#Haven’t been impacted this personally by a story in a good while

[yetanothershore]

Hazy

[nadvs]

better off (part two)

pairing rafe cameron x female reader

rating mature 18+

summary after having regretful break-up sex with rafe, you try to move on. but he can’t let you go that easy.

warning toxic relationship

» part one

» masterlist

Gulls squawk in the distance, circling the cloudless afternoon sky as you sit on your family’s docked boat.

Since you arrived at the marina, you haven’t moved, save for the boat’s gentle rocks as it sits on the water. Every so often, you hear chatter from people on their boats around you, but it’s been fairly quiet.

You didn’t come here to go out into the sea. You simply needed a change of scenery. Your bedroom has begun to feel suffocating.

And while it hurts to be alone, it hurts even more to be around people. You’re not yourself since the break-up. Having to keep up conversations reminds you of how much of a stranger you are to yourself now.

Life feels off without Rafe. Blurred.

The pages of the book in your hand are fluttering with the breeze, your pen held tight in your hand. You’ve been trying to focus on reading, but you can’t stop thinking about what happened two nights ago. The last time you saw him.

You regret the break-up sex. It was a relapse that hindered your recovery. He called you insufferable.

But it’s par for the course. He has a knack for making you feel like you’re a burden, a bother, as if you were forcing him into a relationship.

You blink away tears and look down at the words on the page. You had picked up this book about toxic relationships a week ago, but finally started reading it today.

As you expected, what you had with Rafe ticks all the boxes. Distrust. Control. Blame.

And one thing you read that stuck with you is how someone usually stays in a toxic relationship because it doesn’t always feel bad. The person you love isn’t all flaws, all the time.

It’s true. Rafe could be mean, but he had good qualities, too. He was fun. Reliable. Protective. Loyal. Hardworking.

It still wasn’t enough to make up for how cruel he could be. Your eyes travel over the last paragraph you read.

Break the cycle by understanding that this was not your fault. Whatever happened to them to cause their behavior was likely not their fault either, but you must accept that your love can’t break that barrier.

Rafe always hated crying in front of you. He only did it a couple times, muttering that he had to stop being such a pussy. You told him it was okay, but he just got angry at you for trying to console him. As if you were patronizing him.

He treated you the same way when you cried. Not every time, but when he was the reason you were upset, he would tell you to stop whining. That you were sensitive and needed to toughen the fuck up if you were going to be his girl.

It broke you, piece by piece. But if he talked to himself like that whenever he felt weak, of course he’d do it to you, too. Any negative emotion that wasn’t anger was disgusting to him.

You know his upbringing was tumultuous. From what little he told you, his father could be erratic and unreliable with his affection, kind to his son one moment, then clearly favoring his daughter the next.

And you often wondered if that’s why he couldn’t say he loved you very often. Maybe because he considered it a fragile promise.

You sigh to yourself. This is all you’ve been doing; trying to understand a man who can’t possibly love you, not really, because a man who loves you wouldn’t scream at you and call you names.

Break the cycle by understanding that this was not your fault.

You underline the words in red pen. You want this burned into your brain. You couldn’t fix him. It wasn’t on you to. But damn, did you want to.

You pull out your phone to take a photo of this part of the page, the stern of the boat and the dark blue sea and the edge of the dock in the background.

You had intended to just keep it for yourself, but you decide to post it on your story. It feels like a release to share a sentence that has such an impact on you, even though any followers who see it will probably tap through and forget about it in a second.

Plus it’s not like the person you’re relating it to can see it anyway. You removed Rafe from all of your social media and blocked his number. You’ve cut him out of your life.

You look out at the water again, wishing there was something you could do to ease the heaviness that’s flooding your body and wringing your heart out.

It feels like it’s going to hurt forever. It’s a tiring thing, caring about someone who throws you down and then treats you like you chose to fall.

Rafe tried to text you yesterday. We need to meet asap. He meant to make it sound urgent, when really, he just wants to talk about your break-up. It’s a manipulative move, but it’d get your attention.

But the text immediately came up as undelivered. You blocked him. And now that he thinks about it, he’s glad. Those moments of reaching out to you are moments of weakness. And they’re humiliating.

Especially because of what you said the other night. That if there’s any part of him that has a heart, he’ll leave you alone. Of all the things you’ve hurled at him, that had to be one of the worst.

He’s not a heartless asshole. He can act like one, but he’s shown you love time and time again, and you spoke to him as if he never has. It was a stab in the back.

Still, he can’t reign in his need to know whatever he can about you. He felt like such a loser telling Topper to send him whatever you post after you blocked him on everything. At least you didn’t block his friend.

Rafe is sitting on his bed when he sees a screenshot from Topper come through on his phone. Anxiety pricks his skin. Ever since you mentioned that you have someone new now, he’s dreading seeing you with another man, of even seeing a mention of him.

He knows you well. He’s almost certain you lied about having a new boyfriend. But what if you didn’t?

It’s a photo of a book in your lap, your hand holding open the page. He recognizes your family’s boat in the background. You’ve gone out on it together quite a few times.

It’s pathetic how long he looks at your hand in the photo. He’s a wreck, taking pieces of whatever he can to feel put together again, eyes trailing over what little of your body he can see.

You would sometimes put his ring on your finger, looking at him with that bright smile you once had reserved only for him. But that ring is back on his hand now, and the last time it touched you, you called the sex you’d just had a mistake.

Rafe reads the portion you underlined in the book. It makes an ugly mix of pain and anger settle into his core. This has to be about him.

Not your fault. Is that what you really think? That none of this is your fault? That you both crashed and burned all because of him?

He grits his teeth. He was right for what he said the other night. You really do think you’re perfect.

All of your mutual friends know you split up. They’ll piece together that this is about him in a second. There’s no way they won’t. It’s fucking humiliating.

Rafe has no control over his impulses. He never has. That’s why he finds his keys and drives to the marina to find you.

He parks beside your car. His blood is boiling as he rushes down the dock, boats lining the long, uneven boardwalk, but when he spots you, he stops in his tracks.

Your back is to the dock. You’re rubbing your eyes in a way that looks like you’re wiping tears. The book sits beside you.

He’s pissed at you, but seeing you like this makes some of the anger fade.

After coming down from one last cry, you turn to stand and finally go home after hours of sitting and reading. You pick up your book and set to step out onto the dock. And you lock eyes with the man who you’ve done nothing but think about.

Rafe’s mouth opens slightly, but he can’t speak. He closes what little distance remains between you and when he reaches you, his face falls even more once he sees how red your eyes are.

“What are you doing here?” you say.

Your tone is harsh. You look annoyed to see him. It makes anger burn through him all over again.

Rafe steps up onto the edge of the boat, making you shuffle back so he doesn’t bump into you. He towers over you, his eyes hard and cold.

“You think it’s all on me?” he mutters.

“What?” you say.

“That’s what it says, huh?” he says, looking down at the book you’re holding against your chest. “Your stupid little self-help book. Nothing’s your fault.”

“How did…” You look down, shaking your head. He must have found a way to watch your story. And he rushed over here to yell at you about it.

“It’s wrong,” he says. “And the way you’re posting that shit to make me look bad is fucked up.”

“You found out I was here,” you begin, your muscles tense as you stare up at him, “and you came to yell at me over a fucking story? Are you insane?”

“I’m not gonna let you embarass me like that. Delete it.”

“I didn’t do it to embarrass you. I didn’t even mention you,” you mutter sharply. “But you know what?”

You’re spent. You’ve dedicated your day to trying to start your healing process. And you have no more fight left in you.

A stupid post is not worth it. You take out your phone, open your story, and delete it right in front of him.

“There,” you say. You meet his eyes again. “You got what you wanted. Now get out of my way.”

You step to the side to brush past him, but his hand wraps around your forearm. His skin feels so warm and so familiar and so nice and you wish he would stop having this effect on you.

“Rafe,” you say, your tone teetering on whining. “Let me go.”

“You think this is what I wanted?” he says with a humorless laugh.

“What do you want?” you challenge. “To keep fighting with me? Why are you looking at what I post?”

“Why are you posting about me?”

“I already told you, I didn’t even mention you.” You rip your arm out of his grip.

“It’s pretty fucking obvious. Everyone knows we…” He can’t even say broke up out loud. His eyes dart down to the book you’re holding.

“What other bullshit did you read in here, huh?” he mutters. He takes the book out of your hand. Resigned, you let him.

Rafe leafs through the pages, his heart pounding, eyes tracking whatever you’ve underlined.

“You actually spent your money on this?” he scoffs, condescending you.

“You’re such an asshole.”

You consider leaving him here. You can just buy another copy. Spending time with someone so committed to arguing, so committed to making you feel small, is misery.

But then Rafe stops at a page.

He notices a sentence underlined and circled and starred. And he’s prepared to call bullshit on it, simply because you so clearly want to remember it. But when he reads it, he loses some of his composure.

His jaw tightens and he shuts the book, shoving it back towards you. You gaze at him curiously, wondering what he just read that obviously struck him.

“What?” you ask, your guard coming down a little.

The words he just read tumble in his brain. He’s still so angry, still wanting to hit you where it hurts.

“Didn’t work out with the new guy?” he asks.

You swallow hard.

“There’s no new guy. I lied,” you admit. “Just to hurt your feelings. Because that’s what we do, right? We hurt each other on purpose, over and over.”

The relief that washes over Rafe dilutes his anxiety. There’s nobody else.

“And you’re still going to take no blame at all?” he says, eyes fluttering down to the book. “You think it’s normal to lie like that?”

“You bring it out in me,” you retaliate. “And you’re one to talk. Have you ever said sorry to me? Once?”

Rafe always acted like taking any sort of accountability was an admission of worthlessness. As if a sorry was admitting that he’s a bad person.

“Have you?” he asks.

You tense up even more, looking up at him through sad, angry eyes.

“What do I have to be sorry for?” you say.

“For-” His own caught breath interrupts him. He looks away, pissed as hell that his throat is starting to feel scratchy. He can’t cry. “For always making me feel like shit.”

“You always made me feel like shit.”

“See?” He breaths a cynical chuckle. “You don’t even ask how. You just say I did it, too.”

You cross your arms, your book starting to feel heavy in your grip. You hate this feeling, the tinge of powerlessness when he brings up a good point.

“How, then?” you ask begrudgingly.

“You brought up old fights all the time,” he snaps.

“That’s not fair,” you say. “I did that because I never got an apology. Or any sort of closure.”

“Then, talk about it when it happens,” he says. “Don’t bitch about something from a million years ago.”

“I didn’t bitch,” you say sharply. “Don’t use that word.”

“You know I’m right,” he says. “I never knew when you were going to get pissed off. We’d be having fun and then out of fucking nowhere…”

He sighs again and looks down, his hands on his hips.

You want to counter that he was exactly like that. Because he was. He used to fly off the handle with no warning all the time. Maybe he walked on eggshells, but so did you.

You swallow your reflex to fight back. You’re sure it’s all the reading you’ve been doing about taking responsibility. You can admit you’re guilty of what he’s accusing you of.

Throughout your relationship, you’d be having a good time together and out of nowhere, you’d think of an old fight that was left unresolved and reminded him of what an asshole he could be.

Just like that, you can understand a part of his side. You had always thought of him as completely in the wrong. It was perpetually about winning or losing between you two. Black and white.

But maybe it’s gray. Because while you were wondering how someone who was supposed to love you could be so cruel, you were cruel in your own way. And you adored him.

“Talking about it when it happened was impossible. We never resolved anything,” you say. “And that weighed on me. I hated how you never said sorry. But I know I… blindsided you sometimes.”

Rafe blinks a few times, looking at you with a softness you haven’t seen in a long time.

You actually admitted to it. He doesn’t feel self-righteous like he thought he would. He feels better than that. Understood, for once.

“But you’d do something shitty and then just expect me to get over it,” you continue. “And if I cried, you made me feel sensitive and crazy for being hurt. But of course I was hurt, Rafe. I loved you.”

He licks his lips, his eyes boring into you, his chest starting to rise and fall faster. He didn’t miss the past tense.

“You don’t anymore,” he says, disbelief and desperation in his voice.

You stare up at him. And you respond honestly.

“I don’t know,” you say, your voice wavering.

“How do you not know?” he says tersely.

“Do you love me?” you say. “You never said it.”

“Yeah, I did,” he sighs. “God, you were always so hung up on that. Why did I have to say it all the damn time? I showed it.”

He was always tense about this. It’s hard to actually say the words. And he hates how bad you made him feel for discomfort he couldn’t control.

He never heard it growing up. He never had anyone to say it to. Then, with you, it’s like he was expected to say it every hour.

It made him feel inadequate, every time you pestered him for not saying it. Like he wasn’t enough for you unless he said three words.

“Do you?” you repeat.

There’s a tangled heap of feelings sitting on his chest. He’s torn between wanting to hurt you and wanting to win this argument and wanting to hear you love him and wanting to storm away.

His pride is too fucking heavy. If you won’t say you love him, he’s not saying it to you.

He doesn’t answer. And you realize his eyes are glossy.

“Are you crying?” you ask gently.

Typically, you’d pretend you didn’t notice because he loathes crying in front of you. It embarrasses him. But this isn’t a typical conversation.

“You really think we’re sick together?” he rasps.

You know exactly what part of your book he read now. You read that line over and over again. It’s better to be healthy alone than sick together.

“Yeah,” you say quietly.

Rafe can’t stop the tear that drops onto his cheek. Frustrated, he wipes it away.

“And you can make fun of me for reading books like this all you want,” you say, “but they really do help. I need to be healthy on my own first if I want to be healthy with someone else.”

Something that looks like fear flashes over his face.

“You want to be with someone else?” Rafe asks. “Who?”

You gaze up at him with a cocked head, actually feeling sympathy for his insecurity. He always bordered on hysteria over the idea of you with another man. He always was so sure you’d find someone more suited for you.

“No. Right now, it’s important for me to get better,” you say. “By myself.”

“And what if…” He shakes his head. “What if I get better, too?”

It’s the most vulnerable he’s been this whole conversation. Maybe the most vulnerable he’s been with you ever.

You search his handsome, pained face for any indication of this being a cruel joke.

“What do you mean?” you ask.

Rafe doesn’t know how to navigate this. You had each other at your worst, but you still fell in love. How happy could you be at your best?

“If I get better, too, are you going to want…” It’s too nerve-wracking to directly ask if you’ll want him. He feels like such a coward.

“You?” you say.

His jaw tenses in discomfort. You exhale shakily.

This doesn’t have to be a test of pride, a game of win or lose like it always was with him. You can be honest. Because you already had to say goodbye to the person who once made you the happiest you’d ever been, so there’s nothing left to lose.

“If we really are better,” you finally say, “yeah. We can try this again. If you want to.”

Rafe knows he shouldn’t, but he wants to touch you so badly that it’s hurting him. This feels too fragile, though. One wrong move could break this sense of amiability you two haven’t had together in ages.

“I want to,” he admits.

For the first time in weeks, hope blooms in your chest. You always thought he was so stubborn. That he didn’t think he had anything wrong with him, and therefore, nothing to fix.

But he’s willing to work on himself. And you are, too. Maybe this isn’t doomed after all.

“We’ll give it a few weeks, okay?” you say softly. “And after, we’ll talk and… see what happens.”

Rafe wants to ask if you’ll unblock him, but he’s opened himself up to enough risk of rejection since this conversation started. He accepts the discomfort of not knowing.

He can only say a tense, “Okay.” And he can’t cry in front of you anymore. And he can’t handle how confusing it is to feel hopeful and angry and sad all at once.

He leaves. Because the only way he can comfortably let out overwhelming emotions is through a fight, and that’s not an option right now.

You watch him go, left to wonder if this is just delaying further heartbreak, or if one day, you actually can be the people you need each other to be.

(part three)

[jolieblack]

Something finally came to me! (I usually can’t write to prompts to save my life.)

May Prompts 2024 by @calaisreno

May 24th: Imperfect

We've always done things the wrong way round.

We moved in together at a time when we knew no more than four or five facts about each other. Significant facts, granted, such as John being a war veteran and me having no patience with idiots, but neither of us could have claimed to have had anything even close to the full picture at the time. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if either of us had. Only on my really bad days, though.

I don’t have all that many of those any more, luckily. And when I do, I have plenty of good memories to help me pull myself up again. Take the ones of how we confessed our love to each other to a beautifully decorated room full of people in festive dress and in even more festive spirit, to much applause and cheering and well-wishing. Yes, you heard that plural right. Those are two separate memories, years apart and in two different places. I got to go first, and it wasn’t even me who was getting married at the time. That’s another thing that most couples would do differently. Coordinate it a bit better, at least.

The second time around, as a lot of you will remember well, it was John's turn to talk, and I‘d been told in no uncertain terms to keep my mouth shut and say nothing, not even to correct his grammar, till he was done. I can now attest that it is true that the groom never gets to have a say in anything at his own wedding. Someone got his late revenge there. And believe me, that doesn’t depend on whether it’s one groom or two. Yes, and I know there are still people out there even in this day and age who feel that it’s not normal to have two grooms at all. They can all go away and never show their ugly faces again where I can see them, or smell the foul breath of the bigoted filth they’re spouting. That’s not the wrong way around, that couldn’t be more right for both of us.

But we did other things the wrong way around, too. In most romantic stories, killing someone to save the person you love is usually the culmination of long mutual trust and dedication. It‘s supposed to be the crowning glory, the final sealing of a bond that has long been in the making. It’s not supposed to be the starting point. And John is usually the more patient of the two of us, but when it came to this, he could barely contain himself for 36 hours after our very first meeting before he did it. Ever heard of timing and pacing, Doctor, I hear you people wonder? And he’s supposed to be the one with the talent for good storytelling. The timing was good, though. The timing was excellent. There’s another 'what if' for you that is no fun to contemplate at all.

There is killing out of love, and - I have to say it, I can’t not, I‘d be lying by omission if I didn't - there's also dying out of love. I doubt, however, that there’s anyone out there who has ever put a more elaborate effort into pretending to die out of love than I have. As far as I‘m aware, that’s not really a romantic convention, either, and I sincerely hope I haven’t started a trend. I honestly can’t recommend it. Effort is well and good, and I dare say the execution in my case was flawless, but I can’t deny there was a certain lack of forethought as to the emotional impact on both parties concerned. Don‘t try this at home, folks.

People also usually date first, then start cohabiting, then get married, then raise children together. Please don’t ask me to define at what time in our lives exactly John and I were dating and when we weren’t yet. To this day we have never been able to agree on a definition for this mysterious activity that emphatically, according to John, for whatever reason, does not encompass two people who like each other going out together and having fun. But it is an undisputed fact that we had been raising a child together for a good while before we got married. And we have been going out together and having fun for years uncounted now. Crime scenes never fail to work that particular magic on us. Oh wait, no, that was another example I had on my list for what most other couples do differently. Hang on, do I see a certain Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard raise his hand in objection? Raising both hands, actually, showing us… what, seven fingers? Is that the number of couples working for the Metropolitan Police that you know personally who have met at crime scenes? Or are you reminding us of the number of times John and I were actually kicked off a crime scene because we were enjoying ourselves entirely too much, and were told not to come back till we could behave like adults? I could have sworn those were more than seven occasions, but I‘ll take your word for it.

Talking of raising a child together, I‘m sure Rosie will say a word or three about that herself later, but I have never understood why most of you had doubts about the practicability of that particular endeavour. Let me just tell you that a baby carrier is entirely compatible with a cashmere scarf, or didn’t you know cashmere can absorb up to a third of its own dry weight in liquid? And it got only easier from there when Rosie grew older and stopped affectionately drooling on whoever enjoyed the happy privilege of holding her and carrying her around. She hasn’t demanded being carried around in a good while now, and I don’t know what our poor old backs would say to that these days. But we were talking about happy memories, weren’t we, so there’s another. And at least in the metaphorical sense, I hope you know, Rosie, that you’ll be held and carried for as long as you want and need, as long as we both live. You were my daughter even before I was your father’s husband, and that has been one of the greatest honours bestowed on me in my life.

Because this is who we are, isn’t it, our crazy little family, where nothing is as you’d expect it to be. But we still wouldn’t have it any other way, topsy-turvy, weird, flawed and utterly imperfect, but also utterly us, unique, one of a kind. I don’t know if it was fate that threw us together, or if it really was just a whim on the part of the comfortable, corpulent, bespectacled gentleman sitting at this table over here, smirking with his trademark benevolence. But there’s a debt of gratitude to be paid there, and today is a good day to do it. In this at least, we’re doing the conventional thing, but who’s to say we’re not allowed to do that at least once in a quarter-century.

So, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends and family from far and wide, I give you: John Watson, the man of my life, the man at my side for over thirty years, and for exactly twenty-five years in the legal sense on this very day. Please raise your glasses with us to the next twenty-five. And for God’s sake stop snivelling like that, Mycroft. You’re embarrassing the whole room.

[berryhobii]

Down Bad Part 2 (pjm x reader)

Pairing: fuckboy!Park Jimin x black!female!fuckgirl!Reader

Word Count: 3.8K+

Warnings: none really. Mentions of previous sexual intercourse, mentions of foursomes, drinking(not explicit), all of this is from Jimin’s POV and his internal crisis, he’s really going through it

A/N: Hi loves! I’m back with Part 2 of Down Bad. Lots of people have been requesting it so here it is. Part 3 will be the final chapter where everything comes to it’s crest😈please look forward to it. Just to clarify, Jimin does have some thoughts that I don’t condone AT ALL. In order to progress the plot, he does continue to pursue reader so if you’re uncomfortable with that, please don’t continue reading. It will be the driving force of the story. Anyway, thank you so much for your patience and I hope you enjoy! Much love🩵🩵

~

“Hyung!”

Yoongi almost flung his cereal bowl across the room as his front door suddenly slammed open and Jimin burst inside.

“Jimin, what the hell?” Yoongi cursed, heart hammering like a stampede in his chest.

“Hyung, I need to ask you something.”

Yoongi sputtered. “W-what? How the hell did you get in my house?”

Jimin waved a hand. “I bribed Seokjin hyung with GrubHub but that’s not important. I need to talk to you.”

He was dreaming, he had to be. There was no way Jimin just let himself in without calling or texting first. And he was going to kill Seokjin!

“You just broke into my house. How is that not important?” Yoongi pointedly quipped.

Jimin groaned. “Focus, hyung. Look, I need to ask you about y/n.”

Breaking and entering aside, Yoongi acknowledged what Jimin was asking.

Yoongi walked over to his couch to sit down, motioning for Jimin to follow. “y/n? What about her?” He scooped some cereal into his mouth.

Jimin ran a hand through his hair. He’s been doing that more often than usual, your impact on him stressing him out.

“Why doesn’t she date?”

Ah. Yoongi realized where this was going. A smirk twitched at his lips and Jimin had a flashback to you. That god damn smirk.

“She put it on you, huh?” Yoongi chuckled with a shake of his head. He knew this was going to happen. Mainly because he went through the same thing about 2 years ago—the anxiety, the pacing, even the brief addiction to wondering what you were up to.

You were dangerous. Intoxicating. Almost unhealthy.

Yoongi considered himself a pretty good lover but you were on another fucking level. Your head game, pussy, aftercare; all top tier. He thought he was in love for a second and maybe he was but unfortunately, you weren’t the type of woman that wanted to be tied down.

“You’re sweet but I’m not looking for a relationship. Like ever. I’ll see you around though. Get home safe. Bye.”

Then you closed the door in his face and he went through the motions much like his good friend was right now.

It was hard not to get addicted to you.

Jimin groaned again, burying his face in his hands. “She was so good, hyung. I don’t even remember some of it because apparently, I passed out.”

Yoongi whistled. “Damn. I didn’t pass out but I did sleep for like 10 hours afterward. I even missed work. She definitely tires you out.” Yoongi sniggered, recalling the almost coma you put him in after that night. He was just lucky you didn’t put him out while he was practically dead on his feet. You made coffee, a light breakfast, and even let him take a shower to wake himself up more. You were a really nice and attentive person.

Jimin leaned back against the couch. “So why doesn’t she date?”

Yoongi shrugged his shoulder. “I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you two friends?” Jimin quizzed with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah. Her job is like a block from mine. We meet up for lunch sometimes and I help her fix things around her apartment.”

There’s some information he didn’t know he really wanted. So you two were pretty close?

“And you haven’t slept together again?”

Yoongi shook his head, finishing his milk and then placing the bowl down on the coffee table.

“Nope. After our first time, I just gave up. Didn’t want to overstep, you know? She said she doesn’t sleep with the same person twice or something.”

Oh god. You had the same rule he did?! Now that he was hearing it, he realized how fucking dumb that rule was!

Yoongi could see the internal conflict Jimin was going through. He had the same problem back then. Even now sometimes, he wondered what he could do to get you but he respected you too much. You were sexy and confident, yes but you were also a great friend and someone he didn’t want to lose.

“Look, man. It’s best if you just forget about her. Nothing good will come from forcing yourself into her life.”

Jimin slumped further into the couch. He knew that. He liked you but he wasn’t the type to overstep any boundaries like that.

“Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Yoongi broke it.

“Did she do that two handed twist thing on your dick?”

“Oh my god! It was insane!”

~

After that talk with Yoongi, Jimin decided to forget about you.

He went to work. He went to his classes and did his homework. He hung out with his friends……

And that’s it.

“You’ve been acting weird.” Taehyung suddenly stated one night when the two were hanging out on his couch. Jimin had shown up with fried chicken and beer out of the blue. Taehyung was actually kind of shocked to see him since Jimin was normally at a bar or a party on Friday nights.

Now that he thought about it, Jimin’s been at his place every weekend for the past month.

Something was up.

Jimin chewed the food in his mouth before swallowing, hand that wasn’t holding his chopsticks currently working on stealing from someone else on Monopoly GO.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve been here every weekend for a month. Why aren’t you at a party or something?”

Jimin made a noise of offense. “You say that like you don’t like spending time with me. I thought we were soulmates.” He cried dramatically with a pout.

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “We are but we haven’t spent this much time together in a while. Are you okay?”

Jimin went back to his game. “I’m fine. I just haven’t been feeling like going out.”

Okay, was hell freezing over or something? Jimin doesn’t feel like going out? Taehyung’s known Jimin for many many years and out of all of that time, he’s never known for Jimin to be a homebody. Taehyung was the homebody, Jimin was the party crasher. That was their dynamic and he’d be damned if he let Jimin take over his title.

“Alright, spill it.”

Jimin cursed under his breath at not finding another key before asking, “spill what?”

Taehyung squinted his eyes. Was Jimin really about to play stupid with him? He was used to Jimin actually doing stupid things, fake stupidity wasn’t in his nature.

Then he remembered something.

“You never told me how it went with you and that y/n girl. You normally give me a play by play of all of your one night stands.”

He saw how Jimin’s shoulders stiffened.

Bingo.

“Tell me. What happened?”

Jimin tossed back the remainder of his beer and then went to shove another piece of chicken in his mouth.

Taehyung snatched the box away, taking his phone as well.

“Come on, man! Just tell me.”

Jimin swallowed before sighing. He knew he couldn’t keep it from his best friend any longer.

“Nothing much happened. It was fine.” He lied because something very much happened and it was way more than just fine.

His eyes burned holes into Jimin’s face. He didn’t understand why Jimin was withholding. Jimin was never tight lipped when it came to spilling his escapades. The detail he’d put into it would make Taehyung feel like he was actually there.

So why was he being so secretive now?

“Alright,, get up.” Taehyung ordered, standing to his feet.

Jimin’s eyebrows jumped up. “Why?”

“We’re going out.”

“Going out? Where?”

Taehyung hauled him up by his arm, pushing him down the hall to the bedroom to find them something suitable to wear. Jimin left some of his clothes here just in case, mainly pajamas or casual clothes but he had a few going out pieces for those crazy moments. Like that time a girl ripped Jimin’s shirt off of him and he had to walk back to Taehyung’s house with tattered clothes hanging off his body.

Taehyung ruffled through the space in his closet where Jimin’s clothes hung, pulling out a simple button up and jeans.

He shoved the clothes in Jimin’s arms. “Tae, wait. I don’t really feel like-“

Taehyung interjected, “no, I’m done watching you act like someone you’re not. You need to go out and have fun. Get laid.”

“You’re the one always telling me to stop having so much sex but now you want me to?” Jimin asked incredulously.

Taehyung huffed. “I’ve never told you to not get laid. I tell you to stop treating women that way. How would you like it if someone just used you and put you out?”

Oh the irony. If only he knew….

Luckily, Jungkook had responded to Taehyung’s text and gave them the address to a small party on his college campus. Jimin’s complaints and refusals fell on deaf ears as Taehyung all but shoved him into an Uber and then they were on their way to the party.

The space was pretty lowkey and the party wasn’t as crazy as Jimin was used to; just people gathered around talking and drinking and making out. He didn’t really know if that was a good or bad thing yet. It could be good since it meant he could probably just sink into himself and stay quiet but it could also be bad since there wasn’t enough distractions to give him an opportunity to sneak away. Either way, he didn’t really want to be here.

Jungkook approached them with a loud greeting, a cute girl under his arm. “What’s up guys? Glad you can make it.” He gave both of them one of those handshake/hugs before turning his attention to the girl. “This is Lila.”

She gave a small wave and smile. “Hi.” To which Taehyung and Jimin greeted her back.

“So make yourselves comfortable. We have plenty of drinks and food and I think Hoseok should be coming back with more people soon.”

“Cool.” Taehyung nodded while Jimin was scouting out the nearest exit. He needed to get the hell out of here.

Breaking him from his thoughts of escape, Taehyung grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the drink table to grab a beer from the cooler before taking him to sit down on a small collection of couches.

Jimin’s nerves were on 100. He didn’t know why he wanted to leave so badly. Parties were his stomping grounds, right? What exactly was he so afraid of? Had you really knocked him off his mojo that badly?

Taehyung could also see the way Jimin was reacting and he didn’t like it. While he didn’t always agree with Jimin’s lifestyle, that didn’t mean he wanted him to change. This new reclusive and jumpy Jimin was not the man he’s known since childhood. Something definitely happened with that girl he went with a while ago but what?

Scanning the small party, Taehyung spotted a group of girls all laughing and enjoying drinks. One of them glanced over, making eye contact with Taehyung, her lashes fluttering in a flirty way.

Taehyung nudged a slumped down Jimin with his elbow, motioning to the girls. “Look. She’s cute, huh? Why don’t you go talk to her?”

Jimin looked in that direction, finding all of the girls looking now, their giggles ringing out when he made contact. Judging by their intimate touches between each other, they were definitely down for some girl on girl action. Normally, he would have already made his way over to see if a foursome was in the cards but now, that didn’t seem plausible. Ugh, past him would be beating his ass for turning down a potential opportunity to sleep with 3 girls at once.

“Are you a fucking idiot?! Look! They’re practically in kissing distance of one another! You could get between all that!”

Jimin sighed, averting his eyes and sipping his beer. He just wasn’t in the mood tonight. He appreciated Taehyung for his attempts but he just doesn’t think he could-

OH SHIT!

Jimin’s beer clattered to the floor, his hands coming up to cover his face with his leather jacket. Taehyung startled at Jimin’s sudden movement, eyebrow raising at the sight of Jimin attempting to hide himself. What the hell was going on?

“What’s wrong?” Taehyung probed with a frown, looking around at what could be causing Jimin’s turtle act.

Jimin’s heart was going crazy in his chest, his mind racing as he tried to will himself to turn invisible.

This is not happening right now, his wild mind thought.

You were here. You were ACTUALLY here! Even through his panic, he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful you looked; a white shirt paired with a olive green overall skirt that hugged your curves in a delicious way, cute lace up heels on your feet. Your hair was still straight and black but this time was styled up into a simple ponytail.

He knew something was telling him not to leave the house! Just what were the chances that you’d appear at the exact same party he was at? He was relieved that this was a smaller party since he doubted you would even hang out at places like this but it was like the universe was conspiring against him. Had all of his bad deeds finally caught up to bite him on the ass? He thought stopping that lifestyle would bring him some good luck but he guessed he was wrong. So very very wrong.

It was bad enough that you were in the same vicinity as him but what was even worse was the piece of man candy you had on your arm. Who the hell was that?!

No time to think about that now! Jimin has to get the hell out of here. “Tae, we have to leave. Now.”

“Wha-why? Are you feeling okay?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. We just need to leave.” He rushed out panicked, eyes working overtime trying to map out an escape route. That was becoming hard though since you and this guy had positioned yourself next to the alcohol area which was right by the door. And this space was very open which means he could see the entire room. Any chance of leaving unseen would be practically impossible.

Should he just wait it out and hope you don’t notice him and then he could sneak out? Or should he just risk you seeing him and race out now? Both posed a possibility of you noticing him and of him having a heart attack.

And of course, luck was not on his damn side because Jungkook and Lila made their way over to them with Hoseok in tow. The loud men crashed down onto the empty couches around the small coffee table and Jimin could have pulled all his hair out. Did they have to bring all of that over here?!

“Whoa Park Jimin? I wasn’t expecting you to come here. You’re normally at a club or a bar!” Hoseok loudly bellowed with a bright smile. Jimin winced at how loudly Hoseok announced his name.

Nervously chuckling, Jimin croaked out a, “yeah…..strange, isn’t it?”

“But hey, don’t worry. There’s some totally hot trim here. See those girls over there?” Hoseok motioned behind them over to 3 women Taehyung pointed out earlier. “They’re always down for a foursome.”

I fucking knew it! Go over there, you sad sack of shit!

“Ah yeah. Maybe.”

“Hey is that Namjoon?” Jungkook observed, squinting his eyes to confirm if it was really the person he thought it was. Raising his hand, he called out, “Yo, Namjoon!”

And you wouldn’t believe who Namjoon fucking was! YEAH! It was the guy you had arrived with! Had all of Jimin’s bad luck he’ll ever accumulate over his life gathered right now to royally fuck him over?

Namjoon looked up from your eyes, looking in the direction of where his name was being called from. A smile spreading across his face at the familiar sight of his friends. He said something to you before BOTH OF YOU began making your way to their small group.

Yup, the universe was definitely pointing their fingers and laughing at him right now.

You and Namjoon reached their group, Hoseok and Jungkook standing to give him a handshake/hug.

“Hobi this party is pretty tame, even for you. Did daddy’s credit card finally hit its limit?”

Hoseok cackled, not at all offended by Namjoon’s joke. “Nah but the campus police have. That last party caused someone to break their arm so I’m on a warning. Gotta keep it lowkey, you know?”

“True. Thanks for the invite anyway. I hope it’s okay that I brought a friend.”

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

“This is y/n.”

You waved at the group, eyes flittering over Jimin who was still trying incredibly hard to make himself invisible. Grinning, you purred, “It’s a pleasure.”

Jimin shivered at the sound of your voice, that same voice that whispered in his ear as you rode him into oblivion just weeks ago. It’s been haunting his dreams(both wet ones and daydreams) ever since you put him out and now that it was filling his ears once again, it felt 10 times more impactful and nerve racking. As if your presence wasn’t already sending him into a manic spiral, now he had to hear that seductive voice? And he just knew you were staring him down with those piercing eyes.

Everything felt too out of control. Jimin needed to leave.

Taehyung glanced from Jimin to you a few times before he finally remembered who you were.

“Hey, aren’t you Yoongi’s friend?”

Jimin’s eyes widened so much that they could have bulged out of his head like a Looney Toons cartoon. Shut the hell up! Out of all the times for Taehyung’s loner ass to be confident enough to start conversation, it had to be now!?

Moving your gaze from Jimin to Taehyung, you answered, “I am. What a small world. I think I remember you from the bar.”

“I was there too!” Jungkook announced while excitedly waving his hand which made everyone laugh. Except Jimin who didn’t find anything funny.

Namjoon and you went to sit down on the couch next to Hoseok which was right across from Jimin and Taehyung.

Thankfully, Hoseok bounced the conversation somewhere else which meant they didn’t have to recount what happened in the bar. Jimin knew Taehyung and probably Jungkook knew that he went home with you but he was grateful neither of them mentioned it.

The redirected conversation gave Jimin an opportunity to not obsess over you and Namjoon getting cozy just across from him.

With your leg tossed over Namjoon’s, you leaned forward to whisper something in his ear, dimples indenting his cheeks at whatever you said. His hand stroked up and down your leg, sometimes playing with the hem of your skirt.

Jimin’s own leg bounced up and down, a strange feeling bubbling in his belly as he watched you two. It felt different than anything else he’s ever felt before.

Something hotter. Something intense. Something ugly.

The feeling rose with every caress, every giggle, every light kiss you shared with Namjoon. And when you locked eyes with Jimin as Namjoon whispered in your ear, that’s when he realized what it was.

Envy.

Staring directly at Jimin with that annoying ass smirk, you continued to exchange heavy pets with Namjoon. It was like you were taunting him, dangling a carrot right in front of his face and then swiping it away.

Your gaze said it all.

You can’t have me.

Suddenly standing to his feet, he stalked out away from the group and out the door.

The others were confused by his sudden departure.

“Is he okay?” Hoseok asked Taehyung who frowned.

“I don’t know. I’ll go see. I’ll catch you guys later.” After a chorus of goodbyes, Taehyung followed Jimin out. He looked around once he made it outside, finding Jimin’s receding figure walking down the street. “Jimin! Wait!”

But Jimin didn’t stop, hands stuffed in his pockets and mouth mumbling various curses about you and Namjoon. What the hell was wrong with him? He had finally managed to convince himself that he had forgotten about you and that you didn’t affect him anymore but just the sight of you with another man had crumbled any semblance of control he thought he had. You had barely done anything and you had him acting like this.

Taehyung eventually caught up with his friend, extending his stride to keep up with him.

“Hey what’s up?”

Jimin shook his head, eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown. “Just leave it, Taehyung. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Somethings going on with you. I can’t just leave it when it has you acting so strange and it’s not good for you to repress whatever you’re feeling. You can talk to me.”

“I said drop it.” Jimin seethed.

“But-“

Jimin finally snapped, abruptly stopping and whipping around to face Taehyung. “God damn it, Taehyung! Fine, you want to know what’s happening? y/n and I had sex and it was so fucking amazing that I can stop thinking about her! But apparently she has that same only fuck once rule that I have and it’s driving me fucking crazy!” He tugged at his hair, breath speeding up as he finally ranted about what’s been bothering him. “I’ve been avoiding going out because she absolutely wrecked me and I can’t even think about sex with anyone else! I also wanted to avoid seeing her since I know she hangs around the college bars and clubs. Then she just had to show up tonight with a new guy. It was just too much, Tae.”

His tone softened towards the end, his anger dissipating into the soul crushing reality that you really had a hold over him.

Taehyung sighed. He honestly didn’t really know what to do or say. This was a situation he’s never been confronted with and he was sure he could say the same for Jimin. He’s never seen his friend be so torn up over a girl. Admittedly, it did seem a little shallow since Jimin was just acting like this over good sex but who was Taehyung to invalidate anyone’s feelings?

“Look, it was one time. I understand it was really good but you can’t act like this over one girl, especially one you don’t really like. It was just sex. It’s not like you’re dating or pursuing a relationship. I suggest you just forget about her.”

Jimin paused.

Wait a second. Taehyung was right, you two weren’t dating nor was Jimin pursuing you. Why didn’t you date? Yoongi didn’t know and you’ve been friends with him for a while so why? He knows Yoongi told him to just leave you alone but he just couldn’t.

Jimin was going to break you. He was going to figure out what made you tick, how to dismantle that cool facade you kept on, and he was going to make you break all of your own rules.

[nonbinarypirat]

One thing I really can’t wait for in the story is for Iruma to put his own spin on archery. Because like Bachiko has repeated, for the most part he has mostly been copying her. Now granted, he’s been mimicking her beautifully and fabulously and it made me happy to see him do a similar move in the Evidol games BUT he’s still replicating all her moves. Which makes sense, he’s still learning, sharping his skills, and he heavily admires his teacher. When you are learning from someone you are of course going to try an match them. There’s no shame in that. But as we have seen throughout the story so far, the students learn to use their abilities to match their personality and become stronger. The main two ways the misfit class have learned new ways to use their abilities is through education (harvest festival, Opera’s lessons, overachiever Asmodeus) and situational circumstances (Purson pushing his invisibility, Iruma's four arrow shot, Iruma's cat mana eating creature).

I think we will see both ways portrayed in Iruma learning new skills but I am personally hoping for a slight leaning towards education while still having him think on the fly new ways to push his archery and magic. And that got me thinking what moves Iruma may learn going forward that feels both doable and fitting for his character. Since the second semester is apparently focused on getting better at magic and a special move, it feels fitting to guess what we may see from Iruma in the future. All of these are archery related ideas for Iruma but I do think he could also have a magical special outside of archery too (after all he did transform Ali-san into a giant mana eating creature and I doubt many can do something similar), I just haven’t thought of a good one for him yet since the possibilities would be too broad. For now though, these are the ideas I have for him.

Scatter shot/friend protection shots: I think a likely special move could be a scatter shot ability where he shoots a bunch of arrows into the air and they all hit their targets. This already matches the cannon arrow shot he did at the Evidol Games with four arrows at once since the targets were at different locations, granted close to each other. This would be different from what we have seen from the Bachiko family ability thus far where they can shoot at one target and never miss, even with a 10,000 arrows (at least that’s the case for the former chief). Granted, they have honed their skills as archers so this probably within their wheelhouse but it’s not their speciality. With this ability, there could be many targets at different locations and yet he could take them all out at once. Which could be doubled as a friend saving move where his friends in the crowd but the arrows only hit their targets. Like a combination of Gaap’s ally wind save and Bachiko’s 100 arrow shot. Fitting of Iruma who loves the bow and arrow because it enables him to protect his friends in a way only he can.

I was also thinking this can be used on a single enemy too if he wanted to hit multiple parts of their body all at once. Kind of like the arrow pin move at The Heartbreaker except the arrows are being fired at the same time. No more wasting time for the next arrow fire when you can do it all together. This would require so much focus and precision because if he was off by even a millimeter, he could accidentally puncher a vital organ instead of halting the opponents movements (unless he was aiming for multiple weak points all at once). And of course, the friend saving part of it would require even MORE concentration and spacial awareness because well... he obviously wouldn't want to kill a friend on accident.

Arrow blast/transformation: I was also thinking that since he has become really efficient at transformation magic maybe it would be possible to combine the arrow magic and transformation magic to turn his arrows into some sort of bomb upon impact. Or it transforms in some way after fire. This one has plenty of potential and is also a fairly common archery hero move so there's def precedent in this move. I have a lot of ideas, it could be a bomb or mana blast. Maybe somehow transform into a creature? I was thinking this based on Robin's bow ability that, while it's just an arrow, is shaped like a bird. But what if it was more creature connected? I don't know if this ability would fully fit Iruma but I think it's a neat concept!

Mana Absorption Fire: A combination of Ali-san's and Iruma's magic, the ability to steal mana from their victim. This would be helpful since it could continously power Iruma to fire more arrows as long as he has feathers. I don't know exactly how this would work from a magic science stand point, but I presume maybe a portion of Ali would be imbued into the shot making it possible. Think Clara's toy box but more in the face about how dangerous it is. This would rule as a power because it not only hurts the target, it would also weaken them magically. And in the netherworld, this esentially halts them in their tracks if they are physically and magically hurt. Now granted, I imagine for more powerful enemies it would take a bunch of arrow shots to mark a significant dent in their magic. And how much magic could be gained from the shot would greatly depend on Iruma and Ali. But still a great concept I think since it would fit with the gluttonous theme when it comes to Iruma.

I have had this in my drafts for a long ass time and decided to fully release it to the world tehe. Before I make any new posts I wanted to get rid of some old ones I’ve had saved. Hope you liked this magic ideas post, if I come up with more I’ll be sure to post a second one. Also, if you have any more ideas or powers he could learn (attack or passive) feel free to comment them!

[moltenwrites]

Writing interview tag!

Ohoho this one is exciting! Thanks @the-letterbox-archives for the tags. Your answers were sick, it was a very interesting read. This one is a long one, but the goal is to answer a LOT of questions. A empty list will be at the bottom with the tags!

About me

When did you start writing?

Oo im not sure? I started “ seriously “ writing a couple of years ago when I took a writing class, but I wouldn’t say I was really a “ writer “ untill I started working on How Our World Ended a few years ago

Are there different genres or themes you enjoy reading other than the ones you write?

Oh 100% I haven’t been reading that much lately, but I mostly read horror and mystery. While I sneak in horror sometimes, I’ve never really been compelled to write a mystery story

Is there an author you want to emulate, or are compared to often?

If I’m honest, no to both of those. I have authors I love, but i have my own thing. And people don’t compare me to any author. Weither that’s good or bad is up to you I guess

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I write with my old, shitty Chromebook on my bed with my pillow propped up as a back rest. My PC keyboard is very loud and just not too fun to write with, and I despise writing on mobile. If I’m in the mood, I turn on some music and get to work

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I’m gonna answer this question in two different ways, how I get inspiration for ideas, and how I get in the writing vibe. For the first, it’s honestly just seeing something I like and going “ I wanna do that “ or listening to a song while some grand story plays out in my head. For ACTUALLY writing, that’s tricky. I normally write late, but if a friend is up talking about whatever thing ive really liked as of late can help. Thinking ahead to scenes I’m excited to write helps, especially when I listen to music that I tie to those moments.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and/or places you write about?

I mean, I’m sure they did subconsciously somehow- but I tend to write in fantasy, and my suburban ass life doesn’t really lend to my ideas well. Though I will say, my moms fondness for museums has inspired Paintings a good bit

Are there any reoccurring themes in your writing? If so, do they surprise you?

Yeah, a good few. I’d say grief, and how it impacts people is the most prevalent theme across my stories. This is a bit surprising since I’ve ( fortunately ) not lost too many people in my life

Characters:

would you please tell me about your current favorite character?

Oo this one is HARD. I can pick my favorite for each story easily but OVERALL is really hard. I’m torn between Lars from Souls Collide, or The Artist from How Our World Ended. Both characters mean so much to me, and I’d say those two are the characters I’ve made with the most depth. Ughh this is difficult. I guess I’ll say Lars for now, just because of how prevalent and important to me he’s been

Also I know it’s not what the question is asking, but my favorite character that I DIDNT make is Sunny from OMORI

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

I think I’d vibe with most of the souls collide cast, considering they were initially based off of people I knew. I also think I’d get along with Asim and Astera from Paintings, along with Lyra and Val from How Our World Ended.

which characters would you dislike the most of you met them?

Oh god most of them. I write TERRIBLE people. Samaueal would just kill me- I’d hate Nelios, he’s a dick, Ryder from Souls Collide was based off of a person I disliked in real life, Salazar is pretentious and WOULD kill me, Dimitri is the worst- I can go on. But the worst is Samaueal, considering he would just kill me for the hell of it

Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters?

It’s real weird. I either see something I like, and want to steal it in some way, so i base a character off of them. Asim and Astera are heavily influenced by Mary and Reginald from Cemetery Mary, Hart is inspired by Walter White, the whole council was inspired by the organization from Kingdom Hearts. But for characters I didn’t partially steal, it mostly just comes to me when listening to music. Some characters were also created out of necessity, and evolved far past that.

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

Yup. I tend to write certain types of characters very formally, my protags are often shaken by one particularly harrowing event, and they almost all have some sort of huge internal fight with themselves.

How do you picture your characters?

It depends! Most of the time, I imagine every character in the style I wanted Souls Collide to be, but for certain scenes ( especially fights with Res ) I see it in live action.

My writing:

what’s your reason for writing?

I have a whole lotta ideas and gotta get them out SOMEHOW.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment from readers that you find particularly motivating?

Literally anything positive anyone says makes my day. You all have been more supportive than irl friends. But the things that make my day are either people predicting what comes next in private circles, and for comments here, saying that people like a character or are interested in a story makes me beam. I will die if I ever get fan art ( in a good way )

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

However they wanna. You don’t have to see me any way, but I’ve tried to be a positive force here, so I guess that.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I don’t wanna sound egotistical, but my ideas are really cool ( at least I think so )

What have you been told is your greatest strength as a writer is by others?

I’ve been told that what I can do is impressive. I remember one specific interaction about the artist that was incredibly kind.

How do you feel about your own writing?

It depends. I’m incredibly proud of my recent work. I love how Paintings is coming along, and I think the laster chapters of How Our World Ended are the best things I’ve ever written. Anything over two years old is dogshit though, I was in physical pain rereading the first draft of chapter 4

If you were the last person on earth, would you still write?

Gonna be real, don’t think I’d live. But in the event I continued living for whatever reason, maybe? I don’t know, that’s a hard ass question.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, do you write purely for yourself, or is it a mix of both?

I write plots entirely for myself, but I try to thing about what issues there are with my plot from a readers perspective. Idk if that sounds crazy, but thinking about stuff from an outsider perspective can be helpful in editing.

Annnd that’s all, this took me life half an hour wow. Here’s the question list ( It’s unspaced so fellow mobile users can actually copy it all ) Thanks for reading it all, if you did, it’s a super fun exercise!

About meWhen did you start writing?Are there different genres or themes you enjoy reading other than the ones you write?Is there an author you want to emulate, or are compared to often?can you tell me a bit about your writing space? What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and/or places you write about?Are there any reoccurring themes in your writing? If so, do they surprise you?Characters: would you please tell me about your current favorite character? Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?which characters would you dislike the most of you met them?Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters? Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?How do you picture your characters? My writing: what’s your reason for writing?Is there any specific comment or type of comment from readers that you find particularly motivating? How do you want to be thought about by your readers?What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?have you been told is your greatest strength as a writer is by others?How do you feel about your own writing?If you were the last person on earth, would you still write?When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, do you write purely for yourself, or is it a mix of both?

Annnnd tag list!

@thatuselesshuman @ddgraywrites @jjoneswriting @revenantlore @aintgonnatakethis @yourpenpaldee @illarian-rambling @autism-purgatory @the-letterbox-archives @theverumproject @gioiaalbanoart @noxxytocin @joseph-hooser @mk-writes-stuff @yrndrgn @wyked-ao3

+ Open, as always

[ectonurites]

I haven’t been keeping up with current dc comics, what’s happened with Kon? I keep seeing people talk about it but it’s all vague

Basically, Kon had a really fun and overall good mini called Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow which ended this week. This book ended with Kon in a good place and having really seemed to find his place in the world again after the rough last several years (since getting reintroduced in YJ 2019 into a world that didn't remember him) he's had. That book ended technically last week via digital release, but this week in terms of the physical release.

But then... also this week... we found out via a Bleeding Cool article on Sunday that there was going to be a backup story featuring Kon in Action Comics this week which... suddenly made Kon/M'gann—a ship that originated in the Young Justice cartoon which has literally nothing to do with main continuity comics, a ship between two characters who have barely if ever spoken a fucking word to one another in actual main continuity—be dating. With absolutely no build up.

Queue people being concerned/stressed/angry/etc etc. And now today the issue dropped. And well it's just as bad as it seemed like it was going to be.

It basically just... manages to mention Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow while also regressing Kon back as if the development he had in that book hadn't happened at all, have Kon be ridiculously rude to Ma Kent out of nowhere in a way he never has been before (like... even the at-many-times bratty Superboy '94 era Kon wasn't like that towards her! it is seriously out of nowhere i am utterly fucking baffled), stick him back in fucking high school again (as if YJ 2019 hadn't... had him explicitly on page decide he was done with that and done with just trying to be a carbon copy of Clark BEFORE he even got sent to Gemworld!), and just have a poor grasp on his current history/his personality/his voice as a character imo.

I have seen several people point out that the writer of this backup story doesn't actually have anything else with Kon currently slated so it's very possible that other books may not really be paying all that much mind/attention to this story/the characterization/choices in it, and so while it's frustrating that it exists it could in the end not have the biggest impact on things in the long term, but it's still just... wow. It feels like such a slap in the face after Superboy: Man of Tomorrow, I can tell ya that.

And like... one thing I do want to note, is that in the comments the writer has made about this story on twitter, she's made it clear part of what she was going for here is trying to approach who Kon could be outside of/after Superboy... but I simply do not think undoing the character work that was literally just done with him is the right way to approach that. I think from where things left off in Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow one could easily have started to ask those sorts of questions and approach that subject without backtracking and random retcons and OOC behavior which all make it really frustrating to read for longtime fans of the character.

[samobservessonic]

Stringer and Casanovas are taking the main story today, as after the long S3&K arc (which might just be one of the coolest arcs I’ve ever read), we turn to a oneshot story for a bit of a breather

Robotnik seems to have quickly gotten over his injuries in the last issue and got Grimer to work on yet another badnik to throw at Sonic. Also, I have to admit that I forget Robotnik’s base is in the Special Zone unless they directly mention it. Wonder if they can hear Knuckles and Mighty fighting across the galaxies out the window

So we get this robot who doesn’t look that much different from the other trooper robots, but can apparently predict Sonic’s every move. And like, not to be a downer, but this was exactly what I was saying I haven’t really been enjoying from StC when it comes to these robots. They tend to not be too exciting when they ignore the game designs and just do a generic robot design. This is a “your mileage may vary” thing, I know, it just doesn’t do anything for me personally

After a bit more villain talk we switch to the Floating Island, where Sonic is predictably not enjoying the quiet life. I have to admit that I didn’t think the Freedom Fighters would be staying there along with the rest of the people from Emerald Hill. I assume that doesn’t last long and they return to the ground to protect the rest of Mobius, but for now, they’re here

Oh no Amy, Sonic isn’t jealous of Knuckles. In fact, he’s very impressed by him and it’s important to Sonic that Knuckles is impressed with Sonic in return. Trust me, that’s the vibe he’s been giving off since Knuckles’s introduction

Porker also thinks Knuckles is pretty heroic. Enough so that maybe Porker will consider being his roommate in future

Oh, and the robot is here

Casanovas was like “It’s really important this one mushroom is the focal point of the entire page”

Also, poor Amy with that 99% certainty she’d protect Sonic :’(

Knuckles also makes a surprise appearance, but Predicto predicted that as well

Not that it matters, since it takes Sonic only slightly less time to figure out how to win than he did to figure out that Tonic was Metamorphia a couple of issues ago

Robot’s gone

Once again, Sonic leaves Knuckles feeling more than unimpressed with him. You can almost feel his internal panic when Amy points out that Knuckles will never like him

Okay, so I know I wasn’t really enthusiastic about this story, but it was fine! I am the sort of person who likes to have breather stories after a big arc, because I think it’s both good for character development and helps to give the big stories more impact. When you go from crisis to crisis, they lose their punch after a while. So I’m not saying this oneshot needed to be the most amazing thing ever, it’s just that I think there’s probably a reason I’ve not heard of it prior to today

Also, if I’m going to be a nitpicker, I guess this means the force field from the Super Emeralds isn’t so good at keeping badniks out after all?

[loveisfriendship]

Leaving Breadcrumbs behind [11/?]

Author’s Note: Hello all, after ages I have come back to writing. I feel like my brain fog is lifting slowly but surely. I have made some life changes, like working out more but also I stopped taking my contraception. And holy shit, my mind and my body are changing. I cannot describe it another way than my brain fog lifting. And suddenly there are words flying out of my fingers again.

And while rereading this story I have realized that I switched the perspective at some point without realizing :D But it feels more natural like this. And let’s not talk about time lapses and where everyone ends up and if its realistic. I am in too deep to make it right :D

I hope the tag list is still up to date and I haven’t missed anyone. If so, please send me message.

It feels good and relaxing to write again. And I am in desperate need of a hobby again.

Anyway…

Enjoy.

Love,

Lis

Previously….

“You stupid thing. What did you do?” he asks as he cups your face in his hands smiling at you and you immediately tear up.

“A lot. And it cost me a lot as well.” You cry, as he embraces you in his arms and you just cry.

You two stayed like that for a while. On the one side you are relieved that you have reached your brother and that he is alive. And he can walk, so he is not as bad in shape as you thought. On the other hand you cry even more about how you reached him in the first place.

He pulls back and cups your face in his hands again, wiping away the tears with his thumb.

“I can’t believe you are here.” He says and smiles at you. You smile back and also raise your hands to his head. You go through his hair and look into the eyes you have missed so much.

“I can’t believe you are alive.” You say, going over the beard that grew, indicating just how long he must be captured. But the mention of his being alive makes his face form a confused look.

“What do you mean alive?” he asks as he helps you stand up to your feet. You dust yourself off and take a look around the room. A small window and sand everywhere, but nothing else. Thick concrete walls surround you and a heavy and rusty metal door behind you. You focus on the person in front of you again and look him up and down. He still looks beaten and has aged a lot. He is thin and completely out of his SEAL shape. But he can stand and walk and talk and that is important.

“I thought you were dead. We all did. After we split on that mission… Even the Nacy pronounced you dead. We couldn’t find you, and believe me I tried everything I could. But there was no trace from you.” You say and send him a sad smile, suppressing the urge to cry again and fall in his arms. You need to focus. There will be enough time later to catch up…maybe.

“Really? That’s why I have been stuck all this time here?” he asks, realizing the impact of your words.

“Yes, I’m so sorry JJ. If I would have known you were still alive… I would have never stopped looking.” You answer, taking his hands into yours. He grabs them and looks at them.

“Were you married?” he asks, raising his eyebrows at you. You heart stops a beat at the word married.

“No…” you gulp, taking a deep, shaky breath. “But I was engaged until yesterday.” You whisper, looking at your hand and realizing what he saw…

The tan line where your ring used to be.

Back on Hawaii…

Whenever there is nothing to discuss and everyone is going after hints and trying to get information, all Steve does in look at the dot on the screen. The dot that resembles you. Somewhere deep in a jungle. Kono is scanning the area right now, trying to get pictures that are up to date. Joe is still trying to get someone from the Navy to HQ, getting more and more pissed and irritated. Chin, Danny and Lou left a while ago to check all relevant houses for more clues. Steve has a feeling though, that there is nothing more to find. What else could there be? He would love to be on his way there now, but the 48h are not over yet.

He took your engagement ring and put it on a necklace to wear. He wants to have it with him, to give it back to you, as soon as he can. All the clues you left and the fake death certificate are scattered on his desk. He can’t imagine, what you might be feeling, thinking that he is dead. Or maybe he can? He has basically lost you, too. Has not certainty if you survive and if he gets to you in time.

Steve is pulled out of his thoughts when his phone rings.

“McGarrett.”

“Steve, hi, here is Hawkeye.” Dr. Pierce answer.

“Hi Hawkeye, what can I do for you?” Steve asks, hoping there is anything helpful for your case.

“I remembered something. (Y/N) left me a password.”

“A password? For what?” Steve sits up straight in his chair.

“I don’t know. She just wrote down a word in her file. I have no idea what it is for.”

“What’s the word?”

“Waterloo.”

As Steve hears that word, there is slight twitch on his lips to a smile. Waterloo is an insider between the two of you. It’s not about the word or history, but actually about the song from ABBA. You always called Steve your waterloo.

“Thank you, Hawkeye.” Steve says softly,

“Do you know what it could be for?”

“No, but we will figure it out.”

“Okay, good luck then.” Hawkeye says and both say their goodbyes.

LBB Taglist: @geeksareunique @fandomoniumflurry @rahma29417 @letsstarsfalling @fairchild21 @fungk17 @woodworthit666 @honestlyoriginalthing @evyiionee @everygoodusernameistaken16 @littlewhiterose @reincarnated-ghost @damedoctoroftardis-blog @princess76179 @jessica-tree @writingsmeow29 @drakelover78 @kalanimcgarrett @mercyy98 @auttumnsayshi @nocturnalherb16

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Ghost Stories

How do your characters think the dead interact with the living?

Note, this doesn’t have to have anything to do with how ghosts actually exist in your world. If they exist. You can leave that an open question. But as far back as we’ve got written words to recount it, people have believed the dead may linger, for good or ill. Some cultures placate the dead. Some chase them off. And some think that if the dead appear, something has gone wrong.

The stories we tell about just what is wrong, and what a living person should do to fix it, say a lot about a culture.

Take the Phantom Hitchhiker. If you haven’t heard the story, a recap: A traveler stops for a stranger along the way, asks their destination, and tries to take them there. Only to find that the hitchhiker has vanished. (A scarf or other object may or may not be left behind.) Upon investigating, the spooked traveler discovers their passenger was Dead All Along.

These stories turn up over and over, and have taken on a new and unhappy feature when it comes to taxicab companies. When you make your living off your fares, to have one vanish before the end of the trip... well. It has a financial impact. In some places - notably, the area around Fukushima, Japan, and New Orleans, Louisiana - it has a significant impact.

The response in each place is very different.

Near Fukushima, the reaction has apparently been to proceed to the destination and chalk it up to doing the ghosts a good turn. In New Orleans? They say there are places the cabs will not pick up fares after dark, no matter who waves them down. Possibly because while in America we might say death clears all debts, that doesn’t mean if you’re already dead you get to run up a new tab!

Though honestly, this might not be so much cultural as having to do with length of exposure. Fukushima’s only had this problem since 2011. New Orleans, on the other hand, has had to deal with well over two centuries of honest cabdrivers getting stiffed by the stiffs. It may have left them a bit peeved.

How a culture responds to the perceived needs of the dead is often a reflection on how it treats the living. Consider how your characters treat each other. Consider what you want your readers to know. And realize you don’t have to show a culture’s good and bad points all in blatant detail if you show some of it through their stories.

Besides. Who doesn’t love a good ghost story?

[sincerely-sofie]

Ruby anon again! I’m glad that I haven’t been interrupting your creative process or intervening at all. I can’t wait to see what you do with Ruby and her siblings!

The siblings, btw, were a piece of work for me to write and develop until I decided to peace out on really doing anything with them. The only two things I remember about them really are:

• They’re bounty hunters and their parents did the same thing to them that they’re doing with Ruby. They’re repeating behavior taught to them and they legitimately think they’re helping Ruby. I scrapped that idea quickly because I felt like that could push out the problematic “the abused become abusers” message and that it could possibly make the siblings sympathetic, and I did not want to make them sympathetic in even the slightest way. Anything I had involving the backstory of Ruby’s siblings and/or what happened to their parents was just tossed out after that.

• I thought about the siblings having opposite personalities and looks: one is more loud and aggressive and the other is more quiet and passive aggressive. One is shiny while the other is not. One is the physical abuser while the other is the emotional abuser. Despite their personalities contrasting, they get along well with each other. I wanted it to symbolize that abuse can look different, but it’s still abuse and can often come with other forms of it. I was still on the fence about that idea because I wasn’t sure if I liked it.

I hope you can write the siblings better than I ever could. I can’t wait to see more of your work! It’s amazing! I hope you have a good night. ^^

OHHHHH MY WORD I CAN’T BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW AMAZING THESE NOTES ARE AND HOW EXCITED I AM TO INCORPORATE THEM

I love the idea of the siblings embodying different forms of abuse and the significance of how their differences ultimately play off each other in a way that they get along swimmingly. That’s a brilliantly layered piece of storytelling, you’re a genius! And thank you for the compliment, you’re super sweet :>

Real quick, an important thing to note about the possible problematic message that “the abused become abusers”— it’s a heartbreaking fact that many cases of abuse are generational in origin. The documented fact that domestic abusers are frequently victims of corporal punishment is one of the most devastating examples of this. To write a couple of characters who reflect this fact doesn’t automatically push out the idea that the abused become abusers— heck, it could be written as an important insight into the devastating effects of abuse and how it impacts its victims, and how breaking the chain of abuse is even more significant than its already seen.

Just because you write a reason for a character to be a horrible person doesn’t mean they’re automatically sympathetic, or even that they’re sympathetic in a bad way. Villains people can relate to are very powerful from a writing perspective because they make the reader stop, stare into the abyss, and see it staring back at them. A sympathetic or “understandable” villain who is still clearly villainous is terrifying compared to one that’s cartoonish pure evil. I can’t think of anyone who wants to blow up the universe, but I can think of a good few people who are xenophobic to the point of dehumanizing even themselves through their hatred. An origin story isn’t always an excuse. Sometimes it’s nothing more than an explanation— a cautionary tale that says “this could be you, so watch yourself.”

The fact that this is a possible backstory for Ruby and her older siblings is very relevant to Twig’s character in particular. I haven’t talked about Twig’s aunt Rue or mother Rowan’s backstories very much, but Rue was very similar to Twig while growing up— and Twig resembles Rue as a child more than she does her own mother. In a piece I haven’t finished yet, there’s a flashback that reveals the lighter that featured so heavily in the abuse Twig suffered is printed with her grandfather’s initials. Ruby and Twig could talk for hours, I think, about the torrential emotions that come from knowing your tormentor was a victim as well.

[crescencestudio]

Intertwine!! WOW - you and your team did such an amazing, stunning, stellar, fantastic job. This story is going to stick with me for a while. it is also SO inspiring to know something so powerful can be created in so short a time period. You devs are absolutely crazy haha (but in a good way).

I've been eyeing some of the other Jam submissions, but... but there are so many. Are there any you have played and would personally recommend? Ideally with similar themes or softer stories?

ahhh thank you so much anon!!!!! i’m so happy it left an impact like that :’) i hope it leaves u with the happiest, warmest feelings <3 and yes! i was rly excited about otojam bc it would be this little story and experience that had to be contained within two months (in complete opposition to alaris which has taken eons). i would recommend a jam for any creative person it’s such a fun, helpful way of pushing urself to see what u can create in as little time as possible 💖

there are a lot of otojam submissions this year. very much like a little christmas for our community haha ^^

i haven’t gotten a chance to check out many bc catching up with work and resting but the ones that have caught my eye that might be in a similar genre are:

Project Blue

Silhouette (this one is very high on my list. i love another game this team has put out and this particular game looks very light hearted and fun/sweet!)

LyteLove

Potion Panik

Between: Stardust Rail (haven’t seen a lot of ppl talking about this one but the art is extremely pretty and soft!)

When the Wind Blew You Away (in terms of “softness” i’d say this game seems closest to intertwine! it seems to explore some of those softer, longing, intimate parts of love)

[alangdorf]

Aaaaand next off the checklist is Manager Magolor, it seems! I feel the need to clarify this is a while post-RtDL and most likely post-Star Allies too (and probably post-much-needed-therapy) given the temporally anomalous nature of Merry Magoland.

I also feel the need to clarify something weird I said in the initial theory post, even though it most likely goes without saying given some of the design decisions I made here and the sheer power of saying “you know what I mean”, but I think I finally have my thoughts coherently together about The Discourse. Going under the cut given that it is about The Discourse, and also about my personal experience with gender, transition, and internalized misogyny.

First off, if you don’t know what I mean by The Discourse, or why the heck I’m drawing Magolor as a Doomer and not a catboy, in the latter case see my previous posts, and in the former case, there was a line added in Return to Dream Land Deluxe for 100%ing the game where Magolor says he was lying about being from Halcandra. Now I’m not particularly entrenched in the Kirby fandom and generally avoid discourse, but even I’ve seen a lot of people say they think this lore addition was bad and stupid. I totally understand wanting to ignore it, given that the fanbase at large is full of Magolor likers that have elaborate headcanons about Magolor as a Halcandran, and various worldbuilding about Halcandra and the Ancients as informed by the concept. Personally, I had no previous stake in this given that the lore addition was actually the catalyst that got me to really care about Magolor in the first place, and obviously I think it’s interesting to extrapolate from.

Now, the ostensible gut reaction to finding out that Magolor has just been dressing up as an Ancient this whole time is to get really nervous about cultural appropriation. I personally think it’s likely to be more nuanced than a cut-and-dry case of an oppressor stealing from the culture of the oppressed, but given how little we actually know about the Ancients’ place in the Kirby universe both at their height and in the present day, and the fact that I myself am a white American, I’ll just cite Metal General’s RtDLdx pause screen lore, whatever the heck Grand Doomer has going on, and the short story Passing by Nella Larsen (Ok hi! Anxiety-ridden Kit from a week and a half later coming in to clarify that I’m not trying to equate funny little video game aliens to the severity of real life race struggles. As with everything please give me the benefit of the doubt in believing that I have good intentions and understand that there’s nuance but am just not the greatest at talking or thinking and I’m fighting for my life in here[my brain] ok thx bye) that I read in high school as sources for my personal thoughts, and leave the discussion on that subject there. (Oh, I also do like to think about the fact that he said he’s been studying the remnants of the Ancient civilization in Halcandra, for years, alone. Not much of anything with a concrete point to say about that though)

When I last talked about this in my theory post I said I saw it “more like uhhhh trans coding, kinda” and of course drawing this design forced me to confront the question of: now what the heck did I mean I mean by that, exactly?? Well, I thought about it more, and I realized that the much simpler thing to compare it to would be any teen coming-of-age movie where the protagonist dresses up as someone they aren’t because they don’t like who they are until they learn to accept and express themself for who they really are, though this message’s impact is often obfuscated somewhat in practice by Hollywood’s double gut-punch of beauty standards and misogyny. But as for what I was more closely reminded of when I called it trans coding, it was, as it often is, my own complicated journey with gender.

Speaking of, I realize I haven’t been very talkative on tumblr in several years, preferring to talk with close friends on discord rather than with the wider internet and you all know me as afab nb, so I suppose this is the time to come out as… cis, actually. Or rather, uh, transgender/cisgender/genderqueer/nonbinary/female. (Perhaps you can tell why I generally talk about this with people who already know me.) You know how it starts. I never really felt like I fit in with girls growing up, I held disdain for people who were “too girly”, I generally only made friends with nerdy guys, avoided wearing makeup, didn’t care overly much about how I dressed.

Then, five years ago, I discovered that being referred to as “they” made me really happy. I never experienced body dysphoria, but I liked to be able to have a flat chest sometimes. These are things that are still true about me. But feeling decoupled from the concept of womanhood, and, of course, simply growing as a person over time, allowed me to reassess my feelings and internal biases on it. I discovered I have very particular aesthetic preferences, some of which are traditionally very feminine. I started getting into fashion and sewing and started to be happy rather than ambivalent about the way I present myself. (I still don’t wear makeup barely at all.) I realized that what gender you are doesn’t have to mean anything about your particular gender presentation, and that your particular gender presentation doesn’t have to mean anything about what gender you are. I’m still addressing my own internalized misogyny every day, though I like to think I’ve gotten better about it. I’ve learned more about being queer and I’ve learned more about myself.

Over the years I’ve been slowly swinging back around to being comfortable identifying as a woman, and I’m not 100% there yet (I still have a bit of a dysphoric gut reaction to other people referring to me as female, I’ll likely always prefer they/them on the internet at least, and man oh man don’t even get me started on the religion thing. It’s even more complicated somehow and I have trouble talking about it even with close friends and family. I often feel caught between sides on a lot of things just because there’s just very few people who understand wholly where I’m coming from. For one thing, do you know how many weird reactions I’ve gotten to telling people I’m aroace and also getting married in two months? From all kinds of folks), but yeah. That’s how it is. Definitely genderqueer regardless what happens.

So uh, what the heck does any of this have to do with Maggie? I just have a relatively similar thought process regarding him. Uh, metaphorically, I mean; not necessarily with regards to gender. His gijinka designs have definitely turned out really genderqueer but as I’ve said before, this is just what happens whenever I get my little baby hands on new favorite male characters, especially given my penchant for selectively feminine aesthetics and the fact that I’ve never really learned how to draw cis men all that well. He’s also just really hard to put in pants & I wanna show the legs off, I paid money for those

Now for the million dollar question. Do I think any of my interpretation is how HAL actually intended it? Perhaps, but they seem to often leave deep lore things like this deliberately open-ended. So do I think they’re gonna actually do anything with it and make Magolor stop dressing up like an Ancient? Probably not, especially given that the lore bit is a reward for 100%ing the game, practically an easter egg at that point. Magolor is probably the one character who they’re most willing to give new outfits to, but I don’t see that extending to his mainline canon appearance. I think Kirby is a bit too much of a mascot-based franchise to comfortably depart from iconic aspects of their characters for that. They still haven’t given poor Taranza his own theme that isn’t a remix of Dedede’s, for crying out loud.

End of thoughts. Usual disclaimer that I am just one person with limited knowledge and judgement. I wanted to write out this clarification because I was worried my previous comments might look weird in isolation and because I know my Magolor headcanons are very intrinsically tied to The Discourse. It honestly kinda sucks a bit cause while it has been nice to be drawing again, I’ve also been relentlessly serotonin-seeking and I’m way too hungry for interaction & engagement on this, especially given how niche its particular appeal is. Ask box is always open but be warned I have no qualms about setting boundaries and won’t answer anything I don’t want to. Thanks for reading! - Love, Catboy “🪺” Discourse

[annonniiiiieeeee]

I just went and saw tmnt mutant mayhem and I have a lot of thoughts.

I’m going to keep this semi spoiler free incase your like me and slow to see movies.

First off it’s a great movie.

The animation was fantastic!

It’s great to see so many tmnt characters in the big screen.

The story was fun and engaging. I went with two friends who are not into the ninja turtles and they had a great time with it. One of them has a film making degree and he put it as one of his top film of the year. (Along with across the spider verse, Barbie and the dungeon and dragon movie)

It’s very friendly to new comers to the series while also being fun for long time fans. My friend walked away wanting to watch more ninja turtles so that’s a win for me.

There were some things that I personally was not a fan of. These are all nitpicks. The over all movie is wonderful.

The next three bullet points are all the same complaint.

I’m never a fan of simp characters in movies. I love romance but I don’t like when one character is so into another character that that is the only characterization you can give them. It’s fine to be a simp if there is something else to your character.

And this is hard to do in a movie with so many characters and world building. They all need motivation. Raph needs to be established as the “angry one” Donnie needs to be the “nerd” so he’s super into anime (fine) Mikey needs to be a “good ball” but what do we do with Leo? And this is a problem a lot of iterations run into. 03 does a great job with him struggling to be responsible for his brother while battle of his own demons. Rise is great because they remove Leo from the leadership position and let him develop a character. But in a two hour movie you don’t have that kind of time so interesting character needs to be established quickly and being the “stick in the mud” isn’t enough (which he does start out as a stick in the mud) so they make April the love interest.

Like I said no problem with romance or a ship. I just wish it wasn’t his only motivation when his brothers are right there. But I understand they were playing with his character and that’s a good thing, I don’t even mind the ship, I just wish it was executed better.

That is all one complaint which again other people liked it my friends laughed at it. This is just a nitpick about character writing. If it had been it’s own show I’m sure that it would have been handled differently, but movies have time constraints and they had a lot of characters to introduce.

The next nitpick is there was an uncomfortable amount of the use of the world milking. I’m going to leave it at that.

My final nitpick is that they used a LOT of modern references which is not a problem now but will date the movie when you watch it back in a few years. The references themselves are fine but it defiantly will impact the watch ability to future fans in different generations. (Again this is a nitpick)

As its own movie I’d give it a 9/10 it was super fun to go and watch. The story is unique and is a very fun take on the tmnt story.

It’s a great introduction to the franchise and will be beloved by the people. It is a great movie.

As far as it ranks in the tmnt properties though…. It wasn’t my personal favorite iteration of the turtles. Rise is definitely my number one followed by 03. MM is a great film on its own. They teased a sequel at the end and I’m sure with more installment and character growth it will grow on me but as of right now I’d rank it 3rd (mind you I haven’t watched 2012)

In the end it is a wonderful movie. You should absolutely go see it if you are a fan of the turtles.

[septima-severa]

Before the last chapter is out... A little Thrawn teaser

I need to buy myself some time to finish the behemoth called the Act Six of "I Have Fallen in Love with the Villain". This chapter is currently undergoing a heavy revision (and don't let me start on that, I have finally reached page 100 in the book Thrawn and now have this nervous twitch to rewrite the whole story, which I will of course not do). I need to connect some snippets with further writing. But most of it is finished.

Oh, and there will be a tiny chapter 7, just an epilogue, really. Or maybe it will remain as the end of a very long chapter 6. Anyway, two NSFW scenes incoming.

I was also thinking... for all those insatiable creatures out there, to extract all of the sexual scenes in a separate "work" on AO3, so you all can... enjoy yourselves later. How does that sound?

But here is the teaser I have promised:

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

“I see that my gift has arrived safely,” Morgan Elsbeth remarked when she noticed a civilian ship docked deeper within the main hangar. She was trying to match the Grand Admiral’s slower stride, being carefully watched by Captain Enoch.

“Do you consider Sabine Wren another of your… as you call them… gifts, then?” he asked cooly.

“Her capture was unplanned for, but I deemed her useful for our mission.”

“It was Baylan Skoll who brought her here, after all. She had an agreement with him, and I honoured it.” They entered one of the chambers within the walls of the Citadel used as a provisional command room while contents of the vast catacomb under the ancient stronghold were transferred on board.

“But what if she does not find Ezra Bridger?”

“She will have the opportunity to find him,” he reassured her.

“How can you –” the witch stopped herself immediately, but too late to be considered wise not to question a warlord’s strategy.

“Because I know he is alive,” you said slowly, emerging from a dark corner, your presence previously gone unnoticed. KX was shadowing each of your movements like a bodyguard – that was what you had agreed on with Thrawn prior to your decision to show up. “Hello, Morgan,” you stopped on the other side of the holo, turning your full attention to her.

“Doctor Lani Kordes. I’m glad you survived.”

“Don’t bother. We both know you aren’t.”

“Fine by me,” she smirked almost imperceptibly.

“Did you get your data?” you had figured that this person had been behind everything some time ago. The financial aid? Her doing. The hyperspace ring manufacturing, adjustments for Kingfisher? It had obviously been a prototype for some bigger scale project. You suspected that she had been involved in obtaining the file about ancient purrgil migration routes, too.

“Your… cooperation was most helpful.”

“Good. Because I would hate to repeat that experiment again. By the way…” your fingers danced over the keyboard, manipulating the holoprojection of the planet’s surface in front of you, “here are the coordinates, in case you would like to collect the black box – that is if the locals didn’t get to it first.”

“A pity, then.” That you didn’t perish upon impact. Morgan Elsbeth wasn’t easy to read. However, this thought was hovering above her head, ripe for picking.

What else was she hiding from you?

Internally, you were seething, pacing around your half like a caged loth-wolf, separated from the witch by the holo. Still, you had to manage guarding your thoughts from her prying in case she would try that with you. KX was watching you two carefully from a safe distance, prepared to interfere anytime.

“I’m surprised and impressed that the Great Mothers haven’t disposed of you.” Another lash from her.

“They’ve certainly tried.”

“You’re no longer useful to our plan.” Morgan didn’t bother to hide her disdain.

“Ask the crewmembers we were growing skin and organ replacements for,” you spat, already turning to go. “Although, you’re probably right. You should have sent a proper surgeon here instead of genetical engineer,” you said as an afterthought over your shoulder. Once you reached the entrance, two troopers loyal to Captain Enoch fell into step with you, accompanying you back to the Star Destroyer.

“Has she been truly so loyal?” the witch turned to the Grand Admiral when you left.

“She is loyal to me, and that is what matters in this game.”

[thebladeblaster]

Time for part 2 of the reverse of my original Pokémon and Vanguard crossover

Hilariously Hilbert is kinda Aichi in this situation because he’s goofing off and having a good time in the outdoors completely unaware of the supernatural zombie apocalypse going on😅.

Onto the girls 👏.

So Green is tracking down Red to drag him home. She’s accompanied by Blue and they meet Lucas pretty early into the story. Let’s just say the results are similar to when a certain other sister of a protagonist tried to bring her brother home. They both end up being a big help in the long run. Green helps with not only fending off the reverse but keeping everyone’s morale high in their dire situation. She had helped Red defeat Team Rocket though hadn’t really been too into the gym challenge. The first serious battles she had were against Team Rocket to help her brother which made her more motivated to get stronger. She was absolutely crushed when he left and honestly wants to slap him in the face for all the grief he’s caused her and her mother. It’s been 6 years that she has been searching for him and at this point it’s evolved beyond slapping to throttling him.

Lyra kinda just ends up getting blindsided by the whole invasion and gets reversed. When she is free she is able to help gather people with Green to storm the enemy. She ended up catching Suicune. She did fight Team Rocket a few times when she ran into them and helped Ethan make a fake uniform to sneak into the base.

May ends up fighting Brendan while reversed. After coming to her senses she’s pissed and wants revenge on the person responsible. She trains like crazy and is able to track them down with scent alone. She’s really good at finding stuff and survival which makes her very good in this situation. She takes down a lot of reverse fighters because she’s mad and wants all the smoke. May has always been very drawn to battling though isn’t naturally talented. After her father nearly got himself killed by a Salamence she became even more strongly motivated to become a powerful battler not only for herself but to protect her loved ones and never feel helpless again. She’s gotten to where she is though effort alone and is always preparing for the next challenge. After RSE she completed the Battle Frontier and just went on to continue competing in official tournaments.

Dawn is currently in the 1800s😅. She’s not really physically present in the story and is in flashbacks. Lucas has been lovesick for her for a while but she is as oblivious as a shonen protagonist. It also doesn’t help that Lucas has no confidence and feels like she’s out of his league. She’s had a very big impact on the people around her which has left them feeling hollow in her absence. Dawn has been missing for a few months by the beginning of the story. Overall, not too much to say because she’s not present.

Hilda like Hilbert appears WAY later. I’m still thinking up the set but she’s one of the first main characters outside of the Japanese regions to realize that something strange is going on and there’s likely a coverup. As an actor she’s been to a lot of different places which is reflected in her team. Her team is actually magical girl themed because instead of super heroes being the craze in the Pokémon world it’s actually magical girls. The role she plays is that of Mienshao Mask. Through her perspective we get to see the growing suspicions of the outside world about what’s really going on in Japan.

Their teams:

The story would start in Sinnoh with characters like Green and Blue going there for their own reasons. At first they’re just trying to find out everything they can about the reverse while avoiding getting reversed. That would shift to them launching attacks on their major hubs with the reverse rings. A turning point would be when the assault on Hoenn happens and one reverse fighter slips through. There’s other stuff in between but I haven’t ironed out all the details 😅. Eventually they find out that to end the whole thing that they need to beat Olympia which leads to the big final siege on where she’s living.

The reverse edits that I’ve made so far. Note: The characters that I have made reverse edits for aren’t confirmed. I just want to cover my bases in case I decide it later. I’m going to make reverse edits for everyone involved in story eventually whether they get one or not😅. Lyra has Suicune, Dawn has Giratina, and I’m still debating on if Hilda has Meloetta. They’re not shown on the teams for the same reason as the guys.

Overall, I tried to give each of their reverses different vibes to make them feel distinct.