#i don't even remember which fucking tag i use for it

[scoonsalicious]

1.1 Major

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntire, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, alcohol consumption, slight objectification of men.

Word Count: 1.6k

Previously On...: Lily McIntyre met Bucky Barnes. Everything had changed, and now it's only him that matters.

A/N: You know what? Fuck it. Turns out I write more when I'm actively writing for all of you. Plus, I miss you, besties. Yes, I know-- it's only been two days, but I don't care. You guys give me the strength to face the day, and when I'm interacting with you, I'm happiest. So, we're starting the full roll-out of With Friends Like These... Now, there won't be multiple postings per day, so I won't be dropping a bunch at once. We're going to start nice and slow, lol. I hope you like it!

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

You stood outside the door to the bar, nervous as fuck. It wasn’t every day a girl got invited to spend an evening out on the town with the goddamned Avengers, and though you’d only known Natasha Romanoff for about six months now, you were honored she liked you enough to extend an invitation for you to join her and her friends on their off time. 

Giving yourself a once over in the reflection of the bar’s window, you double checked to make sure you looked good– your hair and makeup were on point, your dark wash skinny jeans hugged your curves in the best possible way, and the black satiny top you wore under your leather jacket showed just enough cleavage to be tantalizing, but not trashy. 

You got this, you told yourself. You took a breath, and walked inside. 

The place was dimly lit, but not too crowded. You were able to spot Natasha easily– it wasn’t as if the striking redhead was hard to miss. She sat at a high top with another redhead, nursing a vodka tonic. Catching her eye, you waved and made your way over.

“Major!” Nat greeted you, going in for a friendly hug, which you happily returned. “I’m so glad you made it!” She pointed to the other redhead– Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch, you remembered now from having seen her on the news– and introduced you. “Major, this is Wanda; Wanda, Major.” You shook hands as the other woman offered you a kind, welcoming smile.

“Finally, some balance to the force,” she joked. At your questioning look, she elaborated: “We are desperately outnumbered in the girl department when it comes to our friend group,” she said. “It’s just me and Nat versus the boys.”

“There’s Lily, too,” Nat interjected.

“Please.” Wanda said, waving Nat’s words off dismissively. “We all know that Lily is not one of us.”

Nat snorted into her drink. “Lily’s just not really a girl’s-girl,” she offered to you in explanation. “Very much sees herself as ‘one of the guys,’ if you catch my meaning.”

You nodded; you’d had plenty of experience with pick-me girls in the past. “Yeah, I know the type.” You waved down a waitress and put in an order for a frozen margarita.

“So, Major,” Wanda said, taking a sip of her beverage once the waitress had gone, “which one of our lucky bachelors is going to catch your eye tonight?”

“I don’t follow,” you said, confused. 

Wanda turned to Nat and playfully hit her on the shoulder. “You bitch! You didn’t tell her?”

Nat had the decency to look sheepish. “I wanted it to be organic,” she said, offering you an apologetic smile.

“Natasha Romanoff,” you said, realization dawning on you, “did you invite me out tonight to try and set me up with one of your teammates?”

Nat frowned, looking remorseful. “I know I should have said something, but you’re always complaining about how you never have luck with dating, and it just so happens I live in a compound literally full of eligible men, so I thought… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have overstepped.”

The waitress brought over your margarita and you raised it, toasting to Nat. “Fuck apologies; you want to hook me up with an Avenger? Girl, remind me to send you a gift basket!”

Nat and Wanda both laughed, raising their own glasses to toast with you. Wanda leaned over toward you, her voice a conspiratorial whisper.

“Alright, don’t be obvious about it,” she said, “but our fine gentlemen are over at the pool table.” You followed her line of sight and were met with an array of some of the most attractive men you had ever seen. Yeah, you’d seen them on tv, and in magazines, but they were always wearing costumes and masks. But up close? And in person?

“Woof,” you said softly. 

“Okay,” said Nat, leaning in on your other side. “Let’s size up our options. First, we’ve got Captain America, himself, Steve Rogers. All-American, corn-fed, take-home-to-mamma kinda guy. Such a gentleman, could bench press four of you. Knows how to treat a girl right.”

“And bore her to tears,” Wanda added.

“Wands!” Nat flashed her eyes. “We’re supposed to be talking them up!”

Wanda shrugged. “Facts are facts,” she said. “A sweetheart, really, but very old fashioned.”

“Fine,” Nat said, exasperated. ���Moving on, we have Sam Wilson, our resident Falcon. He’s funny, charming, a great dancer.”

“Seriously good moves,” Wanda added with an enthusiastic nod.

“Smart, good listener,” Nat offered. “Incredibly loyal.”

“You make him sound like a puppy,” you said, laughing.

“Oooh, oooh, my turn!” Wanda said enthusiastically. “Next up is our resident himbo, the one and only Thor Odinson. Unbelievably endearing, the body of a literal god: Great hair, an ass you could bounce a quarter off of, arms that could snap your tiny little body right in half if he had half a mind to…”

“Down, girl,” Nat said, flicking some droplets of water from her water glass at Wanda. “Damn, we’re here for Major, not you.”

“Sorry,” said Wanda, ducking down to hide her blush behind her hair. “He’s just so… big. And… beefy. Like, what does one even do with that much man?” she asked, before muttering so low you could barely hear her: “I would really like to find out.”

You and Nat stifled your laughter. “Okay, definitely not going to be Thor for me, then,” you offered. Across the room, another man caught your eye, one Nat and Wanda hadn’t mentioned yet. “Who’s that?” you asked them.

Nat craned her neck. “Oh, that’s Parker. I dunno; he’s kinda on the young side for my taste, but the kid is 18, so if that’s what you’re into–”

“Ugh, no– pass,” you said, realizing she had been referring to the skinny teenager who was hanging on Steve Rogers’ every word. “No, I mean the brunet. Who’s he?” The more you studied him, the more you realized he just may be the most handsome man you’d ever seen. He was currently leaning against a pool cue, engrossed in conversation with Sam. He had a slight smirk on his face, as if he was keeping in a very humorous secret, and it painted his features in an adorably boyish light. 

While you were looking at him, he turned his head and saw you watching him. You should have been mortified at being caught staring but instead, you were taken aback by how striking his crystal blue eyes were. You offered him a soft smile, and were delighted when his own widened in return, his cheeks taking on a dusky hue in the low light, before Sam elbowed him, bringing his attention back to the game of pool. He shot you another look, running his tongue along his bottom lip, before refocusing his attention.

“Oh,” said Nat, following your gaze. “Oh, no, no, no. That’s Bucky Barnes. He’s… not on the menu.”

You turned back toward her, disappointed. “Oh. Of course, guy that good looking’s got to have a girlfriend, right?”

Nat and Wanda exchanged glances. “Not exactly,” Nat said.

“Remember how we mentioned Lily not being a girl’s-girl?” Wanda asked, nodding her chin toward where the boys were racking the balls for a new game. You hadn’t noticed the woman in their midst before– petite, blond, and athletic. 

“Yeah, Lily’s more of a Bucky’s-girl,” Nat added. “Just, you know, Bucky’s not aware of it.”

You must have looked very confused, because Wanda was quick to clarify. “Bucky only joined the team… what? Four years ago?” She looked to Nat for confirmation, and Nat nodded. “He was like a totally different guy back then. Didn’t go out, didn’t want to be around people.”

“Like Oscar the Grouch, but if you took him out of the trash can and gave him moderately better grooming standards,” Nat offered. 

“Yeah,” Wanda continued, nodding in agreement, “and for the longest time, the only person he would talk to was Steve. But then, like, Lily made it her life’s work to become his best friend.”

“I remember it annoyed the shit out of him in the beginning,” Nat added. “Poor guy just wanted to be left alone to process his trauma.” She sighed. “But the girl was relentless. She’s got tenacity, I’ll say that for her.”

“That’s actually kind of sweet,” you said. “That she wouldn’t give up trying to be there for him.”

“No, sorry,” Nat said. “We’re not explaining this well. She basically made being Bucky’s best friend her entire fucking personality. It was like, any other friend she had just–poof! Stopped existing to her. We no longer mattered; everything became about Bucky.”

“It’s a bit much,” Wanda said. “She’s very… I don’t want to say protective is the right word for it, but very possessive of him.”

“It’s like no girl Bucky’s ever dated has been good enough to pass her standards,” Nat said. “And she’s had no problem making that abundantly clear, and I know she’s been the reason for at least a couple of his relationships ending. Poor guy’s balls must be so blue by now, they’re practically black; she never lets him get any action.”

You took a sip of your margarita. “Well, they’ve got to be sleeping together, right?” you asked. Nat and Wanda both looked at you. “I mean, that would explain it, right?”

“Oh, they are definitely not,” Nat said. “Though I’m sure she wishes. I heard him tell Steve she reminds him of his dead kid sister.”

You sucked in a breath. “Ouch,” you said. “Just what every girl wants to hear, I’m sure.” You looked back over to the pool table, admiring the way Bucky bent over to take a shot. “It’s too bad,” you said, turning back to girls. “I mean, he’s hot as hell, but no man’s worth taking on that kind of drama.”

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x you #bucky x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky x female reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky buchanan barnes #james buchanan barnes #mcu bucky barnes #james barnes

[tizzymcwizzy]

watched the ml movie

that sure was smth that happened on my screen for real uhuh

#i feel like i'm in a catatonic state rn #more thoughts below‚ no spoilers tho! just thoughts on the movie as a whole #uh #it was not great SJHDHFJG but what where we really expecting huh #overall maybe like 4/10 pushing a 3.5 i'm def gonna have to watch it with better subs visual and audio quality later #excited for the eng dub LMAO #overall there were like 2 or 3 scenes i really liked but MAN that ending was not it #gonna be thinking about it for a while tho #NOT AS BAD AS THE SHANGHAI SPECIAL? CAN I SAY THAT? IDK... IM NOT AS. ENRAGED. MAYBE CAUSE IT'S AN AU #def things going on and happening that i just ???? who did this #extremely incoherent rn if you can't tell #insane . thing. yeah wow ie #tizzy talks #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug awakening #ladybug and cat noir the movie #christ why did they rename this film like 200 times #ml awakening #mlb awakening #i don't even remember which fucking tag i use for it

[uncanny-tranny]

By implying that children are too stupid and rude to learn about the world and learn how the world works and how to interact with others, you are casting responsibility away from the people who are responsible for that child's upbringing and placing the blame on the children (who don't have the autonomy given to them to be allowed to decide what they want) who can't help what they do and do not learn, often.

If the children aren't okay, then investigate why before turning to thought-terminating clichés of, "Well, the kids are just stupid and dumb and aren't even worth the effort because they're lazy!"

#youth liberation #i was really bothered when i saw this clip where this person was saying almost verbatim that... #...'kids [these days] are too STUPID and they're teachers are scared!'... #...why is the blame placed on the kids who have no control over school curriculum and what their home life is like or if they have money... #...it's because when you place the blame on the people with no power or control you don't have the responsibility to change circumstances.. #...you essentially keep the status quo while simultaneously belittling a group of vulnerable people... #...and thus you feed into the cyclical nature of the broken education system #the kids these days AREN'T okay but it ISN'T THEIR FAULT... #...it's the fault of late-stage capitalism and poorly-funded education and a world that wasn't even built with them in mind... #...they had NO PART in the creation of the world which is hostile to their entire existence #don't mind the incorrect usage of their in the second tag i was so focused on how pissed i was #also remember how a good chunk of these kids lived through *checks notes* the fucking PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN #which was a clown show in terms of supporting kids and their parent/s #some places handled lockdown in the US better than others but holy fuck in my area at least it was a nightmare #what do you expect from parents who are now working full-time and teaching part/full-time and parenting full-time? #what support exactly are you expecting they recieved? because you'll likely find they got either a little or NONE #hilarious that i used the wrong their in a post subtweeting about education LOL #look i was focused on how PISSED i was lol cut me some slack here

[skrunksthatwunk]

ok so. kiwami 2. rooftop scene. the ending. it's a bit of a clusterfuck but i wanna talk about one detail, a problem they bring to your attention by Fucking. Talking About Her.

haruka is watching all of this unfold.

[this post is like 4.5k words long + pretty critical + has spoilers for kiwami and kiwami 2, and really minor/vague ones for a couple others. they're not that bad though, trust me (and i added a warning in the one place it is major)]

ALSO CONTENT WARNING i'm gonna talk about kiryu's passive suicidality a good amount in this one, so stay away from this if you think that might affect you negatively/you'd be better off skipping it. i'll also make a tl;dr (which i will highlight in red) at the very end if you really wanna know what my point is that will exclude those elements <3. i am also going to use a lot of choice-based language in regards to kiryu's contemplation of suicide because i think it's the lens through which the games treat the topic, but i personally don't find it a productive or realistic way to look at suicide or suicidal ideation at all. someone dying by suicide absolutely does not mean they don't care about their loved ones enough to fight on or whatever. i love you, and proceed with caution on this one.

(also i'm using the kiwamis as my point of reference because i uh. don't have a ps2? those are the games that i played, and though the differences are likely slight, i wanna be clear about that. also,, ignore the watermark on these screenshots,, i didn't notice them and i'm not retaking them. we're all gonna have to settle for youtube cutscene comps for now xoxo)

first, we have to talk about the ending of the first game.

[note: i am Really Really Confident kiryu has a conversation earlier in the game about his going to jail in nishiki's stead being him running away and choosing not to resist his two options (go to jail or let nishiki go to jail) and define his own path, fighting his way against fate to make it happen. part of why i'm so confident it exists is because it made such an impression on me at the time. it's pretty important to my interpretation of things but i also can't find it for the life of me, so uh. sorry ✌️ i really tried. this post's takes/analysis will be dependent on this scene existing, so keep that in mind. if anyone knows where to find the scene/screenshots of it, lmk and i'll add a follow-up with it]

kiwami stuff

so as she's dying, yumi tells haruka this:

that she may be dying (painfully, and right as she's getting everything she wanted), but she doesn't regret it, because at least she did something rather than running away from it all. that you shouldn't run away, ever.

shortly thereafter, when the police find kiryu and haruka, this exchange happens between him and date. here's the play by play:

date tells kiryu he can get him out of trouble with this, and that if he doesn't, he'll get life in prison; kiryu declines his help:

kiryu is so devastated (understandably) by the back to back losses of the three people closest to him that he resigns himself to life in prison, and the death-in-effect that would be. he would prefer to waste away rather than struggle through a life without them. prison was monotonous and isolating, but coming back after a decade was overwhelming, and coming back to everything being so warped and twisted, and then losing the corrupted scraps he had anyway, well. he wants to go back to sleep. he doesn't want to be in a world where everything's the same except he's on his own. better to return to safety, to die slowly in a hell he knows well than weather a new one where he has control and agency, and thus one where he has the ability to fail and to lose anything at any time. he explains to date that that loss is why he can accept his death:

date shakes him and asks him if there's really nothing left for him, no reason to keep living at all:

then echoes yumi's advice to haruka:

which makes an impression on kiryu:

date gives him a reason to live in the form of haruka, saying she'll be on her own again if he goes to jail. he hijacks kiryu's tragic protector complex to keep him alive, because she needs him, and because she's someone precious to him:

after the dust has cleared,

kiryu and date also have this exchange, where date tells him to stay away from the cops (and presumably arrest and a return to prison, the aforementioned fate akin to death), and kiryu cites haruka as his reason to stay away, one he holds to with no uncertainty (showing again that he's accepted date's logic, that his reason to keep living even when it's incredibly difficult is to care for the more vulnerable haruka). given the weight of the consequences, to me, it feels like date's telling him not to be alone with his thoughts or something. it's almost frightening:

so, what's our takeaway from kiwami?

kiryu lost everything and hit rock bottom, but he chose to fight, and to live life on his own terms, even when it got difficult. that's the narrative life lesson he had to learn to avoid repeating the events of 1995. he made that choice for haruka's sake. it's seen as growth.

and without him, haruka would've just returned to the orphanage (assuming she could make it back to sunflower at all) with no one who knew or understood what she had been through, no one to mourn with her, and no one to give her the attention, care, and protection she needs. kiryu knows what it's like to be an orphan with a limited parental figure who only checks in every so often (kazama, "aunt" yumi), and what someone will do for attention/affection from that person (via both himself and nishiki swearing up, climbing the ranks, etc. arguably haruka coming to kamurocho by herself to find "mizuki" is similar), and what it's like to lose them anyway (again, kazama, yumi). their situations parallel each others' somewhat, and that binds them further. and after losing everyone (which he blames himself for to some extent, as one can probably assume from this and 2, and something key to his arc in later games), he chooses to protect her. and this time, he won't fail. at least partially because failing would hurt him, too. he'd have nothing left again.

okay. now we get to kiwami 2.

if you forgot, the context is basically:

everybody's fighting on the roof of a building which i'm sure will not be a running theme or anything as the series goes on

there's a bomb that's about to go off and they don't know how to/can't defuse it

ryuji shot the twist villain to death, but took fatal hits to do so

sayama's like hey!! let's get out of here!!! and kiryu and ryuji are like nooo we have to settle this oughh it's punchin time and they stick her on an elevator and send her down so she doesn't have to watch

ryuji loses. sayama returns, they have a cute sibling heart to heart, and ryuji dies in her arms. sad

kiryu is in rough shape as well, and there's like 2 minutes left on the bomb's timer

here's the scene itself:

sayama tells kiryu they have to run, and kiryu says he can't. the gist is "let's run!" "you go without me" "i'm not leaving you!" "i'm in no condition to run" "i'll carry you then!!" sayama: *sees how fucked up kiryu is, realizes he's Going To Die Anyway* "ok, then i'm staying with you!" and then further bickering about that, before they give up and make out (as one does i guess)

date (he's here now) yells this at them from a helicopter:

before someone else in the helicopter tells date this:

we get this shot of haruka calling out to kiryu as the helicopter swerves away:

and kiryu and sayama have this exchange about haruka where they say they let her down, but that she'll understand:

then they hug and the bomb ticks to zero right when the credits hit. in post credits it's revealed that the twist villain defused the bomb when they weren't looking, betraying his co-villain for reasons i truthfully do not remember and am unwilling to look up. it's not about that right now.

so, how does this scene interact with the ending of the previous game?

the short answer is "badly <3" but here's the long answer:

it's about choices.

the thing about fiction is that anything you want to have happen, as a writer, can happen. it may not be effective, internally consistent, or logical, but you can write it regardless. audiences suspend their disbelief for the sake of engaging fully with your fiction, but everyone has a threshold past which they will stop being engaged in a story and either become uninvested or annoyed. writers usually have lines they're unwilling to cross as well. but in almost every story, there's at least a couple of places where they stretch reality a little to make the narrative they want happen. this is not a bad thing at all. that's how stories get told.

now, i'm gonna be real with you. i don't care about how feasible plots are like 95% of the time. it's not something i think about much, nor is it something i prioritize. i am a very character-centric media consumer, so if world building and/or plot are a bit stale or contrived, that doesn't really bother me much so long as i'm invested in the characters involved. some people can't stand plot holes or the ways musicals burst into song or whatever, and that's fine for them. but it's not something i tend to find that all that important.

this is all to say that i have a sorta affection for rgg's flavor of bullshit pulling. and it is a powerful flavor, maybe even an acquired taste, but i can and do rock with it so long as it doesn't damage the characters too much. this is why i'm not making a lengthy post howling into the void about joji kazama or the second joon-gi han or how many secret relatives there are. those things are silly and endearing and a clumsy yet heartfelt part of a series i care about very deeply. i'll joke about it, but i don't consider it much of a flaw. it's more like personality. flaws are texture, and they help a piece's identity. point is i am very, very willing and able to suspend my disbelief for these games in exchange for a good time, particularly via good characters.

(if you want another example of where i draw the line from within rgg, the answer's the YAKUZA 4 SPOILERS INCOMING rubber bullets twist, because i think 1) it's actively horrifically stupid (especially retconning a scene we SAW HAPPEN. WE SAW BLOOD ON EACH IMPACT, AND RUBBER BULLETS DON'T OFTEN BREAK SKIN THAT DEEPLY (THEIR DAMAGE IS MORE PERCUSSIVE THAN PENETRATIVE). THESE EVENTS HAPPEN IN THE SAME GAME YOU DON'T HAVE TO RETCON IT JUST REWRITE IT. OR DON'T SHOW THE HIT AT ALL SO THERE'S MORE PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY. DON'T DO THIS JUST TO HYPE UP YOUR SHITTY VILLAIN NO ONE CARES ABOUT. and 2) (a bit more importantly) i think it actively removes saejima's primary internal conflict for that game, that being his intense guilt over the 18 murders he thinks he committed, one i was invested and interested in. but this isn't a rubber bullets post.)

characters in this series walk off a lot of life threatening injuries. they survive miraculously, they escape in the nick of time, and they pull through in the end. kiryu still somehow hasn't killed anyone. almost every game in his saga ends with an "is kiryu gonna make it out this time?!?" shortly followed by a "yeah lol. lmao" postcredits reveal. kiryu fucking punches a marble statue into dust in the first game. having a story that asks you to suspend your disbelief so much and so often means that when a decision is made, it's not the writers saying, "well, this would have to happen so we are obligated/forced to write it happening" so much as "we wanted this to happen for some reason(s)," because you already know that they're not guided solely by logic. again, this is true of all writers, it's just amplified in stories like these because they've already given you so many hard mode suspension of disbelief moments (they've broken you in like leather, yeah? or like how obvious internet scams allow for self selection by being so obvious that only the most vulnerable people would fall for them. they curate an audience willing to play along with their bullshit flavor so they can tell a story that's more likely to satisfy that audience. in a good way, in a fun way! mass appeal is overrated). there is not much limit to what this series is willing to try and sell you.

so when ryuji takes lethal damage taking out the big bad, that's a choice. when he doesn't die immediately, that's a choice. when ryuji and kiryu send sayama away in the soon-to-be-forgotten elevator so they can settle this like men or whatever despite the literal actual bomb about to go off, that's a choice. when sayama comes back, that's a choice. when ryuji does die, that's a choice. when kiryu determines that he can't escape in time, that's a choice. when sayama is unwilling to leave him, that's a choice. when she says she'll carry him out and there's an elevator right fucking there and then she's like never mind i guess i won't anymore we're dying together right now kiryu like they're not gonna even try?? wouldn't distancing themselves from the blast give themselves a better shot, something that's super possible given the 2 minutes they have with that elevator??? sayama you met him like a week and a half ago why are you ready to die with him that's not a plot hole i just think that's kinda strange whatever anyway, that's a choice. when kiryu stops arguing with her so they can kiss (next to her brother's corpse), that's a choice. when date shows up, that's a choice. when the helicopter can't save them because the bomb was going to go off too soon, that's a choice. when they put haruka in that helicopter and take her away, let her only impact be reminding kiryu and sayama that they can't help her, that's a choice. when they spend their last moments talking as if they're already dead, then simply waiting, that's a choice.

they're all choices that the writers made for the characters, and we are asked to believe them for the sake of achieving the writers' vision, as with any story. the only problem is that the writers' vision here fucking blows.

i'm not saying it would be realistic for kiryu and sayama (and even ryuji) to make it out alive, but it wouldn't be out of character for the series in the slightest. kiryu is suddenly unable to power through here, and that's a choice. so, what is their vision?

put simply, i think they wanted a romantic last stand for kiryu and sayama, a tragic scene of doomed, devoted lovers. and i think they wanted an edge-of-your-seat fake out death. they wanted spectacle.

here's how some specific choices they made undermine all that shit we talked about earlier from the first game.

once again, kiryu is called by date to live, to pick himself up and keep going, no matter how impossible the odds are. he's even reminded by haruka's presence, his one anchor in keeping himself going. the growth he had in the parallel scene in the previous game is challenged, and he fails.

it's not enough this time. and that's a choice.

it's also one i can't think of a good reason for, and that's the real kicker.

characters can have developmental backslide just like people do, and if they're given good reason for it, it can be just as, if not far more compelling that purely linear growth (i am a chimera ant arc enjoyer, and that's all i'll say. sorry if you haven't seen hunter x hunter. uhh. i am also a zuko avatar enjoyer if that helps). but i can't think of anything that happened in that game that would cause this from a character perspective. if anything, kiryu should be less likely to do this intentionally. he's spent around a year raising haruka, and a year has passed since he lost his loved ones. at the very least, the pain should be more dull, though it is established through an early nightmare sequence that his ass is (justifiably) not over it yet. given that their deaths were the initial motivation for his willingness to rot forever, theoretically, he should be more motivated to stay alive than before now that he's got more investment and stability in his life outside of them, particularly when it comes to haruka, his reason for surviving. and if the ongoing nature of the trauma was the motivator for this, then they should've had it affect him more past that nightmare scene (it really serves more as a recap of the last game than anything else) so it didn't come out of nowhere. so the reminder of the lesson that saved his life and then guided it for at least a year afterwards, one that the whole resolution of the previous game relied on heavily falls flat for... some reason.

i think this is a good time to mention that, generally speaking, you don't write arbitrary choices into characters. sure, people in real life are often sporadic, but when analyzing fictional characters, every choice is filed into a portfolio of characterization that can and should be analyzed. going for pure realism can obfuscate their development, motivations, themes, etc. their choices and reactions may be unorthodox, but they must be internally consistent. this is very related to how i view plot contrivance as well. characters drive the plot, not the other way around. stories are about the ways characters affect their worlds/lives and vice versa, and they're the human face to the themes and ideas the writers are trying to explore and express. maybe my stance on this seems hypocritical. i don't know if it is. but to me, plot issues are usually a matter of engagement and investment, while character issues are a matter of substance.

i hope this doesn't feel patronizing explaining all of this, but i want you guys to know where i'm coming from in my analysis. starting at my base philosophy on writing is the easiest way to do that, i feel. defining the terms of the debate, and all that. anyway

and i mean, look. they survive because "it was defused the whole time we just didn't see it happen", so it's not like narrative tension or realism or whatever was THAT big of a priority overall. if it was gonna be a cop-out anyway, they should'nt have ruined kiryu's development too, yeah?. and sayama fucks off to america after this game anyway, so it's not like the doomed lovers thing had much payoff or meaning after this one (though you could argue that's more an issue with yakuza 3 than yk2, which has some merit to it). which means that they chose to sacrifice kiryu's prior development and internal logic for the sake of cheap tension for their finale that was both kinda illogical in and of itself (the elevator!! the elevator!!!) and a romantic climax that neither required nor really benefitted from this staging. (like. you coulda had them make out and then get saved by date, or kiss on the elevator in a "it's moving, but will we make it in time??" way or whatever. look i'm not saying those are great options either but they're SOMETHING okay. it would remove/reduce the amount of time wasted on characters sitting around with their thumbs up their asses for no reason in this finale).

instead the message of this finale is that, actually, sometimes it is impossible to change your circumstances and fight for your own way out of an awful situation. and what should you do about this unfortunate truth? uh. die! i guess. it's the exact opposite of the encouraging, optimistic message of the last game. zetsubou chou pride my ass.

note: i feel i should mention that when suicidality is brought up within the series (particularly in substories), it is always something someone has to overcome themselves through wanting it badly enough. they simply need the inspiration and the motivation to keep going. it's arguably treated as a moral obligation. frankly, the series is broadly very meritocratic (<- bad) when it comes to this topic (and others, but that's a Whole Other Thing. see akiyama's weird loan shark tests as well). sheer will and resolve is enough to conquer any problem, be it physical or mental/emotional, and it's irresponsible to act/feel otherwise. this is the logic the games operating under, and kiryu is often the mouthpiece for this bootstrap-pulling "tough love" sentiment. so when kiryu "chooses" to die, yet faces no emotional fallout from date, haruka, or anyone else, it feels very out of place. it's not just an odd choice; it's specifically, once again, an odd choice to make in context of the game/series/character it appears in.

kiryu's just like eh, haruka'll watch her only family die right as she gets some sense of tentative stability and lets her guard down after a devastating month the year prior (and a relatively dismal upbringing before that) that we trauma bonded over. sure, she likely came to view me as the one who would stay no matter what, who was too strong to be taken out, who she could always rely on, and so i know that dying would hurt her immensely, but she's smart enough to know it'd happen eventually. her eventual recovery means it's okay for me to do this (somehow, in a way it wasn't in the first game). it's an excuse within the narrative's logic, and one it is uncritical of simply because it's kiryu. he gets a pass.

and i think with the previously mentioned passive suicidality and general series-long mental health issues kiryu displays (i mean. yakuza 5's literally his depression arc), this could be retroactively seen as an interesting choice, like a piece in that particular narrative. i don't even dislike that viewing, especially in terms of fan approach. but (assuming this went down the same in yakuza 2), they likely didn't have that in mind. all they had then was the first game and the movie. and they took the first game's Entire Message and contradicted it for nothing but a scene they wanted to have happen because it'd be suspenseful and/or emotional (without actually doing the work to earn it). and they're not fans trying to analyze his character, they're the ones making choices for him. and they chose to massacre my boy. and if the subject of kiryu's mental health was a priority of theirs, why didn't they explore that? haruka and date's feelings on him not resisting and their words not being enough (whether that blame is justified by the narrative or not (it shouldn't be btw)), the uncomfortable drifting that resigning yourself to death and living afterwards anyway often brings, literally any conversation about it besides the minimal shit we get post credits of date being like "did you know about the bomb not having a fuse?" which like. bad answer either way (which is why they weren't straightforward about it, the cowards). you can't just be like "oh uh. idk he just gave up this time. yeah he was gonna die on purpose for some reason. good thing the bomb was fake lol" and then pack up and go home!! that's stupid!! any merit the idea of kiryu dying by suicide in this scene and in this way could have had from a character-based perspective loses its weight because 1. it didn't happen (for kinda stupid reasons), which makes it fall flat and 2. no one is really affected by the fact that it almost did, including him. they sacrificed his ass and replaced it with nothing, even when there could have been interesting outcomes to it.

so the narrative effectively chose to kill him by making the situation impossible, and this impossibility is ultimately arbitrary, given the series' usual approach to miraculous, illogical escapes. that, or the choice to stay was up to kiryu and sayama, one that 1. doesn't make sense and is actively regressive in context of kiryu's arc in the only other game in the series (as well as his whole saga in retrospect) and 2. one that contradicts how the series sees/treats resignation to death/death by suicide in all other contexts without being addressed, challenged, or condemned in ways it would in all other contexts. because they don't want you to think about it like that. they want you to think he (and the narrative) had no choice, that it made sense to do that. but it didn't. it doesn't.

and look, honestly? if i was bleeding out and had like 2 minutes to live, there's a non zero chance i'd say fuck it and kiss a girl too. i get it. but i am (and this is crucial) not a fucking yakuza character. and i'm certainly not kiryu kazuma.

tl;dr (basically just rephrasing the second to last main paragraph)

there are not sufficient character reasons for kiryu and sayama not trying to escape. additionally, because the narrative regularly facilitates even less likely escapes, it's not so constrained to logic and reality that it couldn't pull this one off. the choice to let their situation be impossible this one time was a cheap and arbitrary way of forcing a scene they thought would be cool and dramatic, and in doing so they chose to cannibalize a key emotional note of the previous finale (namely kiryu's mission to dedicate his life to protecting haruka) for hollow last minute stakes-upping in this one. it is then completely disregarded anyway. god damn.

#got so into this post that i used tumblr on my laptop for the first time to surpass mobile's image limit #i also added transcriptions in the alt text (which i should do more often) #actually thinking about it in the movie kiryu teaches haruka that lesson about stumbling on.. and she's the one to ask to follow him... hm. #just interesting given that the movie came out before 2. i don't think it makes much of a difference to the post it's just neat to me #one of my favorite parts of writing this was skimming through a bunch of yk1/yk2 cutscenes and noticing how often kiryu pats haruka's head #it happens a lot more than i remembered and it's very sweet to me. get bonked little one <3 #another good thing was realizing you can edit tags when you're not on mobile.... fucking life changing. i have lost hours to mobile tag #editing and i'm not even kidding about that #speaking of editing this one took like 6 hours.. my brother used “yakuza autism” (verb) for me earlier and it's so true. source: this post #i did have a short break to get food bc i hadn't eaten all day but that's mostly because i woke up at 3pm. anyway #also if you like kiwami 2's ending you're not even remotely alone. i looked at the comment sections of the scene comps and ppl love it #and more power to you!! i like it when people enjoy things. and tbh i DO have feelings that i'm supposed to about that ending #i just also have feelings you're not supposed to. like. anger. i guess. #rgg #ryu ga gotoku #skrunk meta #aww yeah it's a new tag babeyy #yakuza kiwami 2 #kiwami 2 #yakuza #like a dragon #yk2 #kiryu kazuma #sawamura haruka #sayama kaoru #maybe my thoughts'll change after replaying the games...? it's been like a year and a half since i beat yk2 so i am a bit fuzzy on it #yakuza kiwami spoilers #yakuza kiwami 2 spoilers

[front-facing-pokemon]

#i SEEM to remember this pokémon itself and some characters in the anime pronouncing their name like “wees-mur” as opposed to “wizmur #.” and i don't know where i remember that from #although i'm pretty sure it was in anipoké‚ i don't. like. ever watch anipoké so i don't know where i would've heard it from #BUT‚ in pokédex 3d pro or whatever the fuck on the 3ds‚ which is what i use to settle all pokémon name pronunciation disputes #i take that as gospel. anything the announcer guy in that game says is the truth to me even if i don't like it. but the thing is #for whismur. he says “wizzmur” just like i ORIGINALLY thought when i read the name. but i seem to remember the anime saying “wees-mur” #Wheece Mur. that kind of thing. i don't?? get it. i'll have to look it up again or something but that's my story about whismur's name #whismur #peperoany and wheace (mur) #throw some loodread on that bad buoy #actually before i set this into the queue lemme look it up. whismur saying its own name in the anime #okay yeah i can't find it i have no idea where i would've seen this. but you all believe me #i could never say anything wrong and i would never lie to you in my tags

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Hi

Yeah, I've seen the 1 min 30 Izzy teaser. I've seen it many times. I'm choosing to not go crazy on here because the second I do, I will abandon my WIP, and spend all day going in mental loops.

I'm just stuck on feelings of- 'damn we were right' (happy) and 'oh, damn, we were right' (devastated).

#ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 speculation #spoilers for s2- especially Izzy and speculating about what the teaser implies- in the remaining tags #I knew Ed/Izzy would be taken seriously. I trusted Con to take a look at this and give it the full attention it deserves. I'm VERY happy rn #I love Ed/Izzy(a lot) but it's not healthy and I'm happier that the show is giving Izzy a serious arc to deal with it vs the alternative #which is part of the fun most Ed/Izzy shippers (especially artists/writers) get! they know #that this relationship on the show IS complex and there's shit on both ends these characters need to work through #Liking Ed/Izzy doesn't mean you endorse the behaviors of either characters. This season will likely show us even more of their past #and show even more shit between the two of them. It's likely Izzy won't come out 1 clean either. But that's why this is a ship people follo #Con is THE person to have for this arc as MANY of his projects include these types of issues in relationships. The man is GOOD at crying #I am SO fucking excited to see how he'll handle Izzy you lot have NO IDEA #BUT-The second I see anti's say shit on how any character deserves to be abused I will block them. #let's remember all the people in this fandom who are survivors of abuse and think 'Would I say this to them'? If so. Fucking Don't. #Yes. Morality isn't tied to fiction. You can like what you like. But let's remember you saying stupid shit can still affect real-life peopl

[despertara]

Irene bro if you see this I want you to know I've been podcasting (talking loudly and emphatically to myself) abt that Grammy Gun post for Hours. I started ranting in the rb tags and then I got so mad I started a spreadsheet on my phone Yes I have the Excel app. No I did not finish my tags

#Pacing around my house ''IN LIEU OF A PERSONALITY TAYLOR HAS A MARKETING STRATEGY AND THAT'S WHY WHITE AMERICANS LOVE HER'' #''BC SHE'S A WHITE GIRL NEPOBABY & THEREBY PERFECTLY EMBODIES WESTERN IDEALS: MARTYR COMPLEX + ARYAN PROFIT + QTY>QUALITY + CENTRIST + MID' #''AND IT'S PROBABLY TOO GENEROUS TO CALL HER A CENTRIST WHEN SHE'S NEVER REBUKED THE PPL WHO CLAIM HER AS THEIR ARYAN PRINCESS'' #''THE VENN DIAGRAM OF PPL WHO ARE SICK OF HEARING ABT PALESTINE AND PPL WHO CAPE FOR TAYLOR IS ALMOST CERTAINLY A SINGLE PERFECT CIRCLE'' #''IN WHAT WORLD IS SHE A TORTURED POET HER WRITING IS ON PAR WITH RUPI KAUR AND— WHO'S EMAILING ME FUCK OFF'' #In the shower ''AND ANOTHER THING'' #She's the physical manifestation of privileged ppl's desire to be oppressed bc they can't stand when the convo isn't abt them lmfaooooo #''it's hard for skinny white conventionally attractive cishet ppl whose fathers were bankers too!!! Don't erase my truth!!! 😭'' #''Taylor is the number one most streamed/whatever artist in the world'' #Popularity or notoriety? Bc the US is also well-known for Trump + Texas + public shootings + genocide + wasting money on football stadiums #But again! She's the Western/American Ideal Made Flesh! It's Punk To Have Money And Connections! #And Being White Is The Punkest Of ALL! #Oh my Christ I say this all the time but if university classes have to be offered on her they should be in Marketing and Ethics #She should be a business school case study and that is NOOOT a. Compliment #She couldn't even stick with country bc how truly country of an experience could she have had when her daddy was rich like #She doesn't have the range like idc if you like her just don't act like she's revolutionary when all her movements are calculated + LATERAL #It's not art it's business acumen please she is rewarded by the Grammies bc they respect her for upholding Capitalism I'm so tired #Remember when they gave AOTY to HARRY last year when Beyoncé and Benitito were RIGHT THERE #It's propaganda just like the news plzzzzzzzzzzzz you are all lemmings and she know it which is why she is so good at CONNING YOU #ME N BRO TAG #These are not the comments I wrote on that post you tagged me in btw I got out of the shower to write these FRESH #You know Kacey Musgraves is coming out w a new record too and even tho she got cut out of the CMAs last time she's still proudly country... #I am never drying my hair at this rate #Too busy explaining to you - in complete detail -..........

[paperlovesadness]

Tuned into the Grammy's for a bit & it was honestly the reminder I needed on why I don't tune into these things.

Funny thing is that there's legit info out in the world on how the Oscar's work & how it has nothing to to with the movies & everything to do with the money, branding & merchandise (sent over to the members of the academy who usually do not watch the movies at all & are often v open about it 🙃) & we still somehow as a society treat it as some sort of indicator.

Haven't looked into the inner Grammy's workings too close but it's probably a twin situation.

Even 'fair' awards would be controversial in most categories -with art being so subjective. But man oh man why would we ever trust a bunch of members of an American organization made up of super-privileged & out-of-touch folks to - of all people - tell us what music is actually "the best" 🫠

#oh and about AM in particular - #it's silly in the first place how you've got this category that manages to pit the lyrical & musical genius of Mirrorball against songs #that go like 'i went to school and I got a degree/all my frienda call it the big D' over and over in one rhythm #and like! I really don't want to shame any artists! because there's room for all of the types of art #but it's crazy that these two are suddenly put into competition against each other in any category at all. They've got nothing in common #and it looks pretty silly to me when you compare the two in any way & end up saying that the latter won...in any way #I'm sorry! it's strange. maybe im contradicting myself. but ANYWAY #most imporant thing to take out of all this: this doesn't mean shit #another thing to just remember overall: the Monkeys have always been smart guys open about the fact they know that this doesn't mean shit #Peace Out! ✌️ #fuck the system and don't let the american CEOs get you down 🙃 #(yes that one may be personal) #(even though I'm very much from Europe. US has very big range & lots of control over the world) #(which is also why we should be as defiant about it as possible and not just let them so easily have that monopoly over pop-culture) #(alright bye / I should stop ranting in tags in the middle of the night; truly) #shouting into the tumblr void #Grammy's #Grammy Arctic Monkeys

[starscreaming666]

Looking back on Detroit become human in the wake of the ai craze is like. The most morbidly funny thing to me One of these days I have to write something on how the story of that game just gets HORRIFYING when you view it through a (more) modern lens. Man

#This definitely isn't an original thought but as someone who devoted way more time than I should've to dbh #I just wanna share what's going on in me brain #Like. About dbh #Horrible racism allegory aside. A corporation creating robots meant to replace human workforces while like. People still have to rely on #Employment to uh. Survive. Is genuinely a terrifying nightmare scenario and the thing that's funny to me is dbh just doesn't seem to know #This. Like at all #It doesn't even. Like I don't remember it taking a second to reckon with the way the working class is forced to interact with the world #And how introducing what we're seeing in 2023 (ai being used to replace artists in most cases) on a mass scale is just. Unfathomably evil #And the game doesn't examine like. The corporation behind all of this at all. Like Cyberlife (from what I remember. Which isn't much) is #Effectively PASSIVE in the game. It's just like. Neutral robots and good humans vs EVIL humans who uh. Don't want to be homeless. I guess #Like you're not gonna even. Say a word. About the company willing to let this happen. Like this game has hundreds of scenarios and not a #Single thing that examines how a corporation effectively sentencing people to death for money is fucked up #You don't even need to incriminate the androids for this one man. #I don't know :) like there's a lot wrong with the game but it gets so much worse looking at it now #My thoughts are so disjointed man I just have words floating in me head that bounce into each other sometimes #Sorry about the rant! I'm scared of making this an actual post so it's tags now #Dbh #I think that was my tag for Detroit posts. I just want to sort it :') #rant in tags #Hope everyone's having a good day! :3 I'm sitting here thinking about robots :)

[rumue]

just a general psa into the void:

if someone posts art with no caption or tags of any kind that say it belongs to them, and their bio doesn’t say anything about them making art, there’s a chance they are reposting art that does not belong to them. please look into their blog and see if that is their work.

if they’ve reposted multiple artworks that have very different styles and even different watermarks, they are definitely a reposter.

please do NOT reblog or like posts from people who repost art without permission from the original artist AND crediting them (if they allow you to repost). 

if you repost art without getting the okay from the artist first, I DO NOT CARE ABOUT WHY YOU DID IT. all of those reasons (and i do mean ALL) are not a good excuse. if you reposted with credit but they told you reposting is NOT okay, you’re just as bad (if not worse). it may have been posted online for everyone to see but IT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. please support and respect the wishes of artists.

#holy fuck i'm so annoyed and tired #if anyone was wondering what brought this on #i decided to check the tags to find new art for once #and i immediately remembered why i don't do that #almost every time i've done that i've stumbled upon someone who has reposted artwork #and sometimes it's art from people who have posted HERE #and the other day i found something of mine on pinterest #this is not the first time btw #which is unsurprising considering how bad image theft is there #i don't understand why i have to explain this to people? #just because i've posted it for you to see does not mean you can do whatever you want with it? #i'm not asking people to stop saving pics on their phone or whatever because obviously that's unrealistic and pointless #but if i've asked you not to repost #don't fucking repost? #i think the most annoying one is when people repost art because they're making a collection of things they like #if you're saving stuff on your phone that's one thing #or even if you've got some kind of private online journal that NOBODY can see #but if I OR ANYONE ELSE CAN FIND IT #then we have a problem #stop using online media sharing platforms as storage spaces

[neverendingford]

.

#tag talk #watched “it follows” and I shouldn't have. didn't know it was horror going in but after a few minutes I did and I should have stopped #I'm apparently still not 100% past self-terrifying as a form of self harm. I knew I shouldn't have and I kept watching anyway #you know. most people don't know what terror is. they know fear. they know worry. they know anxiety. #terror is something different. I wish I could describe it but you really only know it when you have felt it. #that freezing up of your body. I guess some people get terror in different ways though. I freeze. others fight or flight. I just freeze. #that sense of helpless anticipation as you experience the certainty that the object of your terror is approaching. inevitably. #why fight it? you fucking can't. no matter what you do it'll always get you. it's stronger. more powerful. #hmmm. csa moment oops. I am tempted to make a joke here but I don't want to deflect from my issues. #I have trauma and I wish I didn't. I have hurt that I don't even consciously remember but my body does. #I do not have emotional trauma in the way that people have survivors guilt and feeling like it was their fault. any of those surface emotion #not calling it shallow. but like. it's like when you don't look at the needle and you don't even notice the skin prick but you feel it #you feel it hit your vein and you feel that deep body response that Something Is Not Right. #like when I got my wisdom teeth pulled and I elected to not go under for it so I was numbed but conscious for it. #part way through my body started uncontrollably shaking (well. sort of controlled. I'm good at that). #I didn't feel the pain. I wasn't afraid. but my body was feeling objective physical trauma and I had the response anyway. #I don't remember really. I don't have the surface level pain responses to the trauma. #but deep down my body knows something is wrong and I can't stop my bones from shaking even though I don't feel the pain. #hmmm. I should talk to my next therapist about this. #Lear chased off our last therapist when I was having my dissociative week after watching The Hunt. #which. tbh good riddance she was not equipped to handle us in the slightest. and we're talking to our friend/gf(?) again which is really nic #she and Lear had a few solid conversations too. which was funky cause before he snapped he didn't want anything to do with her #but we kinda had a moment where he realized he's just as fucked up as I am just differently. #anyone reading these tag talks might remember so I won't go over it again. #anyway. I'm not sleeping tonight. I think I should start taking the full pill instead of just the half. but it's just suppressing symptoms #I'm acting up because of my inner state. or maybe my inner state is tumultuous because of my outer condition? idfk #either way I'm suffering over here #not a sui risk but damn #I'm gonna finish patching the pair of pants I've been not working on for the past months

[katya-goncharov]

can't wait to have to get up for a stupid overtime shift at stupid work again in literally less than five hours :(

#i NEED to figure out a way to say no to overtime shifts because it is fucking with my mental health! #but half the time they don't even ask me and the other half they're like oh you said you were available on these days of the week! #and yes i did but i thought i'd be scheduled in maybe once a month. not eight extra hours a week when i'm only contracted for 17! #and it's minimum wage. literally minimum wage so i'm not even earning anything useful #but whatever i've been through this it's just REALLY stressing me out and now i can't sleep because of worrying about it which. not great #when i have to wake up at 6am again #emma vents #(remember you can blog my vent tag if you're fed up of hearing me moaning. i just really NEED somewhere to vent at the moment)

[puppys-rhythm-heaven]

"i think today's a listening to remix 7 on loop kinda day" -me, 2023

#puppy rambles #rhythm hell #remix 7 #the audhd is strong- #i just remembered i was reading my psych eval from when i got diagnosed with stuff and my favorite part #is it saying that i was ''wearing comfortable clothing and had disheveled hair'' #like. the fuck else clothing would i wear??? do you want me to wear formal attire or some shit??? #other highlights: i ''rarely expressed interest in the examiner's thoughts or feelings even when pressed'' #(idk why i would beyond my standard ''i don't want to upset people'' like i'm never going to interact with that person again) #mentioning me having strong interests several times but never saying the phrase hyperfixation and only saying special interest once #also the way they're referred to makes it sound like a bad thing. ''restricted interests'' fuck you #my least favorite part is it basically straight-up saying i'm not creative??? like fuck you i'm just not creative in the specific ways #that were tested. which are really stupid also why is make-believe important when i'm a teenager??? what #also this part's just funny to me cuz it sounds pretty accurate to me: #''She also rarely used descriptive gestures‚ only doing so once when showing how her cat pushed something off the table.'' #like. yea that sounds about right for a circumstance when i'd do that #these tags are completely irrelevant to the post sorry to anyone who reads the tags fsdkljfdklsfjksdf-

[tkbrokkoli]

look at my tags boy

#not fandom related #personal log stardate #just wanna vent a bit #i think I'm gonna crank up my q. i have like. 3 k posts in my drafts lol. so yeah #can't rly focus today. yesterday i cleaned up and tidied up so good. even wiped the floor. bc we had ppl over. i didn't clean my room tho #and that is still a fucking mess. now that the pressure of Having Someone Over is gone i have no drive to tidy up or clean anymore #i think it's gonna be a slow day. I'll watch bbc ghosts. i know i have saved posts abt the show somewhere but i don't remember #on which sideblog and how deep into the drafts i have to go. one sideblog has 8000 drafts #so i guess I'll just go into the bbc ghosts tag to reblog some stuff #today i tried club mate for the 1st time ever #my fellow students during my bachelor studies used to constantly drink that stuff and I've always wanted to know what it tastes like #anyway. at first it reminded me of carbonated apple juice. Apfelschorle. idk how it's called in english. it tastes ok-ish and #for me personally i can see it as a social drink i can have when the ppl I'm w have carbonated alcoholic drinks and i don't feel lik3 #*like nonalcoholic beer. anyway. gonna turn on bbc ghosts and have a mug of coffee #i hope you guys are doing alright. btw happy threshold day if you celebrate! i haven't watched voyager yet but i will one day

[angelltheninth]

Honaki Star Rail Men + Practice Makes Perfect

Pairing: Blade, Dan Heng, Gepard, Jing Yuan, Luocha, Sampo, Welt x Fem!Reader

Tags: nsfw, smut, blowjob, friends with benefits, virginity loss, toy use, handjob, fingering, mutual masturbation

A/N: it's true, practice does make perfect, it's how I got good at writing smut.

Blade delights in the fact that he gets to be the one to teach you about pleasure. No doubt you know some things already but surely not as much as he. You don't really know what it feels like to suck a cock do you? Well you can practice on his, for when you get a real boyfriend that is. He'll be more then happy to let you suck him off, much better then doing it to a toy. You don't have to be shy around him, take as long as you like, get his cock wet, kiss it all you like, remember his taste because if he can make it so then his will be the only cock you ever taste. See, he's so nice, he's even willing to become your first boyfriend.

Dan Heng wonders why you would go to him off all people to practice with this sort of stuff. Surely there must be better candidates. He's not saying he won't do it, of course he'll help a friend out, but it's been a long time since he's been intimate with anyone. His cock twitches at the mention of you admitting that you thought of no one but him lately. You find him that attractive do you? You've been in his dreams as well, he's not ashamed to admit to. Show him then, show him what you do when you wake up after a wet dream, let him get close to your pussy so he can see what you're doing. Don't be embaressed, he's only trying to provide you with the best instructions.

Gepard says he's okay with you using him for practice but he's lying to himself and you. Every time he tells you how to jerk him off he keeps loathing the idea of you doing it to some other guy more and more. Someone else making you come, eating you out, telling you how pretty you are... it doesn't feel right. He's astonished when you asking him to be your first but he jumps at the opportunity. As soon as he's inside you though he can't keep his confession off his lips, he doesn't want to be the practice guy, he wants to be the guy you date, that you kiss for real, that you wake up to every morning. He wants to be your boyfriend.

Jing Yuan loves the idea of showing you how to feel good and please a man. He's grown tired of using toys but he can watch you use them, have a dildo on the floor, riding it while he tells you to roll your tongue against his balls, kiss up his thick cock and then lick the cum off the top slowly. You have to be ready by now For what? To feel a real man's cock for the first time of course. Did you think he'd let a toy do what he can do better for you? Of course not, that would be a huge blow to his pride. Even with all of that prep you're still tight, maybe the toy wasn't big enough. It's okay, you'll get use to his size soon enough, you're gonna practice with him every day until you can take him without issue.

Luocha thinks that it's really important for you to know what you're doing if you're gonna have sex with someone. Naturally he doesn't mind helping you in that department. Sit back and listen to him, to his every word, tease yourself first, you need to be properly wet or else it could hurt. As much as he's sure you want to come you need to take it slow, follow the pace at which he's stoking his cock, don't you dare take your eyes off it. See the cum building up on top? That's gonna be all yours if you can be a good girl. He would love to fuck you right now but he has to put his profession first, so he's happy with watching you finger himself, and later coming over your face and pussy.

Sampo is very happy that you chose him to be the man who shows you the ropes. He can teach you a lot, from the most vanilla stuff to being tied up, unable to move and being used like a fuckdoll. Not that he's thought you in that position or anything like that. Okay maybe he has a few times but he knows you think about him too, you talk in your sleep sometimes so he knows you dream of him. Now your dreams can come true, you can use him like a practice toy for once. Get experience with him, satisfy your every curiosity, use his cock to fuck your pretty holes, all of them-

Welt doesn't really feel like being your practice guy but at the same time he doesn't want you to go to someone who would take advantage of you. You're still a virgin and if you'd rather lose it with him, your friend and co-worker, then he will do that for you. Also if there's anything in particular you're interested in trying he can be pretty adventurous, as long as it's safe, He didn't anticipate liking the visual of you on your hands and knees so much, fingering yourself and asking him to put it in. This isn't such a bad arrangement after all, he gets to fuck a pretty, inexperienced woman like you, and make sure you're being safe while doing so.

#honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #blade x reader #dan heng x reader #gepard x reader #jing yuan x reader #luocha x reader #sampo x reader #welt x reader #honkai star rail imagines #honkai star rail headcanons #hsr imagines #hsr headcanons #honkai star rail smut #hsr smut #honkai star rail x female reader #honkai star rail x you #hsr x female reader #hsr x you #hsr blade #hsr dan heng #hsr gepard #hsr jing yuan #hsr luocha #hsr sampo #hsr welt #x female reader

[tizeline]

More about that Seperation AU! (I'm just gonna tag it as Tiz Sep AU for now for the sake of organization)

Anyway, so if ya'll saw my last post, in this AU Donnie doesn't really have a battle shell, but he DOES wear prosthetics that gives him two extra fingers on each hand. Some people immedietly picked up on the implications of that (which makes me very happy) but I also wanna give a proper explanation, so here it is:

While we don't get a specific explanation in the show as to why Donnie built the battle shell, it's not unreasonable to assume that he would've compared his soft shell with his brothers' hard ones and might've felt a need to compensate. So if he grew up without his brothers, like he did in this AU, would he even feel that pressure to "improve" his shell? Sure, he'd know that most types of turtle species would have a tougher carapace than his own species, but he wouldn't be reminded of that in his everyday life. In fact, while compared to his brothers he's the most fragile one, compared to April and Splinter (who don't have shells at all) he'd be the sturdiest out the the bunch. So in this AU Donnie doesn't use any additional armour (he does still have a jetpack tho because fuck yeah)

So where does the additional fingers come in? While Donnie in this AU doesn't have any other turtles to constantly compare himself to, he WOULD inevitably compare himself to Splinter and April as well as humanity as a whole. All of which have five fingers on each hand as opposed to his three per hand. This isn't the only part of himself that he's insecure about, being seemingly the only turtle boy in a city of humans is bound to make him feel a bit isolated and lonely. He'd feel more pressure to be more human than turtle, and making himself extra fingers, in his mind, would be a way to accomplish that.

It's not JUST insecurity though, there's a practical aspect to having five fingers when you do a lot of handiwork, which is something Donnie does. In fact, I first got the idea when reading the IDW TMNT comics. I don't remember the details but there's a part when Donnie (or rather Metal-Don to be specific, I think?) comments on the fact that it'd be more beneficial to have five rather than three fingers. Ever since then, the concept of Donnie constructing extra fingers for himself to make his work easier is something I've kept in the back of my mind, and I figured this AU was the perfect oppurtunity to explore that.

#Tiz Sep AU #tizel art #tizel talk #my art #digital art #illustration #tmnt fanart #tmnt #rottmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmn au #rottmnt au #rottmnt separation au #donatello #donnie #rise donnie #rottmnt donnie #april o'neil #rise april #rottmnt april