share one last piece of optional advice that I feel makes a big difference. 

While testing things out you might notice that there is slight lag between changing images, a blip between pictures. This is because RPGMaker doesn’t preload images, and loads in an image as soon as it’s called. 

In a downloadable version of a game this slight lag is negligible. However, if you intend for your game to be browser-based, this lag will be significant and noticeable. In order to fix this problem, I’d recommend downloading Galv’s Image Cache plugin found here: https://galvs-scripts.com/2017/04/26/mv-image-cache/

This plugin will help pre-load images so there’s no lag!

However, you will have to write the name of all your assets manually in its plugin menu. If you have a lot of images (which you will, for a dress-up game) this could take a very long time. 

My advice is to go into your game’s picture folder, select all, and select “copy file path” from your folder options. Paste this list into an excel sheet, remove the directory name and file extensions, and then paste it into a google doc.

Edit the names together until there is no spaces between image names and they’re all separated by commas. Then, select all and paste your list into the Image Cache plugin’s settings. If you spelled something wrong or placed a space incorrectly, the game will not start and will tell you what image it was struggling to find. So having this to refer back to is very helpful and also means you don’t have to retype everything in the event of an error! 

(Below is just a preview of how my list of image names looks for my dress-up game and what i copy-pasted into the plugin settings for the Image Cache plugin)

And thaaaaat should be everything! I hope this wasn’t too hard to follow, or messily formatted! But I tried my best and will try to answer any questions one may have about it!! Good luck creating your dress-up game! 

[sorinethemastermind]

Fluffcember 2024: Gingerbread House | Rayllum & Sorvus Callum is determined to ask Rayla to be his girlfriend this Winter Break. But if he can't even start a fire, how is he supposed to create the perfect moment? Soren has decided to stay on campus this Christmas, but with Rayla and Callum as his only company, he's starting to feel like a third wheel. Except maybe it's not just the three of them left on campus after all...

 “I just want it to be perfect, you know?” Callum said, taking the tray out gingerbread cookies out of the oven. He peered at them. They seemed better than the last batch. Only a little singed.

 “I’m just it might be overkill to build a realistic replica of her childhood home out of gingerbread.” Ezran told him, voice a little static-y. Callum tapped the screen of his phone until it unfroze.

 “It’s not overkill.” Callum informed his younger brother. “It’s romantic. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

 “I don’t think I will.”

 “You will. Trust me. Now show me what the next step is.”

 Ezran lifted the recipe book up to the camera, but the FaceTime was so blurry that no amount of squinting would let Callum read it properly.

 “You’re just gonna have to read it to me, Ez.”

 His brother cleared his throat. “You just took them out of the oven, right?” “Yep.”

 “Well, according to this, now you need to cut them into the shapes while it’s still hot. You made all the templates already, right?”

 “Uhm.” Callum glanced around frantically, searching for the little scraps of paper. “I’ll make new ones!”

 “Callum, it was like… the first step!”

 “Just give me a minute!” he grabbed a pair of scissors and started hurriedly hacking up another piece of paper. Ezran’s voice scolded him through the phone.

 “They need to be specific sizes. This is never going to work.”

 “Yes, it will.” Callum told both himself and Ezran. “And it’s going to be sweet, and romantic, and the perfect way to ask Rayla to be my girlfriend.”

 “Why don’t you just ask her?”

 “Because it has to be perfect.” Callum said, like it was obvious. Because it was. “You’ll understand-”

 “When I’m older, yeah, I know.” Callum could tell that Ez was rolling his eyes even though he wasn't looking. Having a little brother was like having a built-in best friend, but also potentially the most annoying person in the world who knew everything about you and could call you on all your bullshit.

 Except this wasn’t bullshit. This was real. It had to be perfect. Callum was pretty sure, at least.

 “There!” he exclaimed, holding up a choppy pile of paper fragments. “Done.”

 “I don’t think those are even the right shapes-” Ezran began, but Callum was already laying them on top of the rapidly cooling gingerbread and cutting them out.

 “Nevermind.” his brother said after a moment.

 “What’s the next step?” Callum asked, hurrying over to the sink and sticking his hands in the water with a sigh of relief. Why did the recipe tell you to work with the cookies while it was still hot? And the tray, too. Not that the recipe had told him to keep touching that, it was just that he kept forgetting it had just come out of the oven.

 “Uh, next it says assemble and decorate.”

 “Wait, there aren’t any instructions?” Callum’s head shot up and he hurried back to peer into the phone, hands dripping all over the floor. He sure was happy this was a communal kitchen. No one would guess it had been his mess, they’d just blame it on Soren.

 “Nope. It just tells you to construct the gingerbread house using royal icing as glue to stick the pieces together once they’ve cooled.”

 “Ez.” Callum groaned. “I don’t even know what royal icing is.”

 “I think I have a recipe for that. Hold on.” Ezran flipped back a few pages before holding the book up to the camera again. “Here we go. It seems pretty simple.”

 It did. But simple could be deceptive. Building a gingerbread house had seemed simple too, a few hours ago.

 “Alright. Let’s try it.” Callum sighed. He was in too deep now to give up. “How do I do it?”

 He followed his brother’s directions to mix up the royal icing, and then ran up to his room and grabbed his laptop, on which the pair of them watched a gingerbread house tutorial. Callum quickly realized that his brother had been right. The template and the sizes of the pieces were important.

 “Ezran.” he asked, lifting the phone so his brother could survey the finished product. “Be honest with me. What does this look like?”

 “Uhhh-” Ez stifled a laugh. “A square? With a lot of snow on it? And are those… M&Ms?”

 “I needed something to represent the doorknob.” Callum told him, placing the phone back down.

 “I never knew a house could have that many doors.”

 “Fine, I also used them to cover up any spots I had broken.”

 “Ah, that makes more sense.”

 Callum glared at his brother, but it didn’t last and he let out a chuckle. “It’s pretty bad, huh?”

 “The worst.”

 “Alright, alright.” Callum shook his head. “Maybe this isn’t how I ask Rayla out.”

 “Probably not.” Ezran shook his head. “But who knows, I don’t understand romance yet, so maybe this is exactly the sort of thing girls like.”

 “Shut up.” Callum laughed. He sighed. “Alright, I’m gonna clean up. I’ll call you back after, okay? And you can show me that math thing you’re having trouble with.”

 “Oh, Uncle Viren actually already helped me with it. He came over to see Dad earlier.”

 “Oh.” Callum paused, throwing a glance over at the phone and his brother. “What did he, uh, want to talk to Dad about?”

 “I don’t know.” Ezran shrugged. “They went into Dad’s office like… right after.”

 “Okay.” Callum considered asking if Viren had mentioned Soren, but decided not to. Ezran was still little, he didn’t need to know how complicated things were just yet.

 “Well, let me know if you have any other math stuff you need help with, okay? Or science.”

 “Or English. Or Social Studies. Or History.” Ezran rattled off. “I know.”

 Callum grinned at his brother. “And I’ll let you know if I stumble upon any weird animals that need identifying.”

 “That will come in handy one day when I’m a vet!” Ezran exclaimed.

 “Sure. I bet a lot of people will be bringing you their unidentified, rare pets.”

 “Uh huh. When I open my exotic animal shelter and veterinary clinic.”

 “Suree.” Callum said. “Alright, but for real now, I gotta clean this up. Tell Dad I said hi.”

 “I will. He said you could just bring Rayla down for Christmas, you know.”

 “I know.” Callum said with a shrug. “It just feels a little soon. We’ve only been going out for like, what, a few months?”

 “You don’t have to pretend like you don’t know, Callum.” Ezran said, raising an eyebrow.

 “Alright, two months and seventeen days.” Callum corrected himself. “Still. Too soon to be inviting her back to family stuff. Anyway, Soren is staying this year, too. I think he could use the company.” 

 “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” Ezran rested his head on his desk. “It’s just not the same without the both of you. Claudia keeps acting so weird, and she’s not even gonna be here for Christmas.”

 “She’s not?”

 “She and Uncle Viren are driving up to that cabin her Mom has. It’ll be just me and Dad.”

 “Oh.” Callum felt a little guilty. “Well, I’ll FaceTime you in the morning, okay? It’ll be like I’m right there.”

 “Yeah. Okay.”

 “I’ll talk to you later, okay? As soon as I’ve gotten rid of this.” he gestured to the pile of candy and crumbs that was the Gingerbread House. 

 Ezran laughed. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you later.”

 “See ya.”

 The call clicked off, and Callum sighed, turning his attention to the giant mess he’d made of the kitchen. How had he managed to get icing on the ceiling?

[ticenchantedtoc]

crack theory 🤨❓

Okay, how do I explain this...

There are parts of this theory that are rooted in logic and parts that are wild speculation, but I think the overall theory is possible, albeit a little crazy. Then again, a lot of things in this game are crazy.

In short, my theory is that Zetta also has a form of Archetype power just like Melia does. But I don't think it comes from the actual Archetype; I think it's something similar but opposite. Because the Archetype is depicted as a golden triangle, I've been imagining this inverse Archetype as an upside-down silver triangle. Hey wait a minute.

Yeah, my theory is that this "inverse Archetype" is actually the Core. Outside of the visual similarity, we know that the Core is linked to the Interceptors' power, and they can transform just like Melia and Erin. The Core is also connected to the Ley Lines, and in the Karma Files, it mentions that Rifts form whenever a Ley Line is pierced. Zetta is the only character we know of who can directly interact with the Ley Lines to create Rift Pokemon*. Perhaps this is his version of the "superpowers" Melia, Erin, Allen, and Alice have because of the Archetype. If that's the case, then it would make complete sense that his power comes from the Core instead.

(*Quick note, I'm aware that there are other "Rifts" not created by Zetta, but a lot of them aren't Rifts in the lore, just in the gameplay mechanics. Carnivine, Dufaux, and Talon all became "Rifts" through alternate means, and though Ferrothorn and Hippowdon are real Rifts, they were created from rift matter that Bladestar stole from Team Xen (so they likely come from Zetta's power too, in a very roundabout way). The only other Rifts can't be explained this way are Volcanion, which Zetta very well could've made off-screen, and Aelita, which makes sense because Aelita turned into a Rift due to Vivian's curse. And Vivian already had a connection with the Ley Lines, that's how she could sense where people and Pokemon were. Okay back to the theory!)

The description of the Core also mentions that it contains and transports information about all life on Earth. That sounds a lot like something Zygarde, the pokemon responsible for keeping balance, would use, right? We currently don't know anything about the Zygarde host except their age: 25. Oddly enough, this is Zetta's biological age too. I say it's odd because most of the Xen Executives don't have specific canon ages, and if he's a clone of Melia, why make him so much older in the first place? It could be a coincidence, but I find it suspicious. Especially considering that everything with a Z name has been linked to the Core in some way: Zygarde, Zeight, Zorrialyn being where Castle Zygara once was.

To be clear, do I think Zetta being connected to the Core means he's an Interceptor? Absolutely not. Do I think there are three other Core-hosts like with the Archetype? Probably not. But I can't look past the fact that just after we get this lore dump about the Core, Crescent gives Zetta's pokeball to Melia. And in this teaser screenshot for v14, there's a new icon in the top left with Zetta's face and what appears to be the Interceptor's Wish. I'm not going to speculate about this screenshot because I have no idea what it means really, but at this point it's impossible to deny that Zetta is going to be important in Chapter 16.

Some last bonus points in this theory, aka the part where I start wildly speculating: When you combine the Archetype triangle and the proposed inverse Archetype triangle (whether it's actually the Core or a different thing), it would make the alchemical symbol for aether.

In alchemy, aether represents the space that isn't filled by any of the natural elements. It was thought to be the breath of gods, and harnessing the power of aether could connect the physical world to the spiritual one. Since Rejuvenation is a pokemon game, most players are already familiar with the word aether because of the Aether Foundation. The Aether Foundation created Type:Null, which was intended to be a manmade Arceus but failed, and they had to put on the helmet to contain its power. Rejuvenation acknowledges this backstory, calling it an "inconsistency" that two more Type:Null can be found in Aevium. Zepto is an obvious metaphor for Zetta's backstory as a clone, but I'd like to think the aether connection could mean something.

Speaking of inconsistencies, when you play chess against Zetta in the Nightmare Realm, all of the pieces depict characters in the game, and they all have a quote related to the character. For example, Neved's piece says "Your family before all else." All of the Xen executives are depicted as chess pieces here except for Zetta. This might just be because he's literally sitting across the board from you, but Risa (the Risa from the Nightmare Realm, not Clear pretending to be Risa) is also a piece on the board. Her piece is broken though, and it's not the only one. Eden's piece is broken too, and their quote ends in "Defiled." One other chess piece ends this way, one that seems to be missing a head. The full quote is, "To perpetuate consistency through inconsistency. The descendant of Zed. Defiled." There's the letter Z again. In an absence of other characters this could refer to, I'm assuming this piece is meant to be Zetta, which would mean that inconsistencies and being a "descendant" are more important to his character than we've been lead to believe. Could this be a hint that he's connected to the unknown Zygarde host?

Again, this last part is just wild speculation! The core (pun not intended) of this theory is that Zetta has his own version of the Archetype powers and maybe even his own transformation. I think it's likely that those powers would come from the Core, considering the lore we get in the Karma Files, but I'm not entirely sure. Whether I'm right or not, I'm just really excited for my favorite solosis to get more screen time.