#no fun facts today; here's a cool cover :3

[pepsimanan]

#14 shikoku metan

[ladykailitha]

Not All That Glitters is Gold Part 14

I'm thinking about writing an epilogue/sequel to this because after reading the ending, I feel like I've cheated you out of something special, but the story feels like it should have ended after the rut. So let me know in the comments if you would like see the bonding and birth of their first child.

First of two chapters being posted today.

The after party. Tommy makes an appearance and Chrissy comes to rescue...well so do everyone in Stevie's corner, but especially her.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

****

The after party was buzzing with the who���s who of the industry. Producers and artists mingled with label execs and the best escorts Starcourt had to offer.

Steve had been invited to a couple of these in his time and always had fun.

Eddie was talking to this beautiful actress in a long purple and black gown. She had song on the soundtrack of her latest movie, surprising a lot of people with her vocal talents in addition to her acting.

Steve gulped down a bit of champagne to chase the bile of jealousy that he had forced back down.

“Well if it isn’t, Steve Harrington,” a cool voice said behind him.

Steve schooled his expression and turned around.

There was Tommy Hagan.

It had been a lovely couple of months where they hadn’t run into each at an event at all.

Steve smiled. “Hey, Tommy, you working a client or just the room tonight?”

When Starcourt supplied omegas to after parties like this one, they were allowed to network to get new clients. So not only were they paid well, they could bring in even more money by picking up new clients.

“He doesn’t love you, you know,” Tommy sneered. “This is all stunt to take the attention off of the fact that he fucked up with two omegas and nearly caused a scandal for the label both times.”

Steve knew that was the reason for the ‘fake dating’ contract. It was his business to know. “What’s the matter, Tommy? Upset that I get to fuck your favorite rockstar? You must have been so livid when you found out that I got invited to their charity gala and you didn’t.”

“You think you’re so special getting a million dollar cherry pop price,” Tommy snapped. “But that just means that you had to stay longer to pay it off, stupid.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Yes, and I made that my first year. I didn’t have to stay, but I know my worth, sweetie. And it is a hell of a lot more than a million dollars.”

“You’ve got your claws in him now,” Tommy hissed, “but he’ll figure out that you’re as shallow as your intelligence.”

Steve flushed and Tommy smirked, knowing he hit the mark. The one thing that Steve was always worried about and that was coming across as the dumb bunny.

“I’m not stupid,” he whispered harshly. “Just because I haven’t gone to fancy schools doesn’t mean I’m dumb.”

Tommy laughed cruelly. “Look around you, Steve. This is all you’ll ever have. All you’ll know. You’re only worth is what’s between your legs, not what’s between your ears.”

Tears stung at the corner of Steve’s eyes.

Then there was a warm arm that slid around his waist and Steve leaned into the embrace.

“You okay, baby?” Eddie murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“Much better now that you’re here,” Steve whispered back, nuzzling the under side of his throat.

“Stevie and I were just having a little chat,” Tommy said all false smiles, “weren’t we?”

Steve pressed further into Eddie’s side.

Eddie scoffed. “I heard what you were saying, it’s why I came over.”

Tommy blanched. “What?”

“And I did not like what you said at all.” He kissed Steve soundly on the lips. “Troy and Robin are waiting for you, babe. They’ll take you somewhere where you can calm down and I’ll be right behind you, okay?”

Steve nodded and went right into the waiting arms of Robin, Troy covering Steve from behind so no one could see how upset he was.

“You’re Tommy Hagan, right?” Eddie asked, low and menacing.

Tommy nodded.

“I’ve been hearing about your supposed rivalry with Steve from a couple different people tonight.” Eddie’s tone grew even darker.

Tommy opened his mouth, but Eddie held up his hand to stop him, “And no, Steve was not one of them. From other handlers and escorts. From what I could gather, you’re pissed because he rose to the top of the company faster than you did. He’s prettier, more charming, and better at his job.”

“Think whatever you like,” Tommy scoffed. But the red flush to his cheeks belied his statement.

“And now he’s dating the lead singer of your favorite band and you are just eaten up with envy and jealousy,” Eddie continued. “So you decided to go after Steve’s intelligence knowing it was a soft spot for him. But there are different kinds of intelligence and Steve’s is all emotional. And that’s what makes him brilliant at what he does.”

“Still makes him as dumb as a rock,” Tommy hissed.

Eddie just shook his head. “I’m making a complaint against you with the agency. This is really bad behavior for a Starcourt omega and doesn’t reflect well on them.”

Then Tommy really did pale. All color drained from his face, leaving his freckles more pronounced in the absence of color on his cheeks.

Eddie just shook his head and went in search of Steve.

Troy spotted him first and waved him over to a small alcove where Robin was rubbing Steve’s back as he struggled to calm down.

Eddie knelt in front of him and began rubbing his arms. “Hey, sweetheart. Do you need to leave?”

Steve took in a deep shuddering breath and held in his a moment. “No. Tommy is an ass but I can handle it.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Eddie murmured, caressing Steve’s cheek with his thumb. “With the horrible questions, the sexist alpha, and now this asshole. You admit it affected you and we can go home.”

Steve’s lip quivered. “But what about you, don’t you have to be here?”

“Sweetheart,” Eddie said, cupping his cheeks, “I have been here. I could duck out. The rest of the band is still here as well as Benny and our producer Alexi. They could hold court if you really needed us to go right now.”

“Tommy’s already been reported to management,” Troy said, cradling his ear. “They still want Eddie to make a formal complaint, but they’re pulling Tommy out and replacing him with Chrissy Cunningham.”

Robin nodded. “Elinor and a couple other omegas who were here with actual clients had run afoul of him as well.”

Steve raised his head. “Wait, really? He’s pissed that he was only here to work the room as opposed to being with a client? Is he stupid?”

Troy raised his hand and rocked his fingers back and forth. “The jury is still out on that one.”

Eddie looked back between Troy and Steve in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“It depends on the client,” Steve said, “but an escort can make $1000-5000 a night. But working a room, you’re paid an five grand plus the chance to pick up future clients. Alphas that aren’t there with anyone who might have an event coming up that would be improved by having an escort. Maybe their rut is coming up soon. Working a room can net an escort closer to ten to fifteen grand.”

Eddie blinked. “Holy shit. Now, I’m wondering how he could be so stupid.”

“I could answer that,” a warm female voice said behind them.

Steve looked up and grinned. “Chrissy!”

Eddie stood up and turned around to see one of the prettiest female omegas he ever seen. Her strawberry blonde hair was artfully pulled back in a wavy bun, highlighting her green eyes and dazzling smile. She wore a pink mermaid tail dress that had feathers on her hips and on the train. She held a matching clutch.

She gave Steve a hug. “I’m sorry Tommy was an douchebag tonight, cher. But I’m here now.”

Steve relaxed, the last bit of tension bleeding from his frame with her casual support.

“So why would d-bag want a client over working the room if the gains are greater working the room?” Eddie asked, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

He had changed, too. The tuxedo pants had been replaced by leather ones, and he wore a band tee under a leather jacket. His knee high boots gave him a little extra height on Steve even in his own heels.

Chrissy smiled up at him. “Because if you’re working the room, that means you weren’t good enough to get a client going to the Grammy’s. It’s about the prestige of being with a big name artist. And that clout can’t be bought. Steve here is going to get more requests being at Eddie’s side, then I will from working the room.”

Robin snorted. “Only because Steve’s that hot.”

Steve ducked his head to hide his blush. He really did have the best of friends.

Chrissy giggled. “There’s a little bit to that, sure. But the salient point is that Tommy is jealous because he knows that even with Eddie courting Steve, Steve is going to make a hell of a lot more money than Tommy could hope to dream of in just this year.”

“He was trying to upset the escorts on jobs so that they would leave,” Troy said, “which would free up the clients for those only working the room.”

Steve and Chrissy gave Troy an appraising eyebrow, impressed.

“Sounds about right,” Steve said. “Which means leaving would be giving in to his schemes. Plus, Chrissy is here now. That makes the party way more fun.”

Eddie held out his hand and helped Steve to his feet. “Whatever you want, princess. I am but yours to command.”

Steve wagged his eyebrows. “Something I’ll consider for tonight.”

Robin and Chrissy wolf whistled.

Troy just shook his head. With Robin in tow, Troy melded back into the crowds to keep an eye on Steve from a distance.

Chrissy was introduced to the band. Jeff was immediately smitten by her charms.

He was falling over his feet to impress her.

“Jeffy here writes our music,” Eddie told her and Steve. “I write the lyrics and he turns them into songs. Really I have the easy part. He does all the heavy lifting.”

Gareth, immediately picking up on where Eddie was going with this followed that up with, “Yeah. Which considering he boxes to stay in shape it’s really easy for him.”

“You box?” Chrissy asked, all interest. “Do you actually get in the ring or do you just go up against punching bags to prevent ruining the prettiest face of the band?”

Steve hissed at her, “You take that back! Eddie is the hottest member of the band.”

“Hottest guitarist, maybe,” Elinor huffed. “Hottest member is clearly Gareth.”

The three alphas were starting to growl when Brian stepped in. “Guys, guys. You’re all very pretty. The prettiest. Now can we move on?”

Just when everyone had calmed down, he said, “Besides we all know the best looking one in the band is me!”

His friends dogpiled him and wrestled him to the ground.

Chrissy leaned over to Steve as the four of the tussled. “Do they do this often?”

Steve just shrugged. He hadn’t had the chance to hang out with band yet.

Elinor rolled her eyes. “They are like this all the time. In a minute or so, they’ll get tired, give up and move on like nothing has happened. They’ll straighten their clothes and hair, all the better for it.”

Sure enough they did just that.

Brian looked the worst for wear considering he had been the one under attack, but nothing was torn or out of place and quite quickly they were looking like nothing had happened.

“I love these dorks,” Eddie murmured. “So, so much.”

Steve kissed his cheek. “That’s good, because I think you’re stuck with them, being in a band and all.”

Jeff giggled. “Is he stuck in here with us, or are we stuck in here with him?”

Steve tapped his lips thoughtfully. “Oh, definitely the latter.”

“Hey!” Eddie protested.

Gareth shook his head. “No, no. I’m with Steve on this one. We are definitely stuck in here with you.”

“Traitors,” he muttered darkly.

Steve nuzzled his scent gland and Eddie’s alpha purred. It took every ounce of Steve’s professionalism he had to keep the replying chirp quiet enough that only Eddie could hear.

Eddie grinned. “Just let me make the rounds one more time and then you and I will get out of here.”

Steve nodded and then watched him go. He grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and downed in one gulp.

Chrissy’s eyes went wide and she slipped her arm through his and murmured, “Come on, cher. Let’s talk, you look like you need it.”

Steve nodded and followed her outside to get some fresh air. Once there he told her all about his night and not just the Tommy fuckery.

“I was standing there already feeling jealous about the gorgeous female omega actress that he was talking to and then Tommy came in and poked at my other biggest insecurity and I just crumpled...”

Chrissy put her arm around his shoulder and laid her head on his chest.

“You’re going to have to decide if that side of his job is going to be worth it, because if you’re freaking out over him just talking to an actress,” she said gently, “how are you going to fare when he goes on tour?”

Steve sighed. It was one of the reasons that Neil never requested to court him. Being on tour all the time, the constantly being away from Steve who was very much of fixture of LA.

“I don’t know,” he admitted softly. “But he stirs something inside me that I have never felt before and it’s addicting. It feels like flying and I worry that I’ll fly too close to the sun and fall.”

“Soar anyway, Steve,” she advised him. “It’s scary and it’s new. But soar anyway. You deserve a chance at happiness, just be sure to tell Eddie when you feel this way. Because he’s not a mind reader. He can’t see what’s happening behind his back.”

Steve frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Eddie was told Tommy was harassing you,” Chrissy said. She held up her hand before Steve could say anything. “Now before you get all in your head thinking that he had to be told to come to your rescue, we both know that’s not true. But he had to be told you were in danger. Because it was happening where he couldn’t see. So you have to tell him when you’re feeling left out or jealous, because if it’s happening where he can’t see, he can’t fix it.”

Steve let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I see what you mean. If I had been more honest about the actress, Eddie would have already been by my side and maybe Tommy would have still approached or not, but probably not.”

She nodded. She turned around and saw Eddie looking for Steve. She spun Steve around and pushed him toward Eddie.

“Now go get your man.”

Steve stumbled into the venue and began moving quickly so he could reach Eddie faster.

Suddenly Eddie had an armful of soft omega.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured into Steve’s ear, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist. “You ready to go home?”

“Yeah,” Steve said softly. “Take me home, Eds.”

****

Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

The confrontation with Tommy had been stewing in my head since I first starting writing the story, originally it was going to be with the Nancy and Billy at New Yorker party but there was already too much going on in that chapter so it got moved here.

Tag List CLOSED: @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @redfreckledwolf @emly03 @itsall-taken

@spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​

@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi

@maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv

@wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @bookbinderbitch @yikes-a-bee

@littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @y4r3luv @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

@genderless-spoon @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @irregular-child @nburkhardt

@apomaro-mellow @yellowdevilkitten @eyehartart @mangoinacan13 @demolvr

@ellietheasexylibrarian @rememberthatiloveyou @slowandsteddie @r0binscript @alyelf

@melodymeddler @mogami13 @annabanannabeth @disrespectedgoatman @manda-panda-monium

[faithst]

WAKING ZB1 UP WITH KISSES

pairing zb1 (ot8) x gn!reader

genre fluff

note omg my first emoji anon ⁉️ thank you sm for liking my works and congrats on being my first emoji anon !! i hope you enjoy this 💕

masterlist<3

— zhang hao

there’s two types of people in this world; one that’ll get annoyed if you wake them up and one that’ll be absolutely fine to be woken up

and then theres hao, confused 😦

his head is in another universe right after waking up

where, who, what? he doesn’t know either

you decided to kiss him awake cuz why not <3

hao sat up, hair messy and sticking up to random places

he takes a glance at you, slowly taking in the fact that he was easily woken by kisses

knitting his eyebrows together, his facial expression perplexed 🧐

“why were you kissing me when i was asleep? i can’t kiss you back like that..”

— sung hanbin

so HECKING happy

wakes up instantly ‼️

but he acts like he’s still asleep just for more kisses

it worked for a bit until he couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot

he can’t even muster out a sentence without giggling

insists you wake him up like this every single day

he also does the same for you 🫶

“i’m still a bit sleepy, you should give me another kiss.”

— seok matthew

this man is a 50/50

maybe he’ll wake up, maybe he won’t ; let’s test the chances today !

you place a kiss to his forehead, his nose, his cheek–

suddenly, you feel strong arms pull you towards him and both of your lips connect

jokes on you ! he was already awake

he’s grinning so hard rn

right when you thought he was gonna actually wake up, he falls right back asleep

holding you in a tight embrace so you are forced to sleep with him

“that was fun. okay, time for bed!”

— shen ricky

he’s confused at first

once he realises you were kissing him awake, it’s over for him 😊

his entire face and ears covered in hues of pink

ricky tries keeping his cool, acting annoyed and pulling the blanket over his head to avoid embarrassing himself

“don’t do that, it’s too early!”

when you do actually stop, he’s becomes a bit sad

he finally sits up and looks to you whom has a bright smile

a bit hesitant but he musters up all the courage he has to ask for more kisses (in his own way ofc 🤞)

“…ugh, fine. you can keep kissing me..”

— park gunwook

another shy one !

but he’s mostly giggly abt it

he won’t let you stop, he WILL ask for more and will not let you miss a single spot on his face

“one more kiss, please!”

he’s too cutie patootie for you to decline 🥹

also, he doesn’t want to be woken up by any other way now

he might take naps on purpose just for kisses

his whole day is made and once he feels like he can take on anything for the rest of the day 💪

“you missed a spot here, kiss it please!”

— kim taerae

if lovestruck was a man; it’s him

you are literally his muse 🎼

the moment your lips fall onto his face

his eyes flutter open to see you infront of him

to others, you may look a bit messy, face somewhat puffy from just waking up

but to him, you were the equivalent of an angel that fell from heaven

+ you kissing him awake; god, he was so inlove..

his dimples showing as he smiles from your soft touches, the natural light from the window shining over his delicate features

“please keep waking me up like this.”

— kim gyuvin

he’s a bit difficult to kiss

only because he sleeps face flat on the pillow 😭

so you’d have to move him to the side a bit and USUALLY he accidentally wakes up by then

but in the minuscule chance he doesn’t

he gets annoyed that you woke him up 😦

only for a bit tho !

he has a very very very soft spot for you

so when he finally stirs awake and realises you are kissing him

he pulls you into his arms and gives you kisses on both of your cheeks

“what a nice way to be woken up by!”

— kim jiwoong

wakes up instantly

the moment your lips touch his forehead, he immediately sits up

if you ask him why, he doesn’t know either cuz he’s just as confused as you 👍

stares at you for quite a while before retracing his steps and realising you kissed him

and suddenly he’s a blushing mess

it’s really sudden tho 😭

like, he was staring blankly at your face earlier and now he’s giggling like a kid

“i like your kisses..”

© keiwook | 2023

tag @bruhiamistake @trashydez @chxrrymxxnlight @haesunflower @big-uwu-stan @gnwookie @yjhcloud @kpoprhia @channiesprincess @blaycke

here if you want to join the taglist !

[skythealmighty]

Wheel, the Paranoid: An in-depth scene-by-scene character analysis

"We aren't so much angry as very, very worried." - The School of Life

TL;DR: Wheel is not as mean or as angry as he seems on the surface; in fact, he's decently logical, but also paranoid and often worried about things everyone else brushes off! He covers up his fear with anger, and doesn't actually hate anyone (though he does have a sort of rivalry with WWFT). He also has a penchant for fairness in most things, doesn't like killing, and probably feels guilty over Felt Container's elimination. Most importantly though, he's distrusted Clock since the beginning, holding firm in his belief that something about this was very off- and unfortunately for him, was only proven right after he was eliminated. All in all, he's a very interesting character overall, not just because of his elimination scene!

FAIR WARNING: The full analysis below the cut is over four thousand words. There's no content warnings, but it's very, very long without any pictures. Have fun lol

IT’S TIME FOR THE [1:00] - Who’s Jason??

1:30 - “I’m having a weird feeling about today, a feeling that… something’s going to happen. Something bad’s going to happen!”

Note the panicked expression, and the worried expression that follows when Felt Container brushes him off. His first instinct is to look at the sky, too- maybe that’s paranoia, but he was the first one to notice Clock. And sure, he’s a bit mean about it, but it feels like he’s genuinely trying to warn Felt Container about whatever’s coming.

1:59 - “AHHHH! WHAT IS THAT!”

Probably the most reasonable reaction to a being like Clock appearing out of nowhere. He also seems to try and maybe scare Clock away? 

2:11 - “WHO ARE YOU?!” “Ha! Hi. My name is C.L.O.C.K.: Thing That You Tell The Time ohhh wait my name is not an acronym.” “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US?”

Figuring out motives. He clearly doesn’t trust Clock immediately (good, but also furthers my earlier maybe-point about paranoia). Notice how he says “us” and not “me”, meaning he’s saying this for everyone (whether they would think to or not).

2:28 - “Okay, I’m in!” and 2:47 

In both of these instances, he’s the only one with a different expression from the rest. Narrowed eyebrows at the premise of a competition show (2:28), and disbelief (negative) at the prize (2:47). I don’t think he went “WOOOHOOOO” with everyone else- and he still clearly doesn’t trust Clock. Not yet.

3:06 - [The whole sequence leading up to the first intro]

I feel bad for him here; he looks genuinely afraid, especially when he gets closer to the ground. He still looks angry, but- well, he’s definitely more afraid than properly angry.

4:45 - “Dang, if only you were like a street lamp or crossing signal or something, would have had a cool team name idea for that.”

While No Way and 57 Ball are occupied with that conversation, Wheel looks offscreen. There’s no way of knowing where he’s looking, but from context clues, it would make a lot of sense if he was keeping an eye on Clock, given his immediate reaction to them. He only actually talks when it’s almost the very end of the time, and… it’s a BFB reference. I don’t know if this was a conscious decision by Wheel or just a reference for reference's sake, but it feels like he pulled the first thing that came to mind to pretend he was participating. (The nervous tone makes me think that he could be afraid of Clock doing something to him for not saying anything.)

6:47 - [Wheel pacing]

Okay, he says he’s doing the challenge here, but he’s more likely just panicking and saying he’s doing the challenge to cover that up. 

8:36 - “Team Earth! Where is your card?” “I KICKED IT!” “He kicked it.”

I’m probably reading into this way too much, but when he’s shaking (or vibrating intensely), it’s pretty clear that he really REALLY does NOT like Clock. (Either that or he’s hiding fear with anger.)

9:35 - “NOOO! That’s not fair, I demand that you host a second challenge, so that we can RIGHTFULLY see who-”

On the surface, this sounds like bratty whining, or nitpicking, but with the context of future episodes this could easily be read as Wheel being afraid of being UFE. After all, a wheel is random, and his team could be picked, even if they did the challenge. (This could also be read as proof for him actually caring a lot about fairness- more on that later.)

IT’S TIME FOR THE [2:00] - Best Source For Weather Information

0:30 - “I’m already out man… anyways, it says next up is Words With Friends Tile.” “LET’S GOOO!” “Wait a minute. H- HE DOESN’T HAVE ANY EYEESS!”

Very small and unserious moment, but another point to the “Wheel caring about fairness” chart. Someone without eyes could very easily win a staring contest, after all. (Of course then he gets into a fight with WWFT, but from the cartoon SFX and the blank stares afterward, this is probably lighthearted and maybe even a common occurrence.)

1:33 - “Yes!! I can’t wait to beat ALL OF YOU IN THE NEXT CHALLENGE!”

This sounds like a brag or a taunt (and in part it probably is), but after seeing this scene multiple times his expression seems over-dramatized… is that the word I’m looking for? Exaggerated. It’s likely he doesn’t actually mean it. (And then the intro sequence happens and he sounds equal parts nervous and annoyed at being picked up. It’s probably less surprising the second time.)

3:48 - “THERE’S NO MORE TEAMS! There’s no more teams!”

Unimportant detail but Wheel is glaring a bit at WWFT and then in the next scene glaring at him even harder (and vibrating in anger), probably because of the fight earlier. Silly little thing I wanna point out!

4:39 - “This doesn’t seem very fair…” “Sure it is!” “Oh okay!” “What.” “Well it ISN’T fair!! None of us even know how to DO the challenge!”

Another point for Wheel caring about fairness! Even when No Way blindly accepts Clock’s response to No Way’s point, Wheel challenges it in his friend’s (?) stead, and then points out another unfair aspect right afterwards. Of course, after his nitpick is fixed, he declares himself hyped for the challenge- this I believe easily, though, since he seems like the athletic type and likely finds this sort of thing cool.

5:15 - [Wheel, 57 Ball and Refill Station doing the challenge]

More proof to Wheel caring about rules- he doesn’t react to Refill Station at all, but he glares at 57 Ball when he sees him rolling on the rail instead of grinding with a board like the rest of them. 

7:14 - “Whuh!? One spot left??” [Vase shatters] “OUT OF MY WAY! HUFF HUFF HUFFF HUFF HUUAGHH I’m gonna make it!!” [Portal appears] “Huh?” “Yes! I’m out!” “WATCH OUT!”

Important moment, in my perspective. It furthers my theory of him being afraid of being UFE, since immediately after Clock mentions there’s only one spot left, he rushes forward recklessly enough to injure Vase. I’m not exactly sure if he really meant to do that, though, because he tries to warn Green before a scenario that’s sure to (and did) kill him. That’s his first kill, actually, if I remember correctly- despite him seeming mean, it’s clear he’s not the antagonist he pretends he is.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [3:00] - Next

0:58 - “Welcome back Pool Ball, Orange and Tire-” “DON’T CALL ME THAT!” “Okay!” “Wait last ti- huhhh???” “We lost the challenge, genius, I’m getting pretty used to this already.” “YOU… you’re the reason I LOST THE CHA-”

It’s not just me, right? Wheel seems extremely high-strung here- yelling immediately after only one minor button was pressed (Clock using the wrong name). From experience with my brother, I can see this being caused by one of two reasons- either he’s overwhelmed, or he’s guilty… or both. After all, he’s up for elimination, and he just accidentally killed someone. He actually seems to be mildly shocked at Green until Green snarks at him, which is when he snaps at him and accuses him of making him lose. I don’t think he actually blames Green- this feels more like a knee-jerk reaction.

1:20 - “GO AHEAD, DO IT!! JUST DO IT ALR-”

He’s definitely used to the intro sequence and hates it, but this feels like a massive overreaction- adding to my theory of him being on edge. He snaps at Green with a threat when he slams him into the ground a few times (maybe as revenge for Wheel killing him) and laughs at him, probably because Green is exacerbating the situation and adding to his stress.

2:11 - “Luck?? LUCK? I DON’T NEED LUCK!”

If I could guess what he would say next, it would be: “I NEED TO BE SAFE!” Uh… that’s my only comment for this bit, other than yep, I still think he’s tense.

3:09 - “You almost killed me, how did you get so many votes?!” “And I’ll do it again if it means people like me!!”

To be blunt, this feels almost like a confession. I don’t think he’s talking about his fellow contestants here, he’s talking about the voters- he needs their favoritism to be safe from elimination, and he’s willing to go pretty far for that. The game is picking up, the stakes are getting higher, and things are getting more intense. I don’t think he dislikes Vase or has anything against her, he’s just being honest. He also seems to be getting more into the game now, his competitive nature arising- despite his distrust towards Clock, he’s far more willing to play their game now that he’s won a few challenges.

5:31 - [Wheel getting water from Refill Station, then getting scared by Clock] “Water bubbler is NOT allowed, that’d be way too easy!” “Wait, what’d you just call me??” “You just SAID ‘get you a cup of water’.” “Yeah, it’s supposed to be a challenge, go on and-” “Hey, I have a cup of water for you Clock.” “...YES!!”

This is a long quote, but all of it is needed for the context. Wheel is taking the easy route here, rushing ahead of everyone else to do so before they think of it- he cares about fairness, but at the time of him getting the water, Clock hadn’t said it was against the rules yet. He’s sort of exploiting a loophole- which fits his admission earlier about being willing to do whatever to keep the audience on his side, just in this case pertaining to his willingness to take the easy route so he can be safe as fast as possible. (Also, his confident “heh, too easy” afterwards feels to me more like an expression of relief than a brag, but it is kind of both.)

6:12 - “Are you sure? It seems like people are already on their way to that lake over there, we gotta be quick.”

Wheel only has a very short (and easily missable) appearance here, but even though he’s safe, he’s keeping an eye on the game rather than relaxing elsewhere. This will be brought up soon.

6:48 - “I’ll be taking this!!”

Honestly, this whole sequence confused me a lot at first, kind of contradicting most of the assumptions I made about Wheel from 1:00 and 2:00. After a lot of consideration, though, I think I’ve come to a reasonable enough theory: he could have made this decision by taking inspiration from Snowball, who he’s quoted before and kind of tries to take after in terms of gameplay. After all, Snowball made it surprisingly far acting this way, and he does not want to be eliminated. This theory depends on whether or not BFDI as a franchise exists in ITFT’s world, though. (There are other theories I have, but they don’t hold a lot of water. This scene still kind of confuses me.)

IT’S TIME FOR THE [4:00] - Do NOT Use The Popcorn Button

1:02 - [Wheel revived] “...youuu don’t have anything to say this time?” [ `,:[ ] “Hm…”

It’s official, he’s used to (and REALLY tired of) the intro sequence. Also, the last few times he actually said anything before the intro, it didn’t exactly help his case, so he might as well just let it happen. He’s definitely not happy about it, though.

1:39 - “One two three four… I thought I put four of you up for elimination this time!”

His expressions here… sorry I don’t have anything to say it’s just. Boy why you so ò៱ó

1:59 - “I shouldn’t BE HERE, I didn’t even lose the last challenge!!” “Why don’t you just… leave then?” “You don’t WANT me here?” “No! No, I didn’t say tha-”

This feels like half catastrophizing and half playing into the Snowball role (as per my earlier theory). He doesn’t want to be at the elimination area, but he doesn’t want to be told to go away, either. Furthermore, I think his frustration here was aimed at Clock, not any of the others, but he had a knee-jerk reaction when No Way interrupted what might have turned out to be a rant.

2:07 - “You’re a loser brah-” “YOU’RE A LOSERRrrrr for the sake of my safety, I will try to use, nicer words.” “...okay?” [PUNT]

I’m not exactly sure how much beef Wheel has with WWFT, but it definitely feels like an ongoing thing- maybe a rivalry or something similar. He was very quick to fight him even before he started acting meaner, after all- and that at least explains him punting WWFT. As for the “for the sake of my safety” part, after a second glance, it’s likely he means safety during elimination, seeing as he looks directly at the camera (fourth wall?) right after he says this. (It seems, to me, that he already assumes he’s going to be up for elimination, and in danger because of this.)

3:54 - “Wellllll next safe is Wheel!! With 0 votes!” “...you’re… serious..?”

Okay this isn’t important at all but it’s really silly. I just wanted to put it here

4:02 - “NO! Let me do the rest of them, you don’t know what you’re doing!”

The thing about this is, he’s right. I have no way of knowing if he’s just trying to insult Clock here or something else, but I feel like this has a double meaning. Clock doesn’t know what they’re doing, and Wheel is aware of this- possibly because of previous eliminations- and his point is proven later by Clock quite literally admitting they don’t know what happens with the eliminated contestants as Green is turned into a radio. (Also, him calling WWFT “Words With STUPID Tile” is pretty funny, and a point towards the two of them having some sort of rivalry?)

5:18 - “Wheel, I think you permanently killed Polka Dot.” “Okayy, wasn’t me- no, really! It was Vase!”

Part of this feels like him defending himself in front of the viewers (plus it almost looks like he’s looking at the camera at 5:23), and the other part feels like he’s defending himself to everyone else, particularly No Way, maybe because the two of them have so far a neutral/positive relationship. Besides, he’s right- Vase was the one who had the idea for the Sun to shoot fireballs at Wheel and the cloud, even if Wheel did cause the cloud thing in the first place. He’s not the one who killed everyone through that.

6:00 - “Here are your teams for this challenge! And only this challenge!!” “Wow, uneven teams again? Huh.”

Another point for Wheel and WWFT having a rivalry- as soon as it’s confirmed that they’re on the same team, Wheel glares at WWFT with balled fists. Also, unlike in [1:00], Wheel no longer has an angry expression in the zoom-out- he does look mildly upset, but it’s more like he’s resigned, almost. He’s getting used to the game and Clock.

6:13 - “Can we name our teams??” “NO!” [ :( ] “...whatever, fine-”

I’m not sure exactly why he immediately says “no” (it could be for a multitude of reasons- playing into the Snowball act, or maybe it’s because he’s aware that the teams will only last for one episode), but the backtracking after Refill Station looks sad doesn’t feel as begrudging as it might seem- he plays the mean act, but he clearly feels a little bad about making RF sad. (I hate to compare this to the tsundere trope but honestly… this is a very tsundere thing to do. You know I’m right.)

6:44 - “WHAT IS THAT?!” “Yo, I think that’s Polka Dot!” “Oh hello Polka Dot!!” “Chill, chill, wait waitwaitwaitwaAAAAAAAAA-”

It’s the exact same panic that Wheel had upon Clock suddenly appearing, down to the words! The difference is, he doesn’t seem to try and hide that panic here, expression genuinely afraid as he looks between WWFT and Refill Station (neither of whom are panicking), and his default angry expression (the same one when he was dropped before the first intro) only returns when the polka dot void starts to spin them around. Once again, he’s worried when no one else is, just like in [1:00]. (It almost feels like his panic is exaserbated by the fact that he’s the only one panicking- they should be worried, why are they just accepting this?)

6:54 - “Come on guys, do the challenge!” “DON’T YOU THINK WE SHOULD SORT THIS OUT?!” “Nooo, no it’s fine!” “!lennahc eht egnahC !lennahc eht egnahC !LENNAHC EHT EGNAHC” “Actually, nevermind, uhh… yeah, let’s… let’s do the challenge. GO!”

Proving my last point, he immediately points out that yeah, maybe they should do something about the weird thing that just appeared; looking frustrated when Refill Station brushes him off, similar to when Felt Container brushed him off in [1:00]. He’s not so much angry as he is worried and frustrated that nobody seems to be validating his worry. However, when the polka dot void starts acting weird and speaking in reverse, he begins to look afraid again and starts trying to get Refill Station away from it. Though he’s clearly still a bit upset that no one’s doing anything about it, he realizes that it’s dangerous and then tries to protect himself (and others) by picking his battles and getting his current teammate away from the danger. Once again, it’s clear he’s not the antagonist he sometimes pretends to be- why would he do this if he didn’t care?

7:37 - “I mean we have so many loaves of bread, we could just mash all of em together into a nice bread structure, what do you guys think?” “Yeah!” “SIIIKE! AHAHAHAHA-”

This daydream seems kind of significant to me because of the people he’s thinking of in it- Polka Dot, Green, and Felt Container. Polka Dot is currently missing, and he was just recently accused of permanently killing her (also, the polka dot void could have reminded him of her); Green is someone he accidentally killed in [2:00], despite him trying to warn him; and finally, Felt Container is the first person he went to when he felt that something was off in [1:00], and who was eliminated the next episode. Given the pattern of Polka Dot and Green being people he had a hand in killing, this could mean he feels he’s at fault for Felt Container being eliminated and assumedly killed. (In fact, he could have even seen that elimination, but there’s no way of knowing if he did or didn’t.) Something, something, survivor’s guilt…

8:39 - “Oh, it’s you again. You trying to steal our idea??? Huh?? HM?!” “Bro, chill out. It’s literally Polka Dot.” “Oh YEAH?? Well, can you explain what THIS is??”

First, he doesn’t seem particularly enthused that they’re all back by the polka dot void, especially since earlier he was trying to get Refill Station away from it. Him ‘accusing’ the polka dot void feels kind of just like a silly joke, but it could also be him proving he’s not afraid of it or something- either way, though, he clearly doesn’t believe that it’s Polka Dot. (He also looks afraid/shocked when Polka Dot shows up in the thought bubble, a similar shock to when he first saw Green after he died. Just pointing that out.)

9:11 - “GUYS! I figured out what we can do!! We can combine all of our ideas!”

It feels like he’s somewhat abandoned the Snowball route by now- and also, he looks almost genuinely excited (or maybe proud) when he suggests this. Maybe he’s just excited that he’s sure his idea will win them the challenge, but to me it feels like he’s happy he realized a solution that could include all of the team. (He definitely cares.)

10:10 - “Didn’t you say this WASN’T a cooking challenge?” “This is nowww a cooking challenge!” 

Yet another point to Wheel caring about fairness- he immediately points out Clock contradicting what they said about the challenge when it was announced, because it now suddenly being a cooking challenge is unfair.

10:38 - “TRUST me Clock! I’ve had it, it’s very good. Yep! …ehh, actually, that can stay right there.”

He’s hyping up his team’s creation, or at least trying to, to possibly give them a better chance at winning the challenge. This could just be for his own sake, but I’m willing to believe it’s for the whole team’s sake too. (He definitely doesn’t want to be up for elimination, though.)

10:54 - “Vote for one of the members of eeuughhh-”

Pay attention to Wheel’s expressions here. Immediately, he first looks nervous on first showing up on the elimination screen. Then, he looks surprised and then mildly suspicious of Clock being there, followed by slightly startling at Clock disappearing from the spot he was looking at. He looks at Polka Dot a little sadly, and then at the screen, worried but resigned. To me, this mainly feels like he’s nervous about his fate at the hands of the viewers (though honestly, he has been this whole episode), but also guilty at possibly killing Polka Dot from the look he gives her- or sympathetic to her mild panic, since she seems to silently apologize for appearing to squish Clock. (I’m not wholly sure why in between those, he gives Clock such a distrusting squint- at least not specifically, since I stand by the fact that he’s been distrusting of the host since the beginning.) Whatever the case, this whole sequence says a lot about Wheel to me, even if it’s just from his expressions.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [5:00] - Fifty-Seven Tears Of The Star

0:56 - “Speaking of the elimination… I think… I wouldn’t mind, a bit of a delay?” “Oh, you scared or somethin’?” “NO, no, I just think… we should look for Tile!” […] “NO, YOU’RE JUST SAYING THAT ‘CAUSE YOU’RE SAFE!!” […] “Know what? SHUT UP! Y- y- man- I’m- I’ma do my own thing.”

That’s pretty clearly a boldfaced lie. He’s been afraid of being eliminated from the start, and especially last episode. I don’t even need to analyze this deeply at all- it’s clear to everyone, even the other contestants, that he’s lying. He just doesn’t want to seem scared, so he covers it up with anger. This has been a pattern since [1:00]; it’s just much more obvious now.

2:48 - “RRRAAH I hate those guys, I hate the GRASS, I hate the SKY, I hate the AIR, I hate the TIME- oh… hm.” “You hate what?” “YOU.” “You… hate me?” “YES. …here we go again.”

Notice how fast he’s speaking in the beginning. To me, it sounds like rambling for the sake of rambling- he’s frustrated and afraid, and he doesn’t know how to get it out properly, so he does this mini-tantrum. I don’t think he means most of what he says there- when kids react like this, they often don’t either- but I do think he means it when he says it to Clock. He’s never liked Clock, this is just the first time he’s openly saying it.

3:10 - “Oh my, please be sure to watch where you’re bouncing, you could have hurt somebody!” “WHO IS THAT-”

Well, isn’t this familiar? This is the same reaction he’s had to Clock- just less intense. This could indicate that he’s not just untrusting of Clock in particular, he’s wary of all strangers. Unsurprising, considering what I’ve analyzed already, but still worth noting. I could also be reading into this too far and he’s just confused, though. (Also, WWFT does an L dance at Wheel, that’s hilarious.)

3:40 - “EXPLAIN. NOW.” “I don’t know anything about that!” “CLOCK.”

As far as I can tell, he’s confused, so he wants answers and goes to the nearest person he can trust (No Way) and then to the host, who probably SHOULD know the answer. It’s not clear whether this is from distrust of Well, or just him panicking, but honestly it could be both.

4:06 - “Oh nonono end this nightmare, one Clock is ENOUGH!”

Okay, well, this is really funny, but also adds on to the fact that Wheel does not like Clock at all. He even sounds a little afraid here- which could be partly because it’s the elimination and he’s just generally nervous, though it would make sense if after all that’s happened he did fear Clock.

5:20 - “[Not like you’ll be around to hear more, bruh, you’re just kinda stupid, like. Overall.]”

At first, I thought this might have been a flashback of things he’d heard before, but more likely WWFT is saying these things in real-time and Wheel is just halfway tuning it out. (This confirms that WWFT and Wheel have a negative relationship, at least.) As for why he’s tuning it out, he seems sort of… pensive, almost. Lamenting. He knows he’s going to be eliminated (he has for a couple hours, at this point), he just kind of doesn’t want to hear it from somebody he clearly dislikes. It’s also possible he’s worrying about what will happen to him. (He could also be thinking about what WWFT just said earlier about 57, but that’s less likely.)

5:32 - “One… one… one, wh- NO-!” “AaaaAAA any final words, Wheel?” “I’m so mad at ALL OF YOU I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU MADE ME LOSE THE CHALLENGE!”

And here it is, the moment he knew was coming. He’s panicked, now, and doesn’t try to hide it, before reacting in the easiest way he knows how- blame, anger. He’s scared, and lashes out because of it, possibly falling back into the Snowball strategy on instinct. He still doesn’t mean any of it, though, as proven by what happens next:

5:43 - “Okay… I… do have a few final words, actually. The Sun, keep doing what you’re doing, you could be an absolute challenge BEAST!” “Thank you!” “Refill Station, you really just need to calm down sometimes.” “Oh my, I love this place, I love the grass, I love the sky! I love the- NEW FRIENDS!!” “What is even happening?” “You are the FINAL member left on our original team and I want you to know that I wish you luck!” “Oh! Thanks…”

This? He means this. This isn’t just him talking to team members, either- he’d never been teamed with the Sun. To the Sun, he encourages, to Refill Station, he gives advice, and to No Way, he wishes luck. In fact, I even think he had more to say, Clock just interrupted him! He cares, and though he’s used to being the mean one, he wants to make sure the people he likes know this before he’s gone, even if it ruins his image. (After all, he won’t get another chance to.) In this moment, he’s letting himself be vulnerable- something he hasn’t done since the start, and maybe even since before then- and it’s important. This is the crown of his arc. This is who Wheel really is behind all the anger and fear. (It’s just a little sad that he only feels like he can and has to do this when he has no time left.)

6:07 - “So… what now?”

The end. He’s hurting, and terrified, and yet his default response is a furrowed brow- he hides his fear with an angry expression. Even at the very end, he kicks and fights and bares his teeth. (No Way and Refill Station look distraught while they have to watch. No Way even reaches out to him, as if to help.) With everything we know now, this is honestly heartbreaking, but at least I can say his last actions proved my point:

Wheel wasn’t mean or evil. He was scared. And he had every right to be.

Thanks for reading!

[nerissalmao]

The Sexualization of Octolings

Hey y’all! My friend Ray suggested this lil thread essay post whatever it’s called, and I figured it would make perfect sense to do. I’ve never really made an in-depth Splatoon post before, but I’m not afraid to try. Today’s topic is.. the sexualization of Octolings.

We all know Octolings. We all think they’re cute and fun and cool, but they’re just so.. you know.. sexy. That’s not a bad thing, but it seems like it’s their whole entire species which is literally sexualized and shown in midriff-baring, skimpy outfits. I mean, come on guys. When Callie, the most wholesome Inkling around, briefly joins the Octo Party, she’s suddenly turned into the hottest dominatrix-looking rigid icon ever (a number of my friends started to crush on her after that).

It’s definitely not just Callie. We all know Marina, guys. I don’t even have to show you images to prove what she looks like, her and her love for crop tops. And Marina, as we all know, is an ex-member of the Octarian army, like all Octolings.. like Agent 8, whose Octo Expansion outfit was on the sexy side with a crop top and high-heeled little booties. And who later in Side Order wears a form-fitting bodysuit that shows off their midriff and causes several Splatoon players to meme the fact that their backside seems to be lookin’ large to death. Why is it that Marina and Eight, who used to be in the army, have sexualized attire even now? And when Callie linked up with them, she too was wearing a shirt that in certain poses accentuates her chest, and pants so loose-fitting you can see her actual underwear.

Have you seen the enemy Octoling’s outfits? Yes, they’ve got on armor, but it’s stylized as crop tops and short shorts. Not to mention that most of the enemy Octolings present as or resemble females, and their armor has the age-old shoddy trope of having extra panels for their breasts. They’ve got little booties too and look more like a dancing glam squad or sexualized warrior cosplay than actual warriors, but this is just a design choice and doesn’t affect the way they fight. A pretty weird design choice for a game like Splatoon if you ask me.

I find this very bizarre and random. Because it seems that the entire Octoling enemy brigade has some level of sexiness to them, especially the females. Every single one. But wait on a second. There’s two Octolings we haven’t covered yet. Shiver, an Octoling, has an outfit no more racier than Frye, her Inkling co-star’s. And Acht’s outfit may have a questionable thigh slit, but that’s nowhere near the typical belly-button-bearing short shorts of the Octarian army. That seems to make my theory seem dumb, huh?

Not in the slightest. See, Acht was never in the Octarian army’s fighting unit with the rest of the girlies (they were in the army and wore the same uniform, but as they were never on the front lines they seemed to be able to wear it differently, tilting it so their midriff wasn’t easily seen and wearing a bracelet instead of those tight gloves). As for Shiver, she was born into a clan of Octolings long separated from the other Octarians. Agent 8 on the other hand was once an Octarian warrior, as was Marina (she was later promoted though, but even so along with other enemy Octoling warriors was there during Octavio’s fight with Agent 3), and Callie was turned into one briefly, or something like one, despite her being an Inkling. It seems all the sexualized Octolings were once on the front lines strutting their stuff while fighting. So why is this?

Well, here’s my theory added onto another random semi-theory that I am here to share with you all. You see, in Japanese, the enemy Octolings, preferably the ones you fight, are called “Octo-Amazons”, and the Amazons are legendary female warriors. So perhaps DJ Octavio knew what he was doing with this, and it’s a sort of empowerment move that perhaps the masculine Octolings work on maintenance jobs or something given we never see them, whereas most feminine Octolings are fighters with their female-ness put on blatant display, waggling their little hips as they jump in to do battle with the Inklings. And this practice is so well-known among Octolings that those formerly in the army still tend to gravitate towards more revealing clothes even when they are free. Just a penny for your thoughts, Splatoon community.

[pjisskullourful]

TO WORSHIP

🛐 Ethan × reader

NSFW🔥 adultsonly, love expressed in the filthiest fashion

° Ethan Torchio/female reader insert

wordcount:: 5,227

° “I love you no matter what you’re wearing, you are literally always the sexiest person in the world to me, always.” He told you. “But this confidence that you’ve got right now is absolutely irresistible. I just want to lay you down on that bed and see how much higher I can get this mood of yours.”

° commissioned by the absolutely magical& wonderful jace(@punk-gremlin) 💋 [there are 3 commissions in cue! secure your priority spot here!!]

° [ITA:] amore: love

AKA you buy new negligee & ethan really really REALLY likes it, really AKA your boyfriend finds a new, less verbal way of complimenting you AKA worship but make it unholy

The negligee was an outlier amongst every item of clothing that you owned. You weren’t used to how the lace and thin material felt against your skin. And you definitely weren’t used to how it looked in the mirror.

Ever since you had been old enough to have control over the things that you wore, you had been dressing in a manner that compelled people to call you a tomboy. You had never had any reason to take it as an insult. It was true that you selected clothes for their practicality, rather than taking the supposedly ‘prettiest’ option. You didn’t want to hear that you looked cute, your preference was to be told your outfit was cool.

Girly garments had never held much appeal for you. So when you had received the gift card for Pot o’ Honey on your birthday, your first thought was to spend it on the sex toys that the lingerie shop also stocked. You bought your underwear at department stores, that was how you got comfortable, yet affordable items.

But when you had stepped into the specialty shop, you had seen the discount rack before the toys. And hanging at the front was a short purple slip. With the fact that this was your boyfriend’s favourite colour present in your mind, you had approached and checked the price tag. When you saw the amount was less than half of the original price, and it could be covered by your gift card, the wheels in your head had started to turn.

You had been attracted to how different it was, especially to the scrubs that it felt like you were in 24/7. Walking away from the slip would have been sticking to the routines you had deemed safe. But Ethan had been helping you with spontaneity, showing you that unknown things didn’t always lead to disaster.

You had imagined that looking different could help you feel different. You wouldn’t look like a diligent, but drained, nurse. You could look like someone with different (more fun) priorities.

Before you had been able to talk yourself out of it, you had taken the lace-decorated slip to the counter. You set your sights on surprising Ethan, and didn’t give the other intimidating thoughts enough attention to grow.

Just try it, this was almost like a mantra you kept in your head. And it had been very effective in the past.

The apartment had been deserted when you arrived back, shopping bags in hand. Ethan was busy with Victoria today, giving you the chance to try on the negligee in complete privacy. If it looked absolutely awful, you would be the only one to know of the failure.

But it wasn’t a failure. You truly didn’t hate what you saw, eyes wide as you noticed how long it made your legs look. There was something pleasing about how the patterned lace decorated your tits. Unlike when you were dressed for work, you could see your waistline, its feminine curve.

It was new, and exciting as a result. In the past, you had worried that you wouldn’t look like yourself dressed in sexy lingerie. You had thought that you would have the appearance of a person wearing a costume, clearly playing a character to fulfil someone else’s fantasy. But that wasn’t the case with what you were currently seeing in the mirror.

You brushed your hair back from your face as you really took in the reflection. You were trying to figure out the best occasion to unveil this sexiness to your boyfriend. It had begun as a present for you, but you were thrilled for it to be his treat.

You were still standing in this spot when you heard the front door open. You froze, Ethan was supposed to still be at Victoria’s house, she had been planning to cook dinner for him. But it was late afternoon, much too early. You were too blindsided to know what to do.

You pondered running into the bathroom before he could see you. You could remove the nightie and secretly stash it away until you were ready for a grand reveal.

But you didn’t do this, you didn’t make any movements to hide. You were proud of this independently-sourced spontaneity. The way that you were feeling was good enough to share. The confidence was new, powerful and clear, you didn’t want to hide that from him.

You pushed your shoulders back, turning to face the open bedroom door fully. “Change of plans, amore?”

“Yeah.” He called back, still out of sight to you. “We were getting snappy with each other, so we figured that me sticking around for dinner might give us time to say stuff we could regret. Better for me to just leave.” Judging by the sound of his voice, you guessed that he was taking his shoes off in the entryway. “But she gave me money to order whatever I want from Uber Eats, so she’s still giving me dinner for my troubles.”

“I’m sorry it got tense.” You said. This wasn’t completely unheard of between the bandmates, for all of the time they spent together, friction could occur. Sometimes they bickered just like siblings, but you had seen them make up even quicker than things could go bad.

You weren’t entirely surprised that the day had ended on a sour note, due to his mood seeming less than pleased when he messaged you around lunchtime. In the process of helping her construct the flat-pack wardrobe, he had pinched a finger between two heavy pieces, complaining that it would need care from his favourite nurse. He wasn’t one to often complain, so you had offered to kiss it better.

His voice began to gradually get louder, suggesting he was getting closer to the bedroom. “It’s okay. I think she was embarrassed that we had to modify the wardrobe in the first place…”

This was a polite way of phrasing that she had accidentally bought a piece of furniture too tall to possibly fit in her home. He had been needed to saw off the bottom section, making the wardrobe fit to the house’s measurements.

“...so she was being extra sarcastic and catty to cover that up, or protec-... huh?”

It seemed that the sight of you made him forget his words. He stopped in the doorway, his eyes quickly moving all over your body as he tried to gather all of the available information. A smile lifted the corners of your mouth as butterflies rushed into your tummy.

“You look amazing. I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m very firmly supporting it and I would love to get involved.” He said, making you laugh. “Where did this come from?”

“You remember that gift card I got on my birthday, from Cami?” You asked.

“Remind me to thank her next time I see her.” He said. “I’m not making this weird, am I? I just, you’ve totally stunned me. It’s not even surprise, my mind is blown and you’ll have to forgive me for not knowing how to act.”

“You’re acting just fine.” You said, the pride swelling up inside you. “Not weird. Well, no weirder than usual.”

His admiring of you kept him from responding to your teasing. “How do- you look like you feel good.”

“I do. I wasn’t sure how I would feel, but it’s great. I think I look like a bad bitch.” You said.

Slowly he started to properly come into the room, approaching you. “No, you’re always a bad bitch, that’s your natural state. But this is a different side. This is bringing out something different, something ethereal.”

You believed him at once. The way that he was looking at you reminded you of when you had first met. You remembered how everyone in the room had been ready to pay attention to him, but you were the only one he was looking at. It had been more than a quick glance, you had caught and kept his eye. He had been so interested, looking like he wanted to memorise you.

He drew you in with that stare, enchanting rather than intimidating you. And you were feeling that even stronger now. It was passion before any touching had occurred.

“Thank you, I’m really glad you like it.” You said.

“Saying that I like this is quite the understatement, I love it.” He said. “In fact, if I could be honest and kind of crass about it- I was tired after leaving Victoria’s, a little sore and grumpy. But seeing you like this makes all that bad stuff go away. I’m definitely not tired any more, suddenly my dick is awake.”

You grinned as he held your elbows in his hands. Once close enough he nuzzled his nose against yours, his body heat starting to touch your skin.

“Babe…” You breathed, tilting your head to give him easier access to your mouth.

You pushed his loose hair back from his face, then eliminated the remaining distance between the two of you with a kiss. You draped an arm around the back of his neck as he relocated both of his hands to the small of your back. As your mouths worked together, you moved in closer to him.

“You shouldn’t get too carried away just yet. I’ve heard there’s a boo-boo on your finger that desperately needs to be kissed better.” You said.

He secured some more kisses before responding. “I couldn’t care less about a stupid injury right now.”

“Really?” You asked. His hands gripped your back with a more noticeable amount of strength as he began laying kisses down your neck. “Because I was gonna ask if you got hurt anywhere else, like your dick? I could kiss that better for you, really thoroughly.”

He looked at you, his brow furrowed. “Hold on, I can’t comprehend what you’ve just told me.” He covered your mouth in some quick kisses. “I’m malfunctioning…” He put on a robotic tone of voice. “Girlfriend too sexy, rrr…”

You laughed as he wrenched you even closer and you were breathless when your mouths met again. His arms tightened around you and he teased his tongue against your lips briefly.

“I love you no matter what you’re wearing, you are literally always the sexiest person in the world to me, always.” He told you. “But this confidence that you’ve got right now is absolutely irresistible. I just want to lay you down on that bed and see how much higher I can get this mood of yours.”

You were aware of how warm your cheeks had become, while your heart kept pounding harder. “You can do that.”

“I can?” He asked, a wide smile coming onto his face. “I want to make you feel as good as physically possible.” He put his fingers under your chin so he could guide your lips to his, a fleeting kiss this time. “Let’s move this over to the bed.”

He interlaced his fingers with yours and started to move you away from the mirror. All of this was so unexpected, his lust colliding with you and knocking you off-course.

And it was all happening so fast that you scarcely had time to think. None of your reactions were planned. Instead you were running purely on your instincts, acting according to what felt good.

It felt like you hadn’t had a chance to stop and catch your breath ever since he had approached the bedroom, setting his eyes on you for the first time. As he directed you to sit down at the edge of the mattress, you didn’t anticipate getting to fully catch your breath anytime soon.

More kisses were exchanged as he lowered himself down to the ground directly in front of you. He knelt and you parted your legs, creating space for him. You ran your hands through his long hair, the potential hanging in the limited space between you.

You attempted to prepare yourself for the moment when his passion overflowed, you didn’t envision him being able to hold himself back for very long. You shut your eyes as he kept kissing you, going from your mouth to your throat, then down to your mostly-uncovered chest. At the same time, he was running his hands up-and-down your sides, the fabric riding up and caressing your skin with him.

“Is it comfortable?” He asked, his eyes studying your face, perhaps looking for hints of something that you hadn’t expressed yet.

“Yes, amore, very. This is the kind of thing that some people wear to sleep in, so they’re designed to be comfortable.” You said.

“Good, so I don’t have to feel guilty for asking you to keep it on.” He said. “Because I’m not done enjoying you like this, in case I hadn’t made that so clear by now.”

You giggled before he covered your mouth with more kisses. His hands left your body and you were aware of the subtle change in his position. But you were unwilling to end the kiss to gain any more information. You just concentrated on how he lightly sucked your top lip.

You were still craving more when he gently pulled back. You noticed how he had taken the chance to pull his hair back, capturing it all with an elastic.

His eyes left your face, going down to your lap. You moved your hands to caress him, trailing the tips of your fingers along the nape of his neck.

He picked up the hem of the negligee and moved it up, exposing your panties to him. He began to bow his head down into this area. You kept running your hands over his skin, reaching your hand under the collar of his shirt to keep feeling him like this.

His lips met the skin of your upper-thigh. He moved slowly, one kiss following another, each in a new spot that took him closer to your cunt. You felt more of those wonderful butterflies in your tummy.

He didn’t go all the way up, stopping before he could reach the crease where leg became crotch. He looked up at you, instead of lavishing his attention on your other thigh.

“You’re so beautiful, you look like a goddess right now.” He said and your heart did a happy little somersault. “Can I worship you like one?”

Now you were the one at a loss for words. You had never had something like this said to you before. It was grander than any compliment you had ever heard.

You were too amazed to be able to figure out what this meant he had in store for you.

But you trusted him, nodding your head. “Yes, amore.”

He looked down, covering the inside of your other thigh with kisses. At the same time he reached his hands up, securing the material of your panties between his fingers. He started to pull these down and you lifted your butt to assist this. He dragged his lips higher on your thigh, his mouth opening so you could feel the heat of his breath. His hands went to your hips, firmly holding you here.

He reached the top of your thigh, then started to kiss his way inward. This unhurried path took him to your pubic mound. You began to rub your fingers along the back of his neck as he explored this area slowly with his mouth. You heard his heavy, dreamy sighs as his fingers remained tight on your hips. You watched the top of his head, feeling vulnerable but so secure.

He ventured his way lower, kissing and savouring every inch of you. Until he got to the spot where your labia majora concealed your clit. He used his fingers to ease them back, revealing his target.

He didn’t rush you to the next level of teasing. It felt like the natural progression for his kisses to now come to the hood. It was a gentle way to redirect your focus, inviting you to notice the responses that could be evoked from his lips encapsulating this peak.

You let out a soft moan when he began to suck on it. You felt the lovely start of pressure as he took the stretchy skin into his mouth, holding it with his lips. Your heart lifted and you dragged your nails against his skin.

You could feel a needy fire igniting in your gut as his tongue progressed to playing with your clitoral hood. The awakened nerve-endings reacted even more and you pressed a little harder with your nails.

He released your clit from his mouth. But this was only for a moment. There wasn’t time to catch your breath before he was kissing, then sucking on it again. He did this several more times, seeing how much he could get from this stimulating cycle, before moving on.

His next goal lay lower, at your entrance. He kept his steady fingers on your labia as he subtly repositioned his head. His tongue moved in a pleasing upward stroke. He hurried to repeat this, consistently gliding his tongue over this area, sampling the moisture your lust had already created.

You were feeling more than just a fire in your gut when he filled his tongue into your cunt. Now it was like steady-flowing lava, warming more of your insides. And you knew it was just a precursor (the strongest thing you could feel right now).

“Fuck, yes.” You whispered as he didn’t hesitate to push his tongue in deeper. You tilted your pelvis, one of your hands snatching for the messy bun that currently captured his hair. “I appreciate it when you wanna call me sexy and all of that. But this is so much fucking better.”

He acknowledged this with a moan, rather than taking his lips off of you for even a fraction of a second.

Instead of giving you any words, he worked his tongue against one side of your cunt. With the right amount of pressure, he massaged your inner-wall. You felt yourself growing more sensitive as you heard him make a slurping noise, his attempt at minimising the mess spilling over his lips. He switched the position of his tongue, affectionately tasting the other wall.

That lava moved slowly into your legs, encouraging them to lose their strength, and melt as he flicked his tongue up. He steadily wiggled it, his face pressed flush to your cunt.

He withdrew his tongue and swore under his breath. But he didn’t pull any further away. As you were feeling the tingles through your cunt, he brought his tongue back up to your clit. Your throat clenched when you felt his tongue move in swirls around the hood.

The mane on this man, you thought appreciatively as you gripped his hair into your fist. There was more than enough for you to hold onto as you sought support. Maybe in a clearer state of mind, you would have given him some sort of compliment. As it stood, the best you could manage was gasping his name.

He laid his hands upon the tops of your thighs, fingers splayed as he held tension in his impressive arms. It was a hint that you weren’t allowed to try closing your legs, even by only an inch.

He kept his tongue moving in those circles and you were ever-conscious of all of the blood that was surging into your clitoral hood. It made your whole body ache.

Before you could settle into this level of stimulation, you were feeling something new. One of his hands had left your thigh so that he could use a finger to work your pussy open. He pushed it in between your walls, still swirling his tongue on and around your clit.

Now the lava was pumping through your veins, all of your body ready to be consumed by this desire. When he started to pump his finger you slumped backwards, even more weak than before. He established a rhythm as your back reached the mattress. Your chest was rapidly rising-and-falling as more needy noises fell from your mouth.

He leaned forward, staying consistent with your pussy as you laid in this new position. His pacing in your pussy didn’t falter for even a fraction of a second - this hinted to you just how set he was on securing your ruin. You savoured the excitement, lifting your hips and starting to move them, joining his momentum. As your cravings reached a new (almost unbelievable) level, you put both of your hands to the back of his head, holding him exactly where you needed.

“Yeah, yes-yes. You’re really great at this whole worshipping thing.” You said, little moans that couldn’t be held back made some words sound different to your typical pronunciation.

He slightly separated himself from your cunt, slurping as he withdrew his tongue. He kept his finger in motion and you continued to feel the heat from his breath on your wet skin as he spoke. “Yeah? Am I making you feel good?”

“Fuck, yes.” You rasped, uninterested in stilling your hips.

“Tell me about it.” He said before covering your clitoris in kisses.

You choked back a sob. “You’re the best, the absolute best at eating pussy. It never, never gets old.”

“It doesn’t get old for me either.” He said. “I could probably spend fuckin’ days down here.”

“Ethan…” You whimpered.

“It tastes so good, and giving you pleasure like this- nothing is better than it.” He said. His finger didn’t stop pumping, while there were unpredictable flicks of his tongue against your needy clitoris. “I would love to tease orgasm after orgasm out of you. I can just imagine that incredible feeling of feeling it building in my mouth, on my tongue and drawing it out, over-and-over-and-over.” His tongue skimmed up again. “Until we both just pass out, I guess.”

“Yeah, I don’t doubt that you would do that.” You said, before remembering his tendency to take things a bit too literally at times. So you rushed to share an additional point, relaxing your hold on his head. “But you don’t have to, you don’t have… we can just concentrate on one orgasm.”

He quickly kissed your clit. “Yes, let’s concentrate on that.”

You felt more pressure in your pussy as he added a second finger into you. He moved the digits in an amazing rhythm, prompting your body to start clenching.

“Oh God, Ethan.” You cried. “I wanna come for you, I wanna come so bad. Please.” Your hands gripped his head with as much intensity as earlier. “Pl-please.”

His mouth covered your clitoris, treating it to tireless kisses. Some of these lengthened into sucks, which were followed by very brief releases. You rode the sensations higher-and-higher as he seemingly gave you everything that he could in this perfect combination of mouth, tongue and fingers.

“Please make me come. Please- like only you can.” You whined.

You were well and truly chasing your climax now, every inch of your body filled with lava thanks to his efforts. You had gotten reckless with how you were snapping your hips into his face. You gave all of your strength to these collisions.

And you were rewarded each time. The impacts radiated through your entire body, your system overloaded as your climax felt close enough to touch.

“Oh, Ethan.” Your nails pressed against his scalp, your hold on his head desperate now. “I’m- fuck, fuck.” Your eyes rolled back as you convulsed, while he alternately remained so consistent. “Yes, yes, yea-...”

Your jaw dropped open as you felt the source of the lava turn into an eruption. The climax arrived with so much daunting power that your mind went totally blank.

It was beautiful, it was perfect. (If you had a Hall of Fame for your orgasms, this would surely earn a place among the elite.). And it was all that you knew.

Your heart was still racing as you gradually began to come back into yourself. Tingles played through your body and you were yet to stop trembling.

You blinked your eyes open, making a sluggish attempt at reconnecting with reality. You found that he had finally joined you on the bed. But he wasn’t lying with you. He was reclined beside where your legs were splayed out, his eyes on your body with as much dedication as before.

You smiled when he spotted you looking. “Damn, Ethan…” If there were more eloquent things to say you didn’t know them, not yet.

He began stroking up the inside of your leg. “Was that magical enough for my goddess?”

“Oh, definitely. Magical, mystical, a religious blessing- just to sum it up.” You said.

“I was thinking…”

Your laughter interrupted him. “Well there’s a massive difference between you and me. ‘Cause there really isn’t much thinking going on in here right now.” You pointed to the middle of your forehead.

“There was that thing you said about cunnilingus being better than me telling you that you look great.” He said.

“Cunnilingus is better than most things, am I right?” You joked. “It’s more direct than words, far more intimate, too. Not that your compliments are ever unwelcome.”

His touch on your leg had gotten firmer. “No, it’s good for me to know your stance. Maybe going forward I should deliver all of my compliments directly to your pussy, we can just get straight to the point.”

You smirked, ready to laugh at your own punchline. “As opposed to beating around the bush?”

“Exactly.” He said, unable to fight back a little chuckle.

He rolled over to position himself closer to you, resting his front on the bed. You tried to maintain eye contact as he kept his head raised. He was still rubbing your leg and you couldn’t miss the way that he continued to stare, it seemed there were still things on his mind.

“For example…” He began as he wrapped his fingers around your thigh. “Maybe I could compliment you like this…”

Calmly in control, he moved your leg. He lifted it up, pushing until the top of your thigh could reach your tummy. You bent your knee, resting the leg here as his hands went to the other. He copied the action, raising both of your legs and exposing your cunt to him.

“Amore.” You said as you watched him settle into this space beneath you.

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t it your turn to be complimented?”

“Hush, it’s about you right now.” He said, using a hand to brace himself as he lowered his face closer to you. “And it’s okay if you can’t come again, I just need a taste of all of this wonderfulness.”

You were still recovering from how thoroughly he had just rocked your world. And before there was time to get your feet back on the ground, he wanted to whisk you away again.

It was more than you had expected, but you had no protests to make about staying in this state of bliss. You wondered if he would react as zealously each time you brought the teddy out in the future. You would have to be wise with how you used the lingerie’s power.

You supported your raised legs by holding onto the backs of your thighs. He introduced a new wave of heat into your body as he dragged his tongue across your pussy. In one thorough swipe, he went up from your entrance. You couldn’t help sighing as you felt the tingles strengthening again.

He seemed to be savouring every lick, moving slowly for maximum coverage of your labia. You believed that he hadn’t yet gotten his fill of your cunt. The way that he truly dedicated himself to your pleasure never failed to inspire awe in you, it was beyond anything you had known with past partners.

Your heart was swelling as you felt yourself floating away from reality. His tongue glided across so much of your cunt and you noticed that he was concluding every motion with his eyes on your face. His deep eyes did more than just look at you, he was beholding you. You considered that this wasn’t just about the teddy.

He pushed his tongue up with some more pressure, enabling him to get between your labia. The sensitivities didn’t need any time to be built, your heart quickly moved towards your throat in your excited reaction.

You felt how weak you already were, and knew he could increase this. You laid your head back on the mattress, letting him continue his careful and concentrated task.

He quit his swiping up-and-down, now keeping his mouth at your entrance, lapping at the wettest part of you. He slightly dipped inside, swirling his tongue for an exciting moment.

He withdrew to trace his tongue along the curves of your labia minora. He expressed his delight over your taste with a happy hum, which vibrated against your skin.

It made you think of someone enjoying a delicious meal and you smiled as you mimicked him. He made a noise that almost harmonised with yours. It might have felt silly in another context, but you let it serve as a testimony to both of you sharing the same goal. His humming was interrupted by him drawing a deep breath, then noisily licking his lips.

When he resumed, he laid his tongue down upon your clit. You gripped your thighs tighter as you felt the pressure increasing at your clit. You couldn’t help squirming when he started to wiggle his tongue against it, immediately taken with this massage.

“Mm?” His tone pitched up at the end, making it seem like a question.

“Mm-hmm.” You responded keenly.

There was no escaping the sensations, they were hitting you right at your core, bringing out shivers. Your breath got caught in your throat as he manipulated the hood with his mouth.

“Fucking… yes, yes Ethan.” You celebrated, feeling everything coming to a new peak.

He opened his mouth, resting his upper lip on your clitoris as he extended his tongue down. He dragged his tongue along your slit a handful of times, making you feel a fluttering in your inner-walls.

He brought the tip of his tongue up to your clitoris again, swiftly rubbing it from side-to-side. It ripped the strength from your body, cutting through the giddy tingles to dominate your experience.

You heard him humming more, appreciating your responses. But you were too excited to match him on it this time.

With an unexpected buck upwards, you came undone for the second time. Gasping for air, you fully surrendered to the release.

You whined, panting heavily as you let your body go limp at once. You didn’t have to ask him to take a break, maybe he sensed that you couldn’t take anymore right now. He withdrew from your cunt, going silent as you tried to pull yourself back together, not moving yet.

You were next aware of him moving into the space beside you. Your eyes fluttered open to see him lying down, facing you. He draped an arm across your tummy and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek.

“So, does this shop have a reliable website?” He asked. “Or do I have to go in to buy you a bazillion gift cards?”

»»————-　♡　————-««  

🍑taglist: @bethanysnow - @gr8rainbowpunk - @idyllicbutterfly - @maneskindiva - @maneslut - @saschenkaaa - @slavicgoddess13 - @elvirabelle - @maneskintifoso - @thegeminisgirl - @ha-la-ansia - @butkutee - @ursulalurks - @itsmaneskinbitch - @icarodamiano  - @crwnnjules - @paralianeyes - @fand0mskullfa1ry - @chocolatepizzatyrant - @lizzylynch1 - @kammerstx - @myleftsock - @tellmesomething01 - @adoredamianos - @vittoriaisfuckingpathetic - @gay-for-victoria-de-angelis - @shinshans - @lonnybunnys - @lyricalliz [join here!]

[sinukiyo]

Girl you gotta show us a Pinterest inspired aesthetic board of what the characters were wearing at the party. (If you have it)

Okay, this took a while to answer because I did not in fact have a Pinterest inspired aesthetic board of what the characters were wearing at the masquerade.

But when I saw this, I thought, “I should make aesthetic boards of what the characters were wearing at the party.”

And so here we are!

1. Mikasa

When describing her dress in this week’s chapter, I didn’t describe it as clinging to her body which means it was a flowing dress. It did have a slit too. Mikasa also had matching gloves and a mask. Sasha did her makeup!

2. Eren

Eren didn’t attend the masquerade to have fun or anything. He wanted to sneak into Rod’s home. He didn’t have time to think of what color would look nice and what wouldn’t.

So he settled for all black like the emo kid he is.

This board features that annoying glass of non-alcoholic wine Armin gave him.

3. Armin

Armin was going for a more classy, casual look so he went for a white shirt and black pants. He also brought along a jacket incase he (or anyone else) got cold and accessorized with rings so he wouldn’t look too plain.

At the masquerade, he ate a concerning amount of chocolate-hazelnut cookies

4. Sasha

Sasha attended the masquerade to eat good food but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to slay while doing it.

5. Connie

For some reason, green just seems like Connie’s color to me. He didn’t want to go for a regular mask so his only covered one side of his face. He also added some really cool rings to Sasha and Mikasa’s cart when they ordered their gloves.

6. Jean

Jean, I imagine already had his outfit lying around. He just slipped it on and managed to look cool in it. The highlight of the masquerade was definitely his dance with Mikasa so that was included in this board.

7. Historia

You may see Historia’s dress and ask me, “how the hell did she fight Eren in that?!”

And the answer to your question is, “she’s simply a badass princess.”

8. Erwin

Erwin had the audacity to attend the masquerade looking as hot as an angel on earth and ask Hange why everyone was staring at him.

The last two characters weren’t present in this week’s chapters but there was no way I was going to make mood boards for others and not them✋🏽

9. Hange

Hange wore a regular face mask unlike everyone else and still managed to look like the coolest person in the room. They also spent a lot of time at the open bar in an area separated from the ballroom chatting with Levi.

10. Levi

There was no tea at the masquerade but somehow, Levi found a cup. He didn’t really want to be there but Erwin managed to convince him to go and Hange bought a mask for him.

And that’s it for now! This was fun to do actually so thank you @mslizsteele-stories for this ask. If there are any other characters you would like to see, let me know using the ask button!

For those who may need context, Read “A Thousand and One Lifetimes” today✨

Thank you!❤️

[mikashisus]

EMPIRE OF BLOOD

02. when does a ripple become a tidal wave

TAGLIST ! @https-sourlimes @ughscara @yourfavoritefreakyhan @wystiix @kvriealis @cherieiu @pixelcafe-network

NOTES: the first portion of this chapter has been sitting in my drafts for maybe 2-3 months now, i just didn't know how to continue it until now, and i'm more than pleased with the result! fun fact: i actually had to look up how to load and fire a musket for this chapter and it was actually really cool!! huge ty to @mitsvriii for proofreading this for me! <3

WC: 4.3k (we love to see consistency)

masterlist | prev. | next

The sun was partially covered by the clouds when you stepped outside of the House in the early afternoon. Distant rumbles of thunder echoed, and you lazily raised a hand to check for raindrops. 

It was too doom and gloom lately for your liking. Even though you loved watching the rain pitter patter on the streets of Fontaine from your bedroom window, it was hard weather to work in. 

Rain made missions harder for you. You couldn’t see your target, you couldn’t move as fast because your soaking wet clothes hindered your movement, and running in heels on slippery streets called for a death sentence. 

It was pleasant to look at and bask in, but not to work in. 

Your thoughts paused on one such topic: work. Without a moment’s delay, you secured your thigh holsters one last time and set off for the city’s forgery. 

Thunder continued to rumble, but there were no signs of lightning. You nodded approvingly at this fact, and your eyes went back to darting between the faces of the people passing by you on the street. You knew each of their faces, studied their names and appearances from the papers that Father gave you to read. 

Absentmindedly, you tapped your thigh as you hummed softly under your breath. Today was supposed to be your day off; Well, before one of your ‘siblings’ woke up with a fever and their mission was handed off to you. 

You usually didn’t take on information gathering missions. Everyone in the House was well aware of your previous failed attempts to do so from a young age. The only thing you were good at was carrying out the less than ideal dirty work– one of the so-called “darker” jobs in the House: assassinations. 

None of the other children favored your job; especially not Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet. 

Truthfully, you were one of the only children in the House who took on assassination missions. You were quick and thorough, never missing your targets. You could easily turn off your emotions and focus entirely on your tasks. Due to this, Father had no doubt in her mind that you could finish the job. All heavy duty work in that regard was passed to you without a second thought. 

If it crossed someone else’s desk, they immediately passed it to you. And sure enough, you would return at an alarmingly fast pace, claiming the work had been completed. 

It felt nice… having people trust you like that. It felt nice— feeling like you had power and strength. A small smile twitched at your lips. It was gone as soon as it appeared as you approached the forgery. 

The man you were supposed to meet was here already, chatting idly with the owner of the shop. They were having a lovely conversation about this year’s Weinlesefest in Mondstadt, which piqued your interest. 

You haven’t heard the mention of Weinlesefest in some time. 

“Oh, really? I had no idea Mondstadt had that kind of festival!” Came the man’s words. “Sounds interesting, though! Being able to brew wine with family and gathering together as a community to share drinks. Sounds like something I’d like!” 

“Weinlesefest, over the course of Mondstadt’s history, became a holiday to welcome the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, home during the harvest season.” You said calmly, walking up to them without a sound. 

The woman screeched in surprise, practically jumping out of her skin at the sudden appearance of another person. She placed a hand over her heart upon seeing you, and let out a heavy sigh of relief. 

You continued, “The people of Mondstadt brew wine and offer it up to Lord Barbatos. If he is satisfied with the wine, he guides a gentle breeze to bless the people. This is usually the time of year that Mondstadters living in other nations miss their homeland the most, because it is a holiday spent entirely with family and friends.” 

“Why hello, (Name)!” 

A pout settled on your lips as your superior, Childe, ruffled your hair with a bright smile on his face. A chuckle rumbled out from his chest as he greeted you softly just like he did every other time you saw him. You suspected it was because you reminded him of his younger sister. 

Although there was not much you knew about the Eleventh Harbinger, you did know that he had siblings and he was a very family oriented man. You wondered if that was the reason why Father respected him…to some degree, at least. 

“I see you haven’t changed when it comes to sneaking up on others! Your stealth is impeccable!” He complimented, removing his hand from your head. 

You raised a brow in surprise. “Hm? But I didn’t—” 

He abruptly changed the subject. It was a repetitive trait of his that irritated you. “Now back to that Mondstadt festival. How do you say it again? Vine…something?” 

Your eye twitched at his poor attempt to say the name. With a smug smirk on your lips, the word fell from your mouth effortlessly, as if you could fluently speak the language of Mondstadt, which was a fact that only you and Father were privy to. 

“Weinlesefest.” 

Childe’s brows furrowed. “How come you can say it so easily?” 

No one knew your origins, except for Arlecchino and Signora, but the latter was dead…and all of the secrets you shared with her were ones she had taken to the grave. As far as anyone else knew, you were a child of Fontaine. But you and Father knew the truth. 

“Father took me to Mondstadt a few times. After the first visit, I said I would like to learn the language of the nation, and she set up a tutor for me immediately upon our return to Fontaine.” 

Your lie, as ever, was flawless enough to convince him. He hummed in understanding, stroking his chin. “I see. I guess that makes sense.” 

With Childe, you had to amp up your deception. One slip up in your body language, a stutter in your words, or the wrong tone of voice, and he would instantly see right through whatever fabrication you tried to ensnare him in. It was like that with all of the Harbingers, but more so with your own Father. You had a lot of experience in deceiving her.

“But why Mondstadtian of all languages?” he questioned, “you don’t take me as that type of person. I think you’d enjoy learning Liyuen instead. Or maybe Inazuman—”

“Sir, we’re getting off topic…” You attempted to bring the conversation back to the topic of work. That’s what you were here for, after all. 

He laughed sheepishly. “Right! Man, you’re still a stick in the mud, huh? It’s always ‘work’ with you, nothing more and nothing less,” he sighed, “anyways. I was supposed to meet one of your siblings here, but it seems they’re not—” 

“I was sent in their stead,” you stated, “they got sick unexpectedly, so I took on their task for them.” 

“I see. Well, do you have the documents, then?” 

You nodded curtly. No matter what job was handed to you, you always took it seriously. Childe’s words were correct: you were always talking about work. Rarely did you ever discuss anything else with him. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust him, but simply because you had nothing else to talk about. You weren’t much of a talker, and you never have been. 

The first time you met Childe, it took him four hours before he was able to get you to say anything back to him, and even then, it was only because he brought up your position in the House. 

“I have them all right here.” You lifted your skirt a little to undo the clasp on your thigh holster, and pulled out a set of folded up documents that were given to you by Father. “I triple checked I had the right count before I left. All twenty-three pages are there in order, and the list of names on the last page has been rearranged in alphabetical order for your perusal.” 

His eye twitched. You’ve known him for how many years now and you still acted formally around him. It was tiring. He understood that you took your work incredibly seriously and you were acting professional, but you didn’t have to act that way around him. Around him, you could relax. But if you never did that before, he knew you weren’t going to start now. 

He let out a heavy sigh. “Great, thanks. Can’t wait to look over these later.” He absolutely despised paperwork. He’d rather be sparring with some of Fontaine’s champion duelists right now instead of participating in the business aspect of his job. 

A small snort left your lips. It was so quiet he thought he had imagined it, before he looked up to see you covering your mouth with your hand. He stood there, stunned for a moment, before his lips curled up into that smug smirk you were way too familiar with. 

“Did you just laugh?” 

This was the first time he made you laugh, and you knew he was going to hold it over your head like a vice now. 

You attempted to regain your composure, clearing your throat, but your uneven voice betrayed you. “N-No…I- I coughed.” 

“No, I’m pretty sure I heard a laugh,” he teased. “I finally made you laugh!” 

You took a deep breath and exhaled. Within seconds, the amused expression on your face was replaced with a stoic one. “Whatever you think you heard, you didn’t.” 

The way you could effortlessly turn off your emotions whenever you wanted was an ability he greatly admired. Even to this day, he still had trouble concealing his own emotions from others. He wished it was as easy as you made it look— as if it was second nature to you. 

Maybe it had been…but he was satisfied that at least for a moment, he was able to grant you a brief respite and drop the mask he knew you always wore.

Rosalyne liked to visit when she could. 

As it turned out, she became the only person you could trust in this awful place. When she had to leave you two months ago after your first meeting, you begged her to stay for just a little while longer. 

Surprised by your sudden outburst, she did all she could to calm you down, and she told you that she could not stay… She had to return to Snezhnaya because her work in Fontaine was finished, and the Queen was expecting her return in no more than three days’ time. No matter how many tears you shed, it didn’t make her stay. 

As soon as she left, you were left alone in Arlecchino’s care again, and the real training began. 

First, you were tested on all of your physical aspects: running, climbing, jumping, lifting, running while carrying weights on your back, and stealth. 

Arlechino watched over every single bit of your testing, a clipboard resting in her perfectly manicured hands. Her eyes were akin to that of a hawk as she picked out every flaw and talent. She glanced down at her clipboard as soon as you collapsed from the three mile run she had you take with weights on your back. 

A sigh left her lips. 

Jumping

Climbing

Lifting (weights)

Stealth

Running

Running (with weights) 

Marksmanship

Out of irritation, scribbled another line over ‘running with weights.’ 

She gazed over at your heaving, exhausted form. You were laid sprawled out on the grass, your chest rising and falling in step with your racing heartbeat. You could feel your head throb and your ears ring from the exertion. Your legs felt like jelly and sweat dripped from every pore. The loose clothing you wore stuck to your body, and the scent of musk and freshly cut grass entered your nostrils. 

You stared up at the sky, your mind blank as you watched it contort from brilliant blues to a soft pink and deep orange. Had you spent all afternoon out here? 

Your lungs were burning, and your mouth was dry. As soon as you got your hands on a bottle of water, you knew you were going to chug the whole thing down in three seconds flat. When you returned to the House, you were going to take a nice cold shower and wipe all the grime and sweat off your body. 

Arlecchino let out another stressed sigh. She definitely had her hands full with you. In an overly annoyed voice that she knew you could hear above the ringing in your ears, she shouted, 

“What did I tell you before? Laying down will only hinder your breathing more. Stand up and place your hands on your head to allow your lungs to open up.” 

As she jotted down some notes on her clipboard, she heard you whine and groan in protest. However, you obeyed her without tossing a backhanded comment. She was getting somewhere with you, even if she still couldn’t figure out what it was you were good at. 

Her eyes skimmed over the list again, stopping momentarily on the last bullet-point. She peered up at you again, studying your small build. She hummed thoughtfully before grabbing your attention with a firm “come with me.” 

Back at the House, she allowed you to shower first before leading you down a hallway you only passed by once when you first arrived. At the end of the hallway next to the supply closet was a room with an old wooden door that looked as if it was on its last leg. It let out an obnoxious screech as it creaked open, causing you to cringe. 

She walked inside and you followed behind her as you finished drying your hair with the towel in your hands. It was a decently sized, rectangular room with padding on the walls and lanterns hanging from chains on the ceiling. A row of guns and rifles sat to your left, all of them freshly polished and hidden inside a display case with a lock on it. On the shelf above the case were bullets and all the necessary cleaning supplies for a gun, as well as a jar of earplugs. 

On the far side of the room, just across from where you were standing in the doorway, were targets. All of them were beaten and battered from years of use. To your right were three chairs, all supposedly there for spectators. 

A glass wall separated you from the actual shooting area, with a lone glass door leading into it. One of your older siblings, Amélia, greeted you both from the other side of the glass. She opened the door and smiled warmly. 

“Good evening Father, (Name).” 

Arlecchino nodded curtly. “Amélia, perfect timing. Would you care to teach (Name) the basics of gun use?” 

Amélia was one of the only children in the House who was adept with guns. Her vast knowledge stemmed from the years she spent as the daughter of a champion duelist, before that very same duelist was bested in battle. 

She nodded, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. You watched as she took apart the gun she was previously using and gently set it back in the display case. She reached for another, larger gun and turned around to face you. It was sleek, wood polished over with a clear shine and silver that gleamed under the dim lighting of the room. 

“This is a musket,” she held it up for you to see, “usually, they’re only used in war nowadays. They’re not as popular as they used to be, but the Gardes tend to use them on occasion. We’ll start with this.” 

She handed you a pair of earplugs and guided you into the training area. She positioned you in front of one of the targets and handed you the musket. It felt heavy in your hands, and you struggled to keep a hold on it. 

She helped you, placing a hand on one of yours. “Yep, just like that! Now, you’re gonna take this,” she handed you a paper cartridge, “and you’re gonna tear that end part off.” 

You did as she told you and tore the piece off with your teeth, spitting it out elsewhere. She laughed softly. “You’re a natural already! Now, pour a bit of the powder into this pan…and wipe off the excess. Yep! Now, close the frizzen.” 

She helped you hold up the musket and pointed to the muzzle. “Now take the rest of the powder and pour it down the muzzle. Carefully seat the ball, and ram it with this–” she pulled out the ramrod, “yep– and then put it back. Alrighty! Now, stand here, hold it up so you’re eye-level, and fire!” 

She took her hand off yours and stepped back to allow you some space. You held the butt of the musket to your shoulder and pressed your cheek against it. You weren’t sure what it was exactly…if it was some sort of otherworldly power surging through your veins or if it was adrenaline that accompanied your fast beating heart, but the moment you readied the gun, your world shifted on its axis. It was as if there was something locked away deep inside you that was coming to the forefront, like it was breaking free from whatever cage that was holding it back all this time. 

The rest of the world around you faded away into nothing, leaving you and target alone in a dark plane of existence that was only visible to your sharpened eyesight. Only the target mattered, nothing else. Not the fear of failure swirling around in the back of your mind or the water that slid down your forehead from your wet hair. It slowly, agonizingly, trickled down the bridge of your nose and you rested your finger on the trigger. 

Time seemed to move slowly in those few seconds. It felt as if an entire eternity had passed before you finally pulled the trigger. You barely felt the recoil of the gun as the bullet darted out, but that was the least of your concerns. 

Precision was a lesson Arlecchino taught all of the children in the House, and yet in this moment, when it was a given that the bullseye would be missed, a deep-rooted instinct tucked away inside your heart was screaming at you that it would undoubtedly hit the mark. 

BANG! 

A perfect shot, right in the center. 

It was silent for a few moments as your concentration faded away. You stared, dumbfounded, at the target, before you glanced down at the musket in your hands. 

An eerie clapping drew you out of your stupor, and you turned around to face Arlecchino. She wore a satisfied smile. There was a smugness around her, as if she had also known that you would hit the bullseye. 

Amélia took the musket from you, a look of pure amazement in her eyes as she shook your shoulder. You couldn’t hear what she said above the ringing in your ears from the adrenaline rush you were coming down from, but you could only assume it was words of praise, judging by her excited smile. 

Once she was gone, Arlecchino placed a hand on your shoulder. “We’ve found where your skills lie. Now, it’s time to hone it.” 

A few weeks after your discovery in the shooting range, you received a letter in the mail. One of your brothers, Louis, slammed the door as he rushed inside, carrying the entire House’s mail in his arms. He dropped it onto the coffee table in the common space and plopped onto the ground in front of the lit hearth. 

You sent him a glare. “Some of us are trying to read.” 

He ignored your cold stare and rifled through the mail, separating everything into piles depending on whose name was on the address. Father’s, naturally, had the biggest pile. It was hardly a surprise, as most of her mail was sent directly from Snezhnaya to the House and consisted of hefty amounts of paperwork. 

Louis paused on a strange envelope, his brows raising in utter shock as he called your name. You answered in a mutter, too focused on the crime novel in your hands to worry about what it was that he wanted from you. 

“You have a letter…it’s from a Miss Rosalyne Lohe—” 

You snatched the letter from his hands and abandoned your book on the sofa as you stood up and ripped open the envelope. An elegantly crafted necklace and a letter fell out. You gasped softly at the gorgeous craftsmanship of the necklace. A pristine, golden chain with a cecilia flower carved out of glass and hand-painted dangling from the middle. 

Jewelry of this quality could only be purchased by aristocrats. Never in your life could you ever have the money to purchase something like this— only in your wildest dreams. You didn’t know how long you stood there staring at it in awe with your mouth open, but it must’ve been a few minutes judging by the confused stare on Freminet’s face. 

Freminet was another one of your brothers. He was a few years younger than you, and based on what you learned about him from the loud-mouthed Louis, he had supposedly been here before Arlecchino rose to the position of The Knave. He was a kindhearted boy, if not shy and quiet much like you. You found that although you were content to ignore your other siblings, Freminet was welcome company. 

And just like you, he didn’t excel in most things. When you first asked him what it was that he specialized in, he said, “Nothing, really. I do like diving, though.” 

“Is everything alright?” He questioned. “Amélia says that if you keep your mouth open too long, bugs will fly in.” 

You closed your mouth immediately and turned your attention back to the necklace in your hands. To avoid further disruption, you ran to your room to read the letter Rosalyne had sent you. Sitting down on your bed, you pried the carefully folded parchment open and began to read. 

“(Name), 

The weather in Snezhnaya is tolerable, I suppose, but I would much prefer to be relaxing on a Fontainian beach with a cocktail and a good book in hand while I soak up the Summer sun, instead. 

The Knave has told me you finally found something you excel in. Congratulations! I hope your training is much to be desired. Guns are handy companions if you know how to properly wield them. I never saw the appeal when I can just use my hands, but if a gun is what you desire, then I wish you the best of luck moving forward. 

The Tsaritsa has tasked me with a mission in Mondstadt. Although returning is a burden, I do suppose it’ll be pleasant to take in the scenery once more… Even if the Wind’s influence is practically crawling everywhere. It’s a shame you could not accompany me, but you have your priorities, and I have mine.

I sincerely hope that the next time we meet, you can show me how much you have improved. I will be awaiting results until then. 

As for the next time I step foot in the City of Bards, I hope you are there with me. Until then, take this token I commissioned from the best blacksmith in Mondstadt. I thought it only right to get you a gift. 

Best,

Rosalyne” 

Standing in front of the full length mirror next to your bed, you pushed your hair aside and clasped the necklace around your neck. It sat delicately on your collarbone, and you fiddled with the cecilia flower, feeling all along the crevices and grooves of the finely crafted jewelry. 

An absentminded smile tugged at your lips as you admired it, before a loud yell sounded from the common space. You flinched and let out a sigh. 

Waiting in the common area was Arlecchino, with two children huddled behind her legs. They looked to be about your age, with near matching hair and eyes the color of amethysts. 

You studied them intently, taking in the appearance of the girl first. She had darker, gray hair than what appeared to be her twin brother, and a deeper shade of violet eyes that were a bit sunken in from what looked like exhaustion. She had longer lashes than him, too, and a set of gray cat ears and a swishing tail. Her lips were drawn into a thin line. Her eyes scanned the whole crowd, calculated and piercing. Her shoulders were tense as she kept a firm grip on Arlecchino’s pant leg. 

She reminded you of yourself in a way. 

Meanwhile, her brother had faded blonde hair and striking violet eyes that pierced through your soul when you met his gaze. There were bags under his eyes, just like his sister. He didn’t have any animalistic features, but his pupils were pulled into slits— exactly like a cat’s. There was a certain mischief that laid deeper in his gaze, behind the apparent nervousness that currently shone in them. 

That was enough to tell you that even though he didn’t have the ears and tail to back it up, he had other features that declared how cat-like he was. 

Upon meeting your eyes, his chapped lips pulled up into the slightest of smiles, and his eyes were now shining with a newfound wonder. You returned his smile with one of your own and sent him a small, friendly wave. 

“This is Lyney and Lynette,” Arlecchino announced, placing each of her hands on their heads, “welcome them with open arms.” 

Just like the day you first laid hands on a gun, your whole entire world tilted on its axis, and it was all because of a boy with a cheshire smile.

© 2024 mikashisus. do not plagiarize, copy, repost, feed to ai, or translate my works to any other platforms.

[morroodle]

The Ninjago Battle Box: the best investment of my life

A reveiw

A few days ago I got bored and made a somewhat impulsive decision to buy the ninjago battle box which I've been wanting for a while and it finally arrived today so I'm gonna reveiw it cause I haven't seen like anyone talk about it. It dosent even have its own wiki page even though it is chock full of fun facts and information and pictures

Contents:

A 2 sided map - one side is ninjago city while the other is ninjago as a whole (kinda)

Book of battles

Ninjago world guide

30 cards

Lloyd minifig

Garmadon minifig

The map:

HOLY SHIT THIS IS COOL. As far as I'm aware this might be the most detailed map of ninjago we've ever gotten and no one is even aware of it! What I think is the most interesting and what makes me question how cannon this is is that the main map of ninjago only covers like... 1/4 of the whole ninjago island? Kinda odd how like all the locations are in this tiny chunk when they have a whole island they could cover but hey its still a super cool map and an amazing piece of art!

The book of battles:

Kind of a weird thing and I couldn't find any information on what it was until I got it. Basically each page is a rough (and not 100% accurate) summary of one of the battles of ninjago, a vague but still pretty obvious clue about where the battle took place, a prompt to play and a neat art piece based on the battle. It's not so much a history book as it is a book of play ideas, your meant to use the clue to find where the battle took place on the map and then use the little battle dojo, the minifigures and the cards to play out the battle however you want. Very cute and I love it. One weird thing I found though: in one of the battles it calls the serpentine the serpentai? It's done 3 times so I don't think it's just a typo. Don't know what's going on there but its cool. Here's an example of the best page, they're all formatted the same

It only has a handful of battles, not nearly all of them, but that's to be expected and it's still great

Ninjago world guide:

It's like a little encyclopedia of heros, villains and artifacts. It includes the main ninja, the elemental masters, all the villains (up to season 15 and strangely excluding the overlord), and a bunch of non people important things like the bounty and the realm crystal. Pretty much nothing I don't already know but still neat! It's kinda cool how it's split into 2 sections, one half being heros and good artifacts and the other being villains and bad artifacts. I don't know how to describe it but theyre kinda facing different ways? It's like 2 books in one, both starting on the outsides and meeting/ending in the middle like so.

Here's Morro's page (again most of the pages are formatted the same):

Cutie pie <3

The cards:

I wish I could show off all the cars but sadly tumblr has a limit to how many pictures you can have in one post. Cards include heros, villains and artifacts, similar to the world guide but not quite as many things, just the important ones. Theyre pretty simple, with just the name/title and a drawing of the character/item. Theyre meant to be used to play the battles in the book of battles. Morro's is the absolute best one look at this little cutie pie!

Hes so sweet and adorable he has never done anything wrong in his life and I love him

The minifigures and the box itself:

Nothing really special about the minifigs just a basic Lloyd and Garmadon. Interesting to note that despite wearing his season 8 gi Lloyd has his legacy hood on. Not complaining, I hate the smooth round hoods.

The box that everything came in doubles as the little play area :D its a little dojo setting with some cute nicknacks scattered around. It needs a bit of encouragement to stay flat though. Oh also here's the outside of the box

Conclusion:

The best $25 I've ever spent. I can't believe almost no one knows or talks about this! It's from 2023 and covers up until seabound. I might have to see if I can add this stuff to the ninjago wiki, more people should know about it. If anyone else is interested in getting one (you should be) it's on the scholastic website for $17.99 + shipping, not the actual lego website.

[literaryartisan]

Today’s a rough day for a lot of us, I’d love to know:

-a recent fun fact

-a recipe you’d like to share

-a solid song

-if u know ur my buddy? bc u are

<3 you're my buddy too!!! How about a recipe? I took this from the back of a box of pasta years ago and now it's my go-to for work potlucks or if I just want to meal prep a week's worth of easy lunches. It's very versatile and has a lot of veggies! Alter it to your liking Rainbow Rotini Antipasti Salad

That's what Golden Grain calls it and I call it something like "that tricolor rotini veggie pasta thing", completely forgetting that "antipasti" is a word.

The Ingredients (I almost pasted a picture of my hero Racheal Kundananji in here oops):

12 ounces Golden Grain® Tri-Color Rotini (that's the whole box)

2-1/2 cups small broccoli florets (you can omit if you don't like broccoli. I like broccoli)

1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese (like half of a 16oz block of mozzarella. also I only just now realized pepper jack would probably work really well?? I might try that next time)

3/4 cup sliced pepperoni, halved (I like to use turkey pepperoni. You can also just omit this if you don't want meat in it!)

1/2 cup red or green bell pepper strips (whichever color is on sale is a good one to get. I also like to try to make this at the same time as something else that uses bell peppers like fajitas because 1/2 a cup isn't much unless you got a tiny pepper. alternatively: just put the whole pepper in there) (oh, also I like to make them more like squares than strips? it's easier to dish up and eat because bite size rectangles match the size of everything else better than long strips)

1/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced (see above re: making another dish that uses this ingredient. I can only find GINORMOUS red onions, so the rest went into my fajitas)

3/4 cup bottled Italian dressing (I use Wishbone Zesty Robusto Italian Dressing I think because I forgot it doesn't say "zesty" in the recipe?? there's enough in the bottle for like 2 of these salads with some extra and it keeps well. use whatever italian dressing you want, or experiment with other dressings if you don't like italian)

Bonus ingredients not in the recipe!! 1 can sliced black olives (I love olives and you know only half a can actually made it in)

1-2 cucumbers, peeled and cubed (number depends on size of cucumber. I don't usually do this if it's just for myself, the cucumber doesn't keep as long)

honestly you could probably throw shredded carrots or other croncier veggies in here. maybe some green onions. jicama??? I haven't tried any of those but you can do what you want forever.

The Directions from the Golden Grain website:

1 - Cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last minute of cooking time. Drain, rinse well with cold water; drain again.

2 - In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, tossing together to distribute dressing.

3 - Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cook's Tip: If you're refrigerating the salad until serving, be sure to toss it gently just prior to serving, adding a few splashes of dressing if needed.

My tips!! Fill the pot with water, put it on the stove, and then start chopping veggies while you wait for the water to boil. You'll want to set the broccoli aside to blanche it in the pasta water (this step is worth taking) but otherwise just throw everything into your large bowl.

Don't feel rushed if the pasta is almost ready, you still need to drain it and rinse it and let it cool down!! Adding it to the bowl warm will melt the cheese and maybe even partially cook the other veggie depending how hot the pasta is (ask me how i know!!!) Just make it wait its turn until you have everything else ready. It all comes together in half an hour or less, depending how fast your chopping skills are (mine are slow) and how quickly your pasta water comes to boil.

This makes A LOT. If you're making it just for you be prepared to be eating it almost every day for about a week.

[gren-arlio]

You guys voted Something Random, I love and hate you at the same time.

In that case...Y'all know about JUMP HERO? Welcome to...well, rambles about some random things.

(Da Satan Plant. As of writing this I just hit 51 followers. Wow.)

Hey all, Gren here. I know its been a bit since I've properly posted, and frankly, you're not wrong at all. Life's been busy, and with the rate I'm going at (going to college and whatnot, middle of the school year shenanigans,) there's no way in hell I'll be able to keep the once-a-week posting that I've done. Maybe for summer, but I dunno yet.

Also, life's been hitting me HELLA hard recently, so motivation is also not there. If YKYK.

Which leads to an announcement that I made before: I won't exactly be posting weekly anymore. I'll just... post whenever I feel like it nowadays. Adds a lot less stress for me, and I'll be able to send dumb shit about Puyo and Madou here. Ya know, like a normal blog. You might get 3 posts in a week for all you know.

But enough on that. I'm here to ramble. This won't be a Waku Puyo Extras thing or whatever, literally just things I wanna show and explain some nonsense. There's no formula. Enjoy.

----

I've been working on this stuff since April of last year, and it's been going decently well, people partially know my works. Now, what in the world do I want to show y'all this time around, since I got free will?

Well for one, I'd you've been following my work for a bit, you'd know about the pain that was finding Madou Sugoroku content, that game was so elusive to me that I was convinced it wasn't real for a period of time.

Uh, yeah. It's real. Very, very much real. And man do I love the style of the game. It's so dang pretty. I'll mention gameplay some other time, I'll cover it another time, but today's not that day.

Also. Arle's fit.

It's basically Schezo's clothes but it looks so damn good. No complaints here. Though I do wonder how she got it.

I do want to mention the Pairs though. Arle/Satan is fine, Witch/Draco have been paired since like Saturn, Schezo/Incubus at least have Waku Puyo, Minotauros/Rulue is obligatory, but what the FUCK is going on with the pairing of Sasori Man/Zoh Daimoh? The fact they got two word names?

I do wish that Draco just had a little bit more than what she has currently. I love her, she's a funny person and whatnot, I just wish there was...more, you know?

She's been a character I've been wanting to cover for god knows how long, it's just I've never had enough unique things to talk about with her. Lotta the stuff is things we do know, or Puyo Puyo Tetris [2] sorta just making her beauty obsessed.

Least in Waku Puyo, she has some comedic scenes, canonically being able to make 5 chains and confusing Schezo at least 3 times. And in the manga, she bounces off Rulue and Minotauros decently, her fight was fun to read.

(Don't ask how Rulue learned Shadow Clone Jutsu)

And for a second, let me say that the designs in this manga are top-notch. Witch's redesign is nice, Rulue's looks really good, Draco's design is great, Schezo consistently has the best clothes, and Lagnus... somehow looks even better.

Oh yea, speaking of Draco, let's look at someone who sorta kinda maybe perchance looks like her but is actually from JUMP HERO.

... I'm awful with transitions. We're talking about the series. Sorta.

So, JUMP HERO. Series made by Compile, unknown to a lot of us.

(Nexus image)

Frankly, I want to cover this game sometime. It seems so...interesting. The characters, the gameplay, the story, it all seems so interesting to me.

People like Billie Be Babine, Margarita Linda, (the black and red folks in the front), Sugar & Oligo, they all seem so damn cool. Oh, and that Penguin is some fella named Ivan. He has a reeeeeally long last name.

Oh and that robot guy is like 2 years old canonically. Needed to mention that.

This is Sugar and Oligo btw. They seem fun to talk about sometime.

(Nexus image)

The game feels so heavily unexplored. I want to see it sometime. When? Whole other story.

But with that, I think this'll end my small ramble about nothing. Thanks for reading.

Adios.

[vinetae]

A Whole New World - (M) Like A Man (Drabble)

Drabble for: Like A Man

Word Count: 1.2K

Summary: You'd gotten to choose the activity for today. You loved this idea. Your lover.. Not so much.

Warnings: Ass play, strap-on, anal fingering, fluffy smut, smut, foul language, Jimin hating taking it up the ass (we all know this fucker secretly loves it), crack smut

A/n: People have been asking for more of Like A Man but it's not a series so I decided to just put out some drabbles for it instead. You can request some for these two, or send in requests for some of my other completed series.

This was actually my first time of trying 1v1 anal play (since I'm not a huge fan of it myself, just not my cup of tea as much but I still love it lmao) so yeah. Hope you enjoy it, and stay safe <3

______________________________________________________________

“Alright alright,” He teases, rolling over to pop a piece of chocolate into his mouth before continuing. “What are the five narcotics again?” You laugh out, rolling your eyes. 

“Easy. Use the acronym OHM.” He chuckles, shaking his head. 

“If you’re so sure, missy.” 

You sit up, correcting your posture to make sure you remember it correctly. At first you two had just been cuddling under the covers, listening to the patterns of each other’s heart beats while enjoying the warmth that surrounded the both of you. Soon, reality had kicked in and your annoying -whatever you two he was- had reminded you of the exam for his class. After a few begs and pleads and some very -might I add, explicit- and detailed trade offs for not having to take the exam, you’d finally given up. Now here you two were. Him, laying down on his stomach with cards held loosely in his grip. His clothes are long gone, somewhere on the floor next to your bed, along with yours. You sat up, preparing to ace this little practice round. 

“Oxy, Heroin, and Meth.” You smile, as he nods at your progress. “Nice work.” He comments, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth before flipping the index over to read another problem. 

“You ready?” You give a confident nod before he starts reading. 

“Kinds of schizophrenia. Go.” You hum for a few seconds, trying to remember everything you’ve learned in his class these past few years. Your brain searches through hundreds of facts until you finally can remember a few important ones. 

“Disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, the weird one.. Uhh- undifferentiateeed..” You drag out the last part, seeing the last missing finger on his counted hand. 

“Come on, last one baby. You’ve got this.” You sigh, squeezing your eyes tightly in hopes that it would somehow jog your memory. He cuts in, giving you some slack. 

“It’s the one with no delusions or hallucinations but still has..” He waits for your answer, taking another bite of the popcorn you’d prepared. 

Your fingertips rub at your temples, before finally uncovering the answer. “Residual!” He leans up, reaching out to give you a high-five. You flash a bright smile, returning the gesture. 

“Great job, babes. Looks like you’re ready for my test.” He sends you a cheeky wink before rolling off the bed to disappear. You’re still in celebratory mode when he returns with a small black box of things. 

“What’s that?” He smiles, placing the box in front of you on the bed. “I told you that I would let you choose what we do next if you pass the study guide.” You nod, excitement filling your whole body. 

He scoots on the bed, motioning down towards the box. 

“We can either watch a movie, go out and do something, or..” He removes the lid to reveal a whole collection of luxury toys. Your eyes widen at the sight. Vibrators, ropes, blindfolds, fishnets, handcuffs, galore. He smiles at the large grin on your face. 

“Mmm, I see you’d prefer the latter.” You quickly nod, taking the box into your grip to rummage through all of the new toys. All of these looked really cool and fun until you’re hand brushed against one of the items. It’s cold to touch as you remove it from the box. A smirk plasters your face at the sight. 

His widened for a different reason.

“Oh no..”

_-_

You’re feeling quite high and mighty as of now.

“Why did I ever buy that fucking strap..” He groans, feeling your fingertips brush along the round of his ass. A smirk wider than the earth plasters your shit-eating face. 

“Oh, this is amazing.” You coo out, reaching forwards to card your hand through his long, jet-black tousels before gripping tightly, tugging on the strands. He groans, mouth dropping to form an O-shape. 

“Is this how I fuck you?” He questions as your finger trails along the little venus dips on his lower back. 

“Nope.” You lean forward to whisper in his ear, using your huskiest and most manly deep voice you can muster. “This is how I’m gonna fuck you.” 

He chuckles before you push on the center of his back to make his ass rise in the air. Here you have your 6 years older boyfriend on his hands and fucking knees for you. 

Ah, life was perfect.

You tease, giving his ass a light smack before continuing. “You ready baby boy?” He groans at the name, but not in a ‘oh fuck yeah I love that’ kind of way. 

More in a ‘why the fuck did I let her do this’ kind of way. 

“If you didn’t wanna get pegged then why’d you buy the strap?” You question, slapping the false dick against the rim of his ass. 

“It came in the fucking pack, alright? I didn’t even see that I ordered it.” He gripes, knuckles digging into his gray sheets to prepare for impact. That makes a laugh exile your chest. 

“Oh suuuure, babe. You’re just dying for me to fill your little ass.” 

“It’s not little, brat.” You grab the leather flog before giving his juicy, round ass a tight slap. 

“Silence before the king!” His eyes roll at your tone. He cranes his head back, watching as you wave the stick flog like a staff royalty would use. You’d been wearing his tie around your neck, just to loosen it like he’d done plenty of times before you two had gotten down to it. 

“Thou shalt get ass filled, and thou shall enjoy it!” He shakes his head in disappointment, but also from laughter. 

“Oh great, I’m about to get butt-fucked by a british gentleman from the 1800s.” His tone makes you giggle, using the palm of your hand to tap his bum once more for good measure. 

“You’ll love it. I’m an excellent fucker of the butts.” You smile, lining the dildo’s tip to the entrance of his ass. 

“No, I’m almost certain I won’t.” 

You apply a bit more lube to the tip before slightly pushing in. You pause, waiting and watching for his reaction. You continue, watching as he keeps clearing his throat. That makes you laugh. 

“You can moan, you know. I know it feels good.” He scoffs, shaking his head. 

“No, I’m not enjoying this.” You pout, a frown paints your expressions at his hard tone. 

“Baaaabee, you’re making it go down.” He chuckles at your whining. 

“There’s nothing to go down! It's a silicone babe!” You smile before thrusting in a bit more. That in turn, makes a loud, high-pitched moan slip from his lips. 

“You were saying?” You peak over his shoulder, seeing the entirety of his face flush red. 

“Hehe, I win. Admit it, babe. You love me butt-fucking you.” He sighs, shaking his head. 

“Fine, I like you butt-fucking me. Happy?” 

“Love. You love me butt-fucking you.” He groans, eyes rolled to the back of his head. 

“I’m getting you back for this.” 

You shrug, picking up the pace in your thrusts. It had taken a little while but with a little help and a lot of lube-you had been able to properly make your boyfriend moan quite a bit from pegging. 

Towards the end, he actually looked like he was enjoying it finally. 

You quicken the pace of your thrusts before belting out;

"A WHOLE NEW WOOOOORRRLDDD"

"Shut up!"

You both are set into a fit of giggles not long after.

[inkofamethyst]

September 6, 2023

Actual goals for this school year:

Stay within my monthly budgets (I'll give september a pass if needed)

Take a programming course (in R or Python probably)

Go to fitness classes both to stay fit and to meet people

Maintain connections with interesting people (pretend to be the fearless extrovert)

Try at least one new recipe each month (again, september gets a pass)

Decorate my room

Go to symposia and talks in various departments; bask in the intellectual community

Read for fun or listen to audiobooks on occasion

No studying while eating (exceptions include: exam in 48 hours or less, expected reading due in 24 hours or less)

These are more like "additional" goals, I guess, since I would indeed like to become hotter, weirder, richer, more terrifying, and more unpredictable. I know I should become richer and I'm always on the trajectory to become weirder, but I may have to put work into the other three.

A wise man on tiktok once said "not every day can be a slay" and you know what? He was right. Sometimes it's totally worth having a chill day where you just don't put massive amounts of thought into your life. Yes, romanticizing the little moments feels good. But if it requires more mental energy than I can reasonably give that day, then it's not worth it. Same goes for outfits and meals and all sorts, really. It's actually something I've been putting into practice long before I'd heard it put into those words. Granted, a day of "non-slay" might look different for everyone. But it doesn't mean that I'm a failure for deciding to wear leggings or sweatpants on a day when I really just can't be arsed.

When I was talking to that random dude the day before school started, I told him that this school year felt different. He asked why and I had to say that I couldn't really put my finger on it. That was a lie. I just didn't want to make our lighthearted conversation into a therapy session. In fact, I could place not just a finger, but all of my fingers and some of my toes on it. 1. far away from home for an extended period 2. the whole thing with ~~~elite~~~ education (not imposter syndrome, more like the internal and personal discomfort of contributing to a system of hierarchies (the same way that race is a human construct that isn't really real but the effects of racism are real? academic elitism is socially constructed but has real effects (and you know ultimately this may not matter because the academic job market sucks and I may not be offered find a position (that I like bc why not be picky) in the first place lol))) 3. feeling very young 4. feeling ungrounded because, unlike the rest of my cohort, I came up here a week before school started and moved in merely days prior, so I wasn't nearly as grounded in my space as I would liked to have been. There's probably some other things that I just can't conjure up right now.

Full disclosure, most of the above comes from before school started. I'm not swamped with work, not exactly, but I certainly haven't had much time to devote to journaling (tbh this is exactly the time that I should be journaling). I don't really know where all of my hours are going (and maybe it's just the school adjustment period, it is only the second day, after all). I'll do a full recap sometime later. Ultimately: I'm doing okay.

Today I'm thankful that I'm doing okay.

Last thing: considering auditioning for/joining a choir. It's mostly undergrads, though they take grad students. It seems like a dope program. But there's a musical theatre one (also mostly undergrads lol) that also seems cool. It's been a long while since I've done MT. I do miss it, I think. But doing MT covers doesn't make me feel nearly as powerful as singing as part of a symphony :/ I could always go for the real choir some other year if I really wanted. I'll be here for six or so. I've got time.

I mean I've always wanted to do a musical theatre duet.

This could also just be pre-audition nerves ha.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 28/03/2024

Logan Paul's Shop

Season 6 Featured on: 7 GRAND MAVERICK

Ripped by Retro Gaming

There's a pretty big day coming up ahead that I'm sure a lot of SiIvaheads are looking forward to - April Fools, or in other words the day where SiIvaGunner channel annually goes fucking bonkers for a bit. I've had a few ideas on what I myself should do on the blog to commemorate the day, and in that rumination for ideas I found myself going through the eight different April Fools events that the channel has done throughout the years. There are some that I've already covered on here - notably, the excellent but subdued bit played in Season 1 with Grand Dad Metropolis - and some you'll likely be seeing more of later, but one particular event stuck out to me as one I haven't really given too much thought since when it first aired. April Fools of Season 6, the Logan Paul takeover.

I don't think I've made it a secret on here that I think Jake Paul rips are some of the funniest on the entire SiIvaGunner channel. It's Everyday Bro just has such a miraculous blend of being at once inherently funny due to its associations and vocals, incredibly distinct in sound largely due to its beat, and incredibly effective due to just how PROMINENT Jake Paul is as a figure online. I mean really, It's Everyday Lake and Crompton Racing speak for themselves! But in the midst of all that fun, it sort of became my only perception of both Paul brothers in a way? The fact that they were actual people, and not just figureheads to be poked fun at through rips and other shitposts - such as Logan's infamous vacation to Japan - sort of gradually slipped my mind - and I'd completely forgotten that Logan Paul was like...still doing stuff? That made his sudden appearance on the channel on April Fools during Season 6 feel like one hell of a trip at first, but it was one that I quickly caught up on and was immediately on board with.

Because like yeah - at first when I think of this event, I think of all the rips featuring The Fall of Jake Paul, a song made by Logan specifically to mock It's Everyday Bro and Jake Paul in general. It's more of a diss track than it is an actual song, and it felt like the perfect anthem for the event as a whole. A "years later" response to the original Jake Paul takeover of Season 3; with Season 6 already being all about change and moving on, it was the perfect storm, the perfect call-and-response payoff. Those rips are what I remember most from the event, and also feel like they fit my perception of Logan Paul in general pretty perfectly, if that makes sense. The overly aggressive, energy-filled, hype beast-like behavior he has in The Fall of Jake Paul is just perfectly in line with everything I've seen of Logan Paul (and, honestly, is likely quite accurate to the kind of person he's been for most of his stardom). Those rips alone made the event special - but the reason I picked Logan Paul's Shop in particular is because it surprised me in the absolute opposite way. I'll admit it - I never knew that Logan Paul had bangers.

Be honest - if you'd just listened to the above linked rip whilst somehow not registering the title let alone gotten to this point in the text, would you be able to tell me that this is the same guy who made The Fall of Jake Paul? Sure, there are traces of Logan's trademark juvenility in it, 2020 is pretty explicitly a song about current-day topics with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and all that happened during it, there's clearly comedic intent throughout - but the overall vibe of Logan's performance feels far more lighthearted and chill on the whole, a far cry from the performative pretend-coolness or self-aggrandizing attitude of the songs that the Paul brothers are most well known for. That's not to say that 2020 is a masterpiece, but it genuinely caught me off guard when a rip first used it - and, if handled well, I feel like it could slot in perfectly with other hip-hop focused rips like Top of the Looping Steps or, perhaps more comparatively, Sidelined Symphony.

And indeed, as if it wasn't already heavily inferred: I think Retro Gaming went absolutely above and beyond in making Logan Paul's Shop. I'm actively trying to not feature more Undertale/Deltarune music on here than I have to, but its hard to avoid when so many rippers on the team are so proficient in getting the game to sound so damn good. This is at once a mashup between Undertale's Shop music with the aforementioned Logan Paul song, and a melodyswap - with the Shop music edited at several points to have its melody follow Logan's vocals. It's as if the rip ebbs in and out of being a melodyswap at the perfect times - for instance, the beginning of 2020's chorus is entirely vocals with no beat, and this effect is replicated by having Shop's lead instruments play perfect parity to the melody.

There's several little touches and quirks added to the rip throughout on top of it all - a nod to Omori song 100 Sunny (a whole year before it would become a prominent meme on TimmyTurnersGrandDad?), the instruments of the Wii Shop Channel playing when the lyrics mention "Credit Card Dept", an entire segment suddenly using the instruments to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's shop theme - none of these things detract from the core vibe of the rip, carried by 2020's vocals, melody and beat, yet they keep the experience incredibly varied and at points funny in a "mild chuckle" sort of way. Finding new ways to keep the joke of the rip novel is one of my favorite things to see in rips, I recall You Are Book Smart standing out to me earlier this year for specifically that reason - and this is already on top of Logan Paul's Shop being inherently novel in concept alone!

Because really: I don't think anyone was going into the Logan Paul takeover expecting to find bangers not born out of irony. That is not to say that the rips using The Fall of Jake Paul *aren't* bangers (again; these were the rips I was considering on featuring today to begin with!), but that they're bangers in a very different sort of way. I love rips like GREAT DABS - Jake Paul's Bizarre Adventure: Christmas is Lit because they're able to take obnoxious music and remix it in a way that makes them work - the rippers' is, through their sheer skill, take otherwise rather cringeworthy music and make it work beautifully in their arrangement. Logan Paul's Shop surprised me because it goes completely against that formula, the formula I'd thought was set-in-stone for personalities as obnoxious as the Paul brothers, and is a genuinely great rip whilst using genuinely pretty-good music as the primary source. Retro Gaming went above and beyond in a way that he really didn't need to in order for the larger Logan Paul event to work, and I'm really thankful he did - getting to uncover gems like this is a huge part of why I love running this blog to begin with.

[fainthedcherry]

PARAMORE RELEASED THEIR A24 TRIBUTE COVER TODAY. AND I GOT INSPIRED BY THE LYRICS AND THE VISUALIZER.

IMAGE CREDITS BC VERY OBVIOUSLY THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PIC COLLAGE PIECE PRIMARILY BELOW DESC (I DID NOT TAKE THE COOL PICS OBV.)

OK GIANT CREDIT BLOCK GO (Freepik and pexels my beloved saved my entire college year lmao):

1 OCEAN WAVES

2 OCEAN WAVES AGAIN

3 YES A THIRD OCEAN WAVE

4 VERY COOL DROPLETS

5 FLAME. OO FIRE PRETTYYY /POS

6 BG I CHEATED YOU INTO BELIEVING IS RAIN

The drawing though is made by my acoustic arse /lh

THE LYRICS ARE TAKEN FROM THE VID I LINKED. HAYLEY'S VOICE MY BELOVED AND FOREVER DEAREST ENTIRE BAND /POSPOSPOS. I wanna sing like Hayley so badly, she is such an idol to me, when it comes to vocals and I wish to sing as expressive as her some day 🤧✨💖

--

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY, OTHER THAN I'VE BEEN EXPERIMENTING WITH SHORT DRAWINGS, THAT TAKE UNDER A DAY TO COMPLETE TO FIGURE OUT SOME THINGS I WANNA DO AS AN ARTIST AND POSSIBLY COMMISSIONS. + These drawings genuinely kinda de-stress so it's been free therapy too, oops. I wanna do more of these vector-style drawings, that are just me taking lyrics and creating these fun collages, of things that inspire me or I like. It's a chill practice and lets my creativity actually do the work for once, instead of my usual need to outdo myself in every drawing and improve lmao. Improvement is cool and all, but dear god did I not realise how hard my need for perfection last year stress and strangle me tf out. I seriously need to re-evaluate the way I approach art as this massive, intimidating medium, when most artists literally draw for fun, and for me it's been like...A Sisyphean task.

--

If you enjoyed seeing this, I might make a sequel with C'est Comme Ca and w/ Marco in it instead and a red BG,, if I want to, I might turn these into a series, just like those aesthetic icon drawings I made of my 2 boys, started Lotta, and IMMEDIATELY lost that sketch due to my USB's death back in 2022 and lost all motivation for art due to that massive loss /neg

--

Not sure what else to add here other than my thoughts that I already did!! Other than ofc, the usual, MASSIVE thank you to my friend Hollowed-Hartlocke for introducing me to Paramore back in 2019 <3

Think I'm done rambling now tho!! OH WAIT. I can add, that I had to actually pull out Adobe Illustrator just to add stretched text for aesthetic purposes. Then I got so impatient with the effects panel not showing me the usual layer-effects and me being too lazy to look up, whether InDesign was the one, that had the usual layer effects I use in an Adobe program or not. Btw still mooching off my college acc that shoulda been dead long ago but just isn't??? LMAO I'M STILL GONNA USE IT IF I CAN ALRIGHT.

OH YEAH BTW. This drawing took 3 hours. NO I'M NOT KIDDING. PEOPLE WOULD PROBABLY BE SHOCKED THAT SUCH A LAZY LOOKING PIECE TOOK SO LONG. BUT I GENUINELY AM RATHER SHOOK THAT I TOOK SUCH LITTLE TIME TO CREATE THIS. TBF I threw MOST proportion checks and canvas flips I do out the window, so there's a BIG chance I will hate this, if I flip the canvas xD ANYWAY I RAMBLED LONG ENOUGH I THINK NOW. JUST ENJOY EXPERIMENTAL ART

^Before-bed edit; Yeah his torso's a TAD too much leaning to the left, it's off-center to the rotation of his pelvis to be in fact, but maybe? I'll roll with this mistake. It kinda gives the piece its abstract nature..I kinda like the mistake?? This is the first time in my life I ever tolerated a mistake I did and now declare it on purpose and will probably build one into the next piece as well. Hell, maybe it'll yield an interesting result. Anyway, it's 12PM as I write this, and I have to get up at 4AM for my train soOooo, yeah, gotta sleep ASAP for school.

I have NO clue again what to 100% accurately tag this, so forgive me if the tags are wrong LMAO, I just will believe what I believe it has overlaps w/ within art-genre.

This piece kiiinda gives pop art??? So I'm gonna tag it as such as well, but but might be incorrect. If a pop-art enjoyer wants to correct me, PLEASE DO. I'm going off the definitions of pop-art I learned in high-school. So I could most def be wrong about me adding this tag in particular. How tf do people confidently tag their posts when I doubt almost every tag I add man. Tagging is the worst part of uploading art to me due to how hard it is to label art really, not meant to be in a genre. xD

Def adding Paramore tags tho bc I NEED to know more Paramore fans out there bc we feel like such a tiny community, when they're literally one of the most influential rock bands of the 2000s and 2010s imho AUGH

[spacevixenmusic]

Pour one out for every time my heart skipped a beat while watching Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (1991) and thinking I was finally about to see a DQ4 character but got juked.

See, part of the reason I put this anime on my list oh so many years ago now is because I grew up with the Dragon Warrior games on NES, and 4 in particular was one of my world-reshaping JRPGs (I feel like most everyone has at least one JRPG they played in their childhood or teen years that completely rocked them to their core; this was one of mine). In the early 00s when I learned what Google Image Search was, I got really into looking for fan art of characters I had only seen previously as pixel sprites. And while looking up DQ4 characters (I only knew their early NA translation names, not the modern ones they have today), I saw an image of what I THOUGHT must have been a screenshot from an anime featuring two of my favorite characters from DQ4. I only saw that one image by itself and nothing else like it, so I figured if it was a screenshot it must have only been like one scene in one episode, so it probably wasn't a big deal, but it was still cool and stuck in my memory for years.

Eventually, I found out that there was in fact a Dragon Quest anime, about original characters and an original plot with no direct ties to any of the games I grew up with. But it sounded like it could be fun nonetheless, and hey, maybe it still did have that screenshot after all! So now here I am in 2023, finally got around to watching it and keeping my eyes peeled for that so-called screenshot, just in case. This is also a big reason I watched the 91 anime instead of the new 2020 one, even though the 91 version doesn't cover the complete manga series. I've been catching all the little references to DQ trivia and monsters that I know along the way, but it's been mostly centered on stuff from DQ 1-3, with 4 mostly only reflected in the background music (which in hindsight makes sense, given that the game debuted around 1990, and the anime aired in 91-92, adapted from a manga that started in 89).

Anyway, I'm 99% positive now that what I saw back then was not, in fact, a screenshot of Mara and Nara (oh sorry, guess I should use their modern names now - Maya and Meena Mahabala), but just a really cool fan art. A mild disappointment, but I can't fault the anime for that. Now I wonder if I can still dig up that fan art to show what I was talking about...