#*a discussion for another time and another post

[gatheringbones]

guess i'll add my 2 cents/ovipositor but this discussion on like people taking authoritative "i know best" positions in relationships like. Kinda opened my eyes to my own behaviour and like. Idk i fell asleep reading the posts and asks and woke up and like immediately like whoa. Like yeah that's another instance of me being a condescending asshole & that's something I'm aware I go to when I'm angry. So it's interesting to like. Kinda connect it to anger I suppose. I don't really know where I'm going with this but like I do notice a trend of like... frustration? That drives my behaviour when I get like that. Like. I guess part of it is my own self-talk constantly going "okay you already know the steps to get better so why aren't you just taking them" and like. I guess externalizing that as well? Which is very uncharitable and like I'm kinda recoiling at thinking that I've been thinking about others this way this whole time bht like. That's really the flipside isn't it. Like the idea that I have Techniques that can Help and I gotta Share Them and figure out circumstances under which they don't work so I can figure out how to Make Them Work or something. Really miserable shit. Thanks so much for publishing your insights becaude like. This has been a really big breakthrough for me it's wild how despite me assuming like okay I generally don't think of myself as like Thinking I Know Best I guess I'm kinda. Thinking exactly that or if not that then something just as bad in a similar way. Hope you have a great day

quit moralizing it: human beings have rescue fantasies and get frustrated with idiots who need saving. if you’re lucky and brave you recognize the fantasies as they arrive and quit holding them against the people in need of rescue. after a couple of ego deaths and a handful of humiliating miserable failures that destroy every shred of self-worth you ever had you get better at spotting and transforming them into something useful.

[solarstranger]

CHAPTER 1 | I HOPE YOU SEE (RIGHT THROUGH ME)

w.c. 1.2k

tags. minors dni. fem!reader, pro-hero!katsuki, aged-up (23), some cussing (it's not bakugou's internal monologue if there aren't any), suicide-related deaths (see series synopsis for more details), discussions of suicide, canon-typical descriptions of violence

a/n. welcome to another series by yours truly!!!! i know i still have that body swap one in the queue, and while i am planning on working on that, this series' premise just spoke to me and i was emboldened to write it as soon as i could. i'm writing this as i go, though, so the posting schedule is likely gonna be erratic, but i promise i'll try to write this consistently. anyway, i'd absolutely love to hear what you think throughout the process, so please don't be a stranger and talk to me!

links. masterlist, ao3

Somehow, he’s wound up in the emergency room of Musutafu’s highly renowned Central Hospital.

Which, if he had the energy left to really think about it, is not particularly an unusual occurrence. He’s been here—and other similar hospitals—enough to have a general blueprint of the corridors etched in his mind, as well as the basic rules they shared and protocols that were strictly followed. Stuff like how phone calls are prohibited, fatigued doctors specializing in emergency medicine are perpetually present, and how—for a place supposedly and rightfully dubbed with the ‘emergency’ title—the staff sure don’t seem to have a whole lot of sense of urgency.

Although he supposes he’d rather have that than be in a room teeming with frantic energy. Maybe they’re doing it on purpose, actually, for the sake of the patients who get rolled in.

Except right now, he was not a patient.

He was technically not a guardian, either, though the disheveled-looking middle-aged man blatantly staring at him from a few rows up front is most definitely thinking otherwise.

Well, then.

Acutely aware of the unwanted attention, Bakugou shifts uncomfortably in his seat, wincing ever so slightly when the connected metal chairs to his right creak loudly with the motion. It doesn’t help that he’s still in his hero clothes—although he’s aware there’s no point in mulling over it now; after all, he didn’t exactly have the time to do a costume change with all the shit that went down.

Not that he’s exactly sure what that ‘shit’ even was.

It all happened too fast.

One minute, he was walking down his regular patrol route down Shizuoka’s famous tallest bridge—cursing the unbearable summer heat and the dehydration-induced headaches that it brought with it; the next, he was jumping off of it.

He even boosted himself with his quirk to aid gravity in his free fall, but to no avail.

Your body had already collided with the ground by the time he could grab your wrist.

The moments that passed after that are even more of a blur now. He doesn’t know how he did it, but after what seemed like an eternity of merely staring at your limp, bloody body, Bakugou was able to pull out his phone and call 119. The medics arrived shortly after, maybe in a span of five minutes, but to him it felt like more.

It took everything within him not to just haul your body and propel you to the nearest hospital.

Because if someone died under his watch…

“Mr. Dynamight?”

Bakugou startles, looking up from where he was blankly staring at his intertwined, scarred hands. At the sight of a white coat-clad woman, the pro-hero immediately stands up, nodding, turning to face the brunette with his full attention.

“Hi,” the doctor greets, “It’s come to my understanding that you’re the one who called in regarding Patient—” she trails off, looking down at her clipboard to double-check, before saying your name in a question. “Is that right?”

“Yes,” Bakugou rasps roughly, before clearing his throat and trying again. “Uh, yes, doc.”

The doctor nods. “Were you on patrol when you found her?”

Close, the voice in Bakugou’s head retorts without missing a beat. I saw her fucking jump.

Instead of saying all that out loud, however, the ash-blonde only nods wordlessly.

The woman hums. “Okay, then. Well, her parents are still on the way here, and normally we’d let them know first, but given the nature of your involvement and your occupation, I might as well inform you.”

Instantly, Bakugou finds himself bracing for what’s next.

The doctor presses her lips in a thin line.

“I’m sorry,” she starts, shaking her head solemnly. “She didn’t make it.”

Dead on arrival.

You were dead on arrival.

At least, that’s what the doctors told him when he pressed them for more. He couldn’t tell if they were hesitant about divulging further information about you aside from the basics or just simply in the dark themselves, seeing as how they only had your wallet that they found on your person to go from. Either way, Bakugou decided it didn’t matter as soon as an older couple burst through the doors of the emergency room—a good half hour later—whom he immediately identified as your parents.

Needless to say, he hightailed it out of there.

The last thing he needed was to be the unfortunate bearer of bad news, or worse, be recognized as the reason why their daughter is currently lying lifeless in one of the hospital’s private rooms.

After that, he couldn’t remember much of his actions, only that he somehow decided to head to the agency. The entire flight down to his office, he stuck his good ear out for any signs of ringing from his phone, which surprisingly—or unsurprisingly—didn’t come.

Which makes sense.

He’s heard stories before. Exchanged in hushed whispers back in the UA dormitory, and uttered in low voices in the agencies he worked at as a sidekick. About how suicide cases in the country are criminally underreported—not just because of the stigma surrounding the act, but because the police allegedly make it a point to conceal such cases, away from the media’s prying eyes and before it gets blown out of proportion by the public.

Hakamada told him it was most likely to prevent the occurrence of suicide clusters, to which Bakugou scoffed instinctively, granting him a reprimanding look from his mentor.

But really, could anyone blame him?

The idea seemed stupid then.

If he killed himself for whatever reason, he sure didn’t want his death to be treated as some sort of curse, talked about only when people think no one’s watching.

There’s nothing more pitiful than fading away without leaving a single trace, after all.

But now, as he sits in the quiet dark of his agency’s office—the building silent if not for the gentle whirring of his air conditioner—Bakugou finds himself oddly grateful.

Because…

Because.

He wouldn’t know what he’d do if he had to face the press about what just happened.

He’s not sure how long he sat spaced out in his office, but by the time he’s inserting his lone copy of his key into the door knob, it’s already two hours past midnight, and the exhaustion from the day’s events has finally made itself known in the form of muscle aches and a throbbing migraine.

Bakugou doesn’t try to fight the sigh of relief that wracks his body the second he hears the lock click, his movements automatic as he pushes the door open with his side, left hand reaching out in the dark until it lands on and presses against the switch.

As if on cue, light floods the living room slash kitchen of Bakugou’s apartment unit, a sight so mundanely familiar that he doesn’t even blink at first.

Just—drags his aching feet towards the foyer where he toes off his sneakers and drops his duffel bag, which he swears he’ll collect the first thing tomorrow morning.

But then that’s when it happens.

Bakugou barely catches it—the movement at the corner of his eye—but he does.

And when he does—glance to look at it—he blanches.

Because sitting on his sofa is no other than a ghost.

˗ˏˋ while likes are appreciated, they don’t do much on tumblr! if you want to support me and writers in general, reblogs, replies, and tags are the way to go. feel free to drop an ask, too—i’d love to chat. have a nice day! ´ˎ

[obsessive-daydreamer]

You're a real one, honestly.

Thank you tanya

Alright, I want to tag everyone in the server. But I don't know everyone's tumblr tags, so that's not happening. Here's a few:

@roterstern Literally one of my best mates. We talk literally all the time, you make beautiful art and have made art specifically for me, which I ogle every day. I know we became friends because I wrote filthy Lore/Hugh smut for you, and it's the most important fic to me for that reason. I get excited every time the little online symbol pops up on discord, and I 100% overshare constantly with you. And you accept it every single time. I cherish our conversations, and every discussion that we have means the world to me, whether you think it was silly or not.

@tanyayoung-322 (who tagged me) ^ as I said at the very top. You're very lovely and are one of the people I met at the beginning. Somehow one of the most tolerant people (of me) that I know. Even though I'm a nasty British bitch

@hawkstar5 literally the number 1 supporter of the discord server, love you for that. Actually, was the first person i got to know on tumblr. We met through smutty roleplay. Another person I've met through smut - fancy that.

@xm0-m0x For being British and really funny. You also draw some banging art, which I realised today I forget to respond to half the time, but I can guarantee I do stare at it for ages. Heart emoji, heart emoji, boobies emoji.

@dawnkiller08 This one is a little out of the blue but I'm pretty sure we met on TikTok. I sometimes tag you in ask games because in my head you're a treasured mutual. (Hope the tagging doesn't annoy you 😭) You also drew Lore with cat ears (had to double check this because it was so long ago. Your account was very long and my hand hurts from scrolling right to the bottom, but I can confirm. The post is indeed there).

@drfuckerm-d ngl mate i really like you. And slag. I love the little video things you do with the sound overlays too. I've actually watched some of them on repeat bc im kind of addicted to your art style.

@dataentryspecialist BRO I ALMOST FORGOT YOU. If I remember correctly, you were the first person I ever dmed on tumblr? Or maybe it was the second...not sure. But I wanted to bookbind Electric Excavations and you gave me the big thumbs up and so far only one (of probably something ridiculous like 15) books has been bounf. 1.3 million words is INSANE. I currently have the second part stashed in a pillow waiting for when I return to bookbinding and can bind it. I'm making it my goal for 2027. Maybe 2028.

(Also means I need to redownload Electric Excavations and my computer is really going to hate me but ohh wellllll...)

I'm also tagging other people I'm friends with on the server but forgot the tumblr handles for ily <33

favirote moots?

(People you tag have to reblog and say their favorite moots)

Okay wait

@ibrokeurheartbcuzubrokemine @foliverfalls @allyeilishh @addisonraesbaby @emiliesblohsh @bilsslut @noodleswashere @bilsbabyy @bitchesbrokenpromises @billsdollie

[leeny-leens]

Scary Dog privilege

Ship: Barty Crouch x gn!Reader

Summary: Barty gives you free scary dog privileges

Warnings: mentions of liquor, clubbing/partying, mentions of killing and selling organs but it's light hearted

Content: no gender markers used for Reader, no named friends, Barty looking like a creepy stalker, a bit of suggestive allusion towards the end

WC: 1.6

AN: this post by @aza-writes inspired this but I low-key hate how it turned out, esp the end but wtv live goes on y'all

Tags: @glowingatdawn

You and your friends stumble out of the club, laughter ringing in your circle like a sweater well loved and worn. It engulfes you in the sort of warmth that makes you feel invincible against the bite of the cold night air, one that makes the shivers that run down your spine from the whiplash of the temperature change so very worth it.

”I can’t believe she did that,” one of your friends snorts, almost falling over her very own foot as she tries to navigate her exit into the street without help. It fails—horrifically so—when she faceplants into the pavement with a cry that sends another round of laughter through your group.

“Oh- Oh my god you look so funny right now,” another friend wheezes, steadying herself against the wall of the building. Somewhere in your warm haze, you remember to take a few steps and help your friend on the ground up, biting back bouts of giggles as you inspect her face to make sure she didn’t sustain any notable injuries, aside from some red rashes that run across her cheeks. But then again, it might just be the bite of the air, you figure, or the remnants of the booze in her body. You did have quite a few drinks, you recall. Not enough for you to be blackout drunk, but enough for any vehemence against loudly giggling at the sight of unsteady steps and random objects to vanish into thin air.

You pull your jacket—which doesn't belong to you, but that doesn't really matter— tighter around you, a smile spreading across your face as you and your friends begin to make your way down the street into a denser populated region, the neon signs of clubs and bars almost succeeding in luring you in for a second round. Somehow, the lot of you resist the temptation, fuelled by the knowledge that a second round of dancing and partying will procure the worst hangover known to mankind come tomorrow.

So instead, you waddle down the street like a heroic gang of baby gazelles trying to learn how to walk, clutching onto each other for much needed support as you keep recalling funny memories and jokes from your time together, laughing until your throats are raw and frayed.

You begin to sober up two blocks into your little walk, and by the time you and your friends wait at the curb of the third block, you note that they’re all standing much straighter with barely any help, their faces no longer flushed from the liquor, merely from the cold. You’re standing together, phones out as everyone tries to navigate the trials of getting home. Who’s getting a ride? Who’s getting picked up? What route shall be taken and when is everyone getting home? Questions that are important and probably should've been discussed before you spent four hours dancing your souls out, but spontaneity has always accompanied your friend group on your outings like a loyal companion.

”We just got an Uber, we can drop you off on the way,” one of your friends suddenly says, but you shake your head to decline, a small smile on your face. “It’s okay,” you placate her immediate pout, “I’ll walk, my place isn’t too far from here.” An uproar immediately ensues, with protests and threats of clinging to your legs like koalas should you dare to have enough audacity to actually walk by yourself rising amongst the masses.

”It’s like, way too late!” someone yells.

”And too fucking dark,” another complains with a huff and an eye roll that you can only mirror. A hum of agreement rouses though your friends, each of their gazes trained on you with a fiery protectiveness you’re deeply thankful for, yet severely amused by. “Yeah, what if some creep snatches you up? Like that guy across the street who’s been watching us the whole damn time!”

You look up to the figure they point out, a tall man leaning against a lone street light, clad from head to toe in black. He’s wearing a black cap, a black sweater with a pair of black ripped jeans that are much too baggy on his frame and a black mask that has safety pins which match the ones on his pants and sweater. He’s holding a phone in his hand, the screen illuminating his masked face, but his attention is clearly stuck on your group, despite his face being barely visible. Your friends push you behind them as soon as the man kicks himself off the lamp pole and heads in your direction, but you can only giggle at their antics.

“Scary ass fuckhead,” the person closest to you mutters, his eyes never once straying from the man approaching you, “dressed like a criminal and watching people like a fucking stalker.”

”So true,” you agree once the man is within earshot, pushing away your friends to walk to him, “Scariest man I’ve ever seen.” You ignore their confusion and protests, colliding straight into the man who wastes no time in pulling down his mask and capturing your lips into a passionate kiss.

”Missed you, Precious,” Barty murmurs into your cheek, peppering your entire face with warm and sloppy kisses that momentarily make you forget you’re still in company. By the time someone clears their throat, your face is warm for reasons other than the cold nipping on your skin. Instinctively, you tuck yourself into Barty’s side, his warmth seeping through the layers of his clothing into your own. He smells faintly of smoke and cologne, like he’d hastily put out his cigarette before coming to meet you here in a hurry, lest he let you wait too long.

His mask stays down now, revealing his sharp features, bushy eyebrows and various facial piercings that decorate his handsome face. Acid green streaks peak out from beneath his cap, and really, it does nothing to dispel the scary image your friends had branded him with.

“Guys, this is my boyfriend Barty,” you introduce, a smile etched into your face as you take in their reactions. It seems like they can’t really wrap their minds around this man being your boyfriend, the gentle and devoted lover you occasionally speak about. Clearly there must be some sort of mistake, because this guy? He looks like he’s ready to stab someone in the back alley and sell their organs on the black market.

”Nice to meet you,” someone in the group finally stammers when the awkward silence stretches for a beat too long, and Barty revels in the shock, a wide grin stretching across his face. His eyes turn into crescents, dimples on full display as he tips his head in acknowledgment of the greeting. “Pleasure to meet you all,” he replies smoothly, eyes glinting with mischief and chaos. You lean into him, much too used to the antics and hum with satisfaction now that he’s by your side. “In any case, he’s walking me home so I’ll be okay,” you tell your friends, soothing their earlier worries about your safety.

“Oh yeah you’re safe with that one,” a friend of yours snorts —the one who pointed Barty out in the first place. “Right?” You agree, beaming as you look at him, “he’s like my walking scary dog privilege! Perks of having a scary boyfriend.”

Anyone looking at Barty right now might’ve thought you just proposed to him with the way his entire face lights up and breaks into a blinding grin, his whole body suddenly vibrating with excitement at your statement. His hold around your waist tightens, pulling you impossibly closer into him, like he might want to melt into you and never let go again.

“Damn right,” he brags, placing a kiss atop the crown of your head. His lips drop, ghosting over the shell of your ears as he lowers his voice into a whisper meant only for your ears. “I fuckin’ love when you call me scary,” he confesses, voice holding not an ounce of shame at the sentiment. You feel the blood rushing to your head, his voice in combination to his smell and proximity driving you to the edge of madness.

”Alright folks,” you announce suddenly, pushing him away from your face and addressing your friends with a tight lipped smile. “We’re off then, text in the group chat when you get home!”

You exchange your goodbyes, rushed and quick before darting off, Barty’s hand tightly clasped into yours as his voice keeps replaying in your head like your favorite song. When you glance at him over your shoulder, you see him glowering and glaring at anyone who stares at you, his expression effective in driving people’s attention away. The small crowd parts in front of you, letting the both of you pass without much trouble in the face of his terrifying demeanour.

In the blink of an eye, you find yourself stumbling up the stairs to your apartment, your hands immediately tangling in his hair as soon as you close the door behind you and rip his cap off. He lets you do as you want, pushing you against the wall to welcome the hungry kiss with which you attack him. He's clearly pleased with himself and the success of getting you home safe yet again, humming with satisfaction when you bite his lip, hard enough to draw blood the both of you taste.

“Love when you say I’m scary,” he murmurs in between each hungry kiss he returns, a gasp falling off his lips when you pull at his locks. “Makes me so fuckin’ proud of myself,” he adds, head dipping into the juncture of your neck to nibble and bite at the skin.

Barty might be scary to others, but to you? He’s never been safer.

[curio-queries]

ARE YOU SURE?! ... AGAIN?

Okay y'all, I genuinely wasn't expecting to be making any sort of AYS post anytime soon but alas here we are. (Honestly, I should just never claim that I'm done with thjs, there's ALWAYS going to be more to discuss. This is the show that just keeps on giving.)

Hypothetical discussion about an upcoming season below the cut.

So, IF we're hypothesizing that another season is being filmed right now, there are a couple of logistical items to which we can pay attention to support this conclusion and learn more about the goals/engine behind this beautiful show.

Solo-Group schedule timeline

I think we can all easily say that one of the biggest points of uncertainty during the 'hiatus' was how they were going to logistically handle releasing content for 7 individual artists rather than one singular group. We just had no precedent set from HYBE before so the environment was rife with rumor and speculation. Now that we've successfully made it through the period of military enlistment, there is the unknown of how they're going to transition again. (In my opinion this has been less of a drama-inducing time because we've been reassured throughout the past 3 years and now there's the lovely distraction of having the members around but we absolutely weren't completely free of it-the Shakespearean levels of throwing-oneself-into-a-grave at the possible mention of solo tours has been astonishing)

Anyway, back to the point. HYBE doesn't have a lot of hard and fast rules they stick to regarding BTS's content.but one rule they do have is they RARELY come to the conclusion of a focus activity without letting us know about what's next. Remember the end of the PTD concerts and the announcement of Proof? I swear I could hear the screams of ARMY clear over here on the east coast!

So, right now, the next big event is Jin's tour. The last scheduled date is currently 9-10 AUG in Amsterdam. There's definitely room for some encore performances to be added but those usually overlap previously-announced projects. So, hypothetically, sometime around then, we'll be finding out what the next focus project will be for us.

There's no solid information out there right now but personally, I feel such gratitude to Jin specifically for the relative peace of this time period. Yes, HYBE would have ensured there was SOMETHING feeding the masses but Jin agreeing to do this tour right now is such an excellent way to relieve a little bit of the pressure on the members as they're adjusting to their post-military life. They've all already got enough going on without even more pressure to return to group activities. We know he's not the biggest fan of traveling and maybe this type of show is something he would have wanted to do despite that but it absolutely needs to be said that he's provided a measure of time for the members to recover.

AYS Production Timeline

So, there are some clues we can take note of from the existing season of AYS when we're hypothesizing logistics for an upcoming season. Specifically, the timeline of production. Here are the relevant dates:

14 JUL 2023: USA Trip

26 SEPT 2023: Jeju Trip

25 NOV 2023: Sapporo Trip

04 JUL 2024: Release Announcement

08 AUG 2024: Premiere

20 SEPT 2024: Photobook Release

We know JM/JK watched a cut of the first episode while they were in Sapporo. Knowing, the release deadline was nowhere soon, I remember being very surprised the first time I watched that part of the episode. That's a pretty quick turnaround time for a project that isn't due. It's wasn't a 100% final edit but the structure was all there. They still needed to do music, captions, and all of the extra bits but the episode we see them watch on the screen (not the in frame but what we can actually see) is basically done. (Note: there's absolutely a confirmation bias at play here because anything they did drastically change, would not have made it to the final edit that we see in the Sapporo ep).

Anyway, a couple of items to be aware that could impact a change in the production timeline requirements:

Standards/established practices: Since this is not a creation of a NEW show but an iteration of an existing one, the team is going to be able to leverage precedent from the previous show. Some creative elements won't require as much time for the decision-making process because they can lean on what they've already done before. Example: the train sequence in Sapporo. I'd wager the team had to provide and test a few options of how they wanted to handle that content before landing in the background animation. Now, if they're in a similar situation, they won't necessarily need to research options because they have a pre-approved solution that fits within the tone of the show.

Brand deals: the USA episodes had little-to-no sponsorships. That practice evolved in the coming episodes with blatant product placement. Such deals may require oversight/approval by the brand at various stages of the production.

Distribution requirements: during the release of AYS, I've been theorizing that the show was pretty far into production before it was shopped to Disney. I still dont have any solid evidence one way or another but no matter how it's going to be distributed, all parties involved now have more information with the success of the first season. This could result in different requirements and obligations to fulfill.

Group schedule pressure: like I said above, there's a building pressure regarding when BTS group activities will be resuming. It'll be very interesting to see where another season of AYS would fall in the timeline. It's possible they're wanting to hurry this along to fill the gap before group activities resume. Or it could be held off to another appropriate time in the future. They've already proved that a near year delay between principal photography and release was acceptable to the consumer.

(Related sidenote: there's definitely some points we can delve further into when it comes to the idea of financing group activities vs solo. RM made a very specific point on it during the Festa Dinner. I'd been planning to do a series of posts on this regarding each members' solo work and what we can glean from that during the period of military service...but obviously I didn't get that done before they returned)

One final note

This show likely could be a very comfortable way for both Jimin and Jungkook to share their military stories with us. They both have told us on multiple occasions that there's a lot they do want to share but that they want to organize it. AYS may provide that organization and structure that they're looking for. Whilst also giving them the freedom to say whatever they want, knowing that it can be edited, something that couldn't happen if they were to tell us during a livestream. It will also have the benefit of official translations at the same time so there's less opportunity for misconstrued understanding due to translation gaps.

I feel like I had more thoughts swimming around about this but this is everything i can compile right now. I'd love to hear what y'all think!

I'm not going to be responding to any queries regarding rumors of where the members are or what they're doing as they travel. Not only is that an invasion of privacy, it tarnishes the gift they are giving us with these shows. I want to respect their time and effort by accepting the show when it releases.

Link to my AYS MasterList

[ducktracy]

What do you think are the most cynical Looney Tunes shorts?

anything directed by Friz Freleng and/or Chuck Jones LOL

SUCH AN INTERESTING QUESTION!! i KNOW for certain i'm missing a bunch, because there's so much casual cynicism EVERYWHERE that it can be hard to sort them. BUT there are definitely some that come to mind...

Fresh Airedale may be one of the most cynical cartoons i've ever seen in my life LOL. it's a brilliant short! but very bleak--i posted some clips of it a few years ago and talked about it briefly, but the short, which has a guy abusing his poor helpless cat and fawning over his dog who is also abusing the cat and taking credit for the good deeds that the cat is trying to do for his owner to win him over, ends a very unsubtle metaphor with the scale of justice toppling over and landing on the cat's head to basically say that justice never serves those who need it most

every one of the Three Bears shorts LOL. if i recall correctly, the Bears shorts weren't received well by audiences at the time because they missed the appeal of what should be a cloyingly cute family being completely dysfunctional and miserable. Bear Feat may be the most cynical considering it has Papa Bear gleefully attempting to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff... and also has this LMAO

ON THE TOPIC OF SUICIDE! Porky has attempted suicide in two cartoons and is heavily implied to have succeeded in one, the ending to Notes to You, which i posted here in discussing some of the darkest endings to a LT short.

but as a whole, Porky's Romance is definitely the more top to bottom cynical short in that Petunia rejects his marriage proposal by laughing in his face (thanks to her shitty dog that trips him), Porky tries to hang himself, can't even get that because the tree snaps beneath his weight and so he instead has a concussion-induced nightmare where he marries Petunia who is abusive and slovenly and awful. AND his license plate calls him a boob. and i know this is hard to believe, but Frank Tashlin, who directed this film, has talked about how he hated working with "the damn pig". shocking! and yet this short is what made me fall in love with Porky by being my introduction to him as an adult. guilty pleasure short because it's definitely Misogyny the Cartoon but i love it. i'm reclaiming it

plus it gave us one of my favorite endings to any cartoon (Porky punting her shitty dog)

Porky's Bear Facts is maybe the most cynical adaptation of The Grasshopper and the Ant, which basically has the moral "if people haven’t earned their keep, then they’re not worth helping at all seeing as they’ll only take advantage of your hospitality and will be complicit in any potential sloth that arises thereafter, running the risk of repeating the entire ordeal all over again, so why bother?". but, also, it is ridiculously entertaining and another short i love ferociously. maybe the ending linked below (6:18 if timestamp doesn't work) makes more sense within the context of the short (which you should watch) but the bookend to the beginning with the song is just. chef's kiss

the end of Catch as Cats Can is so dark that they ended up cutting it, probably because it's like... cruel LOL BUT I WISH THEY KEPT IT IN SOOOOO MUCH. but the short is about a Bing Crosby parrot trying to trick Sylvester into eating a Frank Sinatra parrot. the tables are turned and Sylvester ends up eating the Crosby parrot--there's a gag that was cut that was gonna have a shot of the Crosby parrot's tombstone that read "CAME IN BEFORE HIS HORSE"--there are a ton of jokes in various WB shorts about Bing Crosby's horse coming in last and being very slow (such as in The Old Gray Hare where Elmer and Bugs travel to the futuristic year of 2000 and it's revealed that Crosby's horse still hasn't come in yet). Bing already tried to sue them for two cartoons in the '30s so i guess they felt the ending was pushing it, but DAMN do i wish they kept it because it's SO FUNNY

i was very surprised to find people saying that Canned Feud was mean and cynical on Letterboxd when i recently rewatched it!! that's one of my all time favorite Sylvester shorts and one of his best, i think it's absolutely hilarious but i guess i can see why people are put off by it... a mouse keeps purposefully depriving Sylvester of the can opener when he's stuck in the house with only canned food for two weeks. it doesn't have the dark bite as other shorts mentioned here, at least to me, but i'll bring it up anyway since some people were evidently very chafed by it

Each Dawn I Crow is worth mentioning, and i'm SO HAPPY IT GOT RESTORED BECAUSE IT IS A MASTERPIECE. it's a very unique LT short that plays out like a radio play--a neurotic rooster thinks that Elmer is planning to kill him, and the tone of the short mimics that neuroticism all throughout. very suspenseful and dark and SO FUNNY, because it devolves into the rooster trying to get Elmer killed. there's this amazing bit where the rooster fashions a hat for Elmer that has a duck decoy on top, intending for a bunch of duck hunters to shoot Elmer full of holes, and Elmer just completely accepts it with no thought in his head and i can't articulate it it's just so funny and i lose it every time i see it.

i sadly don't have the full clip on me, but this is just masterful

THERE ARE MANY MORE I CAN LIST, mostly Freleng cartoons LOL but i've spent too long typing this up! Chuck Jones' Chow Hound and Freleng's Stooge for a Mouse (another one of my favorite Sylvesters) also come to mind. they're definitely the two directors who excelled at cynicism the most, and there is no shortage of it to be found

[toniejestblog]

Don’t mind me, I’m just thinking how culturally and socially we are conditioned to choose Verso’s ending.

Disclaimer: This is not anti-/pro- any Ending (even if I skew a little). This is just me trying to make sense of it, outside the discourse and interpretations concerning character perspective and intrinsic motivations (Verso and Maelle), agency and its theft, micro vs macro scale of the worldbuilding, the sentience of Lumière citizens and value of art, and, letting go of the grief. In this ramble, I focus solely on the storytelling element across majorly Western cultures, our mortality system, and how this would unconsciously bias our choice.

Another disclaimer: I’m all for healthily processing grief. Sadly, I don’t see it in what was shown in either ending. I see it, however, in events that could potentially happen later in both endings.

Obvious spoilers under the cut.

Point I: the Monomyth, i.e. the Hero comes back to their world changed, once the journey is over

In countless media we see characters embark on beautiful journeys across other worlds, be in different dimensions, alternatives timelines, or fictional universes. These stories also often feature antagonists who struggle with grief and the desire to reverse loss at great cost. Such narratives almost always resolve with a “return”: the hero had their adventure, they’ve grown ("You will know love and you will know pain" Maelle's canvas mother said), and now it’s time to go back to the “real” world, the one that matters (cue the Monomyth).

However, I wonder if the above character archetype/story structure can be so easily applied to Clair Obscur due its own unique worldbuilding.

To say that Alicia (now Maelle) has "grown enough" in the Canvas, and must return to her "original world" is based on the classic reading of the Monomyth, and this view posits her as the typical heroine who is an intruder, or visitor, to a different realm and who ultimately needs to leave (she falls into Canvas as Alice falls into Rabbit Hole). But Alicia, although literally, doesn’t just fall into the Canvas—she lives two full lives within it, and thus, enters a liminal stage. She spent two different lives in two different dimensions, and her existence had two very different natures (one reborned as Maelle, a Canvas mortal, and one as Alicia, an outsider god). The classical western storytelling would argue against that liminality. The comeback to the "real" world is inevitable.

Farah Mendlesohn, in Rhetorics of Fantasy (2008), discusses "portal-quest" fantasies, that is narratives where protagonists enter magical worlds through portals but must eventually return. These stories preserve the “real” world’s dominance and often serve as allegories for growth and reintegration. If we apply that frame here, choosing Verso’s ending mimics this familiar pattern. But Clair Obscur at the same time resists that closure. The story could be not about returning, but remaining and transforming (Alicia becoming not a Paintress in the end, but a Curator; but that's for a different post).

It’s okay if anyone sees it in this way, you can feel any way you like about the game. But personally, I think of Barthes' concept of the “Death of the Author” (1977) which argues that player interpretation is shaped by cultural templates. This would explain why, most people, could be naturally drawn to Verso’s ending (for this particular reason amongst other reasons), because that’s what we are used to; firstly by the character archetype and secondly by the story structure.

Point II: Death gives meaning to life

It’s interesting how we only attach meaning to life if there is death. How life is only worth it if it ends, just like everything else. If it's not ephemeral, it's not beautiful. The finality of death is what serves for us as a warning and guiding point. We grow and change because we can die one day. This belief runs deep in Western existentialism. Heidegger argues that only through the awareness of death (Being-toward-death) can individuals live authentically (1927). Moreover, we are constantly reminded of the threat of immortality and how it strips away morality, humanity, and any meaning to our actions in a very nihilistic way.

The destruction of the canvas brings closure and finality, and, because it ends in ultimate death (in and outside the Canvas), it gives meaning to Verso’s life. And we want his life to have meaning, we want all our deaths to matter. But Verso’s life and death are also more than the ones he had outside, or inside, the Canvas.

For me, In Clair Obscur, it feels like projecting our, players’ reality, and assigning value from our mortality system, onto the game’s reality. And understandably so. But the game ‘s world offers its own systems.

Painted!Clea says "Don’t worry, death in there isn’t final. Every Canvas has its own rules. And I find death a boring outcome. Don’t you, Alicia?"

Young, original Verso gave Gestrals the reincarnation river, what they call "the gift of new beginnings" which is, ultimately (very importantly) a voluntary decision on their side. The argument I often see, is that in Maelle’s ending she robs people of mortality, as she can revive them with her godlike Painter powers, and thus, makes their life meaningless. There is no direct evidence supporting that (and as most things in both endings it relies on speculation), and moreover their new found immortality (or renewed mortality) does not have to be as binding for them as it was for Painted!Verso. Multiple lifetimes can be as beautiful and valuable as only one. For P!Verso, his painted life was not really his own and thus he found no silver lining in it (not to mention it being stained by other people's grief). Maelle-Alicia, in her second life which was her own and not bereft of agency, found purpose and inspiration (similarly to characters in Pratchett's Thief of Time (2001)).

(Bonus) Point III: narrative structures, we love parallelism

Eagleton (2003) argues that Western narratives fetishize tragedy as morally redemptive and aesthetically satisfying (Verso's continuous sacrifice which starts the story and ends the story).The Clair Obscur begins with creation of the Canvas and ends with its destruction. This mimics Genesis-to-Apocalypse narrative arcs prominent in Judeo-Christian storytelling traditions. Verso's ending offers rhythm and symmetry. (At least on the surface) it's a cleaner cut with much less space for speculation than in Maelle's ending. Her ending feels more emotionally and ethically complicated ergo narratively unfinished. Its ambiguity is more post-modern than Verso's more traditional,classical ending.

TLDR; We repeat familiar narrative patterns from (Western) storytelling culture which is built around dualism (life/death, good/evil)("You think in false dichotomies" Lune tells us and Verso), and we gravitate towards familiarity and closure they offer. We’re drawn to the hero who returns, to death as the validator of life, and to the ending that "makes sense" in our cultural logic. But what if Clair Obscur asks: what if sense-making lies elsewhere?

You choose where.

[psych0m3try]

don’t tag your anti bullshit in the SHIP tag what’s wrong with you 😭 also do you realize florence pugh meant a gay bar as in GAY MALE bar, not a lesbian bar. straight women go to gay bars all the time. she’s not masc in any way holy shit pls go meet actual masc lesbians

hi, what’s wrong with YOU?

1. i don’t use tumblr that much, like at ALL. im extremely unfamiliar with this format of social media, i’m not on twitter and other stuff like that. i had no clue that tags held that much significance, i made the post at 2 in the morning, and i just randomly clicked the suggested tags at the bottom. so i’m genuinely sorry for tagging it incorrectly, i had no idea.

although, i did make the post to hear the perspective of people who DO ship boblena. to me, it was less “anti bullshit” and more just “hey, this makes absolutely no sense to me, here’s why, now can someone please explain so we can have a civil discussion?” i’ve always found tumblr to be very discussion-based, and i even said at the end of the post that i wanted to hear from someone who does get it.

2. i don’t go to bars it’s just not my thing, so frankly i find it weird that a straight woman would go to a gay male bar. it’s not that i necessarily think that straight people shouldn’t be allowed in those spaces, just that i feel as if it’s not nearly as common as you say it is and if it is then i think it shouldn’t be that way

3. my BEST friend who i just hung out with today is a masc lesbian, she’s awesome. she also doesn’t understand boblena at all, she thinks yelena is almost certainly a lesbian. i myself am a masc sapphic. i spoke about this in a comment under the original post, but yelena is clearly portrayed against the male gaze. lots of her style choices align with masc culture, and nothing she does around bob or any other male characters suggests that she is attracted to any of them, which is unfortunately very rare in marvel as we see most female characters (such as nat) express interest in male characters even as a joke.

and going beyond Thunderbolts, in Hawkeye, when yelena had a (slightly) different style with long hair, she still PRESENTS masculine.

—

i’d also like to add that when Lewis Pullman was asked about bob and yelena’s relationship being romantic, he said:

“it was never something we talked about… it was more to show those relationships that are almost like your sister from another life that you’re hopefully lucky enough to cross paths with, and when you find that person, like, not wanting to let them go because of how rare that is”

[menlove]

Hi : ) I did just make a post about this but I want to hear what you have to say about it and also want this to go in with your information.

I wanna talk about Just Like Starting Over. Everyone debates over whether its for Paul or Yoko. The big evidence is usually "It's time to spread our WINGS and fly don't let ANOTHER DAY go by MY LOVE" but no one ever discusses the Stripped Down Mix from 2010 where John at the beginning says "This one's for Gene and Eddie and Elvis....and Buddy!"

First of all, yes they're early rockers that J&P(&G) all talked repeatedly about loving.

But secondly(!), Gene (Vincent)= Be-Bop-A-Lula = a fave John song he played often and played the day J&P met.

Eddie Cochran = Paul played Twenty Flight Rock as his audition for John's band.

Elvis = they both loved Elvis' looks an 🤨 amount, loved his music, also Paul kind of looked/s like him.

Buddy (Holly) = Loved his music, the whole John's Buddy Holly glasses thing, the fact that the name The Beatles is kind of after Buddy Holly and The Crickets, big inspiration for them.

AND that's not even to mention the whole let's take a trip alone together somewhere far far away thing!!

And it's like...if you just WANT to argue that it's for Yoko, yes those are a bunch of John's favorite artists. But what do you do with all the other information then?? If you add 2 (Title of 3 Wings Songs) + 2 (Artists J&P specifically have a big past with) it most definitely = 4. Like??

see and the thing is every time i have these thoughts or read things like this i'm like that's crazy and absolutely not real but the thing is that paul has literally said they were leaving each other messages and songs like what the fuck is wrong with them. it's like 50/50 to me on if i'm hallucinating this shit or if they were just the world's weirdest people and i usually end up leaning towards the latter bc like. well they would do some fucked up shit like that. of course. naturally. and this was proven to me by paul releasing a movie with john as a squirrel, linda as his mom squirrel, and paul as his walrus friend. what do you even say. that sounds made up. i don't put a single thing beyond them

[kiestrokes]

Smut Shots: Cycles | NSFW

🩸Pairing: Boyfriend!Jung Wooyoung x Reader/You/Yn 🩸Rating: NSFW! Mature (18+) Minors DNI. 🩸Word Count: 2529 🩸Genre: little slice of life-ish, one shot, drabble, smut, PWP. 🩸Warnings:  as usual, some cursing, boyfriend/establish relationship, menstrual cycles (discussion of cramping/blood/ovulation discharge), let me know if I miss anything.

🩸Sexually Explicit Content: kissing, biting (its Woo), sexual intercourse (penis in vagina), raw sex (reader had fallopian tubes removed and is sterile), ovulation sex, cum eating, orgasm denial, multiple orgasms, clit stim/slapping, period sex, multiple positions, aftercare, shower sex, body worship, marking, nipple play, reader is horny and matching Woo's freak, let me know if I missed anything here.

🩸Summary: Boyfriend Wooyoung, that tracks your menstrual cycle for many reasons... Secretly, selfishly because he cannot get enough of you during ovulation week. How wet you are, and how unashamedly horny and needy. Letting his cock and fingers bring you to completion over and over. But Woo shares a secret; this is only his second favorite time in your cycle...

🗝️ Note: This was supposed to be the Wooyoung post for WIP-mas, but I did not have enough time to finish it. Then King Prawn meme took over my brain, so I posted a different Woo. Anyway, in honor of my uterus yeet (yeeterus) that I had seven weeks ago, I gift y'all ovulation and period sex Woo. Hasn't been beta-ed, even by me I literally wrapped this up in the Taco Bell parking lot pickup up my cheesy gordita crunch. Hope at least a couple people enjoy!

This was supposed to be the Wooyoung post for WIP-mas, but I did not have enough time to finish it. Then King Prawn meme took over my brain, so I posted a different Woo. Anyway, in honor of my uterus yeet (yeeterus) that I had seven weeks ago, I gift y'all ovulation and period sex Woo. Hasn't been beta-ed, even by me I literally wrapped this up in the Taco Bell parking lot pickup up my cheesy gordita crunch. Hope at least a couple people enjoy!

💿 Castle by ATEEZ 📰 Read it on Ao3! 🔥Smut Shots: Mini Masterlist

Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction; I do not own any of the idols depicted below.

“Fuck Woo,” you whine embarrassingly as your boyfriend swirls his hips into yours.

He smirks, an aroused pant of his own fanning across your face, “you’re always so wet this time of the month.”

“I’m ovulating.”

“I know,” he sits back on his heels to slap lasciviously into you. 

“What?” You grasp at the sheets as your eyes attempt to roll back. 

“I track your cycle,” Wooyoung’s teeth tease his bottom lip as your walls tighten around no. 

“Umph, why?”

“So I can have you when you’re like this,” he states as if it’s a known fact. 

Lewd sounds fill the bedroom and you arch against him. Your counter argument dying in the back of your throat as another moan overtakes it. Wooyoung’s mouth meets yours and you dissolve into each other. 

“Ah! Fuck- right there please,” you embed your nails into the supple muscles of his back. Your entire body tightening, knees compressing around the outside of his thighs to offset the pressure.

Wooyoung huffs a laugh, tongue pressed against the back of his teeth as your cunt constricts around him, your orgasm teetering on the edge. 

He slows down, suddenly, purposefully causing the friction to be lost as he edges you. Rolling his hips slowly with soft, firm smacks against your ass.

“Oh I hate you!” You screech. 

Pelvis bucking against his, seeking the delicious tension needed to push you over.

Wooyoung quirks an eyebrow at you and reaches down to pull out entirely. Slapping his hard cock, drenched in your essence against your overwhelmed clit. He continues his teasing by pressing his hardened tip down and rubbing through your sensitive folds.

You gasp half in protest, half in pleasure.

“You hate me?” Wooyoung asks, pinning your legs open and rubbing through your pre release with far less pressure than you desire. 

“Woo,” you beg as your pussy flutters around nothing.

“Tell me,” he bites his lip, holding back a moan as he teases your entrance with his leaking head. 

Tauntingly gathering more of your prerelease and swirling it around your flushed opening.

“I-I love you-” you break off into a cry when he thrusts into you. 

A broken moan of his own echoing around the bedroom as he pulls completely out again.

“I want to eat you out so bad, but I know how much you love being filled with my cock when you’re like this.”

You can’t stop the eager nod or lift of your hips as you try to get his leaking shaft back inside, where you so desperately need it. 

“Please,” you whimper. 

Wooyoung groans folding over to rub his erection through your valley again. Bullying against your clit and dipping his chin for a kiss to your other lips. As his own restraint frays, his body trembles against yours. 

You wrap your legs around his hips and deepen the kiss, tongue lapping longingly against his. Rocking your hips into him until he finally tilts his pelvis, the swollen tip catching your entrance and pushing in. 

Your head snaps back at the renewed pressure and his mutual moan of pleasure vibrates into your neck. One large hand reaching down to hold your thigh as he thrusts into you.

“So good for me,” Wooyoung moans as you wet his dick again.

“More, more” you cry, hips meeting his.

“Oh, I'm nowhere near done baby.”

Entangling yourselves, as Wooyoung fucks you both through soft and savage orgasms until the two of you lay spent together. 

Wooyoung idly toying with your clit, his lips parted as you twitch helplessly with your back dampened and sticky against his chest.  

“You know this is my second favorite time of the month to have you.”

You clutch his wrist as your body trembles through an orgasm. 

“W-what’s your first?” 

Wooyoung removes his fingers from torturing your spent bud and slips between your thighs, looking up at you mischievous as ever. Placing soft, opened mouth kisses down your inner thighs as he mumbles out an answer.

“Your period,” his tongue laps at the apex of your thigh and cunt, “because you’re so wet and warm,” his nose nestles intimately into your folds, and your hips give aborted little thrusts as he lays his tongue flat against you.

Wooyoung lifts his head to meet your lidded gaze, as he uses one hand to open your pussy to him, “but I never pushed you, because you cramp so badly afterwards when we had done anything.”

Then he's devouring the prize between your thighs, until you’re limp again and he's licked both of your releases from your still throbbing cunt.

🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

Next period you come to him and he stops you worried it will hurt you later.

“Wait, baby are you sure?” His hands lightly holding you off.

You climb into his lap, hovering over him on your knees with your core clenched, “Woo I already took my panties off.”

He rakes a hand down his face, “okay, okay.”

Wooyoung lifts his hips and undoing his pants in one go, your clit twitches at the half mass cock that springs out.

With his help the two of you guide him into your feverish depths. Wooyoung hissing as his cock grows rapidly at the feel of you. His hands squeeze the outside of your thighs that your oversized shirt is attempting to hide from him. 

You lift your ass and drop it back down with force, watch his face contort.

“Can't be that good baby.”

Wooyoung groans in response, lifting his hips to meet your downward drive.

“That's it- right there.”

You continue your stroke watching as Wooyoung tenses and pulls, pupils blown wide enough you can see a shadow of yourself in them.

His hands tighten on your hips, rocking you forward urgently, chanting your name until the band in you snaps. Your cunt convulsing and body bowing back in Wooyoung’s arms as your first orgasm rolls over the two of you as you paint Wooyoung’s cock even red with a gush of release. 

“Ahh, baby you did good.:

Wooyoung collects you to him after stripping out of his shirt, that he blankets down under your hips to protect your sofa. Moving away to get a cloth to clean you up when you pull him back to you.

“You didn't come…”

His lips brush yours, “I don’t want you to hurt.”

You wrap your legs around his hips and suck his earlobe into your mouth, Wooyoung whines and melts against you.

“Are you sure?”

You nod urgently against his neck where you have started a trail of love bites. Wooyoung reaches down to notch himself back inside you. 

He fucks you slower than ever, “your lips are so puffy right now.” 

The wet squelch as he pulls slowly out and pumps back in. You writhe at the feeling, everything so wet and even warmer than usual. It's like he's directly touching each nerve ending along the canal of your pussy. 

“Woo-” you whine, his eyes jump to yours in concern.

“Yea?” 

“Want you closer,” you murmur, fingertips biting into the tops of his toned shoulders. 

You both moan as he closes the distance, sheathing himself in you entirely causing your entrance seizes around his base. Your body shudders as your climax starts to unfurl again. 

“Fuck fuck,” you nails rake down his back to dig into his ass and clutch him to you. 

He whines, hips giving shallow little thrusts as you hold him in place against your urgent rubbing. 

“Look at me,” he smooths the hair back from your face, framing your cheekbones as he throws all of his weight into your joined sexes and watches as you fall apart. 

Nails scraping up the small of his back, your slightly damp body trembling as the hum of pleasure overtakes you. Your lips parting, tip of your tongue pressed into the front of your teeth, pupils blown wide as you gasp through the onslaught of orgasms. 

“Yea?” Wooyoung teases as he rolls his pelvis and your head kicks back as the tension falls away slightly. 

“Going to fuck you now,” Wooyoung growls lowly. 

He braces his hands on the back of your thighs, thumbs leaving Wooyoung shaped prints in them as he sets a steady rhythm. His eyes trained on his body part, coated in an almost sacred, some would argue taboo part of you. 

“Shit, this should not be so hot.” 

Wooyoung falters, dropping your legs to press deeply into you, his body tense and trembling. Before folding you up so that he can kiss you as he fucks you both to completion. 

“You're so wet everywhere,” his body jerks harshly and he groans into your mouth letting you know he's cum. 

“What are you doing?” You gasp as he keeps rubbing, causing bodily friction on your clit. 

“Not done, one more please you're so warm.” You whine as he strokes into that one spot, and his fingers rub gently against your sensitive bud. 

“Ahh yes, Woo right there!” 

“Yea? Make a mess on me baby.” 

He's stroking fast now, in the way that always makes you squirt. 

“Wait- Woo, there's already so much.” 

“Exactly, come on me baby,” he bites his lip as you lock eyes, hips pistoning as your body starts to tighten. 

“The more you fight it the wetter it will be.” 

You let out a stuttered breath, knowing he's right. But you're at war with your mind and your body. Wooyoung sits back to speed up and lands a strike to your clit, with just enough sting that you cry out, body shaking as you edge yourself this time. 

“Come on,” his fingers find your clit.

Wooyoung’s already strumming and your body undulates against him. Chanting his name until everything crests and you squirt across his abdomen and honey colored thighs. Your walls clamp down so tight on his cock that he has to slow his thrusts.

“Woo-ahhh,” you whine when your body lulls as the muscles release their tension. 

“So good,” he moans and then he's bullying his way back into you with deep strokes that have your toes digging into the cushions of the couch. 

“Wooyoung,” you cry, softly, bordering ascension. 

He strokes against that one spot inside you with a renewed purpose, that has you rapidly tightening around him again. 

“Almost there baby, just a little more,” he strains. 

Wooyoung’s body bows over yours as his thighs push powerful thrusts into your wrecked insides. Each stroke wetter than the last as your body and his use your natural lubricant to overstimulate you. 

“Woo,” you groan, and wrap yourself around him as it builds again.

Then he’s there, lips melting into yours, tongue tangling with yours and fucking you through it until his hips jerk against the back of your thighs for a long time. 

Emptying into you again, his face buried in your neck. Teeth in your shoulder as he releases an equally intense orgasm. Coming in you twice before he stops, hips still rubbing into yours. 

The two of you lay together kissing until you tighten around him for an entirely different reason as your uterus betrays you, cramping tightly around Wooyoung. Who pulls quickly but carefully out of you.

“Don't move, I'll start the shower.”

You nod at him, eyes focused on the absolute mess the two of you have made of his cock and pelvis, as he doesn't bother to cover himself. Too focused on getting you into the hot cascade of water.

He returns seconds later, helps you delicately remove yourself from the couch with his shirt tucked between your thighs to catch anything that threatens to spill out.

You moan at the feel of the hot steam hitting your aching muscles and Wooyoung laughs raspily behind you. Tossing his shirt in the sink to deal with later and slipping into the shower behind you. 

Wooyoung makes quick work cleaning your body of the mess the two of you had made. You're gathered from crown to toe in rich smelling citrus and coconut suds that recalibrate your nervous system. With conditioner soaking into your hair he turns his grooming to himself and you're graced with a glorious view of his trim backside. 

Unable to resist your wind yourself around him as he rinses clean, dimpled grin meeting your lips as you tug his face to yours. Wooyoung groans into your mouth, turning from the steady stream of water to reciprocate your embrace.

“Baby, we can't-I don't think we should go again,” he gasps, forehead pressed to yours as you palm his hardening shaft. 

“One more time, and then I'll behave Woo,” you kiss across his collarbones, teeth nipping at the water droplets as you go.

“Fuck-” he groans, flipping you to lay your front against the warmed shower tile.

You squirm with anticipation as he nudges your legs open gently with his thigh and his hand guiding his cock back inside you.

The two of you let out ringing shared moans as he hilts himself.

“Want you in here the whole time, you feel so good,” you throb around him and his hands squeeze your hips at your compliment.

Wooyoung’s stroke picks up with newfound urgency. The reassurance that this didn't just feel good for him but you too. You come around him three times, before he’s near his end. Your hips chasing his cock each time.

“Fuck” Wooyoung whines, telling you you’re worse than ovulation, cupping your neck so that he can bite the shell of your as her buries himself inside you.

His hips rubbing against your ass as his fingers reach around to play with your clit until you're screaming again. Your walls clutching his cock as he moans brokenly into your neck. Giving half pulled strokes and stroking your clit until this orgasm ebbs. 

Wooyoung abandons your clit to brace his hands on your hips to pull completely and slams into you roughly, something he never does. Causing you to gush, a crimson tinged trail of your own pleasure leaking down your inner thigh.

“Shit, did that feel good?”

You nod urgently, so he does it again and again. Until he's coming outside of you, while you're trying to push back into your needy pussy as your body shakes with fully desired overstimulation. 

Once secure inside your trembling core he collects you in his arms, locked intimately together until you've calmed down. Then he carefully pulls out, your walls clutching him as he goes. Gently his fingers work your mutual cum out, letting the shower spray it down the drain hidden in the pale pink tinged water of your monthly shed. 

You let Wooyoung remain in control, tired to the bone from your previous excursions. He wraps the two of you in towels warmed from the steam of the shower, thoroughly blow dries your hair before twisting it into braids and helps you into comfy clothing and your period panties before tucking you into bed. Wooyoung quickly dresses himself after putting the kettle on to make you a cup of raspberry leaf tea. He returns, placing the steaming mug on your end table and climbing under the blankets to spoon and become your favorite human sized heating pad.

© COPYRIGHT 2021 - 2025 by kiestrokes  All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced without written permission from the author. This includes translations. No generative artificial intelligence (AI) was used in the writing of this work. The author expressly prohibits any entity from using this for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text, including without the limitation technologies capable of generating works in the same style or genre as this publication. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

[acmeangel]

last thing i’m going to say about that post because i feel bad blowing up people’s feeds with it or unwillingly being some source of chaos and drama:

this because it opened up a HUGE can of worms i wasn’t anticipating. i haven’t been that active lately so i didn’t even know this was a ‘hot topic.’ i also didn’t know it’s a topic that’s been discussed to death. i haven’t been in the fandom for years, so AOT is still pretty new and exciting to me—i don’t have opinions that formed years ago like everyone else.

i also feel the need to clarify that the purpose of my post was pure meta and character analysis—i’ve done a couple other posts like that on various topics, this just happened to be one of them! that is really all there was to it from me. i didn’t know people would be “sick of hearing about it” because i was trying to be analytical, not petty.

and like all of my other metas, it’s just me sharing the things i’ve picked up on and how i interpreted the source material. it’s something i enjoy doing because the characters and their stories are so complex. it wasn’t meant to be interpreted as me defending or advocating for a specific “x reader” pov and looking down on others. i support everyone writing and reading what they want, i always have. i’ve seen plenty of other people argue the complete opposite of me and i’ve never said a combative word to them because i know everyone is different!

i haven’t even written fics in a while because i mostly was doing it because it seemed to make other people happy, which was cool. analysis has always been what i really love doing, so it’s just a little disheartening that people seem to take it extremely personally when it was always framed as my opinion on just another topic. i probably won’t be sharing anything like that again anytime soon because i want this to be a positive space and not one of hostility and arguing. we are all supposedly fans of the same thing, but it doesn’t really feel like it most of the time, especially when sharing one opinion makes people send hate.

[villiedoom]

I want to write this as an additional post, just to share some more personal stuff ~

It's no secret that I've been obsessed with Rain World lately - in my personal notes I already wrote a lot of my impressions and thoughts about Rain World and why I fell in love with this game, but most of all, this game just clicked with me in some very personal and unique way, which I struggle to explain. It gives me something very important, something I lack and miss so much, but the only thing that comes to my mind is Experience. The very ability to experience, which was taken away from me by my very own survival mechanisms long-long ago. And so, just an unusual game with sometimes annoying gameplay and an interesting philosophy and lore, accidentally became a strange form of therapy for me, revealing what I was missing by allowing me to experience it.

Touching the grass, going in nature, hanging out with friends, and even just living life, don't work if you can't experience them. I don't remember what experiencing something even feels like, and even my art, my characters, Koties, often feel more like a battlefield full of deaths and overcoming than a safe place of escapism. And the "just touch the grass and take a rest" mindset only made things worse, shaming for not being able to actually do this.

And Rain World finally gave me the Experience, as honest and pure as it is. My survival became the survival of a little slugcat in a world where even just climbing up a pipe can seem like an insurmountable challenge. In a world where so little depends on you, and every step can turn into death simply by accident, and not because you did something wrong. Feels scarily relatable. Usually people are afraid to see the world as random, absurdly unfair, and so they seek control by blaming others or themselves, or just some rest from it (like, in videogames). But I'm not able to, so the feeling of unfair world just as it is has somehow become healing for me, motivating me to learn and move forward in a much healthier way, with no shame of living in it.

And over time, it started to feel better. Starting out as a helpless and clumsy slug, I became someone who seeks adventure and goes to the most hardcore locations simply because I want to explore them, to find some more hidden colored pearls, and to share some of the existential wonder and despair with the local gods and ghosts. This became my own small journey and experience, and I felt and expressed it with all my emotion. To go through all this and break the cycle. I love this game, I love its story and characters, I love its gameplay. I want to save this moment in my memory.

Of course, all this is just my personal interpretation and projection, we all see the world through these even when we try to be objective, but that's the point. Rain World feels like that rare thing that allowed me to go through it and experience it very personally, feeling my reality as valid, regardless of other people's interpretations, their lore discussions and disputes about what is the true canon. Honestly, I don't care. I just allowed this little game to feel like my thing, and I don't even feel wrong or ashamed about it. I missed feeling like that.

I'm not special, and this game wasn't made by or for me, but that's just another story of the unknowing recipient and the reluctant gift.

There is no solution, only a personal yet random path to walk on.

The world is unfair, cruel and random. You will get lost, suffer and die over and over again, giving up and continuing to try and move, sometimes succeeding, sometimes drowning in despair, seeing shelter right before your eyes but failing to reach it. Your greatest happiness is to find some food and a safe place to rest…

There is nothing miserable about it, even if sometimes you feel so. This is natural. Everyone feels that way. The joy of success in survival. The pain of another unfair fall.

But the more successful you are, the further you can go. Including places where no one goes.

A random gift from a random god, and you are no longer an animal, you are something… different.

The one who seeks. The one who asks. The one who listens.

You woke up as accidentally as you were accidentally killed so many times. But now, your cycle has turned into a path, in which you are all alone. No one can hear or understand you, because you heard and understood something that perhaps you were not even made to understand.

You have been used by one and blindly guided by other, and now you are conscious on your path, without even knowing where it leads. You have received your sight while remaining blind. Even the gods are blind.

And…

You found what you were looking for when you stopped looking for it. You will never return to the cycle again. …was it right?

****

Some quick and sketchy Rain World fanart, along with some of my impression/interpretation of it (Survivor's story in particular) ~

[lucabyte]

Different standards

[pebblul]

Maybe I am reading too far into things, but I was just rewatching bsd season 3, and something stood out to me.

In this scene, Chuuya refers to the Sheep as children when telling Dazai not to kill them.

It’s the fact that he calls them children as if he is not a child himself.

Yes, there probably are people younger than him in the Sheep, but he is not exclusively talking about those kids. He is talking about the Sheep as a whole.

He didn’t say, “leave them out of this” or “don’t kill my friends” or even “don’t kill the Sheep” or anything else.

It is straight proof that Chuuya has had to put himself in a role of protecting others. Much like a parent, or older sibling. He’s had to force himself to grow up faster. He doesn’t get to be a kid.

And he’s far from the only one.

Dazai too, calls them kids. Dazai too, when he first meets Chuuya, calls him a kid.

In fact, as far as I know, Dazai is the only one who ever points out how young Chuuya is. (Again, I could be wrong, and if I am, please correct me.)

And Chuuya is the same in return; he also sees Dazai as a kid.

They see each other as kids when they do not see themselves as kids. And that’s probably why they can act like the stupid, petty teens they are when they’re around one another.

When one falls out and tries to act like the other is below them for being a kid, the other simply reminds them (often rather aggressively) that they are also a kid.

It’s a reminder I’m sure they both need.

[skeletalheartattack]

honestly, the most devastating news you could hear about in 2007 while playing roblox was learning that Scatman John passed away in 1999. like, finding that out was the roblox child's equivalent to 9/11.

[dyl-z]

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