#i have 200 sticks and all of them are for beating the shit out of lilia for his STUPID EVASION SPELLS

[daily-trey]

it pays to be obsessed with your favorite dorm

K*-fi

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

I rant and rave about DiscoPunk performing and making albums and voguing together - but let the record show,

DiscoPunk goes fucking NUTS on Dance Dance Revolution

Pavitr and Gayatri are casuals that have a go on it at the arcade during their date nights 😊

For Miles and Gwen, it's a cute way to bond and tease each other, getting to know each other better and tripping over their collective four left-feet (You'd think Gwen would have the rhythm considering she's a dancer AND a drummer - but fam, Ballet is NOT the same as DDR)

But to DiscoPunk, this shit is NOT a game. To them DDR is a goddamn lifestyle.

Keep them away from that arcade cabinet because by God, they're here to wreck that shit. Bout to shake the whole place with it.

They're DDR Champions.

And that's ON TOP of Hobie's numerous Pac-Mac Champion wins, and his Space Invaders High-Score at the top of the credits list.

If you ever see the initials 'DSC0PNK' on a DRR machine? THAT'S THEM.

They play on EXPERT. They're not half-assing it. They're doing the arm motions and all

They're the couple that dance facing away from the screen, just to stunt on everyone there.

The ones that hop and switch dancepads with each other mid-song for fun.

Hobie's in his big-ass boots meanwhile Diane has on flip-flops. Neither are proper footwear for the intense athleticism they are engaging in. They do not care.

They only way they get away with it is telling Miguel they're 'Training'.

Of course Miguel knew that had to be a crock of bullshit. One afternoon that use that excuse.

Miguel lets them off the hook, but as soon as they leave, he asks Lyla - "They're making out or something, aren't they?"

And Lyla has to be the one to tell him. '....No, they're actually 'training'...'

Miguel raises an eyebrow. "For some reason, I'm not sure I believe you."

Lyla sighs. She pulls up the surveillance footage on Miguel's screen to show him that no, they are not making out, they're just hogging the fucking arcade machine in some Camden arcade going fucking nuts on a Dance Dance Revolution machine.

Miguel takes one look at them and thinks 'Fucking Boomers'

They take it so seriously. TOO seriously.

They'll fist-fight with any couple and even THINKS about clearing their high-score. Seriously, they're about to brawl with Felicia and Flash Thompson of Earth-1294 cause they topped their record-breaking High Score on Aqua's 'Barbie Girl'

- and now Diane and Hobie are training to beat their high score in Smile.dk's 'Butterfly'.

That's their together time.

Hobie can't dance for the fucking life of him but he CAN hit every single arrow on that screen eyes closed. And Diane has never touched a video game in her life - not even Tetris - but this ISN'T a game it's a COMPETITION goddamnit.

They just love being completely in synced with each other, they have full conversations while playing levels.

Hobie even learned how to hack it, so he could upload all kinda songs to the thing.

And when they play AGAINST each other, EVEN BETTER.

Jesus Christ almighty. The TRASH TALK.

Swinging limbs are each other to throw them off, sticking out their hands to cover the other one's screen.

DEATH GLARING at each other because yes Diane loves Hobie but she's not about to let him embarrass her up on this arcade, are you kidding me???

She's like "Think you can keep up with me, toothpicks?" (He has toothpicks for legs 😭😐)

"Who'd of thought the 'Disco Diva' would be 200 points behind, yeah?"

Do you understand? Do you see it???

DISCOPUNK Dance Dance Revolution

Miles and Gwen staring at them like 'Why are they so cute at everything!!!!! Why do our friends keep out-cute-ing us!!!'

Meanwhile Pavitr and Gayatri are secretly planning to take their title.

For three weeks straight, all you'll hear is Hobie and Diane yelling about the mysterious 'GP4E' duo that took down their score.

Little do they know that stands for 'Gayatri + Pavi 4Ever' (Pavi's idea, of course)

Now.. They must train.

There's an anomaly in 234? Who the hell cares!!! The arcade machine just got Cascada 'Everytime We Touch'!!!! THEY'RE BUSY!!!!!

[leagueofdccm]

“ I fucked up. ” / negan to rosita

nearly 200 writing prompts // feel free to reblog || @nghtmarish

SHE DOESN'T SPEAK A WORD, HER FEATURES FILLED WITH RAGE. Eyes burning into his very skin. ( If he isn't careful she might burn a hole in him. ) Her body is frozen where she stands, arms resting by her side with her fingers curling and uncurling till they squeeze tight, knuckles a ghostly shade of white. Lips pressed firmly together, teeth clenched. She wants to BEAT THE SHIT outta him, pistol whip the side of his face.... he deserves it after all, it's not like she's harming a victim. Negan was far from that. He caused many issues for her group. Killed those close to her.... she still can see the blurry images of him thrusting his barbwire bat towards her face. Screaming at her to look at it. It took every FIBER in her body not to leap at him and strangle the ever-living shit out of him. Wipe that stupid smile off his face and watch the life leave his eyes. It would have been pure bliss.

But that's not why she's feeling this way now. To say that Rosita softened up towards Negan would be a joke. Had nothing to do with him.... it did have everything to do with his daughter. Tilly. Saviors lost, Negan lived, meaning Rick welcomed many ex-saviors with open arms. No more blood spills or fellow friends and family turning into walkers. It ends now. At least that's what Rick said. BUT HOW did she get here ? Negan became a prisoner locked away in his cell. No one knew when he would be let out, or if he ever would.

That very cell might as well be his coffin.

Michonne would go down there, and a few others to deliver Negan food. Rosita never offered cause she never did care to see that MONSTER'S FACE again. But she found herself taking care of his daughter one day. Rosita didn't know why she suddenly took interest. It just happened. Something inside her felt almost broken. She would look at Tilly... see the lonely girl stick to herself. She knew Tilly heard the whispers, and saw the stares and Rosita couldn't imagine how it made the young blonde feel. She went up to Tilly one day... and the rest was history between them. Then Rosita started to take those stairs and take Negan food. She would tell him how Tilly was doing, tell him to behave, and leave. Every. Single. Day. She took those damn stairs. She hated that she got used to his face. She questioned herself when she began letting Tilly secretly come visit her dad....it wasn't every day and it wasn't long. But she would find ways to have the two have their little father-and-daughter moments. It was all for Tilly.

She showed Tilly all that she needed to know. Everything she didn't learn from her father, she taught her. And anything that her mother couldn't teach her, she taught her. She stepped in and brought the girl into her own home. Gabriel would read words of the bible to Tilly. Eugene will share his own words of wisdom. They'll watch over her as her own personal guardians. Life went on... Rosita had a baby, a little girl whom she called Coco. Tilly and Coco have this special little bond that makes Rosita's heart swim happily in her chest. Everything felt perfect, she almost forgot about the ugly out there. Not when her little family was growing right before her very eyes.

Till that day came and shit went south. Rosita knew Tilly well enough to know something wasn't right, the look on her face said it all. Negan asked Maggie to kill him. Maggie didn't, but Maggie delivered the message to Tilly without a thought, without knowing what this may lead to.

She still remembers Tilly's goodbye. It nearly destroyed her..... it did. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEGGED... why the fuck didn't she beg ? She let her go and now she's feeling hateful towards herself... and him. That's what got her here. It's been a few days since she last saw him. ( He doesn't know. ) HE DOESN'T KNOW that Tilly is gone. Rosita couldn't tell him right away because she was STILL trying to comprehend what just happened. Rosita's eyes shifted to the ground underneath them. She's standing before his PRISON.... she's reminding herself not to cry. Not not in front of him. She told him..... ( Tilly left. She doesn't want to be found. ) and his reply, it just sent the young woman into momma mode.

" Yeah, yeah you did fuck up. YOU always fuck up. When are you doing to stop, huh ? When are you going to stop fucking up all this shit, Negan ! WHEN ! HUH ?! " She throws his plate of food and steps dangerously close to the cell bars to get a better look at him. " Even if she didn't hear it from Maggie the fact is you were willing to just fucking die ! Like nothing ! Like some weak asshole who didn't have anyone waiting for him out here ! WILLING TO DIE while your child is out here ?! I don't fucking care if you prepared her just in case to live without you ! I don't fucking care ! I. Don't. Fucking. Care. The thing is.... you should not want that to happen. You shouldn't give up easily. You should have FOUGHT for your freedom ! For Tilly ! She's amazing. That girl. She is... wow. " A tear slips and Rosita quickly wipes it away.

"....You wonder why I care about her ? Because she's my family too, Negan. I got to know her and fuck. She is so great, and so loving ! And she's so smart. So, so smart. She IS like a daughter to me.... the amount of time I've spent with her, and getting to know her. I want Coco to be just like her when she grows up. I wanted Tilly and Coco to grow up together. But she left... she didn't want to be used against you. She's tired of this. She's hurt that her own dad wanted to leave her.... like she was nothing. So yeah... you fucked up. " She jeers. " Even locked in your little cell you still manage to fuck things up. "

[cricketnationrise]

Congratulations on 200 followers, it’s well deserved!!!! 🎉🌟✨✨ For the ficlet fest: the Waffles (or any one of them), January 4, a bedroom or the living room in the haus please!!Your writing is incredible, and these little snapshot fics are always filled with so much emotion, even when that emotion is calm. Thank you!!!! 🧇🥧🏒❄��

some Waffles discussing their Christmases their freshman year for you my dear <3

_X_ _X_ _X_

Living Room, Jan. 4

Bully stretches out on the floor of the living room. Getting stuffed in the back of his parents’ car on the way back to campus after their short break between semesters is not his idea of a good time. 

Neither is sleeping on the floor of the Haus for a week, but needs must. The team has to be back so soon for games, and the dorms aren’t open yet, so he, Hops, and Louis are camping in the Haus for a whole week. (Even Chowder donating his room by staying at Farmer’s and Dex and Nursey bunking together again doesn’t free up enough bed space for everyone who still lives on campus).

The bonus of beating the other two back is that he gets to scope out the prime spot along the kitchen wall. It’s a nice wall, longer than the rest (a fucking must for his height), plus he’ll get all the residual heat from Bitty’s what-do-you-mean-of-course-I’m-on-track-with-my-thesis baking. (No one believes him, but with hockey season in full swing, no one is going to pretend to care too much right now.)

Plus, he won’t come into contact with the nastiest couch he’s ever encountered outside of a hoarder house on HGTV.

If it wasn’t integral to Chowder’s pre-game rituals, he’d be right behind Bitty in torching the damn thing. Even Bully isn’t brave enough to risk the wrath of pissed-off, scouted-his-freshman-year starting goalie.

So he dumps his stuff along the wall, inflates the air mattress, and keeps stretching. Back, quads, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, arms, wrists, ankles. He moves through his body joint by joint with a mix of warm up stretches curated from a decade of playing sports and yoga moves his aunt taught him when he started his growth spurts. He’s all the way through his routine and resting in corpse pose when he hears the front door open and the happy chatter of his fellow Waffles.

“Yo, Bul-lay!”

He grins and sits up, leaning on his hands. “Hey guys, how was your break?”

“Super s’wawesome,” Hops says, shrugging his backpack off in the far corner. “Wish it was a bit longer, but…” he trails off, rapping his knuckles on the coffee table. 

All of them are careful not to talk about it out loud, but even as freshmen they can feel the team buzzing. Everything is just clicking, and now that Nursey’s all healed, Bully can’t wait to see how it pushes them to be even better. He’ll take a short break for a really good chance to win the Frozen Four, no questions asked.

“Does your family do the thing where you have a big dinner on the twenty-fifth?” Louis asks. “Because watching everyone at Hops' house scramble to cook after presents was like watching a food tornado, man.”

“You certainly enjoyed the results from that food tornado, so watch your mouth or I won’t invite you next year,” says Hops.

“I’m just saying, it was stressful—”

“Nah," Bully interrupts with a grin. He really missed these two.

"We just make Monkey Bread before presents and then snack on like, cheese and crackers the rest of the day. We have the big meal on the twenty-sixth, so we don’t have to do more than move to the couch for movies after opening gifts.”

Louis turns to Hops triumphantly. “See?! That sounds much more reasonable.” He turns back to Bully, “Wait. What is Monkey Bread?”

“Shit we’ve been depriving you,” Hops says.

“I bet Bitty would make excellent Money Bread,” Bully says thoughtfully. “But it’s basically biscuit dough cut into bite size pieces and covered with butter and brown sugar and cinnamon and you stick it in a bundt pan and in the oven and everything merges together to be all gooey and warm and delicious.”

“Sort of like the inside bits of a cinnamon roll,” Hops chimes in.

“Where is Bitty anyway? Now I want to try it,” pouts Louis.

“Went on a Murder run with Zimmermann to stock the fridge, they’ll be back in like half an hour, I think?”

“Have you always had the big fancy Christmas dinner the day after, Bully?” Hops asks.

He shakes his head. “We used to do it on Christmas Day, turkey, sides, the whole shebang, but I got the flu, like, really bad one year on Christmas Eve,” Bully says, moving to lean against the wall to face his friends better. 

“Oh shit,” says Hops.

“Yeah, I got super dehydrated and couldn’t keep anything down, not even water. My mom’s a volunteer EMT and was worried enough to take me to the hospital. We waited forever, because again, it’s Christmas Eve, the ER’s swamped. Finally I get seen – IV in my arm to get fluids in me without me throwing up again. That stabilized me enough that I was allowed to go home, but it was like three in the morning at that point, and Mom and I were exhausted so we ended up sleeping till almost noon. So we got done opening presents and no one really felt like cooking, plus I still felt medium like shit, so we just grazed the whole day. Ended up doing the big turkey dinner the next day.”

“That’s way more drama than I was expecting. So you just kept doing it?” Louis asks.

Bully laughs. “Yeah, the next year came around and my mom was like, ‘not that I want someone to get sick on Christmas Eve again, but it was so nice not having to cook turkey on Christmas Day.’ So we planned for it that time, just got a bunch of charcuterie and chips and stuff to snack on and made monkey bread for the morning. Turned out to be ideal for us, so.”

“Fully yikes for being that sick, but it sounds like it worked out,” says Louis.

“For sure.”

“Can we text Bitty and ask him to to make Monkey Bread?” asks Hops sheepishly.

“Dude, yes,” Bully says.

“Oh thank god,” says Louis.

_X_ _X_ _X_

want your own ficlet? details here! 💜

[the-iceni-bitch]

Sweeter Than This

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!spy!Reader

Words: Mobile again ☹️

Summary: You almost miss your first Valentine’s Day with Bucky, but you have a plan to make it up to him.

Warnings: explicit language, explicit sexual content (unprotected vaginal sex, oral sex(f receiving), salad tossing, unprotected anal sex, use of butt plug), violence (standard canon stuff), SMUT, 18+ ONLY!!!!

A/N: Happy V-Day y’all! Here’s the next entry in my Holidays With Bucky series (with so Sam sprinkled in) and it’s a fun one! Unfortunately, the power is out at my place right now due to snow and because my city sucks at preparations I’m probably not going to have power until at least Monday, so we’ll see if I’m able to deliver on my other promised Valentine’s treats for you all.

Check out my masterlist and join my taglist if you want!

Bucky hated clubs so much.

The loud music, the overcrowding, the overpriced drinks. He was absolutely miserable.

It didn’t help that Sam was bouncing around like an idiot, enjoying the atmosphere with a stupid grin on his face. Would it kill the man to act like a professional for once?

They’d followed the target to the Cross Club here in Prague after four days of surveillance with nothing to show for it, and now they were watching him talk to some new player in a VIP booth. God he hoped this would be over soon.

“What?” Buck shouted over the music. Sam had said something, but even with his super soldier hearing, he couldn’t make it out over the thumping bass.

“I said, is Y/N pissed you’re missing Valentines Day?” Sam yelled, his hips still moving in time to the music.

Bucky did some quick mental math and cursed under his breath. He hadn’t seen you in almost 3 weeks. You had to head back to the States for some stupid debrief with Sharon and the big bosses while he and Sam kept chasing leads on Zemo here in Europe. He hadn’t even realized it was Valentines Day.

“Shit, he’s moving.” Sam said, tapping Buck on the shoulder as the mark stood up and moved towards the dance floor.

“Fuck, can’t we go around?” Bucky whined, starting to follow after Sam towards the crowd.

“Y’know, when your girlfriend’s not around, you’re such an old man.” Sam teased. “We don’t wanna lose him, so pull the stick out of your ass and try to look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

Buck just rolled his eyes and trailed after him, doing his best to avoid the writhing, sweaty bodies that kept trying to grind against him. Sam was right, it was a lot easier to enjoy these types of ops when you were with him.

He didn’t know how they managed to keep eyes on the target as he moved through the crowd, but they saw him head out one of the exits and were following after him within a few minutes.

“Hey, Wilson? Where the fuck is he?” Buck hissed as he opened the door to an empty alley.

“Shit, hold on, let me pull up Redwing.”

“I still can’t believe you named that fucking thing.” Buck said exasperatedly.

Sam didn’t have a chance to reply before a motorcycle ripped past the two of them.

“Was that him?” Bucky yelled as he whipped his head after it. “Motherfucker!”

“Calm down, I got it.” Sam said, summoning his wings.

“Oh, I guess I’ll just run after him then? I told you we should’ve brought a car!”

“I could carry you.” Sam said teasingly, giving Bucky a stupid grin.

“Oh fuck you.” Buck said, flipping Sam off as he chuckled at him. “Shit!”

The two of them dove out of the way as a Lexus tore into the alley, stopping just short of hitting them.

“Hey assholes! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!” You shouted as you rolled down the window, a massive grin splitting your face.

“Baby!? What’re you doing here?!?” Bucky asked, beaming back at you.

“I had to get the fuck out of D.C. There was no way I’d miss our first Valentine’s Day! Besides, I missed the field! Now get in, I managed to tag his bike but I don’t want him to get out of range.”

“Shotgun!” Sam called with a grin on his face, making you laugh.

“What?!? Fuck you Wilson! You’re gonna make me sit in the back when this is the first time I’ve seen my girl in weeks?” Bucky said in disbelief.

“Sorry Barnes, you should’ve called it!”

“Yeah babe, you really should’ve called it.” You teased as he crawled into the back of the vehicle with a scowl.

“I can’t believe you’re taking his side.” He pouted at you as Sam climbed after him, bringing the back of his seat up to crash against Buck’s knees.

“There’s no sides, honey, it’s shotgun rules.” You said as you peeled out of the alleyway.

“Whatever, could you move your seat up Wilson?”

“Nope.” Sam said grinning over his shoulder before cursing under his breath and bracing one hand against the ceiling as you swerved around a slow moving van. “Jesus, Y/N! Maybe take it a little slower, we’re still in the city.”

You just snorted before taking a sharp turn at an inadvisable speed, barely tapping on the brakes and sending Bucky sliding across the backseat.

“Put your seatbelts on, idiots.” You scolded as the two of them tried to find something to grab onto.

“Honey, pedestrian, pedestrian, Pedestrian!!!” Buck screamed as he buckled himself in, screwing his eyes closed.

“Yeah, I see them.” You said as you took another turn at the last second, barely missing the man who was crossing the street.

“Oh my god! This is how I’m going to die.” Sam said, his knuckles white on the dashboard as you flew up a hill, the car actually suspending in midair for a beat before crashing back to the street with a jolt. “Stuck in a car with a crazy woman and her 100 year old boyfriend.”

“You’re so fucking dramatic.” You said with an eye roll, glancing at him sideways. “It’s like you’ve never been in a high speed chase before.”

“Eyes on the road!” Bucky shouted at you as an unsuspecting couple started to step off the curb directly into your path.

You hopped onto the walkway behind them to avoid the brake lights in front of you and your two passengers started letting out a steady stream of curses as you weaved between pedestrians and carts.

“Just relax you two, we’ve almost got him.” You said exasperatedly, somehow speeding up even more.

You rounded another corner and the bike popped into view, speeding out of the city at a breakneck speed.

“Shit, gun!” Sam screamed as the biker turned around, hefting an AK-47 and pointing it directly at the windshield.

He and Bucky ducked, hands covering their heads. They flinched as they heard a series of pops, then straightened up slowly when they realized the windshield was still intact.

“Yeah, it’s bulletproof.” You said with a grin as you kept the car steady with one hand, reaching under your seat to grab something. You handed a giant pistol to Sam. “There should be a rifle under the backseat, baby.”

“And what exactly do you want us to do with these?” Sam asked warily as Bucky drew out the rifle and nodded appreciatively.

“Shoot at him.” You said, following the bike around a sharp turn that had the boys bracing themselves.

“Fuck that! If you think I’m sticking half my body out of a window while you’re driving like this you’re insane!” Sam said in disbelief. “Besides the car is bulletproof.

“Yeah, well the tires aren’t, and if he hits one of those while I’m driving this fast, we’re all gonna get shredded.”

Bucky shook his head before rolling down his window and pulling his upper body out of the car, bringing the rifle up to return fire.

“You are both fucking crazy!” Sam said, rolling his own window down and shoving his shoulders out, bringing up his pistol.

The biker turned his focus to Bucky while Sam covered him, and you took the opportunity to speed up.

“What’re you doing, babe?” Bucky shouted into the car as you started to get closer to the bike.

“I’m gonna ram him.” You yelled back. “Keep covering me!”

“Umm, isn’t he supposed to lead us to Zemo? Shit!” Sam yelled, a bullet whizzing by his ear.

“I don’t think he’s leading us anywhere Sammy.”

“Well, we could still get information out of him!”

“Yeah, these guys have proven to be pretty impervious to interrogations, Wilson.” Buck said, gripping the roof of the car with his vibranium hand as you followed the bike around another curve.

“I really just need his phone!” You yelled as you closed the distance even further, now only 25 feet from the back tire of the bike. “You might want to get back inside.”

Sam yanked his upper body back into the vehicle with a curse and Buck slid back inside easily as you pressed the gas pedal to the floor. You hit the bike in a few seconds and sent it and the rider rolling over the car with a thud. As soon as it was clear you slammed on the brakes, sending the vehicle spinning out.

“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod....” Sam was screaming as the car whipped around over and over, his eyes screwed shut and his hand braced against the roof of the vehicle while his foot braced against the dashboard.

Bucky just clenched his jaw and ripped his vibranium fingers through the back door to hold himself in place, shaking his head at Wilson.

The vehicle finally came to a stop about 200 feet away from where the bike had crashed. Sam wrenched his door open and dove out of the car, bending over and vomiting at the side of the road.

“You ok there Sammy?” You asked, rising from the driver’s seat gracefully and looking at your friend with concern as Bucky almost climbed over the front seat with a wince and joined you.

“Oh, what are you wearing?” He groaned as he finally got a good look at you. “Are you trying to kill me?”

It was a skin tight, patent leather pink dress that was pushing your tits together and up in an absolutely delicious way. The skirt barely covered your ass and he was sure there was no way you could bend over in it without flashing whoever was nearby.

“I told you, baby, it’s Valentines Day.” You sad with a grin as you stepped closer to him.

He moved to wrap his arms around you but you stepped away at the last second, moving back towards where the bike crashed with a light laugh as he let out a frustrated huff.

“What is wrong with you two?!” Sam said as he started to follow after you. “Your girlfriend almost kills me and all you want to do is jump her as soon as it’s over.”

“I mean, did you see that dress?” Bucky said teasingly as he joined your friend, walking a little faster to catch up with you.

“Got the phone!!” You said triumphantly as you straightened back up from your inspection of the dead body. “And it’s still in ok shape! I’m gonna call this in real quick and then we can head back.”

“No! I’m not going anywhere if you’re driving!” Sam said, shaking his head vehemently. “Gimme the keys.”

“C’mon Sammy!” You said with an eye roll.

“You do not get to call me Sammy right now, you psycho!” He said, snatching the keys out of your outstretched hand as you laughed at him. “And neither of you gets to sit shotgun! You sit in the back and think about what you’ve done.”

“Jesus, fine dad.” You said as you slid into the back seat, Bucky chuckling as he slid in after you and slammed the door closed.

Sam pulled the car forward a few feet, turning the wheel sharply before throwing it in reverse and spinning it in the opposite direction as he backed up.

“Uh, Sammy?” You said as he repeated the process. “Maybe just crank the wheel all the way and pull a little further forward?”

“Yeah, it’s not called a 13 point turn, Wilson.”

“Both of you shut the fuck up!! I’m not taking driving advice from you!” He shouted over his shoulder as he did the exact same thing and you lost it, laughing hysterically.

“Oh my god, there’s like 15 feet of road that you’re not using!” You said breathlessly as you cracked up Bucky grinning as he watched you fold over in laughter.

“I cannot believe the shit I have to put up with.” He muttered as he finally straightened out the vehicle and drove back towards the city, doing his best to ignore your dying laughter.

Bucky was beaming at you as you settled down, leaning back against the seat as you wiped tears from your eyes. You smiled back at him and gave him a wink.

“Did I tell you how much I love that dress?” He said as he scooted closer to you, his eyes raking over your chest before sinking lower to gaze at your thighs.

“No.” You said teasingly, biting your lip at him and leaning towards him just a little bit.

“Cuz I fucking love that dress.” He growled at you as he wrapped his hands around your waist and drew you closer, nuzzling himself into your neck.

You gave a soft sigh as he ran his teeth over your throat, flinging one leg over his lap as he moved his vibranium hand from your waist to cup your ass. He moved his mouth up to the hinge of your jaw as he pressed you into him.

“Shit, Bucky.” You moaned as he pulled you onto his lap, his hands running over your thighs to tuck under your skirt as he sucked a bruise against your neck. “I swear to god, if you ruin this dress...”

“Oh, what the fuck guys?!” Sam said as he peeked at you through the rear view mirror. “I’m two feet away from you! It’s like you’re a couple of teenagers.”

“Sorry Sammy!” You whined before letting out a gasp as Bucky nuzzled himself between your tits at the same time he bucked his hips up into you, grinding his hardening cock against you.

“Oh, I do not get paid enough for this shit.” Sam groaned as he pulled the car into the parking lot of the hotel and jolted it to a halt. “I cannot believe I have to put up with you horny idiots.”

“Bye Sam!” You called after him as he slammed the door closed, waving a dismissive hand at you as he started to head back to his room. “Mmm, Bucky!”

He drew the straps of your dress down over your arms and wrapped his lips around one of your nipples as you arched your back into his face.

“Jesus Christ, I fucking missed you.” He groaned before moving his mouth up to yours, sucking your bottom lip between his teeth as he laid you down across the backseat.

“Yeah? What’d you miss baby?” You murmured against his lips, wrapping your legs around him and ripping his shirt over his head.

“Missed the way you smell.” He murmured against your neck as he nuzzled into your hair. “Missed these fucking perfect tits and how well they fit in my hands.” He whispered into your ear as he brought his hands up to palm your breasts, making you whine.

“Fuck, baby. You’re making me so wet.” You said breathlessly as a fresh rush of arousal leaked out of you, your fingers moving to work at undoing his fly.

“Good.” He growled against your collarbone as his he dipped one hand under your ass and pressed you into his hard on. “Cuz I missed that pussy the fucking most.”

“Shit.” You hissed as his vibranium hand ripped off your panties in one quick motion before his hands moved to shove your dress up around your waist. “Don’t you dare fucking rip this dress, Barnes!”

“I’m being careful.” He said with a chuckle before lining himself up. He teased his tip against your entrance before slowly sinking into you, grinning as he watched your eyes roll back in your skull as your lids fluttered, a moan escaping from your lips.

He drew himself out halfway, really taking his time as he felt himself drag against every inch of the warm channel between your legs, then slammed his hips forward with enough force that you had to brace your hand against the door to keep your head from cracking against it. You had to bite your lip to keep from screaming as you came immediately, your back arching up off the seat as your pussy spasmed and fluttered around his cock.

“Fuck, sweetheart, you miss me too?” Bucky said with a grin as he kept fucking into you, watching your chest heave as you started to come down from your first orgasm. He hooked one hand under your knee and drew it up to your waist, spreading you apart even further.

“Shit, yes!” You moaned as his dick thrust even deeper into you, hitting a new spot that had you seeing stars. “Missed this cock so fucking much.”

“Yeah? You miss feeling me in this tight little pussy?” He said as he felt you clench around him, your hips meeting his thrusts desperately.

“Fuck, Bucky! My pussy needs you so bad. Need your big cock inside me all the time.” You let out a gasp as he brought his vibranium hand between the two of you to strum at your clit. You wrapped your hand around his wrist to keep him in place as you tossed your head back. “Need to feel you stretch me and split me open, baby.”

“Jesus, keep talking.” He murmured as he collapsed on top of you, burying his face in your neck as he started moving his hips even faster. “Love hearing you use that filthy mouth of yours.”

“Yeah, babe? You wanna hear me talk about how much this pussy needs your big cock?” Your grinned when he let out a groan against your neck. “My pussy would get so fucking wet every time I thought about that dick. Nobody fucks me like you do. Oh god, right there!”

“Damn, honey. You’re squeezing me so good. You gonna cum again?”

You just nodded before a sob ripped through your chest, your knuckles turning white as your grip on his vibranium wrist tightening and a wave a pleasure crashed over you. Your legs squeezed his hips as you thumped your fist against the door, your torso rolling underneath Bucky as your cunt clamped down on him, making him twitch.

You felt his hips stuttering as you writhed underneath him, and with just a few thrusts he was filling you up, panting against your neck as he sank on top of you, pressing his full weight into you as he came down.

“Oh my god, happy fucking Valentine’s Day.” He moaned into your hair.

“Shit, I still need to give you your present, baby!!” You said with a grin as you ran your hands over his shoulders.

“I don’t need a present, sweetheart.” He said lazily before peppering soft kisses over your throat.

“Oh, I really think you’re gonna want to open this one.” You sighed, wriggling a little underneath him.

You grabbed his flesh hand and drew it between your legs slowly, dragging it over your sex until his fingers brushed against the jewel that was nestled between your ass cheeks. He sat up with a jolt when he realized what you were suggesting, making you laugh excitedly as he gave you a massive grin.

“Oh my god, Y/N, I’ve been waiting for this.” He said as he flipped you over, smacking your ass as you giggled at him. He spread your cheeks apart and groaned when he got a look at the pink jewel of the plug you had inserted earlier in the day.

He gripped the plug and drew it out of you slowly, biting his lower lip as he watched you pussy clench at the sensation. His breath came out in a hiss once it was free, your pretty hole gaping and fluttering at the loss as you moaned underneath him, pressing your ass back into his palms.

“Fuck, I’m gonna make you feel so good.”

He didn’t give you a chance to respond before he was yanking your hips back and up, tossing your thighs over his shoulders. You let out a shriek when he ran his tongue over your cunt in a heavy stripe before dragging the flat of the thick muscle over your asshole.

“Fuck, oh my god!” You screamed, trying to find something to brace yourself against as he ran the tip of his tongue around your rim, teasing you and making both of your holes throb with need.

He kept teasing you with his tongue for what felt like hours, alternating between heavy drags that ran over your entire sex and tiny kitten licks that were turning you into a begging, whimpering mess, a steady stream of slick leaking out of your swollen pussy.

“Gotta make sure you’re good and ready for me, gorgeous.” He murmured, giving you a momentary reprieve before he shoved his tongue inside your puckered hole.

The sound you made was otherworldly, halfway between a moan and a cry. He almost came just from the pure wantonness of it, and he felt his cock twitching against your chest as he started to tongue-fuck you. You pressed your cheek to the leather of the seat as he took you apart, mewling like an idiot as he stretched you open, his thick muscle probing you as deep as he could.

“Bucky...” you mumbled before another orgasm shook you, your cunt fluttering around nothing as a wave of bliss traveled up your spine from deep in your core and making you whine as drool leaked from the corner of your mouth.

He pulled his face away from you suddenly and unwrapped his arms from around your thighs. Your muscles were jelly as he lowered your hips, your eyelids drooping as you moaned at the loss of him. Once he finally had you laid back down, he took a second to gaze at you.

He loved how fucked out you got. Your limbs were splayed out at random angles as your back rose and fell with deep breaths, the curves of your breasts just peeking out from where they were pressed against the seat. He brushed your hair away from your face to see you grinning up at him, your cheeks streaked with tears and mascara and your lipstick smeared all over your mouth and chin as you looked at him with lust blown pupils.

“We’re still not done.” He said softly before wrapping his hand around your throat and yanking you up until your back was flush against his chest, making you gasp. He brought his other hand between you to wrap around his cock and dragged it through the slick that had soaked your ruined pussy before teasing his tip against the rim of your tightest hole. “I think you’re ready for me.”

He didn’t wait for you to answer before shoving his hips forward and spearing into you. Your body tried to jolt forward at the intrusion but his palm on your throat kept you in place, holding you still as he bottomed out.

“Jesus Christ, you feel amazing.” He muttered into your hair, his fingers vibrating over your throat as you let out a whine.

He pressed down against your jugular as he started to move his hips, dragging in and out of you at a deliciously slow pace that had you keening. You were losing yourself in the new sensation of having him fill your tightest channel, his thick cock stretching you more than you’d ever been before. Your head dropped back on his shoulder as he started to move faster, the slick leaking from your pussy making it easier for him to slide in and out of you.

“Fuck, I love your body. You treat me so good baby.” He murmured against the shell of your ear. “Wanna fill all your your pretty holes and pump you full of my cum. Wish I could be inside you all the time, pretty girl.”

Your pussy was fluttering around nothing as his soft praises filled your ears, and when he dropped his hand to the apex of your thighs you almost came immediately with a cry.

“You didn’t think I forgot about this pretty pussy, did you baby?” He whispered as his metal fingers spread you apart, teasing over your entrance as his flesh hand increased the pressure on your airway and his hips picked up the pace. “You want me to fuck you with my fingers while my cock’s in your ass, honey?”

“Fuck, Bucky, I want you to spank it.” You moaned as he continued to tease you, your brain starting to shut down as the mixture of sensations overwhelmed you.

He let out a feral growl against the curve of your neck before wrapping his lips around your earlobe. “Shit, you gonna cum if I spank it?” He hissed in your ear as he kept his fingers running over your sex.

“Yeah, I’m gonna fucking cum! Need you to spank my pussy, Bucky, please.”

His teeth nipped at the hollow behind your ear at the same time he smacked your cunt and you let out a shriek as your body vibrated against him. Your thighs quivered with strain as your pussy spasmed uncontrollably, your asshole strangling Bucky’s cock as you shook in your bliss, his hand around your neck the only thing keeping you upright.

“Fuuuuck.” He hissed against your neck as his hips chased his own release. “I wanna fuck all your holes while I cum, sweetheart, get ready.”

You only had a second before he was shoving three fingers into your pussy at the same time he put two fingers in your mouth, choking you as he shoved them down your throat before you were able to relax. He groaned when you started sucking on him, swirling your tongue around his digits while his vibranium fingers curled inside of you against that sweet spot that made your eyes roll back in your skull.

He felt you clench around him everywhere and let out a groan into your hair, his cock twitching inside you as you both neared your ends.

He ground his palm against your clit and you were finished, sobbing around his fingers as you squirted your release all over his hands, his thighs, and the seat in what was the biggest orgasm of your life. Your body tried to lift itself off the seat as you came, your vision whiting out as your muscles stopped working and Bucky let you collapse forward as he finished.

Another few thrusts of his stuttering hips and he let out a wordless roar as he came inside you, filling you completely with his spend until it was leaking out around his cock. He collapsed on top of you as his body rolled on a wave of pleasure, his breath hitching in his chest.

The two of you laid there tangled with each other for what felt like hours. You were so utterly spent that the passage of time no longer held any meaning, and you completely forgot where you were.

“Holy fuck.” Bucky muttered after a while, still unable to move anything except his face, which he nuzzled into your hair.

“Yeah.” You muttered into the seat cushions, your brain finally resetting.

“I mean, holy fuck.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Yeah.” You said again, wiggling your toes look experimentally as your body started to come back down.

“I’ve never cum that hard before in my life.” He muttered as he drew his hands over your arms until they were pressing into your shoulders, moving your hair aside so he could pepper kisses all over your neck.

“Me either.” You whispered, turning your head over your shoulder so you could press your lips to his softly.

He pulled away once he was able, giving you a sloppy grin as he managed to sit up, pulling out of you gingerly and groaning at the sight of his cum leaking out of you. You twisted until you were able to sit up yourself, leaning back against the car door as you beamed back at him.

“Best fucking Valentine’s Day ever.” He muttered, drawing you onto his lap to kiss you deeply, and wondering if it would be too tacky to tell you he loved you after the first time you let him fuck your ass.

Tags!!!!!

@buckysnumberonegirl @slothspaghettiwrites @captain-asguard @starlightcrystalline @harrysthiccthighss @quxxnxfhxll @bonkywobble @chrisevanscardigan @chubbybuckydumpling @StanAllStarks @blackestpinkworld @fistmebuckyskywalker @wandering-spiritash @khadineberry @muzzyandbusy @slytheriin2002 @isysen @WanderingAlice00 @kaleeelizabeth58 @tlcwrites @angrybirdcr @unsaltedalmonds @amerikakapitanyy @lizette50 @daughterofthenight117 @obsessivereaderchick @drabblewithfrannybarnes @stargazingfangirl18 @jack-skellingtons-stuff @chrissquares @msmarvelwrites

[uvobreakmylegs]

Floor 200

I’m still working on part two of vampire!Hisoka but here’s a different, shorter piece with him

Warnings: threats of noncon, implied death, implications of smut

You yelped a bit as you moved out of the way of the two young boys who burst out from the elevator, barely managing to avoid them plowing you down as they sprinted past you.

The boy wearing green at least had the decency to call back a “sorry!” to you as they ran, and the rather messy-looking man with glasses that followed behind them also offered you a quick apology before going on his way. Just as quickly as those three had come, they were gone, leaving through a side entrance of Heaven's Arena while your heart felt like it was going to burst out of your chest at how sudden and unexpected all of that had been.

The encounter was more confusing than anything. With the amount of dangerous characters that lived in the tower, it certainly wasn't a place for children to be running around like that. Some of the people here really didn't give a shit, and if those two ran into someone who was actually dangerous and bloodthirsty, you feared what the end result of that would be.

The elevator doors sliding shut brought you back to reality, and you pushed your arm against one door to hold it open as you slipped inside, pushing the button for the 200th floor.

Thinking about those boys again brought back memories of your own childhood, of running around and playing with your friends and getting into trouble. You sighed a little bit, thinking of the things you used to do and wondering where all that energy had gone now that you'd grown up.

….. Dear God, had you really gotten to the point in your life where you'd be reminiscing about your childhood and the fact that you'd grown up to be as miserable as everybody else? It wasn't like you were that old.

You didn't want to focus on that slightly depressing thought, so you turned your attention to the bags of groceries you held and the meal you planned to make. Tonight was special. After finishing up a few jobs and going through his Hunter exam, Hisoka was actually back and planned to stick around for a while. So to celebrate both his success and return you were planning on cooking dinner for the two of you. You couldn't help feeling a little bit of excitement at the thought of it. It was such a small thing to eat dinner together, but it had been a while since you had seen him last, and you wanted to make the most of it.

The downside of living on the 200th floor of the arena meant that the elevator rides were terribly long, so you usually let your mind wander as the car made its way up the numerous floors. At least the long ride helped you to calm down from that little bit of shock earlier.

The ding of the elevator and the sound of the doors sliding open alerted you when you reached your destination. You left the elevator car and veered to the right towards the hallway that lead to Hisoka's room.

“Hey you- Oh.”

A voice sounded from behind, and you turned around to see who had spoken, finding three men that you knew better than you wanted to. Though for the life of you, you could never remember their names. You only knew them as the one in the wheelchair, the freaky-looking one missing an arm, and the other freaky-looking one in red. Gido.... That one was named Gido. You were about 90% sure that was correct.

“Can I help you?” you asked them.

They all avoided your gaze.

“We were waiting for someone else,” the one without an arm said, “thought you were these two kids that made it to the floor.”

“Do I look like two kids?”

None of them responded to your question. It was clear that they wanted you to leave, but after the last time you had been confronted in these hallways, they knew better than to even say anything out of line.

Hisoka had been pushing you to move in with him, and while you weren't really sure you wanted to live at the tower full-time, you couldn't deny that the room he had on the 200th floor was nice. A lot nicer than anything you could afford in that city. And since there weren't any rent or utilities that needed to be paid, it would be a good opportunity to save up some cash. So you agreed, much to Hisoka's delight.

The incident occurred when you had been moving in; Hisoka had gone on ahead of you, carrying a few boxes while you were bringing up a few bags full of clothes. On the way to Hisoka's room, those three had stopped you, along with a fourth man, one who was covered in burn scars and missing an eye. It was obvious you weren't a nen user, so they'd demanded to know what you were doing up there.

“My boyfriend lives here; I'm moving in with him,” you told them.

“Boyfriend, huh?” the one with the scars asked, “what, you cozied up to one of the fighters here so you could live in luxury without working for it?”

“I don't have to explain myself to you,” you answered.

“No, but you'll do it anyway.”

“Fuck off.”

At that he grabbed you by the throat and slammed you into the wall, the other three laughing behind him as he held you in place.

“It just isn't good for the arena's image if any random slut off the street can be living up on this level alongside the quality fighters,” he said, “so beat it, you stupid bitch. You don't belong here.”

“And a bunch of losers who barely survived their initiations do?”

Your words seemed to hit a nerve for all four of them, and the air around you grew deadly as the grip on your throat became that much tighter. But as he did so, the one with the scars smirked as a thought came to his mind.

“I've got an idea,” he said, “why doesn't your boyfriend make a wager with me? If he fights me and wins, you can stay. But if I win, my buddies and I get to have you for the night, and then you get the fuck outta here.”

“You want to fuck me? I thought I was a slut,” you spat, “is this about humiliating me or are you four just that desperate because no one is stupid enough to willingly get in bed with you?”

He reached with his other hand to grab your jaw and force your mouth closed. Egging him on really was so stupid, but the familiar figure you had noticed from the corner of your eye made you feel a bit more bold.

“You've got a mouth on you. But I've got a few ideas on how to shut you up and put that little smartass mouth to better use.”

The other three had grown quiet, but the one holding you didn't notice.

“So how 'bout it? Will you ask your boyfriend about that wager, or should I?”

It was hard to speak with how he was holding you, but you responded as you pointed to your right.

“I think.... He already heard.”

The scarred man's eyes followed where you were pointing, and when he saw Hisoka standing within earshot, you swore that man's soul just about left his body.

The other three had already noticed him, and were actively trying to distance themselves from their fourth.

Hisoka was smiling, but the second the man laid eyes on him bloodlust he had been holding back oozed from him, filling up the hallway and consuming all four.

The man who had been on your case backed away from you, holding up his hands in surrender.

“I-I-I d-didn't know,” he sputtered.

Hisoka didn't answer at first. He casually walked up to you two and wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you against him. With how Hisoka's nails dug into your hip, you could tell that Hisoka was well and truly pissed off. The man had stayed where he was, the murderous aura keeping him in place.

Hisoka looked to him.

“I accept your wager.”

The fight between them was one of the most gruesome things you had ever witnessed, and it went down as one of the bloodiest matches in the tower's history. The remaining trio didn't go anywhere near Hisoka after that, and they did everything they could to avoid you as well.

Whatever they were waiting for must have been important to them, seeing as they weren't turning around and leaving at the sight of you. They had mentioned kids, and you wondered if they were referring to the two boys who had come from the elevator.

But ultimately, it wasn't any of your business, and you motioned to the hallway you had been headed for as you asked “do you need me for something? I've got stuff I need to do.”

They shook their heads, their eyes still averted, and you continued on your way. The petty side of you wanted to throw back a quip of some kind, but you decided against it. They already didn't like you; there was no point in making things worse and have them resent you further.

Though it was probably hard for them to start shit when they remembered the way their old buddy was cut to pieces.

When you entered that hallway, to your surprise, you found Hisoka sitting on the floor at the other end. His eyes widened and he grinned when he saw you, flicking the card he was holding and throwing it into the wall. Reaching the end of the hallway, you found several playing cards that had been sliced into the wall at various angles. What the hell was he doing?

“.... What'd the wall do to you?” you finally asked.

Hisoka paused, a new card he was about to throw still between his fingers as he looked over to you.

“After we've been apart for so long, that's the first thing you say to me?” he responded, his eyebrow raised. Though he still had that teasing grin.

“You're making a nuisance of yourself,” you answered, “who exactly is going to clean this up once you're done here?”

“Who knows. It's not my problem.”

“I used to work in jobs like these, Hisoka. Trust me, cleaning up something like this won’t be fun.”

“The people who will clean this up aren't you, so I don't care,” he responded.

You sighed. You wouldn't be getting anywhere with this argument; better to just let it go.

“Is there a reason you're sitting on the floor out here?” you tried instead.

“I'm waiting for someone.”

“Hm. I'm guessing it's not me.”

“Afraid not.”

“Who then?”

“Two promising little fighters who've caught my eye,” Hisoka mused, “but they aren't quite ready to be up on this level just yet. And unless they can get past me, they won't be advancing any further.”

“So this is some kind of initiation thing?” you asked.

“In a way.”

“And how long is this going to take?”

“They need to be back before midnight, so possibly until then.”

Your eyes narrowed at that bit of information.

“Oh? Is something wrong?” Hisoka asked, tilting his head as he looked at you.

“Haven't you forgotten something, Hisoka?”

Seconds passed by as he looked up at you, and you couldn't tell if he was just bullshitting you or if he had genuinely forgotten your plans for the evening.

“Oh!” he exclaimed after a moment, “we were planning on dinner, weren't we?”

“It seriously took you that long to remember?” you asked dryly.

“You'll have to forgive me, pet. I simply got caught up in the moment. You know how I get sometimes.”

“Unfortunately, yeah, I do,” you sighed, “so you're just going to blow me off tonight?”

“It isn't anything personal. This is just something I need to see through,” he explained.

“Oh, of course. At least I know how high I am on your list of priorities,” you responded sarcastically.

Hisoka frowned at that, and as he threw the card he had been holding into the wall, he said “you know I don't like it when you say things like that, even as a joke.”

'Just like you know I don't like it when you cancel last-minute,' was what you wanted to say to him. But as disappointed as you were, you didn't want to get into an argument immediately after seeing him again. And it was easy enough to reschedule a dinner.

“Whatever. We can move dinner to tomorrow,” you shrugging as you conceded.

“I appreciate it,” he said, smiling.

“I guess if I'm not awake by the time you get back, I'll see you in the morning.”

Hisoka nodded, and you began to walk forward, passing him and heading to your room.

A thought occurred to you then, and you turned back.

“When was the last time you ate, Hisoka?”

He seemed caught slightly off-guard by the question, and he looked to the side as his brain tried to recall the last time he had done something as basic as making sure he ate.

“You can't even remember, can you?” you asked him.

“I'll have something when I get back,” he said, shrugging.

You sighed again. Adjusting the bags so you held both on one arm, you rummaged through as you walked back to him. Hisoka looked at you curiously as you held out an apple for him.

“Eat something, idiot.”

Hisoka chuckled.

“If you insist,” he replied, taking the apple.

“I always appreciate the way you take care of me, pet.”

“Yeah, but maybe one of these days you could start to take care of yourself. Kinda sad you need me to remind you to eat, of all things.”

“I can't help it. I like it when you dote on me.”

“Idiot.”

A slight blur of movement from the end of the hallway caught your attention. Someone was listening in, it seemed. Based off the slight bit of red you had seen, it was safe to assume it was Gido. Why he was listening to you and Hisoka you weren't sure. And it didn't seem that Hisoka had seemed to care; if you had noticed him, than Hisoka definitely knew he was there.

“Something wrong? I wouldn't want to keep you out here as well,” Hisoka said.

“... No, everything's fine. I just need to do one last thing.”

“Oh?”

“Since you're blowing me off for dinner, I want something from you.”

You knelt down on your knees and set the bags to the side before you moved in to place a kiss on Hisoka's lips, resting your hands on his chest. He had seemed rather surprised at first and didn't move. But when you began to pull away he reacted, his hand grabbing a fistful of your hair and pressing you harder against his lips. When you felt his tongue trying to force its way in you relented, opening your mouth and allowing him access. You weren't able to stop the groan that came out of you at the sensation of his tongue moving against your own, and to you it sounded like the noise echoed slightly in the empty hallway. Hisoka always made his kisses intense, and you were always left with flushed cheeks by the end of it.

When you pulled away again, he allowed it. His finger twirled a strand of your hair as he breathed “if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were using me to keep certain pests off your back.”

“Well, you have to be good for something, right?”

“Cheeky thing.”

You hummed as you stood back up, Hisoka trailing his hand down your arm as you did so, the sensation of his nails running along your skin giving you goosebumps. One glance back down that hallway and you could sense that there wasn't anyone there. Probably too awkward for even Gido to keep watching you two. Hisoka had already pulled out another playing card as you picked up the rest of the groceries.

“See you later, Hisoka.”

You began to walk away again, but when Hisoka called out your name, you paused and turned your head. There was a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Don't think you can rile me up and then get away with no consequences,” he told you.

“I don't know what you mean,” you said, feigning ignorance.

“Then I'll have to show you what I mean when I come back tonight.”

“It might have to wait until tomorrow; if you're coming back after midnight I'm going to be asleep. I'm not waiting up for you.”

“Trust me, pet,” he purred as he flung another card at the wall, “you won't be getting much sleep tonight.”

You felt your cheeks heat up at the way he said it. It was hardly even that dirty, and he had certainly said much dirtier things to you before. But in a way that only he was able, Hisoka managed to leave you flustered and incapable of keeping eye contact with him. Turning your head away from him just made it worse, as he chuckled at your embarrassment.

“We'll see,” was all you could say.

It was a pretty weak response, and you were quick to head back to the room, trying not to walk away too quickly and show him how much of a hurry you were in to get out of that situation.

Despite all that, you couldn't help the slight feeling of anticipation from what he promised.

You'd probably end up waiting up for him after all.

[renaerys]

Prompt 50. But Berserk & Boomer😔👉👈💕

50. “I thought you left.”

We’re calling this one Unfortunately, She Impressed Him. This is a pair of characters I love with all my heart in any flavor of relationship and can’t wait to write more of in my ongoing multi-chapter fic Trinity House over on AO3.

This fic is part of a prompt challenge that is now closed to new requests, but you can read all the completed submissions here. Reminder that the challenge is to make everything SFW, so we’re getting creative here.

xxx

Boomer was halfway across the deserted lobby of Faust Keating Rogers, LLP when he realized he’d forgotten his keys at his desk. He groaned aloud because it was 8 p.m. and no one was around to hear him because they had all gone home to their families hours ago like normal people. Boomer didn’t have two to three kids and a house in the suburbs, though, and neither did his boss. The three hour lull reserved for dinner, baths, and bedtimes before the evening work-from-home grind offered him no alternative but to power through. He fully planned to grab take out on his way home and enjoy an episode of whatever was on HBOMax before getting back to the tedious work of reviewing the draft prospectus statement his boss had sent him to proof by tomorrow morning.

Except, his keys were forty floors up and he now had to risk running into her again when he’d managed to slip away so neatly. He’d even removed his tie on the elevator ride down, and now he rubbed his exposed neck, flushed with anxiety over what might happen if she saw him and asked him to stick around to finish the work here.

“Nice going, dumbass,” he lamented as he stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the fortieth floor.

It wasn’t that Boomer disliked his job. In fact, he didn’t mind it at all. It was better than slinging drinks or waiting tables. He had health insurance, a steady paycheck, and a resumé that could proudly display the name of one of the most elite accounting firms in the country. He could pivot his career if he wanted to, as Brick would say. Boomer wasn’t thinking about his next job right now, though. Right now, he was thinking about this one and how his boss was a hard-ass and a workaholic even if she was brilliant, and how there was a one hundred percent chance she would detect him coming back to his desk (which was annoyingly set up right in front of her office so that he could answer her calls, manage her meetings, and deal with whoever passed close enough to her event horizon to get suckered into the latest heinous audit in need of staffing).

There were his traitorous keys sitting on the desk next to the framed picture of his brothers. He glared at them, as if they were a forgotten household item that had developed a supernatural grudge like in those old Japanese folktales he liked to read online. He half expected them to jingle and alert his boss to his presence, just to spite him.

They didn’t, and he slipped them into his pocket as quietly as could be. He released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and took a beat. It was quiet. Most of the offices were dark, save for a few poor souls in the large conference room stuck on the ongoing year-end audit for one of the firm’s most important clients: Unicorn, Inc. His boss’s office was also lit up behind her closed door, but she hadn’t called out to him like she would during the day when he got back from his lunch break hoping for a few minutes to catch up on emails in peace before she dumped more work on him.

This, of course, was odd. The small legion of assistants who had come before Boomer were notorious for their short-term employment working this specific desk. The work was demanding and so was the boss, but there was something else that set her apart from other senior associates in the International Tax Services division, something that seemed to intimidate away any support the higher ups sent her way. Denise a couple desks down had warned Boomer not to bring too many personal effects to the office; chances were he wasn’t going to last long. Boomer had smiled thinly and thanked Denise for her advice, and brought the picture of his brothers in the next morning because he had his pride and Brick told him it was healthy to indulge that once in a while. Brick would certainly know.

So here he was, uncertain. Anxiety over having to sit here for another two hours finishing work and having tepid Doordash delivered pulled him toward the elevator and escape, while that annoying, rare pride demanded he check on his boss and make sure she knew he was here to support her, lest she get the idea that he needed to be fired.

The longer he stood there, indecisive, the greater his curiosity grew. What was she doing in there? It was quiet, even when he strained his Super hearing. He could hear Dean Matheson pouring whiskey a few offices down (that guy had a drinking problem and everyone knew they only kept him around because he had the Unicorn, Inc. account), Adebayo Hansou on a conference call with Dubai that was escalating to profanity, Shelly Kim with her head down and typing away at an Excel spreadsheet like a pro. Their assistants were long gone for the night, but here was Boomer, loitering and indecisive and what is she doing in there not yelling at me when she definitely knows I’m here?

He couldn’t take it anymore. He knocked on the closed door—rap, rap, rap—and called out softly, “Berserk?”

A beat, then: “Come in.”

Finding his boss in upward facing dog while still in her pencil skirt was not a sight Boomer was prepared for. Berserk had her eyes closed as she stretched at a near ninety degree angle and listened to music on her Airpods. Boomer had never seen her with her heels off and her mane of red hair thrown together in a messy bun; it was so casual that it was almost obscene.

“You’re staring.”

Fuck, he was staring and now she was looking right at him down her nose, even though she was the one on the floor. He stood up straighter, unable to help himself when she took that tone that reminded him so much of Brick’s when he was about to criticize, but he didn’t avert his gaze. “Sorry.”

She breathed in deeply through her nose and hoisted herself up into downward dog position. “Why are you here?”

Forgot my keys seemed like a really lame excuse that she’d probably laugh at him for, but he also was not in the habit of making shit up on the spot if he hoped to make people believe him. “I forgot my keys.” He took them from his pocket to show her, as if she might not know what keys are, as a concept.

“Smart locks.” Berserk exhaled and slowly walked her hands back on the yoga mat until she reached her feet and began to swing slowly left and right.

Huh? he almost said like an idiot, until he caught himself. “Don’t think my landlord would approve of me installing that.” Also, those things were like $200 a pop, which was not worth the occasional inconvenience and shame of forgetting his keys and then catching his boss doing yoga in her office after hours.

Berserk made some noncommittal sound like whatever, peasant and slowly uncurled upward one vertebra at a time. Boomer realized he was back to staring again, literally lingering in her door watching her and trying to equate this subdued, casual version of Berserk with the terse, no-nonsense businesswoman he was used to dealing with on a daily basis.

When she finally achieved her full height, she popped her neck. The hair that was too short for her bun fell in around her narrow face in a stylish, athleisure sort of way. The top buttons on her blouse were undone. She wore a small, golden necklace he’d never noticed before because he wasn’t in the habit of checking out his boss. “I thought you left.”

The accusatory nature of her words were totally at odds with her flat tone, only the barest hint of curiosity dangling there at the end, like she expected him to respond.

Oh, she expected him to respond.

Boomer took another step into her office because he was full of poor judgment today. “I forgot my keys.”

At which point he showed her his keys again and also had a mild stroke, because what the fuck are you doing, mate?

Berserk smiled. “Yeah, I got that part.”

Was she laughing at him? He had never heard her laugh before, unless it was at Dean Matheson, that comb-over in denial who, in addition to being a high functioning alcoholic, also had a reputation for throwing associates under the bus when a client wasn’t happy.

Boomer smiled back, because that was what he did when people smiled at him, and ‘people’ now included Berserk, apparently.

“Well, since you’re here,” she said as she padded around to her desk.

Crap, there was the work he was afraid of soliciting from her by remaining in the building. He debated an excuse to give her: picking up dry cleaning? Plausible, but transparent. Meeting up with his brothers? No, she’d probably make him stay all night for the chance to ruin Brick’s plans.

“Thai or Mexican?”

Boomer stared dumbly. He was becoming quite good at that (10,000 hours and you can become an expert at anything, they say). “Huh?”

The yoga must have put Berserk in an exceedingly gracious mood, because she actually repeated her question without getting that look on her face like she was picturing him getting trampled by stampeding monsters. “Thai or Mexican? I don’t have a preference.”

Oh.

Oh.

Boomer’s stomach picked that time to snarl at him—8 p.m. and still no dinner, the fiend.

Berserk snorted in laughter and fanned herself with her phone. “Jesus. Mexican it is.”

Which was how Boomer found himself on the small sofa tucked in the corner of Berserk’s office, shoes off and belt loosened, with enough tacos, tamales, and rice and beans to feed a small family. He even had a beer from the mini fridge Berserk kept under her desk.

She hadn’t stayed late to work. Well, she had, but only because she didn’t have a reason to go home.

“I just hate getting home to a dark apartment sometimes,” she said in between bites of food. She had her legs tucked up under her on the sofa close enough to brush Boomer’s thigh if he reached to grab the salsa.

“I thought you lived with your sister?”

“Brute got her own place a few months ago. The arrangement was only temporary while she was in between jobs.”

It was weird knowing so little about a person whose whole family had been in Boomer’s inner orbit since childhood. As far as he knew, Berserk wasn’t close to any of her cousins, not even Blossom. Boomer himself had never been more eager to leave a room than when Brat walked into it. Only Butch, Brute, and Buttercup had ever found common ground among each other once the sworn rivalries and blood feuds of their youth gave way to teenage rebellion against their respective overlord fathers and then the slog of adulthood that was inescapable even for a bunch of Supers flying high on Chemical X.

The fact that Boomer had gotten this job surprised him more than anyone. After drifting from restaurant jobs to office temp placements over the last six years, he’d never thought he would dust off his economics degree and land a temp-to-permanent position that seemed way above his qualifications. And he never thought it would be working for a woman he’d most definitely electrocuted in battle at least a dozen times before puberty.

“What?”

Boomer blinked. He’d been staring again, Jesus Christ. “Sorry, I was just thinking… I didn't know that. I’ve been working here for five months and I don’t actually know much about you at all.”

“Hm.”

Her magenta eyes were wine-dark against the murky sky beyond the window forty stories up. Boomer did avert his gaze this time to reach for the salsa, but he didn’t use it.

“I don’t even know why you invited me to stay for dinner in the office if we’re not going to do any work.”

“Why did you stay?”

“For the free food.”

Berserk grinned—the third time she had smiled at him tonight (or ever). He needed to stop counting; he’d be disappointed when it stopped happening tomorrow.

“Don’t get used to it. Much as I appreciate the company now and again, there’s no need for both of us to be stuck here while Matheson’s breathing down the associates’ necks. Can’t have him poaching you out from under me.”

“Well, I don’t work for him; I work for you.”

“It’s sweet how you don’t understand office politics.” She ate a lone slice of avocado with a fork. “He landed Unicorn back when they were early stage, and back when he was still putting in the work to earn his reputation. But since they IPO’d three years ago and make up twenty percent of our revenue now, he’s just another big name coasting by on associate work. You know he regularly schedules client calls and just doesn’t bother to show up? He forgets half the time, and the other half he’s busy playing golf or buying a yacht or whatever the fuck rich, white Boomers do.”

“Well, as a Boomer myself, I can say I’ve spent exactly zero hours buying yachts.”

She chuckled. Fourth time. “Oh, really.”

“Never even thought of yachts. As far as I’m concerned, they’re not even real.”

“Thanks for your expert opinion.”

“Any time.” Boomer turned his body to face her and draped his arm over the back of the sofa. With only the soft light from the floor lamp in the corner, he imagined himself adrift in the darkness, the sky scraper lights nearby stars. It was a lonely thought, one made romantic in the knowledge that she was here too, and he wasn’t actually alone.

“Matheson almost did poach you, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Boomer couldn’t recall exchanging more than a few words with the man.

“When we were filling support positions. Someone recognized you from the news a few years back, when the Cyclops Monster attacked the marina district and you and your brothers took it out. Matheson got it in his head that you’d be able to work at Super speed and help lower his billables.”

“Wow. Maybe you should’ve let him. What do you think the net savings would be in yacht units of measurement?”

Berserk rolled her eyes, but she was smiling again. “I claimed you before he could get the paperwork in.”

Boomer hyper-focused on that word: claimed. He also pointedly ignored it entirely, much in the same way he ignored the new count of five smiles tonight. “Showed him your bending powers, did you?”

Berserk’s Corona bottle turned frosty under her hand in a totally unnecessary, big dick energy display of said powers, and she took another sip. “No. Sharon from HR likes me. And I promised her I wouldn’t fire you after three months like your predecessors.”

Flattered was not how Boomer would describe the feeling of being claimed by Berserk and eluding Matheson’s vampiric clutches. But he was a bit tickled all the same. This was the woman Butch had once described as essentially Brick, if he were constipated all the time.

And then he realized what she was doing. “Hey, you’re sharing things about yourself.”

She clinked her bottle to his, and Boomer shivered at the frosty chill she transferred on contact. “Aw, you figured it out all by yourself.”

“Ha ha.”

She didn’t quite smile, but she did look kind of serene then, content even, as she lay back against the arm of the sofa and yawned. Her gold necklace—just a simple disk with an engraving Boomer could not make out—reflected the lamp light when she moved. It rested just beneath her collarbone, which had suddenly become the single-most interesting part of Berserk, and oh no, was he interested—

“You’re staring again.”

Son of a bitch.

“Sorry,” he said automatically. “I didn’t mean to.”

Hard no. He was not allowed to be any percent attracted to Berserk. First, she was his boss, and there was a cliché here that, while subverted on the gender role spectrum, was still very risky for both of them. Second, she was Berserk, a fellow Super, cousin to his best friend Bubbles and a shrewd, stiletto bitch in Brick’s estimation, which sounded bad. Not that she was bad, or even evil, unless you counted helping rich corporations accurately report their taxes while taking advantage of the many egregious loopholes in the Internal Revenue Code. Which, okay, point taken, but he also worked here and anyway, people should not be deemed good or evil so much as their choices ought to be—

“Are you thinking about fucking me?”

You shrewd, stiletto bitch!

She was smiling again, and Boomer pathetically logged that as the sixth time, although he wasn’t sure he should count it given the overt malice behind it.

Unfortunately, Boomer was, as had been previously established, very bad at making shit up on the fly. So he miserably said, “Yeah.”

“Hm.”

She sipped her beer slowly, and of course he watched. If it was out in the open, as fleeting a bout of insanity as it may have been, at least he could wallow in it without worrying about appearances.

It was the yoga. That fucking upward facing dog, Jesus Christ.

It was more than that too. Over the last few months, he had worked closely with her, watched her navigate the cutthroat halls full of piranhas like Matheson and other account managers, getting herself work on the best clients while managing her juniors with efficiency and professionalism. She was excellent and sharp, and she demanded excellency and sharpness in kind. After years of going it alone or temping for bosses who didn’t care enough even to learn his name, much less provide him with guidance and mentorship, it was an unspeakable relief to work under someone who knew how to rally the troops. Someone who knew how to lead, how to motivate, and how to reward loyalty with loyalty in return. It didn’t hurt that she looked amazing in her daily stilettos, either.

Unfortunately, she impressed him.

“I have some work to get done tonight.” Berserk stood up and smoothed her skirt.

Boomer scrambled to his feet. “Of course! Um.” He began closing food containers and repackaging them in the bags they’d come in, because he was panicking. “I’ll get rid of the trash. Do you want the leftovers in the fridge?”

“You take them. Otherwise my office will smell like a burrito for a week.”

“Okay.” Numbly, Boomer finished packing everything up, while Berserk made her way back to her desk and logged into her computer to check her emails.

Boomer lingered at the door. “I’ll have the prospectus back to you later tonight.”

“Thanks.”

Wow, way to go, stud.

He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

“Boomer?”

“Yeah?”

“Friday is good.”

He stared back at her in expert mode. “Huh?”

Berserk poked her head around the side of her large, external monitor. She was smiling again. Lucky number seven. “For fucking.”

“Okay,” Boomer said.

Okay?!

She pulled back behind her monitor. “I was going to get a cat, but you’ll do much better.”

Because she didn’t like going home to a dark, empty apartment alone. With no one to fuck.

“That was a joke.”

“Yeah, I got that,” he croaked.

Friday is for fucking, he thought, which was delightful alliteration and also completely insane and one hundred percent something he was getting more on board with by the nanosecond.

“See you tomorrow,” she said.

Boomer clutched the leftover Mexican food in his fist. “Okay. Goodnight.”

It took him the time to fly home and put the food away in his small fridge to realize that he had a sort-of date with Berserk lined up for two days from now.

He Y-posed at the window and whooped, “Hell yes!!”

Loud pounding in the floor followed by old Mrs. Cruikshank’s muffled Keep it down! couldn’t bring down his mood.

Boomer leaped onto his threadbare, living room sofa with his work laptop and took to the prospectus with alacrity. He’d send over superior work product and make Berserk’s job just that much easier tomorrow morning.

xxx

If you enjoy my writing, check out more of my fics on AO3, link in my profile. I’m currently updating Trinity House (which has a lot more Berserk and Boomer content, btw!) and The Alchemy of Us. Thanks for reading!

[wh0lemilk0vich]

Prompt: coworkers i&m. Ian asks chubby (200 pounds) mickey to pretend to be his bf for christmas because he lied to his family that he is in a serious relationship. They have to share a tiny bed at the gallagher house and the gallaghers bully mickey and critisize him for his body and ian gets mad. Then one night they have sex and become a real couple after a while.(denial of feelings) No fat kink or chaser ian, just the fact that mickey is chubby and ian likes him for who he is.

This is my attempt at a start to a ficlet. I'll come back to it in a bit, but it's always hard for me to follow through 🙈 shorter drabbles are usually my bag on tumblr

"Fuck off, I'm not doing it, Gallagher."

"Please Mickey," Ian plead, "Please, I promise it'll just be for a couple of days. I just need to get my family off my back. They think all I do is party and fuck random dudes every night."

"But you do party and fuck random dudes every night."

"Well they all think we've been dating for the last six months."

"Fucking hell, Red," Mickey whined, long-suffering, "just because we're a couple of 'mo's doesn't make us a fucking couple."

"Please, Mickey, I'll cover your shifts, I'll buy you lunch for a month, I just really fucking need this. We're practically work husbands anyway. Who got me my meds when I had my low episode? Who beat up that creep that kept leering at me at the bar? You know my fucking coffee order and the code to my apartment, Mickey!"

"Well somebody had to water your plants when you were on that fucking trip. You were just gonna let them wilt like some fucking psychopath. No offense."

"If I pretend to be offended at that neurodivergence crack, will you agree to come with me?"

"For fuck's sake Gallagher. Fine. I'll do it, but when we get back, you're telling them I broke up with you!"

Ian was all smiles then and picked up his stocky foul-mouthed coworker in a tight, spinning hug.

"You're the best! Don't worry, I'll make sure to play up how heartbroken I am."

"And I'm holding you to that lunch thing, but you may live to regret it." Mickey said teasing. He'd always been a bit thicker, heavier. His mom used to say he was 'big boned' the classic fat kid defense. Basically, he grew up and never seemed to lose the baby fat, he was soft around the edges, with a boyish face. He compensated for his self-consciousness by being brash, loud, getting into fights, used to be a bully, and that Napoleonic defense mechanism seemed to stick in adulthood.

Now, Ian wanted them to pretend to be dating and he didn't know what to do with that. It made him feel weird. Vaguely...sad? Cause of course when Mickey started temping at the office Ian worked at he thought the redhead was hot, but probably straight. Then he found out Ian was gay after a run in at the local gay bar, when Ian had run over drunk off his ass, happy to see Mickey and proceeded to talk his ear off about how hot the guy he was going to be taking home was. So yeah, after a little time Mickey's schoolboy crush fizzled out as he realized Ian was out of his league. He had to content himself with being the big lug's friend.

Ian was overjoyed. Finally, he could have one holiday where he didn't feel like the black sheep, the family fuck up. His siblings were starting to settle down, have kids. He had a nephew and a niece, and he was treated like the crazy, coked up, club kid guncle. It was the fact that the label kinda fit that hurt him the most, but he was still young, he didn't want to settle down and lose the life he knew. It was fun. It was. Or that's what he told himself. He was hot and he had really good sex with other hot guys. Not really all the time, but enough. Enough that he was getting a reputation among his family. When he got a home STI test from his older brother last Christmas, he knew he had to shut down their shit somehow.

Thank God he had Mickey. It was honestly perfect, Mickey knew basically everything about Ian, he was an open book and his coworker really seemed to commit a lot of the things he'd tell him to memory. He'd show up with a coffee for Ian just how he took it, or an extra pastry. He could always seem to tell when Ian's moods were switching and helped him stay on top of stuff when he needed to get his meds adjusted. He even helped him get home when his phone was on one percent battery and he wanted to skip out on the guy who'd taken him home from the bar. Legit got him an Uber and everything. Ian didn't know what he'd do without his work husband.

*****

"The fuck kind of name is 'Lip'?" Mickey asked, skeptically, as Ian wove his car through the south Chicago backstreets.

"Short for Phillip, Mikhailo." Ian teased.

"Hey, I told you that in confidence! Fuck, why are there so many of you, fuckers breed like rabbits. They all gingers like your freckled ass?"

"Hey, that gorgeous freckled bubble-butt to you. And you're one to talk, Casper the friendly ghost. So pale you're almost see-through. And no, we're not all ginger. Just me and Debs. Fiona's the oldest and she's basically our mom. Then after Lip and me there's Carl. last thing I heard he's still a meter maid. The youngest is Liam."

"Then who's Franny and Freddy?" Mickey asked, trying to get all the relationships straight.

"Franny is Debbie's kid. Freddy is Lip and Tammi's."

"Fucking Gallaghers" Mickey sighed as they pulled up in front of a not entirely rundown looking house.

It reminded him a lot of where he grew up. They probably weren't even that far, but Mickey was a bit older than Ian and they didn't seem to run in the same circles. He grabbed his bag and followed Ian up the steps to the house.

*****

Ian couldn't even make it to the top step of the porch stairs before his older sister was tossing the door wide open to pull him into a tight bear hug, kissing his cheek wet and loud.

"Well look who decided to show up! Get in here baby-face. Where's the hubby? Oh! Ohh." She said catching sight of the guy following Ian. She knew her brother had a type and that was usually jock types, gym types, Adonises... This was just unexpected.

"Fi, this is my boyfriend, Mickey," Ian said with a smile, slinging a long arm across Mickey's shoulders, pressing a tame kiss to his head, so proud of himself for his plan seeming to work.

Mickey smiled, tight-lipped and nervous, accepting a wary hug from the tall brunette.

"Hi, nice to meet you, this one's told me a lot about you." Mickey said, elbowing Ian.

"Well we're just excited to meet you," Fiona said, covering for the fact that she had not anticipated someone...shaped like Mickey. "There's not much room at the inn, so you boys are going to have to share Ian's bunk. There's not really anywhere else I can put you. I hope that's ok..." She trailed off leading them into the house.

Lip was the next to welcome Ian, giving him a quick hug and pulling him to the side conspiratorially.

"So, that's the guy, huh?" Lip asked.

"Yep that's my Mickey!" Ian shot back with a genuine smile.

"He's a big'un, huh? What's he like a buck ninety? 200? Don't take him to the gym with you, muscles?"

The conversation made Ian pause a bit. He'd never thought of Mickey as especially big. Like yeah, he wasn't skinny, but he pulled off his size. He just looked right. Ian didn't know why Lip's comment sat so weird with him, but he just tried to ignore it.

"You should see how much he can bench. I mean the guy's built like a brick shit house. You wouldn't believe the ass on him, Lip, I mean-" he really tried to lay it on, teasing his brother, only to get cut off exactly how he was anticipating.

"Yeah yeah I get it, trust me I can see it from here. As long as you're happy." Lip said patting his brother on the back, and just going off for a beer.

*****

Ian took Mickey upstairs to let them get settled before dinner. Following Mickey up the stairs, Ian really started to take stock of his good friend's body. Yeah, so he was a bit chubby. His clothes were all on the right side of snug, accentuating his curve of his ass, his plump bouncy belly, thick thighs, wide soft hips, softened handfuls of pecs. Screw Lip, Mickey looked good...Mickey looked more than good...

"Yo, Red!" Mickey shook Ian out of his reverie, "we really supposed to share a twin bed? I mean I don't know if you've seen me lately, but I'm most certainly not twin size." He said worrying his plush lower lip with his bunny teeth.

Ian blushed slightly at the implication, but just waved his concerns away "We'll make it work. It's just for one night, ok? It's not like we're gonna fu- I mean you know...it's just...sleeping. We'll just have to squeeze tight." Ian was picturing the spacial relations in his head wondering how they'd fit so much...boy on that little bed. But that was an issue for later.

They stood there in an a slight awkward silence before hearing Fiona call them down to get ready for dinner and open up stocking gifts. An apparent tradition for the Gallaghers, usually small joke gifts.

[camelotsheart]

Alright. I’m watching 1x11 and trying a new way of liveblogging. Which is just me writing random paragraphs. Enjoy.

A creature of magic mourning the loss of a creature of magic 😭

“Arthur is a hunter. It's in his blood. Whereas you are something entirely different.“ reminds me of “He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.“ “You are wrong.” Especially with the way that Arthur then proves what is in his heart by the end of the episode, and how his ‘heart’ is shown to constantly guide him towards the ‘correct’ choice in s5 (e.g. “My heart says do anything I can to save Mordred.“)

“You've got a face like a wounded bear ever since we got back from that hunting trip." Arthur means bear. I have no idea what to do with this information.

The unicorn as a metaphor for those sorcerers who “do no harm” and thus Camelot serves no purpose in killing them. Especially since people like the Disir and Alator describe the purge as a “hunt”.

The drought serving as a parallel to the events that happened before the purge to Uther, in that Arthur sees all the harm that “magic” is doing to the land and his people, just like Uther witnesses Ygraine’s death. Arthur initially refuses to accept that what happens is caused by him, just like Uther does. But unlike Uther, Arthur is able to acknowledge his mistakes given time (it’s interesting how in the book adaptation of 1x02 merlin makes this comparison too)

“If it is magic, it's more powerful magic than I possess.“ So unicorn magic is more powerful than Merlin’s magic. Would dragon magic be more powerful too? Is that why Merlin couldn’t heal Arthur from the poison of Mordred’s sword tha was forged in a dragon’s breath?

Merlin not understanding hand signals is my life 😂💖

Ok I can literally draw so many parallels between Anhora and Arthur’s first conversation, and Nimueh and Uther’s conversation in 1x09. Especially from how both Arthur and Uther seem completely unable to understand how the ‘curse’ that happened to Ygraine and Camelot was technically their fault.

“And could you bear for your children to see you be executed?“ The way in which Arthur says this breaks my heart because he does understand the feeling of blaming himself for the loss of a parent, just like those hypothetical children would. This is highlighted more by the fact that Evan later plays on Arthur’s insecurities about being his father’s son.

“If you're tested again, you have a chance to end your people's suffering. I know you want that more than anything." Reminds me of what Bradley says about Arthur putting Camelot above everything, even his personal relationships. Compare this to Lancelot and Merlin, who’s “something that is more important than anything” is a person (or people, in the case of Lancelot).

I LOVE S1 MORGANA. S1 AND 2 MORGWEN WOULD HAVE MADE A PERFECT QUEEN DUO FIGHT ME.

Merlin’s face when Arthur says he’s going to the forest to seek Anhorra out 🥺 Also the way he looks back like he wants to see the exact moment Arthur figures out that he’s eating rat meat 🤣 Merlin’s sarcastic little nod. Arthur’s shit-eating grin. This is what I mean by sibling dynamics.

AND THEN THEY TURN ON MORGANA ASDJSAJASLDKKLDJSA. MERLIN. ARTHUR. NO 🤣🤣🤣

“The King must wonder if you are even his son.“ I absolutely do not like how Anhora chose to do the test with Evan here. I hate it. But it does prepare Arthur for a lot of things. It prepares him to do things his father normally would not do. It prepares him to ignore when people compare him to his father (not that it worked with Agravaine, but Arthur does eventually come around most of the time with Merlin’s help). I find it like a mini 5x03 in a way. Also the fact that Arthur doesn’t even try to defend himself by saying that the looter would have been executed by the law of the land anyway; because deep down he knows that reasoning is wrong. What needs to be changed currently is Arthur’s arrogance in regards to his honour, not his internal morals. He has already proven his internal morals with saving Mordred, laying down his life in 1x09, as well as rescuing Ealdor and his reaction to finding out Will was a sorcerer in 1x10. Right now, Arthur needs to be able to accept that he is wrong.

“Besides I would rather starve than beg my enemies for help! What of our kingdom's reputation? Have you no pride?” “I cannot think of my pride when our people go hungry. They're all I can think of.” I’m screaming over the fact that what ends up beating sense into Arthur is his love for his people. I want to cry. He loves his people so much that his battle cry is “for the love of Camelot” 😭❤️

“Very well. But if you'd caught the sorcerer, I would not have to. That's your responsibility! One day you will understand what it takes to be King!” One day, Uther, you’ll learn to blame yourself for other people’s suffering.

“My people are starving. Camelot is on the verge of collapse. And it is all my doing.“ IT DIDN’T EVEN TAKE ARTHUR A DAY TO LEARN THIS I WANT TO CRY 😭 FUCK YOU UTHER YOU DON’T DESERVE ARTHUR AT ALL. (also the fact that Arthur fiddles with Ygraine’s ring as he says this 😭❤️)

“I trust Arthur with my life” the fact that arthur proves that trust right both in this episode by drinking the goblet and in the previous episode by admitting that he “of course” would not kill Will despite thinking he was a sorcerer.

Why the hell does Anhora use a sword to cast the vine spell.

“I thought I told you to stay at home.” Every time Arthur calls Camelot ‘home’ for Merlin I 🥺

Are those carvings... horseshoes...? Making the shape of a heart....? I--

(Sorry guys. By this point it’s 200% certain that my shipper brain is going to take over. Please expect a lot of screaming)

“What kind of ridiculous test is that? What does that prove?” “What it proves is for you to decide.” Which means that by the end, Arthur realizes what this test proves. And he proves what is truly in his heart by sacrificing his life for merlin. Remember “To sacrifice his life to save Gwen’s... I can’t imagine any man loving me so much.” “I certainly can’t imagine that either” “That’s because you’re not like Merlin. He’s a lover” “Yeah? Maybe that’s because I haven’t found the right person to love”. Remember how in the book adaptation this episode, it says that Arthur proves that there is love in his heart by giving his life for Merlin? Remember “there was magic at the heart of Camelot”? Remember how in the book version Arthur doesn’t deny having love in his heart when Anhora says so when the Unicorn lives again, and instead turns his head to smile at Merlin--

“I’m glad you’re here, Merlin.” @thebookluvrr1816​ More 1x11-finale parallels to scream about 😭 The book version describes Merlin’s surprise at this statement, and how he thought it was “ironic and unfair” that they understood each other "at the very moment that death was about to tear them apart.”

“No, I will drink it!” “As if I’d let you.” Someone stop these dollopheads from having a domestic about who will die for the other i beg

“You know me, Merlin. I never listen to you.” reminds me of “I’m the king Merlin, you can’t tell me what to do.” “I always have. I’m not going to change now.” Also, in the books Arthur actually says “farewell, Merlin” after this. Book Arthur is way more suave just saying.

HOW ARTHUR LOOKS INTO MERLIN’S EYES IN HIS FINAL MOMENTS UNTIL HE ISN’T PHYSICALLY ABLE TO ANYMORE. SOMEONE HELP ME 😭

“This was Arthur's test, not yours.“ idk but this reminds me of the fisher king saying “For this is not Arthur's quest, it is yours.“

“You've killed him! I was meant to protect him!” This is going to sound harsh but by this point I think Merlin was still putting Arthur’s destiny above Arthur himself. In the books, there’s a distinct difference in how he feels about Arthur’s death in this scene compared to 1x13 (I’m amazed at how fast his feelings changes, actually). Here, I feel like he focuses more on his own failure to protect Arthur as part of his destiny, but in 1x13, he says that the idea of destiny not being fulfilled was nothing compared to the idea of not being by Arthur’s side. I wonder what happens between this and 1x13 for Merlin’s feelings to change so much.

THIS HAS PROBABLY BEEN STATED MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE BUT “HE HAS PROVEN WHAT IS TRULY IN HIS HEART“ AS THE CAMERA FOCUSES ON MERLIN. PRODUCERS YOU AIN’T SNEAKY.

Merlin’s smile as he looks down at Arthur sleeping 🥺

Arthur looking at Uther’s hand on his shoulder as if he’s trying to identify a foreign object 🙂 I can never say this enough but fuck you Uther.

“When he who kills a unicorn proves himself to be pure of heart, the unicorn will live again.” this is a stretch but it reminds me of “when Albion’s need is greatest, Arthur will rise again.”

And that’s done! I have a small meta that ties the theme of Arthur and magic in this episode to the same themes in 1x10, but I might do it on a separate post since this one is already so long 😂

[sunflower-cathedral]

Credit to Shadeswift99 for the idea!

Rating hermits based on if I could win a fight against them:

Xisuma: 10/10 I will ruin X without hesitation. All I have to do is think of that video where he talked rlly shitty on a gender topic. The amount of unbridled rage-

Joehills: 3/10 he will fight dirty and you cant convince me otherwise. He was close with the convex last season, he has gotten his fair share of getting his hands dirty and I dont trust it.

Bdubs: -10000/10 this fucker will probably destroy me. Look, I could easily go off about how short he is and use his desperate anger as a way to make calculated hits but he is so unhinged. I've said it before and I'll say it again: there is something so so so feral and unhinged in bdubs that's always 2 seconds away from exploding at any given moment. I am also shorter; and very competitive, which would feed into his competitiveness.

TFC: -1000000000/10 I wouldn't. I just wouldn't. I wouldn't even try to hurt him hes minecraft grandpa i love him :(

Cleo: 8.5/10 I feel like I would have a solid chance, but she plays dirty after the initial shock of being attacked. Tbf I usually try fighting her every time shes on the patron server when I'm also on. Also if the rewards of heads are involved she will win 1000% no doubt about it.

Stress: YOU WANT ME TO FIGHT HER?? AN ONLY PARENT WITH 3 CHILDREN?? WHO WORKS OUT?? NO. NO. SHE WILL BREAK MY SPINE LIKE A FUCKING TWIG IF I TRIED. FUCK-NO/10

False: 4/10 we would be an even match but me being a massive simp would bring my guard down. She could probably destroy my joints if she wanted

Scar: 11/10 I will snap his spine in half in seconds but I will feel guilt because I love him :(

Grian: 5/10 grians not the only person who can play dirty. It would be an even fight

Mumbo: 1000/10 hes a stick

Iskall: 0/10 no

Tango: I'm intimidated. 4/10. I dont trust him, I feel like he could break my neck from 4 feet away but also I feel like he doesn't have the skills against someone who plays pvp related minigames frequently

Impulse: I can and will beat the shit out of him without trying 10000/10

Zedaph: I dont trust a man who isn't afraid of the void and purposefully sits in said void -10/10

Cub: 3/10 he will snipe me to death NOT IF I SNIPE HIM FIRST- also I hate his skin so much its literal cultural appropriation (it's only cultural appropriation because it's similar to what leaders like Cleopatra etc wore: which is sacred to only the most powerful) so actually infinity/10 my pure blind anger and rage will kill him in a 200 block radius

Etho: ... meeehhh I dont wanna fight an OG today 0/10

Doc: look I get he fought God and lost only an arm and won, but listen. I'm A Uni Student. I fear nothing but due dates. I will destroy this man with every fiber of my being. It would be 11/10 but hes a new dad and frankly they're over protective. So he would easily break every bone in my body before I even manage to land a hit on him. 0/10

Wels: i would die for him. I would let him kill me and I would be happy 0/10

Xb & beef: I dont know them well enough but I feel like it would be a decent fight 4/10

Jevin: if he even looks at me he will implode bc of my hatred. I'm still so fucking infuriated by him invalidating and mocking Trigger Warnings infinity/10

Keralis: HE BETTER PULL THE FUCK UP I WILL DESTROY HIM 10/10

Ren: His muscles don't intimidate me, but his never ending support for the rainbow community would make me too weak to attack him. I would be bawling my eyes out and probably end up cuddled by ren. I could never. -1000000000/10

[moonlightjeno]

the chemistry of water | l.j

𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 :: swimmer!jeno x reader

𝕨𝕔 :: 7k

𝕒/𝕟 :: this was inspired by @smoljh swimmer!jeno timestamp. which you can read here. this is literally just pure fluff. fluff, fluff, fluff with like a couple cups of angst because i’m whipped for jeno... so enjoy.  

masterlist 

water, like most chemical compounds, was made up of hydrogen bonds, these weak bonds that formed between the hydrogen atoms and the oxygen gave a sense of magic that even though weak when working together managed to create something beautiful, elegant, fluid and strong incapable of being crushed. 

Chemicals, and bonds were much like relationships. Formed slowly by a weak attempt to make conversation, the awkward silence that filled the library hall as you, well you both attempted to start a conversation on how the tutoring of chemistry would go. The first reach and attempt of a forming bond between the two people that are alway initiated by someone else, a push of pull in the right direction all to lead you to the collision that would alter one’s life track.

It’s been halfway through freshman year when your professor had asked, well more like demanded you tutor the university top swimmer. The idea of tutoring had always been fascinating to you, well not fascinating more like something that seemed to be out of your comfort zone, one that you’d promised yourself you’d finally leave once college started. That had been 4 months ago, and you remained inside that bubble, talking to your roommate and her friends at most. So when the idea of tutoring someone had been brought up to you, the initial push that would cause the collision of two very different particles to bind together, you agreed with a small smile. 

“y/n, you’d have to work with him at least three times a week if he wants to get his grades up. He’s a promising student, just has a lot on his plate” your professor told you, voice calm and direct at what you would have to do. You nod, happy to be able to help, that is until you ask who you’re supposed to tutor and your professors look at you with a smile, “lee jeno”.

You're almost sure, you can feel the bonds that kept you together on that long day of classes, the single cup of coffee in your system doing little to keep you up, as the name of the school's most popular boy leaves the old man’s lips. 

Well not the most popular boy, if you’re being honest, more like the boy that your roommate wouldn’t shut up about. The boy that everyone in your class, more like your whole year and the year above, seemed to be infatuated by because of his eye smile and dark hair. The boy who, in your opinion, managed to break the hydrogen bonds that held the water molecules together, as he swam beating record after record after record. 

Bonds. A new sort of bond would be formed between the infamous lee jeno and you as you texted him that afternoon, a simple “hey” that had taken you at least ten minutes to actually send. 

A day. It took a day for a response to come to your phone, which meant a day of you being slightly stressed about the boy you had texted out of the blue with no actual context. Though you had debated if you should have messaged him something along the lines of “it’s y/n, i was asked to tutor you” but by the time you’d had thought of actually texting him that, it had been hours since you’d first texted and decided that it would just be awkward if another message was sent hours later the first one. It was stressful, waiting for a random boy who you knew of, who you’d see pass you in the hallway, smile always bright as he waved to those around him. Tending to be accompanied by a boy who’s hair changed color like the year’s seasons. It was almost winter, and Jeno's best friend now had blue hair, and you wondered more often that not good looking people would automatically be attracted to each other, and stick together. 

The bell rings, a shrill in your ears, masking the silent vibrations of your phone as it buzzes. You don’t hear the noise of it’s vibration, paying attention to the shrieking noise of the bell while attempting to listen to your professors instructions on the lab work that would have to be completed by next week. The paper’s scattered around your desk, take a while to pick up and you’re almost sure you’re the last person to leave the room, the professor had rushed off to the next class once he’d finished with the instructions, and it’s not until you hear a buzzing noise again that you check your phone. 

“Hey?” is the first thing you read, the caller i.d. ‘Unknown’ because you had totally forgotten to label it as jeno, with the nerves of actually getting an answer. Unlocking your phone, you send the small question marks before realizing that it indeed was jeno, and introducing yourself. 

The messages were a mess, and though your professor had initiated the initial push towards the bonds that would be formed, the world couldn’t help it seemed to make you two struggle a little more. For bonds to form, they have to reach an activation energy, crashing with enough energy, in specific positions. Slowly were the particles of you and jeno beginning to move towards each other, if it hadn’t been for the stream of awkwards texts you sent a failed attempt to explain what was going on. 

You hear a faint chuckle from somewhere in the room and look up. It was weird to have someone still in the class after hours, the only reason you were still in class was because you couldn’t find your notebook, that had today’s notes and didn’t really have anyone to get the notes from. 

The phone in your hand vibrates again,  the little “jeno has laughed at your message” icon appearing on your phone, and you looked around again as the small giggle was heard. The room was huge, fitting around 200 students a lecture so the soft giggles, which you found adorable to say the least, could have been coming from anywhere that is until you spotted a dark head, back towards you, the hoodie the boy wore had “lee jeno” written on it, while varsity swim team wrapped around the bottom of the hoodie and if it weren’t for the desk that you leaned against you could have sworn that you might have just hidden underneath your chair. 

The sound that came from your phone, a small “ring ring ring” startled you making you hit yourself against the desk, a small curse leaving your lips which caused jeno to turn around a smile present as always on his face. And it feels too soon that he is right in front of you asking you something, but you can’t fully process it because ‘what does one do when they just awkwardly text another person only to have them right in front of you in the next five minutes?’ you really aren’t sure but think they should make a guide about it. 

There’s a quiet silence that settles around the two of you, and you decide that you might as well tell him about the tutoring but jeno decides that he should say something too as he was the one that walked towards you, ending up in the two of you talking at the same time. Heat fills your cheeks, and if you weren’t so busy looking at the floor or anything except the boy's face you would have seen the light pink that adorned his cheeks. 

“You first” jeno says, hsi voice is softer than you imagined it. Not that you had never heard him speak, you had on the rare occasion that you went to a swim meet in order to support your best friend and roommate who loved going, cheering on the team with all her might. But at the swim meets, the jeno you’d seen was loud, almost center of attention but not quiet, loud but not overwhelming, but with an energy that was contagious to everyone else. The boy that stood before you seemed to be shy, and awkward and you could feel yourself relax just a little. 

“Oh… okay” the words come out small, and you force yourself to look up at the boy, who’s smile is more enchanting than before “well, I have to tutor you, for chem?”. Jeno nods, hair falling slightly in front of his eyes, but it doesn't seem to bother him as he waits for you to continue, “so we should meet up sometime this week, and what exactly are you struggling with, so I could look over that” 

Jeno’s is left slightly in awe, by the way you offer him help, your voice is soothing he thinks, and the way you bite your lip from nerves he finds to be endearing. He was used to girls chasing him, one way or the other, not leaving him much space to say what he wanted. Though if he listened to Jaemin, he should just enjoy the supposed ‘fame’ he had, but it just wasn’t his thing. Jeno could see you checking the time on your phone, a little past 4, and his brain panicked. 

“Shit” the boy muttered, and now you were really confused, “shit? No, oh i need help with this?” you asked him, baffled at the boy’s reaction, and the boy looked at his phone. 

“Oh no, sorry I didn’t mean it towards you. It’s just that we have a swim team meeting, and it started 5 minutes ago, and if I’m late to another one I might get kicked out” jeno says in a rush, it seems he can’t get out of the room fast enough, as he turns around and you follow him, determined to at least get some date or time that the two of you could meet up. 

“Wait! We still need to figure out a time schedule?” you questions makes the dark haired boy stop for a split second, his brows slightly furrowed, eyes closed as he takes a deep breath, “I’ll text you, I really am sorry y/n, but I have to go” and with that he’s rushing off to the athletics department, leaving you slightly baffled and for some reason with a fluttering feeling in your stomach. Texting, that’s what I’m gonna have to depend this whole thing on. You sigh, walking towards your dorm ready to sit down on your bed, and work on the chemistry project, while playing music in the background. 

 It is said that molecules are attracted to each other, polar opposites, where non-polar molecules will collide with polar molecules in order to form in perfect harmony a compound that will be of use and wonder to the world around us. Those bonds might be the key to relationships, or maybe it’s just the technological black box that people hold in their hands waiting for a sign. 

much to your surprise jeno, did text you a couple hours after the two of you had bumped into each other. The message was brief, a string of “im sorry, again” which you couldn’t help but slightly smile at the boy’s shyness, and another of “can we meet up tomorrow, right after classes are over by the library?”. The last message is what had you now waiting, by the library doors, chemistry notebook in hand as you waited for the black haired boy to appear. 

It’s been five minutes, and there is still no sight of the boy that promised you he’d be at the library and you can feel the fluttering excitement leave. Futters of wings no longer flapping rapidly, but they have seemed to fall asleep. Deciding that you might as well continue on your project, you sit down, pen in hand as you're about to look over the redox equation on balancing carbon dioxide with water in order to form acidic rain. Music is lightly playing through your headphones, the constant tunes a soothing background noise, as the project expands, you're about to flip the paper when you feel a drop of cold water on your shoulder. Checking the time, your phone reads 4:15, it’s been fifteen minutes, and he still hasn’t shown up, he could have texted, you think bitterly. 

Drip, drip, drip. The water droplets land on you again, and this time you swivel around in your chair, almost causing whiplash, before being met with dark eyes, that could convey everything and nothing at all. It takes you a second to register before you breathe out “you’re late” to which he only smiles, the sides of his eyes disappearing appearing to be crescent moons. 

“Yeah” he breathes, sitting down next you as he tries to regain his composure, for a second, a very brief one, you want to push back his slightly wet hair and not be annoyed but seconds only last seconds and in the next moment your scowling again, waiting for an explanation as you furrow your brows.

“Well? What happened? I mean, I don't mind you being late, as long as you tell me why that is.”

“Ummm… yeah about that, i really am sorry. Especially because i’m the one that needs help, and i should have told you but coach doesn’t let us use our phones in practice, which i mean makes sense right because water and technology don’t exactly mix well… and i’m rambling” his face is tainted with pink, as the boy looks down, playing with the ends of the papers to his notebook, and you can’t help but smile at him. It was kind of cute, not that you’d ever tell him that. “But either way, I’m here and if you need to leave early that’s totally cool too, i mean i don’t expect you to stay longer than we said, but if you can stay that’d be nice to because i really have no idea what the hell is going on in class, and i'm trying”

“Jeno” you say his name, and it’s almost a whisper, but he doesn’t look up, too busy folding and unfolding the papers that are beneath his hands, so you try again this time a little louder and stronger “jeno”. He looks up, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips, and you smile at him, “it’s okay, i’m not mad about it” a laugh escapes your lips as the boy’s mouth slightly falters, “now” you prepare the worksheets you’d prepared based off the material he had texted you he needed help with, “let’s get started with these redox equations”

The following hours are a constant of you talking about how redox reactions occur, when one of the compounds gives an electron only for the other compounds to gain electrons. A series of giving and taking, as bonds are formed to create a harmony between the compounds and elements to form a balanced equation. 

For the most part jeno is quiet, trying to understand and digest the information you give him, and the more he asks you questions about how come water can be both amphoteric and amphiprotic the more the both of you relax and begin to enjoy each other's company. You aren’t quite sure when, but all too soon do you hear the librarian telling you two, the last living inhabitants in the library that library hours are closed. It wasn’t that the two of you were doing chemistry anymore,  that had ended a couple of hours ago, when neither you nor jeno deemed to be in the mood to continue with school work. Jeno nodded as the librarian told you it was time to leave, while you told her to give the two of you a couple of more minutes in order to pack up. The lady that tended to scold everyone in the library, or at least she’d always scold you for bringing in your loud roommate and spending more time with your textbooks than actual beings, simply smiled at the two of you nodded, a “close when you’re done” was heard as she walked away. 

“You really have never swam before?” jeno asks you again, for what seems to be the tenth million time, and you nod your head. 

“It’s not that i’ve never been in water, i just have never you know swam laps around a pool,” you can feel heat rush to your face and look away, fiddling with your pen that, and jeno grabs your hand, which you are confused by that is until he pulls you up. 

“It’s settled” he says, a dork-like smile plastered across his face, which varies differently from your confused one, “im teaching you how to swim”. The noise you make is a mix between a sigh and an ugh, but you let yourself be dragged out of the library. 

“It’s not that I don't know how to swim” you protest, jeno’s hand still resting on your wrist. 

“But have you swam at our pool?” the question is teasing and a smile begins to grow, at the banter the two of you are having, shaking your head. 

“I’m taking you to the pool, and i’m going to teach you how to swim” the smile that spreads across jeno’s face is impossible to say no to. Eyes gleaming with joy, and hope, the hand on your wrist closing in a little, and as he’s about to drag you to the swimming pool, which you’re almost sure is closed at this hour you stop. 

“As much as I would love to go swimming at 10 at night, we have classes tomorrow” the tone is your voice isn’t as strong as you wanted it to be, because spending more time with the dork in front of you would honestly help with the stress that was college but the stress would only amount if you didn’t complete the assignments you had due tomorrow. 

Jeno turns to face you, the smile replaced by a pout, as he tries to convince you that it would be fun, but you wouldn’t budge. Well you were about to change your mind as say fuck it to the papers you had due tomorrow, until your phone almost at 0% buzzed, and you saw the lost calls and messages that flooded your phone. Though they mostly consisted of your roommate yelling at you asking where you are and then changing to her telling you she was going out for the night, to your parents asking how the exams had gone. 

Buzz. buzz. Buzz. it was almost as if you couldn’t shake the feeling of the plastic box in your hand, reminders of everything you had to, wanted to achieve. Jeno waited patiently for your reply, eyes soft, the pout slowly turning into a smile. 

Your phone buzzes again, and dies out. I guess that means something. You turn towards jeno, phone shoved in your back pocket, “fuck it” you smile, “let’s go swimming”

“Fuck yes” is what you hear before the two of you are rushing towards the athletic department.

Flickering. The bonds between two people, flicker as they try to work their way toward each other. In which one movement, one decision or thought might push them farther apart or closer together. 

The sign in front of you reads CLOSED but Jeno doesn’t seem to mind it as he grabs keys from his pocket, and opens the door holding it open for you as you pass into the pool, a look of confusion flickers through your face, and jeno smiles. 

“Captain privileges. I get the keys, because I close up most nights either way” he says, and though it’s almost pitch black he walks without hesitation knowing exactly where the light switch is. The lights inside the room flicker, the bright white that comes from the led lights blinds your eyes slightly before they adjust. And you are left in awe at the university's pool. 

It’s not that you’d never been to the pool, but everytime you did go, it had always been filled with too many yelling bodies that would raise up and chant the school’s name over and over again. The room always felt too hot, too sticky as your clothes clung to your body from the humidity created by the pool water. What was supposed to be an olympic sized pool, would feel like a kiddy pool when meets would occur, from the packed beings that were there to watch the races, to the teams that would come to race, always felt like too much. So when the lights flickered on, creating a small halo on jeno’s black hair, you were in awe at the size and beauty of the pool’s structure. 

The glass windows that aligned one of the pools walls, gace view to the twinkle stars that would dim in and out every second. Spots that were reflected on the pool, that you were almost sure stretched for miles, but was promised by jeno it was just a regular 50 meter pool. The two of you walked closer to the edge of the pool, shoes discarded by the entrance as you dipped your feet into the water, the cold feeling of water on skin shocked you for a second before the sensation became a more soothing feeling. It seemed impossible to wipe the smile that grew more as you looked around the swimming pool, the silver bleachers that tended to be stretched out onto the marble floor were put away, creating an illusion of a much larger floor than there really was. 

In all the time that you looked around, awe and fascination written over your face as you looked around the swimming pool, Jeno wondered if you’d never seen the pool, but then realized he had. Not often but he would see your face, every once in a while, a sign with the school's name as you cheered for the swim team, your roommate next to you. It was a shame, he thought that you had never seen the pool how he saw it. At night when no one could nag him about how his arms should be more stretched out, and his hands shouldn’t be as tense but be shaped into a more cupped form so that he cut off some time of his 200 IM. It was moments like this, where he could just admire the water, and see other people fall in love with the water that he remembered why he loved to swim so much, and it helped that you looked cute with your feet only slightly in the water, mouth slightly agape as you took in everything around you. 

Splash. And droplets of water are all over you, making pieces of your shirt stick to your skin. The water beneath you ripples and before you can take your feet off, you can feel a tug by your hand, breaking the trail of thoughts as you look down. The action happens too fast, but one moment you’re sitting by the edge of the pool, and the next you’re underwater. Cold water settles around you, the initial shock of water against your warm skin wearing off as you pull yourself up, breaking the surface of the pool. The curse is on the tip of your tongue, but your eyes can’t seem to find the boy who pulled you in. Turning from one side to the other, twisting a frail attempt you guess to find jeno, who has dived deep into the bottom of the pool. 

It’s been a minute, and you're about to leave the pool slightly in panic until you feel arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you against a warm body. Laughter fills your ears, as jeno spins you around, pulling you both to the shallow area. You can feel your body heat up, cheeks overly warm by the feeling of jeno’s arms around you. 

“What the fuck?” you whisper yell, as you turn around to find the black haired boy, whose hair is almost long enough to fall in front of his eyes, laugh. His eyes, turning into beautiful small moons, that make your heart slightly flip, the cold shock of water no longer there. 

“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice is slightly puzzled but joyous, and he can’t seem to stop himself from looking at your smile, your eyes, the way that even though your tone suggests your mad at him he finds you adorable. No, she’s not adorable. She’s just a girl, a girl that is really smart and doesn’t throw herself at you. No, no, no. 

“Earth to jeno !” you snap your fingers in front of him, and it seems to do the trick as his eyes seem to focus back on you, a small “huh” escapes his lips and you can’t help but laugh, as you splash water towards him. The smile on his face, springs back up, drops of water adorning his nose, and eyes as gravity pulls them back to their resting place, in the midst of other bonds between hydrogen and oxygen. 

The way you tilt your head to the side, eyes gleaming with delight as jeno laughs, splashing water towards you, the start of a small water fight between a swimmer and chemistry lover. 

Chemical bonds work in mysterious ways. A collision between one particle and another has to be precise, exact and the particles must be able to fit each other, and shaping itself to make the other a suitable compound. Bonds that form between compounds can become radiant, strong and vibrant but dangerous to those around it. Hydrogen and oxygen when bonded together, though different slowly build each other up. The splash of water against one’s skin, the way a drop fall’s down slowly on the other’s eye. Successions of bonds that form with each other, creating a picture of carefree ness. Or at least that’s what it seems to be at the beginning. 

 Winter rolls around and the study sessions continue. They become a routine, a part of your day that much as you hate to admit, is the favorite part of your day. Meeting with Jeno in the midst of the library, books and notes of scribbled drawings and letters filling up at least one table, as jeno listens to you ramble about chemistry. In return, for tutoring Jeno always brings you hot chocolate, a drink that never fails to bring you comfort especially when the wind is picking up speed and the first flakes of snow drift towards the ground. 

You can’t exactly recall how many times you tell the raven haired boy that payment isn’t necessary, that you truly are just tutoring in order to help him, but the boy refuses. He loves to see the way you wrap your hands around the mug, as you relax from the burdensome day you’ve had. 

The swim meets that you used to, though not detest, not love either begin to be more frequent in your life. Louds cheers and shrieks fill the pool deck, as the school's swimmers race against the opposing team. Chlorine fills your nose, humidity makes your skin sticky and heavy but you are part of the screaming students that yell and cheer for the school's team. The poster you created in the spare time between homework and lectures, has “go jeno '' written on it, and even though you two don’t talk after the meets jeno smiles everytime he sees you in the crowd cheering for the team and him. His smile as his best friend describes it, is that of a lovestruck one, which Jeno refuses to acknowledge or believe, because there was no way he could be in love with you. The two of you were friends. Friends that laughed together, and talked about anything that was on your minds late into the night, and would have late night swims after hours when the pool was closed down. 

Jaemin knows the power love has on people, and he’s sure that jeno is in love with the girl who’s been tutoring him since the beginning of the year. He knew, because jeno’s face would light up everytime he saw you in the bleachers. He knew like the rest of his friend group knew, that he would mention you in conversations when something they were talking about would remind him of you. Jaeming knew the bond that had formed between the two of you was something he thought jeno wouldn’t be able to have, but managed to get from you. The only thing Jaemin wished, was for his best friend to realize the luck he had gotten from meeting you. 

It’s spring and you’re almost sure at this point that Jeno doesn’t need any more tutoring, as he comes into the cafe you decided to meet up, the smile that seems to brighten your day no matter how windy and rainy it is outside. Jeno almost runs to you, the paper in his hand flailing slightly behind him, as he tells you how he’s passed. Proudly does he show you the graded exam paper on organic chemistry, the perfectly drawn bonds to each other, earning him the highest grade in the class. You can’t help but jump up from your seat, the chocolate on your mug almost tipping over as you wrap your arms around jeno, congratulating him over and over again. 

Jeno’s smile widens, as he wraps his arms around you, lightly you slightly off the ground until you are slightly dizzy and are asking him to bring you down. The joy from your face never leaves, as the words of congratulations and happiness left your mouth. It’s only when your smile falters slightly, that jeno’s does too, the giddiness and butterflies he continues to refuse to acknowledge leaving as you sit down again. 

“So…” 

“So…” jeno mocks, trying to lighten the mood just lightly, and he manages to make the ends of you lips curve up slightly. 

“So, i guess you don’t need my help anymore” the words leave your mouth like lead, heavy on your tongue, as you look down at your hot chocolate willing the coming dread to go away. 

“Well, no, I still need help” the look you give him makes him move slightly his back hitting the back of the chair, “okay… maybe i don’t need help on how bonds form and break, but…” Jeno fumbles over his words, nit really sure what he wants to say. That he wants to keep seeing you? That he honestly had stopped needing tutoring sessions a while ago, but he kept asking for them because he loves spending time with you. Loved to see you smile and his dumb jokes, as your eyes would light up with vague amusement, lips curling upwards as your laugh drifted through the library. Wanted to tell you that he had never felt this way for someone else, had never let them see the vulnerable side of him, his insecurities as the two of you held onto each other lightly through a link between your hands as you floated in the school's pool. 

“But… i guess this is goodbye” you can feel the word, slip through your tongue, the world goodbye piercing through your heart, bricks dropping on you. You’re not quite sure why you say goodbye, why you want to hug the boy in front of you, and kiss him and hold him and tell him how much you love him. But oh shit that’s exactly why you’re pushing him away. Why as much as your heart aches, to hold onto the good memories scared of the ones that could leave the bonds to break between you two. 

Jeno can almost swear he can feel his heart drop down to his stomach. The words that escape your lips, as you play with the sizzling hot beverage in front of you, not daring to look up at him. His throat feels clogged, and he wants to yell, scream, hold you for reasons he can’t quite understand, and finally tell you what jaemin has been telling him this whole time. How very much head over heels for you he is, the bonds clicking into place every time he’s held your hand, as he taught you how to swim lightly in the pool. 

The black haired boy, whose eyes are usually warm and open, are now dark. The brown almost becomes dark enough to blend with the pupils, as he takes a breath. 

“Um… yeah i guess it’s goodbye” the words drop heavy between the two of you. Gazes not met, and hearts left cold as Jeno gets up, the paper he’d been so happy and excited to tell you about forgotten as it drifts towards the floor. Falling quietly and softly, wrinkled between the hands of jeno as he hugged you what seems to be hours ago. 

Hydrogen bonds break the easiest. The strength between the two oxygen and the single hydrogen can only take so much pressure between them before something tips it off scale, breaking the bond. A relationship that has been built, slowly, through awkwards laughs, and shared notes. A bond, built on chaotic swims at 12 o’clock at night when neither of you could sleep, and just wanted to spend more time with each other. 

Relationships,  you are almost sure at this point work much like chemical bonds. Yet unlike chemistry, the bond that you had built with jeno, doesn’t warn you of the heartache and void you feel when you don’t get the weird jokes the boy sends you everyday, it doesn’t tell you of the loss of heat that would come from the steaming cup of chocolate always there for you wherever you had a bad day. Chemistry doesn't warn you about the way your heart craves the missing piece that you pushed away, thinking it would hurt more when the day would come that he didn’t want you anymore. Lectures and notes on notes about covalent bonds, don’t want you how jeno made you feel, as his black hair tickled your neck when he rested his head on your shoulder when he didn’t want to study anymore, or the way he snuggled closer to you as you played with his hair. 

Bonds. Weak and strong, beautiful and dangerous, destructive and hopeful. 

The next month passes in a blur of lectures and night spent overworking yourself into the essays and labs given to you by professors. All-nighters became more frequent than normal sleep nights, to the point where your roommate would have to force you to go to sleep, even as she came in late at night smelling slightly of booze or cigarettes from the campus party. 

It wasn’t a secret that you had tutored the top boy at your college to anyone. Most if not all students that desperately wanted to grab at any gossip that might be thrown their ways, would snatch up the news of the school's swimmer and top bachelor as fast as they could. Whispers of a relationship that never happened, and would only happen in your dreams, could be heard at almost every lecture. Murmurs that would make you walk straighter, chin held high at the comments of a story they didn’t truly know. 

Buzz. buzz. Metal and plastic vibrates against your desks, shaking the scatter of papers that are clumped around your workspace. You flip it around, only to see crescent moons, and a mop of black hair on your phone, as jeno’s phone number flashes in and out of the screen. Instinctively, you reach for the phone, hand ready to push the “answer” button and it’s too late when you realize that you’ve answered the phone, and a silence of crackling noises is heard from the opposite end. Silence seems to fill the room, the air you breathe and you're about to hang up until you hear the bickering between two boys. A stream of curses flow from what you can almost swear is jeno’s mouth, as the other boy speaks into the microphone, “is this y/n” 

“Uh… yeah, and you are?” the second part of your sentence, your almost sure goes unheard as the squeal that comes from the boy’s mouth. The next words that you hear seem to be all mushed up together, as the boy who you have come to assume is jaemin tells you something along the lines of “go. pool. tomorrow. Jeno” before something that sounds like it hurts, is heard from the line and it goes silent. If you were confused about jeno before, you can’t help but wonder now if this is a push towards the bonds to be repaired. 

“y/n !!” disrupts your confused train of thought as your roommate barges into your room, the smirk that is plastered on her face would have made you slightly concerned if it were for her normal happy go personality, that never fails to give you energy. 

“Let me tell you the story of you and a boy named jeno” as the words leave her lips, you start your protests, not wanting to hear about the boy who had become your best friend in the year that you tutored him. 

“Girl, shut up and listen to me” she snaps, almost pinning you down on your chair, and so she does tell you. Tell’s you things that you already know, like the fact that you’re almost sure jeno’s smile could heal anything on this planet, or how he’s shy and sweet, always wanting to be enough for the team. She tells you about the month that has passed, where though you didn’t wallow, jeno had begun to slightly let his grades slip. A small attempt to get you as a tutor yet again. The plan hadn’t worked and he’d gotten renjun ashis tutor instead. 

Stories she shares with you, stories about jeno that you knew, but had pushed away because everytime his name would be brought up your cheeks would flush slightly, and your smile would brighten even just a little bit, butterflies swarming in your stomach. 

Best friends. The sharing between two people, that trust and count on each other. The bond formed between the two is different than that formed between lovers, or siblings. But like everything regarding the formation and breaking of something, these bonds can change into something more. Something that lights up your world if you let, and break down your walls. 

The pool’s doors were open by the time you reached the athletic department. You had thought you’d seen everything, the pool had to offer after your late night swims with jeno. But you’d never seen the full moon at its peak, the light reflected upon the shimmering water. 

Small ripples caused the moon's reflection to waver slightly, a cause of the dipping of your feet into the water, testing the temperature, before you felt a light tap on your shoulder. You could feel the shiver that runs down your back, as jeno’s hands make contact with your skin. The ghost of a smile begins to present itself on your face, as you turn around to find yourself with jeno, whose face is a reflection of yours. Cheeks dusted with a red tint, eyes almost becoming the moon phase that you’d first seen in the pool. 

“hey”

“hey”  

“you first” jeno says, his eyes are warm and are slightly reflected by the moon. The small laugh that escapes your lips, makes his smile broaden, as you turn around and stretch your hand towards jeno. It takes only a second, before you can feel jeno’s hand wrapped around yours, the light calluses on his palms from playing guitar every so often, that warmth a comfort. The ghost of a smile has fully bloomed on your face, as you tug jeno towards you before jumping into the pool. 

Time seems to slow down, the second you two break the surface of water. You know time and movements feel slower when you’re underwater, the smell of chlorine and burning sensation makes your eyes water only slightly. But the bubbles that rise to the surface as you look at jeno, laughing at the ridiculousness of everything that’s happened between you two. 

The faltering bonds begin to form again, stronger than before. Bonds that can't be broken as easily and are ready to create compounds filled with a variation of emotions that work together. The way that you hold onto each other, hand in hand as you break the surface, time coming back at normal speed, as jeno pulls you towards him. Hands still intertwined, as the other holds your waist, a tender touch. The way you look at each other, is enough for the words that have yet to be said and have not been exchanged. 

Smiles exchanged, hands held, foreheads almost touching under the moonlight. It seems to be magic, the way the light bounces off the water and reflects upon the two of you, lovesick smiles placed on both your faces. The warmth of each other, a comforting presence that surrounds the two of you as you take a break, and breathe the words you’ve been dying to say since the day, jeno walked into a late tutoring session, hair dripping wet from a late practice. His words a rush of sorrys and cute shy glances as he gives you a mug, with the words “chemistry of water” written around it. The way his smile made you heart flutter, and just one look would make your day.

 “I love you”

The words hang in the air, said at the same time by jeno and you, and the both of you erupt into laughter, as jeno pulls you closer the, head buried in your shoulder as the strands tickle your neck, the words “i love you” being repeated over and over again.

The way you two fit into each other, in the midst of night, water lapping at your sides, as you laugh at a joke one or the other says, you realize that chemistry and relationships truly are the same. If all it takes is a small push, to help a boy with too much to do, and a student who can’t help but want to expand their knowledge. The bonds between two people change and strengthen, the more they interact with each other. It’s the things like laughing at each other's jokes, or holding onto each other late into the night, when no one else is judging no one can disrupt the bonds formed between them. In those moments, the bonds are strengthened, as you hold each other close, stars and moon aligned in the night sky lighting up the pool, leaving the world at peace.

[meggie-stardust]

GUNDAM WING - REWATCH - 41 - 42

41. Crossfire at Barge

RHYTHM EMOTION FINALLY

What’s Zechs doing in a mobile suit, they ask. It’s like he likes to fight and they have no idea what his military history is....

Duo to Trowa: Hey lets all subtly pretend we aren’t here and then join the conversation and the battle in a really natural way.

Wing Zero just magically knows that that’s Sally Po

Sally the Gundam Finder. We don’t know where Trowa left it, right? Just she found it. Like a person who finds water in the desert.

Cool shot of Wing Zero’s eye

Now that Duke Dermail is dead, Relena is the only one who can control Romefeller. IS she tho??

TREIZE RETURNS

A red dawn rises, blood has spilled last night

Ooh evil face Relena for a moment

I’ve seen Frozen, I know that she is supposed to wear a dress and crown at all time, even when brooding and locked in a room.

Treize just strolling in and laying down the law. Such a BAMF.

Relena wants to stop Zechs. She thinks she’s the one who has influence over him??? Have they even met face to face since they were children???

Treize: You are free. Leave the gowns, we’ll use them later.

Dorothy is ready to stalk Relena to the ends of earth and even space

This White Fang guy who doesn’t want Zechs to use his mobile suit changed his mind quickly

Trowa just doing own thing, even with amnesia

Oh, I forgot that Heero would have brought Epoyn to Sanc so that’s why Noin knows and Quatre thinks it might be Heero

I love how Trowa has no memory but his instincts are pushing through

Well, Zechs, that’s one way to take care of barge, just cut it in half

Everyone is pretty sad that Barge is gone even tho it was trying to take them out…? Do we even know who we are fighting any more???

42. Battleship Libra

Lieutenant Nichol? He’s still around? I for got about that guy.

Lady Une in a magic case. Like Sleeping Beauty.

Treize stays on brand by bringing Une a $200 bouquet of roses

Treize just subtly dropping some large scale secret plans to comatose Une

That Romefeller stained glass is amazing

This Romefeller parliament is a brodeo. 

Treize’s machinations are amazing. I love him. 

Who is Relena traveling with? Is that Oz? The Treize faction? Why do they just let some rando 15 year old go into space? The Sanc Kingdom doesn’t exist, Romefeller kicked her out... she’s no one.

The voice acting is getting a little sloppy. That was basically just Duo and Zechs chatting there.

Gundam 05?!

“If you guys are justified, then you’ll defeat me” Wufei that really isn’t how battles work.

Is Wufei saying, “if you can’t beat me, you can’t beat Treize?” Or “I’m protecting Treize?” I am confused. I think he’s confused, too.

Who was this random who just killed himself but sounded just like Zechs? 

Too many fools in outer space. Amiright?

OK, everyone loves Treize again. Gotcha. (One of us)

Wufei has no time for anyone floating around space near him. Space is infinite why are you flying near me

This is such a crazy buddy cop spin off: Sally, Wufei, and Heero

It’s Wufei’s turn in the Zero system

“The road I’m taking is the correct choice” famous last words, Wufei. 

Wufei is like “If I’m wrong the world will end. Oh, it didn’t end, I must be right. Obvi”

Heero saw Relena. Wufei sees Treize and Zechs… I’m just saying. Wink Wink

Hey you guys remember the alliance, right? No, god, it’s been like 40 episode, thanks for reminding us. 

Wufei: The Zero system says I have to have a weird sewer orgy with the other Gundam Pilots…. Well, if you say so. 

“Treize and Zechs are my enemies” Really Wufei, I thought it was telling you you needed to become a trouple with them… but ok. You do you. 

Zechs will just fire on Dorothy, and she’s like, whatever. I’ll just monologue through my arousal. 

“I’m the only one who can stop my brother” Again. Are you tho???

Thoughts:

Just Communication vs Rhythm Emotion: So whenever I think about Gundam Wing, Rhythm Emotion is the song that pops into my head. When I made a post about doing this rewatch, I added Rhythm Emotion... But it’s crazy, we get it start at episode 41 of a 49 episode show! Granted, they teased it for the last few episodes, but still. The Rhythm Emotion opening gives us new poses, the upgraded Gundams (including Epyon), some weird royal garb for Heero and Relena, but Treize is conspicuously absent (oh and no whip sound effext so minus points for those). It’s a great up beat song, that jumps us right into the action and sets the pace for where we are in the story... That being said, Just Communication is objectively a better opening. We se so much more of the cast, and it takes it time and has a very satisfying end before the show starts. Rhythm Emotion feels rushed and the end of the opening feels so abrupt. I mean whatever, I still love both songs, but do you guys remember the remix version???

OK, in regards to the actual episodes... I hate to say this but I feel like things are getting a little sloppy. We spent like 20 episode setting up these complex relationships, and then like 20 more building up conflict, and then oh shit we have to wrap this up in less than 10 episodes. We’re doing a lot of info dumping so we can remember what organization is what, and so we know the motivations of the characters. I mean, look, it’s not like it’s the final episodes of Evangelion or anything, and I remember the last two episodes being amazing, it’s just it’s not as tight as it was during the first 3/4 of the show.

What I think I remember for the next episode(s):

Does Trowa finally get to be the final pilot to go for a spin in Wing Zero now that the band is basically back together? Relena has to go stick her foot in it at some point as well.

[retphienix]

Alright, this is gonna be tough because I desperately want to say so much for the game's sake and my own, but it's just so much.

At least the playthrough as a whole exists to show a lot of those things, and there's no shame in some of the impacts the game had for myself going unsaid :)

LONG POST INCOMING, NO 'READ MORE' BECAUSE IT'S RELEVANT TO THE POST AND NOT AN AFTER-THOUGHT

CLICK 'J' ON YOUR KEYBOARD TO SKIP. (Sorry mobile users)

8:48 - Do you have any idea how good a step forward it felt to smash the repressing bulb?

9:50 - So I'll get ahead of myself because this fight shows a lot of the visuals that play into this: Something being the manifestation of guilt for Mari is so incredibly visualized.

Between the base 'Something' being extremely close to the shadow she cast and including the one visible eye that bore down on Sunny and Basil after the hanging, to the stairs incorporating into the design.

The seaweed and spider are more general anxieties though they do circle back to Mari since she saved Sunny, but those two forms don't feel as directly related as the stairs (heights) and base 'Something' forms and what they represent for his repressed guilt.

Could be wrong ;) Tell me what you saw in the forms of 'Something' if you'd like to expand on them :)

12:39 - Just to prove the point before you get to fully see the truth- Something morphs into the figure of Mari hanging. It doesn't fully demonstrate the "eye" aspect yet, but still I just wanted to say kudos on the way 'Something' is shown visually. Formless for a reason, and that form becomes more defined as you understand what it is, exceptional damn thing.

15:43 - Basil's part in all of this makes me so damn sad. Plenty to say later (obviously), but he harbors so much guilt, wants forgiveness so much, and is so (not shown yet) desperate to believe in Sunny's innocence while knowing but not comprehending the truth. The fact he harbors his own 'Something' due to the guilt of all this is heartbreaking, these kids endured a hell no one should. Losing someone so important to you and harboring the guilt and fault of it when nothing of the sort was intended. A childish fight with raised emotions got out of hand and all this came of it.

Hell.

16:30 - I absolutely adore how the photo album is used for this reveal.

Absolutely incredible execution that's specific to this story and its characters and makes piecing (literally) this together tense and grim.

22:27 - I NEVER SPOKE TO OR INTERACTED WITH THE THING IN THE CENTER OF THIS ROOM AND I'M A NORMAL AMOUNT OF UPSET ABOUT THAT >:( lol

29:41 - Okay.

So this reveal as a whole is so unbelievably well paced and incredibly hard hitting.

All game long there's a weight of having lost Mari. Repeatedly it's told that she killed herself and no one can understand why and everyone (MYSELF THE PLAYER INCLUDED) is looking for meaning in little moments, seeking out hints that maybe she was suffering or depressed or this or that.

And while that has gone on FOR THE ENTIRE GAME there has also been this uneasy weight surrounding Sunny/Omori. Visions of Mari twisted and deformed into phantoms of horror.

For the most part I assumed it was just him coping with having lost his sister and maybe a dialogue on how when she was alive he was in her shadow (in his mind) and now that she's gone he remains there?

That was the best I could figure, more or less. But it continued to seem more and more malicious in design and MUCH more 'heavy' in how it's presented as a shadow behind Omori/Sunny throughout his adventure and life.

The weight and 'overshadowed' looks of the scenes felt more and more foreboding and less like a simpler "I'm living in her shadow" story, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

Then these pictures come out and piece things together.

The final result:

Sunny and Mari fighting. (Context appears to be his growing disdain towards playing. It's stated he loved playing, but it's also shown that he begins to dislike how much Mari is dragged away for classes and the like up to and including playing. So my read was that Sunny was upset that their fleeting time together was dedicated to the recital and broke his violin in an emotional blur and the fight occurred.

Alternatively it was accidentally broken and both of their emotions were running high as it happened)

Mari falling to her death.

Sunny and Basil carrying her upstairs and tending to her.

Sunny breaking down as it sinks in.

The visions having Basil say "It's going to be okay" by the bedside. (I perceive that as a memory of what Basil was saying as he tried to manage his emotions during the event)

Sunny and Basil carrying her back downstairs and to the backyard.

The makeshift noose.

And finally the sight that burned itself into Sunny's eyes of her hanging after it was all said and done.

Just holy shit to it all in how it's revealed and handled.

Stories have twists all the time, and I ain't gonna make some bold claim like "Most unpredictable!" "Best twist!" "What a twist!" or whatever, though that'd be funny.

I just want to say this twist worked BEFORE the reveal as a foreboding sense of unease and curiosity- it lent itself to intentionally vague and easily misconstrued explanations, basically- instead of it outright misleading you beyond the characters that believe the lie repeating the lie, it allowed you to mislead yourself.

It did the twist the right way! And well! YOU trick YOURSELF! The people repeating the lie are being lied to or have motivation to repeat the lie! The GAME isn't lying (as so many twists handle it) the game is giving the world reason to mislead and allowing you to be mislead!

Now am I yelling affirmations for the way things SHOULD ALWAYS BE! YES! BUT THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS NORMAL AS IT SHOULD BE! lol

31:40 - All the "You will really miss them"s hurt :(

33:25 - Right out the gate, a spoiler for what isn't here:

I looked up the alternate endings of the neutral route and my heart hurts to know Sunny doesn't stick around and Basil dies :(

34:00 - BASIL BEING OVERWHELMED WITH DENIAL AND GUILT AS HE ATTEMPTS TO MENTALLY PROTECT HIS VIEW OF WHO HIS FRIEND IS BY INVENTING A SECOND PARTY THAT DID THIS IS SO FUCKING REAL AND AMAZINGLY DONE.

And it explains the name behind the 'Something'.

'Something' behind you did it. There's 'Something' behind you, isn't there.

'Something' all around us, that potentially being the truth comin' in.

When 'Something' ruined my photos, Basil repressing protecting Sunny by destroying the proof.

Just expertly done.

'Something' being repression of the memory and impending guilt. Dannnng.

36:26 - It's 24 hours after I beat the game as I type all this so here's a gag.

Here's the part where Basil beats some sense into his friend, because after this Sunny gets knocked out and wakes up 200% improved and ready to save Basil from his own guilt by releasing them both from the secret.

So basically Kel dragged us out of bed, then a couple days later Basil beats us up, and that's how Sunny gets better :^) Game Over.

38:46 - This fight made me feel utterly terrible, a highlight being the energy bar saying "Everything is going to be okay".

or at 40:17 - when Basil pokes out Sunny's eye and the screen does this? That's an underutilized but always awesome visual.

41:12 - I THOUGHT I WAS DEAD AT THIS POINT :)

Because just before entering Basil's home on this night you see his Grandma's ghost here. So seeing Sunny here told me "WELL. YOU FUCKED UP!"

42:25 - Like I said, beat some sense into Sunny.

Here's the mental side of things where Basil's beatin' told Sunny to go remember the good times and confront his inner self and I'm being partially facetious because there's plenty to say about what's coming up.

43:15 - Goosebumps every time due to the sincerity and hope of this.

43:40 - Hug for anyone needing that.

51:11 - I could cry again and I just might before this post is done being put together.

This accident was never meant to be.

55:09 - Timestamp is arbitrary, I won't go over every flashback but I do want to say what a beautiful way to use these photos. To relive the memories? To find the strength to overcome and all that? After all these years of suppressing memories? DANNNG I love this game.

1:04:09 - I stepped in poop.

1:04:15 - Barefooted.

1:04:22 - I embraced my failure.

1:12:00 - The violin.

1:13:00 - "The anxious feeling-" "They believed in you" "No matter what you didn't want to disappoint them" I'm filled with love and gonna cry about it.

1:14:00 - So an important theme in the game, as if it has just one, is Sunny suppressing emotions and demonizing himself.

Obviously the ending shows him breaking free from both but I think it's important as hell to look at how he builds up to being able to.

After all the dark moments show him as a bloodied monster, demonstrate a perceived lack of remorse for what he's done (as in he sees himself so poorly that he says "I must not have felt bad about it, I'm a monster", not that he actually doesn't feel bad about it, that he thinks he shouldn't because he's bad), have him stab dream Basil to protect his repression of the memory, the build up to breaking free from that is him remembering the good in him through the lens of his friends.

Both in the real world and in revisiting the memories within the photos.

He hears about the good in himself that he has pretended isn't there and finds the power to overcome this deadened shell he's made.

He learns how to forgive himself by finally remembering he's worthy of forgiveness and is more than his mistake, that even the person he grievously harmed would want him to forgive himself and would understand the mistake didn't define him.

1:15:15 - Just because you did something bad doesn't make you bad, to put it more eloquently than my rambles. He had to learn that.

1:19:20 - I've done this fight 4 times.

You may be wondering why 4 times, it ain't like I replayed the game a ton or anything.

The short of it is:

1) For the good ending :)

2) To see what happens if you go "up" in the hospital- it's a dead end- I assumed it'd be a bad ending. So I got the good ending again :)

3) For the bad ending.

4) FOR THE GOOD ENDING TO WIPE THE HORRIBLE FEELING IN THE PIT OF MY STOMACH AWAY FROM THE BAD ENDING :)

In doing so I did get one layer deeper on the BG of Omori in the fight, here it is:

And I learned on the fourth run that the fight is simpler than I gave it credit lol, Cherish refills your juice, so there is no reason to use Encore. You can get to the end (and deeper more easily) by just using the triple attack and Cherish and Calm down when necessary.

1:29:00 - A summary of the fight is that it's extremely impactful emotionally, but very obviously isn't a "Fun fight". It's great mechanically and story wise for what it's trying to do :)

I'll just say it here: I'm surprised there wasn't an end-game "Omori" fight, you know, in dream world? Because combat is SO good in this. I am lead to believe that the Omori route where you never go outside in the real world has more bosses and zones and would fill what I just implied I wanted- but you're also railroaded into the Neutral endings which are both sad :(

And honestly? That makes sense and I applaud the decision :) Embracing the fantasy world for more 'fights' isn't exactly the path to recovery. Also and I know someone will be bothered I say this because *I'm* bothered I'm saying this- it makes sense since a big predecessor did the same thing lol.

Undertale Genocide has new bosses and a harder end game challenge (Sans) while being the worse ending, while the good ending has a flashy and story/emotionally impactful final fight that isn't as challenging because challenge isn't the point of the morals being explored.

I just bring it up because it's interesting, has a parallel, and after fighting Omori 4 times I really REALLY wanted to do an end-game fight in Dream World.

1:30:00 - forgive me as I cry again. goosebumps and more.

OH NO~!

DRAT!

So I use a cheap video editor and I use the free format of it which limits to 720p and I didn't think twice of it.

I recorded at max, but downgraded after editing.

At 720p you can't see the detail that made me break down crying!

At 1:31:55 Sunny's eyes go wider as he sees Mari as they finally get to experience the duet in this dream state (White Egret Orchid, this is real and happening, I'm taking this to my grave :'( ) he sees her smile and that smile made me break down, but in the 720 it's blurry :(

That's on me, I could have posted the scene raw in HQ but I didn't know it'd compress just enough to be invisible :(

still. that duet scene can make me cry on command. just because of that alone, but also the entire thing.

1:33:42 - Sunny breaks from his shell and feels his emotions again.

1:37:07 - I wish every game would end with a mirror to see yourself.

The 'Despite everything, it's still you' vibe just cements all the growth and experiences that have happened as so much more real when that happens. Bonus points because mirrors in Omori are a time bomb where you can be reminded of the guilt following you- and this one is safe. This one is pure and clean. You did it.

1:37:50 - As I said earlier, going up does nothing. Dead end.

1:39:00 - I have to tell you something.

Simple ending. And yet slams me like two trucks. I'm so proud.

1:41:00 - Post credits scene.

This is so heartwarming and their smiles are the purest thing in the entire world.

1:42:50 - BAD ENDING RECORDING.

All I'll say on that is the bad ending made me feel terrible inside. Give up, live in your bubble, and subconsciously end it all so you never have to confront reality again.

My gut felt heavy to be honest.

And the fact that THAT is when Bo En Time is played is INCREDIBLE.

Having the sky shift like that gave goosebumps and cemented my dread.

Just seeing it now has me feeling very poorly.

Okay. Video done.

Now for general thoughts.

First off this White Space cycle has been going on for YEARS with Sunny only getting worse as he suppresses things more and more and the reason he found the strength to overcome is because of his friends and I'm gonna yell about it.

THE REASON SUNNY IS BREAKING FREE CAN BE DIRECTLY POINTED AT KEL THINKING "FUCK IT, I'M ABOUT TO LOSE A FRIEND, AND I DON'T WANT TO"

And I just think that is sweet as hell. The strength was inside himself, but the problem itself caused Sunny to demonize and not trust himself- he needed someone to break him free and help convince him that he's not irredeemable. And boom.

The way this game handles Denial and even gives it physical form with the 'Something's that both Sunny and Basil harbor is just awesome.

I touched on it but combat in Omori is very, very good.

I've said it here and there as I played and I feel like going at length in the finale post is pointless because this isn't a review but to put it concisely.

Types changing mid-combat, the character archetypes being so well defined, the follow up system, combat in Omori is some top notch turn based RPG stuff.

Like up there with the greats, the timeless masterpieces. This is GOOD fighting. So it was surprising the good ending didn't emphasize it- I explained why that makes sense, but even still! It'd probably be lesser for it (as explained previously) but it's interesting they practiced that restraint for the message they wanted to send.

Repeatin' that Mari's smile in the recital made me cry. Burned in my brain.

I'm still surprised I got the post credits scene because I DID water the plants a lot but when the game showed me them all dead I assumed that was the fail condition.

I genuinely do want to try the Omori route some time down the road. I hope I get around to it.

I am slightly dissuaded just because the Omori route only gets the neutral endings which are not Good To Be Blunt :(

But I want to see what dream content there is and I hear there are other bosses!

Other small bits from my notes:

Replacing denial (the black bulb) with hope (the white bulb) was good as heck.

The imagery of the 'Something' is so top notch- using the shadow of her body combined with the piercing gaze of her single eye- MY GOD.

The fragility of life being so present- between memories of near death experiences, to the way in which Mari dies, to the ease at which either Basil or Sunny can end the game. It's tense and heart-wrenching.

The way the 'Something' behind Sunny almost always shadows over him like an ever present weight.

Tearful, hopeful, pure, kids enduring a guilt metric tons heavier than their bodies could ever handle and finally, finally moving beyond it.

I said more in a personal post, and I'll reblog that.

Honestly, just timestamping through the video took it out of me and got the point across.

Omori is a wonderful game.

It's definitely a favorite for me, high up there on my list.

Between the themes, the gameplay, the humor, the ending.

This is a good one.

And now I get to end having experienced all the care and love in this title, that's such a sweet thing.

Now I know this finale post is a mess, illegible even. I have gotten sloppier as I've begun embracing just 'experiencing and rambling' and perhaps my formatting with change yet again until I find something more easily shared.

Despite that. I want to thank any who popped in on this playthrough.

This was a good one, a highlight of the blog for sure- and I'm always happy when I see some people enjoying the absolute mess I toss online when I do one of these :P

So thank you for your time, and thank you to any ridiculous enough to read my nonsense here.

Have a good one :)

And just as expected I feel I've said nothing and barely touched the surface as the post-game-head of mine does a poor job lol. Even still :P

[tumbling-odyssey]

Games I played in 2020

Just felt like getting my thoughts out on all the games I played this year. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for years but I always let it pass me by. Well not this year! Fuck you laziness! 

I played the first half in 2019 but finished it in 2020 so I guess I'll count it. DQ11 was my intro to Dragon Quest and what a good starting point. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best traditional JRPGs on the market. Characters, story, combat, it all clicks in just the right way to make a flawless game... until the end credits roll that is. 

I have no idea what happened with the post game but by god does it dive off a cliff. It undermines everything you worked to do in the main plot. The characters act brain dead and it shamelessly reuses events from the main game. Please pick up and play DQ11 but for the love of god just stop when the credits roll.

Doom is a game I knew I'd like. The heavy metal ascetic and soundtrack were right up my alley, but I just never found the time. With Eternal on the way though and having found it on the cheap at a pawn shop I figured there was no time like the present. Needless to say but I was right. I loved everything about this game. The thrill of combat, the screech of the guitars, and the silent take no shit attitude of Doomguy. Make no mistake though, I SUCK at this game. I played on easy but still got my ass handed to me on the regular. But I don't care, I was having way to much fun.

I flipped my shit when this game got leaked at the tail end of 2019. Zero 3 is my all time favourite game. To celebrate this getting announced I went and 100% Zero 3 as I hadn't done it on my current cart, and Zero 3 was still the first thing I played when I got this collection! I love that game to death and I’m glad to have it on modern consoles again. As I was under a bit of time crunch with other games releasing soon I only played 2 other games in the collection Zero 4 and ZX Advent. Until the DS collection those and 3 were the only Zero/ZX games I had so I have a lot of nostalgia for them. 

Zero 4 hold ups better then I remember. Not as good as 3 but a damn solid game with tweaks I honestly wish hit the series before its end. I remember having issues with the stage design and ya it’s not perfect, but it’s far from as bad as I thought. For ZXA this was the first time I beat the game on normal difficulty. For some reason the ZX games have always given me more trouble than the Zero games, so finally beating one on normal was very exciting. Maybe I can now finally go and beat ZX for the first time...

The Mystery Dungeon series rising from the depth to punch all those unexpecting in the face was a very welcome surprise. I had a lot of hype going into this one as I have very fond memories of my time with Red Rescue Team and even more with Explorers of Darkness. And the game lived up to it! The remastered music is great and crazy nostalgic, the 3D models are well used and don't feel as stiff as they do in the core series, and the QOL changes are near perfect... So why did I drop this game like a rock once I finished the main quest? 

Anyone familiar with Mystery Dungeon will know that the post game is the real meat of it. The story is short and all the really cool shit comes in after it's done. But I just couldn't bring myself to put more time in after I finished said story mode. I'm definitely chocking that up to me just not being in the mood then an issue with the game. Here's hoping we get an Explorers DX sometime soon. That will fucking hook me for all it's got.

Second verse same as the first. I loved this game and sucked at it horribly. Out of all the games I've played this year Doom Eternal is the one I want to go back to the most. I was not the hugest fan of some of the changes made and retained a stance that I liked 2016 better. First person platforming has never been a fun experience in my opinion and Eternal did little to change that. And I know this a lukewarm take at best but fuck Marauders!. They are so unfun to fight and ruin the pace. The Marauder in the last mook wave took me so long I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish the game. But the more I've seen of Eternal after my playthrough makes me think I was being far to harsh. I haven't played the DLC yet either. Mostly cuss I haven't heard great things about it. Gonna wait for the rest of it to come out to see if it's worth getting. Might just replay to whole game at that point to see if it clicks with me better.

This was my second favourite game of the year, and was going to take the top slot until a certain other game came out. Addressing the elephant in room right away, I hated the ending. But I was expecting something like that, I think we all were. I won't let the ending ruin the rest of the game though. Not gonna let 1 segment colour everything that came before it. We have to see how the later parts play out to truly see if this ending was trash or not anyway. 

It took Square over a decade but they finally got an action RPG battle system that works and feels good to play. This may be my favourite battle system in an RPG period honestly. All four characters are a blast and it only gets better the more time you spend with it. Figuring out the nuances of each character’s skills and how to combine them not only with the skills of the others but how to enhance them with the right Materia set. This makes fights thrilling and satisfying when you finally best whatever was giving you trouble. Tis was the best way to bring 7′s mechanics into the modern landscape while also fixing the BIGGEST issue the OG had. The fact every character feels the same aside from Limit Breaks. 

All this on top of graphics that just look fucking stunning, a few glitched out doors aside. Fuck I still feel blown away looking at the characters models (mostly Tifa) and see how god damn pretty everyone is. Also Tifa’s Chinese dress is gift from the Gods and I still haven’t picked my jaw up from the floor after I first saw it.

In my circle of the internet there was a lot of hype for this game. So much so that I ended up buying it to see what all the hubbub was about. I had never played a Streets of Rage game before and my only experience with beat'em ups was playing a LOT of Scott Pilgrim and last year's River City Girls. Turns out Streets of Rage plays quite a bit different and it kicked my ass! So sadly I had to switch to easy to make it through but I still had a fun time with it. 

I started playing mostly as Blaze but once Adam hit the scene oooooh fucking boy. I didn’t play anyone else. There's a deceptive amount of content in this game. You can unlock almost every character from the previous games and all of them rocking their original sprites and moves. If I had more of a connection with this series I'm sure I would have gone nuts on unlocking everything. I stopped after my one playthrough and I was happy with that. Always glad to support a long overdue franchise revival.

To properly talk about P5R I think I need to air a lot of my feelings on the original game and the importance it has to me. You see, prior to 2017 I barely played games, only sticking to specific franchises. AKA Pokemon and Mega Man/Mega Man like games. Until 2016 though I still bought a lot of games. Eating up Steam sales and deals I found at pawn shops. This lead to a Steam library and shelf filled with games I've never touched outside of maybe an hour or 2. So in 2016 when I took interest in the newly released Kirby Planet Robobot I made a deal with myself. I could get the game but I HAD to beat it.  And I did just that, gaining not just a new fav Kirby game but a new rule for game purchases. If I knew I wouldn't beat a game I was not aloud to buy it. Now what does ANY of this have to do with P5 you may ask? Well... almost everything.

 I was immediately interested in P5 when it hit the west in 2017. I loved the 20 or so hours I but into P3 years ago and really liked the P4 anime I had watched around the same time. So of course with all the hype around it I wanted to dive into the series full force with P5. But I knew myself. Putting over 100 hours into a game was beyond me and I had a weird relationship with home console games as I was predominately a handheld gamer. Add in the fact I didn't even have a PS4 and I was convinced P5 would be something I always wanted to play, but never would. So when I went to the mall with a few friends and they showed me that P5 had a PS3 version, I had a dilemma on my hands. I knew I wanted to play it and I now had a way to do so. But doing that would require me to change 2 HUGE hang ups I had with games. Would I being willing to waste 60 bucks with so much working against me? Apparently I was. I immediately started going to town on this game. Making sure I spent no less then 2 hours a day playing NO MATTER WHAT. Which may not seem like a lot but it was to me... at the time.. I also had just moved to my current house, so coming home from my still relatively new job and going straight into P5 was the first real routine I formed during this heavily transitional part of my life. 

I of course ended up loving P5 and put 200 hours into it. As such my outlook on gaming was forever changed. Console games were no longer out of reach and I knew I could handle playing monster length game. I started playing way more games then I ever did before and trying out generas I never thought I would play. P5 is the main reason for this and why I'm able to make a post like this. To actually touch on Royal though? It's unarguably the better version of the game and Atlus learned all the right lessons from P4G. The new characters are great and the added section at the end is possibly the best shit Atlus has ever written. I only wish Yoshizawa joined the party sooner so I could play as her more. 

The release of this really came out of nowhere huh? Wayforward announced it was being made mid way through 2019, then there was its weird half release on the Apple store... and then suddenly it was out! Very little fanfare for this one. Is that indicative of the games quality? Luckily no. Seven Sirens is a solid addition to the series and follows up Half Genies Hero nicely. The game goes back to Shantae's Metroidvania roots and makes a TON of improvements. 

Transformations are now instant instead of having to dance for them (don't worry dancing is still in the game) making the game feel more like Pirates Curse in its fast flow. They also added the Monster Cards which take heavy inspiration from Aria of Sorrow's Soul system. A feature I'm happy to see in any Metroidvania since Aria is one of my all time favourite games. Sadly though the game does not take the best advantage of these improvements. 

Over all the game feels kinda empty. The dungeons aren't super exciting to explore nor are they challenging in any way. And the plot is very repetitive, with each dungeon repeating the same beats. Really this game feels more like set up for a better game down the line. The mechanics are all here and Wayforward has a solid art style with the sprites from Half Genie Hero. Hopefully they capitalizes on this for Shantae 6 and we get the best game in the series.

While it may not have been the most thrilling game, Seven Sirens really put me into a Shantae mood. So much so that I went back to play the 2 games in the series I had never touched. This being the first game and Risky's Revenge. Shantae 1 really is a hidden gem in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it's the definition of jank, but there's a lot of heart to this game. The sprites are great, the soundtrack is good, and the characters are funny... but it's still on the OG Gameboy and that's a massive hindrance for any game. I'm hard pressed to recommend this with how poorly its aged but I think it's better then it looks. 

Risky's Revenge on the other hand was a game that shocked me by how little it had to offer. I know this game went through a hellish development and what we got was far from what Wayforward planned to make, but it's hard to imagine a world where this was the technical BEST Shantae game. It's not a bad game by any stretch... just a boring one.

For the record my ranking of the games goes Pirates Curse>Half Genie Hero>Seven Sirens>Original>Risky’s Revenge

Sword and Shield are mediocre games at best. I know, real steaming hot take there. I managed to make my Sword playthrough a lot more fun by not spoiling myself on the new Pokemon designs for the first time since Gen 3. Either way, I enjoyed myself enough that I didn't mind playing more of it with these DLC campaigns. Plus I love the idea of Game Freak switching over to this method as apposed to making a third version, so I wanted to support it. 

Klara is a fucking top tier Poke Girl both in design and personality and is probably the highlight of Isle of Armour. GF actually went out of their way to give her multiple expressions to sell her toxic bitch personality and I love every minute of it. She sadly drifts into the background for the second half of the DLC’s story which hurts an already rough section even more. Not more then having to grind Kubfuu all the way to fucking level 70 though! That put a serious hamper on my motivation to finish the story but I pushed through anyway. Having to solo the tower with Kubfuu was at least a fun challenge though, as was the final fight with Mustard. Fuck the Diglett hunt though. Ain’t no one got time for that.

Crown Tundra may be my fav of the 2 though even if there isn't a character as good as Klara in it. The hunt for the legendaries was just pure adventure and I had a fucking blast doing it. The joy I felt when I figured out Registeel’s puzzle put a smile on my face unlike any Pokemon game since I was a kid. The whole Regi stuff was honestly a nice Nostalgia trip to my times with Emerald. The story around Calyrex was enjoyable, even if I still hate its design. Not revealing the horses before release was a good call to as it gave an honest surprise. Having to chase down the Galar forme Birds in the overworld is a great way to evolve the roaming legendaries idea and I hope GF sticks to this. Plus the Galar forme birds are some of the best legendary designs since Gen 5 and I love Chocodos way to fucking much. 

Here we are folks, my GotY. I love Panzer Paladin so fucking much. A combination of mechanics from Mega Man, Castlevania, and Blaster Master? Sign me the fuck up! This game is tailored made for me and I knew I had to play it once it started making the rounds on social media. I'll admit though, I was a bit worried when the the first full trailer dropped and showed the weapon mechanics. Breakable weapons that you have to sacrifice for checkpoints and power ups? I'm not sure about that.... Luckily I was being a complete moron and those mechanics are near perfect. 

I love the set up of each boss being a mythological creature from different cultures. They didn’t just pull the easy ones either. A lot of these things I learned of for the first time here. I love how Grit controls. Using the upward stab as a double jump and being able to pogo off enemies Shovel Knight style just felt great and satisfying. Flame was limited but it made her sections feel tense. She does more damage then you think she could at first glance. Also the only way to heal Grit being to use pods that only Flame could access was a cool idea. 

I am begging you Tribute Games, you have to make more Panzer Paladin games. Slap some new upgrades on Grit and expand what Flame can do and you have an even better sequel  on your hands. Also maybe not have so many 'gotcha' moments with enemy placement. That's really my only complaint about the game. Great music, great sprites, giant robots, unique premise, and a reference to Canadian legends. The ultimate self indulgent game for me.

It felt super out of left field for Curse of the Moon to be getting a sequel. The games fucking amazing but it was really just a tie in for the main Bloodstained product. Not something I expect to get a continuation. Either way I was pumped. If this was even half as good as the original then I was in for a great time. Which held true... cuss this legitimately is only half as good as Curse of the Moon. I still like the game, quite a lot actually. I mean how could I not with a fucking Corgi piloting a Death Train Mech. 

Something was just missing here that never made this click like the first game. Maybe it was the stage design, maybe the bosses, maybe the fact that it's a bit to long. I'm not sure. All I know is I couldn't bring myself to play all the modes like I did in the original. . Stopping part way in to the one where you can get the first games characters. I want to go back some day... I just don’t know when someday is.

This was an announcement I never saw coming. A Gundam Verses game coming to the west? That hasn't happened in the entire time I've been a Gundam fan. I had played a bit of Full Boost on my old roommates PS3 thanks to him having a Japanese account and I played Force on the Vita a few years ago. But to have the latest version fully translated with open servers? Holy hell that's a dream come true. 

Having the open betas every weekend leading up to launch was some much needed fun during this shit hole year. I had a lot of fun just fucking around with different suits and seeing what I could do with 'em. Absolutely trashing two Bael players as the Kapool is a memory I'll keep with me for a long time. Fucking danced on their graves. This gave me some new appreciation for suits like the Baund Doc and Hambrabi, the later becoming a lowkey fav as it was my main.

I've fallen off with the game in the last few months but I definitely want to go back. I hope to start learning the game and take parts in tourneys when cons aren’t death sentences anymore.

It felt like everything in my life was SCREAMING at me to start the Yakuza series. From 2 of my friends playing 0 recently, a youtuber I following live tweeting as he played through the WHOLE series back-to-back, and Yakuza 2 having a run at AGDQ 2020. Plus the constant pleas to play this series you get from following Little Kuriboh on Twitter. I finally broke and picked up 0 in the middle of August. Boooooooooy howdy did I not know what I was getting in to. And no I don't mean the content. I knew Yakuza was a series of wildly conflicting tones between the main story and side quests. What I mean is the length. I legit thought this was gonna be a 20-30 hour game. When i reached hour 30 of my playthrough and realized I wasn't even close to a conclusion, I think I knew I had bitten off more then I was planning. That misstep aside I ended up loving this game and want to play the rest of the series.... I just need to rest up first before I dive into Kiwami 1.

 Let's actually talk about the game for a moment here. Kiryu and Majima quickly clicked as likeable characters to me and I cared about their stories. Combat is fun and the multiple styles are all great.... though both the default styles take a while to get there. The mad rush I felt at the end was fantastic and the last bosses are a joy to fight. Only real complaint is the pacing of the side stories. I loved being able to just stumble into various different events while on route to the next plot objective. But this became less common as the game went on and side stories started getting more tucked away. Also hot take here, the host club mingame is more tedious then fun and I like Kiryu’s business stuff as I could do that in the background. I’m excited to dive into Kiwami and probably Kiwami 2 this year... Though I’m not sure when just yet.

Just gonna say it flat out, I think this is better the the 2018 game. The smaller scale helps in this style of game and Miles just naturally has a better move set then Peter. I'm not sure if they actually tightened up the combat system or if they just threw less bullshit enemies at you but fighting feels so much better in this one. Traversal is better too,  simply because they changed the button for tricks. In the original you have to hold down 2 face buttons to enter trick mode??? In hindsight that was such a bad call. 

Having both the heal and venom powers run off the same meter was a good idea. Making the choice between keeping yourself alive guaranteed or potentially ending a fight quicker/disposing of a problem enemy is super fun. The player having to make small choices like this during combat is what helps it not be brainless. I love all the different venom skills you get. While they all achieve the same thing in stunning opponents, how you achieve that goal is up to you. Do you want to just slug the bastard, throw 'em up in the air, tackle the shit out of them? The choice is yours. 

Only real big complaint is certain upgrades being NG+ locked. I know you want to encourage replays, but this is a shitty way to do it I feel. Also can we retire Rhino for the next game. Man has had 2 shitty boss fights now and I need a break. Between this and Spider-Verse, I'm honestly starting to like Miles as Spider-Man more then Peter.

I got this game more on a whim then anything. I was definitely interested when it was first announced for the west. Vanillaware's beautiful art style in a story about giant robots beating the shit out of Kaijus? Sign me the fuck uuuuuu-oh wait it's an RTS? I had never played an RTS's before, mainly due to the sheer concept stressing me out. So I let it fall to the wayside. The game started coming up again though towards the end of the year with GotY on everyone's minds.  This revived my interest, especially as what I HAD planned to be playing around that time was... well. Cyberpunk. Don't think I need to say much more. Also I had worried for nothing as the Real Time Strategy was not that Real Time. 

This game really lays on the analysis paralysis once you're out of the tutorial. Do you want to fight, do you want to do story, who's story do you want to do, what branch should you follow, how much should you play with this one character? It's very overwhelming at first. I decided to not go ham on just one character and swap around all the time. The twists in this game are equal parts exciting and infuriating. Learning something new always came with the caveat of more questions, or something you knew 'for sure' being disproven. Like when I learned 1 characters was actually 4 separate ones! Anyone that's played knows exactly what I'm talking about. 

Natsuno ended up being my fav and not just because of.... obvious reasons. BJ was cute if unfortunately named and her relationship with Mirua was my favourite in the game. Not that there was much competition except for maybe Ogata and Tomi. I ended up really liking the combat but I can see why RTS fans say it's the weakest part. It's far from complex and I had a winning strat by the third or so real fight. Aka spam turrets and have the Gen 1′s gank all the bosses.

One quick thing I want to share was how I beat the boss at the end of Area 2. The one where Inaba is singing. I had Hijiyama use the limit break skill to bum rush the boss right off the hop. I took out half its health in one hit but Hijiyama’s Sentinel was on death’s door. Only thing that saved him was sending in Amaguchi to blow up a bunch of missiles. Hijiyama took it out on his next attack but lost his Sentinel at the same time. It was a real clutch victory and crazy fucking anime. 

The best way to really describe Carrion is that it's a fantastic proof of concept. Can you make a game where you play as The Thing? Why yes, yes you can. Carrion just needed a bit more tweaking to really bring this concept home and be the A+ game I know it can be. As it is now the game is a bit empty. The level design is super samey and the lack of a map is fucking brutal at points. I know it would make no sense for a blob monster to have a map but somethings you just have to gameify for convenience. The level design must have done something right as even though I was completely lost I still moved from area to area properly. Hell by the time I actually looked up a map I had 1 more item to get and I learned I was one door away from beating the game. 

I love the idea of losing mass as you take damage and gaining more by eating people, but having abilities tied to size was a terrible idea. It just leads to tedium as I have to go and shed myself to the right size, do the puzzle, then of course I'm going to go back and rebuild myself to see if I can do the next segment at full power. Just make it so you can swap between abilities using the d-pad or something. I hope this game gets a sequel just so this sick ass concept can be fully realized.

[defiblover27]

Stroll

WARNING: This story contains large amount of blood and is graphic.

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Kate was getting ready for her morning walk.  She was 28 years old five foot two with long blonde hair.  She was trying to get fit after giving birth three months ago and was still trying to lose the baby fat.  Her breasts were enlarged due to the breast feeding but overall she felt healthy.  She put on her grey yoga pants and sports bra before putting on a black t-shirt and her tennis shoes.  She got the stroller out of the closet and buckled her baby into it.  She left the house and hung her key around her neck on her necklace.  Everyday started the same with a two mile walk around the town.  Her husband had left earlier to go to his desk job to try and support his new family.  Kate was a little over a mile into her walk and was already headed home.  She crossed back over the street and her baby’s bottle fell out of the stroller.  She pushed the stroller to the curb before walking back out into the street to pick it up.  Without looking both ways, she bent down and picked up the bottle as she stood up she was suddenly struck by a car.  The driver had briefly looked down at his phone and never saw Kate.  Next thing the two knew Kate was on top of his hood.  He braked harshly causing Kate to roll off the hood at a high speed and then tumble on the pavement.  A pedestrian saw the accident and quickly dialed 911.  The driver was in shock and it took a few moments for him to realize what he had done.  “Shit! No, no, no” he said in a panic as he got out of the car.  Kate laid on the pavement unconscious with her left leg visibly broken and multiple lacerations to her body and face.  She also had a large gash on her head from the impact with the windshield.

In a few moments sirens could be heard in the distance as the small town street was flooded with emergency services.  The police department was first on scene.  One on the officers secured the driver and took a statement and field sobriety test while the other tended to Kate.  He shook her shoulder and called out “Ma’am, can you hear me?”  With no response he bent down next to her face and listened for breath while checking for a pulse.  There was a faint heartbeat but Kate was in respiratory arrest.  The officer tilted her head back, pinched her nose shut, and gave mouth to mouth respirations.  After each breath he turned his head and made sure her chest was rising and falling.   After giving three sets of two breaths he reassessed the condition and checked for signs of life again.  This time to his dismay Kate’s heart had stopped beating.  Without hesitation he placed his large hands between her large breasts and began CPR.  He felt her ribs pop from the aggressive compressions but kept going knowing this was normal.  After his first round of CPR the ambulance arrived on scene and rushed over.  “Upon arrival she was not breathing so I started MTM and then her heart stopped and I just provided one round of CPR” the officer reported.  “Can you continue CPR please?” one of the medics asked as they set down their equipment.  The officer centered his hands and began again.  With each compression Kate’s feet swung in and out from the force.  One of the paramedics placed the ambu bag over Kate’s mouth and nose while the other snipped away her bloodied shirt.  Kate was found to have extensive bruising and large amounts of blood on her chest.  The paramedic set up the heart monitor and connected the leads.  As the machine started up it found that Kate was in v-fib so the paramedic charged the defibrillator to 200 joules and gelled the paddles.  He snipped away her sports bra revealing her ample breasts and placed the paddles on her bare chest.  “Everyone stand clear, shocking” the medic said as he discharged the electricity into Kate’s body.  Kate jolted on the pavement for a moment before going still.  With no change CPR was resumed and an IV port was placed.  They started fluids and pushed the first round of meds into her system.  The paddles were recharged to 300 joules and placed back on her bare chest.  As everyone backed away Kate was shocked for a second time.  Her arms contracted and her breasts shook as she met the pavement again.  This time Kate converted to asystole as CPR was resumed.  They decided to scoop and run as they secured her onto a back board and place her in the ambulance.  The police officer went with them to continue CPR and whatever else he could do.  The other officer placed the driver in handcuffs and took him to the county jail for processing.  The second police car secured Kate’s baby and took her to the hospital until her other family could be notified.

The fight for Kate’s life continued in the back of the ambulance as she was intubated and the second round of epi was administered.  Her belly bulged outward every time her chest was compressed and her breasts shook.  The epi began to take effect as she converted into v-fib for a second time.  In a moments notice the paddles were charged to 360 joules, gelled, and placed back on her battered chest.  The shock coursed through her body as she struggled against the restraints.  Her head stayed in place due to the c-collar.  With no change compressions were started and the defib was charged to 360 again.  Again the paddles were placed between her breasts and under her left breast as she was shocked.  Her feet jumped off the backboard slightly and then went still again.  Unfortunately, Kate’s heart also went still as she converted back into asystole as they pulled into the hospital.  

As they rolled her out of the ambulance and into the hospital and officer straddled the gurney and continued CPR.  The officer noticed that her house key still hung around her neck as it shined with each light the passed under.  They rolled her into the trauma room as the paramedics gave an update to the team that was already gowned and prepared.  “Jane Doe mid to late 20′s involved in a pedestrian vs motor vehicle.  She coded shortly upon arrival, has been under continuous CPR and shocked four times.  Has been given two epi’s and converted into asystole upon arrival here.”  The scribe took down all the information as the officer got off the gurney and she was transferred onto the trauma bed.  The straps were quickly unfastened and a nurse took over CPR as the team each performed their delegated tasks.  The overhead light was repositioned as the blood on her chest glistened and the key around her neck sparkled.  The rest of clothes were snipped away and her shoes and socks were taken off.  In a moment Kate was nude on the table as the team desperately fought for her life.  Kate received her third epi at her 12 minute mark of her code as CPR continued to compress her battered body.  They attempted to control the bleeding from her lacerations and the bone sticking out of her leg.  The attending took an ultrasound of her abdomen and found that her belly was full of blood.  He asked for a surgical consult as her listened to the breath sounds.  Finding diminished breath sound on her right side he decided to place a chest tube.  He squirted betadine all over her right side and made a 1 inch incision before shoving the tube into place.  A large amount of blood poured out onto the floor as it was secured.  This helped regain breath sounds on her right side as her code continued.  Kate converted to v-fib once again as the defib was called for and charged to 360 joules.  The doctor took the paddles in his hands, a nurse squirted a large amount of gel onto them, he rubbed them together before placing them on her bloodied chest.  As everyone backed away and the ambu bag was laid against her face he pressed the shock button.  Kate’s chest shot into the air as her arms flailed out ward.  She crashed onto the bed again as her breasts shook.  With no change aggressive CPR was resumed and the paddles were recharged.  Kate’s arms and legs shook with each compression.  Again the paddles were placed on her chest and the electricity coursed through her dying body.  Her feet scrunched up and her hands made loose fits before releasing again.  Kate converted back into asystole as CPR was resumed.  The doctor took his penlight and shined it into Kate’s light blue eyes.  Her pupils were fixed and dilated.  He noticed a large amount of blood underneath her head.  Feeling the back of her skull he found brain matter was protruding from her skull.  At that time Kate’s code was ceased and her time of death was called at 11:24 am.  They disconnected the ambu bag, leads, and turned off the monitors.   The placed a toe tag on her big toe of her left foot and covered her with a white sheet.  They were unable to clean her up at all as the police department had to take photographs for the case against the driver.  Kate’s ID was found in the stroller and her family was notified.  The driver was convicted on involuntary vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole.

[biotic-boshtet]

Aftermath - Chapter 7

Read on AO3

Start at the Beginning

Doubt (and Duct Tape)

“Norah Jean!”

“I’m so sorry, Jeff.”

The comm dies and the pod launches. The fireball blooms in slow motion.

She’s spinning.

Spinning.

Spinning.

Suffocating.

-

Norah Jean snaps awake. The first thing her eyes land on are the multitude of stars through the skylight. They used to be so beautiful. Now she can’t even breathe, staring up at them. Can’t tear her eyes away from the cold, emotionless lights. She’s vaguely aware of her corona flickering in and out, rising and falling with her shallow breaths. The comforter is tangled around her legs. She focuses on what she can feel. Her hands are balled up in the sheets, clenching so hard her knuckles hurt. Her body is drenched in sweat, soaking her t-shirt and shorts. The air circulating through the cabin is frigid, cooling her sticky skin.

She can almost take a normal breath.

The soft whir of the fan pointed at her bed breaks through her thoughts. Norah Jean takes a breath, listening to the subtle hum of the drive core, then the sound of the empty fish tank. She can smell the air freshener on the desk, apple cinnamon, it smells like home. She shifts slightly, and the smell of her shampoo wafts up from the pillow.

Her mouth tastes like blood. She must have bitten her cheek before she woke up.

Norah Jean can finally look away from the stars, can a deep breath. She sits up and puts her feet on the cold floor, holding her head in her hands. She won’t be getting back to sleep tonight. This marks the sixth night in a row she’s had that nightmare. She learned on night three that falling back asleep only brings more of them.

She gets up and walks to the desk. Half a dozen reports sit stacked next to the computer. The clock reads 0200. With a sigh she sits down and picks the first pad off the stack. They won’t read themselves.

-

Her cabin is cold, just the way she likes it, and Kaidan is wrapped up completely in her comforter on the bed. She climbs onto the mattress and peels away the edge of the blanket to shimmy under and cuddle close to him. He stirs when her cold hands touch his warm skin, rolling over to face her.

“Hey, Sugar. Didn’t think you’d show.” He presses a kiss to her nose.

“Didn’t think I’d show? This is my cabin.”

“I missed you so much.”

“What? Kaidan, I haven’t gone anywhere.”

“Two years is a long time, Norah Jean.”

“I haven’t left, I’ve been here the whole time!”

“No, you haven’t. You died. None of this is real, Sugar.”

“No. Let’s just go to sleep, this is just a nightmare, everything will be okay when we get up.”

“Norah Jean, you need to open your eyes. It’s time to wake up.”

She blinks and they aren’t in her cabin anymore. Alarms wail all around her and Kaidan faces her, fully suited up.

“Joker’s still in the cockpit, he won’t abandon ship. I’m not leaving either!”

Alarms give way to the silence of space as the Normandy crumbles around her. In seconds, nothing but stars surround her.

She can’t breathe.

-

With a start, Norah jean sits up in her desk chair. Her datapads are scattered across the desktop, and the clock reads 0430. She leans back and rubs her face, covered in lines from the datapad she fell asleep on. She gets up and heads for the gym in the cargo bay.

-

After a few hours of deliberation, looking between the roll of duct tape, the folded bedsheet, and the skylight, she keys the comm frequency for the main battery.

“Hey, Garrus, are you busy right now?”

“Well, I was in the middle of some calibrations, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to run a full system diagnostic. Please tell me you need my services for two hours or so.”

“I do need your help with something, I don’t think it’ll take me two hours though. Meet me up in my cabin?”

“On my way.”

Several minutes later, the door chimes as Garrus walks through. He makes the Turian approximation of a whistle as he looks around.

“Damn, Shepard, you’re living like a queen up here. What’s a guy like me gotta do to get a view like this?”

“Oh? I’ll trade you. I’d sleep better in the down in the guts of the ship anyway.”

“You’re not sleeping?” His mandibles twitch and he looks long and hard at her face, as if only now seeing the dark circles under her eyes.

“Only a little bit. Not nearly enough. But that’s why I called you up here actually, because I have a plan.” She turns to grab the folded sheet and roll of duct tape from the bed. “We’re covering the skylight.”

“’We’?”

“Yes. As you can see,” Norah Jean stands on the bed and reaches one arm up. Even on her toes, she doesn’t come anywhere close to touching the ceiling. “I can’t reach it myself, and this bed is attached very firmly to the floor. So, I need you to give me a boost.”

“A… boost?”

“Yes, Garrus, stand on the bed and pick me up so I can reach the ceiling.”

“Okay. And if I drop you?”

“Are you already planning to?” She laughs at the way his mandibles twitch.

“No! I just don’t want you stabbing me because I accidentally dropped you!”

“Garrus, where would I be hiding a knife? My hair isn’t long enough to do that anymore. Even if you do drop me, I’ll land on the bed, its fine. If you’re that worried about dropping me, I can just sit on your shoulders.”

“I like that, that sounds more secure.”

“Okay then let’s do it, lemme climb on.” Garrus climbs onto the bed and kneels down, so she can climb onto his shoulders.

“So, what is it humans say about duct tape? That it fixes everything?” He slowly stands to his full height, wobbling a bit between the squishy mattress and the marine on his shoulders.

“200 plus years and it hasn’t failed us yet. Even in space, there’s use for it.”

“Maybe Ceruberus should’ve used a bit of it on you, might’ve sped the process up.”

“I’m not gonna give that the dignity of a response.” She lays the sheet over she arm and tears off a strip of tape.

It takes them almost thirty minutes to securely fix the sheet to the skylight. The first corner she’d taped up peeled off once two sides were plastered to the steel. Then as they finished the final corner, the second corner sagged down. By the time everything is secure they’ve gone through a roll and a half of tape, and Garrus is lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

“Tell me when the room stops spinning okay?”

“Here, this’ll fix it.” Norah Jean tears off a square of duct tape and sticks it to Garrus’ armor.

He lifts his head and opens one eye to look at his new silver patch. “It really does fix everything.”

-

Norah Jean sits on her too-soft bed and stares at her armor on its rack. She’s put herself through countless armor drills, just like the Academy’s, but still, she can’t get her time under three minutes. Major Mabbit would have her ass.

She walks over to the rack and starts the timer.

Two minutes and fifty-six seconds. Progress. Hopefully she won’t need to suddenly get ready to drop anytime soon. She takes her time pulling the armor off, inspecting the slowly growing collection of scratches and dents. Ghosts her fingers over the dent on her chestplate from one of Garrus’ concussive rounds. On one of her greaves, a gouge from an impromptu sparring session with Jack out in the field. A square of silver duct tape right in the middle of her left pauldron. The signs of a stranger’s armor slowly becoming hers.

-

The door to the cockpit slides open, and Joker glances over his shoulder to see Norah Jean come in. She scuffs a foot on the floor before sighing and sitting down, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Uh-oh, you’ve got that look that means you’re thinking about one specific thing too much. Spill it.”

“I’m still me, right? I’m still the person you grew up with? Your old high school sweetheart?”

Joker sighs, turning his chair to face where she’s sitting on the floor. “Norah Jean, why-“

“Just. Answer the question. Please.”

“It’s a complicated question, so you’re getting a complicated answer, just a warning. Yes, and no. Of course, you’re not the same person you were in high school. You’re not even the same person you were when you graduated from the Academy and left Arcturus. But that’s normal, hell, even encouraged. You came away from Akuze like a ghost, you’d been through hell and back, but you were still you. People don’t just walk away from trauma without changing, Norah Jean that’s just not how that works. It’s unfair to expect yourself to be the exact same person you were when you saved the Citadel. You got spaced for fuck’s sake, and you remember it? That changes people. So yeah, you’ve changed, but everyone changed when the Normandy went down, whether they want to admit it or not.”

“That’s not what-“

“If you’re asking me if I think you’re some Cerberus controlled zombie, the answer is hell no, absolutely not. If Cerberus had a chip in your brain, I don’t think I’d be able to beat you at Scrabble.”

Norah Jean snorts and rolls her eyes. “Wow, that’s the metric you’re going by? I didn’t realize the bar was so low.”

“It’s more of a combination of things.”

“Do you ever wonder about how life would be if we’d stayed together after the Academy?”

“Telling you “No.” would be lying and I try not to lie to you, you’ve got a weird knack for figuring that shit out.”

“Because you have a shitty poker face, Jeff.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, I try not to dwell on it, it was 10 years ago. I can guaran-god-damn-tee that if we were still together in ’83 I wouldn’t have been piloting the Normandy because there’s no way Anderson would’ve passed up having you as his XO. Do I regret breaking up with you? No, not really, because without worrying about the regs, you got to chase down what you wanted from your career, and I got to pilot this sweet, sweet ship. Yeah, at first it sucked because you needed space and that space meant we didn’t so much as message each other for 2 years, but it was worth it. And plus, I like our friendship better this way, we’ve got a good thing going here. Now grab the Scrabble set, get your ass in your chair, and we’ll see how many games I win this time.”

“You spend all this time building me up just to break me down again, I see how it is.”

“I’ve gotta keep you in check somehow, Norah Jean.”