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abitohoney · 4 months

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All I Want for Christmas Is You

Chapter 6 of 6 - Bells are Ringing

AO3 link

CH1 || CH2 || CH3 || CH4 || CH5 || CH6

Sevika x female reader

Rating: Explicit, MDNI, 18+, NSFW

Tags: Sevika/Reader, AU - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Lesbian Sex, Cunnilingus, Teasing, Humor, Vaginal Fingering, Orgasm Delay (nothing extreme), Begging, Strap-Ons, Face-Sitting, Corny & Cheesy Dialogue, kinda sappy, light bondage

Word Count: 7.4k

Fic Summary: It’s your first year spending the holidays with Sevika, and though the two of you couldn’t be any different in your level of holiday spirit or view of the traditions that come with it, your shared adoration (and sexual attraction) for each other is more than enough to get both of you through it together.

A collection of little holiday-inspired scenes, technically chronological, but really could be read in any order or as stand-alone oneshots. Includes a nice blend of sugar (fluff) and spice (smut).

Chapter Summary: Beyond excited at the prospect of marrying your one true love, you arrange a small wedding in record time. In less than a week's time, you’ve got your special day planned and set for New Year's Eve. (includes a nice blend of sugar and spice)

AN: Brand new chapter for this holiday season!!!

Beyond excited at the prospect of marrying your one true love, you arrange a small wedding in record time. In less than a week's time, you’ve got your special day planned and set for New Year's Eve. It helps that the only guests invited are Sevika’s- and by extension your- friends. Silco and all his crazy crew.

Turns out your impatience paid off for more than just you. You learn Sevika is actually quite a mess of nerves when it comes to these things. In those few days leading up to your big day, she’s either pacing your home muttering things to herself or smoking cigarillo after cigarillo at your tiny kitchen table and nervously tapping her foot nonstop.

When the day arrives though, it couldn’t be any closer to perfect. There’s a lovely dusting of snow covering the ground, trees, and buildings. The sun shines brightly above, making everything sparkle like something from a lovely snow globe. It’s chilly, but without a single breeze, it’s actually comfortable.

You sit in the small dressing room connected to the reception hall, donning just a white corset bra and short slip as Ran works on your hair and makeup. You’re rather surprised at how skilled they are, not only in application and technique, but also in selecting such a beautiful mix of silver and white accents. Ran even dons a lovely silver suit, and subtle streaks of sparkling silver in their choppy black hair.

Just as Ran finishes up your lipstick, you hear the door fly open.

“Here’s your dress lady!” Jinx hollers as she comes bounding over to the two of you, slinging your wedding dress around like a ragdoll.

She knows your name, but insists on calling you ‘lady’. Likely something to do with her dislike of Sevika and thus you by relation. You take no offense to it, honestly finding it rather entertaining. How your forty-year-old fiance managed to have beef with a teenager is something you’ve yet to learn, but it amuses you nonetheless.

“Thanks Jinx,” you reply with a smile, “You can just hang it up right there.” You nod towards a small rack behind a privacy screen.

She all but throws it onto the rack before clomping over to inspect Ran’s work. As she leans down, well into your personal bubble, you try not to laugh at her scrunched up face while she scrutinizes your makeup. She too is all dolled up with silver and white. Although it’s obvious she did her own work considering it looks as though she’d simply locked herself in a closet and set off one of her bombs, but full of silver and white glitter.

“Nice job Ran,” she finally exclaims before straightening back up with a dramatic swing of her blue braids. “She looks halfway decent.” Her bright eyes look down at your figure before meeting your eyes. “Lady, I really don’t know what you see in Sevika. You should marry Ran. Ran’s single.”

You nearly choke at that last comment, eyes growing wide.

Ran appears considerably less shocked, their dark lips curling into a crooked grin.

“Well, Jinx, I see a lot in Sevika–”

“Also I thought white dresses were only for virgins.”

Now Ran bursts into snorts and barely contained giggles.

You narrow your eyes at the mischievous blue-haired girl.

“What?” she exclaims, then dramatically rolls her eyes and head. “Everyone knows you two did the dirty deed in Silco’s pantry at the Christmas party.” She accents those words with a circle of thumb and pointer finger on one hand, sticking the pointer finger of the other hand repeatedly in and out of the circle.

Ran’s thoroughly enjoying themselves now, and you can’t decide whether you should laugh at Jinx’s crude and ridiculous gesture, or be embarrassed by the fact that more than just Silco knew what you and Sevika had done.

“Speaking of that lumbering oaf, I’m gonna go see how Silco is fairing with his attempt to make her less ugly,” Jinx states before promptly spinning on her heel and skipping towards the door to an adjacent room.

You turn back to Ran, who is just finally recovering from the hilarity of that scene. “I really don’t know what to make of that girl,” you admit, “She’s funny, but obviously blind. Sevika is literally the most attractive woman I’ve ever met.”

Ran shrugs before starting to pack up all their supplies.

You make your way to the floor-length mirror behind the privacy screen to admire your hair and makeup. Ran had really outdone themselves. All that was left was to slip into your wedding dress. A quick glance to the clock says you have less than twenty minutes before the ceremony starts. You wonder how Sevika is fairing. You hadn’t seen her since breakfast that morning, and she had been a disaster of fried nerves.

You hear the door to her dressing room fly open suddenly, followed by the cackling of Jinx as she prances back in.

“What’s so funny?” you ask suspiciously as you step back out from the screen.

“Sevika is freaking out!” she cackles.

Oh no.

Brows knitted in worry, you rush past Jinx and towards the door.

“Hey! Isn’t it bad luck for her to see you before the wedding?” Jinx calls out.

“I don’t care. She needs me. Besides, I’m not in my dress yet.”

The moment you step into the room, you realize just how bad it is. Sevika is sitting, or at least she’s in a chair, but bouncing her legs so erratically it looks like she’s got bugs. She’s facing Silco as he works on applying her makeup. Or at least trying to.

Before you can even say anything, Sevika’s wild eyes are on you and she’s leaping from her chair, ignoring the fact that the eyeliner Silco was in the process of applying has now left a black streak clear down the side of her cheek.

“Oh, that’s not a problem. I’ve just been trying to apply your makeup for the past hour,” Silco drawls with a dramatic throw of his hands.

“Babygirl!” Sevika exclaims, her stormy gray eyes taking in your state of undress, “Are you okay?”

She too is not fully dressed, donning only a pair of white boxer briefs and a white wife pleaser.

Silco turns in his seat to peer over his shoulder at you, rolling his good eye before capping the liner and tossing it into the pile of cosmetics.

Sevika steps around Silco to get a closer look at you. Her brows are knitted in worry and sweat beads along her hairline. She really was freaking out.

“I’m okay,” you assure her, taking her human hand into yours and rubbing it soothingly. “But it looks like you aren’t. What’s wrong?”

“I’m fi-” Sevika pauses, her eyes growing wide. “Where are the rings?!”

She spins around, searching the small room in a frenzy. You have honestly never seen your fiance so frazzled in all your time with her. She was usually so level-headed, or at worst furious, though never with you. She was quite literally a hot mess.

“Sevika, they should be in your jacket pocket. Remember, we put them in there this morning so you wouldn’t lose them.” You pick up her jacket from where it hangs over the back of a chair, pulling out the two boxes from the inside pocket. “See. They're right here. No need to worry.”

Sevika spins around and you can literally see the relief wash over her face. After you slip them back into the pocket and lay the jacket back down you take her hand again and pull her close. You smile up at her softly. Using the side of your thumb, you wipe away the bead of sweat at her temple. “Everything is going to be just fine,” you assure her. She doesn’t appear to believe that, her brows still tightly knitted in worry. So you take her human hand and sneak it under the back of your slip so she can feel the skin of your bare ass. The corner of her mouth twitches as she takes a handful and squeezes.

So close.

You wrap your arms around her neck and pull her down for a sweet kiss. Or at least you intended it to be. The moment she pulls your body flush to hers, she seems to relax. Her tongue prods at your lips, which you happily grant entrance. She swirls her tongue around yours, both of you moaning softly.

Silco intentionally clears his throat, but neither of you pay him any mind. You’re not about to stop kissing your fiance when you can literally feel her worries melting away, taken over by lust.

Her metal hand joins her flesh hand beneath your slip, grabbing a handful of your other asscheek and gently kneading it. She slots her knee between your legs and uses her grip on your ass to drag you up along her thigh. The long, deep moan you release echoes in the tiny room when she finally breaks the kiss to catch her breath.

The two of you stare into each other’s hooded eyes, aching, needy, and oblivious to everything else around you. Specifically Silco.

“I want to fuck you right here. Right now ,” Sevika husks, emphasizing that last word by dragging your aching cunt up along her thigh again.

“Sevika,” you whine, recalling you two have only a little time left before you need to be out and ready for the ceremony. But Janna, do you want her right now.

“No. Really, don’t mind me. I rather enjoy a free show,” Silco drawls sarcastically from his seat.

“Sevika, we have to get ready,” you say softly.

She stares down at you for a moment, lips parted as she contemplates. You know she’s fighting between admitting you’re right, the logic, and wanting to fuck you silly against the door, the instinct.

“If the two of you wish to be at your own wedding- on time- I suggest you save your escapades for tonight,” Silco drawls.

Sevika releases a long sigh.

He’s right.

You’re right.

She releases her hold on you and steps back.

Though she looks just as hot as she did moments ago, new beads of sweat glistening against her dark skin, she at least doesn’t appear to be the least bit worried. But, just to make sure, you grab the small flask of whiskey you had snuck into the other pocket of her jacket and pass it to her.

“Drink. I need you to relax and enjoy our big day.” Realizing her eyes are not on your face, you follow their stare to find she’s focused on your breasts, which are pushed up and out thanks to your ridiculously tight corset-style bra. You smirk up at her. “Why don’t you give each one a kiss for good luck.”

Silco groans loudly.

Sevika’s lips curl into a smirk and she bends down to not only give each breast a soft kiss, but also to make an attempt at sucking a bruise into the supple flesh.

“Sevika!” you chastise, “You can’t mark them. People are going to see it!”

“That’s the point,” Sevika mumbles against your skin before licking a long stripe from one breast to the other. As she straightens back up, she flashes you one of her lopsided grins, knowing damn well she was pushing your buttons and getting you worked up.

With a roll of your eyes, you stretch up to kiss her cheek. “Save the bad behavior for tonight,” you tell her before heading back to your dressing room.

Great.

Now you’re horny and hot as hell, and you’ve got to get into your dress and somehow manage to look and act normal as you walk down the aisle towards the woman who got you so hot and heavy in the first place.

Though you managed to finish getting ready with plenty of time to spare, you can’t help but worry about Sevika.

You stand beside Ran, arm linked with theirs, as you wait for your time to walk down the aisle. The aisle is a long, white length of silk that runs down the sidewalk that leads from the sliding glass door you stand before, clear up to a beautiful gazebo. The gazebo is dressed in lovely drapes of white and silver silks, flowers, and a sprinkling of lovely green sprigs. The snow is lightly falling, creating the perfect winter scene, just as you’d always imagined it. And the icing on the cake; you can see your gorgeous fiance standing under the gazebo, dressed in a beautiful white suit, perfectly tailored to her muscular and curvy build. Her silver tie sparkles just as brightly as the snow surrounding the area, as does the lovely white snowflake pin that holds her silky ebony strands back in its typical half-ponytail. She looks absolutely stunning.

Silco stands back and off to the side, dressed in a silver suit similar to Ran’s, acting as both best man and the one to give Sevika away. Even from this distance, you can see the small smirk on his face as he watches Sevika. It honestly warms your heart how damn cute this is.

You take a deep breath, and slowly release it through your nose. Nerves tingle and burn beneath your skin, but you wear the most enthusiastic smile. It’s a wild mixture of anxiety and excitement bubbling up with each passing second.

Ran taps you on your arm and you turn to find them giving you an encouraging grin. “Ready?”

You take one more breath, then nod.

Ran opens the glass door, arm still linked with yours, and guides you out as the music plays.

The guests, only a couple dozen or so, all turn from their seats in the chairs along the front of the gazebo to watch. It’s almost comical, seeing all of Silco’s crazy crew all dressed up in fancy suits and dresses, all full of bright smiles as you walk down the aisle. Some even look close to tears.

But your attention is quickly drawn to your waiting fiance whose eyes are locked on you. Sevika smiles that cute little crooked smile you love so much as she takes in the sight of you in your beautiful white dress and fluffy white shawl. The snow is feather soft as it falls on you and your guests. Though Sevika is sheltered beneath the gazebo, you can see specs of snow just starting to melt into her dark hair.

You’re all smiles and bright eyes as Ran walks you up the stairs leading to the podium where Sevika stands with the officiant. Seeing her up close, you can really see how downright stunning she is. Her white suit fits deliciously snug, accenting every line of muscle, every curve of chest, hip, and waist. The silver tie, snug to her neck, sparkles much like her silver eyes. But what really knocks you out is the way she’s smiling at you. Like you are literally the most beautiful and perfect thing in the world to her. Your heart swells knowing that’s exactly what’s going through her head.

You stand across from her, nodding to Ran as they step aside and towards the back as your maid of honor.

As the officiant addresses the guests, you almost tune him out entirely, too lost in grinning at your wife-to-be, who appears just as lost in you. Your warm breaths mingle, little white clouds swirling and mixing between you. Though the air is chilly, your entire body heats with excitement and adoration.

Sevika looks as if she’s finally lost all those anxious thoughts. You’re not sure if it’s the drink you handed her earlier, or if she’s just too distracted by you to care. Whatever the reason, you’re grateful that she finally looks comfortable. This moment is just as much for her as it is you.

Sevika repeats her vows as if on autopilot, her eyes on you the entire time even as she slips her hand into her pocket to retrieve your ring.

“With this ring, I thee wed.” Her voice is deep and low, as if she only intends for you to hear. As if you’re the only person there.

Your cheeks burn and ache with how hard you smile as she slips the ring on your finger. She must be feeling the same, her smirk so big and wide you can see that adorable little tooth gap of hers.

She hands you her ring from the same pocket and you can hardly contain your glee as you slip it onto her thick finger. “With this ring, I thee wed,” you say softly, voice shaking with excitement and emotion. You feel the familiar prick at the corners of your eyes, so close to bursting into happy tears.

Sevika’s eyes are glued to your lips and her fingers twitch at her sides. She knows what comes next.

“You may seal your union with a kiss.”

The officiant barely finishes his sentence before Sevika’s metal hand is gripping your waist and pulling you against her body. Her human hand slides along the side of your cheek, fingers behind your head guiding your lips to hers in a bruising kiss.

She kisses you like she’s been craving it for years. All tongue and teeth with no regard to the onlookers. Not that they seem to mind as they cheer, clap, and whistle.

You wrap your arms around her neck and attempt to match her fervor only for her to pull you impossibly closer. Her tongue swirls around your own. You’re almost dizzy and out of breath by the time she finally releases you.

She rests her forehead against yours, a dopey smile on her face as the two of you attempt to catch your breath. The condensation from your now much warmer breaths almost clouds your vision.

“Not even death will take you from me,” she whispers.

You beam up at her. You’re not sure how that could be true, but you believe every word she says.

The two of you walk hand in hand down the aisle together as the guests toss the freshly fallen snow at you. You giggle and shield your face against Sevika’s shoulder, clinging to her bicep and trusting her to guide you back to the reception hall.

By the time the two of you manage to get inside, you’re both covered in the white fluffy snow. You do your best to dust it off Sevika’s suit and hair as she does the same to you.

Sevika grabs you by your forearms and pulls you against her. You gasp at the unexpected move, nearly forgetting how to breathe when you meet her fiery gaze. She looks ravenous.

“I want to fuck you,” she husks, her lips a hairsbreadth from yours.

“I- I do too, but-” you start, words failing you when she teases her tongue along your bottom lip.

“But nothing,” she rasps, “Let me take you into that dressing room and fuck you for the first time as my wife.”

Your cheeks burn and your core aches at her words. As tempting as it is- as tempting as she is- you two will be expected out in the reception hall any minute.

“We- we just need to be patient. After the reception, we can start our honeymoon and do it as many times as you want.”

“How long is the reception,” she all but growls in frustration.

You giggle at her impatience. Though you don’t entirely blame her. You’re just as enthused to consummate your marriage.

“A few hours.”

“Fuck,” she curses, shaking her head while it still rests against yours. “Babygirl, I can’t wait that long.”

“You can,” you insist, “I know you can. Just be patient and it will all be worth it.” You pull back from her. She reluctantly releases you from her grasp, her nostrils flaring in sexual frustration. “Just think how much more fun it will be when you can finally release all that pent-up energy.” You reach up on your toes to kiss the tip of her nose before whispering in her ear. “I’ll let you have me however you wish.”

You pull back to examine her face. That soft, sexy smirk is back. Seems you’ve placated her. At least for now.

“Now come on, wife , let’s go entertain our guests,” you say as you link your arm with hers.

The reception goes on without a single problem. With an open bar, you were pretty sure Silco’s crew would be more than content, no matter the circumstances. Most of them mingle amongst each other near the bar after dinner, but several do make it to the dance floor where you and your wife spend a good part of the night.

The first song is specifically for you and Sevika. It’s slow and sweet. Sevika surprises you, remaining well-behaved despite how close she holds your body to hers. Her arms are wrapped tightly around your waist, yours around her neck as the two of you sway back and forth to the slow tempo.

You both wear soft, adoring smiles, gazes locked and turning out everyone else around you. Sevika tilts her head before dipping down to press a chaste kiss to your lips. Your skin warms and tingles at the sweet gesture. Then she brings her mouth to your ear. You expect her to whisper something dirty, but you’re left pleasantly surprised.

“I love you.”

Those three simple words nearly take you out at the knees. When she pulls back to peer down at you, you’re certain you’re going to cry. How did you ever get so lucky to snag such a beast of a woman whose heart she only shares with you? No one else gets to experience this side of her. At least not up close and personal like this.

“I love you too,” you choke out, so damn close to breaking into tears. You rest your head on her strong shoulder, face buried against her neck for the remainder of the song, not trusting yourself to keep it together if you remain looking at her.

Several drinks in and Sevika definitely starts losing that control, quickly shifting from sweet, lovey-dovey to that fiery passion you knew all too well. Not that you’re complaining. Even your inhibitions start to slip away the more you drink and dance.

By the time the DJ calls for you and Sevika to the middle of the dance floor for Sevika to remove your garter, Sevika has lost all restraint.

Sitting on the chair facing your guests, you know you’re in for it with how Sevika eyes you like fresh meat. It’s no surprise when she puts her whole upper body beneath the skirt of your dress. Not at all necessary for the task at hand, but you know she’s got other things on her mind than just retrieving that tiny bit of lace wrapped around your thigh.

You take your bottom lip between your teeth, biting back the sounds that threaten to escape as you feel her lips press against the inside of your calf. Your cheeks burn under the scrutiny of so many people. And it only worsens when you feel the press of Sevika’s warm, wet tongue slowly gliding up the inside of your thigh. The one without the garter.

Sensing her final destination, you bring your hand to cover your mouth and hope the audience thinks it’s just to stifle giggles. She reaches your thin lace panties and pauses. Unknowingly, you hold your breath, legs damn near trembling in anticipation. It’s a good thing you have your hand over your mouth. There’s no holding back the wanton mewl she pulls from you as she slides that devilish tongue clear up the center of your slit, moaning as she tastes your arousal through the thin fabric.

You close your thighs around her head, realizing all too late that you’d just sealed your own fate. She takes advantage of her locked position, her mouth pressing against your barely clothed cunt. Another swipe of that thick muscle has your mind reeling and your core clenching.

Just when you think she’s going to do it again, she takes mercy on you and pries your thighs open. She moves to the opposite thigh, her teeth catching on the edge of the lace lining the garter and smoothly pulls it down your leg and off over your heel. She stands, garter still between her teeth, cheshire smile on her smug face. She grins at your flushed face for a moment before turning to the audience to show off her successful retrieval.

Everyone cheers, hoots, and hollers, spurring on that ego of hers. If you weren’t so damn flustered, you would give her a good piece of your mind. Unfortunately, you aren’t even sure you can manage to stand on your wobbly legs.

The remainder of the night doesn’t get any less risque. After several more drinks and dirty, slow-grinding songs, Sevika removes her jacket, rolls up her shirt sleeves, and loosens her tie. She stands behind you, hands on your hips as she grinds against your backside to the beat.

Her mouth moves up along the side of your neck, sucking, licking and nipping at the stretch of delicate skin. You tilt your head to the opposite side, granting her more access as you moan softly, uncaring if any of your guests on the dance floor can hear.

Her lips pause at your ear. “How much longer are we gonna do this, babygirl?” she husks.

You hum and smile as you push your ass further back into her, rubbing it in a motion you know she can really feel.

She growls and nips at your ear. “If we don’t go soon I’ll just drag you to the bathroom and fuck you there.”

You slide your hands down the side of your body until they meet hers where they grip your hips. “Aren’t you the one who always speaks of patience?” You tease. “We’ll be done soon. Couple more songs.” You glance around the room, there’s only a few stragglers over at the bar and a couple on the dance floor. “Almost everyone has left.”

“Well then maybe I’ll fuck you right here then,” she purrs, sliding her flesh hand down to cup your cunt through the layers of your skirt.

“Sevika!” you chastise, but it’s lost to her in the way you moan her name and grind against her hand.

She chuckles, warm breath wafting over your neck and shoulders, and good god you are very tempted to take her up on either of those offers.

You two barely make it to your private little cabin she booked for your honeymoon before she attempts to rip your dress off. You stumble in as she kicks the door shut behind her, her hands ripping at the zipper of your dress. The dress falls into a pool on the floor, quickly forgotten. You’re left in just your corset bra and slip skirt.

“Wait!” you exclaim as she attempts to rip those off as well. “I bought something special for the occasion!”

“So What. I’m just gonna rip off whatever you put on,” she husks and pulls you back towards her by your waist.

“Fine, but at least let me put it on so you can see it once!” you insist. You squirm in her grasp, too tipsy to manage your movements. Not that you would have ever stood a chance against her strength anyway. “It will be real quick. I promise.” When you dodge her mouth reaching for your neck, she finally caves.

“Fine. But make it quick,” she huffs.

You scramble over to your suitcase, nearly toppling over when you bend down to pull the bag out that hides your lingerie. Sevika snorts from her spot leaning against the wall behind you and you shoot her a nasty glare. “You’re a bit drunk too,” you remind her, “You hit your head not only getting into the limo, but also getting out.”

She rolls her eyes before her hungry gaze follows you as you saunter- or more like wobble- towards the bathroom.

You’re grateful for selecting a fairly simple set of lingerie. In your current state there’s no way you would manage anything complicated. After slipping out of your bra and slip with minimal tipping over, you quickly pull on your white, lacy babydoll. You take a quick glance in the mirror, pleased to find the cut of the babydoll perfect. It accents every curve delightfully and reveals just enough skin to tease.

“Thought you said this would be quick!” Sevika grunts from just outside the door.

When you sneak back out the door, you don’t bother hiding the grin painting your face. You know she’s going to like your little outfit, even if she does rip it off you. “Patience, Sev,” you purr.

She pushes herself off the wall and turns to you. You swear you can see her pupils widen the moment her gaze travels up your scantily clad form. That lovely crooked grin of hers appears and you can’t help but giggle at her obvious approval.

“You like it?” you ask sweetly.

She steps closer, that sexy smirk curling higher. “I do.” She slides a finger across the fabric hugging your breasts. “In fact-” She lets that finger glide down the thin fabric between your cleavage and licks her lips. “-I think we’ll keep it on tonight.”

You giggle. “Doubt that.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge?”

You reach up to grab her tie with a playful smile. “I bet you can’t last more than three minutes before you’re ripping this outfit to shreds.” You start to pull her towards you as you slowly back your way to the bed.

Her lips curl into a crooked grin. “Oh you wanna make a bet, babygirl?” Her hands find your hips, eyes locked on yours as you continue to pull her.

You nod.

“I win, you’re mine to do with as I please for the entire night.” Her voice is low and dangerous. As if what she’d do with you would truly be devastating. But you both know, no matter who wins, you’re both going to enjoy it.

“Well if I win, which we both know I will, you’re mine to do with as I please for the entire night,” you counter.

“Deal.”

You take a quick glance at the clock beside the bed. 11:41. She’s got to last until 11:45. Highly unlikely. Your attention returns to her and don’t bother trying to hide your confident smile.

The backs of your knees bump into the mattress and you tug on her tie, pulling her lips to yours. Both of you moan into each other’s mouths, tongues swirling and fighting for dominance. Of course Sevika wins, every part of her overpowers you. Not that you mind.

You continue to pull her along as you sit on the bed and scoot backward. She follows without breaking the kiss, her knees moving along the bed on either side of your thighs. It’s not until your head collapses against the pillows that you finally release her and break the kiss. Lips parted and wet, you both attempt to catch your breath.

Sevika hovers over you, her hands on either side of your shoulders and knees on either side of your hips, eyes half-lidded and burning with lust.

After a moment she finally rises on her knees. She loosens her tie and pulls it over her head. Her grin is lecherous. That should have been your warning, but rather than toss the tie aside as you expect, she scoops your wrists up and wraps the tie around them before securing the other end to the headboard.

Your gasp of surprise is met by a sinister little chuckle. One that has that familiar ache between your thighs pulsing.

She quickly removes her white blouse and tosses it aside before shimmying out of her pants, leaving her in just her white wife pleaser and boxer briefs.

Her mouth crashes into yours again. This time her kiss is wild. Sloppy. But she doesn’t linger there long before she’s making her way down the side of your jaw to your neck. She moves her knees, pressing them between yours and forcing you to spread them open.

You wrap your legs around her waist, moaning as she finds your pulse point and sucks hard. Then she’s moving even lower until her mouth finds your breasts. You desperately want to thread your fingers into her hair as she sucks matching love bruises into the plump flesh of each breast, releasing a frustrated huff and pulling against your restraints. You can feel her lips curl into a devious smile, clearly amused by your distress.

“You’re an ass,” you whisper breathlessly.

“You love it,” she mumbles before licking a long stripe between your cleavage.

As much as you’d like to argue that fact, not only is she right, but your head empties the moment she rocks her hips, dragging herself between your legs.

“Sevika,” you whine, eyes fluttering shut as pleasure rolls through your body.

She chuckles and rocks her hips again.

You can already feel the desire pooling low in your belly. The two of you have been craving each other the entire day. It’s not going to take much to get either of you off. Especially not when she keeps acting so fucking cocky.

One of her hands grope at your breast while the other remains on the mattress. She continues to grind into you, pulling moan after moan from your parted lips. Her fingers slip beneath the cup of your lingerie and attempt to pull it down.

She growls in frustration, the fit of your lingerie apparently a little too good. The rhythm of her hips falters as she diverts her attention to her attempt at removing the offending material. You peer down at her through hooded eyes, a small smile on your face as you witness her struggles.

She mutters something under her breath, most likely a curse, and you barely contain your laughter. It’s only a matter of time before her frustration boils over and she rips your clothes off, just as you said she would.

She glances up at your bound arms, realizing she can’t pull the lingerie off over your head and it’s her own damn fault.

This time you snicker and she flashes you a nasty look. She sits up on her knees, and even though you know what’s coming next, you still release a startled squeal when she reaches down with her clawed metal fingers and tears right through the flimsy lace. She doesn’t stop there either, making short work of your underwear as well.

Now she’s the one chuckling. Not that it matters to you. A quick glance to the clock, 11:43, and you’ve confirmed your victory.

“You lost!” You exclaim, but you’re not prepared to find that smug smile still painting your wife’s face.

“Did I, though?” She taunts, her eyes darting up to your bound hands, then back to your surprised face.

Realization sinks in, but before you can protest, her mouth descends to your breast, teeth clamping down on the hardened peak.

Your sharp gasp dissolves into a soft moan as she soothes the marks she left with a swirl of her tongue. Your eyelids fall closed again. Her lips remain curled in a devious grin while she continues to suck and tease the sensitive nub.

She moves to pay the same attention to your other nipple, alternating between biting, licking, and sucking. All the while you strain against the tie holding your wrists, desperately wanting to touch her. To guide her head lower where your body aches for her the most.

“Sevika, please,” you whine, arching your back when she bites down particularly hard.

“Please what?” she asks.

Your eyes slowly flutter open to find her smirking face now hovering over yours.

“Please touch me.” You know those words won’t be enough for her. They never are. She’s a sadist who loves to make you tell her exactly what you want, just so she can see you flustered. Though you'd be lying if you said that didn’t make your core burn just as much as it did your cheeks.

“I’ve been touching you, sweetheart.” she teases.

“Lower…” your whine trails off into a wanton moan when she intentionally pushes a knee between the apex of your thighs.

“Where?”

“Sevika!”

“Use your words. Tell me where you want me to touch you.” She’s taunting you, but Janna it’s so damn sexy, especially with that husky voice of hers.

You squirm beneath her, trying desperately to rub yourself against her knee, but she quickly pulls it away with a chastising “Tsk”. You’re so damn turned on and needy you can’t help the pathetic sob that rips from your throat.

Finally, you cave.

“Touch my pussy! Please, Sevika!” you beg, cheeks burning.

“That’s my good girl,” she purrs and you keen. She brings her lips to yours in a passionate kiss, stealing your breath away. She slides her calloused fingers slowly down your stomach until two fingers rest just outside your wet folds, her middle finger hovering just above.

She swallows your whimper.

You swallow her evil little chuckle.

She finally takes pity on you and slides her middle finger through your slit. Her tongue swirls around yours, mimicking the motion of her fingertip circling your clit.

You writhe beneath her. The sensations are too teasingly slow and soft. You need more. You need her inside you. When she hears you whimper against her lips, she finally breaks the kiss to peer down at you.

“Sevika,” you gasp, “Stop teasing!”

“Hmm,” she hums, “You want my fingers inside that pretty little cunt?” That damn cocky smirk still paints her face and it makes the knot low in your belly pull tighter.

You nod your head frantically.

“You sure it’s ready?”

Another nod.

“I don’t know, babygirl. I don’t want to hurt you if you’re not ready.” She runs the tip of her finger through your entrance again, collecting your juices before returning to tease the bundle of nerves above.

Even in the haze of your arousal, you’re aware that she knows damn well you are more than ready. You can feel the wetness leaking down the insides of your thighs. And you know she feels it too. She’s toying with you. Trying to get you even more riled up than you already are.

“I’m ready!” You try to give her a stern look, but it falls short when she slides two fingers through your folds.

She hums again, “You are pretty wet.”

You say nothing, just stare up at her with pleading eyes. Janna, she’s so fucking sexy you’re certain the moment she finally does give you what you need you’re going to lose it almost instantly.

Just when you think she’s finally caving, she drags that blissful torture on even longer, deliberately sinking her middle finger ever so slowly inside you. Simultaneous groans fill the room. For as many times as she’s used those fingers, you’ll never get used to how sinfully thick they are. How you can feel each knuckle and each callous drag along your walls. Likewise, she never gets enough of how deliciously tight and wet you are.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” she groans, her warm breath wafting over your lips as she lowers her head. “Such a tight, wet pussy.”

A wave of pleasant warmth rushes over your lower half, followed by an ache that makes you crave more.

“And it’s all mine, isn’t it?” she husks.

Words fail you as she slides the last remaining length of her finger inside you and trails the tip of her tongue across your bottom lip. Your eyes flutter shut.

“Is this pussy mine?” she asks as she begins slowly sliding her finger in and out.

You swallow thickly and try to answer, but you’re too drunk on pleasure.

“Answer me or I stop,” she growls before nipping at your bottom lip.

You yelp, more startled than hurt.

“I- I-” you struggle to form words while she relentlessly distracts and teases you, running her tongue along the little indents she left on your lip. “Yes, it’s yours. All yours.”

“That’s right,” she husks, her lips grazing yours before she seals them with another quick kiss.

She starts fucking you with a slow, steady pace, rocking her hips with the motion as if she was strapping you. You rock your hips along with her, teeth catching your bottom lip in an attempt to hold back your moans. But she’s not having that.

She slips another finger inside, increasing her pace until you’re unable to keep your mouth in check. Moan after moan spills from your parted lips as she fucks you in earnest. Your hips rock with hers in time with her fingers thrusting. The bed shakes, headboard rattling against the wall. Neither of you notice, too high on the sounds and sensations the other is providing.

You can feel your orgasm rapidly approaching, the knot in your belly burning and drawn tight. The rocking of your hips falters until you finally give up and let her take complete control.

She gladly takes over, speeding up even more, curling her fingers so with every withdrawal she’s hitting that sweet spot that makes you see stars.

“That feels so good,” you mewl.

“Yea? You like that?” she huffs, her breaths just as ragged as yours.

“Janna, yes!” You fight against your restraints, desperate to touch your wife.

“You’re close aren’t you?” she grunts against the side of your neck.

“Yes!”

Those fingers are thrusting inside your sopping wet cunt so hard now the room is filling with debauched squelching sounds.

Your body tenses, every muscle pulled taut. You’re so close.

“Cum for me,” she growls before sinking her teeth into your neck.

All the sexual tension that had been building that day finally releases in a tidal wave of pleasure. Blinding light flashes behind your closed eyes. A string of nonsensical words spill from your mouth. Your walls clench and spasm around her fingers, pushing your release out in a gush that drenches her hand.

“Fuck, sweetheart. That’s it. Let it all out. Such a good girl for me,” Sevika groans into your ear, her fingers pumping into you while you ride out that blissful high.

When your body starts to twitch beneath her, overstimulation setting in at the end of your high, she slows her pace before finally pulling out completely.

You’re startled from your post-orgasmic bliss when you suddenly hear fireworks somewhere in the distance. You turn to glance out the large glass door to see the bright colors lighting up the night sky, then you see the time. 12:00. New Years.

Unbelievable.

You turn back to your wife with a smile as large as you can manage in your fucked out state.

Resting on her forearms and knees, Sevika peers down at you adoringly, her lips pulled into a satisfied grin. Both of you pant, equally out of breath.

All you can manage to think at that moment is how damn lucky you are to have such a wonderful wife. Not just because she’s indescribably good in bed, but also because she’s so fucking sweet. She rented this cute little private cabin for the two of you to spend your honeymoon. Prepacked said cabin with goodies and firewood for the fireplace. She even perfectly time your special moment with the fucking fireworks!

She reaches above you to remove the tie from the headboard and your wrists, and you immediately pull her down for a sweet kiss.

When you release her, she pulls back just far enough to touch the tip of her nose to yours.

You suppose you can forgive her for reneging on your bet. Kinda hard to complain when she fucked you so good AND timed it with the New Year.

“Happy New Year, wife,” you whisper.

She smiles down at you lovingly. “Happy New Year, my perfect wife.”

#arcane #sevika #arcane sevika #sevika x reader #arcane sevika x reader #fanfic #honey writes #BONUS CHAPTER FOR THIS HOLIDAY SEASON! 😁#Plans got all jacked up so posting earlier than I originally intended

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justanothertiredstudent · 1 year

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Spoilers for Catching fire of the Hunger games series, if u havent watched it dont read.

Rewatching the 2nd hunger games film, Catching Fire for the first time in a years here r my thoughts chronologically, & I've got a lot to say about this one:

- They actually show Katniss's PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares.

- Gale being a "nice guy", christ hes a an sh*tty

- watching them back to back, they recast the cat!!!

- Snow is a fabulous villain.

- CINNA 🥰

- Caeser Flickerman's banger theme tune!

- The camera's interview is so awkward

- Effie deserved Katniss snapping at her on the train

- Peeta acknowledging that he cant hold her to wot they did to survive in the games! Peeta's already way above Gale. Peeta king 👑 of communication.

- just asking each other their favourite colour is adorable

- The Mockingjay!

- Peeta offering to talk to make it easier for Katniss

- Peeta giving Thresh & Rue's families some of their winnings. Katniss's speech about Rue is beautiful, I'm sobbing

- I love district 11, f*ck the peace keepers!! That poor old man! Haymitch: Who's going to protect them!?

- Haymitch knows better than anyone that you never escape the games.

- Jennifer Lawrence is fabulous

- Haymitch cares about them so much, we love him.

- Katniss barely holding it together on the victory tour. She looked so horrified at the little girl saying she would volunteer just like Katniss did.

- Caeser Flickerman has no right to be so iconic.

- Peeta is amazing! I love him and Katniss

- Does Effie have to say Mahogany in every film?

- Peetas disgust at the Capitol compared to what people in the districts are going through.

- I love the politics of catching fire

- Seneca decided to stop breathing - Plutarch

- F*CK GALE!!!! SHE DOESNT HAVE TO LOVE U ROMANTICALLY FOR BOTH OF U TO SAVE UR FAMILIES!!!!! Gale's right about rebelling, but he isnt even trying to understand her trauma.

- I love the anti corporal punishment, pro riots/rebellion, f*ck the police message of catching fire

- Peeta without question helping to save Gale cos he's not selfish

- Prim being a great nurse!

- I don't think Katniss has ever had any romantic feeling for Gale, he's just her best friend at most, a lot of the time he's barely that, she would've thrown herself in front of that whip if it was anyone she remotely cared about.

- The trauma of all the victors. Haymitcch is right they're not winners, they're survivors. Nobody ever wins.

- Effie actually kinda realizing the games arent the honour shes been indoctrinated to think they are.

- Katniss didnt ghetto say goodbye to Prim 😭

- Finnick & Maggs!!! We love them.

- Finnick Odair 🥰

- The Capitol is even more perfect in this one

- Johanna Mason is iconic and fabulous

- Wiress & Beetie r great

- Maggs is the sweetest

- Transition from Seneca Cranes hanging body to Caeser Flickerman's banging theme song!

- The Victor's interviews are very persuasive & interesting, they each show a lot about the characters

- Slay Johnnana!!! Make him pay for it

- The costumes in this one is a step up from the first.

- the fact she knows that Cinna is in danger for the Mockingjay dress

- Peter "We actually got married" Mellark, Peter "If it werent for the baby" Mellark

- All the Victor's holding hands in a show of unity

- CINNA 😭 (Jennifer Lawrence was amazing in this scene)

- The arena is beautiful

- finnick: oh Sh*t Katniss might actually love Peeta.

- THE FOG ,, MAGGS!! 😭😭

- Tick Tock The arenas a clock

- PEETA! JOHNANNA!

- bye bye district 12

I love this film, for me, it's my favourite in the series.

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shepscapades · 5 months

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Have you ever thought about making a playlist for the DBHAU characters? I'd be interested in what music they all would listen to or songs that relate to them.

WAOUGH thank you for reminding me-- there's actually. okay. okay so, there's actually... (checks writing on hand) 9 DBHC playlists currently LFKGJDLKFG

The way i like to organize playlists is, as i develop a character's lore/think about them more, i tend to put/look for songs that represent moments/feelings throughout their overall story in chronological order, rather than putting things on the playlist that are like, things the character would listen to or just general vibes. So each playlist is built to kinda... take you through their whole emotional journey :3 LFKJGSDFG although!! Usually, i will try to find a song i think is a good overall representation of the vibes, story, and character! Like, a title track :>

I think the only playlist that's currently closest to it's "finished" form or version is Etho's, which i've actually been meaning to share for ages LKFKLFJG but i keep getting this feeling that I would rather write up a quick explanation for what each song represents before I post it here, so i haven't gotten around to that yet :(

Though, there's a link to the Etho playlist in my stream discord LOL so a few people have access to it haha

Just for those who are curious, the dbhc playlists I currently have are:

Etho (Finished! Or like. i would have to find a PERFECT song to fit something new into the song lineup i think)

Tango (This one's pretty close overall... there are some gaps here and there but it's pretty long right now so i need to do some trimming too)

Jimmy (a short collection of vibes i haven't really organized yet)

Ranchers (I dont know if I'll do anything fancy with this playlist yet, it's kind of where i've been dumping songs that i cant quite fit on either jimmy or tangos playlists)

Xisuma (this one just kinda happened, but it's pretty fleshed out right now, especially for s8... not anywhere near finished but i've been listening to it nonstop lately. this man is destroying me rn)

Doc (also just kinda happened. i listen to this one a lot for the bops and vibes because most of the songs on this are kinda. ahem. yknow. he's kinda.)

Bdubs (this one is also kinda short! its got like 8 or 9 songs so i haven't really been focusing on it a lot-- it's kinda where i dump songs that are either hyper-specific for something from bdubs' pov or doesn't quite fit anyone else for dbhc)

Mumbo (this one is really short (5 songs) but i really like the songs on there so far hehehe, i haven't been focusing on it too much since i haven't been thinking about him too much lately but i love the vibes :])

[REDACTED]

#dbhc ask #dbhc #ask #anon #dbhc music #NEW TAG!!!#i'm gonna go back and add that tag to the spotify wrapped stuff that's for dbhc #but yeah!! i wouold love to share the music because it portrays story beats that i cant really explain or portray any better--#but i dont really want to post songs without being able to explain what they mean first yknow? hopefully that makes sense

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zoe-oneesama · 1 year

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Congrats on finishing the penultimate final episode of SL’s Season 5!!! And now for the season finale: What do you think of Audrey, her akuma, and Style Queen’s plot once you rewatch the episode?

The episode is...fine? On it's own? Like, I kinda just like it.

Well, as a character intro, it's pretty perfect. You know everything about Audrey in so little time:

Style Queen Magazine Fashion Critic

Harshest Fashion Critic in the World

Fires People at the Drop of the Hat, even the ones who don't work for her

Chloe mimics all her mannerisms and phrases -> Chloe sees Audrey as a role model to emulate -> Audrey is adult Chloe

Audrey sees no value in remaining in Paris despite her whole ass family living there -> Audrey doesn't give a single fuck about her family

Reinforced by her getting her husband and own daughter's names incorrect several times (she calls her CASSEROLE at one point!) though at least she has the good grace to look embarrassed for a second when she does and at least she corrects herself with the correct name.

She sure does get Gabriel's name right though, suggesting she holds him in better (or at least higher) regard than her own family. Maybe this is where Chloe got her Bourgeois Family Rule No. 148: You Need a Guy Best Friend to "Wrap Around Your Finger". This also suggests that her career ties are more important to her than her family ties.

Also it's interesting that she remembers Marinette's name when it comes up again...

In the two minutes they have Audrey talking in the opening, you know everything about her, and all signs point to her being a total asshole. And we all thought it was just Andre spoiling Chloe rotten that made her that way...

So I guess I'll just go chronologically for the set up to the akuma:

Liked: Marinette's imposter syndrome was depicted very well and is in line with her character. This was a pretty good use of Marinette's anxiety for the sake of exposition - her being tightly wound and going over her hat again and again so many times it makes her late, late enough to catch Audrey arriving so she can panic over that, and her getting to hear Audrey's interview with Nadja and panicking over that. All this set up helps the audience realize there's actually a stake here, since theoretically Audrey's opinion could make or break Marinette's dreams of being a designer.

Liked: Chloe trying to insult Marinette but ends up just doing a speed-run intro, pointing her out as a designer to Audrey and even showing off the detailing of her stitched signature. Maybe if Chloe hadn't gone out of her way to point these things out, Audrey wouldn't have taken an interest in Marinette in the first place, lol. Though obviously you'd only know that if you also watch "Queen Wasp".

Liked: This teeny tiny hint that Adrien isn't that into modeling, or at least not into modeling his dad's clothes, since he bemoans that he feels awkward. I liked that Adrien saw right through Marinette's imposter syndrome moment and actually cheered her up, and I like that Marinette complimenting his strut got him out of his funk in return without her even realizing it.

Liked: Oh c'mon we all liked it when Nathalie put Audrey in her place. It would be the dead pan snarky one that reminds Audrey that she doesn't work for her. The fact that Nathalie even smiles at Marinette when she presents the now vacant seat just sealed in that, on top of it being deliberate for Gabriel's plan, Nathalie enjoyed it. And so did I, Nathalie.

God, please don't look directly at me.

I'll stop going chronologically here. The akuma is pretty good, though just like Audrey herself, better at a distance (her faaaaace, what is happening?!) and idk the back of her head is crazy. I think they were going for a Statue of Liberty Crown shape with her hair, but the back is just...cut off and flat.

At least now I know where she kept the rose...?

As far as the fight goes, it's just Ladybug getting her ass beat even AFTER figuring out a way to slow Style Queen down with just her Lucky Charm, so I guess this IS Hawkmoth's "masterpiece". Though that does make her being so easily beaten in "Optygami" kinda weak. I guess all Ladybug really needed was help.

And obviously we were all robbed of Bee!Alya.

And obviously Plagg was MVP.

Chloe was also pretty good in this episode (in the way I think she's good, as a complete brat). She would bluff her way into signing up to be her mom's assistant, and while it was momentarily sweet of her to be worried about Adrien, you can still tell she's her asshole self when she starts down the stairs with her mom and talking about how AWESOME THEIR TEAM-UP WAS.

I know she was just leading up to suggesting she go to New York to be with her mother, but going on about how GREAT it was to "fire incompetents" together kinda puts into question just how much you were bluffing there, Chlo.

And of course Audrey calls the idea of Chloe going to New York with her ridiculous, but follows it up with "first I need to get back to Gabriel's fashion show", so there's a few ways to interpret that.

Is the idea of taking Chloe with her at all ridiculous?

Or Is it ridiculous to take Chloe to New York right now because the Fashion Show is still on? As in, that's not the order of things, or it's ridiculous because Audrey's not even going back to New York right away?

If it were any other character, I'd say she obviously meant the idea of Chloe going with her at all, but it's Audrey. Petty, career focused, only looking two steps ahead Audrey.

Then again, I'm probably just trying to make this more difficult and deeper than it is. It's probably just the former, she rejected Chloe flat out, especially when we know what's coming in "Queen Wasp". Idk who I'm defending here, it's a lost cause.

I guess what I'm getting at is that Audrey is fascinating as a character study in all these little ways that I'm not fully sure the show intended. Like her looking guilty when she screws up Chloe's name, even as an akuma. Or instead of listing the reasons why Chloe going to New York is ridiculous by tearing Chloe down, she instead is pointing out that they have somewhere else to be first. Where she comes across as not so much trying to be intentionally malicious but instead thoughtlessly cruel.

Don't get it twisted, though, she's still an asshole.

#style queen #my opinion #it's not too salty I don't think

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rachelfoleyisntdead · 7 months

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Thoughts on MK1

I'm going to try to go in chronological order, and I might miss something and make another post about it later but let's gooooo (obviously spoilers below).

I think the first half of the story is really good. Yes, it relies very heavily on tropes, but they serve the story well and work.

I love that Outworld is a matriarchal society and that Sindel is the ruling Empress, not the Emperor's consort. Not a huge fan that everything is also based on nepotism/everyone inheriting their position from their family. Apparently meritocracy does not exist in Outworld and I get the vibe that this is in fact by Liu Kang's design.

I don't like what a hypocrite Liu Kang is. He says everyone is 'free to choose peace' but literally all of the characters have had their lives manipulated in an attempt to force this 'peace'. But we're supposed to condemn anyone who doesn't like that. Yeah, honestly--Shang Tsung and Bi-Han are valid, I'll say it.

Which brings us to Bi-Han. Oh, Bi-Han. I really want to give him a cough drop, his throat must be so sore from gargling gravel all day (I say this lovingly). I actually don't hate Bi-Han's heel turn, I just think it needed more build up. It could've worked really well if we had spent more time with Bi-Han first. I'm probably going to make a longer post about this.

I do like the new Syzoth a lot… but he's a bit much. He's really on the edge of being a Wattpad OC with how tragic and pretty he is, his whole 'saddest boy in the world' thing. Immediately offering to just die made me cringe. But, you know, hopefully he'll have fun in Earthrealm with Ashrah and Kung Lao and chill out a bit.

Baraka's whole story slaps. It's easily the best part. It is tragic, but not overdone, it's over all really great. No complaints about that at all, I just wish there was more. But maybe we'll get a Baraka expansion where they do more about the Tarkat.

Ashrah is… not as good as she could be. I love her design, love her fighting style, love her story in general and LOVE that she's here. But uh… are we not gonna talk about how she thinks killing other demons to purify herself is fine? This feels like a bug when it should be a feature. I really want them to explore this, there's so much potential here. This will also be a longer post at some point.

Shang Tsung is that bitch. Love him. 11/10 SLAY FACTOR off the charts. NRS gave the people what they want. So glad he's our villain and not Kronika. God, that smirk. What a guy.

Megan's delivery is bad, but I don't think it's entirely her fault. People should've told her. And they shouldn't have given her a character that was so serious. She works very well with a sort of dry humor, they should've played to her strengths instead of… just letting that situation happen. Cut her some slack.

Why are Liu Kang/Kitana and Hanzo/Harumi being pushed as the 'tragic lovers separated in every timeline' when that's Bi-Han and Sareena??? Like. yeah. I'm biased. But Harumi was not even a character, and Liu Kang and Kitana were not tragically separated, they were together all the time??? They ruled the Netherrealm together??? I don't get it.

I really like how story mode acts as an origin story for some of the characters and you 'unlock' their powers. I also LOVE how they used it to tease new cosmetics.

Love it when they said the thing. "mortal kombat", "deadly alliance", "armageddon" yes yes yes.

Also loved when Johnny made call backs to the OG timelines, ie "the flesh pits". Johnny really is perfect for that.

Johnny and Kung Lao are perfect.

Kuai Liang and Tomas are such daddy's boys and I hate it for them. This will probably be expanded on in the Bi-Han post but shut. the fuck. up. about. your. dad. I hope Kuai Liang never becomes grand master. I'm so sorry Kuai Liang fans, but this version of him is NOT it.

Smoke using his power to levitate up the wall was unintentionally hilarious. Especially since he didn't use it to break his fall. Bro???

Everyone in the game kinda easy to lie to/convince, but this might be a feature. Liu Kang sorta 'raised' everyone to be guileless and kneecapped the development of anyone who might be manipulative. I'll let it pass but honestly, I don't think Liu Kang needed to provide 'proof' of anything.

The entire royal family needs to apologize to Li Mei right fucking now, I am so serious. They continually did her dirty when she was nothing but loyal, and questioned her even when she was saying shit Kitana already knew (that the thing with Earthrealm was a misunderstanding). Apology, or Li Mei enters her villain era. Fuck y'all.

Basically, Li Mei, Shang Tsung, Bi-Han and Baraka get to do whatever they want as far as I'm concerned. Everyone else, I'm keeping an eye on. Oh wait, no. Kung Lao can have rights too, bc he's hilarious. Yall stop sleeping on him.

Anyway, that's my takes, I'm sure I'll have more thoughts. Overall, story mode was actually great, and I think there's a lot they can build on for DLC or even course correct, so I'm excited to see where that goes. If yall want to know my thoughts on a specific plot point or character, feel free to hit up my asks, love to make long posts about this stuff.

#mk1 #mk1 spoilers #bi han #li mei #shang tsung #kung lao #baraka #yeah i'm only tagging the ones that I said have rights

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super-secret-clown-corner · 7 months

Text

catching up on the kabsmp videos rn and i'm having normal person thoughts as usual anyway did you guys ask for a crazy ass idea on where i think the storyline is gonna go because i have a crazy ass idea on where i think the storyline is gonna go (this is gonna get long sorry in advance)

In Which I Lose My Mind Over Some Guy's Minecraft Persona In A Goofy Ahh Lore SMP

cover image for sillies

So. Hear me out. Clown is still the overarching villain of the series. Whatever's happening with Kyle and the void is still """""important"""""" n stuff, but (totally not because i'm biased or anything (i totally am)) that's all a red herring covering up the real threat. The idea I have rn is that Clown is biding his time and finishing up whatever research he had on the void, then when Kyle is defeated, he's gonna swoop in, take the void for himself, and become basically unstoppable which'll lead into season 3 or smth.

Bits Of Info That Makes The Pepe Silvia Meme Cover Relevant

Time to be insane and dump every single bit of potential evidence on why I think Clown's a bigger threat than the others think he is, starting at the very beginning (i'll try to keep this as chronological as possible but i'm busting my brain trying to piece everything together i watched this so out of order at first).

First, obviously, is the whole him killing Pyro bit and betraying him to get to Rae, then killing everyone in the commune. hoWEVER bro just casually tore open a portal to the nether and back and none of the other people in the group can do that. It's kinda hinting that Muu knows how to make portals but other than that the original s1 group has been stuck there since the start (which maybe suggests Muu isn't from this dimension also but that's another thing to unpackage).

a side note here: lincu came from an end portal that clown made for maddy and they NEVER BRING THAT UP AGAIN????????? WHAT

In the Pyro POV that came after that, it was heavily suggested that Clown was originally a conqueror or insanely destructive pillager (not the actual mob) (like come on, "bow before the scythe emblem" or whatever the words are? just write your name in the book you're practically screaming it at this point). Then, when Branzy showed up in that cameo episode, he didn't shut up about how Clown destroyed entire villages and killed a fuck ton of people (i will scream more about this point in a second 😁).

In the Season 2 opener animatic, he dropped his manipulative buddy buddy act the moment the void appeared, stabbed Kaboodle, and fucked off. He was also shown going full aggro on Magic, trying to get information about the void from her. A little while later, he's shown reading books on the void and finds something "perfect" for whatever he's planning (brain explosion).

Looping back to the Branzy cameo, it was revealed that he, Branzy, and Ashswag worked together in a laboratory somewhere in a different dimension researching and experimenting with portals. Ashswag said that Clown pushed him into one they made, which resulted in him glitched out and broken (WHICH OPENS UP ANOTHER CAN OF WORMS ARE THEY SUGGESTING THAT THIS IS ALL ACTUALLY JUST A SIMULATION/GAME LIKE HOW MINECRAFT ACTUALLY IS???????????? holy shit if i think about this for too long i'm gonna have another huge scream fest again).

and THEN in the most recent one as of today (aka A New Issue) it's revealed that Pyro had his suspicions that Clown is otherworldly and unnatural. Bro casually soloed a 100-Piglin invasion. I already had the thought of "oh yeah this guy's definitely not from any of the three dimensions" but the only contradictory thing that popped up for that was he and Pyro used to live together for a bit with the Waste Walkers. HOWEVER with this new information that Clown was just this anomaly that popped up periodically in their group, he's practically screaming that he's not from any of the three dimensions.

BASICALLY. I'M VERY NORMAL RIGHT NOW.

i love overcomplicating silly lore as a pastime

#hello lifesteal fans on my blog go watch kabsmp also 👍‼️#the guy in the cover image (besides tiny clown) is my silly jester oc goober #(i've been posting him a lot on my mainblog)#(i'd advertise but i want to keep them Separate As Hell)#he can be this blog's mascot as a treat #kaboodlesmp spoilers #kaboodle smp spoilers #kaboodlesmp theory #i hope these tags exist and have been used before scream cries #the jester speaks #the jester's writing #long post #yeah you know what? maybe i WILL character maintag to spread kabsmp propaganda #clownpierce #mwahaha

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bytedykes · 9 months

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What is ORV actually about? I assumed that it was like... A modern psychological thriller with a bit of queerbait, but now I'm seeing your posts and reblogs tagged ORV that are all kinda surreal and fantasy type stuff, I feel like I saw the word isekai a couple times? So what is ORV actually?

ok i have been sitting on this ask for a few days bc i. have no idea where to even begin trying to explain what orv is about

here's a post by tumblr user ot3 that does a better job of explaining orv than i ever could. below the cut is MY attempt at an orv summary

"what is orv actually about?" this is a wonderful question. i don't know. i did nothing but read this novel for 2 weeks straight and i could not for the life of me tell you what orv is "about"

the thing about this book is that if you're reading it, it makes perfect sense. the events are linear. there is a bunch of mindfucky bullshit BUT it all happens in a relatively straightforward way. i understand orv perfectly. but at gunpoint, could i put the events in chronological order? no. pull the trigger

ok. orv is about a salaryman named kim dokja who has the most uninteresting boring life in the world. this is a lie. he does nothing but go to his job he's about to get fired from, eat convenience store kimbap, and read webnovels. he reads a specific webnovel (twsa) that has been updating daily for 13 years straight. he has been reading it since he was 15 through his entire adult life

twsa is about the apocalypse, starring protagonist yoo joonghyuk. the day kim dokja reads the last chapter and eagerly awaits the epilogue to be published the apocalypse happens. exactly like in the webnovel. now armed with a .txt file of twsa and his autism superpowers he navigates the apocalypse trying to reach his ideal ending

orv, for lack of better term, does not take itself very seriously at times. frequently, even. at least half of the major plot points are comprised of complete bullshit. every few chapters i had to put the book down and go "no fucking WAY is this actually happening" but it was! it was happening every time! its hysterical!

orv is also extremely meta. every time you think "ok it cannot possibly get more meta, this is it, this is the peak" ur wrong. u are wrong every single time until the very end of the epilogue. it can ALWAYS get more meta. orv is 100% the most meta thing i have read in my life

on top of all this, pretty much anything you can think of has happened in orv. "orv is a book about everything" while an exaggeration, this is true. it really fucking is. it has everything in it. you know that poem by shel silverstein, "everything on it"? that's what reading orv is like

it tackles many serious topics (such as: loneliness, the desperate desire to connect with other people combined with the inability to allow yourself to be loved, finding the things that push you to keep surviving) and many topics that are. not that (such as: "what if a dumpling had a face how would that work", "what if gay people were insane and not even friends", "what if a guy was so autistic his brain started eating people", "what if a monkey was actually 4 monkeys" and more such things. wouldnt that be fucked up)

orv definitely. yeah. surreal and fantasy type stuff is a very appropriate descriptor. a modern psychological thriller is... also appropriate i suppose. "a bit of queerbait" is NOT appropriate because orv is built on queerbait but not in the sense of it being baiting. in the sense of it being canon but unsaid. like its not canon. but it is. its canon and it is constant. there is an archangel that ships said queerbait she is a proud yaoi supporter. this is a real thing i am not making up

on top of that insane queerbait. there is insane polycule bait as well. like i need you to understand that while its not "canon" in the traditional sense of the word it IS real and it IS on screen and it IS as explicit as it could actually be without it actually being, you know, explicit. it literally makes me feel insane

ISEKAI. RIGHT. im not really familiar with isekai as a genre so take this paragraph with a grain of salt but orv is more of a reverse isekai? the fantasy world comes TO the "real" world. however there are in fact multiple isekais-within-the-isekai later on. multiple types of them even

anyway orv is also heavily based on the theme of stories and like. god i hope you've read ot3's post because im sure they explained it better. its a very theme-heavy piece of media where the rules of the world aren't based on logic but based on how they can further the themes. its very intricately constructed and like

it will blow your mind. god. i dont even know what im saying anymore. its good is my point it is so fucking good. orv changed me. it is a very hopeful piece of media and i am sure that rereading it will devastate me even harder than it did the first time

TLDR: orv is an insane long book about literally everything and at least half of those things are complete bullshit but are incredibly integral to the plot. somehow. it is very worth reading and will change ur life forever

#orv #asks #uhdudhudshu i just used this as an opportunity to infodump im sorry. again ot3's post definitely explains orv WAY way better than i did

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muninnhuginn · 7 months

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Season Two Link Click Thoughts

I've put this below a cut because it gets long, but these are just my assorted thoughts on s2 in general. It's going to be waaaay more opinions than my usual speculationy kinda deal and contains spoilers for all of season two.

I hit character limit on my bullet points so I think that's my cue to leave it at that even though I have more thoughts honestly. I didn't even know that was a thing.

Pacing. I think pretty much everyone can agree that the pacing was... dubious. This series could have easily been shorter or had different meaningful content rather than repeated footage reuse for flashing back and overly extended fight scenes (episode 7? I think it was, was particularly egregious about this). I get there's presumably a fanbase for fight scenes and I won't contest that they were really nicely choreographed, but sometimes it felt like you'd take a break from actual events to spend ten minutes on a fight scene that didn't really... further anything else? I do enjoy recontextualisation and I recognise that that does require reusing some aspects of footage rather than entirely reanimating scenes when there's no need to, but at the same time, this is a series that is lowkey set up for binging. Flashing back so frequently when it's a series specifically engineered to make you binge it (hi constant cliffhangers) seems an odd recipe. I almost wonder how much of this was for production reasons, though maybe I'm overreaching here.

Linked to this is the overuse of cliffhangers. Season 1 had some cliffhangers, yeah, but it at least had breaks between arcs and more importantly, didn't repeatedly move the chronology of scenes purely to service an artificial cliffhanger.

Art and animation was mostly very nice. There were two episodes that did suffer art-wise (episodes three and eleven) with various off-model faces, but for the most part it was all pretty solid and I don't have any complaints about the animation. My favourite part of the art is still the almost rainbow outlines you get around objects. It made scenes like the Lu Guang speedboat one look gorgeous with the lights and colour on the water.

Mystery. Okay, so for all my qualms I genuinely think the mystery aspects were almost perfect. There were a couple of places I feel they somewhat 'cheated' but otherwise (the twin with the photo in the hospital doorway looking like tianxi in a close up shot. and then cxs/wj acting possessed in ep 6 but having their eyes appear normal at first and only having them changed the next episode. I'm fine with false negatives on the eyes when the audience isn't yet cued in on a possession, but in this case it looked like they were possessed up until the eyes showed otherwise)? Everything made total sense and tied together by the end. Even going into episode 12 we had a couple of gaps in scenes in Chen Bin and Liu Lan's death that I think it would be incredibly easy to overlook considering we "knew" what happened in them, but the hints were there in both cases that there was more to it and those hints paid off. Even Liu Xiao's identity worked just fine without the hat guy visual. All the hints were there about a younger favoured brother of the Liu family, Li Tianchen's new friend being a rich "Master Liu", him being abroad studying but stated as "soon to return" (which he then did). There are so many threads and they all tied together by the end such that even if I didn't always agree with the delivery, I do think this season is worthy of being called an excellent mystery.

Characters. So, okay, we introduced a whole host of new characters this time which was a choice. This sorta worked sorta didn't. The arcs of Qian Jin and the twins all tied together thematically and episode 9 was pretty explicit drawing the parallels together. However, we had characters like Qiao Ling not getting much new material at all despite a hopeful start with her scene about "wanting to be trusted".

Unfortunate implications (my head automatically goes to TV Tropes with this :V). Mainly surrounding the use of female characters as devices to propel the male characters. LTX is the most obvious instance (I shouldn't have to explain why), but Wang Juan was also treated as though she would be important and then largely shunted off to apply more pressure to XL; Liu Min's mum taking the hysterical role. On their own they may not be too bad, but I guess it's that it's combined with the stuff around Emma from s1 where the big 'twist' in the finale is killing her once there's a hope spot, and also added to how the mother in the Doudou episode is the one who's reverted to a younger age, whilst the dad is exhausted. Just a whole load of stuff that individually on their own don't necessarily mean anything but when put together forms a pattern I'm not super comfortable with? I do get the impression that show is well-meaning in terms of this stuff (QJ and LF especially point that way) but feel like it still fell down in a few places and could have done better with these aspects.

Lu Guang going back to save CXS confirmed. Admittedly I am incredibly biased to this type of plot, but I'm so glad they confirmed it. We haven't been given many specifics around when he went back from/to and I imagine we'll get more next season so I'm holding off judgement on all that for now (the paradox implications have me a bit worried but until we know more about the mechanics I can't judge). That said, I really liked the scene where it was comfirmed (the darkened shot of Lu Guang covered in blood my beloved) and am thinking that Qiao Ling having knowledge of Lu Guang's memories will mean she has to play a bigger role next season. There's no point in giving her that knowledge if it won't go somewhere. Relatedly, it seems like dying does pass on the powers and that's how we got LTX->QL and CXS->LG. It doesn't seem like Qiao Ling fully realises though if she has got Tianxi's powers (and it's been two months), but I suppose it's not exactly something you *would* realise if you didn't know what you were looking for or had previous experience with these powers.

I do genuinely think that this season was a case where the new characters were written around the existing ideas of the story and the themes which means they're interesting to analyse but I didn't feel like moments hit anywhere near as emotionally as season one? I think the parts where season two was able to approach season one's level of emotion were mainly around the twin's backstories. Meanwhile Qian Jin and Xiao Li's whole deal is interesting in theory but in practice I didn't have much reason to care for Xiao Li. Suffering to make the audience empathise only really "works" if there's more beyond that.

Lu Guang-Li Tianchen parallels make me sad. There are plenty of similarities in how they treat CXS and LTX respectively but I keep thinking of how their final choice in s2 is to either commit to preserving the past (Lu Guang with CXS) or to let go of the past (Li Tianchen with LTX and his mum). And how typically, clinging to the past is seen as a bad thing and letting it go a good thing. But in this case it's almost the opposite? I'm not saying it's healthy for Lu Guang to deny Cheng Xiaoshi's death, but I do think the story will eventually align behind him on this choice. And I think that Li Tianchen leaving the past behind in this case is more about trying to forget his trauma and in the process just digging himself deeper, deliberately choosing to forget the very person he fought to protect.

General s3 spec (keeping it brief). Li Tianchen confirmed that he obtained Liu Min's phone for Liu Xiao and it has info on it Liu Xiao needs but we still don't know what's on it beyond Qian Jin's comment about "family secrets". In terms of Liu Xiao himself, he didn't get much airtime but what he did have he made count. He mentioned about wanting to make "uncertainties into certainties" and the idea that there are "parallel lines". This pretty much sets him up against Lu Guang in terms of aim and seems to suggest our understanding of time travel mechanics is about to get a serious update next season. Also, the new "paranormal section of the police force" seems incredibly pointed. I don't really want it to get a huge focus honestly but with the way the scope has widened each season I don't think I'll get my wish.

#link click #link click spoilers #shiguang daili ren spoilers #long post #sorry I've just been sorta adding to this in a fugue state without checking any of the actual episodes for reference #so please forgive if my memory is blatantly lying to me. it does that.

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noelwho · 8 months

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Ultimate Chronological Order Imodna Playlist!!!

Hello! I feel like I have to introduce myself ‘cause I’m barely on Tumblr. I’m still learning how to use it, I posted a couple of fanarts and they went really well, so I want to try and make myself a spot in here. My name is Noel (they/them) and I’m a big fan of Critical Role. I started watching a few months ago, with Exandria Unlimited. Once I was done I went ahead and started Campaign 3. I’m currently on episode 49 (I know, I have a lot ahead yet). I also watched the first season of Candela Obscura and a couple of One-Shots.

Today I’m here to talk about the Lesbian Southern Gothic Witches. Earlier this week I started to obsess over a playlist. An Imodna playlist, to be more specific. It started with me listening to one I found on spotify (I will credit below because it’s been a huge inspiration for this project) and I got the urge to make my own. At the beginning it was something chill, something normal…until it was not. Over the course of the last 3 days I haven’t thought about or listened to anything else. I got the idea of making the playlist in chronological order and I started to take it very seriously. I divided their history in 10 different chapters and assigned each song to the correct time period. At first it was just gonna be into chapters, but then I started to put them in order inside the chapters too, and it became very personal. For real, this playlist has been the one and only thing I wanted to talk about for days. Last night I finally finished it. I’ve played it for run tests several times and I think it’s finally ready to see the light (kinda feels like the project of my life even though I only spent a few days working on it).

After all this brainrot it didn’t feel right to just tweet a link to the playlist, I wanted the world to know everything that went through my head in the process of making this. I also don’t have many people around who care about Critical Role, and I thought it was a good opportunity to connect with the fandom. So all of this took me here, to tumblr. All of a sudden it became very clear that this was the perfect place to set my baby free.

There’s some things I wanna make clear before you start reading, the first being the classic: english is not my first language. Sounds like a joke at this point but for real, it’s very likely that this thing is full of grammatical mistakes and I want to apologize in advance (specially about the in/on/at situation, I’ve been having lots of trouble with those for some reason) This is also the first time I do something like this so it may not be perfect. The second thing is that this will obviously be filled with spoilers. In fact I actually haven’t even got to The Scene, I saw it around on Tumblr and Twitter (impossible to avoid that spoiler, but I don’t really care). I’m aware that there’s a lot of Imodna moments that I haven’t seen yet, but I couldn't wait to start this playlist. I don’t know if the episodes I have left to watch will translate into new chapters or into new songs for the chapters I already have but either way, I will keep this post and the playlist updated.

With that being said, welcome to this ride through an unhinged mind. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy!

The tether scene is one of my favorite ones. I love that metaphor with a passion. That’s why I chose this name for the playlist. With the photo I wanted to make an allusion to the red thread myth given that Laudna herself carries around a spool of red string. I even edited the picture so the hands on the right are slightly gray like Laudna’s.

There’s not just one specific vibe to this playlist, but I find it to be a very calming one, with the exception of some specific moments that we will talk about later. I tried to avoid strong and distracting beats so I could keep it a little ethereal. Lots of acoustic guitar (which I love). I’m not going to talk about every single song because some of them have pretty obvious meanings. Usually the songs aren't a 100% match, but they do have a part to it that speaks to me and to the story on a certain level.

× Imogen and Laudna’s separate lifes ×

At the beginning of the journey that is this playlist, I wanted to introduce the characters. Intertwining their songs, we get to know Imogen and Laudna’s pasts, before they have each other to face the terrors of being witches in a world that doesn’t quite understand them.

Delilah - Florence + The Machine (Laudna)

I sometimes wonder if Marisha has ever listened to this song, because oh my fucking god. I wanted to start the playlist with Abbey, I didn’t because with the intertwining I couldn’t make it fit, but this one is a very good start as well. This song shows perfectly how it must have been being brought back by Delilah and having that power all of a sudden.

Abbey - Mitski (Imogen)

Matilda - Harry Styles (Laudna)

Imogen - Nick Mulvey (Imogen)

Laudna's lullaby - Ginny Di (Laudna)

Time comes in roses - Bess Atwell (Imogen)

The Tradition - Halsey (Laudna)

Burn it down - Daughter (Imogen)

There’s several songs from this album on this playlist. It couldn’t fit better. It reflects perfectly the moment Imogen started to develop her powers. It even refers directly to the way she parts ways with her town (which doesn’t happen for a few chapters but still I felt this one belonged here). Her fear of being a disappointment, her father becoming absent, the feeling of being cursed. It’s all here.

The hanging tree - The hunger games (Laudna)

Still I wait - Anna Leone (Both)

Even with everything they had to go through, they both still wait and cling to hope.

× Imogen and Laudna meet ×

Finally, their paths cross. They experience the feeling of warmth for the first time in a long time. They both feel the need to keep the other one close and begin to appreciate the little things in life, learning how to be taken care of. Goodbye loneliness.

Season of the Witch - Lana Del Rey

I'd like to walk around in your mind - Vashti Bunyan

How important is this song knowing what Imogen can do…

Comfortable Silence - Bella Porter

Without you without them - Boygenius

A hole in the earth - Daughter

That Moon Song - Gregory Alan Isakov

Love brought weight - Old Sea Brigade

That distant shore - Steven Universe

Sick of losing soulmates - Natalie Dawn

I Hear a Symphony - Cody Fry

Sidelines - Phoebe Bridgers

The bug collector - Haley Heyderickx

Sometimes I feel that it’s always Laudna taking care of Imogen, as if she didn't have anything on her own plate. It can't be easy to live with a voice in your head and paranoia. This song shows how Imogen is there to hold Laudna too when it becomes too much.

Look up - Joy Oladokun

If the last one was an Imogen’s POV, this one is totally a Laudna’s POV. Her and her silly little pep talks. “You’re so capable”.

Daylight - Taylor Swift

I love the idea of them learning that life can be good if you find someone to share it with. This song encapsulates that perfectly.

Spell - Dora Jar

I wanted this one to be the last one of the chapter because it introduces the idea of leaving together.

× Imogen and Laudna run away together ×

“Would you run away with me?” They learn what it’s like to have a home that’s not a place, but something entirely new. The past still follows but they’re no longer crushed by it, because they don’t have to sustain it on their own.

Departure - Daughter

Second child, restless child - The Oh Hellos

Just the two of us - Grover Washington, Jr.

I really like to imagine Imodna slice of life scenes when I listen to this song.

Dandelion Wine - Gregory Alan Isakov

Homesick - Dwara, Khotton Palm

Graceland Too - Phoebe Bridgers

When I realized how much of a Laudna's POV this song is, I almost cried.

Telepath - Manchester Orchestra

I really really like Manchester Orchestra, it's one of my favorite bands. I never let go of the chance of spreading them around, and this one is the best song they have. Laudna's POV for sure.

everything i wanted - Billie Eilish

With songs like this one and Intertwined, I wanted to introduce the idea that even though they're definitely better off now that they left the town, that doesn't instantly solve all of their problems. As I said before, the past follows, but they're no longer alone with it.

Savior Complex - Phoebe Bridgers

Intertwined - Dodie

Nothing else matters - Phoebe Bridgers

As long as they're together, nothing else matters.

× You lied ×

Even though I only have a few songs for this precise moment of the story, I thought that it was very important to include their first fight. The gem is broken and Imogen feels betrayed. Laudna is left abandoned and thinks she deserves to be punished for Delilah’s wrongs. We explore jealousy for the first time.

Witches - Daughter

The silence at the end of this instrumental song represents the loneliness that Laudna felt when Imogen left her alone after her incident with Delilah

Landfill - Daughter

There are two possible ways of reading into this one. This is in my opinion a Laudna's POV. She could either be talking to Imogen, expressing her deep rooted desire for a punishment for what she’s done; or to Delilah, alluding to the attachment she has to her own powers (that at least as far as she knows are there because of Briarwood) opposed to the hatred she feels for her and for herself for wanting those powers (this is a theme that they explore later on future chapters)

Are you okay? - Winnetka Bowling League

Afterglow - Taylor Swift

The archer - Taylor Swift

× Laudna’s death ×

Otohan Thull relentlessly kills three members of Bells Hells. A coin is flipped and Laudna is gone, again. What awaits beyond the afterlife? Perhaps a little girl, a monster and a tree.

DVD menu - Phoebe Bridgers

If death’s not exactly DVD menu by Phoebe Bridgers, then someone tell me what’s like because I can’t imagine otherwise. I freaking love how this song connects with Daffodil.

Daffodil - Florence + The Machine

Death with dignity - Sufjan Stevens

Bells in Santa Fe - Halsey

I like to imagine that Laudna didn't appear in Nightmarish Whitestone immediately. Up until this point, she's in a limbo, accepting her own death. Bells in Santa Fe marks the moment she sets foot in that Upside-down kind of world. The constant repetition of “All of this is temporary” is like a mantra for her, the only hope she has of getting through it with her sanity intact is believing that this will also end and she will finally find peace.

Willow Tree March - The paper kiss

Hard times - Ethel Cain

Tether me - Galleaux

With this song and the next one, I wanted to express desperation. We don't get to know in the series how she feels throughout all of this, but I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been. There's a point where anyone would have started begging for help.

Matilda - alt-J

× Imogen’s grief ×

“Is she your favorite?”. Imogen feels deeply guilty for what happened. The possibility of bringing Laudna back is the only thing that’s keeping her from losing it completely. All the regrets, all the words she wishes she said before, all the times she didn’t approached her when she wanted to, come afloat. Grief, disassociation and sorrow.

Words - Storefront Church, Phoebe Bridgers

This song is meant to represent the exact moment of Imogen floating and losing control, with Otohan in her head pushing her to let go.

Goner - Twenty One Pilots

No other song in existence can express better the moment Imogen realize Laudna's gone for good.

Lanterns lit - Son Lux

True Faith - Ashley Johnson

Hurt for me - SYML

Carry you - Novo Amor

My love - Florence + The Machine

Lucky for you - Novo Amor, Gia Margaret

Killer + the sound - Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Gundersen

Should have known better - Sufjan Stevens

Ya'aburnee - Halsey

Show you a body - Haley Heyderickx

Imogen (even Laura) loses hope for a moment during the ritual they do for bringing Laudna back. The end of this song summarize this repeating a lyric over and over (you can clearly see through this playlist how much I love repetition).

× Back together ×

After Bells Hells confront Delilah at the Upside-down-Whitestone of Laudna’s nightmares, Pike manages to bring her back to life. Imogen and her are back hand by hand, and nothing can ever tear them apart again. Here’s where I think something awakes inside them, but they are far from realizing it.

I am the Antichrist to you - Kishi Bashi

Like an angel “fallen from the sky with grace”, Laudna’s back on Imogen’s arms.

Darling - Halsey

This love (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

Now that you're home - Manchester Orchestra

Lose you again - Manchester Orchestra

Halloween - Phoebe Bridgers

But not kiss - Fayer Webster

Like I said, something changes after this. What they’ve been through is not nothing. This song is here to show that something is born deep inside them, on their subconscious far from their reach yet

× Back to Gelvaan ×

Same as with the “You lied” chapter, I felt that this one was important even though I just have one song for it. It just matches perfectly. Imogen and Laudna visit Imogen’s hometown and the place where they met, searching for answers. Old wounds, some closure and an emotionally absent father.

My tears ricochet - Taylor Swift

× Tethered ×

In this chapter the platonic bond is peaking. It takes place right before The Unraveling, giving in to the “Can I kiss you?” phase and becoming romantic. They’ve been through hell and back just to stay together. This is my personal favorite bit of the playlist, everything is extremely intense but not yet explicit.

Tethered - Sleeping at last

I Will - Mitski

Anchor - Alli X

Don't let them see you cry - Manchester Orchestra

Crosses - José González

Quietly - Manchester Orchestra

Francesca - Hozier

Moon song - Phoebe Bridgers

Capital Karma - Manchester Orchestra

Everywhere, everything - Noah Kahan

In a week - Hozier

Monster - King Princess

j's lullaby (darlin' i'd wait for you) - Delaney Bailey

I will follow you into the dark - Miya Folick

I wouldn't ask you - Clairo

× Can I kiss you? ×

Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The beggining of something new, the next and most logical step of this journey. The platonic becomes romantic and they get to truly explore the feelings they always had, and some novel ones. This is the moment I know less about, but I’ve used my imagination and my own headcanons.

Can I - Genevieve Stokes

I debated a lot whether to put this one at the end of the last chapter or the beginning of this one because I don't know how relevant Laudna's death is up to this point, and there's a huge reference to this in this song. I know for a fact that the Delilah’s plot is not over and things will change, but I couldn't resist the urge to put it in here, given the name of the song and its obvious connection to the chapter.

We'll never have sex - Leith Ross

Wading in Waist-high Water - Fleet Foxes

This is the last time - The National

All my ghosts - Lizzy McAlpine

Prière pour la nuit - Barbara Pravi, November Ultra

Chewing Cotton Wool - The Japanese House

Bandages - Rachel Bobbitt

This is it, this is The Ultimate Chronological Order Imodna Playlist. I don't know if I'm the first one doing this, probably not, I don't know if this has any value to anyone beyond myself, but I had a hell of a lot of fun. If only one person were to read this till the end I would be more than satisfied.

I’ll link here the playlist that started all of this. Massive respect for this person whoever it is, I took lots of the songs from here

Infinite thanks to anyone who gets here or saves my playlist, feel free to respond with any song that you think adds to the story!! Something tells me this isn't the end of my Imodna brainrot so,,,, more things could be on their way (a fanfic, perhaps?).

No idea how to end this so… long live Lesbian Southern Gothic Witches!!!

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anfie-in-the-box · 1 year

Text

X-tra Dark Cream & Dark Cream Week

Notes

Yeah, I'm a mess and have decided to write both prompts for each day of Dark Cream Week. Is it crazy? Yes, especially since I write rather slowly and with lots of difficulties and insecurities. Does it work out? It does, kinda. Did I manage? Who knows! Definitely not present-me, not yet, it's still a bit before the actual Week when I'm making this post. It's okay though, even if I end up not finishing. It's way more than what I've written for events before this one, so it's a win anyway! I am quite proud of myself.

No real spoilers for Turns, twists, and paradoxes, but feel free to skip my works for Dark Cream Week if you prefer reading the main piece chronologically!

。。。

Sacrifice

To survive, Dream sacrifices parts of himself. His kindness. His helpfulness. His understanding. His empathy. Everything he used to be goes away, forming something new. He's not sure what yet. It's dark, heavy with the burden of the entire world, bent on revenge for all the unfairness in the Multiverse, and in so much pain it wants the others to feel it too. Dream never knew he could be so cruel and wish others harm, but the curse changes him, bending and twisting but never breaking. Dream can't let himself break. Can't let the curse win. So he fights, choosing the lesser evil, being evil to everyone but his family. His loved ones.

Dream keeps the balance within himself, feeding his soul shattered positive feelings of thousands of humans and monsters he doesn't know yet never hurting those who truly matter. It's a fickle process, but Dream manages. He's hurt Cross enough before meeting Nightmare in that clever illusion of his. He failed to support his brother before everything started. Nevermore. Not if he can help it.

"Dream?" He startles at Cross' voice so near. Dream didn't notice him coming closer. "Are you okay?"

Dream smiles slightly, "I am. Just lost in thought."

"Whatever about?"

"How atrocious the world has been to all of us, mostly." Dream finds Cross' hand and caresses it gently with his. Cross smiles at him, content and peaceful, at least as much as even possible. "Never gets old, that. We were all good in our own ways and look what it's done to us. I've never hurt in return, despite the way I was abused my whole life, and what good did it do to me?" he pauses, then confesses, "It's so nice to be angry. So freeing. I've always tried to stay positive and bring light to everyone in need; I never let myself properly experience negative emotions, and only now I realise how unhealthy it was. I was miserable and in denial, and now that nothing stops me anymore…" Dream trails off, at a loss of words.

"It's okay if you don't know how to express yourself," Cross reassures, taking both Dream's hands in his. "It's also okay to be angry. You have every right to feel whatever emotion you feel at the moment. You're a person, not a perfect angel, and that's okay, too. I'm just sorry I never saw the pressure you were under before," he says quietly. "I'm sorry you felt like this was the only way."

Dream frees one of his hands and pets Cross' cheek, so very gently. "I forgive you." There's undeniable fondness in his voice, but also sadness. Dream's sorry, too. But that's exactly how unfair the world has been to them. That's exactly his point. They tried so hard, and it didn't change anything. There was no happy ending. But maybe there will be. Dream hopes.

Oh, how he hopes.

So maybe he's not sacrificing his old self after all. Maybe he's just hiding it deep inside, only for his loved ones to see. He's still different, even with them; he's sharper, tougher, more resolute. But that's alright. Because…

"I love you," Cross whispers.

Yeah. That's why.

"I love you too."

。。。

Credits

。。。

Notes

I love how different it is from Egoism, its dual piece. Dream is steadier here, more certain, although he still has a long way to go. It's really interesting to observe.

#anfie writes #x-tra dark cream fic #dark cream week #dark cream #shattered!dream #cross!sans #utmv

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queenburd · 1 year

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Are there any NASA telescope or satellite images that are Matron Aesthetic to you? Is there a different visual (or other) influence for the Matron that you'd wanna talk about?

Since I haven’t talked about the Matron on tumblr yet I’m gonna use this as an excuse to do that.

(These are not in the order these were made, and they do not include doodles of other peoples ocs at this time, I’ll post that separately.)

This is the Matron, a Collector TOH OC made entirely indulgently over the fact I am adopting every Grimwalker out there because they are all my sons now.

The main concept is that she "preserves souls". She developed the technique that would ultimately result in Grimwalkers, though Grimwalkers are an imperfect replica of her actual work. The Matron's resurrected souls are, in contrast, called Daywalkers. They retain the memories of life from before they died, as the Matron is attempting to preserve the mind, body, and soul, that has been lost.

Some notes under the cut:

She tries to assemble as much of the original remains as possible. It’s not clear if the new body grows completely separate from the original or uses the original remains themselves but the more of the original that is used, the better the Daywalkers memory of the prior life is, USUALLY.

Traumatic deaths can lead to the Daywalker repressing the memory unconsciously, so results are a little mixed.

She somehow has the ability to date remains and tell which bones n such belong to which bodies, even in a mass graveyard. We dont know how she knows but it’s handy .

The Matron is attempting to bring back all the Grimwalkers that Belos has made and killed. She is trying to do her work in chronological order so it's taking some time.

Also she has this big thing about how life comes from earth. She used to work in star nurseries and loved it but like. Souls my dude. The earth gives life.

The poem included in the doodles is not done by any means, in fact I was working on it when I got this ask and it felt appropriate. Whether she's the first Collector or not is still undecided (I prefer no, but, hmmmm Matriarch is still an interesting title), and her work in stellar nurseries was not what led her to learning how to make Daywalkers.

She is not perfect. She loves her Daywalkers but sometimes she struggles with treating them like pets. That gets better with time tho.

ANYWAY. In answer to your question. Some big Matron aesthetics will of course be stellar nurseries:

(the Eagle Nebula, which houses the Pillars of Creation)

(the Orion Nebula)

I'm also lowkey leaning into Virgin Mary aspects as portrayed by the Catholic Church, most specifically Queen of Peace depictions (though I didn't know this at time of design, I know that I grew up in a Catholic school that liked Mary a LOT.)

It's why I'm torn between blue/silver or blue/gold for her color scheme. Could go either way really

Also like. Really had to make myself NOT just make it Queenie again. even tho shape wise you can kinda tell it was gonna be Queenie. Oops.

#The Matron #hey tumblr? why'd you fuck with the spacing of the pics?

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fallingdeeperintothispit · 5 months

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10 characters/10 fandoms

Thanks for tagging me @dirtbag-linecook-kyloren! Let’s get into it 🦆

We’re gonna go chronologically just like the post I was tagged in because it’s late and I have no original thoughts!!

1. Kirishima Eijirou / Boku No Hero Academia

So sweet. My boy. And so criminally underrated. I feel like I really connected with this character back when I was in the fandom, because for those who don’t know his origin story was that he was super boring and bland in the (Japanese equivalent of) middle school, and when he got to high school he had completely changed his personality and flourished. I wanted to be him in a way, strong and brave. (Was this where issues with gender began? Maybe.)

2. Pitch Black / Rise of the Guardians

HOOOOH BOY. So many people identify Jack Frost as their first animated crush, but goddamn it if I didn’t immediately start being totally obsessed with Pitch. Now, as the years have passed, it’s become difficult for me to tell if I wanted to be with him or /be him/, but I always thought that he deserved much better than he got.

3. Sokka / Avatar the Last Airbender

Sensing a pattern? Yep it’s another unappreciated side character used for relief that I identified with and stuck to like a cactus. I actually really liked his character when I first watched the show, and now am an avid Zukka fan! Will I ever write a fic for that? Maybe. But don’t worry, Kylux will forever and always be my main source of inspo. Those blorbos were made for each other.

4. Runaan / The Dragon Prince

Listen. LISTEN. I started watching this show years ago and it is SUCH A COMFORT. I adore it. As I watched the show, of course I immediately connected with Soren, but something about Runaan’s character and the fact that he was so powerful and cut off but also a father and a lover and he NEVER GOT JUSTICE,,, it impacted me. I’ve read every SCRAP of fic I can about his life pre-TDP. Love him to death. Save my boy next season please!!

5. Saiki / The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Something about a generfluid aromatic main character just hit home for me. The fact that it was so normal that Saiki was born a girl and just changed his gender and no one cares is such a tiny moment in the show but it introduced the idea of “this is ok” to me. I hold that show in a special place in my heart. Doesn’t hurt that it’s also hilarious.

6. Muriel / Good Omens Season 2

We come to the present! Or, well, a few months ago present. Loved the kiss scene. Cried at the ending. Something about Muriel made me want to protect them. They’re so,,, blorbo. Kinda reminds me of Mitaka, now that I think about it 🧐

7. Jim / Our Flag Means Death

Oh boy. OHHHHHH BOY. Him. I love him. I want to be him. Just,,,, JIM. His origin story, his love interest, his bloodthirsty personality, that one scene with Spanish Jackie… just a chef’s kiss all around.

8. Armitage Hux / Star Wars - Sequel Trilogy

SAY IT WITH ME: “HE WAS DONE DIRTY!!” He had so much potential and they just SQUANDERED IT. He could have been the next Thrawn! He had the brains for it, and the wit. I don’t know why Ylasmirs aren’t used more in Star Wars cannon. Did I mention that Hux was a GENIUS?! He built a better, more powerful Death Star and was killed by A CHARACTER THE FANDOM HAD JUST MET. Also, he was the spy??? REALLY?? …I’m so normal about him.

9. Clyde / Logan Lucky

Recently watched this movie with my family and adored it. It’s up there in my list of Perfect Heist Movies! I feel like Clyde’s character was really well executed, and at no point was he made lesser for being an amputee, which I really enjoyed. Also, with the Ferrari movie coming out, maybe another heist is set to happen 👀

10. Stensland / Crashpad

Listen. This movie. This fucking movie. It was SO BAD. And kinda misogynistic? But… I really enjoyed Domhall’s acting. Stensland was lovable and dumb and my heart ached for him when he got rejected. Does that excuse the movie’s weird ending? No. But I still like the character.

Honorable Mention: Captain Phasma / Star Wars - Sequel Trilogy

I love Gwendolyn Christie. I love a woman who can beat the shit out of me. I love a woman in armor. Need I say more? Also, that character’s death was very anticlimactic and I feel like she should have been in TROS.

No-pressure tags! @fridayincarnate @dragonflies-draw-flame @ironsoulmaker

#ask game #armitage hux #captain phasma #saiki kusuo #sokka #stensland #clyde logan #kirishima eijirou #runaan #jim ofmd #muriel #pitch black

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no1ryomafan · 9 months

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Yknow for most of my tumblr rants I like to keep stuff vague even when it’s apparent what thing I’m aiming at because I don’t like to trash talk people openly who I don’t know or formally knew especially on the most mundane subjects but there’s one particular thing that has been bothering me about fandom culture that I’ve noticed as of late that I gotta rant about:

And that’s the whole ordeal of “you need to consume this series in a certain way” mindset as apart from leading into general bad traits fandom culture has-toxicity and gatekeeping-I feel this is just another reason why some people get easily scared off by getting into certain things.

To further elaborate I wanna first say there’s nothing particularly wrong with advising a set order of things to consume in a series under the context of either:

<someone asked to begin with what order to watch/read/play something <a series has multiple sequels that are connected in some capacity so advising the correct order because sometimes it’s not the “chronological” that’s the correct way

Those cases you are making sure the person gets into a series by following the story the way it’s intended, that’s fine, I’m more so talking about how a handful of certain fandoms are centered a series with multiple canons and they don’t really overlap yet fans try to act authority over how you should consume the media when at that point it’s just a matter of “which series looks the most interesting too you”.

I’ve seen this behavior pop up a bit in getter fandom and while it’s not anything toxic-thankfully-I really don’t agree to the notion of you need to read all of the mangas JUST to understand the Animes when they’re ALL in their own canon. But this post isn’t actually about Getter because the general atmosphere I’ve seen in my own circle is “we really don’t care where you start as long as you’ve seen Getter” which I appreciate and can’t really get too upset over the series discourse, I’m more so noticing this happening in a different older anime fandom I was kinda apart of being Soul Eater.

Now I’ve only seen this said by two people so I’m not gonna claim this is a general thing by the fandom-fuck knows how many soul eater fans there are anymore even if it’s more recognizable than getter-however I get the vibe this is something fans when newbies get into the series advise: To not get super into SE as it be unnecessary, for those who don’t know it’s one of those animes that was unfortunately cursed with “starting off a solid adaption for the first half but by the second half it completely diverted from the manga and the anime content is not only different but inferior from its source” which from what I seen, had a lot of old SE fans advise newer fans to watch the anime up to a certain point aka right where it changes from the manga and than going to read the manga with the stuff the anime didn’t adapt, and than after you finish the manga you can go back to watch the anime if you so choose.

I really, really, REALLY do not like this approach and despite what I said early about “different iterations” this one even worse given the context SE doesn’t have that many canons outside of these and a spin off series.

Literally this entire process could be avoided if someone just said “don’t watch the anime because it’s not a good adaption, read the manga” because even if that sounds gatekeepy it’s at least not a unnecessary back and forth process with the anime being CLEARLY redundant. Sure, SE like 100+ or so chapters but even if watching the anime adapt the first half is faster than reading it, it just makes things needlessly complicated to newer fans.

It’s also not the end of the world if someone watches the show and never reads the manga because guess what? We all like stuff that is FUNDAMENTALLY flawed. People are too worried about their media being perfect when no series is and there’s nothing wrong with liking something that’s a bit messy because people still keep up with series that are hella fucking messy. If they complain about the anime sucking but refuse to read the manga that’s on them, not your issue because they knew what they were getting themselves into if someone was warning them. We also just gotta deal with people not giving stuff we like a second chance after the first time because needlessly shoving a “order” in their face isn’t gonna make them feel inclined to check it out again.

My only advice I can give from this long messy rant of a post that went too far on tangent about something I don’t even know is said by many fans-and if anyone finds this and is active in the SE circles please feel free to correct me-is NEVER advise someone a order of getting into a thing unless there IS canons that do connect with each other by being direct follow ups. Don't get mad at someone for getting into a series from the most confusing or hated iteration, because if they are actually interested they'll want to consume more of it even if they have a weak first impression.

Never force anything onto ANYONE and just welcome new fans with open arms, thats a way to make a safe space even in some of the worst fandoms.

#meg text #im not tagging the two series I mentioned here lol #I would’ve mentioned more like TF or Gundam but I haven’t experienced enough of them only been more of a outsider #I would’ve mentioned mega man but I try to distance myself from fandom talk (also that be more bias then me slightly mentioning getter lol)#I do stand by tho you don’t need to play every classic or x game to get zero/zx/legends though #or that you need to play all of battle network to get starforce bc the latter hardly references the former #but if anyone has any other fandom shit like this they can relate too feel free to share because I’m worried if I was too mean 💀#(if my assumption about soul eater was hella off I’m sorry but I got the vibes hard)

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basuralindo · 1 year

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Chapter 10 of You'll Have Me Rise, You'll Have Me Fall is up!!

You can read it right here:

And there's some commentary in the notes but I have so many more thoughts and am gonna go on about them under the cut. Please read the chapter before looking through my commentary, but you're all welcome to interact about it on here

Okay, so, in roughly chronological order:

-Idk if the Jamil and Kalim stuff is coming off shippy, but that's not the intention. What I'm tryna present is the fact that they have no concept of boundaries with each other. Jamil was basically instructed, as a child, to look after this whole ass other child with way too little actual adult supervision, and it didn't go well.

-Jamil has a Very loose understanding of free will as is, considering his situation, and Snake Whisper has always been kinda just another tool used to desperately try to get through situations. The idea that forcing someone to not have nightmares without their knowledge or consent might be fucked up doesn't really cross his mind, because he's been doing it since they were little and Kalim always seems happier than when he's left to just deal with his own bad dreams.

-People tend to get stuck with the aftereffects of an intense trigger for quite a while after, and Jamil's behavior is definitely gonna be influenced more heavily by ptsd in the next few chapters.

-Yes, Jamil really is out here basically poledancing on that broom. Why? Because athletes are literally the least self aware people when it comes to doing weird shit with their bodies and I know this from so much personal experience. I also imagine that the brooms operate a lot based on the rider's clarity of intention. So Jamil being already very comfortable with heights because of playing on the carpet with Kalim as kids, and having pretty good focus with multitasking in general, he has very little issues with getting the broom to do what he wants. Meanwhile, Azul would be able to fly just fine, but he's so scared of heights he loses all sense of intention once he gets a couple feet off the ground

-✨Guess who never learnt what dyslexia is because royalty aren't supposed to have learning disorders!✨ Just wait till those two find out about adhd. (Also, major headcanon that Kalim self medicates with caffeine)

-Anyway THE TEXTING!! This is the part that I had no plans to write until going "wait, they should exchange numbers because duh" Then wrote the actual scene and went "wait omfg the teins would totally find that!" Anyway I'm glad I did because it was a lot of fun to write and finally breaks the ice between them all a little more. It ended up taking a lot longer than I'd expected to depict the sheer chaos of texting three people in the same room at the same time.

-I actually thought a lot about the texting patterns on this. Floyd writes in a hurry because his thoughts come and go so fast he just spits them out as they come, which results in spamming with a million short messages when he's actually in the mood to talk. He also canonly has this tendency to just say shit that makes sense in his head, where he has context, and doesn't get it when other people don't understand, so with texting that kinda comes out as not bothering with much punctuation to indicate tone because he knows what tone he's using and forgets that nobody else does. Azul on the other hand is suuuper neurotic about how he presents himself, and texting is no exception. Perfect diction, punctuation, etc. Uses autocorrect and then doublechecks the outocorrect. Jade figures Azul already put all the effort into establishing how to present himself flawlessly, and just imitates his style. (They're both wrong. Azul comes off like a car salesman, and Jade comes off like an alien impersonating a car salesman). I have a reason for this dynamic and I'm gonna go into it eventually in the fic. Jamil is just trying to spell things correctly and uses punctuation as normally as he can. He uses contractions and slangs even less over text because he's not confident in being able to spell less familiar words and doesn't wanna risk it. (He also uses contractions less in general around Azul because, while he tries to come off like he's mastered English around all his potentially hostile peers, Azul never mocks him for his speech so he's more comfortable about wording things awkwardly. Jamil hasn't noticed this consciously yet.)

-Jadeeeeee. This fic is slow burn in general, but it's definitely burning at different speeds for each of them, and Jamil/Jade is definitely the slowest. Neither of them are the kind to openly pursue someone without the other party initiating A Lot, and they're much more emotionally distant than Floyd or Azul. Also, Jade is territorial and Jamil is paranoid and it's gonna take a long time before they get anywhere near trusting each other. Despite that, they're finally starting to notice that they have some shit in common and actually enjoy talking to each other in all the convoluted mincy bullshit ways that nobody else wants to engage in.

-Yes, Jamil feels the need to conceal laughter and smiles even when he's alone in his room. No, he's not okay, but that's kind of the whole plot.

-Again, I just really enjoyed getting to write Jamil having a nice time?? Finally starting to think about the fact that he actually WANTS these guys in his life, for non-strategic purposes, just because they make him happier! I'm finally getting somewhere in this mess of my own making lmao

Anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk. I have a lot of feelings about these guys and I'm tempted to do more posts like this about previous chapters just so I can get myself to babble less in the fic notes

#banging on my own head from the inside like ''LET THEM FUCKING KISS''#chapter babble #twst fic #octaviper #ashenviper #I'm realizing I don't actually know any ship names for jamil and either eel #if anyone knows some lemme know #octatrio

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zero-ek · 5 days

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A couple of live concerts and some thoughts on them

Howdy!

So there’s been a whole bunch of concerts i wanted to watch very close to one another these past 4 months or so, and originally i was just gonna post my reports as they went. But, due to my computer breaking down after the first one, and also not to spam the feeds of the handful of people who for some reason follow this blog, i figured I’d just wait it out and make it a very big post instead.

I wrote each of these a couple days after they aired, so it’s been very interesting to re-read these and look back stuff i wrote myself that isn't college assignments lol. I mention this often but I’ve got a very poor memory, so i tend to feel disconnected from stuff i did in the past when i see it, like, i have to tell myself “this was me, i wrote/made this” because i don’t remember doing it myself.

I don’t know why i haven’t thought of it after all this time but re-reading through these inspired me to start keeping a diary, if i can’t keep my memories in my brain, then paper will do it for me!

Anyhow, that’s enough about me for the time being. This first half be about the Vsinger side of things, while part two will be the utaite concerts, i will number in order if you wanna follow this chronologically though. Starting with:

1. RIM – NEUROMANCE II

It’s Mechi time!

I’m sorry but i absolutely love how RIM’s nickname (d)evolved into just “Mechi”, it’s so silly sounding i love it.

I really don’t talk about this enough but RIM is my favourite Kamitsubaki artist, like, i don’t know how to explain it, but after i think 2 years of listening to her the “i-found-a-new-artist-i like” euphoria still hasn’t worn off. New Romance is probably the closest thing to a perfect album that I’ve ever heard, none of the songs have gotten old to me even after so long.

That being said, i really haven’t been keeping up with what Kamitsubaki’s been doing ever since i think BudouKAF really, and by extension what RIM has been doing outside of her music releases. So although i was really excited for my first ever RIM solo live, I’m gonna be honest not knowing what the whole Sinka series was about did kinda threw me off a bit.

Also, something else that cut my hype short and that i will preemptively apologize for is that my computer decided it didn’t want to live anymore a couple days after the concert, so i had to make the draft of this post on my phone and by the time i got this thing back not only had most of my post-live excitement worn off already, but the whole situation made me very grumpy. So I’m really sorry if i don’t sound as excited as i should be but i guarantee you that i really did enjoy this live.

Anyways:

Fanfare!

I really didn’t expect it, since I’m much more a fan of her heavier, rock songs, but ever since this track came out on the Singularity Live album it’s been one of my most listened songs of hers for like the whole year. Something that i noticed a lot about New Romancer II is how blends Sasagawa Mao’s quintessential writing and melody phrases with the addictive pop beats, structures and overall structure of more modern J-Pop/Vocaloid music.

It’s like, New Romancer is the album you rock out to, and New Romancer II the album you’ll catch yourself humming to without realizing.

Also also, Cosmic Puppets! I’m so glad it still got one last stage appearance, it’s my favourite of RIM’s designs by far and i don’t think I’ll ever get over it. I’m sure the new one will grow on me but i don’t know, it just doesn’t scream RIM to me as much as this one does. (Future Zero here, the new one still hasn’t grown on me. Team Cosmic Puppets forever!)

Crybaby is my alarm clock, so i actually got a little jumpscared when it came up, lol, especially so early into the concert.

Also, massive appreciation for Kamitsubaki’s in-house engineer, i love how the live sound is massive, but each instrument is so cleanly separated from each other. I can only imagine how much it shakes you in person, which is to say Neuromance III better be a venue concert PIEDPIPER do you hear me she deserves it!!!!

Now for my single grievance with this concert, is that the simplified-for-live arrangements do take away a bit from the songs a bit. Now don’t get me wrong, i completely get why they do it, this is a 2 hour concert, the musicians need to conserve as much energy as possible. But at the same time, Sasagawa Mao has one of the best senses for rhythm sections that I’ve ever heard, and it’s hard not to feel kinda sad when you don’t get to hear it.

That is to say i really missed that drum groove on the second verse of “The Moon does not...” and I’m a bit salty about it.

First, i gotta say my compliments to Kamitsubaki’s 3d environment team, i do try to keep up with concert live reports when they come out, so i was aware that they were doing some really impressive stuff, but it’s even more impressive to see it for myself.

Also, i feel like the tracking is much better too, her movements look so much more fluid and her face much more expressive compared to like the Singularity live. It does not enter my mind how the heck they’re rendering this live.

I love when they do these little intros for songs it always gives me goosebumps when you catch on the rhythm and key and realize “oh it’s this song” right before the it hits.

Also i just complained about the whole live-ification thing but I’m already taking it back my jaw is on the floor at how much Pillow Talk and Neuromance sounded just like they where on the record, actually even better that i could pick each instrument apart. I’m sorry live band i should’ve never doubted you.

Honestly thought there wasn’t gonna be any MCs at all in this live lol girl breathe.

Also look it’s her original hairstyle!

Ok so this is the part where i gotta ask what the heck is going on, currently regretting not doing my homework on the Sinka series I’m so lost.

I love the idea of the discotheque, like just 10 minutes of her running around and vibing, honestly every concert should have something like that. Although i was kinda hoping I’d get to hear Mateki in full in this live but alas you can’t have everything in life.

It’s original outfit RIM!

Guiano!

I gotta be honest, they picked the songs from “Imagine” i listen to the least, but it still always tickles my brain when i hear their voices in unison. Guiano’s lower tones are so clear, it’s almost uncanny how well his voice blends with RIM’s. I would love to hear them together in more harmonically diverse contexts, i bet it’d sound insane.

youtube

One of the highlights of the live for me, Eloim was already one of my favourites from NRII, but i think it goes even harder with the live band, like it sounds so much more aggressive with the drum hits, the huge bass and the guitars, it actually got my heart jumping. I am soooooo thankful they put this one on Youtube.

Also also tell me i'm not the only one who thinks that the Counter Clockwise design looks very Gallifreyan.

It’s another Mechi!

Guiano’s “花鳥風月” (i don’t know how the Romaji for this one goes) is probably my favourite work of his ever, and it feels weirdly fulfilling to hear it with both RIM and RIME together, and with a full live band to boot, like, it feels like a natural conclusion to both of their versions of the song, i don’t know how to explain it well.

Also, i don’t know if this is the newer Voicepeak RIME, but i feel like she's tuned much better this time around compared to the Singularity Live.

The second highlight of the live for me, I’m not even sure why, but the visuals here were incredibly captivating, i adore how Kamitsubaki really uses their 3d environments to their fullest potential.

Also, again, how the heck are they rendering this live?

Now to probably the thing that stuck with me the most on this concert.... the talking bit!

So during her last MC she spoke about a lot of stuff from the past 2 years since the first Neuromance, she mainly focused on the topic of plurality, elaborating about people’s perception of her as a Vsinger and how that led her to encounter people very opinionated on it in either direction, and that eventually she came to accept that people are entitled to their own likes and dislikes, and free to be vocal about it, it’s simply a part of life and the human experience.

But something that she spoke that hit me the most was about how much the world had not only changed in these past couple of years since COVID, but it started to move a lot faster than you can sometimes keep up with, this is something that i do struggle with quite a bit. I mention this a lot but i don’t have a really good memory ever since i was like 17 or so, not that it’s deteriorating or anything (i don’t have any diagnoses, really) it’s just that i have a harder time recalling specific things than the average person does.

How this relates to what RIM talked about is that 2020 and early 2021 are particularly blank for me, like, they're particularly hard to recall. A lot of things that i know happened to me in that time period comes from me inferring that it must’ve happened sometime there from like dates and stuff instead of actually recalling how it played out, i imagine because of lockdown and being stuck in one place doing the same things over and over for a whole year. I try to be unbothered by it but it can be very hard to ignore the fact that a sizable chunk of my life is just missing.

It goes without saying but that really messes with how you situate yourself in the world, especially considering said world hasn’t been in its best shape since then. I manage, honestly pretty well all things considered, but it’s kinda what i imagine being held back a year in school feels like, not only you’re not up to date with what you should’ve, but you’re also struggling to catch up with your own life and just growing up, i know that it’s a common sentiment, especially for us zoomers, to still feel like a teenager while only your body matures, but i feel like for me it’s a little more literal than I’d like.

Speaking of this generation, i think that’s exactly why I’ve been thinking about it so much, RIM is i think only one or two years older than me, and... i don’t know, something about this girl i admire on the other side of the world, in a country totally culturally different than mine, standing in this million-dollar studio, looking directly at me and bringing up something that hits so close to home gave me a sort of weird reality check, like it’s a sign of some sort that i really ought to think about it more.

God dang it i can’t seem to escape the existential dread not even in Vsinger concerts, anyways, for the ending

She then proceeds to sing Eons Whispered after all that talk, i don’t even know what to say because i feel like my mind was somewhere else entirely during this last bit.

Honestly I’m actually kinda glad this was my first live RIM experience, i looked at the setlist for the first Neuromance after this and as much as i liked the album that came with it, i feel like i got a lot more out of this live than i would’ve from the first one, with having the back and forth between songs from both albums, which as i mentioned, are very sonically distinct.

Although i will say, as much as i love the Kamicity 3D visuals, RIM is definitely one of those singers whose energy gets wasted on virtual concerts. I see some people call her a “gyaru” and i tend to agree, her stage presence just demands a crowd to keep up with her. I know she’ll be at the Yoyogi wars (which i unfortunately won’t be able to watch) but i really feel like she could absolutely own a One Man live by herself. Here’s hoping that comes true sooner than later.

2. SorAZ – First Gravity

I’m really not sure how to start this...

I really feel like i need to preface this but AZKi is probably my single favourite person on this entire planet, like i sincerely and wholeheartedly love her to death, her songs and just her voice in general are irreplaceable to me and even just as a person overall i really look up to her. She hasn’t had a one-man live in i think three years, and it’s been even more time since she’s done one in an actual venue, with a real crowd to cheer her on, so i really need you to understand that i was counting the days until this concert ever since it was announced.

Unfortunately though, i just wasn’t in the headspace to enjoy this concert proper.

Everything for the past few weeks has been absolutely awful for me, my computer decided to break down and it needed a factory reset to get fixed, so i lost a lot of things that i couldn’t backup in time, then i got really sick for like a couple days to just sour my mood even more. But I’d actually gotten over that pretty quickly, i was feeling quite okay until i got served probably the single biggest punch in the gut in years that was Mel’s termination.

I made a post on my initial thoughts on it the day it happened, and i do know there’s been some developments since then, but overall my feelings haven’t changed all that much, that is to say, I’m still a huge mess. And as much as i adore AZKi i just haven’t been in the mood to look at Vstuff in general lately.

I had the ticket already though, so i thought maybe it’d help lift my spirits a lil bit.

(Oh yeah also I’m not sure why but the site says screenshots weren’t allowed, i know people were sharing them on Twitter anyways but i try to be a good girl around these parts. So I’ll use some assorted SorAZ pics instead)

I won’t go song for song, mainly because i feel very exhausted and i don’t feel like typing too much, but also, pretty much the entire setlist was from their new album, Futurity Step. I like that album, i saw someone say somewhere that they’re like “Hololive’s own ClariS” and a truer statement has never been said, it really feels just like a ClariS album. I grew up with ClariS, being a Madoka ChildTM, they were some of the first concerts i went out of my way to find and watch, i can’t really explain it in any way other than their songs take you into a world of fairy tales when you listen to them, it’s like a unique sort of bubbly, twinkly feeling, like I’m a Precure character or something, i don’t know if there’s a word for it. But the thing is, these aren’t usually the sort of songs that i prefer listening to when I’m feeling down, though, at least not as down as i am right now. I really did want to feel better and excited, but i physically couldn’t bring myself to.

Here’s some highlights i picked out after a couple rewatches.

I’d say Futari Destiny is my favourite song on the album, the melody lines feel the most satisfying to me, and i overall just love a song where the bass goes crazy. I could be just me but i feel like the live setting really helped pick their voices apart, plus, i feel like Sora’s voice sounds a lot sharper, and with a lot more lower harmonics when she sings live live, and that gap with AZKi’s lighter and breathier tone helped make their unison bits sound more interesting in texture.

Which by the way, is one of my few gripes with the album, a lot of their parts are mostly unison, and there isn’t a lot of more interesting vocal harmonies. Which is too bad because like listen to these girls, AZKi has the most beautiful falsetto on the face of the Earth, and Sora has as super cool low but piercing quality to her voice, like, songwriters, this is peak harmony material just waiting to be explored! Capitalize on it!

Sora cringing at their scripted MC lines was a mood, also i gotta say you wouldn’t believe that she’s entering her 7th year doing this, she was like a kid introducing themselves at a talent show. It was kinda endearing.

I think what everyone was looking forward to the most was seeing them in their concert dresses together, they made the most out of it but it’s really a shame that the venue’s stage couldn’t do it justice, i feel like songs like Kimi to Boku... weren’t as hype as they could’ve been with visuals that could match them. I gotta say, the harmonies in MAG-NET were pretty good though, again, i feel like you can appreciate it much more with the less polished nature of live vocals and all.

Probably the biggest highlight for me was “Gamen no Naka...” on AZKi’s solo part, which is a song that really grew on me hard, one because the drums are really awesome (god bless our lord and saviour Wataru Sena), and two, because even though the lyrics are very simplistic and straightforward, i don’t think they’ve ever been truer to me before. I don’t feel like going into detail, but i don’t think there’s any other song in the world that could more accurately describe how I’m feeling right now, towards AZKi, of course, but mainly towards Mel.

I sincerely hope, from the bottom of my heart, that everything goes well for her.

I think i said this before but i think AZKi in her 4th design matches the Bright idol outfit the best out of everyone, but why is her angry face so weird lol.

Skipping to the end, this is probably what got me the most excited, AZKi’s has a one-man and album 3 in the works, which i have been hoping for literal years now, and now that the fanbase is bigger than ever before it does genuinely make me excited to see how far she can go. I know it’s probably daydreaming but i really think, with how much notoriety she’s gotten, that she could perform at like Tokyo Zepp or hell, even Toyosu Pit.

Although, being more realistic, i looked up the venue for Sora’s anni party they announced and it holds only like a couple hundred people, which is surprising, considering she’s, well, the Tokino Sora, but also, i was under the impression that having a label would allow her to go for something much bigger. It could be due to availability or even preference, maybe (i don’t really watch her so i don’t know), but as much as i want to dream big, I’ll try to keep my hopes in moderation for what AZKi has coming up.

All in all, i really wished i could’ve watched this in a better place mentally, like, even with the scuffs and the simple stage, i could tell that they poured all of their heart into their performances. I wholeheartedly wanted to be happier for AZKi, she really is at home on the stage, with an actual audience to interact with, it makes me feel terrible that i couldn’t cheer her on something that she’s probably been waiting so long to do, something that I’ve always wanted to see (minus the Hololive festivals, this is actually my first time seeing her live on a venue).

It’s probably just me drowning in melancholy at the moment, but right now all I’m really hoping for is that nothing goes wrong by the time her solo live comes up, for all i know she could get axed then and there and i don’t want to regret not cheering her own while i still had the chance.

5. Hololive 5th Fes – Capture the Moment

(No keyvis cause i reached the image limit...)

Man, in hindsight, it's pretty cringe, but i've been so negative for pretty much no reason for like the whole month leading up to this concert, yeah absolutely because of Mel, again.

I know that everything’s settled down already and to be fair i had mostly gotten over it myself. But like y’know, she was half the reason i was looking forward to watching this concert to begin with, so i feel that my grumpiness is valid, it’d be surprising if i didn’t get at least a little sulky over her not being there anymore.

I had tickets for the HoloHoney and Stage 3, since Mel is a massive Honeyworks fan, and AZKi was going to show up on both. But since I’ve gotten the HoloHoney ticket mainly for Mel, i decided to just skip the HoloHoney one entirely, it just wasn’t worth it for me anymore.

Oh, yeah, I’ll mainly only talk about AZKi (and Suisei) here because they’re the ones i actively follow. I mean no disrespect to the other girls, i just don’t really follow Holo as a whole.

I genuinely cannot shake the impression that AZKi wears the Bright design the absolute best out of everyone I’ve seen, the design just fits her silhouette so perfectly, and the pink highlights match her inner coloured hair beautifully.

I still don’t like "ωNeko" all that much, but i can’t be upset that it’s as popular as it is.

Honorable mention to Mumei’s “Mumei”, i have heard the song before, since it went around quite a bit, and i really liked it, so it was very nice to hear it live.

Another honorable mention to Roboco’s cover of “Boku ga Shinou...”, she’s one of the couple members that i check in on from time to time, she has this unique raspy quality about her singing voice that really tugs at the heartstrings.

Ok, so uh, let’s talk about it, the moment.

(can i just say i'm very proud of this shot they look divine here)

Something that i haven’t seen a lot of people mention is that for quite a while the idea of AZKi and Suisei reuniting seemed like something very unlikely, like, it’s a big part of the reason why it was such of a big deal when AZKi showed up on Suisei’s 500k milestone live (i mean, i remember it, that's really something). By then, it had been a pretty long time since Suisei left INNK (looking it up, it was apparently almost a whole year later), which is pretty universally understood to have been a very rough time for her, so it didn’t seem by that point that they’d ever get together again, i think gen 0 wasn’t a thing yet back then, and AZKi was still pretty much music only as opposed to the more streamer Suisei.

“The Last Frontier” was also extremely heavy hitting when it came out, since just a couple months prior we had learned that AZKi would’ve originally graduated, and as Suisei herself pointed out, it was very much a Swan Song for her. It would’ve pretty much marked the end of their story, and as much of a banger that this song is, it wouldn’t have been a satisfying one at all. Even after they reconnected, they didn’t really get together much at all, AZKi still being separated from everyone else in INNK, it would’ve been not only the last, but one of the only things these two did together.

(Also also can i just say that it goes extremely underappreciated that AZKi wrote pretty much the whole song? Like, she does lyrics pretty often, but it’s rarer that she actually does the arrangement too, and then she cooks some of the hardest songs to ever grace this planet how frickin awesome is that????)

They sang this song live twice before, and have gotten together a whole lot more since AZKi joined Hololive proper. But it was this moment, right here, that i think was the proper resolution for their whole saga. For AZKi, the song she wrote to someone she thought she couldn’t reach, performed as the grand finale of the festival, on the stage it deserves, that she deserves. And for Suisei, i feel like this was the moment to reach out to AZKi, even more so than their first reunion, to show that none of what they went through was in vain, and that she sees her, that she’s finally properly by her side now.

I could be and probably am wrong about this, but i personally have never seen or don't remember seeing AZKi openly cry before, in fact something that i simultaneously admired and worried about is that for as long as I’ve watched her, she doesn’t ever ”let her guard down”, like she takes breaks extremely rarely, and is always super smiley and in high spirits even things aren’t going super great.

So like, when i saw her actually break down like that, i couldn’t keep it together, i cried so. damn. hard, like genuinely ugly crying, bawling my eyes out and then some, to the point that i felt like a raisin that was left in the sun to dry some more for the whole day, i genuinely believe that i have 床’d the hardest out of any Pioneer alive (fight me Iroha). It was very cathartic tho i do recommend it especially if you’ve been bottling up feelings tangentially related to it and have been grumpy about it for the week.

AZKi is probably the best thing that’s happened to me in these past 5 years, like, i think at this point i can say that she’s a major part of my life and who i am now. There hasn’t been anyone else whose music touched me, comforted me whenever i needed, and inspired me to get on my feet and face life like her music did. There’s no one else who sings like she does, and nothing makes me happier to see her come as far as she did, somewhere that as recently as a year ago I’d never thought it’d be possible. It was just so extremely rewarding to see it, as clear and concrete as it can be, that she made it, that to keep going was the right decision, that she’s achieved something incredible, and that Suisei, the Pioneers, everyone, looks at her with pride.

I’m just so incredibly happy, i can’t put it into words, i couldn’t have asked for anything more.

youtube

Watching back the MV after this live, i cannot even begin to tell you how much more complete and fulfilling it feels now. The two of them, looking for each other, but never meeting until the very end. Now, i think more than ever, the last part truly became real, the two of them holding hands, looking at the same sky.

Tonight, Canopus was the brightest star in the sky.

Continues in the next one

#kamitsubaki #RIM #hololive #AZKi #tokino sora #hoshimachi suisei

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