#and wondering what life would be like for someone who lived at super speed

[marlynnofmany]

I know there could easily be aliens that move super slowly, like sloths, but what about super fast? Yes we have skittery little creatures like mice and lizards or whatnot, but that’s just quick normal. What about so fast they experience life differently? No patience for a human’s talking speed? Just imagine humans being the ent species, the sloths, the tortoises. Having a conversation with a superspeedster. That conversation would be maddening from both ends.

[tojisun]

till the end of time

jake sully x fem na’vi reader

!! fluff and smut - minors dni; slight dumbification but it’s super slight; praise kink; kind of cockwarming; age gap (mid 20s vs late 30s); daddy issues // 1.1k words

: speeding through this during my break bc happy birthday king 😭🫶🏼; hows jake not 40 i need him 40; im so in love w this man; this is purely self-indulgent pls dont mind me (although i hope you guys would still luv it!!); title from blue jeans - lana

jake blinks, trying to take in the view. he turns to you, watching the way you fidget under his stare, your cheeks turning a beautiful hue of purple as your shyness kicks in. 

“love?” he asks, clearing his throat when it cracks. he sees you smile at hearing his choked up voice and and jake moves to stand beside you when your silence drags on. “c’mon sweetheart, wanna hear your pretty voice.”

you huff, rolling your eyes at him, apparently still not used to his compliments. jake wonders how you could even doubt him – you are so fucking beautiful.

(he spent days posturing against the other suitors who wanted you, proving to everyone that what you needed was a capable mate. not a boy who is still wet behind his ears or a young warrior who can only hunt a yerik at best. you needed someone who’s competent, someone who can spoil you rotten – you needed someone like him.

getting to hear you say you love him back almost made him catatonic. it’s all he ever wanted, and yet it seemed too good to be true. but isn’t that who you are? too beautiful, too kind, too smart to be true? but there you were, beaming like the sun, pouring your heart out to him. 

jake remembers shaking as he took you in his arms, tucking you under his chin and telling you, “god, baby, i fucking love you too.”).

“it’s for you, skxawng,” you say, giggling. then, you pause, breathing in deeply, before whispering, “happy birthday, ma’jake.” 

(jake doesn’t remember the last time he celebrated his birthday with someone, or celebrated it at all. the days hadn’t stopped blending together, piling them into immeasurable hours of loneliness.

it was a lot better here in pandora – concrete and cold metal replaced with the tenderness of nature; indifference chased away by unabashed honesty. the people love beautifully, jake knows, but it seemed like even that could not chip away the cold settling in his chest.

then, you came into his life, bright like a star and gentle like the wind. and, just like that, jake no longer remembers how it is to be alone, to not live without love. to not have a life without you.)

jake can almost feel himself choke with the weight of his love and he crosses past the beautiful spread laid out before the two of you and wraps you in his arms. your laugh rings within the space you two share and jake feels his cheeks straining at the stretch of his smile. 

“you make me the happiest man in the universe right now, sweet girl,” he says, pressing his lips on the crown of your head, breathing you in. he sways you two, dancing to the tune of the forest, the sound of home, and jake thinks this must be the happiest he’ll ever be.

----

“jesus, baby girl,” jake groans, burrowing his face on the crook of your neck, his hot breath sending goosebumps rising across your skin. “fuckin’ you really makes me feel young again.”

you giggle at his words, jolting you out of the throes of your pleasure. you smack at his shoulder, squealing when jake sinks his fangs into your skin in retaliation. 

“jake, please!” you squirm, his weight pressing down onto you deliciously. you feel his tail loop around your ankle, holding tight, and you huff when jake refuses to budge. 

your hand rises, ready to deliver another smack, when jake begins to move. there is so little space for him to use, and yet it doesn’t seem to deter him – his hips press close to your pelvis, almost melding his skin into yours, rolling them slowly, torturously, the thick head of his cock digging into your spasming walls.

your words fail you, drawn out moans purring from the base of your throat. your eyes roll back into your skull, your vision spinning until all you can see is white. your sensitive ears ring with static and yet it all sounds so muted. distant. it’s so good, it’s too much.

“oh, yawne,” jake’s croon pierces through the whirlpool of pleasure crashing into you. “did i break you, sweetheart?”

you respond, you think. you are unsure, too busy clenching around jake’s cock, savouring the feeling of being filled. 

he chuckles, something that is too soft for what he’s doing to you. 

“i did, ‘lright.” jake noses along your neck, mingling his scent with yours. “what did this old man do to ever deserve you?” your head lolls to the side at his prompting, your breath hitching at feeling jake’s tongue lapping along the bruises he made. 

“you’re not old,” you sniffle, screwing your eyes shut again when jake pulls out slowly. you feel your walls clamping down onto his cock in protest and you whine, mirroring your body’s desires, clawing his back at the dizzying pleasure.

jake’s muffled laughter reverberates from where his mouth is pressed onto your skin. “shh, sweetheart, i’ll make you feel good, i promise.”

jake shifts slightly, pulling himself up from your front and instantly, coolness slithers in the slight space between you two. you already miss his warmth, his weight. you pout up at him but jake just shakes his head, pitching forward to place a soft kiss on your temple.

“my needy mate,” jake says, his voice heavy with tenderness. your heart flutters at the sound, feeling your cheeks burn at his attentive gaze. his lips part, a quiet gasp escapes as he watches you, then he surges forward and kisses you.

the kiss is messy, rushed, like jake is trying to claim every part of you - from your breath to your heartbeats. you nip at his bottom lip, eager to mirror his fervour, giggling as you swallow jake’s responding groan. his hands leave your hips to cup your jaw, both thumbs rubbing just below your eyes, gentle, unlike the frantic kiss.

your lips are throbbing when he finally pulls away, his forehead bumping yours. you hear his smile more than you see it, and you feel yourself following, quiet laughter spilling between yourselves, mingling with the air.

the desperation and the crashing desire to mate ebbs into something softer. something more tender. the passion is still there, the intensity burning from deep within, but it is echoing ever so gently, like time stopped and all that’s left is the two of you.

“i love you, ma’jake,” you tell him, your stomach flipping like you are confessing all over again. 

jake presses a soft kiss on your lips. “i love you more, sweetheart,” he says, like always. 

[unluckiestmember]

Intimate Moments (Arcane Edition)

Summary: The most intimate and emotional moment during sex you’ve had with the main Arcane characters!

Characters: Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Ekko, Viktor and Silco

Warning: NSFW for sexual themes and suggestive themes. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

A/N: A compilation from my last account and one of my personal favorite imagines/headcanons. Enjoy!

Jinx

It was your first time having sex with her. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but Jinx being Jinx, dived head first. Literally. She thinks she’s seen and been to heaven when she’s between your legs. The feeling of her on you in such a position made you moan out her name.

Not Jinx. But Powder.

Jinx stares up at you and you already know you made a mistake. No one calls her Powder, not even Silco! Unless you have a death wish, you should keep that name out of your mouth!

You stare down at her blue eyes expecting a scowl or a roar! But you were shocked when she whispered to you,

“Say it... Say it again.”

So you say it. “Powder.”

“Say it again.”

“Powder.”

“Please say it again.”

“Powder...”

You experience the best orgasm in your life, having the loose cannon below pleasure you like there was no tomorrow. She let her tongue work wonders and picked up her pace, taking in all of you in her mouth. When you came, Jinx cleaned you up and even pleasured you a little more, causing your eyes to roll back in eternal bliss.

She could tell you were finished for now so she pulled herself up to cuddle into your side. It took you a minute until you realized she cried to sleep. Not tears of anger or sorrow. But of joy.

Ever since, you are the only one who can call her Powder.

Vi

Vi is a wild animal in bed.

She’ll throw you down and waste no time to fuck your brains out for simple pleasure.

But one day, during a steamy make out session, you stopped to kiss down on her bandaged knuckles.

She’s taken a back for a minute.

Why would you do that?

You keep kissing on her knuckles without a care in the world. “Stop it,” She told you, trying her best to pull away from you. But you hold her softly. “Y/N, stop it...” She keeps fighting back for a minute, but eventually stops.

The brute breaks in your arms. How could you do that? How could you love someone who’s ruined so many lives with those fists of hers? It was impossible, wasn’t it? But you told her the answer to her worries and questions with a single glance into her gray eyes.

‘No.’

That night, you two had sex as usual, but this was more personal. More intimate. Vi took more gentle strokes and eased into picking up her speed and slamming harder on you.

She screams and moans your name like a prayer, countlessly says she loves you, feeling like any moment you will disappear. Though the way your hands relaxed on her hips and drew circles along her waist said otherwise.

The two of you came together before sleeping in each other’s arms. She could get used to sensual sex like that…

Caitlyn Kiramman

Innocent little Caitlyn.

Why are there barely any headcanons for Caitlyn? I-

Caitlyn was a classy woman, so sex was never really on her mind. It still wasn’t when you guys started dating. But you both knew you had to get things over with eventually. So one evening, Caitlyn dragged you to her room to try it.

The both of you were super awkward, especially the female enforcer. She would always ask in between actions “Are you okay? Is this right? Should it be the other way?” Bless her soul.

All around, everything was going well.

Until it was time to get naked. When it came her turn to feel pleasure, she didn’t do anything.

She hung her head low to the ground almost in disappointment. She stared down at her body. Thoughts lingered in her head; ‘What if I’m not beautiful to Y/N? What if I make a fool out of myself?’

Before she could ask herself any more questions, you rid her of her worries with sweet kisses. With every piece of clothing thrown on the floor, you whisper out, “You’re so precious. You look like an angel. Oh, I love you so much.”

You almost broke her down with every kiss you placed to mark her body. Your lips graced on her cheeks, her lips, her neck, her chest and finally her core. Oh, you loved everything about her.

You started to eat her, licking inside her folds at an average pace and flicking your tongue on her clit.

In a matter of seconds, her hands are lost in your hair, pushing your head closer to her to feel all of your tongue inside of her. Her moans clouded the room long after she came in your mouth. Pulling up, you both had lust in your eyes and could tell the night was still young…

Let’s just say she eventually screamed your name to the heavens long into the night and she realized two things; Sex with you was the best! And she was beautiful.

Ekko

Ekko has always been a bit of a wild boy when it came to having sex with you. It’s why you two were together to begin with.

He can be playful some nights, chuckling with you when he messes up something. Rough when he just really wants you. And romantic when you just need to know he cares about you.

One night the two of you were just having the time of your lives. He was slamming into you from behind, groaning out, “You like that, huh? Yeah, go ahead and scream my name, baby.” And boy did you love it.

Just feeling him stretch you out and pound deeper and faster in you was like euphoria. You found yourself screaming at the top of your lungs, “Ah, yes! Right there! Fuck, I love you, Ekko!”

You didn’t want it to stop, but soon the movement had slowed and the grip on your thighs loosened. You felt your body turning now to face the leader of the firelights panting down at you. “You love me,” He questioned, his brown eyes glistening in the moonlight full of hesitant awe.

Did you say you loved him? You never told him because you were scared of getting attached. He was the leader of a cause and lived in Zaun. Any minute he could be taken from you, so you tried not to get attached. Yet you said you loved him, whether it be out of lust or love wasn’t important. You said the sacred three words to him.

In that moment, you were sure as he began to stroke inside of you again, you didn’t see a warrior. You saw your boyfriend, your best friend, your everything.

He must have seen that in you too because he started to dig deeper in you, continuously hitting your g-spot with smooth strokes. His arms wrapped around you tightly, groaning at the feeling of a climax approaching him.

Together in a sea of utter pleasure, the both of you came together before relaxing in each other’s embrace under the shine of the midnight moon.

You slept well that night in his arms, letting him hold onto you with the mindset of if he let you go, you wouldn’t come back.

No matter what, after that day, you both say I love you at least once a day.

Viktor

My everything next to Jinx.

You and Viktor have been partners for a long time in Piltover, working on projects together when he wasn’t accompanied by Jayce. Though you two never started to officially date because hexcore was more important, even if deep down you two wanted to become an item.

Well, the thing about humans is that they don’t know how precious people are until they almost lose them.

Viktor found himself having a particularly horrible week; The hexcore may have fixed him, but took away a close friend. He may have almost stopped an incoming war, but he ended up losing some close allies due to the bombing on the council’s headquarters.

He had thought he lost you when the city went into lockdown due to the commotion. Thank the gods he found you that night safe and sound at your home.

Thank the gods he was safe too.

That following night, the two of you met one another at your home, where he knocked on your door. Your eyes connected with his amber eyes, and you were sure they screamed one thing; ‘I need you’.

In a matter of seconds, you two synchronized like gears to slam each others’ lips onto one another. Moving in rhythm, bodies danced through the dimly lit house towards your bedroom, where the scientist pushed you down on your comforter and wasted no time to rid himself of your clothes.

You did the same, though you found it cute and amusing that he was apologizing for his ‘inappropriate’ actions. You showed it was okay when you slammed your lips onto his again and felt yourself yearning for him.

You two grinded on each other, letting your lower bodies explore one another through groans and moans. The entire night, you two were one. Nothing else mattered when you found Viktor cumming inside of you and placing your hand gently onto your cheek.

You two stared at one another desperately before you heard the man speak in his native tongue, “я люблю тебя так сильно.”

You never questioned what that meant, but when you two started dating, he made it an effort to always tell you “I love you so much.”

Silco

As long as you’ve been dating the crime lord of Zaun, you knew damn well that Silco was not an emotional guy. No one has ever seen him let out his feelings to people, not even Jinx.

If he did ever give into his emotions, it would be out of anger, but never out of love.

He only ever saw sex as something done to relieve stress, kind of like you. You were his bitch anyways, nothing more.

That’s why he would always fuck your brains out, slamming his cock inside of you through your mouth or lower end with one goal in mind; To forget about the world and please himself for once in his god awful life.

However, one evening when he was railing deep inside of you on your desk, something was different to say the least. He wasn’t fucking you like a mad man. He wasn’t calling you degrading names and growling like an animal. Instead, his strokes were sensual and careful.

That was new. Was he sick? It’s not that you didn’t enjoy it. But why was he doing this?

You reach up to touch his face where his scar was and the man had froze up. You wanted to ask what the hell was going on. Where was the man who would pound you senseless?

Instead of being given an answer, his orange and blue eyes just pierced down at you before he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Through those eyes, you had seen the man you once knew. A man who was calculating, but somewhat compassionate. A man who just wanted the best for him and his brother. A man once had big dreams he wanted to accomplish with you by his side.

He always said that naïve brat was gone, but you always knew he was in there. That’s why you had no issue with this new version of him. It’s why you never batted an eye at his scarred eye. As a matter of fact, you adored it. You adored him.

With the feeling of your lips crashing slowly into his, Silco began to fuck you as usual. His strokes only picked up after a moment of your moans colliding in your mouth.

Before you knew it, he came hard and deep inside of you, making you scream out his name before relaxing a bit. Now panting hard on his desk, you stared up at Silco, finding him panting along with you. He eventually pulled away to sit in his chair.

You don’t know why he apologized or what happened that night, but from that day forward, Silco was more open to showing his appreciation for you…

Arcane requests are currently open! :D

Likes and retweets are always appreciated! I love you all, be safe and have a good day! <3

[corporatefrog]

╰┈➤ Welcome Back to the Channel part 15; red string of CONSPIRACY

✧.* featuring yn opening up to Kyle about their recent theories : ̗̀➛ notes - I always get nervous when I post written out parts (esp when it's a smau) but I felt like this needed to be in person for the effect. The next part will be mainly written too so get ready! tags - college au, superhero au, smau

series masterlist previous | next

It’s got to make sense. It HAS to make sense. If it doesn’t make sense I’ve spent the past week thinking about it and that’s a week wasted that I could’ve used to do something else or literally anything. 

My vision blurred as I stared at the cork board, eyes tracing the same track of red yarn from picture to news article to picture to news article to picture-

It was a vicious cycle that had trapped me for what felt like hours but could’ve been minutes. Or days. Time came and went in no consistent interval. I woke up, went to class, came home and stared at this board until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. 

I hadn’t made a video in a few weeks and I’d postponed the interview I had scheduled with Fast Pass with no new date set. Another lost opportunity because I couldn’t get my shit together. This is all I had right now. So I had to be right. Even if the theory made me sound like I’d never had a critical thought in my life. 

Which it does. Kyle didn’t even respond after you told him. That means no one believes you. It means your theory doesn’t make sense. This is BUTTERS we’re talking about.

Yeah but if it’s wrong, that means those people are right. Even if they’re just spreading hate on the internet to make themselves feel better, they have lives nonetheless. If I assisted someone who’s actively ruining people’s lives, does that make me just as bad as him? 

I shake the thoughts away. I’m not a bad person. I may make questionable choices but what college student doesn’t? It’s a part of growing up. So I have to be right about this. But what does that mean moving forward? What do I do knowing one of my best friends is a super villain? 

A stinging feeling begins behind my eyes as I feel the familiar pressure across the bridge of my nose that always happens before I start crying. 

Why can’t I figure this out? Why can’t I let this go? Why am I stuck-

A knock at the door startles me from my concentration. My head whips to the door as though it would open on its own to reveal who interrupted my time of focus. 

“Yn? Hello?” Kyle’s voice sounds from the other side of the door. 

Oh fuck. 

I looked back to the cork board which took up the majority of my living room. 

Why did I buy this again? I wondered, realizing how much space the board actually took up. The once tidy living room had become cluttered with empty coffee cups and takeout containers littered over the coffee table, end tables, and ground. Bits of red yarn sat on the ground from cut up scraps. Other lengths that had connected discarded evidence sat in a pile on a stool, waiting for the chance to be connected to the ever expanding web once again. 

“Are you in there?” Kyle’s voice rang through the apartment again.

I can’t let him in here! He’s going to think I’m some hermit conspiracy theorist!

…Well I kind of am a conspiracy theorist.

Deciding to ignore that realization, I lunged for the nearest piece of trash (a 3 day old Chipotle bowl that I just kept forgetting to walk the 3 feet to the kitchen trash) and tossed it into the garbage can. Speed cleaning the apartment lifted a weight from my shoulders, making the small living room feel less claustrophobic. 

Wow, I feel better already. Maybe I should open the blind and run a vacuum through real quick- KYLE!

I spun and walked toward the door, fixing my appearance in the 10 second walk to the door to the best of my ability. Even if I’ve been stuck in my apartment for a week and a half, I didn’t want to look like it. 

Unlocking the door, I put on my best “I’m totally fine and mentally stable!” face.

“Hey, kyle!” 

If I looked bad, Kyle somehow looked worse. The usually maintained curls frizzed into a blur atop his head and his shirt was clearly on backwards with a Fruit of the Loom logo showing proudly at the base of his neck. His eyes darted around the hallway and into my apartment through the sliver he could see through the cracked door. 

The fuck is up with him?

I think while also wearing a shirt backwards after throwing away a week’s worth of take out food and diluted iced coffee as though I was any better off. 

That’s not what we’re focusing on right now. I’m perfectly stable, duh. 

“You good?” I asked, leaning against the door frame to keep him from seeing my conspiracy board. 

Kyle raised an eyebrow, “You’re the one that texted me an essay about your theories then called yourself an asshole.”

“Oh those?” I forced out a laugh, waving a hand to brush off the concerns, “Those were just joke, duh! You took those seriously?” 

“They sounded pretty serious to me.” Kyle sighed, running a hand through his ragged hair in a way that somehow didn’t catch his fingers in the mess of curls, “Can I come in? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

My eyes darted back into the apartment. The giant cork board stuck out like a neon sign saying “A MENTALLY ILL PERSON LIVES HERE!” I couldn’t let someone see me like this. Texting Kyle in the first place was a mistake. He’ll think I’m not thinking clearly, that I’m not someone to be trusted. The work I put into being reliable yn who’s always there to be a person you can lean on will be ruined. No one will ever trust me again. 

But don’t you want someone else to know? Just knowing that someone else sees your stress instead of shoving it down until it spills over?

The thought alone of telling someone about these thoughts, of sharing the burden I’d created for myself, cleared the clouds fogging my mind. He can be someone who will listen. He can be a witness so I’m not the only one who knows that I’m struggling. 

I stepped back, pulling the door open so Kyle could step through. 

“Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess.” I started, hoping to mediate the embarrassment of letting someone into my stress lair. 

Kyle shook his head as a small smile tugged at his lips, “It’s no problem, if you’ve ever seen stan’s room-” His sentence died out as he noticed the cork board. You know, the giant one covering my living room wall filled with pictures and newspaper clipping connected by red yarn. 

“Oh.” Was all he said. 

I shut the door behind him. Kyle jumped slightly at the sound, turning his gaze to follow me as I walked. He doesn’t say a word. Only staring at the cork board, the remains of trash I’d missed on my quick clean, and my own disheveled appearance. 

Might as well address the elephant in the room.

“Do you want to talk about the cork board?” I asked, continuing before he had a chance to reply, “Let's talk about the cork board because I’ve been dying to talk about this cork board all day.” Walking up to the board, I pointed to the center where two photos sat: one of the supervillain Professor Chaos and the other of elementary education major Butters Stotch. 

“Professor Chaos. His name keeps coming up over and over again. Everyday Call Girl is sending out alerts about this guy,” I move my hand to point at different tweets I’d printed out and pinned to the board, “Professor Chaos takes hostages in a McDonalds Play Place for a birthday party. Professor Chaos attempts to sign himself as the mayor of South Park using a fake charity petition. Professor Chaos hijacks the news station to declare the weather today ‘a 100% chance of Chaos’. This entire corner is just tweets about Professor Chaos!” 

Kyle sits down on the couch without a word, eyes still following my every move. I start pacing across the living room. 

Why isn’t he saying anything? Is it because he doesn’t believe me? 

“So I start to look closer at his actions, his way of speaking, everything that makes Professor Chaos who he is. But it’s around this same time that I start to text a certain person more because we have a philosophy class together.” I return to the board and point to screenshots of text messages. 

“Here Butters talks about getting grounded for eating two cookies and here Professor Chaos talks about being grounded for wearing his villain outfit then got grounded for trying to get ungrounded.” I look between the cork board and Kyle, trying to justify my hypothesis with the urgency in my voice, “No one gets grounded as much as Butters. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that!”

“But that’s not even the smoking gun!” I exclaimed, pointing to another corner of the board, “Last week, Butters missed our philosophy class- which he has never done- and when I texted him, he said he was at a showing of Frozen on Ice with his mom in Denver. But when you look at the schedule for Frozen on Ice,” I pause for effect, “they don’t start shows for this season in Denver until next month. Right day, wrong month.” 

“But guess what was going on last week? Professor Chaos attacks main street and is tackled by Super Craig. Landing him with another defeat and some pretty gnarly bruises to boot. The kind of bruises you’d need to miss class to cover up.” I finished with a sigh, glad to finally tell someone the monologue that had been racing through my head for the past week. 

I brace myself for Kyle’s response. His eyes are locked onto the cork board and my scribbled sticky notes shouting various exclamations of discovery and panic. With a deep breath, he levels his gaze on me. 

What is he thinking? Is he trying to find a nice way to say I’ve lost it? Have I lost it?

“Yn-”  He begins but I cut him off. 

“I know it sounds crazy, okay? I know it sounds like I’m reaching by claiming the only truly nice person I know is the town’s resident fucking super villain-” 

“You’re right.” 

Kyle’s response blasts through my clouded mind. I physically take a step back as my face morphs from frantic stress to confusion. 

“What did you just say?” I ask, shoulders remaining tense as a hand twists into the fabric of my shirt. Kyle sighs, looking away and muttering something to himself. He raises a hand to his face, rubbing at his eyes before looking back at me. 

“You’re right about Professor Chaos.”

The words I hoped to hear, the words I thought would finally take the weight off my shoulders and release the stress that had gripped my nerves, only intensified the panic in my mind. 

“You mean you believe me, right?” I started slowly, trying to clarify the simple language mistake Kyle made. 

“No, I mean you’re right.”

Before my mind could begin to wrap around the first revelation, Kyle continued speaking. 

“I can��t tell you. I’m not allowed to. I shouldn’t even be telling you this. But I know someone who can, or at least someone who has permission.”

I began shifting my weight from foot to foot, holding back the urge to begin pacing again as I ran a hand through my hair. 

“You know how cryptic you’re being right now, right?” I said. 

“Yeah I know.” Kyle's leg began to bounce as his own nerves began to peak through, “I’m walking a very thin line and I’m trying not to get us both into major trouble.” He looked up to me, trying to communicate a message I couldn’t understand. 

“With who?” 

“Someone with a lot more authority than me. Someone who can explain things more if you come with me.” Kyle urged. 

What does that even mean? Let’s not forget that he said we were right. How does he know that? Why does he know that?

My thoughts fought against each other to be the one addressed first but with so many questions, it felt impossible to single out one from the mass. Everything was happening so fast. Everything changed so fast. When did the mood of the room become so urgent? Did it always feel like this? 

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to pause the thoughts. Nothing is going to get done at this rate. So I need to take the first step forward. 

“Okay… yeah.”I started slowly. Kyle nodded and began to stand but I held up a hand for him to wait, “But only if you promise we can get ice cream afterwards.”

Kyle looked at me with an exasperated expression, “Are you seriously using this to get free ice cream?”

This is what he’s surprised by? 

I raised my eyebrow at him and pointed to the chaotic corkboard, “You just told me my batshit conspiracy theory was right and now you want me to follow you to an unknown location to talk to an unknown person. Fuck yes I want free ice cream.” 

Kyle considered the cork board for a moment before sighing. 

“Fine. We’ll get ice cream.”

I muttered a quick “Fuck yeah.” to myself in celebration before looking back at Kyle, 

“Okay I’ll get my coat.” 

I grabbed my jacket and followed Kyle out the door, not nervous about where I’d be going, but scared that I wouldn’t like what I found.

taglist [reply to be added]: @sula0kin @lacuna-at-dawn @anglettecolours @cocolena@sukisprettyface @feverish-dove @sweetadonisbutbetter @hand-writxen@mishstuff@sophtophie @triphovia  @lacunaanonymoused @inkedintothepaper @toodeepintofandoms@mmmaackerel @sillybilly-123@n0tangeliccc

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Heyyyy! I've loved all your fic recs so far but I was wondering if you had any where stiles is a struggling single dad or he has money problems and derek wants to help...?

Hi @webetterfly! @kevaaronday found these for you.

Bundle of Accidental Joy by tearsandholdme (21/21 | 69,901 | Mature | Sterek) Stiles is just trying to live a simple life. Have a job, pay his rent, and survive enough to eat his next meal. But then he's fired from his job, watches a mother abandon her baby, tries to stop her and picks the baby up, and now everyone thinks the baby is his. Even his very handsome and moody boss, Derek Hale, who forces the responsibility onto him at the cost of keeping his job or else. 

----- 

Au of the 1956 film Bundle of Joy

Outrun The Stars by fairydustedtheory (9/9 | 56,151 | Mature  |Sterek) Derek never imagined what the universe had in store for him when he helped a little girl find her dad at the farmer's market.

featuring : worried Boyd and flirtatious Erica as Derek's best friends. Scott who has a bad habit of adopting people into his pack of friends. A lake where the magic in the stars aligns. and also a jar of fairy dust.

Baby and the Body by never_love_a_wild_thing (18/18 | 28,719 | Teen | Sterek) Stiles recreates models' Instagram photos with his baby. At a fashion show one day, he runs into the model who's pictures he uses most often (and most ironically). Somehow they work through the animosity and find a family.

Based on the Instagram @babyandthebody (which I do not own or have anything to do with, but it's super cute and you should take a peak if you like hot guys and/or babies, whether you read this fic or not)

little boy lost by crazyassmurderwall (1/1 | 14,862 | Teen | Sterek) If someone asked Stiles to write a parenting book, Stiles would say the best and most important rule is to love your kid. Just love the hell out of them, and make sure they know it. 

The second most important rule would be don’t turn your back on a curious three year old with supernatural speed.

Stiles is currently failing at the second rule. Badly.

i’ll stop the world and dance with you by im2old4thisotp (1/1 | 10,300 | Gen | Sterek) Stiles Stilinski is a widow and a single father, navigating the world the best he can with his 8-year-old daughter Emilie.

Parent's Night at her ballet school is the problem.

A rainbow tutu is the solution.

Dude, You’re Not Edward Cullen from Twilight by whentheywrite (1/1 | 2,192 | Gen | Sterek) Stiles is a tired!single dad with Twilight knowledge, Derek is the shirtless!hot dude who works out at the park, and their kids are too adorable to be real.

Thanks For Letting My Daughter Nom On Your Hand by Scotty1609 (1/1 | 1,469 | Gen | Sterek) Everyone was staring at him.

Scratch that, everyone was glaring at him.

Because the light of his life, the apple of his eye, his little pumpkin pie or cupcake or any other sweet thing he could compare his 2-year-old daughter to, was currently throwing the World’s Loudest Tantrum™.

-----

A.K.A., that one fic where Stiles is a Struggling Single Dad and Derek is the hot stranger who is great with kids?? Fluff and shenanigans ensue??

If there’s smoke there’s fire by trilliastra (11/ | 1,117 | Gen | Sterek) When Derek grabbed his shoulder once the fire was completely extinguished and guided him towards the firetruck, Jason thought he was safe. Derek is nice, he’s his godfather, he gave Jason his first beer, talked to him about safe sex after dad freaked out when Jason said he’d been watching porn since he was thirteen. Derek is cool.

Or he was because once they arrived at the station, he practically shoved Jason inside his car, saying he’d drive him home to help his dad kill him. Derek is not his favorite anymore.

[ecargmura]

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Episode 20 Review - An Actual Cliff In A Cliffhanger

This episode legit ends with a cliff showing up, so it’s a cliffhanger! …I am sorry for the awful dad joke. Anyways, the first selection continues as we learn more about the other mages. I think that learning more about the other mages is a nice add in because the mages from Wirbel’s group and Denken’s group are most likely going to be recurring characters later on in this arc. They are totally not going to fail the first selection; they have way too much focus to be taken out of the spotlight this soon.

Let’s talk about Wirbel’s group first. Wirbel is surprisingly a nice guy underneath his scary demeanor. He knows how to kill and has killed women and children before, but he knows when he should and shouldn’t do so. He had a flashback of his time as a mercenary of the Northern Magic Corps. It was a cruel job as he had to kill so many innocent lives in addition to killing demons. Yet, he did it all because he had a crush on someone and promised that he’d make the world a better place when they meet again. Seeing how he is similar yet different from Ubel really makes him stand out. I can’t wait to see more of him later on. I really liked the scene where he fell for Fern’s bluff when she was pointing her staff at him.

Poor Ehre. She was valedictorian of her class at a prestigious magic school, but she lost to Fern, the girl who was basically homeschooled all her life. Imagine being someone who has a Bachelors, Master’s and PhD and then losing a huge job opportunity to someone who only had a high school diploma. Would that be a big kick in the face for the most educated person? That’s what Ehre’s situation was. She lost to Fern, who was trained under Frieren, but never having a proper formal education in an academic institution. If I was Ehre, I’d be ashamed; I hope that this would be a moment for her to become humble, not that she wasn’t.

Scharf has a cool ability, but he doesn’t have much spotlight. He is able to solidify flower petals and turn them into magic. He gets knocked out by Land and then wasted so much mana that he had to get floated around by Wirbel. I think that showcasing Scharf and Land’s abilities at the same time was a smart idea because it shows how different they fight as mages. Land is someone who has trust issues, so he summons clones of himself to fight in his place and deceive enemies while the real him can take shots when the enemy is distracted. Out of the two mages, Land’s magic is the most terrifying.

Now for Denken’s group, Lauren’s magic is Jilwer, an ancient spell that gives the user super sonic speed. Since she’s still a novice, she’s not good at concealing her mana when using it yet, so that’s why she’s backing out of the upcoming fight; she did steal Frieren’s stille, though. Richter’s magic seems to be manipulating Earth? Either that or he can create tremors. I can’t tell. However, he’s the most sadistic of the group as he wanted to kill either Lawine or Kanne when Denken told him not to as both are still kids and knocking them out is more efficient. When Denken said that, I instantly liked him because he’s honest and has morals. He’s still an enemy, but he’s an honorable kind of person. He wants to fight Frieren and I can’t wait to see what sort of spells he has.

The scenes with Genau and Sense are interesting as Genau purposely proctored an exam where people will be killed to prove to see who is qualified to become a First-Class mage. I do wonder if Sense is the girl that Wirbel had a crush on.

Now, there’s a bit of foreshadowing of an elf called Serie; I’m using “they” because I have no idea of they’re male or female. They’re an elf who knows practically everything in the entire world. Given how they are described, I feel like they are older than Frieren. I honestly can’t wait to meet this character. It’s not often you see an elf much older than Frieren; Kraft is older than her, but Serie feels like prehistoric.

I know that it’s already been three episodes since the first selection has started. I do wonder how many more episodes it’ll take. Hopefully, it won’t drag out too much. I’m mostly anticipating the clash between the two senior citizens next episode. The showdown of the century! What are your thoughts on this episode?

[kingkatsuki]

I know absolutely nothing about Love Island, but reading the kissing challenge…oof. Was daydreaming about some game show or whatever that Kirishima’s somehow dragged Bakugou into. Maybe you kiss each other blindfolded? Or maybe just the guys are blindfolded. I just love thinking of this being your first time meeting, and you kiss him and it is incredible. Just one of those breathtaking, super passionate kisses. The chemistry between you two is off the charts.

And he’s instantly obsessed, he’s gotta guess who you are now. He has to know.

But what if for some reason you have to leave? Or he just doesn’t get to see you afterwards? Would he burn the whole damn city down looking for you?

(I’m sorry, I hope this isn’t super dumb. ;;;)

This is so Cinderella I’m obsessed!!

But this specifically had me thinking about 40+ year old virgin Bakugou who Kirishima just wants to break out of his shell and start trying to find love? Like he can tell his friend is lonely and needs to find someone, so what better way than signing him up to a dating event.

It’s like speed dating except you’re both blindfolded and you’re kissing to see if you’re compatible.

And the moment Bakugou kisses you it’s like he can’t think about anything else? He wonders how he’s lived his entire life without kissing people— without kissing you.

And he’s writing his ratings down on the stupid piece of paper they gave him at the start of the event, but you’re the only person he’s interested in. And now he’s just sat there waiting to find out who the fuck you are.

But but but also this could tie into the gloryhole kinda vibe? You know Kiri taking Bakugou to this exclusive Pro-Heroes only spot, where the workers help the heroes blow off some steam or recover from quirk related incidents? And he books him a private room with you. And maybe you’re masked so he can’t see your face, or maybe there’s a wall between you, but when he kisses you he just knows you’re the one. Sigh.

[iamgrape]

untitled: Rinne Amagi x Female! Reader

how does one differ our unrealistic view in the world meet sad reality. that those stories we read are impossible to be true. after all we are not the protagonist and the main character as were simple the mob character to someone greater story. that what was things you thought as live another ordinary life walking back home, reading things that can only be thought a fiction. 

while seating on the bus, a person occupied the seat besides you, you don't bother about it as its probably just some passerby person riding the bus but as the bus once again start moving and you listen to your depressing thought of how to live this another day of your life. you felt the person whos seating besides you-- how their hand slowly touching your lap. you wonder at first if is just an accident but then they start to massage your tights. you suddenly realize you have enter a fucking scenario of being molested in the bus. as someone who have no gal to speak up, you start to pray that the bus hurried to drop you to a stop before you did something terrible to the stranger besides you. of course those are just all barks and no bite. this is not story where your a hero, this is a real life situation. 

“ahm...” you take a deep breath and wanted to speak out but your words is caught up short as you saw how the person have dangerous weapon being pointed at your side. it wasn't his dick or anything. it is a blade. which is more scary because you will die. there still things worth living... at least you tried to think so, being optimistic at such moment you don't notice someone stand in front of the seats hovering over the passenger seat where you and your molester is. even though the bus is pretty empty. like theres only four people in it. you, the asshole, the new person and the driver.

“people in the cities are sure are odd. no respect to other personal space.” you heard someone speak before long you watch someone smack the molester across the face when the bus suddenly bump “accidentally” 

“oops. sorry.” your eyes look up and saw beautiful blue eyes of the stranger who once again “ accidentally snatch the knife off the molester hand and smack his face” earning a gasp of surprise from you but then you heard the son of a bitch cursing under his breath as he discovered he been seen and was about to leave when the blue eyed stranger and the bus went for another bump and the knife in hand “accidentally” stab the seat in between the legs of the molester. “oops, im really sorry, i dont even realize i am holding a knife and wow the bus in the cities is so bumpy! ahahaha. i almost stab your dick. oh how bad that would be.”he chuckle and grin evilly but his smile leaves when he takes out the knife from the set. “next time it be your third leg... now fuck off before i will cut it off.” he said in a low threatening tone.

the bus come to a stop and the person run off in a speed. the driver whos listening to some music look up and wonder what’s up with the person before ignoring it.

the hero of yours take the seat on the opposite chair across you. he acted like he don’t just save your life and the two of you seat in silence. you never seen such cool person. you think his super cool and you owe him and wonder who he is through you bit traumatize from the moment before. so seating in the empty bus stop, you thought of how to thank him.

.

.

.

when the bus comes to your stop, it was the last stop too, the person with you slowly walk to the front to pay and he keep looking nervious about something.

 you wonder whats wrong with him till you heard what he said

“do they take raw mineral as payment???”  his face that seems red as his hair tried to act tough as you two approach the driver to pay. “what?” you look at him and then you notice how his wearing odd cloths, like tribe cloths.

“...you come from the mountain or something???” you tilt your head in question as you take out your wallet. he stared at you before he nodded. “ye... is that a bad thing?” 

“no. “ somehow your cool image of him change to something else. it seems your so called hero isnt fully cool and kick ass. he might also be broke ass. you are too but maybe not to his level? you thought of it as you paid the fair ticket for the two of you. since you wanted to thank him, paying for his fair ticket seems too low for it. but as the two to of you leave the bus, you heard his stomach grumbling for food.

“....” the two of you stood there in silence. “pff...” you held up a laugh but your glad to bring enough money with you. so looking at the street, you saw some street food vender and stared at your hungry hero. “its lonely to eat alone. do you wanna come with me and eat some [ favorite street food]?” 

“...well... i saved you. then i dont mind accompanying you.” he give a wide grin and before you know it the person you never meet before enjoy a happy meal together. you wonder if some point, your story become interesting... maybe you finally become a protagonist in a story... but what kind of stories is it?

if you have known... would you continue it? smiling to the person, who introduce himself as rinne. and saying your name back. your wonder if you will change the story or not. 

--> next 

[writingwife-83]

Hi,

You know what, I don't think I've seen people discussing Mycroft's admission that the Holmes children had their abilities tested.

Who were these people and what was their aim?

How did they find out about the Holmes children? And what were they testing, exactly? Intelligence? Intuition?

And in a way it almost implies that their powers of deduction are not so much skills perfected over a lifetime, but an innate ability they were born with.

It makes me wonder if Mark Gatiss/Stephen Moffat intended it as just as a little bit of fun to get fans, a little teasing hint that the Holmes are psychic. For a time they were at the heart of Doctor Who, and Gatiss has a passion for ghost stories and such, so it seems like something they would enjoy thinking about.

And, having seen the Jeremy Brett series, it would also a be small nod to that. In the later episodes of Brett's run the writing sometimes became a little odd, with talks of "third eyes" and visions of the future. Not unlike Eurus, maybe?

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Thanks

This is an interesting question, and I definitely have opinions. (This gets long 😅) I have to start by saying though, that I cannot for the life of me find the actual quote where Mycroft says that about all of them having their abilities tested as children. I would have liked to see the exact wording and context of the line, but I’ll still do my best.

Being a parent, specifically of a special needs son, Mycroft saying that doesn’t really make me blink. Evaluations of children are done all the time, for lots of reasons. It could be due to a learning disability, behavior problems, emotional issues, etc. But it’s easy to imagine their children also being evaluated simply for being very obviously advanced. The full scope of an evaluation includes general intelligence and cognitive ability, but also would include a psychological evaluation. It’s super easy to imagine the Holmes kids having that done, either because their parents requested it or because the school system recommended it. So in a way I’d say that was an incredibly realistic thing for Mycroft to say. And I’m guessing that was right before he said that Eurus was found to be a genius, beyond Newton. Which, again, makes the whole thing make sense.

So all of that is the reasoning for me saying, I definitely don’t think that statement was indicating anything in the realm of supernatural abilities in the Holmes kids. But in addition to me feeling pretty strongly that Mofftiss wasn’t hinting at anything like that, for me personally, I would just hate for that to be canon.

I love me some superheroes and characters who have superhuman abilities and stuff. That has its place and it’s fun! But imo there’s so much of that. Which is what makes the “normal” humans who have amazing abilities more special. Batman, for instance. One of the biggest reasons I love Batman is that he has no physical special abilities! No super strength or speed or mind control or whatever. Yes he has loads of money lol, but he’s smart. So he uses his intelligence and resources and drive to work for him. If anyone ever made a version of Batman where he is superhuman in some way, I’d hate that. (Which is exactly why I hated the live action remake of Mulan. They took a regular young woman who did something incredibly brave and self sacrificing and very easily could have been killed, and turned her into someone who went to war with special powers?? Thanks for killing the most meaningful part of the story lol.)

Sherlock, Mycroft, and Eurus are incredibly unique and special. And I do agree with you that partly that is something they were born with. Genetics are wild lol. But to me, what’s truly special about them is that they’re not superhuman. They took gifts they were born with and as they grew they fine tuned them into something that most people could barely comprehend. It’s almost unbelievable… but not quite. They’re still only human and it’s still just the amazing human mind at work. And I absolutely love that. 👌☺️

[starry-blue-echoes]

So this is my first time asking someone something on their blog BUT I REALLY WANTED TO KNOW

How would Jolyne come into play with you Vampiric Joot au?

Does he never meet his wife? Or if he does would she know? Would this be a reason for Jotaro leaving Her and Jolyne behind?

PLEASE I NEED ANSWERS 🙏

OKAY SO

ILL ADMIT IM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT TOO

Currently the best working idea I have is something like this:

So it’s been a couple years at this point since he’d been turned, and maybe Holly gets into a minor accident. Nothing life threatening, but definitely a “oh this injury usually comes with older age” type thing and it’s enough for the full meaning of his agelessness to finally hit. Sure, normally this wouldn’t have meant much, its expected that kids outlive their parents, but knowing that the outliving is because of something unnatural, something monstrous…… well, that changes things

And this puts Jotaro in a not great mental place for a bit. After all, currently the sole reason he’s still able to live his life one day at a time is for her. And he…… genuinely doesn’t know what he would do with his life after she’s gone. Is it even worth living if she’s just going to die anyways? Should he even try??? He’s not even supposed to be alive after all, he should’ve died in Egypt

For weeks he ponders these things, walking for hours every night, leaving the house as soon as the sun is out of sight and just barely making it back when its deadly rays light the Earth once more

Sometimes he wonders what would happen if he stayed out for a bit longer

He never does, stopped only by the thought of his mother’s grief

He never really has anywhere in particular he travels to either. Anywhere he can reach and return from by the time the sun rises is fair game, and with super speed, stamina, and the ability to stop time that is very far

He finds himself drawn to tall places though. Bridges, towers, buildings, taller than average trees, you name it, he’s probably climbed it. Sometimes, when it’s abandoned and unnoticeable enough, he’ll even jump off instead of climbing down for those fleeting moments of weightlessness and freedom. Besides, it’s not like the fall’s going to kill him. At worst it’s a minor inconvenience

and what if during one of these times, he met someone.

A woman, an exchange student from America to be specific, who naturally had no idea he was immortal and thus was naturally very concerned.

Perhaps they meet a few more times. They talk, they grow closer, meet more and more and as the months pass by they even begin to fall in love

But it’s still so, so early into Jotaro’s life as a vampire. He still fears himself, still hates himself, and most importantly he fears loosing the people he loves. And that spark he began to feel for Jolyne’s mom? It terrified him

He stopped showing up after that.

Naturally and understandably, Jolyne’s mom gets pretty upset about this. Unfortunately for her though…… there isn’t really a whole lot she can do about it. She never got Jotaro’s last name, and he didn’t actually live in the area so she couldn’t just accidentally meet him again. She still tries to do some research to find him, but comes up completely empty. Eventually she gives up her search, returns to America and it’s like the whole thing never even happened

…….except for the fact that upon her return she learns that she’s now pregnant

However, unlike Giorno’s mother, she actually pays attention to and cares for her child, and thus ends up noticing Jolyne’s…… differences. The sun sensitivity, the preference for meats, sharp teeth, the slightly enhanced physical abilities, the regeneration, the list goes on and on and after a few years she is able to put together the facts and realizes her daughter is a vampire….. or at least something similar

On one hand, she’s VERY pissed that Jotaro never said anything about this and just up and disappeared on her without even a note or goodbye. However on the other, this explains so much about him and she does understand why he wouldn’t just say it, plus she doubted he knew she was pregnant(this one was technically hopeful thinking since she had no real was of knowing, and if she was proved wrong then she’d be even more pissed(dw she’s right, Jotaro has no idea))

So now she’s doing her best to raise a super natural daughter as a single mother while also doing everything in her power to keep said daughter secret and safe

Jolyne naturally knew she wasn’t “normal,” and while her mom didn’t talk about her father much(partially out of genuinely not knowing much) she was able to piece together that it mostly likely came from him. This time around she’s less bitter about him not being around enough and more about the fact that he just. Straight up doesn’t exist. Her mom admittedly does try to mitigate this, but only because of the fact that as far as she knew Jotaro had no idea Jolyne existed despite her best efforts to find him one more(again, also true Jotaro has no idea)

As for Part 6……

When Jolyne had been told she’d been sent something by her father, she’d been incredibly confused. She didn’t have a father. She still accepts the locket and it’s strange metal shard, accidentally pricking herself in the process (and minor note, unlike canon this locket doesn’t have a picture inside of it)

And then a few days when he VISITS...... she's even more surprised. She expected an older man, not someone who looked young enough to be her brother. Naturally she doesn’t trust him, she’s never even seen this man before, and technically she doesn’t even know if they’re even actually related.

The escape would go mostly the same I’d imagine, just this time with Jotaro’s gunshot wounds mostly being a distraction. He still gets his memory and Stand yoinked because of the distraction, but at least he’d not bleeding out so...... yay?

Jolyne also gets to see her comatose father begin to crumble to dust in the sun which Was Definitely An Experience

As for why Jotaro showed up and knew Jolyne existed....... honestly the best thing I got is the Foundation starting to look into Strange Possible Stand Phenomena of the past and also more of what Dio did in his spare, discovering Pucci, and somewhere in all that research learning “oh shit, Jotaro has a kid”

Why did Pucci target her? .........idk, maybe Fate did some fuckery which led to him learning before anyone else

[nowoyas]

can you talk about a wonderful life? i’d love to hear about it because it sounds like something i would like and i’d like to know if it’s worth the money ^_^

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes I sure can!

Okay SO:

I'm gonna approach this from the assumption that you're not super well-versed in farm sims just bc I have literally no other way of telling otherwise and that seems like the safest assumption to make to ensure proper information and blah blah blah

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is the current-generation remake of the games Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life, and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (Special Edition). Why and how is it a remake of three games, you might ask? Back in my day (waves cane), there were separate editions of games in the genre for boys and girls. A Wonderful Life was for boys, Another Wonderful Life was for girls, and A Wonderful Life: Special Edition was for the PS2. This remake consolidates them, including the extra marriage candidate for AWL:SE and adding a new one to balance the potential marriage candidates by yassifying an existing character.

Generally speaking, the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games are farm sims! This means you can expect gameplay to look like this: You inherit/buy/wash up on/etc. a farm and take over as the new farmer, typically in a sleepy small town which may or may not have a Plot Problem For You To Solve during your time there. You grow crops, raise animals, and woo someone in the town to marry them and have a family while accomplishing The Plot! Usually, the general message of the game shakes out to be something about the peace of rural life and slowing down in spite of the world speeding up around you. There are exceptions to this rule: in Innocent Life, another game in the genre that was a spinoff of the pre-schism Harvest Moon genre for the PSP, you're not human and there's no dating elements and the focus is more on exploration and helping the town than on your farm, for example!

A Wonderful Life is also, marginally, different. See, A Wonderful Life was intended to be more true-to-life than other games in the series had been up until that point. This is why seasons only last ten days and a monster lives in the woods behind your house. Previously, games in the series were just as straightforward, with some key differences: buy a calf, raise it up to adulthood, and that cow will give you milk for as long as it lives. In A Wonderful Life? You had to breed the cow for it to begin producing milk, and after about a year, it would need to be bred again or else it'd stop and just take up valuable space in your barn. As I understand it, this is changed in the remake, but I haven't played enough to dig into exactly how!

Anyways I'm rambling due to the Autisms™. What I mean to say is, farm sims are about community and cozy, easy living. But typically, you don't grow. The community you live and farm in may grow, as either the goal or byproduct of the Plot (Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands and Island of Happiness), or it may stay static, endlessly (Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town). You almost always have the option to have a kid, but typically, that kid grows to a certain stage and stays that way forever. (Notable exception, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility and Animal Parade, where your kid grows up and then you play as the kid)

In A Wonderful Life, it's about the kid. The mechanics are centered around raising the kid, and how your choices affect theirs. If you don't get married and never have a child, the game ends. You leave the valley and return to the city. If you do marry, the chapter ends, and we fast forward to when you have a little toddler (?) running around. Who you befriend (including who their other parent is), how you care for your animals and plants, the things you show your child and the attention you pay them shapes their development. It's about life and birth and death and development and growing up in the countryside. Most importantly, it's about training your dog to perform a 6 foot vertical leap on command.

Please play A Wonderful Life.

[a-picnic-to-heaven]

The paradox of self-belief (in autism) 

It's so confusing to have a disability that is one of the most invisible and possible to conceal, and yet the more you try to push through it, ‘believe in yourself’ and refuse to be held back by it, the more you suffer and the more you lose any ability you once had. Especially when this works in direct contrast to every message pushed in a competitive society. You grow up learning that confidence and bravery are the most impressive traits that everyone should aspire for, and you see Paralympians explain how their disability doesn’t hold them back and that they can run 100 metres as fast as anyone else.

For autistic people, we’ve been depicted to audiences as super-intelligent spectacles with high-speed computer brains who take high-paying jobs as the smartest people in their workplace. I suppose it’s a nice fantasy to watch on TV while you deal with your share of autistic unemployment. Of course, most of this is done in good faith to show that autistic people shouldn’t be completely dismissed, as our traits sometimes do have ‘value’.

But what if they don’t? What if the effort poured into those achievements that can prove us to be ‘valuable’ and ‘not completely hopeless’, eventually runs us into the ground and leaves us unable to function in any valuable way at all? Are we still likeable then? Whilst unable to function, these mantras repeat in our brains, ‘Believe in yourself!’ ‘Be confident!’ ‘Don’t let a label define you!’ and this internalised pressure that maybe you just need to try a bit harder and be a bit braver, and then you’ll seem normal, just depletes all remaining energy further and further.

As I sit in my bedroom in silence, a stranger simply walking into my room and looking at me would not know I was autistic. And the knowledge of this fills me with guilt because that person would look at me and see someone who is just lazy and overly despairing. I fear many people do see me that way. In some ways it’s my own fault, as I’m the one who spent my whole life doing everything I could to make them believe I was fully capable. The people around me, who grew up with me and share much in common with me, become adults, progress with their lives, chase their ambitions, and wonder why I am not doing the same. But it feels impossible to look them in the eye and explain that I am not able to live like them when I have put them under that very illusion for as long as we’ve known each other.

In the end, we are forced to push against societal messages that uphold a busy, career-driven, social-climbing lifestyle as the right way to live. The effort to push against the status quo piles on top of the effort it already takes us to live as autistic in a society made for allistic people.

Perhaps at some point, you need to give up pursuing any form of status in the eyes of others and accept that you must live a life that suits you, regardless of how it appears to others. And once you do that, you can focus on making yourself happy in your own way and seeking your own ambitions in life, whether they make sense to others or not.

You are not lazy; you do not lack determination or self-belief. What autistic people truly need is self-compassion, because regardless of how it may feel, you have not done anything wrong by existing as you are.

You deserve to rest after trying so hard for so long. So please, go easy on yourself, even if you feel guilty about it at first. You cannot keep punishing yourself like this when you endure so much already.

[fancoloredglasses]

That Old Gang of Mine (Because mobsters are a match for Superman)

[All images are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros Discovery. Please don’t sue me]

(Thanks to Krypto Dog for the clips used in this review)

If movies like Frankenstein and Jurassic Park have taught us anything, it’s that creating life in a laboratory never ends well. Too bad no one in Metropolis learned that lesson, and apparently it’s up to Superman to clean up the mess. I’m just wondering why it took him as long as an hour to do it.

If you would like to watch this episode, it’s available on HBO Max, but if you don’t have a subscription (like myself), Amazon has it behind the paywall.

We open with Perry and Jimmy preparing to take out a vintage car that was made the year the Daily Planet began publication. The car was borrowed as part of the Planet’s anniversary celebration.

Jimmy makes an age joke at Perry, but fortunately Perry’s in a good mood. Suddenly...

The pair are carjacked by...Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow? They’re looking good for their age (and for being dead for over 60 years)

They pair tie Perry and Jimmy into the other car in the garage, turn it on, and close the garage as they drive off.

As the exhaust fumes start to affect Perry and Jimmy, Jimmy notices the remote for the garage door on the car’s visor. He attempts to strain to press it with his head, but he knee hits the gear selector...

...throwing it in reverse. Hopefully Perry’s insurance covers that. Roll the opening credits.

We come back to see the Planet being prepped for their 60th anniversary celebration. Perry calls Lois and Clark into his office to relay what had happened in the cold open.

Lois says that there was a report last week of a man dressed in 30s gear who robbed a vintage gun collector. There could be a connection (YA THINK?!)

Perry tells them to investigate and to try to track down the car because it’s part of the papers history...

Ouch...

The star reporters begin their investigation with “Sammy”, one of the top agents for celebrity impersonators. Sammy hasn’t represented any “Bonnie & Clyde” lookalikes, but says someone by the name of Emil Hamilton rented a bunch of gangster costumes from him.

With that knowledge in hand, the pair go to leave when...

Yeah, it’s a lookalike. But given he fooled Lois, I’d say Clark knows where to go if he needs to be in two places at once.

Suddenly, Clark’s super-hearing picks up a robbery across the street and his telescopic vision sees a certain vintage car with Bonnie in the driver’s seat, so he excuses himself to “feed the meter”.

Inside the bank, not only is Clyde robbing it, but so is John Dillinger (who also looks good for a dead man)! Bonnie comes in to get the boys to hurry up when...

Clyde lets loose with his Tommy gun with predictable results, so Dillinger lights up some dynamite and throws it into the crowd! Superman shields the blast with his body as the trio get away. Why didn’t Superman fly after them at super speed?

OK, that’s a good (if somewhat convenient) reason. Superman flies the victim to the hospital.

A bit later, while Lois is getting statements from the bank employees and customers, Clark finally finishes “feeding the meter” (man, parking rates in Metropolis must be outrageous!) Clark “finds” something he saw Dillinger drop while he was fishing out his bomb.

As the pair leave the bank, Jimmy rushes up after snapping some pictures with info about the stolen car.

WHAT A COINKIDINK!

Jimmy goes on to say that when he found out he did some digging, and that a scientist did some digging of their own a few years ago (namely, someone dug up Bonnie and Clyde’s graves and took samples) Three guesses who the scientist was (HINT: he just rented a few costumes)

Speaking of Professor Hamilton, he’s none too happy his pet gangsters went out unleashed. It turns out that Hamilton cloned the gangsters and is trying to rehabilitate them by manipulating their DNA (you’d think there were enough live criminals to try that on)

[OK, put the brakes on here. I can buy that the mobsters’ behaviors are in part encoded in their DNA (the whole “nature vs. nurture” argument), but you can’t tell me that their memories of their lives and careers are embedded in their bone marrow!

OK, rant over.]

Just then, the last of Hamilton’s creations enters...

Al Capone (played by William Devane who, among his many roles over the years, played the head of Mission Control in Space Cowboys and the Bad News Bears’ coach in Breaking Training) Capone is none too happy about playing by Hamilton’s rules.

OK, why does a clone have a facial scar? No way that’s in his DNA!

The next day at the Planet, we get a bit of exposition about Hamilton and Jimmy reports that the fingerprints at the bank match the actual Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde.

Clark suggests talking with one of their “ears on the street”, Bobby Bigmouth. As he and Lois head out...

Capone shows up to have a little “chat” with Perry about himself and his associates being written in a more positive light, then sweetens the pot a bit with more than a few pictures of Benjamin Franklin. Perry doesn’t react well to being told what to write and how to do so, bribes or no bribes.

Needless to say, Capone is a bit disappointed.

A bit later, Lois and Clark meet with Bobby Bigmouth.

I’m not sure if they call him that because he’s an informant or his appetite (he gets “paid” with a huge lunch) Anyway, Bobby tells the pair that an underground gambling club run by a guy named “Georgie Hairdo” (Georgie Hairdo? Bobby Bigmouth? who names these guys?) has gotten the attention of Al Capone.

That night, Lois and Clark visit the club.

oops.

The next day at the Planet, the entire newsroom is distraught, but none more so than Lois.

I will give the entire main cast (well, except Cain as Clark was lying low after he “died”) credit. This scene hit me right in the feels.

Meanwhile in Smallville...

...Clark is mourning his “death” as well, as he would have to eithe start over somewhere else or live 24/7 as Superman. 

Clark mentioned the ticket stub he found at the back the day before, and Jonathan tells Clark that John Dillinger was a huge movie buff, which is how the feds found him back in the 30s.

Later at 1500 Old North Road...

Oh, you know a little thing like Clark dying wouldn’t dampen her ability to get into trouble for long! Lois sneaks in and starts snooping, eventually finding...

It turns out that Capone has taken over Hamilton’s lab and is making him bring back more Prohibition-era criminals.

Lois decides to take Hamilton to the police to tell what he knows, but...

The gang returns early. Lois and Hamilton hide in a closet. They overhear Capone planning on attacking the Planet during their celebration party that night. They just need to wait until the gang leaves so they can warn the Planet and call the police. However...

Capone drags Lois and Hamilton out from their hiding place. Now what is he gonna do with them?

Meanwhile outside a Metropolis movie theater...

Superman tracks down Dillinger and demands to know where Capone is, but Dillinger ain’t talking. So...

...Supes gives Dillinger a birds-eye view of the city but Dillinger still ain’t talking, thinking the Big Blue Boy Scout is bluffing.

...that’s not exactly a bluff! I mean, that’s some Batman-level shit there! Fortunately, Superman catches Dillinger before he becomes street pizza and suddenly Dillinger’s very chatty.

Superman takes a quick visit to Hamilton’s lab, but everyone is long gone. However, he reads up on Hamilton’s research before going off in search of Capone.

And where is Capone? Well, in true mobster fashion he’s taken Lois and Hamilton to a cement factory. Lois’s pager goes off (yes, the show is old enough that pagers and flip phones were the most advanced communication devices)

Capone throws it aside...

...as Bonnie starts to turn Lois and Hamilton into a concrete block. Then, in true villain fashion, the mobsters leave Lois and Hamilton to their fate (you’d think the Bad Guys would eventually learn to verify kills)

Well, looks like the writers Superman found a loophole hat allows him to remain Clark Kent.

Meanwhile at the Planet, the celebration is in full swing when...

Capone lines everyone against the wall to reenact the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (but the episode originally aired in November!)

Fortunately, the cavalry has arrived!

(Well, Lois and Clark anyway)

Upstairs, Capone’s gang opens up on the Planet staff, but...

...Superman catches all of the bullets at super-speed.

Emboldened by the appearance of the Man of Steel, Perry and the party goers round up Capone’s gang, but Capone manages to escape...

...though not for long.

After the mop-up is over...

On the way home, Lois bares her soul to Clark and says she’s ready to take their partnership...and their friendship...to the next level.

Too bad Clark isn’t awake to hear it.

[bibblex1]

#1 Introduction

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

Hi my name is a Bibble, I am a femme enby 17 year old who lives in Australia but was born in New Zealand. My life overall isn't that interesting but I'd consider it relatable and very random which in some cases I think it's the simplest things in life that people should take notice of. I mean why does everyone have to blog about there fun and exhilarating vacations or there passionate fitness life? not saying that's every blog but it's those that seem to get very popular. I'm not what you'd consider super exciting but I do have a few things in my life going on such as recently I got a tongue piercing. It's been 5 days since I initially got it and overall it's not too painful I barely notice it really besides the fact I now have a horrible lisps. I do hate that, it's almost impossible to say anything without slurring on my words when I'm geeking out which truly sucks but this is only temporary. I could've had an infection by now or chipped my teeth horribly so I guess it's not the end of the world.

Anyways, l happen to make a few dumb decisions and have alot of thoughts and rambles like currently I haven't been going to school. I'm in my last senior year or Grade 12 and it's been hell. It really makes me consider whether I want to go on and do college at all. I mean I'm actually quiet smart but it's my inability to focus and actually get shit done that holds me back. Of course that's the case for most teenagers, it's not like I'm an outlier or anything and yet it's these next six months that will apparently decide my future. I don't like to let that get to me, schools not the most important thing. it's truly not the end of the world if I fail or even if I pass and do amazingly well, does it really matter? I say this and have to wonder if that's exactly what someone who is doing not so great would say and if I'm perhaps lying too myself but again I simply just don't care enough to give it any deeper thought. Highschool will come through and be over its not forever. I guess that's why I look towards the future opportunities and how my life will play out and how the decisions Ive made have led me to this point.

As I continue to ramble I remember back to what made me begin blogging in the first place. 'Solitaire' by Alice Oseman, finding out Tori Springs blogs made me feel some what comforted. I have always been partial to keeping a diary but I was never consistent enough to stay on track with it. I thought that a blog is essentially like a diary right? Maybe and maybe not but either way I like typing out my little word vomits for people to read about and put there own opinions on and even if this blog doesn't get that popular that's okay. Having a healthy outlet to clear your mind is always super important and as you could guess I'm not using a template or anything to format these blogs. Now to get a deeper look into who I am as a person. I enjoy music, art, video games and reading. I used to be super into anime and fandoms but I guess maturing has changed me. I'll never forget those points of my life but I'm alot happier now, but that's only due to the fact I've moved onto new obsessions. Lately I've been super into the game Monster Hunter World. Ive always been into the Monster Hunter franchise, ever since I had a 3DS Ive played the games. the release of MHW was mind blowing to me. Id never seen a Monster Hunter game so extravagant and lush with the amazing visuals and storyline. this was the first ever story game that got me truly invested and I remember spending hours and hours constantly playing and grinding. I'm not going to say it's an indie game or anything but it's not very active anymore, many people who play it are either extreme try hards or beginners speeding running with the defender set. No matter how you play though, the game will always be interesting, something about the way it fully immerses me is just so captivating. I find myself returning back to it at least every once and a month and it's times like those that make me happy. So much so I started to fall off the face of the earth for alittle bit, and yet I love it. I love those little moments in life where you truly have to do nothing. Maybe that's a bad mindset to have but I'm only human.

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

[johannwolfgangvongoethe]

reading sekien no inganock and losing it

a little description of the game, diary, and review post!! this is an 18+ game. i am not showing or talking about anything explicit but heads up.

this post contains text and cgs from the game and talk about general themes in it but not really about any concrete plot points. there are very vague spoilers for the end of the game so whether you read this is up to you!

Inganock

sekien no inganock - what a beautiful people- is a visual novel first released in 2007. its part of a whole "what a beautiful" saga by the same author, hikaru sakurai. it has a linear plot, with in a steampunk setting that features Mysterious Critters. there are furries. everyone is super duper disabled. sometimes there are breasts on screen.

and is it not beautiful?

inganock is often called "fantastical". not in the positive sense. in the "how is this thing real and running" sense. it is a large city made up of layers - something like a structure composed of large plates stacked on top of each other. like hell in dantes inferno, which speaks volumes of its living standards.

about 10 years ago, a big science experiment cut the city off from the outside. it is surrounded by a non-traversable thick fog and water.

but do not worry!!!! inganock has been designed to be self-sufficient <3 at least as far as the production of food and daily commodities goes. so thats.... good?

i say this is a steampunk novel. and it is. but that might make you expect something else. regardless of that, inganock is what i would consider an ideal appealing form of steampunk: an industrial polluted hellscape.

it has been running on its own for 10 years in a self-made cage of smog.

and this is important to establish, i think. inganock is sort of a post-apocalyptic setting. (it gets worse, too! <3) no one calls it that because everyone is accustomed to their workdays and everyday life. this system is running. though, visibly, it cant run like this indefinitely. though most of the city lives in poverty, resources are not necessarily an issue. they are just unobtainable. the structure of the city itself combined with the high population density makes management of the lower tiers very difficult.

most importantly, not only the city was affected, but the people themselves. for the past 10 years, rapid mutations have twisted bodies in inhuman and/or bizarre ways. this mostly means it is a society of people with animal-like attributes but the process, speed, severity, and results depend on the individual. most people are becoming or have been left severly disabled and/or disfigured.

again, the story does not directly Tell you youre looking at a healthcare crisis, but you are. there are very few doctors around who are actually equipped to handle more than your standard general practitioner and their services are expensive. there is no insurance. it is commonplace for people to require entirely new body parts, and such technological wonders exist, but barely anyone can afford them.

this health emergency has gotten so bad that, apparently, it is perfectly legal to kill anyone who has mutated "too far". a clear explanation is never given, but in the case someone comes to resemble, say, an insect more than a person, they will be considered "too far gone". and at some point their absence will be seen as a blessing.

unrelated image of haro from gundam

no one remembers how any of this happened btw. yeah, everyone has trauma-induced amnesia in relation to where things went wrong.

denial and grief are core points of the narrative. the whole story might be about society avoiding its problems. (and who can blame them, the common inganockians life is hard enough as is)

its a sovereign principality that has been left to rot, both enviromentally and by the absence of its prince... which..... effectively means its more or less a very chaotic sort of aristocracy. any little sense of "law" is generally enforced by leftover indestructable robocops (which enforce uncontrolled violence based on past coding), privately hired muscle, bribery, or simply the physical means of private people. so thats an issue. apparently the few people in the two top layers reign over the city and control the economy and the prices of food entirely. idek.

tl;dr dude it SUCKS.... inganock has a really intriguing setting. i adore it deeply. but well....

Disclaimer

i have read maybe a handful visual novels in my whole life. my extremely limited japanese knowledge is not worth mentioning and i am working off a fan translation. so all that influences how i talk about the story. and there are probably countless details that escape me or stuff i just did not get due to a language barrier.

OFTEN there are parts of inganock that reference another game in the -what a beautiful- series. if you dont know what happens in there and how things connect.... well some stuff will never make sense. i have just accepted this to be honest. maybe ill understand in the future.

there are short stories set after the games story! i have no read them yet. apparently they explain a lot about the games very wild and confusing ending and i hope to get to them some time. hopefully, i can make another post about it.

disability is a huge focus for me. it might not be as important to you. but claiming it isnt a defining feature of the games setting is ignorance.

inganock is, in my opinion, fundamentally a story about the enviroment and about disabled peoples struggles. so i talk about that. on a more emotional level, as mentioned before, it is about avoiding ones trauma and thereby being unable to move on/getting stuck in ones own mind prison forever. its also about how you should eat breakfast with your daughter for mental health.

Frontloading My Biggest Criticism / Content Warnings

sekien no inganock has a huge problem with sexualizing one of its main characters, kia, a teenage girl. how old she is exactly does not matter because she looks like this

this is my biggest issue with the game. it felt incredibly gross and invasive to play at a handful of points. there are two cg's that show her chest. characters keep implying she is somehow in a romantic physical relationship with the adult man protagonist. even if it happens on the side and relatively rarely, its really damn disgusting.

the game clearly delivers lolibait but keeps up a front of plausible deniability. she is not a "love interest". she is not in any written out and detailed "hentai scene", like they exist in the game (though there is arguably a scene like that with her. just to warn you.). she is not exactly "underaged" because there simply is no canon age.

this is really serious and i needed to get that out of the way instantly.

and, just like i had to write in previous posts about other games, there is a needlessly detailed rape scene here too. and while there is a narrative purpose and a great critical evaluation of it in inganock, it still functionally serves as a sexualized porn scene.

as always, im not against difficult or brutal topics like these coming up in media, i am against exploiting and fetishizing trauma. this really is by far my biggest gripe and greatly influenced my experience as a reader. i will discuss neither further in this post but its necessary to mention, should anyone want to have a look at this game.

how i approach the storytelling

the enviromental descriptions in this game can be both overwhelming and confusingly vage at the same time. and there is one mini game that serves as an infodump in every chapter.

if you are curious and want to give it a try, here is what I recommend: it could be really useful to take some notes. it is a fairly long game with a lot of repetition, both through chapters that are built up in similar ways, and repeating bouts of text. don't bother taking detailed notes on the lore or specific terms, you are fighting a losing battle. the story loves to namedrop concepts on you, only to explain them to you much later on. thrice. it will make sure you dont stay confused, you just have to trust it to explain itself.

what you SHOULD keep an eye on are the timeline and connections between characters. pay attention to everyones health and overall feelings. a lot of the games strongest writing points are centered around depicting everyone's struggle with the world they live in and the bad health this results in. this goes for the enviroment (which truly is its own sort of organism) too!

a lot of text repeats itself but each time a tiny difference in the wording will manifest. imo, there is an appealing sense of horror to the monotony of it and how it mirrors the protagonists life, as it gets disturbed step by step.

inganock has a weird habit of spoiling parts of the near future and characters that are just about to appear. this is kind of a neutral quality, its just a bit strange and funny. it never spoiled my fun but it didnt necessarily help me comprehend the story better or made me more curious. HOWEVER it gave off the idea that, as a reader, i am not really following the protagonist gii, i am instead following a story in which he plays a role.

the game has a linear story and while every chapter provides the reader with a choice at its plots climax, there is only one "correct" answer that will continue the story, the rest results in a very short but interesting game over. these game overs are similar across the board but worth checking out every time.

what i personally love is, there is never a choice that feels good or correct. the game only provides the ability to give up or to carry on and face the consequences. this results in a very sad but satisfying direction!!! "game over" isnt tied to "doing the wrong thing" or dying necessarily, its tied to giving up on ones ideals and drive.

The Actual Story

in the hellhole that inganock is, gii is a practicing doctor. like everyone else, he mutated too, but only his brain changed. outwardly he is human and sticks out like a sore thumb. he has been able to do healing math magic, at the cost of his own sustenance. (and oh boy is he willing to sustain.)

while his profession leaves him with stable income and the ability to survive, his life is unremarkable and he mostly just works and sleeps. his only social contacts are patients, a bunch of orphans he tends to out of altruism, and a catgirl called ati. ati and him are sort of a thing. (convoluted simplification)

ati, ngl, your not-boyfriend situation sucks and your bird coworker cant help with that

one day he walks into a large mutated giant carrying off a little girl, so he steps in and......... now he got a roommate.

kia is adorable, she is a joy, she is childish in the best most positive way, and maybe the last person around who chooses to be kind to absolutely everyone. a total contrast to giis depressed and apathetic nature. inganock hasnt seen the sun in years but kia is the next best thing.

she is also weirdly competent for the age she looks to be. and has no visible mutations. and very clean high quality clothing. ... odd.

kia packed a suitcase with onigiri AUGH she is so cute

every chapter they encounter a patient or get involved in A Situation (tm) otherwise. the game can get a bit stale here but imo every single side character has a unique appeal and captivating fate. and theres monsters. and manifestations of peoples dreams and hopes, which look and work exactly like jjba stands. gii fights the monsters with his stand. just take this at face value okay, it looks really epic every time.

also every chapter we catch a glimpse how the games main antagonist (again, convoluted simplification) progresses in the background. eventually, they will meet and interact, and with every chapter they get one step closer to it.

the antagonists actual motives go unexplored for a large portion of the story. the city they live in itself is so difficult to deal with that it provides enough conflict and adventures.

the main plot centers around what becomes of doomed inganock. but it just as much centers around everyone collectively overcoming the paralysis trauma put them in.

What I Love About The Story+World

inganock loves to linger on individual fates and tragedies. most chapters are tied to one character and most of these are women with incredibly sad lives and lovingly crafted problems

^ within this concept, there is a fair amount of explorations in regards to identity, ones own body and the horrors it brings, family relationships, and gender

monsters (or "critters" as they are called in the game) are manifestations of societal fears (child mortality, an aging population, uncontrollable health epidemics, natural disaster and the destructions of the enviroment, ..... and... THE INTERNET???? and internet additiction? this is a topic?)

because of the repetition on the storytelling, fighting those monsters always goes the same but it is soooo badass and sooooooo cool every time

imo, it is incredibly fun to keep track of repeating scenes because they slightly change every time. it can be hard to fully realize something has changed even. with the core themes inganock provides, this seems to purposefully mirror stale routines in life

there is a character with some sort of transgender and sex worker story in it and the first time i read her part i really wasnt sure if it is weirdly transphobic or the most empathetically written description of someone experiencing the horror of their own body. i still dont know. kinda really loved it though

the end is bizarre as fuckkkkkk but i guess i... liked it? it is very much a "the world and nature around you is a larger organism and will always be stronger than you, a human" kind of deal

it really seems to me sometimes that the city itself is the protagonist and a character who acts on its own

in general, inganock is often likened to a baby that never got to develope.... a common fate within its smog dome as well as the cruel wasted potential of the "perfect city"

about the protagonist

i ADORE gii. right from the start, he vaguely drops hints that he lives with immeasurable regret. while he is one of the incredibly rare cases of people whose mutation arguably leaves him in a better spot than he was in before, he is deeply chronically sick. it is a mix of grief and depression that leaves him almost entirely apathetic and unable to care about himself.

however he is deeply driven on and on by his nurturing nature, guilt, and the feeling like he owes his services as a doctor to every single person in inganock. like many other people, he cannot remember what happened 10 years ago and what exactly made him feel guilty to begin with. this is a powerful metaphor, of course. his mental issues have become an independent force, they are entirely seperated of what made him feel inadequate in the first place. feeling this way is all he knows and so he cannot get better.

he is deeply stuck, deeply unchanging, but fundamentally a very good person whose altruistic aspirations almost kill him physically. he is very "pure", carries the world on his shoulders, but remains helpless by himself. he can only exist for and by the grace of others.

oh, you.... (kicks legs)

what eventually inspires change in him is kia repeatedly forcing him to eat, to sleep, she provides him with company, and gives him very very few chances to help her and thereby define his worth through services.

though kia is a very responsible skilled person, the only care she needs is emotional companionship. they form a very clumsy father/child sort of bond!

(it takes him like 2/3s of the visual novel to realize this)

though the games disgusting lolibait STUPIDLY destroys what it carefully built up later in the game, for the most part, those two are an unending source of comfort as well as a good example of a troubled father who genuinely tries and a daughter who has to grow up too quickly. its sweet and real and a bit ugly and i adore them.

multiple times during the game gii drops this line. and youre forced to wonder WHAT DOES HE MEANNNN.

i genuinely dont want to actually tell you the end of the story and what becomes of inganock. because its really kind of a "what the fuck" moment. its so weird that i was wondering whether the last chapter of inganock has a pro-life sentiment (it doesnt. but if you really wanted to, you could read it that way. not important, i just thought its oddly funny.)

BUT!!!! gii is and remains what he seems to be at first glance - a burdened and sick but ultimately helpful person. he has to make tough decision as a doctor. many times he finds himself at the lever of his own personal trolley problems and has to kill one guy to save five. this isnt his fault. he really is just a guy. and i love him deeply for this.

like with many people that struggle with feelings of guilt - the guilt was never even rightfully his to hang on to.

the fucking clown

you know, problems clown

there is a clown in inganock. the clown is omnipresent. you never actually see it and it doesnt do any clown things, to be honest.

in a wayyyy the clown is sort of a commentator on giis mental health? but not reallyyyy.... the game has its own weird version of a greek chorus in the form of clock crack chrome. so that is not what the clown does.

just imagine the entire story happens while there is a clown standing juuuust within eyesight. and every time gii eats shit, the clown taunts him for it. its kind of its own mental illness. i think it is a metaphor for ones own thoughts working against oneself. but there are many things the clown could be and thats beautiful.

no point in talking about this, i just think the clown REALLY adds something.

i dont want to actually spoil you for important cgs but this is 100% what the clown looks like

closing thoughts

SHOULD you read inganock? probably not. honestly. the horrible kia parts are too bad to really recommend this to anyone.

DID I ENJOY inganock? yeah, a lot! personally! i love the focus on disability and the enviroment and i LOVE clowns. i love clowns so much. so it was very whimsical and touching to me.

i dont share much of the criticism other people have for the game, about it being repetitive or losing focus. personally, to me, inganock is very much trying to be artsy, a fairytale, and a book at the same time. its less of a coherent logical sequence of events and more of a mental health diary, really. "whose mental health diary?" the... citys? in the grand scheme of things, the weirdness of its storytelling and vagueness quite possibly adds to its charm.

i dont love inganock for its story, i love it for its clear external observation of avoidant traumatized life. and the fact it provides the reader with the chance to reflect on their own actions because of it.

(very vague hesitant thumbs up)

thats all that is!

[purplesurveys]

1743

1. What is something in your life that you feel hopeful about right now? Hans gave me a helpful pep talk last night about things I can do to keep my passions up. I've talked a lot in these surveys about the professional rut I've been finding myself in, and he knows about it too, and he sat me down for advice on how to not lose myself. I'm very grateful for the talk and it actually sparked a bit of excitement in me. Now to actually put that motivation into action...

2. What was the last thing you worried about that turned out better than expected? It rained SO hard earlier and I always get super super anxious when I have to drive in the evening and it's raining, because then my side mirrors become completely useless with all the raindrops and I basically can't see anything for the most part. Anyway, I had no choice but to drive as slow as possible just to be safe. I'd rather piss off unhinged drivers with my 10 kph speed than carelessly change lanes or speed knowing full well I can't see shit.

3. Name somewhere you are planning on visiting in the near future? My family has been heads-or-tailing Japan or South Korea for a while now, but my siblings and I have been saying that we would much rather go to SK since it just makes perfect sense – all 3 of us are into Korean culture, food, music, etc. We're currently saving up for it but as far as I know we have plans as soon as mid-2024.

4. How often do you go grocery shopping and how much food do you usually get in one go? Bi-weekly. Our bill usually shoots up to around 7-9k per visit.

5. What is a meal you eat extremely often? Or do your meals & food choices vary a lot? Meh I don't really repeat a specific meal a lot.

6. When was the last time you felt unable or unwilling to speak your mind to someone? No idea. I feel like I have been very honest around everyone these days, especially with regard to my latest promotion. I've been rather vocal, even towards my own bosses, that I'm against it and that I'm only accepting it to keep the entire team from sinking for now, but that I have very strong plans to leave the first opportunity I get, or the moment I feel like this directorial gig is really not for me.

7. What was the last thing you changed your mind about? I thought I wanted to stay a few hours in this nearby coffee shop, but when I was there their tables were so fucking high it strained my arms to use my laptop and phone that I ended up staying for like only 45 minutes before I decided I'd have a much better time in my car lol.

8. Who was the last friend you saw, and what did you do together? I saw Angela and Hans yesterday. We had dinner at our favorite Korean restaurant, caught up with our lives, talked a lot about tattoos for some reason hahaha, let out our respective work frustrations (although a good 85% of it was mine), and Hans gave me another crash course about watches which I always enjoy because I love seeing how excited he gets talking about those tiny machines.

9. Who tends to show up in your dreams? Do you ever wonder if you appear in anyone else's dreams? It's always random people, man. There's not one person or a set of people who make constant appearances in my dreams.

10. What is something you wish you could say to someone who is no longer in your life, or something you wish they could know? I would tell my grandfather about all my accomplishments so far. I'd also brag about how well I can handle my alcohol because he couldn't, haha.

11. Instead of flat earth, what do you think of the simulated earth theory, that we're basically all just a giant computer program or virtual reality? I never really entertain any theories of this nature. I'm just here to live the limited days I have on this planet and I'd rather not invest so much time and brain juices on conspiracies lol.

12. What worries you most about your future? Mostly career-related things. Like, if I've reached this peak at 25, where do I go from here. Ugh.

13. What is something you do to feel better when you're scared? Find a distraction, which is usually a) my dogs, b) rewatching familiar vlogs for the 908th time, or c) surveys.

14. Who do you feel you can count on the most in life? Is there anyone you wish you could count on more? Probably my mom or my sister, for the first question. I don't have anyone in mind for the second.

15. What makes you trust someone? When was the last time someone broke your trust? Idk, I don't really set criteria for this. I just...can tell if I can trust someone, but I can also easily take that trust away if they show otherwise. Last time someone broke my trust - last week when the event organizers that we have been consistently contracting since last year had a disappointing performance.

16. When was the last time you shared a secret with someone, and how did they react? Couple of weeks ago - I was met with shock, which is what I expected anyway.

17. Are you more likely to give advice or to ask for it? It depends on the person, tbh. I have relationships where I'm likely to be the one to seek advice, but it happens the other way around with other people.

18. When was the last time you felt totally lost, figuratively speaking? How about literally? Right now you can say that I am, for the figurative part.

As for literally, that would be two weeks ago when my co-workers and I were supposed to be headed to Nasugbu from Las Piñas (where we needed to pick up a member of the team) but some direction miscomms led me to make a few wrong turns – we ended up in the northbound part of SLEX, then I drove up Skyway, making us end up at the fucking airport, then we ended up back at McKinley near BGC. It was such a stupid experience, I feel like we lost a part of our souls that day LOL

19. In what ways are you emotionally strong? In what ways are you emotionally weak? Emotionally strong: I'm not afraid to be honest about my feelings, especially if they're negative ones; I feel like the years living in fear around my mom changed me as an adult. I'd also call myself resilient – my all-things-will-pass game is pretty strong and it's one of the things about my mindset that keep me sane.

Emotionally weak: I'm sensitive and quickly take things personally.

20. What is the strangest book you have ever read? How did you find out about it? I was gifted a copy of Sing A Song of Tuna Fish in my early teens. I liked the book, but to this day I would say it's one of my more random reads and I still don't have a clue what the title is supposed to mean.

21. Do you prefer to watch movies or tv alone or with other people? Is there anything you refuse to watch alone? I like watching with other people largely because I can have terrible comprehension and would need someone to explain parts that I might not catch on to as quickly.

22. What was the last thing you broke? How about fixed? Can't remember the last times I did either of these.

23. Is there a sign or symbol that means a lot to you for whatever reason (eg. seeing certain animals or birds, 11:11 or other repeating numbers, syncs, butterflies, hearts in nature, etc)? The number 2025 and 613.

24. Do you have any personal ghost stories or paranormal experiences? No.

25. What do you get complimented on the most? My writing.

26. What is something unusual that you find attractive? Idk if there's anything...

27. What time do you tend to eat your first meal of the day? And your last? I eat my first and last meal at like 7 PM.

28. What was the subject of the last video you watched? It's the newest episode of Smosh's running podcast/video series reacting to their older videos.

29. When was the last time you traveled out of town, and where to? Around two weeks ago, to Nasugbu.

30. How would you describe your overall aesthetic? Literally Namjoon's house is my aesthetic, minus all the books cos I stopped reading a long time ago.