#//i thought some of the lines in this show were entertaining so i'm gonna try to do some for each episode

[nataliealynlind]

queen america sentence starters

episode 4: texas

"and just to clarify one last time this is your only talent?"

"the bar for tap dancing is simply too high"

"i answered the question i wanted to answer"

"there is only one correct answer- and that answer is jesus"

"please don't put finger quotes around the word god"

"like someone who wants to destroy you and your entire family, but instead you pose for photos together"

"nebraska's talent is freestyle rollerblading"

"as soon as i heard that sentence out loud i realized what a mistake it was"

"i listen to all your silly rules"

"i'm not trying to make a name for myself i'm just trying to make a good living"

"and what exactly is a good living in your opinion?"

"you know you're good at your job, so why don't you just relax?"

"you're really cute when you're trying to cheer me up"

"what i need to do is find a flaw and exploit it"

"i don't think i said that"

"you think we forgot how to feed ourselves?"

"she thinks she's a celebrity now"

"why are you dressed like taylor swift?"

"so it's just- you and me?"

"when did you become the expert on the sanctity of marriage?"

"i care that you're blushing like a schoolgirl"

"i thought you'd stopped caring?"

"i've been driving past this house since i was a kid"

"my dream house!"

"break's over- you've had enough protein"

"these pants weren't made for walking so fast"

"why in the hell didn't you tell me you could sing?"

"i have terrible stage fright okay- something about singing makes me panic"

"if you can sing- you can sing"

"i don't care if i have to drive you up to the microphone myself"

"i think she finally hates me as much as she hates you"

"just someone i thought was dead"

[detachedminxsfics]

Motel

Masterlist

Characters: Negan (Dead City) x F!Reader

Summary: You've grown particularly close with the Motor Inn's personal walker killer and decide to pay his motel room a visit.

Word count: 4.5K

Warnings: NSFW - Oral (m receiving), vaginal sex, hair pulling, shower sex, praise, dirty talk, negan's usual foul mouth, gentle dom negan

A/N: If you're from my tiktok (which spawned the chaos that motivated me to finish most of this bc you guys are crazy), hello! This is my first time managing to actually finish and upload a oneshot in months, so I apologise in advance. I was also extremely tired when I wrote most of this, but I hope it was worth the wait for the handful of you bombarding my comment sections for the past 24 hours. 😂 I knew what I had to do the moment I saw that shower scene...like damn.

You downed your third shot of the day before slamming it back down onto the counter and wiping the corner of your mouth with the back of your hand, your eyes idly following the neon lights on the sign hung proudly behind the bar. The Easy Stay Motor Inn. It was a shithole. It only served as a way of keeping four walls and a roof over your head, and walkers off your ass. Speaking of, there was only one guy you'd grown particularly fond of during the month you'd spent working for the lady who owns this place and lapping up the amenities of their accompanying motel, Negan. He wasn't from around here, that much you gathered just by taking one good look at him, but then neither were you. You were both drifters. Heading from one place to the next, never staying anywhere long enough to see it through and find out whether it'd go to shit or hold out long enough before eventually falling to pieces. You just kept moving. That mentality had served you well so far and had kept you alive long enough to say that you'd made it well over a decade into the apocalypse now, not that you had much to show for it.

"Want another?" The guy behind the bar asked, half expecting you to agree to it as you had with all the others and making his way over to the bottle of vodka you'd been chipping away at.

"No thanks", you shook your head with a small smile and slid off the bar stool, "I'm gonna go try to entertain myself someplace else, but don't be surprised if I come back and finish that off later." You gestured to the vodka with a tilt of your head, and the certainty in your tone had the bartender smiling.

You headed towards the backdoor that led to the motel out back, the harsh change of lighting making you squint and shield your eyes to adjust for a moment, the dim vivid hues of the neon-lit windowless bar you'd been sitting in for the past hour or two being snuffed out once you stepped into the natural sunlight. Visual disorientation aside, you made your way down the row of motel rooms lined at your side, your interest only lying with the idea of arriving at one motel room in particular, and you stopped in front of the door when you found it. The door was a stark black to match the wooden panels sitting on either side of the window not too far from the right of the door, vines having wrapped around some of the slats in the wood from the overgrowth of shrubbery on the floor beneath it. It was run down and uncared for like just about anywhere else in this world. You tested the handle to see if the door was unlocked and to your surprise, it was. Twisting it fully you pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind you as you began to observe the interior of the room. It was generically decorated like just about any other room in this place, and he didn't seem to have left anything behind for you to snoop through. The room was so empty that if you didn’t know any better you might have thought that he'd moved on already, packed up all his shit and hit the road. You figured that this was on purpose and probably explained why he didn't care too much when it came to keeping the door locked since he didn't have any shit to steal. Smart.

Negan hadn't been around for too long now, in fact, he'd only arrived about a week after you, but he left a lasting first impression. He was useful. He pulled his weight by taking care of any of the walkers that roamed or wandered into the perimeter of the motor inn, and was never bad company on the occasions that he'd sat on the bar stool next to you and made conversation. As time went on you'd gotten closer and more comfortable with one another, and you quickly found yourself noticing that Negan was the one person you'd opened up to the most in the duration of your entire stay here, better yet felt the most comfortable doing so with. Your vulnerability wasn't one-sided, either. He never went into an awful load of detail, but he had a bad past. He wasn't on the run per se, but there was a group of people that he was hoping to avoid the possibility of encountering for the rest of his days, a community that he had a difficult history with. He alluded to what seemed to mostly amount to horrible shit that most people had done by now just to stay alive, the kind of things you see at night when you close your eyes, haunting you from the backs of your eyelids. You paid it no mind, and you told him that too; he seemed to appreciate your lack of judgement. Gradually, the conversations grew more personal and not so casual, things got flirty. It was subtle, but Negan would make small coy comments on things that you say, or little compliments now and again that toed the line a tad too much for what could be considered harmless flattery or him shooting his shot. You were able to keep yourself humble up until the night when he had jokingly mentioned how good your ass looked in your jeans after more than a few drinks, not that he needed it to let you know just how much he was checking you out. Your thoughts were interrupted by the twist of the doorknob and the sight of it being pushed open afterwards, revealing a rather sluggish and slightly dishevelled-looking Negan. Negan had a silver beard that he seemed to keep well-maintained, the hair decorating his top lip thicker than the rest. His dark hair was always slicked, though it seemed to have transitioned to more of an ashy brown over time with grey tinging at the sides of his hair. He was ruggedly handsome, that was for sure. A grin crept onto his lips when he noticed you standing by one of the beds, closing the door behind him and running his hand through his hair, slicking some of the strands that had fallen out of place in the process.

"Just letting yourself into my place now, huh? We graduating from drinking buddies to whatever the hell this is?" He quipped but was amused by how bold you were to just waltz on into his motel room.

"It's not like you don't want me here." You remarked with a knowing smile as you sat on the end of one of the double beds, to which Negan chuckled and ran his tongue over his bottom lip, a seemingly small mannerism of his that always drove you wild.

"Touché."

He sauntered to the bed next to you until he stood at the foot of it and started to shrug off his leather jacket with a sigh.

"Well whatever it is honey, it's gonna have to wait. I have been out there cracking rotting skulls for who knows how long, and now I need a damn shower."

The checkered flannel shirt he'd been wearing open underneath it was next, him tossing it on the bed in front of him before his fingers brush over the hem of his black tank top. He glanced at you with the material still pinched between his fingertips, a cocky smile creeping onto his lips as he noticed the way you were shamelessly staring at him and didn't seem to plan on stopping anytime soon.

"You gonna watch me strip now too, darlin'?"

You playfully shrugged and let your eyes wander down his torso, an eye movement Negan most certainly followed judging by the way his smile grew, as did his ego.

"I can turn around if you're too shy, Negan."

The throaty chuckle he let loose was almost immediate, his eyebrows raised as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Me, shy? Fuck no. You can stare your little heart out, and you would most definitely be staring."

Well, you certainly hadn't expected him to take it with such pride, so you caved and turned so you were facing the wall next to the bed. You could hear the sounds of clothes falling against the sheets and the clinking of metal as he undid his belt, and then the zipper on his leather pants.

"You still thinking of sticking it out here for a bit longer? I know last time we spoke you weren't so sure." Negan muttered as he got his pants down to his ankles and started to try to shake his ankles out of them.

You thought for a moment, then sighed a little.

"I think so? I don't know, I'm just trying to go day by day. Why, would you miss me?" Your tone picked up towards the end as did the enthusiasm in your voice, the suggestion making Negan's sudden laughter start in the form of a snort.

"Miss you? Shit, course I would. I'd probably move on from here after that."

You opened your mouth to speak but found yourself unable to form the right words. He made it sound like you were the only reason he was still staying here, and that without you there'd just be no point. You didn't ask him to elaborate though, just silently rolled the thought around in your head.

"Well, time to take that shower. I'll be right back, and I don't know maybe we can grab a drink or some shit afterwards?"

"Sure." You mumbled in response.

After that all you heard was the soft tread of his footsteps as he made his way past you and into the bathroom, then the sound of the water being turned on and beginning to crash against the floor of the shower for a few moments before it became more muffled with Negan's body interrupting the stream, and you turned back to face something other than the blank yellow wall you'd be staring at whilst he was stripping. You did your best to focus on the small details of the room to occupy your head, the peculiar framed pictures decorating some of the walls, and the hideous design choices when it came to the taste of the room, but it was no use. All you could think about was what Negan had looked like underneath all those clothes when he was a mere few feet behind you, and what he looked like right now standing in the shower in the very next room, the image of water droplets trailing down his torso and body making it harder to stay seated with every passing second until you just couldn't take it anymore. You stood to your feet and made your way to the bathroom, standing in the doorway for a moment as you stopped in your tracks. The shower had a sliding door that Negan had slid shut, the distortion of the glass still allowing you to be able to make out the sight of him with his head tilted town and one of his palms pressed up against the wall, and the tattoo decorating his shoulder blade. There was no turning back now, you had made up your mind. You approached the glass and gave it a soft knock, the sound startling Negan a little as he turned and slid the glass just enough for him to lean into the gap he'd made.

"Everything okay?" He asked, concern tinging his voice as he used his other hand to sweep some of the hair that had fallen into his face back in place.

Your only response was the sight of your fingertips grasping the hem of your top before you pulled it over your head, holding the top in your hands for a moment as you gazed at him, trying to gauge Negan's reaction to your now exposed breasts. He seemed taken aback for a moment or two, and then his eyes darkened with lust.

"Can I join you?" You asked, fingers teasingly dancing along the waistband of your jeans as though you could tell by just the look in his eyes that he wasn't going to deny your offer.

He didn't.

"Fuck yeah you can." He rasped with a shit-eating grin, leaning back and pushing the sliding glass all the way open to make room for you to join him.

You stripped until there was nothing left, discarding all of your clothes into a pile on the tiled bathroom floor and stepping into the shower with him. The first thing you noticed was the heat. The steam from the hot water, the heat coming from Negan's body, all of it swarming your body with warmth. Then, him. All of him. From the water droplets falling from the scruff of his beard, the dark hair decorating his chest and trailing down the centre of his torso, and even the skull tattoo inked on the right side of his chest. The man was gorgeous. Your eyes dragged down his body, drinking in every inch of him until you got to the part you'd been anticipating most, but were interrupted. He cupped the underside of your jaw and urged your head back up, his thumb brushing along your chin as the tip of his thumb traced just along the edge of your bottom lip.

"You like what you're seeing, huh?" He seemed to be making more of a statement than genuinely asking, but you entertained him nonetheless.

"A lot." You replied simply, the intense and lustful look your eyes were lit with corrupting your stare as your eyes bore into his.

"Good."

He used the hold on your jaw to guide your lips to his, his lips claiming yours. The hand that had been cupping your chin moved to grasp the nape of your neck, his other hand gripping your hip and drawing your body against his. You could feel him hard against your thigh as he groaned into the kiss, his tongue slipping into your mouth so you could taste him and his hands keeping you pressed firmly against his body, your own hands beginning to wander from the top of his chest down to his abdomen. The water cascading down his shoulders caressed along your fingertips and down your breasts, the warm water trailing down your body whilst he continued to move his lips against yours until you couldn't breathe, and you were forced to pull back for air. The moment you did Negan dove his head into the crook of your neck and pressed his lips against your pulse point, gently sucking the skin there and occasionally teasing it between his teeth in a way that was sure to leave marks, his beard scratching along your jaw as he did. The attention he paid your neck had your hand rushing up the nape of his neck and into his hair, combing your fingers through the back before taking a fistful of his wet strands. The slight tension on his scalp and the way your breath was shaking right by his ear made him pause for a moment to smile against your skin, a hoarse chuckle following shortly thereafter. The warmth of his breath from the laugh felt hot on your skin, and you used the strands of hair you'd taken in your palm to urge his head back until his face was inches from yours again. His tongue swiped over his bottom lip when you found your voice.

"You've thought about this before haven't you, fucking me?"

His brows raised at your boldness, the corners of his mouth fighting a smile.

"Damn right I have. I'd have to be blind or crazy not to, you are easy on the eyes, darlin'."

"Oh?" You tilted your head as you feigned mock surprise, his eyes looking you over like you were good enough to eat, and you might just let him.

Slowly you leaned in and seductively ran your tongue over his lips, finishing with a small kittenish flick at his top lip before leaning back. You soaked up the wanton look in his gaze when you sank to your knees, your eyes locked with his all the while. Now kneeling on the floor of the shower you reached up and closed your hand around his shaft, the way his breath caught in his throat once he felt your touch giving you the encouragement you needed to lean in and run your tongue over the swollen tip, beads of precum gathering along your tongue as you did. As you licked at it you felt Negan's fingers stroke over your hair before he started to gather it in his hand, all of your hair soon clutched into his fist like a makeshift ponytail.

"Don't be a tease." He warned as he slid his free hand underneath your chin and cupped it, allowing him to use both the grip on your hair and your jaw to urge you forward.

Willingly your lips parted, his cock sliding past your lips and into your mouth.

"Fuuuck, there we go." Negan slurred as he slid further into your mouth, stopping just before he reached your throat.

He grunted once you flattened your tongue on the underside of his shaft and leant forward, bracing one of his hands against the tiled wall of the shower when he lowered his head to look at you.

"Shit, you look so good with a mouthful of cock." He rasped crudely with the dirtiest smile before pushing himself down your throat, and you fought the urge to gag as he did.

He started to move his hips, the motion prompting you to place your hands just above his knees for support whilst he slid in and out of your throat. Soon enough tears began to well in your eyes, the urge to choke too great as you finally gagged on him, the sensation making Negan momentarily screw his eyes shut before sliding out of your mouth. He let you breathe for a moment or two before he was already pushing down your throat again, his groans getting louder and deeper with every thrust.

"Ohh, good girl." He cooed, his sounds of pleasure gradually turning into a blatant string of curses as he repeatedly thrust down your throat, and you shamelessly took every single inch.

Eventually, the movement of his hips got slower, his moans getting louder until finally his hips stuttered and his abdomen began to tense. He tightened his grip on your hair, the harsh grasp burning your scalp, and then you felt the hot wet spurts of warm liquid coating your tongue. You waited until you knew he'd spilt every last drop and then carefully removed him and swallowed his release, your breath a little laboured whilst Negan hovered above you with totally ragged, uneven breath, his eyes half-lidded as he tried to come down from the high of his orgasm. A few tears had escaped your waterline and slid down your cheeks as he fucked your throat, but it had mixed with the occasional stream of water trickling down your face from the shower.

"You did so good, baby. So good." He praised as he finally released your hair from his hand and started gently running his fingers through it instead, his touch soothing some of the pain he'd inflicted upon your scalp.

You stayed like that for a moment just listening to the sound of the water until you felt his hand leave your hair and the sight of him extending it out in front of you for you to take, which you did. He helped you to your feet and wrapped his arm around your waist the second you straightened your back, his mouth crashing against yours and allowing him to taste himself on your lips, the urgency with which he kissed you making you moan into the kiss a little. Whilst he stole your air Negan guided you backwards until your back came to press against the steamy tiled wall, the condensation pooling on the tiles smearing against your skin, and the faint coolness to it making you gasp. You wrapped your arms around Negan's neck to draw him in closer, your hips subconsciously moving to bring your groin against his and allowing his still proudly hard cock to brush against your inner thigh. You broke the kiss to try to regulate your unsteady breathing, leaning back just enough so that your lips were practically still brushing, the hot heavy pants Negan breathed against your lips making you need him all the more.

"Negan?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you inside me."

He couldn't hold back the dangerous look his eyes filled with when you whispered exactly what you needed, an arrogant look in his eye as he leaned back and cockily smiled.

"Your wish is my command, sweetheart. C'mere."

He slid his hands all the way up the backs of your thighs, towards your outer thigh, and then took hold of your hips. The gesture prompted you to do a small jump that allowed Negan to hoist you up and trap you between the wall and his body, your legs wrapped around his waist as his hands moved to cup your ass. In one calculated movement Negan lined himself up and sank inside you, the way you stretched around him eliciting a filthy moan from your lips almost immediately.

"That feel good, baby?" He purred, his voice full of arrogance.

He knew it did, he just wanted to hear you say it.

"Yes, god yes." Was all you could manage as he set a hard and intense pace, drawing all the way out before slamming back inside you, the feeling of fullness with every thrust making your mouth fall open.

One of your hands slid down his chest, his dark chest hair brushing up against your fingers as you did, whilst the other slid up his shoulder and moved to rest on the nape of his neck. His fingers were digging into your skin with the grip he had on you, strands of your hair clinging to the condensation of the tiled walls as you slightly threw your head back, uncontrollable sounds of pleasure spilling from your lips from the way he roughly fucked into you. The overwhelming sensation caused you to idly weave your fingertips in the hair at the top of his neck and run your hands through the back of his hair, occasionally tugging at it when he buried himself especially deep and you could do nothing but squirm in his grip. The water was still running just off to Negan's side, the hot water wasting onto the floor and creating a small pool at his feet. With the way you'd angled your body it allowed him to lean in and lick a stripe up the valley between your breasts, your skin feverishly hot against his tongue as he gathered some of the water droplets and left nothing but a trail of spit before beginning to kiss up your throat. He littered your neck with kisses, moving his affections to the side of your neck before planting a few kisses along your jaw, his stubble scratching along the side of your face all the while. It felt like heaven. You couldn't think about anything other than his touch, the way his mouth shamelessly marked your skin, the sounds of his heavy breath and the guttural groans spilling from his throat like music to your ears. By this point your sweet moans grew to resemble sobs, your legs slightly shaking in his hold as Negan thrust into you over and over, and a feeling started to burn in the pit of your stomach unlike anything you had ever felt before.

"Negan." was all you managed to choke out, practically in the form of a cry.

All you felt was his lips claiming yours, and the occasional parting of your lips just enough for him to whisper into the kisses.

"I got you, I got you, baby." He swore over and over, his gentle reassurance paired with his hard thrusts tipping you completely over the edge, and your whimpers getting lost in his heated kisses.

You feel the knotting in your abdomen just before everything comes crashing over you, waves of pleasure ripping through your body and making you clench around him as Negan continues to fuck you throughout your high, your mind hazed with overstimulation. Eventually his movements began to stutter, his abdomen clenching amidst the deep v-lines framing his hips, and a string of gravelly curses poured from his mouth. Carefully, Negan unwrapped one of your legs from his waist and urged you to set it down on the floor of the shower, the other still wrapped around his hips as he held it there. His free hand moved down to his shaft, wrapping his hand around it and giving it a few quick strokes until he finally came. His hold on your leg became more of a firm squeeze as he threw his head back a little and grunted, liquid splashing over the top of your inner thigh and beginning to gradually trickle down your leg. The bathroom was full of steam now, the air thick with humidity and both of your chests rising and falling rapidly as you both tried to catch your breath. After a few moments you felt Negan place your other leg down, his release still dribbling down your skin as you tried to come down from your incalculable high. His breath evened out a little, his eyes still half-lidded when his hazel eyes locked with yours, his gaze capturing you amidst the knowing grin playing on his lips. You were totally fucked out, and the sight made him chuckle.

"That good, huh?" He teased with raised brows, his tongue dragging over his bottom lip making you playfully roll your eyes and manage a small laugh.

"Shut up."

You'd give credit where credit is due, the man knew what he was doing, but you couldn't allow yourself to stroke his almost nauseating large ego any further. He shook his head with a smile, both of his hands smoothing over your waist and then taking hold of it, using it to lead you towards him. You let him coax you to the space closer to the shower head, the water now splashing directly against the back of his neck and trailing down his body, droplets of water simultaneously forming along Negan's jawline and repeatedly falling from his wet beard. He kept one hand on your waist whilst the other held one side of your face, his eyes boring into yours. His head tipped forward so he could rest his forehead against yours, water sliding down his neck when he started to speak in almost a whisper at first.

"If I hit the road, I want you to come with me."

You thought you may have not heard him right at first and leant back with slightly wide eyes, shock etched into your features.

"Really?" You muttered.

"Yeah."

A moment of silence passed, the stare you shared serving as more of an answer than any words you could utter, but you parted your lips to speak and did anyhow.

"You've got yourself a deal."

[xxscarletxrosexx]

Kiss Distance: When Feelings Can't Reach | Linguistic Analyses on Rick & Rachel's lines foreshadow for TwiYor, DamiAnya, and Marthanderson from Ch. 105.5 (PART 1)

This is gonna be a take from the linguistic + literary lens regarding Rick and Rachel's lines from Spy x Family's Ch. 105.5.

Spoilers beware.

So let's talk about the film: Kiss Distance.

On X/Twitter, all I said was my analysis senses were tingling. There was a strong linguistic and creative writing/literary devices indicating foreshadow from the movie, and this just surprisingly got attention.

So now, I'm finally addressing this specific section in a long analysis post.

I cannot stress how much I love Endo-san's short chapters. There are so many things going on in terms of literary devices, and now, I think he plays with linguistics in them. I believe that the last time he did this was during Ch. 90.1 when we learned that Ania's name turned into Anya. I remember freaking the hell out that linguistics was touched upon, cuz honestly, what manga does that? Someone is finally paying attention to linguistics in a story, and it's just further pulling me into my rabbit-hole fixation and obsession with Spy x Family.

Although the chapter is only 5 pages long, it has SO MANY THINGS TO COVER. I won't be able to do that in this post, but I DID cover the entire thing in a video analysis that you can watch here:

What I will mainly cover in this post will be the film: Kissing Distance and the characters (Yor, Anya, Becky, and Martha) watching it + post-watching it. I cannot stress the ridiculous efforts embedded in just 3 pages, so I need to divide these sections into a linguistic lens (part 1) and a literary lens (part 2).

Let's start with the linguistic lens.

Spelling reflects language association + cultural history + maybe it's a meme too.

Spelling reflects language association

At the top right corner of page 2, we've got some English texts on the movie's billboard. "Interesting" and "Entertaining" are stacked on the left while "Movie" and "Theater" are stacked on the right.

Of these words, the word that stands out the most to me is Theater. English experts recognize that there are 2 spellings of this word: theater and theatre. These spelling tell you that it is either American (theater) or British (theatre).

I'm no expert on geography, but I believed that Ostania and Westalis were loosely based in Europe. I think I read someone talk about the architecture in Berlint also reflected European style houses--I'm so sorry that I can't recall who addressed it. The wars also felt like they were influenced by WWI and WWII. But what I do know is English it's my goddamn expertise. I'm not gonna be an uptight ass about pointing out every nook and cranny of inconsistent English, because that's just a whole lot of work for a creator and his team can do, realistically speaking. If Endo-san wanted perfect control in the language he's portraying in SxF, then he would need a dedicated team of linguists to help with translations. It may surprise you but there are many variations of a language (ex: English has AAVE. It's still English but used by this group of speakers--more on this later). But this is a hell hole of work, so I'm giving him so much slack on it as well as the translators handling the translations (like, really. No hate. Thank you for your services <3).

Another caveat: the English translation may also be a reflection of the translators. Maybe they favor American English than British English--who really knows? But I digress.

I'll stick to what I already know of the Ostanian language: It's English (variety is unspecificed, feels American) + Japanese.

Spelling shows cultural history

Next, let's address that these are adjectives slapped on a movie billboard. Normally, American movie theaters do not post adjectives. They post about the movie, the actors, etc. Comments about movies theaters being "family friendly" are subtext under the current film, etc. Here's an example of a movie theater from the 1950s found on gettyimages:

So this brings me to consider that English is being used as kazari eigo which means 'decorative English' in Japanese. In Chris Broad's (AbroadinJapan) words:

"... English in Japan is most commonly used as a form of cheap decorations and prestige, or value to a product and because so few people here understand it, the companies that plaster English all over their products and items rarely bother to check that it makes any sense." Reference:

Maybe it's a meme

This chapter, overall, felt really silly. There were silly drawings, silly play on words, silly foreshadows, etc. I couldn't help but think that maybe Endo-san was throwing in something amusing in these small things (cuz he's got attention to detail). Is it:

Interesting Entertaining Movie Theater OR Interesting Movie Entertaining Theater

It reminds me of:

Endo-san does have a tendency to incorporate memes into his manga/anime. Like... was Anya's jump not a Jojo's meme...? //sweats

I don't know if I'm severely poisoned by JJBA memes but, yeah, I saw it since the day this chapter came out. I just thought:

ANYA = DIO BRANDO

Anyway... whether it was intentional or unintentional (for this section), I love when mangakas incorporate something meme-y

2. Ricky's English Variety

This is where I went berzerk in this chapter with all of these small linguistic details. Ricky's speech says so much about him.

His introduction of himself is that he's a broken razor. Essentially, he's painting the bad-boy ML image. But he's not just any bad boy. He's a bad boy with issues controlling himself/the situation. In other words he's toxic and not good for us healing men/women //joking. However, out of all of these words, the one that stands out to me is shaddup. His speech suddenly changed because romance conflicts need to have a wall between the main couple. In this case, other than Ricky's pompadour, it's his speech. What we have here is a clash between English varieties.

To understand what is variety in linguistics, you might be familiar with these words: language, dialect, vernacular, and accent. Language is the most obvious, but dialect, vernacular, and accent can be a lil confusing to distinguish. So here's a definition and a chart I made to help distinguish them:

- Language: a system of communication that uses words, grammar, and spelling to convey meaning, languages can be spoken, written, or signed-- Ex: English, Spanish, Arabic, etc. - Dialect: is a variation of a language that is spoken by a specific group of people, such as a community, culture, or region. It includes differences in vocabulary, grammar, and how the language is used -- Ex: American English vs. British English vs. Australian English - Vernacular: is a type of dialect that's used by the "common people" of a region. It's a non-standard dialect that's spoken rather than written. Vernacular language is often made up of slang or regional terms -- Ex: African American Vernacular English (AAVE) - Accent: is the way people in a specific group pronounce words, which is also know as the prosody of speech. Prosody refers to the tone and musicality of someone's speech -- Ex: Boston accent

In Summary (a simplified version of the above info): Language is the standard language (aka what you learn in grammar class and in public speaking class) Dialect is born from language where it becomes variations of the language and adopts different grammar, vocabulary, and language use (like American English vs. British English vs. Australian English) Vernacular is a type of dialect used by "common people" and often include slang words and regional terms (think African American Vernacular English, or AAVE) Accent is a type of dialect that is mainly focused on prosody, or how a person pronounces a word (think Boston accent)

Now that you understand the linguistic terminologies, here's a fun exercise to show you what I see:

Ricky predominantly uses the standard English language in the film:

The moment a language's word has a (legitimate) spelling change, it automatically turns into a dialect (which touches on my previous topic about theater vs. theatre).

These are Ricky's English accents:

Finally, this is Ricky using an English vernacular:

POP QUIZ!

Now that you know what English variety is, can you guess which one Ricky has? If you guessed dialect, then you're half a step there. If you guessed accent, you're so close! But the correct answer is vernacular. This is because accent overlaps with vernacular, but accent stops at word pronunciations. Vernacular has accent and slang.

3. Discourse Analysis on Ricky's Vernacular

You should now have a good understanding of Ricky's vernacular, but now let's talk about why this is significant in discourse analysis.

Linguists who specialize in discourse analysis are responsible for analyzing why and how people speak a certain way. Many linguistic features are observed (lexicons, syntax, phonology, semantics, etc.) but what they share in common is who it's presented to. They're looking at the relationship between interlocutors (people who take part in the dialogue/conversation). In other words, depending on who you converse with, the way you speak is affected.

You may have already realized that Ricky is code-switching (a speaker switches between one or more languages and/or varieties) between standard English and his English vernacular.

Now, pay attention to who Ricky speaks to and when he code-switches.

We can observe in the above panel that Ricky uses standard English when speaking to Rachel. This is because Ricky has linguistically profiled her.

How am I so sure that he's linguistically profiled her? Well, because the majority of human beings unconsciously linguistically profile their appearances. Linguistic profiling does have a similar general word: stereotype. The only difference is that based on appearance, we make a split-second assumption and decision on how we talk to that person.

In this case, Ricky spoke first (exercising dominance through initiation) and used standard English. From a linguistic lens, Ricky is telling me: hey, I know I look like a bad boy, and you may have linguistically profiled me as someone who didn't have good education, which would have reflected in my speech, but I'm more than competent to use standard English. And because I can use standard English, I'm on the same equal playing field (metaphorically and linguistically speaking) as Rachel.

But then, notice the moment, Rachel tells him that she hates Ruffians like [him], Ricky's replies with an accent of shuddap (shut up). Linguistically, he's drawing a line between them. This also indicates that they're no longer on the same side before adding his threat: "I'll cut you!"

In this scene, notice Ricky's accent comes back again, but who is it directed to? An enemy or someone from his linguistic background. He uses this accent with an interlocutor of the same English variety background to make it clear to the person he's beaten up that he's speaking in the "language" that they both completely understand.

But, the moment Ricky speaks to Rachel, he reverts back to standard English. What this means is that Ricky is linguistically assimilating/aligning himself with Rachel to show that he's on her side. This can also mean that he's making himself appealing to her through discourse. On the other hand, Rachel makes herself appealing through physical means (her taste in clothing has changed--more on this under literary analysis).

In this scene, Ricky changes appearance (more on this under literary analysis) and he speaks using standard English. But the moment he loses his pompadour, guess what happens?

Ricky goes back to his true self and shows it through using English vernacular.

Rachel has never changed in her English, so she's always been true to herself. It's Ricky who goes through these changes. And it becomes a beautiful and romantic moment of a man undergoing change not only visually but linguistically.

4. Language parallel/mirroring between the anime and the manga

The fact that Endo-san decided to give Ricky an English vernacular in the English translation of the manga reflects his attention to details between the manga and the anime adaptation.

Linguistics in Anime (what you hear)

Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't, but Takuya Eguchi, Loid's voice actor, ingeniously incorporated different prosodic features when assuming roles for [redacted], Loid Forger, Twilight, and Robert. Catte-b covers this in her Leitmotifs in the Spy x Family soundtrack. Piracytheorist also provided a video demonstrating Loid, [Redacted], and Twilight's voices. In both posts, Eguchi's changing voice is called timbre (Catte-B and Piracytheorist have a music background). Timbre is defined as:

In other words, timbre is an individual's voice quality or vocal signature. It's how listeners can recognize a singer regardless of what song they sing and how anime watchers can identify a VA's voice by the character's name in another anime--there's just a certain quality in a person's voice that makes them identifiable.

Because of this definition, timbre is unfortunately not the correct terminology. Using vocal/voice timbre when describing vocal register, at the end of the day, is just pitch. Catte-B and Piracytheorist, however, are not wrong in their analyses. They have correctly identified one of the characteristics of speech and even provided vocal qualties (sharp, flat, soft, etc.) but the more appropriate term should be prosodic features.

I want to highlight the most important thing about prosodic features and it's the features that make it up: intonation, stress, rhythm, pitch, and pauses.

Intonation: is the variation of pitch across a phrase or sentence. > in a way, it's creating a melody when speaking. > its purpose in spoken language is to convey meaning. This is usually the case in tonal languages that require a specific pitch to indicate a word. However, in English, intonation is present when we ask a question (the last few words tend to be higher-pitched) vs. a statement which is either consistent in pitch or can sometimes be lower-pitched. Stress: involves giving prominence to one or more syllables in a word. This is achieved through increasing the length, volume, or pitch of a syllable, or by changing the vowel quality. > stress is important for helping listeners understand meaning / word class and distinguish words during rapid speech (ex: address, graduate, permit etc.) > it can be used to emphasize a specific word of a sentence (ex: Where did you go last night? vs. Where did you go last night? vs. Where did you go last night?) Rhythm: refers to the sense of movement and flow of speech. It's a combination of stress, length, and number of syllables. > mostly concerned with syllables and larger parts of speech rather than phonetic segments like consonants or vowels > important for making speech sound flow well and helps us understand what's being said > 2 most common types of rhythm in language are stress-timed and syllable-timed (English typically uses a stress-timed rhythm) Pitch: indicates highness or lowness of sound. > A person's pitch can reflect friendliness and warmth from the upper register (higher pitch spectrum) to mysterious and sexy with the lower register (lower pitch spectrum)--or at least, this is a consensus opinion that I've heard in English-speaking communities when it comes to the opinion of an individual's vocal pitch for both men and women. Pauses: a break in speaking or a moment of silence that can help add structure to the speech. Pauses have several functions: > gives listeners time to comprehend and digest the information > can be used to emphasize words or ideas > helps speakers transition between ideas > prevent rambling > can signal speech breaks, especially in languages that utilize pausing as a prominent cue > can denote high-information content

There are more prosodic features listed like juncture, loudness, duration, and tempo, but this is where it'll get too specific. Rhythm kinda already accounts for duration and tempo. Juncture is relating to annotating pauses (like indicate when a pause is greater than a certain milisecond), and loudness could kinda fall under the category of rhythm.

Timbre isn't listed as a feature, but I think it should simply because timbre is what makes your voice your voice. And because timbre is the "vocal signature", the shouldn't change--not unless you're as vocally talented as Tara Strong, who can easily change her timbre with different characters.

Eguchi-san does, however, have some roles where his timbre does change, specifically as Shuuji Hanma from Tokyo Revengers and Kazuya Kujou from Gosick (he does have some moments when he slips back to his familiar timbre).

Now that you have an understanding of what prosodic features are, you'll be able to hear that Eguchi-san's timbre doesn't change as [redacted], Twilight, Loid, or Robert. I believe Eguchi-san intentionally kept the same timbre for [redacted], Twilight, Loid, and Robert because they're all staying close to home. You can still recognize it's still the same person. But what changes are other prosodic features (intonation, pitch, rhythm, stress, and pauses). The following video is from Piracytheorist's post and the YouTube video is from Calle-B.

Here are my descriptions of the 4 voices:

[Redacted] - Intonation: N/A. Japanese is not a tonal language. - Stress: vowels and consonants are even for syllables - Rhythm: slow and steady - Pitch: low register, feels like it can be the middle (makes sense since this is the voice he's born with) - Pauses: frequent pauses (also, no way in hell you can convince me to measure the mili-second of his pause) - Tone: warm and soft - Other quality(-ies): reminds me of slight head-mix dominant (60% - 70%). In singing, a mixed voice is when a singer mixes his/her/their head voice and chest voice together (you might commonly know this as belting). But with mix voices, the singer can choose to make it an even mix of both head and chest, or leaning to either more head or more chest. Twilight - Intonation: N/A. Japanese is not a tonal language - Stress: consonants, vowels, syllables, and long phrases are rushed - Rhythm: his speed is fast. it's like water gushing out - Pitch: low(est) register. This is probably the deepest voice he can go while maintaining his timbre - Pauses: They only exist when a completed thought is finished. Twilight, BREATHE, man - Tone: cold and sharp - Other quality(-ies): sometimes his low register have a bassy quality to it Loid Forger - Intonation: N/A - Stress: His consonants and vowels are spoken fast in some syllables but also have a slight elongation typically towards the last few words of a completed thought - Rhythm: fast like Twilights, but has an upbeat rhythm to it - Pitch: upper register (it's the customer service voice lol) - Pauses: It's a mix of Twilight and [Redacted]'s. He has moments where he pauses after a long completed thought. Sometimes, he pauses in between a few words/syllables. Pauses feel irregular here--like he doesn't know if he should relax of speed up (as if he's being pulled to either Twilight or [redacted]'s pause pacing) - Tone: sounds cheerful - Other quality(-ies): 80% head-mix voice. The chest voice is still there, but head voice stands out Robert - Intonation: N/A. Japanese is not a tonal language. - Stress: elongated vowels and consonants -- similar to [redacted]. - Rhythm: originally slow and drawl. But as soon as he realizes that "Robert's mission is over", he starts speaking fast like Twilight - Pitch: low register and soft - Pauses: He has similar pauses to [redacted]. There seems to be a lil bit of longer pauses to indicate passiveness (reinforce the boring image of Robert) - Tone: monotone and soft - Other quality(-ies): head voice. The chest voice seems to be absent (chest voice is perceived as the power in singing and speech) as to reflect Robert as someone who is small and doesn't have much personality (as to not stand out during this identity). This voice is achieved by keeping your voice low but above a whisper. When "Robert's mission is over", the chest voice emerges and his head voice becomes head-mix.

Prosodic features are best accurately portrayed in discourse, meaning it's exclusively for speaking, not writing. So, how can Endo-san incorporate any linguistic feature in writing? We've already answered that with the analyses above: spelling.

Linguistics in the manga (what you read)

I've already went into great detail about spelling reflecting dialect, so I won't regurgitate what I've already covered. Instead, I want to focus on the fact that Endo-san actually acknowledges and uses prosodic features to mirror the 2 mediums of Spy x Family. This is significant because it reinforces the mirroring characters between Ricky and Loid. After all, it's going to be a foreshadow. Normally, I'd talk more about foreshadow under a literary lens, but for once, foreshadow is illustrated through linguistics.

In discourse analysis, the way you speak almost always portrays your identity.

Ricky's English vernacular is his real speech. > [Redacted]'s voice is Loid/Twilight's real speech, which often came out in the presence of Yor Forger.

Ricky speaks in standard English to mask his real voice and make himself more appealing to Rachel. > Loid's voice is used to mask both Twilight and [redacted].

Ricky gives up his pompadour (the most important thing in his life--which also happens to be a part of his identity) to destroy the "barrier" between him and Rachel. In doing so, he goes back to speaking with his English vernacular. > FORESHADOW: Loid will give up one or two of his identities for Yor (it might be Twilight and/or Loid). In exchange, [redacted] will come back.

Another possible foreshadow is what Rachel says about recognizing the importance of Ricky's pompadour to him. Because Rachel is a parallel character to Yor Forger, it can be implied that Yor would recognize how important Loid's identity is to him. In a previous analysis, I mentioned that Ch. 90.1, is the closest thing to an identity reveal. When Yor carved out Anya's name as Ania, she never once questioned it. She also didn't question when she had to carve another sign and spelled it with Anya. I'm aware of the caveat in this claim, such as Yor lacking education in Ostanian orthography which is why she doesn't react.

Be it grasping at straws or not, Yor has the emotional maturity to bounce back from the shock of an identity reveal. Yes, Yor would be sad and hurt to find out that Twilight is a spy from the opposition, but she would understand. They know they're both orphans because of the war. Yor already has a positive bias towards Loid based on observing his behavior at home, in his efforts to provide a better future for Anya, regardless of blood relationship. The point is, Yor is already infatuated with him and her feelings for him will influence her compassion and understanding for the person he's become, so bouncing back from feeling betrayal (not the romantic kind) would be faster for her than Loid.

Loid, on the other hand, may have more reluctance towards accepting the identity reveal (this is also mentioned in my Ch. 90.1 analysis). This is mainly because he's been conditioned to be skeptical and overanalyzing. So, he'll definitely need time to brood and reflect on their situation. Or, maybe he just might have already reached a point where he's just tired, and deflatingly accepts the situation. He'll self-loathe himself for being Westalis's best spy only to have married a legendary Garden assassin--seeing both as a win and loss (he'd be the type to say that he should be dead right now because his identity was revealed to the deadliest enemy). The confession of their love for one another just might be the thing to smooth out the wrinkles.

Someone once commented that, technically, losing Twilight as an identity isn't technically a loss. Twilight was born from a sacrifice. Loid technically isn't a loss either since he was born as a role for Twilight to play. Which leaves [redacted]. Like the film for Ricky, [redacted]'s foreshadowed arrival is just an opportunity for him to come in full circle.

PHEW.

This was a long linguistic analysis of these few pages, and in real-time this took me 8 hours to write. I did lose a night of sleep cuz my brain hyper-fixated on writing this. Help. But we're not done yet. The knowledge that you've acquired will definitely be beneficial through a literary lens in part 2.

I'll update this post with a link when Part 2 is finished.

[vampirevatican]

Heart Don't Stand a Chance

a record player starts, and the countess opens a book. “tonight, you'll hear the tale of two strangers growing closer. i hope you enjoy, delulutober!”

pairing - hobie brown x black! fem reader

genre/tags - MDNI, friends to lovers, unrequited/unconfessed love, smoking weed, extremely touch starved/cuddly but "we're just friends", smut, oral, groping, p in v sex, mating press, foreplay, teasing

summary - he talked you up from the club all the way to your place. you shared blunts, thoughts, and feelings, but somewhere along that road from strangers to friends something started to grow.

notes - 2.5k words, i heard this song. i thought about hobie bc as chill as he is, he carries himself like he's hot shit and even with that there is a depth to him. attempt at his british slang pattern, or bbe (black british english)... mighta blew my best work in the first half, ye.

Tonight was a clubbing kind of night. After the week you had it was crucial to go out looking the baddest and having a night on the town. You couldn't get carried away on drinks, had to drive yourself home, and didn't feel like dealing with ignorant men trying to get you wasted. Infact, you weren't gonna tolerate any nigga that tried to shoot his shot tonight. Yes you were the finest thing out here but that didn't mean you had to suffer their bullshit. Then he showed up, tall, dark and handsome.

"Hey there peng ting," and his voice, "thought I could chirps you for a bit." You let him, but find yourself rolling your eyes. "Alright boy, what's ya name?" You take the bait and with that cute accent of his he says, "Hobie, Hobie Brown. Yours?" Your heart, or something else, was already dead set on how hot he is and if the conversation went nice this exception would be worth it. It was, because he spent that night just talking to you. Sure he flirted but it felt more like a teasing banter than him being desperate for you to be in his bed.

He would've been drinking but decided to hold off for you, "Who needs Vera Lynn, when you're here, I'm already bein' entertained." You laughed and he swore he'd never hear a more beautiful sound. "So where's your ends, would've spotted a pretty bird like you a while ago." Hobie could feel that you were trying to stay guarded but you hadn't pushed him away or backed off. "Islington," She answered and took a sip of her drink with those shiny lips, "From outta the country for a bit. Call it a vacation and business trip." Her voice was like music to his ears and he couldn't get enough, "Ah, you're my neighbor then. Islington a straight shot to London, innit? If you're doing business, what's your business here then?" Basic small talk but he had gotten all the info he needed out of you then and there. Name, Occupation, Intrests and a couple other base line things along with hearing that lovely laugh.

It was far too long for the both of you to have felt such a spark and comfortability between another person. Sure he had his 'bredrin' but something about this was different, it was like there was more to it. The night flew by and even though the club was packed it felt like it was just you and him.

"So you usually frequent pubs like this?" You asked him and he simply shrugged, "A bit of a pass time. I see you've caught up with some of the slang, what do you get up to?" The conversation stayed like this, shooting questions back at each other, "When I ain't busy, I stick to my own. Foreign place and I'm not trying to get in no rubble." Occasionally flirting, "You're looking dench, ya always dress that sharp or is it just for me?" You ask and he compliments you right back. "Got pretty nice garms yourself. If you want it to be just for you, go ahead." He said, not shooting down your advances either.

With a drink or two, low in alcohol, for the both of you he offered to take this night out on the town with him as an escort. Both of you leaning against the bar and looking out at the sea of people he leaned down next to you and said, "Like a suitcase in here. Should head on out if we want the privacy." Something about that didn't sound like a terrible idea, so you agreed and let him hitch a ride in your car. Sharing playlists together on the ride back to your place, since he didn't really mind where he woke up and unbeknownst to you he was looking out for your comfortability and safety.

That was your first night in the UK you didn't spend alone. Yeah you had made some friends over here and sometimes there were sleepovers that consisted of binging shows, doing each other's hair or makeup. Some indoors and sometimes outdoors fun, but this was vastly different. His fine, lanky ass was waltzing through your apartment like he owned the place before plopping down dead center on the couch. Man spreading and arms outstretched on the back of the couch.

"What?" Hobie simply asked when he caught you staring. It wasn't like he minded it, infact he thought it was cute and it gave him time to stare when those pretty brown eyes focused somewhere else. It felt like you were tracing the outline of his body, sketching down the details instead of stripping him bare. " 's rude to stare, leng." He said, propping his hands behind his head and putting his boots on the coffee table, closing his eyes for a second before catching your gaze to see you try and hold back a smile as you rolled your eyes and shook your head. "You're bare brown, a damn mess." The way she mixed his slang and hers was cute too, 'We should mix like that...' he thought but shook it off as he picked up the remote to put something on the TV. Meanwhile in your room you decided to go ahead and unwind because, you're back home, it's late, and you'll be damned if you don't wash your face and get into something comfortable.

Hearing your footsteps he didn't even turn his head to address you at first, "Almost thought you'd leave me he-" He was cut off by a huge bonnet smacking him in the face. "Dumbass, it's my flat and if you spending the night; like i expect you to," you said muttering that one bit of expectations, "then put that on, no need to fuck up those nice locs when we skin folk." He obliged and felt you settle in beside him. It couldn't have been the drinks, so it had to be genuine, because looking at you in your bonnet and a huge sleep shirt was enough to make his heart skip a beat. She was definitely still leng without the makeup, fancy dress or accessories. "A bit rude to stare, innit?" and that beautiful voice.

Since that night you two have had smoke and jam seshes, movie nights, youtube, and streaming binges. You had gotten his number and address and would swing by anytime you could if he couldn't because you were 'neighbors'. Some nights he'd stay and spend some of the morning with you, and vice versa. Other times he had other things to do and so did you, or was it being petty? You weren't sure and couldn't quite understand it either. Though thinking on the nights before, as the sun rose, whenever you got in the shower or took a bath it felt like washing off glitter. Cleaning off the sparkle and shine his very presence filled you with, it was like any other mundane task and life returned to normal, until he came along again. Nights of watching some thing and laying your head on his shoulder, laying down in his lap, being held in his arms. Flopping down on your bed you let out the biggest sigh. If you loved him, it would be too much to handle. He couldn't feel the same way back, he's just really comfortable with you, right?

Tonight was just like any other night but the days before weren't. Each morning or late-night goodbye was reconciling with the thought of something more. Hobie couldn't get you out of his mind and every time you hung out he couldn't stop overthinking exactly what you thought of him. If it wasn't that it was focusing on you. How your soft brown skin felt against him, how you looked up at him, your lips either glossed over or baren, the shape of your body, the way you got more and more comfortable with him. Your head on his shoulder and watching the TV as you both commentated over a show you've seen more than once now. "Hobie?" your voice pulled him out of the trance you had always put him in, though the thoughts of fucking you didn't stop and they were just stronger now with you being so close. "You wanna take a hit or nah?" He could only nod and took the blunt from you, 'I am... way too horny to talk to this woman right now...' This was definitely true but from your perspective, it seemed like any other day, until you went to lay your head on his lap, and in an instant you were sitting on his lap.

You could feel just how hard he was through his sweatpants and now you were both just staring at each other. Brown eyes locked in a staring contest, waiting for a first move while drowning in each other's gaze. His hands slide up and down your sides and settle at your hips and you feel a shiver down your spine. "H...hobs," your voice was like a whisper as he got closer to you, "Yeah?" He broke his stare by looking at your slightly parted lips, and without another word, he kissed you. His kiss trails from your lips to your neck as he makes a low groan from you rocking your hips and wiggling ever so slightly. His hips slightly buck upwards as a whine leaks out from his lips, while he nuzzles your neck and whispers, "This has been on my mind, all day." Both of your grinding stops for a moment as your hands go to cup his face and force him to look at you directly. "Hobie, if you feel the way that I feel... then I trust you." With those words, he felt instant encouragement and a softness in his heart. He kissed you once more, just as passionately but it felt more intimate instead of heated.

Squeezing your hips and caressing your thighs brought the both of you back to your previous activities, and you continued to rub upon his grey sweatpants that had started this mess. Breaking the kiss once more, you rest your forehead on his shoulder and moan out to him. "Hobie, please... more." His hands were playing with the waistband of your shorts and hearing your plea he pulled them down, along with your panties, with your help. Now, straddling him you go to pull at his sweatpants, "Closed mouths don't get fed, if you want me to join ya just say so." He teased and you rolled your eyes, getting up off of him and then getting on your knees as you pulled off his sweatpants. His cock sprung out and you licked your lips, he could've sworn his heart skipped a beat. Stroking him and kissing up and down his shaft, maintaining eye contact you tease him back, "Hm? What is it Hobie, did you want more." You say before licking slowly from the base and up to his tip, feeling his hips shudder and another whine escape his lips. He didn't need to ask, feeling your mouth take him in before he could say anything. His hands gripping the couch cushion he was sitting on as you sucked him off, stopping for a moment and taking one of his hands and placing it on your twists. "You can touch, like I said I trust you." Feeling the long twists in his hands and stroking your head he smiled, "Thank you." Taking his length back into your mouth you hummed in approval, continuing where you left off.

Just as he was about to cum you stopped and he let out a laugh and groan, "What now baby?" Hearing that pet name made your heart soar as you stood up and sat on his lap again, taking off your shirt and bra, back pressed to his chest as you rested your head on his shoulder again. "You're either gonna fuck me hard or reciprocate, Id like both though." Your breath against his ear gave him goosebumps, and he swallowed hard. His hard-on slightly twitched from your words and you slid your slit up and down his shaft, the slick spreading across him.

Without saying a word he started to rub circles into your clit, the right amount of pressure that made you hips chase his hand while still grinding on him. His other hand made it's way to one of your tits as he kissed and licked at you neck. Your moans filled the room and after enough foreplay you guided him into your hole and started to ride him. Hips rolling back and forth as he thrusted upwards and kept you steady on him by holding your hips.

In the moment you turn to look at him and his gaze was focused on where you swallowed him whole, he looked as entranced as any other time you caught him just looking at you. You whisper in his ear, "You fit so good inside, filling me up just rig-ht!" Your voice becomes a slight screm of surprise as he turns you around and picks you up, standing, with him still inside. Feeling you clench around him he chuckles and you drop your head on his shoulder. "Aw, you were close huh?" He coos to you as he moves to your bedroom and lays you down on the bed. When he slides himself out you can't help but let out the most desperate whine, but it's then replaced with some silence as you feel him lift your legs. Knees pressed to you shoulders,"Don't worry, gonna fill you right up again." Your heart beat quickens and your skin feels so hot that only standing in a freezer could cool you down, after hearing those words against your ear. He slams himself back in and sit for a second drinkng in your loud scream and you falling apart on his cock. He then rode you through the mid point of your orgasm, riling you up all over again.

You woke up the next morning with him by your side, your limbs tangled with eachother. Neither of you left eachother that morning and when he had to go he kissed your forehead. The next week that followed was radio silence on both ends and from that night you couldn't deny it anymore. It was more than just the sex, it was his prescene alone in any context that put you on cloud nine. A feeling like this was few and far inbetween and you couldn't resist when he offered to hang out again, this time at his house boat.

Laying side by side on his mattress, looking at the stars through the sun roof, you didn't cuddle up to him like you usually did. "What's wrong?" He simply asked and you looked over to find his gaze lazer focused on you. "You love me right?" Is all you could manage, word vomit, a ridiculous question but he didn't think of it as such. Pulling you closer to him as he wrapped his arms around you and stroked your hair, still in those long and pretty twists. "Of course I do, and I promise I ain't going no where."

[lakesbian]

Will you share your twig fanfic at some point? The lil snippets into their adventures are so entertaining

ok so so far i have. one chapter thats jsut like. a rewrite picking up right after 13.11 that's like "hey what if the way the conversation about jessie liking sy/sy putting up walls went Wasnt wildly homophobic and transmisogynistic." i think it's fine and probably about as edited as it's going to get. i'm trying to add to that at least one more chapter that's about like. The ensuing shitshow (good, funny) of sy being really bad and awkward about actually starting up the relationship with jessie bc hes nervouse. but i'm struggling with finding how to reasonably plotwise add a chase scene/the general shenanigans i want to fit in it so i'm worried i'm gonna get stuck there. the ultimate goal for it would be it being a 2 or 3 chapter affair max that ends in sy & jessie properly starting their relationship. if i get really horrendously stuck i might just post the first chapter alone but id like to try to believe in myself

i have a few other snippets that were just basically like me doing the writing equivalent of doodling like. the sleeping beauty one i posted on tumblr + one re the line abt sy gifting jessie the same pen twice by accident + one re my 'why arent cigarettes in twigland super cool and packed with all kind of random shit' complaint. the only other thing thats. I Guess Finished. is like a snippet re 'hey its fucking crazy that wildbow had jessie pose as sy's fiancee when they infiltrated an academy and it was just literally never talked about' that Spiraled. and now it's 3 consecutive longer scenes that are kinda about how i think jessie & sy should be stupid in love, and kinda about how i think we should kill wildbow for not writing jessie being the world's best most functional fit for sy's psychosexual fixations, and kinda about how i think helen should have a Weird dynamic with them, and kinda about how i think it's dumb that sy never gets to have a more developed/understanding relationship with helen despite spending months living with her as a young adult. realistically i should show it to people who are not my friends at this point but Maybe I'me Shy.

and i also wanna keep working on/finish one i started that's a rewrite/continuation of a scene during the black woods quarantine bit that's about like. their fucked up sad little 17-18yo old married couple with Mortality Imminent vibe. but i feel like i wanna go back to that After i finish the stuff that's chronologically earlier? because i started it first, and i think it helped and was fun as a 'where do they go' thing, but i dunno. i might want to get things more straight in my head with the earlier stuff first even if not everything has to be perfectly consistent with each other.

initially i was envisioning just having one fic i update with snippets in each chapter but the thing is that with snippets Spiraling i dunno how i'd post things. i guess the 13.11-> rewrite would obviously be its own thing, but i don't know if the one i mentioned abt the fiancee stuff would count as its own fic vs a snippets series or What. and i should also really before i post anything have someone who 1. has amenable taste and 2. has actually fucking read twig read it and provide thoughts on if anything should be shot before it makes it out of the carriage. but also i fear we have a milquetoast enough situation going on here that it's one of those things where it's a bit silly to go "here..... Critical Review, Please" because it's not Serious Enough writing 4 that. so maybe i should just post shit who's to say

[seafoamstatice]

Some season 4 thoughts!

Not gonna lie, while I really liked a lot of the character moments, twists, and jokes from this season but some parts of the plot... didn't really make sense to me.

Something interesting to me is that in every season but this one, it's always established 1) why the police can't be trusted to investigate the murder and 2) why Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are making a podcast about it. It's used as set up for why the audience should root for them. In season 1, the police think its a suicide so the close the case. Oliver needs the money from the podcast, Charles is lonely, and Mabel has a personal stake in the mystery. In season 2, the police think its the trio. They make the podcast to prove to the public that they're innocent so they can move on with their lives. In season 3, the police arrest the wrong guy and close the case. Mabel drops the first episode to exonerate the guy and get him out of jail. In this season, its specifically stated that the feds are investigating, and while the trio has a reason to look into what happened, they don't have a reason to record and release a podcast about it (other than force of habit). In fact they have good reason not to do that: their first theory is that it was a case of mistaken identity and Charles was the intended target. If they think the danger isn't over, it would be ridiculously irresponsible to tell the public (and potentially the killer) where they are in the case.

Charles' and Oliver's story arcs were great! I especially liked Charles learning to open up about his feelings, and coming to terms with Sazz's death, it was really sad yet heartwarming. But! Mabel's arc is kind of baffling to me. I was really glad to see season 4 set up her developing her career, but it kind of felt like it petered out at the end? What was the point of setting up Animal Jobs and Mabel feeling bad about using Howard like a disposable lackey if they were going to go on to forget about the whole thing and treat Howard the exact same way? Mabel learned to see herself as a podcast producer, she flexed her creative muscles and started drawing again, but at the end of the season, she says that she doesn't belong in the entertainment industry??? She was inspired to make something of herself using her life rights money but the story she pitched to Bev Melon at the end of ep 10 is very clearly just season 4 of the omitb podcast- something she already had the means to do! (I will say, Bev's second phone call implies that this storyline may not be over, so I'm fully prepared to eat these words after season 5)

The trio's danger handling skills are so weird? When they realize someone is watching them they rush out of the Arconia in a panic. Some people call them out for not noticing loose ends. They come back to confront the supposed culprits and find out actually, they weren't responsible for the cameras at all. And so, still not knowing who it was and whether its safe to do so, they fully drop the issue and go right back on to live there? (This plot line might also be brought up again, so idk, if they can come up with a good explanation for why they did this, then fine)

I think it's super fun that Sazz was investigating things all on her own. It reminds me of that joke from season one where Jan complains that the trio trust Sazz, who randomly showed up, to investigate, but not Jan herself, who was Charles' girlfriend and Oliver says something like "Sazz is a stunt double, so I think she knows what she's talking about!" But I think it's so out of left field that Sazz is a really good screenwriter. Sazz is an extremely successful stunt double who comes from a family of stunt doubles and dreams of opening a school for young stunt doubles. Why is she writing rpf so good that on her first try it's blockbuster-movie-with-famous-celebrities worthy? It feels kind of unfair to the audience... If random characters can secretly be insanely skilled at random things that don't fit their previous characterization, then how could anyone ever guess motives for murders or any given character's capabilities?

Same with Marshall/Rex's skillset. He's introduced as a nerdy, anxious writer, but it turns out he's also a prodigy marksman who angsts about whether or not he's a violent person and secret former stuntman who's great at parkour? Ok?

I don't wanna nitpick plot holes, but I think it doesn't make sense for Marshall to kill Glen? The day Sazz confronts Marshall is the day before the opening night party, and she says then that they are the only two who know the script was stolen, meaning while Glen knew about the ronkonkoma incident, he would likely have no clue about Marshall stealing the script. In the omitb universe, coincidences like 'a group of people conspiring to cover up a death happen to know the trio's movie's directors, and also happen to live right across from Charles' are seen as reasonable. Sudden drastic career changes like genius stunt double to genius first time (!!) scriptwriter are seen as reasonable. So even if Glen did end up recognizing Marshall as Rex, it wouldn't tie him to the murder, it would just be a fun coincidence. It's possible Marshall just panicked, but that would be strange because he was very calm when the trio chased him and interrogated him. He managed to pretend that he was relieved they were asking him about the murder and not the rewrites! I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, but...

Admittedly I don't know much about trash incinerators, but from what I can tell, Gravey leads the gang to a chute that leads to the incinerator and then they go down to the basement to check what's in it. If Marshall put Sazz's body in the chute, why did he need to bring the vest? Do you have to wear flame resistant clothing just to turn on an incinerator?

Helga says that Sazz said her protege messed up badly and started harassing her. But in the flashback we see that they remained friends post stuntman career. Marshall tricked Sazz into giving him the script and she confronted him right before going to New York, meaning that their relationship was only antagonistic on both sides for like a day. So Marshall was harassing Sazz for at most one day. When did Sazz talk to Helga?

Are the westies... gonna be ok? Since the police know dudenoff is dead they can't really keep the rent control scheme going on, can they?

Ok this last one is really stupid but is the omitb movie just gonna go with Sazz's original screenplay? Didn't it need a bunch of rewrites lol?

All in all, I still really did like the season. It was a super fun watch, with exciting twists and the comedy and acting were still great! And who knows, maybe they'll revisit some of this stuff in future seasons! I'm already looking forward to season 5. I'm actually surprised they picked Lester, poor guy! I was thinking it would probably be someone new so they didn't lose too much of the supporting cast too quickly. The new character, Sofia, looks super cool, and I'm excited to see Olimabel (the Charles is silent) take on organized crime after dealing with four cases that were all about interpersonal drama. And I'm definitely excited for a mystery that seems very much tied to the Arconia.

[unreliablesnake]

The first proper date (Kyle "Gaz" Garrick x reader)

Summary: You go on her first proper date with Gaz.

Note: The reader's call sign is Mare. Yes, originally she's gonna be with Ghost, but I just wanted write this stand-alone one-shot.

Warning: afab!reader

There was something about the way Gaz could look at you that made your breath catch in your throat, making you freeze like a deer in the headlights. His eyes usually spoke louder than words, silently telling you what he was thinking about even when you were on a mission.

You could be in a crowded room, your eyes locking for only a few seconds, and you would know all the dirty things he would like to do with you once you left. It made you feel embarrassed, because you didn't want to be that girl, the one who so desperately needed her boyfriend's affection.

"Why don't we get out of here?" he asked, leaning so close to your ear that his lips brushed against your earlobe.

It sent shivers down your spine and you reached out to grab his jacket, looking for something that could keep you grounded. You couldn't manage to say anything, so you simply nodded, then followed him outside.

On the street his hand found yours, fingers tightly wrapping around yours as you walked side by side. This was the first time you went on a proper date in years. Sure, Graves often took you to parties, but you were just friends, so it wasn't the same.

Gaz had done his best to keep you entertained the entire night, cracking jokes every now and then, and guiding you to his funniest friends to let you be part of interesting conversations. The private part of his life surprised you. What you see on missions isn't always in line with one's true personality.

And Gaz was funny. And weird. And intelligent. And so fucking handsome.

The worst part? He was painfully aware of this.

He took you home, not ready to let you go to the hotel just yet. "I don't even know why you stay there. You should be here. With me," he told you with a smile as you stood in the elevator.

He had you pinned against the wall, his fingers curled around your throat, thumb pushing your chin up to make you look him in the eye. His lips were hovering just above yours, as if he was trying to torture you by not letting you close the gap.

The elevator came to a halt and the door opened, so he let you go and stepped out, acting as if nothing happened in there. You followed him, legs still weak, your panties already damp from the wetness of your cunt. This man had you in a chokehold and you desperately wanted to thank him.

"Krusty's gonna be super excited to meet someone new," he noted as he opened the door to his apartment, talking about his beloved border collie you had heard so much about already.

You couldn't hold back your laugh at the thought of the dog's name. "I still can't believe you named your dog after Krusty the Clown."

"Hey, I grew up watching The Simpsons," he said in his defense. "I learned to appreciate this sad old clown when I got older."

Raising a hand to your mouth, you had to bite on your thumb to stop yourself from kissing him. You couldn't do it in the hallway, because if you did, you didn't know if you could stop at a kiss. You wanted him so badly that it took all of your willpower to resist him.

Once inside, you were greeted by the black and white furball, and the dog immediately showed he liked you by licking your hand. Gaz kneeled down and hugged the dog, even picking up a nearby toy to see if he wanted to play.

But the dog was too excited to have him back, the toy wasn't interesting at all. "I've only been gone for a few hours. Imagine what he's like when I'm on a longer mission," he explained with a smile. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Maybe water, thanks."

You watched as he went into the kitchen to get a glass and some water for you and couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to be here with him for longer than a fleeting visit. Maybe you could make breakfast together, cook together, or just chill on the couch and watch some movie.

It was something you weren't used to, the idea was alien and normally seemed so impossible to happen. But as you looked at him, it still felt possible. Gaz was the kind of guy who could give you that, a normal relationship that was more than just being friends with benefits.

When he returned he began to caress your cheek as he watched you. "What are you thinking about?" he asked with an interested look in his brown eyes.

"You," you admitted.

"Oh, is that so?" He was close to you again, so dangerously close. But he probably knew that and it was intentional. "What about me?"

Instead of answering, you leaned in to kiss him, lips moving slowly, carefully tasting him when your tongue found its way into his mouth. You could feel him smile into the kiss as he put his hands around your neck and pulled you closer than you thought was possible.

Even though he pulled away, he rested his forehead against yours and watched your face, studying every little movement, and the look in your eyes. He wanted to know everything to plan his next move.

"I know what you want," he began quietly, "but you'll have to wait."

He was killing you, damn it. "Why?"

"Because I say so," Gaz said with a short laugh.

"Are you enjoying this?"

He gave you a quick kiss, obviously satisfied to hear you whimper when he pulled away again. "Oh, you have no idea. But I picked a movie for us, so we'll watch that first."

With a sigh you nodded, accepting your faith. He took your hand and pulled you towards the couch, where you sat down and rested your head on his shoulder. Gaz looked over at you with a smile as he wrapped an arm around you. It was nice. It was new. It was different. It made you all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Maybe you were starting to fall in love with him.

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝔽𝕝𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕪 ☆ 𝔻𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ @bleachtheidiot @akitosheart @bl4cktourmaline @nenes-numberonefan @ravenmoon903

ᵀᴼᴰᴬʸ'ˢ ᴬᴿᵀ : Fluffy ☆ Dreamland - Nene Kusanagi

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

School was always very stressing for you... and usually, you left it with a very bad mood due to all the misfortunes that happened when you were there...

Here you got a bad grade, here someone decided to pick on you, here you discover another "friend" talks behind your back...

But there was one good thing that you were always awaiting for at the end of each day... to go to sleep and meet again the nice green haired girl that somehow knew about just the right way to cheer you up! And that was enough to make you wake up in much better mood, and keep going with school life...

Today was no different. You had one of the bad days yet again... so you decided to take a shower and go to sleep sooner than usual. But when you began dreaming and looked all around the fluffy and pink landspace... she was nowhere to be seen...

"(Where is she...)"

You were starting to grow worried as you looked around for hours... that's when you sighed and gave up, flopping onto the ground.

"Guess another one leaves me... yay..."

"S-Sorry! I didn't expect you'd get here so... quickly..."

"And I you'd get here so late..."

"Yeah I... practiced for upcoming show a bit longer..."

"Oh another one?"

"Yes... uh... would you like to see some lines?"

"Sure. Your shows are usually... pretty entertaining."

And with that, she cleared her throat and began acting like usually. First she had small blush but then, she turned into natural and when she singed with her gentle voice, you were absolutely mesmerized by her~

Once she finished, you gave her an applause. Right before you felt yourself slowly waking up... so you just sent her final smile.

"I'm sure you'll do great on your show. It was perfect."

And before you opened your eyes in real world, you could see her glad smile and nod. But before she could say anything more... you woke up thanks to alarm of your phone. And you knew... it was time for another hard day at school...

When you were over the day and at the verge of crying, you decided to take a longer path just to calm down. And that's when you noticed advertisement that caught your attention.

"('Pheonix Wonderland'...? 'Where your dream become a reality - at Wonder Stage'...)"

You got curious and not thinking much about it, you decided to give it a try! Their last show is coming to and end but... surely you can still see what it's all about?

When you entered, you saw 4 people performing and... it surely seemed like all childs dreams coming to reality on that stage alone! But your eyes were glued to someone else... girl with green hair... girl that looked exactly like the one from your dream...

"(She's... real?!)"

You were already considering if she could remember you as well! But that's when you remembered it was a dream... and it's probably just a coincidence that your brain thought of a person that looks exactly like her.

"(Nah... no way...)"

But after the show ended, and her eyes looked around, she freezed on you, being just as shocked if not more as you few minutes ago. Though not wanting to be a creep, you decided to leave that be without pushing it further and turned to leave. That's before someone tugged your hoodie when you were almost at the exit.

"E-Excuse me..."

"Uh- Oh... it's you... ehem. Sorry uh... What is it?"

"You... I know how... weird it sounds but... do you remember me?"

This time, it was your eyes that widened for a second. It took you a while to process that this "normal dreams" you were having may not be so normal after all...

"Y-Yeah... do you?"

"Yes. But... I'm kinda hoping... we're on the same page."

"Hm... One word. Dreams?"

"Yes! So you are..."

"Mhm. Trust me, I'm just as surprised."

She simply nodded with that gentle smile you're probably gonna remember forever. She was a bit emberassed that a person she used as her way to practice couragness is real...

"So... hypothetically... if we won't meet again.. at night... can you come here tomorrow?"

"Hm... Sure. And if we do?"

"Then... we can keep things as they were..."

"Sounds good to me~"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

[halfetirosie]

🔥🔥🔥 RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WANT TO COMMIT A MURDER WITH ME!!!! 🔥🔥🔥

(Elysium 04-05 React-os!)

1) Eiden making an excellent point here--

Even in our own world, there's still a lot of stigma around "red light districts" and/or the industries they involve (sex work, alcohol, recreational drug use, etc). While you should always be careful and responsible with these activities, they are not inherently bad!

(I feel like some people might have gotten the wrong idea about my thoughts on these things--specifically, on drug use--from my last post. But please don't misunderstand; I am NOT against any of these things. What I AM against is people deliberately exploiting others using these things, fueling addiction for their own profit. ♡)

2) Dude, of course Kuya put his own essence-infused bracelet into the mix!

Why don't you just properly PROPOSE to him already, you foxy bastard??? (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

It's cute, but also funny that he did this. Like, I imagine that when Kuya saw this bracelet event was happening he knew Eiden would be interested in participating too; and since he's jealous and possessive, he specially added his essence to the bracelet so Eiden would be sure to choose his---thus, not being paired with anyone else!

Kuya is certainly back on his Tsundere Bullshit™!

....And also his Yandere Bullshit™ I guess??? (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

3) Oh no.... Well, SHIT....

Look, I assumed Kuya had to have been involved in starting the Elysium club, but to be involved with the creation of that whack-ass addictive drug????? Bruh.....

Like, that alone wouldn't have bothered me that much, but since we've seen how Reverie addiction is becoming a serious problem [in the Water Territory], I ain't gonna lie, I am not very pleased with the fox right now...

4) SPEAKING OF YANDERE BULLSHIT---

*Hisses in this bitch's general direction*

CREEPY! WEIRDO! BAD VIBES! EW!!!!

What is it with Kuya attracting so many freaks? First the stalker tanuki, and now THIS creature????

5) Hm... I'm guessing Kuya got into this who agreement with Vampire Bitch for the sake of sufficient entertainment---a.k.a sufficient distraction from his long-ass life....

I'm guessing Kuya has gotten tired of the activities that take place here---which might be a good sign, showing that he's more "entertained" by the daily life with the clan? Maybe?

....WAIT......

MORE IMPORTANTLY---WHAT'S THIS THING VAMPIRE BITCH IS SAYING HE "ARRANGED"???

HE BETTER NOT BE REFERRING TO OLIVINE, I SWEAR TO GOD I'MMA THROW HANDS---

6) Oh? Could it be? A Responsible Kuya™???

I am now a bit less upset with Foxy Grandpa! I'm impressed he had the foresight to tell Vampire Bitch not to force the drug onto people.

...Although, the fact that Kuya felt the need to bring this up in conversation could have worrying implications. Like, does that mean he found out that people were being forced to take the drug? 🤔

Either way, I'm glad Kuya is going to cut ties with this shady place.

7) Huh, it seems like Vampire Bitch is REALLy REALLY officially being cut off.

(◔_◔) Dawg, that superficial answer will NOT impress the fox...

I think the answer Kuya was looking for has to do with my theory of what Kuya himself was looking for in Elysium---and also why the word "Dream" is plastered all across this event. He probably wanted to hear something along the lines of, "To escape from reality," "To live in a dream," or hell, "To be happy."

But Vampire Bitch must never have been in this business for these reasons---or maybe he forgot it over the years. Now, he's just corrupt.

8) NOOOOO!!!! I WAS FUCKING RIGHT!!!!!!

THIS

BASTARD

WAS TREATING OLIVINE LIKE AN OBJECT

AND PLANNING TO "GIFT" HIM TO KUYA??????

I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!!!!!!!

,; (ง 🔥 ﾛ 🔥 )ง ;,

Gang. Think about this for a second. He never says he's going to "introduce" Olivine to Kuya. He refers to Olivine as a form of "entertainment" and a "gift."

This BASTARD was trying to PIMP OLIVINE OUT WITHOUT HIS CONSENT.

And why might he think he can do that? What methods do you think this DRUG DEALER might have used to achieve that, hm?????

This is REALLY HELLA BAD.

HOW DARE HE?!?!?!?!?!

*ENRAGED SCREAMING ECHOES INTO THE NIGHT*

🔥 End of report! 🔥

[lem-20]

Home

Fandom/Pairing: The Wayhaven Chronicles/ Felix Hauville x f!detective (Mila Wilson)

Rating: Explicit 🔞 minors dni

Word count: 2.4k

Summary: Felix spends the night with the detective after her welcome home party at the end of book 3

A/N: This is purely self indulgent as I haven't been able to stop thinking about Felix after going through his route for the first time, and I honestly feel that F doesn't get anywhere near enough attention! So here, have some smut, sandwiched between fluff, with a tiny bit of angst.

Read on AO3

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you tidy up?" Tina slurs over her shoulder as Verda tries to guide her out of the apartment.

"I'm sure, Tina," Mila replies. "You organised the whole thing, so no cleaning up for you. Besides, I think bed is the best place for you right now."

"I'm barely even tipsy." She tries her best to walk in a straight line, but stumbles, knocking her leg on the edge of the coffee table. "Ouch!"

Mason lets out a snigger and Nate glares at him before turning to Verda, "I'll help you to make sure she gets home safely."

Verda gives him an appreciative nod.

"Thank you both," Mila shouts out after them as they open the front door and walk Tina out.

"I'm gonna stay to help Mila," Felix announces, as Adam and Mason head for the door.

"Okay, I'll see you when you're back," Adam says, then glances over at Mila. "Goodnight, Agent Wilson," he nods, before turning back towards the exit. Her new title seems to flow freely from his lips, resulting in a rush of warmth to her chest. Feeling accepted by Unit Bravo means more to her than she could possibly express, and she's well and truly part of the team now.

"Enjoy," Mason smirks. Felix shoves him out the door, but Mila notices that he's trying to conceal a smile as he does so. Their playfulness with each other never fails to entertain her.

Felix closes the door and presses his back against it. Their eyes meet and they hold the gaze for a moment, sending Mila's heart into a flutter, which is the case for pretty much any time she's in Felix's company. She bites her lip in anticipation...

"Right, let's get tidying then," he says, pushing off the door, and Mila almost lets out a disappointed groan.

He grabs a bag and starts to shove random bits of rubbish into it. Mila stands on the spot, enjoying the view as he bends to pick things up off the floor. Then he catches her looking. "You know, this cleaning up would be done much quicker if you helped," he winks.

"Well to be honest, I didn't think you were actually planning to help tidy," she replies.

"Why wouldn't I?" He does a very exaggerated stretch up to unpin a decoration from the ceiling, causing his top to lift, revealing several inches of his toned stomach.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you" she giggles.

"I know how you love to look at me, I thought I'd give you a bit of a show," he smirks.

She walks over to him, taking the bag off of him and cupping his face with her hands. "Kiss me," she demands.

He doesn't comply instantly, instead he smiles at her. "I love how direct you are now, not that I didn't enjoy how much I could make you blush when we were first getting to know each other."

She raises her eyebrows at him. "Your flirting was very forward and I'm not used to that kind of thing."

"But you loved it," he teases.

She lets out a sigh, "I can't exactly deny that now, can I? I'm sure your hypersenses made it obvious that I did."

He places his hand on her chest. "Oh yes, the sound of your rapid heartbeat very quickly became my favourite song. It still is."

Mila bites her lips together and laughs through her nose as she feels herself going all weak and silly. His sweet, if not cheesy, lines always have her feeling as though she's about to melt into a puddle.

Felix gives a smug smile and places a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Stay with me tonight?" she asks as their lips part.

"Of course, babe. I couldn't possibly leave you on your own on your first night back at home," he replies.

"Thank you. I'm so glad that we get to spend some time together," she lazily drags a finger down his chest, stopping just above his trousers. "Alone."

"And what do you have in mind to fill that time?" he asks, followed by a hard swallow.

"Oh the possibilities are endless," she smirks, before letting out a yawn.

"We don't have to do anything like that tonight if you don't want to, I'm guessing you're probably tired after your party?" He wraps his arms around her waist, leaning back so he can look at her face.

"No, I'm okay. I want to, like really want to." She places her hands on his chest, looking up into his eyes, "unless you don't?"

"Oh babe, I always want to," he grins, "I can never get enough of you."

She bites her lip to hold back the huge grin that is trying to escape, but she doesn't need to as Felix smothers her mouth with his. Their lips stay together, tongues dipping into each other mouths as they do their best to head for the bedroom without toppling over.

Felix's hands are busy peeling off Mila's clothes on the way, and she's completely naked by the time they get there.

"Now, that's a talent," she says, briefly breaking the kiss.

"One of many," he smiles.

"Mm hmm," she replies, and their lips are back together as she unbuttons his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. Her hands move to his chest, running down his toned muscles before stopping at the button of his trousers. She hesitates for a moment, then rubs a hand across his crotch, feeling how tight they have become around his growing bulge.

She pops the button and pushes his trousers down, followed by his underwear, allowing him to bounce free.

His hands slide softly down her back, leaving a tingling trail in their wake. He gives a gentle squeeze when he reaches her rear, then hoists her up into his arms.

Her legs wrap around his waist as he steps out of the puddle his clothes are now in and carries her the few steps it takes to reach the bed, then he lowers her slowly down onto the mattress.

Their lips come back together in a kiss so full of passion that she can barely focus on anything other than how her whole being feels completely consumed by him.

She's snapped back to reality when his mouth leaves hers, but it's only a second until he's kissing her neck. He lets his teeth scrape gently across the vulnerable skin, before doubling back with his tongue.

His kisses start to move down her body and he takes one hardened nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it briefly before travelling lower and lower until he's nibbling at her inner thigh.

Her hips give an almost involuntary thrust as her body begs for him to satisfy the desperate ache she has between her legs. Of course he obliges and gives one long lick through her centre—sending a jolt of pleasure through her body—before he settles there, giving smaller licks and gentle sucks.

Her fingers grip into the coils of his hair as he works her and she feels like she's going to be catapulted over the edge within seconds, the way he's going. "Felix," she calls, while placing her hands onto the sides of his face to lift his head. "I want you up here."

He gives a nod and a small smile. "Whatever you want, babe," then he moves up the bed, their lips coming together again in a frantic kiss. Her hands are all over his back, nails gently scraping as she goes, until she reaches between their bodies, wrapping her hands around his hardened length. She pumps him a couple of times before slowly rubbing his tip around her entrance. They let out a satisfied sigh in unison at the intimate contact and the almost overwhelming physical satisfaction that it brings.

Her hand releases him, leaving him lined up with her and he pushes slowly forward. Her body's desperate need for him allows him to slide into her with ease, and she can do nothing to stop the moan that leaves her lips, and she feels the smile Felix gives in response.

He holds himself above her with one arm, while the other hand reaches for her breast, caressing it as he begins to thrust his hips. Their lips part as they both let out little gasps and pants as they enjoy the sensation of their bodies coming together over and over again.

He feels so good, but she gets an urge to have more control over the situation, so she squeezes her legs around his and gently tips them to the side. Felix gets the message and they manage to stay together as he rolls onto his back.

She sits up on top of him, grinding into him with a circular motion, as she controls exactly where she needs and wants him to reach.

She looks into his amber eyes—those golden pools so full of affection as he watches her—she could get lost in them for hours. "You're so amazing," she states.

"At this, or just in general?" he smirks.

"Both," she confirms, as she moves a hand to draw a soft line down his cheek.

"You too, babe," they both let out a little chuckle, before they fall back into the intensity of the moment.

Felix reaches a hand between her legs and begins to trace circles over her most sensitive area. Her head flings back with a moan at the instant surge of pleasure it sends through her. She closes her eyes for a moment to enjoy it, then leans forward to press her lips to his, their thrusting becoming faster and faster until a wave of ecstasy almost knocks the air out of her as she climaxes hard.

She lets out a long moan, but tries not to slow her motions, desperately wanting Felix to get his own release. She presses her mouth to his ear, breathing heavily and that's all it takes to send him over the edge. He grips her behind, his hands helping to keep her body going as he rides it out with heavy breaths.

When he's done, Mila collapses onto his chest and he brings his arms around her. "Oh wow..." Felix breaths out with a sigh. She smiles as she keeps her head on his chest, listening to the heavy thrumming of his heart "...that was so, so good," he continues.

"Yeah, it was," she agrees.

"I just want to be able to do that with you every day," he says.

"I wish we could, but in our line of work, I don't think every day will be possible." She moves up to place her head in the crook of his arm.

"I suppose," he replies, stroking the side of her face with his hand. "I guess we'll just have to make the most of the time we do get alone."

"Definitely," she lets out a yawn, feeling her eyes getting heavy as Felix continues to stroke her cheek and then it all fades to black.

----

It's only a couple of hours into her sleep when she wakes, and for a moment she's disorientated—this isn't her bedroom at the warehouse—then she remembers that she's home, although it doesn't really feel like it. She'd got so used to be at the warehouse, it's strange being back here.

It doesn't quite look the same since the repair work and it certainly doesn't smell the same—with the scent of plaster and paint still heavily lingering in the air.

But then she rolls over to find Felix asleep next to her—his handsome features highlighted by the gentle moonlight creeping in through a crack in the curtains—and she suddenly feels completely at home, because home is wherever he is.

It's a cheesy—but so very true—thought that brings a smile to her face and causes a warm flurry of happiness to course through her entire body.

But it's also a scary thought.

She's fallen for him so hard and so fast, which in itself isn't all that surprising. He's so open, and kind, and funny...in fact it would be easier to get a list of all the positive adjectives to describe a human being and just slap a picture of Felix's face next to it.

Except he's not...

He's not a human being, he never has been and never will be. So how come he makes her feel more human and more alive than she's ever felt in her life?

Then that other thought creeps in, one she tries to ignore and suppress, because she doesn't want anything to stop her from feeling the happiness he makes her feel. She can't imagine her life without him, but one day he'll live without her. Without even considering the risks they both face during their missions with the agency, she's still more likely to die before him—her mortality and fragility make it that way.

She'd give anything to be able to spend all eternity with him, but it's just not possible.

Unless...

It's a conversation too serious and too heavy to be having at this point in their relationship, and she still doesn't fully understand how all that side of things works. Would she even be able to go through with it, and would Felix even want her to turn?

It's silly really to think so far ahead when things are still quite new between them, but her feelings for him are so intense, and for reasons she can't explain, she just knows that he's it for her.

As though he can sense her thoughts, (which he probably can, she thinks), Felix opens his eyes, instantly looking concerned when he finds her awake and watching him.

He reaches out for her hand. "Are you okay, babe?" His touch, mixed with his obvious care and concern for her has all her worries melting away instantly.

She nods. "I'm so lucky to have you."

He pulls her down, bringing her into a gentle embrace. "I'm the lucky one, babe," and he places a kiss on her head. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She wraps her arm over his chest, "I am now," she replies. And she really is, because in that moment she knows she could do it. She could turn for him.

[gin-stan]

I keep thinking moon knight animatic thoughts, so here are some ideas on how I'd animate characters to these songs:

[From here, foward quotes are me explaining how the lyrics relate the character and their stories.]

1. Humans touch by TWRPtube:

It's Layla and Marc singing (and dancing) w/ to each other, but their muppets and a disco ball pops out at some point. Their puppet costumes switch from normal clothes to their avatar suits on beat. The costume change happens via a spin transition either physically (the puppets) or camera. Or a whip to the side.

"we were such a good team/still going strong"

Layla singing to marc how she'd doesn't understand what happened Marc is trying but can't really explain to Layla why he backed away .

"I never did you wrong until the ne× me came along"

[MK and possibly Steven coming into play].

"Now I'm alone on the boulevard of broken streams."

"I'm just a toy to you, my love"

And it continues, Layla feeling a bit betrayed and confused. Maybe due to the suit and other trauma in his life, Marc doesn't feel "human" anymore since his autonomy is practically gone due to his servitude to Konshu and being a superhero/having to protect ppl.

"I need a humans touch, but you don't need me"

He needs Layla but he believes she doesn't need him cause she'll only get hurt bc of him (due to konshus jobs and promise to take Layla instead if he doesn't fall in line).

You could analyze lyric to apply it to their relationship.... I'm not gonna do that. But you get the idea Σ(Ｔ▽Ｔ;)

2. Friends in low places by Worthikids.

It's in a paper mache animation style with bolts (flat pins) on the characters joints.

The first part (guitar riff Part before the lyrics come in) is a title card introduction to marc and bushman. It details Marc's last moments due to bushmans betrayal, "on that hallowed night when I lost my life.." him meeting konshu and becoming MK.

"I was chosen for a second chance at life"

Konshu granted Marc MK power in the pyramid.

Konshu is doing the laughing in the background cause he just got a bog3 deal.

"I am the watcher I watch for all of time"

Shows him looking over the city Konshu will be pulling the strings and moving MK around like a puppet.

"I got friends in low places, just another one in a long line of no ones"

Shows previous mooknights in a line up behind or besides Marc/MK like in ATLA.

We get a visual of marc walking/staggering the background changes between locations and nights and day cycles by spinning the background like a wheel. Marc switches between, MK himself, Steven and Jake all walking through the streets of whatever city theyre currently located in.

You get the idea the ending shot is MK looking over the city and konshu looming behind him as "friends in low places fades out "

3. So we fall by Stupendium. So I know this is the odd own out but hear me out:

The fall guys singing abt being exploited by higher ups are replace by past avatars of all the Egyptian gods. Singing to MK abt how unfair their life as a avatar was and how some came to perish.

They didnt know what they were really getting into. Or the things they had to do. Ect ect. The ones pulling the strings using them for their own entertainment as they risk their lives to fulfill their duties.

Warning Marc on trusting his own boss to much and

This is done in a puppet style also or paper mache.

It's a bit silly but who cares.

There's more to each but it's too much to all type out. My ambitions are too high so I'll never get around to actually doing it. But I wanted to get my thoughts out there at least lol.

[jjuniesdaydream]

DKB reaction to their s/o visiting them on MV set - hyung line

bf!dkb x gn!reader cw: mention of dieting

maknae line ver.

E-Chan

changmin has a lot of roles when on set

he's out there doing what he needs to when filmed

and keeping up morale among the members

and monitoring them to help them achieve their best selves in the video

of course he shares the job with dongil, which he is so grateful for, since dongil is the best at keeping the kids entertained

but when he sees you show up in the background, he forgets everything about being professional right then and there

you can see his face light up from the serious and beautiful expression he has on as he does his part in the video

you giggle as he sprints over to you and lifts you into his arms, holding you close as he spins you around

he's laughing, you're laughing, some of the members are giggling in the background

the only ones who aren't laughing are the staff who had to pause because of this little interruption

"Minnie, i didn't want to distract you!"

he doesn't care

he absolutely doesn't mind their manager whining behind him either

at some point you try to wiggle your way out of his grasp, but um..

it doesn't really do anything

until you poke at his sides, his body flinching as you take advantage of the fact that he is very ticklish

after being let go, you grab his shoulders, twist him around and slap his butt to send him onto the set again

him looking back at you with a smile so big that his cheeks are hurting

but hey, now he has new motivation to work as hard and as fast as he can to go back and be with you until he is needed again

Teo

seongsik's already goofing off on set, to the delight of everyone

he's serious when he needs to be

but when the camera cuts for a new take or a change on set

his cute and goofy nature turns on

when he has a break in shooting, either from the crew needing to change some things or another member having to do solo shots, he usually goes and hangs out with some of the members

or do stretches slash rehearsing for something coming up in the shoot

but dongil thought up a devious little plan

(devious in the way that isn't devious at all, but the scheming and sneaking around makes it feel like it is)

he has been messaging with you, figuring out when was the best time for you to come and surprise your boyfriend

so when you arrive, you're hurried into a spare room and told the game plan, dongil ending it with a "fighting"

you remember thinking that he's having way too much fun with this but that thought went away as soon as you saw seongsik

you looked back, getting a thumbs up from dongil and then sneaking up behind your boyfriend

you quickly jumped onto his back and put your hands over his eyes, trying your hardest to hold in your giggles

"wonnie, not again!" seongsik whined, thinking you were dongil

apparently, the schemer had done this all day to prepare to surprise your boyfriend as much as possible

you both let him struggle a bit before dongil called out from the other side of the room; "i'm not doing anything!"

with that seongsik stilled and slowly put his hands over yours

as soon as his vision was freed and he could take a look at you, he squealed with excitement

after that, the shoot went pretty much like it had, only now seongsik hung out with you in the breaks

and turns up his cuteness for you (who's behind the camera), waving to you every time he gets a chance

D1

as one of the leaders, dongil tries his best to be one of the least troublesome on-set

but of course, dongil is gonna be his silly self

and every time the time calls for it, he pulls a goofy face or does something funny

some of the reasons you fell for him in the first place

but he's a professional and he'll never let the flow of the shoot suffer for his actions

that is when he can control those actions

you see, dongil has a hard time,, pulling his focus away from you when he's around you

which was why he was so hesitant to bring you around work

but when he said it wouldn't be a good idea for the nth time for you to come around and watch one of their practices, you had confessed that it made you feel like he was ashamed of you

which absolutely broke his heart

he tried telling you that it was because he wouldn't want to stay away from you, but you didn't seem convinced

so he folded and invited you to come see him at the music video shoot

he said to come at a specific time, when there wasn't much left, mostly filler shots of them walking or sitting around

he thought that would be the easiest to handle

but alas

when he was supposed to look all stoic and idol-y, his eyes drifted over to you, bringing a smile to his face

he mentally slapped himself every time they had to call for another take, knowing the makeup team would be on his ass if he messed up their work, but no

his eyes still drifted

until his manager had to be hard on him and say that you had to leave if you were such a distraction

you had to giggle when he finally came to collect you from where they'd put you after he was done

he couldn't stop whining and hanging onto you, telling you this was the exact reason he couldn't have you around him at work

GK

gwanghyun is usually very chill, as you've learned

he's very calm-spirited

also around you

and it's not that he isn't excited when you suddenly show up to the set of the set for their new music video

but he's not bounding towards you like some overgrown puppy (ahem changmin)

he just sends you a small :] smile when he spots you waving at him and does his best to focus until he has a break, where he goes over to you

you had made him lunch, a few sandwiches really, as you remembered him saying that he never really gets the chance for a good lunch when they're shooting

you have been listening well to when he'd talk about food during comeback season

so, you made two sandwiches with chicken and salad and thin slices of bread

it still fills up but it should be alright for his dieting

you always grew worried for him during this time, wondering if he was eating and sleeping

and gwanghyun knew so, so when you asked him if you could have lunch with him, he kissed your cheek and accepted with a smile

the others knew that he preferred to spending a little quiet time with you and therefore stayed away until they had to call him back

he planted a sweet kiss on your forehead and pulled you in for a hug, thanking you for the food and the company

"I'll be okay, sweetheart. i'll see you later, yeah? i can come over after work"

you sighed into his embrace and nodded, looking forward to spending more time with him, something that didn't happen a lot during promotional periods

you waved at each other as you left him to go back to work, feeling better now that he had reassured you

a/n: getting more of a feeling for dkb as i'm watching a bunch of their videos and ulting them, so writing about them will probably happen a bunch :3

[backgroundagent3]

@humanvanillabean ask and you shall receive! Patrick Jane for the Character Asks. 🩵☕

First impression: I loved him. I thought he was really funny, and because I started watching when Lisbon was dating Pike, I felt really bad for him.

Impression now: I don't like him as much now. I still love his sense of humour and how chaotic he is, not to mention his brains, but I think he's pretty selfish, always putting his personal vendetta against Red John before pretty much anything and anyone else.

Favorite moment: It's hard to choose, because he has so many funny and chaotic moments that I loved. Some of my favourite moments were the times where he was kind to the team. Like the time he earned an insane amount of money at the casino and used it to buy them tacky jewelry and watches that they pretended to hate, or when he bought the FBI team something each of them really wanted. I think it was sweet how in that last one he took his time getting to know them, and used that information to make them happy. He might be selfish sometimes, but he's also really generous. He's flexible like that.

Idea for a story: When he was young scamming people with his dad, the carnival they travelled with stayed in Chicago for a while. Teenage Lisbon takes her siblings to get away from their dad for an afternoon, and they meet. While the younger Lisbons roam around the carnival, Patrick and Teresa start talking. He finds himself telling her the truth about his dad's act, and she confides in him too about her situation at home. They bond over their problems, and after that, she returns to see him every day for a week. The carnival leaves town, and while they may not remember each other's names, they never forget the friend they found at a time of need, like a kid in a playground who despite you only seeing once, you treasure fondly for the connection you made. They move on with their lives but it doesn't matter, because years later they meet again.

Unpopular opinion: I'm actually not sure how unpopular this is, but like I said before, I think he's very selfish. I get that Red John ruined his life, of course I do, what he did was horrible and traumatising. And I'm not saying he should have gotten over it, but he the way he handled things was kind of the worst possible way. I don't mean joining the CBI, because he saved lives and helped a lot of people. I'm talking more on a personal level. He decided to put his revenge over everything, which is something you just can't do in his line of work. And all his friends and relationships suffered because of it. He repeatedly left them without notice, broke every possible rule, and got them all in trouble at some point or another. Another opinion I have is that he shouldn't have killed Red John. Keeping him alive would have been better for literally everyone (again, selfish).

Favorite relationship: Jisbon. I know they're not perfect, and they lack a lot in the communication department, but they're one of my favourite slow burns of all time. I think they complement each other really well, and they were great partners in the field. I also loved their friendship. Their teasing is great, and they have the funniest moments in the show. I especially loved when he caused harmless trouble just for the sake of his entertainment and Lisbon pretended to try and keep him in line. Best dynamic ever.

Favorite headcanon: soon after he gets married, he retires from the FBI. He can't stay away all the time because he loved solving cases so much (and also probably for legal reasons as being in the FBI was the only reason he wasn't in prison, but I'm gonna ignore that), but most of the time they can handle things on their own. He first takes some time off to fix the house he bought, and later stays at home when the baby is born. He keeps busy with his kids and with different projects around the house, and Lisbon probably earns enough for the both of them (if not he can easily find a way to get some extra money, he's very smart). Whatever he does, I like to think that he finally lives the normal life he deserves.

@profwonderbearthementalista you wanted to see this so I'm tagging you. Enjoy!

Character Asks.

[anukkuna]

Oderbruch

As many people, I too get new TV recs from my Tumblr Dash (among other places), so i watched "Oderbruch".

Find my thoughts and potential Spoilers under the cut!

First of all: my overall conclusion is that I really liked the show. It didn't captivate me as much as, say, the first season of Dark, but it was an entertaining February watch for me.

I also went into the show completely unspoilered, I didn't know anything besides the mystery crime genre and who the three lead actors were and I think, for me, that was a good thing.

So, if you enjoy mystery-crime as a genre, liked shows like Dark, with some supernatural elements and intergenerational conflicts, I'd recommend that you watch the show first and without spoilers.

For everyone who is ready to be spoilered, I made lists of things I liked, didn't like, what I found ambiguous, things that surprised me etc.:

I liked:

The vampire rework. I'm not an expert on these, but I like that the vampires age when they don't consume blood (or only animal blood). Also you can't turn anyone, you have to be born a vampire.

The main plottwist that our protagonist is a vampire too. I didn't see this coming.

How they set this in eastern German no man's land.

That the series started with a bang, with not just one dead body but with a biiiiiiig pile. A mount. Bring it on!

Many connections the characters had. It's very villiage-y. I liked many of the intergenerational conflicts as well.

The ensemble cast. I knew some faces from Tatort, Polizeiruf, Das Boot, Dark and other German TV productions.

I liked that Maggie and Roland were past lovers and recent friends with history. Roland was helping an old friend with whom he shared a lot(!) - but he is portrayed as honest and faithful and never questions his loyalty to his wife and kids. Romantic relationships are not the main focus and not needed between the main characters.

All of the Chekov's X turned out to be relevant to the plot. Give us a close-up and we'll be sure to look out for: mom's flask, numerous weapons, even glass shards and side characters.

The voice change of "Adrian". Omfg, well played!

I didn't like:

The vampire "ethics". Maybe because I thought about this not so long ago... but: were there any? What message were they trying to bring across?? Is this gonna turn out as a questionable pledge for naturalistic morals (aka the Right is with the Strong)?

Kai says about the leeches: "nobody likes them, though they're good for the eco-system"... considering what these vampires do and to whom... are we supposed to think this about them as well? That's it's good that they feed on people who won't be missed? That it's justified how they treat the kids in the school?

Also, the whole shaky wolves-and-sheep-analogy: "the strong eat the week. It's simply our nature. You can't fight against this." I know it's mostly Stoian... but still. I guess, my final verdict on this depends on season two.

That Maggie didn't thoroughly finish Stoian off. I mean... come on! Cut him in half with your sword, as you did with the other one ffs!

The vampires' focus on finding a female to breeeeeeeed. WTF happened to the female vampires? How long haven't they been around that these guys write very old poems about it in their "code"? Is there really such an overall lack of vampire? Doesn't it seem kind of a bold assumption by Maggie's mom that they are supposed to be "the last two"?

Ambiguous:

With regards to the last point I made: maybe this is the line where you have to suspend disbelief. LeavIng some of these Story bits unexplained and not everything has to be logical, cause it's mystery... it's up to you if that's a premise you'll feel satisfied with and ethical implications you know what to make of.

The show is mostly SHOW and very, very little tell. That means: characters are harder to get because often they will just stare, maybe grind their teeth, frown, etc. That leaves room for interpretation but also for uncertainty and some of the characters thoughts and motives. Depends on you, if it's something you like (I did).

My overall recommendation still stands though: watch it, but be prepared.

Alright, so long for this one, people!

[katy-133]

Rick Prime's Plan - Theory

[This post is copy/pasted/remixed from multiple reblog posts I wrote for the Rick C-137 & Prime Masterpost on Rick and Morty. I'm putting my thoughts in its own post for organisational purposes.]

Prime's Plan:

So, this is one of the things I'm wondering most about regarding Prime theories: What does Prime want with C-137 after 40 years?

If he wanted to kill C-137, why not try earlier? What makes 40 years significate?

Morty being born.

We know Prime knows about Morty and is actively looking for him because he gives a description of Morty to Jerry, asking if Jerry's seen him:

According to season 3 and C-137's "they kill your entire family" line, Prime murdered kid!Beth and Diane because they were the only family C-137 cared about. So I don't think Prime's trap with the countdown timers was a legitimate attempt to kill C-137. As Prime says later in the episode, he did it "to [mess] with a guy." He just wanted to rile up C-137.

So does Prime care about Morty as a person and want to find him because of that? Prime doesn't appear to care about family--he doesn't even recognise Jerry initially and says he "never got too close to the concept" of a Jerry.

I think Prime specifically wants to find Morty. Not because they are from the same dimension, but because killing Morty would hurt C-137 the most.

Prime's Plan Part 2

Back to this point.

For the sake of theorising, let's pretend for a moment that we know Prime's ultimate goal is to kill Morty to get to C-137. It's happening, it's all set, it's on.

So Prime's going to try to kill Morty, and C-137 is going to have to react to it. But the how here is very important, because that's gonna determine whether or not this will be entertaining television, or whether this will be infuriating and disappointing. How does he try to kill Morty? How does he get caught? How does C-137 react to this? How does Rick and Morty frame this conflict, and by that I mean, "How does this show try to get you to think about all this?"

I think if done right, this could potentially be one of the best story arcs in the series. From both a character and a thematic standpoint.

So as of season 6's finale, we know only a few things about Prime's character:

Prime is "incredibly crafty" according to C-137.

Prime is dramatic.

Prime knows Rick, possibly intimately.

Taking these points, I think we can set up a potential scheme that makes sense for his character.

It would definitely be a scheme, we know Prime is the sort of Rick who plans ahead and will set up a hidden lair just for C-137 to find. We also know that Prime is looking for Morty (not just C-137).

Crafty and dramatic can be a fun combination for a villain, because it also makes them a troll in a theatrical way. He won't just mess with someone, he has to do it in the most bright and flashy way that he can (which writers and animators like, because it allows them to get creative with execution).

Prime is definitely a troll. He will set up multiple unsynced countdown screens just to mess with C-137. There's multiple fan artwork of Prime doing the "Let's take a selfie together of us splashed with blood!" Pagan Min-style, with either Morty or C-137 (btw, bless the artists that do this). And I think that's because it feels very in-character for what we've seen of Prime so far.

Prime is smart enough to be able to kill Morty from a safe distance (away from C-137), using some sort of invention. He might not even have to be in the same vicinity to do so. But it wouldn't be enough to just kill Morty by no-scoping him from across the map and then disappearing. He's not going to leave poison out for Morty to unknowingly drink, leaving C-137 wondering how Morty died. He also says he doesn't manage people anymore, so he's not going to send a henchman after Morty. It has to become a big spectacle. This is personal--Prime couldn't even leave the recorded message alone for C-137 without physically being there himself.

And we know this because we see the same escape pod from that scene (pictured screen-left) later on during Prime's scene with Jerry (2nd image).

So, Prime's plan to kill Morty:

Will be theatrical and impossible for C-137 to ignore.

Will be intimately personal out of spite.

Requires Prime to be facing C-137 directly.

So my initial headcanon that Prime's gonna kidnap Morty and fly away from C-137 in his car falls flat here because it does not fit the criteria I've set up above. There's not enough steps.

Disguises:

But before I add those potential steps, I'll add that if Prime were to kidnap Morty, he would do it in the way he thinks it would hurt C-137. Which I think wouldn't be dragging Morty into his escape car kicking and screaming.

It would be by dressing up as C-137 and tricking Morty to come with him willingly. Just change his hair and put on a lab coat, and walk up to Morty when C-137 isn't around, only to have him find out about it later (perhaps Prime knows C-137 records everything that happens in the garage and tricks Morty specifically in that room so C-137 can see how easily Morty was fooled).

Because… drama: 1) This is Prime's way of saying to C-137, "Look, your own grandson got tricked with a hairstyle and a wardrobe swap, he must not know you that well." 2) It hurts more if your nemesis got away with something with minimal effort on his part. 3) This is a trick C-137 pulled himself and now it's being used against him.

In the episode where C-137 escaped the Galactic Federation, he disguises himself as a Citadel Rick.

We see from the surprised facial expressions that Summer and the other Ricks are fooled by the disguise (Morty is pointedly blocked by a Citadel Rick in the shot). In the "story train" episode, Morty doesn't recognise C-137 in his (non-Rick character) disguise. Which means that Morty is not immune to being fooled by Rick's disguises.

So how would Prime try to kill Morty after tracking him down?

The Serum:

According to this post by @honeybee1895, there is audio commentary (which I haven't heard, so if anyone has the transcript for this, feel free to share) where someone says that the orange serum C-137 drinks at the end of the Unity episode makes all the Ricks across dimensions go in sync temporarily. The implication being that if C-137 dies in this moment, it will kill every alternate universe version of himself as well.

Depending on who said this, this could be "Word of God" or "Word of Dante" (the terms for author intention of the work, and the intention of someone else involved in the work, respectively) and not canon (nothing is canon unless it's explicitly in the work itself). But it being there in the commentary means that it could become canon later on (if it was introduced into the story by having C-137 explain it, etc).

The Serum (Addendum):

Thank you to @tredlocity for helping me confirm through a post that the serum's purpose was spoken about by co-creator Dan Harmon, and is therefor "Word of God" not "Word of Dante." The exact quote in the audio commentary is transcribed as:

"You know what I think that fluid does? I think it synchronizes all of your possible versions. I think he wants to kill all of himself." - Dan Harmon (From the 203 DVD Commentary)

Circling back to the clone theory, this serum could also be the silver bullet C-137 needs to kill every clone of Prime, leaving no duplicates of him that could escape. He would be tempted to use it, but ultimately decide against it, because using the serum on Prime to kill him would also kill C-137.

Prime's Plan (continued):

What if Prime also knows how to make this serum, but instead of using it on himself, he uses it on Morty?

Prime could kidnap Morty, force Morty to drink the serum, and then threaten to kill Morty in front of C-137. Or Prime could do it to force C-137 to join him on adventures again.

If Prime were to kill Morty in that moment, all Mortys would die. The option C-137 has of replacing Morty would no longer be on the table, and while I don't think he'd ever decide to replace our Morty, C-137 still keeps the Replacement Morty voucher to comfort and lie to himself that he could if something tragic happened. In this situation with Prime, C-137 would feel that safety net disappear.

In conclusion:

Prime: "I'm not just going to kidnap your grandson, I'm going to kidnap him while wearing your face. I'm not just going to kill him, I'm going to wipe him from the multiverse. I'm not just going to succeed, I'm going to do it right in front of you."

Prime's ultimate goal is to remove the Morty from Rick and Morty.

[goldenpinof]

As much as you can say without major spoilers, how was his performance? You basically experienced WAD as a standup show 😭 why is it always warsaw? Hope you experience the full thing in Berlin!

"why is it always Warsaw?" LITERALLY

i was trying to recollect my thoughts and emotions, i'm sorry.

the show was good. i liked it. i didn't expect much from it and i got more than i hoped for. HE LOOKED ME IN THE EYES. TWICE. I LOVE HIS EYES. i don't wanna know my facial expressions during those moments, but they were definitely embarrassing. he was clearly enjoying himself even though we didn't have his fancy stage and i bet it hurt him. i know that he is so proud of his lights :( we didn't have the cubes so the show ended abruptly. like, the cubes are the indication of the final act if you don't know the script WRONG i should have started freaking out in intermission. when he was sitting there making all of us sad i was like, "okay, honey, go on" and he just stopped and everyone started standing up for ovations. i was like ???? hello?? aren't we missing something?? post-credits act with cubes? 😭 a piece of me literally died. i yelled "where are the cubes?" at least twice. it hurts more than the lights.

our audience was amazing. a-fucking-mazing. we can crack jokes! and we were doing it all the time. sometimes we were laughing at ourselves and it barely had anything to do with Dan. like, who cares what he thinks i need to acknowledge the person who just made me laugh, like YES BITCH, WHAT DID YOU SAY 😭 (it was seconds, it wasn't bothering Dan, don't worry. most of the time he was reacting to our yelling). i was sitting behind someone who was even louder than me and they had a drink. when Dan said something like "until you start throwing drinks at me" they swung it and i was like, "PLEASE 😂". Dan must have seen it, we were in the 3-4 rows, and he was standing in front of us. i can't imagine how annoying the yelling must be for those who are not there for this specific part and i'm so sorry. but it's Dan, you have to yell at him. when Dan left the stage mid-performance, someone yelled along the lines "Dan, come out, you've already done this once" and i wasn't the only one quoting it afterwards. it was fucking awesome 😭 we also called Phil "annoying" (me, including) and Dan just went with it. in that moment i didn't even care about what was on the screen, screaming bullshit at him was the main and most entertaining part. we got DISGOSTANG (hi, @danielhowell, i love your eyes, and i have no idea what you were saying while looking into mine 😂 i hope we repeat it in Berlin and i will finally listen to you). we sent Dan to kill p*tin. well, i sent him for specifically that purpose. he phrased it differently. i don't remember half of the show but i surprisingly liked the opening and how he touched the war in Ukraine. it wasn't much but he was careful enough for me not to cancel him. but he should be even more careful on the 24th, oh man, it's gonna be hard. we all know he talks about politics a lot, and some of the jokes fell flat since we were in a country that went through forced communism and no one is fun about it. also, since we didn't have any wad banners outside the venue or even in the venue that thing also was awkward 😂 but he made a joke about the cemetery right next to us. kudos to Dan, i really appreciated him looking around. those death jokes like,,, we get each other. there were a lot of Polish culture references (i do include politics in "culture"), more than i thought it would. i like it, it's a very mild additions to the script but they let us feel seen 🥺 can't wait for Germany. i expect to hear something about Angela Merkel but who knows if he's that easy 😂

no spoilers but he trusts us! it's so shocking to see with your own eyes.

after the show we were waiting outside and talking about the show, Dan and Phil, future shows and whatever. the best phannie gathering, we really need to organise a phanniecon! there were people from, obviously, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and who knows where else. that person from Latvia spoke russian and we exchanged some bullshit phrases but it felt soooo good, instant love 🥰 it was so different from my experience in moscow in 2018. like if this is 10/10 then moscow was like 4/10. either we as an audience grew up or russian phannies just don't have that vibe of freedom and warmth, despite speaking the same language? maybe both. we went to the show as a group of 6 people but after the show, we were talking to everyone who remained outside to wait for Dan. so random, so easy, so fucking fun.

overall, i don't remember 80% of the show. but Dan knows we're here for his onlyfans. if he likes to strip occasionally we're ready to give him money (for not only his therapy 😉)

and people said he wasn't as tall as they thought!!