#wow so he was being nerfed this whole time

[super-saiyan-rose]

#wow so he was being nerfed this whole time #kamen rider valvarad #kamen rider #kamen rider gotchard #tokusatsu #kurogane spanner

[night-raven-tattler]

I need just one thing...

Summary: You're having a hard time and need a bit of a positive push. Your friends are ready to support you.

Characters: Ruggie, Vil, Ortho, Grim and GN!Reader (separate, platonic)

Warnings: sewing needles (Ruggie's part), food (Vil cooks), mentions of signs of distress (Ortho's part)

By opening the document, you agree to Mx Tattly's terms of source confidentiality.

-ˋˏ’✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Ruggie's laughter could be heard from the furthest corners of the campus, and he was too agile for you to catch him and cover his mouth

You were already embarassed, yet he had the audacity to put salt on the wound

It all started when you discovered a wide tear on your uniform jacket sleeve, only after walking around with it for the whole day

It was the only uniform jacket you had, so you panicked at the prospect of having to fix it or walk around without it

And you didn't have Leona's apathy or Kalim's status to walk around without a full uniform

So fixing it was your only real option

Problem was... you didn't know how to sew

You went to your jack of all trades friend, Ruggie, for some help, but he laughed in your face

"Wow, none of the people here know how to fend for themselves, not even you! Shyehehehe...!"

So you sat next to him, hiding the tear on your uniform and blushing from embarrassement until Ruggie managed to calm down

Ruggie wiped a few tears from his eyes and reached his hand to you

"Alright, hand it over. Limited time offer!"

Hesitantly, you took the jacket off and handed it to Ruggie, who pulled out of his pocket a small box with sewing supplies

"Spelldrive pracitices get really nasty sometimes, you have no idea how many fixes and patches my P.E. uniform has. Shyehehe!"

He expertly pulled some black thread through a needle and went to work

"You gotta use a thicker needle for this uniform, the material is super thick and a small one will barely be able to get through it."

Ruggie sew the tear and, after making sure it wouldn't fall apart, he handed you the uniform to admire his handiwork

You had to hand it to Ruggie: his work was durable and hardly noticeable, you wouldn't be able to tell there was a tear in the first place

"Thank you Ruggie! What do I owe you?"

Hearing your question, Ruggie feigned contemplation by rubbing his chin for a few seconds before he just shrugged

"Nah, you just owe me a favor for now. Shyehehehe!"

You accepted Ruggie's price and walked away in higher spirits that before

Who knows, maybe you'll just owe him a back massage after a day of being pulled through the wringer by Leona, shyehehe!

『••✎••』

The other Pomefiore students were giving awestruck looks and flabbergasted gasps to their housewarden as they watched him cut up some vegetables, carefully yet slowly

It was almost as if, to some, the idea of Vil getting his hands dirty was inconceivable

Vil couldn't be bothered by the shock of his students, however

If he were honest, he was actually quite insulted at their indignation

"Have you never seen anyone perform a basic life skill? If you have nothing productive to say, leave."

And, with a few words, he shooed away the students from the Pomefiore kitchen

Vil took a mental note to have a dorm meeting later that day and redefine his students' definition of beauty...

He recognised the beauty of his friendship with you and the trust you've developed with each other

And he recognised the beauty in the vulnerability you showed him not too long ago

His search eventually lead him to your dorm, where he found you trying to manage a nasty cold all by yourself

Vil dropped by your dorm to check up on you; he didn't see you around campus, and your friends said they haven't seen you all day either

You were caught in the rain the other day, and you couldn't change into dry clothes right away, so you were nerfed soon enough

Vil was not the nicest person out there, but he was kind, and you knew that

But you still were surprised when he asked what you needed, and not if you needed anything

And you also knew that if you tried to argue with him and deny his help, he'd dig his heels in and nurse you back to health all by himself

"...Just some soup. I miss my family's homemade soup..."

He wasn't the best cook, but he knew the basics, which were enough

And so he let you rest while he went back to his dorm to prepare the best soup he could

Fortunately for him, he bumped into Epel in the kitchen, who recommended him a few recipes from his grandma and gave him some pointers before running to his spelldrive practice

Vil chopped the vegetables from Epel's recipe and put them in the boiling water, gradually adjusting the food to your tastes

In no time, the soup was done, so he put some into a container and headed straight to you

Vil recognised the beauty in many things, especially when it came to you two

And currently, he couldn't deny how beautiful your genuine smile was as you sat comfortable in bed and slowly sipped his offering, one spoonful at a time

All while you listened to him talk about his experience with cooking and that new potion study he's been waiting all day to share with you

『••✎••』

The moment Ortho's eyes fell onto you, his scanners told him how bad your day was

You had low levels of energy, hydration and focus

On top of that, your uniform had its knees dirty and a small rip on a sleeve

At least you had no physical injuries

However, you made it your personal mission for the day to talk to as few people as you could; not even your best friends were with you

Ortho figured he'd approach you during your shared potionology lesson you were about to have in the botanical gardens

But you never showed up for the lesson

No one knew where you were, they only saw you enter the building

So Ortho decided to skip class for the first time of his short student life and look for you

It wasn't too hard for him to do so, and soon enough he detected your presence behind a few bushes in the subtropical zone

...he also detected the muffled sound of sobs, paired with an increase of distress and elevated blood pressure

He silently approached the bushes

And you raised your head at the sound of his jets

You quickly wiped some of your tears, putting a wobbly yet sincere smile

"Hello, Reader!"

"Hi, Ortho..."

Ortho sat himself next to you and, before you could think of ways to deal with the slightly awkward silence, he spoke first

"You are in distress."

You couldn't help but chuckle at his bluntness, especially since his assessment was, as always, correct

"...Yeah, kinda."

He knew he should've looked up how to comfort you, it was unlike him to not use the readily available search engine he was built with already

And yet, he found himself saying words he's never spoken before

"Offering comfort is an appropriate response for someone in distress. How do you want me to offer it?"

He waited patiently for you to wipe your tears and give him your answer

"Just a hug..."

Your shaky voice carried your plea, and Ortho was faced with what he could only describe as surprise

Ortho was not in the appropriate gear to fulfill your request

His "body" was hard and cold, the worst for the task you gave him

But he never left tasks unfinished, so he hugged you as tightly as he thought was humanly acceptable

And you held him just as tightly, if not more, as the dam broke and you cried your tears

Ortho hesitated before he started playing calming music from his speakers as he hugged you just a little bit tighter

『••✎••』

It was that time of the week when Grim walked to you on his back paws with a comb in between his free paws, ordering you to brush his fur

Usually you were more than willing to accept the job: ever since you've been living together and participating in Grim's maintenance, his fur became shiny, smooth and blissfully soft

It was part of why he started to enjoy the routine, and even kept track of it

But that day, it was... just not a good time

You just had a long day, and as much as you would've loved to do nothing but brush Grim, you had no energy left in your body

"Sorry, Grim. I really can't. Tomorrow?"

You didn't even change out of your uniform, you just plopped onto bed and laid there, fully expecting Grin's usual complains

But you heard nothing but the sound of metal touching wood

Your were barely awake when you felt the mattress sink into the bed slightly, followed by a few small feet climbing on your back

...and claws sinking into your jacket comfortingly as a certain someone was kneading into you

A small purr started rumbling from above you, and you started drifting off...

You woke up in the middle of the night

You tried to get up, but you had something heavy on your back

After rolling it off you, you realised it was Grim

You smiled towards him and pet him, and he curled into himself, sighing contentedly

You changed into your pyjamas and set up an earlier alarm so you could brush Grim's fur in the morning before crawling back into your bed and falling back asleep

『••✎••』

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #ruggie bucchi #vil schoenheit #ortho shroud #twst grim #twisted wonderland grim

[ungodly-amounts-of-godly-trauma]

wotw round 1

propaganda under the cut!

shen qingqiu:

Okay first a quick intro: Shen Qingqiu / Shen Yuan is the main character of SVSSS, and his deal is that he's a guy from the modern world who wakes up in the novel he read, in the body of one of the characters. Shen Yuan is his name in his original world, while Shen Qingqiu is the name of the character he became - that he uses for himself for most of the novel.

Now, what happened to him… The thing is, at the core of his woobification are his actual canon traits, but some fans really crank them up to the point where it becomes a disservice to the character. So you never know when someone saying "oh Shen Qingqiu is so oblivious" means "due to several intersecting factors Shen Qingqiu has some extremely specific blindspots regarding certain topics" (which is just true) or "haha Shen Qingqiu could get kissed by a man and still not realize that man has romantic feelings for him" (just one variation of the sentiment, but one i find particularly bewildering considering. in canon. a man kissing him was exactly what made Shen Qingqiu realize that man was actually in love with him. like my dudes the bar is low but its there!).

Stumbling into this second version in fic was funny a first few times, but now it's like… I genuinely can't tell whether any particular author is overplaying it for comedy, or genuinely believes the character is That dumb.

Also ppl often severely underestimate his power level. Like idk if that's because they compare him to the characters he often hangs out with, who are those genius top-of-the-world experts (despite him outpacing literally everyone else he ever fought against), or because of how he bungled his first-ever case (like, you know, two weeks after waking up in a whole NEW BODY, in a different world), or because he tends to downplay his own strength and also tries to avoid killing people… but like, this man took a technique that in the original was just "aesthetic and interesting" and developed it into something that could be super deadly within weeks, he's just not using it that way. And he also fixed og Shen Qingqiu's broken cultivation within the first few months of being in that body. So he's actually extremely talented and pretty strong, he just spends most of the book either nerfed by external factors (such as poison that disables his spiritual energy at random times) or surrounded by veritable powerhouses.

And this is for Shen Yuan-as-Shen Qingqiu. But the version that drives me completely up the wall is actually the portrayal of just Shen Yuan - in fanworks where he either never gets transported to the world of the novel, or wakes up as a different character. Because suddenly the traits that already get unduly amplified with Shen Qingqiu version become straight up caricature-like. He's not only oblivious to the extreme, he also gets painted as this completely naive soft babyboi (this is about a guy whose most well-known pre-transmigration canon trait is that he writes famously vitriolic rants about novels on the internet); plus, like, on the physical level, super frail and waifish which uh. wow. nice walking right back into the BL tropes the novel itself avoided?…… So yeah I'm super not keen on this portrayal. I know he doesn't appear as not-Shen Qingqiu version of himself in the novel, if we don't count the rant in the beginning, but like. please extrapolate from the character we actually have instead of writing this mega-woobie who shares nothing with the base version?

Terrible little bastard man who has a sad backstory but is actually genuinely a terrible person. Fans like to act like he is just a soft sad boi deep inside and make him lose all of his edge.

So the thing about Shen Jiu / og!Shen Qingqiu in canon is that we first learn of him as an unquestionably, almost cartoonishly villainous character. As in, he is literally a villain in the book our main character has been reading… before dying and waking up in the world of the book, as that very villain (hence the distinction of Shen Jiu being the "original" Shen Qingqiu, as our main character begins to use the name Shen Qingqiu for himself. Shen Jiu, however, is an old name that only the original has used). The original Shen Qingqiu that our main character knows is a serial child abuser in a teaching position, a murderer (killed his colleague, killed his old fiancee's entire family…), and a lecher (visited brothels and had designs on his female disciple).

Then, over the course of the novel, we learn more about Shen Jiu - in particular, that a number of things our MC "knew" about him were not true. He did not kill his colleague, but rather failed to save him, despite trying to; he killed his "fiancee"'s family because her older brother has abused him for years (and also, Shen Jiu was forced into agreeing to marry her), and also he only actually killed half of them (only men); he visited brothels because he only felt safe in the company of women, and he just went there to get a good night's sleep; and he only ever saw that female disciple he was accused of lusting after as a daughter. And in general, he had a horrible childhood, and was himself a victim of abuse.

However, not everything gets disproved. Shen Jiu still turned from a victim to perpetrator, abusing a child (coincidentally the protagonist of the og book) and trying to set him up to die/be killed several times. Canon is very clear on that point. The situation with Shen Jiu and the og book version of the protagonist is very much an illustration of cycles of abuse.

Also at a certain point, we meet the author of the in-world book, the one our MC was reading - who explains he scrapped Shen Jiu's tragic backstory because it would make him too controversial. Quoting from memory, something like: 'if you said he was a villain, he was also tragic; but if you said he was pitiful, he'd also done terrible things. All in all, a character like this was a hotbed for all kinds of fandom discourse.'

Prophetic fucking words.

Somehow, seeing all that, some 'fans' have decided to jump into a completely opposite direction: making Shen Jiu a poor little misunderstood meow meow who did nothing wrong ever and was a soft princess and totally was never mean to the protagonist ("the protagonist just has inflated sense of ego and misunderstood Shen Jiu's normal teaching as singling him out for abuse" was a take I had to see with my own two eyeballs. Theres btw an extra from Shen Jiu's pov where he laments that the fake manual he gave the kid has failed to horrifically kill him yet).

Which puts the rest of us in an awkward position of having to defend his canon assholery. Like, the whole point of this character is that he's complex! That he's both a villain and a victim! Reducing him to just one is doing him a disservice, and either extreme is equally incorrect! And this is something that happens with many similar characters, I know, but what boggles my mind about Shen Jiu's case in particular is that. it's spelled out. The whole deal with his character is spelled out in canon. And some people still go "oh so Shen Jiu was secretly the most morally pure and good character, got it". Like. how?????????????? ??? ?? ?????

noriaki kakyoin:

Uke-fied to the max so he can be shipped with jotaro lol

Ohmygod where do I even start. Kakyoin's the poster boy for twinkification and woobification of a canonically very capable, interesting (and not twinky at all) character who's so many things at once- a loyal friend, really smart, a bit of a weirdo, infodumping trivia at random times, quick-thinking in dangerous situations, reckless, polite and respectful, vengeful towards enemies but always kind to friends, depressed, determined and motivated in the face of mortal danger despite it all - even when he had the chance to leave the Stradust Crusaders and just come back to his normal life, he decided to stick with them. This decision eventually cost him his life since he got killed by Dio, the main villain. The fandom either calls him a cardboard with no personality (which is not true at ALL, where did that take even come from) or they downplay his canon badassery- Jotaro x Kakyoin shippers are often guilty of this along with twinkifying Kakyoin. The ship is fine, but they're way more interesting if you take into account their canon characterisation as huge weirdos who somehow work pretty well together- they're both different flavors of autistic that sometimes just so happen to align on the same wavelength.

#tournament poll #shen qingqiu #shen yuan #shen jiu #scum villains self saving system #scum villain #svsss #noriaki kakyoin #jojo's bizarre adventure #jjba #wotw #round 1

[toaster-boi]

Episode 7 frame-by-frame, part 2!

link to part 1

link to part 3

!!! SPOILERS AHEAD (and also gore) !!! (but you probs knew that)

well that's horrifying. also goes really fucking hard. looks like i can finally ditch my default wallpaper.

wow, her first on-screen kill and it's a blurry smear frame. J stays losing (affectionate)

ah that's clever, the explosion both lights up and distracts you from the fleshvines growing on the buildings

also did i hear a goddamn wilhelm scream

who are these two, ripping a guy in half? the only time we've seen fully-formed Disassembly Drones that weren't the main trio were corpses in Dead End (Ep6).

sorry Cyn but ya boi is taken (this isn't a shipping joke please don't hurt me)

aww, family photos! that's actually really sweet...

confirmed nightcore enthusiast, Nori is the manic demon nightmare girl to counter all the manic pixie dream girls

the oil cans have been fucking energy drinks the whole time???????

it's kinda hard to pick up but Nori's voice has the slightest Southern twang to it, i love it

he's adorable

god they're SUCH FUCKING DORKS I LOVE THEM

another kickass wallpaper

B3

"OTHER THINGS IT CAN DO:

NOT JUDGE ME"

girl you got issues previously unknown to science

...who was Lizzy texting??? V??? don't give me hope Liam. please. please.

from paranoid pushover, to supportive father, to Apocalypse Dad. man's been having a whole arc in the shadows and we weren't paying attention bc he was too funny

dork siblings.

???????

rererererereCAPTCHA

if you understood half of what was going on you'd be nicer to them

oh. you're not doing too good.

Doll, i'm sorry, but you're fucked. no two ways about it.

fnaf at feddy,,,

ow.

"I THINK THE ENTITY OF PREVIOUS PAGES PURGED FILES FROM MY MEMORIES." -- checks out, Cyn has absolutely done that

"'PET' -- IT'S SENT SOMETHING(S) TO ELIMINATE THE OTHER HOSTS" -- ah, so that's the primary reason the DDs exist, to clear rogue Solver hosts before Cyn went planetside. that means my old theory on DD weapons being optimized for use against Solver hosts holds water.

"'PETS' OF SOME KIND..." "PUPPET HOSTS WITH NERFED -- ... -- THE ENTITY - ENSURES CONTROL" -- from context, i assume she means DDs have reduced free will/individuality, but N's squad was of course an exception.

also that's absolutely V in the drawing. bob haircut, clearly not wearing pants of any sort, it's her.

he's so cute

that's metal as hell. god damn.

oh you motherFUCKER-

@rusty-gloinks got a feeling you're a fan of this bit

MOTHERF-

(end of part 2)

#toaster thoughts #murder drones

[prairiedust]

one thousand days of destiel, or cas: fuckerupper of endings

Idk why I’m crawling out from under my woodpile to write this, except that it occurred to me that in three years I’ve not rewatched a single episode of Supernatural and have at least two dozen tags yet blacklisted on tumblr, and that I am still not okay about this stupid show.

I never tried to tie up the folklore/author themes I’d been geeking out about through the last seasons, neither as the show was ending nor afterwards. I’ve been simmering now for over a thousand days. I could not even write a complete sentence about spn for all this time, and so I just left that pot on the back burner and did other things. Finished my Master’s degree. Started a new job. Saw my oldest child graduate from high school and move off to college, and helped my younger child move on to sixth grade. Watched some other shows, got a new blorbo, saw some movies, started painting again, picked up a couple of new hobbies as I am wont to do.  

Today is the 5th of November, 2023. (ETA i sat on this for a bit.)

November 5th, 2020, was exactly one thousand and ninety-five days ago.

I see gifs from the show from time to time and I think to myself, wow, that scene/episode/series is completely irrelevant to my life now. I am fine and normal about everything. But if it really was, if I really was, it would not hurt so much to see the gifs and the lyric posts and the amvs when they aren’t caught in my tag filters. So maybe it’s time to get some things out of my head and onto paper.

I genuinely, nearsightedly, naively thought that since Dabb et al had been the ones writing the whole folk v author themes, and thus posing as someone we could count as being on “our side,” the folk-side of the postmodern audience, they’d honor that conceit, even to the very last shot. 

They did not.

And yet… they absolutely did.

Which hurts and is fucked up, but also it’s fine. It’s fine.

In the end, the only “folk hero” (by which I mean the only force in the spn universe capable of warping the threads of the story with any permanence) was Castiel. When Castiel left the story (of his own volition, if you can find a comfortable layer of this meta pie for that concept to rest in,) the writers reverted to God Mode. Because Castiel had been their freedom, their mouthpiece, their avenue for improvisation, and so at the end of the series…

well, we got You changed me/I love you

   •

and then we got “Cas helped.”

So much has been written about that pivot point, but genuinely I don’t give a rat’s ass about rewrites, producers, the cutting room floor, or COVID. It exhausts me, and I’m not beholden to writing about spn for grades or notes or any kind of other bullshit that would oblige me to do research.

I feel like… we got what we got.

So let’s criticize some media.

The Paradox: 

Cas imploded— went from flexing the narrative from within to being narrated by a force from without. And I couldn’t bear to wrap my head around that for a long time. It seemed that this “twist” was beyond cruel. That’s what he got. Vanished and nerfed. For saying ily. That was what happened when he was finally in focus, fully revealed. He lost. He was relegated, along with Jack, to become heaven’s Two Men and a Truck.

It was a trick, the whole “Chuck is a writer” plotline. The Author regained control of the character that had previously been acting independently. Very Pirandellesque, very frustrating, ultimately even tragic.

So, yes, thematically and critically, having Castiel give up his Agency for Characterhood– giving up his ability to create plot for a role as a character in a plot— was ‘literary’ brilliance. It cemented his status as a grand fucker-upper of the show in a way that any show writer “authoring” a requited destiel ending would not and could not have done. Even Jack, I believe, had been “manipulated” into god-hood from within the narrative. Jack was Dabb’s grand metaphor, he was a product of Author. Castiel was… well, he was a chaos engine from the moment he walked through those barn doors. 

To seal the metaphor, the writers ended up living that truth.

I really don’t know if I’m being cogent about this. I’ve been struggling to turn this idea into words for, like, ONE THOUSAND DAYS.

The folk-vs-Author themes becoming A Thing in The Supernatural Show was like a chemical reaction: once the ions had bonded, the resultant compound could not be separated back into the different materials. What on that screen was Author, what was “author,” ie show writer, and what was text-experiencer-as-author? Where did the Sam-as-magician arc go, what were we supposed to do with the semi-metatextual moments that Mary had, having been brought back into the narrative by Amara, not Chuck? Everything got so out of control. Add in a smidgen of secret-sauce-TPTB possibly superseding the author/Author, and what you get is that ridiculous mess of a final two episodes.

It’s not about the rusty trombone or the butt hole pleasures. It’s about love. And kids.

Thank you, hon. It really is. (The above line was left in this doc by my spouse. It is a quote from The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I’ll allow it.)

Anyway. It was hard to see past the sound and the fury of it all. 

*****

I was feeling nostalgic several months ago and took a swim in my old meta tags; I found a gem from season…10? Idk and idc, but it was from “The Things We Left Behind.” 

I compared Claire to Sleeping Beauty (a tale that got a lot of use in later seasons) and wrote: “I tend to think that Castiel’s entire arc is about desperate and unintentionally misguided attempts to Change The Ending of whatever story he’s shown up in” and reading that again really kind of sucker-punched me.

‘We’re making it up as we go’ was the crux of Cas’ existence. Remember that half-related story in Baby wherein Cas got himself hitched to the Djinn queen? Remember when Jack died and the Empty came to claim him in Heaven and Cas made that terrible bargain? The last-minute attempt to gank Lucifer that actually got him killed and sent to The Empty?

Time and time again, Castiel’s go-to for “changing the narrative,” for advancing his plot, is self-sacrifice. In Chuck’s house against the archangel. The Leviathan disaster. Saying ‘yes’ to Lucifer. The Bargain for Jack in Heaven. And those times it worked out. Not without great pain for both the other characters and for the viewers, but he always came back. 

And with each return, his motivation became clearer. (Picture your favorite screencap of Dean here.)

Cas’ love grew, crystalized, and then disappeared, like frost on the windowpane of a house on fire.

If they had continued the CasDean storyline, it would have ultimately been The Author IRL writing/creating/manifesting/materializing ‘destiel.’ And so by putting a torch to all of that architecture, they essentially gave everything to us. Unspoilt. Fingerprints wiped. Serial numbers scratched away. Jailbroken. Whatever floats your boat. 

The confession was both affirmation and abnegation. Symbolically, The AuthorTM had washed his hands of it, but with destiel out of the picture, The Author also got his ending.

This is why “Cas helped” felt like a ‘fuck you.’ If Cas was out of the narrative, why did he come back as one of Heaven’s real estate developers? It did not fit. 

And yet. It did. Because Chuck won. Chuck, or everything that an Author represents in television land– TPTB, showrunner legacies, multiple producers, a chaotic and treacherous and politically messy writer’s room, multiple incompatible or unresolvable MOs and visions— all that ends up being packaged and presented as a single unerring vision.

So I have to admit, although I don’t have to do it with any ion of grace, that in the end it was pretty fucking smart.

Destiel is ours. Destiel is the folk ending. The Author never got to touch it, never so much as breathed on it, was so far divorced from the concept that the absence thereof going forward hit us like a truck full of bricks.

Yes, it hurts that Dean was just left on the floor until the credits rolled, that there were no final words, no ensuing acknowledgement. 

I’ll go so far outside the Text as to address the ‘Dean can’t reciprocate’ direction from one of the scripts:

If Dean had made a single move onscreen. Uttered a word. In Despair or either of the other two episodes.

Destiel would have been claimed by The Author. 

Anyway. I’ve been collecting posts now and again under the tag ‘the endless folklore of supernatural.’ For three years, the fandom has continued to loot, to ransack, to graffiti, to create and re-create, to burn, to mix, and to distill. 

There’s all kinds of things in that tag, it’s sort of a kitchen sink of everything that I thought was even tangentially relevant to folk-Destiel and the postmodern experience of creating text as a reader/viewer etc. 

We turned a literary story based on an urban folktale back into folklore. 

And so it goes.

I doubt I will do much more analysis of this show, even if it comes back, and I unfortunately can’t touch The Winchesters. But I can’t say I never will. I just thought three years, one thousand days, was a pretty good place to leave a marker on the trail.

—

Epilogue: About The Winchesters:

I did not finish watching The Winchesters because of something wildly, randomly, but highly personally triggering that was built into one of the episodes; however I am very sorry that it was canceled or possibly ironically lost to the WGA-SAGAFTRA strike of 2023.

“What is the maddest thing a man can do? Let himself die.” That’s the clue that leads Castiel to his hidden grace in a copy of The Man of LaMancha in 10.18 ‘The Book of the Damned,’ written by one Robbie Thompson.

I noticed from the get-go that Thompson gave Carlos the last name Cervantez. He was nodding to the self-immolation of the last cadre of writers of Supernatural and stating clearly that he was holding a pen, not a match.

Want some very fun and amusing and wildly pertinent facts about the Don Quixote books?

The narrative conceit of Don Quixote IN THE FIRST PLACE LOL is that Cervantes claims to have found a manuscript by a historian named Cide Hamete Benegeli and Cervantes thought the story was pretty neat, if a little rough; Cervantes retells the story for us from what he’d read by that author, distilling the “original” into the book we experience as Don Quixote the Man of La Mancha.

The final words of Cervantes’ Part One are “perhaps another will sing with a better pick.”

Later, someone publishing under the pseudonym Alonso Fernandez de Avellaneda wrote their own part two, feeling that the original author was taking too long to get their ass in gear (or judging by their own preface they felt that Cervantes had not even done the original story justice in the first place. Which is A Mood.)

So when someone actually did have the audacity to run off with his characters and commit word crimes with them, Cervantes absolutely obliterated the dude in his own Part Two. 

Thompson left Spn after season eleven. But, lest someone think this is a commentary about fan fic, he also wrote the episode Fan Fiction. So anyway all the Cervantez-Cervantes business was certainly something.

[taylorkellyreporting]

i hope no one minds if i liveblog this bitch: ted lasso from 2x02 to 2x05

jamie’s such an asshole 😭

“…oh.” skfjgjvjfjs

the sad music playing in this jamie scene is taking me out

i hate jane, beard deserves so much better

maybe frank sinatra was the problem

nate and his asshole attitude is getting really old

“why’s it smell like my nana’s house in here?” i don’t know why but the line delivery is sending me

“you ain’t even speaking spanish” CACKLING

“evidently she doesn’t eat sugar” “what a fucking asshole” 😭😭

the littles being absolutely thrilled when roy swears is so funny

we all have our kinks i guess skfjgkvkns

“when it sucks and i hate it, i’m gonna hire a bunch of children to follow you around and scream ‘told you so, told you so.’ for centuries” “i look forward to the attention” i love keeley 😭

“old people are so wise. they’re like tall yodas” WHATKGKFJFJS

dani finding it funny that ted and jamie look like they’re sitting in the guys hand while everyone else is upset is so on brand 😭

jamie better get on his hands and knees and beg sam to forgive him, that’s all i know.

sam is so precious, i freaking love him

higgins keeps showing up in the most random places 😭 someone get that man an office

nate talking about how jamie being back would ruin morale by belittling everyone then having him immediately doing it to will was such a smart move

ted got through to dr fieldstone 🥹 i knew she’d grow to love him eventually

oh shit, this is gonna be a disaster

- 2x03

sassy!! i’m so glad she’s back

“you finished on my-“ YELLING

“did he talk like that-“ “the whole time. and so eager to please. it was fabulous.” 😭

genuinely forgot about their hookup til now

“uncle roy, can we have ice cream for dinner?” “no, that’s dumb” “you’re right, thank you for helping me set boundaries” pls

“wow, she really loves you” “i know, it’s fucking annoying” 😭

i really hope we see more of rebecca and nora’s relationship, i’m loving it so far

nora being a sam girlie is so real of her

what the fuck did i just witness?!76(;;$(85&

“charles edgar cheeserton the 3rd” wake up babe new chuck e. cheese name just dropped

“sincerely, boss ass bitch” this whole scene has me in tears

“jamie tartt is a muppet and i hope he dies of the incurable disease of being a little bitch” that’s actually a really good insult 😭

so proud of sam!!

that entire scene with the tape was so powerful

IT’S ABOUT SUPPORTING YOUR TEAMMATES EVEN IF IT MAKES OTHERS UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!!

THEY’RE A FAMILY 🥹

- 2x04

colin and moe aww

i’m not gonna lie, this look is really doing it for me

did jamie just bless HIMSELF??? 😭😭

keeley sticking her tongue straight into the chocolate fountain was sooo me coded

God, it’s me again-

a mini dartboard 🥹 henry is so precious

ted is all alone :(

“i think you might be dying” FUCKFKGJFJDJS

“i brought friend chicken!” “is that a christmas tradition in holland?” “no :D” 😭

“i just walked into your neighbors house! oh my God” idk why but this ep is making me lose it

“let’s get drunk!” pls he sounds so happy

rebecca’s look of disbelief at ted being called a wanker dkfjgjgjs

that nerf scene I’M CRYING

“mom! there are two white people at the door and they’re smiling!” BYE

the guy wanting a selfie with keeley instead of roy skfjfjsdjgkd REAL 😭

PLEASE

losing it at dani and mrs higgins drinking together, they looked so happy skdjgjvkd

ted and rebecca spending christmas together and delivering presents to kids 🥹

“you want me to drive?” “the…steering wheel is on the other side” “right, i’m the one with the accent here” 😭

NOT THE LOVE ACTUALLY REENACTMENT

THIS IS SO SWEET

i love rebecca’s voice so much

this was such definitely my fave ep so far and i desperately need a holiday episode every season

- 2x05

ted laughing when nate said he’d talk to isaac was fucked up but so funny

“so can i like give this back to you and you give me cash? is that a thing or…?” “no.” lmfao

“i don’t drink coffe, my mother says i was born caffeinated” she’s not wrong 😭

nate is taking hit after hit this episode and i can’t even feel bad for him after how he’s treated will

God, i love the way higgins talks about julie 🥹

alright, who wrote ‘yum’ on roys picture? cause i know it wasn’t him lmao

i don’t care if it was just brett almost breaking character, i’m gonna believe that there was a slight smile on roys face cause he was happy to see ted

“you’d look well fit with pigtails” “i do 😁” petition for rebecca to wear pigtails at least once before the show ends…for science.

roy asking ted if he did alright with coaching isaac is something that can be so personal

isaac stopping in the middle of the game to tie that girls shoe just made me love him more

roys reluctant friendship with ted is everything

when harry met sally 😭

every time i believe i can’t love roy more than i already do he goes and proves me wrong

roy seeing the impact he had on isaac 🥹

HIGGINS AND JULIA ARE SO CUTE

keeley looks so proud of roy aw

don’t know if i’ve said this before but isaac has such a beautiful smile

“shut up. just shut up. you had me at ‘coach’” and if i said this is the funniest show on television?

#ted lasso lb #ted lasso #rebecca welton #roy kent #keeley jones #jamie tartt #dani rojas #sam obisanya #nate shelley #isaac mcadoo #thierry zoreaux #moe bumbercatch #colin hughes #coach beard #richard montlaur #jan maas #will kitman #tedbecca #roykeeley #long post

[lukefonfabre]

kamen rider REVIEW!!!

i was gonna do this on twitter but twitter is dead now. anyway i decided when i finished ryuki i would review every kr i’ve watched so far so here it is. no spoilers (i think) but it is fucking long. 

build - i can’t believe it’s been 5 years since i watched build… i miss her so bad every day… but also build had a lot things that i couldn’t stand. however the yaoi was really fucking good. also build is pretty strong overall despite it all. we need that energy back for kamen rider so bad but all they do now is try to sell toys. i really like sento as a protagonist because he’s so funny and quirky but also not like the usual kr protagonist who is stupid. i mean he is still stupid but in a different way. banjou is more like the protagonist type but he is actually just sento’s boyfriend. love wins. my thing about build is that i didnt care about kazumi or gentoku or katsuragi or any of the other men (evolt can stay #sexy). so sometimes i was sitting there like oh my god. enough. also the way they nerfed sawa and misora pissed me off. but that final episode hit hard enough that i forgave all the shit the last 10 or so episodes put me through. which is true of a lot of kamen riders like if they hit that ending it’s like all is forgiven baby!!! but anyway i love build. i miss her. i love her. 

ooo - i got so obsessed with ooo that 5 years ago i was in a college english class and they asked me what my favorite tv show was and i said kamen rider ooo. right there in front of everyone. ms. kobayashi really got me with that one! everyone has already said this but the relationship between ankh and eiji is so interesting both on a yaoi level and a psychological level… the human won’t let himself want anything and the monster whose existence is all about wanting things. and they’re in love. wow! the whole ooo cast is great though and i think it’s so cute that the actors still interact 10+ years later. i love hina so much… i love gotou and date and satonaka. i miss them. i’m sorry that ooo 10th was like that but i will forgive them. i guess. i think ooo’s one weakness is that the monster of the week episodes were kinda boring. like bro i don’t care about this guy getting back into wrestling what about ankh’s existential crisis!!!! but it’s ok we all have our flaws. i love you ooo. 

ex-aid - i THINK i watched ex-aid after ooo but honestly i don’t remember? wild that i went from ooo to ex-aid actually. ex-aid is a deeply controversial work because it sucks so bad but it’s also really fucking funny. but also sometimes it really is unwatchable like i tried to watch a couple of the first few episodes with eri and i was like this is horrible i’m being tortured but then when i think about parad i get hysterical. the duality of ex-aid. I think a lot of ex-aid is not very good. and yet it has something… some kind of power that makes me tell people to watch it and then they’re like this sucks and i’m like yeah! (this has happened 2 times.) but i do like ex-aid despite the fact that it’s really loud and annoying and the camera angles are weird and the belt noises are insufferable. it’s funny. i think the idea of gamer doctors fighting to the death(?) is hilarious. it definitely impacted me that’s for sure. there’ll never be another one like it… despite takahashi doing multiple krs since then (mistake). ex-aid is the demon that haunts me.

w - i think i’ve actually forgotten a good chunk of what actually happened in w but it was good. it was solid. philip and shotaro and akiko found family baby!!! and w made me tolerate a cop so that’s something. i really have nothing else to say here. ok actually w totally fell apart when it killed off the sonozakis and brought in that weird-ass doctor and that random villain who showed up at the end but philip and shotaro carried it… for me. and akiko of course she was everything to me. also again the final episode made me forgive everything because it was like they’re reunited!!! (sobbing and screaming and crying) 

fourze - for a while i didn’t hype up fourze that much because of the american high school aesthetic, which is actually really funny but not exactly my taste. but gentaro truly is a wonderful good boy. he loves his friends PERIOD. also ryusei was really funny because everyone else was like some kind of american teen drama trope (the goth girl, the jock, the cheerleader, etc.) and then there was ryusei who was like two-faced bitch alert! i love that. also kengo and gentaro were in love so there was #yaoi. that one episode where kengo was mad bc ryusei and gentaro were getting along and he was so jealous i cried. i would give anything for another kr as good as fourze tbh. 

den-o - when i first started kamen rider i was like i’m not watching that old shit (pre-neo heisei) but then i was like ok i will give den-o a chance because it was written by ms. kobayashi… and it was good. it was really fucking good. like there’s not a lot of crazy shit it’s mostly just funny shenanigans with the imagins and ryoutarou’s hard knock life but you still feel emotional about it all… ms. kobayashi’s genius. her range. even though the plot makes absolutely no fucking sense i think it’s fine. it’s about the feelings. the bonds. and also trains. 

ryuki - so after not watching kamen rider for 4-5 years i started watching ryuki with lain because they put it on tokushoutsu. and wow was i not prepared for whatever that was! i don’t think there is a way to prepare yourself for ryuki actually. but i will say that ms. kobayashi once again impacted me with her talent. her ability to create so many weird and mentally ill men… i’m obsessed. also i love shinji so much he is just an silly little dogboy who is being forced to confront the trolley problem and also fight to the death. why did she do all that to him? also why did she give kitaoka a beautiful and perfect malewife? why did she make asakura so sexy? why did she make tojo like that? why can’t ren be nice to shinji just a little? i have a lot of questions and no answers. there was never a dull moment with ryuki bc there was always some shit going on. every single guy was fascinating except the ones that were meant to be annoying as hell. and the ensemble cast of yui and ore journal and aunt sanako… love them. they are all so funny and iconic. i wish i could say more but i would spoil it. ms. kobayashi’s wild ride. as you can see ryuki has left me incoherent. i will not recover from what ryuki did to me. gen urobuchi you will never be her. 

blade - i started watching blade while also watching ryuki to prevent myself from looking up spoilers but it didn’t work. anyway the point is i watched all of blade while also watching ryuki with lain. it was interesting to watch them at the same time bc toward the end blade started copying ryuki so hard with the battle royale shit it was like ok girl i guess! blade is interesting bc a lot of krs have a strong start and then go off the fucking rails but blade is the opposite. it starts off like what the fuck is all this now then at the very end it’s like ohhh it’s about how the love was there all along. bring out the yaoi. i think at least 30 episodes of blade are complete nonsense like you will be sitting there like um okay i guess? but it’s worth it for the shakespearean gay tragedy of kenzaki/hajime. i can’t say i really liked mutsuki or tachibana but toward the end i started finding them really funny like i couldn’t really be mad because tachibana is so pathetic you just have to chuckle and mutuski has teenager disease. although it was tiring watching them both be assholes to their beautiful girlfriends for so long like ok can we get back to how in love kenzaki is with hajime PLEASE. but oh well. we can’t have everything!

if you actually read all of this thank you. i have so much to say and yet my brain is very small… i will continue making my poor quality videos to show my respect however. kamen rider the world. 

[daeiran-morran]

Mini BLU Rant because I LOVE these quests but there's something that annoys me-

--SPOILERS FOR BLU 70-80 QUESTS--

Idk how many others are this invested in these quests but I AM and it's MY POST I love BLU mage so much- I love the characters- Martyn especially tbh (Fuck Royse lmaoo)

I DO wish they'd give Martyn more than like. one glimmer of being cool before going back to usual-

1-50: Oh- He's kinda weird, but you find out it was actually for a pretty good reason <3

50-60: lmao look at this loser

60-70: lmao look at this loser

70-80: Hey look a- Holy shit you've been this strong the whole time?? Sticking to only blue magic was NERFING YOU?? Wow, this boss is actually really hard- -Game goes almost RIGHT back into loser right after-

PLEASE LET HIM BE COOL MORE OFTEN PLEASE

PS: The blue mages need to strike- Royse pays peanuts

PSS: The game needs to let me make nice choices on his behalf- BOTH options for that bounty in Gridania were just "Damn bitch why are you so into the bounty" when like. it's an established plot point that he's broke as hell and sucks at negotiating with a woman who's 100% exploiting abilities and kind nature for her own good-

Anyway, in conclusion- That terrible woman needs to pay him better so he has more time to learn more spells and be cooler more often <3

#ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #ffxiv blue mage #ffxiv martyn #ffxiv 6.45 spoilers

[amarriageoftrueminds]

smth rlly depressing about post CATWS mcu is that bucky is never a primary character like he was in that movie. he gets relegated to extra(not even Cap extra) similar to Steve Rogers relegated to generic Cap'n murrica in the ensemble movies & it just never comes back. the White Wolf was a novel idea that could've given him direction, but just like Nomad Steve it gets tossed aside forgotten & now it feels like Bucky isn't returning, only "Winter Soldier" when they wanna retcon some more(fatws)

anon also said: 

It's so wild that marvel/mcu completely ignores that Bucky is a supersoldier too w/ the same powerset. After catws, the last time he really actually gets those great action scenes that steve gets is the end of cacw, but everywhere else he's "nerfed". So much of their MCU basis is being "best friends from schoolyard to battlefield" but WHERE is the battlefield action? We should've been seeing Bucky fighting alongside Steve in IW the whole time like his shadow w/ the rest of the teamcap smh.

The gay panic is truly palpable. 

I kinda wish TPTB had never got wind of the stucky ship, because if they hadn’t I doubt we’d have had these stupid lumbering efforts to separate the two even in circumstances where it is nonsensical to do so. It’s just embarrassing. 

(Also, if they weren’t frantically trying to de-gay Steve, they probably wouldn’t be quite so desperate to resurrect that dead nag and flog her all around the MCU).

Realising what a giddy rush it produces, seeing Bucky doing Actual Superserum Stuff (like jumping off balconies, moving a heavy engine!) it really drives home what a missed opportunity his post-WS characterisation has been. 

Although... tbh the character called Bucky who appears in FATWS has got more in common with Crossbones/Brock Rumlow than Bucky. 

(It was he who was thematically set up as the dark mirror of Sam, in CATWS, not Bucky! If Sam’s stuck spending 90% of his screen time playing OOC pissy odd-couple stuff anyway, then Rumlow makes more sense! Who the fuck comes away from CATWS thinking ‘wow, I wish we got to see that random French guy again!’ They shouldn’t have killed Rumlow off...)  

On the other hand I’m glad we get to see more of TWS because SebStan plays him so well, (and, yeah, he gets to do Superserum Stuff!) 

But yeah. Total victim-blaming bullshit of the writers to retcon Bucky’s tragic (uncomfortably emasculating) past just because they’re Joe-Rogan-podcast-listening dudebros who can’t comprehend (or pull off) writing a man in any other way.

Still, on the upside, hopefully Sebastian Stan will finish out his contract (I think he has like 2 movies to go??) and be free of the Rat soon! Not looking forward to how that’ll play in, in the movies tho. At this point I’m half expecting them to kill Bucky off screen and then never mention it. (They’ve already done that in WI).

#bucky barnes #bucky meta #meta #mcu #mcu meta #hey nonny #toAyourQ #dat's me #FATWS critical

[guideaus]

trigun stampede ep 2 thoughts

with how much it was emphasized stampede isnt trigun maximum the anime, or a reboot of the original, i wonder how much will be similar since the Nebraska family is there

i think its a little boring that vash had nothing to do w plants, when it couldve just been as simple as trespassing or smth. vash also being mistaken for knives feels silly when i dont think theyve ever looked the same except for when they were little, unless knives comitted the crime and went "my name is VASH THE STAMPEDE, DONT FORGET IT!" lol

vash and the kid is soo cute, love vash

the lady deciding to go against vash after ep 1 is disappointing 😭 i'd understand it happening in ep 1 (people who know nothing abt him and dont care using him to get money) but the woman fiercely defending him from reporters only to change her mind the next ep feels weird lol? even if it does go back to the original "wow he saved the town (again, 3 times, in this case)" it feels less like indifferent people changing their initial uncaring attitude w vash being his usual forgiving self, and instead like they can swing any way at any time. like if meryl came in and offered $$6,000,000, then she wouldve been like, oh sure, okay. and honestly more offensive? like vash's encounter w the ppl who offered him a ride when he was stranded, only to rob him and leave him for dead. idk i feel like its different when he has already saved their town twice as opposed to the manga where they have no reason not to chase him for money (when yeah, obviously they have a reason, but still)

the animation is fun, if anyone says theyre stiff lifeless dolls, theyre wrong

i dont really get meryl and the guy's motivation for following him. meryl feels like she has to be shes meryl from trigun, but the guy has made no objections so far??

i think its funny they nerfed the son from being a comically large villain

the birdy is cute <3

i think them changing meryl is interesting. idk if i like it or not, but shes definitely the opposite from her other counterparts, but also i have no clue why shes caring so much

the series seems a bit heavy handed so far, but i guess with some things its ok to be direct about (tho idk if thats indicative of how much time theyre allowed lmao)

i liked the scene where he looked like he was dancing

idk i kinda wish rosa didnt help that guy lmao. they probably had her do it to equal out the whole betraying vash after he's saved her like like 4 times thing, so i guess, but them partying after felt weird lmao. i feel like her cutting them off w a warning to never show their face again probably wouldve made the most sense, with this it feels like she just adopted vash's ideals

that also makes the whole ep feel kinda pointless. like i know it showed vash's conflicting ideals that'd realistically perplex anyone, but then both parties besides him also being ok (esp w/o an answer to either of their inital problems) feels weird. like are they just gonna drink and then go "oh yeah, our plant is dying" and "we have no bail money" right after... back to their original problem, and theyll target someone else or do nothing lol?

the milly replacement man is really annoying to me. he feels boring, doing nothing, and being the cliche secretly super perceptive guy despite being appearing as a drunkard or whatever. like he has me so close to ranting again abt milly being replaced.

idk what to say abt gosef presumably dying lol

#personal #trigun lb

[fenghuane-a]

@fernbodied asked: 🎵, 🎃, 🦋

bad time hcs [accepting]

         🎵 - If they were going to torture someone, what music would they play while they did it?

     OH MAN OF COURSE YOU’D SEND ME THIS- Honestly, Red Sun isn’t the kind of guy who does the whole torture thing [amazing! One of my muses that DOESN’T torture you! Wow!]; worst thing he’d do is gloat about it for a while. So nah, no music if there’s no torture segments. :pensive: Maybe in a future verse?

    [is now ruminating on that concept… get back to me in five to ten business days]

          🎃 - If they were to play a mean trick on Halloween, what would they do and who would be their target?

    LMAO, he’s always down to pull some cruel pranks [tfw when you can’t actually go around killing people anymore because a pretty lady nerfed you]; Halloween isn’t really a Thing in his main verses, so it’d really boil down to spur of the moment trickery which fluctuates based on his mood and general opportunity.

    He can and will pants you though. Anyone dealing with mischievous spirits would know the first rule: wear a belt. There’s also the ever classic ‘stealing all your food, money, etc’, pushing people into rivers, breaking things, acting like some big scary wild beast and chasing people around. That kind of stuff - generally harmless [but only because he has to be].

     LMK verse I’d say he’s less prone to overt mischief and moreso sets up pranks well in advance [sometimes so far in advance he forgets they’re there and winds up on the receiving end of a pail of oil]. They’re usually saved [or at least planned] for anyone who’s recently slighted him, and are also mostly harmless. Of course, the whole family living space is heavily booby-trapped, so the line between what constitutes a prank and what is life-threatening levels of defense is pretty thin.

     Also yes he would steal your wallet regardless of the verse.

          🦋 - Would they choose to die if it meant they’d come back as someone stronger?

    OH THIS IS A TOUGHIE.

    On one hand, no because he considers himself incredibly powerful already and wouldn’t want to risk losing out on that. On the other hand… depending on the time period in his primary verse, the desire for further power grows and wanes, and if he were to be caught at a particularly low point, I imagine it’d be hard to outright say ‘no’. It also depends on who the offer’s coming from and if they’ve managed to best him already - and just how much he trusts whatever they’re offering.

     LMK verse, same conundrum. Early on in the series? Oh 100% he’d be down for any offers if it meant he could prove himself as more than capable to his family. Later on after dealing with LBD [lady bitch demon]? He’d be hella on the fence and unwilling to trust it - he’s seen way too many overpowered zombie-adjacent guys hyped up on power to trust like that.

           THAT BEING SAID……… I did make this earlier :)

#fernbodied #◉ bite the hand that feeds ( ASK ) #◉ ( HC ) #// and thus the worms start wiggling in my brain.... #also just because he doesnt torture people and vibe while doing so doesnt mean his music taste is good: it is atrocious #and yes he would lie about his favorite music

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

12/03/2023 – 12/09/2023

Sunday

I checked out the first chapter of Ruirui Senki and was extremely bored by it. It feels like an amalgamation of all the popular Shounen Jump spiritual battle manga – selfless protag who always goes out of his way to help others in need, young-looking grandmother who’s also a mentor for the spirit battles, the spirits being manifestations of negative feelings, etc. My eyes immediately glazed over at the expository magic rules dialogue too, and the motivations for the glasses guy are so thin and basic but being presented like it’s really deep and thought-provoking. The only thing that this manga has an edge on over Jujutsu Kaisen or Dandadan is its immediate fujo appeal: uptight glasses guy who wants to do the right thing/laid-back chill guy who’s secretly a badass who protects glasses guy? Glasses guy literally sleeping on chill guy’s lap??? The fics just write themselves. This yaoibait definitely feels intentional, though I suspect it’ll be set aside once the main female lead from the opening color page is introduced proper. Maybe even a love triangle, who knows. The series is already derivative from the get-go, so why not. And them setting up a “problem solving club” of sorts at the end is just ripe for monster of the week material. I won’t be around to see it, obviously, other than to skim through and see if I’m right. Just a boring manga all around. (Also a weird nitpick, but the lettering in this chapter felt off… Some of the spacing and word fitting was just weird and bad at times… I feel like I’ve seen this letterer on other Shounen Jump works and I hadn’t noticed anything before, but this one looked a little rough. A product of crunch, perhaps? Overall it’s passable, but it’s just something that stuck out to me).

Undead Unluck was pretty good. I liked the random f-bomb being dropped LOL and I also like how the crash is what tears up Enjin’s hat to match how he had it in the last loop. Enjin’s mom is a classic “dying anime mom” with the low side ponytail to boot, but at least she’s a bit rugged and not kind and demure as dying anime moms tend to be. A few weeks ago I mentioned how I was excited to find out more about Enjin, but unfortunately I just find him a little one-note. The whole tough and ambitious delinquent-ish guy with straightforward ambitions and a heart of gold already feels a little played out… But at least with him on board, we can get on with what looks to be an exciting arc ahead.

Wow, the new Oshi no Ko chapter… Kana’s certainly taking a bold approach to things. Baring her own ugly feelings to invoke some emotional truth in Ruby for the sake of her acting…that’s pretty intense.

Dandadan was fun, I liked seeing Turbo Granny’s little adventure. Oh right, the anime was announced last week when this chapter was released! I’m really excited for it, and judging from the trailer I think I can trust Science Saru to do a good job. A quirky studio like that is pretty fitting for a quirky manga like this.

On the other side of the anime announcement spectrum is, unfortunately, Magilumiere… The trailer looked like any other modern shiny anime, and poster isn’t doing too much to sell me on the anime either…

The added crotch shadow alone is annoying enough, but Koshigaya’s whole facial expression has been nerfed so hard, and I don’t understand why they would have Kana hold her ID card when her reading manuals is a pretty big part of her early characterization?? The anime’s artstyle just doesn’t hold any of the original’s charm, either, and what little we saw of the Kaii in the trailer looked like regular anime slop with textures slapped onto it. I honestly don’t know if I’ll watch it… It’ll probably just make me sad.

All of that aside, the new Magilumiere chapter was pretty gripping. I constantly feel on the fence about whether or not Midorikawa will do a double-double cross, and I think I’m slightly leaning towards yes after this chapter. And, not gonna lie, seeing Shigemoto’s desperation at whatever this magic power chip thing is about is activating the gayship radar in my brain… Is he trying to stop them because it would grant Midorikawa more power than Shigemoto would like? Or…perhaps…the chip has some sort of downside that’ll harm Midorikawa, but he’s doing it to further his (and Shigemoto’s??) goals…? If it’s the latter, and Shigemoto subjected himself to these working conditions to protect Midorikawa from going so far as to bring harm to himself… The yaoi alarms are BLARING, especially with that last panel of Midorikawa smiling almost sheepishly as he mentions some sort of promise with Shigemoto… You know, before the betrayal, I was always hoping for some kind of ship fodder for Midorikawa since he seemed like a nice guy, but now the added edge of toxic yaoi is really elevating the flavour… This ship came out of nowhere but I’m a little obsessed with it already.

The One Piece chapter was fun, Kuma really is a good guy, huh. It’s kinda funny seeing Kizaru just hanging out and eating pizza with everyone. And seeing Ace again is so bittersweet…

A cute little Iroha/En moment to start off the Cipher Academy chapter. I have no idea who I actually ship him with since he seems to have chemistry with everyone, but this was pretty cute. And I’m glad we’re getting more insight into another one of Class A’s members! Aw Namasu is pretty cute, too. Cute chapter all around.

We watched a few more episodes of House, but I gotta be honest and admit that I was half-asleep through most of them.

Monday

Uhhhhhh

Tuesday

It’s fun seeing Pochita again in the new Chainsaw Man chapter. He really boils everything down concisely for Denji as he tries to move up through the hierarchy of needs. Will he ever actually attain self-actualization? I don’t know, but I’m rooting for him. I do hope the pets thing is a fakeout, and it doesn’t feel like Fujimoto’s style to kill off a bunch of animals…but who knows.

Watched some more House, but I was making dinner at the same time so I didn’t really catch much of the story. But it’s funny that House is cracking all these homoerotic jokes about Taub and Foreman living together, as if he and Wilson weren’t literally doing the exact same thing like a month ago.

Wednesday

The new extra chapter of Skip to Loafer was cute, but I have nothing to say about it.

We’re popping the biggest bottles today as Huddy has officially broken up! Somehow didn’t even last as long as Cameron and Chase’s relationship but this is for the best for everyone involved.

Thursday

I’m trying to procrastinate some work so I read the first chapter of Yan Ge’s Strange Beasts of China. Having dreamt of being a cryptozoologist in my youth, I do enjoy the premise a lot, and the first chapter shows promise with its light horror vibes and unique monsters. I could do without the pseudo-deep “maybe We’re the REAL beasts” musings but so far it’s passable.

Friday

Story-wise, not much actually happened in the new Undead Unluck episode, but I’m just happy to sit back and enjoy the stylistic direction. Knowing what I know now, though, I FEEL SO BAD FOR MY BOY SEAN AGHHHHHHH SAVE HIMMMMM also YESSSSSSS THE JUIZ MOMENT WAS PERFECT. I really like Juiz’s voice actress, too, she’s been really delivering on the recap and preview narrations as well as in the actual show. Another highlight for me was Shen saying that long sentence in Chinese – I think Hanae Natsuki did about as well as he could. He got pretty close in some places! Also them showing Lake Baikal when the night sky filled up with stars was so nasty (affectionate).

Saturday

A very cute and healing episode of SpyFam today, which is a nice respite after the tense action-filled episodes we’ve had. It’s all very very very cute, with some TwiYor fodder as a bonus, and we got a nice conclusion to Yor’s arc (even if it’s a little “yes I have re-affirmed that I will continue my status quo”). The scene with the adults in Anya’s life trying to impart the importance of honesty to her all while being massive liars themselves was some great ironic humor. I’ve always found it fun that in order to get the most use out of her abilities, Anya has had to learn to be mature in her own way and be receptive to the thinking and contradictions of the adults around her. This rough emotional maturity coupled with her childish whims is what makes Anya so compelling to watch.

Another chapter of Yuria-sensi no Akai Ito! I really enjoyed this chapter – it’s nice to see Yuria take some time off and socialize for once, even if it’s still to help someone else. Little Yuria is also super cute, I think the mangaka did a great job depicting his chaotic energy in a way that felt true to life. And then the conversation between Yuria and Ban was naturalistic and really hit upon some relationship issues that don’t often get explored in manga – even with the bombastic plot points of a secret gay lover and a secret family that’d be right at home in a soap opera, the central sticking point of Yuria’s relationship is about how Yuria herself is unwilling to give up on it, partly out of habit and partly out of stubbornness, and how this has forced her to sacrifice so much of herself and her life. But it’s great to see her take some small steps to reclaiming that time, such as when she admits to herself that she wants to be seen as desirable in her own right. I really love this manga, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

Managed to get in the new episode of Kusuriya before this post goes up. The tea party with Gyokuyou and Lishu is fascinating to watch play out in animated form. The silence of the room and the stiffness of ceremony and customs makes each spoken line feel weighty, and the subtle glances around the room feel like sharp analytical examinations of how everyone else is feeling. It’s almost Succession-y. The part where Lishu’s party whisper among themselves stood out to me for how it actually sounded like real whispering – typically you get a sort of half-whisper in anime, but this makes the setting feel realistic. Also now that I think about it, Lishu’s a really interesting character to me. She didn’t stand out to me before when reading the manga or light novel, but seeing her here with her small stature and clear anxiety, I can’t help but feel really bad for her. She’s been used as a political pawn for almost her whole life, and now she’s a teenage girl alone in a den of wolves and meant to navigate the socio-political web of both the rear palace and the country at large…her introduction made her seem almost like a brat, but I’m glad we’re quickly moving past that image of her. I haven’t gotten to any story arc in the manga or light novel where she features as a crucial figure in some political plot yet, but I hope that that’s on the horizon because it’d be really interesting.

Aww the return of the Maomao being tossed out of a room gag is so cute. And a weird thing that I noticed (because I’m insane and also it stuck out to my ear) was how Ah-Duo’s pronunciation of Fengming was weirdly decent and almost accurate, so kudos to the seiyuu there. THE GIRLS PINING FOR AH-DUO ARE SOOOOO REAL SHE’S SO HOT AND IKEMENNNNN. Ooo I really like the use of foreground and background as Maomao and the others walk through the corridor. Feels really alive and almost like a live-action shot. It looks like it’d be a useful animation trick to make a scene feel like it’s moving without actually needing to animate a lot. GAOSHUN SGHDJSFSDH turning a wilful blind eye to his master’s bad behaviour… It’s so funny seeing Jinshi’s childish side poke out, as well as his panic when he gets caught in the act. I also really enjoyed the squishiness in Lishu’s expressions in the scene afterwards, which peaked in her expression of panicked realization at the end. Agh, and a great revelation to cap off the episode. Really fantastic episode overall! Great pacing and dissemination of information, great performances, and great directing to boot. I hope that this is a sign that they geared up the production to bring the first half of this 24-episode cour to a strong finish.

#week in review #2023

[qqtahng]

im going to put some octo2 thoughts here now that i’ve had time to digest it. there will be spoilers

overall i think i liked octo2 as a game more than 1. im sad they (understandably) changed some (kinda broken) mechanics from the first game (sp steal/share on thief and tomahawk nerf..............), but we got some great qol updates, like no more purple chests and the hunter’s monster system got LEAGUES better. all the jobs got more powerful overall despite them nerfing some aspects (i dunno if like a 1.5/1.5 turn kill on galdera was possible in the first game....... insane), the new parts were so fun to use (vengeful blade!!!!!!! arcanist as a whole!!! aaa!!!)

the music and art too oh my goddd. i didnt think it could get better but somehow it DID and i just. its amazing, aesthetically, on all fronts. yasunori nishiki could tell me to kms rn and i would. gladly. for all the work he put into the ost. just, chefs kiss. i dunno what else to say.

love love love the new travelers tho. they’re all very colorful and whlie i do like some more than others (hi tem, hi castti) i cant say i actively dislike any of them. thats not much different from the first game.

the writing was overall more enjoyable than 1 too imo, tho i dont get why they had the split route thing when they had progression recommendations for them anyway and it ended up being like... not much of a choice. the crossed paths were really nice. it would’ve been a Lot of work but i wish we had one for every combination of traveler rip. throne and tems was so good tho, definitely my fave of the bunch.

that aside im not gonna lie, i did not vibe w hikari partitio or agnea’s stories very much.

hikari’s story i think just did not fit the 5 chapter format very well. it felt really rushed to me and like it didnt have much depth to it. it was serviceable but didnt feel exciting to me.

paritio’s was... idk it felt a little repetitive?? hes a funny guy i like him but i think his goals were just a little too mundane and also global to be very interesting. like compare “i wanna get rid of poverty” to “im on a journey to unravel the mystery of who i once was”. like one of those is more intriguing and believable :/

agnea’s just felt way too low stakes compared to everyone else’s. i did see someone point out that the game might’ve felt a little too dark without it, which is... fair?? i guess?? the first game was also pretty dark it just took a little while longer to see compared to like, half the cast having a murder happen in their ch1. anyway, my girl just did not have an interesting story arc. it was all “i wanna be FAMOUS” without very many trials and tribulations tbh. not enough character struggle for me personally.

the final chapter was interesting. it was really cool to see everyone band together narratively to fight vide. mechanically, i also thought vide’s fight was cool as shit. all 8 on the field at once!! wow!! i do think the first game tied everyone in to the Big Bad better tho. bc like, wtf are u doing making fucking *npcs* the relevant ones from agnea and partitio’s stories?? like even in the first game the traveler’s that had weak ties to galdera’s revival were still like... idk it was still *them* and it was formative to their characters?? we have a reason to like graham via alfyn, and a reason as to why hes important via tressa, arguably 2 of the most indirect ties to galdera in 1 imo--graham also inspired alf to save others, and his journal eventually helped tressa learn the value of things that arent contemporarily accepted as treasure. idk i also felt like ori’s personality switch was so last minute. same for tanzy’s backstory tho the tragedy as to why she would follow through makes more sense. neither of them really had any impact on their respective traveler’s character either. like they didnt do anything to change their goals or personality. very weak.

i also dont know wtf was up w that alfred hornburg thing. like hello??? wtf are YOU doing here sir, u have gone and messed up my placing of the game in the series timeline/universe

but yeah. that last little bit of negativity aside, octo2 kinda just does what the first one did but better in most aspects. great game would recommend if u played the first. if the first didnt vibe w u, maybe would rec if u didnt vibe w the first bc the second is less frustrating mechanically.

#ungracefulness #i do think positively on the game but i do elaborate a lot of my complaints here #i still love this game to bits

[andnofcksweregiven]

Universal Rule

jeff wittek x reader

warnings: fluff , smut (i’m sorry if it isn’t super great first time writing it 😅)

synopsis: this anons request basically

There’s a universal rule that females and males can’t simply be friends. Where it came from- no one seems to know however, as much as we try and deny it, the realization that there’s harbored feelings hidden deep within you reels its ugly head around.

Jeff Wittek, a man who some may describe to be as gorgeous as a God but as charming as a devil. His natural allure but timidness factor to the ever growing attention of many women, ones he tries to politely reject with a signature giggle- a sign that, once again, he’ll be going home alone.

Except, he wasn’t truly alone as everyone believed. Jeff had a blossoming friendship with a neighbor, from the second he helped her with the last box on moving in day, to the next second everything fell through the bottom and all over his feet- a plethora of clothing ranging from heavy jeans to delicate red panties. For Jeff, it was like a nightmare, slight pink hue dusting his cheeks, that was until a fit of giggles erupted from his new neighbor's lips.

From that day on, Jeff and Y/N were inseparable. In their world, they were friends, ones without any ulterior motives in their hearts or heads, although- to someone looking in, Jeff and Y/N were a ticking time bomb. Either the final chapter to the romance part of their individual books, or the greatest heartbreak and tragedy since Romeo and Juliet. 

Y/N was the first to realize and accept the fact that to her, Jeff was it. It tiptoed into her heart like a burglar, one who was preparing to wreak havoc on the one thing that no one had been able to possess in almost forever. It hit one evening, after Jeff was going on a rant about how there’s so much he has to do, and that even though he knows he’s working himself to the bone, he needs to make sure he’s growing. The vulnerability in his voice, the softness in his eyes melted Y/N- just like it had done to thousands of women before her. 

For Jeff, it happened when Y/N had dragged him on a 2 am walk with Nerf after finding him slumped over his computer recording the same voice over for nearly 20 minutes- the food she had bought going cold besides him. Nerf was hopping up her ankles as they walked, an almost puppy like behavior, barking happily up at her. Jeff had stepped back to capture the moment as Y/N carried on going further- he had slowly lowered his phone as he gazed longingly at a girl who you could compare to Aphrodite.

The universe runs on minutes, hours, days, months and so on. A singular second could be a turbulent moment in ones life. Jeff and Y/N had so many stored seconds from meeting, to the realization that your friend holds more power over your existence then another soul. Those seconds, as heavy as they felt, had fleeted away like distance memories to reminisce on later. Nonetheless, the universe runs on seconds.

Jeff had been running late for a usual movie/ catch up night with Y/N, which led to her deciding to take a brisk shower to calm her ongoing nerves. To her dismay, her mind must have slipped up the tiny detail of letting Jeff know she was in the shower, let alone the fact that he had a spare key to her apartment.

“I’m so sorry Y/N, I know I’m late but there was about 20 ninjas I had to fight off in the hallway an’ then a meteor was gunna come an’ hit-” Jeff voice slowly went quieter as he spun away from the front door, only to be met with an empty living room. “Huh, she must be running late as well” he thought.”fuuuuuck I need a piss, she wouldn’t care if I used her toilet”

He walked idly towards the bathroom, unaware to his surroundings as the only thought he was having was how much he was bursting. It wasn’t until a ear piercing shriek echoed off the walls as a naked Y/N stood stunned in the middle of the bathroom.

“Y/N!? HOLY FUCK I- I’M SO SORRY I-” spinning on his heel and running out the room as Y/N finally wrapped her towel securely round her.

“JEFF WHAT THE HELL?” she screamed at him once entering the living room, a pink faced Jeff sitting on the arm rest of her couch head in hands, from the sheer mortifying fact he had managed to see her whole bare silhouette.

“I’m sorry Y/N, I- I- I really needed the toilet...” a whisper that would’ve been hard to catch if the environment hadn’t been so silent. 

“Oh, well go on then I’m done anyways” retreating back into her room to put some article of clothing and a shred of dignity that might have been left in her. Whilst Jeff hurried back into the steamed up room, the blush growing more prominent by every thought of that singular second.

It carried on through out the night, the tension thick in the air, as Jeff kept replaying the moment- he felt like he was being engulfed by the steam from how hot he was starting to feel. The beads of water cascading down your heaving chest, your pillowy lips slightly parted from shock as your sparkling eyes stared directly at him. The more he fantasized, the tighter his shorts got- he was trying his best not to let his mind wonder but having you pressed against his right side, your delicate hands grazing his upper left arm- sending electricity through out his veins- it was leaving him dissatisfied. 

“Y/N?” his voiced wavered as he gazed downwards at the h/c haired girl,

“Yeah Jeff?”

“Can you look at me for a sec”

A slight giggle escaped your mouth, as you raised your head to stare longingly into his eyes. “Ok what do you want because this is a really good sce-”

A second.  

A second was all it took before your lips collided into a passionate yet sensual kiss. A kiss that had left you breathless and almost bare once he pulled away. The empty space between your lips seeming never ending, suddenly you grasped at the collar of his shirt as you fell back on the couch, Jeff following as he slotted himself between your parting legs. His lips trailed towards your jaw and down your neck- sucking and biting, leaving something more then just a memory behind.

Hot breathes followed by sharp movements of clothes being ripped off, after months of hesitation and refusal of the cardinal need to be with one another. 

Jeff's lips wrapped around the stiff peak of your right tit as his slightly rough textured hand, massaged the other one. To him, it felt like silk, soft and welcoming. He didn’t think he could feel better until he finally got a taste of you, a broad stripe up your slit, making you gasp and slightly arch your back off the couch as his forearm held your hips down. As he pulled his head back, the loss of contact had you whining until suddenly Jeff delved his head back in, sucking on your clit that a guttural moan escaped your bruised lips. Your eyes rolled back as you felt a tight coil in your lower abdomen as Jeff continued his attack in between your legs.

“Jeff I’m gunna, JEFF!” 

You came all over his tongue as he carried on lapping away, the taste of you making his mind hazy. Finally, he pulled himself up towards your face, your eyes hooded as you tried to catch your breath.

He placed a light kiss to the top of your head has he stroked your hair backwards, whispering and “are you ok?” to your hairline.

He was going to ask if you wanted to go on before he felt your hand wrap itself around his dick, slowly moving your hand up and down as you placed the tip against your entrance. Looking into your eyes for any shred of hesitance, but being instead met with lust. He kept the eye contact as he pushed himself further inside, a sharp intake of breathe being held inside your lungs as your walls enveloped around him. He didn’t start moving until you let the breathe out, followed by a slight nod.

He built up his speed start slow and hard before hammering into you, the tip of his dick hitting the spot you needed him too. Both of your moans harmonizing as the air carried them in the room, along with skin slapping. Jeff was insatiable. To him, you were like a new vice, one that he intends on never dropping. The constrictions of your walls felt like heaven as you gripped onto his dick, your groans and breaths becoming shallow and shaky as you neared your peak. A final hip shattering thrust, made you coat Jeff’s dick as he slowed down, nearing his own finish as his breathing became ragged until, at last, he pulled out and released on your stomach.

He collapsed beside you as your labored breathing filled the silence- the movie long finished. 

“Wow, I really wasn’t expecting that” you half heartedly chuckled, as you cuddled back into Jeff’s side, head resting on his chest.

Your head bounced as Jeff’s laugh echoed in his chest. “If I’m being honest y/n/n, neither did I”

“So what now Jeff? Can’t exactly pretend this didn’t happen” resting your chin on his chest, waiting to see his deep brown eyes that turned golden in the Sun light.

“Lets not then” he responded nonchalantly as your eyebrows crumpled together, his gaze averting away from the barren ceiling to yours, a smile gracing his lips as a deep emotion of love clouded his eyes “This is a second I never want to forget”

#jeff wittek #jeff wittek x reader #jeff wittek fanfiction #jeff wittek imagine #jeff wittek imagines #jeff wittek smut #jeffs barbershop

[coldshrugs]

getting better

pairing: alma greene/mason (featuring felix)

word count: 880

rating: T; language

note: a prompt for @wayhavensummer 8/15: cooking. alma is sick, and mason really should've texted nate instead.

💗---💗---💗---💗---💗

"I think it smells... okay so far." Mason stirs the simmering pot in front of him. It does not smell okay, and he sure as hell isn't going to taste it.

"Wait, add some of this—"

He blocks whatever Felix is trying to add. If he smells one more half-boiled vegetable, he'll lose it.

"No," he says, barely above a whisper. "It's got like five things in it already."

Felix doesn't know how to whisper.

"Wow, a soup with five whole ingredients. Let me tell you something, chef of the century, a little salt won't ruin your sad vegetable water."

The salt shaker flies across Alma's kitchenette, smacked from Felix's grip before he can sprinkle it in. It bounces across the counters, as if in slow motion, and their teeth clench tighter with each clang and clatter before Felix hurls himself across the space to stop it. He plucks it out of the air before it meets the wall.

Mason glares. "If you wake her up—"

"You did that! You understand the noise was the direct consequence of your action, right? Tell me you understand."

Being right doesn't make him less annoying. Mason leans against the counter, groaning into his hands.

"I know. I fucking know, okay?" He flings a dismissive hand toward the pot of soup that, yeah, looks a little miserable, even by his standards of food. "I just... What the fuck am I doing?"

"Making soup for your sick..." Felix winces in place of a label. The label. "Shit, I'm not actually sure what you guys are. Friends-with-benefits: hard mode? Extra-codependent fuck buddies? Dating?"

Mason leans his head back, long hair brushing the countertop, and groans again. Quieter this time, keenly aware of Alma's stifled breathing one room away. His ragged exhale carries through the singular, whispered word, "girlfriend."

It's... new.

Not just the label. The everything. The feelings, the proximity, the talking, and most of all, the fact that he doesn't hate any of it.

"Girlfriend," Felix starts, and the grin he's struggling to keep in check is far more giddy than Mason cares for. "She's your girlfriend? Our Alma is your girlfriend? When—how? Tell me everything!"

"No." He resumes his place at the stove, ladle in hand, frown firmly in place to ward off further questioning. God, this soup looks gross. "Okay, chuck some of that in here if you think she'll like it."

Felix frowns too, but adds a few shakes of salt.

"Fine, so you won't give me details. That's cool, I get it." He crosses his arms. "You care about her, and that's got to be terrifying for you."

"Terrifying?"

"Yeah. I mean, she's a human, which comes with all sorts of unfun life nerfs. That's why you're here now, right? Because she's sick?"

It's just a cold. She's been in and out of a low fever, sneezing pretty frequently, and right now she's wasted on night-time flu medicine in the middle of the day. She only had the one kind and refused to let him run out for the non-drowsy stuff.

He texted Felix for a resupply on medicine and tissues, and then shortly before falling asleep, Alma mentioned she was hungry. So here he is, stirring carrots and celery in salt water, under interrogation by his loudest friend, while the person occupying this unfamiliar space of "girlfriend" is one sneeze away from a nosebleed.

"I'm not scared." He turns off the burner. "She's gonna be alright. She's handled worse than a cold."

"Mason?" The tiny, nasal-y voice sounds miles away through the closed bedroom door, even with hypersensitive hearing.

Felix rubs his hands together, all traces of his previous frown forgotten. "Well, let's see you in action, Mr. Commitment."

Oh, he hates that.

Grumbling his distaste just loud enough to make the point, Mason spoons his concoction into a bowl and heads toward Alma's room.

Two light raps on the door before opening it. Cocooned in blankets, she turns over to watch him enter, disturbing the cat in the process. She's wrecked. Red-rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks, hair sticking out of her bun, nostrils flaky from blowing her nose, lips crusted at the corners. He swats away a few used tissues to sit on the edge of the bed, places the soup on the nightstand.

Felix leans against the door, and Mason can feel his disgusting glee from here.

"How're you feeling, sweetheart?" Mason pushes a few stray curls back from her forehead. It feels like the fever broke during this nap, thank fuck.

How many minor illnesses has Alma nursed herself through? She told him not to bother waiting this out, assured him he had more important things to do. Sure, she could handle this alone, sleep through the worst of it and try to get work done during the rare moments of lucidity. Holding herself together with acetaminophen and cough drops and the lie of "I feel fine." But Alma smiles, sleepy, squinty, grateful he stayed despite her protests, and where the fuck else was he supposed to be? This is his person.

It's new. It's everything.

"Like shit," she croaks. "Is that... Felix?"

Mason rolls his eyes as Felix waves from the doorway.

"How's it going, Alma? We made you some 'soup.'"

Alright, maybe the air quotes are justified.

"Soup? I could eat." Alma struggles to prop herself up on her pillow, so Mason grabs another one and helps her into an almost vertical position. She sighs with something close to comfort, "thank you."

Mason places the bowl in her outstretched hands, and forces himself to look away from her reaction.

"This is..." Alma mixes the clumps of chopped veggies with her spoon, doing a terrible job suppressing a painful-sounding giggle, "very clear. You know I have canned soups in the cabinet, right?"

"Canned soup!" Felix howls from the doorway, nearly doubled over. His infectious laugh spreads to Alma and makes her cough. "We could've avoided the nightmare broth altogether?"

"I'll eat your soup, Mason." Her hand brushes his arm and, for a moment, he's reassured.

She shoos away the cat and gives the spoon a testing sip. All three grimace before the verdict.

"Not bad, I guess. Needs more salt."

#azia writes #wayhavensummer #alma/mason #twc felix #i'm not editing this. consider it an exercise in dialogue #it fits the prompt if you squint #i just wanted an excuse to write some felix tbh #anyway i'm sorry that this event's gonna be oversaturated with almason this week #one day i'll make another mc but it's too late for this :'D #can you tell i've been watching entirely too much New Girl lately? i think it shows

[cruciology]

Hidden (part one)

part two here

Summary: Stiles finds himself jealous when you have a date.

“If I miss one more assignment in Harris’ class, my mom is going to kill me,” Scott said, looking down at his text book and rubbing his eyes as if that could make the words make sense.

“She knows you have a lot to do,” Stiles said, looking around the library. No one was paying attention to them anyways but Stiles still didn’t drop the w word. “Now that she knows, you know, everything.”

“Yeah, she knows I’m failing chemistry.”

“Harris is a dick,” Stiles shrugged. “He fails everyone.”

“My sister is passing his class,” Scott said, running a hand through his hair. “She can help me on the homework but I’m still screwed on the tests.”

“Speaking of your sister,” Stiles said, trying to sound as if he hadn’t been thinking about you all day. “I saw her talking to Jackson earlier.”

“About what?” Scott asked, looking up from his textbook.

“How should I know? Regular human boy hearing, remember?”

“Right.”

“But she was all giggly and hair twirly,” Stiles said. Scott looked at Stiles as if waiting for more information. Stiles huffed slightly. Scott could be so dense sometimes. It worked out in Stiles’ favor, but not in this case. “She was flirting with him, Scott.”

“With Jackson?”

“Yes, with Jackson.”

“Why would she flirt with Jackson? She doesn’t even like Jackson, she thinks he’s a dick.”

“We all think Jackson is a dick, but girls like dicks,” Stiles said. He winced. “That’s not what I meant, you know what I meant.”

“I know what you meant,” Scott agreed with a laugh. “Maybe you didn’t see it right. You know her just as well as I do, you know she wouldn’t be into Jackson, you’re just being protective.”

“I saw what I saw,” Stiles said. He tried not to say any more. Scott could be oblivious, but Stiles still didn’t want to be too obvious. He wasn’t even sure what he was hiding. He hadn’t done anything wrong. All he did was have a few dreams about his best friend’s little sister, who he had known his entire life. And yeah, maybe he had thought about you a lot while he was awake too. Sure, you had changed a lot in the last couple years, going from just the little dork he and Scott chased around the backyard with nerf guns into the prettiest girl he had ever seen in real life, but that didn’t change that you were Scott’s little sister. Scott didn’t even register Stiles as a threat like he did with all the other guys who would hit on you. That made him feel even worse.

“Mom picked up another shift,” Stiles jumped nearly a foot as you came up behind him, sitting in the seat next to him. “I don’t feel like cooking. Chinese?”

“Chinese is good,” Scott said. “Can you help me with chem tonight? I’ve been here my whole free period and this still doesn’t make sense.”

“You know I’m the grade behind you, right? I can do my best, but I don’t know what you guys are up to in your class.”

“Stiles can help,” Scott said. “I just really need a good grade on the homework.”

“Your regular from Da Hang, then, Stiles?” You asked him, giving him a gentle elbow.

“What were you talking to Jackson about?” Stiles asked, making you pull back slightly. Scott looked back and forth between you and Stiles, waiting for an answer as well.

“Uh, that’s your business how?” You asked.

“I’m your brother,” Scott said.

“He’s not,” You said, pointing to Stiles.

“He basically is, he’s just worried about you.” Stiles tried to hide his blush, a bubble of guilt settling in his stomach. “Jackson sort of has a reputation.”

“I know,” You said, leaning back in your chair, your arms crossed. “But he’s not so bad when you actually talk to him.”

“Oh, we’ve talked to him plenty, he still sucks,” Stiles said.

“Maybe I’ll bring up your concerns with him on our date Saturday,” You said, a tinge of anger biting into your tone. Stiles and Scott knew you hated when they babied you. You were only a year younger than them.

“A date?” Stiles asked, his voice raising and getting the attention of the librarian. She shushed him loudly. “A date, with Jackson Whittmore?” He asked, quieter this time.

“That’s not a good idea,” Scott agreed.

“Why?”

“Guys like Jackson don’t date sophomores unless they want something,” Scott explained.

“Then I’ll be sure to hide my credit card information,” You joked.

“You know what he means,” Stiles said. “He’s a creep, he doesn’t actually like you.”

“Wow,” You nodded. “Right, no one could ever like me.”

“Don’t be like that,” Scott said. “He meant-,”

“I’m kind of tired of you two dipshits translating for each other,” You said, getting up from the table. “I’m not talking about this anymore, I’ll see you two at home. Get me the number 33.”

“I’m driving you guys home,” Stiles interjected even as you started walking away from them.

“I’ll walk.”

Stiles shot up in bed, looking around his slightly messy bedroom. The house was empty except for him; his dad had an overnight shift. It took him a moment to realize what had woken him up. His cell phone was ringing next to him. It was twelve o’clock, he had only left the McCall house a couple hours ago. His heart slowed when he saw your name was the one lighting up the screen of his phone.

“What’s wrong?” He answered immediately. Scott and Stiles hadn’t asked you any more questions about the date, but you still hadn’t talked to them much after dinner. You went straight up to your room and Stiles didn’t see you before he left.

“Who said anything was wrong?” You asked calmly on the other line, but he could hear tears in your throat.

“It’s midnight, why would anyone call anyone at midnight unless there’s something wrong?”

“Can you come pick me up?” You asked.

“Yeah, where are you?” Stiles said. He held the phone between his shoulder and his ear, already pulling the first pair of jeans he found over his boxers. He grabbed his jacket and keys, sliding his shoes on without even tying them.

“Downtown, by the 7/11 on Hawkins,” You said.

“What the hell are you doing downtown at midnight on a Thursday night?” Stiles was already out of his house, almost forgetting to lock the door in his hurry.

“Don’t say I told you so,” You started. Stiles felt a lump in his throat. “I was really mad at you and Scott, you know I hate it when you guys try and tell me what to do-,”

“What did you do?”

“Please don’t tell Scott.” Stiles’ jaw tightened. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to know, and he certainly didn’t want to have to lie to his best friend. “Stiles, you can’t tell Scott.”

“I won’t,” Stiles promised as he got into his car, starting it and pulling out into the empty street. “What happened?”

“I texted Jackson,” You said.

“And you then just magically teleported downtown? Wow, that’s amazing, first werewolves, now this.”

“Stiles-,”

“I’m coming, don’t worry,” Stiles said. “I’ll be there in five, but I would just like to point out that I did tell you so.”

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