#i mean they can make nonsense noises at each other and still be saying things bc somehow they understand

[famoussharkhairdoknight]

Between the Shadows of a Secret~Pope Heyward

Wearning: +18, smut, cheating, english is not my first language.

You're spending the afternoon at Pope's house. His room is full of posters, vinyl records, and that soft light that he prefers so much. You laughed, joked, and now you are on the sofa, next to each other, your leg touching his. You feel good, strangely at ease. Then you feel your phone vibrate.

Once, twice, three times.

You take it out, see "Topper" on the screen, and immediately put it on silent. Pope glances at you, a half smile on his face.

"Problems?" he asks, tilting his head slightly. He looks at you like he knows something you don't want to admit. And that provocative nuance of hers sends a shiver down your spine.

You shake your head, trying to pretend nothing happened. “Nothing important.”

He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't insist. Yet, for a moment, he remains silent, looking at you with that deep and knowing look that only Pope can do. “Are you sure you don't want to answer?”

You ignore his tone and change the subject, but you feel your phone vibrate again. A message this time. Toppers.

> "Hey, where are you?" "I tried to call you" "Everything ok?"

Your heart beats a little faster. You know you should answer him, but you don't want to. You look up at Pope and he is still watching you, as if he can read every thought in your mind.

Pope leans a little closer, his eyes never leaving yours. “Are you afraid?” His voice is low, almost a whisper.

You look at him with a half smile. “What should I be afraid of?”

He looks down at your lips, then back into your eyes, a moment of hesitation. “To feel what you feel in this moment.”

There is a charged silence, full of meanings, of things left unsaid. But then you move away a few centimeters, as if to regain control. “You're talking nonsense,” you tell him, trying to keep your tone neutral.

"Really?" Pope replies, with that smile that smacks of challenge. “Then why are you here, with me?”

You have a feeling of panic. The phone's vibration returns, insistent, almost like a guilt. It's Topper again, as if he's realized something is wrong.

And Pope reaches out a hand, touching yours. "You don't have to answer," he murmurs. "Not to him."

For a moment you stand still, torn between what you should do and what you want to do. And in that instant, you understand that something has changed.

For a moment everything is suspended. Your cell phone still vibrates, but it's just a distant noise, a background that no longer affects you. You are here, with Pope, with his dark eyes and that nuanced light that makes everything a little unreal, almost magical. You don't know if it's the time, if it's the right thing, but it's like something inside you can't wait any longer.

You lean forward, moving closer to him, your heart pounding like it's on the verge of exploding. You feel his breath, warm, touching your face, and he looks at you as if he can't believe what's about to happen.

And then you kiss him.

At first it's a light, uncertain touch, as if neither of them is sure of what they're doing. But Pope kisses you back immediately, happy, as if he was just waiting for that. His lips move on yours, sweet but intense, and he gets even closer, a hand sliding up your back, as if trying to bring you closer, not to let you go.

When you break away, his eyes are lit, bright. He looks at you like he's surprised, but at the same time like he always knew this moment would come.

“I didn't think you'd have the courage,” he murmurs, with that provocative half-smile.

You look at him, smiling without realizing it. “I'm not who you think.”

“I understood this.” His fingers slide between yours, slowly intertwining, as if that gesture was enough to say everything that neither of you dares to say out loud yet. Then he tilts his head, bringing your face close. “But do you know what it is?”

His eyes fixed on yours, and his tone is calm, warm, but firm. “That's fine with me.”

And here you ended up lying on the couch while Pope was fucking you so hard.

“Pope please more” you said desperately feeling how his big hard cock was penetrating you. He groans biting your shoulder increasing his thrusts.

“Whatever you want honey” he said as you moaned loudly.

The phone kept ringing, and it was Topper, but you didn't care, especially not right now, because Pope was fucking touching points you didn't know you knew. You were on another planet where all you could think about was Pope and how good his cock made you feel.

Pope on the other side pushed harder into your pussy and loved how tight it was around his cock. He looked away from you for a moment and saw your phone ringing again and huffed knowing it was Topper.

He looked at you again and kissed you increasing his thrusts making both of you moan and you come on his cock as he continues to penetrate you.

“So big” you moaned as you felt how his cock was destroying your pussy and he moaned.

“This pussy feels so good…made just for me” he said moaning then squeezing your tits and slapping them then making you whimper.

“I should answer your phone and make Topper listen to how good a slut you are for me” he said jealously as he pushed his cock harder into your pussy.

At that thought you tightened your pussy on his cock and he chuckled pushing you inside.

“You're mine y/n...this pussy is mine” he said as you nodded because you couldn't speak due to the moans.

Pope nibbles on your neck marking it and he smiled at your masterpiece as he placed his hand on your neck to squeeze it making you moan as you felt too much pleasure.

“I bet Topper doesn't make you feel as good as I do” he said pushing further into your pussy and you moan.

“I have never fucked with Topper” you told him and he just hearing this felt himself coming and smiled as he kissed you and pushed himself further into you.

“Good girl,” he murmured as he was about to come and you moan, scratching his back.

“Come inside me Pope, please” you begged and he smiled pushing his entire load inside you.

“With pleasure” he told you as you moaned feeling his cum inside you

[dandylovesturtles]

Made myself emotional over the “Leo and Donnie chose to be twins” headcanon.

———

“By the way, it’s Leo and Donnie’s birthday next Thursday. You’re coming, right?”

Draxum looked up from his work organizing next week’s lunch schedule to look at Michelangelo, sitting on the counter and swinging his feet. Celebrating individual birthdays wasn’t a thing that the yokai did, but Draxum had been forced to accept that the boys could not be dissuaded from this human tradition. He’d been to two birthday parties now, for Michelangelo and Raphael respectively, eating cake and presenting them with some small trinket he purchased.

He’d known that he would have to go to more birthday parties at some point. But he wasn’t expecting two at once.

“Why on the same day? I can’t imagine the blue one wanting to share.” Actually, he couldn’t imagine Donatello wanting to share, either.

“Oh,” said Michelangelo with a laugh. “That’s ‘cause they’re twins!”

Draxum stared at him. “Twins? What kind of nonsense is that?”

Mikey tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“They’re entirely different species, for starters,” Draxum pointed out.

“I mean, we all are, but we’re still brothers.”

“Yes, by virtue of your shared DNA donor and the circumstances of your raising.” Draxum waved that off. “But “twins” refers to a situation where two children are born at once, especially as the result of a split of a fertilized egg. Which is absolutely impossible in the case of Leonardo and Donatello. Even if I were to be charitable and simply consider them “twins” for having the same hatch day, I can tell you they do not.”

“Uh, okay,” said Michelangelo, unimpressed. “But they’ve always been twins, so I don’t think it matters to them.”

“Why not? I would think it would matter to Donatello especially, since he claims to be scientifically minded.”

Michelangelo laughed. “Not everything is about science, Barry. Not even to Donnie.”

“Then his decisions about when to apply science and when not to are inconsistent and confusing.”

“Well, it’s their birthday, so they get to pick.”

“I am certain that is not how birthdays work.”

“It’s how it works for us!” Michelangelo slipped off the counter. “We’ll see you on Thursday, right? It’ll mean a lot to them if you come!”

Draxum was fairly sure Leonardo in particular would prefer he didn’t, but that didn’t matter. Now he had a mission: he had to correct this strange incongruence.

“Yes, I will be there.”

“Yay!” cheered Michelangelo. “Okay, see ya Dad!”

He squeezed Draxum around the waist on his way out. Draxum was finding he didn’t mind that as much as he used to.

———

Leonardo and Donatello’s party was just as loud and obnoxious as the other two. Blue and purple decorations covered every inch of the old subway station, strange music blared from unseen speakers, and a horrendous amount of junk food was spread out over a table. It was the same group of people present today as there ever was, the eclectic mix of humans and yokai that the boys considered family, but it felt like a crowd three times the size with the amount of noise being made.

Draxum stood off on his own for most of it, his slim birthday present already delivered to the table stacked with gifts. He’d been a little shocked when Donatello and then Leonardo came by to say hello, since he’d been prepared to be ignored by both of them. It was… nice, maybe, that they did that. Even if Leonardo just wanted to make jokes at his expense.

For most of the party, the two birthday boys seemed to be competing with each other for attention. In fact, the longer he took it all in, the whole affair seemed like a clash of ideas. The purple decorations were neat and tidy, geometric patterns and hard angles. The blue decorations were whimsical, uncoordinated, and haphazard, and there were places it seemed someone had deliberately covered up some of the purple with the blue. Leonardo wanted to play rock music and Donatello wanted to play techno. The cake was a mess because they’d both requested different themes for the decorations. There were arguments between the two of them every few minutes, and according to the human girl April this was “typical behavior.”

But why? They weren’t really twins. They didn’t have to share this day.

Hopefully Draxum’s plan would fix all this nonsense.

When it was time for gifts, Leonardo loudly declared that he was going first, sparking an argument. They squabbled for a bit before agreeing to play rock-paper-scissors, which was apparently what they did every year.

Leonardo won the game and celebrated obnoxiously while Donatello scowled at him. Then he gestured at the gift table - which Draxum, in his efforts to stay out of the main throng, was closest to.

“Hey, Barry! Grab me a gift! Make it a good one.”

Draxum sighed but reached over to take one of the blue packages, checking the tag to make sure it was for Leonardo. “This one is… to Leo from Donnie,” he read.

“Oh no, not that one. Our presents to each other are always last.”

“Because they always get sappy about it,” said April with a laugh.

“Do not!” yelled Leonardo at the same time Donatello hissed, “You take that back!”

“Uh, yeah you do, and you know I’m right.”

Draxum ignored the petty argument to look back at the gift table. If they weren’t going to be satisfied with his choice, he might as well give them his own gift.

He lifted it, in its sensible brown packaging, off the table and handed it over.

“Why not start with this? It’s to both of you from me.”

“Both of us at once?” asked Leonardo. “Oh man, you’re throwing off our whole system, Barry.”

“Yes, but he’s giving it to you,” Donatello pointed out, “which means my turn is still next.”

“Uh, no, if it’s for both of us then it counts for both of us, which means it comes back around to me!”

“Ooooh no, you do not get to loophole your way into opening two presents in a row-“

“Ahem!” Draxum loudly cleared his throat, getting their attention. “Would you please just open it?”

“Yikes,” said Leonardo. “Touchy.”

“Some people just don’t understand the sanctity of opening birthday gifts,” said Donatello with a sniff. But he leaned in to watch as Leonardo tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box.

They were both silent for a moment, staring at it. Then Leonardo said, “Uh, no offense, Barry, but what is this?”

“It’s a… scientific study on how twins are formed during the gestational period,” said Donatello, pulling the paper clipped thesis from the box. “Oh, there are more in here… Also about twins.”

“Uh…” Leonardo blinked at it, clearly bewildered. Well, he was always a bit slow. “Thanks…? I think?”

“Not that I don’t appreciate the scientific literature,” said Donatello, “but this isn’t really my area of study and Leo does better with training manuals and textbooks than research papers.” He looked up at Draxum. “Is there something about this we aren’t getting?”

“Yes there is,” said Draxum, sweeping his hand around at the entire party. “I am here to correct your mistaken assumption that you are twins.”

The room fell silent. Donatello set the paper back in the box, staring at him. Leonardo’s brow creased in anger.

“We are twins, though,” he said, setting the box aside like it was burning him.

“No, you are not. There is simply no way that the two of you could be twins. It is biologically impossible.”

“You think that I’m so stupid I don’t know that?” Donatello demanded, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. “Are you doubting my intelligence?”

“Yes, if you honestly think you are twins with him, then I am.”

“Uhhh, Draxum,” said Michelangelo quickly, stepping between him and the now furious Donatello, “this was a… funny joke, but you can stop now-“

“This is not a joke. I am simply explaining the facts.”

“Yeah, well,” now Leonardo was on his feet, too, “the facts are that me and Donnie are twins. Always have been, always will be.”

“You are not,” Draxum insisted. “And given what I have seen here today, I’d think you’d both be relieved, since you clearly don’t enjoy being twins!”

Both boys looked like they’d just been slapped in the face. The rest of the room had gone completely silent, like everyone was collectively holding their breath.

Donatello broke first, turning on his heel and marching out of the room, his hands balled into fists and his shoulders hunched up as high as they could go. “Dee!” called Leonardo, and then he was scurrying off after him. There was the sound of a heavy door slamming, then silence.

It didn’t last long.

“Draxum!” roared the rat, actually getting up from his chair to get in Draxum’s face. “You come in here and upset my boys on their own birthday!?”

“Seriously not cool, Drax,” said the human April. Cassandra shook her head in shared disappointment behind her.

Draxum pushed Lou Jitsu back, scowling at his accusers. “I was only explaining reality! This is really the rat’s fault for letting their delusion go on so long.”

“Delusion!?”

“Barry!”

“Rat!?”

“Ooookay,” said Raphael suddenly, stepping his way into the middle of the fray and starting to herd Draxum back toward the exit. “That’s enough of that for now.”

“I am simply trying to explain-“

“Trust me, hoss, you wanna step away from this one,” said Raphael, and his tone was angry but surprisingly measured. “Come on.”

They retreated to the sewer tunnels outside the subway station. The smell was much worse out here, and Draxum wrinkled his nose.

“Alright.” Raphael heaved a sigh, folding his arms. “So here’s the deal. Mikey likes you, and I guess I kinda do too, so I’m gonna try to help you before you completely torpedo your chances with the rest of the guys. Which, you kinda did already, but maybe we can turn it around.”

“I still don’t understand why they’re so upset,” said Draxum. “Surely it was obvious they aren’t twins.”

“Uh, yeah, they know they aren’t twins by bio-whatever,” agreed Raphael. “They ain’t stupid.”

“Hmm.” Draxum turned up his nose. “Donatello isn’t stupid, maybe.”

“Leo ain’t stupid, either, he just pretends like it.” Raphael pinched his brow. “Listen, that isn’t the point - the point is they already know they didn’t come from the same egg or hatch the same day or whatever. They’re just twins anyway.”

“But how? That doesn’t make sense!”

Raphael sighed again. “Alright, look. Dad didn’t know when we hatched, right? But we all wanted birthday parties like we saw on TV, so he let us pick.”

“Yes. And for some reason Leonardo and Donatello chose the same day.” Draxum could figure that much out on his own.

Raphael nodded. “I was the biggest and oldest, and Mikey was the littlest and youngest, and Leo and Donnie were just kinda sandwiched in the middle. I think at first they just wanted a thing. Somethin’ that set them apart from me and Mikey, ya know?”

“Not really,” said Draxum. Raphael glared at him, and he sighed. “But go on.”

“So they picked the same birthday and called themselves twins. I think Pops just so glad they were actually getting along that he agreed to it. And I think he thought once we got to the day, and they realized they were really gonna have to share it, they’d both demand their own day instead. I know I thought that was gonna happen.” He smiled at the memory. “But the day came, and… they fussed the whole time just like they do now. Arguing about what kind of cake they wanted and who got to open their present first. But they didn’t ask to split. They kept it the same day, and they kept calling each other twins and it just stuck, until we didn’t question it anymore.”

“…They are both stubborn,” Draxum pointed out, and Raphael laughed once.

“Yeah, guess they are. But that’s not what this is.” Raphael shrugged. “They chose each other back then. Maybe at first it was just to have a thing, but then it became real. And every single year they keep choosing each other. That’s why they’re twins.”

Choosing each other as twins… Draxum furrowed his brow. “It’s not normally a choice,” he pointed out finally.

“Yeah, well, our family doesn’t get a lot of choices, so just let ‘em have this one, okay?”

“…Fine,” Draxum finally relented. “As long as it’s noted that this is purely a social designation, and not a biological one.”

“Uh, sure, whatever.” Raphael rolled his eyes. “Glad we got that cleared up, though. Think you can come back to the party and behave?”

Draxum wrinkled his nose at that phrasing, but nodded. “Yes. I will not bring it up again.”

“Good!” Raphael’s smile abruptly transitioned into something much more dangerous. “Because if you make my little brothers upset on their birthday again, I’ll remind you what it was like when we were enemies.”

Then the smile was back. “Now let’s go in!”

He walked back to the subway station, leaving Draxum to follow on his own. Draxum couldn’t help but sigh wistfully.

Raphael would have made a great general for his army.

———

The boys had already returned by the time Draxum got back. They were opening more gifts, and he noted they were wearing hoodies now - though they had apparently decided to swap their signature colors. They were smiling and chattering, and any hint of their earlier upset was gone.

Until Draxum stepped into their line of sight, and both of them went rigid, wary of him.

Apparently just talking to the red one was not enough. Draxum would have to do more. What a pain.

But he didn’t want the boys to hate him. So he sighed and launched into it.

“I… am sorry. I shouldn’t have said you aren’t twins.”

The boys looked surprised at that; slowly, their posture loosened back up.

“And… to make up for my present, I will… take the two of you wherever you want to go in the Hidden City.” The next words were painful, and he ground them out. “My treat.”

Leonardo and Donatello shifted their gaze from him to each other. They were silent, but it didn’t seem like they needed to talk to have a conversation.

Then they finally looked back at Draxum, slow grins growing over both their faces.

Eerily matching, very evil grins.

“Oh,” said Leonardo, happily menacing. “I think we can think of something.”

“I concur,” said Donatello in the exact same tone.

Oh, thought Draxum. Maybe they really are twins.

[daistea]

(Def not King lurkin into your asks)

Saw that you take requests,,, 👀

What's your thoughts on a sexual relationship with Mithrun? I always get a little stumped with those requests, and you're just *chefs kiss* when it comes to your characterization of him

CRIES HELLO THANK U ILY

ummm tw: spoilers maybe? and nsfw

.・゜゜・　　・゜゜・．

Pre-Demon

Mithrun is a total slut, sorry.

That's not a bad thing, obviously, it's just what he is. I mean, he doesn't admit or acknowledge it. He has a very difficult time accepting his preferences. He's just a slut in denial.

That's all.

Pre-Ending, Post-Trauma

Mithrun hasn't had a real boner in forty years, sorry.

He has no interest in being intimate with anyone. He's really casual about the subject, though, because the Canaries--- sans Pattadol--- are pretty honest and open with each other. Shameless.

Fleki thinks he needs to get laid, but she doesn't care enough to push the subject.

Mithrun isn't emotionless, though. He's just preoccupied. His sex drive is extremely low at this point. However, he's observant enough about others to notice how you feel.

He'll have sex just for the sake of having it. He's kinda forgotten how it feels. And he still has pleasure receptors and nerves and all that nonsense. He can still physically react. You just have to do some work. He's not going to be super enthusiastic, but still consenting ofc

Mithrun is a total pillow princess at this point.

It's a bit calming, actually. Kind of therapeutic.

He's relatively quiet, but sometimes he can't help but exhale shakily, or groan. His touches are light. He's not very passionate. But sometimes he looks at you with these slightly dark expressions, as if he's considering something more. Something you don't quite understand.

Post-Canon

It starts out slowly. Mithrun doesn't immediately regain a sex drive. It needs cultivating.

The first time is really important. Depending on who you are and what you're like, it could range from soft and explorative, to rough and frantic.

Mithrun is a switch. I see a lot of depictions of him as a bottom, and I see that point of view, I really do. But I genuinely believe he'd work both roles. He would like to be dominant sometimes. Other times, he just wants to sit back and let the new feelings take over.

He likes being called a good boy.

He doesn't really enjoy the fact that he likes being called that. It's demeaning and it kind of makes him a little irritated, but holy crap does it set him on fire. 'Good boy' should only be invoked in the most passionate or rough of moments.

Mithrun can be rough when he feels like it. He can push you against a wall with the intent to make you forget your own name. He can leave bruises with how tightly he digs his fingers in. He bites, as always, but harder.

Speaking of biting, he'll usually bite your shoulder to keep himself from making much noise.

Mithrun wants to consume you entirely. He wants every inch of you. Your focus should be on him and him only. He likes hearing his name from your lips. Over and over. And he will often ask you who you belong to. He sounds calm in those moments, though, level-headed and scratchy as always, but there's a hint of expectance between his words.

He'll say it back, too, but in a very casual way, as if he doesn't quite understand why you want him to say that. Of course he's yours. Does it need to be acknowledged?

He has no shame, either. Anywhere, any time, if he wants it then he'll initiate it. He only pulls you into private alleys or closets because he knows that's what you prefer.

When you take charge, he enjoys that too. He likes looking up at you, taking in the view, letting his hands wander.

Whether he's top or bottom really depends on his mood.

If he's feeling especially jealous or possessive, he leaves a lot of marks.

He likes praise. He doesn't really give it back, though.

He's not very talkative during the deed, but if you talk often he'll just end up clamping a hand over your mouth.

He enjoys wrapping his fingers around your neck. He doesn't really like that in return, though.

No mirror sex.

He really likes oral. He can be a little selfish with it, actually.

Mithrun isn't a sadist LOL but he does like to tie you up sometimes and leave you hanging. It also depends on how you are as a person and what your dynamic is like.

If he's not in a dominant mood, he's a pillow princess again. Those are the days when he's not feeling as much, when he's not as locked in to his desires. Or, when he's just mentally or physically tired.

No matter what mood, he still needs a lot of care and affection. He needs every ounce of your focus.

He doesn't provide much aftercare. You're the one doing that, no matter who topped. But he eventually learns a bit and starts kinda reciprocating out of sheer habit, because he knows it would make you happy.

As I always say, Mithrun stares a lot. His gaze follows you everywhere, and he'll never get tired of the sight of your body.

He sorta passes out afterwards. It's one of the rare times when he doesn't need a sleep spell. He often will just pass out on top of you.

In general, he's a switch and how he acts is highly dependent on his mood for the day. He needs a lot of attention and affection, and likes to mark you up. He lacks shame, he'll initiate it anywhere. He's relatively quiet, but breathy. Sometimes, he touches you like you're porcelain about to crack. Other times, he manhandles you like a rag doll and does whatever he pleases. If you're able to, manhandle him in return, he'll probably get a little pissy with you but it's still funny.

:0 !

★・・・・・・★

[blasphemecel]

Shidou Ryuusei — Like Teeth

PAIRING: Shidou Ryuusei/Reader WORD COUNT: 3.6k TYPE: Humor, Feelings realization, idfk what this even is but i threw in some surprise fluff at the end WARNING(S): Nsfw jokes but cmon it's shidou you gotta forgive me for finding sex funny this once, play-fighting that doesn't seem very playful, canon-typical mental illness, canon-typical unnecessary dramatics, canon-typical overly intense soccer rivalry NOTE: Reader is a part of the blue lock project but no concrete gender identity or pronouns are specified

It starts like this:

After the freaky nerd from the ceremony whose name you hadn’t bothered remembering finishes with his instructions about this game of tag you’re supposed to be playing, the biggest asshole in the room immediately targets you once he realizes you’re the one with the highest number on your jersey. You trap the ball with ease and then kick it straight into his face with as much power as you can muster, knocking him out, the force sending him reeling.

While the timer continues ticking, no one dares to make a move or even exhale too loudly in your presence, scared you might take their bodily functions as a challenge to your authority. Like every opponent before, they’ve submitted to you.

You stare at the ceiling, your lips set in a tight line, the despair settling in. Just this once, you want to meet someone who can excite you, and you’d hoped this ridiculous place could help.

___

As the top scorer of your pathetic excuse for a team — though behind your back they call you ‘the top red card holder,’ but considering how far up your own ass your head is, you’re yet to pay attention to this remark — by the second qualifying match they already know to pass the ball to you no matter what. In your defense, you’re not any more tyrannical than the average douche in this competition. It’s not your fault they’re too worthless to do what you can.

Two of the opponents are blocking your path, and you shuffle the ball between your feet trying to get the positioning right while they attempt to steal it. Everyone is making noises, but they never mean anything to you. You back up once you’ve felt that the stars have aligned and strike the ball through the tight opening between their bodies, taking the first goal of the match.

“You’re good!”

You blink, the words bringing you out of your perpetual trance to look at the guy in front of you. He starts rambling some nonsense about explosions and how he’s going to beat the ass of anyone who can’t give a good show and you think at some point he has started finding new roundabout ways of saying that he basically wants to bust a nut on the field. It is absurd. You understand it down to your bones, except maybe the last thing. For the first time, everything is coming into view. You can make out his face and you can hear his words and you see your teammates in your peripheral vision. How you didn’t notice him before, what with the hairstyle and his cartoonishly beautiful eyelashes, you’re not sure, but you’ve never been more present during a game before.

“Alright, gyaru,” you say. “Show me how you explode.”

“Gyaru?” he tilts his head, grin wide like a demon’s. “You think I’m pretty?”

Though Jinpachi Ego officially writes down what ensues as a round-robin tourney in his notes, the spectators (meaning literally anyone else who was in your physical proximity) would describe it as ‘The Longest Dick Measuring Contest They’ve Ever Seen.’

The way he moves fascinates you like nothing else. Just like you, he is a creature of instinct. You both circle around while trying to score or steal the ball, only to find that stopping the other is impossible.

After this match, two monsters glance at each other and think, ‘Maybe there is someone out here who understands me.’

___

There are still jitters in your veins. You can’t sleep. Is it ridiculous and maybe parasocial that the thought of ‘I want to see this guy again’ is keeping you up at night? Yeah, probably. You also feel like a creep lying down in the dark with your eyes wide open, yearning to bulldoze through something like you do when you want to calm down.

Frustrated, you slip out of the futon and leave the room while the rest of them are sleeping. The hallways let out ominous flickers, trailing after you while your steps echo and bounce off the walls. This building looks like a prison, you think, though you hadn’t noticed before.

You hate to think that your desperation is so strong you’ve developed the power of manifestation overnight, but when you step inside of the training room, he’s already there. He doesn’t have the decency to seem surprised at your entrance when you close in on him. His arms are crossed and he has a smug aura about him, but for the love of everything you cannot comprehend why he’s standing there doing nothing. At least you planned on being productive when you headed here with your plan to obliterate whatever you could get your hands on. Just so happens it’s him that you found.

The weird silence stretches, but it doesn’t bother either of you because as it turns out you have the same kind of social incompetence. You realize you don’t even know the guy’s name, but he declares, “You really came.”

You don’t really know what he means by this considering you didn’t arrange to meet here beforehand, but he’s saying it as if this was some unanimous agreement you came to earlier. “Waiting for me in the middle of the night all by yourself, handsome?”

“Every cell in my body was calling out to yours,” he says as if it explains anything. His expression is bordering on maniacal. Anyone else might’ve realized this was a bad idea, read the warning signs, but to someone like you who has lived their entire life sleepwalking, the excitement of such a strange encounter is addictive. “We’re the same… That’s why you felt it.”

“In that case, please avoid summoning me so late,” you say. “I value good sleep.”

He cannot tell if you’re just taking the piss or if you’re on the same page, but it’s rare that anyone entertains him when he says anything of that nature. To him, this is an amusing turn of events. “They say you’re some kinda unhinged delinquent. ‘s that true?”

“Sure, if that’s what you call putting a few sorry bums down in their place after they crossed me.”

“So you know how to scrap too, right?”

Right now, Shidou Ryuusei is like a kid at the candy store. You can’t discern any reason for him to swing at you, but he does, smiling all the while. After you respond to his provocation with a duck and a kick of your own — you avoid using your hands for anything if you can avoid it, finding it beneath you — you decide to consider this your friendly introduction to each other.

If he wants to coax the crazy out of you with his punches, then you’re trying to get him to settle down every time you retaliate, daring him to pipe down and turn boring just like everyone else. You’re not sure for how long you duke it out, but at some point you grow sloppy, and the last you remember of it before succumbing to your exhaustion is the last round of boneless slaps you offered each other.

___

Two of your teammates hatefully watch you and Shidou from across the cafeteria. You’re a selfish and insensitive person, of course, they know that. Before this, you’d always eat alone, but ever since the match where they were forced to watch you two flex on them, you’d hang out with him. Still, “I can’t believe [L/n] would rather have a romantic dinner with the only goddamn bastard in this goddamn building who gets better meals than share with us! I’m sick of this natto.”

“You’re telling me,” the other boy says, sadly eating a radish.

This must be an advanced form of psychological torture administered by Ego himself. Even if you don’t notice the audience, Shidou seems to be reveling in the negative attention. They can only watch and drool while you two push at each other and try to steal ingredients. At some point, you put Shidou in a suplex, making him cough out something. Then he wrestles his way out of your maneuver and shoves your head into your plate, forces you up again, and licks the food off your face while you scowl at him.

“I’d hardly call that a romantic dinner, though.”

“A guy from blondie’s team said he caught them asleep on top of each other in the training facility once.”

“Do you think they’re-?!”

“Oh my god, they’re…!”

They scream and point at each other and then hug as if traumatized. To add insult to injury, your voice rings from afar, “Are your eyes really pink? There’s no way that’s natural,” while some of the sauce still sticks to your skin.

“What? You think I’m some kinda fake?” asks Shidou, apparently offended.

“I’m gonna expose you, trust.”

How are you blowing everyone in your cell out of the water in terms of performance? You have to be the dumbest person in this entire wing.

___

“I want you,” he says.

Granted, this is out of context, but you still find that the words have some effect on you. But this won’t do no matter how hard you want to give in. With the first stage of the second selection cleared, you can’t continue as you are. You’ve been complacent in your talent. To expand your abilities, you need to observe whatever other powerful players there are in here instead of still chasing after him. Even the wet wipes on your old team have started catching up.

Besides, you’d always thought your appeal to him is as an opponent, someone who he wants on the other side of the field to face off against, and now Shidou is demanding to work together with you.

“I was in a coma before I met you,” you say. He pinches his eyebrows together, which is probably the first time you’ve seen him pull such an expression. To think you have the ability to utter something so strange, it weirds out even Shidou. “You pulled me out of it, but now I need to see other things, too.”

“If you tell me you wanna go watch other guys, I might get jealous.” Despite the initial waver, he sticks his tongue out at you, trying to be playful like always.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

Shidou grabs you by the collar of your jersey and pushes you against the wall. You blink at him, finding this an inappropriate time for a spar seeing as this is regular enough for him, but then he invades your personal space in a way which doesn’t feel particularly combative, your noses brushing against each other, and he blatantly glances at your lips before closing his eyes. You don’t think about it when you pull him in by the neck, your body reacting to his cues.

It’s not even that great, he’s not really being effective at what he’s doing, mashing your mouth against his almost pointlessly, teeth clashing and all before moving far too quickly onto the tonguing part of making out. Your nails are digging into his neck and his hold against your waist is tight enough to bother you. There’s a latent aggression in it like there is in any other interaction between you two.

And you don’t enjoy this for the surface-level sensations but rather for the strange tightness in your chest, the headrush, the closeness where somehow he’s enveloping you and you’re enveloping him at the same time and it feels like you’re about to fuse. You don’t want to let go yet, maybe under the assumption that if you keep kissing him, he’s going to be polite and return your breath to you.

Steps come near the entrance of the hallway and then, “Ah! Uhhh…”

You snap out of it and push Shidou off of you. He has the gall to look offended, glaring.

There’s some puny kid with a buzz cut, standing there with his confusion clear on his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, uh… whatever it was you were doing!” he says in a panic, waving his hands back and forth.

Yeah, that’s a good point. What the fuck were you doing? You just jumped at each other on instinct, ruled by some bizarre, mysterious need.

It must be because the air is so charged between you. Shidou is always in overdrive and he has a penchant for pulling you into his madness. You’re always doing something when you’re together — trading blows, trying to show the other up in soccer, saying heavy-handed things for no reason — and now a moment of stagnancy happened and you both turned into even bigger morons than usual.

He didn’t think about it either, you’re sure. Besides, even if you’re a crazy bastard on the field, you’re not like him. Shidou will meet even stronger players once he advances and he’ll move onto his next obsession. This doesn’t mean anything, at least not to him, you’re convinced.

You untangle yourself from him and ram your shoulder into his as goodbye before lamely saying, “I’m going now,” and offering a nonchalant wave.

He frowns before kicking imaginary dust off the floor. “Sure, fine. Be this way!”

Igaguri isn’t super puritanical or anything. Yeah, he grew up in a temple and all, but seeing two people kiss doesn’t offend his sensibilities. What freaked him out was how you managed to make it look like a fight while you were going at it, and like, he knows the hallway was deserted before he came out of thin air, but this is still a public place. Whatever happened to shame?

And now he has to be in the same vicinity as this scary guy who’s glaring daggers at the spot you were standing in, vein bursting out of his forehead and all, as if you ruined his life by walking out of here. He looks like a manchild who’s sulking because his mom forgot to make him chicken nuggies. A bead of nervous sweat rolls down his forehead.

___

Ever since the beginning, Isagi has been honing his technique, always hungry to add another skill to his repertoire. Rin and Shidou have no synergy; fine, he thinks, it’s not like he really even wants to set up a goal using them. It’s not enough to satisfy him anymore, not after the last match. He’d much rather score himself.

But the problem with the spatial awareness he has developed is that he can’t turn it off at will, or say ‘la-la-la’ and ignore something to focus on what’s important.

Well, being on the same stage as you and Shidou has to be the worst thing of all time. He wants to smell a goal for himself, but the most likely chemical reaction he can predict is one between you two, and you’re not even on the same team. It’s like a ticking time bomb, like those explosions Shidou has been vaguely rambling about, and it permeates the air.

You’ve started adapting his bodily control and precision, almost coming close to scoring with your back on the net. And Shidou has managed to pull off one of ridiculously tight angled shots to break through a two-on-one, passing the ball to Rin. If the phenomenon Isagi observed and achieved before is ‘consumption,’ then he has a first row seat to watch you two cannibalize each other.

The most unfortunate thing is the chase. The ball will come to you, but Shidou will steal it. He’ll be in the air ready to strike, but you’ll sabotage him from below. Isagi recognizes this as an unconscious prediction — on a molecular level, you know where the other one will be, and you’ll race there. It’s like he’s watching both of you swing neon signs and desperately scream ‘Please look at me!’ and overall beg for attention while also stubbornly refusing to make eye contact in fear of rejection.

It is revolting. He wants to gag.

Sure, Ego talked about how luck is a skill and how a pro takes advantage of it, but he never mentioned what to do when someone on his team is living through a low-rated soap opera episode with an opponent. With all of the emotional constipation among the participants of this godforsaken project, he’s sure this won’t be the last time he’ll need it.

___

Sitting down in the middle of practice isn’t productive, but you’re ‘taking a break,’ by which you mean you want to snap someone’s neck. It’s been boring again, ever since Shidou started disregarding your presence. You’re even on the same team now and it’s like you’re no better than air to him.

Of course, you’d predicted he’d find someone new to excite him. You just hadn’t anticipated it’d hurt your feelings. Why do you care, anyway? You should be used to this. The soccer you’ve played has always been selfish and lonely, and moping and jealousy are below you.

But during the match against U-20, you saw him look at Itoshi Sae the same way he first looked at you on the day you met, spouting nonsense with his unique expert-level yappery. And you don’t like that. You don’t like it at all.

He’s off doing his own thing again when you search for him with your eyes. You stand up.

And then you don’t think at all, breaking out into a sprint at full speed.

You’re behind him in the matter of a minute or so, slipping your foot between his and kicking the ball overhead so it lands behind him. He bristles, perhaps at your unwanted company, but you’ve already turned on your heel to run in the other direction.

You’re dribbling the ball when you glance over your shoulder. He’s onto you, trademark grin on his face. You’re not even sure what you’re trying to accomplish here, but all that comes to mind is, It doesn’t matter if it’s going way too fast or way too hard anymore. Just chase after me one more time.

You’re almost all the way over to the other goal, maintaining your lead, when Shidou kicks the ball after lunging around your side. It slips off half-assedly, but you don’t have much time to mock him for his technique because he grabs you by the wrists and pins you down, straddling you to the ground.

“That’s a foul,” you say, displeased.

“I don’t care.” His smile is so big you feel like he’s going to need to visit an orthodontist after you’re done here. The annoying strands of hair he keeps loose are hovering near your face, taunting you.

Your eyes dart again with your head in the fake grass and you see it straying off. “And the ball didn’t make it. To be honest, you were sloppy.”

“I don’t care.”

“You… don’t?”

There’s that sick fluttering feeling in your stomach again and your heart kicks against your chest painfully. Your cheeks are growing warm and you feel uncomfortable by the heat with Shidou so close to you. What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously, he didn’t even tell you a line or anything. He just said ‘I don’t care’ twice. That’s not game! You need to get a grip.

“Yeah, why should I? I’ve got you right where I want you now.”

You raise an unimpressed eyebrow. If making you look like an idiot is his revenge to you for making him mad, then fine, you’re going to pretend you can’t make your way out of his grip with ease.

“You can’t give me a big dopamine hit like that and pull away,” he says, leaning closer. By this point you really can’t see much apart from his big ass head right in your face. Does he even know what he’s implying to you while looking at you straight-on? Does he realize you know his weird euphemisms are all figures of speech for whatever makes him horny?

“What do you mean?”

“Tellin’ me all that romantic stuff and running away…” Shidou narrows his eyes as if the memory is enough to annoy him.

You blink. Oh. You thought he was throwing a temper tantrum because you refused to team up with him. But once again, you’re unimpressed. “So did that turn you on or what? I don’t get it.”

“Well, I’d put it in other words, like, let’s say, hypothetically, maybe you made me explode because you’re an oxidizer and I’m an organic-”

“Ok, I know, but I’m trying to figure out what’s going on here-”

He retreats and rolls away from you, allowing you to sit up again, so you cease talking without reaching the point you were trying to make. It flies out of your head anyway when he links his hand with yours, staring at you, seemingly subdued now. You’re not sure why you’re both acting like shy middle schoolers now while indulging in something so chaste considering you’ve done way more indecent things together, but you intertwine your fingers and offer him a smile. The sight catches him off-guard.

Before he can bask in another achievement (this time being the first person to make you express any kind of joy when everyone knows you’re one distant asshole), a ball hits him straight on the forehead.

Without any preamble, Rin deems it fit to announce his presence by saying, “Your lukewarm displays are appalling. You should both just die.”

You stare at him and then at each other and burst out in laughter, pointing at him. Though you finish your laughing fits at about the same time, you spur on another one by asking, “Do you think he even knows what lukewarm means?”

“No, I seriously doubt it!”

Rin thinks to ask you how come you think it’s chill when your shitty boyfriend or whatever he is says the grossest things imaginable, but suddenly it’s a problem when he wants to say his favorite word, though he doesn’t want to seem too offended or otherwise invested.

___

Im sorry if this is in any way contradictory or shitty or sucks balls I havent slept in 4 days except for a one-off 3 hour nap and wrote this while possessed. Maybe ill sleep again at some point and this will be the worst thing ive ever seen and ill have to delete it. God forbid.

[topaz-witch-tea]

So I just want to say I love your work so far but also random request, Yanqing’s first word. I can just imagine the bets going on for his first word and when he says it no one knows who he’s talking about like AUJSBUENJSNUBD

Aww! Thank you!

I love this request. I actually have a Psych degree so I read a bit on the science behind first words to prepare an answer for this ask.

Barring sounds babies make naturally (mama, dada, baba), Yanqing's first word is Cat.

For a group of well-educated and fairly competitive men, they could not settle for words that were "close enough". Babies made noise that sounded close enough to "mama" and parents took it as their baby recognizing their mom even if the baby said it to a potted plant.

Yanqing babbled but babbling did not denote "words" according to Yingxing. "Any baby can babble. I want a clear word." Jing Yuan did note that the request was "a bit excessive. Don't you think those standards are too high for such a baby?"

"Nonsense, Yanqing will obviously say Baba and know that it is me. I want a victory no one can dispute." Yingxing had bet his most recent creation.

Dan Feng was quite offended at the idea his son would say "Baba over Ba". Citing that it was an illogical thing to bet on before promising a rare set of Vidyadhara armor to the winner.

Jing Yuan had actually betted on "Mimi". "A-die is such a hard thing for babies to say on their first try. Mimi is much easier and Yanqing adores her very much." The item on the line was a rare manuscript from his family's archives.

JIngliu found the whole thing ridiculous but placed her support behind Dan Feng. "If a baby can say 'Baba', it is obvious it would be able to say Ba first." She put a fine bottle of wine that was made and bottled before the rise of Lan.

Baiheng, of course, threw her hat behind Yingxing. Besides being very close to each other, she cited "Yanqing like saying Baba a lot, even if he says it to the soda and the tree. He's bound to recognize that it means Yingxing one day." She had placed a prized starskiff on the line, a vintage, racing starskiff she had repaired.

In the hope of encouraging his first word, they had put in a lot of effort to read aloud to Yanqing. During one of these story times, there was a fluffy, white cat on the cover of the novel. "This is a cat, Yanqing. They're quite cute and are all over the Luofu." Jing Yuan said as he pointed at the animal.

A month after the wager was made, Yanqing shouted his first word in the middle of a family dinner. The family was gathered around the table and Yanqing was seated in his high chair munching on yogurt bites. Mimi moved to poke Yanqing's nose with her cold nose, causing him to pull his feet back and laugh.

"CAT!" Yanqing shouted out, reaching his hand out to pet Mimi's mane. The word was met with a shocked silence before the dinner table descended into chaos.

"What did you say Yanqing?" Jing Yuan picked his son out of the high chair. "Cat! Cat!" Yanqing kept reaching for Mimi, who had started eating the yogurt bites Yanqing left on the table.

Dan Feng's face was a mixture of ecstatic joy and slight disappointment. Yingxing was still frozen in shock before bursting into laughter when Yanqing pointed at Baiheng's ear and shouted "Cat!" Jingliu found the whole thing incredibly amusing and had the bottle of wine opened in celebration of Yanqing's first word.

This development led Yanqing to start calling anything fluffy, white, and/or pointed-eared "CAT!"

Jing Yuan? Cat.

Tingyun's little foxes? Cat.

Yukong, Tinyun, and Qingni? Cat.

Many, many things in Yanqing's little world were called "Cat" which may have been for the best considering what items were on the line.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Sarumi Gakuen K when Fushimi give his first button of his gakuran shirt to Yata when they graduate

It should be second, shouldn’t it? That’s the one for romantic love. Imagine Fushimi and Yata are getting ready to graduate and they’ve of course had the usual relationship ups and downs, they were enemies for a while but now they’re back to being friends. Fushimi hasn’t confessed his real feelings to Yata though, assuming that there’s no way Yata would ever return his feelings after everything Fushimi’s put him through. They’re hanging out in Yata’s dorm a few days before graduation playing video games and Yata’s talking about how cool it is that they’re gonna be graduating soon, Fushimi smirks and says it’s amazing idiot Misaki passed. Yata’s all shut up and then he grumbles that just because Fushimi got into a fancy university. Fushimi shrugs and languidly says he doesn’t really care about university, Yata’s like no no you have to care and become someone even more amazing. Yata’s starting an apprenticeship after high school, it’s not too far from Fushimi’s university though so he hopes they can still see each other. Fushimi is fiddling with the buttons of his uniform as he makes a small noise of agreement, looking dissatisfied. He says he has to go back to his own dorm and as he gets up the second button falls off his uniform. Yata picks it up and is like wait this fell off, let me sew it back on for you. Fushimi looks at Yata for a long time and then tells Yata to ‘keep it.’

Yata thinks that’s weird and he just pockets the button, figuring Saruhiko is being weird right now and he’ll want this later. Fushimi continues to seem oddly distant for the next few days and even at graduation, Yata’s looking for him because he wants to like take pictures together. He runs into some of his friends from Homra and everyone’s congratulating him, Yata’s really proud of himself when even his former upperclassman Mikoto shows up to tell him good job. Yata asks by the way have you guys seen Saruhiko and one of the Homra guys is like oh yeah wasn’t Fushimi missing his second button on his uniform. Yata doesn’t get why that’s a big deal and he’s like oh yeah I have it here in my pocket. Immediately they’re all just staring at him and Yata’s like what. Kamamoto nervously leans in and quietly lets Yata know what giving the button means, Yata’s like wait no this isn’t that it just fell off…and Saruhiko told me to keep it. Everyone is still giving him a look as it slowly dawns on Yata what just happened here.

He says a quick goodbye to everyone and then goes running to find Fushimi. Fushimi’s already trying to sneak off campus (he’s trying to avoid his doting senpai Munakata who showed up with congratulation flowers). Yata practically tackles him to the ground as he’s like you dumbass why didn’t you just say something. Fushimi has no idea what Yata’s talking about and Yata’s face is all red as he mumbles that how was he supposed to know things if Fushimi doesn’t say them, he knows Yata isn’t very good at romance stuff. Fushimi tries to shrug him off like Yata’s just talking nonsense but Yata presses a fist to Fushimi’s chest, button clasped in his hand as he’s like I know what this means. Fushimi scoffs that Yata has no idea and Yata coughs as he’s like if—if you’re gonna confess then do it properly you idiot, or no one will understand. Fushimi coldly says Yata wouldn't have understood either way and Yata snaps that Fushimi doesn’t know that. Suddenly Yata just pulls the second button off his own uniform and hands it to Fushimi like here, do you get it now dumbass.

[captainlondonman]

HI VIS

FIRST CLASS BIN MAN

‘Oh Christ, where am I? What time is it? Oh fuck I’ve pissed in my pants, look at the bloody stain all the way down my trousers. And fuck I’ve been sick all down my front. God what a bloody headache.’

Thomas was sat on the dirty wet ground back against a brick wall, , sitting in amongst what seemed like giant wheelie bins.

“Shit what a fucking awful smell.”

His nostrils were full not just of his own sick but the retching smell of fish bones and meat.

Slowly the picture stated coming back to him. He had just gone to Uni to get his results and what a shock, he had just got First Class honours. He had expected Upper second but shit man, a First. Totally amazing. He was on top of the world, any job would now be possible. He remembered hugging all his mates and like a gang they all went out to get smashed and celebrate. Smashed it was for Thomas as he must have been so out of his mind that he ended up down some back alley throwing up and passing out. While he was out cold he had pissed himself. One side of his trousers were totally stained with piss and he could smell it. With all he had had to drink he must have filled his chinos, once beige and now dark brown and still wet. Suddenly he saw that his cock had reacted to the warm wet piss and was erect stretching down his leg, a good meaty piece.

‘This is the last thing I need and how the fuck am I going to get home looking like this.’

So much for celebrating his degree when he ended up like this

As he started to get himself off the ground he heard the noise of a thundering truck backing up the alley with lights flashing, getting closer and closer.

God I’d better hide between these bins and hopefully no one will notice me . He sat back tight against the wall but the vehicle stopped and he heard both doors open.

‘Christ I’m done for’ he thought

Thomas heard the voices

‘Thank God its dry mate today. Another day just the same but it does me, and soon back to the depot and we can get a ciggie and a beer.

Too right, Joe. Make sure we don’t overdo it. Fucking shame that young geezer took off as we need another bloke on this round. A young cocky apprentice to show the ropes and giv us some relief, know what I mean.’

‘Forget the round mate I need my cock serviced by a young guy’ The other bloke said

‘Me too. Shit just saying this is giving me a knob on.’

‘What’s that noise between the bins?’

The two guys moved one of the wheelies aside and there was Thomas slumped trying to hide between the bins.

‘So what have we here?’

Standing in front of Thomas were two hulking bin men in full Hi Viz gear. Certainly 6’ 2”. One was around 50 with a good pot belly, his thick belt holding up his Hi viz trousers and allowing his belly to sit out over. He was wearing thick rubber wellies, a tight tee shirt and hi viz yellow waistcoat. All down his right area were tattoos  He had a bull neck with double chin all unshaven, and hair erupting from the top of his T shirt. His head was totally shaved. The other guy was younger around 40 better build and had clearly done weights. His 6 pack showed through his T shirt but he wore a heavy Hiviz jacket on top, yellow Hi viz trousers and heavy worn rigger boots. Also a shaved head with a thick black beard and gold ring in his left ear. Not the guys to take any nonsense.

‘Er, I was out celebrating last night and have somehow ended up here, sorry’ said Thomas

‘Nae need to apologise but it must have been one fucking night judging by the sick down yer front and holy shit you have pissed herself as well. Some right ol mess mate

Right, lets help you up.’

The two bin men took Thomas by each arm and stood him up against the wall.

‘There you are. Christ you ain’t too bad, what’s that sticking out yer trousers. You’ve a bloody hard on mate and not a bad one at that.’

‘Er Sorry’ Thomas said trying to move his stiff cock so it was not so obvious.

‘Don’t mind us mate. Good viewing,’ the large one said giving himself a good rub between his groin.

‘You need to sort yerself out’

‘I’m not sure how I’m going to get home like this.’

‘Too right. Apart from the mess you stink mate’

The fatter guy gave his mate a side glance. ‘This could be what we are looking for’ his smile widening.

‘I reckon perfect.’

‘Sorry what are you saying?’

‘We are just finishing our round once we’ve loaded those wheelies and then back to the depot. Why don’t you get into the front between us and we’ll take you back with us to tidy up a bit and get you looking right.’

The two men had no difficulty is throwing the contents of the wheelie into the truck. The older guy got into the driver seat and the other said

‘Now young man get up and in between us.’

Thomas lifted himself into the long seat and the other guy pushed him along so his legs were touching the driver.

‘So what’s your name boy?’

‘Thomas.’

‘What a name, sounds fucking posh.’

The younger one said I’m Dave and the Big Un is Joe. Got that. You’ll know us well soon enough

‘So. What were you celebrating?’

‘I’d just got my Uni results’

‘Oh a clever boy then?’

‘Well yes, I got First Class honours so really pleased’

‘Christ knows what that is, Joe said, but suppose good enough to get you pissed’

‘Yes its great, makes it really easy to get a good job.’

‘Tell you what son you don’t have to look any further than us. You can join us, were looking for an apprentice kid to train on the bins, and keep Dave and I happy as well. You could be a first class binman.’ Joe said moving one of hands off the steering wheel and on to Thomas’s lap giving him a pat

‘I see myself in Finance actually.’

‘Oh do you actually? Tell you what Tam, you sound a right little stuck up shit telling me that. First class binman probably too good for you. I reckon a fucking ordinary binman more like.’

‘Sorry I don’t mean to be insulting but it is not what I have in mind.’

Thomas was sitting tightly between Dave and Joe each of his legs rubbing against theirs more with Joe very time he changed gear. He felt their shoulders up against him, felt their power, had the noise of the Hi Viz gear against his ears. He could smell their man smell and the stale smoke from their breathing. It was like nothing he had experienced before but he felt under their power and he liked it. Liked it so much that his cock started twitching again and lengthening down his trousers. The workies had seen his last stiff cock and he thought they seemed impressed, in fact the older one seemed to positively like and stare at.Thomas had seen him rubbing his own dick and a sly look had shown Thomas that his prick was in proportion to his size. Meaty and tenting in his HI Viz gear.

I daren’t let them see this, Thomas thought, and put his hands over his dick but he could not resist with the under hand gently stroking.

‘No way do I want to be a HI Viz working bin man’ thought Thomas but these men are really doing it for me even if Joe is overweight. They both seem thick but know what they want.

‘Ok Tam that’s us coming to the Depot’ Joe said

‘It’s Thomas really’ Thomas piped up

‘Too fucking posh for me that Tam. Tam it is and Tam it will stay’

‘I’m still a good walk away from home,’ Thomas said ‘and God knows what people will think of my clothes.’

‘You don’t need to worry about that Tam, come into the hut with us and we will sort you out. We have you looking decent in no time’

As he clambered down from the lorry he let is hands slip away and Dave got a good look at Thomas’s dick, not as hard still still poking out. Dave looked over at Joe with a wink

‘We’ve got a winner here Joe.’

Joe walked into the hut with Thomas behind and the first thing was the small of ciggies and general stench of body odour. He tried not to breathe but the more he resisted the more he wanted to smell  and have his lungs full of the stench.

‘A bit of a smell Tam but you get used to it and it looks already as if your taking it in to your lungs. Right lets sort you out’

Joe opened a locker and took out some clothes throwing them down on a seat.

‘These are yours Tam perfect size, perfect fit and will makes you feel like a different bloke. Much better than all those stained clothes your’e wearing. You’ll be much more comfortable in these, just like a second skin.’

Thomas lifted the various items to inspect.

A pair of really dirty stained Hi Viz trousers in yellow with the reflective stripes, a T shirt that once had been white but now grey, frayed at the neck and ripped under the arms, A grey hoodie with what looked like tea stains down the front, a Hi Viz waistcoat and a jacket all dirty and well used. For foot wear a pair of thick cheesy looking socks and Doc Marten boots with yellow laces

‘I can’t wear these to walk home’ Thomas said looking  in disgust at the Hi Viz gear. ‘They look worse than what Ive got on.’

‘Like Fuck’ Joe said ‘You think that piss stain all down your leg looks better. Trust me you’ll look a hell of a lot better is this stuff and feel better.

He picked up a bin bag and shouted ‘Now get out of these fucking clothes and get into the Hi Viz and just do as I say. Take all those bloody puked and piss stained clothes off including your boxers and get into this kit. And don’t worry bout us, we’ll go next door and make ourselves a brew while you change and I mean change   and then well come back in to see the new you and you’ll find out what’s happens then.’

Feeling very self conscious  and not understanding what the blokes meant Thomas stripped off and looked what to put on first. First try the socks. He looked at them and thought Christ these have been well used. He could not resist smelling them. God what cheesy feet the bloke must have had, it was as if they have never been washed but after his first reaction against them he found himself moving them up and down his nose breathing deeply , getting a kick. It gave him a headache and slightly blurry eyed as he slipped them on his feet. Next the Hi Viz trousers. As he looked inside them the guy had obviously always been. Commando and he could see some skid marks on the arse and piss stains at the front. The trousers were well used but still had a stiffness to them. They looked the right size as he pulled them up. His haziness was getting worse but he still knew what he was doing. Next the T shirt, Christ he could smell the BO. Thank God he could get home soon and get straight into the shower. As he pulled it over his head he felt his arms change. Suddenly they did not feel or even look as skinny as usual, there was good muscle which he had always wanted but through his hazy eyes his right arm started changing colour. There were tattoos in black red and blue. All the way down his arm totally covering all the way to his fingertips. He can’t be seeing right surely but as his mind became more boggled he thought yes my arm is covered in tattoos. Thomas slipped on the waistcoat and then the jacket. He was becoming more and more confused and was beginning to forget his name. What was it ?

Yeah Tam, I think . He went to put his hand up to his head to relieve the pain and saw that his hands were now grimy with dirty bitten nails, the fingers were yellow as if with nicotine. They were thick working hands. As he scratched his head where the hell had all his hair gone? He was bald totally shaven like a skinhead. He had strong wavy hair, so he vaguely. thought but he was scalped. As his hand moved around over his face he discovered he had rings in not just both ears but through his nose. How the hell had they got there. His head was throbbing and his confusion was even worse. A small part of him remembered him as the Uni graduate Thomas but more and more he was thinking of himself as Tam, beer and a night out with his skinhead friends getting into a brawl. He stepped into his 19 hole Doc. Martens, thick soles that had clearly kicked blokes on the ground in ne of his angry moments. As he tied the last boot up his head exploded and he thought his eyes were going. to pop out. He stood up quickly and looked into the mirror next to the locker.

‘Fucking hell, fucking great man’ Tam stood there looking at a Hi Viz clothed skinhead with a scar across one cheek and a spider’s web  tattoo spreading up his neck. He looked bloody scary, takes no prisoners, rings in his ear and nose.

‘I’m a fucking skinhead working on the bins. Shit man who wants more? No need to fucking wok hard.  Stcik with thosue stinking bins and the lads here and the getting out and having a punch up after a gutful of beers. Fucking perfect’

Tam was so pleased with himself that his cock had gone rigid and that meaty cock of Thomas’ was even bigger and thicker now and stood sticking straight out in his HI viz gear. ‘Shit man I’m so fucking horny’ he said rubbing his crotch.

The door opened and Joe and Dave walked in.

‘Well, it looks as if our new apprentice is getting off on his new look. So Dave we have our first class young bin man, Joe said starting to rub his own dick.

Tam could not take his eyes off the mirror seeing his image, his prick getting harder and harder and his hand rubbing up and down faster and faster.

‘Tom, quit the wanking now there’ll be time for that soon enough.’

‘So Joe what do you think.’ Dave said

‘Fucking amazing, shit he’s made me feel fucking horny. No way are we going back on the road until he’s been through his initiation with us.

‘I’m ready, Dave,’  Joe said unzipping his hi viz and pulling out his massive thick dick. He spat a big gob onto his hand and spread it up and down his cock. ‘That’s it getting it greased for a big fuck.’

‘I always love looking at that cock of yours Joe’ Dave said rubbing his own crotch.

‘Jesus,’ Tam said eyeing Joe’s prick.  ‘That’s a fucking monster you have there. Are we all going to wank?’

‘No boy, this dick of mine is going up that arse of yours. All new boys get this and all of them want more after as you will.

‘So do as I say now and drop those hi viz  trousers. Lets me see that cock of yours and I know you want a good look yourself. I promise you it’s a thicker dick that’s you had.’

‘I’m not fucking getting my gear off’ Tom shouted

Joe grabbed hold of Toms jacket and pressed his face against his.

‘You’ll fucking do as I say or do want me to force them down around your fucking knees. If that’s what you want then ye’ll get no spit and trust me you really feel my cock being pushed hard up that crack of yours’

Tam lowered his trousers

‘Now look at that cock of yours mate.. Not a bad bit of equipment and nice and hard. Don’t worry you’ll soon get your chance for that wank’ Joe said grabbing Tam’s cock and give it a mighty squeeze, Tam groaning with real pleasure

‘Now bend over facing Dave, that’s it my boy’

Tom bent forward and Joe let another big gob of spit drop on to his cock.

‘Shit that feels good’ as he rubbed his hand up and down his shaft

He took hold of Toms arse and spread his cheeks, bending down to let his wet tongue in to his crack.

‘Christ that arse of yours is high but get’s me more horny and ready for that fuck.’ With one finger he started moving into Tom’s crack moving it around and taking his second finger pushed that in too

‘Shit man.’  Tom moaned.

‘Shut up its only 2 bloody fingers. Just wait.’

Joe stood up and still with his hands parting Tam’s cheeks moved his hardened cock to the hole. Dave standing watching was by now rubbing his crotch.

‘Once you get that cock up his arse Joe then he can start giving me blow job. I love spunking down a new boy’s throat’

‘Don’t worry Dave his throat is all yours. For now I just want his arse’

Ok Tam get ready, this is what you want. It may hurt at first but once up you you’ll be moving up and down my rod begging me to cum insider you.

With his big arms around Tam’s waist he inched the head of his cock into Tams arse

‘Relax mate. The more relaxed you are the easier it will be’

‘Shit that’s one hell of a dick’ Tam said squirming in both agony and enjoyment

‘This is just the beginning. That arse of yours is begging for my big prick, I can tell the way your bum is reacting’

With his arms he started pulling Tom back slowly towards him, his cock nicely greased by his spit forcing its way up.

‘You see what I told you, relax, feels good don’t it?’

‘Shit it’s big, man but I fucking love it.’ Tom replied letting his arse move further up into Joe’s cock. With one shove from Tam Joe’s cock was up to the hilt and he could feel Joe’s beer belly rubbing against his arse.

‘Shit Joe. Let me feel that flabby belly of yours get right into my arse. Push it big man

‘Dave its time that cock of your got a bit of the action. Let our new boy see that cock of yours.’ Joe grunted loving the feel of his dick in Tam’s arse

Dave was ready and almost panting to get his dick out from his flies.

He stood in front of Tam with a raging erection and pulled his foreskin back.

‘See this cock,  Tam, Dave said as he stood right in front of Tams face. You need to get this down that throat of yours. All part of your initiation.

‘Fuck that cock of yours Dave is rank. I can smell the piss’

‘Piss or no piss’ boy, its going down your throat’

Dave took hold of Tam’s head and inched his hard dick down the throat.

‘Stop fucking gagging boy and breathe it’ll be much easier. Let me see that spit of yours running down your face

Joe smirked. Now you’ve got both of us, me up that nice tight ares of yours and Dave’s cock down your throat.

Now Dave you know what you need to do next don’t you as you know I’m the boss

‘Sure boss, and with that Dave lent forward to took hold of Joe’s tits through his T shirt and started squeezing

‘Fuck that’s good Dave, you always know how to get me really worked up. Keep going and with my dick up Tams arse you can squeeze as much as you want.

‘Tam as for you, you can at last get your cock out and start wanking and all three of us are going to fucking erupt at the same time got it?’

Go on Dave move that cock of yours up and down in Tams throat’ Joe cried as he shoved his dick in and out of Ta’ms arse.

‘You love that boy don’t you?’ as he could hear Tam groaning, his hand down working his shaft

Joe said ‘You fucking loving that Joe I can see. Think this is our best apprentice yet. Go on let that belly of yours smack against his arse. I love seeing it’

‘Too bloody right.  Shit man I’m going to come any minute he said as he gripped Tam, around the waist.

Go on Tam suck my dick as if your life depended on it. That’s some fucking throat you have. ‘Christ Joe I am about to come as well. What bout you Tam.?

A loud grunt from Tom and the way his hand was over his shaft said the same.

‘I’m fucking ready. I’m about to empty a fucking great wad of cum up yer arse boy. That’s it Dave really squeeze my tits.

Shit its coming arghhh I shooting now., With. That joe threw his head back and erupted his sack off cum up Tam’s arse

Dave seeing his mate in orgasm shot his spunk down Tams throat, moaning Fucking hell. Shot after shot of cum was too much for Tam as it ran down his chin on to his HViz jacket.

Feeling all this cum spurting into him from both ends was too much for Tam. This is what he always wanted. Real strong men, arse and face fucking him. With one almighty jerk he released jet after jet of young hot spunk all over the floor

‘Fuuuckin hell Tam shouted. I’ve never had a fuck or wank like that. Fucking terrific.’

The three men stood up and flicked off the drops of cum from their dicks looking at one another doing the same and pushed he cocks back into the hi viz trousers so that some cum would stick to the inside.

‘Well Tam that was your initiation to be a bin man.’

‘Joe you said sumthin about First class. I’ve never been first class in anything always fuckin dumb. Dina want to be anything else. Give me ciggies and beer that’s enough for me.

‘I tell you what Tam,’ Dave said ‘yer a bloody good fuck and as far as I’m concerned a first class bin man. Don’t you agree Dave?’

‘The best yet. I knew it as soon as we picked you up. Well done Joe you chose a right one. This time Lets make sure we keep him.’

‘Tell you what Joe, I ain’t going anywhere if you both can fuck and let me blow job you like that. So what say we get back out on the road and get the afternoon bins picked up and make sure we get back here for another session. I still have plenty of cum to get rid off.’

‘Good boy Tam. Dave and I have plenty to give you. ‘

[stoopid-turtle]

Hey loving your blog so far , am a new turtle just recently watched the untamed with my best friend. I'm 100% convinced they were definitely a thing during filming even now I still believe they are still together. My bestie on the other hand doesn't think they were anything more than friends. I tried my best to convince her but she thinks I falling to separate the actor's from their roles they were playing. My question to you is that do you ever sometimes think us turtles overthink too much or misinterpret what was going on between them ? Forgive my grammar English isn't my first language

Hi there! (Your English is perfectly fine!)

Yeah, I do think turtles overthink some things. There's a lot on YouTube that falls into this category, tbh. I can see how it happens. With all the bts, it feels like its own show that we can pore over, slow down, watch from different angles, decipher the TRUTH from it to reveal that bjyxszd.

But the bts aren't scripted. While they're endlessly rewatched by us, they were one moment in time for the guys. One moment in a long, exhausting day of work. Stuff we may think of as being intentional and meaningful may just as easily be random, off-the-cuff, and ultimately meaningless. Think about jobs you've worked where you get bored and tired during a long day. If you're like me, you and a coworker/friend will start talking nonsense to each other to get through it.

One friend/coworker and I made dinosaur noises at each other between taking calls in a call center. Yeah, idgi either. And because I'm a flirty bisexual, we'd make lewd gestures and kissy faces at each other sometimes for fun. She's straight, so it wasn't serious. I am aware that this dynamic is different between guys than between girls (in the US. I can't speak to China.), so I'm not saying that what happened between gg and dd is like me and my friend. Just to show that...sometimes stuff just gets weird. I wasn't nursing a secret crush on my friend or anything. It was just random time-wasting.

So yeah, I do think some stuff is misinterpreted. As I've noted, we see very little of what was happening bts, and there was a lot going on outside of whatever was happening between gg and dd. It's inevitable that some stuff will be misinterpreted.

This is why it took a while for me to come around to bjyxszd. And I resisted HARD. I'm skeptical by nature and I'm double-skeptical of things that sound too good to be true (like that a popular BL couple was played by actors who actually fell in love and are now together).

But at the same time, I came around. It took me spending many hours reading, watching, trying to translate, etc. Even then, I had to write out a novel in tumblr posts to lay out my thoughts to establish to myself that I'm not crazy on this. Like you, I'm 100% convinced that they were an item during filming.

So I was able to get past the stuff I think is a bit of a stretch to believe in it anyway. Now, it just means I smile at the stuff that does seem meaningful to me, and leave the other stuff for those that enjoy it. I don't want to single out any particular thing that I think isn't as significant as some people think it is, bc I don't want to ruin anyone else's fun. We're all turtles so regardless of what path we took or what convinced us, we're in the same boat. There's no point squabbling over the details.

Especially with the bts, which happened years ago at this point. Odds are, even gg and dd don't remember the context of any one clip at this point. So the TRUTH is impossible to know completely. It can be frustrating if you're like me and dislike ambiguity and uncertainty, but we're all in this pit together. We just have to enjoy what we've gotten and what we continue to get.

I'll also just say, don't stress too much about convincing your friend. I know it's frustrating when you want to squee about something but your bf isn't into it, but people tend to dig in their heels when someone tries to convince them of anything. There's also no need to do so. BJYXSZD regardless of if people believe in it or not. Find some other turtles and do your squeeing with them and when with your bestie, focus on what things you do share with them.

[wordsandrobots]

IBO reference notes on . . . the aesthetics of the mobile frame

I'm having a rough time writing this week (I just need to torture Gaelio some more, why is this so haaaard?!) so here's something to keep my hand in regardless. I had a couple of posts planned on the mobile suits of the Post Disaster setting, one about the meanings applied to Gundams – which I shall complete at some point because it's interesting – and one ranking the various 'suits using criteria such as 'excellent round boy, no notes' – which I'm likely to ditch because it's quite boring. But thinking about that got me considering the reasons I clicked hard with IBO's art direction in the first place. So let's look into why it causes my brain to make so many pleasing whirring noises.

A distinction that makes a difference

To start with, this is in contrast to other Gundam series' aesthetics. While I have a certain fondness for the Gundam Wing designs and I enjoy the way the Dauntless, Valiant, etc. reimagine the Universal Century stalwarts for Gundam X, most iterations' mobile suits are firmly 'OK' for me. Neither very interesting, nor something I find anything in to especially dislike.

Iron-Blooded Orphans, however, introduces a concept that sets it apart: the mobile frame. That is, each mecha is built around a base skeleton that is the 'true' machine; everything else is modular and interchangeable. As far as I can tell, this is the only series in the franchise to do this. Other Gundam shows expose inner workings from time to time, but these are usually unique to a particular model of 'suit. Whereas in IBO, multiple different types of 'suit can share the same kind of frame.

Moreover, the fact they are built around an inner frame is made explicit in the art, so the 'suits look – slightly daft as it may sound – much more mechanical than, say, your average UC mecha. These are things approximating the human form, not something you can replicate with a guy in a costume, and that makes them appear somewhat less fanciful and slightly more like actual military hardware.

Which is a cheat, obviously. It's tweaking a genre convention to fit a particular tone: this is not a show in which 'suits are going to start magically bending time and space; it's the one in which they beat seven shades of brick-dust out of each other with giant lumps of metal. Fundamentally, these are no less silly than the more 'filled in' designs that came before. It just appeals to me to see the illusion being given extra depth.

But there's more to it than that.

Atoms of design

Several different types of mobile frame appear in IBO – eight, to be exact: Rodi, Hexa, Gundam, Valkyrja, Geirail, Graze, Teiwaz/Io, and Reginlaze (I count the Teiwaz and Io frames as one since they are functionally identical). These are all visually distinct and easy to distinguish when placed in the finished mobile suits. Yet they also share a common root element: the Ahab reactor.

Most Gundam shows have some sort of wibble-physics black-box to explain why giant humanoid robots are a sensible means of warfare. In the P.D. timeline, this takes the form of 'Ahab particles' that are generated by some form of quantum nonsense inside a drum-shaped reactor. The particles create pseudo-gravity and EM waves that interfere with communications and tracking, and the reactors are effectively infinite batteries, so we get artificial gravity and inertial control, comms black-outs and stealth in space, and the necessary wattage to power a mecha, all for the price of one.

That's the technobabble, anyway. Practically speaking, the Ahab reactor is a design element that must be integrated into each of the mobile frames. And I love this. I love setting arbitrary little rules and using them to create a coherent aesthetic. Because now each frame needs to have a big drum shape in it somewhere (or two, to create the Gundam frame's unique silhouette). A unifying commonality that still permits wide variation.

It's not always necessary to have designs reflect a concept of shared technology. That depends on what the story is doing. Witch From Mercury, for example, explicitly has multiple branches of mobile suit design on display at once, to delineate between 'suits produced by different companies. However, I enjoy the way IBO emphasises that the various mecha are all applications of the same base technology, especially as it gets at something easy to overlook about how the world is set up.

You see, while the Gundams get the reputation as these massively powerful weapons from a lost past, that is true of the majority of non-Gjallarhorn mobile suits. Rodis and Hexas are the most common frames and both predate the Gundam frame's development. Everyone who isn't Gjallarhorn or Teiwaz is using machinery at least 300 years old, never mind that it might be covered in brand new armour.

Those space pirates raiding ships in the Jupiter-sphere? The colonists trying to seize control of their living conditions? That country hurriedly upgrading its military for a modern challenge? They're all recycling the same frames that fought the war out of which the systems they're currently struggling to live with extend. It's incredibly thematically resonant, not to mention pretty close to the truth of the things IBO is assaying in its fiction.

Visceral shorthand

However, I think the most clever thing about the mobile frame model is the way it lends itself to in-the-moment storytelling. Having established the skeletons underlying each mecha, the show can freely expose them as required to demonstrate exactly how badly a fight is going.

IBO abandons the lightsabers and laser-guns of its predecessor shows in favour of a more grounded and brutal approach to combat. That is to say: thanks to additional technobabble, breaking through the armour of a mobile suit requires either something very sharp, going very fast, or something very heavy, also going very fast. Swords, clubs, maces, and heavy-gauge bullets are the order of the day, leading to a lot of crumpling and crushing, and more specifically, bits of armour being ripped off the frame.

It's a great shorthand for 'oh that was a hit', applied generously to all sides, to emphasise the damage being done while also making it clear the machines can technically still function in such a state. Barbatos actively starts out extra-skeletal, while 'suits like the Reginlaze Julia keep going when stripped of their surface layer. Even the unfortunate Graze Ritter on the back of which Mikazuki surf-boards down from orbit is visibly coming apart around its frame, underlining how tough the cores of these things are.

Furthermore, it increases the sense that the human component of a mobile suit is extremely frail by comparison. When you a have weapons structured around extremely durable inner workings, it draws attention to the vulnerability of the cockpit. Because in most of the frames, that's part of what goes on top. Rodi and Io frames have integrated control cabins, but the rest do not. On most of them, the pilot sits at what is nominally the most heavily protected section (the chest), but in fact, they are a little way in front of the piece that can be actively relied on not to break (the reactor).

Or to put it another way: a mobile suit pilot is visibly more likely to die in battle before the war machine they are strapped to does. Skewering the cockpit with something pointy is a deeply feasible strategy, and that vulnerability stems from design limitations imposed by the chosen structure of the mecha. The reactor has to go somewhere central. The mobile suit is built around a set frame. The armour will detach before the limbs break. So on and so forth, ad drill-knees, underscoring how cheap life is next to the hardware of war.

Making it about bones

To sum up, it's a neat concept, well executed. Mobile frames allow for visual coherence while permitting design variation and customisation. They are used to underscore the brutality of the combat, adding weight to blow-by-blow animation and to the general sense of danger for the cast. And they make IBO's mecha stand out from the pack, which to me is a big mark in their favour.

There's another point that delights me too, one I can best illustrate with some images. If you look at the at the Calamity War era frames, you'll see that the Rodi (left) and Hexa (centre) are both heavily robotic in outline. They have complex hands but are otherwise quite blocky, with very inhuman heads. The Gundam frame (right), however, has a more organic design, its points of movement more closely corresponding to the human body, and (uniquely) two eyes placed about where you'd expect.

Now clearly the Gundam is inheriting franchise design considerations (the 'man in a suit' look of the '79 cartoon) but within the fiction, it works brilliantly with the conceit of Gundams perfecting the man/machine interface. Of course it looks closer to a person; it's meant to be a more natural extension of the pilot than the frames that came earlier, to enable the split-second timing and instinctive movement required to beat the mobile armours.

We also see this running in the opposite direction. The Valkyrja (far left) is actually closer to the Gundam's sensibilities than its other contemporaries (it was developed at the same time), but its successors, the Geirail and then Graze, are even more robotic than the Rodi and Hexa, with considerably simplified structures. Even the hands are much more chunky and functional.

The narrative is both of a technological decline and of the requirements of mass-production. In the post-War society, mobile suit combat is less of an issue, so the 'suits don't need to be as complex. It's only when Gjallarhorn's position as top-dog in the solar system is threatened that they invest in something closer to the Valkyrja, with the Reginlaze (far right) being designed to allow a non-augmented pilot to compete with things like Gundam Barbatos.

I really like that degree of thought and detail in something that isn't especially relevant to the story, but adds to it once you know about it.

Other reference posts include:

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (Part 1)

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (Part 2)

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (corrigendum) [mainly covering my inability to recognise mythical wolves]

IBO reference notes on … three key Yamagi scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Shino scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Eugene scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Ride scenes

IBO reference notes on … the tone of the setting

IBO reference notes on … character parallels and counterpoints

IBO reference notes on … a perfect villain

IBO reference notes on … Iron-Blooded Orphans: Gekko

IBO reference notes on … an act of unspeakable cruelty

IBO reference notes on … original(ish) characters [this one is mainly fanfic]

IBO reference notes on … Kudelia’s decisions

IBO reference notes on … assorted head-canons

IBO reference notes on … actual, proper original characters [explicit fanfic -- as in, actually fanfic. None of them have turned up in the smut yet]

[takeariskao3]

Perfect

written for @hinnyfest prompt #20: talking about the future this is shamelessly stolen from an episode of friends

“Right, okay-”

Ginny paced back and forth in the sitting room, a knot of anxiety twisting in her stomach. Her two best friends sat next to each other on the sofa, Hermione looking bewildered and Luna examining a spot over Ginny’s right shoulder with narrowed eyes.

“Obviously...” Ginny trailed off. She couldn’t figure out what to do with her hands. What did she normally do with her hands? “I asked you both here because of something important.”

Hermione blinked a few times. “Is this about Harry?”

“No,” Ginny rushed. “Well, sort of. It’s not not about Harry..”

“Is it about the wedding?” Luna blinked, finally turning her focus to Ginny.

She let out a ragged sigh. “Yes.”

Hermione let out a little squeal that Ginny thought was entirely premature.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Ginny started. “And even though we could throw the whole thing out the window, Mum says I can’t since it’s tradition-”

“You simply have to have a white dress,” Hermione insisted. “Don’t you dare do something stupid like blue-”

Ginny pulled a face. “I’m not going to buy a blue dress.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Green, then.”

“I’m not-” Ginny bit back her argument and reigned in her thoughts before Hermione could totally derail them. “Look, alright? I’ve got to choose a Witch of Honor.”

Hermione’s mouth parted in surprise and she let out a little, “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Ginny shoulders slumped.

“Hermione should do it,” Luna said quickly. “You’ve known her longer and she’d organize everything-”

“No, no,” Hermione interrupted. “I think Luna should. You were always closer with Luna at school-”

“Stop it,” Ginny was already fed up with the whole conversation. “I’m not picking one of you over the other.”

“Can we both do it?” Luna compromised. “That way you don’t have to choose?”

Ginny’s soft smile was genuine. “I would love that, but when your time comes I don’t want you to feel like you have to choose me back if you didn’t want to-”

“What utter nonsense,” came Hermione’s ever rational reply. “Of course we’d choose you back!”

“But what if you don’t want two Witches of Honor? Or Luna doesn’t? Or the groom only has one best man and it throws everything off? I don’t want to make a decision for all three of us just because I’m first...”

Silence lingered in the aftermath of this pronouncement, Luna staring at Ginny with her head tilted curiously and Hermione chewing on the inside of her cheek.

She loved both of them. So much. Ginny couldn’t possibly choose. She’d just have to tell her mum to stuff it.

“What if,” Luna spoke slowly, “we took turns?”

Hermione’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yes!”

Ginny shook her head in confusion. “How do you mean?”

“We alternate,” Luna clarified. “That way we’ll each do it once.”

Hermione bounced in her seat. “It’s perfect!” 

Ginny let out an impatient noise. “That still leaves me choosing whose mine!”

“Not if we draw for it.” Hermione pulled her wand and conjured parchment and a quill from thin air. “Luna, get that bowl from the mantel.”

Retrieving the glass dish, Luna returned and held it out to Hermione, who finished writing and dropped the names into bottom.

Ginny hesitated with her hand over the three folded up slips of paper. “Are you sure about this?” 

“Positive.” Hermione said with a firm nod. 

When Ginny looked to Luna, her sky blue eyes twinkled. “It’s like a lottery! Only no one loses!”

In the wake of such a sentiment, Ginny beamed. She reached into the little bowl and pulled out a little slip of paper, followed by Hermione and Luna doing the same. 

“At the same time?” Ginny suggested and they both nodded. 

With a deep breath, she opened the parchment in her hands and felt a grin spread across her face. Absolutely delighted, she looked up to see Hermione and Luna gazing at her in equal expressions of joy.

They all three yelped at the same time, shrieking and hugging so loudly that Pwyll let out an indignant hoot from his perch in the corner and turned his back to them.

“You were right,” Ginny chuckled at Hermione and pulling her in for another hug. “It’s perfect.”

Luna would be Ginny’s Witch of Honor. 

And when the time came, Hermione would be Luna’s, and Ginny would be Hermione’s.

[redrydersrequiem]

Lost and found family

(That’s right I hopped onto the avatar 2 wagon Everyone is slightly aged up in this im just trying to get shit to work so bare with me neteyem is 21 so is reader. I’m still a new writer and this hasn’t been profed) bold means Navi language

My name is Caspian lane. The year is ( ) when I was ten the man that basically raised me went off to another planet in the place of his twin brother. I waited five years before I was told Jake wasn’t coming back. At 16 I joined the marines the youngest I could be since I had no actual guardians. For years I climbed the ranks and became a marine just like Jake until the RAD came and found me. They told me that Jake had been captured, and has been the Navis leader Toruk Maktos prisoner all this time. That they were putting a team together to go and find and rescue him and the others that were captured. I should have known this all was a lie but the prospect of Jake being safe is all I heard. I joined without a second thought.

Present day, I arrived on Pandora but not as a human. I left earth as an almost 30 year old red headed human who spent her formative years training to be a soldier working towards one goal. Now I'm 20 or at least my body is.. I'm a Navi now, the indigenous species here. It’s definitely different being so tall and blue but hey I've always liked the color blue. I definitely miss my red hair but after braiding a piece of it into my new body’s hair,I'm getting used to this.

Today I met Quartich and his crew. The general explained that they were called the blue team and that they were there to help find and rescue Jake with me. I'm grateful to them, having more than one person will definitely be advantageous but They are a little rough around the edges, all definitely being way more guarded with me then each other. Oh well I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to save my family.

We’re all dropped off in the forest, everyone super vigilante as we make our way to an old outpost station they are looking for clues in. The station is decrepit and overgrown with vegetation. I simply look around in wonder at the nature around us as quaritch and his goons look into the body that was left there. A noise captures my attention, I turn back to see if the others heard it but they’re still preoccupied with their own searches. The noise is heard again and I know I shouldn’t go off on my own but my gut tells me there’s no danger. I slowly make my way over and see children. Three Navi children and one human one. Wait why are there children here, but before i can speak they all are intercepted by the others and manhandled to the ground

“Hey hey stop, they're just kids what are y'all doing!”

“Stand down corporal.-quaritch

“No they are kids were not here to hurt anyone this is a search and rescue mission i say as i get in his face. Now let these kids go.”

“You know I've been real patient with your nonsense but now I think it's time to pop that bubble.

Next thing I know, pain explodes across my cheek as I fall to the floor, one of the other soldiers grabbing me and putting me in the same position as the children.

“What the fuck?”

“Shut up lane. I've been patient but here's the real talk: we aren't here to save Jake Sully, we are here to kill him, for the traitor that he is.”

“What?”

“Yes sir, your dear old jake isn't a prisoner here he’s their damn leader. And we’ve come to stop him starting here.”

“Look sir this one has five fingers” one of the others shouts as he holds up the teen girl's hand.

“Well would you look at that. What about you boy, let me see your hands.”

The young male then flips quaritch off. And damn if he didn’t remind me of someone right there.”

“Well i'll be damned your his”

“What are you talking about?”

“These kids belong to none other than our dear jake sully.”-quaritch

“What.” I look around looking at the children. “They’re jakes?”

“And now that we have them, well for sure be able to lure Jake and that she demon he’s married to out in the open.”

“No I can’t let this happen, I won't let these children get hurt.

“Well I can’t wait to see how you try and stop us. Captain call the ship for Rendezvous and tell them we have captives and a traitor.”

“Sir yes sir.”

All I can do is thrash in the soldiers hold as my temper gets the best of me. How dare these hired guns lie to me. All my thrashing earns me though is a swift punch to the gut,knocking all the air out of me. On the ground now I try to think of a plan but all I can focus on is the scared looks on the kids faces.

“Hey, ugh hey: gaining their attention. “What are your names? Im caspian”

“Tuk”. The smallest child states the others shush her as the soldiers echos be quiet to all of us

“Ignore them. Tuk is a pretty name. I'm sorry you guys are in this mess but I promise you with every fiber of my being i won't let these guys hurt you.

They all look at each other and come to a silent consensus that im telling the truth. And silently introducing themselves to me.

“Why are you here? The older girl ask me

“I came here to find my family, your father.”

“You know our dad?”. Lo’ak asks softly

“Yes, Jake and Tommy basically raised me. So when Tommy died Jake went off here to make sure that we could get by and his salary alone was enough to last us years. So he took the job. I thought this whole time he had been captured and was being held captive so I worked hard and joined up to become blue and be able to rescue him. I guess now that I think about it there’s some holes in my plans.

“You think!” the human boy spider comments.

“Hey im still young cut me a break I’m here aren’t I.

“Can it you.” Quaritch commands as he walks toward spider .While they are talking I take in my surroundings. It’s gotten dark and the rain lightly pours. They've disarmed me from my gun but they forget I'm every much a marine as they are as I subtly pull out a smoke grenade from my belt. The kids all come to attention when a light clicking noise is heard in the wind.

“Kids look at me. They all turn their heads. Lo’ak seeing what I’m doing. subtle nods and motions to the other.

“Kids run!” I yell as I release the Grenade, the soldiers dropping the kids as they get away.

“I wrestle with the one holding me as an arrow suddenly flies through his head. I hid for cover. No idea what's going on as long as the kids were able to get away that's all I cared about.

The sullys pov

“Hey hey "Jake yells as he sees his children all running towards him.

“Dad dad.”

“Tuk you're ok. Are you all ok” as he goes and checks on his children

“Yes the lady helped us dad she helped us.”

“What who helped you”

“A lady, she said she knew you”. - Kiri

“She said her name was caspian”- lo’ak

Caspian what what are you talking about- jake

“Yeah she’s the young one with the red braid, she helped us, we have to help her”- kiri

“Ok Kiri ok right now i'm not worried about that i just want to make sure you're all safe ok. You guys get to the Irkrans now, Neteyams there, go now.

Jake watches his children leave as he goes to help his mate.

Caspians pov

The kids got away and now arrows and bullets are flying through the air as the colonel calls for the others to capture the kids or the ones firing at them an arrow narrowly missing his head

“Is that you mrs sully” i hear quaritch yell out into the air

“Demon" I hear being called back. “ I don't know how you are here but I will kill you as many times as I have to” the colonel Finally reloading begins to run ramped once again shooting towards the tops of the covered trees.

Wait he said misses sully that means jakes here. Getting up I weave through the vines and trees towards the Colonel trying to take out whoever I can with the small pistol I have left. The one I believe named Prager gets in my way thinking he intimidates me. But I've gone my whole military career having men underestimate me and me putting them on their asses so that's exactly what I did. Jumping up and kicking Prager in the face I beat him to the ground putting two shots into his chest. Another rounds the tree though making eye contact with me lifting his AR ready to fire when a hatchet flies through the trees making its target in his head.

That’s when I saw him. He's taller, with dreaded hair and paint on his face, but before I can say anything bullets again fly through the air sending everyone to cover however they can. I see in the distance the new Navi fighting with the others exchanging blows as the command ship finally comes into view. There's no way I'm letting these bastards go without a fight. All of the remaining team blue are retreating as I see quaritch pick up a fallen rocket launcher. Oh hell no. I run full force and tackle him to the ground a moment too late however if the ringing in my ears from the explosion hitting the big tree is an indicator.

“Lane i must say you are definitely living up to your name sake on being a pain in my ass”

All i can do is hiss at quaritch as he bring out his knife

“You all lied to me and I don't take kindly to that.” With that said the fight is

on,

Blows being landed back to back but quaritch definitely has the advantage with the knife in his hand. Just barely keeping up when I hear yelling from my side. I see the others have somehow captured spider. Slinging him over their shoulder to board the ship. The distraction costs me, for the next second there’s a knife now plugged into my side

“Let's see how long you last with that corporal”. Quaritch sarcastically says as he pulls the knife out and hustles over to the ropes to board the ship. All I can do is stumble away as I watch them get away in the midst of the smoke.

The knife wound in my side definitely is not fun. Jesus did he use the biggest thing he had. I'm resting against the side of a tree trying to keep the bleeding minimal. When the foliage in front of me moves to the side revealing a Navi woman with yellow face paint and a bow to my face.

“Wait wait, I'm friendly”. I try to get out as I try to show that I have no weapons but moving both hands is impossible unless I want to bleed out faster than I already am. She says something, probably signaling her companion as he now comes out or the foliage.

“Who are you, why did you help us”, he surprisingly says in English

“My name is Caspian Lane. I'm here to find my family.”

“Wait what did you say your name was”

The male asks and I finally look up. We both make eye contact and the longer i look at him the more recognizable he becomes

“Jake?….. is that really you.”

“How do you know me? who are you?”

“It’s me, Caspian,You and your brother practically raised me as a kid. That ringing any bells”

Jake steps towards me, the woman saying something to him but I guess by his words when he turns back to her she no longer considers me a threat as the arrow is no longer pointed at me.

“Are you really little Cassie?”

“Yup it's me jake it's really me.”

“How are you here? How are you Navi? I Have so many questions.”

“Oh trust me so do i but could you first help me out a little im kinda bleeding out”

“Oh shit” Jake comes to my side and lifts my hands to look at the wound. He curses under his breath as he begins to put pressure on the wound.

“Damn we need to get you taken care of, neytiri we need to get her to mo’at.

“Jake,bag there’s a cauterizer”

“What I'm not.”

“Jake im not going to make a journey with this kind of wound take the round device out of my pack and use it”

Jake hesitantly does as i say telling the woman to come and hold my side

“Listen i'm not gonna lie this is gonna hurt but i've got you little red i've got you

“Ha little red I haven’t been called that in.. ahhhhhhh”

All thought is gone from my head as the pain infiltrates. Until nothingness and the world goes dark.

Jakes pov

I can’t believe she’s here. How is this happening right now, the young girl I thought I'd never see again and unfortunately haven’t thought of in several years is here now in front of me as a Navi. She looks young about the age of neteyam. She looks the same and not, probably much like i did in the beginning when I transferred to my avatar. The wound wasn’t looking good.

“Neyteri come, I need you to hold her on the other side so she doesn’t jerk away when I do this.”

“Are you sure of the person ma jake”

“Yes I'll explain everything once we're out of here but first we need to help her.”

Turning back to Caspian, I take the tool in my hand and prepare to use it. I gently take her face in my palm to make her look into my eyes.

“Hey little red i've got you ive got you. I speak softly before beginning to cauterize the wound. Her scream resonates in my ears until i feel her body going limp

“Shit, cassy, caspian can you hear me.”

“She’s passed out from the pain ma jake we need to get her to mo’at.

“Yeah yeah I’ll grab her, can you grab her stuff.”

“Yes”

“Good come, let's go home. The kids are waiting.”

The sullys leave, venturing home with a very interesting friend in tow.

I did my best drawing this. Caspian in here human clothes

[try-set-me-on-fire]

@jeeyuns @wildlife4life and @thewolvesof1998 tagged me in the fic stats meme!

Rules: post your fic with the most hits, the second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks fifth most words and least words!

Most hits: all my life, there you go

"Alright," Eddie whispers, and since this is half a dream anyway he lets his hand cradle Buck's chin for a moment as they part. Buck smiles at him, easy, the brightest thing in here at 3 AM with the kitchen lights set to dim.

—

Drabble prompts from tumblr!

Second most kudos: also all my life, so I’ll plug take you in and make you mine, because I just posted the second chapter

He unlocks the door thinking a little nonsensically about the buddy system. We have to stick together, he thinks as Buck moves immediately to the heating controls, turning the AC on with a familiar clank-hum, it’s safer that way. Buck turns to face him, opens his mouth to say something but then Eddie is there, closing the distance, kissing him. We have to stick together Buck’s lips are warm so we won’t get lost and the noise he makes isn’t as surprised as it maybe should be so we can take care of each other but he still pulls back it’s safer, please, it’s safer this way.

—

Eddie should know better. Buck’s known for awhile. Maddie learns something new.

Third most comments: pick me, choose me, love me

Eddie wants to scream. Eddie wants to talk to Buck. There are questions he should ask - Do you know when the bleeding started? How long has it been? How bad does it hurt? Are you injured anywhere else? There is a conversation he wants to have - If I leave you here I don’t know that you’ll be alive when I get back. There are protocols, in disaster situations. If you can only save one person, you save the one most likely to survive. Beyond protocol, you always fucking save the kid. Beyond that, it's our kid. It’s our fucking kid, it’s Christopher, and I am going to get him to the surface and in doing so I am going to leave you for dead. But it’s Buck, and they never really needed words to talk, and Buck is still looking at him, and Eddie knows what he'd say. He'd downplay the injury. He knows the protocol. And he’d already said it, damned him out loud, he’s going to take you back up top and then come back for me.

Fourth most bookmarks: maybe fall in love

It's a pretty graceless confession but last Eddie checked it was 87° and, as a reminder, 3:46 in the goddamn morning. Whenever he'd occasionally let himself imagine this moment it had been a lot sweeter, maybe candles, maybe flowers, a big emotional recounting of exactly how much Buck means to him and how much his life has changed for the better because he's in it, but Eddie really thinks he should be cut some slack given the circumstances.

Fifth most words: like all good things are

By the time they dig down to where Chimney’s buried he’s barely conscious and laying in a puddle of his own blood. Buck wants to look anywhere else, but the only other option in the cramped space is to look at Hen, and he doesn’t want to do that because he knows what he’ll see there: the particular tight jaw expression she gets when things have gone bad. And Buck isn’t the team paramedic but he’s EMT certified like every other firefighter in the city and he knows this is bad, even if Chimney manages a bloody chuckle and says “Took you long enough.”

Least words: also maybe fall in love, so I’ll plug all the work that needs to be done because it’s the only one that didn’t qualify for any of these

Buck nods, two slow movements like any action at all pains him. Eddie isn’t sure how literal or metaphorical that statement is, and wants to tell him again to let a doctor look at him, but they’ve had that argument several times already tonight and Buck had a look in his eyes like- like Eddie doesn’t even know what, but whatever would have happened if he’d kept pushing would not have been good, so he’d let it drop and stuck close to his side. "She shouldn't be alone."

—

Bobby dies. Eddie worries. Life goes on.

Tagging @rewritetheending @forthewolves @burins @devirnis @bigfootsmom @shortsighted-owl @buckactuallys @shitouttabuck 💛

[bunnys-beetlejuice-blog]

abandoned babies for ur viewing pleasure

He’s standing in a familiar office. The only sound in the room is coming from the desk in front of him, as the ancient demoness who gave him unlife scribbles away at her paperwork, hardly looking up. She doesn’t seem to have even noticed he’s here. Maybe he’s not? He tries to remember the last thing that happened, before he found himself suddenly here. 

He’d been on the couch, watching a movie with his family. It was comfortable, and dark. A dream. He’s dreaming, right now. Looking down, he realizes he can see through his hands. He’s not in the Netherworld, he’s sitting on the couch, probably snoring, probably bothering Lydia with the noise as she tries to watch the movie. He smiles, and then, unconcerned, turns away from Juno, to look around the office. 

It’s much the same as he remembers it, no real dream nonsense clouding how it should look, except maybe with one or two more overly stuffed filing cabinets. The liquor cabinet in the corner looks the same, pretty half full bottles sitting on high shelves, and he remembers the lashing Juno gave him when, at seven, he’d climbed up the shelves to grab the prettiest one, and had dropped it, accidentally smashing some apparently very old, very coveted booze his mother had been saving. His expression is stuck between a grin and a grimace, as he recalls that whole fiasco. It’s sort of funny, now. At the time, it hadn’t been. Time makes comedy of every savage beating, he supposes. He turns to face the other wall, and blinks, because there are burned slashes in the office wall, spelling out a very familiar message. FUCK YOU JUNO. The hellfire in his veins runs cold at the realization that while he may be dreaming, this isn’t a memory. That’s the message he’d sent her on halloween, months ago, after that drama with Kevin. “You’ve gotten fat, Lawrence,” Juno says, from behind him, and he turns to look at her. She’s still got her eyes trained on her paperwork, but then she glances up at him, and they make eye contact. Two pairs of amber eyes, staring across the room at each other. “I go by BJ, now,” He finds his voice, after a moment. She glances up, at the mop of hair on his head, and he instinctively presses a hand to his hair, to shield it from her eyes. 

“BJ, mm?” She sounds disinterested. “BJ Deetz,” he tells her. “That’s my new name. So stop spreadin’ around my old one.” Her pen pauses, and then, in an unprecedented move, she sets it on the desk next to her. She’s giving him her full attention now. Ah… shit. “Too good for the names I gave you, you sniveling little brat?” Her eyes are flashing dangerously. “Yeah, I am, actually. My real mom an’ dad gave me this new one,” he says, defiantly, and she puts her hands on the desk, and stands. “Did you come down here to pick a fight with me?” she tilts her head, angry but curious. “I dunno know why I’m here. Thought this was a dream, til you started talkin’.” “You’re projecting.” “Psh, whatever, you’re projectin’, you mean old-” His mouth snaps shut, because she’s forced it to, with a simple motion. “I mean,” her shrill tone is low and icy, “that you’re astral projecting yourself into my office. For some reason. Did you miss your mommy, Lawrence?” He tugs at his lips, like he’s unzipping a bag, and he finds he’s able to open his mouth, again. “Tell me how to git, an’ I’m gone. Fuckin’ hate bein’ down here, lookin’ at your face,” he spits, and she comes around her desk, and stands in front of him, watching him. “How old are you, now?” She asks, which was not what he thought she’d say, not even close. 

“Sixteen,” he grunts, and she seems to be considering that. “Show me what you can do.” “Whut?” That absolutely throws him. He can’t even begin to imagine why she wants to see him use his powers, why she’s prolonging him being here. A flash of a thought makes its way through his mind, at the comment about him missing his mommy. Maybe that really was her projecting. But the idea that she could miss him, and be interested in him, it’s laughable. It’s nonsense, and he pushes that thought away, because he’s not a lonely kid desperate for his mother’s love anymore. He’s got a mother, and he never has to grovel for scraps of her affection. Emily gives her love to her family freely, their relationship isn’t a guessing game where one wrong assumption on his part leads to pain. But if she wants to see what he can do, fine. He sprouts arms like crazy, from every surface in the room, as many as he can, and it's a horror show of striped sleeves and chipping black nail polish everywhere. She hardly glances around the room. “Mmmhmm.” He grimaces at that non reaction, and then balls up a fist, and pitches, throwing clones in all corners of the room. They land, in various poses, all standing still, until he begins directing them, and they jump and tumble and summersalt around, and that, at least, she seems interested in. “An ensemble. That your big show stopper?” she asks, taking a drag of a cigarette he knows she wasn’t holding a minute ago, and he vanishes them all, in a puff of smoke. The last thing up his sleeve is fire, and he throws that around her office, too, and if he was actually here, she might have cause for concern, what with all her paperwork, but the flames he makes are as intangible as he is.

She watches through the facsimile of fire and smoke, the hole in her neck supplying more smoke as she takes another drag. “Sprouting limbs, clones, and fire. That’s what you’ve got?” she asks, finally. “I can possess people.” She snorts. “Any idiot ghost can do possession. That’s hardly even a power.” “I can make illusions,” he says, producing severed limbs and heads from nothing that fall around her office, and melt layer by layer, skin to muscle to vein to bone to goo, into her floor. “A cheap parlor trick,” she responds. “I didn’t realize you’d be so pathetic.” Well that’s not exactly fair. By human standards he’s basically an overpowered hyperactive nightmare. But maybe demon standards are different. Or maybe she’s just trying to get one more dig at his self confidence. “Yeah, well, s’not like I got anybody teachin’ me anythin’,” BJ growls, and shoves his hands in his hoodie pockets. “Not sure what you expect. You can’t leave me up on earth an’ then get pissed when I don't know demon stuff.”

[electrificata]

Here is what i have been listening 2 lately yes im avoiding something no i dont listen to a lot of """new""" music

"This corrosion" the sisters of mercy - nothing revolutionary here, its a goth (sorry eldritch) classic with the big stupid jim steinman bombast that i love. If you want a good time search "andrew eldritch interview" on youtube, he's a huge bitch its so funny

"My lady of mercy" the last dinner party - a cute fizzy indie pop song that splits open into huge, triumphant stoner rock choruses. Its my understanding this band has weathered "industry plant" rumors despite being like, not. Anyway if industry plants made shit like this id be ok w the concept

"Kybalion" killah priest - my friend sold this wu tang associate to me by saying a) he's into the occult, b) not sure if he's actually any good, c) hes making animal noises on the new album. "Hermes trismegestis of lyrics that specialize in physics and pyramids" literally what else do i have to tell you

"Blood makes noise" suzanne vega - i love when a singer songwriter chick has one hard track on her album and this one sounds urgent and clanging and ominous im having a great time

"You aint no celebrity" jungle - everybodys losing their shit over "back on 74," and rightfully so, but this is the ass shaker on the album, its like an update on all those 2000s sean paul hits i liked before i heard at too many bar mitzvahs (it actually knicks the buzzing theremin from "get busy," which was always better than "temperature")

"Naked eye" luscious jackson - 90s crunchy touchy feely divine feminine radical vulnerability nonsense

"Come together" primal scream - these guys were kind of narrowly revolutionary in the 90s and i dont hear anybody under 40 talk abt them ever but i loooove the early 90s uk "what if classic rock was dance" shit that was happening with them and i guess kind of madchester?

"Obsession" animotion - this is the loud obnoxious goofy 80s pop hit all the other ones want to be. The boy-girl vocals are really fun BONUS the singers fell in love and are still married, go look up a recent performance of this song theyre so old and so horny for each other i love it

"The big sky" kate bush + "chains of love" erasure - two very different 80s pop classics, but i listen to them the same way, and frequently right after each other. I have a theory of art and fiction i call, for the moment, "mythological awareness." I use this to refer to work that knows what old folkloric/mythological/archetypal symbols and narratives and images it evokes. Work that knows that any love story is every love story, every mad scientist is a wizard and a shaman and a hacker as well. Kate is singing about the things we pay attention to as children and forget as adults, the sky is a marvel its easy to forget about because its there every day, but that doeant mean its any less a marvel. This might be the most straightforward u2-ish rock single bush ever put out, but it feels like shes marching at the head of an army of zeppelins and airplanes and rockets powered by the laughter of gods. Andy bell of erasure is singing about a fictionalized pre-aids era of gay utopia like its something that used to be real and can be real again if we all clap our hands. He details a world of "sisters and brothers" open to the pleasures of the world, fucking and loving and worrying about what theyll do for dinner rather than whether they can get into the hospital to watch their loved ones die. And over an unstoppable synthesizer bounce, falsetto floating over clouds of gospel-inflected backing vocals, you believe him. He could be talking about atlantis or hobbitton or erewhon or the greek age of heroes and he knows that, the halcyon past is a myth none of us can get away from, maybe we need to understand it and use it rather than disavow it. I was born years after both of these songs hit, and my parents didnt listen to either of these artists, so they come to me fresh and bright and veiled in the light obscuring mist of morning, for me and no one else (everyone else)

[bayisdying]

Lucky Penny - Chapter Twelve.

A/N: we may or may not officially be out of angst territory...or maybe that's what I want you guys to think. Mwhahahaa.

Later in his life, if anyone ever asked Mickey Garcia what one of the worst things he'd ever been through, his answer was always the same.

"Watching as the love of my life faded away..."

-----

Over the next few days, the medical team on the ship had done everything they could with the supplies they had. When they arrived back at Miramar, they had rushed her to the ICU at a nearby hospital.

Lucky's core temp had risen to normal, and her vitals weren't in the trash like they had been. But, they had put her in a coma to help her heal and shoved a tube down her throat.

He hated looking at her like this, all hooked up to machines that made too much noise, the limp way she laid in the bed barely moving, and that damn tube.

He would softly speak in her ear all the words he wanted to say.

"Mí reina, I don't know what's going on in that beautiful brain of yours right now, but you have to come back to me. I can't do this without you."

He also begged and pleaded with her unmoving body.

"Come on baby, just wake up. Please. I just want to see those pretty eyes. Come on."

Sometimes he was deathly quiet, not knowing what else he could possibly say to the woman he loved.

He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, he couldn't drink. All he did was sit there next to her bed and wait for a miracle.

The others would come like clockwork, leaving him some snacks and trying to coax him to get away for awhile.

He would walk down to the lobby sometimes, people watch as new parents took home their newborns and he watched as older couples wheeled each other to and fro. He envied them only a little. He wished that instead of being in a coma, that Lucky was here to give birth to their child. That years and years down the road they would be the couple with graying hair still acting like lovesick teenagers

Then he'd get his coffee, and head back to his reality.

-----

"Hey man I brought you some company." Payback's voice startled him only slightly since he hadn't heard the door open.

"What do you mean?" But his answer came in the form of two figures walking in behind Rueben.

"Mámá? Delilah?" He got out of his seat and hugged both women tightly, when he let go he saw the shit eaten grin on his friends face.

"Okay Rueben, take him away. Make sure he eats and showers. Mijo you smell awful." Dulce said in the way only a mother could.

"Wait.."

"Don't fight me mijo."

"Yes mama."

He let Rueben drag him away from the tiny room he had barely left.

-----

She didn't know where she was, she could hear voices but didn't understand what they saying.

She wasn't in pain, but she thought she should be. Hadn't she crashed? Hadn't she last been in the freezing cold and snow? Why was she warm now?

Then she swore she heard as her mother softly sang her the lullaby she heard thousands of times in her childhood.

"You have to fight lucky girl."

She was fucking trying to.

-----

"The bird is in the shower." Payback texted the Squad.

He got a thumbs up back from Phoenix when he heard the shower stop. He quickly put his phone away, there was no way in hell Rueben was ruining this surprise.

Mickey came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to go. "Can I go back to the hospital now? I need to be there when she wakes up."

"Actually man, the Momma Bears don't want to see you there anytime soon and I don't feel like getting mauled by them. So let's go out for a quick drink."

Mickey sighed, he couldn't even argue with his friend. Their mothers were quite terrifying alone, but together? It was better to just do what they said.

"Okay fine."

-----

Why was her mom here? She should be nowhere near here. It had only been her and Javy right? So why could she hear her mom's soothing voice talking nonsense to her?

"Your mom is here lucky girl, don't break her heart like I did."

"I don't want to leave her."

"Then wake up."

"I don't know how."

"Yes you do, you're just being stubborn."

-----

Delilah wasn't sure her daughter could have picked a better family to join. Dulce Garcia was a saint, having offered to give the other woman some alone time with her daughter while she ran and got coffee.

"My sweet baby girl." She said stroking the face she had seen at every stage of life. "I know you can hear me, so please know how much I love you."

She foolishly waited for a response that never came.

"Mickey hasn't left your side at all, he's a good man. In fact I think he's the perfect man for you. I know your Dad set a very high standard and Mickey has reached all the expectations we ever had." She continued. "I wish he could have met him baby girl, those two would have been best of friends. Dad would love the way he loves you baby girl."

When Dulce walked back in with coffee, she sat down on the other side of the bed.

"You raised an amazing daughter, she'll pull through."

-----

Her mother was talking about Mickey, where was Mickey? She needed him to be here with her. She had to tell him she was okay, that she loved him, that she was sorry.

"You know Bee, you really nailed down a hottie."

"Thanks Katie Bug, he's pretty alright."

"He's more than okay, I mean he is drool worthy girl. Those abs, those eyes, he speaks Spanish! He's totally more your type than Drew fucking Larson."

Lucky wanted to laugh but couldn't.

"So wake up and be with your man."

"Why do you guys think I know how to do that?"

"Because you do, you're a pretty smart cookie, you'll figure it out."

-----

Walking into the Hard Deck felt wrong, he should be back at the hospital.

"Uh Rueben why is it..." He was going to say empty when all their friends jumped out from under the bar and yelled "Surprise!"

"What's this?"

"Don't you tell me you don't know what day it is right now brother."

Mickey just looked at him, obviously trying to figure out what was going on.

"Dude it's your birthday."

-----

She was starting to get annoyed, her head hurt and she had been trying to wake up for god knows how long at this point.

"Just let me die then." She thought. "I'm over this."

-----

The Squad was doing everything they could to celebrate Mickey's birthday and distract him from Lucky's condition. They weren't really sure it was working but at least he wasn't holed away in her room.

"Hey Fanboy, how about a round of darts? I might even let you win." Hangman offered.

"No thanks."

"Want to do a shot?"

"No I can't get too drunk."

His somber demeanor was really hurting their souls.

They brought out a laptop and set it on the bar.

"What's this?"

"Your birthday present now shut up and watch the screen."

His eyes widened when Lucky's face filled the screen. It had to be from years ago, she looked younger.

"Happy birthday Mickey! I'm sorry I can't be there.." the video started and the memory came flooding back. This was the second birthday they'd been dating for. She was stuck on a base in Italy and he was out at sea. She had sent him this video in the mail as his present.

"I just wanted to say that I wish I was there with you but I know Rue will make sure you have the best birthday you can." Her eyes were so bright and her facial expressions were so lively.

"I love you so much Mickey Garcia, you're my best friend and the best thing that has ever happened to me. I hope we get to celebrate many more birthdays together! I can't imagine loving anyone else now that I've loved you. I can't wait to see you. Happy birthday nerd!" The Baylie on the screen blew him a kiss then waved goodbye before the screen went dark again.

-----

All she wanted to do was to feel Mickey's arms around her. Those arms always made her feel safe, secure, and loved. Those arms she called home. If she could just wake up, she knew her mom was there and Dulce too, but she couldn't feel Mickey by her anymore. Had he given up on her?

-----

He didn't even pay attention to speed limits on his way to the hospital. He had to see her, had to hold her hand, had to see her wake up.

It had been his birthday wish when they made him blow out the stupid candles on the cake Phoenix had made.

He took the stairs up to the ICU three at a time, he had no time for the slow ass elevators.

He slammed the door open and ignored the fact that both of their moms jumped.

He took her hand in his. "Cariño, please."

-----

Mickey.

She heard Mickey, felt his hand.

He was here, now it was time for her part.

"That's right lucky girl, wake up."

"Bye Bee! I'll miss you!"

And she started to fight.

"Come on Lucky, just wake up. You can do this." She thought to herself, willing herself to succeed.

And she did.

-----

He thought he was crazy when he felt her squeeze his hand, but then she started moving more.

Dulce ran to get the nurses.

"Good job cariño." Mickey said as he kissed her forehead. "I love you."

-----

A/N: SEE THIS CHAPTER ENDED A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN THE LAST THREE. I CAN DO HAPPY ENDINGS. I JUST LOVE ANGST BITCHES.

[captainsspnanon]

C2E66 - Beneath Bazzoxan - rewatch

Well, I got about an hour into the MLP oneshot before I gave up. That’s about par for the course with me for a lot of the CR one shots.  I’ve seen a handful of them in full, started a handful and watched between 1 to 2 hours before giving up, and just haven’t even started the others.  It’s a whole jumble of hit or miss.

Also something I missed from last episode – Travis jokingly asking Matt if there was a vestige of divergence in the roc nest.  My brain totally forgot that this was before Fjord got the star razor, so I was like ‘you want two??’   SOON.  SOOOOOON.

(I don’t even know how long it’s been since I look at this episode, oops!  It’s been a time, alright? But OMG ANIMATED MIGHTY NEIN COMING AAAAA)

...Document last saved, Jan 30th.  It’s now Feb 20th. … LOOK IT’S BEEN...It’s BEEN, okay?!  Anyhow, I finally have the energy and mental fortitude to get back into this!  (so annoyed at myself for falling apart right when we get a fantastic series of episodes) (omg also I’d only jumped on to freak out about the animated mighty nein???  My last C2 reaction was posted JANUARY 8TH omg.)  (I don’t know why I’m being apologetic though, this stuff is mainly for me to improve my analytical thinking, active watching, and writing abilities.  I know a few of you out there like reading it, but I’m sure you’re not chomping at the bit or anything XD)

I was only just past the intro, so I decided to go and rewatch the adbit and forgot that I was in the middle of the presidential campaign for dndbeyond!  (after the ogl shitstorm, anyone else notice that CR hasn’t mentioned dndbeyond by name once?  I wonder if they’re going to start up again at some point since the situation is now resolved, even though there’s a lot of bad taste in a lot of the community’s mouths.  Personally, I’d be fine with it, because I do feel like wotc made the right choices to fix things, even if it never should have gotten to where it was in the first place, and communication choices had been…..yeah.)

I miss them reading their bits off of sheets in front of them.  I fully get the appeal of the teleprompter meaning that they can keep their eyes up and looking at camera, but there’s a charm of them giving impassioned rants but also having to keep glancing down to check what their lines are.

See?  With the teleprompter, you don’t get the adorableness of Laura having a merch update but no sheet, so floundering through Sam’s papers until Matt gives her his.

Liam perched on his chair just making squawking noises!

I love how this group is so unafraid to make unoptimal choices. Jester uses Disguise Self to look like a giant leaf, but Laura knows that it only works for people so knows it’s basically just a leaf costume and Will Not Work, but still Commits To The Bit.

Oh fuck it’s been so long that I forgot we were still with Texas!Fjord!  Just got smacked in the face by the accent XD (controversial comment, but I don’t like it when I see people saying that they prefer the Texan accent, then other people saying that it means that they like pre-character growth Fjord, or hiding himself Fjord, lying to himself Fjord.  It’s just that the Texan accent is fun!  Given a choice between the two, I would have been happy if Travis had the Texan accent be Fjord’s natural accent and do the whole campaign with it, because I enjoy hearing it – especially since C1 was pretty much all English accents.  But in order for that to happen, Fjord would have been completely different, and I don’t want a completely different Fjord, I love the Fjord that we got!)

(also off topic, but I’m waiting for noon so that I can check the shop.  I want the Jester and Caleb dice so bad and they still haven’t been released. T.T)

god I forgot how much these idiots flounder in this nonsense, I love it so much!!!  Each campaign, they all have their own version of floundering, and the Nein’s is just SO dumb, SO wonderful.  Jester forgetting she could go invisible, Beau begging Fjord to take her with him with the Misty Step and Fjord saying he’s only got room for one, Beau trying to swim through the air to the tree, and then just curling up in a ball to make herself a smaller target IT’S SO GOOD.

And Caduceus and Yasha just watching all this go down like “yup” “yup”

Nein and Polymorph – nothing more iconic.

Fjord and teleporting – nothing more iconic!!  

Polymorphed enemies attacking Fjord – truly nothing more iconic

This group and communication, I love it!!  Caleb slides Beau off his wing, Matt describes her falling into the nest, Liam softly says that that’s not what he meant, Matt immediately asks him for clarification and Liam immediately responds with what he meant but ‘this is funny’ so keep going with it.

This is the first? time that Matt has done a skill check and not penalized the player for a nat 1.  It is a minor grumble of mine that he doesn’t count nat 20s as an autosuccess (which falls within rules) but tends to still count nat 1s as an autofailure.  I feel like you’ve got to play it all one way or all the other, not the half and half – especially not more penalizing the players.

Being an active part of the fandom now, I can image people bitching about this episode so far, about Matt giving them too much leeway, not enough consequences, making it too easy, the players getting distracted from their goal, etc. etc.  Makes it a lot easier for me to brush off the bullshit criticism that C3 is getting.  Critters have been complaining since C1, and sometimes it’s legit, and most times it’s bull.

I have such mixed feelings with Nott and Sam in regards to the rogue stuff.  Because most of the time, Nott skipping looking for traps genuinely just feels like Sam either forgetting or deliberately ignoring it because he thinks it’s funny.  I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s a struggle I have with Sam’s PCs, because a bunch of stuff that Sam does is just… well, Sam being Sam.  He’d make the same joke for Scanlan, or Tary, or Nott, or FCG.  So I can’t relate it to the specific PC, even when it’s the PC doing the action.  Either way, if this was a deliberate choice for Nott (even with Beau telling her to look for traps) or Sam just trolling, I’m glad Matt had consequences, and consequences that impacted the entire party, because everyone was hit from the fireball.  It’s a bit of a nudge (even though it doesn’t work.  Does Nott EVER consistently look for traps, even after she’s killed?).  Just looking at transcripts (not super accurate) 28 times within the first 50 episodes, 22 from episodes 51-100, and 21 from episodes 101-141. Sadly Critrolestats isn’t helpful for this, because they track the investigation rolls, but so many investigation rolls AREN’T checking for traps.

Ah ha!  This is where Jester steals Nott’s flask!  Laura tried to be sneaky, but Sam heard her right away.

Mmmrph...still not a fan of the jokes about Caleb sharing his loot. He never kept it!  Liam just likes to make it theatrical.  To be fair, I think this started because Vax hoarded loot?  Or at least Vax teased Vex a lot with loot.  Honestly, most of what I remember from C1 was Vax and Vex being silly over the boots of haste, one moment with loot where Liam asked Matt to make him and Laura roll for it, and then the drama over who gets whisper, which I honestly thing was more the fanbase than the players?

I kept getting confused that they weren’t sending to Essek, so I went and checked out my last post and yep there it was.  ALSO there is the exact same stuff that I said above about Sam.  -_-  I have no original thoughts.

Insect Plague!!!  *checks transcripts* Pike cast it in E5 and the battle royale, Umbrasyl cast it in E55, Jester casts in here in E66, and then again in E113.  This is one of the rarest used spells, to the point where I completely forgot about it!

Bazzoxan!

(LOL the dice got released the day after I checked!  ...and I don’t like the sets.  Fuuuuuck)

(It’s now march 25th and I am in the MOOD.  LET’S GO!!!)

wait what the fuck did I literally stop for AGES at like, 30 seconds before the break??  That’s hysterical.

In the two/three months where I stopped watching C2, I forgot how much Caleb really did take the lead in a lot.

Wait wait wait….they’re putting the moorbounders in the stables, is this where they leave them???  Is this the last appearance of the kitties?!?!  *checks the transcripts* oh no it isssss.  Now I’m sad, I love the moorbounders so much.  (edit to add, rechecked the transcripts using the plural – looks like they technically have them as of e69 after the dungeon crawl, but then that’s the official last.  I wonder if by the time I get to that episode I will have forgotten I’d typed all this and re-express myself)  They seemed to perfectly bridge the difference between cared for and oft mentioned pets (Sprinkle, Frumpkin, Trinket) and mounts (barely ever named horses, the toilet horses, more unnamed horses).  I don’t even have a headcanon for what happens to them after the Nein leave. I’ve read some nice posts about people taking care of them, Verin taking ownership, the Nein getting them back, but they just….vanish. I don’t think? that they were mentioned during the wrap up. Flando’s splits don’t mention them, so I guess not.  I mentioned it way back, but I personally wish we could have gotten a second C2 wrap up.  With C1, we had the official wrap up, and then a second one because there were so many questions left over.  I can’t image that there weren’t enough questions left for C2.  Then again, pandemic times, and that also must have been right when Brian was either let go behind the scenes and just not officially announced yet, or on the cusp, considering it wasn’t a Talks format.

I have Thoughts that I can’t really articulate about how frequently Caleb shows the Bright Queen medallion, and how it’s both a bit defensive and a bit arrogant.  Thoughts about how it might be how Bren was trained to use the power of his station to get things he wanted.  Thoughts on how it’s making sure that it’s clear that he is In Charge, or at least has some level of Authority due to the medallion, and how it influences how he interacts with authority. Thoughts on how it may be due to his old training versus the more frequent attempt currently to lower his status to try to be unseen. Thoughts about how much could be Caleb healing and regaining confidence versus just using it at a means to an end.   I need someone else to get into my brain and actually write this up for me.

UGH I forgot all this cool Bazzoxan lore!  I really do adore Matt’s worldbuilding, especially the level of depth that he puts into every place.  He goes into it with the intention of making it feel real, and it really does.

I’ve mentioned it before and I know I’ll mention it again, but I so love how Liam handled spellcasting with his components.  With him leaning in to Caleb having to ask to purchase any item he needs, rather than just a general check with Matt, but pulling it so well into the roleplay really does inspire others.  Taliesin even in this scene!  Tal was good with black powder and such last campaign, but I feel like Matt had to prompt him more, advising that he was running out of materials and such, whereas Liam frequently initiates the conversation.

The humor of Liam having to explain to Laura that she needs Guidance to get the plus d4 to a check.  OH how times have changed.  (I’m also not a huge fan of how heavily Guidance is leaned on now.  When I was playing my druid, I made sure that Guidance was used sparingly, only where a magical boost seemed applicable.  Personal preference though.  I also wasn’t a huge fan of how for A Crown Of Candy on Dimension20 that familiars were constantly used to give advantage to rolls.)

Looking at the facial reactions when Matt says that Nott’s flask is missing, Sam and Laura obviously knew, and it looks like Taliesin overheard as well, but I think it’s a genuine surprise to everyone else.

Such a soft spot for the Wildbros.  Wildbrothers?  What’s the nickname for Fjord and Caduceus?  I think it’s Wildbrothers, but google isn’t helping me.  REGARDLESS.  Fjord reaching out to Caduceus for help is such a lovely moment.  Cad’s answer isn’t as straightforward as he would like, but it’s the first clear moment of Fjord changing paths to choose the Wildmother.  I know that Travis had been looking for possible options, but it did end up heavily steering this way, and I’m certainly pleased with the end result. PLUS!  A little bit from Caduceus as to what he is looking for! Still not a ton of detail but a place.  Honestly, I didn’t realize how long it took to actually get backstory for Cad.  I always consider him to be among the most open of the Nein (Jester being the most open, obviously), but I’ve seen very good meta explaining how he really isn’t that open at all.  Watching with that knowledge, it’s very easy to see how much he really doesn’t say.

There’s something a bit beautiful of Caduceus trying to guide Fjord into meditation/worship the way he does (slow breathing, name each sound that comes by) transitioning into Fjord’s own (wind becoming the sound of waves).  The Wildmother has always been a bit synonymous with Nature, but in my own failing, my interpretation of Nature was always plants and trees – very much the flora of the world. Fjord’s eventual worship of her being heavily based in the oceans, still very much a part of Nature, not only helped the character growth, but helped me recognize my own limitations that I was putting on her.  It also helped, once again, just confirm the realness of the world.  People practicing religion have so many variations to their worship and behaviors, to their interpretations of the religion.  In fiction, it’s very easy to take it Planet of Hats, and every follower of God A performs exactly the same way, and every follower of God B worships following this specific structure.  To have the gods in Exandria frequently worshiped differently continues to add depth to the world.

It’s very fun to see Ashley joke about Yasha doing some things which she quickly takes back, but will then fully play with as actual character traits in C3.

Oh FML.  I fully get into this, and all of a sudden I have a massive headache.  T.T  This episode is gonna take for-fucking-ever.  And it’s all good stuff!

Alright, two days later, no headache now, feeling good, got the time, lets see if I can make it through the last hour and half!

With the multiple instances of NPCs speaking Undercommon and Beau not being able to understand it, no wonder Marisha decided to take Undercommon the next opportunity she had.  Checking to see when she gets it (level 10) just makes me really miss Beau.  Her stats end up SO good, and she’s such an intelligent PC.  The roleplay decisions Marisha makes add such a level of depth to Beau’s desire for knowledge and a lovely contrast to how Caleb is intelligent and pursues information.   MY FAVS.

Once again, in my bad habit of underestimating Sam’s RP – I am really going to pay attention this time to Nott and her behavior when forced sober.  There’s quite a bit of it here that is played for laughs, but that doesn’t mean that the characterization is shallow or false.  Right away I noticed that Caleb immediately tries to sooth the situation by repeatedly saying that Nott has ‘misplaced’ her flask, ‘lost’ her flask.  While it’s a completely understandable take, especially as Liam doesn’t know that Laura had Jester take the flask, it’s a very obvious difference from Nott always believing Caleb, to Caleb disbelieving Nott.  He’s not cruel or harsh about it, and he doesn’t diminish her feelings at the lack of alcohol, but he does not accept Nott’s viewpoint that someone took the flask.

To be fair, a bit of that is metagaming.  Sam heard Laura ask Matt to take the flask, so he knows that it was taken from Nott.  I wonder how these scenes may have gone differently had he not overheard and thought that it was something Matt did in game, like how the Schuster kids stole their coin purses.  (also yes I did go to the wiki to confirm the spelling of the name, and yes I did get it wrong at first)

I love when the cast gets Sam to completely break.  Travis saying that Nott’s arms looked whiter than ever (Sam switched his shirt to a sleeveless shirt), and Sam just open mouthed WHEEZING for almost a solid 10 seconds.  Absolutely glorious.  And it’s Sam specifically because he’s the hardest to break.  Taliesin in pretty hard too, BUT if Taliesin gets hit then he’s just OUT.  Liam is by far the easiest to break and it’s delightful every time!

Downside of my massive delay in rewatching – they’re all discussing how Nott was doing really well without drinking and then started slipping up again when she picked it back up, and I can’t remember when this happened!  When did she stop drinking and pick it up again???  I have no recollection, and I feel really bad ‘cause that’s a pretty important thing!  Going back and finding my last post, I said that it might have been that she started getting drunk again to confront Yeza, but then I don’t recall why she would have been sober before that?  This is the big downside of not binging.

Oh wait, maybe the table does know?  Fjord suggests Jester scry on it, which SEEMS like Travis poking at Laura?  But I’m not sure! Could be a coincidence!

Dungeon crawl! Dungeon crawl!  I am hype for dungeon crawl!   CR doesn’t do many of them, and I definitely was bored by Kraghammer, but I think all the crawls aside from that very first one have been a blast.

I feel like this conversation of them trying to help Jester craft a message to Obann is the perfect summation of the Mighty Nein.  The absolute overlapping fuckery combined with SOME intelligence and a lot of goofing, but they get the job done.  Eventually.  Kind of. With sex jokes thrown in.

Aww, this is the doo doo doo doo moment, and Caleb legitimately laughing.   Iconic.  No donuts or pooping, but still good.

Talk about Beau/Marisha calling things!  “what if in your past life, before you lost your memories, you WERE an Iron Angel?”  well yes, yes she was.

Fjord preventing Nott from getting alcohol, then buying a bottle and essentially taunting her with it – it don’t feel good IC, but it always reads to me 100% of Travis teasing Sam.  It’s one of those moments where it DID happen in game, but it doesn’t tie into how I view the PCs interacting, because even though it happened it was more ‘above table’ then in game, if that makes any sense?  Like, Fjord and Nott have a very complex relationship, but Fjord buying alcohol when Nott is clearly going through withdrawal and then not letting her have it?  It’s hard for me to view that in their relationship, it just doesn’t feel right.  Like I said, too mean.

LOL when Sam sets down his flask and accidentally hits Matt’s camera.  Because it jostles Matt’s screen, I keep expecting him to jump or flinch like he’s being shaken, but of course it’s just the image so he doesn’t react.

After talking way too much about EVERYTHING, I actually don’t have much to say about the dungeon crawl.  It’s fucking awesome, Matt’s descriptions of celestial statues with bleeding eyes is amazing, everyone’s reactions are super fun to watch!  I suppose it’s harder for me to discuss because as much as I love the imagery, I kind of never really got the whole lore tie in.  The whole Angel of Irons plot, to be fair, is a bit fuzzy to me.  I kind of wish it had gotten explored a bit more, because the main takeaways that I have from it are that Obann thinks he’s serving the Angel of Irons (whoever he thinks that’s supposed to be), and gets undying champions – Yasha, The Laughing Hand, the Caedogheist or whatever her name is – and then….does something?  And it’s got to do with a cult?  That is releasing Abyssal anchors that just kinda open tears.  Like, I get from the wiki that he’s doing all these things and it’s supposed to release the Chained Oblivion from the Abyss (which oh, I didn’t realize he was there?  Because isn’t he behind the Divine Gate?), but it just never quite solidified for me.

ANYHOW.  FINALLY COMPLETE.  Let’s hope it doesn’t take as long to continue with the rewatch!