#I have no self control so I have been slightly spoiled on some stuff but nothing that really makes a ton of sense atm

[girlvinland]

Man. I completed the first Big loop tonight and I absolutely adore how this game handles the whole time loop thing in general, but also how it feels like it trains your brain the same way it’s doing with Sif. You see them get more and more accustomed to the looping process while you yourself start getting more and more confident with the mechanics, and once you complete the goal you’ve been told to complete, you’re like. Yay! I did it! And then the first Big reset happens and you’re like uhhhhhh oh no. And in your own confusion you’re staring at Sif who is just as confused as the fear and hopelessness start to set in and he begins to have a panic attack in the field w Mira there and you’re just like yep same buddy. Idk. The way they pull it off is so good!! I love when a game gets you right there mentally in the same spot as the MC and I’m trying to relish every second of it bc I know this one is going to be one I wish I could play for the first time again.

[this-is-what-makes-us-fandoms]

Lost || Lab Rats: Elite Force ||

Chase meets a girl at the city’s art museum who strikes up a conversation with him but he’s reluctant. After what happened with Reese and Rodissius, he’s completely lost his will to trust others, especially random strangers that approach him. Little did he know that the two of you share that same fear

Pairing: Chase Davenport x Reader

Warnings: None

Words: 2K

A/N: I give you… soft Chase? Sort of soft Chase? Anyways, I haven’t properly written in a year and this is what I come back with first… Did I do good? I like it, and it feels different from everything I’ve written before, like more genuine. Anyways, enjoy and I hope you all liked it!

Chase stood in the Centium Art Museum, in front of a Monet painting that he’s already seen dozens of times. He wasn’t quite looking at the painting though, more like lost in his thoughts. Thinking about the things he came here to escape from but they only followed.

He wasn’t typically the type of person to come to an art museum, leaning more towards science. But it was quiet here, a place where he could come and collect his thoughts in peace. Somewhere where he could escape from his teammates and their pestering about things he didn’t want to talk about. Here, he could let go of himself and not worry about a single thing for just a few hours.

Plus, he was discovering a new side of himself, one that did enjoy the spoils of art. He liked the creativity and the sense of tranquility art brought. It taught him how to let go and be someone else besides Chase Davenport, bionic hero. To be himself rather than what others wanted or expected him to be. What he expected himself to be.

“Beautiful, isn’t it,” A voice said beside him, startling him out of his thoughts.

He turned his head to see a girl standing next to him, staring at the painting in front of. He tensed up just a bit, caution filling his being as he continued to look at the girl. She looked harmless, from her profile view he could see a delicate smile and gentle eyes. Nothing about her screamed threatening but that didn’t stop him from keeping his guard up.

The last girl he talked to also appeared non threatening and she ended up hurting him the most. So regardless of her appearance, he wasn’t about to let her or anything distract him. At least not like that, no, never again.

You tore your gaze away from the painting and turned your head to look at the boy. You noticed how he was just staring and your smile widened just a bit to show that you were friendly. He looked a little startled so perhaps you shouldn’t have snuck up on him.

“Sorry, I hadn’t meant to scare you. It’s not often I find someone admiring Monet’s work so deeply,” You told him.

“It’s fine, I just hadn’t noticed you there. But yes, his work is beautiful,” He replied, still weary.

“I’m {Name},” You introduced, turning full body to face him, hand outstretched in front of you.

He hesitated for a second before doing the same, softly grasping your hand in his and giving it a gentle shake. “Chase.”

“It’s nice to meet you Chase,” You replied.

You let your hand gently slip away from his before it fell behind your back. Your eyes casted downwards before shooting back up to meet his gaze, finding your heart beating a bit faster than usual. You couldn’t deny that he was attractive, more than you had expected him to be.

“Likewise,” He said shortly.

You broke your gaze from his and turned to look back at the painting, one you’ve already looked at hundreds of times. But each time you did, it was like looking at if for the first time. And you always managed to find something new in it every time you came back.

“So may I ask what brings you here?” You asked.

He didn’t reply right away, he was unsure of what to say without being so revealing. He could just say he liked art and the quiet atmosphere, nothing there that could give him away.

“I like the art and it’s quiet enough to think without interruption,” He told you.

“I can agree with you there. I love coming here and just getting lost in the art,” You said.

He hummed out in response, once again unsure of what to say or do. He was still trying to figure out what your plans were with him. After all, he couldn’t fathom the idea of someone actually being interested in him. Many people have proven that to him, that no one could actually like him.

“Would you like to get coffee or something?” You asked, interrupting his train of thought once again.

He thought about if for a second, trying to decipher any hidden meaning behind your words. He couldn’t tell with your bright smile and even brighter eyes if there was any. Although maybe this way, keeping you close, he could figure out your intentions before you could reveal them.

“Sure, coffee sounds good,” He replied, noticing how you seemed surprised.

“Okay, great! I know a coffee shop nearby,” You told him.

Before he knew it, you had led him out of the museum and down the streets of Centium City. He could only follow behind and listen to you promise that this place was great. There was something about your tone of voice that pulled at his heart. The way your voice was so light and airy, and didn’t miss a beat to your words. It was cheerful and bubbly yet soothing and calming, a certain je ne sais quoi if you will.

Before he knew it, the two of you were sat at a table, waiting for your drinks to called out. The two of you sat in silence for a bit, sitting across each other. Chase had his hands folded neatly on the table, slightly twiddling with his thumbs as he wondered if he should speak up. You took it upon yourself as you looked at him and spoke up, same tone in your voice as before but softer now that the two of you were indoors.

“So, besides art, what are some other things you like?” You asked, interested in getting to know him.

He furrowed his eyebrows at your question, this felt like some sort of interrogation tactic. Or maybe it was just you genuinely interested in him. Could he allow himself to believe that? Well, regardless of what you were trying to do, he needed to be a step ahead and make it seem like you had the upper hand in this.

“Well, its all things you probably wouldn’t be interested in,” He replied.

“Oh? And why is that?” You asked, raising an an eyebrow in amusement.

“No offense or anything but most people, especially girls—women—aren’t interested in what i’m interested in,” He explained, leaning back in his seat and shifting in it a bit. His heart raced a bit as he thought of what an idiot he must’ve sounded and looked like right now.

“Mm, enlighten me, pretend I’m someone who is typically interested in that sort of stuff,” You said, giving him this smile that made his heart skip a beat.

He leaned forward again, your words piquing his interest and his guard dropping a bit. “Science mainly, well its a lot more than that,” He started off, quick to go into a tangent of all the things science.

You listened closely and intently, a smile pulling at your lips as you noticed how excited he seemed. You leaned forward, resting your chin on the palm of your hand as he continued to talk. He looked up after a few minutes of rambling, stopping mid-sentence when he noticed you staring at him. He stopped altogether and leaned back in his chair, putting up his defenses once again as he mumbled.

“What? Is there something on my face?”

“Hm? No, no, I was just enjoying you ramble is all,” You told him.

His eyes widened a bit in shock before narrowing down at you. “Okay what’s your deal?”

You opened your mouth to speak before the voice of a barista calling out your drinks interrupted. “Hold that thought, I’ll go get our drinks.” You said before getting up and leaving him alone in his seat.

He sighed softly as he waited for you to come back, bouncing his leg in anticipation for your return. You came back a minute later, two mugs in hand as you set his drink down in front of him before taking your seat. He looked down at his drink before looking up at you, eyebrows still furrowed.

“What do you mean? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?” You asked, referring to his question from before.

“I mean, this, you, pretending to take an interest in me... What are you really up to?” He told you, his lips turning downwards in a frown.

“Pretending? Who said I was pretending?”

“Oh come on, you’re not really interested in what I have to say, are you?”

You frowned slightly and furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, not understanding why he thought this. “Well, I will say I’m not the biggest science buff... but I do like to learn and I like listening to what others have to say. Maybe I don’t fully understand everything you’re saying but it doesn’t mean you can’t teach me.”

“Alright fine, say all of that is true but why me? What makes me so interesting to listen to?” He asked.

You stayed silent for a bit, biting down on your lip and pulling it between your teeth before speaking up again. “You want the truth?” You asked back, watching as he gave you a short nod in yes. “Okay... Today wasn’t the first time I noticed you in the art museum. I’ve seen you a few other times, always so lost in thought... but its just that, you seem lost. Like you’re looking for an answer that you can’t quite reach...”

Chase was taken aback by your words, eyes widening a bit and leaning back; pushing his mug away a bit and folding his hands again, fiddling with his thumbs.

“Okay but what’s so meaningful about that? Why take an interest in it?” He questioned.

“Because I know what that feels like,” You answered all too quickly, eyes casting downwards and shying away a bit as you continued. “To search for something that should be right in front of you but isn’t. To feel like you’ve been set off balance and not knowing how to regain control. Guess I was drawn to you because of that.”

You kept your gaze down on your mug, hand wrapping around the handle and resting there as your thumb lightly caressed the rim. You bit down on your lip, feeling self-conscious now that you revealed a part of yourself that had meant to stay hidden. Chase looked down for a second before looking back up, his gaze softening from your words. He understood now why you approached him and why you’d been so adamant to get to know him. You two were one in the same, both had gotten hurt by someone or something and were looking for a way to mend yourselves.

“I’m sorry,” He spoke up, voice soft and sincere.

“Don’t be,” You said. “I would’ve been defensive too if I were you.”

You looked back up and offered him a warm smile, one he returned with the same warmth in it.

“Well, if I haven’t completely ruined this, I’d still like to get to know you,” He said, a hopeful tone in his voice.

You laughed lightly and smiled more, nodding your head a bit. “You haven’t ruined this at all and yes, I’d like that.”

He looked at you with bright eyes and gave you this wide, goofy grin. You spent the rest of that day, sitting in that little cafe, talking and getting to know each other. And for the first time in a long while, the two of you felt like you’d found someone you could trust again.

[sparklysung]

✨ADRENALINE RUSH PART II – n.j.m.✨

© sparklysung – 2021. all rights reserved. no reposts, modifications and/or translations allowed.

pairing – na jaemin x female!reader

genre – fluff, smut, angst | non-idol!au, school!au

warnings – good boy!soft dom!jaemin, bad girl!reader, heartbreak, penetration, unprotected sex (wrap your willies), creampie, dirty talk, pet names

word count – 4.731 words

summary – after leaving jaemin alone in the school’s library, there wasn’t only one heart broken.

note – it’s finally here! i hope it isn’t too bad, though, i don’t think i’m too good at writing stuff like this lmao. either way, enjoy! also, the gif isn’t mine, i found it on google, so credit to its owner! 

taglist – @junguwuuu , @prvncejxon, @iwishihadabettername, @carelessshootanonymous 

part i ; part ii

the next few days after you left jaemin all alone in the school’s library, you couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

you weren’t supposed to feel guilty, after all, that’s what you usually did; hookup with guys you found attractive and then never reach out for them again, pretending to not know them. and you have never had a problem with it before, you never got attached and they were aware of your reputation, so they knew what they were getting into.

but for some reason, jaemin was… different.

you weren’t really sure why, but something about him just made you feel things, things you have never felt with anyone else. you have never felt so good with any of the guys you had hooked up with. and by that, you didn’t only mean how good his touch felt on you, but also the sweet way he reacted to your loving pet names and caresses. 

your heartless attitude only earned you what you had never thought you, a self-proclaimed cold-hearted bad girl would ever experience. 

heartbreak.

now, jaemin tried everything to avoid you. he got out of his way so you wouldn’t bump into each other, leaving class as fast as humanly possible just so you wouldn’t be able to approach him.  though he doubted you would ever get near him again, so he was actually doing you a favour, right?

after all, why else would you have left the way you did after your little rendezvous?

every time you happened to be in a room he had just stepped into, he turned around and left without giving you a second glance, face expressionless. but even when he tried to act tough in front of everyone else, you could see the pain in his eyes and it was slowly killing you. 

truth is, you felt like a complete jerk.

scratch that, you knew you were.

but how could you comprehend the effect your actions had on jaemin if you didn’t even care?

as he had realized when you decided to walk away from him that awful day in the library, he meant nothing to you. and even though it hurt him to no end, that’s how life is.

cruel.

his friends knew something had happened to him. they could see how the usual spark in jaemin’s eyes was completely gone after you two got together to work on your genetics project. he usually kept to himself, which wasn’t really out of the ordinary coming from him, but lately he barely talked, only answering with monosyllables. he stopped taking part in their conversations, not even intervening when renjun and donghyuck’s bickering got out of hand.

“hey, nana, are you coming to chenle’s place later today? we’ll probably stay over and play games in his huge ass tv.” jeno’s cheerful voice made jaemin look up from his untouched lunch. he just nodded slightly before looking back down to his food.

he didn’t feel like talking or hanging out with anyone, but noticing the worried expression that had replaced jeno’s usual bright smile, he tried to put on his best smile. “sure,” he tried to reassure him. jeno didn’t seem so convinced, though he didn’t say anything about it.

his friends also noticed how he seemed to disappear whenever you were nearby, which confirmed their suspicions of something happening between you two. he usually took his time to get ready for his next class and was fairly organized, but from that day on, he didn’t even try, throwing all his belongings inside his back before rushing out of the door. 

they were determined to find out what had happened with you to make jaemin stop being his usual self. the only problem was, how were they going to get it out of him?

~.~.~.~

“hyuck, go open the door, it must be jaemin.” jaemin could hear renjun’s voice yell from somewhere inside the house.

“ugh, you’re so annoying,” donghyuck rolled his eyes as he opened the door before going back upstairs to what he assumed was chenle’s room.

“dang, not even a hello,” shaking his head in disapproval, jaemin made his way inside, closing the door after himself.

noise –or more like screams– could be heard coming from upstairs as his friends were most likely already playing some game. he walked towards the kitchen where he found renjun and jeno preparing sandwiches and other snacks for all of them. when they saw jaemin walking in, they stopped what they were doing to look at him.

“hey, you came,” renjun smiled, happy to see his friend coming out of his newfound shell. just like the other guys, he was concerned about his sudden change of demeanor. he honestly missed his presence and dumb comments. not that he would ever tell him, though.

“can you help us with the drinks please?” jeno asked, hands full of snacks. 

jaemin just nodded his head before taking six cups to fill with any drink he could find in chenle’s fridge. after they had emptied half of the cabinets, the three boys made their way to his friend’s bedroom in silence.

none of them knew what to say, or more like how to say it. renjun and jeno were dying to ask jaemin what was going on, why did he decide to stop hanging out as much with them, if they were right about you being involved in whatever happened. and jaemin could tell. he wasn’t blind to not notice the weird looks they constantly threw at each other, the way they quieted down every time he approached them. but he didn’t want to admit the mistake he had made. he couldn’t look them in the face after spoiling all their efforts to prevent this very situation from happening.

what would they think of him?

he was supposed to be the cautious one of them all, the one who wouldn’t get fooled so easily, the responsible one. but even if he knew for a fact you didn’t have good intentions, he still let himself fall and ended up hurt. how could he take care of his friends if he couldn’t even take care of himself. 

“what took you so long?” jisung asked once they made it to their destination, snatching a few bags of chips from renjun’s arms.

“next time you’ll go get food, then,” the older boy clicked his tongue in annoyance, going to sit next to chenle on the bed.

nobody was surprised when jaemin sat by himself in a corner of the room, quietly staring at the floor. he didn’t even try to take part in their conversations, just nodding from time to time to assure them he was still listening. no one knew how to approach the situation, so chenle, tired of the weird ambiance the group of boys had been engulfed in for some time now, decided to take the initiative.

“what’s going on, jaemin? why can’t you tell us?” jaemin felt cold, mouth ajar in shock. he wasn’t expecting the topic to be brought up so soon and neither chenle to be the first one to confront him about it. “don’t even try to deny something’s up, we’re not dumb.”  

“we want to help you, but we can’t do anything if you don’t trust us enough to tell us.”

and in that moment, jaemin finally broke.

“i fucked up,” his voice cracked, tears welling in his eyes, making his vision blurry.

“what? what do you mean?” donghyuck intervened. he wasn’t one to usually show concern but seeing his friend so distressed made his heart hurt.

“i hooked up with y/n that day we were supposed to work on our project.” 

“we t-.”

“i know, alright! i know it was a mistake and i shouldn’t have let it happen, but now i don’t know what to do,” jaemin thought that venting to someone else about what happened would maybe make him feel better, but it didn’t, if something it actually made him feel worse. he was sure his friends though he was the biggest idiot in the whole world.

“shh, it’s okay, come here,” jeno opened his arms for jaemin, so the broken boy hugged him tightly, hiding the pained expression on his face in the elder’s shoulder.

“i don’t get it, how did this all happen?” a confused jisung asked, not understanding how the hell a simple project in pairs ended up in a hookup.

“i told her to meet me at the library so we wouldn’t be alone. i thought nothing could happen because there would be a lot of people around us, but things didn’t work out the way i thought they would,” and as jaemin told them the whole story, they couldn’t help but pity their friend.

“i thought maybe this time it would be different, you know? she talked to me as if she cared about me,” the dry chuckle he let out made the boys feel uneasy, “and i believed it.”

none of them doubted jaemin had at least a crush on you. yeah, sure, what you did was certainly not nice, but you weren’t together in any way. And that’s how hookups work, right? you fuck and then you leave. no feelings attached.

right?

“so you like her?” renjun asked, although it sounded more like a statement. 

“i think i do.”

~.~.~.~

as much anxiety the thought of having to face you again sparked in jaemin, you both still needed to finish the project and you only had two days left. even if he didn’t feel ready to talk to you yet –though he doubted he would ever be–, he had to man up for the sake of his grades.

seeing as his strategy of working on it in a crowded place didn’t work, there wasn’t another option but to section the project and get it done each on its own.

so that’s what he intended when he waited for you in your locker, practicing his next move over and over again. the only thought in his head was getting out of the situation as soon as he could to avoid any kind of unnecessary interaction.

he was scared of his heart controlling his body and his actions rather than his head, as it would inevitably end in him falling for you once again and only more pain. it would be the perfect formula for yet another heartbreak.

and you were completely shocked when you saw him standing next to your locker, apparently waiting for you. 

“you can finish the first half, i’ll do what’s left,” his eyes stayed trained on the floor as he spoke. he didn’t want to give you the satisfaction of seeing him so affected, so as soon as the words left his mouth, he was on his way, trying to flee the scene before you could react. 

“jaemin, wait!” he stopped dead in his tracks, not bothering to turn around and look at you. “look, i-i’m really sor-.”

but he didn’t stay to hear the end of it.

he walked away just like you had done not even a week ago.

feeling a lump in your throat that made it harder for you to breathe, your heart shattered into tiny pieces you didn’t care to pick up as you stood frozen in place.

but yours wasn’t the only heart broken.

jaemin walked home with a heavy heart, eyes stinging from tears that threatened to run down his cheeks. his friends had warned him and yet there he was, sulking over you.

he felt like a fool. how could he have fallen into your trap? he knew the type of girl you were; a heartbreaker, a player, the bad girl. but either way, his heart betrayed him, pumping furiously whenever you smiled at him, whenever you got close enough for him to inhale your sweet perfume and feel your minty breath fan over his face.

anger boiled in his veins, why did you have to play with him like that? what did he ever do wrong to deserve it? he had never bothered you, always staying in his lane and out of your way. he didn’t like confrontations so he stayed away from them, and being near you always included some kind of trouble.

but what hurt him the most was that he actually believed your sweet words, soft touches and loving kisses meant something. that he was stupid enough to think they meant the same to you as to him.

as you watched his figure disappear in the distance, you realized you had fucked up big time and you weren’t sure there was any way you could fix it.

~.~.~.~

the very next day you found yourself walking as fast as your legs allowed you around the campus to find jaemin. you probably looked like you had gone crazy to everyone you walked past, hair messy and tired face. you pulled an all-nighter the night before, determined to finish your part of the project. you really weren’t that interested in your grade. actually, your only motivation was finding an excuse to talk to him.

half an hour later, you still hadn’t been able to find jaemin. you were utterly and completely frustrated, it felt like you had just wasted your time. but just as you were about to give up on your search, you found him.

he was walking down the hallway towards the opposite direction and away from you. you could only see the back of his head, but you could tell he wasn’t looking ahead but at the floor, like he had been doing ever since that day. your feet started moving on their own, directing you to him. 

“jaemin, please, listen to me,” your fingers wrapped themselves around his wrist in an attempt to make him stay. he didn’t want to turn around, he didn’t want to see you or be anywhere near you.

the memory of you leaving the library after using him for your own pleasure hunted him. it may sound dramatic, but jaemin was tired of the pain you brought him. he hated the way your voice still made him feel all giddy and warm inside, he wanted to forget you for good and go on with his life as it was before.

“why should i?”

“because i want to apologize, just hear me out for a second,” you pleaded, not being able to find one good reason for him to stay.

“why would you even be sorry, anyway? you’ve never cared about others, why now and why me?” a bitter, full of hurt chuckle left his lips, eyes rolling in irony. his words felt like a punch to the stomach, the cold tone of his voice making your heart crack.

he was right, you had never cared about anyone else but yourself.

the cold-hearted behaviour jaemin witnessed in that library was what got you your infamous reputation at school; you did whatever you needed to do without looking back to see how it affected others.

that’s why it hurt so much now that you also cared about him.

“because you’re different,” you whispered, eyes closed in distress and white knuckles from how hard you were clenching your fists.

“w-what do you mean? stop playing around, i’m tired of getting hurt.”

“jaemin,” your expression softened, voice coming out in a sigh and helping him relax a little. “i’m not playing with you,” you took a deep breath before proceeding to spill your guts.

“i know i made a huge mistake acting the way i did, and when i say i’m sorry i really, truly mean it. i’m aware that the wound has already been done, but it makes my heart feel heavy to see you avoiding me. it’s selfish, i know, but i don’t want you to be away from me. i-i’m not sure what these feelings are or where they came from, the only thing i know is that i don’t want them to go away.”

what in the world was happening?

“i think i like you, na jaemin.”

“you like… m-me?” confusion was written all over his face, he couldn’t tell if you were being honest or not.

“yes, i like you, and if you’d give me a second opportunity i promise i’d make it worth it.”

and as much pain you had been causing him for the last few days, he couldn’t contain the butterflies that erupted in the pit of his stomach when he saw the sincerity your eyes held. 

his body moved without him realizing, walking towards you until he could smell your sweet scent. you didn’t back down, staying still with eyes locked in his even when you were sure he could hear the crazy beating of your heart. you hoped he believed you, but even if he didn’t, you were determined to prove it to him, regardless of the price. 

a surprised gasp fell from your lips when he leaned in with eyes closed, lips locking in a mind-blowing kiss. he tasted the same as last time, but the moment felt different. this kiss was less rushed, filled with strong feelings that you hoped were reciprocated.

had he accepted your apology and was willing to take you back after all you had done?

“does this mea-,” you broke away from the kiss to ask, but he cut you off quickly before going back to attack your mouth.

“i like you too,” your heart felt like it was about to explode, something you had never felt before.  

your arms snaked around his neck as his hands positioned themselves on the small of your back, both trying to bring the other closer. your fingers went to his soft, fluffy hair to tug on it and jaemin groaned into your mouth. 

for a moment, both of you forgot you were still in school’s grounds and anyone walking to their locker or next class could find you, but at that moment, nothing mattered.

his body felt like it was on fire, the burn almost addictive as he unconsciously pressed his hips into yours, letting you feel his growing boner. he was so into the kiss he didn’t notice at first how his body was reacting to your closeness, your scent filling his senses and plump lips moving against his. but when you responded with a roll of your hips, he gasped in surprise.

“come on, baby,” his heart pumped harder as you intertwined your fingers with his and dragged him to the teacher’s bathroom. after making sure no one was nearby, you got in and locked yourselves inside. you didn’t waste any time smashing your lips together, the kiss eventually turning rougher and full of lust.

when jaemin’s back touched the wall, he broke away from the kiss to regain his breath. 

he wasn’t a resentful person, but he was determined to give you a taste of your own medicine. you were going to regret what you had done.

oh, sweet revenge.

the tables turned as he pushed you against the wall, pressing his body flush into yours. a surprised moan left your lips, hands going to his chest in a failed attempt of pushing him away and re-establishing your dominance.

“no, it’s my turn,” the new found confidence that was taking over his body made jaemin feel great. you were wordless because of the sudden change of attitude so he took the opportunity to pin both of your wrists above your head with only one of his hands and with the other, he grabbed your thigh and lifted it, holding it to his hip. with a roll of his hips, his hard cock grinded against your clothed core in such a way your legs almost buckled.

“look at you now, where did the mean girl attitude go?” 

you could only moan, already feeling your damp panties stick to your folds uncomfortably, and he smirked at your lack of response. you wanted nothing more than for him to fuck you and now knew how desperate jaemin must have felt that day at the library with all your teasing.

“what do you want? tell me baby,” when you tried to free yourself from his grip, he tsked, only tightening it more. “i’m not letting you go, so stop being a brat. i asked you a question, tell me what you want.”

jaemin was enjoying every single second of having you so under his control. you had pegged him as someone who liked being dominated, but apparently you were wrong. by the looks of it, he was having the time of his life, not even caring about how long it's been since everything started, engraving in his brain every sound you made and the way your face contorted in pleasure when he pressed himself against you. he didn’t care about his reputation anymore either, after ruining you just the way you had done with him he would have had enough to make it worth it.

“i want to see you,” your hands twitched in his grip, fingers wanting nothing more than to tug on his shirt and undress him. last time you didn’t get to see him due to being in a public space, but now, locked inside the teacher’s bathroom, you could finally see him in his full glory. jaemin would normally feel shy about showing his body to someone else, especially a girl, but he couldn’t let his whole confident facade fall down, so he set you free, “unbutton it then, babygirl.”

you worked on unbuttoning his shirt as fast as you could and pussy clenched around nothing when you saw his toned abdomen and chest. he was stunning. your hands trailed down his body, caressing the soft skin, drinking in all the little details. in return, jaemin lifted yours above your chest to have easy access to your breasts. the hand that was previously holding you still now came to knead your soft boobs, groaning at the way your hips bucked against his cock.

“fuck me,” you managed to let out in a whimper.

“uhm, is that what you want?” you shook your head ‘yes’ as soon as the question came out of his mouth, eager to feel him inside once again. “then beg for it.” 

you weren’t used to being the one to beg and as much as you hated following orders, you were willing to swallow your dignity if it meant he was going to touch you just how you needed. 

“please, jaemin,” he shook his head, not satisfied by your response, “i’m so wet and it’s all just for you, i need you to fuck me, please” you felt your face heat up in embarrassment but you opted to ignore it. he hummed, letting go of your leg for a moment to slide your panties off your body and pull down his pants before gripping your thigh once again.

“your wish is my command,” you giggled at his cute antics, but the laughter soon got stuck in your throat when he slid his cock inside you. your eyes closed, head falling to the crook of his neck and hands gripping his biceps to hold yourself up, as jaemin groaned. you felt as tight as he could remember, but he still couldn’t get used to it. his legs trembled slightly as your walls squeezed around him, “f-fuck, still so tight.”

“move, please,” the stretch felt nice, but you needed more. and so he did as he was told, starting to slowly buck his hips into you before eventually building up a steady pace.

you felt so full with him snuggled deep inside of you, reaching places you didn’t know he could with the new position. his hips angled so he could hit your g-spot with every thrust, loud moans leaving your lips. 

“if you keep being loud we’ll get caught baby,” his teeth nibbled on the skin of your neck, mouth sucking softly as to not leave marks, “or maybe that’s what you want? for someone to catch us fucking in school property?” your moans got louder so jaemin put his hand over your lips to shush you.

“uhm, that’d make so much more sense as to why you suddenly decided to risk my reputation and fuck me in the library where anybody could have seen us just with a turn of their heads.” his words came out so bluntly your eyes widened, body convulsing against his and high getting closer.

“f-faster, please, fuck me faster,” he obliged, lifting your skirt so it hung just above your waist to uncover your lower half. his hips snapped rougher than before as his thumb played with your sensitive clit, pressing harshly and circling furiously on it.

“oh my god, jaemin!” your eyes rolled to the back of your head, mouth falling open as muffled moans fell from your lips. jaemin’s pace got sloppy as your walls clamped down on him. he was finding it hard to move, both from the strong grip of your pussy and his nearing orgasm.

“that’s it, baby, come for me,” and with a particular flick of his fingers you were cumming hard, juices running down the inside of your thighs. jaemin fucked you through your orgasm and followed soon after, thick cum filling you up nicely. heavy pants could be heard all over the room, fogging the bathroom’s mirror. 

after your breathing had evened, he pulled out and dropped your leg to let you stand up comfortably. neither of you made an effort to move away from the other, eyes staying locked in the other’s, sharing a last kiss before fixing your clothes as best as you could in the shortest period of time you could manage. you were most likely already running late for class so you didn’t have time to lose.

noticing the only piece of clothing you were missing were your panties, you started searching everywhere for it. you couldn’t get caught or else you would be in big trouble. two teenagers spending a considerable amount of time locked together in the teacher’s bathroom without the supervision of any adult wouldn’t look good to anyone.

at some point you began panicking, you couldn’t just leave your underwear in there, somebody was going to find it and you both would be fucked. for real this time.

“jaemin, have you seen my pant-.”

“your what?” you hadn’t noticed the big ass smirk jaemin was carrying as he looked at you, enjoying your misery. “my panties,” but that wasn’t the only thing you noticed, you could see the pink cloth hanging from his finger. 

“give them back,” you pouted cutely, making jaemin smile teasingly. “nope, now they’re mine,” he shoved the piece of clothing inside his pocket and left you to deal with his cum dripping down your legs by yourself.

“but it’s leaking, i can’t go out like this.”

you probably sounded like a whiny child throwing a tantrum, but you really needed your underwear back or else you wouldn’t be able to keep it all in. 

“you can and you will, sweetie,” jaemin smirked, taking your hand in his before opening the bathroom door to leave. you didn’t want to leave like that, so you leaned your whole weight back so he wouldn’t be able to pull you with him, but he managed. with a hard tug on your hand, he forced you out of the room and into his back.

just as you were mumbling about how strong he was, a voice made you both freeze in your spots.

“did you guys just leave the teacher’s bathroom? what the heck?” donghyuck gasped, mouth agape in shock. he couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing; na jaemin and y/l y/n, school’s good boy and bad girl, walking out of the teacher’s bathroom hand in hand. jaemin’s eyes opened wide in panic. someone –or more like the worst person who could have found you– caught you in a very compromising situation. the erratic beating of his heart made his body feel numb, cheeks flushing a deep tone of red.

he noticed jaemin’s messy hair, blushing cheeks and not properly buttoned shirt as well as your untucked one and skirt way too high up your legs that revealed a fair portion of your thighs.

and then it clicked.

donghyuck’s own eyes shot open as he connected the dots.

“oh my fucking god, you fucked in there.”

–lia:)

[zeta-in-de-walls]

Hey, so I think my fondness for Tommy’s style of lore might’ve made it a touch harder to enjoy Techno’s style of SMP content. I’m feeling like its a preference thing anyway... it’s hard to articulate the issue but I’m gonna try. xD

Techno’s latest stream didn’t feel immersive enough basically.

i think some people have complained about Techno’s tendency to joke and break the fourth wall even in tense moments but as a fan of Tommy ‘there’s a reason I gave up my discs and you spent £200 on Etsy for a suit’ Innit, I can’t say cracking self-aware jokes is a problem in itself. But I feel as if Techno’s stream lacked gravity for me, failing to create tension and uncertainty in scenes which needed them.

While Tommy jokes a lot, it feels like part of his character and his character’s use of humour as a shield when he feels scared means it can still help to display his character’s feelings so it doesn’t break immersion for me but helps to give him more character. Tommy’s character is openly vulnerable enough that I feel like the audience can always read into his feelings and the motivations behind his actions.

With Techno, I struggle more to read him. I find myself uncertain if his humour is part of his character or if its really the CC joking. To what extent is his humour a way to cope with stressful situations and hide his inner turmoil? Or is it more a way of showing he is relatively composed, able to joke about because he still feels in control of the situation.

I feel like there’s two ways to read this latest stream and I find myself slightly dissatisfied with both. Either the prison was a trap he was not prepared for and he’s out of his depth and is genuinely distressed. Or he’s not that worried because he had a plan all along and the developments were not outside his expectations. (Note that he doesn’t need to know exactly what might happen or be certain of everything, what’s important is that he is confident in a way to escape thus he’s still in control.)

Either option would be fine with me in terms of story and Techno’s arc. (I think him being genuinely out of his depth would be slightly preferred for me as I think it’d be cool but it also suits him to be ready for anything) What dissatisfies me is instead the execution. I’m not confident in my reading.

Techno’s performance - the way he joked around and gave indications of a plan - lead me to prefer the reading that he does indeed have a plan. The issue is then the structure of the stream. It felt like it was all leading up to a twist where Techno gets trapped in and things go wrong. If Techno has a plan, I would prefer he share it more with the audience, share that he’s suspicious, that he is really looking into thinks, that he’s here to gather information no matter what. I dislike it when the audience is more in the dark than the viewpoint character. Also, even if he has a plan, he can still show lots of doubt and worry and hope that his worst expectations won’t be realised. I want to really get into his head. Again, that’s probably my preference towards Tommy ‘chat if I was the traitor I’d tell you!’ Innit who very very rarely hides stuff from his audience. We get surprised along with his character when things go wrong.

I’m sure one might think it could spoil things, knowing to expect things to go wrong and the twist might be less thrilling. But the trade-off for really leaning into sharing what Techno’s thinking is more than worth it. Assuming Techno’s plan means relying on his friends to save him means that Techno is putting himself in a position of extreme vulnerability and is entirely dependent on someone else helping him. He’s never done anything like this before and it would be a big step for Techno who finds is hard to trust people because he’s been betrayed before. Surely if betrayals hurt him so much, he would struggle to come up with this sort of plan? I would love to dig into that more. This would really demonstrate what a huge sacrifice it is trying to help Dream. It’s just really, really interesting. But I’m not really given anything to work with here, I haven’t seen Techno display any conflict about this plan or what a big thing it would be to trust his friends. If there was a period between being betrayed and learning to trust others again, it happened off-screen. Which means its all theory, not canon.  

And if it was the other option - that Techno was genuinely caught off guard with the audience, then I’d really expect a little more expression of vulnerability. Just a little more panic and alarm to sell me on this being unexpected. Maybe some regret, some anger, there’s a lot he’d feel and I’d like it if more of it was displayed. It doesn’t need to be super extreme and jokes are still fine, but I would want to feel like he’s joking to hide his distress. (And gosh you know I’d really love to see his character display vulnerability - it would be such great development. My issue with Techno having a plan is that it means he’s not really being defeated and experiencing a low-moment here - which is something I’d love to see.)

[fific7]

Cold Day in Hell - Part 3

Logan Delos x Reader

A/N: This does not completely follow canon, it’s mainly lemon zest 🍋 because the world needs more Logan Delos. (Song mentioned is ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ by Taylor Swift)

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content, including oral, between consenting adults* in some chapters. Drinking and swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

(My GIF)

You lifted Logan’s arm off you and scooted out of the bed at the speed of light, and stood beside it looking down at him. He, meanwhile, had stretched himself out like a big cat right across the bed and was grinning lazily up at you.

“Awww, sweetheart - you spoiled my fun!”

Turning on your heel, saying nothing, you headed to the bathroom and locked the door. You hopped into the shower, praying that he’d have taken the hint and left by the time you emerged. Taking your time, you blow-dried your hair a little and smoothed on the expensive, famous brand body lotion provided by the hotel. Wrapping yourself in one of the hotel’s fluffy bathrobes and picking up your clothes, you cautiously opened the bathroom door and walked into the room.

Logan was still on the bed. In fact, he was now in the bed and had pulled the covers over himself up to his waist, his clothes in a pile on the floor. All of his clothes.

His head turned towards you, his eyes meeting yours and he folded his arms across his bare chest. “You’ve been ages in there, sweetheart. And I needta use the restroom so badly!” He dramatically threw back the bedcovers and you turned away like a flash, squeezing your eyes closed before you got an eyeful.

You felt soft huffs of breath on your neck and Logan whispered, “Oh good, you’re naked too. Well, underneath that robe you are.” You felt long fingers slowly moving the neckline of your robe aside and you clutched at the fabric, pulling it tightly closed. “Logan…. will you please just fuck off!” The fingers left your robe and you heard a deep chuckle, “I’ll only be a few minutes, darlin’, then we can continue this conversation back in bed.”

A thought quickly whizzed through your brain that you’d just told your company’s biggest client to fuck off, but really - he was too much.

The second you heard the bathroom door close, you raced to the wardrobe and pulled out the skirt and blouse you’d decided to wear that day. Grabbing your lingerie, you got dressed in record time and were just doing up the last of your blouse buttons when you heard the door opening again, and quickly shut your eyes again in anticipation of a naked Logan appearing in front of you.

“Ohh, really? You got dressed? It’s too early for that, sweetheart - it’s only 5 am. Take ‘em off and we’ll go back to bed,” you heard, his voice seductive. “Absolutely not, Logan,” you snapped back, “and put your damn clothes back on!”

He gave an exaggerated sigh, “Oh my, you are absolutely no fun at all!” Trying to move away from him, eyes still closed, you came in contact with a toned torso and leapt back from him as if you’d been burned. You banged into the table behind you and a pair of arms instantly went round you. “Careful, angel.” You tried to shove away from him and made the mistake of opening your eyes. Logan tightened his hold on you and his dark espresso eyes were gazing into yours. You didn’t look down but he was pressing his very healthy erection against your lower abdomen and he leant in towards you, lips millimetres away from yours.

Suddenly, you realised you’d parted your lips slightly in anticipation of him kissing you. But he released you, turning quickly away (you trying not to look at that tight ass, really trying) and heading back to his clothes pile. He grabbed them up and headed into the bathroom, saying over his shoulder, “Don’t mind if I use your shower, angel, do you?” The door closed behind him.

Relieved, you thought, ‘Well, I think I managed to handle that okay. Didn’t I?” You weren’t absolutely sure that you had, but whatever.

You settled back in one of the chairs and switched on the TV. Busy channel-hopping to find something worth your attention, you suddenly heard a loud guttural moan issuing forth from the man in the bathroom.

Okayyyy, well… that sounded like he’d managed to handle it himself.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Logan was under the shower, vigorously soaping his body and humming a tune as he did so. It didn’t take too long for his hand to stray down onto his erection and he began stroking. Soon, he leant back against the tiled shower wall as he increased his pace, firmly pulling and squeezing his length before he came with a loud groan. Hope she heard that, he grinned to himself.

The first part of his plan hadn’t gone too badly. He’d got a lot closer to her already but this was him just getting into his stride. He was well aware he had to be careful not to overstep, but… he’d seen the way her lips had parted when she thought he was going to kiss her, so he was going to continue tiptoeing up to the line before stepping quickly back. He had a gut feeling that was the way to go.

He’d make her beg him for it before he was finished.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

As you gathered up your spare handouts and the rest of your stuff at the end of the first investor meeting, you had to admit that you and Logan had worked extremely well together. Neither of you had rehearsed how to approach the meetings past what information you were going to cover, but you’d ended up being a bit of a double act. In fact the two of you had received a round of applause at the end of it.

Logan strolled round the conference table to stand next to you and looking up at him, yet again his sheer magnetism made you catch your breath. You looked down quickly, packing the remaining folders away into your document bag. “That went really well, you were fabulous.” “Thanks Logan, so were you.” As you met his gaze again, he smirked, “Well, I keep trying to show you just how fabulous I am, but you keep shutting me down.”

You opened your mouth to reply but he said quickly, “Just have dinner with me.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Logan was feeling very happy with himself. She’d agreed to have dinner with him albeit reluctantly, and he was back in the shower, working shampoo through his hair before rinsing it out and enthusiastically shaking his head to and fro. He started singing “I Knew You Were Trouble”, lovingly stroking and winking at his resting manhood before pouring a generous amount of shower gel into his hand and rubbing it over his body.

Strings pulled, he’d managed to get a table at SkyCity, and he had a really good feeling about tonight. Once she saw the view from the top of the Space Needle and had sipped a few glasses of premium champagne, surely he could charm her into his bed? With a confident spring in his step, he dried himself with one of the big fluffy towels, still singing.

“'𝒞𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃

𝒮𝑜 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓌

𝐹𝓁𝑒𝓌 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝐼'𝒹 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃

'𝒯𝒾𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓅𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃, 𝑜𝒽

𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃

𝒮𝑜 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓌

𝐹𝓁𝑒𝓌 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝐼'𝒹 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃

𝒩𝑜𝓌 𝐼'𝓂 𝓁𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹

𝒪𝒽, 𝑜𝒽, 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒

𝒪𝒽, 𝑜𝒽, 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Laying back in the bath, you swirled your fingers through the fragrant foam on the water’s surface and wondered how long it would take Logan to make his move. Because you knew, as night follows day, that he would hit on you tonight. You weren’t fooled by his earlier tease of almost kissing you. Even if - annoyingly - you knew you would have given in to it if he had. You guessed he’d probably try that approach again to entrap you. Picking up a big handful of foam, you blew it off your palm into the air and groaned.

The handsome big devil! Why did he always have to look so fucking hot?!

Another groan left your lips. You were going to have to firstly be on your guard big time, and secondly - and more importantly - stay in control of your own damn self!

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The view was spectacular. The meal was delicious, the champagne flowed and so did the conversation between the two of you. You ended up telling him way more than you’d originally meant to, how you’d had to fight your parents every step of the way to study your chosen subject - they wanted you to be a doctor or a lawyer and had eventually refused to contribute anything towards your education fees. How you still had a slightly frosty relationship with them, especially as your younger brother had gone on to become a doctor and therefore - irrespective of the fact that you’d earned many awards within your field and your salary was double what he made - little brother was perfection personified as far as your parents were concerned.

Logan had snorted as he’d sipped his champagne when you’d said that, and went on to tell you some choice items about James, ‘Daddy Dearest’ as he called him. How he and Juliet had eventually forced him into retirement, and he’d also made some cryptic comments about his ex brother-in-law and something which had happened in Westworld. He’d quickly changed the subject and recounted various other exploits of his while there, eyes sparkling with mischievousness as he mentioned heists and orgies. And the hosts. He told you all about the hosts.

“Sounds like you spend a lot of time with them, Logan,” you commented, strangely jealous of these robots for some reason. He shrugged, “That’s what they’re there for,” smiling at you, “no strings, y’know? No consequences.” You sat back in your chair, “And I guess that appeals to you? Like, a lot.” Logan crossed one long leg over another and also relaxed back in his chair, “I never lie, so the answer’s yes. Yeah, it did. No hassle whatsoever, what’s not to like?” His gaze locked in on you, “Until now, that is.”

You met his eyes, “And what’s different now?” “Maybe I want some strings. A little hassle, some consequences.” Laughing, you sipped your drink, “Really? I’m not sure you do.” He leant forward, “But I do, sweetheart. Because I want you.” You’d just taken another drink and nearly choked as you burst out laughing, “Oh Logan. No…. you don’t want me, you just want a quick fuck. And I’m not up for that in case you hadn’t noticed.” Logan looked offended for a second, then his usual confident look reappeared on his face. “How do you know what I want? If I wasn’t serious, why am I hanging around doing my best to win you over? I’ll be honest with you, I don’t usually need to try too hard, if at all.”

You burst out laughing, “Exactly my point! This is a novelty for you, that’s all. You’ll soon tire of it when you don’t get anywhere and then off you’ll go to an easier lay.” He shook his head, “No, that’s not the case. And who says I won’t get anywhere? Once I set my heart on something, I’ll go all out till I get it. And right now, that means you, angel.” “I’m not a commodity, Logan! I’m not something to acquire and then move quickly on from.” A lazy smile graced his lips, “Oh I know you’re not, sweetheart, believe me. That’s my point. I’m not about to move on.”

You looked across at him sceptically, “Uh-huh. Sure you’re not, Logan.” He leant back in his chair once more, a seductive smile on his face and dark eyes boring into yours, “Okay, let me ask you something. Do you think I’m hot?” Hesitating, you stalled by picking up your glass but his hand landed on yours, stopping you from raising it to your lips. “Nah, no drinking till you answer me.” He says he never lies, you thought, and I don’t think he does so I’ll return the favour. “Okay… yes, I think you’re hot.” He nodded, looking too smug for your liking so you carried on, “But in saying that, I wouldn’t get involved with you because of your rep.”

He nodded once more, a little disappointment now evident, “Yeah, don’t worry! - I definitely got that vibe. But leaving that aside, if you didn’t know all about me and my rep, answer me this. Would you have slept with me if we’d gone out on a date?” You could feel your face heating up and giving you away, so you admitted, “Yes, I would have. You’re hot, Logan, like I said.”

A big grin on his face, he picked up his glass and held it out so you’d clink yours with his. “That’s all I wanted to hear, sweetheart. I’ve got something to work with now.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Back at the hotel, Logan walked you to your room and as you stopped outside your door, thanking him for a lovely evening, he suddenly slid a hand around the back of your neck and pulled you towards him. His mouth found yours and he kissed you, lazily, sensually. You felt yourself melting into it, you couldn’t help it. My god does he know how to kiss, screamed your brain.

His lips left yours and you heard him whisper next to your ear, “I’ll show you that I can be different, that I’m not an asshole.” Your hand was on his chest and you could feel his rapid heartbeat. Your own was mirroring it, and you almost caved right there and then.

He stepped back from you, a finger trailing along your jaw, “Sweet dreams, angel. I’ll see you in the morning.”

You watched him walk down the corridor to his own room, and knew you were feeling nothing but regret.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Logan flicked on the TV with the remote and lay back on his pillows, naked, lifting his glass of whiskey and sipping. He was slowly but surely knocking down those walls of hers, he could tell. He’d felt it when he kissed her, she’d relaxed against him and slid her hands onto his neck and chest.

He was really surprising himself, if he was being honest. Never would he have hung on this long before if someone wouldn’t put out. He supposed that was one big disadvantage of fucking all those hosts, they never said no. And let’s be truthful, in real life people didn’t say no to him either. So he’d never really had to handle rejection before (apart from in his relationship with his darling father of course, but that was a whole other story). He sipped again; perhaps this was why he’d fallen for this new, intriguing, beautiful woman. She told him ‘No’, she wasn’t interested in his status, his money or what she could gain from him either in self-publicity or luxurious celebrity lifestyle.

And that was refreshing. Very refreshing. He was going to carry on with his battle plan, he would not give up until he’d won this woman, this prize. And no, he wasn’t regarding her as an object to be won, like a huge teddy bear in a carnival sideshow. They’d spent a fantastic evening together and he was feeling more and more of a connection with her. He sensed that she had the power to make his life better, to care for him, to bring meaning to his existence. Which scared the fucking crap out of him but it was what it was. He couldn’t stop himself feeling that way, so he’d just go with the flow and see what happened.

He was getting hard thinking about her and his hand slid down onto his cock. ‘Mmm, yeah, a little attention’s required here’, he thought to himself. He began working himself, stroking and squeezing, and soon he was scrabbling for a tissue from the box next to him on the bedside table. He bunched it up around the head of his cock and not a moment too soon. With a loud groan, he came almost immediately into it, expertly catching all of his come in the tissue cocoon he’d created. He wiped the tip and then the rest of his length and screwed up the damp tissue, tossing it into the nearest bin before sighing and relaxing back on his pillows again.

That… helped, but it didn’t satisfy him. Not properly. He needed her for that.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Lying awake, your mind was dwelling entirely on what you could have been doing if you’d invited Logan into your room, as you’d so nearly done. A vision of him on top of you, your legs wrapped round his hips. Or you on top of him, riding him like a pony. His hands on your hips, thrusting up into you, his face flushed and contorted with passion.

You shot up in bed. Okay, you were going to have to stop your brain from thinking. Not even wanting to touch yourself, you knew that wouldn’t do it for you when all you desired was Logan. Him. And that body of his.

A drink? Should you have a drink? It might help calm your restlessness. But to be honest, no - you knew it wouldn’t. There was only one thing which you knew would definitely help.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Logan was half-asleep, beginning to drift off into dreams of what he’d like to do to her if he ever got her into his bed. Dream Logan had just begun to lick her nipples when there was a knock at the door. What? Another knock, louder this time. He groggily realised that there was actually someone knocking and got up, grabbing his bathrobe from a chair and shrugging into it as he went to the door and opened it.

It was her. His dream woman. But in reality. Also dressed in a bathrobe and looking at him like he was an oasis in the desert.

She brushed past him and walked in, closing and locking the door behind her. Logan was truly dumbfounded by this turn of events. She stopped in front of him, untying the belt of his bathrobe a little, before lightly placing her hands on his chest. She gazed up into his wide and amazed eyes, playing with the hairs in between his pecs and running her fingers even further down to his money trail. His stomach muscles tensed involuntarily and then she was pushing him backwards, and when he reached the bed she shoved him hard.

Logan fell backwards onto it when the back of his knees hit the mattress, his feet still on the floor, longs legs bent, propping himself up on his elbows and looking at her in amazement. She reached for the belt of his robe again, kneeling down between his legs as she did so and his lips parted, his breath catching. Was she… was she really going to…? The belt fell loose and his robe fell open. She gazed with desire and appreciation at Logan’s erect length, then her fingers were on his tip. His hips jolted upwards and she began squeezing him and stroking her fingers round it, and he saw precum beginning to trickle out as he lay there watching her take him in hand. She gave him a sudden and extra firm squeeze while her other hand took hold of his balls and he yelped, like a damn dog.

Logan couldn’t believe he’d lost control of this situation, but it seemed that he absolutely had. He opened his mouth to speak, but she immediately put a finger to his lips.

“Not a word, Delos. Not one. Single. Fucking. Word.”

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(Not my GIF - credit to owner)

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@obscurilicious @theshadowkingsqueen

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[skvaderarts]

Devil May Cry OC Week Day 1!

Happy first day of @dmc-oc-week! I’m so excited for this!

So I hope this isn’t too annoying, but a lot of the stuff about my OC relates to the 120 Post DMC5 Nero and V as brothers fic that I’ve been writing for the last year (Help I can’t stop), so I have yet to reveal a lot of the stuff about him. I seriously hope that at least one of you likes him, though! The artwork is by the always amazing @gaaebolg​, and I’ll have more sometime in the future, so stay tuned!

Also, I’m sorry for how long this post is. I’ve been creating things for this OC for the better part of two years now, so I’ve just got a lot of pent up excitement to get through. If at least one of you like him, then it’s a success!

Now then... SIRRUS

General Information:

Name: Sirrus (sear-us not Cyrus)

Age: Nope. He’s not saying. How rude of you to ask! Looks 21-25 though.

Eyes: Very light gray

Height: 6″ 5′

Build: Thin. He basically never eats anything. But he likes to cook (mostly for V and Nero) and he drinks sometime. And it’s normally wine. he doesn’t eat his own cooking, though. Everyone is freaked out by this.

Species: That’s tricky. Very tricky. He’s technically three different things at once due to his complicated parental lineage, and it causes him nothing but suffering. I may reveal what he truly is later this week if people actually care that he exists barely concealed intense crying. As a result of this, he had one hell of a power set, although many of his powers clash in a sort of MHA Todoroki sort of way. He’s not very pleased by this. The power is great and all, but it literally gives him a miserable migraine sometimes.

Personality: Sardonic, sarcastic, linguistically unapproachable at times due to his tendency to be very formal in an old fashioned, bitingly straight to the point, occasionally cripplingly brooding, and internally melodramatic. His entire internal monologue is just him chastising himself for every breath that he takes or him thinking he’s a total badass. He has no in-between. If left alone, he won’t make it off the couch due to a healthy dose of self-loathing. Thankfully he can’t become drunk. But he still tries. Think Tom Cruse Lestat meets Dorian Grey meets Alucard from the Castlevania Netflix anime. He likes to make dry, deadpan jokes, but he also knows how to read the room. He’s been around long enough to have developed that skill. But despite his desire to be left alone and work in isolation, he finds himself around the crew more than he might like to understand. He tries to be supportive to those around him, though he’s fully self aware of the fact that he’s not that great with it.

Preferences: Dark rooms, good food, better wine, even better conversations, and fantastically showboat filled fights. And not so subtly spoiling V with unsolicited but much appreciated gifts and luxuries.

Dislikes: Mostly his father and bullshit in general. Which is a large reason he doesn't like his father. Also, people who abuse others or power for self gain. So again, his father. I’m noticing a reoccurring theme here. It’s his mom’s fault, too.

Relationships: He knows the cast due to being sent to investigate the events of the fic I was writing, and from there he hangs around and offers to help in any way that he can. He’s on good terms with basically everyone, but later becomes very friendly with V and they have a frankly adorable relationship that I’m 10000% sure he wishes were more than just a friendship but he’s just too shy and sure he’d be rejected to ask. He and various members of the cast have some fun banter with one another, though, and he’s more or less free to come and go as he wishes. He also may or may have not gotten V slightly drunk off of blood wine once. It’s complicated.

Abilities: Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy. Just kidding. in addition to the standard things like quick movement, increased durability and stamina, and some other things I’ve yet to reveal, Sirrus has a vaguely explained light ability that forces a lot of very powerful demons to recoil at the sight of it. He can also wield fire, but in a localized state, and the more he allows it to spread, the harder it is to control. The more localized and small the fire area is, the hotter he can make it burn, all the way up to white flame is he absolutely needs to. It’s very draining, however, as the usage of such power is in direct conflict with what he is. Far too much light for his tastes. But, at the very same time he, the other portion of what he is makes the light within him stronger. He’s a living contradiction, and yes, he totally hates it.

Weapon: He possesses a swept hilt rapier called “Kilnsbane” forged from a combination of Damascus Steel and meteorite. It earned it’s name for it’s ability to be coated in intense heat as a veiacle for his powers (it’s easier to control that way) and from the shards of dust that speckle the blade. The blade is slightly longer than average, reaching about a meter in length. It’s also sharp on both edges of the blade like a razor. It’s not as sharp as something like Yamato, but it’s exceptionally durable, kinda like the difference between Vibranium and Adamantium. Nico is going to have a field day with that.

Interesting fact: Due to two divorces on the part of his father, he is technically part of two powerful families. One by blood, and the other as a sort of honorary son after he sided with them over an important domestic dispute against his father’s wishes. if you’d like to know more, let me know!

Notes: I’d tell you more, but so many things about him are showed in mystery by nature, so if I tell you (yet) what some of these details are, I’ll spoil the surprises. And also, if your reading my fics, I don’t want to spoil anything about his roll in the story by telling you entirely who and what he is. His last name is actually a spoiler in of it’s self, so you can’t know it just yet!

So... what do you think?! I would so love for someone, ANYONE to give me feedback or just ask me more about him! It would be so exciting to see someone on Tumblr go down that road with me :D thanks for reading this! I look forward to tomorrow!

[blondiexe]

About “I’m Not Starfire”…

So I’ve been following the drama with this knew YA graphic novel coming out called “I’m Not Starfire”.  This graphic novel has been the subject of debate for a bit because of it’s premise and use of characters (designs and use).

The premise of the novel is about a girl named Mandy who struggles with her sexuality, looks, and other superficial stuff.  Now, I say superficial because her mother’s motherfucking Starfire.  As in Teen Titans Starfire.  As in the bubbly alien girl that has to deal with learning about new cultures and is fiercely protective and supportive of her friends despite their origins.

From what we’ve seen so far, Starfire is depicted as a model-like social figure that doesn’t really care for her daughter and only wants to control her future.  She wears a courtesan-like outfit in one of her shown appearances and in another dresses like a model on the cover of a magazine with Mandy.  Those who know Starfire’s character know that she would be the BEST mother EVER, spoiling her child with affection and providing them with the same fierce protection and support that she gives her friends.  She also already has a daughter with Dick Grayson aka Robin named Mar’i (Mari? Idk) Grayson aka Nightfire in a short spinoff series.  I think she also has a son or two but I don’t really know.  What’s important is that Starfire already has a daughter.

Now let’s talk about the main character, Mandy.  She’s overweight, “goth”, emo in a way, hates the world, and thinks that everyone’s out to get her.  Now, I know someone that acts just like this, and I cut her out of my life because of the vibe arsenic that she leached into the air like spores whenever she disagreed with someone.  Mandy is NOT Mar’i, obviously, and is an obvious self-insert of the author.  Mar’i looks more like her parents than Mandy looks like her own mother.  She’s meant to appeal to someone, but fortunately only appeals to the author that made her.  Her personality mainly consists of “lesbian” and “it’s not a phase, mom”.

Now, the story.  She skips her S.A.T.s and wants to run away to Paris with her crush (which atm is basically a cardboard cutout but the outline of one).  Starfire, in what we’ve seen, is exactly how we’d think she’d be as a mom with this demon kid.  In one of the shown scenes that we’ve been shown, she buys a shitton of Chinese takeout and tries to help her daughter decide on which college she wants to go to.  Mandy completely ignores her, storming off to her room claiming that she “doesn’t understand” her.  I’m trying to figure out college right now, and I would be extremely happy to have help from my mom.  Starfire didn’t do ANYTHING to “pry into her life”.  She’s doing what any mother  of a hormonal teenage daughter would have done: understand her or reach an understand her.

So, obviously, this book sucks so far.  The story came right out of Hallmark or Lifetime’s corporate dumpster, the character should have the superhero name of Dumpsterfire because of her personality and design (I mean that outfit’s ATROCIOUS honey what were you thinking), and there’s nothing fantastical about this fantasy story besides Starfire herself and I think Blackfire?

Now we talk about how to fix this.

1. Fix the story.  Firstly, make the superhero part of the superhero aspect actually a thing.  Give “Mandy” a watered-down version of her mother’s powers to actually make her appear to actually be Starfire’s daughter.  She’s an alien for Christ’s sake, her daughter’s bound to have her genetics.  Have the main conflict be about how Starfire’s been protecting her from being a hero and how she’s been trying to push her to have a normal life.  But she can’t, because she looks half-alien and has powers regardless of how her mother and father have been pushing her in other directions.  Oh yeah, and add in Dick.  He’s her father and Starfire’s one true love, for the love of Pete!  You can make “Mandy” struggle with having to balance her life with her abilities and family history as well as the pressure of living up to her parents and extended family (the collective Waynes). This also adds in Blackfire as the villain, trying to fuck with her sister’s life because she’s bored or some shit.

2. Fix the main character.  “Mandy” should be more goth than emo. Goth is all about the style and mindset, which is more along the lines of seeing the beautiful in the macabre and morbid.  Think Addams Family.  Make her happy with life, but anxious because of life stuff.  That way, most teens can actually relate to her.  She should also have a different design. Make her more fit due to her parents’ lifestyle and that fact that her mom might not be able to gain weight (might just be speculation I might need to find a source for this).  Give her slightly darker skin because her mom’s FUCKING ORANGE.  Also, Nightfire’s RIGHT THERE.  Take elements from her design, like her naturally dark hair.  She can still be gay because the youths can relate and also with the fixed character this can be good representation. Because right now it sure isn’t. Also, give her a hobby.  Goth and gay isn’t a personality.  Make her an artist of sort.  “Artist” can mean anything, from painting to theatre.  Make us care about her and her struggles.  Also, that outfit can be fixed.  Like what is that on the top half of her body like wtf.  She should also have a personality quirk like a social thing because of how she’s treated by those around her.  If my parents were famous I’d feel like no one paid attention to me besides my accomplishments, making me really quiet and a doormat.  The main character is the main focus of the book, so making them appealing is the most important thing here besides a compelling story.

3. Make other characters three-dimensional.  This should be self-explanatory.  Make the side characters fit the story and have their own personality.  What makes the love interest so great? What’s her deal?  Make them almost if not as appealing as the main character.  Basic stuff.

So there you go.  Oh, before I go, here’s what I liked:

Starfire’s design besides her clothes and the art style, even though it fits better on WEBTOON than as an official DC graphic novel. 

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 05 (first part)

(Masterpost) (previous episode) (this episode, second part)

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes of the Untamed

The Pride of Yunmeng 

Waterfall Date

Lan Wangji gets to experience the two extremes of Wei Wuxian’s interpersonal skills within the span of a few seconds. This is even better than his rooftop date with this horrible annoying terribly, terribly attractive boy.

Lan Wangji has come here on a mission to make Wei Wuxian do his homework, which is why he immediately tells him “let’s go to the library” gazes at him silently for several seconds...

...and then lets him adjust his sleeve for him and step allll the way into his personal space. 

Unfortunately Wei Wuxian is about to guess a Lan Clan secret, so Lan Wangji ends the conversation by saying “let’s go to the library” grabbing him by his sexy arm muscle and dragging him off. Did he hold his arm all the way to the library? Even if he didn’t, his “I don’t touch other people” later at the lake is clearly horseshit. I don’t touch other people unless they are named Wei Wuxian and our brothers aren’t watching. 

(more after the cut!)

Apology in the Library

Wei Wuxian splits his library time between actually doing his homework and trying to make friends with Lan Wangji. And he tries really, really hard, starting by sincerely complimenting LWJ’s calligraphy and offering a pretty okay apology for his prior rooftop antics. Lan Wangji tells him to put his leg down but doesn’t tell him to go sit at his own desk. 

Lan Wangji exhibits steely self-control as he resists this look, which would cause anyone else’s robes to spontaneously un-weave themselves into a pile of threads.

When Lan Wangji won’t look at him because he feels his apology was not sincere, Wei Wuxian becomes much more formally apologetic. First he says “sorry” two more times, and he starts prepping Lan Wangji’s ink.  This involves grinding an ink stick against an ink stone with water, to make a pool of ink for the calligrapher to dip their brush into.

This is not Wei Wuxian being annoying and messing with stuff on Lan Wangji’s desk, a la Zhou Yunlan (Guardian). This is an act of service; a genuinely helpful thing to do if you know how to do it properly --which all of these young scholars definitely do--and an action that casts Wei Wuxian in the role of a servant or junior. 

Then Wei Wuxian offers to kneel down (to offer a major formal apology), while giggling like an adorable dumbass. It's unclear if this is sexual innuendo, just being ridiculously unconcerned about dignity, being slightly into abasing himself for this beautiful person, or all of the above. 

After taking a long moment to consider all this, Lan Wangji slowly and deliberately gives Wei Wuxian three seconds of the eye contact he’s been begging for.

Then Lan Wangji spoils the moment by dropping a silence spell on him. 

Wen Can I Have Some Fun?

The Wen siblings hang out and talk about their secret villainy and then fret about how much it sucks to have a chronic health condition, which is pretty relatable TBH.

I know life seems boring now but just wait until you’re an itinerant zombie with nails in your head.

Wen Qing is a devoted older sister just like Jiang Yanli, although with less fainting and more scheming. 

Good kitty.

Porno in the Library

Now, since this next scene ends with Wei Wuxian being a boundary-crossing jerk, let's start by remembering that Lan Wangji has magically gagged Wei Wuxian against his will three times now, as well as hiding his vulnerable family member behind a ward while lying in wait in order to attack him. So, you know. Teenagers in lust. They are both learning what is and isn't okay.  

Lan Wangji steals a long glance at Wei Wuxian while Wei Wuxian is drawing. 

Wei Wuxian is putting the finishing touches on a gift for Lan Wangji. The gift is a portrait of Lan Wangji with flowers in his hair. This boy is SMITTEN. I think he knows it, too; he just doesn’t think it’s a big deal yet. 

Wei Wuxian, who is good at everything, is really fucking good at drawing. 

When Wei Wuxian presents the drawing to Lan Wangji he says “this is my gift for you.”  This is very good-mannered of Wei Wuxian; Lan Wangji had to supervise him for three days, so he is presenting him with a gift to thank him and say farewell.

Lan Wangji completely ignores him, which is really breathtaking, next-level rudeness.

Wei Wuxian isn’t bothered by this, however, and just embellishes the picture with an extra flower or something before offering it again. This time Lan Wangji takes in and is very very very pleased with it, as evidenced by his slightly widening his eyes and how carefully he places the drawing on the far side of his desk.  

Also he gives Wei Wuxian some prolonged eye contact, and engages in what, for him, is playful banter, calling the gift “extremely boring” when Wei Wuxian prompts him to use more words than usual. 

Then Wei Wuxian spoils the moment by pranking him.

Now - let’s look at this erotic-book situation. This is a boundary-crossing prank, yes, but it’s also an invitation to engage in some form of intimacy. For teens who have access to erotic images, looking at them together can be simple naughty fun. Or it can be a way of discovering and bonding over shared sexual identities and interest. Or it can prompt more direct engagement, up to and including having sex with each other.

Lan Wangji’s horrified reaction means that Wei Wuxian has to characterize this as a prank after the fact, but he might very well have intended it as an invitation to get horny together. 

Either way, his response to Lan Wangji’s “shameless” comment is bound to make an impression.

Wei Wuxian is from the clan of "be free" and he just doesn't see why this is a big deal. And now he’s told Lan Wangji it doesn’t have to be a big deal. And through him, the producers are breaking the fourth wall and telling every viewer that this doesn’t have to be a big deal and that they shouldn’t feel ashamed. 

Threats and rudeness and book destruction ensue, and Lan Wangji is left alone in all kinds of emotional disarray, with a bunch of torn up erotica to tape back together throw away.

Boys on the Rocks

Wei Wuxian brags about his prank to Jiang Cheng and bestie Nie Huaisang, telling them that he got Lan Wangji to cuss at him. He’s going to put a notch on his sword handle for this achievement.  

Jiang Cheng is pissed at Wei Wuxian about this, like he’s pissed at him about everything all the time. Possibly he has already started the seedlings of his lifelong jealousy of Lan Wangji.  

Jiang Cheng doesn’t realize that he’s essentially prepared Wei Wuxian to court Lan Wangji by constantly criticizing, hitting, and threatening him. After a decade of Jiang Cheng’s rough style of brotherhood, Lan Wangji’s elegant and refined hostility rolls off of Wei Wuxian like water off a duck’s back. 

Nie Huaisang wants to make sure Wei Wuxian didn't rat him out, but isn't worried about the destroyed book because he has a whole external drive full of porn. 

Several Brain Cells Trio

These guys do make some questionable choices together, but actually they are all really bright and effective in complimentary ways.

Jiang Cheng is growing into a strong future leader - authoritarian and dickish, yes, but also decisive and unflinching. Wei Wuxian is observant of things around him, always ready for combat, and thinks deeply and strategically about events.  Nie Huaisang is a bottomless font of knowledge, sourced from books and from his own observations. 

So when the Wen spy bird shows up, they spot it, drive it away, identify what it is, and understand that it’s a threat and that its presence has political implications.  

They are all goofballs at times, but highly gifted ones.

Doo Doo Doo Lookin Out My Back Ward

Lan Xichen asks Lan Wangji if he’s found out who was sneaking around his the back ward and Lan Wangji hesitates before reluctantly saying “Wei Ying.” 

Ok seriously - nobody calls him Wei Ying. Nobody refers to him in the third person as as Wei Ying. Calling him Wei Gongzi or Wei Wuxian would be totally normal. His own brother calls him Wei Wuxian. And Lan Wangji has only called him Wei Ying to his face when he was angry. 

But now--immediately after the erotica debacle in the library--he is Wei Ying when Lan Wangji is speaking of him privately with his brother. 

By the way, Lan Wangji's shoulders seem super wide in these robes, don't they? I'm not complaining.

Forgettable Disciple #1

Now we meet apparent nobody Su She, who sucks. He wants to take care of the water ghosts himself. 

He is a no-headband disciple which is like - none of the juniors in the later timeframe go without a headband. The guys who got set on fire at the gate had headbands. One of the Lan Rules is “wear a headband.” Is there anyone else who doesn't rate a headband? This is a plot point later when it comes to the ice cave but for now it just seems that he's that one perpetual intern who never gets promoted and never learned embroidery.

Doctor Qing, Medicine Woman

[OP laughed way too hard at her own joke just now.] Wen Qing is helping Jiang Yanli, and Jiang Cheng is super happy to see her. When did he develop this crush? Because it's already in full swing. 

Did Wei Wuxian just sneer when he noticed Jiang Cheng’s crush? Like macking on Lan Wangji is more appropriate than this? 

I love you and I’m going to advocate killing everyone who matters to you

I’m a nosy jerk and I’m going to be your best friend for life, quite literally

Wei Wuxian complains about Wen Qing ignoring him and she gives him the prettiest, loveliest *sigh* death glare ever.

However when she sees that he's a little brother whose sister utterly dotes on him, she starts thinking maybe he's all right. 

For the Yanli-Qing shippers, there is a tiny breadcrumb here, where Yanli says they met by the river bank.  I don't personally ship my personal girlfriend Wen Qing with Jiang Yanli, but I support your ships wherever they may sail.

Continued in Part 2, right here

[lit-in-thy-heart]

you know what, what's the point of being on this platform if you don't get to bellow into the void about your interests in the hope of finding someone with the same interest?

in light of this, let me inflict a lowdown of the victorian literature (mostly novels because poetry is difficult to collate) that i've read for my module this year upon my mutuals

i'll do a separate one for vampire novels and reblog with the link

because what are the victorians without vampires? straight

bleak house (dickens): what a ride that was! yes, it was nearly a thousand pages and, yes, some chapters i was like can we move on please, but that's dickens for you. honestly, i loved it. if you're looking for thinly-veiled lesbianism, this is the book for you (esda all the way, if they even have a ship name). unfortunately i already knew one of the plot twists due to watching dickensian five years before, but there are plenty more to go around! if you can get through the first chapter describing nothing but fog and the law courts, you're in for one hell of a treat -- just don't google anything about it until you've finished because you will get spoiled (or don't share a house with me, where i'll tell you the entire plot as i'm reading it). definitely recommend, but marking it down for the heteronormativity with allan. (9.5/10)

villette (c. brontë): where to fucking start. i, quite frankly, do not care for charlotte brontë, and when reading the earlier novel agnes grey by anne, i could see some more things that charlotte has filched for this travesty. no victorian novel is going to be without problems, but this one was xenophobic, ableist and, of course, racist. the protagonist doesn't really give anything away, which is meant to make her more mysterious, but it just renders her an empty vessel. oh, and she tells you stuff that she's figured out waaaaaay after she says she's figured it out, a bit like she's allowing you to feel smart for making a connection before going 'oh yeah i knew that like twelve chapters ago, keep up'. some of the passages are really striking and there's maybe one character who's likeable but that's about it. i'd say it's more a story of omission than repression tbh. (4/10)

janet's repentance (eliot): wait, have i even finished this? no, no, i have not. it's fine, i wasn't going to tell you the ending anyway. i did get hooked eventually, there were just a LOT of names thrown around in the first few chapters, and a word that i didn't know was used frequently (turns out it was a name for the followers of this guy). i did get strong hester prynne/arthur dimmesdale vibes from some of the main characters, but janet is a very sympathetic character which, after reading villette, was nice. slightly depressing in some places, but a good enough read if you're not cramming it in the day before your tutorial, because it is mildly dense. (7/10)

the wonderful adventures of mrs seacole in many lands (seacole): not what i'd been expecting to read on my module, what with it being a biography, but enjoyable nonetheless. horrible histories lied to me, though, she was in her 40s/50s when she treated people in the crimean war, not in her 20s, but that's minor. it was actually quite funny??? like she was very reluctant to give away to give away her age and almost slipped up a couple of times, and also made some very biting remarks about people who were passing comment on her skin colour. for a biography, it wasn't hugely biographical, in that she was married for what seemed all of five minutes before her husband died, when in fact they were married for several years, but if you want an in-depth depiction of war, this is for you. not what i'd usually read, but some of the descriptions are so vivid that it does read like a novel in places, though sometimes the descriptions were so detailed that i did tune out at odd intervals. (9/10)

the happy prince and other stories (wilde): if you're feeling low, don't read these. don't. especially not 'the nightingale and the rose', because that was honestly heartbreaking. really well-written, some passages were just beautiful, i just wasn't in the right headspace to fully appreciate it. it also has a lot of death, i should probably explicitly say that. (8/10)

agnes grey (a. brontë): chef's kiss, honestly. if i'd read this last year then i think it definitely would have hit a lot harder, what with agnes moving away from home for the first time and struggling with loneliness around people who she is different from. beautifully written, i'm irritated at myself for not reading it sooner, even though i've owned a copy for about four years or so. agnes does come across as a bit wet sometimes, but those moments are rare and far between, she's overall a resilient character who is trying to make her own way in the world. seeing as i managed to get through the whole thing and didn't lose focus on what i was reading, i rate it higher than jane eyre (which is a rip-off of this anyway). we stan anne. though i am marking it down for the underdeveloped romantic relationship that just pops up (9.5/10)

now for some old classics that weren't taught on my module, but i can't not mention them

a tale of two cities (dickens): this was my first dickens book and oh my word what a book. yeah, okay, lucie is a bit of a wet dishcloth and has basically no personality, but there is definitely something there between her and her maid. sydney is my baby and oh so gorgeously dramatic ("you have kindled me, heap of ashes that i am, into fire"), which was perfect for the pangs of unrequited love. the plot is slightly confusing, and you don't really understand everything until right near the end, but i loved finding parallels in the chapters set in france with the chapters set in britain. oh and the showdown between miss pross and madame defarge is wonderful. i had a tradition of reading it on the run-up to christmas, just because that was the period when i read it for the first time, but i haven't done that for the past two years just because of exams and stuff. now, bleak house just pips it at the post, but i still love it dearly. (9/10)

wuthering heights (e. brontë): i couldn't review victorian literature and not include this. there are very strong similarities between this and villette (seems charlotte really drew on her sisters' work), particularly in terms of me not liking a single one of the characters except hareton. everyone is called cathy. literally. and heathcliff/cathy one is a toxic ship that should not be boarded. it is obsession, not love. the second volume is basically a repeat of the first one, thus showing that humanity will never move past its vices and will be caught in a vicious cycle of self-destruction for the rest of time. again, though, beautifully and vividly written. the characters are the type that you love to hate. (8/10)

the tenant of wildfell hall (a. brontë): what. a. book. this was a book that was simultaneously loved and condemned as scandalous when it came out. there's mystery, there's a woman escaping a horrible situation and making her own living, and there's a well-developed relationship! and the characters are likeable (i love rose, she's great, completely goes off at her brother when she has to do things for him all the time), which always puts it onto a winner. there's one chapter with gilbert that i have to skip just because i hate what he does in it. there are quite a lot of religious references, with redemption playing a huge part in the novel, but even the religious views brontë expresses went against a lot of the teachings of the anglican church at the time. do i even need to say that it's beautifully written if it's anne? marking it down for gilbert's behaviour and arguable control of helen's narrative. (9.5/10)

far from the madding crowd (hardy): i love this book. a little more uplifting than tess but still with the drama and murder you'd expect from hardy. maybe my review is influenced by my tiny crush on bathsheba: she's not the best role model but damn what a woman. gabriel isn't quite bae but i love him all the same, i'm so glad he's happy in the end. (9/10)

[kpop-zone]

Dating JiU & Yoohyeon

A/N: I feel like I suck at writing headcanons, so I’m sorry if this is bad. It’s nothing personal, I love my soft girlfriends :D

Unrelated note: Can anyone else not stop watching Dreamcatcher’s Abracadabra dance cover??

Relationship

Not my GIF, credits to whoever made it

Having a polygamous relationship had never really been weird to either of them

They had found out pretty casually that they were both into you

All of you started out as friends

But one night due to the influence of some alcohol, Yoohyeon and Minji ended up gushing over you for hours

And they realized that they were both in love with you

For a second, they stared at each other helplessly

But then Yoohyeon plucked up all her courage, deciding to tell Minji the complete truth

“Um...you know, Y/N is actually not the only one that I like.”

 She mumbled eventually and confessed her feelings to Minji

Who was super relieved to know that she hadn’t just imagined the spark between the two of them

After all feelings had been disclosed, it was clear to them how to handle this situation

It would either be all of you, or no one

Yoohyeon was pretty confident though

In her mind, the three of you were already dating

Minji, on the other hand was a little more anxious

She was scared that you would resent them for their desire

Yoohyeon needed to give her a lot of reassurance until both of them were ready to confess to you

When they confessed eventually, they were a little nervous

So they were all giggly and needed a while to get their confession straight

But then their words were really sincere and heartfelt

You simply couldn’t turn them down

So the three of you hit it off

Due to already being friends for a while, there was no timid getting-to-know each other phase in your relationship

All of you knew about the quirks and weaknesses of each other

But also about the assets

From the moment you started dating the two of them, you could call yourself the master of having it all

Because your girlfriends have everything that you could ask for

They are beautiful, sweet, talented, hot, smart, funny, a little bit crazy...

More often than not, you find yourself contemplating how you had even managed to not only woo one but TWO goddesses

Minji is usually the mature and caring one in your relationship

She loves to take care of Yoohyeon and you

She has a particular soft spot for you though

While all of you like to tease each other

She is never too ruthless with you

Much to the dismay of Yoohyeon who is always defenseless against your alliance

Another manifestation of Minji’s soft spot for you is the way she spoils you

She always tells Yoohyeon to just buy herself some food on the way back home after a long day at work

When you complain about feeling hungry though, she doesn’t shy back from whipping out her cooking skills

Of course, Yoohyeon gets pouty in light of this preferential treatment of yours

But Minji always tells her that you were simply more deserving of sweet gestures

 Because you like to spoil your girls too

It’s the little things that make Minji happy

A note on her nightstand, remembering her coffee order, surprising her with lunch at work...

She doesn’t make big demands, but she always rewards you with an expression on her face that could make you believe that you had just bought her the sun

Yoohyeon, on the other hand, is interested in everything that is unusual

So you sometimes buy her stuff that might be a little weird to others

But you know that she loves it

Once you bought her an old film camera that belonged to a German woman a few decades back

After developing the film, she got super into German culture

And even started to learn German

Minji and you are always really impressed because Yoohyeon is just so smart

While being a clumsy, helpless baby simultaneously

But that is just one of the many reasons why the two of you love her

Yoohyeon is also the one who keeps the energy level of your relationship up at all times

She never sits still and always has a thousand ideas for not so cute dates

Sometimes her dates are a complete success even though they are unusual

For example, when she took you to an abandoned amusement park

And you had a photoshoot and a cute picknick together

But once, she dragged you to a “cool magic show”

Only for you to end up at a weird cult meeting

Nevertheless, Minji and you seldomly say no to her suggestions

Both of you know that Yoohyeon means well

She just loves the two of you so much and wouldn’t mind spending every living minute of hers with you

 Which is why she always wants to convince you to accompany them on their tours

Neither her nor Minji consider their relationship complete when you are not with them

 Therefore, you receive a lot of text messages and cute videos when they leave you behind

Yoohyeon never hides how much she misses you

Minji, on the other hand, usually gets really quiet when the separation is getting too hard for her

Until her feelings eventually get the better of her and she needs your comfort

Both of them always make sure that you know that the two of them are incomplete without you

Therefore, jealousy plays absolutely no role in your relationship

You are really honest with each other and your feelings are always fully disclosed

There’s not one duo that has a stronger bond than the others

You are all equally connected by love

And neither of you can stand it when you are apart

That’s why you always savor the times that you are together to the fullest

Therefore, your love is also very obvious to see for everyone else

Yoohyeon is the one who’s least afraid to show your relationship publicly

Not that she would be able to keep her hands to herself anyways

She’s the one that gets the angriest whenever strangers look at you derogatory

Minji on the other hand is a little more careful

Not necessarily because she’s ashamed of your relationship

But because she often wants to seem like a mature and well-mannered adult in public

So she keeps the PDA at a bare minimum

Eventually, however, her façade always ends up crumbling

And her goofy, clingy self comes to light

She’s just a sucker for soft touches

So she will gently run her fingertips up and down your arms, put her hands on your thighs or simply intertwine your fingers

But she is not only in charge of the soft aspects in your relationship

She also has a wild and slightly crazy side to her

And it’s the times when she chooses to show it that the three of you have the most fun

You can be so LOUD and reckless when no one is there to tame you

Especially because you are so comfortable around each other

Shyness is not a word in your vocabulary

All of you know that you can share your weirdest thoughts with each other

There is no judgement in your relationship

Therefore, you feel completely comfortable when you are around your girlfriends

No matter whether you are cute or crazy together, you know that you are safe in the presence of each other

Your relationship is just filled with love, laughter and trust

And you couldn’t imagine ever living without either of your girlfriends anymore

NSFW

Not my GIF, credits to whoever made it

Queens of duality

Your sex is either cute and giggly

Or hot and kinky

That completely depends on your girlfriends’ moods

When they return from a tight schedule, they are usually beat for a few days

Which doesn’t change anything about their high sex drive though

Physical touch is a very important part of your relationship

So they are always very touch starved when they come back home

Which leads to some intense cuddle sessions that always turn to something more

They love to put you in the center of attention

Because both of them feel sorry for leaving you behind

They try to make it up to you by whispering sweets nothings into your ear while caressing your whole body

The mood is never too sensual though

Because one of you will end up saying something funny

But no one is really bothered by that

You love to laugh together in intimate moments like that

And neither of you is a fan of monotony anyways, so you like that not a single night is ever like the other

One thing that is for sure though is that you are in for a long time

Both, Minji and Yoohyeon, like to take their time with you

And they are a well attuned team

They know every single weak spot on your body and how to work it

While one pays attention to one of them, the other takes care of another

Generally, you enjoy really slow and vanilla sex after they return from an exhausting schedule

That changes though when their energy levels are up again

Sex during those times is a lot rougher and also a little chaotic

Because there is no clear distribution of roles

It’s always a surprise who will take control

Yoohyeon can be a bratty bottom

She loves to test her limits and to get put into her place

But she also loves to take control, especially because she is usually the one who suggest trying new things

Minji can be somewhat of a pillow princess when she’s in the mood

But neither Yoohyeon nor you mind

Because Minji is usually the one taking care of the two of you on a daily basis, you like to take your sweet time with her in bed to repay her

But when her wild side is activated, she won’t let Yoohyeon nor you take control

She likes to give orders and won’t accept anything less than complete obedience

Might have a mommy kink too

Both, Yoohyeon and Minji, can be big teases

It gives them a lot of pleasure to see you getting frustrated

Although neither of them ever takes it too far

That also applies to toys, BDSM and other kinks

While neither of them shies back from getting a little experimental in bed (as long as everyone is ok with it, you don’t really have boundaries)

They don’t enjoy seeing either of you hurt or too frustrated

And while they love to leave their marks (especially on you), it’s usually only hickeys and maybe a few light scratches, nothing more

After all of you have tired each other out to your satisfaction, you always end up in an intertwined ball of limbs

Because soft cuddles and pillow talks are a must

Even if all of you are already half-asleep, you will mumble trivial things until all of you drift off into a deep slumber

You’re just a bunch of softies with a wild side

[blackjack-15]

Hunting For Some Buried Story — Thoughts on: Ransom of the Seven Ships (RAN)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE, CRY, VEN, HAU

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it. Like with all of the Odd Games, there will be a section between The Intro and The Title called The Weird Stuff, where I go into what makes this game stand out as a little strange.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: RAN; STFD; mention of FIN; GTH; mention of SPY.

The Intro:

We’re two-thirds of the way through the meta series officially (yay for meta #20!), and what a way to cap off that marker: with the last of the Odd Games.

And my land, how Odd it is. And that’s ignoring that in August of 2020, this game was very quietly discontinued — speculated to be because of the…well, pseudo-brownface in the game.

Oh yeah, we’re starting with that little bomb.

Before we truly begin, however, let me state one fact: the controversies over this game do not make it any more interesting, unfortunately. I don’t know how a game can be both this objectively bad and this objectively boring as a mystery, but RAN is an example of many, many impossible feats in the video game industry (boring yet bad, controversial yet uninteresting, finicky yet sluggish in controls, so it might as well begin as it means to go on.

I’m also stating here for the record that I’m not really going to focus on the social aspect of this game; it’s always been out of the scope of these metas to focus on current events or social issues, and race is such a hot button issue that no matter what anyone says, someone gets mad. Besides that, it’s really not an interesting tack to take with this meta, not when there’s so many things to talk about regarding RAN as a game and/or as a mystery. If you came into this meta expecting a breakdown as it relates to any social issues, this might not be the meta for you.

If you came for a beat-down on RAN, however, you’re in the right place. Get comfy.

Ransom of the Seven Ships had all the pieces in place to make it a great game; we’ve got Bess and George in the (weird, plasticky) flesh, a fascinating and beautiful location, a historical background based in Spanish exploration, the Age of Piracy, and treasure hunting…all of these are great, honestly, and it’s part of what makes RAN so offensively bad — it could have been really great.

Instead of a wonderful game based around pirate treasure, however, Nancy plays games with monkeys, drives on the world’s slowest golf cart, and trusts the only other person on the entire freaking island when he says he didn’t kidnap her friend. Even though he is the ONLY OTHER PERSON ON THE FREAKING ISLAND.

This game is based off of a Nancy Drew mystery entitled “The Broken Anchor”, which actually is fairly close to the plot of the game — the girls win a contest (though in this case it’s one they didn’t even enter) to go to the Bahamas, Nancy arrives (with Carson) and can’t contact Bess or George, there’s a mysterious treasure, etc. etc. In part, I think, RAN’s problems come from following the book too closely, as there’s really very little to the plot of the book. Game plots necessarily have to have a little more meat to them, as you can’t spend the whole time with Nancy pontificating on the scenery or food (as she is wont to do), and RAN is missing a lot of meat.

Specifically, the meat that it’s missing is any suspects at all. Like I said, there’s only one other person (other than Nancy, Bess, and George) on the island, and it’s ‘Johnny Rolle’ — a self-professed fisherman and loner who’s boat has been wrecked by the monkeys.

There are way too many effing monkeys in this game, side note. How I wish the monkeys were a side note.

Nancy, despite her normal M.O when a kidnapping of a friend has taken place, just kinda rolls with his story and accepts it, digging pointless holes in the sand while he definitely has Bess trapped. And then there’s the weirdness with the monkeys trying to kill her as she scales a sheer cliff wall.

Honestly, if I go any more into it, I’m just going to end up tearing it apart piece by piece, and that’s for the Fix section. So let’s move on to the specific things that make this game truly the capstone of the Odd Games.

The Weird Stuff:

This game is, first and foremost, a story about personal revenge — or, at least, that’s the big takeaway, no matter what HER actually intended for it to be about. After being busted by Nancy (and Lillian, and Ralph, but he apparently doesn’t care about them), Dwayne sat in prison stewing over his ignominious defeat at the hands of a teenaged sleuth until he heard about the supposed treasure on Dread Isle. His greed for the treasure combined with his hatred of Nancy began to fester together, culminating in a slightly complex but ultimately stupid plan to get both money and revenge.

This is a motivation unlike any we’ve encountered. Sure, a handful of Nancy Drew villains have sworn their revenge on Nancy (most notably at this point in the series Helena from VEN), but no one has actually done it — until Dwayne.

This should have made the whole game feel intensely personal — and indeed, bringing back tokens and things from Nancy’s past cases and locations should have built to that. However, the game never really comes to a fever pitch of a feeling of someone is watching Nancy and actively hates her, even though it makes a few attempts. More than any other game, Nancy should have been scared here — and it’s odd that she isn’t.

The second odd thing here is the returning villain. I don’t think this is a bad thing at all — I love the idea of a returning villain — but I do think it was a mistake to pick Dwayne Powers. At this point in the series, STFD was hardly a well-known game, and was generally unplayable due to technological advances.

Yes, later STFD would get a bit of a sprucing up and become playable again (and this game, funnily enough, would be relegated to the ‘unplayable’ pile — Dwayne never can win, I guess), but that didn’t matter at the time that RAN was coming out.

There were several better choices — VEN’s Helena, SHA’s Shorty, DOG’s Emily (who had already received a mention recently in DAN) — so why go with Dwayne? Did they pick him on purpose because no one would suspect (or rather, remember) him? Was he the most obscure villain they could think of? Mitch Dillon (who never appeared really) from SCK would have been an equally obscure but somehow more frightening choice. I’m really at a loss to figure out why they chose Dwayne, of all people.

The third thing that makes this game odd is the lack of suspects. Sure, they give a hat-tip to the Gibsons perhaps being hidden on the island (which, let’s just say, they shouldn’t have — never use as a red herring something that would have made the game so much better), but Dwayne/Johnny really is the only suspect.

I have no idea if they were rushed, if they thought that his different identities counted as extra suspects, or if they just wanted to try something different with this game, but it in no way worked. It’s so mind-bogglingly simple to figure out who kidnapped Bess that it makes Nancy look like she’s quite a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

The last Odd thing that I’ll hang on is how incredibly out-of-character Nancy is in this game. We’ve only seen Nancy work kidnapping (or supposed kidnapping) cases a few times in the series as a whole — FIN’s Maya, RAN’s Bess, and GTH’s Jessalyn — but in both FIN and GTH Nancy takes them very seriously, being harsher and more impatient with less time for people’s lies and stories than she usually is, and really feeling the pressure of the clock.

It makes sense; even discounting the Missing Mom trauma that sits deep within Nancy, the first 48 hours of a kidnapping are basically the only window that she has, statistically speaking, to find the victim still alive and okay. She nearly flies off the handle at the suspects in FIN, and digs uncomfortably deep even at very touchy subjects in GTH.

It then stands to reason that, with FIN in the past and GTH in the future, that Nancy would react similarly in this case. Bess is one of Nancy’s best friends, and the friend that we’re shown most often (think of the flashback in SPY; Bess is the one who comes over after Kate and Carson’s fight) around Nancy, like in CRY.

You’d think that, in the face of Bess’ unambiguous kidnapping, that Nancy would be raising hell — contacting anyone she could, taking no prisoners, ripping Dwayne’s tarp down, turning the island upside down, etc. — but instead, she’s calm, almost relaxed, spending time playing games with monkeys and driving aimlessly around the island.

It honestly makes no sense that she’s like this. This is one of a small handful of games where Nancy is deeply, personally invested, where she has a quick running clock, and where the stakes are deadly yet somewhat unknown.

Nancy comes into this with no background, no contacts, no ability to really look things up, and no help — George’s meager efforts do not count — and yet she acts like there are really no stakes. It doesn’t make me dislike her, it doesn’t make me fold that into her characterization — it just makes me say “wow, the writing is really bad here, huh”.

The Title:

Ransom of the Seven Ships is an amazing title; there’s really no getting around this fact. And for the bare bones of the game, it’s more than a suitable title. You’ve got the word ‘ransom’ doing double duty — meaning both treasure and the price to return someone who’s been kidnapped — you’ve got the ships indicating pirate treasure, and that also tells us we’re probably on an island.

Honestly, this is a far better title than this game really deserved (which is half the reason for this meta: turning the game into something that deserves its title). It’s certainly far better than “The Broken Anchor”, its source material, while keeping a pirate-y nature about it. While it’s a little different than most Nancy Drew games’ titles have been up to this point — as they’re usually “The (Adjective) Noun of Location” or “The Adjective Noun”, that’s not a bad thing at all.

This title really does make me sad with how wonderful it is. It deserved so much better. Same with Ship of Shadows, which is also boss.

The Mystery:

Having won an all-expense paid vacation to Dread Isle in the Bahamas (which should have been their first clue that something hinky was afoot), Bess invites Nancy and George along with her. Nancy arrives the day after the cousins, having stayed for a later flight because of a prior engagement with Carson, and is greeted by a frantic George who tells her that Bess has been kidnapped, that the owners of the resort – the Gibsons — aren’t there, and that she’s been worried sick.

  Nancy, naturally, senses something Amiss, and sets off to explore the islands, beginning from the pink sand beach where Bess’ water powered golf cart (yes, I know) is still sitting. She discovers Bess’ shoe next to the only other person on the island — a fisherman named Johnny Rolle from Jamaica — and sets off to explore the rest of the island.

Along the way she finds notes from Bess’ kidnappers, instructions on digging for treasure, twisting island paths, and monkeys. So many friggin monkeys. All of whom Nancy must appease in order to progress in her hunt for one of her oldest friends.

Yeah.

As a mystery…well, what is there really to say about the mystery? It should have been over the second Nancy found Bess’ shoe right outside Dwayne’s camp where a Suspicious Tarp Just Big Enough To Hide the Body of a Young Adult was hanging. An intelligent way to draw it out would be to have Nancy discover Bess there, but for Dwayne to pull a fast one on her and trap her below…but this isn’t the fix section, so let’s just move on past that.

If you weren’t going to add in any new characters or suspects, it might be best to have this game flip from a whodunnit to a howdunnit/howcatchem after the first third; as it is (aka since I’m going to add far more characters in The Fix section), we’ll move right along to the suspect in question himself.

The Suspects:

Yes, I know that this part should just be “The Suspect”.

Believe me, I know.

Wearing a whole cornucopia of masks, Johnny Rolle — aka John E. Poole — is an Australian accountant, hiding from ‘bad clients’ by painting himself brown and adopting a horrible (and horribly stereotypical) Jamaican accent. Nancy discovers his ‘true’ identity by finding an ID with his name on it while he’s still in the ‘Johnny’ disguise. Of course, this ‘true identity’ isn’t his true identity as all…

Dwayne Powers —aka Owen W. Spayder — is sitting underneath the bad wig, bandana, brownface, and horrible accents, and is voiced in this go-around by HER’s chameleon of many voices, good ol’ JVS. After hearing about Dread Isle’s rumors of treasure and their monkey research lab shutting down from a volunteer at his prison (yes, we’re already way too complicated for this game), Dwayne started planning to get the treasure and get revenge on Nancy at the same time.

As the culprit…man is Dwayne horrible. He’s so stupid that it really kills me that Nancy actually falls for his act, because it makes her even stupider. It’s not a good plan, it’s not well thought out, it’s not even a complete plan — it relies on too many unknowables. What if Nancy and George had just stormed his camp and found Bess? What if Nancy figured out it was him? Like, I know Dwayne is an egotist, but this is just dumb.

Before I eviscerate any more, let’s just move on to the few good things in this game.

The Favorite:

The best thing about RAN (other than its music, which as always is super good) is honestly its location. Dread Isle is beautifully and uniquely rendered, and doesn’t look like any other game with the pink-sand beaches, beautiful horizon line, and foliage all befitting a Bahamian resort.

I also like the idea of a returning culprit; while it wasn’t handled well here, I do think it’s a great idea as quite a few culprits have promised revenge on Nancy at the end of their games. Do I think it would have been better if it was Helena, who promised revenge only 2 games ago, rather than going back 18 games to a game that most hadn’t played due to lack of availability? Of course; but the idea behind it was sound.

I don’t have a favorite puzzle or favorite moment; even Dwayne’s dramatic reveal is ruined by the fact that Nancy is at all surprised that he was wearing a disguise and, once again, that the only other person on the island was responsible for kidnapping her friend.

The Un-Favorite:

As far as this section goes…there’s a lot that I don’t like, but there are a few things that stand out more than the rest as truly un-favorite.

My least favorite thing about this game, as you might be able to guess, is that it makes Nancy seem so stupid. We’ve had 19 games of Nancy (mostly; this meta series does go over the exceptions) figuring out clues, chasing bad guys, and solving puzzles without breaking a sweat, and then for this game she’s fooled by some makeup, a wig, and a bad accent? At least in STFD Dwayne put some effort into his work; this is just sad, and it’s even sadder that Nancy falls for it.

My least favorite moment in the game is probably the first conversation with ‘Johnny’. Nancy finds Bess’ shoe, gets strung up in a trap, and then believes that the guy sitting a few feet away is innocent and telling the truth? It’s a moment that truly sets up what a crap shoot this game is about to become, and that alone is enough to make it my least favorite.

My least favorite puzzle is anything to do with the monkeys; playing games with them, scaling the cliff, talking to them, talking about them — literally anything. I don’t like monkeys on a good day, but to have so many puzzles in the game revolve around playing their stupid little games with them? Not a good thing at all. Especially since getting around the island (and, of course, the monkeys live quite far away from anything else on the island) is so aggravatingly slow and clunky — it makes everything feel like a total slog.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Ransom of the Seven Ships?

My gosh, just remake the game.

More seriously, there are quite a few things that I would do in order to make playing through RAN a little more enjoyable and a lot more story-driven (and in line with Nancy and George’s characters). As always, I’m trying to keep this as close to the actual game as possible with few or no huge changes, so Dwayne will still be our culprit, Bess will still have won his giveaway, and Dread Isle will still be the spot of El Toro’s treasure.

The first thing I would do is get rid of Dwayne’s brownface/first disguise, and have him be the Australian accountant named John E. Poole, running from Bad News clients who he didn’t allow to cheat come tax day. That sets him up as a good guy to begin with (if a little foolish to cross such powerful clients), and gives a reason why he’s not staying at the resort (he’s trying to hide and not leave a paper/money trail at the same time). He should be staying in a little homemade hut, not with a Suspicious Tarp Obviously Hiding Bess, as he would have had to been on the island for a while to perfect his disguise (and seem trustworthy to the people at the resort).

I would also have the game take place on Nancy’s 19th birthday; if we assume she was barely 18 at the time of STFD, that makes it about a year that he would have been plotting and escaping and setting up this contest and such. It also makes sense as to why Nancy would have a banquet-thing with Carson and why Bess invited her and George — it’s a fabulous birthday party trip, even for the well-off Nancy Drew. That would also add to her anger — this was a great present that Bess (and George) gave her, and Dwayne has just straight-up ruined it.

Another change that would help the atmosphere is to have at least half the game take place at night. I would have the game take place over roughly two days — it ends the night of the second day — so that you can see the island at night. A lot of the demands made by ‘the kidnappers’ should be done at night — treasure digging, in particular — so as to not be more disruptive to the island than a missing persons case would already be.

Of course, one of the biggest things to do would be to add more suspects.

The Gibsons — both of them — should definitely be there at the resort. I’d have one half of the couple be in the resort during the day, and the other at night, so Nancy can interact with them both differently and have different tasks/discussions with them. Perhaps Mrs. Gibson is an expert on the island’s ‘lore’ — El Toro’s treasure and stuff — while Mr. Gibson is more up on island life and is the law enforcement liaison for the island (who can effectively deputize Nancy to help with the search for Bess).

I would also add one other guest who was supposed to check out right before the first note from the kidnappers came in, and is now stuck on the island until the case is solved. What I’d probably do is make them a Secret Australian (to contrast with Dwayne’s fake Australian accent) — sporting an English accent due to a posh upbringing and studying in England for most of their school life, living in England somewhere (maybe near Blackmoor Manor for a cool Easter egg) — who is Very Grumpy about this and thinks Bess ran off to explore and just got lost. I’d probably make them unhelpful to the last — even when Bess is found and had definitely been kidnapped, to just shrug it off and to board the plane to get home as quickly as possible.

The last person I’d add in is someone working the desk — specifically, an older teenager who is very cagey about themselves and how they know what they know, but who seems to know a lot more than they let on. This person would, of course, end up being a member of ATAC, and once Nancy figures it out, would be able to connect you with help from the Hardy Boys. This ATAC member would be scoping out the Gibsons for evidence of getting guests under false pretenses, but would ultimately change their suspicions to Dwayne and help Nancy and George catch him. Through this ATAC teen, the Hardy Boys could use outside information to give Nancy information about monkeys, the island, treasure, El Toro, and anything else that she encounters, as well as spread their feelers out about the Gibsons, the other guest, and John E. Poole.

I would of course want to improve the tone, which would be helped by having more people on the island — Nancy should feel scared that Bess disappeared with this many people around, and it should feel personal. As the game goes on, even with the added help, the walls should feel like they’re closing in. I would include way more second chances, traps, threatening notes, maybe even recordings of Bess screaming or scared or in pain — something that might push the rating to E+ because, quite frankly, the situation calls for it.

Mechanically, I would put way less focus on the monkeys; they really shouldn’t control everything on the island. Keeping them for a minigame and location is cool, but they definitely shouldn’t have their place of prominence in the game.

I would also remove the fact that you can control George. Out of all the games where I think controlling people other than Nancy would be great, this is not one of them. As worried as Nancy should be, this is George’s cousin — practically her sister, from how close their families are and how much time they spend together — and George would probably be in a State. Sure, she can help with some of the tech stuff, but the player definitely shouldn’t be playing as her in this game. It just feels forced, and it’s not necessary.

Would these changes make RAN a fantastic, award-winning game? No, honestly, they wouldn’t. In order to do that, you’d probably have to scrap the game entirely and start over with even barer bones. But I do think it would help to make it at least better and more playable, and I think that’s a win. Let RAN be remembered for its returning villain and its kidnapping plot, not for being the game that everyone skips during a replay of the series.

[ptergwen]

to be held

warnings: just the floofiest fluff and lots of kisses

summary: a snow day with tommy boy

a/n: it’s been a long ass minute hi guys!!! i’m so sorry for not posting i’ve been super busy with school and all that stuff BUT i have a bunch of wips rn! imma make up for it i promiseeee. until they’re all done here’s this :,) sidenote: stay safe from miss corona! always wash your hands after (and if) you go out or sanitize if you can’t! regular cold symptoms doesn’t = coronavirus! this is all really scary but try not to panic, just pay attention and take care of yourself bby

—

it’s a given that days off are a rare thing you and tom get to have. his demanding schedule and your own social life don’t allow for a lot of downtime, so tom’s break between onward press and uncharted filming has been a god send.

catching up on much needed sleep, self-care days with shared bubble baths and face masks, and video game sessions (that you mainly enjoy because of tom’s arms around you to help with maneuvering the controller) make up your current routine. the most you’ve had to worry about lately was what takeaway place to get dinner from.

you’ve definitely spoiled yourselves, but so what? you deserve it. doing nothing is everything you two need right now.

today greeted you with piles of snow covering your driveway and the streets, which gave you an actual reason to stay in. it also made the freezing cold london weather even worse. tom insisted on a hot meal for your troubles. you were planning to crank the heat and leave it at that, but he wants to show off what he learned from the cooking lessons sam has been giving him.

plus, you’re hungry, and he’s so adorably excited to make breakfast for you.

once you’re swaddled in a fuzzy spider-man blanket that you may or may not have stolen from tom, you head downstairs. you find him in the kitchen gathering ingredients. there are already two mugs filled with hot chocolate and mini marshmallows on the table. sam must have taught him well.

one says “tea’challa,” and the other is shaped like the iron man mask. if something is marvel themed, tom buys it. you chuckle to yourself at your fanboy of a boyfriend and hug his waist from behind, blanket hanging around your arms.

“you’ve turned yourself into a burrito. that bad?” tom turns his head to give you a cheeky smile, a box of pancake mix in his hand. the cold doesn’t hit him the same because he’s his own personal furnace. how convenient for him.

“and i’ve already raised the heat. i’m running out of options here, tommy,” you whine and tighten your hold on him. “i’ve got one for you. after breakfast, we could cuddle for a while? how’s that sound?” “mm, let’s go for the whole day. i feel warmer just hearing about it.”

still smiling, tom pecks your cheek and walks over to the stove. you keep clinging onto him while he makes the rest of the batter. it’s like how a koala is with bamboo. after pouring the batter into a pan, tom turns around fully in your arms. you take the opportunity to bury your face in his chest, feeling absolute bliss in being flush against him.

he’s soft and warm and shaking with laughter. he’s better than hot chocolate on a snowy day.

“love, what’re you doing?” tom laughs out and holds you at arms length. you make a noise of protest, going back to your new comfort spot; him. “i don’t know, pre-cuddling with you? yeah, that’s what i’m gonna call it. pre-cuddling.” “oh, so this is a warm up. literally.” your scoff is muffled by his shirt. he engulfs you in a hug with arms around your lower back.

you pull away slightly to pepper his chest with kisses, earning another breathy laugh from him. you know his sweet spots. after one more kiss to his collarbone and a low call of your name, his hands move so they’re holding either of your sides. “don’t get me wrong, y/n/n. i’m super into pre-cuddling, but there are pancakes that need to be flipped.” “damnit, tom.”

huffing over-dramatically, you free him from your arms. he looks you up and down. grabbing the pan off the stove, his gaze lingers on you. of course he picks right now to be a tease. the chills are starting to make their way back, and your blanket doesn’t do much about it. nothing can top the way it feels to be held by tom.

“can’t believe you have the audacity to leave me for pancakes. pancakes that aren’t even from scratch, at that,” you tease. the look of shock on tom’s face puts a satisfied smirk on yours. “hey, i’m a beginner! sam says i have to work my way up to making my own recipes.”

proving his point, he flips a pancake too high by accident and just catches it in the pan. he silently cringes at the almost kitchen disaster. “i see that now,” you remark, making tom groan and turn to face the stove.

he plates the slightly mishappen pancake and less confidently flips another while mumbling something about how it worked when he tried it with sam. not wanting him to discourage himself, you hold him by his waist again and place a few kisses behind his ear, which always drives him crazy.

“you’ll get there, baby. i’m sure the way you’re making these will come out just as good. it’s really cool that you’re giving this a try, yeah?” “thanks, love. you’re right. i’ll just take it as a miracle that i‘ve come this far without burning the house down.” he’s half joking but half serious. your lips trail down to his jawline, him tilting his head back to encourage you to keep going.

“you’re really good at that,” he breathes out as you press more soft kisses to his skin. “good at what?” you feign innocence in practically a whisper, since you’re close enough for tom to hear. his eyes close for a moment before he shuts off the stove and puts the pan down. he faces you again with slightly parted lips.

“distracting me. that’s twice today. it’s like you want me to actually set our house on fire, y/n.” he contradicts himself by pulling you closer, his hands on your hips. you let yours move up to his shoulders and tilt your head to the side.

“well, at least that would make it warmer.” “you’re such a div, you know that?” tom squints at you with a small grin, leaning his head down. he purses his lips expectantly. now it’s your turn to be the tease. “stop using british insults at me and go finish breakfast, chef holland.”

his grin fades. “but- but my kisses-“ “they can wait, but my stomach can’t. i’m gonna go set the table,” you pat a pouting tom’s shoulders, leaving him to go through the drawer you keep silverware in.

after putting out forks, knives, napkins, and grabbing toppings from the fridge, you go back over to tom. he steps aside to present two plates with bigger stacks of pancakes than you were expecting on them. “tada! i made a few more for your impatient stomach. or rather, bisquick made a few more.” he does jazz hands around the spread, both of you sporting matching smiles.

you look down at what he made and back up at him. “tom, baby, you think that’s a few?” “you said you were hungry!” picking up a plate, he makes a ‘duh’ face and holds it out to you. you take it. “fair enough. these do smell really good. like, really really good. are we sure the right holland is in culinary school?” his humble side takes over, a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks.

“aw, don’t say that before you’ve tried them.” “then i’ll say it again after i do.” you poke one of his blushing cheeks and nod towards the table. shaking his head, tom grabs his plate and walks over with you.

you both sit facing the window to watch the snow fall as you eat. even though it’s freezing you, it can still be pretty to look at. multitasking is a virtue. you load up your plate with maple syrup and chocolate chips, tom opting for fruit on the side. he sips his hot chocolate and watches intently as you cut your stack of pancakes.

licking your lips, you dip a piece into some syrup. you’re happily surprised at the taste of your first bite, bumping tom’s leg with your own to express what you can’t say with a full mouth. he leans in closer.

“how is it? good?” his eyebrows are raised in anticipation, trying to gage your answer. you turn to him and throw your arms around his neck all in one movement. he catches you and giggles as you kiss all over his cheeks, nose, forehead, and finally his lips, letting that one last the longest. your hands slide down to hold tom’s arms, him stealing another kiss from your lips.

he’s so precious that you sometimes have to find other ways than words to tell him that.

“in case you couldn’t tell,” you start, out of breath. “that’s a yes. i’m enrolling you in culinary school for real.” “that’d be fun. sam could use some competition.” “and you’d get to bring home more really good food for me.” he chuckles and rests his arm across the back of your chair, each of you ready to fully dig into your breakfast.

tom has the same reaction that you did, his face lighting up in awe at how the pancakes turned out. you’re tempted to launch another kiss attack on him, but your grumbling stomach wills you to finish eating first. it’s worth it. both of you end up clearing your plates and staring out the window at the mess of white and grey, too full to move.

“it’s really coming down out there. wonder when it’ll stop,” tom yawns and settles his arm around your shoulders. “that reminds me. cuddles?” “ugh, i physically can’t get up right now. let’s stay here.” you have to admit, you’re already pretty comfortable.

moving your head to rest on tom’s chest, you nod, your hair tickling his neck. you outstretch the spidey blanket still on you for him to get under. he wraps the rest of it around himself and leaves a quick kiss on the top of your head, leaning further into your side.

soon, your chills are long forgotten.

[quicksilversquared]

X Marks the Spot

Several months after Hawkmoth's defeat and the reveal of his identity, Ladybug is ready to reveal her identity to her superhero partner. She doesn't want to spring the reveal on him, though, or force it when Chat Noir isn't ready, so naturally, she makes it into a game.

Or, to be more accurate, a treasure hunt, with her identity waiting at the end.

links in the reblog

It had been four months since life in Paris had been flipped upside down.

That, Marinette thought, was perhaps a bit of a dramatic way to put it, even in her own head, but that was what it had felt like. The final battle had happened on a sunny spring day, Mr. Agreste was revealed as Hawkmoth and Nathalie Sancoeur as Mayura, and the akuma battles had finally, finally drawn to an end.

It should have been a happy moment for Ladybug and Chat Noir. They were finally fully victorious, and would no longer have to deal with akumas disrupting their day-to-day lives. The threat was gone, and they could semi-retire, spending their time helping people out when they wanted to instead of being called into battle whenever Hawkmoth decided to interrupt their days.

But their supervillains were Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur, and even if her partner hadn't been Adrien- and that particular revelation had come out mid-battle- Ladybug would have felt devastated. Sure, Adrien's relationship with his father had been steadily breaking down over the years, as he found new support in his friends and their families, but it was still his father. The betrayal still hurt.

It had hurt him enough that Cat Noir- Adrien- hadn't wanted to know who she was. He had already had enough shocks for one day, he had told Ladybug with his face buried in her shoulder, curled together out of sight of the cheering citizens in the streets. Another identity reveal, another shock, even if it was a good one...well, he wasn't ready yet. It would be overwhelming.

Ladybug had respected that. Even months down the road, despite all of the healing progress that he had made, they hadn't broached the subject again.

But she wanted to. Adrien had been turning to Marinette more and more to hang out- whether he was subconsciously seeking her out because she was Ladybug or just because he found her presence more comforting than other people's, Marinette didn't know- and she just wanted to be able to support his full self, no secrets between them.

She wasn't going to pressure him, though. Adrien needed every part of his support network, and if she pushed for a reveal sooner than he was willing, he might stop coming over so often.

"I think that he might do better with more lead-up to the reveal," Plagg offered one afternoon, after she had found him lounging on her balcony. Apparently Adrien had fencing and Plagg didn't feel like hanging out in a stinky gym bag. Marinette made a mental note to offer to show Adrien how to wash it the next time he came over. "Like, if you just walk up one evening and say, 'hey, we both know who you are, but lemme drop my transformation real fast', that wouldn't give him any time to prepare, but if he had several days leading up to it…"

Marinette considered that as she plucked dead leaves off of a couple of her plants. "So, like, if I asked if he would be ready and then said, like, okay, now just wait a couple of days? That just seems odd. I mean, I understand the waiting period's purpose!" she added hastily. "It makes sense, so that he can have a couple days to tell me if he's still not feeling ready and so it doesn't feel like it's just being sprung on him. But just being straightforward about it- I don't know, that set-up just seems strange."

Plagg groaned. "Oh, no, are we gonna have to deal with another convoluted plan? No, why can't you be straightforward?"

"Because that just comes off weird, that's why." Marinette was already brainstorming, her mind whirring. "I'll figure something out soon."

"Ugh, fancy plans," Plagg muttered, but dropped it. Instead, he turned one grumpy green eye on Marinette. "And what's with all of the plants up here? My sunning spot is all shady! Get rid of them!"

Marinette yelped as Plagg made to move towards the newest of her beloved flower planters. "Don't you dare! Tikki, come tell Plagg to keep his paws off!"

  It didn't take long for Marinette to come up with the perfect- or maybe she should say the purr-fect- plan.

She had played with the idea of asking Chat Noir to lunch, which would mean inviting him one day, giving him several days to adjust to the idea, and then hopefully having him be ready the day of their lunch. That idea was pretty much discarded right away- while it would get rid of the awkward issue of her promising a reveal in several days' time without any occasion to go along with it, it ran a chance of Adrien somehow missing that it was going to be a reveal and then being taken by surprise. It also took the timeline out of his hands, since their lunch date would have to be set. Even if she had him set the date initially, what if he got cold feet and backed out last minute?

No, what she wanted was something that would allow Chat Noir to be able to have complete control over the timing, to be able to change his mind and pause if he needed to. Something that would be flexible and wouldn't leave him feeling obligated to rush his recovery.

She came up with a treasure hunt.

Making it a game would hopefully put her partner more at ease, and after the past few months that he had had- Marinette was still annoyed that Ladybug had had to step in to the degree that she had to get the police to stop interrogating him as Adrien, and she had had to do the same to get the press to back off- a game would (hopefully) be just the thing.

Now she just had to come up with the clues.

"Obviously I want to be upfront that there will be an identity reveal at the end," Marinette told Tikki as she worried over a blank piece of paper. "And I want to choose places that other people won't be able to go. I don't want someone finding one of Chat Noir's clues and trying to follow the trail themselves."

"And I think you should number the clues as a countdown, too!" Tikki chirped. "That way, Chat Noir knows how close to the end he is and that won't come up as a surprise."

"Ooh, good idea." Marinette wrote that down. "Okay, so- hmm. I was thinking about our favorite spot on the Eiffel Tower as a possible place, because no civilian can get to it, but we meet there at the end of patrol most of the time! Unless I hid it- and then that would just frustrate him when he's trying to find it- he would just see it right away."

"It could be one of the first clues," Tikki suggested. "Like, you could tell him at the start of patrol about the game and the first clue being at the end. It would be a nice, easy start."

Marinette wrote that down. It was a good idea.

Together with Tikki, she came up with a list of possible places to hide her clues. She wanted to start at the Eiffel Tower and end at her balcony- that way, she wouldn't end up waiting somewhere else on a night when Chat Noir wasn't going to show up, because she knew that he would feel guilty about that. Andre's ice-cream cart made the list- she was sure that he would agree to holding onto a clue, and the frequency with which Andre moved would add in a little bit of difficulty for Chat Noir- as did a very specific bell on top of a nearby church. Then there were other favorites of theirs, both places that they had found for hunkering down during akuma fights and shops that they had visited on patrol and loved. Her own family's bakery made the list- earlier on, so that her grand finale wouldn't be spoiled- and a particular chocolatier's shop, where they had bought hot chocolate on a regular basis during winter patrols and hang-outs.

It ended up maybe being a slightly longer list than she had expected, but knowing her partner, he wouldn't mind. If he was getting frustrated, she could always adjust later on and cut out some of the steps.

"I want to leave little gifts at each one, I think," Marinette mused as she looked over the list. "Or at least at some of them, it wouldn't be practical for all of them. I could pre-buy treats at several places, maybe. I mean, that would limit when Chat Noir can go to that place, because he would have to actually go during business hours, but he shouldn't be up all night anyway."

Tikki giggled. "I think he'll enjoy that!"

"I hope so. I want it to be fun for him." Marinette considered her list, her lips twitching up. "Wouldn't it be funny if I were the one manning the counter when he comes into the bakery?"

Tikki giggled more. "Oh, that would be funny! I bet Chat Noir would say the same once he finds out that it's you. Maybe you should try to do that! You can follow where he is in your treasure hunt and then volunteer to work the counter."

"That only works if he goes directly from one spot to another, though. He might have other stuff to do, or want to pause in between." She could probably still do it, though, just by putting Chat Noir alerts on her phone and also keeping an eye on Adrien's schedule. Smiling at the thought of his reaction- he was definitely going to call her cheeky for that, she knew her partner well enough to know that- Marinette quickly brainstormed up another couple gifts that she could give to her cat, non-perishable things that would be easy enough to hide.

This was going to be fun.

  Chat Noir was super excited about the idea of a reveal. Like, surprisingly so.

Like, to the point where Ladybug wondered if maybe he was ready to just learn her identity now and if the game was, instead of a buffer and something fun, just making Chat Noir work to learn her identity when that wasn't the point at all.

"You know, if you're ready to know, I could just-"

"Nuh-uh-uh, I know what you're going to say and you are not just going to tell me!" Chat Noir cut Ladybug off mid-sentence, wriggling a scolding finger at her. "I have been promised a game, and I will not be deprived of my hunt, thank-you-very-much."

"Okay, okay, it was just an offer!" Ladybug protested, laughing. "If you want to play, then we can do that."

Chat Noir pumped a fist in the air triumphantly, and she laughed even harder.

"So do I get my first clue now?" he asked eagerly, practically bouncing in place. "So I can start right away?"

Ladybug grinned. His enthusiasm was contagious, it really was. "You'll find your first clue-"

"Ooh, I have to find the first clue!"

"Shush, I have to tell you!" Ladybug protested, laughing. "You'll find it at the end of patrol- and no cheating and taking shortcuts either!" she added when Chat Noir moved to take off right away. "I know patrol is mostly for fun, but-"

"You didn't say no speedruns!"

Ladybug tried to sigh, but it came out as a giggle instead as her partner took off like a rocket, a spring in his step as he raced off without waiting for any more information. She was glad to see him so cheery about the game. Even with Plagg's assurance that he was ready to find out her identity, part of her had been worried that he wasn't ready yet or wanted to be able to broach the topic on his own time. That clearly wasn't the case.

"Silly cat," Ladybug murmured fondly, taking off on her own route a little faster than normal. "If you were so eager to know, you could have just asked."

It didn't take long at all to finish, and soon enough Ladybug was headed for the Eiffel Tower. Oddly enough, she couldn't see Chat Noir there yet.

….had he already found his first clue and taken off to find the next one?

Before Ladybug could swing herself up to their spot, Chat Noir barreled in like he had been shot out of a cannon. When he saw Ladybug, he smiled sheepishly.

"I forgot to ask where we were ending patrol today, so I got paranoid that I might go to the wrong place and went and checked the other spots first," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Because they were on the way."

"See, that's what you get for being an impatient kitty," Ladybug teased. "If you had waited a few more seconds, I would have told you."

"Where's the fun in that?" Chat Noir was already moving again, peering behind beams and clambering all around. "Do I have to search the entire Eiffel Tower- aha! Nope, I found it!"

Ladybug smothered another laugh. He really did look like a cat, scrambling around on all fours like that, but she wasn't going to tease him about that. He might try to stop, and it amused her too much for her to risk that.

"Names and dreams, locks of love; Sometimes I can be a sentimental bug," Chat Noir read off the paper. "Aww, bugaboo, I knew you didn't mind that nickname as much as you always pretend to!"

Ladybug tried not to wince. She had tried, but...poems were not a strength of hers. After a bit of deliberation and discussion with Tikki, she had ended up just going with the clues that she had come up with, even if some of the clues weren't nearly as clever as she had hoped they would be.

"I'm pretty sure I know what you're going for," Chat Noir announced after another moment of thought, clearly delighted. "That's easy! See ya, bugaboo!"

Then, with a quick kiss to her cheek and another bounce, he was gone.

"Well, now I'm glad that the first few can all be done whenever," Ladybug commented to thin air, grinning when she spotted her partner's silhouette bounding over the skyline. "He's not going to get any sleep tonight, the dork."

She watched for another minute, tracking Chat Noir's progress on her yo-yo- it hadn't taken him long at all to get to Pont des Arts, clearly he wasn't tired from patrol in the least- before heading back to her house. Ladybug touched down lightly, detransforming and checking on all of her plants before heading inside.

Today had been a success. And hopefully before long, she would be coming back inside with her partner by her side.

  The next day dawned early and bright, and Marinette woke up to several messages on her phone from Chat Noir, consisting entirely of him pouting about having to wait until businesses opened to continue his hunt.

"Well, he's certainly eager," Tikki said with a giggle, peering over Marinette's shoulder to read the messages. "I mean, I bet having the pause for him to adjust to the idea of having a reveal is helpful, even if he doesn't realize it, but I don't think that we're going to have any trouble with him getting cold feet about finding out last-minute."

Marinette nodded in agreement, shooting back a silly response before exiting out of her messaging app- one that she and Chat Noir had found that encrypted the other person's number so that they didn't have to risk a reveal or deal with the expense or hassle of burner phones- and searching the Chat Noir hashtag to see if he was up yet.

As it turned out, he was.

"He's going to end up at the bakery soon," Marinette commented, pushing herself out of bed and trotting down to the main part of her bedroom to get dressed. "And then- oh, gosh, I did end up with a lot of clues, didn't I? I was only planning on twelve, and I think I ended up with twice as many."

Tikki giggled. "Well, I don't think Chat Noir will complain! He really seemed to like the idea of a hunt!"

Marinette could only smile and shake her head in amusement as she pulled out an outfit. It was a cute grey and pink dress, designed after her Multimouse outfit, and was sort of an inside joke between her- well, civilian her- and Chat Noir. Paired with a necklace that resembled the Mouse Miraculous more than a little and- after a short deliberation, because she didn't want to tease him too much- a single bun instead of double buns, she was sure to get at least a little reaction out of him.

If not now, then later, for sure. The number of cat hunting mouse jokes was sure to be off the charts.

"Oh, that's a cute outfit," Mrs. Cheng commented as soon as Marinette got downstairs, tying her apron around her waist as she entered the bakery. "Are you taking over the front counter for me?"

Marinette grinned and nodded, sliding into her mom's spot and glancing around the shop to gauge how they were doing. It was decently busy, enough that the register was getting a semi-continuous stream of people but not so busy that they were overwhelmed or anything.

"Don't forget, Chat Noir might come by today and pick up Ladybug's surprise for him," Mrs. Cheng reminded Marinette. "It's not a for-sure thing, and we don't know when he might come by, but…"

Marinette hastily muffled another giggle. Oh, she definitely wasn't going to forget. After all, she was the one to set it up, even if she had been wearing her spots at the time. "Of course, Maman."

"Great." With a smile, Mrs. Cheng fully stepped back from the counter, going back to her small decorating station and picking up her work from where she had left off. Marinette watched her for a few seconds, marveling at the lovely frosting flowers taking shape under her mom's fingers, before turning her attention back to the customers browsing in the shop.

One hour flew by, then two. Marinette checked her phone to track her partner when she could, but apparently Adrien had been called back to his normal life for the time being with a private fencing lesson. She could imagine the little pout on his face at the realization that he had to step away from his game for even a short while, the hunt momentarily sidetracked.

Ah, well. He would appreciate his treats more if he didn't eat them all at once and give himself a stomachache.

At hour three and a half, Chat Noir bounced through the door, tail flicking eagerly as he came in. He managed to contain himself to pause long enough to say hi to a couple little kids before making a beeline for the counter and Marinette.

"I like that outfit, Marinette!" he told her, lips twitching upwards as he took in the Mouse-esque details. "It's very cute on you. Uh, did Ladybug leave something for me here?"

"Thank you," Marinette said right away, grinning up at him. "And as a matter of fact, yes, she did!"

Reaching under the counter, Marinette pulled out the pre-arranged box with all of her partner's favorites- passion fruit macarons, pain au chocolat, and an assortment of cookies- and Ladybug's next hint on top, folded over and taped down.

"Ooh, she spoils me," Chat Noir said happily, peering in the box. "Thank you, Marinette!"

"Happy hunting!"

Chat Noir paused on his way back towards the door, glancing over his shoulder. His brow furrowed slightly, no doubt puzzled at her wording, and then he shrugged it off, waving at her before heading out of the bakery.

Marinette muffled a giggle. Oh, he was going to be kicking himself later about missing that clue.

And it was going to be hilarious.

  Chat Noir showed up to patrol the next evening ten minutes late, but apparently he had been trying to get in one last clue before coming because the business was going to be closing for the evening before they finished patrol.

"I couldn't get much searching done today because I had stuff going on in my normal life, but I wanted to make some progress," he told Ladybug. "And if I didn't get that clue, then I wouldn't have been able to get anything done until tomorrow."

Ladybug was grinning. "It sounds like you're enjoying the treasure hunt."

"Plagg was grumbling about it being 'unnecessarily complicated'," Chat Noir told her with a laugh. He gave her a fond look. "I think it's fun, though. And I love all of the little presents along the way."

"I thought you might." Ladybug leaned against him gently, enjoying his warmth as they looked out over the city. It was a quiet night for sure, and they could probably take it easy. After all, Chat Noir had spent the last couple days dashing back and forth across the city whenever he could.

He was probably sleeping well, if nothing else.

"I might have gotten a little too into the whole coming up with clues thing," Ladybug admitted after a minute. "I hadn't intended for there to be so many of them, but I just started coming up with places and then couldn't narrow things down."

"No, no, it's fun! I like it this way. It's more of a proper hunt."

"Are you sure?"

Chat Noir grinned. "Paw-sitive. I haven't had so much fun in ages. It's nice to have something to force me out and about again during the day. I've... well, I've maybe been hiding inside a little more than I should have. And even if it isn't as, y'know, my civilian self, it's still a step in the right direction."

Ladybug smiled. She had to admit that she had noticed that as Marinette, but she...well, she didn't want to push Adrien. The amount of betrayal and loss that Adrien had gone through, and when he had been so well-known by the public even before Hawkmoth's identity had come out...well, it was hard to fully comprehend how he must be feeling, and being in the public eye wasn't exactly helping. Add in the fact that there were all sorts of conflicted, tangled feelings there between father and son, years of neglect and longing for love and betrayal and frustration and- and-

Well, it was probably no small wonder that Adrien tended not to go out a lot as himself unless he had photoshoots or other scheduled activities. He had been doing a lot better- summer always brought new news to brush away the old, tired headlines that had kept running over and over during the cooler months- but he hadn't returned to his previous self yet, not quite. When the two of them hung out, it was usually in Marinette's room or in her family's living room, getting Adrien out of his room but not where other people could approach him or he could overhear their whispers.

(One of these days, Marinette was actually going to square up with one of the more obnoxious whisperers. Maybe it would get her a reputation, but that was fine. If people were scared of her, maybe they would think twice about their dumb gossiping.)

This time, they had a more relaxed patrol, choosing to run together instead of splitting apart. It wasn't as though they needed to be surveying the city, after all. It was mostly just an excuse for them to hang out and be generally visible so that Paris wouldn't worry but criminals might think twice about trying anything. As they bounced along, Chat Noir recounted all of his treasure hunt adventures, including the time he had somewhat accidentally recruited an entire army of children to help him search a park for one of his clues. He had ended up being the one to find it- after all, Ladybug hadn't wanted civilians to be able to accidentally stumble on her hints- and having the kids "help" had actually just resulted in him taking more time to find the hidden hint, but it had been pretty cute.

(Ladybug had actually seen pictures of that, and it had been hilariously adorable. The kids had probably been seven at most, and had taken the job Very Seriously. Every park bench and large stone in the part had been dutifully inspected, top and bottom, as well as every tree, every trash can…)

"I didn't tell them what was going to be at the end of my treasure hunt," Chat Noir assured her, vaulting over a street with a fancy flip and landing with all the grace of an actual cat. "Just that it was a game we were playing. But because you were involved, they all thought it was the coolest thing ever."

"You know that everyone thinks that you're just as cool," Ladybug protested. "They just wanted to hang out with you, you know that!"

Chat Noir's answering smile was bright.

  Marinette had stayed glued to the Chat Noir hashtag for practically the entire day, trying to figure out if her partner would be getting to her last clue tonight. He was on a roll for sure, but she had thrown in a couple more difficult clues in the final stretch and those might slow him down. And then if he saw her last spot early….

Well, it would be pretty hard for him to miss.

"He's headed for the last one, Marinette!" Tikki told her as soon as she came upstairs after dinner. "Unless Adrien has something going on tonight, he's going to be coming here."

Marinette grinned, scooping up a few last-minute supplies and heading up to her balcony. "I guess we better get everything ready, then. I bet a kitty-cat is going to come sniffing around after sundown."

Up on her balcony, Marinette's table had been decked out with a tablecloth, fastened down securely so that even the strongest gust of wind couldn't send it flying. Two plates sat in the middle, the forks and a knife to cut the cake she had baked for them were lined up neatly, and two chairs were pulled up to the table. Up above, several strands of fairy lights had been carefully hung, criss-crossing in what would clearly show up as an X from above.

It was something that Chat Noir would easily be able to see, from the top of his extended baton. It had taken Ladybug several attempts to fling herself into the air for long enough to make sure that the lights were neatly hung enough that there was no mistaking what shape the lights made.

A fitting end to a treasure hunt, if she did say so herself.

"Hopefully everything goes smoothly tonight," Marinette told Tikki, adding two kwami-sized plates on top of the normal ones and carefully getting the Swiss roll that she had made settled next to that. Plagg might whine and complain about having cake instead of cheese, but she had seen him happily eat cake before, too, even if he denied doing such a thing afterwards. Besides, she had used cream cheese frosting in the cake. "But the forecast looks good, Chat Noir is definitely excited about the reveal now, Maman and Papa are going to bed soon so there won't be any interruptions…"

"You might make Chat Noir sick with the amount of sugar you've been feeding him over the past couple of days," Tikki teased, but she didn't sound very serious as she followed Marinette around her balcony, helping her snip off dying flower blossoms and dead leaves. "Or maybe that's why he's been practically bouncing off of the walls lately!"

"It is nice to see him feeling more normal again," Marinette said, choosing to ignore the first part of Tikki's comment. That was an exaggeration about the sugar, really- there were things that didn't have to be eaten right away, and then a couple of the treats she had gotten for him were savory, not sweet.

(Besides, Marinette knew full well that Adrien had shared at least a couple things from the bakery with Nino. It wasn't as though he was stuffing himself.)

As the sun set and dusk fell, Marinette finished sweeping her balcony and looked around to make sure that everything was in place. Then she popped downstairs, changed into a red-and-black dress that she had made for the occasion, and returned to the balcony with a sketchbook to kill some time. As she did, she flipped on the lights.

Everything was ready. Now, all she had to do was wait for Chat Noir.

  One final clue for my best friend

How else do all treasure hunts end?

When darkness falls

X marks the spot

I'll wait for you there

Without the dots

This was quite possibly the vaguest clue yet, Adrien mused to himself as he waited (im)patiently for- well, for darkness to fall. The sun was getting close to the horizon now and he was tempted to just head out and see if he could get a head start on puzzling out Ladybug's final clue, but something told him that it probably wouldn't do much good.

If Ladybug said- well, strongly implied- that he would have to wait until dark, that probably meant that she wouldn't go to whatever spot she was referring to until then. He would have to be a good cat and wait until dark. He could manage it.

"X marks the spot," Adrien mused again, holding the card up to the light in case there were any clues he had missed. He had heard of spies hiding messages in normal letters by putting pin holes in certain letters to spell something out, but he had no such luck. Apparently that was all the clue he was getting.

….had Ladybug originally hidden a map of Paris or something with the clue? But then why wait until after dark? Why couldn't they meet up during the day? Except that did mean that Ladybug only had to be in her spot for a certain window of time, instead of all day, but she could have specified meeting between certain hours instead.

Maybe the darkness was a clue. Or maybe it just lent itself to clue form more easily than, say, saying three to five.

"You could always wait until dark and think about it then instead of pacing a rut into your carpet," Plagg suggested. Adrien shot him a Look.

"But I don't even have any ideas about where I should start! Like, 'x marks the spot'- are there any pirate areas around here? Oh! D'you think she means the Couffaine boat? But why would she be there? Plagg, am I overthinking this?"

"Yes."

"You're biased, though." Adrien glanced out the window again. Darker, but probably not quite dark enough to really qualify as proper darkness. "I just don't want to be going out without any leads. Like, what does she want me to do, wander around in the streets until I stumble on her? She wouldn't do that. All of the other spots were places that we've been to before together, so I want to think that there's just some obvious place that I'm missing."

Plagg let out a long-suffering sigh. "You could always call up Ladybug and ask for another hint if you go out tonight and can't find her. That's an option. It's not like she's hiding until you find her."

"Aww, but that would be like admitting defeat, though!" Adrien tried (and failed) not to pout. He glanced out the window one more time. It was about as dark as it ever got with all of the light pollution in Paris. "I think we're ready. Plagg-"

"Are you really going to go meet Ladybug in that old, ratty t-shirt?"

Adrien glanced down at himself and yelped. Sure enough, he was just dressed in the first thing that he had grabbed that morning. It was a perfectly fine everyday outfit, but he was going to be meeting Ladybug detransformed tonight. He had to at least put in a little effort. And his hair was a mess because he had been running his hands through it, and he should really brush his teeth, maybe-

Ten minutes later, Adrien had freshened up and transformed, slipping through his window and up to the mansion's roof. He still hadn't made any progress on figuring out Ladybug's clue, so he was just going to go out and prowl the city, looking for anything that- well. Anything that looked like an x, he supposed, or maybe something pirate-themed. Maybe.

He wasn't sure, honestly.

Five minutes in, Chat Noir was still at a bit of a loss. He had been wandering more or less aimlessly across rooftops, trying to see if something would jog his mind, but nothing had. He had tracked down the Couffaine houseboat, just in case, but the occupants weren't acting as though anything was out of the ordinary. He dithered for a minute, then poled back towards his house to mull over it some more. Halfway there, he decided that the best way to inspire himself- the best way to just happen to spot whatever place Ladybug was thinking of with her clue- was probably way up high.

Thankfully, he had an extending baton that could do just the trick. He shot up, up, up, into the night sky, and Paris spread out beneath him. Lights twinkled along roads, in buildings, over the river. Some restaurants had twinkle lights that were criss-crossing in what could maybe be considered an X shape, so maybe he should go investi-

No. There. Glowing bright, too clean and distinct to be anything else, was an X for him to see. It was oddly close to his house, all things considered, but Chat Noir didn't even pause to consider the implications of that as he tipped his baton towards the lights. He slowed his fall with a helicopter spin of his baton, eyes locked on his target. Right before he landed, he realized exactly where he was going with a jolt of excitement and glee.

It was Marinette's balcony, on top of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. And under the lights, very prettily made up and wearing a dress that was definitely Ladybug-inspired, sat Marinette, paging through a fashion magazine.

He wasn't even surprised, really. There had been times that he had wondered about Marinette and Ladybug over the years, but there had always been some convenient excuse about why she had been in that spot, or why she couldn't possibly be Ladybug. He hadn't pushed- after all, their secret identities were secret for a reason, even from each other- but he had tucked the thought away in the back of his mind, to be considered again at a way later time.

And now was that time, and he was so, so excited. He absolutely adored Marinette, and to have his two favorite girls be one….

It was incredible. How was he so lucky?

"Marinette!" Chat Noir exclaimed as he landed in a controlled tumble, popping to his feet at once and practically tackling Marinette backwards in a hug. She let out a small yep, clearly not having seen him coming. "Fancy seeing you here- no, wait, that could have come out smoother, uh…"

Marinette giggled from her spot in his arms, and he rather belatedly realized that, as far as greetings went, his was maybe a little exuberant. Trying (and failing) for a sheepish grin- it was hard, he was just far too excited- he rightened both his partner and her chair. "Hi, Chaton. I see you found your way all right."

"I was a little confused at first," he admitted, because he might as well admit to it now rather than have Plagg admit it for him later on, since his kwami would make a huge deal out of it. "But as soon as I was up in the sky…" He trailed off. Marinette probably already knew that, because she had planned it. And if she had planned it, she had no doubt tested it first to make sure that things would work the way she wanted them to. That was just the way Marinette worked. So he decided to drop that particular subject in favor of another, but what to say…

He wasn't normally this tongue-tied around his partner, but now he was stumbling over his words and scrambling to act smooth, like a collège boy trying to impress his crush with a good first impression.

Except they were partners, not just meeting, and his collège days...well, he was older than that now, and in theory wiser, too, but clearly his ability to interact with incredible girls hadn't quite grown with the rest of him.

"Was your hunt fun?" Marinette asked, and oh, she was smug when his head shot up, the words jogging something in his brain from only a few days prior- Marinette, at the bakery counter, dressed up rather like Multimouse.

Mouse. Cat and mouse. Hunting.

She must think herself so clever. She wasn't wrong.

"My Lady, you were teasing me!" Chat Noir complained, ignoring the second chair that had clearly been left out for him in favor of scooping Marinette into his lap and sitting in her chair instead. "With that mouse outfit- very cute, by the way, nice nod to your own mouse suit- and that comment!"

Marinette looked even more smug, like the cat that had caught a canary. Clearly she knew exactly what she was doing to him and had planned it all out in the first place. "I thought it was funny."

"And just sending me to the bakery in the first place, and being at the counter…" Oh, she was being a sly little bug. She had specifically placed herself where he would see her- and where he would see her and think nothing of it, just a normal everyday encounter that she had actually engineered entirely herself. He tapped her nose. "Smugbug."

Marinette laughed at that. "I knew you'd find it funny. Do you want to detransform, or are you good hanging out like that?"

"If I detransform, we have to deal with Plagg," Chat Noir told her, burying his face in her hair. "Can we just stay like this for a little while longer? I want to enjoy having you to myself without any snarky kwami comments."

"Of course." Marinette shuffled around in his lap to snuggle closer to him, and Chat Noir happily helped her wriggle her way around so that they were facing each other. She beamed up at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Seriously, how was he so lucky as to have the eye of the most incredible girl in Paris? "I'm glad you came, Adrien."

Chat Noir could only smile back, hopelessly enamored. "Me, too."

  The very next day, the two of them stepped out onto the street hand-in-hand, exchanging soft looks as they wandered through Paris together. Adrien hadn't ended up going home at all the previous night, instead staying with Marinette and chatting until Tikki had begged to see Plagg again, then releasing his transformation and staying out even longer. They had eaten their cake around midnight before going inside and crashing in Marinette's bed.

Getting to wake up with her next to him… well, it was definitely something that Adrien could get used to. Getting ready with her, having breakfast together, teasing each other and working together to wash up their dishes….

Adrien was in heaven.

The last few months had been tough, there was no denying that. There had been far more public attention than he had wanted as he tried to adjust to his father and Nathalie's betrayal, and being interrogated so much by the police as a possible collaborating suspect had been really hard on him mentally (especially before Ladybug had stepped in like a furious avenging angel and got them to back off, and he had fallen a bit more). But now, things were settling down and he was moving on.

There would be bumps in the road, he knew, and times when people would decide to judge him based on what his father had done. It wouldn't all be smooth sailing. Nothing in life ever was, but, well, he was going to have his Lady- his Marinette- by his side.

With the two of them working together… well, they could achieve anything.

He couldn't be happier.

[hajike]

hitsuhina: Forecast

For: alexiethymia for the hitsuhina gift exchange! Feel free to check it out on AO3 too :) 

Words: 2.3k

Notes: Set post-manga ending and based off your lovely headcanon -

-Renji, once when he was really drunk, consolingly put his hand on Hitsugaya’s shoulder as if to say he understood. Hitsugaya’s ensuing glare could freeze his soul and he then realized that it was only because he was Hinamori’s friend that he wasn’t cut down on the spot.

Whatever had happened on the trip to and back from the 6th Division’s Senkaimon had apparently completely rattled Renji’s brain. Somewhere along the way to return Ichigo and his friends to the Human world after the wedding reception, Renji had taken whatever speck of common sense he had and promptly tossed it out with the last pathetic remnants of his self preservation.

Or maybe, Toshiro reasoned, they had gotten attacked by some remaining Quincy. Or Arrancar. Or even bloody Captain Mayuri looking to test out his new toys on some unsuspecting idiots idiots. Hell, maybe this wasn’t even Renji, maybe this was some Reigi clone, because the real Renji would know better than to—

“—keep holding strong, Captain Hitsugaya! The bond between you two is strong, stronger after everything, just like ours! Happiness is still in reach!”

Toshiro eyed the arm firmly draped over his shoulder with no small measure of disgust. Renji appeared oblivious to it. The vice captain’s other hand was frantically wiping the horrid mix of tears and snot streaming from his face as he kept choking out, “I know, Captain Hitsugaya, that if you persevere! If you persevere, you too will be in my position one day, joined together with your childhood—“

The small bit of reiatsu that leaked out of him was enough to freeze the sake cups before them solid. As well as a good portion of the mess on Renji’s face, along with part of his hakama sleeve. “Ah! My nose! What—“

Renji lifted his slightly frostbitten head to meet Toshiro's stare and froze. What little of a drunken flush he had left quickly bled into a look of deep regret. Ah, the poor man had sobered up some. Enough, at least, to realize that it was only the smallest of margins that kept him still able to use his extremities, margins that included the fact he was a vice-captain of the Gotei 13, that he had imbibed enough sake to not be completely in control of his motor functions, as well as the most important—

“Oh, Renji! Congratulations again!” Momo’s voice echoed through the bar, even through the din of Rangiku appearing to be challenging Captain Kensei to another drinking game in an effort to keep him from dragging away his already unconscious lieutenants away. Pour souls.

Toshiro forced himself to pay some attention to the ensuing scuffle, even as his childhood friend smiled across the table, her face beaming with a drunken flush and pure joy. Joy currently directed at the man putting careful distance between him, rubbing at the icicles that still clung to his nose.

Renji’s face was lit up in relief at her arrival. “Momo! Just in time!”

Toshiro shot him a sharp look just as Momo blinked. “Eh?”

Renji darted looks between the both of them - Toshiro’s face blackened with impending doom and Momo’s slight confused smile, one of her hands brushing back a small strand of hair that had fallen from her intricate bun. The newlywed's mouth opened and closed, once, twice, and just as Toshiro was rather sure the man was about to stick his foot in it—

Rukia slid in neatly beside him at the head of the table, her arm linking with his. Her face was a mask of polite geniality of the Kuchiki variety. “Ah, my apologies Captain Hitsugaya and Vice Captain Hinamori! I’m sure what my husband meant to say was, how glad he was that the two of you could make it to our reception! And with everything seeming to wrap up, you’re both just in time to give last congratulations.”

It was a shoddy deception but effective, Toshiro had to admit. Momo’s face immediately brightened at seeing the now married pair. Renji was staring at his wife like she was Bodhisattva come again. Although, to be fair, it wasn’t a far cry from how he typically looked at her so there was every chance he had already forgotten the precarious position his loose lips had put him in.

“Rukia! Rukia, we’re married! In the marriage registry! Together!”

Definitely. He’d definitely forgotten. And gotten sidetracked enough that he was gushing about his wife again, same as when he’d first sat down next to Toshiro. Although now she had appropriately substituted in as his arm rest, thank the frozen heavens. Rukia’s answering smile as she leaned into his shoulder was full of amusement and a near overflowing affection. “Yea, Renji. I was there.”

Toshiro couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Renji’s answering cheer, knowing it was only the fact he’d frozen the sake in his cup that it didn’t spill all over the inebriated man and his now wife. Although Rukia probably wouldn’t have minded much, not with the lovestruck look on her face from her husband’s excitement.

The soft moment was interrupted by a sudden hiccup, following by the sound of high pitched sob. Ah, Toshiro noted with a wry smile, crybaby Momo strikes again.

“Rukia, Renji…I’m so happy you’re together!” She was looking at the linked pair of Vice Captains with tears streaming down her cheeks, frantically wiping at an eye with the corner of her kimono. “So..hic…happy!”

Toshiro frowned. Ah, she was gonna mess up the sleeve. Rangiku had gushed about the kimono to him earlier, calling her one of her best selections apart from her own peony patterned one, selections that had taken a good half a day longer than the time off she’d gotten approved for. He’d complained as much as expected, but it hadn’t been that much of a chore taking over the paperwork. Not when they’d both returned flush faced and grinning over the spoils of their fabric battle, sharing excited giggles and promises to visit that draper’s again. And besides, paperwork actually got done faster without Rangiku there to stuff the longer forms in the back of her cabinet.

Momo’s own kimono pattern was dotted with peach blossoms and was a soft blue that left the whiteish pink petals as a striking contrast. A far cry from the dull brown she’d used to favor in their youth. Then again, it had been some time since he’d even seen her with a new kimono. Or new anything.

Resolving to give Rangiku some leeway the next time she insisted on rushing off for another girl’s shopping spree in the human realm, Toshiro jumped in, “Stupid Momo. Aren’t you the one who told them they had to have a wedding ceremony? Now you’re going to spend the entire time crying?”

She sniffed in response. “I can’t help it! It’s so wonderful! After everything, it feels like my heart is boiling over in excitement!”

“Eh? You sure it ain’t just the entire bottle of fruit sake you finished on your own?”

“Shiro! I did not!

He shrugged, leaning on an elbow. “Right, right. Your zanpaktou must have just evaporated it, huh?”

Momo puffed out her cheeks, ready to snap back just like her sword’s release, only for a crash from the other end of the bar to take their attention. For heaven’s sake. Toshiro groaned. He took his eyes off Vice Captain for five seconds and this.

Apparently Captain Kensei was not at all as straight laced as he had been led to believe. Or maybe he still didn’t understand exactly why it was that no one ever accepted a drinking battle with the Vice Captain Matsumoto. Toshiro had seen members of the eleventh division clear a path for her the day after one particular competition, one where he’d heard on good sources that both Madarame and Yumichika had needed to be sent to the fourth after. Commander Kyōraku was one of the few that could keep up with her, although with his new duties he hadn’t had much time…which might explain why Rangiku was currently trying to induct Kensei into her drunken circle.

“Ha! You’re just on three? I’m on four, Captain of the Ninth, four! Four whole bottles of sake!”

Mashiro had woken up from her slumber, although not necessary her stupor, to cheer her captain on. “Waa, Kensei! You’re losing, you’re really losing! Your super lieutenant is so disappointed!”

Hisagi slurred next to her, “Your super-duper lieutenant is still here for you, Captain!”

Red faced and swaying a little, Rangiku still shot him a look, “Ah, Shuuhei, you’re really rooting against me? I’m hurt! Our drinking relationship means nothing to you, huh?”

“Oi, don’t try and turn my vice captain against me,” Kensei growled, eyes narrowed and barely supporting himself on the table with a hand. “Loyalty is everything in the ninth! Right, Hisagi!”

“Ah, no, I mean,” Hisagi waved his hands around, “As your vice captain I’m rooting for you, Captain! By as a friend I’m also rooting for Rangiku! Not that I don’t see Captain as a friend, I—“

“Wait, how many bottles?” Rukia leapt from her seat, yelling out, "Idiots, we’re covering this one, you’re gonna use up all our gift money!”

Renji, who had apparently been relying on his wife to sit up straight, cursed as he started to slip sideways. Toshiro watched with amusement as Momo struggled to catch him before he broke his head open on the table. He kicked away the leg of an already passed out Kira before she tripped on it, ignoring the way the man drunkenly groaned and rolled over, cuddling a sake bottle to his chest.

Rangiku was absolutely unashamed facing the new bride. “Ah, ah, already tight with the purse! Just ask your brother, I’m such Captain Kuchiki would love to assist his lovely little sister!”

“Like hell I’m asking my older brother to cover you drunkards! I’m taking this out of the seventh and tenth division budgets, don’t think I won’t!” Rukia shot back.

Rangiku puffed up, pumping a fist holding a sake cup in the air. “Too bad! Captain already cut my expenses off from the division! Besides, I have! No money! Hah!��

“Wow,” Mashiro said, eyes wide and nursing another sake bottle. “You say that so proudly, Rangiku! Amazing!”

Kensei looked at them with a stricken face. “Wait…am I on the hook for this? Dammit, you evil witch! You’re worse than Lisa!”

Beside him, Momo laughed, light and free. Toshiro couldn’t help but tear his eyes away from the developing scene again to watch her. She’d managed to balance Renji before he hit the table, which was good, although the man had already broken free to cheer his wife on in her berating of their drunkard friends. Quite loudly, if he might add. Momo seemed none too put off by it, her laugh only growing louder as Renji offered to back Rukia up in beating the sake out of them. Toshiro barely registered the noise, attention entirely fixed onto his childhood friend.

It’d been…a long time since he’d seen her laugh like that. Growing up her smile was a given, as regular as the sun rising in the morning or one of his spinning tops knocking everyone else’s out. She’d smile at everyone, everything, and always saved that brighter smile for when he was looking at her and returning it.

Granny smiled at him too, but it wasn’t the same. Didn’t feel the same, anyways. Momo had always smiled like she was welcoming the world home, taking everything around her in and finding such delight in it that it couldn’t help but spill over her face. Her smile was energy, condensed, and he’d coveted it like a man starved.

And maybe he had been. It had certainly felt like he was wasting away whenever she was upset, or hurt, or during those long months she’d been in the fourth and twelve divisions recovering from the betrayals of a world that dared not value her enough. Her. Of all people.

Other could tease him all they wanted on their childhood friendship, their suspicions of further feelings, but Toshiro never spared a thought for what they thought, only following what he knew. And what he knew was that Momo was the most important person in the world to him. That he would protect her, always, that smile of hers, the light of hers, that unending warmth she so freely gave, every bit of her light that graced this world and blessed him with the opportunity to bask in it.

It felt greedy to ask for more, when he’d already been given so much. And yet…

As Rukia made the ill formed decision to challenge Rangiku to a drinking battle for the money, Momo’s giggles turned to quick snorts of amusement. When Rukia began to argue about taking shots of alcohol per body mass instead of cups, and that Rangiku counted as three of her, her snorts turned into peels of laughter that left gasping, following by — a rather loud burp.

Toshiro raised his eyebrows in astonishment. The noise managed to wake up Kira for a second, who promptly hit his head on the underside of the table and passed out again.

Momo clapped her hands over her mouth in embarrassment. Toshiro slowly smiled at her and she flushed further red. “It—it was the sake!”

“Uh-huh,” he replied, unconvinced. She noticed and hunched her shoulders, kimono wrinkling at the action.

“It was!”

Toshiro leaned his chin against his hand. “Bed wetter, cry baby, and burp champion, Momo. You’re really wracking up the titles, huh?”

“Shiirroooo,” Momo groaned, burying her face in her hands completely. The sight of her, flushed and embarrassed because of him, sent a quick burst of contentment in his chest, a warmth that was at odds with the permanent chill of his reiatsu. He couldn’t help but let his smile soften as she continued to bluster in embarrassment, somehow also managing to press closer to his side as if trying to hide in his captain's haori. He absentmindedly tucked her closer, running a hand down her back.

A flicker of movement nearby caught his eye and Toshiro looked to see Renji giving him a smug look. It would be worthy of reprisal if not for the soft, understanding gleam in his eyes.

Toshiro humphed and turned his head away, making sure not to move so much that the inebriated woman latched onto his shoulder fell off.

Fine. Maybe Renji was onto something.

[popculturebuffet]

Amphibia Reviews: The Shut-In

More Halloween Havoc, whoop woop! The Plantars return just in time for Halloween! It’s Shut-In in Wartwood, their version of halloween, but less of a focus on getting candy and more on getting suplies to protect yourselve and barricade yourself in so the moon dosen’t turn you into a monster. I remain not suprised. To pass the time our heroes tell some true spooky stories and Polly tries to find one they weren’t around for.  Phone-Mo: Anne and humanized versions of Polly, Maddie, and Toady watch a cursed video and soon disappear by one. Nothing ominous about that! Dead End: A young Hop Pop serves as Chauffer for a mysterious man played by george takei and death seems to follow them at every stop. Oh myyyyyyyy.  Skin Deep: Sprig and Ivy go to fetch a lost ball and end up running into the skin stealing seamstress. Arson naturally insues..  It’s Terror Time again, with full recap and spoilers, under the cut. 

Whelp, no dancing around it this airing order is weird. And look airing shit in a weird way has been disney’s past time since the 90′s, Darkwing Duck’s airing order is a waking nightmare, and this very show had all of season 1 air within the span of a month and a week in order to get it on disney plus by launch, star vs had it’s last season burned off in three months, and Ducktales pre-covid flip flopped from airing week to week to just one for some reason and then no others for months. Consitency is not their strong suit is what i’m saying and it’s not new.  And yes I get these holiday special episodes are mecurial: their built specifically to slot in wherever without really upsetting continuity: The Casagrandes recently aired their first season 2 episode before even finishing season 1, so this isn’t just a disney thing, while speaking of disney things ducktales had it’s first proper halloweeen episode air the week before a spring break set episode, with a christmas episode set to air next month. What i’m saying is I get these things sometimes don’t air in production order, but it’s less excuable on Disney’s part here when it’d take airing exactly one episode for this not to be a tad jarring. Not enough that it spoils the episode nor does the episode effect the ongoing story or continuity in any way, so it’s not TERRIBLE but it smacks of lazy incompetence on Disney’s part and I wish they’d do better already. 

Okay that rant out of the way we can dive right in! It’s the annual Shut-In in Wartwood! Basically their verison of halloween but instead of a fun spooky holiday, it’s the annual tradition of getting various things from the neighbors to help stay indoors during the blue moon, which in wartwood turns whoever views into a monster. Because of course their halloween is a fight for suvival. Also theirs pumpkins everywhere with their versions of jack o lanterns being fear gourds which.. okay. Point is instead of candy the kids trick or treating has turned up rusty nails, a hatchet, a first aid kit and anne, winning the night, a flamethrower! On one hand it’s neat these exist in wartwood via fire breathing slugs. On the other I do worry about Anne accidently burning everyone and everything down so please take that from her. 

The Plantars then lock themselves in. To stave off bordeom, Shut-In tradition is to go around the fire and tell each other creepy true stories that happened to them. Polly tries going first but just has the Inn story from last season which they were all there for.. thought hat dosen’t make complete sense as they werent’ awake for all of it and shoudl’ve just let her tell her side of things. But eh it sets up polly’s plot so fair enough. Luckily anne has one. So we get our first tale of terror Terror Tales of the Park/Treehouse of Horror III Styles...

Phone-Mo 

Anne’s story is very clearly made up, though no one really calls her on it and it DOES add elemnts from the domino II story from last season so fair enough.  Rather than use her real friends, which is fair enough since she just sadly had to say goodbye to Marcy and probably isn’t handeling the guilt well and Sasha you know.. tried to stab her a few months back then tried sacrifcing herself for Anne’s own well being. Point is thnking about them is a loaaded issue right now so instead she dreams up human versions of Sprig, Polly, with a bucket on her foot for a shot which is a nice visual gag, as is how we meet them, along with Maddie and for some weird reason Toady. I mean I do get Ivy is in our third story, so fair enough, but they could’ve used.. anyone else. Wally would’ve made more sense honestly and he’s also an adult but he’s also you know Anne’s friend and not some town asshole she vaugley knows. It’s just weird. That said I do love the human designs for everyone and they clearly put a lot of work in knowing the fans would like them, with little touches like Polly having pink hair, sprig having his normal haircut he does under the hat but not covered up and toady’s phone having a little keychain of his amphibia version. Also while they all have diffrent names including Anne I won’t be using them on the grounds that I don’t wanna. 

Anne and the plantars are watching a funny internet video when Toady and Maddie offer to show them one that’s apparently cursed and makes whoever watched it disappear. Sprig talks Anne out of it and keeps her from watching anyway but Polly’s naturally all in. ON the way to class, once sprig is gone, anne ends up watching it and liking it anyway because she has no self control and freely admits it.  Naturally given this is a halloween episode, the others start disapearing, with Maddie coming to anne with support after Toady vanishes which again is just.. weird. It’s just weird to hear anyone car about wether toady lives or dies. It keeps throwing me off. Anne reasssures her but sure enough the second anne’s gone Maddie’s phone eats her alive. Still nice to see her again. Regular Maddie should get a hoodie. Also anne apparently eats the corners of her sandwitch so she dosen’t have to share. Clever girl.  Back at home where Anne continues to mock whoever it is told her she can’t write stories as she makes a gila monster and a flamingo make out, where are they I must hurt them, when Sprig calls panicked that polly is missing and admits i’ts a good thing they ddin’t watch the video.. yeah about that. Sprig is of course freaked, and soon the video pops on anne’s phone and soon the weird cat thing inside comes to life and then turns deadly.. also it turns out it eats the host then forces them to be int he background of the video, which was hinted at earlier with one guy having been in there for 35 years.. despite having a smartphone. Well this is anne’s story I don’t think she knows those didn’t exist once. 

Luckily Anne figures out how to beat it.. in the most hilarious way possible. by disliking it, since liking and commeting linked it to her, she weakens it before finishing it with a rude comment. It’s.. i’ts purespun comedy gold. This frees everyone else and they leave along with sprig.. but eggs are left behind. Dun dun dun.  Final Thoughts on Phone Mo:

First off .. I have no idea what FOMO means so the title left me as lost at first at the plantars... oh okay it’s fear of missing out.. should’ve remebered that from brooklyn nine nine and amy’s legendadrily bad case of it. Aw well a decent story, if the weakest of the three. It does have an incredibly funny conclusion, neat human designs, and an intresting setting given while school stories are common, usually we don’t get that here so it’s a nice break from the norm. But compared to the genuinely chilling with a funny and odd climax next two, it’s just okay. Not bad, but not quite as good.  Back in the present, Polly once again tries this time with children of the spore, once again being shot down though that being said hop pop’s line of “I was responsible for that one” was given a great delvery by charlie addler. Also Anne missed Wally’s birthday and he’s sad. oh Wally. Though i’m sure she’ll make it up to him.. at least he’s back home. So anyways speaking of HOp Pop, it’s his turn for a story...

Dead End:  And it’s a story from Hop Pop’s Youth! Given we’ve never SEEN hop pop beyond his present day and only heard the ocasional scrap, it’s REALLY nice to hear. It dosen’t tell us a ton more granted, but we at least see what he looked like, get to hear charlie adler use a slightly less aged voice for him and get to see him with a luxrious golden mane of johnny bravo hair, which is as hilaroius and glorious as it sounds. 

Back in those days Hop Pop was a coachman. He still had the farm, but given how tight things are now it’s not a stretch to assume he could always use some extra coppers to keep his family we never get to know about besides the grandkids fed. He also prides himself on honest work, not taking payment till the rides finished and the customer is satisfied which is INCREIDBLY risky, but I do kinda get it both for Hopidah’s sense of honor and because it seems clear he mostly does it in town by the fact all his stops this ep are within wartwood or close enough, so clearly it’s mostly people he knows personally.  This time though the rider is the well dressed, crimson red Mr. Littlepot, played by George Takei. Best known for Star Trek, being out and proud and since coming out after years and years in the closet, using his celebrity to help promote gay rights and other good stuff. He’s also known for saying ohhhh myyy and this clip from futurama. 

I got a lot of respect for the guy, He was even in archie comics once after Kevin Keller was introduced. So it’s nice to see him doing some voice work and he kills it here.. pun intended but more on that in a sec. Littlepot has some simple rule: keep driving no matter what hapepned where he was.. and given both places he ends up have someone dying, once by a horrifying looking snake, it’s clear somethings up. IT also nicely builds the tension as hop pop tries to steady himself, but is clearly cracking as he realizes his client might be murdering people he knows.. and he could be next. As Hopidiah KNOWS each person Littlepot visits and it nicely ratches up the tension. But turns out he’s not a killer.. he’s simplyd eath himself come to collect those already about to die. 

It’s a nice twist: The genuine trappings of the guy make you think h’es some form of the devil, the crimson skin, yellow eyes and cultured demanor.. it’s only as he goes you start to realize what the man actually is and even then he easily could still be frog satan. But no he’s just the frog reaper and defends himself to Hop Pop when confronted: He’s just doing his job, just like Hopidiah, getting people where they need to be. Unforutnately for Hop Pop his final stop is the farm.. though thankfully for him he hasnt come for Hopidiah.. just his hair. Yeah it’s a nice comedic twist on an otherwise chiling and well done story that what the devil came to take is his hair.. which he starts wearing hilariously. So Hop Pop lives but sobs, and Anne points out it was pretty fucked up. 

Final Thoughts for Dead End:  Not much to say. This one was dripping with atmosphere, Takei was utterly awesome and need to do more voice work, and the comedic ending twist was really damn funny. Top notch. 

Polly tries again, gets shut down again and is now really understandably frustrated at not having a story. Naturally given the other plantars have gone though, Sprig does. And he dosen’t have at itle at first until one cuts him off ....

Skin Deep:

Ivy’s Back! 

Yeah I was genuinely worried the return ep would break up either her and sprig or hop pop and silvia.. and while the second one remains a horrifying sword of damocles over my head, Sprig and Ivy are fine and Ivy gets a nice spotlight episode here. It was a pleasant surprise to get some fresh info since i’tll be months till we find out anything else.  So the young couple are playing bugball down at the old courts, when a couple of guys they were up to no good, started making trouble in the neghborhood. Sprig got in one little fight and Hop Pop got scared he said “your moving with your auntie and uncle to bell air”. He begged and pleaded day after day but Hop Pop packed his suit case and sent him on his way. He gave him a kiss and then he gave him a ticket Sprig put his walkman on and thought he might as well kick it. First class yo this ain’t bad, drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass. Is this what the people of bel air live like, yo, this might be alirght!   He whistled for a cab and when it came near the liscene plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror, if anything he could say that this cab was rare but he thought man forget it yo holmes to bell air. He pulled up to the cab about 7 or 8 and yelled to the cabbie yo holmes smell ya later. He looked at his kingdom and he was finally there to sit on his throne as the fresh prince of bell air. 

So then Will walked into the mansion and wait.. wrong show.. so the young couple are playing bugball when they loose their ball, and it goes off into the creepy part of the woods. Ivy also looses her hat and is self concious about her hair. Looks fine to sprig but she’d rather not. Aww she’s insecure. But the two head off with Sprig getting more and more nervous, as Ivy details a legend about the area of the seamstress, a mysterious recluse who steals your skin! Naturally Sprig is nettled while Ivy says it’s fine and does what anyone would do upon finding out the ball went into a creepy abandoned shack in a world where it’s clear murderers are pretty common: kick down the door! It’s the perfect crime. 

Naturally Sprig gets more unernved, finding a set of needles and thread, which gets a great gag as Ivy points out that’s nto that uncommon.. but the giant pile of skin they find sure is!

Oh.. it gets worse me. Sprig finds the ball. and the Seamstress who has a horrifying patchwork of skins on her and wants to add theirs.. the kids are naturally spooked and prepare to flee but she wants their skin and grabs ivy! Thankfully she breaks free and Sprig busts some off.. OH GOD.. and it turns out she’s a glass frog! .. turns out theres a kind of frog that has translucent skin.

But yeah obvoiusly the show takes it a step further, and her skin is entirely see through. Poor girl. Ivy sympathizes shows off her hair.. then puts her hat over the Seamstress’ eyes and tells sprig now, and sprig starts a fire, and the two start to escape when he grabs Ivy’s leg!

Thankfully Ivy breaks free and the two leave her to die. Sprig compliments ivy’s hair, ivy gets him a smooch it’s all adorable and they defintely murdered someone who defintely murdered a lot of people. Horay!

Naturally the rest of the family is freaked out by this with Anne wanting to know if ivy being bitten means sh’es infected and Hop Pop wanting to know if one of her skins was his friend fred he hasn’t seen in a while. Sprig then spooks them by having ivy show up, complete with a burlap frog skin.. maybe. She could’ve been lying. We dunno. Ivy heads home to risk her life for a good gag, depsite the fact her boyfriend’s house is right there and her mom and grandmom clearly had to sign off on this shenanigan given the night. But this life risking prank naturally risks some life as Polly has ran off to look at the moon to get her own story. The rest of hte family runs after her only tfind it did.. ntohing. She’s apparently fine just fine and they assure her the fear they felt thinking she might become some kind of monster was scarier than any story and the rest of them head home with polly following.. after transofrming. Turns out the moon DOES make you into monsters but she’s fine with it. She’s got her legs now! Everyone screams understandably, Anne finally realizes this isn’t quite a holiday the end. 

Final Thoughts on Skin Game and the special as a whole: Easily my faviorite, partly for shipping reasons as I do like Ivy and Sprig together, and partly because it really let Ivy have a roll OTHER than sprig’s love intrest. Sure she still smooched his cheek and their clearly still together, but she got to be proactive, badass and hilariously impulsive and trollish. It was a nice change of pace and the story itslef was the best of the bunch to me becuase of that, though Dead End was really close.  Overall this was a nice treat, a good anthology with lots of fright and humor and a nice wraparound story arc with polly, as well as some nice call backs to previous episodes. An utterly excellent halloween special i’ll probably be revisiting every year and another slam dunk from disney this year. The airing snaufu really dosen’t hurt it any and in the future this one will likely be after Return to Wartwood on D+ anyway so no harm done. Great all around. If you liked this review follow me for more amphibia whenever it comes back, ducktales reviews every monday, and loud house reviews every saturday or sunday depending. And until next time stay safe, stay spooky and happy halloween!

[found--family]

‘Supernatural’ season 15, episode 15 screener secrets: We’re ‘Highway to Heaven’-ing this bitch

[everything is from this Hypable article] 

This week on Supernatural, Amara returns and are angels solving people crimes now? Hypable previewed Supernatural season 15, episode 15 “Gimme Shelter,” so read on to find out more.

After a sweet and fun return to ease us back into the world of Supernatural last week, things are heating up pretty dramatically – I knew there wouldn’t be much more time for messing around.

“Gimme Shelter” sees Supernatural dip its feet into what the Winchesters currently believe is their big plan – eliminating Chuck by also taking down Amara, resulting in what they believe will be a cosmic-being-free balanced world. But first, they have to find her. Sam and Dean get a pretty good lead on her location, which results in a very interesting conversation between Amara and the boys – especially with her most favoritest Dean, of course.

Meanwhile, Castiel is persuaded into taking Jack to investigate a nearby case in Missouri – which all three adults suspect is probably the work of a human criminal – for the sake of humoring Jack and keeping him both busy and supervised. On the way home, they have a very interesting conversation of their own.

Spoiler Warning: This article contains generalized spoilers for Supernatural season 15 episode 15, “Gimme Shelter.” If you do not wish to be spoiled at all, do not read this article in advance of the airdate.

The official synopsis for Supernatural season 15, episode 15 reads:

MATT COHEN DIRECTS — Castiel (Misha Collins) and Jack (Alexander Calvert) work a case involving members of a local church. Meanwhile, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) go off in search of Amara (guest star Emily Swallow). Matt Cohen directed the episode written by Davy Perez (#1515). Original airdate 10/15/2020.

If you want to know what to expect from this week’s Supernatural, here’s 10 teasers plus 15 single word clues from our advance viewing of Supernatural season 15, episode 15 “Gimme Shelter.”

‘Supernatural’ season 15, [10] episode 15 screener secrets 

1️⃣ During the filming of this episode (27 January – 5 February) Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles both spent much of the week at home with their families in Austin, a detail which was made clear on their and their wives’ public social media accounts – possibly the result of scheduled time off as they’ve mentioned occasionally requesting? The result is that the episode is weighted much more towards Cas, Jack and the murder investigation they’re chasing than towards Sam and Dean, but on the flip side, the Sam and Dean arc is more crucial to the long game of the show, so what it lacks in minutes, it makes up for in impact. 

2️⃣ However, the episode still begins and ends in a grounded family group way, at home in the Bunker – one of those “we know we should be doing this together but there are Reasons we have to split up” situations. This detail, in my opinion, really speaks to the motivation of the creative team towards honoring the four leads as parts of a whole – in earlier days, this kind of episode would have been two entirely non-touching threads. This one is, if not a tapestry, at very least a braid – tied up together at both ends, and intertwined in the middle.

3️⃣ You might have seen pictures or ominous trailer footage of Castiel and Jack digging a hole at the crossroads. We all know what that means! However, don’t worry. They simply want to talk – and the demon they summon has some really interesting – and dare I say positive? – news about the state of Hell under Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Rowena. Let’s just say the demon is actually pretty friendly… and extremely bored.

4️⃣ The two main guest stars on Cas and Jack’s side of the episode are both actors who have been briefly featured on the show before, in a couple of pretty famous episodes – one from season 2 and one from season 5. I don’t think there’s meant to be any meta or Easter Egg element to this, just the usual Vancouver casting industry cycle (see the ‘Weren’t You In Another Episode‘ reference page on the SuperWiki) but one of them is one of those cute “I appeared on Supernatural as a child and now I’m here as an adult” situations, and the other, well… the original character’s very name has become the stuff of Supernatural legend, and if I were in charge of this episode I would have put the actor in a particular piece of footwear and made sure we got a shot of it, just for kicks.

5️⃣ Castiel steps into a prayer circle when the church group members are meant to give a testimony – presumably of their journey so far and their relationship with faith. That’s what Cas chooses to share, at least – in a non-specific, humanized way – and fans of the character will be moved to hear the ways he verbalizes his own growth.

6️⃣ Speaking of growth, some of Dean’s is spelled out for him in the most miraculous way by Amara. After Sam and Dean meet up with her and have a conversation about Chuck that’s ultimately a bit of a non-starter, Dean returns to ask her another, more personal question. Her response gave me legitimate chills. It’s a very weighty mic drop and the combination of the level of impact and the level of clarity (it’s entirely airtight, no room for interpretation) feels like the culmination of all the self-actualization work the show has been doing on Dean in the last four years. (I wish I could tell you Sam got a big special moment like this in the episode, but he doesn’t. Amara’s return was always going to be Dean’s thing.) Amara’s speech to Dean… it doesn’t feel isolated, like the idea of it was invented just for this episode. It feels more like concrete evidence of what the show has been trying to prove for ages. And the funny thing is, Amara is the anti-Chuck, right, and all season, we’ve learned about the version of the story Chuck thinks is good, and we’ve been told to root against that. Chuck’s version of Supernatural isn’t how the writers really feel. But I think Amara’s might be. Dean has obviously struggled to see what she tells him, all in one piece, but here it is – this was the point, laid out on the table, from the entity behind the curtain – both onscreen and off. Amara knew what she was doing, and so did the writers. This was always, always the point.

7️⃣ Even before this massive scene, Amara’s return is just great. Emily Swallow does such an incredible job with this character – she really is the anti-Chuck even without the whole writer comparison. Swallow imbues this character with such an incredible peace and stillness in comparison to Chuck’s histrionics – this was true in the way she spoke and behaved even in season 11, but this Amara also feels kindness and patience and tolerance. She radiates power, even when she’s also slightly goofy. There’s no fight, there’s no antagonism, but the boys in her presence are like little fish in a vast ocean – they quickly realise they have no real control in this conversation. The way that we leave her indicates she’ll be back and has more to say or do, and what she shared during her reunion with Sam and Dean makes me really curious about the role she’s due to play in the show’s endgame.

8️⃣ I’m not very religious but I really like the version of a church group or ‘faith-based community,’ as they say, featured in “Gimme Shelter.” Supernatural has a shaky history in terms of how the show portrays people in-universe who believe. Sometimes they’re treated like a joke, or stupid, or dangerous, or hypocrites, but occasionally civilian acts of faith are shown as great and powerful things, even in a world where we know that what they believe in isn’t strictly accurate. That concept became an even bigger question mark for me when we got the reveal that Judeo-Christian God is not only absent, but our actual villain. However, this was a really nice look at why faith can still be a framework for a good way of life – loving thy neighbor – for some people, no matter the truth about Chuck. The episode also features a callback to writer Davy Perez’ very first Supernatural episode “American Nightmare” in terms of the way that some people have weaponized faith and religion to the detriment and harm of others or even themselves, but this factor does not negate the positive point mentioned above.

9️⃣ Supernatural alum and newly minted director Matt Cohen really got the full old-school Supernatural episode experience when it comes to leaning into the spooky horror element. The murderous case-of-the week featured in this episode is heavy and lingering on the gore and even contains a little bit of a jump scare, so view responsibly.

🔟 So, um, you know that line, in this week’s teaser trailer? The line that a lot of people are freaking out about because it seems to pertain to something important that we know about Cas’ fate that Dean and Sam aren’t aware of? Yeah, it is 100% absolutely not about that at all. It is about something super important, but it’s not that. It’s also the last line of the episode, but trust me – it’s not a cliffhanger and it’s not a red herring and it’s not a twist. The information is gleaned within the episode and you’ll know exactly what Cas is telling Dean about after seeing it – narratively, that’s the reason it isn’t in the episode, because the show clearly assumes you’ll get the picture and can skip a rehash of information. But what you were probably expecting – maybe even hoping for – it’s not that. You’re gonna have to hang on for that one.

Finally, have 15 random yet significant words from this week’s episode without any context whatsoever: Gaia, Ronald, mother, pierogies, cats, philosophy, target, blind, permission, lockdown, Kool-aid, buffet, gift, trial, choice.

‘Supernatural’ airs Thursday at 8/7c on The CW