#but the whole 'holding on to memories' aspect was really cool

[yuoimia]

WELCOME TO MY HEART

summary: how has loving you changed him?

characters: neuvillette, alhaitham, diluc, xiao. (seperate)

notes: gn! reader, fluff, getting poetic in xiao, weird time skips. wc: 2k!

neuvillette

Hesitancy lingers like a translucent mist around Neuvillette. Thick, but also not thick enough to be indiscernible. As centuries tick by, soon enough, that protective mist wanes into nothing but a fragile facade that threatens to vaporise. That outcome is most unfavourable; simply visualising it already causes a spike in distress in his chest.

Fast forward a few 'scenic meetings’ later, Neuvillette wonders where that mist disappeared off to.

He needn’t put up a missing poster with a contact number because, shockingly, the Chief Justice no longer desired that prudential coverage.

You evaporated Neuvillette’s final layer of defence, stripped his rationality with unwavering strength of character, and erased any uneasiness within the language of love.

Throughout your shared timeline, every point marked with a memorable moment, there are many small aspects about each other that only the continuation of time can reveal. It’s as sweet as it sounds, unless, well, the other finds out about something you did try to conceal.

Sometimes you think to yourself: Who knew the Monsieur Neuvillette could be so…earnest in seeing you flustered?

Truly, there are only very few opportunities Neuvillette would starve himself from such delight. The other times, though, they consist of your rose-tinted cheeks and his charmed chuckle, florid promises ending with a trail of marks of his love down the slope of your neck.

Neuvillette is quite the bold one. Far too cheeky for his own good, really.

alhaitham

It was a warm memory. Still as vivid as ever, despite the years that have passed. A golden tattoo, activated whenever the dazzling drops of summer sunshine radiated down.

Three years ago, summer, the Akedemiya.

Heatwaves weren’t a rare occurrence in Sumeru. For weeks on end, the city of wisdom experienced boiling highs and dry, scorching winds. The streets were empty as shopkeepers resorted to staying under the cool of shaded roofs. That was the correct response, the only response to such situations.

Yet, there were still people willing to test your limited patience even more.

“We’re going to get a heatstroke,” you explained to each member of your darshan. “We can postpone the field trip to the desert some other day.”

“But this weather is indefinite, and knowing Sumeru, it is going to last a very long time. We can’t afford to waste time,” someone argued as nods of agreement travelled across the table.

Wow, you huffed to yourself, sitting yourself down. You were doing this for their own good, and partly yours.

“We should go ahead with the trip,” said the agitating, raucous noise again as a cacophony of voices arose in agreement. Maybe he should be in charge, then. As if you wanted to cancel this trip, you’ve spent endless nights planning the perfect itinerary! Also, the last time you remembered, you were appointed leader of this whole excursion.

“Facing the facts, there’s no traces of concrete evidence that our planned area holds the ruins,” you declared as the table fell silent. “Theoretically, we have more to lose than gain.”

“We’ve already decided,” came another voice. Archons, these people were going to be the end of you. “We’re still going to go next week.”

You came to the conclusion that, to knock some sense into their brains, you needed someone more intimating to interfere.

“…You want me to be pretend to collapse from a severe heatstroke?” the (acting!) grand sage repeated, not even attempting to conceal his bewilderment. “And, preferably, making it look as dramatic and exaggerated as possible?”

At the other end of his desk, you nodded with faux solemnity. “I’m afraid so.”

“Afraid so?” Alhaitham humours. “Everything from your…request to your actions betrays that.”

In the end, you didn’t manage to convince Alhaitham to put on a show showcasing the risks and dangers of heatwaves and heatstrokes, but he did agree to go out for lunch. To negotiate alternatives, of course.

After that lunch, he asked for your presence for dinner, and after dinner, you found yourself making breakfast at Alhaitham’s place.

“Since when did you come over so much?” you asked, sleep clearly clinging to your senses. “Last time I remember, I was waiting by your office door waiting to sneak in ten minutes of your time.”

The coffee he freshly brewed threatens to burst from the confinement of his mouth as he stares at you with a curious expression. “This is my house.”

The realisation spreads through your face like ink in water as you glance at the surroundings. “Oh yeah…that’s right.”

Alhaitham subtly rolls his eyes, letting out a lighthearted tsk as he disappears off into the kitchen. “Do you feel like going to Gandharva Ville in the evening?” he asks, the clatter of dishes echoing through the lounge. “You were groaning over how you hadn’t seen Collei and Tighnari in ages a few days ago.”

He remembered that?  You gawk to yourself, mouth and eyes wide open as you trod towards the sunshine of the kitchen . Moreover, he certainly wanted to go. Since when did Alhaitham suggest you leave the house for purposes such as catching up with friends?

“I’d love to,” you answer as you help him load the dishwasher. “You beat me to it.”

A soft smile imperceptibly brightens his face, casting you in slight awe. “What? You don’t think I disregard your desires just like that, do you?”

Alhaitham is the hopelessly romantic one. Those intricate plans he sets up for your happiness are nowhere as simple-minded as he plays them out to be.

diluc

There was always something peculiar about Diluc Ragnvindr. The snarky remarks about the Knights of Favonius’ poor service, which you found highly offensive in the presence of an employee (you), the genuine air of mystery he upheld, but the most interesting thing you were desperate to crack down on was his frosty distaste for the Cavalry Captain, your co-worker, Kaeya.

As far as you knew, Kaeya was a lovely co-worker. considerate, dedicated and reliable, he was an admirable worker. You didn’t understand why Diluc didn’t applaud him for his discipline renowned throughout the city, especially if he was continuously murmuring about the incompetence of the staff.

Amidst the possible explanations, you came to the conclusion that the unwelcoming atmosphere stemmed from something more personal. Jealously? Past disagreements? No, that couldn’t be. They didn’t appear the closest.

Little did you know that all you needed to do was ask. Not really, but you get the idea.

“You…want to talk to Diluc?” Kaeya spluttered, wide-eyed at your determined face, before moving his gaze towards Angel Share’s bartender with a smirk. “Ah, I see what’s going on.”

“You’re very far off, by the way,” you replied silkily, taking a sip of the apple juice. “I’m not interested in him romantically, if that’s what you were thinking.”

Kaeya raises an eyebrow. “If not romantically, then what could you possibly talk to him about?”

You shrug, making a beeline for the counter. “Thanks for the drink.”

Diluc had caught the words, ‘interested in him romantically.’

According to those four words he heard from you, the context of you and Kaeya’s conversation could already be visualised.

For someone who seemed to be interested in him, your choice of words regarding his interest in you were a little all over the place. So, he assisted you.

“How about we discuss this over dinner?”

Sometimes, you think to yourself, how did this ever happen?

For example, the weak beams of lighting from the east signify that it’s the birth of dawn, your neatly tucked in bed, except this bed isn’t actually yours.

The evidence lies with the person’s arms around your waist, tight and warm against the chills of early morning.

“Good morning,” a sleepy voice suddenly erupts from besides you. “Have I told you how even more striking you are in the sunlight?”

Diluc Ragnvindir is the passionate one—the one who would give you his heart if you asked. In some ways, he’s still as mysterious as the first time you laid eyes on him.

xiao

The moon is the muse for thousands of people. Whether it’s written in a rhyme, painted on a canvas, sung in a song or resonated with a soul, it has immersed itself in the complex depths of the sensitive human heart.

There’s a particular interpretation that has stuck with you since the first time you read it. A lyrical piece of literature from somewhere long lost. You were especially tired that night. A most unlucky dilemma, as it might’ve guaranteed to be one of the most critical and serendipitous nights of your life. Not that you knew at the time.

From that somewhere long lost, between the rolling tides of shadows, tucked away in the safety of peaking mountains, a mysterious figure observed with curiousity at your sentiment.

However, the discreetness of Xiao’s hiding spot was tested most instantaneously when you suddenly made a decision to look up. To the sky, or to him? Truthfully, you were actually aiming for the moon, but the pounding chambers of his chest crashed his steaming trains of thought.

He had to restrain himself from investigating further as your figure dissolved one by one into the night. Maybe you'll be there again tomorrow.

What started off as a little exchange of words soon blossomed into short conversations. Short conversations soon bloomed into a gap in time filled with occasional laughter and encouraging smiles. He learned your name, and you learned his secrets. Vicious, woeful secrets plaguing his dreams, or perhaps the title of nightmares suited it better.

On their own, the characteristics were incessant in disaster. Fusing those characteristics with centuries of solitude and emptiness, it assisted in further igniting the raging fire burning away his will.

The idea of somehow unravelling those years of pain seemed so clearly impossible, even if that person felt like they had a chance. Even if they felt just the tiniest bit more special than all the others.

“Some things are impossible,” Xiao had muttered as he watched you go through an assortment of books he lended from Verr Goldet, eyes flickering from your face to the yellowing pages. “It’s better to admit that than spend years searching for hope.”

Skimming through the columns of ancient literature, a strong feeling of suspicion arose as you distinctively felt like he'd seen you do this once before.

“But what if you find the hope?” you whispered gently, switching your attention to his avoidant gaze. “There’s always that outcome, too.”

That outcome. Of course he’s considered that conclusion, wished for it. But Xiao would never dare to believe that far.

“I read a poem a few nights ago,” you started again. “A comparison of us and the moon. Humans, just like the moon, need to wax and wane. We’ll grow and shine our beauty, but that can’t be achieved unless we remember to rest, to wane. After all, a full moon only lasts around three days out of a whole month.”

How can you just return to reading after you told him that?

That moon analogy was shared about a year ago.

It’s likely that you brushed it off, but for Xiao, it’s still freshly etched into the shelves of his mind. And it would be a lie if he said that he didn’t change in small, irrevocable ways because of it.

Particularly tonight.

An exhausted sigh escapes from your lips as you sink into bed. Lying like a starfish, a hollow expression is evident in your eyes alone.

“This project is never going to work,” you spoke, turning to stuff your face in a pillow. Adjacent to you, Xiao observed as you screamed, once again the same words into the fabric. Only this time, the words were separated by sharp heaves and quiet sniffs. Being a little inexperienced with scenarios such as this, Xiao could only reassure you with the same words and actions that you had endlessly showered him with in similar situations.

He knew you were listening, despite the softness of his voice, which was hardly detectable. He repeated the words you told him a year ago when he felt as if the world was about to end.

“Someone once told me humans and moons are alike,” he smiled as he saw your face lift just a bit, as if you couldn’t believe what he was saying. “We both need to wane before we can emit our light in full greatness.”

Xiao is the quiet one, whose love is often under-looked, but in truth, it’s expressed just as vividly, if not brighter.

[technically-a-kiwi]

Okay here's a bit more of the Cosmic PT cast, introducing Cosmic Pepperman and Cosmic Vigilante.

One small thing before we start ☝️, these are what you can define as "beta" designs, as you can see by the fact it's neither colored or digital, I just want to share those to hear some feedback and possible fresh ideas to make those designs better. Also because I want to share what they do and what is specific about them story wise. Until I say explicitly that I'm done with the design, keep in mind that they might change overtime. With that being said let's get to it!

And here's Cosmic Pepperman,

currently at the very end of the minor cosmic stage and one of the most experienced cosmic entity of the PT cast who's still around. Phil mostly plays solo and loves to show off when he intervenes in a universe, when he's here you know you're about to see a performance of quality 👌. Although sometimes his attempt at throwing shades and look cool falls flat and he can make a fool out of himself... But no matter what happens he always manages to save the day before disappearing Meta Knight style using his long jacket as a cape.

Meanwhile in the cosmic realm, Phil still is a freelance artist, showing off his art in his own museum in Cosmopolis's center. Before Cosmic Noise appeared, Phil's museum was one of the most popular and visited place of the realm, after NNS took over the public, the museum lost of it's glory and became another building among others with very few visitors. Ever since that, Phil holds a pretty big grudge toward Cosmic Noise, boycotting his show and just being generally annoyed at C Noise's presence.

For Pepperman's design I got inspired by his costume of the Halloween update and slitly exaggerated it to make a long flowy jacket. Also I gave him small star shaped shades because shades and Pepperman are just MEANT to be together, the star shape is just to stay consistent with the Cosmic theme (very thought out eh 👁️👄👁️👍), and finally one of my favorite aspect of his design is his scar across his face of which he wears with style ✨✨✨.

Now beware, here comes Cosmic Vigilante

Also at the very end of the minor cosmic stage, one the most experienced of the cast and the most efficient at his job. Vigi really puts his heart when doing his tasks, being very serious and making sure that everything goes back to normal, as if nothing happened. He also is the stealthiest entity of the cast with very little people to have ever noticed him in his whole carrier.

In the Cosmic realm, Vigi doesn't really have a job, his only job is to fix any anomalies in the multiverse so he just uses his time in the realm to have a break, take a coffee, going for a stroll or hang out with friends.

For the Vigilante's design, I barely changed anything, his hat is different with the edge going slitly up in flames, the only note worthy detail is his left eye of course, his scar is hidden by a very bright star, a star with the very cool effect of giving it's owner future vision, it only predicts things 10 seconds max before they happen, but it is still a formidable advantage.

Together, Pepperman and The Vigilante are a very efficient cosmic duo, over time they grew a very good relationship and learn how to work with each other. When joined together, they're very professional (in most cases) and really forged a reputation among cosmic entities.

And now is time for :

Random trivia ✨✨✨

Because I don't know how to write a sentence

Very few people knows about Vigi's future vision, only some members of the PT cast does, if the court comes to know about it, Vigi WILL get in trouble.

Pepperman kept his ability to bring his art to life after becoming a cosmic entity, he might be the only being of the realm capable of breathing life into inanimate objects (assuming that his art are conscious beings with free will and not puppets Pepperman controls somehow)

Both Pepperman and Vigilante's memories degenerated to the point they can't remember the people they once knew, they only remember experiences of their past life but not the people that participated in those experience.

The Vigilante's mode of transport is his hat ! He gets inside of it and morphs it into an UFO (with a gyrophare occasionally when he's on the hunt for an outlaw) , the hat gets transparent and you can see him all squished up inside his hat.

Cosmic Vigilante is aware that he's a cheese slime, which was a huge shock when he figured it out

When disappearing "Meta Knight style" Phill doesn't actually disappears, he just trows his jacket in the air and spins it to get people's attention while he runs as far and fast as possible into the distance, he runs until he reaches the edge of the universe and only after that he gets back to the cosmic realm.

And yeah that's it ! Thank you for reading! As always if you have any questions go ahead and ask, I'll be glad to answer.

[nackrosor]

"A Tent for Two"

Pairing: Jack Russell x fem!Reader

Warnings: fluff, smut, p*rn with plot, mutual masturb*tion, v*ginal fingering, handjob, oral sex kinda (fem receiving), scent kink (but he's a werewolf so it's not really a kink for him, is it?)

Synopsis: you've teamed up with Jack during the competition and you're now sharing a tent with him in the forest. The events of the hunt have affected you in more ways than one, some more peculiar and embarrassing than others. As you try to play it cool and hide your arousal as best as you can, you eventually find out that you too have quite the effect on him ;)

Word count: 5,7k.

A/n= another story I started writing with the intention of keeping it nice and short ending up being the longest one yet, wth 😩 but hey, I hope you'll give it a read nonetheless because I'm quite happy of how this one came out (I'll probably hate it tomorrow but for now I'm a proud mom). Anyway, if you've watched Werewolf by Night, you're the best and I love you, if you haven't go watch it and then come back here to read this filth, you won't regret it 🥺 ps: I know the title is shit but I had no idea how to name this story so bear with me. Love yaaaa xx

~ ~ ~ ~

When you begrudgingly agreed to participate in last night competition - literally forced by your parents to honor the family name by winning the bloodstone - you had no idea you would end up teaming up with the monster's friend to save said monster, the one you were supposed to hunt and then get rescued by the latter when his friend turned into a beast and went into a forced rampage and murdered almost everyone. What a freaking night! You still can barely believe all that has happened for real but also that you were able to get out of it alive.

On top of that, to add to the craziness and weirdness of the whole situation, there's the fact that you are now in the middle of a forest, sharing a tiny tent with Jack, the kind man who turned out to be a werewolf and... he's naked. Well, he's covering himself up with a cloak Ted, his friend, retrieved for him from the Bloodstone's mansion but under that? He's 100% naked and you can't pull that thought out of your head. You also cannot stop thinking about his werewolf form, how your body reacted to it when you saw him kill people left and right -who definitely deserved it, by the way- but also when he slightly twitched when you carefully grazed his cheek as he was on top of you pinning you to the floor. You literally can't think of anything else, especially not when you can still feel the consequences of it, being that uneasy dampness between your legs, which you can do absolutely nothing about, at least for the moment being.

Sharing a tent with a stranger - well, you could consider him an acquaintance by now, but still a stranger in most aspects - who has such a strangely strong pull on you, it's such an awkward situation and you're trying really hard to play it cool and not make it as plain as day to him how much he affects you and how the memories of his werewolf body pressing on yours make you feel all tingly inside.

Sure, you could just leave the strange duo and be on your way but you have no idea where you are or where to go; after last night you're more convinced than ever to never return to your parents house, you were never cut for the family business anyway. More so, you don't have the heart to just leave. It's been only a bunch of hours but you already feel attached to the two, especially to Jack and you want to make sure they're ok before you eventually part ways. You also fear you won't ever see him again after today so you're even more willing to fight off the uncomfortable inconvenience that is your arousal to spend a few more minutes in his company.

"Are you sure you don't want it?"

Jack's sweet voice interrupts your trail of thoughts and you turn your head his way. He's holding his cup of tea, hand extended in your direction.

"We weren't prepared to have a guest with us", he gives you an apologetic smile, "I guess we should get a third cup so we won't face the same problem next time... but now we could share mine, if you don't mind?"

You can't help but smile. He's such a kind guy. He's been showing you kindness since you met and peppering you with questions since he's woken up, asking if you're alright, if he hurt you in some way, if you're comfortable, if you're hungry, if you're cold... It made your heart flutter, honestly.

"I'm alright Jack, really. Go ahead, you need that drink more than I."

He looks like he wants to retort but then nods thankfully at you before he grabs the cup with both his shaking hands and brings it to his lips, taking a sip of the hot tea.

"You're still shivering...", you point out with a frown. "Alright. I'm giving you my jacket."

As you swiftly peel the jacket off of you, Jack voices his complaint, hands rushing up to shake frantically in front of him only to quickly move back on the cloak to prevent it from falling down.

"Oh no, please-"

"I don't wanna hear it. Just take it, Jack. You'll warm up faster."

The serious look you're giving him must be effective because he finally sighs and takes the jacket from you with a feeble 'thank you'.

"I think it's best if you wear it under the cloak..."

You notice his eyes widen for a moment before he looks away.

"I- yes, y-you're right. I will... erm- if you don't mind...?"

"Oh, sure. Go on."

You turn away, not without a certain struggle. You wouldn't mind taking a peek, damn you wouldn't mind doing more than that but hey, it's not the time for being a creep. Looking at him wouldn't even help your situation, it would actually make it worse. So you make sure your gaze wanders to the other side of the tent, where the zip is unfastened. You take a look outside. An empty cup lies on the trunk where Ted was sitting only until a few minutes ago, his cards discarded messily on the ground. From Jack's words when he talked to Ted before he left you understood that he was going on a sort of scouting mission inside the forest, probably to get a clearer idea of the area and how to get out of it in the safest way possible. When Ted returns, you're most likely going to part ways; the thought makes you quite sad.

Jack clears his throat and you turn his way.

"It's incredibly warm... thank you."

Your eyes land on him once again. You can see a small bulge on both his shoulders under the black fabric of his cloak but other than that, he looks exactly the same as before. Perhaps only slightly redder in the face.

"Don't mention it."

"Are you going to be OK without it?"

The fairly teared up shirt you're wearing is not exactly the best shield from the chill morning air but you'll survive. The cold is not your main issue, your mind is and right now it's attacking you with a very vivid image of your jacket's fabric clinging onto Jack's naked body. You wonder if it will take up his scent. Oh, you wish it will.

"Are you sure?"

His voice calls you back from your thoughts once again. You see his eyes trail down your torso, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat before he fixes his gaze back on your face. You unconsciously cross your arms on your chest and freeze imperceptibly when you feel the small bulge of your turgid nipple against your arm. Damn. Has he noticed? You hope he hasn't but his flushed face tells you otherwise... or maybe it's because he's feeling warmer already? Nonetheless, you feel a growing heat in your lower belly and the uneasy feeling between your legs getting even more uncomfortable.

"I'm fine, Jack. Don't worry about me." Again, you try to play it cool by smiling at him nonchalantly.

"I don't want you to catch a cold because of me..."

You roll your eyes and playfully shake your head at his words.

"Jack! Stop it! I'm not afraid of a cold. Anyway, the air is not that chilly anymore. The sun rays are getting warmer."

He casts a brief glance outside, lips curling up in a soft pout.

"Yeah... but we could keep each other warmer if you come closer."

The genuine and innocent look he gives you makes his words more allusive than he probably meant them to be. Hell, he's so adorable and he literally has no idea what he's doing to you.

You're silent for a moment, torn on what to do. You would love to get closer to him, feel his warmth against you, maybe even lean on him. At the same time though, that uneasy wet feeling in your core makes any slight movement a real torture. If you try to move your legs the least possible maybe you can make it, though.

"Alright." You eventually sigh and scoot over toward him, until your shoulders touch. You can instantly feel the warmth radiating from his body and unironically a shiver runs up your back as a result.

"See? You're shivering too." He promptly points out and hops even closer, fully pressing his arm against yours.

The sweet smile he gives you makes your heart flutter in your chest, tighs pressing together even tighter.

"Thank you."

He raises his cup and takes another sip before extending it to you once again. This time you gladly accept it with a quick nod and take a long sip of the hot, surprisingly tasty beverage.

"Better?"

"Better."

His kind gaze lingers on your face, a soft smile hovering on his lips. His facial features are so eye-catching up close. The make-up he's wearing makes his unique beauty stand out even more. You can't help but stare in awe at him.

"What is it?"

"Uhm?"

A light chuckle escapes his lips and you feel your stomach swell at the sweet sound.

"Have I got something on my face?"

"Oh, no...", you smile softly, keeping your gaze on his face, "I was only admiring your... make-up."

"Oh? Do you like it?"

"Very much."

Feeling particularly bold, you lean forward, moving your hand on his cheek to gently trace the white dash lining his jaw with your fingertips.

"Does it mean anything?"

"Uhm-", he clears his throat, slightly alarmed eyes fixed on your dangerously close face, "n-not exactly. It's a simple design my ancestors would usually wear in battle and I wanted to honor them."

"Well, I don't know about your ancestors but it looks very good on you."

His lips curl up in a cheeky smile which you immediately mirror.

"Thank you, Y/N. You look very good too... I mean-", his eyes widen, heat flushing in his cheeks, "your make-up looks very good, too."

You smirk at him, fingertips tapping lightly on the dash on his chin before you pull back.

"It's nothing like yours but thank you Jackie."

The way he shyly smiles as he looks away makes you want to grab his face and pull him in for a kiss but you try your best to keep your hormones at bay. You don't want to make things even more awkward than they already are. What if he's not attracted to you as you are to him? That would be awful.

You shift uneasily on your bottom, subtly stretching your tensed legs. You can clearly feel your juices slipping out to damp the fabric of your underwear and hurriedly press your thighs back together.

Your head abruptly snaps to the side when the sudden sound of Jack sniffing the air startles you.

He awkwardly glances your way for a brief moment before he averts his gaze, a strange expression on his face that you can't quite decipher.

"What is it?"

"N-nothing."

"Jack... What is it you smell? Has someone followed us here?"

"No, no...", he trails off, glancing at you before looking away once again, "I-It's your scent."

"My scent?"

"Yes. It's very... strong."

"Oh?"

He looks uncomfortable which makes you feel uncomfortable as well. Can he smell any kind of scent even when he is not actually in his werewolf form? You actually have no idea how that works but it makes you incredibly conscious of yourself.

"Well, I mean... I sure need a shower. I'm sorry if it's bothering you. I'll just move back down there-"

You're about to slide back to your previous seat to put some distance between you two but he immediately stops you, gently but firmly grabbing your arm.

"No! Don't! I-It's actually a quite pleasing scent." His adam's apple bobs again as his eyes widen a little. "It's... very sweet."

"Is it?"

Your eyebrow quizzically quirks up as you eye him, confusion written all over your face.

He takes another sniff, more subtly this time but you notice anyway. It's strange to have him sniff the air for your scent but also weirdly attractive, somehow.

He glances at you with that same awkward expression, teeth coming down to graze his bottom lip.

"Too sweet."

He whispers those words as if talking to himself but you're able to hear them and a chill runs up your back.

"Are you...", he stops to swallow, "...by any chance..." He trails off, gaze wandering down your body before shyly setting on your face once again.

Your confusion only grows hearing his nonsensical question.

"W-What do you mean?"

His doe eyes roam over your face. You can feel how tense his body is now, it's like he's trying to hold himself back.

"Mierda..." he hisses in a whisper, shaking his head and averting his gaze.

"Jack, what-"

You gently place your hand on his arm but as soon as you touch him he jerks away and stands up abruptly, inadvertently knocking his still half-full cup of tea down on the ground, making the liquid spill all over the grass and on your feet.

"!Maldición¡, he mutters through his teeth as he instantly crouches down to retrieve the cup, "I'm so sorry Y/n, so sorry-"

"It's fine Jack, really-"

He grabs a corner of his oversized cloak and tugs it down to wipe the wet fabric of your boots, an incomprehensible muttering of spanish words leaving his mouth. You lean forward and take his hands in yours to stop his frantic scrubbing.

"Jack, relax."

He looks up at you with that doe-eyed expression of his. He looks like a deer in the headlights and you wonder what has gotten him so scared and tense all of a sudden.

"I apologize for ruining your boots, I'm-"

"Forget about them, I don't care if they're ruined or not", you interrupt him, squeezing his hands to make sure he listens to your words, "are you OK?"

He swallows dry, wide eyes roaming over your face. His mouth opens and closes as if he's unsure of how to answer.

"Jack?"

You're more and more confused by his behavior. What has gotten into him all of a sudden? It all happened so fast, you have no idea what to think of it. You're really trying but failing miserably to understand what is going on.

The soft trembling of his hands makes you lower your gaze. Your attention however is quickly caught by his cloak which falls slightly open at the level of hips, enough to show his quite evident erection. Your breath catches in your throat at the sight, a jolt shakes your stomach.

He follows your gaze and immediately tears himself away from you, standing up and rushing out of the tent while his shaking hands tug at the two ends of his cloak and cross them one on top of the other to fully cover himself.

You're too stunned to speak. Your heart is thumping hard in your chest, the wetness pooling relentlessly between your legs.

You understand now why he was so tense. He was trying to hide his erection. But how did it happen? When? Probably when he was sniffling your scent. That definitely explains his peculiar reaction to it.

You look up. He's standing in front of the now dead fire, his back facing you.

"Jack?" You try to call him but he doesn't turn. "Jack, please..."

He hangs his head. You can hear his deep shaky sigh from where you're still sitting in the tent.

"I'm desolate Y/n, that was...", he groans, shaking his head, "You shouldn't have seen. I'm so sorry."

You can't bear to see and hear him so disconsolate. He's being so hard on himself but he hasn't even done anything wrong. He's embarrassed, you understand the feeling. You've been feeling like that the whole night until only a few minutes ago but now that you know that he's just as aroused as you, well, you can act on it, can't you?

You set your eyes on the back of his head as you move your hand on the inseam of your leather pants and drag down the zip. You do it as quick as you can to make its sound louder. You then peel off on leg after the other and toss your trousers to the side of the tent, making it shake.

You see Jack flinch. If he had wolf ears, they would definitely perk up now. He hasn't turned yet, though so you continue at your attempt of luring him in by spreading your legs wide. A soft moan escapes your lips when your fingers slide through your folds from over the drenching fabric of your panties.

The sound you make instantly propels Jack to turn around. His eyes open wide at the sight in front of him. You smile up at him while you brush your fingers up and down your folds a couple of times before you abruptly press your thighs back together.

He stumbles forward, a confused look on his face.

"Now you've seen me too", you say calmly, crossing your legs and leaning back on your hands, "I am aroused just like you but you knew it already, didn't you?"

You can clearly see his adam's apple bobbing up and down, eyes wandering all over your body, lingering especially on the area you're now so cruelly hiding from him.

"So, are you... coming or not?" You smirk at him, one eyebrow quirking up, "Ted might come out of those trees at any minute now."

He seems to finally snap out of his trance and rushes the remaining steps that separates him from the tent. He crouches down as he enters, then falls on his knees in front of you.

"Y/n..." he whispers, his voice shaky, "...are you sure?"

You lean forward, hand moving on his face to cup his cheek. His eyes flutter shut as he sinks into your palm, taking a long shuddering breath.

"Aren't you?"

He doesn't even need to think about it, he eagerly nods his head in response, pleading eyes setting back on your face.

A wide smile spreads on your lips that you barely contain by biting your bottom lip. You draw him toward you, slowly as to fully savor the feeling of anticipation. He is however quite impatient and rashly leans forward, lips only barely grazing yours as you quickly pull back with a smirk, causing him to huff in protest. The hurt look he gives you goes straight to your core and you wish you had the time to tease him a little bit longer but time, alas, is against you so you move your hands to the back of his neck and pull him toward you, laying your mouth on his. He immediately responds by deepening the kiss, calloused hands finding your sides and squeezing them.

You thread your fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck, keening in his mouth when he moves his palms between your thighs to push them apart and pull you closer against him. With a suddenness that surprises you, he gropes your clothed cunt, hand stroking up and down, feeling your arousal. Your hips buckle upward on their own seeking for more friction which Jack generously gives you by pulling the drenched fabric of your underwear to the side and slipping his fingers inside your folds.

Your head spins at the long-awaited touch you finally receive, kiss turning into an open mouthed caress as you pull back a little, a satisfied moan leaves your lips and gets muffled by his.

When a moment later you recover some lucidity, you mirror his actions, hand sliding down his back and delving under his cloak. He breathes a harsh breath of air as you wrap it firmly around him, the shudder you cause in him and the drunken look he gives you, makes your stomach flutter.

He’s rock hard in your hands, head wet with precum. You teasingly slide your thumb on the top of it, smearing the thick fluid to ease your movements along his length. You feel his hot breath against your lips as a guttural moan escapes him, his eyes fluttering close, brows furrowing. A proud and delighted expression spreads on your face which quickly turns into a frown when Jack reciprocate your attention by swirling his thumb on your clitoris, not before he dipped it into the wetness at your core. It’s your turn to moan and shudder and it’s his turn to stare raptured at your face as you contort in pleasure.

“Jack”, you choke out, your voice a little more than a whimper upon his mouth, “it feels so good…”

He bites his lip as he nods softly, eyes lowering on your moist lips.

“I know, cariño” he whispers, laying his lips on yours in a messy open-mouthed kiss before he trails them down your chin and along your jaw, eventually diving into your neck where he lingers to relish in your heady scent. His fingers in the meantime increase their speed around your most sensitive button, making your head spin. Your movements get faster too, hand sloppily stroking up and down, occasionally squeezing his swollen balls then sliding up to swirl around its head, action which you noticed, causes Jack hips to shake more prominently.

His groans are music to your ears and add to the coiling pleasure growing in intensity in your lower belly. You feel the knot is about to snap and Jack must feel it too because he abandons your turgid nub to slide his fingers along your slit and slip them into your heat. A broken cry leaves your throat and blends with his groans.

“Come for me, mi corazón…” he whispers in a breathed caress against your ear, the hoarseness of his voice goes straight to your core, just like the feeling of his teeth grazing your skin and sinking down in the crook of your neck makes you shiver. His fingers thrust relentlessly back and forth, hitting the spongy area deep inside you, while your hand works up and down at a sustained pace. You feel him getting more and more tense against you, his labored breathing warming the side of your neck.

“please, Jack...”, you plead in between pants, "...please, let me look at you!"

You bite your lip while he repeatedly pecks your skin in his climb up along your neck, until his lips linger inches away from yours, gazes finally locking.

Your stomach swells when you see the pure image of lust displayed on his face with his flushed cheeks and furrowed brows. The piercing look he gives you with his heavy lidded eyes, together with the umpteenth twist of his fingers deep inside you mark the reaching of your limit, as you’re dragged over the edge, a wave of pleasure washing over you and a loud throaty sound escaping your lips.

His fingers keep caressing you with the most gentle of touches while he places his other hand on top of yours to help you sustain the steady but now slackening movement of your strokes along his length. As you catch your breathing, you fix your still half-closed eyes on his face, wanting more than anything else to witness the way his beautiful features will contort in pleasure when he reaches his own climax. And you do, only a few strokes later; his eyes squeeze shut, lips part to let out a long shaky whimper, hips buckle forward as his hot semen spills over the inside of his cloak.

His palm loosens its pressure on your hand and you continue to caress his cock, squeezing softly its head as you ease him down from the orgasm, until he becomes too sensitive.

Jack's head slumps down, forehead coming to rest against yours, his hot breath a caress on your cheekbone. His hand moves on the side of your head while the other slides down to hold your waist.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath, relishing in the warmth of his closeness and the still lingering tingling feeling spread all over your body.

A moment later his lips press gently on your cheekbone, nose trailing over your skin as he takes in your scent. The light touch of the tip of his nose against your neck tickles you and makes you jump a little, a chuckle falling from your lips.

"Jack stop!", you try to untangle yourself from him but he holds you still while he continues his sniffling descent, passing over the swell of your breasts, your dishelved shirt, coming to a halt on your pelvis. He presses his nose on the fabric of your underwear, right above your center and takes a deep breath in and hums in satisfaction.

You've pulled yourself up in the meantime, your eyes following his every move. The way he looks so pleased, apparently enjoying the way you smell makes your stomach swell. You've never had any guy smell you like that and normally you would consider it a very weird thing to do but he's making it look so sexy.

"Jack?"

He looks up, big puppy eyes locking with yours. A shy smile forms on his lips.

"I'm sorry Y/n, I can't seem to resist", he leans forward to breath in your scent once more, eyes fluttering shut for a moment, "the way you smell is intoxicating."

"Fuck" you huff, teeth sinking in your bottom lip, "that's so hot, Jack... but damn, you're getting me even wetter and my underwear is so soggy already." You groan at the uneasy feeling of the cold damp fabric of your panties tugging to your dripping folds.

He hums softly, fingertips brushing the laced fabric of your underwear, until they find the hem and hook in it as he looks up at you, an earnest look on his face.

"I can help you with that."

You don't answer but your eager expression is enough for him to pursue his intentions. He carefully peels off your panties, sliding them inside the pocket of your jacket. He then bends down and dips his nose in your folds before he takes a solid stripe down your slit making you shudder involuntarily.

"Oh, bloody hell!" you blurt out in a loud moan as you fall backward on your elbows.

Jack swirls his tongue around your clitoris, collecting the liquid gathered there before he dwells hungrily at your core, sucking up all your juices. He's slow with his licks but thorough, jealously cleaning your cunt from every drop of the fruits of his hard work.

Your head is spinning, the knot in your lower belly tightening again and you think you might soon come a second time if he keeps moving his tongue like that but a rustling sound of foliage shaking reaches your ears and makes you jump, head snapping in direction of the source of the noise. Hard steps growing closer can be heard only a moment later and your alarmed look meets Jack's surprised face.

"It's Ted!" you mutter through your teeth. Jack only nods in response and wipes his mouth on the arm of his cloak as he quickly hops up on his feet, not before casting a brief forlorn look at your cunt, then he hurriedly rearranges his dishelved cloak and places himself at the entrance of the tent, giving you cover, privacy and time enough to recompose yourself.

You're still fumbling with the legs of your trousers when you hear Jack's voice, welcoming back his friend and Ted replying in incomprehensible grunts.

In your agitation and hurried state, you're not actually able to follow their conversation, only hearing fragments of sentences here and there and a lot of different pitched grunts from Ted's part. You think you hear Jack mentioning your name at some point but you forget it as you zip up your pants and quickly brush your hands on your hair to make yourself presentable.

When you're done and ready you sit back on the ground and wait for their discussion to end. Luckily you don't have to wait a long time, in fact, only a couple of minutes later you see Jack tilting his head to the side to throw a furtive glance inside the tent. Your eyes lock and you smile cheekily at him. It takes all the will in him to not mirror your smile as he turns back to face Ted and say, "let's see if she's woken up now, so I can ask her."

You stifle a laugh at his words; what a good liar he is! He could almost convince even yourself of having slept through the whole thing, your sexy time with Jack being only a dream your mind fabricated in the excitement of last night's events, if only you didn't still clearly feel on yourself the very unforgettable touch of both his fingers and tongue. Your mind could never make up such bliss.

Jack pops inside the tent and crouches down at your level. A grin soon forms on his face and you let out a chuckle you were so hardly repressing.

"I am fully awake now, Jackie", you tease him, crossing your arms on your chest, "let's hear what you have to ask me."

His grin falters slightly but he keeps smiling at you while his cheeks flush red.

"Uhm, well-", he averts his eyes for a moment, fingers moving to the side of his head to scratch nervously behind his ear, "we've talked, Ted and I, and-" He trails off, looking like he's trying really hard to choose the right words to best phrase what he means to tell you. "We don't know what you plan to do now. You've mentioned how problematic your relationship with your family is and after how the competition went, perhaps you don't intent to return home. Or perhaps you do, I'd totally understand if-"

"No, I'm definitely not going back."

He's taken aback by your confident answer at first but then quickly nods in understanding. "Of course. Do you know already where else to go?"

You haven't thought about it yet. Beside your family you must admit, you don't have anyone else. Those who you erroneously call friends are in fact family friends, not yours, you couldn't ask them to help you even if you wanted to. Elsa is probably the only person whom you've ever had a genuine relationship with, but you've grown distant during the last years, you've only met last night after a very long time and you don't feel like asking her to host you, even if she actually might agree to it. Then again, you're not really euphoric at the idea of living in that horrendous mansion, especially after last night events.

"Not exactly", you admit with a sheepish smile, "I'll have to come up with something."

He nods slowly, looking pensive. Taking advantage of his temporary hesitation with words, you lean forward and take his hands in yours, lips curling up in a small smile.

"You don't have to worry about me, Jack. If you and Ted have to go, don't let me keep you."

You know already where this conversation is going. There's a very hurtful goodbye coming and even though you knew this moment would come eventually, it's nevertheless hard to face it.

"Of course I worry about you...", he whispers vehemently, squeezing your hands, "...and that is exactly what I am trying to say." He sighs, lowering his gaze on your interlined hands before setting it back on your face with more confidence.

"You don't have to leave, if you don't want to. You know... Ted and I share a small cabin in the woods, which is not that far from here. It's not much but it's homey and comfy, and very clean. We both like to keep things tidy. And there's actually enough space for a third roommate if you-"

He cuts himself short as soon as he notices the stunned look on your face.

"A-are you offering me to move in with you?"

"Well, I-" he stutters a little, panic growing on his face, "I know it sounds absurd since we barely know each other but-" He takes a deep breath in an attempt to ease his agitation. "Yes. Yes, I am. You've helped us last night, now let us help you, Y/n. We're simply offering you a roof over your head. You can leave as soon as you find a better accommodation, if that's what you'll want."

The earnest and genuine look he's giving you makes your heart melt. You can't believe how kind he is, how caring! You're sincerely touched.

You can't resist the urge to surge forward and throw your arms around his neck. He puffs out a breath of air at the impact but immediately wraps his arms around you, pulling you close.

"That's so sweet of you, Jack! Thank you so much."

"Is that a yes?"

You pull back a little, eyes locking in his.

"You had me at 'we both like to keep things tidy'. It's a huge yes!"

He laughs heartily and you secure that sweet sound to memory, taking a note to yourself to make him laugh again as soon as possible.

"Then...", he hops up and extends a hand your way, "...shall we?"

You can't suppress the big smile that spreads on your face and eagerly take his hand, letting him help you up.

You follow him out of the tent. Ted is waiting by the firewood, his cup and cards nowhere in sight. He slowly turns around when he hears your steps approaching and his red stare immediately falls on your interlined hands. His eyes then dart from his friend's face, to yours and back to Jack's. He grunts once at Jack then a low, chuckle-like sound comes out of him.

"Oh, shut up." Jack rolls his eye at him but fails miserably to suppress a chuckle of his own.

You turn to him and he does the same. You feel him squeeze gently your hand, his eyes roaming adoringly over your face as he grins at you.

~ ~ ~ ~

Your heart thumpers loudly in your chest. You can't express how happy you are so you simply mirror his grin and squeeze his hand back.

MORE STORIES 🥀

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[owladaptive]

Headcanons of your latest art, plz

The cool and funny thing about the addams au is that ducks don't need to change their core personalities in the slightest in order to fit. They're all just kinda Like That already.

They're just Like That already!!

They already get up to wacky, dangerous shenanigans. And other people not in the family look at it and go "that's a whole lotta weird". Individually, none of them are exactly normal.

All you really need to do to addamsify them is to take the most out of the ordinary aspects of each of their personalities and dial the notch up about..... 60 degrees.

Below are ramblings about their characters. Enjoy.

Scrooge is of course the patriarch of the family, an adventure capitalist and the richest duck in the world who loves dancing with danger. He's basically the most unchanged out of them all. But this Scrooge is... twisted. He covets the thrill of almost dying with the same fervor he covets gold. And he proudly, nay lovingly, exposes his kids to anything that brings them near the glory of death with reverence. The "other bin" is a personal museum of deadly monsters, fatal curses and dead things that he proudly lets his beloved family (and hapless guests) admire at their leisure. And he's always delighted to teach his kids anything they want to know. How to swordfight? Of course m'dear child, anything you ask. Here's the correct way you load gunpowder into a musket. Here's a fun way to give your wind-up clock bomb a little extra oomph. Want a turn in the iron maiden?

Bentina was a whole different kind of spy. I mean she was an assassin. In fact she was hired to string up Scrooge when they first met, instead he bought her off and had her dispose of her original contractor. They became friends of course, Scrooge admiring her line of work and Beakley begrudgingly respecting the sheer outrageousness of his admiration. And since coming back to his house to raise Webby (his family-oriented nature wore her cold exterior down over time until she caught the love bug) she vibes as his pseudo-sister once more.

Yeah Duckworth is still a ghost. He's been there since he died in his sleep and the whole family got together to drag his fading soul from the river styx and shove him back into the physical plain. (They worship the escape of death, that doesn't mean they want to be separated!) He doesn't say much. They love him still.

Webby is literally the same character. Only of course, her already-warped perspective on life after growing up in the shadow of Scrooge McDuck is warped all the more. To Webby, fighting, grappling, shooting arrows, firing (real) guns and stalking your friends through the shadows of night to scare the light from their eyes for a second isn't just super fun.... it's affection!! She's a creature of the night. She'll give her family so many hugs. She'll watch her loved ones while they sleep. She'll strangle them until they pass out (affectionate), she'll protect them from anything. She's everything the rest of the world is just ken.

Della is presumed dead, and nobody is particularly mad about it. This is a family that walks closely with death, after all, so while their love for each other is so strong that even a decade after she was gone they still mourn her, they would never cut her memory from their lives. Her portraits hang everywhere, her room kept immaculately covered in dust and cobwebs just the way she'd want it to be. They bring her up in conversations as though she'd just gone out to buy milk or something. And every single year, on the anniversary of her death, they hold a seance to attempt to summon her back (They already tried the thing they did with Duckworth). It never works, and Scrooge and Donald hug and cry and reminisce together and then life goes back to normal.

Donald is a faithful, doting and affectionate dad to his nephews and has told them stories of their mother since they were hatched. He loved his sister so very much, but unlike canon never blamed Scrooge for her death. Yes, she likely died in space, her spacesuit smashed open and her body freeze dried in the soul-sucking endless darkness all because Scrooge lovingly gifted her something that would put her life at risk. But she's only dead!! Nothing to estrange yourself from your family over. Donald and Scrooge are instead brought closer through shared loss. Donald in this universe is still a sailor, and is entranced by the glory of the deathly, stormy seas and all the creepy, slimy creatures within it. His anger is surprisingly mostly tamed by way of catharsis (fishing and killing the fish and cooking the fish with far too much axe chopping and knife brandishing than needed). That doesn't mean he won't lose it if someone insults his kids, his uncle or his dead sister.

Huey is a sweet, smart, helpful boy with a penchant for biting that's followed him since he first grew teeth and a rage-filled alter ego that's switched on a hair-thin trigger. When he's not flying into a mad frenzy like a gremlin ("you've got such a healthy temper dear boy, make sure to sharpen your teeth before bed now!") he's deconstructing anything he can get his hands on and building them back better and more explosive. Don't be alarmed by his muzzle - his brothers sometimes force it on him when they get tired of his biting (it makes for an unfair fight) and sometimes they kindly ask if he wants them to put it on for him when they notice he's being a little nonverbal or cranky. He loves them a lot and gives them lots of hugs.

Dewey is a melodramatic little weirdo who recites poetry and Shakespeare, adores making a spectacle of himself and hates being one of a set of three. Quite like his canon self! Unlike his canon self, he copes with feelings of resentment and middle child syndrome by way of bloodlust. It's all in good fun, of course. What child doesn't try to smother their siblings in their sleep now and then? Why, back when Scrooge was a lad, his sisters once dangled him in the path of a speeding train while he was sleeping! When his murderous urges take a backseat and he gives the booby traps a rest, Dewey's a fun-loving kid who would go to much more extreme measures to get take vicious revenge on anyone who would make any three of his siblings cry. His dream is to die suffocating in a vacuum like his mother did.

Louie, having grown up in the mansion instead of a houseboat, is no stranger to the wonders of luxury. Luckily for him, the Scrooge of this universe is wrapped around the collective pinky finger of his wee ones, and is much more doting than canon. Also luckily for Louie is that McDuck manor is built on an expansive graveyard where he can look for jewellery, trinkets and gold fillings to his greedy heart's content. When he runs out of graves at the mansion (he always buries them back, don't worry) there are always other graveyards in town. And other towns, too. And true, Louie's been dragged back home by the police every now and then, so he's had to get sneaky about his thrifting ways. He can pickpocket like a pro, filching off anybody who isn't Scrooge (who would always notice) and snatching any shiny thing that isn't nailed down and can fit in his pocket when he's out of the house. He's sneaky alright, but also sensitive. Don't touch his stuff or he'll stab you. "did the little dragon add anything to his hoard today?"

[tiptapricot]

Moon Knight City of the Dead Issue 1… why…?

So. New MK side run has begun, the hyped up full on debut of Layla/new Scarlet Scarab in the comics, with a premise that most writers would twist into an epic and breathtaking journey.

We don’t get that here.

And I have a lot of thoughts on why and how I feel so frustrated with what we got. There’s pieces of something awesome, potential to go to some really fascinating places, and yet it is held back in almost every aspect, creating something messy and clunky that makes me mad to read.

(This is long btw)

First off though, some things I did enjoy!

I really love the art and coloring of this issue. The anatomy and movement and shadows, the stylization of character’s faces and costumes, the sprawling city with its deep reds and blues that feel saturated and weighty. It’s great. Besides a few moments that it comes out of left field with some bad stuff (Layla’s whole face at the end or the MK mask w teeth during the memory slideshow like whaTtt is that), it’s super solid and made for a very enjoyable looking comic.

It was also really fun to see Badr for a little. I think it would’ve been cool to get more, and the pacing of things as I’ll get to later sapped his importance in the story for me some, making him feel more like a prop or a plot device to get it going, but overall it was lovely to see him again. And it was cool to see him being a doctor as well, as we haven’t seen that as recently in MacKay! Always a joy my dear sir please come back soon.

The story in concept. Going to the underworld, detaching a headmate supernaturally to journey to a different plane of reality to save one life, and meeting a dead ally along the way is fascinating stuff, an idea that inspires me to want to explore it myself.

Because (and now it’s time to get into the stuff I didn’t like) the writing doesn’t do this idea justice at all.

This is not the worst MK comic ever rn, not their worst writing. It’s not as violently ableist or antisemitic as things like Bemis or making a joke out of MK like some others, but it’s just stupid, and what it glosses over or gets wrong is weird and uncomfortable and harmful in its own right.

To start this isn’t my Marc. His guilt is not one of punishment for penance, of believing he’s sinned and needs to be washed clean by pain. He is a man stuck in bad coping mechanisms and trying to pretend he’s not. He’s a man who hates himself and uses violence as what I would describe as a form of self harm. But it is not with the goal of erasing his past.

Yes, he runs from the person of Marc Spector, he runs from the idea and the responsibility, but Marc doesn’t try to forget. He holds onto things with a vice grip and never lets himself drop it. He believes in his own mythos and is grappling with his complicated and traumatized history to remember he can love and care and trust people again, that the work of making his life better is not solely on his shoulders. That’s what MacKay’s been dealing with.

MacKay Marc is guilty and self flagellating but in a way he tries not to think about, that he brushes over. He puts on an air of confident collectedness and has more hate for Marc as a concept then specifically his actions, and he’s still able to move forward and find a type of momentum and bravado in the MK suit.

Or in simpler terms: yes Marc has guilt. He does not have this kind of guilt.

The first few pages read so strangely, just this over dramatic spiel that feels more like daredevil than moon knight, like a rehashed dramatic intro to a moody sad 90s comic. And not in a good way. It’s not deep it’s just annoying and tedious and the prose is clunky and again, extremely off in its vibes and message. I think it could’ve been alright, if some of the talk of his guilt had been shifted and the narration hadn’t continued constantly throughout the rest of the issue (which I’ll get to later), but as is in its full context it’s just… weird.

In addition to the weird guilt vibes, there’s further issues with the Khonshu religiosity in this.

Khonshu isn’t something Marc worships, he’s something he uses for his own means. He’ll call on him or talk about being the priest of the mission, but that’s because Khonshu doesn’t have oversight, he’s a tool and form of direction and theming, and at the story’s core Marc is the priest for his mission, not this god’s.

At points in this issue he genuinely sounds dedicated though, and it shifts the flavor of earlier pieces more in line with his usual monologuing to seeming more like strange spiritual devotion. Especially calling Khonshu the greatest of great gods, or saying that him being in the underworld is Khonshu’s mission. It changes his actions from that of Marc to that of a real Khonshu follower and its…. Just weird. It’s all just weird and very ooc.

On top of that, there’s no mention or interrogation or even presence of discussing Judaism alongside all of this. I’m not Jewish myself but have had multiple convos around the topic w those who are n who have made their own posts discussing it and can add on more nuance n info to this should they like (bc more thoughts for discussion are always awesome), but just on a surface level it’s strange. It’s strange to have a plot revolving around going to another belief system’s afterlife and not at all bringing up how it clashes or relates to Jewish beliefs. Yes Marc isn’t really actively practicing anymore but I’d hazard Jake probably is, and Marc has still talked about his connection to his faith and how it’s impacted his time as moon knight and serving Khonshu.

The text treats the Egyptian pantheon belief system as the True and Accepted default here, with Marc not even discussing anything about going to an afterlife he doesn’t belong in (and shouldn’t even have) as a Jewish man, or even thinking about how Badr discussing Ka conflicts with Jewish beliefs on the soul and how Neshamah differ.

And yes, Marc works regularly with the very real Egyptian pantheon and mystical systems but it’s in a different way, and under a different context and understanding by readers of his acceptance of it.

A whole other layer of depth, conflict, and exploration could’ve been added by really digging into the theological implications of this plot, of a Jewish soul in the Egyptian afterlife, and yet it’s not brought up at all, not referenced or mentioned and it makes it all feel weirdly out of place, or like stuff is being glossed over.

That, on top of Jake and Steven (not to mention the entire rest of the main mission cast) being completely absent in mention, consultation, presence, or anything just feeds into this strange sense of Pepose wanting Marc to be the idea he has of him in his head, this guilty, sad, and violent merc serving a moon god with not a ton else. And yes again those are all aspects of Marc, but there is nuance to each of those aspects and treating him as a singlet with no thoughts on the conflicts in faith of his present is… just weird.

I don’t know if he’ll be treated as a singlet the whole run, but the fact that the body’s soul being sent into the afterlife has not already brought in any system conflict at all is an issue. Is it their collective soul? Is it just Marc’s? How does this comic understand alter soul distinction? Has it thought about it at all? I mean the answer is no but the thing is it should’ve.

That’s where so many of my issues with this come from though: choices just being… not good. Not thought out or in line with the characters and world. The writing is off and out of place and gOD THE CONSTANT NARRATION IS GRATING!!

I don’t know why it was chosen for Marc to novel write his thoughts and observations the whole issue but it’s bad. It goes past introducing plots or observations that can’t be shown in text to either:

1. Filling space that doesn’t need to be filled

2. Restating what has just been said or shown in a panel (“we have the power of the four horsemen” “wow they just got the power of the four horsemen”)

3. At worst, telling us stuff that was not indicated at all by anything else (“oh I know something is wrong here even though I have not been given enough reason to pique that suspicion” “oh I reunite with Layla and hold her and take her in but haha you don’t see that ig”)

It’s annoying and makes reading things difficult because he’s blabbering on the whole time in places he DOESNT NEED TO!! And it makes the action and emotional movement feel awkward and forced. I don’t need to know every second of Marc’s thoughts Pepose I can parse out things with my eyes I promise you that. Also can he stop talking about penance for TWO SECONDS!!!

The worst part is narration works when done well! When it highlights things that can’t be shown in art or gives some bits of exploration into feelings or exposition, but we don’t need it in every panel. It actually confused some parts of where to look for me by telling me what was about to happen before it did. Stop being like “I thought it was over but—“ JUST LET US SEE ITS NOT OVER!!

Another moment (similar ish to the start) where the narration would’ve worked for me (if it was not surrounded by just more constant narrating monologue) is when Marc first arrives in the Duat. The prose is pretty, it’s vibrant, it describes things the audience wouldn’t be able to pick up from static pictures and helps to set the scene. The only issue is that it doesn’t stand on its own, it’s not an interjection of observations and thoughts, it’s another entry in the never ending cycle of Marc just talking. And it loses some of its luster because of that.

There’s also just a handful of pieces of either dialogue or thoughts that (in the context of Steven and Jake being absent at the moment despite not being absent at the point in time this should be taking place) make me feel very uncomfortable with Pepose’s vibes on their mental health. Some lines that rubbed me the wrong way in context include “The rage fills within me—and suddenly I have a plan. That said, it would help if my plan wasn’t dangerously insane.” “You know me Badr, mental discipline is my middle name.” And a few similar ones I don’t want to reread again for.

They’re just unnecessary man. We don’t need vaguely or directly ableist vibes in words with MK anymore. It works if it feels like it’s coming from Marc’s internalized ableism IE when he was talking about being called crazy during the discussion with Steven and Jake and Jake called him out for it, but when it’s obvious it’s just how the author sees things it sucks!

Stop using insane, stop using crazy, stop being like “oh I’m so good at keeping myself in check,” WE DONT NEED IT!! ALSO THEY R AT A GENERAL POINT OF SYSTEM COMMUNICATION N HARMONY RN!!

Which also just… man this feels like it’s trying to introduce MK instead of continuing an already established and well under way arc. Yea, this isn’t MacKay writing it, but it’s still in the continuity and set up for his run and like… sorry not sorry but I think you should take that context into account if you’re going to be working within it???

Instead the story props itself up by trying to introduce everything at once and Marc feels like he’s starting from the bottom of development.

And speaking of introducing everything at once! Oh boy the pacing!

No one besides Badr is consulted before Marc goes into the Duat, Badr just. Sends him there. There’s no real build up for why there’s a need go that far, for what the threat is or why Marc would go to these lengths so suddenly. Like yeah I know he wants to save a kid who’s a traveler of the night, but like… Others have died or almost died on his watch and he’s never gone to this point before, even though it seems like it’s always something they’ve had as an option. Like… ok ig if Soldier hadn’t been vamped he would just be dead lmao (though also hey! Why and how do souls end up in this afterlife? Do they have to believe in the gods? Do they have to be in some way tied to the pantheon? Is it just where souls go if they’re near moon knight lmaO? If you want to have your afterlife plot you have to do the worldbuilding for it)

And while yes, a lot of this is because This Plot Wasnt Thought Up During Earlier Parts Of Mackay, it also isn’t introduced in a way that feels natural or makes sense.

Events just Happen. Mysteries or drives are just Said without a good basis for why they’re there. Again, this cult was talked about as just kinda a sadistic gang but then they’re a big deal? And oh the kid is dying and oh he’s worth going to the afterlife for and OH WERE JUST HERE NOW and “oh there’s a conspiracy I’ve decided with no real evidence” and HEY FOUND THE GUY and—Suddenly a whole lot of what is happening. God heart full on cult horsemen of the apocalypse memory flashback and BOMBS NOW APPARENTLY and LAYLA and MK BIG PAST BADDIES BOSS FIGHT INCOMING!!

Like ohhhh my god stuff is so rushed and happens so inorganically and with no time to really understand what’s happening. It’s a type of story where my suspension of disbelief isn’t there and it fully just feels like seeing the writer trying to get to the end goal of what they want to write about (moon knight fighting old villains) as quickly as possible. And it SUCKS! Like this genuinely should’ve been more than one issue, there should’ve been at least sOme more build up to gEtting to the city of the dead in the first place, no matter additionally uncovering a plot of some sort happening and Layla turning up.

It’s just…. It’s so rushed and strange and forced and it didn’t have to be and IT MAKES ME MAD IT IS and it’s just not enjoyable to read. It all feels so shallow and stilted and weird, all while having this underlying idea with so much weight, some generally gorgeous art, some moments that could’ve been really awesome, and last but not least…. Literally a good reference to doing a Duat plot well.

This whole mini run is for MCU synergy, bringing Layla in, exploring the Duat and it’s lore, and again yes, the run isn’t done, but it just…. Compared to the MCU plot for the Duat this feels so…. GraaggHhggh. Especially when it comes to system interaction and exploring different painful memories that effect headmates in different ways.

It’s just. It was an extremely frustrating read from both a technical writing standpoint and a character exploration standpoint, and it worries me and doesn’t excite me at all for future issues. Like we’ll sEe but goddamn this is not a good start no matter how it plays out and it doesn’t give me confidence if it turns out I have to read several more issues of this kind of stuff.

Petty nitpicks speed run because there wasn’t enough enjoyable padding for them to not stand out!

I don’t know if Pepose could’ve specified or not but Marc’s not drinking vodka in the opening scene, it looks more like whiskey or something similar by the bottle, again nailing home how strangely off this Marc is from the Marc he’s meant to be with how Mackay has built him up.

Why do they use Duat and City of the Dead like they’re interchangeable titles it’s just the Duat like I get calling it “the city of the dead” since it is that but like. Let that just b the run title they shouldn’t be calling it that like it’s a final name.

They misspell Dr. Alraune’s name lmao

How did the kid get… hurt..? The only point in the opening fight I can think he maybe got hit was with the gunfire but it didn’t seem like that was aimed towards him and there wasn’t any moment of having a detail in the background showing him get injured. And he wasn’t lethally injured at the start so ???

What… is the continuity between the Hydra vs Karnak Cowboys fight we see in MacKay and the flashback here. They were on an empty road there when they crashed? And now they’re in the heart of the city? AlsO bOMBS???

Anyway all I’ll wrap it up with is when the only thing I genuinely smile at is the cameo and namedrop of Apocalypse you know something is wrong with your story lmaO

[kosmic-arts]

Roxas, Namine, & the Reality That Carl Jung is Real

OK SO. this video is great and is an even more detailed, succinct version of what i was talking about in my roxas/kh2 plot analysis post. please watch, this is such good food for thought. for a while ive really been thinking about the meaning of nobodies in kh, and how i feel the concept has been gradually bastardized over the course of the story- but disregarding that lmao! i have been making the connection myself about how similar nobodies are to the concept of the shadow in carl jung's psychology theories, and boy howdyyyy was it great to see i wasn't the only one, because violet howler mentions the same in this video. as ive mentioned before, i feel like roxas and namine should have never been pushed as being their own separate people, rather as reflections of sora's and additionally, kairi's worst aspects. or at least the parts of themselves they repress. roxas and namine should have always been vehicles to help strengthen the main characters, rather than growing into people of their own- that way the ending of kh2 would've actually been the happy ending that they were clearly trying to push that it was for roxas and namine. but only to backpedal in ddd.... in the video, violet howler tries to argue the contrary- that the further developments in the series for roxas and namine to separate as whole people from sora and kairi are logical extensions of their representation as shadows- but i just disagree. i already mention this in my post linked above, but sora and kairi should've grown as people and actually gained the memories and experiences of their nobodies when they merged; the whole plotpoint of confronting the side of themselves they wouldn't rather acknowledge should've been wrapped up ages ago in kh2 instead of being stretched out for so long. roxas and namine's stories and connection to one another should've been more tightly written to more properly lead into their ending of returning to their counterparts. i am still miffed about how roxas spends so much of days chasing after xion who gets to have all the character development and hard choices, instead of the guy you're literally playing as- ok.... although ill say namine is written a lot better, as she gradually grows into having her own initiative- and its nice that kairi in kh2 also starts to express the same urge as she decides to stop waiting for sora and riku and just go find them herself. anyway. i will say though, i am very so-so hmmm lukewarm about the whole "nobodies can grow hearts" shtick. in a lot of ways, i like the idea. BUT ONLY when you think about it through this context: through forming connections with others, and holding on to their humanity so to speak- nobodies can grow a heart of their own and regain their humanity. thats cool! kingdom hearts is about the importance of friendship and connections, and all that- so having such a thing have real physical results in the nobodies is a powerful concept. that, and it really does fit with the whole nobody/shadow carl jung representation going on. BUT THATS NOT HOW ITS IMPLEMENTED IN GAME. xemnas in ddd says the body will replace its missing heart at the first chance it gets- not when the nobody makes connections with others. which is why i hate the growing hearts bit, because its very clearly a poorly thought-out escape for the nobodies' major dilemma. same thing with how a person can be recompleted by killing the heartless and nobody. thats fucking insane because it makes it so that the answer to all the organization's problems was to commit seppuku all along!!! nothing of value is lost, everyone is technically immortal if they lose their heart to darkness and split- just shoot their two counterparts and you get to live again. its so bad help alright. i'm starting to lose the point so i will end this here lmfao. long story short, i agree with everything in the video except most of his reasoning that the weird shit at the end of kh2 and postgames made any sense and is justified by the carl jung shadow theory comparison. kthx, watch the video its cool :)

[moononmyfloor]

Not many Cdramas caught nor retained my attention in the 2nd half of 2022, but the few I did watch were pure gems. However I didn't think I have enough entrees to fill 30 days with, so I cut the number down and also conjoined some. Without further ado here we go!

My C-Drama Review of the 1st Half of 2022

(Concept loosely based on anniedelavoye' s. I did hers last year but then realised I simply cannot submit only one entry per day NOR wait a whole year to do a review. I do things by bulk 😆. So I broke the reviewing into two halves so I can do this with fresher memory and also more dramas will get the spotlight.)

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1. First Drama I finished in the 1st half of 2022

Love Between Fairy and Devil! Lots of praises have already been sung about this show, I don't have anything new to add.🤭

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2. New Favourite Actor/Actress

Zhai Zilu, Zhou Dawei, Wang Youjun, Chang Long.

All caught my attention this year, all very promising! I hope they have successful years ahead! (And please don't end up being evil people :( 🙏)

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3. Best Performance

Wang Xiao and Yan Bingyan as Zhou baba and mama in Examination for Everyone. These two veteran actors brought this two characters and their dynamic to life SO realistically and endearingly, you could almost touch it. It was like seeing my own parents onscreen. Mad respect.

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4. Favorite Drama OST

This is an odd answer but the first few seconds of the opening theme song of Fei Teng Ren Sheng captivated me. I was like: "Hold on. That's one BEAUTIFUL melody?" And I replayed and replayed that part over and over. The rest is good too but it was really the part before the verse that I felt was quite unique.

I also liked this song from Side Story of Fox Volant.

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5. Most Watched Genre

I think I should remove this question here onwards. I never pick a drama by genre, I have no aversion to almost any. I do have a preference to Period dramas and Slice of Life but they are not really taken to account if everything else about the story doesn't appeal to me. So this question goes nowhere and indicates nothing in my case.

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6. A Drama I Dropped

Light Chaser Rescue. Its first episode was one of the most annoying I have ever seen in my life. The ML cool-hero driving and the FL sassy-heroine force hitching a ride and the entire sequence of the car crash rescue had me 🙄. A show either has to own up the wackiness or should be full on realistic, for me. This was neither here nor there.

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7. Favorite Character of 2022 2nd Half

I don't think there was anyone I fell head-over-heels for this time, but did like Madam Danchuan in New Life Begins a lot. I just love her aura of power, how fiercely protective she's of her women, AND how she will always allow you to have the final choice. She never forces her authority to make decisions for others, no matter how good she might internally think it'd be for you.

I also liked Bai Lu a lot, she's just a minor character but she stood out most to me among the Solar Term girls. She's sassy, and I think if I am to travel into NLB verse I'd like to be Bai Lu. Just like her I don't particularly care for men, I want to mind my own business and just chill with my jiejies lol.

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8. Best Cinematography

I should remove this question too because I feel like I'm not professional enough for this, haha. Sometimes I love the visuals of some dramas only to find out that from technical aspects it actually sucked.

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9. An Older Drama I Watched

Red Sorghum (2014). It's a CRIME that Red Sorghum's drama version has only ep 1 eng subbed, but also, having watched the movie I know how brutal it can get so maybe its a good thing only ep 1 is subbed, and after all ep 1 ends in a kind-of conclusive place so it does feel like a standalone story of its own, and I HIGHLY recommend watching it.

Do yourself a favor and watch this single ep because baby Zhou Xun and baby Huang Xuan are SO CUTE! Like toe-curlingly cute, I was squealing the whole time! 😍😍😍😍😍😍

Also it has some GORGEOUS backdrops!

https://youtu.be/zh55pwzBNag

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10. A Drama that kept Me on Edge

Nothing really. I mean I did eagerly wait everyday for new eps of NLB and Da Kao but that's not the same.

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11. A Drama Location I Want to Visit

I kind of want to visit Hengdian replicas of real locations, then visit the actual thing (such as Forbidden City) and try to compare and contrast lmao. I wonder how similar they are!

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12. A Popular Drama I Didn't Enjoy

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty. Not due to any particular fault of the drama itself, the production and visuals and aesthetics all were excellent, and all the ingredients were right there. I simply felt it didn't particularly offer anything I haven't already seen. The first ep reminded me strongly of Legend of the Demon Cat, which was a movie I loved a lot and still had a pretty fresh memory of. Sometimes strong acting and unique execution will carry a story that is otherwise pretty tried-and-tired, but unfortunately that was not the case here either.

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13. Best Scriptwriting and Directing

Though I wouldn't say they were the best overall scripts, New Life Begins had the BEST female character writing I've seen in ages, and Da Kao (Exam for Everyone) had the most thorough writing of family dynamics.

Directing-wise, I liked what I saw but nothing that particularly blew my mind.

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14. Best Production

The Long River. Even though I didn't get to properly see it yet, I heard they made an artificial Yellow river simulation for all the flooding scenes and there are LOTS of those scenes in this drama and... whew. It's not often you get a proper serious historical drama and when you do, it's usually difficult for any other drama to beat them production scale wise anyway😆.

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15. A Drama that Made Me Laugh

Mr. Bad. The "character from a story comes to real life and messes with the other lead's life" premise will always be full of potential for unhinged shenanigans, and Mr.Bad doesn't fail. The main leads are so fun and the dynamic never boring, and Chen Zheyuan is SUCH a hoot with his expressions.

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16. A Drama that Made Me Cry

NLB and Da Kao did, but they were more like tears of exhilaration. Instead lemme share this very good crying scene by Wang Yibo and Wang Jinsong in Being a Hero haha.

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17. Most Satisfying Drama

New Life Begins owns my whole heart and soul! You can read my review for ep 1-14 here, and my current opinion of the drama remains the same if not better!

Even though it is a fluffy and ahistorical drama, lots of "proper" period dramas could learn from NLB about how to write your women as intelligent, dimensional individuals and not caricatures fallen victims to irrational jealousy and hatred. Since it's a feel good romcom everything always turn out for the better and that may not always be the case in history, yes. But this approach that these women tried to make a difference still holds valid regardless the genre.

You should learn that Past =×= 100% Oppression, 0% fighting back when it came to women, the same way Modern times doesn't mean 0% Oppression and 100% feminism (laughs in sarcasm). The foundations of how far we have come has been laid since centuries ago, AND there are lots of fronts that we have actually backtracked/regressed in compared to the past as well. Progressiveness is rarely linear.

Ok I digressed. Back to review 🤭.

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18. Most Dissapointing Drama

Hu Tong. Life in Beijing hutong neighbourhood across eras told through 3 women of 3 generations of a family is quite possibly one of of the most interesting premises I've heard, but the first episode dissapointed me thoroughly with its unconvincing, in your face and over the top characters and storyline. Such potential, gone down the drain. If the drama didn't take itself seriously, neither would the audience.

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19. Favorite Wardrobe

Hao Jia's wardrobe in NLB and Dongfang Qingcang's in LBFAD. The fine details and embroidery are 😘🤌. 100% would wear both styles, depending on the day lol.

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20. A Drama That Deserves a Shoutout

Our Times. An omnibus type of drama where you'll be told slice of life stories of people in such interesting and niche jobs that you rarely get to see portrayed realistically in dramas. Such as traditional Chinese theatre dancers, or a sports coach in a rural area with minimal facilities. Also if you get uninterested with one story you can jump few episodes ahead to the next, so that's kind of a plus too, haha.

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21. A Drama that Taught Me New Things

Are You Safe. Taught me lots of valuable tips about cyber safety. Unfortunately that was the only positive thing about this drama and I think it won't be presumptuous to say literally 99% people who watched it will agree with me.

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22. Best Relationship

The care and nuance all the families were written in The Examination for Everyone was through-the-roof excellent. Unnecessarily stereotyped toxic Asian family portrayals out, empathetic and 3D Asian parent-children dynamics in! Gosh, I saw myself, my family, my society, my culture in this drama. Thank you and much love.

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23. A Drama I Wanted to Watch but Couldn't

The Long River. No subs 😭

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24. An Upcoming Drama that I'm Excited for

JoL 2 and Under the Microscope! 🤩 (Please come 😭)

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More posts by me

[robininthelabyrinth]

My fandom5k requests/prompts (all MDZS variants)

Request 1: MDZS novel

Characters/Pairings:    Cángsè Sǎnrén/Lán Qǐrén/Wèi Chǎngzé (MDZS) Character: Lan Qiren (MDZS) Lán Qǐrén & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn (MDZS) Lan Qiren/Nie Huaisang (MDZS) Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén & Lán Qǐrén (MDZS)

Prompt:

I would love some Lan Qiren-centric hurt/comfort or darkfic, though with a happy (satisfying?) ending. Just about any pairing would be good! I typically prefer canon-divergence plots, but whole shift AUs other than mundane modern AUs are also OK (if they're cool).

General LQR notes: I like him with both good aspects and bad: he's rigid, hierarchical, and conservative, often kind of boring, with a temper he can't always control, but I read him as someone who genuinely loves his nephews and wants them to be happy, who is a good teacher when he's given a chance to be, and who is always trying to do the right thing. Personally, I tend to headcanon both LQR and LWJ as being on the autistic spectrum with a special interest in Lan rules, but you don't need to go with that. Feel free to go wild with backstory or sidestory here (for instance, in canon he is very good with the sword and trained LXC and LWJ; feel free to lean into that, or lean away from that! give him something else he's good at! give him additional character traits or hobbies or whatever that were only not mentioned because they weren't relevant to Wei Wuxian's journey!) ALSO: feel free to give him any relationship you want with Qingheng-jun and the whole getting married

However, please do not portray Lan Qiren's devotion to his sect rules as being wrong or something he has to overcome - he is following the instructions for being a good person left down by his ancestors, they are important to him, and the idea should be treated generally with respect; even if you want to have him disagreeing with one of the rules, it should be in a specific context, not "everything I grew up valuing is wrong actually". Similarly, his dislike of WWX should not be treated as "oh because he's conservative he's homophobic and that's the only reason he dislikes him", but based on his experiences with WWX and what WWX has done.

H/C: I would love, love, love something where LQR gets hurt and someone has to rescue him, but in a way that is centered around worrying about and caring for LQR. I've seen too many "WWX rescues LQR with his demonic cultivation thereby forcing LQR to admit he's not that bad" scenarios! or "LQR is hurt but the other person is so worried about him that the entire fic is now about the other person's trauma about people they love being hurt"! Do not want! Give me "wow guess I really do care about LQR" and "ouch LQR has been through so much I never realized I want to give him good things"!

Suggestions: - LQR gets captured and tortured after the burning of the Cloud Recesses or during the Sunshot Campaign, and either needs a rescue at the time OR never really had time to deal with the aftereffects of that and needs help after - something based on him coughing up blood and falling into a coma in canon when he heard WWX's bad flute music? is he super sensitive to sound? was he hurt by something in the past to cause it? something happens in post-canon that aggravates old issues he had? bad memories? - the hurt doesn't have to be something physical, could be emotional - something when he was younger and suddenly a parent to two kids and leading a sect? something about being unappreciated or undervalued? Darkfic (interpreted as "dead dove" style "I am reveling in bad things" fic, NOT angsty/sad/bad end): Similar to the above, just darker, I am fully here for "character is obsessed with LQR and is willing to do anything it takes to make him theirs" plots.

Suggestions: - CSSR and WCZ decide they've seen enough and it's time to kidnap LQR and teach him a new set of rules - NHS gets hold of the ability to hypnotize people, decides to fuck with LQR for fun, then ends up developing feelings - LXC, being old enough to see more of the dynamics between LQR and his father/his mother, decides he loves his uncle so much he's willing to destroy everything else to ensure his uncle's happiness (and maybe has a very twisted idea of what constitutes happiness) - WWX in a full Yiling Patriarch Dark Emperor AU who after marrying LWJ grows fond of the rigid rule-abiding uncle that LWJ brought along and decides to get to know him better? - Gangster AU (fantastical/not modern)? LQR as the only non-gangster Lan with LXC taking care of him? mob princess NHS deciding he wants his old ethics teacher? new mob boss WWX deciding the best way to deal with DA!LQR is to parent trap him together with his mob boss parents CSSR and WCZ?

DNW: no adultery/infidelity, no permanent limb/sense/memory loss, no unhappy ending for characters (it can be "bad end" as long as it is satisfying - i.e. original LQR would be horrified but current version LQR is OK with it), no LQR bashing, no character bashing generally, no generic modern AU (only specific AUs OK), no Lan sect rule bashing, no "Madame Lan did nothing wrong/did something justified and was unjustly imprisoned for it"

Request 2: MDZS Donghua

Characters/Pairings: Lan Huan & Lan Zhan (MDZS)

Prompt:

I love the Twin Jades - the way they love each other, the way they understand each other, the way LWJ is allowed to be a little spoiled in his way, the way LXC wants to make LWJ more friends. They have their shared trauma with their parents, but they each take away fascinatingly different meanings from it. They're so much fun! especially in the donghua, where we get to see them fight side by side in such a beautiful, flowing, coordinated fashion - love that, would love to see more of that.

Notes: Please write them having a good relationship with LQR (especially in donghua-verse, where we see him backing LWJ up against a sect elder and helping LWJ recruit people, talking with LXC as an equal when he returns from Qinghe in season 1, etc.) Also please do not write the Lan sect rules as something wrong or bad that they need to overcome, or as something they feel trapped by, but as a tradition that they've been raised in and respect, and voluntarily as adults choose to continue carrying on and passing down. For what it's worth, I headcanon LWJ (and LQR) as being on the autistic spectrum with Lan sect rules as a special interest, which must have been super interesting for LXC, but don't feel like you have to go with that.

Honestly, for this one, I'd really love a genre shift AU of some sort (but NOT modern/mundane AU). The donghua is so vividly designed, I'd love to imagine the aesthetics carrying over to another setting. Suggestions: - pirate AU - space opera AU - mob bosses AU (fantastical, not modern) - cyberpunk robots/sentient ship AU - historical non-magic setting AU - everyone is a dragon AU

As for plot, anything will do - slice of life, procedural/case solving, interpersonal drama, hurt/comfort, whatever! Just as long as LXC & LWJ continue to love each other and be good brothers to each other. No darkfic for this one, please.

DNW: no bad parent LQR, no Lan sect rule bashing, no "Madame Lan did nothing wrong/did something justified and was unjustly imprisoned for it", no adultery/infidelity, no permanent limb/sense/memory loss, no unhappy ending for characters, no character bashing generally, no generic modern AU, no permanent breach of relationship between LXC and LWJ (or with LQR)

Request 3: the Untamed

Character/Pairings Character: Lan Qiren (CQL), Lán Qǐrén & Niè Huáisāng (CQL), Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Qǐrén (CQL)

Prompt:

I would love some Lan Qiren-centric hurt/comfort or darkfic, though with a happy (satisfying?) ending. Just about any pairing would be good! I typically prefer canon-divergence plots, but whole shift AUs other than mundane modern AUs are also OK (if they're cool).

General LQR notes: I like him with both good aspects and bad: he's rigid, hierarchical, and conservative, often kind of boring, with a temper he can't always control, but I read him as someone who genuinely loves his nephews and wants them to be happy, who is a good teacher when he's given a chance to be, and who is always trying to do the right thing. Personally, I tend to headcanon both LQR and LWJ as being on the autistic spectrum with a special interest in Lan rules, but you don't need to go with that. Feel free to go wild with backstory or sidestory here (for instance, in canon he is very good with the sword and trained LXC and LWJ; feel free to lean into that, or lean away from that! give him something else he's good at! give him additional character traits or hobbies or whatever that were only not mentioned because they weren't relevant to Wei Wuxian's journey!) ALSO: feel free to give him any relationship you want with Qingheng-jun and the whole getting married

However, please do not portray Lan Qiren's devotion to his sect rules as being wrong or something he has to overcome - he is following the instructions for being a good person left down by his ancestors, they are important to him, and the idea should be treated generally with respect; even if you want to have him disagreeing with one of the rules, it should be in a specific context, not "everything I grew up valuing is wrong actually". Similarly, his dislike of WWX should not be treated as "oh because he's conservative he's homophobic and that's the only reason he dislikes him", but based on his experiences with WWX and what WWX has done.

H/C: I would love, love, love something where LQR gets hurt and someone has to rescue him, but in a way that is centered around worrying about and caring for LQR. I've seen too many "WWX rescues LQR with his demonic cultivation thereby forcing LQR to admit he's not that bad" scenarios! or "LQR is hurt but the other person is so worried about him that the entire fic is now about the other person's trauma about people they love being hurt"! Do not want! Give me "wow guess I really do care about LQR" and "ouch LQR has been through so much I never realized I want to give him good things"!

Suggestions: - LQR gets captured and tortured after the burning of the Cloud Recesses or during the Sunshot Campaign, and either needs a rescue at the time OR never really had time to deal with the aftereffects of that and needs help after - something about coughing up blood following his fight with Wen Xu? - the hurt doesn't have to be something physical, could be emotional - something when he was younger and suddenly a parent to two kids and leading a sect? something about being unappreciated or undervalued? - OK with certain types of AU - mob AU where mob boss Jiang Cheng or Nie Huaisang look up their old teacher? emperor harem drama style conflict (preferably with LQR marrying in rather than being the emperor)? cyberpunk LQR and NHS team up to solve a mystery?

Darkfic (interpreted as "dead dove" style "I am reveling in bad things" fic, NOT angsty/sad/bad end): Similar to the above, just darker, I am fully here for "character is obsessed with LQR and is willing to do anything it takes to make him theirs" plots.

Suggestions: - NHS secretly worked with LQR to help get his whole plot against JGY moving. Now that it's over, he finds he's not willing to give up the one person who supported him in all that time. - JC had only one acknowledged older male role model/authority figure approve of him and like him better than WWX, ever, and that fact has just been there rotting away in his brain for years until he decides to take matters into his own hands - mob AU (fantastical/not modern)? emperor AU? reverse sugar daddy AU where someone is paying for LQR (in canon setting!)? - some other character of your choice/LQR, same idea

DNW: no adultery/infidelity, no permanent limb/sense/memory loss, no unhappy ending for characters (it can be "bad end" as long as it is satisfying - i.e. original LQR would be horrified by where he ended up but current version LQR is OK with it), no LQR bashing, no character bashing generally, no generic modern AU (only specific AUs OK), no Lan sect rule bashing, no "Madame Lan did nothing wrong/did something justified and was unjustly imprisoned for it"

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Day 6: Understudy Spotlight @arcvmonth

There are a few supporting characters in Arc V that I really like, but I think that Tokumatsu is probably my favorite. I thought that his backstory was interesting and tied in nicely with the world building of the Synchro Dimensions, one of my favorite aspects of the arc as a whole. He had a pretty cool and unique deck as well. His duel with Yuya was great and I loved how it restored his passion for dueling. It was a also good way to show more of Yuya's own growth as a performer with being able to reach out to others during their duel. Tokumatsu works really well as a supporting character for the rest of the arc. He has a fun likable personality and wanted to keep looking out for Yuya. He made sure to tell Yuya about the defeated duelists in the Friendship Cup being put to work underground and was constantly apologizing to Yuzu during their duel knowing that he would be sending her there if he won.

I also like how unconventional Tokumatsu was among the cast. Design wise, he looks like he would be a one-shot character, especially with his outfit, but he stayed around even after they got out of prison. It was kind of refreshing that they would have an adult with a design like that as part of the cast for awhile. Staying in Synchro afterwards also made sense when Tokumatsu's reputation among the Commons and Tops would probably be more helpful in moving towards their new future than being part of the Lancers proper. It was still nice to see him again during the Zarc battle and watching alongside the other Synchro characters during the finale though.

I also liked Masumi. She had a cool personality, a cool deck, a pretty nice design, a good rivalry with Yuzu and both of their duels were great, especially their rematch. She is the prime example of a fan favorite side character. To be honest though, I never had a problem with Masumi not becoming a Lancer. I can completely understand why fans wanted that for all of the reasons I mentioned and I was never really against the idea even at the time. But looking back, it just felt like her role was done after she lost to Yuzu. I can see the appeal of Masumi wanting to save Yuzu, especially when it seemed like she had more respect for her after their rematch and their pairing was gaining more traction too, but compared to Yuya, Gongenzaka and arguably even Serena, I think that they had stronger personal connections to Yuzu than Masumi did. I still used a Gem-Knight deck for awhile prior to the Arc V World update in Duel Links because I was that eager to try out Arc V era cards and archetypes.

I also want to mention Shuzo. He was mainly comedy relief for season one, but he still had some really charming moments. His duel against Yuya was one of my favorite matches in season one. It was such a good way to teach Yuya that it's okay that other people will learn how to Pendulum summon and the lesson itself was terrific too. Instead of being special by default as the only Pendulum user, Yuya needed to become an example as the one who opened the door to Pendulum summoning and using Yusho as an example was so good. It showed that even though he's a goofball himself, Shuzo can be a good and caring teacher to his students. He also wins the prize of being the best father in the franchise. Being so set on going to Academia to save Yuzu and holding onto her school uniform after he heard want happened was so heartbreaking and sweet all at once. I absolutely adore that his love for his daughter is what finally allowed him to regain his memories after Standard is revived into Pendulum. It's such a surprising kind of moment, especially when even Yuya couldn't remember Yuzu after the soft reset, but it was such a heartwarming way to show how strong Shuzo's love for his daughter ultimately was.

[forlix]

hi! I'm back 🐼 and don't apologize, please, everyone has their hard days and weeks (even years sometimes)! I just hope you are good now and everything worked out fine!

firstly, I'm a real person indeed! and yes you do remind me of him somehow, idk maybe is the bubbly vibe or how sweet you are to everyone? idk, it just gives off lix's vibes and STOP!, you are not undeserving of it! you deserve all the great things that come to you! (also I'm not always the mom friend per say, but I'll def hurt people who hurt my friends type of person 🫣 also, PLEASE! Minho is my bias, this is too much! 🤭 but I wouldn't mind being the Minho to your Felix 👀🫂)

secondly, I'm always happy when people talk about going to international relations, it's so exciting! I finished my course a while ago, but I never actually left, I love it so much! I always loved non-governmental organizations, but after my exchange program I fell in love for real with the whole concept of War&Peace, my thesis was actually regarding how multicultural countries can be a blessing and curse depending on how you manage them, in the end it was about how the multicultural situation affects society, focusing a lot on the internal conflicts before, during and after the whole thing, so i I analyzed the rising and fall of the country viewing the multicultural aspect. sorry I'm rambling, but I just love to talk about it! I loved the course so much and all the people it gave me thanks to it, I honestly have such great experience about it, even after I had one specialization, during an MBA and starting my literature studies I met and became friends with such amazing people doing that course for the first time. I hope you have great memories of it!

lastly, it wasn't really a conversation per say, bc I'm a bit shy with people idk or don't feel completely comfortable (unless they are mean, then I'm their personal nightmare if I want to), but I did ask you to add me to the spy x family au taglist, I think I commented after a while you had posted saying you were gonna write it, and you said you'd add me to the overall taglist, so yeah, that's all, wasn't an ACTUAL conversation, but you were so nice regardless, either way, I'm happy I found you and your tumblr, I hope you receive as much joy and happiness you give us (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♡

- 🐼

first of all, WAHH YOU'RE REAL! AND WAHH YOU'RE THE MINHO TO MY FELIX! application accepted with unbounding enthusiasm hehe LOOK it's us ily and i would hold you in the palm of my hand any day

sticking the rest under the cut bc i wrote u an essay (so NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR RAMBLING i can't hold anyone else to any standards in that regard i am the No. 1 perpetrator of that crime)

you are SOOOOOOOO COOL. oh my fucking god. i've always been curious about ngos and i would love some more of ur perspective on them - what about them did you love? and what do you recommend are the best ways to get involved? that's definitely a bucket list item for me once i find a cause i'm passionate enough about

and war and peace!!! oh my god!! in the least weird way possible my interest in ir has always centered around conflict, so we have that in common for sure! the most impactful classes of my life were about modern chinese history, about how china became the nation it is today and the role it's come to serve in the world over time, and american foreign policy, basically about how the u.s. found a new way to royally fuck everything up with every international conflict it got involved in. both were so interesting and changed my world view in irreversible ways. my specializations are 'east and south asia' and 'social development and human well being' btw

your thesis sounds INSANELY cool. on the note of multiculturalness i've been reflecting on the united states as a country and its citizens as a population a lot recently 1) because of biden's active promotion and enablement of israel's war crimes and 2) because i just came back from spending three months in east asia so there's been a lot of comparing and contrasting to do in terms of lifestyle, culture, society, etc. idk if it would be too much if u gave me the thesis statement or primary argument or maybe even the abstract of your thesis bc i'm so curious about your thoughts on this. but also totally TOTALLY okay if not!!! i feel like i'm overstepping just asking sorry i'm letting my ir nerd get the best of me

and AH. I THINK KNOW WHO YOU ARE 💡 and you're so so fine, bb, you will never receive any pressure from me to come off anon or interact with me in any shape or form that you're not absolutely comfortable with. "unless they're mean then i'm their personal nightmare" LMAOOO AS YOU FUCKING SHOULD THAT'S ON QUEEN BEHAVIOR!!!! make that two. if anyone is mean to you i will Find them and Hunt them like a timber wolf awoo. mark my words

i'm the one who should be happy that the universe brought you to me, lovely! thank you for being you, as always; i'm reciprocating every ounce of your warmth and light in your direction!

[frowningfox]

Right back at you with the numbers! Asim: 1, 7, 15, 32 / Cadwgawn: 1, 22, 31, 38

Thank you so much for the questions!!! <3 Asim: Undead Drow/Orc - Paladin/Warlock 1. What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Basically no time at all. He barely ever trances. Someone help this man. He resorts to tinkering and reading a lot - he's learned about 12 languages at this point. Please. I'm serious, someone help him. 7. What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

This is something he's still figuring out. He had a serious brain injury that's caused his memory to have a lot of black spots, and he's also recently gained all the memories of his past lives. He's basically being reintroduced to his life/lives as we go along and any new experience could be a sudden surprise nostalgia.

But always, always, his husband Gearheart. They've been running into each other in different lives for about 2000 years and every time he sees his husband it's nostalgia times 100. It's a pleasant nostalgia. Fond memories of the few times he managed to feel comfortable sitting still, holding onto his favorite person* in the whole wide world.

(*everyone asim loves is his favorite person, but that doesn't make it less special)

15. How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

He has no filter and says whatever comes to mind, but his sincerity and kindness saves him from being a complete ass. If he does manage to make a social blunder - because lets be honest social rules are kind of weird and don't always overlap with sincerity and kindness and his difficulty speaking common can make some of what he says seem rude- he immediately tries to right the wrong.

32. Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke? 

Oh my god yes. He will ramble about the day his daughter Zia was born at ANY GIVEN OPPORTUNITY. He'll whip out the photo of him holding her and coo over how she could fit in the palm of his hand and how the dress she was wearing was a little dolly dress that an orc neighbor kid had given them for her.

He will on purpose ignore or even growl at anyone trying to point out she looks Very Goblin and not at all orcish, and doesn't resemble him in any way so he can keep going on about how cute she is and how he could just eat her up.

It's one of the few solid memories that really stuck with him after his head injury so he holds onto it for dear life. That and she fit in the palm of his hand and he is so gosh dang tickled by that and everyone needs to know.

Cadwgawn: Teenage Undead Gnoll - Druid/Monk

What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Again, not long at all, but he has a much easier time of it than Asim. He can actually do a bit of mediation but he DOES try to circumvent the "do nothing" aspect by performing little ritual things or sewing fabric together.

22. How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)?

Possessiveness, protectiveness. He is prone to a bit of hoarding, a bit of packrat behavior. Cool Things are for him and his friends. You can't have them. And he gets sad puppy over friends spending time with other people without him.

In meditation he can reassure himself that if any of his things get taken away, he can just steal them back. And for losing people... psshhhh he's too cool for people to get stolen away from him.

 31. Who are they the most glad to have met? 

Jeff! The halfling that dug him up when he awakened in his grave.

They're good friends and Cadwgawn has a BIT of a crush on him, but Jeff is far too old for him so it's staying at friendship and they're both fine with it. Also Cadwgawn sometimes calls him Yeff. Jeff is not sure if Cadwgawn is seriously unsure of how to pronounce the "J" because he's from a different time period and not familiar with commone(Cadwgawn definitely knows how to pronounce the "J" and is just teasing him)

38. What memory do they revisit the most often? 

Not really sure on this one! He's a very in-the-present sort of guy.

But I guess he DOES dwell a bit on the night he was murdered.

[blnk338]

I KID YOU NOT I WAS GOING TO ASK IF RIGO (or nadya) WERE FIRST GENNNN. I just knewwww, is there headcannons you have for rigo’s family? Like maybe what state they’re from? Are both of his parents Mexican? Is he chicano (born from 2 Mexican immigrants)??

Since plenty of my friends are half Mexican and from somewhere else in Latin America, I was just want to know more about that aspect of him. Is there any family chisme? Mine is that my moms side of the family stole the land my dad bought 😭😭 This is the first time I see an author write people like me without being straight up stereotypes🙄 so thank you!!

p.s. I checked ao3 last night and it said I had visited your story 268 times😭

there's so much to rigo hold onto your bootstraps buckaroo but thank you so much for the love and support :) (268 times? holy shit!!!)

rigo's parents are both mexican immigrants, even with their last name being "cassidy"

yesenia guzmán, rigo's mom, and santiago chávez, rigo's dad, immigrated to the us when they were in their single-digits and met in highschool. but by then, santi's family had their name changed to "cassidy." this was bc his father worked as a lawyer and wasn't taken as seriously because of his surname, leading him to change it (based this on my own family stuff :))

his parents' parents had immigrated to santa maria. then yessie and santi got married after college and moved down south to san diego and had rigo and his siblings after they finished their schooling

natalia (4 yrs older than rigo with two kids) came first, then ximena (2 years older 3 kids), then finally rodrigo

unfortunately no chisme their families really like each other-- rigo's got a super positive family life and his parents never really moved on from the honeymoon phase

santiago really tried his best to learn what he could for his daughters and not be uncomfortable with periods and shit. he was a little odd about rigo coming out at first, but really he was like "mijo i don't understand it but i just want you to be safe"

eventually he'd ask him "uno de mis amigos abogados tiene un hijo gay."

".... okay"

"are you interested?"

"dad." santi's trying his best.

yesenia was cool with his sexuality from the start, and his sisters didn't mind either. it was just sort of like "ok. now what?" he didn't really expect to be bombarded with hate or anything, he was just surprised that it all went so smoothly

also, santiago and yesenia don't really follow a lot of traditional gender roles so they'd cook and dance together, saturdays are early morning cleanings days and his parents will wake up at 6:00 am and play loud music and make the whole house spotless

santi's all about claiming rigo's friends as his own kids like oh you need a ride to school? get in the car were leaving in five. but don't ask him about math homework that mf hates math. with all the love in the world, do it on your own

yessie loves cooking for people but she also loves pampering her kids. she gives nadya eighty pounds of leftovers every time she leaves their house and she loves doing her kids nails and stuff. one of her favorite memories was when her children were super young and they'd do braid trains and have a big dinner together

now she teaches her grandkids traditional hairstyles and takes them out and spoils them all. yesenia's horrible at not spoiling her family (+ nadya...). this woman's filled with so much love its crazy

his parents still go on date nights once a week and his dad still gets all giggly and giddy and takes a million photos of his wife in her pretty sparkly dresses

santiago's facebook is pretty much "mi alma" and it's like a billion photos of her from the same night

"mi vida," "mi cielo," "luz de mi vida"-- etc. like they're so fucking in love its crazy

[upside-down-peonies]

Imagine you’re 7 years old and your mom shows you a clip from a movie coming out soon because it has creatures in it that look like dragons and the people are tall and blue and beautiful and you LOVE blue and they’re RIDING the dragon-birds and you really like fantasy stuff so you become obsessed with the clip and have her search for it almost every day and replay it and then she goes and sees the movie and you kinda forget about it for a couple weeks and then you, your dad, your mom and stepmom all got the movies and your stepmom and mom go see the cool movie with the dragony things and when you ask your mom later why you had to watch the princess and the frog with your dad instead she says she doesn’t think you’ll like the dragony blue alien movie and you can watch it in a couple years

and then a couple years later you do get to watch it and it’s the most beautiful amazing spectacular thing you’ve ever seen and you fall in love with EVERY aspect of the world and story and the gut twisting message of humans being the great evil because even at 8 you know as a whole the human race SUCKS and the music is brain chemistry resetting and the narration is crisp and on point! and your little mind in enraptured with the main character because he’s handsome and amazing and his LOVE INTEREST is unstoppable and SHE’S incredible and ferociously protective of HIM and you’ve never seen a woman go feral for the man she loves and save him so entirely and nearly every second makes you want to cry from emotions too big for your body, from rage at humans for killing your planet and the one on the screen and you wish for nothing more than to have seen it in theaters in 3d cause you’ve never seen 3d and if the movie is this shutteringly impactful on a tv than surely 3d must be like being there with the beautiful blue cat people and you hold some resentment towards your mother for not letting you see it when it came out because now you’ll never see it in 3d (whatever that looks like) then slowly it fades to the calm back of your mind and becomes your favorite movie that you never tell anyone about because you’ll get made fun of and the idea of people being mean to you about it is soul crushing and makes you want to cry because it’s like they’re picking away at your very being and over the next decade you see hushed cringy whispers of a second one being made but think nothing of it because eh fandom gotta do fandom stuff and there’s no official word of anyone and every now and then you read fanfictions for the only movie ship that has ever had a grip on you for longer than the run time of the movie and they’re wonderful and romantic and in some they have a baby and it’s so perfect and everything you know and hope must have happened to them in their little world of fantasy but a voice quiet and sure keeps murmuring “it’s not real, you’ll never know what actually happened to them and that fic with the sweet little son will never be canon” and you know that but still read some more and then you forget about it even more and it slides further into the darkness of memory and mind

and THEN, one day in 2021 after having the worst year of your life as of yet you see news that they ARE making another movie and you don’t let yourself believe it until you do your own research and digging and oh. my. god. it’s REAL! it’s happening they’re really really REALLY making another one and from that second on you LIVE for the next bit of content flickering out as you wait for the most anticipated thing you’ve ever had to look forward to and no one’s understanding how you try to explain how this means to you and you can’t comprehend there ACTUALLY being more content and story for these characters that you love so much and then oh my god! it’s revealed they have children! they have FOUR children, babies all their own just. like. you. read. about and dreamed could happen and every little piece of content that comes out you devour and you start to develop an idea of what might be happening and then the first movie from 13! years ago is being released again all remastered and magnificent and you HAVE to see it! this is literally never going to happen again and so you and your mom both buy tickets and see it and it’s perfect and wonderful and now all you want is the second movie but it’s months till that happens and my god your favorite characters are now both parents and you can already see they love their children more than air and you can’t wait to see them as a family because there is no trope you love more than parent/child and close family and they’re going to be the best parents and the human threat is back and worse and they’re colonizing these amazing people JUST LIKE THEY DO ON EARTH and the stakes are SO MUCH higher now because the children and you just KNOW the bad guy is gonna be after your ship’s babies and that amazing woman from before is a MAMA now and if she was that protective over her husband you can’t for the life of you imagine how horrifying and magnificent

she will be for her children and you get more clips and trailers and you get so many people excited for it and you share every piece of new media with them and you get more family pics from the movie and they’re all so beautiful and precious and you’re so happy, blissfully happy, and you still can’t conceptualize that this is real and it’s actually happening, it all feels like a spectacular fever dream and they actually have children and a life and you’ll get to see it and learn more about the incredible planet they live on and you’ll get to learn about their children and who they are and what they like and how they all work as a family because they’re so close and amazing and they make you so happy

and then the 2nd movie kills off that first born son that you hoped and dreamed they’d have and that you read fanfictions about what he might be like and his mother screams and his baby siblings hold and touch him and sob as his parents, that couple you fell in love with so much and want to be happy more than any other, lowers him to his rest and his mother sings the most heart wrenching and indescribably ethereal song in the world for him and their life and now every NEW fanfiction or piece of media you consume without that son in it feels empty but also more full than any before it because the story is ABSOLUTELY NOT OVER.

[cookieblobber]

I cannot stress enough

This addition in Update 2 single-handedly gave Sonic Frontiers new life

For those not known, Sonic Frontiers features all these floating platforms and rails, constructing these little mini obstacle courses to blaze through, usually holding a Memory Token at the end of doing one (they’re required to progress the story).

While fun to go through, once you do one, there’s kinda no reason to use them again. Unless maybe you wanna do sick jumps in the air of some kind, they can be a bit of a distraction and nuisance if you accidentally run into a bounce or dash pad that sends you into one.

When I first played this game, trying to collect all the Memory Tokens on the map cuz, my dumbass thought I would be rewarded for doing so (this was before Update 2 made it where it is part of getting 100%), I started to sorta get a vision around Ares Island of how these were properly supposed to be utilized. In some random part of the map, I did 3-4 of the courses in a row without ever touching the ground, it felt kinda cool. Almost like part of the fun was trying to chain these courses together in some way.

——————

What you see in the image is the newly added signpost for a new minigame scattered throughout the islands called Action Chain Challenges. When you activate one, suddenly orbs of light appear everywhere and a countdown starts.

A countdown starts and you’re required to start ranking up points by doing, well, anything! Rail grind, hit bounce/dash pads, go through hoops, fight enemies, boost if you have the Power Boost on and rack up points to get S Ranks. The orbs help start a multiplier (capping at x256) and they usually create circles and paths, some leading into the aforementioned mini obstacle courses. And in the middle of doing these, it hit me

I was fucking right

This challenge encourages you to start finding these courses again, since that’s what you’re going to be relying on a whole lot to rack up points. So you gotta start basically chaining these courses together. One done, quickly find the next one to do, make sure it’s a good one, keep the flow going, DO NOT STOP UNTIL THAT LETTER HITS S!!!

And these challenges can be a bit tough at times too, especially in the beginning when you’re still getting accustomed to your strategy and what path to take to get the most points. And that’s when I also realized

These challenges, kind of call back to an old well known gameplay aspect of Sonic the Hedgehog: memorize the layout.

From Sonic 1 to Forces, no matter how many times the formula changes, this aspect has always remained. You’re supposed to play the games again and again, remembering the best paths and moves to use to get the best time and score, to feel like a total champion already knowing what’s ahead and using your reflexes to go through anything.

What does the Action Chain Challenges in Sonic Frontiers make you do? Play the challenge again and again, remembering the best paths and moves to use to get the best score. And sure, the Cyberspace levels also do that as well but it’s still nice to see this aspect brought to the open zone part of the game in a more unique way that compliments what’s been put in all of that open space.

——————

After you get all S ranks in all of the Action Chain Challenges in all of the islands, you’re granted the Spindash ability, which becomes the most overpowered ability ever. It’s basically like the boost from the past boost games where you go insanely fast and blow through everything in your path.

Do you remember when a lot of people pointed out how kind of disappointing it is that you can’t really take advantage of just launching off cliffs and hills and flying through the air ala Sonic CD opening or how when you jump while boosting, you kinda just lose all speed? The Spindash is essentially what fixes those issues, as upon taking off on even a small hill, you just go FLYING across the island.

And it becomes the best ability in the whole game. While it is sadly only available by the time you’re about to finish the game, you can’t really start a brand new game with that ability unless you’re doing New Game+, even then there’s still fun to be had with it, especially if you beat the game but decided to leave 100%ing it until you finish the main game. Think of the Spindash like Super Sonic in the old classic titles: you don’t get to do much with it in the end, but part of the fun is just revisiting old locations and trying out the new ability.

And even then, there’s the newly added Jump Deceleration in the settings where if you turn it all the way down, you practically get exactly what many expected Sonic to mostly feel like in the game. Now you’re able to jump while boosting and carry all of that speed you had.

——————

Updates 1 and especially 2 has brought stuff to the game that help give it more replayability. It has shown how much Kishimoto and Sonic Team really care about this game and want it to be the best they can make it. If just simple additions like the one i mentioned in this whole essay has been able to do so much for this game, I am extremely excited for what Update 3 will have to offer, especially with the amazing story we had in the game already

I’m still shocked all of this is free

[ragnaofazure]

10 years of roleplaying.

((And they all began here on this blue hellsite. One afternoon of 2012.))

((I was barely starting out college and my whole mess of a trip that was when I somehow decided: “Hey, I’ve really been into this for so long, why not try to commit?” Little did I know I’d basically discover my second biggest hobby altogether once I fully dedicated effort to it.))

((So what am I doing here? Just spouting written words at a wall, uncaring if they go unread. It’s only human for someone to acknowledge dedicating a whole decade of their lifetime to something has passed.))

((This is nothing organized, a big production... Nothing whatsoever. Just me talking to myself, not particularly minding or expecting it to be read or remotely noticed.))

((...But seriously. I’m frankly taking it in. I might not really roleplay here because other than the real ones (you all know who you are), I just feel I got no real staying power whatsoever. I love writing and I have even further developed Ragna and my portrayal on another site away from here.))

((I won’t go down my usual whining how I feel I can’t ever find good footing on this site ever again, since it is not the focus, but...))

((Wow. What roleplaying has done for me in the last decade is simply fantastic.))

((I could already speak English far better (you all know I’m Mexican and English is my second), but actually trying to clean up writing? Expand vocabulary? Care about trying to learn more about grammar and not rely on text editors? Yeah. That was all here and through this hobby alone.))

((It’s done me more good than the bad, and I absolutely can say I’m glad I really got into it. One hundred percent and zero doubt.))

((Other than that... Hey, now I get to flaunt I have “””10 years of roleplay experience+++””” cool kid badge. I actually feel confident enough I know how to carry most of basic roleplays and all, though! I might not be able to do overly bigger picture stuff, but at least be able to compliment to a plot and more from my part? With my own characters I choose? Hell yeah. I didn’t even think I was capable of that much before whatsoever; not even that.))

((But getting serious again for a moment? Really. Those who have stuck with me all the way through this one, on or off... You’re the reason why I never truly just trashed this account and went away. Those who also hopped along the way, no matter how little we talked... All of you. You are great. Period.))

((The amount of people in the face of getting ghosted (which I won’t go into details about) before I started slipping away from the site... Yeah. All of you are the better.))

((Koobie, Amber, Daemon, Kae, Koma... I’m sure I’m forgetting other very few, but if you are here? Somehow reading all the way down? Let it be known: You are good. Really good. And you all deserve the best for as long as I’ve been able to know each of you individually. You all have influence I’m still at this aside from holding onto this account for the memories and archival of some things I made.))

((But now being rather abrupt and hopping to a straight finish...))

((It’s certainly nice to have been able to be this committed to a hobby I thought I would grow out of. It’s helped an aspect of me grow and further solidify my grasp on a second language. It’s helped me meet other people unlike other times prior.))

((To this and more, just simply cutting it all short, for boy do I like going in circles otherwise whether I’m verbally talking or not...))

((Thank you. It’s been ten years and I don’t regret it whatsoever in the end. It’s time well spent and not wasted on any degree that was used here. Thank you blue hellsite for filling these years of my life and setting me in one direction in particular.))

[introspectivememories]

do yall remember reading “the giver” in like middle school or whatever and you could tell when someone got to the sex dream part cause they’d be staring at the book like this