#the adoration I have for the incredibles is beyond description but I hope this gives you some idea

[martianbugsbunny]

Incredibles 3 Idea?

I don’t really want an Incredibles 3 but hear me out: it revolves around Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack as adults. If this idea is not entirely revolting to you (or if it is, and you enjoy being disgusted), go ahead and read on!

When the movie opens, they’re kind of distant from each other. That’s like the establishing vibe. Maybe living in different cities, maybe just in different parts of Metroville. I’m going with none of them being as close as they used to be, but Dash and Vi are closer than Dash and Jack or Vi and Jack. After all, Dash and Vi were siblings for nine/ten years before Jack was born, so it tracks that they might stay more in contact (not saying it’s the right way to approach a relationship with a younger sibling, just saying I understand that it could happen). This also gives the potential for interpersonal tension between Jack and his older sibs.

Let us examine this scenario to establish what’s going on: we get a short montage of Vi’s college graduation, Dash’s high school graduation, the days they move out, some family dinners after that where first Dash stops showing up, and then Vi is a less frequent visitor, and finally even Jack isn’t going to his parents’ for dinner anymore. We also get some shots of the kids themselves, working or hanging out with other people, ignoring each other’s calls/texts or responding with as little as possible. That sets up that the family is drifting apart as the kids grow older.

Then Violet goes to have lunch with her mom one day. Helen mentions something going on in Jack’s life that Vi really should know, so it’s significant that she doesn’t. We see realization dawn on Helen’s face, and she looks a little bit sad, bc she wanted her kids to be friends even when they were adults. After lunch, Vi calls Dash and he sounds sort of surprised to hear from her, and she asks if he knew about Event XYZ that happened with Jack. He doesn’t know either, and the two of them also start to figure out that they aren’t where they want to be with each other. Vi invites Dash over to her house and it takes work to figure out a time that meshes for both of their schedules, but they do make it work.

Now that that’s been worked through, Important Point Two: the Parr kids aren’t all superheroes anymore. In fact, let’s say neither Dash nor Vi is a superhero for part of the story.

Vi is married and living the life she always dreamed of: she’s normal. Because as much as her character evolves (and trust me, I could go on about that for a pretty long time, too) her deep desires don’t really change. She steps up when she’s needed, and she likes feeling that she’s making a difference, but she still truly wants to be able to quit. So when, after superheroes are re-legalized, new supers step up to the plate, Vi quietly makes her exit from the superhero world. She has some job, not quite sure what, but it makes her happy, and she has a wife.

Dash is a single father, so he doesn’t have the time to do superhero things, even though that’s the life he always wanted. He’s dealing with twin babies, and eventually that leads him to move back into Bob and Helen’s house, because as hard as he’s trying he just can’t seem to get by on his own. After that, he starts sneaking out to superhero, but when he nearly gets injured on a mission, Bob sits him down and tells him no-holds-barred that his job now is to be a father, and that his children need him to come home at the end of every day. Bob talks about how much he regrets when he started superheroing behind his family’s backs, way back in the first movie, but let’s say Dash doesn’t listen, and then he disappears.

Jack is the one who’s still out there doing superhero things. He has a superhero SO that he fights crimes with, he’s one of the most popular superheroes in Metroville, and he’s pretty rich, with a nice apartment in the city. Maybe he gets engaged and that’s the big news Vi doesn’t know about. But he’s also low-key miserable, bc he misses the family dinners and having his older sibs around.

Helen and Bob enlist Vi and Jack to find Dash. He’s been missing for several days, and he hasn’t answered any calls/texts. Jack is thrilled, because it means he gets to work side-by-side with his big sis, but he’s also nervous. Obvi we get this in the shape of a scene where he’s jabbering on about it to his SO, because that’s fun. Vi accepts that she needs to be a superhero again, no hesitance, no reluctance, because this is her little brother we’re talking about; her wife isn’t too happy about it, both because she doesn’t want Vi to die and because she knows Vi isn’t much into the supering anymore, but she knows this is something Vi has to do so she’s supportive.

I don’t know what kind of villain abducted Dash while he was on one of his missions. If somebody has a good idea feel free to throw it out. But there’s a big family rescue operation, and the kids become friends again during the process, and it carries on the grand Incredibles tradition of balancing superhero stakes with family dynamics. Of course Dash is saved, and everything turns out alright, and at the end, Helen and Bob have a moment where they get to look at their kids hanging out and laughing about their adventure together, and they know they did good.

[thedrarrylibrarian]

Hello Hello and the Happiest of Fridays!

I'm thrilled to have @shealwaysreads in the library today! I've followed her for a long time and am always delighted by her posts on my dash. She has excellent taste, and has picked an incredible fic to share with us. Without further ado, I'll let Bella take over!

I did a slightly ridiculous gasp and wiggle when the lovely @thedrarrylibrarian reached out to ask me to share a fic rec for their brilliant Happy Hour, and was beyond delighted to be chosen to open the new year with a story I loved. 

I haven’t actually been able to read much fic over the last year, except for short pieces, which has really crystallised for me how much I really do love short fic. The skill, choices, focus, and subtle characterisation that’s so necessary for a fantastic short read is intense, and I find myself endlessly full of admiration for writers who can take on that challenge and create something beautiful.

Contretemps by @moonflower-rose is one of those brilliant stories—written for @hd-erised it was the last fic I read in 2022 and it was everything I hoped for, so I thought it would be the perfect story to share with everyone to kick off 2023!

Contretemps by @moonflower-rose (8,488 words, rated T)

Draco Malfoy has been living like a model citizen. If only he could convince Potter.

In less than 10k Rosie manages to create such a full feeling world, with brilliant cameos from Ron and Hermione, brief but sharp and defined OCs, and a Pansy I adore beyond measure (a running theme in her work, do check out her back-catalogue and ready yourself for falling in love), along with a delicious Harry—dimpled, earnest, and transparent (or so Draco thinks), and a Draco pov that is positively sparkling (if slightly misguided).

Just the opening two lines shows you so much about Rosie’s deft world building, and fantastic sense of humour. By the third paragraph (full of brilliant characterisation) you are completely in-world, immersed in the tale she’s woven, and ready to be delighted.

I sat and highlighted a ream of quotes from the fic, and then realised I was essentially sharing every single bit of it. So I’ve given myself a stern talking to and settled on just one, which made me laugh out loud and captures perfectly Draco and Harry’s dynamic at the beginning of the fic:

“Draco imagined wrapping his fingers around Potter’s throat. Sometimes he even imagined strangling him. Sometimes.”

Draco’s perspective, and Harry’s characterisation, make the misunderstanding and miscommunication work so perfectly, so believably, that along with the urge to give them both a gentle slap I also found myself grinning away while they fumbled. 

Rosie’s fics always leave me bone-deep satisfied. She has that innate talent and well-honed skill to spin a world full of characters that feel so real you could reach out and hug them, and to guide you gently along emotional journeys to a resolution that leaves your heart warm and light every time. Short, or long, her stories are rich and generous, full of subtly crafted details that build a world (Contretemps is full of these—Hermione’s recent laws, Draco’s pirating choices, the queue outside Harry’s office) and even moments of sadness are leavened and balanced by the absolute gift she has for humour in her writing. 

Every fic of hers has made my day better, has lifted me up and set me on my way with a smile.

A special note: Rosie always undoes me with her food descriptions, and by undo I mean ‘wake up my appetite but ONLY AND SPECIFICALLY for what she has just laid down in words before me. I have once and will likely again actually gone and bought what she’s written about simply to sate my fic-induced hunger. If you’re anything like me you will find yourself reaching for a snack about halfway through this fic, and find yourself desperately wanting meringues and apricots.

I’ll stop myself there, before I spend the next thousand words singing the praises of this fic and @moonflower-rose’s writing, and hope that you all click the link and read Contretemps. I guarantee it will make your day if you do!

Thank you so much to @thedrarrylibrarian for inviting me to be a part of Happy Hour, and for all of your brilliant recs. As a Library Person™ it just brings me so much joy to be part of this project and the gift it is to the Drarry fandom. 

Happy 2023 everyone, I hope it’s a beautiful one, filled with fic and art! ❤️

Thank you once more, to @shealwaysreads for joining us today! Be sure to check out her own writing on her AO3!

❤️ As always, if you find a fic you enjoy, please remember to leave the author a kudos or a comment! ❤️

Lots of Love and Happy Reading!

[xythlia]

Hi Kita 💜 I've seen other people doing this since the year is ending so what were some of your favorite fics you read this year??

omg yes there's so many incredible works I read this year but since I lost the ability to edit asks on here these are just the ones off the top of my head rn! I hope everyone has a wonderful new years eve and finds tons of inspiration next year <3

Tuesdays by @elusivemoon

io is beyond talented and deserves so much recognition this coming year for being one of the best writers on the app! Tuesdays feels like if satoru never became the annoyingly adorable character we know because in ios setting there's no curses, instead he's endearingly sweet and this is a wonderfully written peek into what that version of his life would look like

The taste of your lips by @staryukis

everyone say ty logan for giving us desperate kiss starved satoru <3 I've thought about this at least twice a week ever since I first read it, logan has such a way with description and setup everything plays out so smoothly like a movie in your head plus satoru is adorable in this I love it sm :3

Driving you crazy by @aestrayla

angi's writing is absolutely magical, I couldn't believe this was their first time writing smut because it's just an absolutely perfect portrayal of mammon and impatient needy reader is one of my absolute favorites to find

Sleepy sins by @another-lost-mc

JEALOUS BELPHIE JEALOUS BELPHIE plus the primal kink??? jes has hands down the best grasp on every brothers personality out of anyone in the fandom but this belphie fic is one of my all time favorites, however if I could link the entire masterlist I would because everything they've written is phenomenal!

Angel of small death & the codeine scene by @marble-anime

this reawakened my blood kink SO BAD if you've followed me for a while you know alucard is one of my all time favorite characters and when I found this going thru the hellsing tags my eyes nearly popped out of my head

Know it all by @elusivemoon

io on here twice because if I could link everything they've written I would but we'd be here forever ajdhsksbak it shows immense talent to take a character and put them in a setting like the grecian pantheon and have it be so seamless it's like they always existed there

Intimacy by @vixstarria

A beautiful glimpse into Astarions struggle with sex and intimacy and it also captures in a really gorgeous way the struggle of both parties when navigating something like that with a partner. Especially how Astarion wants a sexual relationship with tav but just doesn't know how to get through to that point, just makes me go insane every time I think about it

Yandere satoru by @yandere-daydreams

I think this one is brilliant because someone with satorus background would feel inherently entitled to nearly everything even if they can "do the right thing" most of the time, including the reader because someone raised wealthy and with power usually struggles with that line of thought. The way he blames reader? ough absolutely delicious

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

Hello! I'm sorry if this is a nuisance or irritating in any way, but I just had to say it: YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE CREATIVE GENIUS AND I LOVE EVERY THOUGHT THAT COMES OUT OF YOU BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL FANTASTIC. Just. All of it!!! I haven't been able to read 100% of your fics yet, but, come on. "Pick A Side" is something I read and reread SEVERAL times when taking my philosophy class, and it made me more inspired to keep going, even though that topic causes me a lot of anxiety (1/7)

I was ecstatic when reading ALL of “Eucatastrophe” because it gives a lot of thought to each and every character, and the way you build suspense!!! Man. I adore fae stories and I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what everyone was going to do. And the way you incorporated the mirror thing!!! And all of the other fae-kind of characters!! There’s something supernatural about your stories because I started reading this one, like, the day after I first learned about the Erlking.

And then there’s “melliferous”. Just. I’ve learned SO MANY cool words from you and your writing. But the creeping uncanny descriptions and horror/tragedy elements were superb! I hate those things most of the time, but beyond the fact that my brain was like “Let’s ignore the “Major Character Death” warning for once, because this is promising bees AND Greek mythology”, the storytelling was incredible!!

Okay, last story I’m going to gush over, but eventually I wound up exploring your Tumblr, and as soon as my brain hit the word “dinosaurs” I was like: “I. HAVE. To read this.” And it did not disappoint!!! Goodness. All of your ideas are so clever!! And then I saw your art and analysis posts and my jaw dropped. How can one person be this talented???

(By the way, your post about 16th century Italian theater blew my mind. Because I had no clue about the historical art form!!! I have monologued to myself dozens of times on the dissection of what makes the Sides so relatable, and how it’s because they’re almost purely archetypes!! Everyone can connect to whomever they want and write them in a way that’s meaningful to them and it works!!

Oh my word, that post filled me with so much emotion I couldn’t look at your stuff for months because my brain was consumed with it.) Okay. Now that that’s all out. I’m sorry for raving like a lunatic in your Ask Box. I just wanted to let you know how important your work is to me, and how much you are appreciated. Because you are very much appreciated and valued. Even if you never posted again, even if I never read your fics or looked at your blog again, I would think about you because I now know you exist, and you’ve impacted my life. And I am grateful that you exist. Thank you for being so amazing and for having the courage and generosity to share it on the internet for people like me. (And thank you for putting up with ridiculously long messages being thrown at you) I hope you have a good day :)

No need to apologize for gushing! Seeing seven asks in my inbox this morning made me go 'oh, I finally got cancelled, huh', so the fact that it was just one enthusiastic person was a COMPLETE delight, you made me smile so ridiculously widely! I am so glad you're enjoying my fics this much, and that I could make you Feel Things and Think About Things and Learn Things (because honestly, that's all I've ever wanted to do). I don't plan on stopping for a good while yet - I've got too many stories in my head and they all want to come out.

I sincerely hope you have the most wonderful of days. I love you.

[blorbologist]

I adore Galdric and Vex's relationship in Sorrow is absolutely incredible, can we get any more thoughts or hcs about our favorite wolf boyyyy?

YEAAAAH my boi

I like to think he and Purvan's bond was really a classic sort of 'lone traveler and his dog' type thing, on the outside. A Ranger devoted to a very, very new goddess (Patia! knew! her! in! life!) in a world prizing mage-magic above all else, they really had to rely on eachother. I think Purvan really threw himself into it (even in Calamity we see he prefers to go by Champion) and Galdric just... he's a wolf. What can he do but follow?

He absolutely chased the Matron's ravens initially - because they're Scavengers and Irritating and tend to pull at a wolf's tail and otherwise heckle them - until Purvan got him to stop.

If Purvan survived the Calamity (I don't think we know exactly when he died?), Galdric would have provided some really service-animal like support for the PTSD this guy surely suffered. Likely during the Calamity, too, keeping him comfort and allowing him to sleep safely knowing Galdric was on watch.

(This dog is absolutely fucking traumatized, too, though. Infernal will set him off. Giant footsteps. Marching armies.)

I've touched on this a few times in One for sorrow, but imagine being an animal. And your master dies. You know he's dead. You wake up years later to some upstart punk with a passing similarity wearing his armor. Trying to command you. I'm very surprised it didn't go straight to combat tbh. I believe he really dislikes Vax and Percy and only initially behaved because of Grog and Keyleth, and then because he just... had nothing better to do.

(But, for a split, split second, I think he saw Vax and saw Purvan. Because their descriptions are *nigh identical*. What a cruel trick to play on the poor boy.)

There likely would have been a wolf pack or two living near Whitestone during the Briarwoods reign - easy livestock pickings with the humans so desperate, and zombie giants are easy to outrun. I bet they all scampered and fast when Galdric showed up (unfortunately for him, I doubt he'd get accepted into a pack easily - raised by a human, his wolf manners are likely all off ;;).

Galdric is old. He's tired. He's outlived his master, and yet he continues to live in Whitestone in canon and can be a Warlock/Cleric patron, suggesting he has some form of divine magic. I'd like to think this is a glitch in the Ranger magic - Matt says Trinket will live as long as Vex lives, yet Galdric's Ranger is an unliving sort of Champion to the Raven Queen. So... does that make him immortal, too? I hope it's this and not a deliberate immortality on the RQ's part. Why the Raven Queen would deny this guy some rest is beyond me - babe you're all about death being okay, yet this wolf has already outlived his natural lifespan (likely by several times depending on when Purvan died during/after the Calamity)?

I really, really love the idea of him taking an interest in Wolfe de Rolo just because a) funni name matches b) it's a fun Raven Queen connection just. right there, outside of Whitestone, waiting to give Vex grey hairs.

I think he resents the Raven Queen. A lot. Again - her service killed his master, had him buried with him, had some new punk wearing his owner's clothes, killed this kid too, and now it has him living alone near Whitestone. He can't even pass and rejoin Purvan. He's a *wolf.* A wolf needs his pack and yet he's alone but for the ravens.

He's absolutely taken up chasing them once more. I hope he's his own power, now. Not a minor idol subservient to her, but his own thing.

[voiceless-terror]

I am so completely enamored with Danny as jons ex and I would be forever in your debt if you finished that

i wasn't expecting people to like this idea so much, its definitely one of my weirder ones xD since im not sure when i'll get around to actually finishing it (if ever) you can have a very rough chunk of it instead. you'll have to forgive any mistakes, im not up to editing it.

In a surprising show of athleticism, Jon ducks under Sasha’s chair before the specter of his past manages to see him.

Sasha swears at the action, backing up in her chair and peering down at Jon in bafflement. “What on Earth are you doing, Jon?”

Instead of answering her question, he backs up even further, tucking his feet out of sight. He thinks Sasha’s umbrella must be under here, and judging from the sharp point currently jabbing at his thigh, he probably broke it. “Is he still there?” he hisses, tilting his head to avoid bashing it into the desk.

“Who?”

“That- that man!”

A pause. “Tall, dark and handsome?”

Jon’s turn to pause. “I suppose you might call him that,” he replies stiffly. And it’s true. The man, from Jon’s brief, panicked glimpses, is at least six foot, with thick, dark hair and a bright grin.

And he looks exactly like Jon’s ex, Danny Stoker.

He’d done an almost comical double-take after a cursory glance; at first he’d thought Danny was the new hire, but this man was more angular, like a sharper, leaner version of his ex. So no, it couldn’t be him.

That didn’t stop him from diving under the nearest object, ergo Sasha’s desk. Not the wisest of decisions, considering his throbbing side, but he’s never been known for grace under pressure.

He’s not exactly sure why this fight or flight mode’s been activated- he and Danny had parted on fairly good terms, each recognizing that although they cared about the other, they simply weren’t compatible in the long term. They’d dated for a little over six months when Jon was a freshman, and he’d fallen hard.

Danny had been his first real relationship, and Jon was shocked that someone like him even looked his way. Impossibly handsome, incredibly fit, desired and envied in equal measure, and he dated scrawny, shy, insecure Jonathan Sims; the rumor mill went wild. They’d met at a party, and not even a good one. In a brief moment of liquid courage, Jon managed to insert himself into a group and fit in one snarky joke that sent Danny into stitches, the rest of the partygoers following his lead. For one second, Jon felt like he truly fit in, like he was someone worth knowing.

Danny had a way of making someone feel special. Big, romantic gestures, surprising him after class, taking him on little expeditions beyond campus. Jon didn’t drive, still doesn’t, and Danny wanted to show him the world outside of their privileged little campus.

But, like all of Jon’s relationships, it came to an end. Jon wasn’t ready for such overwhelming affection (didn’t think he deserved it, quite frankly), and Danny needed someone who could handle his fast-paced lifestyle. Jon was not that man. They broke up amicably, even if Jon shed a few tears in private, saw each other on campus a few times. Danny tried to reach out more than once, just as friends, but Jon’s never been able to handle more than one relationship at a time, and by then he’d met Georgie.

But now it seems the past is unavoidable, and standing near the circulation desk. Well, now walking in his direction, if the steady footsteps were any indication. Jon’s heart begins to hammer in his chest as it hits him that he is, in fact, hiding under a desk because a man who sort of looks like his ex is in his general vicinity. Coward.

“‘Lo!” God, even the voice is similar, if not as deep. “Tim Stoker. Reporting for duty.”

Stoker. Tim Stoker. Jon startles, slamming his head against the desk with a yelp.

Somewhere in his spiraling thoughts and throbbing head he remembers- Danny had a brother. An older brother that he adored. This must be the famous Tim- Danny made him out to be a saint, and though Jon never met him, he felt some fondness via Danny’s descriptions. But Tim’s going to have no fondness for him, especially considering Jon’s current position, hiding in pain under his coworkers desk.

“Pleased to meet you!” Sasha chirps, very clearly amused by the situation. “I’m Sasha James. And this-” she tugs at one of Jon’s legs, dragging him a few inches into sight. Jon buries his head in his hands and wishes he were invisible. “-is Jonathan Sims. We’ll be training you.”

“Excellent.” Tim’s voice holds the same good humor Danny’s always did, and sends a pang of nostalgia through his chest. “Er, you alright down there?”

“Yes,” Jon responds robotically, scrambling to his feet and standing behind Sasha’s chair, unwilling to meet the man’s eyes, lest he be drawn in. “I- uh, lost a pen. P-Probably left it in the copy room, I’ll just be going...there.” With that incredible performance, he fled.

And only tripped once on the way out.

________

So Jon’s kind of cute.

Tim doesn’t normally go for tiny disgruntled academics, but Jonathan Sims is an interesting fellow. He’s got a reputation for being the ‘problem child’ of the Research Department, awkward and prickly and always available with a snide word. He wields his books and files like a little suit of armor, and the only person he’s seen him open up to is Sasha. Besides their little conversations, Jon is all work and no play.

Except with Tim.

Sasha says she’s never seen anything like it, with one of her secret little smiles. Jon’s always staring. Usually, the man can’t hold eye contact to save his life, but he’ll spend full minutes looking at Tim when he thinks he can’t see. The first few times, Tim would turn around and smile, but that practically sent the man into convulsions, dropping his papers and jumping out of sight like a spooked cat. It was funny the first few times, but Tim pitied him enough to ignore it now. He hopes Jon enjoys the view.

God forbid he ask the guy a question. Jon will look around the room, as if waiting for someone else to answer, when it’s clearly directed at him. He’ll blush and stammer his way through every explanation, keeping a wide berth of at least two feet between them. Even when Tim wants him to look at his screen, he’ll squint from far away. Tim starting to think he smells bad, or has some sort of communicable disease unbeknownst to him.

“It’s not that,” Sasha assures him, again with that unreadable smile. “Trust me.”

Time to try something else.

He prints out his latest follow up, a rather elaborate statement regarding mistaken identities and absolutely nothing supernatural. He knows Jon prefers to look at things on paper, as screens ‘trigger his migraines’ if Tim understood his mumbles. Maybe if he can engage with him on familiar territory for the both of them, he’ll be able to hold a conversation. Tim specifically requested his help on this one.

“If you could just look it over, make sure everything’s up to snuff, that’d be great,” Tim says to the top of Jon’s head, as the man refuses to lift his own to meet his gaze. “You know how Dr. Walker is. Always-”

“Finding mistakes where there are none? I’m familiar with her methods,” Jon snorts, and Tim feels like he’s getting somewhere. A whole sentence! With classic Jonathan Sims snark! “I-I can give it a look. I’m rather busy, but -”

“Take your time,” Tim says with a dismissive wave of the hand. “I finished a bit early, so I don’t need it for a few days yet. Don’t want to put you out.”

“You’re not.” Jon meets his eyes for about ten seconds before ducking his head back down.

Progress!

[baku-bowl]

broke 1,000 followers (the fuck? I don't even make content people), so decided to write up a list of some (but not all, I'll make other lists later) of my favorite Bakugou-centric fic recs. my tastes run towards hurt/comfort, as you'll probably figure from the list. if there are some Baku-centric fics that you've enjoyed that aren't on here, please add them - this is definitely not a complete list of the ones I've read and love, but I'm always up for some recs. <3

fair warning, most of these are wips.

------------------------------------------------

Social Media 101 by WindsChild8178

Part 1: Survival Guide to Fucking Up

[Solely Bakugou’s point of view]

Katsuki Bakugou doesn’t have a gentle bone in his body. He’s aggressive in everything he does and does everything with 100% of his heart in it. After the Sport’s Festival, Katsuki starts to get harassed by strangers for his unheroic demeanor. It starts with letters but it doesn’t end there. The moment Katsuki realizes the harassment has entered dangerous territory and he needs to tell someone, it’s already too late.

Part 2: Post Traumatic Life Disorder

[Point of View opens up to Bakugou, teachers and classmates]

When the Dorms are finally built, everyone is settling in well, but things become tense as people begin to realize something isn’t right with the recently rescued Bakugou.

[Cannon compliant right up to after the License Exam]

hands down my favorite fic in the fandom right now. it’s the one that converted me into a Bakugou lover. if you have any fondness for Bakugou as a character then it’s likely you’ve read this one already, but if not, I can’t recommend it enough. incredibly depressing, but with the hope that comfort is coming soon in the next few chapters.

The Kids Will Be Alright, Eventually by NotWithThatAttitude

Bakugou is spiraling in the aftermath of Kamino and his friends are starting to notice. He's stubborn, aggressively independent, and less than willing to dig into his past, but after a breakdown that ends with a painful secret revealed, he starts to get help.

Whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile, a new kind of villain threatens an uneasy peace following the loss of Allmight. Whispers build as a new narrative slowly takes shape:

Hero society needs to change.

Feat. Therapy, Dadzawa, best boy Kirishima, dysfunctional families, healing, growing up, and the mortifying ordeal of being known

guys.. the medical accuracy of this fic is just... *chef’s kiss*

I rarely see mental health genuinely handled well in fics, but this one goes above and beyond. kudos to the author for doing such excellent research into psychology, and making the application of it in here not-boring. also, while this one does have abusive!Mitsuki, it’s done in a way that feels realistic, and how I usually will see it occur in real life, rather than just for the hurt/comfort feels.

fair warning, the fic can be incredibly triggering (themes of severe depression, PTSD, panic attacks, rape survival, abuse survival, suicidal ideation/attempted suicide, among other things), so be safe and heed the tw’s if you decide to read. legitimately one of my Top Favorite fics in this fandom.

Lock and Key by autochorystalize

Bakugou made a choked, gravelly noise before croaking out a low, “You can’t be serious.” His fingers ached to blow up everything in the room.

“I’m sorry, young man, but you can’t change reality! This sometimes happens.” Recovery Girl clicked through his file, adding a new symbol in a previously empty slot.

- - -

A pair of eyes discreetly locked on to an explosive blond plowing his way forward, parting people in his path. He recognized the kid, of course. Anyone in the underbelly of society would recognize him, after the publicity of both UA’s Sports Festival and the events leading up to All Might’s fall. The uniform he was wearing cast away any doubts about the young man’s identity.

It was a bit of a surprise that the little firecracker presented as an omega.

- - - - - - - - -

Or: there are certain types of evil that seemed too distant, archaic violations and perversions that would never actually threaten bright-eyed heroes-in-training in the clean, modern world...but sometimes those evils aren't as distant as one might think.

remember when I said that I love a/b/o fics that are full of plot and world-building and gender-induced tension? that’s this one. the OC’s are fabulous and you love to hate ‘em. also, it’s the fic that made me fall head-over-heels for the TodoBaku dynamic, so it’s got a special place in my cold, dead heart. 

be warned, there are rather explicit non-con scenes between an adult (OC) and a minor (Bakugou) in this one, but the author warns for them in advance, and you could likely skip those parts without missing too much if you need to.

Never and Always, Eventually by Wawa_Boonliang

"Katsuki can remember the exact moment that he and Deku…that he and Midoriya Izuku became friends. He can also remember the moment he and Izuku became fierce rivals, a time when they were almost enemies.

However, what he remembers most clearly about their relationship is the moment that they moved passed rivals and became something more close than mere friends. Something more like brotherhood, something forged in fire and secured in the middle of a battlefield or in the midst of natural disaster where the number of the dead was climbing ever higher. And then it was torn from him."

Katsuki is given a second chance. A chance to save everyone. A chance to change everything.

But should he?

y’all. I’m a slutty, slutty whore for time travel fics. a time travel fic with autistic!coded Bakugou? it was love at first read.

Lessons Learned by Sif (Rosae)

Rather than the police station, Katsuki's friends bring him to a hospital after rescuing him from the villains. His wounds were minor, but it didn't make having them treated any less important. As it would so happen, Best Jeanist was also brought to this hospital after the attack.

Sometimes, small choices have a big impact on how a story plays out.

classic Bakugou hurt/comfort. this fic opened me up to the potential that could be a genuinely good Best Jeanist & Katsuki mentor-mentee relationship, and I kind of dig it and search ravenously for it in other fics now. I’m also a huge fan of the behind-the-scences Pro Hero Chat group.

Slope by sunfleurmoon

“I’m not a hero. Or a good person,” Katsuki says, giving Aizawa a pointed look, “So leave me alone. I don’t care about the League or UA, or you—” The two years he’s been away have been fine, more than fine, fucking fantastic actually if you ignore the bi-monthly near-death experiences. He doesn’t need this place. He doesn’t miss this place.

And yet, longing, a childish desire to tear up, or maybe blow something to bits, they all twist in his chest like a band of traitors regardless. “—I just want to go home.”

Or: the one where Katsuki and Izuku fail the first term exam, Aizawa discovers their pasts, and Katsuki is booted from UA. Featuring questionable descriptions of villain organizations, a slightly illegal moving shop, and your favorite emotionally constipated badass in distress with a newly discovered penchant for collecting strays.

paaaaaaiiiiiiiin. the hurt is ALIVE in this one. lots of tortured, angsty exploding child goodness. the OC’s are excellently crafted, and the Bakugou & Eri relationship? beautiful. definitely deserves a read.

Ground Zero by WindsChild8178

In the wake of Kamino, Katsuki is tested more than anyone could imagine. Bound by a villain’s quirk to keep his silence or die, he lives each day knowing it might very well be his last. He continues to work towards becoming a hero, keeping his secret from his classmates and teachers, focusing on making it through each day and trying not to allow the panic or depression to get the best of him. When the villain finally corners him with demands in exchange for his life, there is really only one answer Katsuki Bakugou can give.

honestly don't know which I want updated more - social media 101 or ground zero. this author's fics are amazing, and I really wasn't expecting the twist in this one. can't wait for windschild to come back to this fic some day.

The Defect by LadyGreenFrisbee

"Why do you want to win the Sports Festival so badly?" 

Because I want to see if the defect could usurp the masterpiece.

(In which Endeavor holds a terrible secret and Bakugo has to suffer since childhood for it.)

a great concept, and I adore the shouto and Katsuki sibling interaction here. hoping the author will come back to this one some day.

A Name That You'll Remember by Heronfem

Kirishima Eijirou is a Hero. Bakugou Katsuki... is not. Trapped in his toxic workplace and increasingly desperate to get out, Red Riot's days are only brightened by a new villain known as Caution, who's not exactly villainous and keeps accidentally doing good deeds. But when a real villain appears, a threat from the past that demands that Red Riot make the ultimate sacrifice to keep the public safe, Bakugou is forced into saving the day... and eventually, Red Riot himself.

sob story good guy villains are my weakness, this fic is a gem, and I'd kill for the sequel.

Our Hero by AnonymousTwit

He felt everything jerk to the side and throw his balance off before he saw anything, dust clouding his vision and irritating his lungs as the earth itself opened up to swallow them whole. For a single moment, in a millisecond's time, his wild eyes locked with Raccoon Eyes', hers alight with fear and adrenaline-fueled desperation. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that it was the first time she'd looked at him with something other than long-deserved hatred in days.

And then he was free falling.

Or

After a particularly nasty encounter between childhood friends, the class learns about Bakugou and Midoriya's dark history and practically ostracizes Bakugou while trying to defend Midoriya. An earthquake during an outing has all sides regretting their decisions.

just fucking tear apart my self-sacrificing faves in every way imaginable while their loved ones watch on in terror. 💖🥰💖 this one is heavy on the Bakusquad and Class-1A feels, and VERY heavy on the Mina & Bakugou relationship (platonic).

Running back the tape, watching it replay by Faralyne

For someone ripped from their time, ripped from the few but strong relationships built by time and personal development, by self-reflection and swallowed pride, ripped from the one thing that made him feel worthwhile and needed and put-together, and forced to forge everything over again—Katsuki thinks he is handling it pretty fucking well.

Or

A villain’s quirk sends a 29-year-old Bakugou back in time to his middle school days.

am I a sucker for time travel? yes. am I a sucker for vigilante!bakugou? also yes. am I a sucker for this fic? literally refreshing the page in wait for an update as we speak.

Liability by sandelf

After All-Might dies rescuing Bakugou from the League, Bakugou is determined to prove it wasn't for nothing.

But the world is against him, his grief is overwhelming, and his stability is splitting at the edges.

very self-indulgent bakugou angst. tw for harassment, severe depression, and suicidality.

Special Mentions:

How To Win The Sport Festival: A Step By Step Guide by mhwright

Short re-imagining of the Sports Festival Arc if Shinso had planned a little better and worked a little harder to win the Sports Festival and if the match-ups had been slightly different. Self-indulgent fic of watching him succeed.

this is completely Shinsou-centric, not Bakugou-centric, but I love and adore it and am dying for a sequel. Shinsou is Best Boy here and you'll be rooting for him the whole time.

[niksixx]

Close to Perfect

Requested: My idea 

Pairing: The Dirt!Nikki Sixx x Fem!Reader 

Description: Your baby’s father doesn’t show up to the birth of your son, so Nikki takes his place. 

A/N: As always, your support is incredible. Reblog, comment, add tags <3 

Y/B/N: Your baby’s name

*Picture is NOT mine. Found on google. Credit to the owner.* 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a room filled with three other people that are comforting you and doing all they can to make you feel safe, you’ve never felt more alone and afraid. Sweat slicks every crevice of your body as you try to focus on the nurses hooking you up to machines and not the bone crushing contractions you’ve been feeling for an hour.

Your due date wasn’t quite near, but your baby boy wanted to make his appearance to the world a bit earlier. Your water had broke suddenly in the kitchen as you were preparing dinner, almost dropping the butter knife as the liquid trickled down your thighs. In a panic, you called the only person you could think of in that moment: Your son’s father.

As he chose not to be in your son’s life, it shouldn’t have surprised you that he refused to bring you to the hospital either. Begging and pleading as the contractions grew more frequent and painful did nothing but cause him to hang up the phone.

The only other option at that time was to call a cab, tipping generously at the end as the cab driver had to deal with your moans and whimpers from the backseat. Luckily there was a nurse with a wheelchair waiting for you at the entrance to the hospital.

As the nurses finish adjusting the IV, you wiggle around in the bed to try and find a comfortable position. A growl erupts from your belly, and instead of being graced with substance, you’re presented with ice chips.

While the contractions were growing more painful, you still weren’t fully dilated enough to start pushing. You opted for the epidural, promising to yourself that your next pregnancy would be all natural.

After the nurses left to wait on other patients, the solemn reality hit you. You were about to become a first time mother, and you were going to have to do it alone.

Calling your child’s father was useless. He’d never show up. He didn’t care enough about the life he helped create, and you refused to believe that you even needed him there. You could do this just fine on your own.

And then the epidural had worn off and as you reached ten centimeters dilation, it was time to finally push. But as the nurses and obstetrician were helping you adjust for labor, your cell phone chimed next to you.

With a stretch, you clicked the speaker, hoping to make the phone call quick as you were only minutes away from your first push. “Hello?”

“Hey, Y/N. You know that Def Leppard cutoff shirt I always wear?”

The doctor gives you a quizzical look. “Uh, Miss--.”

“Yeah, I do,” Trying to mask the groan of pain, you bite down hard on your lip. The intensity of the contractions is only growing stronger now, and you’re not sure how long you can last. “Listen, Nikki, now isn’t really a good time.”

“Wait, don’t hang up! I just need to know if I left it at your house last week. I can’t find it anywhere and Mick swears he didn’t steal it.”

Again, the doctor shoots you a look, one more annoyed this time. “Ma’am, we really need to--.”

“Nikki, I’m literally in the hospital about to give birth. Can the shirt wait?”

There’s a sharp breath on the other end after a long pause. Aside from your baby’s father, Nikki was the first person who had known about your pregnancy. You’d grown up together, and even visited Nikki and his band a few times while they were busy touring the world and playing music for anyone that’d listen.  “Right now?”

You nod. “Right now.”

He hesitates before asking the question he already knows the answer to. “Is he there?”

“No, Nikki. My water broke earlier and I called him to ask if he could bring me to the hospital. He hung up and I called a cab. Unfortunately, your shirt isn’t my main priority right now,” You laugh in good nature. Part of you is hurt, though. How could anyone neglect their responsibilities as a parent? How could anyone, any man, deny their child?

Neither one of you signed up for this life. The baby’s father had made it his priority to remind you that your child was merely an accident, and therefore he owed no responsibility for a child he never wanted.

Nikki had been more than a friend throughout your pregnancy. Caring for others was in his nature, apparently, but when it came to you, it felt different. He took care of you in ways he didn’t need to. Helping you bathe. Picking up food to ease your cravings. Holding you as you cried in his arms. He had always gone above and beyond for you even when he didn’t need to.

“I can be there in fifteen minutes,” There’s commotion on the other end of the line, most likely Nikki panicking to find his shoes and keys. Fifteen minutes isn’t ideal, and your doctor is certainly in a mood now as he stares at you with a blank expression, eyebrows pulled together. Another contraction hits and you grip the sides of your thighs tightly. “Y/N, I’m on my way. Don’t have that baby without me.”

~~~

Nikki is by your side shortly after your first push. Seeing him wide eyed and a bit frazzled eases your pain, and you’re glad he’s there now. You didn’t realize how much you needed his support.

“I’m here, I’m here,” He kisses your forehead quickly, reaching one arm around the pillow to cradle your head, other hand clasped tightly in yours. “Let’s have a baby, okay?”

You nod and focus on the doctor as he commands you to push. Unfortunately for the epidural wearing off, you feel every shred of pain. Sucking in a breath you push again and again, sweat beading your body as every ounce of energy is slowly being drained from your body.

“Baby’s crowning.”

Nikki gazes back at you, his look one of pure adoration. “You’re doing so good. Only a few more pushes okay? You can do this.”

His words make it feel possible. Your lips are dry so you lick them once before adjusting your grip on Nikki’s hand. “I can do this.”

“Ready, Y/N? And one...two...three…”

An ear splitting cry erupts throughout the room, and the weight is lifted off your shoulders as your squirming baby boy is placed on your chest. The blood and gunk on his tiny body isn’t even worth cringing over as you hold him against you. Tears course down your cheeks and drip off your chin, but Nikki is there beside you wiping them away, all the while completely mesmerized by your strength.

As much as you don’t want to let him go, you hand off your son to the nurses for a quick bath. Head against the pillow, your body is overcome with extreme fatigue. A hand comes up to your forehead, pushing the hair off your sweaty skin.

“I did it,” Pride swells in your chest. The morning sickness, the constant cravings, the heartburn, the back pain, everything was worth it. “I did it.”

And even pride swirls in Nikki’s heart. The road to your son’s birth hadn’t been smooth sailing. There were many bumps in the road, and Nikki knew more than anyone how much you had doubted yourself, your abilities to raise a child alone. But if anyone could overcome the adversity life threw at them, it was you. And you’d do it with passion and grace. “I’m so proud of you.”

~~~

Wrapped tightly in a white blanket, your baby boy is fast asleep against your chest. Your jealousy thickens as you observe his sweet little face sleeping so peacefully against your chest.

Almost as if he can hear your thoughts, Nikki pipes up from the chair by the window. “Are you tired? Do you want me to hold him?”

You’d have forever to hold your little boy, so you gingerly hand him over to an excited Nikki. After helping him reposition his arms to support the baby boy’s head, your own head sinks into the pillow, eyes fluttering shut.

“Hi, Y/B/N. It’s me, Uncle Nikki. I’ve been friends with your mother for a while now, and I want you to know that you have the best mommy in the world.” Your eyes fly open as quick as they had closed, and the sight in front of you warms your heart. Pressing a delicate kiss to your son’s head, Nikki holds him close. “Somedays, she’s going to struggle though. And when she does, I want you to know that I’m always going to look after her. She can do this alone,” Emotion clouds Nikki’s voice. “But I want her to know she doesn't have to.”

Something in the atmosphere changes. The man in front of you cradling your son as if he were his own had transformed before your eyes. Your heart had always held a soft spot for Nikki, and growing up it wasn’t uncommon for adults to assume you were romantically involved. You’d always denied a relationship between you and Nikki, but as you stare at him softly singing a lullaby to your son, the possibility of you and Nikki entertaining something more than friendship rose to the surface.

“And there’s something I never want you to forget, little one,” Nikki speaks to your son, but his eyes, so full of something that can’t be described as anything other than longing, are zeroed in on your face. “Your mother, even with all her flaws, her quirks, and her insecurities, she’s as close to perfect as one can get. And to be loved by her is something out of a dream.”

[yurimother]

The Best Yuri of 2019

2019 was a challenging year for many, in and out of the anime community, which is still reeling from the horrific attack at Kyoto Animation’s first studio in July that killed 36 people. However, I want to take this moment, as we start a new decade, to reflect on some of the greatest achievements in Yuri.

2019 marked the genre’s 100th anniversary, 100 years since Nobuko Yoshiya released her landmark lesbian novel Yaneura no Nishojo that shaped and created Yuri as we know it. It was possible Yuri’s best years ever, as more incredible titles were released and localized, we experienced fantastic events and moments, and more. This article is part of my continuing celebration of all things Yuri!

Note that many of the works mentioned came out before 2019, but they either were first released in English during 2019 or hit particular high points during this year. Now then, here is the best of Yuri in 2019!

15: SukeraSparo

This Japanese Yuri visual novel developer is starting to reach new heights as they set their sights on releasing new and innovate Yuri titles. The English release of The Expression Amrilato, an educational Yuri visual novel that teaches the player Esperanto, was one of the most unique and creative works I have the pleasure of playing this year. But, they outdid themselves this year, releasing a sequel, Itsuka no Memorajxo, creating one of the most beautiful Yuri games in Folklore of Kudan, and founding a sister brand, SukeraSomero, “to fill the world with YURI!”

The Expression Amrilato is available in English for PC on Steam and Mangagamer

14: Mage & Demon Queen

This outrageous and vivacious webcomic hits its stride in Season 2. After setting a solid foundation, this masterpiece by Kuru “Color-LES” is finally able to explore some more interesting plot lines such as its characters’ pasts, conflicts between the demons and humans, and figuring out who’s gonna be the bottom (it’s Malori, it was always going to be Malori). It is chock full of modern humor and moments I can only describe as hilariously kinky, while rarely feeling gross of sleazy. I can only wait to see what is next for these star-crossed lovers.

Mage & Demon Queen: is available to read in English on Webtoon

13: Yuri Anthologies

In 2018, Yen Press gave us the first hint of some Yuri anthologies starting to squeak into the West with Éclair, but 2019 threw the floodgates open! New works are coming out in both Japan and the West, featuring multiple artists coming together to create works featuring workplace romance, isekai, first-time stories, and even MARRIAGE!! Additionally, creators released volumes collecting their various short stories, like Rouge Nagashiro’s Eve and Eve, and some series saw multiple artists contribute to an already established world such as in the Bloom Into You Anthologies.

12: SHWD

Sono’s science fiction Yuri doujinshi series, published in English by Lilyka, is everything I did not know I wanted in a Yuri series. It showcases pulse-pounding action as the women of the “Special Hazardous Waste Disposal” fight to take down the horrific Dynamis. It has musclebound beasts of women that exude strength, power, and femininity at all times. And it has a compelling story about overcoming personal conflicts and learning to rely on others.

SHWD is available digitally on Lilyka

11: If I Could Reach You

No other series this year delivered an emotional gut-punch like If I Could Reach You. This tragic and beautiful manga by tMnR follows a young girl as she attempts hopelessly to overcome her attraction to her brother’s wife. Everything from the artwork to the dialogue masterfully communicates the devastation and pain that the protagonist Uta feels. It is beautiful and devastating, and I carry every awesome moment on my mind continuously.

If I Could Reach You is available digitally and physically in English from Kodansha: https://amzn.to/36vsYPe

Honorable mention: SQ/Tamen de Gushi/Their Story 

2019 was a little bit of a slow year for Tan Jiu’s webtoon, thanks to an extended hiatus, especially when compared to 2018’s triumphant and spectacular storyline. However, small moments of genius like Sun Jing’s father’s phenomenal visual monologue keep this work in peak form top and my heart. I hope that its recent Japanese serialization on Comic Walker help even more people enjoy it.

10: Still Sick

In my recent review, I called this workplace romance a “Yuri manga for Yurijin,” and there is no way I could come up with a more apt description. Still Sick surprised me with its self-awareness, knowledge, and commentary on the genre. It has an incredibly deep story about two complex and layered characters that ignite each other’s passion, in more ways than one.

Still Sick is available digitally and physically in English from Tokyopop: https://amzn.to/2rVRH07

9: Going Beyond Girl Meets Girl

Yuri stories tend to repeat the same story, two girls meet, they fall for each other, they get together, THE END! The past decade or so has finally seen more stories adding sexual elements, in contrast to earlier S works, and some even explored the dating life of two schoolgirls. However, we have recently seen something remarkable: works featuring couples “graduating” (literally or metaphorically) and enter the real world. Series like Citrus, Kase-san, and, briefly, Bloom Into You explore the relationships as they exit the honeymoon phase and get into the meat of lesbian livelihood.

Kase-san and Yamada is available for English preorder: https://amzn.to/2MXnp4w

8: Nagata Kabi

Over the past few years, Nagata Kabi has redefined what the Yuri genre can be. Her powerful autobiographical manga essays My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, My Solo Exchange Diary, and Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi communicate her experiences with queer identity, mental illness, and alcoholism. No work of fiction could ever hope to reach Nagata’s strength and crushing honesty. Nagata’s manga has and will continue to change readers and the genre for years to come.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is available digitally and physically in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2MZ7DWJ 

7: Bloom Into You

Nakatani Nio’s popular Yuri series Bloom Into You crushed it in 2019. It concluded serialization, ending on an incredibly high note, and dominating the market in both English and Japanese, selling over one million copies (well deserved). Additionally, Sentai Filmworks released an excellent collector’s edition of the 2018 television anime adaption that is now a must-have for Yuri collectors. But my favorite aspect of this series is the spin-off light novel series featuring one of its best characters, which have already begun English release.

Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka is available digitally and for physical preorder from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2SVPVHG

6: Heart of the Woods

When I heard that one of the co-creators of Highway Blossoms, one of the better English Yuri visual novels, was creating his own studio, I was pretty excited. But nothing could have prepared me for Studio Élan's first release, Heart of the Woods, which blew me away. The enchanting adventure full of exceptionally queer characters shattered every expectation I had. I am looking forward to its Switch port and voice acting patch, as well as more titles from Élan.

Heart of the Woods is available for PC on Steam. Switch edition coming later this year.

Honorable mention: Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei wa Tsukiatte iru

Oui Pikachi’s manga about two teachers navigating a new relationship is one of my new favorites. Everyone is so supportive of the title characters as they stumble their way through an honest and mature love. However, I am only giving it an honorable mention this year, as I am sure it will be on this list next year after Seven Seas releases the first volume in English as The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating!

The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating! is available for preorder in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/39JhXMs

5. Sexiled

Ameko Kaeruda’s spectacularly feminist and outrageously funny light novel series Sexiled is could ever ask for and more. I feel in love with its compelling female characters and their riveting battle against the sexist conventions of their society, all of which painfully mirror reality. This work is cathartic, empowering, and so very, very gay.

Sexiled is available digitally in English from J-Novel Club. Physical edition coming later this year: https://amzn.to/35u6NaW

4: Yuri Life

I adore domestic Yuri. Granted, I love a good romance and fantasy, but so many of these stories exist that it feels overwhelming, and sometimes it is just good to sit down and read about two women who love each other living their everyday adult lives in bliss. Kurukuruhime’s Yuri Life, which I have enjoyed ever since it was first uploaded to Pixiv and am so proud to own in print, is precisely that. Nine couples being cute and living together in a variety of humorous, scandalous, and adorable situations. Yuri cohabitation has never been so good! Now, if I could only get some Yuri titles about women raising kids together…

Yuri Life is available digitally and physically in English from Yen Press: https://amzn.to/35stSLg

3: Children’s Cartoons

For the past several years, children’s cartoons and media have slowly begun to allow bits of queer representation onto the screen. While we are still a long way from having Elsa kiss a girl, the small and large victories on children’s television give me hope. Some of my personal favorites include an episode of Nickelodeon’s The Loud House about a lesbian date, a lesbian couple and agender character (using they/them pronouns) in Craig of the Creek, the female protagonist of Twelve Forever developing a crush on another girl, and of course the unbelievable amount of queerness that She-Ra and Steven Universe shove into every moment. I wish I had more series like these when I was young, and I am thrilled that my students get to grow up with them.

2: Our Dreams at Dusk (Shimanami Tasogare)

Yuhki Kamatani’s Our Dreams at Dusk is easily 2019’s best manga. The incredible story explores many real aspects of LGBTQ identities, gay, lesbian, trans, non-binary, and asexual included, in an emotional and resonating masterpiece. The artwork is stunning and more expressive than words could ever be. I stand by what I said in my review, that Our Dreams at Dusk is the greatest manga I have ever read and wholeheartedly believes that it was deserving of the only 10/10 score I gave in 2019.

Our Dreams at Dusk is available digitally and physically in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2s282AE

Honorable mention: ‘The Conditions of Paradise’ Licensed

One of the best moments of this year came out of Anime Expo when Seven Seas announced that they had licensed Morishima Akiko’s Rakuen no Jouken and would be releasing it as The Conditions of Paradise in 2020. Not only is The Conditions of Paradise a fantastic and mature work of Yuri literature, but it is also over a decade old, having been published originally in 2007. This license, more than anything else, helped me realize how far Yuri came this year. Not only is the hottest new series being adapted, but a historic and profound classic of the genre.

The Conditions of Paradise is available for preorder in English: https://amzn.to/2FjTE9M

1: Yuri Publishers

Not too long ago, it was rare for us to see more than a few Yuri manga releases in a year if any, but now we are at the point where a publisher can do an event announcing five Yuri licenses in a single day! As of this year, all the major publishers, and plenty of smaller ones, are actively licensing, adapting, and publishing amazing Yuri works: Yen Press, Viz, Kodansha, Seven Seas, Tokyopop, Renta, J-Novel Club, and more keep giving us incredible Yuri. I also have to mention the incredible work Lilyka Manga is doing, working directly with mangaka to adapt Yuri doujinshi titles into English, something I would have never dreamed of a few years ago.

As Yuri enters its second century, we are staring down the rest of 2020, a year that will no doubt go down in current Yuri history. The year will see a record number of Yuri manga releases both in Japan and from licensed series in the West. We are getting several promising anime series like Adachi to Shimamura, Magia Record, Oshi ga Budoukan Ittekuretara Shinu, a Princess Principal movie, and more. I cannot wait to see what this year will hold for YuriMother and the Yuri genre. I hope you all stick with me through it as we navigate the waters of a newer, gayer, and greater world of Yuri.

[synchronmurmurs]

I hope this isn't out of the blue, but I follow your Twitter, and recently you spoke about having fears of writing a book from scratch. Nothing connected to fandoms, no pre-existing characters or settings. No leg to perch on from an already developed story.

But I have to say, that your work on multiple OCs proves that you are incredibly skilled at making characters from scratch and developing compelling stories for said characters. For example, Punchy *chef's kiss* an absolute gem of a woman with wonderful depth, and the attitude to match. Liviere, whose sass and playful nature hides so much trauma. Evette, an aDORABLE BEAN with zero fucks to give. Each character is extremely unique, and I truly believe you are more than capable of creating an entire seperate world of your own.

Not to mention your prose, tHE PROSE *angels chanting*. I can honestly go on and on about how much your writing has inspired me, and the amount of times I reread a paragraph to soak in the flow and descriptions. An entire world developed through your mind, with your skillful writing, would probably make me astrally project into another dimension on the spot.

So anyway, what I meant to say is that you're underestimating your ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ) POWER. You have the skill, the drive (from the amount you've written for Pact I- hOLY SHIT THAT'S AN EPIC), and the creativity to write an original book and more. You're more than capable 👌

That being said... I want Punchy to absolutely

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

annihilate me

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Nonnie I’ve had this open for like half an hour trying to find words I can reply to this with, but I keep defaulting back to things like WOOORGHHGHHGHGHGH and HOOORRRGHHHHHHGGGWWOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH and uncrontrollable, inconsolable sobbing that looks something like this

so I think I’m going to give it up for the moment, but this really, really means a lot to me. 😭😭 I think I’ve been very blessed with the reception of these OCs, it’s something I can’t... ever properly repay or convey how deeply grateful I am, but I just have so much damn fun with putting little barbie dolls into a world and seeing what they do. And DMC especially, is a series that really easily welcomes literally any OC from any walk of life, where you can almost seamlessly find a justifiable way to integrate them into canon, and it’s just 😙👌

But that being said, I think I do have a pretty long road ahead of me. It’ll be... very awkward without the crutch of an existing canon to fall back on, and beyond a vague idea of what I’d ideally like to do (SUPERNATURAL CRIME DRAMA!!!!!!!), I don’t really know where to start? But baby steps and all that. I really would like to see how far writing can take me, because I don’t think I’ve ever felt so strongly about a hobby before? I’ve been at this for nearly 3 years now? And if that alone isn’t some sort of indication that maybe writing is what I’m supposed to be doing with myself, then I don’t know what is.

....christ this got away from me, I’m sorry nonnie. But thank you so much again for this encouragement, I’m really, truly touched and whehh fdskjhkfjh. 😭😭

....also big same about wanting to be annihilated by Punchy. The Punchwife.... hhgghoorgh maam.....

[booksoanahasread]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Everyone has had that book that has wrecked them so irreparably that for a while they don’t know what to do with themselves. After finishing this book, I felt as if someone had physically taken my heart out of my chest and stomped on it, shattering it in thousands of tiny pieces that don’t fit together anymore.

This is probably my favourite book of all time. As you may know, I’ve read quite a lot of books, so this is not in any way an easy task. It made me feel so many emotions so deeply, I never wanted to put it down because it was perfect. 

V.E Schwab is my favourite author now. Her writing in this novel was so poetic and beautiful. While I know some people did not appreciate her use of repetitions, I actually liked it. I felt that it tied the story in a perfect knot. The descriptions of the cities Addie visited were spectacular, it was almost as if I could step into that world and forget about my own dilemmas. 

Her characters were incredibly well-written, especially Addie LaRue and Henry. I loved the way the author motivated their actions by their greatest fears and their biggest insecurities. I found the characters to be extremely realistic and more than relatable. Just reading about them made you feel a little less lonely and somewhat less insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe. 

Addie LaRue is a strong character that is anything but forgettable. She is charismatic and amusing, her love for humanity was blinding. Her determination to make the darkness regret ever cursing her was immeasurable. Her witty banter with Luc was captivating. I loved the constant back and forth between the past and the present. The stories of Addie’s life in the past were mesmerizing and gut-wrenching at times. 

Her need to be known, to be remembered after three hundred years of new beginnings and being forgotten, was understandable. Her love for books and culture was heart-warming, she had a heart of gold that would never stop beating and yearning for love. 

Henry was the most lovable character. From the first “I remember you” to the last one, you fall in love with him as Addie does. He is this emotionally man who wants more time with his family and friends. He falls rapidly in love with Addie and he accepts her the way she is. His need to be enough, as he phrases it, something any reader, any person can relate to. His love for the people in his life is larger than most people have. I loved his complete adoration of Addie’s stories.

Addie and Henry’s relationship was natural and flowed with such ease that it was fun to watch them fall into step. Their love for one another was enough to make them both finally feel at home. It was worth all the pain and the troubles each of them went through. The lengths to which they went in order to keep each other safe and happy were amazing. They were probably the healthiest relationship that I’ve ever seen in a fantasy novel. 

Luc was a pain to read about, while he was charismatic and ultimately a compelling character, I didn’t want him to intervene in Addie’s happiness. I thought that he had a shroud of mercy for her and that’s why Henry remembered her. He didn’t, he was cruel and calculating. I can admire his patience, but I don’t think he is capable of love or complex emotions. He is just a darkness that wraps around the light Addie’s heart gives off. 

I found the fling between Luc and Addie interesting, especially as it was compared to Henry. Luc and Addie only seemed to work because Addie was lonely enough to fall into his prey. His seduction of her only to get her soul while sleeping in the same bed was treasonous. Of course Addie got out of it and hoped to never see him again in order to forget his calculating nature. 

When Luc intervened in Addie’s relationship with Henry, I hated him. I despised the fact that he wanted to take away the person who made her happier than he ever could. Luc was a Machiavellian antagonist that I loved to hate. His possessive nature was beyond frustrating.

When I think of the fact that Addie and Henry had such little time together, my heart shatters once again, my eyes tear up and I can’t exactly think straight. I wished they could have had so many more moments together, so much more love together. I wished it had all ended with an “I remember you” said at both Henry and Addie’s deathbed. 

While the poetic nature of the plot and novel made the ending quite fantastical and heart-breaking. I probably will not be able to recover from Henry publishing a book about Addie with the dedication that just said “I remember you”. It was a testament to his love of her and his dedication to make sure she left a mark on the world, even if it was only possible through his writing. 

That last kiss before Addie jumped into the darkness and left Henry was more than heart-breaking, it was earth shattering. It felt as if the foundation of my soul had been shaken and broken. Even now, when I think about this book, I feel as if I’m falling. I saw someone talk about this feeling as “Post Book Depression”. 

This is the best book I’ve ever read and I would give anything in order to read it again for the first time, to fall in love with these characters once again, to travel around the world and through time once more. I will be recommending this book to anyone I meet, I loved this book with my whole soul, even though it shattered me into thousands of pieces of glass. 

I will most likely be rereading this book for years to come. I’m not the same person I was before reading this book, at least that’s how I feel. V.E. Schwab has wrecked me and I am thankful. I will clearly be reading all of her other books. Please read this book. 

[oatmilkslytherin]

trials and tribulations (h.potter)

description: harry and fem!reader have a bit of trouble when fem!reader admits she’s not comfortable enough with him yet. can they make it through the trials and tribulations of love, or are they destined to forever be the lonely ones?

pairing: harry potter x fem!reader

requested: yes / no

warnings: none 

taglist: @jud3cardan​ @potatothingsz​ 

a/n: first real request and i absolutely love this concept !! i think there’s a lot of unspoken things that people go through in relationships and i absolutely adore the idea of talking about them<33 i’m sorry if i didn’t do this request justice !!

relationships weren’t incredibly familiar to you. in your time at hogwarts, you had not been highly sought after, preferring to keep yourself under the radar for the most part. sure, you had your friends and had a few crushes here and there, but nothing was ever acted upon.

that’s why it came as a huge surprise to you when hermione had told you harry potter fancied you.

of course he did. you were beautiful and wise beyond your years, at least that’s what your friends told you. you both ran in the same circles, had a multitude of conversations as you grew up together, but you never thought you’d see the day when he’d be in front of you asking you to accompany him to hogsmeade one winter afternoon.

but that was months ago. now, it was the start of your sixth year and you and harry had been practically inseparable ever since. being that it was your first relationship, you two hadn’t done much more than holding hands and sparing quick kisses before parting ways to bed. you were comfortable and you felt safe; you often wondered if there was anything more that you could want.

this night was unlike the few you shared together since the beginning of your relationship. it wasn’t uncommon for you two to use the gryffindor common room as your usual place of solitude, but most of those nights were spent studying for hours on end. hell, the most romantic it ever got those nights were when you would let harry wrap you up in his arms while you read him a novel. 

tonight, however, you felt incredibly on edge. your homework was finished and the novel was read cover to cover, but harry still had trouble parting so early into the evening. so, now here you both were laying on the couch in front of the fireplace, harry with his head on your chest as his body rested comfortably in between your legs. you weren’t necessarily uncomfortable, but it was definitely the most affection you have experienced. 

you ran your fingers softly through his hair as he laid on your chest, becoming increasingly aware of your rapid breathing which you tried to keep calm and steady. harry shifted slightly in between you, repositioning himself so his head was now resting in the crook of your neck. the close proximity made you extremely nervous. you knew, realistically, there was no reason you should feel uncomfortable around your boyfriend. however, you couldn’t ignore the nagging sense of shyness by this new experience.

harry began pressing feather-light kisses where his head lay, making your body stiffen up slightly. apart from the few pecks you both shared, it was incredibly unfamiliar to feel his lips against your skin. you shifted tensely under him, attempting to signal that this was far too much affection given your previous interactions. 

harry’s lips moved relentlessly against the skin of your neck, now peppering your jawline with soft, slow kisses. while it would’ve been romantic further down the line, you found your heart racing relentlessly, threatening to beat out of your chest if continued. 

“harry...” you trailed off with an unsure tone, making his head snap up from the crook of your neck. his eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he eyed your curiously, scanning your face for any sense of emotion.

“what is it, love? did i do something wrong?” he questioned, holding himself up to look into your eyes. you bit down on your lip, feeling rather sheepish under his stare. 

“i-i’m sorry... i just don’t think i’m comfortable with this...” you stated nervously, the words clumsily fumbling from your lips as you averted his gaze. harry’s eyes widened from above you, suddenly scrambling from his position between your legs. you slowly brought your legs back towards your body, allowing your knees to tuck against your chest. 

harry let out a deep breath as he eyed you from the other side of the couch, his face strung with confusion.

“i don’t get it, y/n... we’ve been together for nearly nine months now, and we haven’t done anything but just share a kiss here and there... do you not like me anymore?” harry questioned from beside you. your eyes widened in surprise; never for a second did you think that harry’s mind was reeling with that possibility.

“no, no of course not, harry! i like you a lot. it’s just... difficult, i suppose,” you began to speak frantically, but your voice dimmed to a soft, shy tone as your sentence trailed off. you fiddled anxiously with your fingers in your lap, trying your best to suppress the sudden nervousness you felt as you tried to explain. 

“do you want to talk about it, then?” harry questioned, letting out a breath that was a mix between annoyance and something else that lingered that you couldn’t quite put a finger on. you knew harry cared for you, but deep down you couldn’t help but feel bad that your own boyfriend was questioning your love for him. 

you grew rather withdrawn from the entire situation, unable to feel overwhelmed from both the events that had just taken place, as well as the inability to shake that harry was really frustrated with you. 

“n-no...” you stuttered out, training your eyes on your tapping foot and fiddling fingers. you saw harry nod slightly from your peripherals, but his expression still remained riddled with lack of understanding.

“right, well. i’m going to head off to bed. goodnight, y/n.” he got up without another word or even a kiss goodbye as he grabbed his books and headed up towards his dormitory. once the common room grew silent aside from the dying flicker from the fire, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. you felt awful, even doubtful in the fact that you gave harry everything he desired. you thought you had, but according to tonight’s events, you were wrong. 

you buried your face in your hands as your mind was beginning to be consumed with doubtful thoughts. you knew better than to dwell on them, however. instead, you chose to retreat to your own dorm, letting the silent halls and sabotaging thoughts envelop you as you dragged your feet to bed.

-

it had been nearly two weeks since the incident in the common room. harry had tried to speak to you about the situation a multitude of times more, but every time you did, you insisted on shutting down the conversation. you could see him grow less frustrated and more upset as the days grew on. although he wouldn’t admit it in fear of driving you away, he blamed himself on your inability to feel comfortable around him. 

you wanted to soothe his mind, tell him how he was the only person for you in your mind and heart. you wanted to be comfortable with him and show him that he was the one you had always wanted, but the tiny shred of doubt still lingered in the back of your mind.

but as the days grew on and harry decided to give you some space to benefit your relationship, you couldn’t help but feel more desire than ever to be with him. you knew in your heart that harry was only giving you space to figure things out for yourself, which you greatly appreciated. if anything, the one thing that you did learn was that in order to be comfortable, sometimes you needed to start off in uncomfortable situations.

perhaps that’s how it led you to jotting a very messy note on parchment and letting it get passed around your charms class until it reached its destination.

the parchment landed on harry’s lap, making his head snap from the front of the room to the small piece of parchment. he looked around him, keeping a watchful eye on professor flitwick before carefully unfolding the small note. his eyes skimmed across the paper frantically, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he read:

common room, 10 pm. i miss you

harry shoved the note in the pocket of his robes before flitwick could ask what on harry’s lap was so intriguing. you smiled lightly to yourself, knowing that his reaction was just the one you had hoped for. 

-

10 pm rolled around much sooner than you had anticipated. you were sat on the common room sofa, your leg bouncing erratically as you awaited your boyfriend’s arrival. soon enough, harry’s soft dark hair came bouncing down the stairs, his hands shoved in the pockets of his trousers as he entered the room.

his gaze caught yours, his lips pulled into a thin-lipped smile as he bounded over towards you. you couldn’t help but notice how sheepish he looked as he approached you. in truth, he was unsure of what to do. given how your last interaction ended, harry didn’t think you two were on the best of terms; he wasn’t sure if he should hug you, press a light kiss to your forehead, or just remain silent. 

you stood up from the couch as he stopped in his tracks in front of you, a soft smile dancing on your lips as you looked up at him. 

“i’ve missed you,” harry started, his gaze turning soft and slightly melancholy. you smiled at him, easing his nerves slightly, but what you did next completely caught him by surprise.

you inched closer to harry, bringing your arms up from your sides and wrapping them delicately around his neck. his eyes widened in surprise from your actions, his cheeks flushing a light shade of red as he was even more unsure of what to do.

“i’ve missed you too, harry,” you spoke, playing with the baby hairs on the back of his neck as your arms settled into his stature. you craned your neck up towards him, inching your lips closer until they were barely brushing against one another. before harry could speak another word, you pulled him even closer to you, your lips meeting for much longer than either of you two had experienced with one another.

in comparison to the soft pecks you two had shared, this kiss was much more passionate and desire-driven. you allowed your lips to move against his in a much more loving way. harry’s hands wandered to your hips, hovering for a moment before delicately settling on the fabric of your skirt. he seemed hesitant with his movements, almost as if he was expecting you to deny his actions at any moment. 

while the thought of doing anything like this would’ve scared you even a month ago, you couldn’t help but feel so safe and secure under harry’s touch. you felt butterflies erupt in your stomach as your lips pressed against his, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth as you leaned further into him.

you managed to pull away before it got much farther, both of your chests rising slightly from breathlessness. harry looked down at you with a wide smile and eyes flickering with surprise and excitement.

“that was... unexpected. brilliant, but definitely unexpected,” harry spoke finally, laughing lightly at his own words. you smiled softly at him, your cheeks flushed a light pink hue at your own actions. you bit down lightly on your lower lip, feeling rather sheepish from the entirety of the events. 

“i love you, harry. i really do. and even though i haven’t had as much experience in relationships, i want to learn with you,” you spoke, your eyes never leaving his as you ran the fingers from one of your hands through his hair. harry couldn’t help but smile impossibly wider at your words, excitement coursing through him as he leaned down for another, quicker but still passion-filled kiss. 

“i love you, too.”

[sdwolfpup]

I have finished reading all of the Smut Swap fics!! I’ve still got Summer Exchange fics to finish (not to mention at least half, if not more, of the chillfest), so I’m feeling accomplished for once. Heh. Anyway, here is my list of recs. Just short blurbs for each one because there’s a lot of these so it will be long as it is. In no particular order except very vaguely the order I read them in and even then I did some jumping around.

Thrust Exercises - canon AU where Jaime and Brienne have known each other for a long time because Selwyn brought him to Evenfall. It’s their wedding night, and Jaime Has A Plan to make sure his new, eager wife enjoys their bedding. The smut is hot but what especially sticks out to me is how full of AFFECTION this fic and the characters are. It’s a wonderful mix.

Second Chances - modern AU, Jaime/Brienne/Addam. Brienne and Jaime are happily together, Jaime and Addam have a history of casual hookups, and this time they want Brienne to join. She is more than happy to do so. Great history between all three, incredible sexual tension, and Brienne is an active and eager participant in this delightful trio.

Diplomatic Relations - post-canon where Jaime and Brienne are very happily married and go around Westeros (for work) having noisy sex (for pleasure). A really fun and very sexy read. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Nights Avoiding Things Unholy - modern AU where Jaime and Brienne had an unexpected hook-up in the breakroom at work and now three weeks later, they’ve barely even talked. At a work event, they spark against each other until they catch fire in a scorching-hot scene in an empty office. The imagery is...A LOT. And even with all the heat (of which there is PLENTY), it’s clear there’s more simmering under the surface for these two. I hope the author is considering a sequel. And a prequel. I’m open to all the -quels for this.

what is dark in me illumine - modern AU where Brienne is an ethics professor (!!!!) and Jaime is a demon exiled to earth (!!!!) and their sexual tension is U N R E A L. There is a scene in this fic that is in, as I have dubbed it, the Horny Trinity of JB scenes. (The scene from Astolat’s Pretty where he rubs his thumb down his cock is the second, and the third part of the trinity is in the next fic in this list!) This fic is bananas good -- the world-building is incredible, the language is fantastic, and the sex is incendiary. Jaime and Brienne’s joy in each other comes through so strongly, too. I cannot throw enough superlatives on this boat. I would also love to read more of this in whatever form the author would provide.

Hush - modern AU where Brienne is a researcher in the far, cold North (think the Arctic) and Jaime is a pilot and they have lots of INDESCRIBABLY HOT SEX. This is the third leg of my Horny Trinity, and it involves a blowjob and a belt and it made my life a little better having read it. As with the other recs in this list, the sex is amazing but the connection is superb. They clearly adore each other, beyond just the physical attraction, and I found myself smiling a number of times. (Count this as a third request for more of this universe.)

Apart, Together, Together Apart - post-canon fic where Jaime is in the Kingsguard to protect Tommen and Brienne is the Evenstar. They’re lovers, separated by distance and duty, and Jaime is visiting Tarth for seven days. They make the most of it. I have thought about this fic SO MUCH since I read it; I’ve been keeping myself from re-reading since I wanted to finish a first run through, but now that I have I think this might be my first. Each day is so lovingly handled, not just with sex (which they don’t have every day), but their quiet joy and devotion to each other. This fic is full of tenderness and a little melancholy and a lot of love.

Can’t Get Close Enough (To You) - This is a modern AU where Jaime and Brienne are a happy couple invited to vacation with their friends, and when Brienne has a surprise for Jaime on their last day, things get a little out of hand in a VERY sexy way. The characters are so cute in this, and their connection is so clear, and the ending is really fun. I can’t believe this is the author’s first fic; it’s a fantastic start. I’ll never let you go (if you promise not to fade away) - This is a space AU where Jaime and Cersei are alone on a ship in the galaxy and they bring mechanic Brienne onboard. JBC is a trickly threesome to make work, especially when Jaime and Cersei are still twins, but using Cersei as the narrator and emotional throughline here works unbelievably well. Every part of the triangle gets time, and Brienne becomes a way for Jaime and Cersei to even work out their complicated relationship without feeling like she’s just filler; they both adore her and for good reason.  This fic is only 2.5k and yet it does SO MUCH. It’s incredibly good.

Getting Lost In You - modern AU where Jaime and Brienne are a wonderfully happy couple who are spending a lazy Sunday morning in bed. This is almost entirely sex, but the history and love between them are so rich, it adds a wonderful dimension to this fic. The whole thing has a delightful, hot glow.

Today Will Die Tomorrow - canon AU (or I suppose post-ADWD canon!) where Jaime and Brienne come together just before the Long Night. The author uses jumping back and forth in time to parcel out the moments of intense hotness and sweetness in a perfect mix. Their language is gorgeous, there are some beautiful emotional punches scattered throughout, and the sex is fun AND tender AND sexy.

we used to wait - modern AU where Jaime and Brienne are in Harrenhal on the same negotiations but for different companies. This author’s style is FANTASTIC the descriptions are spare but so vivid, the feelings are restrained but so intense, the sex is so hot and so emotional. A truly marvelous story.

The Waters and the Wild - modern AU where Jaime is a prince and Brienne is in his Kingsguard. They crash and have to walk their way to safety. The author gives us hints of their backstory as we go - they knew each other in the armed forces, they had a super hot affair - and we get to see them realizing that all of the weight of those feelings are still there, waiting to be acted on. Good thing they’re alone together for a few days. The waterfall scene in this is VERY GOOD.

And! I’ve already rec’d this once but it’s well worth doing it again: the fic written for me, Good Night, My Love. A modern AU where Jaime and Brienne are camping, and we discover they’ve had sex once before and now are in a tense, desperate limbo about where to go from here. Jaime is besotted with this Brienne and so am I, and the way they slowly circle around and into each other through each of the nights is so lovely. I adore this story!

[monysmediareview]

Shadowhunters (Freeform show) Review

Review #2!!

In case you missed it, I wrote a review on the Mortal Instruments book series books 1-3 (they’re the only ones I read because a chapter into book 4 and I was over it). I had mixed feelings on it, as I do with most things - including the Shadowhunters TV show, which is what this review is about!

Casting

Let’s talk about the casting in this show. First of all, I think the cast matched the physical descriptions of each character in the books and I very much enjoyed that. I do like when shows take liberties with casting, especially for the sake of things like diversity but there’s something very satisfying about seeing the characters exactly as they were written. 

I don’t think all of the acting was fantastic, but it’s FreeForm so I really didn’t expect much. It did get a lot better as the series went on and I think the actors really found their footing with these characters. It’s one of the reasons that I love series so much more than movies for things like this because there’s growth and the chance to really explore characters as they exist. These characters really took on a life of their own in a way, but we’ll get into that as I go through the rest of my points here. 

One thing I will say is, while this show did much better than others in terms of diversity it is not lost on me that the BIPOC characters in this show (and in the book series as well) were all “other” characters. As is often the case, people of color in fantasy media are usually portrayed as animals such as werewolves, or other “undesirable” characters. This is an incredibly complex part of casting, creating, and writing, and I will not get into it here, but I didn’t want to not mention it. 

Gay Pride & True Love

If you read my review of the Mortal Instruments series then you already know that I love love love Alec and Magnus, but that love grew exponentially when I watched the show. Magnus was an interesting character in the books but Harry Shum Jr. really brought the character to life and that show especially in the scenes with Alec. The show also gives Alec a ton more depth than in the books and I love that they didn’t keep him hung up on Jace (a straight man) for most of the story. He fell for Magnus and he fell for him hard. Magnus is the one that broke through Alec’s shell and encouraged him to be himself. By cutting away all the petty teenager shit that was in the books we were able to see this real, complex, but honest and deep love story that rivaled the main love interests immensely. I would watch this show over and over just to watch these two again. 

Representation and diversity are two huge factors when I think about whether or not I liked a piece of media. These kinds of things are what makes media so relatable, real, and ultimately enjoyable in a lot of ways. This show didn’t make the characters gay-ness a main factor of their relationship; they just showed a relationship as they would with a straight couple. They didn’t ignore their gay-ness either, though, and acknowledged the difficulties within that. By making this normal, they took huge strides in showing these kinds of relationships on TV and I adore that. And I just cannot get enough of this pairing in general - there are so many contrasts and compliments in their relationship and it’s what I honestly consider to be a perfect OTP relationship in any kind of romantic plot. 

10/10 would watch the show just for Alec and Magnus. 

I like Clary better in the show than in the books

Clary is by far, not one of my favorite characters in the fantasy genre. I find her to be selfish, martyr-like, and just kind of annoying but I really felt like the show was able to redeem the decent characteristics that she has and shed off most of the aggravating ones. 

As a whole, I am not a fan of how stupid the books make Clary out to be. Clary falls into the category of characters I don’t like because there is ultimately nothing very special about them yet they end up with a guy who is completely out of their league in every way who is head over heels in love with them. It infuriates me so much and Clary is not an exception to this rule. Her character is still this way in the show but it is much less evident because she seems to be more of an active participant in her own life and I don’t have to sit through her endless internal monologues about how attractive or strong or whatever Jace is. Thoughts that she still has while she thinks they’re siblings. At least in the show, these characters seem to draw a strong boundary here when they think they’re related rather than making out in a field like they did in the books. 

Clary also has a much stronger sense of self in the show and often reflects on what her life was and what it has become, how she’s grown. And I think that’s a huge part of it - that she has grown when in the books she was just constantly such a dumbstruck teenager who only thought of herself. I absolutely love the difference in her character here so I’ll give the show a star for that. 

Her relationships with other characters is also so much stronger. I believe this is in part because we don’t know her every inner thought about them and we also aren’t distracted by her distraction that is Jace. Her relationship with Izzy is so much better and stronger. I’ll always give good reviews to strong female relationships! Even her friendship and relationship with Simon is more in depth in the show. Their book friendship is very baseline; they constantly say they’re best friends but that’s not really reflected in the way they act around each other. In the show they have anecdotes about the past we never see in the books, they talk in a comfortable way and even show their relationship with each other’s families a lot more. This plays into her being an active participant in her own life as well. 

The Lightwood Family Drama

This might be something that happens later on in the books (however I don’t think so because of some spoilers I’ve received on my main account) but I really liked the Lightwood family subplot. I would imagine they have some marital problems after Max’s death in the books but considering they don’t kill him in the show, divorcing them earlier and giving Maryse a second chance was a fantastic choice. I kind of wish they had kept Max’s death because to me, it was the driving force between Izzy and Simon, but overall I don’t mind the way they did it. It just felt like a missed opportunity for drama and angst.

Back to the point at hand - families are complicated and the only “normal” or rather, nuclear family we see in this series is the Lightwoods. Clary was raised by a single parent, as was Simon, and no one else really has parents that we’re introduced to to be able to judge their family life. By making their family story a complicated one, rather than the “ideal”, it becomes not only more dramatic, which is fun and interesting, but real. And it may seem counterintuitive to make things seem real in a fantasy genre show/book series but that, in my opinion, is what makes it easier to believe the fake stuff. I can focus more on the magic and the demons and the end of the world as we know it if it’s grounded in something that’s familiar to me. The Lightwoods feel like a very real family with complicated relationships between kids and parents, adopted children/siblings, and marital issues that affect everyone differently, which invites us as an audience to relate to them and doesn’t make the Shadow world so different from ours. 

A scene I loved specifically is when Izzy brings the doctor she’s seeing to the Hunter’s Moon and they’re all messing with each other, eating, drinking, laughing, talking. They really felt like a family there, like adult siblings which can be a really difficult feeling to capture but I think it was done very well. I didn’t want to go through this review without mentioning that part since it was something very special for me. 

Design Choices

Changing topic just a little bit, I wanted to talk about the design of the show. First thing I noticed was that the runes were not at all how I pictured them. Now, that may be a fault of the writer because they weren’t very well described so it all landed on imagination which is different for everyone. The show design gave me kind of Henna tattoo vibes, whereas the books gave me full black ink vibes. 

The clothing was also something very strange to me. Izzy was always described as wearing long silvery skirts. I very much imagined her as wearing borderline rave outfits in most of these scenes but she mostly just wore crop tops and low cut shirts. I also noticed that as the series went on she dressed in a bit more of a conservative way compared to the first half of season 1 when I recall her wearing literally just a sports bra as a shirt in a few scenes. It was apparent to me in the books that the way Shadowhunters dressed was something that separated them from humans, made them stand out, and the show lacked that. I think this also took away the idea that Shadowhunters are a whole race of people with a history and culture separate from being human (they are, in essence mixed raced, but this comes with a lot of implications and is not a complete statement or comparison in any way). My point with this is mostly that I wish there had been more of a separation visually between Shadowhunters and humans beyond their runes. 

I also pictured the Institute to have a very non-human, Catholic type of design and instead just got pseudo-futuristic feel. I didn’t hate it, it just feels overdone in these kinds of shows and movies. For example, the Divergent series or Maze Runner or even Tomorrowland all have this type of vibe and I was hoping for more of a DmC: Devil May Cry approach. 

Jace Wayland is a beautiful character

I had mixed feelings about Jace in the books; he felt stale and like every other straight, white, male, romantic lead. In the show, however, I think Dominic Sherwood did him a great deal of justice and gave him the depth that actually made him a desirable person that I could understand someone being in love with. He’s charming, and a little cocky but we also get to see a deeper side of him than we do in the books. We see his emotions, especially his unconditional love for Clary (whether I agree with that or not). 

The Owl plotline was a waste of time in my opinion, but the scene when Izzy and Alec go to save him from inside his mind and we see him break down is absolutely beautiful. Jace is introduced to us from the start as hard, strong, calloused and here we see him vulnerable and scared with two of the people he trusts most in the world. I will accept the Owl plotline if only to keep this scene because I think it is absolutely essential to his character arc. 

I also found that scene to be indicative of his relationship with Izzy. In the books it’s often alluded to that he and Izzy had been together in one way or another but that’s not the case for the show (thank the angel) and here you can really see them as siblings more than in any ther scene, I think. But this takes me to his relationship with Alec as well. 

Parabatai 

I don’t remember Parabatai being mentioned much in the books but it is a huge deal and talked about quite a bit. I this this is super cool, personally and it’s not something I can really think of too much in fantasy outside of sires or singers or the like in many vampire novels but that has a whole “owner” vibe that doesn’t exist with Parabatai. I am super intrigued by this idea and I loved how much they played with it being a strength and an essential part of their existence. 

The relationship between Alec and Jace is obviously stronger than just brothers, but it also isn’t quite love in the romantic sense. It’s something else and it makes them vulnerable to each other. They feel everything the other person feels, sometimes literally, and while that can weaken them they use it as a strength. It’s really beautiful how honest and open these men are with each other. I feel like the Parabatai bond breaks down a lot of the toxic masculinity traits these characters might have otherwise and I will always be in favor of tearing down those walls. A+ characterization if you ask me. 

I thought Izzy deserved better in the books - the show gave it to her

In the show Izzy is way more badass than in the books, which I wasn’t sure was possible. They made her so much smarter, gave her important roles at the institute like head of weapons and she even did autopsies? In the last episodes we even see her as Head of the Institute. Beauty, brains, and brawn simply can’t be beat. 

Her love life was even more interesting! She wasn’t boiled down to just a slut who slept with everyone regardless of species: she was a lover who fell quickly and saw the best in people despite what people might tell her about “their kind”. She’s strong and very sure of herself; she doesn’t need a man in her life but she wants love and I think that’s a really amazing trait they gave her that deepens the character. 

They made her an activist, too in a way. She’s found really standing up for her beliefs in the show and challenging the way things are. In the books Izzy is pretty stuck in the way Shadowhunters do things but in the show she speaks up when something isn’t right. Her connections to downworlders does a lot of really great things for the Shadow world as a whole. They certainly could have beefed this up a little bit, but it wasn’t a huge part of the show in general so I’ll allow the pass on it. 

Her Yin-Fen addiction was so interesting! Again, I don’t know if this is something that happened in later books in the series but this is just another layer to Isabelle that I really loved. No one is perfect, even her, and it built her relationship with Rafael (another plot I was a huge fan of) which was incredibly complex. 

All in all, I would die for Izzy. Please give me shows and books about her and more characters like her. 

This series was steamy as hell

I can’t write a review on this series without mentioning all of the steamy scenes with so many of the characters. I mean, of course, I expected as much with Jace and he got a lot but so did everyone else. We got saucy scenes with Alec, Magnus, Simon, Izzy, Maia, everyone. (Not all at the same time, thankfully). But they were all very well directed and acted and I enjoyed them quite a bit. What can I say? Sex sells. 

In conclusion, I liked this series a lot. I really was not expecting to. I was warned that it was bad, and to start off it was but I found myself unexpectedly enjoying a lot of it. There’s still work to be done and it is by no means perfect but it was entertaining and had some really good moments. I also give so much credit to the actors and creative team for doing so much with material that didn’t give them much depth in the first place. 

Would recommend for something to enjoy but maybe not think too hard about.

xoxo

Mony

[fandomlurker]

A Ponderous Rewatch: Opportunity Knox and Cameo

We’re treated to something a bit special this episode! No, not the art and animation quality, as that’s…kinda weak this time. Or maybe I should say Brain is drawn and animated kinda nightmarishly in a lot of parts? Well, you’ll see.

No, the special thing about this episode is that it’s written by Tom Minton, the writer at Warner Brothers who was the original inspiration for The Brain! The general idea for Pinky and the Brain as characters and as a show came from Tom Ruegger having an office close by to Tom Minton and Eddie Fitzgerald, two writers and storyboard artists who he would often hear laughing and joking around together but usually couldn’t make out what exactly they were saying. Minton usually spoke low and quietly and was more introverted, while Fitzgerald was much more outgoing and loud…basically already like a cartoon come to life (Eddie actually did exclaim things like ‘Narf’ occasionally in reality, which was an aspect that was added to and exaggerated in Pinky’s character). The fact that these two guys who were viewed as total opposites by their colleagues were good friends and spent so much time working together in secret lead to everyone joking that they were secretly trying to take over the world.

That isn’t to say that Pinky and Brain are 100% cartoon copies of Eddie and Tom—our mouse duo definitely veered off into their own distinct personalities very quickly—but the basic bones of their characters came from these two real life men. That makes me wonder about how surreal it must have been for Tom Minton to write for episodes starring Pinky and the Brain. He only did so four times in Animaniacs (and Eddie Fitzgerald never directly worked on Animaniacs or Pinky and the Brain, to my knowledge).

In any case, let’s move on to the actual episode.

We open to a multitude of bubbling beakers of mysterious liquids and one scientist working alone at night in the Acme Labs. She sneezes a few times, and then exclaims that she’s only a few steps away from curing the common cold.

…Man, Acme Labs is a total shitshow when it comes to their work, aren’t they? In addition to all the blatantly cruel experiments on animals that they do, just look at how lax this scientist is about lab safety. I’ll give her props for at least wearing her lab coat properly and tying her long hair up, which is something most media usually gets wrong. The fact that she’s doing this medical experiment while not wearing gloves or proper eye protection or a mask is very troubling. Not to mention that she’s doing all this while being very sick, if her violent sneezes are anything to go by.

Hmm, that cage is looking suspiciously empty.

Well, well! Looks like our mousey duo is up to something.

“Ahehehehe, oh this is gonna be great, Brain! Narf!”

“Quiet, Pinky!”

OH LORD, SHE JUST CHUGS IT HERSELF! Lady, PLEASE! The fact that this “cure” is piss-coloured only makes it worse.

Sweetie, I think this needs more peer-reviewed, double-blind tests before you can truthfully say that you’ve made a cure for the common cold. You have no proper safety gear on and you’re doing this experiment all alone at night with no one to check up on you.

Oh no. Boys, what are you doing?

So they catapult some powdery substance on her and she goes into a more violent sneezing fit than before. She leaves the room to go “back to the drawing board”, but honestly I’m hoping that she just goes home and isolates herself for a while.

“Success, Pinky!”

“Egad, Brain, what is this stuff?!”

“A new strain of pollen I created myself, Pinky. It causes a temporary but uncontrollable fit of allergic sneezing in man.”

Pinky looks very disturbed by this (although I suppose it doesn’t help that Brain has that very smug and devious look on his face) until Brain says that the effect is temporary. It’s a nice little detail that shows us approximately where Pinky’s lines of morality are. Brain makes his own strain of pollen to cause humans to have severe sneezing fits? That’s amazing but horrifying! Oh, it’s only temporary? Well okay, then. It’s fine if it doesn’t cause any lasting harm.

“No human is immune.”

AAAAAAHHHHHHH! Holy fuck, show, don’t give me a jumpscare like that!

“Do you realize what we will do with this pollen, Pinky?”

“Umm… Open a boutique?”

GAH! I told you to stop doing that! Seriously, what’s up with the way Brain’s draw in this episode?

“Yes, that’s it. We’ll open a boutique and sell ladies’ clothing and pollen.”

“Egad, Brain, what fun! I like this idea, I do! Hehehahahaha!~”

Of course he would. Of course he’d like working in a more domestic setting and selling ladies’ clothing.

…Say, now that I think of it, I think this might be the first time we get a hint as to Pinky’s love of what’s stereotypically thought of as women’s clothing. Hmm.

BONK!

“Focus, Pinky, FOCUS!”

Brain, sweetie, not everyone goes into tunnel-visioned hyperfocus like you do.

“We shall do no less than go to Fort Knox, Kentucky: keeper of the nation’s gold supply. There, we will expose the guards to our pollen…”

Despite the general awkwardness of the animation this episode, I like the way Brain is drawn here from over the shoulder. Very nice work.

Also…”our” pollen? Brain, you made that yourself. I guess this is just another example of Brain subconsciously including Pinky in everything.

“…and while they’re sneezing uncontrollably, we’ll move into the vault and take the gold!”

Brain’s plan blueprints are such a treat. Gold! Gold! Gold!

“For he who controls this nation’s capital, controls the nation!”

Okay, this close-up is a little better.

“Off to Fort Knox!”

“Oh! Wait! But isn’t the nation’s capital in Washington, DC?”

BONK!

“Capital as in money, Pinky!”

Oh come on now, Brain. It was an easy mistake to make. Also “capital” in this instance can mean more than money if you want to get semantic about it.

Brain grabs Pinky’s tail to drag him away again. It’s a wonder that Pinky’s tail isn’t as kinked up and injured as Brain’s is by now.

Ooo, improvised tools time!

“But how are we gonna get to Fort Knox, Brain?”

“We’ll simply borrow one of the lab’s technological resources:”

“The minivan!”

Pinky, are you mildly swooning over Brain acquiring a minivan? I…

This does bring up a point I wanted to make, though. Sometimes fans will question why Pinky and Brain stay at Acme Labs despite being put through so much inhumane and humiliating bullshit. While it’s true that Brain doesn’t much like the experiments he’s subjected to (Pinky is…another story entirely), I’m pretty sure he keeps the labs as his home because it’s incredibly convenient for his world domination plans. These are ACME labs, after all, and regardless of how terrible the experiments are, Acme has access to just about every bit of technology in the Warner Brothers cartoon universe. Brain can find or order whatever parts he needs for his latest world domination plan whenever he wants, and no human bats an eye at mysterious bits and bobs showing up because, well, it’s Acme. Acme is in the business of doing absolutely everything. No matter what daytime tortures Brain goes through, the lab is an incredible asset to him, and he’d be foolish to give that up.

Hello again, Warner siblings! I hope you’re having fun tonight.

That’s an awfully tiny sack of pollen to take for this trip…

“Won’t we get in trouble, Brain?”

“’Get in trouble’? Pinky, we’re going to take over the world!”

I just like the tiny silhouettes in this screencap.

“Besides, we’ll have the van back here by 8 am.”

“Oh! All right, then!”

[Quickly googles how long it would take to drive from Burbank California to Fort Knox]

…Are you sure about that, Brain? Are you really, positively sure?

Oh my goodness, a little winch and pulley system! That’s a little convoluted, but it’s adorable.

“Oi! Nice threads, Brain! But, err, why the disguise?”

“If we are to succeed in our mission, I must pass for an average, non-descript motorist, Pinky.”

I agree, Pinky. Brain always looks good in a suit.

Also he’s on a literal soap box, holy shit.

“So while we’re driving, call me Mr. Perkins.”

A trillby?!? Put it back! Putitbackputitbackputitback!

“Say no more! Brilliant, Brain!”

“Mr. Perkins.”

Oh no, he’s threatening to punch the audience now!

“Ooo, right, right. Narf! Heh, Mr. Per-kins.~”

“Pinky, start your engine!”

So Pinky tugs on a rope tied to the car keys to start the minivan, and I bet we can all already tell that he’s going to be doing most of the hard work for this roadtrip.

“Now depress the brake!”

I half expected a joke here where Pinky would say depressing things to the brake, but that didn’t happen. It’s just as well, I suppose. Pinky’s not usually the type to be mean to anyone or anything.

Instead, he pushes himself into the brake.

This made me curious about how strong real mice are. According to this scientific article, the average mouse can lift approximately 70 g in weight.That’s not a lot compared to us humans, of course, but seeing as the average weight of the common house mouse is 19 g (and common wood mice are on average 23 g), that’s really impressive! Still, for Pinky to be able to depress the brake is quite a feat that’s worlds beyond what the average real-life mouse can do.

Yes, yes, I know. It’s all cartoon logic and physics. That’s not going to stop me from having the headcanon that Pinky and the Brain have both been modified so much by Acme Labs that in addition to becoming sapient and intelligent, they’re basically little mouse superheroes in strength, too.

“Yes! Now I’ll shift the transmission into gear and…you give it the gas!”

Man, Pinky just slams his entire body onto the gas pedal with all his mousey might! You can hear him physically strain against it. Well done, Mr. Paulsen!

“Now Pinky, let us, in the vernacular, ‘take this hog out on the road and see who’s boss’!”

Oh lord, Brain’s on a slight power trip just from being able to drive a vehicle. If he ever does rule over the world one day, I fear he may explode from the sheer ego-high of it.

Anyway, on the way to Fort Knox they get stuck behind a rather slow transport truck. Well, Brain can’t have that! He’s got to get back to the lab by 8 am after all!

“Pinky! Prepare to pass a slow-moving vehicle!”

“Righty-o, Brain!”

Again, Pinky, I’m pretty sure you really aren’t supposed to stick your ass and chest out while saluting. You’re supposed to keep your posture straight.

…What am I saying? Pinky can’t do anything straight.

“Call me Mr. Perkins! Activate left turn indicator now.”

Aww, a little hop!~

Unfortunately it’s the wrong lever.

“…Let’s try that again, Pinky.”

“Narf! Wrong switch.”

He sits down to think and of course he gets it right that way.

Anyone else enjoying a lesson on how to drive from Pinky and the Brain? No? Just me? I mean, I already know how, but this is super cute.

“Exemplary work, Pinky!”

Brain, he just…he just pulled a switch. By accident. The fact that he’s so sincere about complimenting him for this is very cute but also very odd. I guess Brain’s in a good mood tonight.

“But we’re slowing down. Quickly, step on the gas!”

“Gas, check!”

Pinky, no!

Oh lord, he just lets himself fall directly on the gas pedal. You okay there, dude?

“Maintain pedal pressure, Pinky!”

I don’t think he has much of a choice, Brain.

So they get beside the freight truck and the driver of it picks up his CB radio mic.

“Hey, breaker breaker one nine, this here’s Big Red. Eh…what’s your handle, good buddy? Over.”

“The name’s Perkins. MISTER Perkins. Just an average, non-descript motorist.”

Wh—Why is there a CB radio installed in the Acme Lab minivan?

Pinky chooses this moment to lift himself off the gas pedal and then jump back on it in a weirdly showy, semi-acrobatic way. The first screencap has the tip of his tail almost in the shape of a heart, so I had to include it.

Our duo pass by the freight truck. Needless to say, the truck driver is still pretty rattled by his run-in with “Mr. Perkins”.

“I gotta quit eatin’ them double onion chili dogs!…”

Usually people just run with it on this show, but this is one of those rare moments where a human being doesn’t inexplicably fall for one of Brain’s horrible human disguises.

The minivan’s grill looks like teeth here and it’s almost menacing.

Uh oh, Brain’s getting dozy.

“Pinky…I’m in need of some music to keep myself raptly alert. And use the cruise control this time so we don’t lose speed!”

I don’t know why I’m so charmed by Pinky pressing the cruise control button like this, but it’s very cute.

“Cruise control on, Br—aaaerr—umm, Mr. Perkins!”

He is trying his best. :3c

“[yawn] Stellar, Pinky. Now see if you can locate a local radio station frequency.”

“Narf! Wrong knob…”

Smacking the hell out of the right knob make the radio explode into a loud yet incredibly mild generic rock tune. I’m surprised Pinky’s so alarmed. I wonder if Brain—

JEEZUS FUCK! You gotta stop giving me a heart attack with these sudden messed up close-ups of Brain, episode!

“Turn off the radio, Pinky!”

“Heeey! This knob’s loose!”

Aaaand there he goes.

“Oohoo ahaha! What’d’ya know? The lighter works!”

I wonder if Pinky knows what that’s actually for at this point, considering his utter disdain for smoking later in the spin-off?

“The radio, Pinky!”

“Ooo, right. Almost forgot!”

Uh oh.

“Whew. Suddenly I feel downright feverish, I do…”

Pinky has become a Charmander, and he’s not happy about it.

So he’s screaming and shouting his verbal tics all over the place and what’s Brain’s reaction?

“There’s no need for you to entertain me personally, Pinky. I’m quite awake now.”

BRAIN! You wipe that smug smile off your face right now, you little jerk! I know Pinky will be okay because he always is, but still.

One screen wipe later…

“Kentucky, Pinky! We made it!”

“All right, Brain!”

“Mister PERKINS!”

Brain, I think Pinky’s just not into this roleplay tonight. Or it might be your trillby. Lose the damn trillby.

“Fort Knox is mere miles away. Nothing can stop us now!”

Well, looks like you jinxed yourself.

I’ve got no love for cops, but his “what the fuck” expression here is choice.

“Good evening, officer. Was I exceeding the speed limit?”

“By about a hundred miles an hour.”

Oh, is that all? They’d need to be over by, like, a thousand or so miles an hour to make as good of a time as they did getting here.

Maybe this guy is going to arrest them for breaking the laws of time and space.

“I’m sorry, y’see—“

Shining a flashlight directly into your eyes? Yup, this is definitely a cop.

“I’m Mr. Perkins, an average, non-descript—“

“Can I see your license and registration, please?”

And then Pinky immediately interrupts the shakedown with a happy, matter-of-fact “We don’t have any! Zort! :D” and now my mind wanders off into let’s-overanalyze-the-shit-out-of-this-joke-scene territory because… Look at this. A cop pulls over a vehicle from Acme Labs doing about a hundred miles over the speed limit and finds Brain, a mouse in a suit trying to pass as a human driver. Then Pinky, who is dressed in no such disguise because why would Brain ever think of an obviously important detail ever in one of his plans, pops up to say that they don’t have a driver’s license.

…So what does this scene look like at this point from the cop’s perspective? Besides the very rare outlier like the truck driver from before, humans usually take Brain’s word for it that he’s also human, no matter how shoddy his disguise is. There are a few possibilities here, and I honestly can’t decide which is funniest:

1.      The cop can see through Brain’s poor disguise just like the truck driver from earlier can, and knows that these are actually two mice that have stolen a truck and have been speeding down the highway with it.

2.      The cop thinks Brain is a very odd-looking human without a driver’s license who’s been driving down the highway at insane speeds with his loose pet talking mouse by his side.

3.      The cop believes that Brain really is an odd-looking human who has no license and has been wildly speeding down the highway and also there’s an equally odd-looking human man with him who is stark naked for some mysterious reason.

I’ll let you decide which one is the most likely canon scenario as we continue as Brain tries to clear up this scenario.

“If you must know, we are two lab mice out to control the world by seizing its gold assets. But when we assume power, rest assured our budget will result in substantial new funding for law enforcement.”

…

Leave it to Brain to truthfully spell out his global domination intentions for no good reason and then lie his little mousey ass off to try and bribe his way out of going to jail.

Also, again, it’s “when we assume power” and not “when I assume power”. Hmm.

“…Oh.”

“Bwuhyuube… Be--best be on your way, then.”

“Thank you, officer.”

I’d say I was surprised that white privilege extends even to white lab mice here but…that would be a lie.

“Oh man, I do miss them witless teenage speed demons…”

So they finally make it to Fort Knox.

…And I guess the Warner siblings do, too!

The two mice have parked on a hill overlooking their target and gosh Brain, you’re looking extra pudgy here.

“It’s time to make our move, Pinky.”

Judging by the look on his face here, I think Pinky just noticed how thicc Brain’s behind has suddenly gotten.

Nevertheless, they begin their pollen assault on the guards.

Finally, the moment has arrived!

Brain’s head is shaped like a football and is almost as wide as Pinky is tall here, but besides that this is a cool shot.

This bit was also used in the spin-off’s theme for some reason, but now it will forever remind me of the absolute chaotic laughter that erupted when I got some friends to sit down and watch an episode of PatB. The stream decided to stop on this specific shot for buffering and they all just lost it. Most of the reaction was through voice on Discord, but luckily there were some friends using text chat too:

I live for moments like these when we’re streaming shows and movies.

“Egad! This is even better than a Ducktales episode, Brain!”

That’s pretty high praise, Pinky. I love the shadowing done on him here as well.

“Pinky… Are you pondering what I’m pondering?”

“Wha—I think so, Brain, but balancing a family and a career? Oof, it’s all too much for me!”

Pinky did…did you see all this gold and immediately begin envisioning yourself using the money to settle down and start a family?!? And so far in this series you aren’t dating anyone and you probably don’t even know anyone besides Brain and…

Okay, listen, I know it’s established later on that Pinky has wishes and daydreams about having a very domestic life, culminating in that one “Somewhere That’s Green” parody fantasy where he and Brain live together like a 50s couple in the Elmyra spin-off but… But…!

Well, you’ll kind of get a family along with your world domination “career” in a few years, Pinky. It’s probably not going to be quite how you envisioned it, though.

“The gold, Pinky! It’s all ours. Let’s move it out!”

Umm…

“One…two…three…and lift!”

I just realized that out of context the poses and faces in this screencap could look, uhh, questionable. But will that stop me from sharing it? No.

“I believe my plan has a…fatal flaw…”

About 27.4 pounds worth of a fatal flaw. You two might have super strength in comparison to other mice, but it looks like you both have a hard limit.

“I am in intense pain, Pinky.”

“Ditto, Brain. Zort!”

Well, okay, I guess it’s good that you are both cartoons, then. You boys should be able to shrug this off pretty quickly, especially Pinky.

OH GOD!

Is this what all those nightmarish close-ups of Brain were preparing me for?!?

“Fear not, Pinky, for the unwieldy atomic weight of gold will not thwart us tomorrow night.”

“Why? What are we doing tomorrow night, Brain?”

“The same thing we do every night, Pinky… Try to take over the world!”

You know, most cartoons would settle for them just being covered in bandages. Not Animaniacs, though. In Animaniacs were have to know that their removal from under the gold bar was so difficult and painful that fur was pulled out and they were left with bare, raw patches of skin. T-thanks, Warner Brothers?

Let’s end with a somewhat longer cameo appearance, as I suspect at this point Tumblr will have another fit if I try to combine two full episodes again.

The very next episode of Animaniacs has a skit called Hercule Yakko, which is a vague parody of Hercule Poirot mysteries. We get a good handful of cameos from the stars of other Animaniacs skits as passengers on a luxury cruise boat on the Nile.

The basic premise is that the Marita, one of the Hip Hippos, awakens in the middle of the night to find her comically large diamond necklace missing. The Warner siblings are a detective team who happen to also be onboard the ship and offer to help the hippo couple find it.

Before you ask, yes, this is the same episode as the infamous “fingerprints” joke.

Eventually the Warner siblings begin to go around knocking on the doors of the other passengers’ rooms to ask questions. They come across Slappy Squirrel first, who knows nothing about the missing diamond and just wants to be left alone to sleep. Then they meet Minerva Mink and, well, you can guess how that went. Then Yakko knocks on the last door.

“YES?”

Smol.

Look at them in their matching lederhosen! That’s absolutely adorable. Bravo to whichever of the mice had the idea for these “disguises”.

“Did you steal a big diamond?”

“No. We are Swiss hikers on holiday.”

Okay so maybe I’ll deduct a few points for wearing lederhosen, which is more associated with Bavaria and Germany, but claiming to be Swiss. Not that people in Switzerland didn’t also wear it, but you’d probably want to make your cover story as unsuspicious as possible, right? And that’s not even going into the idea of wearing a garment made from leather in hot, hot Egypt. These mice must be drenched in sweat…

“Look at me, Brain! I’m Heidi! Yodelehe-NARF!~”

Well at least someone in this duo is trying his best to reference things from Switzerland.

…Brain is the one that fucked up the lederhosen cultural background thing, isn’t he? Goddammit, Brain.

He just bonks the hell outta Pinky and silently slams the door in Yakko’s face.

After briefly talking with Marita, Yakko exclaims that he knows where the diamond is and asks that everyone assemble together in the state room. And so they do!

Aww, they’re sharing a chair because they are so, so tiny. :3c

“You’re probably all wondering why I called you here!”

“To reveal the thief?!?” says everyone in unison.

Minerva, you’re looking kind of weird in that second pic.

“No. It’s because you can’t play charades with three people.”

“That’s it! I’m goin’ back to bed.”

“So am I. I didn’t take the diamond!”

Man, Minerva really got a raw deal in the 90s. She only has two episode skits of her own and makes a few tiny cameos elsewhere, like in this one. I get that she was put on the back-burner as a character because her skits were considered “too suggestive”—and to be honest they were a bit over the top—but there are certainly ways that you can write a character who uses their sex appeal for comedic effect without it being disrespectful. It’s a shame they never tried to tweak the tone of her episodes just a tad.

But anyway, mice!

Brain is looking at Minerva with…worry? Concern? Confusion? Which is a very atypical reaction to Minerva. Gee, I wonder why.

Pinky is Looking Respectfully.

I’m never going to get over how cute they look in these outfits.

“I also am innocent.”

“Umm… I may have done it! I walk in my sleep, you know.”

Pinky, sweetie, I know you’re trying in your own odd little way to help but there’s no way you’d be able to carry a diamond of that size.

BONK!

This is the very last clear shot that the mice are in and it’s not very significant but I liked the angle of it.

Oh, you’re asking who took the diamond? No one did. The diamond was lodged in Marita’s butt fat the entire time. It’s the typical style of “humour” from skits with the Hip Hippos. Now you all know why no one is clamouring for their return in the reboot.

That’s it for this post, though. I should have the next episode that I promised would go with this one up in a day or two.

See you next time, folks, when we go off to the races!

[lessonsinchastity]

Chastity - Worth a try!

Male chastity

If Your husband/boyfriend has asked You lock him in chastity, You may think he is asking you to do some sexually perverted, kinky, thing that You don’t understand and don’t want to understand because it is sick and perverted. The fact is, he is not sick and perverted, he just wants to have fun, sexually. There was a time in Your marriage when sex was fun and exciting for You, too. Wasn’t there? He just wants to get that back again. He is not asking You to do anything that is difficult, or perverted. He is asking You to play a game with him. A sexual game in which You control when and how he has sex. That’s all. So give it a chance. You may be surprised at how much fun You, Yourself, can have. Chastity is an amazing fetish. Most people think it’s some kind of punishment or chore, but it isn’t. The feelings you receive from abstaining from orgasm are just sublime. Guys feel aroused right up until the point where they orgasm, then everything is reset to zero after orgasm they’re no longer turned on and in order to become even remotely aroused they have to wait again for the feelings to kick in. Well, what if they didn’t orgasm. What if they didn’t masturbate every evening? What if they abstained from orgasms altogether? Would the feelings of arousal increase and increase? Yes. Yes they would. Which is why chastity is an immensely popular fetish. Chastity Popularity

It is such an intimate act to show trust in his partner for a man to hand over the key to his “crown jewels“ and to allow him to be locked up, to await “HER” pleasure. It is quite surprising that so many people have dabbled with the man wearing a chastity device, and they are the second most often bought sex toys after vibrators.

Chastity and Masturbation

All men, given the ability, masturbate and way more often than most women think they do. This is something that is difficult for him to control and even more difficult to part with. Young men have an abundance of testosterone so masturbation doesn’t seem to interfere with their pursuit of young women. However, as men grow older masturbating usually translates into the husband ignoring his wife for at least a couple days. Chastity puts a stop to the masturbation and works in many ways; it changes his mood, demeanor and libido. Most importantly it changes his desire to please you. It is not the goal for him to do the cooking or the cleaning or the laundry but you will find that it will happen, not routinely but it will happen because as he continues to build up his sexual energy that he no longer has the ability to release as he pleases he will divert that energy towards pleasing you. Your being the source of his sexual pleasure will change his feelings, he will adore you, love you in a way that you desire and he will be eager to please you because you are, as I said, the source of his release. He will find, over time, he is happier and that will be because you’re happier. He will love the emotional boost the two of you share.

This isn’t as Kinky as it Sounds!

If your sex life to date has been restricted to intercourse and perhaps mutual masturbation, chastity play can sound like something pretty weird. It isn’t. Nothing has to change about how you make love; what changes is when. The partner who wears the chastity belt has given the partner who has the “key” the ability to decide when sex can take place. Since most chastity devices effectively prevent masturbation, it means one partner gives the other control of all orgasms. This can be a great deal of fun for both people. Chastity play allows you to take sex out of the bedroom in a subtle way that only the two of you will know. For example, if a woman has her male partner locked up, they can agree on “rules” he should follow. If he forgets or breaks the rules, she can smile and hold some fingers up and he will know he stays locked up that many more days until he can get release. If you don’t think this is incredibly hot to both partners, just try it! You won’t believe how exciting a relationship can become overnight. Take a few minutes and use your imagination. Fun, huh?

Chastity Devices

Chastity devices have been used throughout the ages in order to prevent sexual intercourse. Classically, chastity has been forced upon someone using a belt type mechanic, but in recent times, more concealable and localized devices are able to be used in order to prevent the ability to touch and interact with sexual organs. In addition to the modern interpretation of how to perform chastity, a sexual fetish has developed. Individuals now enjoy the prospect of being locked up and unable to perform sexual activities unless the other person who’s chastised them allows it.

Chastity and Confinement for Men

Chastity for men is the most common form, with blocks of specially formed plastic being placed around the penis with a small lock attached for keeping it closed. Some male chastity devices make it impossible or highly painful to experience an erection, aiding the experience of being denied sexual pleasure. One major element of chastity is the understanding that eventually, the device will be removed. The sexual fetish is undesirable if the wearer believes that they will never be allowed to experience an orgasm again. As expected, chastity is an exchange of a power dynamic, with one person assuming the role of being in charge and the other being submissive and completely subject to the will of the other person.

Couple Chastity

There is no doubt about it, chastity play results in superior sexual satisfaction! Trying to earn a release, the wearer will be much more attentive to his partner’s needs. Without being distracted by his own selfish wants, his sole focus is pleasuring his Keyholder. He will demonstrate his ability and affection to his partner, going above and beyond in the hope of an ultimate ‘release’.. Remember; the couple that plays together stays together!

Primary Benefits of Enforced Male Chastity

1. It prevents him from masturbating. Male masturbation is a filthy habit. It’s addictive, selfish, and disrespectful to women. Chronic masturbation has the effect of substantially diminishing a man’s natural sexual desire for his wife of girlfriend. It unfortunately teaches him that his orgasm is primary, and hers is secondary. 2. Because he can’t even get an erection without her permission, it instantly changes the dynamics of the relationship. 3. It keeps his sexual focus and energy on his wife or girlfriend. 4. It will substantially increase his desire to orally service his wife or girlfriend. 5. It serves as a constant reminder to him of her authority. 6. Because it makes his orgasms entirely dependent on her generosity, it positively incentives him to honor her, respect her, and motivates him to please. 7. It gives him the time and opportunity to substantially improve and perfect his oral skills. 8. It reinforces the idea that pussy is a precious gift that must be earned, and is to be savored and appreciated on those rare occasions when he does get it. 9. It teaches him that sexual activity with his wife or girlfriend doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with his penis. 10. It deepens his submission to her, and will cause him to worship the ground she walks on. 11. It will significantly improve his attitude, and make him more generous, caring, kind, respectful, and loving. It will help soften the sharper edges of his me-first masculinity. It will make him more of a listener than a talker. 12. If his orgasms are consistently controlled and severely restricted, he will eventually get to the point where he will do just about anything to cum. You’ll be amazed by what he’ll do for you.

Chastity -  Power to the Woman This voluntary act in which the man shows his trust and hands over the key to his most precious possessions to her who will then decide when he is to be released. This is an action which gives enormous power to the woman in a relationship, or the supervisor on our course and it is a gift from him to her. It is a sexual act which frees him from the ability to pleasure himself and frees him to learn how to please his partner and thus be allowed pleasure himself. It sounds from this description a strange and “kinky “activity, but surprisingly the approach has wide acceptance as a method to improve male performance and pleasure.

Chastity and BDSM

Chastity is a fantastic pawn in the BDSM game. It is a great tool for tease and denial, and can be implemented as an incredibly effective punishment/reward scheme. Dominants that have never fully engaged in chastity play, will have almost certainly at some point employed a ‘permission to cum?’ policy. So, what’s the difference? Well chastity play takes this concept one step further and gives the Key Holder full control over their slave’s orgasms. Many people who love to engage in BDSM have not yet discovered the joys of chastity

Locked in Chastity for BDSM Key Holder is a term used to describe the dominant woman in a male chastity agreement. Many couples are into BDSM and male chastity is one of the many methods that these women use to dominate their men. Some men are more turned on the more they are ordered around. The woman will tease the man while he has a male chastity device on and she is the only one who has the key to open it and award him with a release. Discuss it with your partner in detail and decide if you want your chastity to be long term or short term. Remember, he will do *anything* to get out! You just decide what you want him to do for You. Household chores, DIY, and Your sexual satisfaction. And it the job isn’t done well enough - he stays locked up - until it is!

Enjoy! 

Source: auntiesuz