#I’m glad you added a part 2 OP

[senorabond]

Rumor Has It: Chapter 8 Peña x f!reader x Pike

Pairings: Javier Peña x f!reader; Marcus Pike x f!reader; future Peña x f!reader x Pike

Chapter 8 Summary: Before going any further, you set some ground rules with Javi. Then it's fucking game on.

Rating: 18+ (Minors DNI), Explicit sexual content, additional warnings may be added for future chapters

Chapter Warnings: no use of y/n, previous relationship (Marcus x f!Reader), flashback, slowburn that got hot, workplace romance, ohh the yearning, fake relationship, keeping it secret, unprotected PIV sex (stay safe, folks), Dom/sub dynamic, use of Daddy, slight degradation kink (you’re a good little slut/whore), rough sex, possessiveness, cuckolding if you squint (I really don’t know how to describe it), dirty talk (Javi has a filthy mouth), light titty/ass spanking (2 light, 1 harder), hair pulling, spit, talk about anal, very light cumplay/eating, aftercare, soft!Javi, a bit of feels. 

Reader/Character notes: Reader is fem!afab; No mention of Reader’s body size, shape, composition, or skin color. Reader is short enough to notice a difference in height without heels and has hair long enough to brush aside and pull back.

Words: 8.1k

Author’s Note: THEY FINALLY FUCK - Jeeeeesus. Took them long enough, huh? Please let me know if I missed anything I should add to the warnings, I feel like I took a kinky bag of scrabble tiles and just dumped them out on the floor with this chapter. This is easily the filthiest fucking thing I’ve ever written, and I’m actually really proud of myself. My new taglist is at the end! If you’d like to be added, just send me a DM or say so in a comment. ❤️

A ginormous thank you to my darling beta, @kilamonster. I could not have written this without your neverending support and tutelage. I can’t wait to write more smut in Spanish with you! Also, I’m not sorry for sending you periodic updates and random questions about the thots running wild in my head. 💋💜 

Also, for anybody else like me who wants to write more smut in Spanish, @kilamonster sent me this incredible resource written by the amazing @urmomsgnocchi. Representation is so important, and this is just one of the many ways writers can do their part to represent different languages and cultures in their work. Please like, comment, and reblog the post so more writers can benefit!

Dividers by @saradika!

Masterlist || Previous Chapter

“Okay, ‘grown ass woman,’” he says, and you let out a small laugh. “I’ve got a choice for you to make.”

“Oh, yeah? And what’s that?” 

“Your place or mine?”

~*~*~*~

Later That Night Texas

You chose your place. Javi says he’ll give you a half hour head start to avoid any suspicion from the other agents. You’ve put your blazer back on and fixed your hair, but the wet heat between your legs remains. 

The gallery event wraps up, and Javi tells the others to report to the conference room the following morning for the official debrief. You check in with Diaz, who is still at the hospital, and are glad to hear that Bateman is already in post-op recovery and doing well. 

Standing in your kitchen back home, old, familiar feelings wash over you. The adrenaline of the night has worn off, leaving you off balance. Marcus comes to mind, and his calm, grounding energy. You groan in frustration. You can’t let thoughts of Marcus creep in and ruin what is happening with Javi. 

What is happening with Javi? Obviously, the sexual tension between you is off the charts; and the chemistry – oh God, the chemistry. Your heart rate goes up just thinking about how it felt to have his mouth and hands on you finally, his hardness pressing into you through his pants… 

Taking a deep breath, you mutter to yourself, “I need a drink.”

Glass of wine at the ready, you kick off your heels and hang up the blazer in your closet. You feel as taut as a harp string and take a large gulp from your wine, hoping it will relax you. Rolling your neck and shoulders, you hear your phone buzz on the kitchen counter.

Setting the glass down, you take a deep breath and pick up your phone. 

It’s a text from Javi. Maybe he changed his mind, or decided sleeping together wasn’t worth the risk to the case or your careers. Unlocking the screen, you read the text only to see that he’s giving you a final chance to change your mind.

I’m here. Do you still want me to come inside?

Peeping through the blinds, you look down at the parking lot outside your apartment building. The streetlamp casts just enough light to see Javi’s Jeep parked in one of the visitors’ spots. The man himself is in shadow, pacing a bit and fidgeting with his phone, presumably waiting for your reply. You smile, realizing that he might actually be a tad nervous too.

Opening your front door, the light from your apartment spills across the walkway outside and catches Javi’s attention. He stops and looks up expectantly to where you stand, backlit and beckoning to him from the second floor railing. Pocketing his phone, Javi makes a beeline for the stairs and takes them two at a time, reaching you in less than a minute. 

The first thing you notice is the difference in your height, now that you’re barefoot. He’s smiling down at you, fingers dancing at his sides. 

“Touch me,” you reply softly, “please.” 

His tongue pokes out and wets his bottom lip.

“Inside.” Javi’s voice is strained, but firm. 

Turning, you lead him inside your apartment, then hear him shut and lock the door behind him. You start to face him, but he interrupts. 

“Don’t. Stay like that for me.” 

Footsteps approach slowly from behind, making a coil tighten in your lower belly. You feel his presence at your back before he even touches you. Goosebumps erupt across your flesh as his fingers lightly graze your shoulders and upper arms. 

A hand sweeps your hair to one side and off your neck. You tilt your head in the same direction, hoping to feel his lips on your sensitive skin. Javi’s hands still and he leans over to speak low in your ear. 

“If we do this, I only have one rule.” 

You smirk, remembering the first time he said that. 

“You make the rules?” You start to turn your head to look at him, but his grip on your upper arms tightens just enough to hold you in place. His mustache twitches against the shell of your ear as he smiles, sending delicious signals to your already peaked nipples.

“No.” He takes a breath through his nose, smelling your hair. “You do.”

You let out a surprised Oh. 

“You’re in charge of this; you decide what we do or don’t do, and how far this goes.” He walks around to face you, and you’re surprised to see how gentle his eyes are. They’re round and sincere, serious but not stern. You can’t wait to see them looking up at you from between your legs.

“Understand?”

You nod and he cups your face, running the pad of his thumb over your mouth and parting your lips.

“Use your words, cariño. I need to hear it.”

“I understand,” you say, then drag the tip of your tongue against his thumb. He lets out a pleased hum. 

“Good. Now, tell me your rules.” His other hand strokes your lower back, sending shivers up your spine.

“Oh. Um, I – I don’t know,” you stutter. 

He drops his hands and takes half a step back. “We’re not doing anything until you set the rules.”

“But–”

“This is important, cariño. I’ll give you a moment to gather your thoughts.” 

And just like that, Javi’s walking away from you and sitting on your couch. What the hell is happening here? 

He’s right, of course, damn the man. You want to be mad, but don’t know what to be mad about – how respectful he is? Letting out a deep sigh, you go back to the kitchen and pick up your glass of wine. 

“Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?” Your voice comes out a bit more caustic than intended, and the sound of Javi’s throaty chuckle from the living room makes you bristle. 

“Whatever you’re having is fine.” 

The man sounds so calm and unfazed you want to throw something at him, but instead, you pout like a grown up and pour another glass. You set it on the small end table to his left and start pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table. 

Stuck in a quandary like this, you used to be able to call Marcus up and talk it through, but that sounds as appealing as lemon juice in a paper cut right now. Besides, even if Marcus would help you get laid, he’s probably busy with his girlfriend.

Sighing, you sit down next to Javi and face him. In this position, the hem of your dress rides all the way to the top of your hip, but you’re in no mood to be modest. Javi takes a sip of his wine and turns slightly in your direction. He puts an arm along the top of the couch, and you try not to notice the way his suit jacket opens, revealing his broad chest sloping down to hint at a soft belly. His thighs splay invitingly, and you bite your bottom lip. 

“Cariño?” Javi’s eyes sparkle with mischief. 

“Right. The rules.” You set your glass of wine down and try to focus. Javi waits patiently, but you can see his fingers toying with the fabric on the back of the couch. He’s just as anxious to get this part over with.

“Rule number one: nothing at work. Ever. Not even after hours or in the parking lot. Nothing.” 

Javi nods in stout agreement. 

“Rule number two: it’s just sex. We’re simply two consenting adults with insane chemistry, privately enjoying the hell out of each other’s bodies.” 

“Enthusiastically consenting,” Javi smirks, and sets his glass of wine next to yours so he can stroke your bare thigh. The hunger in his eyes is distracting, but you manage to pull your thoughts together one last time.

“And lastly, but most importantly – rule number three: what happens undercover stays undercover.”

Javi’s hand stills on your skin and he looks at you curiously. “You mind expanding on that a bit?”

“Our cover is just that; a story, playing pretend. We don’t let it blur the lines of whatever we do outside of the investigation. We have to compartmentalize.” 

Javi takes a moment, considering what you’ve said, then nods. Looking you over, he slides his hand up to your hip and leans in, closing the space between you on the couch. 

“I guess that means we better get out of these clothes.” 

“That's a great –” You don’t even get to complete the sentence before his mouth is on yours again. In seconds, his mouth is devouring yours again, his hands feverishly roaming over your hips and ass. 

Javi takes his hands away just long enough to shrug out of his suit jacket while you make quick work of removing his tie. He tries to pull the straps of your dress down, but they get stuck on your shoulders. Grunting in frustration, his hands try locating the zipper of your dress on your back. 

You might have let him struggle a bit more simply for the fun of it, but your skin is on fire, desperate to feel more of him. 

You pull your mouth away from his long enough to gasp, “On the side. Here,” and point to the thin zipper hidden in the ruched fabric. 

“You’re lucky you said something, I was about to rip this thing off you,” Javi growls, making you giggle. “Does that amuse you, cariño? Making me suffer?”

“Maybe a little,” you admit with a small shrug, but your voice is breathless. He’s moved his mouth to your neck, where he licks a swath of skin across your fluttering pulse.

The zipper is finally down, and Javi tugs the straps of your dress and bra down at the same time, pinning your arms to your side and freeing your breasts. 

“Jesus,” he breathes, taking in your exposed flesh. He pulls you up so you’re kneeling before him on the couch, your breasts level with his face. Leaning in, he stops just shy of one pebbled nipple, his hot exhalation warming your sensitive skin. Your hands itch to grab his hair and pull him in, but the suspense is delicious. 

Javi palms your other breast and glides his thumb over the nipple, making you whimper. He lets out a strangled sound in his throat before latching his mouth onto the peaked bud in front of him, sending an electric current straight to your pulsing core. 

Your head falls back with a gasp, and Javi pulls your body closer, moaning around your nipple. Javi is too engrossed in giving your other tit the same treatment to notice you straining at the straps of your dress and bra. 

“Please,” you whimper. He pulls off your breast with a small pop and looks up at you, still massaging and caressing the flesh in each hand. His eyes are dark in the dim light of the living room, but you can see them glazed over with lust. 

Javi watches you expectantly, waiting for you to voice your request.

“Please let me touch you.” 

He smiles, giving you a small thrill. 

“You asked so nicely.”

It's not the yes you wanted, so you wait. He leans in to kiss the tops of your breasts and traces a line up your clavicle with the tip of his tongue. 

“Stand up, cariño.”

With his assistance you get up off the couch and face him, standing between his knees. The straps of your clothing are loose enough now to pull yourself free, but you wait for Javi to give his assent. He smiles softly at you from his seat on the couch, openly admiring your body on display for him. 

“Take it off,” he instructs. “Slowly.” 

You shed the form-fitting dress like a second skin, taking care to pull it down slowly and exaggerating the wiggle of your hips, before dropping it to the floor.

“The bra, too,” Javi amends, his breath coming out a bit labored. The bra joins the dress at your feet, and you kick the garments to the side, standing before Javi in only your panties. 

You love seeing that he’s just as affected as you are. He rubs sweaty palms on his pant legs, and grips the edge of the couch cushion to keep from launching himself at you. He likes this game, too.

This is the feeling you missed – letting go of all your thoughts and worries, pleasing a partner so much by obeying simple commands, trusting that partner to not take advantage of the authority you allow them to have over you. This kind of power feels intoxicating and freeing all at once. 

He lifts his hips slightly to adjust himself, and the small thrust draws your attention to his lap, your eyes widening at the clear bulge in his pants. A discoloration on the fabric, left there by your own arousal, is the only evidence of how this all started back at the gallery.

Standing there, nearly naked in front of a fully clothed man, even one with as commanding a presence as Javier Peña, doesn’t make you feel as vulnerable as you thought it might. 

“Ah ah,” Javi tuts when he sees your fingers toying at the waistband of your last scrap of clothing. He gives his hard cock a squeeze with the hand in his lap, then draws a small circle in the air with one finger. “Turn around, hermosa.” 

This is what makes you feel vulnerable, being unable to see Javi or know what he’s doing behind you. What you felt earlier when Javi stood behind you in the entryway of your apartment is nothing compared to the intensity of this moment. 

The couch creaks, and you know he’s standing behind you – is it a change in the air pressure, or the heat emanating from his core? 

Javi leaves mere centimeters separating your bodies, his breath the only sound you hear over the whooshing of your own heartbeat in your ears. Goosebumps spread again across your shoulders and down your spine, as though your skin is doing whatever it can to get closer to him. Tingles arc across your scalp, and you shut your eyes tight against the sensations your body conjures in the absence and anticipation of his touch.

The hairs on the back of your neck prickle and you flinch a bit when he gently sweeps your errant locks to the side, careful not to make contact with your skin. An elusive tickle at the shell of your ear has you tilting your head to the side. The bristle of his mustache sweeps across the tender area as he speaks, low enough to bring a tremor to your sternum. 

“Are you going to listen to me, cariño?” 

Your mouth pops open into a small ‘O’, and you nod. 

“Use your words, hermosa. I won’t tell you again.” There’s an edge in Javi’s voice, and you’re not sure if it’s the edge of authority or desperation. 

The walls of your pussy grasp around nothing, and your clit throbs in time with your pulse. Digging fingernail crescents into your palms, you make fists at your sides and curl your toes into the plush rug under your feet. 

“I–” Your mouth is dry and you swallow thickly to form the words he needs to hear. “I am. I’m going to listen to you.” 

Javi wraps an arm around your middle, pinning you to the wall of his chest, as his other hand snakes down to cup your sex over your soaked panties. The sudden contact pulls a moan from deep in your throat and the relief makes you sag against him.

“I know you will.” The murmur in your ear is soft and warm, reassuring. The hand of the arm wrapped around you cups your breast, while the other presses the heel of its palm into your mound over your clit. 

“Javi.” His name is an exhalation. “I need you.”

Your body has a mind of its own, and right now you are a slave to its impulses. Your hips move involuntarily, trying to rock into Javi’s hand, large enough to engulf your whole sex, then grind back onto his cock pressed hard against your ass. 

“I know, I know.” 

Javi’s words are both balm and incendiary. A small whine comes out of your mouth, and you press a hand over Javi’s, trying to increase the pressure over your clit.

“Mierda, cariño, you’re so eager.” He rolls your nipple between thumb and forefinger, giving it a pinch hard enough to make you gasp. “You better take me to bed, then.” 

On unsteady feet, you lead Javi to the master bedroom. Standing at the side of your bed, you feel a bit bashful and unsure of what to do with yourself.

“Sit down.” 

You obey and perch on the edge of the mattress, then wait for his next move. Javi saunters over, fingers going to his belt buckle, and stops in front of you. Your eyes flicker between his hands and his face, peering up at him through your eyelashes. 

Javi palms himself through his pants and your mouth floods with saliva. You suck your bottom lip into your mouth and bite it a little to keep from drooling. 

“So, this is it, huh?” He unbuckles the leather belt, then pulls it free from the loops around his slim waist in a single movement, catching you off guard.  

“This…what?” 

“This is your bed,” he reaches out and strokes your face, then holds your chin in his hand. “Where you let Pike fuck you.”

Abashed, you don’t answer right away, feeling the heat creep up your neck and bloom across your chest. You remember that Javi wants you to answer him, just the way Marcus did, by using your words.

“Yes, he fucked me in this bed.”

Javi strokes your chin with his thumb, then removes his hand to start unbuttoning his shirt. Your eyes glaze over slightly, your breath feels shallow. Javi’s gaze feels hot on your skin, and you can see his pulse beating on the side of his neck. 

Keeping your arms straight behind you, you put your tits on display, hoping to entice Javi to put his hands back on you. Spreading your knees apart, you want him to see the scrap of wet fabric covering your pussy. 

He lets out a deep breath through his nose that’s almost a growl, and strips his shirt completely off over his head, not bothering to finish unbuttoning it. Javi stands there, gripping his cock over his pants. 

“Show me.” His words rasp in the back of his throat.

Slowly, deliberately, you pull the gusset of your panties to the side, exposing yourself to him. Chest heaving, he doesn’t say anything for a few breaths.

“Lie down on the bed. Now.” Javi’s words have a bite to them, and you scurry to follow his command. 

You scoot backwards towards the middle of the bed, not willing to take your eyes off the man for a second. Pulling the covers back, Javi helps you locate the fitted sheet and move the comforter out of your way. He palms his dick one more time before taking off his pants, eyes glued to the apex of your thighs. 

“Take them off.”

Hooking your thumbs into the waistband, you lift your hips enough to slide your panties down, then kick them off the side of the bed. Unconsciously, your knees fall open more when Javi pulls his underwear off and you see his cock spring out of his boxers. 

Javi fists his hard length and gives it a couple strokes, precum pearling at the tip. You swallow, wishing you could take him in your mouth and taste the saltiness. 

“Touch yourself for me.” He sits on the side of the bed next to you, and his cock twitches in his hand. “Show me what makes that pretty pussy feel good, cariño.” 

Settling back on the pillows, you slide your hand over your breast and abdomen, down over your mound to your weeping center. You’ve barely touched your swollen and tender folds before you let out a whimper. 

“That’s it, querida,” Javi’s voice, filled with hunger, urges you on. 

Dipping a finger into your core, you use your own slick to glide between your lips, your breath coming out in sharp huffs. Touching the bundle of nerves at the top of your slit is like touching a live wire. Using the flat pads of two fingers, you apply gentle pressure to your clit, gliding easily now with your abundant arousal, closing your eyes from the intensity. 

A warm caress on the inside of your knee and thigh is Javi’s only touch, but it’s enough to make you moan and thrust your hips up into both your hand and his.  

“So impatient,” he remarks. His tone doesn’t match his mocking words, and you open your eyes again to see him slowly stroking his cock as he watches your fingers. 

“Javi, please.” Desperation laces your plea as you writhe into your hand, increasing the pressure on your clit. Using your other hand to play with your tits, you pinch and roll your nipples. “Please touch me.”

“Don’t stop touching yourself.” 

Javi leans over to kiss your breasts and stomach, then moves to kneel between your feet, firmly grasping the base of his cock. He lays down between your thighs, adjusting his cock so it’s pinned between his body and the mattress. 

“Please-please-please,” you whisper like a prayer. 

“You sound so sweet when you beg.” He takes your fingers off your clit and sucks them into his mouth.

You wonder if his resolve has finally cracked, because he wastes no time pushing your hand out of the way and licking a thick stripe from dripping hole to pulsing clit. 

“Fuck, Javi!” Your startled cry doesn’t deter him or slow him down, if anything it only spurs him on. He places a hand on the back of one knee and pushes your leg back, allowing his tongue easier access. The rumble of his deep, satisfied groan only adds fuel to the fire burning in the pit of your belly. 

He turns his head to kiss and nibble at your inner thigh long enough to say, “Jesus, you taste better than I imagined,” before returning to lap at the flow of your arousal. The hair on his upper lip is a sharply contrasting sensation to the thick, languid stroke of his tongue on your oversensitive flesh.

Javi’s broad shoulders under your thighs push your body up the mattress with every eager thrust of his tongue. Reaching behind you with one hand to brace against the headboard provides a bit of resistance, giving you just enough traction to bump your clit against the arch of his nose. It’s not enough, though, you need more. In vain, you try lifting your hips up to meet Javi’s face. 

A heavy arm wraps around your hip and pins you to the mattress. Whining in frustration, you look down to see Javi’s eyes trained on your face. Those large, dark orbs are fixed in a determined glare. Seeing them look up at you from between your thighs is a sight to behold.

Feeling bold, but mostly curious, you tentatively reach down and thread the fingers of your other hand through Javi’s thick hair. His eyes almost flutter closed for a moment, and the hand holding your leg back eases. You keep the knee bent, though, holding yourself open for him. 

Jaw slack, you watch transfixed as Javi captures your clit between his lips that are wet and shiny with your own slick. He circles his tongue around the engorged bud, the very tip sliding gently under the hood and making your hips spasm up to his face, again and again.

Panting, eyes squeezed shut, you focus on the feeling of his tongue, bordering on too much. With Javi’s hair clutched in one fist, you cling with the other to the slats of the headboard and undulate up against his plump lips. 

A thick finger prods gently at your opening, moving around to get the tip wet. Javi’s lips and tongue never leave your clit, and you resist the urge to pull his head into you by his hair, scared he’ll stop if you do.

The finger slips in, stopping at the first knuckle. 

“You want me to fuck you, cariño?” Javi’s voice is rough. “Is that what you want?” 

“Uh huh.” It comes out with a moan as the finger slips in all the way. “Hnh, shit…yes – yes, I want you to fuck me. Please fuck me.” The rest of the words tumble from your mouth.

“Then I’ve got to get you nice and ready for my cock.” He returns to giving your clit the attention it craves. Javi’s finger starts pumping in and out, stretching your walls around its thickness. 

“Fuck...fuck,” you curse and moan in time with each thrust. The beginnings of your orgasm begin to unfurl deep inside.

Javi keeps moving his finger in and out of you until it’s sliding without resistance, then starts teasing your entrance with the tip of a second. With his other hand, he spreads your lips and holds you open. 

“Christ, would you look at that?” You open your eyes to see Javi watching his two fingers sink into you, drawing out a moan from deep in your belly. “Fucking beautiful. Can’t wait to watch my cock split you open like this.”

You let go of Javi’s hair to grip the pillow under your head. You’re lifting your hips up in time to meet every thrust of his thick fingers. 

You can’t tell what’s more obscene, the sounds coming from your mouth or from between your legs. Turning your face into the pillow, you try to muffle some of your moans.

“Don’t cover your mouth, baby. I want to hear every fucking sound you make.” 

“But,” you gasp, trying to form the words, “neighbors…” 

“I want them to hear how good I make you feel, too.” He keeps his fingers buried to the knuckle inside you and crooks them just right, making you arch your back and moan. 

“Thaaat’s it, let me hear you.” Tension coils, your pussy clenching down on the continuous movement of his fingers pumping and curling. 

“Relax for me, cariño. I’ll never fit my cock inside you if you keep squeezing my fingers like that.” 

The filth spilling from his mouth has got you wound up so tight, it’s a wonder he can still move his fingers at all. He sucks your clit back between his lips, but your hips are bucking so hard he can’t keep a good hold on it. Instead, he drips saliva at the top of your slit, then spreads it with his thumb, around and around, letting your rolling hips determine the pace and pressure.

“Javi,...I’m–fuck, I’m getting close.” 

“Is this how he got you ready? Hm? Would he make you cum first on his fingers and tongue?” 

“Wha– unh, god.” What the fuck is he saying? Your mind is so fuzzy, the pleasure leaving almost no room for thought or reason.

“I bet he would. I bet he’d get you nice and wet, then work you open for his cock.” 

He’s asking about Marcus again, you realize. You feel the mattress shift and realize Javi’s rutting into the mattress in time with your hips. Knowing how turned on Javi is, it’s almost enough to tip you over the edge right then. 

“Yes, he– he made me cum first.” 

“Hard?” 

“Yes! God, Javi, that feels so good – please don’t stop.” You’re white-knuckling the pillow and headboard, getting closer to the edge, the pleas falling from your lips without thought. 

“He must have been something, for you to still be hung up on him. Still hungry for his cock.” 

Javi spits again, more lewdly this time in his excitement, and increases the pressure of his thumb over your clit.

“Fuck, I feel it – I know you’re getting close, cariño.” Javi’s hips keep rocking into the mattress. “Are you going to cum for me?”

Your breath comes out in gasps, you can only nod in response, eyes shut tight. 

“That’s it, hermosa, cum for me.” Javi’s words have you teetering on the edge. “Cum for me so I can give you my cock.”

With that final push, your fluttering walls spasm and pulse around Javi’s fingers, and he works you through it, groaning as he watches you writhing on his hand. 

Javi doesn’t even let the final shudders or your orgasm subside before he’s licking your cum off his fingers like an indulgent dessert. He gives your mound a kiss, then your belly, ribs, and breasts, getting on his knees between your thighs and leaning over you, murmuring praise in a heady mixture of English and Spanish.

“That was so good, cariño, you were so good. Eres tan bonita, y sabes pinche dulce.” Leaning on one elbow, he traces your lips with the fingers that were inside you. 

“Have you ever tasted yourself?” You nod, opening your mouth and licking the tip of one finger. Javi slips it past your lips, he lets out a sigh and says, “I’m going to have a lot of fun with that mouth.” 

Moaning, you begin sucking eagerly at his fingers, showing him what he could look forward to. He fucks them into your mouth a few times before pulling them out, much to your disappointment. 

“Another time, cariño. I need to be in that sweet pussy now.” 

Javi kisses you deeply, the taste of your cum mingling on your tongues. His mustache is wet with your slick, and you run the tip of your tongue along the ridge of his upper lip, the hairs tickling. He shudders and pulls away with a low grunt.

“Condoms?” Is all he can get out in between ravishing your neck and breasts with kisses.

“Drawer.” You gesture weakly to your nightstand, running your fingers through his hair. He stretches to pull the drawer open and pulls out the unopened box of condoms you’ve had there since you moved into the apartment.

“A brand new box, just for me?” His tone is teasing as he sits back on his knees. He tears the box open and rips off a condom from the strip, tossing the rest back in the drawer. 

“Um–” You get distracted watching him fist his cock. With a clearer head after your orgasm, you finally have the wherewithal to notice he’s thick and uncut. Biting your bottom lip, you think about how much fun you’ll have with him in your hands and mouth once he gives you the chance.

“Cariño?” Javi fixes you with an authoritative eye that makes your stomach flip. 

“It’s not new, exactly. I just haven’t needed to open it yet.” 

He looks at you curiously, and you start feeling a bit anxious. 

“Are you telling me you haven’t had sex since you moved here?” 

Letting out an exasperated sigh, you say, “It’s not like I haven’t tried.” 

Feeling a bit self-conscious, you look away and pull your knees together slightly. Javi’s hand on your thigh stops you. His eyes have softened.

Javi settles between your thighs, bracing himself while he leans down and kisses you slowly. His chest is firm under your hands, and the steady beat of his heart feels grounding. He places light kisses along your jaw up to your ear.

“The last time you had a cock inside you,” he pauses to take a breath, “was with Pike?” 

You give a small nod, both of you breathing so heavily your chests press into one another on inhalation. Javi pulls back to look at you, his eyes shifting between yours and keeping you in focus. 

“Can I fuck you bare, cariño?” 

He’s not asking this lightly, and you know without him having to say that he will gladly accept whatever is your decision. You clench at the prospect of feeling all of Javi inside you and nod vigorously.

“Yes.” 

Javi kisses you deeply and holds your face in one hand, pressing his forehead to yours. 

“Thank you for trusting me,” he murmurs against your lips, his voice deep and a bit rough. You know he’s trusting you just as much.

You continue to kiss, your hands running across his shoulders and upper back, then into his hair again. He groans into your mouth as you stroke your fingers through his thick locks. 

You tilt your hips and spread your legs a bit wider, opening yourself up for him. Balancing himself on one arm, he guides the head of his cock between your folds, then slides it slowly up and down a few times, gathering your slick. You’re so wet, he’ll have no trouble entering you.

“Javi...” 

“I know, I know.” Javi presses the head of his cock at your entrance and groans. “Are you ready to take my cock, cariño?” 

He sits back on his knees to watch your response, his breath short and labored from holding back when you know all he wants is to plunge all the way inside you with one thrust. You roll your hips up, moaning as the tip of his swollen cock head nudges inside you. Javi grunts and pulls back a bit, gripping onto your hip. 

“Fuck, look at you – you can’t wait to feel my cock filling you up.” 

“Please, Javi. Please give me your cock. I need it,” you beg breathlessly. 

“That’s my girl, tell me what you need,” Javi soothes his hand over your flesh, rocking his hips forward and slipping just an inch inside you, then back out. In and out, until the head is fully inside.

“I need your cock.” He pushes a bit more inside you each time he rocks his hips, caressing your belly and breasts with his other hand. “I need you to fuck me with your cock.” 

“You’re still so tight, baby.” Javi huffs through flared nostrils, gritting his teeth, barely holding himself back.

“Javi, please–” Your whine chokes off with a sob as he plunges forward with a grunt.

“Fuuuuuck,” he rasps, pulling out half way, then burying himself fully in your cunt. “Is that what you needed, cariño?” He thrusts, watching his cock disappearing inside you again. 

“Yes,” you whisper, letting your head fall back limply onto the pillow.

“Are you happy now that you have my cock?” Javi’s keeping his thrusts slow, but full and deep. He’s breathing heavily from his pent up lust, still not fully letting himself go. 

“Yes.” The stretch of him inside you was mind numbing.  

“I knew you’d be good at taking my cock, baby. You’re opening up so well for me.” Javi hooks one of your legs over his arm. “You ready for me to really fuck you now?” 

“Yes, Javi – fuck me, please.” 

Javi’s hips start picking up their pace, snapping forward to fill your pussy. For a few moments, you and Javi are lost to the sensations, moaning in unison every time he bottoms out inside you.

“You feel so good wrapped around my cock, hermosa.” His grip on the leg over his arm tightens. You pull your other leg back, allowing him even deeper and he swears. “I can feel your pussy sucking me in.” 

He leans over, holding himself up with a hand beside your head. The change in the angle makes you gasp and clench around him.

“Mírame – look at me, cariño.” 

Javi is a vision above you with his forehead furrowed and mouth open. 

“What did he call you?” He slows his thrusts. “Hm? What did Pike call you when he was fucking you?” 

You look at him with wide eyes, mouth agape. He smiles, and slows almost to a stop. 

“Dimelo…” He grinds his hips into you, making you whine. “Tell me – now.” 

“I was his good girl.” Your pussy walls contract involuntarily with your confession, making Javi moan. 

“Fuck,” he starts thrusting again, “I bet you were so good for him. Were you?” 

“Yes. Yes, I was his good girl.” Javi moves the leg over his arm up to his shoulder, holding onto it for leverage as he fucks into you. 

“And what did you call him when you were his good girl?” His words come out a bit unevenly. Javi waits for your response, but you’re distracted by how deep his cock is. 

A swift but light slap lands on your tit. “Answer me.” 

You gasp, but he has your attention now, rolling your nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

“I called him Sir.”  

“Mierda, you’re drenching my cock right now. I bet you’re thinking about how his cock felt in your tight pussy, how it filled and stretched you.” 

“Oh, god–” You brace your arms over your head, using the headboard for resistance against the onslaught of Javi’s thrusts. 

Thoughts of Marcus and Javi swim together, the memory of Marcus’ touch with the reality of Javi’s. The walls of your pussy begin to flutter as your second orgasm of the night starts to build. 

Javi’s heavy breathing is surpassed by the sound of his thighs and balls slapping against your ass with every thrust. 

“Well, if you were his good girl, then you’re my slutty little princesa. You’re my little whore. Me entiendes?” 

“Yes, yes – I understand.” Your eyes are practically rolling into the back of your head when you feel Javi suddenly stop and pull out. Gasping, your eyes fly open in shock. He’s panting, and his neck glistens, flushed a beautiful shade of crimson with the veins prominently standing out. 

“Roll over – c’mon, on your knees.” You obey, desperate to have his cock buried in you once again. 

“Hands up here, flat.” He taps the headboard. His commands are light and natural, easy to follow. 

“If you’re going to be my little whore, I’m going to fuck you like one.” 

Assuming the position, Javi uses a knee to nudge your shaking legs wider, then pulls your ass back so you’re bent slightly over. 

“So what are you going to call me, huh?” He smooths your hair back off your face, sweaty at your temples, and gathers it loosely in his fist. He gives it a gentle tug, prompting you to answer his question.

“I don’t know,” you gasp, and arch into his touch as he smoothes a hand over your ass. He guides his cock and slides back into your cunt in a single thrust, making the headboard sway close to the wall. 

“I said keep your hands flat,” he reminds you, and gives your ass a small smack for good measure. 

Your fingers flex, and you spread them wide, straightening your elbows for balance. His free hand fondles your breasts one at a time, kneading them before pinching your nipples. 

“C’mon, princesa,” he urges, voice low behind your ear as he starts fucking you again. Your head gets tugged back by your hair in his fist at the nape of your neck as he fucks you harder. The angle of his cock hits that sweet spot inside you, making your eyes roll back. 

“What are you going to call me when I’m fucking you like my little slut?” His hot tongue licks over your pulse point. The filthy words spilling out of his mouth are making you dizzy. “Huh? When I’m pounding this pussy so good, you can’t fucking help yourself?” 

“Daddy.” 

It comes out in a soft, timid whimper. 

Javi smacks your ass with a stinging hand and growls in your ear, “Louder.” 

“Daddy!” 

“Theeere it fucking is.” Javi groans deeply in satisfaction, then licks his fingers and rubs them over your clit in time with his thrusts. “What a good little whore, taking Daddy’s cock so well.” 

He lets go of your hair to grip your shoulder where it meets your neck, pulling you back onto his cock. There is no way your neighbors can’t hear the noises coming from your mouth now. You’ve completely surrendered over to Javi, and you’re certain that if he were to take his hands away you’d fall over lifeless like a doll. 

“Daddy, I’m close.” 

The intensity of Javi’s hands, cock, and filthy mouth is so overwhelming, you can barely get the words out.

“Are you going to cum on Daddy’s cock, princesa?” Javi’s voice is ragged, his hips stuttering. 

“Imagine what he’d say – unh – if he saw you like this – absolutely wrecked, being someone else’s fuck toy.” 

He must be getting close too as his cock throbs inside you, his pace faltering.

The thought of Marcus watching you get railed by Javi has you on the very brink. You can’t hold back the moans now and Javi increases the pressure and speed of his fingers over your clit. Your cunt spasms, and his cock throbs in response.

“Mierda, you’re choking my dick. Damelo, princesa – give it to me, cum for Daddy.”

Your orgasm rips through you like a freight train, all while Javi talks and fucks you through it. 

“Fuuuck, yes – that’s it, cum all over Daddy’s cock. You’re squeezing me so tight.” 

Javi’s thrusts slow during your most intense spasms, and the fingers on your clit still, but maintain their pressure. You ride it out, reaching back to stroke Javi’s hair while you spasm around him.

Your head begins to loll a bit, exhaustion setting in after the two mind-melting orgasms. He wraps his arms around you, then slowly lowers your upper body onto the mattress, draping his body over yours. You hug a pillow to your chest, supporting yourself while he starts fucking into you, slow and deep. 

“What a good little slut.” He grunts softly in your ear each time his cock bottoms out inside you, fucking little whimpers out of you with every thrust.

“So good for Daddy.” Javi kisses your neck and the back of your shoulder. “You took Daddy’s cock so well, gonna give you my cum.” He’s beginning to get a bit breathless, his thighs shaking, thrusts getting erratic. 

In this position, you’re able to reach a hand back and spread your fingers on either side of his cock as it moves. A bit further, and you’re grazing his balls every so lightly and feel them beginning to tighten and retract. 

“Unh – fuck, yeah…” Javi groans through gritted teeth, then nips lightly at your shoulder making you gasp.

“Daddy, please cum for me. I want your cum. Please give it to me.” 

You’re babbling, your senses focused solely on the sound of Javi’s labored breathing, the feel of his cock twitching inside you, chasing that high with him. 

“Where do you want Daddy’s cum, princesa?” His words are strained now. He rises back up onto his knees, supporting himself with a hand between your shoulder blades.

“Anywhere you want, Daddy.” You contract the walls of your cunt around him for emphasis and he moans.

“Fuck, baby, don’t tempt me, I’m so close… But I think I want something else.” He grabs the globes of your ass with both hands, squeezing them, pulling them apart to see everything. 

“You ever let Pike fuck your ass?” 

You involuntarily clench around Javi. You and Marcus had certainly discussed it, experimented a little, but he’d never fucked you there.

“No...” 

“Mmm, good. Then I’m gonna paint that ass with my cum. Esta cosa es mía ahora. It’s fucking mine.”  

Eyes wide, you stretch your neck to watch Javi over your shoulder as he starts fucking you at a frenetic pace. His face, neck, and chest are flushed and gleaming with sweat. His brow is furrowed deep in concentration, teeth bared into a grimace. He lands a rough slap on your ass that makes you moan.

“Yes, Daddy – my ass is yours, only yours.” 

“That’s right, princesa – all mine,” he wheezes. 

Just when you think he’s about to burst inside you, Javi pulls out and starts furiously jerking his cock. Thick ropes of cum land in stripes across your ass and lower back, each spasm pulling a deep, breathy moan from him. He takes deep gulps of air into his lungs, milking every last drop of cum. 

Clenching around nothing, you moan with the pleasure of bringing him to release. You’re secretly thrilled at seeing Javi brought to this degree of vulnerability. 

Javi leans over and licks a small drop of cum that landed on the swell of your cheek. He bites the flesh then sucks, letting go with a pop. It’s done without inhibition or hesitation, just an impulsive, erotic claim of your body.

“Next time, princesa,” he pauses to smear the pooling cum lightly over your asshole, “I’m going to watch that beautiful face when I make you cum on Daddy’s cock.”

“Mm, I’d like that,” you say softly, and close your eyes, the adrenaline waning. Staying still for a moment, you take a deep breath, enjoying the familiar, empty ache between your thighs that can only come after an amazing fuck. 

You start to lower your legs to lie in a prone position, but Javi wraps his arms around you as support, lowering you gently to the mattress. 

“I’ve got you, cariño.” 

You’re vaguely aware of Javi stepping into the en suite bathroom and returning with a warm wet washcloth. He gently wipes you clean and fixes the covers. 

A few moments later, you feel the mattress shift as he climbs into bed next to you. Strong arms pull you into a warm embrace. A light kiss to your forehead tickles with the soft hairs of Javi’s mustache.

Sighing, you roll your body against his, resting your head on his shoulder and draping an arm across his chest. He smooths your hair off your forehead and brushes a soft kiss to your head, stroking your arm. With the steady rise and fall of Javi’s chest, the last thing you remember before drifting off is his whispered, “Sweet dreams, cariño.”

~*~*~*~

Javi doesn’t even crave a cigarette. And he can’t remember the last time he stuck around this long after sleeping with someone. Once you fall asleep in his arms, he doesn't want to risk waking you, and there is no way in hell he’s going to sneak out on you. 

He reasons that he’ll relax for a bit, then wake you up to say goodbye. But the feel of you in his arms is better than he let himself indulgently imagine these past few weeks. The softness of your curves, the weight of your head on his shoulder; the implicit trust you placed in him this evening, and the ease with which you fell asleep with him holding you… 

It doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep too. At some point in the night he stirs, and realizes you’re out of bed, but doesn’t know what time it is. The apartment is dark now, and the only light comes peeking out from the bottom of the bathroom door. Groaning, he stretches his legs, knowing the soreness in his knees will plague him for the next couple days. 

The light in the bathroom flicks off and the door opens, creaking a little. Your nude form appears, lit only by the ambient light coming through the window from the streetlamps. You pad softly across the carpet and he whispers a soft, “Hey,” so you know he’s awake. You jump just slightly then smile in relief. 

“Hey, yourself,” you whisper in return, then walk to the other side of the bed and climb in. 

“What time is it?” Javi rolls to face you and props his head on his hand. 

“Late – or early, depending on how you look at it.” 

Javi leans over to kiss your lips, then your forehead, trailing the tip of his nose down yours. You hum in that way he’s already familiar with, making him smile. 

“How late-or-early?” 

“Three-ish.” You kiss him, muffling his surprise. 

“Shit, I didn’t mean to fall asleep that long. Sorry.” Javi is about to make his excuses to leave, before you speak again.

“We better go back to sleep now. The debrief is early and I want to get up in time to bring something in for the team.” 

Yawning, you roll away from him and drag his arm around you. Javi smirks, and settles in to spoon your body with his own.

“I guess I don’t need to ask what your rule is about sleeping over, then?” He kisses the back of your shoulder and you press back into him.

“Shut up and go to sleep, Javi.”

“Okay, cariño.”

Chapter 9 - Coming Soon!

Additional Author’s Note: Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all the lovely comments and reblogs! I can’t tell you how much they mean to me. As always, I would love-love-love to know what you think. I really want to become a better writer, so any and all feedback is welcome! Thank you for reading! 💜

No-Pressure Taglist: @kilamonster @half-moon16 @for-a-longlongtime @pedroswife69 @pedroshotwifey @angiewatson @morallyinept @peepawispunk @i-wanna-be-your-muse @marysucks-blog @guelyury @connectioneverywhere @sunshinehaze1 @drewharrisonwriter @venturawriter @survivingandenduring @thetriumphantpanda

[medea10]

My Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero: 3rd Season

Seriously, I forgot this was coming back for the fall season. But there was no way I was going to forget that season three was coming. Crunchyroll jumped several guns to not only announce a second season to The Rising of the Shield Hero, but announce a third season in the same breath. This was in 2019. Do you know how long ago 2019 was? What could have caused my blah attitude and pessimism to come up here? Season two happened.

Oh, but Medea, Myne wasn’t involved in season two. How could it be that bad?

Okay, Myne had her bitchy hands all over season one and I loved that season. Season two was rushed to a point where I need ten volumes of the light novel to get the jist of what the fuck just happened. Me not seeing Myne was a treat and if she was involved in season two, my opinion would still stand.

HISTORY: Isekai. Shield. Outcast. Blah, blah, blah! Here’s season one and season two.

SEASON THREE: Shit, the bitch is in the OP theme. I’m going to lose my shizzle on this review, aren’t I?

In the aftermath of the tortoise arc, there’s a glitch that seems to be affecting how Naofumi sees stats and part of his shield. Then, we’ve got the queen relying on Naofumi once more as it seems that the other three heroes are missing in action. Bitch is too. Normally, I would say good riddance on everybody disappearing, I hope they get eaten by a giant chicken. But that’s just my anger popping up again. I have leftover resentment from season one where I just want retribution for Naofumi. I know they’re technically heroes, but they’re shit-heroes. And as for bitch, I hope that she’s not only eaten by a giant chicken and shit out off of a cliff. She must be up to no good knowing her. And then there’s a little something that really grinded Naofumi and Raphtalia’s gears. Demi-humans and slavery!

Yeah, it’s not a modern Isekai without slave-trades.

Naofumi and his team wind up competing in an underground fight club. Save some twin tiger demi-humans. Don’t get too excited, this tournament arc was only the span of 1 or 2 episodes. They do go back to the underground fight club near the end of the season, but it’s not worth mentioning. Naofumi is staying true to saving previously enslaved demi-humans. Meanwhile, we’ve got a phoenix-sized wave about to occur in a couple of months and no one knows where the other heroes are. This season, we get to know more about the other three heroes; Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki. Not only what happened to them during the tortoise arc, but before they were sent to this world.

Motoyasu was ditched by his entire team when he couldn’t even make a dent in the tortoise from last season. Itsuki went full-on Judge Claude Frollo. And Ren’s entire team was slaughtered. But a certain someone came in and toyed with each and every one of these boys.

…

AND NOW, MEDEA IS ABOUT TO MAKE NO SENSE: I truly apologize for the raving I am about to unleash.

AAAAAHHHHH! OOGA BOOGA! OOGA BOOGA! ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAWWWWR! KILL THE BITCH! KILL THE BITCH! REN, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! YOU SAW THE TRIAL! YOU WERE THERE! YOU SAW HER FIGHT AGAINST THE SLAVE CREST! ITSUKI TOO! WHERE IS THE CREST ON THE BITCH’S CHEST?! WHAT WITCH-FUCKARY SAUCE IS THIS?! SOMEBODY! MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!

My anger is warranted. In the span of a single episode, Myne claimed infamous status in the anime community as the worst thing since Shou Tucker. Let’s not go too ahead of ourselves. I’d say she’s just between Griffith and Shinji Matou. I’m just glad Motoyasu saw Myne’s true colors (AGAIN) as she lied AGAIN about him raping her. Lying about being raped seems to be her ace in the hole time and again. This woman is worse than tumors on your uterus.

Not even Filo doing an idol performance in the same episode could calm me down. Nice try, anime!

NEW CHARACTERS: Quite a bit more girls added to the roster. We got the drunk orca, the glitch in human form, and the tiger twins. They are all orphaned demi-humans. Give Naofumi some credit as we finally got one male teammate.

Sadina is a human and orca, I guess. She has a lot of history with Raphtalia and that’s the end of that tale. Spoilers.

Then, there’ S’yne. She’s the girl who sounds glitchy every time she speaks. S’yne is at first not trusted by Naofumi due to an earlier reputation. But she sticks around.

And then there’s the tiger twins, Fohl and Atla. Naofumi saved them from that underground fight club. Before, Fohl was barely scraping by and earning whatever he could to help his ailing sister. Now, the twins are thriving (despite Atla being blind and sometimes has trouble walking). Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Sadina is played by Ami Koshimizu (known for Makoto/Jupiter on Sailor Moon Crystal, Kallen on Code Geass, Ryuuko on Kill la Kill, Holo on Spice & Wolf, Rosa on Umineko, and Anemone on Eureka Seven)

*S’yne is played by Maria Naganawa (known for Kanna on Miss Kobayashi, Platelets on Cells at Work, and Komekko on Konosuba)

*Fohl is played by Kouhei Amasaki (known for Otto on Re:Zero, Kousuke on Tomo-chan is a Girl, and Monoma on My Hero Academia)

*Atla is played by Konomi Kohara (known for Chika on Kaguya-sama, Roxy on Mushoku Tensei, Miu on Domestic Girlfriend, Chitose on Tonikawa, and Kai on Hitoribocchi)

ENGLISH CAST: *Sadina is played by Alice Himora

*S’yne is played by Lisa Reimold

*Fohl is played by Kieran Regan

*Atla’s voice actress is unknown at this date and time

SHIPPING: Rishia really, for real, truly needs to give up on Itsuki. And if the slap in the face he gave her wasn’t enough of a big indicator…no, it truly needs to be one. I’m glad she stepped up to try and reason with him. But…eh, I got nothing else for this. I’m just annoyed by Itsuki dropping Rishia for being weak and Rishia still devoted to him.

And Raphtalia still loves Naofumi. It’s still unrequited. And she will still get jealous of anyone hugging, rubbing on, or sleeping with Naofumi.

ENDING: It’s obvious that Bitch has been poisoning the minds of every, single one of the four heroes. While Naofumi’s interaction at the beginning of the series was bad enough, Bitch took advantage of the other three during really rough moments of their journey. And all I can say is, Naofumi was wrong to keep her alive for this long. He should have just allowed the queen to have her daughter’s head chopped off. Motoyasu was dropped once it was shown that he could not make a dent in the tortoise from last season. In Bitch fashion, she claimed Motoyasu raped her making him out to be the town Harvey Weinstein. With Ren, Bitch manipulated him after losing his teammates in a gruesome way. But she ditched him soon after Naofumi got involved and helped him out. Finally, there’s Itsuki.

Itsuki wound up with a cursed item given to him by Bitch. These cursed items have not done anyone any good during this season and caused a lot of damage for the heroes who had them and Naofumi having to clean up the mess afterwards. When Ren was possessed, it caused a lot of trouble for innocent bystanders. Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu are all terrible and made terrible messes throughout the majority of this series. They should be licking Naofumi’s boot every morning when they wake up. Sorry, leftover hatred again. However, Itsuki’s sense of justice pissed me off further down the series. Itsuki pulls off his stupid justice kick by attacking Naofumi’s crew and innocent bystanders with his bow and arrows. Hell, he was going to kill Rishia because she didn’t believe in his “justice”. Thankfully, she and Naofumi were able to end Itsuki’s cursed justice. Itsuki is just mentally broken, but is cared for by Rishia.

Hmph. He should have just been left to rot in a wheelchair like Kirito in SAO. Not even sorry for that!

Okay, we’re at the final episode. Not sure when we’re going to see this wave attack with a giant phoenix. In two months is what Naofumi says but who the hell knows! And Bitch is still on the loose. She did drop Itsuki pretty fast, leaving him broke and broken. I know everyone wants Naofumi and the other three heroes together. I’ve been against that from the beginning. Sorry, last time! As of this moment, Itsuki and Ren are with Naofumi and his crew. Motoyasu…everyone still seems to avoid him like the plague. Yeah, he’s annoying. But mostly it’s because he wants to lewd Filo and now calls Naofumi, “Father” because, yeah, he technically did hatch Filo. Who wants to tell Motoyasu that Filo is technically a couple of months old? Okay, final episode. What’s in store?

Raphtalia is royalty!

Do what now?

Naofumi gave Raphtalia some priestess garb. Sadina got scared and warned her to remove the clothes immediately. Just then, Naofumi’s area is attacked (AGAIN). Usually, it’s slave poachers or someone under Bitch’s control. These new guys are different entirely. This time they want to kill Raphtalia. Why? Because she’s really the heir of this place called Q’ten Lo. Raphtalia’s father was the original ruler but abdicated and started a family. Sadina has been watching this family from the very beginning. So, there’s much more to Raphtalia’s family than just what we learned in season one. Naofumi is understandably pissed that these spies from Q’ten Lo are after Raphtalia and have been watching her pretty much her entire life. So, I guess we’re going to Q’ten Lo now.

Okay anime, that’s fine. But a few things. Phoenix wave is going to hit in less than two months. Filo still needs to up her stats after the whole dragon incident. Bitch is still on the loose. Itsuki is on par with a roasted parsnip. We don’t know where Motoyasu is nor do we care. Still in the dark about the tiger twins and that guy at the palace who hates Naofumi. Naofumi is about to drop everything to prepare for the biggest wave to date to go to this place we only learned about five seconds ago. And most importantly, THE ANIME IS OVER!

Yes, this does set us up for a possible fourth season or movie. As of now, we have a fourth season in the works. But I just have to ask myself this. Do I even want it? Okay, stupid question. I do want to see it for what happens. It’s just that I’m kinda in a slump when it comes to this anime. Most of that blame does stem from the previous season. This season wasn’t as bad, but it’s a far cry from where things were in the first season. I’ll give the anime this, it spiked my blood pressure on my day off from work. That’s not a good thing!

So, I guess we’re going to this Q’ten Lo place, meet new characters, and take a total detour from where this story was going with fighting the waves. Then again, this season had absolutely no wave-fighting. And I’m sure we’re not going to get much clarity of any other character that gets introduced and is a “insert-something-here” hero. I’ll give season four a fighting chance if someone throws a Molotov cocktail at Bitch’s face. For those looking for an improvement to season two’s disappointments…I can’t lie. You would probably only like half of the series. Anything involving Wyndia, dragons, and the whole lot of demi-humans might lose your interest.

For now, every season of Rising of the Shield Hero is on Crunchyroll.

[holdingforexo]

I'm the anon that wrote the novel on the exo separation btw, but I also want to throw it out there that it's entirely possible that I may be in the minority for feeling like Luhan & Zitao's departures were sudden. And I don't want to assume that my perspective was/is the same as most other exo-ls at the time.

Thank you for sending this in! I attached the first part of your message below—and I added some comments below that. It’s nice getting accounts from someone who was around during that time. I know this blog primarily serves as a countdown project, but I’m glad it’s also a place of safe discussions for EXO-Ls ♥️

I don't want this to come off as arrogant and "well I was there, so I know better" in any way, so I hope it doesn't. And admin please feel free to ignore this if you think my commentary on all of this is unnecessary. There is also so much personal conjecture in all of this. I clearly wasn't there with them in the room when they made their choices to leave, and it was so long ago. But this is just how I interpreted their decisions to leave as a fan of the group and them when they were a part of it. But for context, I've been following exo since predebut, and from what I remember, when Luhan left, it was pretty sudden. At least from a fan stand point. It hadn't been long since he-who-doesn't-deserve-the-time-it-takes-to-type-this left, and they were in the middle of a tour. Overdose was relatively new too. But with that being said, it wasn't exactly a secret that Luhan was struggling with his health, and it's entirely possible that he had talked about it with the exo members before making his decision to leave. To me, it always felt like he left because he felt like he had to for his own sake and not because he really wanted to. Like the potential for hard feelings there feels lower to me than Zitao per se. But that's just my own opinion on it. And with Tao, it kind of felt like he stole away in the middle of the night. I don't know if that makes sense or not. And I don't fault him for leaving either. It's no secret that SM has always treated non-Korean members of groups worse than their Korean counterparts. I think he just maybe saw a better, more successful future for himself apart from the group and apart from being a Korean based idol. And obviously he is doing well for himself now. I think making that choice for that reason has the potential for hurt feelings between him and the exo members though. Almost like he was using exo as a career stepping stone, if you will. But again, pure speculation on my part. And I wouldn't quite be able to blame him if that were his reasoning either. As for Lay, it's like comparing apples & oranges. He made a different choice, so some awkwardness between them makes sense to me. I think you said it very well that it's just about the relationships you choose to invest in. And I know fans don't really like talking about it 1) because it happened so early on in all of their careers and all parties involved became successful in their own right. 2) it was genuinely so heartbreaking to be a part of and watch go down. You could see how much it hurt the exos. And they had to just keep moving forward with the public watching their every move as they were dealing with whatever emotions they were feeling about it. It was... it was a lot. And 3) a lot of former exo-m enthusiasts/exo fans still have a lot of love for Luhan & Zitao and what they meant to the group and members back then. And I know most wish nothing but the best for them and their individual careers. But ultimately, it just makes the most sense to talk about them, 99% of the time, as the separate entities that they are and not in relation to each other or what when down nearly a decade ago.

I absolutely agree with you—that of the departures, Luhan’s felt more like a “need” rather than a want. I remember seeing a concert clip of Luhan’s last show with EXO, and the OP stated noticing everyone looked a bit sad, and extra attention was given to Luhan by the others. I think it was assumed everyone knew it was going to be their last show with Luhan. This, in part, is why I’ve thought Luhan’s departure was discussed among the EXO members. While probably not as close as EXO is now, I do believe Luhan was genuine friends with everyone—especially Minseok—so I can’t imagine he didn’t discuss things with them.

I obviously was not around when Zitao departed EXO. But, from going through content released during that time, it actually seemed, to me, like Zitao was the one with the most internal struggles about leaving. I don’t know how reliable this is, but I read Zitao prepared for CMB on a strained ankle, and continue to do so until his father had to come to South Korea to bring him home to China because Zitao was continuing work while extremely ill. EXO was in the middle of a comeback, and I think some people just assumed the lawsuit was for publicity. So when Zitao actually did depart, that’s why there was shock. Again, hearsay.

I think when the first departure happened, Zitao was probably the most upset and frustrated. I think it’s safe to say Zitao was closest to Sehun, and I find it hard to think Zitao didn’t at least discuss things with him, if not with everyone. Because of how Zitao responded during the first departure, I want to believe he wouldn’t do the same to the others.

Your mentioning of the departures hurting EXO makes me think about the statement they jointly released when Jongdae announced his marriage...

“Before officially announcing member Chen’s marriage plans, all of the EXO members took time to discuss the matter critically, and as all of the EXO members have previously suffered the hardships of losing members in the group, the team as a whole relayed their wishes to continue with the current members without changes. We also respected the members’ wishes in this matter, and so we again notify that there will be no member changes in EXO.”

If I’m remembering correctly, this was the first time they publically acknowledged the previous departures. The sentiment of wanting to stay together was from the members themselves, not the company. I think some people, especially solo fans, want to believe EXO are just colleagues, that there are no emotional attachments. But these men literally grew up together, and share experiences that no one else can relate. We only know what EXO wants us to know, and I think assuming anything about how real or fake their relationship and bond with each other is, is incredibly presumptuous. As you said, the events happened nearly a decade ago. I like to think time helps heal wounds. So, even if there were bad feelings, I hope time and hindsight provided everyone with clarity on what’s important to themselves.

[glitternightingale]

Yeah so I'm also here post-animation process video drop and your brilliant break-down about Bruno's belly. Hi! I’m not on Tumblr and hope you mind a long ask in lieu of reblogging/adding to your OP.

The confirmation has been validating, is one big thing. But is it weird that with regard to the three whats/whys in your break-down (artistic choice, chub, malnutrition), I was like “ah but couldn’t it be a little, or be some combo, of all three?" - said with an intonation à la Mirabel’s "and I think it's all because of me?" I think I'm a bit of the mind that his belly is round (and "disproportionate") more due to malnutrition than from having actual healthy adipose, based on its shape? and stuff, but that's probably me reading way too into things.

There's this other part of me that's also like, what are the chances that someone like Jared Bush, who does answer questions about the canon on his Twitter, would further confirm… or maybe not confirm per se, but shed a lil insight into some of the choices?

And and: have you been able to compare the 1st and final passes at the chase scene animation? I’m no artist, but I feel like I noticed a few differences between the two Brunos (using side-by-side screen grabs bc I am 100% Like That). Ex. when he’s running toward the camera and goes to leap for the pipe: in the 1st test his stomach actually looks larger than it does in the final test; and, in the final his chest/rib cage/sternum area... and kind of his whole frame tbh... look smaller and more... shrunken/visible. Which I’m sure makes sense since it’s the final version and stuff like the muscle rigging(?) gets tweaked, but I just found the changes interesting in light of your post, the discussion, and because process stuff is cool.

This is all over the place, sorry! Last thing I swear: I love your fic, WAACH - and your art! More and more with each chapter. Always so happy seeing a telltale alliterative title in an email from AO3 :)

Oh, it could definitely be all three! I actually only broke it up into sections to structure my mess of thoughts on the matter. Well, then I forgot to point out exactly that. 😅

Here's the link to the referred post: Bruno's Belly: Artistic Choice? Chub? Malnutrition?

Bruno's Belly (2): Artistic Choice? Chub? Malnutrition?

When I wrote the first little meta about this topic, I was also really thrown off by the frames you mentioned:

(I tried my best to keep them comparable, but the more rendered version is from a slightly different, more dynamic perspective.)

And then we have this, where his belly disappears completely:

I know nothing about professional 3D animation, but this difference really strikes me. It doesn't seem to serve the purpose of exaggerating the action (like stretch and squash, for example), so where -- and why -- did it go?

Please, if anyone who reads this is brave enough, ask Jared Bush on Twitter! I need a concrete explanation. 😭

I once came upon a post where people were discussing the notion that these two Brunos aren't even the same model in the final version of the movie (correct me if I remember it wrong):

At least there's continuity where Bruno's wrists and ankles are concerned and that is that they are skinny all the time:

Here's my humble opinion on the matter in general:

I absolutely agree with your take, anon, and I think that it makes too much sense for it to not be canon. I believe Bruno is malnourished (as mentioned in my latest part of WAACH) in both meanings of the word. My fic works with the implications that Bruno had too little food (and that it wasn't of great nutritional value), as well as a diet with little variety.

Extra:

I'm so glad you enjoy my fic! I'm always really scared that I'll ruin it with my updates and that everyone who keeps up with it will be disappointed. BUT! The next installment will be called "Building The Base" and you can already guess from the first letters who it'll focus on. 😉

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

Thank you for asking people to back off on the op of that vivisection post, but I think it needs to be more visible than in the tags. I get that the phandom is a friendly bunch, but it seems no one has actually read deeper than the notes on the post (as most people on tumblr are wont to do) and seen that the op on their blog has stated they don't like the constant "this is what DP is about!" and "sorry for ruining your innocence/you had to find out about the phandom/angst/gore this way" responses when they are (1) a fan of ACTUAL non-DP-related gore and therefore not "innocent" (and that they're a bit freaked out by the constant implication that they are/the phandom acts as if they invented gorey fics) and (2) did not ask for anyone to tell them why they should watch it (and has in fact said they are NOT interested in DP). Like, I get that the phandom is super enthusiastic and wants to share their love of the show/fandom with others, but at this point it's like unsolicited advice from a stranger--unwanted, unasked for, probably irrelevant to their own interests, and annoying. All the unsolicited badgering only seems to make them more adverse to getting into DP, it's not like a best friend saying they're ok with listening to you ramble about your hyperfixation. I feel bad for OP. The phandom IS one of the friendliest and well-behaved people though, and you're really well-articulated (unlike me, look at me I'm rambling), so can you maybe help come up with a way to curb this kind of thing in the future? Maybe encourage people to pick up the behavior of not only checking the notes but checking the blog to see if the OP already got answers or even wants them? Making sure others know to do that too?

you know what, I'm glad you sent me this because that post really bothered me too

I actually added those tags as a direct response to the op telling people to stop

yeah like this stuff really doesn't happen to us very often so it is really funny and exciting to see 'outsiders' react to our weird shit, but it got very excessive very quickly, and a big part of that is something that bothers me about MOST of the internet tbh and that is

people don't check the comments before commenting

what that means, is that you get fifty people commenting the exact same thing, and that is not fun, in fact that can be very frustrating, especially for someone who isn't actually interested in the topic to begin with, op's activity would be drowning in this content they don't actually want to see

the first couple of responses to that post were VERY funny, and even op was playing along! but seeing them be dogpiled like that was really upsetting and I hate to admit, kind of embarrassing to watch

our fun shouldn't come at the expense of other people, I love this phandom to death (ha) but we do tend to get overexcited about things and that can lead to people being unintentionally inconsiderate, this is one of those times

also? some of those comments were just kind of... hm, 'not like other fandoms'-ish? which personally does not sit very well with me, it's a somewhat toxic mindset, yes our phandom is remarkably discourse light, it's a very friendly and cohesive place to be and I LOVE it here like no other fandom, but we shouldn't be acting like we're... special, we're no more special and important than any other fandom

just, no shame to anyone to be clear, this so rarely happens to us and was clearly a matter of people getting VERY overexcited and just lapsing in judgement, but I would ask people to be considerate of this in future, this would have left a really bad impression of us and that's something none of us want

[natolesims]

Same anon here, thank you!!! Do you have any specific worlbuilding in your story? Are you only playing with the disney princesses or do you have other disney characters mixed up? And I loved how you made this HUUUUGE plot twist with Cinderella! Are you doing the same with the next princesses? And about the side stories!! Are there more to come? I'm sorry if I'm being annoying, but I'm so loving all you do!!

My, these are important questions xD This is way too long to answer normally, so I'm writing all you want to know under the cut! I'm sorry, It is really long. I apologize in advance :')

If you have some spare time and are curious about this stuff of my legacy story, check this out. It my explain some things, hehe.

1. WORLDBUILDING

There is a "complex and connected" universe in this, yes, but I do not limit a story to the same sim world. I imagine certain game worlds as specific areas with their own social problems, forms of government and characteristic population. Still, I jump from world to world using specific lots or scenery places thay might complement the current chapters or, if I happen to need it, I'll rebuild the whole world again for upcoming generations if I'm already done with the previous ones.

For example:

In Snow White (the H.E.A. founder) the story developed in Windenburg and Windenburg only. Not even the whole world was used for the story, only three lots (The White Manor, Eis' cottage and the flower shop).

Cinderella and The Princess and The Frog develop in Willow Creek, but it's not the same Willow Creek. The only permanent lots are the royal palace and a couple of residential lots (the Tremaine and Bonfamille manors), but I redesigned the whole world for each arc. Ella's story took place in a more high-class victorian part of the kingdom, and Tiana's will be in a New Orlean-ish, humble zone with some vip spots. The townies are different and the social situation changes as well. I'll be also using specific locations from Windenburg, implying those scenes are still having place in some other unknown part of Willow Creek.

In some upcoming generations, I'm merging worlds into a whole area. In Rapunzel and The Beauty and The Beast, Glimmerbrook, Granite Falls and Henford-On-Bagley, as well as specific Windenburg areas, share the same territory.

This is a bit confusing, but it works for me :'D So far, this is how I've organized the story world in the save (mild spoilers):

Willow Creek + Magnolia Promenade: Kingdom ruled by a strong monarchy. Population: Humans and Hybrids** Connections with: Britechester, Newcrest.

Oasis Springs + Strangerville: Emirate and local mayoralties. Population: Humans, spellcasters, undercover aliens. No near connections.

Brindleton Bay: Mayoralty. Population: Humans and Hybrids. Connections with: Henford-On-Bagley, San Myshuno (not that close, but reachable).

Mt. Komorebi: Parlamentarism. Isolated area of the mountains. Population: Humans. Connections with: Granite Falls (veeeery lightly).

San Myshuno + Del Sol Valley: Presidency and Mayoralty. Population: Humans and undercover occults (Gods**, Spellcasters, Hybrids). Connections: Newcrest.

Windenburg: Parlamentarism. Population: Humans, Hybrids, Vampires. Connections with: Henford-On-Bagley, Glimmerbrook, Granite Falls.

Sulani: Principality and local chiefdoms. Population: Humans, Mermaids, Gods. No near connections.

Forgotten Hollow: Mayoralty. Population: Vampires and Spellcasters. No near connections.

Selvadorada: Republic. Population: Humans, Hybrids and Spellcasters. No near connections.

Evergreen Harbor: Mayoralty. Population: Humans, undercover aliens, cyborgs. Connections with: San Myshuno. If there is ever a future-like pack, it will be related to this area.

Britechester: Grand Duchy. Population: Humans. Connections with: Willow Creek, Windenburg.

2. CHARACTERS

I will mainly play with the "princesses", yes! I'm following these Disney Legacy Challenge rules as a main guideline, so the heirs are related to that. Even so, they won't always have the same looks or gender like the cartoon ones, nor the spouses. Since I'm a nerd, I try to surround the heirs with familiar characters from their stories, but they might be ooc or don't have the same role as they do in the movies. I just want to create the vibes, but give them my own twist!

I thought it would be fun to create a Disney movie themed save for this challenge, and I'm stil adding recreations of a lot of characters thay may fit in the world. Since I really enjoy rotational gameplay, I thought it would be fun to create mini challenges for certain households and play them aside from the main legacy to have a little change and relax. Buuuuuuuuut every single time I play this game a story pops up in my head, and yes, so far there is one side story with some of the minor characters. I'm afraid my save has turned into a graphic feverdream disney fanfiction, but here we are :'D It is important to say I also play with the EA premade townies, so this is a weeeeirddd mashup :')

Since I have the characters roaming around freely, they also interact with the main legacy and, in some cases, they even gain some importance. In Cinderella's case, I never planned Mr. La Bouff to become Ella's friend. My original plan was to have Tia and Lottie meet at university. Also! I created two fake occults: the Hybrids (think of were!Sims. Like Werecats, Werefishes, Werewolves, Werebirds... you get the idea... it'll be properly explained in the future. No, they don't turn into animals.) and the Gods (squish vampires, mermaids and spellcasters together. Now make them OP and immortal).

So far, I've included characters from:

The Aristocats, Finding Nemo, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, Tarzan, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Coco, Pinocchio, Big Hero 6, Lilo & Stitch, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Jungle Book, Toy Story, Cars, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis.

I had the intention of presenting them all and giving them out for download. I've been slowly makeovering them, so I hope I can manage to do so in the near future.

3. STORYTELLING

The plot twist was kind of a happy accident xD It wasn't planed at all! It's just I find it not-that-exciting to retell the same old story again and again. Cinderella is poor and mistreated, but then marries the prince and she's happy. We all know that, right? I don't intend to follow the same path... I need chaos to keep me entertained in my own game xD that's why I went like "welll.... what IF the prince is a bit of an ass?" I didn't see the whole load of drama that would come.

In the upcoming chapters, things are being similar. I don't say everything is going to be bittersweet, but I'll take elements from the main story and shape them differently. I'm taking a lot of creative liberties here!

4. SIDE STORIES

Im so glad you like them!! I get attached to my characters as soon as I start playing with them and can't help myself from giving them a story, even a little one. It's like... they're in my save for a reason, right? Not only as townie fillers, even if that was the main purpose in the beginning. It's safe to say there is one WIP side story with the Tremaine descendants involving some of the characters I mentioned before. I have another one in mind, but since it is not related with the main legacy at all I'm still not sure how to include it... but I'm working on it.

You can bet I'll keep telling these silly little stories because I really can't help it, hehe.

Thank you so much for asking! I'm really sorry for writing a lot, I hope this is what you were looking for!! And I'm so glad to have you as a reader ^^

[ichika27]

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun s2 ep9

I just wanna point out that the last scene on the OP changed. It used to be like, a red curtain background but now it’s in front of Royal One with the rest of the class.

Heyo! New episode today.

*record scratch*

*freeze frame*

This is our protagonist, Iruma. You must be wondering why he looks like he’s dying on a pile of schoolwork. Well, we have to go back a bit to see how this came to be.

(Sorry, I can’t resist making this joke when the show kinda started the episode like that.)

After Iruma’s evil cycle event, Azz and Clara decide to cling to him so they’d know if anything is wrong next time. Everyone tried prying them off to no avail.

Sabnock even offered Clara a piggyback! I’m glad that they’re acknowledging that this happens lol. It’s just a little thing on the other episodes (mostly in season 1, I believe) but at least we know Sabnock is okay with it.

Since nothing they did could make the two let go of Iruma, they decided they’d all join in instead! It’s so cute!! Kalego-sensei comes in to tell them some news though:

The Apocalypse, aka Summer Vacation is coming which is awesome and everyone is super excited!

The exams come first before that which causes the class to panic. Failure means remedial classes.

I guess it’s time for the “Demon School” part of the title to be on the spotlight. Time to study!

Iruma is one of those who are worried because he’s never had to study properly before (what with all the jobs he does and his parents being awful). He can also read the demon world’s language due to magic he was given by his grandpa but it doesn’t mean he could understand what he’s reading about.

Clara shows off her own exam results and while they are pretty bad, they at least exceeded the 10 point mark Iruma couldn’t even get to and this shocks Iruma. Clara further rubs it in his face by asking him to call her “Nee-san” or “Sensei”.

Azz-kun’s vision from before!

Asmodeus doesn’t think lowly of Iruma cause of this set back. Instead, he encourages Iruma and tells him that they could just study for it. Asmodeus offers his help in tutoring Iruma. One of the rewards of getting high grades is rank advancement and if they could do it together, all three of them could totally beat this test! (punishment of failing is demotion though which worried Iruma).

Oh and Ameri’s stalker needed to be somewhere where he could be watched over without him bothering the student council so he was dumped in Iruma’s battler. Iruma, being the nice guy that he is, couldn’t refuse and so they’re stuck with this guy.

Moving on! Ali-san is also worried. He was only able to talk and have proper consciousness when Iruma ranked up. Who knows what will happen when he gets demoted! Ali-san asks if Iruma could get high grades but Iruma answers that he could probably do enough to pass and not fail (which I can relate to cause all I could strive for in my school days were passing grades lol).

Iruma has a lot of expectations on his back right now. And so, that’s why he’s been studying his ass off.

The rest of the class is trying very hard to study as well since failure meant they’d have their summer vacation screwed up which is bad.

The main trio does their own studying too with Azz trying to gauge how much Iruma knows so they’d know where to start. The next scenes are Iruma and Clara competing in a little quiz with parodies of different popular game shows being their setting. Iruma gets no point at all while Clara gets 2.

Just when all hope seems lost.

One of the books move on their own and quizzes Iruma on it’s contents (just the first chapter apparently) and all of the questions seem to have to do with the human world or something and Iruma, being human, gets it all correctly.

Everyone praises Iruma for this accomplishment and since this is the first time he’s experiences such a thing, this gives him a little ego boost.

Asmodeus suggest that maybe they should take the Fantastical Animal studies since Iruma is good at it and that they could start focusing on that first. Iruma happily accepts.

Unfortunately, the usual teacher isn’t available and so they have this dangerous seeming guy instead. He’s also the guy who made the book that quizzed Iruma earlier.

--

This episode feels a bit more slice-of-life-ish due to how they’re focusing on studying at the moment. Indeed it’s important and Kalego-sensei points out they have to do well since they’re now using the Royal One classroom.

I was unable to take a screenshot of it but Grandpa Sullivan actually offered to help Iruma by either giving him the test answers or making the test easier (both which he could do since he’s the school principal) but before Iruma could even answer, Opera points out that helping Iruma that way wouldn’t be good for the boy in the long run. And also, Opera believes Iruma could pass it on his own which puts a little extra pressure on Iruma. I do believe that if Opera never said anything, Iruma would have declines on his own.

There’s a new addition to the Magic Tools Battler: Schnare Eligos. He doesn’t seem to have a big role at the moment though. Ameri mentions to Iruma that since the guy could make potions and such on his own that he could fit in the battler anyways. His name is added to the little list on the wall and along with him, there’s five names on there. They haven’t taken off Kiriwo-senpai’s and probably never would since Iruma believes their senpai would come back one day.

Not sure how long this little arc is gonna be but people on the comment section is already talking about a festival arc and a park arc. Hopefully the anime could cover the stuff that are exciting (we’re close to the season’s halfway point!).

Thanks for reading this far!

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 5x03-- And the court had a clerk...

Hello again! It’s nice to have this show back. This episode was a bit less of a standout than the previous two, but I’m still happy with the overall direction for this season. More under the cut (or here, because tumblr sucks). 

When Robert King tweeted the episode title, I asked him if all the titles this season were adding up to one long sentence/story, hoping he’d confirm it and give a little more information. He did! He said it’s “in the Farmer in the Dell mode” and while I think I get what he’s saying, I’m very curious to see how it plays out. Haven’t been able to track down 5x04′s title yet, but the promo is out. (As of this morning! It’s interesting they’re not putting them after the episode this year; I kind of like it.) 

Kurt’s job is up in the air given the new administration. I think this scene exists mostly just to remind us where Kurt works and the stakes.

What month is this supposed to be in? The transition seems recent but no one is wearing masks.  

Kurt spots a poster asking for help ID’ing people at the Capitol on January 6th. He thinks he recognizes someone...

And now we’re in case of the week land. This case is about a small business owner whose business went under after someone created fake news articles accusing him of pedophilia.  

I think the whole point of this (kind of long) scene is to show that this case is a pretty small deal. Low stakes, inexperienced opposing lawyer. (Not even sure why Liz would be arguing this in court, but whatever.)

Tbh I thought this was going to wind up in 9 ¾ court.

Now that we have junior level characters, we get scenes showing that there are, in fact, people at RBL who are mid-level. Liz asks an associate to work on something, he asks another associate to work on it, she delegates to other associates, and they delegate to Marissa and Carmen. This work seems terrible.  

It’s so funny to me how this is probably more realistic than most of the lawyering on the show and yet it only shows up selectively. We only see the hierarchy here to make it clear that Marissa and Carmen are at the bottom.  

David Lee interrupts and asks for Carmen. He’s very rude to her. Interestingly, she’s hesitant to leave her grunt work and follow David, even though she must know he outranks the associate who gave her the grunt work.

“Why am I supposed to know you?” David asks her as they walk through the halls. “I don’t know if you are,” Carmen responds. “Why does Benjamin Dafoe know you?” he asks. She doesn’t know who he is.  

“Who are you?” Dafoe asks when Carmen enters. She states her name, again. “Why are you important?” he asks. “I don’t think that I am,” Carmen responds.  

Then Dafoe says his top client, and it’s a name that the characters all know. I’m glad this scene is free of any “he’s the white OJ” expository lines (that’s from Sweeney’s introduction) -- it’s clear from the reactions and the discussion of police and rape that the top client is a bad guy, probably a rapist. The rapist wants Carmen to represent him.

Putting 2 and 2 together, Carmen asks if the rapist knows Rivi. He’s not, but he’s at the same prison. As soon as Carmen says she’s representing Rivi, David Lee switches gears, understanding the situation and trying to sign the new business. He’s so shameless!  

Marissa sorts ALL the papers. There are a LOT of papers. I’m swamped. Look at all this paper.

She catches the associate who assigned her the task leaving for the night just as she finishes up, and cheerfully notes she’s finished the task. Then the associate mentions this was only half of the bills. Marissa does not like that. Since her goal in wanting to be a lawyer is mostly just to give her something exciting to do and earn respect... this hierarchy thing is not going so well.

Marissa decides that after her rough day, she’s going to stop by Wackner’s court. He’s in the middle of a case about Emily in Paris fanfiction and he’s very happy to see Marissa.  

Wackner’s night court has a program—it notes the sponsor is Copy Co-op (I thought it was Copy Coop?) and the paper products were also provided by them. And “there will be regular intermissions at the discretion of Judge Wackner.” It’s very theatrical.  

Wackner takes a recess and calls Marissa to his “chambers.” He asks for her thoughts on the case. “All they want is attention and to feel like they’ve won,” Marissa notes. Wackner’s on the same wave length and compares it to the Scarecrow’s diploma at the end of The Wizard of Oz. So, he makes copyright certificates and some minor modifications to each of the fanfic books. They say “I respect you and I love you” and that’s that.

Wackner catches Marissa before she leaves and asks her to be his law clerk—part time or full time, 10% of all the legal filings and unlimited use of copy machines. She is hesitant because she “doesn’t even know what this is.”

Wackner says his court is “the future.” Marissa turns him down; notes she wants to pass the bar. “You know why all these people are here? ‘Cause the courts and the lawyers and the appeals have made justice... unattainable. Out of reach. To anyone who doesn’t have a shitload of money to wait it out. That’s why Exxon beats out Mr. Nobody. Read Kafka’s Before the Law.”  

I just read it, and you should too! It literally is a page, but tl;dr, there’s a man who wants to get to the law and instead he spends his whole life trying to win over the first of many gatekeepers on the path to the law. He never gets through the gate.  

“Justice is only just if it’s available to everyone,” Wackner says. Marissa thinks about that.

As I said last week, it’s smart that Wackner makes so much sense. Hearing him say all this, knowing that it’s true... it makes it very easy to get on board with the thought experiment. Of course there would be huge repercussions to this kind of system, but it makes so much sense it’s compelling TV!

Kurt’s showering when Diane gets home, which gives her time to stumble across the WANTED poster and notice that Kurt has drawn facial hair onto one of the pictures. “Who is this?” she asks him. “No one,” he says. “Well, you drew in a beard and a moustache on him,” Diane notes. Kurt says he was doodling, but Diane calls him out as he is the “exact opposite of a doodler.” Kurt says he thought it was someone he knew, but he’s not sure. Diane pushes him to tell the feds. Kurt reiterates he’s not sure, but it’s someone he went shooting with. “Oh my God, then it’s him,” Diane jumps to (not incorrect) conclusions. Kurt says he didn’t talk that way; he’s a veteran. “Kurt! That’s the profile!” Diane argues. Kurt isn’t convinced and he doesn’t want to be responsible for naming names. He notes he’ll be threatened with indictment for not naming names and then only lawyers will end up benefitting. Diane is not convinced.

I think this is an interesting conflict for Kurt and Diane. I understand why Kurt is hesitant to speak out before he’s sure. And I understand and agree with Diane that it’s important to identify the attackers and prevent anything like that from happening again.

I don’t mean to blame Kurt, exactly, but I feel like all of what happens next could’ve played out differently if Kurt had been just a little clearer with Diane about why he was hesitant to ID the man. Like, the threat of indictment for not naming names sounds like some typical anti-government rambling. Saying you specifically are afraid that this will turn back on you and you need to weigh your options and come up with a plan first would put Diane in a very different mode, in which they’d work together to craft the best strategy. Because this man would’ve been ID’d by someone, sooner or later, and Kurt would’ve needed to be prepared.  

Diane stares at the wanted poster at work and asks Jay to find his identity. He’s on the FBI TEN MOST WANTED? Ten!? Ok!  

Diane shares the extra information she has—the gun range and that he’s a veteran—and Jay gets to work.  

Turns out there’s no money in the case that Liz, a name partner, is working on and Marissa just spent all those hours sorting bills for. I could’ve told you there was no money in that case lol.  

Jay IDs the guy very fast. He’s faster than the feds because they didn’t know where he shot. The range had his license on file, and Jay got ahold of it.

“Well, we don’t pay you enough,” Diane says. “Oh, I know that,” Jay laughs.  

Diane says she’s going to think about calling the feds—it's definitely the same guy.

Marissa notes someone high profile (David Cord, who I presume is a thinly veiled stand-in for David Koch given the name, his role in the plot, and the fact that he is “David Cord of the Cord Brothers”) in the lobby giving a fake name and goes to tell Liz.  

David Cord is performing magic tricks for the receptionists (they don’t recognize him) when Liz and Marissa show up. “I knew your father. I hated your father,” Cord says. “Yes, well, he hated you too,” Liz says. He says he gave a fake name to see what the reception would be like since he’s kinda infamous.  

Liz introduces Marissa as one of the law clinic lawyers. Marissa knows what to say in this situation. Specifically, she knows that it is the exact right moment to name drop her father.  

“Democrats as far as the eye can see,” Cord notes. At that, Liz asks Marissa to get Julius involved.

More good expository work! (No, editor feature of Word, I do NOT want that to say “Better expository work,” that would change my meaning, go away and please stop grading my recap??? I don’t know how I brought this up but it’s telling me my score is 72%, so a C, and it’s driving me crazy. Oh, now I’m a 71%. It had me at like, 50%, because I had written “Wackner” and “Wackner” is not a word. No shit.)  

Anyway, back to the exposition. I like that we don’t get a line like, “Liz! David Cord, the Republican super donor, is here!” We just get to see Liz’s reaction, Cord’s hate of Liz’s father, and the line about democrats. Then it becomes clearer who Cord is.

Just noticed Liz is wearing an Apple Watch.

Liz stands for her meeting with Cord, likely to maintain power. Cord says January 6th changed everything to him and now he’s all about unity and loving America.  

Cord has something to say about Liz’s case, the one that’s not making any money, and he seems to know quite a lot about it. That spooks Liz.  

Then Cord offers her $12 million to continue the case for another six months (all of these months, seemingly, will play out in the couple of days the rest of this episode takes, but, whatever). He just wants them to go after the social media company that distributed the fake news... and Section 230.

Don’t know what that is? Now you do, because there is a Good Fight short! These work so much better when they’re actually needed (explaining concepts, etc.) than when they’re trying to force one into every episode (remember that Downton Abbey one? What... was that?)  

I was talking to @mimeparadox about this short and he pointed out that this short has a VERY clear POV on an issue that actually doesn’t seem to be all that straightforward. If you’re like me and only had a vague sense of what Section 230 was prior to this episode, this short is telling you what to think of it—it isn’t just explaining what it is.

I do tend to agree with the show’s POV on most things, but this is an issue I’d like to read more on. I love how Section 230 was something I hadn’t really read up on prior to this episode and now that it’s been on TGF I realize it’s something that actually, yes, I would’ve been interested in knowing about earlier. Is this because things that are on TGF are interesting to me because they’re on TGF or is it because TGF generally only discusses things that would be interesting to me? Probs a little bit of both.  

Diane asks Jay how to make an anonymous phone call and he hands her a burner phone. She calls the FBI with the rioter’s name. She doesn’t leave her name and then she dumps the phone.  

Credits! Did you catch there’s a Jordan Boatman in the credits? She plays one of the associates who passes down the grunt work to Marissa, and she’s Michael Boatman’s daughter in real life! She’s also been in one other episode, in season 3.  

I never get tired of these credits!  

The RL partners (and some associates who are on the case? I think these are the same ones who delegated the work to Marissa?) debate whether or not they should take Cord’s money. Madeline notes that he’s funded a lot of Republican campaigns; Julius notes that both Republicans and Democrats agree that Section 230 is flawed and this is an opportunity for unity.

Diane notes that the right doesn’t want to stop conspiracy theories from spreading, so is this really that bipartisan? “It would help if the boomers would stop falling for those conspiracy theories and sharing it with their friends,” an associate (I believe this is Michael Boatman’s daughter again) notes. That quiets the room and the partners all glare at her. Yeah, that was a kind of stupid thing to say. First of all, it’s just not appropriate to say to the partners, and it’s also, like, missing the point? If it’s easy for conspiracy theories to spread among boomers, maybe just expecting each member of that generation to suddenly have a millennial’s understanding of the internet is the wrong strategy? Maybe there’s some structural issue here? That maybe, just maybe, this case is actually about?  

The associate also points out that the internet is currently a place where people can speak out about sexual harassment-- “they repeal section 230, and there would be no #MeToo.”

One of the partners says he doesn’t believe that—if they regulate section 230, then newspapers can actually be competitive and there’s still free speech online.  

“We’re not going back to reading newspapers, grandpa,” some associate says. What the actual fuck, dude? Who talks like that to their boss?! It’s so condescending. He’s also wrong! “Newspapers” are not just physical things... reporting by major publications still matters and will continue to matter. Like, is he suggesting that in the future all news will just be random people tweeting things they think are true with no fact checking or curation? Sure, journalism is struggling right now—but I don’t think that’s because there’s a lack of desire for well-reported news.  

I am glad the partners call him out on saying “grandpa” and honestly I’m shocked he isn’t asked to leave the discussion after that rude remark. Unless this young looking dude is a partner too? But I don’t think he is.  

Julius notes that if they’re going to pursue this case, they need money like Cord’s. At that, Liz starts to leave the meeting. “We haven’t decided if we’re taking this Cord money yet,” Madeline protests. “Of course we are,” Liz says and leaves.  

Now that’s more like it! I’m not sure if this is necessarily the best way to handle this, but she’s a) correct, they were always going to take the money because it is $12 million and an issue of interest and b) using her authority. Should Liz be making decisions totally on her own? Maybe not. Does Liz making this decision and then leaving (with everyone accepting that she’s correct) cut through a lot of bullshit and establish Liz as the one in charge? Yup.

Diane says, “Ooh-kay” with a little bit of an eyeroll after Liz exits, but she’s still laying low. I think in a different season Diane might’ve tried to push back.  

Is it me or does Baranski get a lot of material this episode we haven’t seen before? Lots of really good reaction shots/tones in this episode I don’t really think we’ve seen from Diane before. I’m impressed there’s still new stuff after 12 years.

At some point maybe I will actually write the essay I’ve been wanting to write for ages about how TGF is still so relevant despite being in a universe that should be showing its age by now. I wish I could find the first time that I called TGW a period piece set in the present day (I know it would’ve been during season five) because I think that’s the key to TGW/TGF’s enduring success. The shows always feel timely because they try to capture the present moment (which is, of course, always changing) and don’t get stuck in any one moment in time. Further, the fact that the writers are always so tuned in to events and skilled at quickly reacting to what happens in the world makes them VERY good in a pinch, which is (I think) why they’re able to make the most of unexpected situations (Josh leaving TGW, the pandemic).  

Liz and Julius bring a suit against ChumHum to attack 230. Judge Friend is initially skeptical of their argument that 230 is unconstitutional; then she’s intrigued. I am too. This argument about the press is a very interesting one. I obviously have a lot of reading to do on 230, but my take after this episode is pretty much that social media platforms have to be held responsible in some way, but I don’t think it’s feasible or desirable for them to be responsible for every single one of billions of posts. I think there has to be some way to regulate social media giants that would allow everyday people to share things and speak out but would prevent the curated (even by an algorithm) spread of fake news and make social media giants accountable when there are very public bad actors using their platforms. What that regulation would be I have no idea. I just refuse to believe that our options are to give the social media sites full immunity or to regulate the internet so strongly that no one is able to speak freely because all the platforms are worried about lawsuits.  

Over at the VA, people are being fired. When Kurt gets into his office, Madeline Starkey (wait, are there two characters named Madeline in this episode?) is waiting for him. She’s still very quirky and scary.  

Starkey says the guy that Diane reported is now saying Kurt trained him on using assault rifles and buying ammunition in bulk. Kurt notes these were topics covered in a group setting, which Starkey knew—and what she’s really after is the names of the others in the group. (She may already know them, since she knows there were five of them.)

Kurt refuses to name names and just stares at her.  

Case stuff happens! (I liked the last two episodes a lot but it’s much faster for me to just write, “case stuff happens” for some of the scenes.)

Hey, surprise Aaron Tveit! (Not really a surprise; he is in the credits. But still yay!)  

I don’t really know why Liz and Julius are talking about newspapers specifically and not all types of fact-based journalism/press? I feel like their argument is most convincing when it’s about actual newspapers (especially local ones) but still would apply to cable news...

Marissa’s still hard at work sorting papers when the associate comes back in and informs her she can stop; they’ve changed strategies and everything she’s done is now irrelevant. She also says “I forgot to tell you” at the start of that thought, meaning that she neglected to tell Marissa this important information earlier and wasted her time. Marissa is not pleased and so she goes to Wackner’s court, where Wackner now has a deli ticket machine and is wearing super-sized novelty sunglasses. Why not!

He sees Marissa and calls a five-minute recess. In “chambers,” Marissa tells him she’d like to work for him part-time but keep her RL job.  

Wackner needs her help processing more copyright certificates. He’s priced them competitively at $20 and found that a lot of writers want these certificates, even though they have no legal value. (Neither do actual copyrights, Wackner notes. And he notes that if anyone plagiarizes, they can sue in HIS court.)  

“Marissa, I’m building something here. I want you to join me. I want your advice on cases. I want to bounce legal theories off you,” he says. “What are your legal theories?” she asks. “I don’t know. That’s why I need to bounce them,” he says.  

Marissa gives him from noon to 2 and 5-7, which seems awfully ambitious for someone working at a law firm!

“That’s how revolutions are made. Back rooms of copy shops,” he says, accepting her offer.  

Kurt is sulking in the dark when Diane arrives home. He lets her know about Starkey’s visit and she immediately goes into lawyer mode. Notably, this scene does not spend much time on how Starkey found out the rioter’s name. Curious if they’re saving that for later or if Diane and Kurt both know what Diane must have done or if Kurt think’s it’s a coincidence.  

Kurt SET UP A TOUR OF THE CAPITOL for one of the veterans in his shooting group, and that tour was ON JANUARY 6TH! I really do wish he’d told Diane that upfront.  

Maybe the long pause where Kurt refuses to tell Diane which congressperson arranged the tour even after she promises she won’t say is him letting on that he knows that Diane ID’d the guy? Or maybe it’s just Kurt.  

I do not like the dead birds in Starkey’s office, mostly because I do not like thinking about dead birds.

Starkey compares Diane and Kurt to the Conways.  

And now more case stuff happens.  

Julius gets to question a witness for the first time in two years! He’s a little shaky at first but then he does a fantastic job! Yay Julius!

When Diane arrives at the office, reception is filled with around a hundred teddy bears. “What?” she asks. “Build-a-Bears. They were sent to Marissa,” the receptionist explains. “Okay... why?” Diane asks the logical next question. The receptionist does not know.  

“This one’s a Marissa bear,” she says, showing Diane a bear wearing boots and a wig. It does not look much like Marissa and it says “Hug me.”

Diane looks confused and furious at the same time. Her look here is, like, a milder version of the death stare she gives Alicia in Outside the Bubble when she learns about Alicia and Cary’s plan to leave.  

“Why don’t we, meaning you, take all these stuffed animals and put them in the conference room,” Diane instructs the receptionist. She is NOT! HAPPY! The receptionist seemed to be having fun with the bears, but clearly the right answer was to have done something with them and... not to have put them over every surface in reception. Eeek.  

Carmen’s new client, the rapist, arrives at the firm before anyone can hide the bears. “This may not be the firm for you,” his advisor/lawyer (I’m not totally sure what this dude’s job is) warns.  

Madeline notices the rapist and glares at the receptionist. “I know. I’m putting them in the conference room,” the receptionist says, thinking Madeline is upset about the bears. She is not upset about the bears.

Diane finds Marissa, who’s working with Carmen again. She asks Carmen to give them a moment.

“Why are there hundreds of teddy bears in our reception?” Diane asks. Marissa is confused. Diane shows her the Marissa bear. Marissa looks horrified and amused. “That doesn’t even look like me,” Marissa notes, completely missing how pissed off Diane is. I don’t think we have seen Diane be this direct/no-nonsense in ages.  

“That would seem to be beside the point. What is going on, Marissa?” Diane demands. Marissa suspects this is based on some advice she offered to a client who was buying a Build-a-Bear franchise and thinks this is a thank you gift. “What client? You’re not a lawyer! Why do you have clients?” Diane says exasperatedly.  

Marissa gives her a look, and Diane immediately understands that she’s been back to Wackner’s court. “Oh my God, this is about that Copy Coop court?”

“Marissa, no. By participating in that simulacrum of a courtroom, you exposed this firm to malpractice, sanctions, and God knows what,” Diane says. If that were really true, she wouldn’t have sat there and argued. I mean, I don’t know the legality of this all, but I feel like it’s a bigger optics issue than legal issue if Diane and other lawyers are willing to even consider participating?  

“If you wish to continue your employment at this firm, you will never do anything like that again. Do you understand?” Diane says. She will not hear any arguments.  

I love that Marissa is the thing that keeps Wackner coming back. It’s a good plot for her, but structurally, it also allows the show to keep Wackner around without many contrivances. Wackner sees that Marissa would understand what he’s up to, she sees that he shares some of her frustrations with the law, and they both want to work together again. It’s not like suddenly everyone’s talking about Wackner’s court and all the cases somehow end up there or anything.

The receptionist, who is having a truly terrible day, comes into announce that Kurt and Starkey have arrived. “Don’t put them in the conference room!” Diane commands, knowing that the teddy bears will be there. It’s too late, though, because the receptionist (who previously seemed to be fine at her job if bad at recognizing public figures and understanding that partners might not find teddy bears amusing) has already put them in the conference room. I feel bad for her, and don’t think the other things were her fault, but I feel like she could’ve seen this one coming...  

I find the teddy bears HILARIOUS, mostly because the reactions to them are so funny. It’s kind of the same gag as the balloons for Lucca in season two, but I don’t really care, because I’m getting to see Diane Lockhart treat hundreds of Build-a-Bears like they are a real work problem.

Starkey jokes about the bears; Kurt is silent.  

The rioter from the poster is now accusing Kurt of coming up with the STRATEGY for January 6th, which Kurt and Diane both dismiss as bullshit.  

I could do without Starkey’s musical cues.

I can’t tell if Kurt is in trouble here or if she’s just pressing him to name names. Why wouldn’t she just have rioter guy name names if he’s so eager to blame Kurt? I guess maybe if the others were actually there, he might be less likely to name the names of his actual co-conspirators? Or, Starkey might already know the names (surely the shooting range has logs) and be using this to raise the stakes.  

No one (except maybe the partner named Daniel) is happy about the rapist in reception. “Since when are we representing people like Wolfe-Coleman?” Julius asks. Didn’t these people help both Sweeney (though I think Sweeney was in some weird police brutality case and they didn’t actually want to represent him) and Bishop? And Rivi? But they draw the line here? Sure.  

Ah, there we go, an expository line-- “he’s the next Jeffrey Epstein”. Almost made it the whole episode without one of these. I’ll forgive it since it’s so late in the episode lol.  

“Did you approve this, Liz?!” Madeline demands. Liz did not. Daniel wonders if that means Diane approved it. Liz doesn’t think so and calls Diane (who happens to be walking past) in.  

“I know, the teddy bears. I’m working on it,” Diane says when she opens the door. I think the teddy bears are a bigger issue to Diane than to anyone else.  

Diane didn’t approve representing Mr. Rapey either. She’s uncomfortable that a meeting was happening without her; Madeline notes that she is standing there specifically because they wanted to involve her.  

David Lee pops up out of nowhere with the answer: one of the new associates (not Marissa, “the real one”) pulled in Mr. Rapey. Are there only two associates now even though orientation was for a big group?  

Firth is gone, btw. David Lee is the new Mr. Firth. I have no idea why David would want to be STR Laurie’s guy for managing RL but... sure, whatever? David Lee is an effective antagonist, especially in small doses, and this allows the writers to keep him around and continue the STR Laurie plot without a key guest star. If STR Laurie is still a thing, and it seems like it is going to be a thing for a while, then having David Lee take on this role makes sense for plot. Otherwise they’re going to have to shoehorn him in to every plot somehow. At least now he has a reason to be around.  

Liz and Diane take a walk to chat. Diane is worried about having David as their boss. Liz says she has a worse worry—David Lee knew exactly when to come downstairs with information, suggesting he know what they were talking about. “Would he do something like that?” Liz asks when Diane wonders if there’s a bug. “Oh, yeah,” Diane replies. Hah, yeah. He absolutely would.  

They decide to have Jay search for bugs and Liz is frustrated with how much time they have to spend on things other than lawyering. Yup.

“What is going on with all the teddy bears in the conference room?” Liz asks as they head back to the office. “It’s a long story,” Diane sighs. I also love that the teddy bears link the various pieces of the episode together—it feels like all of these threads are happening simultaneously because of that constant.  

I don’t get RL’s approach to clients. Bishop and Rivi are ok, Wolfe-Colman is not (except that actually he is fine). Cord is okay too. Do they draw the line anywhere? I know Liz was right when she said that OF COURSE they were taking the money, but is there really nothing that differentiates that situation from this one? I feel like there should be.

Marissa goes back to see Wackner. Since someone refuses to say “I respect and I love you,” Wackner reverses his ruling. This is part of the “Bad Loser Law of last Wednesday,” so the rules of Wackner’s court are clearly a work in progress.

Marissa explains she can’t be the law clerk because of Diane. She tries to connect him with a real lawyer, still not understanding exactly what Wackner’s after. “You know just enough not to crush what I’m doing here,” Wackner explains. “A real lawyer will look for reasons why not. I need someone to look for reasons why.”  

Case stuff happens. I cannot read Cord’s handwriting. Liz and Julius lose the case because Judge Friend says what’s happening isn’t fair, but it is constitutional. (So here we have, at least in the show’s POV, a good and attentive judge who can’t make decisions that make sense because she’s bound by a document written before anyone had ever dreamed of the internet.)  

Cord is waiting for Liz in her office. He’s prepared to bankroll an appeal. Did they blow thorough that $12 million already? Impressive; it’s been like a day.  

Cord says they are definitely the firm he wants. Interesting.

Now Liz wants a meeting with Carmen, so it’s Marissa who leaves the room. This scene seems like it was meant to be a different day?  

Liz wants to talk about Mr. Rapey. Carmen is, yet again, chill about the case. “Carmen, is there anyone that you would not represent?” Liz asks. Funny, Liz, I could ask you the same. Being hesitant about it is not changing the fact that you’re representing bad people. Carmen’s just cutting the bullshit.  

“I don’t understand. Is there someone you don’t want me to represent?” I love how Carmen’s incredibly polite responses always seem very pointed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Carmen’s reply, and yet it puts Liz in a place where she can’t dance around what she’s trying to say.  

“I’m just trying to get a sense of who you are,” Liz explains.  

Then Liz decides she’s going to help on the Craig Wolfe-Colman (Mr. Rapey) case, and they will keep talking about her career path. Liz, this does not seem like the right solution! You're worried about your associate representing bad people so you’re like, I know, what if I ALSO represented bad people? If your goal is to convince Carmen not to take clients like this, you’re kinda shooting yourself in the foot!  

“Are you worried about me?” Carmen says, again turning things on Liz. “I don’t know what I am about you,” Liz replies. Me either. Well, I know I'm intrigued, but beyond that, no clue!

All the bears have ended up in Diane’s office, where Wackner is waiting. He jokes about how his court is always seen as informal, yet this real fancy law office is covered in Build-a-Bears. Then he says he wants to hire RL—he's willing to pay. He wants consultation from Marissa (“consultation on legal issues”) and he’s prepared to spend a lot. And, if there’s one thing we know, it’s that they’re always going to take the money. So, they do.

I love that Wackner’s goal is to “perfect my little clubhouse of the law.” It’s a fun plot, and it also allows for the rules in his court to change (I’m sure we’re going to be treated to/subjected to a lot of whimsical gags around changing and ridiculous rules). It's also a good way to work through the thought experiment over the course of the season. It’s not like Wackner already has a system set up and it’s perfect—I'm sure we’re going to see his system run into issues and explore that more, too.  

Wackner monologues a bit here about why he’s running fake court, and he lets us know he’s going to monologue. Basically he thinks people no longer want to help people and are only motivated by their own self interest. He notes that no one talks about the Peace Corps anymore and asks the last time Diane heard anyone say those words. I’m sure I’ve heard a reference more recently but my mind went RIGHT to season one Cary Agos saying “Peace Corps. Belize,” as some kind of smarmy pickup line. This is likely not where my mind was supposed to go.

Wackner wants “A new Peace Corps. For America.” Diane’s sympathetic to that and agrees to take him on as a client.  

Wackner asks if he can take a bear. Diane instructs him to take two.  

Aaaand Wackner and Cord end up on the elevator together. Wackner hands Cord a bear, the elevator doors close, and the episode ends. Since last episode ended with Marissa and Carmen in the elevator together, I’m hoping this will be how every episode this season ends. I think using the Kings’ favorite liminal space to transition between episodes is kind of fun, and it fits with the ellipses at the end of every episode title.  

Speaking of... did you see today’s elevator-themed episode of Evil? It was written by the Kings. Those two have been obsessed with elevators for at least a decade.  

[finn-ray-nal-beads]

BITCH YOU’RE BASICALLY AT 300 FOLLOWERS! SO GIMME PART 2 TO THAT PHILLIP ALTMAN BLURB YOU WROTE FOR ME YOU BEAUTIFUL BITCH!💖💖💖💖💖

A/N: BITCH I AM SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME THIS LONG TO PUT THIS OUT. I HOPE YOUR WHORE ASS LOVES IT @historyandfandoms50

Warnings: obscene amounts of marital bliss and fluff, pussy eating, mentions of a blow job, domestic love, appliance fucking (if that’s even a thing), large amounts of smut, slight degrading language (only once or twice), nipple play, slight pain play

(Present time)

“Holy fuuu-cccc-kkiinggg shittttt, honey!” Crying out on top of the brand new washer and dryer combo you and Phillip just had delivered not even an hour ago. 

“Yeah babe?” he thrust his twitching cock into your squelching pussy, “you like it when I fuck you on our new shit?” 

You let out a sinful moan as the warmth from the heated dry cycle added to your already overstimulated senses, “God yes Phil, honey, I love it when you fuck me on things!” 

(A few hours earlier)

It was a lazy Sunday morning, you both had woken up the average way, Phillip nose deep in your wet pussy, licking kitten stripes to disturb your dreams. It was his favorite meal of the day, as he called it, tasting your wetness built up from the almost eight hours since he’d fucked you the night before. His cock weeping at its head from the no contact for that long as well. He got his fill as you unraveled around him within minutes of his assault on your throbbing hole, looking up at your blissed-out face. His goatee and mustache glazed like a donut, licking your sweet juices from it like a salve. 

After a well-placed blowjob to rid him of his morning wood, you both had fully gotten out of bed and went along with your day. He made a pot of coffee downstairs, while you showered and did your Sunday self-care routine. Slipping on your favorite leggings and t-shirt combo, you gathered all the dirty clothes from the week, placing them in the hamper after they had been sorted. You both were excited to finally have a washer and dryer in your house instead of dragging your clothes to the dry cleaners. The delivery would be here any minute and you wanted your laundry to be ready the second it was hooked up. You made the bed, fluffed the pillows, and headed downstairs with the hampers to drop them off in the mudroom before heading to the kitchen. 

Upon descending the flight, the smell of fresh brewed coffee and omelets filled the air, causing your eyes to roll back into your head. Your husband despite all of the behaviors he exhibited outside your shared home, had the best domestic side to him. He cooked, cleaned, and took care of you every second he could do so. He doted on you every chance he got to, bringing home your favorite flowers, bottles of expensive wines, exquisite lingerie, and sweets when he found your favorite vices. You were spoiled rotten by him, and of course, you treated him the same way. The love you both had for each other exceeded any kind of love you had been familiar with in the past. He was by all accounts the perfect match for you and you, to him, were his whole world and nothing more. Friends and family even saw the affections when you were around him, and they made every single point to be supportive and sometimes jealous at the sappy love you two had shared. 

You and he didn’t want to have it any other way though. He was your best friend by all accounts, and you would be satisfied if he was the only person you interacted with for the rest of your life. 

You walked into the kitchen after dropping loads of laundry off by the space for the new appliances and grabbed a cup out of the cabinet. 

“Hey babe,” he turned around, shirtless and in joggers, sipping some coffee himself, and turning an omelet over in a pan on the cooktop. 

You walked over after filling your cup and ran a hand up his enormous back, caressing the moles and freckles spotted all over the expanse of it, “hi honey,” you sang while lifting yourself on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He moved his face upon feeling your soft touch and wrapped his arm around to kiss you properly, only breaking when the eggs started to bubble. 

“Breakfast is ready, and I got a text that the truck will be here any second with the set,” he smiled into your puckered lips again, causing you to moan out in excitement. 

“Can’t wait,” you whispered, moving your hands to wrap around his thick middle, gripping the skin a little tighter than previous. 

“Oh babe,” he cooed, “is my little wife still not over what happened this morning?” he teased putting the spatula down and flipping the stovetop off bringing his large hands to grip your ass cheeks. 

“I just love you, so much honey,” you smiled running your hands up to his chest, leaving light nail marks on his tits. 

“I. Love. You. Too. Babe.” he punctuated on every kiss he left around your lips, cupping your heat in his palm. Just as things were about to get steamy, the doorbell chimed. 

(Just before the MAGIC)

“Thanks, guys!” Phillip waved off the installers while you immediately filled your new machine with the dirty darks you’d been saving. 

Flipping the unit on, you watched the majesty of your very own washer working to clean your garments, almost bawling at the thought of never seeing a coin-op machine again. 

“You like it, babe?” Phillip stood in the doorway of the laundry room, leaning to one side of it, admiring your curves as you bent down to grab the other hamper with the whites in it, easing up and setting it on the bench next to the dryer. 

Turning around glassy-eyed, you jumped into your handsome husband’s arms, “h-holy shit, Y/N!” 

“I love them, honey,” you almost sobbed into his naked neck, as he tightened his grip on your waist, causing your legs to choke his middle. 

“I’m so glad babe,” he pet your damp hair, moving it out of the way so he could pepper your perfect neck with kisses. 

His soft lips sent a shiver down your spine, causing a whimper to spill out of your mouth. He took that as a sign and began sucking perfect welts along the length of it, the colors growing darker and darker the more he trailed downward. 

“God I love it when you whine like that,” he growled into your ear, biting the delicate flesh, causing you to look up from your hiding spot. You enveloped his swollen lips in a searing kiss, his hands gripping your ass once again as your arms fell behind his head, tangling your digits in his hair. 

He moved to set you on top of the new dryer, letting go of your cheeks and moving up to your perky tits hidden behind your t-shirt. You had forgone a bra for the day, so the access was simple. He snuck his large hands around each tit, twisting your nipples in his rough fingers, causing you to cry out again. 

“Fuck, Phil,” you gasped as he pinched your hardening buds, “I need you, honey.” 

“Oh ya?” he smirked, kissing your clothed tits, taking in your scent, “you need me to do what baby?” 

He twisted them again, this time with a little more fervor, “O-oh fuck-k!” you wailed out. 

“Use your words honey, or I’ll leave you alone,” he taunted at your pained face pleading for him. 

“I-I need y-you to fuck m-me,” you said with tears streaming down your face. 

He hushed you, rubbing the wetness away, coming in between your legs to rub his hardened cock on your clothed pussy. 

“Take your pants off love, or I’ll rip them off,” as he turned the dial on the dryer, to a cycle. 

You squirmed your leggings off, baring your nude and throbbing cunt to his eager eyes, “so wet for me, baby,” licking his lips as he turned the machine on. 

The vibrations from the dryer sending shockwaves through your aching clit, you set yourself back on your elbows, exposing more of your mound to your husband’s eyes. He pulled his pants down, palming his angry cock and lining it up with your entrance. 

He grabbed both sides of your hips, sinking his dick into your wetness, the both of you collectively moaning in complete pleasure. He held himself still, admiring your writhing around from his dick pulsing inside you and the vibration from the dryer underneath. You looked utterly delicious, and his hunger to make you come spurred him into a frenzied series of animalistic thrusts. 

(Back to present time)

Balls slapping up against your little asshole, your elbows propped burning from the sensation of rubbing against the top of the dryer, you scooted yourself forward removing your top as he adjusted his angle to fit your needs. Your bouncing tits at his eye level, he took one in his mouth sucking as hard as he could. Your hands weaving into his head in a death grip as he mercilessly fucked you for all he had. 

“G-god baby,” he stammered, “I’m s-so f-fucking c-close.” 

“Fuck-k b-babe,” you moaned out over the many noises, “s-so am I.” 

His hand moved from your tit to your aching clit, rubbing his thumb in tight circles over it. Your pussy tightening around his cock as he sent you into a blissful orgasm. 

“Jesus fuckin’ C-Christ honey,” you cried out, milking your sweet nectar on his pulsing cock. He thrust in and out a few more times, the overstimulation from your hole throbbing around his member sending him into his release too. 

“God, babe,” he growled out coating your insides with his seed, “You are so fuckin’... beautiful,” he whined out on the final release of his remaining spend. 

Just then, the dryer alarm rang, signaling the end of the cycle he’d set. You both looked up connected still and looking utterly fucked, and laughed out loud. 

“Well,” you patted his back, “at least now we know how long we have until the dry cycle is over!” 

He chuckled, helping you down from the machine, and handing you your leggings, “indeed we do honey.” 

He swatted your bare ass bent over looping your feet through the legholes, to which you stood at attention and smacked his bare chest. He put his hands in the air if he hadn’t touched you ever, and you rushed into his body in a bear hug, or a ‘baby bear hug’ as he liked to call it. 

“I love you,” you kissed into his little tuft of hair on his sternum. 

“I love you most,” he snaked his arms around you, kissing your head and rubbing your back. You both left the mudroom, changing the laundry as the day went by. 

Now, the new tradition you had both agreed on was every new big thing bought for the house had to be ‘christened’, making buying things a little more fun in the future. 

You fell asleep that night curled up in Phillip’s embrace, stroking his every feature on his sweet face as he was lulled off by your presence. All you could do was smile and think about which shiny new thing you all were desperate for next. You’d ponder it more when you didn’t feel so tired from gazing at your sleeping husband. The last thing you saw was his precious freckles fade into your memories as you drifted off. 

_____________

PHILLIP FUCKING US ON ANYTHING IS HOT AS FUCK LIKE NO CAP. I REALLY HOPE THIS TICKLED YOUR PICKLE BABE. 

🖤,

ray-nal-beads 

[toooldforfandom-liveblogs]

RWBY V8E02 - Refuge

Who needs "refuge" besides our protagonists? Well, besides the entirety of Mantle. I have no idea, so let's do this!

Watching the OP again I just realized what these lights remind me of:

Welp.

Looks like the friendly scene from the opening is not happening any time soon.

ooh, now it makes sense.

It also probably reflects Qrow's state of mind with the camera framing him during that line. Blaming himself and all that.

I wonder. Having Jacques in jail is a perfect excuse for Whitley to transfer the SDC to himself if he wanted.

Other characters wiping Jacques's smirk still is very satisfying.

Well, I didn't expect this scene from the OP to happen so quickly. I guess Ironwood is making recovering Penny a priority. Nothing like working with a former enemy (who made him lose an arm) to keep making it clear he's willing to do anything and everything to defend Atlas, "no matter the cost"

note: there's no exciting music

Would that be Ironwood or Tyrian? Probably the latter, unless he sees Ironwood ordering their arrest as the ultimate cause for Clover's death. Which is a bit of a jump but it's not like it doesn't make sense, especially from the point of view of someone grieving.

Okay, she's awesome.

Not so subtle reminder of their motto(?) with the graffiti behind her.

The previous episode (and the previous scenes of this one) were so serious that Yang's face looks reaaally weird in context.

And so short too. Which I guess is good, but it just makes it feel more out of place.

"Refer to owners manual for diagnostic information"

Can't wait for the bike to explode because no one found the manual.

That's ominous. The grimm hunting for Oscar?

I'm glad someone volunteered to stay as bait.

You know this is fiction because she didn't continue arguing.

This really feels like the set up for something bad to happen. Which is probably unavoidable with Salem being up there.

I really, really hope this pan up to show Atlas doesn't mean they'll end up working together with Ironwood.

big fan of weiss's face

Doesn't help that she left her only "friend" behind.

I think I spent most of last season saying that Penny was trapped in Atlas by her responsibilities. Her being the Winter Maiden means she'll never be free. Which kinda makes me want to try and think of ways for her to escape.

If she dies (again * shakes fist at RT's general direction *), would her powers go away before Pietro revives her soul? I guess it depends on the exact way Pietro's semblance works. Did he give part of his soul to Penny's memory core (so now it's a different soul inhabiting the same body, with the same memories) or did he kickstart Penny's surviving soul in her core? Would the powers look for a successor during that state of limbo?

Interesting expression there for Penny, even if I don't what it's supposed to mean. Maybe she doesn't really believe Ruby yet? With Ironwood being her "boss" all her life, it's probably rather hard for her to go "yeah, he's wrong"

Simply amazing

very capable sheep

but still cute

oof, not very tactful though

Yeah, bad approach there

It feels like the animators/writers really took to heart the complaint of Fiona's semblance not being very clear last season.

And here's the fight scene we didn't get last episode. Is Oscar going to get kidnapped while everyone is distracted?

That was way faster than I expected.

ah

...what scares Grimm?

I like this, good source of tension, because really, what makes Grimm turn the other way? Maybe the Grimm hunting for Oscar?

lol at me saying this Grimm needed a distraction. Couldn't care less about anything

1) that was really fast

2) why does it look like his body is made of play-doh

They learned their lesson with the Nuckelavee: adding some bone cracking sounds really amps up the creepiness

And it's smart too!

It reminds me of the more advanced nomus from My Hero Academia. Grimm are already scary, add some smarts or even sentience and they jump to horrifying. And it's a good way to add some difficulty to beating them. The show just showed us how fast they can beat the normal Grimm after all.

"my baby"

ew

Wow. I really didn't expect Oscar to get kidnapped right away. I guess the season taking place in a couple of days makes it a necessity to move things faster than usual.

I didn't quite pick it up while watching this episode, but thinking about it, the heart of it seems to be Penny's chat with Ruby. Sure, Oscar getting picked up like a fry by a hungry seagull is more exciting but we know where's that's going. Penny though? I'm not so sure.

Was it only me or did it feel like Ruby was talking past Penny?

Penny has never been able to choose what to do. First she was told to participate in the tournament, then after getting revived she was told to protect Mantle and then she had to take the Winter Maiden's powers. Which, sure, she could have chosen to say no but in that situation there was no other acceptable alternative for her. She did choose to leave with Ruby but that doesn't erase the weight of everything else in her back. So now she's finally learned enough about herself and her feelings to realize she doesn't like the roles and responsibilities she has been thrust into. But Ruby completely misunderstood what she was talking about and just reinforced that being The Protector of Mantle is her job.

There's a painful look to the side before Penny thanks Ruby. A look that screams to me "you don't get it." Which, oof. Let the poor girl be happy before she gets hacked, please.

Something interesting is Qrow's new quest for revenge. That usually never works for anyone in fiction, always ending in never-ending cycles, suffering and being consumed by hate, the dark side and all that bad juju. Hopefully Qrow can reign it in and kill Tyrian just enough feel satisfied. Because, really, who can say that Tyrian doesn't deserve to be very dead and buried? Qrow already stopped drinking, let him have a little murder instead.

Unless he meant Ironwood. Which, sure. It could happen. And it has a ton more possibilities for drama since they were "friends" before, but I don't know. While with Tyrian feels more cut and closed, with Ironwood it feels like the show would go for Qrow being stopped or realizing revenge is wrong or something like that.

The last thing I wanted to talk about is Yang's team and storyline. They are having many more problems than Ruby's, their interactions having a lot more friction between them.

They are not really "saving" people, they are preparing for a last stand. We know Salem, we know it's hopeless unless something or someone comes to saves them. I mean, where do you go story wise when your goal is to get everyone inside a crater?

And the show knows it too, making their scenes the most serious of the episode. The few moments of humor are some quips and Yang enjoying her motorbike, and even those feel slightly out of place, probably on purpose, compared to the humor in Ruby's scenes. They are tired, frustrated with their friends, and they have to know they are just delaying the inevitable. Oscar getting kidnapped almost felt like a respite.

I think the episode struggled a bit with all the parallel storylines to the point it didn't feel cohesive but I guess those are the struggles of being an extremely serialized show.

Very happy to see the Happy Huntresses having more of a role this season.

I'm going to stop myself from reading too much into how Ozpin's comment about how they everyone needed to work together seemed to imply they need to work with Ironwood. I think that ship already sailed and to do it now would feel very "we have to compromise, hear all sides" which ugh.

I'm really curious about where this is going, especially Penny's arc, so that's all for now. Until next time!

[kirby-the-gorb]

reply roundup!

thank you very much to this month’s patrons! @goldom, hadbabits, lukeperiodsun, and fleurdelis! most of them are only on twitter but the point stands! (if y’all do have tumblrs as well, please let me know so I can acknowledge you more properly!)

highlights from the past couple weeks:

kirby banishes guilt and doubt just by yelling! (and makes some art for a kind follower!) [link]

new patreon favorites! [link]

kirbzilla destroys block city! [link]

sad sad kirby gets comfort from bear! [link]

announcements:

I am opening kofi commissions! same style as the daily drawings, $12 for digital or $18 for traditional with untracked shipping. (make sure you contact me beforehand, because I’m not using the little form so it doesn’t prompt you to give me contact information.)

the patreon turns one year old next month, and to celebrate I will be adding a sticker club tier! for $5 a month I will provide a mini sticker sheet in the mail, with a new design every month! (this will not be available for another ~2 1/2 weeks, as I do not have a design ready for march fulfillment. but we will have march signups for april fulfillment!)

on [counting]:

@the-halo-of-my-memory said: your kirbies are such a mood, like me too gumdrop. counting is hard. i need to get those stickers too, i need themmmmm

it takes a lot of math sometimes! (and thank you for your enthusiasm :> )

on [banish]:

@deepblooberc said: Never give up!

yeah!! you can do it!!!

@invaderstupid said: Don't worry about talking about money too much! I also spend most of my time thinking or expressing concerns about money. I'm applying for SSI and its all that is on my mind. So I understand your position with disability!! I hope your appeal goes through btw!! I love your blog ❤

(if you need me to remove this from the roundup please do feel free to let me know!) thank you so much for taking a moment to be vulnerable alongside me, it honestly made me feel a lot better. <3 and I wish you the absolute best of luck with your application!!!

@incrediblue said: Kirby practices his sonic blast 'Poyo of Positivity'

an extremely useful skill, even though it takes time to learn!

@catz-vs-zombiez said: god i wish i could do that

it’s probably worth a try at least!

on [hat]:

@rar85 said: Love his hat!!!!

he loves his hat too!!! (it is an actual hat I actually received in real life, it’s amazing :’> )

also @tsukiakarinobara tagged the reblog with the bear [bonus] “kirbear” and they are so right. I’m stealing that tag for the bear. (eventually. it takes a long time to go through the whole archive to tag stuff!)

on [sleepy]:

@inexplicably-spookified said: sleeepy orb... feelin' this too recently

I usually draw as one of the last things before I go to bed, so I feel this a lot when I’m drawing XD

on [wail]:

@marsupials-of-mars said: I thought the arms were tongs at first

clack clack babyee

@macro-microcosm said: I’m glad that you have such a good partner <3 I love your stickers!!!! the kirbear one is in my laptop for all to see!

yeah she really helped me out a lot :’) and I’m so glad you like them! I did see your post :>

@spity-oyr-cerela said: go support op and their drawings, it is really cute

thank you!

@bacap07 said: LOO K is Djungelskog :0) OP this is adora bl e;;

ohhh djungelskog :0 what a friendly shape (and thank you!)

@lovecore said: OH MY GOD SMALL i realize those are hands but i like to imagine theyre tweezers. so kirby is extra small. gettin an extra small teddy bear

oh my goodness that would be adorable. no one let me make kirby and bear miniatures I cannot sculpt.

@mettalovesmetta said: I need this sometimes

I think we all do, really.

@wholesume said: THIS CAUSES ME IMMENSE PAIN BUT I ALSO LIKE IT

@elangelito said: IMMENSE PAIN BUT LIKE KIRBY. LIKE HE LOOKS SO SAD PAINFULLY SAD

(the second was a reblog from the first so I wanted to pair them together.) he is painfully sad! sometimes you just feel really sad! but you cry it out and you cuddle your bear and you feel better.

on [VR]:

@insertusername77 said: VR Buffett

infinite choices. never have to wait for more food from the kitchen.

on [pinned]:

@lesbian-octo8 said: thank u for this i will be forever blessed to see this image and all my problems will be washed away by this one gif i wish you a life full of happiness and good health

waah this is such a sweet message, thank you! I think I can’t really manage the good health part but by god I will be happy. (I hope you have peace and security as well <3 )

from the mentions:

@macro-microcosm​ posted photos of their sticker order [here], with some very kind words! I’m so glad you like them!!! (I have one on the dell logo on my laptop too XD)

[wren-fell]

Stuck in Borderland

Decided to post my Alice in Borderland fic. The main character is my oc Sayaka, and all other characters belong to Haro Aso.

Warnings: language, violence

Length: ~3000 words

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Beach

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sayaka walked through the doorway, and the red grid flashed for a second after she passed. She glanced over her shoulder with a frown, no turning back.

           She picked up a phone on the table in the center of the room and the screen lit up white. Registration complete, the game will commence in 5 minutes. With a deep breath she closed her eyes, just another game… that’s all it is.

“Just do it quickly you’ll be fine!”

“Hurry the fuck up we only have 10 more minutes!”

“I’m trying!” The girl wailed as she waited on the other side of the platform, a row of swinging saws and blades blocking her from the other side where two others were.

“Just go!” A guy at the platform behind her screamed.

“Fine!” She drew in a deep breath and took off running across the bridge. She was halfway across with no incident when a saw came rising out of the floor. The girl screamed and jumped over it, but when she landed the floor gave way and she fell into the electrified water below. There was a sickening crackle and a scream, then nothing.

The five remaining participants were all silent until the time chime rang out. There are 7 minutes remaining.

“Alright, I’m going next!” A guy screamed pushing Sayaka to the side and stepped forward on the platform.

He drew in a deep breath and ran across. He was doing fine, but as he came up to where the saw in the ground was he hesitated.

“Don’t jump!” Sayaka yelled.

“What? Are you fucking crazy!?” He snapped over his shoulder.

“Don’t jump! If you do you’ll go into the water! If you keep running straight you’ll be fine!”

He looked from her to the saw and let out a scream, “you better be right about this!” Running forward he closed his eyes waiting for the saw to chop off his legs, but as he was just about to run into it, it receded into the ground.

Sayaka sighed, “thank god that was right…”

“How did you know?” the man with the glasses standing next to her asked. She glanced at him and smiled.

“The two people that died both died from falling into the water not the saws. The saws have sensors that make them retract when someone is about to touch it, but if you jump the floor is unstable and will give way,” she replied.

Two minutes remaining. She looked down at the phone as the voice rang out, “we should get across.”

Sayaka and the man with glasses walked across with no saws even coming close to cutting them, and as the clock began to count down thirty seconds they stepped into the circle on the second platform. At the end of the countdown everyone’s phones lit up.

Congratulations. Game cleared. A four day visa has been issued to all players.

“4 of Diamonds done,” Sayaka sighed closing her eyes and leaning her elbows on her knees.

“That was very impressive.”

Sayaka raised her head to look at the man with the glasses, and rubbed the back of her head, “Well, you really start to pay attention when people die I guess.”

“I’m with a group that’s trying to win this game. I think you’d be a good addition,” he added. Sayaka hesitated she had only met one other person so far in the borderlands she had spent extra time with, but they had died fairly quickly and she’d been alone since. Although, winning and leaving this world was a very tempting offer.

“Come with us we’ll introduce you to our leader,” he said waving a hand and she was surrounded by the other two men from the game. She hesitated, but started walking when she noticed the guns poking out of their pockets. Where did they even get guns?

Sayaka was led to an old beat up corvette outside where they tucked her in the backseat between the two men with guns. This was starting to feel less like an introduction and more like a kidnapping. They squealed the tires as they tore of the parking lot and down the road towards the river.

Eventually they pulled up in front of a large beach club that she recognized. Her parents used to take her and her sister here when they were kids, except now it looks slightly more rundown and Beach in red spray paint was scrawled across the original sign. But, the most interesting thing about the old club was that it seemed to be the only building in Tokyo that still had electricity aside from the game arenas.

“Welcome to the Beach, follow me,” the man with glasses ordered as he got out of the car.

Sayaka followed him inside where there were hundreds of people wearing swimsuits and running around without a care in the world.

“What the fuck did I get myself into?” She whispered.

The man with glasses led her upstairs to a room in the main building of the club where 8 other people in swimsuits sat at a table and you couldn’t hear the pounding music.

“Kuzuryu. Welcome back, have you found us a new member?” A man with sunglasses and long hair declared waving his arms.

“Yes, she did exceptionally well in the 4 of Diamonds game. I think she could make a good addition,” Kuzuryu said handing the Diamonds card to him.

“Wonderful! My name is Hatter and welcome to the beach! What’s your name beautiful?” The way he said beautiful and peered over the top of his sunglasses made her stiffen.

“Sayaka Umino.”

“Sayaka, the beach is a haven! I made this place so we could all have hope that one day we’ll get out of here and all go home! But, we all must work together to make that dream a reality,” he paused and stood up from his chair to wave his hands dramatically at the window, “hope! Hope is what this place is for, so we can all survive these terrible games! The beach is a place where you can do anything your heart desires as long as you follow the rules.”

There was another pause and Sayaka foolishly opened her mouth, “what are the rules?”

“I’m so glad you asked!” Hatter turned quickly his robe flaring dramatically behind him, “Rule #1: Always wear a bathing suit!”

“Why?” The question came out of her mouth before she could stop it and she stiffened as she waited for the response.

“You can’t hide a weapon in bathing suits! Only militants are allowed to carry weapons, so you must wear a bathing suit.” Sayaka pouted, no thank you.

“Rule #2 you are free to live your life however you want here. Drugs, sex, alcohol, it doesn’t matter! You can do whatever you want!” Hatter turned dramatically waving at the window again at all the people partying outside. Sayaka furrowed her eyebrows, this place sounded more like a nightmare than paradise.

“And rule #3?”

There was a long pause and a heavy silence hung in the room. Hatter leaned closer to the window resting his hands on the sill, “Rule #3 is…” he turned around to look at her, “death to all traitors.”

Sayaka drew in a sharp breath through her nose as she stared at him. One of the guys by the wall shifted his Ak-15 and a sadistic smile spread on his face. Guess me saying no makes me a traitor.

“So? Sayaka what do you say?” Hatter asked taking a step towards her and holding his arms out.

“Sure, I’ll join…” she replied quietly.

“SPLENDID!” Hatter’s exclamation made her jump as he turned around back to the table of people, “Ann please take Sayaka to get a bathing suit and get her wristband.”

“Yes Hatter,” a woman with short black hair and sunglasses stood up from the table and headed to the door, “follow me.”

“Welcome to the beach Sayaka, and enjoy!” Hatter called as she walked towards the door.

“Thanks…” she mumbled and followed Ann out.

 Ann led Sayaka downstairs to the gift shop, and bent down to lift the metal gate up before turning sharply to Sayaka, “pick one.”

Sayaka walked through the shop with a frown. Most of the swimsuits for women were skimpy bikinis, and judging by Hatter’s speech about what you could do at the beach she could see why. She settled on a teal one-shoulder bikini, with a black stripe on the top and bottom, and a pair of black board shorts. At the entrance to the shop Ann handed her a red wristband.

“This is your room. Please go up and change. Welcome to the beach,” Ann said quietly before walking away.

Sayaka sighed, “guess this is where I’m staying now,” she muttered as she headed to her room.

 Sayaka went up to her room on the third floor and changed before heading back downstairs to investigate her new home.

Hatter wasn’t joking you could really do whatever you wanted at the beach, it was like one big frat party. Everyone was either dancing, drinking, smoking, or sloppily making out in plain sight, among other things… Cringing as she walked past a particular corner of the hotel with multiple couples, if this is what hope looks like I’m not sure I want any part of it... But, that thought didn’t last long when she stumbled upon the dining room. Where the hotel would have usually held dinner or breakfast service was transformed into an elaborate buffet piled high with food, most likely for the returning players of the evening.

Sayaka could literally feel her mouth water. In the two weeks she’d been in the borderland all she’d been able to eat was snacks from a gas station and some questionable cans of vegetables. She felt her stomach rumble as she walked up to the buffet and grabbed a plate.

“Where to start?” She piled her plate high with steak, lo mein, dumplings, and BBQ, “I don’t care where this came from, I don’t care how they got it, I just want to stuff my face,” she cooed as she settled down at a table.

Sayaka sat and ate closing her eyes at the heavenly taste of real food for the first time in weeks, “if this is what hope is maybe Hatter isn’t wrong,” she sighed. She finished her first plate of food and leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed. The blaring bass of the music seemed to fade away for a minute and this was all there was, Sayaka sitting there with food in her stomach and feeling relatively safe. But, that moment of bliss was interrupted by a voice.

“Well hello there beautiful, you must be new around here.” Sayaka opened one eye to glance at the boy in swim trunks who had wandered over to her table. He placed a hand on the table and leaned over way too close to Sayaka’s face.

Shrinking back in her chair Sayaka pouted, “yea. I’m new. Excuse me I’m going to get more food,” she turned away from the boy as she got out of her chair, snatching the plate off the table and heading back to the buffet.

As she started loading her plate again the boy followed her, “aw come on sweetheart there’s way more to do here than just food. Why don’t you come have a drink with me and I’ll show you the ropes?” he cooed, and Sayaka felt a hand slide onto the exposed skin on the small of her back as he leaned over the table to cage her in.

“No thanks not interested,” she mumbled brushing his arm away to sidestep along the buffet.

“Pity. The Beach may have amazing food, but that cannot be the only thing you’d want to do on your last days alive?” He leaned over her again, but this time plucked a piece of BBQ pork off her plate and plopped it into his mouth, “Live like you’re dying baby. Haven’t you heard? We’re all fu—“ He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Sayaka whipped around slamming her fist into his cheek causing him to spit the pork out onto the floor. He landed with a loud thud and stared up at her in absolute shock.

“What the fuck!?”

“Don’t touch my fucking food!” Sayaka snapped.

There was a long pause as the guy scrambled to his feet, “you crazy bitch,” and ran off.

“Hmph…” Sayaka stood a deep frown forming on her face. She glanced over to the side noticing that the room had gotten quiet and everyone was staring at her. She grunted and turned around pushing her plate further onto the table, “made me lose my appetite,” she muttered and heading out of the dining room.

 She wandered around the hotel before settling on one of the few beach chairs that wasn’t being “used”. Everyone at the beach was truly living like it was their last day on Earth. Sayaka sighed, I guess because it technically could be.

The pool wasn’t as nice as Sayaka remembered it. This hotel used to be a pristine beach club for its very rich members, but now it was nothing more than a sketchy nightclub. The bass of the techno music made ripples in the water that were barely noticeable around the swarms of people jumping around in it. Their bodies were tightly packed and gyrating together like a wave of humans instead of water.

“Hi.” Sayaka was snapped out of her thoughts when a girl wearing a purple one piece and a side skirt spoke to her.

“Uh, hi,” Sayaka mumbled.

“You’re new huh?” She said. Sayaka nodded, but didn’t speak, “do you mind if I sit? It’s kinda the last chair,” she asked gesturing around to the other occupied beach lounges.

Sayaka hesitated, but moved over and nodded, “sure.”

The girl sat down and leaned over onto her knees before looking up at Sayaka, “my name’s Madoka. What’s yours?” She offered out her hand.

Sayaka watched it for a second before taking it slowly like a stray cat considering a free piece of food, “Sayaka.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What?” Sayaka raised her eyebrows.

“I’m sorry that you’re here,” Madoka glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, “in the borderlands I mean, but…” She paused and let out a sigh, “I can’t say the beach can always be better.”

Sayaka knit her eyebrows together watching her, “what do you mean? I thought this was meant to be the ‘oasis in the desert’,” she made air quotes.

Madoka turned to look at her with a sympathetic look in her gray eyes, “it can be. As long as you follow the rules,” her voice dropped to a whisper.

Almost as if on cue a group of people strolled by the pool with guns slung over their shoulders and hanging by their sides. She recognized some of them from her “introduction meeting”. A bald man with a scar over his eye and made of nothing but solid muscle, a man with tattoos over his face and a katana slung across his back, and the man with the Ak-15 and piercings on his face; along with at least 5 other men and women carrying weapons. They sauntered past the pool made comments to a couple of people and picked up 3 girls who seemed nervous, but happily leaned into the man with the piercings.

“The militants.”

“Hm?” Sayaka turned towards Madoka.

“Those are the militant corp. They maintain…” she paused, “order.”

Sayaka watched the group as they left the pool, “order, huh?”

“Yea… steer clear of them, obey the rules, and this place could be your own personal slice of heaven,” she paused as a loud moan came from one of the girls in the pool, “if that’s your sort of thing…” she mumbled.

Sayaka’s eyes scanned the pool. This certainly wasn’t her idea of heaven. All the food in the world wouldn’t make this heaven even in the borderlands. She had people to get back to this was just temporary. A white spot in the sea of bodies snapped her back to attention. A boy probably not much older than herself was leaning against the doorway wearing a white sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his face. He had been at the meeting too, sitting at the table two seats over from Hatter.

“Madoka.”

“Hm?” She raised her head.

“Who’s that?” Sayaka asked nodding her head slightly in his direction without looking at him again.

Madoka took the hint and passed a glance around the whole pool, so as not to bed suspicious, “that’s Chishiya he’s one of the 9 executive members. They help Hatter make decisions.”

Sayaka cast a glance over his direction again to find that he was gone and she frowned, suspicious little shit.

“Just don’t cause any trouble and you shouldn’t have to deal with them much,” Madoka paused and let out a chuckle, “although, I can’t say you’re off to a good start.”

Sayaka snapped her head around to look at her, “what?”

“I saw you slug the guy who touched your butt in the dining room. Honestly you better get used to that unfortunately happens often, and you don’t want the militants getting involved,” she added glancing back to the door they had disappeared through.

“It wasn’t because he touched my ass…” Sayaka mumbled looking down.

Madoka put her head to the side, “what was it then?”

“He took a piece of food off my plate…” she mumbled.

“What?”

“He took a piece of food off my plate, okay!” Sayaka snapped, “I haven’t eaten actual food in 2 weeks and he comes over all flirty and shit, and takes a piece of BBQ pork off my plate!? No fucking way!”

Madoka fell against the back of the chair laughing hysterically her bun bobbing back and forth.

“What?” Sayaka muttered.

“I can’t believe you punched him over a piece of BBQ!” She wheezed wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I’ve been hungry!” Sayaka replied waving her arms, “you don’t take food away from animals they bite!”

“Oh now you’re an animal!?”

“I just meant you don’t take people’s food! Especially people that haven’t eaten anything, but canned shit since they’ve gotten to this hellhole.”

“Oh some of those canned foods were questionable before the apocalypse now I don’t even know. I can’t believe you ate that!”

“I didn’t have much of a choice!”

“And how did you feel after that?” Madoka asked quirking an eyebrow.

Sayaka grimaced, “I threw up like twice…” she muttered.

Madoka burst out laughing again, while Sayaka pouted her cheeks turning red.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I totally understand I had the same problem before I came to the beach. I ate some food that was frozen and had thawed, and had diarrhea for like 2 days,” Madoka said laughing again.

Sayaka smiled and laughed, “oh god that would suck. We don’t even have working toilets out here!”

“Trust me I know!”

Sayaka and Madoka sat on the beach chair laughing together about their experiences, and at the people around them. Barely acknowledging the red lasers that shot down from the sky in the distance killing those whose visas expired. For a little while it didn’t feel like the beach was sketchy or they were trapped in this hellish borderland. It felt like Sayaka and Madoka were just long time friends who were having fun at a party on a Friday night, and there wasn’t the possibility of death looming over their heads.

[cantgetoutofmyheda]

Falling in Love in a Quarantine: Part 9.5

OP | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

—

PART 9.5: DAY 20

After Lexa’s somewhat of a confession, she simply hopped out of bed as if nothing had happened and exited the room. Clarke, still totally unsure of what had transcended—and certainly unsure of how to navigate the rest of the day—stayed put in her spot.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Lexa called from downstairs, “Clarke,” a pause. “C’mon, breakfast is almost ready!”

Clarke scrunched her face. That’s where Lexa fled off to, because, of course.

She took her time—changed into another set of comfortable clothes, brushed her teeth, tried to salvage the mess of bedhead, and finally made her way down to the kitchen.

“What’s all this?” Clarke’s brow was raised—pancakes and eggs were set on the small table.

Lexa sat down at her normal seat, “I figured if we were going to have somewhat of an awkward conversation, pancakes would help us ease into it.”

“Do we have to do this right now?” Clarke sighed.

“We don’t,” Lexa shrugged. “But figured it would be better to, rather than us be home all day pretending like nothing happened.”

“Fine,” Clarke rolled her eyes, begrudgingly taking her seat as she watched Lexa put food onto her plate. “Thanks.”

“So,” they both started at the same time, both gave an awkward laugh, before Clarke finally spoke up again.

“Sorry,” she smiled. “You first?”

“Sure,” Lexa nodded. “I know you said you were mortified,” she started, her inquisitive eyes finding Clarke’s. “But I really want you to know you have no reason to be. I woke up and realized what was happening, and I just…”

She paused—perhaps the conversation she wanted to have with Clarke would be harder than she initially thought.

“You what?” Clarke finally asked, breaking the silence.

“I just wanted it, too,” Lexa confessed. “I’ve been trying to wrap my head around a few things, and Anya has been saying–”

“Anya?” Clarke immediately turned her attention from the hot cake on her fork back up to Lexa. “What has Anya been saying?”

“Nothing, really,” Lexa shrugged. “I mean, she’s been asking me if something’s been going on between us, and I keep telling her that nothing has—that we’ve been the same as usual, but I suppose our ‘same as usual’ has always raised eyebrows in the past anyway.”

“I’m going to kill Raven,” Clarke shook her head.

“Raven?” Lexa tilted her head in thought. “What does Raven have to do with this?”

“She probably fucking told Anya everything,” Clarke let out. “I’m seriously going to kill her.”

“Everything?” Lexa set her fork down—her eyes were keenly focused on Clarke’s. “I don’t think Raven’s said anything to her. What do you mean by ‘everything?’”

“What has Anya been saying?” Clarke asked again.

Lexa scrunched her face, “I already told you. What are you talking about with Raven, though?”

“I’ve just been talking to Raven, too,” Clarke exhaled. Her train of thought drifted far away from the breakfast on her plate. Perhaps Lexa was right—pancakes serving as an early-morning icebreaker. “She’s been wondering if something’s been going on with us, also. And has been very vocal that she thinks something should be.”

Lexa nodded in understanding, “Have you said anything to her to make her push for that?”

“Yes,” Clarke admitted. “Yeah, I have.”

Lexa raised a brow, “I see.”

“Is that okay?” Clarke asked.

“Clarke,” Lexa softened her expression. “Of course it is. That’s why we’re sitting here talking about it. I mean, after this morning,” she looked up to meet Clarke’s eyes again. “I think it’s pretty clear that we’re both seeing our relationship differently.”

“When did you first think about it?” Clarke finally asked. She needed to know.

Lexa shrugged, “I think it may have always been in the back of my mind. I’m not sure. You?”

“Sophomore year,” Clarke stated. “I’ve thought about it since sophomore year.”

Lexa’s eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets, “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I’m saying something now,” Clarke tiredly sighed.

“But back then?” Lexa started. “Why didn’t you say something back then?”

“I tried to, once,” Clarke shook her head. “But we were nineteen, and you were—are—my best friend, and that was just the most terrifying thought.”

“What?” Lexa blinked. “When?”

“Remember sophomore year when you planned that road trip for me, you, Rae, and O to go visit Anya at school?” Clarke smiled at the thought. “Right around that time.”

“I do,” Lexa recalled. “Since then, huh?”

It was a shotty plan, at best, but Lexa was still proud of it. The four friends were to take the holiday weekend, a Friday and Monday off of class, and drive Raven’s old Lesabre on an eight-hour drive to visit Lexa’s childhood best friend. She had met the group a bunch of times, and thankfully, they got along famously—but it was now Lexa’s turn to go visit her, and she wanted to bring everyone else along. The route was easy—Raven was in charge of that. Clarke and Octavia were in charge of road snacks and games, and Lexa was in charge of the playlist for there and back.

It was the Thursday night before they were set to leave, and Lexa barged into Clarke’s dorm room—Clarke and the other two were sitting on the floor discussing food choices and different places to stop for gas and snack-refuels. The look of excitement and happiness on Lexa’s face caught Clarke’s attention—in the two years they had been friends, she had never seen Lexa look so proud, and that’s when she knew.

Lexa held her phone in the air, boastful about the two playlists she created. Beamed at the fact that she sprung for a Spotify premium account so that no ads would interrupt her music flow. Said it was going to be like a symphony of sounds in the car the whole way there and back, and made sure to let everyone know that “no skipping” was allowed.

The smile on Clarke’s face said it all, and though Lexa didn’t catch on, Raven and Octavia most certainly did.

“Was there a particular moment? Did something happen?” Lexa questioned. Her mind was trying to sift through all the memories the pair had shared, trying to pinpoint a place in time that would lead Clarke to feel the way she did all that time ago.

“The look on your face when you came into my room the night before we left,” Clarke sighed again. “You looked so happy, so proud. And my heart dropped into my stomach and I guess I just realized it. I don’t know.”

“That was a killer playlist,” Lexa smiled.

“Debatable,” Clarke raised a brow. “There was too much Kenny Chesney.”

“Clarke,” Lexa started. “I literally crafted that playlist to the scenery I knew we’d be driving through. It was perfect.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, recalling the drive from Nashville to New Orleans, “I wanted to gouge my fucking eyes out.”

“Glad you didn’t,” Lexa smiled. “They’re too pretty.”

Clarke immediately softened, offering Lexa a smile, “Wow, I would have done that sooner had I known it would have meant you’d start being nicer to me.”

“Please,” Lexa scoffed. “I’m always nice to you. It’s probably why everyone always thought something was going on with us.”

“Everyone?” Clarke asked, but was just met with a shrug from Lexa.

“When did you try to tell me?” Lexa asked, changing the subject.

Clarke looked towards the window, then back to Lexa, “A week or so after we got back from Anya’s. Raven and O had been pestering me to finally come clean, and I had some liquid courage, so I figured I might as well.”

“But you didn’t,” Lexa was confused. “I mean, you never told me.”

“Correct,” Clarke gave her a sad smile—it showed in her eyes. “We were in my room—Monty had dropped off a jug of his ‘Murder Sangria’ and we were just drinking it and watching a movie,” Clarke recalled. “I don’t even remember what it was, but something happened and I was the only one that laughed. I couldn’t believe they didn’t think the scene was funny and made a comment about how you would have.”

“We do have a weird sense of humor,” Lexa chuckled. “I’m sure whatever it was, wasn’t actually funny, Clarke.”

“Semantics,” Clarke rolled her eyes. “Anyway, they both started egging me on, teasing me about how I was crushing on you and finally got me up and had me marching towards your dorm room to tell you.”

“But you didn’t,” Lexa repeated, still confused as to why Clarke never said a thing to her. “What happened?”

Clarke, tipsy on sangria and drunk off of a mad crush, sauntered over from her dorm room to Lexa’s. Two and a half weeks’ worth of teasing from her other two friends finally drove her to do it. Lexa had opted to skip out on movie night—second semester finals were around the corner, and she was hellbent on maintaining that shining GPA of hers.

A knock at Lexa’s door brought her out of her zone, and once she opened it, she found Clarke with a certain glow to her. Lexa smiled immediately, excited to see her best friend. To Clarke, the smile was the same one that gutted her heart right out of her chest from a few Thursday night’s ago.

“I have to tell you something,” they said in unison—both girls wound up laughing, but Clarke’s anxiety got the best of her. As ready as she was to tell Lexa what she wanted to, she figured another minute wouldn’t hurt her cause.

“You first,” Clarke offered.

“You’ll never guess,” Lexa beamed, her smile was growing even wider, and Clarke’s chest swelled even more at the sight.

Clarke raised a brow, “Then I guess you’ll have to just tell me whatever is it that’s gotten you so riled up, Lex.”

“Costia asked me out,” the look in Lexa’s eyes matched the smile on her face. She was happy—no, she was ecstatic. She was ecstatic and elated and beautiful and everything in between, and Clarke tried to pretend to be the same for the other, but the fake smile on her face was barely enough to mask her devastation.

“Oh, wow, Lex,” Clarke offered.

Lexa nodded, not realizing Clarke’s reply was nowhere near sincere, “You remember, right? That girl I told you about from my poli-sci class?”

“Yeah, wow,” Clarke couldn’t find the words. The combination of the Murder Sangria and Lexa’s news was starting to make her sick, “Lexa that’s awesome. Really exciting. Really happy for you.”

“Thanks!” Lexa beamed. “I think we’re going to try to do something after our poli-sci final this week. I’ll keep you posted. I’m going to need your help with what to wear and all that stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Clarke nodded. “Of course.”

“What’d you have to tell me?” Lexa tilted her head. “Sorry, you came here for something and I totally hijacked the conversation.”

Clarke shook her head, “No, it was stupid.” She closed her eyes, “Uh, we were watching a movie and something funny happened and I wanted to tell you, but I don’t even remember. Your news was much more exciting.”

“Oh, okay,” Lexa smiled. “I’m glad you came by, though.”

“Yeah,” Clarke nodded again. “Me too. Night, Lex.”

“I showed up to your room to tell you,” Clarke nearly winced at the thought. “And then you told me about Costia.”

Lexa immediately felt her stomach drop, “Clarke.”

Clarked nodded, “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Lexa asked—Costia was new, but Clarke was a constant. Surely, had Clarke said something, they would have been able to navigate it together all those years ago.

“I’d known you for two years at that point, Lex,” Clarke offered. “I thought you finishing your stupid playlist was the happiest I had seen you, and I guess it was. Until that exact moment.”

“But–”

“No,” Clarke sighed. “You had been talking about her all semester, Lexa. You had a wild crush on her and wouldn’t stop blabbing about it. She finally asked you out, and I wasn’t going to take that away from you.”

“But–”

“No buts, Lex,” Clarke shook her head. “It’s in the past, okay?”

“But it was so new with Cos, Clarke,” Lexa tried. “If you told me, then maybe we could have figured this all out back then.”

“I wasn’t going to get in the way of you and Costia, Lexa,” Clarke started. “And look—it lasted six years with you guys, so it clearly meant something.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “It’s not like we ended up together.”

“Six years, though,” Clarke pointed out. “It meant something.”

Lexa nodded, “Okay, so have you always felt this way? Since then?”

“I don’t know,” Clarke shrugged. “I really don’t. After all that, I kind of brushed everything to the side. You’ve been my best friend since we met and it was more so me just coming to terms with the fact that that’s all you’d ever be to me. Maybe I kept it in the back of my mind, but since then, I’ve just looked at you as my best friend.”

“Okay,” Lexa nodded. “I get it. So what do we do now?”

“I mean,” Clarke finally broke a smile. “I guess we see where things go? I’d say we take it slow—and this is new territory, so I do want to do that—but considering this morning…”

“We can take things slow and see where things are going, Clarke,” Lexa nodded.

“Can we refrain from telling Raven and Anya and everyone else about this morning, though?” Clarke winced at the thought of the endless teasing that would come her way.

“How about,” Lexa leaned in, grabbing Clarke’s hand with her own. “We keep this between us right now. We’ll see where things go, and if we decide we’re on the right track, we can let those idiots in on it.”

“I like that,” Clarke nodded. “Just me and you?”

Lexa smiled, before releasing her hold on Clarke’s hand. She stood up and made her way towards the blonde, leaning over her seat to brush a stray golden lock behind her ear, “Just me and you.”

Clarke’s expression softened. Her heart was beating out of her chest.

“I’m going to kiss you now, Clarke,” Lexa smiled, looking into her eyes to gauge her reaction.

“Fucking finall–”

Clarke was cut off by the feeling of Lexa’s lips against her own. To her, the kiss was ten years in the making—but the softness of Lexa’s touch, the look she had just given her, the hand that was now caressing her neck—that made it all worth the wait.

[mca-attack21]

Mystery Bullet Part 3

This is the third and final part to this series, thanks for joining me on the ride! Part 1: Here  Part 2: Here

The phone rung a couple of times before Sherlock answered. “Awh John, you’re missing the fun.”

“She’s okay, just had a bad reaction to the antigens in the blood they gave her during surgery.”

“Did they give her the wrong blood?”

“They claim they didn’t, but that is the only thing that makes sense.”

“Oh, that’s brilliant! The bullets weren’t made of ice, they were made of blood. That explains everything.”

“I’m not sure I follow,”

“Think about it the bullet disappeared. She had a bad reaction to antigens. Ice wasn’t dense enough, but the blood would be perfect. Someone used human blood to create a projectile that when froze with liquid nitrogen and shot by pressurized air would resemble a bullet. It wouldn’t leave an exit wound and would dissolve. It also explains why she said the wound site was cold.” Sherlock explained.

“She’s awake now, you should come and see her. She’s asked about you,” John replied.

“I’m glad she is okay, I will come to visit when I have solved the case” Sherlock replied.

“Sherlock, she is still in critical condition, you do understand that right?”

“The auction is tomorrow, we are running out of time,” Sherlock answered before hanging up.

John wanted to call him back, but he knew that it was no use. He instead went into your room and sent Molly home for the night. When you woke up he explained what had happened and Sherlock’s blood bullet theory.

“Have you found the paintings yet?” you asked.

“What do you mean?”

“The real paintings are still in the Museum somewhere. There is too much traffic, extra security, and outside security cameras for them to have been removed. None of the other security cameras were tampered with and no other guards were affected. It had to be an inside job because someone walked in and out of that well-lit room without drawing suspicion and left the same way. They had to be in there well before they actually shot the security guard. Between that and the looping footage, I would assume that the guard was in on the heist and then was double-crossed. Regardless, there is no possible way that the art was removed it is somewhere in that room. I called the art restorator that you met, he said that he would meet with me to check over the paintings. He wanted me to come in that night, but I told him it would have to wait. Oh my god, it was him!” you realized.

“How so?” John asked.

“He knew that I was on to him and he knew you and Sherlock wouldn’t be home. He had access to the facility and no one would question where he was going. He has worked at the gallery for a while and would have had plenty of time to plan everything out.” you explained.

John was laughing and pulling out his phone.

“What?” you asked.

“You are insane, that is what. I need to get normal friends,” he answered. 

“Is everything okay?” Sherlock answered.

“Yes, but you need to go to the museum, I’ll meet you there.”

 “Why?”

“Because Y/n solved the case and we need to go pick up the paintings and culprit. I’ll explain when we get there. Call Mycroft.” he said and hung up.

“Okay now, you are going to lay here and rest. No exceptions. Sherlock and I will come by when it’s over and we will see what we have to do to get you out of here. Is there anyone you’d like me to call?” he asked.

“Nope, I think I’ll take a nap. Be careful,” you answered.

Sherlock and John went to the museum. It didn’t take them long to discover where the real paintings were being hidden. They then went to Dr. Argonza’s office, to no one’s surprise he wasn’t there. They did find a cryogenic dewar which could have easily been used to store the blood bullets. There was an airbrush and pipe that Sherlock was sure could provide enough velocity to cause the injuries. The entire rig would easily fit under a coat and be hidden. Sherlock filled his brother in and together they came up with a plan to switch the duplicates back with the originals and wait for Dr. Argonza at the auction where they would pick him up.

Convinced that not even Mycroft’s men could screw this up, John and Sherlock prepared to leave. John had them stop by the flat to pick you up some spare clothes for your return trip. He was surprised to see that Sherlock had cleaned up the blood and everything from his experiments earlier that day. He was glad that this was almost over and that things would soon be back to normal. 

When they arrived at the hospital they were told visitation hours were over and made some type of excuse using their “badges” to get passed the nurse. John led the way to your room and Sherlock followed. They were surprised to hear talking from your room. That surprised turned to concern when they realized that your door was locked.

Meanwhile:

You were tired and understandably so. But how were you supposed to get any sleep when nurses were constantly coming in and poking and prodding you. This nurse was different, you hadn’t seen him yet. He came over and prepared to inject another medication into your IV. 

“I had my last round of medication an hour ago,” you spoke confused.

“This is a post-op Antibiotic, Doctors’ orders,” he said nonchalantly.

“Which one?” you asked painfully forcing yourself to sit up to get a better look. 

“Carbenicillin? That can’t be right. I have a severe reaction to Beta Lactums.” you explained.

“Hmm, it doesn’t say that in your chart,” he replied before injecting it in.

You immediately tore out your IV and tried to hit the Nurse call button, shouting for help. 

“Shut up! Shut up!” he shouted coming over and placing his hand over your nose and mouth forcefully. You tried to fight against him but your body was too weak and the fear was taking over.

“If you would have just stayed out of it, none of this would have happened. I didn’t want to kill you, but you’re too much of a liability now,” he explained.

You were beyond scared now tears running down your cheeks. You fought against it with everything you had but it was too much. The burning in your chest took over and the black circles grew. 

That is when Sherlock and John burst through the door. Sherlock ripped Dr. Argonza off of you and threw him on the ground. You gasped and struggled to breathe. John had him at gunpoint until security was able to collect him. Even then, he waited with him until Mycroft showed up with his men to take him away. Back in your room, the nurses had kicked Sherlock out so they could thoroughly check you over. You were understandably a mess and demanded AMA forms. You gave them no choice and fought through the pain to remove all of the monitors that were hooked up to you. You sat up sheepishly and started putting on the clothes that John had brought. The nurses tried to reason with you, but you weren’t having it. That is when one of them decided to let Sherlock in to see if he could talk any sense into you.

“What is it that you think you are doing?” he asked concerned.

“I’m leaving. Are you going to help me?” you replied clutching your head.

“Y/n, you can’t leave. You need to stay here and let them take care of you, you’re in no condition to go home” he tried and then he saw something that shook him; you started crying. 

“I can’t stay here, please don’t make me stay here” you cried.

He felt like he was entirely unequipped to handle this situation and wished that John was there.

“It’s okay Y/n, everything is going to be okay. Just lay back down.” he tried.

“I want to go home Sherlock, I’d rather die there than stay here,” you sobbed. 

He went over to your side and did something that was very rare for Sherlock, he gave you a hug. 

“I was so scared” you revealed.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s over now,” he soothed. 

“I can’t stay here, Sherlock,” you added.

“I know, we’ll figure it out. Just relax,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,”

“You have nothing to be sorry for Y/n, just lay back down until John returns,” Sherlock instructed taking a seat next to you. It wasn’t long before you fell back asleep. And shortly after that both John and Mycroft walked in.

“What is all this?” John asked referring to you sleeping in your clothes and not being hooked up to the machines.  

“She doesn’t want to stay here. She signed AMA’s and tried to leave.” Sherlock informed.

“Well she doesn’t get a choice, she needs to stay and be looked after,” John replied. 

“You know, I have never seen her cry before today.” Sherlock whispered, “She literally said that she rather die at our flat than to stay here.”

“We can’t take care of her in this condition,” John reminded.

“Mycroft, do you think that I can cash in a favor?” Sherlock asked acknowledging his brothers’ presence for the first time.

“You are running low on those, what do you want this time?” Mycroft returned.

“The VIP suite here until Y/n can safely check out,” Sherlock replied still not taking his eyes off of your sleeping form.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said as he exited the room.

“We almost lost her three times today John,” Sherlock realized.

“She’ll be okay though, and that’s what counts,” John reminded.

The next two days were spent in the VIP suite of the hospital. Sherlock refused to leave your side even though you told him it was okay. The Art Gallery covered the entirety of your medical expenses as compensation for you saving the auction. When you were finally allowed to go home, you were ordered to take it easy for a week. Sherlock refused to take any cases during that time, which was quite out of character. This mystery was one of the few which never made it on the blog, and that was okay.

[theredherb]

The Red Herb’s Top 10 Games of 2020

Hey, fuck 2020. You might notice that many of the “Best Of” lists you read this year and last can’t help but mention how terrible 2020 was. That’s because every day was like hitting a new, splinter riddled branch on our 365 day plummet off a shit-coated tree. The year brought with it a viral pandemic that served as a pressure cooker for the societal and systemic issues boiling beneath the surface of our every day life. And we’re not out of it. 

At least one positive holds true of 2020: the games were pretty darn good. One has to wonder, though, if 2020 was the last year of what can be called “normalcy” for the video game industry. Now that the remainder of titles brewed in pre-Covid times are out in the wild, what will the future of gaming look like as studios shift to work-from-home and distribution models migrate to digital as the primary bread winner? What will games look like going forward?

I have no fucking clue. We’ll get there when we get there. But looking back, I’m glad to have had such solid distractions from the stress and strife. If 2020 is any indicator for the industry going forward, then my takeaway is that games will continue to grow in prominence because of their ability to help us cope and, more importantly, stay connected.

Anyway, here’s video games:

10. MARVEL’S AVENGERS

Oh, Marvel’s Avengers. I know you expected to be on more prestigious Top 10 lists than mine. Truthfully, I debated whether or not you should be here. But I had to search my soul (stone) on this one. Really assemble my feelings. Tony Stark my thoughts (?). Here’s the short of it: Marvel’s Avengers has a great story campaign with a surprising amount of emotional weight thanks largely to Kamala Khan’s quest to reassemble the heroes of her youth. Once the final cutscene ends, though, players were expected to take their play box of Marvel heroes, jump online, and duke it out against hordes of villains for the privilege of precious loot and level gains. It would be impossible to get bored because Crystal Dynamics was going to continually Bifrost in new quests, cosmetics, and heroes -- for free!

Except, after fans blasted through the campaign (took me a solid weekend), they found a multiplayer mode filled with repetitive fights against non-descript A.I.M Bots, a handful of dull, un-Marvelous environments (the PNW?! In a video game?! Wowwee!), and a grind for gear that became useless minutes after it was equipped. Oh, and bugs. Tons of bugs. It must be hard for A.I.M. to take earth’s mightiest heroes seriously when they’re falling through the fucking earth every other mission.

So why the Kevin Accolade™? Of all the mistakes and underbaked ideas, Crystal Dynamics got the most important thing right: they made me feel like I was a part of the Avengers. Cutting through the sky as Iron Man; dive bombing, fists-first as the Hulk; firing gadgets at cronies as Black Widow; cracking a row of skulls with Cap’s shield… Avengers is a brawler on super soldier serum.

The combat is crunchy and addictive, and surprisingly deep once you unlock your character’s full suite of skills and buffs. The gear matters little. But choosing a loadout that works for you -- like ensuring enemy takedowns grant you a health orb every time or turning area clearing attacks to focused beams of hurt -- does matter. When it comes to games with disastrous launches, Avengers is the most deserving of a triumphant comeback story because, if you clear the wreckage, I think there’s a solid game here. If I was able to spend hours playing it in its roughshod state, I can see myself digging in for the long-term once it’s polished up and given a healthy dose of content. You know...if Square Enix doesn’t outright abandon it.

9. STREETS OF RAGE 4

Here’s a fact about me: I love beat ‘em ups. From Final Fight to X-Men to The Simpsons, I prioritized my quarters for the beat ‘em up machines (and House of the Dead simply because House of the Dead fuckin’ owns). Unfortunately, Streets of Rage wasn’t in arcades, and I didn’t own a Genesis growing up, so I didn’t get around to the series until Sega re-released as part of a collection. Though my history with the 29 year old brawler is shorter than some, the basics stand out out right away: it’s an awesome side-scrolling brawler filled with zany character designs and high octane boss fights.

SoR4 nails that simple spirit while adding an electric soundtrack, buttery smooth animations, and an art style that looks like a comic book in motion. You can button-mash your way through the game or master your timing to combo stun the shit out of bad guys. Same screen co-op is a requisite for the beat ‘em up genre but I have to call it out nonetheless given that it's next to obsolete these days. The story campaign is, of course, finite but a stream of unlockables and a Boss Rush Mode pad out the package nicely.

I really don’t have to go on and on. I’m on board with any game that captures the arcadey high of classic beat ‘em ups, and Streets of Rage 4 does it with flare.

8. RESIDENT EVIL 3 REMAKE

Resident Evil 2’s remake was my game of the year in 2019. It’s a pitch perfect revision that captures the pulse-pounding fear of the original while beautifully updating its graphics and gameplay for modern audiences. The most striking aspect of RE2’s remake is how it expands and reconfigures the classic game’s environments and set pieces. Capcom managed to recontextualize, and even improve on, the original’s design while staying faithful to its tone and atmosphere.

Resident Evil 3’s remake is less successful in modifying and improving on its source material. If the game feels like it was handled by a different team than RE2R, your gamer hands have good eyes (roll with it). It was developed by a separate internal team (three different teams, in fact), but that’s actually one of many choices mirroring its 1999 forebear. Just like the original, RE3R is a tighter (i.e. shorter) experience that launched less than a year after its predecessor. And just like the original, the game skirts away from survival horror in favor of action horror.

Unlike last year’s remake, however, RE3R paints in broad strokes with the original material much in the same way that 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake shared a vague resemblance with Romero’s ‘79 classic. Capcom at least nails down what matters: you play as Jill Valentine, beaten and discredited after the Arklay Mountains incident, during her last escape from the zombie besieged Raccoon City. Her exit is complicated by Nemesis, a humanoid missile that relentlessly pursues her from minute two of the game. Her only chance of making it out alive is by teaming up with a gaggle of Umbrella dispatched mercenaries, including an overly handsome fellow named Carlos Oliveras that you control for a spell. But fans struggled to get over what Capcom didn’t remake. Several enemies, boss fights, and a “divergent path” mechanic that had you choose how best to escape the Nemesis in a pinch were omitted from the remake. Even an entire section set in a clock tower was cut. But, let’s be honest, the biggest omission is a secret ending where Barry Burton saves the day using only his beard. For real, YouTube that shit.

If you look at what the remake does instead of what it doesn’t, you’ll find a lightning paced action game highlighted by tense, one-on-one fights against the constantly mutating Nemesis. The tyrant’s grotesque transformations evoke the mind-rending, gut turning creature designs found in John Carpenter's The Thing. It’s sad that Nemesis doesn’t pursue you through the levels as diligently as he did in the original, or as Mr. X had in last year’s remake, but these “arena fights” end up being harrowing and fun, culminating in a memorable final encounter. The remake also treats us to the best incarnation of Jill to date. She’s a cynical badass, exasperated at how Umbrella upended her life, and can take a plunge off of a building yet still muster enough energy to call Nemesis a bitch. RE3R also shines thanks to its snappy combat, including a contextual dodge that feels rewarding to pull off, less bullet-sponge enemies than RE2, and an assortment of weapons to get you through Jill’s Very Bad Night(s). It makes for a necessary, though shorter, companion to last year’s stellar remake.

7. HADES

I’m experiencing a new type of shame including a title that I haven’t beaten on my Top 10 list, but I can assure you that I’ve dumped hours into its addictive death loop. It’s probably because of my resistance to looking up any tips, but given the skill-check nature of the difficult boss fights, I’m almost afraid the top shelf advice will amount to “die less, idiot.”

My failings aside, Hades is brilliant. It’s the perfect merger of gameplay and storytelling. You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, and your entire goal is to escape your father’s underworld domain. You pick from a selection of weapons, like a huge broadsword or spear, and attempt your “run,” seeing how far you can make it before an undead denizen cuts you down. It’s familiar roguelike territory, but where Supergiant separates their game from the pack is in the unique feeling of constant progression, even as you fail. With each run, not only is Zagreus earning a currency (gems or keys) that unlock new skills that make the next go a little easier, you’re also consistently treated to new lore. The fallen gods and heroes that line your father’s hall greet you after each death and provide a new insight into their world. The writing is bouncy and hilarious, the voice acting ethereal and alluring, and the character designs could make a lake thirsty.

Supergiant’s stylistic leanings are at their peak here. They’ve managed the impossible feat of making failure feel like advancement. Sure, it totally fucks up other roguelikes for me, but that’s okay. None of those games have Meg.

6. DEMON’S SOULS

Whereas Capcom takes liberties with their remakes, Bluepoint took the Gus Van Sant approach and made a 1:1 recreation of the 2009 title that launched the “Soulslike” genre. The dividing difference is a 2020 facelift brought to us by way of the PlayStation 5’s next-gen horsepower. There’s been online arguments (surprise) regarding the loss of Fromsoftware’s visual aesthetic in translating the PS3 original in order to achieve a newfound photorealism. It’s true, some beasties lose their surreal weirdness -- a consequence of revisiting designs without the worry of graphical or time constraints -- but the game’s world is still engrossing, morbid, and bleakly gorgeous.

That’s not to say all Bluepoint did was overhaul the graphics and shove this remake out the door. No, their improvements are nuanced, under-the-hood changes that gently push the genre into the next-generation. For one, the loading times are incredible. You could hop between all five archstones in under a minute if you wanted. And this game is a best DualSense controller showcase outside of Astro’s Playroom. You can feel a demonstrable difference between hitting your sword against a wall compared to connecting it with an attacking creature. Likewise, the controller rumbles menacingly as to let you know enemies are stomping across a catwalk above you. “Better rumbles” was not on my wish list of next-gen features, but the tactile feedback goes great lengths to make you feel like you’re there.

Granted, sticking so closely to the original means its pratfalls are also carried over to the next-gen. The trek between bonfire checkpoints is an eternity compared to the game’s successors, and Fromsoftware hadn’t quite mastered the sword ballet of boss fights prevalent in Dark Souls. Instead, a handful of bosses feel more like set pieces where you’re searching for the “trick” to end it versus having to learn attack patterns and counters. Still, it’s easy to see the design blueprint that bore a whole new genre. From having to memorize enemy placements to hunting down the world’s arcane secrets in the hopes of finding a new item that pushes the odds in your favor. Bluepoint’s quality of life improvements only make it kinder (not easier) to plunge into the game, obsess over its idiosyncrasies, and begin to master every inch of it. That is until you roll into New Game+ and the game shoves a Moonlight Greatsword up your ass.

5. YAKUZA: LIKE A DRAGON

Here’s a fact about me I’m sure you don’t know: I love beat ‘em ups. Streets of Rage 4 had an easy time making it on this list because it can be classified as both a “beat ‘em up” and “good.” Here’s another fact about me: I’m not the biggest fan of JRPGs. I’m told this is not because of any personal preferences I harbor, but rather due to a distinct lack of culture. I’ve made peace with that. At least my uncultured ways are distinctive.

But my disinterest in JRPGs is notable here because it illustrates how very good Like A Dragon is. Transitioning the Yakuza series from a reactive brawler (entrenched in an open-world SIM) to a full-blown turned-based RPG was risky -- especially 8 entries into the mainline series -- but it pays off explosively for Like A Dragon. Not only does the goofiness, melodrama, and kinetic energy translate to an RPG -- it’s improved by it. Beyond a new protagonist -- the instantly likable and infinitely affable Ichiban Kasuga -- we’re finally treated to an ensemble cast that travels with you, interacts with you, and grows with you. Their independent stories weave into Ichi’s wonderfully and end up mattering just as much as his.

The combat doesn’t lose any of its punch now that you’re taking turns. In fact, it feels wilder than ever and still demands situational awareness as your enemies shift around the environment, forcing you to quickly pick which move will do the most damage and turn the fight in your favor. RGG purposefully made Ichi obsessed with Dragon Quest (yes, specifically Dragon Quest) as an excuse to go ham and morph enemies into outlandish fiends that would populate Ichi’s favorite series. It’s a fun meta that never loses its charm.

This is the best first step into a new genre I’ve ever seen an established franchise make and I hope like hell they keep with it for future outings -- and that Ichi returns to keep playing hero. There’s plenty of callbacks and treats for longtime fans, but RGG did a masterful job rolling out the virtual carpet for a whole new generation of Yakuza fanatics.

4. GHOST OF TSUSHIMA

Sucker Punch’s dive into 13th century Japan doesn’t redefine the open-world genre. But like Horizon: Zero Dawn before it, Ghost of Tsushima takes familiar components of the genre and uses them exceptionally well, creating an airtight experience that can’t help but stand out. I can tell Sucker Punch mused on games like Assassin’s Creed and Breath of the Wild, tried to figure out what makes those games tick, and then brought their own spin to those concepts. You can feel it in their obsession to make traversal through the environment as unobtrusive as possible, letting the wind literally guide you to your destinations instead of forcing the player to glue their eyes to a mini-map. You can feel it in how seamless it is to scale a rooftop before silently dropping on a patrol, blade first. You can feel it in the smoothness behind the combat as your sword clashes against the enemy’s. Every discrete part is fine-tuned yet perfectly complements the whole. The game is silk in your hands. 

The mainline story can be humdrum, though. It mirrors the beats of a superhero origin story, which isn’t surprising when you account for the three Infamous titles and satellite spinoffs under Sucker Punch’s belt. But Jin Sakai’s personal journey outshines the cookie-cutter plot. His gradual turn from the strict samurai code to a morally ambiguous vigilante lifestyle (to becoming, eventually, a myth) is a fascinating exploration in shifting worldviews. This is bolstered by the well-written side-missions dotting your quest, some of which play out in chains. It’s these diversions about melancholy warriors and villagers adjusting to life under invasion that end up being the essential storytelling within the game. Whatever you do, don’t skip a single one.

Before GoT can overstay its welcome with collectible hunting and stat-tree building, the ride is over. If you find exhaustive open-world titles, well, exhausting, Sucker Punch coded enough of a campaign to sticking the landing and not more. But if you were looking for more, the game’s co-op Legends mode is the surprise encore of the year. It strikes its own tone, with vibrant, trippy designs, and a progression system that embarrasses other AAA titles in the space (I mean Avengers. I’m talking about Avengers).

3. THE LAST OF US PART II

The Last of Us is widely regarded as a masterpiece. It’s a melancholic trek through a realistic post-apocalypse, driven by the budding bond between a world-weary survivor and a would-be teenage savior. The fungal zombies and violent shootouts with scavengers were scary and exciting, but ultimately just window-dressing compared to the level of complicated, and honest, human emotion on display throughout the tale. While a segment of detractors helpfully pointed out that The Last of Us’ story isn’t unique when compared to years of post-apocalyptic books, comics, and movies, that argument seems to forget that a narrative more concerned with the human protagonists’ connections to one another instead of saving the world or feeding into a hero complex is pretty unique for games -- especially a high profile, AAA budgeted game.

Still, fans made heroes out of Joel and Ellie because of their own connection to their journey. And that connection is almost instantly challenged in the opening hours of The Last of Us Part II to heartbreaking effect. But I’m here to tell you that any other sequel would have been dishonest to the legacy of the original game. To be given a hero’s quest as a continuation, an imagined sequel where Joel and Ellie do battle against the viral infection that’s swept the earth, would have been a despicable cash-in. It would have been a mistake to follow-up the original’s careful examination of human nature just to placate an audience that seems to have missed the point Naughty Dog made. The Last of Us Part II hurts. But it has to or else it wouldn’t have been worth making. It’s a slow-burn meditation on the harmful ripples revenge creates, how suffering begets suffering, and how, if we don’t break the cycles of violence we commit to, suffering will come for us.

To drive this point, we’re given two distinct perspectives during the meaty (and somewhat overlong) campaign, split between Ellie Williams, the wronged party seeking revenge, and Abby Anderson, an ex-Firefly whose actions set the sequel into motion. The greatest trick Naughty Dog pulls off isn’t forcing us to play as a character we hate, it’s giving us reasons to emphasize with them. It was gradual, and despite some heavy-handed moments meant to squeeze sympathy out of the player (how many times do I have to see that fuckin’ aquarium?!), I eventually came to love Abby’s side of the story. The obvious irony being that she unwittingly walks the same path Joel did in the original.

My love for the narrative shouldn’t distract from how well designed the world is. Being a King County local, the vision of a ruined Seattle strikes an uncomfortable note -- it was eerie seeing recognizable buildings overgrown with vegetation but otherwise devoid of life. Maybe the heart-wrenching story also distracts from the fact this game is, by definition, survival horror. Exploring toppled buildings in the dark, hearing the animalistic chittering of the infected, defending yourself with limited resources… It manages to be a scarier entry into the genre in 2020 than even RE3R. There’s a particular fight in a fungus covered hospital basement that easily goes down as my Boss Fight of the Year. Human enemies make for clench-worthy encounters, too, with incredibly adept AI that forces you to keep moving around the environment and set traps to avoid getting overwhelmed.

Admittedly, the subject matter -- or more to the point, the grim tone -- was tough to stomach during an actual pandemic which has happily treated us to the worst of human nature. Still, The Last of Us Part II is absolutely worth playing for its balance of mature themes and expertly crafted world, and the way it juxtaposes beauty and awfulness in the same breath.

2. SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES

The most impressive thing about Miles Morales is that, despite being a truncated midquel rather than a full-blown sequel, it’s a better game than 2018’s Spider-Man. It’s not because of the instantaneous loading times or the fancy ray-tracing techniques used on the PS5 version of the game. Rather, it’s how it takes the joyride of the original game and hones it into a laser focused experience filled to the brim exclusively with highs. Like Batman: Arkham Asylum going into Arkham City, Miles starts the game off with his mentor’s best abilities and tools. From there, he discovers his own powers, his bioelectric venom strike, which ends up feeling like the missing ingredient from the first game’s combat.

Your open-world playground -- a locale in the Marvel universe called “New York City” -- is exactly the same size as the previous installment, which helps avoid making the game feel “lesser.” But Insomniac wisely consolidated the random crimes Peter faced into a phone app that Miles can check and choose which activity to help out with. Choices like this really trim the fat from the main game and help alleviate “the open-world problem” where the story’s pacing suffers because players are spending hours on end collecting feathers. This is great because Miles’ story is also great. The narrative kicks Peter out pretty early on, focusing on how Miles assumes the role of city protector, primarily focused on his new home in Harlem. Insomniac avoids retreading the same path paved by Into the Spider-Verse by telling a relatable tale where Miles defines his identity as Spider-Man. With a strong cast led by Nadji Jeter as Miles, the game lands an impactful story that weaves its own new additions to Miles’ mythos (light spoiler: I loved their take on The Prowler).

Miles Morales was pure virtualized joy from start to finish. A requirement of the platinum trophy is to replay the entirety of the game on New Game+. I didn’t hesitate to restart my adventure the minute the credits were over. Everything I loved about 2018’s Spider-Man is here: the swinging, the fighting, the gadgets, the bevy of costumes. But it gave me a new element I adore and can’t see Insomniac’s franchise proceeding without: being Miles Morales.

1. FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE

I love subversive media, I do. And Square Enix’s “remake” of one the most beloved video games ever made subverts expectations by openly acknowledging that, yes, the original story you love exists and is consistently referenced in this game. But this is not that story. This is something..else. Because the truth is, SE could never have recreated FFVII and delivered a title that matched the Sacred Game fans created in their heads. That impossible standard is like an imagined deity, given power by feeding on raw nostalgia reinforced by years of word-of-mouth and appearances on Top 100 lists. I’m not saying FFVII is a bad game or that fans give it too much credit. Not at all. There’s a reason it’s so influential -- it’s good! But memory works in a funny way over time. We have a tendency to codify our perception of a thing over the reality of it. The connection we make to certain media, especially when introduced at a young age as FFVII had been to a whole generation of fans so long ago, creates a legend in our heads. Unfortunately, it’s a legend no developer could achieve when tasked with remaking it.

So Square...didn’t. Final Fantasy VII Remake has the same characters, setting, and plot beats as the first third of the original game but it’s not the same game, nor is it a remake of it in the traditional sense. It’s something new. And I fucking love that about it.

Everything is reconfigured, including the combat. After years of trying to merge RPG mechanics with more approachable (and marketable) real-time action (see FFXV and the Kingdom Hearts games for examples), Square Enix finally landed on the perfect balance. You fully control Cloud on the battlefield, from swinging your impossibly huge buster sword to dodging attacks. The ATB gauge (no one knows what the acronym stands for -- that information has been lost to time) gradually fills up, letting unleash powerful moves. But best of all, you fight in a party, and you can switch who to control on the fly.

That may not sound revolutionary, let alone for a Final Fantasy, but each character has a completely unique feel and suite of moves. At times, it feels like playing a Devil May Cry game where you can switch between Dante, Vergil, and Nero on the fly (that’s a free idea, Capcom. Hire me, you cowards). You can soften up an enemy with Cloud’s buster to increase their stagger meter, switch to Barret for a quick gatling barrage, and finally switch to Tifa to crush them with her Omnistrike. You can accomplish this in real-time or slow down the action to plan this out. It’s a great mix of tactics and action that prevents the game from feeling like a mindless hack n’ slash.

What really, really works here is the character work. Each lead walks in tropes first, but the longer you spend with the members of your party, the more their motivations and fears are laid out. You end up having touching interactions with just about the whole main cast. There’s a small segment, after Cloud saves Aerith from invading Shinra guards, that the two make an escape via rooftop.They make light conversation -- small talk really -- but it’s exchanges like this that feel genuine, perfectly framing their characters (stoic versus heartfelt), and grounding an otherwise larger-than-life adventure.

Many bemoaned the fact that FFVIIR only revisits a small portion of the original game, but I think it was a brilliant choice -- to massively expand on areas we only got to see a little of in the original. I honestly didn’t want to leave Midgar. It’s a world rife with conflict and corporate oppression, sure, but Midgar is beautifully realized, from the slums below the plates, populated with normal people trying to make the best of life, to the crime controlled Wall Market, adorned with gaudy lights and echoing honky tonk tunes. It very well may be years before FFVII’s remake saga comes to a close, but if each entry is paved with as much love and consideration and, yes, storytelling subversion as this introductory chapter… It’ll be worth the wait.

[slightlymore]

Soft boyfriend | Part 1

Genre: Series | Fluff | Fic for when you feel the sudden, intense, gut-eating urge of having Doyoung as your soft boyfriend and that OP (a clown) didn’t definitely write as a coping mechanism :) Pairing: Doyoung x Fem Reader Warnings: None as for part 1 Words: 2.2k Summary: You move into a new apartment and you become (very conveniently) Doyoung’s parents’ neighbour. 

This is part 1 of a series. As a whole, it’s going to have fluff, angst, smut etc. As for now only fluff as the momentum is being built. Stay tuned lol

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3

MASTERLIST TO-DO LIST

The door opened with a beep. You let out a sigh and looked around for a few seconds before grabbing your suitcases and entering your new apartment. It was a nice part of the city, the building was new and fancy and even though changes usually made you nervous, this time you were actually excited to start a new chapter of your life. People said you were extremely lucky to have gotten in the company you started to work for, and you believed them, although no one mentioned that you must have worked hard first, before getting lucky.

All your life you felt as if you haven’t been working hard enough and that things happened randomly, without you having a say in it. It wasn’t true and lately, you decided to try and accept the fact that you do work hard, you do matter and that you do deserve the good things happening to you. You took off your shoes as soon as you entered the hallway and placing your hands on your hips you wondered what the plan should be from now. You anticipated having to clean all day, but your company was kind enough to send someone over beforehand, so now you looked helpless at the bright and spotless floor as you walked around. The furniture was all assembled, the books all on their rightful shelves, even your bed was freshly made. You shrugged in acceptance and decided to head downstairs to at least buy groceries. It was a nice walk. The store was nearby the apartments complex and you enjoyed the fresh evening air, the fallen golden leaves and people walking busily around you. It didn’t take you long to browse the store though. You were still used to your previous life of being frugal, so even though you had the funds to buy more, useless, stuff, you didn’t. In less than ten minutes you were already at the cash register waiting in line. The woman in front of you was taking a little bit longer as she was having difficulties bagging her groceries. Her left arm was, in fact, in a cast. “May I help you with those?” you asked. The woman lifted her gaze and looked at you kindly. “Oh, my, I would be very thankful” she replied. You smiled back and quickly bagged her stuff. She thanked you again. “If you wait for a second, I can help you carry that, even if for a bit,” you said, hoping it didn’t sound too weird. You were used to helping people in need, but you didn’t know yet if it was a thing in big cities or not. You probably sounded reliable though as she thanked you yet again and waited for you to bag your own groceries after paying. “You are a very kind young lady,” she said as you both exited the store. “I live in that big building right there, and I didn’t need much stuff, so I decided to come and shop by myself” she added as to explain why she was out there alone with a broken arm. You looked over to where she indicated and smiled surprised. “I live there as well; I’ve just moved in today” you let her know.  She looked delighted as she heard the news and after asking you which apartment you occupied, it came out that you lived on the same floor. “What a nice coincidence. I’m glad we finally have a neighbour. That apartment was vacant for a long time” she said. You walked slowly and had a lively chat. The woman said that you could call her Mrs Kim. She wasn’t old but not quite young either, maybe in her 50s. She said that her husband was still working and that her two sons already moved out of the house. The younger one still came by often, as he didn’t live by himself but in a dorm. Still, he was so busy lately that they haven’t seen him in a while. As you entered the lift, Mrs Kim invited you to stay over for dinner. “You’re a new neighbour, it is a tradition to welcome you with food. And you even helped me to carry my groceries”. You looked at her helpless. She was so sweet that you couldn’t bring yourself to refuse. As she opened the door and let you in, a voice startled both of you. “Mom, I can’t believe you actually went to buy groceries by yourself with that arm of yours”. It was a young man, roughly your age, wearing a grey hoodie and sweatpants. His arms were crossed on his chest and his expression was irritated. Then he noticed his mom wasn’t alone. “Oh, hi,” he said bowing his head a little, then looked over to his mom as to get an explanation. “Dongyoung has always had a temper. This is Y/N, our new neighbour. She was so kind to me today and helped me carry my bags” said Mrs Kim talking to you first then to his son. “And this is my dear, sweet, child, Dongyoung. He’s the youngest”.   The guy rolled his eyes.  “Nice to meet you” you managed to say as he said the same thing at the same time. You were still holding all the bags and you couldn’t even take off your shoes yet. You felt awkward and didn’t know what to do with yourself. Mrs Kim was already headed over, what you supposed was, the kitchen when she realized you were still near the entrance door. She shook her head and clicked her tongue in disapproval. “Dongyoung, what at you doing? Help her carry those bags inside” she said. He looked dazed as you did but moved quickly and made you hand over the groceries. “Sorry,” he said. “Please come inside”, he added before following his mother. You sighed in relief (you didn’t notice how heavy those bags were while carrying them) and took off your shoes. Their house looked exactly like yours besides the fact that the apartments on that side of the building had another bedroom and bathroom. You headed over the kitchen as well, not knowing what to do, where you found Dongyoung putting your groceries in the fridge. You smiled. “Actually, those are my groceries,” you said at his back. He looked around surprised. “Yeah, I was actually wondering since when does mom buy wine” he chuckled at his mistake. “Oh my, I forgot to tell you that,” said Mrs Kim trying to take out a pot. “Mom!” said Dongyoung. “What are you doing with that heavy pot, put it down and go get some rest” he added looking at her severely. Mrs Kim smiled and rolled her eyes. You guessed it was a family trait.  “He said he is going to cook dinner tonight,” she said to you in a whisper as if to not be heard by Dongyoung. You chuckled. “That’s very sweet. May I help you, Dongyoung, or am I just in the way?” you asked. He looked over at you. “Oh, call me Doyoung, please”.

You weren’t a great cook, but you haven’t died yet from your own cooking and it usually tasted good. Following Doyoung’s directions, you were actually doing pretty great. It was fun and it helped you relax as you chopped away vegetables. Doyoung was talking a lot, probably to make you feel at ease, and it was very soothing. “So are you studying?” you asked after Doyoung finished expressing his opinions on the school system. “Oh, no, I’m working” he replied while stirring the soup he was preparing. “What do you do?” you asked again. You already talked about your company for a while but he didn’t say much about himself. “I sing,” he said quietly after a while. You jerked your head to look at him surprised. “You’re a singer?” He smiled nodding. “Are you famous?” you kept asking as you finished chopping and laid the knife on the cutting board. Doyoung laughed embarrassed. “I guess” was his reply. That was a dumb question, you realized, but you were so surprised that your jaw was almost on the floor. You’ve been talking to a famous person this whole time and your dumb ass didn’t even know. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been living under a rock because of university all this time and I had no idea” you excused yourself. Doyoung shook his head amused as he took the vegetables from you. “It’s actually nice to talk to someone that doesn’t know me that way” he replied. “There’s less pressure” he added.  You were about to ask more about his job if he was comfortable talking about it, but the sound of the door alerted you that Doyoung’s dad was home. He was a sweet middle-aged man and looked pretty much like Doyoung in a few decades. Mrs Kim came along and you had to shyly assist as she showered you yet again with praises and Mr Kim thanked you a few times. Soon enough Doyoung ordered them to get out the kitchen and to lay the table, as the food was almost ready. You smiled. He looked like the real mom in that house.

The next morning you found yourself awake quite early a for a few seconds you didn’t know where you were. Then you remembered that you moved in and chuckled to yourself as you gazed around your room. After a while, as you lazily rolled around your bed, the memories from yesterday’s dinner came to mind and you smiled. Having the Kims made you feel at home and taken care of. You thought that you must prepare something to thank them with. After roughly an hour you were already in the kitchen, flour all over the counters and eggshells on the floor, as you were baking a cake. You were so into working the batter that you almost didn’t hear the doorbell. Wondering who that might be you sprinted towards the door. In front of you, with a little steamy pot in his hands, was none other than Doyoung. He was about to greet you but for some reason, he stopped and looked at you from head to toe, surprised. “Mm?” you wondered yourself and looked at your clothes: full of flour. “Oh, damn” you managed to say. Doyoung laughed loudly. “I guess you didn’t look in the mirror either” he added. You instinctively brought your hands to your cheeks and started to rub. “Oh, God” you murmured. “I’ve been baking” you explained as you walked over the kitchen. Doyoung followed suit and put the pot he was holding on the cooking stove. “Oh, I can see that,” he said, still very much amused. “My mom made, even if I told her to stay put, some breakfast soup, and we thought you would like to taste some” he added regarding the pot. “Oh, that’s so so kind. Thank you and thank your mother as well, please. I’m so lucky to have you as neighbours” you replied removing the lid. It smelled amazing. “Actually, the cake I’m baking is for you all” you added shyly. “I hope you like sweet stuff” you wondered unsurely. Doyoung looked over at the batter and all around the counter. “Oh, we love sweets, but you shouldn’t have bothered”. You shifted your weight from one foot to another anxious. Was that a kind way of refusing? Were you too messy? You were a pretty organized person; you had no idea you could get that messy while baking. “It might look ugly, I warn you, but I promise it’s going to taste good” you tried to encourage him. Doyoung looked over at you and smiled. With a swift movement of the arm, he swiped some flour off the tip of your nose. “I can’t wait,” he said. “I’m going to help you, though. Move” he added. “You do have a lot of books”. Doyoung was looking over at your shelves while you were having breakfast. You didn’t have breakfast yet? And you’re telling me that now? he said, offended. The cake, that became also pretty and not only tasty thanks to Doyoung, was happily baking. The house smelled of vanilla and chocolate, outside started to rain and you thought that you’ve never felt cosier before. “A lot of them are just about school stuff” you managed to say, avoiding talking with your mouth full. Doyoung got up the couch and grabbed a random chunky book, looking at it, reading the title, then putting it back on the shelves as if disgusted. You chuckled. “Doyoung,” you said as the last grain of rice was consumed. “Mm” he said without looking at you and just browsing the shelves. “Would you sing something for me?” you asked quietly. You really hoped he wouldn’t get mad at you. Last night, curious, you searched his name online and listened to as many songs as you could find before falling asleep. It was that type of voice that you definitely had to listen in real life, at least once, before dying. His arm stopped in mid-air before falling to his side. He then looked at you, almost shy and surprised at the same time. You looked over at him as well, with hopeful eyes. He smirked as if annoyed by the request, making his dimple show up, but you knew he didn’t mind and smiled even more. “Is there a song in particular that you want to hear?”