#four episodes in and he's already visibly Not Great

[cattimeswithjellie]

Secret Life was great because every perspective on it is so fresh, you can watch just about everybody without even getting bored. Even in the finale, where everybody had the same secret, the plot unfolds like a flower, where you understand more of what actually happened the more you watch.

I just happened to watch Scar's episode first, which was a great place to start obviously because I got the basic story of the finale from beginning to end, and of course it was a wild ride! But there was so much left unknown, so many friends and enemies fallen without knowing what happened to them, so many plots unspooling outside of Scar's POV. In the end we were left with the same question he had: How did the guy with no friends win the game?

Part of the answer, of course, was obvious. Scar was absolutely on fire in Session 9, scoring an astonishing number of permakills and racking up the hearts to offset his recklessness. I'm not sure he quite realized the banger strategy he fell into by rushing in and just soaking damage while bashing his opponent to death, then using the ten hearts to repair the damage over and over again, but boy was it effective!

Beyond Scar himself, though, was a massive plot throughline that was only partially visible from his POV, and that was the loyalty the previous winners had to their teams above themselves. With the exception of Martyn, whose partner was lost two sessions ago, each previous Games winner had their own alliance and eventually their own favored player that they wanted to win.

Scott's loyalty to the Cherry Blossoms made their home into a fortress and Gem into a powerhouse partially fueled by his own life energy. She's a hell of a player on her own merits and tore a wide swath through the server in a brilliant first outing, but without Scott convincing Impulse to give her both their yellow lives, she would not have survived the combined effects of Grian's two ambushes to make her way into the final three. Along the way, the Cherry Blossoms took out both Bdubs and Joel, the two players who were Pearl's and who would otherwise have had her loyalty to the end of the line.

Grian's loyalty to the Roomies alliance was always more questionable than Scott's, because he is who he is, but he came through in the end and sent Cleo out of the portal cave while remaining behind to take on the near-suicidal task of triggering the explosion. And when he was discovered, he attempted to 1v3 the Cherry Blossoms to give his teammate more time to escape. (And it probably would've worked, if the remaining Mounders and Scar had not found Cleo and run her to ground at the same time.) Grian's last stand was perhaps the most pivotal moment in the late game because it changed the whole balance of power on the server. Scar never knew why Scott, Gem and Impulse were so much weaker than they were supposed to be at the end of the game, but we the audience know.

And of course Pearl's loyalty is unquestionable, even if by the end of the game, all the original targets for it were gone. Pearl proved herself a Mounder, bred and buttered (as they said in my neck of the woods.) She was quite wary of letting Scar into the alliance at all, but she is loyal and more interested in helping her team to victory than in taking a second crown for herself. Scott and Gem killed her guys before the end of the line, but she still had Scar, and she was still loyal to the end.

And thus the man with no friends wound up on the other side of a fight he'd already lived through four games ago, fighting an ally who didn't want to win for a victory he wasn't sure he deserved. But there's an important difference that I'm sure we'll be spending the entire rest of the series downtime dissecting: this time the victor _lived._

#secret life spoilers #secret life #secret life meta #trafficblr #life series meta #goodtimeswithscar #god that was a heck of a finale i loved it so much #love that gem came so close to winning her first time out #love that roomies alliance stuck together despite the odds and my extremly high levels of doubt #love the hapless tango and skizzleman who are always fun to watch #love bigb talking his way in and out of trouble and the horrified fascination from anybody who happened to fall into the Backrooms #love martyn's lack of patience being his downfall exactly as predicted but his videos being so fun to watch because of it #love pearl and gem striking up a frenemyship based on murder and camels #love that scar's thorns kept coming into play in such hilarious and unexpected ways #i think this might have been my favorite series you guys

[honuofhawaii]

Okay spoilers for the Percy Jackson show up through episode 6. Spoilers for the Lightning Thief and spoilers for Mark of Athena and House of Hades. And theorizing!

Im not kidding

Okay so Percy was given four pearls in the show. Wow. That’s a major departure.

He still has the Prophecy “you will fail to save what matters most in the end” so he can’t save Sally. Or they’ll change the meaning of that, but I don’t think they will.

I think he’s going to loose a pearl. I think one of the peals will fall into Tartarus when Kronos tries to suck them all in. Which leads me to my potential tin foil.

So I think there’s a good chance we’ll get all of PJO. They’re doing a fantastic job and the show has to be doing well commercially. While I don’t think it would be a good idea to adapt HOO in live action, it definitely could be done in animation (just bc it’s all supposed to take place when Percy is 17, and the kids will be visibly aging as the seasons go on even though only a year is supposed to pass. animation doesn’t have that draw back, and they can do some really cool stylization and not blow a cgi budget out of the water.)

Anyway Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus (I said I wasn’t kidding on the spoilers) what if they find the pearl. They can’t use it, bc it would mean leaving someone behind. But just I think it would be a great call back and reinforce the conversation on the ledge. Bc once they fell, even though Percy caught them, he wouldn’t have been able to clime out, even if he was willing to drop annabeth (I could barely get my fingers to type that bc that would never be a consideration). The Pearl is a equal opportunity for one of them to get free…okay not quite equal, Percy would be fine no matter where he popped up in the ocean, annabeth would need to hope to be near shore). To get free after they’ve already seen the horrors. They know exsactly the kind of hell they’re walking through, and they both refuse. Bc they would rather walk through hell together.

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #percabeth #pjo tv show #heros of olympus #house of hades #spoilers pjo show #spoilers PJO #spoilers HOO

[saints-who-never-existed]

Episode Four: Random Rewatch Observations

1. Shout out to Sophia and Lady Jane, sticking it to Barrow re: Arctic geography, how far the Admiralty’s messages have reached, and his general condescension.

2. Their breath is visible in the air as they’re leaving the Admiralty building and talking specifically about Sir John. 

3. Jopson is hilarious even before his little innocent “Me, sir?” line when he first enters the scene saying “Sorry to interrupt!”. Like, yes, sorry to interrupt your busy schedule of sitting in the dark doing literally nothing, sir! Great stuff.

4. Also shout out to Little being very competent off-screen, already making plans to move Terrors over to Erebus before Crozier’s even thought about it.

5. Love Crozier just pissing directly in front of Jopson too – another obvious thing but it just makes me laugh.

6. I think I spy Little doing his patented Awkward Shoulder Pat of Comfort to someone as they all troop back onto the ship. He’s not in his slops a few moments later so it seems likely that it’s him and that he stayed behind to hold down the fort while they were out searching.

7. Another thing that’s been pointed out by others, but I love MacDonald’s annoyed table tapping – he’s so not in the mood.

8.  “Look out for yourself.” “Oh, I will…”

Like, oh I bet you will, Hickey, sweetheart…

9. Just a thought but Hickey’s “Who’s that?!” when he finds Strong/Evans on watch strikes me as unique. I don’t know if they had specific phrases or codes to challenge and identify each other when on watch but all I’m saying is that it would make sense if they did and it would make sense for that to be another thing Hickey doesn’t know.

10. Extra-gruesome to note that the legs and the torso appear to be facing opposite directions.

11. How do we all feel about Hickey’s whole spiel in front of the Captains, and the fact that Manson and Hartnell stay completely silent throughout it? Do we think he’s outright lying or what? The idea of them interrupting Silna in her attempt to take control of Tuunbaq isn’t completely outlandish in and of itself, after all – she tries to do just that two episodes later - and surely if he’s just making it up completely then the other two would challenge that to try and save their own skins?

12. Also have to laugh at Goodsir’s helpful “Food…!” when he takes Silna some ‘dinner’. Like, I think she realises it’s food, Harry, she just thinks it’s bloody horrible (which it is!).

13. I am absolutely obsessed with how puffy they both look here. Look at their little sticky-out tum-tums! Silly little Weeble men.

#The Terrror #The Terror AMC #S01E04 #Punished as a Boy #Observations #Lady Jane Franklin #Sophia Cracroft #John Barrow #Thomas Jopson #Francis Crozier #Edward Little #Alexander MacDonald #Cornelius Hickey #Tom Hartnell #Magnus Manson #Harry Goodsir #John Irving #Again I apologies for tagging everyone #It will happen again

[archduchessofnowhere]

If you were to actually write a TV show about young Sisi, how would you do it properly?

Ohhh I have SO MANY ideas, however I’m not sure how rentable they are since they all cater specifically and exclusively to me alone lol. 

First of all, I think that as a society we have to accept that young Sisi doesn’t really make for a great protagonist, at least for modern audiences who prefer a more assertive heroine; that’s why we ended up with Girl Boss Elisabeth in both RTL Sisi and The Empress. So I would make it an “ensemble” show rather than a Sisi solo show, focusing also on other people from Elisabeth’s family, because during these years there are legit moments in which she just doesn’t do anything super interesting to adapt on a screen. But if we follow a larger cast we can switch perspectives from time to time and avoid the two bigger problems of Sisi media: the heavy fictionalization, and the bad pacing (either too slow like in The Empress, or too fast like in Sisi 2009). Also this is my show, so we get all the siblings - Elisabeth’s three brothers and four sisters, and FJ’s three brothers. They’ll have their respective side plots and will be important supporting characters in many episodes. 

For a first season I think the time period RTL Sisi covers is actually pretty good, so I would follow a similar timeline, except that I would actually respect the order in which the events happen (remember that they setted the Italian War of 1859… in 1856). So my hypothetical first season would cover the years 1853-1859 in eight 50-70 minutes long episodes. And the costumes, hairstyles and manners would be period accurate.

Actually I got excited so here is a very rough sketch of what my ideal young Sisi series would be like:

EP 1 - 1853-1854: I would add some flashbacks to 1848 (their previous encounter, FJ becoming emperor, etc), but honestly there isn't any other moment better than Ischl in 1853 to start the story. This weekend is the most overdone moment in Elisabeth's life, so I don't want to focus much on this tho: half way through the episode (and one Karl Ludwig getting his heart broken later) they'll be already engaged. There will be no scheming between Ludovika and Sophie, nor any secret meeting between Sisi and FJ: they simply met during dinner and he became in love at first sight, that's it. The rest will be Elisabeth getting ready for her future role as empress, and we'll end the episode with the wedding.

EP 2 - 1854-1855: The second episode will cover Elisabeth’s first year as an empress, with the Crimean War as a background conflict. We’ll see Sisi trying to adapt to life at court, the visit she and FJ made to Bohemia (where Emperor Ferdinand and Empress Maria Anna will make a cameo), and her first pregnancy. Archduke Max visits Vienna and instantly hits it off with his new sister-in-law, much to the annoyance of FJ. We’ll also see archduchess Sophie’s clear favoritism over Max. The episode finishes with the birth of baby Sophie.

EP 3 - 1856: The episode starts with Elisabeth already entering confinement again. Then Gisela is born, and the disappointment over a second girl is obvious. Elisabeth and Sophie disagree on how to take care of the girls, and the placing of the nursery is a great conflict. This is also the first real conflict between the two women in the series. The rest of the episode will cover the imperial couple and their daughter’s visit to Lombardy-Venetia, where we will see first hand the deep hatred towards the Habsburgs in the Italian provinces. Meanwhile in the B plot, Archduke Max courts Charlotte of Belgium, and in the C plot, Duke Ludwig starts his affair with Henriette Mendel. After the visit, FJ decides that serious changes have to be made and appoints his brother as viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia. By the end of the episode, Max and Charlotte get engaged.

EP 4 - 1857: This episode will cover solely Sisi and FJ’s visit to Hungary. Elisabeth visibly falls in love with the country, and people also love her back. We’ll also dive deep into the brutal repression of Hungary after the revolution of 1848.  However, half way through the episode, Sophie and Gisela get sick, and their illness will lurk during the rest of their parents’ journey, until they’re urgently called back. The episode finishes with baby Sophie’s death. There will be no side plots, the Imperial couple and their children will be the sole focus of this episode.

EP 5 - 1857-1858: The episode starts with Max and Charlotte getting married. Then we shift to Elisabeth, who’s in deep mourning; throughout the episode we’ll follow her in her guilt and grief until she comes to terms with the loss of her daughter. Later on Charlotte gets introduced at court, and starts off with the wrong foot with her sister-in-law. After this visit, Max and Charlotte travel to Lombardy-Venetia, where they settle in their new role. Meanwhile in the side plot, Henriette Mendel tells Ludwig she is pregnant. I know it is too on the nose, but I want to make parallels between Marie Larisch and Rudolf, since they were both born in the same year but under wildly different circumstances; so the episode will finish with Elisabeth (who accepted that she isn’t guilty of baby Sophie’s death) finding out she’s pregnant for the third time, while Marie Larisch is born, and Ludwig starts to ponder about what to do with his new secret family. 

EP 6 - 1858: The opening scene of this episode is a pregnant Elisabeth who is following every order and recommendation the doctors give her: she promises she won’t do anything, so as to not endanger the child. But with this Sisi is also breaking the fourth wall, because she really won’t do (almost) anything this episode: the protagonist will now be Helene. Personally I hate how Nené is reduced to the rejected, bitter sister so I’m making her the heroine for the whole episode because fuck it this is my show. Back at Possenhofen, the imminent engagement of Marie, the third daughter, with the Crown Prince of the Two Sicilies is the main event, but this also makes it obvious that Helene is practically a spinster now. So Ludovika decides to intervene and invites prince Maximilian of Thurn und Taxis, with the hopes he might be interested in Helene. What follows is a full on fictional recreation of their meet cute and courting until Prince Maximilian proposes to Helene. But there’s a problem: King Maximilian doesn’t approve of the union giving their different ranks. So Elisabeth (who’s finally back on the screen after like forty minutes) intervenes, convincing their cousin to allow the marriage. Elisabeth then enters confinement, lamenting missing her sister’s wedding. The episode finishes with a happy Helene getting married.  

EP 7 - 1858-1859: The episode starts with Rudolf being born: all of Vienna rejoices over the birth of the heir. Marie becomes engaged to the Crown Prince of the Two Sicilies, and she and Ludwig (who’s making his mind about whether to marry Henriette or not) go to Vienna and stay there with their sister Elisabeth for two weeks, so we will see them having fun and bonding. Lots of talks about the Italian peninsula being an unstable place, the unification movement growing stronger, etc. Meanwhile at Lombardy, Max struggles more and more to push forward his policies, and the rift between his ideas and his brother’s become obvious. The episode ends in Trieste where Elisabeth and Ludwig say goodbye to Marie, who’s sailing to Naples; Ludwig reveals to his sisters his marriage plans and Sisi promises him to help him out. 

EP 8 - 1859: For the season finale, the entire episode will cover the second Italian War of Independence. I don't have a clear structure for this one tho, but it will start with Max dimiting from his job as Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia, and it will have Elisabeth being extremely worried about her husband's well being and running a hospital for the wounded. Also Ludwig will marry Henriette Mendel in the side plot.

You can totally tell I’m the showrunner because no one would make episodes six and seven lol. This is what I meant with “cater specifically and exclusively to me alone”. Anyway, this is just a rough sketch, there are many important events/personages that I didn't mention here that I would love them to be in this hypothetical series. It's not 100% historically accurate either, I did move some things around so the narrative flows better, but nothing too drastic, and the characterizations would be as close to their historical counterparts real personalities as possible. I accept criticism and also would love to hear other people's ideas for a series!

#i don't know how should I tag this. ideas for a series that's never going to be made? #empress elisabeth of austria #asks

[sonicxsideblogarchived]

sonic is insanely fucking powerful

now, you may think im joking. i am not. i am completely serious as i say this: x!sonic is insanely fucking powerful with no actual fucking explanation.

now you probably want evidence. reasonable. so ill start with what made me realize this in the first place

episode 53.

it's a fine episode to be sure, a great introduction into series 2. but that's not what we're talking about here.

we're talking about the fact that sonic somehow fucking survives falling from space, into the atmosphere and to his world with minimal injuries and zero amnesia whatsoever.

as you most likely know, shadow does something similar although to my knowledge it's unknown if he actually hit earth or got past the atmosphere BUT. let's talk about what we do actually know, is that shadow needed to be put in a fucking rejuvenation tank powered by a CHAOS EMERALD. a CHAOS EMERALD. let me remind you that the chaos emeralds have been described as having limitless power multiple times. i highly doubt eggman would've used a chaos emerald if it wasn't completely necessary. and considering he'd have to had shadow for at least SIX months without him waking up from his coma. yeah. he had very good reason.

and WHEN he woke up he had amnesia, not remembering anything of his life before.

now with that in mind let's go over what injuries sonic actually had.

also let me remind you: before falling from space, sonic had already been fighting dark oak, one of the metarex who notoriously: cannot be damaged by regular means. sonic was in his super form so he was able to do so to an extent this means that most likely not the entirety of his injuries are from falling from space but rather fighting dark oak. you can even see he already has some scratches on his arm.

anyways, how did sonic look when eggman first found him and after eggman patched him up?

[Image Description: Sonic is lying down in the sand. He is notably covered in scratches and looks pained. His eyes are closed and the subtitles read "I don't know what happened, but I can't have you dying in my neighborhood.]

[Image Description: Sonic is asleep, lying down on a white bed with only a white pillow on it. There is a circle around said bed on the floor. End Image Description.]

before eggman patched him up he looked. really fucked up which would be normal. but afterwards. he literally looks completely normal needing ZERO bandages and the only visible injury he still has are the scratches from earlier.

[Image Description: Sonic is in his super form and in space, there are brown things floating around. His arms are stretched out and he has a determined but stressed expression on his face. He has three scratches on his right arm. End Image Description.]

[Image Description: Sonic is lying on a bed. It is from a sideways point of view and his eye is slightly open. He as three scratches on his arm along with four smaller ones above them. End Image Description.]

though he does have a few more smaller scratches beside it but that's not the point. the point is his only physically visible injury seems to be from fighting dark oak rather than you know. falling from space.

what the fuck.

and yes i know multiple characters said they come tell something was wrong after sonic fainted after fighting the metarex but. HE SHOULD BE MORE INJURED THAN THAT REALISTICALLY??????

seriously i am. dumbfounded at this point.

and you may think is this the end of the post. it isn't but we're done talking about this particular moment.

we're going to talk about the time sonic literally bended a tank barrel with his bare hands with no indication it was hard or even that he had to put in any effort to do so (also the fact he seemingly. survived being shot by said tank barrel with no injuries. what the fuck)

for reference this is from episode 42.

we don't actually SEE sonic get shot but considering this:

[Image Description: A slightly smoking crater, in the shape if of a path. End Image Description.]

yeah. im pretty sure we can say it hit him and he didn't just dodge. and he. just didn't get injured??? somehow??

and then yknow. this.

[Image Description: Sonic is on a tank barrel which he has pulled upwards and is continuing to pull at. End Image Description.]

[Image Description: The tank barrel has been twisted into a spiral like shape. Sonic is on the back with one hand on the end of the tank barrel. End Image Description.]

ok but seriously what the actual hell. sonic being incredibly durable we've already gone over but super strength is NOT an ability sonic is supposed to have. and this is pretty much inarguably not a result of his super speed considering he's using his arms here. sir what the actual fuck.

but what truly convinces me xsonic has insane power levels is dark sonic.

that's right.

[Image Description: Sonic in his dark form beneath thick smoke. The subtitles read "Is this what you wanted to see?" End Image Description.]

him.

but you may be wondering, isn't dark sonic a transformation like super sonic how would it- no you're wrong. go read this post and then return

anyways now that's you're done reading that you probably understand.

if dark sonic is just something sonic can do for whatever reason that would mean that his power levels are FAR beyond what we actually get to see. the power to destroy two metarex bots in seconds.. imagine what ELSE he might be capable of.

tldr: xsonic is powerful as shit with literally no goddamn explanation and i want to know why.

#sonic x #sonic the hedgehog #dark sonic

[ferrous-ironclaw]

The Dragon Prince Book Four: Earth (Mystery of Aaravos) - A critique

Introduction

First off, this post is going to contain spoilers. Don’t read this if you haven’t seen all of Book Four yet.

So I recently got done watching Book Four with my partner. I binged my way through books 1-3 after she told me she wished she had someone to appreciate the new season with, and I bought into the world of The Dragon Prince with a great deal of eagerness. I love the world they’ve set up and that’s why I felt so let down by Book Four. I wanted to write this post to explain some of my feelings on some of the odd choices I feel were made and point out how I feel the show’s potential could have been better used.

The Critique

So this isn’t an exhaustive list of the issues I had with the show, but I’ve broken it into categories to highlight the key issues I had with it.

SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD

Pacing and Tone

This was possibly the biggest deal breaker for me - Every character seemed to get the bad end of the gag character stick at least once this season, often at times where it felt out of place or tone deaf. The Great Gate guards were just awkward comic relief from the outset, whilst Terry and The Being often were relegated to being the butt of the joke when Claudia and Viren needed some screen time that wasn’t about the mission (more on that later). Soren’s stupidity continues to be an amusing gag, although it felt overplayed. The biggest offenders though were the questionable (and occasionally downright absurd) scene interjections in “Rex Igneous” and “Escape from Umber Tor”. Cutting from tense Dragon negotiations to Janai and Amaya making smalltalk was jarring, and some of the beats had me actively cringing when they were injected into what was supposed to be a dramatic scene (Sludge Tarts and Soren’s foot smell to name but a handful).

At the opposite end of the spectrum - “Rebirthday”, “Fallen Stars” and “Breathtaking” all felt like they could have been condensed into two episodes. The awkward diplomacy between Zubeia and the Kingdom of Katolis could have been summed up in a few scenes rather than being dragged out, leaving us more time to deal with the show’s resolution, which felt like it was rushing to get all the beats wrapped up.

There are really far too many things I could list here, so I’ll just summarise: For most of the season, I felt myself getting tonal whiplash and being hurried along on a rollercoaster that couldn’t decide what story it wanted to tell in that particular episode, which is a real danger when you have so many subplots and not enough focus.

Terry: Wasted on the Bad Guys

Oh boy, where to start on this one. From his introduction in “Rebirthday”, right up until the ending scenes of “Beneath the Surface”, I found myself questioning why Terry was within a hundred miles of Claudia. A life-loving, caring Earthblood that was seemingly OK with Claudia’s dark magic, dubious obsession with resurrection, and the creepy chrysalis on her cave-bedroom wall. From a storytelling point Terry is clearly there to humanise the villains, but it feels unnecessary. We know Claudia and Viren’s motivations and failings, it’s been illustrated throughout Books 1 and 2, so rehashing it through Terry feels weird and against everything we’ve been taught about Elf culture. 

To me, it would have made sense for Terry to be the one who was Team Zym’s guide into the Pit and Path of Despair (as N’than already feels shoehorned and serves pretty much the same purpose), only to be kidnapped for the villains before the conversation with Rex Igneous and highlight what Claudia and Viren are going through. Having Terry see the compassion still in Claudia and appeal to her better nature through Viren would have been so much more impactful if he hadn’t been OK with all the dark magic and murder up to this point.

There’s also the introduction of Terry as the first visible trans character in TDP, which the more I think about the less happy I am about its execution. His coming out to Viren in “Beneath the Surface” feels like we’re supposed to take this reveal as part of an explanation as to why he’s so determined to support Claudia - because he knows how it feels to be treated as different? Which feels like a weird justification, and gets a little lost in the moment because it immediately is overwritten by a gag moment and the rush to save Claudia. It feels like a disservice to what should have been a momentous character moment, and again feels like it should have been something that was played with Callum, Rayla and Ez to riff off of.

Mystery of (what the hell) Aaravos (actually did this season?)

So when I saw that Season 4 would be titled “Mystery of Aaravos” I was very pumped. Aaravos is quite possibly one of the most interesting characters in TDP, and I was hoping this would be the season we got to see him flex his arcane muscles, especially when we saw him hop inside Callum’s head during “Through the Looking Glass”. Instead we were treated to… glorious nothing. Aaravos is suspiciously absent for comment, even to Claudia and Viren whose primary efforts are in rescuing him. Despite the display of power at the start of the season, he has little to no influence or contribution, when it feels like he should be the one reaching out to manipulate Claudia and Viren through each other.

This links somewhat into the “out-of-place” role as comic relief for Terry and The Being, as well as taking Terry out of the Bad Guy party - Imagine what we could have seen if The Being had been puppeted by Aaravos on occasion to egg on Claudia and psych out Viren, rather than Terry trying to sympathise with them and The Being just being a wordless Gollum. Rather than Claudia finding a “boyfriend” in Terry, what if Aaravos had been providing the praise and recognition she craves from her absent father figure. Celebrating her accomplishments where Viren is horrified. Gaslighting Viren whenever Claudia’s back was turned, telling him how much his daughter is relying on him for all this, that he is to blame. Show our villains for what they are - powerful, yet disposable tools to Aaravos.

The Future of Lux Aurea - A victim of sub-plot slaughter

The Janai/Prince Karim conflict is one of the best parts of Book Four, but it’s tragically butchered by being a B-Plot. The motivation behind Lucia extinguishing the flame is flimsy, and would have been more convincing if we’d seen any evidence of cultural conflict before this point. I mean, these people have been living and travelling together for almost two years at this point - a single other instance of racial/cultural conflict being mentioned or shown would have made much more sense to promote Karim’s reaction. To add insult to injury we watch Amaya, a character who is not only deeply in love with Janai but has also been shown to be compassionate and understanding of conflict and tensions, actively mocking a serious situation which just felt WRONG. It just feels like they were struggling for reasons to push a conflict in this substory, when they knew that Prince Karim was using this for his own reasons anyway and could have kept him as the primary antagonist to begin with.

Additionally - this plot needed to be given a handful of its own focal episodes. Trying to have a bunch of conversations about romance and duty juxtaposed against Team Zym trying not to get massacred by an enormous dragon detracted from both plots, and would have been better served by being kept apart save for the final conflict. It was a good plot thread to show how far the Sunfire Elves have come, but suffered for all of the above.

Rex Igneous and the Sequence of Rushed Plot Contrivances

This was the most egregious series of missteps that had me and my partner angrily jabbing fingers at the screen. The whole sequence with Team Zym approaching Rex following the events of “The Great Gates” is a series of plot contrivances that forces the party to muddle about in ways that don’t really make sense. It feels forced that the rockslide prevents them from going in with Zubeya (could we not have had some Dragon Etiquette reasons instead?), the Drakeriders are a one-note baddie that don’t really serve any purpose other than to give Soren an excuse to bump into Claudia, and the Path of Despair offers some Faux-Peril that whilst aesthetically very pretty is a self contained plot device that is over in less than an episode and is subsequently glossed over when Claudia and Viren need to catch back up. The conversation with Rex Igneous feels like they wanted to avoid a trope about Dragons and hoards and unintentionally just played right into it, and the entire final antagonism between Team Zym and Claudia just felt arbitrary (Why was Zym unaffected? Why did Rayla fall for this trick again when we know she’s aware of how it works?). This is followed by a very weird sequence with Rayla & Claudia over the Soul Coins: Why does Rayla give up her chase after being tricked? Why is THIS the one thing that Terry draws the line at? Why the hell does Claudia turn around to give them back?

It feels like this entire sequence is rushed and simultaneously is grasping to find conflict. Bait “heroically throwing his weight” onto opening the door feels forced to fit with Soren’s comedic bit, only for them to be Deus-Ex-Machina’d by Zubeia anyway (why not just have the cool dragon confrontation be the reason they’re saved rather than the weird moment with the Glow Toad). How did Rayla get to the surface at the same time as the heroes to be trapped in the rubble, when she clearly left the lava chamber AFTER Rex Igneous? It’s just too many contrivances and nonsensical beats that leaves the ending feeling disjointed and a bad taste in my mouth.

Conclusion

I love TDP. It’s such a great world, like Avatar meets fantasy world politics, and I’m actually taking large amounts of inspiration from it for my next D&D campaign. Which is why it hurts so much that Book Four falls short of its promise.

I hope that Book Five realises the mistakes it made and adapts the storytelling to better serve the pacing they perfected in the earlier books. Bring us more of the Katolis/Xadia & Magic/Non-Magic politics that made the downtime of the other series so compelling. Don’t fall into the gag character trap. Let Aaravos and his puppets return to being the ominous dark threat of the series, rather than trying to rebuild the sympathy for their motives.

This has been a rant from a fan. Thanks for listening.

#the dragon prince #tdp season 4 #tdp #spoilers #the dragon prince season 4 #mystery of aaravos #book four #critique #commentary #honestly kind of a rant

[wolves-etc]

thoughts on The Last Of Us episode one, largely in the order I had them:

[thoughts on: 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.9]

(I have some spoilers from tumblr, a vague awareness of the older gays & younger gays situations, and a friend's recommendation that I'd really like this show. I didn't realise how evocative this would be in a mid-pandemic world. the show quickly set me right.)

— all kudos and respect to mr "I have an opportunity to infodump to a crowd about disturbing fungal diseases and I am going to make the most of it." loses points for warning people about hypothetical future dangers while actively smoking at them.

— the views we get of the crowd and the host during the second half of his speech are interesting - they're so still, all rapt attention, while he's talking about humans made puppets. it's unsettling.

— and the visuals during the theme music? gross. the guy who recommended this to me is squicked out by fungus. I may have used the words "wetly unfurling" while confronting him about this.

— I'm struck by the apparent ritual of joel setting his alarm, sleeping through it or ignoring it, and having to be alerted by his daughter anyway. he's a mess. (<3)

— there's something very real and unsanitised about their home environment. sarah's presumably not the worst cook in the house, but still they're eating eggshell. there's takeaway in the fridge that tommy sniffs before having any (though I wish he didn't decide against it then put it back.)

— and joel's shirt is on inside-out. bless him.

— sarah and joel passive-aggressively siccing the neighbours on each other is bitchy and great

— the first glimpse of the unrest of the pandemic being someone visibly panicking, closing the shop, herding sarah out, telling her to go straight home? I'm trying not to do too much real-life comparing. but that's ouch.

— we have a dog!! a border collie!! mercy I love you I am giving you up for dead given the genre we're in but I very much hope to be proven wrong <3

— "three nails plus one cross equals four-given." please, please tell me people don't speak like that. lie if you must

— the mental shift from "that blurry old lady in the background needs medical attention" to "oh. oh this is a horror show, the characters just don't know that yet, oh no" was a fun one

— "and you were never gonna [get the watch fixed] for yourself" OH BOY

— it's functional depression vibes in joel and it's intense. he won't get the watch fixed for himself, and he probably wouldn't celebrate his birthday for himself either - I'd buy that the pancakes could have been more for sarah than him, but then she insists on cake, and he doesn't suggest anything he'd enjoy better. still, he seems willing to make an effort because she wants to, and that's nice.

— that moment, sitting down to watch a movie together, sarah falling asleep against him? joel's a mess, but he has a good relationship with his daughter, and that's refreshing to see. there's real love there.

— mercy is a very good dog and sarah COULD DO WITH MORE ANXIETY SLASH SURVIVAL INSTINCT, FRANKLY,

— and we get the first glimpse of joel being brutal and unhesitating when it's called for. the sense that he's already made a shift in thinking that sarah's slower to - she's scared, crying, not yet really believing that it was necessary.

— sarah in the back of the car being smart enough to put together - given what she knows - that any one of them could be infected. it's awful.

— "[they've] got a kid, joel." "so have we. keep driving." fuck

— (how must that feel for sarah? if she's the thing to be protected, it must be her fault.)

— okay the infected's too-quick movements and bird-like head tilts? very "inhuman software on human hardware." it's cool.

— this scene here, though. there's a lot here. they're saved, in the nick of time, by a soldier. the soldier receives orders that he has to double-check. joel calls him sir, says please don't, has to know what's coming. it's unfair and it's horrible and there's nothing he can do.

— and I had a lot of thoughts about that. about how the US military - quite aside from the huge wrongs it does to other countries - promises people to chance to do some good, and to be a part of a family, and betrays them on both counts. leaves its soldiers with trauma and no way to manage it. leaves them, perhaps, with chronic depression, in a job I don't even want to speculate about because neither the military nor construction work are kind to the body. it's betrayal on top of betrayal as standard. and it's cruel, very cruel, that the military betrays joel again here. (edit for reasons and for at least one "article" possibly lying to me)

— and it's a fucking needless way for sarah to die. fuck.

— okay. okay.

— we get this little reminder that the birds, the trees, the sunlight, they all keep going. no matter what goes on with humans. and I, for one, find that comforting.

— and that comfort is VERY NEEDED because holy shit it's twenty years later and joel barely even hesitates to throw a bound child's body onto the fire. (practical and brutal, when it's needed. I don't even want to wonder whether he's done it before.)

— he's still wearing his broken watch and he is very much not okay.

— tess is all steel. I'm a little scared of her as a person and I love her as a character. what the fuck are they both up to that they can handle criminal dealings like this.

— "I promised him you wouldn't hurt him, but I would very much like for you to hurt him." CLEAR AND TO THE POINT.

— no but that's a lot of fun though. clear communication, what seems like no real lies when she's negotiating with her captor, just a forthright attitude that's so easy to believe and a comfortable willingness to mislead him.

— "you don't have a fucking ear on your fucking head" would be a fun way to accuse someone of not listening

— "y'all talk it through, but please remember that I'm bleeding out." I LIKE MARLENE

— and here we see joel's fight response to trauma, which will, I hope, serve him well. that flashback was evil though.

— what the FUCK is the expression on ellie's face. is that awe. is that delight. miss, you're very fucked up, do you know that

things I expected: ellie being a murder child; joel being a traumatised badass with a soft spot for her. did NOT expect ellie to be THAT much of a murder child, or joel's soft spot to be that well-armoured. this is gonna be interesting to see.

and I didn't expect tess, who's interesting, and scary in her own right, and rugged in a way women aren't generally allowed to be in the zombie genre. this was a really pleasant surprise.

#the last of us hbo #the last of us spoilers #tlou spoilers #angst tag #orig #at the time of polishing I have actually seen and loved the next episode too #remains to be seen whether I'm gonna tidy up my thoughts for each one but I'll try #just don't look too deeply into the tangent about the military and we'll all be fine <3

[tj-crochets]

oh my goodness thank you for answering that so quickly wow! that’s exactly i was looking for honestly, i go to fabric stores all the time and i’ve worked with different fabrics for embroidery projects and the like so i feel pretty good when it comes to fabric it’s the patterns and just where to begin that was stumping me. i know this is super ambitious but i was looking to do the character momoo from one piece. he’s in like 4 episodes and never shows up again but i love him so much and i need a small version of him to hold gentle like burger. obviously trying to make him from scratch would be super ambitious which is why i was looking for basics to work up my confidence, understanding, and skill. the resource you’ve provided seem like an excellent place to start, i’m going to look at it a little closer in the morning when i’m not so sleepy but this is already making me super exciting to start learning a new skill! thank you so much again!!!!

You're so welcome! Sewdesune's free patterns and tutorials are so great, and I am always happy to share them with people (honestly her paid patterns are also great, but I learned to sew from her free patterns so I'm a bit biased lol) I had to look up momoo but from what I'm seeing, there are four patterns I'd use as the starting point to making a momoo pattern, and luckily enough all four are free! And all four are sewdesune patterns, which is a big plus for anyone new to sewing - For the head, I'd use her free cow pattern, and just size it up or down to match the rest of the pattern (I did that when I used the cow head for the baby minotaur, and there's a great tutorial on how to scale patterns up or down here) - For the body, I'd take a look at the other three patterns and decide how stylized I want the end product to be. On the simpler end of the scale, there are the narwhal and seal patterns. If you leave off the face applique (and narwhal horn) and sew a cow head (that's been sized to fit) it's a pretty decent simplified pattern for momoo. On the slightly more complex end of the scale, there's the free koi fish pattern. I'd do a similar "leave off the appliques and add a cow head" method, maybe grab the flippers from the seal pattern, and topstitch the flippers and the tail fins for those ridges. I'd probably also lengthen the dorsal fin pattern and do some topstitching there as well Oh one more note for you and anyone else getting into sewing plushies: air soluble fabric markers are great. You can trace pattern pieces onto fabric, you don't have to worry about pinning the patterns in place and the pinning distorting the stretchy fabric, and if you have tricky seams to sew you can draw the seam on the fabric before you sew it so you can follow it easier. And they are air soluble, so you don't have to try to erase it or worry about it showing through! The only downside I've found is that they seem to only come in purple, which is not visible against dark fabrics. For dark fabrics I use silver sharpies. Have fun sewing, and let me know if you have any more questions! I'm happy to help. Also, more generally, if anyone would want a momoo plushie next time I do a fundraising raffle let me know, because I am extremely tempted to make one

#ask away! #long post #I don't think this is overly ambitious as a first project nonny #well. my first plushie was a cube #but my second was a llama #made with faux sherpa and minky #so like...if it interests you and makes you want to sew #go for it! have fun! #you absolutely do not have to use the patterns I suggested but I do think the koi and cow patterns would work well together to make momoo #I have both a full-size cow plushie head (on a cow plushie) and a 90% scale cow plushie head (on baby minotaur) at the moment #if you want any measurements of the finished cow heads to help determine what scale you'd need the head to be to match the body pattern #or how much to scale the body up to match the head #scaling the body up might honestly be easier? #depends how big you want the finished product to be

[woman-child91]

I’ve never once thought of Gaara as the Uke in his ship with Naruto. And I’ve watched (OG) Naruto and Naruto Shippuden four times!!! So I’m going to explain the reasons why I, personally think that it’s GaaNaru and NEVER EVER NaruGaa.

The first time these two met, Naruto, pretty much acted like a schoolgirl when she sees her crush. For Pete’s sake! Even my younger cousin who has never seen Naruto (she tried it twice and didn’t like it) said so. I showed her the scene where they first met and there’s one in Shippuden that is actually closer to how they met in the manga than, the (OG) Naruto version. But, it happens during a "filler" episode that almost all of you probably skipped. Well, newsflash people!!! Some filler episodes are a mix between canon and filler stuff. Meaning? The episode has both canon and filler stuff mixed in together. Anyways, during their first meeting… Naruto blushes!!! Naruto freaking blushes!!! Because, he thinks that Gaara is either cool or handsome. Because, we all know that he loves red hair. While, Gaara is uninterested in him at first glance and just starts walking away from him.

Okay, has ANYONE ever bothered to read between the lines of when these two actually met? Like, at the very beginning Gaara didn’t care at all about Naruto? But, Naruto was actually angry and upset about him ignoring him. Well, a douchebag in Stranger Things actually summarized something that just backs up my reasonings on why it’s GaaNaru and NOT NaruGaa. He said and I quote, "If you want a girl to like you, you should ignore her and act like you don’t care. This will drive them crazy". Like, again, Naruto fits the female role that’s mentioned here and Gaara fits the male role.

When they’re already friends and everything. That time when Naruto saves Gaara and Granny Chiyo revives him. Well, when the two boys are saying their goodbyes and all… Naruto, once again, is acting like a schoolgirl around her crush! He’s blushing and acting all nervous around Gaara. He can’t even make eye contact!

And still when they’re saying their goodbyes. Who makes the first move? Gaara!!! Naruto is too timid and flustered to even think about making any move. But, the redhead is not! He uses his sand to pull Naruto’s hand towards him and HE shakes the blond’s hand. Throughout Gaara’s entire 16 years of life at this point had he EVER had any physical contacted with another person? Not counting with his pretty, pretty Uncle Yashamaru? No! He hadn’t! He also never wanted to engage in any physical contact with anyone, after he turned evil. BUT, HE WANTED TO TOUCH NARUTO! HE FELT THE NEED TO TOUCH HIM! Not to be touched by him! He didn’t want Naruto to hold his hand! HE was the one who wanted to hold Naruto’s hand!

Gaara is ALWAYS written as being submissive to Naruto in fanfics. But, after watching the fandom for 4 times and paying meticulous attention to every single detail… I can honestly say that this is not real! I mean, Gaara is head over heels in love with Naruto. Yes! Even Gaara’s English VA said so. Gaara is infatuated with Naruto. That’s also true. He may even be whipped. BUT, he is not submissive to him!!! He’s not afraid to put his foot down and argue with Naruto when he disagrees with him. He doesn’t simply go along with everything Naruto says. He’s not afraid to speak his mind. ★ When he told Naruto that he was going to have to fight Sasuke. ★ When he first saw Naruto in the battlefield during the 4th Great Ninja War and was visibly angry. He told Naruto that he had better have a good excuse as to why he was there. But, if he didn’t? Then, he would drag Naruto back to the turtle island, himself, if he had to. ★ (Filler but, STILL a valid point for my post) During Killer B’s Infinite Tsukuyomi Dream he actually got jealous and possessive one time. He showed us a bit of his old self when Naruto and him were in the middle of a mission. Because, Sasuke showed up out of nowhere and Naruto was going to chase after him. Gaara was NOT happy with this and he didn’t simply acted as the submissive, meek and obedient Gaara you all read about in the NaruGaa fics. He actually talked in a loud, commanding and jealous/angry tone. He told Naruto, "Naruto! Don’t forget our mission." He was able to STOP Naruto from chasing after Sasuke. Excuse me but, if anyone was submissive, meek and obedient in here? It was, Naruto! He actually obeyed Gaara and stayed with him. ★ There’s a movie (which all you filler haters have probably skipped since, it’s not a canon episode) where Gaara stops Naruto from chasing after Kakashi. Because, Shikamaru or Jiraiya (I can’t remember) told Gaara to stop Naruto from going after Kakashi. Because, Kakashi made his own choice on leaving the village (no! Not a Kakashi version of Sasuke’s rescue arc. Kakashi actually left the village to protect it and try to save it from an enemy all on his own.). So Gaara argues with Naruto to the point where NEITHER is willing to submit. So they actually end up getting in a fight.

(Again, another filler episode. But, it’s definitely a valid point. Specially since it backs up my strict "No Seme!Naruto" policy) There’s a scene where, Naruto, yet again lets us know that he might have a crush on Gaara and wouldn’t mind bending over for him. ;) There’s an episode where Deidara is trying to capture the 9 Tails. At one point, Naruto’s chakra is nearly completely gone and he’s got no strength left. He’s just about to get taken by Deidara. When, Gaara appears out of nowhere and saves him. Naruto gets hearts in his eyes, he’s blushing, (for the THIRD time!!! Which actually reminds me a bit about all the times I saw, Minato, blush. And guess what? They were always caused by Kushina! So yeah, I’m just saying. Naruto’s crush on Gaara is canon!) and he actually says, "You are so cool, Gaara!" Please! Open your eyes! This scene is just like Videl’s Close Call in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2!!! And once again, Naruto is comparable with the girlfriend and Gaara with the boyfriend.

#I had already written this on a post about a month ago. But #but the stupid tumblr app deleted the entire thing that took me an entire hour to write!!! #so I hope it doesn’t happen again. #gaara x naruto #top gaara #seme gaara #bottom naruto uzumaki #uke naruto uzumaki #gaanaru

[historyhermann]

"Helluva Boss": An Indie Animation With Morbid Humor

Moxxie, Millie, Blitzo, and Loona prepare to fight humans in the most recent episode (Screengrab: Helluva Boss)

What if demons were contracted by other demons to assassinate "bad" humans? That's what Helluva Boss, a mature animated web series, is all about. While the series is bloody at times, it also has a tenor of morbid humor and is unlike any other animated series, indie or mainstream, that has ever been created or has appeared on any platform.

Reprinted from The Geekiary, my History Hermann WordPress blog, and Wayback Machine. This was the fifth article I wrote for The Geekiary. This post was originally published on October 10, 2021.

Helluva Boss is the creation of Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano, a bisexual independent animator of Salvadoran descent, who is also known for her musical show about queer demons, Hazbin Hotel, which was picked up as full series order by A24 in August 2020. It is known for edgy humor, a unique animation style, catchy musical numbers, and voice acting. Like Hazbin Hotel, the Helluva Boss animated series is also full of LGBTQ+ characters.

Members of I.M.P. in the Helluva Boss pilot

The series centers around Immediate Murder Professionals (I.M.P.), an assassination company headquartered in Hell, headed by Blitzo (voiced by Brandon Rogers), and includes Moxxie (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz), the weapons expert, Loona (voiced by Erica Lindbeck), the hellhound receptionist, and Millie (voiced by Vivian Nixon), an extrovert married to Moxxie. They are able to use a book from the Prince of Hell, Stolas (voiced by Bryce Pinkham), to visit the human world and kill humans on Earth to settle the "business" of residents in Hell. According to Medrano, while Hazbin Hotel is about redemption, Helluva Boss follows societies and characters already in Hell, with a focus on interpersonal relationships, and both series often don't overlap even though they are set in the same universe.

Helluva Boss has four LGBTQ characters (or even more if you talk to fans), most of which are in the main cast. Blitzo, who has slept with Stolas, is pansexual, and his voice actor, Rogers, is openly gay. Another protagonist, Moxxie, is bisexual, as Medrano confirmed on Bi Visibility Day last year, and Stolas is queer (possibly gay or bisexual). His relationship with Blitzo is complicated as he is married to to a demon named Stella (voiced by Georgina Leahy), and has a daughter named Octavia (voiced by Barrett Wilbert Weed). Stolas and Blitzo both seem to have feelings for each other, but Blitzo's unsure of what Stolas thinks of him.

Part of the show's appeal is its LGBTQ characters and interpersonal relationships. Helluva Boss promises to elevate queer narratives and stories, as much, if not more than shows such as The Owl House or OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes. Although Helluva Boss is more mature than both of those all-ages animated series, it also features themes of family camaraderie and having a chosen family. It also has a talented cast, which includes (apart from those previously mentioned) Norman Reedus, Cristina Vee, James Monroe Iglehart, Mara Wilson, Jinkx Monsoon, Erica Luttrell, and Medrano herself.

Most recently, the series featured Sallie May, a trans woman and Millie's sister. She is voiced by Morgana Ignis, who is also a trans woman. Although she is not as prominent a character as May Marigold in RWBY, voiced by trans female actress Kdin Jenzen, it is still great to see more trans representation in animation. Such representation will be expanded this fall when Barney, a trans man, debuts in DeadEndia, as well as when Lumberjanes drops on HBO Max, a series with a trans woman named Jo (one of the central characters). Hopefully, Sallie May returns in future episodes, and isn't a one-off character like Jewelstar in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power or Zadie from Danger & Eggs, to give two examples.

Sallie May talks with Millie and Moxxie in episode 5

Helluva Boss, well-known in the indie animation space, has garnered over 100 million views on YouTube. It is created by Medrano's company, Spindlehorse Toons, which also worked on Hazbin Hotel and the animated adaption of Medrano's webcomic, ZooPhobia - "Bad Luck Jack", among other projects. The show's reach is evident by the fact that those who previously worked on the show, and on Hazbin Hotel, have begun their own animations, currently in development, like two horror and black comedies, Satina and Far-Fetched.

Last year, episodes of Helluva Boss were nominated for an Ursa Major Award in the Best Dramatic Series category, which awards works, whether literature, television, or whatnot, that fall within the furry fandom. Although some may eschew Helluva Boss for its sexual themes, strong language, or graphic violence, I would argue that it is one of the best series currently airing, whether one considers it better than Hazbin Hotel or not, especially when it comes to animated series.

Furthermore, music is such an important part of the show that Medrano even teamed up with a company so actors could be cast and recorded for their singing! Medrano has said that she is influenced by musicals and music numbers, citing Disney films as one of the influences. Although the series has eight episodes in its first season, Medrano has described it as part of a "much grander season."

With Helluva Boss currently on hiatus, now is the time to watch all of the show's episodes on Medrano's YouTube channel, including the original pilot and the six episodes from the first season, before the next episode drops, likely to much fanfare.

© 2021-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#helluva boss #black comedy #dark comedy #violence #blood #indie animation #youtube #adult animation #a24 #trans character #sallie may #musicals #vivienne medrano #vivziepop #morgana ignis #murder

[jellylollie]

So today I found out that season 5 episodes are already coming out and I'm dreading watching them because I have no idea what to expect. (The only spoiler I saw was hawkmoth with all his bling like a 90s 13yo teenage girl). And I remembered this rambling mess I had saved on my drafts, so yeah... Enjoy./

The other day I had a dream about a Miraculous reveal. Here's what it was like:

Gabriel is a shitty parent again, and Adrien poor baby is upset.

I don't know what it was about, but Marinette tries to comfort Adrien and says something meaningful that resonates with him. Or maybe some jumbled up mess that makes sense to absolutely no one. Who knows?

There's an akuma attack right after, and Chat Noir is visibly still upset. When there's a little break in the fight, he mentions how a friend of his (does not give any names or big revealing details) said these great words, and he starts quoting them.

And to everyone's surprise, Ladybug finishes his sentence, which she wouldn't be able to do... unless... she was there... And it clicks in both of their heads, and there's a dramatic zoom and flashbacks and it all makes sense-- queue that spidermen shot of them pointing at each other for like five minutes straight

But there's still an akuma at large that needs to be taken care of.

They save the day, Lucky Charm, Cataclysm, yadda yadda, and don't talk about what they just found out about each other.

Cut to Adrien and Marinette living their daily lives like nothing happened, but now they have this inside joke that makes them exchange knowing glances and smirk conspiratorially when they think nobody else is looking. And something between them changes but nobody can pinpoint what.

Then there's Ladybug and Chat Noir doing their hero thing as usual as well.

And things just naturally start shifting into a romantic direction without them EVER MENTIONING their secret identities. They just keep doing their things, acting like the reveal never happened.

But it did, and even in my dream I was squealing, because it was so casual and fun and with zero drama and you could see them getting closer to each other ever so slightly and nobody HAD A CLUE WHY.

Tikki and Plagg did not show up in my dream but I imagine the four of them casually hanging out one day like it's the most obvious thing in the world and they still never talk about masked stuff as civilians or vice versa, but they tease each other in a way that only makes sense to them.

The end. Now I guess imma go find the new episodes.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb #a wild jelly has appeared #i dont even rember having that dream anymore

[princess-of-the-corner]

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix Recap: Twilight Town (The 2nd Day)

Static partially clears to show Pluto waking up Sora in Traverse Town.

“Where am I?”

Cut to the Second District, where Sora is swarmed by Heartless.

“What happened to my home? My island?” Sora asks, “Riku, Kai-”

Cut to static, where Kairi’s fave is barely visible.

When the static clears, Sora is back in the First District.

“Who are you?”

“They will come at you out of nowhere, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade,” Leon explains.

Static and code cuts ahead to Donald and Goofy getting blasted off a balcony and landing on Sora in the Third District.

Static cut to after the Guard Armor fight.

“Hey, why don’t you come with us?” Goofy offers, “We can go to other worlds on our vessel.”

Static cut to Leon and Yuffie.

“Sora, go with them,” Leon says, “Especially if you want to find your friends.”

Static cut.

“Donald Duck,” Donald puts his hand in the center.

“Name’s Goofy,” Goofy puts his own hand in the center.

“I’m Sora,” Sora puts his own hand in the center, “I’ll go with you, guys.”

Static-obscured image of Kairi again as we cut to the hotel room, with the Keyblade resting on Sora’s lap.

“The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade,” Leon explains.

“That’s right,” Aerith’s new “VA” reads soullessly in the recording booth, “The Keyblade.”

Static cuts back to Sora.

“So… This is the key.”

Static, and we cut to Sora sealing the Keyhole in Agrabah.

“But the boy is a problem,” Jafar says, “He found one of the Keyholes.”

Roxas bolts awake.

“A key… blade?”

The second day begins.

On his way to the usual spot, Roxas picks up a random stick that was just on the ground in the middle of an urban environment, gives it a couple of swings.

“What was that about?” he throws the stick away over his shoulder, and it bounces off a man in a black coat.

Roxas tries to apologize, but the man walks away without paying him any mind.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette are already eating ice cream bars in the usual spot, offering Roxas one when he arrives.

“Do you guys think we’ll always be together like this?” Pence asks.

“I sure hope so,” Olette answers.

“Huh?” Hayner interjects, “Where did that come from?”

Pence admits that he was just thinking out loud, and Hayner admits that he doesn’t think they’ll be together forever, as they’ll probably drift apart as they grow up.

“What’s important isn’t how often we see each other,” Hayner explains, “but how often we think about each other. Right?”

Pence asks if Hayner got that off a fortune cookie, and Hayner decides Pence has had enough ice cream for one day.

He also feels that today’s been a bit of a drag so far, and Olette asks if it’s because of the memory thief (that only stole photos and a word of the English/Japanese language, so I’m not sure why they decided to call it THAT).

Hayner states that it’s more like they don’t want their summer vacation to be over, and suggests that they all go to the beach.

The others then remind him that they’re all broke, so a beach episode isn’t even in the budget.

Hayner then reveals that he has a plan, and leads Pence and Olette out of the Usual Spot.

A Save Point appears, and a tutorial on saving begins.

Pence tells Roxas to hurry up as soon as the Save Point Tutorial is done, suggesting that the Save Points are diagetic, which raises a whole lot of other questions.

The group heads off for Market Street, and Roxas gets a map of Twilight Town.

Also, there’s a skateboard, and you can ride it.

Ahem, uphill from the Usual Spot, Hayner, Pence, and Olette have gotten distracted by a poster for the Struggle Tournament, which is only two days away. Hayner and Roxas have both entered, and Hayner wants for both of them to make the finals.

That way, no matter who wins, they can split the prize between the four of them.

But now, for today’s objective:

One ticket to the beach is 900 munny.

Four tickets will cost 3600 munny.

300 each to spend there adds up to 1200 munny.

A total 4800 munny is what they need to have a beach episode.

Watermelons are 2000 munny apiece, which is a bit too pricey for their budget, thus why they’ll be buying pretzels instead.

Pence has 800, Olette has 650, Roxas has 150, and Hayner has nothing. That’s a total of 1600. They need another 3200 to get to the beach.

Hayner has a plan, they need to do odd jobs to earn 800 munny each.

As soon as the cutscene ends, you are granted access to the pause menu. (You can pause the game before this, there just wouldn’t be a menu.)

The pause menu has access to the settings, Roxas’ stats, and his journal (which shows what the current objective is).

The game doesn’t let you shop at any of the shops QUITE yet. Which makes sense, since you’re earning munny for a specific goal, so the shopkeepers are just NPC’s with flavor text.

There are two job bulletin boards in Twilight Town, one at Station Plaza, the other in the Tram Commons (aka, the Afternoon Street where Sora and Riku both entered the memory version of Twilight Town, and where all the shops are located).

The Station Plaza bulletin board grants access to the following minigames:

Mail Delivery: Roxas rides down a street with his skateboard, delivering mail to three humans and two seagulls (don’t question it). Delivering all the mail to all five recipients in less than 20 seconds awards 80 munny, 60 seconds or less rewards 30 munny, and taking more than a minute rewards 10 munny.

Cargo Climb: Roxas needs to attack a cart with a bag of cargo in it to push it uphill with his combos. When it’s launched into the air, Roxas can launch it further ahead with an attack, but must be mindful to avoid the shock wave it makes when it lands, lest he be knocked back himself. Getting it to the garage at the top of the hill completes the minigame. Completing it in less than 30 seconds awards 50 munny, 30 to 60 seconds awards 30 munny, and more than a minute rewards 10 munny.

Grandstander: Roxas combos a ball to keep it in the air for as long as possible. The minigame ends when the ball hits the ground 5 times, with your score judged by your longest combo. 20 or more hits earns 50 munny, 5 to 19 hits earn 30 munny, and 4 or less hits earn 10 munny. Y

Aside from that, the Tram Commons bulletin board grants access to three more minigames:

Poster Duty: Roxas must run around the Tram Commons and put up 20 posters for the upcoming Struggle Tournament as possible. Putting up all 20 posters in 1 minute 30 seconds or less grants 100 munny, 2 minutes or less grants 50 munny, and taking more than 2 minutes to put up all the posters rewards 30 munny.

Bumble Buster: Roxas must battle swarms of bees, and exterminate all the swarms as quickly as possible. Every swarm counts as its own enemy. Defeating all the swarms in 20 seconds or less rewards 50 munny, 60 seconds or less rewards 30 munny, and taking more than a minute rewards 10 munny.

Junk Sweep: Roxas must destroy as much trash in as few swings as possible. Knocking pieces of junk sent flying will destroy any junk they collide with. 10 swings or less rewards 50 munny, 15 swings or less rewards 30 munny, and more than 15 swings will reward 10 munny.

As Roxas starts with 150 munny, he can rendezvous with the others once he has 1200 munny. However, if you keep on going past that, the game will stop you as soon as Roxas has 2000 munny, declaring that’s PROBABLY enough for the beach and automatically meeting up with the others. Roxas can get up to 2 AP. The Wiki claims he’ll get 2 AP even if he stops at 1200, but I worked up to 2000 munny JUST in case.

Regardless of whether or not Roxas keeps earning until the game forces him to stop, everyone’s contributions will always add up to exactly 5000 munny.

Hayner notes that they can’t be together forever, so they should make the most of the time they do have..

Olette gives Roxas her Munny Pouch, which holds all 5,000 hard-earned munny, for safe keeping.

When Roxas approaches the train station, someone yeets a stick at him, knocking him flat on his face.

The man in the black coat roughly yanks Roxas off the ground and says something to him, and Hayner warns him they only have three minutes to buy their tickets.

In the station, Roxas realizes that the man in the black coat took all the munny.

Roxas tries to run off after him, and tells his friends that the guy in the black coat must have taken the munny…

… Except none of his friends saw the guy in the black coat (and as such, has no idea what he’s talking about), even though they were the only people in the plaza at the time.

Regardless, the munny pouch is gone, and the munny with it, so no beach episode for Roxas.

Later, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Roxas sit on the edge of the clocktower, eating ice cream and watching the sunset. Well, Hayner, Pence, and Olette are at least, Roxas is kinda moping as his ice cream melts until Olette points it out to him.

Roxas apologizes for losing the munny, but they don’t hold anything against him. Even if they do agree that what happened was weird.

Roxas then reveals what the guy only he could see said to him.

“Can you feel Sora?”

Cut to static.

“Restoration at 28%.”

“Naminé, hurry,” DiZ urges.

The man in the black coat tosses and catches the Munny Pouch in his hand, asking DiZ if it’s REALLY that hard to make a beach.

DiZ justifies himself by claiming that the beach would just be another point of entry for their enemy.

The man asks what to do with the Munny Pouch.

“We can always buy some sea salt ice cream,” DiZ jokes, before laughing.

His tone then turns serious.

“Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete that.”

The camera pans over to an indentation in the wall, an alcove perhaps, with a strange device on the ceiling pointing at a platform on the floor.

-

Wow that VA comment....

Also rip to the beach episode!

#submission

[cave-monkey]

Monkey King 2009 Episode 8 (Part 1/2)

This episode makes me scared for the future. It's so wholesome. This episode was all about what great friends these guys are, how much they care about each other, how important these relationships are to them, and I mean. It did a great job. It did a wonderful job!

They are definitely getting ready to rip them apart. They might let it ride a few episodes more only to spring it on us when we've let our guards down, but it's coming.

But!

Okay, so I already broke and talked a bit about Six Ears and Stone Monkey in this episode, so I won't go too crazy on that (maybe), but I do want to mention Stone Monkey's furiously intent expression while running to save Six Ears's life, and then how the second he was in range to attack that expression flipped to a smile. He also ripped Six Ears out of there and slipped back to a more serious expression when he asked him what he was doing out here all by himself. This entire episode Stone Monkey's kind of flipping between...really intense and then really flippant, which was interesting to watch? But also a bit whiplash-inducing. Jade Rabbit definitely took it as 100% real, and maybe it is - it's not like you can expect any version of Monkey King to not to be a little cocky - but...I dunno. I think there's some nuance there. It reminds me a bit of how he'd go from 0 to 60 when confronted with the four generals in Episode 6 compared to how carefree he might have been acting even just seconds earlier.

That smile is also only moments after he just watched the Demon King send Six Ears flying, and we got a shot of his face immediately after that too, and he wasn't happy about it. Stone Monkey, I think, can smile maliciously, but he still...hm.

I get the impression Stone Monkey doesn't really like showing that something's actually getting to him, especially when his "enemies" can see it. He'll pretend he's more confident than he is, or otherwise that it doesn't actually bother him at all, at least until he can't hide it anymore and it comes out of him snarling (we saw this in action in Episode 6, where he went from avoidance/running away at the beginning of the episode to passive-aggressive antagonism in the middle to having to be held back from squaring up to Marshal Ma at the end). Even when he's genuinely (or "genuinely") annoyed with someone, there's generally a sort of playful air of exaggeration, or he'll teasingly escalate for fun. What it looks like to me is Stone Monkey enjoys confrontation so long as it's basically harmless, but he doesn't like being actually angry. This might have something to do with the fact that when he actually loses his temper, he gets violent. We see this with the Demon King and with Ginseng Fruit.

Which isn't to say all his quick changes in mood are deliberate obfuscation. That's going too far. But I do think it's a part of his character that pokes its head out of the brush every now and then.

We also see a little of how people react to it. Stone Monkey was visibly struggling enough during his fight against the Demon King that Jade Rabbit was moved to help him a few times even though she was still very angry with him, and when she'd knock the Demon King down or trip him up (from hiding, Stone Monkey didn't know (maybe) that she was there) he'd immediately flip over to mocking laughter and confident poses like he hadn't been worried at all. This PISSED her OFF.

It also makes me kind of wonder how Six Ears perceives it. Both Stone Monkey and Six Ears will default to mocking and taunts and making fun when they can during a fight, so it's not like Six Ears isn't familiar with the tactic, but he also doesn't see how stressed Stone Monkey gets when trying to get to him before a rescue, either. He only sees the smiling entrance.

I'm feeling this out because of the part in this episode where Stone Monkey - for probably the first time ever - refuses to let Six Ears fight with him, and even throws him away from danger. (I LOVE that scene.) I have a lot to say about it, actually, and I'll get into what I think was going on from Stone Monkey's perspective there in a second, but from Six Ears's side that cannot feel good. Yeah, Stone Monkey's just trying to protect him, but he's also not trusting Six Ears to help. He's forcing Six Ears to leave his best friend alone in the middle of an enemy war party, because he doesn't trust him to help. That's got to feel like a horrible slap in the face, at least once the battle is over and Six Ears has time to process it.

And I'm sure that's not going to have any consequences whatsoever.

From Stone Monkey's side (didn't I say I wasn't going to talk about them that much? well I lied), going back to their earlier conversation where Stone Monkey asks Six Ears what he's doing out here alone, and then the look on his face when Six Ears explains (plainly and almost casually for the situation, like he doesn't realize he's rocking Stone Monkey's entire world) that he noticed Stone Monkey missing and went looking for him because he was worried that he might be in danger somewhere.

Stone Monkey's shocked.

It isn't that I think he didn't realize Six Ears cared about him before this moment; it's that this is the moment where I think it really clicked. That Six Ears will notice and miss him when he's not there, that he'll worry about him, that Stone Monkey has someone who will come try to find him when he's lost and help him when he's hurt. Six Ears has been doing this for him since they met, even outright scolding him for always vanishing without telling anyone, so Stone Monkey's definitely been a little slow on the uptake here, but I also think this is the first time Stone Monkey's heard Six Ears actually spell it out like this.

The progression of Stone Monkey's face during this conversation.

Six Ears also tells him not to apologize or say anything about always getting Six Ears into trouble, since Stone Monkey's always having to save him anyway. I mentioned before that I thought the sworn brothers thing was really important to Stone Monkey at the time, just because of how rough things had been with the troop and how nice it probably was for him to have someone willing to claim him and to let him claim them in turn, and I think this is something very similar. Confirmation that he's as important to Six Ears as Six Ears is to him. That they'll take care of each other.

Then fast forward a couple minutes and Stone Monkey throws Six Ears to the top of the cliff instead of letting him fall with him. I think this conversation is definitely a huge part of that.

It's not that I think Stone Monkey wouldn't have wanted to save Six Ears even before it, but I do think his emotions are running a little high at that moment. He saw Six Ears get flattened by the Demon King not long ago, they just had a very important conversation for Stone Monkey, and I think in that moment the thought of losing Six Ears when he probably feels he just got him (or had just allowed himself to believe he really had him, not much difference) was probably overwhelmingly horrible. He's already proven himself protective of Six Ears in the past, and I think that feeling is probably dialed up to a million at that moment, and so it's probably not surprising if he panicked and took a chance to shove him up on a high shelf for safekeeping. (Maybe Stone Monkey's mystic universe powers make him capable of recognizing narrative death flags and he said NOT TODAY.) (I kid.) (Or do I?)

There's also a possibility - way more of a stretch, not sure how I feel about this idea one way or another honestly - that he maybe now feels he can trust Six Ears to come back even if he isn't right next to Stone Monkey. That Six Ears won't leave him for dead, but will go get help and bring it as fast as he can, or will return to help on his own.

Or it's just that Stone Monkey 100% would have thrown Six Ears to safety in the past, but this is just coincidentally the first time there's been an opportunity. (Stone Monkey, shrugging: If you don't want to be tossed out of the fight, don't be so tossable.)

This ties into what I was talking about above (way, way above, oops) that Six Ears isn't always privy to the times Stone Monkey isn't confident. Maybe Stone Monkey didn't like even their combined chances and chose to save Six Ears because he genuinely thought they were going to die there when that tree went down, maybe he really did think he had a better chance of holding out longer than Six Ears, maybe he was going full big brain and knew that if he went back and tried to bring the army, there was a good chance the four generals just wouldn't listen to him, and it's just good luck that sending Six Ears lets him get his best friend safely out of the way. Maybe it's a weird mashup of many different reasons.

I don't think he genuinely believed he could single-handedly fight his way out of that canyon. I'm not sure if Six Ears knows that.

I'm not finishing this thought now, but I'm stewing on it.

And anyway, on a lighter note, most of Stone Monkey's intentions are totally moot because Six Ears - the universe's favorite trouble magnet - manages to either run immediately into another division of enemy soldiers (tiger guy probably had a grudge and went looking for him, actually) who bailed out of the canyon for their own reasons and gets tree-ed again for awhile.

There's also the possibility he took it upon himself to guide off some of the army from the canyon so Stone Monkey wasn't overrun while also handling the Demon King!

Anyway, I love these monkeys. This also totally derailed from being about Episode 8 so I'm going to do a part 2 to get things back on track.

#mhw09 personal #images under cut #this is...this is ENTIRELY about six ears and stone monkey #I'm sorry I failed #the next part will be about more of the episode lol #this is what happens when I fall asleep halfway through writing these things they grow to monstrous size #anyway I just love how much these two love each other #platonic romantic whatever #on my own note while I do think peachbuds is very cute and I DO ship it #(sometimes - you know. headcanons. fluid and endless etc etc.) #I prefer to watch the series through the lens of it being entirely platonic #mostly because I don't really think adding a crush would actually change their interactions much at all #I think for these two the fact they're best friends is and always will be the first priority #even when they're older

[crossdressingdeath]

Rewatching Hannibal is just *feels increasingly sorry for Will Graham*.

#hannibal #HE'S A GOOD BOY HE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS #what 'this' am i talking about? oh ALL of it #four episodes in and he's already visibly Not Great #and so far it seems like only beverly has noticed #and she doesn't really have the power to do anything about it #hannibal of course knows but also wants him to suffer so he's no help

[saintobio]

sincerely not. (3)

↳ gojou satoru/reader

with an arranged marriage set in place, the sacred bond is doomed with a wife who wants to make the relationship work and a husband who’s ready to ruin it all. unbeknown to him, a tragic fate already lies within the pages of his romance book.

genre. heavy angst, unrequited love, arranged marriage, modern au, 18+

tags/warnings. profanity, sexual harassment (not from gojo), neglect, virginity loss, fellatio, fingering, explicit smut, implied infidelity

notes. this is so fucking long (8k words) but painful idek why i keep hurting myself with angst

series masterlist -> episode four

Never in your life did you feel this much excitement about going out of the country. Countless times have you traveled across the globe with your family and friends, but the thought of being alone with your husband was a new experience that brought soft tickles to your delicate heart.

Honeymoon, they called it. A romantic vacation spent together by newlyweds to celebrate the beginning of their union. You had always dreamed of spending your first few days as a wife by visiting a beautiful country with your husband, and Iceland was certainly the perfect destination for your sweet getaway.

“Why Iceland?” you wondered, an arm looped around Satoru as the two of you walked inside the plane’s First Class suite.

You could see his arctic lashes fluttering slowly behind his dark sunglasses. He was visibly drowsy after having woken up at 4 AM just to catch your flight. Despite the mop of messy white hair, he was still looking very attractive in your eyes. “Felt like it,” he mumbled a quick response while finding his designated seat listlessly. “We should’ve flied private.”

Those things didn’t matter much to you, but as a wife of an influential businessman, you felt that it was important to note how Satoru preferred flying private than getting on commercial flights even when he was in First Class. “Oh, I could’ve asked my dad for the PJ—”

“We have our own private jet,” he cut off to clarify, “My father’s just using it for the weekend.”

Being with Satoru was black and white. He was plainly unpredictable and you assumed that even the most accurate fortune teller wouldn’t be able to read such a man with an oscillating mood. Most of the time, he was short-tempered, but there were times where his hostility would lessen to indifference. The fact that he even went out of his way to plan a trip with you was a great sign that he was also trying to make this marriage work. That even though he wasn’t in love to do all of this with you, he was willing to test the waters. For your sake? Probably not. For his, maybe. Or for your families’ contentment, most definitely.

“Okay. Well, I’m wearing the sweater that you got me,” you cheerfully presented the Chanel sweater that he purchased for you the other day as you settled on your spacious seat.

On the other hand, not once did Satoru even bother to check you out. All he did was to withdraw his phone out of his pocket, typing intently as if he was more interested at whoever he was texting than looking at his wife. It’s morning and he’s grumpy, you made an excuse for him in your head before you sank back into your seat with a soundless sigh. His mood can still change.

The air conditioner started to get warmer only when the flight attendants ushered more passengers into their sections. As you looked outside of the window, you saw Satoru’s stony face from the reflection and realized that the source of coldness inside the plane wasn’t exactly from the morning weather, but from your own spouse.

Regardless, you tried not to let it ruin your mood. One of the traits that you had taken after your mom was your optimistic, happy-go-lucky attitude, thinking that there would always be a rainbow after the storm because you believed that even the littlest things deserve to be appreciated. So even if Satoru was a little difficult to deal with, he was here and that was enough for you.

Throughout the flight, the amount of conversations you’ve had with your husband was close to minimal because he was either sleeping or watching movies to kill time. You, on your own side, decided to flip through the pages of a travel magazine that coincidentally showed the best tourist spots in Iceland. Famous for its hot springs, geysers, and active volcanoes—your heart jumped at the thought of swimming in the Blue Lagoon and sightseeing the aurora borealis with your husband.

Based on the photos alone, you were already mesmerized by what the place had to offer. It was called the ‘Land of Fire and Ice’ which was ironically what you and your husband seemed to be. As two contrasting beings unified in marriage, you were beginning to fall into your hopeless romantic dreams the moment you looked forward to this trip. It may look like you were a teenager dreaming about honeymooning with the love of your life, but it was truly supposed to be one of the most exciting parts of marriage. Notwithstanding the fact that it was only forced between you and Satoru, his best friend was right when he said that the early stages of marriage were the best.

It truly was, or should be, but remembering the words that your husband uttered that night once again made you feel that reoccurring squeeze in your chest. “You and I will never work,” you recalled his exact words. Your duty as a wife was to obey your husband and yet, your plan was to defy him by proving to him that the two of you could work.

After a twelve-hour flight and another two-hour trip to the most luxurious hotel in the Blue Lagoon, you were beyond speechless at how Iceland had far exceeded the expectations you’ve had based on the brochure. The photos were incomparable to the actual view that it offered and it had easily surpassed your top five list of must-visits. You could definitely write a whole travel article about your experience, but you would save the thought for another day because all of your sweet time was to be dedicated to your husband.

You could say that jet lag hit him straight in the face, worse than it ever affected you because he had fallen too languid to rave about a place that he claimed to have visited before. It didn’t really surprise you when the first thing he did upon arriving at your hotel room was to plunge face flat on top of your king-sized bed.

“Can’t wait to swim on the lagoon with you later.” You raked your fingers through his white hair as you joined him in bed, watching his lids flickering from the slightest movements. His shoulders were quite broad and his back muscles were one of his sexiest features, but you couldn’t exactly show your appreciation because he wasn’t even conscious to hear them. “Satoru?”

His response was a groan, swatting your arm away from him while muttering, “Let me rest.”

And so you did. You had been patient that you did.

For the next few hours, you were welcomed by complete silence within the chic architectural design of your presidential suite. You could go on and on about how luxurious the room was, but going at the balcony and gaping at the immaculate landscape view of the geothermal seawater was what made the costly room worth every penny. Mist diffused from the lagoon and crawled onto the surface to bring some warmth in a place that resembled winter wonderland. There was no doubt why the place was considered one of the wonders of the world.

Unfortunately, the other wonder of your world was still in bed, torpid as ever and clearly unwilling to get up. He chose to stay idle even after all the hours that he spent sleeping. You would have stayed with him, but your eagerness to walk around brought you to the decision that maybe you could just enjoy it alone.

Satoru remained listless even after seeing you in your robe, unaware that what you had underneath it was the sexy swimsuit which was his most recent purchase. You waited for him to get up far too long until you had grown impatient, and before you knew it, you were already heading out of the room by yourself. “I’m going for a dip,” you announced, pouting inwardly as you tightened the robe around your body.

There was not even a reply garnered from him and nothing could steal his heavy fixation on his phone. You were fine with him not being as outwardly enthusiastic for the trip, but it was unacceptable for him to just neglect you to do things on your own. You were supposed to visit all these places together and actually spend time to help ease the tension that you already had as a couple. The trip was meant to put you two closer to improve your bond and learn more about each other as husband and wife. How could you do all this when Satoru time and time again had remarkably decided to place minimal effort for you? Just when you were hoping to see a sunshine rising up on your marriage, why did it have to be casted with a stretch of grey clouds again?

This was not how you wanted to spend your honeymoon.

The water was warm when you climbed down on the famous Blue Lagoon, submerging yourself little by little and feeling the hot water hugging every inch of your skin. The fetor of sulfur had your nose flaring as you adjusted from the mephitic vapors, but you got used to the smell after a minute or two of swimming further into the stretch of saltwater. You were absolutely enchanted at how the water mimicked the color of milk with a sky blue undertone that turned the whole lagoon into a giant bowl of vanilla ice. Enriched by algae, silica, and minerals, the seawater was surrounded by a russet lava field that marvelously gave the lagoon an appearance that was literally out of this world.

As customary, you ought to take a bath before dipping yourself into the hot spring because the water could dry up your hair without proper conditioning. It was close to dusk, but the area was still full of visiting tourists who all enthused about the exquisite lagoon that Iceland was renowned for.

The sight was indeed forever embedded into your memories and you wished that Gojou was here to see it all with you, because when you swam further towards the center of the lagoon, you were not expecting that a man would latch onto your waist, his breath reeking of alcohol. “Hey, darlin’,” he disgustingly whispered on your ear, “Need some company?”

You tried to push him away with your increasing heartbeat. “Don’t touch me, please!” And as difficult as it already was, the dark-haired man grinned while pulling you by your hips. “Stop! Get. Off. Me—!”

“Why? Don’t you wanna have fun?” Gross. He was revolting to look at and you were about to slap his face until someone interjected.

“She said get off her, you creep!” It was a woman with a bun of red hair and a silver nose piercing. Thin but dark eyebrows were raised questioningly as she glared at the man. “Leave!”

She forcefully splashed some water directly on the man’s face, then seized the opportunity to steal you from him and save you from further harassment. If only Satoru was here, this never would’ve happened. No man would be brave enough to touch you with the presence of your husband, but the same husband had chosen to stay behind instead of spending time with you. The thought of it sent a heavy pang on your chest, so real that you had to clutch the woman’s arm as you took deep breaths to ease the tightness that surrounded your heart. The thumping rhythm was accelerating at an unusually faster pace and you were becoming vertiginous from it.

“Oh my God. Are you okay?” the girl worriedly asked, rubbing your back for some comfort.

Breathe, Y/N. Breathe. You didn’t know what was happening and it took you a few minutes to recover until you were able to speak again, “I’m... I’m fine. Thanks for helping me out.”

Did you just have an anxiety attack? But the pain that you felt in your chest was strangely different.

“Okay. I’m Alexis, by the way,” she introduced, offering a hand that you immediately shook. “You can call me Alex.”

“Y/N,” your voice was breathy, still you tried to gather yourself back up as you followed her trail while being half submerged. Alex seemed like a tough girl based on her piercings and tattoos, something like a 90’s punk girl you believed resembled her the most. “You look really cool.”

Contrary to her exterior, her smile was very warm and amiable. She was able to make you feel comfortable at swimming together. “Thanks. You look... feminine, I’d say.” She grinned at you in between. “Not a bad thing, though! You look modest and I like that. Very classy.”

You weren’t trying to fish compliments but it was truly nice to hear some every now and then. Because Satoru wasn’t around, you might as well make friends and have fun on your own. “Thank you.” With your reply, you also took a 360-turn around the place to see a nearby bridge and an in-water mask station. “Oh, do you wanna try that?”

Alex, despite being a complete stranger, was showing her friendliness in the best way. You admired people who could be bubbly even around those they barely knew because you have always grown to be soft-spoken and reserved. At eight years old, you remembered Satoru even calling you a little lamb for your demure traits and you saw this as a good thing. Some people were just born to be more outspoken and confident like him or Alex, while some were just like you.

For the next hour that passed, you spent your time talking to her while putting on the white volcanic clay that they handed you over at the station. You learned that Alex was from the US and that she came to Iceland with her brother and his girlfriend so she was the so-called ‘third-wheel’. You didn’t want to admit it to her, but you ended up saying that you were actually with your husband for your honeymoon and her reaction was what any sane person would say, “No way?” she gasped with green doe eyes. “He should be here with you so these perverts would leave you alone.”

“He’s pretty jet-lagged,” you reasoned, swiveling from the bar stool underwater as the stars finally appeared from the dark skies. “I think I’ll try to go see the Northern Lights with him tomorrow night. It’s so romantic.”

Alex mirrored your smile. “Very. I guess I’ll see you there, too.”

Gojou was stepping out of the bathroom just in time when you walked back into your suite. He was in his boxers, messing with his ivory hair as he traded glances with you. Each time those diamond eyes landed on you, your vision would simply blur out the rest of the world because he was your focal point. He was the cynosure of your full attention as if your only role as his partner was to support him with all and everything that he wanted. He must be aware of just how submissive of a wife you were willing to be and, for the most part, he hated you for it.

“Hey, I took a swim,” you keenly informed, sitting at the edge of your bed in your white robe. You didn’t know if it was the perfect time to tell him about the incident with the man at the lagoon but hesitation lingered at the back of your throat as you suspected that Satoru wouldn’t really care.

He didn’t even bother to greet you and instead brought up another topic out of nowhere as he walked towards the polished bedside table. “I saw that app thing on your phone that tracks your period,” he shared, towering over you before placing a half-empty glass of whiskey atop the oak table. “It says you’re most fertile for the next two weeks.”

Oh... You weren’t even aware, but more importantly, was he planning to...?

“Let’s just get it over with,” his proposal was followed with a weary sigh, “they want a baby and they’re gonna keep nagging about it.”

It was insane how the thought of it had your heart trapped at a frenzied state. The tips of your fingers were hot as you secured your robe into your chest, looking up at him with docile eyes to seek even a little bit of sincerity in his face. “Are you saying that we should... have sex?”

Stupid fucking question. You wanted to chastise yourself for sounding unbelievably dumb. What else do married couples do on their honeymoon? You couldn’t exactly blame yourself for thinking that he wouldn’t want to be intimate because he had been nothing but cold so far, but the fact that he was trying, the fact that he wanted to do it, the fact that he wanted a baby—you’ve suddenly lost all the sulkiness you had towards him this morning. The bitterness was gone like a puff of smoke that disappeared into thin air.

In spite of that, you weren’t quite prepared and you probably looked like a damp kitty which might not exactly be appealing enough for a man who had high standards. After all, he did say that you weren’t interesting to look at.

“I’m saying we should make a baby,” he clarified, gazing down at you in nonchalance that later turned to impatience. The way he spoke those words sounded like an obligation. “You wanna do it or not?”

You were quick to nod before he could take it back, but uncertainty laced your voice for another good reason. “I do. I wanna do it with you. Making a baby is part of our union, but I...” By avoiding his eyes, he could have sensed what you mean. “I’m just not...”

“Are you a virgin?” It was hard to discern how he felt about it but there was an amalgam of amusement, intrigue, and surprise that danced in his cerulean eyes. “So, you’re the type of girl who waits ‘til marriage and all that?”

Yes, you simply had no experience.

Heat permeated your cheeks as you hinted the mockery in his tone. You wished that he didn’t shame for you being chaste and instead, appreciated the fact that you saved your purity for someone that you were actually married to. “It doesn’t matter. We’re married now.”

He tilted his head, following the upward curve on the corner of his lips. “Have you ever sucked dick before? Ever been fingered?”

God. You still weren’t used to him being openly vulgar and you didn’t have a handbook that guided you with knowing how to act in such an awkward situation. “No, you have all my firsts.”

In bed, at least. You have always been too sheltered because your dad was very conservative—always telling you to dress like an appropriate woman, always telling your previous flings to take you home by eight in the evening. Having protective parents led you to grew up with an innocent mind. You’ve done tongue kissing at most but always chickened out whenever anyone got too particularly touchy because anything concerning sex made you nervous.

Gojou, in great contrast, seemed to have had many experiences to boast about. He was a man with raging hormones and was attractive enough to have women throwing themselves at him during his time as a bachelor. It was simply innate for a man like Satoru Gojou to be a ladies’ man with his good looks and charming personality. Not to mention his adroitness and amazing body.

“Fuck, I’m not even hard enough to do this,” he groused, slowly peeling your robe regardless of your reluctance. “Let me see.”

You were panicking inside, restraining your breath and swallowing hard as he rid you off your robe to reveal a body that was barely covered by a light blue bikini. “I-I don’t... I don’t know where to start. Please guide me… with everything.”

Even from a distance, you noticed how Satoru’s pupils have dilated. The azure orbs were overwhelmed by his dark irises as his eyes trailed down on your bust to your hips. He probably didn’t want you to see him losing his composure because he later cleared his throat and grabbed your hand. “Start by touching me,” he ordered, the muscles on his forearm were flexing as he placed your hand on his crotch. You sure didn’t miss how he murmured that ‘virgins were always boring in bed’.

You couldn’t believe that you were doing this in the first place. You never expected that you would find yourself palming his growing bulge with your eyes fixated on his, waiting for his approving remarks to guide you of what you were doing. He wasn’t fully hard, but you managed to trace the outline of his shaft from behind his boxers while you did your utmost best to pleasure him with your hand. “Like this?” you softly asked, feeling him growing harder and harder the more you touched him.

“Yeah,” he hummed, grabbing the gold-rimmed glass from the table and chugging the rest of the hard liquor from it. “Get on your knees.”

“H-Huh?” Your movements came to an abrupt stop as you fluttered your lashes up at him. With the lack of answer, he pulled you up only to have you kneeling in bed like an obedient bunny. All you had to do was to watch how he positioned his crotch directly on your face. Right, you realized where this was going.

And he didn’t even sugarcoat it. “Suck me off,” he commanded, lowering the bands of his boxers to release the aching manhood that had now hardened into full erection. You haven’t seen enough of that in your life to even compare him to anyone, but good lord was he huge. He was absolutely proportionate to his size, with a girth that matched his length perfectly, and a throbbing pink tip that he soon touched with his thumb. It was a good thing that you didn’t gape at his cock or else he would have ridiculed you nonstop about it. What you did, rather, was to wrap your palm around his shaft and pump your fist on him while you waited for further instructions. “Open your mouth.”

You noticed that his hostility was hidden because he was overflowing with sexual intoxication. Thinking of how you were the cause of his arousal made you squeeze your legs together, vigorously pumping his shaft and placing your tongue on his head. You might be a virgin, but you’ve seen pornographic materials for educational purposes before and you were aware of how they would swirl their tongue around a man’s tip, kissing the head sloppily before allowing the whole shaft into their mouths. Before you were stuffed full, you could taste saltiness on his skin, but it was nothing as unpleasant as you initially expected. His smell wasn’t musky either and you got the message that Satoru cared about his hygiene very well.

“You sure you haven’t done this before?” he quipped, reaching to untie the knot on your bra as you tried to suck more of him in your mouth. “Tighten your mouth. Don’t use teeth.”

“Mhm.” You avoided looking up at him because it was embarrassing to have him gazing down at you while you were bobbing your head on his cock. You were far too focused on following a rhythm that could please him the most until you’ve forgotten why your hands were on your lap. Where are your hands supposed to be?

While you were busy doing a clumsy attempt at a blowjob, he managed to untie your bra and freed your breasts from the tightness of the garment. It was during that moment when you released him from your mouth with a string of saliva connecting his cock to your lips. He could sense how conscious you were at being naked, but he also seemed like he didn’t want to keep stalling things further.

The next thing you knew, he was pushing your back on the mattress and hovering on top of you as he hurriedly hoisted your hips to tug your underwear down. “I can just rip this thing off,” he gritted, pulling the swimsuit out of your ankles and spreading your legs wide. “Give me your hand.”

You have never been this intimate with anyone before and he was the first man to ever see you all bare and unclothed. That fact alone was what you would blame for the sudden loss of oxygen in your lungs.

Nervous. You were goddamn nervous. You couldn’t think straight as you gave him your hand and instinctively closed your legs. Gojou saw through your sheepishness, but didn’t hesitate at manhandling your legs into a V so he could stare at your entrance. “Satoru—!” Shit. This was so embarrassing. “Can we... Can we at least turn off the lampshade?”

“No need to be shy. You’re all waxed for me, huh?” Once again, you were ignored when he placed your hand into your folds and orchestrated circular motions on your clit with his guide. The ministrations earned your dulcet moans, toes curling as your fingers went to spread your lips for him to see the exact hole that he was going to penetrate in less than a minute. “Finger yourself,” he directed, “I’m gonna fuck you in a bit.”

With hot cheeks burning your flesh and flames igniting your veins, you stammered at not knowing how to proceed, “How do I—”

“Just put a finger in,” he said in rising irritation.

You dampened your lips with your tongue as you allowed your shaky fingers to do a few more circular strokes on your entrance before you finally had the guts to sink your middle finger inside. “S-Satoru.” You didn’t know why his name escaped your lips, but he carefully watched how discomfort painted your face from the finger that was buried in your cunt. The feeling it had on your finger was warm, wet, and rubbery but you were in pain the more you tried to slide your finger in and out. “I... You should’ve... taken a night swim with me.”

He scoffed at your attempt to distract him by making a conversation. As he pressed his knees against the mattress, you saw how he ejected spit on his cock before jerking himself off at the sight of you. Why did he spit? You had no clue, but you could no longer continue fingering yourself. You just didn’t know how to do it right. “Did I tell you to stop?” he questioned, “You’re a damn spoiled princess expecting me to do everything else for you.”

“Satoru—!” Two of his fingers slowly entered your core, stretching your tight walls while you were clamping the sheets with pursed lips. “Nnn—you’re too deep!”

The way he rolled his eyes pricked at your heart. He was too focused on scissoring his fingers while your mewls got louder, holding onto his arm as he started increasing the speed of his digits in your cunt. His slender fingers were curled inside of your cavern as if he was checking just how tight you were. “So tight,” he mumbled, withdrawing his now slick-coated fingers and wiping them on the sheets. “You’re ready. I’m going in.”

When you dreamed of your first time, you imagined that your spouse would look at your face with love while gently burying his shaft into you. In your head, you pictured out doing it with your one true love, surrounded by scented candles with rose petals scattered in bed, having him whispering sweet nothings into your ear. You thought of being wrapped around his arms as he trailed his tongue along your neck, later meeting your lips with a wanton kiss. A kiss that was affectionate, gentle, yet fervid enough for the heated lovemaking. The whole scene played out beautifully in your head because you had the most romantic vision for your intimate night with your husband.

But reality slapped you hard and woke you up from your daydream. All of those didn’t happen on your first time.

Everything about this was purely for formality.

You didn’t expect that your tears would fall when he began planting the tip of his thick cock in your wet core. Not because it hurt, but because you just wanted to see affection in his eyes. You hoped for him to want this intimacy the same way you did. His arm was propped on the mattress while his other hand positioned his manhood between your plump folds, smearing his precum on your labia by grinding his swollen head on your pussy before entering back in. “Nng! I-It hurts!”

“It’ll fade.” He watched himself disappearing deeper into your cunt, allowing you time time to adjust as he buried more of his length at a slow motion, letting you soak in the foreign feeling of being stretched open. Your husband ripped your hymen by penetrating your walls with his cock. There were traces of blood that stained his length to signal the loss of your virginity and the gain of his ego boost for being the first man to ever wreck you open. “Stop crying now. I’m already trying not to make it hurt as much.”

“I—I’m,” you sobbed in silence, chest heaving because of the tears that pooled your eyes. You didn’t even realize that you had your nails buried on his back as he made you take his cock fully. He was just so big. He was so deep that you could feel the thin hairs on the base of his cock and the firmness of his bollocks colliding on your slit and on your bum respectively. As painful as it was, it felt right. There were no second thoughts, no guilt, no worries—just the raw pleasure of exchanging love and devotion through physical intimacy with a man that you shared sacred vows with. You realized that you might have finally adjusted to his size when he started to move again and you were no longer feeling pain, but an unfamiliar burst of ecstasy each time he was reaching a certain part inside of you. “R-Right there. Yes.”

How could something feel so physically good yet so painful in the heart?

Satoru didn’t plan to make this romantic nor did he think of absorbing every moment of it like you did. His mere intention out of this was to get you pregnant so none of his and your fathers would say anything further once a baby was conceived. By then, he realized that he would no longer have to prove himself because he had given you a child and that was enough. You both knew that you needed to produce an heir to keep your familial ties stronger.

For him, there was no need to be sappy about sex. To you, however, every second with Satoru was sentimental. Every thrust he did into you—deep enough until the entirety of his pelvis was slamming against your moistened pussy, you were nothing but a whimpering mess. You may have dissolved into pleasure, submitted to the shockwaves of your midnight rhapsody, but sadness glazed your eyes when you realized that Gojou was detached.

Ironic to your connected bodies, his mind was flying elsewhere and his parted lips were whispering incoherent words that you couldn’t exactly discern because you were having sensory overload from having sex for the first time. “Fuck,” was the only cuss word that you’ve clearly heard him grunt before he lowered his face on the crook of your neck to ram his cock at a faster pace. At that point, the chest-to-chest only made you arch your back more until you could feel his heart vibrating against your bosom. “I’m gonna stuff you full with my cum, yeah?”

Why couldn’t he look at your eyes? Why couldn’t he moan out your name, tell you that you were beautiful, praise you for doing a good job? Why couldn’t he intertwine his fingers on yours, kissing you in between thrusts, and breathing your existence in this supposedly divine moment?

Why couldn’t he appreciate you?

The tears that cascaded from your eyes were no longer from the pain of losing your virginity, but of the agony of realizing how Satoru Gojou couldn’t even make love to you.

“Satoru,” you begged through ragged breaths, desperately holding onto his shoulders to pull him down with lachrymose eyes that produced more tears. It wasn’t the sex that hurt, it was the lack of connection that you badly yearned for. “K-Kiss me, please.”

You didn’t care whether you sounded pathetic to him. You wanted to feel his lips and have them locked around yours just to satisfy your lonely heart despite his presence above you. Whether or not it was guilt, Satoru’s eyes glinted of momentary pity until he did envelope his lips around yours. Encasing your mouth with a rough, tight kiss that had you gasping for air within his supple lips. You wanted more, but you were limited to just that short-lived kiss before he pushed your face to the side and hooked your legs under his toned arms.

The heat from the previous skin-to-skin was replaced by cold air as your husband sat up and held your hips close to his crotch. His lean yet muscular chest glistened with sweat, but you could barely see with tears blurring your vision. All the more, each slam garnered your titillating scream, breasts wildly bouncing from his rough movements. Your hand gripped the sheets as your back arched from the combination of pain and pleasure. “S-Satoru—Aah!”

“Fuck. Fuck,” he hoarsely cussed, then releasing warm explosions inside your vagina and coating your walls with thick ropes of cum before he pulled out to see his jizz seeping out of your hole because he shot enough semen to fill your core. With a guttural sigh, he added, “That should do it.”

So this is how sex feels like.

You were too swallowed by your stupor to respond, staring blankly at the ceiling while catching the breath that you’ve lost. He, on the other, left you in bed with hasty footsteps that led to the bathroom.

“Satoru?” you weakly and mindlessly called, still dazed but forced yourself up nonetheless. You even had to brush the tangled hair out of your face. “Where are you go—”

“Cleaning up,” he said, but only meant of doing it for himself. “Go to sleep. Don’t wait on me.”

Gen was right when she told you that the first time would leave your body sore.

However, you could say that you might be a little more sore than she ever was when she first loss her virginity. Your sister was a tad bit rebellious than you, often sneaking out of the mansion late at night to go see her boyfriends, most times not following your mom and dad’s strict dress codes when it came to formal events. She had a belly piercing and a tattoo on her lower back—pretty much the tougher daughter compared to you.

Before the trip to Iceland, she told you that you just had to prepare for the special night because it would be an experience that would remain your most vivid memories as a married woman.

As the sunlight passed through the window that morning, you peered at the sight of your half-naked husband standing at the balcony with a phone on his ear and a hand on the railing.

“You saw the picture? It’s pretty, right? I’ll take you here someday.”

You squinted your eyes and gently rubbed the lids before you sheathed your body with the sheets, moving to the side of the bed until the soles of your feet landed on the fuzzy carpet. Even when his back was facing you, he must have heard you shifting from bed because he was quickly transitioning into a rigid stance.

“Sera, I’ll call you later.”

Your legs were as good as jellies by the time you got up and walked towards him. Surprisingly, the feeling down there wasn’t painfully sore but there was still some discomfort between your thighs when you took small steps to hug your husband from behind. “Morning,” you greeted, planting a kiss on his back.

“Hey.” While peeling your hands off, he turned around to look down at you. You wished that he stayed in bed to cuddle because you looked forward to morning-afters but you were contented enough that he wasn’t being unnecessarily mean. “What are your plans today?”

You noticed how he said ‘your’ instead of ‘our’ and corrected him for it, “You mean our plans? Can we go to the Retreat Spa today?” Your excitement was going through the roof as you continued. “They provide Lava Scrubs and I heard they offer really great massage so we can just relax.”

“Fine.” He ran his fingers through his chalky hair before he walked past you and made his way to the closet. “Bring your phone with you. You haven’t taken pictures for everyone to see.”

The day was a bit better than when you first arrived in Iceland because Gojou was now accompanying you to the places that you wanted to go. His deal was to keep you company as long as you would take photos to post on your social media, which by personal decision you were going to do either way. After having a sumptuous lunch at the buffet, you spent the rest of your afternoon relaxing with your husband by doing lava scrubs and getting full-body massages. He wasn’t fond of having deep conversations but you figured that he would casually talk to you about anything related to his line of work whether it was about the stock market or their plans to expand their business for Asian commerce, it was nice to learn what topic sparked your husband’s interest the most.

He didn’t ask much about you, but you were fine with it because your life wasn’t as interesting as his in the first place. Some people may think that you lived a bland purposeless life with not many colorful stories to tell, but little did they know, you had a few exciting experiences, too. They weren’t as extreme as what your husband may have had, but they were still memories that you loved reminiscing about. Unfortunately, Satoru wasn’t all keen to listen about what you had to share. He knew just enough from your childhood and didn’t bother hearing how different things had been for you when your reached your teenage years.

When twilight came, your last proposal for today’s itinerary was to go see the aurora borealis with Satoru. He insisted that it was a waste of time because the lights didn’t show up consistently, but you argued that he probably just wasn’t lucky when he last visited. Coincidentally, just when you and your husband came to eat dinner at a high-end restaurant, you managed to have found Alex entering the same establishment.

Like the genial person she was, she approached you with high energy much to the confusion of the white-haired man beside you. You had to introduce the two with a brief description but Alex already took it on her own will to interview your husband.

“So, you guys are like rich rich?” Her green eyes expanded at the information about you and Gojou being the heir and heiress to your families’ respective companies. “Your wife is so humble that I didn’t know she’s a multi-millionaire.”

You chuckled, leaning your head on Satoru’s shoulder while looking at Alex from across the table. He was very casual around the girl, answering her in his normally frivolous nature that you could rarely see when you two were alone. At least, he seemed to be smiling more around other people and you loved seeing it.

“You need to check on your wife more, though. Don’t let her go around alone,” she advised with kind intentions just as you were drinking from your glass of wine. “Some creep tried to get close to her last time. He wouldn’t stop touching her until I came.”

If only you could spit your drink out. You weren’t exactly planning to tell Satoru about it, but now that it was laid out in front of you, you were nervous to hear his reaction. What would he do? There was a visible crease between his eyebrows.

“You got harassed?” he asked, watching your emotions intently. You responded with a small nod but didn’t hear him say much in return. What he did was to look back at Alexis with a hardened face as he spoke, “Tell me how he looks like.”

The red-haired girl shrugged. “Dark hair, tall nose, adequately handsome face if only he wasn’t such a pervert. Very Eurocentric features, by the way.”

Was Gojou starting to care? He could be acting for all you knew.

Though you made an effort to touch his hand under the table, squeezing it below yours before interlacing your fingers together. That was how you noticed that the gold band was missing from his finger. “Satoru,” you spoke softly while Alexis was busy talking to a waitress, “Where’s your wedding ring?”

“Left it.” The apathy in his tone punched you squarely on the gut. Oh, God. You can’t do this right now. You couldn’t possibly ruin this night with a searing heartache. “Does it matter to you that much if I wear that stupid ring?”

“Of course!” It almost sounded like a furious reply when it flew out of your mouth. You didn’t want to make a scene nor did you want to escalate it into another full-blown argument but bottling your feelings would only make things worse. Still, you chose that option because it was for the best. “Forget it, it’s fine.”

You could hear his scoff. “You say it like—”

“Hey, Alexis,” you called for her attention and chose to ignore Gojou. “I think my husband isn’t feeling well so he might just stay behind, but we can still go see the Northern Lights later if you like.”

She turned to you after talking to the waitress. “Oh, really? Sure,” she glanced at Satoru and then back at you, “but I mean, it’d be romantic for you two if you saw it together, you know?”

Romantic. You were painfully laughing in your head. If you were honest to yourself, you were the only one trying since this trip begun. Despite the sex that you willingly had with him last night, Satoru was still all but romantic.

“No, I think we’re good. He can stay,” you answered, never daring to see the rage simmering inside Gojou.

It shouldn’t surprise you when Satoru did stay behind, spitefully so, and let you head off to the nearby area by yourself—an area that offered the perfect sightseeing for the stretch of gradient neon green lights. All your resentment had momentarily left your body as soon as you and Alexis finally arrived the spot after a laborious trudge and your mouth had fallen agape at the wondrous sight.

The Northern Lights truthfully exceeded your list of the most beautiful sights you’ve ever seen in person. The curtains of colored lights that decorated the caliginous skies made your eyes grow wide in awe. It was no question why such a natural phenomenon brought millions of tourists every year because there was nothing more astounding than to witness the vivid patterns that the naked eye wouldn’t normally see in other parts of the world. The dancing bright lights was a stream of green glow that reminded you of what glow-in-the-dark stickers looked like in a dark room. Except, this was not artificial but a true Earth’s spectacle.

You forgot about the fact that you were actually freezing your ass off because the temperature dropped to a significant amount that night and you forgot to bring your sweater.

“Wow! This is crazy.” Alex gaped at the fascinating visual of the aurora borealis while taking a 360 turn to thoroughly bask herself at the beauty of it.

You fished your phone out from your pocket and quickly tried to capture a few photos of the skies until a hand suddenly snatched the gadget away. Based from the familiar scent alone, you saw Gojou looking at you with an indiscernible expression. He wasn’t as angry nor was he happy. It was a median between the two, but strangely, what made him come all the way here?

“Satoru,” you uttered his name in surprise. “What are you—”

He cut you off by lazily tossing your sweater, allowing you to easily catch the garment on your chest. “You left that. It’s cold.”

So, he has some sort of care, too?

In appreciation, you immediately put on your sweater just in time when he raised the phone over your head to take a quick selfie of him kissing your cheek with the view of the Northern Lights above you. You were paralyzed before you could react and he was fast to clarify his actions, “For the photos. Post that.”

All for show, just as you believed.

Placing your phone back in your pockets, you gave your last attempt at being sweet by wrapping your arms around his torso. “Thanks for coming,” you told him with a smile. Even if I was a little petty back there, you wanted to add but had chosen not to. You were still upset about the ring but being in a push-pull situation with Satoru wasn’t new.

Instead of pushing you away, he rejected you with his sharp words. “I didn’t come here for you,” was his reason, bright blue eyes searching for the patch of green lights.

If you say so.

You loved being here, nonetheless. With you being a hopeless romantic, having your husband to sightsee one of the most beautiful wonders in the world should have elicited bliss that sent you to seventh heaven. Everything was rocky when it came to you and him, especially with the arranged setup in mind, you knew that this was only one of the rare instances where you could truly feel a taste of euphoria around him.

But gazing up at him in rapture, there was one thing that has been plaguing your mind all day and you didn’t know how you had the courage to finally bring it up.

“Satoru,” the way his name rolled of your lips made him whirl his head towards you in less than a second, “who’s Sera?”

You wondered why the mere mention of the girl’s name turned his face into stone. “None of your business.”

He may think so, but you weren’t stupid. Innocent, undoubtedly but not dumb enough not to catch the littlest details about him. When you heard him utter her name this morning, the loud thumping of your heart might have been due to your territorial instinct as a wife.

Because in all honesty, you assumed—concluded, at most—that there was a reason why he treated you horribly. This might be the answer to your question.

“Are you...” you gulped, face to face with the man were legally bound to, “are you cheating on me?”

Gojou avoided your eyes but he wasn’t feeling guilty in the slightest. The contortion on his visage was more so because he didn’t want you to pry into his personal life believing that you didn’t have all the right to do so. “It’s not cheating when you never had my heart in the first place.”

“But—”

“We’ve been together before you ruined it,” he spat, eyebrows furrowing and lips turning into a downward slope. “She’s the woman that should’ve been in your spot right now, not you. I never asked for you.”

You told yourself that you would prepare for the worst when he showed his true colors on the night of your wedding. His actions, his remarks, and his treatment towards you was overpowering with malice that you wanted to take a step back and think of an option to save your marriage even when it was clearly irredeemable.

You wanted to salvage even the slightest possibility that could fix your sacred bond because it was your vow to him that for better or worse, in sickness and in health, you would be there by his side. You’ve never been this selfless, but because you valued marriage more than anything in this world, you set your personal feelings aside.

“I wanna meet her,” you revealed, eyes glistening with tears under the moonlight. The gravitational pull on your heart could have killed you on the spot, but you tried to hold it together for your sake and his. “I told you I wanna understand why this marriage has been hard for you so, please... let me meet her.”

jjk general taglist: @kity @deeznutss @suhkusa @wonyoschubs @the-golden-jhope @6mattsun9 @hokageyamz @ermahgerd-larry-and-ziam @crashica @aizawap @juniorhooter @atsumusoup @gxtitobxby @strawberries-en-cream @dora-the-grownup @softy-woo @tsumume @kac-chowsballs @anime-nymph @kageyamakock @onlyonew @underratedmage @katsulovee @crapimahuman @alicia-1725 @fatal-impact @drippedcream

sincerely not taglist: @itsnotsoni @pluviophilefangirl @daphnxy @lcveaesop @toji-bee @sparklingblacktea @omisemi @captainchrisstan @your-consulting-fangirl @buttercups145 @xllance @jonsncws @and-you-found-me @tobiotetsu @jeonjungkookismyfuture @d-efend @honouredsatoru @my-reality-is-in-my-head @blueowl51 @misslovingpearl @cuteissei @japanesevenom @borpcorp @ushi-bakatoshi @idyllicodyssea

#gojou satoru x reader #gojou satoru x you #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru x you #gojo satoru angst #gojo satoru smut #gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo angst #gojo smut #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk angst #jjk smut

[plaid-shirtsandvibranium-arms]

Plot Twist (Ep. 1)

Summary: Life was full of plot twists. You start off with a dream of making a difference in the world, becoming an Avenger. You turn away within arm's reach of your lifelong dream, spurred by the disappointing truth you discovered and deciding to choose a different path. Fate brings you back unexpectedly when the Avengers take a special interest in a powered unsub the BAU is chasing.

Fandoms: Avengers, Marvel, Criminal Minds

Pairings: Steve Rogers x BAU!Reader (primary), Spencer Reid x BAU!Reader (previous, secondary)

Word Count: 1.1K

Warnings: 18+ EVENTUAL SMUT. MATURE THEMES. slow burn, enemies to lovers, canon level violence, explicit descriptions of violence and murder, serial killers, strong language

A/N: I told myself I wasn't gonna post this yet until I finished the whole thing, but fuck it. Let me know what you think. Special thanks to @sagechanoafterdark and @gogolucky13 for talking me through when I got stuck on this one.

No permission is granted to repost, steal, or translate my work. Not even a credit makes it okay. Tumblr is the only place I post my writing. If you see it anywhere else please report it.

Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

Episode 1:

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It would be wonderful to think that the future is unknown and sort of surprising. - Alan Rickman

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"Why does that last name sound familiar?"

Steve Rogers had both his hands on his hips and a deep furrow on his brow as he watched the jet land on the private tarmac in the Compound. Bucky, Sam, and Natasha stood beside him, relaxed but at the same time wary of their approaching visitors.

"At your age, Cap, I'd think every last name would be familiar," Tony snickered as he joined the group, typing rapidly on his phone.

"I thought you weren't going to be part of this mission, Tony," Steve frowned.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm just here to graciously welcome our guests to our humble home."

Natasha snorted, raising an eyebrow at the obviously fake innocent expression on the genius' face. "You're curious about the FBI Team coming."

"Haven't you worked with the FBI before?" Sam asked, keeping his eyes on the small plane that was slowly getting settled.

"Not with the BAU," Tony shrugged. "I find it fascinating. It's a special unit that specializes in analyzing human behaviour to catch insane criminals. Aren't you curious?"

"I'm more curious about the lead agent," Bucky said as he scratched the stubble on his chin. "I've heard about SSA Y/L/N before. He's apparently one of the best in the history of the Bureau. His skills in combat raised the training requirements and I hear he's ruthless in the field."

"Also highly intelligent, calculating, and praised as having incredible people skills by local authorities they’ve worked with and the families they help," Tony added, a twinkle clearly visible in his eyes.

"You're practically salivating, Tony," Nat chuckled. "You wanna try to recruit him, don't you?"

"I already sent him the offer," Tony smirked.

"We didn't discuss this, Tony," Steve scowled at him, his arms bulging as he crossed them tightly across his broad chest. "We haven't even met the guy."

"They also say he has a temper," Bucky added, slight amusement in his voice.

"We manage fine with Bruce," Tony shrugged. He straightened up as he saw the passengers start to disembark. "Heads up."

One by one the BAU Team disembarked and Earth’s Mightiest watched them carefully with great curiosity. The four passengers had begun their scrutiny of the other team the moment the plane touched down through what they could see out the small windows.

The first one out the plane was Derek Morgan, jogging down the steps with his usual confident swagger. Tony’s eyebrows shot up, clearly pleased with Derek who looked every bit as impressive as he expected. The rumors were clearly founded on truth and Tony was glad he made the offer.

The next one off was Penelope Garcia, bouncing down the steps in an explosion of patterns, color, and what Nat noted were feathers in her hair. She clutched Derek’s outstretched hand as she made the last steps, smiling brightly up at him. The FBI apparently had more personality than they thought.

Next off was Dr. Spencer Reid, squinting at the bright sun and huffing as the wind blew around his already unruly curls. Bucky noted how deceivingly lanky he was with his height and lean build, but he knew that there was muscle beneath the professorial look he had going on. Sam clocked the way his eyes were darting around, carefully taking stock of everything around him.

Last one off was who captured Steve’s attention the most. Professional and looking every bit like a seasoned agent, you moved with an unnatural grace down the steps. He noticed how the rest of the team looked to you and waited, only moving to walk alongside you in a loose formation after you nodded in confirmation. Tony was wrong. They were all wrong.

You were the lead agent.

It became more apparent the closer you got, the confidence in your steps and your steely gaze never wavering. You looked like an alpha among alphas and Steve couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. Your chin was lifted slightly and your expression was carefully kept blank, but the fire in your eyes was unmistakable. He didn’t just find you attractive, that was too tame of a word. You were arresting, the type of beauty that warranted a second look and for one to linger.

“Shit,” Steve muttered under his breath as his whole body suddenly froze at a realization.

Bucky threw a confused look his way, alerted at his unusual use of expletives. “What’s up, pal?”

“I do know her.”

“How?” Sam frowned.

“I may have attempted to date her.”

“What do you mean attempted?” Nat asked, frowning because she has also been attempting to set him up on dates for years now.

“We kissed and were supposed to go out for coffee. We never did,” he gulped, his throat getting tighter from the nervousness he felt.

“That’s not so bad, pal,” Bucky said, trying to comfort his friend.

“That was right before I failed her on her final SHIELD agent assessment.”

“You did what?” Tony shrieked. He threw his hands in the air in tired resignation. He couldn’t believe how proactive Steve was at screwing him over.

“I’m flattered you still remember me even after 7 years,” you said with a smirk as you and your team came to stand in front of them. Awkward introductions were made before your cheeky smile returned to Steve who was trying his best not to meet your eye. “Nice to see you again, Captain.”

You were clearly enjoying watching them squirm. It wasn’t just that you were a rejected SHIELD agent, but it also rubbed you the wrong way how they requested for this case to be handed over to them. That their reasoning was that the FBI couldn’t possibly handle a case like this. You didn’t like that.

You really didn’t like that.

It was fortunate though that BAU Section Chief Mateo Cruz had the same sentiments. The man had strong-armed his way into turning this into a joint task force and allowed you to take half the team with you. Your Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner’s parting words to you brought a cocky smirk to curl on your lips.

“Prove them wrong.”

“Uh, about that email I sent you - ”

“I have to respectfully decline, Mr. Stark.”

“Right. Of course. Awesome,” he said quickly as he began to back up out of the room. “Suites are ready for you. I hope you take full advantage of our amenities. I think you’ll particularly enjoy the several olympic sized pools and the interactive gun range. Enjoy your stay!”

You shook your head as the billionaire rushed out of the room. You turned to Natasha who looked to be the only stable person on their side at the moment. “Where can we set up?”

“Don’t you wanna get settled in first?”

“That can wait,” you said as you looked at each member of your team for confirmation. “We’re ready to deliver the profile.”

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