#death??? is so cool and amazing and???? holy fuck i love her????

[corvidiss]

just watched episode six and oh my god i get what y'all were talking about regarding Dream and Hob now. holy shit

[neonovember]

Golden Boy

part three of three

warnings; filth, angst, lover boy, self deprecation, anxiety, mentions of death, smut, heartbreak, fluff, face fucking, oral (m recieving), piv (wrap it yall), 18+, explicit language, Richie, carmen being in love, the nickname bear, some very not so slef inserted heartbreak and love confessions

w/c: 6k

a/n: this request really changed from a drabble to a 3 part series holy fuck i need a job, but really this is actually so self fulfilling to be able to deliver your requests about a character i love we all love so much! it’s like we’ve created this aesome little community here :) i love this universe sooo much so be sure there will be drabbles connected to this series

BEAR COMES OUT IN LESS THAN A DAY! LET’S START AMPING IT UP

also if anyone was wondering how i’d imagine high school!carmen it would honestly be this one edit i saw of lip ages ago lmaoo

The dull rain of the shower resounded through your bathroom, the rest of your things had been delivered in the early Friday morning, and you rushed to enjoy the high water pressure Mae had boasted about before you moved in.

The steam has begun to fog up your mirror, and you wipe a hand across it, your reflection distorted between the streaks of your fingertips. Today was the day. You would finally see Carmen again and your body was racked with fear like it was the day you left him.

After you had come back from the Farmers Market, you had received a text from Sugar, and you spent the afternoon unloading everything to her about work, your move back and most importantly Carmen. 

You and Sugar had grown close after you and Carmen had become friends, in fact, you had grown close to the entire family before you left for New York. And all it took was a phone call for you and Sugar to fall back into that familiarity once again, all you hoped was that it would be the same for you and Carmen.

Once Mae had finished up with work, the both of you, as promised shared a bottle of a wine and a blunt where she had squealed at your news of the dinner, and, despite your protests on the phone brought a rosy hued summer dress that she had begged you to keep. 

It was left on a hanger on the door hook, and you stare at the gorgeous wave of the hem, and dip of the neckline that you had got you looking at Mae in doubt. She had screamed when you had tried it now, boasting about her amazing fashion sense and how utterly ruined Carmen would be.

You steered clear from feeding into her delusions, Carmen could be married for god's sake, whilst you were thinking if he would like the colour of your dress. He was not though, you had practically burned the entire timeline of his socials into your retina and there had not been a single indication of Carmen having a partner. But he had always been sort of secretive, and you couldn't hold onto the hope that Carmen hadn’t taken a liken to any one of the hundred girls that threw themselves at him.

I mean, it wasn't like he was waiting for you, right?

The heat of the shower spread through your body and you sighed in relief as the water loosened the soreness of your muscles that had begun to ache. You had a couple hours until the time Sugar and Richie had told you to come in, and you spent it leisurely, washing your hair carefully, and scrubbing your skin clean with the multitude of products you had accumulated the second you had more money to spend on just food, rent and utilities. 

You forget to put a bath mat near the shower, and the cool stone is stained with your wet footsteps. You make quick work of drying yourself off before reaching for the same old bottle of shea butter you hadn't stopped using since high school. It was on its last leg, the worn label tearing apart, and soon enough you would have to cut it open to get to the last droplets. Old habits die hard and you had been a broke college student for a long fucking time.

After you've finished with your makeup and curling your hair so that it lay in soft blown out curls, you carefully and not so gracefully step into the dress. You don't own a lot of nice pieces like this, and you were forever grateful to Mae for coming in the way she did even despite your protests. 

Because as you stare at yourself in the mirror, you realise you look pretty fucking hot. You put on the last of your jewellery, spritz yourself with some perfume, before sliding your feet into flats that wouldn't destroy your feet. You reach for your phone, the time flashing 6:30 and later than you had anticipated.

Stress fills you at the thought of coming late, especially since you really only knew three people there, but you force yourself to calm down with a breath, realising the beef was only a 5 minute drive from your place anyway.

The drive to the Beef was one that was filled with anxiety and glee, you couldn't help keeping the smile off your face as you passed through the familiar roads leading up to the family restaurant. Despite the familiarity of the streets, your mind always finds its way back to the most familiar place of all, Carmen. You wonder what he might look like all grown into himself, you've followed his many strides in the culinary world, even if you didn't understand a bit of the kitchen itself, but you were unbelievably proud of every award he had and numerous received. But that had been all online, to see Carmen in person was a whole different thing entirely.

It was an experience, to see the way he’d body moved, from the light touches of his fingers helping you play guitar to the way he glided through the kitchen concentrating on cooking you up new recipes he’d made.

He’d take criticism from only you, even if Mickey's loud booming voice intercepted your comments from across the kitchen island. You had to sniffle back tears at the memory of it, Mickey and Carmen were so incredibly close, you feel like a fraud having not been there for him when he died, how could you even call yourself his friend? 

The truth was, you and Carmen had a horrible way of dealing with grief, you were battling with your own loss at the time, getting news of Micheal’s death only months after your own Father had died from a drunk driver. You had come back to Chicago for the funeral before running back to New York and stuffing yourself with your work. The pain had been too great then and the regret of leaving your brother and mother to clean up the mess had eaten you alive for years. 

You and Carmen had a habit of stuffing your emotions into tight spaces. Your father, Mickey, the both of your absence in each other's lives, it was a grief you wore well.

In the knots in your shoulder, in the bags underneath your eyes, in the aching hearth of your heart, in the emptiness of your suppressed stomach. As well as you could anyway.

But the world keeps turning, and the view of the renovated Beef catches your eye as you shakily turn into the car park adjacent. You can’t run now, there isn’t a back door you can slip through and a plane you can catch to escape the reality of your past. 

This was it, had this been what you had waited for? 

You can feel your heart in your throat as you walk through the car park, the soft lantern lights hanging across the top of the restaurant in ribbons. The place had changed from the last time you'd seen it, the rotting wood replaced with pristine painted planks and the cloudy windows now crystal clear. It even had a name change, replaced instead with the unmistakable nickname of Carmen,

Bear

Sugar had texted you to meet at the front, and as you bite your lip in anticipation, you see a blonde haired woman shout back a swear before walking towards the front of the Beef, her eyes catching you through the front windows, shooting up in surprise and glee, before rushing through the doors.

“Holy fucking shit! You were always hot Bug but goddamn, you outdid yourself! How are you my love?” Sugar replies, reaching to gather you in her arms. 

You press your face into the familiar scent of her, and you sigh in relief as your fears begin to dissolve, you weren't utterly alone here.

“I’m so glad you could make it, Carm is going to fucking implode when he see’s you” Sugar whispers with a grin, in which u shake yout head with a chuckle.

“Uh I don’t know about that, we haven’t really talked in, well, since High school” You reply honestly, you may have lied to Richie, but you couldn't escape Sugar’s bull-shit- detector gaze.

“You both were always so scared to make the first move, Mikey had to hold me back a couple times from just locking you both in a room and forcing you both to confess” Sugar replies with a grin

“Confess? What do you mean” You reply, and Sugar shakes her head with a chuckle,

“Don’t bullshit me Bug, it’s as clear as day. You both were inseparable then, and you will be inseparable now, everyone has their own timeline.”

You nod with a sigh, rubbing your eyes as you thought back to the call you had received asking you to join the design group in charge of revamping Madison Avenue. So much had changed since then, and it was about time that you faced what you couldn't 8 years ago.

“You changed him, ya know?” Sugar says, all of a sudden into the comfortable silence between you.

“Hm?” You reply

“I don’t know. Carm, he’s just, he’s distant, always has been. And then somehow, you became friends and there was this just change in him. He started to smile and laugh more, started opening up to us, because of you. Whether or not you realise it, you marked him in a way that was permanent you know? And when you left- well, it all went to shit, he was fucking destroyed and the only person that could help him was Mikey, and you, you get the rest of it” Sugar sighs, shaking her head as you stare at her.

“Sometimes, I’d bring you up, or-or we’d be talking about a new building, architecture or whatever, anything that related to you, and you'd just see him shutdown. He needs you hun, he doesn’t realise it but its like he’s fucking decaying without you.”

Anyone else and you would have shaken your head, but it was Sugar, and all the years you've known her she hadn't once sugar coated anything. 

“It was always going to be Carm, Sugar. A million times over and it would always be him” You reply, a tight smile on your face as you try and blink back tears, and she nods with a frown. 

“No crying, god I told myself I wouldn't cry” Sugar says, shaking her body as you laugh, sliding a hand in hers before walking into the Bear.

You aren't given enough time to investigate the changes to the restaurant, eyes glancing at pictures frames and stainless kitchen benches before stepping into a decorated back dining space, fixed with a long table covered with steaming plates of food and entrees. 

The sound of your footsteps has the entire room coming to a halt, and you scan the many people seated at the long table, their eyes watching you with a look of surprise before recognition floods across them. 

You can't recognise a single face, all unfamiliar to you but you get the strange feeling they know who you are, as they await for you to speak.

“Uh, Hello, um, you all probably have no idea who I am and this is kind of weird so-” You ramble nervously, trying and failing to introduce yourself to the many people watching your every move.

“Oh carino, you are gorgeous! You must be Carmen’s friend?” A short hispanic woman grins, making her way over to pull you into a hug, and the move causes the entire table of people to come over and introduce themselves. 

You can’t stop keeping the smile off your face, as you learn about each of the amazing people around you who have kept your sweet boy company. They were incredible, and you don’t doubt they shared a bond you only ever built working together, piecing together where Carmen had spent his time, and recognising the glimpses of faces you had seen on the walls you had walked by.

You converse easily with Sydney, a young aspiring chef who had kept Carmen on his toes, but your mind isn’t exactly present. Your eyes are glancing every second at the door, waiting for the man you've been dreaming of since you were 18 to walk through those doors.

You hear a tumble coming from the back door leading to the alleyway behind the Bear, before the familiar voice of Richie yells out incoherent curse words. You aren't able to prepare yourself for the footsteps coming up the steps and into the entrance of the dining room before Carmen cerulean blues catch you immediately. 

His eyes take their time with you, indulging in the peek of skin from the slit in the dress, before they trail up to your hips, snaking around your waist and blinking back at the dip of your cleavage. Carmen is undone, entranced by the way you hug and fill out the dress so perfectly, it does something to him he feels guilty about. Like the moments he would thrust up into the column of his fists after that one party where you leaned against him, or when he remembered the taste of your body wash.

Carmen is scared to move his eyes up to your face, fearing that he will be irrevocably gone if he does, but he does it anyway, because he's wasted enough time without you, and he can’t bear the seconds past him by without seeing the face he's dreamt of since forever

Carmen has to reach for the table near him, gripping the wood in his fists as he steadies himself when he sees you for the first time. He has to bite back his immediate response to let out a swear, his eyes trailing along every curve and line of your features he has begun to forget. The rush of memories, and feelings of you unleash within him like an unyielding current, breaking down every wall and shield he’s put up to stop it. It was fruitless, Carmen knew one day it would all come crashing down, because it was always going to be you, a thousand times over.

You let out a shaky breath as you catch his eyes fluttering over every single feature, you should feel self conscious but you don’t, you bare your entire self to him. You furrow your brow as you take in the honey caramel wisps of his hair pushed behind his ears. Your eyes catch the numerous inked sketches running along his arms and hands, you yearn to run your fingers along them, feel his veins jut out, they trail up his arm, like a stream and you have to swallow back the desire that had begun to unfurl at the vision in front of you.

He was utterly beautiful, his clean shirt contorted and stretched from the sheer size of him, the muscle and girth of his biceps and shoulders were so different to the lanky teenager you fell in love with. You feel a sadness at the thought of not seeing him since then, it had truly been too long. 

He still wore his chef apron, though it lay untied and around his neck like he had quickly run into the kitchen to fix something.

You don’t know how you’re able to form the words, but you can hear yourself calling his name like a plead

“Hey Bear” You whisper, the tears at your waterline one whisper away from falling

And it’s the simple sound of your voice that has Carmen crashing and falling, swallowing back tightly.

“Hey” 

You can make out Sugar calling everyone out to the front of the house, mumbling about flying pigs or whatever conjured up lie to leave you both alone. But it’s practically white noise around you, as your eyes remain forever on Carmen, like they always wore.

There's a silence that stretches between you two, and you feel the distance between you both from your fingertips.

“Thought I told you I’d punch your stomach if you cried” You say with a smile, tears falling down your cheeks and Carmen crumbles at your words, it's like his been hit by a freight truck, when you reminder of that day, but he still lets out chuckle, looking up at you with a grin.

“So I hear you're redesigning our very own Madison Avenue?” Carmen says, and it's like he’s been practising and rehearing the sentence over and over in his mind, it sounds more like a script than something he truly wants to say.

And you see through his bullshit, turning your head to the side as you look at him like he's translucent, and Carmen gives up before he is even able to start, what’s the point of faking it now when you could both see through each other.

“God, you're beautiful” Carmen says after a beat, the blues of his iris crashing and falling into a deeper depth as he looks at you. You blush, you never blush, you only ever blush for Bear.

“Carmen..” You whisper, the tears continuing to fall and roll down your neck

“Why didn't I tell you? God why didn't I?” Carmen says in a tight voice, like he's holding himself back, like he's holding himself from breaking, and you want to reach out and hold him instead.

You feel your heart drop, as you look up at him in anticipation, no no no??. You didn’t run half way across the state, you didn't spend years searching for Carmen in relationships and first dates, no- how? All this time. All this fucking time you could have spent with him, whether long distance, in New York, whatever, you would’ve made it work, hell you would have travelled endlessly for him.

“Why didn't you?” You breathe out. letting every tear and cry loose. And Carmen lets out a breath, your eyes communicating what your mouth could not for 10 years, letting your body shake with grief at the truth of it all.

Carmen feels his entire world breaking, he can feel the ground beneath him shake, he is consumed with you, you you you, and always and forever you.

“All this time..” Carm replies, shaking his head, laughing a little to himself as he stares at you in grief and love

“Yeah” You chuckle, before tears spill down your cheeks, and Carmen kind of breaks too, all the worries and missed time and love you would have shared out in the open between you. You both had been so foolish, so wrapped up in the fear of rejection/ruining your friendship you had ruined it all instead.

“I love you, I have loved you the moment I walked you home. I have loved you desperately, I loved you from afar, I have loved even when you didn’t know it”

“God Carmy, my sweet golden boy, I always knew it” You sniffle, and Carmen scrunches his eyebrows, grinding his teeth against his jaw as he shakes his head, undoing his apron so that he doesn’t get your gorgeous dress dirty, pulling you close to him. You reach for his hand, its size massive in yours, as you bring it to your chest

“You feel that? My heart beats for you Carmen, only you, forever you” You whisper, as you hold onto his hand tight

“I was just- I was so scared, so scared that I would ruin everything, our friendship, it was the one thing going for me and I couldn’t ask you, I couldn’t ask you to love me?” Carmen says, shaking his head like even saying the words felt stupid

“Carmen you are worth loving, I loved you then and I love you now. Sugar was telling me about how I changed you and you know what I was thinking the entire time? How everytime I think back to those years before my heart just aches. It aches because I have always been searching for you, Carm, my body yearns and reaches for you every day, you were the one thing that made me feel like I could make it out of here. That if I tried hard enough, if I had you believing in me too, I could really do it.

“And you know what Carmen? I did do it, I’m back in Chicago designing something that I believe in and I still feel so out of place. I feel scattered, like half of my body and mind is missing, and I’ve always known, even when I didn’t, that you kept that part of me. You held it safe, and I want it back, I want you back Carmen. I want my boy back.” 

“It was always going to be you Carm, that’s the truth, I love I love I love love love you” You breathe out, your heart hammering against your chest as you let all the chips fall where they may, you each Carmens face, trying to decipher the look on his face.

You want to know what he's thinking, have you scared him? Does he not love you anymore? And it's like Carmen can tell the thoughts are consuming you because you can't think of them anymore, in fact you can't think at all except the feel of Carmen lips pushed up against your own.

They’re pillowy and soft, and it takes you a second before you kiss him back with such reverence that you swallow back each other’s groans. You don’t come up for air, you won't, you can't let him slip through your fingers again, Carmen can’t let himself lose you now, with the taste of you on his tongue, so sweet like he imagined you to be.

Carmen fears he might combust, that he might dissolve into a puddle right in front of you because you taste so good, he slides a hand up your neck pressing you closer to his chest as you grip his shirt in tight fists.

Carmen can feel himself smiling into your lips, and it causes you to let out a chuckle, allowing Carmen to press his canines into your lip, just a little, a nibble that has you moaning out loudly in a way that shocks you both.

You press your body impossibly closer to Carmen’s, until you can feel him nudge against the curve of your stomach, grinding down against him until he grip’s your waist tight, pushing you deeper until you both have to let go with a breath.

“You don’t know how long I have waited to do that” Carmen says, his eyes still shut, like he was savouring the taste of you that was on his tongue, on his lips, his skin, everywhere. Carmen wanted you everywhere.

“And how long I have waited to do this” You trail your nails across his chest, his eyes watching the mischievous grin on your face grow as you trail your fingers down his chest, resting on his belt before the sound of a yelp and a clap breaks out, causing you to retract your hand and causing Carmen to let out a whine.

The rest of the crew and Sugar come tumbling into the room, hootting with cheers and laughter like they had been pressing an ear to the door the entire time, which they probably had. Sugar makes her way over, hugging you both, and pressing a kiss to your cheek before punching Carmen lightly.

“You didn’t think I knew? God what kind of sister do you take me for??” 

It’s all a blur of laughter and smiles and light shooting colours, Carmen keeps his eyes on you the entire time, and you don’t leave his side, holding onto him like he might fly away. And in all the commotion, in all the light and laughter and love Carmen sees Mikey. Sees him in flashes, the nape of his neck, the corner of his mouth pulling back in a smile and he swears, Carmen swears he sees him nod towards him.

You let it rip, bear, you did it, you did it. 

And Carmen did, and he looks down at you in his arms surrounded by people he loved and his heart for the first time feels full. Carmen had written himself off to a life of fulfilment through his work, and whilst that was purposeful and important to him, he always felt like a piece of his life was missing, a piece of his heart, it was taken by you just as he had taken yours. 

And now he can’t mask himself from his feelings, he can't watch you from afar anymore, he wants you beneath him, wants to bottle your laugh and drink in to cure him. He's broken and he doesn’t deserve you but god with the way you look up at him? It makes him question everything, makes him think he's enough, that there might be a chance he's more than the vile words he calls himself.

He want to get better for you, for the both of you, and its overwhelming, all these feelings he feels all of a sudden, it's like a switch has turned on and he can’t stop it, it washes over him, those memories from before, and you grip his arm with a squeeze, looking up as him before walking him out, guiding him with a hand until he follows you out into the alleyway.

“Sorry, it just was a whole lot at once, I haven’t even properly asked about you and now the entire kitchen knows you and” Carmen rushes out, rocking back and forth on his heels nervously

“You forget how well I know you bear?” Is all you say, and you can see the way he relaxes into himself, looking up at you with a nod. And it’s true, you know him completely and utterly, and it’s almost a relief, it almost makes Carmen cry because for the first time he doesn't feel like he needs to explain himself. Carmen feels like he has someone who knows him deep down, knows all his flaws, and problems and issues, and still wants him. 

The thought is so foreign and strange but he stomach bubbles with the elated glee of the start of something, something you both know, deep down, was meant to happen whether it was now or in 30 years. You would always, always find each other, how could you not? When it felt like half of you had disappeared without them?

Carmen can’t help but a press another kiss to your lips, snaking his arm so that it rested on your hip, squeezing a little before you break from him

“The food in there looks lovely, but considering what has just occurred, do you want to go somewhere more..” You start

“Intimate? Fucking yes. I don’t need Richie watching me and Sugar breathing down my neck. There is so much..” Carmen replies, eyes having a bit of a faraway look as he thinks back to all the times he had wished he could confide in you but couldn't.

“Let’s make up for lost time, shall we?” You grin, holding out a hand that Carmen eagerly grasps, before practically running into whichever car is closest. 

You and Carmen end up in a dimly lit jazz bar that sells signature shirley temples and tampalas that make your heart sing. You spend the entire night talking about everything, you both spill the entire contents of your guts to each other and you couldn't be happier, wiping each other's tears when the love got too much and your chest filled with gratitude at finding each other again.

You tell him you're only here for 6 months, and you leave the bar calling Mae to extend your lease. It doesn't take long for you both to slide into the familairy of your friendship again, spending every waking moment with each other, fulfilling every desire, checking off every firsts, exploring Chicago again with the one man who's been waiting for you for eternity. 

It would have been cute if you werent fucking like rabbits as well, you were addicted to each other, chasing orgasm after orgasm like it was a high. You should have been thrown in jail with the amount of times you had nearly been caught, and Carmen’s office was practically a health code violation.

But the truth was, Carmen finally had something to come home to in the late evenings and you had something to say goodbye to in the early mornings.

*

The early morning sun drags along the horizon, it cuts through the shapes and cuts of the intricate frost that had begun to develop over the window, showering the room in its dull yellow through the linen curtains of your shared bedroom.

It had snowed during the night, and the city council had closed the roads, advising as many people to stay indoors if possible, causing you and Carmen to finally have an excuse to stay indoors and pressed against each other the entire day.

The only sounds you can hear in the early cold July morning are the shutters of shop doors opening and the simmering wave of traffic that would soon begin to spill into the city streets below.

That and the strangled sound of Carmens moans as you slide your hand across the slick length of him, heavy in your palm.

He watches you carefully, eyelids heavy as you blow on the tip of him, causing him to wince in desire. Your motions are slobby and wet, and Carmen is still half asleep from your sleeping position not moments before.

“Please…”

You bite back a giggle, looking up at him from your knelt position between his legs. You’ve pulled him to the edge of the bed, and he grips the white sheets in his fists as he tries to restrain himself from coming undone by the way you smile up at him.

“You want me to suck you off him? You wanna feel good baby, you gotta tell me you wanna feel good cause I can't hold back any longer

“Fuck..please make me feel good, you know how to do it, please h-honey” Carmen replies before knocking his head back with a groan when you take the tip of him in your mouth.

You and Carmen weren't exactly experienced at first, you both had never truly held a relationship long enough to progress to that stage, but it had only taken a month before you knew how to have him stuttering thrusting up into you with need and it had taken him 3 weeks to know how to make you cum 9 times a day. What could you say? You had waited long enough.

You don’t waste time as you circle your tongue around the red tip, licking the precum clean from the slit, groaning around him at the sound of his throat letting out strangled moans. You want to take him in entirely, but he was so thick and long you couldn't possibly without getting used to him again.

Carmen loved giving, he could spend hours with your thighs around his shoulders, but there was something special with getting your broody chef to come undone, to be reduced to a puddle at every lick and kiss from you.

You push him deeper, circling your tongue so that it drags flat against his length as you pump the rest of him that you couldn’t yet reach.

“Holy-sh-fuck babygirl, easy, easy” Carmen groans out, and as you flicker your eyes up at him, the vision causes you to sneak a hand down between your thighs. 

Carmen looks down at you with furrowed brows, struggling to sit, grinding and jutting up into your mouth as his blonde hair lays across his forehead sweaty. His cheeks are a rosy crimson, and his tongue pokes out from the corner of his mouth biting down when you catch his blown out almost-black eyes.

You ignore his protests, pushing him further down until you feel him in your throat, constricting the space until it has him groaning out in pleasure. Carmen can’t help thrusting up into your throat, quickly apologising before you shake your head, reaching for his hand to grip your hair, begging him to use you however he wan’t. It’s too much for Carm, he feels like your puffed out cheeks, the tears eager to drip down your cheeks, the rut of your hips trying to find any friction causes the very tight bind to nearly snap in him.

“Fuck, don’t- not gonna last long” Carmen heaves out, gripping your hair until the veins in his arms and neck begin to juttt out.

You continue bopping your head down onto him, gathering the spit and cum and hollowing out your cheeks before taking him out and then in again. Carmen can’t take his eyes off of you, his chest heaving up and down as he watches you entranced.

“You don’t want to cum huh? Am I not making you feel good? Fuck my throat Carm, show me how you want it and i’ll show you how I do” You groan out, looking up at him from under your lashes and it causes Carmen to groan out, before gripping your jaw in his hand, and dragging your tongue back down his length.

Carmen is careful with how he fucks into you, but it’s reverent and heady and full of need, and he finds himself gripping your hair, watching you bop down on his cock until it bumps against your throat, and he feels that tight warmth that surround his sensitive tip.

He’s a mess, a jumble of incoherent swears and half moans of your name as the slick heaviness against your tongue shealths up and down, the mess of cum and saliva dripping from between your lips. 

“S-so fucking, so good, all mine babygirl, you’re all fucking mine” Carmen replies with a growl, as hes thrusts into you grow sloppy, and you press your nails into his thigh, breathing through your nose as Carmen loses himself in the warmth and feel of you, chasing his release without a break.

The tight band deep in him snaps when you constrict around him, and catch his heavy gaze, he screams out your name, jutting up into your throat, slick shooting down as he holds you head against him, and you milk him dry eagerly, taking every last drop he gives you.

You swirl your tongue around him, gently taking him out of your mouth as he winces at the over stimulation, you look up at him, opening your mouth and poking your tongue out, and you don’t miss the low fuck he whispers at the image of you swallowing every last bit of his mess.

You aren’t able to get up yourself before Carmen is dragging you up to him, wiping and kissing away every tear before swallowing you with a heated kiss. Carmen can taste himself on your tongue, manoeuvring your bodies so that he lay against the headboard, with you grinding up against his lap.

“Need to feel you fill me up Carm, I need it so bad” You groan out between your heated kiss, and Carmen grips you against him, his cock hardening again at your words, he always wanted to please you, it was his dying quest, pulling orgasm after orgasm from you like it was nothing.

You line yourself up with him, before sinking onto his length, the both of you breaking apart from your heated kiss to suck in a breath, Carmen leans into the croon of your neck, biting the skin there lightly as the feel of you tight around him gets too much.

You have to grip him, pressing half moons into the contorting muscle of his shoulders and back as you get used to him, before sinking further down with a groan. You felt impossibly tight, walls velvet and soft like caramel as they glided up against him with its slickness.

“You sure you can take it all? Hm darling?” Carmen whispers as he leans over in your ear, so that you slide further down his length, and it glides across a sensitive spot in this new position that causes you to rock your head back with a groan.

“Oh no baby, no no no, eyes on me hm?” Carmen reprimands you, sliding a hand so that he can see the dazed look in your eyes.

“We have the entire day, locked in this house from the snow, and I’m going to fuck you stupid doll” Carmen replies with a grin, before easing out of you and thrusting back into you hard, causing stars to appear in your vision, the white hot pleasure of the beginnings of your orgasm gripping you.

[stars-n-spice]

Thoughts on s3 ep 07!

fuckin bitchass episode broke my "no crying streak" of fuckin,, one episode, fuck you

anyways,, y'all know the drill,, spoilers and me screaming under the cut!

i love commander wolffe so much

when the clone assassin (who is Tech,, let's just be honest here,,) got out from under the rocks I was like, "Hey what the fuck,, that should've KILLED you" and was also like "ok so that's definitely Tech, why the fuck does he keep coming back??"

wolffe being like "these are clones" gave me so much hope,, baby I hope you come around and join your brothers,, I am BEGGING

something something,, being defective,, not following orders,, the clone assassin operative,, yeah,,

uGH wolffe looks so so so good in TBB animation

Batcher licking Nemec :(

Crosshair does a lot of,,, "I'll handle it",, he wants to feel useful I'm - :(((((

shakey hands,, ughhhh

the "operative" is surviving WAY too much for him not to be important

"we need to go" - "we're waitin on you" :(((

"she only bites half of the time" OH MY GOD,, PLEASE

I love you Batcher, you are the best girl

GET YOUR FUCKING DOG BITCH - IT DON'T BITE - YES IT DO,,

lmao i really thought they were going to get away and then they got fucking shot down,,

Wrecker's groan when Batcher jumped on him to get out of the ship asldkf;a

I'm so happy about Wrecker not getting a lot of screen time but I'm also not,, because to me less screen time means less of a chance of him dying or something but it also means less of me getting to see him

but everything he does on screen is wonderful,, he's amazing and I love him and he could just be standing there in the background just breathing and i'll be acting like he just blew up the death star or something

CROSSHAIR IS SUCH A GIRL DAD

I cannot get over Crosshair and Omega's dynamic oh my GOD

Star wars, you can't give us this good of a dynamic for only ONE season,, PLEASE let them survive

him checking up on her,, making sure she has all her things and sticks close :((( FUCK

I love how it sounds like it's physically hurting Crosshair to ask Omega if she's good and has her things together,, that's so funny to me

"You're just as bad as Hunter" - "Oh, I'm much worse." OH MY GOD.

screaming crying throwing up

i went, "Nemec and Howzer better not die" AND THEN LIKE TWO MINUTES LATER NEMEC GOT FUCKING SNIPED

i was so mad

CMON

Howzer changing his mind about Crosshair :(( wondering if he's thinking about Hera :((((

"Loyalty meant something to me" UGHHHHH, fucking,, AGGUHHH,, the essays that could be written on Crosshair and loyalty,, FUCK

oh the way Crosshair is as open as he is to talk about what happened :(((

godDAAMMNN

when Wrecker did the thing,, where,, he like,,, he um,, y'know,, like the,, move where,, and he,, he bashes,, bashes uh the two,,, bashes two heads together,, and knocks them unconscious,, hmm, yeah,,,

WRECKER PROTECTING BATCHER?!?!

that man is perfect oh my god,, fucking HELL,, I want him so badly,,

"I don't like that idea" - "too bad" AGHHHH YOUR HONOR I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

something something Crosshair doing the most to feel useful and needed UGGHHH

hey is it just me or did the animation for the water with the waterfall look,, like,, weird?? or strange?? idk,, it just seemed off to me

ALSO THAT FIGHT?? fuck that was cool

also if that really is Tech,, Crosshair got his ass handed to him by Tech lmao

BUT ALSO IF THAT WAS TECH,, the fucking angst man,, he seriously almost killed Crosshair,, holy shit

Howzer's new look is so,, MMh,, the,, fuck,, the holster straps on his thighs,,, the pouch on his chest,, ughh

the fact that these operatives like,, KNOW Crosshair,, they KNOW he went through the program and didn't comply the way he should've,, idk,, it's just,,

"you chose the wrong side" FUCKING LEAVE HIM ALONE MAN YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP MAKING HIM QUESTION SHIT AND HIS PLACE IN EVERYTHING FUUUCCCKK

Crosshair looked fucking terrified during that fight and for good reason too he was getting his ASS handed to him (granted he doesn't have much of one but still-)

also,, him being not super great in hand to hand combat got me thinking because,, dude's a sniper,, he keeps his distance,, his thing is long range shit,, and fucking,, boy if that doesn't reflect on his character,, not wanting to get close,, keeping a distance,, MAN

HOWZER TO THE RESCUE <33

for the like,, third time my assurance that this operative is Tech was ruined as he fell down that waterfall but I am a fucking FOOL

Crosshair said "thanks" that's fucking crazy

OH I'M SO HAPPY ABOUT REX AND WOLFFE HAVING A FACE TO FACE TALK (hunter and Cross take notes)

UGGHHH SO HAPPY I GOT TO SEE WOLFFE'S BEAUTIFUL FACE

i was so scared when Wolffe was like "I'm a soldier of the Empire" BABY YOU'RE NOT

PLO KOON COME GET YOUR SON AND FORCE GHOST TALK SOME SENSE INTO HIS FINE ASS

but then he let them go :((

Gregor showed up on the screen and I fucking,,, I fucking swooned

wolffe is going to be in SO much trouble after this,, oh my god,, I'm so scared for him

BUT THAT BETTER NOT BE THE LAST TIME WE SEE HIM FUCKING HELL

did i mention how fucking fine Wolffe looks in TBB animation??

there's so many fucking wide shots of,, characters on opposite ends of each other,, like,, fucking hell,, i get it

WE GOT THE SEELOS TRIO IN A SCENE TOGETHER AGUUHHHH

Gregor you are so fine

his new armor,, ughh

WOLFFE fucking,, mmmh,, shit

fucking knew the operative would survive that shit,, fucking hell

alrighty folk BUCKLE up,, seems like the next episodes we're going to start getting some confirmations about Omega!

cried when Rex and Wolffe were talking to each other

i was so happy the "i thought the end of the war would be the end to losing our brothers" conversation from the trailer was here because I was scared it was going to be a conversation that was going to happen after losing Echo or something,,, for now he's safe

ugh,, i already miss wolffe

[sevilemar]

I got such an amazing gift from a fellow player in DnD today, I am still glowing with happiness and excitement.

I made the conscious choice at the start of the campaign to play a very young, very naive religious fanatic in a world designed to only contain shades of grey (Shulassakar in Eberron). Suffice it to say, I did not intend for her to live very long.

What I did not know before our first session was that a fellow player decided to play a very liberal, very hedonistic blood cleric Dhampir named Corvin, whose morality is firmly on the darker side of grey. We clashed from the beginning, and I had already attacked him once, but was stopped by other members of the party. I also saw him help and heal others, and we had each other's back in a few fights. For someone like Selise, who was born into an eternal, holy war to keep one of the Overlords from taking over the world, that means a lot.

I was just accepting that maybe, just maybe, 'good' might include other things than I was taught, when we went to the desert to find an old battlefield that became a manifestation zone for war and strife. Because Corvin hadn't fed for several days on the journey, he went into a blood frenzy, killing and feeding on a swarm of blood bugs.

Long story short, after he found himself again, I challenged him and we ended up fighting each other, becoming more and more locked in and angry until it truly was to the death.

As a player, I was hesitant at first. I had never taken such a big swing before, and it felt wrong to attack another player. Thomas and me had talked about it once it was clear our characters may be headed that way, and our GM and the other players had OKed PvP as well, so all was fine on the consent front.

And still I needed the dice to make the final decision, and I was quite shocked when they decided it was time to fight. But now I was commited, and so I went for it with a heavy heart. I love my Selise, and I really did not want to kill another player's character. It was a long fight with lots of dice rolls for me, since the third PC tried to stop us. Well, mostly me.

Halfway through, Corvin asked Selise if he will ever be safe in her presence, and I had to actually think about it. I talked myself through it out loud, and came to the shocking conclusion that no, he would not be. And after that, when we both knew this was to the end, I lost my doubts, and it became so much fun. I still did not want to kill Corvin, but I was OK if Selise died, and I knew it was OK if Corvin did.

In the end, Corvin had one hit point left, Selise had 4, and it was the third player's turn. She decided to use up all her inspiration to get the two NPCs around us to grapple me. I got out of her grasp, I got out of one of the Elf's grasp, but the third one pinned me down in a pool of blood. And then it was Corvin's turn. He casts Toll the Dead, my dice rolls, and it is only a 10. Selise is dead.

And then this motherfucking blood cleric, this awesome player and very kind friend, uses all his inspiration to cast a ritual and make me into a Dhampir like himself.

Fuck me, I did not see that coming.

It is such a beautiful, beautiful gift to a fellow player, a way to take the big swing, see it through to the end, and still keep a beloved character, and give her such an interesting new twist.

And Thomas told me after the game that it was his plan all along if we ever got here, and our GM knew about it, too. That means he thought about this, thought about a way to both let me be true to Selise, and let me keep her as well, and it is such a kind and generous thing to do that I'm still crying about it now.

And now it is my choice where we go from here. There are so many cool possibilities, because as Shulassakar, Selise is basically a mix between Aasimar and Yuan-Ti, descended from the Couatl: god-like beings with wings and a snake's body, and what does that mean for her now?

But that is a thought for another day. Today, I will go to sleep with a stupid smile on my face, firm in my conviction that telling stories together is good for the soul. Good night, gentlefolk, or god day, and may the story gods look upon you favorably always!

[charmandabear]

17 Shadowheart x Karlach

From @astarionfreak 's smut ask game ~ other entries

17. "I'm not wearing any underwear."

Perhaps a preview of what's to come for the Office Hours side chapter? 👀👀👀 (Notably, this isn't actually the Office Hours universe, despite being a modern au lol)

Shadowheart's dress is based on this art by @metal-junk, and Karlach's is from my own sick twisted imagination. If anyone wants to make art of her outfit, though, I won't complain 😍

Karlach checks her reflection in the mirror. Not too bad, honestly. The sleek high waisted trousers highlight the musculature of her abs, and the open cropped blazer shows off her glowing heart. She's come to appreciate this thing, once a death sentence, but ever since Dammon found the right parts to allow her to exist in the material plane, it's become a symbol of her survival. Plus, it makes her look cool as fuck.

She has some concerns about the jacket flapping open and flashing her boobs to everyone, but Shadowheart insists that the dress tape will keep it firmly in place, even through the natural heat of Karlach's skin.

"Love, are you almost ready to go?" Shadowheart calls from the bathroom. Karlach gives her hair one last adjustment before calling back, "Yup, ready when you are."

Shadowheart emerges from the bathroom and Karlach's heart nearly stops. Her long silver hair is out of its usual braid and flows down her back like a waterfall. Her dress is a stunning black silk that hangs over her curves perfectly. The bodice has straps that frame her breasts and meet up at a collar around her pretty porcelain neck. Delicate silver chains drape across her front and sides, and the ones around her hips gather at two waist-high slits, showing off her thick thighs. Karlach's mouth starts to water, and she can feel the arousal dampening the gusset of her underwear.

"Holy shit." Karlach can't find it in her to be any more eloquent than that. Shadowheart laughs, a light sound like bells, and grabs her clutch and her wrap from the dining room table.

"You look amazing too, sweetheart." She crosses to Karlach and stands on her toes to give her a kiss. Karlach, unsatisfied with a dry little peck, grabs hold of Shadowheart and immediately deepens the kiss, her tongue seeking entry between her lover's lips. Karlach slips her hand underneath that tantilizing slit and up around to her ass, delightfully surprised to find it completely bare. She breaks the kiss, panting, and stares at Shadowheart's cheeky grin.

"Oh, didn't I mention? I'm not wearing any underwear," she says in a husky voice, and Karlach's pussy clenches in a pavlovian response.

"Wha- I- and you tell me this now? Right before we need to leave?" Karlach splutters as Shadowheart giggles devilishly in response. "You expect me to sit through the entire coronation knowing that there's only a thin layer of silk between me and the promise land?"

"Think of it as your treat for doing something nice if murderously boring for a friend," she grins. Then she grabs Karlach's hand and drags her toward the door of their shared apartment. "Now come on, Lae'zel just texted me, they're all downstairs in the limo waiting for us."

***

Everyone, of course, looks absolutely stunning. Astarion and Tav look like gods damned super models in matching brocades, whereas Gale is wearing an understated but elegant deep violet suit. Lae'zel looks extremely uncomfortable in her silver blazer and leather body suit, the straps of her bra poking out beneath the lapel.

But Karlach only has eyes for Shadowheart. She chats amicably with everyone, and every time she laughs the silvery chain catches the light, bringing Karlach's attention directly back to her stunning cleavage. Karlach hides behind her champagne glass, worried that if she opens her mouth to say something, it'll be to tell the driver to pull over so she can immediately eat Shadowheart out on the side of the road.

But she manages to maintain her composure, even all the way through Wyll's coronation, despite the growing ache between her thighs every time Shadowheart uncrossed and recrossed her legs. When they finally make it to dinner, and after Wyll has made his appearance by their table to receive his obligatory congratulations, only then does Karlach dare to slip a hand onto Shadowheart's thigh beneath the table. She hears the other woman's breath catch in her throat, and the look Shadowheart flashes her is smoldering.

"Pardon, everyone, I need to use the restroom. Shadowheart, will you accompany me?" Karlach finally says in a stiff voice. Lae'zel makes a disapproving grunt.

"I do not understand your custom of women using the bathroom in flocks. Must I attend as well?" she glowers, and Astarion lets out one of his high-pitched giggles.

"Lae'zel, I don't believe they require your assistance for this one," he says, flashing a salacious smile at Tav who flushes a violent purple. Karlach doesn't even register Lae'zel's response because she and Shadowheart are already out of earshot of the group, making a beeline for the closest bathroom.

They barely manage to close the door to the single stall bathroom before Shadowheart has Karlach pressed up against the door, ravaging her face with kisses. She slips her hand beneath the hem of the blazer and runs it across the planes of bumps and scars along Karlach's ribcage.

Between breathless kisses, Shadowheart laughs, "They all know exactly what we're doing in here." Karlach runs her fingers through Shadowheart's silvery locks and gives them a firm tug right at the scalp, causing Shadowheart to quietly moan with pleasure.

"Frankly, I don't give a fuck. They all see what you look like, I don't think any of them will blame me," Karlach murmurs against Shadowheart's lips, punctuating her statement with a nip to her lower lip.

"Well, they're not blind, they can see you too," Shadowheart pants, moving her lips down Karlach's neck and to her clavicle. "I could not stop staring at your tits, love, they look amazing." She wrestles with the lapel of the blazer momentarily, before finally ripping the tape off and eliciting a strangled groan of both pain and pleasure from Karlach. Shadowheart immediately soothes the tender skin with her tongue. She cups one breast in her hand while she takes the other into her mouth, swirling her tongue around Karlach's nipple. Karlach drops her head back against the door, trying to keep her whimpering moans under control.

Shadowheart slides her hand down Karlach's abs and quickly unbuckles her belt, unzipping her pants just enough to slip her hand beneath Karlach's lace panties. She lets two fingers slide between her folds, and she chuckles when they immediately get covered in slick.

"Oh my, someone's been thinking about this," she coos, giving Karlach's nipple one last flick with her tongue before snaking up to her neck, nuzzling in the heat radiating off of her skin.

"Are you fucking with me? I'm pretty sure that coronation lasted six hours and I spent the entire time thinking about my head between your legs- ah-" Karlach grunts as Shadowheart slips her fingers into her cunt, curling them upwards slightly. Her knees buckle as she presses herself harder against the door, her hips bucking into her lover's hand. Shadowheart straddles Karlach's thigh, grinding against her while slowly pumping her fingers in and out.

"Gods, Karlach," she moans breathlessly, speeding her fingers up as her own need grows. Karlach hisses and roughly grabs Shadowheart's hair, pulling her face closer so that their lips are less than an inch apart.

"Fuck, kiss me while you make me come," Karlach pleads, and Shadowheart eagerly complies. She moves her lips against Karlach's, thrusting her fingers into her in time with her hips. Karlach loses her faculties as Shadowheart brings her closer to climax, clinging onto her long hair for stability more than as a tool of control. She wraps her tail around Shadowheart's calf to ground herself even more, worried that if she doesn't, she'll simply collapse. The two pound against the door rhythmically, certainly making a racket in the hallway outside but neither of them can be pressed to care. All that matters is bringing Karlach to orgasm, and when she can feel Shadowheart's arousal seep through her pants and dampen her thigh, she comes with an explosive wave of pleasure that reverberates through them both. Shadowheart continues to ravage Karlach's lips as she rides through the aftershocks of her climax, steadying Karlach's rutting hips with her hand.

Shadowheart breaks the kiss, breathing heavily. She doesn't have much time to recover, because within seconds Karlach has her spun around with her back to the door.

"Oh no, you don't get to give me a mind blowing orgasm and think I'm not going to return the favor," she hisses, pinning Shadowheart's wrists together above her head. She becomes putty in Karlach's hands, letting her lover mould her into any shape she wants. Karlach quickly drops to her knees, eagerly pushing aside the panel skirt separating her from Shadowheart's dripping cunt. She laps her tongue along her slit, relishing in the debaucherous sound that escapes Shadowheart's mouth.

"Oh you might want to hold on, Fringe," Karlach smirks devilishly. "Maybe grab hold with one hand and cover your mouth with the other, else we'll give anyone walking by outside a free x-rated show." The tip of her tail skates up the inside of Shadowheart's thigh, and Shadowheart catches the loud moan with her hand just before it tumbles out of her. Taking Karlach's advice, she grabs hold of the tiefling's one good horn and braces herself against the door as Karlach's tongue pushes its way past her folds. Karlach slips her hand under Shadowheart's thigh and drapes it over her right shoulder. Her tail teases her entrance while Karlach closes her lips around Shadowheart's swollen clit, sucking lightly. Shadowheart digs her nails into her cheek, trying to keep her noises under control, but she's finding it harder and harder as Karlach slides her tail into her cunt, the cartilage point dragging against her walls deliciously.

Karlach presses her long claws into the supple flesh of Shadowheart's ass, leaving evenly spaced pink puncture marks. Shadowheart cants her hips wildly, overwhelmed by the sensation of being fucked slowly by Karlach's tail and her skilled mouth moving around her clit. She bites down on the skin of her palm to try to keep quiet, but the shrieks tear through her nonetheless. She tightens her grip around Karlach's horn, feeling the pressure build as Karlach's tongue laps up the slick juices flowing freely from her.

"Fuck, Karlach, faster, please." Her words are muffled by her hand, but Karlach hears the plea loud and clear. She increases the pace of her tail pumping in and out of Shadowheart while she alternates light flicks and slow stripes on her clit. Shadowheart's legs begin to shake violently and she squeezes her knee around Karlach's shoulder as her orgasm wracks through her, the white hot lightning vibrating through her core and crackling out into her fingers and toes. Karlach dutifully drinks in Shadowheart's spend like it's the sweetest wine.

Shadowheart finally collapses against the door, fully boneless and unable to hold herself up. Karlach stands, wiping her face crassly on her sleeve before capturing Shadowheart's comparatively cool lips in a tender kiss. She presses her forehead against her love's and hums contentedly.

"Next time, tell me you're not wearing underwear after the event, please."

[reinanova]

dead boy detectives ep 6 live blogging reactions

wow niko is definitely going through some shit

wait if crystal lost her powers can she still see ghosts?? oh good she can

charles is so sus of edwin and monty rn omg

kashi is such a mood. also i love that rowena the night nurse can’t do anything to him, it’s great

ohh i think monty is having second thoughts

hmm charles maybe Don’t antagonize the demon

you know monty, you’re being a bit selfish for someone who essentially forced a kiss on edwin

monty is Damn Right that edwin’s feelings of love are for charles

aw man i was starting to like monty

they’re HOLDING HANDS AS THEY FACE THEIR DEATH

holy shit get her crystal. i don’t really know what’s happening rn but i love it

godDAMN teeth face you’re amazing for that

also crystals ancestral power is so fucking cool

edwin are you…confessing your feelings??? i didn’t know you had it in you. also please kiss charles bcuz he obviously Doesn’t Get It

FUCK OFF ROWENA NIGHT NURSE EDWIN WAS TRYING TO TELL CHARLES HE LOVES HIM

is she…being nice? for once? kinda?

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

hey at least he’s not trapped by the cat king anymore silver lining at least

[number1rizgukgakstan]

FANTASY HIGH JUNIOR YEAR EPISODE 18 LIVEBLOG

It's that time again! Spoilers below the cut!

The only CW being underage drinking + drug use is fascinating- I assume that means no one dies? At least, not like Buddy did.

I'm SO excited looking at that set it's so fucking cool. The crackling in the fake clouds? HOLY SHIT the modeling team went OFF I love their work.

I FORGOT JAWBONE'S THERE. AND SO IS EUGENIA. This is so insane I'm so excited.

"Airitime law" God I love you so much Zach you are SO FUNNY

The WHOLE school is here that's so funny. Does this mean the clubs Riz joined are going to come into play?? GERTIE??? GERTIE???? HEY GERTIE???

The divine domain idea is so fascinating but I would like to say- imagine worshiping a god named Porter. I'm crying laughing.

CURSED GOLD PIECE??? FUCK YEAH GO FOR IT FABIAN

RAGH IS HERE??? FUCK YEAH!

Okay we're getting the NPCS set up? Fuck yeah

FIG NO WHY ARE YOU WANDA CHILDA???? THATS SO FUNNY. Gerard Neigh I'm CRYING. I love Armor of Ayda and the Spirit Guardians.

VULTURE KING LIVER + TALON FOR FABIAN In BAD! BABY! MILK!

WHY IS GORGUG SWALLOWING THE HEART LIKE A PILL??? INSANE

EAT THE FEATHER??? FIG YOU DON"T HAVE TO EAT IT ITS JUST WHEN BROKEN [sobs]

"You're wearing an Orangutang mask and the skull of the Vulture King?"

"And I'm speaking Vulture.

"And you're speaking Vulture."

Adaine is so brilliant I love her.

K2 giving Kristen basically a whole extra turn is so funny. We love K2.

They have so many spells prepared I love it. Fabian's party sounds sick as hell. Even the Bad Baby milk sounds fun. Disgusting but fun.

I feel like using the NMK against Kristen is a bad idea but will have terrible consequences for Kristen, who's silly goofyness has been coming back to bite them. IDK we'll see

Fabian faking it till he makes it is SO FUNNY.

Baby and Baby Baby being here's so fucking funny. Let's go Baby and Baby Baby!

Fabian's HOUSE burning down would be devastating but maybe it'd make his mother come home

CANNONS!!! PUT BABY BABY ON THE CANNONS

They have to DO ELECTIONS and RUN THE PARTY WHILE FIGHTING??? BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN THIS IS INSANE I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Kristen and K2 helping Riz load the canon is so wholesome. They're such a great team

NOOOO FABIAN HAS THE PACMAN TATTOO [laughing crying] RIP

1/4th of the party voting in one turn is absurd. Fabian's charisma is INSANE i love this man and his conga line

Jawbone once again completely out of the loop and just going with it is great.

I now see why Sprak has his own art.

The music video idea was genuis. Emily Axford is such a quick thinker and her performance as Fig is top-knotch.

Oisin summoning dragons breaks my heart. NOOO you were so cool :( now Adaine has to Furious Fist Mega Punch you to death

This fight is honestly so fucking metal. The music video, Fabian killing a dragon singlehandidly, Riz murdering two with the canons, all the Dex saves, Gorgug's excellent driving, JAWBONE, the voting drive... honestly I'm so proud of the Bad Kids and how far they've come.

ANOTHER GORGUG NAT 20 HOLY SHIT! Zac's really fucking it up right now. 7d12 is absurd

Wanda Childa running the party is so insane and I love it. It's Emily Axford's world and we're just living in it.

Eugenia Shadow is amazing. Best NPC by far.

"Can I bring a vulture to give me the help action?" absurd request. brennan's face was brilliant. Again: ITS EMILY AXFORD'S WORLD AND WE'RE JUST LIVING IN IT.

The fight. Every moment was incredible. They really did slay those god damn dragons. No one had to make a single death save. The party was popping. Fig was constantly being the fucking COOLEST. Fabian telling Gorgug not to crash his parent's boat. Eugenia Shadow telling Riz he's the best student she's ever had. It was brilliant. Excellent.

"Sorry Oisin, shouldn't have been such a douchebag, we're gonna kill your grandma now" BRILLIANT. 10/10. I love it.

AS SOON AS SHE SAID DIVINE INTERVENTION I FUCKING CHEERED. K2 DIES TO SAVE THE WORLD BY SAYING "BLIMEY" NOT FUCKING CLICKBAIT.

Zac doing the dm bit is so funny.

K2 not knowing shit and pulling off a miracle is such pure Kristen its so fucking brilliant. THE UNCERTAINTY OF MAYBE BEING PREGNANT IS INSANE. I love Ally Beardsley.

Brennan's reaction to the pregnancy bit is so fucking funny. They broke this man's spirit in the funniest way possible.

"Haunted Wizard Clone Mini Golf Lightning Extravaganza" is the single funniest string of words imaginable. Brennan Lee Mulligan you are my favorite comedian ever.

"How much of this can we cut out, do you think?" Ally this is your bed, you have to lie in it, I'm so sorry. Funniest roll of all time.

WE ALMOST GOT THE GOLD TORNADO?? NOOOOOO.

Circling back, the flavor of Armor of Ayda is so cute. Ayda's protection is always over Fig no matter where she is.

THEY FUCKING DID IT GANG! Now for the penultimate battle! :]

The previews are making me go insane. RATGRINDERS FIGHT RATGRINDERS FIGHT RATGRINDERS FIGHT!

"I think I have to try" is making me so fucking excited. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING FIG????

LETS FUCKING GO! NEXT WEEK BABYYYYYY

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND ONE

UCHIHA MADARA vs YAMANAKA INO

Reasons for submission under the cut

Madara

holy FUCKKKK dude his original introduction with him fighting the entire shinobi alliance is one of the most terrifying and awe inspiring introductions to a character I've EVER seen in media. The fact he was one guy, (albeit resurrected) taking on an ARMY and doing it in such a way with so little effort he just called it 'dancing' gave me fucking chills and it's [submitters] favorite fight in the entire series

MAN TAKES ON ALL THE KAGES AND HE'S STILL THINKING ITS NOT QUITE FUN YET, ICONIC

he's just super funny, i fucking adore how deadpan sarcastic he can get, like Tsunade rolling up saying she was just visiting an old friend when Dan helped save her, and Madara deadpan no hesitation going "You'll see him again quite soon". ICONIC. KING. SO FUCKING FUNNY

him showing up almost fucking feral to fight Hashirama, and just being told "ILL DEAL WITH YOU LATER" and he actually sits down and waits with his arms crossed is so fucking funny

I love how hype he got about fighting Gai like that was the ONLY person aside from Hashirama that got him hype. Madara vs Gai was such a good fight

Madara is a GILF, [submitter] is not ashamed to admit grandpa is hot in both his actual grandpa form and his revived form

he's such an iconic villain

he's awesome and super smart

his commitment is unparalleled. Made a plan that takes a decade to work by himself. The guy single handedly brought changes in the shinobi world, and came back from death twice !!!

he dog walked the tailed beast like unruly animals, and humiliated the strongest shinobi of the time (5 kage + Naruto + Sasuke) , all while maintaining beautiful hair, pretty face and amazing physique

has the whole homoerotic thing with Hashirama and being insane (affectionate) in general going for him

he was right, Konoha was rotten and a mistake

very cool fight scenes

very dramatic and rude to those around him

very cool backstory

he's a mysterious character, even tho he's the main antagonist, as we've never seen the story by his perspective

he has such a tragic kinda overlooked backstory

he's badass

Ino

she’s so great and resourceful

she's loving to everyone, her team, her family, even Sakura

beautiful

super cool/under rated powers

she's lesbian coded

[meanderingandrambling]

I never really feel clever or informed enough to comment on the met gala but some folks I like skipped this year and at the very least I want to save my top ten for posterity so here we are.

I'll be doing this in several rounds. Theme Favorites: top ten that did a good job with the theme and were interesting enough for the met gala. That's A Nice Dress/Suit: top ten that were beautiful for some event that wasn't the met gala. Come on, this is for wearing theatrical art. Personal Favorites: top ten free-for-all in which I just pick my favorites based purely on personal aesthetic. Absolutely no attempt to even pretend I'm thinking of things like theme, craftspersonship, or style. Maybe a forth round for stuff I just want to talk about or things I did not like.

The 2024 theme was Garden of Time, the exhibit Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. Most people took that in a historical and/or botanic direction, both themes I adore. Interestingly enough the Garden of Time is a short story about the hyper-wealthy walling themselves in their pleasure gardens with magic time slowing flowers until the hoi polloi riot and overtake them. Unfortunately I saw no outfits that incorporated the injustice of our capitalistic hellscape, the inevitability of death, or less generously: the unwashed masses destroying genteel beauty. Perhaps next year.

Lana Del Rey wearing Alexander McQueen

There were a lot of outfits I really liked but I thought this one really captures the threatening beauty of nature, genteel isolation, and vague sense of mortality you get in Ballard story. I also dig how it looks like something a member of the fae would wear.

Everything else below the cut to keep this from being a color of the sky length post.

Cynthia Erivo wearing Thom Browne

This number will be showing up in my favorites. When I imagine the anthropomorphic Death as she would appear in the Ballard story, this is she. The petals over the darkness are a bit on the nose as a death image, but I positively love it.

Rebecca Ferguson wearing Thom Browne

Another one that will appear in my favorites. So it's hard to talk about the Garden of Time without mentioning The Masque of the Red Death. Both are about rich aesthetes locked away against the rioting masses and the inevitability of death. Ferguson is dressed to sweep uninvited through a decadent compound to bring darkness and decay in her wake, and really isn't that what we're all going for at all times?

Demi Moore wearing Harris Reed and Cartier

God I love this dress. The spear things remind me of the hands on a clock and the peonies are that brilliant pink that makes me want to lick them. I like how the sleeves frame her, almost like wings or a halo.

Harris Reed in Harris Reed

Amazing. Honestly I hardly have anything to say. I adore the sort of Georgian (I think Georgian, my art history is pretty shit) pattern and the halo effect of Reed's headpiece. A feel like he's pretty purposefully doing a saint thing in the picture and I love it.

Tyla wearing Balmain

Holy fuck did this one fly under my radar. Much like an operatic magpie, I am attracted to bright colors and shiny things, and so missed the subtlety of this sand gown. She's dressed as the sands of time, very cool. Spoiler for an 80 year old short story: it ends with the main characters turning into statues, so I really like how the dress makes it look like she's turning into sand.

Taylor Russell wearing Loewe and Fred Leighton

Like Tyla's gown above I like Russell's suggestion of inorganic transformation. She has a sort of sad dryad/maiden warrior chosen by god thing going on.

Dan Levy wearing Loewe

Gives me Persephone energy. I like the floral color and life contrasted to the black. The transition reminds me of the transformation in the story and, if I sort of tilt my head, the passage of all life into death.

J Harrison Ghee wearing ???

Okay so Ghee's gown doesn't really capture the themes of time or death but holy fuck I love it. This is how six-year-old me wanted to dress every day. A friend said "it's a carnival dress, though certainly a very good one." Personally I think it's perfect for any and every occasion. I love that they look like she's at the 1994 Thumblina film's Beetle Ball. I mean, look at this image and tell me they didn't come from the same party. Playful, camp, and over-the-top.

[nekomacheercaptain]

Favorite Corazon fanart

(because I am tired of scrolling through my bookmarks on twitter)

40 y/o Corazon (AAAAAH)

He is so pretty I want to cry pls

This au is just so fucking cool I love it sm

*feral dog noises*

I LOVE HIM!!!!! MY HANDSOME MAN!!!!!

Jeg må bytte om til norsk her for ÆÆÆÆH HERREGUD

Corazon would be so cute in the egghead style

🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️ so many sexy men holy fuck HE’S SO BIG!!!!!

This duo would be so wholesome

🥹 so cute

I want to cry, it’s so beautiful

Not directly Corazon, but god this hurts 🥹 so good

THEY’RE SO CUTE 😭😭

Never gonna stop obsessing over their Corazon

Still gaping and drooling over this

Pretty boy Cora 🤭🤭🤭🤭

Again, not directly Corazon, but little Law always hurts 🥲

HIS BACK!!!! AAAAHHHHH gorgeous

Shamelessly obsessed with this, it’s so cool

Cora’s body 🤭

Metalcora 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

This duo is just the sweetest thing

I’m so glad this was a little trend, his back is just so big and broad and ugh 😩😩

I cried when I first saw this + Cora is so big… look at his thighs, hand, tummy…. God…. What a beautiful man

Law’s survival guilt is just so good angst material, I love this

🥹they were supposed to travel the world together

These two break my heart

All of these are just so beautiful and amazingly done, I’m obsessed with all of their art

(NSFW) screaming over this

I think this account is private, but I’m saving the link for me lol my favorite fanart of Corazon

He just looks so good fuck

WHAT SHOULD’VE BEEN 😭

SIIIICK love this

(NSFW) ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? OH HOLY FUCK MY LIFE IS CHANGED I NEED HIM

Wano Cora finished!!!

More egghead!!!

Marine Rosi

Coradad with his 4 children

So gorgeous

(TW organs (?) and nudity) This is really cool

This Coradad WIP 🥹

(TW blood) this is so amazing

(nsfw-ish) God it’s just right there… I would be tempted too much

Awkward sibling hug

Love when the size difference is so visible 🧎‍♀️

🥹🥹 crying actually, will never get over his death

LMAO his bounty being lower than Chopper’s 😭

SERVING CUNT

Ooohh cool

He looks so gooood 😩

Baby Rosi 🥹

He is so beautiful

Corazon as a bird

Guilt

Bloody dog Cora with cat Law on his back🥹

Law finds out Cora doesn’t like bread

Little Law builds a snowman 🥰

Umeboshi

The most beautiful man in the entire world

Cora and Law as minks

Bloody Cora + full picture

Wounded as Corazon + Rosinante

🥹🥹 the best parents

….god he looks so good

Reverse time travel au - adult Law finds Child Rosi 🥹

I love this so much… the kids playing on the beach is so cute

LMAO Chopper’s POV

Law doesn’t want to go to the hospital

Corazon shoots bread lmao

Coradad and his 4 kids

WHAT SHOULD’VE HAPPENED

He’s so beautiful

CORA-DAY!!!!

Valentine’s Day

(NSFW) shy Rosi 🥹

STOOOOOP 😭😭😭😭

OOOOHHH MY GOD

[necroangelz]

finished blue eye samurai holy shit that was fucking crazy

I'm kinda upset mizu abandoned everyone else but whatever.... maybe the show will find a way to bring mizu, Ringo, taigen, and akemi together again next season

this show is so dark it's just. chefs kiss. there's no happy ending nor true happiness for any of the characters really (and well it's not really an ending either since there's more to the story but ykwim)

mizu emerging from the fire with her eyes glowing was so so so hot and so cool

one of the biggest cities in the world burning down as the cost of mizu's revenge is so badass. her rage burns as bright as this fire. and also, the fact one candle was enough to ignite the entire castle and the city? and everything was so easy to burn? it just took one candle. the candle definitely represents mizu, and how she destroys structures and systems that have always been around, but actually they're weak

fuck uu Netflix like bruhh i really wanna share BES screenshots but i can't!!! anyway

that scene after seki's death, where akemi and taigen are on the bridge—prim, proper, elegant akemi standing in front of the burning castle. bloodied, beaten taigen covered in ash standing in front of the unharmed nature. two different worlds and lives that can't exist together

also akemi's character arc is so fucking good i fully support akemi I LOVE AKEMI!!!! girlie can do no wrong ever

also i wonder if Madame kaji survived... i kinda like her

anyway about seki, I'm pretty sure he represents how men can also take feminine roles? since he was the one who raised akemi, a daughter, and taught her everything. while the role of raising children usually goes to mothers. seki is so cool too i don't forgive him for being low-key sexist but i forgive him. i mean like that's just how their world is yk?

what else do i have to say...

i love how mizu as a main character is written. I'm tired of MC's that are good people, MC's that are always liked

akemi, taigen, and Ringo were all upset at mizu at some point. mizu has the blood of hundreds if not thousands on her hands. her actions always result in people's deaths, to the point that, even if she succeeds in a goal it doesn't feel like she succeeded because of all the destruction she left in her warpath. (i think a term that can be used is Pyrrhic victory?) she's so relentless and determined in her revenge that she doesn't know how to die or give up. she's not a monster nor human she's an artist. I'm really so amazed by her as a character. I'm amazed by everyone.

[pitbullwithaship]

DOCTOR WHO LIVEBLOG 2009 SPECIAL THE END OF TIME (PART 1)

Okay, I think I might be emotionally prepared for both of the parts of this. Time to watch, wish me mental stability!

Planet Earth Intro

Oh there's a documentary narrator lol

Hello christmas

WILF HELLO

Pretty singing, gorgeous singing

Those kids are good

Tardis cameo?

THE SAINTED PHYSICIAN LOL

Spooky woman?

Evil laughter?

Hi Doctor (he's mentally ill)

Hi Ood (he is aware of the Doctor's mental illness)

Snowy day

Ooh pretty city

Ood prophet cool

More evil laughter?? Hello?

Which man is dead

The Master? Maybe tis his wife at least (poor her)

WHATY WHAT TIS WEIRD GALLIFREYAN THINGY

HES ALIVE THEN WHAT

It's not nice when time starts bleeding

Poor Lucy

Weird woman on the TV?

Okay resurrection generally isn't the greatest choice

This is culty

Til death do them part she's awesome

Person running? Master running?

I love Wilf he's so silly

Lol sending out the troops to find the Doctor

Okay so the Master is even more insane than before

Yay Obama

Creepy as hell my dude

That's horrifying

That's ultra horrifying jeez

Hello Doctor

Epic chase through a garbage dump

"Let me help" oh come on you've tried that before

Old people gang up to take a photo with him lol

Gets groped

Don't be sulky Doctor

HE WILL KNOCK FOUR TIMES OH MY GOSH

Dude course you'll die that's just what happens

Not changed no

Aww hello Shaun Temple

They're cute, and he's glad she's happy, he's the ultimate depressed bestie

Merry Fucking Christmas

Awww he misses her so much!! This is so sad!!!

Doctor where are you going now!?

Idiots and fools

Dramatic western faceoff

WALKS FROM AN EXPLOSION HELLO

I've said before, he's quite good at getting electrocuted

He's also vaguely suicidal but at the same time desperate to stay alive

Oh I know, he has the fear of death that only one who'd like to die can have

We can hear it

HE HEARD IT

You are mad my dude

Flying light thing? Hello

Oh it's the government then I assume

Poor Doctor

Oh generic rich powerful dude has a book

HELLO DONNA?

Oh generic rich powerful dude has the Master

Okay generic rich powerful people are evil generic rich powerful people

The war was won and passed you by

Aww he never killed that wonderful I live Wilf

Usually if people say "whatever you do don't tell so-and-so" you should probably tell so-and-so

Pistol

He loves her so much

Fair enough lol

Sylvia gurl

I thought it'd be cleaner I love Wilf

Wilf and Doctor friendship is the most pure flawless amazing one ever

Scientists rebelling maybe?

Nope those are aliens

PEOPLE NEED TO STOP TRYING FOR IMMORTALITY ITS BAD

If the censoring thing on the tardis got broken the Doctor would be scandalized by the amount of swearing his companions all do but especially wilf and donna

Shimmer shimmer

I love aka hate how he's wearing a dog collar

Bondage

Oh shit

Oh dear

I guess they hide the presidents face cuz they couldn't get a real Barack Obama cameo which sucks

No he's not gonna love this

Oh dear a planet of Masters

Oh dearie me

That's disturbing

That's incredibly disturbing holy cows

THE TIME LORDS RETURNED IM SORRY WHAT HELLO THE NARRATOR IS A TIME LORD TOO WHY DO THEY WANT TO END TIME I THOUGHT THEY WERE STUFFY AND LAW ABIDING

[captainninej]

shadow and bone season 2 thoughts!!

me and my sister finally finished season 2 of shadow and bone last night and HOLY SHIT. despite everyone shitting on it for some reason, i actually fucking loved it!! there were some absolutely incredible moments and overall i think they did a really good job blending the books; some decisions i may have slight reservations about but i can see the logic behind each of them from a writing perspective (except for maybe one of them, which i'll talk about later). every single character got their moment and i don't think anyone can say that there was a single flaw on the acting side. these actors BECAME their characters and we are so so lucky we got such an amazing cast, who care about their characters this much!!

SPOILERS BELOW

things i liked:

Alina's storyline. i actually have not read the original trilogy past halfway through siege & storm, but i know what happens in the books and how her story ends. jessie mei li gave alina her absolute all in this season and i thought she did an incredible job. i like how she got a bit messy and power-hungry, doubted herself and her leadership, snapped a few times. her reaction to mal being the third amplifier absolutely broke my heart AND THE SCENE IN THE FOLD WHERE THEY KISS AND IT ALL TURNS RED AND GLOWING WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. i also like how she's part of the grisha triumvirate (though david in my view 100% deserved to be there :( ) because her ending in the books to me would be really unsatisfying. she didn't go through all that shit to become a housewife. ALSO THE ENDING??? HER GOING KINDA BAT SHIT??? EVIL ALINA??? since i haven't read the books i actually don't know if this actually happened at some stage BUT I KIND OF LOVE IT FOR HER. i think if they can pull it off (and give me white haired alina i will die on this hill) it could be super cool, and not something we see in media very often, especially with female leads. without mal to ground her, i want to see how dark she can get.

Mal!!! someone is going to send me a death threat for this (which is very messed up how liking a character can cause someone to do that) but FUCK IT i like mal. i really love the humanity archie gives him, and his own little moments like paying the shop owner in novyi zem and bantering with nikolai. also his morozova storyline was done really well, and you can see how crushing it is for him to realise that he has to die for alina to succeed. also his outfits idk just really suit him? he really grounded alina throughout the season and i'm honestly not sure why it's a crime to like him. i think he's severely underrated and will hopefully be appreciated more in the years to come, just like how peeta was dragged for years but now everyone is starting to see how wonderful he always was. i also did not see his ending coming, but i really like it now that i think about it. his character has always been so attached to alina, and like he said, now that the morozova side of him is gone, he doesn't know who he is. while it was sad to see him say that he doesn't know if he loves alina anymore, i also really respect the 'choice not destiny' thing and how he wants to make sure that he loves her for her, beyond the amplifier bond they shared. it's been a common theme throughout his story that he's been forced to be a soldier his whole life, but has always just wanted to explore the world and now he gets to do that!! i like the idea of mal having his own adventures and his own leadership role beyond alina, and i think their relationship will be better for it.

NIKOLAI LANTSOV. listen my friend has been simping for this man since high school AND I UNDERSTAND WHY NOW. i've read the KoS duology and adored him but PATRICK FUCKING GIBSON LITERALLY ROSE RIGHT FROM THOSE PAGES AND BECAME NIKOLAI. i hope the girlies who trashed his casting are very embarrassed right now, this man was BORN to play nikolai. he was my highlight of the season and i think i am in love now. he fit in with the s1 cast seamlessly and provided the perfect bridge between the crows and the s&b gang. i am a little upset we didn't get any interactions between him and zoya, but we got some hints AND the demon king tease so i'm willing to wait for it in season 3 (another reason i will be fucking furious if this amazing show is cancelled).

KANEJ. KANEJJJJJJJJ. i, along with many others, was TERRIFIED that netflix would butcher their relationship. there were a few moments (the hallucination scene, the bandage scene, etc) that i couldn't even enjoy because i was so scared they would kiss or something. BUT they didn't, and now i can go back and actually enjoy the scenes because they did them so well!! they were perfectly in character and honoured the books amazingly. their bond was strengthened so much this season AND THE FINAL SCENE IN THE CHAPEL THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS JUST SAYING THE WORDS ALONG WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE RIGHT FROM THE BOOK!!!! freddy and amita CARRIED and their chemistry is so good sometimes i felt like i needed to look away omg

kaz being the messy, anti-hero bitch he was born to be. i think a lot of people who haven't read six of crows who watched season 1 didn't really get the fuss about kaz, but i think they do now. they really masterfully unpacked his character and freddy absolutely blew it out of the water with his acting. they really did kaz justice and somehow ended up adapting crooked kingdom before six of crows but i get why they did, the ice court heist needs to be its own focus, and the parts from crooked kingdom that they cherry picked for this season were purely for character development that was really needed for the crows. i liked how the audience was left guessing just how far he would go, like the scene with albie. AND THE SCENE WITH PEKKA IN EPISODE FOUR HAD MY JAW ON THE FLOOR, IT WAS PERFECT. also him hating on wesper was fucking funny, and his dynamic with nina was EVERYTHING I WANTED

GENYA SAFIN MY BELOVED. this entire season had me rooting for her and wanting to jump into the screen and give her a gun. daisy head CARRIED, she did such an amazing job and had me literally sobbing. genya's story is so devastating but she's such a powerful and kind character who really got to be in the spotlight this season. she and nikolai and zoya are my favourite og trilogy characters, and HER AND DAVID WERE SO FUCKING CUTE SHE DESERVES ALL THE HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD.

nina!!! danielle galligan absolutely nailed nina's energy and her being added to the crows at last was worth the wait. i love how she outsmarted the others and just got shit done.

we sadly didn't get as much zoya in this season as i wished however i ate up every scene she was in and screamed when she said she could fix nikolai lmao

WESPER MY BELOVED THEIR SCENES WERE SO CUTE AND WERE LIKE LITTLE POPS OF HAPPINESS AMONG ALL THE CHAOS HAPPENING THIS SEASON. the piano scene?? them under the cart during the shoot out?? them fighting in shu han and then wylan telling him he was the first person he wanted to tell about the butterflies?? i am on the FLOOR

WYLAN. wylan stepped right out of the books and he was GLORIOUS. jack wolfe nailed his energy, and i loved the details they included - like how he labelled his bottles with music so he could read them!! he and kit had incredible chemistry and i loved the conflict they had about jesper's grisha abilities and wylan's dyslexia, it felt really true to the books. ALSO HIM BEING SO EXCITED ABOUT THE BUTTERFLIES and then feeding them to the crew LMAO i will protect him at all costs.

tolya and tamar!!!! they were so fucking cool!!!!

the hallucination scene, for all the characters

the little hints to king of scars!! the bee landing on zoya's arm!! thought that was really clever

I WILL HAVE YOU WITHOUT YOUR ARMOUR KAZ BREKKER OR I WILL NOT HAVE YOU AT ALL. MY GIRL SAID I AINT FIXING YOU FIX YOURSELF

the beautiful colour alina's powers turned when she connected to mal and destroyed the fold

'i'm sorry, did you say mal is a bird?'

'everyone's lost their minds'

did i mention nikolai because nikolai

the costumes??? were so fucking gorgeous??? i couldn't take my eyes off them everyone looked AMAZING

THE ENDING HAD MY JAW ON THE FLOOR. I DID NOT SEE IT COMING AT ALL, I THOUGHT WE WOULD GET IDK SOME SEMI-HAPPY ENDING WITH THE CHARACTERS LEFT OPEN ENDED BUT HOLY SHIT IT WAS SUCH A GOOD CLIFFHANGER and a perfect segue into both six of crows and king of scars!!! it also makes sense timeline wise that it would happen, so i'm really happy with it and can't wait to see what they do with it!!

things i did not like

...wesper. or more specifically, the way they did wesper. i really don't see wylan as someone who would be going out having one night stands with people?? this was the writing choice i didn't get. idk, it just felt really out of character for him and it also just removed all of the tension from jesper and wylan's relationship. no 'just girls?', no 'i kind of like your stupid face', none of the pining that was so crucial to their relationship in the books. don't get me wrong, there were moments i loved, but the foundations of their relationship in the show were a weird choice that's only just balanced with the sheer joy of seeing them onscreen together.

matthias. mans spent all eight episodes in literal jail. with all the promo and stuff with the six of them, i really thought we were going to get all six of them onscreen together this season!! i think it was a waste to just keep him locked up, sometimes i forgot he was even there until they randomly cut to him in hellgate. idk with everything else going on this season they couldn't have let calahan skogman out of the prison set and have one scene with any of the characters?? i really feel like they wasted him here and i get that they're going to break him out for the ice court heist, but surely there could have been room for him with the other characters somehow this season.

alina and nikolai getting married and going through with the engagement??? PLEASE i do NOT want them together, not married, not nothing. i like how they had a *few* suggestive moments, but that was sort of enough. zoyalai is one of the best ships and i really don't want alina to be in the middle of them. i like their friendship but the idea of them actually getting married is just not it for me. i can see them like getting married but then nikolai and zoya falling for each other, if they can manage that then fine but it takes away the focus from zoya and nikolai and idk if i'm about that

DAVID. my boy did NOT deserve to die so early. his scenes with genya were so sweet AND THE STEEL PART FROM THE BOOKS HAD ME WEEPING. i'm really holding on to the fact that we didn't see his body and that genya couldn't feel his heartbeat because she wasn't amplified by baghra because fuck i want him to live and marry genya like he deserves. i am okay with being delusional

WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT LOOK WAS BETWEEN TOLYA AND INEJ GET RID OF IT I HATE IT

i can see why people are frustrated that they took a lot of crooked kingdom elements and put them before the ice court heist. the feud with pekka rollins was crucial to kaz's motivation to even go to fjerda. inej leaving (on a ship that kaz did not buy for her hmmmm) with mal to hunt slavers, how is she going to rejoin the crows? wesper already being together. i can see why they did these things but i can also see why readers would question it. i guess it's just switching the order of things, we'll see...

it did seem rushed - but i think the reason people are really noticing it is because of how slow season 1 was. don't get me wrong, i love season 1, but they really faithfully adapted book 1 of shadow and bone across the entire season; compared to season 2 where they adapted siege & storm, ruin & rising, and elements of the lives of the saints, crooked kingdom, six of crows and king of scars. i honestly think if they shaved off a couple of characters - like that annoying tidemaker chick, pekka rollins even, vasily - there would have been a bit of breathing room. it sort of felt like BAM massive thing happens and then BAM switching to the next scene with a different set of characters. i understand again why they did it - they don't know if they're getting a third season - but it does stand out as a bit of a flaw.

maybe this is a personal thing, but i kind of like how king of scars moved away from alina and mal's story to focus on the other characters. i completely understand why they've kept alina and mal in the show - they're the two main leads, and to get rid of archie and jessie would be sad - but now that their story is more or less finished, i hope alina doesn't take up too much of what is going to be king of scars. i am 100% down to see her evil era and her white hair, but i also want there to be room for the other characters beyond just alina and i'm curious to see if they'll be able to pull that off with her still around.

for all the fuss about the fold, it being gone within the first ten minutes of the finale was kind of funny lol

overall i really loved this season despite a couple of gripes, and i don't see why everyone is being so shitty about it. yes it's not accurate to the books, but i think more importantly it's really accurate to the characters and that's what matters!!! ALSO PLEASE KEEP STREAMING BECAUSE IF WE DON'T GET A SEASON 3 WE WILL NEVER SEE ZOYALAI OR THE ICE COURT HEIST OR THE ACTUAL SIX OF CROWS COMING TOGETHER MATTHIAS WILL STAY IN JAIL FOREVER DO IT FOR THEMMMM

[dkniade]

Can I just say that I’m glad to see more fans of datsugoku here? LIKE ITS SO SO GOOD AND GOD SO TRAGICC THEY DESERVED BETTER!! Also also your analysis on Oktavia’s cover was FUCKING AMAZING HOLY HELLL/pos

(If anyone’s curious about the song mentioned here, note that the first link’s music video contains flashing lights and rapid motions, and the themes include violence and character death)

Thank you so much!! I really love Datsugoku’s MV for telling such a story in a mere 3 minutes and 47 seconds while combining music/lyrics/visuals together well. I remember how I used to really look up to sidu for her work on Datsugoku, particularly for its lighting and video editing haha. Over the years her artstyle has changed but Datsugoku is one of my favourite “phases” of her art style I’d say

(I think to this day if I’m trying to get someone into Neruke I’d just send them the MV haha)

But as a song it’s just really cool to listen to as well. The riff at the start, that guitar solo in the middle (I wrote a post about my interpretation of the solo’s narrative significance) IT’S SO GOOD. One of the best—or most memorable?—solos Neru has written I think. I like that you can get one interpretation based on the music/lyrics themselves, and another slightly different interpretation based on the MV (since what’s described in the lyrics don’t exactly match what’s happening on-screen even though they’re describing the same event.) This mismatch (?) in how the media forms are staggered (?) is so cool, like when the LYRICS say (using my translation)—

.

Slamming down on the rusted throttle

with all that I’ve got—

so hard that I’d break my bones—

Right now, let’s break through reality

.

—but the ANIMATION shows the moments before, where Kawasemi throws the knife to rip off Kuina’s blindfold, mouthes something in a cocky way, and runs away to start the chase…!

-

(Note that the next link here goes to a post which links to a video with flashing lights and rapid motions.)

AH speaking of a tragic ending that deserved better, back in 2021 I was able to participate in a Neruke 10th anniversary fan medley MV, and did the illustration for Datsugoku! The section chosen was of course the very guitar solo itself so I tried to depict a scene of freedom and happiness in the illustration. Whether the smiling and relaxed Kawasemi is alive in the illustration is up to interpretation, haha…

It’s to match lyrics like—(note that this section of the lyrics kiiind of alludes to metaphoric drugs, and again character death)—

.

“Increasing the altitude without a change in your expression, you laugh”

(“顔色変えず高度上げて君は笑う”)

.

and

.

“As the engine heats up, I don’t care about what’s happening to the plane’s body, so high I was in the blue heavens”

(“エンジンがヒートして　機体がどうしたって気にもしない程に　トリップしてしまう大空は偉大さ”)

.

UE UE UE KAWASEMI YOU BASTARD WITH NO SELF-PRESERVATION (affectionate). Looking at it again, as a loanword from English,トリップして (trip-shite) likely refers to tripping (on drugs)… as in he’s in such a state of ecstasy—in seventh heaven, if you will—it’s like he’s high. ….oh my god hence Oktavia’s line:

.

“Though the engine overheats, the plane begins to dive / I don’t care, it’s right in front of me / The Seventh Heaven finally on the bright side”

-

(Long ramble about Oktavia’s lyrics, Japanese lyrics, English translyrics, melody, and phonology here)

As for my initial reaction Oktavia’s encore cover, thank you!! As I’ve mentioned in the reaction/analysis post I really like how she writes lyrics. Rhythmically, I’ve realized that it’s not just about fitting the Japanese lyrics’ syllables to English words while retaining the meaning, it’s about sonority (relative loudness of a speech sound) and how the sonority of the English lyrics should sound with the melody—and as a poet and occasional (English cover) lyricist who tries to rhyme and keep the rhythm, THAT’S REALLY DIFFICULT. I think… a vocal melody written for a song in Japanese would probably take advantage of how Japanese is mostly consonant-vowel (e.g. Datsugoku can be split up to da-tsu-go-ku, but don’t quote my on the technicalities), but rewrite the lyrics to English without thinking of rhythm and suddenly it’s hard to sing lyrics when they’re all mushed together, be it because the sonority just don’t work, or that there are too many consonants…

For example, it’s easier to sing

.

あの頃僕ら夢を見ていたんだ

(Ano koro bokura yume o miteita nda)

.

than it is to sing, say,

.

“Back then the two of us would dream of better lives than this”

.

even though the syllable count matches (do you know how hard it was to intentionally write a line that’d mess with the syllabic stress in relation to the melody)

SO THAT’S WHY I LOVE OKTAVIA’S LYRIC

.

“Tell me you remember when we’d dream of another life.”

.

The way the consonants at the ends of the words follow the vowels at the beginning of the next word makes it flow SO WELL. It seems she writes the lyrics based more on the melody’s ups-and-downs itself instead of the Japanese syllables, if that makes sense?

Oktavia’s mentioned something similar about rhyming and syllables in Japanese vs English lyrics once

.

“it is interesting though that rhyming is so integral to english lyrics but like in other languages (japanese) that sort of culture doesn't exist

my theory is that it's because english has so many different pronunciations to learn rhymes are more appealing 'cause they're rarer? vs japanese where because of the syllable system you can write lyrics that rhyme MUCH easier so it's not as prioritized???? idk”

.

The syllable system in Japanese is different from English so maybe it sounds nice in English when a (relatively) complicated syllabic system suddenly has rhymes where it usually wouldn’t…?

Ahaha, anyway, thank you for the ask! I was able to ramble about Datsugoku’s lyrics and gain more insight on the song even after a year…

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM Season 2 Eps 4-6 Ramblings

EP. 4

- More baby twins. I love getting to see these flashbacks of things that were only briefly mentioned during the campaign.

- Trinket origin story! Baby trinket is so adorable.

- Ugh... and right back into this absolutely brutal moment. The first of several moments that are going to be absolutely gut wrenching to see animated.

- Trinket defending his mama. 

- “Take me instead you Raven bitch.” Love that they keep these iconic lines from the campaign.

- “Holy shit, I’m amazing.” Humble as ever Kash.

- Love Vex laughing in response to them telling her she died. Because sometimes it’s the only way to process things.

- Vax getting Death Walker’s Ward. And thus the decision that seals Vax’s fate in the end.

- Zahra is so cool. I love her.

- Vax’s flashbacks to the Calamity... I really hope we get a Calamity film at some point.

- And a passing of the torch from Purvan to Vax. Going from Vax getting the shit beat out of him, to him then accepting his fate and coming back and saving everyone. I love it so much.

- The tensions between Percy and Vax beginning... 

- The necklace for Trinket!

- Was not expecting that little jumpscare at all... though I really like them adding these Calamity flashbacks as part of becoming the new Champion of the Matron of Ravens.

- Westruun in flames...

EP. 5

- BABY KEYLETH! 

- “Pass through fire” reference. I’m a little sad that the context has changed so much, but I appreciate that the sentiment still exists in this world. I guess this also means we won’t be seeing Kerrek at all. (Which makes sense given Lyra and Thorbir were also cut.)

- Grog and Kraven Edge. Simultaneously the funniest and most terrifying relationship in the show. Also love that they included the Grog and Scanlan convo.

- Pike and Grog singing together! I love it.

- And the secrets of the broom unlocked!

- Was Vax this much of an asshole during this part of the campaign? I don’t remember him being this much of a dick towards Keyleth...

- KIMA AND ALLURA! HELL YES!

- “You know what you fight fire with?” “Fire?” “Me.” Never change Grog.

- “We can certainly try.” Fucking incredible. I love it so much.

- I love any time Percy loses his cool. 

- ALLURA. FUCKING. VYSOREN.

- I have very little recollection of Keyleth and her dad together in campaign, so I love getting to see them together here.

- I wonder if between the Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein series we’ll get to see Keyleth and her mother reunite.

- Keyleth is the best member of the team. I will not be taking any questions or criticisms.

- Seeing Keyleth’s new look, my brain immediately goes to getting the red tunic to resist fire in Ocarina of Time...

- Plane shifting beginnings.

EP. 6

- And now getting into Grog’s backstory a little more. I love that season one was them solidifying them as a team, and now season two is letting us see more into their individual backstories.

- Oh Percy...

- My recollection is that Scanlan never let anyone manhandle him in the campaign. He always insisted that everyone else heal themselves first and refused to be picked up most of the time. (With the occasional exception during battle like the fast-ball special.)

- Kraven Edge is terrifying

- Sphinxes are so cool

- Arcane Piano. This is ridiculous and amazing all at once.

- During the campaign I never stopped to consider what it actually looks like when Scanlan stop to sing in the middle of battle.

- Scanlan bonding with the Sphinx was not what I expected from this trial. But I love it.

- MYTHCARVER! Time to slay a Pit Fiend.

- Not as brutal as ending on Liam/Vax’s sobs last week, but that was still awful. 

- I'm interested to see where this goes because so far Pike is their only healer, unlike the campaign where Vex, Scanlan, and Keyleth were also able to heal when needed.

[midnightfangz]

Hello and welcome everyone to my newest project called Pluto reviews where I gush about the amazing fanfics my dear friends wrote <3

I've always (kind of?) wanted to do this for a pretty long time, but was too shy to actually write and post something, so I wanted to thank my very cool friend Nova (aka @min1nova) for asking me to review their fic called To the bone.

Without further ado, let's get to it :3c

Contents:

Introduction ✦ Story summary ✦ My thoughts ✦ Excerpts ✦

‧₊˚✩彡 Introduction

⤷ To the bone is a dark industrial fantasy fanfic based on the Hades video game from 2018. What is dark industrial fantasy, you ask? Imagine Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher without the high fantasy elements-- heavily inspired by industrial towns in eastern Europe. The main pairing is Thanaots/Zagreus, but there's a smidge of Charon/Hermes in the background, if you're into that too. It is rated as mature, mostly because of its serious and grim nature. It currently has over 4k words, but I'm sure that's gonna change soon, since Nova has a few more chapters planned.

⤷ TW for the first chapter (as described by Nova): blood, mediocre surgery description, Thanatos with the usual amount of stick up his ass(!)

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‧₊˚✩彡 Story summary

⤷ Author's summary:

A small town enshrouded in the march of industrial abuse of the land is the home of many curious figures. Darkness is afoot, sons harbour secret enterprises and death is only a comforting constant here. The gloomy barista of a quiet cafeteria begins to unravel a mystery as an uneventful night turns into a rather harried operation.

⤷ My summary:

The story focuses on a young man named Thanatos, who is trying to make a living as a coffee shop owner in a small mining town called Grobniki. One evening, a heavily wounded man passes out on the doorstep of his establishment and Thanatos decides to take him in and patch him up.

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‧₊˚✩彡 My thoughts

⤷ I might be slightly biased since I got this was a very, very cool story gifted to me by Nova, however! Nova's writing style is so fucking good I simply must promote it whenever I can :3c

⤷ I absolutely love how Nova manages to nail the characterisation no matter the tone she sets for her story. Not only that, the characterisation makes sense within her story. Take Thanatos, for example. He's deadly serious (pun intended) and takes his job very seriously in the game, so it makes sense he would be the same in To the bone. Nova, however takes it to a next level-- we get Thanatos who's kinda scary and is absolutely terrible at social interactions, despite a coffee shop owner. Never would I have thought that Than would choose to talk to people as a job, but holy shit Nova pulls it off so well. And Zagreus-- my god Zagreus!! He's still the talkative, flighty himbo we see in the game, but you can feel he's hiding something behind that smug smile of his. Not gonna lie, when I first read his lines, I could hear his voice saying them.

⤷ Also the general vibe of the story is?? so good?? Nova's fics tend to gravitate towards grittier, more serious aesthetics and I'm all here for it.

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‧₊˚✩彡 Excerpts

And lastly, here are my favourite parts from the first chapter, It begins in the darkness:

The doctor’s son had indeed ventured to open a business of his own. His greyish, darker skin would gleam in the lamplight and contrasted sharply with his ashy platinum hair, hands working deftly and his stride quick as he prepared the orders. Amongst those could be a strange liquid, dark as the night, imported from the imposing, large city so far beyond their reach. The bitter end, a name that caused many a chuckle, was not well visited in the evening, but more and more of the workforce would make their way to the shop in the morning, nursing a cup of the death that served them, even if the only deadly thing about it was the amounts of precious sugar deposited in each and every cup quickly drained before a long day of hard labour and shallow breaths.

⤷ hrrghrgrgh you have. no idea. how much I love Nova's worldbuilding and scene descriptions i mean are you seeing this??? I swear to god they're hogging all that talent it's not fair

“Dear bartender, I would like a small cup of your darkest, with two spoons of sugar please!” The postman all but draped himself over the counter every morning, quite dramatically so. It would be the same every morning, before he ran all the way to the larger town down the river to pick up the post, and in the afternoon he would distribute it among the townsfolk, in their little letterboxes. 

⤷ HERMES IS MY FAVOURITE LITTLE FELLA AND NOVA WRITES HIM SO WELL

“–and then I nearly fell down the bridge, and I saw them all! The fish you were speaking of, I knew it was bad, but not nearly as I saw it, oh the stench!” The postman had seated himself across the fisherman–if one could call the draping that he always tended to do just that–and spoke animatedly. A strange companionship the two nursed over drinks, but Thanatos found himself just a tiny bit envious between the laughter that bounced off the floorboards and the easy way in which they seemed to understand each other, even if they didn’t quite speak each other’s language.

⤷ woe! background charon/hermes be upon ye! (foaming at the mouth they make me so ill in the best way possible)

Thanatos would like to claim that he was not so different from these townsfolk, but that was not entirely true. It took him some time, when he’d been younger, to learn to discern. The vacant eyes were not so different from the vacancy that could dwell in the mind sometimes, after all. Pale skin could glitter so sickly, when one happened to be a patient of his loving mother. 

⤷ i need to print this out and shove it in my mouth this is so fucking good oh my god

After thorough inspection, Thanatos did not find any more grave injuries that needed immediate attention, other than a clean rag over the numerous scrapes that mapped a concerning picture for the observer. The bruises that would certainly grow darker soon, the pale, sweaty skin stretched over a body that would fail the host soon if the wound wasn’t closed soon. When he checked for a pulse, despite the assurance that the body was still breathing, rapidly, there seemed to be next to none. He frowned. 

⤷ another banger paragraph that makes me want to jump up and down while screaming like an ape because i can't handle how beautiful Nova's writing style is

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Anyways, that's all I have for today!

What did you think? Would you like me to continue doing reviews like this? Or better, would you like me to read YOUR fic and do a review of it?

(youtuber voice) let me know what you think in the comments! Until next time!

Yours truly,

Pluto aka midnightfangz <3