#so glad 2’s story is so good it more or less makes up for the boring quests

[nicoline1998enilocin]

On my knees for you || Part 2

PAIRING || Boyfriend!Tony Stark x Girlfriend!Fem!Reader

WORDCOUNT || 3.6K

SUMMARY || After you left Tony’s office, he couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened before. Seeing you on your knees like that when everyone could have walked in has made him more than desperate for you, and he can’t wait to ruin you for the little stunt you pulled.

RATING || Explicit (E)

TAGS || Established relationship. Sugar relationship. Porn with plot. Explicit sexual content.

SMUT || D/S undertones. Subspace. Dirty talk. Praise. Light bondage. Spanking. Fingering. Oral (F receiving). Unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!). Cockwarming. Squirting. Cream pie. Multiple orgasms. Aftercare.

A/N || This story is the conclusion to part 1, and I have had a lot of fun writing this story! I want to thank all of you for the love and support of my stories, and I'm glad to be back to writing after a short break! I want to thank @ccbsrmsf1 as well because this fic would not have existed without you, your help, and your amazing proofreading skills. Thank you so much! 💙

EVENTS Masterlist || @fandom-free-bingo Book Night || “Save your strength.” Masterlist || @fandom-free-bingo Maritime May || Shoulder kisses + Soothing touch Masterlist || @fandom-free-bingo Maritime May || Nipple play + Hiding their face in the other’s neck + “What do you want?” Masterlist || @mcukinkbingo || Position: Doggy style

GIF: @ccbsrmsf1 || All graphics are made by @nicoline1998enilocin

Main Masterlist || Tony Stark Masterlist || AU Masterlist || Part 1

Tony's order he gave when you walked out of his office still echoes in your head as you strip in the bedroom, overlooking the New York skyline. As soon as you slipped back into the house, you woke Moon up from his nap, which he wasn't all too happy with, but you figured you'd give him his feeding before Tony got home, and he was very content in your arms as you gave him a bottle.

"You'd better be naked and ready when I'm done with work in an hour, Sugar, because I'm going to fucking ruin you when I'm home." Those are the words he uttered to you almost an hour ago. Now, you're in front of the large windows as you look at your reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows.

You are bare, your make-up wiped off and reapplied, and your hair loose around your shoulders again. Your legs tremble a little in anticipation of Tony's return, and when you glance at the large clock on the wall, you know he's about to come home any minute now. Slowly, you crawl onto the bed, unsure of what position to take, so you go for a simple one.

In the middle of the bed, you get comfortable on your knees, your hands folded on your lap, and your gaze lowered to just in front of your knees. Your breath is a little shaky, but once you're in the position, you calm down and prepare yourself as much as possible for what's about to come.

Less than ten minutes later, you hear Tony's heavy footsteps entering the penthouse, and your heart rate immediately picks up. Your eyes slip shut as you take a deep breath, and before you know it, the bedroom door swings open and your boyfriend enters. Before coming into the bedroom, he had already taken off his jacket and tie - which he's holding in his hands, and his shirt is hanging open, showing off the soft blue light from his arc reactor and his muscled body.

"Look at you, sitting on the bed like a good girl for Daddy. That's what you're going to be, aren't you? Daddy's good girl?" Tony asks as he walks over to where you're sitting, and you nod in response. You want nothing more than to be a good girl for Tony, and you clench your thighs in anticipation.

You feel the bed dip behind you, and Tony takes both your hands and puts them behind your back, limiting all movement you had before with them. With his tie, he swiftly ties them together before testing their strength. When he's satisfied, he lets out a soft hum of content, and that's when he gets off the bed and strips the rest of his clothes off as well.

"Lie back for me, and spread those beautiful thighs for me, Sugar. Daddy's hungry for that delicious little pussy you've been hiding from me this entire time," he tells you, and you try to do it gracefully, but it's not as easy as you thought, not when your hands are tied together like that.

Eventually, you manage to do as he asks, and all you know is the bed dipping between your legs before you feel Tony's warm, wet tongue licking a stripe from your entrance up to your clit, licking up every last drop of your arousal that he can reach. A broken moan escapes from your chest as he dives into your entrance with his tongue, and he starts eating you out like he's starved.

"Hmmm, such a delicious little pussy for me, Sugar. Just as sweet as I remember," he groans as he rubs his thumb over your clit, making you writhe in his hold and your hips bucking up, looking for more friction. Your heart rate picks up as he dives back into your folds, and he starts to slurp every last drop that threatens to leave your entrance.

Tony's gripping onto your thighs in an almost brutal manner as you try to escape from your restraints, but to no avail. You have to take everything Tony gives you, and he's more than willing to provide you with everything you desire and more - he can spend hours between your thighs, after all.

"Save your strength, Sugar; just let Daddy make you feel good," he tuts as he looks at the way you're wiggling, and he grips you even tighter, making you whimper in surprise. One of his arms stretches around your thighs until his thumb reaches your clit again, rubbing it in small, tight circles as he keeps licking into your entrance, and before you know it, your first orgasm washes over you.

You loudly moan your boyfriend's name as you cum, your back arching up as he works you through it with expert precision, ensuring you don't drop from your high. While Tony works you through your orgasm, he ruts his hips against the sheets, too, his cock rubbing against the bed just enough to give him the friction he needs not to go insane but not enough to cum just yet.

"That's it, you're doin' so well for Daddy," Tony whispers between soft kisses on your thighs and mound. As you think about what happened, your head lolls to the side with a dopey smile. But this is only the beginning, and Tony has a lot more planned for you—you two have all night, and he intends to make the most of it.

"Hmm, I wouldn't get too comfortable yet, Sugar. I'm not even close to being done with you tonight," Tony says in a raspy voice, and your eyes slip shut as you feel two of his fingers work their way into your dripping hole, and you spread your thighs even wider to accommodate the shift in Tony's position. He takes his time to work two, then three fingers into you, and when you're taking them with ease, he crooks them, hitting your sweet spot right away.

"That's it, be a good girl and cum for Daddy," Tony orders as he works his fingers in and out of you at a brutal pace, your lungs almost giving out from the screaming as the pleasure takes over your body, the heat burning in your abdomen as you feel the pressure building inside you. The moment Tony latches onto your sensitive clit and sucks on it, you're done for, and you cum on his fingers and face, coating his entire bottom half in your arousal as you squirt for him.

He keeps working his fingers to prolong your orgasm for as long as possible, and after seemingly an eternity, he finally stops, and your breathing starts to even out a little bit. Even though it's not the first time you've squirted for him, it's one of the most intense orgasms he's given you.

"Good girl, squirting like that for Daddy," he says, and all you can do is smile faintly as the praise sinks in. Then you float further away in the fuzzy headspace, your head filled with cotton balls.

Tony keeps praising you while peppering your entire body with kisses. He pays special attention to your nipples, sucking each one of them into his mouth before letting them go with a pop and rolling them between his fingers as you moan softly; your bottom lip is pulled between your teeth as you look at Tony with glazed-over eyes.

"So beautiful," he whispers as he keeps playing with your nipples, smirking as they're becoming more and more sensitive under his touches.

"D-Daddy," you whimper, and he lifts his gaze to meet yours.

"What do you want, Sugar?" he asks, and you smile at his words.

"You," you whisper, and he smiles back at you. However, before you can even try to think about what's happening, Tony grabs you by your hips and rolls you over onto your stomach, where you land with a loud groan. The tie around your wrists is quickly removed, and he rubs them softly - the soothing touch calms your heart rate immensely.

"Don't you worry for even a second, sweet girl. You already have me, and I'm right here," he tells you as he grabs your hips again and he pulls you up so his hips are flush with yours, his cock lying across one of your ass cheeks, and you're holding yourself up using your now free arms.

"God, I can't wait to ruin you, Sugar. I'll ruin you and your pussy so hard you won't be able to sit right for literal days when I'm done with you. Especially after the little stunt you pulled in my office earlier," Tony says with a mischievous laugh before grabbing his cock and lining up with your stretched, dripping pussy. You clench around nothing with those words, and you're looking forward to being ruined by Tony.

However, before pushing into your waiting entrance, he decides to surprise you with a spanking - one on each globe of your butt - that has you moaning loudly as you shoot forward. The feeling of his large, strong hand smacking your ass has you practically flooding now, as it only arouses you further. The burning sensation his hands left behind is quickly forgotten as he lines up his cock again, this time slowly pushing in.

He feeds the tip of his achingly hard cock into you, which is something he couldn't stop thinking about while he was in the meeting earlier. The sight of you on your knees with his cock in your mouth is also still engraved in his brain, but the way you moan when he bottoms out is like music to his ears. With a few slow, careful thrusts, he bottoms out with a deep groan, and he can feel you squeezing around this thick, long length.

"F-fuck, you feel so good, Sugar," Tony whispers through clenched teeth as he sets a slow pace, reveling in every time your hips meet his, and the sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room. Your head is hanging low as you let your boyfriend fill you, already on the edge as your being in this position allows him to reach every sensitive spot inside you.

Moans and groans fill the room as well, and Tony throws his head back as you clench around him involuntarily. He can barely move his hips with you clenching like this, so instead, he leans forward to hook his arms under yours, pulling you against his chest.

The change in position has you clenching even harder as your orgasm is threatening to spill over, so instead of trying to work himself in and out of you, he allows you to warm him for a moment. Peppering your shoulders and neck in soft kisses, you let your head fall against his broad shoulder as you enjoy the moment's intimacy.

"Squeezin' me so good, can't even move, Sugar. God, you've got to let me go if you want me to fuck you, Babygirl," Tony whispers in your ear, but all it does is make you clench harder, as it has the complete opposite effect he was hoping for as he groans out.

Tony's arms are wrapped around you as he holds you up, and one of your hands is holding his arm as the other is laced in his hair. His face is buried in your neck as he plants countless hickies where he can reach, and eventually, he starts to thrust in and out of you slowly. The veins of his cock give you the perfect amount of stimulation, and you pull his hair in response, which makes Tony groan against your neck.

"God, such a good pussy," he whispers as he manages to set a proper pace again, his hips slapping against the globes of your butt in a brutal pace while your back is arched. Every nerve ending in your body feels on fire, and the blood in your veins feels like lava as your heart beats rapidly.

"D-Daddy, I'm c-close," you mutter, and Tony squeezes you softly, pulling you closer to his body.

"Me too, Sugar, cum for me, and I'll fill you with every last drop of my cum," Tony says, and almost instantly, you clench around him, pulling on his hair before he lets you go, and you fall forward. He bends his body over yours before hooking his hands behind your shoulders, and he sets a fierce pace as he fucks into you, your pussy pulling him deeper with every stroke.

"God, can't hold it anymore, Sugar. 'M cumming so hard for you, take it! Take my fucking cum-" is all he manages to mutter out before his pace falters and eventually stills, and every last drop of his hot, sticky cum floods your waiting pussy. He lets you go, and you collapse onto the bed. Tony manages to avoid you as he drops his body onto the bed as well, and you're both panting loudly.

Before either of you do anything else, Tony pulls you against his chest, your leg draped over his, your head on his shoulder, and your hand lying on his arc reactor. He kisses your forehead softly, and your eyes slip shut at the soft feeling of his lips against your sweaty forehead.

"I love you so much, Sugar," Tony whispers, and you smile back at him. You two lay like that for a little while until Tony gets up to draw both of you a bath and prepare a bottle for your rescue kitten, Moon.

"I'll be right back, so you better not go anywhere, okay?" Tony jokes, knowing you can only go anywhere with his help for a little while. As he's preparing Moon's bottle, he can't stop smiling, thinking about how lucky he was to have found someone as amazing as you. You may only be living with him for a few days, but he's looking forward to the day you'll move in with him for good.

Once Moon's bottle is ready, he puts it in the fridge for later; he's still happily sleeping in the little hammock of his cat tree when Tony takes a peek inside, so he decides to give it to him later. In the meantime, the bathtub is filled with enough water, and he throws in a beautiful bath bomb you brought before heading back to pick you up and get you in the soothing water.

"Who's ready for their bath?" Tony asks, and you lift your arm in response. You are unable to speak as your voice is completely gone from the moans and whimpers he pulled from you. Every muscle in your body is sore, and Tony has kept his promise. He wanted to ruin you, and he did just that.

"Alright, let's get you into the bath. It'll help soothe your muscles," he says, and you hum softly in response, your arm draped around his neck as he carries you into the bathroom bridal style. As he lets you glide into the water, you groan softly, and the warmth seeps into your body, relaxing you completely.

Shortly after, your boyfriend joins you in the tub's warm water, and you giggle at how the level rises to just below the surface. He knows exactly how much to put in without making hit overflow, which you always think is his superpower. The following 30 minutes are spent in mostly complete silence as he massages your legs and feet between feeding you little bites of the chocolate bar he brought to strengthen you a bit as well.

"How're you feeling, Sugar?" Tony asks, looking at you with a love-filled expression. You smile back at him.

"Good," you croak out, and he nods in response. He's feeling amazing after everything that happened today, and he's more than happy you decided to surprise him in the office.

"Let's get out before we prune up in here; I wouldn't want to have a pruned-up girlfriend," he jokes with a wink, and you shake your head with a broad smile at his words. It doesn't take long for you to be out of the bath and dried off, and Tony has carried you back into the bed, where you immediately roll yourself into the comforter like a burrito.

"I'm going to give Moon his feeding, okay? You can go to sleep if you want. I know you're tired," he tells you. He softly kisses your head before putting on a pair of sweatpants and heading to the living room, where Moon is now awake and sitting atop his cat tree.

"Ah, you're already awake! Perfect timing," Moon happily goes with Tony as he knows he's about to be fed, and both Tony and Moon get comfortable on the couch during his feeding.

"We're both fortunate to have your Mommy in our lives, you know? She's loving, caring, and such a sweet woman, too. I still remember the day she found you in the box - she was distraught at the sight of you being abandoned in the rain like that. But now you're our baby, and I couldn't be happier with being your Daddy," Tony tells Moon.

"Maybe one day, you'll become a big brother, and we will adopt another little kitten, or your Mommy and I will have a real baby." With those words, Tony drifts into a daydream in which you have a few kids running around and another one on the way. He never dared to dream about having a family with anyone until he met you.

With you, it seems natural. It feels right. But first, he plans to put a beautiful ring on your finger, and he already knows exactly how he will do that. Before he can think about it too much, Moon finishes his bottle, and Tony puts it on the coffee table, deciding to clean it up later.

"You did such a good job, Moon; you finished everything! Mommy will be so proud of you," Tony says as he cuddles with Moon for about fifteen minutes before Moon returns to his cat tree, where he's ready to take another nap. Tony takes the hint, prepared to join you again in the bedroom. As the door shuts behind him, you turn around, smiling at your boyfriend's return.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now, Sugar," Tony says as he pulls off his sweatpants and joins you in the bed, the comforter covering you both. He pulls you close to him before capturing your lips with his, and his hand is placed softly on your cheek. His thumb rubs over your cheek as every last thought in your mind melts away.

As he pulls away, you smile slightly, and your eyes meet his. Lying here, in the arms of the man you love more than anyone, feels like a dream come true. You were convinced you knew what love was before meeting Tony, but you were very wrong. You have never felt like this before, and you know now that you have found true love in the man who saved you from a life you can't imagine ever going back to.

"What's on your mind?" Tony asks as he leans in to rub his nose against yours lovingly. The answer is short and straightforward, yet it conveys every thought and emotion in one word.

"You."

"I've been thinking about you as well," Tony says, his heart rate picking up as he takes a deep breath.

"Oh yeah? And what have you been-"

"Move in with me," Tony cuts you off mid-sentence, and your eyes shoot wide open at his words. Four simple words, and yet they have managed to render you completely speechless.

"I love you so much, Sugar, and I can't stand to be away from you whenever you have to return to your apartment. I can't stand coming home to an empty apartment because, without you and Moon, it just isn't the same," Tony says, tears slowly trickling down his cheeks and onto his pillow.

"So please, please do me the honors of moving in with me, Sugar. I promise you I will take such good care of both you and Moon, and whenever you're not here, I can take him to the office and take care of him-" Tony says, the speed of his words constantly increasing.

This time, it's your turn to cut your boyfriend off mid-sentence.

"Yes, Tony. We will move in with you!" you say as you try to fight your own tears. The kiss you two share is frantic and salty, but you have never felt this happy about anything before.

"I love you so much, Sugar. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," Tony whispers after pulling away from the kiss, your forehead pressed against his. A large smile is visible on both your faces as the news slowly sinks in that you will move to his penthouse permanently, and you can't wait for that day.

"I love you too, Tony, and I know Moon will be over the moon to move in with his Daddy, as well," you say, and Tony bursts out in laughter at your words. He grabs your face carefully before placing a big kiss on your lips, and every emotion you feel is poured into it.

That night, as you're curled up against Tony's side, you dream about what it'll be like to move in together and start a family with him. Marrying him, carrying his baby, is everything you want and more; as long as you have Tony by your side, you want it all. But the first step is already done: you will be moving in with the man you love, and you can't wait to call his penthouse your home.

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

I KINDA HAD THE SAME IDEA with the low honor high honor thing! Im currently figuring exactly in what way the story would change [granted it does involve one of my ocs so maybe a lot more than it should] but its fun to think in what way Micah would be 'better' or more loyal to the gang

I feel like he'd still pick fights in camp, but like in a way older siblings would. Its more teasing/bullying and shit instead of straight up slurs. Idk, might just be me NNXJXJC

I also think he wouldn't go out of his way to help someone if they asked him to, but he'd watch them continue to struggle with mayne like a gun to the point where he like has to get up and be like 'OKAY you are so pathetically shit at this - im going to show you how to do this and we're not taking a break until you shoot 3 targets in a row' or something

I dont think he'd willingly be vulnerable anytime soon based on his upbringing and shit, but iiii like to think it happens sometimes accidentally idk JXJXJC

Weep weep weep this is making me wanna explore what RDR2 would be like if Micah was a marginally better person (mainly what id he never ratted).

i am glad we have converging ideas when it comes to high honor micah! I’ve talked with mutuals before on wtf micah could do that could be considered high honor, and we came up with little. One idea i suggested is that he accidentally saved people)s lives through his own selfishness (ex: saves someone from rabid dog because “if i didnt kill it, it would have gone for me next.”)

Micah's high honor is selfish in a unique way compared to low honor. Instead of focusing on himself and his survival, it more becomes a common goal to keep the gang as a whole surviving. He is no hunter, but he can bring in money and be a daaaaaamn good shot. Guard duties are often reserved for Lenny and Sean and Charles and whoever else is free. Micah *can* go on guard duty but keeps himself out of that tiresome job by being out of camp and bringing in money. “Sorry, can’t got on guard duty, I just got back from a stage coach robbery and I want to enjoy my well deserved relaxation.”

he is still a snarky sounding piece of shit, but like you said, he is less of a full on hateful man. He is still a sly, observing snake and studies the flaws of his gang mates, but he keeps his fangs sheethed. The idea with the snake animal for high honor is that Micah is still as lethal and capable of assholery as he is in bad honor, he is just deciding to not. He holds his venom to be inflicted on those who the gang need (or want) dead. He also leans into the snake vibes by being a slimy slithering manipulator. He isn’t a charmer, but he has a skill for talking people long enough to get plans into action (or to just backstab the enemy).

i feel like Morgan would still dislike Micah for being a man with bad vibes. Morgan is also just a hater sometimes (look at how he perceives Kieran). Micah still murders and has bad plans like Blackwater so it’s not like Arthur has *no* reason to distrust Micah.

i imagine high honor micah makes an effort on occasion to be involved in camp socializing, Sean and Jack’s return for example. He mainly drinks and flirts with the girls and boys at the event.

and because i like the red vs blue honor color association of the game, Micah’s design would be a little different, making the blue in his design a little more present. A neckerchief is an example of blue, but i am sure more blue could be worked into his design somewhere. Idea is that the ratio of red to blue in character’s designs can allude to how honorable they are (though it is not a 1:1 visualization). I imagine Micah would be 1:3 blue to red. Maayyybe. One quarter an okay man, three quarters a pretty sleazy man.

micah is still deeply troubled soooo no sweetie pie vulnerability for him! At most he tries to flirt (like asking Mary-Beth to dance) and the people are 1-2% more polite about turning him down when he’s high honor. He’s still all alone and his prickly exterior deeps people at arms length from him. He is both deeply dependent on attaching himself to a gang/someone to follow (my hc), but he also aspires to be independent and run his own gang. I suppose in high honor, he hopes to earnestly stick with the VDL gang and rise in the ranks by impressing Dutch (because Dutch is kind of an easy man to impress when you bootlick).

[terapsina]

#2 for the book worm ask game!

(ask game)

2. Favorite fantasy book(s).

(Eeeeexcellent, I do love fantasy books. Though how I'm gonna narrow it to only a few I've got no idea. Okay. I'm going to remove the very obvious choices like Lord of the Rings (though it is one of my faves)).

---

Monstrous Regiment. I love the entire Discworld series (especially The Witches) but I've also got a huge soft spot in my heart for Terry Pratchett's take on 'a girl dresses like a boy to go to war' (and thinks of everything except some spare socks in- erm... the right place). Along with Polly, the squad consists of a vampire, a troll, an Igor, a religious fanatic and two very, very close "friends" (and yes, the official summary put the friends in quotes too). And everyone has their own secret.

I love basically everything about this book and I can't tell you guys any of it because it would spoil all the fun.

The Goblin Emperor. This one's a story filled with light. Maia the half goblin son of the elven Emperor was never supposed to take the throne (or to ever even be at court. because racism). And then everyone ahead of him dies in a single "accident" and suddenly he's the new Emperor. Maia is a good person, and a kind one, and despite everything that gets thrown at him he keeps hold of that understanding of right and wrong and refuses to bend.

(I have to mention that the language of the writing is kinda hard to get into in the beginning, and the characters's have very complicated and long names, but once you get into it it really did enhance the story for me).

Good Omens. An Angel and a Demon try to stop the apocalypse and instead lose the Antichrist. I've loved that book for like a decade now and if I don't put it on a list of my faves that list would be a lie.

The King of Attolia. Third in The Queen's Thief series and my favorite one out of all of them. I've always enjoyed Outsider POV in fics. And here is a book that just... proves why. We've got Eugenides and Irene, the Thief and the Queen, and we know them from the two previous books. And adore them. But the story isn't from their POV, it's from the POV of Costis, a Queen's guard who's suddenly gotten assigned to the King. The useless, weak, undeserving king that as far as Costis is concerned doesn't deserve to even kiss the Queen's boots. And it's hilarious to read the story from the eyes of someone who knows so much less than us. And so satisfying, as he begins to understand.

(I recommend the whole series and am personally glad to have read them in the published order but Megan Whalen Turner has stated that she wrote them in a way that allows you to jump in at any point you want).

The Raven Tower. The story is from the viewpoint of a sentient, omniscient rock whose name is Strength and Patience of the Hill and it is the GREATEST THING EVER. The gods are real and must be very careful with their words, because if they speak a lie the reality will alter to make that lie the truth but if the lie is bigger than the power of the god... well. Inspired by Hamlet.

(the book also has a trans man as the main character; the other main character? The sentient rock is the narrator but the largest part of the story focuses on Eolo).

A Natural History of Dragons. The first book from The Memoirs of Lady Trent (and honestly it would probably be more honest to say that every single book from this series fits the category of fave but I'm putting up the first here because this isn't a series where you should skip ahead). The book focuses on the life of Isabella as narrated by her older self. This is the story how a Scirland lady bucked all tradition and became a world renowned expert on the Natural History of Dragons.

(this series has a piece of my heart and always will).

---

(and finally, here's some more of my favorite fantasy books that I also adore and would totally ramble about but I got tired of typing).

[crysta1ized]

a theory on ep11’s preview

firstly, if you’ve guessed/ theorized that non was still alive, you get 10 points!

if you also guessed that perth would help him (in that case, thanks to tee) you also get 10 points!

knowing that tee helped non escape, was definitely a plot twist. he basically lives at his uncle’s mercy, is forced to work for him and has to follow every single one of his orders so his father doesn’t die. which is a pretty shitty situation!

we saw previously that he showed guilt after non got busted for the fake accounts instead of him, but to help him escape from that very uncle? you’ll never fail to surprise me, tee!

after that, tee gives an envelope to non and tells him he’ll get him out of there.

now, what is in this envelope? my first thought was obviously money. but i also thought, what if it was a plane ticket? it’d be safer for non to get the hell out of bangkok (or even thailand) to be sure the uncle and his men could never get him. a one way flight, non leaving without looking back.

i think that with the help of perth, tee could’ve gathered enough money to pay a ticket. i mean, that would’ve benefited tee a whole lot too. non forever out of his hair, not causing any more problems. disappearing without a trace. his uncle thinking he got rid of the troublemaker.

but what happened to mr keng then?

firstly we have no idea of the extent of his injuries. we guessed that non’s were only bad enough to knock him out on the roof, but the uncle might as well have killed keng for good.

i mean, he was hit with a car, which is way worse than a few punches. in the best case scenario (for him, cause i want that bastard dead), he only got a few bruises, but the most logical one would be that his legs are broken, as well as a few ribs maybe (depending on how hard the car hit him).

if we assume he’s alive, like non (which i seriously doubt), i don’t think tee would’ve helped him at all. he’s already risking everything to save non, he wouldn’t try saving both, especially because keng doesn’t mean anything to him. he probably never even had a conversation with him.

so in my opinion, we won’t see the teacher ever again, unless he found another way to escape, such as being rescued by the police as his disappearance could’ve been noticed after some time.

now onto the fun part!

white is seen entering the arcade place, where we’ve already seen non & phee meeting up and making out at.

which means we’ll finally get teewhite whole’s backstory!

my depressing theory is that we’ll get a cute little montage of their love story, and they’ll show us how cute they are, with their little puppy love, opposites attract shit just to snatch it from us right after.

mark my words, they’ll make us love teewhite and after those little flashbacks with bright colors that distracted us for a moment, we’ll get back to our depressing and dark present.

4 possibilities after that:

best case scenario: while we get a contrast between the past and how in love they were and acted, nothing terrible happens. tee explains to the group what was revealed to the viewer in the flashbacks, that he ended up helping non and that he’s still alive. he righted his wrongs and while white is shaken up, he’s glad tee isn’t just a bully who guilt tripped a kid into money laundering, he did feel guilt and saved him from his uncle.

same as above, tee reveals everything to the group but white doesn’t forgive him. he feels betrayed and mad that tee hid that from him for so long. in white’s eyes, tee is no longer someone he can trust, or hide behind.

tee dies

white dies

while i believe those 2 last options can happen, i don’t think they’d happen at that moment. tee’s reveal scene will probably be at the beginning of the episode while the following one with phee & new may happen soon after, which is why those 2 options seem less likely to happen then.

new is clearly urging phee on to shoot.

but how? in the last scene of ep10, fluke is the one who has it and he clearly doesn’t want to let it go. he let white out of his grasp and is now pointing it at tee.

but fluke is clearly out of it, and is the one suffering the most from hallucinations, which made him shoot top even though his only principle was clearly to never act, to keep his hands clean of anything that could prevent him of becoming a doctor. too late now!

someone could take advantage of his delirious state and while he’s distracted, take the gun from him, like white, who’s on the ground, kinda behind fluke and now out of his sight. which is when phee could take the gun, as he’s the unofficial new leader and appears trustworthy as he just exposed new.

but who is phee pointing the gun at?

i think it’s most likely fluke. he’s clearly losing his mind and the hallucinations are making him aggressive, like top. which is why they may have to kill him before he kills someone else.

phee clearly wants to make the right decision, surely wants to kill him or just hurt him because fluke is an active threat. but tan just wants to see them all gone! he clearly has nothing to lose left, now that phee exposed him, this is his last chance to avenge his brother.

alternative theory:

phee might be pointing the gun at someone else.

according to how tee’s revelation ends, especially how non’s story ends, something might happen after that.

phee wouldn’t be pointing the gun at someone who didn’t deserve it, who wasn’t a threat to the group.

so why would it be tee? in my opinion, non escaped the country, end of story. but maybe something happened to him just before he could get out. then new would get mad at tee, blaming him. tee fights him. then he would represent a threat. or maybe the hallucinations come back and he gets violent.

then of course new would be happy to see phee shoot tee, who was the whole reason non even got involved with dangerous mafia shit in the first place.

the last scene is new, lighting a cigarette.

why would he be smoking in the middle of all this? like he has time to do that?

maybe it’s just a meaningless scene they’re throwing in the preview so they don’t have to spoil too much stuff.

but, still, new is the only one who's going through with his plan, and he wouldn’t waste time on lighting a cigarette! unless it’s truly chaos, and like we know, he smokes to de-stress.

creepily, when i saw the scene the first time, i thought ‘this is his last cigarette. they’re holding him at gunpoint and they allow him to smoke one last time before they pull the trigger’ because he’s clearly shivering. but that may be way too far as i don’t think any of them would shoot anyone in cold blood if they weren’t actively threatened.

but a more plausible theory would be that they’re forcing him to smoke. in the scene where new is urging phee on to shoot, phee looks at him ‘like, what the fuck?’ like he’s not liking new telling him what to do at all.

maybe then, phee doesn’t shoot anyone, not fluke, not tee, but instead turns on new and points the gun at him. maybe phee really doesn’t want any kind of revenge for non anymore as his brother became too violent for his liking. but phee wouldn’t shoot new.

he could however hold him at gunpoint, and force him to smoke one of the drugged cigarettes, one with an X. maybe so he isn’t an active threat to them anymore, urging them to kill each other and to cause more chaos. they’d be on equal ground as he’d start hallucinating too.

what do you think?

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Hello! I know you're one of the people who ship Moon and Solar (TSAMS) And y'all have gotten me into the ship as well! XD I'm not caught up on the lore of the show(s) So i haven't even seen Solar IN SHOW before (i am very behind to before Lunar was Sun and Moons brother :' D) But I have some ideas I'm debating writing for the ship buttt....I have no clue how Canon Solar acts??? Do you know if theres somewhere I could find a Summary on his personality? (and I suppose...new Moon?) I'll probably unintentionally make them OOC...never written for anything TSAMS related, but i'll try!

And is there a ship names thats...like used for them instead of Solar X Moon or is it just called that?

Anywho, I hope you have a good day/night!!! You make awesome stuff! (And I know theres been some people making drama over the ship, I hope you don't let them get to you too much tho!! <3 /P)

🦈Anon

AWESOME!

Heheheh. Thank you. I've been shipping these two since June 2023 so I'm glad I can share the brainrot and some people are more welcoming and cool then I expect. (mostly the ones who can't think critically are the youtube audience but that's expected. Since a lot of the youtube target audience are... like.. minors or really young adults who can't conceive the concept.)

I rewatch that Episode where Solar changes his name and rebuilds the Daycare in a week just for Moon constantly cause it's just... so much admiration and appreciation Moon has for Solar in that episode. I swear I don't know if it was a flub on the actor's part... but I swear Moon calls him 'sexy' as he's dragging him to charge. the stock sound effect of "OOOOH" doesn't help my APD and I've listened so many times and I have no possible idea what Moon could be saying to Solar other then 'come here you stupid, sexy-...." (trails off) sooo... idk. I might have misheard that severely but that's just what I'm hearing.

Like, in terms of New Lore of the show, it gets pretty complicated.

So complicated in fact, TSAMS themselves released a new video on the subject.... But it's NOT a very good guide, as it misses a lot of things. (and no I don't mean the stupid guest cameo stuff) this is more or less an abridged take on what happens with no emotional impact:

Like, this is a good starting point if you want the barest of bones, but it misses so much stuff. I think they don't even mention how Solar gets introduced into this family. lol. Just like "yeah Im here and I helped kill Eclipse" fheahehf. It's a super well made video though, and I don't mind the editing mistakes (clearly when the actors change the avatar on screen.... whoops. Happens a few times)

There is also the Fan Wiki, but as of now, it is incomplete, (@twinanimatronics is working tirelessly on updating the wiki and I wish they got more reconignition from the tsams community as a whole ) but it does give a decent look into Solar

There is also the huge TSAMS Lore Document, which Ceph(twinanimatronics) also worked on which contains a further detailed explanation of the story so far, for those who don't have time to watch 2 years worth of youtube content that aren't in a concrete playlist. (TSAMS. PLAYLIST YOUR STUFF PROPERLY. YOU HAVE TWO YEARS OF LORE HERE)

Liike.... yeah... this is okay but like..

This is VRchat. Aka the lore. Which also includes when they play videogames in VRchat, which don't impact the story... Like Uno, Amongus and SCP stuff.....

And it doesn't divide the arcs. Something that TSAMS severely needs more then any other SB Show channel.

Also, in the early days, the gameplay videos USED to be part of the lore. As the concept of Eclipse itself, being a rouge evil ai that lived in Sun's head (as it was presented initially but we know the truth it was the killcode moon planted in Sun when they separated.)

These days, they kinda dropped the gameplay videos being directly connected to the over arching plot. Other then just saying that their vids are pre-recorded or "we're back" after an annual halloween takeover.

Not to mention... When Earth and Lunar got a show, they became intertwined with the Sun and Moon show. LAES is very much it's own thing, but it's the ONLY Security Breach Show that consists of two Original Characters spawned from the Sun and Moon show. A rarity. So their lore continues off from the Sun and moon show, giving more info on Lunar these days and Earth (their sister)

Then you have the Monty and Foxy show (which is my least favorite of the shows... Personal Preference. I try not to complain cus I know some people like it. But I do not like the plot points in that show, or the character writing and weird directions they take while being connected to the same universe.)

And Monty is a character voiced by Davis, who also voices Sun. So Monty started out as a prominent character on the Sun and Moon Show, and then got his OWN show... at a point in TSAMS history after Eclipse got the star and killed Lunar.

So yeah. I wish the playlists were better organized here. So we knew when each era starts.

(people say Matpat should get on this show lore... And noooooooo no thanks. Keep him away. We got you covered. Ceph honestly has enough info to make a video guide at this point.)

But long story short, Solar is a "Good Eclipse" from another dimension that the Old Moon introduced to Lunar, when Lunar was struggling with his trauma of leaving Eclipse. Good Eclipse and Lunar become friends.

Anyway, here are some key episodes that outline NewMoon and Solar's relationship, as Solar had never met the Old Moon.

Old Moon had never met Solar. It was New Moon who introduced himself to Solar to help defeating Eclipse once and for all. (and by this point lunar had died)

He was actually surprised that this Moon was a chill Moon and could be reasoned with and talked to, considering he was living a rather oppressive life from his own Moon.

There's also a whole episode saga of just these two bantering and talking while they work on the satellite together. I can't remember which specific episodes those are.

You can also see the difference between the Evil Eclipse and Good Eclipse here in one of my all time favorite episodes:

Moon saving Solar's life: (also the death of the bad Eclipse)

Everything is good and happy after Eclipse dies for awhile. (aside of Ruin and Bloodmoon wrecking shit) He goes back to his own dimension... and you get to see what his sad life is like:

From his Moon calling him "byproduct" and failure very often.

But... Something happens and Solar is forced to come to Moon's dimension

here's Solar at his poor little meow meow "I have nowhere to go" stage and just... thought to go to Moon immediately due to their history.

Moon's only question about Solar moving in, is that if he wanted him to blacklist his dimension once he heard what was going on with his Moon.

And immediately, Solar jumps in to help Moon with his problems.

Also during the halloween takeover part 2 electric boogaloo, Solar was the one to help get Sun and Moon back after being teleported to a different dimension with no hopes of returning

Also, after Ruin was cured and Bloodmon ran off, Solar rebuilt the ruined Daycare in a week. And Moon is so grateful for it. (i rewatch this episode a lot. It cemented the ship in my mind and built the commodity that they've been building up for months)

We also get what Solar's daily life is like so far... How out of place he feels, being someone from a different dimension, despite the Brothers (and sister's) insistence, he still doesn't really feel like he's part of the family. He feels like an outsider. (He also has less opportunities to hang out with Lunar. As he expressed interest in playing games with him like the good old days, and as of recently, they have not yet)

also a good example of the Celestial family changing minds on family dynamics because they are robots. Lunar flat out rejected Vegeta-Animatronic is his brother even if he technically is. Like, they're robots. They can change their relationships to each other based on their word. I like to see it more flexible then it is in reality with actual people/humans.

Moon also trying to make Solar feel comfortable and feel like he's adjusting well here. Expressing his concern for him doing so much for him and his family. And hoping to not pressure him into so much work.

As of recently, his Sun died, and he killed his Moon. And in his therapy session (on the Lunar and Earth Show) he expressed regret over "Leaving" them...

But he has not properly told anyone about this.

My reasoning is that he probably thinks that the family will jump on the chance to call him "Evil" .....They don't have good luck with Eclipses.... and every Eclipse they met other than him has been Evil. (that must weigh on you. Every version of yourself is deemed as evil across every dimension. You are the only good one. Maybe there is something wrong with you)

I'm already at the video limit, but on Lunar and Earth show, there is an interesting episode where Lunar goes into Solar's head, and his mindscape looks like the Willy Wonka TV room, because it was a movie he watched with his Sun before they separated and Sun died. Showing that he did care about his Sun a whole lot... Which is probably why he doesn't interact with our Sun that much alone.

He also compartmentalizes everything before he can feel emotions, playing his own memories in third person as if he's not experiencing them.

Not to mention, he organizes and separates his thoughts on NewMoon and HIS Moon, just so he won't associate the two.

I also missed what episode it was, but Solar is always the first to call Moon out when he's being angry, or irrational, and Sun admits in his therapy session, that Solar is the only person who can calm Moon down. (mainly cus he's used to it, but unlike his old moon, this moon listens)

Anyway...

I love Solar a lot, can you tell?

[barid-bel-medar]

I think the key differences between FtE Aizawa and SnS Aizawa is laziness and the motivation and bias about Izuku. Both did not read the student profiles and had different circumstances in the past that led them to their conclusions. If I recalled, Nezu in both verse told him that he was not allowed to expel without due cause(or anyone in S&S at least).

FTE Aizawa was given critical information via Monoma that Izuku is a late bloomer. Likewise, due to the Star Heart incident happening in Japan and making Rescue Points required , Bakugo is not there thus there is less bias towards the kid with the perceived villainous Quirk of Explosion. Thus when Aizawa had to think about helping Izuku, he thinks about good ways of using other heroes and won’t expel him. This train of thought ends up helping him as Izuku more-or-less saved his life at the USJ, got control of his Quirk, and mostly avoided the wrath of lawyer Inko. He has no motivation to get rid of Izuku now and is glad that he never did it because of his laziness.

S&S Aizawa was motivated to get rid of Izuku because he believes that Izuku was lazy to train his Quirk. Tenya getting injured was an easy excuse to get rid of Izuku via public opinion since he was forbidden to expel anyone. It’s just that this time, his laziness backfires on him as people did not react the way he thinks and that UA’s and the HSPC’s report on the issue contradicts his and Tensei’s statements.

It's also, to be blunt, from a meta standpoint I needed one to be a plot device rather than a character (Sticks and Stone's verse Aizawa). That's why a lot of his worst traits are amplified (and well in the start of the year he did have a lot of issues that Hori has either smothered or downplayed as time went on [re: we went way, way too long before getting the 'oh yeah he immediately re-enrolls them' thing with 2-A and that's very clearly a retcon plus even with the girl's 'oh yeah this was helpeful!' claim her classmates clearly look at her like she's nuts]).

Yes he's indeed told in both universes he can't expel students the way he had in the past! Though I will note Nedzu would have approved an expulsion based on how Bakugou attacked Izuku during the QAT in S&S, that would have been a completely justifiable one. The 'wake up call' expulsion ran too many risks with the sort of students in the present 1-A (wealthy heiress, three successors of major legacies, etc). Like how do you think Endeavor at least would have reacted?

Number Two has one hell of a microphone after all.

But yes Aizawa in FtE, in light of the pre-story start events (Star Heart Incident) and the start of story events (the rescue point thing) mean in general he is going to have a somewhat more positive perspective even just going into dealing with a kid like Izuku. Again, they've just had a major demonstration of the danger of showboats (the gloryhog heroes) versus someone more focused on saving people (Legacy). Yes she was certainly focused on taking Star Heart down, but she was also willing to allow the distraction of rescuing civilians/trying to help everyone as well as trying to take down a villain she's been battling with anyway for the better part of twenty years. So Aizawa's already more willing to be open minded/is almost immediately made aware of the issue (the stockpile/Izuku's reaction making it clear his Quirk had only recently come in) versus allowing a bias to immediately build (making the assumption he hasn't bothered training his Quirk rather than it's just that Izuku only just got it).

There's a reason for the expression 'assume makes an ass out of you and me'.

Another fun thing with the S&S verse is it's also a good means of looking at how as an underground hero Aizawa's ability to get media manipulation just isn't as good as it would be if he was someone in the press all the time. He's more used to avoiding the media. Here he's also making bad guesses on how others would react (to some extent he was assuming All Might as a new teacher wouldn't want to deal with the stress of dealing with a student so clearly 'incapable' of using his Quirk and thought Nedzu would put trust in his judgement being perfect and guessed very wrong in both cases, along with wildly misjudging how people would react to Tensei's words)

[obstinaterixatrix]

also went on a paddle boat with sister, it was fun I haven’t done it in like 7 years. we stopped by a book store, and

1) there’s a physical copy of A Hero in the Demon King’s Castle which was surprising to me because syohei(/inutoki)’s got really off-beat style so I’ve figured they’d be too niche to be licensed, plus it had a dust jacket WITH author/artist bio AND the extra comics on the actual cover… I didn’t get it because I’m not quite ride or die for it, but I am reconsidering because syohei’s art is just really fun. plus it’s just a well-printed book, how often do you see manga printed in eng with dust jackets? I’ll probably reread it and see if I Really Do Want It. if anyone wants a bit of a wacky read with interesting art, give it a look. I actually… really like inutoki & syohei’s other anthology more because I really like the love interest of the main oneshot but it also has one oneshot that’s pretty vicious to the point I’m not sure I’d actually get a physical copy lol

2) speaking of pretty vicious, a physical copy of one of asada nemui’s works was there which I think is pretty cool, her art is sooo interesting to look at. it’s not as crazy as syohei’s, but it just feels… direct? impactful? just an appealing style. I wouldn’t buy a physical copy of that one, but I’d get one of sleeping dead… I’d consider getting the anthology but she really paired two of my favorite oneshots while having the main story have My Hardline Exclusion Criteria 😞 I’d get the other anthology tho, no hard no’s in that one. where was I going with this? well, if you like strange morose rancid toxic romances, definitely look up asada nemui and also a list of content warnings

3) on that note, it made sense to list manga alphabetically by title back when it’d take up a single shelf max, but I think book stores really need to rethink manga shelving, especially since more bl with smut/het with smut/yuri with smut is getting licensed and distributed

3a) by the way there were quite a few yuri titles, which is a cool change! I already had the one I liked

3b) buy ‘5 seconds before a witch falls in love’ it’s so good. I LOVE the main story. I am lukewarm on the other oneshot. the main story is SOOOO fun, zeniko sumiya has kind of a more shounen-esque art style and she usually draws bl so you need to treasure her fun & dumb witch/witch hunter shenanigans

3c) I mistyped shenanigans as shenanigals lmao that kinda fits still

3a) and the other ~15 I’ve read and dropped because I wasn’t interested in them (I showed sister the cover of SHWD—like, I also want muscular women but I cannot get over some of the anatomy, those are beach balls attached to her chest? like it’s not the aesthetic of Anime Titty Jiggle Physics but I really cannot get over it) but I’m glad there’s more yuri. mostly. I hate that the gamer one is there, the art and writing is so weirdly uncomfortably… H for something that is a SFW slice of life, and I didn’t like a few of the other series that sister pointed out because they were really. too long with not enough sense of direction/momentum to have satisfying character/relationship progression. BUT IT’S GOOD THAT MORE YURI IS BEING LICENSED.

3) anyway I was thinking that there should probably be more a delineation between either genres or age of audience, but at the same time, that’s tricky—having an 18+ section could make it uncomfortable for folks who enjoy being able to browse without a glaring neon sign that indicates they’re looking at smut, dividing by genre can make it tough for folks who want to take a look at gay romances/lgbtq autobio more surreptitiously,

3d) well, I would imagine it’s less of a huge deal now than it was ~15 years ago, but homophobia still is a thing

3) so in the end I have no defined conclusion to my thoughts on manga shelving in english-speaking countries

4) I saw several copies of nagisa furuya’s works! I might go back for number call, that was the first one of hers I’ve read and it’s really cute. I was telling sister, this might sound bad but I like how… standard her art & writing is, it’s very clean and pleasant, her low(ish)-stakes slice of life fluff is really good. also nice to have sfw options for introducing folks to bl

5) this is completely unrelated to this bookstore trip but a couple of weeks ago I saw an m/f romance and was like. do I know this artist from bl??? but I looked up the artist and didn’t see anything I would recognize, it’s just… the way older men is drawn is so…

5) like I know I’m stupid biased because I read an inadvisable amount of bl but he looks like a guy straight out of my miserable office worker bls. I feel like I should know him from bl. I guess I just forget that m/f fans also like older men because all the josei romances I’m involuntarily exposed to are very (…) Like That

5a) mangaplanet REALLY needs to reorganize its genre divisions. hardcore josei smut shouldn’t be lumped with shoujo. hentai should not be lumped with shounen. guys what is going on there

5) but I’ve been thinking of reading it because even by style alone it looks like it’ll at least be unique m/f (though, if I’m gonna read m/f, my preference would be for a miserable older office lady and kinda punk-ish younger guy, but oh well…) it’s just, the cognitive dissonance of squinting at this guy and being like. you belong in a bl.

6) I need to get back out of the habit of reading bls to pass out at 2am 😔 for a while I finally dragged myself back to sleeping at 1am with my baby leash (screen lock) but I’m back in my bad habits. I could at least look at the unhinged horror m/f racher’s been begging me to read just to diversify what I’m pouring into my brain. oh, also sister gave me night is short walk on girl to read and the writer really did deserve all his awards, his character voice is extremely arresting

[badgersighted]

love your blog! just recently got back into ttgot (even made a side blog, saddest-coal-boy-in-westeros) and i was wondering how you felt about mira's storyline! were you heartbroken by the ending(s)? did you have any quibbles with the writing?

I think at this point I'm more heartbroken by the fact season 2 was canned a week after it was announced but they never told us, I think in-game the only thing that could've soured me was if they'd killed off Talia or Ryon, so I'm glad they didn't.

Mira-story-wise, I do think her arc was a bit disappointing, but that's all due to execs meddling as they always did. Her story being more political and less action-oriented didn't test well so they kept cutting it down and eventually just used her as a show character cameo carousel.

I've heard so many interesting things about what her story originally was too. From what I remember;

She could speak to Lucan in the original version of Episode 4 who would reveal that Damien was a serial womanizer and the two grew up in Lannisport. The dude was very upset about Damien's death. I think these lines are still tucked away in episode 3's files...

Mira's rivalry with Andros would go deeper to the point that she could either blackmail him(?) or outright poison him in a brothel. Given that there are interesting lines about how Andros has zero interest in his wife, I imagine the blackmail may have been some form of outing his potential sexuality which is a bit concerning (might be a reason why it was cut).

I think there was a cut plotline where Sera finds out what was going on and Mira accidentally kills her by pushing her down the stairs and breaking her neck.

From what I've heard (citation needed) Mira's execution in Ep6 was a push and pull from execs - they wanted a main character to die in the finale, but the writers didn't, so they came to the compromise of making it a choice.

Personally I had her reject the marriage and die, but given that Season 2 now exists in our collective psychosis I like to imagine that if she did agree to the marriage, Morgryn dies very mysteriously and wow, look at that, his wife suddenly inherits all his assets and the Ironwood trade in KL.

I've also heard that there were very vague discussions about Malcolm becoming the staple KL POV in season 2, so they could've been a great business duo. Mira getting in on the Targaryen kool aid and all that.

Overall, I do feel a bit bad for Mira and her plotline. She never even really gets a chance to shine because of how much they kept reducing her scenes, and the only control she has in the end is death or slave marriage. It might be bias because I've spoken to the writers (years ago now) but I only blame the execs for any flaws. The team really wanted to tell a good story but the meddling kept holding them back.

It's sad, but I suppose it's very GOT.

[morose-magnetrix]

Hi there!!! Did you read the Magneto series and Scarlet witch series? I'm eagerly waiting to know your thoughts!

Yes I did! I read through the last issue of Magneto this morning, as well as issues 9 & 10 of Scarlet Witch. Overall, I really enjoyed the conclusions to both of them, Scarlet Witch more so.

Magneto:

This line from Issue 4 really summarizes I think the overall conceit of this story: "Was the 'evil mutant' just a role I played for the greater good... or the ugly truth? Am I the heir to Charles Xavier's dream... or the beast that will devour it?"

At first, this series gave me the impression that the author's argument was that it had all been an act back in the 60's, that Magneto wasn't really ever 'evil,' and I didn't find that satisfying. I think there's a tendency in fiction to try to absolve characters of their past actions/crimes, in order to make them more palatable and less complex (for instance, absolving Jean Grey of Dark Phoenix's actions by making it so the real Jean was at the bottom of the bay the entire time, or saying that Doom had manipulated Wanda into committing M-Day). Removing their responsibility/culpability for actions they took just isn't as interesting to me as seeing someone grapple with something horrific they had done, and having to struggle and reckon with it, and find a way to atone for their actions.

So basically, I thought at first that this was what this narrative was trying to do - to remove Magneto's responsibility for the stuff he did in the silver age. But by the conclusion of the series, I think it became more clear that deMatteis & co were really trying to examine these two opposing poles of Magneto, of his capability for intense rage and violence, but also for empathy and compassion.

I think if the series had been longer, this would've been super successful. As it was, it accomplished what it set out to do in these four issues and the ending scene with Rahne, where they're looking at the photo of Max's mom, it's super touching and sweet. I just wish things had more space to breathe to allow this character study the runway it really needed.

Scarlet Witch:

I ADORE this entire run. I haven't been posting my thoughts on individual issues as much as I used to - and that isn't because these things aren't good, they're fucking fantastic - I've just been busy with work (& getting back into writing fanfic). But I need to be super clear - this is my favorite Scarlet Witch solo ever (not that we have many lol) and probably is up there in one of my favorite comic runs of all time.

The artwork is GORGEOUS. The colors used are amazing and the expressions on the characters, by god they just fucking sing. I love the care taken to depict Wanda respectfully and accurately, the new costumes are sick af, and everything is just so dynamic. Sometimes, I have a hard time figuring out what is happening with comic book art, but I never really struggled here - even as we are dropped into wacky new situations, often times jumping from completely different contexts from panel to panel. And the covers, they are just.... just chef's kiss - perfection!

And the characterization, gods - just incredible. I didn't really like Orlando's Marauders run, I ended up dipping out somewhere in arc 1 or 2 of it, so I was a little worried about Scarlet Witch. I'm so glad to have been proven wrong. The cast works together so flawlessly, the little moments recalling past continuity without aliening new readers is fantastic. I adored Wanda calling Joseph Iosif and I'm hoping that, when we next see him, he may just adopt that as his name? (Although I'm not expecting to see Iosif around any time soon, given that Max is coming back, and historically when Max is back and a good guy, Iosif is either dead or a bad guy).

The treatment of Wanda's family was everything I could have hoped for - honoring Magneto as her father, her interactions with her siblings, with her kids, with her niece. Seeing Luna Maximoff again in a comic was NOT something I saw coming but I loved it lol.

I also just loved the rotating nature of the problems she faced - that every issue was a new adventure, a new place, a new way for Wanda to demonstrate her growth and healing by giving back to others. She's an OP character by definition and I never felt myself bored with the conflicts she had to face. They were unique and varied and I felt most of them, on some level, had a direct connection to a period of Wanda's own history - hell, they even had her basically go and confront someone who was doing a WandaVision which I found sooo funny lmao.

(If you can't tell by my rambling, I'm kinda obsessed with this series...)

The final villain I really liked - partially because I am an inorganic chemist, so a lot of the science and stuff that I do actually comes from alchemists. I think having alchemist villains for Wanda to face is super interesting and a nice change of pace from the demons and other witches she is usually up against, and I hope we see more of Nicola. She's a super neat foil for Wanda, particularly with the current continuity that Wanda comes from a line of Scarlet Witches, and Nicola comes from a long line of alchemists.

Darcy was a treat, she worked super well here, and I kinda ship her with Zelma now??? Like they're girlfriends, right??? Right???

There's probably things I'm frothing at the mouth over with this series that I've forgotten about, but I also don't want to write you an entire essay in response, so.... I'm gonna cut myself off here and say that I am VERY excited for the follow up Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch series. (Maybe we'll get a Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch & POLARIS series one day, hmmm? Please Marvel? Pleeeeeeeease? I neeeeeed it soooo much....)

[teeth--thief]

I'm becoming quite interested in Chernobyl myself. Your Drive folder will be read with much adoration and appreciation. If you want an excuse to infodump, or otherwise tell a (likely less educated) person about Chernobyl, please take this as such. I would love to learn more, even if simply anecdotally. I'm sure it will spur research of my own. Apologies for stilted English.

Hi hi hello!! First of all: I'm so glad you're enjoying my Google Drive! It's being compiled with a lot of love and care, I'm very happy it'll be of use to you ♡

If you ever have any questions about specific things related to Chernobyl - don't be afraid to ask! If I don't know something already, I'll make sure to educate myself and get back to you ☆

I would LOVE to use this opportunity to tell you all about my favourite operator but I'm not going to - not unless I'll get asked about him specifically (Lyonya Toptunov did nothing wrong in his life, ever - source: me. Not even the "punching his tutor in college" bit. And that's because it's not even true. He's my special boy, case closed). I am mostly interested in the human side of things though, and will always look at things from that angle. But let's go with something more useful and interesting for most and let's keep it short and sweet today:

1. Which few books in my folder are the most important/best and which you should be careful to believe! Not every book I have in there is a good book. But every book is a Chernobyl book.

2. A little (speculative) something about the area surrounding the ChNPP

Must reads:

INSAG-7 - while it contains some mistakes, certainly less than INSAG-1, it's THE thing to read if you want to learn about the technical stuff.

How It Was - Dyatlov A.S. - but but but Hunter 🥺 wasn't Dyatlov The Big Bad? No. I'm sorry that the HBO's show and Medvedev's book hurt you in this way. I can get more into Dyatlov if anyone's interested but all in all, it's a solid book.

Chernobyl: A Documentary Story - Shcherbak I. - the most important stuff? Not in the English version. The translation is missing hundreds of pages of absolutely crucial witness statements... best course of action if you don't know Russian? Look up words/names in the original regarding things that interest you and throw them into Google Translate. It's unfortunate, I know, but it's better than nothing.

Midnight in Chernobyl - Higginbotham A. - everyone's favourite. Contains some mistakes - don't trust the technical parts, cites Medvedev (cardinal sin) but overall makes a great case for humanising the workers.

Be wary when reading these:

Chernobyl Notebook (aka The Truth about Chernobyl) - Medvedev G. - nobody from the nuclear field respects this dude. IIRC he got fired after working for a few months in ChNPP before it even started operation but went around claiming he was a worker at the plant. Go figure. Just makes up stuff. Doesn't have the technical knowledge to make half the claims he makes. Follows the (false) official government narrative (hmmmm I WONDER WHY).

Voices from Chernobyl - Alexievich S - too busy chasing her own biases to care about the people she interviewed, claiming they said things they never did or forcing their stories to fit her narrative. Yes, I know, everyone LOVES this one but it's really not that good.

Manual for Survival - Kate Brown - it's a good read, albeit the author takes a pretty anti-nuclear stance, repeating various myths about the nuclear power and radiation overall, seemingly for the purpose of fear mongering.

There are so so many more books worth recommending but I wanted to mention the most popular and important ones.

According to Kate Brown and her book "Manual for Survival", the area of Prypiat Marshes and wetlands was already mildly radioactive before the nuclear power plant wad even built. Apparently "the Soviet army tested strategic nuclear weapons, the small battlefield variety, in the Pripyat bombing range" which meant that radiactive isotopes where already present in the atmosphere, long before the disaster struck Pripyat.

While her evidence and sources for that are shakey, at best (I'm not a fan of the he said, they said stuff - show me a signed document and I'll believe you), it would certainly be awfully convenient to built a NPP close enough to the slightly radiated areas and call it a day. You could always say it was the plant that caused the unusual radiation spike and definitely not the tests they ran there years before the power plant was even in the building stage... but alas. It might not even be true, I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else, if I remember correctly.

A third fun fact I'll throw in for free - I'm currently in the process of making a Chernobyl inspired shirt =D Maybe I'll show you guys, who knows...

[allie-campbell-bradshaw]

Chapter 9: Hurt

A/N: I am so glad to be back in the full swing of things. You have no idea how much I have loved watching this story develop…not to mention my craft too! I mention this in my notes for every chapter, but just in case you missed it– I do not give permission for my work to be re-posted without credibility. If you do want to post this story to your page, please be sure that you tag my account or at least mention its original source in your post. Again, thank you for being here and I hope you enjoy :)

Warnings: Swearing (It is the navy after all)

Chapter Nine: Hurt

BRADLEY’S POV

The reading quiz in chemistry was a breeze on Tuesday. Although I must give credit to Trace for that one. She knew exactly what parts to study and which paragraphs from the reading would be questioned. It was like she had a natural gift for intuition.

Although there were some highlights, the rest of the week was a drag. Allie and her two friends were not in the cafeteria at all for breakfast that week. I couldn’t not blame myself for that one. Despite Emmett continuously pestering me for updates, I didn’t bring Allie up at all. Well, I at least didn’t bring her up first. And thanks to the rigor of the academics, it was pretty easy to forget her while I was focused on my studies. Yes, I still thought about the two encounters we’ve had, but seeing her less and not thinking about her as much has made that slight hurt go away.

Flash forward to Thursday, and we were now sitting in our flight training course, scratching our heads as we read, and re-read, and re-re-read the same problems over and over, not seeming to make sense of them. It started off pretty easy, with basic takeoff and landing calculations. Now, in the middle of this fifty question test, they were referring to flight gargan that I had never heard before. There was a scenario about a wing that made no fucking sense. 

Natasha and I made eye contact with each other. She let out a deep breath as she played with the pencil in her hand, looking way more flustered than I did. Javy was sitting next to her, keeping his hands buried in his face, elbows on the table, as he struggled to get through the problem.

“Time!” Officer Tate called out in a military-esk yell. She was our professor for our aircraft interior units. We would work with her once every three weeks. This week we focused on the parts in the nose of the aircraft. She was a rather large woman, with skin deeper than Javy’s and thick black glasses. She looked to be in her mid-30’s, but I wasn’t ever good at guessing ages. 

All of us put our pencils down right away, half of the class learned the hard way that if you kept writing after she called ‘time’, you’d get a 0. Even if it was only a split second after she yelled out to us. However, I feel that our immediate sense of ending the assessment came from frustration and overall just being over it, rather than her conditioning. 

There were 8 of us in the class. Very small, but that’s what you expect when you go down such a specific, and dare I say not very popular, career path. The guy that has assumed the role of the class pet, Taylor or Tyler or Tyson (something like that) volunteered to pick the papers up, which Officer Tate gladly accepted.

Once Ty-whatever the fuck- was back in his seat, she gave us our next assignment, one that was due by the next time we saw her in September. We had to learn the names and purpose of every mechanical device that was in the middle of the airplane, right below the wings.

We were randomly put into pairs, everyone excited about their partner except for Natasha, who got put with the pet. She gave me an annoyed look before she made her way over to him, which made me smirk. She was the woman that would say what everyone was thinking. I loved it.

I quickly took her former spot, greeting Javy, my new partner as we looked over the work packet that he had to fill in. Over 14 pages stapled together, all of which had at least 2 or 3 different parts, or cords, or machines outlined for us to fill in.

Today was the only day we could do some hands-on work with the anatomy of the cessnas before we started to fly them next week. Amen! We all followed Tate to the oversized hangar that had 4 naked cessnas scattered about. All of the groups found their own to work with for the remainder of our class time. Javy and I opted for the one closest to the opened garage, letting the breeze hit our hot bodies as we looked at our aircraft.

I looked outside of the hangar, noticing the building on the opposite side of the runway. The words “U.S. Naval Academy General Hospital” stuck out in bold, slightly faded, navy letters. The outlines of the letters were covered in dirt and moss, confirming the older age of the building. It was a medium shade of brown brick, with a row of outdoor entrance rooms lining the tarmac. I remember hearing that those were used for general treatments for students that got minor injuries, not essential enough to take up any of the hospital rooms inside. The hospital had 2 levels. The bottom floor housed their emergency room wing and recovery wing from the surgeries that took place in the wards that were at the end of the wing. The second floor was used for the general hospital visits. Where people would go if they were in labor, or recovering from an illness, or receiving treatment. 

“Fuck!” I heard Javy yell next to me, as he grabbed his hand and took numerous steps backwards from the aircraft. “Watch out for that powerbox by the fuselage Bradshaw. That shit’s super magnetic. Almost took out my whole hand”. He winced as he walked away, shaking out the pain that I’m sure was radiating through his body.

“Do you need a medic?” Tate asked Javy, who was pacing now as he waved his hand, having a hop in his step, in a shit ton of pain for sure!

“No,” He answered, “I’m good. I just need a minute”.

“Let me know if you need to see a nurse,” she continued, “they can wrap it up for you if the swelling gets too bad”.

I walked over to where he was and looked at the magnetic powerbox. It was resting right in between two other parts, with less than an inch of room between its parameter and those of the other parts. It would for sure take out anyone’s hand if you didn’t pull it away in time when it latched. There was a button that you could press below it, which caused the magnetic strips to give so you could easily take the box out of the airplane.

It was the powerbox that was outlined in the fourth page of our packet. I quickly turned to that page and read up on its performance. I was in the middle of the page when I froze, thinking about Officer Tate’s words: Let me know if you need to see a nurse, they can wrap it up for you if the swelling gets too bad. 

Could it be this simple? As far as I could tell, this was the only way where I could ensure that I was in a room alone with Allie. She would be forced to listen to me then. And then I could explain all about the stupid bet, and how I just went along with it to entertain my moronic roommate, whom I loved very much. She needed to know that I was serious about getting to know her. That she was more than just a “bet”. I quickly made my way back over to the middle of the aircraft, ducking over and finding the space that the powerbox normally lay. 

I kept contradicting myself. Always finding reasons for why I should or should not do this. This would all be a waste if she wasn’t at the hospital, or if another nurse treated me, and by doing this, I was risking my flight time for the rest of the month. I wouldn’t be able to work out as much as I nurtured the injury. But she was so worth it. Talking to her, and clearing my conscience sounded like a bigger benefit in my eyes. I couldn’t live with myself if she thought I was just a run-of-the-mill fuckboy. I was far from.

Suddenly, I felt Emmett’s spirit enter my thoughts. I have to give him credit, for how grossly immature he was, I sure was learning a lot from him. He taught me how it was okay to let go, to not be serious all the time. He was surprised to learn that my senior superlative was “Best Personality”, but I gotta admit, I was a character before my mom died. She would call me her “mini goose”.

Carole rushed to grab the video camera, laughing as 9 year old Bradley, who had put on his one dress suit, his wig that he still had from his einstein costume that he wore from halloween, and his moms black reading glasses.

“Hi everybody!” Bradley began, speaking to an imaginary audience in front of him, “Harry Carey here! And it lookth like we got a very exthiting world theries on our handth”!

Bradley was imitating one of Will Ferrel’s SNL characters, recreating the scene he had just watched with his mom a few days ago. He kept going with the scene, looking over at his mom and laughing when he realized she was filming, before creating his own skit with the character:

“And if you look over here,” he grabbed the camera and turned it to Carole, who was sporting a red sundress in the summer heat, continuing with his speech; “You thee a very pretty Carole Bradthaw!” Carole struck a pose and did a twirl for the camera. “I love you mom!” Bradley yelled out to her, still holding the camera on her.

“I love you too, mini goose!” She said before walking forward and reaching for the expensive equipment.

Bradley beamed as he went back to his scenes, spending hours and hours creating SNL skits in his living room as his mom watched, seeing Nick in his eyes, knowing how much he would have loved to do this with his son.

‘JUST FUCKING DO IT’ I heard “Emmett” saying to me in my head. If he was really here, he would have thrown my hand in the aircraft long ago, carrying me bridal style towards the hospital before dumping me at Allie’s feet.

Before I could even change my mind, my hand was holding the powerbox in the aircraft, letting the force carry me forward as the magnets snapped together.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

EVERY WEEK I WILL POST VARIOUS REVIEWS I’VE WRITTEN SO FAR IN 2024. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS HERE.

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125. The Dangerous Convenience Store Vol. 1 by 945: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love this trope of a big and older tough guy being a cinnamon roll who wants to make the less tough MC happy, or at least, less sad, even while he's trying to figure himself out. I also like that there's more to this story than just their sexual chemistry. Learning about each character and what makes them tick added a great level of depth to the volume.

And yes, this was a very sexy read--mainly because the chemistry between these two is very, very steamy. I may have devoured this in one reading.

Also, in a weird way, this lowkey felt like I was reading a Kdrama because of the setting, the tough characters, and the friendships surrounding the MC.

Can't wait to check out more volumes in these series as they come out!

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126. The Dangerous Convenience Store Vol. 2 by 945: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another great volume!

I love seeing the MC's strong spine in this one. Even though he cries often, he's pretty resolute in his decisions--especially when it comes to him finally realizing when something or someone is bad or good for him.

I also loved seeing things from the perspective of the tough love interest because it helped round the story out better for me. I love being able to see how the other party views a situation happening.

This was also another sexy volume, especially as the two characters start to understand each others' needs better. I also LOVE seeing the protective side of this tough guy.

Ugh, love.

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127. Second Chances in Port Stephen by T.J. Alexander: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Normally I'm not a big fan of second chance romances, but this was such a sweet interpretation of that trope. I loved that it was like these two characters were getting to know each other for the first time since one is falling for the other after his transition.

Despite the occasionally miscommunication, I thought that these characters were surrounded by pretty great supporting characters that helped them put things into perspective. I loved watching everyone around them help them grow that re-blossoming of love.

I did also really like the MMC1's parents. They were truly trying their best and had a lot more patience with their son than I would have had. I think the way he was with his parents portrayed how immature he could be. Although he was almost 40, he was acting like a bit of a spoiled teenage boy. Even the way he was with his ex-boyfriend was a bit immature and confusing. But I did appreciate that there is some pretty good (if not a little quick) character growth on his end.

But it's not to say that the other MMC didn't have his own moments where he needed to seriously grow as a character. He needed to find his voice and be more honest about what he was feeling and thinking. He also had a few important moments of needing to understand where his ex-boyfriend was coming from.

Overall, these two DID work well together, but they definitely went through the character growth olympics. This was a cute read with some seriously sweet moments and while it wasn't a five-star read for me, I can definitely see this being someone's favourite read. Also, the daughter was ADORABLE.

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128. Never Let Go Vol. 1 by Saki Sakimoto: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

NEVER LET GO was a heavier manga, emotionally, with an interesting storyline that move a bit quickly for my liking and should have been a single volume title. I think the story ended pretty well and answered any questions I had.

I did like how much the one character had to fight to be accepted by the other very jaded (justifiably so) main character. My heart broke for him and the experiences he had growing up. I'm glad he finally had someone to help him and show him that he is worth the love.

What took me a while to get used to was the artwork. I don't know what it was, but something about this art style just felt...very AI to me. Like, it lacked personality? Even now as I write this, I'm still put off by that art work. I know a lot of people probably love it, but it felt too...perfect?

Anyway, enjoyed the (cheesy) story! MAYBE I'll check out the second volume when it comes out!

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129. Fruit by Brian Francis: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FRUIT was such an interesting experience. It brought the reader to a time in the 80s where language was a lot more lax and where a young pre-teen lives in a confusing world full of body shaming, sexuality, and surprisingly humorous curiosity.

While some moments were definitely cringe, I also appreciated the Francis's ability to bring us so thoroughly into the brain of this young boy. I loved the exploration of the sibling and parental relationships, and how toxic sometimes they can be. The relating of these relationships felt like I was reading a chaotic diary. Especially because all of this is being told from the perspective of a young boy.

I think my favourite part of this book is how Francis weaved the queer identity into the story in the subtlest of ways, up until the end when that final sentence acts as that ghost that so many queer youth have haunting them. The exploration of the MC's growing sexuality and fantasies plays into this growing identity that we are witness to. It made me think of my own childhood and all of the confusing things that run through your mind at that age. It is a level of honesty I wasn't expecting, especially because of the potentially unreliable narrator being a young teen.

This was quite the journey and I think it was a great commentary of what it might have been like to be a young queer person in the 80s, who also was struggling with his self-image. A powerful and at times uncomfortable read.

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130. First Down by Grace Reilly: ⭐️⭐️

Ah, this book.

I read this series out of order and started with the second book and tbh, I'm so glad I did. I really, really enjoyed BREAKAWAY. If I'd started this series with this one, I don't know if I'd have picked that one up.

FIRST DOWN started off cute enough. The whole idea of "seeing each other from across the room" was adorable--that has Destiny™️ written all over it--and then sealing it with a kiss? Adorable. But the thing is that the MMC had made a vow to stay away from relationships so he could focus on his career, especially after a messy relationship that almost ruined his future career goals. And I get the whole fated-to-love-you thing, but I wish there had been a bit more push back from him. Like, he caved so quickly. He was punched HARD by that insta-love bug all because she was this cute little blonde.

And then we have FMC who is a little more steadfast in her convictions to stay away from future relationships, but then is in two precarious situations where either her mother is treating her like a wet blanket, or her cheating ex just won't take a hint. Of the two MCs, she was definitely the stronger-willed one.

The insta-romance and the way the MMC was literally repeating the same things that almost screwed him over before started to sour this book for me. And I'm going to be honest, something about the ending really pissed me off, but LOL I CAN'T REMEMBER IT. I just have vague memories of it because it was just...meh. So disappointing.

Listen, if you really want to read any books in this series, definitely do book 2. That one wasn't perfect but it was cute and spicy. I'm sad with this one AND the third book, because I DNFed that one. Welp.

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131. Megumi & Tsugumi, Vol. 1 by Mitsuru Si: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay, I wasn't expecting this book to be SO FUNNY.

Bless Tsugumi for his sweet and feisty dumb brain, and Megumi for his stubborn love for Tsugumi. I loved their meeting up immediately and how one character completely knocked the other one down. I do wish we didn't have this trope of "alphas can't control themselves unless omegas take these blockers". It's uncomfortable, but I love that Tsugumi doesn't stand for any of that.

I also loved Tsugumi's family. They're the sweetest and I want him to find that kind of love for himself.

That artwork is gorgeous, too, and I love how expressive the characters were. Mitsuru Si does a fantastic job in portraying their characters.

This is also a very sexy series. That tension between the characters was very well-done.

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132. Megumi & Tsugumi, Vol. 2 by Mitsuru Si: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sweet and stubborn Tsugumi. Trying to get him to admit any sort of emotion is like pulling hairs, but it's all worth it. Especially in this one when he reacts to a specific situation. While I liked the way he reacted, I hated that the situation went as far as it did. I still love this series, but that whole thing made me very uncomfortable.

And that theme seems to be a trend in this genre.

Also, again, props to Mitsuru Si for their artwork. The fact that Tsugumi's dad looks SO MUCH like him in the side story is WILD. Gotta love those facial expressions lol.

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133. Megumi & Tsugumi, Vol. 3 by Mitsuru Si: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of my favourite things about this volume was how Megumi makes Tsugumi really think about his feelings and what they are to each other. Sometimes I want to pat Tsugumi's head because I think he's taken a few too many blows to the head. He is so stubborn, but he at least admits when he doesn't understand something--especially love-related (which is so interesting because his dads have such a cute and romantic relationship).

We're introduced to someone new in this volume and sigh, another similar theme happened in this as in the last volume and I just, one star off for that trope. I hated, hated seeing it, but thankful that it didn't go any further than it did. Plus the AUDACITY of that character. Please.

I devoured this volume. It was shorter than the last two, but held so much story! Props to Tsugumi's adorable little sister, and punches to Megumi's horrible father. Also, the side story continues to be adorable!!

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134. The Idea of You by Robinne Lee: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Three stars because I was hooked, even though this is very clearly a romance based on a very popular music artist (apparently). It was sexy and had some pretty high-emotional moments. I liked their relationship and how these two characters had great chemistry together. I did also love how he treated her with so much care and love.

There were a few things, however, that were big detractors for me. THE IDEA OF YOU read very, very slow. The pacing felt intensely slow and I don't know how since there was always something happening. And considering how quickly the relationship moved, the story lagged.

Everyone and their father had a thing for the MC. She's apparently this sexy vixen of an older woman who has a big issue with her famous younger man's romantic past, but then she turns and flirts without thinking about it--except for a situation that was awkward and made more so by her weird and flirty jabs back at the person? I don't doubt she's beautiful, but there's even a character who hinted at cheating on his wife for her. It was weird.

And her ex. Ooof, let's not get started on her ex. He was such a hypocrite. Listen, I love a great age gap romance that doesn't fetishizes the younger partner and while I don't think this one did that, everyone immediately went to that and had the MC adding to her insecurity about her age and her love interest's age. Ironically, this included her ex who was also marrying a younger woman. And I did appreciate that Lee also comments on the hypocrisy of men marrying younger women and then turning and judging women who do the same with younger men. This is all within reason, of course.

One of the things I WILL say, however, that I enjoyed was how surprisingly spicy this was. I was expecting this to be sexy but not spicy. And the characters' obsessions with their naked bodies. That was fun, especially because of their mutual appreciation for each other.

Now, I'm ending this review with: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT ENDING? All of that angst, pain, emotionally turmoil for THAT ENDING? I get that unless I'm in that situation, I'll never fully understand (especially because I'm not a mom), but JFC. I hated that ending so much. I hated it so much to the point where it tainted the rest of the book. It was so cruel and I hate how just because one character is older they think they have it all figured out. UGH.

I don't think I'd be able to watch the movie, especially knowing how the book ended (I wonder if they'll keep the same ending...hmmm).

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Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

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Happy reading!

[rakuya-nikki]

Re:Zero - Entry #11

I've spent the past several days fervently rewatching Re:Zero, and not only did I learn a lot of new words and get great studying from it, but I was able to remember just how much I love this show.

I'm usually not good with gore. Well, "usually" as in I'm still not good with gore. There's a particular scene in the show involving some... bunnies, that I had to skip because I can not handle that shit lmfao. But I feel like this show has just enough of that kind of stuff to where I can deal with it. I definitely don't wish I was Subaru, though, that's for sure.

This show's themes of self-worth, loneliness, never giving up, finding out how to better oneself, and so many other things, are really interesting, especially when compared to other Isekai. The idea of "dying and starting at a checkpoint" is already a brilliant concept to base a realistic, dark fantasy story off of, but it's really executed so well in this show.

I never really thought about it before, but this pseudo-time travel mechanic really is like Majora's Mask. And just like that game, this show manages to use that to create amazing characters, motivations, reactions and emotions. People will do things slightly different for various reasons per each "round", and it really makes them feel complex and human, even if a... lot of characters are... very extra lol.

In terms of my favorite characters, obviously Subaru has a big leg up given how he's the main focus for so much character development. And he really does feel like his own character. Like, he's not someone you, the viewer, want to insert themselves into. Hell, like I said before, I'm really glad I'm not him. This is a story, one of someone who constantly compares himself to and relies on others, who utterly lacks self-worth or love, who believes he has to bear the burden of pain and suffering in place of everyone else.

When I first watched the show, I was younger, more depressed, had much less self-worth instilled in me, and those themes were really impactful at that time. Of course, I was also bittered by them a bit, in the sense that I didn't have a Rem to tell me they loved me, or an Echidna to be a source of comfort (albeit not good comfort). I didn't have an Emilia to fall in love with or anything. But I also didn't have a horde of bunnies eating me alive so that's fair. Anyways, yeah, even if I didn't have the cast of beautiful women (and, more importantly, Otto) to help reassure my self-worth and show me the love that I wanted, I still took heart in the idea of loving yourself.

The show loses some impact upon second viewing, but it also helps me really appreciate the pacing and ordering of events. When you first watch it, things can feel kind of hopeless, scattered, chaotic, painful. Which, I reckon, is part of the point, and it's impressive the show can make you feel those things. But watching it while knowing everything that happens really helps me notice how intentional certain details or events are, and how everything connects and affects Subaru and the others. It's a really solid show.

I'm so excited for Season 3 to happen, though I dunno when that'll be. Much like Mushoku Tensei, I may have to add this to my list of "things to read eventually". Though apparently the Light Novel is not progressing very quickly. Oh well, it's an option.

The show is full of so much emotion. In its facial expressions, in its incredible voice acting, and in its events. The scene at the very end of Season 1's final episode is perhaps one of the best bombshells to end a season ever. Like, you did all of that work, half a season's worth of scheming and fighting, to finally overcome it, and at the very end, you find out that just one of the things you were trying to protect is... gone. Especially the way the show starts out Season 2, with the despair, the willingness for Subaru to end his own life to try it over again, only to realize his checkpoint has been updated to after it's happened, so he can't possibly save her.

It's such a powerful way to take what looked like an overall victory, and bring back some reality to the situation. It's grim. It's really impactful. The show's full of those moments, where you can feel Subaru's anger, anguish, relief, pain. And, like I said before, the emotions on display through the facial expressions and voice acting is unbelievable. I don't think I've ever seen a show depict such emotions as well.

Very impressive show, I'm so glad to be able to experience it once again. And not only that, but get some great studying out of it too. The show's language is a lot more complicated than I was expecting, but because of it, I've made over 100 flash cards and got so much practice. I was even able to point out some certain words that, I can tell, this author likes to use more than other people. At least, I think so. It's cool to be able to notice those types of things.

My favorite characters are either Echidna, Emilia, Subaru, or Beatrice. Though I love Otto too. When I first watched Season 1, when I was younger, Rem became my comfort character (I refuse to use the word "waifu"), but I've since forgotten who that character is. Unfortunate.

[whalewhalewhale]

(Oh boy, this one is 1.1k words. sorry fellas, it was my demon. hope everyone enjoys it tho!)

Get Together Chapter 2

The smells of pancake was the first thing Etho smells when he woke up again. He feels a lot better now. Sitting comfortably on the bed, he's trying to gather his thoughts of what actually happened. It was obvious that he's drunk at Tango's party, but it was surprising for him to end up at a stranger's flat.

Well, not so stranger. They talked at Tango's party.

They also kiss in Tango's bathroom.

Fuck. Now he remembers

He put his hands on his face. This is embarrassing. How would he face the red sweater man now??? Is it possible to just act casually and get out of here as soon as possible???

"Oh, you're finally awake! Hi!"

Etho really considering burry himself to the floor and dig out of this place.

Grian walks closer to where Etho is. Both avoiding direct eye contact.

"Uh.. I know this is kinda awkward and weird but my name's Grian. We met at Tango's party last night. You're at my flat and I think it was me who brought you here. Are you feeling any better?"

A few second of silence feels very long and loud. Grian's now regretting the decision of going to the party in the first place.

"My name is Etho."

Silence once again. Grian playing with his fingers and Etho now look at him.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. I drink too much last night and I think I threw up here too somewhere. That's very irresponsible of me, sorry.."

Grian looks back at Etho. The same grey hair he look at before but now messier, dark blue eyes, a scar on his left eyelid.. Dammit, he is charming.

"It's all okay! It was my fault too. I'm the one who brings you here. And if you're wondering, no I don't think we do anything here last night." Grian said, not really sure if that's true or no either. A lil chuckle come out of Etho's lips "Thanks for telling me that." Grian smiles a bit. Everything feel less awkward now.

"I make pancakes. We can eat and talk a bit about what actually happened if you want to."

"Okay."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Minutes after minutes spent talking and it was fun. Etho realized Grian talks a lot. It's like he's never out of things to talk about and secretly, Etho glad it doesn't spent in silence. Months of not really talking to anyone except Beef makes him forgot how fun it is to actually have people around.

 "So that's the story of why people called me Pesky Bird sometimes."

"I see. I think that does suits you very well."

"Hey now, I'm not asking for your opini-"

"Griaaann, are you inside?" A man's voice and knocks coming from the door.

Etho looks at Grian, Grian stands up and said 'Sorry, I'll be back' before he rushed to the door.

Grian opens the door and greeted by a man in white t-shirt "Yeah I'm here Mumbo."

"Great! Are you busy? I'm on my way to the grocery store. Do you wanna join?"

"Uuhh..." Grian take a peek at Etho "I can't, I'm having a guest right now."

"This early in the morning?" Mumbo asked. Grian scratch his head. He really doesn't want to explain it. Mumbo peeks inside and saw Etho.

"Who's that?" Mumbo whispers.

"It's a friend from the party last night." Grian answered

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I guess I'll go alone then. How's the hangover?" Mumbo said as he pat Grian's head a little. Blushing, Grian's staring at the floor.

"I'm good. No hangover whatsoever. You know me"

"That's true. You're really good at holding your liquor. Anything you want from the store?"

"Strawberry ice cream would be nice."

"Okay then. I'll be back later with ice cream." Mumbo pat Grian's hair once more and then walked away. Hand's waving at Grian still.

"Bye Mumbo! Talk to you later" Grian then closed the door.

"So that's the Mumbo" Etho said as if it was a confirmation

"Yes, yes, that's him." Grian's cheek still a bit red. He walked back to the small dining room and sit back to his chair. "But let's not talk about him. No no, he's my best friend and I don't wanna change that."

"Yeah, that's probably for the better." Etho said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Grian stares at him.

"Say, Etho. Do you find me attractive?" Grian asks bluntly. Etho blinks his eyes once. And then twice, thrice.. Wait what?

"Sorry it just," Grian rest his head on the table "I can't help to think that you're very handsome. I just wanna know if you feel the same way about me."

Oh. Oh

"I, uh...." Etho feels a bit sweaty out of sudden. This is like when he took a test he didn't learn the night before.

"Can you be less straightforward with your question?"

"Oh c'mon, I just wanna know! We've talked about this last night when we were wasted. I am sober now, and my mind hasn't changed at all. So I wanna know if the feelings are mutual." Grian said, exaggerating his hand movement trying to be dramatic.

"Okay but first, you asked if you wanna kiss me and we kiss, nothing more. Second, where is this leading to again?" Etho asks back to Grian, where Grian answers by grinning widely.

"Do you wanna date? Us? Together? We could be beneficial to each other. Both moving on from a love that won't get somewhere anymore. Of course I don't want to if you're not attracted to me, I want both of us to at least have the same feeling towards each other." Grian stands up and took his plate. Etho stares at the remaining pancakes on his plate, thinking. Is this a good idea?

In one hand, he doesn't like being in shallow relationship. He just doesn't have the energy for the itty-bitty trying to know about each other kind of stuff. But on the other hand, maybe it's time for him to step out of his comfort zone. He also doesn't mind Grian's presence so far.

And he'd be lying if he said Grian is not attractive. Grian is very charismatic without trying to be, as if he's born to captivated people's eyes. Round cheeks, fluffy hair. Grian's also shorter than Etho. A pocket size, he'd say. Which makes Grian even cuter.

"Well, I do think you're cute."

"Oh! Really???"

Etho drinks the coffee that Grian has made "Yeah, but I think you're cuter if you talk less" Etho said jokingly. Grian's gasps loudly

"Oh wow! Okay, mister I-don't-talk-unless-someone-talked-to-me-first." Etho laughs a little bit.

"So we're going out then?" Grian asked as he continues to wash the dishes

"Yeah, sure. Why not."

"Then can I start calling you my babygirl?"

"Let's not get way ahead of yourself" Etho said and Grian laughs.

Next Chapter >

[rubylarkspur22]

Questions and answers below the cut.

1: S&TF Inosuke, how did you meet the Kochou sisters? How do you feel about them and other members of your family?

Kanae found me with my boar family. She was on a mission, and picked me up. I was the first of many. Seems like Kanae's nack for picking up orphans became a habit.

Not that I mind. Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho are all great. Shinobu and Kanae taught me how to read and write, and they both remind me of this really pretty lady.

2: S&TF Zenitsu and Kanao, how did you meet and end up adopted by the Kamado family?

Tanjirou's really weird, but like a good weird! We sparred all the time, but I could never sense his attacks like I can everyone else's! Plus his reflexes are insane! He's gonna be a Hashira in no time!

Oh, I think there's been some sort of mix-up. We weren't adopted by the Kamado family, they're just close friends. We met Tanjurou in town when we first got to the village by Mount Kumotori, and he introduced us to his family after we got settled and adopted.

Mhm!

As for how we met, it's a pretty easy story. I ran away from home to get away from my parents. You can only take so many beatings before it's too much. So I ran until I couldn't anymore. That's when Zenitsu found me, and we've been attached at the hip ever since!

3: To the S&TF Uzui family, how do you feel about Nezuko and where did you find her?

Hm hm!

We found her running from the Yoshiwara Entertainment District like a demon was on her tail. Poor girl was terrified because she'd attacked a customer, even if in self defense, and was told another girl got burnt to a crisp for taking out an eye. We took her in after that, and she's lived with us for the last two years. Both to protect her from whatever repercussions she was so scared of, and to get her out of that place. She's a great girl. I couldn't ask for a more flamboyant tsuguko and kid.

Well, if she blew less things up, that'd be great. But other than her... tendencies around fire, she's a good kid. *Under breath* Still can't believe we had to make a list...

We're all so proud of her! Even if we wish she could have stayed behind and had even a slightly normal childhood. You know, do things normal teenage girls do!

4. To S&TF Sanemi and Kanae, how did you run into Upper Moon Two, and how did it go?

I agree. Nezuko is a remarkable girl, and is becoming an excellent Slayer and young woman. We all look forward to seeing where she goes.

Well, I was initially going alone. Several women had been disappearing from the area, so I was supposed to investigate.

I insisted on going with her. I'm glad I did. I don't want to think about what would have happened to her if I didn't. ... All the scars I got from that fight were worth it. My blood served as a pretty damn good distraction, so its hits weren't as hard as they could've been.

I'm just glad you survived. Your injuries were awful, it's a miracle you didn't get an infection before Shinobu and the Kakushi arrived!

All that matters is we both got out alive. And, in a twisted way, those injuries ended up being... not the worst thing. Given it helped me reconnect with someone.

I don't doubt that Genya's grateful, too.

[apple-pecan]

Marvel's Spider-Man (2018)

admittedly, i've been pretty apathetic about playstation's IPs since around the early 2010's. a lot of their dozens of good franchises like parappa, jak & daxter, sly cooper, and wild arms have been put to pasture solely so they can milk last of us for all it's worth, and maybe throw some other series like god of war and gran turismo a bone every now and then. i played a lot of third party games on the ps4 but rarely would i bother with any of sony's offerings.

however, one fateful day, sony announced "we're going to publish a spider-man game inspired by the absolutely GOATed PS2 Spider-Man 2. it's gonna be a PS4 exclusive, and we're having the ratchet and clank devs make it" and my instant reaction was "... yeah you fucking BET im buying that shit". i got it close to release but unfortunately for my insufferable weeb self, Dragon Quest XI came out a few days earlier on the same fucking week and i ultimately put way more time into that game and barely touched Spider-Man. 5 years later, with the """remastered""" version on PS5, i set out to rectify that and i am very glad i did.

think of the aforementioned treyarch PS2 game and imagine that with a way WAY higher budget, and you essentially have this game. it starts off with a bang as you immediately web swing your way through new york city to storm fisk tower and put a stop to kingpin. a very fun first impression, and once it's over you can just swing all over new york with some really fun movement; i know when i first got this game i spent most of my time with it just moving around from building to building, it was that much fun.

combat is essentially arkham combat, which was the style at the time, especially for super-hero games, but it feels more tuned up and engaging than what that would usually imply; my favorite thing to do is to air launch enemies and combo their pathetic asses in mid air like im playing MvC. ah, the good old days. sometimes you have to use stealth to progress, but they've made it ass simple so you wouldn't get frustrated, and in most cases it's entirely optional...

...except for the periodic times where you have to play as MJ during the main story. and maybe miles morales too. these are much slower sections where you have to sneak around enemies and distract them to get to the goal, and if one sees you, it's an instant game over. these missions aren't my favorite, obviously, and i DID groan every time one of them was about to start, but i've seen way worse mandatory stealth sections in games (suck my ass wind waker), and some of them have fun twists like MJ being able to lure enemies so spider-man can capture them and web them up on the ceiling.

tying it all in is a captivating and fun story that sure, while some parts you can see coming from a mile away even if you have even just basic spider-man lore knowledge, it still doesn't make it any less engaging. the last third of the game is particularly intense, with impossibly high stakes culminating in a tragic final boss fight and a very bittersweet ending. two scenes of the ending in particular had me on the verge of tears, something i absolutely did not expect jumping into this game. simply put, if you liked the 2000's sam raimi spider-man movies, you'll enjoy this plot quite a bit too.

all this being said, if you own a modern sony system (or now, even a PC that can handle this game), it's a no brainer, you HAVE to play this, especially if you have any fondness for the franchise it's based off of. this is the best spider-man game i've played yet, and this is coming from someone who played BOTH PS1 games!!!! play it!! or, more likely... you already have. i mean, it IS the best selling ps4 game of all time so... aw heck PLAY IT AGAIN THEN

9/10

NOTE: i dunno who's idea it was to make j jonah jameson into an alex jones-esque insane radio show host, but whoever it was, i just wanna say... FUCK YOU. at least you can turn it off in the settings XD