#do not have 7 main characters if you can’t spend time on each other them for the love of god | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

green-tea-in-absinthe-bottle · 1 month

Text

THE NIGHT BELONGS TO YOU CHAPTER 3

Blade x fem reader fanfic

MASTERLIST

Summary of part 3 - Reader lives among stellaron hunters, makes genuine connections and slowly becomes one of them

Chapter 3 – Tangled up like branches in a flood

Between playing games with Silver Wolf at which Y/n sucked, ( but enjoyed them, so who cares) and conversations with Elio (she was told by Destiny’s Slave himself to refer to him as such after short time) weeks passed quickly and happily with Stellaron Hunters.

Y/n couldn’t say that she wasn’t treated well, her room was spacious and comfortable one with king sized bed and huge bookshelf full of grimoires, they even put up a little herb garden in her room. She had supplies for her numerous hobbies, yarn for crochet and knitting, painting tools, even her favourite instrument to practice with to Kafka’s delight as she always craved some company while honing her violin skills.

She was quickly introduced to her share of housework which wasn’t a terrible one, she got to do things she didn’t really mind doing especially those that others didn’t like, overall it wasn’t overwhelming. If anything she was too proud to admit but it seemed life together was much easier, at least no more triggering her sensory issues with washing dishes. With time her attachment to Stellaron Hunters grew.

They behaved towards each other like a found family and there was nothing Arkonian missed more than her own one. Maybe that’s why she loved how Blade and Silver Wolf’s friendship looked like? Each time she noticed them joke around together and spend quality time regardless if it was work-related, going out in disguise to enjoy festivals or parallel play when Wolf gamed and Blade slept with his eyes open next to her - y/n thought about her father and how they used to do that too, minus the whole incognito thing.

She wasn’t the part of their dynamic, yet it still brought her comfort. Even when she spent time with Silver Wolf Blade almost never spoke to her, despite his gaze always finding her and observing her every move.

- Y/n, would you like to play Tekken with me? Blade hurt his hand again, he can’t hold the controller properly. - Wolfie casually suggested, giving him a piece of bubble gum. He took it gently into his bandaged hand. Fresh blood was visible on white material.

- Sure, why not. Tekken 7 or 8? I main Kazumi or Jun.

- You like Mishimas’s girls? - teen teased her.

- What can I say, they have great taste in women, I mean... Have you seen Jun’s leg cutter move? So hot. - y/n didn’t even try to pretend she was normal about those characters. - By the way, what happened to our friend?

He winced at the word she chose to describe him with but didn’t oppose when y/n sat on the floor between his and Wolfie’s legs. She didn’t want to get the chips crumbs scrambled here and there on the couch stuck on her black pants.

- During the mission some glass shards from broken window cut his hand. Don’t worry, he heals much faster than average person, his curse does come with a few blessings. - Wolfie answered instead of the man, who looked like he wanted to say a few bitter words about such unwanted “blessings” that only delay his eternal rest. Unbothered by his grumpiness girl continued. - Here is your controller, we play the new Tekken. Blade just bought it for me today.

- That’s very kind of him. - y/n admitted. She only earned unamused glance from the man.

- He is way nicer than he seems to be at first, you will understand.

Out of 7 matches they played y/n won only two, but claimed to be good at Tekken. Just, you know, trying new techniques for fun and gawking at Jun’s design. Wolfie turned out to be Yoshimitsu main but tried Hwoarang once. Blade didn’t utter a word through the whole game but passed them snacks from nearby table. Perhaps those spicy shrimp chips were enough for y/n to forget how annoying he could be sometimes. Did she imagine this or did he really gave up last few chips from his bowl so she could have them?

***

Later, when Silver Wolf and Y/N were alone the former reassured her.

- Don’t worry about Blade, he isn’t in the best place mentally. He usually avoids outsiders like a plague. You are new here and we don’t know yet for how long will you be willing to stay with us or if we can trust you. It’s already a miracle he sits next to you out of his own will, I think he doesn’t dislike you. - girl grinned.

- I don’t know about that. - y/n laughed in response – Your gloomy friend constantly stares at me like he wants to see all my previous lifetimes.

Hacker cackled wildly at that.

- Oh come on, he’s not that bad. He is just... A bit intense. But trust me, he doesn’t hate you. You would know if he would. You haven’t seen him like that yet, he’s like some fallen angel of revenge.

- Sounds like I really don’t want to get on his bad side. - medium scrunched her nose.

Even more often she marveled at Blade’s friendship with Firefly, the girl that craved life but hers was meant to be cut short, while he craved nothing more than for his immortal suffering to come to end, he could find some hope for peace only in death, just like one of Y/N’s relatives back then on Arkona... Yet Firefly and Blade deeply respected each other, understood each other in a way nobody else ever did and took care of each other in subtle way. It was so sweet.

In general, y/n considered the way everybody here accommodated disabled people of the group without infantilising them or making them seem like a burden. For example – Blade let girls play on his phone, but when he needed them to type a message to somebody which was hard for him to do because of constant stiffness of his hands – he didn’t need to ask them twice even in the middle of unstoppable game. Perhaps the pain in his hands is the reason why he barely used his phone in general. He always spoke to the girls with respect, never let them feel inferior despite age difference, y/n chose to believe that the day he got his ass kicked by Sam was not the only reason why.

Firefly’s entropy loss syndrome wasn’t a tabu, nobody tried to pretend it wasn’t there, but it was not a secret that time spent together was precious to them due to her shortened lifespan. She was always the closest with Blade, yet y/n suspected the one who cherished her the most was Kafka herself. The problem is even if Kafka tried her best at being there for Firefly it only seemed to create more distance.

Y/n believed in Kafka’s good intentions towards her crewmates. She always checked on their wellbeing, listened to Silver Wolf’s ideas when nobody else took them seriously and she was the one covering for them in front of the boss when they ignored the script on missions. The way in which girls asked her if they can bend the rules a bit each time made y/n remember how she used to ask her auntie to calm her mother down later if she wanted to misbehave. Despite that, y/n believed that Kafka, so known for being completely fearless, tried to shield herself from others to avoid getting too close.

It came to her mind one day while she was cleaning and organizing Kafka’s collection of coats alongside it’s owner.

- This one might need to be repaired before it gets back into the closet. - y/n suggested.

- What is it dear? - woman furrowed her brow, taking a look at damaged sleeve Arkonian held in front of her. - Is that blood? I really liked this one...- she sighed. - Don’t worry cutie, the blood definitely isn’t mine.

While that woman was always charming, polite and elegant – she was also a mysterious one, doing her best to not pick up any personal topics. She clearly wanted company, valued people around her and in some way, y/n was sure she needed them. Yet, she never truly let go of her defences. She seemed to be honest with you, telling you things without sugarcoating, but at the end of the day you didn’t really knew who she was. She didn’t lie but she never opened up either.

At one point this enigmatic woman put down the last one of her coats and looked up at the painting hanging on the wall. Artificial light enhanced her facial features, emphasized her subtle expression. Kafka had that kind of sadness in her eyes y/n only saw in people who lost somebody who meant world to them, full of regret as if her soul could burst out of the seams under the weight of words unsaid, unconfessed feelings. Quickly, she concealed those emotions and closed the closet door. Y/n didn’t ask about it.

She didn’t want to pry, sometimes we need to let people keep their secrets, it’s a form of dignity too, like clothing that covers your body. Y/n knew better than anyone else – it's not a good thing to show your open wounds to people. After all Arkona left a hole in her heart that will never heal.

Still, she tried to fill it, went out to run whenever she could, hiked the mountains to feel the blood rush through her body. To feel alive. Usually Firefly joined her during those activities, when you know you don’t have much time left you try to make every day meaningful. More often than not she had to take on SAM form during those to not overwhelm her body. To Firefly having a chance to see the beauty of nature, of world around herself – that was everything, and she couldn’t bear the thought of losing it one day.

During one of those hikes Y/n sat down next to younger girl on a boulder and passed her a thermos full of hot chocolate. They looked up at the setting sun, while two out of three moons this particular planet they chose to roam had slowly showed on the sky as pale crescents. Memories flood y/n’s mind. She turned her head towards her friend, only to see Firefly observing her with understanding in her eyes.

- Can I tell you something I haven’t told anybody else?- Y/n whispered with trembling voice.

- Of course, did something happen? - girl seemed to be concerned.

- Back then, on my home planet I used to live next to the mountain, it used to be known in common language as Saintcross, our original name would sound too strange to you. You know what kind of reputation Arkonian language has. Whenever harsh winds and storms destroyed roofs of the houses in nearby villages my mother used to pray to Saintcross so it keeps us safe... She used to say it’s like a natural shield against those. I didn’t always believe that, cause in the area around them harsh winds were not uncommon but our home stood safe through it so I guess her prayers were listened to. Till the abominations came and split my mountains apart. - Arkonian’s face was wet with all the tears and she trembled so hard Firefly noticed it despite thick winter jacket covering y/n’s body .– Then there was nothing to protect us anymore. Nothing to pray to. Smoke covered sky so no stars shone above us at night and no sun was to be seen at day.

Firefly didn’t knew what to do when people cried so she just held y/n till she calmed down. Then she spoke as well.

- My kind was meant to live fast and die in the flames of battle. In my lifetime I saw my comrades die again and again, I’m was used to losing those around me, that at some point I truly, foolishly believed that I can’t feel grief. We were made to fight Swarm but we lived like a hivemind ourselves. Only our purpose mattered, not who we were. To some extend we were made to believe we were all the same, like army of clones. - she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Arkonian’s arms around her tightened. - One thing I really need to do before enthropy takes me away from this world is to learn who I am. Only I myself can give sense to my life. I was made to burn, so in this fire I will forge myself in any shape I desire. - ambition shone in her eyes with intensity of the sun itself.

- I am sure you will reach your goal, maybe even to some extent it’s already done. - y/n gently smiled.

- Why would you say that? - girl livened up a bit.

- I never saw anybody burn as bright as you do. Take in everything like you do. Embrace life in all it’s colors. All stars shine in the sky but my people always looked up to the brightest ones. You remind me so much of myself from my younger days in that aspect, I used to beg my family to take me up the mountain as often as possible, just so I could feel closer to divinity of sun, clouds and constellations. It made me feel so alive I wanted to scream from mountaintop. - y/n sighed. - Not to mention, growing up I had both a sweet tooth and tendency to try unconventional meals, I bet we would eat Oak Cake Rolls together if we knew each other back then. You need to try my favourite Anyżki cookies as well.

- Oh, do you know how to make them? I can use SAM's heating ability to help you bake them. - Firefly flexed a bit with a tiny smirk.

- Ummm...I need to refresh my memory, but as soon as I put my hands on that recipe we get to work bestie.

Firefly took of her helmet and put her head on y/n's shoulder with pleased expression on her face. They watched as the third moon became visible, distant howling of wolves filled the atmosphere. Arkonian felt like in trance, tranquil after the storm of her emotions drained her energy. She sobered up once the first moon begun to set.

- Maybe we should go. It’s getting late and I overheard Elio talk to Blade about something to do early in the morning tomorrow if everything goes well. - y/n’s voice interrupted peaceful moment they shared.

Firefly got up and they walked back in complete silence, no words were needed.

Y/n didn’t know if her friend told anybody about what happened, but after she came down to the kitchen that night to get some pills for her insomnia, she met Kafka who silently gave her a cup of hot milk with honey with reassuring smile on her face.

When she returned to her bedroom she found burning lavender incense placed on her bedside table, next to the small bouquet of red flowers identical to those Blade always had with himself. She didn’t recall putting any of those there, but was to tired to worry about that. Lavender managed to put her at ease, out of nowhere quiet violin music as hypnotizing as Kafka’s voice reached her ears and put her to sleep. For the first time since the fall of Arkona – she had no nightmares.

***

Humming to herself y/n cheerfully went to Elio’s office. She felt so much better after that night, her first one of good sleep in years. Right before she reached for door handle her mind was engulfed with vision of way too bright light that caused her pain and out of it stepped Terminus holding a star in his hand, complicated sigil drawn on it’s surface. Y/n felt her legs give up, she expected her body to hit the floor but then she felt the embrace of two strong arms, smell of fresh blood and Red Spider Lily flowers. Red, observant eyes of darkhaired male attentively checked for the shadow of discomfort in her eyes as he picked her up. She felt her cheeks blush under his gaze.

- Are you alright? - he asked.

She wondered why a man with such an attractive, manly voice speaks so rarely. Yet when he did usually it was a witty response or a sharp remark. Out of all Stellaron Hunters he was the hardest to connect to, even Kafka allowed her closer than he ever did. Always so fixated on his pain and deathwish, he avoided anything that could get him attached back to his life, with exception of other Stellaron Hunters. Y/n hoped one day this privilege will also be hers to enjoy. She snapped out of her thoughts as Blade got concerned with her silence.

- I just had a vision. I need to go to Elio’s office, he should hear about this.

- No way I will let you go there on your own, you barely stand. - Blade sighed. - Let me carry you there if that really can’t wait.

***

Elio raised his tail up in excitement while he looked at the sigil’s sketch in front of him.

- So that’s what Terminus meant by those words last week. If I understand correctly this thing over here might be a special charm, when it’s put on a proper mechanism it allows to extract energy from stellarons, this might be a true revolution. Can you imagine? If we could use all those stellarons we sealed through the years to our advantage, one of the biggest threats against humanity working in it’s favour. Do you remember prototype we build in hopes of achieving such thing?

- Yes, I made sure craftsman working on it were the absolute best I could find. - claimed confidently Blade. - I took part of planning it’s design by myself, nothing had a chance to go wrong under my watch even if I couldn’t work on it with my hands. Yet, we failed. Do you suggest infusion could help the machine work in a more stable way?

- That’s what I believe Terminus tried to tell me. There is no time to waste, we need to act without hesitation. Y/n, are you ready for your first mission for Stellaron Hunters? - Elio asked tho he already knew the answer.

- Of course. - Y/n hurriedly assured him. - I am ready.

- Good – he purred in response – There is a stellaron in hands of IPC nearby that we can try your sigil and Blade’s machine on. Grab it from the workshop and you are ready to go. According to my visions everything should go smoothly. I will give you coordinates of the object, you must attempt to seal it within machine and bring it here. Blade already knows this particular base, he and Kafka had a mission there last week. It should be easy for you guys to not get caught redhanded. I don’t expect many guards in your way. Two of you will set off without delay.

***

Blade threw microwave-sized machine at the backseat of the red, old-fashioned car and closed the door. He sat at the drivers place. Y/n noticed how he checked in a discreet way if her seatbelt is fixed. She didn’t want to disturb him while he was driving so she concentrated on the highway in front of her. Not even ten minutes have passed when he initiated a conversation to her surprise.

- Aren’t you shocked that I know how to drive? People usually ask me about it. Not very unexpected concern if you take my narcolepsy, suicidal tendencies and constant mara attacks into consideration. - his eyes didn’t leave the road the whole time but she noticed a slight crooked grin on his face.

- Not very much, Silver Wolf told me you used to be a blacksmith on Xianzhou Zhuming, Furnace Master even. I worked there, infusing their weapons with charms, so I know just how much effort and talent it takes to achieve something like this in such place, full of geniuses. I am aware you created many complicated machines during your previous lifetime, so naturally I thought you would be into all things related to such things. - she tried so hard to not say anything stupid but butterflies she felt in her stomach betrayed her time and time again.

- So you two gossip about me in your free time? I could convince Kafka to give you both some more responsibilities around the house. Separately. - he threatened but badly hidden smile on his face showed he wasn’t really upset. - How are things on Xianzhou? I bet those self-centered, arrogant idiots haven’t changed a bit since I last saw them. Always so proud, on their Xianzhou ships, yet completely delusional in their pursuits. They condemned me but their sins are way heavier than mine. - Blade laughed in a bitter way. Since when was he so talkative? He never spoke much, but when she was around the most you could get out of him was maybe a short sentence despite the way he looked at her constantly.

- To be fair the only reason it still stands is general Jing Yuan. - y/n dared to criticize Xianzhou as she still felt betrayed by them after people she trusted almost handed her to IPC – He seems to be the only person there that uses their brain for something, so he is used by them day and night, he barely sleeps.

- It must be hard on him, I don’t remember much from my previous life including some habits of my former friends, but from what I’ve heard his sleepiness is legendary.

- He is even called the slumbering general. - y/n admitted with a giggle. She hoped it wasn’t too enthusiastic. The thought of Blade somehow discovering her crush on Jing Yuan when she had a bit of a crush on him as well just didn’t sit with her right. Could you blame her? Almost every girl on Xianzhou Xianzhou was enchanted by talented general.

- Did they treat you well? - Blade looked at her this time, she knew she couldn’t lie under his penetrating gaze. He would figure her out in seconds.

- Yes, they did. I found many good colleagues in the forgery, but I never really became friends with anybody. I mostly kept to myself. The closest to a friend I had was Master Zhang.

- I don’t recall such name. - Blade slightly frowned.

- He was the one that warned me about IPC trying to get me, without him they would catch me without problem.- she mentioned Zhang with gratitude in her heart. - Everybody else had no issue with turning me in, at least from what I’ve heard. I guess current Furnace Master didn’t plan to stay silent when he saw what my enchanted weapon could do if he could get on the good side of IPC at the tiny cost of one of his employees.

Blade chuckled darkly.

- They turned their back on me as well. - his gaze went numb, he seemed to recall past grudges. Through gritted teeth he murmured – Out of five....three must pay the price.

His grip on the driving wheel tightened. Y/n wondered if he was about to get mara struck and how should she behave if that happens, when a bullet broke the car glass in front of them and flew right by her left ear.

#hsr blade #honkai blade #blade x reader #honkai star rail

9 notes · View notes

absolutebl · 1 year

Text

This Week in BL - Things are Very Mixed

May 2023 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Thai Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 3 of 10 (MDL still says 12, but Gaga still says 10) - The subs are janky on YT, so you might want to watch this on Gaga. This is such a good show, it just feels so much more authentic to an office environment and first job then anything else I’ve seen in BL. Now that might be because it has western source material, or it might be because it is actually kind of old-fashioned (it’s been years since I worked as an office grunt). While the authenticity may be a little triggering for some, I love how much tension it adds to the leads’ dynamic and the quality of the narrative. I also really love the brothers’ relationship, now that we got to see them on screen together for a bit. Walk of shame was great! Oh look, character development, how novel. This is what Boss & Babe should have been. Not sold on the sides tho it’s nice to see a faen fatal as the main character in a dynamic for a change.

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - This one is really grabbing me by the throat. I love the starter concepts, what a fantastic twist on a meet cute not to mention soulmates. I hope we spend more time with the vet and his coworkers, they seem awesome. And another surprise, the guy we think is being set up to be the brother’s love interest is now clearly interested in the wrong brother. I love the trope subversions going on with this show!

Our Skyy 2 (The Eclipse) eps 5-6 - FirstKhao are just ridiculously cute as a couple. Honestly? Aye just seems like he would be a lot of work as a lover. I’m not as wild about the premise of this installment, with the film clips and stuff (as I was of NlMG’s installment). And then, the singing. Oh well, you can’t have everything. I gotta say, First is a great crier, although I don’t think this story warranted his tears. In the end? My feelings on this installment were mixed, the movie storyline didn’t grab me and the birthday storyline seems a touch mean spirited, but I do think it adds substantially to the original Eclipse rather than feeling superfluous or slapdash like many of the other Our Skyys. So I’m going to go with 8/10

Future (Thai Sun YouTube & Gaga) ep 6fin - More of the same (which I like) but I’m glad it ended. Didn’t need to get dragged out. Such drama over nothing. In the end? This is just a soft sweet cotton candy fluff piece about a younger boy who pursues an older boy and then manufactures silly gay drama. Nothing wrong with that. But I don’t think this style of BL really appeals to a very large market share. Will I rewatch it? Sure. Will anyone else? Nope. 7/10 RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS.

Pastsenger (Thai Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 12 eps - And now the amnesia trope. I’m not a fan. This is such a pulp. At least it ends next week? Groan, no 3 more eps.

A Boss and a Babe (Fri YouTube) ep 10 of 12 - one thing I realize I like about this main couple’s dynamic is that the seme/uke seems earned, where it didn’t in Echante. I don’t have much else to say except it’s crazy when a narrative betrays its characters like this and why to poor ForceBook keep having to deal with it?

The Promise (Thai Weds YT & WeTV) ep 7 of 10 - Honestly, who wears an all white outfit to play around with coffee beans in the countryside? I LOVE the faen fatal, he’s so good, courageous, honest, and morally sound. He even gives his rival fair warning. Nan should totally go out with him. I made awwww noises over the faen fatal! I NEVER do that. I guess Phu was right all along? Nan won’t date a friend. Ultimate friend zone. Well shit. This show. Ouch.

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) ep 1 of ?? - There seems a slight horror element which I do not like and it’s also confusingly like Melrose Place or something. Everyone is sleeping with, or wants to be sleeping with everyone else. It’s kinda hilarious to watch something where all the actors are supposed to be good actors but it’s a pulp so they just really aren’t. So far my main issue is I can’t keep them all straight in my head (pun intended).

Tin Tam Jai (Tues Gaga) ep 10fin - There is very little I enjoyed about this show. The entirely forgotten side dishes gave us 5 min of excellent high heat and then vanished, but otherwise this show sucked in the wrong way. It’s forgettable and I intend to do just that. 5/10

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - The way these two are very quietly yet thoroughly falling in love with each other is executed with such grace and subtlety that only Japan could have handed this out. It’s not even “falling” it’s more like sliding gradually into love.

Love Mate (Korea Thurs Viki) eps 1-2 of 8 - Launched very much openly gay so that’s fun. Also very much bubble too, so no one around them cares. So: Seo is a player jaded older uke (fun character type we don’t see often) and his seme is a romantic if arrogant weirdo. Can you see my hands clapping? Combative trope activation! Absurdity. How fun. Also workplace harassment but hayho that’s BL for ya. (Also a nonBL Kdrama specialty.) ALSO whole office in on seme-stalker’s side? All in all, it’s odd and questionable, but I’m into it. Why am I like this?

Happy Merry Ending (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 3-4 of 8 - OK I’m not super into the main couple but I love all of the surrounding characters. The overly protective best friend with a crush is giving bad advice but it’s understandable and he’s super hot so I forgive him. And the idol character is a wonderful addition, he is my baby. Also, evil ex is v evil.

Vian the series (Vietnam YT ) - I thought this was gonna be Tiktok only but apparently it’s showing up on YT too. It’s cute! My cat boyfriend (which is more common that it should be) and this seems to be Vietnam’s installment (we got Thailand’s last year). The boy playing the cat is the prettiest human being on the planet. Fight me. No fight him, get scratched. Serious tho. Holy hairballs. Look I don’t really like vertical content but I am watching this for him. Meow, indeed.

The Day I Loved You (Vietnam YouTube) eps 2-3 of ? - BL Express’s first impressions mirror mine. Niks is so flipping cute. Rich kid is so into him, so is bestie. So much gay macho posturing. So much bi fear and het shame. But also it’s killer to get a femme main characters who isn’t being mocked. Dancing trope continues (better than singing together). It is kinda Heartstopper goes Pinoy BL. Honestly, I prefer kids a little drawings to terrible sound effects. This is better than it or we have any right to expect.

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 12 - There is a lot I like about this drama, except the weird central conceit of the naked dining. But the romance part is cute, if a tad simplistic.

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) ep 4 of 10 - chukchuk went missing and so did my interest in this show. I’m DNFing this one.

Dancing together, the baby sub-trope of 2023. (The Day I Love You)

It’s Airing But ...

Love Syndrome (Thai Sat WeTV) stopped at ep 2 of 12 - I’m just not into any aspect of it (except Lee Long Shi) - saving to binge if the end is solid.

Venus in the Sky (Sat YouTube) pilot/tester?) 0 of 10 - not entirely sure what’s up with this one distribution-wise, but the pilot was classic university-set pulp. I hope it happens because the leads are cute with good chemsitry and I thought it was fun. However, this pilot holds together as its own little short too.

Stormy Honeymoon (Vietnam) - meh

In Case You Missed It

Actors Bas Suradej (2 Moons etc...) and Copter Panuwat (so much BL) have left Starhunter. So Copter and Kimmon will part ways as an on-screen pair (RIP KimCop). Their upcoming show Boy Never Smiles will still air, but will likely be their last together. (source)

Restart After Come Back Home (highly recommended), Athlete, Capture Lover, Tkumi-kun, His the movie (recommended) and also a bunch of the dark stuff like Forbidden Love and Shortest Distance are all leaving Gagaoolala soon. So watch ‘em while you can. A few are also on Viki, but many will be difficult to get hold of without Gaga.

I finally finished the second season of The Reason Why He Fell in Love with Me (Japan Gaga) and gave it a 4/10. I just don’t like or recommend any of the installments of this franchise, but if I had to pick, it’s season one.

Make a Wish finished at 6 eps. Stars Fluke Natouch (OhmFluke UWMA etc...) & Judo (The Miracle Of Teddy Bear) in medical-fantasy about a doctor who sees ghosts and a deity who resides in a Bodhi tree that earns merits whenever he fulfills a wish. Based on a y-novel by Sammon (Manner of Death, Triage). I will watch it if I get hold of it, but for now... who knows how it went?

Here’s a really interesting podcast ep from 99% Invisible on captions and captioning.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Coming in May 2023:

5/18 - Starstruck (Korea ????) - A boy has had a crush on his childhood friend for a long time. Stars Zuho (Kpop SF9 - noted good egg) opposite rookie actor Kim In Sung (the one with the crush).

5/27 The Luminous Solution (Thai ????) 10 eps - Thana is having trouble at work and in his relationship. He can't seem to catch a break. So he makes a wish to change everything. The wish has a price.

5/27 Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan) - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS (but that has never stopped Japan before) and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I ????? (Say it with me everyone: Oh Japan, must you?)

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

Defining Gut Wrenching from The Promise

Honestly you gotta be so careful who you case as the faen fatal, sometimes he steals everyone’s hearts. I caught a BAD case of second lead syndrome.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Future reviewing itself for us.

Tiny king of the GMMTV cameo. (Our Skyy et al)

Frankly if this weren’t such a bad story, Cher might be one of my favorite BL characters. (Boss & Babe)

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? BTOB's - Wind & Wish (I don’t consider myself Melody but I make no case for that statement)

48 notes · View notes

beybladefanboy · 1 year

Text

A brief(ish) review of every Beyblade Metal Fury episode

Well, this was a long time coming. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not put this off or abandon this rewatch because I dislike Fury. Not at all. Fury is actually my favourite of the three seasons. The reason I stopped this rewatch was two main factors: 1: it was around this time that I got really sucked into Yugioh VRAINS and with how chaotic my life had been during that time, I decided I would rather spend my free time watching new content than rewatch a show I’d rewatched many times at that point. And 2: I didn’t want to rewatch Ryuga’s death. Yeah… I mean I’m not gonna lie about it.

So after a certain episode, which I will say, the reviews are mostly from memory/rewatching specified scenes/skimming the YouTube uploads and episode descriptions. (Most of these however were written at the time I finished rewatching each episode.) Trust me that I’ve seen this show enough for me to be able to do that and I just didn’t have the time to rewatch all these episodes. However, it bothered me leaving this incomplete so today, I had some time and was thinking of Beyblade so I figured I could finally do it. Now, without further ado, my at first brief, but later not so brief at all because I have so many thoughts on and defenses of Fury, reviews of every Fury episode.

Episode 1: Star Fragment 8.5/10

The best first episode of a season. I love Kyoya and Gingka’s battles in general and seeing them go all out against each other, using the environment itself as weapons against each other is really damn fun. It also sets up the star fragment thing beautifully, instantly showing off their power and hinting at the greater story very early.

Episode 2: Legendary Bladers 7/10

A lot of this episode is exposition but it’s at least interesting. I can’t get over the fact that Beyblade took a real life end of the world prediction and made it part of their plot. The battle portion of this episode is also fine. I can’t tell if I like or hate Johannes based on this episode.

Episode 3: Lynx, The Monster Cat 8/10

Okay, I like Johannes now. He’s funny. And he miraculously gave Gingka a good fight, establishing him early on as a competent blader. Still a little silly that Gingka followed Johannes to a place where he should’ve known his bey would’ve been weaker though.

Episode 4: L-Drago Destructor 8.5/10

I don’t really have much to say on this episode outside of “I like it.” I like the scenes of them play-battling with the little kid, it’s the most light-hearted the show has been in a while, and I love Ryuga so obviously I love his presence in this episode.

Episode 5: Awaken, Anubius! 9.5/10

Ryuga slays three fools in a row and roasts people non-stop in this episode. Well, Yuki’s not a fool, he’s kind of a boss actually: shedding his anxious demeanour in a fit of rage to stand up for his friends. These characters are both amazing, they really shine in this episode.

Episode 6: Requirements of a Warrior 9/10

Having Gingka, Kyoya, and Yuki acknowledge that they need to actually master their beys and working to do so is really good and needed to be brought up. Also, that fire escape scene is really intense. The idea of being trapped in a fire really freaks me out so this could just be a me thing but it’s legitimately a well crafted scene. And Yuki, Kyoya, and Gingka fighting a volcano is the silly yet epic fun I expect from this show.

Episode 7: Kenta’s Determination 7/10

Oh boy, this episode. I both love and hate this episode. Well, not hate. I hate one scene of it that lasts a minute and really doesn’t affect the episode. The stalking though… I don’t know, it could just be me but it bugs me. Not as much as it used to, I’m willing to give this episode a fair score because it is really cute. Ryuga is a boss like usual and he shows a hint of his softer side for the first time in his scenes with Kenta. It’s pretty subtle, and easy to miss if you don’t know Ryuga all that well, which I like. This episode trusts that the audience knows Ryuga well enough at this point to know that him waiting on Kenta in the desert and later giving him food and letting him stick with him isn’t something he would do for just anyone. They’re small hints, which is all they needed to be, and they make the second half of this episode for me. It’s honestly one of my favourites to talk about and analyse, even if I feel that there are some… unwanted implications.

Episode 8: The Crimson Flash 7.5/10

The first half of the episode is pretty typical but still fun. Then we get to the second half and the moment they said that someone challenged the entire school to a battle, I was already dying of laughter and the rest of this episode straight up killed me. Johannes is so funny, I can’t take it.

Episode 9: The Greatest Tag-Team Tournament 9/10

The first half of this episode had me cry-laughing, between Johannes’s utter ridiculousness and the absurdity of some of these other opponents. Then the second half of this episode is Yuki depicting an accurate representation of one of my anxiety episodes which makes me instinctively want to shield him from all harm. Great episode overall.

Episode 10: A New Roar! 8/10

I love Kyoya, and this is a Kyoya episode. A Kyoya episode where he slays a fool and creates a new special move. His opponent is Johannes, who I've grown to love on this rewatch and find to be really entertaining. So why didn’t I give this episode a higher rating? Easy: the Motti stuff makes me uncomfortable. Johannes snapping at her and knocking both her and Benkei out (in the most cat-like way he could) was a good pay-off but that entire stretch of them kinda sexualizing (or at least romanticising) this underaged girl was really uncomfortable. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered (for some reason I remembered Johannes acting creepy during this and was exceedingly relieved and glad that he actually didn’t), but it does detract from an otherwise great episode.

Episode 11: Cosmic Tornado 8/10

This episode is ten times worse than the Gingka vs Ryuga Fusion battle for people with a fear of heights (me). At least in that one you could see the bottom. This is a bottomless pit full of mist that two teenagers are constantly dangling over. Like jeez, do you wanna give me a heart attack?!

Other than that, it’s fine, I like most of the characters and the ending is chilling but man does this episode give me anxiety.

Episode 12: The God of Saturn, Kronos 8.5/10

The title of this episode is so dumb, but the episode itself is good. The Beylin Fist are an interesting group and this battle is so back and forth I genuinely wasn’t sure who would win. Cool ass episode.

Episode 13: Showdown at the Tower of Babel 10/10

Ryuga, Kenta, and Tsubasa all in one episode battling in and eventually destroying a historical building? This should be my favourite episode ever! :D And I do love it, definitely the most out of the Fury episodes so far. It’s got a hint of Johannes toward the beginning, a nice treat, shows that Kenta has already grown a ton since he started following Ryuga (despite his loss he still gave Tsubasa a hard fight), has Tsubasa as basically the main character we follow throughout the tower, and has Ryuga make a new ultimate move, kick Tsubasa’s ass, and knock over the Tower of Babel (the symbol of humanity’s arrogance and pride from what I understand) like the total badass he is. I love everything about this episode.

Episode 14: New Team Dungeon! 7.5/10

The opening of this episode is a bit spooky. I forgot how much of a cult the followers of Nemesis really are. I actually 100% see how these characters fell for this stuff. “The world is a constant cycle of destruction and rebirth, only through great darkness will a new dawn occur.” Does actually sound legit. Villains are far scarier to me when you can see their reasoning and how people can fall prey to it…

The rest of this episode is mainly set up and exposition but it’s interesting stuff that brings Masamune, Toby, Zeo, and Tsubasa into the main plot, giving Toby and Zeo new beys, and even giving Team Excalibur a bit of screen time. Good stuff.

Episode 15: Destroyer Dome 8/10

This is my favourite stadium in all of Beyblade. That seems like a weird thing to draw attention to, but the Destroyer Dome itself is so damn cool. The way the beys circle around the whole thing like comets, sticking to the ceiling and walls and looping around in every possible direction. It’s a stadium Captain Capri would’ve loved- OH MY GOD THEY BROUGHT HIM BACK JUST TO BATTLE IN THIS COOL ASS STADIUM?! HELL YEAH! I love this episode.

I do have one major gripe with this episode though: the Garcias faking a fight was… well, kind of a waste of both time and potential. It would’ve been so much more interesting both as a story and for them as characters if the fighting was genuine.

Episode 16: The New Striker is Complete! 8.5/10

JACK MY BELOVED MAKES A CAMEO! AND KING THE FUNNY ADORABLE LITTLE SHIT IS INTRODUCED. OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!

Oh yeah and the Russian team and Masamune and some other people are there I guess. It’s a fun battle royale. I really like the part where Lera reveals she has a special move and it makes Jigsaw visible again. Good stuff, even if it ends too quickly.

Episode 17: I Am the Champion! 9.5/10

DESTROYER DOME AT NIGHT, DESTROYER DOME AT NIGHT, DESTROYER DOME AT NIGHT, OH MY GOD IT’S SO PRETTY. THE BEYS LOOK LIKE FIREWORKS AS THEY CLASH OH MY GOD-

Also, the destroyer dome becomes a giant hamster ball and King and Masamune run with it like they’re on a treadmill. I dunno how the others got out when it was made clear by Blader DJ last episode that there’s no way to get out of the stadium once you get in but it’s cool so I’ll let it pass. But yeah anyways, King’s backstory gives him an honestly really uplifting reason that he’s so arrogant and reckless, which does lower the annoyingness of his previous and future actions a lot. He’s excited to be battling and not thinking of anything else in that excitement. He acknowledges that Masamune is someone he can use his full strength against and he respects him as an opponent. It’s nice and very sweet and all that mushy stuff. I love it.

Episode 18: The Maze of Mist Mountain 7/10

Half of this episode is just the main characters, and returning side characters Nile and Demure (nice to see them again) wandering around some mist. … okay then. The other half is a decent battle between Gingka and Ryuto. It’s a decent introduction to this story arc. I like the new character, Ryuto, even if he doesn’t really add much.

Episode 19: The Lion’s Pride 9/10

The travelling segments of this one are a lot more interesting than last time, being more than the characters just wandering around in some mist. And the battle portion is just really damn good. Team Wild Fang is back! Heck yeah! And Kyoya vs Aguma is a constant explosion match (both literally and figuratively) and Nile, Demure, and Benkei taking on Johannes, Bao, and the Beylin Fist bladers is also a fun side battle.

Also, while I was disappointed with how this character arc was resolved and the way it starts is a little weird (I’ll get to that later), it was still a really interesting idea to have Kyoya basing his self-worth on his independence, and seeing it as a weakness to rely on others. It’s a very toxic mindset that fits his character and would’ve been great had it been properly addressed. But I’ll get to that when I get to that.

Episode 20: Guardian of the Temple, Dynamis 8/10

Dynamis has probably the best introduction out of all the legendary bladers. All the others just kinda walk in like “hey I’m so and so and this is my goal.” Dynamis though? He speaks to the group when they’re lost in the mist as if he’s speaking from the sky like a god or something, then when they finally get into his temple he challenges them to a battle, smirking like a sassy little shit as he wins. Also, he literally can hear the stars talk, I forgot this detail. My point is Dynamis is hecking cool.

Episode 21: The Legend of Nemesis’ Revival 8/10

Gingka vs Dynamis is a good battle but then it gets cut off without an outcome and then the rest of this episode is exposition. Out of all the exposition dump episodes in this show, I do think this one is the best as it’s the most interesting and action-packed but there is too much information in this spiel. If there’s any part of Fury that I can agree is rushed, it’s this. I wish the exposition in this episode had been shortened and maybe some of it spread out to other episodes so it’s not all dumped on the audience at once. The main things we really needed going forward from this episode was the origin of Nemesis, the way they were defeated long ago, and the fact one of the remaining legendary bladers is the Venus blader with a Quetzalcoatl.

So while this episode wasn’t the best way to convey most of its information, it’s still interesting and important information for the story, which I do think is a good story. So I’m giving this episode a somewhat higher score than what it probably deserves. I just enjoy Fury’s lore and Dynamis and the commentary on humanity and its history that much. I can see how this episode could bore and there were times the over-explaining bogged me down while watching but overall it was still a delight.

Episode 22: The Four Season Bladers 8.5/10

Okay, this exposition is a lot simpler and easier to follow. It takes up far less of the episode and cuts to the chase much quicker. Then the rest of this episode is the craziest battle royale of the entire show so far, ending when Kyoya reaches his breaking point which has been building over the past few episodes. He allowed what may have been just a small feeling at first to fester on the inside since he refused to tell anyone what he was going through until he eventually just snapped, which is pretty relatable to me personally. Kyoya’s arc in these episodes is well done. I understand the criticism that it’s strange he took Aguma’s words to heart so much when Kyoya doesn’t really know him and normally wouldn’t care about taunts like that. I want to argue it wasn’t specifically Aguma, or even what he said, it was Kyoya’s own internal realisation that he wasn’t living up to his own standards of strength. He internalised the idea that relying on others was showing weakness, an idea he carried yet simultaneously seemed to have been contradicting even before the start of the show. That kind of life shattering realisation is going to cause a huge reaction, no matter what prompted it. If Kyoya’s character arc this season had been resolved better (which again I’ll get to), it would be one of my favourite arcs of the show. I cannot stress enough how good of a setup this really was and how much potential this had.

Episode 23: The Battle of Beyster Island 8.5/10

“tHaT gUy lOoKs iNtErEsTiNg.”

I love King, oh my god. He is so freaking excited and happy to be battling that even when Aguma reveals a move that could defeat him, King just goes “that is so awesome!” I love his energy so much, he’s basically an excited fanboy and I love it. This episode was fun overall but King is the one who shines the brightest in my opinion.

Episode 24: Two Big, Fierce Battles! 9.5/10

I can totally understand how the back and forth switching between two unrelated battles might be off-putting… but I don’t have that issue. I love all these characters. I love seeing Kenta’s growth and Gingka acknowledging him. I love getting more of those subtle hints that Ryuga has grown to care about Kenta, and of course, the banter between Ryuga and King. There’s a reason I created a ship between these two. Even though they only met once in this battle, King not knowing who he is and just being excited to battle a strong opponent and Ryuga being confused/annoyed with him is really fun. Kenta and Gingka’s battle is definitely the more plot relevant one (and oh my gosh I love that scene on the beach) while Ryuga vs King could definitely be called fan service, but it’s great fan service that fits right in perfectly dammit! It’s something kid-me wanted to see ever since King’s reverse rotation was introduced and it’s great!

Episode 25: The Unseen Opponent 7.5/10

Chris’s introduction episode. It still annoys me how insistent the characters are that Masamune has to be the Legendary Blader and ignore Chris entirely and Chris’s bey’s physics are impossible but the battle in this episode is still good. And my god do I love Chris. He’s already a huge mood with the way he talks about his job. “I’ve dealt with much worse than this!” “If I lose, I will not be able to survive in this world!”

Episode 26: Orion’s Whereabouts 8.5/10

This episode is so chaotic, I love it. Everyone is just in a mosh pit of madness, with King defending his friend, Gingka trying to get him to chill, Chris instantly sucking up to his new boss, Ryuga showing up to wreak havoc, it’s all so damn fun. Stand out moments from this episode definitely include Kenta hugging the evil out of Ryuga, King cheering Masamune up, and that chilling ending. It’s great fun, and could be the last really fun episode of Fury as soon we get into the emotionally intense stuff…

Episode 27: The Lion in the Wilderness 7/10

Yu is such a brat but in a charming way. I can’t stay mad at the little guy, especially when he’s the one to call out Kyoya for not knowing shit about lions. Haha if only that weren’t the closest thing to resolving this character arc. Overall, fine episode. I like Tithi just fine and Kyoya and Yu are at least funny. Next episode though…

Episode 28: The God of Venus: Quetzalcoatl! 5/10

Yu and Tithi’s battle is pretty fun, it’s a good official introduction to Tithi. The first half of this episode is fine, fairly enjoyable if a bit standard. The second half though… ugh. I wrote a whole fanfiction rewriting this which… should explain how I feel about it. What Kyoya does here feels so out of character at this point and even if it’s not, it’s just irritating and the destiny moral is really fumbled here. Every other episode says the choices of the legendary bladers will decide the fate of the world and the narrative of this very episode even supports that: Kyoya chose to leave the heroes and then chose to return. Destiny didn’t actually force him to do anything. Kyoya just claims it’s his destiny out of nowhere. It fumbles the “destiny is a choice” idea and feels like an excuse to get him to return quickly without acknowledging the reason he left in the first place. Yu saying lions hunt in groups isn’t good enough because Kyoya doesn’t even acknowledge that or think about it… at all. So yeah it’s lazy writing and really disappointing considering how much potential Kyoya’s arc had. The final scene is pretty cool though, good setup for the next episode.

Episode 29: The God of Destruction’s Revival! 10/10

(This is the point where I start reviewing the episodes based on memory/episode descriptions.)

I’ll be honest, most of the episodes that were originally two 11 minute episodes flow pretty seamlessly as one put together episode. This is the only one where I can tell this was originally two episodes, as the two halves follow two completely different sets of characters. The first half is the revival of Nemesis, a chilling, tense spectacle, while the first half almost exclusively, and a little out of nowhere, is a battle between Kenta and Ryuga. That being said, while I definitely prefer the second half, both halves are fantastic. A little odd when put together, but tonally they mesh well enough and I love how much Kenta has grown in this episode and his plan to beat Ryuga is so good that even though I knew it wouldn’t work, I see how it could have worked. Plus, y’all know I love their friendship, it’s just so damn wholesome, I can’t-

Episode 30: The Child of Nemesis 7/10

Hello, obviously Doji in a top hat and trench coat. Why are you here exactly? Yeah I know his first appearance was in the last episode but I have less to say about this episode than I did that one so I’m gonna talk about the Doji thing here. Bringing Doji back was almost completely unnecessary and weird but honestly, after seeing how much more poor and ill-fitting his presence in Shogun Steel was, his appearance in Fury feels pretty inoffensive and just… whatever. He’s pointless but not unbearable.

Otherwise, cool ass raid episode, I like evil Dynamis and Kyoya showing up at the end. Nothing else really sticks out about this episode but it’s not bad. It’s just… not one that I can instantly point to and go “ah yes, the episode where this happened!” The main battle is Gingka vs Evil Dynamis. We’ve already seen Gingka vs Dynamis and they don’t even get to finish their battle. The episode is still fun but… feels like it could’ve been trimmed back to tighten the pacing.

Episode 31: Four Hearts 8/10

Okay, this episode is much more memorable. Kyoya vs Dynamis and Aguma vs Tithi are both fun battles (even if I don’t get why the Planet bladers were descendants rather than reincarnations when the latter makes way more sense with what’s presented in this episode, is that just a dub thing?) and the bulk of Gingka vs Chris actually happens in this episode. I could’ve sworn that happened in its own episode but… yeah this episode and the previous and following one kind of blend together in my mind because all of them take place in this temple and flow directly into each other. That’s not a knock against the episodes, it’s just how my memory works. This one moves the plot along more than the last one and I love Chris so most of the episode being focused on his battle with Gingka is good in my books.

Episode 32: Come Together, Legendary Bladers! 9/10

Also known as the episode where Ryuga fucks everything up. And every battle from the last episode also ends. A lot of Ls were taken in this episode. By the characters, the episode itself is damn fun. This episode also has two halves that feel a bit pasted together, with the first half focusing on the fallout of the three battles and the second half being the part everyone remembers where all the Legendary Bladers attempt to join together only for the aforementioned Ryuga hecking up everything but these halves mesh much better as it focuses on all the same characters as the first half so there’s no random sudden shift in focus, it’s just the next logical event in the plot.

This episode also features the scene where King and Masamune pose like magical girls. I’m just bringing that up because it’s cute not because it’s relevant.

Episode 33: Diablo Nemesis 8.5/10

The temple getting wrecked took up more time than I remembered but oh well, the first half of this episode is a good display of Rago’s power and while the second half is tonally different, it’s the most logical direction for the plot to go. Plus it’s a nice chance to see the Legendary Bladers interact, in some cases meet, in a way that’s more low-key. As much as I love Fury, I do wish it had more scenes like that, more chances for the characters to just breathe or establish bonds.

Episode 34: To The Final Battle Ground 7.5/10

So for some reason, the official source for Beyblade on YouTube incorrectly titled this and the next episode and also put them out of order. Episode 136 is titled “To The Final Battle Ground” and has that episode’s description but the episode is actually “Episode 137 The Lost Kingdom” and vice versa for the next episode. While I’m not fully rewatching these last eleven episodes due to time constraints, I did check my DVD for Metal Fury (which is an official release) and it didn’t make that mistake, the episodes are titled correctly and in the correct order so this was a mistake the YouTube channel made and I don’t know why it happened or why they haven’t fixed it even 7 years later. For anyone watching Fury, be sure to get the correct order! The show didn’t skip over Aguma’s redemption, the channel just put the episodes in the wrong order!

Anyways, the episode itself. Yeah, it has Aguma’s big redemption moment and… I actually do think it works pretty well. It’s nothing super deep, but he comes to the logical conclusion that saving the world comes before the Beylin Fist’s feud with Beylin and shows his commitment to the group by helping them fight off Johannes and his goons and save their helicopter. The rest of this episode before the battle is just the characters training to prepare for the final confrontation as they don’t know the whereabouts of Nemesis before they get a clue to said whereabouts and decide to go there. Not the most eventful episode but it works well enough. Besides… the next episode is… more eventful to say the least.

Episode 35: The Lost Kingdom 8.5/10

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have pure pain directly injected into your heart? I don’t have to, I watched this episode.

Try as I might, I cannot get through this episode, or the following one, without crying. Some movies or shows that try to depict a character fighting to their very last breath with every ounce of their strength before ultimately fighting to their last breath, cannot convince me that the character gave it their all. This is not one of those moments. This battle is as long as it needs to be and every moment is there to further the struggle, the slow fall of the once invincible-seeming Dragon Emperor, and I feel every bit of it. It’s the reason I… couldn’t bring myself to rewatch these episodes again at the point in my life I was at when this rewatch occurred. I was already getting my heart violently ripped out by a new show (and general life events that I won’t go into) and didn’t want my comfort show also causing me pain. So while this episode is great, phenomenal even, it’s… the second hardest episode for me to revisit. Entrusted Emotions only barely edges it out because that episode literally traumatised me to the point of developing a phobia. This one… is just a really sad episode that I always grab tissues before.

Doji’s also in this episode and while I don’t feel like his presence in this season was necessary (and in retrospect, it may have just been there to set up Shogun Steel, which I overall didn’t care for), I will say having him specifically there to mock and enrage Ryuga makes it more painful, at least to me.

Episode 36: The Missing Star of the Four Seasons 10/10

Most of the episode, after the gang reacts to the death of Ryuga which is… also… really damn painful… is them struggling against Nemesis, unable to form the barrier to seal him away due to the passing of Ryuga and… yeah it captures that struggle well. The weight of the world is on the group’s shoulders and it is a hopeless impossible battle and you can feel that in the way they get knocked around despite their teamwork and despite them fighting at their hardest. Maybe it goes on a little too long but this is essentially the final battle and the feels are all there throughout and… the scene everyone remembers from this episode…

I did rewatch that scene (and a couple other scenes in the next episode), and my god is it still just as impactful all this time later. The build up, the atmosphere, the feels, the ANIMATION, holy fuck the animation. And the sound design, Ryuga’s harsh breathing, those final words. I don’t even know what to say, this moment is just phenomenal, my favourite in the entire series without question. Really, when I put Flash Sagittario in my top five Fury episodes all that time ago, it included this episode. Both are such a tense fantastic emotional spectacle that flow into each other beautifully.

Episode 37: Flash Sagittario 10/10

Everything I said about last episode applies to this episode, only now the tides have turned in the heroes’ favour with Kenta’s evolution into a legendary blader, with his new Flash Sagittario, which the episode shows off very well. That moment where he defeats Pluto with Diving Arrow gives me all the feels. If I have one gripe in this episode, it’s that there are more flashback sequences than they probably needed but it’s a final battle and the flashbacks don’t take away from or affect the pacing in any major way for me.

Episode 38: Hades’ Persistence 7/10

Oh, right, the last two episodes weren't the final battle. Honestly, could’ve fooled me, with a proper epilogue afterwards, that battle would’ve worked perfectly as the final battle, it shows the Legendary Bladers all working together and while it excludes a few older characters, the setup is cool and unique and fits the teamwork themes even better than Masters’ ending did and the battle itself is entertaining enough for me to forgive its shortcomings.

This… is just the fate of the world coming down to Gingka again. And everyone giving him their power. Again. Fusion did this first and did this better. Because that coming down to Gingka made sense, he was the one with the greatest connection to the villain, Fusion was very much his story and while he’s still the protagonist, he isn’t more important than anyone else in Masters’ final battle of the previous battle of Fury. This… ruins that, it feels really generic and phoned in. It’s not bad though, I do love Kyoya’s speech to Gingka before he and the others give Gingka their power. That does bring everything together really well and makes this otherwise pointless battle more forgivable for me. It’s a slip up for sure but it’s still entertaining.

Episode 39: A Ray of Hope 8/10

“Every bey has a Star Fragment in it so we can all contribute”… okay…? Well, that’s not incorrect or anything, it does fit the lore of the series and brings everyone together for the final climax in a way that episodes 36 and 37 didn’t but… eh, this never did much for me.

Now the epilogue post battle though? That’s some nice stuff. The gang have been through hell but now that it’s over, they pick themselves back up and start to heal. Enough so that Gingka and Kyoya are even willing to have a battle, a no stakes fun battle to see who the true victor between them is, just like old times. A great final note to a great show.

#beyblade #beyblade metal fight #beyblade metal saga #beyblade metal fury #metal fury #metal fury is underrated

20 notes · View notes

literary-illuminati · 1 year

Text

Book Review 47 – The Gods Are Bastards Volume Two by D. D. Webb

Being entirely honest I read the first four volumes of this in a sprint, but I’m spacing out the reviews with things I read afterwards in between for variety and (honestly) to help keep each distinct in my head.

So, for context, Volume 2 is comprised of books 5, 6 and 7 of an incredibly longrunning web serial. You can find my thoughts on Volume 1 here. The serial follows a set of college students/novice adventurers of improbably vast power and (much more interestingly) a sprawling cast of supporting characters in a world that’s best described as ‘generic D&D fantasy setting on the tail end of the magical industrial revolution’.

While the main plotlines still (unfortunately) follow the freshman students of the Unseen University as they get assigned various character-building fieldtrips that are in fact life-or-death struggles for everyone else involved, I find them much less abrasive in this volume than the last. Not not abrasive, but the trendline is positive – partially because most of them have gotten real character development and partially because, while all the conflicts they got tangled up still involved comically massive power differentials with them being on the wrong side of them to be sympathetic or worth rooting for, they were at least usually not settled through preordained and tension-less contests of violence. Special callout to Juniper, for a slow evolution out of just being the incarnation of the Male Gaze is prose form, and Tris, who is not a mostly non-murderous racist and sometimes a really tryhard ally instead.

Anyway, the actual reason to read this continues to be the other subplots. This volume was great for Bishop Darling and Archpope Justinian, and introduced what’s probably my favourite pair of sets of secondary characters in the entire serial – the two rival adventuring parties ostensibly working the Bishop and Archpope (note – Darling does also theoretically work for the Archpope) who keep getting sent after the same thing and spend more time fighting each other and scheming about their ostensible employers than they do actually adventuring. They’re all two-dimensional comic archetypes of high level fantasy adventurers/western gunslingers/steampunk gadgeteers on hand, and a dragon, succubus, magical assassin, and just kind of asshole mobster on the other. They’re all a bunch of absolute drama queens and I love them all so much.

The serial is clearly hip-deep in references to and in conversation with tropes that I, despite the millions of words of web serial I read a year, am basically ignorant of. This was particularly clear with the book where the students got sent into the dungeon beneath the school because, well, that’s what adventurers do (intelligent dungeons! Spontaneously generating ‘monsters’! Instances!). This had my favourite setpieece involving them in the entire story so far, but also does kind of mark the point where I’m starting to get annoyed waiting for the serial to actually do something with all the fucked up generic fantasy worldbuilding conceits instead of just occasionally nodding at them but otherwise taking them as read.

I trust that the story actually has intentions for thedissonance between end-of-book denouncements where the characters almost look at the camera and explain the lessons they learned this month and Teal massacring demons trying to surrender to her and then being comforted and supported as her friends explain that demons can’t be trusted to surrender and killing them all is really the humane thing anyway, but it’s getting to be a bit of a wait for it.

Anyway, still very much compulsively readable. This worldbuilding got much more detailed and less broad-strokes-D&D this volume, with generally good results. I basically axiomatically get bored with extended action sequences, but as far as they go the one that took up most of Book 7 was quite well done.

#book review #web serial #the gods are bastards #sff #map fantasy #D. D. Webb

15 notes · View notes

charliethomascoxuniverse · 1 year

Text

Stardust: Charlie Cox Interview （SCI-FI ）

2007

Interview with Charlie Cox (Tristan)

1. Stardust is a hard movie to define, Fairytale, Romance, Adventure. What’s your take on the film?

My take on the film is exactly that. It’s got a bit of everything in it, for everyone! It’s an action adventure film but at the same time it’s a romantic comedy. It’s certainly a children’s film as well as being made for adults. It’s kind of hard to pigeon hole.

2. Your character Tristan goes on quite a journey throughout the film — is this something you can relate to?

It is yeah, it certainly is. He goes on quite a journey externally, but inside of him is kind of the biggest journey, he goes from boy to man and any young guy can relate to that.

3. This is your first big Hollywood blockbuster how did the role come about?

I just auditioned. I was just one of the guys lucky enough to get an audition. From that point on I went for a recall and went back again. It was a long process but eventually I got there!

4. And is it right you were first to be cast?

Yeah that’s true.

5. Was that quite an honor?

Yeah it was. I think Matthew wanted to find the couple, the two main characters before he cast the others. Never for a minute did I think they’d cast the likes of Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, that was a real shock!

6. What was it like working alongside Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer?

It was pretty spectacular not an opportunity you get everyday. It was hugely beneficial to me so early in my career.

7. Stardust is based on Neil Gaiman’s novel, had you read this before you read the script?

No I hadn’t I read it after I read the script. I hadn’t heard of Neil. He’s much better known in the States than he is here. I have since become a fan of his!

8. And do you think fans of the book will be pleased with the adaptation?

That’s very hard to say because with all books that are made into movies there are people that kind of don’t agree with the transformation. A movie is one persons interpretation of the book, it’s not everybody’s interpretation so there are going to be people who I am sure don’t’ see it the same way. The hope is people will understand its one person’s idea. It’s more a testament to the book than an exact copy.

9. What was it like working romantically with both Sienna Miller and Claire Danes?

It was pretty cool! Can’t ask for much more than that in your job, can you?

10. There are a few British comic figures in the film, Ricky Gervais, David Walliams. What was it like with them on set?

Comic, very amusing, it was hard to focus. There’s one scene with Ricky Gervais and Robert De Niro. In the background behind Robert De Niro are all his pirates, looking very menacing. But if you watch them very carefully there are times when they are smirking and they had to keep on retaking it because they were cracking up and couldn’t stop laughing and had to look away from camera. It became very funny.

11. The film features a lot of special effects was that challenging to film?

Not really! There are different types. I’m sure it was very challenging for the guys in charge of the CGI but to film it from my point of view it wasn’t very difficult you just had to pretend, which is what we’re doing anyway.

12. The locations in the film are beautiful, where was the film shot?

A lot of it was Scotland some of it was Iceland and in and around the old towns of England.

13. What was your favourite scene to film?

My favourite scenes to film were the early ones with Claire where we’re bickering and fighting. We had a lot of fun doing it and were just laughing a lot and being stupid on set. There’s just more in them getting annoyed with each other [which] is kind of fun and we were such good friends by then.

14. What’s next for Charlie Cox, will you be leaving England for Hollywood?

No, I’m not no! I live in London and I love it here so I’m not going to be moving abroad. You know I’ve had to spend a bit more time there and it’s great it’s sunny! I plan to do as much work in the UK as I possibly can. I’m still young you know I don’t feel the pressure to become the next James Bond!

~*~

#charlie cox #tristan thorn #yvaine #claire danes #stardust 2007 #baby charlie #interview #article

18 notes · View notes

cas-edspace · 2 years

Text

Holy shit..,

Okay, I have an idea for Five Hargreeves and some character, an OC or Y/N, I don’t really care which. Or y/c, that still works (your/character)

We all know Dove Cameron’s Boyfriend, right? But have you heard this cover of it? This brought me to a beautiful idea… for anyone who wants it. I meant it as a getting together story, but it could lead the smut. I only want to be tagged if you use it.

First time to the Commission, Five goes on his missions. Our girl, girl because of the song, here is the renowned spy of the organization. I like to head canon that she has powers is how she got in, yada she doesn’t use them often yada yada. The two know each other decently, despite being from different departments. She gives him coffee with some slang she got from her work. He gets to talk about math, his family, while learning about all about the years through the other.

Five is set on a mostly spy mission, undercover is vital for such scene. He’s paired up with this snobby guy, who can’t seem to get his shit together. When main girl gets wind, she walks over, talks to him, “Work hubby, you seem, oh so upset?” She just came back from a “week” months long quest, shown through her modern wording. Five informs her that he needs to “show chemistry” with the new agent, having to be forced spend time with him in order to get the mission done and leave without a trace.

Some time passes, y/c is noticeably pissed. This man is taking her best work friend away from her and he isn’t even enjoying it! She sighs, pulls herself out of her chair. She walks down the hall to the wing of the new “couple.” Grabbing Five’s hand, she pulls him into the hallway, being followed by the rando. “If you don’t leave us alone, I’m kicking your ass.” She threatens with smile. Her entire demeanor is stiff, her smile seeming real, this is her job after all. She seemed to be joking, but the trained eye knows she wasn’t. The spy books it out of there.

Then, the song basically starts. Pushing him against the wall, not as gently as she hoped. “I can be a better boyfriend than him!” She goes on to explain herself, her walls dropping as soon as the man was out of earshot. Five ended up, cutting her speech short with his lips.

The Hustler claps her hands, planning this all along. “Finally!” She goes on to tell the two that the mission was, as it turns out, meant for the two. “You’re going to the past! Of course, you can’t have a gay couple.”

Y/C, after spending so much time with Five, mutters, “Do you have a knife I can borrow for like 7 seconds?” Five smiles as he shakes his head, from the comment and the lingering feel of her lips, the thought of the fact that he just kissed her, she kissed back, she’s still pining him to the wall, etc.

#five x oc #five x you #five x y/n #five hargreaves x reader #Five Hargreaves x You #five hargreaves #tua #tua idea #fanfic ideas #fanfic #five hargreaves fluff #five hargreaves smut #the umbrella academy

89 notes · View notes

skzhocomments · 7 months

Text

The Boundless Sphere of Fate - Lee Taemin - Chapter 8 - If we are soulmates

General masterlist

Story masterlist - please consult it for the summary of the story, trigger warnings etc.

Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 7 | Chapter 9

---

Chapter 8 - If we are soulmates

word count: ~2.2k words

~present day~

~third person POV~

“Argh, I’m soooo tired!” Blair shouts as soon as she busts through the door. An amused Taemin is waiting for her in the doorframe of the dance room.

“Welcome back home!” He says, making her smile.

“What were you doing, were you dancing?”

“Mhm. Want me to show you?” He asks and heads into the practice room.

He already knows Blair will say yes, since this has been their routine for the past two months. Blair goes to work, and Taemin either watches TV or tries on new choreographies for all sorts of songs and genres. When she comes back, they first go to the practice room to check Taemin’s new dances, and then either cook food together, if Blair is not too tired – which is really funny in itself, because she is a terrible cook, and Taemin’s spiritual energy sometimes runs out in the middle of pouring out salt or other ingredients into the pot, and that makes him dropping the whole thing in the food, making it inedible – or she picks up something to-go and eats next to Taemin while they binge-watch something on TV.

They enjoy doing this together; they pick a random show and watch it, and then discuss it extensively over the next few days, coming up with all sorts of thoughts and theories about what happened or what they’ve noticed. The last show they picked up was Girl from Nowhere, and it was truly funny and unexpected for both of them to notice from the very first episode that Nanno, the main character, is not a good person, nor is she supposed to be. She just brings back karma to everyone who does wrong. This, of course, steamed passionate discussions on why karma punishments are bad or good, which kept Blair up for hours, and Taemin entertained.

She doesn’t have too many friends, if any, he noticed, so spending time together is good not only for his boredom, but for her social life – or lack thereof – as well.

“Yes, I’d like to see your new dance!” She squirms happily and kicks off her shoes, following him into the practice room.

Taemin plays the music and starts dancing, moving his hips provocatively, and Blair can’t take her eyes off him. It’s like the first time she’s seen him dance: she is captivated, and he looks really good, and his shirt sometimes rides up when he moves his arms a certain way, and-

“Did you like it?” Taemin smiles and drops down next to her on the small sofa in the room. Blair bought it so she can sit more comfortably while watching him, and she’s glad she did, because they ended up so many times spending hours on this very sofa talking, getting to know each other, and most importantly, getting closer.

“I loved it. You’re so talented, Taemin!”

“It’s so much easier when you’re not getting tired,” He chuckles. “Back when I was alive, I would run out of breath so quickly – you have no idea.”

“Oh, I do. You saw me try to dance with you last time, didn’t you?”

“Poor you!” He exclaims and both start chuckling.

“I’ll look into the man who killed you. It’s simply impossible to not have one freaking clue about who he is. You were an aspiring dancer and extremely talented, so there must be something in an old newspaper about your death…”

“Don’t sweat it.” Taemin smiles. “Right now I’m really happy.”

“But not happy enough to cross over.”

Taemin shakes his head. “How I feel when I’m with you… has nothing to do with me crossing over or not…”

“I know, Taem.” She raises a hand and tries to touch his hair, but, of course, nothing happens, and it goes through. She sighs. “I really wish I could touch you sometimes.”

“Yea?” He moves closer. “How would you touch me?”

The lights suddenly turn off, the only light in the room coming from the small gap between the blinders on the windows.

“Did you do this?” Blair whispers, aware of Taemin’s proximity. She’s not sure if she’s happy or not that he’s a ghost. On one hand, she really wants to grab his face that’s so close to her and kiss it. On the other, his breath on her neck would’ve most likely made her go insane.

“Mhm. Isn’t it more intimate when it’s dark?”

“I guess so…”

“You know how I would touch you, love?” He whispers seductively, and all of Blair’s defences come crashing down. She knows Taemin is bold, but this feels very unexpected. She does like it, though.

“How?” She asks in a quiet voice, and he begins trailing his hand on her body, starting from the shoulder and going down. His hand is hovering barely 2 centimetres over her skin, but it gives Blair goosebumps either way.

“I would take off these clothes of yours so I can admire you in that red lingerie you put on this morning. You’d look so good in these big mirrors, don’t you think?” He says, and Blair just gulps.

“Would you… like to see…?” She asks cautiously, and Taemin, excited by this outcome, stands up and hands her his hand. She pretends to take it and moves in the centre of the room, taking off each piece of garment one by one, until she’s left in her underwear.

Her lingerie set is beautiful and makes her feel really sexy. It’s bright red and has a harness around the waist area, connecting with a pair of delicate lace matching garters.

“Fuck, Blair, you’re so hot. I wanted to bend you over when I saw you this morning wearing this.”

“Did you come into my room again?” She chuckles.

“Mhm. Guilty. But it’s my room too, you know?” He retorts. “Why don’t we go in there, hm?”

They head to the bedroom and Taemin guides Blair on the bed, getting on top of her.

“I really wish I could feel you, love. I would kiss your neck and leave marks all over your beautiful chest and eat you out better than any man you’ve been with.”

“My, Taem, you’re such a dirty talker.” Blair laughs out of embarrassment, as she doesn’t want to admit to herself yet how horny he’s making her. The nickname he uses, love, doesn’t go unnoticed either, but she’s trying to not focus on it too much. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden at all.” Taemin laughs. “I’ve been wanting to see you naked under me for as long as I’ve known you. Well, not really. But after you stopped being annoying, I looked at you differently.”

“Annoying?!” Blair furrows her brows. “Weren’t you the one pulling pranks on me all this time?”

“Oh, well.” Taemin shrugs. “You know, Blair? I’ve been thinking of something for some weeks now… would you please take off all your clothes and show me how you pleasure yourself?”

“Wh- what?”

“Don’t act shocked.” Taemin laughs. “I know you do it all the time, love. I hear you. Is it wrong of me to want to see you as well?”

“Uhm…” Blair’s cheeks go red. “Okay… uhm… how do I…”

“Just relax.” Taemin chuckles. “Close your eyes and follow my voice, hm? Imagine me and you, entangled on this very bed. I’m on top of you and kiss your lips hastily, and I want you desperately, and you know it, and you want me too. We kiss so hard, we are afraid our lips will be bruised the next day, but we don’t care, because we want each other so bad, slow and steady is not enough for us. I go down your jaw and bite your neck softly behind your ear, and you whimper under me, just like that, baby.” He continues, as Blair starts touching herself through the underwear.

She rolls her head back and takes her left boob out of her bra, and she opens her legs and slides a hand under her panties.

“You’re so beautiful, love. It’s killing me that I can’t touch you.”

“Shh,” she says. “don’t say that. What else would you do to me?”

“I would trail kisses down your body and slowly take your underwear off-” he says, and Blair follows suit and takes off her panties. “and then I’d get comfortable between your legs, letting my tongue taste every corner of you. Fuck, your pussy is so pretty.”

“Oh my fucking God.” Blair exclaims, her eyes closed, as her hand continues to rub circles on her nub.

“And when I’d feel you’re wet enough and ready for me-” Taemin continues, and all of a sudden, Blair feels something at her entrance. Her eyes open in surprise and she notices her dildo gone from the nightstand. “I would enter you whole, and I would fuck you so good, you’d see stars.”

Taemin doesn’t give Blair any time to adjust as he makes sure the whole length of the dildo is inside her, and then he starts moving it in and out in a steady rhythm. Blair comes embarrassingly fast and is soon gripping the sheets and clenching her legs around the dildo, screaming Taemin’s name.

Her chest rises up and down as he plops down next to her.

“And now I’d cuddle you and let you know how beautiful you are when you come saying my name.”

“Fuck me.” Blair swears. “This was incredible. What the fuck.”

“I’m glad.” Taemin chuckles. “I conserved all my spiritual energy for this.”

“No way. Didn’t you do anything today?”

“Not really, no.”

“But the choreo? Didn’t you turn on the TV to dance?”

“It’s from last week, I just decided not to show it to you until now.”

“Mean.” Blair frowns.

“I wasn’t so mean between your legs earlier, was I?”

“I want the real thing.” She pouts.

“Me too. I want to have sex with you so badly.”

“I bet, with how hot you said I am. This was more similar to phone sex to you, wasn’t it?”

“Phone sex? What’s that?”

“Oh, right. I forgot it wasn’t a thing when you were alive. You call someone and talk dirty to them until both of you come.”

“Naughty. Did you have phone sex, Blair?”

“Nah, I wasn’t really attracted to other people before.”

“But are you attracted to me?”

“You’re a ghost.” She chuckles.

“If I were alive. I still have the same body. I mean, I look the same.”

“Yeah, you’re really attractive to me. It’s crazy, I think we might be soulmates or something.”

“Why?” Taemin asks.

“I mean… I never really felt attracted to anyone until now, even though I wanted to get off sometimes. But after knowing you, and talking to you, and… developing an emotional bond to you, I guess something’s changed. Damn, maybe I’ve been demisexual all my life and I didn’t know.”

“Demisexual?”

“Yeah. That’s like… a person who only feels sexually attracted to people after developing an emotional connection to them.”

“Hmm, I see.” Taemin says. “You know what? I think you might be right.”

“About being demisexual?”

“No, dummy. About us being soulmates. I really really really like you, and it’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to be alive for something else that’s not revenge. I want to be alive so I can do things with you for real, and touch you, and feel your warmth. Damn, now I’m sad.”

“Mhm… I also wished you were alive. Hey, if we’re really soulmates, do you think there are other timelines where we’re alive at the same time and are properly together?”

“I’d like to think so. I hope alter-timeline me fucks the shit out of you right now.”

“I’d slap you if I could.” Blair chuckles.

“Like you don’t want the same thing.” Taemin rolls his eyes. “Should I remind you how hard you moaned my name earlier?”

“Shut up. Yes I want it, but shut up.”

“Knew it.” Taemin smiles triumphally.

“Say, if it was really a way for me to be able to touch you, would you like me to go through with it?”

“That’s a weird question. I mean, yeah, but… how would that be possible?”

“I read something in an old book once… about a ritual that brings people back from the dead.”

“Oh.”

“It said it only worked on soulmates.”

“So, what’s the catch?”

“The catch?”

“There must be some things that would go wrong once you perform this… ritual. Also, how do we know it even works?”

“We don’t.” Blair shrugs. “But like… it either does or it doesn’t. It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Ok…”

“I’m not sure there’s a catch. There were some warnings about how you will be able to only interact with me, and something about me giving you a part of my soul so you can be tangible. I don’t really remember, honestly. It was really old and hard to read and smudged.”

“I don’t know, Blair… it sounds like a bad idea.”

“But you’d be alive… to me. Wouldn’t that be nice? Plus, we’d know for sure if we are soulmates or not.” She chuckles.

“I feel uneasy about this for some reason.” Taemin insists, but Blair’s mind is already made up. If there is a way to bring back to life the only man who’s ever made her feel something – even if just for her – she wants to try it.

---

Chapter 7 | Chapter 9

4 notes · View notes

love-bokumono-fics · 1 year

Text

Fresh Crops! August 7 - August 13, 2023

This week's newest stories and chapter updates for Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons on AO3!

A Year in Forget-Me-Not Valley - by actaeoncross; WIP, 2/?, 2.5k

Rating: Not Rated; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Categories: F/M, Other Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationships: Gustafa/Reader, Gustafa/ OC, Nami/Pony | Aya | Jill; Characters: Gustafa, Daryl Additional Tags: Slice of Life Summary: Unable to meet her family's high expectations, Alchemy is sent away from the City and cut off by her parents to live with her disowned cousin Daryl. Her parents and brother hope she’ll learn a lesson about why it is important to be successful after living in the valley. An easy-going musician has Al questioning whether he’s trying to help out of her shell or if there’s something more to his kindness.

Calluses - by Dinomilkshakes; Complete, 3/3, 3.4k

Rating: Explicit; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Categories: F/M, Other Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Rock/Reader; Characters: Rock, Reader, Nami, Ruby | Lou, Takakura Additional Tags: **NOTE: Some tags have been removed to remain Safe For Tumblr. Please see AO3 for complete tag list** Creampie, Breeding Kink, Unrealistic Sex, because who cares its more fun to read that way, Mention of Sterilization, its important to the main story youll see why later, im allowed to be trans the way I wanna be if you wanna read it thats cool but dont judge me pls, Transgender, non-binary, Pregnancy, each chapter is going to have different stuff I think so its at your own discretion Summary: Calluses is a Succession of Stones extra episodes booklet. In which the farmer marries Rock. And creates an alternate universe for every 'what-if' situation.

A Succession of Stones - by Dinomilkshakes; WIP, 6/10, 26k

Rating: Explicit; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Categories: Other, F/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Rock/Reader-Insert; Characters: Rock, Takakura, Vesta, Matthew, Cecilia, Ramona, Sebastian, Ruby | Lou, Tei Additional Tags: **NOTE: Some tags have been removed to remain Safe For Tumblr. Please see AO3 for complete tag list** Blood, unemployment, Reader is Non-Binary and Trans, And likes to dye their hair. so sue me, Romance, Yes I'm sorry it's Rock I have brainrot, there will be children later. its A Wonderful Life so expect it, Friends to Lovers, Childhood Sweethearts, Childhood Friends, they/them pronouns, Creampie, Breeding Kink, Everytime I update the preview it changes chapter 2 into chapter 1 so I'm sick of that Summary: In which the farmer marries Rock. “My hands are calloused so that his won’t need to be.” - Shakespeare, probably. Living in the big city takes a turn for the worse as you lose your job! SO you make the move to the Forgotten Valley where you used to spend your youthful summers. Awesome. One of your childhood sweethearts still lives there- but this fucking guy won’t leave you alone! You can’t seem to get away. Bygone are the days of sitting alone in your apartment, whiling away the time. Unfortunately, you become fond of him- on days where he’s gone it feels like somethings missing. But who is this bum who won’t leave you alone, and why do you never see him working!? And could you possibly put up with him for the rest of your life..? In which we examine a situation in which the farmer has no other choice but to marry Rock, because the situation calls for it.

Stone Butch, High Femme - by Whybe123; WIP, 7/13, 20k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/F Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Muffy | Muumuu/Nami; Characters: Muffy, Nami, Molly, Lumina Additional Tags: Drabbles, One-Shots, Sapphic, I'll revive the harvest moon fandom myself if i have to, and im going to make it gay if i do it, Lesbians, wlw, Mutual Pining, Mild Angst, hurt comfort, Small Towns, Dating, Fluff, ALL THE FLUFF Summary: In light of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life getting a remaster, I was faced with an obvious task; I gotta make this gayer. Enjoy the following disjointed collection of Muffy/Molly and Nami clumsily falling in love in that sleepy little valley we all came to love.

Tumblr Posts for A Wonderful Life Characters - by actaeoncross; WIP, 13/?, 16k

Rating: Not Rated; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Multiple Characters x Reader; Characters: Celia | Seperia, Cody | Gordy, Daryl, Flora, Gustafa, Lumina, Marlin | Mash, Matthew, Molly | Muffy, Nami, Rock, Reader Summary: A collection of Tumblr posts for A Wonderful Life Characters x Reader prompts. The blog is an offshoot of my main and should be found under AWL Imagines.

Lady Of Grasstrail Farms - by FromADenOfBeasts; WIP, 43/?, 55k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Pioneers of Olive Town Relationship: Female Farmer/Lars; Characters: Female Farmer, Lars, Laura, Angela, Clemens, Damon, Jack, Emilio, Reina, Victor, Gloria, Simon, Jesse Additional Tags: My First AO3 Post, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Fluff and Angst, Supportive Big Brother, honestly the best big brother ever, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Wish Fulfillment, Mysterious Origins, Childbirth Summary: A young woman named Vallon quits her job and follows her heart to Olive Town, where her family has roots deeper than she ever thought. Now she has to contend with new neighbors, ancient magic, and getting the hang of farming a wild land. Can she cope on her own, or can she at least find someone to share it with?

I Love You, I Truly Mean It - by rainbowcoral; Complete, 2/2, 4.5k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/F Fandoms: Trio of Towns Relationships: Female Farmer/Lisette; Characters: Female Farmer, Lisette Additional Tags: Love Confessions, LGBTQ Female Character, Declarations Of Love, First Love, Romance, Sweet, Healthy Relationships, Love Summary: Holly doesn't love Lisette as a friend. She loves her, but she loves her romantically. Lisette loves fairy tales, and she wants to be loved as if she were a princess. To Lisette's surprise, Holly loves to listen to her talk about fairy tales.

Tempest - by HouraiTeahouse; Complete, 1/1, <1k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: Gen Fandom: Trio of Towns Character: Kasumi Additional Tags: This is not apologism, Pre-Canon, Relatives to Enemies Summary: Kasumi loves her father.

#fresh crop monday #harvest moon #story of seasons #a wonderful life #trio of towns #pioneers of olive town

5 notes · View notes

sarcasticdolphin · 2 years

Text

Some fay/fae au headcanons about Tod and Rudolf’s relationship. Under the cut because well ...

Ok, actual note here. This is going to be a bit of a *vulgar* post on my part. Many of the things that are done are some of the traditional euphemisms for sex. I will fully spell it out when they do actually have sex. This also deals with the *very* messy relationship transition of Tod being Rudolf’s surrogate parental figure to being his lover. Tod also isn’t a character that really cares about human morals, so the transition is even messier than it might otherwise be. You have been warned.

Kidnapping: Sisi made a deal with Tod a few years back - But she was under the impression that she was trading her firstborn child (Sophie), who was already dead at the time for freedom. Tod decides he likes Rudolf and to ... alter the deal.

So what age is Rudolf when Tod takes him? I would say about 7-8.

Before I go any further a note on time. Time is completely messed up. It follows faster, generally, in the fae realm, but not evenly. Tod’s palace has the greatest time warp whereas the outer edges have the least. For obvious reasons Rudolf spends most of his time in Tod’s palace.

The rough conversion is that the 13 hours it takes Sisi to find Rudolf was 1300 years for him.

But back to the main stuff.

Rudolf doesn’t want to leave his new friend’s arms. He’s scared that Tod might leave him, just like his mother. So he asks to sleep in Tod’s bed, with him, the first night he is with Tod.

Tod sings him Schatten as a lullaby and rocks him to sleep before holding him all night. This becomes their routine, even as Rudolf grows from a little boy into a slightly gangly teen, and Rudolf becomes utterly dependent on Tod - to the point that he can’t sleep anywhere but Tod’s arms. Tod for his part is slowly turning Rudolf into a fae, and the closer he keeps him the faster it goes.

So he keeps him beyond close. They share a bed. They share meals. Tod is Rudolf’s only tutor. The farthest away they ever get from each other is when one of them goes to the ensuite. They go riding together. Rudolf sits on Tod’s lap or at his feet (depending on the day) while Tod holds court.

And then Rudolf becomes a teenager. Tod still keeps him just as close, but Rudolf slowly begins to become sexually aware. He doesn’t act on it for a while, but eventually, Tod clues in and starts arranging increasingly lewd entertainment for them, up to and including an orgy (or several) that he holds Rudolf against his chest during and makes him watch/listen to without being about to act on any of his urges. To be clear - Tod isn’t letting Rudolf masturbate at all, and the servants are under an order along the lines of ‘I will flay any of you who so much as think about my prince sexually.’

This culminates in Rudolf (still probably underage (physically), but ~17, so not by much) throwing himself at Tod. This is part of the messiness with the timeline, as practically the lead-up to Rudolf throwing himself at Tod on its own takes a century or two.

Tod refuses Rudolf and Rudolf’s other suggestions (which are along the lines of ‘then let someone else fuck me under your supervision.’) And makes him wait until Tod’s presence and the magical bleed have made Rudolf completely fae.

This process, which starts as soon as Rudolf arrives in Tod’s realm, takes 500 years or so.

When it is finally done (and Tod checks by making little cuts on Rudolf’s skin and tasting his blood in a very suggestive way), Tod does have sex with Rudolf and takes him as his lover.

Tod is still Rudolf’s teacher, and if anything he keeps him even closer, teaching him the magic of the mind, which if anything is even more intimate than sex, as he matures into a proper fae prince.

Rudolf does know a bit about his origins, but eventually, he asks Tod more and Tod tells him a twisted enough version that Rudolf rejects his human name along the logic of ‘It came to me from my weak mother, who thinks I am worthless, just a ball and chain to weigh her down.’ And demands that Tod gives him a new name as Tod is what is important in his life.

And so Tod happily consecrates a new name for Rudolf and consummates the auspicious occasion with him.

And Sisi shows up a couple centuries later and Rudolf is curious enough to spend an hour outside of Tod’s presence to meet her (very unusual), but still takes Tod’s side, utterly and completely.

I wouldn’t say Rudolf has Stockholm Syndrome, but he’s certainly brainwashed to fuck. And the transformation into becoming a fae didn’t just change his body - it warped his mind as well.

#todolf fae au #messed up #Tod cares not for human morals #That being said he waits until Rudolf is of age (as much as one can be in this context) before actually doing the deed #as it were

2 notes · View notes

shamelessrabbithole · 29 days

Note

i think noel stepped away from social media when he left shameless on season5. because every gallavich/mickey fan spent YEARS commenting under every post from the actors of the show to have mickey back and ask about noel. to the point that some actors (from the main cast with whom he had a good relationship) would make posts about it being very angry and it was sad as hell cause harassing isn’t good at all, the actors have none to do with it and plus it potentially ruined their relationship with noel. when he appeared on season 7 shanola shared a video with noel saying that they love each others in real life (with noel kissing her head! so cute.) and then added ‘angrily’ <ask noel about noel>. i guess the ones who got it worse were cameron (and he fought a lot with people on twitter because of that. as no one seemed to care and comment on ian’s arc but only about his relationship with mickey) and also trevor’s actor (and noel even took a picture with him, probably trying to calm people down but i guess he did the opposite). once he came back for good, the cast shared a bunch of videos where they asked if they were happy to have noel back and they joked around saying they didn’t like him or asked who he even was and noel would say things like ‘this isn’t looking good for me’ (of course it was joking) they would also try to share more noel/cam content for the fans so they would be happy (from everyone in the cast not only cam and noel themselves) they would also get angry once deleted scenes would be released and it had gallavich ones (esp if they were soft ones). they once got angry under a promotional picture noel shared because it was a scene with him and cameron that we didn’t see (yet) in the series and he had to edit it explaining it was an intro that was supposed to be shown soon. people really have no idea how to behave. noel is an adult and i guess that after spending years like that he doesn’t want to deal with these things anymore. during their shared cons the fans talked about the camo kiss saying it was a necessary scene and complaining about gallavich ones being deleted often. cameron and noel tried to play it cool by being on the shows side saying they know what they were doing and they can’t complain about it. i’m sure they said that because they know how fans get and the possibility to anger the fandom and make another mess isn’t exactly the best idea. one thing i see tho is that cameron speaks a bit more freely about the writers in the show. saying they kept changing and many of them didn’t watch the previou seasons, not knowing how to write the characters and what happened (making things ooc) how he didn’t like ian jumping from one person to another and if i remember correctly he didn’t like how they treated his mania in season8/9 (which is why he left to have him end up with mickey and come back only if ian and mickey would be together and all that) so yeah if i were them i would stay far away from the internet too!

Thanks for sending this. I know the general vibe in the Shameless fandom that existed when Noel left, but it's always good to get nuanced details from someone who lived it. You also make a good point about how all of the negativity created more hostility than was necessary and it is what potentially keeps Cam and Noel from sharing too much with fans.

I don't get the sense in Noel's case, that he's operating under that hesitation, though, because the show's popularity is nothing like what is was before. At this point, more international fans are latching onto Shameless because it's become available to a worldwide audience. People are discovering it for the first time, even though the events you're detailing occurred over a decade ago. But, there is no pandemonium today as there was before.

I think for Noel, it's water under the bridge, because from what I know of actors, their goal is to reinvent themselves to audiences with every new career opportunity. So, rather than remain mentally and emotionally stuck in one uncomfortable career phase forever, I think he's taking the healthier route and not dwelling in the mayhem of all that.

To me, it looks like he's taken a step back until it makes sense for him to promote something. A lot of the Shameless actors are just as quiet on social media these days (Elise, Isidora, Kate, Emmy) without it sounding any alarms. Some celebrities deactivate altogether, which I really hope he never does, and it absolutely saddens me as much as any other Noel fan that we barely ever see his beautiful face these days. But, unfortunately, it is what it is.

#shameless tea #shamelessrabbithole #ask me stuff #ask me anything #noel fisher show yourself

1 note · View note

otomebanshou · 5 months

Text

Opinionated piece on Tengoku Struggle -Strayside-

Below is a very opinionated piece based on my feelings after completing Tengoku Struggle Strayside. Please do not take any of my comments to heart, I just like to ramble and get things off my chest to throw into the void of the internet. Enjoy.

SPOILERS DISCUSSED!!!

Let’s start off with strong feelings. I didn’t like the game. 4/10, I may give it a 5 just for Sharaku being the saving grace of the game to be generous. I was always with the crowd that was down for some longer routes for love interests. This game put that to test for me with 12 chapters (13 for Goemon) for the boys and god damn did it wear me out.

So let’s move on to that. The game is way too fucking long for its own good. Not in a good way is it long, it’s way too damn fluffed up with pointless shit and beating around the bush. I could barely spend quality time that mattered with literally all the guys because the route wanted to push it’s very subpar plotline.

The plot is atrocious. Not as bad as Charade Maniacs but honestly it was just as insulting. “We need to get the bad guys who escaped hell! …but we can’t fight them.” is honestly a really stupid plot. They had me going for a second, hopeful, that based on how things went down in Sharaku’s route (my first route) that it was all just leading up to a pokemon battle with the route’s villain and Rin was the pokemon trainer. Me, playing it at the time, when I got to the fights with Asaemon, I thought “oh ok! Maybe this is how the game is going to go, that’s cool I guess!” Boy was I fucking wrong. The game doesn’t know where it fucking wants to go other than beat around the bush for 90% of the chapters.

The routes honestly would’ve been better off at 7 each, 8 for Goemon I guess. Like I said, a lot of the routes spend a majority of the time beating around the bush especially when it comes to feelings and where the fuck the plot is trying to go. Or maybe you’re Kiku and you are bitching and moaning about your sister who hates your guts for 11 chapters. No seriously his route can literally be summarized by: Kiku: Azami! Stop helping the bad guys! 🙁 Azami: ew no I hate you! Kiku: 🙁

Meanwhile, Yona and Sharaku had some of the better routes, developments, and just overall better everything. It doesn’t save the game for me however. It still left me feeling “wtf is the plot actually trying to be” for the entire time. But to give some praise, Yona is a very interesting character and his love for novels, including smutty ones, was a very nice touch that leaves me feeling very fond of him! Sharaku was just wonderful and I really enjoyed how deeply sweet his gestures for Rin were.

JacK, I love you but your route (and your personality) is a bit all over the place. I somehow felt like ranking him as my number 2 because, honestly I don’t know, I just liked him? He definitely had me on a rollercoaster of what the fuck is going on because he’s just so hot and cold and I still don’t really have a grip on who JacK REALLY is. But, like everything else, I’m blaming the writers here.

Finally, Goemon. Disa-fucking-pointing. LOL. He’s not as bad as Kiku, but lmfao, the common route hinted at the fated lovers trope, like a very typical otomate game. Fine ok, I ADORED Akaza so I had some hope. Some faith. DASHED!!!! Goemon is somewhat cute at the very least, questionably obsessed with himself that he kinda sweeps under the rug and never really talks about again, and he’s well liked. But that last part made him kinda boring to be honest. My main issue with him is the route sucked!! Rin and Goemon LITERALLLLLLYY beat around the bush about this whole “I loved you in the previous life” for ELEVEN CHAPTERS. It’s not even like rewarding. Goemon KNOWS and Rin doesn’t. I thought in like chapter 4 or 5 this shit would get cleared up and they’d build into something really amazing. Nah bro Goemon is just like “yeah uwu i really loved this dango shop, the girl there was beautiful uwu” and Rin spends nearly EVERY chapter going “god i wish i was the dango shop, the dango girl, hell the dango he ate ;_;” and Goemon kinda just.. Lets it happen which I found absolutely annoying LOL. I think the only real positive I have for this is Sharaku was funny, no shocker he’s funny in every route, and Goemon’s VA is really good, because otherwise I was really bored. My face when it said: chapter 13 PLEASE JUST END IT PLEASEE I DON’T WANNA KEEP PLAYING THIS SHIT

ALSO THE WRITERS PUSHED IN A RAPE SUBPLOT AND A OUT OF NOWHERE “BETRAYAL(????)” AND IT WAS SO BAD LMFAO like holy moly I felt nothing for that part other than “yup there it is, that's the shit they love to do for no fucking reason WHAT SO EVERRRR”

Ok, we are nearing the end I promise.

Side characters? They ranged from pretty cool to what the fuck is the point of you.

The coolest? Asaemon, and the couple that I forget the name of. I also kinda like Shin.

Azami is pretty mid tbh. She’s just a bratty girl. Nothing really new.

Shinobikuni is the most disappointing villain? Like she literally… did nothing. Lmao @ the ending where she just kinda lets Goemon win without a fight like “lol you got me i guess!”

Lol Mukkun wtf, the whole betrayal was so short lived it lasted like 2 minutes before it just… moved on… and changed the villain… LOL…………………

And then the white haired dude I forgot the name of. He was actually ok until… yeah lmfao wtf. I honestly couldn’t really even be mad at him because it just was such a sudden and weird choice that I just… didn’t feel anything. I was more mad at the TERRIBLE decision here. And so fucking out of nowhere like why? Actually I know why, it’s only purpose was to cause shock and I’m so disappointed.

The characters who stole the show are obviously King Enma and Mr. Corporate slave. XD They were the most enjoyable and honestly very intriguing of the cast. Always bringing humor to the table and overall brightening up my glum mood from a shitload of pointless text that brought nothing to the table. King Enma was a delight, I wish his presence was more prominent in the game.

Now, Rin.

She’s honestly just ok. The eventual background information about her that you get, obviously, from Goemon’s route was ok. I was kinda with it but that was ruined by how Goemon’s route ended up. Sometimes I really liked Rin then other times I was kinda bored with her. Not that she’s bad or I think she’s a deadpan MC, just… I don’t know, I didn’t really end up loving her. She was just ok. The whole man hating thing makes sense now but I feel more bad for her in the sense I can’t believe the writers just did that to her randomly. I don’t think I’ll ever be over it.

I forgot the cat. He was ok I guess. I wasn’t crazy about him. Did chuckle a few times at the dick biting jokes tho.

Last thing, I did *most* of the memory stuff extras, but tbh after Goemon’s bullshit route, I was just so fed up with the game I skipped about the last 25% of them. I completed them by force skipping. I just couldn’t anymore with the game. It was already so long and I was so drained by the game’s refusal to just.. End things.

So yeah. 4/10, other people will probably like it. I also didn’t really think Birushana was a very interesting game, but a lot of people really like Birushana. So, to each their own. I'm happy the game was localized and am thankful for everyone who worked on the game!

That’s it! If you read this far, you get a gold star sticker from me and I’m sorry for my opinionated piece/rant. lol

#julia's otome rants

0 notes