#I love that second picture a lot more than I should holy fuck

[cherry-velvet-skies]

Some photos of Shirtless George™️ I have collected from Pinterest 😍💕🥰

[eyestrain-addict]

I just realized why lestat marked Tom, like the big stupid idiot I am

(I know everyone else probably already figured this out, but this is MY blog and I get to post whatever deranged thought crosses my pea brained mind.)

When I watched that scene in episode 5 where they're at the bar talking to Tom, I was confused as to why exactly. Why does Lestat mark Tom? If he's marked to kill, why does he wait almost 2 decades later? Well I realized, as all realizations come, in the shower.

Lestat has been planning on killing Tom the whole time.

(Warning before you click read more, this post is a lot longer than I first intended holy fuck)

Well not the whole time. Just right when Louis realized that Anderson and Fenwick had screwed him over. Maybe even longer if he knew it was a trick ("ridiculous of you to mix human and vampire business it always ends poorly"). Notice how he's upset with louis when he kills the guy who's microaggressive with him, cus lestat wasn't there (even if he was there I have my doubts Lestat would understand microaggressions, but he would have definitely killed him for touching Louis.) But tells Louis he's proud of him for killing Alderman. I think this has to be because he witnessed the disrespect first hand. He didn't give a fuck about the money, what he DID care about was that those two disrespected not only him, but Louis.

Even with Lestats little understanding of race relations of the time in America, he did understand hierarchys. He's from 1700s France for God's sake. It's no coincidence wanted to be king of mardi gras. Lestat came to New Orleans and saw himself as the king, even if no one knew it. And he wanted Louis to be his queen. Honestly I could make an entire other post about how Lestat almost literally saw himself as if he was a King and Louis his beloved Queen, which is why he thought it was okay for him to sleep with other women (mistresses and playthings of the king should mean nothing compared to the queen in lestats eyes) but that's getting off topic. I only bring that up because I'm trying to paint a picture of how I think Lestat sees disrespect done to Louis. To him that goes beyond disrespect or rudeness, it's irreverence.

You begin to notice if you watch scenes with them together. Because while I wouldn't say lestat is good at controlling his anger, he's definitely great at concealing it until it erupts (props to Sam Reid have to be given here) lestat is always on the verge of fury when talking to Tom. It starts as a distaste then as he begins to fall more in love with Louis and become more protective of him, his anger builds. Claudia was wrong about one thing, it was no petty slight that was the reason Lestat killed Tom first, it was a loooonng time coming.

I could list every detail I think supports this but I'm sure you get the gist by now. My main point is really the layer of complexity this adds to not only the story, the characters, but also lestat and louis' relationship. Consider it for a second, Lestat saw all his violence as justified, everything he did one can see it through the lense of him punishing the disrespectful (take a shot every time I say disrespect in this post jesus christ). "I bring death to those deserving" indeed. Lestat has a god complex out the wazoo, and every attack, torture, and death he caused was righteous to him and thus enjoyable. Louis on the other hand didn't see himself so highly. He may seem confident but if you look through the cracks it's apparent Louis's self worth in near nonexistent and he's horribly insecure. I think lestat thought when Louis was made a vampire he would see himself as Lestat saw himself, and as Lestat saw Louis. But again, another post for another time.

Despite Louis' insecurities (or perhaps because of them) louis revels in the violence lestat commits for his sake. That's probably why louis is so quick to forgive lestat about the priests. For a brief moment Lestat truly said the truth to Louis and Louis could forgive him because of it. As lestat says, he doesn't kill the priests to intimidate Louis, nor does he do it just because he enjoys it. He does it because he sees them as humiliating Louis, charlatans that don't deserve Louis' sorrow. Louis didn't want the priest's to die, but he could understand why lestat killed them, simply because for once in his goddamn life lestat told the truth, and louis loved that truth. That truth being that lestat killed and mutilated and committed such horrors not just because he liked it, but because he did it out of a fucked up sense of protection. Him killing the priests was essentially a knight killing a dragon to earn the princess' hand in marriage.

The worst part is that Lestat doesn't even realize it. Not fully anyway. Let's be honest with ourselves, lestat doesn't understand Louis. Obviously there's the race, background, culture differences that lestat doesn't understand nor seems inclined to try, but there are better posts about that made by smarter people than moi. I'm mostly talking about lestat doesn't understand louis' mind itself (louis' mind in a vacuum I suppose you could say) he understands Louis' desire for violence sure, but he doesn't understand the core of that want. Honestly I'm on the fence of if he ever understood that Louis loved it when lestat was protective in the first place. I guess it can be dumbed down to Louis wants Lestat to kill to protect Louis and to protect the family (and anyone who deeply disrepects them), lestat perhaps understood a little at one point, but since he sees everyone as a threat and everything is a slight to him, he has no trouble and qualms with delighting in the torture of people Louis views as innocent. Louis' heart is a bit dark, but ultimately human, so he's disgusted by lestats violence towards the undeserving. Lestat can no longer read Louis' mind and even if he could, Louis doesn't quite understand the difference himself (that's why he tries to hunt for criminals briefly) so the cracks of miscommunication starts to form, and neither of them even realize there is miscommunication.

Therein lies the importance of Tom Anderson for season 1. Not much of a character, more of a plot device in human skin. Claudia can see that Lestat hates him, but doesn't understand why, nor does she care to get to the depths of that. (*Mr house voice* understandable) I think it's notable that Louis rarely brought him up, he didn't understand the depths of lestats love. Nor did he know about Lestats 3 decade long grudge, all because Tom disrespected Louis.

Now I'm not excusing Lestat's actions, I just think it's interesting how this one throwaway character reveals a whole level of complexity to the relationship between him and Louis, and better sheds light on not only Lestats personal philosophy but louis' as well. Even Claudia to a degree.

Anyway, uh. End of essay. Bye.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: november 2023

hiiiii, sorry I'm late! I know we're a week past November now, but I've been busy! and struggling to pull my mental health out of an absolute crevasse! I think I've mostly made it at this point, but unfortunately my month of seasonal affective woe did leave me with a pretty paltry reading list for the month of November :/

not that I have a quota to hit, but I'm getting back into reading with a PASSION now and I'm hoping to get a few more really great novels in before the year ends!

what have I been reading?

Exquisite Corpse (published as Poppy Z. Brite, currently known as William Martin, 1996) - man, you guys know how I love a fucked up little story about some nasty freaks? this is a FUCKED UP story about the NASTIEST freaks. gay serial killer Andrew escapes a life sentence in England by faking his own death and flees to America, where he lands in New Orleans and promptly meets a man named Jay, who is - holy shit, what are the odds? ALSO a gay serial killer! they get along like a house on fire, setting their sights immediately on a beautiful young runaway drug deal name Tran who has his sights set on Jay. but Trans' ex-boyfriend, Luke, a bitter writer turned pirate DJ dying of AIDS, is also up in the mix, complicating things for everyone. the tone is unrelentingly gruesome but beautifully written and frequently funnier than should be possible. certainly not a book for everyone, with about every possible trigger warning on the table, but god. WHAT a ride. I savored every second.

Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity (Devon Price, 2022) - any hype you've heard about this book is absolutely worth it. Price is really exemplifying the excellence that comes from in-group writing, the magic that happens when people with firsthand experience living a life outside The Norm infiltrates academia and get the credentials to be recognized as the experts they are. I can't speak to the experience of reading this book as an autistic person, but as someone who's often the token allistic among my friends it clarified things that I had never even thought to wonder about with straightforward, accessible style and firsthand understanding. also, hey, it's so cool to see a book just straight-up advocating for autistic people to get more autistic and worry less about appeasing the allistic people around them. Dr. Price writes great advice, and I strongly recommend checking out this book and more of his work here. reading this also made me absolutely feral to check out Price's first book, Laziness Does Not Exist, so expect notes on that soon!

Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture (Sara Petersen, 2023) - listen, we can be honest here: that title is too long. but the read is worth it, even if I do have some mixed feelings about Petersen's messaging. she's not a momfluencer, but she is a mom who has been and still is very invested in momfluencers, letting that fascination fuel this book's creation. I found Petersen a bit too quick to come to the defense of influencing as a profession, which could grate. yes, women influencers are often the targets of a particular hostility that certainly stems from misogyny. yes, it certainly is true that being a full-time Instagram poster on top of raising living human children requires a lot of time and effort, which I guess does make it a "real job". but there are lots of "real jobs" that I disrespect on principle, and influencers are certainly on the list. Petersen has analysis on the stark hegemony of momfluencers, particularly the insidious white supremacy that controls which mothers are seen as aspirational, and she's certainly not lacking in self-reflection about the role momfluencers have played in her own parenting decisions, but it would have been nice to see more pushback on the concept of influencers existing at all, not just creating space for more diverse moms to take up the title. having said that: the chapter in which Petersen reflects on her own mother's lifelong dissatisfaction and grapples with learning to see her mother as a person, rather than just a perfectly happy crafty homemaker, was one of the most riveting things I've ever read and attacked me right in my own maternal baggage. she's a chatty writer who sometimes pulls back the conversational curtain to say the most haunting shit you've ever read in your life, particularly if you're like me and regard motherhood as a sort of horror movie scenario.

Unfortunately Yours (Tessa Bailey, 2023) - god, more like UNFORTUNATELY THIS BOOK, am I right? Unfortunately Yours was November's romance novel, which I finally got around to reading after it was gifted to me this summer by my housemate who clearly hates me. I already bitched about it at length in this month's hater roundup over on my Patreon, but god. jesus christ. I've had a lot of fun reading romance novels that are pretty charmingly crappy, but Bailey just fucking sucks. this book has it all: incessant references to the size difference between our hulking he-man protag and his itty bitty love interest, WEIRD gender dynamics, the most half-assed alleged "enemies-to-lovers" I've ever seen (they just kind of don't get along, it's nothing), convoluted fake marriage, "witty" "banter" that really reads like Bailey has never heard two clever or funny people talk to each other before and has to guess, and some viscerally upsetting sex scenes including one that takes place IN THE MIDDLE OF A FLASH FLOOD. also, the male protag is a war criminal. nobody ever shuts up about how he's an ex-Navy SEAL, but they never seem to want to talk about what SEALs actually do. might be kind of a boner killer.

what am I reading now?

The Bandit Queens (Parini Shroff, 2023) - I started this novel a couple days ago and I'm absolutely devouring it; I've got about 100 pages left and cannot wait to see how the story resolves. it's tremendous fun but also hits on emotional depths that I didn't expect going into a black comedy about rural Indian women killing their husbands! I'm very excited to finish it up and talk about it in my next recap; I think it's one of my favorite novels of the year for sure.

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror (edited by Jordan Peele, 2023) - I meant to read this for October but oops, there were too many holds at the library! regardless, the stories have been nothing but bangers so far.

Small Game (Blair Braverman, 2022) - I haven't started this novel yet, but it's been on my list for a while and after listening to several of Braverman's guest episodes on You're Wrong About in a row, I had to check it out. her episode on the Flight 571 crash in the Andes almost had me in tears; cannot recommend it enough.

[live-from-flaturn]

Chay, Hope, and “The New Hunger”

An unnecessary metatextual analysis by an excited English MA queer.

So it all started with this shot from Episode 7 of KinnPorsche:

I zoomed in on the novel next to Chay’s desk out of curiosity and discovered that it was The New Hunger by Isaac Marion. Not a super old book by any means, and definitely one that Chay would realistically be reading.

Also a brief cameo that lets this single comedic shot FORESHADOW SO MUCH OF CHAY’S TRAGIC PLOTLINE without likely intending to do that at all.

Because The New Hunger, published in 2013, is a functional prequel to Marion’s 2010 novel Warm Bodies.

Warm Bodies is by far one of the most beautifully written and engaging re-interpretations of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” probably ever written (and I spent 3 summers at Shakespeare camp, so this approval is not coming from a casual fan perspective). There are zombies, apocalyptic drama, Daddy issues, and a LOT of stuff about not losing hope in the face of annihilation, loss, and loneliness. 

R spends most of the novel talking TO HIMSELF and coping with HOW TO BE ALONE. He is doing exactly what Chay is forced to do for survival: Create his own joy and entertainment. He’s abandoned by the world around him and must fight at every turn to maintain a sense of agency, all while desperately clinging to the idea that hope is everywhere. Here are some of my favorite Warm Bodies quotes for perspective:

“It frustrates and fascinates me that we'll never know for sure, that despite the best efforts of historians and scientists and poets, there are some things we'll just never know. What the first song sounded like. How it felt to see the first photograph. Who kissed the first kiss, and if it was any good.”

“What wonderful thing didn’t start out scary?”

“You should always be taking pictures, if not with a camera then with your mind. Memories you capture on purpose are always more vivid than the ones you pick up by accident.”

“’What's wrong with people?’ she says, almost too quiet for me to hear. ‘Were they born with parts missing or did it [love] fall out somewhere along the way?’“

“The sky is blue. The grass is green. The sun is warm on our skin. We smile, because this is how we save the world. We will not let Earth become a tomb, a mass grave spinning through space. We will exhume ourselves. We will fight the curse and break it.”

“Deep under our feet the Earth holds its molten breath, while the bones of countless generations watch us and wait.”

BUT THEN YOU HAVE THE NEW HUNGER.

“Nothing is permanent. Not even the end of the world.”

“Enough white lies can scorch the earth black.”

“What happened? How did I get here? How could I have known that my choices mattered?”

“Crying. Expelling grief from the body in the form of salt water. What's its purpose? How did it evolve, and why are humans the only creatures on Earth that do it?”

He has not reached the point of exhumation yet. 

Porchay must first be burned down. He must experience the hopelessness, loss, and devastation of betrayal first. 

Like yeah, sure, this is a throwaway shot and someone on the set probably grabbed a handful of random books to use but HOLY FUCK they really could not have made a better (potentially) accidental choice!

Like... Jesus Christ in Heat do I love these books more than life itself. Warm Bodies is my second favorite book of all time and again, I read books for a living. You should go check them out if you like romance, comedy, zombies, or really just feeling good about the end of a novel. Isaac Marion will fundamentally change your life and the way you look at the world and it’s a wonderful experience.

But also the accidental foreshadowing of Porchay’s world being burnt up... of his memories being tainted and blackened by Kim’s lying and Porsche’s secrecy... Ugh it hurts. I am having some feelings in this Chili’s tonight. 

[freelanceexorcist]

Some more comments on the demo.

I'm not able to play it because I don't have a PS5 and there won't be one in the cards for a while, but I at least found a good, thorough playthrough that didn't have some streamer yammering over the dialogue, so that will have to do.

I'm writing as a I watch, so there's gonna be a lot here.

Cut for Rebirth spoilers (and a Game of Thrones one) and length.

-I loved seeing Sephiroth act and speak so casually! Back then, he really was just a guy, huh?

-And holy crap, is that seriously Caleb Pierce doing the voice of Shinra Security Officer Who Is Actually Cloud? Kinda on the nose, but I like it. Maybe in Cloud's dumpster fire of a psyche, not only does he remember being the SOLDIER 1st Class, but he remembers Zack as being the security guard.

-OMFG, Master Zangan! LOL, this fuckin guy. Three seconds after meeting Cloud he's feeling him up! And man, he's got some huge Patrick Warburton energy going on.

-Only three beds in the room at the inn? Guess one of the boys is gonna have to double up with Sephiroth.

-Let me just state for the record that I really like Cloud as a character. That said, when he was a teenager? He was, uh...a wee bit of a creeper. His favorite spot to hang out just happens to face what I assume is Tifa's bedroom window. And what does he do when he knows he's alone in the house? Goes into her bedroom and starts going through her stuff. At least the ladies called his ass out for that this time, because that sequence never did sit right with me.

-I'll bet Sephiroth was ready to buy Random Villager Guy a drink. RVG keeping those looky loos and stans away like a champ! He even had to keep them away from the INN! I really understand why he wanted nothing to do with the "hero" role. Yep, let Genesis go be the Taylor Swift of the FFVII-verse and see how HE likes it.

-Tifa is so tiny next to Sephiroth! Then again, everyone is. Dude's a freakin' TANK.

-Wow, that photographer's an even bigger asshole this time around. Seriously, dude? Taking a picture not only without Sephiroth's permission but when his back is turned?

-The "oh...FINE!" body language when Cloud asked, though.

-And I reiterate. Sephiroth. SUCH a bro here. All I hear is Clark Kent when he talks.

-So it just occurred to me that Sephiroth was deliberately the first one to fall in the river because he knew he'd have to save everyone and he didn't even know how far of a drop it was. That bridge collapsed under the sheer weight of his balls.

-And his horror and devastation at losing one of his men will never not gut me. Everyone was dry by the time he got back, so you know he was out there looking for that dude for a LONG time, too. That's a huge change from "sorry for your luck, pal, but we have a mission to finish." That's what makes his tragic fall all the more inexplicable. In the OG, his coldness had you thinking "yeah, I can see this guy having a Face-Heel Turn easy." But here? With him so protective of those weaker than him and his emotional investment in his people? You don't go from that to "burn them all," even when a severe mental breakdown is involved. I may talk more about this later. ("Oh. Yay." --everybody)

-*Sephiroth has joined the party*-

-Serious question: is there anything in the lore that I missed that states there's no PPE that can protect from mako? Because when Sephiroth said "mako this thick is very dangerous," I thought "maybe bring some respirators next time then?" Yeah, probably no NIOSH rating high enough to filter out spirit energy.

-Yep, definitely no love lost between Seph and the sperm donor.

-Yeah, Barret, it's not making a whole lot of sense to me either at this point.

-"Am I even...human?" Fuck. It's going even harder in Rebirth.

-And the library sequence. Double fuck. The rage in his voice at the end. The madness. And that strange breathing after he glitched? I'll bet he was trying to fight off Jenova and he failed. Sorry, Vincent, but I think Seph is the one that should be able to take out Hojo.

Aaaand that's enough self-imposed psychological torture for the day. I can't watch what comes next.

Jenova used his anger, his devastation and his sleep deprivation to get a toehold. Which makes me think, what if in the trilogy's lore she started piloting him? No, I don't mean controlling his mind or even heavily influencing him? What if she's using him as a vessel? I mean like the deities, angels and demons on Supernatural. She's driving the boat now, and he's in the back of his mind screaming, because he's aware of the things she's making her new meat suit do and he can't stop it.

I'm not trying to let anyone's dirty rotten CGI girlfriend-ganking butt off the hook here if anyone wants to accuse me of that sort of thing. I'm merely saying that burning a village full of innocents is not the actions to expect from the Sephiroth we've come to know in the demo. Yes, he's a SOLDIER who has probably had to do some very unpleasant things under orders, but there was no reason for this. Going from zero to genocide straight out of the blue is inexplicable, I don't care how bad the mental breakdown was.

It's just the only thing that makes sense at this point. People like him get angry, sure. They rage, sure. They swear vengeance on the people who wronged them, sure. But they don't kill innocent people because of it and in such a horrific way. At their most violent, they may find Hojo and try to see how loudly and for how long he can scream.

Bog standard villains don't get this kind of "good guy" lead up to their nefarious deeds, and he's getting that treatment big time from both Rebirth and Ever Crisis. That's usually only reserved for the Chaotic Neutral and redeemable types that were supposed to like. There's nothing in that backstory so far to suggest that he was capable of a Nibelheim-level mass murder. Sure, there's headcanons that he was just a fuse waiting to be lit, but nothing official even hints at that. This came out of NOWHERE.

Maybe I'm not seeing the big picture or whatever, but the extreme change in behavior, the senseless violence...why would FFVII do that to the audience? To torture us? That's just cruel. Even Game of Thrones didn't do the audience that dirty with Danaerys Targaryen (if you didn't see her Face-Heel Turn coming from a mile away, you were watching a different show than me, because she was always a Heel. She just brutalized people who had it coming until King's Landing.).

And I'm out. If you've managed to stick around this long or even read this at all, thank you. If you want to argue, please save it for another day because I'm REALLY not in the mood. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go drink. A lot.

[skeletood]

OHHHHH SO MANY THOUGHTS TO SHARE

Holy shit. Probably the hardest I’ve laughed at any of the new seasons releases so far. Absolutely speechless

Hellhole:

- SOOOOO HAPPY to see them riff again it’s so corny and silly

- Beavis gets to hell and his first thought is where all the biker dudes are? interesting interesting *puts this in my notes

-oh my god already some amazing facial expressions

no wonder this dude ends up with so many cracked teeth in the future

- the boys being inexplicably immune to death never gets old to me

- THE DARKNESS PART HAD MY HEAD IN MY HANDS SHUT UP. THANK **GOD** IT WASN’T ANOTHER ESCAPED SNAKE SITUATION DEAR GOD IVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER FOR A BAIT AND SWITCH

-hehe :] sillies

Overall thoughts: Another great ep this season good job guys, gave me a lot of good little laughs

The video segment was whatever but Arianna’s eye candy so like. All good :]

Take A Bow:

My god. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen on the way in to this episode and I was NOT prepared for what it gave me and put me through

- already starting the ep strong with some GREAT facial expressions

so fucking real i used to do this to my guy friends when i was their age. not quite enough to put them in the hospital but like. yea lmao

- (monotone) “Take a bow” HAD ME DYINNNNGGGGG

- knowing about all the flavors of mountain dew what a goddamn nerd (knows everything about the different monster flavors)

- “Cherries don’t taste red at ALL. They taste all barfy” little kids complaining about foods they dont like is so silly, thank you for being your childish self its so refreshing

oh man. fuck. its butthead characterization time! finally some good fucking food. oh man here come the waterworks IMAGINE me getting stupid over an emotionally stunted idiot with a big head:

- “not until youre better beavis” first of all shut up. second of all shut up.

- “It’s like, I didn’t mean to hurt him. Feeling bad sucks.” WE KNOW BABY. WE KNOW. SO PROUD OF YOU FOR ADMITTING IT HUN :((((( the fact that bro cant even acknowledge he HAS feelings unless he’s alone. the volumes that speaks to me. man

if you had told me a week ago these were real screenoshots i wouldnt have believed you. at all. cant wait to see the looks on the faces of all the “ohh stop looking so far into it its just a stupid lowbrow cartoon” people like shut the fuck up!!!!! youve clearly never experienced real friendship before and are so pissed off cause u dont know what it looks like

- not pictured here is where they had to forcefully remove butthead from the room bc he was freaking out after thinking he killed beavis. If you disagree youre just wrong sorry!

- not only is this a funny as hell angle but man. we already know damn well he doesn’t want beavis to die but its nice to hear him say it. also he’s right, it was really funny. take a bow :]

- a lot of really good beavis screams this episode too

- BOY. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT “COVID” IS. MR JUDGE IM STRIKING THAT FROM THE RECORDS BUT YOURE ON THIN FUCKING ICE AKJSDSNA

- “-and his friend would have died of grief shortly there-after” I’m- I need a minute. LIKE WE ALREADY KNEW THIS BUT. THANKS FOR ADMITTING IT. 

- also, god is a whiteman i guess kasjndsajkd

In conclusion: both fucking great episodes. I am always EXTRA excited for Butt-Head characterization moments, it just makes him so much more human. Not to mention how happy I am to see that they toned down his cruelty JUST a touch. I honestly didn’t notice how bad it had gotten last season until i compared it to how this one is going so far, it feels more like older seasons butthead again :] Like dont get me wrong i LOVE it when he’s mean its just who he is but it should come more out of a place of stupidity/no real self awareness than like. idk wherever it was coming from last season. These boys are goin soft on us and to that i say: thank god. It’s nice to see them act human. Take a bow has EASILY taken old man beavis’ place as my favorite ep so far and ngl its going to be tough to beat. Funny episode that had me chuckling throughout the whole thing AND nice Butt-Head moments? Oh Mike, you shouldnt have u///u

Anyways lemme know your thoughts :]

[kamurocho-lullaby]

So I was planning to go through and pretty this up but I just haven't had the energy so I'm just gonna dump them here.

These are my notes from my first time watching the Yakuza movie!

I've added a cut because they're long. There's typos, they're not edited, it's literally just chaos bullet points but tadaaaah. There's also a lot of cussing, swearing, whatever u call it, so sorry.

Date is just so fuckin done with the Tokyo PD's shit I love him.

Throwing down in a Don Quixote, yes Kiryu.

WAIT IS THIS STARDUST! IS THAT FUCKIN YUYA?! IT IS AND KAZUKI TOO!

Wait who's this little shit bleeding in Kazuki's floor?

Kiryu's fight in the DQ reminds me of that gif of him fucking up a Poppo it's so good.

HOLY SHIT ITS MILENNIUM TOWER! I sure hope that doesn't explode.

HERE HE IS! Mr Tumblr Sexyman himself.

WHY ISNT HE SHIRTLESS COWARDS

I can't get over the fact Majima supposedly reads the financial times

"where's Kiryu?" "Somewhere" "not good enough" *murder*

I love the idea that Majima is at the batting cages so often it's his office. Like he absolutely painted that sign himself what a dork.

This chick is insane and wants to go robbing stores when a Yakuza war is breaking out, side story material

Date is so fuckin done literally said "not my Division"

AAAAAHHHHHH ITS HARUKA!!!!

Kiryu seems a lot colder in this movie than he is in the games idk maybe he'll warm up

Who is this cocktail making silent man I am so confused

Why is Kazuki so hot?!

THEYRE ROBBING A PORK BOWL SHOP WHAT THE FUCK

Majima and crew are goofy as fuck and I really love them literally everyone is scared of them it's fucking hilarious

HE CALLS HIS CREW KIDDIES and then ditches them to get his rocks off in a video store and the guy he beaned with a fuckin baseball in his own crew is like "ILL FOLLOE U TO THE ENDS OF THE ESRTH"

This man is goofy as fuck one second and then breaking fingers and toes to find his boyfriend the next

DUDE HES PAYING THIS KID WITH PAIN WTF I wanna be this kid wtf

Oh fuck he's got a gun, nobody should allow Majima a gun

HIS CREW KNOWS THE DEAL THEY'RE ALL HANDS UP DONT SHOOT ME BOSS I LOVE YOU

Literally the Majima fam have a "oh fuck the boss has got a gun" emergency plan

I just noticed he's wearing a studded belt omg

Kiryu needs more frown lines

OHHHH DADS MEET AGAIN

Haruka got some sass I love her

"don't be corrupting her mind" what the fuck Date he found her like that

Majima was fuckin up Pink Street why didn't he go karaoke

Lol the guy at Ebisu Pawn gives zero shits about being robbed

Kiryu, Haruka and the dog make a cute picture I love it

Fuckin Majima isn't even like looking for intel he's just wandering around shouting about Kiryu-chaaaaaaaan

Lol Kiryu gets a flip phone and it's got a charm on it omg

"over the top shit is his trademark" you don't fuckin say

LOL DATE he's just like Kiryu and Majima are up to shit it's your fuckin problem I'm out "the military won't even save your asses" omg

Don't tell me the fuckin Jingweon are here I don't wanna fuckin deal with thaaaaaaat

"Yokohama's Lau Kalong" WAIT WHAT (having learned more about 7, YES that Lau Kalong apparently the Snake Flower Triad are a bunch of assholes and they're also like everywhere)

Oh fuck this kid's been sent to kill Kyohei Jingu?! no shit of course he has

Oh fuck SERENA I didn't think we'd see that in this movie

Lol Kiryu knows the RGG way, they ain't dead until you see a body and even then cough cough Kashiwagi cough cough

Lol Haruka teaching him to use a cellphone

Majima taking a break from getting his ass kicked by Kiryu to beat up his boys is so fuckin funny

Haruka's just on the sidelines like "these fuckin dumbass boys smh"

I'm sad it's not his lacquered tanto

Yo Kiryu is fuckin merciless what?!

LOL HE JUST FUCKIN DROPPED Kiryu is so done with his dumbass boyfriend flopping on the groud

Lol all the Yakuza in Kamurocho mobilising like the fuckin Avengers

LOL the bank robbers feeding everyone in the bank is just wild I love it, still can't figure out who they are tho (they're side story material)

LOL ALL OF MAJIMAS GUYS CRAMMED IN AN AMBULACE

How is Majima MORE unhinged in this movie than he is in the games

Theatre square! Honestly the shots in this movie are actually pretty good, im surprised

The Jingweon's gun is a monstrosity why the fuck

Is that supposed to be Shimano?

Kazuki getting all intimidating with the weapons dealer do be kinda hot tho why he gotta grab him by his chin like thst

Also why does Kiryu know this guy and why does he know he's a massochist?!

LOL Kiryu protecting Haruka from the creep but like why is she there?!

Kiryu hearing all this shit about his kyoudai and he's just like... Stomping around like a mad man

Wait is Kazuki an imposter yet? (Spoiler alert, probably)

Lol these idiots cleaning up Pink Street like Majima isn't just gonna whirlwind through it again

"Don't fall for hosts, they'll get you in the end" solid advice Kiryu but are u talking from experience or? Like iirc hosts weren't a thing when u went to jail my man.

What the fuck is this dramatic military shit what who is this man?!

FUCKIN MAJIMA IN THE "BATHOUSE"

Kiryu actually trusts Majima to not go after Haruka! And he doesn't! He's actually genuinely not a bad man he's just mad as a bag of cats

Oh that whole Majima and Kiryu not killing people thing is out the window in this movie omg

"Kiryu-chan, you're so cool" Majima says through a mouthful of blood after he's been knocked fuckin cold onto his ass. This man has it so bad I love it

THE MAJIMA PEEPING AROUNF THE HALLWAY SCENE IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE

Fuckin Majima just pelting Kiryu in the gut with baseballs omg this movie is wild

FUCKIN HIS BAT GOT STUCK IN THE WALL OMG

Dude these guys literally kick the shit out of each other it's vicious I love it

The level of choreographed homoerotic whump in this movie

He just straight up put his foot on his ass

WHAT THE FUCK MAJIMA GET UR DICK OUT OF HIS FACE

SOMEBODY SHOT MY MAJIMA!!!!!

KAZAMA SHOT MY MAJIMA!!!!!

"Fuck you murder dad you shot my boyfriend"

OH THE GANGS ALL HERE ITS DATE

Wait do I get to see Nishiki?!

WHAT THE FUCK WHY DOES NISHIKI LOOK LIKR THST

WILL EVERYONR PLEASE STOP GETTING SHOT!!!!

The fuckin Staminan X and shit in the shop that's so rad, of course Kiryu is like I'll just chug some of this shit and go fuckin kill my bro I'm fine

THE TATTOO THAT WAS A FUCKIN RAD REVEAL

Oh hey it's Zombie Majima

Who allowed a military helicopter into fuckin Kamurocho airspace that's gotta be so illegal what the fuck

OMG I FORGOT ABOUT THE BANK ROBBERS I love how they're just laying on the floor with the staff resigned to their shit

Nishiki put the fish away you dumb fuck

Lol Kiryu literally doesn't give a fuck about the Tojo and here's Nishiki making it all about the Tojo like bro wise up Kiryu is done with your shit

Kiryu just stone cold dead until he gets some of that Staminan that's a full triple heat gauge baby the dragon is back omg this movie is the dumbest shit I love it

The fuckin slow mo! 2007 did not deserve this movie

Top ten ways to kill your kyoudai, number 12 will jack your dad!

Wait we're not gonna get Mr "Beautiful Eyes" here are we?

Akiyama come get ur cash!!!!

Moooooom, Millennium Tower blew up again!

Y'know Date is kinda hot...

Suzuki also has no business being that hot

Fuckin Majima's dumbass batting cages sign someone better save his ass I swear to fuck

Fuckin dumbass got shot and he thinks he's got the flu lol

WHY IS THE DOG IN MILENNIUM TOWER?!?! WHAT THE FUCK KIRYU?!

Oh shit there's Kiryu oops guess he's not to blame for the dog

Question, how the fuck they gonna get down from the tower?

Oh my god okay it's done I'll clean this up later (spoiler alert, he did not clean it up later)

[nightmarist]

Oh while I’m here

Cowboy Bebop live action and Yu Yu Hakusho live action

I watched Bebop when it came out. I actually really loved most of it. I was very disappointed with Spike and Faye though, and I realized later it was probably because they never watched the original. I feel like there was nuance lost. If not the fault of “not doing your homework” then the directing should have at least tried to help. It felt like the ennui was completely lost on them. I get having your own approach and all and don’t want or think a 1:1 is necessary or possible but wow. They were sadly not good. Jet, however, I loved him, Mustafa did a great job and I liked his story the most, even and especially the additional backstory they gave him. I got very disappointed towards the end. I think maybe Julia and Vicious Could have worked if it wasn’t over the top soap opera.

The sets design, the staging, it was all so beautiful. You could tell the people involved with the set design LOVED the show. I just wish John Cho and Daniella Pineda were either directed better or bothered to watch the show prior. Could also have just been….. the script… idk why but the overarching episode plots felt good and Jet was phenomenal but everything else was….. not.

The Mad Pierrot episode I was nervous about it being too cheesy but they pulled it off genuinely well. It’s probably my favorite in both the anime and the live.

As for YYH I liked it. It felt interesting while still familiar. I do Not recommend it to anyone who has Not seen the anime. It felt very very reliant on the audience being a fan of the show. But they put a lot of good care into it. The character differences weren’t too bad, Yusuke is a little more aloof than his hot headed anime counterpart, but I got over it quickly in the second or third episode. Kuwabara’s actir was so fun, and the English dub of him did a good job without overtly copying Christopher Sabat.

I was a tiny bit disappointed in Kurama’s hair choice, I think all of the cast could have benefitted a little from taking hairstyle and makeup advice from Old School Visual Kei, but their outfits were nice. I actually really loved that Kurama’s uniform was a rose brocade. A beautiful detail that helped prevent it from being boring. The special effects were pretty good, a tiny bit cheesy but not off putting.

I LOVED the Toguro brothers though holy shit. And Karasu my BELOVED. I thought Sakyo’s actor was such a handsome choice. I usually picture Sakyo as more Pretty Boy / Clsssic Bishounen but Inagaki is a great actor and soooo handsome. And Gonzo. All the villains were actually so fucking good. But I LOVED the Toguro brothers especially older the most. Vile little shit head bastard. I love him.

Seeing. Koenma. As a real life adult human. With a pacifier. Really puts how silly his character design is to perspective. I loved it.

Honestly not bad. Cheesy, but fun.

[eightmakar]

Girl omg tell us that story!!! How did u go from 1st kiss to virginity losing in one day

omg hi yes so im 25 and have been wanting to kiss someone/lose my virginity for a while, I had been considering asking one of my close friends who I trust

so !!!! I matched with this boy on tinder, we’ll call him A. hit it off with A immediately, he wanted to do some sexual exploration too, so I was like alright here’s the deal and told him everything, and he was also down to at least have a chat

he added me on snap and sent me pictures of himself (his profile didn’t have pics, but for a reason lol) and I was like holy shit you are so fucking handsome, mans was exactly my type: tall, goofy, golden retriever boy

he called me Thursday night and Friday night and we have so much in common, and he jokingly kept proposing to me in our convos. for example, we both love cooking, and he said “I really want a pasta machine” and I said “I have a pasta machine!” and he said “do you…wanna get married?” he also thought it was hot that I’m a big nerd and play dungeons and dragons and love marvel and he REALLY wanted to have sex with me, and I felt super safe and respected

we made a plan for me to go over to his house and like….he asked if he should get condoms and I said yes and even though I made sure he understood there wasn’t a guarantee, which he was okay with, I knew I was going over there to have sex with him lmao

so i got there, he immediately started kissing me (like he said he was going to and I was aware and okay with that). i did get nervous and like, paused him for a second, i was shaking and i showed him and he just gave me my space and asked if I wanted to go to the bedroom instead and I was like yeah let’s go

we went back and long story short i sucked his dick (which was fun as fuck?? hello?? the noises he made???) and then we had sex lmao. he needed a break (he has hypertension and it had been a while) and I did too so we cuddled and then he looked at his phone and had three missed calls from a friend of his that is currently not doing well, so he went to call him back. we had planned to spend the whole afternoon and evening together and possibly even me spend the night at his place, but I had to leave after an hour and a half of being there because he was convinced his friend had hurt himself (he started drinking and stopped texting A) and A was pacing around his apartment freaking out and was super apologetic to me and promised he wanted to see me again, he assured me he didn’t do hookups either and that he still liked me and all that. he also said he was compartmentalizing some trauma from his ex (he said “my ex messed me up and I thought I was more ready than I was”) but he said it wasn’t about me and he wanted to see me again, and I said I just needed some extra reminders and he gave them to me and I was very appreciative. he walked me to my car and said to plan for the middle of the week, but that’s the last time I heard from him :(

i haven’t heard from him since April 29th which was the day of our date, I’ve tried to text and call, and I’m really upset about it because I really thought we had a connection, we talked a bunch about future dates and so I’m not sure what changed, but I’m hopeful that it’s just that he’s out of emotional bandwidth and he’ll get back to me when he can. it’s almost been 2 weeks and a lot of people have told me to drop it and move on, but i have a gut feeling to give him time and that he’s going through some shit and he needs to work through it before he tries to go out with me again. he was so understanding and considerate with me about everything, he listened and was kind about my anxiety, and he opened up to me too, like he really liked me and trusted me and so I’m like, very hopeful that he’s gonna come around and like, if I had all that going on, i would want someone to be patient and kind with me too.

so yeah, that’s what you missed on glee and how I got my first kiss and lost my virginity in the same day

[khaleesiofalicante]

“Eventually soulmates meet, for they have the same hiding place.”— Robert Brault

I just know shadow demons are gonna show up, I feel it in my bones!!!! And maybe even Lucifer...

For fucks sake girl, just talk to your girlfriend!!!

“Nicolas has a crush on Anjali,” Max giggled.

“Thank you, Max, for demonstrating the kind of dumbfuckery I want to avoid,” Anjali glared at him.

I love my queen so much😂😂

“Why can’t we just, ya know…” Lexi said carefully and pointed at her sword.

Max gave her a disbelieving look. What? Someone had to say it!

No, no... I firmly support this option!!!

Magnus being so excited is so fucking funny omfg jshdjdkdk

I KNEW IT!!! I REMEMBERED YOU POSTING YOUR FAN CAST FOR NICO AND HIM BEING A KID AND ME WONDERING IF THAT WAS THE NICO AND IT WAS!! I'm so smart😎

Then why the fuck are they called shadow hunters? They should probably change the name of their race. They don’t deserve it.

She is so pissed off and I honestly can't blame her....

Still a little confused about all the ley lines thing but we have Gigi and Roman, so we are in safe hands 😎

“Marcus did it!” Lexi argued.

“He did, didn’t he?” Nicolas said, his voice troubled. “Then perhaps you all shouldn’t underestimate him."

Yes, he is terrifying!! Thank you, Nico!!

Why is the idea of Max not being able to use his magic so scary???

Nicolas looked at him. Properly. “Keep an eye on your family." That is so fucking ominous, vague and creepy, thank you so much 🙂

God, David is an idiot if he thinks Max doesn't think David is the best person in the whole world jsjsjsjj

I enjoy drunk David in every universe 😂

“And even if she wants Max as you said and even if Max finds her hot, from what I know, and trust me I know a lot because your boyfriend is incapable of shutting up about you, I don’t think Max wants her back.”

Gabriel spilling FACTS!!!

Have I mentioned today that I love Gabriel??? Because I do😍😍

There is nothing scarier than watching your child get hurt,” David said quietly.

His eyes fell on his wrist.

The one with the faded agony rune.

There was nothing scarier than a parent who enjoys hurting you.

God, I hate that bastard so much🔪🔪

That scene with David and Max>>>>>

“Always,” Max grinned. “You’re so sexy and you’re pretty. I’d keep a picture of you in my wallet so I can look at it all the time.” This is everything I need!!! Let's keep it like that!!!🥺🥺🥺

I mean, Max gets turned on by the weirdest shit, but the point still stands tho!!!

I haven't thought about it that way but holy shit yes!! Many old people are plenty sexy😎

I love it when they are cute and communicate properly!!! Now, that is a good turn on...

No.

He wasn't that man. He will never be that man.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” David whispered. “So, I won’t.”

For one side, this is so healthy and I'm so glad he said that!!! For the other side, fuck Mallory 🙂

We all know they are all going to be dilfs....

Thank the angel for Anjali. Amen to that!!

“Yikes,” Rafael chuckled. “Jealous?”

“Meh,” dad said. “They make him put on clothes. I make him take them off.”

He is savage 😂😂

“Warlocks forgive, Rafe,” bapak had said. “But we don’t forget.” *added to favorite quotes*

I haven't mentioned today how great of a leader Rafael is😍😍

Everyone: freaking out, the shadow world is loosing it's magic, mundanes are scared, things are tense with everyone

Alec: *unimpressed* The shadow world it's always at risk, huh? Anyway, have I mentioned how much o love my HUSBAND 🥰🥰

“Why not?” Rafael asked – because he always thought too much about everything.

“Because when it comes to love, feeling is more important than thinking,” the man smiled. “Listen to your heart. Not just your head.”

*crying softly* this man is so wise 😭😭

Sometimes, even now, when he was with dad, it took Rafael a moment to realize that someone was talking to him. Not his dad. The mental image of Alec accidentally turning back and Rafael forgetting for a second it's for him makes me feel things😭😭

“Math? We have to do math now?” Rafael asked tiredly. “Haven’t we been through enough?” me everytime I have to do math

Wait!! I want to know what was that!!! What was in that document???

It’s what got him to wake up every morning.

Every morning, he would wake up because he was excited to love new pieces of her and let her love new pieces of him.

This man I'd so fucking in love it should be illegal kdvdkdjdk

And I thought it was going to be one of the other idiots who let Anjali know... Turns out it was this idiot himself 😂

These people are turned on by the weirdest things jdhsjdj is it a Lightwood-Bane thing???

Achilles as Inquisitor... Wow😍

“I understand if you don’t want to get married to me,” Anjali said. She didn’t look scared now. “This is my dream, Rafael. I’m not willing to compromise it. Not even for you.”

He didn't understand how she could say stuff

Don't you just love it when women?😍

“Y una cosa puedo jurar: yo, que me enamoré de tus alas, jamás te las voy a querer cortar.” I LITERALLY HAD TO SUPPRESS A SCREAM OMFG😭😭 THIS GODDAMN QUOTE!! WILL LIVE WITH ME FOREVER NOW😭😭

“It’s a 10/10,” she grinned. “On your knees, Santiago.” ok, yeah, I understand Rafael now...

“I don’t want to say anything at all. I want to live it. I want to live my life with you,” Rafael told her. "I want you to be my wife. But more than that, I want to be your husband. I want to be yours in every way possible. So, take me, amor. Make me yours."

“Alright then, Rafael Lightwood-Bane,” Anjali smiled and held out her hand. “Be mine.”

SCREAMING AND CRYING!! THEY ARE ENGAGED!! FINALLY 😭😭 MY POWER COUPLE ❤️❤️

Everytime I read Mallory's pov, it takes another year of my life

She is so obsessed with Max!! Pleas move on, he loves David!!!

Is this warlock the one that is causing the attacks??? And he poisoned David??? I don't know you but I hate you already 🔪

“I want Max to hate him,” Mallory noted, picking up one of Max's hoodies. It smelled just like him. Even now. Just like the ocean. “I want everyone to hate him. I want David to hate himself.” First of all, he could never hate David🥰, second of all, I hate you :)

"That’s why the nephilim fear it so much. Because they are scared of what they might see and feel underneath all that angel blood.” I hate when people I hate say something so deep smh

Ahhh Max is so stupid!!! What the fuck are you doing???? And you expect David not yo be jealous???

I need to wash my eyes with holy water after that kiss. Wtf???

Also, Marcus going to a party!! You better not ruin their night or else🔪🙂

David after finding about the Max x Mallory kiss (their ship name is just Mallory and that’s creepy)

[dentwy]

number 1: adventure time

don’t quite remember how old i was when i first watched adventure time, but i sure remember watching it a lot. back then you’d just hop on tv whenever you could and watch whatever was on at the time. thank grob for streaming sites! i say half ironically since HBO's release of adventure time is quite pathetic in fact, but i digress.

obviously with fionna and cake airing this year there’s been a big resurgence in adventure time online that i’m pretty fond of. although i don’t draw myself, i follow around 10k accounts on twitter that are mostly just artists because i love looking at nice pictures. there’s one caveat though, i’ve never actually seen the entirety of the show. who the hell is this grass finn? princess bubblegum and marceline ended up together? holy glob. and so, i felt it was time for me to get on my two ass cheeks and actually watch the show.

here is a brief (?) off the shelf summary on what that was like:

as it turns out as a younger-ish boy i had only seen up to season 4, with a few extra episodes here and there. this means the lich was definitely a thing, but that’s kinda where it ended. re-experiencing the episodes i knew so well was definitely more fun than i was expecting. most i know by memory already, others lowkey tried gaslighting me into thinking they were different from how i remembered. so that HBO thing? you can look it up on reddit and go into detail but in general terms, some of them are kind of a mess with how they’ve been edited and censored. i believe a bunch might just be from the tv versions in some countries? but i clearly remember watching them so...

usually there’s a couple of things they want to avoid: butt stuff (so some fart jokes and grabbing-things-with-butt scenes), stuff that’s kind of gross, things like ripping off the lich's face off, deaths (?) and other extremely specific stuff. at times you will get scenes cut off that you don’t realize (ill mention one in a minute) and others that simply cut off in the middle of dialogue or battle to jump into something else. in 2023 i don’t even think this is that excusable.

two episodes stood out as a sore thumb to me. "storytelling" the 5th episode of s2, and "princess cookie" on s4 episode 13. ill refrain from explaining the entire episodes but first one has this scene where our titular "mrs cow" makes her first appearance. as she is instructed to do, she removes the bag since she also is beautiful as everyone else, only to turn out she should put it back on. pretty funny stuff, especially for a 13 year old. this little gag is completely removed. poof. gone. i almost shit myself i thought i was going crazy. i’ve been a fan of calling random shit i’m lying about part of the mandela effect now but it genuinely felt like that.

second episode is one of a tragic story, of a tragic cookie. putting aside the fact i think a he/him cookie wanting to become a princess is fucking awesome, this one just sucks. at the literal climax of the episode (spoilers!!) as they are in the middle of the exchange the episode just randomly cuts off to the following scene with princess cookie in the floor, shattered. extremely jarring. and you don’t even get to see the most important part of the episode! goddammit.

either way i could go on details like this forever but it’s mostly just a gripe i had as i watched with HBO than the show itself, as i was actually having a lot of fun as, in the end, it’s the characters that make adventure time what it is.

finn and jake are characters that are very easy to endear yourself to. i feel they’re generally the simplest ones from the cast, but that’s what makes them most malleable. they’re likable dudes, bros for life. do you not wish to have someone that will follow you to the end of the world? in life and even death? nothing can break these two. distant lands' "together again" is probably one of my favorite episodes. it was 200 episodes ago that jake established their special signal to find each other again once they’re dead, and real bros don’t forget. it’s a beautiful episode that completely wraps up these two in the best way they could’ve done.

ice king is someone i would have never been able to appreciate when i was younger. maybe for the first couple of seasons yeah okay he’s an unlikeable prick, but man. simon petrikov is such a tragedy of a man. forced to live in his delusions for the rest of his life, unable to remember his loved ones, or to be loved. forever obsessed with finding those who are important to him, without the means to do so. i gotta say, i never put two and two together before getting around watching the entire thing - but fucking tom kenny? what a legend.

alongside ice king comes marceline, and what is there not to love about marceline. she carries such a teenage angst with her that feels so passionate. every song with her is a blast to listen. "woke up" from obsidian in distant lands has to be my favorite. "i'm just your problem" is up there in the classics and how to forget the fries song. living for 1000 years has to fuck you up so bad man. she carries such weight after so long. saving people, losing them, making friends, losing them. "i remember you" from season 4 is such an emotional episode i’m pretty sure i cried watching it. every single marcie / simon flashback holds so much importance to both characters, as well as the world itself. i’m always a sucker for father & daughter stories and these episodes hit a really special spot.

with marceline, comes princess bubblegum, which i have to say is probably my favorite character in the show. your honor, she’s silly. bubblegum (fucking bonnibel? really?) shares this aspect of essentially living for 1000 years, eventually needing to put things behind. main difference with her is the fact, you know, she’s made out of candy, and candy people don’t exactly die of old age as far as i know. however, being in the spot she is, she holds great responsibilities she sometimes feels she needs to deal all on her own. she is actually such a fucked up individual, messing with people emotionally (and specially finn) just for the sake of it, and sometimes showing her apathy for people. she’s dedicated to a fault, often ignoring other's feelings or beliefs. sometimes for the better, but also for the worse. one thing that remains with me for sure is the simple fact that she’s just adorable, and i’m a big fan of them giving her different outfits and hairstyles as much as possible, which is exactly why i present my tier list of bubblegum outfits & hairstyles:

the ones that didn’t make it in are either irrelevant, spoilers or forgot about. why not marceline? because everything she puts on is a banger. extra special mention to "the star". what a fucking queen.

the last tier list will be for every character in the show in no particular order, because i need to make my opinions permanent:

except i lied obviously it’s not every character. the ones that didn’t make it in i either don’t care about enough or are so minor i don’t even have an opinion on them (or i forgot).

s tier is the people i couldn’t have put anywhere else, they just go there by default. prismo is awesome too so he goes in.

for a tier i feel the only two i need to specify about are doctor princess, which i just find really funny, and huntress wizard, which i actually like a lot. i feel she was definitely the one that would’ve been best to end up together with finn.

b tier are cool characters, i like them enough that i think about them often or have something about them that really stood out to me. james baxter actually being a mispronunciation of "games bookstore" is really fucking funny.

c has all the pups because i like them :), abraham lincoln is also really funny. martin i think i could put lower, but simply because he’s relevant to the plot he goes here. i never liked finn insisting to call him his dad when he’s such a shit person.

d is filled with weirdos that have something about them that may make them stand out a little bit more or maybe had a scene or episode that was cool. i don’t like LSP at all, but she’s the like third most important princess so yeah that’s fine, i guess.

f is filled with people i don’t give a shit about. a bit crazy how most of the princesses end up being completely irrelevant. you lost to a fire dog slime princess, how does that feel.

with that out of the way, what i want to finish off is the general plot progression of the show. there’s something really special about adventure time that i’m not too sure other cartoons do the same way. it manages to hold such a consistency throughout its run time that’s almost impressive. besides the first season where tree trunks dies on episode 4 only to reappear later on and only bring up the fact she’s "gone" on season 2, the show always makes sure to reuse characters, keep them around and stay true to its own timeline. there’s a context in this world, stuff has happened already, and things will continue to change. it might take some time to get the answers to your questions, but you will get them eventually. the past is already set in stone and the future is already on its way to happen.

most characters will make at least a second appearance at some point, and a lot of them even become more relevant for that episode, which i find really cool. no stone is left unturned and it shows that this world is fully lived in.

it was a bit hard for me to nail down what i believe the theme of adventure time is, what it all means in the end really. because no, "going on adventures is fun" is not it. it definitely is fun don’t get me wrong, its episodic in nature and most episodes end up working on their own, but is there more to it than just bros having fun? my take on it (i haven’t looked it up so no clue what other people think or even the creators) is the passage of time, and growing up.

the most relevant characters are the ones that have been around for centuries, the ones that have seen the world change and that have changed it themselves. generations move by and time keeps going. jake has a family, a new generation that will follow him. finn doesn’t have anything because he died a virgin but still, the humans are and will be around after so many years.

it’s important to live in the moment, appreciate the people dear to us and have our own "adventure" while we can, and i think that’s really nice to get across. as it stands, adventure time has moved through generations and i hope it will continue to do so.

[lord-of-the-demons]

Sometimes America seems like a really fucked up place and I assure you it can get like that sometimes but I like to remember that we have some pretty cool stuff too. This is not to say that you should ignore the bad stuff because it definitely needs improving but taking a second to look at some cool stuff we have here is nice too.

The first one I think of is those soft drink dispensers with like +100 drinks to choose from. After some research they’re not exclusively in the US anymore but they’re still cool.

Secondly I want to mention our Nature Parks because holy shit we have a lot of them. I say Nature Parks because there’s National Parks and State Parks and there’s like thousands (Wikipedia says 6792 state park units and 424 national park units). They make up an incredible variety of environments and are home to many millions of animals and plants that are maintained by the parks. Some parks are purely for historical purposes too which is also cool.

Here’s a picture of Zion National Park from Wikipedia, one of my personal favorites. Definitely worth the trip if you’re interested.

A third thing I love about this country is just how weird it is. We don’t have as much of an easily recognizable history as other countries when it comes to culture, since from what I’ve read a lot of Native American culture was either destroyed outright or orally transferred only. There’s still some architectural elements that remain like the cities carved into the walls of cliffs or the snake mounds, but you don’t have massive castles like Europe or ancient palaces like Asia.

This is not to say, of course, that Native American culture is inferior. The effects of colonization and imperial domination of the continent have irreversibly impacted the lives and culture of the people living here when Europe came plundering and so much of their history is scattered and fractured. If anyone has a good resource for learning more about what we do know I’m all ears, I’d love to learn more.

I’m more referring to the weird thing Americans do in terms of how we treat mythologies. A majority of the American population is currently or descended from immigrants from all over the world and with that comes a mash of cultures blending together in some interesting ways. Forgive me for rehashing the melting pot thing with the US but the large immigrant population combined with the massive size of this continent produces some really interesting cultural influences in a distinctly “American” way.

You can’t have one defining American mythos because of the incredibly varied amount of cultures all in the same country, so you make something new. You create a Moth Man, a Sasquatch, a Jersey Devil, and you keep creating new things with the new people you live nearby because there is no way in hell that people should be going in that part of the woods.

There’s a lot of fear baked in to the American identity, isn’t there? But that makes perfect sense if you know where American people come from. Fear of the unknown, fear of what’s outside your perception, outside your control, fear of the Other that treats you like a friend but there’s always something Off about them that you can’t quite understand. These new people seem to be your friend, come from a different land and want nothing else but to trade valuables until your friends begin dying mysteriously, one by one, until the mask of diplomacy is off and you’re being hunted down because you don’t worship their god, your skin color isn’t theirs, your language, culture, identity isn’t a part of their view.

Colonization is one hell of a traumatizing process.

All that fear and hatred and grief and malice towards human beings that are being treated like something less than livestock, like a pest to be pried from the land sold for pennies, or ripped from your home and dragged in chains thousands of miles from home to be forced into labor until you’re told you’re allowed to die. Out of all of that, we can still come together afterwards and say, “let’s make a community.” Let us live together. We can’t fix the past but we can sure as hell try not to make the same mistakes as we try to help you up from when our ancestors beat yours to the ground.

That’s beautiful, I think.

America gets it wrong sometimes. Well, a lot, and “getting it wrong” is a gross simplification of “some of the most disgustingly vile things you could ever think of doing to someone or thing,” but at least we’re still here, trying. The people that make up this country, and the majority of the world for that matter, are good people. The governments that they think they live under are much less so and must routinely be reminded who they serve.

In America, the government is supposed to be run by its people. It’s supposed to act out the will of it’s people and not a single thing different. The government is not a faceless entity, though, and is entirely made up people. Crazy, right? But people run the government and make up the government, so where does that disconnect come in?

I don’t have an answer for that. It might be that having power over others affects a person’s thought process, it might be that the type of people who work administrative government jobs are not the type of people you actually want there, whatever.

In any case, I’m a big fan of America as it should be. That glittering dream of freedom and opportunity sounds great. Less so the boat and picket fence and all that junk. I mean what you think of when someone says to think of all the good things that make up the good ol US of A. I acknowledge that this could be the American media propaganda roots in me somewhere that’s doing this talking, but I really love this country.

Whenever the government does something right I applaud it and think about how great it is that we can make progress like this, and when it royally fucks up I’m equally disappointed and angry because we could be doing so much better and helping so many more people if it weren’t for some people’s insistence on holding onto their hatred of those outside their culture sphere they don’t yet (and thus don’t want to) understand.

That’s what this post is about. I started out just making a post about stuff I liked about America but I thought it pertinent to disclaim that holy shit do we have some issues. It’s just that we have and do good stuff too though.

[mochegato]

Ready, Aim, Are You Going to Fire?

Marinette was bouncing with excitement as if the ground was electrified, giving her a shock every time she touched it… a feeling she knows from personal experience.  She had never even held a gun that wasn’t conjured up and disappeared as soon as she cast the Miraculous Ladybug, but today she was not only going to hold one, she was going to learn how to use it.  She was living in America after all, she should at least know how to fire a gun. True American experience and all.

It wasn’t that she was interested in actually using a gun let alone owning one, but the prospect of learning how to use one, of learning to become a good shot?  That was exciting.  Not to mention a good stress reliever and with all the stress she’s been under the last few weeks, she could desperately use one that was cheap and not self-destructive.

“For the love of all that is holy, please calm the fuck down,” Jason groaned as he walked into the clearing, not even bothering to look at her. “Dealing with that was not part of the punishment.  I’m barely awake enough to deal with his,” he motioned with his coffee cup toward Duke, “smug snark.  I definitely can’t deal with it and fucking Rapunzel on her first outing from the tower.”

“Yes, it was part of it.  You have to play nice for whoever I bring even if said person had two espressos before coming.”

Duke’s grin widened at the whimper Jason let out.  “Fucking Tim,” Jason huffed.  “It was hundred to one he could land that.”

“Hey, I didn’t realize you held anything as holy,” Duke snarked at him.  He rolled his eyes for Marinette but sighed heavily when he noticed Marinette watching Jason intently, her mouth slightly agape.  Why did all his friends develop a crush on at least one of his siblings.  Granted he had a lot and they kind of covered the spectrum of interests, but still.

Jason scoffed.  “Of course, I do,” he held up his gun as emphasis.  “Duh.”  

Marinette raised an eyebrow.  “I would have chosen chocolate, but sure, okay.”

Jason took a long drink from his coffee cup before looking up to greet her, the coffee cup freezing at his lips once he finally looked at her. Fucking Hell, why did his siblings have the best-looking friends?  “Chocolate is good,” Jason acknowledged with a charming grin, “but have you ever emptied a magazine into something after having a bad day?”

“No, obviously.  That’s why I’m here,” she snarked back with a matching smile.

Duke snickered.  “Marinette, this is Jason.  Jason, this is my friend Marinette I told you about.”  

Marinette waved.  “It's nice to meet you, Jason.  Thank you for doing this.  Duke said you were the foremost expert on guns in Gotham, which is pretty high praise. I would have thought that was Red Hood or a goon.”  She smiled at him.  “You must be really good with them.  And don’t worry, he was lying about the two espressos, I promise.”

Jason got caught up for just a second in the way the sun was glinting in her eyes.  “Good to know, but I’m more than just good with them, sweetheart,” he smirked at her, immediately dropping it when she wrinkled her nose and turned away and making a mental note not to use that endearment anymore.

“I’ve met Red Hood,” Duke commented a little too casually.  He threw Jason a pointed smirk behind Marinette as he slung his arm over her shoulder to guide her toward the embankment they would be shooting into.  “He’s way overrated.”

Jason narrowed his eyes and pointed a warning finger at him but Marinette scoffed.  “I’ve seen pictures of the man.  If anything, those thighs are underrated.”  Her eyes immediately widened, and she slapped a hand over her face in embarrassment. Jason choked on the drink he had just taken but recovered quickly to grin victoriously at Duke.

Duke groaned and pushed her away.  “There are things I don’t ever want to hear come out of your mouth and things like that, are the majority of that category.”  He shook his head to give him time to stop laughing.  “I meant with guns, you pervert.”

Marinette shrugged, her cheeks still a rosy hue from her earlier statement.  “Should have been more specific.  That’s on you.”

“Yeah, Duke.  Let the woman speak,” Jason chimed in.  He was still grinning smugger than Duke liked.

Duke opened his mouth, but his phone rang, cutting him off.  He scowled when he saw the caller id and gave Jason a pointed look.  “Mari, I think I’m going to have to go help Cass with something, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Jason nodded in understanding and turned to Marinette to distract her but froze.  Marinette was pouting at Duke, her lower lip jutting out and catching the light.  He cleared his throat to focus.  “That’s okay.  We don’t want you getting in the way anyway.  Right, princess?”  Marinette rolled her eyes and scoffed.  Jason puckered his lips.  Nope, not ‘princess’ either then.

“Hurry back.”  Marinette gave him a hug.  “Because if I have to endure many more of these nicknames, someone’s going home bloody, and not from a gun wound.”

Duke grimaced.  “I’ll do my best, Skyfall.”  He turned around and smirked at Jason when Marinette didn’t object to his nickname.

Jason narrowed his eyes at him but didn’t say anything.  As soon as he left Jason eyed her from the corner of his eye.  “Give me just a few seconds to set up the targets.”  She nodded and explored the area around them while he worked. Growing up in a large city, she hadn’t had a chance to spend too much time in any woods, but now she could see the appeal.

There was a peaceful, cooling breeze rustling the leaves above them offering sanctuary to songbirds who seemed more than happy to sing to each other.  The leaves, bushes, grass, weeds, wildflowers, and thousands of other plants she couldn’t name offered a million delicately varied shades of greens and browns that stood out brilliantly against the blue and white sky.

Her eyes caught on a small path through the underbrush and over the embankment.  She followed and froze as soon as she made it over the embankment.  “Holy sh...” she muttered in amazement.  Stretched out in front of her was the most ornate obstacle course she’d ever seen.  She jumped and almost fell down the rest of the embankment when she felt Jason come up behind her, but he reached out and steadied her before she could.

“Uh, yeah.  I get really into this stuff,” he said awkwardly.

Marinette looked between him and the course a few times. “Are you sure you’re not secretly one of the bats?  Because...” Her eyes widened and snapped back to him before quickly slamming shut.  She shook her head and walked back to the firing range.  “Nope!  Nuh uh. Forget I said that.  I don’t want an answer.  I saw nothing.  I know nothing.  Nothing!”

Jason cringed and watched after her.  He was going to have to talk to Duke about this.  He rushed after her.  “No need to go all Sargent Shultz.  I just have more money than I know what to do with.”

Marinette scrunched her nose at him.  “I don’t know who that is.”

Jason stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a long, deep breath.  “Fucking kids.  I’m surrounded by fucking children who don’t even get good references.”  He walked back toward the makeshift table with guns. “Coming up with their own language and reference that make no fucking sense,” he grumbled agitatedly.

Marinette couldn’t stop the giggles that burst out of her.  “You sound like my grandfather.”

Jason opened his mouth but snapped it shut, choosing to narrow his eyes at her instead.  Suddenly his lips quirked up into a smirk.  “So... Skyfall, huh?”

“Uh huh,” Marinette confirmed, turning to study the woods around them in a failed attempt to hide her blush.  “I’m not telling you where that came from.”

Jason grinned, suddenly much more interested in the nickname’s origin. “If Duke was involved, I’m sure it’s an interesting story too.”

Marinette nodded.  “It is.”

“Probably either impressive or embarrassing… or both,” he continued.

“Yep,” she confirmed.

Jason waited a few seconds to see if silence might drive her to keep talking.  When it had no effect on her, he raised an eyebrow but continued on.  “Here, before we start shooting, lets make sure these fit,” he instructed passing a set of earmuffs.

“Ooh, sexy,” she commented wryly, but put them on quickly.

“Pretty sure you can make anything sexy,” he said absently repositioning one of the guns.

“What?” she asked pulling the earmuffs off.  “Sorry the earmuffs were on.  I couldn’t hear you.”  She smiled at him.  “Guess that means they work.”

Jason froze momentarily but recovered quickly.  “Yeah, that’s... I was just seeing if you could hear me. I’ll make sure to speak up more when you have them on.”

Marinette nodded back.  She opened her mouth to say something but snapped it closed when she saw the guns.  The guns were laid out with great care and attention, almost reverently.  She felt a surge of excitement flow through her. “Are we going to shoot all of those?” Her eyes caught on some of the larger guns.  They were almost as big as her making her wonder if she would even be able to shoot those.

Jason shrugged.  “Probably not, but it’s always good to have options.”

She started bouncing from foot to foot.  “Okay, what first.”

“First, pumpkin...” he started.

A loud groan interrupted him.  “What is it with you and the terrible nicknames?” she exclaimed, the exasperation bleeding out of her voice.

“Terrible?” he exclaimed in mock scandal.  “These are high quality nicknames... sugar?” he ended weakly.

Marinette gave him a flat look.  “Truly awful,” Marinette confirmed.  “It’s like you’re not even putting effort in.”

Even with his eyes narrowed at her, the playful glint was shining clearly.  “I’ll find a nickname you like,” he promised her.

“Prospects aren’t looking too good,” she scoffed with a smirk.

“As I was saying, princess...” he continued.

“You already tried that one,” she cut in.  “That’s still a ‘Hell no’.”

“Hm?  Oh right.” He paused for a minute to think.  “As I was saying... buttercup...”

Marinette choked and looked at him wide eyed.  After a few seconds she shook her head slowly.  “No.”

“No?”  He just held himself back from chuckling at her expression.

“No,” she said firmly.

Jason nodded.  That was another story he definitely wanted to hear.  “Let’s start with the basics...”  Marinette listened and watched intently as Jason did a quick overview of gun safety and the parts of a gun.  Honestly, she didn’t think she really needed to know every part of a gun, but Jason was on a roll and his enthusiasm was pretty cute.  Yeah, maybe she was paying closer attention to the teacher than the lesson now, but the teacher was a subject worth studying and she was always an excellent student.

In fact, she was such a good student, focused entirely on her study, she was caught completely off guard by the gun shots as he emptied his magazine into the target, letting out an undignified yelp and flinching away. Jason raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You okay there?”

Marinette grinned overly wide as if it could distract him from her embarrassing display.  “Yep! Great!”

“Right,” he chuckled, his tone and sparkling eyes making his disbelief clear.  He motioned toward the target next to it.  “Your turn.”  Marinette’s prior excitement turned to nerves now that she was about to actually hold a real gun with no miraculous involved.  Her hands shook as she reached for the gun, but he pulled it away before she could reach it.  “Let’s get into position first and take off the earmuffs until we’re ready.  Stand like I stood,” he instructed gently.

Marinette nodded and tried to emulate his shooting position, facing the target and planting her feet securely.  Jason stepped up behind her and lightly tapped her leg with his foot. “Legs shoulder width apart.” Marinette nodded and widened her stance. He tapped her shoulder.  “Relax your shoulders.  This is supposed to be fun.”  Marinette offered him a weak smile and rolled her shoulders to ease some of the tension out.

“Right.  Just a little nervous,” she said sheepishly.

Jason nodded.  “Good. Guns should make you feel a little uncomfortable.  It’s when you feel like you need to have one nearby that you should start worrying. But you don’t need to worry too much. I won’t let anything happen to you and as long as you follow the rules I gave you, you’ll be safe.”  He turned her just enough so she could see the soft sincerity in his eyes.  You’re safe with me,” he vowed.

Marinette stared back at him, lost in the darker flecks of blue against the lighter blue background of his eyes.  She wet her suddenly dry lips.  “I’ll hold you to that,” she murmured.

Jason searched her eyes for a moment and quirked his lips up. “Good, thunderbolt.”

Marinette groaned and faced back toward the target and eased into the position Jason had described; mood completely lost.  “Just terrible,” she grumbled.  “Posture good?” she asked louder.

Jason’s lips quirked down.  He thought that one was pretty good.  “Yeah.  Now remember what I told you; line up your shot and breathe out as you pull the trigger, yeah?”  He waited until she nodded before motioning for her to put her earmuffs back on and handing her the gun, ignoring the electric feeling when their fingers touched. Very thunderbolt like, thank you very much.  He stepped just a bit behind her as she got ready.

Marinette nodded to let him know she understood and focused back on the target.  She lined up her shot, holding the gun steady as she took a few calming breaths, and… hesitated.  Jason gave her a few more seconds before leaning closer.  Close enough so she could see his teasing smile, but not enough to scare her.  “You going to shoot?”

Marinette scowled at him playfully.  “Yes,” she hissed.  “I just needed to... there was... butterflies...”

“Butterflies,” Jason repeated slowly.

“Butterflies,” she confirmed with a wince.  “Shut up,” she pouted at his laughter.  “Okay.  For real this time.”  She lined up her shot again, took another calming breath, and pulled the trigger. She reeled back into his chest and immediately felt his arms wrapped around her waist to balance her.

“Yeah, that’s the kickback I was talking about,” he said into her ear without removing his arms.  “You should be able to brace for it a bit better next time.”

She looked up at him, finding his face angled down toward hers, considerably closer than she had expected.  Her eyes flicked between his lips and eyes a few times before she cleared her throat. “Thanks.  That was more than I was expecting.”

Jason chuckled.  “I think we’ll definitely skip the larger guns today.  I’m pretty sure you’d end up on your ass with those.”

Marinette scrunched her nose at him and turned back toward the target in mock offense.  Because he was right.  If the 9 mm did that to her, those larger guns would probably cause permanent damage, but she’d be damned if she admitted that to him.  Instead, she opened her mouth to hit him with a snappy retort, but her eyes caught on her shot, dead center of the bullseye.  She squealed in delight and jumped up and down.

She spun to hug Jason, lifting the headset but the gun was still in her hand and Jason balked immediately lunging for the gun.  “Never do that with the gun still in your hand,” he chastised.  “And the safety isn’t on.”

“Oh,” she chuckled sheepishly.  “Right. Sorry.”

Jason waved her off.  “Everyone makes that mistake.  Just don’t do it again.  You could shoot yourself in the head, or someone else.  If you’re not firing, the gun is on safety.”

Marinette nodded seriously.  “Right.”  She switched the safety on and set the gun down.  “Sorry, I was just really excited.  I hit the bullseye!  Did you see! First time!”

Jason grinned, taking in the way her cheeks flushed with excitement and her butt wiggled when she did a little victory dance.  “Yeah.  It was a really good shot.  Congratulations.”  He continued looking at her for a few more moments before nodding to the target. “Let’s see if you can keep it up.”

Marinette let out a quiet noise but nodded quickly.  “Yep, right.  Let’s go.”

“See what happens if you empty the entire clip.  Don’t worry about running out of ammo.  I have plenty,” he assured her.

She looked up at him incredulously.  “I’m going to end up in the weeds behind you is what’s going to happen.”

Jason chuckled.  “No, you won’t,” he assured her.  “You know what to expect now.  And if it’s too much, I’ll be right behind you.  I told you I’d keep you safe.  I will. Now go for it, cupcake.”

Marinette wrinkled her nose.  “Who knew there were so many food related nicknames.” She pulled her earmuffs back on and proceeded to empty the clip without falling.

The next few hours blew by in a flurry of shooting, talking, and joking.  The sound of Duke’s car interrupted their laughter.  Marinette glanced toward the break in the trees that lead to the parking area before looking back and taking a breath.  She looked up at Jason with a small smile.  “Looks like we don’t have much time left.  So... you going to shoot your shot?”

Jason looked at the gun in his hand, a slight confused frown pulling down the lips that had previously been blown wide in laughter.  “Uh, no.  I’ll just save the ammunition for later.”  His frown deepened enough for a crinkle to form in his brow at the flash of sadness in her eyes and the dropped smile.  Maybe she was hoping to see what the gun would do?  It was larger than her and could do a lot of damage.  He wouldn’t blame her.

Marinette took a step back and handed the earmuffs back to Jason with a smile back on her lips.  “Thank you for today, Jason.  I had a lot of fun.  Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

Jason’s frown disappeared in an instant.  “Yeah, that sounds fun.  Let me know.  Anytime,” he answered quickly, pulling out his phone as he did.  “Here, put your number in.  I’ll text you so you have my number.”

Marinette’s smile warmed as she took the phone and entered her number.  She had just handed it back when Duke made it through the break in the trees.  “Sorry!” he called out loudly.  “It didn’t take too long, but traffic back was ridiculous.” He slowed when he looked around. “Did I miss everything?”

“Yep,” Jason confirmed.  “I was just about to pack up.”

“But he said we can do it again,” Marinette grinned.  Jason eyed her for a moment.  He hadn’t meant for Duke to come too, but if that made Marinette feel more comfortable, he guessed he could handle it.

“Actually,” Duke started.  His accompanying grin was dangerous.  “That’s perfect timing.  Because I was hoping to get you,” he looked pointedly at Marinette, “to help me with something.”

Marinette stared at him analytically for less than a second before walking past him.  “No.”

Duke padded after her.  “What do you mean no?  Mari, you wouldn’t do that to me.  Come on, Mari.  Mari? Skyfall?” he called after her, racing to catch up.

She whirled on him just before passing through the break in the trees. “No.  Last time you smiled like that, I ended up waist deep in the Gotham River... the Gotham River,” she repeated pointedly, disgust from the memory of the night bleeding through “wading to shore while trying not to attract any goons’ attention.”

“It wasn’t my fault!  That boat was already on fire,” Duke protested.

“No, it wasn’t.  It...” Marinette’s voice faded out as she got into the car.

Jason chuckled as he heard the car pull out.  Oh yeah, he was going to enjoy getting to know her better.

Continued in Hit Me With Your Best Shot

@maribat-calendar-events @jasonette-july-event

[cjsinkythoughts]

Right From Left

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 3085

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, Zemo being a punk, Bucky getting a little scary, some feelings, Sam being his fantastic, amazing, caring for everyone self

A/N: Here it is! At long last! I’ve been waiting for this episode and it was…holy fuck. I barely have words. And I can’t start or else I’ll be ranting for pages. Anyways, I know this Part is a little on the shorter side - not by much, but it still is - and it doesn’t even cover half the episode, but I’ve had a long day and I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep. I wanted to stop before Walker entered the picture too, because then I’m just gonna get more riled up and I’m working later. I’ll probably have another part out today, and then I’ll finish it tomorrow. Unless I can finish it today. I’ll try, but no promises.

Feel free to rant to me about the episode or the show, too, guys! My friends and I have been going back and forth about it for the past few hours. I’d love to hear your thoughts! I think that’s all for now.

As always, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Thank you for reading, be kind to yourself and others, enjoy this part and stay tuned!

FATWS Masterlist

cjsinkythoughts Masterlist

!SPOILERS BELOW CUT!

You were avoiding him.

When you first got to Latvia, he had pulled you aside, eyes wide and pleading. “Doll, listen-”

“I really don’t think right now is the time to have the discussion we’re about to have.” Shaking your head, you avoided his gaze, your stomach twisting into knots. It was too much for you to handle; you couldn’t focus on the mission at hand and try to unravel the emotions that were making your gut flip like a gymnast. There were too many thoughts in your head, and you needed a clear mind.

“But-”

“Once this is all done, and our lives aren’t in danger. Once we’re back home, then we can talk, okay? Just…please. Not here. Not now.”

And he dropped it. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to talk about it. You just couldn’t. You had always been a ‘leave your baggage at the door’ type of person. Don’t mix work with personal. Not like you had much “personal” anyways when you first decided that was how it should be. And then your coworkers became family and your motto got a lot harder to follow. But you still followed it. And you would continue to follow it.

But that made you start avoiding him. Whether you meant to or not, everyone noticed, but no one said anything. Sam shot you a look when you didn’t offer to go with Bucky when he had to check something out. Zemo raised an eyebrow when he came back and, instead of immediately questioning him, you sat still on the couch, eyes glancing up briefly, before going back to playing with the strings of your hoodie.

You were paying attention to their conversation, especially when Karli Morgenthau was brought up, you just didn’t join in. Not even when Zemo mentioned the Avengers, eyeing you to see your reaction.

Honestly, you were tired, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Your shoulder hurt, your brain couldn’t process what the guys were talking about, and your heart couldn’t take any more hits.

It was something you’d been thinking about…you just thought it’d come after this mission.

“She will not stop. She will escalate until you kill her…or she kills you.”

“Maybe you’re wrong Zemo. The Serum never corrupted Steve.”

For the first time since he first walked in, your eyes met Bucky’s. “Touche.” Zemo pointed at Bucky with a pastry around his finger. “But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?”

But you couldn’t wait until after this mission. Not when he was so connected to it. “I think I’m gonna go home.” You blurted out before Zemo and Bucky could argue further, Bucky slumping down onto the opposite side of the couch.

The moment the words left your lips, Sam and Bucky shot up, staring at you in disbelief.

“Wait, hold up. What? Now? We’re so close-”

“Why? Is it your arm? Is it hurting? You should’ve told us-”

“I’m just tired.” You cut in, shaking your head. “That’s all. I didn’t expect this to be drawn out this long when you called, Sammy.”

Bucky’s hand twitched as he hesitatingly scooted closer to you. “Doll, if this is because what happened on the jet-”

“It’s not, Buck.” You tried to give him a convincing smile, but you knew by the look in his eyes that he didn’t buy it for one second. You reached over to squeeze his hand, and when you pulled back, he held on tighter, a sigh escaping his lips as he stared down at your linked hands.

“Okay…if you wanna go home, we can get you home. Just…” His head turned back to you, a pleading pout on his features. “Just…stay. Another day. Please. You can keep avoiding me, I won’t even say another word to you if you don’t want. But stay. Just for one more day.”

Chewing on your cheek, you finally nodded slightly. “Okay. One more day.”

His eyes lit up, before his face fell again when you took your hand back and curled into the corner of the couch. “Let’s talk shop, boys.”

“Okay. So, from my understanding, Donya is like a pillar of the community, right?” Sam easily changed the topic back to the situation at hand, giving you a reassuring wink when you smiled at him gratefully. “So when I was a kid, my Tee Tee passed away.”

Bucky screwed his face up in confusion, straightening his head from where he had it leaned back. “Your - your Tee Tee?”

Sam gave him a look. “Yeah. My-my Tee Tee, yeah.”

Bucky looked at him weirdly. “Who is your Tee Tee?”

The exchange made you giggle a little bit, shaking your head. “Bucky’s a city boy from the 40’s, remember, Sammy?”

“Fine.” Sam rolled his eyes. “When I was a kid my aunt passed away.”

Bucky gave a slight huff, making you chuckle again. You stopped when he smiled over at you, but your grin didn’t leave your face. Even when they were the ones to give you a headache, your fellas were damn entertaining, that’s for sure.

With a sort-of plan in place - the gathering for Donya being no more than a theory, but the only idea you really had - you stretched out from your spot on the couch, twisting to crack your back. “Zemo.” The man stopped his rummaging through the cabinets and looked over his shoulder at you, an eyebrow raised. “Go put some clothes on. We’ve got work to do.”

He gave you an unimpressed look, opening his mouth, but Sam beat him to the punch. “Do as the lady says, man. You’re already walking on a tightrope after you shot Nagel!” Zemo waved dismissively at Sam’s exclamation, heading into a separate room to change out of his robe. “That guy is gonna drive me up the wall.”

“Don’t let him get to that pretty head of yours, Sammy.” You hummed, standing up, wincing slightly as you stretched your sore shoulder over your head.

You could tell Bucky wanted to say something, the way he snapped forwards, hands moving down his thigh like he was leaning over to reach for you, his eyes locked on your injured joint, but, just as he said earlier, he didn’t say a word. But the part that made you upset was…you didn’t stop him. You didn’t tell him it was okay for him to talk to you. You didn’t reassure him that you weren’t purposely trying to avoid him. You simply moved over to the kitchen to get something to drink.

It hurt worse than your shoulder, but you couldn’t handle it. Not then. Not with such an important part of the mission coming up. So you didn’t say anything. You just sipped your water, switching into tactic mode as your mind ran through the scenarios of what could possibly go down in the next 24 hours before you went home.

*************************

Walking under the arch, you couldn’t help but feel saddened as Zemo told you about what the courtyard used to look like. Thanos messed the world up so much more than you realized and, as much as you hated to admit it, the Avengers did have a part in it. Not that they - you - were in the wrong, necessarily. You truly believed you did what anyone in that situation, with the skills and abilities and knowledge the team had, would do what you did. Or tried to do.

“I’m gonna take a look around upstairs.” Sam stated, looking up at the upper stories of the building, before glancing at Bucky. “See what you can find out here. And keep an eye on him.”

“I’ll come with you.” You said, turning on your heel to follow Sam. The back of Bucky’s gloved hand brushed against yours, and instinctually you turned your palm to link your fingers and squeezing. You let go quickly once you realized what you were doing, nearly tripping up the stairs to get to Sam, not daring to wait for Bucky’s reaction.

“You’re an idiot.” He stated simply as soon as you met him at the top of the stairs.

“Can we focus on finding Donya right now, please?” You grumbled, moving forwards cautiously, peeking around the corner. You frowned when you saw two guys at the end of the hallway, looking back at you and Sam warily.

“You need to hear what he has to say, cher.”

You sighed, rubbing your forehead. “I know I do. I know. But I can’t. Not right now. I’m just trying to get this over with first. I don’t want too many things on my plate. I might choke.” It already felt like you were drowning most nights.

He paused at your words, giving you a once over, before nodding. “Okay. I can respect that.”

“Thank you.” You told him earnestly. “Now let’s try to get something from these people.”

He nodded in agreement and you two continued forwards with your search. Room after room, people walked out before you could get anything from them, locking doors behind them. The Flag Smashers logo was everywhere, but you expected nothing less from a refugee camp that practically worshipped what they were doing.

Even when you did get a guy to talk to you, he immediately shut you down, leaving you and Sam dejected. The fact that the world had gotten so bad that these people couldn’t trust you and Sam - Avengers; people who used to be heroes and bring hope to others - it made your heart sink.

“C’mon, Y/N.”

“Are we wrong?”

He froze at your question, his lips pressing together. “About what, exactly?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…I guess I can’t tell right from left anymore. I always assumed that the Avengers were the good guys. That the actions we’ve taken in the past were us making the world a better place, but…Sokovia and Ultron. Germany and the whole civil war thing we had going on. The entire world and Thanos. We don’t truly ever win. Do we?”

“I can’t answer that for you.” Sam shook his head. “I can’t tell you what to believe or who to believe in. But I can tell you that we’ve made a difference. Steve, Nat, Tony…they made a difference.”

“But was it a good difference? Was it a change? There’s a difference between changing the world and just making it different, Sam.”

He blinked at you, nodding slowly. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. And I don’t have that answer for you either. But they tried. They did what they thought was right. No matter if it was or not. And isn’t that all we can do? Try?”

His words made you think back to the conversation you had with Bucky once he learned about John Walker, which seemed so long ago. When you told him it wasn’t Sam’s fault. That he was just trying. That he did what he thought was right. 

And maybe he was wrong. But he made a decision. It was his decision. To do the right thing. And right then, not for the first time, you could see exactly what Steve saw in the man in front of you.

“You’re a good man, Sam.”

Sam grinned, slinging an arm around your shoulders and squeezing. “And you’re an incredible person, Y/N. Let’s go see if Bucky and the Baron got anything.”

You snickered at his mocking tone towards Zemo and nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

*****************************

You didn’t like it. You didn’t like it one bit. So far, Zemo kept proving you wrong. Even when it seemed like he was about to jump ship, he came back. No matter how many opportunities he had to escape, he never did. And it was making you even more suspicious.

You stayed out of Bucky and Sam’s conversation, although you had to agree with Sam’s point, especially with the conversation you just had.

Your thoughts were running a thousand miles a minute, only to be interrupted by Zemo information about the funeral this afternoon. Guess a snake will always be a snake.

“And you, uh, didn’t think this was important information?” You questioned, eyes narrowed and brow pinched.

He shrugged. “You have it now, don’t you, princess?”

Bucky growled at the nickname, leaning back on the couch, threatening Zemo with the Dora Milaje.

You can’t remember a time you’ve ever been scared of Bucky. Maybe a little threatened and intimidated by the Winter Soldier, but never scared of Bucky. And when he stood up after Zemo mentioned leverage, you didn’t expect anything from it; maybe another choke hold or something. So the glass hitting the wall, the clench in his jaw as he spoke gruffly to the Baron, for a mere second, he kind of frightened you. Maybe it was all the emotions you’d been through the past few weeks or maybe it was the adrenaline that seemed to be pulsing through your veins 24/7 nowadays. Whatever it was, it made you flinch, bolting up as Sam did.

You left the room quickly, hearing Sam say something about making a call, hoping to calm your racing heart.

“Doll?” You sat up from the bed you were laying on, legs hanging off the edge. Bucky stood in the doorway, nervously shifting his feet. “I know I said I’d leave you alone, but…”

You gave the bed a pat next to you and he gladly accepted the invitation, padding over to sit besides you. “I don’t want you to leave me alone, Buck. You’re my best friend. I-I just need to take it one thing at a time right now.”

He nodded. “I get it. I wasn’t…I wasn’t coming in to talk to you about that. You said we’ll talk about it later, so we’ll talk about it later.”

“I appreciate that, Bucky.” You smiled at him, before frowning. “What did you wanna talk about then? Are you okay?”

“Did I…did I scare you?”

You blinked at his question, tilting your head. “What?”

Jerking his head to the doorway he explained, “just then. With Zemo. Your heart spiked.”

“No.” You answered immediately. You would never ever admit that he kind of did scare you. It was just for a second and you knew how his brain worked; he’d beat himself up over it, go over his actions for hours instead of getting the rest he so desperately needs and deserves. He didn’t need that on his conscience right now. “I wasn’t - I just…you startled me. I wasn’t expecting that reaction-”

“I didn’t like the way he talked to you.” He spat out, glaring at his hands in his lap. “And then the smug bastard thought he was gonna get away with holding back information like that and I just…I dunno.”

His hand came off his thigh, but he hesitated. Before he could put it down again, you slipped your hand under his, linking your fingers, running your thumb in circles against his palm. “Don’t let him get to you, Buck. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”

A sigh left his lips and he nodded. “I know, I know. It’s just…hard. After everything he put me through - put us through - I…I just hate that he’s really our only option.”

You frowned, shifting on the bed to face him, one leg bending beneath you while the other still hung over. “Why are you so obsessed with catching these guys?”

“I wanna do something right.” He murmured, playing with your fingers. “I’ve done so much wrong…I just wanna do something right. And I feel...responsible for it, I guess. In a way. It’s Super Soldier Serum. I thought I was the only one after Steve…” He froze at the blonde’s mention, giving you a side-eyed glance. You nudged him, silently telling him to continue, that it was okay to talk about him. “And Sam’s right, you know. She’s just a kid. So…I dunno. I wanna help. I wanna do something right. And catching them would help. It’s right. Right?”

You nodded firmly. “I understand where they’re coming from. Karli’s just trying to help the world. But she’s doing it wrong. And that I know for absolute certainty. Which is good, I guess. I was talking to Sam early and I mentioned not knowing my right from my left recently. It’s good I know something, huh? And for you it should be easy telling your right from your left.” You joked, tracing the gold lines on his metal arm. “I guess you’re just gonna have to stay besides me to help me remember.”

Looking up, you found Bucky staring at you with something you recognized in his eyes, but didn’t want to name. “Three hours, forty two minutes and thirty one seconds.”

“What?”

“That’s how long I didn’t talk to you. It was too long.”

You sighed, ducking your head. “Bucky, I’m sorry-”

“I’m sorry. For anything and everything I’ve ever done wrong. I won’t mention the plane or anything we’ve talked about until you bring it up first. I promise. Just…just don’t ignore me anymore? I'm not sure I can handle it for much longer.”

You nodded, watching your fingertips dance along his scruffy jaw. “I won’t.” He caught your wrist, opening his mouth, before shaking his head and closing it. “What?”

He shook his head again. “Not until you bring it up.”

“We will talk, James. I promise.”

“You don’t have to explain. I get it. I really do. It’s okay. As long as we’re okay for right now, I can hold it in a bit longer.”

You nearly asked him what he was holding in, but you quickly shoved the question out of your mind, knowing it would take you down a conversation you couldn’t possibly have right then. “How long do you think we have?”

He shrugged. “I dunno. Zemo just said that it’s this afternoon. Why?”

“I started reading The Great Gatsby on the plane. I’ve got it on my phone. It kinda reminds me of you. Do you-do you think we have time to read some? Only if you want, I mean. Like we used to do in Wakanda?”

He grinned and nodded, scooting up on the bed and flopping down into the pillows. You smiled back, following his lead. Once you were comfortable, your phone out with the chapter you were on, Bucky scooted closer, laying his head on your stomach, hugging your waist. 

“Is this okay?”

Your fingers found home in his hair and you nodded when he looked up at you for an answer. “Yeah. It’s perfect, Buckaroo.”

[delicrieux]

☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 24: OH...HI

after months and too much longing, you finally meet corpse in person.

─── corpse husband x reader ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 3.8k

author’s note: we did it joe.

ultimate masterlist.  ҉  myso masterlist   ҉   previous. ҉   next.

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You woke up. That’s a lie, you didn’t sleep. Too much to plan, too much can go wrong and you’re...Not nervous, no, that’s not quite accurate. Excited. Yes, excited, so excited that two Redbulls and three coffees (so far!) make you jitter around the apartment like a butterfly that can’t find a flower bed to rest on. 

Rae has almost had enough of your...random spurts of energy. So what if you ran a few laps, climbed a few tables, sang karaoke a bit too loud and yet another noise complaint had been issued? It arrived exactly an hour after your concert via your displeased landlord. Rae was, of course, the one to apologize because you were too busy trying on miniskirts. After that ordeal was taken care of, no sooner than Rae shut the front door with an exhausted sigh, you emerged from your room clad in your prettiest outfit. You present it to her with a bright smile and flourish. 

She is not impressed.

“Will you quit it?” She questions, arms crossed over her chest. Your grin does not damper -- you’re used to such harsh treatment, having accepted her backhanded way of showing love long ago. Instead, you flick your wrists, showing off an ungodly amount of rings. You’re not certain of the exact number because you can’t count, “Y/n.” Her voice gains an edge, but you persist. Show off your shoes that have cute lil’ charms that jingle jangle not unlike the spurs on a hot cowgirl’s boots, “Y/n.” Her eyes narrow in displeasure, her stern tone making you falter in your dramatic stride down the imaginary catwalk, “Just stop.”

Okay! So maybe you’re not as used to her coldness as you thought you were. Your expression sours, and you quit the act, even if a part of you - one you barely fight off, goodness, you almost perish in that battle - wants to continue but even more annoying. As if you could somehow block her rationality with manic energy. 

“What?” You ask, trying to keep the mood lighthearted despite her squared shoulders and tight frown, “I’m just having a bit of fun!” You say with a joyous little laugh, reaching for a glass of much needed water.

“No, you’re panicking.” Her words make the glass still, hoovering by your painted lips, but it’s short lived. You take a greedy gulp and it tastes fresh with a pinch of lipstick, “Look, I get it...” She shakes her head softly, “You’re meeting the guy you like for the first time, you jumped the gun straight to dating and now you’re...Anxious. It’s normal, you know.”

“But I’m not anxious.” You persist, and you really do mean it. You don’t like how she looks at you as if you’re the one that’s misunderstanding your own feelings. You set the glass down with a soft clink, heaving your own sigh, “I’m not, I’m really happy actually.” You explain softly, “It’s just...my way of dealing with it. I’m more... Worried about Corpse, to be honest.” You add, a tad quieter, “But, like, it’s all good!” You exclaim, strolling up to her and landing your hands on her shoulders, “I prepared.”

And it’s true! You had spent the night scouring the depths of the internet. Read every WikiHow article on how to deal with someone with extreme anxiety, how to not make things painfully awkward, and how to talk to boys (just in case. The last time you stumbled upon that particular article was way back in middle school when you had a crush on that one guy you saw in your school’s cafeteria every now and then. Naturally, that led you down the rabbit hole, and according to WikiHow’s How To Tell If A Boy Likes You guidebook, you found out that he was absolutely enamored with you because he glanced in your direction, like, two times. Safe to say that love story went nowhere. The point still stands). 

So you forward all of this information to Rae, nestled in her bed whilst she lazily folds her clothes; clarify that you know that nothing much can happen, and that this whole situation is delicate, and that you must tread carefully because you don’t want to overwhelm him. She pauses her actions, glancing behind her to watch you staring idly at the ceiling, so peaceful, so thoughtful. And it’s not the eerie calmness you had displayed during your murderous spree in the last Among Us game, no, it’s just...quiet understanding. 

“I’m actually impressed.” She says. You merely hum, counting the dust slowly descending in the cascading light, “You’re not as clueless as I thought.” Your lips quirk into a shy smile at the compliment- “Or as tactless.” - and turn downward just as quick.

“That implies that I’m always tactless.”

“You are.” She states and you sit up, a soft frown pinching your brows, “Not like, in a terrible way. You just...don’t think about your actions. Or the repercussions. You just know that you can get away with everything.”

“And I can!”

“That doesn’t actually mean you should do something just because you can. You know I’ll always support you. Literally everyone will always support you. But I’m not gonna coddle you. You’re just...a lot. Online and especially in person. But the fact that you’re actually taking this seriously and taking his feelings into consideration is...well, the bare minimum, but still, good job.”

...Much to think about. You don’t like thinking, it makes your head hurt. Though, that could just be the lack of sleep. You cross your legs and plop your head in your hand, tired eyes blinking owlishly, “Do you...think I should change what I’m wearing?”

Prompted by your question, she gives you a careful once over, “I mean, it’s signature you.”

“Signature me is a hoodie and some sweatpants.”

She smiles, “Then go change. Your outfit is a bit distracting for just...Hanging out indoors, no? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind either way, though.”

“I just...” You bite the inside of your cheek, mulling your words over. Truly, the last time you were so attentive was when you went Psycho Mode in Among Us, which, to be fair, wasn’t that long ago. Perhaps there wasn’t a chance to let your mind dull - it’s almost as sharp as your butterfly knife, “I figured that if, like,” You vaguely motion with your hands, “if I be, like, all over the place, and wearing something cute, he’d be, like, distracted? And less anxious? No...awkward silence?”

“First meetings are always awkward, it’s natural.” She chimes, “I mean, if you’re so nervous-”

“I’m not nervous!”

“-then just don’t overthink it. I know it’s easier said than done, but you’re you, and Corpse is Corpse, and he likes you for who you are, and even if it is a bit awkward, I’m sure it’ll, like, blow over in a second. It really doesn’t matter how you look, Y/n.” She grins, “Plus, it’s not like you’re greeting him in your underwear or something.”

You will not admit that that was your plan B, not when you just landed in her good graces. You nod, “...I’ll go change.” 

And so you do. Pick out your cutest hoodie and some sweatpants. Put away your jingle jangle shoes with a broken heart, instead of them donning your fluffiest socks; slip off some rings because they keep falling off of your fingers. It’s almost like all of those transformation scenes in rom-coms that are still popular for some reason, except you’re hot before and after, so there’s really no transformation at all. 

Now you wait. Just wait, all other activities are excluded from this. Rae comes back to find you sitting on the edge of your bed, back straight, hands neatly folded on your lap. She compares you to a Sim’s character and you allow her. After mercilessly mocking you and snapping a few pictures - for blackmail, you assume - she helpfully informs that she is leaving because she doesn’t want to get in the way, but your psychic abilities which you acquired just now tell you that she simply doesn’t want to witness this train wreck. Not that it’ll be a train wreck, it would be if you were nervous, but you aren’t. 

You just aren’t. You fidget with the rings adoring your hand; toy with the hem of your hoodie; bounce your leg up and down. It’s just caffeine, okay?! Fuck this, Twitter time.

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[ADDING A MUSICAL INTERMISSION, LISTEN TO THIS IF YOU WANT (I WROTE THIS CHAPTER WITH IT IN MIND)]

The waiting commences, only now it somehow feels more intense. The sun is setting, and you really want to be one of those cute girls that fill their camera roll with pictures of the sunset and the roseate sky, but your hands are trembling and holding up your phone feels like too much of a hassle. You’d rather just sit there, alone in the apartment, in the pin-drop silence, extremely uncomfy and tense, as if waiting for the end of the world. 

A notification sounds off and your life flashes before your eyes. Hastily, you check it, a sticky mixture of delight and something else, something unpleasant constricting, making your stomach churn. He’s here. Holy shit, it’s happening. You order your anime plushies to stop fucking panicking, they’re like, totally embarrassing you at the moment! You wonder if they have their own little group chat, but instead of Totally Spies it’s called Total Embarrassment. Yikes, okay, that was harsh. After a good scolding, and a heartfelt apology for getting so heated, you smooth down the non-existent wrinkles on your modest outfit, and quickly waddle over to the electronic apartment thingie something something... you unlock the main door, okay!? This is for some reason feeling very not cash money, so you break out in a little dance number.

The doorbell does not sing that shrill, unpleasant tune; rather, there’s a soft knock on the apartment’s door, and you pause your shuffling, your renegade, and perk up at the imposing future hidden behind a slab of wood. Your heart beats a melody all on it’s own, and it’s loud, uncoordinated, like a musician that’s still familiarizing themselves with their instrument. And there’s that knock again, as uncertain as you’re feeling, and your clammy fingers latch onto the lock and turn it and now there is no more hiding - such a possibility is no longer an option; no more sporadic dances or sitting in disheartening silence and letting your thoughts weight you down.

You’re not quite sure what you were thinking about before you saw him in the threshold, head tilted slightly, fluffy dark hair obscuring the bags under his eyes, hunched, one ringed hand clutching onto the strap of his duffel bag, the other frozen mid-air, ready to knock one more time lest you didn’t hear him the first two. No, truly, you can’t, for the life of you, remember what all the fuss was about. 

“...Oh.” It’s a soft sound, so quiet, but not surprised, rather...relieved. Faint shimmers of a smile reach you, hidden behind a black face mask - the panini chic! You must stan a respectful king - but there’s something about the way he looks at you that makes you question it’s sincerity. He fails to return your gaze, rather choosing to stare somewhere over your shoulder. His eyes seem unfocused. Apprehensive. A wild thought occurs to you that he expected you to trick him somehow, and wild thoughts invade the land of your mind often, but never in such a way. You clutch the handle just a bit tighter.

His hand retreats to his side, up to his mask and you think he’s about to unhook it but he stills, and there’s panic there, as if he had been moving unconsciously, as if he hadn’t realized what he’s doing. He plays it off by idly scratching his cheek, muttering an equally quiet, “Hi.” to fill the silence.

Finally, your WikiHow knowledge can come in handy, along with your common sense, “Hey, pretty boy.” You mutter, pulling away from the door, “Make yourself at home!” You slide to the kitchen, your socks acting not unlike ice-skates cutting through the Arctic frost covered ground. You hope that with you occupied and not watching him as closely he’ll feel slightly more at ease. 

You’d like to hug him. Kiss him, definitely. But if he’s so uncomfortable that he can’t bring himself to shed his mask in your presence, then there’s really nothing you can do. 

You hear the door shut and lock behind you as you pull out two glasses from the cupboard, humming a song you can’t quite recall the name of. You ask him if he’d like something to drink - it was a short flight, yet a flight still, and planes always make you thirsty, and there you go talking his ear off. You end abruptly, but smoothly, like a true diplomat; if he notices, you have no way of knowing - he doesn’t provide even a hint. He’s hard to read, and literature was never your best subject. But you’re trying.

He sets his duffel bag down on a nearby chair, “I, uhhh,” His voice is raspy and low, another indication of a pathetic lack of sleep, “I...got you something, uhh, I dunno-dunno if I should...give it now, or?” He sends you a questioning glance, but it doesn’t linger. Your offer of drinks is momentarily forgotten, though you hardly mind. 

You grin, “Sure! I love gifts, gimmie gimmie.” You make grabby hands, and he snorts, and it would’ve sounded endearing if he didn’t sound so fucking tired. He unzips the bag, and you pad your way to him, mindful of personal space (something you, in most social situations, chose to pretend does not exist). You note his hands quivering lightly, just like yours had in the agonizing wait, but he hides it well. You wish you could hold them. You’re afraid to try.

He pulls out a black hoodie and you recognize the custom art on it instantly - it’s his merch. He presents it in awkward flourish, murmuring a “Tadaaaa” under his breath; your heart skips a pleasant beat, and you have to bite down on your lower lip lest you smile appears too big. The fabric is soft under your fingers, and you accept his gift with a dramatic bow, and he turns his head away with another little laugh. You’re chipping away at the ice around him; it’s a slow process, but it’s worth the effort.

Truly, your own hoodie is shabby in comparison - icky, how could you have ever worn such a thing in the first place?! You’ll have to do extensive research in fashion magazines and Printerest so such a slip-up may never happen again. You discard it hastily and put his on instead; it smells like washing detergent with hints of cologne, one you instantly pin point belonging to him, “It’s, uhhh, it’s mine? I hope you, uhh, I didn’t have any spare ones, so-I hope you don’t...mind.”

He’s finally looking at you, but he’s still tense, still hesitant, and you shake your head softly, “No,” You admit, “I like it even more now.” You pull on the hood, toy with the strings and yank them quickly; your face is concealed, save for your nose, “Comfy.” Your commentary is unmatched, best of it’s kind - eloquent and effortless, much like yourself.

Another small laugh reaches your ears, and it sounds a bit livelier than the others had been. Success!

“Stop that.” He says gently, and you see moving shadows; his hands loosen the strings and your face is revealed to him once again. He’s close now, and he doesn’t move away; his hands come to rest on your shoulders, warm even through layers of fabric, “I came all this way to see you, don’t hide your face from me.” 

Your eyes narrow playfully, your finger rapidly tapping away on his clothed cheek, “What’s all this then? Hm? Hm?” Instead of swatting your hand away, which you figured he’d do, he complies and finally tugs that fucking mask off. Your breath catches in the back of your throat and you halt your ministrations - truly, seeing him smiling on screen is nothing compared to him smiling in person. You can’t quite contain yourself any longer - your excitement might burst out in another dance number otherwise - as you throw your arms over his shoulders and pull him flush against you. He’s quick to return the embrace. Maybe it was all the encouragement he needed.

“Wow,” He mumbles, only slightly offended, “so I finally show my face to you, in person, and you just-...you just look away?”

“I’m hugging you, dumbass.”

“...Touche.”

Things fall into place after that, like a dozen puzzle pieces fitting together. He won’t let you go - he doesn’t want to. You put on some music, something easy and indie and that doesn’t require too much effort to listen to, as the two of you contemplate what to eat. Cooking by yourselves was dismissed due to the unstable relationship between yourself and cooking utensils. The stove and you had had a falling out recently, but this feud had started long ago, back in pre-school, with only short intervals of friendship. He listened to your extensive explanation absolutely enraptured and only moderately confused. 

So you settled on ordering pizza from Domino’s. You have no trouble calling or receiving phone calls, because you have no trouble doing anything, and he admitted that he only really calls you because he gets too anxious to do more, so you’re tasked with ordering the food. You accept this mission with pride.

You stand tall, gazing out the window into the wild California domain: massive buildings and towering eucalyptus trees, bleeding skyline and the sun slowly getting swallowed up by the ocean. Corpse looms behind you, with his arms snaked around your waist and his chin resting on your shoulder, looking at you through the corner of his eye. You wait patiently for the underpaid, overworked staff member to pick up, and once they do, you have the audacity to grin brightly and chirp, “Hi! I want pizza.”

Conversations flow smoothly, and you make hot chocolate - because you are hot and you crave chocolate - and he insists he wants one too, because you want one, and you don’t hesitate to overflow his cup with whipped cream and an ungodly amount of miniature marshmallows. A premature heart attack, just for him. Whoever said romance is dead has clearly never met you. When the doorbell chimes, you’re astounded that an hour flew by so quickly.

After the delicious meal, the movie night must commence. So what if you watched 10 Things I hate About You yesterday, you insist that you have already forgotten the plot. You lead him to your room and he tries not to stare, but can’t help himself. Pretty boy in a pretty girl’s room. His eyes linger on the massive posters of Chrollo on your walls, and you sense his displeasure rolling off of him in waves. 

“What?” You huff, fluffing the pillows, “You don’t like my husband?”

He jabs his finger into his chest, into the spot of his heart, “I’m your husband.”

“Side hoe, then-”

“-No.”

You didn’t lie when you said you love to cuddle, or that you’re clingy. It’s a good thing he’s just as clingy as you are, because when he lays down and you latch onto his side. He doesn’t complain, rather wraps his arm around pulls you close. His thumb draws lazy circles on your side; with your head resting on his chest, you feel each rhythmical rise and drop. 

The opening credits play on the projector, the room dark enough for your pile of plushies to look like a whole fucking human just standing in the corner. A ghost! Sucks for it, you’re not scared. You feel safe. Protected. So comfortable in Corpse’s hold that you’re honestly wondering how did you manage to be so long without him. To think all of this started when Sykkuno followed you on Twitter. What a lucky accident.

“Can I ask you something?” Your voice cuts through the bopping 90s soundtrack and Julia Stiles’ voice. He hums. You take it as a yes. Tilting your head upwards, you find his eyes again, a thorn of displeasure picking you as you note that that apprehension you had seen previously is still very much there, “...You really wouldn’t date me if I was a worm?”

His chest rumbles with a laugh and his lips split into a grin, “I would.” He presses your side for emphasis, “I really would.” He repeats, reassuringly. You, however, are not convinced.

“But I’d be a worm.”

“I know. We’d... roll around in the dirt together, or something.”

“But you’d be human.”

He frowns softly, “Why couldn’t I be a worm, too?”

“Those are the rules.”

“What kind of shitty fucking rules are those?”

“I dunno, it’s like the Thanos snap or something. I just turn into a worm. I’m the only one.”

“That’s fine.” He smiles, “I’d take you out on a fishing date or something.”

Shocked, offended, and heartbroken, you hit his chest and pointedly turn away with a pout, which he finds very funny for some reason, but you fail to see the humor anywhere except the movie. Despite the fact that he’d sacrifice you for a fish, you smile shyly and close your eyes. He did say you would take a nap together, and if he really thought you’d stay awake for movie night, well, then he’s just an idiot. You had decided you would fall asleep as soon as he was next to you. It’s a miracle you managed to stay awake for so long.

“...Sleeping already?” You don’t appreciate his teasing tone.

“’m not sleeping...” You murmur, “’m resting my eyes.”

“Sure.”

You’re not quite certain (of anything, really) how much time drifts by, but you’re nearly lost in unconsciousness, in the warm, nice feeling that comes along with him like a cloud. Perhaps he thinks you’re asleep, he has to, else he wouldn’t say anything at all, “You’re stuck with me now, you know.” It’s such a soft admission, riddled with the same notes of anxiety that always prevail in his speech; with the same hopeful sincerity he had been gazing at you the whole evening. 

Moving your lips is such a hassle, but you manage, “’m...stuck...” You mumble, “’m...stuck...what are you doing step-”

“No!” He laughs, and your lips quirk into a lazy smile, “No, no, no. Just no. Do you talk in your sleep?” You fake snore at that, loudly, “You’re like a little dragon.”

“...Fuck you.”

“Fine, a kitten, then.” That’s better. You feel something chapped, but soft, press onto your forehead, “Goodnight, Y/n.”

God, you’re so fucking happy. Does he know how happy you are? How happy he makes you? But you’re too tired for screaming and flailing around, too tired to even crack an eye open. You want him to know all the same, “...like you.” You whisper, but you don’t know if he hears you over the movie, “...I like you.”

His reply is instant, breathless, “I like you too.”

Good, you want to say, and maybe you do - can’t tell anymore. Sleep takes you too quickly.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @bingusmode - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury--moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

[pleasantanathema]

Pleasant’s Writer Recs!

I’ve gotten a few asks in my inbox over the past few weeks asking me for writer recs, so I thought the best way to do this was to compile a list of my fav authors on tumblr and rec my favorite fic of theirs! A lot of these amazing authors are moots—I’m very lucky to call many of them close friends. This list could be much longer, and I could go on for days about every single author, but I’ll try to keep it brief. Most all of these authors, like myself, write 18+ only content. Hopefully this can be a useful tool for authors and readers alike looking for amazing fanfic 💕

@bakatenshii | Angel is so phenomenal with her writing that I almost can’t put her style and amazing ability into words (but I’ll try). Angel’s work is beautiful, masterful, full of poetry, elegance, and smut that will all leave you gasping. Fav Fic: Blitz [Ushijima x Reader]

@blahkugo | Sunnt, Thunnth, Sunny, whatever you call her, she is brilliant. No one writes Tsukishima quite like she does. She is beyond creative and her writing style flows like the sexiest water, it’ll make you thirsty and quench your aches. Fav Fic: Tower [Tsukishima x Reader]

@deathcab4daddy | Tay is all about details, details, details. She fills in every gap and paints gorgeous, sexy pictures and situations for the reader to feel immersed in. Fav Fic: Cerulean Blue [Akaashi x Reader]

@dymphnasprose | Dymphna is all about fun, sex, and slowly filling out her holy bible of smut. She’s amazing at creating realistic sub/dom relationships and her smut almost always comes with a healthy dose of build-up. Fav Fic: Green Scrunchies [Ukai x Reader]

@enjifuckersupreme | Ketsl reigns supreme over pure, unadulterated porn. They are phenomenal at making me the reader wet, and every fic is crafted with so much care. Enji fuckers should bow down at their feet, no one loves and writes Enji like Ketsl. Fav Fic: Attitude Adjustment [Enji x Reader]

@hisoknen | Raph is one of the first dark blogs I ever started reading, and she never, ever disappoints. She writes pieces that chill you to the bone, but warms your sex- her writing is casual, smooth, and realistic, always giving you everything you need, but leaving you wanting a little more. Fav Fic: Sleeping Beauty [Dabi x Reader]

@hoe-doroki | Ana is one of the sweetest writers I know. Every time I talk to her, she’s working on comfort requests or beta-reading for other people. Her writing is such a pleasure to read, as you can tell she pours love and consideration into every fic for her readers. Fav Fic: Can’t Find My Breath [Bakugou x Reader]

@joyousandverywarlike | Zo...holy fucking shit. Zo is a writer who consistently blows me out of the water with her skill. This woman is a novelist blessing us with juicy, rich smut and love stories like no one else can. She is incredibly poetic and her writing is an absolute joy to read; she also writes amazing fics for black readers and has an amazing voice that she uses for asmr audios! Fav Fic: How We Met [Ushijima x Reader]

@lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten | Leah is an author who takes immense care with her work. She works incredibly hard to craft sexy, healthy bdsm fics for bnha. She is a great blog to go to for bdsm education, and she’s also got a side blog @lemonlordleah-extra-sour for all you extra naughty readers who like the darker side of fanfic. You should also check out her Patreon! Fav Fic: Between the Evergreen [Aizawa x Reader]

@linestrider | Nyki’s work is like smooth water, it’s calming, refreshing, but she also adds a nice, chill bite to it as well with her darker style. Nyki puts such an impressive amount of care into her work; a word is never out of place, every sentence has meaning, every paragraph gives you something new. It was very hard to choose just one fic to recommend. Fav Fic: What’s Said is Said [Hawks x Reader]

@lookslikeleese | Leese is one of the most fun writers on Tumblr, and by that I mean you just have a shitload of fun reading her fics. They are like little, sexy treats to take in right before bed and feel a little more full than you were before. She is also the Cucking Queen. Fav Fic: Cola [Enji x Reader] 

@messwriting | Lee is also another fun writer! Her writing is exhilarating to read, and you’d never guess she’s a sexy Brazilian whose second language is English based on how well she writes. She’s a little sex goddess who will give you everything you want and more in every fic. Fav Fic: What We Could’ve Been [Tsukishima x Reader]

@mindninjax | Marquie is a full on sweetie with a sexy side. She. Is. So. Creative. Every fic of hers is so unique and her masterlist is a whole reading experience. She writes Bakugou Katsuki so damn well, she’s a master at characterization, even in au’s. She also writes beautiful fics for black readers. Fav Fic: Bound to You [Bakugou x Reader]

@nekokoafanfictions | I first found Ai on Ao3, and then was fortunate enough to come across their blog here on Tumblr! I’ve said this before in previous rec lists, and I’ll say it again, I still read their fics some nights to fall asleep to, they are just that good, every fic will have you coming back at some point to read it again. Fav Fic: City Lights [Enji x Reader]

@present-mel | The. Queen. Of. Dialogue. Mel is a master at making her fanfic feel real, gritty, sexy, and beautiful all at the same time. This woman pours her heart and soul into fanfic, especially into her Erwin series Fragments of Memories. I was so captivated by her work that I just had to become her friend, her work is enchanting and thrilling. Fav Fic: Until the Fire Played [Enji x Reader]

@rat-suki | Annie makes me horny. Like, real horny. Her smut is fantastic and are often little thrill rides within themselves. Fuck rollercoasters, just go to Annie’s masterlist to find a joy ride. Fav Fic: Hell Fire [Enji x Reader]

@rivendell101 | I’m such a big fan of Alisha, that I sent her a request months ago before we even became friends. This author knows how to craft a story, her work is very meticulous with details and her plots are always so spot on. Fav Fic: Sweet Thing [Natsuo x Reader]

@smutbardpeach | Smutbard is the most accurate title for Peach, as her fics read like poetry and song, filled with beautiful language, imagery, and allusions to the brim. If you’re ever looking for something romantic, sensual, delightful, and just overall magnificent to read, this is the blog to go to. Peach’s work is like reading poetry and classics right off the shelf. Fav Fic: Truth in Wine [Hizashi x Reader]

@spicyness | Are you thirsty? Do you like fun, sexy headcanons? Ness is the author for you. Ness is so, so fun and sweet, and is active with her followers and is always posting something new and creative for us to nibble at. Her blog is full of fun thirsts and she’s always a joy to see pop-up on my dash. Fav Fic: Pride [Bakugou x Reader]

@sugardaddykenma | Lin has the most amazing brain. I wish I could just...see and understand how she thinks. Her blog is full to the brim with hilarious, iconic, and down right fucking true headcanons for haikyuu characters. Many nights I have stayed up laughing my ass off and saying “why is that so true?” while reading through her astonishingly creative work. Fav Fic: Haikyuu on Drugs

@thewheezingwyvern | Wyv is a writer who gets straight to the point; her words are poignant, meaningful, and always paint a very clear picture. She is a Shinsou and Aizawa lover/fucker all the way to her core, and she’s amazing at bringing those characters to life in her work. Fav Fic: Salt Lines [Aizawa & Shinsou x Reader]

@thisisthehardestthing | Claudia is one of the most talented writers I have ever met. Period. She has a vocabulary, a depth, an ability to craft the most intense, alluring, and magnificent fanfic you’ve ever read. Most of her work doesn’t even seem like fanfic, it reads like love letters stuffed into the pages of a book that stand the test of time with her marvelous writing abilities. She always awes me, as every single fic is unique and powerful it its own way. Fav Fic: Tocka [Tanaka x Reader]

@tomurasprincess | The Queen of Darkness herself, Mari is amazing at fulfilling all of your dark desires. I’ve never met anyone else who is as active as she is with her followers, as she’s constantly pushing herself to answer requests and give people exactly what they want to see. She has such an expansive masterlist, any dark fic lover can find something worthwhile from her! She’s almost made a Shigaraki fucker out of me, almost. Fav Fic: Wraith’s Touch [Shigaraki x Reader]

@undermattsun | Miki taught me what a skate rat is. Do I understand it yet? Not really, but I fucking like it. Miki is so much fun and is always active with her followers, giving out awesome thirsts, visuals, and headcanons for her fav haikyuu characters. Fav Fic: Flavor of the Month [Matsukawa x Reader]

@vixen-scribbles | Vixen is someone who cares about everyone around her, and her blog reflects that. Amongst all her amazing writing, you’ll always find her recommending her friends and supporting other writers. Her writing is fucking sexy, she knows her way around the bedroom when it comes to fics, and she’s got a lengthy masterlist to fawn over. Fav Fic: Take All of Me [Ushijima x Reader]

@whats-her-quirk | Truly, the best has been saved for last. June’s work is the heart and soul of classic, fucking amazing fanfic. I can’t even explain how much I love her fics, like they will put the biggest smile on your face and have your thighs rubbing together in anticipation. June is writing her fantasies and having fun, and we are privileged to enjoy the ride with her. She knocked kinktober out of the fucking park, with each fic being a new, fresh delight. Fav Fic: Once in a Blue Moon [Karasuno x Reader Gangbang]

This list could honestly be twice as long, and perhaps in the future I’ll make a companion to it as I meet new authors and read more amazing fanfic. Please give all these authors a follow or at least check out their blogs. 💖