#also she actually cares a lot about fire prevention

[spookberry]

Shes wearing a firemen's jacket

#this is a wip obvi #idk what colors i prefer yet #at first id imagined her as a redhead??? #despite gumberoos being described as grey and black #hmm #also she actually cares a lot about fire prevention #smokey bear is her idol #my art #my ocs

[comradekatara]

i don’t want to watch natla but i appreciate very much you posting about “zuko’s little faggot diary” that shit made me crack up laughing ty

that’s just canon to me. he’s a boy who loves to monologue. of course he keeps a diary. how else is he gonna keep track of his special interests. where else is he gonna write down his angsty poetry. you know he spent months tracking aang down taking detailed notes on his garb, his fighting style, his flight patterns, and not once ever bothered taking note of his name, even though he easily could’ve learned it from the million times katara screamed it over the course of their fights.

which, if you’ll allow me to go on a tangent, is another thing that bothers me. when ppl are like “zuko learned their names because they all say one another’s names constantly.” and you think that means he actively made an effort to REMEMBER it????? you must be out of your damn gourd if you think that the most one-track minded human being in the history of the universe is paying attention to anything that doesn’t directly interest him in that very moment. but i digress.

i just KNOW that zuko was soo mad that he lost his diary after his ship got blown up by zhao because years of precious poetry and avatar lore, burned to cinders by that PHILISTINE!!!! and then as a refugee in the earth kingdom, he languishes, diaryless, because he’s too embarrassed to actually spend what little money they have on something so extraneous. and then once back in the fire nation he obviously can’t keep a diary because azula will do everything in her power to read it (he learned that the hard way as a child). but then, finally, once he flees to the western air temple, he can actually keep a diary again, now that he is surrounded by nice, normal people who don’t actually care enough about him to snoop through his belongings.

or so he thinks.

now, aang, being a respectful young lad, would never share his findings with the rest of the group, especially since none of them have actually warmed up to him yet. but that doesn’t prevent him from reading everything zuko has ever written in that diary. and of course, he doesn’t tell zuko, because he has the tact and savvy to know that if he alerts zuko to his snooping, then he will simply hide his diary better, or even worse, stop writing in it altogether. and zuko can’t stop writing!! for he has a poet’s soul!!!

also, zuko has somehow gathered a lot of information on sokka that aang himself did not know, despite being friends with him for nearly a year now (like the fact that he dated the moon??? or the fact that his mother was killed by the fire nation??? although that one he really should’ve figured out on his own. considering that he and katara are siblings, and thus logically would share a mother). and so aang really needs zuko to keep updating his SOKKA LORE notebook because he feels kind of guilty that he knew basically nothing about his friend and yet zuko, the least observant person he has ever met, is somehow an expert in sokkology (although aang is deeply offended on katara’s behalf that he simply refers to her as “sokka’s sister” or sometimes “the angry one”).

for the record, aang never actually puts together WHY zuko is so fascinated by sokka. he’s just like “of course he’d be intrigued by sokka. he has a very complex mind, what an adventure to attempt to fathom the depths of his psyche.” like he just assumes that zuko is using sokka as a case study for completely innocuous reasons. he also assumes that zuko, like any teenage boy with eyes, is infatuated with katara. not at first, obviously, because to zuko she is still “girl sister, long hair” but eventually. once they reconcile, and become friends. and then his diary makes a sharp turn from carefully documenting any and all sokka lore to “katara said this really funny thing today” “katara is so nice and pretty” “katara is such a good waterbender” and suddenly aang is NOT having fun anymore!!!! halt the presses!!!!!

so aang just kind of sulks to himself for a while because it’s not like he can TELL anyone about his NEW ROMANTIC RIVAL in the BID FOR KATARA’S AFFECTIONS, but he does try to vaguely intimate to sokka and toph that it bothers him. and toph’s just like “what?? you mean all those times she hooked up with haru at the western air temple???” and aang’s just like. “HARU??????!!?!!??!?!?”

anyway. zuko isn’t a complete idiot, so after a few good years of being friends with aang, he finally catches onto the fact that aang has been keeping up with his diary every time he visits the palace, after like, the fourth or fifth time that aang accidentally lets a piece of information slip that he only could’ve known via reading zuko’s diary. so zuko decides to mess with him, and starts keeping a fake diary in the place he used to keep his real diary (columbus style) and writing shit in it like, “aang’s recent experimentations with facial hair are so embarrassing. just because you’re finally old enough to grow a weak little mustache doesn’t mean that you, under any circumstances, SHOULD. i bet katara is throwing up puking every day just having to kiss his horrendous furry mouth.” or, “katara said that she thinks roku was not only hotter, but also a way better avatar than aang, and personally, i agree. if he was still the avatar today no one would ever go hungry and we would have total world peace.” or, “aang is way too comfortable going shirtless. if i had that scrawny lanky body i would cover that shit up with a big ol sweater every day.” or, “aang said something really mean the other day and it hurt my feelings and i cried alone in my room for 3 hours. aang is literally a bully????”

and aang can’t even SAY anything because zuko is allowed to say whatever he wants about his friends in the privacy of his own journal, but also he decides that if zuko truly hates him so much, then he will simply stop visiting the fire nation so frequently, out of respect to his friend. at which point zuko realizes that he may have gone too far, so the next time aang visits him, he puts his real diary in his drawer with an entry that reads, “i can’t believe aang keeps falling for my fake diary prank. he doesn’t even know that im messing with him. and he never will, because my system is flawless, and i’ll never ever lose track of which diary is the real one and which one is the fake.”

at which point aang runs headfirst into a meeting between fire lord zuko and his senior council and is just like “ZUKO!!!!!!!!!!! YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!” and tackles him in a hug with no regard for propriety. he nearly gives zuko a concussion from the force of his hug. but dammit if it isn’t worth it.

#boyfriendgideon #asks #all of this is canon btw. #zuko #aang #aang&zuko #katara&zuko #aang&katara #sokkaxzuko #also yeah. don’t watch natla. truly NOT worth it in the slightest . u made a good call there

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Man-Sized

3/9 Hope is a Dangerous Thing

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F!OC

Tags: Explicit content, +18 audiences only. Smut, romantic angst, fluff. An unapologetic LOVE STORY. Sexual tension, mutual pining, banter, flirting, developing relationship, strangers to lovers. Simon Riley has a dark past (partly inspired by Modern Warfare 2: Ghost comics).

CW/TW: References to PTSD, depression, past torture and abuse in later chapters.

Summary: A uni student who pole dances at a strip club to pay her rent encounters a mysterious giant of a soldier seemingly incapable of falling in love.

She googled the name Simon Riley and found close to nothing. He wasn't on Facebook or any other social media platform, and she was pretty sure he had given her a false name until a short news article popped up. It was in some Manchester local paper, and from almost 20 years ago. He had won medals in local school olympics, and even with the black and white raster image and a 20 year younger, estimated 90 pounds skinnier Simon Riley, she could recognize that jaw and those eyes.

Days passed by, and he sent her a message every night. They communicated only through text – he never called. It felt like she was living in the turn of the century, the way he refused to use social media or any messaging app. He asked her how her school was, what classes she was taking at the moment, and if work was good. She sent her a photo every night before going to sleep; it simply became a habit. Some were cuter, some were naughtier, but he always expressed his gratitude with a sly, sexy comeback that made her think she might actually be the only girl Simon was texting with.

He rarely disclosed anything about his work, and never sent another picture even when she tried to request one in a roundabout way. She soon stopped fishing for more details of his work because he always redirected the conversation elsewhere. All she knew was that he was used in some special operations of a private, international company. And from what she could deduce from that one single picture he had sent her, the company he worked for had a lot of money.

The headset, the tactical gear, the weapon she distinguished with another profound googling session to be some sort of an assault rifle… All that shit spoke the language of international investors with certain political interests. Simon was doing something that most likely included hybrid warfare, clandestine operations, dealing with nuclear threats and bio-weapons and whatnot.

She wondered why he had been so trusting; after all, she knew his whole name now and knew it wasn't an alias but his real, actual childhood name. Not that she was any kind of threat. Perhaps that was why…

But what made her a bit depressed was that he also didn't seem to regard her as someone he needed to protect. By staying in contact with him, she supposed she was taking at least some kind of a risk. But Simon didn't seem to care. It was both exciting and infuriating to keep in touch with a man like him.

After six days of excited, heated messaging, he sent a text "Off to work." It wasn't that cryptic; she figured it meant that he wasn't to be disturbed or that he wouldn't be able to talk for a while.

A while… that turned into a week.

She found herself zoning out in dull classes, thinking about what Simon was doing right now. Was he infiltrating some foreign military base, or going on a mission to prevent a hijacking, or storming a terrorist compound, or… whatever the fuck soldiers like himself did.

She began her day with a caffeine overdose and then went to listen to some professor talk about medieval manuscripts or Dante Gabriel Rossetti or curse tablets of ancient Rome, only to realize she was thinking about Simon firing his assault rifle in another continent with a skull mask on. She kept thinking about whether he was in danger, whether he would come back, whether she would ever see him again.

The while turned into another week, and she began to get anxious. Should she text him and ask how he was doing? Ask “You still at work?” or “What about that date?”

The last message she had sent was a reply to his work announcement. Have fun! — from 17 days ago.

17 days.

Was he dead?

His message It's your fault if I get killed now seemed more like a gloomy prediction of a future without Simon Riley.

But at the beginning of the third week of silence, she realized she had just been an idiot. Simon wasn't dead or injured or taken prisoner or anything like that.

He had simply forgotten about her.

He had realized she was not a Bond girl after all, but just another boring chick. He had found someone better. Something like that. A man like him could have pretty much any woman on this planet if he wanted to.

That was just the way the world was built.

She wouldn't say that she was depressed. She wouldn’t admit that she was devastated. She just needed a little time to clear her head.

It was difficult to sleep, and school felt more boring than ever. Work just reminded her of him. One day, she nearly fell from the pole while doing a simple straddle because she saw a man looking like Simon walk in the club.

He had given her an exorcism, only to replace the demons that haunted her with himself. Now she needed an exorcism from Simon, but no one knew how to do that.

She just needed to give it time, sleep it away, study it away… Distractions filled her day, and still, she refreshed their conversation every night before going to sleep, as if it was a fault in her phone that prevented his messages from reaching her. And felt like a stupid bitch, a lovesick fool while doing so.

And then, one Tuesday afternoon, after almost four weeks, he appeared at her uni.

She was arriving from a class that had just ended when she hurried past a man she had been pining for for 25 days.

"You working tonight?"

Hearing that voice in a place she had least expected to hear it made her shoulders shoot up and her breath get caught in her throat as she stopped and turned around.

"Jesus…- You scared me."

He laughed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Boo."

"When did you… What are you doing here?"

She didn't say I'm happy to see you. I missed you. That would've sounded too desperate. Right? Even after 25 days.

He looked her up and down, and her knees felt like pudding.

"I like to stalk school girls."

She tried to suppress her smile. God, she had missed that cheeky humour.

"Pervert. No, I don't have a shift tonight."

"Then I can finally take you out on that date."

It was like her dreams had suddenly come true in one single minute. She went from a bird with a broken wing to Icarus flying toward the sun.

"What do you have in mind?"

"You'll see."

He was even taller than she remembered, broader, even when he was wearing all black. People were staring at them, staring at him, because he certainly didn’t look like someone who studied in the Art and Culture Department.

"How did you even know I was here right now?"

"Doesn't really need a rocket scientist to find that out, luv."

Right. But the fact that he had made the effort to dig up what classes she took, when and where, and then come and surprise her like this, made her heart ache. He gave her another once-over, and she squeezed her bag against her chest like that could shield her from the searing gaze.

"You look hot."

And that definitely made her blush… She was an umptieth year student and didn't bother to take pains anymore when she dragged herself in the class. She had her comfiest ballerinas on, her hair was tied to a simple ponytail, and she had no foundation, no mascara, only a bit of her favourite lipstick on. She was wearing a huge, flowy skirt the color of a Halloween pumpkin and a black, simple turtleneck — while perhaps neat and cute in this environment, to him, she would've thought she looked more like a librarian. Far from a hot Bond girl who danced at a strip club with curled hair and cat eye makeup.

"Um.."

"Such a diligent little student."

It seemed he did have an actual thing for school girls, even if they were almost 30 years old. She would never have guessed that this would send him itching. If Simon preferred the girl next door look to her being half-naked on a stage with a pole, then perhaps she did have a chance after all.

"I knew you were a good girl but I didn't know- "

"Stop it, people can hear you," she hissed while, in truth, feeling quite exalted by that good girl talk. She grabbed him by the arm, and he allowed her to guide him out of the building while looking perfectly content with himself and what he was doing to her.

They began the walk to her place so she could shower and get changed for whatever he had in mind for that date. The complete turnaround in her mood, the shot of hormones and giddy feelings and butterflies in the stomach left her feeling shaky. Even the colors seemed more vivid all of a sudden. It was a bit frightening how one single person could change the whole world in a second, have a remedy for all the shit she had been rolling in for the past week. Or two weeks. Or three.

"Sorry that it took so long. Work was... a bit of a challenge."

"It's okay."

Well, it really was not, but she would rather die than tell him that.

"It's better if you don't know where I am and when. I hope you understand that."

Safety measures for her sake after all. Now she felt almost flattered that he hadn't told her he was coming. Jesus...

"Yeah. Sure," she tried to sound neutral about it, but the sudden shyness that had taken over made it sound like she was being passive-aggressive. "I mean, I didn't expect you to entertain me every night."

Well, that sounded even more sour and pathetic… She snapped her mouth shut and tried to calm her heart that was racing from his presence, his scent which had been only a memory until now.

"So, what will you become when you graduate? A historian?”

"I’ve always wanted to work in a gallery. You know, as an art curator or something like that."

"Hm. Ambitious."

She wasn’t entirely sure if he was mocking her, but she laughed. In the culture business, it was a sought-after position, but of course it wouldn't seem like much to someone who wasn’t familiar with the art world.

"What about you? What do you wanna be when you grow up?"

"Alive."

Simon's humour was dark, but after seeing that picture of him, she knew he meant what he said. And she realized that it wasn't perhaps one of her most brilliant ideas to get attached to a man who could actually be killed.

When they got to her place, she went straight to the shower and left the door open, secretly wishing that he would be the one to sneak in this time. But he never showed up, and when she stepped into her small living room, she found Simon had dozed off on her sofa. He barely fit her neat little couch and was lying on his stomach, with one hand dangling out and brushing the floor. The soft snore made it clear that he was very tired and not just chilling in a very relaxed position.

It was a cute sight, downright adorable.

But it also hurt her heart. What made him so exhausted, time after time, month after month? He wouldn’t tell her, and it was futile to ask. The man was overloaded with stress and things ordinary civilians had no clue about. She had no clue about.

He must think of her as a harmless little mouse who knew nothing of the world's darkness. And she didn't. She had her own demons and traumas, but didn't everybody? Simon, on the other hand, seemed to have the combined lives of a gladiator, spy, and war veteran. He had access to a reality that was out of sight and mind for the rest of the civilized world.

Was Simon a good guy or a bad guy? Was he a hero that saved people, or a soldier who executed orders of rape, torture, and kill?

These were questions she had never thought she would need to find answers to. The guys she had dated had been equally as harmless as her. If not even more harmless. And that was saying something.

When she had dressed, she walked to him and heard how the snoring stopped immediately.

Simon was awake and listening. He had woken just from a few soft steps, from her tiptoeing and kneeling beside the sofa, and she wondered if he had been trained for this; to wake up when someone was sneaking up on him. The thought was both gruesome and spine-tingling.

But she hadn’t meant to steal his precious sleep. And if he was so exhausted, he should sleep and not take her out…

Now that he was supposedly awake, she dared to raise a hand and caress his back, remembering what he had said in the shower when she had stroked him. His upper back was tense, even when he was lying relaxed like this, and she felt pity: someone should give this man a back rub, a whole body massage to get those muscles loose. Get some blood flowing. She caressed him with the back of her palm, then slowly traced every little vertebra of his spinal column with two fingers.

He was using both one of the cushions and her sweater as a pillow. Something in the sight of him pressed against her old, snug woolen shirt made her hand come to a halt somewhere on his lower back.

“Don’t stop,” he muttered, sleepy against the softness of her home and hand. She had to fight back the reflexive flinch: his voice was always so rough, even when he whispered and the words were muffled by the support his head was resting on.

“You have tension in your back,” she told him, not knowing why she was whispering too. It wasn’t like he was about to dart off from a sudden noise.

He merely purred for an answer, still sounding drowsy and half-asleep. How disarmed and defenseless he seemed now… On that little couch, under her gentle touch.

“I need to buy you a massage gift card for Christmas,” she blurted and regretted it immediately.

Buy him a Christmas present? As if they were some kind of a couple already… As if this wasn’t barely the second time they were spending time together.

At first, Simon didn’t show any signs of wanting to escape that hopeful suggestion of them becoming something more than just fuck buddies someday. But then he suddenly turned, and she took her hand away.

“I’d rather have you massage me,” he offered with a soft smile and a dreamy stare.

Good. Good, everything was good..

She hadn’t ruined it, hadn’t lost another poker game to this man. She still had cards to play.

She noticed the obvious signs of his arousal and felt wild in the breeze of the moment. Or perhaps she wanted to brush away what she had just said — and make him forget it too.

She reached for his pants to take them off, and he helped her with them, clearly having no objections to what she was about to do. Which was giving him a blowjob that would erase the traces of him thinking he had an obligation to buy her a present for this Christmas.

When she took him in her mouth, he grabbed the edge of the sofa as if the situation was a little too much for him.

"Didn't see that coming…"

His voice had an edge of trepidation to it. Uneasiness, almost worry. But he must've liked it, for he eased into it shortly after, slumped back onto the couch, and spread his legs in relaxation. She guided her frustration and doubts into the blowjob, tried to turn into someone else — to that girl from the stage. The Bond girl he had met, the woman of his dreams: just anything but a meek little woman who rarely left her house except for class or work.

She was fully present, not sloppy at all, almost felt like a magician as she forced groans out of him and felt his balls pull taut under her touch. He would never fit inside her mouth completely, but she tried her best.

She sure as hell made an effort.

"You must've really missed m- ah… Fuck.."

It was pretty evident that he enjoyed it. After those weeks at work, perhaps this was what he had wanted all along? To come somewhere safe, some place completely different, and throw himself on a soft couch for a quick nap before some homely girl came to give him a few caresses and a blowjob.

She swirled her tongue around the tip, gave him a little suck, then took him in as far as she could and felt him all the way at the back of her throat.

"Bloody hell Sarah..."

It couldn't be that good…

But he was all but melting under her tongue and touch. Was it just that it had been so long, or was this a rarity in his life? She'd thought that women touched him often, but apparently, they didn't. Or then he didn't allow them to.

Perhaps Simon didn't allow himself to be touched by women. He made love to them and fucked them against a wall in the shower, but he didn't get attention and caresses and blowjobs.

Well, this was news.

It didn't take too long before he came with a hoarse grunt that nearly made her shrink from him. It sounded both sublime and painful, and sent ripples of gold in her stomach and a pang of wet heat between her legs. The load was generous, but she didn't pull away, briefly wondering how awkward it would be to choke on his cum the second time they met. It had been a while for him, then, and she felt disappointed. It wasn't anything special after all, merely the cause of him not having had the opportunity, desire, or time to fap.

His chest was heaving, and she had made a mess in her attempt to swallow it all while keeping everything under control. With Simon, she wasn’t in control, and she had no choice but to accept it.

He reached a hand to absentmindedly caress her hair, and she rested her head on his thigh — but they didn't stay that way for long, for he stirred, and she had to draw back.

"Your turn," he suddenly rose from the couch while still looking like someone who was about to pass out. He got out of his pants, pulled his shirt over his head, threw it somewhere on the floor, and hauled her up in a bridal carry. He literally swept her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom, and she must’ve looked like a deer in headlights.

Because Simon was and wasn't safe.

He had strength, charisma, and forearms to die for, but he didn't feel like someone she would choose to tell her every secret, someone who she would call if she needed help. He came into her world and walked out of it like there was a swinging door between the two of them.

He didn't commit. Which meant that she couldn't commit. Which furthermore meant that she had trouble getting wet.

As infuriating as it was, dark and dangerous didn't exactly turn her on. This wasn't dating; this was more like an adventure or a roller coaster ride. She didn't know what phase they were in because the usual dating-related stuff was off the board. There was nothing to hold on to.

He laid her on the bed, crawled next to her, then reached a hand under another skirt she had chosen for going out with him.

"Perhaps later," she whispered as his hand was already traveling up her thigh. She almost took those words right back when she saw the obvious hurt flash in his eyes. She didn't know if she had de a chip to his pride or if it was something else, but he clearly hadn't expected her to say no to him again.

"Why won't you let me touch you?"

"I…"

She didn't know what to tell him.

What could she say? That she felt unsafe with him? That wasn't even entirely true.

She couldn't tell him that she needed trust and commitment while knowing he couldn't give them to her. Her shy silence stretched on, and the frightened state she was in only worsened when he stared at her, tilted his head, and wouldn't remove his hand.

Then he kissed her — unhurriedly, languidly, and the hand just stayed there under the skirt, pressed against her thigh, firm and broad. Only after she answered his kiss with a shy hunger did he move it further up, up — until it came to rest on her sex.

The kissing finally did it: at some point, she could feel the sudden rush of wetness down below. Her lips trembled when he pulled away only an inch and looked into her eyes while their breaths danced in between their lips. His palm moved only a tiny bit; he was soothing her, coaxing her to open for him. Eventually, his fingers met the soaked spot on her panties, and she swallowed. There was a slight twitch at the corner of his lips, just a tiny little hint that he knew he was doing it right.

"Did you like the picture I sent you?"

Oh fuck.

"Um, yeah.."

He pressed a finger against the center of her wetness, covered only by the thin fabric, and she tried to draw breath as inaudibly as she could.

"Did you get wet?"

So fucking cocky…

"Yes, she whispered against his lips, which finally curved into a small smile.

"Come again?"

"Yes."

The smile widened into a smirk as he moved to slip underneath the fabric. Her folds parted without effort as he guided his finger over her, the length and thickness now resting on her entrance and all the wetness that only increased by the second. She was blinking and breathing shallowly against his mouth while he simply continued to drink in every sign of her unease and arousal.

"Is that why you asked for more?"

Oh God… 

"Yes. Would you just-"

"Begging already?"

He was so… infuriating. So cocky, so damn self-confident… It drove her crazy.

"No."

Something flickered in his eyes, a twinkle of endearment.

And not just a twinkle. It was bold, blazing mischief. Shit… She was fucked.

"I'll make you beg."

Oh my God…

He moved even lower, then dipped one finger in, so deep that she was left blinking again. Her mouth opened, then closed, and she realized she must be looking like a fish on dry land. He pulled out, and she wanted to protest, but her pride stood in the way. The moisture was spread all over her folds, especially over the tight, sensitive bud that had been left without attention for so long from the sadness and hopelessness, from her having thought Simon wouldn't come back. She couldn't even touch herself because she had already gotten used to thinking about him when she did that.

A shaky little moan finally hit his lips, and he kissed her again while drawing a circle on the bud, sweeping a few strokes across her folds, then driving two fingers in. Slowly, lovingly. The laced fabric that was stretched to give him space must be sodden by now, but he wouldn't pause to take it away. He just continued to fuck her slowly with his fingers while holding that kiss, holding her steady with his mouth only.

He had taken her hesitation as a challenge, and she wondered if she was some kind of a challenge to him overall. If something in her made him want to break her, get to the bottom of her, get a reaction out of her… And he was succeeding splendidly. She was everything but frigid now. He only needed a finger or two to make her like this. And perhaps that voice of his. That stupid cockiness.

He left her mouth and pulled out, only to finally reach for her poor underwear and take it off. She didn't object this time, but when he moved between her legs and she realized he was about to replace those panties with his face, she jerked away from him.

"Hold on…"

"Nah. You hold on."

He wouldn't relent. He simply pressed his mouth against her pussy which, by now, was wet to the point of leaking, and grabbed hold of her hips as if to remind her that she couldn't get away even if she tried. She could only sink back to the bed and let him have his way: to embark on a mission to make her beg.

And she did beg, eventually, when he pressed his tongue flat against her and plunged it inside, and sucked her clit and did it all with such infuriating patience and laid-back attitude that it made her squirm against him. He caressed her with his tongue, those lips, caressed her with his thumb before guiding it inside as well while kissing her thighs, now wide open for him.

She didn't beg with words, but she did coat the air with sighs and moans that must've stroked his ego like nothing else. Even the stubble did its job: it didn’t sting. It only drove her more mad. She could hear him chuckle against her occasionally, could feel him smile in her pussy as he ruined her with that mouth. Even the intrusive thoughts of whether Simon had done this to dozens of women before her and would do it to dozens after her didn't prevent her from approaching the peak in minutes, mere minutes…

Just as she was about to grasp his hair for support, to brace herself for the incoming, he withdrew. The bastard rose to sit and left her shaking and whimpering.

"Wh-… why did you…"

He was licking his lips, smiling, and stroking himself, fully erect again. The fact that he was hard from pleasing her with his mouth, left her feeling even more weak.

"You want it?"

"Fucking hell, Simon." She knew how she must look: dripping wet, with desperation in her eyes and a shaky curse on her lips.

"Is that a beg?"

He placed the thick tip to her entrance, and she throbbed and writhed against him like she was about to come from the slightest touch of that cock.

"Yeah… Yes, please, Simon, just-"

He granted her plea to the full before she had even finished it. The spread, the feeling of being filled with him, was so exquisitely divine that it only took less than five thrusts before she came.

He looked annoyingly pleased while watching her have one of the most powerful, gratifying, leg-shaking orgasms of her life. Perhaps it was only a proper way to greet a man who had been inside her head for so long: who was finally inside her for the first time in four desolate weeks. She didn't feel wild or raw now; she felt like molasses, like puddle of tears, a boneless, limp heap of muscle from all that love and gentle fucking.

After the tension, tremblings, and shaky sighs had left her, and she was merely panting, he finally stopped. Lodged deep inside her to feel the rest of the waves, he was still watching her. The stare of those warm eyes was too much to bear after another implosion that made her even more attached to this man.

"If you call me a good girl, I swear I'll slap you again," she whispered. The body against him shook from silent laughter. He kissed her again, buried his fingers in her hair, gave her another rock of his hips. And then, suddenly stopped just to whisper in her ear…

"That's my good girl."

Fuck…. 

It was useless. Utterly, completely useless with Simon.

"Ok… Ok." She tried to gather herself while he was still inside her, still filling her and shielding her with his body. "You're asking for it, so I'm not giving it to you."

"Poor me," he answered with that gruff, heart melting voice.

She was laughing again, smiling for the first time in days. Beaming, even…. Probably looking like a brain-dead idiot.

"This was a good date. I had fun."

In her opinion, it was the best date ever, but would she let him know it and stroke that ego further? Hell no.

"This wasn't what I had in mind," he hummed while moving to kiss her neck.

"What if we just stayed here for the rest of the day?"

"Wouldn't mind that."

“You know.. I... really missed you,” she finally confessed with a whisper while he was preoccupied with her neck; safely somewhere else than right there in front of her, staring her in the eyes, gathering evidence of her vulnerability. He huffed a chuckle against her skin in response, sounding close to relieved.

"I missed you too."

#simon riley x oc #ghost x oc #ghost smut #simon riley smut #simon ghost riley x oc #mw2 smut #ghost fanfiction #simon riley fanfic #cod fanfic #simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley x female oc

[mixelation]

thoughts on minato's comically high body count:

a lot of reddit bros are like "that's unrealistic" or "actually according to [made up sources] it was way less--" i think this is less fun. i enjoy the hilariousness AND the horror it implies

i don't think minato is either proud or ashamed of it. it simply is what it is. like i don't think he'd ever brag but also he absolutely doesn't feel bad about it

i don't think he enjoys murder but he is more flippant of it than most ninja, and definitely more callous than his friendly personality would imply. enemy ninja? could kill them and not even think about it a minute later. random people not on his side but caught up in the crossfires? he'll avoid it if he can, but he also won't lose a wink of sleep over it. fire country citizens? in theory he's meant to protect them so he will, and he's not going to outright kill any of them himself, but like.... he doesn't actually super care. konoha ninja under his command? he tries his best to prevent death but he also won't really lose sleep over it. this man loves his family and then like three other people and he's not shedding a tear for anyone else

people being afraid of him can get SUPER awkward though. like he still wants to be social and friendly :( please stop screaming :(

kushina similarly just doesn't give it much weight. minato being hyper competent is hot, and she thinks the flee on sight order is funny, but she doesn't actually care about the numbers. get over it???

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hey there if you’re special 200 follow the van still going on I have another request for it if you’re interested in A-to-Z for Azula Avatar the last Airbender

Hi! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took a while. I hope you like the headcanons!

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Want to join in the 200 followers celebration? Find out more by checking out my Directory or just head straight to the Event Rules.

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Activities - What do they enjoy doing with you?

Azula doesn’t really mind what you do. She says it’s because as long as you’re happy, she’s happy. In reality, she doesn’t really know a lot of “normal” activities to do with people so she’d rather you take the lead.

Body - What is their favourite part of you?

Likes your hands. She thinks they’re a good demonstrator of someone’s strength and she enjoys bending your fingers and watching them move.

Cuddles - Are they a cuddly person?

Not a huge fan of physical affection but will humour you occasionally if you want to hug her. She doesn't really know what to do with her arms so hugs may feel awkwards until she warms up to them.

Dates - Where are they taking you on dates?

Much like just doing things with you, Azula doesn't really know many “normal” date ideas. She’s happy to leave that up to you, otherwise you’d be destroying enemy battleships for a date.

Emotions - How in touch are they with their emotions?

Azula’s got a complicated relationship with emotions. She allows herself to feel all of her emotions freely but still struggles with more sentimental emotions such as affection or genuine care. It might take her a while to figure those ones out properly.

Future - What future are they picturing with you?

Definitely sees herself staying with you long term, even considering marriage. Once she chooses someone to be with seriously, she sticks with them. Together, you will rule the Fire Nation and topple every other nation on the planet! You will be unstoppable!

Gifts - Are they a gift giver?

Azula has plenty of money to spend so she loves giving you gifts. They’ll always be things you’ve mentioned wanting as well, so Azula’s definitely a great gift giver.

Holding - How do they like to hold you?

As mentioned before, Azula’s not super comfortable with physical affection. If anything, she would probably prefer sitting with you, backs pressed together. It’s a display of trust as well as something she finds relaxing.

Injury - How do they react when you're injured?

If someone has hurt you, she’s going after them with both threats of physical violence and the destruction of their social status. If it’s a minor injury she’ll laugh it off with you before getting one of her servants to patch you up.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous?

Azula’s definitely prone to jealousy, however she’s also more than well equipped to deal with anyone who is foolish enough to try their luck stealing away the partner of the princess of the Fire Nation. You may have to prevent her from going overboard though.

Kisses - What are their favourite types of kisses?

Likes back of the hand kisses, both giving and receiving. She feels they’re befitting of her status and they’re something you can do in public without being indecent.

Love - Who says "I love you" first?

I think you would say those three words first but Azlua probably wouldn’t be far behind. She knows how she feels about you, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to tell you.

Memory - What is their favourite memory with you?

Azula’s favourite memory with you probably involves fighting. Whether it’s a bar fight, a confrontation with the Avatar, quashing your enemies, or even just sparing together, Azula likes fighting side by side with you.

Nicknames - What nicknames do they give you?

I don’t see Azula as someone who uses nicknames a whole lot. She much prefers using your actual name.

Obvious - Are they obvious in their affection?

Decently good at concealing her feelings, especially when she’s in public. However the more you get to know her, the more you’re able to see the signs and read her emotions.

PDA - Are they a fan of PDA?

Azula’s not a huge fan of PDA, more because of her status as the princess of the Fire Nation. She’s got a reputation to uphold. She’s also not eager to let her enemies know she has a weak spot when it comes to you.

Quirks - What are some of their quirks?

Azula enjoys practising with her flames when she’s bored. Often she’ll ask you to name animals or objects and try to recreate them with her flames.

Romance - Are they romantic?

Romantic but in her own unique way. If you find it romantic when people tell you they would kill thousands for you, you’re in luck.

Secrets - Do they keep secrets from you?

Has a tendency to keep secrets from you but that is more a habit formed by her position than her actually wanting to hide things from you. Any secrets she keeps are all about military secrets anyway.

Talking - What do they like talking to you about?

Honestly, Azula prefers listening to you than talking. She likes hearing about what you’ve done that day since it’s always so different from her life.

Understanding - How understanding are they?

Azula’s not great at understanding others, especially when they’re different from her. She will try but it might take a while for her to get the hang of it. Until then, clear communication is key.

Value - What do they value most about you?

Your willingness to be with her despite all her shortfallings. As set in her way as she is, Azula knows she sometimes isn’t the best person and she’s grateful you’re willing to put all that aside and care for her regardless.

Wild Card - What's a random headcanon about the character?

Azula has a habit of chewing on her lip when she’s thinking. Sometimes it gets bad enough that she will make her lips bleed. She’ll be grateful if you point out when she’s doing it before it gets to that stage.

X-Ray - How easily can they read your emotions?

Can usually tell how you’re feeling but struggles to understand why you’re feeling that way or empathising with you if it doesn’t align with her emotions.

Yearning - How do they handle being away from you?

Handles being away from you well since she’s used to travelling without friends or family. She does enjoy your company when you’re reunited however.

Zen - How easily do they relax around you?

Doesn’t find it particularly easy to relax regardless of who’s around. But externally, she gives off the impression of being relaxed. After a while of getting to know you, she will begin to truly relax.

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#writing #fanfic #headcanon #headcanon request #request #avatar #avatar x reader #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender x reader #azula #azula x reader

[dracowars]

Hi again sweetie! Luke and reader where theyre all celebrating the whole end of the empire/death star and she gets absolutely drunk off her mind and sits on his lap and plays with his hands all giggly and theyre "just friends" and han (and leia) are having the time of his life teasing tf out of them?? Maybe in the morning shes embarrassed and apologises so lukes all sad bcs it was a "mistake" but they end up tgt later? Thankss lovee

booze and confessions | luke skywalker

pairing: luke x reader

word count: 1,9k

summary: where y/n celebrates the end of the war a little too much, ending in a confession

a/n: i feel like it has been ages since i wrote something even though it's not true lmao hope you enjoy lovely!! <3

warnings: angst, mentions of war, mentions of death

universe: star wars

To be honest, you have no idea how many drinks you already have in your system, but when if not today are you allowed to celebrate like this? After the Death Star was successfully destroyed, the Empire was defeated and peace and tranquility will return to the entirety of the galaxy. The age of fear and terror is over, the time of fighting is over and you can finally let yourself go. Finally, there is something to celebrate, something you have been working towards for years. And today, after all the suffering, that goal has been achieved and you could not be any happier to be right here, right now: on Endor, in the midst of numerous Ewoks dancing and partying, with your friends who fought alongside you all those years while the sky above you is lit up in a variety of colours.

However, the exertion of the day affects your body, your feet slowly starting to hurt from this long, fateful day and when you see Luke sitting at a table, with Han and Leia next to him, a break from all this celebrating suddenly sounds quite attractive and you stumble and stagger towards them.

"There he is! The man of the hour!", you chuckle happily as soon as you are near them, your arms spread wide as you head straight for Luke, who examines you with a small but shy smile. Before he can answer, however, you actually trip over your own feet and almost hit the ground if it wouldn't be for Luke's strong arms to prevent you from falling to the ground.

"Woah! Be careful!", Luke warns you, but what he does not expect is that you barely noticed your little misstep and just sit on his lap, giggling with joy. "I think someone had a drink or two too many."

"Are you talking about me? Don't you worry, Luke, I'm perfectly fine!", you cheekily smile at him, swaying a bit which is why he carefully puts one of his hands on your arm so you do not fall off your seat on top of him.

"Maybe you just didn’t have enough?", you tease him, showing him his glass, turning it upside down to emphasize that it is empty. Of course, this victory also comes with a lot of pain for Luke and Leia due to the loss of their father, but Luke has assured you several times that he is fine and that he still wants to celebrate this victory, in honor of his father.

That is also why you really wanted the two of you to have a good time together, but apparently you really had a few too many drinks.

"She definitely had too much", Han comments on your behaviour, sitting across from you with an arm around Leia, followed by a laugh. "I think I have rarely seen her like this and I have seen a lot."

"Han, you could use another drink, don't you think?", you answer him provocatively, but before you can elaborate, you feel the warmth of Luke's hand running up and down your arm. Heat rushes to your face, your cheeks turning red, but you just reach for his other hand and play with his fingers enthusiastically.

"I never thought I would see Ewoks in my life! I mean, did you look at them? They are so cute, I can't believe they stopped an army of stormtroopers by themselves!", you gush in awe upon watching these little creatures dance around their fire. "Don't worry, Luke. You are still cute as hell, too."

"Oh wow, it must sting to be compared to little furry bears", Han chuckles, putting his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Leia, also trying to hold back her laughter for her brother's sake, hits Han with her elbow.

"Stop it, Han. I am not even talking to you, just to Luke. Look at you! Such a beautiful face!", you grin, running your index finger along Luke's jawline. Your faces are so close now that they are almost touching and as soon as your eyes meet, the world around you becomes silent.

But just when Luke thinks you are about to close the gap between you, you throw your arms around his neck and place a kiss on his cheek, your arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"I really love you, Luke", you whisper, or at least think you are whispering, because Han comments your words with inhaling in shock.

"No, that is news to me. I would never have expected that in my life, with the way you always look at each other-"

"Han!" Luke and Leia interrupt him at the same time and he immediately raises his hands in the air in defense, an expression of innocence on his face.

"It is not at all fun to say if you don't say it back, Luke", you sadly pout now, skillfully ignoring Han or not even noticing him due to your numbed senses. Because you are moving too much again, you almost slide off Luke's lap once more, but he holds you tight again in the last moment so that does not happen.

"Well, I think it is time for you to lie down now. It was a long evening and-"

"B-But we haven't even danced with each other yet!", you say indignantly as Luke stands up with you and immediately grab his hand, lifting it up to do several clumsy pirouettes underneath.

To prevent you from tripping over your own feet again, Luke casually lifts you into his arms, causing you to squeal as everything around you suddenly seems to spin even more. Not resisting or fighting back, enjoying the closeness you now have to him too much, you wave to Leia and Han over Luke's shoulder and let him carry you into one of the huts further up in the treetops.

Luke gently lays you down on the small mattress laid out in your hut and covers you with the blanket, sitting next to you. Your eyes are already half closed, but one of your hands is still clinging tightly to his.

"I love you too, you can't even imagine how much", Luke admits before giving you a kiss on the forehead and leaving you to your dreams, which for the first time are only consisting of positive things.

════════════

Scattered rays of light shine into your face, causing you to wake up far too early after the previous long night. Slowly, you open your eyes and listen to the soft rustling of the leaves outside. You stretch your arms above your head as you yawn and sit up, running your hands through your face as the first effects of last night make themselves noticeable.

You curse under your breath as you rise on shaky legs, having to hold onto the wall of the small hut to keep your balance. You already regret not drinking less yesterday, but it felt so good in the moment. Completely sleepy and not yet fully awake, you stumble out onto the wooden platform high up in the trees and stop in your tracks when you see Luke standing on the railing in front of you, looking out over the Ewok village.

The light wind blows through his hair and the sunlight causes his face to shine naturally. Barely able to take your eyes off him, memories of last night suddenly come to your mind and your heart beats faster. You can't remember everything, there are some missing parts in your memories, but what you can remember brings a blush to your cheeks in an instant.

Wanting nothing more than to immediately disappear back into your hut because you just do not want to be confronted with your actions of last night, you slowly turn around, retreating, but as soon as he says your name, you know he does not even need to see you to know you are there.

With a smile, Luke turns to you, leaning his back against the railing.

"Slept well?", he asks gently, but you think you can also hear a certain amount of concern in his voice.

With a nod, you slowly walk towards him, looking away because you just can't keep eye contact, too afraid of what you might see in his eyes.

"How are you?", you ask carefully as you lean over the railing next to him and he looks at you from the side, his focus solely on you which makes your cheek feel even warmer. Playing with a strand of rope that is holding the wood of the railing together, you wait for his answer, your heart beating loudly in your ears as your shoulders touch.

"I'm good. We won so..", Luke chuckles quietly, but immediately falls awkwardly silent again.

You stand next to each other in silence for several minutes, just listening to the wind and the peaceful sounds of the forest. But you both feel that there is something unspoken between you and neither of you knows how or whether to address it. Once Luke finally clears his throat, you brace yourself for the worst.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about what happened last night if that is why you are not speaking to me like you usually do", Luke addresses the rancor in the room and you want to run away and lock yourself up somewhere and just never come out again.

"Luke, I'm incredibly sorry. I-I had too much to drink and my behavior was completely inappropriate", you apologize to him, head down because you just can't manage to look at him without immediately turning bright red. Why are you suddenly so completely out of control of your emotions?

"Oh... I see. Uhm, you don't have to apologize. I mean, if it was just the effects of having too much to drink, then it was probably just a mistake.."

"W-What do you mean?", you ask in surprise, not knowing what he is trying to imply. Or maybe you do know and just do not want to admit it.

"Well, I mean- So I- Would it be wrong of me if, deep down, I hoped that it was more than that? That it was, maybe, real?"

"Luke, what are you talking about...?"

"Would it be so bad if it was real? Do you really feel about me that way?", he asks you and now you finally look into each other's eyes and you hold your breath, searching his eyes for any signs that will tell you what is going on, if he actually means his words.

"Because if that were the case, then all I can say is that I feel the same way about you. Maybe even more", he continues, not letting you speak as he takes your hands in his. "I really really love you too. I told you yesterday, but I don't think-"

"I know. I think I heard it", is the only thing you can say in response to his confession, your thoughts swirling around in your head. You never would have thought that he would feel the same way about you and for some reason your heart now beats a little more painfully than before because you just feel so much love for this man in front of you.

"As I told you yesterday, Luke: I really love you too", you admit openly and before you know it, he wraps you in his arms and hugs you as tightly as if you wouldn't experience the next day.

And in that moment you realize that you would never find a safer place than right here, in his arms. That no matter what comes your way in the future, nothing matters as long as you have each other. And finally, after all this time, you do have each other.

#luke skywalker #luke skywalker imagine #luke skywalker os #luke skywalker fic #luke skywalker ff #luke skywalker fanfic #luke skywalker fanfiction #luke skywalker imagines #luke skywalker one shot #luke skywalker one shots #luke skywalker x you #luke skywalker x female reader #luke skywalker angst #luke skywalker fluff #luke fluff #luke angst #luke x y/n #luke x female reader #luke imagine #luke imagines #luke os #luke one shot #luke one shots #luke fanfic #luke ff #luke fic #luke fanfiction #sw imagine #star wars fanfic #star wars one shot

[bonebabbles]

Ok. Fun scooby-doo jokes are over. Time for a graphic birthing scene as Star Flower enters premature labor after being starved for days and running to get away from a bunch of stinky, dirty rogues.

The writers will see a woman character and ask, "Is anyone going to describe the pain and viscera in intense, obsessive detail?" and not even wait

*Shrek voice* she doesn't even get the birthing stick

(under a cut because eurgh)

It's gotta be super dramatic, to really tease the audience with the idea that Clear Sky might lose a third pregnant wife for his pain.

Star Flower has been put through such INTENSE torment to make Clear Sky feel bad and rally the cats to come together to help him out that it's taken me out of it completely.

Gray Wing also realizes he's been thinking about Star Flower too much, while she's bleeding out and giving birth several weeks early after escaping Slash's Torment Nexus, so he takes a moment to rotate his brother around in his head for a bit.

"He'd been so panicked about Star Flower that he hadn't thought about his brother," who is apparently going to get set upon by a band of Slash's angry rogues all alone in this fantasy daydream Gray Wing has conjured up in his head.

Like, apparently Clear Sky is going to leave the meeting with Slash, get told about the secret plan to rescue Star Flower which was happening concurrently (already happened; we saw this), then jump up and run from what everyone's told him, bolt towards a camp he doesn't know the location of, and a patrol of Slash's warriors are going to find him?

ok.

Anyway then all the women come together to midwife for Star Flower.

And then Clear Sky and Star Flower cuddle around the new kits and act all cute. The "pure love" in Clear Sky's eyes is focused on, everyone recommends he takes extra good care of his premature kits, etc. He's So Totally Changed Now, through the magic of wife and babies.

All I'm thinking about is how he kills one of these children later, by refusing to allow Acorn Fur to complete her training and throwing a tantrum about how "SkyClan doesn't ask for help unless we have no choice!" when she tells him she can't treat his son's fox-inflicted mauling alone.

One more patented brother moment between Clear Sky and Gray Wing

I'm just gonna be honest, man... I hear from a LOT of people that this tugs at their heartstrings, so maybe I just don't "get it." But this WHOLE series long, Gray Wing has pissed himself over how Clear Sky can't have possibly "changed that much" from when they were children, won't accept that he's a child-beating and woman-slaughtering tyrant, IMMEDIATELY jumps to his defense at every turn even when it's ridiculous, and here's the payoff.

Hugging and sniffing his Dear Brother and having a flashback to them being babies at their mother's breast, secure in the knowledge he was right all along.

That every time he downplayed abuse, shoved people towards a situation where they'd be in danger, or prevented others from recognizing Clear Sky as the threat he was, he was correct that Clear Sky, in contrast to the EEEVIL rogues, was a good boy. Nothing about Clear's behavior has actually changed besides having MORE children to endanger.

This is chapter SIX of the LAST BOOK and we already saw Clear Sky using abuse tactics earlier to try and manipulate Thunder into doing what he wants.

So, I can't sympathize with the "heartwarming" reaction. "Ohh it's so sweet that the dear brothers are having flashbacks to when they were 6" I cannot relate. Idk how you can watch AMVs of this without wanting to set them both on fire. Thunder should get a restraining order.

#Btw winner of funniest song is Sneaky Snitch #That wins #That is objectively the funniest song to play during that scene #Kevin MacLeod Wins #Btw I didn't really post or get into it because it was really generic besides like... leaf starts yowling as a distraction #Which I've chosen to interpret as his attempt at bird noises #Because it is a LOT funnier to imagine him going “CA CAWWWWWWWWWW” as the guards are just. deeply confused. #They break in to save starf and she's like 'there's two more guards!' and then there's two more guards. #Then they run. This was apparently a genius plan. #Meme of Thunder's two paws and he's holding TWO restraining orders #dotc hate #bones reads dotc

[torgawl]

i was a reading a bit more on purgatory and purgatorius ignis (cleansing fire), which is a concept that existed even before the notion that purgatory itself was a third other-world domain, similar to heaven and hell, when i suddenly remembered dante's la divina commedia and decided to revisit the story a little. and i found something interesting as i was scrolling through the wikipedia page.

so, purgatory is the second part of la divina commedia, following inferno, and is an allegory telling of the climb of dante up the mount of purgatory, guided by the roman poet virgil. alegorically, purgatorio represents the penitent christian life (and christianity, as we know, is one of the core themes of fontaine's archon quests that arlecchino was a part of). while describing the climb dante focuses a lot on the nature of sin, examples of vice and virtue, as well as moral issues in politics and in the church. what's interesting, though, is that the poem posits the theory that all sins arise from love – either perverted love directed towards others' harm, or deficient love, or the disordered or excessive love of good things.

why is this interesting, you ask? let me add here a few quotes before i contextualise it:

"she is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her" - dainsleif about the cryo archon, the tsaritsa

"her royal highness the tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace. and because she made an enemy of the world, i now have a friend in you." - childe about the tsaritsa

"everyone praises her for her kindness and benevolence, but they forget that love is also a form of sin. what if she's just trying to compensate for something?" - wanderer about the tsaritsa

the tsaritsa, the cryo archon and the person arlecchino is devoted to, is theorised and hinted multiples times to be the god of love. yes, the love that is said to be the origin of sin in la divina commedia. we can also draw parallels between the idea of perverted love talked about in the poem and the relationship between arlecchino and others, for instance the kids of the house of the hearth.

arlecchino's drip marketing including an excerpt where the scene goes from a gentle warm environment, seemingly mistaken as a loving family home full of innocent looking children, that quickly shifts into a somber and dark atmosphere under her authority - the children answering instantly, without hesitation and completely obedient -, is the perfect illustration of the duality within her character. there's an obvious exploitative and manipulative system making use of the house of the hearth and the orphans under its roof, where arlecchino (as the one running the orphanage) is the provider and the kids are brought up to be dependable and further dispatched as fatui soldiers when "potential" is recognised. and we can deduce that there's ways that their education is done from a very young age so it prevents or punishes any sort of dissent, something not hard to imagine when we know from freminet that arlecchino doesn't like when the kids cry or show emotional vulnerability, something she sees as weakness, for example. but if there's this dark side to her, there's also certain attitudes that demonstrate her care for the children or even her care for the world around her. arlecchino helping freminet get closure on his mother's death, the reformation of the house of the hearth (which we know used to have a much more punishitive and strict leader before arlecchino took over) or even her devotion and deep respect towards the tsaritsa are some examples of the way she shows care for other people. now, we can theorise that these good deeds directed towards the orphans under her care are very much purposeful to better manipulate them, but i think that's exactly what the notion of perverted love in la divina commedia tries to hint at.

besides this concept, there's something else that peaked my interest in dante's poem. dante pictures purgatory as an island at the antipodes of jerusalem, pushed up, in an otherwise empty sea, by the displacement caused by the fall of satan, which left him fixed at the central point of the earth. it's a cone-shaped island that has seven terraces on which souls are cleansed from the seven deadly sins or capital vices as they ascend. at the summit is the garden of eden, from where the souls, cleansed of evil tendencies and made perfect, are taken to heaven.

as we know, arlecchino is being introduced in fontaine, her homeland, and the idea of purgatory as an island in the sea leading its way to heaven caused by the fall of a sinful being sort of reminded me of remuria. remuria was the civilization in fontaine which directly preceded the previous hydro archon egeria's rule. its downfall occurred as a result of remus' attempt to avert its predicted destruction, and in particular, by his act of sharing his power and authority — reserved only for gods — with the four human harmosts he appointed to govern his cities. remuria eventually ended up being sunken into the abyss, devouring everything including the people and remus himself. we know there's still a region in fontaine's map that wasn't yet released, so how odd would it be that the last part to be revealed in fontaine might just be the land that was once sunken? after the little note about the samsara cycles near the tower of the narzissenkreuz ordo, which referenced a cycle called remuria, i would not be surprised at all. it's also particularly funny that fontaine is directly below celestia. yes, the floating island in the sky above teyvat which is the residence of the gods, the same gods that made remuria fall. as the contemporary philosophers of our time have said, that's sus!!!

i don't want to get too ahead of myself because i don't have a theory about what's going to happen or what role arlecchino will play exactly but i don't think it would be shocking if we got to know more about remuria during her release. and still in the purgatory idea, i think the angel of death (azreal) might be an interesting parallel to make with arlecchino. azrael's role is seen as benevolent, transporting souls after death. it fits perfectly well with the idea of purgatorius ignis, that signifies transformation. in different cultural and religious contexts, fire can also symbolize destruction renewal and even rebirth so i'm very very curious to see what arlecchino's story will be like.

#this is a very long one and it's not really a theory but i wanted to drop my thoughts because why not 😂 #this + the idea of teyvat being inside a globe (either a domain or in the sea of nihility connecting with hsr) or the upside down theory #where the gods are actually trying to prevent 'enlightment' or are the equivalent to a demon realm which makes sense with the archon's name #would also be cool if arle ended up being a figure sort of like the grim reaper you know? #slightly different from the angel of death but similar enough concepts. [LEAKS ALERT] she's said to have scythe so that'd be freaking fun!! #does this make sense? i hope so. this was a bit of a mess but i just needed to write it somewhere before i forgot #if anyone reads this thank you so much for taking the time and sorry if it was actually really boring :3 #arlecchino #genshin impact #genshin thoughts

[sokkastyles]

you know, i was rewatching zuko alone the other day (as i am wont to do), and noticed a couple of things in regards to the scapegoat/golden child dynamic that i hadn’t before (probably because that wasn’t a frame of reference i understood when i was younger.)

when ursa tells the kids that ozai has requested an audience with azulon and hurries them to get ready, zuko runs out of the room right away to get dressed in his “best clothes” because he knows he can’t be late or non-presentable in some way without risking ozai’s rebuke. azula, meanwhile, waits behind and ambles about for a moment (while expressing violent ideology), before eventually running off to get ready. not that she doesn’t care about being presentable or punctual, but it’s clear that already her status as ozai’s golden child gives her an (ultimately false) sense of security.

after azulon orders them to leave, it’s azula who wants to stay behind and eavesdrop and drags zuko by the hand to do the same while he protests by asking what she’s doing. azula is significantly less worried about getting in trouble, but she also tries to get zuko involved so that if they are caught, she could theoretically pin on it him, as ozai would be predisposed to blame his scapegoat child anyway. (this may seem like an ungenerous interpretation, but i see it as a pretty clear microcrosm/foreshadowing moment of the lie she’ll tell in the first half of book three.)

these are definitely subtler moments in the episode but i actually think they do a lot to emphasize how, exactly, the abusive dynamics in the fire nation royal family work.

Yeah, and as I said in the other post I made about Azula's relationship with Ozai, her senss of security in her position as the golden child becomes a kind of psychological weapon she can wield, because she knows that Ozai is dependent upon her for his own validation. Often these types of dynamics lead to a power struggle between the parent and child as the child grows older and figures out that this gives them power over the parent. I do think that's what would have happened with Azula as she got older, and so Ozai and Azula's falling out at the end would have happened sooner or later.

This is also, as you say, another reason why I too interpret Azula lying to Ozai about Zuko killing the Avatar as less charitable than some people would argue. It's not just theorizing, the clues are in the text. I also love that moment in the comics when Azula tells Zuko that his fear prevented him from going with her to search for Ozai's secret stashes in the palace because it also tells us about this dynamic and reflects what we see in the show. Another example I would point to is Azula's casual assurance that she is welcome in the war meeting, despite the backdrop of what happened to Zuko, while Zuko agonizes over whether or not he is invited.

In that scene you mention when Ursa tells them to get ready, I think it's also a subtle rebellion against Ursa, a message that Azula knows how little control Ursa has, plus the knowledge that she's Ozai's favorite so she can take her time, while the rest of them scurry around in feat.

Coincidentally this is also why I have to laugh when people act like Azula was afraid of Ursa in any way, because her reactions to Ursa are always dismissive. She thinks Ursa fears her and she thinks that gives her power, because that's what she's learned from Ozai.

#azula #zuko #ursa #ozai #zuko alone

[whispangleblogger]

I am not somebody that hops onto the "comic discourse" a lot. I usually prefer to talk things through with my friends and share opinions in private.

But since Tangle more or less got ignored so far i take the chance and talk a bit about her appearance in 64

She jumps in as a supportive character towards Whisper and helps her to prevent another breakdown. While yes, there was a scene in Urban Warfare that did the exact same thing, i feel like with issue 64 we finally see how strong of an impact this support actually has on the page. (I talk a bit more about Urban Warfare further down this post.) I don't even dare and call this bait (Edit: Not my words btw. i saw this used in another heated post. I personally never felt baited in any form. If anything, the girls relationship is one big highlight in these comics.) because it simply isn't. Here is a character that cares for her partner and also is uncomfortable with the whole situation to begin with. She has to decide where her priorities lie. Her reaction is to be expected to be focused on a trembling Whisper and all i can say is i'm glad we finally have a good depiction of that.

Tangle has the right to approach Whisper in ways i think no other character is able to, she earned it and it pretty much shows on this page. Softly taking down Whisper's mask and checking on her, the body language in these panels is chefs kiss. She's truly a bouncy girl, but it's good to see her being serious every now and then, i feel like it's a side of her that people usually tend to ignore. (And i really don't know why that is.) Evan Stanley does always an amazing job if it comes to showing Tangle in a different light or how she cares about her friends and loved ones. In regards about the current arc and even the last one, i feel like this post is a good chance to add my personal take to it as well, since it's been on my mind for a good while now. I feel like 64 finally makes a step into the right direction again.

To elaborate a little on that, i wasn't really a big fan of Urban Warfare, simply for the fact that it's pacing is all over the place. There were a lot of things that needed to be covered, to name a few: - new team building - Whisper's trauma - Lanolin introduced as a new character - a LOT of other teams jumping into the scene - the city itself all squeezed into a 5 book arc. One more book compared to a mini series that usually gives full focus to a set of chosen characters.

To make this clear, there are also good things in Urban Warfare as well but thanks to the fact how rushed the whole story felt in it's core it's a bit hard to enjoy the good bits as well...

Misadventures still deals with the same pacing problem and i believe that is where the real issue lies. As a reader/collector of the books and longtime fan of them, all i can say is:

I wish the comics would get their old, well cared, time for details back. Yes, a story like the Metal Virus was a long run but in the end it was a fantastic read. Mini arcs like Trial by Fire (Still one of my favorites), that focus on other things instead of the usual action, are also very important for character development and add a lot of depth to them. Endless Summer is a great example for such addition as well. These books provide insight into character interaction we usually don't see otherwise. Of course i have no idea how much SEGA is involved into everything if it comes to general decisions like how long one arc is supposed to last and when the next one should start.

(The next part is based on my personal taste, this has nothing to do with the general narrative of the books. I just want to share my thoughts about this since i really don't write them down a lot.)

As a little side note, i feel like Lanolin is a great character so far. Her stubborn and rule book like demeanor as a leader is refreshing to say the least. She also seems to be really close to how her creator ABT imagines her to be and i really appreciate that. But i can't help it and feel like her team dynamic with Tangle and Whisper comes of as rather… rocky ? On a combat level of things it works really good but on a friendship level it's somehow lacking atm. There is this boss and coworker relationship going on that feels more like real work. Obviously though she's new and needs more time to get better established. I guess we will see how this plays out in the future. I'm all in for a good or funny team dynamic but i also can't help it and feel like she works better as an addition to Jewel, running the restoration, the navigator typ that sends intel via com instead of a field combatant. Even if she proved she's good at close combat as well during her encounter with Whisper in 64. That being said, i am all open for surprises and more character development on her part. This is really just a "now" opinion and can easily change over time. I like the sheep, i really do.

#IDW Sonic #Whisper the Wolf #Tangle the Lemur #Whispangle #Just some thoughts i wanted to get out of my head #long opinion posts always take forever to write - language barrier demands extra brain juice - cries in german #Thanks to my friends SomethingSonicRelated - Honeydew - DillyWolf and ScurvyPiratehog for looking over this post #providing some additions as well #64 was a good read overall #the Whispangle moment was soft and needed #not adding more details about the issue in general since i still try to keep the theme of the blog as it's focus. #I think the post speaks for itself :> #There are still moments i hold really high and dear to me from the last arc #best example's probably my pinned post heh <3

[felixstudios]

Okay... What about a headcannons for the street managers on a rainy day?

Random Corporate Clash Headcanons, Street Managers on a Rainy Day Edition

Duck Shuffler

🎰He doesn't wanna ruin the cards on his hat so he uses an umbrella

🎰Loves the rain, though, and usually reaches out from under it to at least get his hands wet

🎰Probably runs in the rain lol

Deep Diver

🫧She LOVES the rain. Not only is it good for the environment, but she just likes water in general

🫧He's probably already soaked from a dive though, so it might take him a bit to realize it's raining

🫧I feel like her powers might get slightly stronger in the rain

🫧 Especially if floods start happening...

Gatekeeper

⚔️Refuses to use an umbrella because it occupies one of her hands, but she HATES how much her armor will rust

⚔️Will likely be a little late to work because she was putting some protective products on her armor {and maybe herself, too} to help prevent the rust

⚔️Constantly tries to get out of the rain and while she doesn't verbally complain about it, it's obvious she HATES it

Bellringer

🔔He's British... this is an average day for him

🔔He's so used to rain at this point that he's not really fazed by it

🔔Business as usual, will clean up his suit and himself throughout the day in discreet ways. It keeps him looking his best while everyone else is all sad and soggy, though

Mouthpiece

☎️She's already quite old and rusty, so she'll probably have to spend the day indoors because it's a real risk to her to be out when it's wet

☎️Likes to watch the rain from windows

☎️Of COURSE she's gonna do some extra cooking and baking today!

Firestarter

🔥Nope, we don't rain here... hail and snow here!

🔥The fire on his head is either much weaker or completely out, depending on how bad it is. He's visibly upset about this

🔥Will do his best to help Cogs and Toons alike warm up. The fire on his head might be out, but he still naturally generates a LOT of heat!

🔥Doesn't really get bothered by the weather since he just doesn't get cold, so other than being upset the flame on his head is weak/gone he's business as usual

Treekiller

🪵He doesn't care if the trees are gonna be wet and not so easy to work with, he's cutting them down

🪵Rain? Weather? GAHAHAHAHA! Stop bein' so sensative!

🪵Even in a storm he's gonna act like nothing is happening. It's impossible to tell if he actually doesn't care or if he's just trying to be annoying/impressive

Featherbedder

💤Extra sleepy, finds it quite hard to work

💤Will probably also be easily distracted by the rain

💤Delegates a lot more work because they just can't be bothered to do much today

#ttcc #toontown #corporate clash #toontown corporate clash #ttcc headcanons #duck shuffler #deep diver #mouthpiece #bellringer #gatekeeper #featherbedder #treekiller #firestarter

[sbtorms]

Y'all know how Sunsetter is, like... my Underswap take of sorts? Well, I've recently been working on ideas for an Underfell take of sorts as well, with my own little twists.

Well, it's... kinda an Underfell take. Just a bit different in... a lot of ways.

I made up the name as I'm typing this, because I didn't have a name beforehand.

RED HAZE: Tale Of The Fallen

(or just "Red Haze")

This take has a lot of differences from the usual interpretation, including changing appearances... more than just details and clothing.

(Do note that the main cast would have different names from their Undertale counterparts. But since I can't think of any ideas for now, and also to prevent confusion, I'm just using the original names.)

Unlike in Undertale, there is no barrier keeping monsterkind from going to the surface. Hell, there isn't a mountain at all. Instead, monsterkind resides in a magically imbued forest, with only one way to leave, while entering gets one endlessly lost.

Asgore simply is biding his time, getting the souls of seven humans, to become godlike, and to wipe out humanity. No monster tries to go after Asgore, or even question his methods. Some act this way out of fear of what he could do, others that are for him and for his plan, and then the few that don't care either way.

The "routes" are named somewhat differently from what people usually call Undertale's

Path of Solace - ("Pacifist" Route) Path of Choices - ("Neutral" Routes) Path of Exploit - ("Genocide" Route)

“* You brush aside the agony.”

- this take's replacement for being "filled with determination"

AGONY is a haze that leaks from broken souls, with more of it depending how much negative energy one has when they die. It mentally and physically affects those who breathe it in. Naturally, it opposes the power of Determination, as that power does to it, destroying each other until one remains or there's nothing left. But, with enough focus, perhaps one could use both as one. Such a concept would be a focus of the Path of Exploit, specifically regarding both Undyne and Frisk.

Time for the cast!

Frisk and Chara

Admittedly, I didn't think much besides design-wise for these goobers. It's probably just that Frisk is more tired than usual and Chara was used as a sacrifice to the monsters in a failed attempt at a peace offering by humanity, actually got sick instead of it being planned, and yada-yada Asriel soul absorption and death. ...okay, maybe I thought a little for Chara. But not too much for Frisk.

The shirt patterns here are probably obviously Yumi Nikki inspired, despite the fact that I know nothing about the game itself besides some characters, lol.

The Dreemurrs (Toriel, Asgore, and Asriel)

Similar to canon Underfell, Toriel is what started this entire take concept to begin with. The idea stemmed from "what if the dreemurr family had biblically accurate angel imagery (eyes and wheels) instead of devil imagery (goats, fire, trident, y'know)?" And then I added "black sheep" into that, so that's what I ended up with.

Toriel is very fearful of humans, instead of a caretaker, running away and attacking when cornered. She uses what power she has to keep herself alone, not wanting to be emotionally tied and hurt again. (She's my favorite in the cast :3)

Asgore has been particularly affected by the AGONY of the many fallen children that died by his hand, becoming almost a tyrant, with only some of his original personality fading in and out.

Asriel is... actually not too different from canon Asriel, considering he died before everything really kicked off.

Flowey is a small mass/hivemind of bundled flowers, tied together like a "rat king". Each flower has only small snippets of past memories as Asriel, as well its own "personality", splitting Undertale Flowey’s personality into six pieces. They try to help Frisk get through the area, due to how unsafe it is. Whether they have their own goals remains to be seen.

The Blooks are shadow spirits instead of simple ghosts.

Napstablook is somewhat the same as in Undertale, other than the visual changes. Though, due to the circumstances, they’d have a bit more of an issue with their emotional state, bottling up their feelings, usually until such bursts when they can’t take it anymore.

Mettaton possesses many types of machinery, instead of just his singular body. In a way, this is due to the fact that he cannot decide on a single one.

The Ruins Dummy ghost is instead possessing a box and works as how items travel between boxes throughout the areas.

Maddie (aka "Mad Dummy" or "Mad Mew Mew" in Undertale, Maddie is sorta just a fandom nickname i think) basically acts like canon, but also a Mimic in a way, also possessing a box.

There would also be a secret boss fight against both Mettaton and Maddie, replacing Undertale's "Mad Mew Mew" one, with one where the two are trying to share the same body. The goal is to get the two to get along and work together… or just straight up destroy the body.

The Skelebros are instead lost spirits, seemingly of their original counterparts in some way...

Papyrus's goal is the same as his original, but instead in hopes of finally passing on, instead of joining a "Royal Guard". In reality, he knows he's never gonna pass on, but is in constant denial of such.

Sans, however, seems to have accepted and adapted to his “life”, and just wants to follow after his brother with whatever happens to him. He also likes dark humor, because of course he does.

The "Royal Guard" replacement is instead a cult that Undyne leads (and used to be led by Gerson), with a focus on a so-called prophecy, and using AGONY for what they see as a good thing. While they seem to be against King Asgore, it's more or less that they want him back to how he was before everything happened.

Undyne is a hooded guide throughout Waterfall (or whatever it'd be called in the take). She'd still be a fishlike monster, perhaps siren-like or anglerfish-like... or both. She protects the harmless from a gang of young monsters, led by Monster Kid.

Alphys is still the Royal Scientist, but also some form of background security in a way. She has an abundance of hidden cameras all throughout the Underground. She uses her vision across the areas for many reasons. Blackmail, catching traitors in the act, sometimes just... watching. Some monsters, especially many in the cult, have become evasive enough to miraculously avoid her gaze.

Her appearance is a bit more more based on that one beta design by Tuyoki.

#undertale #undertale au #underfell #frisk #chara #toriel #asgore #asriel #flowey #napstablook #mettaton #ruins dummy #mad dummy #mad mew mew #papyrus #sans #undyne #alphys

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

You’re enabling me 😘

I rambled about it in the tags of the Vespiquen post I reblogged earlier but I really wish Vespiquen was better. I know it’s foolish to want each Pokémon to have a unique niche and function and everything, but Vespiquen has such a cool design I think she deserves better. They apparently cared enough to give Vespiquen 3 unique signature moves that literally only Vespiquen can learn which thematically play off of her gimmick of being the queen bee with a swarm of Combes. In actuality her signature moves don’t really get to have their potential realized and frankly don’t do anything particularly interesting with her concept, but they still make Vespiquen one of the pokemon with the most unique signature moves. (Also they cared enough to create a unique item that is generated by Vespiquen when she Dynamaxes in Sword and Shield, not super relevant but worth pointing out that Vespiquen has some unique things going for her).

Anyway, her signature attack, Attack Order, is an extremely solid 90 power 100% accuracy physical bug move with high crit chance, it’s not particularly exciting as it’s just a slightly better version of X-Scissor but it is quite good and frankly if other bug pokemon could learn it there are quite a few who would enjoy it (it would still have to compete with Leech Life but it’d be an option). Vespiquen is a Pokémon with respectable stats, 70 base HP, 102 base Def and Sp. Def, base 80 Atk and Sp. Atk, and an underwhelming 40 speed. With tied Atk and Sp. Atk, Vespiquen could go for a physical or special attack moveset, and despite Vespiquen’s signature attack being physical, I’d argue her move pool has better special attack options, although her inability to use Quiver Dance despite seemingly like exactly the type of Pokémon that learns Quiver Dance is unfortunate as it would really boost the potential of a special Vespiquen set. On paper her stats are quite solid and should give a Pokémon respectable bulk and alright attack stats, but because Vespiquen is a Bug/Flying type with 2x weaknesses to Fire, Ice, Electric, Flying, and a miserable 4x weakness to Rock that causes her to get set to half health from stealth rocks alone, Vespiquen’s solid-on-paper bulk doesn’t really hold up in practice, and her slow speed and mediocre attack stats prevent her from playing a sweeper role. I’m saying all this to get across that Vespiquen is very likely to take hits that she can’t survive because of just how many weaknesses she has, this unfortunately makes her other two unique moves significantly less useable. Defend Order increases both defensive stats by one stage, it’s not bad by any means and would probably be very powerful on the right pokemon, but on Vespiquen it’s unlikely to make a difference when a 4x damage rock slide is coming your way. Vespiquen’s final unique move is Heal Order, which restores 50% of her hp, a really good move if it was on a Pokémon that could take multiple hits, but as I’ve tried to explain, Vespiquen realistically is not one of those Pokémon. What’s even worse about Heal Order is that, in Vespiquen’s debut generation Gen 4, there is a TM for Roost that Vespiquen can learn. So while a lot of flying types dislike losing their ground immunity when using roost, Vespiquen would gladly trade it for temporarily removing several weaknesses, meaning that Vespiquen’s signature healing move is, in most cases, worse for her than the other recovery move she can learn. If by some miracle you are able to get Vespiquen in against Pokémon that don’t have coverage for any of the common types she’s weak to, and you’re actually able to set up a turn or two of defense order followed by heal order healing, Vespiquen could probably be useful, but even then you probably wouldn’t want to use one of her remaining move slots on Attack Order since it’s not going to do much because with a mediocre attack stat on a slow Pokémon you probably had to invest in defensively just to get to survive up until this point. What’s most disappointing to me is Vespiquen’s abilities. I would think a Pokémon whose entire gimmick is about having combee swarming around her and doing her bidding with her literally being the beehive would maybe have something interesting as an ability, but unfortunately she only gets Pressure and Unnerve, both of which are useless in most battles.

Whenever I think about Pokémon like Vespiquen that have lots of problems preventing them from reaching their full potential, I try and thinking what ways you could fix them. The immediate obvious answer would be to change her type, even something as uninteresting and common as bug/poison would be a significant improvement in terms of weaknesses (at the cost of STAB Acrobatics and Air Slash I guess). Another approach could be improving her move pool, I don’t think letting Vespiquen learn Quiver Dance would necessarily do much for her, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. The methods I think would be the most interesting of making Vespiquen and her unique signature moves more usable would be to change/buff the moves significantly or give her a real ability. Given Vespiquen’s unique design I personally think she deserves a unique ability themed around her design gimmick gmaybe something like “in double/triple battles, moves targeting Vespiquen are redirected to her Bug-type allies”), but even just something thematically appropriate like Tsareena’s Queenly Majesty would be a massive improvement over “your opponent uses more PP per move” and “your opponent can’t eat berries”. As for the moves, maybe they could do the kind of combining two existing moves thing that they’ve been doing lately and add the Infestation effect to Attack Order, or change Defend Order to reduce damage dealt by super effective attacks to her team sort of like a light screen. Really I just want a Pokémon as cool as Vespiquen that has 3 entire unique moves to be a functional Pokémon that actually has some sort of reason to pick and use said unique moves

And don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that Vespiquen’s signature moves are actually quite good compared to other Pokémon whose signature moves are lacking. It’s hard to complain about a really solid attack, a boost to both defenses, and a basic 50% heal when some Pokémon get slaps in the face like Octozooka, but knowing that doesn’t make Vespiquen’s moves actually any good

#Vespiquen #competitive pokemon #my autism flared up again

[thefutureiswhat]

My (brutally honest) thoughts on Fargo 5.10

I was gonna wait awhile to write up my thoughts, but my mind is racing and I've had too much caffeine, so here goes nothing...

Gonna be real here, my reaction on first watch was major disappointment. Going into the finale, this season was neck and neck with 3 as my overall favorite, and I felt like this episode ruined that.

Basically as soon as Witt died I checked out. I don't usually say this about fictional characters because I feel like it often misses the point, but he deserved better. And that death was so ridiculously preventable. Roy refuses to drop the knife, is basically telling Witt he's gonna kill him, Witt has a gun... JUST SHOOT HIM!

The moment with Gator and Dot just didn't feel earned to me. This guy breaks into your house, threatens your family, refuses to help you when you're being held hostage, says he hopes you die... and you're gonna bring him cookies in jail?

Nothing after the scene with Dot in the back of the car is real life, and I'm shocked that more people don't realize this.

The FBI drives Dot to her burned-down house that doesn't even look that damaged despite firefighters still "extinguishing the embers" the next morning, instead of... I don't know... a hospital? Lorraine's house? That woman needs an IV!

After the time jump... it's the height of the pandemic (the era Hawley said he wanted to avoid) but no one's wearing masks or distancing; Scotty is wearing pink; lactose-intolerant Wayne is eating sour cream, cheddar, and buttermilk; Dot is wearing clothes (yellow cardigan, plaid coat) that shouldn't have survived the fire.

Also the title is "Bisquik" (not "Bisquick") for a reason.

That entire cemetery scene was the cringiest thing I've ever seen. It was like something out of a Lifetime movie. It was the most un-Fargo scene in the entire series.

Dot doesn't seem to know even the most basic details about Witt despite it being a year since he died and her being so distraught over his death? Did she not go to the funeral? Read his obituary? Talk to Indira in the past year?

Indira is taking care of Witt's cat? They barely knew each other, and he has six sisters! Wouldn't one of them get the cat?

Munch coming back for his "pound of flesh" in real life after his last encounter with Dot just... doesn't make any sense? Does he want to kill her? Why didn't he do it when he had the chance? Why isn't he doing it now? What is he waiting for?

That whole scene with Munch was just... too long.

Okay, I'll stop being quite so negative...

I'm still on the fence about the execution, but after looking at the episode according to @tdciago's "Gaear is the author" theory, there's A LOT to unpack here. I need to watch the finale (and the entire season) again to really solidify it.

Basically, I think 5x09 was about wrapping up the "justice for Jean Lundegaard" aspect of the story (which I absolutely loved -- that last scene with Dot and Munch was one of my favorites of the entire series), and 5x10 was about wrapping up the "forgiveness for Gaear" aspect.

What I love about this show is that it always strikes such a wonderful balance between compelling storytelling/character work and deeper thematic/symbolic meaning. I think this episode lacked the former and had a heck of a lot of the latter (deceptively so). So I'm pretty much split down the middle on it... like a car cut in half with a chainsaw. Kind of perfect, actually.

More thoughts/analysis surely to come.

#fargo spoilers #season 5 #my posts

[alpaca-clouds]

On Writing Fight Scenes

I have been asked about it, so let me try and talk about it. Because those of you who are reading my fics, will know that I actually do like writing my fight scenes. Be it just characters having sparing matches - or outright fights. There is quite a few fics I have written that go into the action/adventure area.

Yet, I do know that a lot of people struggle a lot with fighting sequences. So, I will try to explain some of the core aspects needed to make an fight scene work. Most of these also work for other types of action sequences - though I might write a bit more on those in a seperate blog.

See, I think there are six aspects you need to keep in mind when writing a fighting sequence.

Characters

Pacing

Skills

Perspective

Emotion

Space

Let me explain those points.

Characters

In a fighting scene you need to keep in mind, that actions speak louder than words. Which is to say, that how the characters act within the fight scenes is going to tell the reader about who they are. Their tactics, how brutal their attacks are, how precise they are, how much they care about preventing friendly fire, how much effort they put into preventing collateral damage... It all says something about the characters involved in the fight scene. Hence it makes sense to start with thinking about what characters are participating in a fight and how they would act within it. This goes both for your protagonists and the antagonists.

There is also other stuff. Like: Do they attack head on? How tactical are they about the fight? How aware would they actually be of their surroundings (more on that a bit later)?

This would technically be a good point for me to rant about modern action movies, that often just do not do this AT ALL. And yes, yes, I am talking about fucking Marvel.

Pacing vs Details

I think one of the aspects that most often get messed up in written out fighting sequences is the pacing. Even in a lot of published books (even those by some big names) this is often not done very well - and I will not say that I do fully master this myself. Because it might be the hardest aspect of a fight scene to master.

Simply put, an fight scene needs flow. It will always struggle against the aspect that what it is describing is happening faster than words can convey it. Something that happens within a few seconds is so easily blown up into 300 words or more. And that... is a problem.

Because within a fight scene two opposite aspects struggle against each other: The pacing of the writing - and the need to convey enough information to the reader, so that the reader can get immersed in the scene.

So as a writer you are constantly trying to balance those two things against each other.

Something I personally found works well is putting effort into making sure you know what perspective you are writing - and find way to shorten things. Make the sentences short. Maybe just make super short additions. Two examples:

She aimed, breathed, shot. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Making the description very short. And accented. The same here:

He stabbed her, then stabbed her again. Again. Again. Until the blood was splattering across his face.

Skills

Something that is closely connected to the character, is that they all have different combat skills. How skilled are they with different weapons? How physically strong or dexterous are they? How fast do they think?

Let's face it. Most of us will probably write within some phantastic setting, in which the characters might also be able to use some magic or otherwise supernatural abilities.

All of this needs to be kept in mind. Especially in how it relates to the characters and their actions. This is especially true when you the characters might have an ability that would actually end the fight rather quickly and the writer does not use it. Something that might actually rub readers the wrong way.

Perspective

Alright, let me talk about another thing that I see a lot of people struggle with - once more including a lot of actually published work. And that is something that I actually find really annoying: Know your perspective.

Most of us use personal narrators - so a narrator who usually is narrating from the limited perspective of a character. And this means in a fight scene you will also still be limited to this characters point of view.

And especially in a bigger action scene a single character might not be completely aware of everything happening in that fight. Because their attention is on whoever is the biggest threat on them right now. Maybe they are also somewhat aware of the persons closest to them (be it physically or emotionally), but probably not of everything. And that is okay.

If you go out of the point of view, there is a good chance, you will just confuse the readers, or will break their immersion. Given that again, this will tell you a lot about who the character is. Because if a character diverts a lot of attention towards other things happening in a battle for example. And this might actually not be quite what you want to say about a character.

Not to mention that it actually might take from the perceived threat of the battle. Because you are saying: "Oh, yes, their opponent is unthreatening enough that the character can totally take their attention away from that opponent."

Emotion and Thought

This also ties very much into another aspect of this: How much attention is diverted towards the emotions and the thoughts of a character.

Let me be fully honest here: I have been in life threatening situations before - though never in a fight where my life was in danger. But I can tell you even from the non-lethal fight, as well as just really some dangerous situations. And I can tell you something: Adrenaline will usually make it that you are hyperfocused on the situation at hand, and will furthermore actually kinda block out a lot of emotions. Because that is literally one of the things we have the adrenal gland for.

Sure, the character might think about the situation, trying to find a good solution to win the fight. Especially, when they are more experienced fighters. But even they will probably not think about some implications or why like their one friend had been in an argument with someone else before... Stuff like that once again is immersion breaking - unless it actually has some influence on the fight. Like, if the character thinking about something else making them distracted and that leads to them getting badly injured. Stuff like that.

But even if in a fight you see someone you care about getting injured or killed... The emotions of it will usually only hit after it. And I actually think that makes it even more raw.

Space

Okay, let me talk about the last point, that again tends to be something that a lot of folks struggle with (and here I will very much include myself, especially once we get three-dimensional). And this is the space and spatial relationships within a fight scene.

Again, it is fine that a character is not aware of where everyone is - because they will probably focus on the biggest threats against themselves. But they will at least be vaguely aware of the geography of the space the fight is taking place - and probably have a very general idea of where different people are. And the reader should be able to understand this so that they can understand vaguely what is happening in the room.

This is of course most important to relay the information of where the POV is in regards of their active opponents. Which is gonna be important if you want to understand their actions - and the danger characters pose to them.

So... Make sure to keep that in mind.

Well, that is the most important stuff I can think off. To whoever this might be helpful.

#writing #writing advice #fantasy #scifi #superhero #fanfiction #fanfiction writing #action #fight scenes #writing reference #writing resources

[miracles-and-butterflies]

lmaoooo Mirabel calling the creative team “tormentors”

Without fail, every letter is addressed that way. She doesn’t learn their names, she doesn’t know why she should bother - it’s not like they bothered to do anything for her. Even if she is talking to them in person, she still calls them “tormentor” or “abuser” or something to that effect.

Not the entire creative team - she recognises a lot of them (and the cast) had no control and were just doing their job to be paid.

Now seems as good a time as any to post Mirabel’s list of inaccuracies in the film.

Roughly in order to the film’s narrative:

(Anything not mentioned is accurate).

Clothing is wrong - we’ll get back to this

Lines are also aren’t word for word what they actually said

Mirabel doesn’t think she and Abuela were ever as close as that in the opening scene. The youngest/fourth girl was far from a favourite

Mirabel doesn’t talk to herself

Mirabel did set the table, but she never spoke to the kids - that’s Camilo’s job

She never left the house, partially because she was finishing up on Antonio’s gift ceremony suit

She only left the house that day to collect Osvaldo Ortiz’s delivery, which she didn’t order but was made to get it, which he did describe as the “non-special special”. However, she couldn’t lift it and was dragging it across the grass until Luisa spotted her and intervened

The children stopped her before she could follow Luisa in, they did have a similar conversation of “maybe your gift is being in denial”

Mirabel is ironically the most graceful and careful of her sisters; hence Isabela’s need to practice. So she didn’t crash into anyone

Isabela should have been a lot meaner and vicious with her insults

Mirabel’s scene with her parents was fairly accurate - she just didn’t interact with/mention Casita in the moment

She did make her own decorations for her family and was told to leave them by Abuela; she didn’t set Abuela’s on fire either, she burnt her finger on accident

Mirabel wasn’t there for Antonio’s moment with his side of the family because she was busy having a panic attack (not that she knew it at the time), she arrived after they had left

Casita pushed her into taking Antonio’s hand

She stood behind all of the adults while Antonio received his gift with her eyes closed because she couldn’t bring herself to watch it go wrong

Mirabel didn’t go onto the roof to check the candle; she did hear Abuela’s concerns, but from below. She went to check the floor tiles because that’s where the cracks started and that smashed one had to have gone somewhere

Mirabel is scared of heights

Dolores was more aware of what was going on

She was a lot more clever and subtle in how she questioned Luisa, she didn’t shout at breakfast. She was moved but that was because she took Luisa’s coffee off her and then argued about why Luisa shouldn’t have so much of it with Abuela

She didn’t rope jump across Bruno’s room because she’s “not a fucking idiot” or Isabela. Instead, she walked all the way back down the stairs to find another way in and she did

She spent the next hour exhausted on the floor

She was aware of the cracks in Bruno’s room, subsequently took the pieces and ran without putting them together. It was the only vision in there, it has to be what Luisa was talking about

She was going to leave the vision and sort it tomorrow - focus on Isabela’s engagement as Abuela wanted. But after hiding the pieces in her room, she realised on of the shards kinda looked like her and was then curious to put it together

She and Luisa didn’t throw themselves around the room during the engagement. Mirabel never got up out of her chair and wasn’t sat anywhere near Isabela - she and Luisa were swapped

Mirabel also exclaimed a rather jubilant “I told you so!” after the cracks appeared and the magic started to fritz. Luisa covered her mouth to prevent her saying anything else that would further piss the family off

Mirabel is scared/disgusted of most animals, but especially rats

She didn’t remember anything about Bruno and initially didn’t recognise him when she first saw him in the walls, instead screamed about there being an intruder and tried to go back for help. Bruno chased her away from the exit to prevent her from doing that

Mirabel and Bruno’s entire interaction until Antonio appeared

Mirabel did not whine about it being Isabela. She didn’t question it, just accepted it and immediately started planning about how she was getting the hug. Bruno would later say to Isabela that she became as calculative as Dolores in the moment

Mirabel came in and formally apologised (because she does generally believe she ruined the proposal, regardless about her feeling for Isa). She tried to make Isa more comfortable and willing to voluntarily hug her

She was horrified with Isabela’s cactus and tries to insist that Isabela stop touching it

Isabela didn’t grow anything outside of her room, nor did she break Mariano’s nose a second time

Abuela was a lot harsher to Mirabel (in general, but especially) before Casita fell, nor did Mirabel get the last word in

The last thing Mirabel saw was her own headless body and the candle that went out

Clothes are noted to be inaccurate. They are of the time style-wise, but some of the colours aren’t or wouldn’t have been as vibrant. There is an issue with length of women’s clothes too. The family had a lot more detail on their clothes. Mirabel is the most inaccurate - butterflies were always Alma’s and Pedro’s symbol, not hers. She doesn’t know where the idea for that came from. Her earrings also aren’t accurate. She also did all the embellishments of Isabela’s dress.

(I might show you the designs for those, if somebody wants to see them).

Nobody obviously sang. Though Luisa and Isabela sometimes try to convince the cast that they did suddenly turn around and start singing to a very confused Mirabel. She will admit that the songs do fit/compliment her sisters’ styles and voices. She disagrees on hers. The Family Madrigal works as being incorrect, it’s a mask of bubbly extroverted happiness. Waiting On a Miracle doesn’t as it should be more true to her person.

#encanto #ask me anything #encanto reincarnation au #mirabel madrigal #isabela madrigal #luisa madrigal #dolores madrigal