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ajbullet · 4 months

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My thoughts on episode 5 of PJO: spoilers (less points but more info on those points because OMGS)

-Annabeth knowing Percy is still alive when even Grover HIS PROTECTER wasn’t sure

-THE HUG! THE HUG! It wasn’t some awkward oh we have to hug in this scene thing like Leah went for that hug. Gripping his shirt, closed eyes, relieved sigh and all

- The fates were so cool to see. It was funny seeing just three old ladies in the mix of all the other people

- Percy being in shock the entire first part of the quest and now finally asking the important questions and feeling a tad overwhelmed. Such a realistic, delayed reaction to everything to has happened

- Ares. Not what I imagined, but bought into him eventually. It was a cool take on his character

- Not their heads popping up from behind that cement thing like whack-a-moles. Especially Annabeth

- Persassy and Sassabeth were not having it with Ares’ shit. Sassabeth came out of the gate swinging

- Grover staying behind????

- Oh my gods my percabeth heart was filled to the brim. I was on the edge of my seat for their every line to each other. I was INVESTED

- Annabeth hasn’t seen a single movie?? But why does that fit her character so well??? Post credit scene of episode 8 her and Percy movie date please?????

- WHAT IS LOVE BABY DONT HURT ME

- Not Percy using his powers for the FIRST TIME to save Annabeth’s life

- My girl is slaying with her braids and her tears. Love it

- “You’re better that this than me. You know it.”

- SHE. FUCKING. SAID. THE. THING. Where were you when Annabeth said Seaweed Brain for the first time? I was on my couch, crying and screaming and audibly gasping. Almost choked on my own spit (yes that information was necessary)

- He sacrificed himself for her again

- “I’m not leaving the Underworld without your mom” “I was gonna say come free me after the quest” Forgot the exact quotes but omg they know each other so well already

- Annabeth has come so far already. She sees the twisted, manipulative ways of the gods and unseats of accepting it and continuing it and ignoring it, she actively tries to put an end to it. Her friend isn’t “that way.” She is wise enough to know that she once was that way but wants to change. She is the best character not because she is perfect, but because she sees, acknowledges, and accepts her flaws and actively seeks to better herself. Every award to Leah im serious

- “Thanks for the emotional abuse and cheeseburgers” me to my parents 🫣

There’s so much more I want to expand on and point out and talk about but im probably just gonna make separate mini posts. Guys this episode was EVERYTHING

#percy jackson #percy and annabeth #percy jackon and the olympians #annabeth chase #percabetn #pjo series #pjo tv show #percy pjo #pjo fandom #percabeth #pjoverse #pjotv #pjo #pjo disney+#pjo spoilers #annabeth percy jackson #percy series

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chiwhorei · 9 months

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Bésame

Miguel O’Hara x reader

Tags: 18+ ONLY mdni, College AU, roommates to lovers, tooth-rotting love for this man, pussy-devouring, fingering, squirting, I wrote this in one go so you get what ya get

Word count: 2.3k- written in one, prolonged blackout

Notes: I’m fucking back bitches. I missed you, I missed this. I hope I stick around this time. This was supposed to be a blurb about squirting but the melancholy romantic won again.

Cross-posted to Ao3!

There’s something about the smell of crisp summer morning, the feeling of gentle air, humidity whispering across your face. The inescapable heat of late July is hidden from the world in its earliest hours.

“Keep up Mamí, I’m not getting stuck in the rain because you’re daydreaming.”

You pick up the pace, jogging in quick steps to catch up to Miguel. He’s farther ahead than you realized, strong muscles and wispy brown hair outlined by dark storm clouds.

Your breath is heavy, rattling against your ribs while you match the canter of Miguel’s long stride. He’s never gone easy on you, but your labored breathing makes him ease up a bit.

“What’s got your attention this morning? Or were you admiring the view behind me?” Miguel reaches up to adjust the cloth headband keeping his hair out of his face. His arms look like they’re chiseled from marble, strong, tanned skin flexes under the cutoff he wears in some iteration every morning.

Your eyes glaze over, not realizing the intensity of your gawking until Miguel’s eyes find yours. The color is deeper than usual, darker and melting into the black of his pupil. You write it off as the gloomy weather above, but he licks his bottom lip before relinquishing your stare.

You forgot what he asked you, but he doesn’t press the subject any further. Out of character, but appreciated.

“What time is your last class over tonight?” He asks, you fix your eyes on a stop sign ahead to avoid getting lost in his stare again. You see him from the corner of your eye, the angle making it seem that his gaze is focused on the bounce of your chest.

It’s just the angle, you sound even less convincing in your own head.

“Uh- well it’s Monday, so I have lab until 4:30.” You groan out the last part, ruminating on the long day ahead of you.

“My evening class got canceled for today, so I can take care of dinner tonight.”

You hum at him, his offer settles against your shoulders like honey. Something to look forward to at the end of a long day.

Sometimes he almost feels real.

He folded you into his life like melted chocolate. An easy, peaceful affection towards you since you moved in all those months ago. An offer to join his morning runs, filling a thermos of coffee for you to grab before leaving the apartment, coming home to dinner with that casual dismissal that makes your head spin.

“It’s no problem, mamí, that’s what roommates are for.” He’s always been so plain and earnest, smoothing over any objections with a sugary term of endearment and those big brown eyes.

Your heart aches so deeply when you forget that he’s just your roommate. Stabbing and twisting in your breastbone when you think about how much effort he must put in with dates.

You stop abruptly, feet cemented to the sidewalk and chest heaving rapidly. Miguel slows to a stop when he notices you missing from his side.

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re quitting, we’re two blocks from the apartment.” His voice is light, but his eyes fall from amusement to concern when he sees how hard your breath falls from your lungs.

“Whoa, what’s wrong, are you feeling okay?” He paces towards you and another deep inhale fills your senses with his musky scent instead of the rainy morning air you desperately need.

“I- I’m fine,” you struggle against the words, lifting your gaze to see Miguel’s sweat-slicked curls flop against his forehead.

You blame the early hour, or light-headedness, or a moment of delirium as your hand comes up to tuck the stray hair back under his headband.

“You’re so beautiful, Miguel.”

Your words tumble out, breaching the filter in the back of your mouth that keeps you from saying stupid shit to the man you’re stuck in a lease with.

Miguel’s breath hitches, concern falling away and filling its place with an unreadable expression. His eyes pace between your pupils, freezing the blood flowing under your skin. Why does his proximity make you act like a love-sick puppy? The frustration wells up, lining your tear ducts.

“That- I- I’m sorry.” You return his look with an awkward laugh, coughing around the lump in your throat.

Your body moves on autopilot, sidestepping his frame to make a run for it, but Miguel circles your wrist with a large palm. His skin is callused and warm as he pulls you to stand in front of him once again.

He holds you in his stare, burning eyes and the light grip of your wrist is more than enough to keep you in place.

There’s nothing more you can do but stutter around your tattered pride. Racking against your brain to find an excuse for your weird behavior. A possession? A moment of psychosis? You’ll call a priest later, but you first need to get away from Miguel and the sweet smell of cologne and sweat so you can think clearly again.

“Mi hermosa,” your balance is kicked out from under you as he holds both wrists against his chest.

Miguel’s lips dip down to you, you can almost taste his cherry chapstick as he traces his words above your mouth. You feel the first drops of rain as they hit Miguel’s cheek and bounce off your nose. Before you can taste that distinct cherry flavor, the angry crack of thunder pulls your bones from your skin.

“We need to get home,” you see a flash of lightning as it reflects in Miguel’s eyes, it splits the clouds and opens up a swollen reservoir- rain pounding down on the two of you, “we’re getting soaked Mig-“

“Say the word, Mamí,” He interrupts you, barely fazed by the storm that was ripped from your soul and clawed itself into the sky, “Tell me to fuck off and I’ll never try this again.”

Miguel drops his grip on your wrists, moving those eclipsing palms to the juncture of your neck. His lips beg for your touch once again and for the millionth time.

“Bésame.” Your accent is rigid and unpracticed, remedial at best but music to Miguel’s ears. His mouth meets yours in a wide smile, fingers finding purchase on either side of your neck.

His kiss is dripping and desperate, if you’re not careful you could drown right here and sink into the concrete.

All of the times you’ve imagined this moment are nothing compared to the real thing. He’s aggressive and hungry, licking into your mouth and vibrating your tongue with a growl.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Miguel bites at your lip before pulling away, his face is obscured in the pouring rain, “you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

How wrong he is, you think.

Miguel pulled you through the threshold of your shared apartment as soon as the door was unlocked, the only sense he has left is depleted- used up from keeping his composure while you fumble with your keys. His strong, broad arms circling around your waist to tug you ever closer, keeping your mouth open and whining against his.

Your feet lift from the carpet as Miguel lifts you up with the same effort as a paperweight. The feeling of his hands settling on your ass is the last pull against your unwinding composure. You’re legs wrap around his middle and you grind down hard against his abdomen.

“Fuck, I can feel your pussy through your leggings.” His words make you dizzy, grinding against him with a brainless rhythm.

“We don’t have to,” his lips trace down your neck between each word, “we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

The sincerity in his eyes hits you squarely in the chest and moving across your skin like fever.

“Miggy, I need you. Please, anything you give me- I’ll take it.”

Your even tone shocks the both of you, the most confident you’ve sounded all morning.

“Fuck, I almost want to make you regret those words.” His teeth graze the tender spot under your chin.

“But the first thing I want is a taste of that sweet little cunt.” You’re sure your knees would buckle if Miguel wasn’t holding you, the rough tambor of his voice will be the death of you- you’ll take your chances.

Miguel carries you past the small kitchen and living area, you don’t notice where he’s sat you until he pulls his lips away from yours.

His room smells like fresh laundry and pine, the bedspread he’s set you on is tucked neatly on either side and soft under your touch. You’ve sat in this exact spot plenty of times, to study into the late night, to watch reruns of your favorite show on lazy Sunday afternoons- but never like this.

Miguel pushes you lightly so your back hits the mattress, he spreads your legs apart at the knee and you feel the tight fabric of your leggings as it shifts against your pussy.

Your running set is tight against your skin, sweat and rain covering your trembling body so that every inch is sticky and damp.

Miguel’s pointer and middle finger rub against your pussy, memorizing the outline of your plush lips under thin nylon. He’ll tuck the image into the back of his mind in case he needs it later.

“Mmm, no panties this morning,” he muses, pressing his thumb against your clit.

Miguel pulls at the fabric on your pussy, letting it snap back against your skin, you can feel the tight material drenched from your aching pussy. You want to tell him that you can hardly take this teasing, but all that comes out is a wobbly string of please, please, please.

“Don’t worry, Mamí, I’m gonna take care of you.” Your thoughts don’t catch up to him until the chill of open air hits your bare cunt. Your soaked leggings are tossed to the corner of his almost clinically clean room.

Miguel takes a moment to marvel at the sopping wet pussy he’s got trapped against his mattress.

“Que maravilla,” he kisses his words flatly against your puffy lips before coaxing them open with his nose. His face is covered in you already, glistening across his lips and chin. But it’s not enough, it won’t be enough until you drown him.

His tongue laps at you like you’re what’s keeping him alive. He kisses with his mouth open, collecting your offering to him and drinking it down with every flat lashing of his tongue.

You taste tangy and sweet, a heady mix of sweat and pheromones that pulls him in ever closer. Desperate to drink his fill of you. Every long swipe at your sloppy hole is dotted with a kiss, every inch of skin is electric- zapping against your clit with every measured nip.

Miguel’s fingers find their way to rest against your pussy, pushing in gently when he’s satisfied with how well his tongue worked you open.

Once the digits are wettened, Miguel pushes two in to the first knuckle. He groans at the feeling of how welcoming your pussy is, how responsive you are to his touch.

He licks his praises against your soft skin as your muscles relax around the thick intrusion. His vision fuzzy at the edges thinking about how you’ll take his cock. The thought is pushed back for now, lingering on it could break you when he’s just gotten started.

Your hips rock down against him, catching your clit with his wide palm.

Your whimpering emboldens him, cock weeping in the waistband of his shorts. He’s harder than he’s ever been, the frustrating ache in his balls is poured right into the quickening pace of his fingers. He needs you to break- crumble into pieces so he can put them back together.

“Miguel, fuck, I need- you need to slow down or I’m gonna“

Your pleas fall on deaf ears, Miguel is hypnotized at the sight of your pussy spilling over against him. He doesn’t relent even as you cry out and shake under him. He doesn’t miss a beat as your pussy squelches, clear liquid splashing against his chest.

“Oh fuck, you didn’t mention you’re a squirter.” His pace is torturous, pumping against that spot deep inside you that turns you into a puddle.

Once his other hand comes down to circle your clit, you know that you’re done for. The fear of letting loose like this is something that holds your rigid body from completely letting go. No one’s ever pulled you from that damn before, but Miguel has torn it down completely.

“Let go for me, Mamí, need to feel you cum against my fingers, need to see you squirt for me again.” The words drip from his mouth like hot syrup and coat your stiff muscles.

He pulls more out of you with each pump of those skilled fingers, more than you ever thought you had in you, more than you could imagine.

You cry as you cum, tears spilling over your cheeks in fat streams. The feelings you’ve kept inside for Miguel, the schoolgirl crush, the craving, the primal need all splashes against the both of you with the telltale spasm of your cunt against his fingers.

Your mind feels like it’s been dipped in wax, dripping from it’s fixed position to coat your shoulders. He makes quick work of tugging you back down to earth, lying next to your limp body with an anchoring hand on your stomach. He coos you, whispering praise into your hairline.

The sun peeks through Miguel’s window, clouds moving on to the next town and leaving the still early morning to brighten up the sky. Your face feels hot in realization.

You’ve got a long day ahead of you.

* * *

All work is mine blah blah I don’t wanna go find my old copyright thing but I’ll piss in your water supply if you steal this.

#miguel o’hara smut #miguel o’hara x reader #atsv miguel #miguel o’hara #atsv x reader #miguel spiderverse

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chosobeee · 6 months

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𝓕𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓐𝓼𝓵𝓮𝓮𝓹 𝓞𝓷 𝓗𝓲𝓶 ♡

Pairing: Itadori Yuji x GN!Reader

Word Count: 883

Warnings: Just a lot of fluff, very self indulgent. Yuji is SMITTEN. Mostly proofread, but there could still be mistakes.

A/N: I will be making more of these for different characters, but I got a little carried away with this one and now it's 2 in the morning, so go me :D This is my first post in a VERY long time, so please be nice, I know it's no where near perfect. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy! xx

- You guys probably stayed up too late binge watching each other’s favorite movies together.

- Yuji was very immersed in the movie you picked out. He would occasionally turn to you to say something or ask questions about it to make sure he was getting everything right. He cares about your hyper fixations, okay?

- He also loves to try and predict what’s gonna happen—and he’s very good at it. It takes everything in you to keep a straight face when he guesses things correctly, because you don’t want to ruin the surprise. Though the excitement of watching him react to your favorite pieces of media is hard enough to control as it is.

- About an hour into the third movie of the night, you started to feel your eyes grow heavy and your breathing even out. You became less reactive to the movie and more focused on trying to stay awake. You really didn't want this night to end just yet.

- Yuji didn’t really seem to notice this, as his attention was fixed on the screen, his brows furrowed and mouth slightly parted. You would’ve chuckled at him if it weren’t for how tired you’ve become.

- Sleep slowly but surely creeping up, you burned the image of his adorable concentration face deep into your mind to cherish it forever. If only you had the energy to snap a real photo, but this will have to do.

- Finally, your eyes closed for the final time that night, your body deciding that it was indeed bed time.

- Yuji felt a warm weight fall against his bicep, and with a soft sound of surprise, turned to see you had fallen asleep on him. His heart suddenly swelled with adoration as he looked over your sleeping figure. He nearly stopped breathing, almost terrified to wake you.

- It took EVERYTHING in this man to hold back his cute aggression. I mean, look at you! All snuggled up against him, breathing softly between parted lips, cheek smushed against his arm.

- His face grew hot and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. No matter how much he wants to give you the biggest hug and squeeze, he could just never disturb your peace like that.

- With how tense things have been getting in the world of sorcerers, it was becoming a rare sight to see you like this. Fully relaxed, heart and mind free of any fear or worry. It brought a little tear to his eye.

- He already made it his life’s mission to protect you, but moments like these really cement that. He wants to keep you like this, undisturbed and at true peace with the world—with him. He'll continue to fight like hell for that to happen.

- A new ache in Yuji’s upper back snaps him out of his thoughts, and a new worry takes hold.

- What does he do now? Does he stay here? Or should he carry you to your bed so you can sleep properly?

- If you stayed here on the couch with him, Gojo would surely find you guys in the morning and you would never hear the end of it. Not to mention you would probably be a bit sore when you woke.

- But if he took you to your bed he risked waking you and he wouldn’t be able to sleep by your side. The thought makes him pout a bit.

- The decision was so small but seemed so huge to him in that moment. Poor guy nearly panicked, thinking a little too hard. Steam practically rolled out of his ears, going over the pros and cons of each choice.

- You shifted a little in your sleep, and his breath hitched in his throat, watching, waiting. But you didn’t wake, eyes firmly closed shut, still breathing slow and steady. Your face twitched a little bit as you let out a content noise, to which Yuji smiled.

- Ultimately though, he decided to stay out here with you. He could deal with Gojo’s teasing, as he already does every day. Plus he could easily just figure out a way to turn Gojo's teasing to Megumi. He just really wants to stay by your side tonight, feeling extra clingy and affectionate.

- He maneuvered you carefully so your head was on his chest, and your body immediately adjusted accordingly. You balled some of his sweatshirt in your hand and nuzzled your head deeper into his warmth. He laid back as far as he could manage, arms wrapping around you and squeezing lightly. His thumb traced absentminded circles on your shoulder.

- Though his heart was nearly pounding out of his chest, you didn’t seem to notice as you began to snore lightly. Heat crept up his neck as he held back a squeal of adoration, bottom lip jutting out, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.

- See? You don’t even have to try and he folds for you. He always has and always will.

- Yuji feels so at peace with you. And knowing you feel safe enough to fall asleep around him, letting your guard down completely--it makes him feel a strange sense of pride.

- He doesn’t think he’ll ever get over the fact that you chose him. He’s thankful every single day that he not only gets to know you, but gets to be the one you’re closest to. The giddiness probably won’t ever go away. And you feel the same.

- After a while of fawning over you, he felt sleep begin to carry him away, too.

- With a smile on his face and you wrapped in his arms, he fell into his slumber, waiting to wake up to your beautiful face in the morning—something he hopes he can do every morning for a long, long time.

#yuji itadori #yuji x reader #itadori x reader #yuji itadori x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader

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kanmom51 · 6 months

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JM's Production diary Documentary

And Live 23 October 2023

So, I don't know how to do this.

Write about JM's documentary separate from his live.

Write about the two without being all over the place.

Because not too much happened, and yet so much did.

So, where do I start? How do I get through this?

At this point I have so many ideas running through my head for posts, so much so that I'm not sure just yet how this post will work out, given that everything intertwines.

I still have JM's previous live to work on as well. Yeah, kind of overwhelmed at the moment.

I guess I will just get on with it, but I do think that more than likely there will be things I will either save for another post or two or three, or forget something (that I can guarantee) or just post on repeat, cause some things we just cannot get enough of.

Let's talk about the documentary a bit.

We got to see the process of JM creating his songs. How they would start with the idea, the narrative. Then the melody, instruments and the vocals and then the actual lyrics.

JM's musicality, his talent, his creativity all showcased.

We also got to see just how nice Pdogg is. How much he loves JM, how respectful he is to him, not to mention how talented he is himself. As a matter of fact, the whole team that worked with JM were super nice and talented and they just all seemed to be having a good time, even while working to the bone.

Oh, and how none of them actually knew English, lmao.

In the documentary we were shown how JM and Pdogg chose the quote from the movie to use in the song. Only that it wasn't the one they actually used in the song itself. And that is because, as JM revealed to us in the live, they picked it without knowing what the characters were talking about, picking a convo between the characters that sounded nice to them at the time, something that would suit the song. All while the two characters were actually talking about a visa, lol. And JM, well, he found that super funny (which truthfully, it really is), so he repeated it a couple of times.

We also saw RM in the documentary sitting down with them talking about writing lyrics. Only for JM to share with us that:

Which JM found to be very funny. I guess now it is, but back then... not sure he shared that same sentiment, lol.

He kept on laughing about him being an idea bank, lol. It's ok to acknowledge your genius, man!!!

Hobi and then Jin show up in the comments while JM is watching the documentary. And I was surprised at that point, given that I really did think JM wouldn't be doing this live, that it would have been pre-recorded. But it wasn't, and thank god for that, cause we all know what happened later on. Less than 1.30 minutes out of an almost 2 hour live, but gosh, what a 1.30 minutes they were, lol.

Anyways, Hobi shows up and JM goes all shy and even stops playing the documentary telling him to leave, that he won't continue playing until he does.

Guess who won that fight, lol. Hobi, of course. JM gives in and continues, once in a while saying they will go away at 9 pm (Jin came in to say that there is some kind of something military related, lol).

Letter

Yes, let's actually start with the name of the song.

Cause for some reason, although they all talk about the song using the word pyeonji (Letter), all while the translation is Dear.Army. Like what the actual fuck? Why would they do that?

Well, we kind of know, don't we?

Someone (cough Hybe cough) is working super hard to cement the song is for the fans.

Please tell me, if this was a song completely meant for the fans, why this incessant need of the company to sell this to us? Why change the name of it in the fucking documentary, while JM and the others are literally saying the word "letter" translating it to "Dear.Army"? There is only one answer I can think of here. And you know exactly what that answer is.

I'm not going to go back to all the reasoning as to why this is way more than a song for fans, I feel like we've discussed this ad nauseam. I will only say that NOTHING we saw in the documentary contradicts what we think about Letter.

You can see, throughout the process how emotionally tasking the song is for JM. And yes, a song for ARMY could be emotional, I mean both JM and JK have immense love for ARMY, and we've seen JK burst into tears talking to army or about army, JM getting very emotional himself. But this, this was more. There are moments there when you can see the anxiety just bursting out of JM.

This song was just MORE.

Especially when you take everything you see in the documentary, JM's state of mind, his words, his behaviour, and add it all up with the lyrics, even more so the missing lyrics. Would be hard to explain how "dongsaeng" fits into "this is a song for army"... Add it to the hidden track. But not only it being a hidden track, it's a hidden track only on the physical CD. Not the digital CD. So, no streaming. A track for Army, for his fans, that not all of his fans get to hear freely? A track for Army that, hmm... maybe wasn't supposed to even be in the album?

We got more than 2 seconds of JK. That's worth a mention too, no?

When I saw this I was: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Cause, no way under the sun, yes, pun intended, that this was about ARMY.

Army was NEVER REFERENCED AS THE SUN BY ANY OF THEM.

NEVER.

You know who was?

The level of emotion we see from the two of them throughout the process... this was so personal.

I rewatched it again today before writing these lines. It's JK's body language, it's JM's body language, it's JM going in to cup JK's face when telling him he wrote a fan song, and JK's reaction.

Dare I remind you that "Still with you" was classified by JK as a "fan song". Dare I remind you what our sentiments about that song are? Yeah, a fans song.

And I will remind you, not that you need the reminder, who happened to state for all of us to see that he was JM's fan. Happening to do so during JM's promotions of Face and before JM's Face Live, which I do not think was a coincidence AT ALL.

They are just precious. What else can I say?

There is this as well.

Also, I don't think I'm the only one seeing this. JK at the end going in for a hug, but JM, reaches out for a hand shake and a bow.

He bows.

Twice.

Now, the not going in for a hug could be one of two with JM. The first could be that it was too emotionally charged and that hug, in front of the cameras, will just be too hard. Too hard not to show the emotions. Too hard to break off.

Or, the second could be that by doing this, bowing the way he did do JK, he was showing us, the spectators, just how profoundly thankful he was for JK, and for his participating in the song.

Now that I think of it there could be a third reason. Which would be the combination of the two.

You know what I also noticed there?

That JK didn't bow back.

So, that's more or less what happened with them in the documentary. Not too much talking, when there is it's subdued, understandably so, given this is all done in front of the cameras. But, there is an undertone of emotions there.

Oh, and did I mention we see JM wearing the very important, at the time, necklace throughout the documentary? On that day of recording as well.

And happy little coincidence them wearing the black and white bucket hats? Lol.

Ok then. By now we all know that JK joined the live. And he does it exactly when they started letter. Quelle surprise. Quelle coincidence. Or was it?

Observations:

JK is too skinny. JM thought so too all while grabbing his tiddy.

JK is really tired. Said he was practicing. Eyes red. He needs to eat and sleep.

JM was genuinely surprised by JK's appearance. Th way he lights up, he was surprised and giddy and excited, his whole body movement, practically dancing in his seat with glee.

JK walks in holding his right hand in place. At first I thought maybe it was injured or hurt or unable to move, a cramp maybe, like the ones JM suffers from at times. But later on it looked like there was nothing wrong with his arm. So was that his way of holding himself back? Restraining himself? Containing himself?

JM signals for JK to talk into his mic,

Pulls the mic up forward away from his chest, and as JK comes closer he lets it go and leans back for JK to move in.

And JK, well why? The mic is right there. Why does he lean in lower? To say hello to Army? Talking to JM's what? Not the mic, that's for sure...

There did not seem to be a chair there next to JM when the live started, and when JK was leaving JM had him take a chair with him. So, as JK came into frame were the staff assuming he's going to be joining JM for the rest of the live? Also making sure to hand him a mic?

And then, JM asks JK "why did you lose so much weight?", all while reaching out his arm, and JK moves forward towards him, and you can see JK's eyes moving down to JM's arm all while JM just goes for JK's chest. Just going straight for the grab.

And JK, he loses it for just a second.

Sniff, gulp, giggle...

And we are back.

JK laughingly tells us he just practiced. But kind of still dumbfounded I guess.

And then I think JM came to as well (you know, awakening from the aftershock of his own actions, lol) and tells JK "time to go", or more so "get the fuck out of here as fast as you can and take that chair with you while you're at it, cause if you don't leave now I'm going to jump your bones right here right now".

Ok, so maybe he didn't say those words exactly, but that was the sentiment, lol.

JM apologises. Thrice.

For sending JK on his way.

And we get the hug. One of those Jikook in front of the camera hugs.

And again JM rushes JK to leave, smacking his butt while he's at it.

JK grabs the chair, tells JM to enjoy watching with Army and tells us he loves us on the way out. And JM sitting there watching JK, giggling, smile plastered on his face, waving by. But that isn't the end of it.

Because as JK leaves JM follows him with his gaze, until he waves him goodbye and only then gets back to the documentary.

And this is when we lost JM for a few minutes there during that part of the documentary, and even more so when JK was on screen singing or during their interactions.

And we also got this reaction to their hug.

What was going through your mind at that moment JM?

After JK leaves there is not too much left until the end of the documentary. And then we have a JM giggles attack. And the man is telling us he's laughing about balloon placements, but seriously, do we really think that's it?

And yes, JM was as always his own shy self while going it alone, and yes, he was finding it hard where to go with the live once the video was over, but this was just more than just plain embarrassment or shyness.

Could there have been someone there waiting for him? Someone that has that kind of effect on JM perhaps?

I don't think JK was there the whole time. He really did leave when JM was waving him goodbye (if he hadn't have left JM wouldn't have been able to get back to the documentary the way he did). But possibly, very possibly, lover boy went to shower and came back in time for JM's ending.

JM tells us during that giggle attack that he will post a pic of the funny balloons only to later post a pic of 19 balloons, the ones in the front shaped like an S. And why do I feel like that was JK's doing? The S shaped balloons...

Clearly the balloons were not placed that way at first.

Someone did this. Question is which one of them. The S, the 19, not a coincidence.

I guess that's it for this post.

Like I mentioned, I know I probably forgot stuff, and there will probably several posts to follow.

But I just needed to get this one out there for you guys. And I guess we'll add on as we go (especially seeing that I've reached my image limit here, as usual).

To sum this up.

WOW!!!

#Jimin #JM #JM's Production diary #JM's documentary #Jikook #kookmin #Minkook #Jungkook #JK #Jikook Letter

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bbcphile · 4 months

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Thoughts on character and costume?

I really love how the respective characters have different colour palettes, silhouettes but in particular material/textures to their costuming. Fang Duobing is a little princess so he gets pale pastels, fancy ornamentation and transparent gauzy fabrics which I find so cute, he’s not just rich he’s *expensive* and *pretty* it’s pretty funny that he matches the actual princess in the red leaves mountain case

DFS gets your wide shoulder bad guy rich deep colours with thick layers and lots of metal detailing but it veers towards grand instead of pretty. Hot topic young DFS is leather and studs lmao. Brocade and fur & shit.

LLH is a linen boi and he almost never has any metal on him, we all know his natural material hair ornament meta etc. Interestingly, he does share some colour palette and fabric overlap with FDB, we se him with his tits out transparent outer layer sometimes. No structure all flowy silhouette

someone on here made a post abt their differing sleeve styles but I can’t find it!

I wanted to gush but also do u have any extra costume thoughts + how they relate to one another? You have a great knack for finding good photos of the show too 😅

Thanks for the ask, @lei-llustrations , and I love your analysis of the outfits! I'm so sorry it took me forever to respond! I had grand plans for a full essay analyzing DFS's costumes, and then I ran out of spoons for doing that. (The short version of the point I was going to prove is that his a-Fei outfits have elements of what seem to be his favorite details from his fancier alliance leader outfits, so it seemed like evidence of LLH trying to make up for making him be in disguise and without his power. I'm thinking of the maroon-red one with studs in the sleeves in particular, but there are echoes of his preferences in the other ones, too.)

Since I'll never actually respond if I wait to put that meta together, here's a shorter one, with my thoughts on DFS's official Alliance Leader robes (screenshot taken from ep 40, when delivering the wangchuan flower).

LLH and FDB both call him Di mengzhu in the wangchuan flower scene, because he's clearly dressed in a way that makes this an Official Visit. I find it fascinating that he wears his alliance leader outfit instead of his grey, maroon, and gold outfit that he wears for non-alliance matters (aka. the wedding room outfit, which he also wears for such Xiangyi-related purposes as the reunion duel that doesn't happen and grieving for him in the middle of the night). After all, he's giving LLH a gift to save his life and issuing him a friendly anniversary honeymoon challenge, so you'd think that would call for his dating outfit, not his official garb.

BUT! What if he's using his official Alliance Leader regalia as a way of saying that not only a-Fei/Lao Di, but also Di Mengzhu and the Jinyuan Alliance want him to live? It's more than just essentially creating Peace Treaty version 2.0, and trying to get life back to what could have been if SGD and JLQ hadn't ruined everything: their people at peace, and the two of them meeting for friendly duels rather than death matches. Yes, only LLH and FDB are there to witness it, but by showing up in his Official Capacity, he's also correcting all the narratives about the enmity between himself and Li Xiangyi, and in giving him the flower, he's officially declaring that Di Mengzhu wants Li Lianhua to heal and have his strength and power back more than he wants to gain martial arts power himself.

This is a HUGE deal. DFS formed the Jinyuan Alliance as a way of climbing the ranks of the jianghu, because his goal was to gain strength so he'd never be helpless or forced to do someone's bidding again. And yet, he wears the outfit that symbolizes that striving and his place at the top of it to GIVE AWAY THE FLOWER THAT WOULD CEMENT HIS PLACE AT THE TOP OF THE JIANGHU. He wants Li Lianhua to not just live but also to regain the strength SGD and JLQ stole from him, which would mean that Li Xiangyi would quite possibly defeat him, and he would welcome that, because it's not about self-protection anymore: now, what he wants more than anything else, is for Li Xiangyi/Lianhua to live.

If that's not enough of an emotional gut punch, try this: Di Feisheng told Li Xiangyi at the start of the show that swordsmen shouldn't have weaknesses. Di Feisheng has only really had two "weaknesses" (vulnerabilities might be more accurate): his desiring the wangchuan flower (which led to SGD and JLQ incapacitating him) and Li Lianhua. It feels like a monumental shift to me that, at the end of the show, Di Feisheng hands one weakness to the man who is the other: essentially, he is announcing to the world that nothing is more important to him than Li Lianhua's recovery, and he doesn't care who knows it.

It also feels very pertinent that his official outfit is wedding red, and he's essentially showing up in his fanciest remaining outfit to offer Li Lianhua his heart on a platter priceless magical flower in a box the way someone might show up at the house of their beloved with boxes and boxes of betrothal gifts. Not that DFS explained that or LLH picked up on it, because that would involve better communication skills than either of them had.

#mysterious lotus casebook #mlc meta #lianhua lou #lhl #asks answered #Di Feisheng #Li Lianhua #Fang Duobing #costumes #feihua #dihua

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nicoleanell · 1 year

Note

I would love to hear your meta on the scene from Renfield with the priest and the vampire hunter, if you’d be willing to share!

SURE, THANK GOD YOU ASKED.

My thing with that scene is it was peak Give Renfield A Hug and also the most irredeemable thing he does in the movie short of destroying some kid's ant farm, and that instantly made me fall in love with him.

I like the fact they made Renfield an aggressively sympathetic character and at the same time not wholly innocent. Robert Montague Renfield is neither a good guy or a bad guy but he deserves to be okay. (Also he may come off way more "sane" as movie Renfields go but he's not a well person lol, and the fact he's in an all-gender support group for abuse survivors very rapidly becomes not so much A Joke as it is the Entire Point of the movie.)

In the flashbacks, it's totes played for comedy and riffing on the 1931 movie and there's a little bit of an "unreliable narrator" vibe to it when Renfield's like, it was good we had great times etc. :))) We don't really know how in control of himself he is or how much he's whitewashing. But then we get the church/vampire killer thing and there's like... the first seed of something more real going on. The movie tells us upfront that the last time Dracula was almost defeated he stopped it, willingly, and it wasn't normal vampire enthrallment stuff as much as a very human emotional choice.

There's some heavy-handed manipulation happening and it's *completely* non-supernatural. They'll lock you away. I'll protect you. I care about you. And Nic Hoult's big woobie eyes hold all the sadness and isolation and genuine hope/desire to be loved, and it's unhealthy attention but there's nothing better out there for him. 🥺 <- emoji rendition of Renfield and also me.

Oh and for good measure his "he really means it this time" internal monologue is 100% meant to sound like toxic/abusive boyfriend stuff he's echoing from the support group, which is A Joke in this movie until it's not anymore.

(Side note, I saw you mention this in another post - the mental institution headcanon is Valid. I would've liked for it to be explicitly in there somewhere but as far as I'm concerned nothing *contradicts* it and it's one of like 3 facts people associate with Spiders Georg over here. So I'll take that crumb that the threat of him getting locked up is just as likely to be in an asylum (again) as a jail. And yikes the legitimate fear of that being WORSE than the hell he's currently in.)

And the second he does the thing, some priest *completely proves Dracula right* by immediately throwing more guilt and blame on Renfield and being like YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYONE ELSE HE KILLS NOW. Which, fair! But also, dude, you're being the opposite of helpful here! Lmao fucking Catholics. He knows this! It's why he can't get out! Of course he chose Dracula and he did it on purpose and he did it because of trauma and it *cemented* him being trapped forever. This is the climax of an entire other movie in which Renfield is probably not the main character but would definitely end up my problematic fave anyway.

SO YEAH. Between that and the reveal he left a whole wife & kid, there's such an interesting theme of guilt/shame on top of self-esteem and learned helplessness issues I was not anticipating in this movie. It's important for him to get to a place of: "I want to blame this legitimately awful monster but I also did SOME of this to myself, and when I can accept that without immediately going into a fetal position, it gives him less power over me."

Does not remove his power completely! 'Cause Renfield 2023 is also not, like, saying that you can just Easily Decide To Leave Your Violent Abuser. But the affirmations about being enough and deserving better and seeking better in spite of having failed or fucked up before are important.

#renfield #renfield 2023 #local-redhead-bookworm

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thenamesmobu · 11 months

Text

A message to the TSP community

(Uhhh warning? Slight vent)

Ehh it's nothing all that bad or anything

Okay, so, sorry that this is something that I don't usually post. But I just got some things to say for a moment here.

So, I have a hard time in blending in at school. Almost everyone sees me as the quiet and sensitive kid. I've been trying to make them try to see me differently, but it feels like they just gently push me away because they're scared of me. I'm no good at starting conversations (in my native language) so what I do is that I'd throw topics of smalltalks and just hopes that one of them turn into a full on conversation. I wanna fit in, but it's just hard to do so when your reputation has been cemented into everyone's minds. I know I need to socialize in real life instead of being in it online all the time, but for the time being, I wanna thank the community that made me feel like I belong somewhere.

TSP fandom. Fellas, let me tell you just how much I've been thriving here. From the previous fandoms I've ever been in, I have never felt like I'm in my best place. I actually talked, made new friends, my art and writing has been improving rapidly, and overall it's just been amazing and thrilling. I thought that joining this community would be like any other fandoms I been in, have fun for a while and then just move on. But for this fandom, my god, I feel like I fit right in, I feel like I belong, I feel like people actually wanna talk to me and they're willing and interested to listen what I have to talk about. I feel the most happy here from any fandoms by far. And for someone who has trouble fitting in irl as I've stated, I couldn't be more grateful.

You guys, thank you so much for accepting me into the fandom, thank you so much for noticing me, thank you so much for loving my art, my characters, and my writing, thank you so much for making me feel like I belong.

Alright, that's pretty much what I have to say for now. My account had reached over 100 followers lately (Idk if I've said that yet, but eh), I'll be holding a dtiys as a celebration for this milestone. Once again, thank you so much TSP fandom, I LOVE YOU ALL SM MWAH /plat💙

#the stanley parable #the stanley parable ultra deluxe #tsp #tspud #thank you #thank you so much #mobu speaks

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saintmurd0ck · 7 months

Note

RHI!!! A million congrats on 2.5k, I can't think of anyone who deserves it more 🥰 and so glad you're back and feeling ok! For the train, I'd loveee to take a trip to 86th st with Mikey Kinsella and “please, for the love of god, shut up for once.” “why don’t you come over here and make me?” i think the way you write it would be SO gorgeous and interesting ❤️ and also because im a slut, i just know id LOSE it over a stop at Heuston Station with Fratt x reader and ❛ you want gentle? wrong fucking address. ❜ Anyways I'm so so excited to read everything you do for this event 🥰 congrats again!!

all fired up

join my sleepover | main masterlist

pairing: michael kinsella x reader

warnings: amanda slander, a tiny bit of spice (minors DNI), aggressive michael / reader, yes we're a little mean but dont worry he gets the upper hand ;)

a/n: christie my gorgeous, thank you so so so much for dropping in 🥺 i hope you like this one, and i am gonna post the fratt request in a separate ask >:) btw i am amending the prompts to better fit the characters i am writing for, so i hope you dont mind xoxo

Michael’s silent rage simmers in your periphery as he leans against the wall like a fallen angel, gritting his teeth, letting his chest rise and fall in short, controlled bursts. Everything in the room is setting him off: the clicking of your pen, the faint hum of the air-conditioner, and the distant noise of traffic from the main road.

Unfortunately for him, you’re far from caring today; not when you’ve scraped together the business proposal of a lifetime. One that could easily retire you in the blink of an eye.

You’ve worked your ass off to coordinate this, so isn’t it only fair that Michael, being the other major stakeholder in this business, quits his grumbling? It’s as if he can’t — or won’t — comprehend what this means if this works out. If you negotiate your way through this successfully, with Michael there or not, the Kinsellas land on top. They’ll control Dublin, and possibly the whole of Ireland, with opportunities to plant roots and spread vines across all the major networks in Europe. And as you’re the only decision maker not married to — or even fucking — anyone in the family, you’ve had to prove your worth, a thousand times more so. Simply being Michael’s closest friend and confidante didn’t sit well with the others, but you’ve made yourself far more capable than anyone in this business.

And this deal will cement you into the Kinsella hall of fame.

You cut a glance to where he’s standing, a momentary pang of empathy softening your expression. He’s exhausted from today, and it isn’t just the circles under his eyes that demonstrate it. You know his tells better than anyone; in fact, you know him so well that just by judging his body language, you can deduce who he’s been with, what he’s been up to, and what he tries hard to conceal. Right now, and at your disdain, you can see Amanda written all over him. It’s obvious in the way he’s carrying himself, with his chin pointed downwards, the tension almost shrugging his shoulders. Even his skin gives it away, from the warmth in his cheeks to the flush at the tips of his ears.

“Let me guess,” you sigh, breaking the silence, “Amanda thinks you’re not doin’ a good enough job, and you shouldn’t be workin’ with me?” Saying her name is enough to set you off, but you do your best to diffuse the situation, to bring Michael back to the present.

His eyes flick to yours at the mention of her name, and you grimace inwards at the sharp stab to your gut. “Somethin’ like tha’.”

It confirms what you suspected; that he and Amanda had met up today, for purposes you try not to burden yourself with. It isn’t your business what they get up to, or how many times you notice her silhouette beyond the frosted glass of his front door. 5 times this week, and it’s only Wednesday, you think, chewing on your lip.

Unease courses through your veins, and so you go to do what’s natural, and sweep the thoughts under the proverbial rug in your mind. You gesture at the mountain of paperwork in front of you. “Are you gonna help me, Michael?”

His only response is a delicate muscle feathering in his jaw, and for some reason, it sends a lick of angry heat up your spine. The deadline to the deal looms in front of you like a ticking time-bomb, and all he can do is stay silent, and God forbid, mope about Amanda?

Your mouth thins as you take a moment to decide if you want to add to his anguish. To deliver an insult worthy of his attention. There’s a rush that flows through you, a sick kind of satisfaction, that tug the corners of your mouth upwards. If it were Eric, or Jimmy, or even Amanda, he would’ve lost his shit by now. He’d probably have stormed out and sulked home, making sure his gun was accessible from beneath his jacket at all times. His heart would thunder in his ears, itching for a fight with some unfortunate soul who’d then be promptly taken out by none other than the Magician.

Your voice rings out across the room, coming out more confident than you’d played out in your head. “She refuse to blow you today or what?”

Michael’s brows furrow together. “What did you say?”

“I asked you something, Michael. Are you pissed because Amanda didn’t open her legs for you?”

His mouth twists into a sneer. “I’d stop talkin’ if I were you.”

But you return his glare, your blood thrumming with challenge. “Actually, I commend her for doin’ that. ‘Cause I wouldn’t want to fuck someone so miserable either.”

He’s in front of you in a couple of strides, seething cold fury as his voice drops an octave. When he talks, his breath fans your face. “I said stop fuckin’ talkin’.”

You swallow, feeling your chest heave as some unchecked part of you — the part that’s scared of no-one — takes over. “Or what?” You pout, cocking your head to the side. “Are you gonna run back to Amanda and tell her how mean I’ve been to you?”

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” he spits, grabbing you by the collar, shoving you until the back of your thighs press up against the desk.

Your retort comes out just before he lowers his mouth to yours. Just before he wedges his thick hand between your legs. “Why don’t you make me?”

#michael kinsella #michael kinsella x reader #kin amc #michael kinsella smut #x reader #all aboard the saintmurd0ck express #rhi writes 💻

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redgoldblue · 4 months

Text

Fic Writing Review 2023 🌈

tagged by @itwoodbeprefect - i have also been thinking about this so thank you for taking the initiative!

tagging @faorism @gallantrejoinder if you'd care to do this in any form (including as writing/art review)!

Words and Fics (on ao3) 📚

words posted: 52,220, apparently. Which is actually... basically last year's but minus 10k because I didn't do H50 Big Bang this year, because med school. most things in my life now can be stated as 'because med school'. (actually I just realised I didn't do it last year either, but that was because I was already finishing a 10k H50 fic. so my point stands)

fics posted: either 6 or 29, depending on whether one counts the advent calendar as one fic or 24. plus 3 posted only on Tumblr.

first fic: love don't treat you like that (babe, I'm letting you know) (H50). on the NINTH of january, apparently. i've already lost my first-fic-of-the-year contest to last year, unless i unexpectedly finish something today.

last fic: Advent Calendar 2023 / ...Zaph Kilkane, the pre-eminent climate scientist of the 22nd century...

Ships and Fandoms ⚓

would you believe I literally did not repeat a fandom this year, outside of the advent calendar. and this year's AC had the most fandoms since 2019.

Hawaii Five-0 (McDanno)

NCIS: LA (Sallen)

Starsky & Hutch (S/H)

House MD (Hilson)

MASH (Punnihawk)

and then AC-only ones:

Star Trek (Spirk)

The Man From UNCLE (Napollya)

911 (Buddie)

Due South (i don't know ship names. are there ship names? Fraser/RayK)

Good Omens (Azcrow)

Leverage (thiefsome)

Almost Paradise (Ernesto/Alex. alesto. i'm coining it)

Top 5 Fics by Kudos 🏆

I mean, I have 6 posted fics that can be kudosed separately.

love don't treat you like that (babe, I'm letting you know) (H50)

When You're Loving Me (That's When I'm Loving You) (NCIS: LA)

Advent Calendar 2023 (see above. nine fandoms)

my powers of expression and thoughts so sublime / could never do you justice in reason or rhyme (House MD)

Finding A Cure In You (S&H)

Top 5 Favorite Fics 💖

okay, I'm going to count distinct chapters of the advent calendar for this. in no particular order and subject to mood change:

When You're Loving Me (That's When I'm Loving You) (NCIS: LA) - I cited this as a contender for my favourite fic I've written a couple months ago, so obviously it has to go in the year's. what can i say, fake dating is an immaculate trope, and this also all came onto the page very easily which is always vaguely miraculous.

there you go pulling me right back in (H50) - sometimes vague prompts i've had down for ages write up as something that's. fine, but a bit clunky, and I just have to move on bc it's the advent calendar and a new fic each day. sometimes I start writing them and they spring into life with joyous delight. or in this case, uninhibited grumpiness and love.

singing yesterday's songs wishing i could be with you tonight (MASH) - the one that didn't make it into the top 5 kudosed, I assume partially due to being locked and partially due to being a serious tone, not terribly shippy, and Peg POV. But I've had some version or other of it for a long time, it's one of those stories I'm genuinely proud of, and I was glad to finally post it.

Totally Normal (Due South) - it's fun. it was fun. I was slightly nervous about it, because the only prior Due South thing I'd written was Dief POV and this was Fraser and RayK POV and the first time writing either of those, but it turns out watching + liveblogging four and two seasons, respectively, of a character in four months is. enough to cement their voices in my head. it was unexpectedly easy and also. fun.

Festive Spice (MUNCLE) - i just think it epitomises the advent calendar. in the words of coolbreezemage, 'yesssss bake cakes and kiss your partner'.

HMs:

Finding A Cure In You (S&H) - this doesn't make it to the above list due to the fact that I haven't actually managed to reread it since I posted it. but just for the amount of time I spent with it, how different it is to my usual M.O. of writing, and the weird way I wrote it (entirely in the notes app, with almost zero rereading while writing), I have to somehow mention it.

A Thousand Words / To Be Spared (Good Omens) - I don't know if they're favourite but I do think they're good. and the format of to be spared was pleasingly experimental and i think it worked.

Fandom Fic Events 🤝

also the Starsky & Hutch SHarecon zine! which the zine still holds copyright on, but will be posted in April.

Projects for 2024 👀

mmm gonna sort this differently and also ramble

Ones that will definitely be finished in 2024 and if they aren't you have free rein to come to my house and tie me to a chair come November: MUNCLE wip, The Unwitting Truth Affair/The Honesty Affair, I haven't actually decided which title yet;

Starsky & Hutch, the still-unnamed Huggy & Pete wip.

Ones I have both hope and some amount of faith will be finished in 2024 and if they aren't you have free rein to come into my inbox and harass me about them: Hawaii Five-0 wip, Much Ado About Something (*salutes squares*);

other Hawaii Five-0 wip, state of disrepair. yes, I'm manifesting state of disrepair 2024. probably november/december 2024, but i'm manifesting it anyway;

Leverage wip, all that I want is a kind heart to haunt

Ones I would like to be finished in 2024, and if my brain decides it likes them might be, but all you have free rein for is to politely ask me about them once per business month: Hawaii Five-0 cath/steve/danny pwp, Wait A Minute Let Me Take You There;

horny S&H wip, Previews Of Your Body Driving Me Insane;

S&H Vanessa coda, so cordial / so rotten (don't ask me);

Good Omens wip, love won't you be as you've always been

Ones I don't expect to finish in 2024 but would like to get some words down in: angsty S&H wip, Relentless As The Rain;

ridiculous undercover H50 wip, Four Seasons of Love;

other ridiculous H50 wip, The Irritating, Annoying, Infuriating, (Effective) Seduction Techniques of One Steven J. McGarrett;

SPN ..wip? depending on the time limit on 'progress'?, Smells Like Turpentine.

vague thoughts: i'd like to write a full-length (for whatever value of that. the AC ones actually were full-length, especially the second one, but what I really mean is AC-independent) due south fic. they're very weird and i enjoyed writing them, and I'd also like to write something with RayV in it. maybe if I successfully inspired @itwoodbeprefect to write new ds, when she does that it will inspire me to write something, and we can set up a ping-pong game. no, wait, that's mixing fandoms.

I expect more MUNCLE fic. this one's already 3.5k and rocketing along, and i'm only two-thirds of the way through season 1. what form that will take i don't know at this stage but we'll see.

....i was discussing the vague concept of house/h50 crossover fic with squares literally yesterday and on the one hand I haven't written a crossover since 2014 and also don't want that to be my legacy, but on the other hand i think there is at least a 50% chance it's going to stick in the back of my brain and keep niggling.

#someone: plays ping-pong. me: nice starsky & hutch reference #mine #my writing #tag games #Hawaii Five 0 #The Man From UNCLE #MASH #Starsky & Hutch #NCIS: LA #i will not tag literally every fandom mentioned here bc that would just be a) mean and b) tiring

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cipheramnesia · 1 year

Note

hey I'm curious about the switch to Pathfinder! could you go into how your group decided to change & what the process of switching over is like?

(I've started running 5e for my friends last year and the idea intrigues me. I'd love to hear your thoughts)

Just a quick summary up top because I've been thinking about this post awhile: Pathfinder 2e has the most readily available free system content and the Pathbuilder 2e app helped all our players with an easy creation process.

In what probably comes as no shock, the Wizards of the Coast open gaming license controversy was the prompt to change. We have a game that's been recording with the goal of being a podcast, and after we all talked it out we decided we couldn't stay with D&D for that specific game.

The choice to go with Pathfinder was ultimately convenience and availability. Because the majority of the resources for Pathfinder are free online with the blessing of the company owning the system, it meant everyone could access the basics. The similarities also made it easier to transition over for most of us, and our DM had the books already available. The majority of the group also wanted to do more with the characters which meant the move had to be something where we could preserve them as best as possible.

I think what really cemented it for the whole group were two apps:

Second Edition Character Sheet - This is a simplified Pathfinder 2e character sheet that does not have many features or all the options in the game, but gives a great feel for how the creation system works. Most descriptions of it I find labyrinthine or counterintuitive, and this app made it much easier to see how various skills and stats are assigned in the game.

Pathbuilder 2e - I think everyone is using this app now because it has basically every single option in Pathfinder 2e you can consider for a character, and a very easy to use system for editing and tweaking your concepts, or just playing around to see how the system works. My nonbinary wife who generally hates mechanics and stats jumped right in and made a super good character almost immediately, so it's very new user friendly too. We do end up needing to use the Pathfinder website in conjunction for a lot of the process, but realistically it's no different than being new to 5e and using DnD Beyond, other than that it's not trying to get you to shell out extra money all the time.

So far all we've done is the character creation process, although as I understand it the main difference in game play is critical roles are more common in 2e. However, as creation goes, Pathfinder is very difficult to create outside the box compared to 5e. For example, in 5e I was able to make my orcish sprite as a Ranger with negative strength and intelligence but thanks to high dexterity and some judicious use of spells allow her to be the party tank with the capacity to immediately charge into danger further and faster than anyone else.

This is more or less impossible in 2e until higher levels, which I don't like because I need my character to be both ignorant and irresponsible because I think that's hilarious. Fortunately I was able to more or less jury rig something, but in general I find the creation process a bit less diverse - despite the fact that 2e has a huge number of background and class options compared to 5e.

Additionally, while 2e has a reputation as having more rules, many of the specific features have not been as well defined as 5e. This means you'll need to somewhat define functionality between yourself and your DM in some situations.

Something everyone noticed during creation, even our DM, was that 2e offers a great deal more options for building a campaign around intrigue, politics, crime, science fiction, or basically any other number of options that aren't combat focused. I think our campaign may end up more city oriented just to take advantage of those options, and because some of us love that style of story.

Overall, I think I like Pathfinder just a bit more for the point distribution and character design. If you're planning to start fresh, it's a very exciting system, either if you want a stand up knock down slugfest or if you want to play a scheming vizier plotting the king's downfall. However, the base characters lack some variety and if you plan to move a 5e character over expect some tradeoffs or potentially for it to be flat out impossible.

#dnd 5e #pathfinder 2e #5e 2e comparison #ttrpg

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nyankojin · 1 year

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WAHHH,, IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKE MY BATTLE CATS HCS!!! So glad you also like Satoru and Warlock being pals!

-ancient-cats-unite

Hey sorry about taking like a whole week and a half to reply I had my headcanons validated and I panicked.

Have more.

- They met early in the year, when Satoru was just being welcomed into the Cat Army. However, Satoru was freaked out by Warlock's whole vibe and Warlock was deep in a guarded and distrusting phase, so they... didn't exactly like each other.

They gradually got closer thanks to Saki. She joined shortly before Satoru and set her sights on befriending both of them almost immediately. They kind of became friends by association.

Their friendship was cemented about five months after they first met, in the middle of summer and partially by accident. They went from having a tense yet gradually softening relationship to being undeniably close in the span of just under a few hours. Much to the confusion of everyone. They are the only ones who know exactly what happened.

- They balance each other nicely. Satoru is extroverted, loud, adorably pure and optimistic, and an idiot, while Warlock is introverted, quiet, adorably aloof and snarky, and also an idiot but in a less obvious way. They are constantly reigning the other in, or more often failing to reign the other in because they have more fun that way.

- Despite being the introverted one, Warlock is usually the one approaching Satoru and inviting him to hang out. He proceeds to let Satoru pick what they do together almost every single time because what they do is just a vehicle for spending time with his friend.

- Satoru likes to go on long-winded explanations of whatever he is excited about to whoever will listen. Warlock just sits there and listens (and occasionally falls asleep on his shoulder).

- Satoru is more sensible and safe, but easily caves to Warlock's unhinged, impulsive whims if he has no backup. He wants to make sure that Warlock doesn't do anything stupid without him.

- Though they are obviously very close friends who love each other very much, they are weirdly reluctant to say so out loud. Maybe it's the last remaining bits of that initial tension refusing to let go. They can be prideful and irrational little things.

(This doesn't stop them from doing all the things friends do together, they just refuse to say that they're friends.) (They aren't fooling anyone.)

- They love hugs and cuddles and being close in general.

I have some half-finished fics involving them (and half-finished Battle Cats fics in general) so maybe if I get some actual writing motivation I'll start posting my longer stuff here.

That's all I've got right now. If you have more of your own please tell me them because I love hearing what other people think about characters I like. Your content makes me happy, really :)))

#the battle cats #battle cats #Summon and Pierre standing at a middle distance like ''are they gonna actually admit that they're friends or..?''#I think about them too much if you somehow couldn't tell #I need to actually finish some of my writing backlog I have so many WiPs and too much lore #summoner satoru #warlock and pierre #dark hero posting #the battle cats headcanons #jin screams

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snowmaze1969 · 9 months

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Just finished totk and boy do I have some thoughts. (no i totally didn't watch someone else do the ending after i had completed all of the other main quests because i got impatient. totally......)

anyway totk spoilers for the whole game below. also my thoughts will become less conherant as it goes on lmaoooooo have fun o7

I'm going to put it frankly, I disliked the ending. (for the most part) while there were some amazing parts that I loved (cough, the sages, cough) I feel like the whole zelda part could have been done better. Just a disclaimer I DO NOT ship botw/totk zelink. that's a whole other post i'm not going to do rn but just thought i'd put that there. The first part in the depths was great. It was brilliant even. I loved the sages and I loved the whole Gannon swallowing the stone just to kill like. It is SO in character. It is such a Gannon thing to get rid of all traces of his humanity (hylianity???) just to kill his fate entwined nemesis. like, oq3ighbqpeifjnqpirjgnpqieugnqpithjnpiqgn. omg. Amazing. then dragon Zelda came in and I was like ok. That makes sense. some instinctual part of her dragon self must have realized that Darkness = bad and link = trying to fight darkness = good. so I was like ok. and honestly that fight was pretty epic. It was something new. I was really well done. Then I feel like it started to go downhill. I can say that I almost cried when you were able to rewind time for Zelda. I was like omg they can bury the body, give her peace. The whole shabang. And then Zelda woke up and I was like ugh. I hate it because its so tropey. The classic good beats evil the princess falls in love with the knight in shining armor everything is great. botw did better with this. while the whole loz series is that trope, botw felt more like an, we made a lot of sacrifices and things wont be ok for a while but maybe someday it can get better etc. nothing lovey dovey there. but then totk gone and did the everything turned out great ending. I would have loved a Zelda died ending. i'm not a zelda hater but I feel like it would build off of the whole oh boy everything is shit rn but it will get better given time. They don't need the monarchy anymore link can be free etc. When zelda lives it gives off a very happy everything is great vibes. despite the fact that uh. no???? It's not????? Mineru was obviously sad but I feel like they ruined it by trying to do more zelink shipping. It gives off very I know I was an asshole at first and I know you has a fish gf but now shes dead and i'm nicer too you now but I was also only mad at you because of my destiny/things out of your control lol lets date. Like what????????? idk but that just sounds weird to me.

anyway i'm going to compleatly change topic and talk about future lozs/ and endings.

This is a brilliant place to end this timeline. there are many theorys about what timeline/ where its placed but I feel like this game is the end. The whole Gannon gets consumed and finally destroyed etc perfect ending. It has a very clear air of finality about it. And honestly I feel that if Zelda had died it would have added A BUNCH too it. It would cement that finality. Gannon is gone fr this time (power) Zelda would be dead (wisdom) and there is no proof that link has the triforce of courage so idk man but that feels like nothing but the ending of a timeline. (but of course Zelda HAD to live because of their precious good always triumphs evil/ knight in shining armor & princess love intrest trope but ya know. whatever)

Talking about a future game, I would love to see something in the ww timeline (no it's not cause it's my fave game who said that.) I think it would also be cool if they gave the new game an open world setting like botw/totk but added a linear story line. (kinda like ww but with a lil more open worldiness) but idk thats just my opinion.

Anyway feel free to yell at me or have a convo in the responses i'd LOVE to hear your opinions. Just dont hate on me plz just cause I have different opinions than you. i'd love to hear an avid zelink shipper give me their opinion but anyways bye yall.

#totk #loz totk #zelda totk #totk spoilers #totk link #legend of zelda #link #zelda #long post #feel free to discuss #let's discuss #oh boy #oh boy here we go #totk ganondorf #totk game spoilers

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runninginduckshorts · 1 year

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I have ranked the girls of TSLOCG since day 1, I’m not gonna lie, but damn they been screwed up the last 2 episodes!

SPOILER WARNING !!!!!

1. Leighton

Leighton has been number 1 for me through the entire show, but that’s because I’m gay, and the wlw character will almost always be my favourite, but also it’s more cemented itself here because of her growth for episode 1 to now. Seeing her go from a bitchy, stuck up, better than everyone else person, to a caring, still bitchy but understand my usually, open-minded person is amazing and I’m so proud of her. Also Reneé Rapp is super fucking hot and I would die for her

2. Whitney

Whitney went between 2 and 3 with Bela in season 1 but then in season 2 she stayed at number 2. She’s a smart character, who has been written well, even though her looking into Canaan’s phone seemed OOC for me until I realised that I remembered her thing with the coach guy (I don’t remember his name and I don’t care to), so I can see where this has come from. She was completely fucked over in these last episodes and she really did nothing wrong and has just had to deal with her friend being a jerk. She’s also grown to realise she’s smart and I love her relationship with her mum.

3. Lila

I’m not gonna lie, I fucking love Lila. She’s funny and even through the sexual side of it, she gives damn good advice. So yeah, she goes here even though some (maybe more than some) of her actions border on sexual harassment, people seem fine with it from what I can tell.

4. Bela

Bela is a very close 4th with the last scene of hers redeeming her a lot. I can understand (after reading some other people’s posts) where a lot of her actions come from, but it doesn’t make me like her enough more to push her up a spot. She fucked up, A LOT, and now she’s dealing with all the consequences. She is still funny and is a good friend to the other girls, so she lands at 4, not 5, not 3. I don’t remember all of the other stuff I was gonna say about her, but she’s realised she fucked up bad and is trying to deal with it, albeit in the wrong way, but she’s trying.

5. Kimberley

I’m not sure if you can tell why she’s here, but I’ll tell you anyway. She screwed up so fucking bad, and I can’t even find a good reason behind it. Bela’s stemmed from internal misogyny and too much power too fast, but Kimberley? I have no idea where kissing your best friend’s RECENT ex boyfriend could EVER be a good, sane, wise decision in her mind. I don’t give two shits if she likes him after one outing together, she shouldn’t go for a friends ex, it’s legit like rule 1 of girl code! I have a lot of feeling about this. Before that scene, Bela was number 5, but as soon as that happened? Boom. Demoted. The fact that Whitney saw and gave her an opportunity to be open about it, and then she didn’t take it? Demoted even more. I don’t have anyone else to put at number 5, otherwise they would be here and she would be 6. She broke up with a guy she seemed to like and treated her well, for her BEST FRIENDS EX! Sorry, ranting. Anyway, she fucked up, and at this point, I can’t forgive her.

That is the end of my ranking- I wanted to only rank the main 4, but I really do love Lila too much to leave her out.

Thank you all for listening to my rants and whatever the fuck this mess of a post is.

P.S I spelt mum like that cause I’m Aussie.

#the sex lives of college girls spoilers #the sex lives of college girls #tslocg #tslocg spoilers #slocg #slocg spoilers #ranking #Leighton Murray #Whitney Chase #Bela Malhotra #Kimberley Finkle #Lila Flores #Renee Rapp #alyah chanelle scott #Amrit kaur #Pauline chalamet #illia isorelys paulino #don’t take this toooo seriously #I haven’t slept in a while

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margridarnauds · 4 months

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Hi! I have loved Toho Elisabeth since May, and I want to find other musicals they’ve adapted and done but I have no idea where to find them, aside from a version of Phantom I found on Bilibili. Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

Hi!

So, first of all, my apologies for the length of time to reply -- I've been busy dealing with professional things the whole month and can only now be a human being. In relation to that...for the last three or so years, I haven't been able to follow Toho musicals like I wish I could. It's a shame, but. Well. Grad student. (As well as various developments in terms of my personal life and Toho that have made me a little less likely to follow it.)

I'll take this in three parts -- First of all, the adaptations I personally recommend, second, how to keep up to date on announcements (which I'm woefully behind on, do as I say, not as I do), and third, how to get ahold of them once you've found the musical of your dreams.

(Some) Recommendations

Romeo and Juliet (ミュージカル「ロミオとジュリエット」)

The myth, the legend. One of the most legendary French original musicals, translated to Japanese for the purposes of the wildly successful Takarazuka production (which has had like. A *ton* of productions. I'm not inclined to do the research on how many, because this is the Quick and Dirty Guide, not the research paper, but there have been a Lot) and then totally reinterpreted for the Toho stage, including staging it in a post-apocalyptic setting and updating and expanding the libretto to fit that setting. (#1 way to piss off a Toho Romeo and Juliet fan? Say that it's just like the Zuka.) I personally recommend the 2019 production, specifically Black Cast with Furukawa Yuta, but you can form your own preferences.

Lady Bess (ミュージカル「レディ・ベス」)

If you came for Kunze and Levay, there's nothing better than...MORE Kunze and Levay. This was my very first Toho musical, I got the DVD back in....2018, God, that was five years ago. ANYWAY. It tells the story of a Young Elizabeth I of England and her struggle to survive under her sister's rule while contending with her mother's complex legacy while embarking on a youthful romance with the spirited poet, Robin Blake. While I do have some issues with the libretto, the music is strong and the production is gorgeous. If you can only get one, get the Star Cast with Aya Hirano and Kazuki Kato.

1789, Les Amants de La Bastille (ミュージカル「1789 - バスティーユの恋人たち」)

If you know me, this musical doesn't need an introduction. It's changed my life. The Toho production in particular. It's quite bittersweet from where I'm standing now, for various reasons, including the tragic death of Sayaka Kanda, who was the lead actress for one of the casts, which...God, we're almost approaching the anniversary...but the fact remains that it was a gorgeous production, the music is gorgeous, and, plot-wise, it probably did the best job of exploring the characters and the nuances of the plot of any of the productions, including the French, and it perfectly suited the darker style usually associated with Toho musicals. I love both casts and recommend them, but of the two, I personally recommend the d'Espoir cast, which had Teppei Koike and Sayaka Kanda, not just out of pity, but because they were were both exceptional in the roles.)

Marie Antoinette (ミュージカル「マリー・アントワネット」)

While I would say that Lady Bess introduced me to Toho and 1789 cemented my love for it, Marie Antoinette...defines it for me. It's probably my favorite Toho musical of all time. It would require a long, long rant to discuss everything I love about it, but to put it simply: It's a gorgeous production, you got some of the best actors currently working on the Japanese stage together to give some of the best acting of their careers, and the music is great. The dynamics between the various characters -- Margrid and Antoinette, Margrid and Orléans, Orléans and Antoinette, Antoinette and Fersen, Antoinette and Louis -- are some of my favorite in any musical I've seen, not just limited to Toho musicals, and the little bit of sexism that usually seems to follow Kunze and Levay's stuff...I don't want to say it's GONE, but I think that the fact that the female characters behave like people -- sometimes flawed people -- bumps it up a couple of notches, so if you like Elisabeth and you like its style...it's not a guarantee, since MA doesn't lean on the gothic tradition as much as Elisabeth, but you will PROBABLY like it. I personally recommend the A Cast with Sonim, Furukawa Yuta, and Rena Sasamoto.

This is, imo, a good starter pack -- there are other Toho musicals out there, but these are the ones that I recommend to capture some of the range of what Toho can do as a company and to introduce you to some of the best of the best on stage.

Now, Part 2:

2. R's Quick and Dirty Guide to Toho Musicals and How To Get Into Them (if you need links, let me know):

First of all: Follow the official Toho Channel on Youtube + Twitter. This is your best guide for keeping up to date on which projects they're working on. Also follow Umeda Arts while you're at it, and since there's a not-insignificant overlap between Horipro's business and Toho's, follow THEM as well. This will also keep you up to date on things like DVD + BluRay releases, since they tend to announce them on Twitter + Youtube.

Follow some of the stars on Instagram! Japanese celebrities tend to be very much into Instagram (okay, so are American celebrities) -- this is your best bet at following which projects they're working on. Since you mentioned Elisabeth, for example, Furukawa Yuta maintains an active Instagram presence *and* is an immensely bankable star. Likewise for Manaki Reika, Hanafusa Mari, etc., and they often will take pictures of musicals they're attending, or stars they're working with, so you can hopefully get a web of stars constantly posting updates about new projects.

And for the grand finale....

3. Getting ahold of them.

I recommend using a proxy if you're not in Japan. Do NOT, for the LOVE OF GOD, go for Ebay prices -- with how low the yen currently is, just about anything you pick up on Ebay is either going to be highway robbery or something you could get for the same price using a proxy. I use two services -- Buyee for when I want to do a broad search of everything on the Japanese market for something I can buy myself, MyFavoriteThingsJapan for when the thing that I want requires a little bit more...negotiation. (I am very aware that the way I just phrased that makes it sound like I have a personal hitman I use to get ahold of Japanese theatre merch.) (Not yet.) Sometimes, you will find items, DVDs, BluRays, CDs, etc. that Buyee doesn't cover. And, in those instances, if you don't speak Japanese, it's to your benefit to have someone who can negotiate on your behalf with the buyer. It's a little bit more costly, but worth it. Japanese theatre is frustrating to be in, because, unlike, say, VBW for German language musicals, the Japanese industry has never seen the need to overly cater to its international fans (though this has been improving with, say, Takarazuka.) Western...or even non-Japanese Toho fans are an exception, not a rule. So, we have to be a little bit more creative. That being SAID, there are so many proxy services available now VS even five years ago, and the price of the yen is still so low compared to where it was, that it has never been easier to buy these things. (And, in some ways, it's easier than, say, getting ahold of specialized French merchandise. Or, God help us all, Hungarian.)

You'll notice I'm not making any suggestions of websites to find these things -- due to how oppressively underpaid Japanese theatre stars often are (with a couple of exceptions at the very top of the industry), there is, traditionally, a very strong taboo around sharing websites that you can get ahold of these things for free. Japanese theatre fans are often stereotyped as being incredibly parasocial with their stars of choice -- there's absolutely truth to this and there are a number of cultural factors why this is the case, even among western fans (though, frankly, as someone who survived the Tveitpocalypse, I wonder whether we really want to argue that that's unique to Japanese or Korean theatre), but at least part of it is that, frankly, the fans often protect the stars better than their own companies do (the Japanese theatre industry is...an industry. Mix some of the worst of Japanese work culture with already-crushing expectations of the theatre industry and BANG you have the Japanese musical theatre industry in a nutshell, at least among the major companies). There's a feeling of protectiveness, in other words. My relationship with that taboo is a long and complicated one that's gone through many phases over the years -- at the moment, I'm, frankly, too tired to actively scold anyone for it, especially given how much hypocrisy often surrounds that taboo, but I'm still not willing to publicly share that information or to share my own personal links. You know one that you can find material on -- I also know that you can find things on archive.org and VK. I won't point you to them directly, but they exist, even if there are, in general, fewer Toho musicals posted to both than, say, Takarazuka, and I know that @emptymasks has compiled a list of both Takarazuka and Toho Elisabeth productions here. Beyond that, I can also stream any of the aforementioned musicals, so long as you give me a little time to plan since my schedule is really, thoroughly, not what it used to be.

#toho stage

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mamthew · 1 year

Text

When Harvestella was first announced, I was surprised by how excited I was for it. I don't even play farming sims, and I've had more criticism than praise for Square Enix side projects like Bravely Default and ESPECIALLY Octopath Traveler, but the trailer was so reminscient of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles that I couldn't help but eagerly anticipate it. The idea of a fifth season of death that kills crops, forcing adventurers to venture outside in search of a way to stop it had the potential to give this farming sim as potent a sense of urgent melancholy as miasma had done for FFCC, and I've yearned for some kind of aesthetic successor to that game for nearly as long as I've been playing video games, with little luck. The game's action combat and use of huge crystals as setpieces further cemented in my mind that the two games were alike.

Harvestella isn't like Crystal Chronicles. It's not like Bravely Default, or Octopath Traveler. Hell, it's not even developed by Square Enix. The developers, Live Wire Inc, cut their teeth on shoot 'em up ports until 2021, when they released a sidescrolling Dark Fantasy action RPG they co-developed under a small publisher. Harvestella might be published by Square, then, but it is not to my mind A Square Game. It doesn't feel like it's trying to be the contemporary version of an old Square property the way much of Square's smaller output does. It feels like an indie game. Harvestella is best thought of as a passion project by some folks who didn't really have the budget to make something as lavish as their ideas deserved but did have some really talented artists who were able to smooth over some of the rough edges with some absolutely gorgeous visual art, one of the best RPG soundtracks in years, and a thoughtful and complex story.

Harvestella is an overly-simple action-RPG and also an overly-simple farming sim with an absolutely bonkers story that has absolutely nothing to do with farming. It's missing a lot of features that are expected in its genres. Its tutorials in some areas are close to useless, there's no way to see how much money a product will sell for until it's been sold - which is uhhhhhhh not great in a genre about simulating mercantilism, its combat never reaches a point where it feels complex or even good, its farm customization options are too basic for your farm to ever really feel like your own, and it has no romance options. None of these are dealbreakers for me - obviously, as I put over 90 hours into the game - but they're not great issues to have, either. Also, the game simultaneously has too much voice acting and not enough. Almost none of the dialogue is voiced, but characters have lines in battle and while you're farming, and the delivery for those lines ranges from just good enough to abysmal. A voice line kicks in every single time you perform any farming action, and for some reason all those lines are done in a really grating falsetto stage whisper that makes the game actively embarrassing to play. Frankly, I don't think the game is worth $60. It clearly wasn't budgeted like a AAA game. Lots of love and talent went into it, but that's true of plenty of $30-$40 games. I came away from Harvestella feeling like I'd played an indie game that industry giant Square Enix pretended was something else. But that's not the fault of Harvestella or its devs - that's Square's fault.

I want to get into story spoilers next, because the themes and philosophies of Harvestella are unique enough that I was baffled by most of the game's story decisions for over half the game, before they made it clear what they were getting at, exactly. Honestly, what Harvestella is trying to say is probably the most interesting thing about it, in a way that reminds me of Legend of Mana, which is high praise. Harvestella is a game about cultural constructs and societal collapse. For a time, I was describing the game as "post-truth," and I still think that's accurate, but not exactly in a conservative way. The first two-thirds of the story felt impenetrable for this reason. It kept making story decisions that were directly counter to the decisions that I'm used to RPGs making.

For example, one party member is a high-ranking church official, but when she joins the party, she learns that the church leader, who adopted her as a child and took her into the church, is a literal monster who has been using his position in the church to eat adherents. Pretty standard RPG fare. In the party member's side story, she learns that the church's doctrine itself was created by an AI. A robot was tasked with keeping humans from fighting each other too much and decided the most effective way of doing so was to procedurally generate a holy book using texts like the Bible and the Koran as inspirations. In most games of this kind, when the characters learn that a church's foundational history is entirely fabricated and its clergy has been engaging in murdering innocents, the characters then fight to dismantle the church. Here, though, the character decides that the good of the church, even if it is based on lies, outweighs the harm it has inflicted, and places herself as the church's leader and central figure so she can better control it as a force for good. She says she does this to "fight the status quo."

In another character quest, a character learns that his memories about the royal family he serves are all fabricated, as the family doesn't actually exist. When he confronts the robot who created his memories, the robot tells him that the species that created it had gone extinct before it was ever given consciousness, and it decided that carrying out orders for a fake master you vividly remember is better than the hell of doing the same for a real master that you have never met and never will meet. with this in mind, the character decides to keep and cherish his false memories. Moments like these gave me whiplash, and I talked to anyone who would listen about how strange the game's decisions were.

It's only in the last third of the game that these themes about pushing back against what's true and inconvenient in favor of what's imagined but comforting begin to coalesce into something interesting and worth engaging with. I won't get into all the details, but like most RPGs, Harvestella is a game about the coming climate crisis. It is revealed partway in that Harvestella takes place two millennia in the future, after humanity went extinct and new humans evolved to take their place through sci-fi means that don't really matter. The people of our time had tried desperately to flatten the differences between humans and drive cooperation in the face of climate disaster. When the internet failed, they developed technology to push the continents back together into a Pangaea, hoping that proximity would foster understanding. When that failed, scientists created a telepathic machine that could read the thought patterns of the entire population - essentially an artificial collective unconscious - so they could discover some kind of consensus they could build on. The only consensus the machine could find, in the face of seemingly inescapable societal and environmental collapse, was a belief that there was no chance of a future. People feared the existence of human diversity, fell back on nostalgia for an idealized past, and in doing so had unintentionally formed a death cult - essentially, they had embraced fascism.

Quietus, the season of death, was created by this artificial collective unconscious to grant humanity's shared wish for an apocalypse. The game uses its theme of illusions versus the truth to argue that while the logical course of action in the face of dire news and statistics is to accept that the odds of surviving and building a better world are infinitesimally small, we have to ignore the facts and push on to survive and build that better world regardless, because there's no chance of it happening if we give up at the starting gate. It's remarkably similar to FFXIV Endwalker's dichotomy of despair versus hope and message that forcing ourselves to feel a false hope just to stave off despair is better than allowing ourselves to despair and therefore not even trying to fix things. Even Harvestella's final boss is very reminiscent of FFXIV's Endsinger boss in theming and design. Which I don't mind and don't really think is a case of one developer copying the other; this stuff is just on everyone's minds lately.

When I first began describing Harvestella as "post-truth," I did so entirely as a comparison to the rise in political lies spread and accepted by the right-wing that has been widely discussed since the beginning of the Trump era. As the game justified its theming, however, I found myself beginning to want to embrace "post-truth" as a much broader and even somewhat positive characteristic of our era. We're quickly reaching a point where believing that there can be a future at all is a lie we knowingly tell ourselves, which was the point Harvestella makes. But in a time where we are becoming increasingly aware of the presence of hegemonic narratives influencing our perceptions of reality, just pushing back against those narratives can be, to an extent, post-truth. Harvestella has almost no character creation options, but it does allow the player to choose body type, voice, and pronouns entirely independently of each other. I'd originally seen this as a nice little addition to a game in a genre that often does embrace queerness, but now I'm starting to view it as an opening manifesto. From a certain point of view, queerness is a sort of engagement in post-truth. We all are who we say we are, hegemonic narratives be damned.

The secret class you earn in Harvestella for building up your farm enough is the Aristotle, a kind of mage that can fight using the four classical - or Aristotelian - elements, fire, water, wind, and earth, which pop up throughout the game. One character from our own time finds everyone's acceptance of the classical elements frustrating when she knows about the existence of the periodic table. But because she's in a world where people only know of four elements, those elements function as the philosopher Aristotle had theorized they had. Even after your protagonist learns that there is a far greater range to science than their society has learned, they are an Aristotle anyway, drawing energy from only four elements and using that energy to cast powerful magic. Our hegemonic narratives may limit our scope, but as a bloc, we have the power to shape those narratives and change the scope. Our collective imagination can construct Truth, which is an incomprehensible amount of power that's mostly been used to oppress and harm, but we could, in theory, turn around and use for good.

I'm not sure where the line is - if there is one at all - where postmodernity ends and this post-truth begins, but I'm starting to begin to think of things in those terms. I think there's some real potential in exploring the limits and capacity of this framework, and I guess I have a simple farming sim and a simple RPG to thank.

So, Harvestella. It's an overpriced, low-budget but pretty little game with some cringeworthy voice lines, some fun farming, and a story that's possibly impacted how I think about the world from here on out. 7/10.

#harvestella #square enix

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