#mod note: a massive massive thank you to all of you for your support! sorry i've been busy recently but hope to be back to post more soon!

[carvermerrill]

It's the 7-year anniversary of this blog on Tumblr 🥳

Many, many thanks to all of you who've supported and followed us throughout the years, and an extra big shout-out to those who've followed us for that sweet, sweet, Carver/Merrill ship content since this blog was set up in 2017! Thank you to all of you <3

[lysershine]

@willwoodimagines​ lore timeline (what is my life)

So firstly, a fuckin massive thank you to @hotsinglelemonsinyourarea​ because I cannot do this shit alone and he’s helped me compile all of their old posts because I, apparently, underestimated how long they’ve been doing this. So from this point forward, I’m assuming nothing is a joke. Here we go!!

I am so sorry. Let’s do this.

So earliest posts that are likely lore come from around April the 9th. This post is a conversation seemingly between Three and One where Two is gone on a road trip, -- although it might not Actually Be A Road Trip, -- and then One tells everyone to stop acting like Two is dead, because he’s not. Which, fair enough, although later in the conversation, Two replies and seems to invent that he’s at the beach, probably to calm down the people speculating about his whereabouts. I am Anything But Calm. 

There’s also this post, presumably from One or Three but it’s hard to tell cuz Three didn’t start signing posts until much later and they type pretty similarly, where they tell us we should be grateful for them feeding us and keeping us warm, and it’s tagged with ‘#I wish I was warm.’  

So here’s where stuff gets very interesting! Backstory, people! In this post, we start to see some pieces put together. The imagine reads:

IMAGINE: Will Wood invites you into his home for an exclusive performance of I/Me/Myself. You are so excited! But then, he asks you to come down into his wine cellar, explaining that his keyboard is down there. You go down there hesitantly. You don’t realize for several minutes that he did not follow you down here. The only things here are a laptop and a sticky note with the words “POST IMAGINES” written in sharpie. You are so afraid and attempt to leave the way you came in but the door is gone. You are trapped. It is so cold and you just want to see your family again.

So that’s horrifying!! But it gives us insight into how the mods were probably captured and why they’re running this blog. It’s a great blog. 10/10, doesn’t make me solve codes. Oh wait. 

After that post, -- which I am assuming comes from Three, -- we’re treated to a bunch of morse code that the wonderful Nigel was kind enough to translate for me:

They then added in a reblog, “It seems I have made a typo! I meant mod 1 won’t let me speak, I am mod 3.” So, it seems like One is trying to quiet any cries for help.

This is shortly thereafter followed by this post from the 11th, and to quote directly, it says:

IMAGINE: Inside of the cellar basemeant, there is a suit. It is tempting but Weill said you are not allowed to touch. YOu know you want to. Touch it. he is guarding it. he is hiding something. follow for more will woof imagines.

So that’s riddled with typos, and if you stick them all together you just get eeOf so I’m gonna assume that all this means is that this post is courtesy of Two. There’s also a skeleton circled so maybe Will has previous victims or something? Who knows.

On the 12th, we have a couple posts, one about being in Will’s basement and watching him cosplay the onceler, another about Will being vaguely inhuman. Don’t know how important that is but I’m gonna make note of it anyway, because Will being inhuman especially might make sense for some stuff.

The next seemingly important post is this one:

So this one is probably about Two, my evidence being this post and the fact that, following this, Two gets significantly worse at spelling and more confused about what’s going on with their captivity. My best guess is that Two gets in trouble either for the lack of imagines OR they did touch the suit from that earlier imagine and now they know something that they shouldn’t. Either way, Will takes him away and brainwashes??? Lobotomizes??? Bite of ‘87s???? Idk???? I’m gonna go with lobotomy, it seems the most accurate to Two’s behavior from here on out, I really have no idea but he comes back Very Different. And in the tags it says ‘Laplace’s Angel 2:14!’ and the line at that time is “Somebody, help me!” so you know, pretty straightforward cry for help. 

Though it makes me think that in the cellar, they are probably limited to interaction with only things directly connected to Will Wood, which is why “as a treat” they watch the documentary and they communicate with his music like this. They’re not allowed any media other than his. 

Anyway, here’s an important note: From this point forward, Two is an unreliable narrator. Everything he says from here on out should be taken with a pillar of salt. (H.A.L.T., it’s not my fault!) 

So with that in mind, the next post of importance is this one, a conversation that goes Three, One, and then Two. Two says Will let them watch the documentary as a treat, One tells them to stop making it seem like Will is holding them captive, and Three just says “movee :-)”. Which, fair enough.

The next posts that are worth noting are this one, where Three simply says “mental anguish” and One shuts them down saying that no one on the blog is experiencing that, and threatens them in the tags, and then this one where someone is being silenced.  

There’s this post, which in the website version of their blog links to itself, I don’t know how or why or if that matters but if someone figures something out with that, please let me know. There’s also this imagine, which is about bodyswapping with Will -- storywise, I don’t think this is something that really happens, -- but it’s tagged with ‘#I miss my family.’ So that’s Not Good.

There’s some posts in between solidifying that despite this wackiness, the mods are indeed still friends. And then we go straight back into absolute horror with this post:

And so evidently they are Less Than Okay and probably being held captive by Will Wood. It’s immediately followed by this morse code, presumably from Three because he seems to use morse where One uses binary, and when deciphered, it reads: “I am blinking. Hear my cry.” Three’s post is then followed by One trying to shush them once more, saying: 

“[W]e at Willwoodimagines would like to apologize for last night. We might have, perhaps, made it seem as if we are being held in a wine cellar against our Will (Wood), and that some of us have been down here for six years, and that we may miss our families, but I, Mod 1, would like to remind you that we are fine and need no help! Cheers!:) #We are NOT blinking. At all. #Not at all. No blinking from us! Blinking? Aha! Not at all.”

So what can be gathered from this is that they’re absolutely being held in Will Wood’s wine cellar, and some of them have been there for six years, and they miss their families, are NOT fine, definitely need help, and are CERTAINLY blinking. Also the random bolded letters spell “help” again.

Then there’s this post, which Nigel translated for me (ty man ily):

We also have this crudely-drawn map from Two, but it doesn’t seem to be related to anything. Anyway, the address is totally garbled, yep, but nonetheless if you put it into Google you get the address for a relatively poorly-rated landfill in New Jersey:

So clearly someone picked up on that, because then we have an ask from an anon who wants to know what the recycling situation is where they are being held. One seems very confused by this question, and Two pipes in saying that have a trashcan. Their confusion would make me assume this is the wrong address, but I don’t actually have to assume, because One(?) confirms it later with this post containing binary that can be translated to read:

“oh god the address was wrong i don't know where we fucking are help“

So you know, concerning! This is immediately followed by another ask, this one in binary. The conversation goes:

“Are you good?” “Absolutely not”

Which kinda speaks for itself. There’s also a quiz they made and I took it to see if there was any lore and uh apparently I’m most like One, so that’s poggers, I think? Idk there wasn’t any lore though. There is this post where Three says that Two’s favorite song isn’t a Will Wood song, and One threatens to knock them the fuck out, and I’m adding this as a point to my theory that they’re unallowed to consume media unrelated to WW. They make up though, so it’s fine.

It gets more quiet and more confusing for a while, Three saying “wake up” and this post being tagged with ‘#I’m cold and I am afraid.’ Two leaves again, Three goes quiet cuz they’re having a rough time, Two hates being smol-bean-ified and is behind held below One and Three, who seem to be in the same room? They’re also all starving, and Three could be an arsonist if you let them out.

Blah blah, they called me out and I cried about it, and NOW we’ve reached the 100-follower-special. Thank fuck.

Three posts this, it leads to binary, and that binary says:

“Listen carefully. The video that Will (Wood) be posted is extremely important. Do not skip it.“

This is immediately followed by this video of Two sprinting through the woods, presumably to freedom, if you read the tags. Three follows that with another post, saying “It has begun.” One shuts them down again in this post, but it links to binary that says:

“hello? can you read this? mod 2 is free! and hopefully will be coming back for us both. you all did absolutely nothing to help so i'm not thanking you for this. however i am thanking you for following us all! you've given us moral support thank you, mod 1“

As I’ve said earlier, I’m fairly certain that their captor is Will and he has access to this tumblr, which is why One especially is trying to be quiet about this. Like in this post where they apologize for the insanity on the blog, which links to binary, and it reads:

“we’re not in ddlc. i am not monika. listen to me closely. mod 3 and i are still stuck here. we have been posting cries for help for weeks. go look for them! they’re like easter eggs. just for you! thank you, mod 1“

DO I LOOK LIKE I’M COLLECTING EGGS YET??? DO I??????? Anyway, I got named the official lore account so now I’m fucking trapped here, and then we get some posts about how Two has made it to a McDonald’s.

Then One posts yet another apology, with two links. Link one directs you to a groupchat between the three mods, detailing Two’s escape and everyone’s very odd adoration for fast food. But then again, Three says they’ve been eating slop for a while, so. Fair enough. To bring back my old commentary about this, though; in this conversation there seems to be a bit of confusion over who exactly put them in the cellar where they’re captured, but as we saw earlier it was indeed Will Wood himself who is keeping them prisoner. However, Two also asserts that very soon he will be able to save One and Three, apparently with the help of Will? So there are two possibilities here:

1. Two is still an unreliable narrator, so it’s a possibility that his lobotomy or whatever has ruined his ability to perceive threats and he is being tricked by Will, who is indeed their captor, and will get thrown back in the cellar with the other two.

2. Something bigger than Will is controlling the situation. It makes no sense that all three mods would remember Will putting them in the cellar if he didn’t. So someone else could be controlling Will, I don’t know. They allude to a person from the documentary and initially I assumed it was Will but I actually haven’t seen the movie (shock and horror, I know, I’m sorry), so maybe it’s someone else and that’s the piece of the puzzle I’m missing? Idk, if you’ve made it this far and you’ve seen the documentary, check the conversation and let me know.

Link two leads to binary, and when translated it becomes:

“i do think it’s less endearing and more terrifying how people on a blogging website care more about my freedom than my own friends and family did i dont need to sign this. you know who it’s from“

Which, maybe, but I love ARGs and Nigel and I are already incredibly invested so whoops. Besides, who’s gonna do it if we don’t?

Anyway!!! I sent an ask in response to some of my confusion for the groupchat, and because One said to keep sending messages. One responded, and I was redirected to even more binary because of course! This time it says:

“THANK YOU FOR ASKING MOD 2 SAID THAT HE HAS INTERACTED WITH WILL. SO I DO NOT THINK WE ARE BEING HELD BY WILL HIMSELF. I BELIEVE MOD 3 KNOWS BUT WHEN I ASKED AGAIN HE JUST TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE GUY FROM THE MOVIE. THIS WAS NOT VERY HELPFUL THANKS  MOD 1 P.S. THIS IS IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I'M VERY EXCITED!!” 

Then there were two posts in quick succession, the first one was a new puzzle type! Morse code! And grandma taught me that, so I can tell you it says:

“I think we posted an address once but it was wrong and we got caught doing it. I didn’t like that day. This entire computer has safety settings on it so I can’t just ??? (this looks like a keysmash or something to me?) stop writing. Hold on, I hear something.”

And I would’ve thrown it directly in a translator, but as One acknowledges in their next post with a link to more binary, I had to translate by hand because:

“well! you'll never guess what desktops do to morse code! we're back at binary! anyway. we did post an address but everything went wrong, i don't like thinking about that entire week, the pain was unimaginable! more importantly, though, i've asked mod 3 and he s hold on i think i hear something.“

That post was immediately reblogged with more binary that just says:

“well that’s not good”

Which is horrific!! So I sent an ask, like, ayo homie what the fuck, and I got a response! The text itself is just a dismissal that anything’s wrong, but the bolded text spells out “footsteps” so that’s terrifying! Also Two apparently slept in the McDonald’s parking lot and One slept in a sleeping bag in the cellar.

They posted that this morning when I started working on this post, -- I’ve been here for like eight hours now I think, -- and so I replied expressing my distress that they were active again and One responded with backwards text, which when read normally, says:

“Did you think we were going to sleep forever? The show must go on!”

Death undertones, I dig it.

Anyway, @hotsinglelemonsinyourarea​ my beloved asked why they were watching @emerald-whale​, and One hit back with binary that says:

“you don't think we're watching all of you? tell the lorekeeper to write this one down. sincerely, mod 1″

Which is fucking horrifying, but no worries One, I am writing it down!! I am making a whole ass fucking timeline!! Because I am but a humbled servant that kneels to whatever story you’re trying to tell here. :) Apparently. ::) I hate it here.

Anyway, an anon sent in an ask that is one of the funniest interactions ever:

“ooohhh pizza mozarella pizza mozarella rella rella oohh“

“alright no more lore for you guys until you learn how to behave”

And then Two felt like pitching in as well:

Now keep in mind all of this was posted very fast and I was writing this post, -- still am, whoops, -- so I sent this very stressed ask telling them to SLOW DOWN THE LORE PLEASE IM FUCKING PLEADING as well as asking each mod a question, and I got shot back more binary cuz they hate me but they did answer my questions so the conversation goes:

Me: “One, are you in the same room as Three? What about Two?”  One: “yes. no. i miss 2 dearly.” Me: “Two, who did you bite to get out? Two: “the  ghuy from the movee !!!!  i bit him and sstole hias phone!!!!!! his passw ord was "willwoodsux"  :-)” Me: “Three, how long has it been since you’ve consumed any media that isn’t WW related?” Three: “It’s only been a year since I entered the cellar, so not that long ago :-) Around July you're welcome, lorekeeper sincerely, the three mods

So to clarify what and why I was asking:

1. My theory about One and Three being together while Two is separate is confirmed, yay me! Kinda trivial but I want to understand what’s going on in the cellar, so that stuff makes sense in context.

2. I haven’t seen the Will Wood movie, so this means nothing to me! Lucky for me, I have a friend, @indubitablyswag​, who has seen it, so I asked them!

They have no fucking clue either!! So I will probably be renting that movie tonight, because this lore is worth money to me now, apparently, -- and I’ve been meaning to see it anyways. 

3. Three made a comment about having never seen Ratatouille, which Nigel thought tied into my theory that non-WW things weren’t allowed in the cellar. I think this confirms that, but it actually doesn’t excuse Three from not knowing Ratatouille because it came out much longer than a year ago. (Unless this ARG takes place in a different year? I’ll have to ask about that.)

Then there’s another pizza mozzarella whatever ask, but it’s okay cuz Two fucking murders them. 

I got my numbers screwed up and hurt One’s feelings, (IF YOU’RE READING THIS, ONE, IM SORRY, I MEANT THREE!!) something???? hurts, and I have wasted a solid nineish hours of my existence on this.

Then One gave me a whole ass heart attack by asking my favorite flavor of ice cream. (Theirs is birthday cake, apparently.)

I’m posting it before any of those fucks give me any more lore to add to this timeline because I’ve been here for like ten hours and I honestly just Can Not Keep Doing This, so I’ll be back with more theories later, -- especially after I’ve seen the movie. 

In the meantime, au revoir, I’m gonna go have a stroke. I hope you guys are pleased with your lorekeeper. Cuz if you’re not then literally what has this been for? :::))

[cielrouge]

Voltron Legendary Defender NYCC 18' Panel Recap

Ahhh okay here’s the recap post I promised! It took a little while to transcribe all the individual videos I had (I think almost 11 in the end? lol). So, normally I’m not a morning person at all, but as soon as I saw NYCC announce the Hammerstein panel and realizing this might very well be the last VLD panel ever, you can betcha that I got up at the crack of dawn to get my ass down to Hammerstein this morning pfftt. I got there around 9ish, and while there was already a line it moved fairly quickly after a quick bag check. Since I was by myself, I managed to get a pretty decent seat, actually much than I anticipated, located in the early middle-ish of the ground floor seating.

The panel began with the moderator (I forgot his name, sorry mod! D:) with introducing the cast and crew: Joaquim Dos Santos & Lauren Montgomery (Executive Producers), Josh Hamilton (Story Editor), and the VA’s for Allura (Kimberly Brooks), Pidge (Bex Taylor-Klaus), Shiro (Josh Keaton), and Lance (Jeremy Shada). Keith’s VA (Steven Yeun) didn’t make it, but I’m assuming maybe this was because he had prior commitments to promote BURNING at the New York Film Festival this weekend?

Joaquim and Lauren started off the panel regarding the Shiro and Adam storyline in S7, and some “understandably hurt reactions to it." Joaquim stated that they emphasize with everyone’s reactions and "really do feel for you,” while Lauren added: “so we clearly can’t change what’s already happened, but this experience has stirred conversation about what meaningful representation is, and we hope that this leads to better representation in the future.”

VLD Show Retrospective & General Fan Appreciation

 Lauren then changed gears to take a moment to say: "how proud we are of our crew who has worked so hard, and our amazing cast who has bought so much life to these characters over these past four years," and a "huge thank you to all of the fans who have just showered us with so much love and support."

Joaquin added that they wanted "our final New York Comic Con, really our final con of the entire series to be a celebration of everyone's hard work. And a really awesome look back at what came before this and an awesome look forward to our final season, of a show that we're so proud to be a part of, and had you guys along for the ride."

The moderator asked what it's been like throughout the years to get to this specific part (season 8) and Joaquim said: "It's amazing for us. It's grown every single year, you guys [the crowd] is the best. It's been an absolute honor working on the show."

Josh H. (VLD's Story Editor) also noted: "It's weird being in the office alone, maybe five of us writers in one room," and they question what will or will not work story-wise, but "then you come to Comic Con and people start to cheer because they love a moment so much."

 "It's so different when you're alone by yourself as a writer, and then when you're with an awesome crowd of people. It invigorates you."

 Josh K. (Shiro's VA) added that it's been amazing for him to meet and work with the cast, but specifically highlighted his appreciation for seeing all the "incredible talent that's been peppered throughout the fandom.

Specifically emphasizing how the cast and crew "see so many amazing cosplay, so much incredible art, videos, everything. You guys [the fans] really dove into this show and we love it. We're just as much fans as all of you, and we love sharing the show with all of you. It's been a fantastic experience and I'm sad it's coming to an end."

Jeremy (Lance's VA) chimed in: "You don't to be part of many shows like Voltron in your career, so it's been a blessing to be a part of this show. Everybody here puts in so much hard work into their craft and what they do, but you never know what's going to do well or not, and this show DEFINITELY did very, very well."  And this was because of the fans, particularly highlighting the passion and dedication, and how "it means the world to us."

 Jeremy then pointed out this was a crowd where there actually seemed to be more cosplayers than non-cosplayers, prompting Josh K. to note: "I love going to these cons and looking at everyone cosplaying, and pretending in my head that Voltron is real and now I'm at Space Mall."

 Bex (Pidge's VA) chimed in to say that she would make things a little more selfish since: "I've always wanted to play a cartoon character so this was very literally a dream come true for me." But not only to play a cartoon character, but to play a powerful female warrior."

Bex additionally noted how amazing how that's what's resonated most is "for young kids to see themselves in Pidge and Allura. It's just been the most heartwarming experience."

Kimberly (Allura's VA) then spoke to the experience among the cast and crew and how they've become good friends with one another, and how it's "bittersweet that this is our last convention, but it's been amazing."

Season 7 Retrospective (General Storytelling  Approach & the VA's Favorite Moments)

Josh H. started off that: "S7 was meant to be putting our paladins at a disadvantage."

 So the writers came up with the concept of a 3 year timeskip and "all these stories about going home, and Hunk with his family kind of sprung up naturally from that."

 "There's also a story about Allura. It's kinda subtle, but Allura lost Altea, and now she has a chance to redeem herself and help save Earth."

"A lot of these personal moments start to pop up when we got this new angle, so starting off with this 3 year time gap really helped us."

Joaquim noted it was cool seeing the fan buildup with getting the paladins back home to their families, and "knowing for us, from a story perspective that it was coming down the line, and seeing everything get to that fever pitch point. It was a really great payoff to see it all play out."

Lauren switched gears to comment on the "insane logistics" of the whole big Galra attack at the end. They had some initial trouble figuring out how the Zaiforge cannons were supposed to work.

 Josh H. chimed in to note that Joaquim kept coming to the writers room to say that something needed to be different about this Galra attack, so he and Mitch Iverson would kind of go on walks and try to figure out how the Zaiforge cannons worked.

While Lauren noted that the logistics was a "massive headache, they were still pretty happy with how it turned out since "it was pretty suspenseful, never a dull moment."

 Josh H. added that plot-wise, he liked how the storytelling perspective got to stay on Earth. "We knew that there were going to be seven, Earth-centric episodes," so that gave a lot of time to "meet some new people and come up with MFE pilots."

The writers really enjoyed cracking who the MFE pilots were individually, particularly with the way that Leifsdottir thinks and speaks, so "having this time to stay in one place and time was really fun."

Jeremy noted that they were really happy to have AJ LoCascio (Lotor's VA) still stick around and voice James Griffin in S7.

Joaquim mentioned that for a show of this nature, with all the focus on action-adventure and big explosions and giant robots, it was unusual to "take two episodes and just focus on the logistics on what's going back on Earth while madness is happening. Essentially you had all these meetings going on for what's ostensibly a kid's show."

 In terms of trying to find a fine balance between the Earth storyline and Paladin storyline, Lauren and Jaoquim did wonder whether they could spend that much time on Earth without "seeing Voltron punch something" (ROFL) but they knew it was the right decision as they were reading the scripts when they came in, and it just felt right, and "that's ultimately been a testament to the show. Just going with your gut."

Favorite, Standout Moments of Season 7

 Bex noted that her favorite episodes of S7 were the Earth-centric ones where "we got to experience what was happening on Earth while we [the paladins] were gone. It was everything I got to see and nothing I got to see in the scripts since we weren't there."

 Kimberly noted that the Hunk love was amazing, since he's so "lovable, and we got to see where he was inspired to cook and do all the things that he does, and why he's such a cool guy."

Josh K. added that Hunk really proved himself as the heart of the team.

Jeremy noted that the VA's knew that the Atlas was going to be a thing through the scripts, but they weren't aware of what it actually looked like beforehand.

 Bex humorously chimed in to offer that "Atlas is thiccc. I needs that workout routine, okay?" (omfg)

Jeremy agreed that it has a "nice big booty. It's a thick robot." (And at that point, everyone in the audience started wheezing, shrieking, or cackling).

Josh K. added that the day the episode aired, there was a group chat among the VA's where someone just texted "Atlas is thiccc" and Bex admitted that she had this saved to her Tweetdeck for a longgg time.

 Josh K. admitted that while he's probably biased, this was still his favorite episode, since Josh wanted Shiro to have everything that he deserves, and he loved how "everything was falling apart and everyone was looking for Shiro to lead."

And in terms of the words and the stage direction, Josh remembered just even reading the script just made him swell up with pride for Shiro and think: "This is amazing. Everybody that didn't believe him in the Garrison came back, those that strapped him to a gunnery, and didn't want to listen to him about Voltron is now looking at him to save them."

Bex added the part where Coran calls Shiro 'Captain' for the first time was one of those moments.

And when Shiro finally makes that connection and is able to transform the ship, Josh knew that while this moment was going to happen, he still had no idea how the Atlas transformation was going to look like beforehand.

Josh fondly recalled that he was hoping to see his wife's reaction to the Atlas transformation for the first time, but he missed her whole reaction since he himself couldn't take his eyes off the scene.

Entire Show Retrospective: Favorite Moments and Why

Jeremy’s Pick (Lance and Keith rescuing Shiro in ep 1): "It's special to me, because I think this may have been one of my audition scenes, but it was really one of the  first scenes where you get to see Lance's personality and I love these little moments where he's just very kinda funny and such a goofball, but he still has this goal and is a loyal person. So, when we were recording this scene, I thought: 'Ok I get the character now and this sets the tone for what I wanna do with his character."

Bex’s Pick (Pidge confessing her true identity as a girl): "I love this part. This was something that was in the very beginning not in the audition side, but the character breakdown of Pidge's masquerade as a boy in order to find her family. And who doesn't want to play Mulan? So, it was something that I was waiting for and I remember going back and forth on whether this scene was going to happen in episode 4 or 7. It was really exciting when we got to that part of the script and how we were doing this, and I loved how easy it is."

Josh K's Pick (Shiro rescues Slav): "The thing we know about Shiro, at least in the beginning, is that it seems like there's nothing wrong with him. He seems perfect, he can do no wrong, he's a nice guy, and can kick butt. So sometimes you think, 'can he do no wrong? What's his deal?' and in S2, Shiro meets somebody named Slav and it's once meeting Slav, you start to see that Shiro is not completely perfect. Shiro can get upset, and there definitely is a crack in that paladin armor.”

Josh H's Pick (The 'Slipperies' Scene): "Tim Hendrick came up with the concept of the slipperies as Coran sweating too much and slipping everywhere. Everytime I watch this scene I still legitimately laugh even though the script went through several rewrites."

Kimberly's Pick (Allura and Coran and the milkshake origin): "I think the clip is self-explanatory in terms of our reaction to it."

Lauren’s Pick (When the Paladins hoot fun-sentry into space): "So my clip isn't any moment in the series, but a moment that embodies what our crew does when it comes together, and everybody brings their own thing to it, so it culminates into something so much more."

How Much of the VA's are like their Actual Characters

Josh K. noted that back in 2014, he had just become an actual dad, so he made that weird transition from "living for yourself to having a life were you hold someone else's life in your hands.

”So, he drew a lot of Shiro's "dedication to his team from that feeling. That's really where it all came from.”

While he confesses to generally being more like Lance in real life, still with age and parenting, Josh admits that he's become more of that "space dad type of guy, having to wrangle kids and all that." 

Likewise, he's always liked telling bad dad jokes and now revels in still being able to tell them as an actual dad.  

Bex admits that for her, she feels that "Pidge is so powerful in her own way and so confident, which is so rare for someone so young." So, while Bex isn't sure if she's entirely become the Pidge that she wants to be, but she's getting there.

Kimberly notes that she strives to be like Allura (Jeremy interrupted to say that Kimberly is a queen and has gotten the queenly wave down). 

What Kimberly finds appealing about Allura is that she's a flawed character, but also beautiful, generous, smart, and strong - "these are all things I strive to be, and I feel like I'm becoming more and more like Allura as the show progresses." 

Kimberly also added that Allura is her favorite character that she's ever had the pleasure to voice. Even after recording many, many sessions, Kimberly still had no idea what Allura physically looked like, so the first time she was shown the character concept artwork, Kimberly was "so choked up and blown away," since she had no idea what her skin tone was going to be and so on.

Jeremy confesses that he kind of leans into Lance's personality in real life, but in a joking manner since he likes making people laugh. He finds Lance to be such a goofball and that 'adorkable' type of person, and "that's definitely me in real life, but Lance also has all that sensitive loyal side to him which I have and relate to as well." 

"He's fun to play, but while Lance tries hard to be very flirty at times, I'm not really like that way. Maybe with my girlfriend, I'll try to say flirty jokes and she'll just laugh and tell me to keep trying."

The Existence of the Voltron Scratch Reel

 Lauren explained the concept of a scratch reel where in between the storyboarding, animating, and voice acting process, sometimes they realize that they might need some additional lines, maybe lines get condensed, change names, and so on.  

But they don't always have time to get the actors back in, so "a lot of times, it falls upon one of us to put in some temporary dialogue and fill that space, they animate to it, and then we get the animation back and the actors replace the dialogue and it sounds great. But in the meantime, we get to watch some ridiculously horrible acting on behalf of the entire staff - editors, assistants, etc."

Bex noted: "It's always breaks my heart a little to dub over the scratch tracks, because it's so beautiful," while Josh added that he'd love to see an episode just entirely of scratch tracks."

Joaquim chimed in that they had two seasons of the 'Scratchy Awards,' where they handed out staff awards for the best scratch tracks produced (hahaha), where Mitch Iverson spraypainted a bunch of backscratchers with 'Scratchy' Awards' on it.

 After they aired the scratch reel, Josh H. noted that there are still some times where scratch ends up being in-screen and it's an unexpected surprise when they're reviewing the editing process.

The most popular scratch reel choice among the VA's is Director Steve Ahn, who had a lot of the 'Ok, calm down' scratch scenes, and Steve Yeun once asked: "Could I get that as my ringtone?"  

Jeremy said his favorite parts of the scratch reel were when half the scene were the actual VA lines, and then it was one non-VA word.

 Benjamin Kaltenecker did all of the 'moo' sounds for Kaltenecker.

Josh K. noted that Joaquim voices a pretty decent Shiro, and "that's why you didn't see any scratch scenes of that because it's not bad."

Bex noted that she loved it when Lauren had to voice some of the Galra men for the scratch scenes.

 Lauren noted that most of the scratch scenes were recorded late at night and the cast & crew weren't really fighting to do a scratch scene, and "we're not usually fighting to voice a character, but it's more like 'who has to do it now? Who hasn't done it in awhile??’

“While we're in shame of our bad acting...poor Rhys [Coran's VA] had to sit through and be insulted since nobody can actually pull off Coran's accent.” Though, Joaquim pointed out that Jeremy does a decent Coran impression which he then demonstrated for the crowd.

Joaquim added: "The hardest thing to do is to record scratch in the booth and it's played back to the actual VA's and we can't hear them because their mics are off, but they're pantomiming the loudest laughter."

Kimberly reassured that the VA's loved hearing the crew's voices for the scratch reel.

Josh K. added that "it's like hearing your friends do an impression of you and makes ADR sessions fun, since they can be so technical at times. It's like getting to watch bloopers."

Getting Some of the Awesome Voltron Guest Stars & Fun VA Recording Moments

Joaquim & Lauren: "We bat around some ideas internally, and couldn't believe when the casting directors were on board with some of our ideas: like getting Vince Shlomi or the ShamWow guy to voice the knife store owner in the Space Mall."

The show's head of casting, Anya's eyes light up this suggestion, and it was kind of a celebrity moment when he came in to record.

Weird Al Yankovic was a fixture of Lauren's childhood, and it certainly helped having a voice director legend like Andrea Romano to fall back on.

 At one point, they had Rhys Darby (Coran) and Paul Rubin sort of 'battling it out in the Space Mall haggling sequence' and it was like 'the Lake House of back-and-forth, like they were on two astral planes' but when it came together, it was 'magical.'

 Since Nolan North voiced both Sam Holt and Commander Iverson, there were literally scenes where he was just literally talking to himself, and Lauren noted that "the guy's such a professional that he does things straight through instead."

 Lauren also noted that Cree Summers is one of those VA's who will sideline an entire session, since she's such a hilarious, big personality.

 Jeremy and the other VA's said that recording with the cast was always the highlight of his week. But one of the coolest things was when they had the entire, locked-in VA cast together for the first time, and they realized that they had picked the right people.

 "I know I'm doing my job right in the recording booth when I'm making my cast mates laugh."

Sometimes the cast would get into fun side conversations catching up that Andrea (the voice director) had to interrupt and remind them that: 'We're literally in a take right now and you're having a full conversation. You can catch up later.'

 Bex once freaked out Josh K. and AJ since they were in the middle of a conversation and they didn't hear the sound beeps, but Bex did and suddenly yelled 'GO!'

Season 8 Plot Teasers

Lauren: "Basically our paladins have freed Earth from Galra rule and all that's left to kind of finish the job and free all the universe."

Joaquim: "We do have this one character that you might have noticed in a clip that becomes pretty pivotal, and she's been gone for a bit..." (Which presumably was Hagger/Honerva since the S8 was then aired) 

Fun Misc. Show Tidbits

Bex apparently came to Pidge's audition in a Batman onsie.

During the 'Slipperies scene', the little side panels of Coran's pants come apart and flap like little tails. This wasn't something that was originally in the design, but the animators added it.

The creators once had an original design where Coran had a tail, and Lauren noted "it was super cute."

Jeremy thought the whole Shiro clone saga was awesome, and he specifically loved the Black Paladins episode. 

Lauren and Joaquim admitted that they were even shocked by that storyline since they had a very different storyline at first - "that's the interesting thing about the creative process, since you'll get notes and have to make some changes, but it then takes you to really unexpected places and make for some unique and interesting storylines."

There wasn't time for a Q&A portion, and the panel ended with the Season 8 teaser/first look. Though, I'd have to say that it was still definitely fun watching the teaser with such a large crowd of fans, and basically shrieking and gasping together at different intervals hahaha.

[seraphine16]

Sway With Me (Touken Ice Skating AU)

tmAuthor’s Notes: I shared this headcanon with @ladywongs a few days ago, it was supposed to be pure and innocent but her comments made this became erotic instead lmao. I’ve read too many fics and headcanons by Toukaisbetterthanyou mods that I’m becoming a Touken trash now, I’m sorry. God please forgive me for writing this. Everyone, I’m sorry for writing this trash 🙇

Summary: Kirishima Touka is a professional figure skater, winning several silver and bronze medals ever since her international debut. For the upcoming world championship, the theme is sensual ice dancing – which she will be performing with her coach, Kaneki Ken due to their perfect chemistry… and heated gazes.

Characters: Black Reaper Kaneki, :Re Touka

Warnings: NSFW, sensual dancing, sexual tension, age difference

Words: 7736

Performance Song: Michael Buble - Sway

For those who read Regina: I’m sorry for postponing chapter 13 to next month. And trust me the smut in Regina won’t be similar to this trash, even in the Red Ginseng chapter where they’ll do it multiple rounds (ok I better stop now before revealing more spoilers hehe)

Here are some of their moves and positions in case I couldn’t explain properly… I told you this is trash.

 1st Part

2nd Part

3rd Part

4th Part

5th Part - But in this fic their bodies are soooo much closer, and Kaneki’s hands are somewhere else ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

6th Part

Layback Ina Bauer

ENJOY!

Michael Buble’s Sway echoed throughout the massive ice skating arena as a couple was practicing their performance for the upcoming World Figure Skating Championship. Kaneki Ken, fully clad in black pants, black jacket with a tight black top underneath – leaned against the ice rink wall, observing them with a frown on his face.

As their coach, he wasn’t impressed at all. They weren’t performing up to his high standards. They kept on making mistakes, falling, and not to mention – bickering.

“Don’t put your face so near to my crotch! That’s disgusting!”

“Shut up, horse shit Touka. I’m just following the choreography. You’re so damn heavy, you need to reduce the amount of cake you’re having every week.”

“I’m. Not. Fat! You’re just not strong enough, shitty Nishiki.”

The bickering continued for a period of time, and his ears just couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Enough!” Kaneki’s stern voice made them stopped their bickering and turned their heads towards him.

“Both of you are too stiff. Nishiki, you need to hold her as if you worship her body. And Touka, what’s with your expression?”

“What’s wrong with my expression?” She returned his question, her eyes showing total disbelief.

‘Are you seriously asking me that?’ He almost rolled his eyes. Almost.

“You need to look as if you really want Nishiki to touch you, not like you’re disgusted having him as your partner.”

“I can’t.” She simply said.

“Yes, I can’t too. She may have a nice body, but I only worship Kimi’s.”

“Guys… this is just an act…”

“Nuh uh, can’t help it. We’re figure skaters, Kaneki, not proficient actors. I don’t understand why the hell the theme is sensual this year. It’s so hard to get into the mood when you don’t have any feelings for your partner.”

“It’s mutual, shitty Nishiki. I hate you too.”

“Thanks, shitty Touka. I know.”

Kaneki just sighed at their immature behavior.

“Don’t you want to win the gold medal, Touka?” His brows furrowed in frustration, he had been coaching her for a little over two years, and her biggest accomplishment was only two silver and three bronze medals.

As someone who had won numerous gold medals throughout the 15 years of his career – and also won the world championship four times, he was not impressed with his female student.

“Why don’t you show us then?” Nishiki crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes glinted with a hint of mischief towards his coach.

“…Excuse me?”

“Shitty Nishiki, are you kidding me?” She had enough of his touch on her body every time he was coaching her, she could not bear having him touching her for the whole three minutes, and multiply that by a countless number of practices. Especially with this choreography, where there would be plentiful sensual elements. No, it would drive her insane.

Nishiki just smirked. Everyone in their team could feel the sexual tension between these two idiots, but no one dared to say a word. Kaneki Ken was just too intimidating to be teased.

There was a deafening silence throughout the arena as Kaneki gave a piercing stare at Nishiki, followed by a heavy sigh and the removal of his glasses and black jacket, revealing his tight top underneath.

Touka eyed him appreciatively. She had always admired his body. The muscles on his biceps, not too bulky but just nice, the hardness of his abs that she could feel whenever he was standing a bit too close to her, and the firmness of his hands. They were strong, and she couldn’t help the shiver she felt whenever he held her. Those hard muscles sculpted by the constant training and exercise to maintain his strength as a figure skater – especially to lift his partner while performing ice dancing. And he still maintained them, working out now and then even when he decided not to join any competition anymore.

“Alright, I’ll show you.”

“Are you serious?” Her mouth gaped in shock, and she could feel that she was starting to panic a bit.

He moved towards her, and Nishiki backed away to the ice rink wall, delighted that he was able to watch them practicing this dance together.

“Watch and learn, Nishiki. This is how you should hold her.” Kaneki stood right in front of her, his right hand gripped her waist – tight, while his left lifted her chin up until she met his grey eyes.

“And how you should look at her.”

His eyes never left her even though he was speaking to the hazelnut–haired man, his pupils dilated briefly – he looked as if he was yearning for her – his gaze went to her supple lips for a moment, and suddenly Touka felt a little hard to breathe normally.

“Music. Start.” Tsukiyama played the music, then shortly after, they started to perform their dance according to the music.

When marimba rhythms start to play~

Dance with me, make me sway~

They glided on the ice, sometimes hand in hand, sometimes hand on waist while performing several graceful spins and steps together. Nishiki grinned, forming a plan in his mind.

Hold me close, sway me more~

Kaneki stood behind Touka and that was when the first part of their sensual dance truly started. She raised her arms, locking them around his neck as his hands grabbed her hips, swaying side by side with her before subtly grinding his pelvis against her backside. His hands then traced further up from her waist to her breasts – kneading them slightly in the process – earning a gasp from her before he traced higher to her shoulders and arms, unlocking them from his neck to pull them backwards together.

He definitely held her as if he was worshipping her body, his gaze never left her – and it was intense.

Other dancers may be on the floor~

The second part was a curve lift, he posed the shoot–the–duck position – where he lifted her while he bent the skating knee and extended his free leg in front of his body, his right hand lifted her right thigh, while his left hand supported her upper body. Touka’s left hand was holding her right leg which was pulled up from behind and above her head, creating the Full Biellmann position.

Dear, but my eyes will see only you~

This was one of the parts where he needed to worship her body. He leaned in, giving tiny kisses starting from her lower back then went up higher until the middle of her shoulder blades. Her body involuntarily arched even more, and she let out a small whimper.

“Good. You’re into it.” She couldn’t help the heavy blushing on her cheeks as he said that.

He had to lift her again in the third part, but differently from the second one. Her legs resting on his shoulders – the part where she appeared disgusted with Nishiki just now. Yet this time, with Kaneki, she had to clamp her lips together to stop only God knows what may come out of her mouth.

Make me thrill as only you know how~

They spun, his hands gripped her thighs strongly as she lowered her head and body – his breath hot against her clothed sex. She was lucky that she wore long pants for the practice. But on the day of the performance, her dress would only cover her crotch – and that would be a problem. His touches had always left her flushed, he just had that effect on her.

“Alright, let’s practice the final two parts.”

Her heart skipped a beat the moment he said it. Having him so close to her body… she wasn’t sure if she could handle it that well.

She also realized that he planned to proceed straight to the fifth and sixth part which was the final, leaving the fourth part.

Like a flower bending in the breeze~

Her body bent backward, performing an outside spread eagle while he bent forward towards her. She was pressed flush against him as they were chest to chest. His hands cupped her ass, subtly grinding against her again which made her almost squeaked, but she bit her lower lip to suppress her voice. After several elegant spins and jumps, they finally came to the final part that she dreaded the most.

He performed Besti squat move – where both of his knees bent outwards into a squatting position, his thighs held parallel to the ice and his torso kept upright. She jumped then wrapped her legs around his waist while her arms closing around his neck. His arms immediately supported her back while she bent her body backwards.

Bend with me, sway with ease~

He nuzzled the valley of her breasts and went higher to her collarbone, then her neck, up to her jaw. He stopped moving when their lips were just a mere inch from each other, his eyes staring into hers – hot and burning, her face flushed, flustered and she was panting hard.

It was different. With Nishiki, this part never made her enraptured like this. It had never made her breath fell short, and never made her feel the urge to get closer – to close the gap between their lips.

But with Kaneki, it was as if they were magnets from different pole, attracting them towards each other. Her fingers ran through the nape of his hair, and he let out a small hiss – his eyes fluttered shut.

“Merveilleux!” Tsukiyama clapped his hands excitedly, while Nishiki just whistled.

The pair instantaneously pulled away and stood up. Touka was having a little problem in balancing herself that she almost fell forward – luckily Kaneki was fast to catch her. Their bodies glued together for a moment – and she could feel the rigid muscles of his chest again, she swallowed her saliva, dryly.

“You alright?” He was still panting – his hot breath and the way he looked at her – she almost felt suffocated.

She just nodded, and pulled away from him, leaving the ice rink hurriedly.

“See that, Nishiki? That’s how you do it.” He said as he put his round glasses back on.

“I’m sorry, Kaneki. I don’t think I’ll participate in this championship.”

Nishiki raised his hands before Kaneki could even protest, giving himself the space to explain himself.

“You should watch your performance just now. You and Touka have perfect chemistry, and I can definitely feel the sexual tension, just like how you want it to be.”

“I was just acting–“

“I didn’t say you weren’t.” He smirked, teasing the experienced coach. Kaneki just glared at him frustratingly. “But it was a great acting, well done Kaneki. This championship main focus is Touka so it should be alright if her coach participates, am I correct?”

“Yes, you are correct. But–”

“Then, it’s decided. You will be her partner.” He turned around and took the GoPro out of its stand.

“What the fuck, Nishiki? You have practiced this for two days–“ He shoved the GoPro to him. It had been a tradition for them to record their performance every time they practiced.

“Watch the video, then come and find me if you think I could be a better partner for her compared to you.”

Kaneki transferred the video to his office laptop then watched it attentively, and he couldn’t believe himself. He knew he was good, he had done ice dancing several times before and had heaps of experience – which was one of the reasons why he became her coach for her international career. But when he watched the video, he didn’t expect himself to look so enthralled. He was not only worshipping her body, but he seemed… hypnotized by it as well. He watched until the end, in the final part they did seem as if they were going for a kiss – which was what he planned for when he designed the choreography. The final part should look as if Nishiki and her were going for a kiss, and it should end there, leaving the crowd hanging.

His heart knew, that if it wasn’t for Tsukiyama or anyone else in the arena, he might’ve claimed her lips back then. Might.

‘Shit.’

He cared for the talented 21–year old blue–haired figure skater, and had fallen for her throughout his two years of coaching her. But to let his emotions to be shown like that, it wasn’t like him. At all.

Well, at least he could cover it up by saying it was just his great acting skill. Even if his heart knew it wasn’t the truth.

He replayed the video, focusing on Touka’s expression this time.

He was greatly impressed.

He compared the video of her practicing with Nishiki to the one she practiced with him just now – the difference was remarkable.

If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. But would she? He was eight years older than her, of course she wouldn’t look at him that way.

But she did.

In the video, she appeared flustered at first, especially when he gently kneaded her breasts. Then her expression turned somewhat euphoric when he kissed the middle of her shoulder blades. The part where his face was between her legs while her head and her body were hanging upside down, she looked as if she was holding herself back – and it amused him to no end. In the final part, she seemed totally dazed. She was staring at his lips longingly, her eyes half–lidded and heavy.

“Kaneki?” Touka knocked softly on his office door, which startled him as he was watching their video. She stepped in when he had given his permission.

“Yeah?”

“I heard from Nishiki that you’ll be my partner. Is that correct?”

He cursed under his breath. ‘That bastard.’

“Well… Yes, it is correct. I’ve just finished watching the video. We… definitely have more chemistry compared to you and him.”

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before she responded.

“I see.”

“You sound disappointed.” He stared at her, eyes narrowing, trying to read her mind.

“I – I’m not. You want me to win the gold medal, right? So I guess you won’t mind participating.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind. By the way, great job. We have a lot more movements to practice – especially twist lift in the fourth part.”

Twist lift, a move that begins with the man assisting the lady in a jump where she rotates and is caught mid–air by the man, who then places her down back on the ice.

“You’ll catch me, right? I don’t want to fall from that height.” She looked scared, she had learned the move a few years ago, but it was still risky as the male partner needs to have a strong grip and perfect timing to catch the female partner.

“Of course I’ll catch you. Who the hell do you think I am?” His brows furrowed in irritation at her question. She bowed slightly, apologizing for underestimating her skillful coach.

“I’m sorry.”

“No worries. You did well during our practice. For our upcoming ones, I want you to feel it more. Act like you really want me. And your expressions – display them as if you truly enjoy my touch. Here, watch this video.”

He showed her the video, asking her to give lustful look at their lewd position.

“Facial expressions are scored in this championship, so I really need you to work on them. You did well during the final part, but I need you to feel it from the start. Could you?”

“From the start? How?”

“Like this.”

He stood up and reenacted their first part. His right hand, firmly wrapped around her waist went a little bit higher, grazing against the underside of her breast. Her breath hitched slightly. His left hand lifted up her chin – she seemed flustered – then they moved in sync even though the song wasn’t played. He then went behind her, his hands held her hips firmly.

“I’m supposed to do this subtly, but imagine as if I’m doing it like this, okay?” He grinded against her ass, with much more pressure than during their practice session earlier. She let out a small gasp spontaneously.

His hands trailed higher, kneading and fondling her breasts much longer this time, running the rough pad of his thumbs against her hardening peaks. Her hands quickly went to her mouth, trying to stop her moans.

He stopped, turning her around so she could face him. His hands grasped her shoulders.

“Don’t hold it in.”

“But – it’s–“ ‘embarrassing.’

“Just do it for the gold medal, okay? After you’ve won this, you can finally retire and focus on your brother.”

She bit her lower lip, quite surprised that he remembered her decision to retire from figure skating after winning a gold medal. She didn’t like doing this, she was just doing it to support her brother. But she couldn’t quit that easily. Figure skating costs a lot of money, the government of Japan  had spent a lot on her. The only way she could retire early is by winning an international championship.

“I won’t touch you like this while we’re practicing, don’t worry. But I want you to act as if I’m doing it like this.”

“Okay. I… I’ll try my best.”

They had practice sessions every day and night, sometimes they still practiced even though there was no one else left in the building but them.

She followed his advice, to not hold it in, let it out and imagined that he was touching her more than he did in reality. But there was no need for her to imagine because the way he touched her, the movement of their bodies together, the burning gaze that he gave her, and his soft lips on her bare skin left her extremely rapturous. Especially the final part, where if either of them leaned in, then they would definitely share a kiss, which she wouldn’t mind at all.

When he was appointed to be her coach two years ago, she hated him to the core. He was rude, harsh, and whenever he was pissed off, he would always kick any chairs or table after he stepped out of the ice rink. He had been treating her a bit better starting from last year – after he brought her home when she was tipsy celebrating her first international silver medal. That was when she confessed that she was supporting her brother, and how she hated doing this because it took away their precious time together as a family. She wanted to make up for all the time lost – but it seemed as if she was a bit too late as her brother was growing older each year. Which was why she wanted to win a gold medal as soon as possible.

He decided to reveal his secrets as well, saying he was forced to do this by his aunt, and once he had won multiple medals, he just got stuck in this industry. He wasn’t enjoying his job at all. He wanted to find happiness by maybe being a writer or something, but it seemed like he would never achieve that goal in his life.

After that night, they both changed their perspectives towards each other. He was trying his best to train her, to fulfill her wish. Touka, on the other hand, found that he was actually a nice guy on the inside despite the cold exterior he seemed to emanate. The change gradually made her changed as well, especially with the way she acted around him. His touches somehow made her blushed – and there was a time when he noticed she wasn’t bending backward enough for layback Ina Bauer move – that he went behind her and pulled her backward together with him.

“See? It’s not that hard.” One of his arms wrapped around her, rested on her stomach to ensure their balance, but his breath was hot against her ears – and all the mechanisms in her body which support her balance while leaning backward – was gone.

She fell, and because he was behind and under her, they fell together onto the ice rink. He was so pissed that he refused to train her until she could master that move – which she did in only two days.

When he saw her mastering that move, the smile on his face – her first time seeing him smile so genuinely and proud of her – she knew that she had fallen for her bastard coach.

“One last practice, okay?”

His abrupt question brought her back to the present.

There was no one left in the building but them, and they had practiced the dance a lot of times to make their moves perfect and synchronize with each other. Solo figure skating usually took her weeks to practice, but ice dancing usually requires much more time to ensure the synchronization and chemistry between two people.

She nodded, responding to his request.

Kaneki didn’t know what came over him – maybe because there was no one else left in the building, or because it was 1am in the morning, or because he was too tired of practicing… or too tired of holding himself back.

It wasn’t just her that was affected by this dance, but him as well. Each sound she made, each unconscious grinding towards him – especially in their first and fifth part, each soft caress on his skin left him breathless. The fact that he had fallen for her since a long time ago didn’t help at all, it only made him more frustrated with holding himself back. He was tired of spending so much time together, caressing each other for work purposes – and not personal. He hated the final part of the dance so much, where their lips were only centimeters from each other – it tortured him to no end.

God, he just wanted to kiss her senselessly.

The music started, and their moves were perfect – until he started to fondle her breasts a little bit longer than usual, wanting to hear more sweet moans coming from her lips. The best part was she didn’t seem to mind at all, and she was grinding towards him as well. He stopped when he felt his cock was starting to stir in his pants. Sure, he got half-hard sometimes when they were practicing, but not this early. Usually it was during the fifth part – when he cupped her ass and grinding subtly against her, mainly due to her responding to his actions. Sometimes he didn’t get them at all because he was trying his best to hold himself back. But never this early. So he continued with their next move even though they were behind the music by several seconds.

Touka seemed to notice his hardness. For three weeks, she had been aching so much. She hated his acting skills. He was able to portray lustful expression without even feeling it – unlike her who displayed them due to his sensual touches on her body. She hated how she was the only one who was into it. She hated how obvious everyone could see her feelings for him. She hated how this was all for the sake of the championship. For the sake of winning the gold medal.

So when she felt his hardness during the early part of their dance, her aching just turned into more intense that she needed some sort of… contact. So she grinded towards him more – but he was quick to proceed to their next move, leaving her frustrated.

During the curve lift part, his kisses on her lower back were much more passionate than usual – making her breath catch in her throat. She couldn’t take it anymore, his hold on her thigh, his left arm around her breasts, the way he kissed the middle of her shoulder blades – he was driving her crazy. She let out an involuntary squeak and lost her balance – she fell, dragging him down with her.

He glared at her, but his facial expression switched to normal as they stepped outside the ice rink. He started to remove his skates, indicating they were done for the night.

“We’ll continue this tomorrow. Don’t lose your focus, Touka. It’s just me.” She realized how ironic he sounded when it was him who made her lose her focus.

“It's because it’s you.” She muttered under her breath while removing her skates as well.

“Excuse me?”

“I said – it’s you who did this!”

“What did I do?”

“Everything!” She didn’t mean to yell at him, but she did.

“What do you mean?”

“I – I don’t know... it’s… it’s when you touched me.”

Her gaze was drawn to his Adam's apple as he gulped, and his eyes darkened slightly at her confession.

“What happened when I touched you?” His voice sounded deep and raspy to her ears as he stepped nearer to where she was sitting, but his eyes were fixated on her lush lips the whole time.

She could hear her heart thumping loudly against her ribcage, and for a moment she wondered if he could hear it too.

“Your touches – they – burned my skin. They made me flustered and flushed and aching. I–“

She wasn’t given a chance to explain any longer as his lips crashed into hers, kissing her with so much fervor. She instantaneously wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers raked into his soft black hair. Oh how she wanted to hold him like this during the final part of their performance.

Their tongues danced and twirled together, just like how their dancing was.

“You were feeling it, so – I did a great job then.” He spoke in a murmur against her mouth before deepening the kiss, his hands wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him, feeling her closer as her breasts were pressed firmly against his chest. Her soft moans filled his ears, making his half-hard cock from earlier seemed to stir again in his pants. He pulled her hips closer towards him, groaning into her mouth at the blissful sensation.

She felt it again – the strong ache that she had been feeling for the past few weeks.

“But – you made me – achy.” She spoke breathlessly as his lips never seemed wanting to leave hers. It was as if they were intoxicated with each other.

“Where are you aching?” His mouth trailed lower to her neck, latching on and sucking the tender skin there – making her unable to process his question properly.

“Wha – What?”

“You said I made you achy. Where?” He was staring hard at her now, his eyes drinking in the sight of her face – flushed and slightly panting. God, she’s beautiful.

“Everywhere.” She whispered, too embarrassed to say the word.

“That’s a vague answer, Touka–chan. Let’s reenact our dance.”

He performed the final part, bending his knees and wrapped her legs around his waist. Instead of just nuzzling the valley of her breasts, he showered her with open–mouthed kisses, making her shudder in pleasure against his mouth – her hands grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling him closer. His mouth went higher, his tongue licking her collarbone and her neck before sucking on the soft spot. She whimpered, tilting her head to the side, giving him more access to her neck. He went for her lips again afterward, where the kiss turned into wild tongue duel that left them breathless.

This – was how he wanted the final part to happen.

Her knees were giving her away now – he seemed to realize it as well and carefully pushed her down onto the floor, his lips once again claimed hers as he pinned her wrists above her head.

“Are you able to find out now?” He whispered into her ear, nipping her earlobe teasingly and making her squirmed beneath him.

“Find out… what?”

“Where’d you feel achy.”

“I’ve told you – it’s everywhere–“

“Where is everywhere? Is it... here?” His right hand kneaded her breast, his finger rubbing slow circles around a puckered nipple through her shirt, which resulted in a moan and an arch of her back.

“Or... here?” Following their choreography, his hand sneaked to her thigh next, gliding to the inner part, caressing it sensually. She was wearing short pants, thus she felt even more sensitive having his strong yet teasing hand directly on her skin. She instinctively rubbed her thighs together, trapping his hand in between. Now the ache that she had been feeling peaked up even more.

“Or...” he parted her legs slightly just to move his hand. “Here?” He cupped her through the fabric of her shorts, rubbing slowly but steadily. Her hips automatically bucked against his hand, desire for more – touch.

“Here then.” He seemed to be smirking, pleased to be able to tease her that much. To see her so desperately wants him, to know that she also craved for him for the past three weeks. His ego surged with pride and satisfaction.

He parted her legs wider, reenacting the fifth part of their choreography but with her lying on the floor. His hands cupped her ass, arching her hips towards him.

This time, it wasn’t his hand – but his hips – along with the growing tent in his pants grinded against her.

“Ka–Kaneki!” Her legs reflexively locked him at her ankles, pushing him closer to her.

“Yes?” Their hips were still grinding against each other, earning sweet moans from her lips.

“I want–” He kissed her again – passionately, his hands fondled her breasts through her cloth, and she let out a loud moan – her head fell back in a deep bliss.

He picked her up, leaning her against the wall. His hands working on removing her shorts and panties, and she was eager in helping him quickened the process.

She arched into his touch as his hand immediately cupped her mound again. She was already so wet, he subconsciously licked his lips in anticipation.

“Get ready for our third part.”

‘Third part?’

Oh. Their choreography.

He kneeled down, hoisting her legs onto his shoulders, then he stood up, raising her with him using his strength. She was on a high ground against the wall, his breath on her cunt, hot.

His hand went around her thigh, parting her labia then he wasted no time having a taste of her juice. She was a blushing mess above him, grabbing his head and pulled him closer, closer to her, wanting to feel – more. His tongue worked its magic, circling and lapping around her clit which made her grabbed his head even harder, her lips moaning incoherently at his action. He didn’t mind, it boosted his pride seeing her like this. He plunged his tongue into her wet folds, pushing it in and out of her.

“Mmph!”

“I told you, Touka. Just let it go.”

He dipped in again, and she could hear the slurping sound of his tongue. God, that was – lewd.

His thumb played with the sensitive bundle of nerves of her clit, and she succumbed to the pleasure. Her vision whitened, her long moan sounded like a sweet melody to his ears. His tongue never stopped lapping at her, some of her juices flowed down his chin, which he didn’t mind at all.

Then – he surprised her by performing a spin, reenacting their choreography.

“Are you for real?!” She shrieked as she strengthened her hold on his hair, not wanting to fall from this height.

“Why? You want to continue this on the ice rink?”

“…We’ll fall.”

“Exactly. But we can try. If you want to.” It’s somehow manageable, but risky.

“And give me injuries six days before the championship? No thanks.”

“Next time then.”

She shuddered at his words. Next time. But she wasn’t given any time to think further as he unlocked her grip from his head, she got his message and started to bend backward, letting her body hung upside down with her fingers almost touched the floor just like their dance move. His hands were still gripping her thighs, and his breath teasing her cunt, he wanted to make her come from this position but it would be hard holding her and spinning her and eating her out at the same time. Plus, the whole day of practicing had drained a lot of his energy.

He shifted them to a nearby couch, she got the message and immediately rested her arms on it, while he slowly lowered himself down so that he could let go of her.

She was lying on the couch, while he sat on the floor, catching his breath.

“Not fair.”

“What?”

“You’re still fully clothed…”

She caught the smug on his face as he removed his top, revealing the perfectly toned muscles on his body. Once he removed his pants and boxer to free his straining cock – she wasted no time pushing him down onto the floor, feeling his hard muscles flex underneath her touch. She rained lingering kisses on his chest and all over his abs, earning low groans from his lips.

She could feel his erection poking her stomach, he was so hard it looked painful, and there were small beads of pre–cum leaking from the tip. Her hands gently wrapped around his cock before she worked her tongue around the tip, licking the pre–cum then swirled around the base to the tip again before giving him a hard suck that earned a loud grunt from him. He panted, his hips bucked up needily. He could feel his cock pulsating, hot and responding to her movement.

“S–Stop.” She released him with a pop, their eyes burning with desire as he pulled her up and gave her a long, searing kiss.

He pulled her shirt up and unhooked her bra right after. He took in every detail of her beautiful naked form, lingering a bit longer at the enticing mole on her right breast. His eyes darken with lust as his hands found her breasts – massaging, kneading, then took one them into his mouth. Suckling, biting, nipping. Whereas his hand massaged her other breast, moving his thumb over her nipple in little circles before pinching it slightly. Her fingers tangled in his hair, arching her back, pushing him even closer to her. He switched his attention to her other breast, giving it equal treatment as the other one. Her heavy breathing dissolved into high–pitched moans as he did all this. His cock twitched and hardened even more at hearing her moans.

Hastily, he lifted her up and placed her on the couch, his body hovering over her. A finger slipped into her folds. She gasped, then ground against his finger. He inserted another one then began pumping them in and out, rubbing her as he went. The loud wanton sound that escaped her lips drove him crazy.

God – he wanted to ram his cock inside her so badly.

He pulled out his fingers and positioned himself between her legs, slowly pressed the tip against her wet folds, they both groaned at the euphoric feeling. She automatically locked her ankles around him, pulling him closer – wanting him closer – to unravel the ache that she had been feeling these past few weeks.

With one single push, he entered her, pushing deeper and deeper into her wet, slick folds slowly. He groaned at her tightness. Oh how he wanted to just pound into her relentlessly. But he had to wait. And paused momentarily, waiting for her to adjust to his size and ensure she was okay. Once she had given him the sign, both swore they could see stars as he pulled out almost completely before slamming back into her.

It felt – so – good.

Her walls felt so amazingly tight around him, occasionally clenching his cock that he began to quicken his pace, thrusting into her faster, and harder. Her breasts bounced with each thrust, and it pleased him to no end feeling her body writhe with ecstasy underneath him.

“I’m – close.”

He gripped her thighs, hiking her legs up onto his shoulders. Being a flexible figure skater made this even easier for them. For that, he was grateful. They could try so much more positions compared to normal couple, and he couldn’t wait to try them with her.

His eyes closed briefly, speeding up his pace as he thrust erratically into her. She moaned at the new angle. The wet sound of their thrusts felt so rapturous, he ran the pad of his thumb to her sensitive nub, pinching it slightly and that was all it took for her to come. She half-shouted as an intense wave of pleasure washed over her body. Her nails digging into his back, her folds clenching his cock hotly and tightly that he came with a growl, spurting his seed deep inside her womb.

He gave her a wet, sloppy kiss before crashing himself on top of her, his panting breaths hot against her shoulder.

“Was I… was I able to stop the aching?”

She took a moment to calm herself before answering his question.

“Yes… but–“ Will this stop the aching forever or only momentarily?

“But?” his ears perked up at her words.

“I don’t know about tomorrow…”

“We’ll see, okay?” He cupped her cheek, then planted a kiss on her forehead.

She just nodded.

The next day came, and both of them couldn’t fully concentrate during their practice. Each touch reminded them of the previous night, and they found themselves feeling into it more than they normally did.

After one practice session ended, they excused themselves from the arena as he took her into his office, their hands frantically exploring, fondling, and tugging each other’s body. She lay sprawled on his desk, his cock pounding into her roughly as her heels digging into his back, both of them desperate for a quick release.

During the lunch break, he realized they shouldn’t have been distracted, that they should focus on the championship instead of losing themselves in each other again.

“We should restrain ourselves.” They were in his office after their lunch break, he sat further from her, knowing that he would lose himself in her touch again if he was a bit too close to her in that closed room.

Her expression changed, and he noticed tears started to pool in the corner of her eyes.

“You regretted it?”

“What? No. I didn’t mean it that way. Listen, I don’t regret it. I just – I want us to focus on this championship and not let our emotions take over.”

Tears from earlier dropped down her cheek, and it took every ounce of self-restraint in him to not stride towards her and wiped her tears away before kissing her fervently. And probably take her again. But he couldn’t. They should focus.

“I care for you, Touka. And I want you – I really do. But let’s give our hundred percent, we need to win this, okay?” His eyes pleaded with her.

She gave a small nod. At least, the feelings were mutual.

The practices, however, became more and more intense with them touching each other passionately, as if channelizing their desire through each contact. Every time they acted the final part, Kaneki was quick to pull away and stand up, knowing that he would kiss her and take her right there on the cold ice rink if he lingered just a little bit longer.

Those five days were extremely torturous for both of them, but at least it built up more tension for the championship day, hoping to gain more score based on their facial expression, and eventually winning the first place.

Finally, the championship day has come.

She wore a thin white dress that covered her full sleeves, revealing just the top of her cleavage, but her back was bare in V shape. The extra fabric near her shoulders had wings–like blue frails that will make her look like a butterfly whenever she spins. Kaneki stared at her from top to bottom, admiring her startling beauty. He couldn’t wait for the tournament to be over so that he could feel her in his arms again, fucking her senselessly…

‘Shit. These five days were killing me. I need to focus. We need to win this.’

He was slightly distressed that she decided to retire if she won this, but he would support her decision, her happiness is the most important thing in the world, even if they will be separated, even if he will no longer be her coach.

Touka taking in Kaneki’s look appreciatively. He wore a fully black outfit, there were some glitters at the front part, and his jet black hair was slicked back. God – his hard jawline and his burning gaze towards her just made he looked so very handsome. And his hair, she wished he would always slick them back.

Some of Kaneki fans came to watch his performance, given it had been more than two years since his last performance on any official event.

“For our next performance, please welcome the beautiful and handsome participants from Japan, Kirishima Touka with her coach, Kaneki Ken!!”

The crowd clapped and cheered as the couple stepped into the ice rink, waving their hands at them. After a few moments, they quieted down, and they stood still in front of each other, his right hand gripped around her waist, firm. His left fingers lifted her chin up – but after those painful five days – both of their gazes were at each other’s lips. “Focus, Touka.” He squeezed her waist softly, and she nodded.

Michael Buble’s Sway started to echo throughout the enormous stadium, and they began to move based on their memorized choreography. Having been practicing the same moves for a month, every step, jump, and spin were done gracefully, beautifully, erotically.

The way he kneaded her breasts sent shivers down her spine, her lewd expression displayed publicly for the judges to see. The thin material of her fabric didn’t really help her in giving full concentration as each touch felt like he was touching her bare skin.

He pulled her backward with him, two figures swayed as one.

When her thighs were hoisted up his shoulders, as they spun, she remembered that night when he was eating her out while having this position. He had told her so many times to display her feelings, so she did, presenting a total ecstasy expression. Nishiki just smirked from afar, amazed by the effect Kaneki had on her.

It was time for the twist lift – they had practiced this many times before but this act always scared her the most.

He spun her upwards, and she twisted in mid–air – gracefully like a butterfly.

‘Please, catch me.’

She closed her eyes, putting her trust in him as she felt her body starting to fall from the height.

His arms caught her and they spun together, she released the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“I got you.” He gave her the same genuine smile that he had once given her last year, and she almost forgot her next move – but she was quick to focus her mind back into the competition.

After numerous jumps, steps, spins and twists, the final part had come. He nuzzled her body like he had always done these few weeks. From the valley of her breasts, to her collarbone then to her soft, enticing neck. He immediately thought of that night, the whimpering sound she made as he was sucking her neck. Her moans when he thrust into her, her half-shout as she reached her orgasm. The event of the night came flooding through his mind, he hated it. He needed to focus.

When his lips reached higher and stopped just mere centimeters from hers, he was panting heavily, his gaze burning into her lips. His hot breath drove her crazy – making her core ache for his touch again. The crowd applauded them, but they couldn’t care less about that right now. Desire overcame them as they both leaned in towards each other and kissed – it wasn’t a peck or a quick one – but a long, passionate kiss as they channelized their suppressed longing into the kiss. The crowd cheered even louder at seeing their displays of affection. They pulled away, and he rested his forehead on hers momentarily before they stood up, then bowed to thank everyone.

 The moment her name was announced as the winner, she cried tears of joy while hugging him tightly. Finally, she got what she wished for. To retire from this industry and spend her time with her brother.

“Thank you. You made this happen.” She murmured into their kiss as her hands slid into his silky hair, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss.

“No. You made this happen.”

“We made this happen.” He chuckled and just agreed with her statement.

They had sex many rounds on that night, due to repressing their desire for days, and also because she would be retiring soon. He wanted to make the moment last, as he might never see her again after her retirement.

But looking at how eager she took him in her mouth, the contortion of her face when she came around his cock, milking him, and the fact that he had actually admired her before he even became her coach – he found that he couldn’t let her go. No. He requested to be her international coach just to get closer to her, but at the same time he kept his distance, thinking he was too old for her. And with her mesmerizing beauty, she could get any guy she wants, so why him?

Nonetheless, he had fallen for her – hard. Seeing her hardworking side, how much she cared for her brother, and how her eyes shown him that she wanted him too, he just had to ask.

“Can I… can I still stay by your side even after you retire?”

Her mouth gaped, surprised by the sudden question. ‘Is this his way of proposing?’

She pulled him in, kissing him as their mouths moved together tenderly.

“Of course.”

She announced her retirement, enabled her to spend more time with her brother. After a year, Kaneki proposed to her, which she happily accepted.

He, too, retired from figure skating industry, publishing a book about his 30–years journey to find happiness, which he finally found – with her.

[stimtoybox]

I’m at a crossroads with this blog, so forgive me, because I’m going to explain my situation in a great many words.

I’m a fiction writer. I’ve been trying to get my writing going this last six months, to rebuild myself as a writer after severe mental illness that stopped me from doing anything, and I’ve published eight short stories/novelettes. That’s barely the beginning, though, in terms of promotion and networking and posting my web serial. While this blog is a very large reason in my being able to go from panic attacks over posting to my website to digital self-publishing (and I love being able to work stim toys suitable for a fantasy setting into my books) in terms of building my confidence, it takes so much time away from my writing. I’m struggling to justify, given how much my disabilities limit what I can do, so much spoon-taking time spent on something that isn’t helping me with what I want to do to keep a roof over my head--promote my writing.

The other reason is that I am struggling to deal with the expectations of some followers, which is in part caused by the nature of this being a resource blog.

Right now, I have a message in my description box asking people not to ask questions. That hasn’t stopped several people from ignoring, disregarding or not noticing, assuming I can answer their questions. Sometimes folks thank me; often they don’t. And when I answer one question, that often results in a flood of questions--many that could be answered just by first searching this blog. And I do get it--you’re in need of resources and I know things.

It’s just that trying to provide the amount of resources people need from me has worsened my chronic pain.

If I talk about my disabilities, if I explain why I can’t do certain things or other things aren’t easy for me to do or why I can’t do everything, if I ask people to keep my limitations in mind, I get anon hate from folks telling me to shut up and stop talking about my chronic pain. Yet I never feel like all my followers appreciate my disabilities, because boundaries I put up are ignored, because it is so often assumed that I will just find and research and collate for you. This is a blog that supports neurodiverse people, but I don’t feel fully supported on my own blog as a physically disabled person. I don’t feel like my limitations are acknowledged and accepted as a physically disabled person.

Most of my followers aren’t like this. There’s a reason I call you lovely and fabulous and awesome. The immense pressure of trying to run a resource blog and write when my spoons are so limited, though, makes these voices sound so much louder to me than they actually are.

If I’m keeping this blog, and I’d like to, I have to change its direction. I have to limit my workload, and I have to find ways that this blog can help support me in my other doings. Running this blog as though it’s solely a resource blog is just too hard for me. I truly hope another ND person, with no chronic pain to impede them, will come in and fill this void, but if I wish to do anything that isn’t this blog, a resource blog isn’t right for me to run. That has become more than evident over the last six months, as I’ve been trying (and failing) to balance my writing and this blog. It’s just taken me a while to sort through my feelings (not helped by med changes and other personal goings-on) and realise it.

I want this blog to be fun again, and I think backing away from the idea that this blog is a resource blog is the best way to do it.

I do want to thank the followers who have been understanding, who have sent lovely messages of kindness and gratitude, who have liked posts, who have reblogged posts, who have submitted fabulous posts and reviews, who have sent positive interactions my way, who have been patient when I can’t do things, who are the reason I don’t want to, and won’t, quit this blog entirely. I’ve gotten to know some amazing people through this blog, and if you decide to stay despite all the changes I am going to make, I am so very grateful.

If you choose not to stay, that’s awesome, too. I wish you all the best and hope you find a resource blog to fit your stimming needs.

Please note that over the next few weeks, this blog will be undergoing a massive overhaul and redesign (explained below the cut). I won’t be very active, if active at all, in terms of interaction, and I still won’t be yet opening up the inbox.

Things I’m looking at doing will include:

No longer adding any extra information to posts (unless I want to). I’ve started an aro-spec creative media blog, @aroworlds, and it is so much easier to queue posts for that because I’m just tagging and reblogging. I’ve been crying, in fact, at how much easier it is, which tells me that even in cutting back here, I’m still overworking myself in running this blog. I want queuing posts to be that easy. I need it to be.

Moving from being a resource/community blog to more of a personal stim and general ND blog. I’d like to reblog posts about autism, mental illness, neurodiversity and disability. I’d like to reblog my book posts, given that I’m having trouble reaching other autistics. I’d like to talk about fictional works that have positive depictions of stimming! I’d like to broaden this blog and feature the words of other awesome ND folks about stimming and neurodiversity.

(I feel like this move, from stim toys in specific to more about stimming and neurodiversity generally, means that this blog will help better support me as an autistic, stimming, neurodiverse writer. Right now, I can’t afford to spend so many spoons on something so divorced from my writing, and I just don’t have the spoons to maintain separate blogs. It also means I can spend less time actively searching out toys for posts, which takes up a lot of spoons online and off. It’d also be nice to put up stimming and stim toy posts that aren’t informative--Tangle collection photos, or all my squishies. Just for the fun of sharing the love with other stimmers. Or write a post about how much I’m enjoying my Tangle that day! Stim culture instead of just stim resources, and my own personal take on stimming. I’d love to do that so much!)

Redesigning this blog in terms of pages and description to reflect this change from resource blog to my stim/ND blog.

Reblogging older posts (if the links are still active and the item is available, of course). This is in part to lessen my workload and part because a lot of newer followers won’t have seen these posts, and some of them are about toys that aren’t featured a lot on this site. I’ll tag these #toy redux so folks can block them if they wish.

Closing personal messages to this blog. Folks can ask off-anon if they want my personal account, but I need to limit my workload. I’ve done this for my other blogs and it’s made things so much easier for me.

Taking some time to work through the queue, to delete older posts with dead links and add more general neurodiversity and stimming posts.

Not taking “please find for me toys relating to X theme” asks. These are just far too hard on my hands and shoulder; I don’t have the spoons for them. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do these. Current asks will be deleted. Any future ask will be deleted or get a “I’m sorry, I can’t answer this” response.

(Asks that are about how to use a toy? Or how to mod a toy? Or how to make a toy? Or about neurodiversity more generally? These I really do enjoy answering. If it is an ask that involves me explaining or sharing, chances are high I will wish to answer it. If it is an ask that involves me using Google for you, I will, I’m sorry to say, decline. I don’t have the spoons for providing this unpaid service.)

Again, thanks so much for your patience and understanding, and if you decide to stop following this blog, I really do hope you find another blog that provides the resources you need.