#i think. its definitely been taking up a lot of space in my mind lately

[katabay]

L'APPEL DU VIDE

okay so. jack! jack. what a collection of guys. the overlap between jack and the beanstalk and jack the giant killer, though. that sure is something! sometimes king arthur is there, which always takes me by surprise.

this. specifically. is an idea I've been kicking around. jack and the beanstalk is not a story I've ever enjoyed, as a kid it was probably my least favorite to read. as an adult, I was INTENSELY fascinated by reading j.g. ballard's the drowned giant. I think about it frequently, and somewhere during a re read of it, I ended up revisiting jack.

combining different versions of jack into one character is not a new concept, but it IS a fun one! the version I've been assembling together plays less with the fun elements of a jack story (and adjacent folklore stories), and focuses more on the potential for tragic elements with the addition of the usual grim and jagged narrative edges that I personally enjoy.

jack with the backstory of the devil and the three golden hairs, only jack doesn't find love, he's TIRED, all he wants to do is go home, but there isn't a home to go back to. what is the point of being born lucky if this is what it gets you? jack the giant killer, only he doesn't want to kill giants, jack who saw a body of a giant when he was a small child and cannot bring himself to do as a king commands. jack, who climbs up the beanstalk and stops halfway to look down. etc.

to go back to the drowned giant real quick, both to set the tone about jack seeing the body of a giant as a youth, and also because I've been haunted and obsessed with this excerpt of it ever since I read it:

J. G. Ballard, The Drowned Giant

anyway! this was originally like, a two illustration concept to get out of my system. however. I'm halfway through outlining a narrative. so. maybe it will also be several illustrations and also comic.

bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost

[moonstruckme]

spencer reid holding hands 4 the first time : ( 've been rewatching cm and i miss my boy sm : (( you're most recent peter fic is so sweet btw im absolutely obssessed!!!!! love you bunches

Thank you sweetheart <3

Spencer Reid x fem!reader ♡ 665 words

You and Spencer have had a very…tentative beginning to your relationship. Normally, when you think of a first date, you’re worried about how much the other person expects. (Will they want to kiss you? Will they want more? What if you don’t want to? How do you say no without making it awkward?) With Spencer, there’s been none of that. You’re on date three, and he’s kept completely to himself the entire time. When you met up earlier in the week he’d let a hand hover near your elbow when you nearly tripped over a curb, but you’d barely felt the whisper of his skin against yours before he was putting it back in his pocket, the danger having passed. 

You’ve always thought that you’d prefer to take things slow, and Spencer seems that way too, but now you’re itching for something more. Just something tangible to show that you like him, that he likes you too, that you’re not just going on these dates for no reason at all. 

So, bold thing that you are, you let your hand hang in the empty space between you as you walk. An offering. 

The first time Spencer’s knuckles brush across yours, knobby and skimming, he almost stops talking. He’s been saying something about Alexander Pope and Eliza Haywood (and you’re doing your best to follow along, honest), but he falters mid-sentence, his hand stuttering in its movement. 

“And, uh, actually,” Spencer goes on, getting his verbal feet back under him, “it was only in the late twentieth century that her works started surfacing in academia…” 

You nod along but don’t move your hand, letting Spencer’s graze past it again. This time, you lean into the touch, pushing your knuckles into his almost imperceptibly. And this time, Spencer’s hand doesn’t continue along its trajectory. He lets it rest alongside yours, your skin brushing up against each other’s with the movement of your walking. After a few seconds, his pinkie teases yours. 

You bite back a smile, crooking your pinkie so it hooks around his. Spencer moves his hand, and for a second your heart drops, but he’s only bringing it to the inside of yours, interlacing your fingers loosely. 

“Is this okay with you?” he asks, careful and to-the-point. 

“Yeah.” You look up at him sheepishly, wriggling your fingers in his to get them closer. “I’ve been wanting to do this.” 

“Me too,” Spencer says quietly. Your heart balloons until you’re sure it’s about to float off and take you with it. 

His palm is rougher than you’d expected. Spencer comes off as such an academic, sometimes you can forget that he’s in the literal FBI. He handles guns and had to go through training, and you can feel it in the light scratch of his calluses against your palm. Slender fingers stretch over your knuckles, deft and capable. His touch sends a pleasant tingling all the way up from your hand into your buzzing brain. 

“Sorry,” you say softly. 

Spencer looks confused. His thumb runs the length of yours, a thoughtless movement or a soothing touch, it doesn’t matter. If he does it again, you’ll puddle down onto the pavement for sure. 

“What are you sorry for?” he asks. 

“I sort of interrupted you.” 

A little smile teases the dimple in his cheek. “I don’t mind.” 

You give his hand a gentle tug, feeling brazen. It cracks something open in him, and his smile comes out for real, the familiarity between you suddenly so natural. 

“Tell me about Eliza Haywood,” you urge. “Did Pope just hate her because she was a woman?” 

“That was definitely a big part of it,” Spencer allows, and his voice seems to go back into the conversation while his face stays somewhere else. He’s still wearing that smile, eyes squinted just slightly like he’s having some trouble figuring you out and it might be his new favorite game. “But also it had a lot to do with the perception of novels…”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for leaving passive aggressive windshield notes?

I'm definitely a bit of an asshole here lol but let's see what tumblr thinks!

I (21, gender unimportant) live in a small building with only a couple units and four parking spaces on a dirt lot behind the building. I know for a fact that only 4 parking passes have been given out by the landlord (one of which is mine). I keep my parking pass on my rearview mirror literally at all times.

One night I came home from work really late, and there were already 4 cars parked in the lot! Technically, the lot has space for 5, so I just managed to squeeze in, but I was pissed bc people tend to park like assholes because there's no lines and I almost didn't have a spot to park for the night! I write a passive aggressive note about how these spaces are for residents only and they need them and leave it on the car without a pass.

Two days later that car magically has a pass on its rearview mirror. I do not know where the owner got it. My current theory is that people have been switching the passes between cars.

A couple days after, that there are TWO CARS (two different cars, by the way) parked in the lot without passes. It is night and dark, but I looked really carefully for a pass on either rearview mirror and see none, so I write two more identical notes and leave it on the windshields. I feel extra angry about this because in my mind, me, another car with a pass, and these two other cars were all parked there, meaning that if the two other tennants came home there would not be a spot for the 6th person and they would have to call a tow which is a massive hassle and unfun, especially at night.

The next day I'm in my apartment and I get a knock on the door and it's another resident, a person about my age, gender also unimportant. they ask me if I was the one leaving the notes and I said no. obviously an asshole move but I didn't want them to be angry with me. I fein innocence and they repeat that they have a pass up (which, again, magically appeared since last night), and I do at one point say I have seen cars parked there without passes, and they agree that that has happened and their policy is to wait to call a tow until the next morning. then they leave. at this point I've decided no more notes. the only thing I'll do from now on is call a tow if I don't have a spot to park.

My roommate (20, gender unimportant) knows what I've been doing. They weren't home at the time the other resident came over, and as of me writing this, it just happened so I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet. I plan on telling them what happened and that I don't plan to leave any more notes. This will inevitably lead to me asking them to back up my lie in case anyone asks them about it, which I do feel bad about. Hopefully nothing else happens now that the notes stop. The others in the building may suspect it was me but I don't exactly see what recourse they could have.

The main thing that irks me is that people are taking their passes down and not putting them back up. How am I supposed to know they're a resident? You'd think it'd only be 3 other cars for me to memorize, but like I said the cars that have been parked back there with the passes have changed in the past couple of months since I started living here. That's my defense if anyone suspects me I guess. Leave your pass up.

I guess my main question for tumblr is: JAH or YTA?

What are these acronyms?

[pursuitseternal]

“The Second Day” of “Antics of the Newly Ascended:” staring Batstarion🦇

Ascended Astarion x F!Reader |E| 1.3K Pure antics and comedy

🦇 art by @marimosalad Link to full art

Summary: You can’t pick a lock without your Rogue, even if he is Ascnedant now. So you wait… and wait… until a new unexpected visitor flies in.

CW: Banter, Poop jokes, Tav filtering Astarion’s threats and antics, sneezes, and cute fluffy vampiric bats with an attitude 🦇 (no smut)

Previous Ch | Ao3 link | Masterist

🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇

“Hells, what is taking him so…flipping long?”

For a split second, you think Gale might actually swear, but no. The goody-two-shoes scout wins out in the end. You giggle anyway.

“Said he’d be back quick with a new set of lockpicks ready to go, Mister Ascendant Lord and expert of the underbelly of Baldur’s Gate…” Gale huffs and folds his arms crossly.

Karlach snorts next to you, both your backs leaning against the alley walls. You keep to the shadows, eyeing up the house you need to enter… surreptitiously. Those Flaming Fist have been everywhere lately, and you still needed your Rogue to break you in nearly everywhere in the City.

“He’s probably too busy doing Ascendant things to hurry, Gale,” Karlach chuckles, peering her horned head into the street.

“Like what?” you ask, folding your arms and pouting your lips, “what could he possibly be doing but rushing back to be with me?”

Gale rolls his eyes, seeing the wry expression on your face, he realizes you joke. “Oh, good one,” he chortles. “Oh lots of things, I would imagine if I applied my wildest musings…”

“Get to the point wizard!” Karlach slaps him on the back. “More taunting, fewer words.”

Gale sputters for air after having it knocked from his body. And you laugh at that.

Suddenly, you feel a breeze pass your face. A blur of white settles on the wall beside your head. Hanging upside down.

A fluffy white bat. It chitters at you.

“Oh shit,” Karlach jolts at the sight. “That thing is massive.”

It seems to chitter more.. proudly at that. You narrow your eyes at it… your other companions draw away a step, leaving the beast with space.

“If Astarion were here, he’d probably call it a snack and snatch it from the air…” Gale jabs, a self-confident smile on his face, proud of his own humor. His own best entertainment.

“Naw… he’s too busy picking out new fancy clothes…” Karlach peers into the street.

“Too busy trying to burst into a sea of mist…” Gale laughs.

You giggle, thinking of something he did just that morning, for an hour, “Preening his hair into a perfect coif before kissing his reflection…”

Gale’s mouth snaps shut. The bat on the wall chitters noisily again, flapping its wings as it comes to dart around your head. “That bat is all over you,” his eyes narrow, “but I’m fresh out of Speak with Animals potions for now.”

You shrug, “I don’t mind, maybe he’s lonely…” You hold out your hand, an offering to let the little mammal rest somewhere soft. “Gives me something to look after until Astarion comes back.”

“Don’t let him see you’ve got a new pet…” Gale taunts, leaning closer to peer at the creature that now rests in your palm, “He might get jealous and snap it up in his fangs.”

Does… is the bat… glaring at Gale?

You look closely, but Karlach guffaws. “Oh oh, I’ve got it. I think I know what’s keeping the Vampire Ascendant! He’s probably stuck taking his first shit in two-hundred years...”

Okay, now that bat in your palm is definitely glaring, and chittering, and… pissed. You look closely at last, it’s white fur catches the sun in shades of silver, its eyes are a deep red… almost a crimson…

You stop. “Astarion?” you murmur at the little creature, patting its head with a single finger.

It… He… bounces on your hand, chittering away, pointed little face nodding.

“For fucks sake…” Karlach groans. “How the fuck did you turn into that?”

Gale leans closer… but not too close just in case. “I’ve read that some Vampires can take forms themselves, if powerful enough.” He grins widely, “Could be ferocious werewolf, or noxious cloud…” that grin twists, “Yours is adorable, if I do say so myself, Astarion.”

You can almost hear the ire in the noises that he makes in reply. Still nonsense chatter, but the emotion is clear.

He is not amused.

“Gale, you do realize he will turn back, and he will be pissed,” you warn with a shake of your head. You freeze, a whisper tickling inside your mind as the creature in your palm twitches and rests. “Astarion says it’s not his fault you're a pack of incompetent… oh,” you pause, patting him on his head with a finger, “I’m not going to say that part, my love.”

“He’s… talking to you?” Gale twists his head and raises a brow. “Like, mind to mind?”

“Yes,” you nod, “we are just as baffled at the moment, I will be honest with you, even if he said not to tell you…” the bat starts scrabbling up your arm, chittering even more noisily than before. “Stop whining, darling. You’ll figure it out.” He comes to rest on your shoulder, hanging upside down from the seam of your shirt. “And he says he would rather you never again speculate about his bowel movements either, on pain of… I’m going to say, a severe talking to.”

“That’s not what he said is it?” Karlach guffaws.

You can’t help but let your finger scritch under his little chin as he dangles from your shoulder. “No, no,” you giggle as you watch his beady little eyes flutter shut at the petting. “He used his regular ascendantly foul mouth.”

“Well, Vampire Ascendant or not, he’s not going to be much help breaking and entering in that form, is he?” Gale snips, rolling his eyes.

“He says he would be more than happy to talk us through it, if we… oh, again? I’m not suggesting that, my pet,” you shake your head, removing your scratching finger to wag it at him. “Naughty,” you chide.

“How did you get like that anyway, Astarion?” Karlach chuffs, folding her arms and swaying on her feet.

“He sneezed,” you reply. “Oh, I wasn’t supposed to share that. I’m sorry, my love. You really should be more obvious about what is for my ears… er… mind alone.”

“Maybe…” Gale gives a mischievous grin, “if we get you to sneeze again… maybe you’ll change back to a form with fingers that can actually do some good.” He reaches into his pocket, takes out a little bit of powder, and blows.

The little bat writhes, fur standing on end, flat folded nose twitching before….

“Achoo!” The sneeze echoes off the alley walls, a burst of black mist that tingles your skin as his tall, lean and wiry body forms against your arm. You can sense his irritation, out right, cuttingly sharp annoyance lacing his angry breaths. Once the mist clears, Astarion is, in fact, glaring at you all. Crimson eyes dart from one to the next. “I am… going to fucking kill you,” he hisses.

“Shh…” you cajole, raising your finger to scritch under his smooth chin, clenched tight in his rage. Instantly, the moment you begin your gentle petting, he eases, eyes fluttering shut.

“I think he likes that, soldier,” Karlach whispers a giggle. “Do you feed him little treats when he’s a good boy?”

“Only if he gets us into that house with those dexterous hands of his,” you chuckle and slide your hand to stroke his cheek.

“Fine,” he sighs, exasperated, tired, and annoyed. “But not one of you breathes a word of this to Halsin… or Wyll… or… anyone.”

“Agreed,” Karlach slaps him on the back.

He begins rummaging his lithe fingers through his pack, turning those crimson eyes on you as you watch. “And you, my consort, don’t think I’m not going to make you pay for that mirror-kissing comment earlier…”

“Don’t think you won’t have to earn those chin scritches, my love,” you giggle in return as he flashes that fanged smirk at you.

“One more, my darling?” he purrs, watching the others start into the street already. “One for the road, one in case we die today?”

Your fingers reach quickly to oblige, his eyes closing to savor your attentive care. And you giggle, “Who can argue with that?”

[estellardreams]

I've been thinking about so many seasons on the Sonic Ninjago AU and I'm dying to talk about the ones that are particularly interesting.

So... I'm pretty sure that based off of my art, Season 11 (which I think is underrated on both ends), Season 6 (Skybound, renamed Phantom), and Season 8 (Sons of Garmadon/Doom) specifically kept getting my attention. So... Let's talk about them.

A lot about them.

Season 6:

I cast Infinite in the role of Nadakhan for a few reasons. But the main reason is because of the "Wishing" plot line.

You see; Infinite comes from Null Space, which was disrupted due to the Dark Gaia incident (unbalanced energy). But he has the Phantom Ruby, a thing known to create illusions, from the get go.

So I twisted the wishing system so instead of a djinn it's a direct illusion to manipulate the wish into "coming true". Basically a false reality. Then Infinite would've crushed those illusions and break the ones he was tormenting.

And during this all, Infinite goes after multiple targets, but realized just how dangerous one of the Ninja was specifically, that being Tails. He was too smart for his own good, leading to Infinite capturing the kit during a fight and taking him to someplace, once again controlling the scenery using the Phantom Ruby and tormenting the fox with illusions. And this?

Infinite gave him that scar when Tails tried to fight back. Tails became half blind after that so when things were brought back to normal and the scar healed over, he just used a special blue contact to hide the fact he was blind.

His friends did try to rescue him, and Infinite began to torture them as well with his illusions. Once they gave in and "wished for it to go away", he'd trap them in the Phantom Ruby and grow stronger because of it.

And it was all up to Tails to rescue everyone and stop this before it got worse.

----

Season 8:

Oh dear... Eclipse and Shadow's relationship is definitely the most enticing part of this saga. So... I'm gonna be brief on the characters relationship and what roles the two take on.

Harumi and Lloyd. Harumi is the adopted princess after losing her parents when the Great Devourer attacked, and is also the secret leader of the "Sons of Garmadon", an organization made to ressurect Garmadon himself, Lloyd's father.

The thing is, the Garmadon they wanted to bring back was only the evil oni side, and they had to gather the three oni masks and gather DNA samples of everyone he's related to or had a strong connection with to bring him back from the departed realm.

And what happened before Garmadon was resurrected? Harumi manipulating Lloyd, soon backstabbing him and later capturing him, forcing him to watch as his father was brought back from the dead with him and his mother as hostages.

Yikes. Now with that in mind... Eclipse is Harumi, Shadow is Lloyd. They have a brotherly bond, except... Its all fake.

Eclipse is the secret leader of the "Sons of Doom", and has discuised himself as a hedgehog to blend in, along with special contacts to turn his sclera white and his pupils a more... "friendly" color. He acted up the role of an abandoned child that got brought in by the royal family and "adopted". After the false alarm for an attack, the Ninja are let in the castle and allowed to stay along with help protect the pendant of Deception.

Shadow took an interest into Eclipse, who weirdly felt like him... He could never explain it, but felt like he had a connection.

So when the two began to bond and become friends, they developed this sweet dynamic of being brothers who looked out for each other. And Shadow became a lot more open as Eclipse did the same. But it was all a ploy... A trap to lure Shadow in close for Eclipse to control.

And it worked.

Eclipse got the Pendant of Hatred, and Shadow realized what was going on when it was too late. The two fought but... This was the first and very few times Shadow hesitated to hurt someone. And it got him and his sister, Maria, captured.

Black Doom got resurrected after that. And Shadow lost the fight to him. He lost his powers, and Season 9: Hunted begins.

---

Season 11, Part 1:

Okay, specifically Metal Sonic and Sonic so I'll keep this short. Metal is not the Master of Metal.

It would've been a similar joke to "Shadow, Master of Shadow" but... By this canon's logic, a robot has never held elemental powers before. Until recently.

Metal stole Sonic's speed, making Sonic powerless and him strong enough to almost wipe out the rest of the Ninja Team. He keeps them locked away as he heads out to attack Station Square (Ninjago City).

And when he got his hands on the Forbidden Spinjitzu scroll, he was nearly unstoppable. That was, until Amy got her hands on her own scroll and managed to decimate him.

... And then she got sent to Boscage Maze.

Season 11, Part 2:

This iis what I call the Vine Chapter, since the first half is the Speed Chapter. Amy was discovered by Starline and hipnotized into becoming Queen Thorn, the ruler of the jungle.

And she committed so many crimes. She wiped out the Seedrian population. She overflowed the jungle so much many places became uninhabitable. Survival became a harder struggle with little sunlight and rain reaching to below the canopy.

And when the Ninja arrive, they quickly notice these odd corrupted plants and vines that seem to drain the life out of whatever they catch. They end up in a small village blocked off from the rest of the jungle, with Shadow soon heading off to find Amy after learning where she was: At the Queen's castle. He's unaware that Amy is the Queen, so it's definitely a shock when he does discover that.

Enter: Cosmo. The last of the Seedrians and taking the place of Akita, who was the last of the Formlings. The parallels between the two, even in canon, is unreal.

But Cosmo is seeking a sort of passive aggressive revenge against the Queen, training herself on how to use her plant magic along with tapping into more... Dark influences to do it. And Shadow felt like he's seen this before.

Because he was in a similar position: Training to use his powers and holding onto his darker influences to favor the Black Arm's success. So he knows where she's coming from and the two relate to each other somewhat over this.

And eventually the Megaflora, a creation Thorn made, attacks. Shadow gets captured and seperated from Cosmo, who almost dies, and is basically locked up in a vine wrapped tree tower. Hence... This sketch to image.

Vines to the limbs, keeping you trapped in place. And if it weren't for figuring out the plants weakness was Shadow able to escape. He confronted Thorn and tried to bring her back, but Starline's influence remained strong.

In fact, Thorn almost kills Shadow through strangling him using her vines! But before he died, she realized what she was doing and immediately released him, struggling to comprehend what she just did.

She notices the scroll. And rips it to shreds. And that's the end of it as she traps Starline, solidifying her regaining control over herself.

The damage is soon reversed by sheer energy and force, fixing the jungle for the most part. Now the main problem is returning home.

---

Now for a few small extra things:

Season 5: Dark Gaia. I'm not sure if I'll include the idea of getting cursed or not but... Werehog Sonic feels tempting. He'd be like Cole in turning into a ghost via a curse and remains like that for a while until Day of the Dark Gaia to reverse it.

Season 15: Seabound. I have no idea what I wanna do for it, but I wanna include shape-shifting Merlings. I just think they're neat.

Season 16: Starfall. If Lloyd gets an Oni form, I want Shadow to have his own charged up alien form at some point. Also... Gonna rewrite that season entirely if I ever get to that.

Season 4: Tournament of Elements. Didn't know where to put this but Robotnik's plan for the tournament is to steal the powers of the elemental masters, use them to rebuild the Death Egg, and roboticize the entire world. As to why the Ninja are there? Rouge got kidnapped when trying to spy on him. She's basically Zane in this situation.

[mrlimesapper]

ANIMATION RAMBLINGS

I am so hyped for animation right now. Please let me share with you my excitement (as well as some links)!

FIRST: Super happy for the writer's guild on their win this month. I'm always happy to see the entertainment peeps standing up for themselves. This is a huge deal. There's been some talk of anime production workers possibly taking action as well, but there hasn't been any concrete news on that.

SECOND: What's come recently? Well, Fiona and Cake was great! I very nearly cried at several points lol, it was a very satisfying ending. And Worthikids (click to see their Youtube!) recently finished off their second season of Bigtop Burger: A funny little series of short videos about clowns making burgers in a food truck. It's wonderful and there's been a fair bit of lore that's been revealed from this season. Can't wait for what's to come in season 3 (which has pretty much been confirmed at this point)!

THIRD: What's to come? The new Scott Pilgrim anime series is coming soon! Just a little over a month until it premiers!! The little bit of teasers we've gotten so far make it look promising, and considering a lot of OGs from previous Scott Pilgrim media came back to work on it, I think it's safe to assume we'll enjoy what we see (despite Netflix being Netflix). There's also the Among Us series in development with the creator of Infinity Train Owen Dennis! It will probably be another year or so before we get more information on that, but it's a fun thing to look forward to.

What I'm really looking forward to are several independent projects coming up. More people are realizing that they can still tell the stories they want without corporate overlords breathing over their necks 24/7. Of course, this doesn't come without its hardships. Their main sources of income are coming mostly from crowdfunding and selling merch, and production may be slower (honestly for the best, stop the crunch culture). But to many of them, it's worth doing.

First off, Lackadaisy- What's that, you ask? It's about mobster cats in the Prohobition Era. It's got both whimsy and grit, both light humor and darker, more somber themes. And the art is so fun! It started off as a comic- check out their site! They released an animated pilot earlier this year! And just recently they got their project completely crowdfunded- several times more than what they were aiming for! The whole first season is funded and they're getting to work on production!

Then there's this fun guide series by one of my favorite stop motion animators Cranbersher! His work is amazing, he's done plenty of stuff for Youtubers including Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, and he even got to animate in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio!!! He's been working on his series "Cranbersher's Guide to Stop Motion" for many years now, and he has been working diligently on the finale. Seriously, I recommend giving Cranbersher's Guide a watch. And do NOT skip any episodes! I promise you it's worth it, you'll learn a lot about animation. :)

Third, Jellybox Studio!! A new independent studio formed by Gene Goldstein, the mind behind Planet Panic and frontman for punk-rock band Qbomb! His animation is amazing, and with a whole team behind him, they're planning a 40-episode miniseries called NOXP! Gene has already released a few episodes on their socials.

And last, at least for now, there's Monkey Wrench by Zeurel! Essentially it's about two space bounty hunters trying to start fresh and not to get killed. It's definitely more on the mature side but the first episode is a pretty fun adventure on its own! (Its been a while since I've seen it, oof) The second episode came out several months ago and the series is also still in development, I'm excited to see what's in store!

Honestly there's a lot going on with animation lately. Times are changing, and I kind of hope we see more animators and crews turn to other options to bring their stories to people. Get excited!

Bonus: There have been a dozen reanimation projects over the last few years. They really popped off after the Game Grumps, Kirby, and Dover Boys projects got more attention. One of them, Gravity Falls Reanimated (which seeks to reanimate the first episode of Gravity Falls with contributions from dozens of different animators) is nearly complete after several years! The final product will be released under Alchemy Paint Studios. It's been a long time coming, but it's almost here!

[fools-fall-much-too-soon]

Leon's personality "change" between RE2 & RE4

Disclaimer: I'm not a huge fan of the remakes so I don't really take them as 100% canon. When reading this, understand that I'm taking parts from both the ogs and the remakes, but primarily the og games. (TD;DR is at the bottom of the post)

Something that's been on my mind a lot lately is how we went from heart-on-his-sleeve, genuine RE2 Leon to loud, confident, sassy RE4 Leon.

RE4 got me into resi as a kid and remains my favorite game in the franchise. HOWEVER, it's pretty clear (on first inspection) that RE4 Leon is an outlier in the character's development.

In RE2 we get to see rookie cop Leon. I've seen a lot of people claim that og RE2 Leon doesn't have much of a personality but I'd have to disagree. Its abundantly clear that Leon is incredibly pragmatic, a very quick thinker, quite friendly and seems to be able to work well with just about anyone, he even kneels down to get on people's level. Often it seems more like he was trained as an EMT than a cop.

He doesn't approach strangers w a gun. He's so sincere and almost gullible in his faith in other people. That's not to say that he's stupid, he doesn't immediately trust people including Ada (although some folks wanna act like Leon is some lost puppy dog with 0 self-preservation skills). In a lot of ways he comes off a lot like a shonen mc despite him being so snarky. If anything, the closest comparisons I can think of are characters like Percy Jackson or early (comics-era) Peter Parker. All genuine, kind, smart people who are also spunky and funny. He stands his ground, voices his opinion, and is driven by duty. Yes, he's logical and level-headed and pleasant/easily digestible but he's definitely a big personality and a strong character. Practical =/= Boring.

I can't say that much of this changes going into RE4. The only real difference is that he's less gullible and sincere which definitely doesn't feel like its coming out of nowhere. He is 6 years older to be fair and while we only know of Operation Javier between the two installments, we know Leon gets sent on other missions... despite none of them being directly connected to BOWs until OJ. He's been trained by the military which is absolutely part of why he's less gullible other than the obvious reasons. And even then, he's so quick to untie Luis, despite not knowing if he's armed or dangerous, doesn't question the medicine Luis gives them, trusts Ada's intel for some reason, and still considers Krauser a good guy.

Leon was lied to by Ada, who he wanted to protect, and was left feeling used and betrayed. Only to be abandoned by Claire and had to look after the recently orphaned Sherry alone. That, plus the training would make him grow up quick... So what we're left with is the same old snarky, idealistic, but duty-driven Leon who is only a bit more grounded in reality/jaded.

It's also my opinion that all his cheesy one-liners is more than just a way to cope with stress.

Really think about how military training is meant to strip you of personality... It'd make sense that on solo missions he'd finally have the space to let his personality show. He has to hide it so much, ofc he'd be extra when there's no higher-ups to keep him in place. The thing that really hammers it home for me is that he tends to act a lot more serious when there's other agents/military involved. In both Degeneration and Operation Javier, Leon isn't funny. Even in most of Infinite Darkness he keeps his jokes to himself. He's been silly/campy since day one, it's just time and place and RE4 was the right time and place to let his personality shine (especially with all the other big personalities around him).

Leon's personality "change" just seems like a natural progression in response to his environment.

speaking of natural personality changes... I think Krauser and Luis's deaths really messed Leon up. In one day, Leon has to watch so many people die all over again. Innocent villagers slaughtered at his hand. I can imagine that knowing the parasite could be removed and that the villagers were tricked didn't sit easy on his mind either. Like yeah he gets Ashley home but that's one person saved vs the ~1000 that died. Krauser and Luis were important to him in different ways and in the end, things ended up just like Raccoon.

I think that's when it truly starts to set in for Leon that he's just as helpless as everyone else and what he's doing isn't much in the grand scheme of things... Not that he has a choice to stop. It also very easily explains why Leon starts to get more serious as time goes on. Fundamentally, he never really changes the part of him that gets easily attached and cares deeply about the lives of others, but as he ages, it gets harder for him to believe that what he's doing matters since nothing changes.

TD;DR: At the end of the day Leon's personality in RE4 isn't an outlier in his development, but likely of one of the last moments his personality gets to shine without as heavy a burden on his shoulders as he has later in his life. He was been always sassy and kinda campy since day one and him being the way he is in RE4 makes a lot of sense, even though he gets more serious in later installments.

[oh-no-my-hand-slipped]

I’ve been playing a lot of Super Mario Galaxy lately, and there’s a mechanic in a certain galaxy where, if you land in the water, you lose health due to how cold it is. But, even if he regained all his health, I’m sure the frigid temperatures would soon catch up with him.

That’s a very long way of saying - here’s a small, self-indulgent drabble! Though I absolutely love doing commissions, it’s nice to write something of my own accord every now and again. :)

*****************************

Mario had been gone for a few days. Usually, this wouldn’t be a reason for concern — after all, inter-galaxy travel took time.

But Luigi’s brotherly senses were tingling. Or, maybe it was just indigestion. Whatever the case, though, he had a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach that even anti-acids couldn’t solve. As many “bad feelings” as he had, this one seemed different. Like something he should listen to.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Rosalina had said, trying to placate him. “This particular mission may just need more time. Your brother wouldn’t want you to risk your life simply to ease your worry. But, if he doesn’t return in a few days, I’ll send both Lumas and Toads to guide him to a safe re-entry into our galaxy.”

Luigi couldn’t wait that long. There was definitely something wrong, he could feel it. He gathered up a few Toads that were wiling away the hours on the starship, hoping to find some semblance of a search party. But, as they often did, the Toads became distracted, and soon Luigi only had the scholarly blue Toad left. Luckily, they were more helpful than twenty of their fellow Toads.

“I remember,” they said, adjusting their glasses, “that his next stop was the FreezeFlame galaxy — one of the harshest in the universe. Especially its tundra.”

With this in mind, Luigi set off with the Toad in tow. Their knowledge of the starship allowed him to choose the route to the Freezeflame galaxy with little trouble and a starbit bribe for the guard Lumas.

Soon, the pair were shooting into space, with no knowledge what lay ahead of them.

Only now, in the frigid cold wearing nothing but his overalls, Luigi wondered if he made the right decision.

But he still had searched the frozen landscape, hands rubbing together and teeth chattering. Luigi was lucky he had Toad with him, who showed him the routed that had previously been discovered on Toad expeditions.

And they were even more lucky that they didn’t have to search for long.

“Mario?!”

A heap of red and blue floated on a nearby iceberg, unmoving. Luigi leapt from ice to drift to ice drift, trying not to slide into the frigid water as he got closer to his brother.

“Mario! It’s-a me, Luigi! I have come to rescue you!”

Despite himself, Luigi beamed. That felt good to say.

The figure shifted a little, and Mario’s flushed, round face peeked out from his cap.

“B-Bro…?” he croaked.

Luigi put his jumping ability to good use, as he bounded onto Mario’s iceberg in record time. He landed on his knees, sliding into an embrace with his brother.

“I am-a so glad to see you! I thought…I mean, I didn’t think…you…I…”

“It’s-a alright, L-Luigi, I’m here,” Mario said, rubbing Luigi’s back. “I - snf! - just got-a s-stuck on this iceberg. I can’t jump as f-f-far as you can…”

“Why didn’t-a you just swim back?”

Mario stretched out his arms. A thin layer of frost covered every inch of fabric, making the sleeves of his shirt sag.

“I t-t-tried. I c-can’t-a stay in there that-a long before…I…”

Mario’s mustache quivered, and his red nostrils flared. He patted his pockets, finally retrieving a handkerchief that was frozen solid. Luigi took out his own, green with yellow stars, and held it out to him.

“Th-Thank…wahhah-!”

He buried his nose into it.

“WAH’CHOOOOO!”

The mountains rumbled in the distance. Luigi got on one knee.

“C’mere, I’ll-a take you back to the starship.”

Luigi put his hands behind him, and Mario, with a sniffle, climbed onto his back, laying his head on Luigi’s shoulder. Despite the extra weight, he still managed to traverse the trail of icebergs with little trouble.

After reuniting with the dumbfounded Toad, they traveled back to the starship with a star they had brought along with them. Even after escaping the dismal galaxy, every inch of Mario’s body shivered.

“Are you okay, bro?” Luigi asked, keeping his brother steady as they soared through the stars.

“I’m-a little - snf! - c-cold, that’s-a all.”

Mario barely kept his footing as they landed in Rosalina’s bedroom. His face wasn’t nearly as red, but beneath the windburn was a weak paleness. Luigi felt Mario’s forehead as an Advisor Luma went to go tell their princess of their return.

“Marone! You-a feel like a hot plate of spaghetti!”

“I f-f-feel more-a like a p-panna cotta.”

Luigi took a blanket from Rosalina’s bed and draped it over his shivering brother’s shoulders.

“Let’s-a get you to bed, bro.”

“B-But Rosalina -”

“Rosalina can wait.”

Mario looked down, closing the blanket tighter around himself.

“I-I mean,” Luigi stammered, “I’m-a sure she won’t mind if-a you rest first.”

Mario nodded, his great mustache suddenly quivering. Luigi bent down, trying to look him in the eye.

“Mario?”

Mario covered his face with his gloved hands, turning away. His shoulders began to shudder. Luigi quickly took of his hat, squeezing it in his hands.

“N-No, I - don’t-a cry, bro! I didn’t mean to…I mean, Rosalina didn’t-a want to send a search party for you, and if I didn’t find you, I don’t-a know what would’ve happened! Oh, Mario, please don’t-a cry, I’m sorry…”

“W-What-a was I th-th-thinking?”

Mario buried his face in Luigi’s handkerchief, which was still in his pocket.

“I should-a have-a kn-known it was too f-far to j-jump…it n-never would have-a happened if I…hic! A-And you-a were s-so worried…”

Mario sniffled, then blew his nose with a loud honk. Luigi hadn’t seen him cry like this since they were kids. Usually he cried like their Papa, with only a small quiver of his mustache and a shiny look in their eyes.

Seeing him like this broke Luigi’s heart.

He embraced him from behind, running a hand through his hair.

“Shhh, shhh, it’s-a okay, bro. I’ve-a gotten stuck in plenty of places, remember? And you always saved me, right? It’s-a only fair I save you for a change.”

“I-I sh-sh-should have-a…hic-!…known b-better.”

“Just-a because you are the big brother doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes. Besides, if-a you would have stayed there much longer, you-a would have frozen into a Mario-sicle!”

Through his tears, Mario laughed. It was a weak chuckle, but it was enough for his sobs to partly subside. Luigi gave his brother one last squeeze before standing up again.

“Let’s-a get you to bed. It’s-a in the study, right?”

Mario nodded, shifting from one foot to the other.

“L-Luigi…?”

“Yeah, bro?”

Mario rubbed a finger under his nose.

“I kn-know it isn’t that far away, b-but…I don’t know if I…”

Luigi lifted his hand. “Say no more, bro.”

Luigi lifted Mario onto his back again, blanket and all. It wasn’t long after they made their way out of Rosalina’s bedroom that Rosalina herself hurried towards them with her entourage of Lumas.

“Luigi-!”

Luigi gave the princess a glare that not only stopped her in her tracks, but her advising Lumas as well. Without a word, he turned away and walked toward the study.

He would talk to her later. Right now, he had a brother to take care of.

[hearts-cigarettes-and-wine]

sunset cigarettes | ponyboy curtis/reader.

warnings: smoking, cursing if you squint.

in which: you and ponyboy share a candid moment on the roof of his home.

word count: 300+

a/n: my first bit of writing here! enjoy :)

the roof of the curtis home is sacred, in a way.

you and ponyboy have been sitting up there for months, gazing at the sunset every night as you both listen to the commotion downstairs. laughter, yelling, the home is bustling with energy of all kinds.

the roof, however, is quiet. peaceful. serene.

as of late, your conversations on the roof had become more introspective. questions and thoughtful answers plagued both you and your boyfriend's minds.

ponyboy turns over to look at you, a light mixture of reds and oranges illuminating his face.

"do you ever think there's more? more to see, more to do?" he asks, wide eyed and awaiting an answer.

"of course, pony. i'm sure there's more to life than what goes on here. a lot of people don't realize that."  you reply, running a hand through his hair.  its a comfort tactic, for when you think he may start thinking a little too much.

ponyboy thinks on your words for a moment. "i just... don't want to be stuck here forever, you know?" his words strike a chord, and the wind seems to know it too as it howls with the kindness of the ocean.

you take a drag of your cigarette, handing it to your boyfriend. he definitely needs it, you think, as you blow smoke rings from your own lips.

"and you won't. you may not see it now, but everyone want to see you become something. you just have to know what that something is." your words are carefully placed, moments like these need to be treated with utmost caution.

in silent response, ponyboy shuffles to rest his head in your lap. not that you're complaining.

"maybe i'll be a sunset. wait for no one and become a swirl of colors every night." he says dreamily, looking up at you with that wistful look ponyboy gives when his imagination runs wild.

"you can be whatever you want, honey. if you're a sunset, i'll come to watch you every night until the sky takes me too." you say, smiling down on pony as he hands you back the cigarette. the smoke feels like the warmth of the tulsa sun, nostalgia and all.

"damn. who knew my girl was such a poet?" he asks rhetorically, settling into your touch as you toy with his hair. for once, it's grease-free, which means your hands can roam free.

"i learned from the best, what can i say?"

you steal a quick kiss, and ponyboy happily returns.

"and if you were a sunrise, i'd watch you every morning." pony says, lined with adoration as the sun sets into darkness rivaled only by deep space. the house below you two has gone quiet for the most part, and you and pony are two celestial bodies.

[dedicatedtopapahet]

Devil's Dance (Incubus!James Hetfield x Female Reader) Smut

You’ve been having strange dreams lately, all sexual in nature. Each dream features the same man. What happens when you go to a bar with your friends in order to distract yourself from said dreams? Read on to find out! 

Pairing: Incubus!James Hetfield x Female Reader

Warnings: Language, supernatural elements, slightly drunk and unprotected sex, choking, loss of virginity. MUST BE 18+ TO READ!

Word Count: 6,501

A/N: So, this fic came about because of the fanart of James as a demon that my friend @jaymzhetfield sent me one day! I decided to take the idea and run with it. I’d also like to mention that James’s look for this fic is 2011/2012 Skinny James! This fic and its title were also inspired by Devil’s Dance by Metallica! Let me know what you all think, and if you’d like to be on my taglist! Constructive, polite criticism is always welcome! DO NOT REPOST MY WORK ANYWHERE! Reblogs with feedback are fine and welcome. This fic is also posted to ao3 under the same title and username as here! — Kate

Laying in bed, you fought hard against sleep, not willing to succumb to the tiredness you felt.  Every night, you'd dream of a large man with gray hair spiked up into a faux-hawk, and lots of tattoos on his arms. You wouldn’t lie, you found him very attractive, but it was strange for you to dream of someone you’d never even seen before. And to have such sexual dreams was also out of character for you. You were much more focused on your career than getting laid. That’s not to say you didn’t know how to have fun, because you definitely did. 

Looking around, all you could see was darkness. This was how your dreams usually started. 

"There's my sweet little thing," a disembodied male voice purred.

Whipping your head around, you tried to find the person the voice belonged to. All of the sudden, your bedroom came into view, but you hadn’t woken up. Your bedroom was there in the dream world. 

Looking around your room, you saw that everything appeared to be normal. If you hadn't seen your room fade into view like that, you probably would've thought you'd woken up. But there was a weird sheen to the room, like something was not quite right. 

Suddenly, the man appeared before your eyes, startling you and making you fall backwards onto your bed.

"Easy there, little bird, it's just me!" The man laughed, crossing his big arms over his broad chest.

"I don't even know who you are!" You shouted, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him.

The man deflected the pillow with his mind, jerking his head to the side to divert its path. 

"Come on, little bird, don't be like that," the man answered, sitting down on the edge of your bed.

Grabbing another pillow, you clutched it to your chest, trying to protect yourself in any way you could. Looking the man over, you saw that he was wearing a black tank top, black jeans, black boots, and a gold ammo belt. You had to admit, he looked good. 

As soon as that thought crossed your mind, you shook your head, mentally scolding yourself for thinking like that about a man you didn't even know.

"Aw, little bird, you think I look good?" The man asked teasingly.

You blushed furiously, quickly scooting back onto your bed further in order to put some more space between the two of you, "How can you hear what I'm thinking? Stay out of my head!"

"Little Bird, I'm already in your head. After all, this is your dream," the man answered with a chuckle.

"I don't understand," you said. "Since you're in my head, aren’t you just a figment of my imagination? Doesn't that mean I can just wish you away?"

The man laughed, his teeth bared in a Cheshire grin as he did so, "It doesn't work like that, Little Bird. I'm as real as they come."

The thought of the man being real scared you, making you clutch the pillow you were holding even tighter. 

"Get out of my head!" You shouted, feeling your body shake with fear.

"Oh, come on, Little Bird. I'm not gonna hurt ya. Far from it. I just wanna make ya feel good," the man answered, placing his tattooed hand on your knee.

As soon as the man's hand made contact with your knee, you felt a wave of arousal wash over you. You couldn't lie, the thought of this man's big hands on your body turned you on. 

"What's your name?" You asked, setting the pillow to the side and realizing he hadn't told you it yet.

"James. 'S nice to meet ya, Little Bird. Been watching ya for a while now. Figured I'd finally say hi," James said, holding his hand out for you to shake.

You told him your name as you eyed his hand warily before deciding to place your hand in his, shaking it in response, "I don't know if I can say the same, James."

James used the opportunity of your joined hands to pull you into his jean-clad lap. You let out a squeak of surprise as you straddled his thighs.

"Easy, Little Bird. 'M not gonna hurt ya. Not unless ya want me to," James soothed you in a low voice, placing his hands on your hips.

Your hands rested on James’s chest, pressing down slightly to maintain at least a bit of distance between the two of you. You had to admit, you liked the feeling of his hands on your hips. And his chest was muscular, that much was for sure.

"Hey, look at me, Little Bird," James spoke softly, tucking your hair behind your ear before cupping the side of your face.

You made eye contact with James, peering into those absolutely beautiful icy blue eyes of his that seemed to be bluer than the ocean. You glanced down at those pink lips of his, wondering what it would be like to feel them on yours.

"Little Bird," James chastised lowly, the tone of his voice sending a shiver down your spine.

"I'm sorry," you responded, locking eyes with him once more.

"That's a good girl," James rumbled in that low tone once more.

The sound of his voice like that made you involuntarily arch your back, causing your chest to press against your forearms already against James’s chest.

"Can I kiss ya, Little Bird?" James asked, his thumb caressing your cheek.

You nodded, licking your lips in anticipation.

"I need to hear ya say it, Little Bird," James responded.

"Yes," you replied softly.

"Good girl," James rumbled before capturing your lips in a deep kiss.

Your breathing hitched as his lips found yours. One of your hands tangled in James’s hair, while your other arm wrapped around his neck, wanting to be as close to him as possible. James’s tongue caressed your bottom lip, asking for permission to enter your mouth. When you finally figured out that's what he wanted, your lips parted, allowing James to slip his tongue into your mouth. His tongue caressed yours sensually, making you moan quietly into the kiss. A throbbing had started at the apex of your thighs, causing you to start to roll your hips in order to relieve some of that tension. James’s breathing hitched before he grabbed the underside of both your knees, stood up, turned around, laid you down on your bed and then laid down on top of you, all without breaking the kiss. He continued to caress your tongue with his as he started grinding his hips down against yours, giving you some much needed friction and making you moan.

While you had never had sex before, you'd had orgasms before. You had learned what you liked and didn't like simply through self-exploration. Right now, all you knew was that James grinding his erection against your cunt felt really good.

Breaking the kiss, James pulled back to look at you, "Oh, Little Bird. Does that feel good?" He asked in a growl.

You bit down on your kiss-swollen, spit stained bottom lip and nodded, "Mmhmm."

"Do ya want me to make ya feel even better, hmm?" James growled lowly once more.

"Yes, please," you whimpered, tugging on the short, gray locks of his faux-hawk.

"Not yet. I'll see you soon, Little Bird," James said before disappearing into thin air, leaving you stunned.

That was when your alarm went off, making you jump awake.

Turning off your alarm, you sat up, throwing the covers off of you as you were still warm from your dream. Was it really just a dream? You asked yourself. The encounter seemed too real to be just a dream. 

Shaking your head, you pushed that thought to the side as you needed to get up for work. Getting out of bed, you stripped out of your sweaty t-shirt and panties before jumping in the shower. You washed your hair and your body, thinking of all the things you needed to do at work. At least it was Friday, you told yourself. After your shower, you did your makeup, got dressed, then left for work. 

Once at work, you were too busy with paperwork to think about what had happened during your dream the night before. In fact, you were so busy that you almost missed your lunch break. Once on your lunch break, your friend Christine approached you.

"Hey, girl!" She exclaimed, sitting down next to you with her lunch. 

"Hey!" You responded with a tired smile.

"So, we're going out to that one biker bar we all like tonight. Wanna come?" She asked in between bites of food.

You thought about it for a moment. While you were tired from a lack of a proper night's sleep, you decided that you could use a distraction. After all, it was Friday night.

"Yeah, actually. I'd love to. What time am I meeting you there?" You asked, finishing your lunch.

"We're meeting at 8pm. Can't wait to see you there!" She answered.

"I'm looking forward to it!" You responded, throwing your trash away before heading back to work. 

The rest of your day went by faster than you thought it would for a Friday. When you got home, you took off your clothes, leaving a trail to your bathroom. Once in the bathroom, you took off your makeup before jumping in the shower, taking your time with washing your hair and body. When you finished, you got out and did your hair and makeup. 

Now, for your outfit. Grabbing your favorite black t-shirt, you put it on, along with your black leather pants and black leather jacket. You completed the look with your black Doc Martens. After all, you were going to a biker bar! And a biker bar wouldn't be complete without leather.

Grabbing your keys and wallet, you used your phone to call an uber to the bar. The ride there was thankfully quiet as the driver chose not to bother you with small talk. When you arrived, you gave them a quick thank you before getting out and heading into the bar. Once inside, you now had the herculean task of finding your friends in the sea of black leather jackets. It took you a couple of minutes, but as soon as Christine waved from the table the group was at, you waved in return and headed to said table. 

"Hey! Glad you could make it!" She said, "I saved a seat for you."

"Thanks, I'm glad to be here," you answered, sitting down in the seat next to Christine. 

"So, tell me about those weird dreams you've been having," Christine said, taking a sip from her vodka martini.

"Ugh, if I'm gonna do that, I need a drink first," you answered, flagging down a waitress and ordering your favorite drink.

"That bad, huh?" Christine asked.

"No, it's just strange, I guess?" You responded, thanking the waitress as she brought out your drink.

"How so?" Christine asked.

"I can't tell if what's going on in my dreams is just a part of my imagination or not," you answered, taking a sip of your drink.

"What do you mean?" Someone else from the table asked.

"There's this man in my dreams, his name is James. He totally has that biker vibe going on. You know, black tank top, black jeans, black boots, and a gold ammo belt. And lots of tattoos. He's got gray hair styled into a faux-hawk, a goatee, and the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen," you explained. "He's the one thing I can't control in my dreams."

"I don't know of anyone who can actually control their dreams, though," Christine supplied, trying to ease your worries.

"I know, but he just seems so real," you answered.

"Maybe he is. Just think, if you ever saw him in person, that would be a helluva pickup line," another person from the table chimed in.

"Yes, because that doesn't sound creepy at all. 'Hi, you've been in my dreams lately. By any chance, is your name James?'" You laughed, finishing your drink.

The table joined you in laughter.

"I'm gonna go get a glass of water. I'll be right back," you said, grabbing your things and making your way over to the bar.

Once at the bar, you took a seat, waiting to be served. After a couple of minutes, someone leaned on the bar next to you. Just as you were prepared to tell whomever it was to fuck off, you heard them speak.

"I told ya I'd see ya soon, Little Bird," that familiar voice teased.

You froze for a minute, feeling your whole body tense up. Turning, you saw that it was James, the man from your dreams.

"James? I- what? How? You're real?" You stammered, perplexed about the situation.

"I'm real, and I'm right here, Little Bird. And I intend on makin' good on my promise to ya," James smirked.

You took a minute to process what was going on, taking a big gulp of your water. You knew you hadn't had enough alcohol to be considered drunk yet, but maybe this was just an alcohol induced figment of your imagination.

Placing his hand on your thigh, James leaned in to nibble at your earlobe, "C'mon, Little Bird, I know you want to. I can smell your juices from here."

You had to fight to keep the noise bubbling up in your throat from getting out. If you were honest, you'd been horny all day due to being left on the edge like that. And since you hadn't had time to find relief, that ache was still persistent in between your thighs. 

After debating with yourself for a while, and against your better judgment, you responded, "Alright, but let me tell my friends I'm leaving first." 

"Fair enough, Little Bird. I'll meet you outside in the parking lot," James responded, stepping back to allow you to get up.

Before heading back to your friends, you closed your tab. 

Once back at the table, you spoke to Christine, making up a believable lie so you wouldn't have to explain the bizarre situation, "Hey, hon. I'm sorry, I'm not really feeling well right now, so I'm gonna go home. I hope that's ok." 

"I'm sorry you're not feeling well! Do you need a ride?" She asked, placing her hand over yours.

"No, I'm alright. I'm just gonna get an uber," you answered, appreciating her concern, but also feeling guilty that you had to lie.

"Alright, girly. Text me if you need anything, ok?" With a smile, Christine gave your hand a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks, I will," you answered, giving her a smile in return.

Now that you'd made up an excuse as to why you were leaving, you made your way out of the bar. Once in the parking lot, you looked around for James. After a couple of seconds of looking, you saw that James and his motorcycle were parked under a light, giving him an almost angelic glow. Upon spotting you, James gave a gesture with his head, telling you to come to him. You made your way over to him with a nervous grin.

"I like your bike. It suits you," you said simply.

"Thank ya, Little Bird," James smirked before handing you a helmet. "Here, wear this. It should fit you."

"Thanks," you said as you took the helmet and placed it on your head.

James got on the bike before starting it up. Once he was all situated, you climbed onto the bike, sitting behind him.

"Hold on to me real tight, Little Bird," James shouted over his shoulder, wanting to make sure you could hear him over the engine noise and through the helmet.

You did as you were told, wrapping your arms around his lean midsection as tight as you could. Once you were situated, James maneuvered the bike out of the parking lot. 

There was no need to tell him where you lived, as he already knew. He wasted no time at all getting to your apartment. Once the two of you reached your apartment complex, James pulled into an empty parking space before turning the bike off. Taking off the helmet, you shook your hair out, hoping it didn't look too terrible. You then got off of the bike before placing the helmet down on the seat. James put the kickstand down before he also got off of the bike.

Once James was off the motorcycle, you gestured with your head for him to follow you before beginning to head up to your apartment. James followed closely behind, shamelessly watching your hips sway as you walked. Feeling his eyes on you, you looked back at him from over your shoulder. 

Upon realizing that he had been caught looking, James simply shrugged, a smirk on his face as he did so. You rolled your eyes with a grin before reaching the door to your apartment. 

Unlocking the door, you gestured for him to enter, "After you."

James snorted, "Thanks, Little Bird."

After entering your apartment, you took off your leather jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack nearby. You then took off your Doc Martens. Once you were done, you turned to James.

 "Can I take your jacket?" You asked, holding your hand out for it.

"Sure," James answered, shrugging off his own leather jacket before handing it to you. "Do you want me to take off my boots?"

"Yes, please. Thank you," you said as you hung his significantly larger leather jacket up next to yours.

James took off his boots, setting them next to yours.

Turning back to James, you asked, "Would you like a drink?"

“The only drink I want, Little Bird, is you,” James answered, taking a few steps closer to you. 

You laughed nervously at that.

“Hey, Little Bird, look at me,” James said, taking a few more steps towards you until he could take your hand into his.

You did as you were told, looking into his eyes.

“If you don’t want this, just say so. I’m not gonna force you to do anything you don’t want to,” he said, giving your hand a gentle squeeze.

You took a moment to really think about what you wanted. To be honest, you had felt ready to lose your virginity for a while, but hadn't found anyone you wanted to lose it with. James was the only person you had even considered losing it with. He was attractive and seemed like a nice guy. It also seemed like he knew what to do in order to make the experience good for you, too. To you, that seemed good enough. You didn't need a relationship right now, and you knew there would be no strings attached. To you, that seemed good enough.

"Can we go slow?" You asked, feeling your cheeks heat up in a blush.

"Of course we can, Little Bird," James answered, giving you a small smile. He knew that he had to make this experience good for you too as that would provide him with as much of your sexual energy he could take without killing you. He had become fond of you throughout visiting your dreams. In fact, he even felt a little protective over you. You were his, and now was the time to prove that. 

"Thank you," you said, breathing out a sigh or relief. 

"Would ya be ok if we moved to your bedroom?" James asked.

You gave a nod in response, taking James’s hand in yours and leading him to your bedroom. Once the door to your room had been shut, you let go of his hand, beginning to wring your hands nervously. You knew for sure that you wanted this, but you just weren't sure how to go about it. 

Upon seeing your nervousness, James cautiously took a couple of steps forward,  not wanting to scare you, "You ok, Little Bird?" 

"Yeah," you said. "Just nervous, is all."

"I understand, Little Bird. You've got nothing to worry about. There's no pressure here. If at any point you want to stop, just say the word and we will. We'll go at whatever pace you're comfortable with," James said, one of his large hands coming up to cup your cheek soothingly.

You leaned into his touch, breathing out a sigh of relief as you felt some of your nervousness start to melt away. 

"Thank you," you said in response.

"Of course, Little Bird. You deserve to have a good first time," James replied, his thumb beginning to stroke the apple of your cheek.

The two of you stood like that for a bit before you decided on what to do next.

"Can I sit on your lap?" You asked.

"Sure, Little Bird," James answered before sitting down on the edge of your bed.

Once James was situated, you bit down on your bottom lip before straddling his lap. James’s large hands came up to rest on your hips while your own hands rested against his lean chest. 

"I like being close to you," you said simply, enjoying the feeling of James’s presence this close to you.

"Yeah? Wanna tell me why?" He asked.

You blushed slightly at that, "I guess it's because you're so much bigger than me? There's something deep down inside me that really likes that."

"Sounds like you have a size kink, Little Bird," James almost purred in response.

You blushed harder at that, "Yeah, I guess I do. Can't help it."

"You don't hafta be embarrassed, Little Bird. You like what you like," James answered, tucking your hair behind your ear.

You leaned into James’s touch once more, "Kiss me, please?"

"With pleasure, Little Bird," James responded before capturing your lips in a deep kiss.

Almost as soon as James’s lips were on yours, you felt a wave of arousal wash over you, causing a throbbing sensation to start in between your thighs. Your hands tangled in his hair as the kiss deepened, touseling the perfectly styled faux-hawk. James’s own hands came to rest on your hips, anchoring you to his lap. You could already feel the bulge beginning to form in his tight jeans, making you blush slightly. 

Breaking the kiss, James pulled back to look into your eyes, “Hold onto me real tight, Little Bird.”

You did as you were told, wrapping your arms around James’s neck tightly. As soon as you were secure, James stood up, lifting you with ease before he turned around and laid you down on your bed with your head resting against the pillows. Once you were comfortable, James joined you on the bed, climbing on top of you with his hips in between your thighs. 

“Is this ok?” James asked, making sure to make eye contact with you. 

“Yes,” you answered, enjoying the feeling of his weight on top of you.

“Good,” James answered before kissing you again.

Wrapping your legs around James’s waist, you happily kissed him back. It was like his kisses were a drug you couldn’t get enough of. With every kiss, you found yourself wanting him more and more. 

James slipped his tongue into your mouth, caressing your tongue with his. The sensation made you moan quietly. Upon hearing your moan, James rutted his hips against yours with a quiet growl as he had enjoyed the sound you’d made. When you felt his clothed erection grind against your clothed clit, you broke the kiss, throwing your head back and arching your back with a gasp. When you threw your head back, James immediately brought his mouth to your neck, sucking a dark lovebite into your skin with a low growl while continuing to grind his hips against yours. You whimpered at the feeling of James’s mouth on your neck.

Your hands found the hem of James’s tank top, tugging it up slightly. “Too many clothes,” you murmured.

James sat back on his haunches, gently pulling your upper body with him, “You first, Little Bird.”

James’s hands grabbed the edge of your t-shirt before he pulled it off of you. You lifted your arms in order to make it easier for him to do so. Once your shirt was off, he carelessly tossed it to some odd corner of your room. You were too aroused to care where it had landed at this point. 

With your shirt off, James brought one of his large hands to the clasp of your bra. “Can I take this off?” He asked.

“Yes, please,” you said with a nod, desperate to lose more layers of clothing.

With your permission, James undid the clasp of your bra with one hand before using both hands to slide the straps down your arms. Just as he’d done so with your shirt, he tossed your bra off to the side as well.

“You’re gorgeous,” James almost purred.

You blushed slightly at that. 

“Lie back, Little Bird,” James said.

You did as you were told, laying back on the bed with your head against the pillows.

James’s hands found the button of your jeans before he undid them. Hooking his fingers into your belt loops, James pulled your jeans off of you. You lifted your hips in order to make it easier for him to do so. He also pulled off your socks before tossing them to the floor as well.

With you now clad only in your panties, you felt rather exposed. However, you felt comfortable like this as it was an almost freeing feeling.

Once again, your hands tugged at the hem of James’s black tank top. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” you said quietly.

James gave you a grin before pulling his tank top off and tossing it to the floor before he learned back over you.

You shivered at the feeling of James’s bare chest against yours. His warmth permeated the space around you. 

One of James’s large hands came up to cup your cheek before he kissed you again, growling as he captured your lips with his. James began to grind his hips against yours again, causing you to wrap your legs around his waist so you could grind up into him in return. Your nails lightly dug into James’s back, making James growl louder into the kiss. 

Breaking the kiss, James’s mouth found your neck before he placed wet kisses there. Your hand tangled in his gray locks as your back arched in response to the stimulation. Pulling back from your neck, James growled possessively when he saw the mark he’d left there.

“Mine,” he growled.

“Yours,” you confirmed, not really knowing what else to say.

One of James’s hands came up to your breast, squeezing it gently. You felt a blush form on your cheeks.

“Is this ok?” James asked, his voice rough with desire.

“Yes,” you answered quietly.

With your consent, James rolled one nipple in between his index finger and thumb, tugging slightly as he did so. You let out a gasp as his mouth closed over your other nipple, his teeth scraping against it gently. Your back arched and you desperately bucked your hips, in need of friction in between your thighs.

“James, please,” you whined, desperate for friction.

“Please what, Little Bird?” James asked, pulling back from your chest.

“Touch me,” you answered.

“I am touching you. Do you want me to touch ya somewhere else?” James teased.

“Yes, please!” you replied, getting more desperate.

“What do you want?” He asked, enjoying seeing you this way.

“I want your fingers inside me,” you answered, a blush forming on your face as you did so.

“I can do that, Little Bird,” James responded, sitting back on his haunches before hooking his thumbs into your panties.

You lifted your hips in order to help James as he slid your panties off of you. Once they were off, those too were flung to some unknown corner of your room. Leaning back over you, James held himself up with one arm as his other hand made its way in between your thighs. His fingers parted your labia before he used his middle finger to rub from your entrance to your clit.

James’s face buried in your neck with a growl as he felt how wet you were for him.

“Little Bird, is this all for me?” He asked breathlessly.

All you could do was whine and nod in response.

James’s fingers began to rub your clit, providing the much-needed friction you had been craving. You gave a whine in response to the stimulation.

“Does it feel good when I play with your clit, Little Bird?” James asked.

“Yes,” you whined in return.

“Can I slip a finger inside you?” James asked, fighting the urge to bite into your neck.

“Please,” you responded.

James slipped one of his large fingers inside of you slowly. You moaned at the feeling. Just one of his fingers could reach all of the spots inside you that you yourself couldn’t reach. 

“You’re so tight, Little Bird. ‘Gonna feel so good wrapped around my cock,” James growled.

“James, please,” you whimpered in response to his words.

“Little Bird likes it when I talk dirty to her, huh? I felt you clench around my finger, too,” James teased.

“Sounds good when you talk like that,” you answered.

James slipped another finger inside of you before beginning to thrust his fingers in and out of you, curling upwards everytime he pulled his fingers almost all the way out. You moaned loudly as James found your g-spot with ease. 

“Right there, Little Bird?” James asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes!” You exclaimed.

“‘M gonna finger you real fast now, ok?” He asked, the only warning you were getting for what was about to happen.

“Ok,” you responded.

James began to thrust his fingers in and out of you at an almost god-like speed. He could feel your sexual energy building up as he did so. 

“Oh God!” You yelled, borderline overstimulated as soon as he started.

“No God here, baby. Just me,” James answered in a growl.

Already, you could feel that coil in your lower abdomen start to tighten. 

“Play with your clit for me, Little Bird,” James commanded.

You did as you were told, slipping one of your hands in between the two of you before your fingers started circling your clit rapidly. Your back arched in response to the stimulation.

"Good girl," James praised you in a growl.

You could feel that coil in your lower abdomen tighten even further, signalling you were close to your climax. 

"James, please!" You begged, unable to stop yourself from doing so.

As soon as the words left your mouth, James pulled his fingers out of you, leaving you on the edge of your release as he licked your juices from his fingers.

You whined pitifully in response to the sudden lack of stimulation.

"Not yet, Little Bird. You don't get to cum until my cock is inside you," James purred.

James slid off of your bed before standing up, his hands coming to the clasp of the ammo belt that hung on his hips. Undoing the clasp, the belt fell to the floor with a loud thump. Next, his hands undid the button and zipper of his black jeans. James hooked his thumbs into his jeans before pulling them off. He stepped out of them, standing back up to his full height when he had finished. Immediately, your eyes found his hard cock, flushed with his arousal. You swallowed thickly when you saw how big he was.

Noticing your nervousness, James gave you a reassuring look, "We can stop if you want to, Little Bird."

You sat up quickly, furiously shaking your head, "I don't want to stop, James, I want you."

James climbed back onto the bed, gently pushing your shoulders back down to rest against the mattress as he did so. Again, while he was going to use you for his own selfish needs, he needed to make this experience good for you too. Settling his hips between yours, James took one of your hands and laced his fingers through yours before pinning it back to the mattress. He then took his cock in his free hand, coating himself in your wetness before he positioned himself at your entrance.

"Are you ready?" James asked you, his blue eyes almost black with desire as he caught your gaze.

"Yes," you said quietly with a nod.

"Tell me if I need to stop, ok, Little Bird?" James replied.

You gave a nod in response.

Slowly, James began to push his cock inside of your cunt, taking great care to be gentle with you. You whimpered at the painful stretch his large cock was inflicting upon you. You'd never had something so big inside of you before. Inch by inch, James pushed himself deeper into you before the hand that had helped to guide his cock came up to cup your cheek, brushing the tears of pain away.

"You're doing so well, Little Bird. Just a bit more to go," James said breathlessly, fighting hard to control himself.

Finally, James's cock was seated fully inside of your cunt, his hips now flush with yours.

"Can I have a minute, please?" You asked, feeling your muscles already beginning to relax around James’s cock.

"Of course you can, Little Bird. You let me know when you're ready," James answered, a growl bubbling in his chest as he felt your sexual energy build more and more.

After a couple of minutes, your body had relaxed enough, the sharp pain turning into a dull ache as your desire grew once more.

"James, please move," you whined, already shifting your hips in order to give yourself some friction.

"'M gonna go slow first, Little Bird," James said, releasing your hand in favor of planting his elbows on the mattress in order to hold himself up.

James started slowly thrusting in and out of you, pulling out almost to the tip before thrusting himself all the way back in and bottoming out. You gasped at the feeling, never having felt so full in your life. You wrapped your legs around James’s waist, ankles crossing at the small of his back. Your nails lightly dug into the backs of his shoulders. 

"Faster please, James," you whined, needing him to pick up the pace.

"Ok, Little Bird, hold on tight," James growled in response.

Gradually, James increased the rhythm of his thrusts into a pace the two of you both enjoyed. By now, the pain had subsided completely and you were left with an urge that only James could satisfy. That coil had just started tightening in your lower abdomen again. 

James changed the angle of his thrusts, hitting your g-spot every time, making you moan loudly. You knew you weren't going to last long, not if he kept nailing that spot.

"Does it feel good when I fuck you with my cock, Little Bird?" James asked in another growl.

"Feels so good, James," you moaned in response.

One of James’s hands came up to wrap around your throat, fingers closing around it gently. He took great care to not restrict your airflow, but rather, your blood flow. Your eyes rolled back into your head, and you let out a gasp at the feeling, deciding you liked it.

"Can I fuck you faster, Little Bird?" James asked, his desperation to make both you and himself cum increasing.

"Yes, please!" You choked out in a moan.

Using his grip on your throat as leverage, James began to fuck you even faster, making that coil tighten even more. You let out a loud moan at the feeling. He kept hitting your g-spot with incredible precision, too. 

"Such a good little bird, taking my cock so well. You like getting ruined by me don't you?" James asked through gritted teeth, snarling at you.

All you could do was nod in response, too lost in the pleasure to actually respond. All you knew was that you were going to need some more stimulation. 

Almost as if he'd heard your thoughts, James's hand slipped in between the two of you, his fingers finding your clit and rubbing it in tight circles. You moaned loudly at the feeling of the extra stimulation, feeling that coil tighten more, close to snapping now.

James released his grip on your throat, his elbow planting on the mattress once more as he growled, "You're getting close, aren't you, Little Bird? Are you gonna be a good girl and cum all over my cock?"

You took in a deep gulp of air, unable to keep your moans quiet any longer as the coil was just about to snap, "Yes, James, I'm gonna cum!"

"Then cum, Little Bird, cum all over my fucking cock!" James growled loudly.

The coil snapped and you came, cunt spasming around James’s cock tightly as you raked your nails down his back hardly with a loud cry of his name.

"Good girl, Little Bird!" James praised you as he fucked you through your orgasm.

James’s pace only increased as he neared his own orgasm, his hips pistoning away. Soon, his rhythm began to falter. He came inside you with a snarl, his teeth bared and head thrown back as he fed off of your sexual energy. If you weren't so fucked out, you'd have found it hot. One thing was for sure, that image of him would be burned into your mind for reminiscing at a later time. 

Once James was done riding out the waves of his orgasm, he pulled out of you, making you gasp as you were oversensitive. 

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" James asked you.

You simply shook your head in response, feeling tired.

"I'll be right back, Little Bird. Let me get a washcloth to clean you up with," James said before getting up off the bed and padding his way to your bathroom where he wet a washcloth.

When he returned, he gently cleaned you up, gently wiping away your combined juices before he carelessly tossed the washcloth to the floor. James climbed back into bed with you. You laid your head on his lean chest, eyes closing soon after. For now, James’s appetite had been satiated. He could've left as soon as he had cleaned you up, but he was fond of you. You were his now, there was no doubt about it. This would happen again, he would make sure of it. 

"Thank you," you murmured quietly, too tired to properly explain why you were thanking him.

"You're welcome, Little Bird. Get some rest, I'll be here in the morning," James answered, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

You fell asleep not long after, and even though James didn't need much sleep himself, he fell asleep not long after you, the two of you content in each other's arms.

[infuschia]

idk

hi guys i am so sorry for totally ghosting :/ i know that's the worst feeling with a fic you love and i'm so so sorry. i'm gonna be so straight up, i have had a WILD life from even before i started this fic up until right now - and although things are finally starting to take shape and calm down to say the least, i lost a lot of myself during that time. i grew in many ways as well, but i think there's just been a lot that happened to me over the past year or so that held me back from goals i have or the type of person i wanna become or whatever, and without going into detail, i cannot lie alot of it has been really really hard. i definitely used writing as an escape/coping mechanism of some sort for the negative feelings i was experiencing - and that can be super helpful for real plus i've BEEN in therapy lol, but i also still found myself retreating away from parts of my life that would have been good for me and my growth to pursue, and i can't be doing that anymore. as much as i fell in love with writing all this for you guys, it ended up taking up a lot of space in my mind as more of a distraction from my own setbacks and issues instead of being something wholly good for me, if that makes sense. unfortunately - THE MOST PAINFUL MIC DROP iamsosososorry - that distraction has had to end. some lowkey rock bottom moments forced me to take a better look at my life for what it really is AND for what i want it to be, and at this time i do need to step back from the false life i created in this story and step back into my real one. not that i was like living in my bedroom on my laptop or nothin LMAO i'm just sayin there have been some things i know now i can't continue with in the same way that i did before, in terms of what i spend my time and energy on. i can't say for sure that i'll never be back but i don't wanna be making any promises i can't keep. I LOVE AND APPRECIATE ALL OF THE LOVE SO MUCH OVER THE YEAR I SPENT WORKING ON THIS FOR YOU ALL i NEVER EXPECTED like anyone to read it so just every split second you even spent CONSIDERING this fic was just music to my soul and i again can't begin to describe how wonderful it's been hearing from you all and knowing that at least in some small way i was able to add a bit of joy to your lives. it's not goodbye, it's see you down the road - LMAO IGNORE MY MELODRAMATIC ASS SO SILLY but fr. over the summer i fell in and out of love and back again (MAYBE I SHOULD NOT SAY LOVE LMAO maybe lust and some feels LOLOL BUT MAN IDEK AIFSHJABJHD) with an old potential guy of sorts (have talked on and off for the last three years bruh hometown crush), and after all this time of never actually being upfront about what we thought of each other we were FINALLY honest with each other about how we felt on things, just before having to go back to school in different parts of the country - with a hope to see each other again down the road #romantic? #idek. i hope it works out with him, maybe my romantic ass is just bein delusional asf but i also just have that feeling that we'll find each other again when the time is right. and maybe just maybe i'll be back at this when the time is right - but all i know for sure is that, just like with this man-whos-not-my-man-but-may-just-be-one-day, right now i gotta focus on loving myself above all. THIS IS CRAZY SO MUCH WRITING I KNOW but i know how it feels to have a fic you like just drop off the earth so i guess better something than nothing, better late than never. SO so so much love forever and always. you guys all have my heart no matter who you are, where you are, or whenever you're reading this. LOVE YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH YOURE AMAZING AND KEEP ON BEING YOU CUZ THATS INCREDIBLE ON ITS OWN <3 <3 <3 see you down the road my friends xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN ー Reiji Dark [10]

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

ー The scene starts outside of Eden

Yui: ( What should I do now that Reiji-san has left...? )

Ruki: ...Follow me.

Yui: Eh? 

Ruki: I’m sure you’re tired after the journey here, right? While I can’t offer you much, you should try and relax for a bit.

Yui: Thank you. I suppose I’ll take you up on your offer and come inside. 

ー The scene shifts to the big hall in Eden

Ruki: Here’s some tea. It’ll help you relax.

Yui: Thanks. 

Kou: Ahー! M-neko-chan! Long time no see!

Yui: Eh? Kou-kun? 

Azusa: ...Yuma and I are here too. 

Yuma: Yo. Ya look good. 

Yui: Yeah. No big changes for you guys either? 

Kou: I mean, we ourselves won’t change. Although our living space and environment has been altered quite a bit~

Yuma: I can’t grow any veggies on this barren land...So if I’m honest, I’m bored out of my mind. 

Azusa: However, on the flip side...We now have a lot more tasks to fulfill such as patrolling around Eden. 

Yui: ( Speaking of which... )

Um... Why did you guys decide to come here? 

Azusa: Eh...?

Yui: I just thought it was a little unexpected...Considering Reiji-san is the current owner of this castle. 

Ruki: ...I believe you might be getting the wrong idea.

Yui: Eh? 

Ruki: We came here to protect our own hometown. ...That’s all. 

Kou: Even though that man is no longer around, a lot of memories still remain so we talked it over and came to the mutual decision to move here. 

But technically, Eden is currently in the hands of Reiji-kun, right?

We realized that we probably shouldn’t just let ourselves in without asking, so first we got permission and now we’re here.

Yui: I see...

Yuma: Yeah. So ya better not assume that we’re goin’ to take orders from that guy left and right. 

Yui: Right...

( This place is important to the Mukami family. Yet, it’s completely in ruins. )

( And the current situation is related to Reiji-san’s powers... )

Um...I’m sorry. 

( While it might not be me who has to apologize...I just can’t keep quiet either. )

Ruki: You have nothing to be sorry about. Besides, we would not care even if Sakamaki Reiji were to bow his head to us. 

Honestly, if he has the time to do that, we’d much rather he uses it instead to focus on learning to control his powers sooner rather than later. 

...I wonder why he was chosen as the successor? While it is not up to us to comment on his decision, we cannot agree with it. 

Yuma: I mean, he barely even shows his face here. ...No idea what he’s been up to instead tho. 

He’s just been messin’ ‘round instead of actually facin’ reality...This is more than just an issue of trust.

Yui: ( No way... )

Selection

→ Keep quiet (❦)

Yui: ( There’s so much I want to say but...I doubt it’ll do much good. )

( As much as it hurts, I’ll keep quiet instead. )

→ Reiji-san is working hard 

Yui: But Reiji-san is working hard. As of late, he’s been going from one place to another in hopes of finding the culprit behind the Demon huntーー

Ruki: However, he has barely made any progress because he has trouble wielding his powers, right? 

Yui: Well...

Ruki: Heh. ...In that case, he should realize that he needs to look for the issue within himself and fix that first, before running around like a headless chicken. 

Such a shallow man. I strongly believe that the reason why he struggles to control his powers...lies within himself. 

Yui: ( I don’t think he has to be so harsh...I guess talking about this had the opposite effect. )

Azusa: However, if Reiji-san learns to control his powers...Eden will go back to normal, right?

Ruki: Yes. 

Azusa: Hey, Eve. ...This place will definitely return to its original state, right?

Yui: ...Yeah, I’m sure. 

( Exactly. We can’t say for sure that it’ll continue to break down. )

( He might have found a useful clue already...I’m sure it’ll be fine. )

I’ll go check up on Reiji-san, okay?

ー The scene shifts to the pharmaceutical department

Yui: Reiji-san...?

Reiji: ...

Yui: ( He’s asleep. He must have been exhausted to doze off while leaning against one of the bookshelves like that. )

( Reiji-san is trying his very best. Yet nobody acknowledges his efforts...That’s just too painful. )

Reiji: ...Uu.

Yui: ( He seems to be in pain...I suppose I’ll loosen his collar a little. )

*Rustle*

Yui: ( I hope that for now at least, he can forget everything and find some peace. )

( All I can do is stay by his side like this but...I really hope it’ll help him feel a bit better. )

Monologue

Seated next to Reiji-san as he sleeps with a tired expression on his face,

I too close my eyes.

I wonder how he felt,

reading those books all by himself in this room.

When I try to imagine those feelings,

I can feel my heart ache painfully (胸が締め付けられる).

I do not know whether or not,

I can ever fully comprehend his solitude. 

However, at the very least,

I want to make him feel this warmth (ぬくもり) forever. 

That is what I once again decided. 

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

Tw for mentions of sa and rape

How do you deal with nightmares around your trauma? Usually I didn't have many nightmares about my trauma or my abuser who caused it but lately I've been having them almost every night and it's kinda horrifying, it's stuff where it's like normal but I'm always on edge around him and he's threatened me saying he could rape me and other things I forget most of it after waking up but its still bad enough and then I'm always tired no matter how much I sleep and I don't want to sleep

Hi anon,

First of all please know you're not alone. This is something I've been struggling with for a long time. There are a lot of different potential reasons why you may be dealing with this.

Personally one of my problems was that I found these dreams highly important or significant to me. Every time my abuser popped up, I had to write it down and document it when I woke up. It created a vicious cycle where giving it that much space only enabled it to take up more space.

So when I stopped recording dreams with my abuser in it (only just recently) it completely shifted my dreams. My abuser would still pop up now and then but we would just coexist and it would overall be a good dream. It's not easy at all but I think it's about being able to reclaim power over your sleep and dreams, and realize that, in your mind, you can get to say how little he can hurt you.

If you have a psychiatrist, you may want to speak with them about beta blockers. I was prescribed beta blockers (Minipress) for PTSD nightmares, and while they didn't help me, everyone is different. Beta blockers essentially lower your blood pressure that may be spiking before or during sleep, which could be exacerbating the distressing contents of your dreams.

A lot of times we can't choose whether or not we dream about our abuser. But it could help to try and intentionally think about pleasant things as you drift off. My strategy is to just focus on world-building. So let's say I want to imagine going on vacation to a place I've always wanted to visit. I'd imagine looking online for hotels, finding ones with different kinds of hot tubs, maybe a water park, a high class hotel room, maybe imagine the cool food, drinks, amenities, and maybe some things to do in the area.

Go as specific as possible, like imagine they have your favorite food prepared exactly how you like it and imagine the person serving it to you and the super fancy restaurant you're in, and such. Try to ground yourself in this world by imagining the different things you can see, smell, hear, taste, etc, and soon you'll be asleep and hopefully immersing yourself in this world.

I think ultimately it's just about your point in recovery. I've been recovering for almost 8 years and still have work to do but I consider myself mostly healed so this might be something for a later stage. It makes sense if you still feel deeply traumatized by your abuser. While the symptoms can definitely be distressing, there is no rush to heal. At the same time, it's important to address this because for some survivors this can progress into somniphobia (fear of sleep), which can take a huge toll on your health. This article explains this further.

You deserve a restful sleep. Your abuser doesn't deserve to live rent free in your dreams.

If anyone else has any suggestions or comments, feel free to add on. Otherwise, I hope I could help, and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[mydemonsdrivealimo]

ace questionnaire - jensen valentine

im too late to post this for ace week (yay big projects and assignments the one week i wanna do fun things) but i realized i could just answer these anyway so,, (and i plan to get my jensen and aliyah fic done eventually woo)

How/when did your character discover/realize they are ace?

later than most. as aware as he was of his other types of queerness (he knew he was attracted to multiple genders since late high school), being ace just didnt,, click? even with an aroace best friend, and a demiromantic partner, he didn't really apply the same thinking to himself until his early thirties. he figured it out by talking with friends, mostly. many of them are vehemently interested in sex and bring it up often, and he thought they were just talking it up. after a few conversations like that (which he realized he had no interest in), he finally talked it through with bryce and asked him if he was actually interested in sex most of, if not all of, the time. when bryce said yes jensen definitely had an oh moment

Does your character use any aspec microlabels?

jensen tends to just use queer for everything, but if directly asked, he would use grayace. he feels sexual attraction and interest sometimes, often in short and intense bursts, but much of the time it doesnt cross his mind

Has your character come out as ace? If so, how/when?

a few times now, yes. after that conversation with bryce, he did some researching and talked to aliyah (his best friend), and eventually came out to both of them. though he isnt super big on coming out (nor does he like to) he tells some of his other close friends eventually, too

What is your character’s favorite thing about being ace?

that sex isnt taking up his mental space. he could not imagine having it on his mind often enough that its a distraction, especially given his job

What is your character’s least favorite thing about being ace?

for him, its 1. explaining it to people and 2. having people not believe him when he does explain it. hes not big on coming out, and it isn't the easiest when he does, so its just more motivation for him not to

Is your character in a relationship (i.e., romantic, qpr, platonic, etc.)?

yes he is :) hes in a sexual/romantic relationship with bryce lahela

How does your character feel about sex (i.e., sex-postive, sex-repulsed, etc.)?

he has a decently complicated relationship with sex. for quite a few years through college, sex was somewhat of a coping mechanism. he slept with a lot of people a lot of the time, but that was mostly due to some personal issues that he needed to work through. there were times where he wasn't as interested but did it anyway, and he just thought of that as normal. though he's swung between being repulsed, neutral, and positive given how his circumstances have been over the years, generally he sits at neutral or positive now

Anything else you’d like to share?

not that i can think of :)

[two-am-outlines-only]

Feelings Are Dumb

Summary: Logan has been talking to Remus online for months now, never putting the nervous twist in its stomach to anything more than needing to sleep more. Until it finally realizes especially after talking to Virgil the feeling its been repressing for weeks now. Faced with the facts, it can’t decide: tell him and risk the friendship, or ride it out until it goes away?

Warnings: none

Ships: Platonic intrulogical

Word Count: 1740

AO3 Link

Logan leaned back into the couch, rubbing its eyes tiredly but with a happy smile that only grew wider as its messages pinged once again. Typing out a quick reply it switched back to its working document to transfer more of its research notes. Technically the documents weren’t due for at least a week but it was a lot to sort through, and at its current working rate Logan was set to finish just in time. The distraction was welcome of course, even if the conversations between it and Remus could be...unconventional at times. 

Topics often ranged from everything from their jobs and choice of study to more questionable topics; Remus inventing all manor of disturbing deep sea monsters while Logan cringed behind its screen and both of them discussing crime documentaries or old slasher films, Logan pointing out the inconsistencies and commenting on how certain actions could be performed better with Remus adding his own commentary about how the detail in the blood splatter was wrong and what blood recipe he would have used to make it more realistic. Logan often wondered what Remus’ roommate felt about him if he had one since Logan knew some of their conversations disturbed its own to no end.

Hearing another ping Logan quickly switched tabs to read the newest message, shoving its meager productivity to the side for the time being.

Remus: Hey Sweetheart, I just read the analysis you posted in the forum; you made some really good points! Coulda added more commentary on the gore I think but to each their own.

Face turning scarlet at the pet name Logan took a deep breath before responding.

Logan: Yes well, don’t forget you helped with some of the points. I also happened upon one of your more recent stories in my free time and the direction you took the plot and characters was quite impressive; you’re a very creative writer.

Remus: Stop deflecting and take the compliment nerd.

Logan: I never said I wouldn’t! But, thank you for the compliment Starlight.

Sending a pet name back made Logan immediately regret its decision to exist on Earth. Remus called it sweet things all the time and logically it knew it was all just playful flirting but every time he did it added another butterfly to its stomach that begged to be let out in any form of reciprocation it could manage, awkward as it was in real life. Holding its breath Logan watched as the three little dots hopped up and down to indicate Remus was typing, hoping it hadn’t overstepped or picked a name the other would take offense to.

Remus: I’ve never gotten that as a nickname before, usually they’re a lot more...suggestive.

Logan: You can definitely tell me off if you want, I realize that might have been a weird thing to say but I thought it appropriate considering you call me a space nerd a lot of the time.

Remus: Relax dude, I love it. Though my light would be nothing compared to the brightness of your galaxy *-* I’m gonna go get some actual work done now, talk to you later?

This was definitely one of those times Logan was immensely grateful its face was behind a screen rather than trying to speak person to person. Sending a simple thumbs up in reply it bounced back into the couch with a groan and hid its burning face in its hands. Logan had only become aware of its feelings recently, finally figuring out why it had been feeling so sick lately. Subconscious thoughts had been plaguing its mind for weeks now, going outside and seeing other couples had made a pang in its chest throb ever so slightly every time. It wasn’t really interested in a relationship exactly- at least not in the conventional sense, but thinking about a person it had never met and trying to imagine what it would be like to hold his hand while they made fun of old horror movies was something it couldn’t shake from its mind no matter how hard it tried to move its thoughts elsewhere.

From the way he often typed, somewhat flowery language from his writing seeping into his messages Logan imagined him having a sweet, if not blatantly troublemaking, smile. Realizing it had wanted the play flirting to be at least somewhat serious had come as a huge slap to the face with the problem arising that it was not only incredibly awkward, too much so to ever say anything, but also they lived so far away from each other that there was hardly a point in saying anything at all unless either of them moved closer, which it highly doubted would happen.

Groaning again in frustration Logan failed to notice its roommate join it by sitting on the arm of the couch with his signature cup of coffee clutched in his hands. “You’re being so loud I think the neighbors can hear you at this point. You good, L?”

“Please make noise when you come in the room, you startled me.” Logan mumbled behind its hands.

Virgil quirked an eyebrow and flopped down next to it. “You didn’t even react.”

“It’s internal.” Smiling as Virgil laughed, it leaned forward and gestured to the screen. “I realize why I’ve been distressed lately but knowing the reason isn’t making the feelings go away.”

Eyes blowing wide, Virgil’s expression turned more serious. “Was it something I did? Listen, I’ll take the request to make noise more seriously I thought we were just goofing around-”

“Virgil, relax.” Logan held up its hand and turned back to its computer. “I’m talking about someone I’ve been talking to.”

“Oh the weird guy who talks about cannibalism like it's a birthday party?”

Laughing low, it shook its head. “That’s not the only thing we talk about! Sometimes we discuss our own projects or jobs and you know...other things.”

Virgil deadpanned. “Other things like flirting at one in the morning?”

Turning beet red, Logan flapped its hands instantly. “No! I just- I've been seeing couples and thinking about someone but I never put anything to that until now. And talking to him makes me feel nervous and light like I want to puke and laugh at the same time. And you now...the pet names are...nice.”

“That’s a crush Logan.”

Throwing up its hands it huffed in annoyance. “Yes Virgil, I know that, how do I shut it off?”

Snapping excitedly Virgil turned to face it fully. “Logan you never have crushes!”

“I know that too.”

“Can you tell him?”

“Can I what?!” Logan squawked, gaping at its friend.

“Well, he already flirts back right? And he was the one who started it in the first place right?”

“Well yes but- he lives so far away, it would be a waste of time.”

“Who says it would be?”

‘You're practically the embodiment of anxiety itself and you're asking if I'm capable of confessing a crush that lives half a country away.”

“Long distance works out sometimes!”

“I'd ruin what we already have.”

“ Logan- you know what I can't really counter any of your points since I feel the same about Ja- my friend.’ Squeezing his lips together Virgil suddenly became very interested in swirling his half full mug around.

Logan raised its eyebrows. “Subtle save.”

“Thank you.” Virgil sniffed indignantly before gesturing to the screen in front of them. “What do you see in this guy anyway? You’ve only ever messaged him right?”

Blushing, Logan turned away. “I’m aware of how unconventional it is, I don’t know if he’s telling the truth about his identity and I’ve never seen his face but- I just...mm. He types pretty you know? Like somehow you could just tell if you saw him you’d want to cup his cheeks and kiss his nose by the way he talks.”

It chanced to look over at its friend only to see him desperately trying to contain a huge smile as he listened to it spill out all the thoughts that had been piling up lately. Rolling its eyes it reached forward and shut the laptop, standing up and making its way to the kitchen. “It’s my turn to make dinner correct?”

“Logan.”

“I’m thinking pasta-”

“Logan that was adorable you really need to tell him.”

“I will do no such thing. He hasn’t expressed any interest in being in a relationship with me or otherwise and I will not throw myself at him just because of some schoolyard crush that I can get over within the month.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works buddy.” Virgil slid onto the far end of the counter with an infuriating grin, trying and failing to hide it behind his coffee mug. Huffing, it turned away to dig for the jars of pasta sauce. “Well, that's how it's going to work for me.”

“Whatever you say L.”

-----

Later that night, logging back on its computer to try and get some actual progress done on its thesis at least Logan smiled faintly as he saw he had yet another message from Remus.

Remus: Hey, nerd. I know you have a lot of shit to get done this week so I won’t bother you too much unless you need the distraction. Just don’t work too hard okay? Actually follow a sleep schedule for once? You’re set in the looks department so beauty rest won’t help there but if you’re too tired to function you’re not gonna get nearly as much done as you want and I know you hate it when you’re off schedule. Sweet dreams Logan.

Blushing profusely it glanced at the clock, and seeing that it was already nearly one in the morning it sighed before honoring its friends wishes, making to shut the laptop to give its tired eyes a rest. Hesitating for a second, it thought over what Virgil had said earlier, biting its lip as it stared at the newest message. Clearly, Remus cared about it, and Logan definitely cared for him a great deal-

Shaking its head it shut the laptop decisively. Good decisions were rarely made in the early hours of the morning. Feeling the last of the heat leave its face, Logan sighed again as it made its way to its bedroom. Tomorrow. It nodded sleepily, thoughts of kind, manic eyes and wildly gesturing hands filled its mind yet again. It could wait until tomorrow.

[allsonicgames]

Sonic Frontiers

Original Platform: Xbox Series, PS5, Switch

Original release: 8th November 2022

Version Played: Xbox Series S

Available to buy: Yes

While the focus on Sonic Frontiers is on the open world – or open zone as Sega call it – I think it’s worth taking a look at the more traditional levels first. The disappointing thing about these are the themes, they take a few level themes from older games (including the much repeated Green Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone) as a basis for the levels, I would have much preferred if they just used the theme of the current island instead. At the very least, each individual level has its own unique (and really solid) music. 

That said, the levels are still fun to play. They are a bit simple with only a few branching paths and don’t reach the height of Sonic Generations or Colours, but they’re still a ton of fun to play. Some levels focus on specific gimmicks while others are a bit more traditional. With these levels alone, Sonic Frontiers would be a pretty good game.

But, the main bulk of the game is the open zone islands, something that sounded like it could easily go very wrong, especially if they don’t get Sonic’s movement’s right. Luckily, they did a great job. Sonic went where I wanted him to go, and turning was incredibly easy. Running around enemies is extremely easy, which ties into Sonic’s new power where he can draw a shape to hurt enemies or activate objects inside. I do wish that Sonic’s starting speed was much faster. Towards the end of the game (with my speed levelled up to around 25 out of 99), it felt amazing, but this really needed to be the starting point. 

Each island consists of collectables, challenges, levels, story missions and fishing.

The collectibles are “memory tokens”, used to progress the story and unlock little side cutscenes. Most of these are found by completing mini levels on floating platforms (although some are nicely integrated into the world itself). There are a lot more than you need to unlock everything, so they’re more of something to find on the way between everything else and not something you have to painfully track down one by one. The floating platforms that these are made from do have major pop-in issues – although it does seem to be managed in a smart way where parts you need to work out a route to an object are visible. I feel like they could have added a “cyber” animation to these objects to make them seem like they’re being generated by cyberspace instead of just popping in,

Challenges help unlock the map, some are little puzzles, some are timing challenges, some are time trials (which are like mini levels integrated into the world) and some make use of specific powers. They’re fun to discover and do. One kind I did find odd is one where you have to parry objects, as to parry you just need to hold down the button, there’s no timing, but these challenges were definitely designed with timing in mind, so I think they changed the parry system fairly late on in development.

Story missions are…quite bad. They’re a bunch of mini games that involve herding, pinball and a hacking minigame which is a very simple Ikaruga-inspired 2D space shooter. These could have been missing and nobody would care. Fishing is an optional extra and is nice and relaxing, although it seems like way too much effort has gone into the rather detailed fish models – and there are a lot of different fish.

Combat is a lot of fun. With the cyloop opening up enemies for attack and a lot of special moves to perform. There’s also an option to perform these automatically (at the cost of slightly reduced damage) if you prefer to button mash instead. Each enemy also has specific ways to deal with them and their design is a clue as to how to defeat them. In the open zone there are also “guardians” to fight – large bosses which feel like full on bosses from other Sonic games. These are an absolute delight and it’s very surprising that they work well in the open world as they feel like full on set pieces. The final boss of each island is also spectacular – although the final boss is downright awful, nothing more than a quick time event.

There are some parts of the open world that feel like a mini level, parts like long underground tunnels or other small sections. These parts are brilliant, and I really hope the next game focuses more on this – having levels built into the open world itself is a great way to go about expanding on the formula. I really hope Sega builds upon Sonic Frontiers instead of their usual method of ditching something and trying something new.

Overall, I absolutely loved Sonic Frontiers, and while the standard levels aren’t quite Sonic Generations, I do rate this as Sonic’s best 3D game.