#also his addition is so cute I’m excited for him to post it

[hansumswife]

could u do like a dad!chris x mom!reader fic/drabble whatev u want and it's post-labour, the reader's given birth to twins ( 1 boy n 1 girl ) and chris is gushing about how cutie his babies r ?? at first he's slightly nervous to pick the babies up bc he's afraid he's gonna hurt them or drop them or smthn, but you reassure him and he's like being the most cutie patootie, greatest dad ever once he tries and warms up to it. and he's also comforting u bc of post-labour pains and discomfort and saying reassuring things like "you've done so great, mama bear" and calling reader cute names and being by her side <33 luv u xx

ᴍᴀᴍᴀ ʙᴇᴀʀ

dad! chris x mom! reader

(no use of y/n)

mentions of pregnancy, labour, and pain

@st7rnioioss @its-jennarose @timmyscomputer @kriissy4gov @liz-stxrn @sunrisemill @mattssluttywaist @riasturns @mx0qin @junnniiieee07 @alorsxsturn @nonameisthegameandilovejake

So far your day had been.. eventful. At around three in the morning you woke up to the bed being wet, only to release your water had broke and you were now going into labour.

Quickly waking Chris up beside you he, of course, panicked but then grabbed your bag and carried you to the car. The drive there was funny to say the least: Chris struggling to turn the engine on due to being so excited yet stressed, lil skies immediately blaring through the speakers which he couldn’t seem to shut off. His hand held onto yours the entire journey, looking at you and making sure you were okay every once in a while - making sure you weren’t in pain.

Surprisingly (not really due to the time), the labour was a quick process. You both checked in quick and got a room sorted and before you knew it you had a baby boy and a baby girl in your arms.

After the doctors and nurses cleaned the babies and made sure everything was okay, they left the room to give you and Chris a moment with your new additions.

Chris slowly walked over to the bed you were laying in, watching the babies laying on your chest in awe. “Can, Can I hold him? Then her next?” he asked gently, lifting the baby boy off your chest as you nodded towards him encouragingly. “I don’t wanna hurt him.”

“You won’t, I promise you.” You nodded, placing the boy in his arms so he had no choice but to hold onto him.

He cradled the baby and rocked slightly, his hand hovering over the babies face - scared he’d break such a delicate thing. “Hiya baby, you have your mommy’s nose.” he coo’d, laughing at the newborns features. He slowly eased into the sway, smiling at the boy. “I cannot wait to be your best friend buddy, little Chris Jr.” he whispered the last part causing you to shake your head at the stupid name he teases you with.

You smiled at the sight of him with a baby, everything he’s been waiting for as soon as he saw the two lines on that pregnancy stick you took, ever since he told bisexual parents and friends, ever since you told him you were craving carrots, ever since you hung the pictures of your scan up on the fridge, ever since you cleaned the house every day trying to prepare.

You stroked the baby girls head before clearing your throat, “You wanna hold her now?” Chris nodded at your offer, replacing the babies for one another as he now rocked his baby girl.

“You’re so pretty, just like your mama bear.” he smiled, kissing his daughter’s forehead. You cringed and laughed at the silly nickname, wincing at the pain it caused your stomach. “Uncle Matt is gonna be so jealous. I’m sure we’ll all spoil you.” he smiled before looking over and seeing your discomfort.

He gently put his daughter down in the small bassinet they provided, taking your son off your chest and doing the same before sitting on the bed with you. “You doing alright ma?”

“I’m okay just a little pain, but it’s okay.” You smiled, holding onto his hands before he let go - reaching over and re-tying your hair for you. “Are you okay?”

He nodded proudly, stroking your cheek. “I’m so proud of you, mama bear.”

You laughed, wincing at the pain but carried on anyways, “Chris! Stop that’s gross!” The new father only laughed into hugged you, making sure to hold his own weight so he wouldn’t hurt you.

“Seriously, I’m proud of you. My pretty girl.” You smiled at his praises, running your hands through his hair whilst shaking your head. “Anyways can we please call him Chris Jr-!”

“Chris! No!”

[cartoonist-in-theory]

You’re walking down a long quiet road. It’s winter, snow covers the ground, the sky fades gray. All around you are trees that have long since dropped their leaves, cold and dead, waiting for spring. You stop beneath one, eye caught by a striking sight. Amid the bare branches you see a round bundle of stunning green leaves. Hanging down above you are dozens of beautiful little pearly white berries. The fruit tempts you, but you don’t dare touch. Instead you simply admire them. Life among the dead of winter. Mistletoe.

@slocotion Hi, here is my design for slocotion's patreon dyo doll contest. Her name is Haustoria of the Pale. I was very excited to put this together once it struck me. I thought of all my favorite fruits I could have used but then inspiration hit me as I was considering less common fruits and fungi. Mistletoe is used medicinally by some but the entire plant, including its cute white berries, is toxic. Since this is a longer post, I’ll include more notes on my design under a cut but to point out the most important thing, I’ve combined the nature of the toxic berries with some historical+mythological inspiration that I think echoes it nicely.

In Norse mythology, a well known story is that of the death of Baldr. Baldr was the most loved god of the Aesir, so when a vision of his death reached his parents Odin and Frigga, they did all they could to protect him. Frigga sent her servants all over the world to make every creature and thing vow to never harm a hair on Baldr’s head. All but mistletoe promised, too insignificant or too young to make the vow. After it was done, Bladr seemed invincible. Since nothing was willing to hurt him, the gods would sometimes gather around and throw things at him, watching everything bounce off without injuring him. Loki, jealous of the love and affection that was always paid to Baldr, came up with a plan to get rid of him. He had an arrow made of mistletoe and brought it to Baldr’s blind brother Hodr. He gave it to him to throw at Baldr as all the gods pelted him with objects and weapons. Hodr threw the arrow and, since mistletoe had never promised not to harm him, it pierced his chest, killing him instantly... And so Baldr was delivered to the depths of the land of the dead, looked over by Hel.

specific design notes under the cut thank you for looking!

Mistletoe is a very interesting plant to me. It’s not a tree or vine or bush, but instead its an evergreen parasite. The sticky seeds attach themselves to the branches and grow into it with a haustorium, which is a structure that lets them sap nutrients from the host plant. Haustoria’s name is a reference to this structure. “of the Pale” is a reference to not only the color of the berries but the pale gray and white landscape of winter.

Mistletoe berries are heavily toxic but also exist in winter, when other plants may be barren and “dead.” Because of that and their parasitic nature I see them as a sweet little balance of life and death. In addition to that, I use the split colors of the face/mask of Haustoria to reference the goddess of the land of the dead, Hel, who is described as having a body that is half black as death, split down the middle.

The structure of the outfit is inspired by Scandinavian and specifically Norwegian folk dresses, since I’m borrowing old Norse history for more inspiration, it seemed fitting. I also felt the style would be good to accompany the botanical and berry designs attractively.

The twin peaked hood is to further split the design down the middle, with little charms to show life and death.

I included white beads all over the outfit to represent the mistletoe berries themselves so they could stand out.

The dark side of her face is adorned with thorns and has three mournful black tears leaking down from her eye, as well as a hollow half of the center heart.

The light side is blushed and lively with shiny eyes, leaves shaped like the mistletoe leaves, red petals like the mistletoe blooms, three white dots to be the mistletoe fruit, and the center heart is full.

Her cape is white on the inside to represent the white of the berries and also the white of snow.

To cap it off, I do believe mistletoe is fitting for a plague doctor as they are still used medicinally to this day. :)

Thank you for reading everything and looking at my design! I’m very proud of her and I hope she doesn’t stretch the theme. And definitely more than anything else I hope you enjoy looking at her!

[hiccupids]

Hello!!

I saw u.nder.t@le (i suck at censoring) in ur list of things you would write about, and that you take requests so !!!

Could you do hiccup + tummy stuff with s.an.$ ? I’m fine with headcanons but feel free to do anything else if u want!! I’ve always been very into that kinda stuff lol

ahhh i got so excited when i saw this ask!!! ♡ i’ve been kinda nervous to post on here but i'd be silly not to ramble about the funny bone man… hopefully this is what you were asking for! i just sorta let my mind wander to headcanon the heck outta this guy

(and i also hope that my censors have done the trick… not used to this whole posting thing yet /lh)

☆ CWs - embarrassment? i dunno, lemme know if anything else needs tagging-- ☆ kinks - hiccups, tummy stuff, and an allusion to stuffing?

💙 first and foremost, i will never get tired of s@n.s with a magic tummy… he deserves some chub on him and i think that his stomach being that slightly translucent + glowing blue colour is super cute!

💙 in addition to that, i’d like to think that he takes great pride in his figure! no worries if any snacking from the night before has left his shirt just a little too tight - he’d let his white t-shirt ride up without a care in the world (heck, he’d probably make some joke about being ‘big boned’ and leave it at that)

💙 when he’s lounging around and not doing much, he likes to put his hands in his hoodie pockets and lightly push down into his tummy for no reason other than it’s kinda like a stim

💙 this goofy skeleton is also incapable of saying no to any food t0r.iel makes - whether you view them as platonic, romantic, or a secret third thing; he’s always happy to taste test her baking cause it leaves him with a nice cosy tummy to massage as he falls asleep

and here’s the ramble-y hiccuppy part:

💙 $an.s isn’t very prone to hiccups - but this doesn’t mean he doesn’t get them. when he gets a case, he gets em *hard* (not painful, just very deep and making his body rock a whole bunch)

💙 eating too much would probably bring them about for him. ‘this thing’s sensitive’, he says, patting his stomach, knowing full well that he’s not going to live by this warning at all

💙 going back to their sound - if i were to write them, i’d probably opt for onomatopoeias such as “*hURk*” or “*HMP’a*” or “*HUC’p* – *huCK-HK*” (excuse the strange writing ^^” i’m still trying to work out that part...)

💙 funnily enough, despite being loud and proud about his figure, he prefers to find a quiet place to go when hiccupping - he usually comes up with some lame excuse when he feels a case ‘brewing’, before taking a shortcut back to his and his brother’s house.

💙 he knows perfectly effective cures (thanks to the ‘genius’ that is his brother and trying to get him to stop before he “scares away a human”) but… you know him. he just sits around and waits them out. ‘too much of a hassle’ he says.

💙 his hiccups are a one-bout-and-done deal - although his cases can last pretty long (he’d recount a time they lasted for over an hour), and the speed of them is unpredictable

💙 every time he hiccups, his stomach jolts, kind of ‘puffing out’ (for lack of a better word) as he has his mittened hand gently massaging it back and forth. again, sensitive tummy, although the sensations of his cases bring about more conflicting, ‘nice’ feelings in his stomach - he’s probably embarrassed about it.

sorry if these are a little all over the place - i hope people like them regardless! still trying to adjust to writing down my thoughts in a way that isn’t just keysmashing… maybe one day i’ll gain the courage to post some of my writing ♡

[chynandri]

Additional Thoughts About Ibara & Aesthetics

Using this image to indicate to you that I'm gonna be mentioning Rouge&Ruby a LOT.

Writing this post on Ibara and Tsumugi's dorm room, it reminded me of some more thoughts I’ve been microwaving in my brain for a while. From the dorm post we’ve pretty clearly established that Ibara… doesn’t express much of a personality in his sense of style 😂 he was born in a wet cardboard box all alone ok

HOWEVER… what I’ve found really intriguing about him (besides everything.) is that despite that lack of self expression in a personal space, he does have a strong sense for art and aesthetics in what he creates.

What tipped me off on this was actually his in-game office interaction with the whiteboard. He has the ‘good’ result of drawing a cute bird, saying he ‘knows a little about the arts’ (which probably means he knows a lot, he’s just being fake humble). When I first saw this, I was a little bit surprised.

So later on, when Rouge&Ruby confirmed that he does do costume designs and storyboards himself, I was pretty excited to see his artistic skills a little bit expanded upon.

And actually, he has said this interesting thing in relation to art:

Translation by Land of Zero

So clearly, Ibara has a sense for the value of art and thinks it’s important.

And it aligns with how he intended for Adam to focus on the art of performance (compared to Eve which is more popular and takes on more entertainment jobs).

What I’m trying to say is that while he obviously loves making money and business domination, he also has an understanding and skill for art and design. Business, art, aesthetics often come hand in hand I think, as having a good concept and attractive visuals is essential to selling anything...

Translation by Land of Zero

Considering he designed every part of Melting Rouge Soul + Ruby Love himself and contacted Hiyori for his connections to chocolate designers so that Eden's chocolates stand out, I feel his consideration for making something with 'artistic and financial value' really comes through in Rouge&Ruby.

Translation by Land of Zero

I think the whole point of that event is that within Ibara there is a passionate burning soul bursting with expression and creativity (even love) in pursuit of his ambitions, and it comes through so so much in those songs and his own performance. He’ll prove Eden’s superiority in every avenue possible, not just monetarily but also artistically.

Although all this is only applied to his work, which is what he’s most passionate about. To Ibara, his work IS him:

Translation by Land of Zero

Additionally, Rinne notes Ibara’s more 'poetic' (and nerdy 🤓) side with how the Minotaurs Labyrinth is designed in Ariadne (variety show Ibara traps Crazy:b in):

Not only do things have to look good, they have to be quite meaningful and conceptual too. I mean, this IS coming from the guy who bases his whole personality and image on one (1) book he read as a sad little kid (Art of War btw) and inserts very unsubtle Bible references everywhere.

And Ibara putting the most effort into his chocolates despite being annoyed at having to make chocolates past Valentine's Day and it having no relation to work:

Translation by Land of Zero. He loves to succeed and be impressive for the sake of it.

So where he doesn’t put much effort into his personal spaces or appearance outside of work, it’s all because Ibara’s personality is just one that’s extremely singularly focused on one thing - his passion and work. I think this creates another interesting and lovely paradox to his personality, just one of the many this guy has. It’s what makes Ibara so delightful as a character.

Tl;dr - Ibara is actually quite into art and aesthetics, and even artistically inclined himself.

[mrszeoxin]

A Date with Death

This is a game I found on TikTok through the developer of the game. I was very intrigued because it has a fully customizable MC both physically and with names and pronouns which I thought was really cool. You can also customize MCs room, and the game is free to play! There were also some other fun aspects about the game they posted on TikTok that really interested me. Of course I originally saw videos about the game months ago before it came out, but luckily I did see the post from the developer when it came out a few days ago and I couldn’t wait to play.

About the Boy

In this game you romance a grim reaper who’s after you (technically your soul, but still). And although he is smart, confident, and a literal vessel for death, he is also absolutely adorable! He’s not very knowledgeable about humans, can be easily flustered, and is super fun to tease!

Truly such a cutie!

So he’s a classic long while hair, red eyes anime boy and we love to see it. It’s not my ideal type, but he is in fact adorable, and has a great outfit so I can’t complain. I love how many facial expressions they give him, often I feel like visual novels don’t change them enough so it was really refreshing to see.

I really liked his character! He really is babygirl.

First Run

My first try I went in and tried to only do the non-DLC responses (I bought the DLC so I had some extra options) since I wanted to see what the free versions were like. It was soooo fun!!! I was kicking my feet and giggling so much! I got Ending 3 my first time for reference. I don’t want to spoil too much, but oml it’s such a fun and cute game! You should definitely check it out especially because it is free, so what is there to loose!

Definitely super fun if you enjoy sarcasm, witty banter, teasing, and being a bit of a brat. I loved it so much! It took me about 4 hours to play it once through.

Second Run

This time I used the DLC choices, and it was super fun. It just adds more fun ways to tease him in addition to an extra ending which I got (Ending 4).

Very fun! I recommend getting it if you can afford it and want to support the developers! But also I think you can have a lot of fun just playing the free endings too.

Third Run

I originally planned on playing for a third time after posting my thoughts on here, but I was so excited that I caved and played again immediately because after looking at the achievements I realized my first time playing I was right between two endings, so I had to get Ending 5. So I played using my first run answers, changed a one on day 6 and got Ending 5! It was so cute! I love this game!!!

Overall Thoughts

I loved this game. It’s pretty fast for a dating sim/visual novel, but the pacing is really good. It has 17 achievements for you to unlock, and 5 possible endings(?). So far I’ve done 3 endings, and 14 achievements. I definitely would play it again sometime! The only endings I didn’t do are the mini bad ending (no CG), and the real bad end (CG), because I don’t like playing bad endings. These two ending would give you another two achievements, and the last achievement is also easy to get but it made me sad so I didn’t. I know I’m being pretty vague, because I like to avoid spoilers, but especially because this game literally came out like 4 days ago I really want to keep what happens a surprise.

But it was so fun. It really feels like your choices matter because things you say affect things you can or can’t say later, it’s way more dynamic than any other otome game. I really loved that about the game, because it really feels like you’re there and what you say and do matter.

It’s literally free to play on Steam and I really can’t recommend it enough! Especially if you like cute flustered guys and lots of flirting and teasing you will for sure love this game! I loved it so much and genuinely it made me laugh and smile so much!

[jazz-bazz]

Zeezee

remember the victorian vampires headcanon that @webbyghoul and i posted in september? and that Webby made into a series of fics including a couple that i wrote?

well we just had a new thought, so if baby Phantom (i think he should be around 5-8 years old here?) calls everyone else as Aunt or Uncle (except for Omega who’s Dad), but there’s no gender neutral form for Rain and Zephyr, what does he call the two then?

Rainy and Zephy would be weird, as it‘s also their nickname from the others sometimes, so I had Phantom call Rain “Rainrain” bcs i thought it’s cute, but it won’t work for Zephyr because Zephzeph is just too much of a mouthful 😂

after some more thinking i came up with “Zeezee“. and then Webby said to me “It's so cute just imagining little Buggy running up to them for the first time saying that and they have no idea who he's talking to until he gets to them.“

zero editing so if you see any mistakes no you dont 😬

Most of the family were gathered in the mostly unused dining room planning a surprise for little Phantom, whose birthday was coming up soon. They had decided on a party, which the little one was excited about, he wanted a bat themed cake with little puppies and for everyone to be wearing a costume. But in addition to that, they also wanted to gift him something special, something meaningful, something that says he’s a part of the family even thought they were still of different species for now, but nobody had any idea yet, not even Dewdrop.

Omega was tasked with distracting the little bug while everyone else brainstormed his present. But he must’ve been having difficulties reigning in the little energy monster, as they heard the sounds of little feet running in the hall shouting, “Zeezee! Zeezee where are you? Dad said you’re somewhere in the house!“

Everyone in the dining room looked at each other with confused faces, “Did Omega get another puppy for Phantom?“ Swiss wondered out loud.

“Not that I know of,” Cumulus replied.

“So who’s Zeezee then?”

Cumulus just shrugged, having no idea herself.

“Maybe a new haunted plushie?” Rain questioned, making Zephyr shiver, the Terzo plushie scared them so much, with its creepy eyes and unmoving mouth, yet it can still communicate somehow.

“But there’s no spirits left here as far as I know,” Mountain as the oldest of the vampires there, and the owner of the mansion, answered.

Meanwhile Phantom kept running around the mansion shouting for the mysterious Zeezee, apparently with Omega chasing after him telling him to slow down and stop.

They all heard the little bug running past the dining room a few seconds before Omega entered, “Kids these days, I’m sorry everyone, I tried my best but he just has to do it now.”

“Do what Megs?” Ifrit asked him the question everyone was wondering about.

“We decided to talk about the party some more, and he had this great idea about his-“

Just then the subject in question opened the door quite loudly, “Zeezee! There you are!” He said walking towards the vampires gathered around one end of the long table.

“Who’s Zeezee, little one?” Cirrus asked him.

“Zeezee! I had an idea for my costume,” Phantom said to Zephyr after he got in front of them, “May I get a suit with a cape like Uncle Swiss has, but pretty like the dress Rainrain wore last week to the ball, but not blue like theirs, can I get them purple like Uncle Aefer‘s eyes, and maybe decorated like Uncle Mounty‘s glasses, and then may-“

“Whoa slow down Buggy, first things first, I’m Zeezee?” Zephyr asked him.

“Well yeah! Dad said you’re like Rainrain, not my uncle not my aunt but something else, but I don’t want to call you just your name because that’s weird because you’re old, so Zeezee! Get it? What do you think?”

“Excuse me I am not old, little one. You’re just really young, that’s all. But I love it! And yes I will make your suit for the party, would you like to come with me to shop for fabrics tomorrow?”

“Yes please!” Phantom said with a big grin, and then he turned to his father, “Can I, Dad? Please?”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

~~~

anw i just love the little bug so much 🖤

[gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun]

wait now we have to see the repo! jacket :0 if you’re willing to post pics!!

Absolutely!!!!! It’s not done yet but it’s my baby so I’m always happy to share. I got this actual leather(!!!) jacket from Goodwill - it was priced at $15 and was half off, and I still can’t believe I got that much of a deal on a jacket in perfect condition. I’ve been using paint pens to decorate it, as well as adding chains across the back and skeleton beads I bought. I’ll share the most exciting upcoming addition at the end, but for now, base pictures:

Main pics, just for the vibes~

Collar area decorations~

My right sleeve feat. lyrics from Infected~

(This sleeve literally made my mother cry because she thinks being alternative = being troubled and full of suffering and darkness. Also because I used the word bitch.)

Sleeves~

(I sewed lace onto the cuffs and it’s really cute. Also my left sleeve says #DisownTerrance, because while I love Repo! very much, Terrance Zdunich is not a person I wish to support - so I’m disowning him and stealing his opera 😌)

My absolute favorite part~

(I love these little buggers. My smol paint pen was dying so I only have these two for now, but I want to get another pen and do them around the whole hem cause they’re just so adorable and silly)

Now, onto what I will be doing next:

Adding some little. Glass. Vials.

I knew I wanted vials of Zydrate on the back of my jacket, but I wasn’t sure how to get something blue that would stay liquid. My solution was genius, if I may say so. I bought some cheap little vials and used a syringe to fill them with a combination of mostly-clear vegetable oil and various-shades-of-blue eyeshadow that I mixed in a Little Glass Bowl. The resulting color isn’t as clear or as electric as I would like, but it is very sparkly and I appreciate that. The slightly different colors also swirl around in pretty ways, and when left unshaken for very long the eyeshadow settles and does leave it looking like clear blueish liquid. All it takes to re-mix it is a good shaking, and it’s as beautiful as ever.

I haven’t put them on my jacket yet since I haven’t glued the lids shut, but I’ll be hanging them from the chain on the back.

The vials in question~

Things I don’t have pictures of but am considering adding to my jacket:

a couple discs from the vertebrae of a deer skeleton I found in the woods

a molar that probably came from an elk? I found it in my driveway

a visalign type retainer thing I found on the ground and am painting to just look like a set of teeth

Anyway, that’s the longwinded tour of my goth/Repo! jacket, thank you for listening <3

[seventeenlovesthree]

My top 25 Digimon Adventure Tri moments (in no particular order except the 1st)

I really need to bring these in order, but since I’ve reblogged this beautiful post, I might as well post my favourite Tri moments compilation right now. Will definitely look for more screenshots in the future too.

Jyou punching Dark Gennai. I'm getting excited just thinking about it, it's SO satisfying. 

Taichi's flashback on Koushirou calling him out with them being framed as rain vs sun - that is such a good analogy right there from a cinematic point of view, even if it's just so subtle and there isn't a lot of emphasis on it, but it IS what lets Taichi snap out of his paralysis after all. It basically implied that Koushirou was “the sun” Taichi needed to move on (even though he himself usually is “the sun” for everyone else).

As painful as it is - Sora's breakdown and Taichi telling her that her selflessness is one of her good traits, making her say the "Don't say things Piyomon would say" in return. Like, it HURTS, it FEELS dysfunctional, but in all actuality, it shows how much they DO understand each other. Literal hedgehog's dilemma. 

The Jyoumi honesty scene. As much of a retcon as it is overall, I love that they're honest with each other without hiding behind masks. 

That split-second of Kou standing in front of that kimono with Tentomon and Piyomon in his bag - next to the Koura phone scene (where the set-up is nice, but there's just too much second hand embarrassment there), I just love the potential behind it. 

The "Don't push yourself so much" Taishirou-scene, which will forever live rent-free in my head. 

The Taikoura donut scene. It's stupidly cute, even if it isn't much.

The Meikeru scene in which she says it's nice to see Takeru and Yamato getting along despite their parents being divorced, it's actually very endearing to have such a gentle moment there out of the blue. 

Kou's mentor moment towards Takeru. "So you just want to forget? It's not about what you couldn't do, it's about what you WILL do." THAT IS MY BOY. 

Takeru then trying his best to approach Meiko after being inspired by Koushirou (as mentioned above) in the exact same way is also an amazing follow-up.

In addition to the former entry, Koushirou’s "I'M AGAINST THIS, I WILL FIND A SOLUTION!" scene in the last movie, when everyone had already accepted the reboot as only solution, was a pretty nice “main character moment” for him.

The Meimi hug scene, with Meiko FINALLY coming out of her shell and being the one who reassures Mimi for once. THAT WAS A GREAT SET-UP. 

A summary of every "SoMi being lovely towards one another" scene. There are just too many to count (special mention goes to the amazing Jyourami rescue scene in the fourth movie!!!).

Kou rescuing Taichi from getting strangled by Yamato in the fifth movie. Classic. 

Sora's "don't close yourself off, being lonely makes a thorn grow in your heart, I was like that too" quote in the fifth movie, WHICH HURTS, BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT SET-UP FOR HER TOO. 

Taichi's "Shimane's the one without computers" shade comment, with Yamato's stupid "That was a million years ago" response, which is peak Tsundere. 

Tentocat nuzzling into Kou's side. Ugh. (Also probably all the cheesy AguTento moments.)

Taichi saying that they should not judge Jyou, "If we approached him now, he might have to face things he doesn't want to." Mature!Taichi ftw, even if that wasn't the overall best approach, it still showed his progress. He HAD to face the painful things in the end. 

Hikari's comment on Plotmon after the reboot, implying that there are certain things she’d better not remember (alluding to everything she went through during her time under Vamdemon up until watching Wizarmon die). I didn't think they would go there, but they did and that was both heartbreaking, but still amazing. 

Yamato's reaction towards Meiko's Ghost Story, completely losing it there - and the shade he got from Takeru for it. Good boy. 

Mimi actually kissing Meiko on the cheek. Groundbreaking. 

Yamato's peak closet moment (he had at least three) being the "if we don't have to form Omegamon anymore, that'll make it easier for you too, right?", including the blushing. 

Taichi affirming Meiko that Koushirou is researching the whole infection issue “with all his heart” will also live rent-free in my head forever.

The farewell scene between Taichi and Daigo (probably being the 64728th Evangelion reference in these movies, but I’ll bite, I liked that one).

Also all the housewife!Gomamon scenes (that compliment the housewife!Tentomon scenes).

[remy2fang]

A.K.I. Birthday Commentator Audio in SF6, a Rant, some Copium, and perhaps Additional F.A.N.G Content in Future DLC. LONG Post!!

A.K.I. Birthday Commentator Audio

From the sounds of it, I don’t think a lot of English speaking players use the commentator audio in SF6. If they did, they would’ve posted about the special commentary about A.K.I.’s birthday on Twitter. Even EventHubs didn’t mention about the special commentary:

For sure, Japanese players uses it:

This is the English commentator audio, extracted by me:

Truth be told, I actually heard the English commentary version more than a month prior to A.K.I.’s birthday, so back in early October then. I extracted and search through audio files within the AKI patch. The time when I found it, I honestly thought that it’s already available in-game if you switch the commentary audio on, but that’s really not the case. This particular line can only be heard on A.K.I.’s birthday. Another thought that came to mind when I first listened to this audio was, “WHEN is AKI’s birthday?” A month later we all found out that it’s 11/11.

-RANT TIME-

Everything about that special birthday audio for AKI sounded nice and lovely until the part with “…she MAY end up killing him (FANG) herself.” I know it’s been foreshadowed in AKI’s World Tour dialogue and how FANG had to kill his closest Nguuhao brothers for his first assassin job in the Toxicity story, but damn, it’s a reminder that AKI’s happiness (and mine too 😭😭) MAY eventually have a grim ending. After listening to that audio, it prompted me to write these posts a long while ago:

I much prefer the Japanese commentator audio because it said that “AKI almost poisons FANG” rather than “she MAY end up killing him herself” like in the English one. It’s far less doom and gloom in the Japanese version. Plus, FANG is already immune to poison lol.

Honestly, I’m happy that “almost” no one heard the English commentator audio on AKI’s birthday and Eventhubs never even mentioned it. I can imagine the barrage of dumb comments from F.A.N.G haters wanting him dead. Come on, give A.K.I. a break on her birthday. Telling her to kill F.A.N.G, the most important person in her life, would make her truly upset.

-END RANT-

Now the Copium

Shortly after finding that audio, I kinda formed a headcanon-pseudo fanfic to make myself feel better. I don’t normally make these kinds of things because I generally just stick to canon…but also I lack creativity when it comes to story telling. Anyway, this was what I wrote:

“I hope FANG stays a coward. The day when AKI and FANG must face each other and FANG finds out that AKI finally surpasses him, he’ll plead for his life in front of AKI. AKI will say that she’d never want to kill him anyway and they could live happily together. FANG says he’ll do whatever AKI wishes. AKI says there’s no need and they should live as equals…but she has one request. The scene changes where AKI is in a Victorian style cafe and FANG is the sophisticated stylish butler with a monocle serving AKI tea and desserts. AKI claps in excitement like a little girl.”

And of course, I had to draw this idea because I thought it would be cute. A lot of people have seen it already on AKI’s birthday:

This was the result of making my little made-up scenario. The best thing about it was Street Fighter Official retweeted this art. It’s like they’re validating it or something lol. It’s kinda ironic really. Me hearing that birthday audio more than a month prior, and then me drawing my fantasy picture for AKI’s birthday and Street Fighter Official retweeting it. It feels like poetic justice. I know this is reaching here, but I think the social media staff saw it as AKI’s longing to have a truly happy moment with FANG. Perhaps to the staff that this image, my very own coping fantasy, closely aligns with what AKI truly wanted. It’s like I am A.K.I. or A.K.I. is me. Lol. There were better, more popular art that came out on her birthday, but they often leave out on what’s most dear to AKI. Though there were also a few birthday artworks where FANG is included…I don’t know why they weren’t retweeted and mine was. I don’t know. I’m just making conjectures on why my piece was chosen when there were much better ones that came out on AKI’s birthday.

Additional F.A.N.G Content in Future DLC

Anyway, speaking of how important F.A.N.G is, I think we’re going to see more of him in World Tour Mode when Ed DLC drops. Yes, it’s pretty obvious that he’s going to turn up later because of AKI’s arcade ending and FANG’s WT cutscene that has JP and Ed in it. But those aren’t the only reasons why FANG will come back. The same time I found out about the AKI commentator audio was also the time when I uncovered additional FANG audio. He only said a few lines in WT, but there are more lines that were not used in the game as of 11/15/2023. I extracted them all, both in English and Japanese.

ENGLISH

JAPANESE

I uploaded these audio clips on October 11, exactly one month before A.K.I.’s birthday. Go figure.

From the sounds of it, he has more varied reactions, some more missions for you to complete, and mentions M. Bison’s name twice in unknown contexts. I believe these voice lines will be utilized in later dlc, if not in the upcoming Ed release. I found the AKI birthday commentary audio long before her birthday was even announced, so I’m betting that we’ll hear these unused FANG voice lines in the future. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any battle voice lines for FANG, but perhaps in a future dlc he might be a fightable NPC?

If you’ve finished reading this, thanks for bearing with me lol.

[chimini3]

MAKEUP THE BREAK UP

Park Jimin | Chapter 4

SERIES MASTERLIST

Pairing: Park Jimin x OC

Synopsis: What happens when Park Jimin's biggest what if comes back into his life? His friendly neighbor, childhood best friend, high school lover, and now his makeup artist?! Amidst the 2020 outbreak, the last thing he needed was Seong Areum making his heart skip a beat and fill his stomach with air. What will he do when unspoken words threaten to slip past his tongue? Would he take the chance of ruining a healing past? Or would he let her slip away once more and let himself get lost in the lights?

Note/Warning: Messy Timeline with real events (once again), not beta read, chapters are going to get shorter now since I’m only writing a few chapters ahead from the ones getting released. I’m posting the next chapter on weekends to slow it down and give me time to finish more chapters :))

Word Count: 2.3k words

A Welcomed Fever Dream

Behind The Scenes of BigHit’s Group Photo

(For better context on the events happening in the following chapters, please refer to the link above)

[2020] Late January

“Everything can change at any moment, suddenly and forever.” - Paul Auster

That was a quote I read from a book Namjoon left unattended on the desk of the BTS waiting room.

I was growing fidgety as I waited for the other members. Most of us had barely slept last night just from the excitement for today’s photoshoot, though it was also partly due to remnants of jetlag and our bodies refusing to rest after extensive Map of The Soul: 7 promotions.

We were all working hard to achieve the goals we had set for the album, though we still wanted to do it moderately and planned to work harder in the last weeks of January to compensate for a break for a late celebration of the Lunar New Year in February. We all had planned personal trips for that week just to spend mentally healing and perhaps fit in a trip back to Busan.

Cue the 5th of February 2020 and it would be BigHit Entertainment’s 15th anniversary, a milestone worth celebrating as the company managed to reach for the stars despite everything it had gone through. It was also time to celebrate the newest addition to our small yet happy company family since TXT was only over a month away from their one-year anniversary since their debut, and from what we can tell they were doing great.

So it was decided for us to do a cute family photo shoot with all BTS and TXT members and the oldest of BigHit artists, Lee Hyun. We also planned on going for dinner after the photo shoot, but we hadn’t confirmed if the rest of the artists and staff were free for the rest of the day.

I stood up from my seat at the corner of the room as a few staff members looked in my direction though I only took my phone to place inside my front pocket before taking steps to leave the waiting room.

“Ya, where are you going?” Namjoon asked as I turned back to look at him sitting beside Hobi with makeup artist noonas touching up their hair.

“I’ll just check up on Lee Hyun Hyung’s waiting room.”

“Wait for me—“

Jin added though I already took a step out of the room as soon as I explained my leave. I laughed and looked back at Jin groaning at me before I went through the hallways of the warehouse in which our photoshoot was taking place.

We had three sets for the day so we expected it to go through smoothly despite the volume of members in the photoshoot. We were always used to just being the seven of us, but now we had Lee Hyun hyung and five TXT members that had to all cooperate for the shoot. Yet at the same time, I was filled with excitement as this is time spent getting to know old and new artists. Lee Hyun hyung has always been a good friend of ours since before our debut and we’d met TXT around the studio and backstage of our tours in the past year, so it wasn’t at all going to be awkward.

I opened a door that had Lee Hyun’s name on it and went through a small corridor as a cameraman followed behind me. I could see a glimpse of the solo artist standing in the center of his room with a staff member fixing his clothes whilst simultaneously adding more pieces of clothing over his black turtleneck.

“Wow! You look so…”

I didn’t finish my statement as I couldn’t stop my cheeks from rising. Lee Hyun greeted me with a handshake as I took a look around his waiting room. It was only a little smaller than ours but a lot more spacious considering a soloist doesn’t have members and their own makeup artists working around.

“I’m not even fully dressed yet! You can’t judge my look right now!” Lee Hyun had a smile on his face though I made no move to leave the room and wait for him to get fully dressed.

As far as I can tell, he still had a white button-up to put on and a dark gray suit jacket on top of his turtleneck and jewelry. His clothes were hung on a rack to make sure no wrinkles appeared before he wore them and there was a box of glasses and jewelry sitting on the sofa, similar to the boxes staff gave me to choose my jewelry. However, I opted to go for a cleaner look for the first set.

I wore a fully black attire. Chelsea boots, fitted pants, a fully buttoned-up suit jacket with a black button-up as my undershirt, and a sparkly black tie that I thought of putting on at the last minute as it caught my eye as soon as the staff brought in options that could spice up our planned outfits. My neck, hands, and wrist were bare, and the only jewelry I had was the earrings I had on my ears. Like I said I wanted to be clean, and my full black attire puts emphasis on my blonde shadow roots.

I sat backward on one of the empty chairs in front of the mirror before watching Lee Hyun get suited up.

“I’ve never seen you dressed like this. It’s amazing and weird.” I teased with a smile on my face as it was meant in goodwill. Lee Hyun was just someone I wasn’t used to wearing such formally dark attires.

“Why? Is it like looking into a mirror?” He teased back and I couldn’t help but laugh.

It has been a long time since I’ve seen the artist, though we regularly kept in touch. He is one of the few artists I can tease and not feel as though I have disrespected them in any way. That is just on how much we’ve known each other and gained respect towards each other through the years.

“Are you going to put some glasses on?” I asked as both our eyes settled on the box of glasses on the sofa.

“I don’t know yet… I don’t think glasses will fit me.”

“Try them out! You just need to find glasses that will fit your head shape.”

I walked towards the box and picked out a few that I thought Lee Hyun would fit the most, though I wasn’t forcing him to wear them for the photoshoot.

I set the glasses aside beside him before going back to the chair I sat on and we continued exchanging jokes and jumped from topic to topic.

“Didn’t you have much longer hair?” I said just in time as Jin walked into the room with his unfinished attire.

I knew he wouldn’t be able to wait to join us. After all, Lee Hyun was Jin’s fishing buddy. Most probably his only fishing buddy considering none of us willingly went on a fishing trip with him.

“Ooh, are you a composer? More like a conductor. You look stunning.” Jin teased.

“Composer or Conductor?”

The more I thought about it, Lee Hyun did look like someone who would lead all BigHit members to perform a choir or something like that.

“It’s like I’m wearing my dad’s clothes.” Lee Hyun looked at himself in the mirror as Jin fiddled with something in his ear.

“Is that a clip-on?” I asked as a metallic ring looped around his Conch.

“Yeah.” Lee Hyun nodded.

Maybe I should get a conch ring.

“Ah hyung, are you free tonight?” I asked as I was reminded of the dinner we planned.

“Why? Are you taking me out on a date?” Lee Hyun joked as we laughed along with the staff letting out a chuckle under their masks.

“Seriously though.”

“Yeah, I am. Why?”

“We were planning on going out for dinner after this. With TXT and the staff.” Jin explained as the eldest formed an o shape with his mouth before nodding.

“You know, I’ve never properly met them before. Dinner would be nice.” Lee Hyun smiled.

“Let’s not get too drunk though? We need to act professional.”

“We are professional, Jin ah.”

We chuckled as we knew deep down that we were most definitely not the most professional people out there.

“Ten minutes.” A man spoke at the doorway of the waiting room.

“You look professional though. Clothes really do make a man.” I said while I stood up after seeing a makeup artist point to me before gesturing for me to come to the BTS waiting room.

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.” Lee Hyun said before we laughed and parted ways.

It always felt great reconnecting and talking about light subjects that weren't heavily focused on work.

I walked on our first set of the day. It was an all-white floor and background with white steps and shapes for us to lean or sit on. It wasn’t anything special though it definitely made our black attires pop out from the white backdrop.

The five TXT members were already on set lined up as if they were about to formally greet us like they did the first time we met, though thankfully that didn’t happen and only bows and words of greetings happened.

I leaned on one of the white center block pieces, only a few paces away from Hobi, Taehyung, Yoongi, and Namjoon as the TXT members mostly stayed on the other side of the set. We were now only waiting for three other members to start the shoot.

Jungkook was still waiting for his shoes to arrive. Apparently, he called for his pair of Prada Chunky Sole Combat Boots instead of the planned more formal look of Oxford shoes, Loafers, or my personal favorite… Chelsea boots. But we’ll let him do whatever he wishes.

Jin and Lee Hyun were most probably still busy chatting and getting the layers of their attire all sorted, so we still had a few minutes to touch up our makeup and get a feel of the set, or as much of a feel as we could get as the set was filled with staff, cameramen, security, stylists, and makeup artists.

However, once everyone was ready and on set, everything was bound to be smooth sailing.

Except for a few bumps and loose hats…

After a slight camera adjustment we were forced to pose with a look to the side and I might've not seen it happen but when a manager called to stop the photoshoot for a touch-up, I couldn’t help but look around for the person who needed it especially in the middle of the shoot.

Jungkook to my right was ducking in his position to tie up a loosened lace of his boots. Hobi to my left was fixing his suit jacket and cleaning up a piece of lint he saw. TXT’s Taehyun to the left behind me was comfortably resting his hand in his pocket whilst sparring a glimpse at Beomgyu behind to the right of me.

“Can someone pin Beomgyu’s hat to his head properly?” The camera director sounded a bit annoyed as his momentum of photos had to stop abruptly as I turned to look at Beomgyu behind the space in between me and Jungkook.

He was crouched down on the floor to pick up his black Brenton Sailor hat that had seemingly fallen off his head during the shoot. He stood up straight with a cringed smile on his face though sending apologies to us and the staff.

I smiled at him to reassure him that it was no problem at all before I turned back to face the camera. Little did I know that what I was about to see would make me believe in that quote Paul Auster wrote.

It was her.

Not once had she crossed my mind in the seven years we had split. Perhaps being an idol left no room for such thoughts.

She was different, but I know her eyes when I see them.

Doe dark brown eyes that always shined and made my insides curl more than the workout I’ve done in my debut days.

She carried a packet of black hairpins as I removed my legs from her path in between the props to reach the TXT member behind me. Another makeup artist followed behind her with an unplugged though already heated straightening iron.

She had her dark hair kept in one big braid that ran behind her neck to her back and a striped white and blue sweater over a pair of dark jeans. She wore a thin white mask though it was a bit too big for her face so it laid lower down her nose and made the mole right on the side of her nose bridge visible to confirm that it really was her.

Why did I feel the need to take note of every detail about her? I don’t know.

But her walking past me with a scent so unfamiliar yet similar felt surreal. Like a fever dream that wasn’t unwelcomed though uncalled for.

“The pins don’t hurt, do they?”

I can hear her faint voice speak to the younger member before getting drowned out by the chatter around us. I’ve never wanted to yell shut up to a whole room before, but I shouldn’t, it was unreasonable.

I clearly hadn’t expected this. I mean, who would?

The last time I heard of her name was when my parents informed me that she and her whole family had moved to the States. It wasn’t as if it was that big of a deal before either. I merely shrugged at my parents before replying something along the lines of “good for her” before I excused myself since I didn’t particularly feel like eating dinner when it was already closing into my debut and abs were needed to perform a routine.

I hadn’t thought much of it. The news even came as a relief to me.

At least, we broke up face-to-face instead of having a long-distance relationship. I don’t think 17-year-old me would do well in that. I’d probably hurt her more than I already did by prioritizing my passion over her. The fact that we were bound to break up anyway comforted me through all these years.

So the question lies on what the hell was she doing here?!

[ecargmura]

My New Boss Is Goofy Episode 4 Review - The Main Cast Is Now Complete

Another new character joins the fray. Given the opening, he’s the last of the important characters to show up. He appeared in the post-credits scene of the previous episode, just in case if you had missed it. With our cast complete, the interactions seem even more livelier now.

Kinjou makes for an interesting addition to the story. He’s like Momose where he has a crappy job, but unlike Momose who got depressed from his previous workplace, Kinjou maintains a rather cheerful disposition throughout the episode. In fact, I think that his inclusion to the story makes the show even fruitier. I’m actually pretty surprised that Kinjou reveals that he’s bisexual and he has an implied crush on Shirosaki. Personality-wise, I do like how cheerful he is. He’s also very outgoing and observant, whether it be giving Aoyama attention to giving advice on how to get Momose to be more friendlier towards Shirosaki. If he is the “rival” of Momose in terms of Shirosaki’s affections, then this is the happiest love triangle I’ve ever seen; though, it is hard to call it that. Anyways, I do think Kinjou’s personality blends well with the other three as he’s the most extroverted and the group of introverts need someone like him.

Aoyama gets some focus in this episode too! He had bought a house to live with his wife, but got divorced as she cheated on him. I do wonder why his ex-wife couldn’t have just communicated with him regarding her loneliness and issues; did she really have to resort to infidelity? Anyways, having more Aoyama screen-time brings out his true personality. He’s lonely and needy and it makes him adorable; why is everyone in this show adorable? In order to alleviate his loneliness, he bought so many stuffed bears of a mascot called Kumatte-chan. He’s also starving for attention as he hates being ignored. Fortunately, Kinjou seems to read him well, so he’s the one who has been showering him with attention the most, much to his joy.

Other than that, Momose and Shirosaki are cute as always. I loved seeing them grow closer like how Kinjou taught Momose how to send emojis to Shirosaki without worrying too much. Seeing Momose spending the night at Shirosaki’s house and seeing him with his hair down was adorable. I do hope that Momose’s tension towards Shirosaki lessens because Shirosaki doesn’t seem to mind the casualness between them; Kinjou is very friendly and casual towards him. Also, seeing Hakutou again makes me happy. The way he was chewing on his food was adorable.

I was surprised with prolific voice actors making cameos. If you listen carefully, Kinjou’s former abusive boss is voiced by Kousuke Toriumi (known for voicing Gyokko from Demon Slayer). Kumatte-chan, the bear mascot, has a voice actor too! He’s voiced by Shouta Aoi (known for voicing Fish Eye in Sailor Moon Eternal). The fact that they got two well-known voice actors to make an appearance here shocked me. I mean, the main cast itself is filled with gems, but I didn’t know they’d go this far with the casting.

Overall, this was yet another adorable episode. I can’t wait to see what shenanigans these guys will get into in future episodes. Seriously, Saturdays have been exciting thanks to this show. I hope that the momentum keeps rising. What are your thoughts about this episode?

[ipsen]

Blank Canvas Chapter 6

Read on AO3. Summary: Kaneki breaks the law to see a serial killer. Word Count: 4183 Chapter 7 Chapter 5 Master Post

Kaneki left his and Hide’s apartment at midnight.

What was he doing?

He caught the final trains to travel from the 12th ward to the 23rd.

What was he doing?

Armed with little else but his wits and his bag, he crossed the now-empty streets and into dark alleys as per Takatsuki’s helpful, if cryptic, directions.

What was he doing?

And that was how he, Ken Kaneki, also known as Haise Sasaki, came to stand in front of the fence around Cochlea, the prison for life-sentence and death-row inmates, at 2AM on a midsummer night with Sen Takatsuki.

Apparently, she had a contact on the inside that could get them a conversation with certain inmates, but they had to visit outside of operating hours to do it. Which was definitely illegal and, worst case scenario, could land them in the very prison they were about to enter.

“Um, T-Takatsuki…” He swallowed. “When I said I was ‘curious’ about meeting a serial killer—”

“No time like the present!” Before he could continue, she, in a surprising motion, scrambled up the fence and landed safely on the other side. Oh, she was athletic too. Huh. Wait, this was not the time for that. He— They— really shouldn’t be here.

She wiped her hands on her skirt and glanced up. With the addition of the lights around the prison, he saw she had low-hanging pigtails for tonight. It was a cute look stop. “You coming, Haise? I’m leaving you behind if you don’t.”

“I-I—”

“If you’re worried about getting caught, I’m pretty sure we can take a guard or two.” The burning lights of Cochlea cast a sharp shadow over her face, but Kaneki knew she was grinning. “‘Strength in numbers’ and all that.”

“B-But—”

Takatsuki turned on her heel and started walking away, forcing him to choose between leaving her alone and standing in the dark and quivering in his boots alone.

With his fists like iron and an utter of something between a groan and a warcry, he ran at the fence and scaled it with ease, though he landed with an uncomfortably loud thump.

She whistled. “Impressive. You honestly didn’t strike me as the athletic type.”

“M-My friend’s always dragging me to her judo classes,” he admitted, rubbing his neck.

“Huh…” There was a beat as she digested the information. Was there something weird about that? He hoped not. “I see. Well, come on, then. Don’t wanna be caught with our pants down.”

Right, right. She led him to the side of the visitors’ center. The whole time, his gaze darted this way and that, half-expecting a security guard to round the corner and ruin their lives forever. The past few months had been one thing, but breaking into Washuu property was an entirely different thing. And the way Takatsuki talked about it made it seem like she’d done this before.

Who was she?

They arrived at a small door with a ‘STAFF ONLY’ sign on it. Takatsuki boldly reached out to turn the handle when she noticed something.

“Shit, they added a keypad,” she muttered. “Well, he probably knows it’s us.”

Who was ‘he’? Before Kaneki could ask, she cleared her throat and rapped her knuckles on the door, nearly making him jump out of his skin. “Big Bin!!” she called way too loud. “It’s me!”

“What are you doing?” he practically hissed. “What if someone hears us?!”

She laughed. “We’ll be fine.”

It did nothing to assuage his fears. She took the time to inhale the scent of their new surroundings and did a twirl. It would have been mesmerizing in any other setting. “Exciting, isn’t it?”

Was it? His pounding heart and sweaty feet begged to differ. “We could get arrested…”

“And?” She glanced at him. “They won’t catch us if we’re smart. Plus, Bin will cover us when it comes to security footage, so I wouldn’t worry.”

If everything went according to plan, then yes, Takatsuki made a good point, but—

“You’re already in; I really don’t see the point in lamenting it now.” The door made a clicking noise and she opened it, giving him no choice but to follow her in. “And it’s not like we’re stupid enough to take anyone with us.”

They seemed to have entered some sort of electric room based on the unpainted walls and the loud hum of a large metal box nearby. The lights were dimmer than outside but no less white, and Kaneki occasionally had to duck to avoid a stray pipe going from wall to wall.

They came to another door, and she led him into the main hall, which looked much more visitor-friendly than the outside. He felt a bit more at ease in the space, and took a moment to calm himself and breathe.

There was a reception desk, and manning it was a man with sunglasses and wild black hair, which clashed with the collar shirt and belted pants expected of security guards. “Hey, Sen.” He yawned. “I see you’ve brought company this time.”

“Big Bin!” Takatsuki waved back, trotting to the desk. “This is Haise! He’s my artist.”

“Oh, this is the artist, huh?” Big Bin looked him up and down. “Name’s Bin.”

“P-Pleasure,” Kaneki gave a quick bow.

Big Bin wore a sympathetic smile. “First time, eh? Sen, you sure you shoulda dragged him here? I mean—”

“He’s here, isn’t he?” Takatsuki tapped Kaneki’s arm and made him flinch. “It means he’s got guts.”

Kaneki scratched his head. “I guess…”

Big Bin looked between them for a moment, then shrugged. “Alright, I’ll get you set up with the… Priest, was it?”

Kaneki blanched.

“Yep!” Takatsuki chirped.

—

The Priest, an infamous serial killer otherwise known as Donato Porpora. An immigrant from Russia, his M.O. was an unmarked cross atop the victim’s neatly folded clothing. The body itself was butchered and fed to the orphans he cared for. In a strange twist of fate, that same act of taking lives was the one to save his own; he had taken such good care of the orphans that he was not placed on death row and instead placed in Cochlea for the rest of his life. That was thirteen years ago now.

He was also the one responsible for killing Kurona and Nashiro’s father.

Kaneki and Takatsuki were taken directly to Donato’s cell, where the only thing separating them was a makeshift desk and a sheet of glass with holes on top for ventilation. The rest of the room was made of solid steel. Peering behind the glass, Kaneki noticed the tiny bed Donato slept in, along with a small table against the back wall with various books and writings organized neatly on top of it. For a crazed killer, he was surprisingly organized.

“Sasaki, just so you know,” Big Bin’s words echoed in Kaneki’s head, “he may be out of practice, but he ran a confessional at his orphanage. So whatever you do, don’t let him get inside your head.”

Donato was doing some stretches when Kaneki and Takatsuki walked in.

“Well, well, look who it is,” Donato said, grinning as he took his seat. “I was told I had a visitor, but I suppose it was only ever going to be you.”

Takatsuki gave a practiced smile: the one Kaneki knew as fake. “Hello, Donato.”

He crossed his legs and chuckled. “Come to pick my brain again, then? Though I can’t help but notice you’re not alone this time…”

“This is Haise; he’s my new assistant for my next story.”

Donato made Kaneki feel as though he were being undressed by gaze alone. “Oh? And here I was, thinking you had retired; I’m glad to be wrong. These last three years have been rather… lacking without your work on the shelves.”

“You’re too kind.” She took out her notepad and sat down.

“I must know: why go to me again? I thought everything I told you last time went into The Black Goat’s Egg and The Hanged Man’s MacGuffin.” He grinned.

Kaneki swallowed. He thought the mother’s murders in the story were familiar. The gruesome descriptions when she cut up her latest victim evoked almost a sort of ritualistic carving, like a butcher brutally but cleanly severing a pig’s head. Now he realized those descriptions had had a primary source.

Takatsuki’s expression shifted to one of rare annoyance. She spun her pen between her fingers to focus. “You didn’t tell me everything, so I’m back. Simple as that.”

Donato, brow raised in amusement, gestured for her to continue.

“What’s your opinion on people in your profession getting hired?”

Kaneki gaped at her. Just like that?

Donato just chuckled. “You certainly come up with interesting ideas.”

“I am a writer,” she quipped, returning to that pleasant but tight smile. “I just want to make sure I’m representing your trade properly. Nobody likes a fish out of water unless they want to eat it.”

“Well, I suppose I would be lying if I hadn’t received my fair share of offers in my time,” Donato checked his nails, recalling what might be considered better times, “but if you’re going to ask who those might be, I cannot help you.”

A shadow crossed her expression. “Oh, I don’t need names. I just need to know what sorts of targets you got. Were they political figures? Celebrities? The homeless? Were you offered anything overseas? How about—”

Donato listened carefully to each query, but his gaze wandered to Kaneki soon enough, and Kaneki shifted in his seat.

“Sen,” he said, putting up a hand to stop her. “I will answer your questions, but I will require something in exchange.”

Takatsuki’s brow furrowed, almost like she was glaring. “Depends.”

“I’d like to ask your assistant a few questions. Preferably alone.”

It took all of Kaneki’s willpower not to point at himself. Him? Alone? With a serial killer? Sure, there were measures to make sure Donato didn’t strangle him through the glass and use his bones as a lockpick, but— alone?

“No.”

“No?” Donato repeated.

“You heard me. No.” She stood up. “I guess I’ve wasted my time. Come on, Haise.”

“You haven’t even given him a choice,” Donato pointed out. “At least hear him out.”

She hesitated, but glanced at Kaneki. “What do you think?”

Kaneki frowned. It seemed unlikely they would get another opportunity like this; Donato clearly knew something about what she was asking. It would be key to progressing the story forward. While the main character, Fushimi, and his investigation were generally laid out, the nature of the antagonists— the mysterious lobbyist organization called the Hierophants— and their serial killer partners were still a mystery. If Donato could be of any help, then a simple request seemed paltry in comparison.

Yet for some reason, Takatsuki was ready to give up that information. All because of Kaneki’s inexperience. It was his fault. As usual. Hide still paid Kaneki’s half of the rent. Touka and Yoriko still gave him free pastries. Even at his own job, he still got free meals out of it when he went with— no, he didn’t go with; he followed, like the mindless sheep he was— Takatsuki. He was still a burden.

No more. She needed answers, and he was tired of being helpless.

Takatsuki shrugged. “I guess that’s no deal, Donato. We’ll just be—”

“I’ll do it.”

Now it was her turn to gape at him. “Haise—!”

“I-I’ll do it!” Kaneki declared a little louder.

“What’re you—”

“The boy’s spoken, Sen.” Donato grinned a little wider. “I think we should respect his… tenacity.”

She lingered on Kaneki for a bit longer, searching for something or trying to decide what to say. But nothing came out of her mouth.

“I-I’ll be okay. Really.” Kaneki hated how he stammered, but he wanted to make her feel a bit more confident in him. He had to be his own person.

Eventually, she relented, and she stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be in the waiting room. Don’t stay any longer than you want to.”

It was reassuring at best, and frightening at worst. “I-I won’t.”

“I mean it, Haise.” There was a strange aspect to her voice, like a trembling tower before it collapsed.

He nodded and gave her his best smile. It was returned half-heartedly.

She shot a look at Donato he couldn’t decipher before stepping out of the room. The light in the room hummed above them, and without Takatsuki’s voice and energy filling the air, Kaneki realized just how suffocating it really was. This atmosphere would drive him crazy if he stayed long enough; he couldn’t even begin to imagine how Donato could live here.

“She’s charming, don’t you think?” Donato looked amused.

“I-I suppose so.” Kaneki rubbed his chin idly. That was an understatement, in his opinion.

“This is your first time in Cochlea, isn’t it? What do you think?”

He shouldn’t answer the first question, but the second one was probably okay. “It’s large.”

“Hm. So it is.” Donato glanced down at Kaneki’s bag. “What do you have in there?”

Definitely don’t answer that.

“Allow me to guess: books.”

Kaneki tensed up, and it was over.

“It was an easy guess, don’t worry. Sen prefers company with other readers.” He stood and walked to the back of the room, picking up one of the books there. “I find myself agreeing; intelligent company is often more pleasing than not.”

Kaneki hated how much he agreed. People who read books and understood their content were surprisingly few and far between. It was why when Rize left him— No, stop that. That’s in the past.

Donato chuckled and took his seat again. “There’s no need to be so tense, Haise. You can be honest with me; it is not as if I will be leaving this place.” He gestured to the egregiously shiny walls and thick glass separating them. “And even if I could, I doubt there is a comfortable life awaiting me. Always on the run, with no way to truly and peacefully enjoy my favorite pastime… No, those days are long gone, and wishing for them will not bring them back.”

Pastime, as in murder. Cannibalization.

“It is better here, where I get two meals and an hour’s worth of exercise a day. On weekends, I even get taken to see the sky.”

And he would repeat this until he died in this very cell. At that thought, Kaneki’s brow furrowed; even for the man who made Kurona and Nashiro’s lives miserable, it seemed a bit much to treat anyone like that. At some point, even the death penalty seemed more humane. “Is… Is that all…?”

Donato laughed. “Is that pity I detect, Haise? Sen certainly has a strange taste in friends.”

He cradled his hands, and started pressing down on his knuckles, one at a time, with the opposite thumb until it cracked. Kaneki winced each time. He wondered if Donato had strangled Mr. Yasuhisa with those hands. What did it feel like, taking someone away from everyone they cared about? What did it feel like, knowing that one action could permanently change someone you’d never met?

“I was given a copy of both The Black Goat’s Egg and The Hanged Man’s MacGuffin when they were released, as compensation for the information I provided. It was… enlightening, so to speak.”

Crack. Crack.

Perhaps Cochlea had served as inspiration for the latter book. Donato’s routine, if it was true, was lifted directly from reality to be placed on the page, though with some minor changes to appear more cruel and unusual.

“For a moment, I almost felt as though there was finally someone on the other side of my cell that saw me—” Crack. Crack— “or at least, they saw my situation.”

With every finger done, he rested his hands back in his lap and smiled. Kaneki was made even more uncomfortable by it.

“They must have caused quite the stir amongst the masses when they released in the order they did. She always has been a bit of a boat-rocker. Ever since she was young…” Donato trailed off, his gaze passing Kaneki and settling elsewhere. “Ah, but that is not my place to say. We are never truly alone except with our thoughts.”

“You… knew her as a child?” Kaneki couldn’t help but ask.

“Just in passing.” Donato smiled back, but there was a thin coat of poison on his lips. “I do not envy her.”

Kaneki briefly glanced behind him, toward the waiting room. Takatsuki having a hard life was a bit hard to imagine, he had to admit. She was friendly, intelligent, and clearly well off. The idea of someone like that falling through the cracks… Well, maybe it wasn’t so hard after all. Failure due to outside circumstances came to people surprisingly easy. As for the nature of that failure, and how a serial killer like the Priest could know about it— that was the difficult part.

“You seem to still be on edge, Haise.” Donato leaned forward. “I may be out of practice, but I know a thing or two about confessing.”

“N-No thank you…” he muttered, curling his toes in his shoes. “Even if I’m… sympathetic to your plight, you still—”

— killed people. Killed Mr. Yasuhisa. Made Kurona and Nashiro miserable for the rest of their lives. Destroyed homes. Destroyed families and friends. Destroyed.

It earned him another chuckle from Donato. “You seem to be familiar with my work. Am I wrong?”

Kaneki shook his head after some hesitation. “I… know the children of one of your victims.”

“A shame, then.” Donato shrugged. “If it is of any consolation, none of my killings were personal. Not really.”

Kaneki grimaced. It meant nothing. He wasn’t even a victim and it meant nothing.

“I am a survivor, first and foremost. I do what I must to feed who I must, and that includes myself.” Donato’s eyes once again wandered over the exposed parts of Kaneki’s body. “And even if I were out and about, you aren’t nearly close enough to my… type.”

‘Type’, as in ‘victim’. The statement made Kaneki want nothing more than to stand up and leave. But he had to stay so that he— therefore Takatsuki— could get what he had.

“What, um… What is your ‘type’?” he asked quietly.

Donato smirked, as though he were waiting for that question. “What else do you know about my work?”

What was it with meeting people who wanted to test him? “I-I know you fed your victims to the orphans in your care…” he mumbled, fighting a queasy stomach. It was on a documentary Hide and he had watched a long time ago.

“Yes, I did. And what do you know about my orphanage?”

“It was the sole reason you weren’t put on death row.” He rested his chin in his hand. “The orphans were intelligent and… well-fed.”

The orphanage was rather sizable, especially for how it was run by not only a single man, but a priest at that. Feeding all those mouths regularly, even with donations and the other components of a healthy meal—

He glanced up at Donato. “You preferred heavier people.”

Yet as he said it, he also knew that didn’t make sense. He had never met Mr. Yasuhisa in person, but he had seen pictures; Mr. Yasuhisa was wiry in every single one, even in one taken mere weeks before his death.

… Takatsuki had asked if he’d been approached for ‘hiring’. Was Mr. Yasuhisa targeted? And if so, by who?

Donato watched the gears in Kaneki’s brain turn. “Sometimes, Haise, when confronting a ‘child’, one must explore the circumstances of the ‘parent’.”

Kaneki blinked, confused. What did that—

“You will find everything you need in my case file.” He smiled venomously. “Good luck, Haise.”

What? What made him think Kaneki could access a government case file? Maybe it was a riddle; Donato seemed the type to like those. How strange that Kaneki would have something in common with a mass murderer.

He went to the door, but then remembered—

“Mr. Porpora,” he turned back around, “I had a question for you.”

“Oh?” Donato, the convicted serial killer, looked surprised. “Ask away.”

“Why do you help Takatsuki?”

A shadow dashed across his face, lancing through Kaneki and exiting through the door. “Vengeance.”

———

Kaneki found Takatsuki swinging her legs in one of the waiting room chairs, playing with her pen between her nose and lip and reading her notebook. On another day, he would have thought it charming, but Donato’s final words rang in his head, coloring his view.

Vengeance. What did that mean? Combined with her pinpoint question about assassination and the disparity between Donato’s ‘type’ and Mr. Yasuhisa… It couldn’t be a coincidence. She knew something Kaneki didn’t, and she wasn’t telling him.

But why? What wasn’t he supposed to know? Who exactly was he working with?

Who was Sen Takatsuki?

When she saw him shuffle in, she shot up from her seat. “Haise!” She rushed over. “Are you okay?”

“O-Oh, um, yeah.” He was on a slippery slope now; to trip would be to lose everything. “I-It was actually pretty alright…” He needed a plan. He needed—

She gripped either side of his shoulders. “Don’t you ever do that again. Okay?”

What? “What?”

“Donato is dangerous; he’s called the Priest because he was one, and that means he has all the skills that come with it! What you did was stupid and reckless and— and pointless!” She was scowling at him, but her eyes gently wavered. “There’s nothing wrong with a bit of risk-taking, but he doesn’t need a weapon to hurt you.”

Kaneki pursed his lips and looked away. “I-I’m sorry…”

Takatsuki paused, then sighed. “No, no, stop that; I’m sorry. I… got carried away, inviting you here, and I pressured you into doing something you clearly weren’t comfortable with.”

He shook his head and gave a small smile. “Well, we’re already on the other side of the fence, aren’t we?”

“I—!” She sighed again, a defeated smile on her face. “Alright, fine. You got me. Punk…”

He chuckled. “I’ll, uh, take that as a compliment.”

“Sure.” She took out her pen and clicked it a few times. “So, what did Donato tell you?”

Kaneki explained his conversation with Donato to her, but he left out the last part regarding his question and Donato’s answer. She kept her eyes glued to the notebook, taking notes in disquieting focus. She snapped it shut when she was done.

“Alright, be right back; I still have my own questions,” she said, and marched right back into the lion’s den.

Kaneki stared at her back as she disappeared behind the door. She had worried about him and apologized.

She… She cared about him. Him, Ken Kaneki. On some level. Oh, but of course she did. They were coworkers! Coworkers cared about each other. Stupid…

What was he thinking earlier? Donato was a serial killer who probably made his own fun by sending his visitors on wild goose chases. Kaneki, as a new face, was probably a rare opportunity to conjure up something different, especially with Donato’s apparent history with Takatsuki. He was just trying to turn Kaneki against her.

Well, it wouldn’t work.

Vengeance.

It wouldn’t.

———

“It’s rare for you to be so indecisive.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You don’t want him to find out, yet you brought him here. Counterproductive, if you ask me; it’s new for you. Exciting, even.”

“You’re lecturing me about being counterproductive?”

“… We aren’t talking about me; we’re talking about you. What will you do if he finds out?”

“That’s not important.”

“I thought we promised not to lie in front of each other.”

“It wasn’t a lie.”

“Not to me, hm hm hm… Very well, if you will not tell, allow me to guess. You’re afraid of yourself, yet you want to be known. You want others to know what you are, yet you conceal the truth because you are afraid of being let go. And this boy… You want him, don’t you?”

“…”

“It’s so obvious it’s painful, even to someone like me. You’re so easy to attach yourself to someone who might not even understand you; I thought you would have learned by now. Pitiful.”

“… And what about you?”

“Hm?”

“What. About. You? I know you send Amon letters, and I know he doesn’t respond to you. Why would he? You’re the reason he was sent to yet another orphanage, irreversibly separated from his siblings. You’re the reason he has no father, and you will die as the reason. No matter how many times you get to see the sky, no matter how much you can appreciate that your children are looking at the same sight, you will never see them again. You will die alone and unloved, so really, the only thing pitiful here is you.”

“… There you are, •|».”

“Shut up. Now, about your ‘hirers’…”

———

To: Chie Hello, Chie. Can I ask a favor?

[pregtboy]

ok I’m a big fan of top-heavy pregnant guys, but less of a fan of how much pregnancy and especially tits are equated with femininity/submissiveness on preg tumblr, so consider: a masculine and curvy guy gets knocked up by his cute fem boyfriend. Masc guy has never bothered binding or trying to hide his so-called feminine figure—he’s more confident in his masculinity than any over-compensating cishet man, so he doesn’t give two shits what others think. He’s a little wary when his tests come back positive, but once he sees how ridiculously excited his boyfriend is to be a dad, he starts to feel good about it, too. Soon, he’s getting huge, his belly swelling up and pulling at the hems of his shirts, his navel popped and poking out. And his already sizable chest is growing, too, his milk supply leaving him with tender, swollen tits. It’s getting harder to find men’s clothes that actually fit, but maybe his boyfriend wouldn’t mind altering some of his clothes for him in addition to sewing up little onesies. I just love the idea of them going out together, a big-bellied, busty guy in casual jeans and a cool jacket that doesn’t even pretend to close around his swollen front with a slim, tall boy in a cute skirt and crop top on his arm. And I’m sure even when the cis boyfriend elects to be the stay at home dad once the bab(ies) come, his boyfriend won’t mind going off back to work with a new bump growing in his belly not long after. 

PLSS this is so cute, i feel like i need to post more about masc preg trans guys on here. twinks and feminine guys are great but where's the love for the preggo bears and masc guys! after all a bigger stronger guy can carry much more babies hehe

i feel like this description also def suits my oc chester so i'll have to write up a post about him for you bc i think you'd like him ❤️ big titty lumberjack boy

[corinthianism]

gold rush | thor

pairing: thor odinson (mcu)/f!reader additional tags: fluff warnings: none

note: super short cutesy fic about thor!! he's so cute i love him! anyway, i might just make this acc my main acc bc posts on my other acc literally just won't show up

“Come on! Just this once, sweetheart!” 

“No!”

“It’ll be good for you!”

“Good in what way exactly, Tony?” you raised your brow at him. Looking back at you was a grown man attempting puppy dog eyes. If you weren’t so annoyed by him, you would’ve laughed. When he didn’t respond to your question, you thought you were free to go but as always, there’s no winning against Tony Stark.

“Thor will be thereee,” he sang. “I’ll be sure to tell him to wear those extra-fitted gym shirts you like so much.”

“You’re a bitch, you know that?”

“Yup.”

That morning interaction left you in a daze for the rest of the day. The party was later at night, which left you with only a couple of hours to decide what you were going to wear.

It wasn’t uncommon for you to see people fawning over him. It didn’t mean that you were ever going to get used to it, though. But, as always, you understood. After all, how could anyone resist him? He towered over everyone. He was funny, kind, sweet, and smarter than people gave him credit for. And you swore his golden hair and blue eyes shone under the light. He was literally inhumanly perfect. It was simultaneously endearing and infuriating. 

You nursed your second (third?) mojito and tried to get your attention off of him. This was supposed to be a celebration. You’d been working for Tony Stark, or more accurately, Pepper Potts, as his new glorified babysitter. Your job ranged from reminding Tony to not die of sleep deprivation to reminding all of the Avengers to also not die of sleep deprivation. Naturally, you were invited to another big party Tony threw to celebrate the team’s latest successful mission. From what you heard, the situation was getting pretty bleak before Thor showed up.

Thor. The most beautiful man you’d ever laid your eyes on. He smiled so easily, like he didn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders. He quite literally beamed like sunlight. 

“Snap out of it!” you blinked as you scolded yourself internally. This was getting ridiculous. It was at that moment that you decided to just ditch the party and get comfortable at home. You’d have to make up an excuse though. The Jimmy Choo heels Tony gifted you last month, as comfortable as they were, could be blamed for your sudden disappearance. “Yeah, that works,” you hummed to yourself.

Before you could leave the scene, however, you heard the familiar rumbling voice of a certain god of thunder, “Leaving so soon, my lady?” 

Shit.

You turned around, surely looking like a child caught in the act, and smiled awkwardly at him, “Uh…”–you laughed nervously–“yeah. Uh, my feet were starting to ache so I think I’m gonna just. Um. Dip. Yes.” 

“Dip,” he repeated, his lips curling up into a kind smile. “The more I think I know Midgardian culture, the more I’m proven wrong. You sure do know how to keep things exciting, my lady.” 

You could only manage to nod as you tried to suppress the dizziness you felt from his compliment. How does he even manage to do that? 

He cleared his throat and offered you his hand, “Oh! You said your feet were aching, would you like me to accompany you back to your quarters?” 

“Oh,” you gulped. Saynosaynosaynosaynosaynosaynosayno. “Yeah, sure! That would be great, thank you.” 

MORON!

You knew this was a bad idea. Not in the sense that he’d be a total asshole; he’s quite the opposite. It’s just that–maybe–this would just give you false hope. Thor often blurred the lines of politeness and plain flirting, the latter of which you have seen on numerous occasions, used on women you considered to be far better than you. Whatever level your self-esteem was at the moment, it certainly wasn’t increasing. 

You took his hand, feeling the roughness of his palm and all its little scars and thought about, just for a moment, how many battles he’s fought. How many people he saved. Or lost. You gulped, suddenly acutely aware of how small you were compared to him, but there was no fear. You felt his eyes on you, piercing through you, and you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. 

The both of you stood in front of the elevator, seemingly waiting for the other to speak first.

“So!”

“So, um–” 

You were finally looking at him. He was golden in this light. He always was. 

“You go first,” he said lowly, urging you to continue.

“I was gonna ask how you liked the party?” you responded meekly, still in unfamiliar territory.

“How funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing,” he chuckled. “It was nice, however not as nice as the ones we hold at Asgard.” 

You smiled, “I can imagine.” 

“Perhaps one of these days, you’ll see them for yourself.” 

A beat.

“I’d like that.” 

[bellymage]

Introduction

Hi Tumblr,

My old account was all gunked up and got shivved in the great NSFW purges of the last few years so I'm making a new one!

Pronouns: He/Him

Minors please do not interact! (I know I wanted to when I was that age, but we gotta keep things safe, sane, and consensual up in here.)

About me: Basically, I'm just going to be spam-blogging cute bellies and and some other kinks. But I also might post pics of myself every once in a while and, if by some miracle, people actually want to see--pics of my many other hobbies too! I cook, I write, I make models, and sometimes I draw badly~ very very exciting!

As an inevitable kink blog that will descend into degeneracy be warned that this blog will feature things like feedism, hypnosis, BDSM, chastity, and other fun distractions! Anyways, I've met literally THE nicest people in the world on Tumblr in the past so I'm so excited to meet more! See you on the dash, Comrades~

EDIT: additional things. I love edibles and I’m 420 friendly!

[goatsandgangsters]

SAB EPISODE THREEEEE LIVEBLOG

I’m really glad I have the subtitles on, because “we could definitely use your arsenal” is NOT what I heard Mal say to Nikolai. GOTTA ENUNCIATE THE END OF THAT WORD THERE ARCHIE OR I’LL BE WRITING A NEW RAREPAIR BEFORE YOU KNOW IT

AW KOVU, HE’S IN THE SHOW TOO. fun fact! if you look up the etymology of the name Kovu, it’s JUST the lion king 2! so in addition to naming someone privyet, I’m fairly certain that Leigh Bardugo named someone on Nikolai’s crew after an oddly good-looking talking lion

I’m so glad I have a visual for the flying ship now, because ngl I was never able to really… picture that in a way that made sense. My mental image of the Hummingbird previously was like. two kayaks strapped to some 2x4’s with a sail on it. this is much better

I like that they’re taking the crows more seriously this season? they felt sort of. silly and comic reliefy last season. but their scenes have so much more heft to them. Freddy is doing an incredible job, AND I’m loving all the more serious moments between him and Jesper (people always short-change Jesper on his depth and that makes me annoyed)

“wHAT HAPPENED TO THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BURN VILLAGES TO KEEP HER CHILD SAFE” AAAYYYYYYY DEMON IN THE WOOD REFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ooooohhhhhh Morozova family scenes SO GOOD, I’m fucking living. these two play off each other so well. I’m also just?? fucking living for getting to see him in all these different contexts? like, in the books obviously we only get him when Alina’s there (and then he doesn’t…. do that much in Rule of Wolves…) and like. genuinely. just getting a lot of canon scenes that’s him interacting with all kinds of different characters is REALLY exciting for me. you know what it is actually? they’re treating him as a character. and not just A Mysterious Figure. even compared to season 1, he feels more like a character and less like a Presence

THERE!! HE!!! ISS!!!!!! oh I was so excited to see the Nikolai switch and I love that he does change the way he carries himself and the way he speaks, HE’S VERY FUCKING GOOD

SPINNING WHEEL?????? ARE WE GOING TO SEE?????????? MY FAVORITE LOCATION??????????????????????

aw I love David. he’s so sincerely like “so these terrifying shadow monsters. explain.” and then just listens intently.

OH, HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW IF ALINA���S ALIVE?? they BOTH think the other is dead?? they both think they’re just arguing with a dream every night? well. that is juicy

“MY JAW FEELS MUCH BETTER NOW THANKS FOR ASKING” he’s such a shithead :333333

he’s even BETTER as nikolai, I am. very pleased. I am very pleased! i AM VERY PLEASED WE’RE GETTING NIKOLAI DEPTH, BECAUSE I LOVE HIM YOU SEE AND I LOVE THAT THEY’RE TAKING HIM AND HIS DEPTH SERIOUSLY

I WISH YOU COULD HEAR THE UNHOLY SCREECH I JUST MADE. OH WE ARE GETTING THE SPINNING WHEEL???????????? this is not on top of a mountain but I understand production restraints. um. anyway. I would like to take this moment to say SP??? SPINNING????? wHEeehHELHWELHLHWLHELHW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zoyalina kiss when. ZOYALINA KISS WHEN.

part of me is a little bit mad that “arrive at the spinning wheel and get an exposition dump about how the little palace is a mess because the first army turned on grisha” is…….. a chapter I have already written, for amnesia au, but I have not posted it yet, and now I don’t have Verifiable Proof that I wrote it on my own free brain without show influence. you’ll all just have to believe me on this

WESPER PRECANON HOOKUP????????????????????

Wesper piano tuning adventure, eXTREMELY CUTE

Jesper having feeeeeeelings Jesper having feeeeeeeeeelings

CANNOT BELIEVE WE’RE JUST DOING CROOKED KINGDOM BEFORE SIX OF CROWS. genuinely did not have that on my bingo card at all

oh Inej’s IMMEDIATE “then we destroy him” is A Lot. from the mistrust to “ride or die, let’s kill” oh wow

WOW THEY ARE REALLY DOING KANEJ BATHROOM SCENE JUSTICE

ARE WE DOING????? STAIRCASE FIGHT?????????????????????????? IN EPISODE THREE???????????????????????????????????? IN THPIEOSDE THREE????????

oh FREDDY IS GOOD THIS SEASON. not that he wasn’t good last season, but they are REALLY letting him shine

this episode vacillating between scenes from Siege and Storm, scenes from Ruin and Rising, scenes from Crooked Kingdom, and not-yet-published scenes from my own AU has been a headtrip. IT’S NOT BAD, but I feel like I put myself in a washing machine with all of the books and we’re just going whuubbuwhuuubbbwhuuubbbb together 

my biggest complaint about season 1 was the pacing, and I can’t put my finger on what they’ve done differently because certainly they have even more to cram in and I really thought—if season 1 felt bumpy and rushed and all over the place—there was no WAY season 2 wouldn’t be even more all-over-the-place with so many characters and so many books. but somehow they’re really pulling it off??? I can’t believe this is the third episode only??? I can’t believe this is only haLFWAY THROUGH the third episode???? they are really packing a punch with everything and it’s working. this season so far is TIGHT. I don’t know what they did or what they changed or how, but they are NAILING IT

(interestingly, because each episode feels so meaty and satisfying, it doesn’t feel Designed To Be Binged. this would have rocked as a weekly release. each episode stands so well on its own, I wish they had a full week of breathing space)

ohhhhh poor David, about to be unwilling witness to Morozova Family Drama. World’s Biggest Ilya Morozova Fanboy accidentally has front row seat to watching his kid and grandkid duke it out, dysfunctional immortal style

HM. DON’T KNOW IF THAT’S BETTER OR WORSE THAN EYEBALLS, BUT NEITHER DAVID NOR I WERE EXPECTING THAT LEVEL OF FAMILY DYSFUNCTION RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR SALADS

me seeing my boy in a fancy vest and gay-ass cravat with his sleeves rolled up: I am living my best possible life

ohhhhhhhh the Kaz Wylan Jesper scene VERY GOOD, FREDDY REALLY BRINGING IT

Ben Barnes with Merzost Tuberculosis was ALSO not on my bingo card, but I’ll be honest, I’m not mad about it. just hackin up a lung in every single scene

why is Tidemaker Woman styled like that. like, her hair, her makeup, she just…. looks like someone who knows what tiktok is? she does not look like she’s lives in Magical Tsarist Russia

OH HE EXTINGUISHED THE CANDLE, OKAY. there was a genuine moment there where I wasn’t sure if he was gonna give alina a wet-willy or flip her off

OH, NOT THE DOOR I THOUGHT YOU WERE KNOCKING ON

I’ll see how I feel tomorrow, I was gonna knock out two more, but I might just do one? I’m enjoying A LOT, but every episode has been so FULL in a good way that I don't. feel like I'm chomping at the bit for more? I mostly want to sit and digest everything so far. TBH I WANT TO REWATCH EVERYTHING SO FAR, ALREADY. god this would have been SO good on weekly release. how the fuck is this so good??????