#SEASON 3 IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS AHHHH

[courtesanofdeath]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SENKU!

[kitten4sannie]

ᴅᴜɴɢᴇᴏɴ ᴄʀᴀᴡʟᴇʀ

ꜱᴇx ᴘᴏʟʟᴇɴ/ʙᴜᴋᴀᴋᴋᴇ ➠ ᴍɪɴꜱᴀɴʏᴜɴʜᴡᴀ

pairing: half orc! mingi x elf! reader (fem) x barbarian! san x goliath! yunho x tiefling! seonghwa

genre: fantasy au/dnd vibe, humor, gratuitous smut

summary: you go on a quest with a group of brutish, questionable individuals. anything for some gold and riches, right? 

w.c: 6.5k ish…..yeahhhh

the world’s longest list of warnings:  alcohol mention/usage, soft/hard! dom party members, brat in the streets baby in the sheets sub! reader, these mfs have a hard-on for social hierarchies esp mingi (he’s a big pervert too hehe), mxm (real homies jerk each other off), monster fucking (mimic box…listen i saw it in a porn one time and its been my dream to recreate it since okay sue meee take me to court!!), five?? some?? idk they made it work somehow, voyeurism/exhibitionism, praise/degradation, pet names, olfactophilia, aphrodisiacs, teasing, vast size differences, size kink, strength kink, manhandling, oral (receiving), overstim, tit play, bulge kink, handjob, blowjob, titjob, all the jobs actually, double penetration made possible with magic incantations <3, creampies, back shots, and facials for everyoneeee !! one for you!! and for youuu~~ also the word cock is mentioned at least 50 times in this one sorry bout that hshjs

a/n: hi ahhhh so this chaotic jumble of insanity is my baby 🥹 and it’s also my very first filth fest fic of the month !!! so yk what that means ;3 go on and strap in for me okay? it’s about to go down frfr <3 this is a sort of sequel to my half orc mingi fic but it can be read on its own! also i’ve never actually played dnd,, i’ve just heard about it from my brother so don’t expect an extremely accurate representation;;; i did do quite a bit of research tho <33 but yeah that being said…. rip reader’s elussy </3

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ᴅɪʀᴛʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ʙʏ ꜱᴛᴇᴇʟʏ ᴅᴀɴ

0:01 ❍─────── 3:01

Volume: ▁▂▃▄▅▆▇ 100%

ᴘʀᴇᴠ | ꜰꜰꜰ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ | ɴᴇxᴛ

“Ladies and gents, now this is a quest that’s not for the faint of heart,” your local guild master announced, leaning his heavy forearms on the crowded bar table below him, stroking his long, bushy beard absentmindedly, the wood furnishing of the bar creaking underneath his weight. 

The lively room grew a bit more quiet, some individuals quirking their heads in the seasoned barbarian’s direction, yours included. “With a hefty 1000 gold pieces as your reward, this quest requires you to find and locate the rare lujuria plant, then bring its seeds back to me. Unfortunately for you lot, they’re only found in the abandoned dungeons near Mist Falls. Any takers?” 

At the mention of the plant and location, most of the interested individuals turned back to their ale and friends, resuming their loud, enthusiastic conversations. You, however, couldn’t believe how idiotic the other patrons were. You could do quite a lot with 1000 gold pieces, and being a solo adventurer, you wouldn’t even have to share it with anyone. With dollar signs in your eyes and a spring in your step, you headed up to the busy bar, having to get on your tippy toes and wave your hand around past some of the larger patron’s broad shoulders until the guild master noticed your presence. 

“Now, don’t tell me a dainty little high elf is interested in the quest I just announced. You gonna scare them off with your shiny hair and sparkly crystals?” the older man gruffed, letting out a hefty laugh, before taking a couple gulps from the oversized mug he held within his large, calloused hands.

When you simply stood there with your hands crossed over your lace-covered chest, the guild master set his mug down, his bushy eyebrows raising upwards. “Oh, you’re serious.” He leaned down to your level, cupping his hand around one side of his face, allowing you to smell the ale on his breath. “Do you know why no one likes to go to Mist Falls, little Miss?”

You shook your head, causing the small jewels that dangled from your silky hair to sway a bit. You cupped a hand around your own face, murmuring, “Why does no one like it, Mister?”

“There’s some strange wildlife that frequent the land there. Otherworldly things…things that an elf like you wouldn’t want to get wrapped up in,” he explained carefully, looking over the lens of his glasses to squint at you. “Unless, you’re into that sort of thing, of course.” 

Not understanding what he meant by his vague statement, you shrugged it off, taking his underestimation of your abilities as a challenge you couldn’t bear backing down from. “I’ll take the quest, Mister, and I’ll bring you those seeds.” 

The guild master smiled down at you, chuckling a bit, like you weren’t in on the joke that he was so amused by. “Very well, little Miss.” He handed you the rolled-up scroll, his lips still curled into a suspicious smile. “Good luck with your quest.” 

Taking the scroll, you nodded your head at him, a smug smile painting your own face, as you turned on your heels to leave, reveling in the fact that your levels of commitment and intelligence were clearly in the upper echelons compared to the rest of the idiots that frequented the crowded guild.  

Before you could leave without any issues, a deeply familiar, incredibly cocky-sounding baritone voice interrupted your mental victory dance. “Would you look at that. Gonna handle a dungeon all on your own, eh, princess?” 

You quickly turned your head, your eyes landing on the tall, solid beast of a half-man, half-orc standing with one hand resting on his leather-bound hip, his golden eyes slowly studying your body with an almost nauseating amount of interest. “Mingi…” you sighed, the events of your last few meetings flashing through your brain, the tips of your ears turning a faint red. “Oh, you think I can’t handle a stupid quest on my own either, huh?” 

He shook his head, his shaggy silver hair falling in his eyes, forcing him to swipe it out of the way with his large ringed fingers. “Nope.” His simple response encouraged his equally large, equally intimidating party members, who were hanging out near him, to laugh and chatter amongst themselves. 

Now your hands were on your hips, getting hit by a wave of annoyance, your cheeks burning.  “Watch me.” 

Mingi took a step towards you, just to show you and anyone nearby just how much he towered over you, his lips quirking up into a shit-eating grin, still peering down at your body like he could already picture what you looked like without the form-fitting lace dress that was wrapped around your curvy body like a pretty present, one that he wanted to open as soon as possible.

“With a petite little body like yours?” He reached down to slip a finger into your hair, playing with one of the crystals that adorned it. “Yeah, so small and delicate, like a pretty little fairy, ain’t ya? Those monsters in that dungeon will swallow you whole.”

You might’ve hated Mingi to an extent, but he was good. Good at making you feel tiny and desirable, and so wet, you were afraid he’d be able to smell it from where he was standing. You closed your thighs together slightly, lowering your closed fists to your sides, leaning forward. “I-i’m not a fairy, you dumb orc! I'm an elf! And I don’t need your help!” Just as you turned around to leave, Mingi cleared his throat, making you turn your head back to glare at him. 

He placed his other hand on his hip, letting his weight shift to the opposite side, his head tilting the other way. “Sweetheart, listen, I know you’re very capable of getting what you want,” he mused, chuckling softly at the way your face scrunched up slightly in embarrassment. “But, I’m sure you could use some extra party members to back you up. Me and the boys want to help you. Won’t you let us?”

You gazed at Mingi a little while longer, before your eyes shifted to his friends, first drawn to the most elegant-looking tiefling you’ve ever seen. He had sleek skin that looked like expensive marble, his hair as white as the frost that would cover all the lands during the winter months, his heavy horns ridged and curled into an ‘s’ shape, and black as soot, his thin, pointed tail quietly slithering around in a snake-like motion behind the long black cloak that hung from his pointed shoulders. 

“That’s Seonghwa,” Mingi informed, with his arms folded across his wide tattooed chest. “Doesn’t talk much, unless it’s to cast a spell or call me stupid.” 

Seonghwa’s pretty lips formed a smirk, wrapping his arms comfortably around his slim, corseted waist, his sharp, milky eyes focused intensely on you, like he was peering through you and straight into your soul. 

“Oh, are we introducing ourselves?” someone said excitedly, your eyes following the voice upwards until they landed on the handsome face of the gentle-looking goliath standing besides the tiefling. At roughly seven feet tall, the broad man sported shiny, golden locks, pretty brown eyes, and a tribal tattoo that was plastered on his veiny neck, clad only in a thick pelt that sat comfortably around his solid waist, wearing matching furry cuffs on his thick forearms. “I’m Yunho! I like to get drunk and smash stuff. What do you like to do, elf girl?” The goliath stepped forward to shake your hand, his hand completely encompassing yours, your neck almost hurting from having to look up at him. 

“Hi, Yunho,” you replied, smiling softly, feeling a bit dizzy from your vast difference in sizes. Everything about him was just so big, you couldn't help but wonder what else was too. “I’m Y/N. I like to go on quests and collect gold.” 

“Don’t tell me we’re actually going to help a high elf,” the last party member interrupted in a low voice, sneering, showing off his large, rounded canines when you looked past Yunho to scoff at him. “And an annoying one, at that. I don’t care if she’s fuckable. This is still a waste of time.”

Yunho put a large, warm hand on your shoulder, covering it completely. “Don’t take San’s words seriously, sweet. He bullies people when he likes them.” 

The brooding barbarian folded his arms over the thick, furry pelt that covered his broad upper half, rolling his eyes, a few strands of his wild raven hair falling past his forehead. “Or maybe I just don’t like stuck-up little elven brats, ever think of that, Yunho?” His pronounced eyebrows joined together in a bout of sudden fury. “Huh? Can you even hear me up there, you oversized son of a bitch?”

A faint blush appeared on Yunho’s cheeks, smiling in San’s direction, before looking back down at you. “See? He loves me.” 

You returned his smile with a grimace. “He loves being a dickhead too, apparently.”

“Excuse me?!” San growled, about to walk up to the both of you to prove that he only loved moonshine, his trusty club, and himself. 

Mingi stepped in front of San, waving his hands around exasperatedly, wishing someone presented a dialogue skip option a long time ago, bored of the introductions. “Alright, alright, so are you coming with us, or not, princess? What’s the verdict?”

You rolled your eyes, opening the large entrance door of the guild, eventually letting out a long sigh, glancing back over your shoulder with a pout. You knew you had a slim chance of surviving without them, but you still had your pride. You let out a small hmph, annoyed when they still all just stood there waiting, encouraging you to stomp your silk shoe down on the ground, grumbling, “Ugh, are you coming, or what?”

Mingi and his friends chuckled amongst themselves and elbowed each other, amused by the amount of fiery zealousness your tiny body possessed, finishing their mugs of ale, eventually following you out of the guild and onto the dirt road. 

“Hurry up! I wanna explore this dungeon today, not during the next winter solstice!” you called out to them, already at the forest entrance, tossing your head back in an exaggeratedly annoyed fashion.

The half-orc waved his hand around nonchalantly, despite his large lower canines growing more and more visible the more he began to smile, pulling out a small pair of lace panties that had a familiar design etched into them. “Yeah, yeah, don’t get your little elf panties in a twist,” he chuckled, bringing them up to his face to take a sniff.

Your inquisitive expression melted down into one of horror, then scrunched again, this time pleading him with his eyes. “Mingi…don’t tell me you’ve kept those all this time.”

“Of course I have, princess. In fact, I jerk off with them every chance I can in your honor. I can cum real hard just from knowing I turned a high elf onto orc cock forever. I still remember like it was yesterday,” he sighed dreamily, wiping away a fake tear, like had just said the most romantic sentence even known to orckind.

“I still fuck elves, you twat! I don’t need you or your stupid orc cock!” you argued, turning away so that none of them could see how flushed you had gotten, heading into the forest by yourself.

“That’s a damn lie. You showed up to my hut like three times during the Great Hunt not too long ago,” Mingi explained, following after you, his friends following beside him. “Don’t you remember? I had to carry you home after you passed out from squirting too hard.”

“No!” you shouted from ahead of him, swearing you were going to melt into the floor.

“She’s got elven pride, that one,” Mingi sighed, admiring you from behind. “Anyway, I got her soaked panties to prove it. You want to see them, don’t ya, Hwa?” Mingi elbowed Seonghwa, who just shook his head in disappointment, while he continued smiling truimphantly to himself.

࿏࿏࿏

Your group took on a range of opponents, from skeleton armies to disingenuous slime cubes that you may or may not have fallen into, able to pass through quite a few levels of the dungeon, mostly due to Seonghwa’s spell casting abilities, San’s uncontrollable rage, Yunho’s knack of destroying anything he came in contact with, and Mingi’s axe-wielding skills. Did you want to admit that to yourself? Sure. Out loud? No, of fucking course not. 

You picked off bits of pink slime that still clung to your wet form, grumbling under your breath about how sticky you felt, not even noticing that some of the slime had already absorbed into your skin. 

“Need a little help there, princess?” Mingi mused, reaching down to your shoulder and wiping off some of the slime for you, his fingers tingling once he had done so. 

“I suppose so,” you murmured, standing still so that he could continue helping you, surprisingly not even that bothered when the other members of your newfound party all gathered around you and picked or pulled off the remnants of slime that remained on your body, face, and hair. 

As you entered the next room, all five of you noticed how the tinglyness remained, how it spread throughout your bodies like a gentle ripple effect, your bodies now collectively hot to the touch, though no one said anything to each other — at least, not yet, anyway. 

“A chest!” you gasped excitedly, putting your dagger back into its respective holder and running up to the large, gold-plated chest that sat at the edge of the room, just waiting for someone to open it up and collect its contents. 

“Don’t be stupid, elven brat. Not all chests are filled with treasure. Some of them could be decoys. You know that, right?” San rested the rounded bottom of his ginormous club down onto the dungeon floor, leaning on it, raising an eyebrow at you. “Or do you only familiarize yourself with crystals and orc cock?” 

“Shut up!” You held onto the barbarian’s insult, rather than hearing him out. “You’re just saying that because you want the treasure for yourself!” You got on your knees in front of the chest, muttering, “Selfish prick.” 

“What’d you say?!” San barked, his hand squeezing around the thick handle of his weapon. 

Mingi slung an arm around San’s tense shoulders, smiling as though he was quite pleased with himself. “She’s got a mouth on her, huh?” He met San’s grimace with a shoulder squeeze. “Don’t worry, Sannie. She’s gonna learn the hard way.” 

Yunho walked up beside Seonghwa, lowering himself down to sit on the cool stone ground with a thud, wiping a bit of perspiration that had formed on his forehead. “I’ve been feeling weird since we left the slime room, Hwa. Can you cast a healing spell?” 

“Yeah, me too, now that you mention it,” Mingi called out, rubbing his sweat-covered neck with his free hand, encouraging San to open his own black furry coat, revealing an expanse of sweaty, tan, tattooed skin underneath it. 

Seonghwa nodded his head in agreement, waving his hand around in front of him, manifesting a large glowing violet pentagram into existence, which eventually disappeared after the spell had be casted completely, a faint glow still visible around the edges of your bodies. 

“Mm, I don’t really feel any different…” Mingi mumbled, his hot-blooded body even more tingly than before, starting to feel like he could fuck someone into oblivion right at that moment, even more than usual. 

Once you had opened up the chest, ignoring the subsequent pounding inside your chest and cunt, you were met by a multitude of shiny, gold coins just waiting for you to take. “Holy shit, I’m rich!” 

“You better split that with us, before I split you in half with my cock, stupid elf!” San griped from where he stood, now a bit hunched over, his words slightly slurred, not even fully realizing what he was saying. 

“Wh-what?!” you squeaked, your ears bright red, turning your head to look at the barbarian in disbelief, not even noticing when the chest in front of you began to sprout limbs, a long, slimy tongue slipping out past the gold. 

“I said, I’ll split you open–” San fully dropped his club, which resulted in a resounding thud inside the small room. He pointed an accusatory finger in your direction, blinking at you through his hazy vision, using his other hand to grab at himself through his furry kilt. “–with my big, barbarian cock!” 

Yunho pointed at you as well, wanting you to notice the big monster that was about to have its way with you. “Um, Y/N, you should…” 

“Not now, Yunho, I have to tell this idiot barbarian to suck my clit!” you informed angrily, holding your middle finger up at San, which he returned enthusiastically. 

“Oh, yeah? Then, get your fucking ass over here and sit on my face, you elf slut,” San barked back, sticking his tongue out at you, still holding onto Mingi, appearing drunker by the second — though it wasn’t alcohol running rampant through his body. It was lust. The rest of them were feeling it too. 

“Slut? I’ll show you slut,” you grumbled, about to stand up and give San a piece of your mind, your fist, and possibly your body when the mimic suddenly snatched you up with its long limbs and pinned you to the floor. “Oh my god, what’s happening? What the fuck is that?!” 

San simply chuckled, leaning his back against the cold concrete wall of the small room, trying to cool his intensely heated body down. “That’s a mimic, dummy. I’m sure you can handle it though, since you’re so tough.” 

Mingi looked to his friends, biting at his lip, noticing that none of them even attempted to assist you, more concerned with finding out what the monster was about to do to you. Even Yunho, who was the only one with any semblance of a conscience out of the entire party, somehow couldn’t bring himself to get up, instead answering to the oversized tent that was forming underneath his pelt. 

The mimic pinned your wrists together above your head with one strong hand, using the other to lift one of your legs up into the air, breathing harshly as it studied your slick cunt through your tiny lace panties, eventually licking a long stripe up your body, from your pussy up to your chest, leaving your white garments completely soaked and see-through. 

Trying desperately to free your hands from the monster’s unwavering grip, unable to prevent more slick from leaking out of you with your legs being held open, you angled your head back to look at the upside-down versions of your party, crying out, “Are you fuckers just going to sit there and watch?!” 

“Yeah…we are, sweetheart,” Mingi sighed out, still leaning on San, a few drops of sweat cascading down his flushed face. He dragged his tongue across his teeth, breathing in the flowery scent of your arousal, inhaling so deeply his bull ring shifted slightly. “I’m sure you got it handled. Just tire it out with that wet fucking cunt of yours, will ya?” 

A strong wave of pleasure pulsed through your body at Mingi’s response, looking to each of the members, realizing that they were really just going to observe as you got pleasured by the monster, getting more aroused by the second. What was wrong with you? You would’ve contemplated it more, but any thoughts you had would completely fizzle out once the mimic’s tongue came in contact with your cunt, licking you up and down in a rapid, desperate fashion. Its tongue was so heavy and hot against your pulsing cunt, you couldn’t help but cum within a few minutes, your body going limp. “Fuuuck, oh my god…” 

“Came nice and hard, didn’t you?” Mingi continued to share his filthy words with you and his party, all five of you reacting positively to it. “I can fucking smell it, princess…” His smile twisted into a faux pout, his voice dripping with lust. “That tongue isn’t enough for you though, is it? Mm-mm, not nearly enough. You need cock stuffed inside your tight elven pussy, don’t you, darlin’?”

All you could do was let out a long pathetic whine, your flushed, fucked-our face giving Mingi and the boys the answer they needed. Now that you weren’t fighting back, the mimic lifted your lower half up into the air, positioning you so that its tongue could slither inside you, pistoning it in and out of your willing hole, your upper half hanging upside down, your tits bouncing with each of the mimic’s thrusts of its wet appendage, your writhing body on display for your party members’ viewing pleasure. “I’m…going to…kill you all…for watching…” you huffed out in between moans, drool slipping out past your parted lips. 

Mingi turned his head to share looks with his friends, all of them now dealing with the same almost painful predicament. “Are you all as hard as I am…?” When they nodded, he felt a little less guilty, reaching down to rub at his leaking cock through his kilt, able to feel how stiff it was even through the thick material. He gazed down at you, biting at his bottom lip, holding onto the thick leather of his body harness, trying not to blow his load too quickly. “It feels good, doesn’t it, princess? I can hear how just how sloppy that mess of a cunt is…Do you like the way it’s fucking you senseless with its tongue? Is it filling you up just right?” 

You couldn’t believe just how turned on you were in the moment, hardly about to breathe in between your bouts of pleasure, your body beginning to sieze up when the mimic shoved its tongue as deep as it could go, causing a prominent bulge to form inside your lower stomach. “S-so good, Min, gonna cum again…” 

“Cum for us, baby, that’s it…” Mingi sighed, leaning his shoulder against San’s, noticing how he began to play with his cock through his kilt, doing his friend a solid and reaching over to stroke the base of it for him. 

Groaning underneath his breath, San reached over to help Mingi out as well, the both of them hyperfixated on the way the mimic drank up your juices as though it needed it to live. Seonghwa and Yunho were in a similar position, but instead of answering to their aching cocks, they simply watched on, the visual stimulation clearly enough for them. 

The mimic lifted your limp body upwards so that you were on your knees, with its large, agile tongue fitted in between your trembling thighs, grabbing you by the waist so that it could drag you back and forth along its long, slimy appendage. “Just like that, oh my god, it’s so–fuck–” you gasped, barely able to look at the men that were huddled around you, the new position not allowing you to hide away from their hungry gazes, your body on full display for them. 

With his hand now fully hidden underneath San’s kilt, Mingi nodded his head at you in approval. “That’s my naughty little elf girl,” he praised you in a gravelly voice, groaning at the sensation of San tugging at his dripping cock from underneath his own pelt. “Let me see you cum one more time for us, princess. Can you do that?” 

“Yes, Mingiii, I’ll cum for you,” you whined obediently, reaching down your shiny, wet body to rub your clit around through your thin, soaked panties, unable to keep your mouth closed anymore from how hard you were breathing. 

“What a good listener you are, baby. Look at you playing with your tiny little clit without me having to ask. Such a good elf girl you are,” Mingi continued to praise you, knowing exactly what made you tick, his hand squeezing around San’s throbbing length. 

San let out a higher pitched moan, his body beginning to tremble against Mingi’s. “I can’t believe you–unnh–managed to tame her so easily…” 

“It wasn’t hard, Sannie…fuck– She may be a brat, but she’s a good girl at heart…” Mingi was beginning to fall apart as well, San’s calloused hand continually rubbing along his cock enhancing the pleasure of watching you willingly playing with yourself while you rode a monster’s tongue, his party’s presence filling him with even more warmth. “Cum for us, sweetheart, show us how pretty you are when you fall apart…” 

Mingi’s praise-filled request mixed with the sensation of your puffy clit grinding along the mimic’s slick tongue sent you barreling over the edge, cumming so hard, you saw stars, barely able to grasp at the dagger that still sat inside its holster.

Meanwhile, San and Mingi both began to groan and shudder against the cool dungeon wall, shooting their hot loads onto each other’s hands and the insides of their pelts. Seonghwa and Yunho both coated their own undergarments with white, biting into their bottom lips so hard they just about broke the skin.

They were all so deep in their wells of ecstasy that they hardly even noticed when you let out a war cry and stabbed the mimic with your long dagger, rendering it dead, causing it to fade away in a flurry of sparkly, white dust, leaving a few gold pieces for you to take. 

“I told you I could fucking take care of myself,” you grimaced, shoving your items into a small pouch you had hanging from your upper thigh.

Once the post-nut clarity set in, Mingi cleared his dry throat, scratching at his prickly chin. “I mean, you did defeat the mimic on your own, so credit is due when credit is due, princess. You just used your pussy to combat it…which is just as valid as using a real weapon, don’t get me wrong–”

“Shut it!” you simply yelled, your face so hot, it probably rivaled the surface of the sun, stomping past the recovering men and pushing the next door open once it unlocked itself, wasting no time to enter the last floor of the dungeon where the supposed lujuria plant was said to grow. 

“Let’s go help her out with that plant. And remember, whatever happens, happens. Just know I’m not fucking any of you.” Mingi patted San’s shoulder, looking over to the other members of his party with a playful smile.

San smacked Mingi’s back playfully, which Mingi returned. “Let’s put that elf brat in her place.”

Mingi nodded. “Yeah, on my cock where she belongs.”

Seonghwa scoffed from beside them. “Could you be anymore crass?”

Yunho patted Mingi’s and Seonghwa’s shoulders, practically dislocating them, smiling goofily, his cheeks and face flush from the energy he exerted.  “What happens in the dungeon, stays in the dungeon, boys.”

Seonghwa quietly nodded his head in agreement, until he murmured softly, “Indeed.” 

࿏࿏࿏

“Where are you, you stupid fucking plant?” you called out inside the vast, foliage-covered room, swiping at the overgrown leaves and plants that were in your way, almost tripping over a few vines that grew in and out of the broken-up cobblestone floor below your feet. 

The rest of your party followed your lead, Mingi and Yunho taking the initiative to cut down the thicker plants and foliage that stood in your way with their axes, almost completely out of breath when you finally came across a large pink plant growing in the middle of the room. 

“I’m assuming that’s it,” you said mostly to yourself, slowly walking up to the plant, impressed by its intricate petals and inviting flowery scent. “It’s not as scary as I thought it’d be. It’s almost…pretty…” 

Just as you reached out to touch it, Seonghwa opened his mouth to warn, “Wait, don’t–”

As soon as your slender fingers came in contact with one of the flower petals, the plant sent out a puff of dusty pink pollen directly into your face and the air around your party, before folding in on itself and growing comically large spikes to protect its core which contained the golden glowing seeds you needed to complete your quest. 

You began choking and coughing along with the others, reaching out blindly through the thick pollen, finding solace in Seonghwa’s arms, who began reciting a spell to lessen the effects of the plant’s attempt at self defense, but it was too late. Mind-altering desire had already set in. “Can’t breathe…can’t think…” you whispered, grabbing at Seonghwa’s chest, unbuckling his top and revealing his smooth, marble skin, henna-like tattoos decorating his jewelry-adorned collar bone. 

Seonghwa clutched your shoulders, breathing just as profusely as you were, murmuring, “Don’t think, then, silly elf,” before pressing his mouth onto yours with haste, his long, snake-like tongue slipping inside your mouth to explore it.

Strong, solid hands grabbed at your hips from behind, Mingi pulling them back so that he could grind his cock into your ass, his lips already ghosting along your neck. His deep, gravelly voice made you let out a weak moan into Seonghwa’s mouth when he sighed, “Gonna fill your cunt full of my cum, sweetheart. So fucking full.” 

“Then, I get to fill her slutty elf cunt with my tongue first,” San interrupted, already on his knees, positioning himself in between you and Seonghwa, not hesitating to tear your skirt and panties apart to access your rapidly dripping cunt. “So pink, so pretty…” He attached his drooling mouth onto your clit, sucking so roughly, your knees almost buckled underneath you, about to completely collapse when he plugged your hole up with his hot tongue. 

Seonghwa pulled away slightly, finally letting you breathe without having his tongue down your throat, instead completely shredding  the front of your dress with his talons, just in time for Mingi to groan and cup your tits, squeezing and moving them around, saliva leaking past his plump lips. “I always know exactly what your idiotic orc brain is thinking,” he sighed at Mingi, bringing his own hands up to tweak and pinch at your nipples, making you cry out. 

“Oh, yeah? Can you read my mind right now, Hwa? Can you tell that I’m about to stretch this elf’s little fuckhole wide open with my fat fuckin’ cock?” he said near your twitching, elongated ear, his hard length slipping in between your thighs to rub along the underside of your cunt, his dark eyes settled on Seonghwa’s before returning to your slick body, their hands moving in tandem to play with your tits, each getting a chance to squeeze your squishy flesh and tease your increasingly puffy nipples. 

Yunho, who was hard beyond measure and feeling a little left out, walked up to the side of you and reached down to show off his enormous cock, the slick , oversized tip an angry shade of red. He pouted down at you, letting out a small whimper. “Can you please help me out, sweet? I’m so hard, it hurts…” 

Unable to resist his puppy-dog eyes, you nodded, licking your lips, collecting his vast amounts of pre-cum at the rounded tip with your fingers, eventually using it to slick up the rest of his cock, doing your best to jerk him off with your small hands. “Does that feel good, Yunho?” 

“So good, doll,” he gasped, leaning his head back, not registering when he began to thrust his hips forward into your hands, using them like a fleshlight. 

You’re so big, Yunho, fuck– I can hardly wrap my hands around it…” you sighed out, opening your mouth to lick at the tip of his cock each time he thrusted into your hands. Your mind went blank, until you suddenly remembered that San was in between your squeezing thighs, devouring your cunt like it was his last meal, his tongue and lips wreaking havoc on your clit, his thick fingers shoved inside your pulsing hole.

“Like the way I’m eating this cunt of yours, eh, elf girl?” San mumbled in between slurps, gulping your juices down, a few dribbles of it cascading down his veined throat. “You don’t even need to answer, love. I can tell you do just from the way you’re fuckin’ squeezin’ my fingers.” San groaned deeply, watching the way you dripped for him as he continually went knuckles-deep inside you, biting his bottom lip, growling, “Cum for me. Cum all over my face, you brat. Fuckin’ do it.”

You unraveled almost instantaneously, getting your creaminess sucked off of your slit by the desperate barbarian, not even noticing that he had been jerking himself off so roughly, he had already made himself cum before you did. 

“Goddamn it, since when did high elf squirt taste so fuckin’ good?” San mumbled drunkenly to himself, licking at his swollen lips, prior to sucking your cum from his fingers noisily.

“You’ve had your fun, Sannie boy. It’s time for this little elf girl to experience the pleasure of getting broken in by real men. Hwa, you know what to do,” Mingi announced hastily, already bringing you down to the floor so that you were about to slowly take the half-orc’s cock in your cunt from behind, Seonghwa supporting your front, the tip of his tail already brushing back and forth over your swollen clit, rubbing his large, ridged cockhead on your puffy lips to slick them up with his pre-cum, his own plump lips moving at a quick pace, expertly reciting an incantation that would allow you to physically take two obscenely large cocks at once, all well as increasing your natural lubricant and allowing you access to heightened physical sensations.

“Fuck, look at you…What a good little elf girl you are, taking us both inside you like this,” Mingi sighed into your ear, reaching around your body to lazily rub your wetness into your sensitive clit. “Almost like you were made to take monster cock, huh? Not made for little elven peckers, it seems.” He pressed his hand into your lower abdomen, able to feel the pronounced outline of his friend’s abnormally large length. “Mm, that’s right. You loved being stuffed full of monster cock, don’t you, sweetheart?”

“Love it, Min, so much,” you choked out, your mind going positively blank, the only thing on your mind being the insanely pleasurable stretch you felt inside your core, knowing you were quite literally filled to the brim. “Feels so good, I can’t think.”

“Why think when you can just feel good, princess?” he chuckled, rubbing your tummy in an up and down motion, feeling the outline of Seonghwa’s thick, ridged length with his calloused fingers, shuddering from the sensation of their slippery cocks rubbing along one another inside your tight, slick walls . He nuzzled your neck and the side of your face with his prickly cheek, whispering onto your skin, “M’ so proud of you, sweetheart. I broke you in before and now here you are, taking big tielfing cock in your pussy while an orc’s stuffing you just as full. What a pretty sight you are. Wish I could take a picture.”

“Oh my god, Mingi, please, it’s so–” you could hardly verbalize, your eyes just about rolling into your skull, your body pulsing with so much pleasure, you could barely keep up with what was happening around you.

Mingi routinely filled your elongated ears with more filthy words, Seonghwa gazing deeply at you, your willing hole continuing to clench around their thrusting cocks, getting stretched so pleasurably, you almost passed out from that sensation alone.

All the while, San positioned himself in from of your tits, squeezing them together and driving his cock back and forth between them, grunting and groaning each time.

Yunho gently grabbed your chin, coaxing your mouth open as wide as it would go, whispering, “That’s it, my sweet, just a little wider…” He began to feed you his cock, stuffing your mouth full and instinctively fucking your throat, your jaw already beginning to ache from the obscene girth. “You’re so tiny…can barely take it…huh?” Moaning breathily, Yunho eventually settled for fucking the inside of your gummy cheek, afraid that he would suffocate you if he continued to throat fuck you.

It seemed that this quartet had been in this exact position before. That was clear to you now. You couldn't have been more wet and willing if you tried. Getting used by two filthy men while two more watched and desperately tried to get off using your body in any way they could filled you with a sense of purpose you didn’t realize you had always sought after. 

“You want our cum in your pretty elf cunt, princess?” Mingi huffed, in between harsh, deliberate thrusts, his hands cemented on the reappearing bulge in your stomach. “Huh? You want us to make a mess of you, aye? Want to be fucked so full of our seed, you’ll give us pretty elven offspring?” 

Once Yunho freed your saliva-streaked mouth from his suffocating length and resorted to jerking himself off, you were able to reply in a fucked-out, slurred voice, “Yeah–yeah–yeah– fill me up, wan’ it all. All your cum, in me, on me, I need it, pleaseee.” 

Your willing party members’ highs all crescendoed in succession, Mingi resorting to sloppy, rough thrusts inside your tight hole until he spilled most of his load into you, his cum splashing onto Seonghwa’s cock, dripping along their lengths to form a milky rim. “Oh, fuck, that’s it…but I’m not done yet, princess…I gotta–nngh–leave my mark on my favorite elf…” He slowly pulled out with lewd pop, coaxing a few more cum shots out of his cock with a large, closed fist, watching the large milky droplets slide along your smooth skin and torn sections of your dress onto the curve of your exposed ass, his eyes creasing with clear adoration. “That’s more like it…”

“W-was that necessary…?” you murmured, trying not to cum just from the sensation of getting stuffed full of cum, sensing that Seonghwa was next in line to come undone inside you.

“Oh, my gods, I…see heaven,” Seonghwa gasped sharply, the whites of his boundless eyes glowing brightly, his lips parting to allow a shaky moan to escape. Seonghwa gripped your hips so tightly, he was bound to leave handprints, relying on slow, deliberate strokes, using your contracting cunt to milk the cum from his cock, unable to resist leaving a few drops on your clit and mound when he pulled out.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, gonna cum all over these tits, you little elven slut, take itttt,” San gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening, only having to pump himself between your slick, pre-cum covered tits once more before he was able to leave thick spurts of white all over the bottom of your heated face and lips, leaving most of his load on your messy tits.

“O-oh, godddd…!” Yunho came last, and the most, closing his hands around his reddened tip, whining profusely, unable to keep himself from completely unloading all over your pretty face and hair, practically drenching you in his cum. 

Mingi reached down to cup your chin, tilting your head back so that he could get a good look at you, admiring the way their collective seed dripped off and out of you, swearing he could shed a tear from such a beautiful sight. “Look at you. My pretty princess.”

You gently nuzzled his large hand, smiling contentedly, tasting the salt of someone’s load on your lips when you licked at them. “Your pretty princess…” 

It took a while for all of you to come down and catch your breath, the effects of the pollen still practically running through your veins, but you managed to wobble your way over to the main plant and slowly pull your trusty dagger out of its holder, slashing the plant until its precious seeds dropped into your open palm. You looked down at the golden, glowing seeds, your fingers still splattered with milky liquid, reminding you of the trials you conquered to get to your ultimate goal. As you wiped your sticky face with your sleeve, you looked around at your panting, much more docile party members, wondering if it was all worth it. 

Mingi brushed some of his sweaty hair out of his eyes, noticing the way you were looking up at him, sending a cocky smile your way. “So, you’re 200 gold pieces richer, princess. How does it feel?” 

“Huh?” you questioned immediately, your fingers closing around the pouch that contained the precious lujuria seeds. “It was 1000 gold pieces. Did fucking me stupid render you stupid instead?” 

“I’m sorry, darlin’, but with each party member fee, it rounds out at 200 a person,” he corrected you, bringing you in to give you a gentle hug and a pat on the ass, chuckling delightedly to himself, his friends joining in on the amusement. “That’s still quite a bit. You can buy yourself a pretty new dress since yours is all torn and drenched in our cum, ya’ know?” He leaned his head in your direction, twiddling his large thumbs, his smile growing more lewd. "That means I can have the one you're wearing right now, yeah?"

You grimaced, your blood boiling over, already stomping your way out of the last dungeon floor, your voice still growing louder and louder the further you walked away, swearing to yourself, “This is the last time I do anything with you, Mingi! Never again. Never! EVER!” 

Mingi simply waved off at his friend’s questioning gazes, holding the seeds that you had taken from the plant inside his own hand, admiring their shimmering edges. “Don’t worry. She always comes back.” 

fff taglist: @itza-meee @chnt1 @k-hotchoisan @wonyobie @vampiregirl215 @yuyusbunny @christmastodoroki @luvt0kki @pieyoon @goldnhwa @choisanboobenthusiast @icyb3rry @maximofftrash @choism @yunhosmelonbar @nebulousbookshelf @astayinwonderland @slutologyy @10nantscompanion @ddaeing @pandagirl-016 @Randomgirl11-posts @staytiny816 @horanghae8 @smally97 @ateezzzser @crispybaguettes @bubblegumbird @midnightmaja @i2nsstuff @asimpelslut @svt-dinosaurus @wisejudgedragonhairdo @deathbyyeekies @firefox79 @wildesreblogs @everyonewooeverywhere @raspberrysannie @Whatintheninerealms @hyunjinsbby (if i couldn’t tag you pls check your privacy settings <3)

Apply for the taglist here ⇢ ♡

© kitten4sannie, 2024.

[twiceland]

oh my gosh okay first of all happyyyy wednesday (it is wednesday in my timezone hehe) to everyone !!! today i hit 1k followers after having this blog since october 2022, and i feel ever so grateful for all of you, mutuals or not, for supporting me throughout this wild ride <//3 i'm currently in exam season (i'm crying inside) so i haven't been very active this year but i am still so happy and excited and ahhhh!!!!!! this means so much to me and honestly i can't even believe that we're here in this moment but wahshjdfhgjshd thank you all soooooo much <3 to celebrate, i decided to write mini email looking notes for some of my mutuals! please don’t be offended if i didn’t write an email for you; if you would like an email and we are mutuals please send me an ask and i will 100% write you one!!!!

to: miru ( @rosiesared ) subject: my fav yunjin stan

MIRUUUUU <3 i still cannot believe we’ve been friends for almost two years. you are genuinely one of the kindest people i know and one of the most genuine ones i know. you’re always there when i just wanna talk and ramble and we ramble together and i adore you for that 🥹 i remember us meeting and me being intimidated as fuck by you but u are the sweetest and have the most amazing personality 💖💖💖💖 i’m so proud of you always I LOVE U TO BITSSSSS

to: isai ( @solojihyo : @yosang ) subject: jihyo’s wife ( real !!! )

MY CLUMSY BLOB <3 hi my love!!! you are someone i love and hold so dearly to my heart <3 you’re someone i can talk to at my happiest and my worst, and you help me become a better version of myself. you’re so sweet and lovely and such a genuinely wonderful person and i appreciate you being in my life these past couple of years. i adore you!! love you sooooooo much my fav horanghae lover (btw i walked into a pole again yesterday. i didnt hurt myself dw) (also thank u for convincing me to download the cracked ps from the link you sent in the server) (i lov u)

to: michaela ( @mandu : @thefeelz ) subject: jennie’s loml

when you followed me i was so sure i was in a fever dream. i’m pretty sure i blinked at my screen like 200 times. ANYWAYS you are literally ,,,,, i think the only way to say this is so fucking cool . although we don’t talk a lot, seeing u on the dash is always a sure way to make me smile <3 i love youuuuu

to: zay ( @jeonwonwoo : @kimsdahyun ) subject: jeonghan’s bff

HI MY MOST BELOVED ZAY !!! over the last couple of months we’ve gotten sm closer and i just love hearing ab u talk about our fav sebongs and ps stuff && everything you’re passionate about. you’re genuinely one of the most fun and funny people i know and i adore you so much <3 love u love u love u jeonghans wife 💖💖💖💖 MY MOST AESTHETIC PRETTIEST QUEEN !!!!!

to: dana ( @lesseraive ) subject: chaewon = loml = the only girl ever

dana!!!! i still cannot believe its only been … a little more than a year? since we became mutuals 😭 you’re the best. i love shittalking w you, talking about our girls (jangchae) and how izone deserved and deserves better (we miss u izone) (u are forever) (never izgone) . you’re like an older sister to me and i feel like i can talk to you about anything. thank you for being here and being my friend, i love youuuu <3 jeonghyeon p01

to: elv ( @seokmins ) subject: seokmin’s pizza girl !

elvvvvv <3 tbh we’ve talked to about this before but i think the most funny part of our friendship is me not remembering how we met HSKFBSJSK i know that we were both mutuals in laws through isai but honestly it feels like we’ve been mutuals for like ….. ever. you are so sweet and lively it feels like we are just two sunshines together in a field of sunflowers whenever we talk 😭 you make me smile whenever you come up on the dash and you deserve all of the love in the entire world <3 sending my squishiest hugs your way! 💗

to: mini ( @venompinks ) subject: #1 blackpink lover

MINI MINI MINI !!!! hi beloved <3 tbh ive always seen u as like an older sibling to me. you have rhsi comforting vibe that just emulates love & support and i adore that. i love seeing ur creations && support towards ur favs (esp the pinks hehe) and ur so so so lovely!!!! sending u all the squishiest hugs in the whole wide WORLD !!!!!

to: theo ( @lovebitxx ) subject: chaer’s #1 <3

THEO THEO THEO THEO !!!!! i remember you following me during your lixblr era and feeling so :OOO bc that was pre gg blog and i was like wowowow bc all of your creations are so pretty 😭😭😭 im so happy we’ve gotten closer and u always make me smile and just seeing u on my dash and talking to u makes me so happyyyyy!! you’re so passionate about your favs and its always so nice to see you get excited about them ): i love youuuu so much 💗

to: daisy ( @svmit ) subject: juhyeon’s bf ( REAL ! )

MY DAISYYYYY i love you!!!! getting to know you have been soso fun and im so glad to know you 🥹🥹🥹 you’re genuinely so sweet and adorable and i want to squeeze u into the tightest hug 🫂 my fav lightsum && ptg stan 4ever!!!!! 💞💞💞

to: shreya ( @fawad-khan : @kiimtaehyung ) subject: tae’s wife & hyunjin’s gf 🎀🎀🎀

my most beloved shreya!!!!! hi akka i love u to the moon and back and beyond 💞💞💞💞 its kinda crazy to think a year ago we barely knew each other and now we’ve both celebrated our birthdays and waaaaaa it feels insane. i feel like. you’re genuinely someone i see as my older sister and i want to hug you so bad and. YEAAAA the momo to my sana i love youu <3 also thanks for teaching me that andrew garfield is a real person 😁 mwah

to: theo ( @toplines ) subject: best jeongyeon stan!!!!

HI MY LOVELIEST THEO!!!!! I ADORE U HEHE thank u for being one of the silliest most funny most genuine people in my life u are quite literally the kuromi to my melody, the jeongyeon to my sana and i lov u lots!!!!! u are the best ever and u deserve all the love and moreeee 💞💞💞💞 hehe ALSO U ARE THEEEE GFX ICON OF ALL TIME

to: lau ( @saerom : @127s ) subject: saerom’s biggest fan (real)

HI LAUUUUU hehe i know we havent been close for that long (i think we met in userps i dont even remember if im being honest) but you’ve always been someone i look up to. you have this ability to like. stay calm and handle difficult situations with ease and are so funny and fun to talk to!!!! ilu a lot and u are genuinely the sweetest ever <3333 also u are THEEEE URL QUEEN !!!!! never forget !!!!! hugs !!!! 💞💞💞💞💞

to: hales ( @3rachaas ) subject: changbins wife confirmed!!!

HALES HALES HALES HI !!! u are the funniest person ever actually genuinely seriously 100%ly (how many more adverbs can shri use,, more at ten) u are my east coast bestie and i love playimg games with u even if u win every single time 😓😓😓 ILY SOOO MUCH i wish i could hug u sososoososososo bad <////3 mwah!!!! also u are my fav 3racha stan 4ever (edit i hate tumblr ANYWAYS i miss our uno game nights can we have one again) (also hales edit era we miss u) (ilyilyilyilyily)

to: lee ( @komca ) subject: komcanation ‼️ mark’s wife

hi mother 😁😁 u are my favorite mark stan 😁😁 i lov u 😁😁 no in actuality i love u sm lee u are one of the most understanding kindest most funniest most amazing person ever u just. deserve all the love in the world!!!!! i love ur markisms and ur love for rnb and just how passionate u are about ur hobbies and interests!!!! adore u to the moon and back I LOVE U SMMMM HEHE MY ILICHIL LOVER IN CRIMEEEE 💜💜💜

to: naina ( @tutontawan ) subject: sakura’s wife 💞

sunshine wifey! HI MY FAVORITE PERSON EVER the hello kitty to my melo, kkura to my eunchae, gaeul to my wonyo, i adore u sooooo much u are quite literally my twin in every aspect and i love uuuuuu!!!!!! u are just the most sunshiney person to ever sunshine and never fail to make me smile and happyyyy I LOVE UUUUU MY FAV i cant wait to meet u one day <3

to: ace ( @ajusnice ) subject: my maknaez in crime <3

ACE ACE ACE ACE ACE ACE HELLO HI my fav gose watching partner hehe <3 no but actually its kinda bizarre how we havent been friends for a year but it feels so much. longer idk 😓😓 thank u for being sososoaoao supportive u always make me laugh and whether its u berating me over using light mode or screaming over junshua its never a boring day when we talk 🥹 im glad to have u as my friend and ILYSM!!!!!! 💞💞💞💞💞

i hope all of you had the happiest new years and hope that 2024 is our best years yet!!! love all of you sooooo much and thank you once again ♡♡♡♡♡

[jiminrings]

“The ache of unfulfillment in you is bred by everything significant in your life” really legitimized the harrowing feeling I have everyday questioning what I’m doing in life,

but also I don’t really do enough to change it? It is what it is(for the most part) and I’ve been living in my head constantly scrutinizing myself enough for three generations. It’s a sad truth I’ve come to live with, but I really resonate w readers lack of agency after all.

In a very selfish way, I was jealous of the eventual convo w joon airing out her grievances and seeing him will to make that change while addressing his faults. I wish I had siblings (or anyone) that saw me grow up and realize that maybe I did deserve better, better than just “okay”.

“What your mom does know is that she doesn’t know a single thing about the heartbreak you suppress, and that thought alone makes her hiccup in tears.” Can we put this in the hall of literary cogitates? Re: I had to open my journal in the middle of reading and reflect on why this scene came down on my chest like the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.

I loved yoongi (still rooting for him to grovel a bit more) but him finally revealing all the silent ways he loved reader was:(. She deserved to know how much she meant to him, that he loved her so much, traveled countries in hopes to find her.

I want to believe he truly loves(ed) her and she didn’t become his failsafe bc of the divorce with hyewon. I truly think “you don’t know what you had till it’s gone” describes Yoongi because he missed a lifetime a love for a couple years of settling with someone who didn’t respect him.

“You’ll go on this tangent that you’ve always been weak, influenced by the times that Yoongi had chastised you for your lack of a passion. 

To you, Yoongi had been right in a way.

To Yoongi, he’s always been in the wrong” broke my heart the right amount :|

Haneul being a conjecture personified. A constant reminder of what reader could’ve had, but more importantly a wake up call that we’re too late for hypotheticals. We’re here now and have to deal with the consequences of (Y)our actions (yoongi:p)

I also loved jk. He was so sweet and if their jobs weren’t a conflict of interest, I’d be delighted to see how loved he’d make her feel. I hope he puts his crush to good use and treats her the best.

I think this has been my favorite oc you’ve written because of how much she resembles my daily life. A kind of selfish bit, but it’s heartwarming looking at someone knowing they deserved better than the cards they were dealt because that means there’s a hope someone will finally look at me and think the same. (Fingers crossed for us all)

Thank u sm for writing this and I hope my eyes are not mistaken me and there’s a continuation of the series? I’d love to see how it plays out

Also, reader & I would love a Spotify jam session w Passion by PinkPantheress on repeat all night long for sure <3

first of all, thank u so so much for reading and being here w me 🫂🩷 i'm with you with that harrowing feeling every single day bc whenever i look back at even the most recent month, i get so shocked?? wdym i am occasionally miserable bc of the same things i swore are the ones that keep me happy . ahhhh i'm glad that stuck with you!!!! u may not have siblings but trust me, as someone with two brothers, having them isn't what's always cut out to be i promise!!! i resonate w you wanting someone to tell you u deserved better (for the best and more than okay) n although i'm not your sister, i'm here to tell u that you really, genuinely did 🩷🩷 STOPPPPP u opening ur journal mid-read?? whew!!! haneul really is a conjecture personified i fear </3 thank you so so much for reading and taking the time to send me this!!! it truly means a lot to me (more than i can ever enunciate) n to know that oc is a statue of what you n i (n a lot of other people) feel like is really something!!!! ty for the recs n yes there'll be a season 2!!! MWAH!!!!

[quackle]

So what’s your final opinion of Disventure Camp All-Star now that it comes to a end?

Also regarding winner, you are right! They didn’t go with “Who deserved to win” and tons of fans are piss off.

and so we have made it to the end. dcas is officially over... sobbing a lil at that fact. now. finale rambles under the cut (tldr: 7/10 season):

i think dcas was pretty nice for what it gave. i know a lot of people think it's shit, and i do nod my head at most concerns i've seen through posts on here and elsewhere. but idk. i had a relatively good time these past couple of months while watching!

let's start with...

Things I Liked:

The Main Premise (and in extension, Riya's Story) — this season showed that it truly wasn't about who deserved to win, it was about who wanted it most. and riya wanted it badly, to the point where it changed her for the worst whenever a camera was around. it took me until ally's elimination to see the direction this season was going (so... basically near the end LOL), but once it clicked, i was like. wowie. this is a bold choice of a winner. and interesting as fuckkkk, despite it not being hinted at as much as i hoped it would near the beginning. i don't think i've ever seen someone who is deemed as a villain be the only winner of a show like this. no alt endings or anything, just a villain win that sort of translates into a loss when you really think about how nobody is in riya's corner anymore. i know people (mostly riya fans) were disappointed with how sad and slightly open ended riya's conclusion arc was, but i personally can't be that upset at it. rosa maria's message during her elimination in season 2 really hit here. riya let the game change her, and though she won three million dollars, she has absolutely nobody (except potentially her sister eesha, but even still, that's not the best way for things to end for her). tis the way the cookie crumbles. i'm glad the writing team decided to go with this instead of the jake ending like thank GOODNESS for the proofreaders omg this is what proofreaders are for!!! (also. i'm clearly biased to the 'faking in front of cameras/others just to become a realer version of oneself once that's tested' characters in particular. look at my icon rn. i think you can understand why i'm such a big fan of this)

Allyson Amber— obligatory ally mention LOL. i think i already rambled enough on why i love ally so so so much as a character, so i will avoid. today. just know that opinion still stands.

Voice Acting— i am not a voice actor, just a voice actor enthusiast, so idk how much my words truly mean here. but i absolutely loveeeee the vocal direction this season went. best vocal performance in the whole series thus far. i can tell each actor + anybody on the voicing team worked hard to deliver! each character's voice really fit and everyone is so talented. hashtag i love connecting voices to characters. i'm excited for s4 voices ahhhh <3

The Grett + Gabby Friendship— we had her for like a good two eps and it still solo'd. going from what had happened in season 1 to what happened in season 3 was chef's kiss. it showed that both grett and gabby grew as characters throughout their whole journey on dc. idk i just love their bond so much, hashtag thank you for adding that.

and now...

Things I have Mixed Feelings About:

Gabby and Ally's Elimination— am i that mad that they ultimately left? eh not really, especially after i learned what type of story onc was aiming to tell this season. but am i mad about how they left? absolutely. because it was bullshitttttt omg. last minute, out of nowhere changes that cause eliminations of characters will never fail to piss me off. personally. even if real life is unfair like this too. (i'm only human LOL let me live)

TomJake Plot-Line— the good news (?) is that i don't find it absolutely mind-numbingly awful anymore. jake's cool. tom's okay. so overall, now i just think the plot is thee definition of mid. improvement! but still mid! i think certain ships in media are not for me, and this is one of em. sorry tomjakers, they should have had a meaningful conversation a long ass time ago. (also why tf they the finale thumbnail like MOVEEEEE with yall yaoi moment /lh)

Connor's Marriage— not that big of a deal, props to connor for finallyyyyyyy retiring from his savior complex (like i genuinely clapped for him cause that was a LONGGGGGG time coming), but a record scratch DID go off in my head when i saw that lol wedding pic. like OH... okay! congrats? i guess? (idek why i had this reaction or why i'm even writing about it lol, connor is Just Okay to me so)

Certain Lack of Character Interactions— i know this is a parody of reality TV and the show can only do so much, especially for characters that got eliminated early on. and i know i can quite literally go on something like ao3 and either find some fic that caters to my tastes or create it myself. but i frowned a lil when i realized certain characters wouldn't talk that much canonically. the curse of an all stars season is that they're bringing back some of the best characters this series has to offer. so when i don't get to see them interact, i go "aww. fair. but aww." (biggest examples here would be grett and hunter during the returnee challenge (because they can serve as interesting parallels (why would they finally make me gaf about hunter just to make him have like 30 seconds of lines ugh onc i am GLARING)), and jake and tess in general (the slightly healed meets the destructive work in progress. the difference in mental health journeys and how they can reflect within gameplay + outside convos. we coulda squeezed a lil somethin here. for me.))

Ellie's Plot-Line— one of the main reasons why i found ellie so compelling as a character is because the choices she made, both good and bad, all connected with her need for money due to being a college student who's not that well off. so to see that written off at the end was... well. eh? like cool, she's got gabby and grett, and they do matter the most, and i loveeeee their bond, but like. girly is a student in nyc and losing all that money is fucking huge. (i think it's mostly the bad pacing here, so i'm not giving it too much critique)

Grett's Plot-Line— onc introduced that whole tree scene (one of my fav scenes btw), and i thought that was so inspiring. "oh my gosh, i can't wait to see grett shine after she was constantly disrespected by some fucker that should have gotten his ass beat a long ass time ago!" i exclaimed. and then, she was eliminated. look. i get the whole premise of this season. i like it, too. so even though i think grett deserved to win the most, i can understand why the writers didn't have her win. BUT i think they should have written her arc with way more care and attention. if anything, i remember more harmful moments than good. grett deserved better than that. to me.

Huntally Plot-Line— i like huntally. and i wish it was written a bit better. it felt... rushed in comparison to other things we've seen here. granted, they couldn't do as much as others when hunter was eliminated so quickly, but still. meh overall.

and finally...

Things I Didn't Like:

The Staffs' Plot-Line— yall. the way i grew to not give a singular fuck about this plot... i saw people complain about tomjake screen time or jake screentime or ally vs jake screentime or connor vs riya screentime or riya screentime. which, okay whatever i guess. but LOOK AT THE REAL CULPRITS HERE... they're already getting a spinoff, idgaf about some staff when i won't be able to see some of the contestants ever again after this season!!! trevek irritated the absolute hell outta me, kristal made me side eye, marcus, nina and oliver were there i guess, and emily? man. i think that alone needs another bullet point hold on-

Emily's Plot-line (if you can even call it that)— yes, yes, i already know, emily was terrible, this was shown in the very first ep, she was never supposed to be rooted for, blahblahblah. but why. why did she decide to help yul. why did she decide to help trevor. why is she helping men so much. why did she turn so cartoonishly evil in the end. why is she like that. it's so uncanny to me. it just feels like she's more of a plot device that she is a character, which makes her fall so fucking flat. it blows. to me.

The Therapist Characters— ashley and tess are the biggest examples of this. not to say that friends irl don't ask this question, but fuck, did i get tired of hearing "are you ok?" or "what's wrong?" or "here let me give you some advive." it feels like such a reduction of their characters, which really sucks considering they didn't get much characterization in comparison to other characters in the first place.

"Be the Bigger Person, Ally"— okay. the more i think about this the more it pisses me off. this is a quote from episode 18, where connor tells ally to be the bigger person in her whole situation with jake. now riddle me this, chat. why is it that connor only tells ally to be the bigger person, then a few minutes later when talking to jake, he goes "oh there's only so much i can accomplish with jake" in the confessional? you didn't even reiterate the same words old man. that makes it seem like ally should do more and adjust what she deems as okay and not okay, just so her tension with jake can dwindle, while jake gets a sigh and a slap on the wrist and a "welp i tried." despite her more immature reactions later on during this plot, ally had every right to be bitter toward someone who kept snapping at her and giving her attitude because no good communication was being used to explain why he kept doing that. instead, i wish the message could have been something like "communicate, then try to insert yourself in their shoes so you can understand each other better because you're more alike than you think" to BOTH ally and jake, because this conflict involves BOTH of them, and needs to be worked on by BOTH of them, not just by one damn party. (i could dive into shit like the sexism connotations of the message "be the bigger person" only being directed to the female character here, but ehhhh, not today + people would think i'm overreacting when i know i'm not)

Yul— look, even if i put the whole slur slinging slanger incident that occurred to the side, i still was not a fan of how yul was portrayed here for that long. idgaf if he's sometimes funny. it just made me feel uncomfy seeing such a disrespectful piece of shit get this far with a burn to the face that didn't even stay permanently. like oh so emily can be in bandages for "a year or two," but bigot mcgee here gets off burn free? okay. don't piss me off. and yes, i understand his sponsorship ending where he's still acting fake because "it doesn't matter to him whether he's liked or not," and i know he serves as an okay parallel to james at best. but personallyyyyy if we were going with the whole "yul is the worst type of famous person imaginable" angle, you could have at least made the consequences of his actions stick to his face forevermore. (that's like the only thing they got right with endeavor from my hero like come on)

and that's about it. i think. overall, i'd give this season a solid 7. i know it looks like there's more stuff i didn't like or felt indifferent about,but i just feel like i have to explain my distastes a little more so people can understand me pfft. but yeah, it's not too bad of a season, even if i side eye some things.

and i'm looking forward to season four! from what i've seen, from the short character dialogues in the voice acting tryouts (ruby save me), to the potential storyboarded scene of the setting (abandoned carnival vibes???), i am most certainly sat. i really hope onc improves from here on out :)

[underwater-i-will-go]

omg your fics 🔥 I’m a madridista but tell me why you’re giving me a soft spot for everton, soooo tell me about your faves at Everton I need a premier league team to root for???

AHHHH love u <3 i don't watch la liga but u guys are my faves over there so that's a slay anyway.

to be honest, having followed everton for nearly seven years now, you will have to be prepared to suffer. a lot. but it's fun! when we win a derby but can't beat a bottom of league two side a couple months later 🙏

okay so my favourite everton player should be obvious to everyone. unfortunately so. let's keep it that way.

but other than keane, it's either idrissa gana gueye, abdoulaye doucouré or nathan patterson. amazing players. my pookies, gana gueye especially.

beautiful man. even when i only like him platonically <3 can't imagine the club without him anymore?

abdoulaye is a hero in my eyes even when he gets stick sometimes because he's not always good, but he scored the winner at the bournemouth game, last game of season 22/23, the one and only reason we stayed up. what a guy. what a character.

nathan !!! famously known as my bench baby. future of him at the club unfortunately doubtful, as it is for many defenders anyway. can't wait for him to be fully recovered though, he will shine again.

adding my favourite moment again. i miss them.

[moonjxsung]

sTAR PLS 🤭🤭🤭 your little 👀 had my jaw dropping cos i'm so excited for it, im literally gonna block off time in my day to just sit down and read whatever you publish. when you posted the hanji fic i was like omg i need to finish my homework NOW, so i can read stars masterpiece when im done–uninterrupted.

i can't imagine how tiring it must be to chase down the people that steal your work to post them on other sites, trying to get the stolen work taken down or at least the credit that you rightfully deserve. i'll miss the drabbles of course, but i'd much rather have a star who isn't drained and tired chasing after these thieves <3 the stuff i write are drabble length i think? 1k-3k words, and even though i'm a smaller writer on this app, the possibility that my work could be stolen is always in the back of my mind.

right now its exam season. i had a midterm earlier (saturday at 9am 🤢 a crime) and then i have 3 more coming up in the next couple of weeks. at this point i just want to pass and get the credit so 🤞🤞 im coming off anon just to show you some pics i took while waiting for the eclipse and then when it happened

i'm not very knowledgeable about astronomy but god, i love it so much. the stars, the moon, space and everything, it's so breathtakingly beautiful it relaxes me.

i'm happy to hear you're going out and eating some good food, ugh i love some good food. stay safe always 🫶 ilysm pookie 🌸

I LOVE YOU SO MUCHHHHWJWKKALKSDJ I blocked off the entire day today to just stay in and WRITE I’m trying to get it finished before April’s over but we shall see 👀 IM SO EXCITED THAT YOU’RE EXCITED THOUGH SJSKXLXLSKSLSKDK

God the wattpad thieves are just rampant on here. I never thought it would be this bad considering I feel like tumblr isn’t as popular as it used to be? But boyyyyy was I wrong 😀 I’m doing the best I can coping and I have no intention of scrapping my longer stuff so it’s all good 🫶

GOOOOD LUCK WITH EXAMS MY LOOOOVE AHHHH you got this my love!!!!!! I believe in you!!!!!!! 🫶 this is the final stretch and then you’ll have some time to breathe and relax RAHHH manifesting good grades all around and some fun plans to celebrate when it’s over 🫶

ALSO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ECLIPSE PICS OH MY GODDDDDD I missed it because I had a 3 hour conference with a client I couldn’t miss and I’m still so sad about it but I love seeing it through your eyes and I’m so glad you got to witness it !! I love the moon she’s so beautiful I hope you always get to see the moon look so pretty and I hope you never miss astronomical phenomena when they occur 🌙⭐️✨💫 I do have some cutie pics of the moon from the past month I’ll add even though I didn’t catch the eclipse she’s SOOOO cutie 👼

I love you sweet angel I’m glad you’re doing well!!!! Go crush your exams and tell me all about it, I’ll be rooting for you from over here 👼💫⭐️🌙✨🫶💞💖💝💕

[stobinesque]

first of all i love the way you title your work so much, like something about it just scratches my brain and second for the wip title game i am here to ask about phryctoria, like literally tell me anything (or a snippet 👀) i'm so intrigued by the title (and yeesssss on it almost being done)

ahhhh thank you del <33 I actually really love titling things! Especially if I'm titling things thematically (as is the case with semiotics 'verse). I have a whole pile of titles waiting for a fitting story idea in my notes folder in scrivener! Also I collect words and turns of phrase like a little linguistic magpie 😅

also by "phryctoria is almost done" I mean I literally just need to post the last chapter (technically two, but chapter 7 is a bonus non-plot chapter) to AO3!! Chapters 1-5 are up, though! The fic is basically Steve realizing he's gay, coming out to Robin, and the two of them trying to figure out how to be Gay Teenagers in Indiana in the Eighties. All if it is set about a month or two after season 3. Really I just need to do one last quick proofread and put the last couple chapters up, so that will probably happen tomorrow or Friday!

The title for this fic was originally "signal fires" and each chapter was named after a fire-starting process, as sort of a prelude to the stronger focus on queer signifiers and semiotics that I'm planning on getting into later in the series, but as I was trawling Wikipedia for semaphore systems I stumbled across this one (which is a type of fire-based semaphore system)! So each chapter title is based on a Greek letter (which let me tell you it sucked whenever I thought I'd settled on title chapters and then accidentally gained a chapter).

I also realized yesterday that I never shared the playlist I made for this fic (specifically for chapter 4, I think?). So please behold my Stobin car mixtape, which Steve and Robin put together for their gay field trip to Indianapolis.

[direwombat]

3, 6, 16, 21, 26, 29 -> for both ships in case some don't apply etc etc <3

ahhhh thank you <3

3. Jealousy issues?

jkfas;ldfkjasdfadsf jealousy issues? with a jacobship? 100%. Jacob will never admit it, but his possessiveness does stem from jealousy...at least a tiny bit. I think jacob's got some self-worth issues, and on a certain level he's aware of them. he knows he's not a good man, so part of him does worry that syb will wise up and leave for someone...better...

6. Double Date? Thoughts? Who?

afl;kjafdl;fjaf no. you think jacob is going to share syb's attention with anyone? no way

but...au where syb doesn't kill shaw...the idea of a jakesyb/shawstaci double date is soooo funny to me. I think they'd go bowling and to spice things up syb and Staci would be a team while jacob and shaw are another. jacob and shaw lose so fucking bad, it's almost sad (but mostly its funny)

16. Who cooks most?

syb. she's better at it than jacob is. since she'll...you know...actually season things. I firmly believe jacob's cooking skills begin and end at the grill. man is eating unmarinaded grilled chicken and unseasoned steamed veggies and plain white rice and that is it. syb takes one look at that and goes "no thank you, I'd like to enjoy my meal" and cooks something else lmao. not that Jacob minds. he likes watching her cook. it's what she was doing when he had his oh moment. and once she joins the cult, she'll occasionally work the kitchens at st. francis and help give the chosen and the hunters some actually good food when they do a good job/have earned it.

21. Movie Night?

jacob strikes me as more of a reader, and so is syb, so movie nights happen less often (also what are they gonna watch? I don't think either of them are really into whatever cult propaganda films john wanted to make). they're far more likely to read together. but I think every now and then, if they're able to get their hands on some old reels, they'll watch some stuff from the earlier decades of cinema.

26. If they have kids, who named them? What would they name them?

in the bunker buddies au, they do have a kid! but they're both bad at naming things (animals...objects...people...). due to her combat injuries, having a child is unlikely and dangerous, so the fact that she was able to carry their baby almost to term before having to have an emergency c-section is a miracle. and that's what they call their child for a long time. their "little miracle." after a few months of this they're like "we should probably give her an actual name, huh?" and syb is like "well...what about mira? short for 'miracle'?" and Jacob said "yeah, sure, that works for me."

29. Who said I Love You, first?

r;fkjafsd;aldfskj so real talk, I don't think they actually verbally say "I love you" until after they're reunited in new dawn. like...they know they love each other. they've proven it time and time again before the bunker years. they never felt the need to say it, they just knew. but after the bunker years, when they find each other again, I think "I love you" is one of the first things they say to each other when they cling to each other. Jacob says it verbally out loud while syb is tapping it in Morse code against his back. both of them are crying.

3. Jealousy issues?

no not really. both of them are pretty comfortable in their relationship. sure, eli worries about the interest Jacob takes in syb, but that's less jealousy and more genuine concern because uh...he knows what Jacob does to people and he doesn't want syb to be conditioned to serve the cult.

6. Double Date? Thoughts? Who?

oooh. idk why but my initial thought was joey/mary may. in the universe where sybeli happens, the disaster of sybjoey never happens so she and syb remain close friends in that timeline. I think they think double dates are fun on occasion, and having the company of another couple is nice when they're actually going out-out, but for the most part they keep to themselves.

16. Who cooks most?

when they actually have time/ingredients? they're cooking together. I like to think that eli is really good at cooking whatever game he catches and has family recipes memorized. and syb isn't a terrible cook herself and is a master when it comes to seasoning and marinading things, so they're a pretty good team in the kitchen.

but for the most part (in their "canon" verse anyways) they're eating MREs and instant noodles lbr

21. Movie Night?

awwww now I'm just imagining Wheaty organizing militia movie nights <3 tbh I think syb and Eli are fans of 80s action/sci-fi movies. Indiana Jones, John carpenter films, terminator, robocop, the og mad max movies. stuff like that.

26. If they have kids, who named them? What would they name them?

lol realistically they would adopt, take in some poor kid and raise them as a member of the whitetails/in the bunker. but assuming an au where syb successfully gets pregnant and carries a baby to term, eli ends up naming the baby. syb is awful at naming things (see the jakesyb answer to this question), so after she exhausts all the little pet names she's just like "eli...help..."

that said, considering their animal symbolism (syb a hare and eli a white tailed deer) I consider their baby a jackalope so...I hereby name their child "jacqueline (jackie) palmer"

29. Who said I Love You, first?

Eli. Syb is almost physically incapable of saying the words herself. she'll always answer "you too," whenever he says it. she does mean it though. she just has a difficult time verbalizing her emotions and is much more likely to express her affection in other ways (ie...acts of service or physical touch)

[brainrattlers]

Play It Cool - Tyson Jost (19/n)

Author’s Notes: AHHHH YES, these two crazy kids get to see each other again after over a month of time apart. You know what that means! Also... there are so many things I want to tell you right here, but you’re going to just have to read on for something I wasn’t even quite prepared to write about, but it flowed so I went with it. I hope y’all enjoy this little curveball I threw in. Also, damn it, this chapter is making me miss Seoul Taco. (IYKYK.) Another fun chapter to write though - I was at the MIN/STL game in the previous chapter, as well as the one in this chapter - always nice to have some source material to work with. 

Pairing: Tyson Jost x OFC (AJ)

Word Count: 6796 (why do I keep writing longer chapters?)

Warnings: 18+ ONLY. I’ve tried to keep it classy but if you’re under 18, you gotta go. Adult themes and language. Tyson does get hurt (again?!) in this chapter, but if you followed the rest of his season this isn’t a surprise.

Need the Chapter 18 hookup? https://brainrattlers.tumblr.com/post/693358126122008576/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-18n

The week was a whirlwind, but crept along so slowly at the same time. It was tough for AJ to stay focused on work that week, even if it was only a three day week for her. Tyson was doing his best to keep from phoning it in. He worked hard during practices, and the team won their games at home before hitting the road for Dallas, and then St. Louis again later that week. 

So many check-in calls and texts with each other were made, making sure things were still going to plan. Tyson made sure AJ knew what hotel the team was going to be at, she sent her travel itinerary. (Which was driving to St. Louis. No fancy flying, and at least she had her car with her.) He had her pick up a couple more items from his apartment that he could fit in his bag to take back as well.

The game in Dallas ended, the team flew out that night, but AJ wouldn’t get there until Friday late afternoon. Tyson’s teammates had not seen him this antsy before. After practice that afternoon, he headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up. A couple of the guys saw him leaving his hotel room, noticing he’d shaved, and styled his hair. Too warm for a hoodie, he opted for a tee and jeans. Trying to get comfortable in one of the lobby chairs was proving difficult, Tyson was straight up fidgeting in anticipation.

The vibration of the phone in his hands made his heart nearly pound out of his chest.

AJ: Just parked, heading in the main lobby.

Tyson’s eyes could not be peeled from the door as he anxiously awaited her walking in. Sure, they saw each other the previous week in the same city, but he hadn’t been able to physically touch AJ in over a month. All he had wanted to do the last week was hug her tightly to him, and if he had his way, never let her go.

The way he figured it, they’d have about 15 hours together, and he wanted to make the most of it.

The sliding doors to the lobby opened, and in walked a very tired looking AJ. She had left Denver at 3:30am, drove all the way through Kansas, and all the way across Missouri to get to St. Louis by 5:30pm with the time change. The speed limit drop once she hit Missouri made her timing off a bit, but she used as much pedal to the metal as she could to get there. Looking across the lobby, eye contact was made with Tyson who was already up and out of the chair, heading her way.

“Ugh, babe, I need a shower, I have been in the car for over 12 hours, I…” 

AJ didn’t even have a chance to finish as Tyson’s warm hands cupped her face, tilting it up towards his and pulling her in for a long kiss. One of his hands traveled to the back of her head, the other heading way down south, pulling her body impossibly close to his. The two held their embrace for an inordinate amount of time, as if time stood still around them. Neither could even hear the chirps and catcalls that came from a handful of Tyson’s teammates making their way through the lobby in search of dinner. 

It literally took Tyson getting dizzy from lack of oxygen before the kiss was broken, leaving the couple simply looking into each others’ eyes, panting. Before AJ knew it, Tyson grabbed her hand and was pulling her to the elevator. Pushing the button to the 8th floor, he had already pulled her into him for another kiss that was barely broken when the doors opened for his floor. The two of them stumbled down the hallway, AJ being pulled forward by Tyson walking backward to keep kissing her. He reached into his pocket and whacked his wallet against the lock, and with the click, the door opened and the two nearly fell inside the room.

Tyson could not keep his hands off of AJ. She had barely got her backpack thrown onto the sofa as he was kicking his shoes off and working on grabbing the belt loops of her jeans to pull her back to him. 

“Baby, shhh… slow down. Seriously I need a shower, I feel gross from the road… before… dinner… need to… get… cleaned up.”

The smile on Tyson’s lips turned into a wicked grin, curling up at the corners. His lips attached to her neck, as he toyed with the collar on her shirt, pulling it down to expose her collarbones.He knew if he found the right spot just above them, she’d be a whimpering mess, and completely putty in his hands. 

He found the spot.

It was clear that AJ was frustrated by this development, but at the same time was starting to not care either. In a quick decision, she let Tyson stay attached to her skin, but started pulling him toward the bathroom. Kicking off her shoes and pulling off her socks with her feet, she reached down to start shimmying out of her jeans. Forcing him to break contact, she tore her shirt over her head, and quickly leaned into the tub to start the shower. Tyson followed suit with his own pants, and AJ slowly peeled his shirt off, kissing her way up his abs and chest with each inch of exposed skin.

Looking down into AJ’s eyes, Tyson had a feral look on his face, pupils blown, cheeks flushed. He damn near picked her up to put her in the shower with some of her underthings still on. Impatiently he waited for her to unhook and pull off everything, although he really did enjoy the show. She tiptoed into the shower, letting the hot water melt away the icky feeling from being on the road, with Tyson coming in hot behind her. 

Thanking his lucky stars that the tub had grippy strips, Tyson hoisted AJ up and pinned her against the side of the shower. She yelped at the shock of the cold granite wall, but wrapped her legs around his midsection, pulling his torso flush to hers. It was taking all of his willpower to not just take her right there, and even that was waning. But after a couple minutes of intense making out, and AJ failing at not grinding her hips into Tyson’s, he couldn’t focus on tasting every bit of AJ’s skin he could reach, holding her up against the wall, and keeping himself from just sliding in. It literally was too much for him.

The two stared at each other, out of breath, trying to calm down a bit. Between breathing hard, the hot water, and the sheer intoxication they were feeling from each other, they had to stop for a few moments. 

This is probably one of the few times AJ turned the temperature of the water down in a shower, trying to put out what felt like fire on her face. The cold water almost stung across her body, but she finally felt like she was finding herself again, breathing more evenly.

Tyson leaned back against the wall, feeling the coolness against his skin. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes for a few moments. With a few deep breaths, he was able to compose himself. Instead of the intensity from just moments earlier, a calmness settled in Tyson’s head. With a soft kiss, he turned AJ around, and reached outside of the curtain, grabbing some of the Olaplex shampoo and conditioner that she had turned him onto a couple months prior.

“Close your eyes baby girl, I got you.”

With a tiny dab of the shampoo in his hands, Tyson worked a lather up in AJ’s hair. The light raking of his nails against her scalp elicited a low moan to fall from her lips as her head dropped backward into his hands. It was a sound that he missed so much in the last month. Sure, there were attempts at phone sex, and he occasionally would hear those sounds… but it sounded so much better in person. He leaned her back into the cool drops of water falling from the showerhead to rinse it out, followed up by putting a small dollop of conditioner in her hair.

AJ opened her eyes slowly, and turned, chest to chest with Tyson.

“Want me to return the favor?” AJ bit her lip a little, making eyes at Tyson.

“I learned from the best… only wash every couple of days. And I did earlier this afternoon. This is all about you right now.”

Tyson grabbed some shower gel and a washcloth, working it into suds before gently scrubbing AJ’s neck, shoulders, back, and around to her front. Taking a knee, he kissed the curves formed by her ribs, waist, and hips as his hands slid down her thighs, massaging them lightly. 

He may not have wanted his hair washed, but she did run her fingers through the wet tangle of curls atop his head as he looked up at her. It wasn’t the same feral look he had earlier. While it was still intense, the look was softer. It wasn’t lustful. It was adoration and love.

Of course, with the boiling hot passion coming to a gentle simmer, blood and oxygen were getting back to Tyson’s brain. And that cheshire grin of his came back as he looked up, but then leaned down and nipped the inside of AJ’s thigh. She was caught off guard, expecting maybe a kiss, or his fingers sliding upward a bit, but instead gasped, then giggled at the puppy dog look he was giving her. Helping him back up on his feet, he finished rinsing the conditioner from her hair, and shut off the water. 

Reaching around the curtain, he found a fresh towel in the cubby next to the shower. Unfurling it, Tyson dabbed it over her body, drying the stray drips of water that cascaded down her skin from her drenched wavy curls. AJ wrapped the towel around her, leaning up to softly kiss her love, with similar adoration in her eyes.

Tyson quickly dried off, and grabbed one of the robes from the hook and slid it on, tying the sash in front. It never failed to amuse AJ that he would do this at hotels - ever since the Ask the Avs segment regarding robes at hotels, she knew he enjoyed the finer things and being pampered. Looking at his watch though, he sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

Tyson had all these grand plans. He wanted to take AJ to a fancy dinner for two. He was going to pull her chair out for her, and scoot her in to the table before seating himself. He was going to cheat a little and they’d share a dessert. Maybe have an Irish Coffee with it. He envisioned them walking back to the hotel room, hand in hand. And once back in the room, his ideal night was going to be making love to AJ until the wee hours of the morning, game that next afternoon be damned. He knew that come morning, they’d have to get a quick breakfast, and kiss each other, not goodbye, but more goodbye for now. He’d be exhausted at the game. But he’d play his heart out, and he’d point at AJ when he’d score a goal, and she’d blow him a kiss.

“Tyson, you still with me babe?”

It took a moment to snap out of the daydream.

“Yeah, I… I just had some ideas for the night, but it is too late to really start them now.”

“So let’s make new plans? Are you hungry?” AJ squinted at Tyson. “I’ve been craving Seoul Taco for a while. Door Dash?”

Tyson chuckled, shaking his head a bit in disbelief. He’d never had a girlfriend that was this vocal about wanting things… didn’t matter if it were dinner, or something she wanted to try in bed. And he was fine with her taking the lead.

Ordering up a couple burritos (and really hoping this was not going to throw him off his game the next day), there was about a 45 minute wait for their food to arrive. AJ threw on a tee and her pajama shorts, and wrapped a towel around her hair, fastening it at the nape of her neck. Tyson didn’t exactly want her meeting the Dasher in the lobby dressed like that, but AJ was too comfy to care. A text alerted her to the arrival of food downstairs, so she put on her shoes sans socks, but still had her hair in a towel. Grabbing a few dollars from her wallet for a tip, she headed downstairs to retrieve dinner.

Setting up a makeshift dining room table on the bed, which probably wasn’t a great idea due to the kimchi fried rice being a little on the messy side inside their burritos, the couple chatted and ate. Laughter and smiles were in abundance. And after sweeping the rice crumbs off the bed, Tyson turned on the TV to find a movie to put on as he leaned back against the headboard with open arms to hold AJ with.

Giving a motion to hold on a moment, AJ grabbed her backpack from the sofa, and pulled out a small bag from one of the pockets. She tossed it at Tyson, who thankfully caught it before it smacked him in the chest. In his hands, he found a bag of Haribo Star Mix.

“Movie snacks? I love that you’re always prepared.” 

Tyson tore into the bag and set it to the side, opening his arms again for AJ to join him on the bed. He’d propped the pillows up against the headboard as she was grabbing the candy from her bag. Curling up into his side, one of Tyson’s arms slid around her midsection and held her tight as he kissed the top of her head. The two stayed like this for a good portion of the movie, occasionally a hand would snag a gummy shape from the bag. Tyson always made sure to give AJ the Happy Cola bottles, and she’d give the Twin Snakes to Tyson. 

Grabbing another from the bag, Tyson studied it closely and stopped before popping it in his mouth. He looked at AJ.

“This one is for you,” Tyson held the candy in front of AJ, directly in her line of sight with the TV.

AJ smirked and leaned forward, taking the candy from Tyson’s fingers with her teeth, chewed and swallowed. “Thanks babe. I could get used to you feeding me candy in bed.”

This was not the response that Tyson was looking for.

He searched the bag of candy again and dug out another specific piece, and again held it up in front of AJ’s face.

And again, AJ chomped down on it, thanking him for the candy.

Clearly frustrated, Tyson grabbed the bag of candy, frantically searching until he found the last of the particular shape in the bag. Holding it in his fingertips, he held it further from AJ’s face this time. She started to lean forward, when he pulled it away.

“What the hell?”

“Babe, stop.” Tyson inhaled slowly, thinking about what he was about to say. “Look at what it is.”

AJ eyed the gummy ring now sitting on his palm, then looked back at him in slight confusion.

Tyson turned to face AJ, and looked at the gummy ring, then looked at her again. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and, well, this seemed like a sign to me. I know it’s only been a few months…”

AJ wasn’t breathing. All she was doing was staring into Tyson’s hazel eyes, hanging on every word that was coming out of his mouth.

“I know it isn’t ideal, because it’s probably going to get fuzz all over it when it gets sticky, and it’ll probably melt in the shower. But.. will you… be my sweetie?”

Forgetting that she hadn’t breathed in a bit, and trying to process what Tyson just asked, a sharp inhale happened, and started giggling at the first thing that popped into AJ’s head.

Tyson remained quiet, afraid of why she reacted the way she did. He frowned.

“Hey now I was just thinking I never told you I’m not a big yellow gold fan. I do like pineapple though, and I love you. But… I’m needing clarification… are you asking me to…?”

Tyson bit his lip, and nodded. He was now the one holding his breath, and looking for any sort of clue as to what AJ was thinking. His eyes went downward, looking at the candy still in his palm, and looked at her hand next, then back into AJ’s eyes. Finally he broke the silence that heavily hung in the air.

“AJ, will you? Will you be my…”

AJ had been through a lot in the last year, and it took so much arm twisting by Nate to get her to apply for her job. To move to Denver. There were days she had issues picking between mozzarella sticks or fried pickles for a side at her favorite diner. She was the queen of overthinking.

This time though, she didn’t even think. Everything about what was going on just felt… right. 

Her answer came in the form of AJ launching herself at Tyson and kissing him deeply. When the two finally separated, Tyson’s heart was pounding and he was trying to catch his breath. The smile on AJ’s face was all he needed. The gummy in Tyson’s hand was shakily slid on his love’s finger.

“It’s beautiful, Tyson.” AJ admired the candy on her finger while giggling.

“I’m going to get you a better one, I promise.”

“Probably a good idea, this one is cutting off my circulation and I kinda want to eat it.”

The two continued to lean into each other, foreheads lined up so they could just look into each other’s eyes for a bit. Neither could believe what just happened. But as much as Tyson would say that he hadn’t planned it, it had been on his mind for a while. The talk with Grandpa Jim after Valentine’s Day, regarding how he knew Grandma Emily was the one. Every day without AJ in Minnesota with him felt like something was missing. It had been on his mind so long, to be honest, that he remembered telling his mom about the afternoon that the two met in the locker room before the game that evening. (“She’s something special, there is just something about her.”) He even realized that the song she was singing was one he would hear her play/sing often in the next six months of their time together - Chet Baker’s “My Funny Valentine.” It suddenly all clicked as soon as he saw the gold colored gummy band with off-white “stone”.

Very few things in Tyson’s life made more sense than that spontaneous question he posed to AJ. 

I don’t think I need to tell you what the two were up to the rest of the night. So while part of his plans were changed, like dinner, and he hadn’t planned on asking the question, a fair amount seemed to stay intact. And it was as Tyson had envisioned - it wasn’t rushed, but instead it was slow, and full of emotion. And it felt different between the two, in a better way.. The newly established bond seemed to free something in the both of them, allowing for further exploration of the connection they shared. But in true AJ and Tyson style, there was still a lot of laughter and smiles. That was destined to be a thing with them from the start. They were both of the belief of if you’re not laughing, you’re being too serious. And while they had their intense moments, the lighthearted were still some of their favorites.

AJ insisted on them getting a couple of hours of sleep as she’d been awake nearly 25 hours, and Tyson had a game to play in about 10 hours. A quick cat nap, and the two were up once again, with one more quickie before heading to breakfast. 

Neither had looked at their phones since AJ’s arrival, or so AJ at least thought, and her watch buzzed with a notification from Instagram from Tyson.

Fumbling around the counter trying to grab her phone without getting out of the shower, AJ finally gripped it and was nervous to see what Tyson had posted on IG - mainly because they’d already talked about not spilling the news regarding the status change of their relationship. Tyson swore up and down he wasn’t going to blurt it out to his new team like he did with his last team, even if they all already knew. This time he was going to play it extremely cool.

What he didn’t play it cool about was the fact he was ecstatic that he and AJ were sharing the same physical space even if just for a few hours. And his level of silliness.

josty17 BEDHEAD WAR IS BACK ON, BABY! LFG!

And in all it’s glory, Tyson shared a photo of some very messed up bedhead on AJ. She had no idea when he snapped the photo. But it was definitely from today, it was the same tanktop she fell asleep in, and clearly was the bed in the hotel. She chuckled to herself, knowing full well that was not just run-of-the-mill bedhead, but definitely ASH. (After sex hair, for those that were questioning.)

wicketthewarrior Don’t make me get photos from your mom, Jost. I know she’s got a stash and is more than happy to share.

AJ could hear Tyson cackling from the other room as she hit send, and was toweling her hair off.

Breakfast was a little weird, as it wasn’t a nice quiet bite to eat, but instead a flurry of introductions with Tyson’s new teammates. And it was taking all his self control to not explode with “THIS IS MY FIIIIANNNNNCEEEEEEEE!!!” 

Once breakfast was eaten, Tyson had to hop on the bus to head to the arena. The two sighed as he packed his bag, as did AJ (although she was just switching to a different room, there was no way she was driving another 12+ hours home after the night she had, plus going to the game that afternoon). There was a long hug that didn’t want to be broken between the two, but they knew it was coming.

“See you at the game, Jost. Kick some ass.”

AJ had some time before the game to kill, so she checked out the aquarium at Union Station, but really just wished that Tyson had been there with her. One of the dates she really wanted to go on while he was still in Denver was to hit up the zoo together, but schedules and weather never seemed to quite align. She needed to look up whether there was a zoo or not in the Twin Cities, and if not there, maybe there was one near his family up in Alberta. Zoos and aquariums were one of her favorite things to visit - could easily spend all day just watching the various animals. In fact, she had to set an alarm on her watch to head out on time. It wasn’t far, just a couple blocks (in fact that’s where she parked the previous week as well), but she didn’t want to miss the lunch that came with her ticket (she snagged the EXACT same ticket she had the previous week!), and she definitely didn’t want to miss out on warmups - another sign was in tow in her car.

After watching the otters, and chilling out with the jellyfish, petting sharks and rays, and generally taking in the animals of the wet, swimming variety, her watch started buzzing, reminding her to head out.

Getting through security was a bit of a chore, for some reason this week the door folks were being sticklers about her poster. It was well within Enterprise Center’s rules, but they were still harassing her about it. Finally they let her in but it seemed like they really didn’t want AJ’s sign there. Maybe it was the green jersey she wore, emblazoned with JOST 10 on the back. She made her way downstairs to check out meal options for the day, and grabbed a plate and got in line.  Not that she was trying to listen in, but she had a good chuckle at the couple behind her. 

“Hey hon? This seems really bougie. Like this is way too fancy for us to be here,” the guy told his partner. “I don’t feel like I belong here.”

“Pfft, whatever, we’re fine.”

AJ leaned back and whispered, “I feel that way too, but you know what? You paid for the ticket, you have every right to be here. Eat and drink up!”

The man nodded and smiled.

With her plate full of a variety of things, including Eggplant Parmesan, fried corn nuggets, nachos and strawberry shortcake, AJ found a corner to sit down and just people watch. There were clearly some families there, and there were the bro types, and a few others that clearly looked like it was their first time in the Rinkside Club area. A brass band was piped in on the televisions from upstairs, playing from the concourse outside the arena. St. Louis had a different vibe than Denver, that’s for sure. 

Finishing up her meal, AJ snagged her sign and headed back upstairs, to head back downstairs to her seat. The same photographer from the week before recognized her instantly, chatting her up. They talked for a few minutes, until the teams were preparing  to come out onto the ice. He knew she was going to be looking for Tyson, and she knew he was going to be taking photos of warmups. 

The crowd cheered when the teams hit the ice. A couple guys sporting Minnesota jerseys were standing next to AJ against the glass. It seemed like all the folks in green gravitated to each other, as there was a bit of familiarity, as well as the feeling of power in numbers. The three were chatting as the men in white and green hit their side of the rink. AJ pushed her sign against the glass in front of her. A few of the players tapped their sticks at the glass in front of her as they skated by, usually flashing a quick smile of acknowledgement. She could overhear the two men next to her questioning how she was getting attention. And as per the new tradition, Deslauriers slammed into the glass right at her. This time she was ready, and didn’t flinch. The guys next to her sure did though.

The chat came to a grinding halt when Tyson came by with the biggest of the smiles shown her way. Stopping to read the sign, he didn’t turn the shade of red on his jersey, but sans fishbowl, he was able to kiss the knuckles of his glove properly and fistbump AJ through the plexi, mouthing “Love you, Eggo.”

“Love you too. Let’s fucking GO!” was mouthed back.

Tyson chuckled and skated around to join the group at center ice.

The guys next to her were completely gobsmacked by this. They continued chatting with AJ while the team did drills with Talbot, asking how she knew Tyson, and the rest of the team. A very abridged version was shared, that they started dating when he was with the Avalanche, but since he was traded, she was attempting to split loyalties. The Avs were her team, but Tyson had her heart. And if she was being completely honest, found it interesting watching the Wild and their style of play as it was so different from what she was used to seeing with the Avalanche. They joked about how they didn’t want to meet up with the Avalanche in the playoffs, and with good reason. They were likely the team to beat. At that point they could lose most of the rest of their games and still be the conference champs.

After the team broke apart again on the ice, Tyson did his stickhandling drill in front of AJ as usual, and noticed a family with kids at the glass on the other side of her. Corralling an extra puck, he sent it up and over the glass, behind the net so it’d drop for the kids. Tapping their slapping hands against the glass, Tyson glanced over one more time and winked before heading off the ice for the start of the game. AJ’s heart melted. She didn’t want kids, but damn if Tyson being adorable with little ones wasn’t making her second guess that decision.

(AJ felt like she had problems taking care of herself some days, so she wasn’t about to bring a new life into the world that she may struggle with taking care of - always envisioned being the cool aunt that bought annoying as hell musical instruments to “enrich” her nieces and nephews, and absolutely drive mom and dad nuts. Also she was so excited for arts and crafts of the messy variety so she can just hand the paint-covered children back to the folks, but with fun little art pieces. Unsure of others’ plans, she might have to just be the chosen aunt of her friends’ kids.)

The puck dropped, and it was game on between the Wild and the Blues yet again. Definitely another hard fought game - very back and forth with scoring. Defense seemed a bit soft on both sides. It especially stung AJ when Saad scored, with a Ryan O’Reilly assist. She was still an Avalanche fan deep down, and harbored a broken heart when the Saadfather signed on with the Blues the previous summer after having such a tremendous year with the Avs. O’Reilly… she just harbored a lot of intense dislike for after the way he behaved after leaving the Avs. 

Late in the third, Buchnevich hit Tyson near center ice. It was such a fast hit, and sadly, a legal one too. All AJ saw was Tyson still laying on the ice, and suddenly Deslauriers was ON Buchnevich letting him know it was NOT okay for him to hit his teammate like that. Tears were filling AJ’s eyes as Tyson slowly got up, and dragged his foot lightly behind him, trying to get to the bench. As if seeing him limp to the bench and head down the tunnel wasn’t hard enough, the voice hollering from behind her in the stands made her ready to line up like Deslauriers just had with the Blues player.

“BYE BYE JOSTY, TIME TO GO HOME!”

Someone pushed AJ’s shoulder from behind her. 

“AWWW is JOSTY HURT? WHAT A CRY BABY!”

The usher near AJ stepped in, telling the very intoxicated man behind her to cut it out, or he was going to be asked to leave.

In the meantime, AJ had grabbed her phone, and was texting away.

AJ: He’s not on the bench. He’s down the tunnel.

Jess: It didn’t look that bad, maybe he lost an edge.

AJ: I have a bad feeling about this, fuck I hate this.

The end of the third period horn sounded, tied 5-5. AJ was trying to breathe slowly to keep the anxiety bubbling up in check, but definitely was struggling. After a quick sweep of the ice by the zambonis, the teams were ready to start OT. 

AJ: He’s not on the bench.

Jess: I’m sure it’s just precautionary with playoffs coming up soon. He’ll be alright, you know how tough he is.

AJ: HE JUST GOT HIS FISHBOWL OFF, DAMN IT. Just hope he’s alright. I HATE THIS SO MUCH RIGHT NOW, they’re still not going to let me in the locker room even if I tell them I’m his…

She had to stop herself from typing “fiancée” as she hadn’t told Jess, or even her family yet. This was just something for her and Tyson right now.

… girlfriend.

The scene she made the week prior trying to get past security previously still played out in her head. There was a glimmer of hope being extinguished in her mind that just because he was injured, he’d be able to have a visitor. She knew better, the security was tight, and just doing their job.  

Not even paying attention to the game being played, AJ heard the roar of the crowd as Schenn put one past Talbot not even a minute into OT. Angry with the outcome of the game and not being able to get to Tyson, AJ got up while everyone was still cheering, and started walking (almost stomping) to her car. She was still agitated by the guy behind her in the crowd mocking Tyson. She didn’t even care that it was Tyson - a lot of her ire was because it was Tyson, but if it had been any other player on the team they were making fun of for being injured, she would be just as angry. Just the concept of being that much of an asshole made AJ’s blood boil.

Reaching her car in the Union Station parking lot, she opened the door, sat down, and just cried all the frustrations that had bottled up in the last 40 minutes. The physical tiredness of running on about 7 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, the worry of whether Tyson was okay, and the emotional exhaustion from the night before hit AJ hard. Thankful that she wasn’t driving more than a few miles to get to her temporary home, she started the engine to her car, and ended up sitting for a good 30 minutes waiting on traffic to move so she could pay her parking fees and head out.

While waiting in line behind about 4 cars at the pay booth, her phone buzzed. She realized in all this, she never reached out to Tyson, checking in on if he was okay.

Tyson: Hey? Are you OK?

AJ wiped her eyes, realizing she probably was going to look like a hot mess for the toll booth employee.

AJ: Sorry, I just… I kinda shut down. I’m just mentally and physically drained. Are YOU okay though? Fuck Buchnevich. I hope Nic beat the shit out of him. I wasn’t even paying attention, I was trying to keep from throwing hands with an asshole sitting behind me.

Tyson: I tweaked something in my calf, didn’t feel right, so I took myself out. Coach agreed it was the right call.

Tyson: Wait, you did WHAT now? 

AJ: Hold on a sec, I have to pay for parking brb

Handing her card to the employee, she thanked them and wished them a good day when they handed back her card and receipt.

Not even sure if he could take the call, AJ pushed the facetime button. He answered immediately, already dressed in his suit to travel back to Minnesota on the team’s flight. Tyson saw the smudged makeup and sighed.

“Sorry, I just.. Ugh. I can’t text and drive. I just needed to know you were okay.”

“Little rest and a little PT, I’ll be just fine. Now what the fuck happened that you were going to PUNCH someone?”

AJ heard the locker room chatter immediately quiet, and she had a hard time coming up with the words to even explain what happened.

“You got hit, and… I saw Nic go after him… and it was like I wasn’t even me anymore when I heard this absolute asshole behind me mocking the fact you were injured. It was taking a lot for me to not turn around and scream, and I imagine if I did, I’m pretty sure that I would have at minimum slapped him, if not more. I still have nail marks in my palm from how hard I was clenching my fist. St. Louis has some seriously not classy fans.”

Tyson couldn’t hide the corners of his lips curling up, his body shaking a little bit.

“Are you laughing right now?” AJ went silent after confronting the odd behavior. Her eyebrow furrowed as she turned onto another street, coming to a stop behind a line of cars.

Looking back, Tyson was indeed smirking.

“Are you hearing yourself right now? You were willing to FIGHT… because someone said something dickish about me.” Tyson turned and leaned back, hollering at someone. “Hey, yeah can you give AJ some fighting lessons? She nearly took on some fan in the stands like you took on Buchnevich.” He looked back and smiled at her again, and Deslauriers leaned into the frame  to give a thumbs up. “My woman is willing to fight for my honor, that’s badass! But.. really don’t do that. That’s probably not good for the PR team. I love you though, you know that.”

The sheer exhaustion was evident on AJ’s face, giving a sheepish grin. It was occurring to her how absolutely ridiculous it was sounding. Trying to suppress a yawn, she failed as the line of cars ahead of her started moving.

“I should probably hang up, traffic’s moving and I need to figure out how to get back to the hotel. Text me later?” AJ’s eyes were trained on the road.

“You know it. Text me when you get to the hotel. Love ya babe.”

AJ could hear the chirps in the background. 

“Love you too.”

A kiss was blown at the screen as she attempted to find the end call button without looking. With a deep breath, focus was figuring out which road she needed to take to get back. A quick detour found AJ picking up another round of Seoul Taco (knowing she wasn’t going to make it there again anytime soon, and no plans of hitting it up in Chicagoland either), and dragged everything upstairs to her hotel room.

AJ: “Home” for the night. Keep that leg RICEd for the flight back. Text me when you’re on the ground?

Tyson: You know it, **future wife**

The grin that showed up on AJ’s face upon reading that single line of text made her forget all about being angry at the Blues player that hit Tyson, and the fan that she almost got into an altercation with. 

AJ: It’s going to take some getting used to, hearing that. I mean other than the fact we’re trying to keep that on the dl, future hubs.

She couldn’t see it, but Tyson had the same goofy grin that graced her own lips moments earlier.

Tyson: Love you 

AJ: (heart emoji)

It wasn’t long after AJ took a few bites into her burrito that she ended up wrapping it back up, and stashing it along with an order of sweet potato waffle fries in the fridge. Her eyelids were so heavy, and her brain was SCREAMING at her that she was going to have to drive the twelve and a half hours back to Denver the next day. The attempt to stay up until Tyson texted that the flight had landed failed, and AJ crashed out hard on the bed.

Tyson: Back home, Eggo

The phone buzz didn’t even faze AJ.

Tyson: I hope you’re sleeping, it’s been a wild day and a half. I’m going to crash too. Can’t wait to see you again soon. Text me when you’re leaving in the morning. Love you so much.

The alarm on AJ’s phone woke her up at 6:15, having slept nearly 10 hours made her feel a little out of sorts. A quick cold shower to get more coherent happened, followed by a once over of the room to make sure all her toiletries and clothes made it back into her backpack. Snagging the leftover Seoul Taco from the fridge, she threw it into the makeshift cooler made from a few ice bucket bags filled with ice. AJ headed downstairs to snag breakfast before hitting the road. The fairy tale was ending. Or at least, it was taking a break for the time being.

AJ: Heading back to Denver. Doesn’t feel right going back without you. Miss you already.

Chapter 20 is up! https://brainrattlers.tumblr.com/post/694622680212783105/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-20n-authors-notes

[organic-guacamole]

showtime

episode 211 let's go

ok first of all, this is the second to last episode guys... I don't even wanna think about how much pain I'll be in after next week's episode

mr mazzara doing the recap-

this is so weird to me and I don't know why

WHY DIDN'T YALL JUST ASK BENJAMIN FOR HELP, THATS LITERALLY HIS THING

is Nini giving out the cards a callback to season 1 when Natalie Bagley said that Nini gave her a card or something on opening night of another musical?

STEPHY AS THE ENCHANTRESS OMG YES

Ricky in the crown gives me Harry styles in that photoshoot vibes

he's so pretty.

ok but why did we never see Ricky and Ashlyn interact before? it's been like 5 seconds and I already love how they bounce off each other and it's just so natural

OH THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY UNDERSTUDIES-

well that explains a lot...

so Ricky fell on top of Ashlyn and all that broke for both of them was their wrist-

insert Jake Peralta *coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool no doubt no doubt no doubt*

of course howie was amazing as the beast, were we expecting anything less??

Ricky is so beautiful and I will not shut up about it....

let me enjoy this before the makeup crew slaps mud on his face.

Nini and Ricky talking to eachother? in a civil manner? wasn't she avoiding him just in the last episode? hm ok

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THEY CANT EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS JUST LIKE ME HAHAHAHAHA THIS IS HILARIOUS, WHATS NEXT? THEY CUT EVERYONE OFF CUZ THEY CANT HANDLE EMOTIONS? ...ha

yes Kaden and Rico, my favourite east high boys 🥰

I mean....where's EJ?

THERE HE IS

EJ AND GINA IN THE BACKGROUND... doing something idek

KOURTNEY'S MOM IS BACK YAY

Howie is a shining star, ofc ofc

the smallest fOrk

can't wait to see the fork burst into song about how she deserves more than to be used to eat salad😌

the duster and the bluster.... ok😃

hi Gina!

hi- oh wow I didn't know Robbie Rotten was in this show!!!!!

the portwell look.

that my friends, is a married couple's look✋

GOSH EJ WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

aww Gina's so excited for this

D word?

Die?

Delicious?

Dom Toretto?

"good, clean fun all alone with someone I dig...a lot"

sir that does not sound very clean to me

SEBLOS

Seb looks so cute standing there next to pope Carlos

DID THEYEY REALLY LIGHT ANTOINE ON FIRE-

I NEED TO SEE THAT

Seb's reading Carlos better than big red read the script in episode 102, this is great development after the "fight"

Kourtney really just made the best outfit for herself and let the rest of them suffer

the way Gina immediately goes to hold on to EJ after the announcement

"tonight we're going to put the U in UTAH"

...

"hey where are you from?"

"TAH"

SEB'S SINGULAR CLAP KILLED ME-

he's officially salt lake city's resident thanos

just wity clapping because for some reason I have a feeling he doesn't know how to snap his fingers...don't ask why

Ms Jenn do you mind encouraging your leads before the show? idk just an idea

pepto bismol product placement smhsmh

those flowers are bigger that big red himself-

*bops along to the opening theme*

that whistle at the end slaps everytime

WHY IS THE AUDIENCE SO MASSIVE

I guess they're all here to see Ms Jenn go on as a fork after Nini decides to *go her own way*

wow i am so funny

so they couldn't do many group scenes cuz of covid, but this 300 person crowd is cool? nice

OO THE VIOLIN GIRL FROM EPISODE 6 IS IN THE ORCHESTRA

HOWIEEEEEE

"Mr Caswell", he said, in the loudest voice possible while backstage at a show that's about to start.

Mazzara what are you trying to pull-

I usually like Benjamin but I don't like his tone

"iS yOuR wHoLe FaMiLy HeRe?" LIKE YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW THATS A SOFT SPOT FOR EJ

"we've had some good conversations these past few weeks"

right so what's going to happen after you graduate?

what does he think of you not going to Duke?

what did he say about you giving the sweatshirt that's been in the family for 3 generations to a girl you're not even dating?

good old Mr. M

therapist Mr. Mazzara, they all need it.

start with Ricky though.

"Michael Bowen"

dude why did you shave, now you look less like "hot lumberjack" and more "creep at the gas station"

OH-

does she not like Mike anymore?

why does it sound like jennzzara started dating and now they just sit back and talk smack about everyone in their freetime

break the fourth wall-

uhhhh im scared

why am I scared

he's scary

hehe flowers for Ricky, obviously for Ricky, ObViOuSLY

oh boy poor Michael

this man is in love, rip

why does Ms Jenn always look at people with her eyes open so wide

LILYYYY

I'm only excited because I really like the idea of lily and Ricky being friends, nothing more.

ha this guy's got jokes

a MOAT AROUND THE SCHOOL

wheeze

also he's very pretty.

"the wolves and very talented humans"

how dare he forget to mention the very talented wolves and normal humans, smh erasure

"being nice, what a concept" ted talk by Lily who still doesn't have a last name

did she just say lol out loud

same with the hug emoji last episode-

go touch some grass babes

the way he didn't say no, but said he didn't know how the east high kids would react-

not saying he does want to date her but that's an interesting thing to think about, also another thing to write an essay analysis on just to leave it in my drafts for a few months

awww lily genuinely trying to help him

sorry guys, I've been taken by the Lily charm (didn't know it existed until now but oh well)

REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I'LL NEVER SHIP PORTWELL?

just look at me now

the Lily wink I can't she's so cute-

HELP ME I'M BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY LIL-

David Attenborough?

oh nvm it's Benjamin narrating the show in a really weird British accent for some reason.

STEPHY GOT MORE LINES YAY GOOD FOR HER

also is this to show that Nini doesn't care about being the star of the show anymore? the way she's supporting everyone else even though she's a fork?

I would pay for a special of the full musical ngl

OOO THE TRANSFORMATION WAS SMOOTH

shockingly

yo where did the makeup come from

man I wish I was a theatre kid

THIS IS STEPHY'S EPISODE NOW IDC✋

my girl is starring

"needs an X-factor"

Simon Cowbell creeps in

"it's a yes from me"

and them boom, he takes Nini and mistreats her horribly and then she comes back to theatre after deciding music isn't for her👍

"I thought she just hog-tied him?"

don't ask sebby, it's better if you don't know.

imagine they spotlight the wrong person and this dude is just some random person that likes writing down stuff during shows.

Ms Jenn just let them do what they rehearsed (at some point we never saw) or else this is gonna end horribly wrong

"help"

same Carlos, same

I love how seb is just his translator rn

I thought he said "great displeasure" instead of "greatest pleasure"....help?

big red coming out from throwing up to see his girlfriend star is the cutest thing in this show.

Ash and Gina dancing is so fun

I'm imagining them practicing at night at their home, watching the movie for the 100th time and making sure their one dance together is perfect

KOURTNEY YES

HOWIE IS IN LOVE AHHHH

I LOVE HOWIE SO MUCH

SEBBY

THIS SCENE HAS SO MUCH GOING ON I CAN'T KEEP UP

THIS IS SO GOOD

HOW???

no because I'm actually crying

I'm dead serious.

we need this musical released as a special

big red is so proud and I love to see it

Natalie: "if you do not by at least 20 dollars in concessions, you do not support art"

rando in the audience: "but I pay for ad free Spotify"

Mr Mazzara clapping in the distance

Gigi, the guy you like is talking to you, complimenting you and hyping you up

YOU LUCKY LITTLE FEATHER DUSTER

aw EJ teasing her about the chocolates in a way that doesn't make her feel bad? take notes Richard

JORDAN FISHER

there is no rest of the show idc Jordan is it for me

THE WIG CAP ON RICKY OMG

they look like they're high and having "deep" conversations on the floor

THE MEAN GIRL WITH THE EYES-

@sunshine-julie-molina YOU HEAR THAT

Natalie really just be coming for them all

Howie what is happening rn

I'm scared

"did you enjoy it"

"very much"

dude wants a kiss so bad

ASHLYN OMG

NO DON'T DO IT BECAUSE OF LILY, PUT YOUR OWN TWIST ON IT

I want a Jordan autograph please

just keep swim- oh pushing...

Gina is literally a giant next to him and I live for it

am I about to cry for the 3rd time in this episode?

yes.

Ricky's leg kicks under the table makes me so happy aw

the portwell glances will kill me.

ah yes, mashed potato snow

Mr. M.... I'm not a theatre kid but even I know you can't have your phone on backstage.

Howie please just do it

CHIP'S BIG LINE I CANT

I LITERALLY HAD TO PAUSE IT AMD SCREAM INTO MY MASK FOR A SOLID 2 MINUTES (I'm not at home rn) HES SO CUTE

oh ok bye Jordan

oo tea

NOT HIM BEING STARSTRUCK BECAUSE HE'S MEETING HIS FUTURE BROTHER IN LAW-

"we're all just glad Gigi has a big brother figure in her life"

excuse me for a few thousand hours while I laugh hysterically

THE CAMERA ZOOM ON EJS FACE AND EVERYTHING-

STOP EJ LOOKS LIKE HE'S GONNA CRY BUT I CAN'T TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY WITH THE STAGE MAKE-UP

someone else said this already but I think it's hilarious that they had to bring in 2 guest characters to create some portwell angst

omg this really is Cici's episode, found family is their thing

elevator music lol

I'm gonna bet that big red took the harness for his surprise for Ashlyn without realising what it was

did Ms. Jenn just....tell her most mentally unstable student....to commit suicide....on a disney show...was that....I'm very....well....what the actual-

oh and there she goes running off instead of trying to make it right

oh wow Nini's the hero, she's gonna save the show 🤩

😐

the judge is doing a sudoku

honestly if I went to the hsm show as well, I'd come prepared for this one too

Lily why are you looking like that-

I WAS JUST STARTING TO LIKE YOU DON'T MESS THIS UP

wow ok, there goes that.

omg

what if Howie was acting weird because he knew what Lily did and wanted to tell Kourtbut Lily threatened him so he was scared to-

anyways see y'all clowns next week when we all simultaneously lose all motivation for the week without Fridays to look forward to.

[couchpotatoaniki]

BTS Who-Does-It: Winter Edition

A/N: this was inspired by @bonvoyagenoona 's Important Questions (your answers to mochilatae's questions have me bREATHLESS how can you be so talented with words 😭😭)

Who loves the winter season?

Who hates the winter season?

Who would begin decorating for Christmas in November?

Who would begin to show their inner Grinch in November?

Who religiously drinks hot chocolate?

Who spends a fortune on food so they don't have to leave the warm house for the next few cold months?

Who spends a fortune on warm clothing so they can spend every waking minute playing in the snow?

My answers under the cut but please feel free to send my your answers in the ask box!

1. Who loves the winter season?

Ahhhh yes, little baby Jimin. You best believe his inner child likes to show its face the moment October ends and November begins. Plans, plans, plans--his friends' phones start to ping so much they momentarily think it's broken until they remember what time of year it is 'cause Jimin keeps spamming the groupchat of amazing things they can do this year. He's the one who's gonna be sending those BuzzFeed articles of the Top 20 Things To Do With Your Friends This Winter. More often than not, however, he'll come across winter activities just for couples, sending a twinge of loneliness in his heart which soon melts into hope that maybe, just maybe, he might find his true love--be it during the first snow or standing under the mistletoe.

2. Who hates the winter season?

It's not like it's anything personal... Wait, no, it is. Namjoon just wants to live his life peacefully but every time this time of year comes around, it's all cold and his friends keep wanting to make plans with him in the icey temperatures. He just wants to wrap up in a blanket by the fireplace and read his books in peace--is that too much to ask for? Yes. Because everyone has their own projects, things they want to do, which may just trigger a bloodbath by how passionate they are. He's on babysitting duty and he has no say in it... But the hecticness doesn't really stop him from looking back at this time with fondness. And who knows? He might have someone by his side during such a whirlwind of a time, someone who will help ease the pressure off his shoulders or sit down by the hearth as he reads his book, gently running their fingers through his hair, a touch that instantly soothes the day's headache.

3. Who would begin decorating for Christmas in November?

I'm sorry, was this supposed to be a surprise or something? You best believe the moment Hoseok wakes up the day after Halloween, his fingers itch to fish out his phone and open up Amazon to find some new decorations. Tinsel, fake snow, colourful lights (all of which Seokjin whines at because their colour schemes are too mis-matches and ugly). Anything remotely Christmas-y, he'll save it to his basket. Drags at least one of the boys out to the shops the *moment* that Christmas merch hits the shelves because he's just so gosh-darn excited for the holidays. On the day, the boys take a look at the star on top of the tree and simultaneously agree that it really isn't all that bright--not when you compare it to Hoseok's smile. In fact, that gleeful, precious smile just might be the thing that catches his future partner's eye.

4. Who would begin to show their inner Grinch in November?

I'm sorry, was this still supposed to be a surprise or something? Remember when Namjoon has to stop a bloodbath from happening? Yeah, Yoongi's the reason for that. The repetitive and loud Christmas music, the freezing-cold snowball fights, the capitalism in this season has his sanity hanging by a thin, loose thread. The moment he sees his breath become a cloud in the night air, he groans and goes back inside. Like a grumpy little kitty that's stuck on a float in the water, he will attack if you get too close with the wrong vibe. But that doesn't really stop anyone from dressing him up as Santa because, let's be honest, a short, moody Mr. Clause is just too cute to pass up. But perhaps it'd be easier to coax him into that bright red outfit when he finally has a Mrs. Clause to help convince him as well.

5. Who religiously drinks hot chocolate?

Hot drinks are the perfect thing in such cold weather. But the best kind? Hot chocolate, hands down. It's all Taehyung drinks--to the point the creamy brown liquid might as well be coursing through his veins instead of blood. And it's none of that store-bought powder thrown in boiled water. No, it's rich and thick and creamy, made of milk over the stove, whisked with Nutella and chunks of dark chocolate. And if he's feeling extra special, he'll add a lil somethin' somethin' to it--crushed candy canes and peppermint, cinnamon, penut butter, chunks of hazelnut, dried strawberry flakes. God, the taste paired with that gorgeous fireplace Namjoon often gazes longingly at, with the sound of classical Christmas music playing on his old-timey vinyl. No matter how many years passes, it never seems to get old but he can't help but think what if he has someone by his side next year, enjoying this with him.

6. Who spends a fortune on food so they don't have to leave the warm house for the next few cold months?

Listen, old bones don't do well in the cold--or at least that's the excuse Seokjin rolls out every year the moment the temperatures drop to anything less than 10°C. He doesn't do well in that type of weather, no matter how photogenic it may be. It's why he suddenly ghosts the groupchat every year in case the young'ns drag him out to do some snow-related activity--a tactic he still attempts despite its proven failure. The only thing about this season he wants to partake in is the festive cooking. All that warm, homemade food that he makes every day--be it something hearty like chicken soup for when one of his friends inevitably gets sick or something festive like a scrumptious apple pie baked with cinnamon and paired with a salted caramel latte to wash it all down. In the end, he's well-fed and if his friends invite themselves over, they are too. There's nothing like seeing the happy faces of full bellies stuffed with his food. And yet, when it's just him, it gets a bit lonely; he ends up hoping that maybe next year he'll have one more month to feed. One that stays a lot longer than his friends do.

7. Who spends a fortune on warm clothing so they can spend every waking minute playing in the snow?

This man right here is the reason Seokjin loses sleep on the first snow of the year. Hands-down worse than Jimin because while his friend proposes ideas, Jungkook is the one who drags everyone out of the safety and comfort of their blankets and into the chilly outdoors. Skiing, snowboarding, Yoongi's dreaded snowball fights, the works. If it has that beautiful white substance which glimmers in the rare sunlight that manages to peek through the dark and dense clouds you best believe Jungkook's gonna be there. He doesn't really get why he's so infatuated with it despite the stuff being at a temperature that will give him hypothermia or frostbite (and how he hasn't got it yet baffles even Namjoon) but there's something special about it. Magical, even. A kind of magic he wants to experience with someone who'll help keep his hands warm with their own.

[janellion]

HAPPPYYY BOKAY THURSDAYYYYYY!!!!!!!! *que air horns* Anyways would you like to write some 80’s AU Bokay head cannons?? Like how you first met??

TYSM FOR THE ASK BB!! i’m sorry it took so long for me to get to it! this ended up being,, WAY longer than i anticipated? i just went off on one idea so this is less general hcs and kinda how we met and got together! also i made a moodboard for no reason? 

OK SO this is a college/uni bokay late 80s/early 90s au!!

bo is there on a sports scholarship (likely american football or maybe rugby) and also part of one of the frats on campus!!

so he’s not trying as hard as he could be on the academics side

THIS ISNT BC HES NOT SMART

i know a lot of ppl don’t see bo as smart BUT HE IS

he’s just focusing on other things and using his smarts to plan the best parties that campus has ever seen

so as a result of his scholarship, he has to keep his grades up

unfortunately, he’s slipping in a couple of his classes and gets told he needs to find a tutor and that’s where i come in!!

i work at the academic success center (i actually did do this in college!) and so he’s one of the students that i get assigned to work w

our tutoring sessions consist of a lot of him semi flirting but also blushing?

he’s embarrassed bc he’s here to get help even tho he could have done the work he’s just kinda lazy and gets distracted when there’s a million other things on his plate

like practice and workouts and training and the ton of frat events he attends

so the flirting is a lot of “you look different today, did you get a haircut or something?” “actually i slept like 3 hours thanks for noticing” and then awkward silences

bc im over here thinking ‘WHAT THE FUCK THIS GUY IS SO HOT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FOCUS ON SPANISH LITERATURE WHEN HE LOOKS LIKE THAT AHHHH’

at least at first?? but then he does all this cute stuff during tutoring sessions like chewing on the end of his pencil or doodling little notes in the margins of his books, or using cute photos of his family back home as a bookmark

and then it goes from just appreciating him as eye candy to ‘well shit i kinda wanna love him forever’

we go on with tutoring for a while, but eventually bo’s grades pick up and he doesn’t need the appointments anymore

both of us are a little too shy and awkward to say anything on the last session so we both go home at the end just kicking ourselves for not asking for a phone number or to meet up or anything

we don’t see each other for a while

or at least bo doesn’t see me for a while

i go to all of his home games and cheer him on but he doesn’t know bc i like to sit at the top and leave before the crowd heads out

but he’s always searching the crowd at games, trying to see if i’m there, and feeling a pit in his stomach whenever he sweeps the crowd and doesn’t immediately see me

one night some months later, after the season has ended, i’m waking back to my dorm through greek row bc i’m a slut for architecture and none other than bo is walking out of one of the large building wearing a toga, a crown of poorly painted gold leaves around his head, his face flushed, and a huge grin on his face

i stop in my tracks momentarily at the sight, wondering if i’ve actually passed out in the library and am dreaming

but then bo’s voice calling my name is ringing through the sounds of the party drifting through the open doorway behind him and he’s bounding over, the grin on his face growing

as he gets closer, i see the flush in his face and the slight stumble in his step and brace myself for impact as he crashes into me for a hug, his arms wrapping around my waist and lifting me up

“uh bo???” i’m blushing and trying to free myself from his grip ok i’m not trying that hard WHO WOULDNT WANNA BE IN HIS ARMS

but he’s just grinning and laughing before setting me down and grabbing my hand, pulling me into the brightly lit doorway and up the stairs of the house

“i’ve been kicking myself for not asking you out ages ago so let’s go out now!! we could get burgers or just walk around the city or get ice cream or go skinny dipping or —“ he cuts himself off, looking back at me with wide eyes as his smile drops for a moment while he lets go of my hand

“oh my god i mean if you want to of course i’m so sorry this probably seems so creepy and pushy —“ he babbles on, his facial expression now one of panic instead of excitement

i just laugh, still kind of thinking that i’m dreaming, and reassure him with a squeeze of his hand and a small smile, “bo no that all sounds amazing, i’d love to. i was hoping we’d run into each other too”

at this, his grin returns to his face as he continues bounding up the stairs and down a hall, before pulling me into a bedroom

“aren’t we moving kinda fast?” i tease him as i look around the incredibly chaotic room

bo turns around with a shocked look on his face before it melts into a grin and a hearty laugh as he sees the teasing look on my face

“i’m just getting changed! can’t go out on the town in a toga,” he calls over his shoulder as he walks to the closer. “don’t look,” he turns around and waffles his eyebrows at me with a grin, before pulling out a shirt and some jeans

as he gets changed, i turn around and look around the the room, not failing to notice the sticky notes littering his desk, little messages and reminders that i’d written for him during our tutoring sessions

i feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around to see bo, eyes excited and face still slightly flushed, but now fully dressed

he sees me eyeing the sticky notes on his desk and blushes even more, a hand going to rub at his neck before he’s laughing and grabbing one, looking at it affectionately before sticking it back down

“they help me stay focused, you know? remind me that i should be working hard. you really helped me a lot”

before i can respond, he’s grabbing my hand and pulling me down the stairs, out the door, and into the fresh night air

we walk around the city, getting to know each other better over burgers before getting ice cream and MAYBE SKINNY DIPPING IDK 👀

at the end of the night, we head back to my dorm, deciding to watch a movie and since “it’s close enough, and we might as well stay up to watch the sunrise” 

we end up putting on a movie, something fun and light like hercules, and cuddle up on the couch, falling asleep just before the sun rises 

+++

THE WAY I COULD HAVE KEPT WRITING I-- IM SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG AHHH

tysm for requesting this bb!! i rly didn’t think i’d be able to write much bc i don’t rly “get” decades aus? i think it’s bc there aren’t many POC in media from the 80s and 90s and so it’s hard to picture for me! but N E WAYS, this was my best attempt!! it was a lot of fun to write once i got into the mindset!! and thank yall for reading if you got this far?? I LOVE YOU 

🌻 bokay taglist (also my faves): @deadontheinsidebut @stcrryskies @sstardusty @zoni @kuronekomama @anianimol @the-kool-aid-man-is-real @nekoma-hoe @sugacookiies @churochuu @shoyosun @achoohq @miel-meraki @dearest-kiyoomi and i’m tagging @strawberriimilkshake @yamagucciii bc i think y’all might like to see this as well?

[captainshazamerica]

dude I have no chill when it comes to asks 😅

2. Do you like the arrowverse if so what's your fav show? (Mines flash but legends is so so chaotically lit it's a dumpster fire of awesomeness highly recommend that even tho they did my fav kinda dirty they had no need to do that to her but hey)

5. Fav character(s)?

15. Dark trinity or trinity?

17. Teen titans or Young Justice?

18. Fav animated show and/ or movie? (BTAS is supreme to me lol)

22. Fav Robin! ( this is so hard but also not I feel like dick gets it just cuz he was the first )

31. Do you like the character of the joker?

38. Who do you think is the most over looked and under used character?

51. Justice League or League of Assassins or Justice League Dark?

🎪I haven't started wayne fam adventures yet but it looks sooo good and is everyone there!? It seems like everyone's there just from what I've saw on tumblr but I don't remember seeing steph? Please say alfred is there!?

random side note just cuz you like jonny there's DC fear state coming out over fall and scarecrow is the main villian messing s*it up in Gotham and the batfam, I ain't gonna be reading that for a while tho cuz I've put a cap on comic purchasing because I'm making myself broke 😅 but it looks quite cool tbh

Dude I love that you have no chill with the asks omg xD Its so great, I get so excited when I see you do it hahaha

2. Do you like the arrowverse if so what's your fav show? (Mines flash but legends is so so chaotically lit it's a dumpster fire of awesomeness highly recommend that even tho they did my fav kinda dirty they had no need to do that to her but hey) Same, my fav is Flash, tho Im not caught up at all/havent caught up since like mid to late season 4, I got too busy during college and I was kinda getting bored with it, but now that Bart is in it, it makes me wanna watch it again! It was also before I got super into DC so Im sure Id love it even more now. I actually havent fully seen the others, just some episodes here and there and the Crisis crossovers! LoT looks like a chaotic lovable mess though, Ive heard that several times xD Who is your fav that they did dirty?

5. Fav character(s)? I mean its me so I can never chose just one xD Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Gar Logan/Beast Boy, Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Edward Nygma/Riddler are my all time favs!

15. Dark trinity or trinity? Dark trinity as in the 2nd Red Hood and the Outlaws? (Jason, Bizarro and Artemis ) Then def dark trinity haha, I love those 3 misfits so much omg

17. Teen titans or Young Justice? AHH this is soooo hard omg. Like the shows or comics or groups in general?! Like imma go with Young Justice show but Teen Titans overall. They overlap though soo

18. Fav animated show and/ or movie? (BTAS is supreme to me lol) Ahh I actually seen all of BTAS! Ive just seen the first couple episodes and seen random ones here and there but like know everything about it xD Hmmm, for show I gotta go with the Young Justice cartoon, and animated DC movie, a tie between Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (the Damirae ahhhh). Though oooh also Under the Red Hood is also a classic and Jasonnnn

22. Fav Robin! ( this is so hard but also not I feel like dick gets it just cuz he was the first ) Ahaha I knew you would say Dick!!!! xD I was gonna ask and be like, its Dick isnt it xD This is like the hardest question ever oh my goodness. While they have all been my fav at point point, Jason and Tim have like been tied for first for the last couple of months. Like I love them both so freaking much. But if I absoltly HAD to chose one, ahhhhh, im going to have to go with Jason, Im so sorry Tim D: But Jason's character is just so complex in every version and his comics are sooo good(tho I love Tim's Red Robin ones too) his arc as a character is just SO interesting to me and his constant battle with himself and how far he fell from being robin and its all so sad but makes such a good character ahhhh

31. Do you like the character of the joker? Ahaha, this one is hard/I have mixed feelings. I have always liked him as villain even before my Batman obsession (and of course use to say he was my fav dc villain hahaha) and tbh I still think he is a pretty darn good villain and there is a reason he is so popular, even though he is an abusive piece of poop. Id like him a LOT more if he didnt abuse Harley so much tbh. And I think DC over uses him waaaaayyy too much, though I do like every version of him, excluding Leto's version, and think the acting is always amazing. So yeah, I guess I do like him but he isn't my fav, but I can appreciate him and his pop culture impact and how good he is as a truly evil unhinged villain who is interesting to watch.

38. Who do you think is the most over looked and under used character? TIM DRAKE!!!!!!!! And Riddler!!!!!!!!!!!

51. Justice League or League of Assassins or Justice League Dark? Gotta go with the classic justice league man

And ahhhh yes you have to read Wayne Family Adventure, its pretty much literal perfection. Here is the official link if you need it! https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/batman-wayne-family-adventures/list?title_no=3180&page=1 It comes out every thursday! (tho you can pay to read ahead a few weeks) But yes, Steph is in it too! Her and Tim were being the disasters they are <3 And yes, Alfred is freaking great in it omgggg, you will love him in the 2nd one ahhh

Oooooh, I didnt know that!!!!(its soo hard to keep up with dc comics omgggg) I thought I heard something about that the other day but didnt know what it was/anything about it! Thanks so much for telling me!! I hope they release it digitally on DC Infinite!!!! Cause sameeee

[mumshmandz]

Rediscovering Sparks Once Lost

After making some major decisions about my life in the last few months, I was able to make some room to go back to some of the constant love affairs in my life -- movies, music and books.

Currently, I'm in the middle of reading about 4 books dispersed in the categories of business, management, self-development and leadership (since I'm currently running a startup).

I'm also currently watching a lot of movies that influenced me growing up which includes some greats like A Few Good Men, The Green Mile, Rashomon, Ran, etc. And discovering a lot really well-made movies that make a cinephile's heart tickle.

But what I'm really stoked about is that I'm (finally) able to binge my all time fave show, Saturday Night Live. I've rediscovered my love for comedy. And somehow I realized why I loved this show in the first place -- they're just damn good at their craft. (Salute to Lorne Michaels for making an establishment that stands for 40 years and running, and able to run DESPITE the pandemic.)

For those who know me personally, I absolutely freaking love comedy. From standup to sketch, from blue to observational to farce -- I love it. For me, comedians (especially the REALLY good ones) are one of the most intelligent people in the world. They observe. They acknowledge life's uglies -- and somehow they're able to spin it to something that's really, well.. FUNNY.

So what I did was (unashamedly) stan some of the cast members that really made an impression (no pun intended there) on me -- Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Seth Myers & Jason Sudeikis (which many say make up the best cast of SNL) -- and their work AFTER their SNL days.

And (gasp), I found just found their material to be really, really good. So good, it surpassed what they have done on their stint on the show which is, by the way, already brilliant.

Watched The Skeleton Twins which featured Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig and absolutely loved it. Also saw The Bridemaids with Wiig in the lead. Currently really loving Wiig's versatility.

Documentary Now is such a freaking amazing production - making mockumentaries out of ACTUAL documentaries. Not everyone will appreciate this, but if you try to get the elements together and compare them with the original, it's just anal. Produced by Seth Myers, Fred Armisen & Bill Hader -- it's just pure brilliance. Add to that, John Mulaney -- currently loving his standup and who, I think, is one heck of a writer -- also wrote for them which is just ahhhh... (in a good way).

Barry (Bill Hader) is just something I absolutely love Where do you get an idea that a hitman enrolls in an acting class? The idea is just absurd it's unbelievable and amazing at the same time. The whole series is a conflict in itself. When it will climax? We don't know. But this I know -- Can't wait for season 3!!! Agggh.

And now, I'm about to subscribe to Apple TV because I want to watch Ted Lasso with Jason Sudeikis at the helm. Watched a couple of previews and I can see this is another well-written and thought of series.

I can go on and on and if I don't stop, this won't end. So I have to stop myself. Starting --- NOW. (See what I did there? Barry fans react.)

--

So what's the take away from all the non-sense I've written? It feels good to rediscover previous love affairs that somehow ignited that spark of creativity and life in you. And by love affairs, I didn't mean that LITERALLY (By the way, that's dangerous, especially if you're married like me. Haha).

Honestly, I've been living in a bubble for the past few years. And it's just nice to be able to experience LIFE. And to be inspired by great individuals who were able to achieve success -- NOT BY BEING POPULAR -- but by really working their ass off in their craft and making it. Most of these people I've mentioned gained recognition during their mid-30s and now enjoying the fruit of their labors in their 40s.

It's never too late. There was someone who kept on telling me that I'm already too old to do something. I know it was a reverse psychology jedi thing. But honestly, reverse psychology doesn't work --- unless you're a 2 year old. And truth is, why reverse when you can just say it straight to one's face (just saying).

Here's my tip for you, dear reader --Rediscover the sparks that you once lost. Being able to see people that you're able to relate to and able to learn from helps you see that the world is BIG. And the possibilities are endless. I'm not an American, but darn, they knew what they were talking about when they say "Chase that American dream."

For me it's these. But for you it might be something different. I haven't even talked about food. Hahaha. But then again, there's another blog for that.

[magicofthepen]

Gallifrey Relisten: Lies

In the chaos of.....all of November....totally forgot I meant to relisten to this episode sooner! Which is odd because Series 2 is definitely one of the high points of Gallifrey for me (apparently listening to everything slowly collapse into the civil war is super engaging and interesting? idk Series 2 just does a lot of solid character work and storytelling and good narrative progression to the “ahhh everything is very bad” finale...and I’m not sure how to feel about this, given *gestures at the world these days*). But anyways, now for some thoughts on the series opener:

Fun fact: From the TV show alone, Romana I was my favorite. (This had something to do with her having more character growth in season 16 than season 17, since her early days on the TARDIS involve the “wait my academic success does not necessarily translate to the real world” realization and learning about worlds and people different from her own and growing from High-Achieving Student to Adventurer in her own right. Also I loved the grudgingly-working-together to actual-friends arc with her and the Doctor. I was a bit less interested in her character when she was just going around being a capable adventurer, although I did become invested in Romana II in her last episodes, as she quietly grapples with the issue of what she wants to do next in life and eventually chooses to go off on her own. Also to be fair, I appreciate the fun times of Season 17 a lot more now because Romana being happy and having a good time traveling around the universe? What a concept.) 

All this to say: me on my first listen of Gallifrey was very excited about Romana I being in this episode. And even though it’s not quite as much of a !!!!! thing for me these days (the Gallifrey audios have long since solidified Romana II as my favorite), I do love the (sort of) multi-Romana interaction that happens in this one.

Brax essentially going “yeah the education system is supposed to be shitty and take an emotional toll on you” sir.

“I am not xenophobic” — Oh yeah, this scene is Narvin at his most unlikeable. “I’m not being bigoted, I’m just trying to protect Gallifrey, the fact that I assume that people who aren’t from here inherently can’t be trusted, and also go on about how they’re too loud and disruptive and don’t belong is definitely not a bigoted worldview nope.” Yikes. Very glad he’s going to see the error of his ways. 

The Narvin and Darkel rant session does actually do a good job at explaining what’s been happening and establishing the primary conflict of the series while not feeling like it exists solely to be an info dump to catch up the listener. Like, it’s definitely a setup scene, but it is an interesting setup scene. 

“But she is my President, and it’s my job to ensure that she gets what she wants and needs, efficiently and without question. Well, too many questions anyway.” Okay this moment and Darkel and Wynter’s conversation later about Narvin’s weakness (“Loyalty. An unswerving loyalty to his office and his precious CIA. And above all, loyalty to his president.” “He despises President Romana!” “Oh yes, of course. But it’s the position, not the person, he places that trust in.”) are really setting up some key Narvin Character Theses that we’re going to see play out this series (and also that the narrative is going to push in really interesting ways later on..... “position not the person”.....just you wait....) 

Darkel and Narvin being indignant that Romana changed the law is just....hilarious in a kind of horrifying way? Oh no, the President worked with the legislative body to actually get a law passed. The horror.

“She has a temper. And a very long memory.” This is definitely about the CIA trying to overthrow her in Neverland but uhhh also it’s about Etra Prime and the Powers That Be on Gallifrey never making a serious effort to save her (at least from her perspective). 

Yeah Darkel as antagonist is a bit abrupt (not that I particularly mind, she’s a good enough “love to hate” character that her not being set up as an antagonist from Series 1 doesn’t really bother me). But yeah, not sure what was going on behind the scenes, but it doesn’t seem like in Series 1 the plan was for her to be the primary Series 2-3 antagonist.  

Darkel to Narvin: “You will let me know when you’ve decided.” Ooh yeah, this moment is quite a good setup of Narvin’s arc throughout this series — he has to decide where his loyalties truly lie. 

Wynter is really interesting as far as character dynamics go, because he breaks the whole “Romana and Leela are the youngest people in the room” vibe — and it is just really interesting to see Romana interacting with this quite young Time Lord and specifically compare/contrasting it to how she interacts with young Time Lords in the later series when she’s older and a bit more emotionally mature and has more of the “mentor figure” vibes. (There isn’t really a conclusion to this thought, it’s more of a “huh, I’m thinking about this now” thing.)

“It’s been seven weeks, Andred. It’s hardly a lifetime.” Romana: please you have not been in a cell for that long, calm down.

“I thought you two were friends.” “A president of the High Council of Gallifrey cannot allow herself the luxury of friends.” Ahhhh, where it begins!! I’m extremely weak for the arc of Romana opening herself up to friendship and love, what of it. 

Honestly, Andred’s politics have always been very confusing to me? And it probably doesn’t help that the show is all “he’s fully Andred now” but also “he lived as Torvald a long time and that’s still influencing him.” Like both of those things can be true, but it’s a bit unclear what Andred’s true priorities and motivations really are right then — and honestly, it just comes off like his primarily desire is to be useful to someone, and be granted some form of autonomy/power/respect in return (aka he doesn’t have any real clear principles that are motivating him). Also complaining about Romana opening Gallifrey up to aliens is such a bad look dude. 

Romana to Andred: “I control your future. I control whether you have one.” Umm???? The foreshadowing?????

Andred, no. Andred, the free time pun was too much.

“I wish I had databanks. With a flick of a switch I could turn myself off, become unaware of all that has happened.” Leela ahhhhhhhhhh. (The desire to give Leela all the hugs and emotional support is very very high throughout these next couple seasons especially.....her mental health is in such a rough place ahhhh.) 

Andred regenerated “nearly six months ago” and it’s been six and a half (or seven, depending on which character is speaking) weeks since A Blind Eye, which took place an unspecified amount of time after The Inquiry, which took place two weeks after Square One...(don’t mind me, just taking some notes on the timeline math...) 

I believe a couple times in the Gallifrey audios, they reference the position of “Vice President,” which is very weird because that doesn’t seem to be a position that exists?? Chancellor is definitely seen as the #2 spot?? Idk what’s going on here. 

“You are appreciated, highly regarded, and were I to lose you I would be...disappointed.” Romana, you started strong and then you got a bit emotionally repressed there. 

“Torvald was a fool, but he was my fool.” .....I am not saying anything.....I will not be commenting on the Narvin and Andred scene......I just.......you know. There are some fics you cannot unread. 

Romana does really trust Brax here, doesn’t she. And she really doesn’t trust easily post-Etra Prime, so this is a big deal — making it all the rougher when she (in the short term) finds out he meddled with her memories and (in the long term) has to deal with him doing things like temporarily betraying her for the greater good of protecting her while not explaining at all what’s really going on. 

Okay, yes the whole pearl-clutching about Romana changing the laws is kinda silly and horrifying in a “how dysfunctional is your society if passing one (1) law is drastic change??” way, but also the flip side of this, aka “we thought these things were entrenched as norms in our society and would not change and then here comes along one president who’s trying to undo all of these things and threaten the whole system”.....y’all that hits differently now in the month November in the year 2020. In the Gallifrey audios the context is different — they are for sure overreacting to Romana’s very mild idea of “perhaps....we could change some things about society” but the way they talk about her political changes in the episode — feels a bit too close to home!

Romana’s voice right when she sees Leela....she missed her.....

Pandora being the “first female president” is a very weird and very unnecessary bit of misogyny? Ah yes, we must specify that this ancient president of Gallifrey who was wildly power-hungry and cruel and went too far and almost ruined everything Gallifrey had built was a woman?? Why was that bit of dialogue needed?? Tbh early Gallifrey does have a problem in general with characters played by women tending to be power-hungry....which is partly down to the fact that they have so so few women in the cast in general, it’s Romana, Leela, and Villains, mostly. (The lack of women in the supporting cast in early Gallifrey is going to be an ongoing complaint.) 

“You should not be afraid of your feelings, K9.” / “Yes, thank you, if we can move on from the emotional support group session.” Pffffff

I do choose to ignore the implication that Romana returned to Gallifrey and became President because of the subconscious influence of Pandora/the Imperiatrix Imprimatur nudging her towards power. Tbh it’s simply not interesting to me to have such a pivotal character choice reduced to genetic/subconscious manipulation. Yes, Romana ended her TV run insisting she didn’t want to go back to Gallifrey (and even staying in another universe to avoid it), and yes, it creates this initial emotional dissonance suddenly jumping to stories where she’s President of Gallifrey. But I already did the headcanon work before I jumped into Big Finish to make it work for me, I didn’t need this weirdness.

Elaborating on this a bit more: There is something interesting to me about a person who left home and slowly ended up rejecting the narrow worldview she grew up with, cutting herself free from the place she was born — and then eventually choosing to return because she genuinely wanted to make that messed-up world better and believed she could. And it also creates a really interesting contrast with the Doctor: two Time Lords who came to realize that Gallifrey was pretty terrible actually, and one of them kept running away from it and rejecting Time Lord society, and the other came back and said maybe I can change things. Because both are understandable and complicated reactions to have to a messed-up home world, and there are different ways of trying to do good. And regardless of how her choices turned out, I always liked the idea that it was Romana’s own choice that brought her to Gallifrey again, and I don’t think Pandora needed to be shoehorned in to explain her actions.  

Okay, I want to hear the follow up where Leela insists Romana tell the whole Key to Time story after hearing all of these random out of context bits and pieces. 

Why does Brax admit to breaking the Laws of Time? The fact that he’s in contact with his past/future selves isn’t actually relevant to what he needs to tell Narvin? He literally could have just said that he hypnotized Romana, without mentioning that it was his future self who did it? (Also, it’s implied in this one that he pushes for Romana to use the mind wipe on Narvin because he wants the memory of that reveal erased, but somehow that’s the one thing that Narvin keeps because he uses that information against Brax later? Aka: how did Narvin remember that Brax told him this?)  

And final thought: general internal monologue during this episode is just: Pandora arc Pandora arc Pandora arc here we go!! Because the Lies through Warfare run is really one of the more interesting bits of Gallifrey for me (Imperiatrix specifically ranks very high on my favorite episodes list), and I’m excited to be re-listening to/thinking about/hearing other people talk about these episodes!

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