#When is it not

[puhpandas]

first halloween drawing of the season 👻🍭💀🕷🦇🎃

[natdeviantrat]

do you ever think about how "the NAME the name unuttered in our home for 23 years said over and overr again until it was pounding in my brain like a hammer" implies him listening from the sofa at home and do you ever think about how he knows exactly how many boys louis has fucked and sucked bc he was listening for each of them too and do you think this is a habit he picked up after paying for his complacency in paris or that he's had since long before (and knew they were plotting around him but couldn't be bothered to care) and do you ever imagine that just a tiny bit of his repulsion to turning a fledgeling has to do with how terrifying it would be to not be able to get into someone's brain after all this time and yet still be connected such that who knows what unfiltered emotional resonances might come across without the opportunity for self-editing and then he might actually have to face the horrifying ordeal of being known when he can't even handle the prospect of knowing himself

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

the body language is fucking wild

[radarchives]

[adriel-the-unfortunate]

If Francis Mosses looks like Ted Nivison's milkman (TM)

And Harvey of Stardew fame resembles Eddy Burback

Math dictates that:

(Ted + Eddy) x (Rainforest Cafe + Margaritaville) = (Milkman + Harvey) x (Bad photoshopping + God strike me down)

Or something... I don't know, I almost failed math in highschool.

[nomsfaultau]

when Tommy can’t sleep at night, Wilbur sings to help ward off the nightmares. They’re the same lullabies Philza hummed to him when he was a kid.

[and-make-it-double]

guys i have entrances coming. i should be studying for entrance right now but all i can do i scroll through this godforesaken website

[letprecioustimegoby]

we both bring things to the table in this relationship! he brings a certain aura of grief with him wherever he goes and i bring a gun

[miivrs]

[cloverandstuff]

"What do you mean the Manga has been running for over a decade already?"

-Me, 1 minute ago.

[yolowritter]

A Case of Ladybug Luck Chapter 4

Hello there everyone, and welcome back to Hell! Holy Nooroo it's been so long since I posted abt this AU. Mostly because I'm busy actually writing it and 300k words are apparently nowhere near enough to finish what I started a year ago! Anyway, I'm just going to do a speedrun of posting these early chapters because I want to get to the good stuff already! Believe me, it's worth! So, from now on I won't have a note at the beggining of this, just the snippet and chapter link, kay? Cool! Asks are open btw if anyone wants to chat about ACOLL! Enjoy my suffering!

Nathalie was curled up on the couch, definitely asleep. She looked pale, the same way Marinette would pale when she was worried about him. Like she’d literally been worried sick. His father was sitting in an armchair beside her, reading a book. Gabriel didn’t notice his approach. One of them had wheeled out a TV from the guest rooms down the hall, and it was tuned in on…the news? TVI, it looked like, and they were on an add break. Adrien took a deep breath to steady himself, to throw the image of his seething father almost breaking the dinner table with his fist, right out of his mind.

Gabriel glanced at the screen, stared at the advertisement, something about a new hair product, and went back to his book. It had a full black cover, Adrien noted as he approached. Gabriel heard his footsteps, used a bookmark to not lose the page he was on, and shut the book, placing it next to him on the chair. For a moment, Adrien saw the title. “The Illusion of Living.” Wow. Macabre, much?

“G-good morning father.”, Adrien tried as a greeting. This…was weird. He wasn’t used to seeing his father relax…or at all, to be honest. He looked uninterested, indifferent. Gabriel glanced at the TV, saw the news hadn’t come on yet, and turned to face his son.

“Ah, Adrien. Did you sleep well?”, he asked, seeming genuinely curious. Oddly, Adrien noticed his father wasn’t wearing his tie clip. The empty white spot where it should be drew his eye, but Adrien reigned himself in and nodded an affirmative.

“Yes. But…father, I don’t mean to disrespect you but…don’t I have a photoshoot today? Two hours ago?”, he asked, hesitant.

Gabriel’s expression shifted from his calm. Like a porcelain mask, the façade cracked, and for a single second Adrien thought he saw guilt and sadness in his father’s eyes. He looked so…forlorn. Defeated, even. Guilty.

He nodded, seeing that his father wasn’t going to say anything else. Adrien glanced at Nathalie, concerned. His father’s assistant, always a stern but constant presence…looked so frail. She looked like mom- like she desperately needed the rest. Gabriel sighed when he caught him staring.

“Nathalie is fine, son. She’s just tired. We had an…interesting morning.” A morning that nearly cost Gabriel his sanity, and some pocket change to top things off. Some 50.000 thousand euros to ensure the silence of the hospital staff and discharge him as soon as he was stable. He was fine, really. The problem wasn’t physical. Dizziness overcame him, suddenly. Emilie had said the same thing, once.

Adrien nodded again, not knowing what else to do. “I…Am I free for the day, then?”, he asked his father.

Gabriel didn’t even pretend to consider it. “Yes, free for the week. I’ve cancelled all your lessons and photoshoots. You’re…welcome to stay home, if you’d like. I’ve delegated my own duties for today, so if you require anything…please come talk to me.”, he said, sounding like the words struggled to leave his mouth.

“Adrien, remember. You are my son. I am your father. It’s my responsibility to make sure you are well. I will be there when you need me.”, Gabriel tried, testing the words. They sounded…right, this time. An odd sense of numbness washed over him again, and he turned back to the television. “You should go to your room, sleep some more. It’s been a long week for you, I’m sure.”, he added as an afterthought, his tone monotonous and dry. Almost robotic.

“…Right. I- I’ll go and lay down, then. Good morning, father.”

Gabriel blinked, as if the time was news to him. Right, the night was over. It was a new day, now. He didn’t feel like it. He barely felt like anything at all. “Of course, son. Now go.”, he insisted, eyes glued to the final, fading advertisement, before the screen switched to Nadja Chamack. Adrien obeyed and began to ascend the stairs again, and Gabriel unmuted the broadcast.

“Welcome back, Paris. As I said before, there have been no further news on the case. Poor weather conditions lasted all throughout the night, and police have had no luck finding any trace of…”

Adrien stopped in his tracks, midway up the staircase. He breathed deeply. “Father…did something happen?”, he asked hesitantly. Something had to have happened. This…couldn’t all be because of Lila, could it?

Gabriel’s eyes seemed to glance back at him, even though his head didn’t move an inch.

“We’re standing by for news on any new developments, and are hoping for the best. Please wait for more information.”

“Not to me. I’m fine.”, he said coldly, the air of indifference returning to his tone.

Adrien hoped it wouldn’t be followed by another outburst. He hung his head, and obeyed his father’s order, going back to his room. Maybe he could mess around with his piano? Last they’d met, Luka had given him some inspiration for a song. Hadn’t he said something about…masks? Adrien would have to text him, see if he remembered.

Plagg was there when Adrien opened the door, hovering over his unlocked phone. He looked…sad. Making a face of realization the same way Adrien would do when he could guess that more photoshoots would be added to his schedule. Like an inevitability had just come true. The kwami spun to face him when he came in, but Plagg’s face betrayed nothing of what Adrien had just seen.

“Hey kit! Morning! Wow, good thing your pops let us sleep in today huh? Say, I’m full of energy! How about we go for a run, huh? Get your muscles going?”, Plagg said, looking frantic and desperately pretending to be happy and excited. Adrien knew a thing or two about playing pretend.

Plagg never lied to him. Not unless something was very wrong, not after the Sandman incident. He’d promised. Plagg hadn’t lied to him since. Adrien let the worry he felt for Plagg show on his face. Words weren’t needed between them sometimes, and he didn’t think he should say what he could show. Plagg tried to keep his smile up. Adrien saw him strain himself, the widening of his eyes to look restless, the same expression he’d make when he got bored of flying around his room.

Adrien stared at him. Plagg stared back, a pleading look to please pretend he was oblivious, go along with it. After a moment, the Kwami faltered, and his mask broke.

“K-kid.”, he tried to speak, voice cracking as if his throat had been hit by a Cataclysm. “Do me a favor.”, Plagg begged him. Adrien had already opened his mouth to agree when his phone rang. “Don’t answer that. Please.”, Plagg insisted.

Adrien checked the caller ID. It was Nino. He shot Plagg a look. The cell rang again. Adrien ignored it to swipe down on the screen and check his notifications. 37 missed calls from Nino. 2096 unread messages. Half of those from Alya. What the fuck? The ringing seemed to get louder. Plagg’s whiskers dropped, his face fell.

Adrien reached out a hand to pet him, to offer comfort for whatever was wrong, but Plagg retracted. “Kit…I’m so sorry.”, he offered meekly, and flew up to his spot, curling up in a ball. Adrien thought he heard him sobbing. He picked up the phone, worried and confused. Why was his father acting like that? Why was Plagg acting like that?

Nino’s voice sounded horrible. Like he’d been crying. “A-Adrien?”, he asked, stuttering in near disbelief. “Thank fuck, are you okay? No, sorry, stupid question. How are you…holding up, dude?”

Okay, now Adrien knew something was very, very wrong. He tried to mask his fears with confusion. “Nino? What happened? I just woke up, are you okay?”, Adrien asked with genuine concern, trying not to panic. He’d kept himself together while fighting supervillains, he could get through one conversation without letting his worries eat him up.

Nino sobbed on the other end. Went silent. Adrien heard Alya’s voice, just barely, as if they’d moved the phone away from them.

“Nino…do we tell him?”, she asked, sounding frightened.

Nino failed to hold back a sob. “Babe…we have to.”

Nino moved the phone closer. “Uh…dude. You might want to check the news…”, he said awkwardly. Adrien was downright panicked now. He didn’t respond to Nino, he rushed back downstairs to his father, to the broadcast. What was happening? Why were his friends walking on eggshells around him? Had he done something? Did Lila do something?

“Please hold on, we’ve just received a statement from Officer Raincomprix. Stand by for-”

Gabriel had the book in his lap, reading calmly. Miss Chamack’s voice didn’t seem to bother him. She paused mid-sentence, and moved off screen.   

She came back into frame, looking like she was about to cry. Her professionalism was in shambles, Adrien saw the way her face twitched with silent tears, holding back the urge to sob.

“I- I regret to inform everyone that we’ve received official word from the Parisian Police Department. Marinette Dupain Cheng has been confirmed dead. It was ruled a suicide.”

[chickenfics]

Chapter Summary:

Cee felt something bump against her arm. When she looked up, Ezra was holding out a rations bar. She opened her mouth, hesitated before she settled on exactly what she wanted to say.

“I’ve still got one left…”

“I know,” he softly replied. “Here.”

Still, she hesitated.

“Take it,” he tapped it against her arm.

“But, what about you?” she asked, even as she took the bar from him.

“I’m not hungry. The dust combined with our current altitude has banjaxed my appetite.”

“It what?” her lip curled in annoyance.

He smirked and shook his head. “You’ll have to wait until I get you a dictionary for that one.”

Cee rolled her eyes, mouth opening in a reluctant grin. Still, she tore the bar in half and held one side out to him. He glanced down at it dumbly, and she raised her eyebrows in warning.

“Take it,” she said, waving it at him. “Besides, I’m pretty sure ‘banjaxed’ isn’t a word, so that means it can’t actually affect your appetite.”

“Kevva, you just keep gettin’ funnier,” he stopped, cocking his hip and snatching the piece she was offering.

“Must be the dust and our current altitude,” she said around a faint grin.

“You know what, I believe you’re starting to test my patience, girl.” It was a load of shit. He was grinning ear to ear, and, alarmingly, he looked proud.

[thenovelartist]

Bustafellows - The romance in Mozu's route - Discussion

After chatting with @ymthkrs a few weeks back, I knew I would have to replay Mozu Shepherd's route in Bustafellows. Because I got way too curious about if there was any real romance build up in Side A.

I binged the whole thing in a week, but good grief, it kinda feels like a fever dream because I barely remember half the mental rants I went on while playing this game and I very much regret not writing these things down and/or taking more screenshots to remember them by. (I have no idea what's wrong with me lately, being unable to recall so many things I read or unable to invest myself in stories and characters. I don't know what health issue is the root or if it's a mix or if the seasonal depression is making that worse, but any way you spin it, it's crap.) So I'll ramble on, pretending I know how to evaluate this character and route. Hell, I've done one Jun Fukuyama character ramble; bet I can do it again. XD

SO! Here's my final verdict: romance if you squint.

Before I get into it, I'll put a disclaimer that I'm reading into everything, searching for this romance here. This is my opinion; I'm not claiming to be an expert. With that, let's dive in.

Let's start all the way back in the common route. Where we have Mozu's first choice. If you end up choosing "hope to meet her", I feel this is the point where we're breaking open into Mozu's heart. Let me be clear, this is still friendship at this point, no romance yet. But this is where he feels more open to talking about his sister with her. Because she's shown investment and interest, and I feel that, at least, this opens up a strong friendship door for Mozu.

This is important, because Mozu then begins opening up more about Yuzu specifically to Teuta. He does not do this with any of the other guys, I'm assuming, despite them knowing of the circumstances surrounding Mozu's sister. Teuta is the one that shows interest and is open to talking about it, meaning Mozu feels freer to talk about it. You see that in the way he wants to head to the school and open up further about Yuzu to her.

Furthermore, Teuta is constantly supporting Mozu's search for Yuzu. Once again, investing in ways that no one else does because he feels like it's a him issue, not to burden any of the other guys with. But here Teuta is, taking up that burden to help him.

Now, I know what you're all thinking. Yes, this is very friendship-y. And at this point that's just about all there is. However, if you read into this, you could say this is a beginning of Mozu opening up and relying on Teuta for things involving this very personal problem for him. I'd dare say Teuta has become Mozu's closest friend right around here.

Next, we have a minor thought here of when Teuta and Mozu are probing the school for rumors. Mozu asks Teuta to take the lead here, since he's a little socially awkward and she's better at this than him. Now, as someone who's a little socially awkward, having a friend you can rely on to take the lead in this situations like this is an immense comfort.

SO! So far, we have Mozu finding support from Teuta AND comfort in Teuta. Now, I cannot speak for Mozu, but for someone who is socially awkward with people and has few friends, I find people like that very precious and typically want to form a tight bond with. Friends I don't want to let go of because that's very special. This is where I could start to see were the lines of friendship and something more would blur from here on out.

Then, we go on to picking up Mozu from the coroner's on that rainy day where he's upset because he couldn't save the puppy. And Teuta there is once again there to offer comfort to him, allowing him to talk things out and make sure he's not alone as he faces death and questions it once again. But then Teuta runs out into the rain to grab the mother dog and put it in a box to bring inside. And you see how much that distressed Mozu when she did.

He panicked over her bolting out into the rain. Which could be an indication that he cared as a friend, but do you see him doing that with any of the guys? (Granted, it could be because she's a girl, but one could ALSO argue he has a different kind of relationship with Teuta because she's a girl.) However, he becomes happy when he realizes she's brought in the dog out of the cold. And I feel like it's because she's related to him in that way. She understands him, even though he knows he walks at a different speed from everyone else. Yet here's Teuta, bringing in the dog to get it out of the rain for Mozu's sake and feeling sad for the death of the dog. She never questions Mozu as he's stitching up a dead dog's wounds, either. She just stands there beside him in support as he does his thing. I feel like that would mean a lot to Mozu, to the point where it's possible that in his mind, those lines of friendship and romance start to blur even more.

Or, on a more serious note here, we have the confusion of feelings. Because you have Teuta offering him these luxuries of comfort and companionship in the face of death, unwilling to leave him alone as he walks this morbid and lonely road twisting through his mind. So I feel it's possible that he's mixing up feelings in his mind of friendship with something else here due to the way he's processing the feelings and situations he's going through.

Next, we have the "You know Professor Troy is into you, right?" debacle. I honestly think he got unsettled by Helvetica's warning to Teuta about Troy being interested in her and how he'd flirt with her. Because this would be someone encroaching on Mozu's "comfort person" right now, if you will. Maybe by now, Mozu has some odd feelings that he's keeping hidden, or he doesn't understand what he's feeling and is just interpreting them as strong friendship. Either way, I think he feels obligated to "protect" her from Troy, or at the very least, observe Troy as he talks with Teuta. And I I think you can see he's distressed about it here because he cuts Teuta off mid-sentence.

The moment she confirms his presence would be reassuring, he's gung-ho and ready to go. (Well, in his own way. XD) But either way, he takes the confirmation of getting to stay by her side and runs with it. And I think this is fairly easy to overlook for most people. (I overlooked it until I went back for a screenshot to write this thing. XD)

Furthermore, I feel like this is confirmed through Helvetica himself, as he chuckles at Mozu's "franticness" here. And then brushing off Limbo's playful chastisement of Helvetica teasing Teuta. Like, Helvetica knew what he was doing. Sure, he is nice enough to warn Teuta, but the bonus came from riling Mozu. Over a girl of all things.

After the talk with Troy, Mozu probes Teuta of how she feels about him. He does point out Troy is interested in her, and he's clearly relieved to hear she doesn't like Troy in that way. Then, I think after Teuta thinks he's teasing her and chastises him for it, he feels a little embarrassed and tries to backtrack. By then, Teuta thinks he's acting a little odd, and that supports my thought that he is interested in her by this point, even if he doesn't fully understand what's going on with his feelings. He just wants to protect this very special friend of his (oh, holy night, I'm having Miraculous Ladybug "just a friend" flashbacks. XD How to know you've been in a fandom too long 101.) But I repeat, I think he's got some mixed feelings at this point, and Mozu is probably a little more in the "romance" category right now without realizing it.

The next point we've got is Mozu talking to Teuta instead of the cat. Now, he could just talk to the sleeping cat; after all, he's just working through his thoughts. He could do this alone. But no, he goes to Teuta and asks her to listen, even giving her a reason as to why she should listen. Which makes me question: Is he desperate to get her to listen because she's already provided comfort and support to him on multiple occasions? Does he realize his feelings yet? Is he working them out? I don't know quite what's going through his head, but it's clear he's very attached to her already.

Back on track, he goes and opens up to her fully. And she lends a listening ear before giving him comfort and support for the fact he's gone through trauma. And part of me wants to believe that he feels better because he talked to Teuta. Like, he actually worked through that moment of chaos not because he mentally completed his thoughts while alone but rather because he wasn't alone. He had someone at his side working through that with him. I can see how easy it would be for lines to blur at this point. Particularly with this line mentioned here. Is this friendship or is this something more?

Then... oh geeeeez, the locker kabedon. Ughhh, okay, let's get through this. XD This is where I'd say Mozu actually has some semblance of feelings at this point. Because even though this is awkward as heck, Mozu is once again seeking comfort specifically from Teuta. The fact he comments that he's hoping to "stimulate his mind" by kabedonning Teuta does prove Mozu sees Teuta as a woman, not just as a friend who happens to be female. And my guess, if any of the above conjunctures are correct, Mozu subconsciously knows he can seek out Teuta for comfort and support. Yet another reason why he does this to Teuta. And after he realizes that physical thing isn't working, who is there to calm his mind other than Teuta, conversing with him and letting him lean on her for support.

Let's see... Next we have the JAMGO (which, by the way, seems WORSE than what a PROM would be like??? And where are the chaperones? Good grief. XD) But the part I want to bring up is after the fire situation. Yes Mozu rescues Teuta, gets to play the hero, but he's PISSED after the fact. Pissed because he was so distressed worrying over her. And the sheer anger that he shows might be because he loves her at that point and her actions really freaked him out because he can't stand to lose one more person who is so close to him. After all, he did shout that he was desperate to save her.

Then let's go to one of the last scenes, where he goes to her after everything has settled down. And Teuta is there to hold him. Once again, he seeks out her comfort and support here. She lets him cry, holds him as he does. He's never alone in these moments where he's faced with darkness and death. Instead, he has Teuta.

He's always had Teuta.

And this is where I think their romance was built. Ironically, to quote a different Jun Fukuyama character (Vyn Richter), this is the "suspension bridge affect" where in people fall in love in dramatic and intense situations due to the way their brain is stimulated at the time. So if Mozu's walking through trauma, his mind heavily stimulated the whole time, and oh look, guess who was there for him the whole time, I can see where the feelings of love can be formed. Ultimately, I feel like this romance of theirs is a friendship that was built up due to their heightened stimuli from the trauma they faced. Even after side A, when we get into side B, Mozu's confession is less an "I love you" but more of an "I like having you around and I really don't like when you're not with me." (we're ignoring the almost kiss, explaining it away as two people caught up in hazy emotions and acting upon impulses.)

And that makes perfect sense when considering that these two really did go from friends to close friends to lovers in a very short period of time. If you look hard enough from Mozu's slightly odd point of view, I think you can interpret him opening up to Teuta and finding stability in her throughout the route. So I don't think their romance doesn't exist here. Honestly, I think it's possible it does, but the writers didn't have the length (as all their stories are relatively short with a lot of information) to fully express that romance the way it maybe should have been expressed. They put these two characters through a lot of trauma in this route, so the romance was only there in hints and maybe not as realistic as it could have been. And how they got together so quickly after going through MASSIVE trauma (both of them, considering the bomb dropped on Teuta by Mozu at the end there) also felt a little too sudden to be realistic, but I understand they had to get together by New Year's and all. XD

But that's not to say I don't think they'd be okay even if their relationship started like this. Because ultimately, even though it was rushed and you have to read into it, I think this was a friends to lovers build up. They'd make it. :D They just have to continue communicating, but they find support and comfort in each other already, and as you see in Mozu's side B, Mozu really does want to talk with Teuta and understand her. The romantic feelings in side A kinda took a back seat to trauma, but that's exactly why I think their relationship works. Because they are less "romance partners", if you will, and more a support unit. And if you think about it that way, it makes their (potential) romance very sweet. :)

[ohpretty]

would you look at the time, it’s horny o’clock already 😌

[littlegayassbitch]

showing my OCs to you like:

oh yeah here's a cishet man who is literally the default of every character creation option. and heres my other oc he is 300+ years old but he's been stuck at 25 the whole and he is head over heels for a 40 year old man. I have killed him one million times.

Also here is a sentient prosthetic arm named adam, he is friends with mice, have fun.

[emopunkwhojustlovestheirdog]

it’s a black parade kinda day if you know what I mean