#<- just the op everything else added on is good

[inthehouseoffinwe]

Ooooo love this!!! Adding on and agreeing to this and your tags op! Listen, I love a politically smart Maglor as much as the next person, as the son of the Crown Prince you kinda have to be. But I love the idea that his songs didn’t really cross his mind as a political tool until several years into Beleriand.

Even then it remained a passion. Sure, he’ll make a piece for certain occasions if it’s called for, but even his brothers don’t push him into that. Maedhros has only asked him to do so maybe two or three times? Because it’s one of the few things left from a time they can never go back to, and it’s something so *Maglor* they don’t want to turn that part of him into a weapon too.

Like with my siblings, there are certain things they do that I’d never ask them to turn into a rigid job, because it’s something that brings them joy and I don’t want to take that away from them. Especially during difficult times.

So yeah, the Fëanorions could do with him being a little more aware to the ramifications of some of his compositions, but everyone has their vices. The comfort from seeing him do something purely from his heart is worth more than anything else.

Moving into Maglor as a person, he’s good at violence, had to be to survive an Age of high stress battles. But it doesn’t seem to be as deeply rooted in him as his brothers, and singing is something he does on the daily without thinking too deeply on general impact. Including songs for battle. It’s just. What he does.

He thinks on the emotional power but not specifically as a weapon, but as a ‘what tune/words/etc work best for this moment. What seems right.’ Get me?

The Noldolantë was probably one such work. Created as a release for his and his people’s pain, a way to process everything that’s happened. Probably what helped him stick around for longer than Mae in the end. He’d already accepted everything he’d done, good and bad, long before we got to the end of the Age.

Maglor ultimately became a villain in the story and made some pretty messed up choices. But he’s not inherently evil, is specifically pulled out the narrative for his compassion and the redeemable aspects (as you mentioned in your tags) and that’s what makes makes him so interesting.

Especially when you consider Pengolodh as an in-universe narrator who highlights this softer more redeemable side, when Maglor should be despised the most as the survivor who partly led four kinslayings, without the saving grace of military victories against Morgoth that Maedhros had.

But yeah, Maglor’s such a fascinating character because we know so little about him. He exists silently in the background until very specific moments and it’s fun to play around with who he actually might be.

(Also, agreed. The only real similarly I see between Fëanor and Maglor is their passion for their craft. But specifically the passion a young Fëanor had, inventing for the sake of inventing.)

TBH my ‘vision’ of Maglor is more of a music nerd than any kind of drama queen fanon makes him out to be sometimes.

Like someone who just doesn’t see the political ramifications other people saw in his songs, when it really was just a good metaphor. Someone with messy hair and pulls it back without even brushing it before going to a royal festival. The geeky, melancholic version of Finrod in his own family. A Maglor so obsessed with music and words he thinks about the sheer art of the Oath’s words rather than the context within itself or what it entails. Someone who wasn’t aware of how the Noldolantë could have been taken the wrong way and didn’t even finish it before he vanished from history (or, who knows, he probably forgot to bring the lyrics written with him when the Gap burned), probably had a meltdown when he realized that he had lost it. Someone who loves music so much that, after all is finished, he fades while singing, because it was all he had left.

Someone who once had a joyful, innocent spirit which was brutally killed after he did.

[qqueenofhades]

Walz was my top choice, but seeing Republicans SEETHING that she didn't pick Shapiro confirms it for me! A man who gets approval from both AOC and Manchin and seemingly singlehandedly freed Democrats from the shackles of "when they go low we go high", his experiences with education, his fairly progressive policies, and also his personal experience with IVF making the Harris/Walz ticket feel very strong on fighting for reproductive rights- what's this feeling? Is it hope?

Walz is actually incredible on abortion rights (he met Harris when she became the first sitting VP to visit a Planned Parenthood in Minneapolis in March), he's outspoken about how he and his wife only have their children because of IVF, and wow, it's nice to see Democrats actually embracing "basic bodily autonomy for women is a good thing and we're not going to back down/run away from that" as a winning message, because IT IS. Abortion rights are polling some incredibly high number in Florida (Florida!!!) and they are on the ballot there in November, along with other places. And we remember that every time they ARE on the ballot, regardless of how red the state might usually be, they win.

This is a great issue to be running on, to be able to run on so strongly, and Harris/Walz are exceptionally qualified to do it. As for the GOP seething about Shapiro, all this tells me is that they were banking on having their pre-written attack ads ready to go, their "Democrats in Disarray!" psy-ops ready to roll out, and everything else. They don't give a shit about antisemitism and they certainly don't get to talk about suddenly acting like they want anything other than white Christian-evangelistic theocracy, because they don't. So yeah, like... Shapiro is genuinely very strong in many ways and I do like him and will support him if he runs in 8 years, but this was something the GOP/the corporate media were COUNTING on to destabilize the Democratic ticket, and we took that away from them. The stakes are too high to run the risk of any more distractions, whether or not it's fair or justified or any of it. We need to pull together and become watertight if we're doing this unprecedented thing, and because the 2024 election cycle has turned out to be so short (at least in terms of the actual tickets) we cannot, CANNOT afford to be manipulated by bad actors, which in turn means making choices to give them the least opportunity to do so. Which has happened here, and... yes. I think... I think this odd feeling might just be hope, especially as I look at all the Twitter videos of thousands of people in Philly eager to get into the first Harris/Walz rally tonight. Lord love you, Philly. I remember the pure euphoria I felt as those massive batches of blue ballots rolled in in 2020, and I am very, VERY ready to do it again.

[dallasgallant]

Country/southern slang and vernacular-

This is what I’m going with for the title as honestly I’m not sure what else you would call it, but it is also linked to class a little bit? It’s complicated. Anyways, surprised I haven’t done one like this sooner as I’ve done:

JD slang. 60s slang. Rodeo terms

However, it can’t include everything! As usual take this as a jumping off point, it’s funny as Oklahoma is technically southern, culturally and such. Some are sourced from general knowledge, others from southern or “Oklahoma slang” which heavily overlaps but is more accented.

A lot of this ended up actually being more writing accented speech with some slang thrown in, a lot of it is about contractions! Also word usage! They’ll be a more “general grammar” and accent section at the bottom.

—

All get out- sentence enhancer (ex. Funny as all get out)

Air up - Pump air into something (Tires, mattress)

Ain’t - am not; are not; is not. has not; have not.

An’ all - and all

Belted- beaten

‘Bout - about

Billfold- Wallet (Oklahoman, used in place of wallet)

Caint- Can’t

‘Cos - cause/because

Coke- soda (any kind) (ex. You wanna get a Coke? What kind?)

Crick- creek

Do up - prepare : clean/repair (Ex. Y’all do up the dishes)

Do wut - say again

D’yall - Do y’all or did y’all

don’tcha - Don’t you

Drop trou- pull down one’s pants , especially as a stunt in public

dyeet - did you eat?

Figure- Calculate, consider, decide

Fixin’ - on the verge of something : getting ready to

fronta - in front of

Fo’ sure- for sure

Fussin’- overexagerated concern, fidgeting

Gettin’ round - getting ready to go somewhere or do something (ex. Gettin’ round to it)

Gonna- going to

Gussied up - dressed nicer than everyday (ex. Church clothes)

hafta- have to

Hankering- desire, yearning, craving

Heap - a large quantity (ex. Heap of trouble)

Holler- loud cry or shout

Honky tonk - bar where people dance (typically to county, line dance )

Howdy- Greeting or used to express surprise

howta - how to

Hush- quiet, shut up

Ice box - fridge (Oklahoman or rural)

I’mma - I’m gonna or I am

Imma geddin sig n tard" - I’m getting sick and tired

ja'eet yet?- did you eat yet?

Kin- family (not always by blood. Could be someone you’re close to)

Laying out - staying the night (doing something illicit) or

Let alone - leave alone or to indicate somethings less likely

Like to - Almost (rare)

Lick [Noun] - any amount (Ex. Didn’t get a lick of sleep last night)

Lick [Verb] - beat (ex. Steve Licked that soc good)

Musta- must have

Muddin’ (Oklahoman) - off-roading, going down muddy trails

‘N - then/than or and

Naw- no

Neither- not one or other (sometimes used in place of either)

Nuss - To nurse

Okie- native resent of Oklahoma (formerly derogatory during dust bowl)

Ornery- combative, mean

Ought- indicate something correct or probable

Oughta- ought to

Ope- oops

Outta- out or

Preddy sure - pretty sure

Prolly- probably

Pop- soda

Purdy- pretty

Pitch a fit- throw a fit, be really upset

Reckon- think: suppose

Rise- upset someone (ex. He sure got a rise out of her)

Rile- upset someone (ex. Don’t rile up the dog)

Ruther - rather

Shouldn’t’ve- shouldnt have (double negative)

Shoot- polite way to say shit : go ahead and speak

Sho’ nuff - sure enough

‘Sides - besides

s’not - it’s not/is not

s’okay - it’s okay

Sorta- sort of

Sprinklin’ - light rain

stocking feet - wearing just socks

Sumbitch - son of a bitch

Tailing- follow without being noticed

The city - Oklahoma City (even if you live in Tulsa. ‘The city’ is Oklahoma City)

Tore up - upset

Tryan- Heavily accented Tryin’

Twister- Tornado (used to be more regional)

Upitty- conceited, fancy, snobby

Welp - well or expression (ex. Welp, I better head out)

Whup/whoop- hit

Whipped- beaten

won’tcha = won’t you

Y’all - you all

Yall’re- y’all are

Y’ain’t - you ain’t

Yer - your

-

Grammar-

The more I added to the list the more I realized writing for the gang is just as much learning to write accent than it is slang, it’s the way they talk and that includes grammar etc. Im going to try and explain some points that I’ve noticed in an understandable way, but it’s also important to note that these rules don’t apply every time necessarily.

Using the wrong word

less words in certain sentences (ex. Don’t mean nothin’)

With above, fewer words to describe things.

Drop the G occasionally (ex. Nothin’ )

Adding ‘d instead of saying ‘would (ex. Soda’d)

Real> really (descriptive)

Anybody > anyone

Weren’t typically goes with a double negative ( ex. weren’t nothing we could do)

Use of ‘you’ (used instead of a name or ‘your’)

Use of ‘was’ instead of ‘were’ ( ex. I knew you was)

Both Aren’t and isn’t become ain’t (sometimes even more)

A LOT OF CONTRACTIONS

Combing words - either a new contraction or new spelling to emphasize accent, especially around questions (ex. ja'eet yet?)

Use of expressions/idioms (ex. That dog won’t hunt)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I send in screen shots to someone that made a callout post about a former friend?

Please read this entire thing before your decision. I understand the "blurb" may make me seem like a backstabber and someone you wouldn't trust, but I have my reasons I'll detail why this person is a former friend.

I'm a former friend of someone we'll call Marie. Marie, idk how to explain it, but she kind of didn't care about anyone but herself. Anytime someone would talk about something she'd make it about herself and it was very annoying. Marie also would make a lot of us uncomfortable at times. She said some racial slurs to us various times and claimed it wasn't racist. One was towards me and I asked her not to, basically I told her she can't call me a slur because she's white and made me feel uncomfortable. The other was some Irish thing I had to google because our friend who is Irish was uncomfortable and I'm still horrified with what I saw.

Marie would reblog my vent posts on tumblr a lot. None was ever to console me. One was where she reblogged and said "this would be a good ice breaker for a date." I did go off on her since at the time I had such a nasty break up and my vent had absolutely nothing to do with that. Now here's the issue, besides reblogging my vent posts, someone archived her reblog of my vent posts on the wayback. Multiple ones. I contacted wayback, but they said they only delete archives if the blog owner makes a statement on their blog. For reference, i have had multiple chronic stalkers and Marie was very well aware of it. So I already had wayback not allow archives of my blog because one stalker was using it to archive everything on me online. So a stalker found a loophole in the form of Marie. Now, this was before Tumblr had allowed us to disable reblogs. So no jumping to the comments saying it's my fault when this was years ago before that function was available. So, Marie refused and told me its whatever and if anything they were probably archiving her edits despite all of the archives on her blog had my vents she reblogged, like every single time she reblogged it got archived.

Now lastly, Marie was one of those people who would never celebrate anyone's victories. It was so weird, someone could say "oh, I got a new camera for my photography" and she'd say something like "in 3rd grade someone shat on my camera, so I never got a new camera". It would make stuff so awkward and make us not want to talk in our discord. I got a scholarship one year she decided to go to school (she was 12 years out of highschool) and she lost her financial aid in one semester because she didn't do any of her school work! Yet somehow "the government picks favorites and doesn't want to pay people that deserve it". Her words, I was very offended since she knew I worked full time, was a POC, and was not eligible for financial aid. Let me have the scholarship win without making it about you!

So one day I just blocked her everywhere after I deleted the friend discord we had. It wasn't right after, I waited over a year and became more and more distant. She did contact me again, but surprise surprise, she wanted me to help build her a website for her "oni-sona". I declined and we haven't spoken since.

Now the callout part. She has a callout under her new alias and it has her previous too. In this callout it's talking a lot about how she treats people like shit and uses them for her own gain. It details as well to not support her or any of her projects because she steals (idk about that, I've personally never witnessed it, but I'm believing OP because everything else is true.)

Now, would I be the AH if I submit stuff to add to the callout? I was just going to send in how she reblogged my vents and someone archived them on wayback and she refused to contact way back to delete them despite knowing I had stalkers. Maybe I'll submit more stuff, but not caring I had stalkers is my biggest gripe and something I think should be added since she allowed my stalkers to do that.

[fishyartist]

(Adding an extra image, Source+more info about this specific chart https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Against-These-Companies-Profiting-From-Genocide <click that)

McDonald's is giving out free fries.

Disney is giving out Disney100 cards.

Starbucks is giving out buy one get one frees.

Why? Because their stock prices are falling.

They are losing money because of the boycotts because we are not giving them more money to fund and support the genocide of Palestine.

They're scared.

So they're gonna do whatever they can to get that money.

Keep it up.

Make them cry.

We may not be able to get them all, but the ones we get oh they are gonna suffer.

[sorinethemastermind]

Big Feelings Time

In which Soren grapples with what happened the night of the full moon, and makes peace with Runaan on behalf of his king.

 No one was really sure what to do about the elf. Runaan, Soren corrected himself. He had a name.

 The only person he seemed to know how to speak to was Rayla. Probably cause, you know, he was her Dad. And he was here. Soren tried not to think about the mess of emotions that simple fact awoke in him. But it wasn’t that simple, because to Runaan it had only been a few days since he’d killed the king. And now that king’s son was dating his daughter. (Soren was happy Rayla and Callum had finally worked that out, it had been getting awkward). 

 He couldn't really blame the elf for not knowing what to do or where to go. If he stuck by Rayla’s side then Callum was always there, frazzled and distracted and riddled with guilt about the pearl and the castle and everything. It was a lot even without adding the fact that his potential future father-in-law had killed his step-dad. It gave Soren a headache just thinking about it.

 And if he went into the camp at all he was sure to run into Ezran, who seemed to be everywhere at once these days; helping Opeli with the wounded, sending out letters with the Crow whatever-he-was-now. He’d even somehow found the time to visit every family who had fled the fires. Soren thought that the worst part was how Ezran kept trying to smile at the elf even though it looked like the action caused him physical pain. He made a mental note to take him aside later for some Big Feelings Time, as the brothers liked to call it. 

 And then there was, well, him. He had almost killed Runaan. He would have too, if Claudia hadn't stopped him. And then what had happened? His father had trapped his soul in a coin for several years. And that was probably the least of the reasons the elf had to hate him. He could still remember that night; the way the torches had all gone out at once, the clang of metal against metal, the wet sound it made when it didn’t hit metal…

 “Soren?” 

 He jumped. Ezran was there, looking up at him. Soren straightened, making sure to smile. “Yeah?”

 “Were you… sleeping standing up?”

 “No. I was just, uh, thinking. Why?”

 “Because your eyes were closed.” Ezran said, eyebrow arching a little bit. He looked so much like his father when he did that. 

 “It helps me… think.” Soren explained. In all honesty he hadn’t realized they’d drifted closed. It had felt nice, though. 

 “You should get some rest.”

 “I did last night. Just like you ordered.”

 “So this morning you had time to travel all the way to the Valley of Graves, discover that Aaravos had escaped, and come back. All before breakfast?”

 “...Yes?” Soren tried. Ezran didn’t seem impressed, but he didn’t press it. 

 “Have you seen Callum?” he asked instead.

 “I’m pretty sure I saw him and Rayla head over that way.” Soren pointed towards a small clearing in the trees, just across from where they had set up camp. Good. The brothers had barely had any time to talk after Callum got back, what with everything else going on. They needed this.

 “Great. I’m going to go talk to him.” Ezran said, the set of his mouth determined. “Um. Do you think I should say that we need to let go of the past to build a brighter future or that the future is about breaking the cycles of hatred which have kept us chained for so long?”

 Soren sighed. The kid had forgotten how to talk to his own brother. Then he realized what this talk must be about. “Maybe… neither? Callum took the news about the pearl pretty hard, maybe you should wait to talk about… the elf situation.”

 “He’s not the elf, Soren. And he’s not a situation. He’s Rayla’s father.”

 “I know, I know. That’s not what I meant. I just… you’ve got to have some feelings about this whole thing.”

 Ezran did that thing again where he smiled too wide. But despite his obvious efforts, it didn’t reach his eyes. “Why would I have feelings about it? He’s just Rayla’s Dad. I’m glad he’s here!”

 “Yeah, but see, your voice sorta does this thing when you say that that makes me feel like you do have feelings and just…” Soren sighed. “Look, I know I’m not Callum. Obviously. But I’m still here for you, to protect you but also… whatever you need. Like words and stuff.”

 Ezran’s smile wavered and he took a deep breath. “How can I ask everyone to move on from the past when I can’t?” he said quietly, eyes downcast.

 Soren knelt before him, placing his hands on his shoulders the way he used to when he was just a little kid. Before he was a king and everything got all… complicated. “No one is expecting you to move on.”

 “I’m not supposed to hate him, Soren. I really don’t want to. I tried so hard not to. But… but even though it’s been so long I still miss him.”

 “I know.” Soren wrapped his arms around Ezran and pulled him in close, sheltering him in his arms for a moment so that the kid could just be, well, that. A kid. A kid who misses his Dad, and nothing more. 

 The moment didn’t last long, and when Ezran pulled away his eyes were wet, but there was a real determination in them that had been missing before. 

 “I’m going to get everything ready for the trek to the Banther Lodge.” he said, voice taught. “I can talk to him when we get there.”

 “I’ll talk to Runaan.” Soren decided aloud.

 “But, Soren…” Ezran trailed off, biting his lip. “Won't he… remember you from that night?”

 Soren blew a strand of blond hair out of his face. “Yeah. But I can handle it. Look, you go help your people, okay? That’s your job. My job is helping you.” 

 “Thank you.” his king said, standing up a little straighter.

 “You got it.” Soren grinned at him and, after a moment, Ezran walked back the way he’d come.

 Soren’s grin faded along with his fake nonchalance. Ezran might be a quick study, but Soren had years on him. The art of the facade was just that, an art. And you had to practice art. Sort of like poetry, though that somehow needed even more practice.

 It didn’t take long to spot Runaan. He was in the same place he had been since they arrived; hovering just slightly out of view in the trees near the edge of the encampment. Soren rolled his shoulders and pushed his hair out of his face with the back of a gauntleted hand. He had this. 

 “Hey!” he called, waving to the elf in a voice that sounded way too cheery even to his own ears. He tried to modulate it in the middle of the greeting, but all that accomplished was giving him the voice of a prepubescent teen. He tried again as he got closer. “Hey, it’s Runaan, right?”

 The elf looked at him for a long moment. “Yes.”

 “I’m Soren.” instinctively he started to stick out his hand, then decided maybe that wasn’t the best thing for this scenario, and used it to lean against a tree instead. Totally casual.

 “Did someone send you?”

 “What? Me? Noooooo.” Soren laughed. “I mean, I guess I sent myself but… yeah, no."

 “I see.” the elf blinked, a slight crease forming between his eyebrows as he studied Soren. 

 Casual conversation. Casual conversation. Casual conversation. Soren thought desperately, grasping for something to say that would lead them in the right direction. Or any direction other than the one he knew they were about to go.

 “So, what do you think of Katol-”

  “Here to finish me off, then?”

 They both spoke at the same time, seemingly caught off guard by what the other had said.

 Soren practically tripped over his own words to get them out first.  “Definitely not!  I know we didn’t exactly meet on the best of terms but-”

 “You killed one of my companions and were about to chop off my head.”

 “Yes, but-” Soren let out an exasperated huff, tossing his hands into the air. “You killed the king!”

 For a moment neither of them was really sure what to say to that.

 “I… did.” Runaan admitted eventually.

 Soren still remembered how the arrow had looked sticking from the king’s chest. The look of surprise on his face, the way it had seemed to flick from that and through a million other emotions in the time it took him to stagger and slump to the ground. The cold expression that this very elf had worn as he lowered his bow. The blood and the bodies and the pointlessness of it all and-

 “What was his name?” Soren blurted, surprising even himself. But he continued. Maybe knowing would make it worse, but he had to. “The- the one with the twin blades?”

 A shadow passed over Runaan’s face and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. “Skor.”

 Skor. Soren shivered, the cool darkness of that night creeping through him again like a chill breeze.

 “You never forget your first.” Runaan said softly, eyes distant. “We believe that you should honor the fallen, even your enemies. For they have died so that you may live.”

 “I try to.” Soren said, adding Skor to the list of people he owed his life to. If not in the same way. “Look, I know that this can’t be easy for you, working with humans and all. After… everything. But we’re not here because it’s easy. We’re here because it’s the right thing to do. And what you did that night wasn’t right, and what I did wasn’t either. Because there was no right thing that we could have done. But there is now.”

 “A lot has changed.”

 “Tell me about it.” Soren said with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately Runaan didn’t seem to understand the concept of lightening or of moods.

 “And yet we still face the same monsters as before.”

 “Uh-”

 “Dark mages have always been a scourge on these lands. And now they have released him. It was only a matter of time. At least now, with our combined strength, we may stand a chance of getting rid of them for good.”

 Soren bristled instinctively at the way he said dark mages even though he knew the elf was right. Better to get it all out in the open now, he decided. “Yeah, about that. The mage who released him, we discussed it and we’re actually not doing any getting rid of.”

 “They released the dark star! They are-”

 “She’s my sister.”

 Runaan stopped mid sentence, looking at him again. His eyes widened with realization. “The girl. The one from that night. She was...”

 “She’s my sister. And… and I know her. I can get through to her. I have to. So that’s the plan. That’s what we’re going to do.” 

 “She is a dark mage. They have no respect for the living-”

 “I’m standing here because of dark magic.” Soren said, voice rising. “Your daughter is here because of dark magic. Katolis-” he swept his hands back towards the encampment and the people there. “-is here because of dark magic. It isn’t right, and it’s not fair. But it’s also true.”

 “My daughter… is here… because of dark magic?”

 Soren sighed. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. “A lot of us are.”

 “Not the mage from the castle?” Runaan breathed, eyes going wide.

 “No. Not him. That was my father. He… he and Rayla didn’t get along.”

 “Your… father.”

 “Yeah.”

 “And yet you are here, with them. With my Rayla.”

 “It took me a while to realize who he really was.” Soren said, voice quiet. “I think I’m still figuring it out.”

 “I have made many mistakes as a father.” Runaan said, looking past him and towards the encampment. “That night… was one of them. And yet Rayla forgave me, even when I could not forgive myself.”

 “That’s who she is. She gives people second chances, even when they don’t know if they deserve them. Look,” Soren sighed. “I’m not going to tell you it’ll be easy, cause it won’t. But Rayla deserves to have her Dad back, and none of us will hold that against her. Or you.”

 “A lot has changed.” 

 “Everything. Everything has changed. Because of her. Because of what she and Ezran and Callum did. So live up to it.”

 “I will try.” 

 “Good.” Soren said, and the silence that followed was more comfortable this time. The truth of that night would always linger over them all, but maybe there was a light in the darkness as well. Rayla had her Dad back. 

 At least one of them should.

[differentpostrebel]

Lost and Found: A Pirate's Promise

I added two gifs to the mix, since they do go hand in hand with this chapter lmfaooo! Now we just need Y/N power insert

Chapter 13: Tango in the Shadows 

A/N: Welcome Guys! Sorry I couldnt post another chapter, I was a bit caught up in the morning but is all good! Here is Chapter 13, this was a fun chapter to write since Law and Y/N maybe settling that promise, Bepo relayed to his captain. Hehehehe. When I wrote Sanji’s part I was cracking up. Cause my boy is ready to go to war and win back Y/N. As always the chapters are all linked! And without further ado lets get to it!. 

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13 (Here)

Word Count: 4.2K

Sanji x Reader, OP X Reader, Sanji x Y/N 

Y/N POV…

“Now, shall we head inside, Princess?” Law's voice was smooth, almost teasing, as he turned to face me, holding Smoker’s heart encased in a clear, small box. His tone was casual, but the weight of the situation was anything but. My eyes lingered on Smoker's unconscious body sprawled on the ground, a chill running down my spine. Why does Law need Smoker's heart? The question echoed in my mind, but I pushed it aside for now.

Slowly, I rose from the steps where I had been seated, forcing a faint smile onto my face. “Wow, Law, you really know how to show a girl a good time,” I quipped, trying to mask the unease creeping into my thoughts. 

Law was about to say something else when Tashigi’s voice pierced through the tension. “I refuse to retreat! Let go! I joined the Navy to fight, damn it!” She struggled against the G-5 soldiers holding her back. “Approach him again, and you’ll just end up cut to pieces,” one of the soldiers warned her.

Law’s focus remained entirely on me, undeterred. He stepped closer, his left hand still gripping his blade, while his right hand found its way to the small of my back, drawing me in. I can feel Smokers heart beating. “Now, Princess, let’s not let this moment slip away. I was just about to make things a bit more... interesting.”

I tilted my head, a playful smile curling on my lips. “You know, you can stop calling me ‘Princess.’ It’s starting to sound a bit old-fashioned.”

Law’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Old-fashioned? Maybe. But I think it suits you perfectly. Besides, it’s officially your title now, whether you like it or not.”

As Law began to lean in, his eyes dropping to my lips before returning to my eyes, the gap between us narrowing, Luffy’s voice cut through the air. “Hey! Hello? Remember me!” He waved enthusiastically as he approached.

Law’s expression shifted, a low groan escaping him. “Just when we were getting to the good part.”

“Is that Y/N?!” Luffy shouted, his surprise evident.

“Hey!!” I called back, my amusement clear as I saw Luffy making his way over. The moment was interrupted, but Law’s gaze lingered on me for a heartbeat longer before he turned to face the new arrival, his frustration barely masked by a smirk. 

“You helped me out that one time!” Luffy exclaimed, his grin wide as he approached.

“Strawhat,” Law acknowledged with a slight nod, his gaze shifting between Luffy and me.

I pulled away from Law’s grasp and hurried to Luffy. “You’re all okay!” I said, my relief palpable as I saw my crew.

“Yeah, and Traffy’s the one who helped me out of Marineford,” Luffy said, his excitement clear. “He patched me up and everything!”

“Really?” I asked, looking back at Law. He was standing a short distance away, and the clear box holding Smoker’s heart was nowhere in sight. “He must have hidden it,” I thought, noting his nonchalant demeanor.

“By the way, Y/N,” Zoro said with a smirk, crossing his arms. “What’s with the outfit? And why are you here with Traffy? Did Curly-brows just leave you alone with him?”

I glanced at Law, who seemed to be enjoying the banter, and then back at my crew. “It’s a bit of a story,” I said, trying to downplay the situation. 

“Okay, I’m going to talk to Traffy!” Luffy declared, already sprinting towards Law with his usual enthusiasm. “Traffy!!” he shouted, waving as he ran.

I watched, amused, as Luffy barreled forward. “Wait, when did Luffy get an extra pair of legs?” I muttered, shaking my head. I then noticed Brook among the crew and headed over to him.

“Brook!!” I exclaimed, hugging him tightly. “Oh my goodness, I was so worried about you! When I woke up, I didn’t see you anywhere. I thought those bastards had done something to you!”

Brook chuckled softly, hugging me back. “I’m fine, no need to worry. I’m glad to see you’re okay too. But,” he said, pulling back slightly with a playful glint in his eye socket, “it looks like you were on your own adventure with a certain captain, eh?”

I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. “Well, it’s not exactly what you think—”

“Ah, don’t be shy now!” Brook teased, his grin widening. 

I looked over and saw Luffy animatedly talking to Law. “Guys, I’ll be right back!” I said, waving to Brook as I made my way back to Luffy and Law. 

“You saved me!” Luffy shouted, his face lighting up with gratitude. “I owe you one! Really, thanks!”

I chimed in, smiling warmly, “Yeah, Law, thanks for saving my captain’s life.” I laughed lightly, feeling a sense of camaraderie.

A faint blush colored Law’s cheeks. “Don’t get too sentimental. I acted on a whim, and we’re still not friends. We’re just pirates, after all.”

Luffy’s grin widened. “Even if you’re an enemy, you still saved me, so thanks.”

“Luffy! Look over there, a marine!” Usopp pointed out urgently.

“Wait! Please!” Tashigi’s voice cut through the chaos as she ran towards us. Her eyes were locked on Smoker’s unconscious body. “No... Smoker!” she cried out, tears streaming down her face. “Smokey, no!”

“Marines! Wait, I know her!” Luffy called out, recognizing me.

“Tashigi really can’t take a hint, can she?” I muttered, preparing to activate my right ring again. “I’ll handle this.”

“Wait! Y/N, what’s going on?” Luffy asked, concern in his voice.

“Long story short, Captain,” I said, “the marines were here and wanted to capture the crew. I stayed behind to give them a head start.”

“Luffy, we’ve got more marines headed this way!” Usopp warned, urgency in his voice.

Tashigi, now kneeling beside Smoker and seeing the injury he’d sustained, was overwhelmed with grief. “Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!” she screamed, charging at Law with a mix of rage and desperation.

I prepared to step in, my right fist crackling with electricity, but Law’s firm hand stopped me.

“Princess,” Law commanded, his voice firm and unyielding, “stay back. I’ll handle this.”

Tashigi, driven by fury, pulled out her blade and charged at Law. Law glanced at her with an almost bored expression. “Really? More drama?” he said, almost dismissively. “Room.”

In an instant, Tashigi was enveloped in Law’s blue orb, unable to move. With practiced ease, Law drew his sword and made two precise cuts in the air, creating swirling, distorted portals. “Shambles.” He manipulated Tashigi’s position effortlessly, leaving her bewildered.

A nearby G-5 soldier stared in disbelief. “Aww damn, he took her down again!”

Law’s gaze shifted to Tashigi, his tone laced with cold amusement. “Once wasn’t enough? It seems I win again, Captain.”

As the G-5 soldiers began to advance towards us, I called out to Luffy, my right hand crackling with electrical energy. “Luffy! We need to get out of here now!”

“Hold on, I’ve got a question for you!” Luffy shouted back, his tone impatient but curious.

“Make it quick, Luffy!” I urged, feeling the electricity surge up my arm as I prepared to activate the left ring too.

Law pointed toward a building. “Head to the lab, around the back. You’ll find what you’re looking for. We’ll meet again soon. We both have things we need to get back”

Just then, one of the G-5 soldiers lunged at Law. I didn’t hesitate. I moved behind him, grabbing his cloak and lifting him off the ground. With a burst of speed, I placed my electrified hand on him. “Now Shock!”

The electricity surged through the soldier, sending him crashing to the ground. I landed beside Law, catching my breath, ready to follow Luffy.

“Let’s go, Luffy!” I shouted, glancing back toward my captain. “Right!” Luffy responded, already racing back toward Brownbeard with the crew.

Suddenly, I felt a firm hand spin me around. “What’s with the spinning?” I asked, only to see Law’s smoldering gaze locked onto mine.

His eyes were dark with unspoken desire. “Seems like our moment was cut short,” he said, his voice low, every word dripping with a provocative undertone.

I raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on my lips. “Well, it looks like someone’s eager to pick up where we left off.”

Law’s lips curved into a predatory smirk. “Eager doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

Before I could retort, Law’s hands slid up to cradle my face, his fingers brushing my skin with a startling tenderness. His lips crashed against mine, and the kiss was anything but gentle. It was fierce, driven by a palpable hunger, a raw, unrestrained passion that left me breathless. Each touch and flicker of his tongue ignited a fire deep inside me.

When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine, our breaths mingling in the intimate space between us. “Keep my coat on you,” he murmured, his voice a heated whisper. “I don’t want anyone else seeing what’s mine.”

I shivered at the possessiveness in his tone, my pulse quickening. “And what if I don’t want to keep it on?” I teased, my voice husky with the lingering thrill of his touch.

Law’s gaze was dark and intense, his breath warm against my cheek. “Then I guess I’ll just have to make sure you do,” he said, his lips brushing mine again in a fleeting, electrifying touch.

With a final, smoldering look, Law released me, and I turned to catch up with Luffy and the crew. The weight of his coat and the memory of his fiery kiss lingered, a vivid reminder of the intense, unspoken connection we shared. 

I made it safely with my crew, landing on Brownbeard’s back just as Luffy arrived, panting and out of breath.

“Hey! No fair! How’d you make it faster than me?” Luffy exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

I flashed him a teasing smile. “Easy. With this pinky ring I got as a parting gift back at Sabaody.”

Luffy’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Can I wear it?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m afraid not. If it’s anything like my sword, it might do something completely different from what you’re used to. But to be honest, I’ve been dying to see what else these rings can do if I combine them with my moves. I tried it once when we were trapped in the cell.”

“Fine,” Luffy said, a determined look crossing his face. “I’m gonna ask Franky if he can make me one too!”

I laughed at his enthusiasm. “Good luck with that!”

Zoro, having watched the exchange with an amused smirk, leaned in and asked, “So… what was with that kiss back there, Y/N?”

I felt my cheeks heat up as I glanced at Zoro, who was clearly enjoying my discomfort. “Oh, that? Just a little detour before things got too hectic. Law and I… had some unfinished business.”

Zoro raised an eyebrow, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Unfinished business, huh? Seems like things got pretty heated. Are you going to tell us what that was all about?”

I shrugged, trying to play it cool despite the flush on my face. “It’s not like I can explain everything. It was just a moment. You know how it is.”

Zoro’s smirk widened as he looked at me. “Curly-brows is definitely never going to live this down once he hears about this. First, he left you alone back there, and now he’s got to deal with this?”

Before I could respond, bullets whizzed through the air, forcing us to duck for cover. We stayed low until the barrage ceased.

“Fire men! Dont let them escape!” “Forget about them, let's get Smokey and Tashigi out here quick” said one of the G-5 soldiers. 

“Hey, look who it is!” Luffy called out, his voice full of excitement. I followed his gaze and saw Nami, Sanji, Chopper, Franky, and a group of samurai, along with the children, all safe.

“Sanji!” I shouted, making a beeline for him. The relief of seeing my crewmates washed over me.

“Y/N! My darling, oh, how I’ve missed you during this time apart!” Sanji cried out with his usual dramatic flair. “Come leap into my arms and let’s get that ugly coat off you!”

But it wasn’t Sanji who spoke. Nami's voice broke through, “That’s strange…”

Ignoring Nami, I ran straight into Sanji’s arms, hugging him tightly. “See, Sanji! I told you I’d be safe!” The familiar scent of his cologne was comforting as I pressed closer.

“Umm, Y/N?” Sanji said, his voice sounding off.

I pulled back slightly, looking up at him. “Wait, what’s—”

“I'm not Sanji… I’m Chopper,” came the small voice. I looked up, shocked to see Chopper’s face looking up at me with wide, innocent eyes.

“Chopper!” I exclaimed, stepping back in surprise. “Wait, what happened to you guys?”

Before Chopper could explain, I noticed Nami, her face streaked with tears. “Hey, Nami, don’t cry! I missed you too!” I said, reaching out to comfort her.

Nami looked up through her tears and managed a shaky smile. “Actually, I’m Nami, but Franky’s body responded. And I’m Franky in Chopper’s body,” he explained.

“So… that means Sanji’s in… Nami’s body?” I said, trying to piece together the situation.

Sanji, in Nami’s body, stepped forward with a dramatic flourish. “Oh, my lovely Y/N, I’m so glad you’re safe and sound, and back in my arms!” He spoke with exaggerated affection, making the most of his temporary new form.

I looked at them all, bewildered. “I’m so confused,” I said, my head spinning as I tried to puzzle together the strange situation.

Sanji POV… 

I was utterly distracted by Nami’s body, unable to tear my gaze away. The curves, the familiar scent of her—everything was overwhelming. Just then, I heard a voice that belonged to my angel. “Sanji!” Y/N shouted, making a beeline for me.

“Y/N! My darling, oh, how I’ve missed you during this time apart!” I cried out with my usual dramatic flair. “Come leap into my arms and let’s get that ugly coat off you!”

But Y/N ignored me and went straight to Chopper, who happened to be in my body. She hugged him tightly and said, “See, Sanji! I told you I’d be safe!” pressing closer to my body.

My heart sank as I saw her cling to someone else, and I began to weep softly. “My angel is finally here and not with Law, and she doesn’t even recognize me!” I said, my voice choked with emotion.

“Chopper!” Y/N exclaimed. She turned to us all and asked, “Wait, what happened to you guys?”

I stepped forward in Nami’s body, trying to make the best of the situation. “Oh, my lovely Y/N, I’m so glad you’re safe and sound and back in my arms!” I said, trying to sound comforting despite my confusion.

“I’m so confused,” Y/N said, shaking her head. Just then, I got a whiff of another man’s cologne. My eyes widened as I realized what was happening. “WHAT DID LAW DO TO YOU! YOU SMELL LIKE HIM!” I yelled, my anger and concern mixing into one.

Y/N’s eyes widened in confusion. “Sanji!” said Nami, who was in Franky’s body. “Now’s not the time; the crew clearly doesn’t know what’s going on!”

“Alright, let me explain,” Nami said, stepping up to clarify the situation. After a few minutes of explanation, the crew finally understood the predicament.

“So, you’re Chopper?” Y/N pointed at me, her confusion evident. “Right!” said Chopper in my body.

“And you’re Franky?” she continued. “Yup,” said Franky in Chopper’s body.

“And you’re Nami?” she asked, looking at Nami in Franky’s body. “Yes,” Nami said, tears forming in her eyes.

“So that means Sanji is in… Nami’s body!” Y/N concluded, turning around and noticing me still staring at Nami’s form, unable to hide my awe-struck expression.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N sighed and yelled, “SANJI!” Her right hand crackled with electricity. “Now Shock!” she commanded, and with that, she shocked me, causing me to fall.

“Wait, Y/N,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. “Next one isn’t going to be so nice,” she said, her look hardening. “Defile my body again, Sanji, and you’re getting fined 100,000 berries—no, make it 200,000.” Said Nami

“But… but—” I stammered, trying to explain myself.

Before I could continue, the samurai found his legs, which happened to be Luffy’s extra pair of legs. The chaotic scene added another layer of confusion to our already tangled situation.

As minutes passed by, Usopp explained the situation, detailing how the distress call was meant for Brownbeard, not for us, and that the samurai was from the Land of Wano. “We followed the signal and ended up here,” Usopp said. “The samurai is searching for his son.”

“Yes,” the samurai said, his voice tense. “I fought those men only to find my son. His name is Momonosuke. He was brought to this dreadful place, and so were these children. There might be more.”

“Yeah, he’s right,” one of the children said. “There were other kids like us, so your son might be there.”

“So… who did this to you?” Y/N asked, trying to understand the situation.

“It was the man we encountered,” the samurai said, his expression darkening. “The one with the cold gaze and the silly cap who bears the title of Warlord!”

“Wait! Traffy?!” Luffy and Y/N exclaimed in unison, struggling to grasp the shocking news.

“Traffy’s a Warlord now?” Luffy said, looking stunned.

“And you’re sure Traffy did this to you?” Y/N asked, trying to make sense of everything.

“YES!” I shouted, unable to contain my frustration. “I KNEW THAT MAN COULDN’T BE TRUSTED! I LEFT YOU ALONE WITH HIM, AND NOW YOU’RE BRAINWASHED INTO THINKING HE’S A GOOD GUY?!”

“Calm down, Sanji,” Zoro said, smirking. “You sure it’s not because of that kiss you two shared Y/N?”

Y/N groaned, “Why’d you have to add more fuel to the fire, Zoro?”

“WAIT, Y/N, LAW KISSED?!” I blurted out, my eyes wide with shock.

Y/N’s face flushed as they tried to avoid my gaze. “Sanji, it’s not—”

“That bastard is going to pay!!” I roared, my anger burning hotter than ever. “I’m going to make him regret ever messing with you!”

“Sanji, you’re not helping,” Y/N said, trying to stay calm. “We need to focus on the situation.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, still fuming. “But once we’re done with this, I’m going to have a word with Law. Nobody messes with my Y/N and gets away with it.”

Y/N POV… 

This has truly been a long day. Not only did Zoro blurt out to Sanji about the kiss I had with Law, but now Sanji is even more amped up in Nami's body. I sighed, trying to refocus on the situation at hand. "Please continue, samurai," I said, hoping to steer the conversation back to the story.

The samurai nodded, his expression serious. "That Warlord was the one who cut me into three pieces. My head was kept in the facility, while my torso and legs were scattered across this island."

"I did see a torso outside! It was fighting with me, oh dear!" Brook exclaimed, his voice tinged with concern.

"You've seen it?!" The samurai's eyes widened. "We must go there at once!"

As minutes passed, Usopp thought of a clever idea. He crafted little stickers with the crew's faces on them and placed Chopper's, Franky's, Nami's, and Sanji's pictures on the bodies they were currently inhabiting.

"Really, Usopp?" Sanji grumbled, clearly annoyed by the stickers.

"Ahh, quit whining. Besides, no one is going to remember who’s who, so this is the best option," Usopp retorted, proud of his solution.

"I agree, this seems like a great idea," I chimed in, smiling as I admired Usopp’s handiwork. Then, with a teasing grin, I added, "Oh, and by the way, Chopper—who’s in Sanji’s body—that cologne you’re wearing smells rather good. I’d love to hug you again just to smell more of it."

Chopper, blushing furiously in Sanji’s body, stammered a shy response, while the real Sanji—now in Nami’s body—began to bite her sleeve, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Y/N," Sanji whimpered, his voice tinged with desperation. "Why must you torment me so? My poor heart can’t take it! Seeing you embrace another—even if it’s my own body—is too much!"

I laughed softly, shaking my head at Sanji’s dramatics. 

A few minutes later, the plan was set in motion. Nami, Chopper, and I stayed behind to watch over the children while Sanji, Brook, and Zoro (for Nami’s sake, since Sanji couldn’t be trusted in her body) went out to search for the samurai. Meanwhile, Luffy, Robin, Usopp, and Franky headed off to find the lab.

As we gathered test samples from the children, Chopper’s face turned grim. “These kids aren’t actually sick,” he said, his voice barely containing his anger. “They’ve been drugged. It’s awful.”

My heart dropped as I saw the children writhing in discomfort, their withdrawal symptoms clearly evident. The realization hit me hard. “Those bastards who did this to them are gonna pay!” I declared, my voice filled with determination.

Before Usopp joined Luffy’s group, he used his Sleep Star to knock out the children to alleviate their suffering. The tranquilizer worked quickly, and the once frantic children fell into a peaceful, drug-free slumber. 

Laws POV… 

It’s been a few hours since I last saw Y/N, and her presence still lingers in my mind. The kiss we shared is like a vivid memory, replaying over and over. Her wearing my coat, the way her lips felt—soft and warm—against mine. I had been hungry for more, but the interruption from the G-5 units and the Strawhats arriving at the front of the lab had cut our moment short.

Two long years had passed since I last saw her, and the thought of losing her again was unbearable. The corridors of this facility seemed endless, and yet my mind was fixated solely on Y/N. Every step I took felt like a reminder of how much I wanted to be close to her again.

As I walked, I gently touched my lips, as if trying to grasp the ghostly sensation of her kiss. Her touch was still fresh in my memory, and the lingering taste of her kiss was both intoxicating and maddening. 

Pushing Y/N to the back of my mind, I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. I handed Caesar the heart of Smoker, and the scientist's characteristic laugh filled the room.

"Shrorororro," Caesar chuckled, examining the heart with his usual detached amusement.

I made my way to the couch, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me. Monet, ever the silent observer, was next to me, her presence almost soothing in its calmness.

"The heart of the leader of the G-5, Vice Admiral Smoker," Caesar said, as he carefully inspected the beating heart. "What a wonderful souvenir. With this, the fight is over."

Caesar’s gaze was fixed on me, his expression a mix of satisfaction and cunning. "Shrorororro. Now, that the G-5 men are going to be taken care of, that will leave just one remaining issue."

"The Strawhat crew," Caesar continued, his tone growing darker.

"What about the Strawhats?" I asked, trying to sound completely indifferent, though I felt a twinge of unease.

"Don’t worry about them. I have a plan to eliminate them and retrieve the children."

The word "eliminate" made my blood run cold. 

Just the thought of someone laying a hand on Y/N was enough to make my blood boil, but I tried to suppress that emotion.

"At first, I wasn’t too worried about the Strawhats, that is until Monet warned me about them," Caesar said. "I’m sending them those two, the snow mountain assassins. And I want them to bring me Cyborg Franky and Princess Y/N."

The mention of Y/N’s name caused me to widen my eyes slightly. 

"Yes, Franky has some technology that can be useful to me. Y/N, the power she wields is extraordinary. She’s quite the looker, isn’t she Monet?" Caesar said with a smirk.

I clenched my hands tightly, trying to control the surge of fury rising within me. You won’t lay a hand on her, I thought, barely able to contain my rage.

"Why, she is. But also, her bounty has increased as well. She no longer sits at 115,000,000 berries; she now sits at 150,000,000 berries. That’s due to her new title and what she accomplished back at Sabaody two years ago," Monet added, her tone matter-of-factly.

"Then it’s settled. Shororororo," Caesar said, his laughter echoing with a sense of finality.

I gritted my teeth, my mind racing. I need to do something to protect Y/N. The thought of her being targeted by these people was unbearable.

.

.

.

..

And we are back with another chapter! Today its only one chapter since I didnt have much time in the morning. But Law, be putting the moves, and standing on business. Sanji poor guy just when y/n came back to give him a hug he no longer is no his body. Ngl that section was the hardest to type because I wanted to make sure that it was understandable as I wrote as well. But other than that you guys, thank you for reading this chapter!, thank you for following, liking, reblogging, sharing, commenting etc. I am going to be making a tag list so if you guys want to be added please let me know in the comments!. But tomorrows Chapter its going to be a good one too! Ill se you guys tomorrow

[brucebocchi]

Spring 2024 anime, Pt. 1: Ongoing/returning shows and the bench

yo! i also post this on my ko-fi! this is very much a labor of love, so if you liked what i wrote consider throwing a few bucks my way! thanks!

And we are back! This one came a little later because I'm much busier now than I was three months ago, but that's a good thing. It'll be a bit longer before I cover last season's new anime, so bear with me. I'm happy to say, though, that I didn't hate anything I watched this season! So there's that.

As always, the OP is linked in the title of each show. Check them out, there were some good ones this season!

Here we go:

Continuing & returning shows:

Delicious in Dungeon, second cour

Ahh, Dungeon Meshi. At the start of my review of its debut cour, I said that Dungeon Meshi is a difficult anime for me to talk about unprompted because it’s such a complete, self-assured work that saying anything about it besides “PLEASE WATCH THIS ANIME IT’S SO FUCKING GOOD” feels like a fait accompli. After twelve more episodes and spending the better part of a weekend binging the entire manga, I’m left with little else to say besides please watch this anime (and read the manga), it’s so fucking good.

Our adventuring party has managed to slay (and cook) the red dragon and resurrect Falin from its belly, but the victory came at a cost: They have managed to not only invoke the ire of the dungeon’s ruler, the “lunatic magician” Thistle, but Marcille’s use of forbidden resurrection magic has also raised another number of hackles. Reunions aren’t all happy ones and the dungeon is getting weirder.

This line break represents where I wanted to add so much more and just kept falling short. This continues to be an exceptional adaptation of an exceptional manga. For all the silly gags, for all the goofy potshots everyone takes at each other, Dungeon Meshi is a series with a beating heart worn permanently on its sleeve. The group dynamic remains superb, and no less so for the standoffish half-girl-half-cat Izutsumi joining the gang (my joy at seeing her added to the OP was indescribable). The ways in which everything interconnects make up only a fraction of this series’ unmatched worldbuilding; much hay has been made about how Ryoko Kui designed the dungeon as a living, breathing ecosystem, but there’s so much more of that within the human element as well, and the latter aspect looks to only improve when the show returns for the next season.

Dungeon Meshi is, without question, the best anime of 2024 so far, and I will be impressed if anything manages to overtake it in this year’s latter half. The manga became one of my favorites in record time, and I have little doubt that by the end of the second (and almost certainly final) season, one of my favorite anime of all time will indeed be Dungeon Meshi. Ahh, Dungeon Meshi.

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, season 3

When I reviewed last year’s Megumin-centric spinoff, I mentioned that I’m not quite as high on KonoSuba as other anime fans. I always thought it was a perfectly serviceable comedy isekai, nothing too special, but mostly worth the watch. Even after the letdown that was An Explosion on this Wonderful World! last year, I was still looking forward to the long-overdue third season. And pretty much as expected, what we got was fine. Just fine.

That said, I was instantly delighted to see Megumin once again surrounded by Kazuma, Aqua, and Darkness. And as is frequently the case when those four are together, shit goes south fast. Kazuma, hoping to heal the mental wounds he incurred in the Legend of Crimson film, gets his groove back when he’s invited to regale the adorable Princess Iris with tales of his exploits. As a noble herself, Darkness is mortified throughout this ordeal, scrambling to ensure that Kazuma doesn’t get beheaded for being a loudmouthed freak, and also that Aqua and Megumin don’t accidentally burn the palace down in their revelry. 

KonoSuba gets a lot of comparisons to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in that both are ensemble comedies in which the entire main group consists of awful people who don’t entirely like or trust one another. It’s a fair enough comparison, but what makes the group dynamic work for both shows is that the moral center is never a fixed point; the “voice of reason” among either group changes along with the situation to ensure the comedy stays fresh. And the fact that Lalatina Dustiness goddamn Ford has to be the voice of reason for the majority of this season should mortify you.

Darkness losing her mind aside, I didn’t really care for this arc. There was some interesting worldbuilding happening toward the middle of the season, but Kazuma acting way too eager about having a tiny, prepubescent girl calling him “onii-chan” just made my skin crawl, and I’m otherwise pretty much immune to the bog-standard “hey, laugh at this man because he’s a pervert” anime trope at this point. Fortunately, it only lasted for half the season, but unfortunately, it still felt an episode or two too long. The second half of the season followed Darkness’ forced betrothal to a gross noble from an earlier episode, and that arc also felt an episode or two too long.

Season 3 felt like KonoSuba both at its best and worst. The character dynamics are as rich as ever, even as Aqua and Megumin largely fell to the margins in favor of the larger stories. The smaller moments with the main four just bumming around their mansion are always just as entertaining as their larger exploits. The narrative seems to want to continue pushing Kazuma and Megumin together, nurturing the seeds planted in the movie, but later episodes also make a pretty good case for Kazuma and Darkness getting together; for better and for worse, those two absolutely match one another’s freak. Some of the gags this season were pretty darn good as well: This anime’s facials are already the stuff of legend, and we got some bangers here too (see above). For as loud as it often got, there were a few gags that centered on prolonged, uncomfortable silences like a late episode of Evangelion. And for as bored as I started to grow with the last arc, the punchline at the very end of the season almost made the whole thing worth it.

On the other hand, this show somehow got noisier. Some of Explosion’s funnier moments last year came from Megumin’s shrieking outbursts, so Studio Drive (taking over the main series from Deen) seemed to think that everyone needed to yell all the time now. It felt jarring; like watching season 4 of SpongeBob for the first time. I’m also not impressed by the fact that this series still seems to think sexual assault is just the funniest when it happens to men. It was a serious lowlight of the Legend of Crimson movie, and it just seemed to double down this time for a completely unnecessary segment in which Kazuma helps Dust get back at a creep, only for it to backfire on Dust and only on Dust. That shit sucks!

At the same time, it’s still KonoSuba, so ESH. If you made it this far, you’re pretty much along for the ride until it breaks down, so you take the good with the bad. Neither particularly outweighs the other, nor are they enough to push me towards declaring this show as either essential or unwatchable. It’s KonoSuba, and KonoSuba is fine.

Laid-Back Camp, season 3

The reigning champion of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things anime returns to the present day after the 10-years-later film, and it’s in fighting shape. Though the third season of Yuru Camp (another anime I refuse to call by its official English title) is in the hands of a new studio, it’s still full to bursting with all the gorgeous countryside scenery, tantalizing food porn, and whimsical music you’ve come to expect by now.

This is one that was on my backlog for the better part of a couple years, so I figured there was no better time to catch up than to time it with a new season hitting the air. Through two seasons and an original movie, Yuru Camp was peak slice-of-life: Low on conflict, heavy on cuteness, and brimming with personality. It does what it says on the tin; it’s a show about high school girls going camping, and by God are you getting high school girls going camping. And in the meantime, you, the viewer, get to learn the ins and outs of camping while discovering all these real-life, lovely spots along the Japanese countryside with Mt. Fuji always in view, and maybe help boost the local tourism economies once you go outside and touch grass.

The previous two seasons largely followed the girls’ exploits at school and out in the open as individuals and smaller groups before building to a big destination trip with all five of them, but season 3 takes a more, uh, laid-back approach. The first half follows Rin’s bike trip along with Nadeshiko’s hometown bestie, Ayano, until they meet up with Nadeshiko after her own solo excursion. We also get a quick peek at a heavily-fictionalized retelling of Chiaki, Aoi, and Ena’s outing with Toba-sensei, as well as a cherry blossom viewing trip with Nadeshiko and her sister, before the girls all come together once more for a nighttime hanami outing. It’s more of the same, and that’s exactly what you’re here for.

That said, the character work is the glue that holds Yuru Camp together, and it’s as wonderful as ever. Rin and Nadeshiko’s friendship remains a delight, and Hazel covered it better and more succinctly than I ever could in the Yuru Camp segment in her phenomenal video on countryside scenery in anime. Watching Rin bond with Ayano one-on-one on their own trip was a real highlight; they’d hit it off quickly in the first season, and it was lovely seeing Ayano working at Rin’s go-to bike shop in the movie, so I was overjoyed to see more of these two. More than anything, though, seeing a habitual loner like Rin connect so naturally with another person (and one who isn’t Nadeshiko, no less) just warms my cold, dead heart. The looser plotting also gives us the time and space to take in how the girls individually spend their downtime. Nadeshiko’s quickly becoming as much of an expert solo traveler as Rin, and her youthful enthusiasm about everything remains as endearing as ever. We even get to watch her becoming a train nerd in real time! 

At the same time, the communal aspect of camping is a huge part of what makes this show click. Part of that, of course, has been watching Rin’s social circle expanding, but also in seeing how readily campers observe and aid one another. Nobody is “the best” at camping (except maybe Rin’s granddad), so none of the campers in this show have any reservations about going out of their way to help one another. Even an expert solo camper like Rin was a greenhorn at one point, so she’s always happy to give and receive help. The various campers the girls run into along their journeys are always ready with local information about good spots to eat, relax, and take in a good view as well. Even camping on your own, you’re never truly alone.

In that same vein, Yuru Camp is as educational as ever. Along the girls’ travels, we learn plenty about the myriad suspension bridges over the Oi River drainage basin, the various types of passenger trains connecting the countryside, torii gates along the mountains, and clever ways to build a camping menu around local crops. Yes, Yuru Camp is as much food porn as it is nature porn, and the dishes are sumptuous. On that note, my favorite thing I learned this season came from Nadeshiko’s drooling outbursts during the other OutClub girls’ camp retelling: It turns out that there’s an equivalent Japanese colloquialism to what we call food porn, specifically in the act of taunting people about delicious food they can’t have right now, and that is “meshitero,” or “food terrorism.” That is just terrific.

Yuru Camp is in the hands of a new studio for its third season, and the difference is mostly negligible. This is a show that trades largely in vibes, and the vibes remain impeccable. Almost everything still looks and sounds great, but season 3 leans a little more heavily on CG for moving bikes and cars, and they do look markedly worse. Not immersion-shattering, but definitely distracting. The scenery largely looks less hand-painted in favor of a more photorealistic style, which does make me wonder about the actual level of artistry put into it, but that could just be me splitting hairs. Otherwise, it still looks like Yuru Camp, which is all you can ask for.

This show still rules though. I don’t often get intense in my praise of slice-of-life anime, and the ones that get me acting like that are the ones that go to wild lengths for the sake of a joke, like Nichijou and Kaguya-sama. I don’t know what it is about a show as lowkey as Yuru Camp that has me wanting to scream from the rooftops that “THIS FUCKING SHOW WHIPS ASS,” but I’m not questioning it. Maybe it’s cuteness aggression.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, season 2, part 2

And we’re back with more of the best-made anime that I can’t recommend in good faith to just about anyone.

The latter half of season 2 surrounds Rudeus’ aims for a quiet domestic life, settling down with Sylphiette and at the request of his father, Paul, taking his little sisters Aisha and Norn into their home (along with a very welcome reunion with their escort). Aisha takes after her mother, Lilia, and is eager to please and help around the house, but Norn’s last memory of Rudeus is of his violent reunion with their father. Norn idolizes Paul, so she doesn’t trust Rudeus and refuses to open up to him. While Aisha is content with working around the house, Norn wants to keep her distance, so she decides to enroll and board at the magic academy.

Norn’s apprehension towards Rudy and the mental anguish it causes her becomes an isolating factor in her daily life, leading Rudeus to believe that she’s being bullied, much as he was in his previous life. Rudy’s attempts at sticking up for his sister fall flat and lead him to realize he’s been projecting on her this entire time rather than actually reaching out to her. It’s these moments of learning and unlearning that nearly make all of this worth it; this was easily one of the best episodes of Mushoku Tensei’s second season, and frankly one of the best episodes of anime I watched all season. Another episode near the end also earned that distinction, but it got weird afterwards. Even in its lower moments, this season traded very well in the themes of family, growth, and loss, and those aren’t always tidy subjects to handle.

Because this is Mushoku Tensei, the cozy home life can’t last forever. Paul’s attempts at saving his wife have continued to fall short, so he calls on Rudeus and Elinalise to come and help rescue Zenith. Rudeus is conflicted; though he finally has the opportunity to save his mother and face his father as a man, Sylphie is now pregnant and he doesn’t want to abandon his wife and future child. As often happens at times like this, Rudy gets some face time with the Man-God who has been seemingly invested in his journey, and for once Rudy flouts his advice to venture out. Many reunions are had, including one that had been teased all season, and a lot of things go south from there. I was spoiled on some of what would happen in later parts of the series, so it didn’t come as a massive shock to me, but it still got weird, it wasn’t really addressed all that well, and people were rightfully put off by it.

On that note, I’ve given up on the idea of this series being about Rudeus improving as a person, because he’s done just about as much “improving” as he’s going to by now. As I’ve said before, he’s not quite the drooling pervert he used to be (he was actually doing great for more than half of this cour before a succubus attack briefly got the better of him), but his moral compass, even in his best moments, still seems to be poorly calibrated. I do see a side of him now that genuinely cares for others and actively wants to help, but it doesn’t erase his questionable acts, nor do I get any sense that he deserves to get the things he wants. I particularly don’t care for what’s already looking like a formula wherein sex seems to be his cosmic reward whenever he hits a low point or achieves something great. For a series that genuinely has such excellent worldbuilding and storytelling, that part feels cheap enough to undermine everything else.

But hey, a rapist died, so it’s not all bad.

I’m not sure I’d necessarily put Mushoki Tensei on the level of Frieren or Dungeon Meshi, certainly not thematically, but with all three off the air this upcoming Summer season, it’s been a minute since we’ve had a season of anime without one of those three lovingly-made fantasy series on the air. It feels like anime has a massive fantasy void now, and I desperately hope I’m proven wrong soon.

Urusei Yatsura (2022), season 2, second cour

The final run of the remade Urusei Yatsura ended on a strong note with an honest-to-God story arc! Lum and Ataru’s tempestuous situationship is put into stark relief with the fate of the world in the balance, except not really; Lum just wants him to think that because she’s fed up with his shit and that’s just how she operates.

Even as disjointed as this run has been prior to the final arc, there were still some gems this season. The time-travel segment where the gang tries to undo Mendo’s fear of the dark was a certified banger, Asuka’s violent androphobia is as funny as ever, and the introduction of Nagisa as a means of further muddying Ryunosuke’s whole gender situation was the most quintessentially Rumiko Takahashi shit I’ve ever seen. It’s the character comedy that makes Urusei Yatsura what it is just as much as the central will-they-won’t-they, and it was just as potent as always before the series hurtled towards its finale.

The four-episode arc to close out the all-stars run, similarly to the final arc of the manga and the final movie of the original anime run, centers on a blowup between our romantic leads over a colossal misunderstanding (sasuga Takahashi-sensei) involving a unilaterally-fated marriage between Lum and the prince of a dark planet, Rupa. Though Ataru and fellow dark-planeter Karula (basically Rupa’s own equivalent Lum) foil the wedding, a carbon copy of Lum created to ensure a proper exchange of vows tells Ataru that she’s over him. Ataru’s feelings are genuinely hurt, and he tells the real Lum that they’re through, and he returns to Earth with Karula, accidentally spreading spores of the dark planet’s enormous mushrooms.

Said mushrooms rapidly grow enormous when exposed to sunlight, so Earth is already in certain danger. Lum sees an opportunity to manipulate convince Ataru to finally get serious, so she sets familiar stakes: She’ll enlist Rupa’s help in destroying the mushrooms, but only if Ataru can beat her in a ten-day game of tag by grabbing her horns, just like when they first met. More importantly, though, she’ll let it all go if he can just say out loud that he loves her. And you know damn well by now that these two are both as stubborn as they come.

As I’ve said before, this is a shorter run, so we may not have the benefit of the entirety of Urusei Yatsura up to this point to be properly salivating for the finale, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t still hit like a freight train. The emotional climax was still meaty and satisfying in ways that made all of this worth it. Half of the joke of this series is that Ataru’s never going to get serious about Lum in a way that matters, but every time the mask slips is a well-earned shot to the heart. The ending is no different, and it made the shorter run still feel worthwhile.

And with that, that’s a wrap on a modern (if truncated) retelling of a legendary comedy manga. I’ll be forever grateful to this iteration of Urusei Yatsura for finally pushing me into getting into Rumiko Takahashi’s classic works, and I’m beyond excited that there’s also a Ranma ½ remake on the way. If David Production takes that one on as well, it’ll be in great hands.

Anime I Watched Two Episodes of and Will Probably Get Back to Later

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince So I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability

I mean, you read the title.

This is less an isekai and more of a lateral reincarnation story; magic already very much exists in this fantasy kingdom, but this is about a guy who is very obsessed with magic but sucked at it suddenly gaining a wealth of talent and the opportunity to go absolutely sicko mode.

Lloyd’s existing knowledge of magic serves him well, and he becomes a virtuoso at a young age. He manages to subjugate a demon lurking in the palace’s library and turn him into an adorable familiar (and having the demon go from being voiced by Akio Otsuka to Fairouz Ai was a brilliant move) and just terrorize the poor little shit with his experiments and travails. The kid could basically do a Hollow Purple by the second episode. He’s kind of psychotic, and I love that for him.

This is definitely a comedy, but the comedy is kind of all over the place early on. Prince Lloyd is surrounded by beautiful young ladies-in-waiting who, uh, seem way too into him, and that kinda sucks. Lloyd himself is drawn and animated a little too lovingly for a child as well. It’s definitely uncomfortable in parts early on, but I’ve heard it lightens up on that and gets crazier in the parts that matter, so I’ll be coming back.

And it started with a menacing monologue from Takehito Koyasu himself, so of course my interest was piqued from the jump.

Oblivion Battery

It’s weird, I love both anime and sports, but sports anime was just something I never sought out too much until I picked up Blue Box recently (also please read Blue Box, it whips ass and the anime is gonna be incredible). Oblivion Battery’s debut coincided with the start of the American baseball season, so it seemed like a great time to hop in.

I can’t say I was too intrigued by the premise, though. The intentionally generically-named Taro Yamada quit baseball after middle school after getting utterly rinsed by the high-powered battery of pitcher Haruka Kiyomine and catcher Kei Kaname, so he enrolls in a high school without a baseball club, only to find that his classmates are… Haruka and Kei. Kei, as it turns out, took a bad hit to the head and has completely forgotten all about baseball, and now spends all of his time trying to be a comedy boke for unwilling participants. Taro and Haruka would like Kei to learn about baseball again, so they start up a new club, alongside other classmates who also quit baseball because of the titular battery.

Fine premise, but eh. The hook wasn’t enough of a hook for me, and even MAPPA handling the animation didn’t keep my attention for long. I’ll probably get back to it eventually, but I ended up watching plenty of other anime this season that felt like higher priorities.

Also, I’m pretty sure Oblivion Battery’s manga introduced a character named Aoi Todo before Jujutsu Kaisen did. I still prefer the latter.

YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose its Master

See, this one I probably should’ve picked up sooner, because it seems like it’s very much my jam, and I’ve seen plenty of praise for it. It’s a dense one, though, and I’d rather not cram it just to turn around and review it a few days later.

I won’t even go into the details because even two episodes in, there are darn near too many of them. This is a massive ensemble cast in and around a succession battle in a fictionalized, imperial Japan-esque kingdom created and ruled by yokai. We’ve got a battle of brides-to-be vying for the hand of an embattled prince, a cunning but resentful empress overseeing the proceedings, a possible spy or two, and a rambunctious little shit who looks like he got plucked out of Avatar: The Last Airbender getting roped into working in the palace. It’s a lot of moving parts, but I’m curious to see how they tie together.

Two episodes in and this show looks good, but probably not as great as it could. I know I’m spoiled on The Apothecary Diaries, but something like this already feels like it deserves better than some of the stiff character animation I saw early on. I’ll reserve my judgments for now.

YATAGARASU is continuing into the summer season, so I’ll take my time catching up on it. This one feels like it deserves to be sipped slowly, not chugged, and I’ll have my tasting notes in due time.

[kaidatheghostdragon]

Danny has answered the door for half a dozen different people responding to the ad (all out-of-towners - everyone in Amity knew to avoid the Fentons), and assumed it was another one of Jazz's (or ancients forbid even mom or dad's) harebrained ideas to get Danny some extra help with his grades. Frankly, he was amazed there were even that many responders who hadn't been scared off by the Ops Center on top of his home.

This time, the house defenses picked up on a low level ecto-signature, and Danny rushed to the control pad to override them before they decided whoever was on the other side might be a threat. They had triggered his own ghost sense as well, and he was confident he could overpower whoever it was if they turned out to be a problem.

He didn't expect to open the door to a baby halfa.

Okay... maybe 'baby' isn't the first thought most people have when seeing the six-and-a-half foot beast of a man standing on his doorstep. Danny would have definitely believed he was about to get robbed and murdered if he weren't an OP half ghost who fought bigger, scarier eldritch entities almost on the daily.

Or for the smothering aura of awkward-out-of-place the guy radiated (with a tinge of deep-rooted injustice and carefully managed anger, but like, the guy was half-ghost, and in Danny's limited experience, that implied some sort of trauma, so he wasn't gonna judge.)

Or just the fact that Danny is the son of Jack "kool-aid man" Fenton, and he had long since been desensitized to "big and scary," when his mind readily supplied him with all the memories he had of his dad being an utter goofball.

Still, it was all he could do to suppress the ghost instincts to immediately coo at the baby ghost and start a gentle fight to welcome him into Danny's haunt.

"...Hi," the stranger eventually greeted after the awkward silence that Danny definitely hadn't done anything to help, "I'm here because of this ad?" He held up a printed copy that Danny barely bothered to even glance at.

"You're hired," Danny blurted out, then instantly clamped down on the urge to cringe. What the hell, ghost instincts?

Stranger Danger looked just as surprised as Danny felt. "Shouldn't I talk to your parents first?"

"I'm Danny," Danny plowed on, stuffing the internal mortification and simultaneous silent ghost squeeing down until it was no longer a distraction, "I'm the one that needs a tutor, shouldn't I have a say in who tutors me?"

"I mean, ideally, yeah, you should a least have the option to avoid anyone that would make you uncomfortable," Stranger replied, looking (and radiating) a bit off-kilter before straightening into a firm answer.

"Good! Then we're both in agreement!" Danny beamed as he grabbed Stranger's hand and pulled him inside the door with probably a bit too much strength, but the guy luckily didn't falter or stumble. "First, I need to key you into the security system, then I can give you a quick tour and the rules of the house!"

"But you dont even know my name!" Stranger protested as Danny shoved his hand onto the scanner to record his ectosignature. It took a few seconds longer than it probably should have before the LED lit up in confirmation, and Danny mentally filed it away to mention to Frostbite whenever he managed to get the baby halfa a proper doctor appointment.

"My guy, you're the only one that can fix that problem," Danny answered sagely.

Stranger stared for several seconds, then dropped his hand off of the scanner when he realized Danny wasn't holding it there anymore.

"Jason."

"Nice to meet you, Jason," Danny replied with what he hoped was a friendly smile. Jason wasn't really responding to any of the aura cues Danny was giving off, so it was unlikely the guy had much knowledge on ghost culture and etiquette, "This door leads to the basement lab. You won't be allowed down there without supervision until you've completed the safety training lessons. Around the corner is the kitchen. Be mindful when opening the fridge -the hot dogs have recently unionized and are still working out their list of demands. Upstairs is where all the bedrooms are, including the guest room you'll be staying in, and over here is the pneumatic tube to the Ops Center - the UFO on the roof. Same rules as the lab, but it'll be a safe space to retreat to once you've done all the weapons and equipment training."

Danny continued on the tour, dragging Jason around by the arm as he explained where everything was and where to find all the security access panels. Jason's aura grew more and more concerned as Danny prattled on. "Are you safe here?" He asked, interrupting Danny as he tried to explain that the hot dogs make good guard dogs in a pinch.

"Couldn't be safer!" Danny said, waving off the concern, "Mom and Dad are tons better now that they understand that ghosts are sentient. They probably won't even attack you on sight! Which reminds-"

"Okay, first of all, what the fuck? Secondly, I'm sensing a leap of logic here that I've somehow missed. Why would attacking ghosts translate to attacking me?" Jason asked, looking a little panicked and loosing the tightly controlled anger buried in his aura ever so slightly.

"Jason, my guy, why do you think I hired you so quickly?" Danny asked seriously. He could sense Jason swallow a retort by the way his aura did a one-eighty from flippant to straight-up denial.

"I'm not a ghost," he stated, matter-of-fact. Danny almost believed it.

"You sure about that?" Danny pushed, raising a brow. Apparently, they were having this conversation now, and if Danny had learned anything from his older sister, it was that declaring something point blank rarely worked. It was better to lead the person through the logic until they figured out the conclusion themselves. (Thank the ancients it worked on mom and dad.)

"I have a heartbeat," Jason insisted.

"So do I," Danny replied.

"So you're not a ghost either... wait, Danny, did your parents convince you that you're a ghost? Kid, that's fucked up."

"Please," Danny scoffed, "They didn't even know I died until I told them. They're brilliant ecto biologists, but they're terrible ghost hunters. Didn't even know a ghost was living under their own roof. Well, I *say* living, but we both know that's because there isn't really a better fitting term for what we are."

"I came back from the dead. That makes me a zombie, not a ghost," Jason argued, eyes flashing green as he expertly fought for emotional control.

"I can see how you would come to that conclusion, but zombies aren't revived, just reanimated. There's no soul involved, which you clearly have."

"Wouldn't that mean I'm just resurrected?" Jason argued.

"Can you look me in the eyes and tell me you came back exactly the same as you were before?"

That was enough to convince Jason to look back toward Danny, to finally see that Danny could make his eyes glow too.

"Shit-fuck!" Jason exclaimed as he staggered back from surprise. He still wasn't responding to the *same-comfort-friend* that Danny was sending his way, so Danny tilted his head to try to portray some degree of casualness before blinking away the ecto.

Maybe he over-estimated Jason's supernatural bullshit tolerance. He should probably take a step back.

"You came here to take a tutoring job. I'm sorry I threw an existential crisis at you. You're the first person I've met that's the same thing I am and *not* a total fruitloop or my clone. But I'll understand if you want to turn down the job. Just promise to be careful out there? The anti-ecto acts are still a thing and they define you as non-sentient so if you see any creeps dressed in white suits, just avoid them as much as possible. But if you need a place to hide, then you're always welcome to come back. The ambient ecto here in Amity Park is enough to mask your ecto-signature so they can't track-"

"Kid," Jason interrupted, "Danny. Respectfully. What the absolute fuck?"

Danny cringed.

"Are you seriously telling me that there are laws out there that violate the meta human protection act, and they target both of us? And theres other people out there like both of us? And you were fucking cloned? I was looking for a job that could take me *away* from the crazy! Goddammit!" Jason leaned against the wall and slid down till he was sitting on the carpet, running a hand through his death-touched hair. "Well I guess this is happening now. I cant ever get a fucking break, can I?"

"Im sorry," Danny muttered.

"Why are you sorry? Literally none of this is your fault. Dont be sorry for things you can't control. That's just a recipe for disaster."

Danny nodded dumbly.

"Just please, on top of all of this, promise me you're parents aren't abusive, too."

"I promise my parents are not abusive," Danny stated, raising a hand as if in oath.

"Why am I not convinced?" Jason complained, running a hand down his face, "I dont think I can handle this extential crisis on top of kidnapping a kid out of an abusive home," he muttered mostly to himself, but Danny could sense the exasperation.

"Excuse you," Danny said with a snort, "*I'm* the one doing the kidnapping here!"

Jason looked up at Danny incredulously, "Sure you are, shortstack."

"Hey! Not all of us can make it to the shit brickhouse stage before dying!"

Jason blinked, clearly processing Danny's words.

"I was 15. Almost as scrawny as you," he eventually offered.

"Oh, thank god," Danny exclaimed with clear relief, "There's still a chance I'll keep growing."

"You didn't know? That was something you were worried about? I thought you said there's others?"

"Yeah, the fruitloop and the clone. Fruitloop was an adult when he died. Clone was created the way she is, and we have no idea if any changes or lack thereof are ghost shenanigans or clone shenanigans. I mean, she's my clone and somehow a girl? Is the fruitloop incompetent, or is that just how ghosts be?" Danny finished with a shrug.

Jason's aura was a weird mix of processing information like a supercomputer and having an aneurysm. Danny anxiously waited for him to respond, knowing that if he opened his mouth again he'd accidentally info dump even more.

"I still want the job," he finally stated, "assuming your parents approve."

Danny waved off his concerns once again, "They'll love having another ghost in the house. That's twice as much data for their research!"

DP x DC prompt #161

Jason loves his family, he really does, but he needs a break from them. He just needed a break in general. But what should he do? Well, he saw an ad online earlier for a stay-at-home tutor for a high school kid in a place called Amity Park. Danny, if Jason remembers correctly.

[youredyingthatsallthereis]

kinktober day 23: fingering

soap fingers roach in a tent on an op

t4t soaproach because while i have not read everything (i dont really get to read much fanfic anymore honestly) i have never seen t4t soaproach so i making some myself

roach is bottom non op, soap keeps his pants on but hes got full metoidioplasty

read on AO3 | nonsenseafterdarks list! | word count: 565

"better keep it down, sergeant, unless you want someone comin' in and seein' you like this."

'this' was roach seated on the small folding table in captain mactavish's tent, pants around his ankles with soap between his legs, knuckle deep in his pussy.

"yessir - aaAHHH," roach whispered, letting his head fall back as soap bottomed out again, his middle two fingers as deep as the captain could get them.

“good soldier,” soap murmured into the crook of his sergeant’s neck. “though you probably could’ve waited until everyone else was asleep to come over here, he added, giving the sensitive skin a sharp love bite. “needy.”

roach dug his fingers into the table behind him, scrunching several papers that he later hoped weren’t important. “yes, sir.”

"just for me, aren't you?"

"yes sir," roach whispered, tensing his legs up while soap curled his fingers to pet along the top wall of his cunt.

"you don't have to lie, roach, i know you've fucked half the task force," soap said, pulling out of him just to push in harder and pull back out faster. "nobody else was enough though, aye? that's why you came runnin' to your captain and you keep comin' back. can't find anyone else who can give it to you this good, can you?"

"no....ah, no sir," roach said just a touch louder, knuckles turning light as the tips of his fingers dug harder into the table top, nails scraping over the bunched up papers while soaps fingers fucked in and out of him, deeper and deeper.

"best be careful, sanderson," soap breathed, kissing up the side of his neck. he was now so close to roach that their chests were almost touching. "you make a mess of my desk, you're cleanin' it up."

"yes - aahhhhhh, fuck, yes sir, yes yes yes - "

"go on then, get it all over me," soap egged him on, burying himself in his sergeants cunt to rub over his t dick, harsh and quick. "never met someone that squirts so hard, you really got somethin' special there, sanderson; so go on, let it out for me, give it to me now - "

roach smashed his face forward into soaps shoulder to muffle the shout when he did, squirting all over soap's hand and wrist, splattering the table and the ground with it.

"messy, soldier," soap chastised, as if he hadn't just encouraged the whole thing. he slowly pulled his soaked hand out of roach and rubbed gently over the tip of his cock. "start by cleanin' me off, aye?"

still breathing hard, roach picked up his head and nodded, twitching at the touch on his sensitive tip.

soap gave him no reprieve, using his clean hand to pull down roach's jaw and insert his slick, sloppy fingers into his mouth.

"hmmmmph," roach whined out, sucking and licking the taste of himself off his captains hand like he was being paid to.

"you do this for everyone, love, or save it for ones that get you off this good?"

roach looked at him, letting his mouth open a bit and slowly dragging his tongue up the crease between his middle and ring fingers. "only people that can fuck me this good."

soap chuckled as roach tilted forward and licked the squirt and slick off his palm. "so just me then?"

roach gave his hand one last lick. "just you, sir."

[wickjump]

GRAHHHH HOLY FUCK

THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THIS???????? IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ON MY MIND BUT I NEVER KNEW I WAS ALLOWED TO LIKE

ACTUALLY NOT LIKE IT

AAAAAAAAAA

gnawing on the bones of the passage of time rn brb

NO CAUSE LIKE, 2016 UT FANDOM COME BACKKK, I CAN ACTUALLY MAKE SHIT NOW?? I CAN ACTUALLY APPRECIATE YOU PROPERLY NOW GRAHHH

lowkey i miss all the amino ads/spondorships now lmao, at some point it just felt like amino sponsered every single undertale content creator jshsjs/positive

it had it's issues no doubt but fuckkkk, it feels like the atmospheres then and now are so different it doesn't even feel like the same fandom anymore if that makes sense? 

ngl i kinda miss the sans fangirls? they were such a staple part of the community back then grahhhh (help i still remember when almost everyone was laughing at the fangirls that, just in general, new/young artists got dragged in too? ugh i dunno, i never really watched those 'cring comps' but i wasn't a fan lmao /lighthearted)

it felt like such a community, it *was* a community

when did everything get so divided

can we all just rp 2016 ut fandom for the rest of our lives

ugh now that i see another person talk about it, my brain just opened the floodgates and im speedrunning the grieving process JHSHSJHS 

"it'll never be the same anymore" okay and sure i could be graceful about it but also what if someone has to drag me kicking and screaming

GRAHHHHHHHHH (love you sm for this op, KEEP SPEAKING YER TRUTHHH!! RAHHHHHHHH)

THANK YOU!!!! i will forever speak my truth thank you anon

things got divided and genuinely it doesn’t feel like the same fandom at all. the fandom on twitter feels nothing like the fandom on tiktok or on tumblr. and because so many people don’t have tumblr now, despite how tumblr is the utmv fandom’s medium, it’s difficult to get the people together like they used to. someone could be famous on tumblr, everyone knows their name and their ocs, but on twitter nobody knows who they are. tiktok has plenty of tumblr reposts but theyre also in the dark a lot of the time. it’s disconnected.

the community would be a lot better if we just. migrated back to tumblr again and stopped the callout posts, because honestly i don’t care what someone said that was mildly rude to someone else or anything of that silly nature. it’s not that serious!!!! it’s driving us apart!!!!!!!! we can’t be together if we don’t make an effort!!!!!

i want people to start being communal again. i want rp sessions. i want a new loveball. i want roleplay blogs and silly cringe and especially edgy ask blogs. i want the same level of cringe 2016 had. i want it so goddamn bad. but in order for that to happen, people need to put in an effort, and to do it, and enough people need to do that. which feels like it just won’t happen, im not that influential to make that happen, and as previously mentioned, so many communities don’t know i exist either, nor so many tumblr figures!!!!!! the real ones are the people that have accounts on all platforms and post the same things on each 🙏 thank you for being a rare link

honestly we’re hated enough as is. I mean i literally just scrolled past a yt video called “undertale and it’s FOUL community”. people outside it ain’t doin us any favors, trying to say “we’re good now” ain’t doin shit!!!!!! let’s just have fun and go back to enjoying ourselves instead of trying to be “better”. because im not having as much fun as i know i wouldve years ago as a content creator and i want to have that fun!!!!! and my goal at this point is to let people know they can have that fun. im going to spread this like the gospel mark my words

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Look who flew into DC for an early Halloween.

Blake Wolf Thursday, September 26, 2024

Hillary Clinton continued to demonize supporters of former President Donald Trump this week, arguing that the term “deplorables” is actually “too kind” of a characterization for the Republican voter base.

Clinton released an op-ed in The Washing Post on Wednesday. She described how difficult it was for her to empathize with “radicalized individuals,” reflecting back on her “basket of deplorables” phrase from 2016, when she lost to Trump in the U.S. election.

However, political strategists highlighted how Clinton’s use of that phrase greatly damaged her political campaign, as she continued to openly insult a demographic comprised of working class, blue collar voters, the same group that many Democrat politicians claim to want to benefit in their campaign messaging.

“In 2016, I famously described half of Trump’s supporters as ‘the basket of deplorables’. I was talking about the people who are drawn to his racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia – you name it. The people for whom his bigotry is a feature, not a bug. It was an unfortunate choice of words and bad politics, but it also got at an important truth. Just look at everything that has happened in the years since, from Charlottesville to Jan. 6,” Clinton wrote in the piece.

She continued on, stating, “The masks have come off, and if anything, ‘deplorable’ is too kind a word for the hate and violent extremism we’ve seen from some Trump supporters.”

In contrast, Clinton attempted to compare and integrate the “expertise” of Shannon Foley, a former white supremacist, who has changed her life and now “works to deprogram and rehabilitate people leaving hate groups,” to reigning in Trump supporters. Clinton added that she “marveled at the empathy Shannon managed to summon for even the most (yes, let’s say it) deplorable bigots.”

However, The Denver Post outlet previously noted that “when Clinton aides speak in private, their basket of ‘deplorables’ includes faithful Catholics and evangelicals who believe in the sanctity of human life.”

Clinton continued in the op-ed: “I wondered whether Shannon’s thoughtful, empathetic approach could offer lessons not just for rescuing radicalized individuals but also for healing our wounded country. What will it take to pull us out of the madness? Is there any way to drain the fever swamps so we can stand together on firmer, higher ground.”

Although she believes that her “deplorable” characterization holds true, Clinton claimed that she would strives to look at the Republican base with more empathy.

“Talking about the ‘deplorables’ in 2016, I said, ‘Some of those folks, they are irredeemable.’ Part of me would still say this is objectively true. Just look at the lack of remorse from many of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists who’ve been convicted of sedition and other crimes. But another part of me wants to believe something else. I’d like to believe there’s goodness in everyone and a chance at redemption, no matter how remote,” she concluded, presenting herself as taking the moral high ground.

[giantkillerjack]

❤❤❤ That is so valid.

For me, that line makes me happy in like, a bittersweet way.

Because that is a terrifying concept but also it means we can live freely. It means our lives are fully our own and we are the only ones who can assign meaning to our actions.

It reminds me a lot of my favorite movie, Everything Everywhere All At Once, which posits that "nothing matters and there are no rules" is a terrifying and true statement.

But it then takes this concept several huge steps further and turns it on its ear to ask "Okay but what if nothing matter and there are no rules is actually terrifying, true, and beautiful, all at once? What if we are all in it together and this silly, stupid chaos is its own magic, especially if we can be kind?"

Actually, the more I think of it, the more these two pieces of media have a lot of similar existential themes and messages.

The saddest line in all of Ride The Cyclone in my opinion is without a doubt “there’s no one to measure our foolish pride and no one keeps score of how hard we tried”

[cynicalrosebud]

Lacuna (2) - Homecoming

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Series Masterlist

Summary: Laswell has an unusual gift for Price, one he is reluctant to accept. If only that unwanted gift would stop making such sad eyes at him...

Warnings: Mentions of PTSD and therapy, you are responsible for your own media consumption

Notes: None, enjoy!

John Price sat in the briefing room, arms crossed and brow furrowed, the usual chaos of the base buzzing around him. He was used to facing enemy fire, but this? This was something else entirely.

“John, I’m telling you, you need this,” Laswell insisted, her tone firm as she gestured toward the door. “You’ve been through a lot. You can’t keep carrying this weight alone.”

Before he could respond, the door opened, and in walked Angel—a small, energetic K9 Hybrid with a soft coat and big, expressive eyes. She trotted up to him, tail wagging eagerly.

“Meet Angel,” Laswell said with a smile. “She’s a trained PTSD service Hybrid, specifically for servicemen in your position. I think you two will be good for each other.”

Price felt a knot tighten in his stomach. “I don’t need a dog, Kate. I’ve been managing just fine.”

Angel paused, her ears drooping slightly, sensing his resistance. The change in her demeanor tugged at his heart. She looked up at him, those big eyes full of hope, and he felt a pang of guilt.

“John, this isn’t just about having a companion,” Laswell pressed, her voice softening. “She can help you process everything—give you the support you need.”

Price sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t have time for a pet, and I certainly don’t need someone to coddle me.”

Angel stepped closer, nudging his hand with her nose, a silent plea that made it even harder to stand his ground.

“Just… think about it,” Laswell urged, watching the interaction intently. “How about a trial period? If it doesn’t work out, you can return her.”

He glanced down at Angel, who was now sitting patiently, her head tilted slightly as if she understood every word. Her expression was a mix of hope and uncertainty, and he could feel his resolve crumbling.

“Fine,” he relented, irritation creeping into his voice. “A trial period. But don’t expect me to get attached.”

Angel’s tail wagged furiously at his words, and he couldn’t help but crack a reluctant smile. “Just remember, I’m not a softie,” he added, trying to maintain his tough exterior.

Laswell chuckled, clearly pleased. “That’s the spirit. Just give her a chance, John. Be a good girl now, Angel.”

As Angel leaned against his leg, he felt a warmth spread through him, despite himself. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

The hum of the barracks was a familiar comfort to John Price as he walked through the door, Angel trotting alongside him. She was still adjusting to her new surroundings, her ears perked with curiosity.

“Alright, lass, let’s see how this goes,” he muttered to himself, glancing down at her. Angel looked up, her tail wagging slightly, ready for whatever came next.

As they entered the common area, the rest of Task Force 141 looked up from their various activities. Soap was leaning back in a chair, a half-eaten sandwich in hand, while Gaz and Ghost were engaged in a heated discussion about the latest op.

“Oi, Price! You finally decided to grace us with your presence?” Soap called out, a teasing grin on his face. “What’s with the pup?”

“This is Angel,” Price introduced, trying to sound nonchalant but feeling the weight of their curious gazes. “She’s a… uh, a service Hybrid.”

The room fell silent for a moment, the others exchanging glances. Soap leaned forward, eyes sparkling with mischief. “A service Hybrid? Is that your new battle buddy?”

“Not exactly,” Price replied, crossing his arms. “She’s here to help with… you know. PTSD and all that.”

Ghost raised an eyebrow, his usual stoic expression softening slightly. “She looks well-trained. Wot’s her name again?”

“Angel,” Price said, kneeling down to her level. “Say hi, Angel.”

Angel stepped forward, her head held high as she approached the group, tail wagging more enthusiastically now. She sat in front of Soap, her big eyes full of curiosity and charm.

“Look at her!” Soap exclaimed, reaching out to gently scratch her behind the ears. “She’s adorable!”

Gaz chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ll have everyone in the base falling for her before you know it, Cap.”

“Just don’t get any funny ideas,” Price replied gruffly, though he felt a smile creeping onto his face.

Angel leaned into Soap’s touch, her posture relaxing as she soaked in the attention. Ghost moved closer, observing her with a hint of intrigue. “What else can she do?” he asked, genuine interest in his voice.

“She’s trained to help with anxiety and can alert me if something’s off,” Price explained, feeling a sense of pride. “But she’s also a bit of a therapy dog.”

“Let’s see what she can do, then,” Soap suggested, his excitement palpable.

Price hesitated but nodded. He had read her file, briefly skimming over the basic commands she was trained to perform. “Alright, Angel, how about we show them your favorite trick?”

Angel perked up, clearly ready to impress. Price stood back, and she performed a perfect “sit” followed by a “paw” as he commanded. The group watched, impressed.

“Bloody hell, she’s a natural!” Soap laughed, ruffling her fur. “We’ve got ourselves a proper recruit here!”

As Angel basked in the attention, Price felt something shift within him. Maybe this wasn’t just a trial period after all. Watching her connect with the team, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of hope for the journey ahead.

“Alright team,” he said, voice steady. “Let’s make sure our lass feels at home here.”

With that, the barracks erupted into laughter and camaraderie, and for the first time in a long while, Price felt a flicker of joy in the warmth of his unit’s presence.

[dreamerwitches]

Good morning, I know that my question may be sudden, but I would like to ask you and if you did it it would make me very happy, however, not doing it would not make me angry either, it is more of a recommendation for the future. Could you redesign Leila and Gunhild? Thank you for reading

Since you asked so so nicely op

Its such a shame about Leila’s cause everything else is so cute. I used her back bow as a skirt, keeping the cute trousers underneath. The bottom part of the bow now instead takes from the top. Covered up her chest a little more cause you dont need that window thaaank you. She is 14 :))) I also added lil ribbon bracelets and hearts to the shoes cause those bits just looked a bit empty

Now Gunhild. She doesnt look anything like the original? Why, thats because the original is pure dogshit ^v^ I used my knowledge from designing my own viking magi before to make her outfit at least a bit historically accurate. And… i decided to make her a wolf weeb. Because that’s more fun for a character trait than just being a riz clone.

[bullet-prooflove]

A quick round up of updates on the blog including new characters added to the ASK LIST and a list of fics that went out last week:

New characters were added to the ask list this week:

Sean Archer

Jack Reacher

Jack Hodgson

AJ Chegwidden

Carlton Lassiter

New Fics:

Chicago Med:

The Only One (NSFW) - You're the only woman Sean has been with sober.

Big Heart - How it starts between you and Mitch.

The Morning After - Mitch makes a decision after the two of you spend the night together.

Fuckable - You and Mitch were never just friends.

The Study Part One: Courting Disaster - Dean realises Jack is courting you.

Sleeping Late - You sleep late for the first time in years. (Jimmy Lanik x Reader)

Chicago PD:

Make Me Forget - Antonio is devastated when he catches up with you after the op.

CSI Vegas:

Something About You - Trey has never been able to figure out how he fell in love with you.

The Equalizer:

Watch Me (NSFW) - You want Harry to see everything he does to you.

FBI:

Little Changes - Stuart notices when you start to make little changes.

FBI International:

Live Stream - You recieve a lead on Damian's location.

Ravaged - You find Damian in a bad way.

FBI Most Wanted:

Attention - Remy realises you need a little extra attention.

Fire Country:

Sunday Mornings - Luke takes your advice and carves out some time for himself.

Haven:

Burden - Dwight carries the entire town's burdens on this shoulders.

All Night (NSFW) - Dwight spends the night with you.

Law & Order:

Pushy - Cyrus has forgotten how pushy you are.

How We Met - Nolan reflects on your relationship.

Happy Birthday - Nolan doesn't celebrate his birthday.

Distraction - You distract Nick from work.

Law & Order SVU:

Say My Name - Joe needs to hear you say his name.

Marvel:

The Day We Met - Frank reflects on the path the relationship has taken.

Mayans:

Future Building - Riz builts you a house.

The Musketeers:

Memories - You and Treville have a lot of history.

Duty - Treville is bound by his sense of duty, even at the cost of your life.

Rubies - Aramis spends a momeny alone with you.

Love You More (NSFW) - Athos hates that he loves you.

NCIS:

In The Night Hours - Alden reflects on your relationship and how far you've come

Nothing I Wouldn't Do - There is nothing you wouldn't do for Nick.

NCIS LA:

At His Best - AJ only wants you to have good memories of your time together.

For Better, For Worse - Your sister Sissy causes problems for you Nik.

Numb3rs:

Invaluable - Ian stays the night.

Psych:

Coffee - Carlton knows something wrong from the way you take your coffee that morning.

Reacher:

Not What I Expected - You aren't what Reacher expected.

The Rookie:

Out of Your League - John has always thought you were beautiful.

Scars - John loves you and all your scars.

The Rookie Feds:

Lifetime - Brendon is building a life with someone else.

Climax (NSFW) - You think about Brendon on the day of his wedding.

Silent Witness:

The Backseat - You and Jack have an unusual meet cute.

Cursed - Jack is sure his car is cursed.

SOA:

Worship (NSFW) - Tig worships you in the bedroom.

ATF!Series Part One: A Rabbit You Don't Want To Chase - Stahl makes an unwelcome return to David's life.

Triple Frontier:

Break (NSFW) - Frankie forces you to take a break.

Yellowstone:

Bluebelle - Walker sings you a very important song.

Stop Thinking, Start Listening - Ryan hates seeing you with another man.