#i go into every season so skeptical and then i end up mostly having a good time despite my boundless (years-old) criticisms lmaooooo

[ardentpoop]

yeah

[toji-sweetheart]

𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 | 𝐭. 𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

synopsis: Your best friend who is also in your book club drops something a bit darker than what the group is used to, but deep down you find that it triggers something for you and all you need is your husband's help.

wc: 8.5k

tags: 18+ ONLY content + explicit smut: minors and empty blogs DNI + she/her pronouns used + not beta read + my oc! characters + some angst? + cnc roleplay + rough sex + you smoke weed and drink wine but not before the scene + soft degradation with praise + toe sucking (you receiving) + size kink + he's taller than you + he's strong and can you manhandle you + sex toys + no part2 to this!

please note that I wrote this for myself and myself only so this is very self-indulgent! I had so much fun writing this!!! this is a repost that I did edit!

By now Toji knew the drill seeing that it was a tradition. 

You and a few friends would end up at your shared house with wine and a fruity paper-rolled joint each for everyone while talking about the book you all read over the last three weeks before meeting every Saturday at the end of the month to gush about the characters and plot. 

It was only once a month seeing that everyone had jobs and lives that demanded all of your attention and this was a way for you to finally relax and let go of all your responsibilities, forget everything, and laugh with your friends. 

There were only six of you, but mostly only three would come. 

“I’m not sure where to even begin with this book, the male main character to die for, Kaleb is dreamy, and the way he treats Anna makes me want to rip my hair out and eat it, I need a man like that, I hate you for that,” Mai whined as soon as she settled on the loveseat next to Amy. 

The four of you sat on your patio couch under the orange and red streaked sky as a warm summer breeze blew by bringing all the season's smells, someone's pool, a BBQ happening at the end of the road, and fresh-cut grass.

All eyes shifted to you as you poured a glass of sweet white wine. “What?” Your voice came out high-pitched knowing exactly why the other women were looking at you, because they knew you were living a main character lifestyle with your husband Toji. 

Hana whose job was to roll the joints sat next to you and elbowed you gently making you sputter on your wine. “We have no choice but to live vicariously through you and the books, but this one is maybe even something you haven’t done,” Mai told you with a silly grin as she grabbed her purse. 

You watched as she dug through the tote until she finally found what she was looking for. “Ah! So this book is on the darker side, and since it was my turn to choose I picked this one up for everyone.” She announced proudly handing out the books to everyone as her curly burnt orange hair fell in her face. 

Everyone looked at each other and then at Mai skeptically. “Dark how?” Amy asked skeptically once she helped finish the last joint, it was set up beforehand that everyone would get their own so there wasn’t a puff puff pass rule or anything like that and no one ended with burnt fingers or the joint going out. 

“Well,” Mai cleared her throat with a coy smile as she took the cherry-flavored joint and leaned back, “the male mc is obsessed with the female lead but they had an awful breakup and he doesn’t accept it so he breaks into their old shared apartment while she gets ready for a date and he fucks the life out of her then it follows the roller coaster of their relationship.” 

Silence filled the patio minus the soft breeze that blew by ruffling up the pages of the books that sat on the coffee table. “He just breaks in and fucks her?” Amy questioned with a scrunched-up nose, her skin glowing under the lamps that Mai hung up for you as she leaned in to look at Mai with incredulous eyes. 

Amy and Hana were pretty vanilla which is something you never hold against them but Mai will gladly let her freak flag fly and has not a problem with it, nor do you have an issue matching her freak. 

“She does want it at first, have you two never heard of dubious consent?” Mai shot back rolling her eyes as she tucked her slender legs under her glancing at you for backup. 

“Yes, it’s borderline noncon though Mai.” Amy sighed and tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear glancing at Hana and then you. 

You sighed not wanting to get in the middle of it. “How about we just read it and see?” Hana suggested surprising the rest of the group as she lit her joint. 

Amy wanted to scoff, you could see it in her eyes but she remained silent. “You know if you pulled that stick out of your ass you’d enjoy things more,” Mai told Amy pushing her buttons wanting to get a reaction out of the controlled woman. 

“Stop it. We only meet once a month and we’re going to fight over what our preferences are in bed? We are adult women with different wants and needs, so stop bristling her Mai, and Amy, I love you honey but you do need to relax a bit and I’m not saying you have to read it, do some reviews on it then see.” 

Mai looked at you conveying her thanks with a wet smooch on the cheek and a tight hug. “This is why we keep you around, you tell us how it is without being too much of a bitch.” She cooed playfully and took the lighter from Hana to light the end of her cherry-flavored joint. 

“Somehow I was dubbed the mother of the group when you are all older than me and I have no children, but maybe you three. Now thank Mommy.” You told them with a grin grabbing your strawberry-flavored joint and the new book settling it in your lap opening to the first chapter. 

Amy was the last one to grab the book after she looked up a few reviews dubbing it okay to read, the scent of marijuana lingered about relaxing your body further onto the patio couch as did the wine that made you giggle as you read the third page reminding you of Toji the other night who was teasing you.

Hana leaned over making sure that her page matched yours when her glassy eyes met yours. “What’s so funny?” She asked curiously as to why you were grinning as the male character was thinking about the female lead and envisioning her in front of him as he jerked off. 

“Nothing, just thinking of what my husband told me last night, he was something…he reminds me of this guy, Kaleb.” You hummed taking a sip of your wine and settling next to Hana resting your head on her shoulder. 

Mai made sure to slide a bookmark between the pages listening to you intently. “What did he say?” She asked wiggling her eyebrows with a grin. 

You rolled your eyes. “Just keep reading, we have an hour to finish a chapter or two and we got to call it a night, Toji will be home soon.” You told them excited for your husband's arrival earning collective head nods from your friends. 

“It’s almost like your husband doesn’t like us or something.” Mai sing-songed, her blue eyes almost shut as she laid back resting her head on Amy’s lap forging the reason that she was even here. 

“It’s not that, he just likes our alone time is all, and I love you three but Mai you yap way too much, Amy you’re so wound up sometimes, and Hana you are too quiet, he thinks you’re scared of him.” You hummed still following the lines on the paper. 

Hana’s jaw dropped as her face flushed red which you knew was partially due to her crushing on Toji, but it seemed like a lot of women do but you knew that your friends would never try to hurt you in any way and you were very comfortable and confident in your love and relationship with Toji. 

Mai and Amy shared a look before glancing at you. “I’m not scared of him but he is scary-looking, and he doesn’t smile unless you’re around,” Hana told you with a high-pitched giggle happy for you more than anything, the other women knew of your life before Toji and how he helped you flourish. 

You couldn’t help but feel a flush of warmth at that, your entire face burned as you hid it in between the pages of your book listening to your friends hoot and howl while teasing you about your teddybear husband. “You three need to start joining dating sites instead of focusing on fictional men you know.” 

“Says the only married one in our group who gets dicked down whenever she wants! Do you know the last time I got laid? If I open my legs you will hear my hips squeaking and I’m sure the spider that made a home there will be upset.” Mai cried as she tossed herself back on the patio couch with a whine. 

All of you busted out in a chorus of laughter as you squeezed Hana’s hand before leaning back with your almost-finished joint, the books were forgotten now as you all waited for Hana to roll another one while Amy refilled the wine glasses. “You sure did get lucky with Toji,” Hana told you with a soft smile.

“He’s not going to leave her so stop acting like it,” Mai told her friend with a warning look causing the air to shift from playful to something thicker with tension.

Hana rolled her eyes and excused herself to your kitchen to help Amy. “She wants your man, why is she still here if she wants to fuck him?” Mai asked with an irritated huff. You knew that she wanted only the best for you, she’s been your best friend since pre-school and Toji was her brother-in-law. 

You lit your second joint and rested your feet on the coffee table letting your eyes shift to the lights that twinkled and gently swayed with the wind knowing Mai was right in a way. “She can fantasize about him all she wants because I know I’m the only woman my husband wants.” You replied with a shrug. 

“Could never be me, if you wanted my man I’d break your kneecaps.” 

Her lips split in a wicked grin as she broke out into giggles. “Well, we both know that you don’t even like men that much, you’re into women.” 

Mai shrugged and pulled her phone out to show you a picture of someone's dating profile. “She’s very pretty, did you message her?” You asked scrolling through her pictures hoping your best friend finds the love she deserves. 

She snatched her phone back and shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m nervous too, this woman is way out of my league.” 

“Have you looked in the mirror lately? I promise you that she will want you and about Hana, leave her alone. I trust her fully and I know she’d never ever hurt me in that way, plus Toji would tell her to fuck off.” You told her with a shrug of your shoulders feeling your body melt further into the cushions. 

“How do you become so confident like that?” Mai asked batting her eyelashes as she placed both linked hands over her heart as she sat up and leaned in. 

You laughed and pushed her face away softly and gently so as not to hurt her just in time for Hana and Amy to join you two with new glasses of wine. “What’s so funny?” Hana asked, her curiosity sometimes got the best of her. 

Mai shook her head when the front door creaked open and then shut followed by Toji’s heavy footsteps into the kitchen where he saw the four of you huddled outside on the patio. His eyes instantly found you with a smile. 

All of the other women watched as you scrambled up off the couch to hurry inside and over to your husband wrapping him in a hug the best you could. “Smokin’ and drinkin’ are we? I’m in for it tonight.” Toji teased rubbing your shoulders then back keeping you close to him as he kissed the crown of your head. 

He knew that when you got a hold of either one or both that his dick wouldn’t have any rest, and your sexual appetite for him seemed to grow making you into a feral woman that wanted to mate with her lover over and over again. 

“They are so cute.” Hana sighed resting her chin in her palm as she watched you and Toji kiss and hold each other close while talking about your days. 

Mai rolled her eyes and cleaned up the table before gathering her stuff and leaving your book on the patio couch. “It’s time for us to go before she rips his clothes off.” She teased leading the other two into the kitchen causing you to pull away from Toji stammering when you got caught in a deep liplock. 

Amy was the first one to hug you and bid a goodnight followed by Hana then Mai. “I’m watching Hana, I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you!” She kissed your cheek then looked at Toji and rolled her eyes waving at him. 

Toji chuckled and made sure they all got to their cars safely from the front door as you stood behind him. “I’m so glad you’re home, I missed you so much.” You whispered standing up your tippy-toes to kiss him when he turned to shut the door and face you. 

His hands swooped down to your ass as you jumped up letting him hold you in his arms as you wrapped your legs around him the best you could while you bumped your nose against him inhaling his scent. “I missed you too baby.” 

You sighed in contentment and let him carry you straight to the bedroom where he lay on top of the blankets with a heavy sigh as you straddled him resting your hands on his broad shoulders and massaging the tense muscles. 

“What are you thinkin’ about darlin’?” He asked hooking his finger under your chin softly pulling your head up to meet his gaze. Years later he could still fill your belly with that soft tug of butterflies and make your heart clench like you were falling in love with him all over again. 

Toji tucked one hand behind his head to look at you as you moved down between his legs that he spread. “It was Mai’s turn to pick a book time and it’s very interesting, to say the least, but it gave me an idea.” You hummed with a slight slur as your fingers tugged his pants off tossing them on the floor. 

His eyes watched as your hands moved to remove his shirt and yours then your shorts then panties before settling on your side next to Toji leaving you both stark naked and skin to skin letting his heat fuse into you as you traced the tattoo of your name on his chest. “Idea?” He asked wanting to know more. 

You couldn’t look him in the eye even though he’s tasted every single inch of your skin. “So—promise not to laugh or anything?” You asked quietly and muffled feeling the weed and wine loosen your tongue. 

“Have I ever?” Toji questioned. 

“Fair point.” You mumbled. 

His fingers traced your spine as silence filled the bedroom for a moment. “The main male character is with the female lead and they broke up but he’s obsessed with her so when she breaks up with him he breaks into her apartment which they shared and he fucks her before her date.” 

“And…you want me to do that?” He asked raising an eyebrow and chuckling when you nodded your head that was stuffed between his ribs and arm when you rolled to your stomach feeling his hand travel further down to your ass. 

“Well, I want to do a roleplay of sorts, we pretend to break up in a public place to make it feel real then you follow me home.” You murmured finally picking your head up to look at him as your toes curled when his hand cupped your jaw gently leaning in to press a tender kiss to your head. 

Toji pulled away to trace your upper lip with his thumb gazing into your eyes intently making the air shrink around you both, everything else faded away as he talked in a low voice making your pussy wet. “So you want me to follow you home and break in and fuck you rough while you try and “fight” me off?” 

You nodded feeling your face heat up in embarrassment as you bit your bottom lip. “Yes, I trust you, and it’s something new. We’ve done a lot, but never something like that and it would be fun I think, also we will have a safe word in case something happens, but I give you my complete permission to be rough, call me sweet or dirty names, and use me as nothing but a toy.” 

Toji felt his blood simmer as he envisioned the many ways he could have you folded. “I agree, the safe word can be peach because you taste like one and smell like it too, also if we do it at a restaurant or something you can throw your water on me, I know that’s something you’ve always wanted to do to someone.” He leaned in stealing your breath with a deep kiss. 

“You are so trying to get sucked and fucked tonight, but I’m so sleepy.” You murmured with a soft giggle as Toji moved you both to cover you and him up with the comforter tucking you in his side and making sure you were resting your head on his chest letting his heartbeat lull you into a deep sleep. 

—----------

Morning came all too quickly. 

Sun filtered through the open curtains spilling into the room bathing it in a warm golden light waking you up and snuggling back in Toji’s arms. You knew that during the night you and him ended up back to back fighting for the covers, and then in the morning he pulled you back on his warm chest. 

“Good morning darlin’,” Toji murmured with a smile in his voice as he gave your ass a good squeeze making you squeal and roll out of his arms rolling your eyes playfully as you picked up his shirt from the floor pulling it on. 

Toji followed after you clad in his boxers sure to grab you again pulling you into his chest and kissing you before letting go watching as you started on the coffee while he pulled out leftovers for breakfast. “When do you want to do your little roleplay?” He asked heating the food as you made both cups. 

You hummed softly curling your toes. “I’m not sure, maybe next weekend? I need to read the book some more.” 

“I have it off and you’ll need to recover from Friday night.” He told you with a grin as you turned around to look at him with love and adoration. 

Both of you ate together, letting him feed you here and there before he went outside to work on the shed for the background while you cleaned up and joined him shortly after with your book curling up on the couch reaching for your joint from last night lighting it while leaning back picking up from your spot. 

Toji couldn’t help but glance at you, nearly cutting off a digit when you turned on your side which caused his shirt to slide up exposing the curve of your bare ass that caused his cock to swell forgetting the whole reason why he was out here, unbeknownst to you he stalked quietly up to you when you laid on your belly. 

Your eyes were trained intently on the words, you and Toji replacing the actions the characters were doing. Currently, the male lead was stalking his ex after the encounter, something he wasn’t able to forget but it seemed she could and that ignited him to go to plan B, kidnapping her. 

“Oh!” You gasped when you felt Toji slide his hands under your hips lifting high in the air and pushing the shirt down to pool at your head while he kneeled behind you kissing the curve of your ass making you moan and shudder feeling his tongue glide over your pussylips like a ghost. 

Toji spread your cheeks open pulling away to watch your holes clench simultaneously making him chuckle, he ran his finger up the seam of your pussy playing lightly with your slick entrance. “Read out loud sweetheart, you stop what you’re doing and I stop and I think we both don’t want that, do we?” 

“‘His Adam's apple bobbed as his eyes followed Anna, her hair swished back and forth mostly from her forgetting a hair tie this morning before her run. The black strands were just wrapped around his fist last night remembering how she sucked his cock—Toji!” You whined pushing back in his face panting. 

His tongue rimmed your cunt before sucking on your clit as his fingers massaged the fat of your ass pulling you closer trying to suffocate himself in your essence as you tried your best to stutter out another sentence feeling the tingles deep in your gut spreading into your veins making you hazy. 

Thick fingers slid inside your wet cunt with a loud squelch as Toji tongued your pussy while pumping in and out in quick succession moaning softly while feeling his cock throb and pulse at how good you tasted, like the sweetest candy he’s ever had. 

You gripped the couch cushion letting your eyes flutter shut as pleasure took over feeling your orgasm rise and crash over you while moaning your husband's name over and over like a soft prayer to your salvation. 

His addiction to you and yours to him made it hard to finish the rest of the book as you found yourself between his legs while he sat man-spread where you just were while gagging on the length of his dick, slurping and licking the tip before kissing your way down to his sack sucking on it gently. 

Toji felt like he was in heaven when you deepthroated him not breaking eye contact as his cock pulsed sending jets of thick and warm cum over your face when you pulled him out of your mouth letting him coat you in his essence. 

It didn’t take long for you to both get in the shower cleaning each other off before making your way into the kitchen for some lunch enjoying your days off before going to work tomorrow. 

======================================================

Each day passed by and you texted Mai, Hana, and Amy in your group chat asking if the four of you could meet up knowing the other two had left the bookclub and friend group. 

You wanted to tell them all about your dirty secret because it felt like you were heating up from the inside out and during work, you finished the book unable to help yourself. 

It wasn't something that happened often, only when the words pulled you in and between staying up after Toji went to bed knowing he’d want you to get some rest but it was difficult to put it down when you got to a good part. 

An hour after work you found yourself nestled next to Mai while you and her sat across from Hana and Amy sharing a plate of food. “So, I finished the book.” You announced with a small grin earning a collective gasp from them. 

“It’s only been three days! It’s a seven-hundred-and-something-page book!” Amy squealed gathering the attention of nearby tables, she apologized and sucked on her straw keeping her head down. 

Mai snorted with laughter and rolled her eyes. “I’m not surprised, let me guess you and Mr. Perfect are going to play something out in there?” She asked already knowing how the gears turn in your head. 

Hana’s face burned a bright pink as you told them in a pg-thirteen rating of what you and Toji had planned this weekend. “Are you going to break up in public? What if someone you know sees?” She questioned. 

“It’s none of their business even if they do, and again it sounds like you want them to break up. You do know that is her husband?” Mai shot back glaring at Hana who sputtered as all three of you looked at her. 

She nodded her head and blushed, her creamy complexion was a dark red. “I don’t mean it like that, I don’t want people to start rumors. You know how people can be.” Hana defended herself before taking a sip of her drink. 

Mai glanced at you with a skeptical look on her face and a slight I told you so when Amy cleared her throat. You leaned in to gaze at Hana. “I don’t care if they do or not, and I don’t know why you care so much. I hope you know that Toji would never break out vows nor does he even like you like that.” 

“I don’t want him! I want you!” Hana cried out, her hazel eyes were wild as they widened when her mind caught up with what she just said out loud. 

Mai’s jaw dropped as she tried to process the bomb Hana dropped. “Is that why you stared at her when she was wearing shorts? You want to fuck her!?” She asked and threw her head back howling with laughter at the situation. 

You sat there letting the news sink in for a moment unsure how to respond. “I—I got to go home, I’ll see you later.” Everyone watched as you scrambled out of the booth and to your car all but peeling out of the parking lot to go home. 

Toji was sprawled out on the couch when you slipped inside the living room setting your purse down. “Hana wants to fuck me.” His head snapped toward you as you stood by the couch looking back at him. 

The look on his face as he took in everything made you wince as you sat next to him. “Did she say that?” He asked cocking an eyebrow while taking hold of your hand and kissing it gently. 

“She did, Mai thought she wanted you but she blurted it out tonight that she wants me….and how am I supposed to take that?” You asked exasperated. 

To be honest you weren’t sure if it was better if she liked your husband. 

“I don’t blame her, but I don’t share, and trust me I already had a few coworkers who had their lips busted for even joking about sharing you.” 

Your mouth opened as you stared at your husband playfully slapping and shoving his shoulder, but the mountain of a man barely even moved. “Is that why you came home with sore knuckles?” You asked moving to curl in his lap. 

Toji wrapped you in a tight hug kissing the top of your head. “You’re my baby, I ain’t goin’ to let anyone talk about you like that, but me.” He husked kissing your jaw when you tilted your head up, his tongue tracing down your neck where he sucked on the soft flesh heating your body. 

“My sweet slut who will do anything for her husband, won’t you?” Toji cooed in your ear as his fingers played with the hem of your shirt making you shiver when his tongue traced the shell before nipping the lobe softly making you cry out as you bucked your hips rubbing against his bulge with a moan. 

His words made your face burn with want and you knew Toji would never mean anything of that, he knew what you liked and he wanted to keep you happy. You nodded looking at him with low-lidded eyes as you moved to kneel between his legs palming his bulge before rubbing your face against it. 

The soft material of his sweatpants felt nice against your cheek while you hooked one finger into the band of his pants and boxers to tug it down revealing his cock that slapped against his stomach, heavy and taut. 

He smelled like musk with a hint of sweat and all male, potent too. 

It made your mouth water as you wrapped your finger around the thick shaft unable to touch your tips. “I love seeing you on your knees for me.” Toji groaned watching you while he spread his legs wider to make more room for you. 

You rose on your knees and leaned in to kiss the sticky tip of his cock lapping up the pre-cum that reminded you of a pearl, shimmery and a creamy white that tasted like Toji urging you to suck more of him into your mouth hollowing your cheeks out making sure to pleasure your husband the best you can. 

His head laid back on the back of the couch hearing you gag wetly around his length that choked you when you reached as far as you could go. Your eyes stung with tears as you stuffed more of him feeling your spit bubble thickly around the corner of your lips that dripped down his cock making a mess. 

Toji wanted to see you with a mouthful of his dick so he sat up a little more to look down at you through dark lashes as you jerked off the rest that you weren’t drooling on. “So pretty ‘f me like that, my cute cocksleeve.” 

You moaned letting your eyes flutter shut when you felt Toji slip his hands under your armpits to lift you with ease pulling his cock free from your mouth with a wet pop. “What are you doing?!” You squealed as he laid you on the couch. 

“I’m going to fuck you.” He answered like it was self-explanatory. 

Your mouth opened then closed when you felt your cunt clench around nothing, his fingers danced over your slick heat before using it to lube up his dick. Toji gripped the base of it softly slapping it against your pussy with a smirk watching your face screw up and pout when he barely thrust halfway in. 

With your legs spread obscenely wide Toji pushed them further back until your knees were almost touching your ears as he gripped the back of your thigh huffing and puffing as your warm and wet heat sucked him in. 

He dropped down on his elbows grazing his lips against yours mingling your breaths together as he kissed you deeply, one hand slid under your head and the other went under your ass giving a cheek a soft squeeze as he slowly stroked in and out of you making your head hazy and body soft as putty. 

Toji knew the right spots to hit and what to do to make you cream, so his thumb skated along your hip and soft belly to make tight circles around your clit making you tighten around him and push your chest out more. “T—ohji!” 

Your mouth parted in a small when his mushroom tip kissed your cervix, it was an intoxicating blend of pain and bliss that made you cling tighter to him falling into the throes of pure pleasure as you succumbed to your orgasm. 

========================================================

Ever since that night with your friends, you haven’t talked to Hana, and Amy really but you called Mai every day. “I had no idea that she had the hots for you, do you think she touches herself thinking about you? OH! When you talked about Toji eating you out do you wonder if she wanted to be him?” 

“Why must you ask me those questions? I texted her but I don’t how to feel, I don’t want to lose our friendship because I do love her but I also didn’t want her to fall more in love with me. I don’t even know.” You sighed and scrubbed at your face as you leaned against the counter Friday morning. 

Mai cackled in the background followed by a loud bong rip. “Sorry, wake and bake. I have to before work or I’ll go apeshit crazy on someone, anyway, I know how you feel. Talk to her and let her know that babe.” She hummed followed by a loud hacking sound in your ear making you roll your eyes as you walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

“How can you be so silly more times than not but know the right thing to say? And it’s not only his dick that I love, I also love Toji for who he is, I love how he makes me feel, and when I’m having a bad day he just knows.” You gushed cleaning up the mess you made for tonight’s preparation in your bedroom. 

Mai made a fake gagging sound, the same noise she made when you two got married. “Sounds like you love me too. Call her. I’ll see you later because I want all the deets on how he made you his cum slut!” Before you got the chance to say anything else she hung up making you laugh. 

Toji was in the shower when you picked your outfit to wear for breaking up with him, it was a sundress that you knew would drive him nuts. Once you got dressed you stepped into the steamy bathroom just in time for him to get out wrapping his towel around his waist and stopping your movements. 

“You are so sexy and so handsome, I’m not sure how you haven’t gotten sick of me yet with me loving on you all the time.” You told him with a warm genuine smile that made his chest tighten while he stood behind you watching as you styled your hair and put on lip gloss and mascara. 

He couldn’t help himself and rest his hands on your hips popping your ass out a little so he could grind lazily against you. “Because I like it, especially when you’re so needy for me, I love how obsessed you are with me because I feel the same way.” You watched in the mirror as he snaked one arm around your waist. 

His lips trailed up your neck not breaking eye contact as he kissed up your throat and shoulder fingering the strap to your dress. “You’re a minx.” He groaned deeply inhaling your natural musk feeling his cock grow and swell. 

You did too as he pulled you impossibly closer leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses that left you a quivering and shivering mess as he pulled away with a chuckle. 

“Why are you breakin’ up with me? I fucked your sister or somethin’?” Toji asked as you followed him to the bedroom for your shoes and to spray on his favorite perfume. He wanted to know what the fake reason was. 

You laughed and rolled your eyes as you grabbed your shoes and sat on the edge of the bed watching him get dressed in shorts and a loose t-shirt that showcased his corded muscles and bulging biceps you wanted to bite. 

“I don’t even have a sister, besides Mai and she likes women more than men. What if you don’t pay enough attention to me? I could be the one fucking your best friend or something?” You suggested leaning back propping yourself up by your hands as he fixed his hair in the mirror before turning to look at you.

His lips were set in a straight line thinking about you and Shiu. “I think I pay plenty of attention to my pretty girl, am I right?” He asked stepping forward and planting his fists on either side of you to bend down until his face was inches from yours. 

Your eyes searched his feeling your breath hitch in your throat as he smirked pulling away once more making you reach out and slap his ass before scrambling off the bed and toward the living room grabbing your purse and following Toji to the car letting him open your door for you. 

“Remember the safe word? You say that at any time and we stop, I don’t care what it is. You’re breaking up with me because I’m too suffocating and you need a break from me, you get up from the table and get in the car, I’ll call a taxi home to make it feel really real, you’re going on a date with Shiu.” 

Toji explained sounding like he already had this planned out before you even brought it up. “I agree, I think it’s so sexy and hot when you take charge like that.” You cooed leaning over to kiss his jaw tracing his scar before pulling away. 

By the time you both made it to the cafe that you’d never visited before which was a bit out of town your nerves were a bit jumbled as you were seated in a populated area. The waiter sat the drinks down when you inhaled deeply gathering up the courage as you looked at Toji who was leaning back. 

The both of you got into character letting your real selves slip away for a moment. 

His eyes were trained on you and more than anything you wanted to lean in and kiss him, tell him how much you love him and how thankful you are that he’s your husband. “We need to break up.” You murmured holding your glass.

Toji leaned in, his face darkening as he absorbed your sentence. “No.” 

You furrowed your eyebrows feeling a stinging sensation deep in your gut, but you knew it wasn’t real, however, even the thought of losing him made you want to cry and lash out. “Yes, you are way too suffocating me. I can’t even have friends over without you getting jealous and I like someone else.” 

Your voice rose a little as you stared back at him reminding you of the fights you had. “Who do you like?” Toji asked completely in character now as his thick fingers drummed atop the table waiting for your answer. 

“Shiu.” 

His eyebrows rose as he whistled low and slow. “My best friend?” 

“Yes, it’s over.” You stated again watching him give the smallest of nods hinting that it was okay for you to throw the water on him. Your hand shook a little as you grabbed the glass which was slippery from the condensation while you pulled your arm back tossing the ice-cold liquid on your husband. 

He stood up quickly knocking over his chair as his grey shirt soaked up the water leaving a dark patch that clung to his abs, this time he gathered everyone's attention. “Sir, is everything okay?” The waiter came up to Toji with a shocked look on his face as he glanced at you watching you stand up fast. 

Without another word and a heart beating way too fast, you scurried to your car, the keys shaking too much for you to get the car unlocked forgetting you could hit the key fob instead, it felt so real and even though you slipped your wedding rings off before heading out you wished you had it with you. 

It took you only twenty minutes to get home and in the door searching for your phone in your purse as you rooted around it checking for a text from Toji. 

Nothing. 

It was growing darker but in the summer months, the sky didn’t turn black until well into the evening and now you had no choice but to wait feeling anxious and excitement build up as you took a shower and ended up in your bedroom sitting in front of your vanity as the minutes ticked by stretching into hours. 

You weren’t sure what Toji was doing to kill his time but it made you restless. 

With no choice but to wait you applied your makeup at your vanity like you were getting ready for a date as you listened to your playlist, the thought of Toji waiting and stalking you made your pussy burn with something new, and the blood in your veins felt thicker and hotter as you shut your eyes hearing the window. 

Too wrapped up in your head you had no idea how much time had passed by when the pane slid open to reveal Toji in a mask, only his eyes and mouth visible which sported a smirk. “Now darlin’, it’s not nice to break a man’s heart and leave him there hanging. You owe me.” He muttered pushing the rest of the window open and climbing through gracefully before towering above you. 

Your mouth dropped open as you stood up from your chair and frowned staying in character. “What are you doing here?! I told you that we’re over!” You all but shouted thankful that you didn’t have any neighbors. 

Toji chuckled darkly and took another step toward you watching as you quickly dodged him and hopped on the bed to bypass him and get out of the bedroom but he was much faster grabbing onto you and tossing you back onto the mattress reaching for his duffle bag you didn’t even pay attention to. 

He sat it on the edge of the bed and unzipped it slowly pulling out pink silk ropes, easy on the skin and in your favorite color too. You lay there frozen in faux fear and real-life desire that made your blood boil. Toji grabbed your ankles suddenly drawing you down the bed causing you to fight him off. 

“Keep struggling, it just makes me want you that much more.” He whispered in your ear as he pinned you to the bed on your belly with your arms behind your back, you felt the soft silk rope weave between your wrists that Toji tied not too tight to hurt but enough that you had to wriggle a bit to take them off. 

His fingers trailed down your thighs lifting your skirt a bit to look at the thong you slid on making him groan. “Oh, princess. You really know how to spoil a man.” Toji moaned, the sound gurgling in his throat as he pushed your legs together and bent your knees at a ninety-degree angle tying you in a hogtie.

Toji was sure to offset your feet slightly so your ankle bones wouldn’t rub against each other causing you pain, it seemed that he did his research. 

You mewled when he stroked your barely clad-pussy for a moment before pulling away. 

With your face buried in the sheets you couldn’t see anything but you could hear Toji digging around in his bag for something, a surprise until the soft hum of the Hitachi wand, one of his favorite things to use on you. 

He tossed it by your head making sure you could see the pink body. 

“No one will ever be able to make you feel as good as I do darlin’, it hurts me that you think you can.” He grunted in your ear as he grabbed the wand moving to kneel behind you, his rough hands lifted your hips before he stuffed a pillow under you keeping your ass high in the air. 

A little maneuvering and you could feel the rubberized head of the toy press against you when suddenly it turned off making you jerk and moan. “Going to make you nice and dumb before I give you what you really want.” 

You tried to buck up and get him off but it was fruitless when his free hand was pinning your shoulder down making it impossible to get up. Toji drug the head between your slick pussylips pressing it more into your clit. 

He kept this up, teasing you by dragging it up and down sometimes pushing it against your quivering hole. “If you want it so bad all you have to do is use your big girl words, can you do that?” Toji asked spread your cheeks open. 

Feeling so exposed you gasped even though he’s fucked every hole he could. 

“I hate you! We’re broken up!” You cried with faux tears that caught Toji’s attention making his dick pulse, his hand came down to swipe away your tears. 

He chuckled and pulled the toy away tossing it on the bed before he untied you, as soon as the last knot was undone you attempted to wiggle up the bed. “Look so pretty while you’re cryin’ for me. If you hated me so much why are you letting me play with you?” Toji husked delivering a soft smack to your rump. 

Toji took his mask off and that was it, keeping himself completely dressed while he ripped your clothes off at the seams making you shriek, the loud sound of fibers being torn filled your ears as you watched him toss the tattered bits to the floor before he untied your hands and ankles. 

He grabbed you again laying you flat on your back as he hovered above you with a crazy smirk. You could read it in his face he didn’t want to hurt you. 

You nodded letting him know you were okay, little checkins to make sure you still wanted this. “I don’t have a choice, you take and take.” You whined trying to push him off you but it was pointless when he pinned your hands above your head. 

Using his free hand he trailed it down your chest groping each breast and tweaking both nipples until he reached your pussy. “Holy hell, you’re so fuckin’ wet.” He was thrown off by how much slick your cunt had produced, making between your thighs a wet mess. 

Toji groaned spreading the wetness before sliding two fingers knuckle deep in making you cry out and lay your head back on the pillow he found a slow pace as his mouth latched around your nipple suckling on it slowly, gently scraping his teeth along the bud while his thumb circled your clit. 

Your mind grew fuzzy at the edges as your lover submerged you in a puddle of pleasure reminding you of spending all day under the hot sun and coming inside to an air-conditioned room feeling instantly at ease. He moved to your other nipple as you threaded your fingers through his hair whining softly. 

Everything about the plan slowly trickled from your brain and out your ear forgetting that it was your idea to begin with, all you wanted was Toji. 

“Please want you so bad, oh please baby just fuck me already, I need to feel you inside me!” You babbled with a teary gaze looking at your husband who met your gaze with your nipple still in his mouth, he pulled away with a wet pop and licked his lips. 

He squeezed your cheeks gently and chuckled watching your lips squish together. “My needy baby, did you forget about our breakup? You broke my heart so now I’m going to break you.” He growled and spread your legs making you gasp at how quickly he was able to move and have you folded. 

Toji groaned palming himself as he kneeled between your thighs and freed his cock with one hand while the other grabbed your ankle gently lifting it for him, the polish on your toes matched you perfectly and so did he. 

You watched with bated breath as he sucked on your big toe, swirling his tongue around it before moving to each toe kissing each one showing his love to each one before kissing the arch of your foot and putting it on his shoulder. 

“Do you know how much I love you?” Toji asked breaking character for a moment as he stared down at you, his massive body blocked most of the light and from where you lay he looked bigger and more imposing. 

You nodded again. 

Toji leaned in with a chuckle gripping your cheeks again gently. “Good, because I’m going to fuck you like I hate you.” He muttered and pulled away to jerk himself off for a few seconds while you wiggled down the bed to catch the head of his cock on the hood of your cunt. 

Your gazes clashed together as he grabbed your hips dragging you on his cock filling you in one thrust making your toes curl hard in his shirt, the other dangled around his waist as he fucked you hard and fast making the bed creak, the headboard hitting the wall with each powerful drive of his hips. 

With each stroke Toji fanned the fire in your belly, your fingers clawed at his back moaning and whining while lifting your hips to meet his thrusts feeling him go deeper that made you gasp stealing away your breath. 

Sweat beaded along his hairline and dripped down on your bare chest, the heat and friction between you both created an inferno of lust and love for each other as he rocked into you wanting to reach your womb almost. 

Toji bent down to capture your lips in a deep kiss claiming your mouth with his tongue sucking on it before nibbling on your bottom lip and pulling away to rest his forehead against yours feeling his orgasm tingle at the bottom of his spine. 

He pulled away and out of your wet cunt with a squelch before Toji was taking your spot then he pulled you back onto the bed and his lap sliding his hands on the back of your sweat-slicked legs to raise them in the air, his fingers rested on the back of your knees as you reached down to hold his arms. 

With immense strength, Toji lifted you and then sat you back down on his cock, in this position your cunt was tighter making his head swim. “You feel so good, I ain’t ever gonna leave my pretty princess alone, why would I when you’re the perfect little slut for me?” He huffed biting your shoulder gently. 

Your head lolled back as he fucked you from below, his sack patting against you wetly which filled the room along with the heavy perfume of sex, a blend of yours and his musk, something that can never be recreated. 

His cock bullied your puffy cunt that sucked him in deeper coating his shaft in a creamy white feeling your orgasm crash over you hard and fast, your eyes fluttered shut as your mind frayed putting you in a trance-like state, this climax felt a lot different as Toji chased his high until he was pumping you full. 

You both stayed like that for several minutes panting and coming down from your high basking in the soft sex glow. “I love you…thank you, baby, that was everything and more than what I wanted.” You husked looking at him. 

He kissed you gently and pulled away to help you off his lap wincing when he pulled out leaving you empty and the sheets a mess. “I love you too, always and forever.” He told you and stepped into the bathroom to draw a bath. 

“Let’s take a bath, order dinner in and I’ll get you a joint.” Toji knew all the ways to make your day and life easier, but after this whole scene, you felt more connected to him than you ever have with anyone else. 

feedback such as comments and reblogs are highly appreciated, those kind words mean a lot and encourage me to do more writing ♡

[jonsimstwitchyeyeballs]

The Magnus Archives Cast Designs - Season 1 Part 1

Hello Magnus Archives crowd, I've decided to share my designs for the characters in multiple parts (if I manage to draw them all lol) so of course I'm starting off with Season 1! I will also add some commentary on why I made certain design choices.

That being said, let's start of with:

I've posted this guy many times before and I feel S1 Jon is incredibly straightforward in terms of design. He's very serious and has this sort of dark academia vibe (I think?). Also I know he doesn't smoke often but come on.

Next up:

Martin! I definitely think he's a sweater person! And a fan of lighter colors! Also I feel like the fandom has already decided how him and Jon physically look like so I'm just kind of following that idea, but with my own style I guess?

And now:

Unpopular opinion: I don't think Tim is a Hawaiian shirt guy, BUT I do think he's a 90s retro shirt guy and I live and die by this idea. Other than that, I tried to make him hot but I can't draw hot people.

Who could forget the unforgettable:

I wanted to go for that librarian/academia look. Like Jon, she's a sweater vest and shirt person, every serious skeptic with glasses has to have this combo!

Bonus because I said so:

Gertrude has been described as an old woman with gray hair and a bun so there's not that much one can do, but I wanted to draw her very austere and with dark, oily colors. Every Archivist comes with a chain on the glasses.

Left this for the end:

I want him to look as bastard-y as possible. I've noticed a lot of people draw him with a green color scheme, but I kind of think green is Jon's color so for Elias I chose gold (and blue). Evil monocle is a must.

That's all for now! Part 2 will have some other characters from S1 but mostly statement givers that are more important than most...

[lizaluvsthis]

I feel like they're doing a lot of episodes centered around 3 and 4's relationship as of recently, like almost every episode ever since WOTFI 2023 has in some way been about 3 and 4 in some way, they're definitely cooking up something...

Would be weird to be doing a lot of episodes cented around one of the protagonists and a tritagonist's relationship without a reason...

Yes I've noticed that, it's why I randomly show up in a constance of space to ramble about these ga- i mean- 'friends.'

Ive had me suspicions on randomly show ups with SMG3 because it is never unlikely we get this much of episodes with SMG3 in it. I feel like something would go wrong about Three's most appearnce as a tritagonist role from his character.

I'm aware of what would have the consequences to happen in the future, once he gets involved with the Adware themself. Either be possessed. Either d-e. We're not sure about this because when we mostly used the Axol theory who existed in the seasons and d-ed.

The protagonist which is Melony, were his loving partner who were to suffer the most from grief. Besides me mentioning them. I really do feel like they are trying to hint something that SMG3 will be a more focused main character in the series.

We never know when the arc will happen soon. But just for me to say, I noticed not a while back is that. Back before the new designs or even wotfi 2022. Lets get to the older episodes where SMG3 specifically appears around the episodes which as the months of March, October, or even Jul- June? Was it?

We're both not sure about this because with the new episodes been released that included smg3. It seems to me that they've broken the schedule whenever smg3 gets to be in a month where he is in other episodes. But the new ones could be making us think harder with it.

It wouldn't be weird for me to call but too "skeptical" for me that they'd release a season filled with SMG3 dump from other episodes in everywhere.

I doubt that they're only putting this so that the tritagonist can get some attention from the fans. When he'd already been considerately part of the SMG4 Crew members.

He'd play as a focused one because why the hell not? This is SMG3 and SMG4 we're talking about and there is no denying that they will both end up in something important.

Like any other with Axol and Melony's Bond.

Because it's more different with these two. They both have a slow form of chemistry during the years. And therefore is slowly having to form into something else.

Call me crazy or insane one last time or again and again, but I'll have to put on.

"SMG3 is being put in the episodes because he'll be more of a valuable person to appear mostly in the near upcoming 'strange' event."

Even if he were to call as a villain, he is still a tritagonist. He is there with his boy- i mean- FRIEND. To be there with. To return a favor. And have something that he's hiding to yet reveal.

But with his insignificant torture with people, his line never ends when he kept calling SMG4 "Baka" in the other episodes there-has-been.

SMG3 can never go back because he's already there, his appearance meant everything from the entire fanbase/community.

Because everyone here is now making these bunch of unexplained theories where it can have the possibilities for him to di- i mean- possessed. Or something angsty would happen in the further future.

But we'll never know that in a certain fact.

Unless it'd be more serious...

[startrekprodigyfan]

As of this posting, Star Trek Prodigy is scheduled to be removed from Paramount+’s streaming service tomorrow. And it just got me thinking about how stacked against the odds this poor kids show has been put through.

From the start, the show as a concept struggled because long time Trek nerds were already skeptical and resentful of everything “nuTrek” related. They didn’t like that there was going to be a kids show, and many wrote it off before it even aired.

Then the series began, and fans hated Dal. They refused to give him a chance, despite the obvious story arc of him starting at a bad place and working his way to a better one. I knew he would get there eventually, but fans of Trek wouldn’t give him a chance. So they hate watched it or didn’t watch it at all.

Then the show went on hiatus after the Murder Planet two-parter. Only 5 episodes had aired and it was already gone. For months.

(This was all on the streaming service too btw, it hasn’t aired on Nickelodeon yet, let alone in other countries).

Then the show came back, and thankfully by now Trek fans were starting to get on board… until it went on hiatus… again. This time for an entire YEAR. Another 5 episodes and the conclusion of the first half of the season, and it was gone. For even LONGER.

No toys have been made. No advertising for the show. A plush of Murf was made but it was limited edition and only given out at a specific convention.

After a YEAR, the show finally comes back. And mercifully we get a full second half of the season. 10 episodes that wraps up the second half and ends with a BANG! Toys are only JUST NOW starting to come out too. The show is finally starting to connect with people and find its footing…

And then it gets cancelled.

About a 4 day warning before it gets pulled from the streaming service.

Gone.

Season 2… in the works but not scheduled to air anywhere… yet? Only the first 10 episodes are available on DVD. Season 1 still hasn’t fully aired on Nickelodeon either. And now the show is being yanked from streaming.

I’ve lived through bad release schedules with shows before but this one takes the cake for me. At every point it seems like Paramount has been trying to mess with this show. Do they even want it to succeed? It’s not going to succeed if you don’t let people WATCH IT!

I don’t have anything really insightful to say at this point, I’m mostly just frustrated with how difficult it’s been for people to even FIND this show.

[comas-are-for-sleeping]

ok you have a special interest in tma (im pretty sure) and i do not want to relisten to the whole fucking series SO can you give me liek a summary (however detailed you want) of what i need to know beofre tmp please and thank you

what gave you that impression whaaat???

ok but i love this question bc i can procrastinate on my hw without catastrophizing yippee!!

i'll do like a timeline of main events without dates bc i cannot actually remember numbers for shit

Jonathon Sims becomes Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute (im going to stop with capitals bc it is too much work) because his predecessor, gertrude robinson, died. he's extremely skeptical of anything "paranormal" so it's kinda funny in the beginning bc his whole job is recording statements people have given of their encounters/experiences. Every episode at this point ends with a, "well, it could be dismissed except for this one spooky detail."

at some point a delivery made by breakon and hope (a delivery company that shows up in statements; two guys with suspicious cockney accents) to jon. it's a table with a hole in the center (also has shown up in statements multiple times). because of its association to, like, bad things, jon takes an axe to the thing and it is left in artifacts storage.

the events of season one are basically worm lady named jane prentiss is stalking the institute in order to take it over. she traps martin blackwood, the poor sweet boy, in his apartment for a week. now he cant stand the sight or taste of canned peaches! he moves into the archives temporarily because of this. jon finds him annoying/a nuisance but is very quick to offer the archives as a place for him to stay (spoilers they kiss). sasha james, another employee, meets an entity who calls itself Michael (an icon) who takes her to see a guy from a statement where his one night stand explodes into worms bc she had an encounter with jane prentiss. he is now a worm person. michael gets a worm from sasha's arm that tried to get into her arm w his finger which is Too Long and Too Sharp. The season ends with prentiss invading the archives and being burned to death! tim stoker (another employee, promise that's mostly all of them), martin, and jon are all Traumatized and end up covered in scars from getting worms out of each other with a corkscrew :) sasha and elias bouchard (everyone's boss) attempt to get out, but sasha is separated and ends up in artifacts storage. someone else is there and then the tape cuts out (everything is being recorded on tapes because something funky happens when certain statements come in contact with digital technology). the tape goes missing.

season two is jon's Paranoia Era. he's not sure who he can really trust anymore, since if jane was out there, there must be others and they could even be his own staff (how did she get in?? what are the underground tunnels beneath the archives??). at the end of each statement there is now a "supplemental" in which he describes his suspicions (which leads to him following some of his employees to their homes and they find out and... are not very pleased) and his findings in explorations of these strange tunnels that seem to move by themselves. there is someone down there, but who could it be?

oh btw another reoccurring thing are spooky books with the name "jurgen leitner" in them

the last two statements before Shit Goes Down are both about someone who's relative changes appearance, sound, and personality, except that no one thinks that this has happened and even pictures would suggest they had always looked like that (except polaroids and tapes). jon finds sasha's "missing" tape and listens to it. and... she sounds different in this recording. uh oh!! she isn't who she says she is!! she attacks him, he ends up running around in the archives (perhaps because of michael, who has a multidimensional door that enters into a spiral of confusing hallways) and meets the man himself, jurgen leitner (who, it turns out, has been the one living in the archives). they trap the Not-Sasha in the tunnels because leitner has a book that, if he reads certain sections, can move the walls/stairs/entryways/etc. jon Obviously has questions, so they go into his office and he keeps interrupting leitner (obviously). what he is able to tell jon is basically:

he found some spooky books and decided that he could collect them all. he built a library and put his name in all the books he owned, but one day it was too much and basically the whole thing burned down, all his assistants died, and the books were yet again scattered to the winds. he explains that he believes these books, entities, and items are all part of powerful beings. he also tells jon that elias killed gertrude. jon freaks out and decides to take up smoking again in that moment, so leitner is left alone. and elias goes in there and kills him with a lead pipe. jon comes back and is like wtf. he's pinned as the murderer bc all his coworkers were suspicious of his behaviors.

so now jon is on the run. he hides in his ex-girlfriend's apartment. he decides to do field research into something gertrude seemed to be interested called The Unknowing. we also learn that he encountered a leitner book as a child which led him to witness his school bully being taken by a spider behind a door (this is an animatic of said book teehee). also that georgie (the ex) also had an encounter separate from him which resulted in her losing all ability to feel fear. jon's field research leads him to find various entities from the statements and is kinda bullied by all of them tbh. hand burned by a woman who's basically made of wax (she likes destroying people's things and fire), simulated vertigo from a guy with a lightning scar down his back, and kidnapped by a clown manequine who wants his skin (as part of the Unknowing)! oh and also almost murdered by a bloodthirsty cop (daisy tonner my beloved plus her gf basira. idr if their relationship was ever established but). he tells daisy that he wasn't the one who killed leitner and that it was elias (i think he has proof?? bc she believes him). they corner him but hes like lol no u cant kill me if you kill me you all die rip teehee!!

oh! on his adventures, he ends up in america and learns that the powers are organized into types of fears. there are fourteen of them, jon works for the Eye. jane was the corruption (rot, bugs). the circus is the stranger (fear of the other, unknown, etc).

at this point i think also the clown + her circus have gathered all the materials for this "Unknowing," (a ritual of sorts). the crew (now including daisy and basira) devise a plan to end it while also distracting elias so that he can be arrested. jon makes martin and tim stay behind (as the distraction), but tim refuses bc his brother was killed by a clown (not the same one as the kidnapper) and hes Angry. I think at this point basira and melanie (she made a statement and then got fired from her job as a ghost hunter youtuber) work at the institute also.

they enter the circus Unknowing and martin burns statements to get elias's attention. all the circus people forget who they are so it's hard to blow everything up, but they figure it out enough for tim to detonate. daisy is thrown into a coffin (also a thing that shows up in multiple statements), tim dies in the explosion, and jon is catatonic.

season four! jon wakes up six months later in the hospital and is told that he was entirely dead except for brain activity. martin is distant, elias has been arrested and replaced by peter lukas, a name that has also shown up before. he is part of the lukas family, which is aligned with the lonely (they help fund the institute). jon pulls back up to his place of work and everyone's kinda annoyed and sad bc their friends are dead. melanie is increasingly violent, most likely due to a ghost bullet in her leg from right before she was hired (this is the slaughter, which is war and senseless violence/murder). she hates jon because she is stuck working for the institute forever (you cant leave or you'll like. get increasingly more sickly or something like that). basira spends a lot of time in the institute library. jon realizes that he can Know things randomly now. he also starts needing to read statements in the way that we need food and sometimes kinda is not so great to (random) people when he's especially lacking

oh my turns out there is a word limit to these things!! whoopsie doo there is more so get ready ig

[rayquaza-is-falling]

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

I will be the first ti admit I was skeptical going into the game. I was SUPER excited about it, but one of my friends played it before me and actually returned her copy. She said it was janky, repetitive, and unimagined. It was super disheartening to hear because she is also the biggest Avatar fan I know, if she didn't like the game then it must be bad.

But I kept it on my Christmas list and old Saint Nick delivered, and boy am I glad.

I literally love it.

Here's why:

- The world, the nature, PANDORA in all of its glory... it looks INCREDIBLE. The world feels so alive and vibrant compared to other games of the genre and even other games by the developer (Ubisoft)

- the characters, the NPCs, specifically Etuwa are all fantastic. They have interesting dialog, dialects, accents, mannerisms, looks, etc. I'm particularly fond of the "Crush" sidequest.

- The combat. The combat is nothing new for ubisoft, but this definitely feels like the best execution of this style they have been working on in a while. Absolutely love the two bows. And throwing bombs at RDA.

-Customization. At first the customization is very underwhelming, bit as you play you unlock hairstyles, paint patterns, all that fun stuff and I like to think of it as my character "growing" as she goes along her journey. Being able to "disguise" armor with the appearance of other armor should be mandatory in every game here on out.

-The ikran. Very rarely do games have a GOOD flight mechanic in them. They are always so junky (looking at GTA) and don't feel good. The Ikran flight however... fantastic. It feels so immersive, and you can really feel that this is a living thing you are flying and not a machine. The scenery is beautiful and even the air is filled with interesting things. No game has given me the adrenaline rush that jumping off of the Ikran nook and taking flight has given me.

- I could go on an on, but I will end it with design. The characters, the world, the biomes, the weapons, the animals, everything. It's vibrant, colorful, and alive. You can tell someone put a lot of detail into every aspect and it's awesome

CONS:

- There have been complaints the game is buggy. I personally haven't experienced any game breaking bugs, but I have had enough npc's not showing up to be considered annoying

- the player character voices. I'm sorry, I'm sure that the actors are talented, but none of their voices fit the player character. All of the Na'vi NPCs have unique voices and Na'vi accents. Even the Avatar characters have better Na'vi voices. The Serentu who is known to be closer to the human word, Teylan, has more of a natural voice. I cringe every time I hear my character speak. I will give them credit for having a nonbinary voice and character option tho (the NB voice is also the most tolerable by far)

- the game doesn't really add anything new. It is a very standard RPG, Ubisoft doesn't really explore new techniques and gimmicks all that much. It feels very much like a reskinned AC odyssey. Which isn't inherently a bad thing, I like AC odyssey, but I would like a little more innovation.

- you have to pay for the DLCs, even if you pre ordered. I can tell they released "half" the game and are essentially making you buy a "DLC" to get the other half. It's a single player RPG (mostly) enough with the pay-per-use and "season pass"

So TLDR: if you like Avatar, and Pandora, and exploration, this game is for you. If you want to fly around, taking down helicopters and help restore the planet, you will love this game

If you are looking for the next Elden Ring, or fill-in for Baldur's Gate, you will find it underwhelming, and plain.

Rating so far

8.5/10

[hopetorun]

Trick or treat!

idk if you've read this fic but here's a delete scene from home by now! i like it a lot but it ended up setting up legacy stuff i never followed through on so ... into the discards document.

—

Mom calls late a few nights after Matthew gets the text from Draisaitl. He still hasn’t answered it. She mostly wants to chat, and gossip about the people she and Dad had over for dinner that night, but partway through the conversation she says, “Oh, before I forget, I do have a question for you,” and it makes Matthew’s stomach tense.

“I need to plan a trip to see your Nana sometime this fall,” she says, cheerful and practical, “And I was wondering if you wanted me to time that for when you’ll be playing Winnipeg. We could make a whole thing of it.”

It’s a nice idea. Matthew will be in Winnipeg plenty this year, and the schedule’s already out so Mom can arrange whatever she wants. It makes Matthew clench his jaw. He keeps trying to imagine it, Mom’s family all settled in a box and then going out to dinner with all of them after the game, and the scene won’t play in his head. He wants it to, so much it aches, and yet—all he sees is himself in a Flames jersey, waiting for a perfect pass from Johnny down the ice.

Somehow, he doesn’t think Jets fans will like him any better in a different color jersey. Not that that matters, not that he cares what they think. The people whose opinions matter to him all like him, and he doesn’t care about what Jets fans yell from the stands any more than he cares about whether Leon Draisaitl likes him.

“Sure,” he says, after so long that Mom is definitely going to know that something’s up. “That sounds nice.”

She hums, clearly skeptical. Sometimes Matthew hates how well she knows him. “Seriously,” he insists. “It’ll be nice. Do whatever you want, I know you’ll make it nice.”

She will, too. Matthew knows she’ll get everything set up perfectly, and everyone will have a great time, and he’ll be glad to see them all. It’s just that his brain is seizing up every time he tries to imagine this season, unable to come up with an idea of what it’s going to be like to play in St. Louis, to play with a brand new team. To play with Draisaitl.

“Okay,” Mom says. “I’m not going to book anything yet, so let me know if you change your mind.”

Matthew won’t. He wouldn’t let her down like that, much less the rest of his family. “I won’t,” he says, but he’s already thinking about everything else that’s going to happen this season. Brady brought some of it up when they argued, that Matthew’s going to have to decide about so much off-ice stuff that he’s been ignoring. How he wants to present himself to the city of St. Louis and what the team expects of him as a representative but also a local.

Thinking about it makes him want to hang up the phone and maybe walk straight into Lake Ontario.

He’s still lost in thought while Mom hands the phone over, and he’s startled to hear Dad’s voice in his ear.

“Hi,” he says, a beat too late, and Dad laughs. “Sorry, I was thinking about stuff.”

“Sure you were,” Dad says, laughing. “I know you just don’t want to listen to me.”

Matthew could argue with him; of course he wants to listen. He’s listened to him on more topics than he can count for as long as he can remember. He wants to hear what his dad, who he admires as a person and a hockey player, has to say.

He’s not in the mood for it right now. The joke grates, but it always has, and nothing Matthew says has ever made it stop grating, or made Dad stop making it. He just chuckles. Over the phone, Dad won’t be able to tell that it’s a little forced.

“What were you saying?” Matthew asks. “I’m listening now, I promise.” The laugh under those words is a little forced too, but in Matthew’s defense he’s just got a lot on his mind. Some of it’s stuff he could talk about with Dad if he felt like it. But sometimes Dad just—well, sometimes Matthew thinks he answers questions like that based on what he would do rather than what he thinks would work for Matthew.

“Have you thought at all about what number you’re going to wear?” Dad asks.

This one, then.

Matthew has, of course. He knows that it’s a little conspicuous that he hasn’t settled on one yet. He knows people want to know what he’s going to do, have since the day he signed. That it would feel pointed if he didn’t wear Dad’s number but also if he did.

“I’m just focusing on training right now,” he says. He’s shit at lying to Brady and Taryn, but he can lie to Dad. Not about everything, not all the time. But he can do it, even if it makes his stomach churn.

They can always talk about it when Matthew’s back in St. Louis. Dad will be around, and Matthew does care what he thinks about it, especially if he hasn’t made up his mind by then.

Dad clears his throat, a little too pointed for Matthew’s taste. He knows what Dad wants, that Dad wants Matthew to wear his number and play the way he did and step perfectly into his shoes. Matthew doesn’t know if he can do that. Playing in Calgary made it easier to not do that, and he’s gotten used to it. There’s also the fact that there’s no guarantee it’ll happen in exactly the way Dad is having it play out in his head, even if Matthew did want it to.

“Seriously,” Matthew says. Too insistent. Pushing too hard. Dad brings that out in him, and sometimes it’s in good ways and other times it’s this. “We’ll talk when I’m back at home.”

“Sure,” Dad says, and it doesn’t sound sarcastic, but Matthew can tell he’s a little disappointed. Though he’s probably a little disappointed that this wasn’t the first conversation they had after Matthew signed, so that ship has sailed. “Looking forward to it.”

“Course,” Matthew says.

“You want to talk to Mom again?” Dad asks, and honestly, Matthew does.

“Have you really not decided yet or are you just bullshitting?” Mom asks as soon as she has the phone back. She must have gone into another room.

“I really haven’t decided,” Matthew says. “I swear.”

She laughs, and it feels different than when Dad laughs. That’s always been true, and Matthew’s never thought much about it, but he does now.

Matthew remembers following Dad around arenas as a little kid, wearing a jersey that hung down to his knees and wobbling on skates off the ice. He remembers thinking that his dad was the coolest person in the whole world, that he wanted to be just like him when he grew up. He also remembers the few early teenage years where he got to know Dad better, and the conversations they had as Matthew started to make decisions for his career, how much insight and perspective Dad was able to provide. He just also remembers the arguments when he was 15 and 16, the way that Dad never quite managed to hide what he thought would be best, even when he was trying to be supportive.

Matthew knows him well enough now to have an understanding of him as a whole person, good and bad.

“I’ll talk about it with him when I’m back home,” Matthew says. He means it.

“Okay,” Mom says. He can practically hear her smiling. “You don’t need to ask for his advice unless you want it,” she says. Matthew knows that. He also knows Dad will be gutted if Matthew doesn’t ask for his input. “Dad is yelling from the other room to tell you to text him when you’ll be back so he can set up a tee time for you two.”

“I will,” Matthew says. A deadline, then, unless he wants to talk about nothing but this for a full 18 holes, which, frankly. He’d much rather spend the time picking through all the rosters in the conference and making stupid wagers over who’s going to contend this year.

“He will!” Mom shouts, not even bothering to cover the phone. It rings in Matthew’s ear.

“Thanks,” he says, failing to muffle his laughter. “Talk to you soon?”

“Course,” Mom says. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Matthew answers before he hangs up.

[absolute-filth-factory]

I was already excited for the 23-24 season for the hawks and all of the new prospects coming up through the system, but the new every shift episode just made me more excited. I was originally kind of skeptical about the whole "taking dev camp off-ice" thing, but now I'm really glad they did it, for a lot of reasons.

Management actually gives a shit about the players!! I know that's like, basic human curtesy, but knowing a huge reason that Kyle Beach went through what he did was because management did not give a single shit about the players and only cared about the cup, it's a huge relief to see Davidson and Richardson being really supportive of the players and making decisions based on what's best for them, not just the hawks overall.

A big purpose of this camp was to allow the prospects to develop off-ice and get to see the city that they're (probably) going to be playing in within a couple years. I mean, they went to a Cubs game, took a boat tour on the Chicago river, took a cooking class, played floor hockey with a local boys and girls club, went to Second City (comedy club), and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Management isn't hanging them out to dry in that respect, and I am very glad for that.

Player interactions!! The episode was great in that it showed off so much personality, and it didn't just focus on the first-round draft picks, although of course they did get a bit more attention. We got to see a ton of different players doing things and interacting with one another, and it seems like the goal of team bonding was achieved. As Nazar said in the episode, you've got guys from America, Canada, overseas, and it's good that they're able to talk to each other and develop the kind of relationships and camaraderie that's necessary for a winning team (and also just really fun to watch). Sure, some of the players might have been up against each other in their league or in a tournament or maybe have been on the same team, but that's not really conducive to building team chemistry anyways.

Another two big reasons why they took the camp off-ice this year was to avoid causing or exacerbating injuries and to remove the stress of trying to perform well in a short period of time in front of management. I mean, these guys have already been playing hockey for a really long time, and scouts have already been watching and evaluating them, so why have them play high-stress, mostly meaningless hockey and put them at risk of somehow getting injured or making something worse. Yeah, you probably don't run into that many new injuries at dev camp (except for that kid up in Toronto who got a concussion the other day), but if players are trying to prove something to management, they're gonna be a lot more likely to play through something they should probably be leaving alone. It just seems like a better solution to me, and they're still going to be getting ice time in training camp in September.

Even though the camp was off-ice, the players were still doing a ton of conditioning. They boxed, did regular weight room stuff, probably some other things, and they took a class with Oduya on breathing techniques that can be used in a number of different ways. Richardson was directly involved in the boxing, too, which is great for a number of reasons, especially to help player-coach interactions.

Davidson seems to have a huge focus on culture and character, both in determining who he picks and how the players are expected to conduct themselves. There was a session on inclusion, from what I remember, and at the end of the episode, Davidson specifically brings up Moore talking about how the way Bedard carries himself has already affected him and the way he does things. That kind of thing is huge on any team, but I think it really shows that the hawks under Davidson are trying to create a good environment to play hockey and just be a team in, and it makes me really excited for the future of this team.

[nonsubstantial]

January 2024 art fascination diary

We're already most of the way through February, but I thought it would be kind of fun to write diary posts about my favorite things of each month, in 2024. Then, I can easily look back and remember what was making me happy all year long! If you are reading this, then maybe you will enjoy hearing about some of these things as well!

MUSIC: my favorite album of January was 「TORIENA makes me smile」 It came out in 2021, and even though I did enjoy it, I still slept on how truly good it was. Its genre can be described as hard electronic, rave, trance, or gabber. I felt compelled to relisten to every Toriena album this month, and after hearing them all back to back, it was by far my favorite one. I mostly listened to it while I was working, and it somehow motivated me, even as I felt like my body and mind were falling apart. You can listen to my favorite song from the album, linked here!

ANIMATION: my partner and I watched Adventure Time: Fionna And Cake! Obviously, I would only recommend this show to someone who has seen all of Adventure Time and Distant Lands, since it picked up right where Distant Lands left off. I should note that while I didn't agree with all of the character writing, or even major parts of the plot, I did think that it was a much better ending to the series than Distant Lands was. I'm still going to imagine my own alternate ending to Adventure Time, and especially Finn's future, but I liked that the show didn't hold back when incorporating some bold new ideas... even if I didn't agree with most of them >:/ On another bright side, I thought that most of the vocal performances were fantastic, and every aspect of the show's artwork and animation was superb. (You can find it on any cartoon streaming site, or just torrent the whole series like I did.)

REALITY / GAME SHOW: I had never watched it before, and to be quite honest I always thought I would be a hater, until a couple of friends (who I love dearly) convinced me to watch RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16. This is the season that is still ongoing, and surprisingly, it is the most fun that I can ever remember having while watching something weekly. I have both friends and coworkers to discuss it with, and every time a new episode comes out, I'm shocked by how much wit and talent goes into the entire production. I know it's a pretty popular show, and it has had its fair share of controversies, but the current season still feels revolutionary in a really good way. It has been a celebration of both community and creativity, so of course I would recommend it to any skeptics, like I used to be. (Additionally, this one also gets uploaded to many free streaming sites shortly after it airs, for those who can't pay to watch.)

VIDEO GAME: I started playing Lunacid on a plane ride back in December. I was returning home from visiting family, and I wanted a dungeon crawler that I could just mellow out with, with minimal mechanical complexity. I checked this game out after hearing that it was a modern take on the old Fromsoft series, King's Field, but I was completely sold as soon as I heard that the dev, Akuma Kira, worked on the dollhouse DLC for Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion. This game turned out to be exactly what I wanted. It scratched my dungeon crawling, treasure hunting, map-making itch, and delivered some fantastic artwork and music along the way. The dev also seems like a super cool person, and I hope I have the time to try out any games they make in the future too. (I feel like the type of person that will like this game knows who they are. Check out Akuma Kira's website for info, and support them if you can!)

MANGA: knowing that the anime would soon be airing, I started reading Dungeon Meshi. And I quickly realized that it is a series that is impossible to overhype. The artwork is consistently top-tier, the content and characters are mature yet lovable, and the tone is cozy yet riveting. It's so perfect, that the few inconsistencies I encountered came as so much of a shock to me that I ended up re-reading those chapters, just to make sure that I wasn't imagining the flaws instead. As I just mentioned, I love dungeon crawlers, so I feel I'm probably more inclined to love this manga than your average reader. But I would truly recommend this series to anyone who's into reading comics at all, because it has been such a uniquely exceptional experience. I don't have all the books yet, but I'll probably continue to read the physical copies throughout the early part of this year, most likely until completing the series. (I am buying the physical copies of this manga, but you can easily find it online as well!)

NOVEL: We Have Always Lived In The Castle was famous horror author Shirley Jackson's final full novel before her untimely death. I've never read any of previous work, but from what I understand, her final book incorporated as many of the themes and ideas of her past works as she could squeeze into it. And it shook me to my core. Even as I read through analysis of this book, I couldn't help but think that no single essay truly remarked upon the entirety of this novel's brilliance. It is perfectly concise, beautifully written, and certainly unique amongst all the books I've ever read. If you like tragedies, and gothic fiction containing very bleak social criticism, then definitely read this book. (I have so many gripes about the modern book covers, I truly wish I could get my hands on an old copy of this novel. Oh well... for now it's just another one that I have torrented. The audiobook is great too, btw.)

(that's it. my favorite art of January. There might be some repeats in February that are ongoing, like Dungeon Meshi and Ru Paul. I hope you have a good month!)

[westanovencleaner]

what none of you understand is that their hesitation and cluelessness often slows them down, which you can’t really have when disney is giving you only a certain amount of time on each episode (because time is money, and everything revolves around money, believe it or not). why even bother watching the show when you don’t like anything about it and just whine about every episode?

also, i’m sure you think you can do the show justice, but you can’t. you shouldn’t try and give advice to screenwriters, when your fanfiction lacks proper grammar.

Yeah, I know.

I would not have cared if they had to cut a few scenes to make room for their "hesitation and cluelessness." I would have understood that it was necessary. That's what I expected, actually. I think almost everyone expected that. I do care that they chose to keep almost all of them and still added more scenes and time to certain scenes, and, as a result, they hampered the action more than they needed to (at least in my humble opinion). If there's one thing I didn't expect, it was to be bored during most of the monster encounters (plus Procrustes).

The things I like (the humor and, on average, 30% of each episode) about the show are the reasons why I keep watching, so I'm not just here to whine. I do enjoy the good things in life, believe it or not. I keep watching, and do you want to know why? It's because I hope that the show can get better, so instead of sitting around being content with the possibility of missing the episode that could possibly turn the show around (and having to see the mostly unanimous joy on social media first, instead of experiencing it on my own), I've decided to come back every Tuesday/Wednesday with the hope that it will be better than last time. I was right when I sat down to watch episode 5, so why should I give up?

Honestly, considering the fact that I write all of my fics from 11pm-2am and the only thing you have to say about my fics is grammar, then I'm taking that as a compliment.

I don't think that I could do better (I'm sorry if I tend to come off as egotistical/elitist/your preferred word), as I have zero professional creative writing experience. I'm just a disappointed viewer who's making observations and making intuitive conclusions.

I'm also worried about season 2 because now that I've seen the effect of these constraints combined with Rick's insistence on rewriting the series (his changes should not have come at the cost of suspense), I'm worried that an adaptation of one of the less engaging books in the series will suffer a lot more.

Thankfully, the show has been successful in terms of money, so hopefully Disney will put more faith in the show and increase the budget. However, season 1 did have a $12-15 million budget per episode, and, on the high end, that's The Mandalorian's season 1 budget. There may be some budget mismanagement going on, and currently, I'm skeptical about how impactful a budget increase would be.

Do you like the characters' lack of "hesitation and cluelessness," or are you just resigned to this concept of the impossibility of improvement? You did say that I can't do the show justice, and your usage of "can't" implies that there is a 0% chance that I could do better: do you think that no one else could do better, or do you think that the writers and Rick just have some kind magic touch that allows them and only them to write the show properly? You also said that what I would theoretically be attempting to do would be to "do the show justice," and I'm assuming that you may have been trying to mock me and other people in the community who have criticized the show. Do you believe that the show is good enough as it is? If so, what are your reasons?

I'm sorry if this answer came off as passive-aggressive (it doesn't read that way to me, but I have been told that I am passive-aggressive) because I would actually like to see your responses to my questions.

[hyperfixationtimego]

I tried to be open minded about the show but I just can’t. Like I was enjoying the animation, then the girl who got murdered in the first scene was used to fill out a small crowd and I was like… this is kind of lazy. Absolutely none of the jokes have been funny. Some don’t even seem like jokes, just two unrelated thoughts smashed together in a way they’re hoping is funny. the only moment that kind of struck joy was when Fred’s dad spoke and I was like, hey that’s Fred og voice actor isn’t it? Cool.

The whole “Velma has ghastly mystery induced hallucinations” is an interesting angle bc I think it justified her sometimes ridiculous skepticism in other iterations. I do think my main problem is it’s trying to deconstruct popular character tropes by forcing existing characters into tropes they’ve never really fit.

Like it works better for a show like riverdale bc the Archie comics characters are relatively one note and just adapt to whatever situation they’re in. Velma is a high school setting prequel for characters who are already teenagers in the source so of course people are questioning why things are so different, and every scooby adaptation for 50 years has developed them into characters people are attached to. It’s like, two years tops before these kids are living in a van with each other and a fully grown Great Dane.

I kind of think an edgy scooby doo show should go the opposite way. They’re all like 40, scooby isn’t around anymore, they’re washed up and directionless because being a teen detective is cute but not a career choice. The live action scooby doo movie already kind of explored the gang breaking up as grownups though and can’t possibly be beaten, so instead there’s another scooby doo prequel but this time the characters are intentionally grating and the humor simply doesn’t work. And there’s no scooby doo

You raise some very good points! And I concur with a lot of what you’re saying!

I agree, a good deal of the humor and dialogue doesn’t land, or feels overly embellished. At best, it’s pretty meh.

Frankly, I completely understand why diehard fans of previous scooby doo versions wouldn’t enjoy it; there’s a lot of change that’s been done to the characters and world you’ve already come to love, so it makes sense why VELMA’s more sardonic and satirical nature might be off-putting or difficult to stand. (I get it!! I’m a huge TMNT fan, but I personally just can’t enjoy ROTTMNT because of how fundamentally different it is from what I grew up with, and I feel a similar way about the current Monster High generation!)

(also yes!! The og va for Fred playing Fred’s dad was indeed a cool little Easter egg! not sure if you managed to get that far, but Norville’s dad’s appearance was also included as homage to Shaggy’s original character design, which I thought was pretty fun!)

You gave it a shot, and you didn’t like it! That’s completely fair! I admire the fact that you were willing to try it, though!!

But I hear what you’re saying in terms of the show being a prequel, and I think the only answer I really have is that, for as much of it is rooted in the past of Scooby Doo canon, the show itself is its own work, and it’s probably going to make a lot of choices that conflict with past iterations. I feel Scooby’s lack of presence is a pretty fair indicator of that; it’s not the gang we’re used to, and it may well be that the gang we end up with when the season/series wraps won’t be concurrent with the mystery inc we all currently know and love.

But I think that’s mostly because I don’t think VELMA is meant to be a prequel of any iteration in particular, you know? like the show is telling the origin story of ITS Velma Dinkley and ITS mystery incorporated, not the origin story of every version of Velma & Mystery Inc. ever. It draws heavy inspiration from its source material, but a lot of the broad strokes are likely to be pretty unfamiliar!

As for the idea of an older and washed up edgy mystery inc, I think that that could make for a HILARIOUS punchy animated short, but the idea of it as the premise for an on-going comedic series sounds a bit depressing. I don’t know! I feel like there’s at least a little bit of a safety net in knowing that this is an origin story; we know they ultimately end up happier and closer to one another than where they initially began!

Thank you for the ask, anon; I really appreciate it!

(Also, do you happen to know which scene the dead girl’s character model gets used in to fill out a crowd? I’m just curious to see if I can spot it for myself!)

[stillness-in-green]

PLF Spotting (S6/E1)

Being a series of posts about the Paranormal Liberation Front material in Season Six, how it's treated, and anything added or removed from it. I'm very curious about how the anime's going to handle a lot of the war arc's material, like the Spinner scenes building on his MVA material, the scant amounts of the MLA we get, how certain scenes are framed, etc, so these posts will be mostly focusing on any of my observations about that. All the points about the villains (even if only tangentially) will make up the main body of the posts, whereas any stray observations about student or hero material will be in an odds-and-ends section at the end.

These are not going to be anywhere near as in-depth as the labor of love and grief that were my MVA In Memoriam posts, but I am an inveterate rambler, so I don't expect them to be real short, either, at least not every time. Unlike the MVA posts, these will have pictures.

I don't know if I'll keep them up all the way through Season 6; we'll see how it goes. Hit the jump!

On The Villains:

I enjoy this shot of Machia from behind, particularly the clutch of people who are having to make do with the view of the stage seen from between his legs.

    

It’s “Red”!  Though Twice just calls him Carmine in the anime, per the regiment, rather than the nickname for said regiment he used in the manga.  I like the way they adapted this guy's design from the manga.  The mid-blonde shade works well, he’s appropriately fluffy, and the coloring on his clothes is much the same as I would have guessed from their resemblance to combat fatigues.

    

New pictures!  To accompany Twice’s lines about why he’s coming to Hawks for Liberation credo advice.  It’s the barest of scraps, but interesting for a dash of new material.  The most notable points are firstly the confirmation of the long-standing suggestion that Sanctum is, in fact, the name of Twice’s Number 1 and secondly the shot of Giran, apparently back at his day job. 

Having put Giran back at work, I’ll be curious to see if the anime includes the shot of him at the villa during Twice’s death, the last we’ve seen of him so far in the manga.  (I notice they framed the shot so they didn’t have to make any hard calls on the state of his hand, though.)

I did get a good snerk out of Dabi's shot being very obviously the same couch he'll be filming his video on.

I also noticed a fairly significant difference in the Crunchy/Funi translation and Viz's on Twice's quote of Sanctum. To wit, the Viz release has Sanctum's line talking about how many people in Twice's regiment are harboring doubts, while the Funi translation has him saying that many people are still distrustful of the regiment itself.

While the latter translation is perhaps more interesting by virtue of being less expected—what it says that Sanctum includes himself in the group that's distrusted—but according to my trusty Translator Sis, the point this time goes to Viz.

        

The colors on the villa building are nicely chosen, with the dark browns, in particular, being very reminiscent of traditional inns and the like.  The fenced-in yard and lack of any of the mountains the villa is supposed to be in are rather underwhelming, however.

    

I really don’t love the way the anime frames Hawks explaining the regiment leadership.  The way the lieutenants get pushed in from the sides while the advisor reel scrolls down means that, by the time we’re at the third ranks, there are several whose faces you can’t even see.  Literally all you can see of Skeptic’s Number 3 is the very edge of his shoulder. (Dare I say, Heteromorph Erasure?)

Geten's and Compress's fare much the same. 

Grandma Bindi is missing her bindi!  Oddly, though, Big Sis Bindi retains hers.  I know the anime didn’t miss the connection; they gave them exactly the same hair color.  (More on the coloring decisions later.)

Glad the anime caught Toga’s Number 1’s dark skin, even if we’ve yet to see her again, and the yellow tone (for the…Carmine Regiment?) is not tremendously flattering.  They did leave out the extremely punk buckle collar on her shirt, though. Boo.

They also darkened up the hair on Toga’s Number 3 and for sure went all in on making that character a woman, judging by the cleavage, which is much more, shall we say, definitive than it was in the manga, where the drawing was small and indistinct enough to be ambiguous on whether it was showing breasts or just well-defined pectorals.

    

The anime’s shot of the discontented blue-collar folk Hawks talked to is considerably different from the manga’s.  The manga just depicts one of those conversations literally, a handful of discontented people clearly in the middle of explaining their beef.  The anime opts to go symbolic rather than literal with this wall of silent, angry faces.  I think it's a solid choice, though, largely for its inclusion of people in the food service, construction and fire rescue sectors—i.e. exactly the sort of people whose absence is going to contribute to societal collapse when you arrest thousands of them without warning.

     

Highly questionable change to the fears in Hawks’ minds-eye, and definitely the thing I raised the most eyebrow at this episode.

In the manga, Hawks' little doomsaying Imagine Spot, the fear that he will soon use to justify Jin’s murder, is a line of Twices in front of a line of Hood-chans.  Hawks fought Hood-chan with Endeavor; he’s keenly, personally aware of how massively dangerous a functionally unlimited number of High End Noumu could be, even if they are more fragile than the real thing in some nebulous, hard-to-put-numbers-on way.

In the anime, however, this shot is replaced instead with an image of an army of Twices, endless lines marching in perfect unison.  Anime!Hawks is not thinking about what all those Twices could create at all, only about their possible existence.

To put it another way, Manga!Hawks is preparing himself to kill Jin because of what Jin could do.  Anime!Hawks is preparing to kill Jin because of who Jin is.  Not, I think, something that bodes well for how the anime’s going to frame their upcoming confrontation.

Being more generous, I could observe that Hawks clearly never had a handle on who Jin is if he thought doubling a bunch of High Ends is something that would ever cross Jin's mind, and the regimented nature of the march above suggests a similar failure to grasp Jin's personality: the real Sad Man's Parade is nothing like what Hawks imagines above!

That's being generous, though; I still dislike what it portrays to the audience as being the "real" danger of Twice.

    

Pus Yellow is maybe not the color choice I would have made for Mocha-chan.

Making X-Less’s cape red is exactly correct, however.  And man, it’s been a little hilarious to watch the back-and-forth on that. As I've followed it, it's gone about like this:

Manga!Shigaraki wakes up and murders X-Less for his cape ‘cause he’s wet and cold.  No one knows what color the cape is because the scene’s in black and white.

People notice that X-Less appeared in the Hassaikai arc way back when and so go back to dig up screenshots from the relevant episode to determine the color of Shigaraki’s future cape—red.  Fitting!  But unless Horikoshi slipped the anime people a very strange note during the design stages, that color is basically random chance.

The anime staff apparently decide Shigaraki doesn’t get to have such a heroic-colored cape (despite themselves giving him a red trench coat for the movie!) and specifically change X-Less’s color palette such that the Season Six promo trailer shows him with a black cape[1] instead.

A number of people complain.

The actual episode rolls around and X-Less’s red cape is restored, putting us back on track for Red Cape Shigaraki, as portrayed in the OP and ED of the season.

    

Point: The anime adds a fair amount to Tsukauchi’s speech about the plan, though one can’t help but notice that nowhere is there any mention of all those other teams we’ll later find out are “hitting the other PLF bases around the country.”

    

Point: If it were one of the students coughing up music notes from their nose, they would have gotten them as a silly visual.  God, why can’t the villains keep their cartoony panels?

There’s something almost perverse about this sequence.  Like, in the manga, while Endeavor and company aren’t at a full-tilt sprint or anything, it’s obvious in their body language that there’s at least a bit of hustle happening, you know? 

I realize that it’s sometimes hard to balance dialogue and action when manga authors can be so bad about cramming single panels to the brim with verbiage, but look.  The heroes+Tsukauchi walking very slowly down a hallway conversing amongst themselves and already aiming interrogatory questions at the cowering, feeble old man struggling to drag himself away from them, unable to so much as rise to his hands and knees as he does so?  It is a bad vibe.  The heroes come off like unhurried predators stalking a wounded animal, and even if you think Ujiko deserves that and much worse, it’s also just out of keeping with the heroes' own previously expressed concerns about arresting Ujiko quickly before anyone else in the PLF notices.

    

The addition of a huge Police HQ room is wack, but I admit I mainly think so because it’s the kind of thing I look at and have the immediate response, “So remind me again how not a single member of the thousands upon thousands of people occupying myriad and varied positions in society managed to catch wind of this in advance?”

    

On Everything Else:

The opening narration runs, “In a superhuman society where about 80% of the world's population is born with a supernatural Quirk(…)”  If that’s accurate, it’s a fairly embarrassing example of the anime missing a fundamental part of the worldbuilding right out of the gate.  It’s going back to that 20% quirkless number, but that number has never stated that 20% of people are born, right here and now in Deku’s modern age, without quirks.  Rather, 20% is the number of people currently living who are quirkless.  It's not a static percentile, but one that is skewed heavily towards older generations.  Good job, anime! After all, it's not like that’s going to be a huge part of why the vestiges tell Deku it has to end with him next season!     

The title screens this season are maybe a bit interesting.  PLUS ULTRA! they say, but all in reds with splatter marks reminiscent of blood spray.  They foreshadow a lot of violence, I think, violence which the design connects implicitly to that UA motto.     

The anime gives a line of Rock Lock’s to Endeavor.  They give Rock Lock a different, new line at the beginning of the scene, but it is a slight shift in characterization.  The reassigned line asks how the police know that Garaki Kyudai is the man behind the Noumu, which is the kind of question that is 100% in line with Rock Lock’s skeptical, inquisitive, brusque persona.  Endeavor is, I think, rather less prone to double-checking other people in his field.[2]     

The additional animation given to Midnight as she comforts Komori is very nicely done and feels a lot more painful with knowledge of what’s coming.     

I also like that the added line about whether Kaminari and company will be on the front lines goes to Mineta, who is very consistently portrayed throughout the entire series as getting very anxious when his classmates are in danger, and who is also the student who will be most vocal about whether the heroes made the right call in events to come.     

The anime adds a little scene of Fuyumi and Natsuo that is clearly modeled on the cover of Chapter 159—they’re exiting what’s obviously the same building—but leaves out the third person who was on that cover: Natsuo’s mouse-eared girlfriend.  Dare I say again, Heteromorph Erasure?

    

Season Premiere Special—On the OP/ED:

The lack of MLA rep in the intro is fucking criminal.  Did we really need two separate cuts of Dabi when this arc is the last we’re going to get of anything remotely relevant for Re-Destro and Geten to date?     

One of those Dabi cuts really ought to have gone to Spinner, too, if this cour is going to cover the entirety of the war arc (it could, I think, based on the rate of adaptation so far—it might run an episode or two long, but so did the Hassaikai arc). Spinner's got several key moments.     

The balance of student screentime, meanwhile, is telling.  Consider two examples: Tokoyami and Shouto. 

Tokoyami is in the first wave attack on the villa; he takes out one of its exits, (temporarily) neutralizes the incredibly dangerous Re-Destro, and has a direct encounter with Dabi in which he saves Hawks’ life.  Of the students on the villa side of this arc, no one gets more sustained time and attention or has more singular impact.  Yet not only does Tokoyami not get any special focus, he isn’t in the opening anywhere.  He doesn’t even manage to make the 1-A group shot, since the people in it are the ones in Momo’s back-up group.

Shouto, by contrast, has got barely anything to do in this arc.  He helps with the evacuation and will eventually be revealed to have followed Bakugou and Midoriya, but that’s not going to happen until halfway through the arc.  Even throughout the remainder, Shouto's playing backup, taking only one shot that’s even sort of notable against Shigaraki and spending the entire rest of his time either backing up Endeavor or reacting to Dabi’s reveal.  And yet, he is slathered all over this opening sequence.  I’ve got nothing against the kid, but jfc this opening makes it really clear that he, Bakugou and Midoriya are the runaway fan favorites.     

Why…  Why is Thirteen in the final shot of the opening?  She vanishes in the basement attack and isn’t seen again until the very tail end of the arc, for heaven’s sake.     

I like the closing considerably better, though all the focus on the Tenko/Izuku bond is a little strange, given that that material is not going to be remotely relevant this cour.  It’s affecting all the same, though.  I particularly dig the blurry shot of Shigaraki’s mindscape, and that rapid three-shot series leading from Tenko’s long walk to Tomura standing before Deku looks gorgeous.[3]  Truly, it’s material that really would have warranted last season’s Uso Janai, the one specifically written to express Deku’s feelings towards Shigaraki that got handed off to goddamn Hawks instead.       I thought at the time, “Well, maybe Sakiyami Soushi shouldn’t have turned that song in two seasons ahead of the point at which it would be relevant,” but if Bones was always willing to start dropping hints about Deku’s shifting feelings early, maybe they could have done so back then.     

Midnight being the focal point of the shot of UA's teachers despite her lack of prominence up to this point is something of a giveaway, but a nicely done one.     

The fluttering handkerchief catching Uraraka’s attention is very good, as is all of the League stuff that follows.  I'd have liked Spinner to get something more prominent, given how center-stage he’ll be in grounding Toga and waking Shigaraki, but given that he didn’t even make it to the opening this cour, and his shot in the previous OP was weirdly off-model, it’s nice to see him at least present and looking good.     

The quick flash to Rei’s flowers just as Dabi lights up the Endeavor poster is very good.  Nice foreshadowing of both Rei’s return and Dabi’s best attempt to destroy the family’s incredibly fragile peace.     

God, Shigaraki having properly white hair is so satisfying.     

Deku running through the crowd of classmates here is obvious foreshadowing for him leaving UA at the end of this cour, and I gather a number of people have talked about the order in which Deku passes his classmates, who’s left for last, etc. It is, of course, telling that the last batch consists of Iida (gets pride of place on seizing Deku’s hand to bring him back into the fold at the climax of Villain Hunt), Uraraka and Shouto (fellow members of the Unexpected Sympathy For Villains Club), and Bakugou (self-explanatory).  There is one other person in that final clutch, however: Shouji.

Deku passes Shouji after Iida, even, which at first glance is a little strange, given how obviously important those last few classmates are.  Shouji has no particularly strong relationship with Deku, nor will he have a prominent role in this season’s material or Villain Hunt’s to follow—and yet, there he is. To stop beating around the bush, yes, I am very much choosing to read this as hinting towards Shouji’s emergence as the UA student who’s going to have to deal most prominently with the anti-heteromorph sentiment the final arc brings into focus in the upcoming collapse.       Will the anime retcon in the CRC and Spinner’s experience with heteromorphobia?  That remains to be seen.  But at the very least, someone on the staff is paying attention to who’s going to be foiling the member of the League the anime keeps trying to downplay.     

Hell yeah, Gran Torino’s cape fluttering off into the sky; get that yellow symbol of failure outta here!

---FOOTNOTES---

[1] As if that’s a remotely reasonable choice for a hero whose quirk doesn’t somehow bank on black like Tokoyami or Kuroiro.

[2] I leave it for the reader to decide if that’s because Endeavor has more faith in the system or because he’s simply unconcerned with the consequences of acting on bad intel.

[3] Though I do persist in thinking that one of the important parts of the Long Walk is that a lot of people, not just one old woman, saw Tenko and either instinctively shied back or visibly made the decision to look away from him.  The episode covering that material softened it into a busy crowd of people not seeming to notice Tenko one way or the other, and this closer does the same thing.

[justcallmefox89]

Love Island: Ex in the Villa - Chapter One

It’s the first day in the Villa for introvert Eòin, who’s been single since a bad breakup a few years ago.  There’s more to this shy single than meets the eye, and he’s got a few secrets.  But secrets don’t stay secret for long in the Villa

Features a mostly bisexual cast and a male MC.           

           “You look like hell.”

           I shrug at the producer. “I can always leave.”

           Ethan grins at me. “Just so you know that threat will only work so many times before I quit believing you.  Besides, I never said you looked bad.”

           I roll my eyes and fight back a grin.  “You’re ridiculous.”

           “Made you smile though.”

           Considering Ethan looks like sex walking packed into six feet of muscled perfection, I bet anyone with a pulse who’s even remotely attracted to men would smile around him.  I choose to keep that thought to myself.

           “I still don’t understand why I’m going in with the girls.  Shouldn’t I be waiting with the rest of the guys?” I ask, nervously tying up, then letting down my long, black hair.

           “Things are a little different this season since we’re starting over with a brand new production team,” Ethan answers, the warmth suddenly leeching out of his brown eyes. “Any nearly every cast member is bi, so we thought it would be a fun idea to have a mixed group doing the choosing this time.”

           “Uh-huh.”

           “Oh, don’t look at me like that.  I know you have some concerns about doing the show, but I promise I really am on your side, Eòin.”

           I gnaw on my cuticle and stare at him skeptically.

           “Hey, hey.”  He steps towards me and places his hands on my shoulders.  “I know you’re worried, but everything is going to be fine.  And you’ll have me in your corner every step of the way.”

           Warm hands.  Big, warm hands.  He’s so pretty.  Abort, abort, abort!

           I step away from him and quickly push the inappropriate thought out of my head.  Catching feelings for anyone on this show would be stupid, but falling for a producer would be next level idiocy, even for me.  

           “Alright, it’s showtime.  You ready to go?”

           I hastily run my hands through my hair and try to smooth some of the wrinkles from my shirt.  “Yeah, I guess so.”

           Ethan guides me to the end of the drive, positioning me until he’s happy with the lighting and camera angles.  “OK, you’ll walk up to the Villa and the girls are going to come out to meet you.  There will be a few minutes for introductions and then we’ll call you out to meet the others and have you make first your coupling picks.”

           “Got it.”  I take a few deep breaths and bounce up and down on my toes, trying to psyche myself up.  “K.  I’m ready.”

           Ethan nods and signals for the cameraman to begin filming.  I make it three steps down the drive before he’s shouting.

           “Come on, Eòin!  You need to look like you’re happy to be here!  You’re excited, this is your summer to find love… I need the viewers to believe it.  That’s the saddest walk I’ve ever seen.”

           I will not strangle this man in front of all these witnesses, I will not strangle this man in front of all these witnesses…..

           “That’s how I walk, Ethan.  It’s how I’ve been doing it for over twenty-six years now, and I’ve always been very successful.”

           He hustles to my side. “We’re trying to sell a fantasy.  You need to either make people want you or want to be you.  We need you to give us some energy, some sex appeal.”

           “I have neither of those things,” I say, blinking up at him from my diminutive height of five feet four inches.    

           “Liar.”  Ethan’s full lips curve into a playful smirk.  “I’ve seen you on stage.  You’ve got sexiness in spades; you just need to let everyone see it.”

           He thinks I’m sexy?

           My heart does a traitorous little pitter-pat in my chest.  

           “We’re going to start rolling again.  You can do this.”  He pats my shoulder and once again takes his place next to the cameras.

           I close my eyes and take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself.  I start to go through my pre-show checklist.  Shoulders back, spine straight, arms loose, sway my hips, barest hint of a smile on my lips.  And walk.

           “Perfect!”  Ethan gives me a thumbs up.

           The soles of my sneakers scuff along the cobblestone of the drive and I focus on that sound as the Villa’s iconic entrance comes into sight.  The door flies open, and a cute, bouncy blonde girl bounds outside to greet me.

           “There you are!  We were wondering when the last one of us would get here!  I’m Dana, and you’re a total spice bomb!”  She flashes me an adorable smile.  “So pumped you’re going to be in the Villa with us!  But here I am rambling on, and I haven’t even asked your name.”

           I return her smile with a shy one of my own, praying that I haven’t started to blush.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the receiving end of so much attention from such an attractive person.  “Hey.  I’m Eòin.”

           “So great to meet ya, Eòin!  Can’t believe we’re all here.  I was a bag of nerves walking in.  How are you feeling about being in the Villa, Eòin?”

           “Um, I wasn’t even goi-”  I stop talking when I notice Ethan waving his arms and making aggressive slashing motions over his throat.  “Insanely nervous, to be honest.  I’ve never done anything like this before.”

           “Then we’re not alone! And you’re totally going to boss this. I can already tell,” Dana reassures me. “In fact, we’ll boss it together. I’ve got you, Eòin.  Who knows what will happen.. or exactly what your summer on Love Island will be?  Come on, let’s get inside.  I can’t wait for you to meet Kat… and she’s got a surprise for you, too!”

           I follow Dana to the garden, glancing quickly at Ethan, who narrows his eyes at me in warning. The sudden pop! of a champagne cork makes me jump, and pulls my attention away from the producer.

           “Cork popped just as you walked in.  That’s gotta be a sign,” says the sultry brunette holding a foaming champagne bottle.

           “Eòin, this is Kat!  I made her wait until you showed up to pop the fizz,” Dana quickly introduces us.

           “And I ain’t a patient girl.  Still, Dana bet you’d be a proper ten.  And she was bang on.”  Kat trails her eyes appraisingly over my body.  “Now I guess we’ll see how well you take a compliment…”  

           “Thanks, darlin’.  You’re both absolute worldies.”

           Kat wrinkles her nose at my accent.  “Where you from, love?”

           “Kat!” Dana scolds her.

           I huff out a soft laugh.  “Scottish mum, but my dad’s Louisiana Cajun.”

           “American?”  Both girls eyes widen in interest.

           “Yeah.”

           “Well I appreciate the compliment.  Glad to hear you’ve got good taste, babe.  Even if you’re just stating the obvious.”  Kat gives me an arrogant smirk.

           Okaaaay.

           “Alright, enough chat. The champers is popped, and no way can we let good bubbles go to wastes,” Kat declares.  

           “Same!”  Dana grabs a glass and holds it aloft.  “Let’s get this party started!  Should we make a toast?”

           “Ohh… I’ll start, you finish it, Eòin .  Here’s to a summer of…” Kat trails off, looking at me expectantly.

           Out of the corner of my eye I see Ethan spreading his arms wide and waving them around.  

           Jesus Christ.

           Internally rolling my eyes, I paste on a smile, raise my champagne glass, and lie like a rug.  “Here’s to a summer of love!  I’m all about the heart, ladies.”

           “He’s after true love!  Goals – but maybe not mine.”  Dana bumps her shoulder into mine playfully.  “Hoping the Villa changes that though.”

           Kat snickers.  “Open to love for sure, but lust is a must for me.”

           We all clink our glasses together and take our first sips.  

           “So what are your types on paper then?” I ask hesitantly.  I can already feel the stirring of attraction towards Dana, and I’d rather find out now if I’m not her type.

           Dana finishes off her champagne.  “Love anyone who can make me laugh until I cry.  If you’ve got the bants, you’re getting in my pants.”

           “Oh my god!” I wheeze, laughing and trying to drink at the same time.  

           Kat shrugs.  “I don’t really have a type.  As long as they’re a 6-foot, confident bad boy, with muscles and tats.  I get bored fast, and I need a boy who can keep me on my toes.  Or I’ll run riot.”

           “Keeping it nice and shallow, I see,” I murmur to Dana under my breath.  She snickers quietly and pours us both another drink.

           “I might mix it up a bit in here,” Kat continues.  “My nan wants me to find a nice boy.  I must have dated every player in Basildon.”

           “I might’ve dated one or two of those in Manchester,” Dana chimes in.  “What about you, Eòin?”

           I shrug, suddenly intensely interested in bubbles swirling around in my glass.  “I haven’t really dated much.  My only serious relationship ended about two years ago… and my work makes it hard to get to know someone.  So uh, yeah.”

           Dana gives my hand a comforting squeeze.  “Then hopefully this summer you get a chance to meet someone special.”

           “Yeah, I hope so,” I whisper, smiling softly as I look into her piercing blue eyes.

           Kat’s phone pings. “I got a text!  Ok it says… Get ready to meet the other Islanders!  But there might be an unexpected surprise for one of you!  #HereComeTheBoys #FirstCoupling.”

           “Just boys?”  Dana’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

           Kat throws an arms around her shoulders.  “If we’re going to be the only girls we should take advantage of it.  Let’s go get ready!”  

           The pair dash of into the Villa while I slowly walk behind them, my stomach churning with anxiety. I try to motion Ethan over to me, but he avoids my eyes and draws another producer into conversation.  Occasionally the two glance over at me, and Ethan scowls as the second producer shakes her head.

           Oh, that’s not suspicious at all. 

           Kat and Dana buzz around the dressing room while I pick through my clothes in the bedroom.  

           “What do you think the unexpected surprise is?” I call to them.  

           “I reckon there’s gonna be a proper plot twist lined up for us this season.”  Kat appears in the door way, bronzer in hand.  “Which means we need to be ready for anything!”  She raises a fluffy makeup brush in the air to emphasis her point.

           “So looking best is a must-must-must.”  Dana has a bikini in each hand.

           “I can’t stop worrying about this surprise.”  I fall back onto a bed and pull a pillow over my face.  

           “You know it’s gonna be big!” Kat shouts over the sounds of her hair dryer.

           Dana snatches my pillow away.  “Don’t stress.  Dress!”

           “Hey!”  I make a grab for it but she’s quicker.  She smacks the pillow against my chest, then skips away, giggling.

           “The text said it’s about one of us.  And even if it’s not about me, I always want to stand out.”  Kat strides to the closet, critically examining its contents.

           Dana nods.  “Agree.  First impressions are massive in the Villa.”

           “I’ve got a cheeky feeling this surprise is about Eòin.”  Kat cuts her eyes to me.

           I frown, nibbling on my lower lip.  “Really?”

           She shrugs.  “Just a hunch.  So this is the time to go big with your look.”

           “Yeah, you’re a hottie! The hair, the eyes, your skin. But you’d look even hotter in those tropical boardshorts.  Why don’t you try them on?” Dana urges me.

           “I know you’re my competition, but you’d defo be the best dressed for the first recoupling,” Kat chimes in.

           Dana lowers her eyes, then coyly looks up at me beneath her lashes.  “Even I want to choose you in that look!  You’ll be turning all the heads.  So are you going to wear that and stand out for the first coupling?”

           Dana’s adorable, but Jesus and all his saints couldn’t get me to wear that hot pink and turquoise monstrosity on international television.

           “Um… I’m going to check what else I brought,” I say quickly, ducking back into the safety of the bedroom and rummaging through my suitcase.  I settle on an outfit and go into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind me.

           “You shy babes?” Kat calls through the door with a laugh.

           I pull on my clothes in a rush, nodding with approval at my reflection when I’m done.  The long sleeve Def Leppard concert t-shirt is so old and worn, it’s threadbare and see-through in some places, but it’s light and soft, the clothing equivalent of a warm hug.  Plain, knee-length black boardshorts, and black thongs complete the look.  

           It might be a bit plain, but it’s me.

           My phone chimes, the noise loud in the empty bathroom.  I run back into the dressing room and share the text with the girls.  “Eòin, the boys are waiting by the pool for the first coupling.  You get the first pick of the boys.  #TakeYourPick  #FirstChoice.”

           Oh god…

           Kat scowls.  “As if you get first choice!”

           “Go get ‘em!”  Dana gives me a gentle push out the door.

           I step out into the garden and find two boys waiting for me by the pool.  Kat and Dana follow me at a distance, peeking out of the Villa to watch the proceedings.  Both boys cheer when the see me, calming some of my nerves.  

           “Here we go!”  The blonde sends me a smoldering smile.

           “Now we’re talking,” the other one adds with a cheesy grin.

           The blonde runs a hand through his hair, showing off a sculpted chest and abs I have a sudden urge to lick.  “Love the outfit babes.  All the flames.”

           “You look blinding, darlin’.  Hot first impression!”  The second boy seems like a sweetheart, he gives off a genuine vibe that I instantly find myself drawn too.

           “You’re on, Eòin!  How do you want to play this?” Dana stage whispers from the doorway.

           I anxiously tug on the cuff of my shirt and offer the boys a tiny wave.  “Um, hi.  I’m Eòin.”

           “No need to be nervous, darlin’,” the brunette says soothingly.  “I’m Alfie.  You seem like a total vibe, and I reckon we’re gonna have a laugh.”

           I manage a small smile. Alfie seems pretty loud and boisterous, which is the antithesis of what I’m normally into.  But he seems nice.

           And nice can be good.

           The other boy steps into my line of sight.  “Hey, Eòin. My name’s Eddie.  And you are absolutely my type on paper.”

           I bite my lower lip. “That so?”

           “I saw some factor 50 by the daybeds if ya wanna law it on a little thicker,” Alfie jokingly interrupts.

            “Just being real bro,” Eddie smoothly responds.

           “Just winding you up a little bit Eddie-mate.”

           Maybe Alfie’s not going to be a good fit after all.

           I tilt my head to the side, a little confused.  “Is it just you two then?”

           Ethan signals to someone and another boy comes around the corner, swaggering towards us.

           “Oh no.”  My voice is a barely there whisper and I press a hand to my stomach in an effort to stop the sudden urge to vomit.  My hands start shaking and a cold chill sweeps over my body.

           “Hey gorgeous.”  Suresh winks at me.  “I always knew we’d see each other again.”

           I curl in on myself, keeping my gaze locked onto my feet.  I blink rapidly, fighting the sting of oncoming tears.

           “Do I still make you speechless after all this time?” Suresh teases.

           I clench my jaw tightly and try to control my breathing.  The world becomes fuzzy at the edges, and everyone sounds as if they’re speaking underwater.

           “Something’s wrong, we need to stop,” Ethan says.  “Cut.  Cut the cameras.”

           “No, this is perfect,” the other producer, Vanessa, overrules him.  “This is exactly the kind of emotional response people want to see.”

           He glares at her helplessly.  “Fine,” he grits out.

           “You’re really not going to say anything after all this time?” Suresh demands, annoyed.

           I shrug, still looking at the ground.

           “For fuck’s sake, Eòin…” he growls.

           “Dude, back off,” Alfie interjects, stepping between us.  “He’s obviously uncomfortable right now.”

           “Anyone care to explain what exactly is going on?” Eddie asks.

           “We used to be together,” I manage to say quietly.

           “For nearly two years.” Suresh flashes the boys a cocky smirk. “I could say a lot more.  But I don’t kiss and tell.”

           “Something tells me you’re leaving out a big part of the story,” Alfie says.  “And that’s probably why Eòin isn’t exactly happy to see you.”

           “Getting the same feeling.  What went down?”  Eddie casts me a worried look.

           Suresh shrugs.  “That’s personal between me and Eòin.  All I’m saying is mistakes were made and we broke up.   Well, he broke up with me.”

           My head snaps up.  “Mistakes?  That’s what you’re calling it?  Why don’t you tell everyone what those mistakes were, Suresh?”  I’m unable to hide the hurt that creeps into my voice.

           “Wow, we’re going there straight off?  There’s a lot more to it than this.  Defo two sides to the story.”

           I hunch my shoulders and lower my head, trying to escape his scowl.

           Two sides my pasty white ass.

           “Spill, geezer.”   Alfie gives him a hard look.

           “I slipped up one night,” Suresh mumbles, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

           “Not cool,” Eddie snaps.

           “It was a one time thing,” Suresh tries to defend himself.

           “Nah, geez, it’s never just one time.”  Alfie looks disgusted.

           Suresh shrugs, cocky grin firmly back in place.  “Well, there’s a lot you don’t know.  But me being here changes the game, boys.”

           “Or me and Alfie just became better options!”

           “Good point, mate.”  Alfie nudges Eddie and smiles.  “What do you think, Eòin?  Do me and Eddie stand a better chance of coupling up with you now that your ex is in the Villa?”

           “Um… yeah, probably,” I answer him shyly.  

           “Why eat stale bread when you’ve got two freshly baked loaves to bite into right here?”

           Eddie nods.  “I’m with Alfie.  I might be ready to step forward right now.  Anyway, I’ve been pumped to get to know you since you first walked out!”

           Alfie giggles.  “Cheers, Eddie, love you too mate!” He pauses.  “Oh wait, you meant Eòin?  That makes more sense.”

           Way too full on, my guy.

           I smile wanly.  “Have you always been a joker, Alfie?”

           “Yep.  I get it from my old man.  He’s always cracking me up at work.  We’ve got a family building firm.”  

           “What do you build?”

           “For starters I could build a wall between you and Suresh if you want?”

           Alfie’s unexpected offer draws a startled laugh out of me.

           “Hilarious,” Suresh snarls, while Eddie chuckles appreciatively.

           Alfie studies me intently.  “What do you say, Eòin?  Am I ticking a few boxes?”

           I nod timidly, afraid to do much more under Suresh’s intense scrutiny.  “So what about you, Eddie?  What do you do?”

           “I’m a country boy originally.  But often in London chilling with mates or doing modelling work.  My mum always said I have a face any girl would love,” he says cheekily.  “Little did she know the boys would love it too.  And luckily my agent agrees.”

           Suresh scoffs.  “Mate… are you serious?”

           “Nah, just bantering.”  Eddie shrugs.  “Truth is I’ve been single a while and I’m definitely read for something serious… with the right person.  What do you say, Eòin?  Could I be a bit of you?”

           “You think I might be a bit of you?”  I tuck my hair behind my ears and straighten up, trying to seem a bit more confident.

           “I like what I’m seeing so far.”  

           “Me too.”  We share a small, private smile.

           Suresh shakes his head and lets out a low huff.  

           “Glad you’re on board.  You’re stunning Eòin, and seem like you’d be a vibe.”  Eddie subtly flexes, showing off his impressive biceps, and I bring a hand to my mouth to check for drool.

           “What about me, babe?  Don’t I get a chance to have a proper chat?”  Suresh arches one dark eyebrow at me.

           “I-I-I…” I inhale, trying to get my stutter under control.  “I don’t think I want to talk to you right now.”

           Suresh looks away, his jaw tightening just a little.

           “All right then. Time to chose who to couple up with!”  Alfie claps his hands.

           “OK… um step forward if you’re into me.  Please.”   I wring my hands together, hoping Suresh doesn’t.

           Alfie steps forwards first, shrugging his shoulders with disarming confidence.  “I was always stepping forward for ya, darlin’.”

           Eddie steps forward next, rubbing the back of his neck with a boyish charm.  “For what it’s worth I think there’s real chemistry here, Eòin.”

           Nice.

           A frisson of excitement runs through me at Eddie’s words.  And then Suresh steps forward.

           “I know there’s chemistry here, so no sense hanging back.”  He smirks, his dark eyes sweeping over me.  I squirm and try to fight the blush that I know must be creeping up my cheeks.

           Alfie raises his eyebrows in disbelief.  “You really think he’s going to pick you with that attitude?”

           “This boy’s full of surprises.  Our future’s a bit of a mystery.  Like our past.”

           “Whatever, bro.”  Eddie rolls his eyes.  “So who are you going to couple up with, Eòin?”

           I anxiously chew on my thumbnail and dart my eyes to Ethan, hoping he’ll give me some instruction on what to do.  

           Alfie seems nice, but way too much for me, I think.  I can’t deal with Suresh right now.  Eddie’s the most my type… but I don’t know.  There’s something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on.

           Ethan quickly puts me out of my misery.  “Alfie,” he mouths.

           “I’d like to couple up with Alfie,” I announce.

           Suresh sends me a dirty look while Eddie just looks disappointed.

           Alfie gives me a tender hug when I go to stand next to him.  “So happy you picked me, darlin’.”

           “Sorry to break this up… but not really!”  Kat barges into the garden.  “Girl’s gotta get her time.  Hey boys, I’m Kat!”

           “Hey lovely,” Eddie purrs.

           “Alright, Kat?”  

           I do a double take at the big, stupid grin on Alfie’s face.

           Fucking really?

           She preens under their attention.  “From the looks on your faces, I can tell I’m not disappointing you.  P.S. I never do.”  She looks over the boys, her eyes lingering over Suresh the longest.  “Especially this one.  Couldn’t help but hear the surprise.  We’ve got an ex in the Villa….  Feels a little weird that I’m not the one bringing the drama for once.  But it’s early days.  Feeling curious about you, Suresh.  I’ve always loved a bad boy.  But even nice boys go bad around me.  You’ve been warned.”

           “Coming on strong, Kat, that’s for sure.”  Alfie’s doing a really poor job of hiding his interest.

           “I don’t know any other way, so if you like what you see, you know what to do.”  She winks at him.

           Suresh looks at Kat teasingly, then he and Eddie both step forward.  “You’ve defo caught my eye.”

            A sharp pain strikes me somewhere in the vicinity of my heart, but I resolutely ignore it.

           Eddie grins at her.  “I had to step forward.  You’re a ten babe.”

          “Thanks, boys.  You’re both absolute fire too.  I could see me having fun with either of you.”  She glances at Alfie suggestively.  “But there’s something about your cheeky grin and that bod, Alfie.  So sorry, Eòin.  I’ve gotta go with my gut and couple up with… Alfie.”

          “Are you fucking serious?” I hiss at her.

           She smiles at me innocently and takes her place at Alfie’s side.

           The text alert sounds on my phone.  “Eòin, as Kat has coupled with your partner, you are now single.  Please make your way to the subs bench.”

           “Sorry, babes.  I didn’t come to the Villa to not get what I want,” Kat says triumphantly.  She pulls Alfie close and runs her hands all over his body with a sexy purr.

            I show her both my middle fingers and give her a dirty look before stalking away and taking a seat on the bench.

           “Really, Eòin?” Ethan scolds me from the sidelines.

           For good measure I flip him off too, then cross my arms over my chest with a huff.

           “Real mature,” he mutters.

           I open my mouth to respond but Dana interrupts, approaching the boys with a warm, sassy smile and boat loads of confidence, until she stumbles in her heels.

           “Whoa, all good there?” Alfie asks in concern.

           “All good,” she laughs.  “I’m not used to heels.  Thought I’d make an effort, it being the first day and all.  You’re welcome.”

           Everyone but me laughs, Dana’s infectious charm intriguing them.  Eddie and Suresh stand alone, Alfie has his arm wrapped around Kat’s waist.

            Wow.

            Eddie steps forward immediately.  “Well, you’re looking great, Dana.  So I’m going to step straight forward for you.”

           Suresh looks at me but stays still, saying nothing.

           “I had a nightmare last night that no one stepped forward.  So, I’m glad I’m living a sweet dream right now.  Cheers, Eddie.  I heard your chat and I’d love to couple up with you.”  The two hug.

           Suresh smirks at me… we’re now coupled by default.  “When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

            I must have been a murderer in a past life.

            I stay sitting on the bench, shell-shocked.

           “Eòin!  Go stand by Suresh!” Vanessa screams at me after a few moments.

            I obey, dragging my feet.  I stop about seven feet away from him, refusing to get any closer.

            Eddie chuckles awkwardly.  “Well that was eventful.”

           “First coupling done and dusted.  What’s next?”  Alfie cuddles a little closer to Kat.

           Gag me.

           Dana’s phone goes off.  “The first coupling isn’t Finn-ished yet.  #Bombshell coming,” she reads out.  “Love it!”

          “Oh my days!”  Kat exclaims.  Her jaw hits the floor as a redheaded hunky mountain man with tats and muscles swaggers across the garden.

          “Hello, beautiful people!” he calls with a charming smile.

          Alfie’s eyes go wide.  “Aw mate.  Look at this sexy pirate guy!”

         “Type. On. Paper,” Kat murmurs.

          This bitch.

          “Wow.  You haven’t been with Alfie, who you stole from me, for more than ten minutes and now you’re chasing after a new guy.  Real classy,” I sneer.

           She shoots me a nasty look but otherwise ignores me, choosing instead to focus on the new boy.

           “What’s the craic, people?  I’m Finn.”

           “Finn!  You sound Irish!  I love your accent!”  Dana skips over to him, seemingly forgetting all about Eddie.

           “Very kind.  Yeah, I’m from Dublin.  You’re all looking unbelievable,” he says, gazing at all of us in turn.  “How lucky are we?”

           Alfie and Eddie exchange a worried look, Suresh doesn’t seem bothered at all.  

           “I got a text!”  Finn pulls out his phone.  “Finn, in twenty four hours you’ll get to couple up with a person of your choice.  The person no longer in a couple will be left single and at risk.  #StealingHearts  #TakeYourPick  Wow, sorry all.”

           Awkward silence hangs in the air as everyone takes in the news.  I pick at my cuticles, already trying to plan the quickest way to escape the Villa.  

          “Loving your tats, babe.”  Kat struts up to Finn and runs her hands over his chest.  He grins at her.

          “So who do you like the look of then, Finn?” Eddie asks.

          “In other words, who needs to be worried?” Alfie adds.

          “Boys, boys, boys.  You’ll find out soon enough.”

          “Wow, you’re almost as bold as me, Finn,” Suresh comments.

          “I’ve barely got started, fella.  But on first impressions these three are ticking all the boxes.”  Finn points towards Dana, Kat, and me.  He shoots me a sexy look.  “Eòin, Suresh is your ex?  Let’s just say he’s got great taste.  You’re a real beour.”  

           I momentarily abandon my plan to escape.  “What’s a beour?”

          “It means beauty where I’m from.”

           The giggle pops out before I can stop it.  I bring my hands up to cover my burning cheeks and smile at Finn shyly.  Suresh suddenly looks a bit less comfortable.  

            “I thought Eddie’s abs were impressive.  But Finn, you’re something else,” Kat interrupts us.

           “I like to stay in shape for sure.  You look like a gym girl yourself.”  He ogles her curvaceous figure.  

           “Nah, I do all my exercise on the dance floor…  Or in the bedroom.”

           “Jesus, Kat.  You’re about as subtle as a brick through a window,” I snark.  Dana and Eddie try to smother their laughter and Suresh looks at me appraisingly.

           “Nice to know you’re as acerbic as ever,” he says. I stick my tongue out at him.

           “Wow, Kat.  That’s got my heart pumping fast.”  Finn fans himself with one hand.  “You all don’t hold back… one’s got bants for days, you’re turning it on… the Villa’s going to be fun for sure.”

           “So what do you, Finn?” I inquire.

           “I make people happy for a living.  I run a craft brewery with some pals.”

           Dana raises her phone.  “I got another text, guys.  Islanders, get ready to take part in a couples quiz hosted by Finn.  #WhosVibing  #MetYourMatch.”

           “Sounds like we’re about to get personal.”  Finn gleefully rubs his hands together.  

            Dana walks past me and whispers, “I’ll find you in a few minutes.”  Before I can say anything she approaches Suresh and leads him to the firepit.

            What.  The. Actual.  Fuck.

            I wander into the kitchen, keeping one eye on Dana and Suresh.  She abruptly jumps up and runs towards me.

            “Hey!”

            I lean against the counter.  “So what did you and Suresh talk about?”

            “I’ll fill you in.  In private.”

            I look over at Suresh still sitting alone by the firepit.  “Um…”

            “Your head must be a mess.  But trust me, you need to hear what I’ve got to say.  Let’s head for a chat?”

            “Um… I should probably go talk to Suresh. Get it over with, you know?”

            “I really think you should hear what he told me first,” Dana insists.  “It might change up how you play things in the Villa.  Quick chat upstairs?”  

             I cave.  “Alright.  Let’s talk in the bedroom.”

            “Yes!  Let’s go!”

             I trail behind Dana as she races upstairs and into the bedroom, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all of her energy.

             “Ah!  This is so exciting!”  She points at our beds, our names above them.  “There’s our beds.”

             I smile at her enthusiasm.  “For sure.  It’s pretty cool.”

             “Ok, we don’t have much time though so let me dish on Suresh.”  She plops down on her bed and motions for me to sit next to her.  She looks around, making sure no one is close by.  “So I might have dug him out a bit.  Told him he shouldn’t be so cocky in his position!”

             “No way!”  I flop down on my stomach next to her.  “How did he react?”

             “He agreed with me that he was an idiot for cheating on you!”

              I could’ve told him that.

              “He told me you got serious super quick.  And that wasn’t like him.  He said the intense connection you had made him want to commit to you.  But then he said something about a bust up and getting spooked and acting out.”

               I feel my eyebrows draw together in confusion.  “A fight?  Right before he cheated?”

               “That’s what he said.”  She shrugs.

               “Oh.”  I wrack my brain, trying to remember what he’s talking about.  But try as I might I can’t remember a fight, not even a slight tiff, in the weeks before he cheated.  “Did he say anything else?”

               “He said something about needing to figure out where your head’s at.”

               “Anything about where his head’s at?”

               Dana rolls her eyes.  “That’s when he got all vague and mysterious.  Said he needs to speak with you about that.”

                I sigh heavily and cover my face with my hands. “This is a lot.”

                “I know!  Are you still attracted to him?”

                “I mean, he’s still gorgeous.  But how am I supposed to ever trust him again after everything he put me through?  My head’s all over the place.”

                “I’d be the exact same.”  Dana pats my hand.  “You’re gonna work it out though.  You handled the whole situation like a boss from what I heard.  Did you really just move out while he was at work without telling him?”

                “I found out he cheated in the morning before he went to the office.  Right after he left, a few of my friends came over and helped me pack up my stuff.  I was on a plane to Louisiana before he even knew what was going on.”  I smile slyly.  “And I took the cat.”

                She whoops and high-fives me.  “That’s badass.  Anyone would be lucky to have you as their boyfriend.  Trust me, I’ve got a good eye.”  She gives me a flirty smile and looks as if she wants to say something, but quickly moves on.  “How are you gonna play it with Suresh then?”

                 I turn my head to look at her.  “How would you play it?”

                “I’d cut loose and put him in his place,” she says firmly.  “What are you thinking?”

                 “For now I think we should just try to make sure we can stay civil.  I don’t want to ruin anybody else’s time in the Villa just because Suresh and I are fighting.”

                 “That’s a good idea.”

                 “Thanks for checking in on me, Dana.  This was really sweet of you.”

                 “I’m here for you.  And you’re way more ready to deal with Suresh now.  It feels good to have a friend in the Villa.”

                 “For sure.  I’m going to go talk to Suresh now.  I’ll tell you everything he says after.”  

                  The minute we wander back into the garden Kat comes rushing up to both of us.  “Oh my days, I need in on the goss now!”  She notices Suresh starts approaching us.  “He’s coming over!  Where’s your head at with him?”  

           I stare at her blankly.  “Don’t you need to be humping Finn’s leg or something?”

           Suresh touches my arm before she has a chance to snap back.  “Babe, we’re about to get thrown into the fire, but first I need to talk…”

           “You already had your chance.  We need our time right now, Suresh,” Kat breaks in.  

           “Get that, Kat. But this is between me and my ex.”

           Dana tugs on Kat’s arm. “Let’s give them a minute.”

           “But I don’t want to -” Kat yelps as Dana drags her away.

           I follow Suresh as he leads me over to the daybeds and takes a seat.  I remain standing.  “What did you want to talk about?” I mumble, picking at my cuticles for the third time this morning.  One starts to bleed a bit.

           Suresh reaches out and tenderly clasps my hands in his much larger ones.  “You’re going to hurt yourself,” he says softly.

           “Doesn’t matter.”  I shrug.  “Not like it can hurt worse than what you did to me.”

           He releases my hands and sighs, leaning back on the daybed.  “Seeing you again like this has my head spinning all over the place.”

           “I was surprised to see you.”  

           He chuckles.  “I bet.  I didn’t know what to say when you looked over at me.  Except that you look unreal in that outfit.”

           I shake my head in disbelief.  

           “I mean it,” he insists. “But aren’t you hot in those long sleeves?”  He reaches out to touch the hem of my shirt.

           “Don’t touch me!” I exclaim, and rapidly back away from him, distressed.

           His eyes widen and he placatingly holds up his hands.  “Ok.  I won’t, I’m sorry.”

           “Why are you even here, Suresh?”  I go to pull my hair back, only to frown when I realize I don’t have a hair tie.

           “Here.”  Suresh pulls a scrunchie out of his swim trunks and hands it to me.

           “You remembered,” I murmur, turning it over in my hands.

           “How could I forget?”  He smiles sadly.  “How many times did I have to help you untangle the regular elastics from your hair?  And you always forgot to bring one with you, so I got into the practice of carrying one with me all the time.  Habit stuck.”

             A flood of emotion threatens to choke me, and I pull my hair back in silence.

           “Truthfully, I’m here because the producers scouted me.  Beautiful island, swanky villa, hot people… I thought it’d be a chance to have some fun.  But when they told me you were going to be here too, it felt like fate, you know?  A second chance to put things right one way or the other.”  Suresh gazes at me intensely.  “Look, I know I was mainly to blame for how things went wrong between us.”

           “Mainly?”  Equal parts hurt and anger creep into my voice.

           “I messed up. Badly,” he admits.  “But there are two sides to every story.”

           I stare at him, gobsmacked.  Tears begin to track down my cheeks and I wipe them away with the sleeve of my shirt, mortified that I’ve let him see me cry.  “I didn’t cheat,” I whisper.  “You did. I don’t see how there are two sides to that.”

           “No... baby… don’t cry.”  Suresh stands and moves to take me in his arms.  I shake my head wildly and back away from him.  

           “Everybody to the pool!” Vanessa shouts.

           Thankful for the distraction I hurry to join the others, hoping they won’t notice my red eyes.  I hang to the back of the group, trying to make myself as small as possible so I don’t get too close to Suresh.

           Vanessa stands in front of us, a slightly evil grin on her face.  Ethan is next to her, looking miserable.  “We’ve scheduled our couples quiz for later this afternoon, but to give you a fighting chance we’re going to let you all watch each other’s initial interview tapes.  You all got a chance to look at each other’s headshots, so we’ll get to hear about your first impressions of each other, along with some personal details. Let’s inside and get started!”

           All the other Islanders follow after her like ducklings trailing their mother, buzzing with nerves and excitement.  I grab the sleeve of Ethan’s jacket as he walks by and pull him close.

           “What is she talking about?  I didn’t get to see any of the others’ pictures when I did my opening interview.”

           “I know.”  Ethan sighs and scuffs his shoe against the grass. “Vanessa left you out on purpose.”

[vipetriol]

You got mail! The letter contains a small program of a show attached to it called ‘The Sweet Plum Fairy.’

Hello,

I suppose I did start at the wrong foot. You are correct when you say that we are not obligated to be truthful in our letters but rest assured that I will be truthful in my words and for this exercise, you can take them at face value. You may decide whether to stay weary of me afterwards, and due to this being mostly anonymous until the end, I’m sure no one will bat an eye if you do (I surely won’t, haha). However, we cannot let paranoia rule our every judgment. It's said that the stranger in front of you is as much your enemy as you make them to be, after all.

That said, I’m sure you already know this as vice housewarden, so I won’t elaborate any further.

Let’s get along as long as we’re doing this exercise.

As promised, here are some things about me.

I like watching Spelldrive games. I would play the sport, but my flight’s mediocre at best.

My family back home can be a little rambunctious, but they are very much the reason why I do my best in this university.

Since it’s the season, I usually go to the community theater to watch the yearly ballet when I am at home during the holidays. You may have heard of it, but it’s called The Sweet Plum Fairy, or Sweet Plum. I heard that you enjoy dance, so I feel that it would be a good jumping off point for conversation. What sort of dance do you enjoy? I personally prefer waltz.

Hopefully this helps avail your concerns. Though we may be penstrangers that are stuck with each other, if we are going with the proper tradition, I would be your pen pal, but I also don’t think we’ve reached that threshold yet, so I decided to compromise. Perhaps this exercise could help us learn more about each other. Is there anything you wish to ask, I'll be sure to answer it to the best of my ability. In the meantime

May this letter come well and I look forward to hearing more about you.

Sincerely, Your Penquaintance

Hello again, 

To start off, I hope you have taken no offence despite my skepticism— It’s nothing personal. As a rule of thumb, I prefer to err on the side of caution. That's all there is to it. 

While I understand how it could be seen as paranoia, there are plenty of reasons to be wary. Many of the students here have a penchant for ill-conceived pranks, underhanded schemes, or being openly hostile without good motive. Even those I deal with on a day-to-day basis (especially those I deal with on a day-to-day basis) are prone to getting involved in nonsense antics. I wouldn’t have to remain vigilant if I didn’t experience these things first-hand.

Every. Single. Day.  

Incidents aren’t the exception, they’re the norm, and it’s always better to prepare and adapt, rather than have any regrets later. 

But since you’ve (apparently) chosen to be forthright with me, I should return the courtesy. Thank you for humouring me despite my rudeness.   

I don’t really consider myself to be a star player by any means, but Spelldrive is also an interest of mine. Flying is liberating in its own way, and the strategy and magical precision involved in the gameplay help hone one’s reflexes and thinking in equal measure. Maybe once the weather clears and temperatures rise, we’ll be able to get back into practice. It's a nice change of pace, alongside basketball and dancing. 

Which brings us to the latter...I don’t have a lot to say on the topic. I picked up traditional dancing with Kalim when we were younger, and I was also taught how to waltz to attend social functions as his retainer. It's an essential skill to have when working for the Asim family. To be honest, a couple of my classmates would benefit from learning some basic ballet stretches as well. If not for the sake of their joints, for the sake of their P.E grade. But well, if nothing else, dancing helps me clear my head, and brings some fond memories.

Back during high school, my friends and I used to breakdance together in the local markets. Nowadays, aside from dancing at Scarabia’s parties and entertaining guests, some of my clubmates insist on interrupting practice for the sake of learning new dance moves…It’s a complete mess, but it's not all bad, in a weird way.

...Ah, sorry for digressing, I think that's enough for today. I won’t waste any more of your time. 

Once again, thank you for your patience,

Jamil Viper

[kinetic-elaboration]

November 27: Halloween 4

I watched Halloween 4 last night, continuing my mission to trick myself into watching all the Halloweens (production order). I liked it quite a bit. I think it is the second best of the first four. So far I would rank them I, IV, III, II. (As a side not, legitimately hate that they switched from Roman to Arabic numbering for no particular reason? Looks wrong.)

Maybe with time I'll re-evaluate that ordering, but I did think 4 came closest to the feel of the original Halloween. It was more...generic, more by the numbers, but then nothing will ever match Halloween (1978).

I really enjoyed the opening credits: they had a great creepy-fall atmosphere that set my expectations high for the movie to come. I also liked the characters of Rachel and Jamie, honestly more than I've liked any other character set since the first film. I was skeptical of putting so much on a younger character, but Jamie, and her actress, definitely stepped up. And upon some reflection, it was a pretty nifty concept to twist the original, which had younger kids in it but didn't focus on them in the same way, by making the younger kid actually the target, and putting the teenagers and their drama off to the side. The ending twist, and foreshadowing the twist with the costume (creepy in and of itself) was great as well.

One of my favorite aspects of Halloween I is the suburbia-in-fall, cute Halloween feel, and this one very clearly wanted to get back to that after one film set entirely at night and mostly in a hospital, and one film set in California, and I appreciated that choice! I thought it threaded the line well between obviously attempting to re-create the magic, and doing its own thing with new characters and new ideas.

The worst part of it probably was its 'here are a series of horror tableaux' feel, which is also a complaint I have about Halloween II and which probably plagues a lot of slashers and is part of why the genre became stale. Halloween I felt like a story, even though that story involved a serial killer and as a result many events were people getting killed in different ways. Maybe it was the focus on Laurie, maybe it was that a good half of it takes place during the day, maybe it's that every death seems in some way earned or purposeful, but it had a natural feel. Halloween II, by contrast, seemed, to me at least, to be much more about setting up as many kills as possible. The plot existed to give a reason for the kills, and not the other way around. Halloween 4, I think, was in between. It had more of a plot and more interest in characters than Halloween II but wasn't as coherent and slim as Halloween I. Up to the point where the characters barricade themselves in the house, I thought it was quite good, all the Spooky Scenes made sense, and they were fairly diverse and well-earned. Then it started devolving into a series of excuses for Creepy Settings. What if the killer chased them onto the roof? What if they went to the school for no reason? What if the killer was on top of the car? And so on. I mean, it was fine, but it was a bit unsubtle, I thought.

I'm extremely curious about the Ghost Story that was supposed to follow Season of the Witch, and also about the Metaphorical Michael concept that was originally going to be Halloween 4. I think that one would have bombed and really alienated people but I ALSO think I would have liked it and it would have been cool and different. Very Candyman-esque. Oh well.

Also, I get why Jamie Lee Curtis didn't want to return to Halloween in 1988 but I really miss Laurie, and I thought it was pretty lame that she and I'm just gonna assume Cute EMT from Halloween II were just summarily killed off without even a cause of death.

But I will still watch Halloweens 5 and 6 and complete this "Thorn Trilogy" or whatever.