#so i can't speak on story popularity - these are just my observations

[alteredphoenix]

I still think the biggest mistake Bamco made with Crestoria, and one I find that still affects it to this day, was listening to that part of the fanbase that complained that there weren’t going to be any legacy characters in the game and ultimately caving in to put them in anyway under the auspice that a cast of all-new original characters wasn’t going to be as effective as having familiar names to elicit interest in the long-time fans and bring in new players to join the fanbase.

Idk maybe it’s because of the differing mindsets between a Console Tales Game and a Mobile Tales Game (at least, there’s a very obvious - and understandable - reason for those mindsets in the West), but you don’t really see this kind of backlash in the former. Whereas in the latter introducing an all-new cast without legacy characters a’la Crestoria and Luminaria you’re going to have your dissenters (and your doubters) question whether or not it can have that same draw on people regardless of the narrative premise.

Setting aside the obvious pitfalls that plague mobile gaming, including legacy Tales characters into a game that was originally not intended to have any has the same reaction of shooting yourself in the foot and never bothering to patch it up because now you have a manga that’s going to be adapting the material - without the legacy characters. And there is no guarantee it’s going to include the plotlines or the sudden cliffhanger(s) that were alluded to in the game. Which leads to another problem because if it does it’s going to result in one of two things: expys of the legacy characters - which I don’t think parts of the fanbase are going to jive with because they won’t be those characters - or all-new characters that’ll have nothing to do with the legacy characters but will take those plotlines for themselves because DINGDINGDING the game is no longer available. And if those plotlines get resolved? There’s still no way to guarantee they would arrive at the same conclusions under the legacy characters had it continued in a visual media format.

What I’m saying is, Bamco should’ve just stuck to their guns and kept Crestoria as a legacy-free Tales title in the same way Luminaria was (although I do wonder if they would have included legacy characters in the same way Genshin Impact brought Aloy from Horizon over - make them playable in but have no effect on the canon story whatsoever - had it continued) because the decision to change course is going to feel like a black mark on Crestoria’s history.

[an-aroaces-harem]

Ellis Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I just deepl and google translated my way through this because I wanted to know what’s going on, so there are definitely mistakes but I believe I managed the general gist of the story. Anyway, it’s just a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes. Ikemen Villains belongs to Cybird.

Another note: I know Ikemen Villains is set in victorian London, but I will use the japanese suffixes because I prefer them.

Ellis: Guard?

At the breakfast table, Victor was told of my unexpected first job as a 'fairytale writer'.

Victor: Yes! Jud and Ellis protect Kate, so that our secret is safe.

Victor: Kate was able to observe and record Ellis and Jude up close ...

Victor: She can also fulfill her duties as a 'fairytale writer', killing two birds with one stone!

Ellis: If it's okay with Kate-san, it's okay with me.

Ellis: I don't know if something like yesterday will happen again, so ... I want to stay close to Kate-san.

Victor smiles at Ellis-kun's response and then looks to Jude-san.

Victor: Of course, Jude will take responsibility, right? You hate making loans, don't you?

Jude: Tch ...

(Although I think I'd feel safer if I stayed close to Ellis-kun ...)

I was mistakenly identified as 'Jude Jazza's woman', and my life was threathened just because I was with Ellis-kun ...

I can't help but be wary of Jude.

Jude: Don't cry when you get scared, princess.

(I'm scared ... but Victor made a good suggestion, so I can't be timid here.)

Kate: Don't worry, I'm surprisingly resilient!

Jude: ... Hah!

Jude-san snickered at my best smile and looked down at the newspaper.

Ellis: Then, it's decided.

Kate: Yes, thank you very much.

When I smiled at Ellis-kun, he smiled back softly, unlike Jude-san.

Ellis: Speaking of which, you can speak in a more informal manner.

Kate: Eh ...

Ellis: A "yeah, thank you" would be nice.

Kate: U-um, yeah ... thank you.

Ellis: Hmm, that's nice.

The air of warmth that Ellis-kun exudes is soothing and relaxing ...

Victor: Now that we've got that settled, let's get right to the task at hand.

Victor's words made my spine straighten.

(This is my first real job as a 'fairytale writer'.)

I brace myself, thinking that the first step is the most important thing in order to earn people's trust.

Victor: I actually want you to gather some information.

Victor: We've been talking about kidnappings all over London.

Kate: Is this ... a kidnapping case?

The disturbing words brought back the nervousness that was etched into my skin when I first met the members of 'Crown'.

Victor: Yes. The ages vary. From toddlers to teenagers, and, of course, adults.

Victor: The common deminator is that most of the adults are prostitutes and street performers.

Victor: The songstresses who were once popular at bars have disappeared ... but there are many people who don't have a fixed address.

Jude: The victims are not very nice people, and since they don't have a permanent address, they can't be reported missing.

Jude: And, as usual, the police refuses to act.

Sadly, as Jude-san says, those who work in the entertainment district are looked down upon.

Behind the salubrious world, they are treated as if they are being swept away.

Victor: So here's the thing ...

Victor: Did you know that there's an art fair in London right now that attracts performers?

Kate: Yes. It's not as busy as the social season, but it's pretty lively.

Victor: I want Jude and Ellis to go out there and gather information.

Victor: They're rootless, but they're more connected horizontally than you'd think.

Jude: Why do I have to go, too? Such a pointless mission.

Victor: I'm wondering if it might have something to do with the human traffickers that you just took down in private.

Victor: You're on board, right? And ... I heard today is your first vacation in a while.

It was information that Victor couldn't have known unless someone had told him ...

Jude-san cursed right next to him.

Jude: ... Ellis.

Ellis: He asked me, so I answered honestly. Sorry.

(Maybe the power balance between these two is more equal than you think ...)

Victor: So, have a good day!

Victor's cheerful voice sent us off on our way to our mission.

(It's even more crowded this time ...!)

Appetizing aromas waft from the gorgeous stalls lined up at the art fair venue.

It's not just the food that makes people happy.

There were people painting on the streets and others performing on large stages set up on street corners.

Walking along the street, one can almost smell the lively and joyful atmosphere.

(I'm totally excited and need to focus on the task at hand.)

(Yes, let's listen to them now.)

Kate: Ellis-kun, Jude-san, can you tell me about your curses?

Ellis: I don't remember if we've talked about that yet.

Ellis: I'm cursed with the curse of 'thorns' and Jude is the '13th Fairy'.

Ellis: It's the curse that became the motif of 'Sleeping Beauty'.

(The curse of thorns and the curse of the 13th Fairy ...)

The 13th Fairy is a villain who resents not being invited to the princess' birthday and tries to kill her with a curse.

(I can kind of understand why the fairy is guilty, but ...)

(What is the sin of 'thorns'?)

As I was thinking about it, Jude-san stopped and looked back at me, unamused.

Jude: We three don't have to get along with each other. You go gather information on your own.

Ellis: But, what about guarding Kate-san?

Jude: You alone are enough.

After saying this, he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Kate: ... Does he hate me, even if he doesn't have to?

Ellis: He's like that to everyone, so maybe he doesn't hate you.

Ellis: Maybe so Kate-san won't be in danger if she's seen with him again.

(Hmm, that's not going to happen ...?)

I swallow the words that are about to come out of my throat.

Kate: ... If that's the case, he's a pretty kind person, right?

Ellis: I don't think he's nice. He loves to make people he doesn't like suffer and hear them scream.

Kate: ...

(I'm afraid I can imagine it ...)

He is the complete opposite of Ellis-kun, who spreads kindness to everyone he meets.

As if to prove this point, after we left Jude-san, he was approached by people from all over the place.

Red-faced man: Oh, you! Thanks for taking care of me the other day!

Ellis: You're welcome. Don't drink too much today.

Kate: This person is ...?

Ellis: He was drunk on the street, so I carried him home on my back. I don't know his name.

Kate: Oh!

(Did you bring a stranger home and even take care of him?)

And that's not all that's surprising ...

Furniture Craftsman: Ellis introduced me to people that helped me get my business off the ground! I'm so glad he did!

Student with glasses: Good to see you again! I'd like to thank you for helping me repair my bicycle, and I'd like to get your contact information ...

Cat: Meow.

Ellis: You're welcome.

(Even the cat thanks you ...!?)

(I can't believe so many people thanked him in passing ...)

It just goes to show how many good deeds Ellis-kun usually does.

Kate: You know more people than me, who works as a postwoman ...!

Ellis: I don't know. I think it's normal.

Seeing them smiling at him, Ellis-kun also smiled happily.

(I'm sure things like what you did for me yesterday are really ordinary things for you, Ellis-kun.)

When he sees someone in need, he extends a helping hand to anyone.

A person who sprinkles happiness.

These words came to mind as I watched Ellis-kun happily chatting with the people of the town.

(I wonder if there's any 'sin' I should write about such a person ...)

(Or rather ...)

(Why does such a kind person work for an assassination organization or in the company of someone like Jude-san?

Even though I have witnessed so much of his kindness ... the doubts that suddenly come to mind make my heart flutter.

Ellis: Kate-san, Kate-san.

Kate: ... Oh, I'm sorry! I was thinking.

Before I knew it, Ellis-kun was tilting his head and peering into my face from nearby ...

Ellis: You're thinking about me?

Kate: ... Eh!?

Like two lovers looking into each other's eyes, my heart pounds as he stares at me, so close that we're almost touching each other.

(Ellis-kun doesn't seem to be aware of it, but ... the distance between us seems to be very close.)

The same was true when he visited me in my room the morning after they took me to Crown Castle.

This is the second time I've been this close to his twilight eyes, and I look away as I feel a warmth radiating through me.

Ellis: Oh, I guessed correctly.

Kate: How do you know?

Ellis: Hmm ... somehow?

Ellis smiles and hands me a mug with steam rising from it.

Ellis: While Kate-san was thinking about me, I got a milk tea from the store there.

Ellis: Thank you for helping me with the delivery the other day.

(... Ellis-kun, I'm afraid ...)

Ellis-kun pushes away his curly hair and takes a sip of his milk tea with a sigh.

Ellis: If you have any questions, just ask.

Kate: ... Yes.

Ellis: "Yeah", right?

Kate: ... Ellis-kun, why are you a member of Crown?

Ellis: Is it because Victor recruited Jude and Jude said yes?

(Does that mean that since Jude-san is a member, Ellis-kun is a member as well ...?)

Kate: Why are you with Jude-san?

Ellis: You're full of questions.

Ellis-kun smiles and wraps his hands around the mug.

Ellis: Before I met Jude, I was living from place to place.

Ellis: I happened to meet Jude when I came to London.

Ellis: A lot of things happened, and I made a promise.

Kate: Promise ...?

Ellis: In exchange for working for him, Jude will do me a favor.

Ellis: So ... until then, we're in this together.

The feeling that something might happen when I listen to him makes my heart beat wildly.

Kate: What did you ask for, Ellis-kun ...?

Ellis: It's ...

Performer with flashy hat: What!?

(Eh ...!?)

I was surprised by the loud voice, and when I turned my head, it seemed that right behind me was the back of a special stage.

The performer was scratching his head in confusion.

Performer with flashy hat: Can't you two come? ... Oh god ...!

(He probably means two other performers ...)

Kate: Ellis-kun.

Ellis: ... Hm.

... "The common deminator is that most of the adults are prostitutes and street performers."

We exchanged glances and stepped toward the distressed-looking performer.

Kate: Um, excuse me.

Performer with flashy hat: Hmm? Yeah, I'm sorry, but I have to be onstage in 10 minutes!

Ellis: You just said two people couldn't come ...

Performer with flashy hat: The I was supposed to perform with have been out of touch.

Performer with flashy hat: How many people and days does this take ... It's been a bit strange lately.

(No communication and more than one person ...)

(If we could talk to this person, we might learn something.)

Ellis: I'd love to hear more about it, if you don't mind.

Performer with flashy hat: I'm sorry, but I don't have time for this right now! I have to think quickly about what performance I can do on my own.

After waving us away ... he stared at us again, as if a thought had just occured to him.

Performer with flashy hat: Unless you guys are willing to help me stage it.

Performer with flashy hat: Haha! What a surprise. No matter how much we're in need of manpower, we can't just bring in a bunch of amateurs.

He shook his head as if to say it was a momentary distraction, and Ellis closed the distance between them lightly.

Ellis: Cooperation? What do I have to do?

Performer with flashy hat: Haha! What's the matter with you? I'm just kidding.

Ellis: But if coorperate, you'll tell me the details, right?

Performer with flashy hat: ... What, are you just a couple of guys who are looking for something new?

He stared at us, his good-natured face twisted in puzzlement.

Performer with flashy hat: But, you know, selling information about your friends is a risky proposition.

Performer with flashy hat: I can't even guarantee that you guys don't have bad intentions. After all, we've never met before.

Kate: How do we get people to trust us?

Performer with flashy hat: I guess so ...

Performer with flashy hat: If you're not going to complain about being the target of a knife-thrower or being tied up and dunked in a tank, then ...

Performer with flashy hat: I wouldn't mind trusting you.

(Target of a knife-thrower ...!?)

Ellis: No problem. I'm good at that.

Unlike me, who was perplexed, Ellis-kun proceeded with the negotiations without fear.

(As expected, having been involved in business negotiations with Jude-san, he is used to the situation ...)

I thought that Ellis-kun had cooperated with the show and that negotiations had been concluded, but ... reality wasn't so sweet.

Performer with flashy hat: Tsk, tsk, tsk ... you can't do it alone, boy. You've got to help me out, too.

Kate: What ...!

Ellis: ... Why?

Performer with flashy hat: Of course, it's for the show!

Performer with flashy hat: A tragedy that tears lovers apart, followed by an emotional finale! You're sure to get a big cheer out of this one.

(Knife throwing ... tied up ... tank ...)

Ellis-kun peeked at me with concern as I grew increasingly pale.

Ellis: Kate-san, you don't have to do this.

(He was the target of Victor's knife-throwing, and I'm sure Ellis-kun will be fine.)

I would never be able to duplicate his extraordinary physical abilities ...

It's up to me to get information from this person.

(In this case, I have no choice but to trust Ellis-kun and this performer ...)

Kate: I understand. I will copperate.

[shinjisdone]

Hey! I hope you dont mind this too much but may you write a set of hcs of s1/teen thorfinn with a fem/gn s/o who is like Amanirenas (very smart & tactical, skilled in archery, graceful & brave. You could also include how one eye was blinded too) and how he interact with her

(I’m sorry if this is strange, eygpt + sudan history is my current fixtation rn, so feel free to ignore and delete!)

A very interesting request. When it comes to readers being based on characters/figures, fictional or not, it would be very helpful to get a short description/link of them so that I know just as much as you do in that regard ¯_(´・ω・｀)_/¯ ! I looked Amanirenas a bit up but considering she was a real life person, I can't go too much into her story...basing it on your short description, hope that's okay!

S1 Thorfinn with a Reader Who Is Like Kandake Amanirenas! (Gender-neutral & female examples)

Thorfinn's stance on you depends on wheter you are part of the band or not.

If you are not, you are an enemy, no matter how skillful or brave you may be. However, considering how you mostly fight with a bow, he might not fight you one-on-one. You are probably used for defense.

Yet how useful you are. Even with just one eye, you manage to hit every single target of yours efficiently and deadly. One arrow is enough to send one tumbling down their grave.

It all seems to easy to you. Like the wind you move, light as a feather as if the very air submitted to you and your arrows, allowing you each kill.

Your tactics could leave Askeladd pondering but that is none of Thorfinn's concern. Enemy is enemy and if he ever finds you or can get a duel with the murderer of his father by getting your head, he will.

If you are, however, part of the band, you will surely stand out like a sore thumb. An archer as graceful and smart as you doesn't belong in this group full of hard-headed and foolish men. Especially if you are female.

Many might avoid you and awe at you in battle but Thorfinn wouldn't be one of them - vocally at least. He silently is impressed and approveds of your skills but it still wouldn't answer his question on what a true warrior is.

Is it bravery and tactics? Keeping on with such composure even if one eye was taken from you?

One day he might let it slip of how differently you appraoch things. Why are you here? What is such a...dandy person such as you doing here? Do you see yourself as a warrior?

Thorfinn observes you and your decisions in silence. It's how he makes his opinion of others instead of actually going up and talking to them.

If your strategy proves useful and better than Askeladd's (or when he doesn't want to listen to him), Thorfinn might follow your orders but only privately where only you two can hear them. Though he only takes your word for granted if it makes sense for him but if he does end up trusting you, he might follow any order you give him even if things aren't clear yet.

Your elegance might also confuse him. Why do you speak like that? Why do you treat him like this? You act more royal-like than the princess. He might shrug some things you do and say off or even straight up tell you to drop this 'graceful act'. We are vikings. This kind of behaviour is unneccessary and doesn't make you very popular amongst the others. Just a heads up.

Just say what you wanna say and do what you wanna do. Thorfinn doesn't have the patience for this graceful stuff.

He appreciates your skills in archery. In a way you always have his back and he admittedly feels safer this way knowing there is someone out there who literally and metaphorically has his back. He doesn't need to only look out for himself anymore.

If you are attacked directly though, he might get worried. Being an archer means being vulnerable in melee combat in his mind. Thorfinn will run back and defend you quickly and will scream at you if you initiate close combat yourself. How are you going to win with a bow when someone is this near you with their spear?! Don't be stupid! He thought you were one of the smart ones!

Though your bravery is something he commends. Again, not vocally but you can be sure he might do so when he believes you deserve it. Either by letting you know your own strength or when others doubt yours. He will do so more likely if you are female.

If you are a woman, then some might make some googly eyes at your smart and graceful person. Some may be impressed by you, hailing you as some Valkyrie or warrior queen that they'd definitely marry - if only they weren't so bad and depraved! Haha!

Thorfinn would only scoff at their behaviour. Woman or not, your outer appeareance doesn't matter to Thorfinn but he would be a bit more protective if this kind of behaviour of the other bandmates continues.

If he feels comfortable enough, he might ask you about your eye. Wondering how it is you can still see so well.

[merp-blerp]

So I haven't seen Disney's Wish myself (I'm waiting for it to assumedly go to Disney+, theaters are a lot of money to spend too often), so I can't speak on the film from my own point of view yet, but I have seen the reaction to it so far and I wanted to share my thoughts on why I think some of these reactions are happening, based on my own experience of watching and listening to the Disney fandom's critiques over the many years I've done so. These are just my observations based on my experiences and it's okay to disagree, just be cordial.

Opinions below the cut ↓

I feel like a part of why Wish is the way it allegedly is has to do with something that has been plaguing Disney for a while: trying to prove bad-faith criticisms wrong instead of knowing their strengths.

I'm sure they still happen, but especially in the early and mid-2010s Disney had a lot of half-baked criticisms directed at their stories and characters. Wish might be another one of many attempts to quell these critiques. For example, I remember a common piece of writing advice would be to make villains complex all the time, with villains who are evil for evil's sake being seen as less well done (this was towards media in general, but it applied to Disney too), so Disney began the surprise villain and/or the sympathetic villain trend in their films. Now people have seen that shtick so much they want traditional villains back (me too). It's now overdone and no longer shocking or subversive in their movies anymore. [And as a little add-on, I understand why people want King Magnifico's design to be more "traditionally villainous" but I'm actually happy he isn't, as it's really hard to design a villain like that without perpetuating some kind of bigoted stereotype that a lot of traditional villains have. Even Mother Gothel, one of the last, if not the last of the classic villains Disney has attempted, had a lot of antisemitism baked into not only her design but also her actions. Disney's done that a lot, which is likely accidental, but still bad. I'd much prefer him to look and act like some guy over an awful Jewish stereotype or something similar.] People also called princesses with the temperaments of, say, Aurora, Belle, or Cinderella "boring", or hell, "sexist" in their characterization, so the heroines were made more relatably quirky, as that type of humor towards/by girls and women were very popular in the 2010s. Asha is allegedly somehow both socially inept and socially competent, which arguably isn't a flaw at all, just contradictory. (My neuro-spicy brain wants to somewhat lean towards neurodivergence when I hear that, but I haven't seen the film, so what do I know?) Now people are souring to that too, understandably, as that humor's kind of dated and overdone with Disney's heroines. These traits aren't bad on girls automatically, especially if they make sense for the environment they grew up in like Anna or Rapunzel, but they've just been done to death with Disney. Ironically, now when I see people suggest alternative traits for Asha they propose a more "sophisticated", "mature", or "self-assured" type of personality, aka, what the "sexist" traditional heroines had a lot of the time.

The newer tropes Disney tried to do in place of their old ones don't have as much staying power as the old. Once they're done so much they get stale. If they're based on trends in media rather than being actually captivating in writing, they become timely. People can digest characters like Cinderella, who are interesting and aren't overly worried about upholding trends in their characterization, for centuries whether they realize it or not. But characters like what Asha is allegedly like are based on trendy, shallow politics that aren't as deep as they sound, maybe sometimes even circling right back into the bigotry it was trying to combat (like the girl-boss stuff), and become overdone and/or dated if they aren't done well or in a new way. I feel like because of the poorly made assessments that people used to make towards Disney, Disney is almost embarrassed by their past films when they really shouldn't be. This is why the recent remakes tend to over-correct the originals. In the original Beauty and the Beast, it was not a flaw that Adam was eleven when he was made to look like a beast in my opinion, it just made it more interesting, but some reviews saw it as a bad thing, so they changed the line in "Be Our Guest" that implied his age. It was seen as a flaw that the original Cinderella didn't have a clear reason to stay with her abusive family, even though that's how familial abuse works often and it's really rude to victims to ask "Why don't you just leave?" or something like that; so Disney gave Ella the explanation that she stays because it was her father's home in the 2015 remake, which only added more flaws when you remember that she does leave the house in the end anyway. What was the point in saying that? People wanted strong female characters, so Mulan in her remake is a flawless, emotionless girl-boss. It was seen as sexist when female characters wanted romantic love because "girls don't need a man, so romance is sexist", so Disney stopped telling love stories and focused more on issues of the self, which isn't bad, but now people want Disney to tell love stories again and are disappointed that Asha didn't have a romance with the mostly cut "Star-Boy" character in Wish (again, me too, I love Disney's love stories). All of these are overcorrections to things that were never flaws to begin with, just nit-picks from bad observations of their films. There are too many examples. It's like Disney is insecure.

If Disney understood that these things weren't bad in essence, Wish would be more liked by its critics; if Disney wasn't afraid to let their female characters have actual flaws, not see romantic love as something dated, not continue to listen to these types of shitty judgments, or just take more risks again because that's what shaped the company—taking risks against the odds, Wish would be better (I assume all of the former based on what I've heard, again I haven't seen Wish myself). The pseudo-feminism and CinemaSins type of critiquing from the 2010s has mostly died out. The culture's changed. The tropes people once condemned are now being begged to be brought back. What goes around comes back around. It showcases what was truly timeless and what was just a trend in media.

In my opinion, old bad-faith "fan" responses are partially to blame for these themes in recent films, but of course, Disney is ultimately at fault because they make their own choices. There could also be plenty of other reasons why Wish feels half-done to some, like the alleged poor treatment of employees behind the scenes.

By the way, if you were a Disney fan who had these types of opinions in the past, you shouldn't be hard on yourself about it, especially if you were just a kid listening to and trying to appeal to the adults that were around you or influenced you. The latter is the boat I was in once, and now I've grown up past that. Needlessly cynical film takes and pseudo-feminism were all the rage for a while and many have had that phase of being really into those mindsets. You're not bad if you've been in it at any time in the past as long as you are learning and growing.

I'm choosing to be optimistic about Disney. Somehow I still am. They have been in a creative rut for what seems like a while now. Disney-creative doesn't seem to be allowed to tell the stories they want to tell, instead being made to cater to the wrong people. The people who like to insult Disney more than they like watching their films. They should make movies for the fans of all ages who love them. But I believe Disney can bounce back from this. Disney has been through rough patches before, but these rough patches in the past have led to eras like the Disney Renaissance. I'm hoping the backlash from Wish will lead to Disney making changes once more. They've done that repeatedly in their complex 100 years of establishment. Gone are the times when the Disney remakes were panned by fans but still made tons of money that justified their continued production. And long gone are the days when fans were actually excited about the prospects of Disney recreating their movies (because yes people felt that way once upon a time). Now the remakes aren't making as much as Disney wants and sometimes even flopping. Gone are the days when their animated films were their critical lifeline, Wish proves that they are not immune to being received poorly. It's time for something new. Or old done new. Just something different. It would be one thing if this were just another bad movie, but this was their 100th-year celebration, you think they'd be more careful to not muck it up. But apparently, all it did was reflect all the flaws that have been in Disney's storytelling as of late. That's why the backlash is so great. It feels like the last straw. Once time goes on past the 100th-anniversary era, I think the hate for Wish will die down, but that wouldn't make it less potentially flawed. When I first caught wind of this film, way before we had a trailer even, I was very excited that it seemed like a return to form for Disney, but apparently, it might not be, and that's got a lot of people disappointed, especially since this movie was meant to be a celebration. I've loved Disney for as long as I can remember and I know a lot of people are the same way. People wouldn't be so disappointed in the state of the company if they didn't care deeply about Disney and believed that they could do better. I still think Disney could be great. I still believe in them. They just need to believe in themselves again.

If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! ♥

[pochapal]

I decided to start with problem sleuth, thinking how long could it be? I was wrong. I will finish this beast, but I googled the length, and it's 20% the length of homestuck.

I nearly went on a large ramble here, but that seems rude, so will more vaguely gesture at the thoughts I wanted to convey with a question: Why do you think people start with the later work first, for both Umineko and Homestuck? Homestuck obviously blew up more, but Higurashi is more popular in both the east and west, and I've notices a surprising amount of people going with Umineko first.

In both Higurashi(which I have finished and am rereading) and Problem Sleuth(which I have only barely started), I've enjoyed seeing the early version of ideas I know/assume will be in the later works. It's nice to see how an author grows. This isn't really part of the question, I just thought it was worth sharing and you might have some thoughts.

yeahhhh i first read problem sleuth during one of the earlier homestuck pauses (maybe the mid-late 2011 hiatus) thinking i could get through it in a weekend. it in fact took me much longer than that.

i can't speak that confidently on the higurashi/umineko part of this question since i don't know enough about umineko and i don't know anything about higurashi, but i imagine it'll be a similar correlation just with different material factors. homestuck was the one people got into thanks mostly to the fact it was this mammoth everywhere presence that you couldn't escape for the entire first half of the 2010s (i got into homestuck back in 2010 both because a friend at school recommended it to me and also because suddenly the entire front page of deviantart became homestuck overnight) and from the vague stuff i've seen umineko kind of has a similar hyped up reputation? the odd "read umineko it changed my life and it'll change yours" post has appeared every now and then but i can't say i've ever seen a higurashi equivalent (i have also had both terms muted for over a year so who is to say how reliable this observation is).

i also think that homestuck drew people in due to the fact it was a more "alive" and sprawling project compared to problem sleuth which was written start to finish over the course of 2008 and was barely an eighth of the length of homestuck so the nature of an active piece of work inherently generates more of a fandom around it - the interaction people had with homestuck pretty much until 2018 or so was entirely coded in standard fandom spaces/activity which was bad for meaningful discussion on the story but very good for constantly attracting great numbers of readily-obsessed teens and young adults into the fold. homestuck as well was easier to connect/relate to for a fandom audience than problem sleuth as well - a story about young teens getting into situations with their online friends is far easier to connect to and understand on a relatability level than a pastiche of point and click mystery adventures. also the way that characters and systems were built in homestuck are rife to be projected upon since it's all delineated archetypes in a similar vein to zodiac signs where you can impose whatever interpretation you need to connect to your desired symbol and it'll be right. in other words, homestuck is a highly kinnable piece of fiction.

if i were to hazard a guess, i'd say something similar might be happening with higurashi and umineko? umineko is a mystery story where understanding and empathy are your tools for figuring stuff out which naturally leads to the state of "rotate blorbo in your mind at high speeds" which in turn leads to a deeper emotional connection. i'd imagine that all this stuff would be present in higurashi too, but since it's a horror story the reader is probably not implicitly and explicitly encouraged to think about the story's elements in the same way. something else i've vaguely seen that i'm not sure how reliable an observation it is is that there is a very dedicated very queer umineko fanbase and that kind of word of mouth recommendation goes a long way (for my personal reference all the people i knew who were into umineko before i got into it myself were all trans women).

so in the end i think it's a combination of a certain kind of dedicated fandom and a story that you have an easier way into emotionally connecting with it that draws people more into the latter than the former. there's also the novelty factor of homestuck being one of the longest pieces of fiction in the english language (i know umineko is long as hell too but i don't know how this stacks up compared to higurashi) so there's a kind of bucket list-esque prestige in tackling one of these behemoth texts you Need To Read Before You Die.

to respond to the second part of your ask, one really neat thing especially with problem sleuth is that by reading that with dedication and attention you're rewarded with a kind of decoder for some of homestuck's more obtuse and esoteric elements that a lot of initial readers unfamiliar with how things work struggle with, so when things get weird you're able to go "ah this is basically a reiteration of [X] from problem sleuth" and not stress trying to decipher something that would feel impenetrable. homestuck doesn't try to make itself hard to understand or anything but it does become difficult to follow if you're the kind to breeze through a story and not really take in what it's telling you in the text, so problem sleuth is especially good for building up a visual language so you understand callbacks with little more than a glance. in this way problem sleuth is the theory and homestuck is the theory in practice.

[ripeteeth]

for the book asks--15 please! and also 20 if you don't mind a double ask <3

15: recommend and review a book.

Okay, so you KNOW what book you're gonna get for this lmao.

TO EVERYONE OUT THERE, PLEASE READ FRANKENSTEIN BY MARY SHELLEY.

I swear, that book UNHINGED me. I will never be the same. God, fuck, I can't believe I lost my 48-tweet love song to Frankenstein and why everyone should read it, but I cannot believe that at all of 19 years old, she could pack so much pathos and humanity in only 250 pages. It's everything. It's a spoiled terrified young twink brat only just realizing what he has brought into this world, that this squirming, naked, needy thing is his alone. His responsibility. And he flees into the night, a terrified new mother, desperate to pretend it never happened. I cannot ever stop thinking about the fact that she wrote this at 19 years old, all of about 18 months after losing her firstborn infant, who died during the night while Mary slept. How much of herself did Mary see in Victor? In the Creature? I lose my mind at the way Victor and the Creature are seen in popular culture, as this mad old scientist and his lumbering dumb awkward creation, when in reality Victor is all of about 22 at MOST when reanimates the Creature, all up there in his weird creepy attic apartment lab. He's a college dropout. An obsessive mess. And he abandons his child in his son's moment of need.

And the Creature! He's so passionate and eloquent, haunting and wounded. This should be the man who dogs our steps and keeps us up at night. This preternaturally strong man, who is largely impervious to cold and is wicked fast, who had each of his body parts chosen for their special beauty by Victor, but there is something about him, a living corpse with crepey skin and watery eyes, lips as dark as a dead man's, that terrifies everyone he comes in contact with.

And this is the thing!!!! He is not a monster. Look at him, turned out, born into that accursed attic with nothing. He could not yet see. He did not know language or how to defend himself, feed himself, warm himself, care for himself. He was left to die. But he stumbled along, covering himself with a coat he stole from the attic as he fled, naked and cold, and learned to start a fire, to feed himself on berries and plants, he taught himself to speak, read, and write simply by observing - and he observed humans from afar and yearned only to be loved and accepted. To be one of them.

It's such a fundamental, heartbreaking story. It shatters me. It compels me. I can't ever get them out of my head. Two men who damned each other, Victor by denying his creation the very real care and comfort and humanity that he owed to someone he brought into the world, and the Creature who sought to reduce Victor to that same state by killing everyone he loved, so that Victor would be like him, isolated and miserable. Alone.

And yet, even in the end, they're entwined. Victor's death ends the purpose of the Creature's life and he mourns his father-creator, even after all of it. It's such a complicated story of parent-child relationships, of the exploration of new boundary-pushing science, of pseudo-incestuous themes and tones between two men who have knotted themselves up so well into such a perfect tangle, that they can never be picked apart.

20. what are things you look for in a book?

Hmm. Good question.

I like to be fascinated. I love beautiful prose, but I'm particular about it and am not generally fond of it being too precious or purple. I love things with a bit of monstrosity that get into the gross and horrible details of life, like J.G. Ballard's Crash and John Gardner's Grendel, two absolute favorites. I love books that fuck with narrative structure and keep me guessing, like Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler and Julio Cortázar's Hopscotch. I love a certain sense of interiority and confessional voice, like Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body, Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead, and Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I love things that make my skin crawl but have a certain compelling beauty, like Patrick Süskind's Perfume: Story of a Murderer. I love a sense of awe and hope and hushed connection, the way Susanna Clarke's Piranesi left me.

[walkawaytall]

If you’re up for it, tips/faves from your Disney visit?

Okay, so I'm not expert, but here are some observations from my Walt Disney World trip in no particular order:

First off, I can't speak to other food sensitivities, but I can't eat even a little bit of gluten without becoming ill in such a way that half of my trip would have been ruined, and I was able to eat pretty easily. Ordering quick service meals through the My Disney Experience app, it was usually pretty easy to tell what I could and couldn't have, and for the table service meals that we had, the staff was incredibly knowledgeable about what either was already gluten-free or could be made gluten-free. For anyone who doesn't have food sensitivities, I don't know how to explain how much of a relief this was. Food is always such a cumbersome thing for me in general, and it's even worse when traveling, so having people who clearly knew what they were talking about go over menus with me was really reassuring, and I didn't get sick at all! Foodwise, highlights include: the churros at the Nomad Lounge in Animal Kingdom, which are GF, the GF beignets at Scat Cat's Cafe in the Port Orleans - French Quarter resort, and the Citrus Swirl at Sunshine Tree Terrace in Magic Kingdom. Also, we ponied up the cash for the Be Our Guest dining experience at Magic Kingdom, where you get to eat in Beast's castle from Beauty and the Beast, and the food was excellent. It's not a cheap meal, but, honestly, I think a similar-quality meal outside of WDW would cost about the same. And, whoever our host was is truly living his best life, acting like he's a straight-up cartoon character and clearly enjoying every second of it.

We had someone with some mobility issues who needed to sit or stop walking frequently, and some lessons learned from that: first off, if you're looking at the parks in terms of the amount of public seating with shade, Magic Kingdom is the best for that, followed by Animal Kingdom, and EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are tied for the worst. EPCOT is just...so dang hot with all the cement, and HS...okay, Galaxy's Edge does at least have some shade, but they didn't install as many places to sit as they really could have, and Toy Story Land is almost entirely roasting in the sun. If either of those areas had had a bit more seating/shade, we probably would have spent longer in the park, but as it was, it was sort of a half-day park for us.

If you're staying at a resort on-site, staying at one of the ones that the skyliner hits is super convenient, and way less crowded than the buses. The skyliner only goes to two parks, but still...that's two fewer bus rides.

Because of the way Disney has set things up, if you have any interest in the more popular rides, it is almost imperative to pay for Genie+ and occasionally Individual Lightning Lane passes. It's stupid, and I hate it, but if you're trying to maximize your time there, it's necessary to avoid standing in line half the day.

On that note, though, don't be afraid to ride the "lame" rides. Two of my favorite rides were the PeopleMover and the Carousel of Progress -- both of which I never would have checked out had I not seen Jenny Nicholson's "Top 10 Lame Things To Do At Disney World" video, which I also highly suggest (I actually love all of Jenny's videos, and she has several good ones on theme park stuff. This is one of the shortest ones).

Also, because of the way Genie+ and the Lightning Lane passes work, sometimes it's really easy to get caught up in the game of scheduling the day, and just hopping from one ride to the next without lingering in the parks and checking out the different areas. This is, in my opinion, a huge downside to this system. The parks are all highly themed in various ways, and there are cool things to look at and be around nearly everywhere. If you're constantly rushing from attraction to attraction, you miss some of that. So, try to take some time to linger. It really is worth it to do so.

If you're going to all four parks over the course of several days, I highly suggest having a rest day in the middle of the trip where you don't go to a park if you can. We had originally planned our not-park day for the end of the week, but ended up swapping it around with the last park day because we were just exhausted.

Unless something seems in danger of selling out throughout the day, save buying souvenirs til the end of the day. Spending a bunch of mental energy trying to make sure you don't spill something on your cool new bag or lose your cute Chewbacca plush is silly when you can probably just run through whatever stores on your way out. Ask me how I know this.

Don't be afraid to really examine whether the juice is worth the squeeze. I had been told we had to ride this one ride at Hollywood Studios, and even though I seriously grabbed a Lightning Lane pass four minutes after they were released, our time wasn't until like 7pm. By like...4:30, we had more than exhausted what we wanted to do at the park, were grumpy, and dreading waiting around for another 2.5 hours just to ride a roller coaster...so we didn't. We probably could have gone to the hotel and then gone back to the park, but we were just tired and kind of over it at that point, so we left for the day. And, honestly, I do not think any roller coaster would have been worth getting increasingly grumpy and sunburned over the course of a couple hours. Maybe if it had been a ride we were really looking forward to, but this was one we didn't even know existed until someone told us we had to ride it. So...examine what's actually worth the time/energy to you and base your decisions around that instead of on what other people say is a must-ride, must-do thing.

[crystal-crax]

MY HYPERFIXATION IS KILLING ME ISTG

Because idiot here has decided to freaking read??? About the "multiverse??? Because i'm inside a rabbit hole i can't get out of???

Also I decided to watch ITSV again because i love the details the animation team put into this movie and I'M RANTING AGAIN SO COME HERE TO LEARN QUANTUM PHYSICS WITH ME HAHA

I'm probably speaking out of turn because I HOLD CERO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT QUANTUM PHYSICS. But i'm a dedicated fan so i legit read a bit enough to understand and trust me- IT'S SO NOT THE SAME AS HOLLYWOOD MAKES IT SEEM? LIKE IT'S APPARENTLY NOT EVEN A POPULAR THEORY IN THE SCIENCE WORLD?

But we're not here for the real life logistics of the many world variarions theory, are we?😈

So, here's the gist of it and the way it's tied to the spiderverse. And how the established theory itself proves that Miguel's canon theory it's flawed (to say the least).

"The many-worlds interpretation implies that there are most likely an infinite number of universes. It is one of a number of multiverse hypotheses in physics and philosophy. The "MWI" views time as a many-branched tree, wherein every possible quantum outcome is realized.Basically, many-worlds proposes the idea that the quantum system doesn't actually decide. Rather, that at every junction where large everyday stuff interacts with the quantum system, the timeline of history splits and both possibilities happen on different alternate branches."

YES, exactly how Miguel shows the Arachnoid Humanoid Poly-Multiverse. (Such a tacky name oml he's so silly and i love him). So yeah, there's not really a main universe, just a series of copies of similar realities that explore every possible outcome for literally ANYTHING.

The sole existence of a world where life was able to grow and evolve into humanity is already considered just a different outcome that "casually happened".

So, there's no baseline, there's no rules that must be followed, the universe doesn't need something to be played exactly the same way as another reality BECAUSE THAT WOULD DEFY THE CONCEPT THAT THE THEORY TRIES TO EXPLAIN. You don't need every universe to follow a story or be similar because well, the universe doesn't look for consistency, but to explore and expand every possibility as a confirmed reality.

The world as we know it it's not going to freaking collapse because you don't look or act as your multiversal counterpart. In fact, THAT'S JUST WHAT'S EXPECTED TO HAPPEN.

Thanks to the sciency people, we also raise a concept that literally yells that Miguel's theory doesn't quite make sense:

"The Copenhagen interpretation is a set of principles formulated several physicists in their attempt to answer the questions raised by quantum mechanics.Classical physics is deterministic; we know how a system will evolve in time if we determine the initial state of the physical system by observing its properties at the time we choose to be the initial moment, as well as all external forces acting on the system. Moreover, the act of observing the system does not affect its later behavior. In classical physics there is a clear and unambiguous distinction between the system and the measuring instrument. The description of a physical system is objective; it does not depend on measurements carried out at a later time"

WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS MEAN? I HAVE NO FREAKING CLUE HAHAHA BUT I'M TOO FAR INSIDE THIS GRAVE AND I WILL NOT LET GO OF THE SHOVEL. So yeah, this (although it's quite rejected in the physics departament because it's trying to bring guidelines to an already frowned upon theory- But it is the most popular interpretation so it's all we got) gives us a series of concepts and statistical interpretation of the wave function, and nondeterminism to account for the violation of the basic principles that classical physics rests on.

In other words, measuring a quantum object does not force it into one state or another. Rather, the measurement causes an actual split in the universe. In fact, the various measurements could cause a split into multiple universes— one universe for each possible outcome of the measurement.

SO YEAH, THE UNIVERSE DOESN'T COLLAPSE IF YOU FREAKING CHOOSE TO SAVE YOUR DAD FROM BEING K WORDED.

So tell me Crystal, what the heck happened to Gabriella's universe?

OH MUAHAHA I'M GLAD YOU ASKED.

Let me introduce you to a cute little concept called "Quantum Entanglement".

IT'S SO FREAKING HARD TO UNDERSTAND AND TIE TO COPENHAGEN, BUT IT'S BASICALLY THIS:

"The classical system consists of many atoms, all interacting with one another. In the quantum realm, there are small and big systems. The wave function works in the small systems. When observation occurs, and the state becomes clear, the wave function collapses."

So, imagine a big ocean. Full of waves, every wave is a different "world", a different shape that the water has taken. But it doesn't stop being part of the same ocean. They connect, rise...BUt what happens if a ship enters the wave? IT BREAKS HAHA

In quantum mechanics, wave function collapse occurs when a wave function—initially in a superposition of several eigenstates—reduces to a single eigenstate due to interaction with the external world.

The ship is the force that comes from outside the chosen universe, and the wave is well - the universe.

And who explained this already in the first movie? THE BEAUTIFUL AND SMART DOC OCK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

Has anybody really noticed that she pretty much explains the reason for Gabriella's universe collapse? Or at least- somewhat lays the base of it

Wow, just complete celular decay, i've never seen anything like it..You've obviously been glitching?If you stay in this dimention too long, your body is going to disintegrate.

Or are we just supposed to assume that Miguel is just that much of a genius so he found a way to completely erase the cellular decay? I love that man with every inch of my body but c'mon.

The waves push and pull, the outside forces that invade them are breaking them, so the universe rejects the invasor's atoms in order to attack what's hurting them.

But Miguel tries to push through anyways. He can't pass through? He builds a stronger ship to break the waves. Now the universe won't attack his atoms and try to erase them.

EXCEPT, You can't fight nature man, the sea will always find a way to claim it's space again.

Miguel might have stayed without risk on Gabi's universe, but he basically just shielded himself against a bomb that flew back to where it was launched from.

The universe's death does not happen because you "break through the world's similarities", it breaks because you mess with the order that 'that' universe has made for itself.

AND I'M AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE OF NATURE BECAUSE I LITERALLY READ THROUGH THE BIGGEST LEAST ACCEPTED PHYSICS THEORY TO PROVE THAT THIS HANDSOME UNHINGED MAN IS WRONG

GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY

[hurrakka]

oh man. theoretically in a l4d au luis would've helped develop the green flu yeah? sure it's a naturally occurring virus in l4d canon (maybe. we're not really sure where it comes from cus ceda doesnt say shit but ellis mentions the government using bio-bombs in one of his keith stories so it could be a bioweapon?) but this is an au we can do what we want.

anygays im just imagining leon getting infected. we know better-safe-than-sorry-guy (i call him scout cus his va is the same as scout from tf2) is human when we first find him but experiencing extreme paranoia and some compulsions then a few minutes later he fully turns, going from able to speak and function to choking and growling and fully mutated (either into a hunter, boomer, or smoker) so there's always the possibility of a rapid transformation too. im thinking leon falling behind a bit while theyre walking because he's coughing and chokin and shit n he falls to his knees and luis is all like "bro whats wrong!!" and he gets to watch as leon Turns Before His Eyes. even better if he turns into a hunter cus if you look closely at their models they don't have eyes. we can't be exactly sure what Happens to their eyes when they turn but the two most popular headcanons are both equally brutal-- either Luis has to watch Leon's eyes quite literally melt out of his skull or he gets to watch him claw his own eyes out. Fun!

BUT there's graffiti in one of the safe rooms arguing over how long it actually takes to turn-- whether it's 20 minutes, 2 hours, overnight, or some other wacky chunk of time. so there's also the thought of Leon turning slowly. progressively becoming irritable and irrational and confused and him slipping in and out of conciousness for days until Luis goes to check his temp one day and he fucking Lunges.

and if leon turns and luis makes it out alive imagine the Guilt. he feels awful enough in re4 canon when there's a cure,,, but the green flu mutates too often to develop a proper cure for it. if leon gets infected and he isnt immune then he's just. done. theres nothing that can help him at that point. and luis already feels so goddamn guilty about the millions of people he's killed and now leon's gone too and he cant help but visualize every single person who had somebody ripped from them by his hands.

oh man and if luis has to put leon down? its joever. that man would Never recover. i dont even know if he'd keep trying to survive at that point. maybe just for that shred of hope of developing a cure (even though he knows it'd be damn-near impossible but it's the only thing hes got, dammit) and stopping this whole disaster.

coughs. sorry for the rambling i simply have been obsessed with l4d for going on 12 years now so <3

I had to lay down for a moment bc of the feels and potential outcomes in the event luis lives on while leon well...yeah (thinkin abt how buddy from re damnation would jus turn as well since leon is no longer there and that made me big sad dgkrnekhbfgnjklh) Since the re verse has like morbillion viruses, the green flu existing would be plausible so its just another stonks moment for umbrella lol. But yeah luis would absolutely be devastated. He probably doesnt have the guts to pull the trigger, least he can do is to restrain leon for a while and tries to find whatever humanity he has left in his nonexistent eyes. Tho in my witch!leon hc I think luis may have a chance to keep leon around??? Since witches seem to have the most humanity among the infected (and thats not saying much) he could probs observe him a lil bit without getting eaten right away. It would just be a warm bodies scenario ngl (i just watched that movie recently so this is huge copium dksfghbshgndfh) Honestly Im glad l4d fandom still alive after all these years. That game will always be goated and it was one of my high-school obsessions. I used to do crossover stuff back then and Im back to doing it now. Time rly do be a flat circle

[temporarilyunstable]

Hi, I like your cover pic. Are you a fan of ShizuAka? Do you think the show is pushing them as a couple? Since they have a not so big age gap? Compare to Kogami?

Hello! Yes I am a HUGE fan... I shipped them since this scene when PPFI premiered:

I was alone for a bit and was a little afraid to talk about them and then a few months later some fans started to notice it too (@oatbrew answering a bunch of asks a few months after PPFI aired, one of which was anon sent by @shikkokans who is probably my closest sounding board when it comes to shizuaka these days whoops I went on a tangent). Anyway, Jay's answers and the awakened interest in it gave me a bit of courage to be embarrassingly annoying about them and began using the tag shizuaka (chose that over akashizu bec it sounded weird lol), then I began writing fics and shoving it down everyone's throats (this is mostly on twitter but i do occasionally do it here as well 🤪).

To be honest I think it's too early to say anything about shizuaka, but I'm not gonna lie, the possibilities are there— I can talk about them so much especially the supplementary materials (novels, deleted script, profiling 3) that I think were purposely removed from the show (OR intentionally added bec these were published after the show aired— could be either) but for now it's nothing. And, well I always like to say there's nothing there, but there's everything to jump off from, if that makes sense. Doesn't take a lot for me to ship but for me to ship this hard it's because there's solid potential and I can't unsee the connections... sorry for being vague! It's because shizuaka is such a small ship right now and I have so much fun with it, I have already seen some fans who mock it because it's a threat to koaka if it does happen. I never stopped shipping koaka, just been shipping them differently from before and with shizuaka I truly don't mind sharing with people who are genuinely interested and not here to yuck my yum, know what I mean?

I will say this. If last March 27, 2020 I called it a crack ship, I cannot, in all my capacity as an audience and a PP fan be able to say the same about them with the information I have now. I'm sorry for the long non-answer but you got me started and I just love them so much so sorry if this is annoying to read... if you're still interested please send me another ask and I'll be happy to elaborate 😊.

As for the "pushing", I think that anyone who walks into psycho pass expecting romance and specially those really seeking validation through "canon status" is setting themselves up for disappointment (not saying you are by the way, this is just a general observation). PP is really not that kind of show. The best any ship fan could hope for is screen time - and meaningful screen time at that. This is why koaka is the most popular ship (in non-JP speaking countries), because despite the fact that creators can say what their intentions were (eg koaka are platonic comrade buddies) and the audience absolutely refusing to see otherwise, the story has already established koaka's relationship to be the most important of the series so far. The audience can make of that what they will, the creators are not stopping fans from doing so buuuuut I also get this feeling they're the kind of team who do not want their intentions to be brushed over by fans hence the "course-correcting" that happened in the midst of promoting PPP (note: THIS IS JUST MY INTERPRETATION).

In any case, PP never explicitly depicts romance, and you can count with your fingers ON ONE HAND the actual romantic scenes—by this I mean literal canon— not romantic as interpreted by fans. So no, I don't think the show is pushing for any ship at all, regardless of any age gaps. What I can guarantee is that the marketing team will sure as hell use that sweet sweet shipping fuel to earn a bit more money from merchandise sales 😉.

[kaedeakeshisworld]

I love cake

gist: When I go back to my seat, I observe Beni reading a book and proceed to ask him: "What are you reading?"

"Oh, you’re done how was it?"

"Wonderful, nothing like a hot shower to make me feel better."

"Glad to hear that. I’m reading Izana, a folklore story that deals with the legend of the girls born on the year of the horse. Some sort of curse condemns their existence and the only solution as cruel as it may sound is to kill the kid to inhibit them from bringing misfortune to the village. It was a common practise of clan superiority traditions but it’s extremely nefarious so it has died down to a certain extent."

"Wow! I didn’t know you liked folkore stories like that. I’ll add that to my reading list for this month."

"It will be a wonderful read, I assure you."

"I don’t doubt it."

chapter notes:

Ramyeon*: Korean noodles my fave are kimchi and spicy from shin ramyeon.

Baguette*: French stick type of bread.

Camembert*: Smelly French cheese (some say it smells like feet…)

Cailler*, Läderach ag*, Toblerone* Lindt*: Swiss chocolate brands which happen to be my fave.

Petit beurre*: butter biscuit sometimes covered with milk chocolate or dark one. Its equivalent in the anglo saxon sphere would be graham crackers.

Quatre quarts*: Made up name place but it means pound cake in French.

bruva*: british lingo for brother (another example is how they add chew in tuesday- phonetically speaking).

rad*: crazy, mad about.

Lapis Lazuli*: a hotel name in this fic but is also a crystal often blue as well as song by the Beach House.

Jambon beurre*: literally ham butter sandwich. A very popular combo, if you ever can get a sammy at a French boulangerie, this is a classic.

financier*: a small cake (typically a finger food), can be rectangular or oval which dates back to 1865.

Je suis à Paris, les nanas*: translation Girls, I'm in Paris. Les nanas means girls but sometimes it can also mean boobs. Here is the former but the more you know…

Bukkake*: A collective jizz shower if you get what I mean…

For the pet names list: love, honey, daddy and sir for Leo.

Concerning Palais de la démesure, it is a fic I'm currently writing. Might be out towards like February of this year if work doesn't manage to knock me out first (fingers crossed)!

Cw: sex in a bathroom at the airport(do not reproduce, I Guess), benimaru is a menace, reader getting ate out, attempt to an actual handjob and blowjob but oh well she can't do much because of him, benimaru also is addicted to her so much so he's back at it again in the airplane( a menace he is), consuming porn, group chat talks are the best.

wc: 7096

c/s: this one is quite long, heh!

Blank/Ageless blogs/MDNI, I will block you!

I’ve dreamt of this moment ever since I laid my eyes on her back in uni. I have to pace myself otherwise I’ll just jizz my pants and I don’t want that for my first sexual intercourse with Y/n. Dawg, I sound like a fucking teenager who’s tryna get their very first nut! Why am I so goddam nervous in the first place. Like this is light work but I wanna impress her too…

"So," she commences "what are you going to do about your erection?"

He tells her "Brace yourself on that sink with both hands, if you will?"

"I can do that."

"That’s secure enough for you? You’re not going to do anything which requires the use of my might?"

"Maybe, who knows?"

He gets down on his knees and his hands start fumbling your backside. 

I have my hands on uni's most appraised butt. What a fucking legend I am to be the one fondling it. We were little shits back then but what could a motherfucker do besides blame hormones? We were packing and matter of fact I ain’t lose none of the moves from back then. I’ll show her how a real man eats out a woman. 

Memories 

"Hey, you don’t know what I’d do to get my hands on Y/n’s backside."

"Same! Before I die, if god is real and can grant me one wish, I wanna rest my head on it. You can tell the joint's hella comfortable."

"What if she farts?"

"Are you dumb or you’re acting like it on purpose?"

"He is, poor thing really thought women don’t get gassy."

"You sure you passed them exams to get to uni or maybe you bribed someone?"

"What are you even saying?" 

"I said what I said and it stays between us."

"You can’t be the first one who’s done it anyway."

"He’s so spot on."

"Anywho… wanna bet?"

"Bet about what?"

"I’ll touch that butt of hers before any of y’all get the chance to. I’m the best, so place it now."

"Two hundred."

"Fifty ‘cause I’m behind rent this month."

"One thousand if you do it today."

"Sold! Just watch me in action."

"Y/n!"

"Beni! How have you been?"

"Not looking as fine as you do."

"Stop playing."

"I’m just saying the truth."

"Yeah, keep at it."

"I was wondering if we could maybe go to the movies."

"Tonight, I can’t I have a due paper and need to verify some finishing touches before I hand it in but tomorrow, I’m free."

"Tomorrow at ten, then."

He mouths to them when he goes away by Y/n's side 'just watch me, you bunch o’ goons.'

"He acting like he the king or sum?"

"So fucking conceited!"

"He must be high from what he bouta get tomorrow."

Tomorrow evening  

"As always, you look superb."

"You don’t look so bad yourself."

"That’s a compliment from Y/n, I’ll cherish it my whole life."

"Really?"

"Pick whatever you’d like, my treat."

"Salted caramel popcorn, butter and sprite. I wouldn’t mind having some sour patch kids…" 

"Great choice."

"What about you?"

"I don’t really feel like eating so, candy will be aight."

"You like it?" 

"So far, it ain’t bad."

"We’re getting to the scarier bits."

"Okay."

"You can hold me, if you want to."

"I’ll be good."

That’s what she said but her hands were gripping his bicep and her hiding her face on it says otherwise. She really was tryna act strong in front of a horror movie. You should know better!

"It’s gotten better, I promise."

She looks at the screen and the murderers are actually decapitating the victim while performing some sort of ritual which apparently could revive the dead. In answer to him lying to her she smacks his arm.

"Beni! How could you do this to me?"

He chortles so hard which earn him some disapproving looks from other folks who were also in the room. 

"I thought it would be nice to prank you. Please, don't hate me. You're so pretty when you get mad."

"You're crazy Beni, on god you are."

At first you think it’s a bit odd or he’s perhaps just getting in the mood so you let him do how he feels it. He hikes up your dress, plays with your undies a little before getting a sharp inhale from the source.

He slides her panties down to her ankles and slowly but surely smooches her pearl. She smells really good down there. He’s glad he gets to taste her essence from the source right away even though licking her clean from her underwear would thrill him too.

His hands grab her cheeks to spread them in a way he can engulf fully her clitoris into his moist hot cavern. 

He lets her know that eating her out is one of the many things he enjoys doing when he vibrates around her button. She lets out an almost inaudible squeal which has him struck at first to hear such a sound but women are one of a kind so he’ll try to get to know more sounds like this he’s not so used to hear. Interesting, he considered.

She grips the sink, harder. She also makes a mental note not to make too much noise because they are in a public setting. Yes, with Leo she was inside a car outside but this time things are slightly different she’s in the airport, getting it on with someone who’s had eyes on her for a long time. She doesn’t know what to expect of him in terms of what he can do to her given the current situation she finds herself in. She should be fine, she likes to think this way.

"Just like that, please don’t stop."

He asks her "you like that or you could use some more of my face?"

She spits back "you want me to ride it?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Do we have time?"

"We still have roughly eleven minutes left, so go ahead."

She grabs the back of his head, settles exactly how she feels like she should be using his face like a seat then makes a back and forth motion while trying to keep her composure because his tongue is not really giving her a break like she thought she’d get as if she were in control.

A few moments after she finds herself on her knees, riding his face while she tries to pump his erection with her bare hands, Benimaru somehow forgot how nice acrylics feel on his dick. It’s been a long time since he’s had a wild night similar to the one when he had been summoned at the Palais de la Démesure. He sometimes wishes he were summoned more often but oh, you cannot have everything you want in life now, can you?

Anytime she tries to wrap her lips around his head, he makes her jerk slightly forward with his tongue skills. When she finally does engulf him into her mouth, he lets out a sharp inhale. As she bobs his length up and down he grips her hips harder and sucks on her clit to the best of his ability one could think it has somehow become a competition to see which one of them is going to make the other come the fastest.

When her much awaited release washes over her, her first reaction is to put her hand over her mouth and she remains there, shaking for nearly three minutes atop Benimaru’s face. 

"How are you?"

"Better than ever, great I must say!"

"How much?"

"We ended before the actual time so we have five minutes to freshen up, look somewhat presentable not like we were fucking and off, we are."

"I never had someone make me come like that just using my clitoris, only.

I wanna know where did you learn that."

"I can ’t tell you where or who I learned it from all. I can say is that I am thrilled to hear you enjoyed that. I would gladly give you another clitoridian orgasm whenever you feel like having one. I am at your service anytime." 

"That’s so refined of you. Is that how you get women?"

"No, not my preferred method to say the least."

"Then, how do you proceed, I’m curious now?"

"Well…" he says meanwhile he buttons up his pants. "May you please remind me how I got you."

"Uhm… I don’t quite remember how that went. I could use a little help if you know what mean."

"Y/n you’re being incredibly hurtful in my opinion. How could you do this to me?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"I invited you to have breakfast with me, we talked for a bit. I made you laugh and got you on a trip abroad with me. So far, aren’t you enjoying it?"

"You’re right about that. We’ll see that when we’re finally in Paris."

She takes off her panties and discards them.

"You’re not going to wear panties during our flight?"

"They’re soaked. I’m not doing that to her plus, a little wind won’t hurt."

"You’re right maybe, I should do the same."

"No, you should hurry up. I’ll go out first and send you a message when you can come out."

"We cannot be seen exiting this room together."

"Okay. I’ll wait for the message."

On board  

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten up your seatbelts."

"What are we going to do once we land there, Benimaru?"

"For the very first few nights, we’ll stay at a hotel if all goes according to plan that is, then later we’ll go to a house that I rented. That way, we’re not permanently in Paris throughout the whole trip because it may be the city of love but it’s not able to fit all of us who wish to be there."

"You meant you wanted to move there someday?"

"I would love to but the housing situation is enough to provide me with a decent headache, I don’t need that on a daily basis."

"Oh, I get it but maybe you should try moving to the suburbs. I’m sure you’d find your happiness there."

She’s probably not wrong. I’m sure one can find a nice place within an hour difference from Paris.

Meal

"The baguette is rather stale, if you ask me. The salad’s okay, the camembert too, a glass of wine, the onion soup with and we got macarons for dessert. I think I’ll ask for a bowl of ramyeon* later in the day, I know I’ll be hungry.

"What did you get?" 

"I opted for cantonese rice, a side of pickled okra, a pudding and I also have boxes of chocolate." 

"How did you get chocolate?"

"Complimenting the flight attendant goes a long way…" 

"You’re telling me I should do the same?"

"No, I have two boxes, one for me and the other for you."

"Can I see the goods?"

"Here you go."

"Normally, we have Cailler*, Läderach ag*, Toblerone* and Lindt*."

"Oh, how I love Swiss chocolate!" 

"I know you do."

"Should we share?" 

"Only if you want to."

"Swiss liquor ones or petit beurre*?"

"Why not both?"

"You’re right," she lets out "we should treat ourselves."

You both bite them. Now for the Swiss liquor, you popped one into your mouth.

"Y/n you have something on your upper lip."

You look at it, you can’t see what he’s just mentioned. He said "I’ll get it for you."

He approached your face, touched your upper lip with the pad of his finger and then kissed you. It caught you by surprise, you gave in didn’t even fight back.

"What was that for?"

"I was always told that chocolate liquor tastes better if it’s comes from someone else’s mouth so I wanted to put it to test."

"You’re trying to impress me or did I miss something?"

"We can try it again if you want to, you can kiss me this time."

"Beni～ is it because you didn’t get to do it earlier?"

"It probably is."

"We should watch a movie together."

"Then, I’ll leave the choice to you."

"That’s okay with you?"

"Of course! Why wouldn’t it be?"

"You think my seat has enough space for us?"

"I’m sure it’s the case. We should get comfy."

"Are you sure the flight attendant is not going to catch us?"

"We aren’t doing nothing illegal Y/n, just watching a movie."

"I’ll sit first, you sit on me and get the covers."

"What did you pick?"

"You’re going to see."

"Paprika or Tokyo godfathers?"

He doesn't answer. He does love how you keep asking him what you're going to watch. It's amusing for him.

Midway through the movie, your head peacefully rested on Beni’s chest while he stroke your thigh aimlessly just reeling at how much he wanted this brief moment to last.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, it’s a bit hard to follow but I think I’m getting the hang of it."

"I’m happy to hear that."

"I told you to pay attention to it and you’re getting sleepy on me. No can do."

His dominant hand snaked right into your panties while the other delicately fondles one of your boobs. You were about to protest but the way he does everything in sync makes it die on your tongue. 

You feel encouraged to rub your bud against his fingers while he smooches behind your ear.

"Beni～," you managed to utter between each moan he dragged out of you.

"Yes!" 

"You’re going to continue even if I stop, right?"

"By all means, my love. You’re paying attention to the movie?"

"How can I- -"

"Tsk, I told you to keep your eyes on it."

"You’re being so mean!"

"I’m not, I’m giving you some relief before tonight’s much needed rest."

"What happened to the Beni I met at my place before coming to the airport?"

"Never heard of him. We can talk about him if you want to…"

"Such a joker."

Shower

"I can shower here."

"Yes, you can. I’ll ask the flight attendant to show you where it is."

"Oh that’s wonderful. Are you going to do it too, Benimaru?"

"No I’m good, I’ll shower when we get to the hotel."

"I was wondering I think we should go to the Louvre museum." 

"Oh you’d like to go there. No problem." 

"You rock!"

"On the first day or can it wait?"

"Maybe on the second or the third even…"

"You’d like to go by yourself or be in company of someone?"

"You have somewhere to be?"

"No, I’m just asking."

"I would like it to be with you."

"We’ll do that."

In the shower while everything has been going perfectly well, you’re suddenly hit with a wave of sadness when you’re washing up. The goods you’re using on this flight smell exactly like ones Leo wore the first time you two ever met. It feels wrong to remember him fondly when a few hours earlier you were sitting on Benimaru’s face and he made you come like that. Is it greedy of mine to want both of them doing unspeakable things to me? I’m sure it isn’t, you laugh it off. For the time being you should enjoy your deserved time in Paris by Beni’s side. Everything else shall fall into place.

When I go back to my seat, I observe Beni reading a book and proceed to ask him: "What are you reading?"

"Oh, you’re done how was it?"

"Wonderful, nothing like a hot shower to make me feel better."

"Glad to hear that. I’m reading Izana, a folklore story that deals with the legend of the girls born on the year of the horse. Some sort of curse condemns their existence and the only solution as cruel as it may sound is to kill the kid to inhibit them from bringing misfortune to the village. It was a common practise of clan superiority traditions but it’s extremely nefarious so it has died down to a certain extent."

"Wow! I didn’t know you liked folkore stories like that. I’ll add that to my reading list for this month."

"It will be a wonderful read, I assure you."

"I don’t doubt it."

Bedtime

"No, I’ll make your bed for you. After all, that’s the service you paid for."

"You did, Benimaru?"

"Yes, love."

"Sorry then."

"I was wondering if can I get some infusion before bed?" 

"Indeed, is there anything like flavour you’d like to have?"

"Chamomille would be wonderful, that is if you have that."

"Definitely! I’ll check but I’m ninety eight per cent sure we have it."

"Here is you infusion, would you like some sugar with it or honey?"

"Honey would be lovely."

"Here you have it. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Everything was perfect. Thank you."

"You’re welcome, please, do not hesitate."

"I suggest you rest as much as you can, we have an eventful day tomorrow."

He kisses her forehead and tells her "Goodnight love."

Breakfast

At last we get to have a proper Parisian meal which is made up of the mandatory classics like a croissant, pain au chocolat, tartine with jam and butter. A double shot espresso coffee with a dash of milk. And for the fiber, a fruit salad.

"We’ll arrive at Paris in a bit less than two hours."

"I can’t wait for it. I am so excited."

"We’re currently at the airport. We’ll most certainly eat before we get to the hotel. I ordered a few of my men to get me a car but given it’s weekday time and peak hours for traffic jams, they’ll be here in about an hour."

"Got it."

"What should we do then?"

"We can get some snacks for the time being the hotel check in is only at eleven roughly."

"Let's go to a drugstore then I have to stock up on sunblock and I should also get me some nuxe products."

"Lead the way, I’ll follow you."

"What do you think of this?"

"It smells really good, you should buy it."

"If you insist…"

Get some sheet masks because this flight dried up my skin terribly. 

Perfume should I pick vanilla or strawberry? I don’t feel like choosing so get both. I know he’ll like it, anyway.

"To Lapis Lazuli* we go." 

"It’s not in Paris, it’s nearby and what do you take me for a pigeon maybe?"

"Hotels in the very centre of the capital are a pain in the ass, I don’t like that type of hassle. I picked somewhere not so well know so that way in two days or so we can leave for the house I rented."

"Mother why are you trying to monitor your son who’s on a trip with the girl he loves?"

"That’s my job."

"Don’t you have more important matters to attend at the moment?"

"Like what for example?"

"I don’t know, maybe not worrying about me?"

"Okay, darling bring me some souvenirs and take care of that girl you cherish so much."

"I will, bye mother."

Someone gently wakes you from your slumber. You really don't feel like opening your eyes and he didn't want to wake you up since you were serenely sleeping. He has to.

"Y/n, Y/n, can you hear me, love? I’m so sorry to wake you up, we’ve arrived at the hotel. I know you must be knackered but try to be awake at least for the check in. As soon as we’re done with it, I’ll carry you to our room."

"Okay."

Honestly, you don’t know what came over you back in the car. One could guess the sound of the engine was enough to lull you into Morpheus soothing arms. It felt nice to rest on Beni’s shoulder, he’s such a gentleman he even covered you with his jacket.

After a little much needed nap which lasted over three hours and a half, you decided it was time to let the girls know if you made it to Paris. You let out as soon as they pick the phone up in your best French accent:

"Je suis à Paris, les nanas*!"

"I’m jealous," Marjorie said. 

"I wish I were a squirrel," Theresa added.

"Lordt, what have I done to deserve this?" Bianca drammatically uttered, she continued with "Girl, where the Eiffel Tower at?"

"Yeah, let us see that," Theresa announced.

"Word!" Marjorie claimed.

"I will when I get there, I promise." you told them.

"How’s our new knight, babes?" Theresa asked.

"He’s good?!"

"Or is he," she widens her eyes, "better than Leo?" Bianca inquired.

"Uhm… hard to compare them like that." You answered.

"Oh, our girl needs time." Marjorie declared.

"Yup, evaluation period is necessary." Theresa disclosed.

"Girl is that a hickey on your pulse point?" Bianca asserted.

"Shiiit… he don’t waste time!" Marjorie added. 

"Like you said, he don’t." Theresa suggested.

"He hella fast!" Bianca replied."

"A lot has occurred!" you shyly added. 

Marjorie had a 'ah' moment where she smacked her fist on top of her other hand. She communicated the following thought "You fucked in the plane?"

"You living’ la vida loca, if you did. No judgement, babes. I'm not God's servant and don't plan on becoming one." Theresa highlighted.

"Oh, heck yes! Girl, you better get it." Bianca championed.

"No, he had me ride his face in the airport." You finally let them know.

"Hello 911, I would like to report depravity in a public restroom. Please, make sure to be here in fifteen minutes…"Marjorie joked about it.

The other girls are cackling on the phone way too hard and honestly you also ended up getting teary eyed with all this laughter. Good times!

"You livin’ the dream. I hope you really sat on it." Bianca implied.

"Tell us more, you ouchtea living that erotica book lifestyle!" Theresa stated.

"I swear I’m not. I feel a little lost." You uttered.

"About what?" Theresa suggested.

"Spill the beans, babe." Bianca voiced.

"We’re listening." Marjorie delivered.

"Leonard seems like a past thing now. I know I asked for a break but I can’t help and sometimes see him in Beni." You said.

"I think I know what you mean."Bianca estimated.

"You’re not wrong for thinking that." Marjorie conveyed.

"It’s not something to worry 'bout. I'm sure the future has something better in store for you." Theresa responded.

Benimaru knocks on the door. He asks:

"Y/n, we’re leaving for an afternoon tea in half an hour." 

"Girls, hold on. I’ll be back in a few."

"Okay. I’ll be ready by then."

"May I come in?" 

"Yes."

"I just need a few documents for a business partner who happened to come. I won’t bother you for long."

She goes back to her phone and Bianca really shouts on the phone, 

"Is that him?"

"Girl, being discreet never been your forte." 

"I second that."

"Yes, it is."

"Make him say hi, I’m tryna see something."

"Beni?"

"Yes, my love."

"Would you mind saying hi to the girls on the phone?"

"It would be a pleasure, honey."

"Just so you know, Bianca is the girl with curly hair, Theresa has a mullet Marjorie is the redhead."

"Okay. May you let me see them?"

"Undoubtedly."

She puts the phone in front of him and he pulls her closer to him "Hi, I am Beni, the man who’s currently taking care of your friend abroad."

"Pleasure to meet you Bianca, Marjorie and Theresa!" 

"Waouh! He looks so good like that." Marjorie acquiesced.

"Is that gel on your hair or something else?" Bianca questioned.

"No, it’s wax. Thank you for noticing."  And he winks at her. What is he doing?

"You’re treating our girl right, right?" Theresa inquired.

He looks at her "Am I treating you right," he grabs her chin and caresses her lips with his thumb, "sweetie?"

On the other side of the line, the girls are going off with their much awaited exclamations such as "Lord!! This is way to hot. Am I currently in the city called hell?" Marjorie said.

"Damn it gurl, he really had to pull that move on us? Called us single in many ways. I feel ashamed now." Theresa uttered.

"Jeez… I got a man but to be pampered that way is a dream." Bianca replied.

For a few minutes it was as if the girls never made part of the convo so they waited for an answer you never gave. It was him who told them.

"I’m sure I'm taking care of her fairly well. As you can see she forgot to respond you and if it’s not the case, she’ll let you know. That way you can get me back on track, isn’t that right, girls?"

Theresa: Absolutely! 

Bianca: No problem! 

Marjorie: Got it! 

"See, your girls have your back Y/n. Now, if you excuse me.

 It was lovely to get to meet you guys. I hope we can meet in person, sometime. I have some matters to attend. I wish a wonderful afternoon to all of you."

And with that he leaves, giving you a forehead kiss in the process.

"That’s how he treats you," Bianca added "you a lucky bitch, I have to admit."

"Girl… I want that lovey dovey too," Marjorie communicated. 

"Let me put spirit on speed dial for you gurls, do not waver. I got you."Theresa said.

"Theresa thank you for saving us,"both Marjorie and Bianca answered.

"What’s planned for now?" Theresa questioned.

"Oh, we’ll go to a tea place later."

"Ooh, nice." Bianca blurted.

"Don’t forget the pics." Marjorie reminded her.

"Have fun!" Bianca enthusiastically yelled.

"And tomorrow, we’ll go to the Louvre museum."

"Sis! Switch places, asap!" Marjorie cried out.

"What are you saying, Marjorie?"

"Don’t listen to them, Y/n just live it up."

"I’m heading to my pilates class so, bye babes. Take care."

"You’re instructing now?"

"Yes."

"Congratulations Bianca! I knew you would make it."

"Imma doze off after being on night shifts for the month you know, tryna make ends meet…"

"I get it, you should get your well deserved rest."

"The online sales are doing a bit too well so much that I can barely keep up with orders. I’m grateful for my efforts are finally paying off."

"You’re so right, I’m happy for you. Love you."

"Me too."

"See ya!"

"Bye."

Now, I’m left with choosing the outfit. I think it’s safe to check the weather to avoid any unwanted surprises and maybe a hoodie. It looks windy out here and don’t want to risk getting sick, I’m not taking any chances.

"What do you think about this dress?"

"Whatever you put on will look divine on you."

"Really?"

"Surely!"

"You’re not really helping, you know that?"

"Sorry. I’m a simple man for a lot of stuff."

"No need to apologise."

I’ll put on boots with the fit just because it looks better. A lil’ make up nothing too extravagant and fix it with the setting spray.

"Can you twirl for me?"

"Why?"

"I just want to admire your beauty. Is that too much to ask?" 

"No." You proceeded to executed what he told you to do. You twirled on your feet. When you're back to your initial position, facing him, he proclaims the following about you: "You look divine! Sometimes, I do wonder why is that I didn’t get you for me only, sooner…"

"Why is that?" You beamed with curiosity.

"Because we look great together."

You have to acknowledge him. He doesn't lie. A quick glance on the mirror facing his back and you two do look magnificent as a pair.

"We do."

"And I love to watch your body quiver with pleasure."

"You want me to tell you everything I adore about you, too?"

"If you feel like it go ahead."

"You're being cocky, stop it."

"I love being cocky. There's nothing wrong with that plus I get to watch you being under my spell. What more could I ask?"

"I think we should get going."

At the tea place un Quatre quarts*, you followed Beni and the waitress to a room he reserved for the both of you.

"This way, we’ll be on our own and have a little privacy."

"This place is so cozy. I love it."

"I am delighted to hear you do. The owner is a friend of mine whom wanted to become a firefighter because it was a job her parents admired so much but her passion was baking and watch people eat her creations. So naturally, she seized the chance to become what she was truly made for."

It’s the first time you’ve seen Beni talk about someone else with such eulogistic manner and that allows you to watch one his his many facets appear right before you. Yes, Beni’s hot and all that (without a doubt) but it’s extremely refreshing to see him being so affectionate towards someone else other than you. It almost makes you want to sit on his lap and kiss his forehead. Something that Leo never triggered like emotion: being proud of the one you’re currently with. Wow, it did render you speechless.

"We should take a look at the menu, I’m sure what they have is also really good."

"Sure. If it’s as good as you, I’ll bite." 

"Earth to Beni? Beni, do you hear me?"

You waved your hand in front of his face, "Beni are you even listening to me?"

You try again "Oi!"

"Yes."

"What got you smiling like that?"

"You."

"Oh, really?

"Why would I be lying to a pretty girl like you?" 

"Okay, I get it. Do you plan on embarrassing me the whole time?"

"Beautiful beings should be appreciated with all my praise. I’m making sure I don’t miss mentioning it very often."

"My handsome man."

"I’ll get a strawberry sponge cake and a dandelion tea, I think trying a financier* is good too."

"That sounds delicious. I’ll get a jambon beurre* because it’s been so long since I’ve had one. With a double shot of espresso."

"How do we get to call the waiter?"

"Press on the button present on the middle of the table, one of them will come right up."

Your both enjoying your meal you got a bite of Beni’s sammy and decided you wanted one too. You also fed him a bit of your food and he smiled with all his teeth showing. So cute, you thought.

Someone is coming to your table. By the way they’re dressed, you can grasp that they work in the kitchen of the establishment with a high hair up do, a neat rouge on her lips and a winged eyeliner trait neatly done to die for. 

What’s the most striking about her face is the fact that she has heterochromia which makes her even more charming. Her left eye is blue while the right one is green. Like how can one be that beautiful? Girl I feel like rubbing my eyes to check of I’m not seeing things…

"Annelyse!"

"Benimaru!"

"How have you been?"

"Is that how you greet a childhood friend, huh? You come to Paris but don’t even think about contacting me beforehand?"

"Aw, come on don’t be so harsh on me?"

"Harsh, bruva* you don’t got any manners and you’re talking about me being abrasive on you? Revalute your choice of words for all that is deemed sacred!"

"Okay, I’ll do that."

"And much rude of you not to introduce me to the beauty sitting in front of you?"

You’re saying that about me… well, well, well, look at you? I’m starting to second guess myself about men?

"I was about to get to it."

"Then…"

"Her name’s Y/n L/n." 

"The infamous university girl you were rad* about? Took you long enough to finally date her, were you scared or someone scared you? She asks him never taking her eyes off of you. 

"My pleasure to meet Benimaru’s" she mouths "obsession." 

"Same."

"You may ask me anything you feel like knowing about him. Please, do not hesitate."

"Annelyse! I thought you were on my side."

"I never said the contrary so… Stop imagining shit!"

"Her beauty is…"

"I know what you mean. The term you’re looking for probably is enthralling or should I say bewitching."

"More the last one than the former."

"She stole some of my high school girlfriends to let you know about the tea."

"She did that? How could…she do that to you?"

"Didn’t she have her eyes on you while she was talking to me?"

"Yes."

"What did you feel when she was looking at you the way she does?"

"Oh, that’s you you mean…"

"Exactly, that’s how she gets them."

"How many?"

"I can’t actually tell you. You’d think I’m a serial dater if I tell you." 

"No, I mean it’s fine by me."

"Did you ask Leo that?"

"No, he told me without me asking matter of fact why do suddenly mention Leo You got beef with him."

No, I had a plate of seafood boil with him. If I tell her this, she'll probably sulk the whole time we're here. I better not act childish right now.

"Why are you siding with someone you’re on a break with?"

"That’s not what I meant."

"I can’t and won’t have beef with him. It would be stupid of mine."

"May I know more?"

"Indubitably! Look up Palais de la Démesure and tell me what you think about it after you’re done reading what you’ve found online. Just a warning, you might not like what you see. One thing is certain, you won’t ever ask me about me being jealous of another man, ever again. It won’t cross your mind."

"We’ll meet Annelyse later this week because there is something she wants to show you. Are you okay with it?"

"I mean why wouldn’t I be okay with what she has to show me…"

"Did you have the time to look it up?"

"Yes, a little."

"What have you learned about it, then?"

"It is a common event and matter in your life alongside Leo’s one." 

"Did you look for the translation of the terms?"

"No, I didn’t."

"Wouldn’t you like to know? Curiosity hasn’t stricken you yet?"

"Go ahead and just deliver…"

"Wild Palace or the Palace of Excesses. A place where all of your wicked fantasies shall become true as there is no place for the term undoable to echo in those rooms." 

"Honestly, sounds like a good time for me! How do I enter there?"

"You can’t. You have to be summoned by the person who’s the current owner of the place."

"Do you know him?"

"No, no one does. Apparently, he’s a regular man like many of us but each year brings about a new owner. Something about the constant change makes the place more modern, one could say."

"You liked the time you spent there?"

"Yes, it was phenomenal." 

"I would love to hear it, sometime."

Back at the hotel

I reminisce vividly of it.

How can one forget a whole week spent with other four men and a woman whom was willing to be used as our personal fuck toy? Of course, there was no way for us to know who she was, what’s her government name or even if she was an inhabitant of the city. We were just told to please ourselves to our hearts content as long as we respect each other in an environment where pleasure and bliss are keywords.

That year, a woman of high ranking was the owner of said palace which made circumstances highly advantageous for women. I must salute her for her proactive measures. Women were the centre of attention and I personally loved that for them. She had also added another rule which was If the woman you’re currently with tends to have more sex with you than all the other guys it could potentially mean that she might want to spend a week with you only and you’ll be assigned to a private suite for such doings, of everything follows through, naturally.

Later on

While browsing on the web about what Benimaru had told me about. I fell upon one porn link. I didn’t really specify what it was or who starred in it but I could get a vague feel that it was amateur type shit, you know, the good stuff which is not staged.

On the screen I see such a voluptuous black woman getting it on with five masked men. The thing is I don’t even know why but somehow wish it were me getting thrown around like that. Yes, she’s livin’ her best life, that is certain but the way she’s on them?? Wow, teach me your ways, girl! She’s got three dicks in her, she’s jerking one with her and has another man who sandwiched his dick between her tits. Long story short, I’m not even halfway through the video that Benimaru barges in the room talking ‘bout "Have you seen my glasses?"

I throw my phone ‘cause I’m not got hide it right and act like I actually am looking for it with it.

"I don’t know," she stammers "hum, where did you leave them?"

"On the night table, normally." 

"Okay, I’ll go check if it’s there."

"Is it a grey box?"

"Yes."

"Here you have it, check if it’s inside, you never know."

He does it. "Thank you love and he kisses your lips." That unexpected move really caught you off guard. And he leaves just like that.

And I go look for my phone right where I threw it. Next plan, I can see her now bouncing on three peens while the other two men jerk their manhood as she keeps her mouth open with her tongue out. So raunchy, yet it’s making your panties wet. 

The end of the video is topped with a bukkake* scene but what’s new honestly, when it comes to an orgie. I’m left drier than motherfucking saltfish before it is plunged in water for its saltiness to go away. 

I know I wanted more than anything a sugardaddy yet after watching this, I’m starting to revaluate my choices. I’m young after all so I should get all the fun I want. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Benimaru is fine but I don’t mind getting another man to take care of me like Leo used to.

I still have his number on my phone, it wouldn’t hurt to call him. I’m just checking how he is doing without me… 

On the other side of the globe

"And that is the main reason why we should review the budget for our next big hit. Mister Burns, are you here with us?"

He doesn't really seem like he's in his element…

"Yes, as always excellent presentation Hay Linn, I will excuse myself for now. 

If anyone has questions regarding the matter, please, do not waver contacting me or Hay Linn here present. We’ll gladly get back to you as soon as possible.

And with that you’re all dismissed."

Two employees chit chat about their general feels concerning their very first year working for Leonard's company:

"Did you see? Ceo Leo is so nice, I’m so happy we have a boss like him!

"Heck yes, you’re so right about that."

Look, he’s looking rather gloomy these past few days. Does anyone know what happened?

"Sugarbaby gate."

"Oh, that."

"Without a doubt. It has to be it." 

"Wait, isn’t that field always like full or maybe shortage has ravaged it?"

"I don’t think it’s that simple…more like he might have to let go of someone he really liked."

"I don’t feel like talking about it anymore. Gon’ make me sad and shit."

"Same here."

Leonard Burns sits down at his desk and runs his hand through his luscious white hair. This day hasn’t been his best but he must remain focused, otherwise rumours will spread like wildfire about him and his rather blue face.

As he tries to cheer himself up to the best of his ability, his phone starts buzzing on his desk. Who could it be at this time of day? He doesn’t have any planned phone calls he quickly checked his schedule before eventually answering that phone call.

"Good afternoon."

"Hello! Am I on the phone with," she pauses before uttering the following terms, "Sir Leonard Burns?"

"Yes, the one and only. How may I help you?"

"Oh, now you’d like to help me. How gentlemanlike of you. Have you forgotten me, perhaps?"

"I’m not sure what you mean, miss. Are you sure we have met before?"

"I am or maybe I should’ve said Daddy Leo?"

"It’s you Y/n, how are you doing? Are Paris and Benimaru being kind to you?"

"I’m a little hurt because you didn’t remember me right away. I am doing well, thank you for asking. Yes, they’re treating the best they can. How are you, my Leo?"

But I somehow know you'd treat me the best as always…

"I’m doing okay, I guess…"

"I know we are on a break but I miss you. I diligently hope we can meet as soon as I land back there. There’s a lot of things I have to let you know.

And you can’t do that on the phone, am I right?"

"As always, you’re so alert."

"You planned to torture me on the phone with that mellifluous voice of yours all day long or you’re going to let me go?"

"I’m not keeping you captive, baby unless you’d like me to!"

"You’re playing with fire Y/n, I advise you not to do it."

"But what’s wrong if I like doing it with you, daddy? Are you going to spank me when I’m back? I’ve grown to like the sting I get each time one your firm hand lays a hit on my delicate skin."

The worst bit of this call is that Leonard is fighting so hard not to get a hard on because that's the last thing he would like to deal with while he's at work, in his office. Yes, people will knock on the door before entering but if he gets one, he'll have to tend to it on the spot.

"I will if you want me to."

"That’s what I like to hear. See you when I’m back then, rawr…"

"I’ll see you then, Y/n."

Chapter 6 of After all, it's not a bad idea to get a sugar daddy 

Any kind of interaction is widely welcome!!

2022-2024 all rights reserved to @kaedeakeshisworld.

Translations/ modifications/replicas/property of my work are strictly prohibited. Do not repost/ recommend/ share it elsewhere!

[banavalope]

Hello! I wanted to tell you that was an incredible dissertation over the evolution of ARGs, from the Traditional ARG style games to the now modern ones where the locations are more digital and web-based than physical, especially since the most famous Traditional ARGs were, ultimately, marketing campaigns for Games/Series/Films.

I do admit I was ready to jump on the inclusion of Doki Doki Literature Club, only to realize it is a culmination of other small games where the Alternate/Augmented Reality aspects were self-contained digitally within one's computer files and-or sites (one example being the IMSCARED remake, that although is mostly known for 4th Wall Breaking, has ARG-like elements when it comes to engaging with aspects of the story)

I used to know a bunch more of them, and participated a lot more via scouting and initial investigation to discern whether something was more of a Meta story or a legitimate "needs players badly" ARG, but the complete loss of the Unfiction Forum made a dent in my motivation to continue pursuing them. I wonder what kind of discussions they would've gone in terms of the evolution of the genre.

Thank you! You know, I was worried I was spinning my wheels a lot since there's really so so much I could talk about with analog horror, unfiction as well. You definitely shorthanded my words way more eloquently, lmao.

Man, I can't believe I forgot about the Unfiction Forum, see that's exactly what I mean when I say there's so much. Another interesting topic to get into - and my apologies that I'm about to severely digress - being how youtuber's like Night Mind, Nexpo, Wendigoon, etc., have become to modern ARGs what Unfiction Forum was to traditional ARGs. It definitely adds to the overall conversation on how the differences in environment, between the Then and the Now, changes the way an audience learns to engage with works of unfiction. By no means do I mean it in a bad way, either, forums just bring a different energy out of you, I feel like. A collaborative kind of energy. Our approach to the genre most certainly would have been impacted by the loss of the Unfiction Forum as a hubspace, but so to would an artists enthusiasm for making these types of ARGs. With nowhere for people to properly gather at like they used to, barring reddit I guess, you have to alter your creative perspective to fit the changing landscape. A rather fascinating observation you've brought up that I didn't take into account.

People are certainly testing the limitations of the genre, perhaps in part due to this, in ways that continue to be exciting to see and hard to actually define. I hesitated to include Doki Doki as well - in my first draft, I didn't - but it's an example a majority of people would have "learned" off of and base their knowledge of ARGs on. As you said so aptly, it utilizes a culmination of ARG elements enough to make itself mnnnntechnically an ARG. Technically, Doki Doki is a creepypasta, nobody (including me) is going to call it a creepypasta, but it's technically a creepypasta when you take into consideration things like Catastrophe Crow 64 and Petscop, which it's closer in relation to. Taking the extra mile to really fuck with your local files, place hidden messages, and whatelse is what places it squarely in augmented reality territory. Never again do I want a video game to speak my god given name at me, that shit rules.

One thing I didn't mention, mostly because it is and was irrelevant, was Hypnospace Outlaw. I feel like that game does a really good job being an alternate reality game simulator. Like, it evokes that kind of feeling out of me whenever I play it. No clue how popular it got by comparison to others I might name sooner, definitely not trying to claim it had a hand in the evolution of the genre as a whole.

I do think about that game a lot as more people explore website based unfiction as a medium for storytelling, though, because it reminds me so strongly of what I see happening in the analog horror scene now.

Thank fucking god for neocities too, because this is my favorite flavor of analog horror, I want more of it. Welcome Home is such a breath of fresh air in terms of web based horror and makes me very enthusiastic for more projects to venture the same. I want every website to be weird cosmic horror with a shiny enamel coat. Freak me the fuck out in HTML my dude and I will be your biggest fan forever.

[dragongutsixofficial]

I noticed that some of the people that are Edelgard critical are also the types that usually stan evil pretty boys.

Hey anon ! Thanks for your insight ! ^^

 I think I should begin by telling you what happened just after I read your ask. I was wondering how I could make an articulate answer (because I’m a mess), and so I decided to seek the perspective of my dearest mutual @ninadove, who I knew would have something interesting to say on the matter. You see, apart from being a massive Edelgard fan, she also has a 10+ year brainrot on a evil pretty guy from the Professor Layton saga: Clive Dove.

(Don't worry, I know the legend is pretty confusing.)

What are this bad but sad boy's crimes, might you ask ? Here's a list :

identity theft

heavy manipulation

Building an entire replica of London ten years in the future right under the city without a permit

Kidnapping people to populate his fake town as well as scientists

Using said scientists to build a death machine to eventually destroy the entirety of London

Pretty heavy stuff, right ? So, I screenshot your ask and sent it to her because I knew she in particular would have interesting stuff to say on the matter. And she did !

But the thing is, she read it sideways at first and misunderstood. She thought that your observation was that a lot of people who liked Edelgard also enjoyed evil pretty boys. And she told me, “it makes total sense”, and started explaining why. I’m summing up the gist of her reasoning here. Don't worry, this is relevant to answering your ask:

There is a phenomenon of constant demonization of antagonists, especially pretty male antagonists -evil pretty guys if you will. This is interesting when you realize that that kind of character is often tailored to speak to a younger audience, and especially to appeal to young girls. Those fangirls are, in turn, often shamed for taking an interest in characters which are deemed unredeemable. However, liking said characters isn’t bad in itself.

Indeed, the real problem arises if said fans of a character are willing to excuse their objectively bad actions because the evil pretty boy is, well, pretty. But that isn’t the case in the vast majority of cases. Most of them actually appreciate the complexity of the character they root for. Would @ninadove condone someone trying to commit a mass murder irl? No. Does she understand that Clive had damn good reasons for turning evil in the first place (his parents and most people in his apartment building were killed in an immoral scientific experiment which only took place due to a considerable amount of corruption, so he feels the need to “purge” the city of it), and that the situation is not black and white? Yeah, absolutely ! Clive isn’t the Devil Incarnate; but just as with Edelgard’s, some aspects of an evil pretty boy’s narrative might talk to people more, depending on where they’re at in life.

According to her, the fact that so many people who were already attracted to evil pretty boys were also attracted to Edelgard's character is a testament to the fact that it isn't just because they're hot guys that they're so popular, but because of the themes in their story, the moral dilemmas their actions lead the audience to, and the potential said audience sees in them. The very fact that she misunderstood your ask in the first place is proof of that- it's just the logic continuation of liking a given type of character.

Now, this isn't to say that some people don't act towards Edelgard the way they did towards Daenerys- but that as a general rule, one can't extrapolate what a person's values are irl  based on their personal fictional likes. A ton of people who stan a pretty evil boy will stan a pretty evil girl for the exact same reasons.

In the same way, the bullet points just above list a few of the criticisms fans of evil pretty boys are subjected to:

 that rooting for a fictional antagonist means that the fans would be willing to justify the same kind of crimes if they took place in the real world.

that the only reason they like the character is because they're only attracted to their physical appearance

that there is only one way to read and enjoy a fictional work and going against it is wrong, thus you should feel ashamed/are a bad person if you see it any different. If your blorbo is an antagonist then you should only view them as a villain.

Do you recognize any of these lines ? Yup. They're usually the ones hardcore Edelgard criticals use when talking about her fans.

So, what can we conclude from this ?

In truth, the problem isn’t with liking or disliking a character in itself. People will always enjoy different things -and that’s what’s so fun about fandom culture! In the same way, people are allowed to criticize any given character and call them out on their actions. I’ve seen some very eye-opening posts from some Edelcrits who helped me understand why so many people feel uneasy about Edelgard, and actually made me think even more about what her motivations are and who she is at her core, making her all the more interesting to me. I might disagree with some takes, yes, but I don’t have anything against them as long as they are said respectfully.

To me, at the very least, the real issue is when people cross the line to reality, and start making assumptions about other fans based on fiction. Most of the time, one’s blorbos aren’t a viable way of determining what kind of person they are. For instance: I have seen a lot of people criticize Edelgard’s imperialism and explain that it makes their skin crawls. I love Edelgard and I admire her character arc in CF, as well as her iron resolve to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. Does that mean I condone imperialism in the real world, especially the modern forms of imperialism? Heck no. No way in hell would I ever support that kind of thing.

You never have a right to bully other people into thinking like you, however misguided you think they are, be you an Edelgard or a Dimitri stan. I once made a post about this exact issue, calling out people who claimed liking Rhea (who I personally kinda dislike) made you an abuse apologist.

Reciprocally, that means no one should have to feel bad about liking a fictional character if that brings them joy. I know liking Edelgard made me a better, more accepting person, and she keeps inspiring me to speak up for myself and others. We should fight against that trend that consists in shaming fans of certain characters. They really do make you better, as @ninadove pointed out herself just how much liking Clive Dove did for her.

All in all, what I mean is that we should all just try to be respectful and mindful of other fans. There is rarely such a thing as manicheism when it comes to antagonists like Edelgard and Clive, and we must always be careful about who we apply that kind of black-and-white logic to.

So, yeah ! I hope that clears up my perspective of things at least.^^ Thanks for sharing!!!

Edit: fixed Clive's picture cause it was incredibly blurry and honestly sad

Second edit: fixed some typos and also added Catra because damn girl

[bookwyrminspiration]

I think a part of their being less fanfics is that a some of people who wrote fanfic left the fandom due to the long gaps between unlocked and Stellarlune, as well as them not liking Stellarlune.

This is shown in the way that there is a lot of AU fics or post-canon fics. While a lot fo people do enjoy writing canon-complimentary fics, it’s not something everyone is interested in, plus canon right now is kind of weird so it’s easier to just ignore it.

Also, it seems that a lot of the fandom is older now, so we are more critical of our work and have less time/motivation to write fanfic, even if we want to. Plus, as people get older, they are more aware of how characters are out of character in our writing and they therefore feel the need to make them all in character.

To add on to that, the hits to likes/kudos to comments ratio is so freaking off it’s not even funny. There’s less engagement, which leads people to believe that they are not good at writing, which means that they shouldn’t post anything.

I know what I said isn’t true for everyone, but that does feel like that’s what is happening. I am just speaking based off of what I see and experience. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

What are your thoughts on this Quil? Do you agree or disagree? Do you think this will continue or will it be resolved with the next book?

Sincerely, ⚙️

(PS I wanted to say that I did read your Kam one shot and while I didn’t really fully process what was going on, I did enjoy reading it. You did a good job at nailing their characters. When I have the time, I will properly explain every feeling that I have.)

That's a fair observation--the one thing I'd say to your comments about older fandom members leaving and current older members having less time is that fandom is always in flux. There's always new people joining and others leaving, at least here, but it doesn't seem like as many of the newer people are fic writers. Like there were some popular fanartists who aren't in the fandom anymore, but we still have popular fanartists who have joined since. And my anecdotal observation is that that doesn't seem to be happening with fic writers as much--but again, that's a casual observation not a vetted one so I may be off or just not seeing new writers myself

Though our fandom is in a weird place right now with longer wait times and the story taking an unexpected direction, so I'm sure that also has an impact. I don't think there's any one thing that's responsible, there's an intersection of different things that impact people in different ways. I'm really just focusing on one that we have more control over. We can't control all the other factors, but we can collaboratively make a supportive, encouraging space for writers of all skill levels and interests! And I think it would be neat to do so!

As for the hit/like/kudos ratio, it is disheartening at times. Though I do think we shouldn't be basing our self-worth and opinions of our writing on interaction. If someone feels shitty about their writing/skill level because of low interaction I believe they should reflect and work to disconnect that sense of self from others' opinions, not that we need to interact to make them feel better. That is something for them to work through for themselves

But at the same time, it would be naive to completely ignore how interaction shapes writing and creation in general in fandom spaces. Because it does play a role for many. Fandom spaces are a community, and community is built on interaction and support!

I have no way of knowing what will happen with the next book or what the fandom will look like--like I said, it's always changing, and my time blindness makes it very difficult for me personally to see and understand the cycle of slumps and activity. But I think we, as a fandom, do have the opportunity to take some measure of control over this.

We can choose how to react to what we see and what kind of space we want to create. We could wait for the next book and just kinda see what happens, or we could make an active effort now to interact with writers and their work when we read it, and to separate our sense of worth from the amount of interaction we get.

That doesn't mean everyone has to go out and read tons of fic and leave the longest comments in the world, just that I think many of us (and this 100% includes me too) could put in a small amount of more effort to interact with fics and writers to support fic in fandoms in a variety of ways.

I'll leave it there for now, but there is always more to be said so don't take everything as the entirety of my thoughts. The main point of my post commenting on how I saw less fic was me going "hmm, I can't control everything else happening, but interaction and encouragement is very helpful for writers and something within my control and I want to support writers more than I do currently". I'm not intending to make some grand sweeping statement or push others to do things, it's just what I've reflected on and what I want to do about it :)

[scruffina]

(simpsons longpost) not to be like

like a ravenous little shipper hunting for skinner/edna crumbs, but the writing for them in season three seems to imply they have, at least, a tense but storied professional relationship. more likely a years-long friendship, marked — maybe flippantly, or maybe there's more resentment there — by their digressions into professional gripes/feuds with one another.

on a slimmer chance, they're supposed to be romantically involved, or at least have a history or have the tension/intentions that would lead to them becoming involved.

now where on earth is this remarkable bit of baseless reaching coming from?

i observed all this based off a clip from "bart's friend falls in love", timestamp ~4:15-25 in the episode. when skinner introduces samantha to the class:

and now longer and without captioning, to fully see their expressions:

really, it's as much in the wallace and shearer delivery as in the animation/staging, so you'd benefit from hearing the clip as well. (the whole show is on fmovies if you don't mind closing spam ads super-fast. you could make a game of it!)

but honestly, the direction here? the way skinner leans in to speak to edna but never looks at her, his intonation...

"i think we should talk about this later" is a couples-centric cliché, almost always delivered as this stern, low-voiced warning [which can imply a shitty power dynamic so that's no good! though i don't think that rings true for these characters. but why do men always have to tell women to shut up through gritted teeth? like calm down mister]...

edna's flat exasperation at the school's strained resources; her brief cycle through disapproving side-eye, to far-off contemplation, to a pasted-on smile, which says: it's fine, right? with a twinge of nervousness i find really compelling.

you see two adults wanting to have an adult conversation, but needing to save face in front of the children.

there's so many potential "laters" to this:

they exchange barbs over their coffee break: maybe half-hearted, if they're otherwise stressed and tired and kind of over it. or maybe it's a more lively argument; they're both kind of the type to let something small stew and get worked up about it. plus they love to battle intellectually, one-upping each another both in debates about school policies and in name-calling.

if you interpret this as implying they're more than friends, you might imagine seymour later trying to apologize and placate edna for the added stress, and edna being honest about her shitty day and seeking comfort, or not taking to seymour's weakshit efforts and acting cold. the 'we talk about this while driving home together after work, and it determines how the rest of the night goes' universe

neither of them is unafraid of a dour mood, i imagine. they're lonely and cynical and not trying to hide it. they're not trying to be popular among staff or students. if they really had this kind of dark-sided kindred-spirits, 'we just eat lunch together in companionable pissed-off silence' thing going with their friendship — which is kinda my favourite read of things at this 'time' canonically (i.e. early 90s, if they get together in spring '97 in accordance with "gsc") — then this samantha incident should hardly mean anything.

[subpoint but i can't indent further] it should almost be an inside joke that's only funny in the absurd sadness unique to their context: god isn't our school falling apart and we're so so messed up and burnt out we can't attend to the kids' education properly but don't we really owe it to them? but no they're little pains and didn't we have dreams once an—

anyway, there's just a lot of rich character stuff to be mined from a throwaway cliché 'disgruntled couple' moment if you're a tin-hatter like me. no real conclusion to these scattered thoughts yet again!!

as a side note, the other time off the top of my head season three plays up their bond is in "bart the murderer", where bart imagines krabappel inconsolably weeping over the skinner memorial fire hose: "he loved fire drills!" again, the writers make it seem like they're close friends.

bonus richard chamberlain of the day:

[savage-rhi]

“I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”

damon + adam please 🥺

@nemodoren here ya go bby! 💙

"You never told me why a hot shot such as yourself ended up here." Adam grinned, his eyes carding over Damon while observing him finishing off the rest of the cake slices a co-worker provided.

"Well," Damon sighed, smiling for a moment before taking another mouthful. "That part was always...complicated."

"How so?" Adam canted his head curiously while he adjusted in his seat. His smile remained even as Damon gave him a stare that could intimidate most into backing away.

"Impatient much? Let me finish eating, and I'll tell you." Damon said with a huff. The tone of his voice erred on the side of teasing. After a few more bites, he licked the underside of his fork then sat the plastic silverware down. Carding his right hand through his locks, Damon furrowed his brows and sighed.

"Let's just say I find more pleasure in the trenches than I do with the top brass."

"Translation, please? I'm afraid I don't speak Boomer." Adam chuckled. His smile only grew when he saw Damon shake his head and let out a laugh.

"I may be older than you, but I'm not that dated." Damon reached for his coffee mug and took a gulp. Sitting the mug down he continued. "There was a time in my life where I was up there in terms of popularity with journalism. A bit of a celebrity. At least I had the makings of becoming one."

"What sort of stories did you go after?" Adam asked curiously.

"Nothing like what's done here, I assure you." Damon shrugged. "My work consisted of uplifting popular fashion designers. You know, the likes of Milan, Galas, that sort of thing. I wrote ass kissing articles if I'm being honest. Anyhow, it was steady work and I became well acquainted with many in the entertainment and fashion industry. I had plans of moving to LA at one point."

"Wow," Adam raised his brows, shaking his head in disbelief. "And I bet you were rolling in hundred dollar bills."

"More or less."

"Why give that up for some place like..." Adam gestured around their office space. "This."

Damon's expression shifted. His eyes looking more morose. It was in stark contrast to the slight smile that remained on his lips, still amused by Adam's questions.

"Not everyone is your friend in this field," Damon murmured. "I put my trust in the wrong people, the wrong person."

Adam hesitated before deciding to take the plunge. "Define wrong person."

"An ex," Damon nodded as if reassuring himself it was alright to speak up on the matter. "Long story short, she and I had our problems and said problems ended up entangling in our working relationship. I was more or less blacklisted."

"Oh," The pain in Damon's voice had Adam regretting having pried. He had never heard Damon sound so insecure before. It was out of character for a man of his caliber.

"I can't believe I'm telling you this." Damon laughed, shaking his head.

"I can't either if I'm being real with you." Adam smiled. "I thought I was going to have to blackmail you to get anything like that out."

Damon smirked and averted his gaze. "I'm not always a bastard. Contrary to popular belief."

"I can tell," Adam said softly.

A long pause embraced the two men as they ruminated in their own thoughts. Each of them enjoying the silence before Adam cleared his throat, breaking the trance.

"I'm glad you told me. I'll go a bit easier on you."

"So no more jokes about me having a small dick because my personality sucks?"

"Hey, I never said I was through with those."

Both Damon and Adam laughed. Each of them feeling a wave of anxiety and happiness brew in their chest.

"For what it's worth," Adam began. "It's great you're here."

"Thanks." Damon nodded. For the first time in months, he truly allowed one of Adam's compliments to settle and take root. Perhaps he could put quitting on the backburner for now.

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