#who do i have to pay off to get a copy of this scene on tape in my hands. who do i contact

[grahamdollton]

[xcziel]

feeling nostalgic and watching utube reactors discover classic songs and then feeling both old and incredulous

[sunderwight]

Modern AU where Shen Yuan accidentally sugar-daddies everyone.

So for the purposes of this, Shen Yuan's family is basically $10 Bananas levels of cluelessly rich. Shen Yuan has almost never had to look at the prices of anything he wants. He and his siblings all get an allowance from the family's main account, which increases when they reach adulthood, and in the interest of fairness his parents made it all the same size. So Shen Yuan gets the same amount of money for his daily living expenses as his older brothers with their penthouse apartments and vacation homes and private jets, at least from the family account (since he doesn't work, he doesn't actually make as much as them in total because they earn more on top of their allowances).

And the thing is, Shen Yuan genuinely just lives a lot more humbly. He likes people but what would he do with a vacation house? Anything really nice would probably require him to fly to get out there, and he gets sick as hell on planes. Living in the central city is also not great for him, because the air pollution is so bad. Having a whole house to himself would also be ridiculous. So he has a reasonable apartment, in a reasonable area, and he splurges every so often on purchases that make him happy and take-out food that he likes, and of course he pays a cleaning service to come in twice a week. Most people assume he's comfortably middle class and has some tech job he does from home, but he's been getting a lot more than he's been spending in his monthly allowances for years now, and the figures are big.

Enter into this environment author Airplane and his trash novels. Novels, multiple, because in this AU there's no PIDW, and instead after some alternate PIDW prototype got popular in the harem genre, Airplane decided to churn out a series of copy-paste shorter stories rather than recycling the same subplots in one massively long epic.

Shen Yuan of course discovers Airplane's writing and becomes as obsessed with it as ever, except this time he notices that if there are delays between new stories, they seem to clear up faster whenever he throws some cash at the problem. And also that the drops in Airplane's writing quality coincide with times when Shen Yuan was having health issues and not keeping up with his VIP purchases. So, he works out that Airplane's probably doing the writing for the money, and that when Peerless Cucumber isn't paying the most for it, Airplane starts listening to the other buffoons in the comment section more to try and entice them to pay his bills instead.

Peerless Cucumber leaves a comment on one of Airplane's latest stories that kicks off the two of them actually chatting, and Shen Yuan eventually gets to the point of offering to fund all Airplane's writing, in exchange for Airplane not doing his crap sellout stuff to appeal to other readers anymore. Airplane thinks he's joking or maybe mocking him. Shen Yuan asks how much it would cost. Airplane fires off a ridiculous number. Shen Yuan doesn't even blink and wires him the first payment. Then he gets annoyed because Airplane leaves him on read for a while, but that's because Airplane is staring at his account balance in shock.

Of course, it's Airplane who starts referring to Peerless Cucumber as his sugar daddy. Shen Yuan is just like "based on your sex scenes I don't think anyone would pay you for that" and Airplane's all "but you WOULD pay for my sex scenes ^_~" and Shen Yuan's like "technically I am actually paying you not to write that shit" and so on. Usual banter. The quality of Airplane's writing improves dramatically, a lot of his readership drops off but he does get new readers and gradually builds up an even bigger fanbase than before, and so on, it all goes pretty well. He eventually writes a few things that take off to the point of getting physical publications and international translations. Technically Airplane no longer needs Shen Yuan to pay all of his bills by that point but he's not going to tell Shen Yuan that! The contract's still good as long as he keeps writing!

Then one of Airplane's online acquaintances runs into some financial trouble and asks for help.

Liu Mingyan used to beta read for Airplane back when he wrote fanfiction (she was like thirteen, Airplane was unaware because internet and hey free beta), and it seems her family has hit a rough patch. She wants tips on how to go pro, but Airplane explains that it was extremely difficult and he mostly lucked out by finding a single wealthy backer. Mingyan wonders if the same guy would be interested in her writing, Airplane sadly thinks not because Mingyan exclusively writes kinky danmei erotica and Peerless Cucumber seems pretty firmly in the closet still and also generally prefers plotty and world-building heavy stuff.

But like, Airplane has definitely gotten a vibe off of Cucumber-bro, and Mingyan's gorgeous older brother does video streams of himself doing cool martial arts and swordsmanship stuff. So he asks her permission and when she gives it, he recommends Liu Qingge's videos to Shen Yuan, being sure to mention that the guy in question can't really afford to keep up with his hobbies and oh what a shame it would be if he had to stop making art like that.

Haha, Airplane, you're not subtle.

Even so, Shen Yuan watches the videos and immediately agrees that Liu Qingge is beauty in motion, and that it would be criminal to deprive the world of more videos of his sword. Swordsmanship! That is the, the art of, martial arts! Definitely. He clicks the donate button, reasoning out that he'll just send a donation about the size of his usual monthly payments to Airplane and call it his good deed for the day.

Liu Qingge is very confused by this new follower from nowhere who suddenly dumped a little over a month's rent into his account. One thing leads to another, with Mingyan and Airplane conspiring to try and get Shen Yuan as a permanent patron, and then Liu Qingge being let in on it. Except that Airplane keeps referring to Shen Yuan as his sugar daddy, and well... it's not like Liu Qingge doesn't ever get 'those' kinds of comments on his videos. At first he's embarrassed, then offended, then mortified that his own younger sister is apparently setting him up to make premium private videos for what he assumes is some old pervert who is going to want him to do untoward things.

However, their options are pretty bleak at the moment, and Liu Qingge worries that if he doesn't do this then Mingyan might. She even mentions something to the effect of having planned to offer herself, and only didn't because she wasn't this "sugar daddy" guy's type!

Teeth clenched, Liu Qingge asks Airplane stiltedly for advice on how to... appeal, to this wealthy benefactor.

In the end though it's not nearly as bad as Liu Qingge feared. He winds up doing more videos in costumes and cosplay, which ought to have been an untenable expense, but Peerless Cucumber always ends up covering the cost of whatever he invests in plus extra. Sometimes he sends Liu Qingge stuff with a request to wear it, but so far it's just been like, badass warrior-themed or historical costumes. Nothing overtly pervy. He does some LARPing, he makes enough to start doing horseback archery again, convinces some of his good-looking peers from various clubs to spar with him, and ultimately the most risque videos he ends up doing are the ones where he demonstrates how to put on certain kinds of gear. He still locks those ones behind paid subscribers only, mostly because he feels like he's doing something illicit now, even if he used to show more skin on his older videos any time he took his shirt off.

Peerless Cucumber doesn't leave creepy comments, either. In fact he seems genuinely nice and supportive, it's hard not to like him, and so even once his situation levels out Liu Qingge decides there's not really much need to stop making videos for him. (He maybe even gets a little giddy thrill over... well, sometimes he finds it all a bit... just when he thinks about Peerless Cucumber watching him demonstrate his physical prowess and finding that alone worth... ANYWAY--)

So that goes on for a while, before Yue Qi enters the scene.

Yue Qi is the childhood friend of one of Shen Yuan's older brothers (Shen bros!) and Shen Jiu owes him a big favor for something that he won't talk about. At least he won't talk to Shen Yuan about it. But Yue Qi is also not the type to ask for help, and Shen Jiu is very bad at offering it, so when Shen Jiu gets word that Yue Qi is having some difficulties making ends meet, he tells Shen Yuan to act as the middle man. Go offer Qi-ge money, he knows you're nice he'll just accept it, and then Shen Jiu will pay the actual bill.

Well it turns out that Yue Qi doesn't just accept it, of course he sees right through it, and gently but firmly tells Shen Yuan that he's not interested in burdening Shen Jiu further than he already has. Etc, etc, stoic stiff upper lips and no proper communication all around. Shen Yuan panics because it's not working and he's also genuinely worried about Yue Qi by now, so he tries to figure out how to make it compelling and basically blurts that, well, see, the thing is that sometimes he pays men to entertain him. You know. To like. Do things, for him. So. He could also pay Yue Qi? To do something for him?

Yue Qi gets the wrong idea entirely, and at first is like, oh, no, A'Yuan, you shouldn't be paying people for that! These things should just happen organically! But Shen Yuan is very adamant that he believes in compensating people for what they do for him, it's not like he can't afford to, and it gets awkward but Yue Qi is like well he does have health problems. It's perhaps difficult for him to meet people. So then he starts worrying about Shen Yuan and all these strange men he's apparently paying for "entertainment". Does his brother know about this?

No of course Shen Jiu doesn't know! He'd hate it, and Shen Yuan doesn't want to hear about how he's doing everything wrong with his life again!

Then Shen Yuan mentions that his prior house cleaning service up and quit on him (they didn't), and if Yue Qi would like to earn fair compensation he could just come over sometimes to help instead, and Shen Yuan would pay him just to tidy up and hang out for a few hours! Which Yue Qi thinks is a fantastic idea, actually, even if Shen Yuan is only doing this because of his brother, this will give Yue Qi a chance to keep an eye on him and his so-called entertainers. Even if he sort of... ends up also being one?

Shen Yuan keeps everything above board, though his apartment always seems perfectly clean and he overpays way too much (Shen Jiu is still footing this bill after all), and Yue Qi starts to think maybe he actually is being paid for intimacy. Of a sort that they're maybe still working up to? Shen Yuan usually has a very thin face after all. He's kind of got two minds about this prospect. On the one hand, he's got his situationship with Shen Jiu, so dating his brother would be absurd. But on the other hand, it's not actually dating, and he does like Shen Yuan, and maybe if they can be good company for each other then Yue Qi won't feel so depressed and Shen Yuan won't need to hire strange men so often.

Meanwhile it's come to Shen Yuan's attention, perhaps through an offhand comment he read online somewhere, that people who are struggling financially often also struggle to "treat themselves". Because even when they have enough money to be comfortable there's often the looming specter of deprivation, and etc, so he figures he should start buying some of his dependents more treats and things. Since they might not buy them for themselves? And also he's enjoying doing this but shhh no he isn't, it's a huge hassle, he's only doing it out of basic moral decency, etc.

So like, Airplane starts getting little things that he'd put on some public wish lists, clearly sent by Peerless Cucumber. And he tells Mingyan to make a list for Liu Qingge too, and sure enough, Liu Qingge (bewildered, slightly flustered) tries to figure out what he's supposed to do with an album from a band he likes and some high-end leather polish. Ultimately settles on playing the music and wearing his nicest leather in his next video. Yue Qi starts arriving at Shen Yuan's place to be plied with his favorite coffees and to have scented candles awkwardly foisted onto him (Shen Yuan does not know what Yue Qi likes in gifts) (he buys these presents himself they're not out of Shen Jiu's pocket).

So finally Shen Yuan's parents start to notice that he's been spending a lot more than usual, and start to worry that he's either been taken in by a scam artist or is secretly dating a gold digger or has developed a drug addiction or something. But asking things directly like normal people is basically illegal in the Shen family, so they decide to hire a private investigator.

Enter Luo Binghe, a young man of humble background who is struggling to make ends meet after the untimely death of his adoptive mother, and is using his P.I. job and his online cooking videos to help pay his way through school (scholarship student). Usually his cases are more like, cyberstalking someone to find out if they're cheating on their spouse, or helping someone planning a lawsuit accumulate evidence on their corrupt employer, or other things like that. When he gets the Shen Yuan case, the idea that the Shen family's son is paying for "company" is well within his list of probable answers.

Though this one is a little... peculiar?

Mostly because Binghe can't find evidence of Shen Yuan actually getting what he would, presumably, be paying for. At first Luo Binghe just goes through the online paper trails, using the info that the Shen parents give him to figure out that Shen Yuan is paying Airplane and Swordmaster Liu (*cough*) what seem to be exorbitant prices just for trashy fiction and cosplay videos. He assumes this is a cover, that someone's actually delivering drugs or going over for "private meetings" or at least actually sending dirty videos as well, but even when he pays for Liu Qingge's VIP access it's just tutorials and such. Neither of these guys are even on any of the sites that are more lenient towards hosting explicit content. Luo Binghe's aware that kinks aren't always obviously sexual, but people don't usually pay through the nose for the kind of content they can easily find for free all over the place, either.

He digs a little more but keeps coming up empty on evidence to clarify which of the many vices the Shen family's son is actually indulging in. Which is a problem because that's the information they're paying him to find out. Plus his curiosity kind of piques as he reads Shen Yuan's seemingly quite invested comments on Airplane's writing and Liu Qingge's videos, looking to see if there's any kind of clandestine code or pattern. But near as he can tell, whatever else Shen Yuan might be getting out of these arrangements, he does genuinely like the stories and videos too? Well. Sometimes. Sometimes he's actually scathingly vitriolic towards Airplane's writing.

Luo Binghe decides that surveilling Shen Yuan himself is probably the way to go. That gets more complicated in court cases, but since the Shen parents just wants to know what's going on and aren't planning on prosecuting their son for anything, it doesn't matter as much if Luo Binghe gets information in sneaky or underhanded ways.

So, Binghe uses the account he created to access Liu Qingge's videos to chat with Shen Yuan a few times, and then recommends his own cooking channel. Shen Yuan doesn't seem too interested in cooking, so Luo Binghe makes sure to include a video that has an image of himself in his recommendation, and then films a few new videos of himself cooking with his shirtsleeves rolled up to three quarters and a few more buttons than usual unbuttoned, adopting a more flirty persona than he typically does for his shows. He takes his cues from some of Liu Qingge's more popular videos for how to be enticing bait.

It takes a few videos, but eventually Shen Yuan comments. Luo Binghe latches onto the chance to start talking to him, playing up a persona of a vulnerable young man with little means who is trying hard to make it through school, etc, and sure enough Shen Yuan seems interested. Well, most predatory people like vulnerable targets, don't they?

However... Shen Yuan just sends him a chunk of money.

Luo Binghe is confused.

Isn't he supposed to ask for something or create some kind of expectation of repayment first? But, maybe this is his approach to handling new targets. Maybe he's just trying to lull Binghe into a false sense of complacency, before he starts indicating what he wants from all of this. Luo Binghe makes sure to move the money Shen Yuan sends him into a separate account, so that if the Shen parents get angry about it then he can return it as a gesture of good faith.

But Shen Yuan just keeps sending supportive comments and donations. Eventually he leaves a comment that alludes to how badly he'd like to taste Binghe's cooking, and Binghe is like finally, but when he implies that they could perhaps meet in person and Luo Binghe could thank him for his support by making him something, Shen Yuan backs off.

Things eventually progress to the point where Luo Binghe, who is a totally normal person treating this like a totally normal job still thank you very much, is basically camping out in the bushes in front of Shen Yuan's apartment building. At some point he conscripts the aid of his weird cousin (finding his birth family was how he got into this business initially), and then almost immediately regrets it because Shen Yuan helps get Zhuzhi Lang a job doing landscaping for his building.

Why would he want Zhuzhi Lang close but not Binghe? Binghe is much handsomer! He'd make an excellent target for seduction! >:(

Anyway eventually Yue Qi catches Luo Binghe lurking around like a creeper and is like, finally, I have caught one of these suspicious men, whilst Binghe is like oh so he does have a lover, well this guy sucks and is clearly not good enough for him, and they both try and chase one another off and Shen Yuan comes home to a heated passive-aggressive-politeness war being waged in front of his apartment. Eventually he realizes the misunderstanding and calls everyone together (zoom conference? in-person meet-up?) to clarify that he is not paying any of them for "special favors", that was just Airplane being deranged about his sense of humor, and then he has no idea what to do when the prevailing response seems to be disappointment.

[redtsundere-writes]

OnlyFans | Toji Fushiguro

onlyfansboyfriend!toji fushiguro x femphotographer!reader

Sypnosis: You recently discovered that your boyfriend has an OnlyFans. You think he could look sluttier. Warnings: Minors do not interact. Mdni. Top!Toji Fushiguro, oral sex, smut, vaginal sex, rough and raw sex. Word Count: 1830 words. Author's Note: I was inspired to write this fic after reading @jujutsubaby 's headcanons.

Your feet were pedaling as fast as you could to get to your boyfriend's apartment. The wind rushed through your hair as you maneuvered the bike horns throughout the street. You just had been promoted, and you wanted to tell your boyfriend the good news in person. Maybe you could go to dinner and you would invite him this time. Toji was the one always taking you out to dinner every weekend, showering you with lavish gifts and sending flower arrangements to your office. You had barely been dating for 6 months, you didn't know what exactly he did for a living, but you knew he never had to worry about money.

You got to the apartment in record time and opened the door with the copy of the key he had recently given you. High-pitched moans along with your boyfriend's groans immediately caught your attention. "Fucking bastard, he's cheating on me!" you thought, filling up with rage. You ran to his room to catch him in the act, but you were the one who got the surprise.

You opened the door to his room and froze at the scene. Toji was masturbating his erect cock in front of a camera perched on a tripod in front of you.  He was moaning like a bitch in heat as he rubbed the tip in circles with his veiny hand while a purple cock ring at the base of his big dick. His body was oiled up, his lips slightly opened and the sound of his skin against itself created such an amazing erotic image that your panties got instantly wet. The high-pitched moans came from a porn video playing on his computer. You knew your boyfriend was a sexual beast, but you didn't plan to see him like that at that moment.

“Hello, my love, what are you doing here?” Toji asked, breaking the character he was acting in front of the camera. He paused the porn video, turned off the camera and sat on the edge of the bed as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. His cock was still erect, patient to be touched again.

“What the fuck is this?” You ask confused, pointing at the camera and his beefy, oiled up body.

“I'm shooting a video for my OnlyFans,” he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. If your jaw was already on the floor, it was now underground. “Oh come on, honey, how do you think I paid for all the stuff I give you? By working honestly?” He scoffed.

“Do you have an OnlyFans?” You asked, processing the information you had just been given.

Toji sighed in disappointment and moved the camera out of the way to approach you. He could see in your reaction that you were disappointed in him. Toji Fushiguro will never quit his OnlyFans for anything or anyone in the world. Since he reached a thousand subscribers, he never had to worry about paying the household expenses or monthly school fees for his son, Megumi. He was a financially free man. He doesn't even remember when was the last time he looked at the price of something before buying it. In addition to the money, he loved the attention he received through the live feeds or the horny comments left on his nude photos.

“If it bothers you so much, let's call it quits,” he replied, annoyed at being criticized.

It was for this reason that Toji never revealed what he did for a living. He was already used to his girlfriends dumping him because of his work. Whenever he told them he was a sex worker, they would either freak out, break up with him or get jealous of his subscribers. It was a shame that you were like the others, he had grown fond of you over the last few months.

“What are you talking about?” You asked confused.

“I know you're going to break up with me. Just give me the key and let's forget this ever happened,” he said directly, extending his hand to you so you would give him the key.

“Toji, I am not mad that you have an OnlyFans. I am mad that you didn't tell me,” you replied annoyed.

He looked at you in surprise at the unexpected accusation. He really thought you'd go off like all the others. It was refreshing to see a girl confident enough to go out with him despite having over a thousand people drooling online over him.

“I want to see your pictures,” you asked.

Toji showed you his laptop with his OnlyFans profile. There were everything from pictures of him in front of a mirror in his underwear to videos of him masturbating. Toji didn't need anything else to be one of the most attractive men in the world, but his profile was very boring. Many of his photos were similar, and all the videos are shot from the same angle. A boring, bland and soporific profile. Toji could do much better than this.

From that day on, you decided to help him improve his profile to get more subscribers. You bought him lingerie, costumes, and sex toys. At the beginning you did it because you wanted him to win more money, but little by little he became your experiment. Every time you saw some hot guy doing something sexy on the internet, you wanted your boyfriend to imitate him. Your panties would get wet, and your nipples would get aroused every time you forced him to wear tight maid outfits, watched him masturbate live with toys you bought him or put him in different positions for the camera. Sometimes they would fuck after the photo shoot, but not when shooting videos.

As the months passed, they had reached 8k subscribers. To celebrate, Toji decided to do a livestream titled: “Fucking my photographer in appreciation for the 8k”. It was Toji’s idea. At first, you completely refused fearing that someone from your work would see it, but he convinced you by saying you could wear a mask and promised to take you shopping afterward.

You rented a room in one of the most expensive motels in town. The room was surrounded by mirrors covering every inch of wall, had a heart-shaped jacuzzi and a king-size bed with white sheets. The perimeter of the ceiling had purple LED lights that helped to conceive the sensual ambiance. You put on the latex bunny mask and a matching lingerie set Toji bought for you.

You lay down on the bed while Toji prepared the camera. He soon climbed on top of you to start the show. He pulled you close to his chest and kissed you passionately. Your bodies rubbed against each other, patient to get to the most interesting part, but you couldn't speed up the process. You had to make the spectators horny with foreplay. His strong hands roamed your lower back, molding your ass to his liking. His wet lips roamed over every part of your hot body.

Toji maneuvered you to his pleasure. He would put you in any position he wanted, rub his big member in any available cavity and make you feel like the only woman in the world. His sharp teeth bit into your bra to tear the fabric and take possession of your breasts. He licked, twisted and massaged your nipples, taking you on a non-stop aphrodisiac journey. Toji wasn't planning to hold back tonight. He was going to reward you for your hard work.

He whipped your body against the bed to get rid of your pesky panties. He stuck his head between your legs, sinking into your delicious shaft. Your back arched as soon as his tongue came in contact with your sensitive meat button. Toji ate you whole as if he had never tasted a bite in his life. You closed your legs due to the high level of pleasure, pressing against his head, but he forced you to open them again. He was a green-eyed predator watching his prey reaction as he tore it apart.

He sat on the edge of the bed and placed you on his lap. Your back was against his beefy chest. You could feel his soft pecs against your shoulder blades. He forced you to sit on his cock, facing the camera. His hands squeezed your waist to force you to ride his dick at an addictive pace you couldn't resist. His big member pounded the depths of your intimacy without any mercy. He spread your legs so that you were fully exposed to the viewers, he wanted everyone to see how beautiful you looked every time he fucked you.

“Toji~! Give me more!” You were a mess, you moaned his name every chance you got and gasped incoherently every time Toji pounded you with the almighty.

“Do you like when everyone sees what a slut you are?” I asked, smirking.

Toji could do whatever he wanted with you. You were his favorite toy, the muse he wanted to satisfy, the woman he owed so much to. He kissed your whole body, he fucked you until you forgot you were being filmed, and his passionate panting moans you crazy. His big cock hit all the right places as he hugged your waist to keep you close, as if you were going to escape. No one is foolish enough to want to escape Toji Fushiguro's strong arms.

“I'm cumming, Toji~!” You gasped as he stuffed you from behind.

The older one wouldn't stop moving even though he was sweating in places where he didn't know he could sweat from. He was ramming you full steam ahead, widening your insides and making sure to give you all he could offer. Your wet pussy could barely withstand the monstrosity he had. You moaned for more even though you knew you were about to cum. Toji decided to speed up the process, massaging your clit wretchedly. Your body contorted, falling victim to the brutal pleasure that coursed through you completely. A spasm took over your body, and you finally cum. It wasn't long before you felt Toji's hot cum invade your insides.

After a long livestream, Toji ordered food from the room service. You were eating burgers on the bed while watching Netflix. Your legs wouldn't stop shaking from the stress you had put them through. It maybe was an ordinary burger, but after three orgasms, it tasted like it was the best burger in the world. Toji put his arm around you to pull you closer to his body.

“You did very well,” he congratulated you. “We should do it more often.”

“I'll think about it,” you said with a shy smile.

His hand moved to your side, drawing your attention. Turns out he had hugged you to  sneakily steal a fry from your plate. You slapped his hand to make him let go, and he just laughed nervously.

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Masterlist.

[not-wholly-unheroic]

I recently found a copy of the graphic novel version of Straight on Til Morning at my local used bookstore and got a great deal so I wanted to share a few of my likes, dislikes, and general observations. I’d been meaning to write up a proper review of the book for awhile now but have been SUPER behind. Anyway, the graphic novel follows the book pretty closely and I’ll be sharing some images from it, so this WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for those of you who haven’t read it.

First off, the artwork for the graphic novel is beautiful and some scenes are illustrated in a really creative way. For example, I love the depiction of this particular scene where Wendy is writing her stories and Hook sort of…comes to life off the page.

I also really love that while (most of) the characters are still recognizably Disney’s version…they also look a tad more realistic and have some of the illustrator’s own personal interpretation mixed in.

George Darling is a great example. In the graphic novel he is slimmer than in the film and looks remarkably like J.M. Barrie…which I have to consider was probably intentional.

And then there’s the Lost Boys in their animal costumes…Tootles, Skipper (excuse me, this is Nibs erasure—you can add Skipper but don’t just eliminate Nibs!), Slightly, Cubby, and the Twins.

The pirates, however, are a totally different story. Who the heck are these guys???

Anyway… at least they get Hook’s personality right. I love this bit, in particular, where one of the pirates gets a little rough with Wendy and Hook is having none of it. Also, the idea of Hook capturing Wendy to be a mother to the crew is a nice nod to the book.

One big complaint I do have is that the characters are, on occasion, a little TOO self-aware. Like in this scene where one of the pirates makes a sort of on-the-nose observation about Hook’s feud with Pan.

But I will admit, I did cackle at Hook’s reaction.

He said would you please stop trying to psychoanalyze me and look for symbolism and just let the story be about a boy and a pirate? (Hook, how do you even know who Freud is??)

You may have noticed by now that I haven’t said anything about Peter… That’s because Peter barely features in the story at all and honestly when he does show up, he’s…kinda useless and clueless. Now, admittedly, Wendy is meant to be older in this (around 16) so of course, it’s reasonable to think she might not quite view him the same way she did at 12…but in having her team up with Tink to do all the heavy-lifting of the plot (because, ya know, girlpower and all that), Peter sort of ends up not really doing anything. I’d almost rather have an evil Pan, as annoying as that trope is because at least then he actually does something. In this story, it truly feels like Wendy has just…outgrown Peter altogether. And that hurts.

Speaking of which…ya know what hurts even more for me as a Hook fan? THIS.

This poor man is curled up on the deck in the fetal position, terrified of a crocodile who has been long-dead, crying out for a best friend who never even existed except inside his own mind because he was so alone that he made him up.

O W !! Why would you do this to me, Disney?!

It ends for Hook with the crew deciding to drop him off somewhere with enough gold to pay for his keep and hire a caretaker because he’s so mentally unstable they don’t trust him to live by himself.

I hate to say it, but honestly, watching him die would be less painful. At least that would be over with fairly quickly. This just hurts.

But everyone else lives happily ever after, so it’s okay, right? Right??? 😫😭 (Don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here in the corner, crying over my pirate boy.)

[ladykailitha]

The Caged Bird Still Sings Part 11

Hey guys! This story is moving right along, though Act 2 might be a little shorter than Act 1. Mainly because I'm running out of plot on the

"Steve struggles with being a sugar baby" aspect of it. But we'll see.

In this Steve drives his dream machine, Eddie cheers him, and Steve watches bad porn.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

~

The car drove like a dream. It was smoother and sleeker than the Bimmer, too. Steve reveled in the soft seats and great handling.

When he pulled up to the record shop, he almost didn’t want to get out of the car. But he needed more variety in his music than just Corroded Coffin tapes.

He wandered through the alternative rock section. He picked up a couple of albums he already had like “Some Great Reward” and “Black Celebration” by Depeche Mode, just to have them in his car. Then he picked up the most recent album that he didn’t have yet, “Music for the Masses”. He of course picked up another copy of Tears for Fears’s album “Songs from the Big Chair”. He could never have too many copies of that one.

He picked up more from other greats like Duran Duran and INXS. A bit of Queen, too. But somehow he found his way to the metal section. He wasn’t sure if they had anything like Corroded Coffin. But he felt like it didn’t hurt to look.

That was when the clerk came up to him. He had ignored Steve while he was in the alt. rock section. And when he got closer Steve could see why. The kid was wearing a Megadeath t-shirt.

“Can I help you find something?” the kid, whose name according to the name tag was Aaron, asked in a sharp, nasally voice.

“Yeah,” Steve said with a smile. “I’m just getting into the metal scene. Can you help me find something similar to Corroded Coffin. I went to a concert of theirs recently and really liked it.”

The kid looked in his basket and sneered. “Maybe not spend so much on that kind of music for a start.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Who says these aren’t gifts?”

Aaron had the decency to grimace, but Steve pressed further. “Besides do you really want to dissuade me from spending a lot of money at your store, just because you don’t like my taste in music?”

This time the kid blanched. He cleared his throat. “So um...if you’re looking for stuff like Corroded Coffin, I recommend Dio, Iron Maiden and Metallica.”

Steve turned on his brightest customer service smile. “Thank you!”

He waited until the pimple pusher trotted off back to whatever fresh hell he had crawled from before he went looking for the guy’s recommendations. He picked a couple that looked interesting with the knowledge that if he liked them, he would come back for the others.

He made sure to pay with the black credit card with an evil grin. He watched the guy bag his tapes and brand new boombox flushed red from the embarrassment Steve was putting him through. It probably wouldn’t stop him from harassing customers in the future, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

He loaded his prizes into the passenger seat of his shiny new car and drove back to the hotel. He decided to take the stairs, he was just that over flowing with excitement.

Once in the hotel room, he set his prizes on the side table and flopped belly first on the bed, kicking off his shoes on the way. He picked up his phone and dialed Eddie. He figured it would go to voicemail but he couldn’t wait to tell him about how much he liked the car.

So he was surprised when Eddie picked up. “Hello?”

“Eddie!” Steve cried, rolling over on his back and twirling the cord around his finger. “I thought I was going to have to leave a message.”

“Hey, little Canary,” Eddie murmured warmly. “I just got back to the hotel after my sound check.”

“Lucky me,” Steve replied happily. “I love the car. It’s beautiful and amazing and while I want to say you didn’t have to do that, I don’t care. It’s an incredible gift.”

Eddie chuckled. “When I saw Sunbird I giggled like a school girl. I couldn’t pass it up. Made sure it was yellow and sent it over as soon as I could. I’m glad you like it baby.”

“Have you got my present yet?” Steve asked. It had been a couple of days since he sent it and was eaten up in curiosity on what he thought about it.”

“I have my mail here...” he said trailing off. “Let’s see here...Ah ha! I found it! From Steve Harrington.”

Steve could hear him open the box and dig through the paper he’d wrapped in to make sure it arrived safe. Then Eddie was laughing so hard.

“I can’t believe you sent me your fake ID,” Eddie said once he had stopped laughing. “That is hilarious. Thanks, babe. I love it. I’m going to take it with me for the rest of the tour.”

Steve couldn’t help but beam. He patted himself on the back for a job well done. He had gotten rid of the fake ID that got him into the bar like Monty and Hop wanted and he had gotten Eddie to laugh. Clearly a win/win.

“This way I won’t be tempted to do anything that would require an illegal ID,” Steve explained with a grin. “And you get a memento from our first meeting.”

“It’s perfect, little Canary,” Eddie purred. “I love your sense of humor and think once Chrissy sees what you sent me, she won’t be as grudging as she has been about us.”

Us.

Steve’s stomach erupted into butterflies at that thought. Like they meant something. Like they were something together.

He had no allusions that Eddie actually meant it that way, but still it was sweet to hear.

They talked for awhile longer. About the music Steve bought and how much he enjoyed listening to the Corroded Coffin stuff on the way to the music store.

Then it was time for Eddie get ready for the concert. “Don’t forget to eat, little Canary. I know we’ve been talking an awful long time. I want you taking care of yourself.”

Steve huffed. “I just don’t want to get fat.”

There was silence on the line for a moment and he worried Eddie was mad. He started chewing on his thumb nail in worry.

“Baby,” Eddie’s voice was soft and warm and it melted Steve’s insides. “You like going running and you go swimming all the time. The only way you’d gain weight is if you built up a shit ton of muscle. A little softness isn’t bad, okay? And if you’re worried about the new clothes you just bought, they having tailoring services where they can let out an inch or so if needed. Be gentle on yourself, little Canary.”

A tear slipped down his cheek. “You’re too good to me,” he whispered, his voice cracking from the emotion.

“Not possible, Stevie,” Eddie murmured. “I realize your parents are shitty and filled you up with all their shit opinions. It’s my job is to shovel all that out and fill it with as much good things as I can, okay?”

“Thank you, Eddie,” Steve said with a sniffle. He wiped his nose on his arm. What did he care, no one was there to see him and he planned on getting a shower while he waited for room service anyway. Consider it his first step of being gentler with himself.

“I’ve got to go, baby,” Eddie murmured. “But I’ll call tonight to sing you to sleep, alright?”

“Yeah, okay,” Steve agreed. They said their goodbyes and then hung up. Steve immediately called the front desk for dinner, ordering the biggest steak on the menu with mashed potatoes and creamed corn.

He hopped into the shower and just let the water wash over him. This really was the best part about living in the hotel. The constant hot water, the different jets that flowed water over his body, heated tiles. This really was the life.

It really was too bad it was temporary. He knew that once Eddie came back he would have to move, the dude was hardly going to pay for Steve to live in this swanky hotel for the rest of his life. But he was going to enjoy it while he could.

The steak was amazing as always, everything tasting like like it was dipped in butter. His mother would balk at the calories in the potatoes alone. But she wasn’t here now. And Steve was going to imagine Eddie flipping her off every time she became the voice inside his head telling him how worthless he was.

He spotted the truffle box and flipped it open. He only had two left so he called down to the front desk again.

“Marcella,” came the voice of the night desk lady. “How may I help you tonight?”

“Hi, Marcella,” Steve said brightly, “This is Steve Munson from room 2803 and I was wondering if you would be able to do me a favor. You see a good friend of mine sent me chocolates and I was wondering if they were from around here, or if he ordered them.”

“Of course, Mr. Munson,” she replied just as bright. “What is the name name of the company that sells them.”

Steve pursed his lips as he looked around the box for the answer. “Let’s see...yes! I’ve got it. Rene’s Chocolates.”

“One moment, please,” she hummed. A moment or two later, she came back. “It does look like they are a local Hawkins company. Would you like me to order you more or would like a brochure sent to you for you to order yourself?”

“The brochure for sure,” Steve said, “but can you also order six more of the raspberry truffles, too.”

Marcella laughed. “That good huh? Sure I’ll send up the brochure and order you more truffles. Is there anything else I can for for you tonight?”

“No, that’s everything, Marcella,” he replied. “Thank you!”

He hung up the phone and ran to jump on the bed. He flopped on it, spread eagle. He wasn’t under his parents roof anymore, he could whatever the hell he wanted. He got to his feet and started bouncing on the mattress. He flopped back onto the pillows with a giggle.

Steve jumped up and grabbed the box of truffles to finish them off while he was watching TV. He could watch whatever he wanted. So he settled for old Looney Tunes cartoons and the bottled soda from his mini fridge. Eddie had seen to the removal of the alcohol which had made Steve pout. He got not going out and buying booze, but to deny him so much as a mini vodka was cruel indeed.

Well not really, he had gone dry a few times. He didn’t need it to have fun, but with the clubs and bars closed to him, there really wasn’t anywhere he could go or do that wasn’t hanging out with a bunch of asshole teenagers.

Fuck.

He was actually lonely. He knew that he couldn’t call Eddie right now, because he was in the middle of a concert. No doubt with thousands of fans throwing themselves at his feet.

So he did what every self-respecting teenager with cable and a free hand does in that scenario he turned on porn.

He knew he wasn’t going to find gay porn. He wasn’t stupid. This was still Reagan’s America even if he wasn’t in office anymore. Bush was just as bad. But if he could find a blow job video then he could at least block out the chick.

With much frustration he only barely managed to find on where the girl wasn’t bouncing her tits while fucking herself on the dude’s cock. But he settled in to watch his crappy porn.

The dude was jacked and oiled to hell but Steve bit his lip as the dude on screen plowed into the actress. He was calling her all sorts of names and while that was usually a turn off for Steve, he allowed himself the fantasy of him saying those horrible things to Tommy as they had hate sex.

When he was done and he had come after a very valiant effort on his part. He realized he hadn’t thought about his ex boyfriend in days. Everyone else he’d called and reassured, but not Tommy. He assumed that Tommy had heard the news that he had been kicked out from their other ‘friends’.

Steve wondered if Tommy had even thought about him at any point since Mr. Harrington came home and found them fucking on the leather sofa. He knew he could just call him or even show up at his house, but he didn’t really care.

He cleaned up after himself and went to go get another shower just get off the all the greasy, uneasy feeling from his jerk session.

He got ready for bed, but stopped when it came to putting on the pajamas. He licked his lips slowly for a moment and then put the pajamas back in the drawers. Steve slid under the sheets in just his underwear, allowing the silky softness of the satin sheets caress his skin.

He didn’t even know what time it was, only that he was tired. He had had such an emotional day. High highs and low lows. He just needed to sleep. To rest. To take care of himself. Just like Eddie wanted.

~

Part 12

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog @beelze-the-bubkiss

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @cryptid-system

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @sticknpokelightningbolt

9- @scoops-aboy86 @kurofuckingshi16 @watermelonmite @eyehartart @dreamercec

10- @little-birch-boy @yearningagain @micheledawn1975 @blondie1006 @sadisticaltarts

[hollyseb]

BARTENDER (PART 3)

Warnings; blood, mild violence, swearing, MINORS DNI,

No permission to copy my work :)

Part 2 here! https://www.tumblr.com/hollyseb/737991483216494592/bartender-part-2

AN; thank you SO much for all the love. This is the first time i have ever written a fanfic and im so glad you all like it

Mob! Bucky x reader

Bucky pummeled the men in the basement of his club. Repeatedly. Brutally. He allowed himself to let go of everything, his mind only focusing on the scene unfolding in front of him. It was psychotic, really, the way his eyes darkened, his nostrils flaring. He licked his lips at the sight of Rumlows split jaw. He was enjoying this.

They were so close. So close. To hurting you. He would make sure that they would never get the chance to again.

Typically, Bucky was controlled, each punch having a meaning, a perfect place to land with an intended goal. But tonight, he was an animal. Sam and Steve found one another sending concerned looks, through furrowed eyebrows and folded arms. They knew something was different. That Bucky was truly furious.

When he was finally satisfied with the beating, he walked out of the club, thoughts trailing back to you. What would you have thought if you had seen him like that? He shook the thoughts from his head, deciding not to answer them.

On the other hand, you had spent the night curled up in bed. Stripping off your clothes and grabbing your phone, you rang Nat. When she picked up, you felt a weight lift from your thoughts. She’s okay.

“Nat, can I ask you something?” You mused, avoiding her eyes over the video call. She hummed in response, you continued, “why did those men attack the club?”

You weren’t stupid. They didn’t reach for the cash register. They didn’t take anyone. They were there for Bucky and his associates. Why? He owned a club, maybe even multiple clubs, and an office building. Who is this man and what does he do?

You weren’t expecting Nat to act so uncomfortable, her eyes shifting around her room, “listen okay… I don’t know exactly what Bucky does, or his friends, but they’re powerful, okay? They have the police force wrapped around their fingers. They practically own the city”, she was speaking in rushed whispers, as if sharing this information could damage her.

Your eyes widened as she continued, “Why do you think the club pays so well? You don’t get that rich and powerful without stepping on people, making a few enemies”

You were hanging on every word she was saying, desperate to find out more. How rich? What enemies? Doing what?

You exhaled, realising Nat had explained all she knew. You were conflicted. Bucky seemed to like you, protect you and the job had given you the ability to pay your bills without working your entire life away. But Bucky, was he dangerous? Vindictive? What if you did something that he didn’t approve of?

Your thoughts were racing, Nat caught you in the process of reeling, “but, I think he has taken a shining to you, really. When the bar was attacked, the only thing he was looking for was you”

What did this big, powerful man want to do with you?

You tried to deny the way your heart flipped when you told Nat about your meeting tomorrow. You were nervous, but god you were thrilled. Nobody like this has ever taken a liking to you before. You’d never been pursued in such a way. He was frightening, nerve-inducing, dangerous even, but he wasn’t that way with you. The way he held your face in your bathroom, dabbing gauze onto your chin, the way he shielded your body from the attackers, whispering that you’ll be okay. Even the way he looked at you when you served him, like you’d knocked the breath out of his lungs.

You told Nat about what Bucky had suggested to you, the way he desperately wanted you to visit his office. You told her how nervous you were, and that you were ashamed you also couldn't wait. The comfort he offered you after the attack, the softness of his hands on your face. He was addicting.

“Go to sleep, your emotions are heightened”, you snorted when Nat said that, rolling your eyes, “oh shush, plus you’ll want to be on top form tomorrow, seeing him in daylight and all”

“Damn it.” You hadn’t thought of that.

You told Nat to pick an outfit for you, your only intention now was to roll over and go to sleep, with thoughts of a certain boss cradling your face.

You woke up the next day, disgruntled, the gauze on your chin half falling off. You had an ache in your shoulder, from where you had been knocked to the ground. You picked your phone up from your bedside table and finding a text from Nat telling you what to wear.

You got yourself reading, pulling on a simple satin pink maxi skirt, and a knitted white turtleneck jumper over the top. Is this too much? Or is it sophisticated. God, he’s only ever seen me in skimpy dresses. You decided that this was fine. Smart, but cute.-

Rushing out the door and exiting your apartment block, there was already a car waiting outside for you. White and sleek, a Mercedes. It was funny, really, how used you were becoming to being chaperoned around.

Bucky was pacing his office, anticipating your arrival. His receptionist had informed in of your arrival to the office.

You were nervous, arriving at his office with the receptionist sending you in the direction of the lift, telling you to go to the top floor. Okay, just breathe. It felt like the elevator was taking forever. You looked in the mirror, smoothing down your skirt. It felt like you were meeting him for the first time. This was unchartered territory.

The lift opened, directly into his office. Lavish, exquisite, overindulgent. His office was huge, high ceilings, surrounded by windows revealing the skyline of the city.

Bucky stood from his chair and made his way over to you as you stepped out the lift. He found it adorable, the way you were amazed by his office. He could see the awe on your face.

Your eyes met his, god he looked amazing. Hair slicked back, black tailored suit, perfectly molded to his body. An earnest smile took over his face, you spoke first.

“Hi”, you smiled innocently, your cheeks heating, matching the colour of your skirt.

“Hi honey. You look beautiful”, Bucky stalked towards you, “how’s your chin?” He raised your face, his forefinger on your jaw.

Your blush deepend. He could hear your breath become quicker. “It’s fine, thank you Bucky… and thank you for looking after me last night”

He smiled at your gratitude, running his thumb over your jaw. You’re practically putty in his hands. He loved it. He wanted to swallow you whole. He reminded himself that you were gentle, small, innocent. You’d run in the other direction if he let himself act on his impulses.

You could tell he was hungry. You interrupted the silence that had fallen between the two of you, “B-Bucky I wanted to ask you abou-“

“About the club, I know honey”, Bucky continued for you, releasing your face. He walked you to the chair opposite to his desk with a hand on the small of your back. He let his eyes travel down your back, to your long legs. He was itching to run his fingers over your ass. He restrained. You felt a shiver run up your spine. You wanted to lean into his touch. What was this man doing to you?

He sat in the large desk chair, his body dwarfing the desk. He is just so big. He clasped his hands in front of him, and suddenly you were aware of how big he was. You shied back a little.

He informed you that he won't ever let that happen again, that you could be safe with him, that he’d protect you. You believed every word he said.

“I never want you to feel that scared again”, you smiled at that, “plus, I can’t lose my favourite bartender”, his foot nudged yours underneath the desk.

“Is it the whiskey cokes I make?” you asked, nonchalantly. You knew what he was getting at, but you wanted to hear him say it explicitly.

He laughed at that, his eyes creasing, “no, I think it might just be you”

This man was making you feel things you hadn’t felt in a long time.

Bucky’s cock hardened at the way you leaned forward as you laughed, your breasts pressing together as you giggled. Such a sweet moment, but he can’t help himself. You were addicting. Your smile, your body. He wanted to drag you over the table.

Your trance was disrupted by the sound of the elevator opening. It was Steve.

“Bucky. We need to go. It’s urgent”

Bucky could’ve killed Steve for interrupting his precious time with you. Instead, he clenched his fists and sighed.

“Wait for me in your office, give me 5 minutes”

He turned back to you, “I’m so sorry honey. I really didn’t want to cut this short”

“I-it’s okay Bucky, honestly”, you suddenly felt out of place. Not important enough to be in the room which such serious business occurring.

Bucky stood from his chair, taking your hand to help you up from yours, guiding you to the elevator the same way he did before.

You couldn’t help the sigh that escaped your lips. You loved this time with Bucky. You were disappointed.

“Honey.” Bucky spun you around before you stepped into the elevator, one hand pressed on your back, pulling you into him, and the other on your left cheek.

“Bucky?” The air mingling between the two of you. Your breath was caught in your throat. He was so so close, his pupils blackened with lust, his eyes flicking down to your lips.

He was obsessed with the way you were staring at him, wide eyes, completely shocked, your breathing coming out in gasps.

His hand moved to the nape of your neck, he pulled you in. When your lips met, he was gentle at first, dominating you but with care. Guiding you to where you needed him to go.

He felt you relax, you sighed into his mouth, he swallowed it up. You needed this just as much as he did.

Your hands fell to his big arms, kneading the muscles as your knees went weak. He was wrapped around you, god he was everywhere.

He deepened the kiss, his hands trailing down your spine. Fuck. You moaned into his mouth, his tongue running over your bottom lip. You tasted like strawberries. So, so sweet, he thought.

He could feel himself becoming desperate. He wanted you. Bent over his desk. He shook the thoughts, reminding himself that this was enough for now. You could feel his hard cock pressing against your stomach. Fuck me. He was kissing you like his life depended on it.

You released him first, trying to catch your breath. He rested his forehead on yours, taking in your fucked-out eyes, puffy lips and the way you were holding onto him. You laughed, trying to hide the flush that had creeped into your cheeks.

He leaned back in, pecking your lips softly, and then your cheeks, and then your forehead.

“Do you treat all of your favourite bartenders like this?” You whispered.

“Only the ones who make me really nice whiskey cokes”

You tried to hide the way you snorted at that as he guided you into the elevator. He bid you goodbye, a cheesy smile on the tall mans face.

He spun on his heel when the elevator shut, what the fuck could Steve want? It must’ve been serious. Steve knew better than to enter his office without warning. He knew something had happened. Fuck.

Next part here; https://www.tumblr.com/hollyseb/738343739506999296/bartender-part-4

TAGLIST:

@melsunshine @scott-loki-barnes @differenttyphoonwerewolf @mrsevans90 @kandis-mom @blairbibi @pattiemac1

[cielcius]

bakugou x g/n!reader. drunk!fic, established relationship, injury, more crack than less hurt/more comfort, good ending (i promise)

if there is one thing katsuki has ever gotten mad at you for, it’s ripping his clothes.

he’s not talking about his pro-hero costume, no, they have multiple copies of his costume and the patterns down to the secret inside pockets kept on the inside of his pants. he’s talking about his regular clothes, “civilian clothes”, not all particularly that expensive and nothing really all that special, but certain clothes tend to go out of style.

it just so happened that you ripped the one shirt that went out of style years ago, now unattainable, and completely heart-wrenching for katsuki to watch through the tears in his eyes. and it all started with a guys’ night out:

“y/n?” you hum into the speaker of your phone, confusion slowly starting to cloud your mind when you hear todoroki’s voice contrary to the caller id showing your husband. “um, do you think you can come and pick bakugou up? he keeps... crying.”

a silent gasp falls from your lips, almost in disbelief. not that the sight of katsuki crying was unheard of, but in public? “oh my, i'm coming now but what happened?” you can hear todoroki sigh into the receiver, and it’s a long sigh. “uh, i think something with wanting you. everybody else is too drunk.”

“and you?”

“i wish i was.” ah, so todoroki is driving. “ok, i’ll be there in a bit. watch him please.” you hear something like a noise of protest as you’re putting on your shoes. “it’s kinda weird to watch bakugou cry but i’ll try.”

— 

arriving on the scene—the bar located halfway across the city—you’re greeted with the sight of katsuki on the ground, a beer bottle still in hand and his jacket acting as a blanket as he slumps back against todoroki’s legs. as you walk closer, you can hear the low drunken murmurs of your husband as he rambles to todoroki.

“’m miss y/n. wanna go to them. wan’ some ice cream. rocky road, no, mint chocolate. who eats sorbet? how do you even pronounce sorbet? where’s y/n?”

you can’t find yourself suppressing the smile that crawls onto your lips at katsuki’s drunken monologue, nodding at todoroki once he spots you. “oh good. you’re here.”

“who’s here? shut up, icyhot. ‘m talkin’ here.” kneeling down to katsuki’s line of sight, you watch as his eyes grow wide, brimmed in red and slightly swollen from the tears that had been spoken of over the phone. “katsuki,” you smile. “let’s go home.” nodding to todoroki again, you watch as he makes his way back into the bar while you make the venture back home with your husband slung heavily over your shoulders.

— 

nearly gasping for air, you toss your keys into the dish placed by the doorway, setting katsuki down before working on getting both your shoes off. “y/n,” you hum in response. “are we home yet?” you huff in amusement. “yes katsuki, we’re home and need to get you some water.”

“mm. ‘m thirsty.” with a little help on katsuki’s behalf, you get him into a chair at the table before grabbing a glass of water and setting it down in front of him. that was your first mistake.

the glass falls at the attempt katsuki makes to grab for it, shattering into pieces against the hardwood floors. “oh no, katsuki, are you okay?” without answering your question, katsuki starts to reach down at the pieces, grabbing at the large pieces before he winces.

blood, lots of blood. the palm of his hand starts to bleed an unrealistic amount of red, dripping onto the floor slowly. letting the piece of glass fall from his hand, katsuki, almost comedically, falls out of his seat and onto the ground. you quickly make your way around the broken glass in a frantic state of panic. that was your second mistake.

not wanting to lose any more blood, you rip a strip of cloth off the bottom of katsuki’s shirt and quickly wrap it around his palm, paying no mind to the onslaught of tears that were soon to come with your actions. 

“you,” you look up at katsuki, eyes searching his and widening when you find them glossy with tears. “you ripped my shirt. my shirt...” you open your mouth, but you’re speechless.

slowly, you come to grasp your senses. “i'm sorry, katsuki, but you’re bleeding. we should go to the hospital in case there’s glass in your hand.” you stand, about to help katsuki up until he turns his head away with a hmph. you raise your eyebrows in disbelief. did he just “hmph” you?

“no. ‘m not going with you.”

“but katsuki, you’re bleeding.” crossing his arms, he looks back at you with hellfire in his eyes. “i. don’t. care.” as if he was reviving his teenage rebellion, katsuki narrows his eyes into a glare, challenging you to talk back, and talk back you did.

“you’re hurt, katsuki. i outta leave you here if you keep acting like this.”

“then do it!” your jaw drops at his response and you swear your eye is twitching, ears not believing a single thing you were hearing and yet you watch as your husband gives the sass to go along with his attitude. before you can act further, katsuki stumbles to his feet, the cloth around his hand covered in clouds of blood but he walks it off as he makes his way to your bedroom.

following him, still in disbelief, you watch as katsuki pulls out your duffel bag before throwing in an odd mix of his and your clothes. “are we going somewhere? like the hospital.” at your remark, katsuki shoots a glare at you once again before going back to packing. “no, me. ‘m going to kirishima’s cause at least he won’t rip my clothes.”

with a bag full of who-knows-what, katsuki gets to the front door, picking up a shoe to go on the opposite foot before his nose scrunches up at the discomfort.  “katsuki, kirishima is the one friend most likely to rip your clothes.”

“then i'll go somewhere else. even if it has to be icyhot’s place.” though contrary to his words, you see katsuki shiver in distaste at having to stay at todoroki’s house. the sight makes you laugh tiredly. “katsuki,” you bend down to where katsuki is seated, trying to get his other shoe on. “i'm sorry i ripped your shirt.” at your apology, katsuki stops and sits limp with a pout.

“’s my favorite shirt.”

“i know.”

“they don’t sell them anymore.”

“i know. but katsuki,” he looks up at you. “your parents made that shirt.”

“my parents made it.” his pout grows deeper, shoulders sagging.

“and i'm pretty sure they can make one more for you.” like a spring, katsuki bounces back with a small smile and a glimmer in his eyes. “really? you think they’ll make me another one?” you nod, quietly laughing at your husband’s boyish giddiness. “of course. you’re their son, and they love you very much.”

katsuki’s smile lasts for a few seconds before faltering. “but, i love you.” you pat his shoulder. “i know, katsuki. i love you too.” even then, katsuki begins to sport a small pout. “but, i yelled at you.” you smile, almost sadly.

“it’s okay, katsuki. you didn’t yell but you were mad and it was my fault. no matter what, as long as we can apologize and own up to our mistakes, we’ll always be okay.”

“always?” you nod. “always.” you smooth the bangs of his hair back, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “let’s go to the hospital to make sure you’re okay, and then we can sleep in all day tomorrow. okay?” nodding quietly, katsuki lets you put his shoes on the right feet, grab the keys, and guide him to the hospital, smiling as you take his hand in yours with a smile.

[herecirmsims]

Questions For Storytellers

I have (I think) finally caught up on my list of poses to make, so I wanted to do something a little fun (for me, not for anyone else LMAO) and entirely self-indulgent. I read stories and tell my own over on Instagram, but of course it's harder to post long-form text like this over there.

Special thanks to @freezerbnuuy as I'm copying their post. ❤️

What’s the last screenshot you’ve taken for your story?

This is from the middle of my last post, but it's the last screenshot I took because I went back and added this scene in after finally caving and making my own stupid poses for it hahah.

2. Describe your story in three words or less: Needlessly long tbh

3. Describe (insert character here) in three words or less: Uhhh I'll pick Saxen since he's my MC... wet cat energy (which I think is something @nefaricussims said actually??). Or "90s cocaine chic" as @southernsimmin so beautifully described him. 🤣

4. How did you choose the name of your story? It's called The Cottage because it's... based in and around a cottage. 🥲 I have a very imaginative mind!! 🤣 But also, the cottage plays an important role throughout the whole story and especially in the upcoming finale.

5. How do you choose your characters’ names? My Sim story is based on a novel I never had the confidence to finish - in that version, Sax is an ælf based on Anglo-Saxon belief. I made him a vampire in Sims because that was the only pack I owned at the time, besides base game, and for gameplay purposes I thought vamp put him close to how I imagined him. I now realise I could have easily used CC and my own damn imagination to make him an ælf but I didn't know much about CC at the time, either. 🤣 Because of this, the original story leant into fae lore and the stuff about never revealing your true name. Saxen isn't his real name anyway, but for an added layer it also isn't spelt how you might imagine if you heard it spoken. The same for Thom and Jac who are also characters who came over from the 'original'.

6. How long have you been working on your story for? A little over three years! I have learned soooo much in that time.

7. Whats the biggest risk you’ve taken with your story? Did it pay off? I dunno that I've taken any risks, other than putting it out there in the first place.

8. What about your story are you proud of? I think the fact it exists at all. I've been writing stories since I was a kid, but at some point I lost confidence in myself and have never finished anything/wanted to share it with people because I end up overthinking and deleting it. So I am proud of myself for having maintained a continuous story for three years, and for having other people read it. I think because there was no pressure with a Sims story - with a novel I kept thinking, this has to be perfect and polished so that I can publish it someday. With a Sims story, I'm free to just write the silly tropes I enjoy and allow myself to suck and learn and get better at it.

9. What about your story are you looking to improve on? I read a fantastic article about ma - including pauses in your visual storytelling, space for the characters to sit and breath and reflect. It's ma that makes Ghibli movies so wonderfully distinctive. Being able to make my own poses means that I can show a character's expression or body language in response to a situation, without the need for overlaying text. I'm trying really hard to move away from the "talking heads" style that reads more like a script, and letting the visuals tell the story for me instead. I'm not very good at it because I enjoy my blah blah, but it's fun to try!!

10. Is your story fully planned or are you still working things out? Is there a definitive end? I'm approaching the end of it now, which has been planned for the last three years, so yes - I know pretty much everything that's going to happen. Sometimes the characters still throw a little surprise for me though.

11. Why have you decided to tell this story? Are there any messages or meanings within it? When I got the Sims almost 4 years ago, I had absolutely no idea that there was a) a whole community around it or b) that people used it for storytelling. I'd already made Sax, Thom, and Jac in the game, because I'd wanted to see them come to life during gameplay. Then I discovered poses and started sharing random staged screenshots on Instagram, and became friends with the exceptionally talented TheSimmerKay (now making machinimas!) who showed interest in my silly little characters and suggested that I try telling a story too. I owe her a lot!! As for messages and meaning... I'm very interested in what makes people do the things they do, and how the hero of a story often depends on whose POV we're hearing the story from. There's a fine line between hero and villain sometimes, and a hero acting out of love can cross from protectiveness into control.

12. Do you actually play the game or do you just use it as a storytelling medium? Yep - I have a designated story save, which is the one I take all my screenshots in and which never has gameplay. Then I have a Happy Ever After save for Sax and Fen and another save for for my Globetrotter Challenge Sim, both of which are gameplay only. I think it's important to have that outlet; I can work on my story, make poses, or just play the game, depending on what I fancy.

13. From basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you? 2-3 evenings. I tend to get everything laid out and text added, then let it sit for a day because I inevitably think of a way to do something better if I give it chance to breath. 🤣

14. Do you have any regrets about your story so far? If you could go back in time, how would you fix these? Not regrets, really, but there are some threads that I put in - fully intending to complete them later in the story - but never did, due to them just not fitting with the story or wanting to try and bring things to an end sooner. But similarly, there are times when I was going to put in a little hint or foreshadowing in and didn't, and then later in my story have wished I had! The tricky part of serialised storytelling is you have to just live with what you have (or don't have), you can't go back and remove or add scenes like you would with a drafted novel.

15. What have been the highlights of creating your story? I've met so many incredible people due to it, oh my goodness. Truly extraordinary Simmers who've shared their time and knowledge with me. We have a little mutual reading group on Insta where we all read and geek out over each other's stories and it's just wonderful. I was honestly shocked when i went to other platforms and realised how much drama there can be in the Sims community. 🤣

16. What about the process do you enjoy? Not that I don't enjoy the process... but I mostly love it when it's finished and I can share it, hahaha.

17. What about the process do you hate? I don't hate any of it... it's a hobby and I do it because I enjoy it. That being said, it does fuck me off when I have multiple Sims in a scene, everyone is in place and has poses queued, and then MCCC Dresser FREEZES MY GAME NOOOOOOOO WHY

18. Choose a song that reminds you of your story:

This is the unofficial theme... specifically this version in Old English, which is Saxen's first language. "It's our destiny then to find love again / Where we failed once before now we'll win"

19. Choose a song that reminds you of (insert character here):

Another one for Sax I guess because he's special. 😌🤣 "But you, a cinder of the fire that's yet to come / Will you just sit and mourn this fragile thing that you've become / Or instead will you consume the very things you can't outrun / Until you finally see all of the strength that you draw from?"

20. Choose your favourite shot from your story so far: Hmmm I think this one, which was me being lazy and reusing a screenshot from an older scene during a flashback-style narration. 🤣 I was trying to achieve something else with the editing but did this by accident and liked it.

21. Choose your least favourite shot so far: Too many to pick from LMAO

22. Choose a favourite character from your story so far: Sax, obviously, he's my lil chew toy/punching bag. But then there's also Idris, for whom I only wish the best. She's going through some trouble right now and I don't enjoy it. It's much more fun to bully Sax.

23. Choose your least favourite character so far: I don't have one! Although Vlad makes me deeply uncomfortable tbh. I find him to be a really creepy villain, and unlike any of my other villains, he's not in any way misrepresented or redeemable. I'm using a makeover version of him by WistfulCastle (I would link, but I don't think he's available anymore?)!

24. Are there any characters who remind you of yourself? No... well. Whenever baby El randomly info-dumps on a niche subject, that's mostly me taking advantage of a captive audience to tell them about karkadanns or medieval torture items or dead bodies on Everest. 🥲

25. What inspirations have you drawn on for your story? I honestly don't know - I can't name anything that I've consciously drawn on, though I know for sure I must have. Funnily enough people have told me things like "oh that's like in Vampire Diaries" or "that's like that part in the Harry Potter films" and I haven't watched either of those, so I think what's happening is we're all drawing from the same well of folklore and mythology and trope. There is occasional story drama about being copied and the thing is... unpopular opinion alert... many of us aren't as unique as we think we are. 😅 What we are unique at is taking a trope and telling it in our own distinctive way. No one else can tell your story quite like you can.

26. Have other sim stories inspired you? I have soooo many talented friends who inspire me to do better when it comes to visuals and storytelling!! @callmedomino is the queen of silent storytelling and a huge inspiration on my journey to discover ma. I really love how well she can tell a story with no words.

27. What genres would you describe your story as? I call it rural fantasy lmao

28. If you could reproduce your story in another medium (movie, novel, comic, etc.) what would you choose and why? I mean obviously I'd say movie because HOW COOL would that be?! Especially an animated one!

29. What would your story’s rating be? (G, PG, M etc.) Ummm probably M because there is the occasional spicy scene. Sometimes three a year LMAO.

30. If you were leaving simblr Simsta and had to choose another creator to continue the story for you, who would you ask? Well tbh I've given Sax and Fen to several good friends already; some of them have them in ongoing cameos in their own stories. I wouldn't ask anyone to continue mine, but I like to think that Sax and Fen could live on in my friend's stories and games if anything were to ever happen to me.

31. Drop some random trivia about your story: When I started I only meant to do short, random vignettes about daily life at the cottage. Somehow it snowballed into a three year epic. 🤣

32. Give a light spoiler: "This is who I am. If I was any other way, I would not be myself."

[positivexcellence]

Is there garlic on this pizza? An oral history of Supernatural's 'Monster Movie' episode

THE BEGINNING

What started as a simple enough idea — a black-and-white episode — was then put into the hands of writer Ben Edlund, who’d already crafted some of the show’s more creative hours, including “Hollywood Babylon,” which marked one of the series’ first meta episodes, and “Ghostfacers,” which was shot like a cheesy ghost-hunting reality show using handheld cameras. Alongside Edlund was director Robert Singer, an executive producer on the series and a massive movie fan himself.

ERIC KRIPKE (Creator): I was an obsessive fan of The X-Files and in their prime, they got really bold and adventurous with their format, and they had a black-and-white episode. I was always hoping that we could start taking those same kinds of swings. I remember saying, “I want to do a black-and-white episode where Sam and Dean are up against the classic movie monsters.” But I think Ben came up with the shapeshifter. We were trying to figure out: How do you get a mummy and a werewolf and a Frankenstein and a Dracula in the same episode? That makes no f---ing sense. So this idea of a shapeshifter who loved those movies and was ultimately just a fanboy was the secret to cracking that one open. 

ROBERT SINGER (Director): I think that script was Ben at his best. I was really happy that I was in line to direct because I really loved those old movies, so it was fortuitous that I got to do it. 

JENSEN ACKLES (Dean Winchester): It’s all just paying homage to the old-school ways of doing things, which having Bob at the helm, he’s seen all those movies time and time again, so he was the perfect guy to direct this episode. 

KRIPKE: Bob has an encyclopedic knowledge of movies, especially older films. He’s a classicist and his directing style is a lot of that kind of beautiful, elegant Hollywood style, and I think he just really relished it.

SINGER: I shot generally with wider lenses than I would normally do with Supernatural to try to give it some of that old-time feel. I really took pains to make it look as old fashioned as I possibly could. I’m a big fan of James Whale, who had done Frankenstein, and there are a lot of great crane shots in those movies, so I did a lot of crane work in this. We did a lot of shadow play. 

JARED PADALECKI (Sam Winchester): You put Ben Edlund on writing and Bob Singer on directing and magic is bound to happen.

But there was another piece of the puzzle that needed to come together for the magic to truly work: Who would play the shapeshifter (and therefore spend the episode doing their best Dracula)? The answer was Todd Stashwick.

TODD STASHWICK (Dracula): They wanted a full-on replication of Bela Lugosi’s performance. I had the DVD of the 1930’s Dracula, so I was watching that just to get the mannerisms and vocal intonation down so that I wasn’t doing a Xerox carbon copy but rather actually trying to get that Hungarian dialect that he has. I went in [to the audition] and just swung for the rafters.

SINGER: We had him do one of the Dracula scenes and then do the speech where he’s telling her how he became the way he became and Todd just killed it. That was an easy call to cast him.

STASHWICK: They wanted to know that you were going to be able to bring both sides to it, the full-on studied Dracula performance and then to let that mask drop and see the wounded man that is the monster. 

KRIPKE: We needed someone who could stick the landing on the Dracula part and that’s really hard. It’s hard to do it and have it not come off like a bit. Todd is a remarkable mimic of Bela Lugosi and brings humanity and soulfulness and depth to it. There’s something in his eyes that made it deeper and sadder than had you cast someone who was just going for an impersonation.

PADALECKI: That episode belongs to Todd Stashwick. He’s so damn good. 

Alongside Stashwick was Melinda Sward, whose character Jamie, a local waitress, caught Dean's eye and marked a first for the show. 

KRIPKE: At the time, there was a young female fan named Jamie. She and her mother would write us letters and they were super fans, and we were still early enough that we’re like, “I can’t believe there’s fans.” Jamie had medical issues, so when the season was coming up, I wrote her a response and said, “If you concentrate on getting better, we’ll name a character after you.” And she responded and said, “That’s amazing, but can you just do me a favor? Can you make sure it’s a character that doesn’t die?” So the female lead in this one we named Jamie. That was one of the only times we ever named a character after a real person and a fan. The happy ending is she was thrilled and she grew up healthy and now tours around with a replica of the Impala.��

ACKLES: Jamie was one of my favorite Dean Girls. Melinda was so good and so fun.

From the instant the episode began, fans knew they were in for something special as the old black-and-white WB logo kicked off a very old-school credits sequence.

SINGER: Right from the opening of the Warner Brothers shield, you know where you’re going. It set the tone perfectly.

KRIPKE: That and “Changing Channels” are the only two episodes where I’ll sit down and just watch the credit sequence. The font, the way you list every crew member, and it just goes on forever. And [composer Christopher] Lennertz wrote real orchestral music for it. I just love the opening of that episode and the way we did that title sequence. But changing subjects, what that reminds me of is the singular genius of Ben Edlund to set this episode during Oktoberfest. Suddenly everyone looks like European villagers and everything becomes a real monster movie.

SINGER: And that location was a party site, but it worked perfect for us. 

PADALECKI: It was like an amusement park in the outskirts of Vancouver that we rented out. It ended up unfortunately getting torn down and turned into condos or something.

THE MIDDLE

With the setting and the cast locked, the brothers set out on their hunt, arriving at Oktoberfest to help solve a murder. And when the investigation made Dean late to his first date with Jamie, he found himself face-to-face with Dracula. So naturally, Dean punched the shapeshifter in the face. A fight ensued, one that ended with Dean holding an ear and Dracula ... riding a vespa?

ACKLES: I believe one of the many reasons this show lasted as long as it did is because it can be scary but then at the same time, you throw something like the scooter in and it layers in comedy with horror, with drama, with romance. It touches it all. Bob said it early on and it became a mantra of ours: “No joke is too cheap.” 

STASHWICK: That’s the infamous assault scene. I’m in full crazy mode and I’m supposed to clock Jensen in his beautiful face with my elbow, and for whatever reason in that moment — I perhaps leaned in, he perhaps leaned in — we closed that gap and I clocked him. So what you see on the DVD extras is me being all Dracula and then me being mortified that I just hit their billion dollar baby in the face.

ACKLES: He caught me with an elbow but he probably thought he hit me harder than he did. It was a mix between a good shot and a graze, but he immediately broke character. He was like, “Are you good?” And I was like, “Yeah, that one woke me up.” [Laughs]

Dean made it through that fight, but the shapeshifter had already planned its next move: While Sam checked out an eccentric local that they thought was the killer, Dean and Jamie shared a drink back at the bar where she worked. Her friend Lucy (Holly Elissa) then showed up just in time to spike their drinks. By the time Dean woke up, he was wearing Lederhosen while strapped to a table in a dungeon.

SINGER: Jensen was like, “Oh god do I have to wear this?” So to make him feel better, I put on the Lederhosen top. I didn’t go with the full shorts but I did direct that day in the Lederhosen top to take the edge off it a little bit for him.

ACKLES: I remember that! He directed in that shirt. [Laughs] Those were authentic leather Lederhosen from Bavaria. Only the best for Dean.

PADALECKI: When Jensen’s first getting strapped to the table, cause he’s a big guy, I remember them talking about how for the visual's sake, they wanted it to be like he’s a quote-unquote damsel in distress, so if they used a normal-sized platform, it would’ve looked comical, but not in a good way. So they had to make it a little bigger cause he’s kind of big.

Dean wasn’t in the dungeon long before Dracula left him to go answer the doorbell. It seemed the shapeshifter ordered a pizza … and he had a coupon.

KRIPKE: I just love how there’s the monster lab in the basement but then you go upstairs and it’s this mid-century ranch house. That’s almost a direct ripoff of the Steve Martin movie The Man with Two Brains.

SINGER: [Set designer] Jerry [Wanek] did a great job in building the dungeon set, and then when the doorbell rings, you realize it’s in the bottom of a suburban house with a pizza guy showing up at the door. 

KRIPKE: When Ben wrote the script, we talked about that scene more than any other scene in the episode. We were so specific about how we wanted the Dracula shapeshifter to react to the pizza guy and the way he’s scared when he says, “Is there garlic on the pizza?” And then the way the pizza guy’s so bored and over it: “Did you order garlic?” And then he says, “No!” It’s the way that he’s so bored of this Dracula at the door.

PADALECKI: I think Jensen and I must’ve watched this episode together in 2008 because I remember us looking at each other and going like, ”Oh my god, [the pizza guy] is way better than he needs to be!”

ACKLES: That line, because of the way that Todd delivered it, we used that line on set many, many times. Whenever somebody asked a question that had an obvious “no” to it, it’d be like, “Hey, did you want the big light on in the distance?” And Bob would be like, “Is there garlic on it?” So that became a little ism on set.

STASHWICK: I’m a Second City guy, so “yes, and” is drilled into my head and yet the two memes I’m most known for, I’m saying the word “no,” and that is Supernatural and Star Trek. I have the no's that are heard around the world. 

In the end, the brothers came out victorious and another monster was dead, but not before this one made you feel a little something (and gave one heck of a final monologue quoting King Kong). 

KRIPKE: Ben gets all the credit, and rightfully so, for writing the crazy episodes, but where I don’t think he gets enough credit is what a disciplined screenwriter he is in terms of character consistency and rule consistency and just the emotion and pathos he brings to every single story he does. No matter how crazy, he always has such a talent for capturing humanity. I wasn’t counting on the shapeshifter to have pathos but when he gives that speech at the end, it’s so sad. I give him all the credit in the world for that.

SINGER: Eric used to say, “Every villain is a hero of his own story,” so we always tried, as best we could, to give the villains something to do and learn more about them and give them full characters. So even with all this fun, we managed to give him something a little more to do. 

PADALECKI: He becomes an almost sympathetic character — I stress almost because he did kill a couple people — but what a great character arc all inside of one episode.

STASHWICK: Because this character wasn’t just a cartoon Dracula and he had that human moment, I think it made him stick in people’s minds more. This monster just really loved the movies. He was the ultimate cosplayer. It might be the thing I’m most known for outside of Star Trek, that one episode of TV.

THE END...?

Although Dracula didn’t make it out alive, the episode seemed to breathe new life into the series, marking perhaps its biggest risk yet, though not the biggest risk the show would ever take. 

SINGER: It kind of laid a template for other big swings that we took that were out of the ordinary, whether it was “Changing Channels” or “The French Mistake.” This was the first of our big swings of being totally different than what the show was generally week to week.

KRIPKE: I remember it getting a positive reception. I think people appreciated the swings we were starting to take. I just love that this small little supernatural show that’s arguably a Buffy ripoff on The CW got so experimental. I am really proud that we were doing legit avant-garde stuff, really experimental filmmaking, of which this was one, and then we just kept pushing it. 

PADALECKI: It’s such a great episode of television and I think we have a few in our 15 years that could stand alone as something fun to watch and out of the box, and it's certainly easy to argue "Monster Movie" is at the top.

ACKLES: This was really when we were hitting our stride. We were in the pocket with these characters, with the storytelling, with the writing. The first year was really finding our feet, the second was like, "Okay we somehow survived a network merge, let’s not mess this up." And then third season we started playing a little bit. So by the fourth season, we’re like, "Now we know where we need to be." This was the perfect time to do one of these outside-the-box episodes. This is definitely one of my top 10.

SINGER: I directed 48 episodes and if somebody asked me which is my favorite, I would probably say this one. I just had the best time doing it. 

Entertainment Weekly

[noneorother]

The secret timeline inside of Good Omens season 2 revealed, *part2*

Part 1 l Part 2

The ineffable cut is explained in part 1. Please read that first. (I’ve burnt a timecode into this ineffable edit to help pick up the rhythm.)

So now that I've shown you XX:X6 is the number of the beast in the last installment, what else can we glean? Well, it turns out angel numbers (sequences of repeated numbers ex: 22:22 or 20:02) are quite important events in the S2 universe! I've cut together every "Angel Number" I could find in the timeline and put them in order. I first noticed this near the end of the ineffable cut, where Beelzebub and Gabriel hold hands, so I've started with that one just to give you an idea how bonkers this whole sequence is. Don't forget, sound on! Breakdown below the cut.

So we start off with this Beez and Gabriel sequence near the end of the cut. They start singing to each other a little out of time, but lo and behold, at 02:03:20 the music comes in right on time with the seconds ticking by to line them up. By the time they reach 03:33 they're gone.

Aziraphale is excited to get his "record"! He's doing something sneaky, and as a result opens the door to go off to said covert activity on 00:02:22.

Crowley asks "Do they know?" on 03:33. Who are they and why does he want to know? This whole scene is on a St-James park bench so spying and double speak is in progress, clearly.

Crowley then asks "Something big?" on 00:04:44. We get the hint for the main action of the entire second season here. Something's up with the up...

Now the real fun begins! I'll come back to the ones I just skipped in a later post because they're more subtle. Here's the first "real" angel number at 11:11. Aziraphale discovers THE box and touches it for the first time.

At 22:22 Nina and Maggie's signs are "mysteriously" ignored by a human passerby.

This is wild. Aziraphale is learning about the Everyday record and something funny happens. 33:31 Aziraphale says, " Do you have a copy?" 33:32 Maggie says, "Mm, too many of them" and at the same time a car horn beeps twice. 33:33 Aziraphale is startled by the fact that a double car horn happened on a XX:X2 and looks out the window in concern. So the question is: does Aziraphale feel or know the rhythm of the timestamps?? And are things that line up with numbers a signal he's paying attention to?

A funny one! At 44:44 Aziraphale seems to be wanting to check if Gabriel is really who he says he is, and is watching him like a hawk. Gabriel does all he can to do nothing at all and look innocent while the angel number passes by.

Another funny one. Nice. 55:55 reveals that the Bentley likes Aziraphale more than Crowley, and does whatever he wants, including not speeding when he puts his foot down.

This next one's a little peculiar. It seems like an exchange about Gabriel's whereabouts, but it's the halfway point of the edit (1:11:10-11:11:11) of the ineffable timeline and we seem to be having two conversations at once. Shax says on 11:11 "He hates you." Does she mean that she thinks Crowley hates Aziraphale, or... that Gabriel hates Aziraphale. Aziraphale looks noticeably shocked at her reply. After the eyebrow raise of "You don't seem like his type at all" I would bet we're not talking about Crowley anymore. How did she get this information?

01:22:22 Gabriel does a little laugh to himself while signalling with the lamp. What the fuck? Does someone know morse code?

01:33:33 Maggie extends her had to Nina at the ball, to invite her to dance. Nina looks pleased, but doesn't move until... a very odd miracle sound on a XX:X6 happens and she jumps up to take Maggie's hand. That miracle sound is not Aziraphale's, and besides, he would never miracle on a 6. Who's the demon making Nina dance...

Aziraphale's halo toss is the flip from ACT II to ACT III of season 2, and as such, get's a special time right before rolling over to the second hour. He decides to throw it down on exactly 01:54:45, and at 01:54:54 gets a giant tubular bell ring in the music to highlight the action. It lands on the ground at 01:55:01, and incinerates the demons at precisely 01:55:10.

01:59:59 Beez and Gabriel hold hands, and a magical chime sounds at 2:00:00. Maggie start her sentence "Aww, that's really sweet" at the same time, and manages to finish it on 2:00:02. (Dagon politely waits to pretend to barf on a XX:X3 after she's done.)

The last one is a big one : 02:02:02 gets "to face CELESTIAL punishment" by Michael. This is what we've been waiting for the entire season, the Checkov's gun of the book of life. But, where is it? We then get an odd cowboy showdown style stare-off between Michael and Shax. I'm predicting that missing chunk of time in the bookshop before we come back to Michael threatening Aziraphale with the book of life is going to be a pretty interesting reveal in season 3. -------------------------------------------

People, this is the short version of this post. There are SO MANY things to unpack. Next up is doubled numbers. If you want an ides of what it takes to break things down, here's my workflow timeline right now. The stuff after the first big space is numbers I haven't shown you yet... This show is insane.

[deja-yu]

Night out - Choi Jongho

Genre: fluff (a lil suggestive)

2.2k

Synopsis: Spending a night out with your boyfriend and friends except I am really obsessed with Jongho and it shows.

note: I didn't proofread :D

Maybe the two of you were a little too caught up with each other, but nobody seems to mind. Head leaning on your boyfriend’s shoulder while you watch him trace something in the palm of your hand with his finger. “Elephant?” Your question softly, only for him to hear, the low rumble of his chuckle slightly shaking you along with him. “No, try again” he traces the same pattern on your palm, the sound of your friends arguing about what movie to go see after dinner, was just a background noise at this point. You had all finished your desert already, only Wooyoung and Hongjoong were still eating too busy talking to actually clear their plates. “Turtle?” second guess and Jongho giggles softly. The nope he lets out comes with a pop to tease and you huff in slight frustration. “I don’t know then” another giggle “It’s us” snorting you join him with your own giggles. “My turn” you turn over his hand and draw your own figure in his hand. “A dog?” with a copy of his ‘nope’ you let him know he is wrong causing him chuckle. You are about to repeat your drawing but Yeosang nudges you which makes you straighten up so you can look at him. Jongho intertwines your hand with his before you can fully pull away from him. “Is a horror movie okay with you two?” Yeosang asks, you see he was in the middle of buying tickets on his phone “Sounds fun!” you agree with a big smile. Yeosang hums and continues ordering, you look around the table and see everyone is done. “I am going to the toilet before we leave” You nudge Jongho who takes a moment too long to finally let go of your hand as you get up.

“Our little Jongho is smitten” Yunho teases as soon as you’re out of earshot. “Do you even know what movie we are going to?” Hongjoong asks with a laugh, Jongho raises his hands to surrender to the teasing with a roll of his eyes. “I was going to pay for dinner but…” he laughs as everyone backtracks and instead starts complimenting him. When he sees you on your way back to the table he gets up to pay. Meeting you on his way to pay he gives you a quick kiss, “Go get your stuff, I will meet you outside”.

Wooyoung hands you your coat while you grab your bag, “What did you put in his drink to make him so loving?”. Others join in one the teasing “You really got him wrapped around your finger”, “He didn’t even let me hug him the other day!”. You sigh telling them to knock it off, quickly making your way outside in hopes the cold air will hide your reddening cheeks. Jongho doesn’t take long to come outside, handing you a mint he took while paying. Your boyfriend’s loving smile makes you shove the previous teasing to the back of your mind. “You should have put on a warmer jacket” Jongho complains as he tugs at the fabric of your coat to connect the buttons. Smiling at his antics you take his busy hands to intertwine with yours instead, “Let’s go” giving him a quick peck on the lips before tugging him to follow in your friends’ steps to the cinema.

The movie wasn’t really your cup of tea, you honestly just said yes to Yeosang to avoid starting the argument about what movie to start back up. Jongho was next to you laughing at some of the scenes which made you squirm in your seat. You lean over to ask him to grab the popcorn from Yunho beside him but a loud scream makes you cringe, words dying on your tongue instead letting out a small squeal. It drowns out with the other screams but Jongho hears of course, laughing at your reaction which makes you huff. Ignoring him to instead grab the popcorn from Yunho yourself. Leaning over Jongho completely and Yunho only spares you a quick glance as you get his attention. Wordlessly handing you the popcorn so he can focus back on the movie. Jongho chuckles as you send him an annoyed look while getting comfortable in your seat again. It’s not long before the movie makes you jump in your seat again. Jongho leans in this time, “You want to leave?” automatically you look past him towards the rest of your friends but he leans slightly forward so you look at him again “I’m asking you” with a small nod you confirm you would rather leave. Jongho takes the popcorn and shoves it back into Yunho’s hands. Standing up and holding out a hand for you which you quickly take having the seat at the end makes it easy to pull him out of the row, he lets you lead him down the steps and through the thick doors into the light of the main hall. Your shoulders relax as the blood curdling screams of the latest victim finally disappear as the doors close behind you. “Let’s go to the arcade to wait?” smiling he happily agrees with your suggestion.

You died 2 rounds ago and Jongho is still going through the zombie game. The ticket amount going up by the second, Jongho determined to exchange it for the plushie you’ve been eyeing. Your eyes are not on the great display of skill on the screen, because how can your focus be there when your boyfriend looks so incredibly handsome. Quickly you pull out your phone to take a picture, smiling proudly at the picture which you quickly make your new background. Missing the way Jongho takes his eye off the screen to look over at you, smirking when he sees what you have done. The boost to his ego comes at the cost of some health. Jongho resumes shooting the zombies but you’re bored, feeling a little mischievous you let out a deep sigh, a chuckle coming from Jongho “Bored?” asking it without taking his eyes off the screen. “A little, maybe we could pass time in a different way?” Immediately he puts the toy gun back into the holder and you laugh slightly surprised as you watch his character quickly lose the last of its health. “Here?” he is asking it while cockily raising an eyebrow. The arcade was mostly empty, you saw two guys and one worker but they were nowhere near right now. You smile and give him a nod curious what he would do. Jongho steps into your space, leaning down till his lips are mere centimeters away from yours, instinctively you close your eyes. A giggle from him makes you open your eyes, his forehead meets yours and you can’t stop a smile from forming. “Let’s go play air hockey, before I do something we’ll regret” now it’s your turn to giggle “Can’t control yourself baby?”. Jongho pulls away holding his hand out which you gladly take, “You know I can never control myself when it’s you. So, let’s go before I take you back to the car”, with a giggle you let him drag you along.

After two rounds of air hockey you are joined by the rest of the guys, Yunho excitingly telling Jongho how the rest of the movie proceeded. You cringe away at the details, going to the crane machines where you find Seonghwa, “What are you trying to get?” he points at a little toothless keychain making you giggle. “You want to try?” you nod as Seonghwa steps to the side to let you have a go.  Both of you getting excited when you manage to get a hold of the keychain but it changes as the plush falls a little away from the drop box. “You got it a lot closer than I did, try again” Seonghwa excitedly urges you on, already swiping his game card for you. This time you get a good hold of the plush and it carries all the way to the drop box. Both you and Seonghwa cheer excitingly exchanging a high five before you retrieve the plush. “Your highness” Seonghwa laughs at your words as you bow while presenting the keychain for him. “Thank you” he says it with a cute which makes you grin. “Seonghwa! Y/N! You guys ready to leave?” San calls from the entrance of the arcade, waiting with the rest of the group. Jongho eyes you as you come to his side, “I won Hwa a keychain!” Seonghwa shows your boyfriend his prize. “Where were these skills when we trying to get that plushie you wanted so badly at the fair?” laughing you remind him how he kept going after you already gave up determined as he was to get you what you wanted. Before you can walk towards the car with the rest Jongho tugs at your sleeve, “I won you something too” presenting you with a small bear keychain “Could’ve gotten the big one if you didn’t distract me” trying to play of his present to you by acting casual but it only makes your grin widen. “Now I get to have you with me at all times” you tease as you clip the bear to your bag, looking back up in time to see the smirk playing on his features.

Jongho is one of the designated drivers which means you get passenger seat privileges, so when Wooyoung takes your reserved seat Jongho glares at him. “I’m not moving” Wooyoung says with a huff, “I will get car sick” Jongho gives him a light shove “I don’t care. It’s my car” you ignore the commotion and slide in and Yunho follows you. Your boyfriend turns to the back to see you squeezed in tight between eyes questioning you, asking if it’s okay without saying the words. “Just drive! I want to go home” reluctantly he turns back and starts the car giving Wooyoung one more jab when he gets a little too happy about succeeding in securing his spot.

The drive to their shared house was peaceful, San and Yunho seem to exchange a mischievous look and Wooyoung is seemingly in on it too, distracting your boyfriend so Yunho can whisper their plan into your ears. You giggle and agree, seeing your own profit in their plan to tease your boyfriend. When Jongho parks the car for them to get out, they set their plan in motion. Jongho turns to the back, ready to tell them to get the hell out. “Thank you for hanging out with us Y/N” “Yes, you should totally come over without Jongho next time” two kisses, one on each of your cheeks cause the words Jongho was about to say to die on his tongue. You watch as your boyfriend’s face falters for a moment while car doors open and slam shut, a moment passes before Wooyoung bursts out laughing, Jongho turns to him with a glare, which is enough reason for him to get out the car. Once alone with your boyfriend he turns back to you still glaring, only causing you to laugh. “I’m not stopping for ice cream now” gasping you whisper “you wouldn’t” but he just shrugs starting the car again. Still in the back seat so you wiggle your way between the front seats to take your rightful place in the front. He is giving you a look which makes you whine again, “Why not?? We always get ice cream on the way home” you lean in a little closer hand on his thigh trying to give him your best puppy eyes. Seemingly unphased he starts driving “Get your seatbelt on baby” Pulling back with a huff, you do as told before crossing your arms. Not even a minute of silence passes before an idea sparks in your head pulling out your phone, you can feel his eyes on you. “What are you doing?” showing your phone dialing Yeosang you stick your tongue out at him, “Asking Yeo to get ice cream with me”. The line connects and you turn away about to greet Yeosang but Jongho cuts you off “I’ll get you your ice cream if you hang up right now” with a pause you consider it  “Oh Sorry!” hanging up Jongho laughs at the grin on your lips. “Happy?” his hand landing on your thigh with a squeeze, nodding proudly he laughs again.

-

“After all that trouble and you’re letting your ice cream melt” Jongho teases as he pulls away from your lips. “Shut up” pulling him back to connect your lips once more. The backseat of the car is way too small to comfortably be making out but neither of you seem to care. Half way through your ice cream your boyfriend shoved you up against the car to taste the ice cream for himself. “Let’s go home Jjong” you breathe out, his lips meet yours one last time a groan leaving him as he pulls himself off you. Head hitting the roof of the car as he straightens up you snort still laying on the seats, freezing up when your boyfriend glares at you. “Sorry” it comes out as a whisper and one of his eyebrows quirk up, “You will be”.

[jiyansthesis]

PAY ☆ ATTENTION

SIMON "GHOST" RILEY

x fem! reader

summary: dragging yourself through an alleyway, you didn't notice the gleam of a metal barrel behind you, or the other pair of eyes looking through a scope, trained on you. maybe if you paid attention, he wouldn't be here taking a bullet out of you.

note: he's taking over my entire tiktok fyp this fanfic is the least i could do. i haven't played the whole campaign and i've mostly watched my mom play, so sorry if there's any crazy mistakes (although this has nearly nothing to do with the actual mw2 campaign) this is gonna be short until i'm comfy enough writing for him. intentionally lowercase.

not proofread + i hate this

☆☆.

you stalked through a dark street, only the moon illuminating your way to the rendezvous point, a safehouse. you tightened your grip on the handle of your rifle, alert for any sounds of being followed.

you had a slight limp, due to someone catching sight of you running away from the scene of majority of his cartel lying dead on the floor. before you could manage to pull your trigger, he shot a bullet that skidded right past your leg, causing you to wince in pain.

the man who shot you fell to the floor, gun clattering to the floor. you scowled at the red starting to slowly spread through your pants and decided that it wasn't bad enough for you to have to treat it at the moment.

"i'll just fix that at the safehouse. i've wasted enough time," you sighed to yourself, turning back around and continuing on your way.

as you left the building, you scanned the area outside in case there were any more cartel members, looking deeply into the shadows that could easily deceive you and cost you your life. if the area wasn't clear, you would be easily identifiable on the way to the alley, almost nothing to cover you and nothing but cars on the street to prevent you from being shot again.

after verifying that the coast was clear, you ran to the alley that you decided was going to be the way you made it to the RV from, since it would be easy to blend in with the cover of the night and was the fastest way to the abandoned house.

of course, that was true. but it was also true for whoever else could possibly be in the narrow road with you.

you hissed occasionally, debating if you should make a makeshift bandage for your leg before continuing on.

"viper, how copy?" ghost's voice crackled, breaking you from your thoughts

"i'm alive," you responded, gripping onto your radio. "son of a bitch shot me in the leg though."

"you got him?"

"of course, Lt."

"atta girl."

a few moments of silence passed, the only sound being your soft footsteps echoing off the walls, and then, something else.

you turned around quickly, gun ready. your eyes shot left and right, waiting for something to come out of the darkness. with your luck, they wouldn't even come out of the black pit and simply just shoot you.

"viper, pay attention." it felt like you could hear him from above, and also from the radio. was he watching over you? you would ask him about that later.

"fucking christ ghost, what the fuck do you me-" you stopped when you saw a dull glimmer from the moonlight hitting something metallic.

before you could react, or even pinpoint where exactly the person was, two shots rang out.

you heard a thump, and felt a sharp pain in your arm.

"fuck!" you yelped, dropping your gun to grip onto your left arm, feeling blood seep through.

"you alright?" you knew that you didn't hear a hint of worry in his voice. you knew he would chastise you when you got back for your late reaction time on now two occasions and how you could've died. he just wants to know you aren't lying dead on the floor.

"yes, sir. i'll get through it. i'm guessing you got them?" your bloody hand made the radio all sticky, and you bit your lip as you ripped a piece of your pants off and wrapped it tightly around your arm.

he ignored your question, or maybe you took your hand off the radio trigger a bit too early. "we're close enough to the RV point, i'll take the bullet out there."

your gaze went up to the sky, squinting to see if ghost was there. after not even hearing a single noise, you continued on your way to the rendezvous, retrieving your gun from the floor.

☆☆.

"miss me, lieutenant?" you limped into the building, grinning.

he had his arms crossed, and you couldn't read the look in his eyes.

"still mad at me? i'm here, in the flesh," you set your gun down against the wall and stalked past him, looking for some bandages and tweezers.

"what was that back there?" he finally spoke in the silence. "if i wasn't there, or if he didn't have such shit aim, what do you think would've happened?"

"good thing you were there," you snapped. "now before you start scolding me like some fucking grandma with her panties in a twist, how about you help me take this cold ass bullet out of me?"

you heard him let out a growl as he came closer to you, and you nearly sunk into the floor with how he towered over you.

the two of you stared at each other, and you narrowed your eyes, standing your ground. if anyone looked at the scene from the outside, they would find the height difference laughable as you craned your neck up to see him. most times, you loved the height difference and would even build your fantasies around how he could easily pick you up, but in times like this you despised his massive build and height.

"alright, sit down," he gruffly said, his expression still unreadable. "don't think i'll forget about this shit you got yourself into."

you frowned and made your way to the chair he gestured towards, taking off your gear and lifting your sleeve up.

he unwrapped your makeshift bandage and examined the wound.

"don't fucking flinch," he brought a lantern closer to the two of you and took the tweezers from your hand.

you shivered at the contact, but ghost seemed to not notice or he paid no attention to it.

you let out a groan of pain as he began retrieving the bullet.

"holy fuck ghost, can't you make it hurt any less?" you said through your teeth.

"what, do you want me to kiss it better? fucking hell viper, did you think me taking the bullet out was going to be all happy and fun?" he kept his attention on the wound.

you shut your mouth, not knowing how to respond. your breath came out harder as you tried not to cry out.

"what if kissing it better will help?" the words left your mouth before you could stop yourself.

the tweezers paused where they were, and you saw his eyes meet yours for a second before going back to the work at hand.

"for fucks sake, shut your mouth," he shook his head, acting disinterested, and continued. through the pain, you started observing him and the way his muscles tensed and untensed, his focused gaze on getting that bullet out of you, and his mask.

"ever gonna take the mask off?" you questioned.

"weren't you there with soap? the mask doesn't come off." he replied, and you heard a little ding as the bullet fell out.

you let out a sigh of relief, and ghost pulled away, grabbing a needle and some thread. as he turned his back, your eyes quickly shot down and back up before he could realize your attention on certain parts of him.

"how's your leg?" he nodded his head towards the bloodied side of your pants.

"he grazed it a bit." you pulled your pant leg up, slightly whimpering as the rough material slid over the open wound.

"bloody hell viper, that's fucking deep," he sighed. "i'm going to have to stitch this up also."

you frowned. "you sure this needs stitches, Lt? maybe if you put a little band aid on, kissed it, and called it a day, it'll heal," you winked.

"how about you stitch up your own damn self then, twat? you talk to all your superiors like this?"

"nope. you jealous?" you smirked.

"it sounds like you want to stich yourself up and have first watch," he replied as he started stitching you up without warning.

"holy fuck, ghost! a little warning?"

"maybe you should pay more attention to you surroundings. still haven't caught on that you could've died today? twice, apparently." he skillfully closed the tear on your arm, and then moved on to your leg, lifting your thigh up and setting it on a little stool.

"well i sure fucking didn't, did i? i never die on y'all," you were starting to get annoyed of being reprimanded like a little kid.

a shock of pain shot through your leg, but you ignored it through your anger. all he's going to do is constantly talk about this. maybe he's even lost complete trust in you when it comes to being alert and undistracted.

you loved it when he talked to you, having a "little" crush on him for years now, ever since the first time you worked with him, but you knew ghost would never let his work life mix with his love life. but him being pissed off and annoyed with you never felt good.

you looked down again at ghost closing up your laceration. your ears were nearly buzzing at how silent it was, and said,

"ever had a girlfriend?"

ghost hummed, seemingly now unsurprised in your random questions.

"no, i haven't."

"too handsome for them? the girls over there in the uk not good enough for you?" ghost put the last stich in your leg and began cleaning up, getting up from his place where he was crouching, which you noticed with a grin was one of the only times he was shorter than you.

"i don't think about dating. is that why you were so distracted today?" his accented voice made you have goosebumps with how close to your ear he was.

"what if i was distracted by someone?" you got up from the chair, wobbling a little due to the pain and probably even the amount of blood you lost on the way here.

"well, you sure as hell better stop thinking of them by tomorrow," he quickly grabbed your arm to prevent you from falling over, and your face flushed.

"but if they're always around me, how am i supposed to stop thinking about them?"

"so you have a little schoolgirl crush?"

"i wouldn't call it a schoolgirl crush. i've known them for years."

you saw a flash of jealousy in his eyes.

"if you want them so bad that you can't focus in an area with a bunch of threats, maybe you got to fucking get over it or tell them how you feel already. i don't need you making rookie mistakes on your missions."

"so i should confess to them?"

there was a pause before ghost responded, "do i look like a fucking love fairy? do whatever you have to do to start paying attention."

you made your way in front of him, preparing for the rejection of your life. hey, at least that would most definitely stop you from thinking about him all the time.

you looked up through your eyelashes at the built man towering above you.

"i fucking like you, simon."

"what was that?"

your head flung upwards to look at him, his hand gripping onto your chin.

"i said, i fucking like you," your eyebrows furrowed, and your face heated up in embarrassment. you attempted to look anywhere but him, but it was kind of hard when his face was right in front of yours, to the point where you could see every single little scratch and imperfection in his well loved skull mask.

"so i was the one distracting you this whole time?"

"yes! jesus christ, are you gonna kiss me or not?" you decided to let that slip from your mouth, impatient in how he was going to respond.

a hint of amusement danced in his eyes, and he took his hand away from your chin and lifted his mask off just barely to the point where you could see his plump lips, the yellow light from the lantern casting shadows on his face.

he inched closer, all the way to where you could feel his breath on your face and all you could see was his eyes. you licked your lips in anticipation, finally being able to kiss the one person you've wanted to kiss ever since you were a young rookie.

"will this make you pay attention?"

☆☆.

[siflshonen]

The Greatest Robot on Earth: Astro Boy and Pluto Part II

Part I is here. This side-by-side continues in part III here, or you can read the whole thing on Ao3.

Side-by-Side Comparisons

“The Greatest Robot on Earth” and Pluto

The best place to start in comparing these series is their summaries. This summary for “The Greatest Robot on Earth” comes from the 2002 Dark Horse release: 

“In the novel-length "The Greatest Robot on Earth," a wealthy sultan creates a giant robot to become the ruler of all other robots on Earth. But in order for that to happen, he must defeat the seven most powerful robots in the world, including Astro Boy, who must have his horsepower raised from 100,000 to 1,000,000 to face the challenge! And his sister, Uran, also flies in to lend a helping hand!”

Well, besides the fact that Uran doesn’t actually fly, I suppose that’s true enough. Gotta love marketing copy.

And here is Viz’s summary for Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, vol. 1: 

“In an ideal world where man and robots coexist, someone or something has destroyed the powerful Swiss robot Mont Blanc. Elsewhere a key figure in a robot rights group is murdered. The two incidents appear to be unrelated...except for one very conspicuous clue - the bodies of both victims have been fashioned into some sort of bizarre collage complete with makeshift horns placed by the victims' heads. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to this most strange and complex case - and he eventually discovers that he too, as one of the seven great robots of the world, is one of the targets.”

An ideal world, eh? Well, I’m all about subverting surface appearances, so I like it. Anyway, right off the bat, we can tell that these two series aren’t the same genre, aren’t using the same principal characters, and aren’t concerned with the same stakes. They seem to only have one thing in common: the word “robot”.

The following pages for “The Greatest Robot on Earth” are from the Dark Horse Omnibus. In most cases, I have used pages from Viz’s Pluto: UrasawaXTezuka, but there are a few pages from the fan scans. Why? Because I own the physical manga, didn’t want to pay for all the volumes again in a digital version, and realized that the images in the fan scans were cleaner and bigger than most of the ones I could get from cracking the spine of my books and mooshing them on the scanner.

Pluto at Its Most Faithful

Mont Blanc died first in “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, and in Pluto he fares no differently. Of course, in true dramatic Urasawa fashion, Pluto chooses to begin with the fiery discovery of Mont Blanc’s head tucked within his killer’s calling card to establish the mystery and suspense of this work rather than start with a quaint lumberjacking-scene-turned-robot-fight like the original.

Urasawa and Nagasaki’s choice to include human victims in Pluto also immediately raises the stakes in a way that “The Greatest Robot on Earth” never did or would. It also immediately changes the type of exploration within the world that the series would do, given that the robots of the extended Astro Boy universe are believed to follow Asimov’s Laws.

Greece’s Hercules, spelled Heracles in Pluto’s English translation, is a straightforward warrior-type in “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, and he sasses the crap out of Epsilon when he shows up to speak with him just as he does in Pluto. He then gets trounced by Pluto after a drawn-out fight. 

In Pluto, Hercules still fits the original warrior archetype, but with the addition of his very own character arc! His rivalry and friendship with Brando is new and refreshing, and his blooming respect for Epsilon pairs nicely with his own discovery of his humanity and personal beliefs as it relates to combat, war, and victory.

They called him the god of victory, after all, not necessarily bloodshed. He may have lost his fight with Pluto, but he went down believing he won and with a newfound appreciation for life and the bravery it requires to not fight. His manager Al Haft(a) is an easter egg character.

In real life, Greece participated in the Gulf War, but disagreed with the 2003 Iraq War and did not participate. Meanwhile, Australia participated with the goal of growing closer to the USA. In Pluto, these stances were swapped in their representative robots.

Personally, I think Epsilon (sometimes called Photar in the Astro Boy anime adaptation dubs) is the most surprising figure in these page comparisons if only because he didn’t actually change that much between works. Instead, it is Wassily who exploded onto the Pluto scene with his very own expanded story and Bora trauma. Yes, the disembodied hands scene is in both.

Pluto’s Epsilon looks just like Monster’s Johan, which is funny—Urasawa seems to use Tezuka’s Star System method across his works. In English, Johan and Epsilon are voiced by the same guy, too.

Speaking of, Bora is native to “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, and he is still a bomb. In “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, his creator takes the time to tell the sultan that he created him just to beat Pluto and, by extension, the sultan. In Pluto, Bora’s existence and purpose is to exact vengeance on a broader scale.

Uran’s changes between series are actually really straightforward. In the postscript of the physical Pluto manga’s volume 6, essayist and critic Gorot Yamada laments the fact that Urasawa avoided the “ero-kawaii” of Uran confronting Pluto in nothing but Atom’s briefs and calls it a “minor weakness” since it is representative of Urasawa’s relatively gentler hand in showing “cruelty or eroticism” when compared to Tezuka.

I can’t begin to tell you how funny I think this criticism is, although I do believe that Urasawa does have, overall, gentler sensibilities than Tezuka. But still. I don’t think we’re missing much by keeping Uran in her clothes. She’s still a snot, she’s still a braggart, she’s still good-hearted, and she still makes her big brother look like a square and a stick-in-the-mud. Writing precocious little girls and sweet stories of unlikely bonding moments are a few of Urasawa’s specialties, so I don’t find it surprising that he took the Uran by the hair-horns and maximized her existing character traits.

Spiritually, she feels consistent to me, though her basic actions are decidedly different: Pluto’s Uran doesn’t fight or try to fight Pluto, doesn’t want Atom to fight Pluto at any point, doesn’t ever hate Pluto, and has empathy-based powers (separate from that, she may just be smarter and more emotionally intelligent than the original Uran). 

However, the sequences in the park and the underpasses where she befriends Pluto strongly resemble Uran’s near-naked adventures in the streets of “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, and that’s fun.

Abullah is where things get spicy, and that’s mostly because the only real change to his character was the addition of his human backstory and discovery of hatred. In Pluto, he is Tenma and Abullah’s science project who believes he is a human scientist (which he isn’t), but he’s actually also got a split personality! That’s a lot. There’s just so much going on with that. But still, where Pluto’s twist falls on the scale of wild twist bullshittery lessens considerably once you know how this character is portrayed in the original, I feel.

In “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, Abullah is a robot butler disguised as a scientist disguised as another scientist. Not to pooh-pooh the original’s Scooby-Doo antics, but, by comparison, Pluto’s reveal is actually quite nice, logical, and thematically consistent. It also gives Tenma a chance to look cool and not just pathetic.

Professor Ochanomizu is the best character. Don’t argue with me. In Astro Boy, he has a big heart and a big temper to match, and he gets knocked around more than Wile E. Coyote in a Looney Tunes segment. He spends most of “The Greatest Robot on Earth” being kidnapped and hanging out with the sultan, but Pluto spreads the wealth by letting the other roboticists be the damsel in distress throughout the plot.

In Pluto, he’s mostly characterized by doing kindly old man shit (do you recognize that robot dog and how it definitely influenced Ochanomizu’s design for Bobby?), but it is absolutely the kind of stuff the original Hiroshi Ochanomizu would do. He gets treated with more on-screen respect in Pluto than in Astro Boy, but only because he isn’t as cartoony. The animation team made damn sure to have the physics of his stomach work not like those of an innocent-at-heart anime girl’s titties when he’s enthusiastically running to the next big important thing, and that’s exactly the right spirit for a creator to have towards this character. A+ job, M2.

Also, in the manga only, Ochanomizu is the facilitator for the single most entertaining referential gag in all of Urasawa’s works: the police dog car diagram. This was cut in the anime.

In the postscript of Pluto: UrasawaXTezuka volume 5, manga critic and lecturer Tomohiko Murakami observes that “Urasawa’s depictions of Professor Tenma and Professor Ochanomizu almost appear to be [his] perspective on two different aspects of Osamu Tezuka’s character.” I don’t necessarily disagree, especially given the commentary Tezuka gave regarding Atom’s status as a “monster”, but I think that Ochanomizu and Tenma also more generally represent the “dark” and “light” side of progress and science. This is likely what Tezuka intended for them, too, back when he was writing the series.

But Tenma is just a hot mess. For the duration of “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, he was more or less emotionally stable up until the “death” of Atom (and guess what? He totally enabled Atom’s increase in strength to 1,000,000, despite Ochanomizu constantly advising Atom not to do), though his general moodiness and instability is a defining character trait for much of the series. He gets better over time, but make no mistake: he is an eccentric, reclusive, and vain disaster man.

In Pluto, Urasawa lets Tenma’s disaster qualities shine alongside his signature ego, moodiness, cynicism, and destructive tendencies. This man self-sabotages like it’s his job. He also flings his creations around willy-nilly and never thinks about the consequences, and that’s why he has a hand in a significant number of the most harmful and destructive events in the extended Astro Boy universe somehow, including in Pluto.

Tenma’s rejection of Atom at the dinner table in Pluto is way classier than his breakdowns in the original Astro Boy manga, but I liked the gravitas of the scene and the over-the-top vibe of the fancy dinner in the sunset. Tenma’s portrayals throughout different series run the gamut from “frenetic cartoon maniac” to “vanilla un-stellar dad” to “Phantom of the Opera”, and this is a nice lean towards the latter end of the scale.

His constant contest over ownership of Atom/influence over Atom with the Ministry of Science (and specifically one Hiroshi Ochanomizu) extends beyond “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, though, and I think elements of their more direct conflicts are very present throughout Pluto. I love an old man fight, and it seems Urasawa does, too.

But goddamn is it satisfying to see Ochanomizu tell Tenma to shove it where the sun don’t shine.

Apparently, their dynamic is so popular that it inspired a completely new series set in the alternate universe where they not only go to college together, but are best friends. If you want something fluffier than Pluto where the old men aren’t old, go read Atom: The Beginning, I guess.

And, like, sure. This is all great. But sans the extended old man drama, many of these side-by-sides have been pretty faithful to “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, and that is NOT what Makoto Tezka asked for.

Pluto as a Remix of Astro Boy

North No. 2, called Monar in “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, is generally the same robot as in his original portrayal, but instead of just going to fight Pluto, he stars alongside new character Paul Duncan in a brand new story about pianos and music and being blind and growing past trauma to accept others into the heart. Tezuka’s Kuroo Hazama (Black Jack) was even there in Paul Duncan’s memories. It had everything: crying old people and kids, medical drama, orphan trauma, mama trauma, prostitution implications, castles, the emptiness of fame and fortune, singing, an android dreaming of more than just electric sheep, long monologues, and an emotional goodbye where one character stares longingly (even if he can’t actually see anything) at the other knowing they shall never return.

I’ll just say it: Turkey’s Brando is a total red shirt in “The Greatest Robot on Earth”. Meanwhile, Urasawa gave him a family, a love of Turkish drinking culture, a friendship and rivalry with Hercules, and a penchant to dabble in illogical forces like luck, and a classic tearjerker death. Urasawa gave him the world. 

In the anime, Brando is among my favorites. Y’all can swoon over your twink Epsilon or whatever, but it’s Brando over randos for me!

Chochi Chochi Ababa transformed into Saddam Hussein—er, Pluto’s King Darius XIV. One is a cartoon villain who provides an opportunity to learn a basic moral lesson, and the other is a motherfucking war criminal. I think that's a sufficiently mature new twist on an old concept.

Of all the characters present in Pluto, Atom himself is likely the one that gave Urasawa and Nagasaki the most grief, if only because he is the one and only Astro Boy, hero of justice, and if his portrayal wasn’t popular, they’d probably be sent to manga hell forever.

For me personally, one of the most gratifying details regarding his portrayal is how quickly he will lie while maintaining the lie that robots can’t and don’t lie. This line of thinking, as well as the implication that Atom follows Asimov’s Laws more because he wants to, not because he has to follow his programming, is something that became more and more apparent the longer the original Astro Boy ran even if none of the other characters directly said anything about it. Speaking as a fan, I also think it’s nice that Urasawa makes the most of upholding Atom’s observed personality traits throughout adaptations. That he made Atom a deeply curative flavor of an insect kid is a grounded, but nice touch.

(It may also be worth noting that Osamu Tezuka had a known fascination with insects. The “Mushi” in Mushi Productions means “insect”. I don’t know how intentional that was, but it seems Pluto’s Atom may have been intended as a chip off the ol’ Tezuka block whether he was his “monster” or not.)

But as lovely and detailed as Urasawa’s embellishments on these characters is, this is still not what Makoto Tezka asked of him. So far, these characters are strikingly similar to the existing “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, and apparently, if Tezka’s interview in the postscript of Pluto: UrasawaXTezuka volume 2 is to be believed, he told Urasawa multiple times to keep revising until he made it his own! It seems Atom really became Urasawa’s monster, too!

[prodigaldaughteralice]

So, I was tipped off a while ago by a post that’s probably still in my queue (I have a long reblog queue u_u;; ) that a few words were changed in the US edition of Monstrous Regiment. As it’s my favourite Discworld book, and I’d only ever read the US edition, I tracked down a second-hand UK first edition online and had a re-read as soon as it came, with my battered old US edition next to me so I could check when anything pinged me as ‘off’. Here’s what I found, not counting minor UK->US spelling changes like turning “girlie” into “girly”.

(There may be more that I missed, I didn’t have both copies open the whole time, but I’m pretty familiar with this book. As my sister teased me about when I mentioned I’d done this comparison, I did have it in my bed for several years as a teenager so I could reread it whenever my insomnia was hitting particularly hard.)

Spoilers from here on out, of course.

The first two are just kind of pointless? Changing “coprolite” to “coprolith”, which is just a less common word for the exact same thing, and changing “riff-riff-raff” to “riffraff” feels like they forgot Jackrum was playing drunk in that scene. Whatever. These don’t bother me.

There are a few UK->US type changes in the next one (“wooly vest” to “woolen undershirt”) which similarly feel pointless to me, but what really gets my goat is the last word. “The man’s bare chests,” plural, being changed to “the man’s bare chest”. Because that’s foreshadowing, but it’s not a giveaway, because on a heavier (cis) guy they do hang separate. It’s a nice little touch, and they took it out.

The next one is the one I’d been tipped off to, and it’s the change I’m the most annoyed about. “Turned her chair to the fire/around him the kitchen worked” -> “turned her chair to the fire/around her the kitchen worked.” I’m sure whatever editor changed it didn’t do so with any kind of malice or agenda, they just weren’t paying enough attention and thought they were fixing a continuity mistake, but it’s just such beautiful writing that they removed.

Because they’ve just had this incredible, delicate, vulnerable conversation about the girl Jackrum left behind him, and that that girl was him, and that he has a son out in Scratz and he doesn’t know what to do now that he’s leaving the army. Polly cries. And it’s Polly who suggests that he really can remain Jack Jackrum, he can go back to his son in medals and braid and be his father, and Jack gets to really settle in to the idea that he can be happy that way. Both those pronouns being “her” doesn’t feel wrong, necessarily; I always read it as Polly processing. But the switch between the two sentences is so beautiful. It’s a gentle closing of the conversation, it’s that girl being fully put behind him, and Sergeant Major Jack Jackrum (retired) getting to go on with his life.

The last one is just… odd. Inexplicable, and it’s the hardest to explain as just an editorial accident. They added a word that specifies something that was not previously specified. “One of them was Maladicta, in full uniform” becomes “one of them was Maladicta, in full female uniform.” I was thinking about it on this reread, and Mal is the only member of the squad who wasn’t publically outed at the Keep. Mal wasn’t involved in the actual raid— too busy gibbering and sucking on a sack of coffee beans— and at the trial Mal kind of stood in the back vibrating from caffeine overdose. Even Jackrum said “with vampires, who cares”. Only Polly knows about Maladicta.

And what that means is that Mal is the only member of the squad who could reasonably remain presenting as male in the army. Polly encourages a couple of young recruits in the very end that it’s their choice to enlist as men or as women, with Mal right beside her, and I think the original ambiguity there is really lovely— it doesn’t matter if Mal has an ‘a’ on the end at the moment, because Mal is there to help Polly fuck shit up, and that’s what matters. By adding the specificity, they just… took away a really nice bit of subtext, a really nice effect.

So yeah, I’m ticked off as a queer person about the (minor) subversion of the book’s general gender fuckery, but I’m almost more ticked off as a writer. Pratchett was so talented, and we talk about it a lot on a large scale of themes and motifs and characters, but he was also just so fantastic on a sentence to sentence level. This is craft! This is really beautiful, delicate writing, elegantly put together and perfected, and some US editors just. Took out some of it. And it’s still an incredible book! As I mentioned, I had it in my bed for years as a teenager so I could reread it over and over, it means a ton to me, it’s my favourite of his work and I love his work! But it hurts to see these little places where it was originally even better.

[starz222]

operation: true love | scaramouche x gn!reader

synopsis. scaramouche is one of the highest ranking students in teyvat high! how is it like having him as a seatmate?  notes. scaramouche as eunhyeok. based off ep 23 of operation: true love on webtoon !  i haven't read operation: true love since aug 2022, i only read until ep 10 bc the rest needed fast pass. anyway, i know this scene bc of a tiktok edit, the premise is similar but slightly different! i read webtoon a lot, so dialogue is also referenced from seasons of blossom! not proofread !!

it's math class, and you weren't paying attention. you begin to doze off as the chalk clashes with the board. in an attempt to stay awake, you rip a piece of scratch paper and draw a hashtag with a circle in the center. you write a little note underneath – "let's play." 

you pass it to your seatmate, scaramouche, one of the highest ranking students in the school. of course, he had plenty of rivals– albedo, alhaitham, heizou, ayato… they were countless, but being his seatmate, you watch his competitiveness, his need to win. 

he takes your note and entertains your request. you thought he'd crumple it up, but you realized that he already knew what the teacher was discussing and didn't care. 

you play a few games– 0-10. 

you mutter under your breath, "damn it." scaramouche chuckles and returns the scratch paper to you, "y/n. let's not play anymore. you're too bad at this game, it's not fun." 

your mouth is agape, offended by his words. you knew he always spoke the truth, and you hated how blunt he was but he was always right. 

"alright class, i'll be handing out these papers. answer them in 15 minutes or less." your math teacher raises their voice, not shouting, but only to wake up those who have dozed off. 

shit. 

your classmates complain about the given time, it's too short, they tell your teacher. "it would be easy if you paid any attention." 

shit (the sequel)

you recieve your paper, and in the past minutes all you've written down is your name. you take a glance at scaramouche, well his paper. you watch as he flicks his pen and makes clean, fast strokes. he solves the problems with ease, nearly done with the paper. the tip of his pen is thin and his answer sheet is neat and is organized, the rest of the solving is done mentally. 

pretty handwriting. 

you look at his hands,

pretty hands.

wait, what?

snap out of it! he’s your seatmate, and exams are up, so i really have to do well– no, scratch that, i have a surprise quiz right now! i know it’s wrong but… maybe i could just take a peek at his answers? 

you lean closer to him to look at his paper, since his writing is incredibly thin and long, you can’t see it well, so you squint. it doesn’t help when his left hand covers the other half of his paper, hey– move, i can’t see it! you sigh. eventually, he retreats his left arm and his shoulders tense because of your stare. you were lost in your thoughts, happy now that his arm wasn’t blocking the way, until his left hand grabbed the edge of your chair and pulled you closer. 

he turns to you, “can you see it better?” he furrows his brows and sighs. he stares at you, directly into your eyes. “yea- yeah.” you mutter. “good, now write quickly, would you? time’s almost up, and your paper is as blank as your mind.” he goes back to solving his paper.

you couldn’t even get mad at his comment, after all, he’s letting you copy his work. and, you were focused on his strength, how he was able to pull you by the chair with only one hand.

his hands are big, maybe that’s why. haha.. 

you watch as he passes you a piece of torn paper with a note– “exams are coming up, if you need help, just say so.”

“thanks, you’re pretty.” 

he stops writing.

“i mean pretty nice–you’re pretty nice.”  his ears turn bright red, you’re pretty… nice too, he thinks.