#i know this is SUPER BOLD OF ME to be making two comics at the same time

[thegreatyin]

Your posts about Fallen London are slowly tempting me into playing it- do you have any tips to start or is it best to play it completely blind?

i have a few tips and tricks! mind you im far from a veteran and i basically got my hand held by tumblr for most of the game so take everything with a grain of salt. you can and should do whatever you want always. i don't personally play it blind, but you may get more enjoyment out of it if you do, and that's awesome and im super happy for you. this is what i can say from experience:

take your time with it. this is like. the numero uno fallen london tip. it's not a game where you rush to the end in a week. it's a game where you do 10-minute-intervals of a marathon to the end in maybe a few months if you know what you're doing. spending money on action refills usually isn't worth it when you can just mosey on through neathly life one storylet at a time. a vast majority of the game's content is completely free to everyone, and while the monthly subscription options are pretty neat and let you play some exclusive story stuff (that can be pretty fire- cricket anyone basically defined the scoundrel's entire character) none of it is required and 99% of the time you aren't missing out on anything by just taking your time and exploring the neath at your own pace.

you need to raise all of your skills eventually! this is, uh. something im horribly guilty of not following myself. you can (and probably should) pick at least two stats to focus on for your character (most of the time these will be your main ambition stats, aka the closest thing FL has to a main story questline) but eventually you Will be expected to have them all at around the 100 range, minimum. for certain Super Late-game Story Content, watchful 200 is mandatory to start it, so if you have trouble choosing i'd recommend leveling that bad boy first. don't neglect your other stats though!!! don't be like me. don't be like my poor poor neglected shadowy and dangerous. it's too late for me. save yourself.

friends are fun and free and you are legally mandated to exploit them for fun and profit. okay you really aren't mandated to exploit your FL friends list but you totally should anyway just for goofy sillies. to be less jokey about it, while fallen london is primarily a single-player gaming experience, the playerbase is super friendly and super open to helping each other out (especially new players!). go on reddit, ask around on tumblr, get yourself a few buddies and use them as resources to gain items and stats and menace reduction i mean. valued companions that im sure you will treasure forever and definitely not backstab to publish that inflammatory newspaper article you've been cooking up.

on a very loosely similar note, the fallen london wiki is your best friend. yes, we're following stardew rules with this one. this is the kind of game best optimally played with a wiki article or three open in the neighboring tabs so you can follow along and know what is what. there's tons of guides on basically every part of FL, and it's no shame at all to reach out to either it or the wider community if you get stuck or feel lost at something.

if an in-game storylet has bold text, it will never lie to you! except for when it does. but that's very very very rare. you can always trust the bold text. it is always your friend. i prommy. which brings us neatly into our next bulletpoint,

seeking the name is ill-advised because it's the only storyline that can permanently brick your account at its conclusion. don't worry, the ease at which you can avoid this is practically comical, and the game will Always give you multiple chances to opt-out if you somehow accidentally start it anyway. most people make a dedicated alt character entirely for the purpose of sacrificing them to the well of doom. unless you're playing with your eyes closed for multiple months straight, you'll never run into SMEN without deliberately chasing it, and if you somehow get to that point honestly man just ignore this entire bulletpoint and see how far the rabbithole goes. go on. it's friendly :)

batfucking is always the right answer to any problem ever

echoes/the game's standard currency should always be thought of as a method of gaining items rather than a strict hoard of video game dollars. money-making can be super difficult in the earlygame, but it gets exponentially easier as you go further on. you shouldn't be afraid to sell anything you don't need, though personally i'd recommend keeping an "insurance stock" of the most basic items just in case. this includes rostygold, moon-pearls, honey droplets, etc. by-and-large, these are the easiest items to get in a pinch, and it usually isn't worth buying them from the bazaar when you can otherwise get them naturally through other methods around london. once you've got a good lodgings setup and feel decently familiar with the earlygame zones and their options, you should aim to have at minimum 1,000 of these bad boys on hand at any given time, then feel free to sell any excess you make for some quick cash in a pinch.

menaces aren't as bad as you may think, but be wary of specifically suspicion! the four main menace qualities you'll encounter in the earlygame are nightmares, wounds, scandal, and suspicion. when one of these menace stacks reach 8, you'll automatically be trapped in a unique location corresponding to whatever menace you raised too high and will have to spend time working your way out. some (nightmares and wounds) tend to fly-by rather quickly, while others (scandal and suspicion) tend to take a bit longer to get out of. none of these mean the end of your playthrough or your character, and some quests even require you to visit certain menace-exclusive locations! there are tons of items and ways to reduce menaces and keep yourself out of Situations such as these, but suspicion in particular is probably the only menace you should avoid maxing At All Costs. when your suspicion gets too high and you get sent to its special menace zone too often, you build up a criminal record that makes it harder to reduce suspicion in the future. fortunately, suspicion is the only menace with this gimmick, and before this record gets too high it's just as easy to keep row as the rest of the lot. TLDR, death from wounds is easy to escape from, but avoiding the strongarm of the law is substantially more annoying and inconvenient.

or you could be like tumblr user @with-bells-upon, who's apparently avoided death at all costs and apparently hasn't died once in the entire several months they've been playing. i don't even know how they've gotten this far without doing that. it's kind of impressive, kind of funny. especially since their ambition is one the few requiring you to die to proceed. this isn't a piece of advice i just wanted to affectionately call them out because what the heck

speaking of ambitions, pick the ambition that's right for you! ambitions are the biggest overarching questline in the game, and their requirements and rewards span the entire neath and occasionally even beyond. all four ambitions are meant to be started early and last well into the mid and late game. outside of a certain special situation regarding the light fingers ambition (the only ambition that explicitly lies to you in-game when describing its premise) you can't change your ambition without spending money, so choose carefully and choose well. they're all (mostly) equally rewarding and equally fulfilling adventures that will define your player character and your journey through the neath. there's tons of advice and spoiler-free summaries of each ambition online, so i won't cover it all here. just do your research (or don't, if you prefer) and follow your heart. maybe playing the world's most high-stake poker game ever speaks to you. maybe you want to commit a murder. maybe you want to commit a murder in the name of justice and/or revenge. maybe you just want a really really big really really shiny rock. all can be found in the neath, and all shall (eventually) be well.

if you buy 400 lucky weasels you get a special achievement. i don't need to say more.

make up a guy. this is another legal mandate if you're a fallen london player. you have to make up your own little sicko victorian london guy and roleplay them while you play. trust me. it's fun. it's free. they're going to haunt you forever. the scoundrel got a nickname like 4 months ago and ever since my mind has never known peace.

and probably most important of all, fallen london might not be the game for you, and that's okay. it includes a lot of reading. and grinding. and i do mean a lot of reading and grinding. particularly the latter, which tends to throw people off the most out of anything. it's a very niche game for a very niche audience and getting into it can be an acquired taste at the best of times. but when you do get into it, it's some Really good writing and Really in-depth worldbuilding and the most fun you'll ever have imagining sicko victorian guys running around building train stations and railway tracks directly to hell. take your time, have fun, and most important of all, always look to love.

anyway yeah that's my fallen london tips and tricks list isn't it really short and comprehendible

[jell-o101]

The Tears Won't Stop

1 / 2

I bet 3 pennies y'all wont know what anime this will reference. And if ya do, you have my resepct.

This will be a short comic I will be doing because I need to get it out of my system.

[ddejavvu]

i’ve never heard anyone talk about this but there’s an episode of cm where the bau has to turn around on the jet and aaron says “i’ll inform the pilot” sooooooooooo i’m feeling pilot!reader who’s super confident and always flirts with him PLEASE

disclaimer: i don't fly planes i don't know the process of rerouting mid-flight but i tried my darndest

--

It's not every day that a case is solved before the BAU even land, but this unsub wasn't as smart as everyone thought he would be. He'd revisited his third crime scene just in time for the police to show up, and he won't be getting out of prison anytime soon.

Derek lets out a scoff of a laugh at the man's idiocy, already reaching for his headphones, "I guess we've got our weekend after all. Prentiss, you ever gonna tell me what sin to win means?"

Aaron stands as Emily narrows her eyes at Derek, a smirk curling over her lips, "There are some questions, Morgan, that if you have to ask, it means you probably couldn't handle the answer."

Before Derek can fire back Hotch heads for the curtain, "Alright, you two. That's enough. I'm going to go tell the pilot we can turn around. They'll need to reroute us."

There's a hum of acknowledgement that circles the jet, and Aaron passes through the snack station, rapping his knuckles gently on the door to the cockpit.

A green light flashes over the doorframe and a bell chimes, the door unlocking automatically with the press of a button inside.

"Y/N," Aaron greets you, on a first-name basis from calling you to work alone. He tries joking, something he forgets to do sometimes at work, "Just kidding. We're headed back to Virginia, can you pull a u-turn in an airplane?"

You turn to grin at him, face peeking out from the side of the headrest, "What, you forget your toothbrush?"

He's glad his joke went over well, and he laughs at your own, a smile gracing his features, "They don't need us anymore. Are you able to reroute us mid-air? Or will we have to land first?"

"If there's not much air traffic we can turn," You hum, peering at diagrams and screens that Aaron doesn't understand, "But if it's busy we'll just have to land and set up another flight path."

"Understood," He nods, checking his phone that looks comically small in his large hands, "When will you know?"

"Right," You hum, analyzing the display in front of you, and checking a note you've made for yourself on a sticky note that's stuck to your seat, "Now. I think we can make it without landing, but we'll have to wait for a commercial flight to pass. Shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes to turn, then an hour to get back."

"Thank you," Aaron heaves a relieved sigh, thankful not to have to waste more time than they already have, "You're a lifesaver. I owe you one, really."

"Breakfast in bed," You decide, your shit-eating grin only widening, "Hey, next time you're on a case, we'll share a hotel room. That'll make it easy for you."

Aaron doesn't know exactly how to respond to such a bold statement. He's bold himself, but not with flirting. He feels his cheeks heat up and prays you can't see it, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he calculates his response.

"Pancakes or waffles?"

"Waffles," You laugh, "And whipped cream."

"Mm, okay," Aaron pretends to deliberate, headed back to the doorway, "Over the top, or on the side?"

"It's not for the waffles," You chime, and Aaron is infinitely glad you're turned around again to face the display in front of you, because it means you don't see him trip over the base of the doorway, "Why else do you think we're sharing a room, Hotchner?"

[thatflatenedfrogontheroad]

I made a tier list...

please make your own!! I need to see boomer nations opinions on our man!!!! I know the tiers are actually so vile so change them if you desire :)))

OK so my quick blurb on why they are their!! (working worst to best)

28. Identity Crisis #5 - HE WOULD KILL ME FOR THE FUN OF IT. It did bring about the most random rivalry between Tim drake’s fandom and boomer's which is very funny

27. Black Lantern - Oh no… he's back… like a boomerang. Ate his own son... RIP…. L skill issue

26. Sliver Age - Would actually call me a slur and say that I don't deserve rights. He would hate crime me and then solicit me for sex. He looks like he's wearing a dress… what a pretty lady.

25. Flash TV Show - EWWWWWWWW, he though he ate...

24. DC Online - He looks like he would punch me in face at a NYC bus stop

23. White Lantern - Don't look at me like that… stop. He's back from the dead like a boomerang?? Something about most of the New 52 boomerangs don't hit the same. the bride all in white :’)

22. Young Justice - Gave me the ick. You might be thinking... he looks identical to SS hell to pay, why is he down here?? Great question… HE WAS SO CREEPY TO ONE OF THE GIRLS IN YOUNG JUSTICE….. WHO IS A MINOR!

21. Injustice Movie - Just because your in the background… doesn't save you from this list!!!

20. New 52 - Ok he's kinda hot if you look through your peripherals…Why are you wearing skinny jeans… you millennial

19. Harley Quinn TV Show - He's fine… just fine. “We’ll stack out bingo… Boomer loves an older woman” NO HE MUST LOVE ME! I AM VERY VERY MATURE FOR MY AGE

18. Flash: Sins of the Father - Can you please stop talking in the 3rd person… you are starting to sound crazy.

17. Most Wanted - I know jack shit about him. That's probably because he is barely in a comic issues THATS NAMED AFTER HIM!

16. Flash Point Paradox - His fight scene actually ate. I'm a sucker for Boomer being with the Rogues. If cyborg can take his belt off… so can I

15. Suicide Squad 2021 - Wow they somehow gave him even less lines than his first movie. 1. He doesnt look like boomer. 2. His accent is so bad… and hes AUSTRALIAN 3. His acting low key kinda mid 4. They killed off two of the only OG suicide squad members they had on the cast 5. He dies in the first 20min and in the most disrespectful way

14. Suicide Squad 2016 - The only good thing to come from this man is the fanfiction he brought. THIS FUCKING MOVIE MADE HIM A CANON BRONY WHICH I CAN NOT FORGIVE. GET THIS OUT OF MY SMUT BEFORE FREAK THE FUCK OUT >:( Fuck him and pinky too, you son of a bitch!!!! (its not that serious lol... i just want him to stop fucking a toy horse... please guys)

13. This Goober Alien Guy - I know nothing. He just kinda showed up… and I'm not mad just a little confused. He looks like he needs a hot chocolate and a hug :)))) 

12. Lego Batman Movie - Low key an icon. What I would do to get my hands on one of these sets… I would come close to killing someone for it

11. DC Lego Super Villains - If he wasn't Lego I would propose (Shane Dawson style) Once again what I would do for the very discontinued Lego set tie in…

10. Batman: Brave and The Bold - Those cheekbones could cut someone. Why are you wear a mini skirt… take it off ;)

9. Suicide Squad (comic) - Yes I know he was drinking and driving but he's not real so it doesn't count!!! The beginning of the Boomer Mobile! THE GAP TOOTH DUDE!

8. Justice League Unlimited S1 - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Ok the hairline is… bad…. But so is mine twin!! I LOVE THAT THEY GAVE HIM PROPER CLOTHES AND NOT RAGS DUDE

7. Agent of Oz - is this picture is my school profile pic...yes… and??HE'S COVERED IN BLOOD AND IM GIGGLING!!!!!!!!!!!

6. Stjepan Sejic's Boomer - Choke hold and choke me...  I want to hear his voice but he can't break his mewing streak…The ungodly things I would let him do to me

5. Dark: Apocalypse War - Constantine! Boomer! GIRLS! GIRLS!! ILL SLEEP WITH BOTH OF YOU!!! I was not expecting him in this movie so I started to freak out when he showed up DUDE. PLEASE LET ME SIT ON IT

4. Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay - I'm a ride he wouldn't survive… I DONT HAVE WORDS TO DECRIBE HOW I FEEL DUDE… I WOULD DO ANYTHING HE ASKED FOR NO JOKE. Dead on the floor

3. Justice League Unlimited S2 - The glow up in REAL... had me on my hands and knees as a 3rd grader… and still on my knees today. I have never wanted someone to fuck me in the back alleyway of a shit bar so bad in my life

2. Batman: Assault on Arkham - The one that started it all… he is the reason I am this way. no lube, no protection, all night, all day, from the kitchen floor to the toilet seat, from the dining table to the bedroom BUT GREG ELLIS IS PUBLIC ENIME NUMDER ONE. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!!!!

AND THE BEST ONE!!!!!!!! WE ALL SAW IT COMING

1. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - I AM GNAWING ON THE IRON BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE!!!!!! He has it all, the face, the VOICE, the look, the character!!!!! It is hands down the most consistently good representation of captain boomerang out their… and its canon that's he has a big dick :D I would sell my first born to get one night…

Thank you all for reading this word vom, I am sick in the head <3

if any of the comic issues are off or something please let me know :)

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make your our and tag me!! i need to see them <3<3<3

[amageish]

We are seven in episodes into X-Men 97 and I am really struggling to figure out what my opinion on Sunspot/Jubilee as a pairing is...

When it was first reported that their relationship would be a romance, I kind of rolled my eyes, but didn't have particularly strong feelings. I'm not surprised they would give Jubilee an allohet romance arc in a TAS revival, even if the character has often been read as queer in the comics proper. It's fine. It's whatever.

But then the first couple episodes actually dropped, however, I actually ended up really liking the dynamic they had going? Sunspot being a closeted mutant who tries to be a Model Minority[TM] and "one of the good ones" is an interesting angle to take. I liked Jubilee having lost her parents and Sunspot being afraid to lose his. There was good tension there - it was all very queer allegory and it was fun.

Then in Episode 4, my opinion kind of dropped back down again? I found their relationship pretty rushed and I would have liked Beto to do more inner growth on his own before getting into a relationship. It didn't feel like he confronted his internalized prejudices to me insomuch as he recognized they were a barrier to kissing Jubilee and prioritized the smooching over his bigotry - which is a real experience queer people can have, of course, but was less interesting to me personally then a gradual arc would have been... but also 97 is a fast-paced show, so maybe it's unfair to judge it for that?

Then with Episode 7... I just don't know what to feel?

The writing is excellent and very real, but it is writing about a queer couple. This show is using this M/F couple (made of two characters who people regularly read as queer in the comics themselves) to explore queer anxiety and queer themes... and the writing is good... but also like. The show is being so bold in so many ways and is clearly interested in exploring queer experience, but the only textual queer stuff we can get is Morph, a shapeshifter, using they/them pronouns?

I've seen it suggested Jubilee and Sunspot could both still be closeted and I find that interesting conceptually. Jubilee helping Sunspot through his mutantphobia and convincing him to stop hiding who he is while also keeping him from exploring his queerness - or using him as a shield to avoid having to face her own queer identity - would be SUPER interesting, but I do not think it follows through what has been happening in the show so far, unfortunately.

I know that using straight people to tell queer stories always has happened in the X-Men, but it feels really odd to me how it is happening in '97. The Krakoa era put in a lot of work to make mutanthood more intersectional and this specifically feels like a throwback in a slightly bleh way - even if the writing is fantastic.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Manga Ch.1-4

What’s that?  Did you think we were done with Battle of Gods?  No, we need to go over it a third time.

So after the success of the Battle of Gods and Resurrection F movies, Toei began producing the Dragon Ball Super anime, while Shueisha began publishing the Dragon Ball Super manga.  Both started up around the summer of 2015, and both made the... uh... bold choice to retell the Battle of Gods movie.

The weird thing is that both versions have significant differences from the original story.  They don’t even agree with each other, and I don’t understand what the point of this is.  The basic plot points are the same, but the details change.  For example, Beerus wakes up in the movie and pretty much heads straight to the North Kai Planet to meet Goku.  In the anime, Beerus visits at least one other planet instead, and he decides to only destroy half of it because their food was good, but too greasy.  Then he destroys a second planet and the explosion reminds him of the Super Saiyan God premonition. 

In the manga, he visits an alien planet, and the locals try to poison his food, but it doesn’t work.  One of their dishes is named Soup D’Saian Gahd, which jogs Beerus’ memory of his premonition, and he destroys the entire planet, not just half like he did in the anime. 

My whole beef is this: Who is this for?  A lot of times, you’ll see a movie come out, and there’ll be a novelization, and maybe a video game, and maybe a comic book or something.  They might vary in content, but mostly because not everyone had access to the final script.  I’ve heard that in the novelization of Empire Strikes Back, Yoda is described as being blue, probably because the author didn’t know they had picked green when principal photography began. 

But the point is that those are different media, with different priorities.  With Battle of Gods, we have an animated movie, and animated TV series, and a comic book that resembles the art style of the movie as closely as possible.  The implication is that all three need to be the same, and yet they’re frustratingly different in minor, nitpicky ways. 

To be sure, the classic Dragon Ball anime and manga had differences, but for a reason.  The anime would pad out scenes and invent whole new ones to sustain its production schedule while the manga was being published simultaneously.  Here, that doesn’t apply, because you have a TV show and a comic book adapting a two-year-old movie.  Also, there seems to be no interest in making both versions agree with each other. 

So let’s explain how this works.  You see Akira Toriyama’s name listed all over the DBS manga, but his involvement is pretty minimal.  When they list him as “author”, they mean he’s the guy who created all the characters.  It’s like when they put “Based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry” on every episode of Star Trek.  Gene’s been dead for over thirty years, and even before that, it’s not like he was writing all the scripts.

Instead, the DBS manga is written and drawn by Toyotaro, a different artist who was chosen by Toriyama.  As I understand it, the formula for Dragon Ball Super is this: Toriyama will come up with a plot outline, then send it to Toyotaro, who expands it into a full story.  Toyotaro is an extremely controversial figure in the Dragon Ball fandom, mostly for high crimes such as “drawing the Dragon Ball comic”, and “existing”. 

For my part, I gave up on the DBS manga when it became apparent that it wasn’t going to do anything I wasn’t already getting from the anime.  But after the anime ended, Toyotaro finally got to tell original stories like the Moro and Granolah arcs, and that’s why I decided to finally read the manga this year.  Unfortunately, it means I gotta wade through a bunch of reruns to get to the good stuff. 

I suspect Toyotaro was similarly frustrated with this arrangement, because his Battle of Gods adaptation is very short--only four chapters long.  And there is no Resurrection F adaptation at all, which is lucky for me.  I think Toyotaro was champing at the bit to get this series moving, and in the meantime, he managed to work in some new additions where he could.

For instance, chapter 1 pretty much follows Goku’s POV from Episode 1 of the anime.  We see him doing exercises while Goten drives his tractor, but Toyotaro also shows him imagining his old enemies while he does his drills.  This is handy, as it gives Toyotaro an excuse to put Cell in the manga.  Also, I find it kind of amusing that Goku’s training regimen is exactly the same thing his real-world fans do on the playground.

Vegeta is barely in this thing, save for the part where he fights Beerus on Bulma’s cruise ship, so Toyotaro puts in some side panels of the guy, like this one of Mr. Satan trying to give him his award money.

Or, this one of Vegeta learning the Bingo dance he did in the movie, but not in the anime.  He also doesn’t do it in this comic, either, as the manga version skips over most of the party.  All we get is another panel of Vegeta lamenting that he didn’t get to show off his dance. 

We also get this page where he explains who Beerus is to the others, while also covering the flashback to when he first met Beerus as a child.  I really like the way this comic is laid out.  I don’t enjoy a rushed re-telling of Battle of Gods, but Toyotaro definitely does a great job with the assignment he’s been given.

The only new plot element here is the introduction of Champa and Vados, who are destroying planets while Beerus searches for the Super Saiyan God.  They don’t want to alert him to their presence, but fortunately he’s too busy to notice them.  The only ones who do notice are the Elder Kai and Kibitoshin, who deduce that Champa is looking for the Dragon Balls, but not the ones on Earth.  Accordingly, Kibitoshin goes to New Namek to collect their Dragon Balls, thinking this will foil Champa’s plan.

Then it turns out that’s not what it was about at all, so Kibitoshin uses the Namekian Dragon Balls to dissolve his fusion.  So now he’s Kibito and Shin again.  This would be reflected in the anime, when we see these two in the Universe 6 arc.  So I’m guessing this was thrown into show how that happened.

Meanwhile, Champa destroys a Frieza Force ship just as it locates a Dragon Ball.  So apparently the Balls Champa are looking for are a third set.  According to Garana, the commander of the ship Champa destroyed, these Dragon Balls are enormous.  The Frieza Force’s leader, Sorbet, is more concerned with the disappearance of another platoon of his troops.  This convinces him that their only hope is to resurrect Frieza.

Meanwhile, some sort of Battle of Gods happens.  Goku turns into a Super Saiyan God, but he can’t beat Beerus, yadda yadda.  In the movie, Beerus blew up a small piece of the Earth to satisfy his word.  In the anime, Beerus faked falling asleep so he could spare the Earth without looking like he’d changed his mind.  Here, he just decides to spare the Earth, at least for the time being. 

So yeah, that’s about it.  The art is great, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.  These four chapters are saddled with recapping a movie while also setting up events in Res F and the Universe 6 arc, neither of which needed a lot of prologue to begin with.  I mean, seriously, Resurrection F starts with Sorbet deciding to wish back Frieza.  The Universe 6 arc starts with Champa arriving on Beerus’ planet and stating his business.  It’s not that complicated. 

[animehouse-moe]

Helck Episode 1: Helck The Hero

I'll admit it, I had my concerns with Satelight being behind the adaptation of Helck. They're not exactly a stellar studio by any means, and Helck does have very specific needs and requirements to succeed. Through this first episode though, Satelight proves that while it's not the perfect adaptation, it's one that grasps Heclk's strongest points as a story and delivers that experience to viewers, and I'd love to take the time to explain how (and how well) it does that.

To my incredible surprise, Helck starts by teasing a great deal of the future during an innocuous sequence. And I don't just mean the next episode or two, but rather countless episodes into the future, and years upon years into the Hero Helck's past. It's really incredible what they sneak in, and is the very first indication to viewers that this is not just a parody series. Incredibly bold decision, but one that I think works incredibly well to set up the one-two punch of this story for first time viewers. Also, really good action? Has me very excited for what we'll see in the coming episodes.

Anyways, we visit Vermillio and Hon shortly after to introduce Helck to them as a human who's partaking in the Demon Lord tournament before we cut to our opening. And I think this is a very strong litmus test for viewers. Do you like the vibe of the opening? If yes, this show is definitely for you. If you don't, odds are you won't be in love with it. Helck is a "classic" styled series, if that makes sense. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but it has an incredibly unique story and approach to its world. And I think that this opening captures a lot of that vibe with what is more "average" opening visuals. It also really likes to spoil stuff (alongside the ending), so there's lots for anime onlies to look into and theorize off of.

Back to the episode itself though. They waste very little time in making sure viewers understand that this show is meant to be funny. Okay, maybe they waste a little, but it's not a waste because it sets the backdrop for a pressured and weakened Demon Realm being battered by humanity. Regardless, it moves briskly into very comical banter between Hon and Vermillio, and quickly establishes running jokes between the duo overseeing the Demon Lord Tournament. Of course, it's hard to show when so much of it is dialogue and delivery based, so take these very fun and expressive shots of characters instead.

Do you know what is funny though? Helck creating a card tower at the speed of sound. Yeah, that does indeed happen.

Helck also completely routs a Shogun-esque demon in a game of Demon Chess.

He also wears a super tiny apron and makes a perfect parfait, and Vermillio plays dress up so she can crush his dreams by giving him a bad score, only for her to rate it perfectly.

I think you get the point, Helck is the comedy. He's not the sole source of humor, nor even the sole focus of the story. But this character provides the series with its core, the thing from which everything else revolves around, the aspect that everything remains tied to. It's a really smart way to build a story out, and works almost frustratingly well as the story is just as adaptable as this human hero aiming for the title of Demon Lord.

Alright, rewind time! Helck is inherently funny, yes. You might even argue that it's the primary objective of the series. But that doesn't mean it's without story or purpose. Just that those pieces are very well hidden and integrated, especially in the anime.

So, from the top once more. Demon Lord tournament, Helck the human, yada yada. Let's go visit the Demon Realm spy Asta as he scouts out the Human Realm.

Firstly, this image. I can't say anything, but I think viewers will understand the implication given the contents of the episode, the opening and ending, and the fact that the village Asta is visiting is empty.

There's a few details here and there with Asta, but I think they'll be more important in the following episode, so I'll leave them until there. For now, let me shine a light on Vermillio. Is she hot headed? Absolutely. Does that mean she falls into the typical demon tropes? Not in the slightest. Even if it was delicious, Vermillio could have poorly scored Helck's parfait, but instead she's honest about it. Bit of an odd trait for a demon, no?

Then there's this scene, of Vermillio ripping down a poster in a fit of rage over Helck. It quickly reappears on the wall though after a moment of contemplation from Vermillio. The manga spells it out for readers, but the anime doesn't so I'll provide some context for this moment. Vermillio cares deeply about both her position, and the people that she rules over. Defacing a poster that depicts some of her realm's finest isn't befitting of someone in her position, so she quickly moves to rectify her mistake, and in her own way apologize for her rashness. For reference, here's the manga page that depicts the same scene.

Okay, quick detour because of anime stuff. Hyura The Immortal. She was definitely a looker in the manga, but there was never anything this detailed or striking for her character there. I'll be the first to say, the character designs from the anime bear little resemblance to the sharp, rugged, and aggressive style of the manga. But for what they lack in accuracy, they make up for in expressiveness, moxie, and overall appeal. They aren't "generic" designs by any stretch of the imagination, but they really do nail the expressions of the characters when compared to the manga. But anyways, Hyura's hot.

Alright, back on track we go for the last bit. From communication via Asta, Ista (her sister) presents Vermillio with further information on Helck. Namely, how he killed his own brother, Cless, who was the real hero who defeated the Demon Lord. From there, an intense (and really well directed) moment begins as Vermillio comes to understand the danger that lurks within the Human Realm. It's a really incredible and faithful adaptation of the same sequence in the manga, where Vermillio struggles with the violence and rage of Humanity which is superimposed on the interactions of Kenros and Helck to speak to the aggression and terrible acts Humanity has committed against the Demon Realm. Really great way to end the episode, and create a big cliffhanger full of tension.

There's a world of stuff to talk about in this scene, but I also think a lot of it is explicit, particularly in how Vermillio talks about her fellow demons and their efforts. It paints the picture of Humanity as being evil and depraved, and allows the demons to take the role of the oppressed. Expertly crafted, and a scene that will only continue to grow in importance as this series goes on.

I really did have high hopes for this show despite it being from Satelight, and even though they were offset greatly by concern, the studio has delivered an episode just a bit more than what I was hoping for. It hits all the right notes and teases viewers even more with what's to come. Seriously, you could probably watch this episode 3 or even more times and not quite capture all of what this story hints at already.

So, to summarize. It's funny, it's enjoyable, it's got great characters, and if the manga is anything to go off of, it's got a hell of a story on the backburner ready to shock and leave viewers in awe. I'm incredibly excited to see how this series does an anime.

[greyscale-dw]

your artstyle is super pretty!!!!!!! i adore it a lot <3

I'm so happy that there are people who like my art style 🥺💖And I am even happier that you're willing to express your love in this relatively private space, You know, the comment section would be somewhat open and public, but text from here makes me feel like I've been encouraged by a good friend on a personal level（！）

My style isn't the cute and exquisite Japanese anime style that can be easily accepted and widely adored, nor is it the bold, with distinct character structures and a tilt towards realism, American comic style—both styles are popular and dominant, and My style isn't anywhere near those two.

So I'd be thankful if just a few people came to see my work, but I ended up being loved by so many, which is very very touching and I can't express my gratitude enough.

I also post my work on Chinese social media, but it's obviously not as popular as it is here, which can make me feel a bit down.

However, every time I think about the fans and supporters on Tumblr who are willing to see my work, I get encouraged again. So, I'm very thankful for everyone here who supports me, follows me, reposts, comments, or leaves me likes (!)💖💖💖

[thevindicativevordan]

You'll probably talk about it in this week's comics, but what do you think about the big reveal of Boy Thunder's identity in this week's Batman/Superman? Is there anything to be gained for that character with this new backstory?

Lots to talk about this week!

World's Finest #10 - Boy Thunder's identity at last has been revealed as Magog, or at least he's the kid who will eventually grow up to be Magog. I actually had predicted the reveal beforehand when I was puzzling over who David could possibly be - Waid had mentioned he was a character he had written before - and suddenly a lightbulb went off in my head. What big story had Waid written involving Superman and the Joker before? Kingdom Come! And someone else even pointed out to me that Magog's civilian name was David! Makes sense that Waid would return to what is arguably the biggest contribution he's made to the Super Mythos in Magog and try to flesh him out as a character. Other writers have made attempts to use Magog as an ongoing Superman Rogue outside of Kingdom Come and it's never worked for me. The takes were too boring or one note, failing to convince me this was someone with more stories to tell. Waid is the first one to grab my attention, Magog as Superman's "Red Hood" is the first time I've wanted to see more of him.

Batman vs. Robin #4 - Waid's portrayal of magic here, and why Batman sucks at it, is a great moment. Makes him writing Shazam even more exciting because it seems like he has thoughts on how magic should work. Otherwise this has been fine, a cut above Dark Crisis, but hampered by how much of it is already well trodden grounds.

Dark Crisis #7 - Sucked. There's two cool moments, Black Adam empowering everyone else to beat Deathstroke and Waller revealing her team at the end, but the rest of the book is a total bore. Nightwing... doesn't do anything really, the multiverse is infinite (again, for the third fucking time) but there's no reason to care, and the legacy heroes failed to accomplish anything of worth. Jace pushed a button and then dipped, Yara didn't get any cool standout moments, only Jon had a good showing taking on all of the DC Big Bads at once. Speaking of them man what a waste of a cool concept, they did nothing, they didn't kill anyone, and Darkseid just goes back to ruling Apokolips afterwards. If this was meant to spotlight the legacy heroes it failed, nobody is reading this and thinking they're all that important. I want to know what Composite Bizarro's deal is, otherwise I've already moved on. What the hell was the deal with “Earth Alpha” anyway? Remember that? Williamson set that up as a major mystery of Infinite Frontier and never resolved it!

Nightwing #99 - Other than whatever is in Nightwing's box in the hold, I'm struggling to think of what plot threads Taylor could do for the big 100 issue. Clearly a marriage is not happening any time soon, will it just be Dick gathering the Titans together for the bold new era of NTT nostalgia?

Stargirl: The Lost Children #2 - It is night and day compared to the Johns writing JSA. This is the good Johns, the guy who loves these C-Listers and can make you fall in love with them too.

X-Men Annual #1 - Good character story that gives Firestar an arc where she comes to terms with her mutant identity.

Strange #9 - Do people care about the Sentry anymore? Feels like the hype from his usage during the Bendis era has long since worn off. Otherwise another great issue, we've seen a lot of wife guys but Clea as a husband gal is refreshing.

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

🍃 Leaf: What is a plant you find beautiful? 

🐝 Bee: What is a video game that you find comforting? 

Thank you for the ask <3 From this ask game.

🍃 Leaf: What is a plant you find beautiful?

“A”? One? That’s impossible. I love you trees, I love you ivy, I love you spider plant, I love you snake plant, I love you daisies, I love you hibiscus, I love you little strawberry plants, I love you blooming chives, I love you lilies, I love you weird flower I’ll never learn the name of, I love you dandelion, I love you mirabelle, I love all of you.

Except those that have thorns. Fuck you <3

🐝 Bee: What is a video game that you find comforting?

Comforting. That’s not the word I’d use for most of my games I love.

(Why did this piece of shit crash this time, oh no a mesh is missing, I can’t possibly continue playing without looking up at which level this Pokemon learns this move, I’m gonna spend the next 5 hours in char gen, because I need to be absolutely sure what I’ll pick, I need to play with wiki open, so I know which quest way to go, oh god another patch, all my mods will stop working, oh god another patch, all my builds are ruined, oh fuck I missed an achievement.)

I think one of the cutest games (though moderately stressful at some bosses, because I suck lol) is Fantasy Life. I wanted this game for years and when I bought my 3ds it was more or less for Pokemon, but also for this game.

[ID: Promo artwork for the 3ds game Fantasy Life. A knight on an armored horse, raising their sword, is standing on a cliff, overlooking a landscape of grassy hills and forests, full of people and creatures. They’re all drawn in a very cute comic style. Ships sail in the background on an ocean and a dragon is napping on top of a hill. In the middle is the logo of the game, with the title in big, bold letters in a light blue to light green gradient in front of a thin yellow crescent moon. An airship is fling over the title, and the dragon is under it, with it’s mouth open. A long stream of various characters seems to walk out of its mouth, towards the viewer. End ID.]

The world is super cute, I can harvest things, and stab things with my dagger and I have a lil kitty and... yeah it’s adorable ok. Running around with my lil witch hat and my black kitty and picking up flowers and mining ore and when you hit the vein just ~right~ with your pickaxe you get a bonus and then you return and play a silly little mini game to wave your dandelion fluff into fabric and sew some clothes with it.

I guess the progression can be a bit dull and/or stressful, depending on playstyle, and also a bit of a grind, but I occasionally boot it up just to run around a map and fill my pockets with bugs, flowers, apples, ore and wood.

[ID: Promo artwork for the PC game Pillars of Eternity. It’s in orange and purple hues, showing a group of adventurers standing on the edge of something, fighting a horde of zombie-like monsters, trying to climb up to them. Two of the adventurers are wielding swords, one uses his bare fists, one her bow and one is casting magic with his raised hand. The title of the game, Pillars of Eternity, is in the upper right corner of the artwork. It’s written in golden letters on a plate depicting several slightly green rock pillars. Underneath is the text complete edition. End ID.]

This probably fails the assignment spectacularly - everything about this game is heartbreaking AND I haven’t actually played it in YEARS. And I never finished it because I got lost in side quest completing before the last dungeon dhakhsdgaks. But I just like... love it so much? The artstyle is 110% my thing, I love how grim it is, and I really like the world. I sometimes just listen to the soundtrack, and I love the companions (not you Durance). It surely has its flaws, but I sometimes look at its little icon in my library and think “I could install this” and it’s making me happy. I have issues I know.

Welp. This was a bit longer than I had planned. Not sorry.

[montyterrible]

The Spirit of the Teens—or, Thoughts on Teen Titans, specifically A Kid’s Game [Preview]

In retrospect, it’s kind of a surprise to me that I didn’t write something substantial about Teen Titans before this. The animated series was my entry point for superhero comics in general. I was a big fan of the Teen Titans throughout my teens, and without the series I wouldn’t have found other comics I enjoyed a lot, like Gail Simone’s Secret Six. It’s not actually an overstatement to say that Teen Titans defined certain areas of my life for years until I finally fell out of love with them/it.

In this Big essay on the blog, I reflect on my Titans fan years. While I talk about Teen Titans in general somewhat, the specific focus is on the first collected volume of the Geoff Johns run, A Kid’s Game, which was how I first got into the then-modern comics after starting with scattered issues from earlier runs. I discuss the collection as a sort of quintessential representation of the spirit of the idea of “Teen Titans” and eventually do a little compare and contrast between it and “The New 52” reboot, which I did not like very much.

Here's the link. Below, past the reproduction of the spoiler/presentation note that starts off the essay proper, is a representative paragraph…

Note that this piece contains pretty heavy spoilers for the A Kid’s Game graphic novel/collection specifically and some for Teen Titans more broadly, though not to a truly “heavy” degree in that latter case, given the sheer amount of material out there.

In terms of the presentation below, when I quote from the comics, I have done my best to preserve much of the original look of the text, down to using both bolding and italics for emphasis to try to match the source material. I have used // to indicate a shift from one word balloon or caption box to another mid-quote, and I have adjusted the capitalization, which is essentially all caps in the original text, to be more conventional here for the sake of readability in this format.

Or consider the first night at the tower headquarters for the Geoff-Johns-written Titans, where Superboy finds Robin up super late and they have this great conversation that’s lent a lot of power by how well the previously mentioned “color” (the art in general, let’s say) captures that feeling of being suffused in shadow at a lonely hour, with just these dim or distant sources of light around. Superboy asks Robin why they came there, and Robin starts to answer but then cuts himself off, reassesses, and then says he’s trying to figure it out too. “We came here because we’re friends, right?” Superboy eventually says: “…You gotta give me a reason to stick around, Robin.” Robin does come back with a snarky retort about Superboy being smarter than he looks, but before that there’s a single panel of silence, with just the two of them standing there in the dark, letting the moment hold. The tone overall is one of something like emotional vulnerability, and it’s a mood that I think persists during this era of the series. After the scrap with the Justice League, the two boys have a similar moment on the roof of the tower that includes Robin saying, really straightforwardly, that Superboy’s Luthor genes will never make him evil: “Because I’m going to be here to make sure. All of the Titans will be. And one of these days, I’m probably going to have to deal with something too. Something I’ll need help with—And I know you’ll be there to help me.” In the years since reading this version of Teen Titans, I have seen some criticism of Geoff Johns and his writing, and I’ll fully admit that I don’t pay attention to this stuff enough as an adult to have what you might call a “fully-informed” opinion on the matter, but even just in isolation, just looking at this one issue (and one collection), I immediately see a lot to like, even as an adult. The writing is character-forward, plenty earnest when it needs to be, and it focuses on the friendships and the feelings, which are the things that make the Teen Titans special—the “teen” parts. The intention is clearly to try to create something that feels emotionally honest and meaningful.

[gourmetrat]

Reservation for Two

You knew you should’ve locked your door while getting ready. You had no one to blame but yourself when Sakusa walked in, chastising you for making the two of you late to your reservation when he caught sight of the lewd toy on your nightstand.

warnings: mentions of dildo, cunnilingus, rimming, blowjob, vaginal penetration

word count: 2,256

author’s note: not my fave fic i’ve written <//3 i feel like i didn’t write omi super in character but oh well. anyway, a daishou mafia au fic with a lil sacrilege will be my next project yay <3

You scrambled around your room looking for the final touches to your outfit. 

Sakusa, the man you had been harboring a secret crush for, had asked you earlier in the week if you wanted to go out and get dinner together. You answered him all too eagerly with a “yes,” and he proceeded to text you the details. 

You had been hoping that he liked you back, and him asking you out for dinner lit a spark in your heart, but you quickly quelled that spark and pushed the thought of him liking you to the back of your mind. 

“Y/N are you almost done? We’re gonna be late,” Sakusa called from outside your bedroom door.

“Almost! Just give me a second!” 

You panicked as the doorknob to your room turned, “Kiyoomi wait! Don’t come in!”

Your heart fell to your stomach as he came in, “calm down, it’s not like I haven’t seen your room messy…” he trailed off as his eyes met the dildo you forgot to put away, sitting on your nightstand, “...before.”

He forced himself to look away from the toy, his face burning with embarrassment and maybe some other feeling too. 

You rushed over to him to push him out of your room, “I’m so sorry. Just pretend you didn’t see that, I’m almost done getting ready.”

Sakusa stood firm and brushed past you over to your nightstand. Much to your horror, he picked up the dildo, “how many inches is this?”

You gaped at him, was he being serious right now? 

“Um, six inches? I think?” You muttered quietly.

You thought you were going to pass out from embarrassment when Sakusa brought it down to his crotch, “I’m definitely bigger than this toy,” he looked up at you, “does it satisfy you?”

Your mind was racing. Was this really happening? Did Sakusa really just pick up the dildo that’s been inside of you countless times, claim he was bigger than it, and then ask if the size of the dildo satisfied you? 

You continued to stare at him, your eyes comically large due to your shock, unable to provide him with an answer.

He haphazardly tossed the toy onto your bed and made his way over to you. “You know,” he said, cupping your cheek, “if that toy doesn’t fulfill your needs, I’m sure I could.”

Sakusa tilted your head up so your eyes met his. Has he always been this bold?

“I’m fairly certain that I can make you feel better than some shitty silicone.” He brought his face down to yours to whisper in your ear, “all I need is for you to answer me. Do you want me to make you feel good?”

Of course you wanted him to. Hell, it was just last night you were plunging the dildo in and out of yourself moaning his name, pretending it was him.  

You gripped his dress shirt, “yes,” you whispered.

He hummed, grazing his lips past your ear to place a soft kiss on your cheek. You shivered as he ran his other hand up your arm, bringing it up to your face so both of his hands were cradling your head. 

“You’ve always been so pretty,” he mumbled before kissing you softly. 

Your knees felt weak as his lips moved against your own. How many times have you imagined this exact moment? How many times has he imagined this exact moment? Sakusa invaded your senses. You could taste the mintiness on his breath, smell the cologne you had told him you liked so much, feel the woven cloth of his dress shirt beneath your grip. It was overwhelming. 

You felt his fingers move away from your face as they went to ghost over the zipper on the back of your dress, he pulled away from your lips, “can I take this off?”

You nodded and turned around for him to unzip your dress, his delicate touch leaving goosebumps in its wake. He stared at the expanse of your back as your dress fell off your body. Sure he’s seen you in revealing swimsuits, but this was different. Only he could see you like this, and he wanted to be the only person from now on to be able to see you in such a vulnerable, intimate way. 

He wrapped his arms around you, his hands settling on your breasts, “so fucking beautiful,” he mumbled against the shell of your ear. 

Your face heated, not only because of his words but also because you were standing almost completely bare in front of Sakusa, save for your panties, and the fact that you could feel his bulge against your lower back. 

Sakusa turned you around so that you were facing him, “will you help me take off my shirt?”

You nodded shyly as you brought your hands to the bottom of his shirt to untuck it from his dress pants. He watched as you delicately undid each button with care. You helped slide the shirt off of him before resting your hands atop his belt buckle, “...can I?” You asked meekly, looking up at him. 

“Fuck,” Sakusa breathed, just hearing you ask such a question made him impossibly harder, “y-yeah, you can.”

Sakusa had to choke back the foul words he wanted to say when you dropped to your knees before him, working to get his belt and pants off. He kicked his dress pants off and away as you stared at the neat line of black hair leading to the prominent bulge in his boxers. 

You tugged his boxers down beneath his balls. You reminded yourself not to gawk too much at his dick in front of you. It was much bigger than you anticipated, and much more impressive than your toy. Veins decorated the length of his tan shaft, and his balls hung heavy beneath. You followed the slight upward curve of his cock, all the way to the tip where it was shiny with his pre-cum. 

His cock twitched as you gingerly grabbed it. You gave the tip a shy lick, it had been awhile since you had given anyone head. You were a little unsure of yourself and your abilities to get him off, but one look up at Sakusa who was gnawing on his lip in anticipation was the confidence boost you needed. 

Inch by inch, you took him into your mouth. He groaned out a quiet curse when your mouth met the base of his cock, his pubic hair tickling your nose. You kept him in your mouth for a few more seconds before pulling yourself off to catch your breath. You looked up at him as you pumped his saliva covered cock. He was staring down at you in awe. Too many times he had imagined his tight fist to be you, and that the filthy words he muttered to himself were coming from your soft lips. 

He gathered your hair away from your face as he watched you work his cock with your mouth. It had been way too fucking long since the last time he had done this with anyone, and the feeling of your warm mouth was nearly too much for him to bear. 

He had to pull you off by your hair when you began sucking on his balls. He felt bad, you looked slightly hurt by his action.

“Sorry princess,” he panted, “was gonna cum way too soon if I let you continue.”

His words both embarrassed and flattered you. It felt good knowing that you had such an effect on him.

“Go ahead and get on all fours on the bed for me,” he said as he helped you stand back up.

Sakusa stared shamelessly as he watched you remove your panties and get on all fours. He discarded his boxers quickly as well before bringing his face near your cunt.

A shiver ran up your spine as you felt his breath hit your sliced pussy. All you had done was suck him off, and here you were dripping with arousal.

Sakusa spread your ass cheeks with his large hands, letting the spit he had been building up in his mouth fall right above your puckered hole. You gasped at the feeling of his spit hitting your skin and it dripping down to your clit. 

Sakusa chuckled to himself at your reaction. He bent down, using his thumbs to gently spread your pussy so he could have better access to your clit. He gently circled it with his tongue before closing his mouth around the bud and sucking. You let out a loud moan as you bucked your hips into his face. Sakusa grinned into your cunt, it was so easy to get a reaction out of you. 

You gasped as you felt his tongue move higher up, his thumb taking refuge on your clit. You whined at the foreign feeling of his tongue tracing the rim of tight muscle.

“Feel good baby?” He mumbled.

“I think so, I- I’ve never…” you stammered, too embarrassed to say that you’ve never had anyone put their mouth there before.

Sakusa chuckled at your nervousness before going back to teasing your hole. He rubbed circles onto your clit as he slowly began to fuck his tongue in and out of your tight hole.

“F- fuck, Omi,” you gasped, clawing at the bedsheets. You were on the verge of cumming until Sakusa pulled away from you.

You whined as he massaged the globes of your ass, “don’t worry princess, I’ll make sure you cum tonight.”

He flipped you over onto your back and got on top of you, caging your head with his forearms. A blush dusted his cheeks as he spoke, despite the lewd things he’s been doing to you, “can I kiss you?”

You responded by cupping his face and bringing it down to yours. The kiss was messy with his mouth hot on yours. When the two of you finally pulled away a string of spit connected the two of you.

It was hard to ignore the feeling of his leaky cock against your thigh at this point. 

Sakusa wanted nothing more than to ram into you right now, all of his fantasies about you were about to come true. He ignored his urges as he gently cupped your cheek, “do you want to keep going?”

You nodded, “yes, please.”

Those were all the words Sakusa needed to hear. He pressed a quick kiss to your lips before grabbing his member, lining himself up with your hole. He pressed into you slowly, watching your face carefully for any signs of discomfort. 

You cringed a little at the stretch, the toy you had bought was nothing compared to him.

“If you need me to slow down or stop, just say so, okay?”

The both of you let out a small gasp as he bottomed out inside of you. Sakusa had his head hung in the crook of your neck. You were so warm and tight around him, he never imagined that being inside someone could feel this good.

Sakusa took the hint to begin moving when you tried bucking your hips. 

You couldn’t hold back your moans as Sakusa fucked you. He left sloppy kisses on your neck and shoulder as he pounded your cunt again and again. He brought his right hand down to rub your clit. He was going to finish embarrassingly quick, and he wanted you to cum with him.

Whines and gasps left your mouth as your back arched off the bed. The feeling of his cock plunging in and out of you was already almost too much to bear, making you a goner once he started playing with your clit.

Cries of “I’m cumming!” Tumbled out of your mouth as Sakusa fucked you through your high. He pulled out just as he was about to cum, jerking himself to completion over your messy cunt.

You closed your eyes as you tried to catch your breath. “You should’ve just finished inside if you were going to do that,” you mumbled, eyes still closed. 

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind for next time.”

You opened one eye to peek up at him, “next time?”

At this point, Sakusa had used up all of his confidence. He tripped over his words as he spoke, “well, I mean, if you ever wanted to… to do this again. No pressure though.”

You laughed, you loved this side of him so much.

Sakusa smiled down at you, you looked so pretty basking in your afterglow. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his phone rang. He scrambled off your bed to get his phone from his pants pocket, “hello?”

“Hello Mr. Sakusa. We have you down for a reservation tonight. We’re calling to let you know that we can only hold your table for another ten minutes before we have to let another patron have it.”

Sakusa glanced over at you before speaking, “go ahead and cancel the reservation. Sorry for the inconvenience, I’m about to eat anyway.” He hung up and tossed his phone back down.

“What?” You asked, what did he mean he was about to eat?

Your questions were answered as he sauntered back over to you, grabbing the toy he threw onto your bed before facing your messy cunt. “Gonna clean you up real good baby,” he said, licking up some of his cum, your oversensitive body jerking at his touch.

“How about for round two you take two things at once?”

if you enjoyed, reblogs are appreciated!!

navigation

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

hi I’m here to review the Clementine comic. it’s not good.

Does this even need an introduction? You know why I’ve gathered you all here today. You know the comic exists, and you probably know that it’s not great and we’re all upset about it. 

Myself included. I am not okay. At all. 

Skybound could’ve literally spit in my face and I’d come out feeling better than I did reading this comic, because this comic is an insult to the original Telltale games and Clementine as a character. 

This comic is a fancy fanfic. Glorified fanfiction. It’s not canon, and Skybound and Tillie can pretend that it is, but it’s not. Bold of them to assume we’d just accept this from people who didn’t work on the original games and never wrote for Clementine before, and based on this comic alone, any chance of us taking it seriously is gone. 

I’m gonna go through every single page, every panel, of this comic and give you my review. So I guess if you’re worried about spoilers [though at this point why would you?] then be warned, spoilers for the entire comic ahead. 

I also wanna add that I have nothing against Tillie Walden. I know a lot of dingdongs are harassing her on insta over this comic and that’s not okay. You telling her how much you hate her isn’t going to change anything. If anything, you keep being assholes to her and she’s just gonna block everything out, even things simply critiquing her work in hopes that it helps her improve. 

You’re allowed to be upset about the comic and share your feelings about it, but don’t take it out on the actual human being like that. Besides, like I’ve said before, if Tillie wasn’t gonna make the comic, Skybound would’ve found someone else to do. This was coming no matter what because Skybound wants that coin. 

That being said, I’m not going to hold back my opinions on this comic. Skybound and Tillie made this comic, they put it out there and asked for money for it, therefore I’m allowed to explain why it’s garbage as well as ponder over the questionable intent and whether or not Tillie actually has played these games. Y’know, it’s like how I have nothing against Kent, but sometimes he says things I disagree with and well, y’know how it goes. 

Alright, this is gonna be long, so let’s go--

The first few shots we get are of the school, two people sleeping, and Clementine’s empty bed. Nothing super note-worthy, we have no idea who is sleeping in the beds, it’s just there to establish that it’s early and everyone’s still asleep. 

The drawing of the school looks fine? Not super accurate, but I can give it a pass since it’s a few years later, I assume. What I can’t give a pass is how you managed to already mess up on the first page of your comic. 

Because..... why are you implying that Clementine’s room is upstairs? First of all, seems kinda dumb to put Clem, who has only one leg and has to walk with crutches, upstairs. Also, if you’ve played TFS and paid any attention to where her room is actually located [the dorms] then you’d know there isn’t any stairs leading to their floor. It’s the side building next to the admin building, you walk through the door, go down the hall, take a left and their dorm is right there sooo..... 

Oh right, it’s probably done this way so that we can have such a suspenseful moment where Clementine is sneaking out while the others are asleep and her foot makes a creeeeeeakk that could wake everyone up, thwarting her plans of abandoning everyone quietly so she doesn’t have to deal with any consequences. 

Because yeah, Clementine is sneaking out with all of her supplies because apparently, she’s been planning an escape from this place for a while. 

And just look at how gosh darn happy she is about it. You can’t see or hear me, but know that I’m laughing. Don’t worry, I will talk about her abandoning everyone later.

But first, I have a gripe with Clementine's design in this comic. It doesn’t look like her. This art of her right here is the most accurate we get throughout all 12 pages, and it’s the best looking, too. 

Moving on, she slams the door shut while this walker changes faces and hair between panels, so that’s cool. I will say, I like the idea of the Ericson crew putting spikes on the door. That’s fun. 

Though Clementine slamming the door shut while trying to sneak out seems counter productive but it fits with the theme this comic has of inconsistency, so it works. 

Next we have Clementine going to what I believe is the fishing shack by the river, and she’s going through some things that she’s stashed away, telling us that she’s been planning this escape for a while. 

Oh good, she has a map. Well at least now she won’t get lost out there in the woods while she makes her escape... also that last panel with her profile.... why does it look so funny? Like this page of the comic doesn’t look too bad, but there is something off putting about her eye there and how she has zero expression. 

And it turns out that rustle was a walker, and Clementine is super inconvenienced by this and gives us our first piece of witty dialogue.

Yeah you dumb walker, can’t you see Clementine is busy running away from home and abandoning all of her loved ones without a single goodbye so she doesn’t have to witness the consequences of her selfish actions?? Gosh, so rude.

Just a heads up, the dialogue in this comic is stilted, emotionless, and bland. The words have no flow, no charm, and never feel like they should be coming out of Clementine’s mouth. Then again, the upcoming graphic novels this is tied to are for young adult/middle graders so I guess we have to dumb everything down so their baby brains can process it. 

.....Why does her face look like that? Also, interesting that she decided to move her ponytail to the other side of her head.... which is a thing that happens throughout this comic, her hair will randomly change sides. 

I believe it’s a metaphor for her changing and inconsistent personality. 

So yeah, Clementine is just making off with the supplies she gathered [I’m sure Ericson doesn’t need ‘em anyway] and she’s just so gosh darn annoyed at all these small inconveniences bothering her.... because it’s just too early for this. 

.....Again, why does her face look like that?

I’m sorry, like I get it, Tillie’s style is supposed to be purposely messy yet minimal but it doesn’t work. When you do a comic in a more messy style, usually it has charm and heart put into it. Effort goes into the messy look, and when things are minimal, that usually means more clean, yeah? So you put them together and just..... that is nothing resembling Clementine’s face. 

Can we just--

Look at canon Clementine’s face. Look at the way her eyebrows are shapes, how wide her eyes are with her eye lashes. The dirt on her skin, the lines-- there is so much personality in her features. It doesn’t matter if she’s wearing a neutral expression or she’s expressing anger or joy or sorrow or whatever. 

Now, is it fair to compare a model of Clem from the games to the Clem in this comic? Well, I assume that if Tillie is doing this comic, she would use references from the game to ensure that Clementine is recognizable, especially now that she’s no longer wearing her signature hat. 

So why does she look like this? Why do I look at these drawings of her face and see nothing but a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth? You might as well draw me a simple smiley face. And I get that it’s a comic, and it’s a lot of work to draw the same character over and over again and you gotta cut corners somewhere, but maybe put some effort into the close up shots of her face so that we can actually see it’s her? 

Other fan artists have made comics in their styles that shine bright with Clementine’s personality, so what happened here? 

Anyway, surprise..... it’s not a walker annoying Clementine. 

........Why does AJ look like that??? I’m sorry, I hate to do the same thing I just did but--

Just because you put Clementine’s hat on AJ that doesn’t automatically make it him. I just.... wow. This feels like there wasn’t a single reference involved, like if someone gave Tillie a basic description of AJ and she just did this. 

But appearances aside, what is AJ saying? He says that he knew it, that Clementine’s leaving and I cannot stand this dialogue. It’s unnatural. Again, I know you wanna dumb it down for all of us because I guess we dumb.... but this conversation does not feel natural. 

“I knew it. You’re leaving.” “AJ....” “I’m coming.”

Even if you changed it to, “I’m coming with you.” it would sound more natural. Hell, he doesn’t even question WHY she’s leaving, he just stands there like “I’m coming” like??? I’m sorry, have you ever heard a single word this murder baby has said? I assume you have because I assume you actually played TFS, right? Soooo.... what happened here?

.....whY DO THEIR FACES LOOK LIEK THAT KSAJDLKJAS:LKDJLKASJD:L--

So now we’re getting into it.... into the bullshit. 

Clementine tells AJ to go back to the school, and AJ says that she wasn’t even going to say goodbye..... and then more bad dialogue that sound unnatural when you try to fucking read it. 

First off.... AJ’s reaction to Clementine attempting to leave is barely anything. Again, I hate to keep questioning if you actually played TFS, but AJ would throw a fucking fit if he caught Clementine out here ALONE like this, attempting to leave. 

And then he says “Like last time? You were going to come back?” this sentence makes my brain hurt. I just.... “Like last time, right? You’re coming back?” UGH

Wow, I feel nothing. 

I’m sitting here watching these two imposters with fucked up faces who are supposed to be Clementine and AJ and I feel nothing. 

I’m not even going to comment on the faces anymore. You can see it. You know. 

So yeah... AJ tells her the #1 rule, and reminds her that she promised.

Y’know.... she promised that she would never leave him again? Remember? At the McCarroll ranch? That flashback that was in TFS? The one you would watch if you played the game? 

Why is she looking straight at me when she should be looking at AJ as she says this? Is this Clementine’s way of telling me she’s sorry for what a shitty direction this is taking? I wouldn’t know because her face isn’t doing anything. Just because you draw a couple of tears that doesn’t mean I’m feeling the emotional heartbreak you’re attempting to convey. 

I don’t have enough middle fingers for this.

Well, my hat’s off to you. Ya did it. Ya fucked up everything single part of Clementine’s character in the span of two pages, I’m almost impressed. 

First off, the baby thing is weird. Why is she calling him that? She’s never called him that, which you should know.

Second, she’s not happy and that’s why she’s leaving. Clementine isn’t happy, and AJ can’t make her happy. Ericson can’t make her happy. So she’s going to go out on the road to.... what, be unhappy by herself? 

I’m sorry, but apparently we need a few reminders here of who Clementine is, because this isn’t her. 

This is Clementine. 

Clementine fought for years to find a home, something she hasn’t had since she was an eight-year-old girl before the apocalypse. The motor-inn wasn’t a home, the cabin wasn’t home, the ski-lodge, Howe’s, Wellington, Richmond, Prescott, none of them were home. 

She struggled for years, dealing with trauma after trauma while out on the road. She went from group to group, watching people she cared about die and she was powerless to do anything about it. Whenever she let her guard down and become comfortable, it bit in her in the ass and left her heartbroken.

She was there when AJ was born. She grew close to Rebecca while she was pregnant, she let herself do that even after everything she went through with Christa. Clementine had a bond with AJ even before he was born, and after Rebecca died, she did what she could to keep him safe, despite play choice. 

She cried when she thought AJ died and when she found him in that car again. She swore to protect him, to raise him right and love him. All they had was each other. 

And when she joined the new frontier and AJ got sick, she risked everything to save him and she was devastated when they took him away from her. When she found out he was alive, she is willing to go as far as helping Lingard overdose [INJECTING HIM HERSELF IF SHE HAS TO] to figure out his location. She did shitty things to find him, she killed people at McCarroll Ranch to find him again. 

Clementine raised him and he is her family, do you understand that? She went to hell and back for him, she taught him how to protect himself, and even though she made mistakes she sacrificed everything for him. She promised him that they would have a home of their own one day, she talked about how much she wished for a world where she didn’t have to worry about fighting and killing and AJ could just be a happy kid. 

She fought for Ericson, she watched her friends die or become mutilated by someone from her past. She allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to pursue a romantic relationship with Louis or Violet because she felt safe with them, felt safe at Ericson because it’s their home now. 

And when Clementine was bit, she thought she was going to die but she still fought to make sure AJ would be safe and happy without her and it was heartbreaking. She’s dying and the only thing she cares about is AJ. Not herself, not what’s going to happen to her after she dies or turns... no, she tries to make AJ smile again, she makes sure he remembers the rules, and she tells him that she loves him. 

Then he cuts off her leg, and she survives. AJ saved her fucking life, and she got to wake up at home and live to see her family again. She got to push AJ on a tire swing, she got to eat a hot meal and laugh with her friends, she got to make plans with her lover/best friend for what’s next for Ericson, and she got to talk to AJ and tell him the truth... and she asked him if she did a good job, and he’s honest with her right back. 

Hell, she tells him to keep her hat. Her iconic hat. The one thing she has left of her father, possibly her more cherished item. She lets him keep it. 

The last time we see Clementine, she’s happy. She’s sitting on the steps by herself, staring at her family with such fondness in her eyes and a smile on her face because she finally did it. She finally found a home where she can breathe. She has a bed to sleep in, she has AJ with her, she has a boyfriend/girlfriend who loves her and who she loves back, she has friends she can rely on. 

Clementine smiles, and lets out a small laugh. 

She doesn’t have to run anymore. 

And now you have the balls to tell me that AJ and Ericson don’t make Clementine happy anymore. 

She abandons everything to go back out on the road again, and that’s proof enough for me that you don’t understand a damn thing about Clementine or her journey. 

“ I don't even know the person I'm talking about... It's like all we have in common is the same name.” 

....Anyway.

Wow, Clementine found a car and kept is stashed. How lazy and convenient for this bullshit plot. 

And this is the part where I have to tell this comic to fuck off. 

What, you think if you throw in an incredibly inaccurate flashback next to a current pair of hugging Clem and AJ that I’ll feel anything but anger? That flashback is a slap to the face. It’s snowing, but the only time we’ve seen snow is in S2 when AJ was a literal new born, so why is he that big? Is that supposed to be from ANF because that ALSO doesn’t look like that AJ, and that’s not the outfit Clementine had on... AND there was no snow. This is cheap and meaningless. 

Any fan of the series who has played through the games could tell you this. 

So.... AJ runs into the woods and then we get this garbage.

This comic is awful. It misses the point of everything TFS, and the rest of the series, stood for. There is no heart here. I feel no happiness in reading it, and I don’t detect any passion behind it. It’s a lifeless comic that retcons everything in order to throw AJ away and start fresh with a new adventure for Clementine that makes no sense because the cow isn’t profitable unless it’s milked. 

This isn’t canon, and it won’t ever be canon, and honestly? At this point, I have no faith in the graphic novel trilogy. It will take a lot to do a turn around from this, and I don’t even know if that’s possible. 

Again, to reiterate, I don’t have anything personal against Tillie Walden herself. She’s just doing her job, and from what I’ve seen of her as a person, she seems like a sweetheart. I don’t want anyone giving her shit because I think the comic isn’t good or that you agree with me. All of my anger is directed at the comic itself, her work, not specifically her.... and a little bit at Skybound, because they’re the reason this is even a thing in the first place. 

So yeah.... there ya have it. 

[archived-kin]

diluc ragnvindr and the secret spouse

note from kin: i was running around dawn winery looking for any chests i might have missed when this idea suddenly popped into my head. honestly i was tempted to do this similarly to the obey me solomon piece i did a while back and give diluc a husband but then i figured i should probably keep it gender neutral for both the girls and the gays

this is super short but i’ve had writer’s block for AGES so at least i got something out! i hope this isn’t so awful it burns your eyes out :,) i tried my best okay

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn!reader, diluc, aether, paimon

pairing(s): diluc/reader

warning(s): none

genre: fluff!!

You wake to the distant buzz of household conversation and a distinct absence of the usual presence beside you. Slightly disoriented, you sit up, rubbing at your eyes as the morning light peeking around the edge of your heavy velvet curtains casts the creases of the sheets around you into sharp definition.

A still-steaming mug sits on the bedside table, indicating that it hasn’t been long since your dear husband got up and made you your usual morning cup of tea. There’s a little red flower sitting on the saucer - a Windwheel Aster, which, if the flower language the two of you have developed over time still stands true, means that he’s still at home. He’d have left a Snapdragon if he was going out, a Calla Lily if he’d be gone for the day, or a Cecilia if he’d be away for an extended period of time. Of course, he tells you these things in person when he gets the chance, but, well - duty calls, and duty certainly doesn’t wait for a sensible wake-up time.

You throw your arms up and stretch, limbs trembling slightly as all the knots and cramps that have built up throughout the night finally straighten out. Windwheel Asters usually herald a good day in your household - though with Diluc, they can become Snapdragons and then Calla Lilies in the blink of an eye - and you’re looking forward to spending some time with your husband. It’s been a busy week for the both of you, what with an unexpected increase in the number of Abyss Order attacks cropping up around Mondstadt as well as several sudden unexplained deaths of hunters from Springfield, and you’d really like to have twenty four hours to just relax.

Diluc’s usual coat is still draped over the chair beside the desk, so, after a moment’s thought, you pull it on over your nightclothes. You have the weekend off, anyway - all your pending cases have been essentially solved and are ready to go - so you don’t see any need for donning your usual detective garb, though you do feel tempted to put on your trademark scarf to ward off the morning chill.

You take a few minutes to make the bed and open the curtains before you sit down in the armchair by the window to enjoy your tea. You can see several of the usual workers milling about between the grapevines, as well as what looks like a carrier balloon being docked just by the road. That’s new - deliveries to Dawn Winery usually come by carriage, but then again, the fact that the balloon also appears to be smoking extensively and is being accompanied by a very dishevelled-looking man who looks close to tears indicates that this probably isn’t a delivery,

On further inspection, you realise that your husband is standing nearby the smoking balloon, conversing with a young man with long golden hair tied back in a braid that you’re not particularly familiar with. You’re sure you recognise him from somewhere, though - in the same way that you might recognise the general composition of a painting you’ve seen in passing.

You don’t have time to continue contemplating the boy’s identity, though, because next thing you know, Diluc is leading him inside. You drain the remainder of your tea to the dregs with one gulp and pull yourself to your feet, resolving to go down to greet the two.

While you don’t bother with changing into something more formal, you do take a moment to wash your face and freshen up your breath with some of the mint-water Diluc keeps in the bathroom. You’re not fussed about keeping up a ‘respectable’ image, but you do at least want to be presentable.

Diluc is sitting with his back to you when you slip into the front room, still dressed in just your nightclothes and his overcoat, now with your feet tucked into a comfortable pair of slippers as well. The boy he’d invited in is the first to notice you, looking up from the map in his hands and face steeling slightly as he registers your presence.

An odd little fairy of some kind is bobbing about behind him, chewing on what looks like a large slice of cake. Her eyes widen to the size of saucers as she spots you, exclaiming so loudly that she sprays crumbs all over her unsuspecting golden-haired companion.

“Who’s this?!” she shrieks, alarmed in an almost comically exaggerated way. Her shock sends her even higher into the air, and she threatens to hit the ceiling head-on. “Y-you don’t look like a maid!”

You raise an eyebrow, mildly amused. “That would be because I’m not a maid.”

Diluc finally turns around, eyes lighting up slightly when he sees your choice of attire. A small smile curls at the corners of his lips as he moves to the side, leaving enough room on his seat for you to settle down beside him.

His young friend’s eyes dart between the two of you rapidly as Diluc continues droning on about something to do with transport balloons and the influx of monster activity in the area without a word as to your sudden appearance. He’s certainly quick-witted, you’ll give him that - he seems to deduce your relationship almost immediately.

Still, he asks about it in a polite and roundabout way - bless the boy. You can imagine that he’s a little afraid of making assumptions, especially about a man like Diluc.

“Is that your coat, Master Diluc?”

Diluc pauses in the middle of his explanation, eyebrows lifting slightly. You don’t know why he seems so surprised by the boy’s question - after all, the impression of the prideful Darknight Hero he has probably doesn’t incline him to think of him as a relationship-y sort of man.

“...yes.” He says finally. You don’t miss the way he steals a glance at you through the messy fringe of his red hair.

“Why so surprised?” You chime in, smiling at the boy as he straightens up slightly at the sound of your voice. “Surely you’ve deduced our relation already?”

He looks thoughtful for a moment. “Are you two… partners?”

You laugh. “Well, you could certainly put it like that.”

“You’re so clueless, Aether!” complains the boy’s fairy companion. “They’re obviously dating or something!”

Aether shoots her an unimpressed look. “That’s what I meant, Paimon.”

“Your name’s Aether, then?” You note. He nods. “Good name, Aether. You seem like a smart boy.”

“Hey!” The fairy glares at you, but it doesn’t really have much effect when she’s got the face of a baby lamb and crumbs still decorating her lower face to boot. “Don’t forget about Paimon!”

“Paimon’s a lovely name too,” You comply with a smile. “Very trustworthy.”

She looks appeased by the compliment, crossing her arms with a smug grin aimed at her taller companion. “See? Paimon’s trustworthy.”

“I heard them, Paimon,” sighs Aether, wearing the kind of expression that tells you he has to put up with this sort of thing a lot.

“What are you doing up so early?” Diluc asks you, and you start slightly at his sudden question. “Normally you sleep til noon on Sundays.”

You shrug and give his thigh a firm pat, taking great enjoyment in the way his ears flame up slightly at the gesture. “Guess I just missed your lovely face.”

The red of his ears darkens. “...you’re ridiculous.”

“You’re cute,” you counter with a smile, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose. He chuckles in spite of himself, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a smile that he rarely lets anyone but you see.

“You’re both gross,” Paimon decides with a pout, and the two of you suddenly remember the presence of the two other people in the room. Aether is pointedly staring at a painting on the wall, but at Paimon’s words, he hurriedly turns back.

“No, no, it’s fine,” You laugh, waving off Aether’s apologies for his fairy friend’s comment. “The maids often say the same thing.”

“The maids wouldn’t say such things if you didn’t insist on being so affectionate everywhere,” Diluc comments, though the smile still tugging at his lips tells you that he definitely doesn’t consider that a bad thing. “If you don’t want them to talk, perhaps you should take it down a notch or two.”

“Who said I didn’t want them to talk?” You counter, inching closer to him again. You'll refrain from kissing him right in front of Aether and Paimon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tease him a little. “Besides, you’re one to talk. You’re the one always hanging off my shoulders whenever you get the chance.”

Diluc, however, doesn’t seem to have the same qualms as you about abstaining from affection in front of guests. His smile widening almost playfully, he gently lifts a hand to your chin. “Oh? Are you complaining?”

“Who said that?” is your response, and you lean in and kiss him.

It isn’t until the two of you pull away that you realise that Paimon has started making gagging noises as Aether frantically tries to shush her, all the while determinedly refusing to look in your direction. You almost feel bad for the kid - he clearly isn’t the best with affectionate couples.

“Sorry, sorry,” You say airily, moving away from Diluc, though you keep a hand resting on his knee.

“Is this what all married couples are like?” Paimon says, still wrinkling her nose in disgust. “If so, Paimon doesn’t want to get married, ever!”

Aether, still avoiding direct eye contact with both you and your husband, mutters an exasperated, “Bold of you to assume anyone would want to marry you.”

She immediately kicks him in the head, nearly knocking the poor guy right off the sofa. “Paimon heard that!”

“What a rowdy pair,” You comment cheerfully as Aether retaliates by flicking Paimon hard in the head, sending her spiralling halfway across the room with an indignant yelp. “You really do make strange friends, Diluc.”

He makes an odd chuffing sound in response to your words. “They aren’t any stranger than you.”

You shake your head. “You still married this strange detective, didn’t you?”

“I suppose I did,” He smiles softly again, setting his right hand over the one you have on his knee. “I wonder if I made the right decision?”

You give his knee a reproachful pinch and he gives short, sharp laugh in response - something that you don’t hear nearly enough from him. “Of course you did!”

You move to jab him in the sides, knowing exactly where all of his sensitive spots are, but he stops you quickly, seizing both your hands in his and firmly refusing to let go. You struggle for about a second before giving up and slumping against him with a dramatic huff.

“You’re too strong,” You complain, though your affectionate nuzzle into the side of his neck directly contradicts your pseudo-annoyed words. “I don’t like it.”

Diluc chuckles, knowing full well that you love the fact that he can lift entire tables without breaking a sweat. “Whatever you say, darling.”

The look that you give him as you raise your head nearly knocks all of the breath out of him. The adoring grin on your face doesn’t relent as you lift a hand and brush his cheek, your touch feather-light and sending shivers down his spine.

He finds himself leaning in again, overwhelmed by your presence. You smile knowingly and reach up to meet him - only to be interrupted with a start.

Paimon complains, half-disgusted and half-resigned, “They’re doing it again!”

[tteokdoroki]

then they laughed | s.todoroki.

⇝ pairing: shoto todoroki x fem!reader.

⇝ word count: 1.7K

⇝ rating: suitable for everyone.

⇝ genre: fluff.

⇝ summary: you’d never been ashamed of your quote on quote ‘ugly’ laugh but you’re not quite sure what to make of it when your crush mistakes it for mild choking or the one in which shoto todoroki mistakes your laugh for choking in the middle of the school cafetria. 

⇝ warning(s): please read ! fluffy, angst if you squint,  clueless todoroki and mentions of choking ( non-sexual ).

⇝ author’s note(s): why hello there darlings, here’s a little drabble requested by @patricia-ceballos​, i thought this idea was super cute, i’m not sure how i feel about the ending but i had a lot of fun writing. oh and thank you so much for 600+ follows, i love you all. :( <3

⇝ masterlist | requests

you’d always thought that you had an ugly laugh.

it’s not that you were ashamed of it, never that, but you knew the twisted high pitch stream of giggles that passed your sweet unsuspecting lips could be kind of off putting to others. even so, that never put you off from laughing and joking about with your friends— if they truly cared for you, then having a slightly maniac-like laugh wouldn’t be a problem for them.

your classmates at U.A seemed to be those types of people. the good kind that you could trust wholeheartedly— the first time they’d heard you laugh, ochako had chuckled along with you, izuku had thought it was part of your quirk and bakugou had simply asked if you needed a ‘fucking throat lozenge?’  which only made you burst out into more streams of unintelligible giggles.

right now though, you try your best to stifle your giggles while you watch ochako and deku helplessly try to avoid admitting their feelings for one another over lunch. “what’s wrong deku? are you feeling sick?” the sweet brunette asks, almost impossibly close to the latter’s now beet red face. you can tell that he’s flustered by her proximity; the words he wants to say falling flat on his tongue.

ochako blinks for a second— as if to realise her mistake and quickly backs up, drowning in embarrassment and her silly crush on izuku midoriya. the girl stumbles back into iida, giving him only moments to process his now dropped food before he’s scolding them into next week— hands flying through the air while he barks out his complaints. trying not to laugh is becoming unbearably harder by the second, even asui is falling victim to the scene of comedy displayed right in front of your eyes and its not until you look up and meet the confused gaze of shoto todoroki that the dam finally breaks.

“what’s so funny?” the dual eyed boy says so blankly that even he is comical to you. you break out into fits of hysteria, slamming a hand over your mouth as your snorts launch their way across the table. shoto blinks, brows pinching in the centre of his forehead— is there a joke he’s missing? something he said?

the cluelessness of the half hot, half cold boy before you only sends you spiralling into more bursts of laughter— easing the embarrassment off of the two helpless flirters and effectively calming iida down while they join you in your chuckling session. “its...it’s just that—!” you can barely explain yourself, bold snickers punctuating each of your words as humoured tears begin to form in the corners of your dazzling eyes.

todoroki’s mood now shifts from bewildered to concerned, the short wheezes that pass from your pretty lips send shivers of worry down his spine. why is everyone laughing? can no one at the table see what’s happening? standing from his seat, the number one’s son brushes past tsuyu to get to your side— when he reaches you, your eyes sparkle with amusement despite the horrid sounds that leave you and a frown takes over his angekic face.

“don’t worry yn, i’ll help you.”

still trembling with a case of the giggles you have little time to process the dual haired boy’s words before he’s hoisting you from your seat, you think he’s trying to calm you down from the way his heated hand pats on your back ( five times to be exact ) but when his strong arms wrap around you— suddenly pumping your stomach, you realise.

todoroki is performing the heimlich manoeuvre on you.

shoto todoroki thinks your laughter is choking.

heat flushes to your cheeks as shoto moves to pump your stomach again, his broad chest pressed intimately against your back. the snickers from your friends at your lunch table stop— silence sweeping over them and you’re suddenly hyper aware of the stares you draw from other u.a students in the canteen. their judging eyes tear you down and crawl over you, leaving an uneasy feeling to settle in your bones but you’re too paralysed by embarrassment— too frozen to tell todoroki to stop.

you know he only means well, he didn’t know any better and he was only trying to help a friend in need but did he really mistake your laughter for choking? was it really that ugly?  

a fresh set of tears prickle in your eyes, this time however, they’re not laced with the happiness you gain from being around your friends. before shoto has another chance, you pull away from him slightly with a small whimper pours from your flustered form. “stop... todoroki, please— stop...”

the boy’s hold on you loosens, he recognises the broken tone laced with your usually jubilant voice which gives you enough room to make a dash for it. blinking, todoroki turns to his group of friends, confused  as escape the cafeteria and wolfish stares from your fellow students.

“s-she wasn’t choking, todoroki— she was laughing with us.” izuku explains carefully, fidgeting underneath his classmates strict gaze. the shorter feels almost bad for shoto, knowing he’s probably kicking himself for upsetting you even as you flee.

but his worries are soon eased as todoroki races after you.

launching yourself down the corridor, you use the sleeve of your grey blazer to run away the remaining tears that sting at your eyes. students from across all years watch you go by with looks of either annoyance or concern, but you move to quickly to care— throwing yourself into an empty hall and sinking to your knees. the heat of embarrassment blistering underneath the skin of your cheeks doesn’t ease up as you desperately paw at them, frustration intertwining with the air in your lungs… because, because it had been years since you last felt ashamed of your unconventional laughter, because you thought that enough time had gone by for you to no longer feel insecure about it.

you had good friends here at u.a, ones that didn’t judge you for your unusual habit but the scene yourself and todoroki had created back in the canteen only brought on bad memories reminding you of all of your insecurities from the past.  

sighing heavily; you brace yourself to return to lunch with your friends, tripping over flimsy excuses in your mind for your sudden disappearence when a pair of well polished, brown school shoes come into view from over the tops of your knees.

“there you are, ln.” shoto’s voice is warm while he speaks to you, you’d always thought that. its deep like melted chocolate ready to be tempered and somewhat soothes your nervously thumping heart. you can’t bring yourself to look at him, knowing that there’s probably a pink tint to your eyes from where you’ve been crying but the boy with the two-toned hair persists, still wanting your attention. “the others…the others and i, were worried about you.”

you shake your head, fixing your gaze on a lose thread on the hem of your skirt that sits above your knees. “ah!, todoroki! you shouldn’t worry about me…just head back to the cafeteria before your cold soba gets… well, colder!” a frown pinches at the corner of your lips, settling heavily on your face. you don’t even find yourself convincing but hope todoroki believes your hopeless words anyways. “i’ll be with you guys in just a moment.”

but to your dismay, the youngest son of endeavour slides his back down the wall to sit next to you instead.  “did i hurt you?” he mumbles awkwardly. todoroki itches to reach out and comfort you— it seems like something you would do for him but he’s never been good with situations like these.

“no! no shoto,” this makes you look up, catching the light in the cyan of his eyes. the pair of you blush, flicking your gazes away from one another. “i’m fine!”

“were you crying?”

“certainly not!”

“but your face—“

“shut up!”

“not until you tell me why you ran.” god, was he persistent. blunt and straight to the point, was shoto todoroki.

suddenly your feet become more interesting that the boy beside you, a silence sweeping over you both. “because,” you pause, trying to taste the words on the tip of your tongue before you say them. “i was embarrassed! the whole cafeteria heard my ugly laugh and thought i was—“

“choking,” todoroki finishes for you, finally finding the courage to rest an icy hand on your shoulder. “i’m sorry yn, i didn’t mean to make you feel embarrassed about your laugh,” sorrow litters the tail end of the half hot, half cold boy’s words— making them sit heavily in the air. “midoriya explained to me, i really didn’t mean to make you feel that way, i was just worried about you.”

you soften up, finally meeting his gaze once more and sniffle a little— chest warming at his concern for you. “shoto, it’s okay...” you’re quiet in your response, leaning into his cold touch but the dual eyed boy only shakes his head.

todoroki turns to face you fully, shrinking the space between you. he’s so close that you can see the flecks of grey in each of his eyes and feel the warmth from his breath fanning across your cheeks. “even if i can be...socially unaware sometimes, i still don’t want to hurt your feelings. they’re important to me,” he tilts his head, offering you a small smile enough to make a million hearts melt. “and for what it’s worth, i think your laugh is quite cute. not ugly.”

you blink, wondering if you heard him correctly and press a hand to your cheeks that now hear you’ll, as if you’ll be able to cool them down. “y-you think my laugh is cute?”

“yes, and i’d love to hear more of it over dinner sometime.”

his face is as serious as ever while he speaks, but the shine to his eyes tells you a different story as todoroki offers you a hand to stand up. “was that a pick up line, shoto?” you ask, barely being able to keep it together as little shots of laughter litter themselves through your sentences.

“i’m not sure...what’s a pick up line again?” you burst into joyful tears, obnoxious laughter filling the corridors as the boy on your arm guides you to your next class. you care little for the stares that your ugly laugh attracts, just happy that it puts a little smile on shoto todoroki’s face.

[sitp-recs]

Happy happy birthday @dragontamerdame!! No better way to celebrate one of my favorite Drarry artists than gushing about her incredible work and selecting a few pieces that speak for themselves about Ash’s skills, sensitivity and versatility as an artist. Every new masterpiece she publishes blows my mind and becomes my new favorite thing, I’ll spend hours checking every tiny detail and appreciating the amount of story, emotion and character Ash manages to incorporate in each piece.

Here are some of my personal favorites in no particular order, but before that let me scream again about the perfect art she made for @the-starryknight’s scorching Sleight of Hand. I still don’t know how Ash managed to get exactly what I had in my mind when I read the scene, and her luscious art translated the fic’s sexy and tense atmosphere on another level, oof 🔥

Make sure to check and reblog these lovely works to celebrate this talented, kind and supportive friend we’re lucky to have in our fandom!

Drarry faves ❤️

1. Can we start obsessing over her latest break up make up piece?? God, the amount of feels this gave me. I cannot believe how Ash came up with such perfect, detailed facial expressions (!!!), they reflect tenderness, regret, surprise and hope, all at once. A heartbreaking yet hopeful piece, and also a sweet love letter to the ship and to this trope which happens to be one of my personal favorites!

2. Eccentric town fortune teller ftw please and thank! I keep coming back to this art because it’s so damn refreshing - not only made in this gorgeous color palette which was a personal treat - but this is a classic example of how bold, creative and powerful Ash is as a storyteller. I love how she imagined and executed this concept and I’m dying to know the story behind it. Harry’s confident smile and outfit blows my mind and I feel as smitten as blushing Draco watching him use those long, smart hands 😌

3. Now reccing for the 47827258 time my comfort comics, the soft and heartwarming Erised piece following Harry and Draco’s post-war journey where they bond over little Teddy, plus my beloved yoga instructor!Draco (with the cutest chibis by @cibeewastaken as a treat!) that made me smile stupid for the rest of the week. I keep coming back to these little stories that represent so well some of my favorite tropes in fic with the mature, gentle and easy falling in love we all cheer for and appreciate. Ash explores both nsfw and soft atmospheres so well in her art, it makes me wanna join that little world and learn more about those characters, their individual journeys and their life together. What a treat!

Rare pairs 💜

Whenever I see a rare pairs fest going on I get super excited at the idea of Ash joining in with her fabulous take on triads and poly ships! This particular art hits me right in the feels, it’s so so soft and domestic it makes me wanna read that story right away. Give me Ron living his best life with those two kind, gorgeous and smart women anytime - and have you noticed the amount of details in their bedroom?? This is probably one of my favorite backgrounds ever, and it shows how much attention and care Ash puts into each work. A comforting piece for a comforting ship! By the way @caroll-in just posted a lovely Ron/Hermione/Luna art to celebrate Ash’s bday and it’s glorious, go check it out!

NSFW 🍑

1. exCUSE ME, I still remember feeling “dead and buried” and losing my fucking mind over this piece when I first saw it. I spent five minutes gaping like a fish, then proceeded to reblog with some incoherent tagging (“LEGS!!!! CURLS!!!”). As a long-haired Drarry enthusiastic this is hands down one of my all-time favorite nsfw artworks, lush and sexy without losing that domestic tenderness, be still my heart. If you haven’t checked the brilliant and scorching in knots by @bonesliketambourines you’re definitely missing out, go read it now and indulge yourself!!!!

2. I cannot even do words to express how much I adore and lust over this power bottom Harry. The BDE he gives off is beyond the charts and I’m forever arrested by that stare of pure and arrogant confidence and purpose. It’s like Harry’s seeing right through me, daring us all to look away, and I love how Ash incorporated the smoking trope to establish his defiance and give the piece a sexy & mysterious tone. To think an explicit artwork could make me focus solely on those (very green!) eyes... absolutely mindblowing! 🔥

3. Finally a magnificent character study: Draco in lingerie! I’m unashamedly obsessed with how good and real he looks in this, he displays such power sitting like a boss, those luscious thighs all spread, the body hair and belly button and shiny jewelry and have I said the way the soft and detailed red lace hugs his curvy body is sending me?? I freaking love his badass attitude and how comfortable he looks in his own skin. Can you picture Harry’s nosebleed from across the room because I totally can 😏👌🏼