#i love that i actually have one in their original swimsuit now

[britneyshakespeare]

1968 Twist-N-Turn Stacey (Titian variety) I love you 🖤

[eccentricallygothic]

Seaside Shenanigans

Pervy Miss!Ellie and Pervy Mommy!Abby can't handle you in a swimsuit, apparently.

Warning(s): D/s dynamics, mm/lg, naive little/sub!reader but they're of age because that still needs to be clarified on my blog apparently, groping, public sex in the water, pinching, woman handling, use of strap ons, double penetration, mild fear kink, power imbalance, praise kink, infantilization bc I am a crazy whore, whiny!reader, mild waterboarding/breath play, pet names, mommy kink, miss kink, boob play, mild overstimulation, spanking, allusions to cunnilingus, mild exhibitionism, dirty talk. MDNI. 

Type: Request by @cosmopretty, here.

. . . 

Naturally, Abby and Ellie aren't used to seeing you in swimwear. Actually, much to their disdain, the case is rather the opposite with you having quite a limited wardrobe despite their elaborate and tiresome efforts at scavenging to find the best day wear and home comforts for you. So when they see you run across the beach in your cute little baby yellow swimsuit that curves around all your body contours in the most physically mouthwatering way possible, their initial disapproval on why you're wearing an article whose origins are unknown to them in such a public space is quickly overcome with how your body shifts in the tight piece the more you run.

However, when they call you hither and into the water -that none of the young ones are supposed to enter without a proper grown up- their smiles mask the buzzing nefariousness behind them so well that you suspect nothing as you cheer the fact that you don't have to wait on the other grown ups who are still setting up camp and can splash your way into the cool salty water before all your friends hence winning the title of the first to experience the sea. 

You are still innocently crooning to yourself as you touch the water, shuddering at the feeling because you are so overcome by the foreign sensation while your smaller body -they make it feel so- is being carried deeper into the water, one arm and leg in Abby's hold and the other half of your body in Ellie's. 

“Now let's get this out of the way” Abby coos when they finally have you submerged to their liking. You didn't even notice the hair tie around Abby's wrist that she now peels off to tie the high ponytail that Ellie is gathering of your hair.

“Look, mommy, isso glittery glittery and cutie!” You're too busy swaying your limbs against the current to notice how the women scoot closer and closer to you, their instruments of your destruction hovering over the areas they plan to impale. “Miss, d'you think there's fishies here?” Ellie cannot help but chuckle at your innocence and lack of suspicion. “Innit so pretty?” Their spoiling and love has caused you to develop your own vernacular.

A hint of a smile melts into the younger female's smirk as she releases the high ponytail Abby has successfully secured before her scarred fingers reach for your body. “I can think of something prettier” though you're too awestruck for her words to flush your cheeks, the way their strong hands hoist you up soon later has you squeaking and blushing from their strength that you feel against your skin. 

“M- Miss!” You exclaim as you blink up at Ellie who faces you. Abby's perverted fingers flex on the underside of your thighs as she spreads them before propping your ass against her thighs. You feel a dull tack reverberate against your petals and your eyes widen in realization. “Oh, no!” You protest as you gasp in rising horror. “You tore my swimsuit— oh!” Your knees jump from the shock of what happens next and the women chuckle at you before each stick one index finger in the little hole that has appeared under your swimsuit due to the stitching coming undone and a loud crackle cuts through the air when they pull the fabric in opposite directions.

“Oh, pretty girl,” you feel Abby's fingers grope the base of your jaw to lean your ear closer to her mouth at the same time as when you feel cold and wet cocktips buzz against your ass and petals. “We are gonna tear more than a swimsuit today” you feel her tip fill the crevice of your ass and your pucker shudders in defense. 

They had found these two way waterproof electric strap-ons recently that had a number of natural responses to their physical stimuli to enhance the experience. Of course, the ‘cum’ part had to be filled with lube and that's how you realize this was premeditated.

You gasp as your eyes widen. 

No! They didn't! 

The perverts!

“Look at you acting all surprised after you jiggled that ass all over the beach in this little slut-suit” Ellie's rough mouth begins its work and you cannot help but whimper in response. 

“You look even better with the suit like this, babygirl” you can literally hear the arousal in Abby's voice as she desperately feels your body up. 

In a matter of moments, the young women have you dangling from their cocks that stretch your bands with delicious burns. The ache makes you clench around the silicone ‘organs’ when you feel your insides stretch against the imitation veins and the defensive movement causes the sensors to make said veins ‘twitch’ against your walls. 

“Oommngggh!” A peculiarly strong wave crashes against the tangle of your bodies and the water momentarily clogs your breathing faculties, causing for your limbs to flail and your pussy as well as pucker to relax due to all your energy dashing towards your upper body to sustain the life within it.

“Aw” Ellie chuckles as she feels the strap-on slide deeper up your cavern because of that, one hand wrapping around your ponytail to pull you closer. “I think the little pup likes it” your lips round into a soft ‘O’ shape and your eyebrows furrow as the tip twitches while ghosting under your cervix, your hole sucking the hilt so greedily that the squishy but thick and heavy sack area that is full of a slimy gel you love to nibble and sit during more… fellatial moments tries to help itself into your tight cunt. “She's spreading her dirty little cunt around it an' all.”

You feel Abby's chuckle deep between your ass cheeks. “Of course she does,” a wanton mewl shudders out of your lips as you clench around Ellie, the feeling of Abby's strong fingers pushing into the spot between your shoulder blades to make you more compliant and enjoyable for herself and against the sadist who has begun to speed up her fucking of your pussy makes you whine. “She just loves to be used like the pretty little doll that she is” the way they refer to you in third person makes you feel even smaller. Your pussy fires up and a knot forms between your hips. It is like they don't consider you sensible enough even to discuss your own self with you. Your spinning head churns at the thought and the humiliatingly loud and squeaky sound that begins to emanate from where Abby's sack slaps against the base of your ass only adds to the annihilation of your mind.  

You gasp and your face gets fucked into Ellie's chest. Your vision falters with imperceivable neons at the double penetration getting rougher when the women start getting more beastly due to their primal urges. Curses, degradations and praises are harshly whispered into your ears, your body is pulled and pushed in all directions with the current doing its best to contribute, your skin is groped, pinched and squeezed, Abby's fingers twist your hardened nipples and Ellie's rude hands slap your ass that is undergoing firm drilling by the blonde woman. You gasp against the waves that seem to want you just as bad as your women, somehow finding their way into your nose with every crash, and the way Ellie keeps your head firmly in place between her boobs by your ponytail doesn't help your lungs. And the effort that you put into finding solace by turning it sideways to ease the delicious burn in your chest causes for your facial cheeks to get a good boob slapping, resulting in Ellie growling into your hair and snapping her hips harder and harder. 

The double fucking and rough handling is almost too much for you to bear due to how uncalled for -on your part- it is. And the foreign setting does not help because you're a sensitive little girl. The way both females competitively fuck their way up to your organs with each animalistic thrust only makes you gurgle out whiny moans louder. It is an unspoken tussle between them. They don't ever say it out loud. But everytime the three of you indulge into the passionate aspect of your dynamic, they go better and harder to see who can make you cry and moan the loudest. 

The overwhelming pleasure that you manage to find past the initial discomfort makes you cry into the facial that Ellie's chest is giving you. The sadist chuckles. “Aw, the sensitive little puppy is barking into my tits like she isn't clenching around our cocks to make them twitch into her slutty little tummy” a burst of tingles bursts around your boiling loins and you sob into her drenched skin upon hearing her cruel words that arouse you even more. “Loves to make a theatrical mess of that face like the dumb little whore that she is everytime her dirty little pussy gets touched” Ellie is convinced it gets you off.

Perhaps it does.

“Cut her some slack” Abby's snicker vibrates into your ear because of the way she is draped across your back to keep a firm hold on one of your tits and creep her other hand down to your sloshing cunt to rub it. “She's only just a little baby after all” your jaw cracks from how wide your mouth falls open at the feeling of her fingers toying with your petals whilst Ellie's firm hands spread your ass so wide for Abby's cock that you feel a strain in the slit between your ass cheeks. “Aren't you, pretty girl?” Your eyes roll to the back of your head when you feel Ellie's balls push into your greedy pussy. “Just a spoilt little whiny baby that loves to suckle on boob and cock so she can grow up healthy and full of her nutrients” the older girl's filthy words destroy the tight barrage burning hot between your hips and your body starts to convulse as you audibly shudder with humiliating groans and cum from both your holes. 

Or at least, that's what it feels like. 

“That's not fair!” One of your friends pout as they jog up to the shoreline, unsuspecting of how your eyes are rolled into your very skull, mouth clamped down onto Ellie's nipple that you suck like a baby to withstand the simultaneous fuck that sucks your body into the water before tossing you up with the synchronized thrusts that are monstrous in might. Thankfully, you face away from the beach so they cannot see you like the depraved whore that your women have made of you ever since you met them. “You went into the water before us!”

“She's a greedy one, isn't she?” Abby calls back with a secret slap to your stinging cunt that makes your otherwise limp body jump on your impalers. 

“Yes, she is! We promised to all go together but she wanted to be first—”

“Are you guys… okay?” One of Abby's friends, someone considered a ‘grown up’ compared to your friends and you, pull the droning kid away and watches the three of you with an uncomfortable skepticism because she knows her friend too well. 

Though you are too fucked out and dick-struck to do anything about it, the fact that your girlfriends don't cease their use of your holes for one minute as they manage to camouflage it into the water makes you further bury your face into Ellie's boob as you suck harder like a panicked little baby who is too confused and brainless to do anything to help themselves but trust her wellbeing with her caretakers. 

“Just giving her a taste of the adventurous is all” Ellie is amazingly nonchalant despite your ‘breastfeeding’ as she answers the spectator who wordlessly nods and knowingly ushers the little crowd of your friends far away from the three of you. 

“Aw, look~” Abby croons as she gently strokes your petals like she isn't jackhammering your poor ass. “All those cummies have hungered up our little baby.”

“No worries” you whine from the overstimulation that Ellie inflicts upon you just to hear your pleading squeaks, the double sided strap-on bringing her closer to her own edge. “There will be plenty of milkies for her little puppy tummy to stuff itself with” and that means that they will guilt trip you into eating so much pussy tonight that your flush face will be covered in pussy juices before you will pass out from the exhaustion of having to satiate your demanding partners with your worked up plumped out lips attached to one of their cunts. 

The perverts!

. . .

MASTERLIST

[strangemaleswaps]

Strange Beach Body Swap 2

"Are you ready for this?"

"I sure hope so, I'm a little nervous to be honest."

"It's ok. I'll be there for you…just like 20 feet away or so."

I threw on a pair of khaki shorts, my sandals, and headed out the door. Luckily I lived in a condo right next to the beach so I didn't have to walk very far. It was nearly noon - the time we planned to meet up.

2 years ago, I was a college sophomore stuck in a fraternity with asshole frat brothers. That was until I met this weird old man at the beach. He swapped our bodies and I was thrust into his fat beach bod. It wasn't the worst thing ever, though. He was working on pumping his nipples and with how sensitive they were, I discovered what a nipple orgasm felt like. It was crazy good! Since then I continued what he started, and had been pumping my nipples every day. They're huge now! I go for that nipple orgasm all the time. I love it!

But I was still a fat old man for the next 2 years so that did a number on my self esteem at first. I had a whole six pack abs before, along with a perfect body, so nothing I did could compare to that. But I made a few changes that were more my style. I got my ear pierced and grew a goatee. Afterall, old guys really only look good with facial hair. I was balding too so I decided to shave my head entirely, as well as razor it so I could be fully bald.

The one thing I didn't account for was how fat this guy was. He was already pretty chubby when I initially swapped, but I was happy to be free of my strict diet plan. I know I wouldn't look as good as I did before no matter how much I exercised or ate right, so I just stuck with how I was. It wasn't until a month or so that I realized he must've been working out prior to the swap because I noticed an increased weight gain. I still didn't care though, and just let myself go. I went from borderline obese to full on obese. My man tits ended up hanging out a little more and my gut drooped a little lower. My overall body was wider and soon enough I found myself waddling instead of walking.

But none of that mattered in the end because a couple of months after the swap, I met Chase. I decided to go to the bar one day, after finally gaining the confidence to do so. He approached and complimented me on my looks, which surprised me. I guess he had a thing for big guys. We talked a bit and I fell in love with him soon after that. When I told him who I actually was, he believed me right away. I guess with how quirky he is, he's the type that knows everything isn't what it seems.

Since the old man took over my life, I took over his. He was retired and didn't have much going for him, except this sweet condo right next to the beach. It had a king size bed, where Chase and I fucked for the first time. I'm gonna miss this place actually; it was nice. The old man called me a few days ago, scheduling the time for the swap back at noon today. I don't know how he did it originally so I asked Chase to spy on us from a short distance away to see what actually happens - and to make sure he doesn't bail!

We walked outside the condo and hugged one last time, his skinny frame being smothered by my flabby rolls.

"Good luck Ty! I love you!"

"Love you too!"

We split off and I stood around waiting for somebody that looked like me to appear. He said he would wear the same swimsuit he wore 2 years ago - the blue one. I couldn't wait to see how it all went. He thought he could do a better job at standing up to my fraternity brothers and giving me a better reputation so I hope he kept his word! It'll definitely be a weird feeling, returning back to my old life. But he would've graduated for me by now, so at least I don't have to see those idiot frat brothers anymore. And I had Chase of course! He said he would love me no matter what I looked like.

I was looking in the direction of the ocean when I spotted someone wearing the swimsuit I was looking for. I waddled closer to him, and realized that it was my old body. Something was different though - he gained weight! Alot of weight to be exact. My abs were completely gone! Sure he was far from obese, but his belly stuck out and the pecs I once had were soft and fleshy. It looked like he kept my basic appearance the same though, with the exception of a little chin beard. It was weird though, I recognized him for sure, but I didn't really feel like he used to be me. It'd been such a long time that I no longer associated his body with my identity.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself! How have you been?"

"I suppose it wasn't that bad. That nipple orgasm is something else."

"I can see that. You've been pumping them, haven't you?"

"Yep."

"Good. Good."

"So how did you gain weight that fast? The fraternity would've kicked you out with the slightest bit of fat, but you must've ditched them only a few months ago." His face dropped.

"Well…"

"Well?" No..don't tell me…

"I uh kinda got kicked out…2 years ago."

"What? What the fuck did you do?"

"I tried to be assertive and well, I guess I was more like aggressive. Got into a fight and they kicked me out. Geez, young people are so sensitive now!" I was in disbelief. He didn't improve my life at all, he ruined it!

"Did you…at least graduate?" Please say yes; oh my god.

"Er..no. I kinda just dropped out after that. College is hard!"

"What have you been doing the past 2 years then?!"

"Just getting by really - working, sleeping, jacking off. What I was really doing before. Well, actually I lost my job a few weeks ago."

I can't believe this. What am I going to do once I go back? I'm a college dropout, unemployed, and I can't even use my fit body to do modeling or anything! I didn't want him to know how upset I was in fear he wouldn't swap us back, so I swallowed my anger and changed the subject.

"Well, I guess we better swap then. How did you do it last time?"

"Simple spell. Just lay down and close your eyes." I slowly lowered myself and plopped down on my ass, all my rolls jiggling with the impact. I then lied down for a minute. When I opened my eyes, I was looking at the same fleshy mountain I was used to. What gives? I got up and found the old man talking with Chase.

"That's my boyfriend and you need to swap him back!"

"Boyfriend huh? How the hell did he score with that gross body? I hadn't gotten anyone looking like this!" They noticed me as I waddled up to them.

"Ty, he doesn't want to do it."

"What do you mean?! Swap me back! We had a deal!"

"Sorry, I have something else in mind now." He put his hands on Chase and a white light began pulsating from his hands. Chase didn't respond and looked like he was in a trance. Don't tell me he's trying to swap their bodies?!

"Hey get off of him!" I tried pulling his hands off, but it was as if they were glued to Chase's shoulders.

"Don't even try!" I may have ruined my chances with your body but I can start all over with his!"

"Oh no you don't!" It seemed impossible to pull his hands off, but I kept trying anyway. Suddenly the white light flashed everywhere and his hands were forced off of Chase, as well as mine. When I opened my eyes, I looked down and once again, saw the same saggy belly I'd woken up to for the past 2 years.

"Well, nothing happened…"

"Speak for yourself!" Chase spoke excitedly. He was looking at his hands and rubbing his flat stomach. Shit. That wasn't him. Chase, now in my original body, and the old man, now in Chase's body, looked at each other.

"So that's what I really look like to everyone else. Wow."

"Well I best be going then!" The old man started walking away until I grabbed him and pulled him into a neck hold.

"Not this time! You're going to swap us back for real."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" I released my grip.

"The spell only works twice. First for a regular swap, and then second for a swap back. It doesn't account for interruptions from a third."

"No way…I…"

"Ty. It's ok." Chase put his hand on my shoulder. "I like you like this. And I think I'll be fine. I'm as flabby as you…almost!" He slapped his belly and shook it up and down, admiring the jiggles. I guess the weight gain is turning him on.

"Yeah. I guess it's fine." He kissed me on the cheek.

"Take care you guys." It was weird seeing Chase's original body walk away from me but I know the real Chase was right here with me, safe and sound. I wonder what it would be like to have sex with your old body…

[cider-est]

The full lineup is almost done!! (just needs some touch ups and a Chunsik design👍) FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APRECIATED!!

Design process under here (whole lot of yapping)

General thoughts: Ive given them in my previous design sheet (you can find it in my blog)(tldr: designs match characters but still childish, 8-12 years old). Only thing different here, is that these eggs were eggs who I had less of a clear idea of what I wanted to do with them (though I still really liked where I ended up!!)

Empanada: Didnt want to go for the full sweet lolita route, mostly because I thought it'd take away the "little kidness" of it all, but something that still resembles the aesthetic. She's wearing "carneirinhos" (idk the name in english) which is very cute little girl to me, and shes also a demon! Her tail resembles a frying pan!! Though I might change her fringe (it was supposed to be baby hairs but now that I think about it, her type of hair probably wouldnt have them) and put some argyle pattern in her sweater vest. I just forgor💀 to do that...I also wish I had made her shorter, but unfortunetely I drew this before the eggs did the height check (YES ITS BEEN THAT LONG).

Sunny: My beautiful baby girl. She means the world to me. I love this minecraft egg with all my heart. Shes wearing Light up sketchers and some fairy wings like Pomme, and shes actually wearing a swimsuit, she just put a tutu over it. The diamonds they're always holding are rings, they have a "terere" in their hair (idk name in english😭😭) and the beads were inspired by an artist on twt (@\BLUETOMATOSODA). Also if you are wondering why her hair looks like tentacles, its because I had originally made it puffy, but changed my mind after doing the lineart, so i had to get creative with me covering it up. Just pretend she has a fan, shes a star after all!

Pepito: Basically, he is very smoll. Chiquito even. He has strawberry hair and MASSIVE glasses that take up his entire face. Hes wearing a swimsuit aswell (dont ask how it works idk either), and has floaties since he cant swim. Hes got crocs, since flip flops hurt his toes, with a spider man charm on them! Also hes got a sunhat, mostly cause I wanted some other accessorie but didnt want to go with gas mask since it'd kinda kill the whole swimming vibe (since his model is wearing a swimsuit). sorry if its not too accurate to his character. Side note: Him, Em and Sunny all have freckles! Him and Sunny all over their bodies while Em just has on her cheeks.

Leo: Cute sporty vibe, love her shorty spiky hair. Wanted to try to make her face spiky aswell, for the whole shark dad thing. Shes got a necklace with a shark tooth (I guess she got it from Foolish??). He changes tshirts randomly, and opens and closes his attack on titan hoodie depending on the tshirt's expression (basically my version of Leo changing her player heads constantly). His trainers have dragon wings and also: whealies!!

Dapper: Im gonna be honest: did not expect to like his design THIS much. The colouring really elevated, with the long blue hair (the same colour as the ghosties!). Wanted to make them, y'know, dapper, so I had to sacrifice some of the "little kid vibes" unfortunetely, but I think it fits her still. The hat has part of the helmet that they used to wear a lot, demon horn to match Pomme, and a suit that is VERY inspired by Death the Kid from Soul Eater (very fitting for a reaper in training imo). Might be my favourite design!

Ramon: Jesus fuck you'd think designing your fav egg would be easy BUT NO. I struggled long and hard. Again, he doesnt have that much "little kid" vibe whatever man😭😭 Im just happy that I even managed to make SOMETHING. Hes got Create googles, his meathead is a massive hat that completely hides his hair. Very simple, very Ramon, though I will probably end up making a version with an ugly sweater just like he likes instead😔. I still like it but. man...

ANYWAYS IF YOU READ ALL THAT MWAH, YOURE A REAL ONE, THANKS FOR ENTERTAINING MY THOUGHTS🫶🫶🫶

[malfoyfarms]

Comfort

JJ Maybank x Pogue!Fem Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: Smut

A/N: Okay this may be self indulgent bc I just had my heart broken by a boy. Also i’ve never written smut before, rip. Not proofread bc i’m working

It was a warm summer evening in the Outer Banks, and Y/n walked back to the Chateau quietly. In the summer she never walked slowly, let alone quietly. She tried to pack her summers with as much adventure as she could, no matter how sleep deprived she was. Her grandfather always said that she could sleep in the winter. 

The hole in her chest was growing, she felt heavy. Her mouth was dry, nose was running, and she kept looking up at the sky trying to make the tears go away. Stopping for a moment against a tree, she took a deep breath, “You were just fine without him, you are just fine without him.” 

Her friends always used to tease her that she was too much of a “lover girl,” falling a little bit in love with anyone, everyone she met. She just felt so stupid. Kiara had warned her about the boy that had mysteriously shown up one day and gave her the world. Sure it could have been the start of something wonderful, he was the original one to show interest, so that had to have meant something. 

By the time she had actually made it to the Chateau, she had swallowed her sadness. She put that award winning smile on, and was ready to be her normal self. Walking in, the girl threw her bag into her normal spot, and made her way toward the jetty. She passed out greetings and hugs and jokes as if she wasn’t just trying to get herself to breathe a few moments ago. 

The pogues could tell something was off. They could tell she had been upset by the way her eyes were glossed over. But Y/n was closed off, no amount of prying would get her to reveal what was going on inside. That’s just how she worked. John B tried to cheer her up by throwing her in the water, Sarah just offered her a small smile and a compliment on her swimsuit. One she was now going to donate because he had told her just how gorgeous she had looked in it. 

JJ offered her a Twisted Tea blueberry, her favorite, but she only took a few sips over the entire afternoon on the boat. She knew if she became intoxicated, there was no stopping the feelings, no covering up. 

“Lover girl, you headed out tonight?” John B asked as they started collecting money to buy pizza for dinner. 

“Uh, n-no actually. Here’s $10 for dinner,” she quietly pulled a ten out of her bag, and the others watched her silently. Y/n was always peeling out around this time, ready to experience some romantic rendez-vous with her beau. 

“I’m not letting you pay $10 when you’re gonna eat maybe a piece of pizza,” John B argued back.

“JB just take my money!” all eyes were on her, “It’s less y’all have to pay anyway.” 

To avoid any confrontation, she walked up to the house to get her sweatshirt. The air hadn’t changed, still as hot and sticky as before, but the girl knew without the protection from the hood of her sweatshirt everything would be too real. 

God, while the sweatshirt provided a small amount of comfort, it brought back more painful memories than it needed to. She could smell her perfume, one that he thought was just to die for, the chewed up aglet that he would constantly take out of her mouth and say “relax.” There were still no notifications on her lock screen. She kicked her backpack with all of her might. 

“Mama,” she slowly turned around. “Why are we kicking the living fuck out of our backpack.”

The smug look on her best friend’s face made her lip shake and tears come sprinting to the front of her eyes. JJ’s expression quickly changed when she started to come towards him with open arms. 

“I knew there was a reason you didn’t chug your Twea.” 

The girl quietly shook in his arms as he guided her to his room. “You’re allowed to cry, you know, I won’t tell anyone.” 

“No.” Her voice wavered. “I-I just want a distraction. Can you give me that?” From the way she was laying next to JJ, to the doe eyes, she was achieving exactly what she wanted. JJ pushed the hair out of her eyes, lingering his fingers just long enough on her jaw to indicate he was going to falter. And falter quickly. 

Y/n closed the distance between their faces. Her lips locked intently around his, becoming the dominant mouth. JJ pulled her back just long enough to wipe the tears from her eyes before kissing her back hungerly. 

Her hands wandered under his shirt and up his back, feeling every knot in his muscles, but settling on one right below his shoulder blade. Their lips stayed latched together as she began to massage the knot. JJ’s hands similarly mimicked her motions but he settled on her hips. His first two fingers found themselves tangled in the side strings of her bikini bottom, while his thumb and last two fingers found themselves squeezing her love handles. 

Small, breathy, almost inaudible moans escaped from her mouth as JJ guided her hips against his torso. His other hand buried itself in the nape of her neck, pulling her hair to force her chin up as he nipped and kissed at her neck. Her perfume made him absolutely and unequivocally feral. He hummed against her collar bone, feeling her body snap towards him. She was dying for friction. For contact. Anything to smother the weight in her chest. 

Never had he imagined when he volunteered to go talk to the pogue, he’d be up close and personal with her. 

His fingers untangled from the strings, and pulled leg up by the thigh. He gently ghosted his fingers over her most personal spot, feeling wetness and the small whimper against his neck. 

Y/n’s dainty hand guided his hand to touch her where she needed attention the most. He followed her advances and pushed the fabric to the sides. One quick swipe of his fingers to gauge her readiness and then he pushed two fingers in. She was rolling her hips and clenching around JJ’s fingers almost rhythmically, like he wasn’t going to give her what she wanted. He pressed on her clit, adding pressure to her.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong,” he questioned, pressing down heavily as he ended his question. A hiss slipped through her lips. “If you make me cum, I won’t have any.” 

Her hand stalked down JJ’s swim trunks, trying to determine how big he was. His penis became still and hard as her fingers circled the shaft. He bucked into her palm, looking for his own friction. After a few particularly hard presses on her clit, she began to let up on her hand job. Too immersed in chasing her own high.

JJ couldn’t remember the last time he had been this turned on, this quickly. He’d only been on solo missions recently, eyes always eyeing one specific prize. 

Finally finding the courage, JJ flipped her underneath him. While placing sloppy kisses on her collar bones, he ground his hips into her. Both letting out soft gasps from the pleasure of pseudo-sex. 

“JJ, please.” she mumbled. “Put him in. I need it.” She took it upon herself to untie the bikini bottoms, trying to quickly find the friction again. JJ nearly came at the girl’s begging. 

He then found himself ripping his trunks off at lightning speed. Y/n took his cock and lined it up with her entrance, teasing JJ with her slit. He waited for her nod, and then slid himself in. He let out a small breath at the feeling of her warm insides around him.

“J, move,” she begged. He began long, slow thrusts into the girl, trying to make every second count, trying to keep from finishing in her like it was his first time. JJ could immediately tell she needed more stimulation. He pulled out, and waited for her to open her eyes. 

“Turn around mama, lay on your stomach.” Doing as she was told, she opened her legs impatiently waiting for his re-entry. 

JJ did as he promised, sliding in with a faster pace. He slowly pulled her ass towards him, up in the air. He could feel her clenching. She was so close. JJ had her body mirroring his, her back flatly against his chest. His one hand played with her front as his other held her by the neck to his. 

“I’m s-so,” she squeaked. “So, close.” As she finished her sentence, her thighs shook, her walls clenched around his dick, and nails dug into his forearms. 

This lethal combination sent JJ spiraling, releasing his load into her before he could even think of pulling out. Her body went limp as JJ rode out the rest of his orgasm. 

As their bodies separated, he then spun her around to hold her close. Even with his cum dripping out of her, he wanted to make sure she was okay. 

“Are you okay?” He looked down at her, trying to avoid looking at the trail of each other down her legs. 

“No,” he panicked. Had he crossed a boundary? Broken something good in a weak moment? “You just started an addiction.” 

Relief flooded his body. “Good, because I’m not letting go anytime soon.”

[lanymme]

Lmao apparently Takeuchi is the one that's been vetoing Summer Lip for 3 years. (Maybe I'm just grossly misunderstanding the interview)

lmao I just came on here to bitch about this. needless to say i'm PISSED. We all noticed the Wada summer servant cycle back in what, 2019, and every year since then I've been patiently waiting to see if it would be Lip's year to shine. It became a sort of joke when she never showed up but I've always been legit annoyed that she hasn't To think we would have gotten her last year in NA if not for Takeuchi.

Maybe he improved his range enough that he doesn't draw the same face every time (although we do have 12 saberfaces in the game) but clearly he's never workshopped his sense of taste.

The interviewer then mentions Meltlilith getting a swimsuit. Nasu responds he was stopped due to the convincing reason that a swimsuit Passionlip wouldn't pass the screening process but he will try for another year to persuade them.

Nasu is clearly Lip's strongest warrior and I love him for that but I gotta know what kind of streaming process they have going on at Lasengle that's like "Oh yeah summer chloe is a totally acceptable design but a summer passionlip? Nahh, we can have a child in full body fishnet rave gear showing underboob in her NP, but an adult woman with big tits, that's way over the line. Ignore the barghest behind the curtain."

I mean, I can imagine they'd be hesitant if she's like. In full bondage gear (even more so than her existing outfit) but just look at Summer Kiara ascension 2. I really don't get it.

Anyway. I joke, but im actually kind of pissed off about this. I just want to see her character development and what she's up to. It's been 7 actual years since the SE.RA.PH. event. the content gap is now twice as long between now and her debut as it was between CCC's release and the original event. Exhausting.

Anyway, it's over for Takeuchi now that I have someone to blame, but I'm at least hopeful since they addressed it. If you'll excuse me I need to go hook myself back up to the copium machine now.

[zeldabecameaqueen]

hi! here's a little zine about moments of qsmp, i'm actually not ashamed of it which is something, i hope you enjoy as well!

i can't find the exact date of BadBoy's stream I don't know why, sorry, but it was around Christmas. I got really emotional seeing Pomme sitting here alone when qBad found her, and putting new signs because it was not her who was missing anymore but her mother, who thought she was dead

i don't really know how to draw, perspective, color, contrast and so on, and i don't have the tools nor the ambition of getting better, but i like the ideas, that's why i always suggest 'real artists' to redraw this their way

and here i wanted to communicate this idea of a child who was put in the hands of 5 extremely loving and caring parents, who could not get her away from danger and anxiety, and who themselves were thrown into different shades of hell, but they stick together no matter the difficulty, no matter the distance. Even death could not tear them apart. Actually, I think it's the uncertainty, the doubt to see their loved ones again that is the most challenging and suffering for them.

On Egg Island, qBaghera had a really few chances of survival, against the climate, the eyeball workers, her own madness and distress. Pomme could hardly have hope, and even though she's strong and is really well shouldered, i guess she spent nights over nights just looking at the ceiling, incapable of sleeping.

i'm so happy they are now reunited, i hope they will talk about it some day because they both need it, but for now i just want them to do whatever they want until the big lore happens lmao

i just wanted to explain why this scene was important and touching for me, I'll update this post if I succeed one day on finding the stream ://

Also here is a little gift in red-and-white swimsuit ↓

and the original scene of the school day ↓

[asheronangel]

This is your sign to yap about your tmnt au

oh wait i wasn't actually expecting this now i don't know what to say- i'm just gonna. snatch the random stuff i rambled about on discord

full disclaimer that it is. not very developed yet! i haven't really figured out the plot, or the turtles entirely, so i'm mostly gonna yap about random details i hope that's okay (usually i avoid posting au's unless i deem them "finished enough" but uh that's never happened. so.)

so. in this au two of the turtles were made purposefully, and the other two accidentally (all four with the same ooze, but two were like,,, prepped for it beforehand, so the mutation sorta "assimilated" better with predetermined traits, while with the other two it ended up being more random)

read more because im yapping

donnie's a northern long/snake-necked turtle, mikey is an eastern box turtle, leo's a flordia softshell, and raph is a common snapper <- (this is also their height order)

they're used to wearing clothes in this au!! idk it just makes sense to me, that since splinter used to be human in this au and still wears clothes, he'd teach that to his sons, to an extent???

they don't mind being clothe-less (they do not bother with swimsuits), at least around family, because they are Turtles with nothing to see, but clothing allows them to express themselves!! and warmth, seeing as donnie's the only warm-blooded one and runs cold anyway

splinter has taken them to the surface since they were young, only after thoroughly scouting for a mostly secluded place, because the books splinter snatched said that children need things like sunshine and fresh air (or as fresh as new york can get, i guess? i don't know what the air is like there sorry guys. my only guess is that it's better than the sewers)

so they are used to being topside, watching the city from afar, but going to the surface alone for the first time ends up being a big deal for them as teens. that's when they end up meeting april!

they've known casey ever since they were all small, and casey definitely sees the turtles and splinter as his second family. he also calls leo a frog, as an inside joke to what tiny casey originally thought leo was

splinter wasn't a great dad when they were young. (he was sort of struggling with suddenly becoming a rat with four children, understandably) he didn't pay attention to them as long as he could find them when he looked. an incident ended up making him come to the reality that he's they're sole caretaker and he needs to step up, so he stole snatched a bunch of books on parenting and turtles and got way more invested in his sons' lives. current day turtles love their dad

age wise, technically nothing is set in stone for them except mikey being the youngest, since besides him the turtles developed too close together for splinter to figure out an age order. (like,, raph was the first to walk, but donnie was the first to talk, and none of them were really ahead of the others)

so oldest is based on the mood. raph was the oldest when they were tots, but that title slid on over to donnie over the years, and while leo can have older sibling energy, he rarely actually gets to Be the Oldest Sibling.

everybody knows raph has a sweet spot for mikey. he Will still carry him around even though mikey is taller.

if you have any specific questions, PLEASE ASK THEM! i probably won't have the answer, but it'll force me to figure the answer out, yknow? think about things i wouldn't have otherwise

have my first attempt at a mikey design as a thank you for sending an ask!!

[metalmonki]

Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited) Part 3

Dean Winchester x fem!reader

6.5k word count

Summary The part in which you begin to question if Dean actually has feelings for you or is just stringing you along. Also you prove your a kick ass hunter through the power of research.

fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers, slow-burn

Warnings mention and description of death, s-assault, talks of people with disabilities in a negative light. Your disability doesn't make you a burden! You are amazing, you are loved!

Original / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

I cried for what felt like an eternity, held tightly in Dean's arms. At some point, he had moved us over to sit on his bed, never once letting me go. When I finally pulled myself together enough to move away from him, I could only manage to stare at the ground in front of the bed.

"Never seen a dead body before?" Sam asked gently.

I nodded, still unable to speak, my voice too shaky to trust. The room fell into a comfortable silence. Dean stood up from the bed and began moving around, retrieving his bag from a random corner. He pulled out a Metallica shirt and brought it over to me.

"You can borrow this for now, so you don't have to go out to your car to get your own clothes," he said, handing me the shirt.

I accepted it and walked off to the bathroom to change. I hung my wet swimsuit over the towel rack and made my way back to Dean's bed. The boys nodded in acknowledgment as I crawled under the covers, hoping that if I lay there long enough with my eyes closed, sleep would eventually come. But my mind had other ideas.

As I tried to sleep, I overheard the boys talking.

"This has really shaken her, Dean," Sam said softly.

"I know, Sammy. I wanted to keep her out of this life. We're supposed to save people, not drag them into our kind of crazy," Dean replied, frustration evident in his voice.

"Come on, man. She chose this for herself. She had the opportunity to walk away, but she decided to take up this life. There's not much we can do about that."

"I just want to make sure she's somewhere I can keep an eye on her. I want her to be safe," Dean said, his voice tense.

"You can't expect her to just pack up and leave, Dean. What's gotten into you, man? You've never acted like this."

"She's... I don't know... she's different."

"You're in love."

"Dude, don't even go there," Dean snapped, ending the conversation.

The room fell silent, and eventually, I drifted off. When I woke up, it was dark outside. The cheap alarm clock next to the bed read 4:30 a.m. I sat up and looked around the room. Dean was asleep on the lounge, and Sam was in his bed. I felt too restless to sleep, so I quietly tiptoed across the room to grab Sam's laptop from the table. I took it back to Dean's bed and started going over the information Sam and Dean had gathered while I was asleep. It seemed they hadn't gotten much further than I had.

I knew burying myself in the case wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I needed to stop whatever was happening from hurting anyone else. But since we had all arrived at a dead end, it meant we needed to look at this from a different angle. I closed Sam's laptop and snuck out to my car to grab a change of clothes. I quietly slipped into the bathroom, changed out of Dean's shirt, retrieved Sam's laptop from the bed, and slipped quietly out of the hotel room. Rather than take my car and risk waking the boys, I decided to walk. I just wanted food and free Wi-Fi, and there was only one place I knew where I could get both: McDonald's.

I walked the six blocks to the nearest McDonald's, ordered more hash browns than should be legally allowed, and took a seat in a back corner while I waited for them to be ready. I opened Sam's laptop and began going over all the information again. I pulled up the details on all the victims and the pool, rereading everything. My hash browns arrived, and I ate them while pouring over the information, but nothing stood out. Twelve deaths now, and there seemed to be no connection between them—different ages, races, genders, religions. Not a single overlap, and nothing that stood out as a reason why these people.

Even when I removed deaths that could reasonably be discounted, like the first death or the boy who apparently slipped down the stairs and the twins who drowned in the wave pool, the puzzle still didn’t add up. It was frustrating. I groaned and sank back into the highly uncomfortable plastic chair. I took a glance around the now busy McDonald's, then checked the time in the bottom right-hand corner of the laptop. 6:23 p.m. My eyes widened as I realized I'd been sitting in the same spot all day. I hurriedly packed up the laptop and went to retrieve my phone, confused as to why Sam or Dean hadn’t been trying to call me all day. My hands rummaged through my pockets, coming up empty. I dumped out my messenger bag, finding nothing. Shit. I mentally cursed.

I quickly shoved everything back into my bag before sprinting into the parking lot, hoping I had simply left my phone in the car. A quick glance, however, showed no sign of my car. Right, I walked here. I groaned, rubbed my hands over my face, and began the walk back to the hotel. Dean was probably thinking I'd done something stupid, and Sam probably thought I stole his laptop. I mean, technically, I did, but I was going to return it, and I never intended to be gone all day.

The walk back to the hotel seemed to take twice as long as the walk to McDonald's. But when the hotel finally came into sight, I quickened my pace. I came to a quick stop, however, when I heard arguing in the room.

“I’m telling you, Dean, she might not come back,” Sam yelled. “And she probably took more than just my laptop.”

“Oh, so you think she took your laptop and God knows what else but left behind her phone and her car that cost way more than anything we own?”

“I mean, how well do we really know her, Dean?”

“If I may intercede, could it not be that she is somewhere researching the case and that time ran from her grasp?” A third voice I didn’t recognize chimed in.

“What…do you mean time got away from her?” Dean asked, baffled.

“Is that how you say it? If so, that’s what I meant to say,” the voice responded.

“Hate to say it, Sammy, but I agree with the angel,” Dean said.

I reached out and knocked on the door, not wanting to barge in while tempers were clearly high. The room fell silent. Heavy boot steps made their way towards the door. There was a moment of silence before a quiet "Thank God" could be heard from the other side of the door. The door swung open to reveal just Dean and Sam in the room. I was certain I had heard a third voice. I stepped quietly past Dean into the room. From the look on Sam’s face, I could tell Dean must have made some gesture behind me directed at him. I glanced toward the bathroom, expecting to see the third person, or at least for the door to be closed, signaling someone was inside. But to my shock and confusion, the door was open, and the bathroom was empty.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked, looking between them, confused.

“We weren’t talking to anyone,” Dean said, glancing over at Sam. “Maybe you heard the TV,” he motioned to the TV that was on but muted.

“Anyway, where have you been?” Sam asked, changing the subject, though he was clearly still mad at me.

“I went to McDonald's to use their Wi-Fi and continue researching. I was up at 4:30, and I didn’t want to wake you,” I explained, looking over at Dean, who had moved to sit on the end of his bed. “Sorry I took your laptop without asking, Sam. I left mine behind at my mother’s when she kicked me out.”

I handed Sam back his laptop. He took it without so much as a thank you and immediately began checking it over. I wanted to scoff and roll my eyes but knew that would only piss him off more.

“So, did you find anything?” Dean asked.

“Nothing. I even tried removing the deaths that could reasonably be written off as accidents, and even that didn’t resolve anything. I am, however, confident that we’re likely dealing with a vengeful spirit,” I said.

“And how did you reach that conclusion?” Sam scoffed, tossing his laptop on his bed.

“We’ve ruled out burial grounds and anything sacred. Then, if you look at location and the fact that all the deaths were witnessed and nothing supernatural was seen, it leaves a very short list. Of that list, I felt that a spirit was the most likely,” I explained, keeping my eyes locked with Sam.

“Why a vengeful spirit? Why not a water sprite?” Sam asked with a smirk.

“Seriously, Sammy? A fairy? Have you ever, in all your years of hunting, found any reliable concrete evidence that fairies are real?” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, met with silence from Sam. “That’s what I thought. Spirit it is.”

Dean sat on his bed, a smirk plastered on his face, clearly amused. “So if that’s the case, then I guess we should head back to the pool and ask more about these deaths,” Dean said, clapping his hands together.

Sam silently huffed and made his way to the door. Dean muttered something along the lines of "he’ll get over it" before moving to the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on while I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. With nothing else to do for the night and both boys otherwise occupied, I retrieved Dean’s shirt from the corner where I had tossed it that morning and got ready for bed. I was just chilling on the bed, enjoying a nice stretch and yawn when Dean stepped out of the bathroom in nothing but his towel. The boy really knew how to make a girl blush.

“Sorry, the room was quiet, so I just thought you’d, you know, left,” Dean said awkwardly.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unable to form a proper sentence. Dean seemed frozen in place too, his expression unreadable. My eyes wandered over Dean’s chiseled chest. It was clear he worked out—a necessity in his line of work, but it still caught me off guard. Before I could stop myself, I was standing in front of him, my hand reaching out to trace the contours of his chest down to his stomach. His skin was marred with old scars, and I felt the muscles twitch beneath my touch.

Dean placed a finger under my chin, gently lifting my head so our eyes met. The intensity in his gaze made my heart race. Neither of us moved for several moments, locked in a silent standoff. When it became clear neither of us was going to break away, Dean began to close the distance between us.

“I brought dinner,” Sam suddenly announced, walking in the door.

Dean and I jumped apart, startled, as Dean made a beeline for his clothes, quickly pulling on a shirt before heading back into the bathroom. I silently cursed Sam for the interruption. He glanced awkwardly between the now-closed bathroom door and me, clearly realizing he had walked in at the worst possible moment. Sam didn’t say anything, and I took a seat at the table as he began to silently dish out the fast food he’d bought. Dean’s and my dinner was burgers, while Sam had opted for some kind of salad. Dean emerged from the bathroom moments later, fully clothed. He grabbed his burger and fries and left the room, mumbling something about going to see a friend.

Sam and I ate in silence before he went to shower. I retreated to Dean’s bed, pulling his shirt up over my nose to breathe in his scent. The comforting mix of sandalwood, leather, whiskey, and gasoline filled my senses, but I was jolted back to reality when Sam suddenly exited the bathroom and started talking.

“What’s happening between you and Dean?”

“I...uh…what do you mean?” I stammered, caught off guard.

“After we left last time, Dean kept talking about you. He was hoping we’d see you again, but at the same time, he was hopeful you’d listen to him and take his advice,” Sam said as he sat on his bed. “He clearly loves you, but I don’t think having you around is best for Dean.”

“If there was anything between Dean and me, it would be none of your business,” I snapped, my anger flaring. “I love Dean. I’ve felt myself falling for him from the moment I met him. I hoped you guys would come back, but I accepted that you probably wouldn’t. Besides, who are you to say what’s best for Dean?”

“I’m his brother,” Sam yelled, his voice filled with frustration. “Having you around is distracting him, and in this line of work, distraction guarantees death.”

Sam’s outburst scared me, and all I could muster was a quiet “Goodnight, Sam” before curling up in Dean’s bed. Sam stormed out of the room, and moments later, I heard the roar of Dean’s Impala as it drove off. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I cried myself to sleep in the now quiet room.

When I woke the next morning, Sam and Dean were already discussing their game plan for the day. I sat up in bed, listening to their conversation before heading to the bathroom for a quick shower. After getting dressed, I packed my swimsuit into a bag and slung it over my shoulder. Dean grabbed his car keys and asked if I was joining them in his car or if I’d be driving my own. I chose to go with Dean to save on gas. The less money I had to spend, the better.

We drove in silence until we reached the pool. The parking lot was nearly empty. Dean found a spot close to the entrance, parked, and turned off the engine. He asked me to go in ahead of them to check if the police were still around. I made my way into the building, scanning the area from the reception desk. There was no crime scene tape, and no signs of police presence.

“Sad, wasn’t it?” a voice said from behind me.

“What?” I asked, turning to see a woman standing beside me.

“Didn’t you hear about the suicide two days ago?” she asked.

“Oh, they ruled that a suicide?” I replied, trying to sound casual.

“Yeah, they said the girl had been sexually assaulted a couple of weeks ago, and that was apparently her breaking point. Poor thing.”

I nodded in agreement as the woman walked off towards the pools. I headed back outside to inform the boys, who were now dressed in their suits and digging through the trunk. I wasn’t going to question when or how they had changed. I grabbed my bag from the back seat and filled them in on the details of the recent death. Dean and Sam exchanged a knowing look before we all headed back into the pool. I paid to swim while Sam and Dean flashed their badges, continuing their story about investigating on behalf of a victim’s family.

As Sam and Dean went off to speak with the staff, I wandered around the pool area, trying to piece together anything that could help with the case. I checked an information wall in the reception area, but it said nothing about the incidents. I walked around to the locations where the previous accidents had occurred but found nothing out of the ordinary. Frustrated, I was about to head back to Sam and Dean when I overheard two familiar voices that made my blood run cold.

“I swear she was here the other day with two hot guys.”

“Oh my god, I always knew she was such a slut. You watch—soon she’ll be pregnant and won’t have any idea who the father is.”

“Look, there she is.”

“Hi, Rachel. Jordan. Do you work here too?” I asked, panic slowly creeping in.

“Yeah, what of it? It pays well,” Jordan replied, crossing her arms.

“Oh, okay. I-I was just going to go for a swim while I wait for my boyfriend to finish up.”

“Boyfriend or boyfriends?” Rachel snickered.

Not wanting to continue the conversation, I quickly turned and fled. I had been outside in a general seating area, but I made my way back into the main swimming complex. I spotted Sam talking with a lifeguard near the wave pool, but I didn’t want to face him after last night, so I hurried on, continuing my search for Dean. It wasn’t until I saw him speaking with the man behind the snack counter that I realized how badly I was shaking. Dealing with my high school bullies had rattled me more than I wanted to admit.

I changed direction and headed for the changing rooms instead. I needed to calm down before continuing the investigation. If there was one thing I agreed with Sam on, it was that distractions could get me killed. I made my way to the sinks and splashed some cool water on my face, staring at myself in the mirror as I tried to push down the anger and fear that were consuming me. Fear of the bullies and anger at myself for still not having the courage to stand up to them. After a few deep breaths, I dried my face and headed back out to the pool area where I had last seen Dean.

A quick glance at the snack counter told me he was no longer there, starting my search for him all over again. Luckily, it didn’t last long. I spotted him in the adults-only area above one of the 25-meter pools, which had sun chairs and a spa. Unfortunately, he was speaking with them. I sucked in a deep breath and walked towards the area, steeling myself. I walked up beside Dean and laced my fingers with his, standing silently by his side as I listened to their conversation. Dean was asking questions about the other accidents that had occurred at the pool, but at the same time, he was absentmindedly rubbing circles into my hand with his thumb. It was incredibly distracting, and I found myself staring at our hands, lost in thoughts about last night.

"Here’s a question: How does someone as unattractive as her end up with someone as handsome as you?" My head snapped up to see Rachel giggling at her own comment.

"Yeah, it just doesn’t add up unless you’re only with her because of her money," Jorden chimed in.

"Or maybe because she was easy to get into bed," Rachel added with a laugh.

"Shut up, both of you," Dean said sharply, turning to face them. "Y/N is the most beautiful, amazing, intelligent, sweetest person I’ve ever met. God knows I don’t deserve her, but here she is right next to me, and that makes me one hell of a lucky bastard." He said this with a look of intense sincerity before turning back to me with a smile.

I was stunned into silence, my cheeks burning with a deep blush. Clearly, Dean’s words had left them speechless too, as they quickly excused themselves. Dean watched them leave before turning back to me.

"So, did you find anything?" Dean asked, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, a woman told me that the death the other day has been ruled a suicide and that the girl had been assaulted about a week ago," I said.

"Assaulted? Did she mention if the friend who was with her here was also there then?" Dean asked, a sudden realization crossing his face.

"No, she didn’t. Why?" I asked, puzzled.

"I think I know what’s going on. We need to find Sam," Dean said urgently.

Dean, still holding my hand, led me out of the adults-only area. He scanned the pools and seating areas before dragging me up the ramps toward the reception. Dean’s determined stride must have looked intimidating, a grown man pulling what appeared to be a teenage girl. I felt the eyes of the onlookers on us as we reached the reception and practically sprinted to Sam, who was talking to someone at the desk.

Sam looked at our interlaced hands with a questioning expression before Dean, realizing we were still holding hands, awkwardly let go. He rubbed his hand on his suit jacket before shoving it into his pants pocket and waited for Sam to finish his conversation. Sam thanked the receptionist and led us to a more private corner.

"I think I’ve figured out what’s going on here, Sammy," Dean said before Sam could speak.

"Well, fill us in," I said, both exhausted from running and impatient.

"I’m pretty sure our spirit is viewing these people as burdens on those closest to them," Dean explained.

"Care to elaborate?" Sam asked, crossing his arms.

"One lifeguard mentioned that the American victim’s mother said they were here to see a world-class behavioral specialist to help calm down the kid. Another lifeguard told me that one of the victims fell over the railing from the spa area to the concrete below—she was in a wheelchair, and she died instantly," Dean said.

"And the assault—she would have been depressed," I whispered.

"So what? That doesn’t bring us any closer to figuring out who the spirit is," Sam said. "It could be someone who felt like a burden or someone who saw others as a burden."

"Then we need to look at all the deaths and figure out who fits the pattern and who doesn’t. We know it has to be someone who died here," I said, looking between them.

"Then let’s investigate each victim more closely," Dean agreed.

Sam and I nodded, and we all headed to the parking lot. As we stepped outside, Dean was rummaging for his car keys, Sam was absorbed in his phone, and I was staring at the ground. None of us paid much attention to the parking lot until Dean looked up, his face contorted with anger.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. Sam and I turned to see the empty space where the Impala had been.

"Oh dear, was that your car?" A familiar voice came from behind us.

"You bitch!" Dean shouted, storming toward Jorden.

"I’m sorry, but the car was illegally parked," Jorden said, unfazed by Dean’s rage. She maintained a smirk as Dean nearly confronted her.

"Baby was parked perfectly!" Dean yelled in her face.

"Well, not when I came out," Jorden said with a dismissive shrug, turning on her heel and walking back into the building.

"Come on, I know the way to the impound lot," I sighed, leading the way.

Dean walked beside me, while Sam trailed behind us, his gaze burning into the back of my head. I had no idea what his problem was. All we needed to do was finish the case, and then they could go back to the U.S., where they wouldn’t have to see me again—assuming no more cases came up here. The walk to the impound lot took nearly 45 minutes, during which Sam’s intense stare and Dean’s monologue about his car made the time drag. I stayed silent, plagued by the thought that if I hadn’t been here, Jorden wouldn’t have targeted Dean, and Sam wouldn’t be so worried.

"Oh, thank God," Dean said suddenly, breaking my reverie.

"Oh, we’re here," I said, looking at the impound lot sign in a daze.

"Hey, Sammy, why don’t you go get the car, and I’ll wait out here with Y/N?" Dean said, his voice tinged with concern.

Sam scoffed, rolled his eyes, and walked into the lot. I watched him disappear among the rows of cars, some crushed and piled high. Dean observed me watching Sam, and once he was sure Sam was out of earshot, he spoke.

"What’s going on with you?" Dean asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Huh? What? N-nothing is wrong," I stuttered.

"Don’t even try it, short stack. You’ve been silent since we left the pool. So are you going to tell me what the problem is, or am I going to have to make you talk about it?" Dean’s voice grew serious.

"Honestly, it’s fine. It’s probably just in my head," I tried to smile.

"Oh no, you’re not getting out of it that easily," Dean said firmly. "Now spill."

"It’s just that I feel like I’m the problem," I sighed. "Everything that’s happened today could have been avoided if I weren’t here. Hell, everything that happened last night might have been prevented too if I think about it." I hugged myself awkwardly.

"Okay, first off, you are not the problem. You’re far from it," Dean said, uncrossing his arms and pointing at me. "Secondly, I never want to hear you call yourself a problem again."

“Well, Sam seems to think I’m a pretty big issue, and Jorden only did what she did because of me,” I said, my voice breaking as tears began to fall. Before I could stop them, Dean had me wrapped in his arms. One arm was around my back, his thumb gently rubbing my arm, while the other hand cradled my head against his chest. He kissed the top of my head and rested his chin lightly on it.

"I’ll talk to Sam," Dean said softly. "And as for those girls, I think they’d have been snobby no matter who was here."

I nodded, resting against Dean. It felt like an eternity before Sam returned. Dean released me, and we put some space between us. We talked about Jorden and Rachael, recounting their high school antics. I admitted how I still felt like a failure for not standing up to them. Dean, however, pointed out how he’d noticed the envy in their eyes whenever they saw me. He even mentioned how he’d make it obvious he was checking me out, just to see them squirm with jealousy. I chuckled at that, wishing I could’ve seen their faces.

Sam arrived with four bags of stuff but no Impala.

“Where’s Baby?” Dean asked, his anger palpable.

“Sorry, Dean. They’re right about to close. I paid the fine, and they said we could pick up the car in the morning,” Sam explained.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean cursed. “Did you at least check for damage?”

“Uh...” Sam looked nervously between Dean and the pavement. “The passenger side is dented. It looks like they pushed it with another car. Sorry, Dean.”

“SON OF A BITCH!” Dean yelled.

I quickly placed a hand on Dean’s arm to get his attention. “It’s okay, Dean. We can go to my mum’s place for the night. She won’t be home anyway, and we can come back first thing in the morning to get Baby and assess the damage then.”

“I’m gonna kill them,” Dean’s voice trembled with anger as he tried to calm down.

I took Dean’s hand in mine and began leading him away from the impound lot. Sam asked how far the walk was and how I could be so sure my mum wouldn’t be home. I told them it was about a 20-minute walk—a distance I knew well from my teenage years, dealing with my car being impounded for various reasons. My mum worked abroad most of the year, managing a large baby and children’s business. She was rarely home, spending her time between London and Sweden. I’d been looking after myself since I was 14, often hosting friends like Theresa to avoid feeling too alone.

By the time I finished explaining, we were at my mum’s house. I led them down the steep driveway to the side gate. It was unlocked, so I lifted the metal latch and walked into the small backyard, which hadn’t changed since my last visit. I entered through the sliding door into an open living room, kitchen, and dining area, with a staircase leading upstairs.

“Those two lounges are pull-out sofa beds,” I pointed to the metal sofas that looked like they were from the '80s. “I’ll be sleeping through that sliding door, which is my old room. The door next to it is a bathroom with another sliding door into my room.”

“Oh, I have to see your room,” Dean said with a laugh.

He went straight for the sliding door, pushing it open and stepping inside. His immediate burst of laughter drew Sam in, and I followed, feeling embarrassed by the state of my room. The pink and purple walls, the fairy bedspread, and, most mortifying of all, the life-sized cutout of Gerard Way taped to the ceiling above my bed.

“Are you sure you have the right house?” Sam laughed. “I mean, come on—fairies?”

“It was a phase,” I huffed.

“Sam, did you see the poster on the ceiling?” Dean laughed.

“Oh, get out, both of you,” I said, waving my arms around.

The boys left the room, still chuckling. I locked the sliding door and the bathroom door, craving a moment of peace and a hot shower. I rummaged through my cupboard, found an old band shirt I used to sleep in, and headed for the shower. As the hot water washed away the day’s stress, I allowed myself to relax. Afterward, I dressed, dried off, and climbed into bed. In the silence, I heard Sam and Dean speaking softly in the lounge area.

“She’s a distraction for you, Dean,” Sam’s voice was hushed but intense.

“That doesn’t give you the right to upset her. Besides, once we’re through this case, we can go home, and you can go back to pretending she never existed,” Dean replied.

“But you won’t. You’ll always wonder if she’s okay, if she’s alive,” Sam said. “This is why hunters don’t get happily ever afters.”

“Don’t worry so much, Sammy. Once we’re home, I can hit up a few bars, get laid, and get her out of my system. It’s worked in the past; why wouldn’t it work this time?”

I couldn’t listen anymore. I looked up at the poster on my ceiling and cried, letting the tears come until I fell asleep, just as I had on so many nights in that room.

“You know she’s different, Dean,” Sam said.

“Oh yeah? How would you know that?” Dean asked.

“You love her. It’s obvious,” Sam shrugged. “After we were here last, you kept bringing her up. You literally got every form of social media to track her down and see what she was up to. You were worried about her then, but now that you have her number, what happens if she doesn’t message or call you? What will you do?”

“You know what? I’m done with this conversation,” Dean said, turning his back to Sam, trying to get some sleep.

Suddenly, I was jolted awake by a familiar voice yelling from the lounge room. “Who the hell are you? Why are you in my house?”

It was my mother. I jumped out of bed and raced into the lounge.

“Mum, it’s okay. They’re my friends,” I said, stepping into the room.

“Y/N, what are you doing here? I thought you were traveling and had no intention of ever coming back,” Mum said.

“We just needed somewhere to crash for the night while Dean’s car gets fixed. We’ll head out in the morning. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be home.”

“I wasn’t. I just flew in early this morning from London. Are you going to introduce your friends?” Mum asked, gesturing to Sam and Dean.

“This is Sam and that’s Dean. They’re brothers,” I said, pointing to each one.

“Are you sleeping with them?” Mum asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mum! Seriously, why would you ask that?” I almost shouted.

“Sorry, ma’am, we’re just friends. Travel buddies,” Dean spoke up, trying to defuse the situation.

“Oh, American. I see. Figures you’d end up with someone American. It was always going to be that or someone British,” Mum shrugged.

“Seriously, Mum,” I sighed.

“What? I’m just stating the facts. Would you boys like breakfast before you all rush off? God knows my daughter can’t stand me, and now that she knows I’m home, she’ll be dying to leave as soon as possible,” Mum said dramatically.

“That sounds great, thank you very much,” Sam said with a smile.

I sighed and went back to my room to change. I grabbed another old band shirt and a pair of ripped skinny jeans, then packed a suitcase with items I should have brought earlier—my laptop, extra clothes, and my jewelry box. I placed the suitcase next to the boys’ duffle bags and headed upstairs to the kitchen.

Sam and Dean were already at the dining table, chatting and laughing with my mum, who was busy cooking pancakes. I sat silently at the table, listening to their conversation. Dean seemed to be getting along great with my mum, which only made the previous night more painful. I knew I was falling for him, but if he planned to leave, return to the U.S., and pretend I never existed, why make a big deal about not letting me out of his sight? Why go out of his way to comfort me?

“Okay, breakfast is ready,” Mum said cheerfully.

“Oh, this looks amazing, Miss Y/L/N. Thank you,” Dean said, taking the plate of pancakes from my mum and placing it on the table. The boys began to dig in, enjoying what was probably their first home-cooked meal in a long time. The conversation with my mother continued effortlessly, and I couldn’t help but notice how convincingly Dean lied about how we met, what they did for a living, and why they were in Australia. It made me question if everything he’d told me was a lie. Maybe I needed to be more like Dean and just move on after this case was over.

[mahou-furbies]

Miss Meguca tournament, round 6 (swimwear) results!

Yachiyo - 102 points

Tsuruno - 90 points

Madoka - 83 points

Ui - 71 points

Mami- 66 points

Homura - 53 points

Sana - 26 points

Iroha - 7 points

Sayaka - -9 points

Kyouko - -45 points

For curiosity, the minus points only:

Kyouko - -60 points

Sayaka - -39 points

Homura - -19 points

Sana - -15 points

Iroha - -12 points

Mami - -11 points

Ui - -8 points

Yachiyo - -7 points

Nobody disliked Madoka's!

Total points until now:

Yachiyo - 525 points

Homura - 491 points

Madoka - 477 points

Mami - 467 points

Ui - 451 points

Sana - 414 points

Tsuruno - 380 points

Iroha - 364 points

Sayaka - 299 points

Kyouko - 161 points

Comments (unsurprisingly a lot of comments this round!):

I don't wanna give any minus they're all cute!

Kyoukosvhas too little going on , homura has too much and sanas looks too low to be comfy. Love the little sunflowers on tsurunos

Kyokos swimsuit is fine it just doesnt fit her personality, she's giving one piece. Homura's is an abomination.

Sayaka & Kyoko matching armbands 🥹

I noticed the favorites I picked all had bows and frills! My least favorites were the least frilly ones too and thus boring in comparison, haha!

I actually ended up liking most of the swimsuits! Maaaybe Kyouko and Iroha's were my least favorite, but not enough to minus points.

Kyoko’s doesn’t fit her personality at all. Also, why are they all two pieces?! Most of them are in middle school!

Choosing number 5 was tough because really those first 4 were the only ones i didn't take issue with teenagers wearing. Mami's is almost ok, but the right section of the bottom piece… yeesh.

Kyoko's is the worst one to me thanks to the side ribbons. Unlike everyone else's, Kyoko's don't seem to be purely ornamental, but rather be the strings that are holding the piece up tied together, which worsens the fact that she's wearing a bottom piece with strings in the first place. This girl needs swimwear that doesn't threaten a wardrobe malfunction upon actually being used for swimming!

Honorary mention to Iroha, who only didn't get into the bottom three by virtue of Homura's outfit being bad in most of the same ways, but also looking stupidly impractical for bathing. What do you need the huge ribbon for, maneuvering the water currents? It seems to be long enough to reach at least her ankles, she's definitely going to trip on it at some point. My suspension of disbelief for magical girl outfits doesn't extend to swimwear, clearly.

Tsuruno wins by virtue of it being a cute design, and it being appropriate for a character her age to wear. I don't really get why Ui's couldn't have been a one-piece, but other than that it's alright. Madoka was originally going to win, but then i remembered the competition was actually about which design we like more, so despite being a bit less exposed than Tsuruno, she takes second place.

I Wonder What The Next Round is Or Maybe This one is the Last but I hope We have an Idol or Magia round or Image song round or something.

I hate Kyouko's swimsuit so much thank Madokami they gave her a better one eventually

The ribbons seem like they’d get in the way of swimming, especially Homura’s.

Why is Kyouko’s so boring??? Go girl give us nothing

Interesting choice giving Sayaka a swimsuit that's not in her color palette. It was also certainly a choice to leave her super short shorts unbuttoned. ಠ_ಠ

Pleeeease magireco stop giving them bikinis, we get it you like midriff but they all wouldn't wear bikinis! You're supposed to make me believe that Sana would wear a bikini!? Miss wished to be invisible!!!? I picked Ui as my favourite because she's the one with the least amount of bikiniage, but even still its annoying a two piece, also someone who isn't here, why the hell does Touka also have a bikini, I hate it here

[prismaticflare]

Colorful - Part 1 (G)

Fandom - Our Life : Beginnings and Always

Pairing - Cove Holden / Gender Neutral Reader

After a day at the beach, you learn a shocking fact about Cove. Takes place in Part 2

It was another perfect summer day in Sunset Bird. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and you were ecstatic to enjoy the day with whatever random activities came your way.

You had just finished breakfast when a knocking came to your door.

“Can you get that?” Ma asked from the couch. “I mean, I’m willing to bet that it’s for you, anyways. There’s really only one person who visits us.”

“Ma!” You squealed, blushing.

“You know I’m kidding.” Ma giggled, earning a glare from Mom, who was sitting next to her.

You ignored their antics and rushed to the door, opening it to see Cove, dressed only in his swimming trunks, swaying nervously at the front door.

“Oh, hey!” Cove stuttered out. “I was going to go to the beach, and, um, if you’d like…”

“I’ll join you!” You said, interrupting Cove’s stuttering. You were pretty sure that was what he was going to ask you, anyways.

“Oh! Um…” Cove said in shock, readjusting his conversation, as if he had planned everything out beforehand and now had to reword his proposition (which, knowing Cove, was almost certainly true). “Sure, I’d love that.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you there.” You replied. “See you in a minute!”

And with that, you rushed off to your room to find the perfect swimsuit for the occasion. Living on a beach you had plenty to choose from, so you quickly changed into your favorite one, and grabbed anything else you could need. You had no idea what you were actually planning to do, but knowing you and Cove, it would mainly consist of just floating in the water and chatting.

After grabbing everything you needed, you rushed downstairs.

“I’m gonna go meet up with Cove at the beach.” You told your moms while you were double-checking that you had everything.

“Okay, have fun!” Ma replied.

“Elizabeth has an event today, so all three of us will probably be gone when you get back. Don’t get any sand or water in the house.” Mom added.

“I won’t! Bye!”

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

Arriving at the beach, you saw Cove already splashing in the waves. Ever since he got his cast removed, Cove practically lived on the beach. Nowadays, you rarely saw him elsewhere. You didn’t mind though. The beach was the perfect place to spend free time, and if it meant a lot to Cove, it meant a lot to you.

When you finally caught up to Cove, you dropped your stuff next to his, and met up with him. “So, what’s the plan?” you asked, slowly entering the water. “Spending time with you.” Cove said, causing both of you to blush at Cove’s forwardness.

And that’s what happened. You two just spent your day relaxing in the water, occasionally opting to do more stimulating things like racing in the water or building sandcastles. But, for the most part, you just chatted. Even though you saw each other practically every day, you always seemed to have things to talk about. That’s just how it went with Cove.

Eventually, though, you realized it was getting late. While you originally planned to go straight home, you remembered that your parents and Elizabeth were all gone. You also remembered Mom’s strict rules on not getting any of the beach in the house, and looking at the state you were in, that didn’t seem very possible.

“Hey Cove?” You asked while packing up your stuff.

“What?” Cove asked.

“Do you mind if I clean up at your place instead? It’ll be a lot easier, plus, your dad cares a lot less about getting sand and water in the house.

“Um…” Cove blushed, squirming to find the right answer. “Sure, if you want.”

“Okay, thanks!” You replied, as you both headed back to Cove’s place.

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

When you got to Cove’s house, you pretty much directly went to his room, passing his dad on the way there. Kyra was gone this evening, so it was only him. Cove insisted that you cleaned up before him, so after quickly rinsing off, you traded places with Cove so he could clean up himself.

While Cove was in the shower, you opted to sit on the floor of his bedroom, waiting for him to be done. You were just relaxing, twiddling your thumbs, when you heard a voice from the bathroom. You walked over to the bathroom door to try to figure out what he was saying.

“Were you talking to me?” You asked, leaning your ear against the bathroom door.

“Yeah, um, so, sorry if this is a bother, but in my bedroom there should be a bottle with some seafoam-colored liquid in it. Could you grab it for me? I normally would myself, but, um…”

“Sure, I can grab it.” You replied before the conversation went in a very awkward direction. After scouring the room, you finally found the bottle, or at least what you thought he was looking for. To your shock, however, it was labeled as temporary hairdye! While it makes logical sense that Cove didn’t naturally have green hair, you had never really thought about it. And it definitely surprised you that it wasn’t permanent.

With the bottle in hand, you went back to the bathroom, knocking on the door before telling him that you had the bottle. Slowly and tentatively, the door opened, revealing a profusely blushing Cove wearing nothing but a towel, avoiding eye-contact with you as much as possible.

In any other situation, you would be blushing too, but your mind was much more focused on something else. Cove was blond! I mean, it made sense. His father was (although you weren’t confident about that being natural), and you’d need light hair to get the color that Cove usually wore. Still, it felt so odd, seeing Cove like this.

“I know, it looks weird.” Cove said, making you realize you had been staring at it for longer than you probably should have.

“I think it suits you.” You said, leaning against the wall.

“Why?” Cove asked, going back to the shower and closing the curtains so you could still talk with him while he re-dyed his hair.

“It fits your whole surfer-dude aesthetic.” You laugh. It made him look even more like a basic surfer boy than he already did.

“That’s why I hate it.” Cove groaned. “Well, that and it’s way too boring.”

Finally, Cove left the shower, wrapping his head in a towel to allow it to dry and let the color to soak in.

“Than why don’t you permanently dye it? I mean, I think you’d look great either way, but if you prefer it green, you should keep it that way.”

“Dad wouldn’t let me.” Cove said, sighing.

“What? How do you know? Did you ask him?” You asked. Cove’s dad always felt like the type to not care about that kind of stuff, so him banning permanent hairdye would be a shocker to you. I mean, at this point, it was practically permanent, so he couldn’t care that much.

“Well, not really.” Cove said slowly, as if he was realizing that his assumption may not have actually been true. “But most parents don’t allow that kind of stuff.”

“Most parents don’t offer kids 20 bucks to be friends with their kid.” You laughed. Cove never found it as funny as you, but at least it gave him easy blackmail on his dad.

“Fair.” Cove replied. “So, should I go, like, ask him?”

“Why not?” You responded.

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

Following Cove into the living room, you were met with Mr. Holden sitting on the couch, eating some sort of snack and watching surfing on the TV. You never really understood why he watched that, he could literally walk outside to see it, but you never really bothered asking.

“Hey Dad?” Cove asked from the hallway, sticking close to you.

“What’s up kiddo?” His dad responded.

“Would you be okay if I dyed my hair?”

“What?” Cove’s dad replied in utter confusion.

“I mean, like, permanently.” Cove replied, nervously fiddling with his thumbs. 

It took Cove’s dad a few more seconds before Cove’s statement finally settled on him, causing him to laugh at the realization. “Kiddo, I thought you dyed it permanently a long time ago!”

“You did?” Cove asked.

“Of course I did! I didn’t expect you to be dyeing your hair temporarily for the last who knows how many years! Go ahead and dye your hair. It’ll probably save me a lot of money if you’ve been doing it temporarily this whole time!”

“Thanks Dad!” Cove replied with a sigh of relief.

“You’re welcome kiddo.” Mr. Holden responded, still clearly in shock that his son had been dying his hair temporarily for this many years straight.

“And thanks to you too.” He said, returning his attention to you. “I totally wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

“You’re welcome. I had a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t actually care.”

“Yeah, I guess it makes more sense that way.”        

part 1 | part 2 

[petruchio]

Bestie I think you’re so right about the movie altering Lucy and Coryo’s romance to better convey the themes within the limitations of the medium!

Like it’s actually a huge book! I knew they would have to cut a lot for the sake of run time so I was fully expecting them to sacrifice some of the details that do so much heavy lifting for the deeper themes.

But I was so pleasantly surprised, and I honestly think that preserving the themes must have been a central goal in the production! I was noticing small changes - but they all seemed to serve keeping the major themes in tact?

Like I saw it with my family (who all read thg but not tbosas) and I went in wondering. Like how are they going to make a meaningful, faithful, adaptation of such a large book?? Will my family understand The Themes? And they did!

I think it speaks to Suzanne’s writing ability (her themes are layered throughout every level, so a few cuts won’t gut them entirely) and smart/intentional alterations.

Like you mention with cutting the kiss, I think doing so highlights the transactionality of this moment. Coryo won’t kiss her OR give her the compact until she denounces Billy taupe! Like literally he won’t save her life (do the right thing, like Tigris says) if she’s in love with someone else! Interesting!

But like you say, if they do !finally! kiss (without that monologue) it’s easier to miss how manipulative he’s being in that moment and the importance of it!

I think they made a similar smart choice with being shipped off to 8 - I might be wrong here!! But I’m pretty sure he isn’t ordered to be a peace keeper? He CHOOSES that because he sees it as his only avenue left? (Which I thought was some military industrial complex commentary sprinkled in but now I’m afraid I imagined this whole thing LOL)

So assuming I’m not misremembering - I thought making highbottom force him to become a peace keeper also worked similarly. Like letting him choose that (without the internal monologue) makes his motivations seem genuine when they aren’t fully. So it’s just better for the movie medium perhaps?

Anyways, rambling done lol thanks for listening 🌟

ohhhh how i love all of this!! i love you for taking the time to send all this to me -- and thank you for validating my reading of the altered love story!!

and YES i was so pleasantly surprised by how well they managed to maintain a lot of the thematic content of the book, esp because we KNOW how much they gutted it in the original trilogy. i have a couple theories on why: the first is that the filmmakers are devoted readers of my tumblr blog and they understood the importance of preserving the political themes from the novels when adapting them to the screen (ok obviously i am joking.) my real theories are -- the cultural conversation has shifted a LOT since the original films got made, and i think they were more aware and more *able* to be more explicit with so many of those ideas. i also wonder if the act of adapting the story of someone from capitol was easier than adapting someone from district 12 -- there's been much ink spilled over how we, the privileged moviegoers who are watching the film in theaters, are much more like capitolites than we are like katniss herself. and i wonder if that made it easier to adapt -- because one of the big critiques of the thg films is that they really glam jlaw up even when she's in district 12, and it makes scenes like the "remake" scenes kind of lose their power and biting social commentary. whereas with snow, and the capitol, and the games themselves, we're meant to understand that they ARE a facade, and the movie can really lean into that. (side note, my least fav costume in the whole movie was lucy gray's swimsuit. pretty much for that exact reason -- it was too ~perfect~ for the setting.)

to your point about the change with snow deciding vs being ordered to become a peacekeeper -- i honestly couldn't remember either so i went to see if i could find the quote from the book and it's this:

[...] But as he approached the dean, a cold dread washed over him. There, arranged on the table like lab specimens, were three items: an Academy napkin stained with grape punch, his mother’s silver compact, and a dingy white handkerchief. The meeting could not have lasted more than five minutes. Afterward, as agreed, Coriolanus headed directly to the Recruitment Center, where he became Panem’s newest, if not shiniest, Peacekeeper.

honestly i wish i remembered what exactly is meant by "as agreed" but i do think you're right that in the book it's more implied that he doesn't have another choice -- because he didn't win the monetary prize, he has to enroll. so i think you're right that the point is that the idea that it's his choice at all is in question because it's societal pressure and his family's financial status that kind of forces him into the military industrial complex. but i think, because they made this scene so explicit in the film, that you're right that having him be ordered to do it instead of hearing him justify it in his head manages to accomplish what we need it to for the sake of the plot moving forward (if kind of weakening that angle of sc's commentary)

also, here's something to chew on -- i was thinking as i was watching the film if part of the reason some of the changes didn't irritate me so much was because i was more forgiving of the need to shift things around to account for the lack of internal monologue because the book is written in third person instead of first person. i mean, obviously i am overly attached to pretty much everything about katniss, and yes that comes down even to her internal monologue, but i did wonder if that made some of the changes feel more natural to me, because we still kind of get them explained to us in the book as an observer, instead of listening to someone explain themselves to us (i don't know if that makes any sense?) -- but i guess what i'm trying to say is that maybe reading tbosas is more like watching a film, vs reading thg which is more like you are experiencing something alongside katniss? and that's because of the pov choice?

WELL that was a ramble! i'm always amazed by how much we can say about these books and films!! they're just so layered and so fascinating -- i'm loving all the conversations i've been seeing about tbosas. i feel like a lot of it is really starting to gel for me the more i read people's thoughts and analyses. (i still think the third act is messy though. no matter how great suzanne's themes are, i do think the pacing is rough. lol!)

[brilla-brilla-estrellita]

Snowbaz & Co Barbie Outfits

I was chatting with a few others in discord and we were all in agreement that Simon and Baz would absolutely be going to see Barbie, and would be bringing Mordelia, Petra, and Sophie along.

But what would they wear?

This is how I’ve spent my job hunting free time over the last few weeks.

Pink and nonsense below the cut.

Petra

I feel like she’s a total horse girl. She spends all of her time thinking about horses and drawing horses and riding horses both real and imaginary. When Baz tells her they’re going to dress up for the movie, Petra is ready with her pink accessories to be Equestrian Barbie. There are a few versions of this Barbie, but I wasn’t that into them. Petra can do better. I asked my horse-riding friends how they would Barbie-fy the standard English riding look, and they said pink accessories. So:

Let’s start with our base equestrian look. White top with pink lining on the collar/cuffs, beige or... whatever color that is for the breeches, and field boots (I hear this is what they are called?). Then we add the pink accessories! (Yes, that is a unicorn on the end of that crop). Hot pink breeches optional. I’m foregoing the riding coat because it’s summer and we just don’t need that extra layer, but it does really pull the look together, and I did find a suuuuuper cute pink one. 

I don’t know anything about riding, especially English riding, so don’t come at me if this doesn’t make any sense (I would like to know how you would Barbie-fy your own riding look, though!).

Links: Base Outfit (left), Gloves, Crop, Helmet Cover, Breeches

Sophie

Sophie heard “wear pink” and knew just the dress for the occasion. This was the dress she wore for her most recent birthday party (because they totally have super posh, fancy kid birthdays that require nice new dresses, right?). I’m pretty sure the twins are somewhere around 10 now, and this is definitely something I would have worn as a 10 year old.

My inspiration for Sophie’s look was the 2010 Modern Princess Barbie (left) and the 2011 Cut ‘N Style Princess (right).

Links: Barbie Modern Princess (left), Dress, Barbie Cut ‘N Style Princess (right)

Mordelia

I imagine Mordelia goes immediately to a retro look. She’s around 15 at this point and could totally be into makeup and fashion. I like to imagine she’s kind of artsy, and while she’s the perfect age to be in her emo phase (which I would love for her to have), I understand this is not a “thing” anymore among the youths. Either way, I like to think Mordelia is a bit of a chameleon and floats around to whatever style inspires her at the moment. (Am I projecting? Yes. Yes, I am.)

I think she would prefer to go for the original 1959 Barbie with the black and white swimsuit (bodysuit?) and sunglasses, but Baz insists on pink (or Simon... yeah... it’s definitely all Simon). So they compromise on a modern take on the Flower Power era of the 60s and 70s. The dress has the large-scale, brightly colored floral print and miniskirt of the 60s with the bell sleeves more common in the 70s. I used this 1969 P.J. Talking doll for inspiration.

She goes all-out on the makeup with the recently revived and renovated mod eye look (top left) and sort of clumped, thick bottom lashes (bottom right) (there’s got to be a better way to describe that....). And the knee-high white boots, of course. She’s really just an amalgamation of all the most fun trends of the 1960s.

Can you tell I had the most fun with this one?

Links: Mod-inspired Eye Makeup (top left), Dress, P.J. Talking doll, Boots, Classic Mod Eye Makeup (bottom right)

Simon

I had a really hard time with both of the boys. But here we are. As soon as I saw the 1982 Ken Fashion Jeans, I knew that was my inspiration for Simon. It just felt so right. Though I didn’t use the actual jeans part as the inspiration, I did go with another 80s jean staple: acid wash jeans. And imagine the light pink shirt is actually the most obnoxious hot pink you can think of. 

I like to think Simon already had both of these pieces in his closet. Baz will be ensuring those top buttons stay undone all day, as god intended.

Honorable mention to this shirt that also has a Simon-look-alike for a model (tbh I still think maybe I should pick that one every time I look at it) and this basically mesh shirt.

Links: Soft Pink Knit Shirt (top left), Hot Pink Polo (top right), Acid Wash Jeans, Ken Fashion Jeans doll

Baz

The one that I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for that I’m also sure is going to disappoint... Baz. Boy did I struggle with Baz. What would he wear? A suit? More casual? More costume-y? Ultimately I decided casual since everyone else would be casual, it’s summer, and, more importantly, I couldn’t find any hot pink floral suits for men.

Once I narrowed it down to casual, I still couldn’t decide. I didn’t even have a good reference for inspiration. Nothing felt quite Baz.  Honestly, I need help.

I think I’ve settled on this large-scale floral print on the top left that feels like a very Barbie-esque print, but it’s not quite right. It for sure needs to be a little less boxy and a little more tailored like the slightly more classic Bazzy floral shirts below. The cherry blossoms (top right) are pretty and pink, but not quite Barbie and not quite Baz. The bottom left seems the most... typical? Not a bad choice (aside from the fact that Baz absolutely would not shop at Target or Walmart where I found this shirt). The bottom right is a little more bold and has the hot pink, but... I’m just not sure. 

And of course we need a good “Baz, you’re wearing jeans!” moment. Why is there a picture of Trent Crimm/James Lance instead of jeans on the left, you ask? When is a photo of Trent Crimm not relevant to Baz? He’s wearing jeans, isn’t he?

Links: Beautiful James Lance in Jeans, Large-Print Floral Shirt (top center), Cherry Blossoms Shirt (top right), Small Floral Print Shirt (bottom center), Shiny and Bold Floral Print (bottom right)

What do you all think? Which top is the most Baz x Barbie? Has anyone else thought about what everyone would wear to see Barbie? I’d love to see!

[oswanily]

Girl Underwear Override

Apparently I can't sleep before I've posted this. I'm obsessing about it. So, here it is.

Also this is the laziest preview ever (because I wanna SLEEP), but I actually love it??

Info and download under the cut.

Base Game Compatible

Female kids

The bottom has 9 swatches, the top has 6, like the originals

The default swatch, the one that will show up when you remove your sims' clothing, is the one pictured (It's purple, it looks pink because of my CAS lighting but it's actually the same color as the text font...)

You can't have two default girl underwear overrides in your game, so if you use mine, don't put someone else's in your game (or vice versa)

Don't forget to unzip the files before putting them into your mods folder!!!

Credit to @phsims for the swimsuit I used as a base for this!!!

Download: SFS

(I'm not bothering with the whole paragraph I usually put above my downloads today)

@maxismatchccworld @mmfinds @mmoutfitters @sssvitlanz @emilyccfinds @alwaysfreecc thanks

Now it's nap time.

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 10)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 10: MAGMADIVER”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, "Episode 10: MAGMADIVER”! For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

Now this is going to be a very interesting episode for me to revisit since for a lot of EVA fans this is widely considered to be one of the weakest/worst episodes in the entire original series. The most common complaints I’ve seen directed towards this episode include that it contributes nothing to the overall series narrative, that the science involved with defeating the Angel in this episode is completely unrealistic and implausible, and most especially that this episode in particular is loaded to the brim with gratuitous and unnecessary fan-service. I remember reading all of these complaints a few years after I first marathoned NGE back in college and to be perfectly honest… I never understood nor agreed with any of them since… I always personally really loved “MAGMADIVER” and think it’s seriously underrated/overhated. 

No seriously, “MAGMADIVER” was always one of my personal favorite episodes in the original series, right alongside Episodes 4, 19, 22 & 24! I’ll provide my own counter-arguments the aforementioned fan complaints directed towards this episode as I go through it! 

But with all of that out of the way, let’s finally dig into the episode itself!

Oh boy! Right off the bat this episode establishes that it’s going to heavily focus on one of the most important thematic elements surrounding the entire Evangelion franchise: sexuality. 

While themes about sex & sexuality have already been heavily present throughout NGE so far, particularly in relation to Misato’s personality and mannerisms as well as the interactions between Shinji & Asuka in the previous episode, “Magmadiver” is particularly notable in how much it emphasizes developmental feelings of sexual desire as a central tenant for characters like Shinji & Asuka. 

In relation to Asuka, the themes of adolescent sexuality are effectively conveyed in this opening scene where she’s out shopping with Kaji. In addition to Asuka obsessively clinging onto Kaji as they’re walking down the streets of Tokyo-3, Asuka immediately sets her eyes on a provocative bikini in the local department store which she claims that, “Oh come on Kaji, this is what all the girls are wearing,” in response to Kaji’s understandable concerns that Asuka is still too young to be wearing such a swimsuit.

This interaction not only further establishes Asuka’s adolescent one-sided infatuation with the much older Kaji, but it also feels like a very honest and sincere portrayal of teenage sexuality. In addition to plenty of teens in the real-world often developing one-sided crushes on older individuals, celebrities or even fictional characters (for instance, one of my personal earliest childhood crushes was supermodel/actress Rebecca Romijn’s portrayal Mystique from the live-action X-Men movies), several adolescents will simultaneously struggle with wanting to be perceived as being more “mature” and “adult” than they actually are like with Asuka here. 

And skipping ahead a little, but this is something that Kaji acknowledges during a flashback in Episode 22 when he rejects Asuka’s inappropriate advances towards him precisely BECAUSE she is still a 14-year-old girl, stating that she shouldn’t rush into engaging in adult activities like sex BECAUSE she is still a minor who’s developing and learning, and that she should hold onto her youth while it lasts.

“Public middle school?” I thought that Asuka & Shinji were freshmen in high school, since that’s what grade I was in back when I was 14-years-old (they could be in 8th grade, but still)…

I love how naturally the little tidbits of world-building are established throughout this series! We get a glimpse of just how big of an event the Second Impact was, as well as just how much the near-apocalyptic disaster affected the daily lives of every single person on the planet through Kaji’s comment here about how his generation never got to go on school field trips!

While Asuka’s reaction to the news that neither she or Shinji will be allowed to go on their school field trip due to being on standby in case another Angel attacks can definitely come across as overly whiny, I feel that it’s rather effective in highlighting one of the major downsides of being an EVA-Pilot. Namely that because Asuka & Shinji are essentially serving as child-soldiers who pilot giant robots to fight against alien monsters threatening to destroy the world, the two are essentially being forced into adulthood far too early and are unable to enjoy the youth of adolescence like their fellow classmates are. It’s an interesting subversion and deconstruction of the Japanese mecha genre, as while plenty of mecha anime similarly feature teenagers piloting giant robots to combat kaju, EVA actively explores and interrogates the implications of forcing such a heavy burden onto literal children instead of focusing on the escapist power-fantasy elements of the genre. 

Additionally, Asuka’s reaction here also conveys an interesting contradiction in her characterization! While the previous shopping scene with Kaji portrayed Asuka’s misguided efforts to “act more grown-up” by wanting to impress the object of her one-sided crush by buying an inappropriate swimsuit, Asuka’s outrage of being unable to go on the scuba-diving field trip highlights some double-meaning behind her earlier excuse of, “This is what all the girls are wearing,” in that she was not only wanting to impress Kaji but that she also wanted to “fit-in” with her classmates. This not only conveys themes of peer pressure, but also a contradiction in Asuka’s facade of “adulthood” since there is a part of her that still wants to engage and participate in the activities of other 14-year-old girls like herself.

Lol! Asuka’s description of Shinji as a “housebroken male” is absolutely hilarious! It makes it sound like she views Shinji more like a pet than as an actual person. I wonder if that was intentional on Anno’s part?

Also, I just noticed that Shinji’s wearing more a more feminine shirt in this scene! Yet further confirmation to the fan-theories that Shinji is a trans-femme egg!

Double lol! Asuka predicted modern debates about the value and effectiveness of numerical grading within the public education system!

As much as I praise the levels of nuanced character writing for the main cast of NGE, credit should also be given for the little bits of development that Anno also provides for the background extras which helps makes EVA’s universe feel more alive and three-dimensional! For instance, this scene within NERV HQ’s Central Dogma during down-time is heavily effective in how it not only portrays the main staff members Maya, Hyuga & Aoba outside of an intense and chaotic action scene, but distinguishes each of them with their own unique personality traits. This information is visually conveyed to the viewer through their reading material and demeanor during casual down-time at the office, as we see Maya intently focused on what appears to be a regular novel (establishing her a steadfast analysis), Hyuga giggling over what appears to be a Shonen Jump manga (making him the more nerdy fan-boy of the group; in other words he’s essentially me…), and Aoba drumming his fingers to punk-rock magazines (which is in line with his more pessimistic attitude that’s later on display in The End of Evangelion)!

I love Misato’s insightful response to Ritsuko’s questioning about the idea of having a school field-trip during the middle of an Angel invasion: “I guess the idea is to let all of the kids to have time to get out and act like kids.” 

Not only does she make an incredibly valid point here in-and-of-itself, but her words interestingly parallel the aforementioned themes about youth and adolescence in relation to the expectations of the mecha genre. While one could easily argue that Misato’s words are hypocritical since she’s an leading presence in the militaristic weaponization of the EVA pilots as child soldiers, her insight here helps illustrate how in contrast to other NERV personnel like Ritsuko, Misato is willing to continuously question and doubt the ethics of the methods utilized to combat the threat of the Angels.

Also, because Aoba is tuning out to punk rock in this scene, he is therefore automatically on Batman’s crap-list!

I’ll NEVER… EVER… get tired of referencing the dark knight’s all-consuming hatred for rock-&-roll!

I actually never noticed this before, but this underwater shot of Rei swimming laps beneath the overhead nadatorium light strikingly mirrors the animation from the “Fly Me To the Moon” ending credits segment where Rei’s silhouette is spinning in front of the moon in an underwater setting! In addition to directly evoking both the imagery of the end credits theme (as well as the Ocean of LCL during Human Instrumentality in The End of Evangelion), this scene not only further foreshadows Rei’s true identity as the reincarnated soul of Lilith, but it also reinforces the idea that Rei feels more comfortable when submerged in liquid substances like water or LCL (an idea that will be later expanded upon in one of the stanzas of Rei's poem from Episode 14)!

Speaking of the swimming pool scene… oh boy there is certainly a lot to unpack here! 

This scene in particular is easily one of the primary contributors to the negative dismissal of this episode from a sizable portion of the EVA fanbase, as many argue that it exists solely for the purposes of gratuitous fan-service. Specifically, while Shinji is trying to study for a physics exam on a nearby table, Asuka is standing in front of him in the same provocative bikini that she tried and failed to impress Kaji with earlier and was unable to wear on the school field trip, and Shinji can’t help feel uncomfortably embarrassed at the sight of Asuka’s chest as she leans in to help answer his homework questions.

The situation isn’t helped when Asuka answers Shinji’s questions about “thermal expansion,” i.e. the idea that objects will increase in size when heated and contract in size when cooled, since she making a suggestive analogy to the size of her breasts to try and explain the scientific concept to him.

Many critics write off this scene as nothing more than stereotypical anime fan-service tropes being played completely straight, which is sadly symptomatic of a larger criticism that I’ve seen some people direct towards the Evangelion franchise as a whole. Except, while I will concede that the usage of gratuitous fan-service is definitely a problem with the Rebuild movies based on everything I’ve seen and heard about them (which is especially uncomfortable since the characters in question are underage…), I personally heavily disagree with the argument that it’s also problem with the original NGE series and especially The End of Evangelion movie, and that both entries instead actively subvert the usual problematic tropes of fan-service in anime in order to discuss complex themes about sexuality, adolescence, and adulthood. And this scene at the pool is a prime example of this IMO.

The primary reason why I feel that NGE actively avoids perpetuating problematic fan-service tropes largely comes down to framing, and what subjects that the camera chooses to direct the viewer’s attention towards. In the case of the Shinji & Asuka pool scene, the camera & framing makes it very clear that the narrative is critiquing Shinji objectification of Asuka instead of encouraging the audience to do the same. Instead of simply focusing on Asuka’s chest like a lot of other anime do with their female characters, the shots here instead emphasize Shinji’s line of eyesight & POV which directed towards Asuka’s body, along with his visible sense of discomfort and confusion. A motif which is continued after Asuka walks away, as Shinji not only can’t help but continue to stare at Asuka as she bends down to grab her scuba gear, but also blushes and quickly jerks his head away when he witnesses Rei drying herself off. Shinji’s dialogue also accompanies the visual framing, as he attempts to write off Asuka’s innuendo about thermal expansion with, “How should I know?! I don’t think about things like that!”

Essentially, this scene is emphasizing that Shinji is a teenage boy who is struggling with his latent sexuality along with his complicated and borderline sexist views towards women. It also serves to highlight the growing romantic chemistry and toxic tension between Shinji & Asuka which becomes even more prevalent as the series progresses. So while the scene does utilize some close-up shots that you commonly see in fan-service scenes from other anime, EVA’s directing instead places all of the focus and attention onto Shinji’s perspective and reactions.

Additionally, the pool scene also further fleshes out Asuka’s struggles with wanting to grow-up too fast and her developing relationship with Shinji due to the preceding events with Kaji in the episode’s opening. At this point, Asuka is beginning to simultaneously perceive Shinji as both a substitute for her infatuation with Kaji, as a well as a rival who threatens her alleged "superiority" as an EVA pilot.

Essentially, Asuka is overcompensating for these aforementioned insecurities by treating Shinji like a child who’s ultimately beneath her, not only purposefully flaunting her sexuality in order to get a reaction out of him, but also bragging about her more advanced education due to her having previously already graduated college early. And when Shinji dismisses Asuka'sefforts to attempt to feel “more grown-up” than him, she can’t help but disappointedly write off Shinji as a “boring little boy…”

Elements such as these are why I honestly get incredibly annoyed whenever I see others dismiss “MAGMADIVER” as “the disposable fan-service filler episode,” since not only does the framing and blocking of the pool scene instead actively subvert and interrogate the very same problematic fan-service tropes that many people mistakenly believe the episode to be engaging in, but it simultaneously utilizes this subversion of tropes to reveal important information about characters like Shinji, Asuka & Rei in relation to EVA’s overall themes about sexuality.

Also, in addition to all of the rich thematic subtext and character development on display here, the pool scene also establishes the Chekhov’s Gun of this episode, as thermal expansion will come into play 2 more times throughout the course of “MAGMADIVER”! So the scene is also incredibly plot-relevant as well!

Alright! Now we’re getting into the major meat of this episode and why it’s titled “MAGMADIVER”! NERV has just detected the 8th Angel, Sandalphon. Except unlike all of the previous Angels seen so far, Sandalphon is unique in that it is currently still in its embryonic chrysalis-like state. And while Misato & Gendo see this as a golden opportunity to capture and study a live Angel before it hatches, the downside is that Sandalphon’s cocoon is buried deep inside the magma chamber of an active volcano. Which means that Asuka’s EVA Unit-02 will have to dive straight into the lava and enter an environment far too hazardous and pressurized for normal methods of human intrusion to retrieve the Angel egg before it hatches! 

I’ve always loved this premise for an Angel battle, as the idea of the Evangelion essentially scuba-diving inside of an active volcano whilst having to contend with increasing pressure and the possibility of the Angel prematurely hatching is not only an insanely creative concept, but also allows for a foreboding sense of tension and peril with multiple ticking-clocks! Weirdly though, the Sandalphon fight seems to be another strong point of contention for “MAGMADIVER” detractors, arguing that the scenario is scientifically implausible. Except I have to ask… how is a giant robot being lowered into a magma chamber any more scientifically implausible than connecting an entire nation’s power lines to a giant sniper rifle within the span of only 10-hours?! This is exactly the kind of silly yet strategic creativity that I love when it comes to EVA’s fight scenes!

Plus, this episode also gives the viewer some insight into the Angel’s life-cycle that’s not explored in previous episodes, revealing that they spontaneously appear in random environments and enter an embryonic chrysalis stage similar to caterpillers before fully maturing into giant kaju, and that each Angel uniquely adapts to its surrounding environment. 

Also, it’s rather neat seeing Sandalphon in an embryonic stage since the only other Angel we see like this is their progenitor Adam from back in Episode 8 (Sandalphon’s egg even kind of resembles the Adam fetus now that I look at it…)

I can’t help but find it really fascinating how Gendo adopts Asuka’s mindset from earlier in the episode about shifting from a defensive to an offensive position as soon as Sandalphon’s cocoon is discovered. It makes me wonder whether or not Anno was trying to evoke some parallels between the two characters?

Also, SEELE’s Human Instrumentality Committee makes another brief appearance here as Gendo receives begrudging approval for the plan to capture the Angel egg. Haven’t seen them since Episode 2… and I still maintain my previous theory that they’re all secretly Marvel & DC cosplayers in their spare time!

Yeah… I can’t really blame Asuka’s sense of humiliation when it comes to not only EVA Unit-02 being covered-up with bulky and dull-gray D-Type Equipment to help shield the mecha from the crushing pressure of the lava chamber, but also the fact that Ritsuko’s attempts to make her plug-suit more heat-protected essentially make Asuka look like Violet Beauregarde when she transformed into a humanoid blueberry in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory…

Thankfully there are no Oompa Loompa’s to roll Asuka around… or else this whole situation would be even more embarrassing than it already is for her!

Also, I love how just like in the previous episode, it’s once again Rei who triggers Asuka’s feelings of wounded pride, since when Rei volunteers to operate Unit-02 when Asuka refuses to do the mission while looking like Blueberry-Violet (especially if Kaji’s watching), Asuka immediately refuses to let Rei lay a single finger on her beloved Unit-02!

Did… Misato just say, “God’s gift won’t be coming, he’s got no business here,” when Asuka asked if Kaji was there to watch at the Volcano? A very interesting choice of words for someone whose thus far demonstrated nothing but verbal contempt for Kaji…

Speaking of Kaji though… I’m curious as to who the woman he’s talking to on the gondola about “frozen assents” is? This definitely feels like some serious double/triple agent shenanigans here…

Yet another reason for me to hate Gendo’s guts: he’s willing to have the UN drop N² Mines on Shinji & Asuka if they fail to successfully capture or kill the Angel! What kind of a father would be willing to essentially nuke his own son?!

I love how Asuka telling Shinji to watch her imitate a diving maneuver while Unit-02 enters the lava mirrors the previous scene at the swimming pool, effectively conveying that Asuka is beginning ti crave for attention and acknowledgement from Shinji in particular!

Man oh man do I FREAKING LLLOOOVVVEEE the lava-descent scene! This entire sequence is just oozing to the brim with tension! Not only does Asuka have to deal with intense heat and near-zero visibility, but as she continues to descend deeper and deeper into the lava chamber the environment is becoming increasingly more pressurized and starting to take a visible toll on Unit-02, as not only are visible cracks beginning to form on the protective D-Type Equipment and cooling pipes, but the pressure also forces Asuka to drop her progressive knife! And the tension of this scene is only further enhanced by not only the NERV staff calculating the continuously increasing depth level, but also by the lack of background music as well Asuka being forced to defend even deeper than previously calculated due to the lava flow altering the Angel egg’s position. 

This scene also reveals some rather interesting new insight into Misato’s character while she monitors the mission, as she ignores the safety protocols and orders Asuka to continue descending to levels too dangerous for human intrusions. This demonstrates that despite Misato’s previous concern for the safety and well-being for the EVA pilots, there is simultaneously a part of her that is willing to risk the lives of these kids if it means destroying the Angels at all costs. Hyuga’ s look of concern towards Misato perfectly encapsulates the viewer’s feelings right now!

Oh! Two clever bits of foreshadowing here! Not only does Asuka repeatedly express her desire for a shower after the mission is completed (I mean, can ya blame her considering how much of a heat & sweat trap that Blueberry-Violet plug-suit is?), but Ritsuko can’t help but discern how Misato’s aforementioned conviction during the descent and capture of the Angel egg is intrinsically connect to fear of causing another Second Impact! Yup, this will definitely come into play later on in Episode 12!

And things go from bad to worse since the moment Asuka captures the Angel-egg in her electromagnetic cage and begins to ascend back up to the surface, Sandalphon begins to prematurely hatch and escapes from the containment field, immediately shifting this mission from a retrieval-operation into a combat-operation! And to make matters even worser, Asuka is left without a progressive knife as Shinji is forced to drop Unit-01’s knife down into the lava as this Angel with an ultra-thick lava-proof armored-shell along with razor-sharp teeth and tentacles is rapidly swimming towards Unit-02 and begins to bite away at its cooling vents and life-line!

On the subject of Sandalphon itself though, I love how in addition to this Angel being perfectly adapted to this uniquely hostile environment, we never get a real good glimpse at the Angel’s physical appearance in this episode due to it being heavily obscured by both the lava and the heavy red color pallete. I remember being annoyed by this when I first watched it on my original DVD copies due to their fuzzy image-quality, but upon rewatching this scene in HD on the Blu-Ray collection I now feel that this framing helps further add to the suspense of this fight, truly enhancing the zero-visibility conditions of the setting by making obscuring the monster’s appearance to not only Asuka, but to the viewer as well! 

But for the sake of interest, here’s what Sandalphon looks like unobscured according to official concept artwork:

In regards to this Angel’s name, according to Wikipedia “Sandalphon (Hebrew: סַנְדַּלְפוֹן Sandalp̄ōn; Greek: Σανδαλφών Sandalfón) is an archangel in Jewish and Christian writings, although not in scripture. Sandalphon figures prominently in the mystical literary traditions of Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, notably in the Midrash, Talmud, and Kabbalah and is generally seen as gathering prayers and passing them on to God.”

Additionally, Sandalphon’s name symbolically correlates with the episode’s depiction of the Angel’s life cycle, as some theological texts depict Sandalphon as being “instrumental in bringing about the differentiation of sex in the embry.”

I’ve seen some people criticize method by which Sandalphon is ultimately defeated, wherein Shinji remembers his physics homework about thermal expansion, meaning that if Sandalphon’s thick armor shell is designed to protect itself from the highly pressurized heat of the lava, then extremely cold temperatures will force the armor to contract make it brittle enough for Asuka’s progressive knife to penetrate its core. This gives Asuka the idea purposefully rip open the pipes to her cooling vents and force-feed a stream of liquid-coolant straight down the Angel’s throat, lowering its internal body temperature enough for its exterior armor to contract and for Asuka to stab its core. Detractors have argued that this portrayal of thermal expansion is scientifically inaccurate, but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief as the entire scenario is just so FREAKING cool!

That moment of horrific realization as Asuka looks back up at her life-line beginning to completely break-apart after severing her cooling vents to kill Sandalphon, as well as the lava pressure crushing her exposed D-Type Equipment? Absolute chills! Tiffany Grant once again nails Asuka’s sense of despair as she quickly realizes that despite successfully defeating the Angel she’s still going to die, almost as if she’s simultaneously reluctant yet accepting of her fate!

And her reaction to Shinji & Unit-01 sliding down the remaining life-line into the lava without protective armor to grab Unit-02’s hand before Asuka sinks down into the depths? Absolute perfection! Not only do we get a quick shot of Unit-01’s eye’s glowing (implying that it entered a partial berserker-mode again), but Asuka’s comment to Shinji, “Idiot… you show off!” 

Despite being an insult, Asuka says that line in such a grateful, playful, and almost affectionate tone (once again, kudos to Tiffany Grant’s voice acting)! It shows a hidden tenderness to Shinji & Asuka’s relationship that we haven’t seen before!

As much flack as we give Kaji, him mailing Pen Pen to Misato and the EVA pilots for their post-mission hot-springs bath was an incredibly thoughtful gesture on his part… though stuffing a live penguin inside of a box seems counterproductive. Hoped he poked airholes in the box at least…

So umm… Shinji overhearing Misato & Asuka on the other side of the hot springs when he throws the body shampoo over the fence and it accidentally hits Asuka, leading to Shinji overhearing a rather… suggestive… conversation where Misato seems to be teasing and tickling Asuka. I’m curious as to how much of that was real, and how much if that was just Shinji’s imagination over-exaggerating it. I know that Misato is very forward with her own sexuality and that public bathing and standards of privacy are very different in Japan than they are here in America, but I’m really hoping that she was NOT doing anything sexually illicit behind that wall. I instead prefer to believe that a lot of what Shinji was hearing was grossly exaggerated by his own perverted imagination as a teenage boy with complicated feelings towards both Asuka & Misato (the latter being a product of his Oedipus Complex), especially since this leads to the final instance of “thermal expansion” in this episode which understandably embarrasses Shinji and freaks out Pen Pen (the poor penguin was just having a good time swimming).

While critics like to also cite the ending hot springs scene as further evidence of “MAGMADIVER” being “fan-service filler trash,” not only does the aforementioned stuff with Shinji continue to convey the character’s struggles with latent and developing sexuality and complicated attitudes about women, but once we finally see Asuka & Misato on the other side of the wall and the two watching the sunset, we get two major pieces of important foreshadowing for both characters! In addition to Asuka noticing a massive scar which runs straight across Misato’s chest, which the latter reveals was a byproduct of the Second Impact, Asuka asks Misato whether she knows about her own past, leading to Misato stating that it’s “ancient history.” 

Not only does this indicate that Misato was directly present in Antarctica during the events of Second Impact, but it also hints at Asuka’s deeply traumatic childhood which serves as the foundation for the character’s struggles for attention as an EVA Pilot and misguided desire to be perceived as an adult instead of the child that she actually is.

Overall, that was NGE, “Episode 10: MAGMADIVER,” and upon rewatching it I still consider this episode to be one of my personal favorites in the series and wholeheartedly disagree with the general criticisms that most other fans lobby against it! Not only does this episode cleverly subvert the usual problematic fan-service tropes that unfortunately plague most modern anime, but through doing so it’s able to effectively communicate interesting and nuanced themes about Shinji & Asuka’s respective struggles with their own developing sexualities, perceptions of adolescence versus adulthood, as well as how the characters perceive themselves and others through this lens. Part of what makes Evangelion stand out among other anime before and after it is how its portrayal of adolescence is so earnest. EVA discusses the more difficult & uncomfortable aspects of teenage growth with careful respect & maturity, instead of creepily fetishizing these issues in a juvenile & gross manner like a lot of other anime sadly do (even the really good ones…). 

So while I can definitely understand other people’s discomfort with NGE’s depiction of these uncomfortable themes, I feel like arguing that the series as a whole (as well as this episode in particular) actively perpetuates rather than subverts negative fan-service tropes like I’ve seen a few critics argue misses the mark on a lot of the insightful themes that EVA is trying to convey through these otherwise uncomfortable subjects. Despite Misato’s running gag in the “Next Episode” teasers about “promising more fan-service,” the original NGE and The End of Evangelion are in fact very critical towards the anime fan-service tropes that were popularized by Japanese Otaku subculture.

Additionally, the lava-fight with Sandalphon was FREAKING phenomenal in just how creative and suspenseful it was, even if the weaponization of thermal expansion used to defeat it is somewhat scientifically inaccurate! So yeah, I definitely still really love “MAGMADIVER” and feel that this episode gets far more hate than it deserves! 

Next up is Episode 11!

[yourlocalpickle]

New oc! And a relatively wholesome one too! *she's a victim of the "I don't want to put clothes on this sketch" phenomenon*, but also she does wear heart shaped bikini. for work.

Philadelphia from Tommy Wiseau's The Neighbors was a big inspo ngl.

She's not a stripper. She's actually paid by the king, and responsible for maintaing a sort of day-night cycle in one part of their land! just wanted to draw big chunky heels.

So say hi to Jubie! And imma hide more info abt her and an infodump about swimsuit fish people down here.

Jubie is a monster, one employed by the King to work as a Lightbringer (WIP name). There's a specific type of monsters with a mutation, which leaves them with glowing hair and blood. (their hair's literally transparent veins with blood flowing through)

(A drawing of different Lightbringers, in digital and with their hair out, so we 'get' the vibes. The yellow one is Inkie, one of Jubie's *besties!!1!*, the pink one tho is Morty, and she was made by a friend of mine @firefries !)

They glow so much actually, that yeah, they can light up entire streets. And there's an entire part of the City, placed in the old sewer system. They can't get any light down there. So these Lightbringers are paid to hang out and roam these areas, to simulate a sense of light. Pretty sweet job! Almost all Lightbringers are 'fish people' too, so they love hanging out in murky freezing waters! They wear fun or convienent swimwear 'at work', and to them, it's like getting paid for lazing around on a depressing beach. They also roam the streets, look for any lost or drowning citizens, and guide them to their destination. These fellas have not only glowing hair, but souls too, as they're some of the cheeriest and most excitable people to be around! Who wouldn't be tho, when they stop by an ice cream stand, that still counts as work for them!

Before though, these guys were hunted, to be used as lanterns for humans. For that, they started covering their hair with intricate scarves and 'socks', wrapped all around. These coverings were also used as bonus storage for items. Nowadays, even tho relatively safe, the Lightbringers kept the scarves. They're almost a part of their small culture, and took on a more fashionable direction - with many patterns, pins and bands, the customization and personalization options are truly endless! And these scarves aren't for fashion only. In my world, most people aren't born with the conditions they 'recieve', and so it was for the fish folk who's hair now glows. They were used to darker or 'normal' light, and their hair glows so brightly, it makes seeing in small places with them impossible. And they can't even sleep in so much brightness, it tricks their brains into thinking it's still day. So they wear the scarves essentially everywhere outaside of work. On sunny streets, in stores, at home, ESPECIALLY in bed! And they're quite proud of them!

So Jubie, obviously she LOVES hearts! and the color pink.

She's a very sweet and upbeat girl. A bit absent-minded and loud, but well meaning. She's convinced everybody around her LOVES shopping, getting bubble tea and makeovers! She's got that one way of saying "OH MY GOSHHHHH!" and is the girl who says "HIIIII!!!"

She actually doesn't have fingernails! so she just paints her fingers pink. she makes of it what she can.

She smells like bubblegum and artificail strawberry, all mixed with a hint of fish and mud stank. And oh! Originally, she's got remains of a carp rooted deep down (she was supposed to have a 'moustache' too, but it was messing with the head shape too much) And she's as stupid and indestructible as they are. She's an invasive species on her own. not in a mean way, she just wants everyone to be happy over things she loves and cares about! And once you let her in, she's impossible to get rid of. Also she's an omnivore and will devour literally anything (but mostly bugs and worms. she loves them when they still squirm the most, and she puts marmalade and sprinkles over top!)

Jubie's full and real name is Jubilee Giggles, and whilst everybody gives her weird looks for it, girlie simply used her right and picked a name, which in her eyes sparks hapiness and makes everybody smile.

Jubie also survived The War. She feels for all her brothers and sisters, and comes to mourn them every 6 months. She has lost her own sister and parents. Being left alone and orphaned were another reason for her switching to such a stupid name. She does not want to be reminded of the family she's lost, and in this new world, everybody is grieving for their own loss so much, they won't ever care for her relatives and what they meant.

Jubie has 2 besties so far!! Inkie, a fellow Lightbringer, and Pogo, an actually succesful actress who's on a path to stardom! Together they meet up all around the sewers, and when they're not shopping and enjoying life, they play beach sports, like volleyball! Jubie's also constantly looking for a new gf/bf (nobody can keep up with her!) so those 2 are her cheerleaders in this journey.

Jubie also has an apartment! This queen can provide for herself, and she shares it with another Lightbringer! (He has yet to be designed, but I am SO tempted to name him Chad...) The Chad guy? Just like Jubie looks suitable for pole dancing, Chad flat out looks like a stripper. He works on fixing the electricity and pipes all around the sewers as additional income besides lightbringing. And he's well known for looking like a handyman stripper. Bro's pants keep falling off all the time. And just like Jubie, there's not much in his brain left. Those 2 share a braincell, and they always leave it at home too. Their household is visited often, and all the neighbors know them, for their unmissable glow and appearance. Jubie's friends love to come over to look at Chad, and Chad's friends love to see Jubie too. And through all this, Chad and Jubie's relationship is as asexual as it gets. They see each other as very good friends (besides the fact they both can't clean up their clothes and they always argue over who's the messier one. It's a tie every time.) And they help each other with fixing their scarves every time - because you can never see if the top part is covered well enough! And mutual haircare is actually seen as a very comforting and sweet activity for the fish folk!

Also I said she wasn't a stripper? The heels were drawn before when i was convinced I wanted to draw her in a jean miniskirt. Times change. The shoes were too funny to be erased. But honestly, Jubie knows how to do striptease. So does Chad. They don't mind earning money on the side. And they can order the fanciest fish food in the town when it works out! So it's a steal! And thanks to Pogo's connections, both of them acted in *adult* movies. They thought it'd be fun (also tbf the genre and culture around these things in my world is...different. Half the time there are flamethrowers and mlg effects edited in) and also aren't capable of remembering more than a4 page worth of text/lines.

They stupid, but mean well.

Fish people.