#lou is precious and must be protected

[sg-the-mag-by]

This is just a quick and bad sketch I made for @firecurls-27 and their new Demitasse family baby Louis “Lou”  Roederer Chardonnay Demitasse getting a super soft and warm hug from my main Cuphead OC Aivary(ay-ih-va-ree) Batt, the Fruit Bat, because this sweet baby needs all the hugs in the world and nobody hugs better than a bat! Hope you enjoy this @firecurls-27, as soon as you posted that Lou needed hugs I knew I had to draw this ^^ Also do not excuse the quality, I did take a picture of this on my phone and splice the two images together

[satureja13]

After their picknick, they called the horses and showed Ji Ho the surroundings. What a stunning landscape!

Noxee and Greg took a walk at the beach together. Greg drew a heart in the sand and they shared a steamy kiss. After Ji Ho woke up again, Noxee will leave soon and they are making the most of their time together. (The steamy kiss is one of the new romantic interactions from the Lovestruck EP)

Poor Jack wishes he could unsee it. He hates Greg. And he hates that this beast kisses his precious Noxee. Ach - he feels like he's cursed. There's no love for him and Noxee, no love for him and Kiyoshi and neither for him and Lou... It had started so promising with Lou, though. Two of his painful spots had already vanished - and then he's together with Caleb?! Gods! Did Jack interpret the signs from Lou all wrong? Plus: Lou 'only' was an NPC in a game - his therapy game, at that. Sai never gets tired of telling him this. But what was the lesson for him to learn then? That there's no love for him? That he should start a new life after his ingame death and do better? And now he isn't even allowed to be 'just mates' with Kiyoshi... Jack sighed.

The moon was rising above the ocean when they returned to Verdantis. They cared for the animals and went over to the Screaming Mandrake, since Jeb needed to talk to them.

Jeb told them how much he worries about Kiyoshi and how hard it had been to keep him by his side - and from going back into the tree again - during the time Jack left and lived at the beach house. And how much Kiyoshi prospered after Jack came back. That the periods where he was able to be in the here-and-now prolonged. And that he even started to talk. Saiwa still can't believe that Jack - for once - is not causing trouble but even is of a greater use ^^': "Do you really think it's because of Jack?" But Vlad also agreed. He'd seen first hand how far Kiyoshi drifted away again after Jack had left.

Noxee knows how much Sai worries about Jack, he's like a younger brother to him and they'd been to hell and back together. And she still remembers how broken Jack was when he decided to finally end his relationhip with Kiyoshi. But is it fair to sacrifice the wellbeing of Kiyoshi to protect Jack from a potential harm? Jeb: "I don't want to push it on you, Jack. You're all grown up, but still vulnerable and I don't want you to fall back again." Poor Saiwa feels like he's caught in a very unpleasant dream. Between protecting Jack and letting him go living his own life and making his own decisions...

Jack: "I mean, it's not like I want to go back where we've been. Like, never. I just really like Kiyoshi and I want him to feel better - I want to help him. I did my part too to ruin our relationship. I see that. But Sai, you can't protect me from everything out there in this wild world. Where will it end? I know I have my issues, but I think I also proofed that I evolved and learned, hm?" Saiwa is still not convinced: "You wanted a relationship with a non-existant person, Jack." Jack: "Who says Lou doesn't exist? He was aware, intelligent and sensitive. All this and more. And this makes him a person. He just wasn't in our reality." Jack, our little philosopher, might even be right. (If you want to dive deeper, check this article -> here)

Noxee is bringing them back to topic again: "If you think it's ok for you, Jack, I will talk to Rita. We could at least try to confirm that you really have a good influence on Kiyoshi. Even she must see that it's of no help for anyone when he's in a state like this. Jeb is right. He's surely not happy. And when he has one of his brighter days again, he can go meet her and speak for himself, hm?"

Isn't it funny that in our reality, Kiyoshi would be considered even more crazy than Jack? ^^' A guy who isn't responsive most of the time and claims to be a demon/minor diety o.o

It's already late and Noxee took them to the yard for their Yoga/Tantra practise. And to teach them a few more poses before she leaves.

Jack and Sai are stunned how flexible Noxee is ö.Ö' But they are all doing so well after practising for so many months now.

'You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do And it's breaking my heart in two Because I never want to see you sad, girl Don't be a bad girl But if you want to leave, take good care Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware Beware

Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world It's hard to get by just upon a smile Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world And I'll always remember you like a child, girl'

Cat Stevens - Wild World (Live 1971)

Outtakes

As soon as they returned from their ride-out and dismounted, the horses immediately fell asleep ö.ö (Yang Mal sleeps standing ^^') Why are they so tired all the time? They live in another household and they can sleep whenever they want to. But no. Sometimes they even force the rider to dismount because they want to sleep - in the middle of the day -.-

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[4aceclover]

Some of my favorite moments from the shadows house Manga and anime

(of course spoilers ahead)

Anyone who's seen my previous post about my head cannons for mistress Shirley and Rum will immediately know that these two are my favorite more specifically Rum as she is just the sweetest little thing ever in the show

Here are some of the reasons why she's just so precious

Her photographic memory

Her ability to calculate things in her head very quickly

She's so shy that she has to use her finger to talk to people

She's actually a bit more tan than the rest of the characters making her stand out from that alone

The manga makes it clear that the animal associated with her would be a rabbit/bunny

She's incredibly shy around new people but enjoys people like emilico who are very outgoing and who can stand up for her

She doesn't like being a burden to other people around her (pretty sure a lot of us can relate to that)

I really do think that if mistress Shirley survived the debut she would have been a lot like Emilico just holding on to Rum hugging her and squeezing her face as rum lets people do that to her

She's totally touch starved

When I went back and looked through the manga I noticed that I wasn't the only person who thought Rum was too precious to hurt, it seems like a lot of other characters know to be gentle with her

For context about the scenes

Emilico pets Rum's hair in order to comfort her about her feelings about mistress Shirley and whether or not she deserves to save her during the debut

We never get to see this in the anime, but in the manga it's revealed that when Emilico and Rum first found the hut that had the orange tree in it rum was holding on to her dress the whole time and Emilico didn't seem to mind (it wouldn't surprise me if she told rum that it was okay for her to do that)

(Serious spoilers) During the chapter when they first meet Emilico, Shawn says close to the end of it that "the five of them will become close friends once they enter the house", and when he says that we see Lou putting her hand on Rum's back in a very gentle way as if to support her

(Serious spoilers) The last scene has Patrick patting Rum on the head as she looks like she's about to cry. Why let's just say him, Rum and Ricky were all yelled at by a mean Shadow causing them all to fly back in a cute anime style he pet her head in order to comfort her

And it's not just them being gentle with her it turns out many people also recognize her skills and compliment her for it

(seems like my head Cannon about her becoming friends with the future debut members was actually true I mean look at Matilda asking her to become friends with her that's the sweetest thing ever)

I think these scene speak for themselves

But my favorite part about all of this is her relationship with Emilico as the manga reveals in future chapters that the reason why Rum even has a bow on her finger to begin with is because of her

(Once again A Major spoilers but mostly for these two) for context, the name Rum and Rummy in the show come from a subconscious memory Rum has of her little toy bunny that she had back when she was in the village, the reason why she calls herself a Rum is because it comes from her old toys name… an old toy that just so happened to have a bow on its ear… the same bow that she now wears when we first met her, all the way up to the end of the debut. The lavender bow on Shirley's finger actually belonged to Rum before she entered the house (which explain the color she was given when she did enter the house)

This is one of the many reasons why I really love Rum, she is just a sweetheart of a character that just screams "MUST PROTECT!". I have a lot more head cannons for her than I do a Emilico or anybody else of this show, and I think it's because of the hidden potential they have with a character like her. They took full advantage of it and one of the earlier scenes and I hope they continue to do that. She's an underrated character with the most amount of potential for growth

[whumpiary]

Ok I’ve been reading through your Cass and Christopher stories and I’m absolutely enthralled!!! And I have some questions, what do you think was the most damaging part of Cassius and Christopher’s relationship for Cass AND what part of Cass’s story, written or unwritten so far, made him most into who he is in the present timeline?

I love these questions very much. I'm glad you're enthralled!

These are both huge questions and I'll preface my answers with saying that neither of these are 100% definitive, because I think there's a lot of greyness and fluidity in both.

For the first... the most damaging part of Cass' relationship with Christopher was probably its volatility. Christopher was simultaneously incredibly doting, and loving, and genuinely affectionate, and also violent, abusive, demanding, and completely disregarding of Cassius' well-being. Cass was made to be the center of Christopher's world while also not being listened to or protected in the slightest. The contradiction of these things for Cassius was horrendous. The love and affection made him withstand the violence for much longer than he would have otherwise, and the violence made him all the more desperate to seek out the love. For a while, he even feels like that must be the trade off; that feeling so cherished can be possible by enduring an equal amount of pain and horror.

But I'll also say, feeling simultaneously incredibly special and utterly worthless is a recurring theme throughout Cass' life. He was a kid with superpowers... and he was also the kid whose mum was never home and who every teacher categorised as a problem child. He was a teeange psychic, and also had dyslexia so poorly managed he was illiterate. So for him... it barely even read to him as a contradiction that to be Christopher's precious darling boy should come with complete and utter mistreatment.

The second question is trickier, because I'm not sure I believe that any singular event makes someone who they are. But it's probably a combination of a) the above/his relationship with Christopher; b) his relationship with Josiah, and friendship with Lou, and the struggle he feels in trying to accept care from them; and c) the events that lead up to the year he goes missing, and what happens in that year

The last of which in order go: manipulating Josiah into becoming a test subject at the Facility again (so Cass can use the pay off to fuel addiction he's withdrawing from at the time); breaking Josiah back out from the facility when he realises the magnitude of awful of what he's done; running away; getting snagged by Tucker and having to stay under his thumb and under his control for several long, long, long months.

These events humble him in pretty catastrophic ways, and bring him to a rock bottom he didn't realise was possible. Which is why he can even turn up back at Josiah's door, asking for help. He doesn't have any ego left to bruise.

[violets-in-her-arms-writes]

Find the Word {2}

Thank you @thewriteflame for tagging me!! You can (and should) check out her post (here) 💜

My words were Joke, Jump, Brown, Bug, Book

I'm really excited because this time I was actually able to answer with only extracts from La Fledgling! Yay!

(as usual, you can find my answers under the cut 😊)

JOKE

Really. Did they really think that humans, weak and mortal, were the most dangerous, the most threatening enemy, the shadow that crept under the door and through the cracked windows? Did Anthony fucking Rodin really think that Lou checked every exit and never turned her back on the door because of the humans? Don't make me laugh. If she jumped at the lightest door slam, if she always looked over her shoulder, if she was afraid at nightfall even though darkness should have become her refuge after her transformation, it was certainly not because of people like me. No, the problem was the other bloodsucking monsters that walked the streets like they owned them and attacked innocent women and followed them home to murder their entire families. Humans. Ah, that's a good joke. "Johanne," Lou whispered, who could probably sense my anger rising.

JUMP

My gesture must have drawn her gaze to my neck because I saw her eyes on my necklace. Fuck, my necklace! My heart began to beat faster as my hands crumpled the black fabric of my dress. I hoped it would hold up, I hoped she wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary in my work, I hoped she wouldn't notice the enchantments Ana had woven into it, I hoped she wouldn't smell the potions we had used to bind it together. I hoped, I hoped, I hoped. (I was so, so close to start praying again.) She reached for my throat, but stopped before touching me, saving me from slapping her wrist as I would have done with one of mine. "Sorry." The vampire apologized as if she fully expected me to jump at her and smash her face in. Honestly, who bends ninety degrees to apologize, right? "It's nothing," I said, brushing off her apology with a wave of my hand. "I'm just not used to being touched like that." "'Precious,'" she murmured.

BROWN

"She's hiding something from you." "Of course she's hiding something from me," I replied without looking up from the book I had been pretending to read since Ana had stormed into the room. "This is Lou we're talking about. She's always trying to hide things from us and it never lasts very long. Besides, I keep things from her too, remember." Most of the experiments Ana and I were attempting were always on the edge of legality and we both felt it was safer to keep her out of our extracurricular activities. Oh, and there was also my occasional drug use. Well, I say "my" as if I were the only one guilty and our best friend was just watching my self-destructive tendencies, but Ana was as guilty as I was. And she had just as many secrets. Some of which I didn't know. And some I didn't even intend to find out. What I did know was enough to give me anxiety and I would rather protect what little sleep I had left, merci bien. I had no doubt that whatever she was hiding would turn the last of my brown hair white, the hair that had resisted the bullshit of the girls and Lou put me through. "But she's hiding something bad from you," Anaelle said, snapping her fingers in front of my nose when she saw me staring into space. "I can almost feel it."

BUG

"Louise," I yelped. The use of her full name compelled her to turn around and face me. Her brown eyebrows were furrowed in concern and her pale pink mouth parted, probably to ask me what was wrong, but I beat her to the punch: "Lou, there's a bug on my leg!" Now that's why I always wore pants! Because at least I couldn't feel the bugs climbing on me. The very idea of feeling their forked legs clinging to my leg hair made me want to throw up.

BOOK

"Did you know that the coven connection was permanent?" I spat out very quickly, as if by getting the words out faster, I could get rid of their weight and what they represented. Ana looked at me, speechless, before blinking a few times, like this would help her hear something other than what I had just said. "What?" "The coven bond. It's irreversible. Definitive. Forever." "Are you kidding me?" "Yeah, of course I am. It's just like me, to joke around about something like this." "It can't be irreversible!" she protested. She clapped her hands together and a dusty old book fell from the ceiling into her outstretched palms. She opened it to the correct page and began to read, her slender finger following the faded ink as she carefully articulated aloud: "The coven bond, binding by blood and spirit, two vampires or group of vampires, keeps the bloodlust in check - also known as sangula practica - and is essential to the formation of strong, self-effacing vampires." "I still don't know what a "solid, self-effacing" vampire is," I warned her before she could ask the question.

Tagging : anyone who wants to give it a try, really ! Have fun 💜

Words : difference; desire; dress; dare; deep

[princesskeda]

Update! 

[stellar-imagines]

HEADCANONS REQUEST: ❝Bakugou’s little space case.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Bakugou Katsuki ] 

「Headcanons for Bakugou  with a cute, chill, and airy but a wacky space cadet S/O.」

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

♤ "Space case."

"Ditz."

"Air head."

Those are the insulting nicknames he has for you but he calls you 'air head' most of the time, he alternates between those three nicknames from time to time. They didn't seem that insulting at first because you were quite aware of how accurate those were. As time goes on, you see it as a nickname instead of an insult. Even when you get into a relationship with him, he still uses those somewhat insulting nicknames. But there's always this look in his eyes that makes you think that he's not trying to insult you at all.

♤ Bakugou thinks that you're quite cute unique. You always look so cute and innocent, smiling carelessly at people. He wishes that you would stop smiling and capturing people's hearts like a naive girl. In class, you'd be staring into space, not paying attention to the lesson. It's scary how fast you lose your interest in the lesson and start staring off. There was a time where you, Kirishima, Ashido, Kaminari and Sero crashed at his room for a study session. While he was busy whacking some knowledge — literally whacking a textbook every time they messed up — Bakugou had taken his eyes off of you for a second. The moment he turned his attention to you, there this far off look in your eyes.

♤ This guy will give you a noogie and grumble at you for spacing out. He thinks that you're too chill and carefree. Once you were sitting in the public park, staring off into space with a stupid look on your face. He was frustrated. What if something happens? What if someone tries to hit on you or worse, mug you? But he has to admit, at least to himself, you look kind of cute with that dazed smile on your face. He can't even get mad when you smile cutely at him and apologize. How dare you make his heart do weird ass somersaults? 

♤ "[First Name] looks so peaceful whenever she spaces out. Its surprising that she didn’t even hear the bell ring. Can anyone get her to leave the class and eat lunch?” someone would say and Bakugou sees you sitting on your desk, staring into fucking nothing. It annoyed him sometimes but you really did look peaceful. Instead of shaking you lightly, Bakugou straight up kissed you on your lips. putting his hand behind your head to make sure you don’t run away.

”You could’ve just snapped me out of it like a normal person!” your entire face would be flushed and he had to say that this sight wasn’t so bad after all.

♤ When you two start dating, the guy is super protective. He makes sure that he has his eyes on you all the time. Bakugou sometimes take advantage when you space out. When he wants attention from you, he'd start cuddling you to snap you out of it. You'd smile and cuddle him back, leaning into his touch and relaxing. There are times where he just wants to scare the shit out of you but you're too fucking cute that he decides not to do it. In conclusion, you are someone precious that he must protect at all costs. He's super whipped.

"You're such a fucking air head......" he would grumble, lightly bonking you on the head.

"I can't help it....." you whined, rubbing your head. Bakugou rolled his eyes and kissed your cheek.

"At least you're fucking cute."

“What was that?”

“NOTHING!”

Total: 590 words Published: 08.06.2020

Thank you for requesting! ｡٩(ˊᗜˋ)و*｡ Oh my god, how long has it been since we last posted something? I've been busy with school and could only manage to finish only a few things. ― author Lou

Thank you for requesting! Hope you enjoyed it! We assumed that space cadet meant trainee astronaut. ― author Natsuki

Requests are closed for now! Matchups are closed!

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Eighty-Three

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: fluff

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

You wake up to Harry’s crushing weight on you. You had no idea how you could have possible ended up like this since you thought you fell asleep on him. Your eyes slowly open, and you’re met with the headache you figured you’d have. You look around and see everyone else still fast asleep. Harry rolls over and you feel the air come back to your lungs. You were cozy and didn’t feel like getting up just yet so you decide to spoon Harry for a bit.

Eventually you all sit up and try to come back to life. Harry sits up and smiles at you.

“Happy birthday, angel.” He says into your ear and kisses your cheek.

Before you can say thank you, Rachel and Sarah dog pile on you and scream happy birthday. You giggle and playfully tell them to get off you.

“We’re gonna make pancakes for breakfast.” Rachel says.

“And mimosas. Need new alcohol to flush out the old.”

“Good idea.” You smile.

They go into the kitchen while the rest of you clean up the living room. You go upstairs just to brush your teeth and wash your face. You didn’t feel like getting dressed yet. Harry did the same. You both plop on the couch while you wait for breakfast to be made. He throws his arm around you and you snuggle in close.

“So, that was your ex at the bar last night?” Harry’s face goes pale.

“Surprised you remember.”

“I was fucked up, but I certainly wouldn’t forget threatening someone.”

“That was pretty cool.” Niall says.

“That was the girl you saw before me though?”

“You make it sound like I was with her and then with you right away. It was like three years ago.” He groans. “I have no idea why she got so mad either.”

Sarah comes over with a plate of pancakes, topped with plenty of butter and a little syrup, just how you like it.

“I’m so spoiled, thank you.”

“You’re the baby of the group, you deserve to be a little spoiled.”

She laughs and sits with Niall with their breakfast. Rachel and Mariah sit down as well. Rachel hands Harry the banana he requested for his own breakfast.

“Seems like it must have been a bad break up if she was so aggravated to be running into you.” Mariah says.

“There wasn’t much to break, honestly.”

“Harry.” You look at him. “You were with that girl for seven months, come on.”

“Wasn’t in love, didn’t see it goin’ in that direction, and she thought it was more than it was. Remember, I told you I ended it when she wanted a key to my place? Didn’t want it with her.” He shrugs and bites into his banana. “Clearly she found someone else, good for her.”

“She said you only liked being called by your name.”

“I did, at the time. Pet names would have just led her on more.” Everyone’s looking at him. “I…was not a very nice person back then, okay? Can we drop it?”

You place a hand on his knee and give him a little squeeze.

“I thought she was going to wet herself when you got in her face.” Rachel laughs. “I love when you get feisty.”

“She was disrespecting my man! What could I do?” You shrug and finish up your pancakes. “That was so yummy, thanks guys.”

“What time do we need to be at the ferry?” Harry asks Sarah.

“In like an hour and a half. It won’t take long to get there, but we should all probably get dressed.”

You all go upstairs to get dressed. Harry watches you take a pair of spandex shorts out, along with a pair of shorts to wear over them, ones you would wear to the gym. You pull out a sports bra, and a tank top you would also wear to the gym. You look up at him.

“We’re gonna be doing a lot of walking, might get sweaty.”

Harry nods, and picks out a pair of shorts a graphic t. You flip your hair over and put it up into a messy bun. Your phone goes off after you get dressed and your face lights up.

“Hello?” You put the phone on speaker so he can hear your Nannie sing happy birthday to you. Your eyes fill with happy tears. You take it off speaker once she’s done. “Thank you.” You giggle.

“How are you, baby?”

“I’m great!”

“What are you up to?”

“I’m at the Cape with all my friends, and Harry. We’re going to the Vineyard in a bit.”

“Oh how nice! Good weather?”

“Mhm, it’s been beautiful all weekend so far. We got lucky.”

“Oh, I’m so glad honey. Well, I’ll let you get back to it. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Thanks Nannie, I love you.”

“I love you too, precious.”

You hang up and smile.

“That was really cute.” Harry says.

“She’s done it forever.” He kisses you on to top of your head and you both head downstairs.

You all pile into Sarah’s car, and Niall drives to the ferry. You get on and take pictures with your friends. You all find places to sit, and Harry puts his arm around you. When you get off you walk around for a while. There was a neighborhood with all of these brightly colored homes, and later you come to the house with all of the Betty Boop stuff out front. You and your friends all pose like her and Harry takes your pictures. Him and Niall pose too, causing you all to laugh.

None of you wanted to eat too heavily since you’d be going out to eat later, but you had to stop into the ice cream shop that seemed to have a million flavors. Plus, sitting for a bit didn’t sound like a bad idea. You get cookies and cream in a dish with some whip cream. Harry gets a strawberry cone. You all sit down outside the ice cream shop.

“How about a walk on the beach after?” Mariah asks.

“Great idea.” Niall says. “Work off this heavy ice cream.”

It was super hot out, and all the ice cream was melting quickly. That’s why you opted out of getting a cone. You look over to see Harry trying to lick at his ice cream so it doesn’t make a mess, but a little drips onto his hand. You giggle and lean down to lick it off him. He raises both his eyebrows.

“Should have grabbed more napkins.” You say with a smile. “Thought I’d improvise.”

“Like where your head’s at.” He chuckles.

All of your friends had seen you and Harry interact plenty of times, but never for this long of a stretch. This was almost a trial weekend for Sarah and Rachel. Rachel had told Sarah about the deeper conversation her and Harry had when painting. Sarah knew Harry wanted to marry you. Your friends were very over protective, and this was a great way to just really make sure he was right for you.

Your phone blows up with texts from friends and family wishing you a happy birthday. Sarah and Rachel had posted cute things on Instagram earlier in the day. Even Harry made a post, using some pictures you didn’t even know he had. It made you tear up when you first looked at it.

When you’re all done with your ice cream, you all make your way to the beach. You all carry your shoes so you can walk along the water.

“Sarah, what time do we have to check out tomorrow? Will we be able to go to the beach in the morning?” You ask.

“Yeah! We don’t have to be out until like 1PM, so plenty of time.”

“Perfect! I’d like to get a little more sun in before we have to leave.”

“Agreed.”

You all agree it’s been a great day, but you’re exhausted and wouldn’t mind just chilling out before going out to dinner later, so you make your way back to the ferry. Harry stands off to the side with you as you make your way back to the main land. You have an arm around his waist and he has one around your shoulders.

“Quick get a picture of them.” Rachel says.

Niall takes his phone out and snaps a couple of pictures of you two looking off. Harry tilts your chin up to look at him and he puckers his lips. You smile up at him and kiss him. Niall gets a shot of that too. You all hang out in the living room for a bit, just watching some TV. You were sitting up against the arm rest of the couch with Harry laying at your side, his head in the crook of your neck. Your baby was tired. You stroke your hand through his hair as you hear his soft snores. Sarah takes your picture with him and you giggle quietly.

“So, we’re gonna go to that seafood place you really like, and then we’ll come back here to do cake and gifts and stuff.” Sarah explains to you as she flips through a magazine.

“Sounds good, I hope you guys didn’t go too crazy with gifts, this has been gift enough.”

“No, just some small things like we usually do.” She smiles and looks at Harry. “How can he sleep like that? Niall and I have to sleep butt to butt to be comfortable.” She laughs.

“Hey, you make it sound like we don’t cuddle at all.” He says with a frown, putting a hand on her thigh.

“No! We cuddle all the time, but we never sleep like that.” She points at Harry who is absolutely passed out.

“He’s always been like this.” You look down at him and smile. “Sometimes I wake up and he’s all the way on top of me. If I’m not sleeping next to him, like if he’s napping he sleeps with his arms crossed. I think he likes having something to hold onto.”

“It’s true, if he fell asleep on the couch in school he’d either be cross armed or spooning one of the cushions.” Niall laughs. “When we were campin’-“

“Niall, I swear to god.” Harry groans against your neck.

“Ohhh, I love when there’s something Harry doesn’t wanna share.” Mariah says. “Go on Niall.”

“It was really funny. Harry and Lou had to share a tent because Lou didn’t have one, so-“

“Niall.” Harry turns over onto his back and sits up slightly. “Here I am havin’ a nice nap, and you have to go and bring up campin’?”

“I’m gonna end up embarrassin’ myself just as much.” He laughs.

“Please, I need to hear this.” You say. “What happened?”

“I woke up cuddling Louis both mornings.” Harry says. “And both mornings, Niall came into the tent and joined us, so there.” You and the girls all look at each other with soft faces.

“That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.” Sarah says.

“Yeah, we cuddle all the time.” Rachel says. “Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“You’re such a snugly sleeper Harry, it’s cute.” You poke one of his dimples. “I personally really like it, it makes me feel safe.” He looks up at you and smiles.

//

Later you all go upstairs and get ready for dinner. You pick out a flowy yellow sundress, and put your hair up into a high pony. You pull some pieces out like always to frame your face, and you put a little makeup on.

“You look so pretty.” Harry practically squeals. You giggle as he kisses your cheek.

You step back to look at him. He has a pair of tan capri-style pants on with a pair of loafers, and a salmon pink silk shirt.

“So do you.” You smile, and grab his hand to go down the stairs.

You all weren’t sure if you’d be drinking a lot, but you’d be drinking nonetheless at dinner, so you uber to the restaurant. You’re seated at a nice size round table when you get there. Harry was off speaking to one of the waiter’s quick, but you didn’t notice. He sits down next to you, and Niall is on your other side.

You all order your drinks and a few apps for the table before deciding on what you actually want.

“What are yeh thinkin’, sweetheart?” Harry asks you.

“I’m dying for a lobster roll to be honest.”

“Then you should have it.” He smiles. “Think I’m gonna get this veggie burger, it’s an avocado aioli, sounds good.”

You pick at the calamari that’s on the table when the waiter comes back over to take your dinner orders. You all talk about how you’re dreading to going back to reality soon.

“This seriously has been the best trip. As much as I miss Buster, it was so nice to get away.”

“You act like you weren’t just in London like three weeks ago.” Rachel laughs.

“Yeah, I suppose that sounded stupid.” You laugh, taking a sip of your drink. “But that wasn’t a beach getaway.”

“Very true.”

“And we only have to go back to reality for like a week and half until we’re off to Ireland.” Niall says, squeezing Sarah’s hand.

“I’m so excited, what a perfect thing to do before school starts back up.”

“God, I’m not looking forward to getting into a hot and stuffy classroom that smells like old paint.” Rachel laughs. “Although, I have missed my students a little.”

“Same, I can’t wait to meet my new kids.”

“My next class starts in September, this’ll be my fourth one. It’s already flying by, thank god.” The waiter brings all the food over and you lick your lips before diving into the lobster. “Mm, oh my god, now I remember why I liked it here so much last time. This is a damn good lobster roll.”

You all enjoy your meals and more drinks. When you think the night couldn’t get better, you start to hear the restaurant’s birthday song, and your mouth falls open. All your friends were filming you and you smile and laugh as you’re sung to by everyone. You had no idea when someone had the time to bring your cake to the restaurant ahead of time, but you didn’t question it. It was beautiful.

“Thank you everyone!”

One of the waiters leaves a knife at the table, and Harry cuts the came for everyone.

“This was all Harry’s idea, but the way.” Sarah says and you smile at him as he takes a bite of cake.

“Thank you sweetie, this was so nice.”

“He had the cake made at this really nice bakery too.” Rachel says.

“It was all the two of you would let me control out of this whole weekend, I had to do something big.”

You all enjoy the cake and pack up the leftovers. You uber back to the house and your friends have you sit on the couch while they all grab their gifts for you.

“You guys really didn’t have to do anything more for me, honestly.”

“Oh stop it.” Rachel hands you a drink and you smile. “Of course we did.”

Sarah hands you her gift first.

“I’ve been working on this for months so I hope you like it.”

You tear open the wrapping paper and gasp when you see the homemade scarf she knitted.

“Oh my god, I love it! This is beautiful! I love the patterns.”

“I know you can’t wear it for a while, obviously, but you wore so many this winter, I thought I could add to your collection.”

“Thank you so much, I can’t wait to…hold on.” You wrap the scarf around your neck. “Well?”

“It’s perfect!” You hug your friend and giggle.

Rachel hands you a big, and you dig into it. You laugh immediately, and pull out the t-shirt she got you.

“You can only wear that for a year.”

It was a white t-shirt with a picture of that episode of Spongebob, and the caption says, “I thought of something better than being 24…25!”

“I got it off Etsy, I just couldn’t resist.”

“I love it! I’m gonna wear it all the time, this is hilarious, Rach.” You slip it on over your dress and scarf. “I’m really feeling this vibe.”

Mariah hands you a card.

“It’s just a gift card…” She blushes.

“Thank you so much!” You open it up and smile at the card. “I’m glad we’ve become such good friends too. Wouldn’t want anyone else as my boyfriend’s work-wife.” You both laugh.

Niall looks at you and hands you his gift. You smile and unwrap it. You had no idea what it could be. You tear open the wrapping paper, the same Sarah used so she must know what he got you. You gasp and look at him in shock.

“You got me a Stranger Things version of monopoly?”

“For the next game night.”

“I love it! Thank you.” You hug him.

“Okay, Harry, your turn.” Sarah says to him and he sits next to you.

“I had a tough time with this. I’ve gotten yeh earrings, a chain, and even that watch.” Your heart starts to race. The only other piece of jewelry he could possibly give you was a ring. Was he going to propose in front of your closest friends? How sweet! “And we already went to the concert, but I still wanted to get you a little something.” He slips a card out from his back pocket and hands it to you. You open it up and see an itinerary for a round trip ticket. You look up at him confused.

“Another trip?”

“Not for you…you were really sad that your Nan couldn’t come up for our house warmin’, even though you had gotten to see her in Aruba…and you always talk about how much you miss havin’ her around for your Jewish holidays, so I’m flyin’ her up for the New Year in September. And she’s goin’ to stay with us so you don’t have to share any of your time with her, cause I know you hate that.”

Tears well up in your eyes, and you start sobbing. You covers your eyes with your hands. Harry isn’t sure what to do, and neither is anyone else.

“That is…” You say in a high pitched voice between your tears. “The sweetest things anyone’s ever done for me.” You lunge on top of him to hug him. He chuckles and rubs your back. “I love you, thank you so much.” You kiss him.

“You’re welcome, happy birthday.”

You look at everyone and wipe your tears away.

“Thank you all so much, this all means so much to me. I’m so lucky to have all of you.” You all share a group hug.

You had thought to use the fire-pit tonight, but it was drizzling outside, so you all opt for getting cozy in pj’s, drinks, and another movie. You went to call your Nannie again to tell her how good she was at being sneaky. You talked with your mom for a few minutes too so she could wish you a happy birthday. Your siblings had all texted you during the day.

You were all hanging out and just being cozy, and you loved it. Sarah had made frozen margaritas, your favorite. You also dove into a much needed second piece of cake.

“So we’ll go to the beach for a bit in the mornin’?” Niall asks.

“Yeah, if it’s not still raining.” Sarah says. “Then we can come back and pack everything up. The kitchen is all cleaned up, and the air bnb people said they would send a service in to clean out the fridge and what not. We don’t even need to make the beds up.”

“Love when they make things so convenient.” Rachel says. “Harry, don’t you use air bnb for your flat in London?”

“Yeah, my sister is the cleanin’ crew though.” He laughs. “We just tell the people to strip the bed and take out all their trash. She’ll do some of the easier things, but will hire a maid if she thinks the mess is too much for her to take care of.”

You all decide to watch I Love You, Man, another one of your favorites, before going to bed. There were a few times you laughed so hard you cried.

“It’s just the way he says Jobin, it kills me.” You wipe some tears away.

“Nice that both of your boyfriends are in this movie together.” Harry jokes.

“I regret ever telling you I liked them.” You shake your head.

“Honestly, as gay as I am, I would fuck Paul Rudd.” Rachel says and you all burst out laughing. “I mean, look at him!”

“That’s what I’m saying! And look at baby Andy, he still had the curls! Oh my god, next movie night we have to watch Hot Rod, please, we have to.”

“Yes! I haven’t watched that in years.” Sarah says.

When the movie ends you all go up to bed. You couldn’t wait to just wrap your arms around Harry. He lays his head on your chest.

“I love you so much, thank you for everything.” You kiss the top of his head.

“I love you too, you’re more than welcome.”

“How did you even pull all that off?”

“Asked your mum for her phone number. It was a bitch gettin’ her to let me buy the plane ticket, she started yellin’ at me, but I yelled back, I stood my ground. She started laughin’ and gave in. She was really excited.”

“It’ll be so great, she and I can make her brisket together. We used to have the New Year at my house growing up, it was so much fun.”

“I’m glad I could do this for you then.”

“My boss is gonna think I don’t like working anymore with how much time off I’ve been taking. I’ll definitely take a few days while Nannie’s here.”

“You won’t need too much, just Friday and Monday.” You hum your response.

Harry had another reason for wanting your grandmother there around that time…but that would be revealed to you later.

[sub-hoshi-enthusiast]

Can I request VAVs reaction to rimming? Thank you so much in advance 💖

I got bias wrecked while writing this as I thought of som more fan fic ideas, so I hope you like it! 💖

VAV's Reaction to Rimming

St. Van

     So I've seen quite a few people say this man is a dom, but I see him as a pure switch. 50/50. Like, he's such a sweetheart and I could see him doing whatever to please his s/o, whether it be him dominating them or him being a good boy for you. That being said, I don't think rimming would be his thing. He loves you to death and tries to do everything that makes you happy, but rimming just feels so weird to him. He much rather enjoys your fingers or your strap, your tongue so close to his hole just makes him want to squirm away from you as fast as possible.

     He would try it once or twice to make you happy but it probably won't ever happen again.

Baron

     I feel like he would be the one to suggest it honestly. He's such a precious babyboy and he loves when you dominate him. There would be very little conversation about the topic of rimming because he would be straddling your lap and begging for you to play with his ass within a few minutes of thinking about it. He would be moaning and begging for it the entire time so you either wanna make sure no one is home or you can gag him. Your choice, he likes it either way.

     You can guarantee that you are doing this again.

Ace

     Another sucker for rimming. I see Ace as a switch leaning sub. He loves anything that requires him on his knees with his ass in the air for you to admire. He does, however, have a small favoritism for rimming. He loves the feeling of his face pressed into the sheets, trying to quiet down his moans with his back arched and his ass in the air with you teasing his hole with your tongue. If you even mention rimming to him, he'll become hard in seconds.

Honestly, rimming in his sex life is a MUST, so you'll find yourself doing just that most nights.

Ayno

     Ayno is one of the brattiest subs ever so good luck controlling him. He does love rimming, though he won't tell you that. Instead, he teases the life out of you in hopes of you finally getting tired of his antics and giving him what he wants. He would probably walk around the house all day in nothing but his boxers, showing off his ass and then claiming he has something else to do when you get near him until you finally just bend him over the kitchen counter and start eating him out just like he wanted, but of course you'll have to tease him until he's crying first.

The one time every blue moon he can control himself enough to be a good boy instead of the brat he usually is you should definitely make sure to reward him with this, he loves it.

Jacob

     No. No way. Rimming isn't his thing. This man is a whole ass dom and while he might be willing to hand over the reigns to you some nights, this is never going to happen. 

He really loves you, but there are just some thinings he isn't willing to try.

Lou

     Precious babyboy #2. You can fight me on this but he is just ThE cUtEsT tHiNg EvEr and I just wanna protect him at all costs 🥺. *cough cough* Anyway he looooves rimming. He loves whenever you give him attention because he just loves you so much but that's besides the point. He loves to eat you out and only finds it fair that you return the favor. He likes it better when he's laying on his back so he can see you licking and kissing at his hole with his long legs thrown over your shoulder with his hands nestled safely in your hair. (And, side note, the deep, low moans he would let out- 😤👌 I'm Lou biased if you couldn't tell.)

Please do this often. This cutie deserves the entire fucking world.

Ziu

     I think Ziu is at least a little bit subby, seeing as he's always clinging onto the other members just trying to gain their love and attention. Which is exactly what he would do with you. I think he likes any position that lets him hug you close to him. That's why he wouldn't particularly like rimming. He loves the feeling of it, but he just needs to hold you in his arms. If you're rimming and he's on his back, he can only grab your hair which isn't enough, and if he's on his knees with his ass in the air he can't touch you at all, which is far from what he wants. He just needs your head next to his, whispering sweet nothings in his ear or hovering over him, looking him in the eyes. He just needs the comfort of you there, because if you think he's clingy now, just wait until you see him in subspace.

     He really wishes you could do it more, but the poor baby just panics when he can't see your face.

[johannesviii]

So I guess I’m hyperfixating on Death Stranding at the moment

And since I’ve finally finished the story after playing it for like 100 hours over the course of seven months or so I guess I have Opinions(tm) about things I didn’t like in the game

They’re eating at my brain so I’m gonna put them all in a single post to get them out of my system once and for all so I can enjoy the rest in peace

Spoilers, obviously

Hi welcome back to ‘Johannes is obsessing over yet another video game with horror elements in it’! I guess!!

Our latest entry in that category was Until Dawn but since UD can be played in like 6/7 hours and I spent 100 hours of my life on DS, as you can guess we’re talking about a full-blown hyperfixation, the kind that physically hurts because I can’t focus on anything else even after having finished the storyline

But it was super gradual. Again, seven months. I barely made any progress from December to May because I was only doing side-deliveries at the beginning of Chapter 3 instead of... you know... advancing the plot. It became an honest-to-god special interest about two months ago, then 6 days ago while playing chapter 10 it reached hyperfixation levels and now I am in PAIN

I hate my brain

Anyhow

At first I wanted to list the good and the bad hings in it but there’s too many good things to list them all in full, excruciatingly long details, so

Very Quick And Very Incomplete List Of Good Things That I Love

It’s a post-apo game based on travel, logistics, and good will, and it straight up goes AGAINST the whole ‘survival of the fittest’ trope that SO MANY post-apo things try to push!! YES

I insist but it’s built on helping each other and keeping everyone alive, seriously that is my shit right there!

The online community is wholesome?? People leave stuff everywhere, you never see anyone but people put little helpful signs and send you likes, and in my game we almost managed to repair all the roads together

There’s so many new & strange allergies and disabilities and phobias in this post-apo world and? nobody is trying to ““fix”“ anyone?? Like Heartman with his padded floor and his little box that brings him back to life constantly. He’s just... living like that. Nobody’s going “hey maybe you should get another heart operation buddy”

The hero and his phobia of being touched. I. Loved. That. The quiet scenes when he was just talking with Fragile, sitting next to her. In any other context this would just be two people sitting next to each other and talking but it always feels so soft and intimate everytime he allows another human being to just. be next to him. I love it. I love them

Everyone crying constantly because of chiral allergy!!

I loved all the important characters bar one (Bridget/Amelie)!

Why is this walking simulator so enjoyable why am I enjoying the fact that holding L2 + R2 while walking feels like holding your backpack and that you have to relax at times just like you’d have to if you were actually holding a backpack

Seriously. Why

The atmosphere was so great, the music was fantastic and the visuals were on point. A E S T H E T I C

The ghosts!! The giant Beached Things!!! Chiral crystals look! like! creepy hands reaching for the SKY!!

THE RAIN DESTROYS THINGS AND KILLS PEOPLE BY ACCELERATING TIME THIS IS SO COOL SHUT UP

Everytime the game got surreal it was electrifying

THE SURREAL WAR SCENES ON CLIFF’S BEACH

Everyone is using emojis

There’s guys addicted to delivering packages in that game and they’re trying to steal our stuff and we’re like “haha they’re dumb” but we’re basically addicted to delivering packages as the player. So yeah that was pretty fun

Terrorists thinking humanity isn’t going extinct fast enough and wanting to just rip the bandaid and speed things up. Simple but effective concept

People ask for SUPER VITAL ITEMS right next to completely trivial stuff and I’m LIVING for it. “Please fetch my toy dinosaur”. I feel you dude

The most isolated characters are like "LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS THING I LIKE" in your emails because they haven't had contact with other humans in years, it's super relatable

There’s a farm where people use the fact that Timefall rain accelerates time to grow food super quickly in one (1) Timefall and harvest everything just before it starts to die and I LOVE that detail of worldbuilding so much

YOU’RE FIGHTING BEACHED THINGS WITH YOUR OWN BODILY FLUIDS IT’S SO STUPID BUT ALSO SO COOL?? I love yeet-ing my own blood at eldritch entities

THE T W I S T S

All the fanservice (bar one detail that I’m gonna complain about later) is on dudes. This game reeeeeeally likes to show dudes naked or somewhat naked. Mostly the main character but this mocap also L O V E S Mads Mikkelsen and there’s a shit ton of homoerotic shots in there

I love Sam the antisocial papa wolf delivery man and if someone touches him or his baby again, I will cry

LOU. LOU LOU LOU PRECIOUS BABY I’D DIE FOR YOU. Wait I did

I love Fragile and how brave she is and how she keeps helping people even if most of them wrongly think she’s a terrorist and yes I will eat this cryptobiote thank you

I love soft science boi Heartman who keeps dying again and again and is a bit too much interested in bodily fluids

I love garbage man Higgs and how complex, funny and still somewhat tragic this memelord actually turned out to be in the end

Seriously I want to stop fixating on this character but you can’t give me YET ANOTHER character who wants to die but at the hands of someone else, that is unfair to do that right after my fixation on the new Doctor Who Master

So yeah Higgs is yet another character who makes me want to grab him by the lapels and shake him and yell WHY! ARE! YOU! LIKE! THIS! STOP! BEING! LIKE! THIS!!

Cliff broke all three of my feelings beautifully and in excruciatingly well-acted scenes that transcended the sometimes lackluster dialogue

John made me cry during That Scene

Mama your background was tragic and terrifying and you didn’t deserve any of this shit and I love you

Deadman was more funny than anything, really, but I still liked him even if he had no sense of personal space whatsoever and it clashed horribly with Sam’s phobias

The ending had some sad parts but was mostly positive, thank goodness

Now I’m gonna explain things I dislike and this looks long but it’s actually only 5 main things so I bolded them to avoid confusion

Things I really disliked (and could have been handled wayyyy better)

We all know it but Kojima isn’t a master of subtlety and some parts of the dialogue kept repeating the same informations again and again AND AGAIN and I was like “ok ok I get it”

The dialogue can be so bad at times seriously

Kojima is a bad writer there I said it

It was particularly annoying with Amelie/Bridget and the fact she’s a horrible person trying (and failing) to justify her actions wasn’t helping

Bridges protocols are incredibly intrusive. All of them. I know it’s framed as bad and Sam hates being spied on all the time and in the end he destroys the device that does that, but I wish someone else would openly criticise it in-game

I guess Deadman sort of did but still

Also I know the whole BB technology was Bridget’s idea, and since she’s the actual villain it’s framed as a twisted, evil thing during the ending, but I wish that had been framed like that much earlier ; a lot of Bridges employees just... seem to accept the idea that their employer is using premature babies and their dead mothers as useful, if disturbing, devices. They seem to justify it by “uh we stole that technology from terrorists” to try to cope with the idea but... yeah.

I mean, one of the points being made very early on is that Sam sees his BB as his child who must be protected at all costs instead of a detection device, but I really wish he wasn’t the only one to object to that thing

Again, the game DOES frame "using babies and their dead mothers as tools” as evil and twisted, I just wish it was given a lot more weight and way sooner

Now let’s talk about the Token Straight(tm) in this game

In any other kind of context it would be a joke! But Death Stranding literally has a Token Straight Guy!

I mean, there IS a few hetero couples among the Preppers. Not a lot, mind you. Like, there’s the Montaineer and his wife for instance. But they’re just there and it’s not what their side plot is about

No I’m talking about this piece of shit right there

This f█cking Junk Dealer guy complains the girl he loves is dead because of Bridges and emotionally blackmails us by sending us old holograms of her before her supposed death (somewhat disturbing holograms too because she looks... pretty young in them), then he sends us on what’s essentially a suicide mission in a BT infested zone, THEN when we give him proof she’s still alive and living in another bunker nearby, he won’t go there himself to check??

But SHE’s like “ok, bring me to him, then!”

He doesn’t deserve you, girl

I’ve already seen several people pointing out that carrying a woman as cargo on your back is... debatable at best and sexist at worst, but that part didn’t really bother me to be honest? She asked to be carried to him and it’s her choice. She was talking to us the entire way too, so that made things a lot less awkward. Also Sam has this phobia of being touched by other people so I bet carrying another human being on his back isn’t fun for him. It was also super stressful to do, to be honest.

And then there’s this EXTREMELY AWKWARD scene when they’re reunited and decide to get married, and thankfully Sam finds it just as awkward as we do because he’s standing super far away from the bunker in a “can’t they talk about this later - I’m right there” way. And I’m under the impression it was intended as cringy, in a “yeppp young people in love are Like That” sort of way, so I can accept that, to be honest. If you don’t take that scene seriously, it’s pretty fun in, again, a cringy sort of way

BUT

Then you receive more emails later and this piece of shit guy complains about her and he’s like “ugh WOMEN” or “marriage is the worst” and they end up divorced in record time and she goes back to her bunker

Which isn’t my problem with this subplot either, I promise I’m gonna explain myself eventually but this context is important. It’s okay to have characters who are pieces of shit like this guy who reeks of incel cologne. It’s alright. Not every character has to be a role-model. It’s good to have characters you can hate.

BUT THEN they get back together later to try to patch things up and you learn he was part of a gang who murdered her parents even though he protected her against the rest of the gang and that’s what I hated about that storyline. I guess if you squint it can be read as “this woman is making REALLY BAD life choices” but I read it as “he saved her so she owes him something, he can’t be entirely bad” and y i k e s this left such a bad taste in my mouth, good lord.

But yeah miss Chiral Artist you’re making really bad life choices please get away from this dude as soon as you can, thank you

Also don’t do this ‘sending Likes’ pose ever again, it was hilarious but also you made me use the word “cringy” several times in this paragraph even though I absolutely hate cringe culture, look what you made me do

Now I have to talk about a scene that was intentionally disturbing as hell but ONE (1) detail in it was disturbing for the wrong reasons

To be honest, I really don’t like the Metal Gear Solid games and one of the reasons is the rampant sexism in them so I... was kind of bracing myself for Death Stranding and expecting it to have at least SOME really bad fanservice with a woman at one point or another but to my surprise?? There was none? All the fanservice is on dudes??? Hello? I really liked that (well at some point Fragile takes a shower in our room but we see literally nothing except her shoulder and then Sam looks away)?? What a refreshing change

THAT BEING SAID

And if you played the game you know exactly what I’m about to talk about

Yep this is the part where Johannes complains about how the bomb flashback was shot

Ok so I guess I should also give some context in case someone is reading this but hasn’t played the game, but the deal with this scene is that our friend Fragile was betrayed by her colleague Higgs who used to be a porter but became a terrorist after meeting the “main“ villain of the game. First he secretly put a thermonuclear bomb in one of her deliveries so she’d nuke an entire city without even knowing it, and everyone after that thought she was a terrorist. And then he tried to do that shit A SECOND TIME, but she noticed and decided to toss the second nuke into a bottomless lake of tar. But he caught her just before she reached the lake and he decided to give her a sadistic choice, which was “teleport away and the bomb stays there and nukes the city, or carry it to the lake but only in your underwear under this rain that speeds up time and it will do enormous damage to your health and your body”

And of course being the hero she is, she decides to take the second option

And it’s an incredibly disturbing scene and it’s genuinely hard to watch

But it’s also the ONLY time a woman is in her underwear in this entire game and there’s A COUPLE of shots that were male-gaze-y at the beginning before she started to run and the really horrific part started.

So in a way I guess it could have been worse? way worse, even

But it still tarnishes an otherwise disturbing (and harrowing at times ; seriously I know I’m oversensitive but it was physically painful to watch) scene with unnecessary shots

We know Fragile had a young body before this happened, this isn’t the point of this scene, guys

Whoever decided to keep these shots (probably Kojima let’s face it), that is bad and you should feel bad

Idk how to do a visual transition for that next one because I do not want to screen that memo

So here’s a screenshot with a nice landscape instead

tw: acephobia

Now I have to talk about something I like the GENERAL IDEA of, but not how the IN-GAME MATERIAL ABOUT IT was written

Because I have to talk about that “asexual world” memo

First I have to say that I absolutely love the fact that a mainstream game openly says in-game “this future is full of asexual people" and?? it’s just that, it’s a part of this world. That’s just how things are. It’s normalised. I love it. For crying out loud this memo has the word demisexual in it. I can’t think of any other mainstream game that had this word in it so far.

It should have stopped there and let me enjoy that in peace but it didn’t

THE MEMO ITSELF WAS CLEARLY WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THESE CONCEPTS and there’s some really bad stuff there. I’d say it’s accidental acephobia but it’s still there. I’m not the best person to talk about this because I’m bi, but it still rubbed me the wrong way

The words this memo uses near the beginning are “"sexless lifestyle” among young people” and yikes, my dude. “Lifestyle”, uh? Really?

And then it goes on about how these new labels were already more and more common “among young people before the Death Stranding” and it also rubs me the wrong way, in a “wow young people and their weird labels lol” sort of queerphobic way?

However I’ve seen a post pointing out that the line “One theory posits that the Stranding accelerated the proliferation of these sexualities” was maybe a way of saying ‘yo asexuals are causing the end of the world’ but... I don’t see it, tbh? In the context of the game, society is extremely divided and a lot of people live in complete isolation and social norms have heavily shifted and it’s kind of normal that there’s queer people visible everywhere now, aces included obviously, because nobody’s bothering to hide it anymore. It’s a post-apocalyptic world! People are just being themselves! A lot of characters also seem to be bi/pan! They’re just vibing ok

At least that’s how I read that part, I can understand if someone had a problem with that bit but I didn’t

BUT! THAT’S NOT ALL because the memo concludes (I’m paraphrasing) “the birth rate has dropped, which might be a problem, but harassment and assault have also dropped, which is good, so idk it’s 50/50″ and. like. I get the intention. But it’s clumsy as hell and very bad. Please don’t confuse abuse of power and attraction. They don’t go hand in hand. Don’t do that. Please. And you know that aces can have kids if they want to, right. Come on. It’s 2020 my dude. This shit is harmful

Also. Like. It’s the end of the world in this game. People don’t want kids. It... has nothing to do with aces. Reality itself is crashing down. People are reluctant to have kids because reality.exe might f█cking crash down at any given moment!

Or a Beached Thing could VoidOut their city!

Or someone might send them a nuke, not naming names!!

Anyway!!!

It’s really badly written and whoever wrote it should educate themselves and maybe get an ace to re-read their stuff next time??

Again I’m not the right person to talk about acephobia and I bet an actual ace would have plenty more to say about this

Thankfully it’s a memo written in-game by a random Bridges councellor and NOT by any important character that we actually know

"I must preempt myself by admitting that I do not have any empirical data" yeah so, f█ck off maybe

So I’m just gonna call that guy “another piece of shit character” but it still doesn’t excuse the fact that the memo was written by someone who thought it was a good idea to put it in the game

Just let me enjoy my super queer post-apo world in peace and don’t write shit like that in your game thank you and goodbye

Minor stuff I also disliked but it wasn’t as awful

I get that Sam is upset at the end because Lou is dying but the way he said goodbye to Fragile broke my heart. It was abrupt and you KNOW he’s upset and wants to have nothing to do with Bridges anymore and that’s very understandable but it isn’t her fault

Seriously I want them to be friends again

I’m gonna pretend they’re friends again after Lou is saved and that Sam is a freelance porter again and sometimes their paths cross and they just talk together in the middle of nowhere and share cryptobiotes

The pacing is weird, there’s this deluge of plot in the beginning and the end but not much in the middle?

The BT boss fights could have been these epic Shadow of the Colossus showdowns but no, they were relatively standard boss fights. Wasted opportunity

The running on the Beach scene sdfghjhgfdsdfghjhgf that was... dumb

A lot of preppers are interesting in one way or another but some are just boring. Also I wish the design of their bunkers was more varied

Amelie/Bridget’s motivations are all over the place, both creating Bridges AND the Demens is... a lot? I know she both WANTS and DOESN’T want the actual, final end of the world to happen but that is a lot to take in and it’s all very confusing

Who the hell cares about ‘rebuilding America’ I just want to build a network where people can help each other

The ‘likes’ are fun but don’t make much sense

In conclusion

Death Stranding Good

Some stuff Bad

Some stuff Very Bad (but it’s just one memo out of 100+ memos, thank god)

I’m still hyperfixating

Send help

[yarart4ever]

my reaction to the first 2 episodes of beastars pt. 1

~~s1 e1: the moon and the beast~~

-the reason I’m watching this is because I’m curious to see what weird shit is gonna go down lol

-yessir first episode!

-damn, I’m literally like 2 seconds in and there’s already a murder scene? nice!

-HEY! CARNIVORES ARE NOT MONSTERS!

-why the fuck do they have 5 fingers but there animals!?! I’m...

-gossip prey!! 

-tbh, I think if this school did a take on mean girls the musical, they might need to rethink the song apex predator...

-who’s hand is that!?!

-*dramatic* ddddrrrrRRAAMMA CLUUUUUUUUUUUB! ahem sorry... holy shit my throat hurts...

-WHY IS THAT WOLF STARING AT THOSE ANIMALS!?! BRUH THERE WAS A MURDER INVOLVING A CARNIVORE YOUR REP IS BAD ENOUGH STOP MAKING IT WORSE! 

-the fuck is with that teachers beak tho?!? he must be getting it on!... 

-DISCRIMINATION!

-...this show is literally gonna make me turn furry....

-HEY MORE TIGERS! TIGRESS!! I FOUND YOUR BROTHER!

-aw that little chipmunk is so kawaii! or... is that a squirrel... eh I don’t care... she’s precious and I need that little munchkin in my life! </3

-fun fact! Lemurs are cheerful and fun to be around! if the creators just looked up personality traits of a lemur off google just to put that little detail in the episode istfg... 

-HAS ANYONE LEARN ANYTHING FROM HORROR MOVIES!?!  DON’T LEAVE YOUR BEST FRIEND ALONE IN THE DARK AFTER A FUCKING MURDER! MY GOD! sigh... periodt-

-SEE!! THIS IS WHAT I MEAN! NOW THE CREEPY WOLF STALKER IS BOUTTA DO SOMETHING!

-ooh, goat girl got scissors! she prepared herself! XD

-wait where did she get the scissors from?

-this motherfucker fr snatched it tf XD

-aw, that’s actually sweet! Legoshi is so awkward and cute and....

-fuck I have a crush on a wolf....

-NOPE! NOT A FURRY! NOT. A. FURRY!

-aw, poor Tem... they even had a mural for him and everything... I wonder how his parents feel...

-THEY FEEL HORRIBLE, OBVIOUSLY! dumbass...

- aw man, and he was waiting for the perfect moment to tell his crush how he felt... and yet he never did... I feel really bad for him...

-sorry ladies, for all we know he’s probably a homo! (I’m referring to Louis) and I’m probably gonna ship him with Legoshi...

-ooh! a new character! she’s so cute! 

-HEY! STOP BEING MEAN TO THE BUNNY!

-hey, finally! an anime loli that can stand up for herself! FINALLY!

-these bitches fr just threw out the kids mattress! what kinda strength!?!

-oh shit! so everyone thinks the poor bunny is a whore? that’s terrible!

-SALLY YOU BITCH!

-”doesn’t matter where I sit, delicious food is still delicious!” best quote so far lol

- tbh Idk if the mean girl in the middle looks really cool or really creepy... meh, both

-okay I take back what I said... THAT MEAN GIRL BUNNY IS A BITCH!

-BOOM! HARU LITERALLY JUST ROASTED THAT MEAN GIRL! WHOOO! 

-fuck now I have a crush on a bunny...

-WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME!?! I’M IN THE FIRST EPISODE AND I’M ALREADY IN BI-SEXUAL DISTRESS! NOT TO MENTION THEY’RE FOR ANIMALS!!

- did the mean girl just say “we’re a harley quinn couple” or did my ears deceive me?

-yep, Louis is gay. called it!

 -okay that’s kinda creepy what he’s doing to the goat...

-Kai!? his name is KAI!? oml- why do y’all keep bringing me back to kung fu panda...

-aw, Legoshi is protecting Louis! I knew I would ship it!

-”WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!?” bruh they’re looking at you, you look insane to them! stfu!

-ooh, they’re alone! Louis and Legoshi are aloooone! oooOooOOooOOooooOOOhh!!! >:3

-AH! he touched his tail! what kinda kinky shit is this!?

-and when you think they stop with the furryness... 

-Lous: *pulls on Legoshi’s tie* disappointing~  me:uh... should I be watching this??

-okay so yeah, they ended up sneaking into the room... great...

-okay... this is getting creepy...

-OH! ain’t that the scene from the trailers?

-holy shit... this scene is darker than the one in the beginning...

[satureja13]

Beltane - Part 5 It all starts -> here (incl prequel)

After a short walk, they reached the bridge to the campsite. The Boys had such a great time here last year. Here they'd found Adriano, the llama, who still lives with them.

They chatted along the way and Sai still complains about Vlad and his foolish pride and why he stubbornly refuses to just start off with a physical relationship until Ji Ho is able to love him. Jack: "You're one to talk. You know that neither Jeb nor Kiyoshi nor you had a choice with that fake relationship and you are unable to get over it too. Vlad tries to act cool but you know how he is when it comes to Ji Ho. You can't separate his heart from his body this easily and it's painful for him that Ji Ho can't love him. So he tries to keep his distance." Saiwa sighed. Jack is right. It's easy to spot the splinter in the eye of the other but you're unable to see that giant plank before your own head. It's too painful (and embarrassing) for him too to face Jeb.

Noxee has to talk to Jack before they'll have to part in the morning. So Jack lit the fireplace. Noxee: "This was a shock for you that you can't get rid of Kiyoshi, huh? A fated bond is holy and can't be torn. But do not despair. We believe you are strong enough to get rid of his influence over you. Fate must have had a plan when it intertwined you two. Let's see where it goes and get you ready for it." Saiwa: "Noxee - Jack is not nearly 'strong enough' - we need to protect him! Having this secret relationship with Kiyoshi almost killed him, he even fell in a coma and you've seen him at the Bunker. You'd been so upset too! You're asking too much of him." Jack is relieved Saiwa steps in for him. He's too weak to handle Kiyoshi. A demon and a minor diety.

Noxee: "Don't underestimate Jack, Saiwa. He already prospered and even though he went through a lot and suffers the most of all of you from the damages that hit him, he carries the genetic modifications from the lab and Greg's genes inside of him. I know you don't want to hear this and you can see this as a weakness and a flaw. But instead you could pick the advantages of it. Greg is an insanely strong wolf and he'd survived unspeakable pain and hardships. These modifications made you a 'Super Soldier'. They wanted you physically and mentally strong. Tiny Can will help you to find a way to unlock these abilities. They are safe, trust me. The Resistance checked you thoroughly after Greg rescued you."

Jack: "Maybe you are right. One of the three red spots already vanished and I feel less pain. If I can't get rid of Kiyoshi, I could try to be strong enough to deal with him and resist him. And since he's a diety now - let's just hope he stands over this fated mates thing and we can just hang around each other." Jack is confident because he also has a plan B: Lou. He could help him to water down all the hot encounters with Kiyoshi that are burned in his memories and keep him attracted to Kiyoshi and his demonic charm. Noxee: "Sai, we can't protect Jack from everything. It's better he has some powerful tools at hand to protect himself, hm?" Saiwa sighed from the depths of his soul. Jack is their youngest and most damaged. They went through hell together in the lab and he wants him to be safe and happy. But Noxee is right. Saiwa: "Ok, let's go for it."

Jack: "Let's play some Sabacc before we go to sleep!" Puppy Jack tries to distract. His head is spinning and he won't deal with any more crazy input about Kiyoshi. Jack is dealing the cards instead. But he still needs to know more about this 'fated mates' thing and Noxee. He still plans to win over the Queen ingame :3 Jack: "So, is Greg your fated mate?" Noxee: "Oh no! This is such a precious and rare thing. The only other fated mates we know of are Dtui and Rita."

Jack: "But how is it possible you two are still together?" Noxee: "'Just' love, Jack. And Greg already told you that it's hard work, right? After all that Greg went through after Avelina's death and the madness during the war, it's so unlikely that a wolf like him would accept a girl like me... " She sighed happily and Jack groaned. Why did he even ask... TMI: I mentioned before that Noxee is inspired by Noxeema Jackson from the movie 'To Wong Foo' and I think it's so cute when they speak of themselves as 'girls' even though they'd all been in their 30's and 40's :3 Here is a link to the 'A day with the Girls' scene on youtube.

Noxee: "Greg and I know what we're talking about when we say that you can learn to have a choice in how you deal with your feelings and if you want to allow others to hurt you mentally. Can you imagine what Greg and I had - and still have - to deal with because he, the Menace of Moonwood Mill dates me, the vampiric Drag Queen? It's hard work but it's worth it. Believe me. Being mostly uneffected by what others throw at you gives you freedom and peace and you're your own master."

After they ended their game, Jack went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. His thoughts are hopping around in his head.

He would be able to brace himself and he wouldn't have to follow that downward spiral into madness over and over again. He doubts that it would work always. But he trusts Noxee and he knows that it's doable. And it would take the burden off of the others so they wouldn't always have to worry about him.

So he's giving himself a little pep talk before heading to his tent. Jack: "You and me, Tiny Can. We can do it! And with Lou's help!" He will go back ingame and Lou will help him to get rid of that attraction to Kiyoshi and these painful spots! This sounds to good to be true but it's so worth trying - and trying he will. No, do or do not. There is no try. Like Yoda said to Luke. This is how Jack started his 'Jedi Training'. Because he's still our crazy, little Jack ^^'

TMI: When I started to tell their story, it was so weird for me that teenage Jack was so very different from adult Jack, who I know for far over ten years. But from time to time, like today, I can see how he became the partner of Kiyoshi, the father of four kids and the founder of the Impossible University and that's quite amazing. And still a long way to go :3

'Noi, senza dignità, oltre la montagna scopriamo l'amore. Qui, qui senza falsità, noi ci amiamo come la mente non sa.'

'Without dignity, we find love beyond the mountains. Here, here without falsehood we love each other in a manner not known by the mind.'

Una Notte Speziale - Alice

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest Current Chapter: 🕹️ 'The One' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[aro-throughyourchest]

Review (kind of) of Party Pooper

SPOILERS ALONG THE WAY (You knew that)

TIMESTAMPS ALONG THE WAY (A lot of them)

Nice little dog. Must protect. ~

This photo conveys so many different emotions, and they’re all adorable. Space Kid looks like he loves the dog more than Max does. ~ (0:45) Nikki asking a dog where she learned to drive a van is adorable and definitely something I would’ve said at her age. Also, Max is now a kitten. It’s- It’s fucking confirmed! ~

There are so many Max photos I want to fit into this thing because they’re all so nice. ~ (1:06) Gwen isn’t actually that mad that her father showed up which is sweet. For her, it’s just a thing that happened.

~

What even was that Nikki reaction? XD Just- “Oh, the dad right? ‘WOOAHH’-”

~

What’s this? A skip button? Gladly! ~

(2:03) DAMN, his voice is deep. Like, REALLY DEEP, holy shit! Not to mention, “Gwenster.” HE CALLS HER GWENSTER, I AM NOT-

~

(2:31) *Whispers* So, is Gwen’s father a stoner or- ~

I have no words for this commercial or the camper’s reactions ~

(3:13) Oh no... Yeah, that’s awkward...

~

Saved her from a rant, Nikki. I owe you my life. ~

(3:55) Why though, you’re in a summer camp in the middle of nowhere with only a dirt water town and two other camps surrounding you. No one else is gonna hear; you barely have electricity. Why are they making you do this? ~

David, you’re getting caught up in the excitement again; don’t do this-

~

(4:15) We won’t have to ask that question when your parents arrive, will we, Max? Now leave Gwen alone. ~ No, no. You do not get to do that, Louis. You do not get to claim that being social is the only way to get anywhere in life. You do not get to call Gwen a party pooper for doing her fucking job.

~

Max’s smile still worries me. He seems legitimately interested in Lou’s stories. Last season it would’ve taken a really tender moment for Max to smile like that. And that scares me; character development doesn’t scare me, this is amazing. But still...

~

(6:10) Nice to know that Preston knows what a concertina is. I had no idea what the fuck it was, but Preston does.

~

I will not laugh, I will not laugh, I will not- ~

Here’s a tip: When your audience is asking about fucking B R O W N I ES when you start a story that’s not PG, I’d suggest you lay off that story for a long time. And Gwen definitely turned out OK, you know, with her constant searching up of porn, anxiety attacks, general lack of care about anything and everything! She’s a perfect little ball of a fuck-up! :D

~

(6:55) Max’s enthusiasm is so cute and precious! START THE PROGRAM: #Get-Max-a-Dog-program! It’s an amazing idea! ~

(7:24) OKAY MAX, STOP BEFORE YOU MELT MY HEART INTO A PUDDLE! I DID NOT ASK FOR THIS CUTE LITTLE THING BUT THANKS FOR DELIVERING!! ~

Everyone is trying to poke the Gwen-bear. Why leave the Gwen-bear to herself when you can get your arm bitten off, amirite? ~

(9:09) Oh no... Gwen, sweetie, no... Why, Louis, why? ~

(9:31 - 11:09) That entire segment just makes me feel all warm and nice inside. Louis is trying to understand his daughter, and Gwen is trying to explain to her father the hardships of being a millennial. And the way he says he is proud of her is just- so nice. I- I don’t know what else to say except- Damn. ~

MAX NEEDS ALL THE HUGS AND DOGS IN THE WORLD! AAAH! ~ And to finish off this review, I can say this is a fucking amazing episode. Louis might not be the best person, but I can tell he still loves Gwen. Gwen trying to keep everything from crumbling to the ground is hard to watch (not in a cringy way,) but I still love her. And Max, I love him to bits in this episode. I can’t relate to Gwen in this episode to a full extent (because me and my brother were both born into Generation Z which itself has problems,) but I know today’s economy is utterly fucked.

GOODBYE, EVERYONE!

[crystaldwightsworld]

"Let him/her go" and "Don't touch him/her" prompt

Higgs sat waiting patiently by Valerie's bedside, willing her to awake in his mind. He still can't believe he's here in Bridges HQ and that Sam had agreed to help him out. It was the last thing he had ever expected or deserved even. Sam also sat in the room, slumped in a chair as Lou cooed and knawed on her fingers.

Deadman emerges back into the room, still adorned in medical attire. It's routine for him as he's pushing buttons, looking over charts and examining Valerie's vitals once more. He looks over to Higgs and gives him a warm assuring smile.

"She still has a slight fever but it's getting better. The chiralium, however, is still at an increasingly high level in her system. I'd like to keep her overnight for one more day, just to be sure. We're getting the results back of her DOOMS level shortly as well. We'll see where we can go from there." He cheerfully announces. Higgs feels more than grateful for the team's helping hands as he nods in acknowledgement at Deadman's analysis. The room falls quiet again as Deadman takes his leave, a tiny Lou still drooling all over her fingers.

"She's a tough one, huh?" Sam's ragged voice breaks the silence, his comment made about Valerie.

Higgs can only breathe out a light chuckle before turning to address him.

"You have no idea." Higgs boasts before turning his eyes back to his... friend? Of course you're friends, she trusts you, doesn't she? Higgs ponders in endless thought. Chatting comfortably through the white board over the last three months had been easy enough but now that she was here, lying no more than a foot away from him, her angelic features accentuated by the bright lights, her full lips pressed in a rested line and her chest rising and falling with each precious breath showed him in more ways than one how he really felt about Valerie. His overgrowing need to protect her and to keep her safe only made it official. He'd be damned if he let anyone or anything try to take her away from him or attempt to separate them. They had a bond, as strange yet unique as it was, the connection they had formed together gave him something to look forward to each day. It had given him the purpose he had been desperately searching for. Maybe that was his reason for still being. To be there for her as she was for him.

A small commotion is heard from behind him, a woman's frantic yet familiar voice that sends the coldest chill through him. It was only a matter of time... he knew she would find out eventually.

"Where is he! Get off of me, out of my way!" Fragile's erratic voice demands as she pushes through a few of the medical team before appearing in the doorway, her piercing gaze finding Higgs not only here but not on the beach where she had left him.

"You... you've got some fucking nerve, you know that?" Fragile seethes through gritted teeth, bolting for Higgs before he can even begin to try and counter her. Her grip is like a vice on his wrist as she goes for it, wanting to tear him limb from limb.

"It's nice to see you too, Fragile." Higgs' voice greets her but in a small, weak fashion.

"How did you do it? You know what, it doesn't matter, you're going back to the beach and this time, you won't be able to escape!" She warns threateningly, the fury painted sharply in her eyes.

"Fragile, calm down." Sam interveines.

"You can fuck off too!" She barks as she continues to argue with Sam. Higgs is too distracted to listen to their heated argument as he notices Valerie's eyes slowly lift open but instantly fills with panicked need before coating over a devilish black at the sight of someone maybe trying to harm Higgs, black strands of chiralium tar pooling and dripping up and off her skin as they float up and towards the ceiling. The strong desire to protect him fills her and takes her over, her angry voice meeting all of their ears without moving her lips.

"Let him go!"

Fragile snaps her neck, her eyes still angry as she looks over towards the strange girl. As unnerving as her appearance had suddenly become, Fragile is not quick to back down.

"Wow, somebody who actually gives a damn about you!" Fragile taunts, making Higgs slightly flinch. Her words were harsh but Valerie is adamant to stand her ground, the thin strands of tar lifting away from her skin even quicker as the anger builds under her skin.

"I said let him go! Or I'll make you let him go... and don't you touch him!" Valerie's furious inner voice breaks again, filling the vacant room, the demand in her tone ever so serious.

"Fragile, let him go." Sam pleads again, this time his hand resting lightly on her shoulder in attempt to lure her away. As if betrayed all over again, Fragile flips her gaze between Sam and Higgs before relenting and violently pulling away, crossing the room with her arms against her chest in attempt to gather herself. Valerie does not let off until she's sure the situation has dissipated before slumping back into the mattress of the medical bed, the strands disappearing as soon as they had appeared and the light fading back into her eyes. Higgs lets out a relieved sigh, his hand tucking into Valerie's as she's finally awakened.

"Higgs...", her cheerful voice meets his ears, clearly happy to see him. Her smile makes him want to melt, his stomach fluttering at her always persistant acknowledgemnet. "Who is that? Why is she here? Tried to hurt you, was going to-" She signs quickly, almost too fast for Higgs to keep up.

"Val, Val! Calm down, alright. Everything's okay. Don't strain yourself, you're weak." Higgs is quick to assure her, mouthing his words as he signed with her, doing his best to console her.

"She's deaf?" Sam interrupts, surprised. Higgs nods his head.

"She didn't sound fucking deaf!" Fragile hisses.

"She can speak with her mind but only if she wants you to hear it. She can't hear a thing though, been deaf since the day she born." Higgs clarifies. "It's part of her DOOMS abilities."

"And more where that came from!" Deadman reappears, shuffling over to his patient with a report in hand. "She's off the charts, even more so than you had been!" He exclaims a little too happily to them both. "The chiralium in her system should have eaten her alive a long time ago but I'm still trying to hypothesize a theory on how she's been able to keep a sane state of mind. Wait until Heartman finds this out, he's going to flip! Oh, hey Fragile!" Deadman greets her.

Valerie stares in awe at Deadman, meeting him for the first time. So many new people in the room, it's a little overwhelming to her until her eyes find Lou.

"A baby!!! I've never seen one in person!!!" She excitedly signs, a wide smile pointed in the direction of Lou with a gorgeousness that Higgs can't help but want to drown in.

"Where did you find her Higgs? Where did she come from?" Deadman asks curiously.

"I didn't find her... she found me." He softly admits, his eyes still taking in the beautiful sight of her more than delighted smile. He worries that he wouldn't be able to keep her happy, that she didn't feel the same way he felt towards her. The sudden thought chills him in his bones but he had better quit it. Valerie would hear him if he continued to lose himself in his self depreciating thoughts.

"You must be famished! I'll be right back!" Deadman announces as he goes to take his leave once more.

"She likes jello!" Higgs shouts off to him before averting his gaze back to Valerie. His thumb circles and plays lightly against the soft skin atop her hand, the fact that Higgs had been the one to reach out to her first this time making a strange feeling bubble up in her tummy. She's fully aware with Higgs' hesitation with physical affection so she's more than surprised to feel him here, her hand cradled lightly in his own as if she were a prized possession needing to be handled with care.

"Can I hold her?" Valerie asks, referring to the baby.

Higgs is uncertain how Sam will feel but asks anyways.

"She wants to know if she can hold her?"

Sam's gaze flips between the two of them for a moment before standing, cradling a playful Lou in his grasp.

"Alright but be careful. I'm gunna go talk to Fragile." Sam says before handing off his child to the girl, showing her how to cradle Lou if need be. It's only a split second that their hands brush against each other but as soon as the baby is nestled safely in her arms, her hand is reaching out for Sam's, multiple visions passing through her mind.

"You are a repatriate." Valerie's calm but knowing voice reaches Sam again, freezing him in his spot at not only the sudden intrusion of physical touch but her abilities to see inside himself. "You used to be a bridge baby. Your father died while trying to protect you. Clifford Unger. You've looked death in her very face. You've listened to the hollow, miserable moans of the BTs, you've witnessed the fright of a titan catcher before matter meets anti-matter... you know death well yet her slimy sticky hands will never catch you. Doesn't mean it wasn't terrifying though."

Sam glares at her in dumbfounded awe, licking his dry lips before glancing at Higgs.

Higgs can only smile at the surprise written on Sam's features.

"I told you... she's special."

[deadwestrp-blog]

Minnie Lou Reeves aka Rattlesnake Louie Fields. Thirty—Five Years Old. The Outlaw.

Minnie was almost named Easter. After her mother. Who didn’t make it out of a hard pregnancy. Winter was coming. Food was scarce. And her mother had always been a frail woman with too kind a disposition for it ever to make sense why she had married her husband. Maybe that was why her father loved her so much. She was the cheery pink flower, blooming despite the sharp pain of the world. She loved him despite the blood on his hands. And he loved her. Swore to protect her. And fell short. But Minnie? Minnie would be his redemption. He knew nothing about taking care of a little brown baby but if he knew anything it was that she was the most beautiful, precious thing to come out of grief.

What her father had done before had always been a mystery to her. He would tell her stories of her mother, stories of adventure and friendship, stories of bravery. To Minnie, her father was a hero, not the villain, of every story. Parents make sacrifices for their children. To give them the best life they could. To give them a life that was better than theirs was. He had made a promise to Easter that they’d start a new life when the baby was born. That he’d find an honest job. That they’d be better people for their child. And he’d keep that promise. He’d try to. But just because you promised something, didn’t mean you could run from your past forever. There were consequences to all of your actions, some that didn’t turn around to come for you until after you decided you were a changed man. Minnie understood now why her father had been so suffocating. There was a variety of reasons. He had just wanted to keep her safe.

Of all the men her father cut ties with after she was born, one he refused to part ways. He wasn’t from around here — he was brown like she was with long black hair and spoke with a funny accent. She called him Tio Joaquin. Sometimes if the stars were in alignment he brought Minnie a jumping rope or a little sac of marbles. He and her father worked as carpenters together.

She was busy outside of their shop with a rolling hoop, curls forever unmanageable, humming a song of her own creation, letting it lead her wherever it would take her. The opening between two wooden buildings was perfect land for exploration. Place of hidden treasures it was, someone had dropped a marble. Yellow. It would be the first thing she’s “stolen.” Minnie remembers crouching down finger gingerly rolling over the smooth surface. A bit of green glass crunching under her shoes.

She was enclosing the marble in her small fist when everything around her erupted. She had heard gunshot before. But she had no time to question what someone might be shooting at before gagging as the neckline of her dress was yanked backwards. And suddenly Tio Joaquin had scooped her up with such force one of her shoes spiraled to the ground.

My hoop.

She wasn’t old enough yet to completely understand why Tio Joaquin had run so fast. Or why he and Tia Olall had to pack up what they could of her small cabin and move to a new small room of a inn for a while that Minnie liked far less. Or why Tio Joaquin had been insistent on teaching her how to shoot at tin cans. And hit one every time. And to never, ever miss.

She didn’t blame her father. To this day she doesn’t. It was the people who took him away from her. She was too young to understand that her father had taken something from them at one point. That her father might not have been the hero she thought he was. That maybe everyone in the story was a villain. That everyone was greedy. That everyone killed. At the time, all Minnie knew was that someone had stolen from her. Something invaluable. And that she was angry.

Almost three decades later, she still has the marble. Thus the murder of her father marked the second tragedy in her young life (first being the loneliness a child experiences having never known their mother, and that feeling of guilt that weighed down on her shoulders).

The third tragedy came much later in her life, and you know what they say about threes. She met her fiancé when she sixteen. They were engaged two years later. By twenty she had kissed her aunt and uncle goodbye, promising to write, having spent two years with Ezrah Reeves and his boys. They say women tend to seek out men who reminded them of their fathers. And Ezrah was no exception. He adored Minnie. She was his right hand. Not only that but his gang adored her too. She was sweet as cream, sure, but with a bite like no other. Not only their founding members fiancee but an asset to the team. They held her up on their shoulders like royalty. Drank with her. Played cards with her. And she was happy to cook their dinner because she was apart of the gang. She was one of them. She understood why her father and Uncle had been in the business of stage robbery for years. Not only was it lucrative, it was a community practice. They were a band of misfits, young, and tough, and beautiful and who wouldn’t take shit from no body no how. It was Ezrah who gave her the nickname Rattlesnake, having always painted her nails with venom. It was a precaution, more than anything, just in case she happened to not have a gun. It was Ezrah who gifted her her first horse, who she lovingly named Admiral. She had almost forgotten that her life wasn’t a fairy tale. Ezrah seemed so vividly like her hero. Until he was gone. And this time her Uncle wasn’t there to scoop her up and shield her from the horror that was watching someone bleed out in your arms. Or dragging someone across a dirty floor and into a closet hoping you didn’t leave a trial for anyone to come and find you, and put you away. She stayed with him until he died. Spent a lot of time in that closet, enough to think. To seethe. Then buried Ezrah in a shallow grave realizing that all this time she was thinking about things wrong. There were no heroes. Just shitty people who took. Took from her. And if she wasn’t a hero either, because she surely hadn’t been allowed her happy ending, then she must just be a shitty person too. And that meant she could do shitty things. Because that was how you survived. It didn’t matter how good you were, everyone was going to die one day. And before she kicked that bucket she had some work to do. Some people to punish.

By twenty-five she had created the character Louie Fields and his group of men called the Arkansas Five. Had built something of a name for himself. Had kept a list of anyone he could remember that took something from him, he’d pay a visit, and collect repayment in full. He had a community again. Even if he was living a lie. And maybe he liked the idea of leading wayward souls down the path towards claiming retribution. Everyone was angry about something and if they helped Louie, Louie would help them. This worked well for half a decade until one by one the Five dissipated. And Louie added more people on his list. It was a deputy by the name of Wyatt Clanton who killed Louie’s right hand Bass. A rival gang who took out Stiles and Billy… And so it goes. Nothing seemed to be ok anymore. But he wasn’t gonna cry about it. When has he ever? Now, it was just Louie, and had been for five years. Face plastered on bank doors and saloon walls for nearly a decade. And at this point in his life Louie figured it was easier to ride alone. Saint Clemens was just an easy target, routine. He’d be in and out. He’d evaded law ‘enforcement’ for years now; he knew he wouldn’t be caught. Like most decisions Louie’s made in his life, he would let the train take him wherever it was going to go. Which would have worked flawlessly until the train stopped. Janestown. He had never heard of this place in his goddamn life and he wasn’t about to let the sky fall now. He had work to do. And the connivence of knowing the sheriffs would be looking for a ruthless outlaw named Rattlesnake Louie Fields. And not a small woman by the name of Minnie Reeves.

Alright Janestown. Alright.

Hit me.

Skills

Constitution; Five.    ◆◆◆◆◆◇◇◇◇◇ Strength; Five.    ◆◆◆◆◆◇◇◇◇◇ Intelligence; Three.    ◆◆◆◇◇◇◇◇◇◇ Perception; Four.    ◆◆◆◆◇◇◇◇◇◇ Charisma; Three.    ◆◆◆◇◇◇◇◇◇◇ Luck; Five.    ◆◆◆◆◆◇◇◇◇◇

[northwestofinsanity]

Ooh, 5,7,8,13 :-)

Thanks for asking @akihikotakahashi!

5) Do you have a "comfort album"? (an album you like to play in the background when you're sick, going through a hard time, etc.) If so, what is it? Is there a particular reason it's your comfort album?

--I have 2 comfort albums I usually go for. My preferred comfort album -which might be a surprise, because it's a band I haven't ever posted for on Tumblr -is The Who: Quadrophenia. Because all the songs flow together and bring back the same motif across multiple songs, it's never quite the same without listening to it all the way through, uninterrupted -and aside from the rare occasion I'm sick at home for the whole day, I don't often have the time to listen continuously to a double-length album. And the arpeggiated synthesizer motif is kind of soothing. Last weekend when my Covid booster knocked me down was actually the first time I've been able to listen to it in over a year. When I can't stay in long enough for that, I usually do In Search of the Lost Chord by The Moody Blues. Old childhood familiar, also a concept album that just flows, and has a soothing feel.

7) Is there a band you love that has done something that really disappointed you? What was it?

--While I realize it was a necessity due to how sick he was, I feel like Foreigner kind of let Lou Gramm down with how they parted ways with him in the early 2000s. A lot of people don't realize just how ill Lou was during that time. He had a massive brain tumor that shouldn't have been able to be removed, and should have killed him, but somehow, he had a better response to treatment to shrink it down, and eventually, it was possible to remove. A lot of sources make it sound like Foreigner cut ties with Lou over drama and clashing, but it was really because Lou was too sick to tour -he had to depend on sheets of lyrics taped to the floor, because during his treatment, his memory of things just wasn't there. Finally, Lou recovered and went on to do his own solo stuff, and stated he didn't even hold any ill thoughts toward his band mates having no interest in reuniting with him then, but there was an attitude between the band and fans in the late 2000s, early 2010s that Kelly Hansen was better than Lou ever was (and this isn't to say that Kelly isn't great, because he is), but it just seemed so disrespectful to the amazing singer that brought Foreigner to fame in the first place. (Don't get me wrong, I am glad for the reunion shows and what they've done for him recently... But those came along after age and all the years of heavy steroid treatment keeping this tumor from coming back had a chance to take its toll on Lou's voice, while as there were many opportunities to do one-off reunions with him before where he still would have been able to perform amazingly)

8) What member of your favorite band must be protected at all costs, and why?

--I have a few of these. For this one, I'll go with John Lodge of The Moody Blues, because he was so sweet in his solo touring, doing his tributes for band mate Ray Thomas after his death, and when the rest of The Moodies rarely if ever spoke to Ray after he retired due to health problems (Ray stated in 2017, he hadn't spoken to Graeme Edge since he left the band in the early 2000s), John stayed in touch, and even included Ray on his 2017 solo album. Better yet, he included 70s keyboardist Mike Pinder, who had been even more ignored by his former band mates. It's just precious how much John seems to truly care, and how he makes the most of opportunities to be around those he loves -and it's even more meaningful with the recent loss of Graeme.

13) Do you have a band you were once ashamed for liking? If so, are you still ashamed, or did you get past that -and what makes you proud of liking them now?

--There was a stupid situation early on in high school in which I was *badly* teased about liking 80s hair bands, and my dad also had some harsh words about them... So for years, I was very secretive about Dokken, and didn't explore Winger beyond a few songs that were good enough to interest me, but not my favorites (I wouldn't get to really know my favorite Winger songs and truly fall in love with them until 2016). But in 2016, I found people in my dorm who liked Dokken because of Nightmare on Elm Street, and there was the reunion, so I got on a hyperfixation, and I had no reason to hide it where I was, so I went with it, and Dokken honestly saved my life in the months that followed. By the time I got home from that first year in college, I'd gotten over the fear of what my dad thought. I was still having this horrible autoimmune attack, and I was just proud to like this band that gave me the strength and motivation to stand up every day.