#but then the second there’s anything related to physical contact or actual romance they’re both like

[squipedmew]

neo and oscar found out later that the worst part is the pick up line worked

[mc-lukanette]

Lukanette Prompts (Set #1)

Because I have too many, plz take them.

“Tour of Romance”

(takes a bit of creative freedom)

- Marinette and Adrien had been dating for a few years, but broke up when Adrien discovered what he wanted to do in life, which didn’t mesh well with Marinette’s role as a traveling fashion designer.

- Luka (with Kitty Section) are on tour and wherever they go coincidentally keeps lining up with wherever Marinette goes. In the process, Luka and Marinette slowly renew a bond that they’d starved a long time ago.

- Jagged and the rest of Kitty Section start to catch wind of what’s going on and begin engineering the tours wherever they can to try and sync with where Marinette goes, with Penny even getting in contact with the people connected to Marinette.

- Neither Luka nor Marinette have any idea this is happening and are both oblivious and only lowkey suspicious as everyone behind this scheme keep asking them about how things are going while trying to be “subtle” about it (note: no one, especially not Jagged, are good at being subtle about it).

Bonus: Eventually, Marinette and Luka also start to try engineering things so that they can meet up more, leading to a moment where one of them tries to confess what’s going on (not wanting the other to think it’s “fate” when it’s not), only for the other to chuckle and go, “um, actually--” and confess to the same thing.

“Damsel in Finesse” AU

- Luka fights crime as the hero Viperion, thanks to the snake miraculous that was passed down through his family. At the same time, Marinette (trained by her mother in self-defense and having inherited immense physical strength from her father) fights crime in disguise as the hero Ladybug, using no miraculous at all and a mask+cloak she custom-made. Paris is a big place, so the two take a while to meet.

- Viperion and Ladybug end up meeting when they show up to stop the same crime. They knew of each other and are surprised when they actually end up working well as a team.

- Since they don’t know each other outside of the mask and aren’t sure if it’s a good idea to reveal that yet, they end up meeting in various places to talk. Sometimes, if they know they’re not talking about anything too personal, they choose public places just to mess with the people around them who are like UM?? HEROES??? JUST CASUALLY HANGING OUT??? (heroes gotta eat too, guys, smh)

- It doesn’t take long before the crushes begin. They act incredibly professional during interviews but they’re actually massive dorks who are extremely protective of each other. They fret over each other if there’s even a hint of the other getting/being hurt.

- One day, Luka catches sight of Marinette (having never met her before) seeming to be lured by someone into a dark alley. He follows, ready to intervene, only to then see Marinette easily throw the person over her shoulder, knocking them unconscious. Luka stares for a moment, blushing pink and very impressed, before just being like yep, that’s my partner alright.

Post-dating Edition (one-shot): Marinette acting as a damsel in distress to lure in bad people. Viperion then makes a dramatic entrance and proceeds to take them down with Marinette’s assistance. Luka and Marinette later joke with each other over it because they're the best worst actors ever. Luka teases Marinette about her over-dramatic "Oh no! I've fallen and I think I hurt my leg! I can't move!" technique, while Marinette teases back about how extra Luka’s entrance as Viperion was.

“Miraculous Lovebugs” AU

- An alternate universe in which the magical ladybugs from Ladybug’s “Miraculous Ladybug” treat people/things based on how Marinette feels about them, similar to how Chloe’s Adrien picture in “Dark Cupid” got ruined and didn’t get repaired.

- During “Captain Hardrock”, when the magical ladybugs are putting everyone back onto the Liberty, Luka gets special treatment and is carried there like a princess bridal-style due to Marinette’s budding crush on him.

- Luka is incredibly confused like, “uh--so did anyone else get carried away like that or--”

- Marinette, sweating profusely: UM--m-mAYBE YOU SLIPPED SO THEY CARRIED YOU THAT WAY???

- Everyone follows Marinette’s logic except Luka who has no idea what to think.

- Marinette screams at Tikki over why the magical ladybugs have to listen to her dumb feelings. Bonus if Luka keeps being treated like this by the magical ladybugs and it even starts escalating as Marinette’s crush on Luka intensifies.

- Ladybug has to carry Luka bridal-style once and he can’t help feeling like it’s familiar.

- Extra bonus if the magical ladybugs start doing things that aren’t even related to fixing what an akuma did. They’ll just casually fly into Luka's room and tune his guitar, straighten his jacket, or clean up for him. Luka has so many questions.

“All Kids Aside”

- Marinette and Adrien married and had three children, but ended up divorcing. Whether they’re on friendly terms or not is up to the prompt’s taker.

- Luka had just gotten off tour for a while and Juleka practically pounced at the idea of getting Luka to reconnect with Marinette now that Adrien’s out of the picture. Juleka had always seen Marinette as “dumb” for getting with Adrien instead of Luka and is now like she divorced Adrien so maybe she’ll finally see the light.

- Luka still very much has a thing for Marinette but isn’t expecting anything romantic out of spending time with her (lol shows what he knows). He’s just happy to see her again.

- Marinette’s kids like Luka a lot and Luka is really good with them, though Marinette forbids Luka from bringing his guitar to her house because she’s so worried about one of the kids accidentally breaking it. Luka may or may not sneak in late one night with his guitar after the kids have gone to bed so he can play for Marinette.

- Marinette’s youngest child, too young to know any better, calls Luka their father once. Marinette is horrified at first, then curious as she notices that Luka doesn’t seem put off by the idea.

“Freed Feelings”

- A new akuma shows up that forces people to not stop talking until all of their feelings come out. Ladybug realizes that she needs Viperion for the job, afraid that the akuma might hit her and make her out her identity as Marinette.

- The problem?

- Luka got hit by the akuma earlier and he cannot stop talking about how much he loves Marinette. He even tries to clamp his hands over his mouth to stop himself but he physically can’t stop rambling.

- Ladybug has never seen Luka so embarrassed before but she’s red too from hearing all the stuff he’s saying, so honestly, she can’t judge.

- Luka/Viperion either has to get creative with saying “Second Chance” (relating the phrase back to Marinette in some way) or just manages to shout it out in the midst of his Marinette ramblings.

- Both Luka and Marinette need a breather after Miraculous Ladybug washes over Paris. Marinette wants to go de-transform and check on Luka but also acknowledges that he probably needs a moment like she does.

Bonus: Luka Knows™ and he goes home post-battle so he can just collapse onto his bed, screaming internally because Marinette heard everything he said about her.

[bylerchoseme]

Very pro Elsanna. You’ve been warned. Read at own risk.

Let’s start at the very beginning. Anna and Elsa were little children when they had to go separate ways. Prior to that, Anna’s memories with Elsa were erased which was for her protection. Anna’s memories with Elsa after the distance were limited. She doesn’t remember much. Anyone that argues they weren’t separated doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Living in the same castle and Anna trying to reach out to Elsa by her door doesn’t count.

Elsa and Anna didn’t grow up together to fully comprehend what a sisterly relationship entails. They couldn’t be taught to act like sisters because neither was involved with each other. There wasn’t time for them to learn what makes sense and doesn’t make sense (sisterly wise). These two girls were living separate lives for 13 years.

Elsa was a grown woman and Anna an adult by the time they crossed paths again. As a 21 year old, Elsa was a true and real woman because that’s the age where it all starts. Anna on the other hand was 18. I don’t understand how people were expecting them to have a sisterly dynamic when that’s impossible. When you spend your whole life away from a sister figure, there is no way you can see them as a sister later.

If we go all the way back to Elsa’s coronation, Anna was acting nervous and unable to talk to Elsa in a sisterly way because she didn’t have a clue. When Elsa called Anna beautiful, she became a nervous wreck and said “You’re more beautifuller.” She was talking too fast without being in control of the words that came next. This whole scene was suspicious on both ends of the spectrum.

After a while, Elsa transformed into this goddess looking human with a braid. The second Elsanna reunion was Anna being completely caught off guard and mesmerized by Elsa’s appearance and becoming speechless. The look she gave her was not sisterly. If Anna had seen Elsa in that form before the transformation, her reaction would have been minimal. Anna had to find Elsa in the castle for a reason.

The biggest moment was after Anna unfroze and Elsa asked her “Why did you do this?” There was a pause before Anna answered. Anna responded with an “I love you.” The tone of the ‘I love you’ was like a confession and not saying it immediately usually means the person is interested in the other. Don’t forget the “Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.”

All Elsa did for 99.9% of the time in Frozen II was push Anna away. She wanted to protect her but you would think she’d be past all of that after the ending in Frozen I. There is a bigger truth to why she didn’t want Anna in her presence this time around.

Frozen II made me raise eyebrows because of the deliberate emphasis on Elsanna. I was expecting much less from them because I thought maybe Disney didn’t want to encourage the shipping anymore. I was surprised by the amount of content we’ve gotten. It was like an early Christmas present.

At the beginning of Frozen II, we saw Elsa and Anna strolling Arendelle at night and leaning on each other while walking which is what couples do. As the song was drawing to a close, Anna pulled Elsa so close to her and they were comfortable when singing “Holding on tight to you.” Maybe too comfortable with the close physical contact.

The next big Elsanna scene in Frozen II was when they cuddled on the bed. Anna was not only singing a melody to her but she was also caressing her. I heard Elsa say something along the lines of “I know what you’re doing.” When Anna became tired, she rested her head on top of Elsa’s and they were asleep like that for a while.

Don’t get me started on the amount of times Anna touched Elsa. She was the initiator for the most of the touching like when she jumped behind her in the forest. Elsa initiated the touching with Anna a few times and those were either subtle or just in particular moments depending on circumstances.

Their constant need to touch isn’t a sisterly bond. No chance. They’re only sisterly days was when they were kids and even those were numbered. They didn’t develop together as sisters. They wouldn’t have been able to remember sisterly interactions.

If ‘Show Yourself’ is an indication of Elsa’s growth and acceptance, we know what happened next. She was finally able to let herself have feelings and not hide her true persona. She was finally Elsa. She didn’t have to hide anymore. I do want to discuss some of the lyrics.

This whole part:

Come my darling homeward bound

I am found

Show yourself, step into the power

Throw yourself into something new

You are the one you’ve been waiting for

All of my life

Show Yourself

Elsa has reached a level of self confidence. She was ready to show her true colors. All it took was for her to see and hear her mom’s spirit. Once she finally discovered the voice and found peace, the rest was very telling. I think throwing herself into something new meant becoming aware of her feelings for Anna. She had to show that part of herself without feeling hopeless.

Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for. The beach scene between Elsa and Anna was the most romantic and deepest scene I have ever seen in any animation let alone real shows and movies. I actually had a headcanon they would reunite at the beach.

The beach scene showed us how much Elsa and Anna are in love with each other and the extent of their love has no limit. They love each other unconditionally. There are no words to describe their romance. I am still stunned by the things I’ve witnessed. I can’t process anything because their moment on the beach was indescribable,

Anna’s and Elsa’s desire to be together is without a doubt overwhelming. They’re so in sync. It’s crazy. I love the fact ‘Show Yourself’ had to occur first before the long awaited reunion. A lot of people are saying this is the real Elsa. Well I have some news for you. The real Elsa acted different with Anna on the beach. She wasn’t just straightforward but very honest in regards to being in love with Anna.

The lip puckering, the lip staring, the finger/hand stroking, the lack of personal space, the flirting glances, as well as many other things was intentional. There aren’t accidents with animation. Anna and Elsa are the love story of Frozen. Animators knew what they were doing. Part of their job is to pay attention to detail to make sure we see what they want us to see. Although, you would need to have a good eye to catch stuff like that. Elsanna is the main couple.

Elsa pushed Anna away in this movie because she wasn’t ready to accept her feelings for Anna. She wanted to distance from Anna to avoid temptation. She purposely sent Anna away because she couldn’t deal with how much she loved her. Elsa was scared. She didn’t know what to do and got herself out of the situation. Love makes you do crazy things.

Show Yourself brought Elsa back to reality and allowed her to embrace loving Anna without being ashamed. Of course the song can have many different meanings and this was one of them. One thing I want all of you to know is that I am not just interpreting the song based on what I want it to mean. I took lyrics that best related to Elsanna.

To sum all of this up.......Elsa and Anna were separated as kids because the writers didn’t want them to have sisterly energy. These two beautiful women were meant to fall in love. I mean think about it. Why reunite them when they’re all grown up? They couldn’t help falling in love.

Keep in mind that when Elsa left for the castle on her own in the first movie and transformed, Anna couldn’t believe her eyes. She didn’t think Elsa could be even more beautiful than how she remembered her prior to Elsa leaving. When Elsa transformed in the second movie and Anna saw her, she fell in love with her all over again because Elsa had a whole different level of beauty and more to give to Anna. It’s impossible for Anna to not be in love with Elsa. The two separations gave Anna new perspective. The difference was Elsa was just as much in love with Anna after the second transformation reunion.

[tobiomlk]

those tsukki fluff hcs? i am LIVING. could i get general dating hcs for tobio? 👉👈 good luck with your blog - 🐸

— kageyama as your boyfriend

LISTEN kageyama has a condition where brain is filled by (2) things: volleyball and food. relationships? that doesn’t exists. you’re gonna need either a miracle or a saint’s patience to get anywhere with this nerd, whichever works best for you.

i hope you’re well aware that your luck is on a negative count from the get-go, since 1) his knowlodge about romance is next to none and 2) he’s dense as fuck. even if he’s the one to develop feelings first, he wouldn’t act on those any sooner because he doesn’t even gets what’s going on. he just goes ( ??? ) whenever you smile at him and there’s this funny feeling around his ribcage and he’s 100% sure it’s hunger. so, unless you have the guts to fess up first… get ready to simp over this boy for the longest time.

that or until his teammates ( namely, suga ) do a divine intervention ‘cause damn, he’s so grossly in love, and if kageyama was already in the dark we fucking lost him, because what does it means to be in love??? that’s not a position or a game tactic as far as he’s concerned.

he even goes as far as to seek the textbook definition on dictionaries and spiel to himself like a damned mantra in the hopes he’ll get it but guess what? he doesn’t. if anything, he just further confused with the poor intent of describing such abstract concept with big words.

the whole process of realization is so agonizing and infuriatingly slow, it has gotten to the point where all da fucking team is up to date with the tragedy and they’re even making bets as to how it’s going to end ( tanaka and noya are putting all their money to kageyama not ever knowing about his feelings, ennoshita and the third-graders still have a bit of hope for their son. the first-graders are just enjoying the shitshow. )

but when it finally hits him… that there’s no better place than the one by your side and he couldn’t possibly have it otherwise… then it’s over for both of you.

once tobio is set his way, there’s no stopping him. hell, he might as well blurt it out as soon as he sees you, for all he cares. “it seems like i’ve fallen in love with you”.

but now you returning his feelings??? the most unrealistic and unlikiest scenario. his monkey brain definitively didn’t think out this far and now he’s in shambles. you’ve to spent half of an hour explaining to him that, all of it apparently means that you can be “a couple or something” and you can literally see his braincells combusting through his eyes.

are you going to clown him for his confession for the rest of his life? yes. do you hold the moment close to your heart regardless? Yes You Do.

needless to say, kageyama as a partner is awfully awkward. the boy’s barely familiar with platonic relationships, dating it’s like walking blindfolded onto unknown territory. he’s going to need you to teach him the ropes !!! ( not that you’re complaining, of course you’re not complaining )

being as unapproachable and volleyball-crazy as he’s known to be, i think many people depict kageyama as someone who doesn’t fully invests himself onto his social relations, especially the non-platonic field; because yes, to kageyama, volleyball comes first and foremost, but he’s just as devoted and earnest when it comes to his teammates and friends, and more importantly, you. once there’s something that means a lot to kageyama, he’ll give everything he has to offer, and you aren’t the exception to the rule.

while volleyball still takes most of his time and that won’t change under no circumstances, you can tell he does his best to spend the scarce time he has to spare with you. juggling between his passion and his loved one is not an easy task, but kageyama knew what he was applying himself for and there’s no way he’ll be half-assing, no sir!

at the very least, he always makes sure to walk you home. even if that means he’ll have to return afterwards to the gym, because he always trains ‘til very late and there’s no way he’s gonna keep you waiting that long for him ( you keep telling him it’s fine, that you don’t mind waiting, but he doesn’t relents “no. im taking you home first, then practice. and that’s final. now come here, dumbass.” )

he also calls you every single night before heading to sleep! he can’t stay long on the phone because he needs to go to bed early for morning practice, but just being able to hear your voice… to know about you and your day… is more than enough for him.

honestly it never fails to melt your heart when he begins talking in this raspy, low voice and you can tell he’s sleepy by the way he mumbles his words so you tell him that it’s ok for him to go to sleep now but he just shakes his head in spite of the fact you can’t see him and goes like “i still have a couple of minutes left. i want to hear your voice.” like honestly GET FUCKED !!!!!! HE’S SO LOVELY I’M-

kageyama understands if you have different interests and things you’re passionated about ( in fact, he’ll even try it out just so he can something to share with you! ), but, truly, nothing would make this blueberry as happier than you showing the tiniest bit of interest into volleyball. sometimes, the topic creeps onto your talk and unavoidably, tobio switchs to full nerd mode and starts geeking out about the matches and stuff and he’s just so giddy about it but then he freezes, and realizes he might be info-dumping you about something you probably don’t even care about, so he kinda cuts himself before going on… but the look of sheer happiness he offers you when you encourage him to go on? how his big, doe-eyes lit up once you ask him to explain you more carefully? can you possibly fathom how joyous it makes him to know he can get the best of his favorite things together?

to be honest, you’d expect him to be less considerate and act more fit of the self-centered, entitled king role he has been granted— not saying that he doesn’t slips and has his bossy moments of no filter, because he does, but the thing is: he’s surprisingly open to your opinions, too. over time, he’s been taught that communication is of utmost importance and the only way to understand others and have them understand you, and he’s firmly sure that applies to every aspect of his life. he wants you to know that, just as he speaks his mind, you’re free to do the same.

it’s ok if you argue, it’s ok if your points of view don’t match, because that means you’re talking to each other, and that’s way better than letting things sink without actual closure. kageyama learnt that the rough way. his speech might not be the most articulated or refinated, but he tries his best to get his points accross without unecessarily hurting your feelings. communication is so crucial to him, please, keep it in mind.

with that being said, kageyama’s prone to be unromantic and even insensitive at times with how he voices his opinions, because he’s no concept of sugar-coating and won’t hesitate to tell you if you suck at something, or flawlessly ignore your efforts to put on a lovey-dovey mood. but if you talk him about it and express that you’d like him to have some more tact, he’ll take the note! “tact? ok, ok. i’ll.  try to be as tactful as possible from now on and… read the mood? but i make no promises” ( spoiler alert: he keeps telling you that you suck but now he lets you have a sip of his milk and pets your head to soften the blow. )

and speaking of physical affection… god, kageyama is an utter stranger to pda. i mean, the boy is just a prude, unripe blueberry. he doesn’t know how it works, he’s not used to it, and the last thing he wants is to go and do something that’ll put you on a tough spot. your comfort is one of his main priorities, so you have to let him know what’s ok and whatnot, then he’ll start getting the hang of it. once he does, you’ll find out that kageyama is, as a matter of fact, one of the most touch-starved persons you’ll come accross with.

he just can’t seem to get his hands off of you, in the most literal and non-sensual way possible. be it small gestures like your hands brushing together, shoulders bumping, or your heads resting against each others’, kageyama just craves the feeling of your skin against his. despite how bad he denies it, he’s pretty clingy.

you’ve picked on how much he apparently enjoys holding hands, and petting your head, for that matter. you don’t know why, but his hand would always makes its way atop your head. it has even gotten to the point in where he does it out of habit, and when you ask him what’s wrong he just replies “nothing? why do you ask?”

i think kageyama has two stages while he’s on a relationship. the earlier ones, where he cannot lock eyes with you for more than give seconds before going all blushy and stiff, and the advanced ones, in where physical contact has practically become a must and one of his primary functions as a human being to operate naturally.

kageyama’s hugs are so freaking awkward at first… there’s no guides about this. does he just envelops you with his arms ??? and then stay still like that ??? what if he hurts you by holding you too tight ??? oh my god he’s even holding his breath while he’s at it SOMEONE FREE HIM-

and don’t even get me started on the kisses. LISTEN YOU DEFINITIVELY CLASH YOUR TEETH DURING YOU FIRST KISS AND YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND ON THIS ONE !!!!! knowing him, he needs weeks of mental preparation and advice from his god-send suga-senpai before going for it, and when the moment comes… he goes too hard for literally no reason and right after you’re both on the floor whimpering ‘cause that shit HURTED.

“ow, ow… tobio WHAT the HELL” “oh, PISS OFF”

well, at least he has an excuse for rehearsing!!! don’t worry, he’s a fast-learner ;))))

cuddling is just about the same you guys spend all day squirming in order to find a comfortable position and it’s just a mess™ of limbs and giggles.

“wait… maybe if i put my arm around here…” “wait, tobio, you’re tickling me-” “??? don’t laugh !!! STOP LAUGHING THIS IS NOT FUNNY”

but once you finally manage to settle down, god, it’s so pure… kageyama loves to have you in his beefy, setter arms as much as he loves being hold by you. the crook of your neck? a heavingly place for him to rest his head and which belongs to him and him only !!!

look kageyama is so weak for physical affection i’m not even kidding. all you need to calm him down is to rub his back soothingly and he’ll even forget why he was so mad about to begin with. the amount of power you hold over this boy… it genuinely surprises people to see how tame he’s when it comes to you. everyone can agree that if kageyama has a weakness, that’s you.

tobio is not the one to get particularly cheesy or romantic, everyone knows at least that much. however, he has this thing in where he genuinely voices out how great he considers you to be without batting an eyelash which of course makes you super flustered because “why are you getting so cheeky for?” “??? it’s the truth though” SHUT UP IM SOBBING.

you know how slow and oblivious your boy is, so the last thing you expect is him being able to read you as easily? it takes its sweet time, but within the years, kageyama steadily learns to understand you and how do you operate. your habits, your body language, what makes you happy or upset, he knows all of it. he can tell when something’s off just from a glance, yet he’s so nonchalant about it— like it’s obvious to know what’s on your mind. now, does he know how to act knowing this? not really, but give him props, he tries his best!

with all that has happened to him, it should come as no surprise the fact kageyama can get pretty insecure in the relationship. it’s not like he doesn’t trusts or you ( god, the boy could trust you with his life ), but you can’t blame him for letting his insecurities get the best of him. he’s just so, so afraid… that one day you’ll notice how unlikeable he truly is and you end up leaving him, like most of the people have done to him in his life…

tobio desesperately needs the reasurrance, the words of affirmation, to bask on the feeling of knowing he’s so deeply loved, and that he’s no such thing as an unlovable person. i hope you let him know that, just as he lets you know how grateful he’s for having you in his life.

all in all, kageyama can be a blunt, awkward and more than a bit dense partner, but he’s striving to become a better version of himself day by day, so, he secretely wishes you’ll put up with him a little longer.

[singingunderthecurtain]

DIAMOND (CEO AU Baekhyun Series) Part 19

Author: @julietsoddeye​ AU: CEO!Baekhyun Genre: Angst | Smut | Romance Pairing: (in this chapter) Baekhyun x Lee Soojin (OC) | Junmyeon x Yanmei (OC) | Chanyeol x Hisako (OC) Word Count: 4.9K Trigger Warning: Strong Language and Physical Violence

Plot: After 10 years of exile to another country, Soojin is finally back home and was surprised to find out that she was already engaged to the son of her father’s long-time friend and business partner.

Diamond Mini Mansterlist 

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 

The morning after, Hisako woke up to Chanyeol still sleeping, still cuddled to her. His face deeply buried into her chest, limbs locking her into his embrace. She wanted to go, leave before he awakes. But that seems to be an impossibility with how much cling he has onto her.

Peeling him off of her would surely wake him up. So she stayed still. Thinking of going back to sleep, but Chanyeol suddenly stirred and stretched. Opening his eyes, the first thing Chanyeol saw was her and he smiled.  She reciprocates with a small and impassive one and tried to push him off.

“Where are you going?”

Chanyeol asks, tightening his grip on her.

“It’s morning, Chans. I should go.”

“No, let’s stay in bed all day.”

He buried his face on her chest again and he hears her sigh. It wasn’t a satisfied or a happy one, it was one where it’s full of silent frustrations. He understands why she would be embittered, he would be too if he was let down like that last night. He wishes he didn’t have to disappoint her as he did.

He doesn’t want to, but what he also doesn’t want to do is rush things with her. He doesn’t want to end up falling for her completely and then something or someone would suddenly be against their relationship.

“I’m sorry…”

He whispers. It was a silent whisper he’s sure it can’t be heard, but she did. He knows she did and he felt her twitch in their position.

“F–for what?”

Hisako didn’t mean to stumble her words, but she did for no reason. She’s nervous for nothing.

“For last night.”

Chanyeol pulled away and looked her right in the eyes. She tried to turn away and avoid eye contact, but Chanyeol’s determined to make her see his sincerity. So he grabs her chin gingerly with his thumb and index finger to reclaim her attention. Hisako couldn’t do anything but to look back at him.

“Don’t look away, Hisa.”

“Chanyeol—”

Chanyeol suddenly captured Hisako’s lips in a surprise kiss and she almost squealed with the motion. She was trying her best to push him off, but since literally his limbs are locking her down he wasn’t budging at all. Letting go of self-restraint, Hisako starts kissing him back.

They couldn’t care if they just woke up and morning breaths are a real thing, they kissed like they haven’t kissed in a long time. His morning dry, yet soft and cushiony lips just mold perfectly with hers. His kisses are sweet and gentle, very incomparable to anyone she has kissed before. And she realized that this is the first time she’s kissing him with no alcohol in any of their systems.

“I hope you know my feelings. I like you, Hisako, I really do. I just– I don’t wanna go the same path as Yanmei and Jongdae.”

He kisses her lips again and his touches lingered a bit longer as if he won’t get to see her again for a long time after today.

“Chans, it’s fine. I don’t expect anything from you.”

Hisako whispers as she rubs circles on his warm cheeks with her careful thumbs.

“You don’t?”

He asked and she shakes her head no.

“No, I don’t. I don’t want you to pledge your future to me, it’s not yours to give anyway. I don’t want to end up like them too, I don’t want to see us both falling apart and hurting.”

“No, of course not.”

He answers, continuing his soft caresses on her head of hair.

“If this… Whatever this is that we have right now is comfortable for you, for us, then so be it. I don’t want to add another stress in my life, you know how shitty work is for me– Not that I’m calling you stress at all… The uhm, the stress of a relationship is what I meant...”

“No, I totally get it. Let’s just enjoy each other, hanging out with you like this is enough for me, you’re more than enough for me, Hisa.”

Hisako smiles, very genuinely so. She was happy to know that he feels the same way she does. That they are on the same boat that ships, but not actually shipping, if you catch my drift.

“Glad we’re on the same page, Chans… But I really have to go.”

Hisako starts to push Chanyeol away, but the man is stubborn and won’t let her go.

“What, why?”

He pouts just like a child.

“We set a brunch with Junmyeon, Yixing, and Sehun. Pretty sure Jongin will be there too.”

“Can I come?”

“Yeah… No, I don’t think so.”

Hisako shakes her head negatively, very vigorously so.

“Then they’ll find out I lied abou—”

Hisako slaps her mouth shut and Chanyeol’s lips widen in a shit-eating grin.

“So you didn’t have a second round with a ‘friend’ last night?”

Chanyeol teases, putting emphasis on the word ‘friend’.

“Thinking about it, you really don’t have many friends outside our group.”

He teases some more, causing Hisako to slightly hit him in the chest with her balled up fist.

“Hey! I have people I talk to at work!”

She defended.

“Yeah, but they’re not your ‘friends’, they are called colleagues, Hisa.”

Chanyeol said matter-of-factly.

“Whatever, Park Chans!”

Hisako completely pushes him away and it caught him off guard for a bit but he pulled her back and gave her a tight hug while laughing his lungs off. They rolled on the bed for a while with Hisako screeching loudly, she was very ticklish. As Chanyeol kisses her and buries his face on her hair and neck, or anywhere else really. Caging her entire body inside his legs and arms.

“I’m just kidding, baby.”

Hisako freezes with the pet name. Immediately, Chanyeol notices and spoke up before anything gets awkward again.

“I–I’ll pop your clothes for a quick wash and then you can shower first… Or you want to shower together?”

He smirks and he got another smack in the chest from her.

“Chanyeol!”

“It’s important to conserve water, you know!”

“Sure it is, but I’m not showering with you!”

She kicks Chanyeol off to escape towards his bedroom bath. Running after her, he grabs the back of her shirt to pull Hisako back into his embrace before she can even grab the bathroom door lever.

“Take off your clothes first…”

Chanyeol whispers into her ears.

“Not in front of you, no.”

“Please?”

Chanyeol pouts cutely, eyes twinkling brightly.

“Okay,”

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

With Seulgi still going south somewhere around France and her parents trying to convince her to come back home (her parents are much gentler than of Jongdae’s, that’s very saddening), the wedding altogether has been canceled. Although both families are still hopeful the union of their children and companies will happen someday, sooner than anticipated.

The media went crazy for a while since it was reported that the ceremony never happened and was postponed indefinitely. Thankfully they stopped covering it as soon as the announcement of Soojin and Baekhyun’s wedding was published, masking it all behind another rich person's matrimony news.

Jongdae continues to pursue Yanmei, however, she hasn’t given him the time of day. She decided to keep herself busy and focus on her career instead of stressing about relations. She loves Jongdae, of course, it [can] never went away, but she decided not to tangle in with his family affairs as it is very obvious that she wasn’t welcome in it at all.

Yanmei knows her position, Jongdae’s father is a powerful man and she doesn’t even wanna know what the consequences will be if she so chooses to sustain her relationship with their son and go against him.

She has watched enough Asian dramas to know that rich people can and will (if they have to) use their money to do everything they want. She’s not risking losing her job and be deported back to the United States just because a poor girl like her fell in love with their only son and heir.

“Yanmei-ssi, please do not take this the wrong way. And please, don’t be uncomfortable after I say this to you. I don’t want that…”

Junmyeon spoke again after the two of them fell into a comfortable silence as they carry on to eat at another expensive restaurant of his choice.

This one they haven’t been to and it seems to be posher than the last place they’ve been. Ever since that fateful day of Jongdae’s failed wedding happened, the two of them have bonded. They have lunches and dinners a few times a week. Every day after work, Junmyeon would send his personal chauffeur to send her home safely and sometimes he will be the one waiting for her if he’s not busy.

“Okay, go on.”

Yanmei smiled, gesturing with her hand to encourage him to speak up.

He must have paused for too long and he shook his head slightly to stop his mind from completely going haywire and altogether forget to say what he was practicing for a few days already. He’s nervous, Yanmei can tell and she’s worried that he might have a piece of really bad news to say for her.

Maybe it’s regarding work, maybe it’s about Jongdae, who knows. Hopefully none of those things.

“Well… Okay… Fuu—”

Junmyeon cuts himself off, almost cursing out.

“Are you… Are you going to fire me, Junmyeon-ssi?”

Yanmei’s face fell as she said those words herself.

“Yes, I am… Wait, what? NO!”

Junmyeon’s brows raise and his eyes widen in complete shock with what he just agreed to.

“No, no, no. I am not firing you, Yanmei-ssi. Why would I take you to my favorite restaurant just to fire you?”

The relief he sees in her eyes is almost comical, it almost made him laugh but he can’t even laugh with how much nervous he was as of the moment. Junmyeon put down his knife and fork before he drops it and makes a lot of noise in the jazzy and romantic vibes the semi-private area of this restaurant provided for him to say what he wanted for Yanmei to know.

“Oh, thank God. I thought you were just being nice before you completely kick me out of the school. I know I haven’t been doing too well lately and I’m slowly coming back to normal, I promise. I am so, so sorry about that Junmyeon-ssi.”

Yanmei was clutching so hard on to the hem of the dress Junmyeon gifted her, she actually wrinkled it with her bare hands from how much she’s fisting her hands in a tight ball.

“I know, Yanmei-ssi. Your department supervisor reported everything to me. And you’re actually up for an immediate promot—”

Junmyeon stopped himself mid-way because he was spilling too much of something he shouldn’t tell just yet. This is not what he wanted to say, this was for another day.

“Wait… A what?”

Yanmei’s jaws slacked with the unexpected news. Her breathing suddenly became brisk, she can actually feel the crazy beating of her pulse in her head. Junmyeon then suddenly hits his head with his hand as he started cursing but immediately regretted it.

“God fucking damnit! I’m sorry I’m n–not usually like this. I apologize, Yanmei-ssi I am so unprofessional…”

“I… I’m getting a promotion? … Already? I am four months immature of my first year working in your school, and you are really trusting me enough with a promotion…?”

Junmyeon suddenly paused because he couldn’t believe a person would actually degrade herself like that.

Yanmei is a very good educator, she is one, if not the best in the batch that they hired for this school year. Not only was she very qualified, but she is also very compassionate for her students. She’s extra gentle and understanding with the kids she taught because she has first-hand experience on how to have someone that has special needs in her family.

“Yanmei-ssi, I can’t believe you would discredit yourself like that. Your previous school actually sent us old videos and full reports on your performance for the last three years you have worked there. I passed it on to the school board and they were very impressed with you. They were also very captivated by your way of practice at our school and your drive and passion for your work that they actually were the ones who convinced me to promote you as head of your department since Mrs. Hong will retire soon.”

Junmyeon’s face was disappointed for a bit but he completely softens when he sees Yanmei frowning in shame. So he changed the subject immediately not to make the mood sour than it already is.

“This is not what I was planning for the night to go. I am so sorry, Yanmei-ssi. I wasn’t planning on saying this to you at all, a complete slip I let out.”

“Wait, Junmyeon-ssi if this is not what you’re planning on saying, then what were you really going to tell me?”

Yanmei braced herself for the worst now. The unexpected slip was REALLY awesome news, now she’s afraid what this one will be. Was he not planning to give her that promotion because she’s fairly new to the school? Her lack of confidence may have fucked up her chances now. Great, just great Yanmei! You always run your fucking mouth!

“I… I, uhm,”

Junmyeon cleared his throat really hard he felt his pharynx scratch a bit with his extreme throat-clearing nervous tic. Coughing hard, he reached for his water but it was empty. So Yanmei immediately stood to hand in her half-full glass of water for him.

“Are you okay, Junmyeon-ssi???”

Yanmei comforts Junmyeon as she gently taps his back while he drinks her glass of water. After a few moments, Junmyeon finally relaxes and stopped coughing.

“Thank you, Yanmei-ssi.”

Without thinking, Junmyeon tenderly grabs Yanmei’s shoulder with both hands and gently made her sit back in her chair. Confused, Yanmei just follows what Junmyeon was doing and sat when he pushed her back down.

“Okay, it’s now or never…”

Quickly pulling a very unmistakable small robin-egg-blue box from his pocket, Yanmei gasp so loudly, she swears people from miles away can clearly hear her.

“No… No, Junmyeon-ssi, no…”

Yanmei keeps shaking her head no and was about to stand up to get away from Junmyeon, but he was fast on his feet, swiftly laying a hand on her knees to calm her down.

“Yanmei-ssi, please hear me out. I know you’re scared right now that’s why I didn’t do anything stupid like rent out the whole place just for us and have a small table placed in the middle of scattered rose petals around or stuff like that, so please…”

The sincere plea in Junmyeon’s eyes melted Yanmei’s heart a bit to let him continue what he was going to do. She nods her head once and it made Junmyeon feel like he won the lottery. The fact that she allowed him this once despite everything probably meant something, right?

“Thank you… Yanmei-ssi, I… Don’t even know when I started liking you, but I know the reason why I did. It’s because I get to know you the last few months very well. You’ve made me share things with you I usually don’t share with just anyone and you made me feel things I haven’t felt in a very long time. And I…”

Junmyeon opens the Tiffany & Co. box to reveal a Platinum Diamond Heart Pendant necklace. Even though it’s small, Yanmei knows it’s expensive and it made her reach for the bracelet Jongdae gave her that she still wears to this day. What are with these rich young men giving out expensive pieces of jewelry to an underprivileged poor girl like her? When she came to that vacation with Soojin in The Bahamas, she wasn’t planning on literally falling in love with a man, let alone being confessed to by another one.

“I want to get to know you… Really get to know you on a deep level. I want to be more than just friends with you, Yanmei-ssi. And I promise you, no family member will disapprove of us. Jongin and I are literally free. You know our mother is gone and our Father has his new family.”

Closing the small box of jewelry while grabbing one of Yanmei’s hand, Junmyeon smiled so brightly Yanmei can’t help but swoon. She’s not gonna lie, Junmyeon is a very handsome man. Not to mention really nice to her. He is very easy on the eyes, and probably easy on the heart too.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to answer now, I can wait. I know you’ve been through a lot lately in regards to your situation with Jongdae. I want you to think about it.”

Junmyeon placed the box on Yanmei’s palm and closes her hand to clutch on the thing.

“If your answer is no, return this to me anytime you want. If your answer is yes, then please wear this necklace on Baekhyun and Soojin’s wedding and we can come together as a date.”

All Yanmei could do was nod her head as she looks at his warm hands gripping hers comfortably tight.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Ever since her father awoke from the unconsciousness he fell into, Soojin’s schedule has cleared up for the most part again as her old man refuses to rest furthermore. With his health scare, President Seungho ordered for Soojin and Baekhyun’s immediate wedding plans because, as in his own words, ‘We’ll never know what the future holds, and I’m not getting any younger.’ and he wanted to see his Soojin walk down the aisle sooner than later.

But Soojin and Baekhyun are still not okay, she doesn’t know when they’ll be okay again. With all the doubts and distrusts, she really wasn’t sure if they can even be friends at this point.

“Oh, darling I hope you can conceive soon after the wedding. Your Father and I are just so excited to see little kids running around our garden.”

Mrs. Byun said while tucking Soojin’s hair behind her ear. Baekhyun chokes on his tea, spilling it all over him because of what his mother suddenly blurts out, as both of the ladies browse through wedding brochures the wedding planner she hired provided them. Thankfully Soojin was neither eating nor drinking anything, she wouldn’t want to choke and die this young.

“Aaaaaaa, eomma!!! …”

Baekhyun whines, wiping himself with the table napkin.

Soojin purses her lips together, suppressing a giggle that wants to escape her lips.

He saw her struggles and wanted to laugh along with her, but he remembered that he can’t be fragile. He can’t give in so easily. She is his weakness, but she also needs to learn her lesson.

“What? Did I say something inappropriate?”

Baekhyun’s mother sips her tea and gave Soojin a side-eye look.

“Yes, eomma!”

“It’s not, my son. From the shade of red on Soojin’s cheeks, you two probably already did it.”

Soojin couldn’t help but flush. She feels the heat of her cheeks and almost slaps her own face as she covers them with both hands. Baekhyun looks at her and memories from nights they spent together washes ashore from the sea in his mind. He shook his head to rid himself of the recollection, today is not a proper time for that.

“Eomma, that’s really…”

“It’s fine, Baekhyunnie. Sex is important between two people in love, I get it.”

Baekhyun’s mother winks at him knowingly.

And that was the end of that discussion. The older woman finally left the two alone after a while, excusing herself for a spa session she said she needed to do. Oh, the life of the rich must be so exhausting to want to have a spa day once a week.

They haven’t been alone again like this in a while and she doesn’t even know how to act around him anymore.

Because she knows she’s gonna get ignored by him anyway.

He yearns for her, he wanted to feel her soft skin on his fingertips again, it’s been quite an awful lot of weeks already, maybe it’s time he tells her the truth…

“Soojin, I—”

Her ringtone suddenly blares out, abruptly cutting what he wanted to say.

“Sorry, I have to take this first…”

Soojin regretfully left Baekhyun alone to go to the balcony.

It was another unregistered number, she hasn’t gotten a call in a long time, so she made sure she shuts the balcony door for privacy.

With shaky hands, Soojin answers the call.

“H–Hello…”

She hears nothing but labored breathing in the background. Multiple breathing, in fact, the same one that she heard before.

“Speak up or I will end this fuckin call!”

She braved a threat and the person on the other end laughed. She wasn’t sure if this person is a man or a woman because of the multiple layers of voices, probably using a device so to mask the original timbre of the person on the other line.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you, I called you with a purpose, Soojin-ssi…”

More labored breathing met her ears and she fell silent and patient. There really must be a reason why this person keeps calling. She felt it’s not a prank this time, no one was suspicious enough to pull this dumbfuckery.

Sehun couldn’t even pull this one out without boasting it immediately. He’s not as smart as most girls who adored him for his looks and money thinks he is.

And she knows no one will dare do a trick like this anyway. Her and Baekhyun’s friends may be playful at times, but they’re not this evil.

“I am in the middle of preparing for my wedding, this better be good, you… Whoever you are!”

The laughter she heard made her almost threw her phone away. It was so loud and distorted, it almost hurt her ears.

“That’s really great, Soojin-ssi. I can’t wait for your wedding…”

It took a few moments before the caller spoke again.

They said they cannot wait for the wedding, they must be invited. Soojin took a mental note of that, she must review the guest list later.

“But I bet you wanna know the truth, Soojin-ssi…”

“What truth?”

“Oh, you know… Your brother and your fiancé’s plans…”

Soojin eyes doubled in size and her heart started racing.

“How do you… How do you know about that?”

“I know everything about you, Soojin-ssi. I also know what you did last summer…”

The person laughs obnoxiously again. Soojin tried to calm herself but she’s starting to get scared. What person is this evil? She’s sure she hasn’t made any enemies back in America or even here in Seoul.

“If you want to know everything, meet me.”

“How?”

“I will send the location via email to you at exactly three in the afternoon. It will delete itself once the system knows you’ve read it, so make sure to write in on paper before the email self destructs…”

The person continues to explain.

“DO NOT bring anyone with you, not your driver, not your friends and definitely not Baekhyun, you understand me?”

“Y–Y…. Y–Yes…”

Soojin stammered, she can feel her knees buckling so she felt the need to hold on to something. But the balcony was small and empty, so she just grabbed onto the end of her shirt, crumpling it with her tight hold.

“Now fix yourself before going back to Baekhyun. Don’t let anyone know or I will put a bullet through the love of your life’s head. You wouldn’t want to marry a dead man, now do you, Soojin-ssi?”

Soojin can hear the hostility of the person’s voice. She knows they are determined and she just has to agree.

She can’t let Baekhyun be harmed, not now that she loved him with all her life.

It’s either Baekhyun’s life or hers.

And she chose to save his life.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

“Where is Sooj eonni? She’s already a few hours late.”

The obviously already worried Soojung blurts out among the friends around her.

“Hey, relax. I bet she’s on her way with Baekhyun Hyung.”

Jongin pacifies his girlfriend by giving her a soothing caress on her back.

“Yeah?”

She looks at him and then around again, counting heads if the party is already complete. Baekhyun, Soojin, Hisako. Chanyeol. Yanmei, Junmyeon, and Yixing are still not around.

“Yeah. In fact, here let me call Baekhyun Hyung for you, okay?”

“No need for that, I already called him a while ago. He said he’s on his way. He said he left his office early to meet a few people before going here.”

Sehun throws in.

“Did he say he’s with my eonni?”

Soojung asks, no demands.

“Well… I didn't ask, sorry.”

Sehun scratches his head.

“Relax, Soojung. Everything will be fine.”

Jongin assures her with a smile and gave her forehead sweet kiss.

The restaurant private room door opens and Soojung’s head immediately whirls to it, only to find Junmyeon and Yanmei entering together as their party’s assigned hostess escorts them to their seats.

Soojung sighs in disappointment.

“Hyung! You made it!”

Sehun greets, Jongin and the other guys tagging along to welcome their friend except for Jongdae. He was just seated, following Yanmei with his eyes as she makes her way to Soojung, Sunmi, and Doc. Hyerin.

“Yanmei eonni, do you have any idea where Soojin eonni is?”

Soojung’s starts with a question as Yanmei greets all the girls with hugs.

“Soojung-ah has been worrying about Soojin since Kyungsoo and I arrived.”

Hyerin shrugs at Yanmei when she looks to her questioningly.

“I just have this inkling feeling in my chest, I don’t know.”

Soojung said, sighing again.

“Last time I talked to Sooj, was at one PM today. I asked if we should go together for tonight. She said she’s with Baekhyun and they will be going together.”

Yanmei shrugs too. Hyerin gave her a flute and pours in the Rosé.

“Already?”

Yanmei chuckles but drinks the alcohol anyway.

“Of course! It’s a party!”

Hyerin clicks her tongue and winks at Yanmei, drinking her glass along with her.

“Baekhyun Hyung, Yixing Hyung!”

Everyone turns towards the door when Sehun exclaims the names, with no Soojin in sight. Soojung pushes through people to greet Baekhyun.

“Oppa, where’s Soojin eonni?”

“Well we were together this afternoon, but by quarter-to-three, she was hurrying out the door. She said she will be meeting Hisako.”

Adding salt to the wound, Hisako and Chanyeol suddenly arrive. Surprised that everyone was gathered by the door.

“Yo, ‘sup!?”

Chanyeol greets, all confused.

“Where’s Soojin?”

Everyone seems to question Hisako.

“Isn’t she with you, Baekhyun?”

“Ooooooooh, I knew something is up!!!”

Soojung starts panicking.

“What, what?”

Hisako was dumbfounded, having only been arrived yet already being met with all the commotion.

“Soojin eonni Isn't here yet.”

Soojung is hunched over a random chair, her fingers are massaging her already aching head as Jongin tries to calm his girlfriend down.

“Have any of you tried calling her?”

Yanmei asks.

“Yes, but she’s not answering.”

Jongin answers for Soojung.

“Yeah, she even dropped my call.”

Sehun adds.

“Try calling her again?”

Sunmi’s small voice interjects.

Hisako and Yanmei shakily grab on to their purses, anxiety already getting the best of them.

“I’ll do it…”

Baekhyun calmly fishes for his phone in his pocket. He presses number one speed dial on his screen and turns the speaker on.

The person you’re trying to call cannot be reached, please try again later… The person you’re trying to call cannot be reached, ple—

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

A sharp pain at the back of Soojin’s head woke her up.

She opens her eyes to nothing. Her vision was being blocked by something that’s covering her entire head.

“WHAT IS… WHAT IS THIS? WHERE AM I? HELP!!! HELP ME!!!”

Panic starts rising to her head, her breathing labored as she tries to scream for help.

An object suddenly flew into her face, probably a hand, slapping her.

“Shut the fuck up, you bitch! No one’s going to hear you anyway!!!”

A man screams and more slaps were thrown at her face and punches on her stomach and arms.

Soojin couldn’t even scream anymore, pain is all she knows.

“Hey, hey relax. Don’t damage her too much…”

A voice of a woman said.

Her ears are ringing, but the voice seems familiar to her.

“Sorry.”

The same man said.

“Remove that, I wanna see her face.”

The woman ordered and immediately the thing covering Soojin’s head was pulled up away from her.

It took a while before her eyes adjusted to the dim lights in the place and she was met with four to five people all watching her like she’s some kind of a circus attraction.

“Oh no, you gave her a black eye… Baekhyun won’t be happy when he sees that.”

The woman laughs, quite annoyingly. It has the same sound to the person Soojin talks to on the phone. This time though, it’s raw and real.

Slowly, the woman walks up to her, the only light source (that was dangling on top of Soojin’s head) slowly unmasking who the mystery person was.

“How are you, darling? Miss me?”

Soojin’s lips quivered when she see Taeyeon smiling like the devil herself, wearing a red dress with red heels in front of her.

“You thought you’ve seen the last of me, didn’t you? I’m not done with you yet, you whore!”

Taeyeon smirks and then slaps Soojin so hard she fell into another nasty unconsciousness.

Aikie Masterlist | Michiko Masterlist | FIC RECS | FIC REC SIDEBLOG

[tomoreadsandlistens]

A Girl on the Shore

A Girl on the Shore:   Written and art by Inio Asano

SPOILER REVIEW

Considering this is my first manga review, I wanted to elaborate about a short series that truly impacted my entire being recently. There’s only a few manga (and anime) out there that’s ever really affected me emotionally, but I felt compelled to express the deep impact “A Girl on the Shore” had on me. I feel this is the right platform to do so since I don’t really have anyone to talk about this with. I want to remind everyone since my Introduction post that everything I do on here is opinionated. This is just my own personal review on this story, and you’re more than welcome to agree or disagree. Fair warning, this review will contain spoilers and will most likely talk about the NSFW content. If this is a story you cannot handle, I would really not recommend it. The artwork in this manga does get graphic at times, so it’s not for everyone.

With that being said, if you’re ready for an emotional roller coaster, buckle your seat belts! This IS a long post so please bear with me.

First Read:   Curiosity got to the best of me when I stumbled upon an article online about an “angsty” manga about a few months back, I noticed “A Girl on the Shore” was written about and recommended. On a whim I went out and bought it, as simple as that. It is currently published in English by Vertical Comics in an omnibus completed edition of volumes 1 and 2. I have to admit, the description on the back of the omnibus really did not follow through to exactly what the story was about. If anything, somewhat false advertising on their end. However, the emotional roller coaster ride I endured was not regrettable, and in fact completely not what I expected. So to Verticals’s credit they tweaked the description to grip you right in.

The Story:   This story is about two, very broken teenagers that are searching for something. Searching for something they cannot achieve. Searching for an escape of themselves. These two teens, Koume and Isobe, emotionally manipulate each other and never truly expressed how they were ever really feeling, to one another. The way this dramatic plot expressed teenage mentality really hits the nail on the head, especially for those who have experienced sexual experiences at a very young age; A Girl on the Shore does not shy away from these issues and in fact does get quite blunt about its experimentation on sexuality. The sad truth to this is that it IS so relatable that it’s actually pretty disgusting that society pressures early on how one “should” have to have sex to feel accepted, especially minors. Plus, truthfully, middle school and high school is a time where one appears impressionable, but once someone is not like the others, they’re practically shunned out of the group and ultimately judged to the extreme. It is especially evident with Koume’s character, who can’t even admit to her friends she ever liked Isobe later on in the manga, nevertheless hooked up with him!

Right from the get go Koume asks Isobe out of the blue to take her virginity as a result of Misaki, your local high school playboy, rejected Koume even though she performed a blowjob on him, through manipulation of course. Regardless of the fact she confessed her feelings to Misaki, she was still taken advantage of. With that being said, this is how the story begins. As the story progresses, Isobe and Koume begin to experiment with each other through casual sex, with no meaning behind it. These two characters never even kissed. Isobe agrees to be Koume’s sexual partner regardless of how he originally had a huge crush on her in the past, and currently. As the story unfolds, both of our main characters go through drastic changes within their toxic relationship.

The Characters:   Koume is a very vulnerable young girl who lost some faith after her experience with Misaki; She wanted to fill that deep void using Isobe and continously had sex with him to try to get over it. It is certain that most people who have experienced their adolescent years would recognize this scenario, not just with sex but most of us have replaced situations with others to fill that sadness in our hearts. Especially her being a female character, she was manipulated by an older teen which is basically statutory rape through oral sex. Koume originally wanted to spend time with Isobe just for sex. Keep in mind that Isobe consented to this. Given the fact they are both born the same year (Koume being 15 and Isobe’s birthday was half a year later into their “relationship”); there’s not much of an age gap to deem this as “rape”. Isobe absolutely could’ve realized what he was getting himself into from the start when he agreed to her. At one point in the manga Isobe acknowledges that for his age he shouldn’t be having sex, implying how emotionally disconnected, ashamed, and used he felt in the end. He recognized eventually that their sexual encounters were getting too toxic for his well being, so he begins to neglect her. On the other side of the coin, Koume eventually grows to really like Isobe, but she was terrible at expressing it, and eventually it became too late to do so. The sex with Isobe became more yearning for love than for her own pleasure. She couldn’t connect her head to her heart; which most teenagers don’t realize at this time. Considering how she didn’t want to deal with embarrassment and judgement from her piers, she kept her entire experience with Isobe to herself. She insisted she had to keep a certain image to the general public. However, you do see throughout the manga the emptiness Koume felt as she stares off into space, holds her phone waiting for something, thinking of how to talk to Isobe, even just laying around; you can easily see her quirks of loneliness.

Isobe is first glanced as a shy, curious character who had his hopes up when the opportunity to have sex with the girl of his dreams was provided to him. You also learn on the side when Koume isn’t present that Isobe once had an older brother who killed himself on Isobe’s birthday, which is September 15th. Ever since his death, Isobe felt emotionally devastated, unheard, lost, longing to avenge his brother, but yet he literally did not say a word about any of this to Koume throughout the entire manga. That to me was one of the most heart breaking occurrences in this story. Knowing how Isobe was suffering and refused to talk about it, concerned that he would never be accepted nor understood. It breaks my heart. All he wanted was to have a perfect romance blossom with Koume but their disconnects and misunderstandings really pushed the both of them away from each other.

Title Meaning:   A Girl on the Shore is a double meaning about Koume and another character who is nicknamed “a girl on the shore”. Isobe and Koume find an SD card for a digital camera at the shore which contained pictures of a random girl doing daily life things and hanging out at the shore. Isobe kept the SD card and admired this individual for her beauty and appearing to be nice. Koume does show her jealousy and deletes the pictures from Isobe’s computer. This is part of the reason why Isobe begins to ignore her. After Koume gets ignored for a period of time, she encounters Isobe at school, attempts to talk to him and he then threatens to kill her if she ever touches his computer again. Ever since this threat Koume goes along with her summer attending School camp, while her depression takes a toll and becomes desperate to see Isobe and longs to understand what’s going on with him. You can tell communication was needed and yearned for, but it really lacked out of fear and rejection. Koume shows up at Isobe’s house after School Camp, and they both have sex for the entire rest of the day. This was the last time they ever had intercourse. Isobe expresses to Koume that he was suicidal, wanting to end his misery. Koume is skeptical of this but she implies that she would care if he died. After their last encounter Isobe doesn’t show up to school for a while, and Koume begins to get concerned. On the day of their school festival, on Isobe’s birthday, Koume provides a present and letter to Isobe, which she hoped to express her feelings for him, to him. She begins to search for Isobe throughout the town during a tropical storm. Isobe is seen walking throughout town near the shore, which could be indicated that he was contemplating to take his own life the same way his brother did in the high tides. Koume is seen screaming Isobe’s name at the shore, and the storm begins to subside and the sun appears. Isobe is seen at at coffee shop having peace and quiet to himself. He leaves the shop and sees a girl standing next to him which turns out to be “the girl on the shore”. Koume ends up throwing away Isobe’s present and card when she assumed he may have taken his life.

A week after the school festival Koume sees Isobe at school and requested to talk to him over the weekend near a dock. Isobe appeared different with his hair cut and how he went on about himself, he acted happier. He tells Koume about “the girl on the shore” and expressed how he’s aiming to attend the same high school as her. It is clear that he’s also putting up a front to prove his point that this other female character is kept contact with him and potentially is an open window for a future relationship. Koume becomes devastated. She admits that all of this was her fault for what she physically and mentally put him through, and confessed her love for him seeking a second chance to make up for her selfishness. Isobe rejects her and leaves Koume at the dock. Almost two years go by, Koume is now appeared older and has not seen Isobe since that day. She is now seeing a guy eerily similar to Isobe and has not told anyone about him. It is absolute that till this day she is still putting up a different image of herself, and seeks to be with someone a lot like Isobe.

The last bit of this manga is Koume at the shore with a childhood friend she hasn’t seen in a while, Kashima. They catch up for a bit with how school is going for the both of them, until Koume notices a couple walking along the shore together. Personally, I really think these two figures are Isobe and “a girl on the shore”. You only see small, cropped imagery of the two but it seems to me this is what the manga artist wanted to go for. These two figures are also seen up close kissing without showing their entire faces. Meanwhile, Kashima explains that every bit of experience shapes into who you are, but you have to take the future into your own hands and not always expect everything to be handed to you. Koume starts to realize this and claims that she found something bigger than what she was searching for, she answers: “the sea.” My theory for that entire scene is that Koume purposefully left her SD card in the sand at the same spot where Isobe found “a girl on the shore” the first time. In the previous scene before, the boy Koume is “dating” gave her a camera. She tells him the only pictures she took was miscellaneous things and some selfies, but she demonstrates while turning on the camera that she “lost” the SD card so no images were seen. It is obvious that she had the same exact type of pictures “a girl on the shore” took as well. I believe Koume is trying to repeat history but yet is trying to reach Isobe, so he can find her SD card, see her pictures and hope for him to come back to her. She wants to be the next “girl on the shore”.

In Conclusion (Final Thoughts):   I first want to say thank you so much for making it this far in my review. I know I didn’t really talk about the Kashima arc but it wasn’t my main focus on the entirety of this story. I must’ve cried a million times reading A Girl onthe Shore. Between the GORGEOUS artwork, the way both characters are portrayed is so spot on to how teenagers act and feel in real life; they are both reckless and similar but yet you can see how different they really are. I truly feel sorry for Koume and Isobe. I desperately wanted their relationship to work out. I wish I can give them both a hug. I really felt that it wasn’t enough time with these two characters. I wanted MORE. I am desperate to see what the future holds for Isobe and Koume. I wish happiness for the both of them. It appears that Koume has taken responsibility for her loss. Isobe seems to now be in a stable relationship and ACTUALLY kisses someone. A part of me wishes that they would reunite somehow, but we all know it’s better off they went their own separate ways. I really think Koume noticed Isobe at the shore, which could be plausible to her mentioning her seeking the ocean at the end of the manga. When you first read this manga, you may feel turned off by how young looking Koume and Isobe are, artistically, so at first I thought this book would be a major turn off. Gradually you notice Koume and Isobe aging so it became easier to read. In regards to the sexual content, this is a type of story that should NEVER turn you on. It is so far from gearing in that direction I’d actually question anyone for thinking this is attractive. The point of this content is that the artist is covering issues which the vast majority of society may have dealt with. It is a very psychological enduring story, and perhaps nostalgic to some. The upbringings of these characters are very much like real life and it needs to be considered spoken about. Teenagers will think they know what it means to take on adult situations, but they are SO young to be dealing with this at 15 and 14. This is why parents should really talk to their children. Teenagers go through shit all the time that some parents would never consider nor assume, trust and honesty is so important these days; so please PLEASE talk to your children. Especially if they are engaging in sex early, they should be aware of the emotional (and of course physical) repercussions that they may suffer with. A sheer warning, if you will. Mental health is no joke. I must’ve reread this manga at least 10 times by now and every piece of dialogue said makes more sense to me each time, and becomes more painful to read. I wonder if other people have done this and felt this way too. I wish Inio Asano, the creator and artist of this manga, would be interviewed about “A Girl on the Shore.” I’d love to see what he’d say about it. Sure as all heck I’d request a sequel if given the opportunity to talk to him! I’ve read numerous of opinions and interview articles about A Girl on the Shore, while I whole heartedly agree on most of them, I’m appalled how some people could consider these characters as “sluts”. THEY ARE CHILDREN. They can’t be considered sluts when not only were they BOTH in this together, but they were BOTH manipulated and MANIPULATING!!!!! AND DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING. Again, they’re children. They can’t completely fully understand the consequences because of their YOUNG MENTALITY. None of them slept with anyone else either. So please, spare me the slut argument.

Do I recommend this manga to everyone? That depends. Depends on the maturity level on the person to read a story as intense as this. However, I would never force this story on others because some may not be comfortable with the artwork, and that’s totally fine. The artwork isn’t meant to be comfortable to begin with. But if you want a really good teen angst manga that really dives into the mind and analyzation, please read this story.

Until next time~ Tomo

[katsbooks]

Schwarze Nacht - Chapter Two

Walter C. Dornez x Reader

‘All orders by Master Integra Hellsing will be followed to the letter. Any complaints will be given in written form to the Head Maid, who will in turn give them to Master Hellsing. You will have Sundays and Wednesdays off to do as you please, within reason and without violation of Organization policy. Otherwise, you will be in the uniform given to you at all times outside of your room. Your shift will begin at 5:30 am and will end only when the Head Maid, Butler (Sir Walter C. Dornez) or Master Hellsing deems it over.

          If there are any questions or concerns that are not addressed in your pamphlet, please consult the Head Maid or Butler.’

           (Y/n)’s first week was chaos personified. Between getting lost, forgetting details about her jobs, running late one morning and dealing with the scrutiny of the Head Maid, she was so glad when Sunday came around.

           (Y/n) groaned a little as she sat down at one of the galley tables, a cup of coffee in one hand and a napkin with bagels and cream cheese in the other. She scrubbed a hand over her tired face, knocking her glasses askew as she did. She had only slept in to eight, and she really wasn’t a morning person to begin with. But it was the only way she would get used to this schedule, so it was necessary. She could nap later.

           As she munched on her cream cheese smothered bagel, she was alerted of a presence approaching her table and she looked up to see Walter, dressed in his usual outfit, sitting down across from her with a cup of hot tea in hand.

           “You don’t mind my company, do you?” he smiled. She shook her head, her mouth too full of bagel to verbally respond. She swallowed and took a sip of her coffee, before asking,

           “I thought you didn’t have to wear your uniforms on your days off?”

           Walter smiled, “You don’t. But I’ve become so accustomed to it, it would feel strange to wear anything else.”

           (Y/n) could understand that. 51 years of wearing the same outfit pretty much every day? It would feel strange to wear casual clothing. She was still quite content with her jeans and t-shirt, though.

           “I’m surprised you’re up, really. Even Delores sleeps in on Sundays,” Walter said, stirring sugar into his tea.

           “I’m kind of surprised by that news, actually. There’s reason to my madness, though,” (Y/n) said.

           “Oh? Do tell.”

           “Well, I’m so used to staying up late and sleeping in, that these early mornings are just…killing me, figuratively speaking. So it’s just easier to get up early on days off too and take naps later to make up for it,” she shrugged.

           “Mm. Smart,” Walter smiled, sipping her tea. (Y/n) took another drink of her coffee. “Not one for tea?”

           “Iced sweet tea is the only tea I really care for, but I think that comes from living in the South,” she stated. “I only drink hot tea when my throat’s sore. Mix it with some honey and lemon, and it’s a good day.”

           “I forget that you’re from America sometimes. You’ve got such excellent manners during work,” Walter hummed. (Y/n) chuckled a little bit as she nibbled her second bagel.

           “My mom and dad raised me right. ‘Yes ma’am, no sir’ kinda thing. Granted, they also taught me to not take any crap from anyone too, but respect’s the highest compliment you can give someone,” she said.

           “If only there were more young folk such as yourself, Miss (Y/n),” Walter said.

           “You and me both,” (Y/n) muttered. “That was one reason why I was more than happy to leave America—people have no couth anymore. It’s like living in a country of uncivilized, spoiled children. I know not everyone’s like that, but it certainly felt like that.”

           “You certainly hold a good vocabulary, Miss (Y/n). You have a good head on your shoulders, and that’s quite encouraging,” Walter said, taking a swallow of his tea. “You said you liked to read. What kind of books interest you?”

           “Mostly? I’m a huge romantic, so…a lot of fantasy romance,” (Y/n) admitted and Walter chuckled. “But I like other genres. Horror’s always fun and I don’t mind a decent science fiction now and then. 1984 by Mr. Orwell is an excellent book, for example.”

           “Indeed.”

           “Let’s see…I’m not really big into history, unless it’s mythology or folklore, but Egyptian and Greek/Roman history’s always fascinated me,” (Y/n) hummed, thinking. “Sometimes I like flipping through science books.”

           “Did you read a lot as a child?”

           “All the time. Kept the loneliness away,” she said. At his questioning look, she elaborated. “I…didn’t have many friends growing up. Not really any at all. I never got why, I was apparently a pushover as a kid, but that might have been the reason. So I read a lot; getting lost in my books seemed like a better life than dealing with the kids picking on me.”

           “I’m sorry to hear that.”

           (Y/n) shrugged, “It was just how it was for me. Yeah, I hated it, but if you just wanted to be my friend to use me for whatever reason, I didn’t want your friendship or need it. Jeez, I think I was fourteen before I actually met someone that I could relate with. I still hate that she’s so far away.”

           “Finding a friend after so long, then moving away is certainly hard. Do you keep in contact?” Walter asked.

           “I try. We write and when I can, I call. But it’s hard,” she murmured. “Still, it’s life, right?”

           “Indeed,” Walter agreed and for a moment they sat in silence, Walter drinking his tea and (Y/n) munching on her bagel. “…you said you also drew. Is this a side hobby?”

           “My drawing? Eh, kinda? I mean, I’m not awful at it, actually I’d like to think I’m a decent artist. It was just something to pass the time and it became interesting. I took a few classes in middle and high school,” (Y/n) said. “I like drawing people. I find them fascinating.”

           “Why’s that?”

           “Well, think of it this way. Scenery rarely changes. Sure, you’ve got your seasons, sometimes there’s a mudslide or rain or whatever, but for the most part it stays the same,” (Y/n) started. “Now humans—people in general, really—they’re so interesting because they’re constantly changing. Age, emotion, physical deformities. There are so many wonderful and beautiful things about the human body, I don’t think I’d be able to draw them all.”

           Walter smiled a little. “You remind me of an old friend, when you say that. He thinks the same thing, really.”

           “Does he? Perhaps I’ll meet him someday.”

           “Oh, I’m sure you will. He works here, he just doesn’t come out of his room often unless it’s for a job,” Walter said. He leaned over towards the fruit bowl set on the table and picked through it, grabbing a small bunch of grapes and setting it down on a napkin. (Y/n) looked at the fruit bowl for a minute as well, then at the last bite of bagel. She was still hungry, so she leaned over and grabbed herself an apple.

           “So what are your plans for today, Miss (Y/n)?” Walter asked her as he started eating his grapes. (Y/n) took a bite of her apple, thinking for a minute.

           “…well, I was hoping to walk to town today to the bookstore, but as it’s raining, that’s out of the question. So I guess I’ll learn my way around the manor so I don’t get lost again tomorrow,” (Y/n) said.

           “That sounds like a splendid idea. Perhaps I could show you some easier routes?” Walter offered.

           “Sure, I’d like that. Would definitely make my life easier,” she smiled. “You don’t mind?”

           “Not at all. It is my day off as well,” he smiled charmingly. (Y/n) smiled back and finished up her apple, before drinking the rest of her coffee. “I have to ask, are you one that likes your coffee black or with cream?”

           “With cream and sugar. I hate plain coffee, it’s too bitter,” (Y/n) grimaced. Walter chuckled at her expression.

           “So you have a sweet tooth.”

           “Majorly. I come by it honestly, though. My dad loves chocolate, so it stems from that.”

           “I admittedly like the occasional sweet treat myself,” Walter said. “Sir Integra doesn’t care for anything sweet, though.”

           “Believable,” (Y/n) said.

           “Is it?”

           “I get the impression that ‘sweet’ isn’t in her nature,” (Y/n) said. “If it’s not past my boundaries to say that.”

           “Oh not at all, you’re free to have an opinion, my dear. It’s human nature to do so. What else did you pick up about Sir Integra?”

           “Not too much, I mean…I didn’t meet her for very long if you remember,” (Y/n) pointed out. “But she definitely knows how to intimidate someone. She seems very serious, but also a little dry-witted too. Most likely listens to classical music when she works too.”

           “You are quite observant,” Walter said, impressed.

           “Part of being an artist.”

           “Surely. Now then,” Walter stood, gathering his empty cup and napkin full of grape stems. “Shall we begin your tour?”

           “Of course,” (Y/n) nodded, standing to wash her cup and put it on the drying rack and toss away her apple core and napkin. As she met up with Walter outside of the galley, she took a moment to think that this was such a strange feeling, having had a casual conversation with the Butler of the Hellsing Organization.

           Walter gave her a smile and she returned it, deciding to let it not bother her now, following the man as he showed her his little shortcuts and the easier routes through the manor.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Hello! It's been a long time but I return! Me:  The name’s Micchi, but feel free to call me whatever you wish. I’m in search of some casual roleplay buddies who might be up for some light-hearted, or really heavy roleplays. Basic info for me is I’m 20, and I’m a female more or less searching out other partners, preferably female, but gender really doesn’t matter in the end. I can’t say how much experience I have in RP, as my time RPing has been very patchy. I would average and say I probably have 1-2 years of experience, but I'm still learning and adapting. I'm currently enrolled in college in a full-time baking course, so I'm out most of the day during the week. I try to squeeze out replies despite this, as roleplaying is a great de-stresser for me. I try to average at the least one reply per day, but I can’t always do so since I’ve been fairly busy these days. At the least, I will respond on the weekends at least once a day if I can't get responses out during the week. If I haven’t replied in a week, please shoot me a message to remind me to reply, as I likely have read your message, but forgotten to reply! I will make sure to tell you if I know that I won't be able to reply for a week or more, so please be willing to do the same for me!

Style:  I RP in third person, paragraph style. I prefer to RP semi-lit, though I do this more or less as a stress reliever and a hobby, so I’m not too strict on my style or length or anything. I typically average a paragraph in response, and can push myself to write 2-3 if necessary, but even one-liners are no issue to me. My length varies depending on my partner, but I cannot spiel off more than 4 paragraphs per response. I like to plot up ideas together and though I’ve never gotten the chance, world-building does sound cool! I like to use faceclaims for my character, either a real person or an anime drawing, depending on my character (My older ones would likely have an anime drawing as a faceclaim while newer characters would have a real person). I also love to send pictures for references on my characters, and their clothing. It’s much easier for me to imagine their looks and clothing that way. ^.^ And lastly, since it’s been a while since I’ve RPed, I may be lacking in terms of detail and length, but with time and practice, I will improve! The same goes for my characters. They may start out very plain/shy or unrealistic-sounding, but over time, I will flesh them out and make them more and more realistic! So please bear with me. c: Rules:  So, starting rule is that I ask for my partners to be 18+, for comfort reasons and because I quite like smut. I prefer to be close in age to my partners, as I feel a better connection, and I’m more comfortable with it.  Second rule is that I ask you not to take control of my character without asking me first. I’ve had it happen before, and frankly it’s very annoying, and I’m sure you can understand why.  Last, a general rule. Respect. It’s a mutual rule, of course. I’ll respect you as long as you respect me.  Preferences:  So, I like to talk with my partners OOC, but this isn’t necessary if you wouldn’t like to do so. I’m an awkward and shy person, so I totally understand if you wish to keep talking strictly to plotting and talk about our characters/setting.  For pairings, I highly prefer M// and F//, but I will do some M/F, though only if doubling. I would love to try some F//, as I’ve never actually RPed F// before, at least not without being ghosted, so I’d love to get the experience with it. I prefer to play a bottom, but I will switch and I might top. I like to play a range of characters, but most are bottoms or switches. I prefer highly to switch if you dislike playing a specific role, to keep variety in the mix. I prefer to do OC RPs, but I do have a few fandoms that I will play canon characters in. Most fandoms are for the universe.  I usually play only one character at a time, but I can double. I like to do two different pairings when doubling (Like M// and F//). Kinks & Limits:  I’ll start with my main limits, since it’s mostly the normal stuff.  - Mommy/Daddy kink - Mpreg - Abusive relationships (Both physical and emotional) - Furries/Bestiality (Doesn’t include shapeshifters/hybrids) - Pedophilia/Age play (Or in general underage characters) - Incest - Non-con (Unless it’s in a character’s history, then that’s fine) - Feet stuff - Anything unhygienic As for my kinks, I’m still exploring so I’m open to almost anything not on the limit list, but here’s a few of my favourite ones so far:  - Cross dressing (Especially for my bottom males) - Rough sex - Lingerie (I love having my characters dress up in lingerie) - Hickeys/biting -Choking Fandoms:  So, I have just a few fandoms, but here they are. (The more *s next to the name, the higher my craving for it) - Overwatch ** (I prefer to play OCs since I’m not too well versed with the characters just yet, or we can just use the universe) - Toukiden Kiwami (I’d be pretty happy using the universe)  - BTS**** (I love these boys please RP them with me. No OCxCanon with this fandom) Genres:  - Romance (I love to have romance in any RP if possible) - Fantasy/Supernatural (My ultimate favourite. I like modern fantasy) - Slice of life (The one I’m best versed in) I am willing to try really any genre except historic ones because I know I can’t do justice to any timeline earlier than the 2000’s. 

Plots/Pairings:  These are some plots/pairings that I like or want to try. I’m open to any suggestions. (The more *s there are, the more interested I am in it. Bolded role is the role I would prefer) - Youtuber x Youtuber** (OCs only, but maybe two newer YouTubers collaborate and end up closely knit, and start dating) - Detective x Criminal/Thief* - Pirate x Pirate - Pirate x Commoner/Royalty (The commoner/royalty being a captive, though this wouldn’t be a Stockholm syndrome thing, but with a surprisingly merciful pirate who is kind to the captive) - Idol/Celebrity x Idol/Celebrity*** (This could go for BTS, or for OCs. I just like the idea of two celebrities who can’t be together often falling for one another and sneaking off to meet one another when they’re able to. Would probably be related to K-pop/J-pop/J-rock) - Idol/Celebrity x Commoner**** (Someone who happened to run into the idol/celebrity and hadn’t a clue who they were or was a fan and the idol grew attracted to them because they treated them no different than a normal human after learning who they were. I’m currently doing one of these, and I love it. This more or less ties to J-Pop/J-rock or K-pop, but any kind of idol/celebrity can be used) - Vampire x Werewolf* - Vampire x Human - Werewolf x Human (I’m a sucker for the human helping an injured werewolf plot) - Werewolf x Werewolf (Maybe a rogue being taken in by a pack alpha sort of scenario and slowly adapting them to life with a pack again) - Vampire x Vampire* (I like any plot, but I’m weak for an old, powerful vampire taking in a fledgling/newly turned vampire and teaching them how to adjust to their new life) - Demon x Angel - Demon x Human* (A human summons a demon, for any reason, and somehow the demon gets stuck with the human. Maybe the human accidentally summons the demon, and cannot send it back, so now the demon begrudgingly has to deal with this human until they find a way to get him home and they form a bond) - Human x Hybrid*** (Usually tied in with heats/ruts/ABO dynamics) - Hybrid x Hybrid* - Merman x Human** (Based off of Orenchi no Furo Jijo, a mermaid/merman is beached and dying, and a human takes them home and houses them in their tub. Possibly takes them back to the sea later on and makes routine visits to see them) - Good Boy/Girl x Bad Boy/Girl* (Something where the bad girl/boy has a soft spot for the good boy/girl and treats them completely opposite of their image. Maybe they’re childhood friends, and have been separated for years due to one moving away and have been reunited in college) - Supernatural creature x Human* (It could be any supernatural creature) - Supernatural creature x Supernatural Creature* AUs:  So, I’m really weak for the hybrid AU, supernatural AU and soulmate AUs. I would be willing to incorporate any into an RP. Contact Information:  Congrats if you made it this far, and I’m sorry for rambling. This post ended up wayyyy longer than I meant for it to be. But, if you want to RP, here’s where to contact me! I am most active on LINE and Discord. Discord: Imacow46#9993 LINE: imacow46

[ooc-but-stylish]

There’s a lot that gets me about the love story in FFXV and how it relates to the characters, or rather, what gets me about the characterization and how it relates to the love story, but it’s going to be a long read.

TL;DR the characterization tried to lift tropes from previous Final Fantasies ( particularly VII and X ) but XV’s version just seems like a hollow echo that takes the tropes on the surface without actually figuring out why they worked for the characters and their plot, instead banking on telling us that everything is supposed to work out and be coherent and letting nostalgia pull some weight. It also didn’t help that any use of those tropes was completely shot to pieces by the story being a forced tragedy requiring ( in my opinion, unnecessary ) character deaths to be “touching” ( read: edgy ) and playing that tragedy straight instead of subverting it, exposing the writing as having a juvenile lack of vision.

First off, Luna’s character is badly written. So is Noctis’s -- he got “the most” development from being the main character, but he still suffered from terrible writing and his “I matured into a man by taking a ten year nap and interacting with 0 people” thing was... it just was. But let’s just talk about Luna. Characters within the game tell us that she’s doing amazing things and we see brief glimpses of the aftermath of her actions. Characters also tell us that she loves Noctis, or that she must love him because she did X Y and Z. 

That doesn’t come close to being a proper substitute for good writing nor is it a sub for actual development of a love story, starting with “she must have loved him/been strong because she did things”. She did things and was imbued with the standard “strong willpower and determination” typically found in characters that in reality have zero agency of their own in order to affect their destiny and are usually made to suffer.  

She's basically the shadow of a strong woman - she's what people THINK strength should be, in she’s only around to briefly pay lip service to the idea of a strongly-written character yet she’s more or less completely powerless where the actual strength is needed, but the fact that she puts faith in something “greater than herself” to guide her actions and is “determined” to stay the course and effectively be a pawn to these forces and “sacrifices” something that the story is taking from her to begin with ( her happiness, her life ) is what makes her Pure and Good and Strong. Basically “she’s strong because the story guts her and she takes it with a smile”. A mule can carry a load and take a beating too, but people generally do not respect beasts of burden. They’re used until they die, and people breed more of them to repeat the process. 

The extent of just what she did is only hinted at, leaving plenty of room for exaggeration ( as in, people frame Luna forming covenants as if she were in physical combat with the Astrals the same way Noctis was doing, instead of just talking to them ) or otherwise overblown or completely undermined by the plot itself. Such as Luna deflected Leviathan’s attack in Altissia and it looks badass, but then she immediately defaulted to “Noctis will come and settle things!” which, okay, it sure is easy to talk shit and “be strong” when ultimately someone else is coming to sort out the issue.

Even if narratively speaking, “Noctis couldn’t have done a lot without Luna’s intervention, he saves the world because of her”, that’s to be expected when Luna’s character is that of a walking plot device whose purpose is wrapped entirely around Noctis and getting him ready to do his duty. This is what highlights the difference between story and plot. Story is what happens around the characters, plot is what happens because of the characters. The story dictates that Luna acts in ways that directly benefit Noctis and prepare him for his ultimate role. She’s supposed to succeed in this regard because the hero needs to vanquish the villain. Luna’s character in particular has nothing to do with the direction the story goes in and neither does her “strength”, in the sense that she’s not personally pushing everything to go in the direction it went into because of her own interests. She’s pushed by the story to behave in that way. It’s in her role as Oracle, dictated to her since before she even became an Oracle. Anyone else could have had her job and they’d have to do the same thing. (1)

Luna’s role is not just “helping Noctis”, but doing so to her clear detriment and not expecting anything in return. Since people still haven’t let go of stuffing women in fridges like that’s a valid thing to do in storytelling, here comes unnecessary death number one ( Noctis makes the second ). The entire plot was set up to kill her when she was done doing her duty and not a moment sooner. Luna was done story-wise after Altissia, and needed to die to a) heighten the sense of drama and b) make Noctis sad and facilitate “character development” (2). Tellingly, we have no clue who she is as a person outside of whatever she was doing for Noctis, so they probably literally ran out of anything for her to do in the case that she’d lived. 

The story then tried to insult the player and justify Luna’s murder by presenting her as “doomed from the start”-- after she dies we get a scene that reveals that the contact with Astrals was physically draining for her-- a.k.a., nothing anyone could have done would have saved her, short of her not carrying out her divinely mandated role and instead putting the rest of the world in danger, so that’s just the way it had to be. How convenient! It’s addressed absolutely nowhere else and Noctis himself never learns about it, so it was just for the audience. I guess so we feel less bad about Luna? Or more bad about her? Or act like her killing herself in service of a boy she met 12 years ago is proof that she was such a “Strong Character” and that she “loved him”? I don’t know. Considering the game already told us that she was set to die no matter what because it was her job, even if she’d never met Noctis at all she would still need to do it. Trying to argue in that instance that she had to have been in love would be asinine. Noctis himself dies in the end for all of Eos and arguing a romantic love between him and every person in Eos would be just as dumb.

Then the game further tried to present it as a good thing that Luna died, because if not, then she wouldn’t be in the Astral Realm to pop in and touch Ardyn for a grand total of one second to weaken him conveniently and then fuck right off to nowhere. She could’ve been omitted from that ending and left it as Noctis pulling off his Knights of the Round summon with the Lucian Kings, and not a single thing would have been wrong with that, firstly because we received no word that Luna even was supposed to be in the Astral Realm or able to act in that way, and secondly because if it only took one second of arm-holding to paralyze Ardyn after all, what was she doing with the other thirty the first time around, when she was dying? Just fucking around with him and having herself a giggle? He was more offended about her trying to heal him than wounded from it. 

Anyway, she pops in just in time for Noctis to deal the finishing blow ( and again, the brief glimpses of her doing things open themselves to exaggeration, so when fans try to sell that Luna was particularly strong because of this scene it’s framed by fans as if she were a major character in the party or that she was waiting for Ardyn to show up so she could kick his ass, like she was cracking her knuckles with a smirk on her face, or something ). We literally do not see her with a presence in the Astral Realm beyond “help Noctis” and later on “marry Noctis”. She has no individual personality, no ambitions, no presence unless Noctis needs it.

In my mind, none of this could go hand in hand with a love story. If a love story is what the game wanted to get to with Luna’s and Noctis’s interactions, it is poorly told. Luna’s character as a person took a backseat to her other roles which are ( again! ) wrapped around Noctis’s other roles. Oracle? Serves the Chosen King. Princess? Marries the Prince ( at least by the time of FFXV, because there’s no word on previous Nox Fleurets having married Lucis Caelums ). Luna is committed to fulfilling both roles and has been ever since she was a child (3), and all of her actions were based on the roles to the point where I’d be hard pressed to say that any of that was actual proof that she loved Noctis in a romantic sense, or that she loved him in a special way that would have followed him no matter what role he was in that wasn’t already chosen for him by birth. Even if the story did need the romance for Luna and Noctis, it didn’t necessitate that Luna have no individual personality of her own in order to benefit Noctis’s story. Unfortunately for us, the characterization and writing behaves as if the previous Final Fantasies didn’t happen. Obviously not in a narrative sense but in terms of tropes. Luna’s characterization is a mix of Aerith and Yuna, except individually, Aerith and Yuna were better written. 

Like, Yuna had to form pacts with summons too, with the ultimate purpose being to attain the Final Aeon and defeat Sin. There was also a sense of “doom” in the story in that the Final Aeon would kill the Summoner that used it, bringing peace at the cost of their life, and Yuna knew that and had come to terms with it by the time she set out on her pilgrimage. That was her story. But her plot was different than that, thanks to her characterization. She was portrayed as self-sacrificing, but to a clear point. When it turned out that the Final Aeon thing was more or less a hoax and that she needed to effectively kill one of her friends in order to defeat Sin and then die anyway, she rejected the Final Aeon ( unlike the Summoners before her ) and she and her party set out to change fate and bring the Eternal Calm. We see Sin die for good, and the Aeons disappear because they’re not needed anymore, but we’re left with a prosperous people ready to finally live their lives without fear of Sin ever coming back. (**)

In contrast, XV’s heroes simply accept that they need to die because they’re told that it’s a permanent solution to the Starscourge problem, but we are shown no evidence that they did anything except turning the lights back on in a landscape devoid of people and that’s it. Everything is empty. Sunny, yes, but empty. It obviously can’t be permanently daytime, so nighttime would have to fall. But we are shown no instances of existing daemons burning up and dying, or of people afflicted with Starscourge recovering ‘miraculously’. There’s no reason we can’t just think everyone is fucked as soon as the sun goes back down. There is no more King or Oracle, no protective Wall, and Insomnia is still in ruins. That’s happy?

Like Luna, Aerith was also tasked with powers passed down by her bloodline, and was the last of her kind. She died at the hands of the villain that showed up out of nowhere. The world wouldn’t have been saved without her actions, and she also had some kind of presence post-death. The key difference was that her presence lasted longer than one second in the afterlife at a convenient moment to the hero (***). She controlled the lifeforce of an entire planet to stop Meteor when Holy didn’t work. She showed up in spirit and gave Cloud the last boost he needed to defeat Bahamut-SIN. She pulled off Great Gospel in order to cure Geostigma ( first Cloud, then eventually all the people in Midgar exposed to the healing rain ). Yes, Cloud fought Sephiroth physically and that’s important, but in both the game and Advent Children, fighting Sephiroth alone did not solve the entire issue/danger of the story. Defeating him in a swordfight didn’t reverse the course of Meteor or eradicate Geostigma. Aerith was the one who performed the actual world-saving contributions, so it was more like Cloud and the rest of the party was there to make it easier for her to do her thing. 

And even though Aerith, like Luna, was killed by the villain of the plot and it made the hero sad, Sephiroth stabbed Aerith because she was literally the only person in the entire world capable of thwarting his plan. Luna wasn’t particularly threatening to Ardyn -- at that point, no one in the story was a real threat to his plan given his absurd OPness. Luna’s ability to keep the Starscourge and its darkness at bay wasn’t a real concern because of the plot revelations that happened on the side (4). He stabbed her to spite Noctis when the story put her on death’s doorstep anyway and felled her with an inconvenient coughing fit. Not even the healing touch was of real threat to him outside of the one-second sneak attack in the ending. Luna held on to Ardyn’s arm for a good half minute in her last living moments and he wasn’t reeling from her touch. He backhanded her so hard she turned back into Stella Nox for a second. That’s the opposite of threatening. 

Anyway, XV forgot that a love story involves people. If we don’t care about the characters as people, we’re not going to be as involved in the romance which will inevitably feature more of them. And Luna wasn’t a person. She was a plot device, with a forced tragedy that made the whole thing pointless.

(1) Luna as Oracle and as Princess had a duty to help the Prince and Chosen King and help him become the True King of Light. If it’d been literally any one else in Noct’s shoes as the Chosen King like, say, Prompto, Luna would still have to do her quest because of destiny, not because she loved the guy. She’d still be expected to heal people of the Scourge, to awaken the Astrals, to protect the King from the Astrals if need be. None of that requires a love for Noctis or even for Noctis to be Noctis, nor for Luna to be Luna, or for the bond between them to be a love story. Let’s say it this way: the story could have been about their parents. If events transpired so that Regis had to go on the quest and Sylva was the one to go around awakening the Astrals, the story would be that Sylva would have to do Oracle things regardless of whether she loved Regis or not unless the plot seriously wanted to make their kids into stepsiblings. That’s what Oracles do.

(2) one strike in particular against Lunoct is how Luna’s death was handled and Noctis’s character development was framed in light of it. Frankly, the way the scene was presented didn’t seem like he lost Luna as someone he loved and thought of as a peer, but that he lost Luna as a parental figure who shielded him from the rest of the world’s evils. They’re shown as children, then Luna suddenly transitioned into an adult, and Noctis remained as a child. So her death was more like him losing his sense of safety and being orphaned, forcibly unmoored from his innocence and made to “finally grow up/become an adult”. Their unmatching mental states were so obvious that Noctis had to be aged to 30 before he and Luna ( now perpetually 24 years old ) looked like “an actual couple”. Also, Luna never even got a proper funeral. She got stabbed, she drowned, and then her body was conveniently lost at sea because the story stopped giving a crap about her.

(3) the second strike is that the story is set to kill these characters right off. Luna was “dead no matter what” thanks to the Astrals’ covenant taking a toll on her body at the tender age of 24 even though Regis had a literal “age yourself to death” plot device in his use of the Ring of Lucii and still lived to, like, 50 while constantly maintaining a Wall. Anyway, Noctis was also fated to die and short of him not doing his divinely mandated task to wipe Ardyn and the Starscourge off the map and instead dooming the world to a hellish landscape with daemons running loose, there was nothing else he could do. It was a suicide mission. It’s one that not only Regis, but Luna knew about and didn’t tell him, robbing him of the chance to come to terms with it as she undoubtedly had. He thought he was going to be a King and retake/rule over Insomnia only to find out in the eleventh hour that he was actually a pig led to the slaughter. No one stops to think about how ethically fucked up this all is. It just seems like tragedy for the sake of tragedy that’s not earned nor treated like what it is by even the characters within the game ( you have to hunt down the Dawn trailer to see Regis actually mourning his son’s fate, because otherwise, not a damn peep about it. But he knew ). I don’t know about you, but if I loved someone and knew they were going to die, I’d let them know about it. It’s understandable if Luna withheld information about her own death from Noctis because it’s her life and not his, but withholding information about his death? No. Unacceptable. This doesn’t make any sense unless we just assume that no one has particular feelings around death and suicide to begin with.

(4) Not that we find out this detail in any immediate place that would show its importance even though it was set up in the beginning that way, but the problem of the nights getting longer and the days shorter came about from the least likely place -- a friggin’ note in Takka’s diner. Killing daemons would release the photophilic particles of the Starscourge into the air, thereby spreading the darkness instead of making it better. That’s it. Now, the Empire's been manufacturing demons and Magitek soldiers in great numbers, even prior to the start of the game. They were going it so much that 30 years before XV took place, it overwhelmed the 112th King of Lucis and forced him to shrink his wall to being just around Insomnia instead of covering all of Lucis, in order to preserve what was left of his lifespan. Then the Crystal being moved from Insomnia during Kingsglaive also caused longer nights. So, with absurd amounts of daemons being forcibly made, the daemons that already existed possibly attacking people, the removal of the Crystal, the killing of daemons, and even the Oracle’s ( by FFXV’s point, obligatory ) death all contributing to the darkness basically made sure that the Oracle’s living presence alone meant absolute piss all in terms of combating it, and ultimately it’s Noctis who used the Light of the Crystal to banish the Scourge completely. Until he did, Ardyn stuck everyone in a lose/lose situation that made Luna’s contribution meaningless as hell outside of, of course, whatever benefited Noctis. So it’s hard to argue that Luna’s task of staving off the darkness was especially hard considering the story itself tries to make it meaningless.

(**) Mentions of Tidus are completely absent in the comparison between Yuna and Luna because none of Yuna’s plot required using her power as Summoner to serve him specifically, nor did the story go to great lengths to portray him as the Only Chosen One to defeat Sin. They both did it. The story presented them more or less as equals. We’re also given a chance to view Yuna as a person and see that while she’s possessing of good traits-- kind, loyal, and full of conviction-- we also see her flaws, or even the way those good traits backfire on her. As Auron said, “she’s naive, serious to a fault, and doesn’t ask for help”. She’s overly apologetic. She’s secretive. She doesn’t allow herself to show negative feelings in front of her friends. We eventually see her show anger and disgust, and in both X and X-2 she openly challenges the plans of other people who think they know better than she does and with it the idea of senseless self-sacrifice and the constant hammering of “There’s no choice”. 

(***) None of what Aerith did necessitated “being useful to Cloud” or serving his story-mandated “higher duty to save the world”, with this obligation passed down through generations. She saved the world, and Cloud just happened to be living in it. There was the brief scene where she visited Cloud in his headspace more or less, and that was honestly optional on her part. We also learned about her as a person throughout FF7 and witnessed her virtues and vices. She was kind and forgiving and playful, but she also expressed jealousy, uncertainty/doubt, a reluctance to find out more about herself ( at least in the beginning ), overconfidence, stubbornness, and meanness/insensitivity in certain moments. And they at least waited until the sequel movie to make her into Jesus 2.0 instead of canonizing her out the gate, so there’s that. Luna’s characterization in contrast was just a collection of good ideals and virtues, with the one scene of her actually expressing doubt/reluctance in her role amounting to “I might not be as useful to Noct as I’m supposed to be, maybe Ravus should take the Ring to him instead”. And I suppose that one scene in Kingsglaive where she pulled the bafflingly stupid stunt of jumping out of a moving plane and nearly getting herself killed in the process for no reason. That too, I guess.

[howtoattractwm]

Relationships can be a tumultuous thing; they bring excitement, love, frustration, and loss. That’s the worst part about them through the loss and even worse still the feeling of not knowing what you have until it’s gone.

However, there is a question that has been plaguing our minds here at the bestie office can the heart grow fonder if you feel like the partner slipping through your grasp put simply, does the risk of losing your partner increase romantic attraction?

As well as the first question we should answer before we move on to our focus of the article, how would you lose someone in the first place? How can your relationship go from being this pinnacle of love and desire to a desolate wasteland of broken emotions?

Well, there are a lot of different reasons from differing views to a new lover, but one of the biggest reasons is neglect, neglect is a relationship killer in the hustle and bustle of the world today we often prioritize ourselves which might make our partner feel alone or pushed away do this often enough and eventually they will go away.

Relationship expert Wendy L Patrick Ph.D. puts it like this, taking a partner for granted and change the way we interact, to impact the amount of effort invested in relational maintenance behaviors, or lessen the desire to cherish time spent together but how can people not see this coming?

How do they not notice their partner acting distant and trying to pull away well, wendy has an answer for that as well, perhaps because research suggests that when the perceived risk of a breakup is low, romantic feelings may be lower as well.

Keep in mind that you might also not be feeling romantic towards someone because you think the relationship is pointless, or that it won’t last very long, don’t shock everything up to neglect, however, we’re here to talk about neglect.

So let’s keep going while when the risk of breakup is low the feelings of romance might be low as well, some scientists have found that the complete opposite is true as well, that is to say, when the chance of breakup is high the romantic feelings go through the roof as well – such scientists named Simona skyara, and Giuseppe Pantaleo, demonstrated that manipulating the risk of ending a romantic relationship impacted both the intensity of the romantic effect.

As well as the commitment they explained the results within the context of emotional intensity theory, EIT noting how romantic feelings varied as the risk of relationship breakup was manipulated, their data also showed the result of manipulated risk on romantic commitment were mediated by a romantic effect.

Essentially proving the answer to does the risk of losing a partner increase romantic attraction is yes, so what do you do if you find yourself in a situation where you think your partner might want to leave you? But you have an intense, sudden desire to reclaim the relationship first off have you considered the fact that maybe you shouldn’t, maybe the fact that you only love them when they want to leave is an actually bad sign, you want your relationship to be strong at all times not just when things are bad.

However, if you still insist on trying to get your partner back, don’t worry we’re here to help, you are a couple of quick tips to get the love back into your relationship

Number 1 do some courting

By this, we mean you need to pretend like this is the first time you’ve seen them and ask them out like it’s the first time, remember that excitement and passion you felt at the beginning of your relationship if you’re truly serious about finding that loving feeling again.

You need to recapture that sense of wonder ask your partner out on a date and don’t act mundane about it make them feel special again, do something that they would love make sure to dress up to that’ll make them feel like you’re putting effort into them which of course you are

Number 2 touch

One of the most important senses in a relationship is touch, and the greater good magazine wrote an article stating that the intimacy built by physical touch, is incredibly important to any pairing of people and, it doesn’t always have to be dirty touching either even though in its own respects that is sometimes pretty important.

No, your bodies should always just find each other even in seemingly insignificant ways hugs, massages, holding hands, these are all very important to regaining love in a fractured partnership, here are a couple of quick, specific suggestions we got from a greater good magazine, kiss goodbye when one of you leaves the house and kiss hello upon return.

Groom one another offer to brush his hair or put his lotion or sunblock on, asking for them to help you with your zipper, we offer to tie their tie, make eye contact when you talk it is a powerful form of sensory connection but, the possibilities are endless remember though while touch is good your partner might not always want to be touched that’s where the second most important sense in  relationships comes into play speaking of which

Number 3 listen

You better hope you’ve got good listening ears because if you want to inject some love back into your the relationship, you’re going to have to do just that and don’t just sit there staring either contribute to the conversation, follow their passions and remember what they told you about them and be careful what you say during these conversations too

you might be a howtoattractwm reader which means you’re a brilliant, beautiful Titan of a person, however, right now your partner doesn’t see your greatness as we do they might not always want your input especially if they’re feeling down, a study done by the University of Colorado Boulder recommends this.

When your partner complains listen rather than give advice, offer sympathy, you can give advice if it’s asked for or suggests a new perspective if they are thinking themselves into a rut.

But you might do the best just by attentively listening so sit down shut up and just hear what they have to say either your partner will hopefully appreciate your new attentive self or be you’ll discover that your partner and yourself don’t have much in common in which case now you can move on.

Number 4 grow together

human relationships are supposed to be mutually beneficial. That’s how over time, we’ve built towering cities and bustling communities. By having everyone offer something and then bringing it all together, you need to do this in your relationship as well, yes, and you might be growing on your own.

But you shouldn’t leave your partner in the dust while you do it take them along with you even if for a while you need to take the load to know that if you do it the other way around, they will take the load for you as well there are so many ways couples can grow together.

They can take a class to explore, take a trip somewhere the possibilities really are endless, one of the most important aspects of any partnership is to laugh together, so find something that makes you both have fun and just have a merry time, if we could give you any specific advice for this section it’s just do something.

Something new, something exciting, gets out into the world and lives your life with the person of your dreams for goodness sake wait hold on finish the article first got one more section that’s really important.

Read:  His Secret Obsession Review – Free James Bauer’s PDF Download 

Number 5 apologize

Remember that your partner is hurt right now you’ve neglected them to the point where you have to inject the love back into the relationship. You need to apologize, look we know it can be hard, especially if you’ve convinced yourself that you haven’t done anything wrong.

However, sometimes people just need to hear the words “I’m sorry,” but how do you do this? You ask well Mayo Clinic, has a guide to apologizing in relationships if you two are ever going to rebuild trust the person in the wrong needs to apologize.

If you betrayed them say you’re sorry to state what you did wrong and how you think it affected them to say why it was wrong and promise you’ll never do it again, you’re going to end with one final quote from our old friend Wendy L Patrick.

She says that nurturing a relationship at all times under all circumstances, even when things are well, can contribute to relational health at all stay ages of romantic involvement, which in turn can increase romantic feelings and relational commitment.

In many cases, such intentional investment can help avoid relational turbulence and ensure smooth sailing, so keep investing in your partner unless, of course, you don’t want to just don’t keep switching back and forth for their sake and for yours.

And so how articles answering the question? Does the risk of losing a partner increase romantic attraction? Is finished what did you learn in our article is there any part of your relationship that you need to re-evaluate now.

Have you experienced this in the past, or is your relationship perfect, and this article was nothing but a reminder that you and your partner are stronger than ever.

Let us know in the comments section below all about your experience with relationships.

The post Increase Romantic Attraction By Risk Of Losing A Partner appeared first on How To Attract Women.

[totesmccoats]

Batman #33

To close out the last arc, last issue, Catwoman accepted Batman’s engagement proposal. In this arc, she has to meet the last supervillainess that Batman proposed to.

Honestly, seems like a weird hazing ritual for Batman to force on Catwoman. “Thanks, for marrying me – but first, we gotta go to the desert, break a whole bunch of laws, and upset multiple Justice Leagues so you can meet – and possibly be murdered by – my ex.” Unless this was Catwoman’s idea? Sounds like it could’ve been her idea.

Back at the Manor, Alfred breaks the happy news to the Robins (and Duke), who don’t exactly take it well. Especially Damian, who blames himself, and is also the only Robin to realize that this involves his mother.

And, as weird as the premise is, King has not let Batman down yet, and this issue promises another instant-classic arc. He opens the issue with a scene right out of a western: Batman on a horse, handing a shotgun to Catwoman, who uses it to put a second horse out of its desert misery before continuing on their trek across the desert. Then, immediately cuts to Jason Todd wrestling with Ace for his jacket back in Wayne Manor. The Manor scenes really highlight how much the Robins have been missing from King’s run on Batman by demonstrating how well King writes each of them in dialogue with each-other, from Dick telling Duke about the cow in the basement, Duke criticising Jason for telling him to lighten up Batman, and Damian – the youngest one there – dismissing all of them as children until cracking under the news.

Joelle Jones is killing it on art, with a thick inky style that puts everything in high-contrast and gives Batman and Catwoman’s desert adventure a two-fisted pulpy feel. It admittedly doesn’t translate too well in the Manor, where the extreme shadows can’t be explained by a desert sun beating down on everything. Bellaire perfectly matches Jones’ lines with flat – almost cell shaded – saturated colors that also convey the extremes of the desert.

My biggest issue with the book, and it’s not this book alone, is that Damian is still drawn as just a white kid. Like, they show Talia – his mother – as a brown woman, and yet Damian doesn’t look like he has a hint of middle-eastern/south-asian in him. I know that in real life not all children of multiracial heritage look like a half-and-half combo of their parents, and some traits are more dominant than others; but in a medium where diversity is an issue, I don’t see why DC doesn’t take advantage of having one of their more prominent characters having a mixed race heritage to actually depict a person with that background in their art.

  Superman #33

Superman has just gotten comfortable with Luthor flying around and Metropolis’ other hero, when Lex is forcibly summoned to Apokolips to reclaim his throne as God of the planet (See: Darkseid War). Lex tries to contact Superman, asking for assistance, but Supes ignores the messages, believing them to be frivolous invitations to listen to Lex brag; that is until Lex forcibly brings Superman, and by accident Lois, and Jon, to Apokolips.

I am really not used to Superman and Lex Luthor being friendly with each-other, as they are in the opening to this issue. It’s honestly kind of disturbing. Just feels wrong. But the following scene, where Lex inner monologues to himself about becoming the people’s newest and native-born hero, and their increasing dependence on him; that’s peak Luthor. That’s the Luthor that makes sense to me.

This isn’t the best opener to an arc, mainly because the back half is Superman refusing the call to action twice, essentially just stalling the story and filling up pages so that we can end on the cliffhanger of family being split up on Apokolips.

Still, we haven’t gotten a good Superman on Apokolips story in a grip, so maybe this’ll be it. Sucks that it’s probably definitely going to compare badly to the other current Apokolips story going on in Mister Miracle tho.

  Green Arrow #33

Having crippled the Ninth Circle by taking out their satellite, Oliver returns to Seattle – now Star City – to find it almost completely remade in the vision of its new corporate overlords. Historic and cultural areas have been razed and replaced with luxury high-rises that have pushed out the middle and lower classes. And Green Arrow returns only to find himself defending one of those overlord-developers from an activist threatening to literally crush him under one of Seattle’s oldest trees that the developer wants to cut down anyway. Things have changed.

Meanwhile, Oliver is still under trial for the murder of a woman who – twist! – is still alive; and despite what Star City has become, the Ninth Circle is still disappointed by Moira Queen and Broderick’s progress, giving them a vote of no confidence; and Dante is also back, and hiring Shado for one last job on behalf of the Circle.

Percy continues his amazing run on the series, effortlessly setting up multiple story threads for this new arc, while developing the political backdrop of the new uber-capitalist Star City that Green Arrow will confront philosophically and physically through the story. Green Arrow’s been one of the more fun, solid, and smarter books since rebirth, and Percy seems poised to continue that trend.

The standout of the issue is artist Jamal Campbell, who previously worked on the fantastic Green Arrow #27, and who I hope stays on this book for a long time. His work is comparable to Francis Manapul’s, but a touch less stylized, preferring to use less dramatic curves compared to straight lines and angles; and a more toned down palette that does reflect the sort of lighting you would see in a cloudy north-western city. This is not to say that Campbell doesn’t have a sense of the dramatic. His designs for the various masks for the Ninth Circle are all fantastic, like some sort of dark zodiac, each of them brimming with style and personality. And he dips into the style of a steamy romance novel for his title page, where a shirtless Oliver lifts Dinah, who wraps her legs around his waist, over a bannister to give her a kiss. And then there’s the scene where Shado fights off a squad of ninjas, where every kill-shot has it’s own stark white-on-red panel. If DC’s smart, they’re gonna want to give Campbell whatever books he wants.

  Wonder Woman/Conan #2

As he slumbers, Conan dreams of the day he had spent with Yanna as a child, climbing mountains with the dark-haired daughter of a tribe of exclusively women. In the waking world, he is chained to another dark-haired woman who calls herself Wonder Woman. He tried to rescue her from a life as a gladiator servant only to get captured himself, and now the two will be forced to fight to the death. But it seems that another power has other plans for the Barbarian and the Amazon. And they have other plans themselves, with Conan winning the fight but refusing to kill Wonder Woman; which gets them both thrown on a pirate ship as forced labor.

Thankfully, Diana does have more to do this issue, even if it takes her a majority of it to remember her name. Simone actually writes a neat joke involving her name; Conan saying something with the words “Die Yanna” next to each-other gives Wonder Woman pause. But even if she has more to do, and takes the lead by the end of the issue, this version of Wonder Woman still feels underdeveloped, perhaps owing to her existence still being a bit of a mystery box. Considering how much time this issue devotes to the young-Conan and Yanna flashbacks, it’s gonna be weird if Diana isn’t somehow related to her. It also doesn’t help that she spends a good chunk of the issue not talking.

There are fun moments in this book, like a crow-lady biting a man’s fingers off for soliciting her, Conan waking up to discover he held Wonder Woman’s hand all night, or Wonder Woman bonking a man in the face with his own lute; but overall characterization is so thin – and mostly delivered by 3rd person narration – that it’s hard to really care about the protagonists. It’s a weird issue for Simone to have as a writer, who usually doesn’t presume empathy in her stories. Maybe it’s because this is a limited series crossover?

Another niggling thing – Wonder Woman’s breasts are distractingly large in this book. They’re bigger than her head and like, perfect spheres. This is bad, like, even for comics – even for Conan comics.

  The Wild Storm #8

Marlowe gives Angela the sparknotes version of what he and HALO are doing on Earth, which conveniently leaves out anything she might find threatening about why they came here, and gives her full access to his resources in exchange for her data. Meanwhile, King’s team at IO have made a breakthrough by uncovering Cole Cash’s identity, and are planning their next – possibly treaty-busting – moves of their own.

And in Amsterdam, we’re introduced to two more characters resembling but not identical to those from the previous Wild Storm. The first is Shen Li-Min; the latest incarnation of The Doctor (not that one), who uses her powers to psychedelically heal people by taking them on vision quests. The second is one of Shen’s patients, who her session doesn’t quite work on because she’s not exactly human. She’s a techne named Jenny Sparks.

Despite another issue full of exposition, including the introduction of two new characters, it’s Davis-Hunt and Buccellato who really get to flex their muscles with sequences involving interstellar travel, two psychedelic trips into character’s minds, and one visit to an extra-dimensional hospital. I’m mostly familiar with Davis-Hunt’s horror work, and am glad to see that he can do bright and colorful and trippy just as effectively, even if there remains a twinge of the uncanny even among his bubblegum pink skies. And you *know* that more than one person is going to get a tattoo of Spark’s heart – because that is one badass visual.

  Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #5

At the top of the issue, Vulture kidnaps Mason and blows up his lab while Spider-Man and Mason’s assistant, Uatu, are still inside. And Teresa only manages to escape by grabbing a prototype web launcher and hitching a ride with Vulture. And while she rescues Mason, Spider-Man has to confront his most dangerous nemesis: heavy rubble.

That’s right, it’s a recreation of everyone’s favorite, Spider-Man #33. But, Peter’s better at this now, so it’s not that big a deal. What is a big deal is that now Peter’s got two people he has to hide, Teresa and Mason; and because of that photograph, the authorities will be looking for him, too. Luckily, he may be getting some help from an unexpected source, J. Jonah Jameson.

This isn’t Zdarsky’s strongest issue, probably because of the sense of urgency in this part of the story, which doesn’t leave room for the types of asides and extended character beats that often give his work their pop.

Kubert, however, must have found something inspiring in the script, as he does some of his more interesting work in this series so far this issue. I particularly like his use of framing things in the reflections of Vulture or Spidey’s mask; and Kubert also illustrates some really good of Spider-Man emoting through his mask, really showing him struggle while lifting heavy rubble, for instance.

  Kill or Be Killed #13

And we’re at the issue that closes the circle, bringing us to the cold open all the way back in #1, with Dylan going through the mob base, shotgunning everyone in his way. But before that, a revelation. Just before the shootout, Dylan had been obsessed with the demon, and decides to look through his dad’s stuff to see if there’s any more information about it. But he discovers something else entirely: a half-brother from his father’s first marriage whose suicide lines up perfectly with when his father started drawing the demon. A demon born out of one suicide by a man who committed suicide, and revived by his other son’s failed suicide attempt. Dylan isn’t one to miss a pattern.

But what I find more interesting than this new discovery is, again, how radically Dylan has transformed as a character. His obsession with the demon begins when he thinks to himself how proud the demon would be by his murdering two people in three weeks. And upon learning about his brother, and reminiscing on his father’s isolated and disappointing life, he is overcome by anger rather than sadness or empathy. Dylan’s obsession with the demon feels more introspective than otherwise, him unconsciously looking into how he so easily became a murderer.

Phillips illustrates this transformation subtly, by putting Dylan’s face in shadows more often than not, and especially when there are other people in the panel whose faces remain unobscured. Besides quite literally illustrating Dylan dwelling in darkness, it also creates a visible distance between him and other people. And the transition in style, from the series’ main style to the more photorealistic illustrations done in-universe by Dylan’s father is impressive as it always is; though it’s weird to be leafing through a comic on the subway only to suddenly be looking at a sci-fi pin-up.

  Bitch Planet: Triple Feature #5

The final collection of Bitch Planet shorts done by guest creative teams, who get to paint their own corners of Kelly Sue and De Landro’s dystopia, and one of the strongest.

The first story, by Matt Fraction, Elsa Charretier, and Nick Filardi is a brilliant twist on the “grandma/pa during holiday dinner” story. Kimmy brings her boyfriend, David Zeiss, home for his first Christmas, but warns him about her Grandma, who says some crazy things. But, instead of being anti-semitic, Nanna instead interrupts with stories of lesbian experimentation in college, and how women used to have their own jobs and weren’t just pleasure machines for men. It’s delightful! And, I honestly flipped back to the cover to see if the art was done by Bruce Timm, who’s style I want to say definitely inspired Charretier’s own; though she thankfully doesn’t give every man and women the exact same proportions.

The second, by Jon Tsuei and Saskia Gutekunst, follows two friends, one white, one asian, as they audition for the same role in a movie. If you even barely follow any actual Hollywood news, you can probably already sense where this is going. Gutekunst’s art in this isn’t really my taste; she uses a kind of manga-light style with soft colors and gradients. It fits the narrative because of the whitewashing story-line, but it’s just looks like a half-step in one direction, and another half-step in another.

The last story, by Nyambi, Bassey, and Eyang Nyambi, and Chris Visions is a doozy that creates a link between appropriation of black culture and beauty with the police violence against black bodies. When a white girl goes full blackface to join her friends at a danceclub, she gets pulled over by cops and can no longer rely on her whiteness to get out of a ticket – or much much worse. It’s the most Twilight Zone story in this anthology series so far, and one of the best encapsulations of the idea that America loves black culture and hates black people.

Comic Reviews for 10/18/17 Batman #33 To close out the last arc, last issue, Catwoman accepted Batman’s engagement proposal. In this arc, she has to meet the last supervillainess that Batman proposed to.

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Looking For A Few Partners (Mostly OC and BTS)

Hello! So, it’s been a year but I’m back, and craving a few RP partners. Me:  The name’s Micchi, but feel free to call me whatever you wish. I’m in search of some casual roleplay buddies who might be up for some light-hearted, or really heavy roleplays. Basic info for me is I’m 19 (Will be 20 later this month), and I’m a female more or less searching out other partners, preferably female, but gender really doesn’t matter in the end. I can’t say how much experience I have in RP, as my time RPing has been very patchy. I would average and say I probably have 1-2 years of experience. I’ll be going into college at the beginning of April, and I’m hoping even with class, I’ll be able to continue any RPs I have going at that time, but fair warning I may have to put a hold on our RP, or stop it all together if the course is demanding. Hopefully it won’t be that way. ^.^ I try to average at the least one reply per day, but I can’t always do so since I’ve been fairly busy these days. If I haven’t replied in a week, please shoot me a message to remind me to reply, as I likely have read your message, but forgotten to reply! I will make sure to tell you if I’ll be missing for anywhere from 3 or more days, if I have the chance to, so please be willing to tell me the same. I would like to know if you’ll be unable to reply for anywhere between 4 days or more. 

Style:  I RP in third person, paragraph style. I prefer to RP semi-lit, though I do this more or less as a stress reliever and a hobby, so I’m not too strict on my style or length or anything. I typically average a paragraph in response, and can push myself to write 2-3 if necessary, but I’ve been out of RPing a while so my quality may be a bit lack-luster at the beginning. Please just bear with me and I’ll improve.  I like to plot up ideas together and though I’ve never gotten the chance, world-building does sound cool! I like to use faceclaims for my character, either a real person or an anime drawing, depending on my character (My older ones would likely have an anime drawing as a faceclaim while newer characters would have a real person). I also love to send pictures for references on my characters, and their clothing. It’s much easier for me to imagine their looks and clothing that way. ^.^ And lastly, since it’s been a while since I’ve RPed, I may be lacking in terms of detail and length, but with time and practice, I will improve! The same goes for my characters. They may start out very plain/shy or unrealistic-sounding, but over time, I will flesh them out and make them more and more realistic! So please bear with me. c: Rules:  So, starting rule is that I ask for my partners to be 18+, for comfort reasons and because I quite like smut. I prefer to be close in age to my partners, as I feel a better connection, and I’m more comfortable with it.  Second rule is that I ask you not to take control of my character without asking me first. I’ve had it happen before, and frankly it’s very annoying, and I’m sure you can understand why.  Third, a general rule. Respect. It’s a mutual rule, of course. I’ll respect you as long as you respect me.  And last rule, for my own comfort, please do not ask personal questions. I’ve had it happen a few times where someone will ask me something personal or invasive, and really I just don’t want to feel uncomfortable again. I will drop contact with anyone who tries to get anything sexual out of me. Preferences:  So, I like to talk with my partners OOC, but this isn’t necessary if you wouldn’t like to do so. I’m an awkward and shy person, so I totally understand if you wish to keep talking strictly to plotting and talk about our characters/setting.  For pairings, I highly prefer M// and F//, but I will do M/F. With M/F, I will only play the female character. I would love to try some F//, as I’ve never actually RPed F// before, at least not without being ghosted, so I’d love to get the experience with it. I prefer to play a bottom, but I will switch, and in a F//, I might top. I like to play a range of characters, but most are bottoms or switches.  I prefer to do OC RPs, but I do have a few fandoms that I will play canon characters in. Most fandoms are for the universe.  I usually play only one character at a time, but I can double. I like to do two different pairings when doubling (Like M// and F//). Kinks & Limits:  I’ll start with my main limits, since it’s mostly the normal stuff.  - Mommy/Daddy kink - Mpreg - Abusive relationships (Both physical and emotional) - Furries (Doesn’t include shapeshifters/hybrids) - Pedophilia/Age play (Or in general underage characters) - Incest - Non-con (Unless it’s in a character’s history, then that’s fine) - Feet stuff - Anything unhygienic As for my kinks, I’m still exploring so I’m open to almost anything not on the limit list, but here’s a few of my favourite ones so far:  - Cross dressing (Especially for my bottom males) - Rough sex - Lingerie (I love having my characters dress up in lingerie) - Hickeys/biting Fandoms:  So, I have just a few fandoms, but here they are. (The more *s next to the name, the higher my craving for it) - Overwatch ** (I prefer to play OCs since I’m not too well versed with the characters just yet, or we can just use the universe) - Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - Toukiden Kiwami (I’d be pretty happy using the universe)  - BTS**** (I love these boys please RP them with me. No OCxCanon with this fandom) Genres:  - Romance (I love to have romance in any RP if possible) - Fantasy/Supernatural (My ultimate favourite. I like modern fantasy) - Slice of life (The one I’m best versed in) I am willing to try really any genre except historic ones because I know I can’t do justice to any timeline earlier than the 2000’s. 

Plots/Pairings:  These are some plots/pairings that I like or want to try. I’m open to any suggestions. (The more *s there are, the more interested I am in it. Bolded role is the role I would prefer) - Youtuber x Youtuber** (OCs only, but maybe two newer YouTubers collaborate and end up closely knit, and start dating) - Detective x Criminal/Thief* (I would love this for BTS, but I love the idea of this in general) - Pirate x Pirate - Pirate x Commoner/Royalty (The commoner/royalty being a captive, though this wouldn’t be a Stockholm syndrome thing, but with a surprisingly merciful pirate who is kind to the captive) - Idol/Celebrity x Idol/Celebrity*** (This could go for BTS, or for OCs. I just like the idea of two celebrities who can’t be together often falling for one another and sneaking off to meet one another when they’re able to. Would probably be related to K-pop/J-pop/J-rock) - Idol/Celebrity x Commoner**** (Someone who happened to run into the idol/celebrity and hadn’t a clue who they were or was a fan and the idol grew attracted to them because they treated them no different than a normal human after learning who they were. I’m currently doing one of these, and I love it. This more or less ties to J-Pop/J-rock or K-pop, but any kind of idol/celebrity can be used) - Vampire x Werewolf* - Vampire x Human - Werewolf x Human (I’m a sucker for the human helping an injured werewolf plot) - Werewolf x Werewolf (Maybe a rogue being taken in by a pack alpha sort of scenario and slowly adapting them to life with a pack again) - Vampire x Vampire* (I like any plot, but I’m weak for an old, powerful vampire taking in a fledgling/newly turned vampire and teaching them how to adjust to their new life) - Demon x Angel - Demon x Human* (A human summons a demon, for any reason, and somehow the demon gets stuck with the human. Maybe the human accidentally summons the demon, and cannot send it back, so now the demon begrudgingly has to deal with this human until they find a way to get him home and they form a bond) - Human x Hybrid*** (A hybrid being adopted by someone who just wants a companion, maybe a lonely author, and slowly they end up falling for each other. Usually tied in with heats/ruts/ABO dynamics) - Hybrid x Hybrid* - Merman x Human** (Based off of Orenchi no Furo Jijo, a mermaid/merman is beached and dying, and a human takes them home and houses them in their tub. Possibly takes them back to the sea later on and makes routine visits to see them) - Good Boy/Girl x Bad Boy/Girl* (Something where the bad girl/boy has a soft spot for the good boy/girl and treats them completely opposite of their image. Maybe they’re childhood friends, and have been separated for years due to one moving away and have been reunited in college) - Supernatural creature x Human* (It could be any supernatural creature) - Supernatural creature x Supernatural Creature* AUs:  So, I’m really weak for the hybrid AU, supernatural AU and soulmate AUs. I would be willing to incorporate any into an RP. Contact Information:  Congrats if you made it this far, and I’m sorry for rambling. This post ended up wayyyy longer than I meant for it to be. But, if you want to RP, here’s where to contact me! I am most active on LINE and KakaoTalk. Tumblr: imacow46 Discord: Imacow46#9993 LINE: imacow46 KakaoTalk: imacow46