#p sure this is my favorite episode so far

[highintlowwispod]

Hi-lo everyone!! The crew/stowaways of this Trainwreck are back in action, but so are their Green Cloaked Assassin Pals! Hold up, there's more of these cats? Just how many people are they sending after Marianne, and where are they getting all of these matching cloaks??? 

Asking for a friend who would also really like a green cloak... for non-assassin reasons.

Episode 14 “See Bee Tee” is out and available for a listen now! If you are also looking to find answers to these cloak-related questions you probably aren't going to find them in this ep friends. But! If you’re maybe looking for info on How To Calm An Iimish, what's the Airspeed Velocity of an old can of beans, or how thick a Gatorborn’s hide is we may be able to help ya out there. 

And as always, if the spirits move ya, feel free to leave us a review on your podcast listening platforms of choice! As our faithful GM always says “give us as many stars as you think we deserve or, if you're feeling generous, give us a whole lot more.” 🧡

[dollfacefantasy]

would you write a threesome w leon and chris… because… like maybe leon is your (older,,, like death island) boyfriend and he introduces you to his friend chris!! and idk you three end up having a threesome (consensual)… and you’re embarrassed because. you’ve never done this before n you’re all clingy with leon (maybe daddy kink??) n he’s like comforting you as he and chris fuck you at the same time ?!?!?

pairing: leon kennedy x fem!reader x chris redfield

summary: your boyfriend leon wants you to get a little more comfortable with his friend chris.

cw: nsfw (18+), smut, p in v, double penetration, oral (f receiving), fingering, daddy kink, size kink, age gap, dacryphilia

word count: 6.6k

a/n: thank you anon for sending this idea, it's right up my alley fr. also thank you for sending it again after i fumbled the bag the first time🤭🫶. the next threesome fic will be coming soon, i just ended up having more inspo for this one lol. hope you guys like it. reblogs and comments are super appreciated <3

tags: @sleepyluxe @kaitkatme @tosuckmyweenis @pupthepokemonenthusiast @bizzarethirst @death-paint @petitecolibri @iron-toxinz @wildest-dreams-at-midnight @nexysworld @explorevenus @luniaxi

“I’m just saying I think you both would really like it if you gave it a try,” you say, a bright smile on your face as you walk up the path to your and Leon’s shared place. Him and his friend trail behind you with equally pleased looks, the friend in question being Chris Redfield.

“No way. I did try it, and it was boring. Slow and drawn out. Also, it’s so unrealistic,” Chris says.

“Booooo. It’s not even slow. Stuff happens in like every single episode, at least in the early seasons,” you argue in an attempt to convince the pair to watch one of your favorite shows, “I just think there’s a lot you guys would like about it if you weren’t so impatient.”

“Babe, it’s got like, what? Over five seasons? I don’t have that kind of time,” your boyfriend replies.

You playfully roll your eyes and unlock the front door, stepping inside followed by the two men you were with. “Whatever. I’ll be right back. I’m gonna go change cause this skirt is like super itchy,” you tell them.

Before you can walk away, you feel a familiar palm swat your ass. “It’s like super cute though, shows off those pretty legs,” Leon teases, his tone affectionately mocking.

You whip around to shoot him a glare, face hot with a mixture of emotions, mainly embarrassment with a pinch of arousal. 

“Leon,” you whisper, giving him a look that says not in front of Chris. 

He simply chuckles at your quiet protest and shakes his head with amusement, ruffling your hair and planting a kiss on your forehead before sending you off. You catch Chris’s gaze as you turn to leave. To your surprise, he isn’t rolling his eyes or visibly wishing for the two of you to get a room. He’s smiling. His expression is different from the one you were used to seeing on Leon, but it still held the same patronizing adoration that soaked your panties in seconds.

Brushing it off as your imagination, you scamper down the hall to the bedroom. You hum to yourself as you drop your skirt and kick it into the laundry. Rifling through your drawers to find something more comfortable to wear, your hands search through some different clothes before settling on a pair of loose pink shorts. After pulling the soft garment over your legs, you look in the mirror and then decide to slip your bra off too.

Sure, some people would frown on that move, but you were in your place and it’s not like Chris is a total stranger. He was one of your boyfriends closest friends. You’d hung out with him and Leon together multiple times, and from what you gathered, he was pretty cool. It’s not like the two of you were best friends yourself. Like your boyfriend, he was quite a bit older than you. But just as you bridged that gap with Leon, so far it seemed like you managed to bridge it with him too. To say the least, he didn’t strike you as the type to have an episode over your nipples peeking through your shirt.

Unbeknownst to you however, while your thoughts lingered on the men down the hall, their conversation centered around you as well. They had taken to the couch, sitting close to each side and leaving a space for you in the middle.

“She’s a cute little thing,” Chris chuckles, watching the hallway you had gone down.

“Mhm,” Leon confirms simply. He was scrolling through the tv, trying to find that show you’d been talking about.

His friend looks over at him. “You sure she’ll wanna do this?” he asks with some uncertainty in his voice, “She doesn’t seem like the kind of girl who’s had a whole lot of experience with this type of thing.”

“Trust me, she’ll be into it. I can’t even tell you how wet she gets just from talking about shit like this,” he reassures, “You just gotta let me ease her into it.”

Chris opens his mouth to respond, but he cuts himself short once he hears your footsteps approaching. You bound back into the room. Your eyes catch on the way they’re sitting, closer than you would expect. They still left room for you though, so what does it matter, right?

You hop onto the couch and tuck yourself against your boyfriend’s side, gently kissing his jaw as you get comfortable and curl up on the cushion. He smiles down at you and returns the affection. He pulls you closer, but your feet are still brushing Chris’s thigh with how close he is.

“We were thinking we could watch an episode of that show you were talking about, see if we really would like it,” Leon tells you.

“Really?” you ask, a little surprised, “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine, baby. Chris doesn’t feel like driving home just yet, and you know if you’re happy, I’m happy,” he says.

You look over at Chris who nods. With that, Leon puts on the show. The familiar intro music plays and you watch the screen as a scene that you’d seen a million times plays out. You sink into his side, settling against his warm body. The episode plays, and you point out little things you like or remember something specific about. Both men nod and chuckle at your excited remarks.

Even though the couch and cuddling are comfy, your legs start getting a bit cramped from being curled up for an extended amount of time. You squirm around a bit, wanting to just stretch out. Chris prevented you from doing that as his bulky frame occupied the space your legs could be.

Leon smirks as he notices your restlessness. He shifts around a bit himself and leans back further into the couch. His feet rise up and land on the coffee table a few feet away, his legs stretching out in front of him. He doesn’t even have to see your face to know your eyes catch on his limbs. Their state of being outstretched only makes your need to do the same more intense. He gives Chris a quick glance.

“You uncomfortable, honey?” the larger man asks you.

Your eyes dart up to meet his. Hearing that pet name coming from anyone else but Leon left you flustered. You tried to reason that it didn’t mean anything. This was clearly another instance of you overthinking. Maybe Chris was just the type of guy who said that sort of thing? The kind that called cashiers sweetheart or darling. The kind who’d put your hand on your waist when saying excuse me. You didn’t remember him acting like this any of the other times you’d met him though. He was always polite with you, but that was about it. Maybe you just didn’t notice before?

“Um… I’m fine. Just a little cramp,” you explain.

He smiles at you, that same kind from earlier. “Well, I don't bite. You can stretch your legs out if you want to, princess,” he teases.

Princess. Ok that was definitely something. That name was reserved solely for the man whose arm was around you, and it usually came out only when he was prepping you to take his cock. You typically heard it as a coo when you were already crying out your own special name for him. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. The two just went hand in hand. Honestly, you couldn’t really hear one without the other following close behind.

That’s why you get all timid and shy so easily. You were pretty sure Leon had psychologically conditioned you or something. Just a few touches in the right place, some words whispered in your ear in the perfect hushed tone, and you were a goner. Suddenly, your brain would feel soft and malleable. Urges appear within you to sit in his lap and cuddle. You’d just wanna look up at your daddy with dazed eyes and have him stick something in your mouth.

And sure, it wasn’t like you were brainwashed or something. You still possessed self control. It wasn’t like he’d pet your head and call you his baby, and you’d instantly lose yourself over it. It was just a slow slip into this side of your personality, and being around Chris didn’t exactly deter those feelings from coming out either because just look at him. He looked like he was meant to be called daddy. Whenever Leon would tease you in front of him, it felt like you soaked your panties even quicker than normal.

You're snapped out of your analysis of this moment when you feel a large, warm hand wrap around your ankle. He pulls your leg out, and in-turn, drags you closer. A soft squeak escapes you as your body slides down Leon’s. Your back is still resting against his side, just lower. More of you is spread across the sofa, and your calves were fully in Chris’s lap.

You look up at your boyfriend to see his response to his friend’s action, but he didn’t even seem interested. He barely spared you a second glance in your new position, simply adjusting his arm to accommodate the new location of your head. He wraps it below your jaw and has you rest your chin on the bend of his elbow. His fingers start rubbing soothing, little circles on your shoulder. Meanwhile, Chris’s large palms merely rest on your legs. He gives you a smile before turning his eyes back to the tv screen. You quickly follow suit. If he wasn’t thinking this was weird, you weren’t going to make it weird by dwelling on it.

For a while, it’s fine. The three of you continue watching the show, albeit a little more quiet than before. Leon’s hand remains on your shoulder and keeps up his light touches. Your body relaxes again though as you let go of any nervousness you had. But then, Chris starts moving his hand too.

His palm smooths out over your lower leg. His other hand rubs your ankle, his fingertips coasting over the joint. One is moving in long strokes while the other stays in tight circles, but both go at a sensual pace, slow and teasing.

Your head turns to look at him again, but you find his stare is still on the characters of the tv show. You watch his hands move. They’re now essentially massaging your legs. His hand that had been lower has risen and works on the muscles, digging his warm digits into the flesh.

You squirm a little, trying to alert your boyfriend that his friend was touching you in a way that seemed more than friendly. It doesn’t work though. If he does see, he doesn’t mind because he simply leans down and plants a gentle kiss on the top of your head before reverting to his same position. You almost felt crazy for a second. This wasn’t normal, was it? Had you just lived your life not knowing that it was a regular thing for a boyfriend’s friend to give you a massage like this? Was Leon ok with it cause he was there so it couldn’t go too far? You really had no clue.

If you were being honest though, Chris’s hands didn’t feel bad. Not at all. They felt really good. They were big and warm and moved with strategy. They hit all your sweet spots. Kinda made you wanna crawl into his lap so he could rub more of your body, but that was the problem. This wasn’t right. You felt that saccharine heat creeping up your spine and seeping into your head, but you shouldn’t be feeling that for anyone else besides the man behind you.

Now guilt casts a shadow over you too, and the pair of emotions was a volatile mix. You didn’t even realize it, but your nipples had started to stiffen. Your thighs shift against each other, and had you really been paying attention, you would have seen the way Chris’s lips slightly quirked up into a smirk. Your body gets a little tense as you run through the possibilities of what you should do in this situation.

As if Leon could sense your thoughts racing, his hand lowers and starts rubbing your arm. Deciding to remain where you are for now, you press your cheek against his bicep for comfort. Not that you could see, but just like Chris, his expression grows smug. His hand readjusts again so it’s closer to your chest. Your eyes widen as he basically starts feeling you up. His hand squeezes your breast before his fingers circle your nipple, gently tweaking the hardened bud. 

At the same time, the hands on your legs start moving higher. The broad strokes begin meeting your thighs too. Little bumps of anticipation erupt across your skin. You already knew your center would soon be slick. 

Your head feels hot now. It made you feel a weird kind of dizzy. Even though it was only a few hands and simple touches, it was so much. Combined with the fact that it was so unusual, you started feeling overwhelmed. Your pulse pounds in your ears and your hands feel tingly. You feel a whimper rising in your throat. When he finally glides his hands up to the hem of your shorts, your legs jerk and you scoot back.

By the time Chris looks over, you’re already in Leon’s lap, arms around him, face buried against his neck. He’s worried for a second that something was seriously wrong. Profuse apologies rush to the tip of his tongue, but Leon signals him to just wait.

“Oh, baby, what’s wrong?” he coos, a hand sliding beneath your shirt to rub your back. Of course, he knew the answer already. He knew exactly how you got with this kind of stuff which is why he knew exactly how to handle it.

You end up simply shaking your head, unable to articulate the exact reason for your distress. Because really, nothing was wrong. Everything felt right. But it shouldn’t feel right? Maybe that’s what was wrong. That’s too much for your mouth to get out while you feel like this though.

“Aw, is my pretty girl feeling shy?” he whispers and strokes your hair.

You nod, pulling back a little to reveal your face and look up at the familiar set of eyes you found so much comfort in. He gives you a small kiss of reassurance before continuing to coax you with his low and soothing tone.

“Oh sweetheart, why are you shy? You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about,” he says.

“Because…” you start softly, nervously glancing at Chris only to see him watching the entire exchange. You force your attention back to your boyfriend. “Because Chris is here.”

His chest rumbles with a low laugh. “Oh, princess. That’s not a reason. Didn’t you like how Chris was touching you? Wasn’t he making you feel good?”

“I guess…” you admit.

“See? You don’t have to be embarrassed around daddy’s friend. He only wants to play with you because you’re so cute,” he teases and lands a barrage of kisses on your cheek.

You were going to freak out about him using the d word in front of someone else, but looking over at Chris, he didn’t look at all shocked. His eyes were soft and comforting as they watched you, but you were still a little uncertain. You turn your face back into Leon. He keeps rubbing your back and holds you a little closer on his lap.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, baby. I just think you’d have a lot of fun,” Leon says softly, “You know how wet that pretty pussy gets thinking about someone else watching you with daddy, joining in because he just can’t resist a good girl like you.”

He was right. He knew your fantasies like the exact situation playing out in your living room right now. But it was scarier when it was real. You didn’t have the control anymore. That's what made it exciting too though.

“It’s just Chris, honey,” he continues reassuring you, “He’d never hurt you. He thinks you're as precious as I do. But even still, daddy’s gonna be here the whole time. You know I’d never let anything hurt my girl.”

You soften up more, relaxing under Leon’s touch and tender words. As you’re thinking it over, leaning towards going through with this, Chris scoots closer to the two of you on the couch. He tentatively places his hand on your leg and caresses your skin.

“It’s up to you, babydoll,” he says, “I only wanna help your daddy make you feel good.”

Oh god. He was a natural at this, talked down to you just the way you liked.

“See, princess? There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Leon says. He strokes some of your hair back and watches as you look at the other man, deciding whether to let him in or not. He chuckles in your ear. “He’s acting cool, but you don’t know how bad he’s been wanting a turn with you. I’m sure you’ve seen him staring. Sometimes I think he’s practically drooling watching you. You know he goes home and strokes his dick raw, wishing it was your pretty little hands instead.”

It’s obvious there’s some truth to Leon’s statement from the way Chris remains silent. Your teeth sink into your bottom lip as you mull it over. Why was it so bad? You wanted it and they both wanted it. Why should you stop yourself?

You look up at your boyfriend and nod, silently communicating that you wanted this. He smiles and shifts you in his lap so that you’re in a more accessible position. One hand rubs your inner thighs while his other arm stays wrapped around your body to hold you close. 

Upon seeing your confirmation, Chris comes even closer. As he gets situated, Leon leans in and connects his lips with yours in a few soft kisses. Your noses brush and breathing deepens. He strokes your cheek before pulling away and looking in your eyes.

“Why don’t you try that with Chris, baby? Give him some of those kisses he’s been dreaming about,” he breathes.

Your focus shifts to the man sitting to your boyfriend’s right. Eyes casting down, you bring your head forward, and Chris closes the gap. Your breath hitches when you feel the unfamiliar lips meet your own. They’re noticeably different from the pair you were used to, but it wasn’t a bad different.

You move your lips with his, shuddering a little when you feel him grunt. He struggles not to take more than what you give. Leon watches on with a grin, stroking your hair and making sure it was out of your face. Your hand maintains an iron grip on him the entire time. 

“Such a good girl,” he purrs in your ear.

All three of you had long stopped paying attention to the tv, so Leon shuts it off. He then leans in to suck little love bites onto your throat. You whine into your kisses with his friend. The sound causes you to open your mouth, allowing Chris to slip his tongue in to meet yours. You moan and reciprocate the advance. His smiles against your lips as his hand glides up and gropes at one of your breasts, drawing another whimper from you.

Several hickeys later, Leon removes his mouth from your neck to admire his work. His fingers drag over the wet, darkened skin. He licks one more stripe over the area before leaning back and pulling you with him. You’re slightly out of breath, eyes dilated, and lips a bit puffy.

“Aw, look at that face,” Leon teases, talking more to Chris than you, “She loves her kisses. Sometimes I think she likes it more than the actual fucking.”

“I could tell. All those sweet sounds she was making,” Chris chuckles. His chest rises and falls in a pattern similar to yours.

“Oh yeah, so sensitive, my baby,” Leon coos, “You wanna go sit in Chris’s lap and give him some more kisses?”

You shake your head and tighten your grip on his hand. They both smile at your timid display.

“My mistake. You just gotta give her some time to adjust. She’s not used to anyone but daddy. Isn’t that right?” Leon jokes.

You nod and snake your arms around him, hiding your face against his chest again. He couldn’t get enough of how clingy you became when you felt like this.

“No, no. No more being shy. C’mon, his lips still have your spit on ‘em. There’s no reason for you to hide,” he teases you and guides your head back up to see your eyes, “You still wanna do this, don’t you?”

You nod again, looking up at him with those loving eyes.

“That’s what I thought, so how about this?” he starts. He gets your arms to unlock from their position around him and tucks his fingers beneath the hem of your shirt. “How about we show daddy’s friend more of this precious body, yeah?”

You lift your arms and allow him to tug the fabric up and over your head. Your breasts spring free, but his hands are immediately there to cup them, knead the flesh, and tease your nipples. From his place next to the two of you, Chris’s eyes drop to the swell of your chest.

“You’re even prettier than Leon told me, baby,” he coos before leaning in, giving you one more kiss and then trailing his lips down the side of your throat. They glide over the warm skin and across the expanse of your chest.

Your boyfriend’s hands drop from your breasts, letting Chris’s take their place. You shift and lean back so your back is pressed to Leon’s chest, giving the other man more access. He fondles them before latching his mouth onto a nipple, his tongue swirling around the little peak. A little sigh escapes your lips to the pleasure of both men.

“I think she likes that, Chris,” Leon croons, his hands rubbing up and down your sides.

Chris sucks on the pebbled nub a bit more before alternating to the other one. He spends less time over there before just kissing all over your chest.

“Got such pretty tits,” he grunts, laving a tongue across your skin.

Your face heats up at the compliment, and of course, Leon knew without even having to look. He could tell by the slight way you squirmed your hips on his lap.

“Aw, princess. You like when daddy’s friend calls you pretty?” he coos. Once he sees your little nod, he continues. “How about you let him pull down your shorts and see how cute your cunt is next.”

You agree to this with no hesitation, trying to elevate your hips so he could remove your clothing. Chris smirks at your overt desire. In a quick move, he scoots back and pulls by your hips so that you’re laying across the couch again. Your head is on Leon’s thigh so you can look up at him while your fingers remain tightly interlaced with his.

The larger man peels your shorts off and then your panties. He gazes upon your dripping cunt. His thumb drags up and down through your slick in an exploratory touch.

“Oh, honey,” he breathes, circling your clit. His hand moves down again before he slides two fingers into your hole. “You’re gonna take our cocks so well. Pussy this pretty is made for that.”

You suck in a gasp that turns into a long whine as his digits fill you up. His fingers were nice and thick, filling you up just right. Your eyes flutter, and your head presses against Leon’s thigh. Chris starts pumping them in and out, stroking your inner walls.

“That’s right, baby,” Leon reassures you, “He’s gonna open you up, and you’re gonna feel so good.”

A breathy whimper falls from your lips. Your hips rock a little, but Chris allows it, enjoying your enthusiasm as you become more comfortable. You feel his fingers curling within you in motions that drive you wild and have your hands grabbing at the edges of the couch cushion beneath you.

“There you go, sweet baby. Am I doing it right?” Chris asks teasingly. With your frantic nod, he works a third finger into you. Your eyes roll back and you choke out a moan.

Leon smiles down at you and strokes your hair. His bulge grows harder, watching you get so wound up for his friend.

“Make sure you rub her pretty little clit, Chris. She loves that,” he says, “Might be a little sore since she likes to play with it so much.”

Chris grins at that, taking his turn to tease you now. “Is that right? You like playing dirty, princess? I bet you can’t help it. Cute girls like you get needy so easy. Can’t think without making yourself cum every few hours, yeah?”

“Mhm,” you whimper and nod.

“I’ll be gentle then. Think your sweet spot just needs some special kisses,” he coos.

He bends down so his mouth can be level with your cunt, a bit of a challenge with his size, but he manages. His lips meet your clit and give you some soft kisses. A little flick of the tongue and the light movement of his flesh against your sensitive bundle of nerves has your walls fluttering around him, little mewls escaping your lips.

Then, with a harsh suck to your clit, he works a fourth finger inside you. Your legs kick a little, but he simply slides them to rest on his shoulders. Every little twitch next to his head has more of his blood rushing south. Your hips buck too as you adjust to the minor stretch.

“You’re daddy’s perfect girl, you know that right? Girl of my fuckin’ dreams. Doing so good for me right now,” your boyfriend says from above you. His eyes watch on fondly as Chris slides basically his entire hand in and out of you. “Think you can cum for Chris, baby? Gush all over his fingers so it’s nice and easy for him and daddy to fill you up?”

You nod quickly. 

Chris sucks harder on your clit and flicks his tongue against you with more fervor. His hand finds a rhythm that you seemed to like, had you twitching more than before. He could hear your voice rising to a higher pitch.

“C’mon, pretty girl. Make your daddy proud,” he murmurs against your folds.

You really don’t know what it was, but that phrase does you in. You turn your face against Leon’s hip, dig your fingers into his palm, and erupt into a frenzy of whining and bucking your hips. 

Chris continues his efforts, relishing the sensation of your slick coating his fingers and palm. His lips gradually loosen on your swollen bud. He gives it a few more licks before sitting up and gazing down at your blissed out body.

They both give you a second to rest before Leon sits you up on the couch. He gives you a quick kiss and looks into your eyes, hazy from release.

“Think you’re ready for daddy and Chris to fuck you?” he coos and rubs your cheek.

“Mhm,” you hum, returning his loving stare.

“Of course you are. My sweet girl,” he says.

The two men don’t waste time undressing themselves. Clothing piles up on the ground as they match your nudity. Both of them stand as they undo their belts and drop their pants. You’d seen Leon’s dick a hundred times by now. You watch him pull it out and give it a few strokes. The tip flushes bright red like always, a couple familiar veins span up the side. You turn your attention to Chris, looking upon a sight you hadn’t seen before.

You’re snapped out of your post-orgasm stupor when you catch a glimpse of the appendage hanging between Chris’s legs. Just like every other part of him, it’s noticeably thick. The length was good too, sure, but it wasn’t the main attraction. His cock didn’t get as red as Leon’s, but it still had the veins. He even had a few beads of white, sticky precum leaking from the head.

“Oh, you like what you see, baby?” Leon teases when he notices your wonder, “I’m sure Chris would be happy to let you suck on it next time.”

“Daddy, it’s not gonna fit,” you say, looking up at him and ignoring the tempting idea of giving Chris a blowjob.

He smiles down at you, simultaneously condescending and affectionate. “Of course it will. C’mere, princess,” he says. 

In no time at all, Leon’s back on the couch, guiding you on top of him. You crawl to meet the place he’s directing you. Lowering yourself against him, your front rests against his and your head lies near the crook of his neck. The warmth of his body comforts you but not enough to push out your concerns completely.

“You don’t have to worry, sweetheart. I’m gonna get you nice and comfy on daddy’s cock, and then Chris will just slide right in,” he reassures you, “You’re gonna feel so good. You just let me take care of everything.”

His arm had already slithered beneath your hip to line up his shaft with your entrance. He runs the tip through your soaked folds then pushes in. A whiny moan escapes you, and your arms wrap tighter around him. The feeling wasn’t a new one, but it still felt so good. He works himself in and out slowly, hips rocking off the couch in small thrusts.

“That’s my girl, taking it just like you’re meant to. I’ve got you trained so well,” he murmurs against your hair.

The entire time, you feel Chris’s eyes on you. His pupils fixated on the sight of Leon pumping in and out of your gushing cunt. You hear him spit down onto his hand and know he’s started to stroke himself in anticipation. Other than that, he stays quiet, locked onto you sucking up every inch of your boyfriend's cock.

Leon continues gliding in and out. You feel the muscles in his chest and neck straining with the pleasure your pulsing walls give him.

“Fuck, you’re so wet. Chris did a good job with you,” he groans. His breaths become ragged as he staves off true euphoria. This couldn’t end too quickly. “You know, babydoll, I don’t think you said thank you to Chris for making you feel so good. That’s not very nice.”

You whimper as your brain registers the implication of his words. At the moment, you were more focused on rolling your hips with Leon’s, but you force some words out of your mouth cause you’re a good girl after all.

“Sorry daddy,” you say, cut off by a whine as he pokes a sensitive spot, “T-thank you, Chris.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he responds. You can hear the satisfaction in his voice, but you don’t have the chance to linger on it since you feel his broad palm land on the small of your back. His fingers rub the skin gently, as if to keep you calm while he positions himself on his knees behind you. You whine again and cling harder to Leon.

“You can say thank you better than that, baby,” he teases, trying to keep any fear away from you. He presses a kiss to your temple as well and rubs your back, “What are you thanking him for?”

“Thank you for making me cum, Chris. Your fingers and kisses felt so good,” you whimper, adding on the last bit before Leon could correct you further.

“Oh, you’re welcome,” he repeats with excessive adoration, “You deserve it for being such a good girl. Besides, that pussy was so fucking sweet, makes me want another taste.”

You squeeze around Leon and bite your lip as your lower belly erupts with butterflies. And then you feel it. You feel the hot tip of Chris’s heavy cock nudging at your entrance above Leon’s. You tense and dig your fingers into the flesh of his back.

“Just relax, baby. You’re gonna be just fine. Daddy’s right here,” he coos and holds you tighter against his chest.

“You ready?” Chris asks softly.

You squeeze your eyes shut but nod, waiting to feel the stretch.

And it comes right away. You gasp as another cock enters you. Whining, your hands scramble to grab at something. Leon takes one and squeezes it lovingly, pausing his thrusts. You bury your face against his skin, your chest erratically puffing as you try to accommodate the sizes. Both men are groaning, eyes fluttering or rolled back, muscles flexing as they take in the tight, wet heat engulfing them.

“Doing so good, pretty girl, so good,” Leon mutters.

You can’t fathom any kind of response. The burning sensation of both of them was still so intense and from what you could tell, Chris wasn’t even all the way in yet. He was still pushing forward as far as he could. At a certain point, you can’t fight off the tears pricking at your waterline. Your free hand clamps over your mouth as a choked cry tumbles out.

“So fucking tight, I could cum right now,” Chris grunts.

Leon’s hand covers your right hip, tracing tiny soothing circles over your skin. Chris occupies your left, digging his fingers into the flesh. The subtle difference between the two sides drives you further into the throes of ecstasy.

When Chris manages to bully his cock nearly all the way inside you, as deep as it could go at least, Leon feels your hot tears sliding off your cheeks and pooling on his chest.

“Oh, poor baby,” he croons. He lets go of your hand for a second to swipe a few drops away, but then he takes it back. “You ok, honey? Too much for you?”

You weakly shake your head that it wasn’t too much, sniffling between whimpers. They’ve both stopped now to let you get used to the entirety of them. The site of your connection pulses with need on all three accounts. You feel Chris gripping you a little harder in an effort to keep his composure.

“My tough girl, so brave for daddy. Makin’ me so proud,” he whispers and kisses your hairline.

“So fuckin’ pretty too. You look gorgeous all filled up like this,” Chris moans from behind you.

His gaze remains on his and Leon’s cocks splitting you open. He starts rocking his hips a bit, groaning at the combined feeling of your slick walls with Leon’s length rubbing against his. Leon starts moving again too.

You let out a sound that’s between a yelp and a moan. Both of Leon’s arms snake around you to keep you engulfed in his embrace. He’s more vocal than usual, the mix of stimulation getting to him as well.

“That’s right. You keep crying for your daddy. Let me hear how much you need me. Just cry it out like the good little girl you are,” he mumbles against you.

Once you’ve become comfortable with the stretch, it starts feeling better than you’d imagined. In tandem, they’re stroking every part of you. They slide in and out, back and forth, pulling soft whines from you. The only noise apart from the three of you grunting and moaning, is the obscene noises that come from them pumping into your wet pussy. You feel your ability for coherent thoughts slipping away. You just wanted to be full of your daddy and his friend.

Chris smacks your ass while picking up his pace a bit. “Now she’s getting into it,” he says.

You get a little louder to both their enjoyment. Grabbing at Leon a little more, you shudder while hearing moans bubble up from his chest and out of his mouth.

“That’s cause you’re such a good girl. Right baby?” he asks, his voice breathier, “So good at whining for your daddy’s cock.”

You nod without a second thought. You’re panting a bit as the thrusts start hitting just right. Your expressions and the tightening of your cunt give you away. You hear both of them groaning and getting a little more primal with their movements.

“You feel that, Chris? She’s getting closer. Can always tell by the way her pussy starts trying to keep me in. So desperate for some cum,” Leon says.

“Yeah. I can feel her cute little cunt begging for it,” Chris growls.

They’re both going harder, making your mind get all fuzzy and causing more tears to fall, although by this time they’re purely tears of pleasure. Your cries are whiny and needy.

“My baby, my baby,” Leon grunts while lacing his fingers in your hair, “I want you to cum for me, ok? Wanna feel you cumming all over our cocks. Show Chris how good you make me feel every single night when you start clamping down on me.”

You don’t finish right then. It takes a handful more thrusts from each of them to hit the right buttons and work you over that edge, dropping you into a pool of euphoria. The bliss washes over you, and as Leon described, your pussy squeezes around them in waves. They’re both moaning now, grabbing you harder, sighing and gasping. You twitch on top of Leon, and he holds you close and helps you through it.

“Look at that sweet face. Always so pretty when you let go,” he mumbles just for you to hear, “Keep cumming, dolly. Want you feeling like you’re in heaven.”

Leon’s the first to blow his load, shooting it deep inside you. He pumps it in while you’re still releasing. His own hips twitch and buck while that hot, sticky liquid flows from him. 

Chris takes a bit longer, savoring every last moment he has inside your precious cunt. He keeps thrusting after you’ve finished, making you squirm with the slight overstimulation. Leon hisses too, feeling the friction from his movements against his dick.

When he finally does cum, your body is overtaken with a shiver. He fucks it deep into you. His thrusts don’t weaken while he spills it inside of you. He keeps moving in powerful strokes until he’s satisfied.

After he’s truly done, Chris leans down and kisses the space between your shoulder blades. “So good, pretty baby,” he praises softly before pulling out.

It feels weird just having Leon’s dick in you. It’s your normal but so strange now too. He slides himself out next though, so there isn’t too much time to fester on that. Sitting up, he pulls you with him while covering your face in kisses.

Everyone is laid back right now, letting the post-high wear off as you all come down. You stay curled up to Leon like you always did after finishing. He rubs your back like normal, knowing your head was most likely still up in the clouds. Eventually, all of your breathing steadies and returns to a regular pace.

Your hazy eyes open and gaze over at Chris. “Thank you Chris,” you say, tone a bit dreamier than it usually is.

“You’re welcome, honey,” he says, smiling at you.

“Look at you, so polite,” Leon teases, “By the looks of it, you’re gonna be sitting on Chris’s lap soon enough and leaving me on the sidelines.”

You shake your head and nuzzle him. All of you take a brief moment to finish the descent back to normalcy. Chris stands to pull on his pants again. 

“We’ll get there one of these days,” he jokes.

“I don’t know about that. This one’s a daddy’s girl before anything else,” Leon says, before smooching your forehead.

[okthatsgreat]

did anybody see the newest episode of danganronpa 52 lollllllll

#there is something deeply wrong with team dr im afraid #A DEATH SO SOON JESUSSSSSS where was the ult cardiologist at......... #dr52 liveblog #dr52 spoilers #lee chat

5 notes

🐻 dangronper Follow

Gonna try getting into the new season lol, I stopped watching at season 37. No spoilers please

🐻 dangronper Follow

Okay wow a lot has changed! Everything is so high tech now??? I kinda miss when they just kept it more simple and had them all locked in a school ngl but maybe thats just me liking season 1 lol. Im really liking Jiro so far Im hoping he at least makes it to chapter 3 because I really wanna know more about that guy

🐻 dangronper Follow

You've gotta be kidding.

#CHAPTER ONE? HE DIED CHAPTER ONE? #THIS IS WHY I HATE ALL OF THE NEW SEASONS SO FUCKIGN BAD #THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT SHOCK VALUE AND THEY DONT CARE ABOUT STORY #THAT DEATH MAKES NO SENSE THERE ARE YOU ACTUALLY JOKING #Im logging off.

4 notes

💀 youvegotthatrite Following

12,433 notes

🫖 nagitosleftleg Follow

just a reminder that wishing death on any of the danganronpa writers makes you a terrible person and all of your favorite danganronpa characters hate you if you do that! 🤗 this is danganronpa so a lot of them will die 🤗 that doesnt mean you get to be a dickhead to team dr 🤗 get over it! 🤗

🍳 naeggieggin Follow

oh my god can anybody in this fandom just be normal and not use this weird passive aggressive tone for every single post. the writers do not give less of a fuck and neither do the actors theyre all dealing with their own shit

#i hate this fandom istg. and stop calling them characters the flashback light doesnt make them entirely fake #theyre still actual people #with feelings #danganronpa 52

769 notes

🍀luckyguy Follow

this is NOT what ultimate hope makoto naegi would have wanted

#dr52 spoilers #lucky student killed first chapter &lt;;/3 #shut up you [txt]

4,013 notes

🔧 sorryiwasbornstupid Follow

kazuichi sighted in the new post-season promo video he looks so g.ood .... . id let him do anything to me

🌸 neverminded Following

@kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial @kazuichisodaofficial

🔧 sorryiwasbornstupid Follow

HELLO?

34 notes

🔪 danganronpa Following

Puhuhu! New episode of DANGANRONPA 52 out TODAY at 1pm JST! Make sure to bring your popcorn and your bagels, this episode sure gets.... despairful 👀You won't wanna miss it!

🍀luckyguy Follow

K

🔱 ultscubafan Follow

U

🎆 chickencoopexplosion Follow

N

🫖 nagitosleftleg Follow

G

🎸 lightmusicplayer Following

P

9,012 notes

🍳 naeggieggin Follow

can early season purists please get their heads out of nagito komaedas ass. he does not want to fuck you

106 notes

🎞️ kirigiririririri Follow

Waiittttt Jiro is so cute actually XD He keeps tripping over his shoelaces in the background of scenes LOL he's so smol ..............

🎞️ kirigiririririri Follow

I'M GONNA KILL MYSELF

#he's DEAD?????????????????????????????????

2 notes

🍳 naeggieggin Follow

keep in mind the danganronpa actors are still real people and they can see all of you thirsting over them ok. please be normal. just because they went through the effects of the flashback light doesnt mean its ok to be a fucking weirdo to hajime whenever he walks outside

🧊 kokoroicebox Follow

They're celebrities. People are going to find celebrities attractive, especially if these are people they see on screens and billboards every day. If you pick up the nearest magazine you find you're probably going to find Junko Enoshima in it. And maybe you should consider that those "weirdos" who are walking up to Hajime are simply fans that want to greet him. We've watched these people fight through hell, cry, laugh, and find hope along the way. Of course we are going to get attached to them, especially to those of us who have been keeping up with them for a long time now. You're basically asking a bunch of teenagers to close their eyes and pretend their favorite media doesn't exist.

🍳 naeggieggin Follow

i literally did not say that

🌀 cageofdeath Follow

have you maybe ever considered that maybe some people get hyperfixations??

🍳 naeggieggin Follow

oh my fucking god.

🎸 lightmusicplayer Following

anybody in this thread smoke weed

1,034 notes

🍊 hinataorangejuice Follow

OKKKKK WAIT WHY IS RANTARO KINDA 👀👀👀

#the way he got so serious while investigating.............. #wasnt a huge fan of him at the start but he's growing on me lowkey #dr52 #danganronpa 52 #dr52 #orange speaks!

29 notes

💀 youvegotthatrite Following

JIROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

#FUFUUUCUCKKCKCCKKKCKKCKC I REALLY LIEKD HIM!!!3!@!#(!# #FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK #ORUUGH WHY COULDNT HAVE BEEN MOMO #dr52 lb

8 notes

🍧minimarruuuu Follow

no chapter 1 death is ever gonna beat sayaka imo #girl

#it just really started the series off so well and no other chapter 1 victim has impressed me tbh #ugh but idk shes kinda annoying now with all of her interviewssss like girl its ok to not smile sometimes lmfao #sayaka maizono #dr52 critical #maru.txt

11 notes

🎸 lightmusicplayer Following

guy ists ok hes not actually dead hes just sleeping guys

#guys #danganronpa 52 #danganronpa 52 spoilers #<- ??? just in case

🔍 kirigiri Following

a

🍊 hinataorangejuice Follow

ok queen speak your truth i guess

🌸 neverminded Following

THIS MIGHT BE A CLUE THIS MGIHT BE A CLUE TO JIROS KILLER IM LOOKIGNGGGGG SO HARD AT AKEMI RIGHT NOW

🎆 chickencoopexplosion Follow

i think she might have just accidentally posted a draft lol

🌸 neverminded Following

I dont know............. team dr has done this before where they leave littel clues in places and this seems a little TOO coincidental

🔍 kirigiri Following

I hit the post button too early.

🌸 neverminded Following

KYOKO KIRIGIRI?

43,033 notes

🐰monomini Follow

okkkkk im kinda over rantaro already lmao. heres hoping we dont get another season of him

1 note

[byuntrash101]

headache

reader x soft dom!seonghwa smut | mdni 1.7k you've been suffering from headaches recently but your boyfriend knows exactly how to get rid of them nsfw tags under the cut

very gentle and soft dom!hwa, established relationship, daddy kink, pet names (babygirl, angel), making out, oral (f), fingering (f), hwa is pussy drunk, tiny bit of possessive!hwa, praising, edging, watersports + omorashi

a/n: i stumbled on a twitter p♡rn link and it blossomed into this <3. a lot of you asked me for more ws so here it is hehe. i hope you enjoy. if it's not your thing it's okay! just dont read okay babe? i have other fics for you in the masterlist <3

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE MAKE SURE TO READ THE TAGS AND TO CLICK OFF IF ANYTHING SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING YOU WOULDN’T ENJOY.

ateez masterlist | navigation

Recently you’ve been suffering from recurring headaches. At first you thought it was your cycle. But then you became more attentive to when the headaches occurred. And it turns out you simply were not drinking enough water! The thing is that your headaches always happened when you got home after being at your boyfriend's place for a couple of days. Simply because, well, when you were there you’re too busy cuddling and kissing to be taking your lips off him for even a second to drink a sip of water. 

The good thing is it’s an easy remedy: just drink more water.

And Seonghwa intends to ensure your good hydration this time. Out of kindness of course, out of love! Nothing more! He just hates when you get home and call him the next day with your small little voice to tell him you had to lock yourself up in the dark, because your head is ringing and he can’t even be around you to pamper you and take care of his baby, that breaks his heart. He hates to know you’re in pain.

So today your loving boyfriend makes sure you do just that: drink more water.

When you watched the latest episode of your series on Netflix he paused several times to get you a full glass of water. When you ate your take out again three full glasses of water. 

Chilling on your phone watching tiktok “don’t forget your water baby~”. Listening to his hilarious work stories “your water babe”. 

Even going as far as making you drink when he held you in his arms and you complained about not being able to reach the glass on the coffee table. 

“Here baby” he said, putting the rim of the glass against your lips. 

He couldn’t explain it but he felt himself twitch at the way your lips pursed up and opened slightly around the glass, your neck bending and following his wrist as he tilted the glass to let the water flow into your mouth. He throbbed at the way the water disappeared into your mouth as you swallowed in big gulps until the glass was completely empty, the ice cubes tinkling against the glass as he set the cup back on the coffee table. 

“Aaaaah~” you sighed in satisfaction. “Thanks Hwa”

“You’re welcome my angel” he said before pecking your lips made cool from the fresh water.

God how pretty you were like this, wrapped up in his arms like a fragile little bird, looking up at him with this bright smile and shiny wet lips. 

He planted another kiss right on your wet mouth but this time he parted his lips, his hot tongue reaching out to your cool one. Kissing you gently but deeply sharing his warmth and spit until your mouth was burning hot. Long fingers wrapping around your nape and pushing your face further into his. The gesture made you moan into his mouth making him smirk into the kiss. He loved the sounds that you made. So much so that he haphazardly reached for the TV remote to mute the device. He wanted to hear you, only you.

Then Seonghwa slipped you out of his lap to sit you on the couch. He kneeled in front of you to very carefully flip the hem of your skirt over your stomach. He couldn’t help but to smirk when his eyes finally laid on the beautiful lacey panties you were wearing today. One of his favorites. Baby pink with a pearly bow in the center. A pair he picked and gifted you.

“So fucking perfect” he breathed as you pushed your thighs together, feeling your arousal pool into the lace as he praised you. 

He bent over your legs to kiss the soft skin of your thighs, working his way up until he pressed a couple more to your pubic bone. You jerked a little as he pressed his face a little too hard on your lower stomach, given how much water you had drank.

“Now be a good girl for daddy and spread your legs” as he sat back up. You looked down at him through your lashes but still you obeyed and parted your knees as you heard your boyfriend curse under his breath. He smirked, spotting the wet patch of fabric, making the pink ever so slightly darker. 

“You’re wet already angel?” he snickered, his palm caressing your open thighs.

“Y-yeah. I got wet when daddy was tongue kissing me” you confessed before biting down on your lower lip.

“Fuck” Seonghwa swore again, his dick twiching in his pants, he could feel himself already leaking precum onto his boxers. He just loved when you were so upfront with him. You looked so innocent, covering half of your face with your back hand and breathing rapidly but your pussy was already soaked and gushing for him. And you had no shame admitting it and exposing yourself to him. To his eyes only. You were his only

He pulled on your legs to bring your ass to the edge of the couch before pulling your panties down, not even taking the time to discard them, just letting them hang on one of your ankles before he prompted you to spread your legs for him again.

The way your pussy lightly twitched and sparkled covered in your juices had his cock quivering in his sweatpants. He wanted to taste you. He needed to.

He approached his face to your sopping center and licked a long stripe from your entrance to your clit. Right before curling his tongue back in his mouth, scooping as much of your slick as he could, smacking his lips to fully take in your taste. Your flavor was sweeter than honey and more intoxicating than the strongest liquors.

Seonghwa wrapped his arms around your under thighs and pushed his palms on your hips. Securing you right in his hold and spreading you like a buffet.

“Fuck daddy~” you whined.

He approached his mouth once again but this time his lips wrapped around your clit as he gave you light kitten licks. He looked up at you lapping away at your bundle of nerves, you couldn’t help but to moan at the pleasure you felt. Soon you started to rock your hips, rubbing your juices onto his face as he didn’t alter his pace.

“Please Daddy” you complained, yearning for more.

“My baby girl is so eager” he said, not parting his lips from your heat.

“It’s because I love daddy’s mouth so much.” you whined. “Please let me cum on daddy’s tongue”

“Soon my baby. But daddy wants to taste you thoroughly first”

Minutes passed and Seonghwa was taking so much pleasure in edging you. Licking and sucking on your clit only to back away when he felt you twitch on his tongue just to see your precious little cunt throb around nothing and gushing out more of your juices just to be savored by him and repeat the process over and over again.

But at some point you couldn’t even focus on the pleasure anymore. The only thing you felt was how full you were. How full your bladder felt.

“Daddy” you started cautiously. 

“Yes angel?” your boyfriend replied, face still buried deep in your throbbing cunt.

“I-I think I drank too much water. I need to go to the b-bathroom” you said, shame slowly creeping under your skin.

Seonghwa smirked against your folds. Only to latch onto your clit again, this time licking more precisely on the sensitive bundle of nerves, making you moan loudly and arch your back.

“It’s okay baby. Daddy doesn’t mind.” he growled, eating you out like a starved man.

“No please daddy stop” you begged as you felt your pussy contract around nothing, your bladder also contracting dangerously. “It’s gross daddy” you complained, kicking your feet as the pleasure kept on rising.

“If it’s too much for you, just let go, okay angel?” He cooed against your folds.

“Please daddy…” you inhaled sharply, feeling yourself filled to the brim with piss. “Gonna p-” you whined but Seonghwa interrupted you.

“Just piss in daddy’s mouth baby” he said, pushing on your hips angling them just right. And you just couldn’t hold it in any longer. You let out your hot steamy piss right into your boyfriend's mouth. Seonghwa backed up a little and stuck his long tongue out as the powerful stream hit him right in the back of the throat letting out gurgles of satisfaction, gulping down as much piss as he could, mouth rapidly filling up to overflow and wetting his gray sweatpants.

When the stream started to slow down he wrapped his lips around your clit again and shoved two long fingers inside your cunt that he curled right into your g spot, pressing against your bladder again. The stream of hot piss picked up.

He wanted to drain you, take all of your piss for himself. 

He started to pump his fingers in and out of your dripping cunt rapidly.

“Fuck daddy loves your piss much baby” he briefly said before sucking and licking your clit again, swallowing more of your delicious nectar.

“Daddy I'm cumming” you cried out.

“Cum for daddy baby” he allowed. And you finally leap over the edge. The orgasm is one of the most intense ones you’ve experienced. It completely rips through your body and shatters the earth beneath you as your legs tense up and your hips shake uncontrollably. Your hungry little cunt violently twitching around Seonghwa’s relentless fingers still pumping in and out of you, accompanying you on your descent, grunting and humming against your folds and he licked and sucked on your swollen bud until the pleasure died down and your legs fell limp, hanging over Seonghwa’s toned shoulders. 

Seonghwa took a moment to admire your red and swollen cunt, occasionally twitching with the remnants on the strong orgasm your felt, sticky juices still lazily oozing out your entrance. He licked out one last stripe from your entrance and parted your lips with his tongue to twirl around your pee hole one last time.

“I think you’re cured now” he beamed at you smacking his lips, relishing in the intoxicating taste of your slick and piss one last time.

What a good boyfriend he was making sure you drank enough and making you cum to prevent your headaches.

IF YOU ENJOYED DONT FORGET TO REBLOG 🖤

ateez masterlist | navigation

a/n: im still so self conscious about publishing watersports and this one was very filthy sooo pleaseeeeee comment and tell me if you enjoyed okay? just drop an anon ask if u dont want to leave ur userid on here! i would appreciate it so much <333

[destinygoldenstar]

The Amazing Digital Circus Episode 3 - "As Iron Sharpens Iron-"

To say I was excited for this Episode to come out is an UNDERSTATEMENT.

Ever since Episode 2 PROVED it to me that this show was going to be something very special to me, I've been very invested and eagerly waiting the next installment.

This also marks the FIRST Digital Circus Episode where I CAUGHT THE PREMIERE.

I didn't see the Pilot until a month after it came out because I didn't know about the show. And Episode 2 I was at work at the same time of the release. I had a nerve-wrecking day.

But this time I CAUGHT IT, AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER TO.

So I was excited, especially when it was hyped up as the best episode so far!!!

...

IT WASN'T, BUT I STILL REALLY LOVED IT.

Yeah... I said it. I will be the first to say this:

As of right now, this is my least favorite episode.

NOW HOLD ON, THAT IN NO WAY MEANS I DISLIKED IT. THIS EPISODE IS GREAT.

Which should really tell you the quality of this show.

This IS a review based off a first viewing, so be aware of that. Y'all know I'm gonna rewatch this multiple times. So maybe my problems will become less problems.

I also CANNOT WAIT to see all the Angry Karens raging on the Internet about the show! "THIS CARTOON IS TOO DARK AND SCARY FOR MY CHILDREN!! I OUGHTA SUE YA GLITCH!!"

To that I'll say "F%#K YOUR KIDS, CARTOONS ARE FOR EVERYONE!!" (No I won't, but you get the message)

You want a kid friendly haunted mansion episode, NINJAGO SEASON 5 GOT YOU COVERED. (One of the best episodes in that show btw)

I would argue the circus tent is a lot scarier than a haunted mansion, but whatever.

But I do need to explain WHY I find this episode the weakest, and also gush over the good stuff cause there IS good stuff.

So I need to get into spoilers:

I've complained before in the previous two episodes that the B Plots were my least favorite thing about this show. They weren't bad, they just didn't grasp me like the A Plots did (AKA whichever plot Pomni has going on).

But I was really looking forward to them fixing this issue with this episode, especially to aid the characterization of Zooble. A character that has been very neglected. I was expecting this therapy session with Caine to be both chaotic (Because it's Caine) and inciting.

Did it deliver with that??

Yes AND No.

Technically, YES, it was inciting and we learned more about Zooble. They're not straight. They have dysphoria. They're very uncomfortable with their body which is why they're constantly changing parts. And because of that they don't feel like they fit in with the people around them.

LGBT+ Symbolism. Trans Symbolism. Zooble has dysphoria. CALLED IT.

(I mean, Jax even SAYS Zooble isn't straight in the episode)

And hey, just because I guessed what it was and saw it coming, doesn't mean I'm not very appreciative they brought it up. It helps with Zooble's character, and I'm sure the trans audience enjoyed it. I'm cis though, so I don't find it personal. That can't be helped.

We also learned about CAINE's mentality. The A.I was only programmed to create adventures. So he relishes in that because it's the only thing he knows how to do and knows how to help. And Zooble snarking at the very thing Caine was designed to do... BREAKS HIM.

And I am already theorizing, because Caine mentally breaking like that CAUSES A GLITCH IN THE ENTIRE CIRCUS.

So... CAINE'S mental state is what's keeping the circus afloat. THAT SAYS A LOT.

Yeah I definitely think he's getting redeemed, AND this is gonna come up later.

But other than those two scenes, I was a bit disappointed with this plotline. I feel like it could've been longer and we could've learned more. Or, let me rephrase that, at least ONE more cutaway to them.

As it stands, while this is TECHNICALLY the best B Plot of this show's episodes, it is still a B Plot that suffers from being much less interesting.

Idk, maybe this is a 'first viewing' issue, and when I watch the episode again, I'll understand it better.

Oh yeah, speaking of B Plots, we BARELY get ANYTHING regarding the pacifist route.

Once Pomni and Kinger fall into the hellhole, we don't hear from Ragatha Gangle and Jax FOR AWHILE.

And then the next time we see them, they're having tea and being friendly with the hunter's ghost wife, who DID NOT get an in person introduction. And they tied up Jax off screen. WHAT?!?! HOW DID Y'ALL GET HERE?!?!

It wasn't their episode, I understand why the episode wouldn't focus on them, but I DID want an explanation as to how we went from THIS, to THIS.

AND NO ONE BOTHERED TO SHOW CONCERN FOR POMNI AND KINGER THE WHOLE TIME?!

I also feel like it could have, at the very least, benefited Ragatha. But because we don't get anything, her little moment with Pomni at the end felt quite out of nowhere. Because... they didn't have any exchange this episode. I mean good for Pomni for finally expressing she likes her I guess.

Also... that whole exchange was really platonic...

(I don't ship them)

Overall, I really think this is a pacing issue. The pitch black scene with just their eyes is VISUALLY GREAT, love that they're experimenting with different art styles, BUT OH MY GOD THAT SEQUENCE DRAGS. It could have been HALF as long and the point would've still come across.

I also am just not a big fan of haunted mansion stories. And I know that MIGHT be just a me problem.

But in my defense, Ninjago Season 5 had a haunted mansion episode, and that was one of their best episodes that really SAID SOMETHING and taught the main characters something valuable.

THIS haunted mansion feels more like an obstacle more than anything else. Unless there's some deeper meaning behind the mansion's lore in the future, but I doubt it because it's designed to be a one time thing.

I'm MUCH more invested in the PSYCHOLOGICAL horror of the show instead of the PHYSICAL horror. And I think that's why The Pilot and Episode 2 felt a lot more scarier to me than this.

Don't get me wrong, the dismantled heads and the corpse monster ARE scary. The lit up severed head MADE MY SKIN CRAWL when I first saw it. So did Possessed Pomni.... is it bad that I'm kinda obsessed with Possessed Pomni though? But the scary imagery doesn't do much for me unless there's a deeper meaning behind it. Because after my skin crawl I was able to say "Yep. That's the severed head alive and glowing." "That's it's headless body."

When Pomni got possessed by running through the hall of souls, I remember saying aloud "NO DON'T DO IT".

And the thing that ACTUALLY scared me was when they said "How's your wife, Kinger?"

THAT'S the scary part of that for me.

They also OUTRIGHT TELL you the message of the episode this time.

Now I DON'T hate that they did that, it's meant to be a nice moment between Kinger and Pomni. But I MUCH prefer the approaches the previous episode had with showing its message and letting us pick it up for ourselves.

I don't think that's too much of 'dumbing down' though. Episode 2's incident is different. And this episode it IS meant to be a nice moment between Kinger and Pomni and that's why it had to be told.

So yeah, that's what's keeping this episode back for me.

Okay let me talk about the great stuff now. Aside from what I already mentioned.

ANIMATION.

I LOVE that they're experimenting with different styles, like I said. The 2D eyes look really good, and the little hand drawings at the beginning? Love them. They're so cute. PLEASE keep experimenting with animation techniques.

I was also REALLY WORRIED that the Episode's lighting would be too dark for me to see anything that was going on.

This is a BRIGHT show, especially in the previous two. So it's kinda offputting to see these cartoonish characters in a realistic setting. (That's probably on purpose)

But no, it ended up NOT being an issue for me. I followed everything that was happening perfectly.

Also POMNI AND KINGER.

They were EASILY the BEST thing about this episode. Hands down.

EVERY scene with them and their interactions is GOLDEN.

I SERIOUSLY thought Pomni was gonna take a backseat for a couple of episodes to make way for everyone else. But she IS the main character, so I should've suspected that wouldn't be the case.

The story LETS her BE the protagonist, WITHOUT taking anything away from the other character's development. Every scene aids BOTH HER & THEM.

She's such an incredibly written protagonist AND WE STAN IN THIS HOUSE.

But enough about her.

I KNEW this episode was going to make me understand the Kinger hype and love him, AND I WAS EXACTLY RIGHT.

I was wrong about it being schizophrenia. Instead his issue is dementia, which is memory loss/problems. But I'm not mad at all that I got that wrong.

I'm not someone who has dementia, so I can't speak if it's accurate or not, but I LOVE how it was handled here.

Kinger's brain works much differently from everyone else due to his past experiences, and there are certain triggers to his sanity. SO THAT'S WHY HE STAYS IN A PILLOW FORT. I GET IT NOW.

Also HIS WIFE.

Okay yeah so I was wrong about what the relationship was. But I don't care. I LOVED THIS BACKSTORY.

(Abstractions can be tamed?)

Kinger DEFINATELY went up my list for me thanks to this episode, and I KNOW he's gonna be a key player in the future. If his "seven years of computer science" line is anything to go off of.

I love him so much. Your honor, I love him. I wanna protect him.

These two make such great friends and I'm completely here for it.

And the episode STILL maintains all of Digital Circus's great qualities. Thrilling action, sharp comedy, great character interactions, excellent characterizations. And also much more theorizing material that will rot all our brains.

Great Episode. 8/10.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be welcoming this beauty in my nightmares.

[dwampyverseawards]

FINALE: PFTONES VS WHEN GLASS SHATTERS

CONGRATULATIONS TO @pftones3482 FOR WINNING THE WRITERS SIDE OF THE FOR FUN TOURNEY, AND TO @local-dragon-haunt FOR WINNING THE INDIVIDUAL FIC/SERIES SIDE OF THINGS! THIS LAST ROUND IS BASICALLY JUST EVEN MORE FOR THE FUNSIES.

@/pftones3482

Relevant reason for being submitted:

not sure if it has influence on the fandom overall but it had an influence on me and I live by that

They create top-tier Phineas and Ferb content, from fics to thoughtful analysis of characters and episodes. The following link is a great showcase of just a portion of their current Phineas and Ferb fics;

Propaganda: Just their entire catalogue of Phineas and Ferb works on Archive of Our Own. This is my favourite fic of theirs;

And here are some of my favourite posts;

Vote for @/pftones3482!

Have you ever heard of the Secret Life of Candace? Aka best mermaid au ever? GUESS WHO WROTE IT?

I have been in the Phineas and Ferb fandom for over a decade - writing fics for it for 12 years, can y'all believe that? I'm one of the oldest "original" fandom members left on AO3, which is actually insane.

And to this day the things I love about the show have shifted a little - favorite characters, favorite tropes, ships, etc. Nothing drastic, but anyone who's been following me since the beginning has definitely seen those changes.

But the thing I have always loved most about this fandom IS the fandom. The PnF fandom is one of the most wholesome fandoms I've ever been in, and it's the reason it's one of the only fandoms I still interact with. Sure, there's been drama, and sometimes we don't all agree - no fandom will ever always agree on everything (if they do....run)

Overall tho this fandom is so kind and wonderful, and given how small we are, we are still obnoxiously loud about this show 😂 I love us for that

Regardless if I win or lose (and if I lose, I'm honored to go down to someone like @/inators, who is a very kind person and has a big presence in the fandom), I wanted to say thank y'all for getting me this far

Phineas and Ferb got me on Tumblr and started my writing career. The fandom is what helped me stay. If I could give y'all an award for "Best Fandom," I absolutely would 🧡💚

When Glass Shatters, written by @/local-dragon-haunt

Relevant reason for being submitted:

Propaganda: local_dragon has a fantastic way with words and unconventional story telling. AUs where Perry is revealed to the kids are frequent, but ones where he interacts with Linda and Lawrence too are few and far between and the concept has so much potential. I just love their writing

Vote for my bestie @/local-dragon-haunt they deserve it and they won't admit it

Contestants may add their own propaganda however they see fit, provided it does not put down the person they are against. All round 1 matches were randomly generated, and anyone may drop out at any time.

[maniacwatchestheworld]

Man... So yeah... I've got conflicting feelings about Batman: The Caped Crusader... On the one hand, the art direction and the backgrounds? I can genuinely dig them! The diversity and number of people of color in the main cast? Fantastic! And I'm down for them trying out new takes on old or obscure rogues! The tone and atmosphere can be pretty good at times, and I appreciate the 1940's setting and the weird little oddities the show has because of the retro setting.

But to me, by far the most interesting thing about the show is that it doesn't really feel like a show about Batman. But rather that the show is about the systems of corruption that make Gotham the way that it is and stay that way. Batman has 0 qualms about beating the shit out of the cops, and I dig the hell out of that! Bruce often feels secondary to what Barbara, Renee, and Harvey are up to. The show feels like it's about Gotham! And what Batman is here to do and does is secondary to the other people living in it and trying to change things for Gotham. And I can dig that about this series! And honestly, seeing Barbara and Renee just being complete and utter badasses throughout the whole show and always being the best, most competent, incorruptable people in the room? Kinda delightful! Batman just gets to be a chump sometimes. And it's pretty funny to see the men go down with the easiest of punches while the ladies seem to be able to tank anything coming their way! Love that for them! But honestly... It really does seem like the show is a LOT more interested in the struggles of the poor, the people of color, and the women of the city than it is with the perspective of the rich, white, cis, male society that we usually see! So that's a direction I really appreciate with the show!

But on the negative side, BOY HOWDY does that animation look sloppy sometimes. And in fact, the animation style is often far too close to that of Scooby-Doo for my liking! When I started the 5th episode with Gentleman Ghost, I felt a little baffled because I just put on Batman... But what I was seeing looked like it was literally pulled straight out of Scooby-Doo! The only real animation details that made it NOT look like Scooby-Doo was MAYBE the eyeliner on some of the characters. And even then, only maybe. Like it's not exactly surprising, but still a bit of a bummer. :p Also this is probably just a me thing, but I wish that Batman was just more successful when it came to saving people. Like, I entirely got that they wanted this show to be for adults so they they could raise the stakes and actually kill characters off... But there are just a few instances that feel like a bummer and I wish that Batman was given a chance to save them... Speaking of... Spoilers below the cut!

Man! I'm bummed out by what they did with Harvey! He's my favorite! He's my boi! I love he! And he just gets killed off! Like... I was genuinely interested to see what they were doing with him. It wasn't my ideal direction for Harvey, but it was interesting! And I would have liked to see more of him! I would have liked to see more of the dynamic between Harvey and Two-Face! And their dynamic with Barbara was genuinely very fun to see! But yeah... They killed him off and he's very VERY unlikely to come back! I think that it would have been more interesting if they tried to keep him around. In that last episode, he asks what kind of happy ending he can have where he gets out of this. And honestly, I think that it would have been more fun and challenging for them to try and answer that question! But nah. They just killed him off. Siiiiigh... Also when thinking about the themes of the show, them killing Harvey off feels a little... Troubling... So at the very least, if Caped Crusader does return for a second season... I sure as FUCK hope that Harvey haunts the ever-loving FUCK out of the narrative! Cause honestly, I could have stood to see more of this interpretation of him! But alas! Siiiiigh...

Also lol. Apparently my prediction of the direction that they were trying to do with this Two-Face and Harvey was spot on. And that's kinda hilarious! :P

[coffeelovesdramasalatte]

LITA Ep. 5 Rewatch Thoughts Part 2

Phayu is looking WAY too happy to be called a bastard

Idk this shot is just funny

AHHHH It's our other resident cutie!! I missed you Prapai <3 Also yay for P' Aon and P' Saifah my beloveds

The exchange between Prapai and P' Saifah is so funny and I wish we'd gotten to explore the twins' and Prapai trio more in the show. That would've been so fun! As it stands take a P' Saifah side-eyeing self-proclaimed VIP Prapai

Ah so P' Saifah did hear things last night (poor him). Also I'mma need everyone to stop calling Phayu names when all he does is be a SIMP

If the beast was actually a puppy, sure. I'm not sure these boys know how metaphors work.

Poor Sky's world is about to get a lot windier with turbulence. It's not time for us to talk about that yet though. Also peep the manga collection, I stan

HE EVEN SNEEZES LIKE A KITTY I CAN'T HANDLE THIS CUTENESS

P' Phayu you're hilarious - wdym germ-spreader as if you don't literally stick your tongue down his throat in circa 5 minutes

Man is really gunning to impress the in-laws - do you see this smirk?? He knows he's won their favor (at least Mama Rain's so far). Poor Rain can feel himself being replaced as the favorite son >.<

I just know Phayu's inner-self is SCREAMING rn at seeing his triangle being so treasured by Rain. This is probably what prompted that very "you are my fate and the heavens themselves brought us together and ilysm" musical number coming up later on. Also for the millionth time, Boss has v nice hands heh

I love how utterly hypnotized Rain looks every time Phayu gets close to him. obsessed with this set of expressions, actually!

Why is Rain saying 'mia' with that look on his face so powerful?? Phayu sir how did you hold back from immediately smothering his face with kisses bc I certainly couldn't be that strong

Phayu I'm going to slap you bc what is this behavior?

Rain is understandably not ok. Noeul did a spectacular job here of giving us subdued shock and realistic tearing up. Generally speaking, he's a good crier (even in ep 3 I think he portrayed it well without overdoing it).

I love how they gave us dramatic thunder in the background to really impart the gravity of the situation. Foley artist I continue to love u <3

They also really went hard with the triangle imagery in this episode, or maybe that's just me seeing things. I do love how Rain's first instinct to get out of any Situation is to grab Phayu's arm.

"It's time to stop studying each other." Yeah ok say it without looking at Rain's lips like 50 times first, coward

You can see the tear track and Noeul does this little nose twitch here that's giving me poor meow meow. Even Phayu couldn't resist touching

Rain: is this clown serious rn?? we're talking about the WEATHER???

The audacity?!

Rain looks so distressed here, my poor son :(

He finally breaks and we get to see that oh-so-adorable-only-for-Rain nose crinkle. Phayu is lucky he's so cute or Rain would've pouted for a lot longer

Rain just went at him with the softest pillow in his arsenal. He's too nice.

I know every single one of you went back to the shot earlier of his clearly unmarked back when you first watched this. I should know. I squinted for like 5 full minutes. Phayu you're a liar :(

Rain hits him some more, and Phayu says he's already won. I really think this man looks wayyyy too smug, someone (Rain) should do something about it.

And we're back to the neck cradling. I continue to admire how quickly Rain just loses himself (as shown by his suddenly very focused on Phayu's face gaze)

To the next part we go!! Lots of sweetness ahead :)

[aevykcreates]

Jlaire Week Ask Game

Yeah, I went ahead and answered all of them. :P

Light and Darkness - What got you into Jlaire in the first place and what makes it one of if not your favorite ship?

I’m pretty sure I shipped them from the very first episode. First, we’ve been introduced to Jim, who is like the sweetest character ever. So when we saw him literally drooling over Claire, we know she has to be special.

It doesn’t take much time for them to interact and I remember loving that scene because I didn’t know there was so much Spanish in the show (at least in the first season). Both that interaction and the one just before the audition show they’re actually interested in each other and I’ve loved their dynamic from the beginning.

I think they somehow remind me of my own characters, Zem and Aury, since he’s the anxious one and she has to help him (even though Aury is way more short-tempered than Claire).

Romeo and Juliet- What's your favorite Jlaire moment form Trollhunters?

There are many good ones to choose. I love when she discovers his secret, the dance in the hill and when he reaches out to help her when she makes that mega-portal. They really care about each other and I think the best part is how we’re able to see their relationship flourish during the seasons.

Beauty and the Beast- What's your favorite Jlaire moment from Wizards?

The picnic, for sure. I think we should have seen more Jlaire interactions when he was a half Troll. I loved all the scenes where Claire gets to protect Jim, showing how much she has improved as a sorceress, but there’s something about them being able to relax and have an actual date.

Tragic Love - What's your Jlaire heartbreaking moment in the series?

Even though Jim knowing he’s not going to survive if they go back to the present is a close one, I have to say when Claire finds his soul wandering over the Killahead Bridge in the Shadow Realm. I’m a hopeless romantic and what breaks my heart is that “being close but still too far from each other” if you know what I mean.

My Romeo - What's your favorite Jlaire quote from Trollhunters?

From Hero of a 1000 faces: “This is the worst day of my life.” “That’t the real Jim.” It’s so funny, but also shows how much she’s gotten to know him.

100 Life times - What's your favorite Jlaire Quote from Wizards?

That’s a tough one. I liked the “I'd date you for a hundred lifetimes, Jim Lake.”… until the movie came out. So I guess: “But I've fought across time and space to bring you back.” Because of the same reason that scene is so heartbreaking to me.

Toby dating Advices - What's your advice for Jim that would help with him Claire

Actually, I think things worked out quite well. I would have advised him to be braver but he actually ended up being it, so...

Mary Dating Advice- what's your advice for Claire that would help her with Jim.

Actually, I think things worked out quite well.

time and Space - What's your Aus for Jim and Claire relationship or what's your favorite Au for them?

I have a soft spot for Beauty and the Beast kind of stories, so most of my Aus revolve around that. I seriously thing Troll Jim was underused and I’d have liked to see more of them as a couple, like travelling to New Jersey. That’s why I had to write about that and why Lights and Shadows of Camelot is the culmination of it. BTW, I’ve written a lot about Jlaire in my fanfics, if you’re interested 😊

Shadowhunter - What's your favorite headcanons for Jlaire?

They send messages all the time, checking out the other is okay. Jim makes Claire her favorite cookies and she takes him on dates using portals to visit new places.

If you have any more questions or want me to elaborate about anything, don't be afraid to ask!

Sadly, I won't be able to do any prompts, but I'm gonna share some Jlaire art I have around and you can check out my fanfics for more Jlaire content!:

-New Jersey: A brief story of what happened in the journey to New Jersey that had place during the season 2 of 3Below.

-Awakening: A novelized version of the 11th episode of the third season, "Jimhunters". Includes original new scenes.

-The Arrival: Final chapter of "New Jersey", connecting the story with "Wizards".

-Light through yonder window: After being attacked by Nomura, Jim is brought to the hospital. Claire decides she has to go and stay by his side. Tells what happened between the episodes 'Claire and Present Danger' and 'Battle of Two Bridges' and a couple of things more.

-Waiting: Jim has entered the Darklands. Claire and Toby will have to act quickly and not fall into despair.

-Butterflies and Christmas Jlaire, from Arcadian Nights.

-Lights and Shadows of Camelot: Claire has just discovered her magic powers and goes to Camelot so Morgana can teach her. One night, she'll meet the Trollhunter.

[wingsoverlagos]

Lewisohn vs. Paul McCartney's Routes of Rock

Paul McCartney's Routes of Rock is a BBC radio series that ran in late 1999 as part of promo for Paul's mostly-covers album, Run Devil Run. It was one of the first sources I tried to find when I started this project, but no dice. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to find it again, and it practically fell into my lap! It's a cute series - Paul talks about his early rock 'n' roll influences and gives some cute early-Beatles anecdotes. You can download the entire series here.

The series totals five parts and runs for ~2.5hrs. The download link has those five parts in three tracks - Track 1 is Parts 1 and 2, Track 2 is Parts 3 and 4, and Track 3 is Part 5. The timestamps I give in this post are for the tracks, not the individual parts/episodes.

Lewisohn cites Routes of Rock ten times in in the standard edition of Tune In. Eight of these citations contain errors; in fact, a ninth might as well, but I can't say for sure - I've included discussion of that citation (Tune In P-3) at the end of the post.

We've got a few classic Lewisohnisms to dig into here: a Frankenquote, details pulled in from an uncited source or from thin air, and Lewisohn playing it fast and loose with Paul McCartney's influences. We'll start with that last one.

Tune In 10-23 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 3 (Track 2, 26:05)

This isn't the first example I've come across where Lewisohn decides that a close approximation of Paul McCartney's influences is good enough for him - I'm reminded of Paul's troubador impression inspiration, discussed here.

Lewisohn uses this quote to support his assertion that Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie" b/w "Almost Grown" was "unfluential to budding songwriters" -- those budding songwriters being John and Paul. But when we check the source, Paul clearly discusses Jerry Lee Lewis's version of the song. Here's my transcript:

We’re gonna finish off with another great favorite that we used to do with the Beatles. To us, this was the beginning of rap, the first time we’d heard anyone talk in a record “Meanwhile [I'm waiting?]” Okay, it’s Jerry Lee Lewis, “Little Queenie”

"I'm waiting" in brackets because I'm not quite sure what Paul's saying there. I think he flubs the lyrics a bit: the spoken lyric in both the Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis versions is "Meanwhile, I was thinkin'." Lewisohn...uh, corrrects??? Paul's mistake here, but instead of writing the actual lyric, he writes "meanwhile I's thinking" which seems a bit fucked, tbh. Lewisohn changes the version of the song Paul was discussing to one by a black artist, and then alters the lyrics to a heavily dialectical "I's" rather than the "I was" that Chuck Berry actually used?? I'm struggling to articulate myself here, but it strikes me in the wrong way.

But back to the issue of Lewisohn changing the artist. Lewisohn goes so far as to mention the b-side for Berry's "Little Queenie" - but since Paul was discussing Lewis's version, the b-side was a different song entirely ("I Could Never Be Ashamed.") Maybe the Lewis-for-Berry switcheroo doesn't seem like a big deal to you--Chuck Berry did write the song, and he was undeniably an influence on the Beatles--but let's take a look at a hypothetical scenario. If an artist said they were influenced by one of the Beatles' covers--let's say "Twist and Shout"--and an author then wrote that said artist was influenced by the Isley Brothers' "Twist and Shout" b/w "Spanish Twist", that would be...well, a big lie, wouldn't it?

Tune In 4-23 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 1 (Track 1, ~12:12)

This is a Frankenquote, and the most infuriating type of all -- it's a combination of a quote from Routes of Rock with an ~author interview~. Very irritating! Worse yet, while Lewisohn generally tells the reader which part of a FrankenQuote comes from which source (e.g. First sentence from Source A, second sentence from Source B, etc.), there's no indication which bits of this quote come from which source. Mark!!!

My transcript:

Actually, the first record I ever bought though was one- when I was in school, a mate of mine was talking to me about Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps. I mean, if we’d’ve spent as much time on our studies as we did talking about these rock ‘n’ roll acts I think I’d be nuclear physicist by now. It’s a good thing, I think, that I’m not. Anyway, so, he was telling me about Gene Vincent, he said, “Oh, they’ve got this great record out called ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ which I think was their first single. So I went down to our local record shop which was called Curry’s in the city center after school, and I went down and I said, “You got this song called ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’?” He said, “Yeah” So you went into one of these little listening booths and put it on. [Brief singing] The echo, and the whole atmosphere of it was so fantastic I had to have it there and then. So I got my hard earned cash out, slipped it over the counter. I was the proud owner of “Be-Bop-A-Lula”

This ambiguous FrankenQuote required advanced colorcoding. In yellow, I've highlighted any phrases that almost certainly come from Routes of Rock -- they are exact quotes, or contain only minor changes. In pink are phrases that probably come from Routes of Rock -- the phrasing and information is similar, but I can't say for certain that Paul didn't say something very similar on a separate date. The man does like to repeat himself. In blue are bits that probably originate from Lewisohn's author interview -- there's nothing like it in Routes.

Tune In 5-34 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 3 (Track 2, 15:36)

Okay, I’m gonna move along now to a very early memory of mine. I can remember being in Sefton Park when the fair came to town, and standing beside the waltzers and playing there at full volume with the waltzers spinning around was a track by Charlie Gracie. And it was a great track for me because of all these memories and the smell of chips and the whole atmosphere of the fairground. This is a track that I was about to do—I  never actually ever got round to it. I did it for my new album, but it didn’t make the final cut. I think it’ll appear as one of my b-sides in time to come. But this track was by Charlie Gracie. Here it is now, it’s called “Fabulous.”

Lewisohn rearranges the first sentence here (the phrase "playing there at full volume" in particular is moved later in the sentence), and there's an unmarked omission of several sentences before "called Fabulous."

Tune In 7-7 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 1 (Track 1, 23:17)

I used to get up on the desk at the end of term in school when they finally gave you a day where you could freak out, and I remember the whole class gathering round, and I stood on the desk and did “Tutti Frutti”, I think it was. Thank you, Richard. That’s my man.

The quote here has one minor issue -- "gathering" is changed to "gathered", but Lewisohn adds in some details, namely that Paul brought his guitar to school for this impromptu performance, and that this was the "first time" he'd do such a thing. The guitar isn't mentioned in the source; unless Lewisohn has an additional, uncited source for this anecdote, I don't know why he would assume this was a planned vocal-and-instrumental performance rather than an impromptu vocal solo.

Tune In 8-26 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 3 (Track 2, 19:08)

I think the people- mates of mine and all of us, when we first heard “Dream”, it just blew us away.

Minor changes: "'Dream'" changed to "it", "just" dropped before "blew"

Tune In 11-4 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 2 (Track 1, 54:21)

Now one of our favorites who wasn’t so much in the rock and roll world, but we weren’t really snobbish about that, was more from the jazz world, more from the R and B world was Ray Charles. And this was a record that just blew our socks off when we first heard it. My first time I ever actually heard it was on the BBC with DJ David Jacobs. Quite an unlikely guy, really, with his posh voice, to be playing a record like that. But not only did he play the record, he turned it over and he played the b-side which is more of the same. A really cool move, I always had a lot of time for David after that. This is a fantastic record that just, as I say, blew everyone away: Ray Charles "What'd I Say."

Emphasis added to bits quoted by Lewisohn.

There are issues with the quote itself, along with the issue of added details that aren't in the source. First, the quote: as you can see from the transcript, the "quote" as presented by Lewisohn is cobbled together from three phrases in a much larger quote, rearranged and stitched together without so much as an ellipsis.

As for the added detail, this is the only citation Lewisohn gives in this section, but the detail about "Paul lean[ing] out of bed" to jot down the song name to "[buy] it on release date" is not in the source.

Tune In 13-24 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 5 (Track 3, 3:12)

That was a song called "Honey Hush," and as I say, my favorite version of it was by Johnny Burnette. That track takes me right back to a flat that John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe used to have when they were going to art school. It was in a place called Gambier Terrace. Big, high-ceilinged student flat. It was the first time George and I, I think, had ever stayed out for a night. And we stayed there, we chewed the fat all night. I don’t think we got an awful lot of sleep. I remember waking up in the morning, freezing cold in a chair somewhere with the eyes burning – you know that one? And, I think John just leaning out of his bed—of course, he had the bed, being their flat—to his Dansette record player, putting this one on--boy, that was it for me. “Honey Hush.” Never forget that.

Emphasis added to bits quoted by Lewisohn.

This is another FrankenQuote. In Tune In, the part of this quote that comes before the ellipsis is from an author interview, while the latter part is from Routes. There are two phrases omitted from this quote (unmarked, naturally), and Paul doesn't actually say "putting on Johnny Burnette."

Tune In 13-27 vs. Routes of Rock Pt. 1 (Track 1, 6:56)

One of the people I loved in the early days out of the many was Eddie Cochran. I think why we loved him was because he was a good guitar player. Lot of the guys would just stand up and swing their guitar around, but we’d look to see if they could actually play and when you looked at Eddie, he could really play, he played the solos, and he did the stuff, and you knew he was writing this stuff. And finally a film came around called The Girl Can’t Help It which was really the first film to really pay tribute to rock ‘n’ roll, ‘cause the others had been black and white, small screen things, terrible stories, and no major stars in them, really. Suddenly you had Jayne Mansfield and a bunch of really good actors out of Hollywood. And a fantastic cast of all our favorites. And I think one of my favorite moments in that whole film was when we finally got to see Eddie Cochrane doing “Twenty Flight Rock.”

Emphasis added to bits quoted by Lewisohn.

The phrase "and he did the stuff" is omitted from Tune In without use of an ellipsis.

Finally, the possible error I mentioned at the start of the post:

Tune In P-3 is a single word quote from Paul, "worshipping", but the only form of that word I heard in Routes of Rock was "worship." If that's the only form of worship used in the series, Lewisohn's single word quote should really read "worship[ping]" to indicate the tense change, but I'd have to listen to the whole series again to say with certainty that the other form of worship isn't there.

Sources:

Lewisohn M. 2013. The Beatles: All These Years Vol. 1: Tune In. New York (NY): Crown Archetype. [ebook]

McCartney P. 1999 c.Oct-Nov. Paul McCartney's Routes of Rock. BBC World Service. Accessed online 2024 May 28. Available from: https://mega.nz/folder/MbFzXJoD#G-AsaKKzPUDj9rfC6ate0A

[theweirdgoodbyes]

10, 11, 13, 22 for the HBO war asks!

Thanks for the ask my dear!

10. Which Band of Brothers scene broke your heart the most?

So many heartbreaking scenes but I think Joe after losing his leg saying “I gotta get up” and trying to drag himself to safety shattered my kokoro the most

11. Which The Pacific scene broke your heart the most?

Fuck another hard one. There are so so SO many tough scenes but one of the first that comes to mind is when Eugene and Snaf find the baby. They have no idea what to do and for a moment I genuinely thought they would kill the baby because of how far gone they were mentally. Ugh gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

13. Do you have a favorite Band of Brothers episode? Which one and why?

Ooo tough one but I think Currahee! The calm before the storm lmao plus it’s just a great first episode of a show, it really pulls you in. And the scene of smokey (im p sure it’s him) running up currahee alone and then being joined by the other guys legit makes me want to scream, it’s such a powerful moment of brotherhood.

22. If you could make HBO create another series, what would it be about?

This is genuinely such a tough question. I think if done right, with accurate research, and being incredibly mindful and aware of the mistakes of the US government, I would love to see a show about the Vietnam War that has separate but connected storylines about drafted soldiers serving in Vietnam and student protests in the US. However this can very quickly step into White Savior territory so again hbo would have to get their shit in order

[whirligig-girl]

ST:PRODIGY S2 SPOILERS

WATCH STAR TREK PRODIGY! IT'S REALLY FUCKING GOOD! I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF EPISODE FIVE RIGHT NOW SO DO NOT RESPOND TO ME WITH SPOILERS!

I have to report that I am going to have some interesting work to do squaring my version of Mellanoid Slime Worms from the past year and a half--Eaurp Guz et al--with the depiction of Murf in Prodigy S2.

Spoilers for S2E5 and maybe earlier below the cut.

So. Murf is an aquatic, and that was preventing him from being understood. Rok'tahk says we don't know much about his species--but that's silly, they could have just asked me! I'd have told you alllll about their railways and spaceships and maybe a little bit about the less important stuff like their history, planet, culture, and biology. :P

Murf can slightly shapeshift at a whim (using extra arms to grab a bunch of weapons) but clearly reverts to one of a few natural forms--a bipedal and an aquatic form. This isn't much different to Guz!

I had assumed that Murf couldn't speak because he was a baby being raised with a universal translator, so his speech pathways didn't develop correctly. The failure of the universal translator Jankom modified is exactly what I would have expected for someone with that condition. In fact that might still be the case--the message they eventually did get out of him was jumbled and in the wrong order--but the main problem was that he needed to be underwater to be understood. Clearly this isn't an issue for Guz. What's interesting is that Murf's aquatic advantage seems to be biologically inherent--he was raised in an air atmosphere. But, perhaps Guz and all other terrestrial mellanoids had to be taught special techniques to speak in air.

Murf wouldn't even necessarily be the first time a terrestrial-raised mellanoid found out she was much happier as an aquatic. My friend Ray's mellanoid OC, Utut Arobi, realized she was much happier as a mermaid (and part-time cetacean), despite spending all of her life up until that point on land.

Murf is also developing like, blobby organs that I'm pretty sure weren't in his bipedal model last season (but i could be wrong). This is something that Guz has too, but I've always imagined their refractive index is so similar to the rest of their goo that it's invisible. Still, I could probably start drawing Guz and other mellanoids that way for parity.

Before I was willing to chalk the differences up to Prodigy being a cartoon and already kinda making some weird decisions regarding existing canon, but everything seems well thought out enough at this point that I'm not necessarily comfortable throwing much away.

It's really cool though because there are actually some interesting parallels between my Mellanoids and Prodigy's, and it's really great to see a Mellanoid animated and doing stuff that's a lot like some of the stuff Guz does. But it's also frustrating because it's definitely contradicting my stuff.

So I have more or less four options, and as I watch, I'll be weighing the pro's and con's.

Guzcomic and all works with Guz, Slamtha, and my other slimeworm characters, are all in an alternate timeline where Mellanoids had a different history--even potentially a different evolutionary history as well. That is--ignore Star Trek Prodigy going forward. I don't want to do this because so far Prodigy is some of my favorite Star Trek ever!

Split off all the mellanoid characters into Gymnomi Slimes. I first used this term for the Torchship version of Guz, but I've worked it into Surviving Schwil and I think my Mellanoid Slime species sheet. I was worried about this possibility, so I sorta fit that in as an 'out.'

Split the sapient Mellanoids into different species. Maybe make the terrestrials and aquatics different species? Alternatively, maybe every goo gunk critter that the Zaldans encountered were called Mellanoid Slime--or maybe Mellanoid Slime as a name for the Guz's species comes from Zaldans hearing about Murf's species.

Make substantial retcons to all of the lore I've posted so far. The way things are heading, that might involve undoing all the rocket science and train stuff I've been doing.

That last one could be more fun, but would make my worldbuilding messy!

To be honest, even though I really liked Prodigy S1, when I decided Guz would be a mellanoid slime worm, it was sort of meant to be a minor name reference to a fairly minor slapstick character. Murf getting development in S2 didn't occur to me until after Guz became like, a part of my identity as a person. my main blorbo. It might've saved me a lot of trouble if I'd come up with an original species name originally. We'll see what happens!

Having now finished S2E5 since writing most of the above post, so far I think it's all very salvageable! But it all depends on how much more they go into Murf's biology. The show doesn't seem to be going in a direction that will be exploring Murf's actual homeworld, at least not yet.

I may be willing to just ignore Rok'tahk's "we don't know much about his species." Maybe she just meant she specifically didn't? (unlikely, she loves Murf and tried for a long time to communicate.) So far the biggest downright inconsistency with my established mellanoid slime lore is that Rok'tahk considers Murf's species uncommon and mysterious, whereas Guz hails from a *backwater*, but still a backwater with Federation membership. In my timeline, Rok'takh probably could have spoken to other mellanoids about Murf and his condition, either through subspace or maybe even talking in person to one of the small handful of mellanoid cadets in San Francisco that would've been in the academy in 2385/6.

Then again, even if she did talk to other mellanoids, even a mellanoid doctor, they probably wouldn't have had a clue what to do about it, since mellanoids didn't even have universal translators until a few years ago and they're not very common. A mellanoid slime worm larva on mellanus has probably never been exposed to an automatic U.T.

Then again, Rok'tahk's line is clearly meant to be interpreted as "we[the federation] doesn't know much..." which would be a substantial difference from my lore.

EDIT: one thing i notice--which hasn't come up much and i was toying with the idea anyway--is that Zero can't read Murf's mind. IIRC Ferengi were also hard to read because of their unique neurological structure, and mellanoid slimes definitely have a unique neurological structure. Then again, Counselor Troi is supposed to be able to read completely alien beings that have nothing in common with humanoids. Either way my Mellanoids are not psychic voids like Data is--but they're not necessarily easy to read.

[le--fruitcake]

In the meantime while I anxiously await your plentiful truths, might I ask for what cartoons you might recommend my humble self?

Ah, my vassal! I am neariy finished writing that essay, I promise. Just a while longer, I need to be sure my sources are accurate.

I will say you should watch Samurai Rabbit, despite it being almost painfully cringeworthy at times. It's surprisingly well-written, though! It's only on Netflix.

In terms of TMNT, the only one I can recommend with my whole chest is Rise of the TMNT. I like the others (mostly— 2012 is on Thin Fucking Ice with the Donnie/April thing), but Rise is the best by far! I am Extremely Biased and am going to say you should watch the Usagi crossover episodes of 2003 (S2E23-26, S3E01 [does not contain a whole lot of Usagi, but he and Leo uh. Exchange swords], S3E22-23, S4E13, and S7E13 [no speaking lines, appears as a background character only]) and 2012 (S5E15-17). The 1987 ones (S3E32/34) aren't as good, but you do get to watch Mikey slap Usagi in the face with a pizza. Fucking LMAO. All the TMNT is on Paramount Plus, but far be it from me to tell you not to hoist the colors, matey.

The Amazing World of Gumball... exists! It sure does. I really like the way they play with animation and art style, and it has some honestly amazing physical comedy, but it's very, um... 2012. I think it popularized a lot of tropes you see in more modern cartoons that make them borderline unbearable, but I found myself watching the entire thing and kind of wanting more! It's pretty good if you just want some batshit insane cartoon nonsense, but it has no story to speak of, really. The episodes are both startlingly interconnected and purely standalone. Anais is my favorite character, followed by Nicole, and honestly the men in that family are trash lmao. I think I watched it on Hulu, but it might have been HBO Max.

I like Star Wars, too, specifically Visions, Clone Wars (both 2003 and 2007), and, though I haven't finished it, Rebels. (I like the movies, too! Real shame they never made any past Episode VII. Had so much potential. Smh my head.) Visions S1E8 is my favorite thing Star Wars has ever done btw. Very Heavily Biased. All of this is on Disney Plus.

I have of course seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Legend of Korra, and recommend Avatar if by some miracle you haven't seen it, but tbh I don't know if I would recommend Korra. It has very interesting concepts, but the execution is um. Bad. Watching the Straights™️ frothing at the mouth over Korrasami was an Experience! "we poppin' the biggest bottles when Makorra happens tonight" is a regular part lo my vocabulary. Both are on Netflix, I think.

I like Teen Titans! I used to have the first two seasons on DVD. There are a lot of jokes I didn't get as a kid, and so rewatching it as an adult was interesting. I also didn't appreciate Cyborg enough as a kid, man has the best jokes. Robin was always my favorite, but on rewatch, I really can't say who's my favorite. I like Beast Boy's power the best, but Raven is p cool, and Starfire is wonderful, and Cyborg is funny. This is available on The Max Formerly Known as HBO.

I also watched all of the original animated Batman. Batman: The Animated Series, I think it was called? I really really liked that one, it was the perfect mix of edgy and funny, and is my favorite Batman iteration. Mark Hamill Joker also! That interpretation of Two-Face is my favorite, and made him my favorite Batman villain. I still want a silver dollar btw! I already have a $2 bill and several dollar coins, so if I get one of those and a half-dollar, I'll have one of every kind of defunct American currency. I think. I believe this is also available on The Max.

If you count anime as cartoons, Bleach and Fairy Tail are good, if you skip the filler. My Hero is... Pretty good. Mirko is of course my favorite character, and I am now only invested in the show for her sake. Crunchyroll is kinda the go-to for anime, but Hulu also has all three of these. I think Bleach might not be on Crunchyroll anymore also? Very Odd if so because it's one of the Big Ones, but I couldn't find it when I looked last.

Little Witch Academia is adorable! Lesbians abound, and features a surprising amount from actual Celtic lore. It's also quite possible the only anime featuring high school girls that doesn't make any blatant attempt to sexualize them, which is a breath of fresh air. The official anime is a Netflix original, but there apparently exists an OVA that I have not seen, and a movie, that I have, also on Netflix.

Castlevania is extremely good, but I guess it's technically an anime? It's originally in English and has some of the best lines I have ever heard come out of someone's mouth, ever, but it is heavily gorey, and S2 has some Unfortunate Rather Graphic Heterosexuality. Fortunately, one of the characters is confirmed bisexual! It is also a Netflix original.

This was a doozy to answer! I don't watch too many cartoons, per se, because I wasn't allowed watch most of them growing up. Never seen Spongebob, Powerpuff Girls, Phineas and Pherb, etc. etc. Despite that, I am a fan of animated shows over live-action shows, generally speaking, due to the liberties one can take, and the fact that you aren't limited by what you can achieve with human actors and such. The same goes for video games— I prefer heavy style to realism, though the GameCube/PS2 era games had the best of both worlds.

[yurisorcerer]

I think Girls Band Cry has finally edged out Jellyfish as my girl band show of the season, and probably my favorite overall as well. I caved and caught up with the other group doing fansubs (their translations are on par, although the subs themselves aren't as fancy), and I just....wow. There's a lot to process here. This post is going to be long.

So, Nina's pa is aware of her faltering grades and now that she's talked to her sister about the band, her family is probably going to know all about that soon as well. Naturally, she has not told any of this to said band. The girl's natural inclination to simply Not Tell People Things is going to absolutely blow up in the second half of the show, I'm sure.

The use of traditional flat animation to convey the past---bygone periods of one's life, memories that have gotten hazy in the recollection---is probably the smartest thing Girls Band Cry does visually. Other uses of 2D animation in the series can feel like a concession, these very much do not.

Of course I wrote that and then they did the broken glass split shot thing when Momoka announced she was leaving the band, so I don't know. The series is just very inventive, visually, and I like that, even if most of the visual symbolism is not necessarily subtle.

Mine, the character in red who's given a supporting role here for what is honestly not a ton of screentime, makes an immense impact in the brief amount that she's on screen. We have somebody here who is herself not "successful" in the broad-stroke pop star sense, but who is clearly at least getting by and making a living with her music. It's inspiring, in a way, and I think that Nina might feel that way too.

I've avoided using the P-word much in my writing lately, because I think it's easy to attribute to passion all sorts of other emotions that might be described better with other terms, but if we read this work as a reflective one, we can assume that the people working on it feel similarly to Mine about their own profession. Things can be difficult, they can be hard, but you push through for your own sake. Because, if you're really that devoted to what you're doing, you almost have to.

In another piece of awesome yet obvious visual symbolism, when Nina redoubles her commitment to the band, she runs to a nearby lake and happens to catch the start of a fireworks show. I kind of love this series.

In episode 7's final moments, in the middle of a concert, the band, which has remained nameless for the entire first half of the show, is finally (and hastily) christened Togenashi Togenari. A literal line-of-sight name, because Nina is an insane person.

Episode 8 opens on a flashback, immediately reflecting Nina's current desire to drop out of school with Momoka's past plan to do the exact same thing. This entire section is flat animated, which to me is enough evidence to confirm that the show's usage of 2D animation to represent the past is an intentional stylistic choice.

Momoka remarks that if Diamond Dust gives themselves an escape route from their desire to make it big, they'll definitely end up using it rather than succeeding, so they shouldn't make one. It's interesting to note that this is the same philosophy that no less an artist than Eminem once advocated. I'm not sure it's the best advice, necessarily, but you can't deny the drive.

Subaru correctly points out that Nina's drive to succeed isn't as far-fetched as it seems, given various factors (those listed include; Tomo & Rupa being somewhat notable indie musicians, Momoka being an ex member of Diamond Dust to begin with, an endorsement on Twitter from another singer, etc.) Nina's plan is no plan---the same that Momoka had as a teenager---no escape routes, no backup plans.

It's notable that Nina's memories don't get the 2D treatment, and I think that may be because unlike Momoka, she's not romanticizing her own past. Momoka, we can clearly see by this point, is guilty of seeing Nina as a slightly younger version of herself in too literal a sense. She thinks that because she failed with Diamond Dust, she'll fail with Togenashi Togenari too, and that Nina will fail with Togenashi Togenari too, because "that's how these things go." She fails to consider that the only data point she's operating off of is her own, and what the final scene---and the inevitable confrontation with the renewed Diamond Dust---tells us, which is that the original group splitting up might have been best for both them and Momoka.

And then there's the final scene, which I find hard to put into words. It's just so much. Momoka cranking her own old song, crying her eyes out, as Nina says she loves her (!!!!!) as they speed down the highway. This show is unhinged. I love it to pieces.

Truly we are in the middle of a girls band revolution. I never like to promise these things, but I might review this when it's over.

Worth noting! The show TRENDED ON TWITTER FOR SEVERAL HOURS after this episode aired. It really does feel like an *event.* I haven't seen this many people pop for an original anime in ages.

[a-student-out-of-time]

Did you watched new heartless deceit interlude episodes?

//Dude, yes, and I have so much to say!

//I'll start in order:

MOMOKA'S DAY OFF

I have to say, my initial thoughts when Akira's secondary talent was revealed- Ultimate Hitman- were how that happened. I wondered what kind of people the Himura clan must be to recruit a teenage girl into becoming a hitman, and my mind went to cruelty, coercion, and a lot of uncomfortable thoughts about what they might've put her through. Especially given how disturbed Akira was about being given an award for it by EOS.

Then this episode came along and proved the situation is quite the opposite.

First of all, I adore Momoka and her chaos gremlin energy. She's hilariously unprofessional, especially on her day off, and yet she's supposed to be an advisor to the Himura clan. Her relationships with Hirotaka and Keisuke are the epitome of the No Energy, Calm, Too Much Energy meme.

Speaking of, I like that Keisuke has no preferred pronouns. They're definitely the serious, business-minded one, but still have that connection with Momoka and Hirotaka.

And poor Hirotaka is the straight man in all these antics : P

Then there's Ryuuji Himura, the younger brother of the former head of the clan, and who turns out is a pretty laid-back, chill dude. While he has a meeting planned with another clan, his mind is on fancy desserts. He doesn't seem like the type to lead a yakuza clan, and it turns out there's a good reason for it.

While Momoka, Keisuke and Hirotaka are having dinner, we get to learn a bit more about their history. The three of them have been friends for years, and reminisce about their old friend Ryuusei, Ryuuji's older brother and the former head of the clan, and his fiance Yukie.

As Timeline Anon reminded me, we've actually seen them once before:

Far from being threatened or coerced like this was Passione, the Himura Clan- and these two in particular- actually seem like they took Akira in and cared for her. Ryuusei and Yukie were like parents to her, and I have to wonder if that includes her siblings too.

What we can be sure of is Akira grew up under their care. But sadly, that didn't last. Just a week before wedding, around 6 years before HD takes place, they died. Something that still affects the trio to this day.

But ultimately, they still all manage to have a nice outing together, reminiscing about old friends.

I'll save my thoughts and speculation for the end, so here's the other:

_______________________________________________

ABOVE THE YELLOW SPRING

So, this one is actually my favorite and it's entirely because this episode says exactly what I've been saying for years:

Being an Ultimate sucks.

Our unnamed protagonist, who's going to be awarded a very prestigious title, gets to enjoy an absolutely hellish nightmare on his way there. The first comes from his overbearing family, who have unrealistic expectations of him and can't stand him complaining about anything.

Stage mom and stage aunt at their absolute worst, even making jokes about throwing him on the streets if he isn't the best of the best. We also hear about how his cousin is facing similar pressures, and that the aunt doesn't want her "wasting time with a boy from some no-name family."

Our protag, who would much rather be at home playing guitar, then has to head to a televised interview, where he also gets to see himself all over town.

He never gets any time to himself, always going from one event to the next, with barely any time in-between to eat and sleep. We don't know what exactly his talent is, but it's something that's only ever been awarded once. He even directly says that people see him as a God over it. I'll come back to that.

But all the while, he has this flash through is mind:

Actually spooked me the first time I saw it.

The interview isn't much better. Protag is exhausted, but can't rest and constantly gets browbeaten by his interviewer. While his mother and aunt criticize him for being ungrateful, the guy calls him a pampered irresponsible brat and accuses him of buying the title.

When the interview finally happens, which EOS director Kumiko Arase herself is watching, he starts off trying to sound good...and then has a panic attack on air. And then decides he's had enough.

What follows is one of the most satisfying moments I've seen in any fangan ever.

He completely demolishes the idea of the Ultimates system and calls it elitist, how it puts ridiculous pressure and a social divide on impressionable teenagers. About how people behind it and the interview only care about profiting off of them. About how people like the interviewer put them up on a pedestal they never asked to be put on, and then tear into them out of jealousy.

Finally, he rejects the ultimate award, calls Kumiko an old hag and tells her she can kiss his ass. All in one fell swoop and I was so happy.

Sure, it means he's been kicked out of the family, but people will forget and he can finally live his own life. But it does mean his cousin will be put through the same wringer now. Still, he promises to come help her when he's settled.

Whoever this dude is, he's my goddamn hero.

_____________________________________________

THOUGHTS AND SPECULATION

So I'll start with the obvious: I was wrong about Akira's background. It's very clear the Himura clan has been more of a family to her than an antagonistic force pushing her into committing evil. Even so, why did she become a hitman?

The obvious answer after seeing this, at least to me? Retribution.

Take a look at what Denshi says about her during his side episode's intro:

Both of them were involved with the clan at a young age. He talks about how she must feel conflicted, yet he doesn't dissuade her from pursuing it or viewing herself as a killer. And she admits she worked hard to get to this point.

I think this is a sign it might've been Akira's decision to become one. Especially because she would've been a child at the time Ryuusei and Yukie were killed, and while we aren't given details, the context clues suggest why. Maybe they were actually assassinated by another clan and Akira became a hitman to get revenge?

Either way, she's still loved and valued by the rest of the clan, and it's clear to me that whomever's behind this killing game has no idea whose wrath they've incurred.

Now, as for our unnamed protagonist, I have no word on who he could be, as he's only been hinted at once by Tomoya. However, I have some info TA was also diligent enough to point out.

Remember his aunt? We saw her in Denshi's side episode too, talking with Isao about investigating on her own.

At the time, because of the hair color, we assumed she might've been Katsu's mom. Now I have a new idea:

Protag was going to be given a title we don't know the name of, but we know is so prestigious as to only have ever been given once before.

He said that EOS has been building him up and people look on him like a God before he rejects it.

We know he has a female cousin under similar pressure to be super talented and good at everything, and his aunt said she wouldn't let her daughter have any distractions.

Who do we know who's hyper-competent, has an unknown but prestigious talent, and would be there at the awards ceremony for her mother to attend?

To put it another way, who in this cast has also been called and named after a deity?

Yep. I'm suggesting this was actually Izanami's cousin, and her ascendance to our local Ultimate ??? was motivated by that. She's clearly extremely talented, beautiful and, as with protag, this:

It's not hard to imagine her family doubled down after her cousin peaced out, and it's given her a very questionable view of the world, especially people she views as "sinners." I can see her being a major rival against Akira, especially when the truth comes out.

So yeah, my thoughts on these interlude episodes, which have only made me more and more excited for HD Chapter 1. Great work from everyone involved!

[clara-maybe-ontheroad]

Only Friends's MBTI types - my guesses after episode 1

Let's associate one of my newest obsessions with one of my long lasting ones and guess our favorite group of messy queers' MBTI types ! Yes, all of Mew, Top, Ray, Sand, Boston, Nick and Chueam. I've done a lot of that at parties so I think I might be either good or terrible or average at it, I'm hedging my bets and promising nothing.

(btw I'm very aware of the problematic origins of the MBTI test, the ways it is often misused and how unscientific it is, please let me just have dumb fun okay ! Also I won't really explain that much what each letters actually mean bc it's more fun that way)

Anyway, going to rank the characters from the types I found the easiest to figure out to the hardest, this is after the first episode only so hopefully the next ones don't prove me wrong too much :

1. Boston : ESTP "The Entrepreneur"

E for extraverted, S for all the ssssensations, T 'cause he knows to hide what he thinks, P because that's what he's thinking with

Seriously though, ESTPs "tend to be energetic and action-oriented, deftly navigating whatever is in front of them. They love uncovering life’s opportunities, whether socializing with others or in more personal pursuits." They're unpredictable, always looking for the next thrill, charismatic, charming, quick-witted. They're also smarter than they look, can be calculating and rational, and use some of that cold logic to disregard people that don't suit them anymore to look for the next best thing. They're also the sluttiest type according to this Reddit thread I absolutely agree with.

Come on, don't tell me that's not Boston to a T !

Alternative typing : ESFP - but I think there's something less spontaneous and more calculating behind Boston's urges.

2. Sand : ISTJ "Logistician"

I for introverted because he's clearly tired of everyone, S for stubborn, T for those ethics, J for judgmental all day every day

ISTJ "pride themselves on their integrity. People with this personality type mean what they say, and when they commit to doing something, they make sure to follow through." They're hardworking strong willed and dutiful to a fault, honest to the point of lacking tact and hurting people, they're the type to care about people but also about order and about things being done "the right way", so they're kinda hard to befriend (and they don't necessarily want to be your friend anyway) but they make for extremely devoted partners. They value stability above all so they don't appear like the most sexually focused people but they reeeallly care about leaving their partner satisfied.

This type doesn't really do hook ups and I'm looking forward to how Sand is going to handle a FWB type relationship with Ray

Alternative typing : ISTP. I feel like a happy Sand with less money troubles could be an ISTP, able to express his artistic side and creativity, spontaneous, able to adapt, just still reserved. But the Sand we're shown so far is more rigid and less prone to risky behaviors than an ISTP would be.

3. Ray : INFP "Mediator"

Okay so this might be a controversial one, but listen, I know my depressed horny but pining romantics INFPs by heart, I love them to pieces, they're full of contradictions and I really see Ray as one of them.

Generally speaking, INFP are depicted as "quiet, open-minded, and imaginative", but most importantly and more essential to their nature, they live in a world of their own imagination. They're somewhat eccentric, witty, often have quite a few friends but always perceive themselves to be lonely, longing for a deep transcending connection that they don't actually try to get in real life because their self esteem is too low. They're smart but easily distracted and unfocused, passionnate and vulnerable but also self critical and desperate to please, empathetic and selfish, and just so damn depressed.

Alternative typing : ENFP / ISFP. Some people might say that Ray's adventurous and flirtatious side make him an ENFP or an ISFP, and I don't fully disagree : his apparent sluttiness is not very typical of an INFP. But ! it seems like his sluttiness is a coping mechanism to deal with his unreciprocated crush and low self worth, as is his alcoholism, and that sounds very INFP to me.

4. Top : ENTP "Debater"

We're getting into character I'm actually having doubts about, but I still think Top is an ENTP : E for extremely forward and extroverted, N for never backing down from a challenge, T for titillating and quick thinker, P for Popular for his P... sorry

No but really, ENTP are known to be direct, intelligent, charismatic and to "pursue their goals vigorously despite any resistance they might encounter". There, we've said it, do I need to further convince you about Top being an ENTP ? Yes ? Okay weird but sure.

ENTPs love to be surprised, they welcome unexpected situations as exciting challenges, which I find very close to Top's approach to Mew. It also means that Top's and Boston's type are very close (ENTP vs ESTP) which makes a lot of sense to me, with some fundamental differences being that an ENTP (Top) will focus on the big concept and long term vision while an ESTP (Boston) is both observant to small details and easily distracted ; an ENTP communicates more easily in a round about manner (ie Top's way of collecting information about Mew) while an ESTP is more literal and "often gives exact examples of events that have occurred in the past" (ie Boston's approach of Top at the bar and later in the bathroom)

Alternative typing : ENTJ - Maybe the differences between Top and Boston actually go deeper than that. ENTJs are considered the most natural leaders, loving being in charge, charismatic and intelligent. So it could also fit Top, but I'm choosing to believe based on what we've seen so far that Top is more adaptable and spontaneous (ENTP) than organized and consistent (ENTJ). Not 100% sure though.

5. Nick : ISFP "Adventurer"

Okay so we don't actually know Nick that well yet. He doesn't seem the most extroverted and can even be a bit shy when surprised, but is still fairly audacious and has an air of enthusiasm about him, so I think he is ISFP : I for introverted on first glance, S for slitherin in those nudes, F for falling head over heels for Boston, P for putting himself out there

ISFPs tend to be warm and creative people, the good friends who are always up for trying new things but would never pressure you. They're sensitive, passionate, curious, open minded but also easily stressed and often underestimate themselves. In romantic relationships, they tend to give all their focus to their partner's needs and forget themselves a bit ; they need excitement and adventure, but they're also very loyal, caring, they go with the flow of what their partner wants. They need a partner to show love through their actions ... Yeah we'll see how that goes with Boston !

Talking about ISFP-ESTP relationships (Nick-Boston) : ISFP tend to be drawn to ESTP and their energy but also find them to be jerks are hard to settle down with, with many users on different Reddit threads describing a very push-pull dynamic. Ah, how surprising

(Btw, if you want a post about what the MBTI types of all these characters say about their relationships and what I'd predict based on that, let me know haha)

Alternative typing : INFP - Ya know, for those hopeless romantics vibes ! But Nick seems too forward and go with the flow to me to be an INFP (see INFP Ray who's actually a lot more slow build in his relationships with both Mew and Sand, though maybe not that slow, just by the show's standards lol)

6. Chueam : ESFP "Entertainer"

Okay I'm actually struggling with Chueam but I think my verdict for now is ESFP, which gives her at least two letters in common with every one on this list except Sand (edit : and Mew surprisingly), and I think it makes sense because she does appear to understand everyone else in the group while being the life of the party. ESFP in her case would stand for Extroverted Sensation Focused Partier - yes these acronyms are getting worse, sorry.

Really though, ESFPs are described as the type to "break out spontaneously into song and dance" : they live life to the fullest, always excited to embrace new experiences. They're bold and a bit messy sometimes, they're easily bored, but they're also sweet, friendly, observant and have great people's skills. They're popular but conflict averse and don't like to think too much about the future which certainly gives them some blind spots. To me, it sounds like a great summary of how Chueam seems charming, super fun to be around, caring for her friends but also a bit too focused on pleasure to the point of ignoring red flags (*coughs* Top)

Alternative typing : ESFJ - Chueam's optimistic vibes and how people oriented she is in a way that is certainly a bit chaotic but not actually messy gives me the impression that she could also be an ESFJ (if we think she's a bit more organized and good at planning)

7. Mew : INFJ "Advocate"

Surprise, surprise, the guy who is arguably our main character is the hardest one for me to type. I think that it might be because since he's the narrator of his own story, he's unreliable about everyone obviously, but probably even more unreliable when it comes to himself.

What do we truly know about Mew ? He likes his friends but is more introverted, doesn't mind going out but avoids drinking so he can stay in control. He likes books because they allow him to explore the world without actually venturing too much outside of his comfort zone ; he's a bit of a romantic but also pragmatic about his own emotions ; his life has a routine and an organization that he finds grounding.

So that means Mew is definitely an I for introverted bean, F for Focused on his Feelings, and J for Judgment and Just doing things the proper way. I'm also going to assume that he's more focused on the bigger picture and conceptual ideas - meaning he's going to think he's smarter than he is and ignore some details and find that out the hard way - and while he likes pleasing people, he has no issues stating his boundaries - as seen after he invites Top in his apartment. All of this gives us an INFJ.

INFJ are described as deeply thoughtful and with very rich inner lives, they're usually considered pretty rare, and are very aware of how unique they are, often making it part of their "branding", a core element to how they think of themselves. They're all about self perception, self awareness ; they're highly observant and good at analyzing other people, empathetic and caring, they give good advice to the point of appearing almost psychic but are actually quite self centered because they're so focused on achieving perfection and avoiding being ordinary. They are truly very smart and charismatic in an understated way, but they can also look down on others as shallow and have a bit of main character syndrome. See also @heretherebedork's post on Mew's potential as a manipulative virgin demon that I very much agree with.

Now, it might sound harsh, but I think that describes Mew quite well. I might be projecting a bit though (I may or may not be an INFJ myself, oops), but I truly think that my feeling of both liking Mew a lot as a character and fundamentally wanting to punch him in the face might be due to us being the same type lol

Alternative typing : ISFJ / INTJ - The preference of Mew for things to be done a certain way could extend to a resistance to change and an attachment to a sense of higher duty, making him a bit more of an ISFJ. But also, if he's actually less focused on his emotions and a lot more calculating and guided by his pure logic, he might be more of an INTJ.

So yeah, that's it, I spent way too much time thinking about this. Any opinions and comments are VERY WELCOME, please let me know how wrong I am haha and we can improve this together !

Now I'm going to not so patiently wait for episode 2 to be released lol