#not technically technically a hero but you get the gist

[waynes-multiverse]

Love On The Brain

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Summary: Dean and Y/N – hunting partners, bunker roommates & idiots in love. Sam is fed up with their constant “will they/won’t they” bullshit and decides to move things along with his own plan until these two fated lovers’ paths finally cross one night – naked.

Warnings: +18, smut (mentions of masturbation f & m, oral f, fingering, p in v), crack of the adorkable kind, nudity, mutual pining, friends to lovers, fluff

Word Count: 6.1k

A/N: Happy V-Day, babes! 💖 The V stands for... Welp, you know me well enough by now to know where I’m going with this 😝 This is a lot of moronic crack mixed with some sweet smut and fluff. We all know how much I love the “idiots in love” trope, and I fully dove into this one. So, grab your glass of favorite liquor & let’s settle in, shall we? ❤️😘 Written for a request by @imagine-all-the-fandoms after making some adjustments. Found Rihanna’s Love on the Brain fitting for this one, so that’s what we went with as a general mood. Hope you enjoy, m’ladies! 🖤

Feedback is highly appreciated! Get me drunk on it and fill my writer’s juice 🤓🥃

Main Masterlist | Dean Winchster Masterlist

Freedom! Thank fucking God…

Y/N exhales a blissful sigh as she saunters to the Dean Cave with a bag of still-hot microwave popcorn in her arms. The Winchester brothers have decided on a little overnight road trip to the next, bigger town over to see a movie – and for some brotherly bonding or whatever – which means Y/N can finally enjoy some goddamn alone time in the bunker. Not that she doesn’t love Sam and Dean to bits and pieces, especially the latter one. They are like family to her, the only one she’s ever truly known, but even family can grow exhausting sometimes.

Living with two boys can grow exhausting, honestly, so Y/N has decided to spend her alone time doing a bunch of girly shit she can’t do with Tweedledee and Tweedledum around – at least not without enduring some judgmental looks.

So, first on the agenda? Watching a bunch of chick flicks, aka any movie the oldest Winchester wouldn’t approve of. Mean Girls, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, You’ve Got Mail, and so on – you get the gist.

The second order of business is a long-ass bathroom time for a little much-needed self-care, including a hot and relaxing bath with an abundance of pink bubbles and soap that smells like the goddamn Queen’s flower garden. Then she’s going to shave and wax… everything. Admittedly, things got a little hairy in recent weeks. There wasn’t a lot of time between hunts and sharing close quarters with two men in motel rooms, and every time she did attempt a proper shave, Dean would yell outside the bathroom door, needing to pee or God knows what else, so she dropped the razor again. Honestly, it’s not like she’s being followed around by an array of suitors these days. It’s been months since anyone has seen her private parts or even her bare legs, including her. On the upside, at least her vibrator doesn’t mind the extra locks.

Oh God, she’s fucking sad, isn’t she? Yeah… It’s a sad affair all around, really.

Regardless, the mention of some self-love reminds her of her third to-do item on her list: sex. Well, technically masturbating to Ryan Gosling’s pictures. Maybe even Andrew Garfield, Sebastian Stan, that hot dude Jackson from Grey’s Anatomy… Leo in his prime. Brad Pitt – young and old. Seth Rogen… Whoa! Don’t judge, okay? It’s not all about looks. She loves when a guy can make her laugh, and his laugh is so sweet, deep, and… bear-y, alright?

Yeah, fine, she knows she needs to get fucked properly by a real dick instead of a fictional one – rather sooner than later before she goes for… the dick that’s been living right under the same roof, only three doors down from her own bedroom.

Shit.

Yep, Dean fucking Winchester – God of all Gods, monster hunter extraordinaire, hero of all innocent damsels, and idiotic clown of all clowns, shamelessly stole her heart since… well, pretty much the minute they met and she first laid eyes on him. It felt like being blinded by the sun, the golden freckles on his cheeks and nose resembling the twinkling, starry constellations in the night sky. In an instant, she was an unsuspecting, innocent moth to a blazing flame. How could she possibly resist that irresistible, boyish charm? There’s no vaccine against that green-eyed virus. She swears she’s seen women faint and gasp before him, and she certainly isn’t immune, either. No one truly is, not even other men, for crying out loud.

Unfortunately, Dean will never ever look at her in that way and see more than a friend in her. The thought alone is so ridiculous it makes her snort before she starts to uncontrollably sob and whine. But God, does she wish more than anything he could be hers and she could be his.

Admittedly, she feels a little lonely, especially with the ominous Valentine’s Day looming around the corner, or as Dean likes to call it – unattached drifter Christmas.

Dear fucking God, why did she have to fall in love with that dork? Why can’t it be some nice, normal guy without an abundance of commitment issues?

On the other hand, it’s a good thing the oldest Winchester isn’t here tonight, even though he’d probably love the fourth part of her evening: naturism.

Yup, walking around naked while you’re alone is the best fucking thing in the world and so goddamn freeing. Tits out. Let the ladies breathe a little, you know? Having the girls constantly locked up in bra prison is no way to go through life. And Y/N knows for sure Dean would not only agree with that sentiment but also highly support it. After all, he was the one that suggested Naked Tuesdays when she first moved in. Sam then established a rule that the oldest Winchester wasn’t allowed to “sexually harass” her. It was completely unnecessary but sweet nonetheless. Y/N knows Dean’s just a teasing goofball 99% of the time and would never seriously harm her or make her feel uncomfortable. In fact, she loves that the brothers are always looking out for her and have her best interest in mind.

So, as soon as she hears the big metal door of the bunker slam shut, Y/N excitedly begins her girl’s night alone, trying not to think too much about the green-eyed hunter and focusing on Gosling on the silver screen instead.

“So, this movie… is it like Zombieland?” Dean inquires with a wide grin, wiggling his eyebrows as he grabs a couple of beers and snacks from the fridge for their road trip to Wichita.

Sam’s brow furrows in confusion. “What? Dean, no… It’s not an action movie or a comedy. It’s an environmental documentary about how soil can counteract the climate crisis,” the younger Winchester explains, chuckling in amusement.

Dean’s face drops, his features morphing from excitement to shock as his eyes blink in rapid succession. “What?! But you said Woody Harrelson is in it! You lied to me!”

“Nooo,” Sam laughs, shaking his head, and corrects, “I said Woody Harrelson narrates it. It’s a good documentary. Trust me.”

“Fuck no! I don’t wanna watch a movie about dirt,” the older brother whines, his plump lips shaping into a pout. “Can’t we go see something with action and blood and guns? You know, something fun?”

“Dean, our whole life is action, blood, and guns. Would do you some good to care about the Earth and climate every once in a while,” Sam lectures him.

“Screw that! We’ve already saved the planet multiple times. All that Al Gore shit ain’t my problem,” Dean huffs, pops open a beer and takes a sip. “‘Sides, I don’t trust these environmental clowns. I know the first thing they’d wanna do is get rid of Baby, and then I swear I’m gonna start shootin’. I can’t stand for that insanity.”

“Fine,” Sam frowns and lets out a resigned sigh. “Then I guess you’ll have to stay here because I wanna watch that movie.”

“Fine by me,” Dean agrees with another sip of beer.

“Good. Since you’re not coming, I might even check out the Mid-America Fine Arts Museum,” Sam shares, the excitement gleaming in his hazel orbs.

“Yeah, nerd yourself out, little brother,” Dean snorts. “Did you know Wichita has a Pizza Hut Museum?”

“Uh-huh, yeah, you tell me that every time we go to Wichita, Dean,” Sam reminds him and suppresses the laugh. “Well, uh, have fun alone with Y/N then,” he smirks slyly, and Dean’s short-lived relief disappears as realization dawns, his brow knitting. “Who knows? Might even be a good opportunity for you to tell her you’re madly in love with her.”

“Wha-, uh, pffft, no?” Dean brushes his little brother’s lunatic accusations off the kitchen counter and awkwardly scratches the back of his neck, clearing the fluster in his throat. “Dude, are you drunk? I’m so not in love with her, alright? Don’t be ridiculous, okay? Do I find her incredibly hot, smart, sweet, brave, kind, adorable, and funny? Sure… That’s why she’s our friend, right? But that doesn’t mean I like… love “love” her, okay? At least not like that.” He forms sarcastic air quotes around the cursed word and grimly swallows his uncomfortableness and the lies down with a big gulp of beer. “And for crying out loud, keep your voice down when you say shit like that. I don’t want her to hear us,” he hisses, his green orbs nervously eyeing the kitchen door. “It’s echo-y in here, you know?”

“Sure, whatever you say, Dean,” Sam casually shrugs his shoulders, clearly not buying a single one of the green-eyed hunter’s words, and it only annoys the older Winchester more.

“Don’t-… Nuh-uh, don’t gimme that fake ‘whatever you say’ bullshit shtick. There’s really nothing going on, alright?” Dean assures anew, growing more irritated by the minute.

Sam twitches his shoulders once more and then cockily folds his arms over his chest, a teasing smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. “Alright, so you won’t mind if I set her up with Matt, right? It’s just-… She seems a little lonely lately.”

“Lonely?” Dean arches an eyebrow in apprehension and scoffs, “She’s fine, Sam. She’s got us.”

Sam frowns for what feels like the hundredth time during this conversation. “Dean, you honestly don’t think that’s enough for her.”

“Why not?” The older Winchester shrugs, refusing to see clearly. “It’s enough for me. Our life is awesome. You don’t see me complaining.”

“Yes, you’re obviously the golden standard for healthy relationships,” Sam mutters sarcastically and rolls his eyes back.

Dean purses and smacks his plump lips, scratching the bit of scruff on his throat. “Well, uh… shut up, okay? And don’t set her up with Matt. The guy’s a douche.”

“Alright, what about Josh? You like Josh,” Sam suggests next.

“Yeah, as a hunting partner, he’s alright, not as a boy toy for our friend, Sam,” Dean grits bitterly and rolls his eyes, chugging the rest of his beer. “Seriously, what is wrong with you? You’re not her pimp. Just leave her alone, alright?”  

“Look, if you don’t wanna date her – fine. That’s on you. Just don’t stand in the way of her happiness because you can’t stop self-sabotaging yourself, man,” Sam argues with a judgmentally raised brow.

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Dean grumbles, the offense clearly written in every deep wrinkle on his face.

“Uh-huh, whatever you say, Dean,” Sam deadpans and grabs his laptop bag, making his way out of the kitchen.

“Stop saying that!”

“Look, I’d love to discuss all your weird issues in detail with you, but I still have to pick up Eileen on my way to Wichita,” Sam notes nonchalantly as Dean trails behind him through the bunker’s corridors. “I’ve watched you two beat around the bush for years. It’s getting annoying. You guys are worse than Ross and Rachel.”

“Wait, Eileen? Did you plan all of this on purpose? Were you trying to trick me?” Dean’s voice rises with his exasperation. He hates when Sam puts his nose where it doesn’t belong, mainly in his business. It’s the typical little brother shit he had to deal with all his life. Siblings, man…

“Me? No, I would never,” his younger brother replies with feigned innocence, marching up the metal stairs to the exit, but Dean can hear the goddamn deceit in his words.

“I don’t believe you,” Dean grits with a sternly creased brow, narrowing his juniper eyes at his younger brother as he halts at the bottom of the steps.

“Okay, whatever you say, Dean,” Sam grins complacently and opens the door. “Just don’t be an idiot. Make the first move, alright? That’s all you need to do. Trust me. It’s gonna be fine. She likes you, too.”

With that, the youngest Winchester closes the door behind him, leaving Dean to ruminate in his convoluted misery.

The hunter then stomps through the hallways of the bunker, furiously mumbling to himself as he passes the Dean Cave on his way to his room. Hearing sounds coming from inside, he stops by the cracked door for a moment and realizes Y/N is watching a movie in there. He considers joining her before recognizing Gosling’s voice, a deep sigh leaving his lips. Of course, she’s watching chick flicks again, so he decides against his plan, knowing some silly rom-com could potentially be a slippery slope and lead to some dangerous innuendos.

He downright refuses to play into his little brother’s evil scheme. Sam’s not goddamn Lindsay Lohan, and this isn’t the fucking Parent Trap. It’s better and safer if Dean stays far away from Y/N for the entirety of Sam’s absence, so the hunter quietly retreats to his room.

Dean decided to watch a bunch of his favorite horror movies until late into the night, ignoring the boiling feelings under the surface. He then closes his laptop with a heavy sigh, ready to call it a night after a nice, warm shower.

With headphones on and some classic rock music drowning out his hammering thoughts, he takes off his clothes and wraps a towel around himself. During an earlier snack run to the kitchen, he noticed the Dean Cave had already been deserted, the room quiet and dark. Y/N luckily has withdrawn to her own room again, so he knows he won’t accidentally run into her. She still hasn’t left his mind, his head in a constant swirl since his stupid conversation with Sam.

So, naturally, Dean comes to the conclusion that only some self-completion down the shower drain might help to clear his thoughts and flush the huntress out of his mind for good. He’s not proud of it, but it’s certainly not the first time since he’s known her that he thinks about her while jerking off. Usually, it only happens when he has to spend too many nights in a row with her in a small motel room without a way to escape, but this time, though, he fully blames Sam and his big mouth for it.

Wandering down the hall to the bathroom, his head bobs to the rhythm of the music flowing through his ears, his green eyes fixed on his phone screen as he scrolls through his playlist. Mindlessly opening the door, he suddenly freezes as another body bumps straight into him.

It all happens pretty fast from there. There’s a loud, high-pitched shriek that filters through the music, his hand drops his phone, and his headphones fall down with it, severing the connection and leaving him in silence as his palms catch a taut-skinned body in his arms while the towel around his waist glides to the tiled floor. And then, he just stares into two big and shocked pupils, which are probably as wide as his own.

Fuck…

For a second, Dean feels incredibly exposed before noticing the warm skin that’s pressed flush against his own body. Yep, he doesn’t dare to check, but he’s certain Y/N’s completely naked, too.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…,” Y/N’s panicked voice chimes in his ears as both of them awkwardly avert their gazes in different directions to the ceiling and avoid eye contact at all costs while still clinging tightly onto each other, aware that if one of them moves, it’s game over and they’d see each other in their full glory. Basically, they’re each other’s damn shields – as uncomfortable as that may be. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

“I, uh…” That’s when Dean realizes Y/N probably didn’t even know he stayed behind and let Sam go to Wichita alone. “Sam wanted to watch a documentary.”

“I know!” Y/N yells in annoyance and grits, “You were supposed to go with him! Granted, I was surprised you agreed to it in the first place, but still, you’re not supposed to be home!”

“He didn’t tell me it was a documentary about dirt, alright? Otherwise, it would’ve been a straight-up ‘no’ from the start,” Dean explains and tries not to get hard as he feels Y/N’s tits press against his chest. Judging by the precise feeling that’s poking him, she must be somewhat cold.

“Yes, he did! I was right there when you agreed,” Y/N argues. “He talked about it for over an hour.”

“Oh,” Dean stumps and clears his throat rather awkwardly. Who could blame him for not listening, huh?

“You never listen to people! It’s so goddamn annoying!”

“Y/N, you need to stop talking, sweetheart,” Dean begs her, squeezing his eyes shut as he concentrates on anything else for dear life.

Baseball, Sam drinking green smoothies, a scratch on Baby’s new coat of paint… He attempts to distract his mind from the unavoidable, but it’s no use. The skin-on-skin contact is his final nail in the coffin.

“Oh, I’m sure you would love that, wouldn’t you?” Y/N continues in a furious huff, “It’s not always about you–”

“Y/N, please… All that angry shaking isn’t helping, sweetheart.”

The huntress cocks an eyebrow high, almost reaching the messy bun on top of her head. “Helping with what?”

“Uhm…”

And that’s when he can’t control it any longer. There’s a distinctive twitch against her thigh, and he’s sure she’s felt it, too. Shit, shit, shit…

“Oooooh.” Y/N awkwardly presses her lips into a thin line, her fingertips tapping a nervous melody on his skin. Her single utterance makes his heart stop. It’s game over. She’s going to call him a gross perv, move out of the bunker, and then never speak to him again. “It’s-, uhm, it’s okay,” she says surprisingly, her head bobbing with a thick swallow as she reassuringly squeezes his biceps where her palms rest.

“Y/N, I’m-, uh… oh God… I’m so, so sorry,” he stammers, deciding to keep his eyes shut to escape some of the awkwardness.

“I-, no, it’s not-… This is a weird situation we’re in… It’s fine. Completely normal, right? Like, uhm, like a reflex?”

“Uh, yeah, guess so,” Dean gulps, his eyelids slowly fluttering open and gaze drifting back to the ceiling. It’s not a goddamn reflex, though. It’s all her. It’s the effect she has on him.

“We should, uh, probably, uhm, detangle…”

“Uh-huh, yup, nope, agree,” he says and clears his throat once more, hoping the fluster will leave his body soon. “You, uh, wanna bend down, and we both can grab our towels?”

Fuck, it’ll probably be awkward between them for months now. They’ll avoid each other during breakfast, lunch, dinner… They’ll stop watching movies together, Sam will have to be their buffer and hate it, and they probably won’t look directly into each other’s eyes till Christmas – and it’s only fucking February.

“Oh, uhm… I actually, technically didn’t, uh, come with a towel?”

His eyebrow twitches upward, head slightly tilting to the side as he thinks about her words. “Oh, uh… Wait… Were you, uhm, walking around like… naked through the bunker?”

Well, there’s an image Dean’s never gonna get out of his head. Now, he’ll forever wonder if she takes off her clothes as soon as he walks out the door.

“Look, I thought I was alone, okay?! Again – you’re not actually supposed to be here! Don’t judge me!” Y/N defends, the panic returning to her voice, and then adds something in an almost inaudible mumble, “Just wanted to let the girls breathe a little. Sue me…”

“What?” His head tilts some more, the fine creases on his brow deepening.

“Nothing… never mind,” she quickly splutters, her cheeks flushing bright red as she visibly swallows.

Dean snorts. He’s in love with a dork, isn’t he? God, she’s adorable.

And then, it fucking happens again. Dammit…

“Was that…”

“Again – I’m so, so sorry,” he apologizes once more, although he’s sure he can’t do it often enough. His dick is an escaped zoo animal and clearly on the prowl tonight.

“No, uh… So how do you wanna do this? We could, uhm, maybe turn 180 and then close our eyes and let go… I could, uhm, run really fast down the hall, and you could just quickly back into the bathro–”

Y/N doesn’t get to finish laying out her plan. Dean’s lips on hers stop any further words from spilling out of her mouth. The featherlight kiss doesn’t last longer than a painfully anxious second, his mind racing a mile a minute, his brain positively fried.

What the hell is he fucking doing? There’s only one rule in the bunker: don’t sexually harass Y/N. Dean’s pretty damn sure he’s breaking that rule right now and crossing too many goddamn lines. How’s he supposed to ever recover from this?

“What, uh…” Y/N’s speechless, every muscle frozen stiff in his embrace. Her eyebrows draw up and reach her hairline, eyes blown wide in shock. “Or that… you could do that…”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” Dean groans in defeat and shame, hoping the Earth opens up and takes him straight to the burning fires of Hell. See? There aren’t enough apologies in this world to make up for his stupidity. “You know, this is all Sam’s fault… He just got into my head… I mean, this is obviously the wrong first move… I-I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry, Y/N. I just have a, you know, teeny-tiny crush on you, but still, this is obviously inappropriate.”

“You-, uhm, you have a crush on me?”

Dean swallows the hard lump in his throat. “Uh, yeah… Yeah, I do,” he admits bravely. “But don’t worry about it, okay? It’s just a temporary thing, alright?”

Y/N nods slightly in understanding. “For how long have you felt this way?”

“Well, uhm, like I said – not that long… Just a very short period of time… Like, since November 29th… 2012,” he gulps and shrugs sheepishly, watching her brow furrow in confusion.

“But… that’s the day we met,” Y/N points out.

Dean chuckles uncomfortably and rebuffs her concerns. “Is it? No…,” he rasps. “Well, uhm, anyways, that doesn’t change anything. Don’t worry, alright? No need to make this weird. I’m sure if we give it a couple more years, I’ll be completely over you.”

Y/N’s head bobs again, her lips pursing. “Okay, uhm… But what if you, uh, you know, maybe get over me in the literal sense… and I could get under you?”

The gears in his head start turning as he musingly squints his pine green eyes at her and studies her features. She seems nervous. There’s a bite of her lower lip and a light swallow in her throat, her pupils flickering insecurely. “Uhm, well… is that something you would like? I mean, to get-, uh, would you wanna get under me?”

“Uhm… yes? Yeah?” She looks up at him and meets his gaze, their eyes fully connecting for the first time since they have catapulted themselves into this mortifying situation.

“Is that a question?” Dean checks and chuckles lightly. “Because you kinda need to be sure about this, y’know?”

Another swallow and Y/N nods, determination gleaming in her eyes. He feels her weight shift forward, her feet rising on tip-toes as her palms move from his upper arms to the back of his neck. Her soft, pillowy lips catch his, a tender touch as their mouths carefully mold together. She sucks on his upper lip, nibbles on the bottom one before he feels the tip of her tongue lick between. He opens his mouth wider, lets her slip inside.

Dean’s hands then begin to travel, his confidence growing as Y/N’s fingers tug slightly on the short strands of hair in the nape of his neck, trying to draw him closer. One large hand cups her neck, the other one smoothing down her spine and pressing into the small of her back. He pushes her closer, deepens the kiss, and both of them moan needily while their tongues dance with each other. His grip on her becomes stronger, their bodies melting into one. Y/N gasps into his mouth, her hips pushing against his, skin on skin, as her bare pussy brushes his bulging dick.

“Shit…,” Dean mutters breathlessly against her lips, and Y/N breaks the kiss and meets his eyes with a hint of a smile.

Her lips are red and glistening, her chest heaving with ragged breaths. He cups her blushed cheek, thumb ghosting over the kiss-swollen flesh of her bottom lip as he mirrors her soft smile.

“You okay?” Y/N checks, giggling slightly.

Dean chuckles, palm still caressing her cheek. “Yeah, uh, just realized we’re incredibly naked.”

She snorts and nods, “Yeah, guess that doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination, huh?”

“Definitely not,” Dean agrees and laughs a little, his cheeks blushing with bashfulness. “But, look, we don’t have to do anything tonight, alright? We can take it slow.”

Y/N thoughtfully chews on her lip, her dimples showing a smile before she shakes her head. “No, I think we’ve been taking things slow for long enough.”

Dean’s face breaks into a grin before he pulls her back to his lips for a searing kiss. Y/N’s hands lock around his neck, allowing him to lift her up, and her legs instinctively wrap around his waist. His hand weaves into her hair, still damp in the back of her neck from her bath, as the scent of her delicious body wash and lotion seep into his nostrils with each intake of air.

“You smell nice,” he notes, his mouth trailing along her jawline and down her throat, leaving wet kisses in his wake as he sucks her pulse point black and blue. “Like a flower garden…”

Y/N giggles, the cute sound in his ears causing his heart to flutter. She clasps his jaw and draws his attention back to her face, nuzzling her nose against his, whispering, “Bedroom. Need you inside me…”

“Jesus, Y/N… Going in for the kill, huh? You can’t say stuff like that to a man in a compromising position,” he jokes, making her laugh more. “Okay, hold on, sweetheart. You ready?”

She confirms it with a nod, and Dean adjusts his grip on her body, grabbing her a little tighter before bolting down the bunker hallway like a little kid on Christmas morning. The huntress squeals and giggles in his arms as he kicks the door open to his bedroom, gently laying her down on the mattress. She lets herself fall back and stretches out on the bed, her shoulder blades indenting the memory foam, and he hopes the thing does as advertised and fucking remembers her forever.

“You’re fast,” Y/N teases him as he quickly makes his way on top of her.

Dean chuckles, placing soft kisses on her lips in between his laughs. “Yeah, well, I’d run a mile just to get a taste of you, sweetheart. But don’t worry – not all of it will be this fast, alright?”

“Oh, I didn’t think it would be,” she giggles and licks her lips. “Can you just do me a favor?”

“Anything, sweetheart,” Dean assures her and lovingly brushes her hair behind her ears.

“Just judging by, uhm, size-,” she interrupts her sentence for a giggle, and he joins in. She’s so fucking cute. “Can you go slow?”

“Oh, trust me. I would’ve taken my time either way, but tell you what – I’ll even do you one better,” he says. His fingers then slide up her arm, along her collarbone and down to one breast. She shivers underneath him, her skin breaking into delicate goosebumps, soon soothed by his warm lips. His thumb brushes her bud, plays with it until it hardens and then alleviates the sensation with his hot breath and wet tongue.

“Fuuuuck,” Y/N sighs blissfully, her toes curling as a smile shapes on her lips, fully relaxing under his care. “Feels so good, De.”

His chuckle vibrates against her ribcage, his mouth traveling down her upper body, his kisses not missing an inch of smooth skin. Every rib, every beauty mark, every freckle gets the attention they deserve, even teasingly dipping his tongue into her navel. The last tender kiss is placed on her mound as he moves between her legs and spreads her thighs a little wider.

A smirk forms on his face as he leers at her pussy, bright pink and already glistening with her arousal. He catches her watchful gaze, sees a bit of insecurity shimmering in it as she nibbles her fingernails and bottom lip almost bloody, so he cheekily wiggles his eyebrows and sends her a wink, causing her to giggle and roll her eyes at his antics before she lets herself fall back into the mattress with a calming, deep breath.

Licking his thumb pad, he presses it against her sensitive nub, her thighs jolting for a second at the initial touch as a hiss escapes her throat, followed shortly by a strangled whimper. Y/N’s hands fist the bedsheet a little tighter, her knuckles turning white, every muscle wired to the nth degree. Her chest heaves frantically as her breathing grows more erratic with each little circle of his digit. His index finger then stretches and reaches her dripping entrance, rubbing at the tight ring before he easily pushes inside and curls it, poking the spongey spot.

“Fuck, Dean…,” she manages to croak out, biting down on her tongue.

Dean only chuckles, a giddy feeling spreading in his stomach and loving how responsive she is to his touches. There’s a loud whimper when he kisses her pussy lips, tongue dipping between and giving her clit a kitten lick, distracting her enough to shove his middle finger inside her cunt as well, scissoring them once he’s knuckles-deep.

“Oh God… shit,” she groans and whines above him.

He laughs lightly and curiously observes the torment on her face. “Wanna cum, huh?”

“Dean, I swear… I-… please,” she begs, her initial threat morphing into a soft plea for mercy.

“I got you, sweetheart,” he assures her amusedly and swiftly presses his mouth back on her pussy, sucking her sensitive bundle of nerves between his plump lips and thrusting his digits harder and faster inside her. It only takes three, four pushes and one skilled suck before she convulses, trembles, and soaks his face and fingers in her juices. He groans at the sweet taste of her on his tongue, his cock twitches gleefully between his bow legs, only too eager to slide in next.

“Oh God! Fuck… shit… D-Dean!”

The green-eyed hunter grins broadly up at her, his face almost split in half as he bathes in her blissed-out expression and the rosy cheeks that accompany it.

“Wow,” she breathes and shakily catches his swollen and wet lips as he comes back up to her eye level, propping his arms up on the sides of her head.

“I think you’re ready for the big gun now,” he laughs and places a loving kiss on the tip of her nose and another one on her forehead.

“Uh-huh, I’m not so sure after this,” she giggles, still catching her breath. She cups his jaw, kisses him deeply, and licks her arousal from his pillowy lips. “You’re… amazing.”

“Right back at you, sweetheart,” he winks, the softness of his smile contrasting his cockiness. “Do we, uhm, need–”

Y/N shakes her head, anticipating his question. “No, uh, I’m on the pill. I just need you.”

With a smile, he nods and ducks his head, entangling her in a blazing kiss as he devours her lips. His hand pushes between their heated bodies, fisting his achingly hard cock before he threads his dickhead through her folds, coats it with her slick before it catches at her entrance. His thick and leaking tip pushes inside, slowly entering her drenched cunt inch by inch till he’s buried deep and touches her cervix, stretching her tight walls around his impressive girth and hearing her little gasps of sheer pleasure.

“Fuck, Y/N,” he rasps at the feeling of her pussy enveloping his cock and gently brushes her hair out of her face, kissing her deeply. “Taking me so well… Such a good girl f’me.”

“God, you feel like heaven,” she whimpers and wraps her arms around his neck.

As he languidly pulls out to the tip, he kisses down her neck, sucking a mark into her skin. His hand wraps around one of hers, pinning it above her head to the mattress, fingers tightly interlocking before he thrusts back into her heat. His hips then work up a rhythm, a slow and soft song, as he fucks her deep and slams home harder at just the right spot.  

Her second orgasm builds slowly yet deeply, aiming to shatter her from within as she hears the ticking of a bomb in every muscle of her body, counting down the seconds before a massive explosion. She moans loudly as the earth-shattering climax hits her at full force, booming and wild as she curses his name over and over.

His fingers grip hers tighter, his thrusts growing sloppy as he lazily fucks her, her pulsating walls clenching around his firm cock. His hips begin to stutter, broad shoulders quaking as he spills deep inside her and stills. He grunts, her name falling from his lips, loud, strained, and primal when he cums, painting her walls with his milky seed.

“Wow,” Dean repeats her earlier sentiment, her giggle causing his heart to soar higher than the moon in the sky. “You okay?”

A wide smile spreads across her face, a tired nod moving her head. “Yeah, more than okay,” she assures him and seeks out his lips.

Dean places one last kiss on her hairline before removing his limp and drenched dick from her center, rolling to his side and pulling her onto his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around her frame. “Hey, Y/N?”

She wearily lifts her heavy head to meet his green eyes. “Hm?”

“Were you, uhm, lonely?” Dean asks, his fingertips drawing tender patterns on her back.

“I guess… a little, yeah,” she admits. “Why?”

He kisses her forehead and pulls her closer. “Nothing. Just… I’m here now. And I’m not going anywhere, okay? You wanna move into my room?”

Y/N’s beam is blinding, her cheeks blushing brightly pink. “Yeah, I’d love that,” she replies and snuggles back into his chest.

Dean then notices her eyes falling shut, losing the battle against sleep as her breathing calms in his embrace, his own mind following her into dreamland soon after.

In the morning, Y/N and Dean are still soundly asleep, entangled in sheets and limbs, when there are a few abrupt knocks on the door before it pops open to its full extent, the youngest Winchester’s voice drowning in from the hall.

“Hey, Dean? I’m back! Look, I figured we could talk. I’m sorry about yesterd–… ay… Whoa!”

“Wha-!” Y/N jolts up from the bed at the unexpected intrusion, her elbow hitting Dean straight in the face as he rises behind her. The force of the blow knocks him out of bed, the hunter tumbling to the cold ground.

Y/N clasps her palm over her mouth, staring at Sam’s shocked expression, their eyes both wide before she glances over her shoulder to her lover on the ground.

“Ow! Jesus…”

“Y/N?”

“Hi, Sam,” the huntress smiles awkwardly at the younger Winchester, sheepishly shrugging her shoulders as she hides her naked body underneath the sheets. “Good morning. How-, uh, how was the documentary?”

“Uhm, good?” Sam doesn’t look any less freaked out by what his hazel eyes are witnessing, though.

Dean groans behind her, rubbing a palm over his aching face before sending his little brother a lazy grin. “Hiya, Sammy.”

Sam then lets out a long sigh through his nose and mutters, “About damn time…”

“Yeah, about that, little brother… Might call Eileen and book yourself a room for at least a week somewhere,” Dean tells him, smirking.

Sam’s brow furrows, “What? Why?”

“Oh, because I’m gonna rail Y/N in every room we have,” Dean explains casually, watching Sam’s eyes widen.

“Oh?” Y/N sends her boyfriend an intrigued look, which he responds to with a sly wiggle of his eyebrows and a wink. “Even the dungeon? Are you, like, gonna tie me up and stuff?”

Dean’s eyes look at her lovingly, causing her cheeks to flush with heat. “Where have you been all my life, sweetheart?”

“Oh God, what have I done…,” Sam groans with a thick swallow.

PHEW! And we’re done with one shot week, babes! 😮‍💨 I honestly hadn’t planned this but found some inspiration over the weekend and finished some WIPs, and since they were all about different kinds of love, I figured they were perfect for Valentine’s Day 💖

Hope you enjoyed these various journeys, and if you did, please consider telling me here and leaving me with some kind words 🥰 Now excuse me while I go work on a few Soldier Boy one shots. I’ve missed my toxic Ben-Ben. Read you soon, babes! 😝🖤

Everything Jensen Tags: @extraterrestriali @this-is-me19 @writercole @awkward-and-indecisive @eevvvaa @panicking-outside-the-disco @globetrotter28 @imherefordeanandbones @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior @xlynnbbyx @jassackles @maggiegirl17 @perpetualabsurdity @deans-spinster-witch @deandreamernp @foxyjwls007 @roseblue373 @lyarr24 @deanwanddamons @deanwithscissors @mrsjenniferwinchester @justrealizedimmascifygurl @akshi8278 @flamencodiva @chriszgirl92 @lhymer1995 @wittyboldsoul @djs8891 @leigh70 @snowlovespie @b3autyfuldisast3r @recoveringpastaaddict @ladysparkles78 @muhahaha303 @mimaria420 @creepzeyecandy @avanatural​

Dean Tags: @parinarain​ @hobby27​ @fromcaintodean​

#dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x female reader #dean winchester fluff #dean winchester smut #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester one shot #dean winchester fic #dean winchester reader insert #dean x reader #dean x y/n #writing request #dean winchester x y/n #dean winchester x you #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural imagine #dean winchester #dean winchester fanfic

[side-of-honey]

Sooooo, anyone remember that Imaginary Friends AU I mentioned a while ago? Here are some doodles, as promised ^^ Also character designs because it’s fun :D (If you don’t remember, the basic gist is Sunny can see ghosts, Kel, Aubrey, Hero, and Basil have been ghosts for as long as he’s known them.)

The glowing items that some of the ghosts are holding are called Memories! You get them when you figure out you died. Before that, you’re more...ghostly. Not all there, both physically and mentally. Basil is the “oldest” ghost, followed by Aubrey, Kel, and then Hero...and lastly Mari, technically, but we already knew that.

Also, the girl in the pink is Sally, Mari and Sunny’s neighbor :)

#btw uh. in case it wasn't clear basil is still the accomplice ahahaha... #OMORI #omori Aubrey #omori Kel #omori Hero #omori Basil #omori Mari #omori Sunny #omori Sally #cw implied death #cw death #ghosts #omori au #Imaginary Friends

[laufire]

I'll preface this by saying I haven't read the arc where Bruce shoots and kills Darkseid; I'm fuzzy on the details. the sources I've looked up here and there whenever the topic came to my mind seemed contradictory; I get the impression there was collaboration from some other heroes and it might've not been that clear cut? either way, I'm not going to read the arc rn (might in the distant future, if I choose to do something with it), but it seems there's agreement that this was the one time Bruce canonically planned to and followed through breaking his most sacred rule.

and I remember at one point I thought: what if this plot was used to give Bruce a better understanding of Jason's choices? what if it could make him not just willing to find a middle ground between them, but intentionally seek it? it wouldn't, couldn't be blanket acceptance, but if there's one point in canon that will even nudge him way from his increasingly uncompromising stance during the post-crisis/new earth continuity (1), it would be the one time he found his line in the sand, and realised that, unlike he always feared, he could walk back from it.

at the time it was no more than a passing thought, but just today, to close that chapter with the year, I read the very last few comics including new earth!Jason, in my completitionist quest of reading every single one of his (and every other version of Jason's) appearances. and two (technically three) of them reminded me of this.

one is his arc in convergence: batman and robin #1-2, published circa 2015 (revisiting new earth after 2011's reboot). it's part of a larger event that I can't be bothered to read fully rn (this ain't about them), but the gist of it is that Red Hood and Scarlet return to Gotham as some apocalyptic level shit is going down, helping Batman and Robin (Damian). Bruce accepts Jason's help, which bothers Damian, although by the end of the arc there's a truce between them and a clear willingness from everyone involved to work together going forward.

the other one is in batman incorporated vol. 1 #6, the last proper appearance of new earth!Jason before the reboot in 2011 kickstarted (the arc seemingly continued in vol. 2, but from what I already know about, and what little I've personally experienced from, the new 52, I'm not getting my hopes up). it consists on just a couple of panels where we don't see Jason's face or hear his name, and just see Bruce recruiting someone as "Wingman" (2), offering him a opportunity to "salvage a reputation" by joining his international bat-initiative, on a few conditions like keeping Jason's identity a mystery (3).

and I'm sure that if (when?) I read the aforementioned Darkseid's arc (and the subsequent time traveling shenanigans) there might be plenty to be found to contradict this post, because I do have some experience with detective comics comics. but these two instances are so easily aligned with my own take (4) that I had to post about it.

unfortunately, this is just making me mourn what-could-have-been, had the reboot never occured, even more than I ever did.

(1) pre-crisis/earth one!Bruce had a different attitude. and sometimes it feels that things like self-defence (batman vol. 1 #400) or defence of others (detective comics vol. 1 #411), two incredibly understandable motives, seem beyond the grasp of new earth!Bruce.

(2) if I ever do something with this plotbunny, I refuse to give him such a generic codename, just so we're clear.

(3) "we're building a ghost –a bogeyman too big to be clearly seen. its edges indistinct, it's full extent and purpose uncertain. a rumor. a terror made of shadows and flapping wings." MOURNING, I said 😭. also do you see why I think this deserved a much cooler name smh.

(4) the other things Jason did in between Bruce's not-so-dead experiences and this were during his Evol Era (battle for the cowl, batman and robin vol. 1). obviously nothing there would convince Bruce to suddenly approach him with more generosity than he did even in UTRH lol. but it'd make sense for it to be something Bruce did.

#during the next couple of months i will be reading jason's nu52 appearances (intersected with many other; mostly pre-reboot; comics!!) #i already read a handful and my most generous conclusion was #some interesting concepts tragically accompanied by characterisation that will make you want to sob like a baby if you liked new earth #all written in a mediocre manner by a sex pest of a man #(featuring some weirdly off-putting art) #*deep sigh* #talking to the void #my thoughts #dc #dc thoughts #dc comics #new earth #jason todd #bruce wayne #favourites: you raise sons #bat clan

[the-damnable-fool]

tinfoil hat time: the devs wanteD Sophia to be a pseudo-love interest to P but GASP, not only she is technically older than P (and even Carlo by default, she looked like a young teen when Carlo was a child) she also looks older (in the last render at least). cant have a female love interest looking, acting and behaving older than the mc, noo sire.

Uhhhhhhhhh I don't know about that one chief. First off, Romeo is definitely firmly first in the running for P's potential love interest when you take a look at their history as characters. Secondly, Sophia and P don't really have any sort of chemistry to speak of. Thirdly, and most importantly, Sophia's motivation to find P was almost entirely selfish. I don't doubt that she cared about him and wanted him to succeed for other reasons too, but she also really, really wanted to be freed from the Arche Abbey (and life itself).

That does, however, allow me to segue into another gripe about the storytelling of Lies of P. Sorry for hijacking your ask for this purpose, but its happening.

Why the hell was the MC a silent protagonist?

Actually, I know that answer. It's because Dark Souls did it, and this game wears its influences on its sleeve.

But why does it work better in Dark Souls and worse in Lies of P? Simple. In Dark Souls, the MC isn't really a character.

You see, in any Souls game, there are a couple things you can take as read from the beginning. First, the world is going to be transitioning from an age of light into an age of darkness. Second, the great heroes of the world are going to be corrupted or insane. Third, the protagonist is a mere pea sized insect trawling through the ruins of a once great civilization. These are the constants.

These constants lend themselves to a silent protagonist because the protagonist is merely a vessel for the player. They have no history. No motivations. No relationships or connections. They're merely a vehicle by which the player experiences the bygone grandeur of the world around them. In Dark Souls, you aren't a great hero or anyone of consequence, you're just the one that gets to come by and put them down after they've gone mad. Sure, your choices may affect the fate of the world, but who you are is ultimately of no consequence because you are overshadowed by what has come before you and what you represent. You're not a person in dark souls.

But in a story in which the main character is an established character with relationships and feelings, that all begins to break down. You cannot be the blank-slate player stand in and a fleshed out character at the same time. Lies of P's MC (I don't call him Pinnochio because I don't think that name is ever uttered in game) is a person with history to him. Granted, he doesn't remember most of it, and its arguable that he's a different entity from Carlo entirely, but he's still an established character with his own struggles, relationships, and so forth.

I've been rambling for a bit now, but the gist of what I'm trying to say here is that having the MC be a silent protagonist just doesn't really work when you're trying for a more character focused story. The MC isn't The Nameless Undead or some gothically titled hero of myth, he's Geppetto's puppet. His actions only have real consequence to about a dozen people (I stand by this estimation because the vast majority of Krat is dead). Having other characters talk to him and form relationships with him comes across as odd when he never talks back or voices his own thoughts or opinions on the subject. It's like they're trying to make friends with a wall, but they seem convinced that that wall has its own thoughts and opinions even though that's never actually demonstrated.

Circling back to the original Ask, I don't think that Sophia is a love interest for the MC for the same reason that I think that none of the characters were intended as love interests for the MC. Love is a two way street, and you can't have a good love story if one of the lovers doesn't talk to the other. Giving the MC a voice and his own concrete personality and character separate from the whims of the player could've made room for a love story and greater character exploration, but that's not the route they chose to take, and I'm personally of the opinion that that was the wrong move.

#asks #lies of p #carlo lies of p #media critique #sophia lies of p #lies of p spoilers

[eldritchgriffin]

I've been thinking about this for a while and I want to finally make a post about it. I don't really know how to put this down and it's late and I don't feel like rereading and editing this, but idk you can get the gist of it. Maybe I'll refine this later

Sonic's all about freedom, and people tend to see him as being "as free as the wind." They think he can go where he wants, without being tied down, and to some extent that's true. But in some ways, he's trapped

Sonic can run all over, explore wherever he decides to go... right up until Eggman causes trouble. Even if Sonic wanted to stay in one place, he can't. He always needs to be ready to fight Eggman, and unless that threat is gone for good, he'll never be really free

I think this is shown a bit in Frontiers. His friends are leaving on their own journeys, and he has to stay behind. He's sad that they're leaving, not just because he won't see them for a while, but because they will have changed by the time they return. Tails said Sonic wouldn't even recognize him when he got back. They're all going out into the world to grow and find themselves. Even Knuckles, who's trapped by his duties as guardian, is finding a way to leave. But Sonic can't. It's like when you meet up with your highschool classmates years later to find that they're married and have kids. They're in a different stage of their life, and you find there's not much you have in common anymore

And, even if Eggman weren't around, that wouldn't necessarily solve the problem. There's a bit in the Archie comics that plays with that a little

Robotnik dies, everyone's finally safe, but Sonic is discontent. Now that he doesn't have to fight Eggman, he doesn't know what to do with himself. He doesn't have technical or diplomatic skills. He's good at fighting, but when there's peace, what is there for him to do? He enjoys getting to relax between Eggman's schemes, of course, but when they're over permanently, he's lost. It reminds me of that old post about how a villain without a hero is successful, while a hero without a villain is useless. Sonic hates feeling useless, and he hates being left behind. He would never try to stop his friends from leaving, because they should have that freedom. But he doesn't have that same freedom. He's stuck

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sth #issue 54 of the comics if you want to look

[itsclydebitches]

For me, I think what I've concluded is that CRWBY is oftentimes too willing to sacrifice story for spectacle. Does it make sense for Ruby&co to steal a plane and whoops! It all goes wrong and suddenly they're fighting a big mech? No. Is it more exciting? Yes. Does it make sense for Qrow to team up with Tyrian to fight Clover? No. Does a 2v1 battle and a villain-hero team up look 'cooler'? Technically, yeah. Your thoughts?

I think you're a mind reader, friend, because that point has been bopping around my head since I posted that ask. And yeah, I get it. I mean, RWBY is a fighting show, first and foremost, no matter that it has expanded in a way that requires a lot more non-action storytelling. I would no more expect Volume 6 to end without an epic, exciting, spectacle of a fight than I would expect that for any season finale. Fans were right to criticize Volume 5 for spending too much time in the house and then following that up with a truly lackluster Haven battle. We expect that Rule of Cool.

So the problem isn't RWBY's desire for a spectacle, but rather its unwillingness to plan one that makes better sense and doesn't leave the heroes looking that bad (unless, of course, we got a version of the show actually interested in taking them through an arc wherein they grapple with their mistakes). As you say, they're prioritizing spectacle over story rather than realizing the very simple writing fact that you can have both. It always surprises me how many fans act as if published RWBY content is a historical event as opposed to a malleable fiction that a group of authors had complete control over. If the end goal is "The group has an epic battle against a mech" or "There's a 2v1 battle featuring a villain-hero team" that's great! It's just that, you know, you should implement those ideas in a way that doesn't destroy so much consistency and characterization in the process. Nine times out of ten, RWBY's problems lie in its inability to provide good setups for an idea (planning ahead) rather than the idea itself. Like we've been saying for forever now, almost no one has a problem with Ironwood becoming an antagonist as a general concept, only in how we reached that point. Same with the fights. No one has a problem with a cool mech battle, just that we got there via rejecting a perfectly peaceful plan + the heroes endangering so many needlessly. No one has a problem with a cool hero-villain battle, just that we got there by Qrow loosing all brain cells and deciding that teaming up with Tyrian is a good idea. As writers with complete creative power and an already flexible story (because, again, RWBY doesn't abide by its own rules) there are a hundred different ways we could get those battles without sacrificing so much else in the process. But that requires a lot of work and forethought that RWBY isn't putting in nowadays.

Specifically regarding the Cordovin battle, I'd be slightly more forgiving in regards to the, "It had to happen that way because the finale needs an epic fight" argument if not for one, crucial thing:

Adam.

The story ALREADY had an established antagonist for our heroes to fight, very conveniently tracking them across Remnant and, ignoring the complicated racism allegory, Adam is likewise an established baddie who the characters should have no (or very few) qualms about fighting. Tweak things a bit — plan ahead with characterization and the morals of the story in mind — and there's no reason to have the group go through all this Cordovin nonsense in an effort to give them someone cool to fight because someone cool to fight is already there.

I have an ask in my inbox that I'll probably never get around to answering, just because it would require a whole lot of thought and work and I'm fundamentally lazy lol. The gist of it though is a challenge to rewrite five scenes that I would change, creatively, rather than merely discussing them analytically. As a nod to that (sort of...), I was thinking about just one way we might change the end of Volume 6 with the above points in mind. Everyone who reads my RWBY posts know that I take issue both with rejecting Cordovin's offer and the group's hivemind, so why not fix both issues by giving Weiss some more agency? Cordovin agrees to send her to Atlas and Weiss agrees too... but Ruby doesn't. Throw in some tension based on their different experiences post-Fall of Beacon. Weiss has spent her time facing down her father and proving to herself that she's no longer under his control. She might not love the idea of heading into Atlas first, but to be frank she didn't want to go back to Atlas at all. If she's already agreed to handle that for the sake of the mission, she can handle this too. Ruby, however, has spent her time mourning the loss of Pyrrha, and Penny, and watching Qrow nearly die. So when the prospect of Weiss being separated from her is put on the table her PTSD rears up and goes, "ABSOLUTELY NOT SHE'LL DIE." So they will not separate, thank you very much. She's pulling rank on this one. Weiss, stop arguing.

So the plan is mostly formulated the same way, but this time there's a clear divide in the group regarding whether they should be doing this at all. Most agree that sending Weiss is the best option, period, but they're struggling to convince Ruby of that in a way that doesn't completely undermine her leadership and doesn't send her into spiraling with worry. The end result is Weiss making her own choices — just as she always has. She boards the airship with a hidden Maria (and maybe she's convinced Ruby to let her hold the Relic too because I hate the "It sporadically attracts grimm!" characteristic and want to remove that from the Leviathan fight entirely) and then Weiss calls them to basically say, I'm leaving. Yes, I'm really going to Atlas. I'm not going to attack those guards. I'm not going to steal the airship and turn it around. That was a stupid idea, you dolt, and though I think I have an inkling of why you're upset I'm still pissed that you don't trust me enough to do this. I can handle it. Maria and I will speak to Ironwood as soon as we land. Hang tight, Weiss out.

So they cross the border completely legally — perhaps with a cliffhanger-esque ending for them with the viewer wondering what actually awaits them in Atlas. Weiss-Maria solo adventure in Volume 7? — and Ruby is left floundering. The rest of the plan is useless now, no point in carrying it out, which means that Blake and Yang either come straight back to the group, or never had time to leave them in the first place (either way, they don't fuck with the CTV tower). Which means that when Adam gets impatient and finally goes after Blake, the whole group is aware of him as a threat. He's the final boss of this Volume.

But, of course, with so many heroes and only one villain, that fight isn't going to last long. Enter the grimm. There are a lot of hand-wavy ways that you could summon a whole lot of them for the group to fight. Maybe the combined emotions of Yang (lost limb) and Blake (abused + stab wound) manages to draw a lot more than would normally be the case. Maybe in a move worthy of Watts, Adam has done something in Argus to distract the group/scare civilians enough to draw a large number. Maybe RWBY has actually written in better consequences for world-altering events and the grimm have been a problem this entire time: a school was destroyed, a celebrity was murdered, communications are still down, and everyone is in such a state day-to-day that the grimm have just been waiting for something to tip the emotional scale. Adam does that.

So the group splits. Most have to head back to Argus to help with the grimm attack — which they are not the cause of this time! — which includes a giant Leviathan. Cordovin still gets to hop in her mech (because mechs are cool) and punch it in the face, requiring an uneasy alliance between the heroes and someone who they simply don't like. Ruby can still use her eyes, perhaps drawing on what she's emotionally grappling with regarding Weiss/all the death she's seen, though in this version the Relic isn't around for her to stall with and Maria isn't there to guide her (because in this version Maria is also an active mentor). Ruby really struggles and her eventually hitting the Leviathan, even just to do minor damage, is a big win. While most of the group deals with Argus and a few others deal with grimm near the primary fight, Blake and Yang face off against Adam. As the main antagonist now, we'll get a much longer, more emotionally focused battle. Let's introduce him to the rest of the group before his demise, maybe with some sisterly protection before Ruby is forced to focus on the grimm, what with having Silver Eyes and all. Let Yang and Blake both fumble a lot more than originally as they struggle to fight him while simultaneously battling their own PTSD. Reveal the brand earlier and let the characters respond to that. Set up the horror of it, the worldbuilding implications, and the expectation that they'll have to tell Weiss when they next see her. Crank up their power levels again (back to both Adam and Yang capable of cutting through mechs) so that we get something truly epic. Then kill him off and then reserve time for the girls to start coming to terms with that, rather than walking it off after a single hug.

Maybe the even kiss!

So the group has actually saved Argus this time. Volume 6's focus is on a villain we care about, not a cartoon paper-pusher. We've set up conflicts for Volume 7 like how Weiss will respond to the brand, how she'll reconcile with Ruby, what Ruby's leadership will look like moving forward (and her mental state), how Blake and Yang will deal with killing a man even if it was in self defense, etc. Obviously, this would change a lot moving forward. We'd start Volume 7 with the group still split. How would Ironwood respond to just Weiss coming in legally? How long does it take for them to meet up again? Are there any additional problems along the way? Does this change the trajectory of Volume 8? (I sure hope so.) But then, that's the point. If you're going to change one aspect of the canon, that should, by default, influence a great deal that comes later (and a bit of what came before). But the point of this very long-winded hypothetical is that we can always take the major beats in RWBY and rework them in a way that's not quite so frustrating. I'm not going to pretend that my revision is some fantastic bit of writing — I'm literally just spitballing based on my last 24 hour shower thoughts — but the takeaway is not, "This revision is better/worse" but rather, "Oh yeah, we can achieve many of the same basic ideas, including spectacle, without relying on stupid concepts like Ruby straight up lying as she screams that Cordovin never gave them a chance, so now she just has to do a bunch of dangerous shit for the sake of a Rule of Cool focus. There are avenues to these epic fights that don't require making the characters that unlikable, or throwing out what little consistency the show has."

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[i-mybrunettelady]

Nyra’s central theme, a storytelling ramble

So, I’ve been thinking. I’m about to get a bit technical here and go into my story/ character crafting thoughts but I think it could be interesting. Spoilers for EoD, right

I think I’ve been misinterpreting the gist of Nyra’s story all along. It took a discussion of themes in a discord server I’m in and here I am, thinking about my gw2 blorbos afterwards! A lot of my earlier thoughts stand true (Liv’s theme being strength in relentless kindness and kindness overall; Ren’s being secrets and privacy and interpersonal intimacy; Mirka’s being protection and motherhood and purpose; El’s being power and control, for example) but I was so off the mark for Nyra that it’s kinda funny? Some of you guys might’ve clocked in on it faster than I have if you’re a long time mutual lmao

Nyra’s central theme is, drum roll please, ambition. Power too, but whereas El’s power is tempered with control, hers is tempered with ambition (they’ve always been narrative foils in a way. They’re both Enneagram type 8, but he’s a type 8w7 and she’s a type 8w9.) Think about it - she’s been chasing her legend, so to speak, since she was in her late teens, and even before, she wanted to stand out. She’s always felt invisible under the big shadow of her grandfather and it was suffocating her; now, she casts an even bigger shadow of her own, one that, for all her attempts and awareness, she feels very protective of. Be great in your own right, she’s gonna support you on your journey, but try and take her place and she’s gonna get defensive. And the most succinct description of her as a character is tied to this as well, “some people cast long shadows and hers is one you’re safe in.”

This ambition is driven by her immense determination and willpower and the high standards she holds herself to are the stirring wheel. She started as a local, human hero, then killed an Elder Dragon, then a god, then a couple more Elder Dragons and is now a Champion of the only one of them left. She bent the laws of nature. She returned from the dead. Her ambition’s driven her higher and higher and higher, making her important, but at what personal cost?

She’s plagued by a whole host of special tier boss demons. She had to kill the man she loved. She died at the hands of a god she believed in. She has bid peace of mind goodbye even on a good day years ago. She thinks of herself as a murderer. She’s had to rebuild her self-esteem, both bodily and mentally, almost from the ground up. A fight against herself is the fight she can never fully win, only renegotiate before it starts again.

And was the fame and the glory and the legend worth all the pain and the trauma? Does she regret it? In a very Nyra turn of events, no. She does not. You ask the universe for something grand and not expect the price for it to be minuscule. She knew what she was doing and it’s a price she was ready to pay. even at a tender age.

My initial guess at her central theme was love, but now, having written a character whose initial theme really is love, it’s not what Nyra’s story is about. There is a whole lotta love, to be sure, but ambition takes center stage. You’re only gonna go as far as you let yourself and for the right price and the right type of person, sky really is the limit.

This was a sappy, sloppy analysis of my blorbo girl, who owns my heart and soul, so thank you guys for reading! I might just do a little analysis for each of my main beebs that I have this much detail on over time, but today is Nyra hours and I wanna gush about her. Also I don’t talk much about my artistic process and sometimes I want to <3

#gw2 #nero's random thoughts #alysannyra #well well well #a rambly pretentious analysis by me! #it's not pretentious is it #it's just very niche #wfr server made me realise i need to cast an examining curious eye on my well settled and developed over many years artistic process #i do these things on instinct most days #seeing people ask for advice and me not being able to give any is just... interesting #anyway here's a nyra i hope you guys enjoy this little word vomit (affectionate) #writing #storytelling ramble

[isolaradiale]

With enough energy gathered in the antivirus orb created by Caelum, it finally detonated to fulfill its intended purpose. A burst of blinding white light pierced the overwhelming darkness that had plagued the city for weeks on end, and the screams of the android fizzled out as quickly as the light exploded. At first the people felt as if it might be harmful to them, the force too great to bear.

Yet something came to their rescue. Any threat of being caught up in the blast was offset by barriers that were soon erected around every person and NPC, although the cause wasn't immediately apparent.

When the light cleared, the sky was left as it should have been. A night sky full of sparkling stars, the moon just as distant and unreachable as ever. The city had been restored, and the NPCs were given new life. Closure was not afforded the alternates though, for it seemingly also sent them home. "It seems it was a success. Unfortunately, as we predicted we were unable to salvage anything of note from the original before we destroyed her."

But that was when the visitors from other worlds would notice them. Tiny, what looked like toy versions of Ofiuco, no bigger than a phone floating around them, one per person. They were chibi and cute, and wholly expressive. "Ah, right. Allow me to introduce our newest Star's first invention. The Ofiucotots. The barrier that protected you was created by them, and well... We can't recall them, so I suppose you can keep them."

"And you're not going to introduce me, Caelum?" A curious voice from behind him spoke up. The same voice that had commented about his little Sp*r*t B*mb joke. It sounded familiar. He'd been on the precipice of doing so when she curtly cut him off, as if she didn't quite understand to wait for an opening. "I am Ophiuchus, although I suppose you knew me by a different name before. Ofiuco."

"I'm sure you're thinking "but you said we couldn't save her!" and that is still technically true, but Ophiuchus is a project we've been working on for a while now. We backed up some of her memory and personality data for the final stage a few months ago, and well... She's not exactly Ofiuco, either."

"My artificial intelligence was so advanced that they decided to implant it into a new body. I can't show you right now, because some final adjustments need to be made, but it's much more human. It is... strange. But with this body, I can assist with research and development going forward. The Ofiucotots are my first foray, but I will be designing a body like my old one to control wirelessly in the near future as well."

"I hope to use this new position to better your daily li-"

"Well, that's enough from her! You get the gist, right? Nothing was in vain, and we've also managed to salvage a new area out of it. I'm sure you're wondering about the alternate city and its inhabitants, but we've arranged a method of travel for you between that city and this one. Although they won't be able to come here. We're still making several tweaks to that system though, so expect it in the coming weeks!"

"...Are you trying to sound like a hero or a villain, Caelum?"

"Quiet!"

And the transmission ended.

━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━

This marks the end of Subsistence!

The city has been returned to normal, and the alternates have been returned to their city. Everyone's powers have returned to normal as well.

While Ofiuco was destroyed, her AI and personality data was backed up and remade into a new, human-like body. We'll be revealing her design next month as part of our four year anniversary celebration!

We'll also be adding the alternate city as a visitable location as part of this celebration, although we're still ironing out the details. We assure that you'll still be able to write your alternates while in that city though.

Your event reward is an OFIUCOTOT! A chibi version of Ofiuco that, when active, will follow your character around and can deploy a barrier once per day that will protect you from one attack. You only need participation for part 2 to claim this, and it will automatically be added to your character's inventory. It cannot be given to another character and is unique to the character that participated.

The Ofiucotots are no bigger than a cellphone and seem to have mischevious personalities. They have a habit of eating things out of your fridge and cutely pining for your attention. But they will also loyally defend their owner.

As a reminder: for this event to count towards ranking up, you require an eligible post in parts 1 and 2.

#isola event #isola event:subsistence

[the-commonplace-book]

a preview of the the ttte/miraculous crossover? 👀

So on this one I don't have any proper prose writing done. It's more of a long document of notes and brainstorming, but I can give you the gist of it!

The trains of Sodor and Paris are on for a rematch. Blaming technical issues for his defeat in The Great Race, Gordon is certain this time he'll win by a landslide. Henry, Phillip, James, and Thomas are also coming to Paris, but the big race is between Gordon and Etienne.

The Miraculous kids hear all about it in class thanks to Max going on about it at length, citing various related numerical statistics. Alya's going to see the race because her little sisters are going through a train phase and Nino's going with her. They invite Marinette and Adrien respectively in that subtle matchmaking way of theirs (this is pre-season 5 so Adrinette isn't dating yet)

The story just accepts that there are sentient trains. No explanation.

The conflict comes in because of Sir Lowham Hatt. He came partially to support his brother, but also to bet on the train race. He and the Parisian station master have a bit of a stand off that is less about trains and more about the English vs. the French. They strike a sizeable bet, but then Etienne wins (again) and Sir Lowham Hatt is a sore loser.

So sore a loser that he gets akumatized and becomes Sir Signalman (or Monsieur Répartiteur in French). Growing enormous and turning all of Paris into his toy train set. Turning anyone who's hit into life-sized wooden carved figurines like early stop motion Thomas and Friends

This interrupts a scene where (in classic seasons 1-4 Adrinette fashion) Marinette almost maybe is going to let on to Adrien how she feels, or at least interrupts a Moment™, as suddenly Alya's whipping out her phone to Ladyblog it, everyone's running for cover, and the trains are also in a panic. Adrien and Marinette respectively dash off to "hide" but really to transform.

Ladybug and Chat Noir have to team up with Thomas, Gordon, Sir Topham Hatt, and the others to stop Sir Signalman.

The lucky charm is a railway signal light. Gordon gets launched through the air at some point ( oh the INDIGNITY! )

In the end Sir Lowham Hatt learns not to be a sore loser and Gordon has to begrudgingly accept that Etienne won... again. But you know what they say about home turf game or whatever.

In the end Paris is saved again and while Sir Lowham Hatt caused confusion and delay, both the trains and our Parisian heroes were very useful engines

#the silliness of the shows just fit so well together #miraculous ladybug #thomas and friends #ttte #crossover #f; miraculous ladybug #f; the railway series

[trainsinanime]

💞

This is from the writer’s ask meme. Thanks for asking!

💞what’s the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

I answered this one already, but I feel like going into more detail. The general gist is that my writing is almost exclusively one-shots that explore one premise, central idea or silly joke. Miraculous Ladybug is great because its simplicity allows me to go as deep or not as I want to hear. For example, one can do great things with character analysis in this world, I've seen some amazing stories that dive really deep into our heroes or side characters. But if I want to be more silly, or just get them to kiss in record time, that's generally no problem either (almost regardless of ship). The world building likewise is simple and iconic, and I can paint a useful picture with just a few words, but there's also room to go deep into the lore or just invent new lore whenever I feel like. This freedom is a huge part of what makes it fun for me.

Personally, I think I still have a lot to learn when it comes to technical stuff like grammar and figurative language. I think (hope) I'm not making too many mistakes, but I definitely notice that when some sort of tension escalates, I run out of ways to describe that. And there are people who can do amazing things with language that would never occur to me. So that's something I'm trying to improve.

[skyward-floored]

Ooooh, Botw dark link au?

Okay there’s a post or two explaining this somewhere but I cannot for the life of me find either of them so I’ll explain it... again...

I had this thought a while ago, before courage of ages had plot actually so I sort of stole some of the plot from this for that XD but I think it’s still separate enough that it would be enjoyable. I also started thinking of this before botw2 was announced, so that’s why it’s an au. It was just going to be botw aftermath at first.

Anyways basic gist is that the Yiga are mad that Link stole back the thunderhelm, they’re rage-filled at how Link defeated their master, they’re livid at how he defeated their glorious master Ganon, so they wonder how on earth they can ever stop this kid if even Calamity Ganon himself couldn’t?!

Then someone has the brilliant idea, ‘who’s the only one powerful enough to defeat the hero? Himself!’

There’s old legends of the hero having to fight a dark copy of himself, so the yiga figure they can just steal some of Link’s blood and mix it with some old malice they’ve got and make their own, easy-peasy.

So they injure him and get some blood, book it back to the desert and it’s going great! It would have been perfect in fact, except that when they start their ritual thing to make a nice shadow it makes Link’s injury hurt rather drastically. And Zelda’s with him,and ends up checking on his wound, and her mostly-dormant goddess power sort of gets mixed up in their ritual thing.

So, instead of a blood-thirsty Link-killer, the yiga find themselves with a near identical copy of Link, who’s closer to how he was when he first came out of the shrine of resurrection then any sort of warrior.

They decide the whole experiment was a waste, dump the clone and leave him for dead and decide to regroup. Link of course ends up finding him, and him and Zelda maybe accidentally adopt him because even though he technically has all of Link’s fighting capabilities, he’s got no experience or anything and is rather innocent and sweet.

So yeah, that’s it :) there’s stuff with goddess power and malice making Cloney a little unstable too, but that’s plot I haven’t even remotely gotten to yet.

I’ll put a little bit of what I’ve got so far under the cut too

Link set down the soup on the bedside table, and with Zelda’s help helped adjust his copy into a sitting position. The teenager grunted a little when they lifted him up, and his face twisted in pain when Zelda accidentally nudged his wound, but he still stayed silent, still watching his two caretakers interestedly.

Zelda began to unwrap the bandages on his torso, and Link handed him the soup, which he seemed fascinated by.

“So what’s your name?” asked Zelda, and Link’s double stopped poking his soup and gave her a confused look.

“...na..me?”

His voice was weak and raspy, but sounded almost exactly the same as Link’s except for that. Zelda and her hero gave each other a look. It was the first word he’d spoken since Link had found him.

“Yes, a name,” Zelda continued, thrilled at the fact he was speaking to them now. He looked confused by the word, and mouthed it once or twice to himself.

“It’s what people call you,” Link explained, “like my name is Link, and hers is Zelda.”

“Oh, name.” said the double, understanding on his face as he sipped his soup.

“Yes, that’s right.” said Zelda. “So what’s yours? What do people call you?”

Link’s double took a sip of soup, swallowing a large mouthful before answering.

“Waste.”

#he ends up with the name Dusk in the end #and the only physical differences between him and Link are black hair and red eyes #wip #breath of the wild #long post #answers from the floor #telemna hyelle my beloved #save #I am NOT losing this explanation again

[kastillia]

anyway -

i have some more thoughts

spoilers for all routes btw (i’m not gonna be vague; you’ve been warned) - i still have to do another golden wildfire route to go down the other path but i think i have the gist of things

first things first though when i went back to my second azure gleam run, i was disappointed to find that recruiting byleth again cancelled out arval’s paralogue so i had to redo the map and kill jeralt instead. whoopsie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

which brings me to something i pointed out on twitter in my first run - mainly just me telling arval to look at the people in camp instead of yelling at me for being dumb all the time. while arval doesn’t know at the time that they technically are epimenides (or at least a part of him) they still refer to him as “someone close” once the ~dream battle~ is over. and if that’s a dream they have constantly...........how can you not recognize seteth and flayn pleASE only their hair colour is different arvel look with your eyes. i can excuse rhea purely bc she has a different portrait but they all look and sound the same arval please

alright so i played scarlet blaze next. since i have to do all routes twice to get everything (events, mythical weapons/heroes relics, supports and paralogues) unlocked in the records hall, i opted to fight byleth this run.

i realize this is super nitpicky of me but it’s very clear that tara (edelgard’s va) had multiple recording sessions bc there are some lines where the voice quality just tanks and i always found it so distracting. i doubt they could help it if they wanted the game released on time but it’s just a little pet peeve i suppose

i gotta be honest.... all the running back and forth, strategies failing for no reason, random characters being just generally unpleasant really made this route a lot less.........fun, i suppose is the word i’m looking for

can you believe i actually got lowkey upset at lysithea at camp when she told me to be careful of hubert bc she didn’t think he actually trusted me? only to go to the next map and immediately be accused -by him- of conspiring with the enemy and attempting to assassinate edelgard. maybe i’m being dramatic but i actually got legit sad when i found out they never trusted me in the first place

a couple of things about that cut scene though - 1) shez running to protect edelgard from an arrow. i get that the distance wasn’t really that far but like........did you forget about your shadowflash ability.... where you can literally turn into a spark of light and dash long distances...... 2) i’m sorry but hubert just putting up both his hands to shoot a tiny ball of dark magic at shamir killed me he looks so silly lmao 3) i still can’t really make sense of that face edelgard makes at the end... i think it’s implied that she’s looking at shez? but her sort-of-concerned face just turns angry before the cut scene fades??

as for the strategies that failed for no reason - and i don’t mean leonie refusing to join and choosing to die of poison, there was a reason for that even if i did think it was pretty dumb - on the map where you can recruit byleth, the sorcery engineers strategy just didn’t work for me?? i mean i wasn’t going to recruit byleth this run anyway but i like to see what i’m supposed to do first before engaging at the last second so i know for my next run. but after protecting all the sorcery engineers, literally nothing happened. it worked in my next run, but i kept making bookmark saves in case it messed up again and having to account for something in a game not working the way it’s supposed to makes things less fun imo

these people are honestly so tactless lmao like i know the former duke aegir is an ass but ferdie is LITERALLY RIGHT THERE. edelgard finds a hint of joy at count bergliez’s capture bc it reminds her that he’s human too like girl??? stop that. monica gets mad at me for not “having the decency to watch edelgard eat”??? stop that. was genuinely surprised that despite all the envy, monica seemed to trust you the most of the three (edelgard, hubert, monica)

ppppprobably should’ve mentioned this earlier but the empire forms a pact with the alliance. bc of how strategically they trapped the bergliez squadron i guess? idk. anyway. i know this doesn’t happen if you recruit byleth but claude betraying the empire before the battle at ailell made no strategic sense whatsoever. one of the dumbest things he could have done and honestly very out of character too?? everyone, including him, knows that the alliance fares the worst in terms of military strength in comparison to the other two regions. sure they have holst but i don’t even remember seeing him on that battlefield? he might’ve been but if he was, it didn’t stand out enough for me to remember, it would seem

i was correct in scarlet blaze being less forgiving when it came to having to fight and kill. i’m glad (but also......confused) that dimitri was spared - at least on screen - but we killed ingrid in part one. you can spare annie with the right strategy but i accidentally killed her on my first run; gustave still dies regardless. rodrigue always dies. sylvain always dies. claude dies if you don’t recruit byleth. but do you know who we don’t know who dies? rhea and thales. they just fall off a bridge and disappear. y’know. like byleth does in three houses, only to return five years later. clarity where

also that cut scene confuses me. in shez’s supports with sylvain, they say that their sword appears when they call for it but disappears as soon as they let go...right? meanwhile in this cut scene shez just throws their sword at thales’ foot(? i think? still unclear where they were aiming) and it just stays there??? consistency where

now golden wildfire...... i can’t say with absolute certainty but it at least seems like arval gets more lines this route? makes sense i guess since this route is a lot more centered on tactics and shez is none too smart so arval has to be their mouthpiece

i got really excited when i heard shahid refer to claude as khalid but was quickly disappointed to see it barely mentioned again. i think nader mentions it in passing at one point (while talking to himself) but then it’s literally never talked about again

keep in mind i’ve yet to recruit byleth in this route yet, but even as an enemy they seem a lot less composed and kinda dumb?? i’m not trying to make byleth out to be infallible or anything (even if i am in the “byleth did nothing wrong” camp) but it did feel a bit out of character to me. then again, a lot of claude’s actions during this route felt out of character to me as well

i intentionally went against arval’s suggestions a couple times bc i thought claude’s suggestions were far too aggressive for, again, the region least known for their military strength. not to mention all the internal conflict bc a lot of the lords don’t really like each other and are always disagreeing

so the solution is to turn the alliance into a federation instead and instill claude as the new king? and his safety net is that it’s shez’s idea??? bud, shez is canonically a dumbass you cannot be serious about this

we then make a pact with the empire, which i wasn’t at all surprised about. what stood out to me, however, was how in the beginning shez’s initial thoughts on edelgard is something along the lines of “she has this elegance about her but doesn’t seem to look down on mercenaries.” cut to this conversation where you’re brought in as claude’s last minute bodyguard and she doesn’t even breathe your way

so as his first order as king, in tandem with the empire, we are to help the imperial troops at aillel.

just kidding! sacrifice randolph in order to surround the knights of seiros and then kill literally everybody on the battlefield. like shez, i was also angered by this and was glad when judith showed up to scold him as well

but if that wasn’t enough to learn his lesson, letting judith die was. again, they made byleth out to be so dumb on this map and for what?

and that CUTSCENE *shez running (too slow) to get to judith* SHEZ JUST USE YOUR SHADOWFLASH ABILITY PLEASE but also what tf is claude doing just watching as byleth (sothis) decimates his troops with a hand on his chin like “hm this ain’t looking good” why are you still standing there just call for a retreat claude why are you doing this cLAUDE

the running back and forth during this route felt even worse than in scarlet blaze. the fact that we were on the brink of victory twice but had to retreat both times was infuriating. yes, i know there was a reason for both retreats but i’m tired and so are the rest of the troops. right? no? i know this is a video game but no one’s gonna bring up the very realistic issue of how all this back an forth could affect the troops morale and/or energy??

btw that “leaders of the federation” strategy on the last map was a lot less impressive having played scarlet blaze first sorry but it’ll never live up to the twin jewels of the empire (lovingly)

let’s talk about that last cutscene though bc i was so legitimately impressed by that move shez pulled off.......... until i thought about it some more. i mean i still think it’s cool but how did the sword APPEAR not in their hand???? isn’t it suppose to be intangible if you’re not holding onto it please i have so many questions bc things aren’t adding up where is my consistency

some little things

since all my files are piggybacked off my original azure gleam file, and i got the azure gleam credits after completing scarlet blaze, i thought “oh. i have to play them from scratch to unlock the credits.” but i got the golden wildfire credits earlier so.......this is really just an unfortunate glitch so i’ll have to play scarlet blaze again from scratch to unlock that event in the records hall

something i noticed about the byleth(sothis) cutscenes... when you recruit byleth and invite them on an expedition you learn that you’re the only person they’ve been afraid to face on the battlefield. byleth is only able to regain control of their body from sothis when shez appears in the scarlet blaze and golden wildfire routes (after killing randolph and judith) perhaps out of fear? but they’re seemingly able to come to on their own in the azure gleam cutscene after killing rodrigue? idk if this means anything in particular; just thought it was interesting (alternatively, dimileth and/or felileth enjoyers, eat up)

don’t get me wrong i love holst but having judith be unplayable yet again was very much a missed opportunity. and her potentially dying later in the route isn’t a valid excuse intsys since that’s exactly what you did to rodrigue

speaking of missed opportunities, not giving arval access to the fluegal/asura classes is so rude.... epimenides is clearly holding that sword in the opening cutscene. arval could handle it. i know they could.

also unlocked the gatekeeper’s paralogue and was having such a fun time all throughout lmfao. i remember talking to baltie about the mock battle on my very first AG run and i had no idea what they were talking about bc i didn’t see it but just having a recollection in the form of a paralogue of that time shez stumbled onto the mock battle and is just apologizing profusely while beating everyone up was hilarious

#kas plays few3h #few3h spoilers #fire emblem three hopes spoilers #long post #didn't include some of my more....heated takes #ain't looking for d/scourse just had a lot of thoughts #maybe 'word vomit' would be a more appropriate term

[turtlemagnum]

watching OG dragon ball a gain. forgot how much the opening slaps. good shit!

psst. how would you feel about getting two posts for the price of one? this one wasn't very substantive, consider it an appetizer.

the newest arc of fist of the north star has has had this dipped shit named souther who unironically calls himself "the holy emperor" or some fucking shit, i cant recall the precise wording of it but that's the general gist. his name is souther, like, as in southern but without the n. and like the thing with him is that he's not a bad villain, he just doesn't have the certain *it* factor that the best villains in this show have had. compare him to the first main villain, shin, shin was nothing special but he at least had a very interesting moment when he quashed the insurrection against him. it's probably not a good thing when your main villain's most interesting moment has nothing to do with the protagonist, but shin's voice actor could at least pull a killer evil laugh. boss fang, he wasn't anything special but he was absolutely built up enough in the story that it was particularly satisfying to see him get his shit wrecked. jagi and raoh? aside from ryuken and that shitass goon amiba, every character shown to know hokuto shinken is 11 degrees of pure badass that i always love to see them, and i'd say that up to that point in the series jagi's fight and death was probably the most satisfying (for a lot of reasons, actually). meanwhile, souther

from like, a purely ability standpoint? he's pretty cool, like on paper he should be a pretty badass character. i'm pretty sure that he's the only character in the bulk of the series to Actually, Straight Up Beat kenshiro. and that should make him cool, that should make him badass, but like. he just doesn't have that certain x factor, ya feel me? his evil laugh is mediocre, his design isn't bad per se but he's nothing special, he's like. a side character in a fighting game that's technically high tier but has literally nothing interesting about him. nothing bad, nothing offensive, but nothing i'll remember after the arc. the coolest parts of the arc have been things focusing about people other than the villain, e.g. ken, raoh, and shu being the fucking coolest. to me, a hero like ken is supposed to be the "straight-man" so to speak. he's the guy that the villains are supposed to bounce off of and look all the more interesting as a result. like i'm not saying ken can't be an interesting character, or that he shouldn't be. i'm just saying that the enemy should be that much more interesting, like jagi.

like, i will say that ken is never an outright boring protagonist. on a basic level, i find that there's something fundamentally appealing about steadfastly paragon, protector of the weak type characters. and we see him probably at his most interesting when fighting jagi!! and jagi, not only was he actually a plausible threat, but he had an actually cool design and a genuine air of intimidation. i think a lot of all this comes down to the voice talent, and i'll never say that any actors in the show are bad from an acting standpoint, but some are fucking exceptional (like ken, jagi, especially raoh. god i fucking love raoh.). i don't think it's a coincidence that all of the most standout characters, to me, had what felt like the best vocal performances.

#this is both a... #turtle watches OG dragon ball #and a #turtle watches hokuto no ken

[secondhandsorrows]

Storytelling with Music in Mind

Rant incoming! You've been warned.

Like how writers and storytellers often use movies and film to teach structure, character, relationships, foreshadowing, mystery, climaxes, keeping intrigue, and more, we can explore the same things through a musical lens. 

Music can be a big source and tool for not just the tedious writing process, but also for inspiration and story form. Because I’m also a musician, music is one of the biggest factors I use in my writing. Listening to music is a fantastic tool in visualizing your scenes or characters, so it is extremely useful in planning out pacing, tone and atmosphere, as well as observing your characters act out in different ways in different situations. It’s one of my top-favorite ways to envision my ideas or structure my stories (especially thematically). 

Another favorite exercise of mine is taking inspiration from music, namely Classical or Romantic-Era music, for the content or foundation of a story. One of my short stories I’ve finished is structured around the three movements of Debussy’s La Mer, basing my scenes around each movement’s title and general emotional idea. It’s a fun way to distinguish what makes you love a song and how you can incorporate those values into your own storytelling. 

Though music and books are both totally disparate forms of art, there are some ways the two may not be so different. 

There’s a lot of music and genres out there can be inspiring for many different authors: it can be anything. Some of my favorites are folk, rock, classical, neo-classical, video-game, soundtrack… now I’m just listing the top genres on my Spotify Wrapped, but you get the gist. One particular kind of music I’ve been recently obsessed with has its form already structured by story: symphonic poems. A symphonic poem (aka, tone poem) is a romantic-era style of orchestral music that expresses or illustrates an idea, story, content of a poem, or a landscape, which is typically alluded to in its title. The whole idea and term was essentially created by Franz Liszt, who composed a multitude of them (though descriptive and programmatic music had been around for quite a long time before.)

The structure of tone poems often suggests a natural sequence of events. Dvorak's A Hero's Song, op. 111 depicts a nameless protagonist undergoing what could be described as a Hero’s Journey (kind of like the story structure)— facing trials and tragedies before coming out triumphant. Glière’s The Sirens, op. 33 evokes a fantasy-feel with its depiction of blood-thirsty, beautiful sirens. These are just a few examples out of many, and I highly recommend having a listen, if you’re ever in need of expanding your musical playlists. 

Depending on the content of which they want to express, composers would often use different, specific approaches according to the subject matter and the story or emotions they wanted to convey, such as instrumentation, dynamics, rhythms, rests, gestures, timbre, texture, what have you. Recurring themes can be sprinkled throughout, including variations to portray change or different events. I won’t get much into this, as this isn’t a composition post, but I mention these because the process is rather similar to the story writing process. We convey what we want to convey using themes, tone, dialogue, plot devices, and, in the more technical sense, word choice, grammar, paragraph structure, etc., which all create a kind of musical rhythm when put together. 

We can look at all the ways we can interpret and utilize music — from its form and structure, to its inspirational and emotional facets — into our stories. How it can all gets us to feel.

Putting it simply, the idea of incorporating music with story is, in its best terms, to explore idea generation, story structure, and character arc, in a way that impacts the reader emotionally, subverts (or sometimes mindfully adheres) to expectations, and keeps intrigue and relatability. We relate not to just the concrete content of a piece, or a song, or a story, but also the abstract emotion it gives us. Furthermore, this kind of music exists not just in the idea or the story, but also as the words on the page: the musical-sounding phrasing, the sentences, structure, word choice, rhythmic flow…

Speaking of, I’ll leave this off with a fantastic quote from Gary Provost’s “100 Ways to Improve Your Writing” (which I haven’t read, but found this quote interesting and just had to share):

“Writing is not a visual art any more than composing music is a visual art. To write is to create music. The words you write make sounds, and when those sounds are in harmony, the writing will work. Read aloud what you write and listen to its music. Listen for dissonance. Listen for the beat. Listen for gaps where the music leaps from sound to sound instead of flowing as it should. Listen for sour notes. Is this word a little sharp, is that one a bit flat? … There are no good sounds or bad sounds [in writing], just as there are no good notes or bad notes in music. It is the way in which you combine them that can make the writing succeed or fail.” - (100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, by Gary Provost)

Thus concludes my little rant — I just love getting to talk about music whenever I get the chance to. Thanks for reading!

#writing tips #writing advice #creative writing #fiction #writing #story structure #character #on writing #story tips #music #music rant #storytelling #narrative #writing process #writer tips #romantic era #music history #romantic era music

[spectronstabilizer]

Okay, let's talk about something that's crucial but often stays behind the scenes – Ultra Isolation Transformers. These bad boys are the unsung heroes in the world of electrical power, especially when it comes to keeping sensitive electronic stuff safe and sound.

Understanding the Basics:

First off, let's get the gist of what regular isolation transformers do. They're like bodyguards for your gadgets, keeping the electrical energy from jumping straight from one place to another. This helps with things like getting rid of annoying ground loops, cutting down on noise, and protecting your gear from nasty power spikes.

Now, Imagine Transformers on Steroids:

Now, the Ultra Isolation Transformers take this game to a whole new level. They're the superheroes of isolation, providing crazy-high insulation between different parts to make sure nothing unwanted messes with your precious devices.

Keeping it Quiet:

One of their superpowers is noise reduction. They're like the noise-canceling headphones for electrical systems, making sure that the power they deliver is clean and steady. This is super important, especially in places where even the tiniest blip could mess things up, like in hospitals or high-tech labs.

Shielding Against Surges:

Ever had your electronics fry because of a power surge? Well, Ultra Isolation Transformers act as a fortress against those power hiccups. They keep the bad stuff away from your devices, giving them a longer and happier life.

Breaking Ground (Loops):

Ground loops are like those annoying interference noises you get when your audio cables are messed up. Ultra Isolation Transformers cut those loops, stopping unwanted currents from causing trouble and making sure everything stays on track.

Speaking the Language of CMRR:

They're also really good at this thing called CMRR (Common Mode Rejection Ratio – but don't worry about the technical jargon). Just know that it's a measure of how well they block out annoying background noise, and these transformers are champions at it.

If you are looking the Best Manufacturer of Isolation Transformer then contact Spectron Stablizers is a brand name in manufacturer in all type of Issolation Transformers. Send your query any time.

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, Vigilantes 86, Replies

1) “Been quite some time but I remember the gist of it: Pop in a coma, Koichi as a sniper and Soga being useless. Yep, that`s where we were, so, let`s jump in and see what`s going to happen next, on Chapter 86: Masked Fighting Tournament.

…

Huh… This title does not bode well for this chapter, does it?”- Well, It’s bad for the present arc’s pacing, but honestly, this and the final few storylines of Vigilantes stuck out more in my head than the in-between stuff we had from the beginning chapters up until Bee Pop, so I honestly think this is some of the more enjoyable stuff Vigilantes has, unclear timelines be dammed.

2) “Yeah, phelps is trying to tell those dudes to fuck off, but they refuse to leave.”- Pretty much the same as it’s been since chapter 1 then?

“Now you`re telling me that he donated for this hospital in case something like this happened? Or am I jumping the gun and that`s not what we`re doing?”- It’s possible it was part of his plan for Capturing Tamao and simultaneously giving her the medical aid she needed, donating to several hospitals in order to have a support network available to receive her immediately no matter where he confronted her within the city. That, or they’d also double as a fallback option for himself if he got badly hurt whilst out on the job.

3) “Oh, now you know exactly who`s to blame, right? If he had donated more money they could`ve built a secure checkpoint rather than relying on three criminals harassing everyone that shows up.”- Sadly, access to his amassed bank account details were one of the few things Knuckles didn’t succeed in passing along to Koichi via Soga as an intermediary.

4) “…

I don`t know why but something is not sitting well with me. Why do I have the feeling we`re about to know some info that will greatly annoy me? I already know for a fact it must be about Knuckles, but I shiver at thinking what else he is gonna bullshit us about.”- How about teasing us off this current plotline for an entire flashback arc about his investigation into the proto-trigger drugs? 5) “Although we haven`t seen much of him acting as a hero, not before AfO gave him a affectionate headpat, so this might be interesting… The manga about Vigilantes is gonna talk about heroes again.”- Technically, we see him acting as a hero here, but in such a manner that it’s clearly leading into his eventual bread-and-butter tactics and persona as a vigilante, effectively meaning that we get both hero and Vigilante in operation at once. 6) “…

Wait what

What- What?

Where just gonna jump into a flashback, just like that?”- All flashback, all chapter, all the way. 7) “Ohhhh…. Not vigilantes, I see, it`s a illegal fighting ring by the looks of it.”- Not quite a vigilante yet, anyway, but certainly already taking steps to becoming one… 8) “Illegal stuff, I like it, finally we`re going in the dark side of society, with no black or white morality attached to it, just a bunch of people wanting to have fun beating the everloving fuck out of each other.”- Knowing that, was  it really so surprising seeing Rappa’s entrance into the narrative? 9) “Also, where does Knuckles fit into this? Because the way we`re going this flashback might end before we even get to the fun part”- Honestly, Rappa’s entrance into the chapter already made it a highlight for me. Koichi could have really done with a punch-loving guy like him to sharpen his edge against in a fight once Knuckles went awol on him. 10) “Hold on, he needs a sip before he can scream and writhe in agony.”- He’s chugging beer to regain Health – he’s secretly a Yakuza character! “Ohhhh- I now know where Midoriya`s father went, I wasn`t expecting this tie-back to the main series.”- Not the only one you’ll be seeing in this ring…. 11) “ooooookay what even the fuck

What you mean by stream? Wasn`t this place supposed to be a secret illegal ring? Why are you announcing it online?”- Illegal, yes, but I get the impression it was A) small-time stuff they were expecting to fall under the radar for a while to rake in some profit, and B) utterly disposable to the actual organisers, who can take the funds and flee should any police efforts be made to shut the club down, allowing them to start up again under a new name in another location. 12) “ALSO HOW LONG IS THIS FLASHBACK GONNA BE? I THINK WE`RE ALMOST HALFWAY THROUGH THE CHAPTER ALREADY, IS IT GOING TO BE ALL OF IT?”- All of it and more, it’s a whole new arc, completely disconnected from Koichi’s current predicament!... mostly. 13) “So much for an underground secret club, this shit is a convention center open for rent what the hell

the heroes were really lax back then by the looks of it, what the fuck”- I do get the sense that there is a noticeable disconnect in police and hero efficiency between both the main series and vigilantes, but I’m also generally willing to give it the benefit of the doubt here and there, since I find the overall story an enjoyable read. 14) “Oh shit, we`re going back to trigger by the looks of it

so it has some involvement of AfO, even if not directly.”-Technically, if the timeline (even if slightly wonky) is correct, then this would be Knuckles’ first real encounter with the drug, and thus, the trigger-point for everything that happened connected to it since, leading up to the current building climatic confrontation between Knuckle’s protégée and his evil Knockoff. 15) “Ha.Ha.

The whole hero name was just a long-plan to make this fucking pun, wasn`t it?”- I honestly would not have put it past Furuhashi. 16) “Huh, is that a proto-design of your future vigilante costume? It seems like it, and the timeline spirals in on itself like we`re in the end of Uzumaki

Or was it at the beginning of it? Can`t tell for sure…”-The seeds of the Janitor are definitely in there, but he doesn’t quite yet have the fight-happy joy his future persona will…in fact, his current opponent seems to have more of Knuckles’ bloodlust than Knuckles himself doe, even if it’s beginning to show a little towards the end there. 17) “Another pro hero in a undercover mission of course, their backup is waiting on the other side of the parking lot, and both sides are unaware of each other.”- Definitely not a pro hero, though arguably the most good-natured of the Hassaki, which, given he’s facing what will eventually become Knuckles, seems oddly karmically balanced out. 18) “A hug? Maybe? We can talk this over if he is not cool with it.”- Rappa’s a simple guy, with a simple wish. Punching. Short, simple, easy to wrap your head around. 19) “WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE

IS THAT

IS THAT FUCKING RAPPA

THE FUCKING OVERHAUL UNDERLING WHO FOUGHT AGAINST FAT GUM AND KIRISHIMA

ALL THE WAY BACK LIKE CHAPTER 140 SOMETHING”- I find it funny/awesome that Rappa, an otherwise-unremarkable mook in the grand scheme of MHA’s story, proved to have enough enjoyable presence and personality out of all of the Hassaki to earn a cameo appearance in Vigilantes, over even Overhaul or the other higher-ranked members – and even got toleave a lasting impression on Knuckles, going by the chapter ending. 20) “IT IS HIM

IT IS FUCKING HIM

WHAT THE FUCK

WHAT

THE FUCK”- Hilariously, this means that rather than get rappa a custom-made mask like the other members had, he was already wearing one 24/7 that was close enough in appearance that they just sewed a bird beak on it and called it good.

21) “THEY ARE CHIT-CHATTING, I THINK THE CHAPTER IS GONNA END BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY FIGHT”- It’s the trash-talk necessary to hype up the crowd before the bell rings, but honestly, I think Rappa’s philosophical views here wound up having more of an impact on Knuckles than he was expecting. 22) “OH MY GOD THEY ARE REALLY CHATTING

YOU TWO GET ON WITH THIS BULLSHIT BEFORE THE CHAPTER ENDS”- A good fight is like a good meal, you can’t rush it, lots of preparation has to go into the dish before you start cooking. 23) “WE SAW ONLY TWO PANELS OF IT, IT BETTER FUCKING NOT BE OTHERWISE I`LL BE PISSED.

KNUCKLES, GET BACK THERE AND GET YOUR ASS BEATEN PROPERLY”- Oh don’t worry, Knuckles likes the taster he’s got of what Rappa’s cooking up…. 24) “OH YOU FUCKING- THE FLASHBACK IS GONNA LAST ANOTHER CHAPTER

DAMN YOU FURUHASHI

DAMN YOU

AND JUST WHEN WE GOT RAPPA BACK”- On the plus side, it means we get more Rappa next time! @thelreads

#bnha vigilantes #bnha #thelreads #chapter replies #my hero academia #vigilantes 86