#then we can get spontaneous with things. actually maybe i can also be a bit like ''gee thanks'' about the wags material again

[malfoys-demigod]

The Valentine's Day Dance

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ Logan Howlett x Reader

Summary: A banter between you and Logan on the topic of Valentine's Day leads to an unexpected connection, revealing hidden feelings and new beginnings. A/N: I truly do believe we need more Wolverine fluff! I just love reading fluffs on him because he can be such an adorable cat! Word Count: Around 2k

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:· ·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:· ·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

The X Mansion had a cozy, community-like feel, especially around the holidays. The holiday that was coming up so soon was Valentine’s day. 

You were a literature teacher who secretly loved the idea of love, but found Valentine’s day too commercialized and corny. Why? Because you believed that love should be celebrated every day, not just on a specific date dictated by tradition. You kind of felt that the holiday puts unnecessary pressure on people to express their love in a particular way, rather than allowing for spontaneous genuine expressions of affection. 

You had seen the school decorations starting to overfill around the mansion as early as your first class of the day had started. There were pink and red hearts everywhere. You were secretly pleased that love was all around, but maybe the over-the-top decorations were a little too much. 

While during lunch break, you were carrying a few Valentine’s day cards from your students, reading them on the way to the kitchen. 

Logan, who had just finished his classes as well, came out of his classroom and passed you in the hallway. He smirks and says, “You actually celebrate this corny day?”

You looked up to see Logan taking a peek at one of your cards, assuming he was jealous since he wasn’t holding any cards at all. “Sounds like you’re lonely and have no one to spend it with,” you resorted. 

Logan had moved on a long time ago from the fact that Jean and Scott were meant to be, and he healed from that, knowing it was fine. While you walked into the kitchen, you left Logan slightly annoyed but also intrigued by your comment. 

You were now in the kitchen along with Jean and Storm, sitting around the dining table, enjoying a cup of tea and reading through Valentine’s Day cards they’ve received from students. 

“Dear Ms. Grey,” Jean read a card out loud, “You’re the best teacher ever. Happy Valentines’ Day!” “These kids are too sweet.”

Storm smiled, “I’ve got a few myself. It’s nice to feel appreciated, even if it’s just for one day.”

“I agree. I love today,” you grinned, “It’s like everyone’s a little more open with their feelings, you know?”

Logan walked into the kitchen, grabbing a cup of coffee, overhearing the conversation. “Feelings. Great. Just what we need more of around here.”

“Oh, come on, Logan, don’t tell me you didn’t get any Valentine’s day cards?” you asked, playfully, knowing quite well he didn’t. 

“I’m here to teach history, not to win a popularity contest, bub,” he said, smirking. 

“Maybe you’d get a few cards if you lightened up a bit,” Jean recommended. 

With mock seriousness, Logan replied, “I’ll leave the charm to you, Jean. After all, you’ve got Scott to shower you with affection.”

There was no hint of hurt when Logan said that, but you looked up at him with a small show of concern. Even if it was ages ago when Logan accepted things, this was a joke you wouldn’t sit well with if you were in his shoes. But maybe he was really okay with things and this was a way of showing it?

“Real funny, Logan,” Scott laughed, coming into the kitchen, “Speaking of which, we’ve got the Valentine’s Day dance coming up, and guess who’s chaperoning?”

“Oh, I love chaperoning! It’s always so much fun!” you said excitedly

Logan groaned, rolling his eyes. “Please tell me I’m not on that list.”

“Actually, you are,” Jean said, “We just got the assignments earlier and since Scott and I are a team, and Storm’s with the professor…”

“That leaves you two as partners for the night,” Storm finishes for her, pointing at you and Logan.

You were up for the challenge actually. It felt like it was Christmas and you were paired up with the grinch, whom you wanted to un-grinch for the night. “Looks like you’re stuck with me, Logan,” you smirked at him. 

Logan sighed, “Fantastic. My favorite holiday, and now I get to spend it surrounded by hormone-crazed teenagers… and you.” He looked at you with a deadbeat face.

You sat up from your chair, taking a step towards Logan. “Look, just say you’re jealous since you didn’t get any cards.” You teased him again with that fact. 

Logan raised his eyebrow, “Jealous? Please. I’m just looking forward to watching you try to keep up with those kids on the dance floor.” He said, taking a closer step towards you. 

“Oh, I can keep up just fine. The question is,” you said, making a bold move, “Can you?” The two of you were just inches away from each other, and possibly a verbal match. 

Jean started laughing lightly at Storm, “This is going to be an interesting night.”

“I’ll make sure to bring popcorn,” Storm smiled.

Logan, with his super-hearing senses, grumbled, “Great. Just what I needed. A front-row seat to the Valentine’s day circus.” He said, taking a step back from you, drinking from his cup. 

“Don’t worry, Logan. I’ll make sure you have fun, whether you like it or not.” You had a hint of challenge in your voice. 

A few days later, the dance commenced. 

As the students start to dance, along with Jean and Scott slowly swaying their way into the center of the dance floor while Storm and Charles are making conversation… 

You found yourself standing alone near the back. I mean, that was part of being a chaperone right? You were just having a punch, taking small sips from time to time. That was when Logan, who saw you from the other side of the room, alone as well, approached you. 

He tried to keep up with his usual snarky attitude. “I’m surprised you’re not out there dancing with the kids, spreading all that ‘love’ you believe in.”

You were secretly thankful that there was company now, even if it meant it was from Logan. You grew a smirk on your face, which Logan noticed. It was starting to become something he didn’t mind getting used to - and to his surprise, doesn’t mind getting used to.

“Maybe I’m just waiting for someone worth dancing with.”

Logan pauses, not expecting that response from you. It was as if his snark falters. He looks around, and seeing no one is watching, boldly offers you his hand. 

“Or maybe you’re just bad at dancing,” he joked. 

The sight of his hand out surprised you. There was a moment of hesitance from you, but you had to do something. You took his hand, and you both stepped into the dance floor. 

The swaying at first is awkward, as expected. There’s a tension between you, a mix of uncertainty and something unspoken. But gradually, after a few sways, you both fall into a comfortable rhythm, moving together more naturally.

“Hm, you’re not as bad at this as I thought, darl,” Logan softened, almost without realizing it. 

“Careful, Logan, that almost sounded like a compliment.”

Logan chuckles softly, shaking his head in mock exasperation. He then smirks, “Don’t get used to it, Y/N. I’m just trying not to step on your feet.”

Now, there was a brief pause as the banter between the two of you started fading as the music slowed down. The closeness between you and Logan… felt different, more real. His grip on your hand tightens slightly, and you notice the way he’s looking at you. It was not with the usual teasing glint you were used to, but it was with something gentler… something almost vulnerable. 

“This isn’t so bad, is it?” You said quietly, meeting his gaze. 

Logan was shaking his head. “No… it’s not,” he replied, barely above a whisper. 

As the song ends, the air between you and Logan had changed with something unspoken. It was as if the room suddenly felt too crowded, too loud. 

“Do you want to…” you spoke softly, almost hesitant, “step outside for a bit? The garden’s always so quiet this time of the night.”

Logan nods, not breaking eye contact. His hand was still loosely holding ours as you both made your way toward the exit. The sounds of the dance had faded behind the two of you as you stepped into the cool night air, for the garden was waiting for whatever comes next. 

You both find a quiet spot in the garden, away from the noise of the dance. You felt the cool air refreshing you, after the warmth of the mansion inside, and the two of you both stood in silence for a moment, taking it in. 

“You know, this whole Valentine’s Day thing... maybe it’s not as ridiculous as I thought.” Logan broke the silence. 

You laughed at his comment softly, “I’m shocked to hear that from you.”

“Don’t get too excited. It doesn’t mean I’m about to start throwing rose petals around, Y/N.” He said with a teasing smirk.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. But you have to admit, it has its charms.”

“Maybe... or maybe I’ve just never had a reason to see it differently... until now.”

You looked at Logan, surprised by the sincerity in his voice. For the first time, you saw a different side to The Wolverine, one that was not hidden behind sarcasm and snark. 

“Are you saying you’re not as cynical as you pretend to be?” you asked gently

Logan flashed you a smile, a real one this time. “Maybe I’m just tired of being lonely.”

Logan’s smile starts fading, turning into a more thoughtful expression with the silence between you two growed heavy with unspoken emotions. You both stand close, the cool night air wrapping around you. 

There’s a moment of hesitation from both of you, as if neither wants to be the first to break the silence or the tension. But then, almost instinctively, Logan’s hand reaches out, brushing a stray strand of hair away from your face. His touch is surprisingly gentle, considering the tough exterior he usually presents.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were waiting for this all night, sweetheart.” Logan softly said with a teasing edge. 

“And what if I was? Would that make you run the other way?” You replied playfully

He chuckles softly, the sound low and rumbling, before his hand moves to cup your cheek. The world seems to narrow down to just the two of you at that moment, the space between you growing smaller until there’s none left at all.

Then, slowly, he leans in, his lips brushing against yours in a tentative kiss. It’s hesitant at first, as if both of you are testing the waters, unsure of what this meant. But as the kiss deepens, there’s a shared realization of how much you’ve both been denying. The kiss turns into something more intense, filled with the unspoken feelings that have been simmering beneath the surface for so long.

When you finally pull back, your foreheads rest against each other, both of you slightly breathless. Logan’s thumb gently caresses your cheek, and there’s a soft smile on his face that you’ve never seen before—one of pure, unguarded affection.

“You know, I think this might be the first Valentine’s Day I actually don’t mind.” He whispered

“Maybe there’s hope for you yet, Logan.” 

The next morning at school, the usual routine feels different. You’re both back in your respective classrooms, but the memory of the previous night lingers in your thoughts.

In the hallway between classes, you spot Logan. There’s an undeniable warmth in his eyes as he catches your gaze. The teasing smirk is still there, but it’s softer now, more playful than sarcastic.

“Try not to get too distracted by thoughts of me today, Y/N.” He passed by with a low murmur

“I’ll try, but no promises.” You smirked back and as you walked away, you felt a flutter of excitement in your chest, realizing that something big had changed between the two of you. The banter continues, but now it’s underscored by a mutual understanding and a shared affection.

Later that day, as you’re packing up your things in your classroom, Logan approaches you. There’s a slight awkwardness to his movements, as if he’s debating something internally.

He then handed you a small, slightly crumpled Valentine’s card. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple card, but the gesture makes your heart skip a beat. 

You open it, finding a short, handwritten note inside: “You were right. Maybe next year, I won’t be so lonely.”

You look up at him, a smile spreading across your face. Logan’s usual tough demeanor is nowhere to be seen; instead, he’s looking at you with an expression that’s almost vulnerable, like he’s just taken a leap of faith.

“I’ll hold you to that, Logan.”

“You’re on, doll.” He nods, a genuine smile tugging at the corners of his lips. As you both leave the classroom together, there’s a sense of a new beginning, a promise of something more. The banter may continue, but now it’s laced with a mutual respect and an undeniable attraction that neither of you can ignore.

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'

Taglist: @notanotheroldman @imjustatiredpersonsposts @inumakisriceingredients @ravenslvt @miralunaela @shiawaseorii @hughverine @holylonelyponyeatingmacaroni @sunroxic @fandomsunited @thatonedepressedpansexual @letmeapologise @laila347 @studentmysterious @clean-and-claire @fromarabellawithlove @ittacookie @eljaynosine-triphosphate @fluffy-b33z

I hope I was able to tag you guys well!

[walpu]

hey, hey, I don't know how many times I've read your post "pre-relationship" especially aventurine part (omg i love how you write abt him 😭). I wonder how it will be once they are in a relationship and the kissing part please :3 thank u and have a nice day!

THANK YOUUUUU

Hope you'll enjoy this post too💛💛💛

being in a relationship with Aventurine

characters - Aventurine notes - gn!reader, fluff, hurt/comfort (do I even write something other that hurt/comfort for him lmao), no beta

can be seen as a part 2 of this post but it can stan on it's own as well

Aventurine

It would take quite some time for Aventurine to move from the pre-relationship stage with you. Will dance around the subject, throwing hints and flirty remarks but as for making an actual move? Oof.

Would cling to your side and shamelessly say something like "aww, can't get enough of me? people may think we're dating <З unless that's what you want them to think haha"

Pathetic. /affectionally.

But seriously, he really wants to be sure that you like him before making a move. That you like him, not his money, not the idea of him. At least that's what he tells himself. And while this is part of the reason, the actual thing is that he's simply... confused. He's already more vulnerable around you than he ever was around anyone else. And dating means being even more vulnerable.

While he yearns for this genuine connection he's also a scared of it. Tim Kreider wrote the line "If we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known" about him actually.

It would take some time for him to get used to being in relationship. In the previous post I've mentioned that he, most likely, had some short flings in the past. I seriously doubt that he ever had any serious relationship before you though. It's so new to him. At first it would seem like nothing has changed between the two of you at all. Surprisingly, it looks like he even became a bit more distant.

Aventurine doesn't want to attract any unwanted attention to your relationship since it will only endanger you. Plus he doesn't want to overwhelm you. Plus he doesn't want to overwhelm himself. Plus he is scared shitless.

He can't help but feel that he looses everything he holds dear. After all, it's been like that for all of his life. And he simply can't loose you.

Mini spoiler for his leaked character story, but there is a moment there when he looks at the aventurine stone Diamond gave him and he realizes that despite the fact that he worked so hard for it, now that he has it, it holds no real value since it doesn't fill the emptiness inside of him. Logically, he knows that this won't happen with you. He loves you too much. But there's this subconscious fear inside of him that he's just so messed up inside that he simply would not be able to love you like you deserve.

Be patient with him, this mans doesn't know what he's doing. Don't give up on him and he'll crawl to your side, holding onto you for dear life.

Once he will calm down a bit, he'll make it up for all those times when you were the one reaching out to him. Texts you, calls you, arranges spontaneous dates.

In the beginning of relationship would spoil you with expensive gifts. He knows what it's like to have nothing so he doesn't want you to ever feel this way. And the best way to prevent it? To make sure that you will have anything and everything. Maybe it's a subconscious way to bribe you. Maybe. Not like he realizes it himself.

Once he'll feel more stable and more confident, his gift giving tendencies will get less overwhelming. He still like giving you gifts but now he picks and chooses. His sugar darling deserves only the best, after all.

Acts all clingy, playful and unserious but actually listens to your every word and is ready to fulfil your every need.

Is actually very caring. Shows his care by pestering you and easing you tho.

If you feel down, will sit stay by your side. May randomly start tickling you, if you're ticklish. If not, will find another way to touch you in a playful and somewhat annoying way. After you cheer up a bit, Aven will put his chin on your shoulder and hugs your waist, softly asking what happen and why is his dearest darling seems sad.

As for kisses. Aven will loooove covering your face with butterfly kisses. And not only your face. Will randomly grab your hand and kiss your knuckles and fingertips. If you've made a mistake of exposing your shoulder then be ready for it to be kissed endlessly.

Adores kissing those parts of your body that are usually covered with clothes. It feels fore intimate for him.

And if you have freckles or/and beauty marks. Oh well. Will trace them with his fingertips, connecting them with some invisible lines and sometimes gasp playfully, saying that he found his constellation. Just a silly little guy being a silly little guy.

So touch-starved it's unreal.

Has very mixed feeling about his tattoo being kissed. Would feel... weirs if you would kiss it during your casual cuddling session. He exposes it for the world to see, yes. But still, when it attracts attention of someone who knows the meaning behind it... Makes him a bit tense, it catches him off-guard. However, if you kiss it after a lovemaking session or when he shares some painful memories with you, he will feel reassured.

Will slowly start crawling out of his shell when he's with you. Before he only shared some brief memories of his past with you, now he'll start slowly opening up about other, much more painful stuff.

It still happens randomly and out of the blue. He remembers something, he tenses up. But now, instead of repressing this feelings, he shares them with you.

Don't push him too talk, he'll slowly open up on his own.

Loves waking up next to you. Especially if you're still asleep. Seeing the sun shining on your face fills him with love and tenderness. Only with you by his side he feels truly safe.

[slavghoul]

Interview from Sweden Rock Magazine 10/2023

Hi, hi. There is an interview with Tobias in SRM’s newest issue, but it’s in the subscribers only section, so I thought I’d translate/share since I guess not many people will be able to get their hands on it. It is about Prequelle and it’s part of SRM’s „200 best Swedish hard rock albums of all time” series. Prequelle placed #68. The other albums may have scored higher, but for now we don’t know the whole list. Either way, enjoy. Very insightful. 

„Do you think that "Prequelle" is Ghost's worst album?” Now that’s an unusual opening question. Especially when the interview is about an album that Sweden Rock Magazine's writers and qualified Swedish hard rock musicians (including Tobias Forge) have voted as one of the 200 best Swedish hard rock albums of all time. The question wasn’t planned, but comes spontaneously, as a reaction to the first thing Tobias Forge says when we sit down on opposite sofas in the record company office. I'm here for a two-part interview, partly about the EP "Phantomime" (published in #6 2023), partly about "Prequelle". Neither record companies, artists, voters, nor even our writers who conduct interviews for this series of articles have any idea what placement an album has received. Interviews are often done well in advance and we simply don't want placements to leak and become public long before publication.

No Ghost album has ever been on the list before. The idea is actually to end the day with the "Prequelle" talk, but when Tobias Forge suddenly starts with a funny little comment that this album is probably the one that those who have voted think is Ghost's worst or least popular album, I just have to take the opportunity to ask the question: Do you think that "Prequelle" is Ghost's worst album?

No, absolutely not, he says and laughs. If I'm going to be completely pragmatic, I'd say: "How many songs do we actually play from that record?" There are songs that work damn well live and sit where they should. So it's a pretty strong album.

But is this what you are basing it on? "Prequelle" was released after Ghost had become really big so it can't be compared to "Opus Eponymous" and "Infestissumam" which you don't play many songs from. I mean, no matter what kind of record you had released when "Prequelle" came out, you would still have played many songs from it and they would have worked precisely because Ghost's songs nowadays are moulded more to the arena format.

I don't know how to answer that, it's difficult. If the album had been different, it would have been. If I'm going to talk somehow both artistically and practically, I know that for every record we have become exponentially bigger. "Prequelle" was definitely no exception, but it also took us a big step forward and upwards and we became bigger and broader. To the extent that when we introduce old songs in the live set, you notice that there are elements on albums one and two that make some songs more difficult to play. Not technically, we can play the songs, but they don't work in quite the same way as the later songs, which means that there is a slight favouritism.

I asked the original question about whether you think it's Ghost's worst album only because you directly said that this means it's the least popular one.

I'm just so full of myself I assumed all the other albums are also in the top 200, which may actually be incorrect. This might be the best album and the others aren't even there, haha.

It wasn't long after "Prequelle" was released that you were self-critical of the album in interviews, saying that it was too ballad-heavy and a bit too soft. I haven't noticed that before, you being so self-critical shortly after the release.

Yes, but I still feel that way. If, as an artist, I am only going to look at the work with the criticism that one can feel towards one's own work, I think that if things had been different or if I had more time, I might have wished that I had managed to get maybe two more hard songs. Maybe one more hard song would have fit on the album and another harder song might have phased out one of the ballads. Now five years after the album came out, I know that the two ballads ("Pro Memoria" and "Life Eternal"), which I may not think are bad, are one too many. But I know that many of the people who like the band like both of them, so it's kind of a useless argument.

Who sets the length of an album? Have you set a limit, that it can't be longer than this and have no more songs than that?

No, but it must fit on an LP disc and there is a physical limit. I think the absolute pain threshold is 46 minutes and that's 23 minutes on each side. Now maybe Mikkey Dee (co-owner of Spinroad Vinyl Factory) will raise his hand here: "But I can make it longer!" And it's maybe 48 minutes, I don't know, but I do know that when a disc starts getting so full that you start getting close to the sticker, it starts to sound bad. Especially nowadays, because recordings today are so very maximalist in scope. It's one thing if you record 60s music with drums, a guitar and bass where the sound is cleaner and finer or if you play acoustic stuff with just vocals. Bob Dylan records could have eight songs on each side and it worked all the way through. But this kind of fairly compact music doesn't work well. Not only am I a militant vinyl advocate, I think we should respect the fact that most artists don't manage to create more than 45 minutes of good music on a regular basis. A lot of famous double records are not that good. I don't think the Rolling Stones "Exile On Main St" is very good. It might as well have been on one disc. And if I'm actually going to turn it into something completely mundane, I'd say that I think it's irresponsible to sit and make records with twelve songs if it results in the record being 63 minutes long and you automatically have to make a double record. It's pretty wasteful.

When you said that it's irresponsible, I thought you were going to say that it's irresponsible to print a double vinyl because of the environmental destruction that it entails.

Of course, if we're going to be completely straightforward and not do anything that harms nature, we shouldn't even release any records, so I say this with reservation. But with that in mind and for the sake of art, I think more people should embrace the actual given format that has been the most prevalent in rock history. There is a reason why a film is usually one hour and 30 minutes. You can’t take any more. There's a certain dramaturgical structure and there’s a certain comfort in it. Then the CDs came along they screwed that up, and suddenly there weren't two sides anymore but it started one way and ended another. Now that the CD is no longer important and we've gone back to vinyl, creators should follow suit and start embracing the physical rules.

Are there songs that have been rounded off just because you thought „I have to round off here, because if I continue, it won't fit on the vinyl disc"?

We actually had that problem on the last album. „Watcher In The Sky” ended the A-side and the outro is much longer on the CD and digitally. Two minutes longer I think. Much, much, much longer. It's long, noisy and has all these dives. It's a very chaotic soundscape. You get the feeling that it goes on and on, and on the vinyl it's just the beginning of an outro and then it drops almost immediately. I think that was a huge mistake.

So the overall sound quality was more important than vinyl buyers getting everything? Because you could have pressed the vinyl and it would have fit, but you would have had to compromise the sound quality.

Yes, exactly. You can get the song to just keep going until the vinyl simply runs out. Then it just starts spinning in the middle, depending on what kind of record player you have. But the problem then, if you want to anticipate events at a creative stage, is that people today buy and listen to vinyl records and are sensitive. It's quite common for people to complain that the record is broken. I don't just mean our records, but people complain a lot about the presses. If you make ten songs, it's therefore stupid to have a too thick soundscape towards the end of song number five and song number ten. If you want to be really good and old school, that's where you put a piano ballad because it's an easier sound to handle so far into the record. This is what I think about when I make records. But clearly sometimes I miscalculate.

This must cut right through the record collector Tobias Forge's whole body and soul, that "Watcher In The Sky” is shortened by two minutes on the vinyl of all versions.

Well... I don't toss and turn and wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it anymore. But when it happened, I was livid. Luckily it was just an outro. It would have been worse if it had continued with some kind of narrative into the next song. Now I can't remember in my head how long "Prequelle" is, but if I'd had to go back in time and just re-construct it, the re-construction wouldn't have had much to do with the existing material, I would have just wanted to add a scene. And it's not a scene that's missing, it's just for the sake of balance. It became asymmetrical in a way that bothers me a bit.

You've talked about this before, but it was before "Prequelle" that you really started to talk a lot about how you were thinking about what kind of new songs might suit the live show. Can you get stuck in that mindset, thinking more about what songs are needed live right now rather than creating an album that will last 30 years?

Hmm... (long pause)... The reason I'm sitting here thinking is because I'm trying to come up with examples of other bands that I think might have gone through something similar. I’m looking for examples to the answer I'm about to formulate and that is that: yes, I think there comes a point in the career when most bands make a record because they simply feel they need to… Because what we're talking about is that when you go from playing in small smoky clubs in front of an already inveterate audience that already understands the perhaps a little more chewy expression, that experience can change if you start playing in front of a larger and especially a different type of audience. When a different type of audience comes and you play in a different format, you discover that this song doesn't work very well, it doesn't sound very good and it's difficult to get the sound right. Then there's usually a record or two or three during your career when this transition happens where you start filling in with songs that work better live. Look at Piece of mind", "Powerslave" and "Somewhere in time". There's a reason why Iron Maiden didn't play a lot of the first two albums there and then, because it was easier to play the new songs. You get to that point somewhere in your career and it's very difficult to say when it is - there's no given rule and there are artists who continue to release relevant records and have an amazing ability to release new records and just play the whole new record. Well, now Iron Maiden does that and tests their audience a little bit in that way, but then they will always compensate by doing like a "best of" set the following year so everything is forgiven. Now we're in the middle of the "Impera" period here and have a very strong set, but I'm starting to feel that now that I'm about to start writing a new album, it feels like it's not really on my agenda to write three more albums that will change the live setlist ten years ahead. I think we already have the blueprint for what is Ghost's setlist, especially if you include the entire catalogue. After a while, each new record you make becomes a little less important. It's really hard to know when that point comes, but the truth is that new records don't matter in the same way. Slayer didn't have to release "Divine Intervention”. They definitely didn't have to release "Diabolus In Musica". I didn't care about it and I just wanted to hear the old stuff. If they had just come up and played "Reign In Blood" I would have been soooo happy. And that's the way it is with most bands. Nobody would be sad if the Rolling Stones came up and didn't play anything from "Emotional Rescue". And that's just the way it is. In the future, I can see a scenario where there is probably a basis to possibly build up an alternative setlist. There are so many songs that we do not play and that I have nothing against - I love them too! But it would almost be easier to build up a completely alternative setlist and run a show with only the odd songs. There are so many songs now. There's no reason not to build on that. But when I want to make a new record, it's irresponsible for me not to consider that there might have to be some songs that are a bit more direct. But it doesn't hurt me if we have more songs that we don't play live. I don't know if this answers your question...

I would actually like to ask exactly the same question again, because I wonder if you yourself feel that you get stuck during the making of the record. You said that you would have liked to include another hard song because "Prequelle" doesn't have the balance that you would have liked to have in retrospect.

Exactly, but the explanation for that has more to do with my mental capacity there and then. I simply couldn't cope. I felt that I had probably maxed out… It was probably about as much as I could do that year. That's the simple explanation. To get another song that would have fit and that would have fulfilled this requirement that I now in retrospect would have wished I had, it would have required something that I did not have there and then. The only thing that could have made it easier is if I had more time. It is difficult to reason about it, you see.

I was in the studio for a few days during the recording and it's one of the few times in all these years that I've done interviews where someone has started crying during an interview. It was quite obvious that everything that had happened with the split of the band affected you.

Yes. Of course. It did.

Is "Prequelle" a difficult album to listen to for you? Can you sit and listen to it all the way through? 

Well, at the moment I have to do that from time to time, and listen to all the records, because we're just about to start rehearsing again and then I sometimes have to go back and just listen to the record to go: "Fuck, is that really how I sing?" Especially when we start rehearsing, I can be a bit like: "Damn, who changed this bit?” Then I usually sit down and it hits me: "Oh, it's me who has changed my song!" You simply do that over the years, you start singing it in a slightly different way. So sometimes I have to go back and listen, but it’s more practical. I don't think it's fun to listen them. I do it until they are finished. I listen over and over and over again and really try to listen with all the imaginary ears and all the imaginary perspectives you can have. "How would I have listened to this if I had heard it from this perspective?" Just to get as "objective" a perspective as I can until I'm satisfied, but then it's like „No, I don't want to hear this anymore". But I have to say that I think "Prequelle" is a very tolerable disc despite everything that interfered with the process. Therapeutically, it works quite well considering that we are still playing at least half of the album. For every artist there are songs that you want to play, and there are songs that you don’t want to play because they feel too personal. I don't feel that way about this one, it's more like: "Ah hell, they're part of the setlist and people like it and it sounds good. So that's what we're doing."

On a personal level, was Tom Dalgety the perfect producer for you, the way you were feeling at the time? Tom feels like the kindest, sweetest producer you can meet. He wasn't the kind of producer who pushed you very much, it was more of a nice atmosphere between you.

Yes, really, and it would have been different if Klas Åhlund, who is more confrontational, had been in the room. Now Klas and I are great mates, so it would certainly have been very therapeutic also, but it would have been a different process. If an artist comes in who is in such bad shape that they can't make a record, or a band where the main songwriter has just left them, then a Bob Ezrin goes in and says: "If you don't make the record, I'll make the record myself.” And he goes and makes Kiss "Destroyer" or Alice Cooper records. I'm not saying they didn't make them, just that you hear that Bob Ezrin made "Beth". It's a type of producer that's very different from a lot of other producers who maybe act a little bit more like buddies and cheerleaders and make the atmosphere good. Bob Ezrin doesn't care so much about the atmosphere in the room. Klas is somewhere in between, I would say. Given the condition I was in during "Prequelle", the result could probably have been different if Klas had come in. Ironically, there was actually talk of him doing it, but he didn't have the time and we'll never know how it would have turned out. I only know that it would have been different, but right there and then Tom was fantastic. I know that a lot of bands like to work with him because he is technically brilliant. He's really good at those typical sounds that people like: cool drums, guitar, bass, tone and clarity. He is also very "happy go lucky", a nice guy who sits and jokes all the time. Even if he has a bad day, it doesn't affect anyone else, which is convenient.

Let me compare it to when a writer contacts me after an interview and says "that was such a nice interview". For me, "nice" is not something positive in such a work situation and the result is often better when there is a little friction.

Mmm, and that is more Klas. There is more friction and more confrontation. And I was much better equipped for that at "Meliora" and later at "Impera". I felt better and was simply stronger. There wasn't the same survival instinct as on "Prequelle". If I think back, not about how the album turned out and how I have to live with it, but if I think back to the situation I was in, I was very anxious all the time. Even though I'm happy with the result, I wouldn't want to go through the recording again, even though Tom was great. Because it's hard to work when you're under attack. I realised that now when I made "Impera", when it was no longer like that. You are much more comfortable, it doesn't feel the same, you are more mature, you make better decisions, you are more controlled or dare to be uncontrolled. When things are this serious, you can end up in a freeze mode. Maybe that's also why there wasn't another song. The song that I miss doesn't exist because I simply squeezed out everything I had. If I had been in a different emotional state, I might have been more comfortable working out something at the last second from bits and pieces. But I felt that I really just wanted to get it done, deliver it, get back out on tour and start over again.

When you described being more mature during "Impera" you sounded like a 70-year-old, kind of like all the Aerosmith-like bands that have been fighting all their lives and now that they're in their 70s they say "we're soooo mature,” haha.

I think with all artists, especially when they're required to work in a group, there are many recordings that have been a collision with a wall because you're expected to function in a context all the time, whatever and whenever. But you do change and from one year to a few years down the line there can be a huge difference in a person's drive, hunger and priorities in life. Whether you have the same band structure as I do or whether you play in Metallica, people come in one state and they may end up in another, because you have different priorities at different times. It's unfortunately against the whole rock myth. I think that's the biggest problem for bands and businesses, that you always have this idea that if you just get to a certain stage - not just monetarily or career-wise, but you get to a certain stage of fun - then we've reached the status quo. But that is never the case! Never! There’s always something. Even in the best moments when everything is working, the band is awesome, everyone is working well, the crew is awesome, everyone is laughing, it's just a party all the time mentally, you have the world's best tour manager, everything is flowing and the tickets are selling, there will always be someone who doesn't like it and then has to break away and want to do their thing because it's no longer fun. It's usually somewhere in the lead-up to a stage where it's interesting and then once you've achieved it, it all becomes a bit boring. Just like in a relationship some people may eventually think, "well, that's a bit boring, I have to go out and do something else".

Since I was in the studio when you were laying down guitars on "Witch Image", my heart beats a little extra for that song and I thought it would be a great live song, but you've barely played it (at the time of writing it's Ghost's forty-fourth most played song live).

We did it during the "Prequelle" tour, or "A Pale Tour Named Death" as it was called. Then we did quite a few "an evening with" concerts, for better or worse. The advantage was that if you were a big fan of the band we actually played a lot of songs and actually a lot of the first albums, like "Idolatrine" - or "Witch Image". We did a set, a break and then a whole other set. That was a bit of a taste of what I was talking about earlier: doing a slightly larger set and then a slightly smaller one. You just shouldn't do it on the same night because it gets a bit stale. We played for two hours and 30 minutes or something and that wasn’t a good idea, haha. At least we did "Witch Image", but it has fallen behind a bit and it doesn't mean that we will never play it again, just that we don't do it right now. What I've been happy about is that there has been a feeling for the records that we've made recently, "Prequelle" and "Impera", that people still want to hear the new stuff. We haven't gotten to that stage that I talked about earlier when it doesn't matter anymore. Then it's very fun to try to find a new way to perform the songs, not technically, but suddenly a song like "Witch Image" might fulfill a very nice purpose between a completely new song and another song.

Let me speculate: in 30 years, I think "Rats" will be considered the great hard rock song, "Dance Macabre" the great hit and "Life Eternal" the great ballad. What do you think? Will this in the future be seen as the three big songs of the album?

Yes, that makes sense, I think. I understand that an instrumental song automatically ends up in the wake of a "best of" collection, in the sense that you do one in 30 years. I realise it's not a hit but the instrumental "Miasma" is a big part of our live show. It's strong and feels like such a keeper. Now we don't play "Life Eternal" very often actually, but it was very well received. For some reason people like to get married to it, I don’t know why, hehe. It's nice but it's also a bit like U2’s „I still haven't found what I'm looking for" and you don't use that one at a wedding. But people like it and I guess interpret it differently to me. It’s also a song that I don't think is fun to play live.

And why not?

Because I find it hard to play ballads. Physically, they don't feel the same as rock songs. I miss the "dunka dunka". Now everyone who plays music today knows what I mean - sorry, readers who don't play music - and it's that there's a small problem with having in-ear monitors. This means that you have to reach a certain frequency of beats in order to feel the music, unlike when you played at clubs with only a guitar amp behind you. You felt every single note you made and it just went through your body. Nowadays, I think it's sometimes hard when you play slow songs, because you have to trust that it sounds good, whereas when you play a rock song, you feel that it sounds good.

Does it also apply to "He Is” which is such a huge ballad, not least live?

Well, just the intro and then it gets going quite quickly and suddenly becomes a hard and rather fast-paced song. The classic ballad concept has always been that you play so-called edge beats to make it sound soft, while "He Is” is actually a rather hard-played song considering that it is a ballad. Once the drums come in – boom, boom – it's got AC/DC bite to it. It has a rock feel to it that "Life Eternal" doesn't really have. As I said, I don't think that "Life Eternal" is a lot of fun to perform, but that doesn't mean that it isn't quite good to listen to. It’s just that when I play "Dance Macabre" or "Mummy Dust" I feel that I can express myself physically more in line with what the text says and what it means.

[peekawoocc]

LAW X READER

CW - 18+, smut, really long fanfiction. Lots of words, went too big brain mode on this.

P.s. I noted the sections where smut was in case you just wanted the juicy parts (relatable). Also, I tried to stay with plot similar to the show, so spoiler warnings if you haven't started Wano yet. I literally just started it.

This was really fun to write and definitely was a full day hobby project because I have no self control or concept of taking breaks 🙃

Pretenses - You're a straw hat, and while you're not as strong as the monster trio, you can definitely hold your own and then some if nessacary.

Cockblocked in Wano

You had just arrived in Wano with Nami and the others. Finally, ready to be reunited with everyone, and secretly excited to see Law again.

After running into Luffy, you all made your way into the old ruins to gather an update from Kinemon. After being caught up, Kinemon began giving instruction to everyone about their role. You were the last to receive your instructions.

You were excited to find out what you could contribute to help everyone. Instead, you felt as if your eyes were going to pop out from how wide they became, in complete shock. T-there's no way, you told yourself.

Everyone continued on with doing as Kinemon said so he could provide the proper outfits for each role. You didn't even seem to notice your clothes become a blue floral kimono and your hair now in a bun being held by a beautiful hair pin. You were kind of dissapointed you didn't have a more important task, but the shock was still there. As you came back to reality, it seemed like everyone was already trying to head outside, until you spoke up.

"Wait, why don't I have my own role?"

"My apologies, y/n, I did not have another role in mind. I felt it was best to put you with someone to provide assistance in gathering the nessacary troops," Kinemon answered.

Law came back into the ruins to fetch you, making everything set in completely. I have to be with Law for a whole 2 weeks and pretend to be his wife!?! Noticing the blush spread across your face as you were drowning in your own thoughts, Law caught your focus with a sigh.

"If you don't want to, that's fine, I'm sure you'd rather be partnered with one of your own crewmates," he said, sounding a bit annoyed at the inconvenience.

"N-no, it's fine. Plus, I know you won't bring me more trouble than I bargained for. You think things through so I know I can rely on you if anything happens,". You wanted to say more, but seeing Laws lips turn into a slight smirk you thought it better to just stop talking. It was true though. As much as you appreciated the spontaneous nature of your captain and fellow crewmates, you felt most confident when you had more details and facts to rely on. Knowing your enemy and even your environment can help end a fight more quickly and more efficiently. Or maybe, just maybe, you had anxiety. Which is also perfectly understandable.

"Then shall we be off...y/n?" Law said after finally coming up with a fake name for you.

"Definitely!" You said with appreciation for his thoughtfulness. You had a feeling he was always going to be a few steps ahead of you, as per usual. You both followed the others outside.

And then everything went to hell in a hand basket.

You all started to notice something flying, fast. The huge mass had a very commanding presence.

Yep, that's Kaido.

*time skip to after Luffy and Law dissappear after Kaido*

You had no idea where your partner in crime was, nor your captain. You knew Luffy could hold his own, it was Law you weren't sure about. Rather than go hunting for them, you all decided to go into your roles. Not really sure where to go, you decided to follow Sanji, knowing he wouldn't find you to be a burden. It wasn't that you couldn't hold your own, you were actually quite powerful. However, your task was simply to assist with passing out flyers to future fellow fighters, so you followed the cook in putting up a soba stall.

"I'm so glad I get to spend some alone time with you, y/n~," Sanji said with hearts for eyes.

"Yeah, I guess it's more efficient than trying to hunt down Law right now," you said, not being able to hide the dissapointment in your voice. Sanji noticed the worry on your face, even if he was a little jealous of your attention being focused on another man, he was still your friend and wanted to be there for you.

"You sure you're ok with this?" He asked, trying to help shoulder your troubles.

"Yeah, I just hope he's ok. Not that he's not powerful. Anyway, let's get to work!" You said, deciding to distract yourself with the task at hand.

*time skip to Law showing up*

It had become dark now, and you sat down next to the stall as Sanji began cleaning up from the hard day of cooking he just had. Suddenly, you felt a hand on your shoulder. You turned your head towards over your shoulder and looked up.

"So there's my partner, was wondering where you went," he said with a smirk, but you could see the exhaustion in his eyes.

"That should be my line!" You giggle as relief washes over your face.

"No time to chat, we've gotta go. Sanji, they're looking for you," Law suddenly became extremely serious.

"Who is?" Sanji asked.

"Kaidos men, we'll walk and talk," Law answered.

As you all moved together, you ran into Usopp and Franky. Law filled them in on the details and became interrupted as you saw a building get thrown into the air.

*time skip to when they get to Ebisu town, where Zoro supposedly was*

As you all sat together in the tiny home, you had a huge grin on your face. Who would've thought that the man next to you, who was so intelligent and strict, was also a huge nerd? You began to giggle thinking back to how excited Law was about Sanji's germa raid suit. Thinking about how Law was completely nerding out like a fan boy with a deadpan expression on his face started to make you giggle more. Law noticed how you began to hold your stomach from how hard you were laughing, and he began to raise an eyebrow at you.

"Whats got you giggling so much, sister?" Franky asked, matching Law's confusion.

"I was just thinking about how Law knew so much about the Sora Comics," you began giggling hysterically again, Franky and Usopp joining in your amusement.

Law instantly became flustered.

"I TOLD YOU ALREADY, THEY WERE POPULAR IN THE NORTH BLUE! EVERYONE WAS READING THEM!"

"I know, I know. It's just really cute when you nerd out like that. Plus, it's good to know I wasn't the only one who hated germa in the comics,".

Law started malfunctioning when you called his nerdiness "cute". With his whole face red he got up and stormed out of the house, making the excuse of needing fresh air. You gave him 3 minutes before you decided to follow his lead.

*sexy build up*

He was sitting, legs crossed, upon a freshly dusted off mat on the ground. You walked up behind him and placed your hand on his shoulder as you sat down beside him. With his eyes closed and brows furrowed, it looked like there was still a blush across his cheeks but you couldn't tell with it being so dark out.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, but you really were cute. I'm also glad to know we share a similar interest," you said cheerfully, trying to bring the mood back up. Cute. There it was again. He looked like he wanted to say something, then began stammering until he just gave up and sighed. Finally opening his eyes, he just stared straight ahead as if he was trying to puzzle his thoughts together.

"It makes me happy to get the opportunity to know more about you. Really makes the mysterious, cunning Surgeon of Death even more attractive than you already were," you brought a hand to your mouth, shocking both you and Law at the realization of what you had just said. Then his face began to soften as he turned his gaze to you. He ended up letting out a small chuckle at seeing you sitting there as if still frozen with shock. The sound of the low chuckle broke you out of your trance and you began to relax, thankful that he didn't look at you with disgust after finding out your true thoughts of him.

"Attractive, huh?" He said in a knowing tone, a smirk on his face as you started tripping over your words.

"U-uh...um...yeah,"

"Likewise,"

"Wait, huh?"

"You're pretty attractive as well," he looked away for a moment before looking back at you.

"I thought so when we first met, but didn't think much of it. After getting to know you in Dressrosa, the feeling grew. What about you?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it's the same with me. At first I thought you seemed kinda scary back in Sabaody,".

Locking eyes with you now, it seemed like he was asking for permission for something. Noticing the puzzling expression he had, you felt the need to reassure him with a smile. However, you still felt the need to properly explain yourself.

"I-i mean, I don't find you scary anymore. Actually, thinking back, I think it was more of a feeling of intimidation. I wasn't that strong back then either, so the thought of ever having to hold my own against you was a bit anxiety inducing-,".

Before you could keep rambling, he cut you off with a soft kiss. It wasn't that long, but it felt like time had stopped and nothing in the world mattered but him. Your mind completely blank, you felt the tension in your shoulders release and the dull ache of pain that came with it. It seems you had been on edge the whole time, which looking back isn't all that surprising considering the bottled up feelings you had for him. No one knew, because you were too scared to tell anyone. Especially since you weren't sure in the beginning, but now, you're more sure of this than anything else.

As he pulled away, seemingly reluctantly, he locked eyes with you again and happily matched your smile with his own signature smirk but there was something new that you'd never seen before. There was a light in his eyes. You only saw them light up with anger in the heat of battle. This was the first time you felt that you were witnessing Law looking truly happy. Any of the questions bubbling up in your head about What are we? or Am I going to be a Heart Pirate now? were suddenly pushed aside with the new details you were taking note of while looking at his handsome face.

"That was amazing," you said dreamily, you wanted to slap yourself out of embarrassment with how hypnotized you knew you had looked.

"We should do it again sometime," he said with a flirty tone.

You instantly pressed your Thighs together. They weren't that open, but the sexiness of his voice was doing things to you below the waist. Suddenly, you were feeling a bit brave.

*sexy time ensues*

"How about...now?" You asked shyly, expecting him to refuse. He looked at you for a moment as you watched as his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed, hard. He leaned back into you, just barely away from your lips, awaiting for your physical invitation. As you leaned in closer, the kiss had started again. It started slow and became more needy and feverish. He licked your top lip, asking to deepen the kiss, and you allowed it. You then wrapped your arms around his shoulders, lifting yourself up to sit in his lap. You pressed your chest against his, causing him to lean back on one of his arms, which made his hat fall off as he tilted his head back. He broke the kiss, both of you panting for air as you looked into eachothers eyes. His expression hungry and predatory now. You started trailing your eyes down his face to his neck and they stayed there as you subconsciously bit your bottom lip. You decided to stop wasting time looking and decided to give in to your desire as your lips met the side of his neck. Kissing his neck until you found a comfortable spot to sit for a moment as you lightly sucked and bit the spot. You weren't there for more than a few moments, thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to mark him no matter how badly you wanted to. He sucked in his breath, head falling back more as you went a little lower to his collarbone. You kissed and sucked at the defined bone structure until you heard a hushed groan.

"There, you can leave a mark there,".

It was as if he had known what you were wanting to do to him. You hovered for a moment, admiring the rise and fall of his chest in the moonlight. As much as you'd like to see more of his exposed skin, you'd have to settle for the portion of his chest that was seeable thanks to his sluttily open kimono. Law let out a frustrated groan as he became impatient, having no idea that you were actually admiring him, he grabbed a handful of your ass with his free hand. You pushed him back onto the mat, forcing him to lay down. You looked down at him, which allowed him to drink up the view of you on top of him, outlined in light blue moonlight. He sucked in his breathe as you dove your head back towards his neck, going back to his collarbone to finish what you started. You kissed, sucked, and then sank your teeth into him. You deeply sucked on the small bite mark, making it viewable even in the darkness of the night. You went back to being face to face with him, wanting another makeout session. Just when you were only seconds away from having your lips on his, you hear a voice from inside the house.

*PAUSE THE SEXY MUSIC! We got cockblocked guys 😔*

"Uh, where's Sangoro?" Usopps voice said.

"Didn't he say something about spying on girls in the bath house?" Franky continued.

Shit.

You hadn't thought about it until now, but you realize you don't remember him being in the house with you all before you and Law started sharing this moment.

After realizing your lack of acknowledgement of your missing crewmate, you sat up and face palmed yourself.

"Damn straw hats, I swear," Law said annoyed. It was clear he was sexually frustrated about being cockblocked due to Sanji's pervertedness.

"Sorry," you offered a dissapointed smile to Law, begging for forgiveness. How could you overlook a missing crewmate?

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault," he said reassuringly, "I didn't notice he was gone either. Not that I'm mad he's gone. I didn't like the idea of you being all alone with that pervert," he sat up and crossed his arms. With furrowed brows he released another frustrated sigh and grabbed his hat.

"Hang on just a moment. Wait right here for me please," you say, clearly scheming something. Before Law can protest, you stand up above him and walk towards the frantic house. Law watched as you walked towards the house, then down at himself. His once hard erection beginning to lose blood flow due to his annoyance for Sanji. I am so going to go after you first if we become enemies, Sanji, he thinks to himself. He sits still and waits, just like you told him, and starts listening to your crews conversation from in the house.

"Franosuke, Usohachi, why don't you guys go look for Sangoro at the bathhouse nearby, while Law and I stay here in case he comes back?" you asked with a confident smile, knowing they're going to think that's a good idea on your part. Until Usopp opens his mouth.

"Wait, why do you and Law get to relax here? What if that t rex guy shows back up? That's not fair! You just want to be alone with him!" Usopp was unfortunately right on the money, but you were prepared for this due to his squeamish nature.

"Mr.Yasuie? Are the bathhouses in this country seperated or mixed?" You ask, already sure you know the answer.

"Some are seperate, but most are mixed. The closest one here is mixed. I wouldn't recommend you go though, y/n, ma'am. Most of the women around here don't have as many curves as you do, wouldn't want those men getting their hands on a pretty thing like you," he said smiling all the while.

You smiled triumphantly, but this battle wasn't over yet.

"Why can't Law go, you can protect yourself!" Usopp once again protests.

"Because, it's a bathhouse. Law has his jolly Roger tattooed all over himself. Even if this is Wano, they know what pirates are. And Laws jolly Roger looks nothing like Kaido's. That'd bring unnecessary attention to all of us," you argue back, you start to think up another excuse until you see Usopps face become skeptical, the debating lawyer look now faded from his face and voice. Bingo! We have a winner.

"Oh, ok. That actually makes sense since we're trying to lay low," Usopp says as Franky nods in agreement.

"You sure it's ok for us to split up again?" Franky asks, still needing a little push to be convinced.

"Yeah, you guys are strong enough to hold your own if the enemy shows up. Even moreso if you can find Sanjiii-I mean, Sangoro. In the case you do get captured, it wouldn't be good if they caught all 5 of us at once," you say, hoping you just put the final nail in the coffin.

And with that, they started to head off.

"Ok, we're going, but call me on the snail if anything happens or if Sangoro comes back,"

"I will,"

"Oh, one more thing," Usopp leans in to whisper to you, "Don't let nerd alert make you fall for him. He's been eyeing you up ever since we left that dinosaur in the dust. If he tries anything funny, use this,".

Usopp hands you 2 little red seeds.

"What's this?"

"They're puff puff plants. They release a red mist and if it touches your face it feels like it's burning your face off-"

"Nope" you say as you shove them back into his hand.

"But what if he tries something? What if he hurts you?"

"Usohachi, as much as I appreciate you looking out for me, we both know I can hold my own. Plus, I trust him," you say reassuringly.

"You trust him? Well I guess I can hang that 'don't fall for him' mess up. It's too late, you've already been infected," he shrugged.

"Alright, when he gives your heart over to the navy to become a warlord again, I don't wanna hear it," he said crossing his arms.

"Hey, he needs this alliance just as much as we do. And don't worry, if he does give my heart to the navy, I won't complain. Won't have anyone to blame but myself, so I won't cry to you about it,"

"YEAH, BECAUSE YOU'LL BE DEAD!" Usopp yelled as he and Franky exited the house. You made sure to flip him off before turning to Franky.

"Good luck Franosuke! Come back safe!" You waved as they went off into the night.

"Well miss y/n, I'll be retiring for the night. I'm sorry I can't offer you any nice places to sleep or any blankets, I only have one and I'm skin and bones!" Yasuie laughed.

"That's ok, we'll come back inside and sleep on the floor if you don't mind,"

"Not at all, goodnight!" He said as he walked to his room and closed the door behind him.

*sexy part resumes*

You jogged back to where Law was waiting patiently, feeling horrible for how long it took to convince Usopp to leave.

As you walked up to him, he looked peaceful. With his arms under his head, back to the large mat on the ground, eyes looking at the stars. You got closer and noticed that his hat was off again as you laid down next to him. You looked up at the night sky with him for a moment until you decided to speak.

"Sorry about taking so long. I didn't expect to play lawyer with Usopp,"

"It's ok, and I get why he's worried. I'm not a very open personality like most people,"

"That's another quality I like about you, just makes me want to know more,"

"I will say though, I didn't get why he thinks I'd betray you,"

"Me either, after all you told Luffy you wouldn't. Not that I wasn't skeptical at first, but I've learned that you're always honest,"

He glanced over at you gazing at the sky. He didn't expect to be this comfortable around you. This feels almost foreign to him. There was only one other person he remembered being alone with like this and that was a long time ago and in a different sense. He snapped out of his memories as he sees you suddenly shiver.

"Cold?"

"It is a little chilly," you say as you look back at him. Before you can take your eyes off of him, he's getting up and above you. Pinning you as he puts his hands on the ground. He looks into your eyes seeing a reflection of both himself and the starry sky.

"Figured I could be a gentleman and warm you up," he says.

Damn. There it is again. That sultry voice.

You begin to brace yourself off the ground and up into him, but he swoops down to kiss you before the thought becomes an action. It feels like a do over from earlier. Kiss starting slow and then burning into something more again. However, you don't plan to hesitate this time. It was even later into the night, around 2 a.m. now. Everyone in the village would definitely be asleep. He starts trailing down from your lips to your jaw, then to your neck. You suppose that now it was his turn to leave a mark, and he wastes no time doing so. As he makes work of your neck, making it sting so sweetly, one of his hands trails down to the bottom opening of your kimono, sliding his hand up the side of your thigh. He moves to another part of your neck to make yet another mark and moves his hand up to your hip, unintentionally loosening the bow of your kimono and giving him more of your skin to feel. He stops for a moment, hovering over you, he removes his hand from your hip. You whine in frustration at the loss of contact. He let's out a low chuckle as he moves to look down at you.

"How far do you want to take this, y/n?" He asks looking down at you carefully to read your expressions. You shot him a lustful and longing look and before he could start to say "Use your words,", you bucked your hips up in the air to meet his. You let out a quiet moan, never breaking eye contact as you felt his need to be inside you. That made something in him snap into his own desire. The once careful and cautious look of furrowed brows and frowning, now a dangerous smirk with half lidded glazed over eyes. He kept eye contact with you as he lowered his bottom half onto you, grinding against where you needed him most. As he began biting his lip, he slipped one hand under one of your knees to spread your legs out for him, trying to get as much friction as possible. You put a hand over your mouth, not trying to wake up any neighbors with your feverish cries. He stops for a moment, somehow regaining his senses enough to look around and really make sure no one was out and about. Once he makes sure the coast is clear, he takes an extra precaution.

"Room,".

A blue filter surrounded the 2 of you. He wanted to make sure that if someone were to walk upon you 2, that it wouldn't cause another interruption. He couldn't handle stopping now.

"Law, what're you-aaa," you cut yourself off with a moan as Law brought 2 fingers to your entrance and his thumb to your sensitive bud. And he gave a devilish smirk as he realized just how wet you were for him. All for him.

"I wanted to make sure there were no more interruptions like the perverted cook situation," he whispered into your ear as he slowly inserted his fingers into you. Once he was in he began curling his fingers to hit your sweet spot as he rubbed small circles into your clit. You involuntarily bucked your hips to met his rhythm as he started working on you. He contemplates biting and sucking on your ear, but your moans made it evident you needed help with muffling them out, so he kisses you. And he kisses you more desperately then before. He has quite a way of surprising you. It's almost as if he's been planning this moment for a while, taking mental notes on what to do if the moment ever came. He was thoughtful and strategic like that, which made him even hotter.

As he removes his lips from yours, he takes his fingers away at the same time. Denying you the pleasure of having one sensation without the other at the moment. Then he finally opens his kimono, making quick work of stripping his undergarments. You decide to follow his lead, opening the front of the light blue clothing. Before you can remove your panties, he's already doing it. He takes a moment to appreciate the feast in front of him, feeding his eyes at your bare flesh, noticing every freckle, scar, birthmark, all of it. He loves all of you even more than he already did. It felt like the final puzzle piece falling into place. And it was everything he wanted and more still. You were just as transfixed as he was. Studying every single detail of his tattoos as you could. How godly he looked, bare and bathed in moonlight.

"Hey, don't tell me I've bewitched you or sometheing" Law said jokingly, but there was enough worry in his voice to tell you you've been spaced out for a little too long.

"Hmm...what...uh yeah, I-I mean no...sorry," you were tripping and fumbling over your words, trying desperately to form coherent words and sentences.

He looked at you with a smile that was a mixture of the pride in the fact that he had made you a mumbling mess and of how much he adored how cute you were.

"Law,"

"Yes? Able to speak now?"

You nodded, a little embarrassed for feeling so dumbfounded under this extraordinarily intelligent man.

"What is it, y/n?"

"I need you,".

He let out another low chuckle and pressed his chest against yours. He then had his lips next to your ear as he dangerously spoke.

"Tell me how badly you need me, y/n," he said has he lined himself up with your entrance. You practically feel that he was smirking without even looking at him.

"F-fuck, I need you in every conceivable way possible," you whimpered, hoping desperately that he had heard you quiet plea. And oh, he definitely did.

He slowly sheathed himself within you, taking the opportunity to hear every lewd noise you let out as you felt him become one with you. His pace started slow, controlled, but it seemed as time went by he felt more and more the need to lose himself within you. All the bottled up feelings that had been bubbling up between you was being taken out on your body with every rhythmic thrust, becoming quicker and more aggressive by the second. He made sure to keep rubbing circles into your clit, wanting to make sure you enjoyed every second of this. That was the only consistent controlled place of motion he kept on you as he gave in to the rolling of his hips and need to make you his. The louder you got, the more it sounded like praise to his ears. Paying attention to both of your needs as he listened to every beautiful sound you made under him. Once you started to sound a bit too loud, he crashed his lips to yours. He knew that if someone were to show up that he wouldn't have the energy to stop anymore. The coil in your stomach was tightening, you were almost there. You were about to speak up about it, but Laws mouth was still on yours. So, you let your body tell him instead. Walls tightening around him as he gasps, thrusting through every wave of your high until he reaches his own. He looks at you, a bewildering questioning look on his face, sweaty and flush.

"Cum in me," you say, and he does so.

Once he finally catches his breath, he slowly pulls out of you and plops down beside you on his side. He lifts his head to look at the mess he made of your lower half and it's quite a sight. Almost enough to make him want a second round, but quickly dismisses the thought when he looks back at your face. Your eyes are closed, lips slightly parted as you're still trying to get your breathing under control.

"Sorry for dirtying your kimono," he giggles proudly, pressing a kiss to your temple. He's never been more sure of anything in his life as much as he is about you right now.

"If you really feel guilty about it, buy me a new one," you smile at him, eyes dreamily again.

"I don't feel guilty in the slightest about any of this," he smirks.

You giggle as you turn towards him and kiss him, your body shudders, breaking the kiss.

"Whats wrong, is it difficult to move?" He becomes worried so quickly you'd think his personality switched.

"U-Uh, no. Just...um...we should definitely look for a way to clean me up. Kind pouring out like a faucet down there," you say shyly.

He follows your gaze as you open your legs, revealing quite the mess. If the kimono wasn't dirty a moment ago, it definitely was now.

Luckily he had another kimono packed in his bag, he used shambles to get you both inside, switching your bodies with the 2 seeds Usopp had left on the table even after you refused to take them.

He cleaned you both up with a small water bottle of clean water that he had kept secret and a rag from his bag and gave you his second kimono. Of course, it had his jolly Roger on it, and you knew Usopp was going to give you hell when they got back.

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Enhypen's Type of Partner They Need

Okay, so for this reading I will actually focus in on what type of partner would be beneficial for them, rather than ideal partner. I am curious as to what energies pop up here. I also wanted to do a noninvasive energy reading for them, because girlie is way up in their energy too much. We need a break from each other energetically lol So this is more towards the collective/guides as to what they need, let's see if there are similarities to their ideal partner, or if they need a new direction, most probably do from my readings lol but I wanted to see who the right partner at the moment for them would be.

Heeseung (Page of Wands/Peace/Badger Spirit) He would need someone curious and spontaneous. Someone who is slightly adventurous, but a bit timid as well. Like someone who will think before doing something adventurous. Also, someone who can help him get a bit outside his comfort zone. Someone with a bit of passion and spark. He doesn't need someone too energetic and wild and too all over the place. He would need someone who has a peaceful aura. Someone who can help alleviate his stress. Just a calm presence around them. He would need someone very confident in themselves, someone who is confident in their unique flare that they have. Just overall someone bright and warm.

Jay (The Hanged Man/Travel/Dragonfly Spirit) He would need someone who can help him see things differently than how he sees things. Someone who can help him gain clarity in difficult situations. He may need someone who understands that his hands are tied, and he can't do much. This may have been a problem in past relationships. The travel card kind of gives me. He would need someone to understand he travels a lot. He may need someone who also enjoys traveling as well. This travel card is reminding me of the 6 of swords, so he would need someone who can handle the baggage and difficult travel schedule. Not sure how this would work, but I feel he would need someone who can travel with him, that is what this is giving me. He needs someone who can see the reality of the situation, no fake bs, no illusions, no unrealistic expectations. What you see is what you get. Legit, I feel past relationships had so many unrealistic expectations put on the relationship.

Jake (Death/Compassion/Hummingbird Spirit) He needs someone who can let things go and let things die. Also, someone who can help him reveal the skeletons he has. The death card is represented by Scorpio, he is a Scorpio, so he needs someone who can help him deal with his shadow aspects. He would need someone very understand and compassionate. Because I don't see him being easy to date to be honest, so this person will need to be very understanding of where he is coming from. He would need someone who stays focused on the present moment, someone who isn't very highly focused on the past too much. Someone who is engaged in the here and now. He will need someone who sees the light and beauty of what is in front of them. He may need someone like this, because he may not have this mindset of just enjoying the moment as it is, to revel in the beauty of it, so he needs someone who can give him that perspective on things.

Sunghoon (3 of Pentacles/Grieving/Porcupine Spirit) He needs someone he can work with and collaborate as a team with. He would need someone very practical. Who understands relationships are a team effort. He would need someone who can help him, during down times, maybe be there for him when he is sad or vulnerable. Now he may not like to be honest, but he would need someone comforting and understanding. He would need someone who keeps others at bay or keeps a strong protective barrier around them. He needs someone who is capable of grieving something, but learns to move on from that rather quickly, than holding on to sadness for a long time. He needs someone who is always evolving and growing as a person. Who learns from what they have lost and presses forward. When you read my Sunghoon Perspective reading coming up next weekend. You will understand how that is significant to him.

Sunoo (The High Priestess/Blessings/Ant Spirit) He would need someone quiet, reserved and chill, someone who can keep secrets and someone with a lot of inner wisdom. This is someone with a lot of knowledge, someone maybe spiritual, mystical, or very intuitive. He may need someone more on the introverted side. He would need someone who seems very blessed or someone who counts their blessings. Someone who just appreciates what they have. He may need someone optimistic as well. He needs someone who can work and collaborate with him as well. Who is willing to work as a team and bring ideas together to build a plan. His partner needs to be willing to include him in things regarding their relationship. They would need to be very communicative as well. It is like we need to work as a team.

Jungwon (5 of Swords/Empowerment/Vulture) He would need someone willing to fight with him and stand up for themselves. Someone who isn't afraid of confrontation. This is kind of similar to his ideal reading, right? He would need someone very intellectual and not afraid to challenge him in that way. I say he is pretty aligned with his ideal type, so he is on the right path there. He needs someone empowered, strong and confident. Who stands up for what they believe. He needs someone who does not waste opportunities, someone who goes after what they want and takes what they need. He may need someone who is willing to go after him, because I don't see this boy pursuing a relationship, so he may need someone to take the first step. Although, as a Venus in Aries he likes the challenge of going after someone unattainable, that isn't realistic long-term, so this person may need to make the first steps, but also do not be too available for him, because he may lose interest.

Ni-Ki (The World/New Beginnings/Skunk Spirit) He would need someone very cultured, someone who understands he is globally known. Also, that he does travel a lot. He would need someone who completes their goals. Someone who can achieve what they set their mind to. He would need someone with universal knowledge, maybe someone who knows a lot about the world. He would need someone who is all about new starts and new beginnings. It is like there is always a door of opportunity for them. He would need someone who looks unassuming but has a lot of confidence. He would need someone who believes in themselves, even if others doubt them. I say this aligns with his ideal or what he would want to. He may also need someone who allows him to see his worth as well, when maybe he is feeling down about himself.

Okay, this was fun, very light read, since I wasn't tapped into their energies. It would be fun to try this with other groups as well, since this one doesn't require too much energy for me.

[xxsycamore]

Ok third one. I'm way too enthusiastic for this sorry💀

Napo + masturbation

what if i told you i have a fic about this in my drafts that is only written up to the actual masturbation part but i kind of scrapped it because i made him too lonely to the part where it looked sad just straight-up lonely and jorking it HAHAH i messed up the vibe and it needs reworking and i hate doing that ! but maybe someday.

Napoleon + masturbation

I'd say Napoleon isn't much of the regular jerking-off type. Although he listens and caters to his body's needs - he sleeps to his heart's content without much care, he cooks his own food whenever he feels like it, eats crepes to his heart's content, takes mind-clearing rides at any time he needs them. He's still getting used to having so much time for himself in his hands. He might find himself rushing to get done with his shower and have a sudden realization like wait, I can rub one out, I'm not hurrying for anywhere.

Would he take things slow and enjoy himself? Probably. I think he has those lazy moods where he'd be all in for edging himself and exploring sexual fantasies, but at the same time, he's also someone who can't sit still for longer periods of time. We know he finds quite a lot of activities to keep himself busy with, from helping with the chores at the mansion (tending to the stables too) to teaching kids at his and Isaac's école, to (probably daily) fencing exercises with Jean, to giving bodyguard gigs at balls. So I think he keeps the balance with being lazy in the mornings, claiming some time to appreciate this luxury that he now has. He's grumpy, being woken up by some resident who nudges his shoulder and then takes five steps back to shield themselves from his kissing habits. They shout something at him and leave, and Napoleon now has to fight the urge of going back to sleep, on his own.

A healthy young man such as him, it won't be surprising if his cock is awake long before sleep releases its grip on his mind... it makes him restless as he turns on his back, clicking his tongue at no one in particular, sleepy jade eyes opening to stare at the ceiling... soon his hand travels south to give his cock a firm tug, groaning at the contact. He releases his hold immediately though, letting it spring back against the skin of his belly. He's too sleepy to jerk off, too horny to go back to sleep. By the way yeah, I think he's in the habit of sleeping naked (there was one event story where MC entered his room while he was asleep and was all like "Why are you naked!" - maybe she refers to just his upper body though?) so it makes it easier for him to have a spontaneous morning jerking off. After a bit he turns on his side again, and the covers are grazing past his rock-hard cock juuust in the right way, so he rolls his hips lazily once, and then twice, and it suddenly becomes a real problem. So he says fuck it and pushes off the covers, loosely wrapping his fist around the head of his cock and fucking into it. He doesn't think of anyone in particular, just a nice warm mouth wrapped around his girth, cheeks hollowed out and tongue held out as he thrusts his hips into the willing warm and soft cavern. It's not long before he's cumming in his hand, letting out a satisfied moan and running the fingers of his other hand through his hair to move it out of his forehead, body temperature high and naked chest heaving. A nice cold shower is going to feel amazing for him afterward. The residents might think he becomes a different person once he's past his grumpy wake-up stage but they don't know the secret behind his content little smile.

He also jerks off after his sparring sessions, when the adrenaline is still racing in his blood and the hormones heighten his libido.

Reading erotica is not beyond him either, though he might have an issue with it being too far from what gets him going, with how modest yet dramatic it sounds. He'd enjoy pornographic material that is both deeply intimate and dirty at the same time.

So how does it change for him after he starts dating you? His sex drive is probably skyrocketing, and you can't be available to take care of his morning erections all the time so of course he still has to deal with it himself once in a while. It becomes more interesting now though, because the risk of someone re-entering his room because "are you STILL sleeping, Napoleon?" becomes a dangerously alluring chance of making you catch him, "accidentally". Though he's not without shame. If he expects you to walk on him, if he has that sort of control, it would be very turning-on for him. If he doesn't - if he's caught red-handed with a pair of your underwear or another item of yours... he's going to be embarrassed about it. Frowning, blushing, the sexy ridge of his eyebrows knit together when he's so obviously worked up by it, yet trying to be nonchalant... you should tease him about it. About not being able to wait until he has you later in the day or about being crazy for your scent, about how he must be wishing for your touch that would be able to get him off so, so much faster...

5/10 "Fine, I was touching myself to the thought of you. Are you just going to stand there and watch how hopeless I am? I didn't think you were so coldhearted. Come here... at least let me breathe the air around you. I'll be over with this before you know it, so... indulge me, won't you?"

-> (ALWAYS OPEN) send me a kink & I’ll give you a headcanon and rating for Napoleon!

🦶foot fetish 🥵breeding kink 🥕pregging 😈dom/sub 🍈breast kink ⛓bondage 🩸period kink 👄marking 🐺predator/prey 🏙public sex 🤗praise kink 👅 cunnilingus 🍌blowjobs (receiving) 🚪getting caught

[hawtlineblingz]

EREN's MOODBOARD pt. 2

MORE EREN BRAINROT = my take on eren's moodboard + modern headcanons paaaart 2!

(Would do pt.3 bc why not)

Thank you for 100 interactions on my first Eren's HC post OMG ♡♡♡♡ it means alot for my eren loving ass, So enjoy some more of my random eren thoughts below,

Link to pt.1 :

Hard to approach and to talk to at first (kinda canon)

Once you knew him, HES LOUD asf (also kinda canon lmao)

GODLY at platonic flirt, -3000 pts at romantic flirt (STILL also kinda canon)

Chants random internet reference / tiktok meme like "CAN I PET THAT DAWGGGGG????"

Is offended when u told him u don't know the reference

"What is that? WDYM WHAT IS THAT? It's not on your fyp??? U didnt see my repost?", "im not chronically online like u eren 🙄"

Randomly shows up at ur house, he just don't care, it'll be like 4° outside and he's still knocking on ur door, "eren it's litterally snowing outside, why are u here?", "why can't i visit u?"

The type that can talk out ur parents, can actually get along with the most random people, like janitors, or even ur uni librarian, but can barely make a convo with ur friend

Is into small spontaneous dates, doing small fun things, just the two of u <3 arcades, park dates, silly drawing dates, he's into it. Eren is a simple guy.

Smug. "Look i color that better than u, Im just better"

But got shy when u actually praised him. "NO NVM URS BETTER", "no like, actually don't say that, i'm not better..."

Happily feeds and eat with u, we love a foodie Eren

The type to sends pic of his sweatpants and texts "im bored", "let's get food", "wait im too lazy rn, give me 6 minutes", "ok im ready"

The type to smack ur helmet / visor just to make sure ur good to go. "OW, why u smacked me??", "welp, seems like we're good to go"

Lets you put stickers on his stuff, like his helmet, phone, laptop, etc.

Drags u to watch f1 races with him, yes u heard me, he's an F1 enthusiast bc obv he love his motorsports

Actually a sucker for domestic lazy cozy dates, like cuddling during grandprix livestreams

Sighs alot during race, "why is alonso going that way?", "do u think i'll do good if i were in F1?", "which scuderia i belong to if i were in F1?"

Song i listen to while doing pt.2 :

Honestly this is such a messy headcanons, OR maybe i just miss him a little bit too much?

[cryptocism]

So, out of curiosity (AND a slight fear of messing with what you've laid out so clearly in Frequency, which I see as the most reasonable and rational explanation to Thad's character inconsistencies basically, ever), I am wondering if this version of Inertia from Flash #760 fits into the Too Many Thads AU anywhere? From what I can tell, he's the only one not mentioned in your very thorough (and impressively detailed, he was at boomerang's funeral, excuse me sir why are you here???) timeline of Thad appearances. Would you consider him one of the clones we get from the AU, like Six? Or maybe just Thad himself given he's sort of just... chilling in the Speedforce lol. Or did you just not consider him given it's yet another instance of Thad appearing, doing something wild, then disappearing as quickly as he came haha. (Also, I just noticed he says vibrational FREQUENCY, nice👏)

i did... kinda include this iteration. but admittedly it's pretty brief, and the bits of story that take place in the speed force sit in dreamy abstraction rather than solid prose

start of chapter 2 when Thad is running thru the speed force:

He thinks he sees the Flash, once or twice. Tick tock tick tock. You’re running out of time, Barry. But he often thinks he sees lots of people. Once, he thought he saw Max. But the memories exist in his mind the same way a daydream would, and he can’t be sure if it was real.

The "tick tock tick tock" line is taken directly from #760

compared to the other threads of canon that Frequency is written around, it's definitely more on the borders of believably. The "tick tock" line and the bit where Thad threatens to snap his fingers and "blast Barry's mind to pieces" harkens back to the Kid Zoom era and Rogues Revenge, which fucks with my attempt to differentiate this Inertia as a separate person from Kid Zoom. but the hiccup feels minor enough that i think it still works

(and on a tangential note the whole "i'll snap my fingers and blast your mind to pieces" line straight up doesn't make sense to me because YES Kid Zoom famously snapped his fingers and exploded a baby, but he accomplished that by fast-forwarding that baby's timeline so quick that its literal molecules shook apart under the stress. Barry is a speedster and would not respond to timeline manipulation in that way - if at all - because his molecules are already used to that kind of shit. it's a weird and out of place threat to make and i think Williamson may have gotten the impression that Kid Zoom acquired the power of spontaneous combustion which he Fucking Did Not ok rant over)

the general idea i was going for was: Thad is running on rage, sees Barry, has the brief confrontation in #760 where Barry mostly just feels bad for him, and then disappears back into the storm. Implication being that Thad has actually had a couple different interactions with people during his 5 years in the speed force (Eobard, Max, Barry, etc) who try to convince him of things or promise him things, but staying for that long in the speed force (without being dead) fucks with perception a little bit, especially perceptions of Time. so when he's out and looking back on it, Thad can't totally discern what happened, what didn't, or in what order.

also the attendance at Captain Boomerang's funeral gets a shout out near the end of chapter 8 when Bart is going through Six's collection of Four's old stuff:

Some of the items on the shelf he didn’t recognize. A shot glass. A funeral pamphlet for one Digger Harkness. Several empty syringes and auto-injectors all meticulously arranged. A variety of small gadgets and devices that Bart couldn’t place.

because the funeral is technically Inertia's return after the events of Mercury Falling, I translated that as Four's first appearance in the 21st century

[cowgurrrl]

Okay this is soooo very out there in actual probability of this being logical but the idea of a pool in Jackson or like people are allowed to go out to lake or something or they dig a lake like idek but something that involves reader in a swimsuit and Joel like 😳 in public so maybe a lil bit of jealous Joel in there, I just think it would be so cute and fun and spicy and idek if this makes sense hahaha, I’m so sorry for being awful at explaining ideassss🤦‍♀️🤣

The Snake River actually runs through Jackson so it’s entirely plausible (yes, I did do research for this)

Surprise

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader

Author’s note: I didn’t go into this wanting to write smut but it happened and I don’t hate it?? Please be nice to me I’m just a girl

Summary: Joel has something planned for you [3.3k]

Warnings: language, murder jokes, Joel being a little insecure, Joel the Menace making a return, smut (18+ MINORS DNI), fingering, dirty talk, sex in a semi-public place??, almost getting caught, brief mention of a safe word

Joel Miller is not a spontaneous person. It was one of the first things you found out about him. He hates surprises almost as much as he hates planning them. He's someone who likes to know what's happening and when. He loves a plan. But he loves you more. 

Everyone has gone back to school, and the seasons are in a neverending battle of when one begins and the other ends. The hazy August heat permeates the windows of your house as you lie in bed, hiding from the sun and the rest of your responsibilities. This time of year makes you especially grateful for your early morning patrol shifts. You get to finish up your work before the world has the opportunity to finish preheating, and then the town is quiet after that, with people shuffling off to work or school. Maybe that's why Joel wanders into your shared bedroom with your backpacks in hand.

"Are you doin' anythin' for the rest of the day?" He asks, and you give him a confused look. 

"Besides waiting for our daughter to come home from school? No, I didn't have any major plans." You tease, and he rolls his eyes before tossing your bag at you. 

"Meet me downstairs in five minutes." He says.

"For what?"

"It's a surprise."

"Are you finally going to kill me?" You ask, and he scoffs.

"Honey, if I was gonna kill you, I woulda done it a long time ago."

"Fair point. Suspicion always points to the spouse first," you say, sitting up in bed. "Where are we going?"

"Does the word 'surprise' mean nothin' to you?" 

"Only when it's coming from your mouth."

"Downstairs. Five minutes." He says, effectively ending the conversation by turning on his heels and walking away. You groan in protest but get up anyways. If it's something he planned, it's probably worth getting out of bed for. Still, you shuffle your feet lazily as you put more distance between yourself and an afternoon nap. 

He's almost giddy as you walk out of the house and into the blaring sunshine. Ellie still has a few more hours of school left, and even then, she's gotten over you and Joel walking her to and from class. She's becoming more independent as she gets older, which is fine, but seeing her not need you as much hurts. You talk about it on the way to wherever you're going. Joel says he's noticed the same thing but doesn't want to pry too much and risk being labeled "uncool." You have to literally bite your tongue to keep from asking when he was ever cool. 

When you're far enough outside Jackson's walls, Joel grabs your hand and intertwines your fingers, swinging them a little as you walk through the fields. Rock jasmines and asters shake in the window around you, painting the world in shades of white, blue, pink, and yellow. Sometimes it's easy to forget just how beautiful Wyoming can be, but when vast meadows stretch out to the mountain slopes, and the sky is unbelievably clear, you remember. You look over at Joel with his long, graying hair and scruffy facial hair and smile. It's also easy to forget just how beautiful he can be with his gentle hands and crooked nose. He turns to meet your eyes, taking away your view of his side profile, and gives you a look.

"What?" He asks, and you shake your head. "You're starin'."

"I just like looking at you." You admit, making him scoff. Joel is probably the only person in this world who's unaware of how attractive he is. 

"Needa get your eyes checked." He mumbles under his breath. 

"Big talk coming from a man who refuses to wear his glasses even though he desperately needs them." 

"I don't desperately need 'em." 

"Really?" You ask, and he hums. You lift your free hand away from your body and hold up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He tugs on the hand he's holding and pulls you against him until your chest collides with his. The wind gets knocked out of you, either because of the impact or because you can see all his freckles when you get this close to him. He smirks as he stares at you, glancing between your eyes and fingers.

"Three." He says easily, leaning in to kiss you. You move back enough to make him huff in annoyance.

"That's cheating." 

"Mm, I think it's called bein' resourceful."

"Is that right?" You ask, and he hums as he finally kisses you. You indulge him for a second or two before moving back again. "Could you really not see that far?" He sighs and mumbles your name, but you refuse to let it go. "Joel, if your vision's that bad, you need to be wearing them on patrol. I don't want you to make stupid mistakes because you can't see six feet in front of you."

"Look, I hear you. I do. I just..." he trails off, and you raise your eyebrows at him. "It's stupid." 

"Stupider than not wearing them at all?" You ask, and he rolls his eyes—the drama.

"They make me look old, okay? That's why I don't wanna wear 'em," he says. Once again, you have to bite your tongue to stop yourself from making a snide comment. "I'm already one of the oldest guys on patrol, and that's enough for the younger guys to make fun of me. If I start wearin' 'em on patrol, I'll never hear the end of it, especially from Tommy."

"You really care what they think about you?" You ask.

"No," he starts, but quickly shakes his head. "Yes. It didn't bother me, but then they started sayin' they didn't know what you see in an old buzzkill like me, and I just... I don't know." He says. You take a deep breath and wrap your arms around his neck. 

"Does this have anything to do with you suddenly planning surprises for me?" 

"I told you it was stupid." He avoids the question, but you still find an answer. He tries to hide his face in your shoulder, embarrassed, but your hands find his jaw and stop him.

"I don't think it's stupid. I think the other guys on patrol are stupid for saying that and making you think I'm anything but grossly in love with you. I think they don't know what the fuck they're talking about," you say, your thumb brushing against the patches in his beard. "And I think you don't realize just how hot you look wearing glasses," he scoffs, but you don't let him wiggle out of your grasp. "I'm being serious, Joel." You assert, and something behind his eyes shifts. 

"Really?" 

"Are you kidding me? It's, like, annoying how good they make you look," you say, and he smirks. "It's also sexy for you to try to stay alive. So, it's a win-win." He laughs, the sound making the sun shine a little brighter. 

"I mean, who am I to argue with my wife?" He asks, relenting, and you hum.

"Exactly," you say as you kiss him. It was supposed to be quick, a passing kiss to remind him you love him, but when you try to pull away, he's back on you. His big hands snake their way into your hair as he kisses you like he's drowning and trying to pull the air from you. The buzzing bees and chirping birds of the field disappear, and all you can do is hold him. His body is firm against yours, and the soft flannel of his shirt feels perfect beneath your palms. "Was my surprise making out in a meadow? That's pretty romantic, even for you, Joel." You ask as you break away to take a breath that's not his. He groans and rolls his head back to look at the cloudless sky.

"Almost forgot bout the surprise," he says, looking back at you. "You're distractin' me."

"What did I do?" You ask. He grabs your hand and starts leading you through the flowers.

"You were tryna use your woman powers on me."

"Please, explain to me what 'woman powers' you think I possess." 

"If you don't know, I can't tell you." He says like he's answering a riddle, and you laugh. The rest of the walk is spent hand-in-hand with his shoulder bumping yours occasionally as your feet walk over the summer grass. As soon as you hear water lapping over smooth rocks, you look at Joel, who pretends not to hear the same thing. He smiles when you hit the break in the trees, and the crystal water of the river sparkles in the sun. 

You've heard rumors about the water being safe to swim in, but you didn't trust it. Not that it mattered. You and Joel have swum in way dirtier water than the winding blue river in front of you. Still, you were sure that it was a set-up by Raiders. But now, with Joel by your side, in the daylight, it's taking everything in you to not jump in the water. "I thought it might be nice. Just the two of us." Joel says. You nod and rest your head on his shoulder, looping an arm under his and holding his bicep.

"It is nice," you agree. "But we don't own swimsuits," you say, immediately clocking the excited expression on his face. "You're a menace."

"What? I planned a very nice day for us, and I just... forgot we needed swimsuits."

"Oh, you forgot?" You ask, and he nods. 

"I told you, I'm an old man. I forget things easily." 

"Give me a break." You roll your eyes before letting go of his arm and walking over to a big tree. You bend down to take off your boots and socks, and Joel quickly follows suit. His eyes stick to you as you pull your shirt off your head, faded scars catching the sunlight. Once you're left in your bra and underwear, you pause and look at Joel. He's stripped down to just his underwear, too, and you have a full view of his broad frame. 

His muscular chest is littered with scars, some old and silver against his tan skin and others new and still raised and angry. Your favorite is from where he got caught under some fence a million years ago. It vaguely looks like a thunderbolt striking from his collarbone to his shoulder. You can see the goosebumps rising on his thick biceps from where you're standing. His hands are relaxed and open at his sides, visible veins thrumming blood through his body. His belly has rounded just a little since you've settled in Jackson, something he grew insecure about while you reminded him every day that you loved the softness of his body. His strong thighs are a little paler than the rest of him, considering his patrol schedule in the summer, but they're still freckled and scarred like the rest of him. Your breath catches in your throat when he pulls down his underwear and stands fully naked in front of you.

I guess we're actually doing this, you think as you unclasp your bra. You leave your clothes in a pile under the tree before darting into the cold water together. He ducks his entire head under while you tread, letting yourself get used to the temperature and laughing when Joel comes up with a sharp gasp. "Oh, you think that's funny?" He asks before shaking his head in your direction, frigid water droplets landing on your skin. You shriek and splash at him to get him to stop. He splashes back, making huge swells with his arms, and you have to dive under to swim away. 

Once you call a truce on the water fight, you just swim together. You alternate between floating on your back, watching the clouds float by, and diving deep under the water to see what might be down there. After a few minutes, your bodies adjust to the water, and you can actually enjoy the river currents working against you. It reminds you of all the summers you spent in pools, the ocean, rivers, and lakes before the Outbreak. The memory presses on a familiar bruise in your chest, but it doesn't hurt. At least, not as much. Not when you're here with Joel, making new memories in a new world.

You swim over to where Joel is standing, his long curls touching the water as he looks up at the sky. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and your legs around his waist once you're close enough, and he meets your eyes with a smile. His hands grip your thighs and trace patterns into your skin, the warmth of his touch a welcome relief in the cold. You play with the hair at the nape of his neck as you stare at him. "This a good surprise?" He asks, his voice low in his chest, and you nod. 

"I like doing things like this with you," you say. "But I also don't want you to worry about keeping me interested in you," he sighs at your words but doesn't break away from you. "We've been together for years now. We went halfway across the country together. We have Ellie. You're it for me. I don't care what the younger guys on patrol have to say about it."

"You don't think I'm an old buzzkill?"

"Not all the time."

"Alright, smart ass." 

"I mean, I don't know a lot of buzzkills who go skinny-dipping with their wives."

"See? Gimme a little credit here." He says, pinching your thigh, and you laugh. As the sound dies in your throat, his gaze hangs heavily on you. Suddenly, you're all too aware of his sturdy body under you and his hands on you. You get a little closer to him, and his stomach brushes against your core. A quiet, shaky breath leaves you, and Joel hears it. His lips ghost over yours as his hand dips down, a deft finger grazing your clit. 

"Joel," you cry softly, clinging to him tighter when he presses a little harder. He shushes you as his middle finger ventures lower and just barely pushes into you. More. You need more, and he knows it. Asshole, you think to yourself, but your brain shuts off when he inches a digit into you so fucking slowly. You can feel his smirk when he leans down to mouth at the column of your throat. 

"That good?" He rasps in your ear, and you nod as his hand adjusts to thumb at your clit. You jump a little at the molten pleasure pulsing through you. He chuckles lowly and nips at your earlobe. "I've barely touched you, honey, and I can already feel you squeezin' me." You can't even formulate a response once he starts moving. The slow drag of his finger against your walls is enough to drive any sane person insane. You whine when he pushes another into you and claw at his shoulders. 

Your heart is fast against his chest. Everything you breathe, hear, and feel is Joel. You can't think about anything other than the weight of his hand working you over in the broad fucking daylight. You're close enough to the shore that anyone would be able to see you, but you hope you just look like a clingy couple enjoying a mid-day swim. It's a long shot, especially since he's mumbling absolutely filthy things to you. "You always sound so damn pretty." "Gonna let me fuck you like this?" "You're so good for me, baby." Every syllable makes you feel like you're burning from the inside out. His fingers languidly move in and out of you like he has nothing better to do before stopping completely, and you whine in protest.

"You're f," your sentence breaks off when he quickens suddenly. 

"What was that, sweetheart? Where's that smart mouth now?" He asks. Your hips start moving in time with his ministrations, and he watches you like a man starved. You can feel yourself getting closer and closer as his fingers move faster inside you. You think your blood is thundering through your ears as bliss overtakes your senses, but you quickly realize it's hooves. You don't know if Joel hears it, but if he does, he doesn't stop. 

"Joel, I think, fuck," he rubs at your clit with more fervor, making you see stars. "Someone's coming." You breathe, and his teeth scrape under your jaw. It's all too much. You moan and drop your head to his shoulder, losing all motivation to get him to stop.

"You gonna come for me?" He asks, and you nod. "C'mon, I know you can do it. Come for me." He hooks his fingers, nudging that spongy part inside you, and that's all it takes. Your mouth falls open, and fuzziness takes over your senses. You hold Joel closer as he works you through your orgasm with encouraging words and gentle strokes. Finally, you have to reach for his wrist to stop because you're so overstimulated, and he would live between your thighs if he could.

"Y'all alright?" A voice comes out of nowhere, and you jump. You and Joel turn to see one of the patrolmen from Jackson, James, on his horse a few hundred yards away. He's far enough away that he wouldn't be able to see you're both naked, but he can clearly see your clothes and backpacks on the shoreline. 

"Yeah, we're alright. Just... havin' ourselves a date." Joel says, his voice annoyingly even. James looks confused, so you nod in agreement even though Joel still has two fingers knuckle-deep inside you. If he doesn't kill you, embarrassment just might.

"Well, then," James says awkwardly. "Y'all don't stay out too long. Maria'll have your ass if y'all come back hurt or somethin'." Joel shifts his hand as he nods, and you choke on a moan but try to play it off as a cough. Still, James gives you a look. "You good?"

"Yeah, are you alright, honey?" Joel asks in a mocking tone. You grit your teeth and dig your nails into his arm before nodding at James.

"All good. Just had a little tickle. We'll start heading back to town now. Thanks for checking on us." You quickly dismiss the patrolman, who is more than happy to get the hell out of Dodge. Even if he didn't suspect anything was happening, you know he's terrified of you and Joel. His ideal patrol is not having to deal with either of you and now he just got the whole package plus some. As soon as he's out of earshot, you smack Joel's arm. 

"Are you fucking insane? He could've heard us!"

"Us? I'm not the one who was screamin'!"

"Okay, first of all," you start, holding up one finger. "I was not screaming. Second of all, I told you someone was coming, and you kept going!" He doesn't exactly look apologetic, but then again, you're not really mad.

"You know the safe word just as well as I do, sweetheart. I woulda stopped if you said it," he says, and you sigh. He's right. You hate it, but he's right. You try to hide your smile and shake your head as he kisses you. Slowly, he pulls his fingers from you, swallowing your over-sensitive whines down with gentle licks. A stupid thought wiggles its way into your brain, and you laugh against Joel's lips. Once you start, you can't stop, and Joel looks at you like you're a crazy person. "Now, what is so goddamn funny?" He asks, and you compose yourself enough to look at him.

"Think they'll still tease you over being old after you just made your wife come faster than they ever could?" 

[moonshynecybin]

thinking about how rosquez age gap dynamic would change post reconciliation but not now but in like 5-10 years. we all know how vale is about his age so he would be “i’m old maybe marc deserves someone younger more fun and his age” but he would never say that just joke it off like he always does when talking about his age. and marc having a very nothing new by taylor swift complex “will you still want me when i’m nothing new?”, he’s probably retired and thinking “does valentino still thinks i’m cool? he met me when i was in my prime twink era what if he sees im not like that anymore”

YAYYYYY i think theyre BOTH WEIRD ABOUT IT yayyyyyy. okay so. the thing about being a professional athlete is that while you are young and shiny it feels like you will be young and shiny FOREVER ! and then the horrors. and then you turn thirty. and then everyone around you is ten years younger and their body works correctly and they pick up on the stuff YOU pioneered and the press is talking about you like youre a HORSE that they want to sent to the GLUE FACTORY. so i imagine. that those influences can give you somewhat of a complex about your age. i think vale (company is dominated by young twinks comma. clown.) and marc (arm pain boy comma. got a haircut specifically to look younger right before visiting a track he has historically dominated at.) are not in fact immune to this. especially because marc was essentially the move over old man signal to vale in many ways. like imagine your bf is a physical reminder that you no longer can do what you used to be able to do in a sport that is and was your life's work. ouegh.

SO ! POST REUNION ! if its like vale in his 50s marc in his mid to late thirties, staring down his time in the sport coming to an end. a transitionary period then yeah. they think about it. i think MARC is actually a lot more keyed up about this specifically bc vale frankly had to work that out a bit ago. and he does still lowkey think hes god lbr. marc ALSO has an ego the size of the sun but i think it honestly really distresses him a bit more when his body is malfunctioning. maybe i just think that bc hes cried on camera about it multiple times while vale simply changes the subject but i DIGRESS. my barbie dolls shh. marc get a little in his head about it ! tries to fix it by doing crazy shit like getting bad haircuts and buying a stupid amount of moisturizer. new lingerie. i would say he does more crazy and spontaneous activities but he loves adrenaline so bad i fear he's kinda already doing that.... BUT. he's also doing stuff like not letting vale in on his PT appointments.... pretending he's the same as when he was twenty and it was EASY and he didn't have to figure out who he was after motogp because he was the youngest rookie to do x y and z so he should be able to do this FOREVER. and it think he holds his ability to WIN so close to himself.... a measure of how well his life is going fr.... like the last time he couldn't win were 2015 (when vale LEFT HIM) and 2020 to present (ARMMMMM). hes buggin

and i think vale eventually notices and is like oh my god whta. dude HUH ? truly kinda flabbergasted lmao. he fucks him about it and truly THATS what calms marc down a bit (not entirely.... it lingers....). like nose in vale's armpit afterwards stroking his BALD SPOT while vale is like. my love you are three years older than i was when i met you. calm down.

[pumpkinsy0]

This one could get a bit chaotic but papercut going on a road trip? (And maybe some Pony trying to convince Darry to let him go??) Your headcanons keep me alive, i live and breathe papercut, so please keep up the good work or else I will die 💖

papercut road trip?? aw yeaaa baybeeee comin right up 🤵🏽‍♀️🍜

•it was def a spontaneous idea from curly, he was thinking one night and just wanted to drive somewhere, nowhere in particular just go around, he told tim and tim wasnt gonna fight him on it, if thats what curly wants thats his life, all he can hope is that he comes back in one piece (monkey d. luffy refrence⁉️)

•ik when he brought up the idea to pony it took a bit of convincing, not THAT much, but he still had to do it cause like, just a RANDOM road trip?????? pony joked that curly was trynna kill him, but curly did say they’d prolly pass the country side and he could take some pics as a remembrance so pony was down

•not gonna lie, ion know HOW, ponys ass is gonna convince darry to go, pony might be 18/19 but he is PUSHING his freedom here, ill tell u what tho it took a team effort from tim and buck (somehow), and darry probably slapped an airtag on pony or somethin so he knew where he was

•they were not taking curlys car, ill tell u that much, if u drove that thing for more than an hour i promise u theyre so dead before they even get to the 10th block out of ponys neighborhood, REGARDLESS OF HOW, pony kissed darry n soda goodbye (YES thats important to know)

•SKIPPING BORING DETAILS SO WE CAN ACTUALLY GET THE ON THE ROADTRIP, but they r STACKED w literally just snacks, no actual food, just chips, candy, juice and some water, lord help these two, they gonna crash on the highway🤦🏽‍♀️

•wether its a camcorder or just a regular ole camera, ponys documenting this, he also has a journal to write down his thoughts and draw, hes a man of many talents

•for every stop, when he can, he calls darry to let him know hes alive, even sends over post cards from the different places he’s at, stocks up on small lil knickknacks too!!curly also called to check in w tim and angela and pony made him send over letters too (curly HATESSSS writing letters)

•would it REALLY b papercut if i didnt say that one of em got them lost??? curly def cant read a map for shit and fucked up while pony was driving, that argument had ppl in other cars looking over

•they would take turns on who was driving but honestly just never let curly behind the wheel, be nearly missed an exit and pretty much drifted in the highway, curly would do WONDERS in a racing game, he did a “emergency” stop and almost catapulted pony out his seat when he was sleeping, hes such a lil asshole

•sometimes tho, they would just pull over completley and get in the back seat just to sleep, they had a blanket and like one pillow but its ok the one of em would just lay on the other, they had some pretty nice talks in there and pony wrote about it in his journal

•when they get to the country side, i could see pony having one of those nature books and finding what he could just to cross em off, hes a nerd like that, curly was way too fascinated by the insects to rlly make fun of him for too long

•took some good nature pics too, some silly ones as well, curly took some too!!

•one of em touched poison ivy, whoops

•how have i gone this long without mentioning that curly would def b the one blasting music, hes not the passenger princess, hes the passenger pain in the ass (pony doesnt wanna admit but video evidence proves other wise, he was singing too)

•pony is a pretty good driver i aint gonna lie, but maybe a lil too good, his eyes will NOT be leaving that road, curlys just gotta feed pony himself from the passenger

•they didnt pack enough clothes, they were def clothes shopping as they went, whoever car they took is a MESS by now

•at some point pony got sunburnt and curly was laughing at him bc it wasnt even all over his body, the sunburn just covered parts that his clothes didnt cover, had to make a stop at a gas station for sunscreen and aloe vera (if we r assuming curly packed enough money)

•they dont rlly go home for a while, they got too homesick

i need to stop here before i get anymore ideas,,,

[mint-ty]

a prompt if you're still doing those: bojere, taking care of bojan when he gets sick 💗

thank you!! 🥹💕 this got a bit longer, but bojere is my drug, what can you do 😌Also thank you to @nembzz for suggestions on Finnish remedies 😁💕

Bojan dragged in his hand luggage through Jere's apartment door and they shared a long hug. Several days ago Bojan had complained on their weekly phone call that he was starting to feel under the weather again, even though he just got better. Jere suggested, that maybe in that case Bojan should just change the weather, and that he's always welcome at Jere's. To his pleasant surprise, Bojan did take the offer without any further pushing.

"Sorry I can't pick you up from airport..." Jere apologized when they separated.

Bojan smiled back. "Oh don't worry! It was actually so nice remembering the route and knowing where you live."

"You want to eat something? I have food here, but I can order also. Or drink? Do you want drink? Do you want to go out?" Jere jumped right into offering anything he could think of.

"No that's okay, don't worry." Bojan sat down on the couch and immediately he felt the gravity pushing his shoulders down and he stretched out. "I'll just lay down for a moment if you don't mind." The travel wasn't long, but somehow it seeped out all the energy he had.

"Yes yes of course." Jere was hovering around Bojan, not being sure how to help. "Do you have temperature?" He asked with a heavy accent on the 'r' sounds and pressed his hand to Bojan's forehead.

Bojan smiled at Jere's touch. "No I'm fine, really."

"We should really go to sauna... I am sure it helps."

"Maybe later, okay?"

"Sinkki... You need to drink sinkki... um, zinc?"

"Jerč..." Bojan extended his hand to grab Jere's hand, who was about to run off to the kitchen. "I just need to rest for a bit, can you stay with me, please?" Bojan scootched to the wall making space for Jere, and after a brief pause Jere carefully arranged himself next to Bojan, hugging him and placing Bojan's head under his chin.

Bojan chuckled to himself. In a silent and sunny living room, with Jere's heartbeat next to his ear, of course he would immediately feel better. If there was one safe space in the whole world, it was here - in Jere's arms.

"I'm tired..." Bojan whispered and felt Jere gently brush his hair with his cheek. "I don't think I'm actually sick, but I am so god-damn tired all the time... No matter how much I sleep or eat, there's no difference."

"...Maybe you have panic again?"

Bojan had to think for a second. "I don't think so? At least I don't remember. But it feels... like I don't feel anything." Bojan burrowed his face into Jere's neck and confessed the scariest thing of all. "I don't feel motivated. I don't feel like creating lyrics or playing music, or singing... it's all a chore. I just want to... I don't want anything." He finished with a small voice.

Bojan knew that Jere would understand, but for a moment he was still scared of Jere's judgment. Would he think Bojan was giving up?

Instead Jere wrapped Bojan harder in his arms and sighed. "Bojan, I think you're burnout."

That surprised him and Bojan lifted his face to look at Jere. "From what? This year is so much easier than last year... Why would I have a burnout now?"

"Maybe if you know, you wouldn't have it?"

"Huh? So how do I get better if I don't know what's wrong?"

Jere brushed Bojan's arm and gave a soft kiss on his forehead. "You listen. Your body know what you need if you listen. If it says he don't want anything - don't do anything, just rest."

Bojan placed his head back on Jere's chest, thinking. Maybe Jere was right, Bojan's body did take him here, back into Jere's arms, almost without any conscious thought. He didn't have energy for anything, other than a spontaneous international trip to Finland it seemed.

"But I still think maybe you also are little sick too." Jere continued after a while. "So I take you to sauna later. And we drink tea and honey. And I give you socks with garlic."

"A what?"

"Garlic in sock? You don't know? You sleep and you feel better!"

"And you'll let me sleep next to you with garlicky feet?" Bojan had to laugh at that.

"Yes yes! It cure you, you will see!" Jere was looking at Bojan with an open eyes and once again Bojan wasn't sure if Jere was joking or not. But Bojan was about ready to try anything that might help. And Jere taking charge was so comforting that Bojan decided not to question the methods for now and just let Jere care for him.

"I don't have onion... I need to buy some." Jere mumbled to himself.

"Jere... You're making soup out of me?..."

"Ha! No... but I still eat you!" Jere grinned, squeezing Bojan hard to his chest.

It really was a wonder. Only twenty minutes here, and Bojan was already feeling so much better.

[dballzposting]

The Gohan Goes To Highschool Saga is so unbelievably perfect and delectable and every time I see any bit of it I lose it

First of all I like the art style. The profiles are cute and I love how the clothes are drawn.

Gohan looks goofy as hell.

Gohan has been living Isolated Away from all of The World just Living in the sticks in the mountain in the woods just he and his mom and his brother

And Then he goes to SCHOOL and is thrust into a SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT for the first time and the FIRST thing that happens to him is that a GIRL, who happens to be MR SATAN'S DAUGHTER, DRILLS her EYES into him and STARES and STALKS and THINKS and she is going to see his guts god damnit.

And she herself runs the city. Mr Satan is King Lion Showpony Figurehead While Videl is actually out sniffing the streets. She knows her territory and she navigates it with clarity and confidence

And when new strange "Superheros" enter the environment she is going to get to the bottom of it.

Because some things about the world have never seemed right to her. The mysterious strangers during the Cell Games, the way that she has never seen her father do anything that impressive since- the Golden Warrior, The Great Saiyaman ... is there a common thread of one singularly strong warrior?

Gohan discovers the euphoria of a mask. He has always had to be the hero and it was a record of failure and stress to him. Now he gets to PLAY hero. It's fun, and juvenile, which would be healing, but- how far should we let this go? His silly Ginyu poses. The glory of being seen but unseen. He can control what people think of him. He's sensitive when people badmouth his alter ego, snapping into anger and then recovering with the blaséness of a child. What is this? I can't explain it but it seems like a slippery spiral.

Hes never had a mask before. Hes never been safe to have eyes land and melt on his body before.

And the FIRST THING that Happens to Him is that a Girl who is SUSPICIOUS and INTENSE and ADROIT sets her ICY Stare On Him and wont Relent. She is going to GET Under that Mask. Hes never had this sort of attention before, hes barely had peers before - hes never been studied like this, hes never been WANTED like this.

She stares and he sweats.

And it's clearly good for Gohan to be getting out but it's just that well there is CLEARLY Madness in the Woods and he is not out of those woods. Maybe hes the minotaur. He acts all goofy and happy and spontaneous and bright-eyed, but it's masking something I'm telling you. That's why the mask appealed to him so. Hes already wearing one without even realizing it

And again Videl is gonna be the one to cut him open and drag his guts out. And thatll be GOOD FOR HIM TOO becasue hes never HAD the privilege of CONVERSATION. There is so much that he just doesnt have context for. And he's never had the avenue to explore with others the events of the past that may still be living in him.

But until then it's just gonna brew and he thought he was out of the woods but now hes entering the fecund minefield of social revelations and hes learning and re-learning everything subtlety as he also experiences what it's like to see and be seen and he is finding access to a wealth of new feelings made for moving amongst his peers and theres a lot of internal shifting as he leaps out to claim a part of the world for himself and the shadows in his soul are finding thrill and fixation on playing the much-loved hero in a mask who gets to pull goofy poses.

Um Gohan sort of blew ass in the Buu Saga but his outfits were killer. And then he died. Badly. But I dont mind and I really think that it's important for him to get out of his mother's house and to lean into the insight of Videl ASAP. He needs to establish his own presence amongst a normal functioning society so bad.

I swear he only became a scholar becasue he began to associate it with peace and his mother's love, and it gave him something to escape into when he didnt want to experience being himself. But the self still necessarily expresses itself somehow and now he hyperfixates on bugs. So small and humble yet strong and brave. They make the world seem so small yet so big and switching between the two helps him to avoid finding himself in the middle. Also there was that whole Cell thing (he was sort of bug-like...)

[ryuichirou]

TWST boys first time hcs

We have some asks about a certain theme, so we’ll talk about this one today~

There is also another ask on the similar topic about RookVil specifically, but I’ll reply to it a bit later; sorry for the wait and thank you for your patience.

Anonymous asked:

i’m curious about who you think would take other characters virginity (ex trey taking riddle’s or deuce taking ace’s)

Anonymous asked:

So how Ace's first time having with someone go? This man needs it so badly.

Here is the thing about us and characters’ virginity: it kind of resets all the time lol Because we’re multishippers + also love to play around with different scenarios, there’s rarely one just one headcanon that we keep in mind. For some, like Diasomnia boys for example, it’s generally the same every time, but someone like Idia is cursed to wake up being a virgin every day no matter what happens to him in our stories and posts lol I’ll try to mention different scenarios, but the possibilities are truly endless.

Alright, let’s go.

Riddle would lose his virginity to either Trey or Floyd. Ace is also technically an option, but for some reason I imagine him either entrusting his vulnerable self to Trey or doing something truly reckless with Floyd and maybe regretting it later lol We actually have a post about his first time with Floyd… No matter what happens though, Riddle won’t stay a virgin by the end of his time in NRC, even though he intended not to have sex until he gets married.

Trey’s first would probably be Riddle, but I can also imagine him having sex with some nameless character maaaybe when he was a freshman. He seems more experienced somehow, and also like someone who is much hornier than he looks lol But maybe he just watches too much porn.

Cater doesn’t remember who was his first, or at least he says that he doesn’t. Maybe it was some girl from one of his previous schools… or was it a boy? He didn’t even get to cuddle with them properly, so it’s a bit of a blur. He went through a phase when he tried to score a lot of “firsts” in just one week, I guess.

DEUCE AND ACE!!! There are options lol I know we like to joke about Ace being a forever virgin and Deuce being kind of a hoe, but I actually quite like the idea of these two being each other’s firsts. Because it definitely won’t be as nice as it sounds, and they do look like someone who would want to “explore things” and go too far. The tension these two have is just way too insane.

I also ironically (based on how many replies we have on this topic…) don’t really think that Deuce would sleep around in NRC, even if he tried to make Ace mad. That being said, I do think that it’s quite possible for him not to be a virgin. He used to be quite a bad boy after all, so one of his gang member could have been his first. Or was it that police guy he mentioned at one point? Could’ve been either.

ACE… is way too funny to make fun of because he’s a virgin lol but I’m pretty sure Deuce would be his first. Unless we’re going an AceRiddle route, and that would be absolutely disastrous.

Leona lost his virginity a long time ago and he absolutely won’t tell who the lucky person was. He wouldn’t refuse to reply either, he would just roll over to his other side and yawn, making it seem like he didn’t hear your question. What is he hiding..?

Ruggie actually does remember his first time because it was the moment he realised that he can make a lot of money doing this stuff! It was probably some rich guy whose identity Ruggie won’t reveal for obvious reasons, but Ruggie still remembers him fondly.

Jack is a virgin! >:C He waits until he falls in love with someone special he wants to spend his life with! But he’s still either end up having his virginity taken either by Epel, Deuce or Vil. The first two would be very spontaneous, passionately sloppy and anxious. If it happens with Vil, it’ll look more like Jack being tamed.

Sigh, the Octa trio…..

Azul is absolutely a virgin lol And while I love him with Jamil too and he could easily lose his virginity to him in some scenarios, it’s much easier to picture him doing it with Idia. It’s just way less intimidating to Azul that way, Idia is much easier to handle. This sounds kind of rude to Idia, yikes… but Azul is just as pathetic, so it’s okay lol

Jade is a mysterious man…. Is he a virgin? It’s not like he cares about sex. But one day he would just randomly mentioned that he isn’t a virgin and like?? Since when?? With whom?? Is this a person from NRC or??? Jade won’t give an answer to that :( He’ll say that he is horribly shy to talk about it, but the smile on his face would make it clear that he isn’t shy at all.

Floyd doesn’t remember who was his first, because he is super horny in general and used to be even more horny when he was a freshman. He doesn’t think much about these things, he just craved all the experiences he could get back then. But at the same time, it’s possible to come up with a scenario in which Riddle would be his first… but Floyd being a virgin doesn’t make him even a little bit less of a menace lol

Kalim’s first was Jamil, 100% guaranteed. Even if he is supposed to get married, even if he gets a harem, his first time would still somehow be Jamil. This is just how Kalim is wired…

Jamil is an interesting one, because he is so stressed and married to his job that I feel like he isn’t that into sex. Which means, Kalim would absolutely be his first too. That being said, I can also picture him sleeping with someone out of desperation, frustration or even self-punishment: it could be either a random Scarabia student, Azul or even Floyd.

Vil’s first time happened with Rook <3 Like I already said, we’ll dive deeper into these two in another post, but I’ll say that despite being quite flirty sometimes, Vil is actually sentimental and careful enough not to kiss or have sex with a lot of people that he liked, so him wanting to have sex with Rook was actually a big deal.

Rook’s first could either be Vil (<3) or honestly some other mysterious person whom he met prior to becoming a NRC student. He is surprisingly experienced for someone who is supposed to be a virgin, so it’s not impossible to think that he hides some things about his quite exciting past.

Epel is a virgin that has a lot of potential bachelors around him lol Rook definitely could be preparing him for himself, but the most possible option for Epel could actually be Floyd. This guy is everywhere…!! Jack is also an option of course lol

With Idia it would also heavily depend on which couple is the main one in any given universe. Because we could have a sweet messed up scenario of Idia and Ortho being each other’s firsts and having more secrets that people realise, absorbed in each other and their own world <3

But in any other scenario, he is SUCH a forever-virgin. Azul is a very possible option for him to lose his virginity with, and of course the Tweels could also work, and Sebek… it truly depends on the ship lol

And OF COURSE Lilia is a very possible one! He would get so nervous thinking about how Crimson Muscle is definitely very experienced and mature and has a family and stuff, and he is just a pathetic guy with a crush~

Ortho would probably have his first time with Idia in any possible scenario lol Even if it was just an experiment on his part. He really loves his niisan…

Just like I mentioned, Diasomnia boys are a bit more “concrete” in the way we headcanon their first times. For example, Lilia was the first for both Malleus and Silver; they have this weird love triangle/square that we always keep in mind for some reason. I guess it just works nicely…

With Sebek it’s either Silver (very likely) or Malleus (if Sebek is LUCKY!!), but he is also one of the more passionately uncontrollable hormonal boys, so no one is truly safe around him. It could be Idia or even Epel lol

As for Lilia, well, he either doesn’t remember his first time or wants us to believe that he doesn’t. Maybe it was someone from the battlefield, maybe it was a specific woman from his past, maybe it was just a random guy. I feel like Lilia could even think that it was one way, but totally misremember things lol

As a bonus!

Rollo is a virgin. Duh.

Che’nya is very close to what Floyd has going on, but a bit less active; his first would still be some cute beastboy from his school.

Trein’s first was his beloved wife, but that doesn’t mean that Trein was his wife’s first. Trein used to be quite a shy guy…

And Crewel’s first was some guy from his dorm when he used to be a student. He does remember him, but doesn’t think much of him: Crewel wasn’t the nicest guy back then (and he isn’t really a nice guy now lol).

[tobiasdrake]

Oh, shit. New episode of Daima. For some reason I thought this aired on Saturdays but apparently it's a Friday release schedule?

Hahaha, what? Since when is that a thing? XD That is not a thing.

There is a bit of inconsistency with Shenron in post-Z materials. Resurrection F had a plot hole where Shenron only granted two wishes.

So, the way the rules work, Shenron will grant three wishes unless one of them is a mass-resurrection; That basically uses up two wish slots. You can also bank wishes, having him grant less than three in order to shorten the Dragon Balls' recharge time.

But a lot of people struggle to remember how this works, including official creators who work on Dragon Ball. Resurrection F had a notable plot hole where Shenron granted only two wishes despite not granting a mass-revive.

The Broly movie (the good one) only had him grant one. So this new rule Daima pulled out of its ass kinda works like a rules patch to fill in those plot holes. Oh, that's why Cheelai only got one wish!

Resurrection F is still borked. You can reason out that, because the Pilaf Gang were there and they've summoned Shenron once, the group counted as a regular. But the original problem of only getting two wishes granted remains a plot hole.

So... yeah, okay. It's a rather abrupt fix but I'll take it..

...hang on, remind me what the wish was again?

Oh! Okay. Carry on. I was confused by how people like Dende, the Muten-Roshi, Bulma, and Chi-Chi qualify as having fought Majin Buu but the "and their friends" bit covers it.

I mean, they were killed by Majin Buu. But if that was enough to qualify, the entire planet would be children right now.

So, yeah, this threw me but no, we're good. Nothing to see here. The wish was suitably broad as to cover the entire cast.

Far away, in a park somewhere, Ranger 17 is trying to figure out if spontaneous chibification is byproduct of being made into a bio-android that Gero didn't live to explain to him. Is he going to keep de-aging until he's a fetus!? Bulma's voicemail is blowing up right now.

Yamcha's date just got super awkward.

Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu are continuing to spar and refusing to acknowledge it.

We are all going to ignore the existence of Mr. Buu because this plot is not ready to deal with the fact that it just turned him back into Pure Buu. But that's okay because Dragon Ball is used to ignoring Buu. Maybe the paradox of being, himself, Majin Buu but also being a friend of the people who fought Majin Buu shielded him from the effect.

Shapner and Erasa are even worse off than 17, since they don't even have a contact to get answers from. Fortunately, the rest of Gohan's class is probably fine. Those two were the only ones he seemed to talk to.

Somewhere, deep in space, exactly one member of the Frieza Force hung out with Vegeta during off-hours way back when, just enough to be having the weirdest fucking day right now.

Piccolo has not caused a single person to be afflicted as collateral damage. Let us all take a moment to celebrate his dedication to loneliness.

I want him on the team.

...actually, I want Videl on the team, but since they obviously won't give me that, I will accept her father.

Where are Videl and Gohan, anyway? They're right on the fence where they could have gone either way with that wish.

I can't stop looking at Popo's horns. We've never seen him without his turban anymore. Are we finally about to get an explanation for what he is and where he comes from? Is that answer going to be Makai?

Oh, I'm sorry, Daimakai. Not the Demon World. The Great Demon World. Like how "Demon King Piccolo" is actually Piccolo-Daimao, not Piccolo-Mao.

Goku: Man, I wish I had a brother! Popo: Goku, didn't your brother kill you? Goku: Nah, that was Piccolo. I don't know what you're talking about. I'd remember having had a brother at some point.

Really. We're doing "Kami's Spaceship"?

(sigh)

Playing the hits.

DON'T BREAK POPO'S STUFF DON'T BREAK POPO'S STUFF DON'T BREAK POPO'S STUFF DON'T BREAK POPO'S STUFF

SIXTH RULE OF POPO'S TRAINING

Karin didn't get hit by the wish? Man, if I were him, I would feel so disrespected right now.

His godhood can't be what shielded him because Dende did get hit, and he's a higher rank of deity than Karin is. He was just protected because nobody who fought Majin Buu loves him. Awww.

He lost it to Maron (not to be confused with Marron) in a game of strip poker.

I mean, he didn't. That only happened in anime filler, so it's non-canon. But I desperately want that to be where it is, if only so we can send Chibi Krillin to talk to the woman his daughter is accidentally named after.

(By his own admission, Toriyama didn't watch the anime. Which makes that particular oversight hilarious.)

I hope we can spend as little time as humanly possible with the Muten-Roshi.

The "joke" of him being an insatiable sexual predator is generally noxious and the anime often dials it up to 11. But in this particular circumstance, where he's way too young to be hitting on adult women but also a 300-year-old man which means inflicting him on girls "his age" would be extremely gross?

Yeah. Let's just. Have as little of this guy as possible.

That said....

The other recurring Roshi gag where he is unforgivably irresponsible with ancient magical artifacts of legendary repute is put to great use here.

Piccolo: I don't even remember Namek. Do you remember Planet Vegeta? Vegeta: I remember Planet Vegeta. Piccolo: Nobody cares, Vegeta. Vegeta: :( If I wasn't chibi I'd kill you all. Bulma: That's nice, dear.

Oh, I am absolutely going to underestimate the shit out of him.

He only became king of Daimakai because Dabra was killed in action. From this, we can presume that he is less powerful than Dabra, who is equal in strength to Cell.

Also. Just. Considering the source. It was literally a running bit that people Kaioshin considers unbelievably formidable were hopeless pushovers against Goku and Vegeta. He is not a reliable judge of who is and is not a thing to be feared.

Still likely a dangerous foe but only because the post-Buu era cast have had their abilities nerfed. If Goku were at full strength he could definitely finger-flick Gomah into the sun.

Daisanmakai, or Demon World #3.

Not the same dai as in Daimakai. 大 Dai means "Great" while 第 Dai is basically a # mark. I wonder if Daimakai is the main Demon World, or a term for the collective of all Demon Worlds? I bet it's the latter.

Oh, hey! We're playing the hits with "Baby Bulma inspects Jaco's spaceship". Congratulations on making it into the Dragon Ball Referential Hall of Fame, Jaco.

It's subtle, and it's remixed very well into the plot which makes it less noticeable, but I still caught that.

Ahh, this was way better than the first episode. Judging from the credits, it looks like Bulma, Vegeta, and Piccolo will be joining Goku and Kaioshin in Daimakai, but the rest of the cast can get fucked.

That's a shame. Not really any point to casting such a broad net with the wish if we're keeping the cast trimmed down this far.

Still, looking forward to exploring Daimakai!

[duhragonball]

Daima 2: Glorio

About a third of this episode is dedicated to having the main characters react to the whole "turned into babies" thing. This is probably a good call, since the show was promoted on this gimmick, and it's worth showing off. Everyone looks super cute, and anyone who had facial hair becomes almost unrecognizable.

It feels like a bit of waste of time, but only because the "turned into babies" thing was all we knew about the show for the year or so before it premiered, so for me this feels like we're belaboring the obvious. Yeah, yeah, we know they're babies, we've been talking about it for months. But the show has to have the moment. This is why I don't get too invested into trailers and teaser trailers and analyses of trailers, and leaks and "Everything you NEED to know about..." videos. If you spend too much time dwelling on a future release, you'll lose out on the spontaneity when it finally comes out.

It's probably worth talking about who hasn't gotten turned into babies. Well, I should clarify that. I like calling them all babies because I think it's cute and funny, but most of the affected characters are more like seven-year-olds. Anyone who was already a child is turned into a literal baby, like Goten and Trunks. Also Dende, even though he's at least thirteen by now.

Specifically, Gomah's wish applied to the ones who defeated Buu and "all of their friends." So Master Roshi got turned into a kid, but not the waitstaff at Trunks' 9th birthday party. Ox King got turned into a kid, even though he never actually fought Majin Buu. Basically, if you can be considered part of Dragon Team, you got turned into a kid.

But Korin and the Turtle seem to be unaffected. Maybe they did get turned into children, and they just don't look any different. Or maybe the rest of Dragon Team secretly hates those guys, and so they don't fall into the "friends" category of the wish. Man, that's the sort of thing that would keep me up at night. Imagine your whole friends circle gets turned into babies, except you. There's really only one explanation for that, but you can't exactly say anything, because that'd just make it worse.

Oh, what am I worried about? Everyone likes me! I mean, everyone likes Korin and the Turtle. Yes, that is what I meant to say. Heh-heh...

Anyway, as for King Gomah, he had planned on making two more wishes, but Shenron clocks out early. Gomah's like "What the hell, man?" and Shenron tells him that the second and third wishes are for regular customers. First timers only get one wish and they just have to like it. Wait, so when he offered more wishes for Sorbet in Resurrection F, was that because Pilaf was with him? Fascinating.

Gomah's pissed because this means he can't get the Evil Third Eye, but Degesu is satisfied that they accomplished what they came here to do. Remember, Degesu didn't see the Earth as a threat in the first place. Dr. Arinsu planted the idea in Gomah's head, and Degesu was willing to go along with it, but he's probably just relieved they pulled this off without anything going wrong.

But why not just have Neva do the same trick he used to summon Shenron in the first place? Normally, you have to wait a year to use the Dragon Balls again, but Neva's ancient Namek power allowed him to collect and reactivate the Dragon Balls immediately. So in theory he could just do that over and over again and Gomah can have unlimited wishes? Well, no, Neva says "Even I can't do that twice in a row," so I'm glad we got a limit on that ability. That's the lesson there. You can invent a bullshit rule-breaking power, but it needs to have it's own limits and rules in order to keep it from being abused. Kryptonite will neutralize Superman, but it's not like you can just run to the drugstore and buy a bunch of kryptonite.

The Supreme Kai, Kibito, Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo all go to the Lookout to find out what happened, and Mr. Popo fills them in. The Supreme Kai realizes that it must have been his brother Degesu, and Piccolo recognizes the name "Neva" from Namekian history. He was the "Legendary Namek" who stayed behind in the Demon Realm after all the others left for the outside universe. He stayed to guard the Demon Realm's Dragon Balls, but it's not clear what he's protecting them from. If he didn't want the Demons making wishes, then why did he help Gomah use the Earth's Dragon Balls today? Curious.

Also, before Gomah's group left, he decided to take baby Dende along as a hostage. Also, as the keeper of the Earth's Dragon Balls, they believe holding Dende will make the Earth's Dragon Balls useless. I get why they'd want to do that, but I'm not sure I understand how physically removing Dende affects the Dragon Balls. When Guru was teleported from Namek to Earth, the Namekian Dragon Balls followed him there. So maybe it's like that? Or does the barrier between the Demon Realm and Earth make it so it seems like Dende is dead? The Dragon Balls become inert just like they would if Dende had died. Anyway, Neva seems to think this would go as Gomah expects, so they kidnapped baby Dende.

And Goku wants to go to Demon Realm and get him back. There you go, that's the good guys' motivation, right there. This was the problem GT had when it turned Goku into a child. It was basically an accident, so there was no enemy to fight in that situation, and Goku basically didn't care. It doesn't seem like Daima Goku is too worried about being a child either, and that's fine. Goku's a pretty laid back guy with this sort of thing. But if turning him into a child doesn't provoke some sort of response, then why do it at all?

Here the conflict is much more focused. Gomah went out of his way to turn Goku into a child because he saw him as a potential threat. And it seems that he kidnapped Dende to ensure that Goku couldn't simply undo the wish next year. So even if Goku doesn't mind being a child, he'd still want to go after Gomah, if only to rescue Dende and get to the bottom of this. It also helps that we have characters like Vegeta included in the whole babies wish, so even if Goku doesn't mind being a child, Vegeta is still highly motivated to undo the wish.

But more importantly, by doing all of this, Gomah seems to have provoked the very response that he was trying to avoid. Degesu thought there was no reason for the Earthlings to come to the Demon Realm, and now Gomah has given them a reason. He probably doesn't think that Goku's group is capable of putting up much of a fight in this state, but they already beat Majin Buu, so underestimating them seems like a bad idea.

Rememer, Dr. Arinsu was the one who planted the seeds for this whole conflict. If she hadn't said anything, Gomah never would have gone to Earth. So was this what she wanted to happen? Maybe she was trying to set off a conflict, and then Gomah would have to keep funding her research to improve his defenses. Or maybe Arinsu was counting on Goku to eliminate Gomah, so that another king would take over and give Arinsu the funding that Gomah would not.

And I don't want to spend a lot of time bashing GT with this (I already did that last year). You can kick off a story with an accident like Pilaf's thoughtless wish, and then establish a plot device that will destroy the world like the Black Star Dragon Balls. That's valid, but it's so much better when there's an antagonist in back of the problem, someone you can chase or fight or argue with over tea.

All right, so how do they get to the Demon Realm? According to Kibito, travel to and from has been heavily restricted for a long, long time. It's not clear who imposed the restrictions, or who Gomah had to make arrangements with for his own trip, but it's not as simple as teleporting or taking a spaceship. The Supreme Kai has an idea, and he sends Kibito to fetch the spaceship he used when he first came to this universe. He doesn't say where he came from, though. I'm guessing he and the other Kais all live in some other realm and he had to come here when he got the Kaioshin position in Universe 7. But maybe he was born in the Demon Realm, and he used this ship to leave? In any case, he believes this vessel will take them to the Demon Realm, except it's old and busted.

But that's okay, because we have Bulma to fix it. She takes a look under the hood and estimates it'll be a ten day job. So the principal cast is starting to take shape here. Goku is obvious, and the Supreme Kai has family on the bad guy side, so he has a clear stake in this. Piccolo is in because of the Namekian connection, and Vegeta wants revenge for getting turned into a baby. And we gotta have Bulma because she's the tech gal. I'm not clear on whether Kibito will tag along, but we don't see much of him in the closing credits, so I'm guessing he rides the pine for most of this story.

And this is great. One thing that always bugged me about Dragon Ball Super was how they kept loading way too many characters into every episode. They'd be fighting Frieza and Master Roshi has to be there. They're fighting Universe 6's team and we gotta check in with Jaco to see what he thinks about it all. They're getting ready to help save Future Trunks' world, but let's check in on Emperor Pilaf and see what he has to say about all this. Every time someone threw a punch in the Tournament of Power, the show would suddenly cut to the bleachers so Whis could explain why punches hurt.

I've been trying to find a way to describe the pacing in Daima, and it feels kind of relaxed and leisurely, but at the same time, it's not padded out the way the previous anime series were. Before, Toei would often set up B-plots and side conversations to fill time, and that's not really happening here. The cast is pretty small, and we're filling the time with exposition and just sort of letting the moments breathe. Goku goes on a little side-quest to get his Nyoi'bo, and they probably could have tightened it up, or skipped it altogether, but it's just this quiet little errand, and the show lets you drink in the ambiance.

Look at these li'l guys eating their li'l guy dinner with their mini-sized soda cans. It's great.

However, their dinner is interrupted by the sudden arrival of another Demon Realm ship like the one King Gomah used. This time, however, it's a whole other guy named Glorio, whom we saw spying on Gomah in Episode 1. He says he was tasked with recruiting Goku to defeat King Gomah in the Demon Realm. Goku's always ready to rock, but the Supreme Kai wants to know how Glorio has even heard of Goku. Glorio claims he learned about Goku from the King of the Third Demon Realm, who watched video of the Buu Saga just like Gomah. That... seems a bit curious. Later it'll become clear that the Demon Realm is divided into three worlds, so I guess it makes sense that each one has a king, and Gomah rules over them all. So the Third King might not be too happy about Gomah's reign.

But Glorio was also there when Gomah watched his own video of the Buu Saga. So it's almost like he's telling a half-truth. Glorio also says he was ordered by the Third King to come here, but when the Supreme Kai asks if he works for the Third King, Glorio says that he doesn't. The request was sent to him in secret. Well, what does that mean?

I'm guessing that Glorio's not telling the gang the whole story, or he may not be fully aware of it himself. For all we know, someone like Dr. Arinsu might have sent him the request and made it look like it was the Third King who submitted it. Whatever the case, the Supreme Kai decides to go with them, partly because his brother is involved with Gomah, and partly because he's suspicious of Glorio. He shouldn't have known about them being turned into children, but he wasn't surprised to see them in this state. To be fair to Glorio, nothing seems to really get much of a reaction out of him. He's a very low-key kind of guy.

Bulma asks to study his spaceship before they go, so she can use it as a reference for her work on the Kai's ship. Glorio insists that his vessel is a "plane", so I don't know if that's the correct term for it or if he's just a contrarian. I mean, it does more than fly in space, but it does fly in space so come on. Vegeta wants to go along, but the plane only has room for three. So Vegeta will have to wait for Bulma to finish repairing the other ship and then they can follow Glorio's group into the Demon Realm later.

I like this set up a lot. I think GT had a promising set up with a trio of main characters. Again, there's a lot to be said for focusing on a small cast instead of dumping in dozens of side characters who have to compete for screen time. But GT ran into issues pretty early on, and maybe it would have been helpful to have a second trio operating independently of the first. That way if the writers got stuck, they could switch to the second group, or have them link up later on.

I don't know if this would have done GT a lot of good, but it definitely seems like a smart strategy for Daima. This way we can focus on three characters, but there's still the promise that we'll get to see more of Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bulma later. If all six of them had gone together, it would have gotten dull, because at least two of them wouldn't have had much to do. This way we have something to look forward to.