#they made penalty killing exciting

[patrice-bergerons]

NGL I miss the bergy marchy shorties 😔

[everytimewetouch-dot-mp3]

christ more dragon god sy yapping:

all those b-points he got from finishing that first quest? gone. my mans got like 100 every time he blessed a new generation of peak lords, plus the 500 he got from finishing that first main quest {From the Ground Up}, plus whatever he got from fighting off all those beasties who tried to kill his little cultivators way back when.

but when he unlocks his human form, he does not unlock clothes, and he has to buy them from the system store! truly unfair! he looks pretty similar to how he looked in his first life, just a little less sickly. he also has to buy a sword from the system, which is frankly bullshit. but lanrui is a lovely sword—an almost pearlescent sheen to the blade, with peach blossoms inlaid in the hilt and a dragon scale sheath that…it’s almost certainly made from his scales, actually. weird. after buying everything he needs from the bullshit system’s scam shop, he’s left with about 150 B-points.

after his magical girl transformation from gigantic dragon god to gangly human wrapped in way too many layers of sumptuous green and blue silks, shen yuan is sent off the mountain on a couple of missions from the system. pop into the demon realm to slay this evil, fend off these fierce corpses attacking this little town—tutorial shit. it’s weird having such a small body again after six (or seven hundred???? he’s not thinking about the enormity of time right now) years as a gigantic dragon. his steps feel a thousand times lighter, and the first time he tries to pick a fruit from a tree, he kind of explodes it with spiritual energy. the tutorial is, unfortunately, necessary.

the system is almost helpful when it shares his stats and all his cool dragon skills. his official name here is lord canglong, but honestly it would be so hard to explore this world if people were falling all over themselves when they heard his names. did dragon gods get personal names before courtesy too? fighting with the system gets him a corny, half-assed compromise.

he still gets to be shen yuan, but while his first life’s yuan was 垣 yuán (wall), in his second life it’s 愿 yuàn (desire, hope), and the shen he has is… very transparently 神, shén (god, deity). he’s got stupid amounts of spiritual energy, he doesn’t need to eat or drink, and sometimes plants bloom around him since he’s the also kind of the god of springtime?

right when he gets excited thinking about how he’s a god!! (the dragon god in PIDW!! that bastardization of qinglong that airplane wrote who never did shit to defend the realms until his mountain was being destroyed by binghe merging them!!) the system butts in to remind him that there are limitations. he can’t kill humans except in certain circumstances or else he’ll be punished, which—fine, he didn’t plan to go around murdering people anyway? his dragon form will be locked whenever he’s not on canglong peak (bullshit!! what kind of half assed nerfing—) and there’s a permanent penalty on his account, [Dragon Ex Machina], that threatens to penalize him if he uses his dragon god powers to bully the plot into going his way.

so what’s the point of being a dragon god, then!?!??!?!

he spends days bickering debating with the system while he learns to use his sword and qi without exploding whatever he touches, but the system refuses to budge. if he tries to bully the plot too much, he’ll be punished. it’s bullshit, but so is this whole novel he’s found himself in, so…

shen yuan is ready to spend a few more days acclimating before he gets a game plan together but that flies out the window when something starts burning at the back of his mind, screaming that something’s wrong, something is in danger, part of his territory is threatened. he hasn’t felt that since the last demon invasion, and before he can stop himself, he’s mounted lanrui and darted off toward that feeling that something is wrong, wrong, wrong.

he ends up having blown in a wall of qing jing’s discipline hall, the tail of shen qingqiu’s whip caught in his fist (and fuck, that hurt to catch!!! his hand is definitely bleeding) as he stares down the man who was really just about to start whipping a child. a couple of disciples have gone white; a couple others have fallen over. the only ones in the room unaffected are shen yuan, luo binghe whose eyes are wide as he gazes up at him, and fucking scum villain extraordinaire, shen qingqiu. and the scum villain’s first words to him, lord canglong, dragon god of qing jing peak???

“move, or i’ll beat you too.”

[scientia-rex]

I feel like disappointment in Biden is baffling to me because he was always a disappointment. He was the asshole who got to ride to power on the coattails of a better man. He told bizarre and repeated lies (despite getting caught at it and his team telling him not to) about having a Welsh coal miner dad when he did not and he stole that story from actual Welsh people. I read a profile of him years back that pointed this out and told the story of the time he straight up ignored good advice from an expert not to plant a certain kind of tree too close together and flew a bunch of them out to plant, at night because he was just too fucking excited about it, and they all died. He’s not a smart man! He’s charismatic ish and lacks principles and as far as I can tell doesn’t really care about abortion rights or a lot of things we’d consider pretty critical to preserving freedom. I sincerely thought he couldn’t become President because there were so many obviously better candidates in the pool. I underestimated the sexism and antisemitism in American politics, and when he became the candidate in 2020 I gritted my teeth and voted for him because the alternative was a man who is not only an idiot but also profoundly dangerous. Trump is not ha-ha crazy, he’s Mussolini crazy. He is not dangerous because he’s stupid, although that doesn’t help; he’s dangerous because he does not care about anyone except himself under any circumstances and if that means he lets the far right push us straight into forced birth for white women and sterilization for women of color he’s going to do that. If that means conversion therapy for queers and death penalty for homosexual acts he’s going to do that. He has literally no limits. If he gets back into power, a whole lot of people are going to die, again. It’s not a hypothetical because it happened the first time and he’s only going to get worse.

I am not, never have been, and never will be a fan of Biden. To pretend that he and Trump are in any way equivalent is wrong at best and another goddamn Russian psy-op at worst. To pretend that a third party candidacy is viable in the US is to completely ignore every election of your lifetime and your parents’ lifetimes, and to further ignore the lesson of Ross Perot.

You cannot save Palestinians by not voting for Biden in November; the best you can do is chip away at his margin, and the worst you can do is see Trump elected so he can decide to do the worst possible thing in ever circumstance. Biden has Palestinian blood on his hands and watching this when we could have had Bernie or Elizabeth Warren instead is maddening. (I would have preferred Hillary to Trump, but I don’t think she’d be any different than Biden here. They’re both old-school politicians.)

I hate everything about this, and I hate that saying “maybe don’t put the man who literally said he would kill his political enemies in power” is seen as supporting genocide. It’s acknowledging reality. Joe Biden as a person can eat rocks for all I care. I was kind of hoping he’d die sooner in his term so we’d have time to get used to and then vote for President Harris. (Remember when the line was “she’s a cop, don’t vote for her”? Funny how there’s always a reason not to vote for a woman or a person of color or someone you just “don’t like” and can’t put a finger on why except she “seems angry.” Oh does she. How would she not? When Michelle fucking Obama, the picture of grace , STILL got called angry for having the nerve to be a Black woman with an opinion? When Hillary Clinton lost to a man with no political experience to her decades and who openly discussed sexually assaulting women? Would you have voted for President Harris? Or would you let Trump win again because you don’t LIKE her personally and she’s made decisions and statements you disagree with?)

Biden has both less power than his critics give him credit for and more power than his fans give him credit for. He needs to do more to pressure Israel and although it’s a delicate diplomatic situation I’d rather see us fuck up our diplomatic relationship with Israel than watch more Palestinians get murdered for things like “wanting to eat” and “existing.” The line has been crossed, and he doesn’t see it. Because he wasn’t the best person for the job. Because they didn’t get elected, because of sexism/antisemitism/racism. Hell, I have no idea what bootlicker Pete Buttegieg would have done here, but I’d have given him a try. But no. We got Biden and we’re stuck with this reality where you can be as leftist as you want and still have to look at the situation and decide whether you’re comfortable contributing to a Trump victory through inaction. I want socialism—I want every single person on Earth to have clean drinking water, enough safe food, shelter, medical care, and education—and I’m going to vote for Biden, pissy as it makes me, because the only actual alternative is so, so much worse, for me personally as both a woman and a queer, and for everyone in America and the rest of the world who Trump would find reasons to hurt. What do you think the man who openly and repeatedly praises dictators is going to do when those dictators massacre their own people? Yes, we need to care about this genocide now. We also need to care about all of the other people who are at real risk, both at home and abroad. Would a Trump government agree to fund military intervention in Haiti without insisting on it being a colonial exercise in power? Would a Trump government roll back the restrictions on discriminating against transgender patients in healthcare? How would Trump respond if Orban started dragging people into the streets and shooting them en masse? How would Trump respond if China finally went for it and invaded Taiwan? There are more lives at stake here than mine or yours or even those of the Palestinians, who have deserved better for literally decades and are being mass killed in ways that should result in immediate sanctions, a war crimes trial, and the execution of Netanyahu.

The world deserves better from you than complicity in a Trump victory.

[meazalykov]

moving on to you

jessie fleming x reader

summary: after leaving your old life behind in germany, you realize that you'll have a better one in portland

warnings: none

being back in the states was exciting to your fans. 

to most, they’ve believed that you would’ve never left your old club in germany. 

bayern munich was your life at one point, you arrived in 2019 from washington spirit and never wanted to leave. 

now, in 2025– you found yourself in portland, wearing new colors. 

many people know why you left germany, it was obvious to anybody who’s kept up with your lifestyle over the last three years. 

however, you pushed it to the back of your mind. you wanted to restart instead of holding onto something that will never be the same. 

your national teammates– sophia, sam, and olivia– greeted you with open arms. when you walked into sophia’s apartment the afternoon you arrived in portland, you threw yourself into her arms and didn’t let go for a few minutes– ignoring her fiance on the couch who was waiting for your “hello” too. 

sam offered her extra bedroom for you to stay in until you were ready to move in your own.

the problem wasn't finances– portland offered a record breaking salary to you. 

you didn’t want to live alone yet, especially in the emotional state you found yourself in. 

on the first day of training, you met all of your new teammates. 

during that training, you were paired up with jessie fleming for penalty drills. 

you knew of jessie due to her time at chelsea, but you weren’t friends with her. 

she was gentle with you from the beginning, jessie knew what you were going through. 

months later, you were doing better emotionally. besides sophia, you’ve been a star with the thorns. 

you’ve found yourself closer to the canadian on your team as well. 

jessie and you went on solo dates to cafes, national parks, record stores, anything you can think of. however, she always made a move on you– you never seemed to make a move on her. 

some of the girls noticed this, and you had to defend yourself. 

“do you like jess?” sophia asked one night, she had a cup of green tea in her right hand that she gently hands over to you. 

you take the mug and sip on the peppermint beverage, thinking about the question your bestfriend asked. 

“i do—” you pause. sophia almost speaks before you mumble,

“that’s scary.” 

“what’s scary?” sophia asked. she looks over at her fiancé who sits on the recliner in her apartment as you zone out, looking at a book on sophia’s coffee table. 

“the whole idea of getting into another relationship again.. everyone knows what happened last time.” you sigh as you take one more sip of the tea, before putting it down on the coffee table. 

sophia frowns before pulling you towards her. she wraps her arm around your shoulder as you sigh. 

hugs felt foreign to you recently. 

“you can’t let one bad relationship affect you for the rest of your life.” sophia whispers, scratching your back with her manicured nails as her fiance looks at you with sympathy. 

“that's the thing.. lena and i didn’t have a bad relationship. i thought everything was great until she tells me that she didn’t love me anymore and moves on to another girl in the same week. what did i do wrong? i don’t want jessie to see what lena might’ve seen in me and run away– you know?” you let yourself go from sophia’s arms and rub your eyes, resting your head in your hands as your elbows rest of your thighs. 

you never wanted to leave munich. 

lena used to be the love of your life, someone you dreamed of marrying.

dreams don’t come true– most times. 

“there’s nothing wrong with you, y/n.” sophia’s fiance, mike, says. 

sophia nods her head in agreement. 

“there is nothing wrong with you. you’re beautiful and you’re one of the best defenders in the world. she might kill me since i am telling you this– but jessie highly values you. she really likes you a lot and you should give her a chance whenever you’re ready.” sophia says, scratching your back before standing up to grab everyone a snack. 

a week later, jessie and you were walking out of a pizza place in the heart of portland. this was after an afternoon full of training then a tiny-bit of bar-hopping. 

in your mind, you knew that you had to make a move to show jessie that you did like her– and that you were ready to move on to her. 

“jessie, i’ve been having so much fun with you lately.” you say as you stand closer to her. 

the both of you were waiting on her uber ride, so you had to be quick before she left. 

“i’ve had a lot of fun with you too, y/n” she smiles. you blush– not realizing how much she’s made you happy lately. 

“i’m not going to cut corners with you jessie. i like you a lot. you’ve been my everything since i’ve arrived in portland.” you spill as a tear poured out of your right eye. 

jessie blushes as she takes her thumb and wipes your tear away. she holds your right arm and her left arm comes down to your waist. 

“i like you too y/n. trust me, you might’ve not been verbal about it– but i know how much you like me through your actions.” jessie quietly says as she leans in and kisses your cheek. 

the canadian was right. your subtle touches, hugs, praises at her during game-days, constant invites to events, and looks told her all that she needed to know. 

“can i be your girlfriend?” you mumble. 

a piece of jessie’s hair flys onto her face in the same moment, you take your fingers and move it behind her ear as she closes her eyes– relaxing as she hoped that you would be the one to ask. 

“yes you can, as long as i can be yours?” jessie smirks as you gave her a cheeky smile. 

“yes you can.” you gave her a peck on the lips.

<3

[braveclementine]

October 22: Sex Pollen (Loki Laufeyson)❤️

Warnings: could be seen as non-con, royalty kink, induced sex

Copyright: I do not own Loki (please kidnap me Loki) or any other Marvel/MCU characters. I also do not condone any copying of this.

"What exactly is it?" You asked Bruce as he showed you a new, interesting specimen that had been found in space and brought back to Earth.

It was a beautiful flower of sorts, bright pink with white teardrops on the petals. The stem was green and a little purple where the stem curled up to the petals.

"I'm not sure yet." Bruce said, moving away from the table to go and sit behind his computer. "I do know that it is from the planet Kuth." He said, showing you a picture of an Earth-like planet with a turquoise sky and a field of these flowers that had signs around them, as though warding people to be careful of the flower patch. "Could be dangerous, might not be. Perhaps Loki or Thor or one of the Guardians will know. Loki's coming. . . when?"

"This Saturday." You said happily, missing your best friend and crush- though no one actually knew about the latter part.

"Excited to see him again?" Bruce asked skeptically.

"I know, I know, he's a terrible Midgardian killing God, but we're friends and that's behind him now." You said. "Plus, he was being slightly controlled by Ronan and Thanos, just like Bucky was controlled by HYDRA and you all like Bucky."

"Fair." Bruce relented. "But not everyone sees it like that either."

"And some people still think Bucky ought to be given the Death Penalty." You pointed out.

"Fair again." Bruce admitted. "Anyways, make sure that you keep away from this until I can figure out what it is. If its' poisonous, we wouldn't want a disease to break out over the city."

"Will do boss." You said cheekily and then made your way out of the room.

You couldn't wait to show Loki!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"It's a flower?" Loki asked skeptically.

The two of you were standing on the balcony, overlooking the pool. The other Avengers were stripped down to swim trunks and two-piece bathing suits, enjoying the nice day. Steve and Fury were barbequing on the grill with some help from Sam, while the girls were sunbathing on the law chairs.

Tony, Stephen, and Bruce were deep in conversation about something, a handful of beers on the table in front of them.

Thor was sitting in the pool, Parker and some of his friends from school in there too.

Bucky meanwhile was playing cornhole with Clint, Rhodey, and T'Challa.

"A beautiful flower." You clarified. You and Loki were pretty much alone on the balcony. Loki was wearing his normal Asgardian wear as he hadn't felt like wearing anything from Midgard, and you were wearing denim shorts and a shirt that you had tied off above the belly button.

"It's still a flower." Loki deadpanned, placing his hands on the railing, "What is this gathering they are doing?"

"It's called a pool party Lokes." You sighed, "C'mon, I want to show it to you."

Loki sighed, looking over at you. "Don't you want to join in on this pool party instead?"

You felt frustrated. You knew your crush was one-sided (as they always were), but you thought that Loki at least liked you as a friend. Or at least, you seemed to be the only one he tolerated. But friends shared things with each other all the time, right?

"No, I want to show you the flower which I'm not really supposed to show you because Bruce doesn't know what it is yet." You sighed, pushing away from the banister, "But it's okay. I realize guys don't really like those sorts of things. It's kind've hot, I'm gonna go inside."

Loki started for a moment, staring after you. He hoped he hadn't offended you, but flowers- well you even seemed to know they weren't something he'd want to see. But shit, it wasn't about him, it was about you.

"Wait!" He called, hurrying to catch the door, coming back into the building.

You were half tempted not to stop, but you did anyways, turning to look at him.

"I do want to see the flower, but I just didn't know if there was something else you'd rather do. The party looked like something you would've enjoyed." Loki explained.

Why the hell did he have to look so sexy? You wished you could see him in his pool garb. Black or green or gold swim trunks. No shirt. You imagined that he had a fit body underneath the layers of Asgardian leather. You could imagine black aviator shades on his face, his hair possibly pulled back into a ponytail.

You quickly shook your head to clear your thoughts and said, "Well, I knew you wouldn't enjoy the party. You don't really like them. Anyways, the flower is this way."

Immediately, he was caught off guard of your awareness for his likes and dislikes. Sure, he knew all of yours, perhaps even knowing more about you, than you did. But the fact that you were just as aware as him was strange.

Different.

Almost likable.

You led him down the hallway, taking the elevator to the bottom floor. You slipped into Bruce's lab, the door shutting behind the two of you. You led him over to the case display where he'd set up the flower under examination.

"It is quite unique." Loki admitted after looking at the flower for a moment. In reality, he was looking at you out of the corner of his eye. You were a strange mortal, no doubt, perhaps as unique as this flower in the right place. After all, this flower didn't stick out in its home, but it did on Earth. And he supposed each human was unique in their own way. You were just more special.

"I hope its not harmful." You said wistfully. "I want to know what it smells like."

Loki suddenly plucked the glass case off of the flower and you stared at him in shock, "What if it's poisonous! Loki put it back!"

"Calm down Y/N. A measly flower cannot kill me." Loki smiled, before lowering his nose down to smell the flower. After inhaling the scent, he pulled back. "Perhaps it is just me, but there seems to be a very strange smell coming from the flower. It's almost like. . . honey and almonds but that can't quite be right, can it?"

You bent down to smell the flower next. After all, it didn't seem to have affected Loki so it was probably safe.

Well that was strange because you didn't smell any of the things that Loki had smelt. Instead, you seemed to have smelt expensive leather, expensive cologne, and vanilla. Actually. . . it smelt a lot like Loki.

You laughed, "Kind've reminds me of Amortentia."

"What in the world is that?" Loki asked.

"It was a love potion in Harry Potter. Smells like the person that you are in love with so each person thinks the flower smells like something else." You explained.

Loki's cheeks flushed pink. "Ah I-"

But whatever he was going to say didn't matter, as two small pink hearts actually popped out of the flower. They were extremely small, small enough to fit on your pinky fingernail. They weren't filled in, but seemed rather a stencil. They floated upwards and you felt one land on the tip of your nose and looked to Loki in time to see the other hit him on the nose and then sink in.

"Are we dead?" You asked with fright.

Once again, he didn't get to answer because your lips were pressed together, your arms around each others necks. The kiss was messy and erotic, a clashing of lips, tongue, and teeth. It was like you were trying to devour each other, and neither of you were able to get any closer.

"This needs to come off." Loki growled, ripping the shirt from your body and you had no room to protest as you were feverishly stripping him of his Asgardian uniform, cursing the amount of layers he was wearing.

Loki attached his lips to your neck as you kicked off your own skirt, leaving you bare in front of him. Most of his clothes were off, though he wouldn't let you go to take his pants off. Those he shucked off himself.

It was like a very chaotic dream as the two of you seemed to almost wrestle with each other, over to one of the desks in the middle of the room. Loki swept everything off of the desk, making glass shatter, pens scatter, and papers drift out across the room.

Loki seemed to suddenly slam you down on the table, before plunging into you in a feral way. Your back arched off the table at the sudden intrusion, but you found that it had been a very easy entrance, as there was almost no pain.

"Fuck." You moaned, "Loki, faster."

"It's your highness to you." Loki growled again.

"Your highness!" You nearly screamed.

Everything seemed heightened, yet fuzzy. Like you couldn't even believe that your orgasm was already fast approaching and he'd barely been inside of your for a minute. Nor was he overstimulating you in any way that would make an orgasm approach so fast.

Your fingers dug into his forearms, spurring him on to move even faster inside of you, hips snapping against yours. You might've sworn that his balls were hitting you so hard in the ass that you'd have bruises tomorrow. His hands were definitely going to leave bruises all over your body from how tightly he was holding.

It was fuzzy though, like your brain wasn't really working. A small part in the back of your mind was telling you that this was bad, that this was wrong. It was going to ruin your friendship with Loki after all. How were the two of you going to recover after this? You were going to lose one of your best friends because of a stupid flower!

But that part was clear and the rest was fuzzy and you couldn't really focus on it with so much chaos going on around you. You were mostly feeling euphoric, barely even thinking about anything at all as your orgasm hit you like the impact of the bottom of a cliff.

You weren't sure how long you went or how many rounds or even how many orgasms. You know that you went from your back on the desk, to riding him on the floor, to being fucked into a chair, and then back to the floor.

It was like a dream and then the two of you seemed to slow down, things seemed to become clearer. The lights seemed less harsh and you realized that though the room was freezing cold, you were both covered in sweat.

You collapsed against Loki's chest and his arms drew you into him.

"Shit." He muttered. "I wasn't expecting that."

You were silent, heart pounding. You had had a crush on him for the longest time. You had wanted this for the longest time- but not like this. It was supposed to be mutual. It was supposed to be remarkable, rememberable.

You sat up slowly, searching for your clothes when Steve, Bruce, and Tony came walking in. Steve backpedaled so quickly upon seeing the two of you buck naked that he slammed his head into the doorframe, denting it rather effectively.

Bruce turned a nice shade of pink, covering his face with his hand.

Tony meanwhile, turned red and pointed to the stuff on the floor. "What did you do?!"

"I think that's very obvious Tony." Steve muttered, leaning his forehead on the wall so he didn't have to look at the two of you.

Loki seemed unconcerned, snapping his fingers so that clothes appeared on him again. Or maybe it was just an illusion, but either way you wished he could've done it for you.

You wrapped one of the office blankets around you and then you said, "Well, Bruce, we found out what your flower does."

[anim-ttrpgs]

Hey I know you’ve probably said or before. But what’re some of the playable Supernatural folk in ANIM.

Firstly, just to be clear, A.N.I.M. is the design team, while Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the TTRPG currently in its final week of crowdfunding (ends 2:00 PM CST on Friday May 10th)

As for the supernatural folk, even though most PCs in Eureka end up being mundane, there’s quite a lot of options for supernatural characters, which we have talked about before, but we never miss a chance to talk about them again!

This will be a brief overview that will barely even scratch the surface of the depth and nuance we’ve written in to most of these abilities. If you’re interested in learning more, why don’t you just download the fully playable, free prerelease version of the Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy rulebook available on our website and our itch.io page, and go to Chapter 8!

There are ten of what we call “Mage traits.” A “mage” in Eureka is something you could think of as kind of like an X-man. They are otherwise normal people except for one single inexplicable power. Some of these include pyrokinesis, telekinesis, lightning powers, supernatural speed, supernatural beauty, and even the option to play a “psychic detective” who can receive clairvoyant revelations based on clues.

These powers tend to come with few if any downsides, besides the fact that the character can only have at-most one of them. There is also a slight investigation point penalty.

Then, there’s the playable monsters, of which there are five, each of which is fleshed out to the point that they are entirely unique gameplay experiences.

First up is the vampire.

Playing a vampire is a unique challenge because of their rather large list of weaknesses they must contend with in everyday life. The sun, while not instantly lethal like in Hollywood vampire movies, does strip them of all their powers, and they must contend with a compulsion to count large numbers of small objects, an unwillingness to enter private residences uninvited, difficulty crossing bodies of running water, an aversion to garlic, and more! They must of course also drink human blood to keep their Composure up, as they do not gain Composure from eating or sleeping.

These weaknesses are more than made up for by incredible stealth, combat, and mobility options. They can move nearly silently, travel through shadows as if by teleportation, are superhumanly strong, nearly unkillable, can walk effortlessly on sheer surfaces and ceilings, and can “remanifest” into a variety of forms, such as the classic bat, a wolf, an enormous monstrous bat form, and even mist! There’s also a religious angle with them but that is too complicated to get into with just a brief overview.

Next up, the wolfman.

The wolfman is like a Hollywood werewolf. They can transform from a mundane human to an anthropomorphic wolf(however you choose to interpret that) or a very large regular wolf. In either wolf form, they can only be permanently killed by decapitation or by silver weaponry.

My favorite thing about them is the fact that they transform involuntarily on the night of the full moon, or when they hit 0 Composure. In this state, they will rampage uncontrollably, attempting to devour just about anything that moves for a period of time. The fact that it can come out at the worst of times is so awesome it makes me super excited to hear about in future sessions.

Then there is the witch.

The witch is actually a regular human and has no supernatural weaknesses except for the fact that their powerful witchcraft takes more of a toll on their body than the supernatural powers of other playable monsters.

The first thing a witch can do is place a variety of terrible curses on people, a few examples of which include turning them to stone, putting them in a supernatural slumber, or turning them into animals.

The other thing witches can do is cycle throughout all the different Mage traits. They can only have one at a time, but if a Mage trait exists in the rulebook, they can have that trait when they need it, which basically represents their ability to cast a wide variety of different spells in addition to those curses.

My actual favorite thing about the witch though is their ability to enchant certain objects to make them fly, which is not limited to just broomsticks, although broomsticks are of course a classic.

Then there is the fairy.

The fairy was a tough one to translate into Eureka because of the sheer number of different things attributed to fairies in historical folklore. We had to come up with a sort of “generic fairy” that gets the gist of fairies across while leaving room for a player to get way more specific if they are so inclined.

The fairy shares the witch’s ability to place curses on people and cast a variety of different spells, but also can take pieces of people’s identity, such as their names, and/or spirit them away to the fairy world, from which they may never return.

This is offset by the fact that they cannot lie, as well as a few other folkloric fairy weaknesses.

Finally, one of the fan favorites, the thing from beyond.

(Fanart by @umbraldame)

The thing from beyond is kinda like if you wanted to play as something inspired by The Blob and The Thing.

Imagine a color-changing “blanket” of flesh and teeth that can fold itself up into the shape of a human, change colors to mimic the right colors including clothing, and mimic human speech. It wants to be your friend, and eat you, which, to it are not mutually exclusive.

The thing from beyond can do anything a thin blanket of flesh could do when unfolded, such as squeeze under doors or camouflage themselves against surfaces, and also fold themselves up to mimic just about anything, including specific humans. They tend to have a default human persona, but can get very specific with their mimicry if they want, which gets easier the more of that specific person they have ingested. A small sample of blood or hair could give a bonus, but eating the entire person makes mimicking them effortless.

Eating a person also allows them to absorb bits of their memories, which means they can get to know bits of what their meal knows, which is represented in mechanics by them getting bonus investigation points for the duration that they are digesting their latest victim. If the victim knew anything about the current case they are investigating, that means even more investigation points.

Here’s a fan comic about that, if you’d like to see it in action.

And here’s a post about the themes of monstrousness in Eureka if you’re interested.

You can play as all of these things and more in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, which is in its final week of kickstarting right now! Crowdfunding closes at 2:00 PM CST on Friday May 10th, so lock in your copy now while you still can!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[sun-stricken]

Gray & Mira Hcs!

the dynamic (demonic) duo **jazz hands**

* These two are like organized chaos together

* everything perfectly thought out to cause just the right amount of chaos

* They are the biggest instigators

* will lie their asses off to start fights when theyre bored

* Gray has a sensitivity to tears, and Mira can and will play on it at any given moment

* They have the same amount of arrests, its like a game to them, whoever has more wins

* [common conversations involving them]

* Mira: Sorry it took so long to bail you out of jail. 
Gray: No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have used my phone call to prank call the police station.

* Judge: Does the defendant have any special requests? 
Gray: Death penalty. 
Mira, from the gallery: Gray, it’s just a parking ticket. 
Gray, whispering into the mic: Please kill me.

* Mira: It’s nice to be wanted.
Gray: Even if it’s by the law?
Mira: Especially if it’s by the law.

* they are the epitome of “i have a problem” “*sigh* okay, put the body on ice ill be there soon” “ok— wait, no! not that kind of problem!”

* They were TERRORS growing up (still are) and while they weren’t necessarily friends they were like tentative partners in crime

* Mira claimed him as her friend after he tried to fist fight a council member

* at first he didnt fully reciprocate but did a 180 when she got into Erzas face and started a fight with absolutely no fear

* Gray still thinks shes one of the most badass people he knows

* Mira typically cooks for the guild and she will have Grays food ready before he even orders it

* Gray brings her tea from her favorite fancy shops everyday

* They bonded over being (partially) demons

* Mira helped Gray accept and deal with the non-romanticized parts of having demon instincts (gruesome intrusive thoughts, impulsiveness, apathy for humans, volatile moods, etc)

* As a side effect of being a demon, Mira (non transformed) has short talons, fangs, and horns (among other things). She truly loves them

* So when Grays started to grow in she didnt fully understand why he didnt; but she still did her best to comfort and reassure him and sympathize with him

* While she tried to hide her excitement at his physical traits while she was comforting him, Gray noticed and it was that that made him grow more comfortable with them

* They have rant sessions that are completely judgment free where they can talk on and on about their ugliest moments/thoughts, and basically most the things they cant tell others. whether it has to do with their demon side or not

* Miras demon has a constant thirst for mayhem, and Gray (being the instigator he is) will give it to them no questions asked

* in turn when Gray gets into arguments and hes wrong, Mira will update wikipedia pages so hes right

* theyre so passive aggressive towards each other

* When they fight everyone within a 8 mile radius needs to be evacuated, no matter how small the fight looks, they get vicious and it’s terrifying

* if you interrupt them you may as well be signing your death warrant

* They always act like nothing happened when they’re done, leaving everyone tiptoeing around them for weeks post

* Grays phone is on dnd constantly, Mira is one of the only few people that is set to come through

* and the local police station, but thats the same thing

* When Mira doesnt answer his calls he’ll leave incriminating voicemails and wont answer her calls for hours after

[asherisawkward]

I found Luz not caring about the demon realms history annoying. I get it. Some of it was made up, but most of it wasn't, just why the crusade was started. It seems a lot of the history she got was through word of mouth.

You figure a fan of fantasy would be excited to learn the history and culture of a magical realm, not just magic. I'm surprise a lot more demons and witches didn't get fed up with her. The only thing who seemed to have anything against it was Hunter, but I could be remembering it all wrong. Sorry if this comes off as a rant.

I absolutely get what you mean!! Luz, from what I remember of TOH, spent a lot of time trying to fit the Boiling Isles into her opinion of what a fantasy world should be. She doesn’t really listen to the laws or the cultural norms. I suppose that it makes sense to ignore the laws to a certain extent, considering they’re made by a witch hunter pretending to be a benevolent ruler, but she doesn’t even try to think about things critically. Especially in this day and age, you are supposed to research and analyze before you draw a conclusion, not just take the word of some criminal who doesn’t even off you any proof. I love Eda. She’s badass and creative, and I adore how she grows to care about others through the series. But she is a biased character to introduce a world through, and Luz doesn’t even question it. She hears Eda’s “oh, he just wants to control magic” and runs with it.

The biggest example of her complete dismissal of the Boiling Isles culture, laws, and norms would be when she continued to push to be in all classes. Not only does she lack the necessary knowledge to cast precise spells, but she is asking the principal, the teachers, and all the students to risk themselves for her fantasy. This isn’t some petty pickpocketing that she’s asking a few people to ignore. She asks to be allowed to violate one of the most important laws in the whole country—it has the death penalty, for fuck’s sake! Principal Bump could have been executed for allowing this; the teachers could have gone to prison! And the students who don’t turn her in, while unlikely to suffer so severely, are likely to be punished as well! How many people could have been hurt or killed by her thoughtless violation of the laws if Belos had been shown to be a bit more how Dana claims he was? (Because, all things considered, he’s not shown to be the harshest ruler ever.)

Additionally, it bothers me that she never bothers to explore any real cultures or traditions on the Isles. She “wants to be a witch,” but doesn’t focus on anything other than the magic of it. If it were Harry Potter world, where witches are exclusively humans with human culture but magic, I’d get that, but it isn’t. It is a whole other world where everything from childhood to the system of government is different. Her refusal to let go of her preconceived notions and just explore what the BIs is like comes off a little bit like a weeb in their mother’s basement saying “I want to be Japanese,” going to Japan, and then never exploring it beyond their notions of what Japan is like from anime. I love Luz, and it was incredibly impactful for me to see a fellow neurodivergent fantasy nerd on screen, but she has a tendency of treating the Boiling Isles like her escapist fantasies. It bothers me that it’s not really addressed.

Finally, this lack of exploration leads to limited knowledge on what the actual inhabitants of the Boiling Isles are like aside from a select handful. What beliefs aside from the Titan do people have? What rituals do they perform, holidays do they celebrate? What are the people of the Boiling Isles like? Part of what I love about Amphibia is the time it takes to world-build, to show us all the different ways that the world works, and how there are varied, diverse, and unique cultures that are a part of it. It makes Amphibia dynamic and alive. The Owl House doesn’t do that with the Boiling Isles, and I’m bummed about that.

I hope this is close enough to what you’re talking about, because this got me on a tangent.

[fountainpenguin]

BigB and Joel Secret Life Ep 1 commentary:

lskdfj BigB charming Scar and then telling him that he only wants him for his diamonds.

Jimmy: "Your challenge is to get someone to fall in a hole, right?" BigB: "You in particular. You're right on time." Jimmy: ":'D??"

BigB making Jimmy turn around and then hiding under a ledge and you can hear him trying to muffle his giggling...

<3 Sharing gold with Grian, the sweetness of Grian chirpily calling him "B" when he comes around the corner. BigB all "I'm going to get a very nice iron chestplate like you." We love chill secret soulmates hanging out.

The incredible amount of gaslighting BigB does this episode, it's just... It's SO much funnier seeing this from his POV, because originally I thought he was just being secretive because he was still under the oath. But no, he's freed from his secretkeeping requirements... he's just Like That for no reason. crying.

BigB: "If you want to use the secret tunnel, just ask." Grian: "??? I did ask? You said no?" BigB: "I changed my mind." Grian: "WHAT??" BigB: "That's all you need to know." Grian: "What."

skldjf it really does keep going. This was in Grian's POV too but I can't emphasize enough how much funnier it is knowing BigB is free to reveal but just... won't.

Scar: "Are you the one who made the big hole?" BigB: "No." Grian, losing his entire mind because they just had a conversation about the hole like 30 seconds ago: "?!?!?" BigB: "I didn't do it. There is no hole here." Scar: "... I went down and there's an enormous hole here." BigB: "I didn't do it. It was Jimmy." Grian: "????"

Love them.

Hold on hold on hold on. BigB, are you seriously dropping "My base is going to be a corridor of doors" with no context and you're just brushing past that like that doesn't sound unnecessary and insane.

His base is so creepy, he's just got double doors all the way down the wall slkdfj. He wants to run an underground hotel. No one is making him do this. This is a death game. BigB, what on earth?

---

?????? Joel's task was to find the worst time to plug Life series merch? I like how he read that and immediately refused to plug merch for the next several minutes. There's not even a penalty for plugging it appropriately, he's just stubborn.

Joel screaming and running towards a baby zombie while spitting the fastest possible Life merch promotion and taking random swings and covering his screen with big moving Sale stickers and blinky text and explosions... He understood his job.

Lizzie @ her husband: "My heart is worth more than a porkchop and a feather."

Lizzie, within earshot of Joel, who is a beaten-up porcupine after taking 4.5 hearts of non-regenerating damage while protecting his wife from skeletons: "Thank you, Pearl :)"

"Screw tools."

I'm very excited Joel made a big deal about assigning his water bucket to his 9th inventory slot "for the rest of its days," because I know I had a moment in one of my 'fics where he mentions he has a preferred placement for his water bucket but I couldn't be bothered to watch back and see if that was true sdljkf. This works great.

Already pointed this out in my Etho POV commentary but <3 Joel meandering up to Etho like "Remember Boat Boys? Surely that's worth a heart." / Etho: "You own my heart, Joel."

I enjoyed the dramatic music he played while building his fence

"Nighttime is pretty good to get people in inappropriate situations." Joel???

Joel, screeching and flailing and trying to kill multiple creepers that he personally lured in: "Make sure you buy the merch, Mumbo!!! Just make sure you buy it!!" / Mumbo: "???"

Joel getting back up to 30 hearts for about .5 seconds before dropping back down... Poor sad boy.

Spider had an effect so that's probably our full moon night; good to know for my "full moon strengthens mob hybrid traits" fanfic worldbuilding. In Double Life we normally had the full moon early in the week so maybe we'll have it pretty late in this one?

Joel ripping a flower away from two bees that were using it

Lizzie: "Fabulous behind!" / Joel: "???"

sdlkfj Martyn's despair when he falls off Mumbo's house and takes damage is somehow so much funnier from Joel's perspective... he sounds SO brokenhearted

I appreciate how Joel suspected Impulse's task was to get other people to put cherry petals / cherry saplings in their base so he immediately tried skewing this to his advantage by requiring payment

I will be interested to see if the players end up calling people out on their tasks or not, because there were definitely a few times tasks seemed pretty obvious (like Lizzie's poem) and there doesn't seem to be a penalty for calling someone out incorrectly. I wonder if they're just playing nicey-nice for now. Will be interesting to see if they start turning each other in later in the series.

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

Brazil 2016

-safety car start?

-water spray is cool

-Max is HIM

-him terrorizing Nico is my personal favorite form of entertainment

-how does one drive like this? that’s crazy

-McLaren car looks really cool

-oh no Sebbb

-seriously you can barely see the cars with this water

-where did Ocon come from fr? Wasn’t there another Esteban on the grid in Spain??

-damn not this guy blocking the pit entry

-damn he actually hit the wall

-if Max got a penalty for this I will scream

-genuinely need to know what inters do

-okayyy Checo! that was actually pretty cool recovery

-shit, Kimi is out

-wow is this how races used to be, with safety car after safety car?

-oh they’re all out of the cars? fun

-this is actually my first time watching a red flag

-not that the crash was fun, but this after stuff is interesting

-lol they’re such gossips

-aww my Spanish speaking men

-young Bono?!

-them using Lenovo laptops on chairs like they’re in an office is so bizarre

-I love baby maxplaining

-Daniellll 😭😭 (I miss him in Red Bull)

-safety car used to slay, what happened

-aww Kevinnn

-Lewis giving that lady a jacket: cute

-as a spectator , this part must have been so boring

-they’re finally back in the carsss

-they’re backkkk

-as cool as racing in the rain looks, it doesn’t feel very productive

-can you pit under safety car? god I sound stupid, someone teach me about tires

-half of this race was under safety car

-how did he go from “young Max” to “mad Max” in a span of a few years

-red flag?? again?? why??

-menace Max is my favorite Max

-I’m still confused about the red flag

-anddd they’re back in the pit lane

-I feel those people in the stands, I wouldn’t leave tho, I mean after paying that much

-“why are we stopping” indeed

-Nico is such a diva

-ohmygod baby Charlessssssss

-this is becoming a little boring and chaotic

-man I’m falling asleep (just now realizing I have the power to fast forward this, but I’m going to soldier on and experience this like it’s live)

-watching them talk about the rain for so long made me completely disassociate to the point where I forgot that the sun is actually out right now where I live

-the only exciting part of this race was Max overtaking Kimi

-please let them race already

-imagine just getting in and getting out while being sweaty and wet, I feel for these drivers

-“hurt or killed” honestly forget the risks these people take sometimes

-GIVE NICO.H A PODIUM

-are we still under safety car??

-Verstappen really be Roseberg’s sleep paralysis demon

-WE’RE GOING RACING!

-MAXXXXXX

“You’re going there, I’ll just go somewhere else then”

-aww they called him Maxyyy

-Daniel too!! Wohoo!!

-“it’s the red bulls that are making all the noise there”, that’s so true cause the whole race aside from this was boring

-let’s go Vettel!!

-I really like these McLaren cars

-Max Max Max

-future haasband’s fighting

-MAX!!!!!!!

-“save of the century”

that was so close!

-“Schumacher-esque” hell yeah

-oh? Esteban Gutierrez is still there?

-yayyy Seb!!

-hehe “moderately rude”

-did I mention the McLaren looks really cool?

-I’m sensing the Brocedes team drama here

-“Verstappen is the danger man to the Mercedes team” the foreshadowingggg

-I don’t like how they display the positions on the screen

-also “Ves”?

-ohmygod the fricking safety car is back

-poor guy, last home race (don’t really know him)

-just googled him: okayy 11 wins

-okay this do be sad, people are crying, oh no he’s crying, now I’m sad

-oh shit he got the “guard of honor”

-“all the agony is going to be washed away with this embrace” that’s really sweet

-ohmygod this is actually really sweet

-hope you’re well Massa ❤️

-this race is officially the most confusing one I’ve seen

-ohmygod from 16th???

-what is happening?!????

-LH really led the race from start to finish

-if Max makes it to points now I’m really impressed

-OHMYGOD someone’s off the road again!!!!!

-woah he’s up to p12

-yeah Max let’s go!

-he’s almost back in the points

-“Sebastian Vettel still can’t get past Carlos Sainz”

-YESS MAXX

“He’s finding grip where no one else is”

-okay it got interesting again

-he’s p9!!

-P8!

-yay Dannyyy

-p7!!!!

-“textbook lesson of how to drive in the rain” !!!

-yay Dannyyy pt2

-yay Dannyyy pt3

-woah Gutierrez is actually cute

-Carlos is so underrated rn

-Verstappen the man that you are!

-this is so cooool

-yessss

-nooooo

-but that was awesome!

-wheel to wheel!!

-damn Max

-holy shit he’s at p4 wth

-no way he makes it to podium

-he’s a beast, my god

-yes babyyy

-Checo defense force

-damnnnn that wheel actionnnn

-HE MADE PODIUM

-aii poor Carlos

-52nd career win! 👏👏

-do I want to watch the championship deciding race now??

-random but Lewis just sounded like Lightening McQueen right now while celebrating

-maxplainingggg (he just can’t resist)

-okay I’m watching Abu Dhabi

[away-ward]

How do you think Damon would have treated Emory if Will and her started dating? Or how do you think they both acted towards the other?

I guess it depends on when they start dating?

If it's before Natalya but after the shower scene, Damon would be jealous. He would try to intimidate Emory; to get them apart so he can get into their heads, and plant seeds of doubt. Emory, knowing this about him, would have to be determined not to let him sway her. I believe she could be strong at first, but time would tell if he could wear her down. It would also benefit her to try and soothe Damon's insecurities. Reassure him that her presence isn't going to take Will away from him. I doubt it would work at that time, but it's worth the shot.

And I can't tell you how much I love the shower scene after Natalya! Damon throw an arm over Emory's shoulder. Casually insulting her, and then complimenting her three minutes later. The way he eased into that comradery with her is part of the foundation of my "these two are close friends" headcanon.

If Will and Emory started dating after that, I image Damon would have an easier time. He knows it's what Will wants, he knows the lengths Emory is willing to go to protect them, and he also has blackmail on her if she ever slips up. Not that he would be super excited to have Emory around; she's still a distraction. But one he has made some peace with. Emory, for her part, would probably have some more sympathy for Damon. She knows why he's so determined to keep Will to from being tarnished, and now she knows about his childhood abuse. And his sister. He's trusted her with so much. I think she would take Damon letting her in as a sign of respect, and one that she wouldn't forget to appreciate.

As the group accepted Emory, knowing about Will's long time obsession, I think she would become like a sister to them, and then Damon would have no choice but to adopt her. He seems to be unable not value the women in his life once they pass a certain point beyond his walls (note: value is a loose term. the standard of "value" is set by Damon, so take that with a grain of salt). Once she's in, she's in.

Also worth noting: In nightfall, Damon makes the offer to kill Martin for Emory. In conclave, he makes the same offer to Michael regarding Evans. In the bonus chapter, Damon intentionally fouls, taking the penalty so that Michael could succeed. That's his role as an "enforcer". It gives me the idea that by that time, Emory was already working her way past his walls. He could say it was an return on a debt, but I don't think he'd take the potential loss if he got caught unless Emory meant something to him.

Thanks for the ask! I hope I did a good job answering your question.

-KO

[jae-bummer]

My Idol 3: Part Two

My Idol From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Saturday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in a specific mission to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what four idols will move on to the second date.

My Idol 3: The Series

.

In the history of My Idol, you didn't think you had ever seen someone genuinely excited about doing a mission before. Often times, contestants tended to dread the red envelopes, with some even refusing to open them. Jungkook, on the other hand, seemed almost more excited for this than anything you had discussed so far.

"To be honest," you grinned. "I thought the real adventure started when Yoongi was instilling a healthy amount of fear into all of us."

"Yeah," Jungkook cringed. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"What exactly was the plan?"

"Well..." he trailed, running a hand over the back of his neck. "He wouldn't tell me. He just said he was going to handle a few things."

"And that didn't set off any alarms?" you laughed.

Jungkook broke into a smile before shaking his head. "You try questioning him and see how far you get."

Directing your attention back to the task at hand, it was hard not to be enthusiastic when Jungkook was. Sliding a finger under the seal, he peeled the envelope open with a small pop. Grinning fiendishly, he slid the contents out and began to read.

"The healthiest relationships are those where you're a team! Grab a cold lunchbox at random and microwave it for the instructed time. While the timer is ticking, divide and conquer getting the rest of your snacks!"

"That doesn't sound too bad," you said quietly, suspicious as to why you got such an attainable mission.

"There's a second card," Jungkook hummed, waving it before reading. "See below for your shopping list. Confirm you have the correct brand and item before the timer runs out. Happy snacking!"

Looking over Jungkook's shoulder, your jaw dropped. The list of snacks had to have been 20 items long. You hadn't even heard of some of them before.

Glancing up at you, Jungkook smirked. "We're going to kill this."

"I hate to be pessimistic," you cringed. "But I don't even know what half of these things are."

"Okay," he said, furrowing his brows as he scanned the list. "We'll split the list in half. I'll take the ones you're not sure about."

"Oh," you breathed a sigh of relief. "You're familiar with everything then?"

"Nope," he grinned. "But I've got the spirit to make up for it."

.

It hadn't taken long for the two of you to split up the list and finalize a game plan. The only thing you hadn't been able to factor in was the time you would be allotted, or how to navigate other people shopping at the convenience store.

You looked nervously from the cold lunch boxes to Jungkook. His expression was soft as he gazed at you. "Hey, we'll be able to do this, okay?"

"And what if we don't?" you grumbled. You knew the probability of succeeding at every mission given by My Idol was slim, but you weren't looking forward to any of the penalties. You had already made yourself look silly enough in your audition video, there didn't need to be another highlight reel of embaressing moments.

"If we don't, it'll be my fault," he grinned. "Just worry about your part. You're going to do great."

You felt your heart stutter as you appraised him. Jungkook was so open and giving with his words and emotions. Not once had he made you feel uncomfortable or unwanted. You knew this experience was new for the both of you, but you were clearly out of your depth. Coming into this, you felt like you were drowning, but Jungkook proved to be an increasingly proficient swimmer.

"Do you want to pick?" he asked, finally looking away to you and toward the meals.

You chuckled uneasily. "I trust you."

"Might be your downfall," he joked, reaching in and grabbing what looked to be a pretty involved meal set. Checking for any sort of instructions, he let out a hiss. "Two minutes."

"That's fine," you nodded, trying to pump yourself up. "Two minutes. A whole 120 seconds. That's a lot of time."

"You're right," he said, nodding as well. Crossing the aisle, he began to remove some of the plastic packaging before popping the food into one of the available microwaves. "I believe in us."

Shutting the door, his fingers hovered above the numbers before he thought better of it. Dropping his hand to his side, he moved back toward you, grabbing your wrist instead.

"Wha-" you managed as he shuffled you toward the counter.

Lifting your hand with his, he smiled. "We'll do it together."

Letting out a soft huff of amusement, you allowed him to navigate your fingers toward the "Start" button. "Together."

.

Your breath was ragged as the microwave beeped loudly across the convenience store. Stopping just short of running into you, Jungkook grinned wildly in your direction, his eyes lit with excitement.

"We did it," he said, his voice gravelly. "We did the damn thing."

You laughed, looking at his now haphazard hair. Reaching up, you flattened a few strands back into his ponytail. The small movement caused him to go incredibly still, his eyes darting around your face before looking away. Once fixed, you took a step back, only to see him zoned out and biting his lip.

"Do you really think we got everything?" you whispered. Looking from his basket to yours, you were relieved to see quite a few snacks in both.

"If we didn't, we definitely got close," he murmured. "I'm proud of us either way."

A more lovely man simply did not exist. You were sure of it.

It wasn't long before the production crew seized your baskets and began analyzing everything. You were too nervous to speak, so you remained anxiously silent as you watched them.

"It looks like everything is here," one of the producers confirmed. "...besides the tuna and kimchi kimbap."

"What!" you and Jungkook gasped in unison. You thought back to your mad dash. That one was on your list, and you were certain you had grabbed it.

"It's not here," the producer sighed, pulling a red envelope from the back of his jeans.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jungkook said, stepping forward. "Let me look."

"We already looked at everything," another producer piped in. "It's not there."

"Then you'll have no problem letting me look too," he asserted, his hands already picking through the snacks. Sitting each one on the table in the order they were written, he paused. Looking over his shoulder at you, he smirked. "Found it."

When the producers were checking everything, it looked like the baskets had only been shuffled through. You watched with pride as Jungkook pulled the kimbap out from under the baked eggs.

"Oh," the producer said numbly. Stuffing the envelope back into his pocket, he sighed. "Well done."

"Well done," you muttered. You were going to have to keep a close eye on them.

"Now, to celebrate," Jungkook grinned, his nose scrunching. "Let's go go go!"

.

Settling into one of the plastic tables outside of the 7-Eleven, you assisted Jungkook with spreading out your winnings. You took turns going back and forth to heat up various things, but it didn't take long before you sat side by side.

"Mmmm," Jungkook groaned, taking a bite of the hot bar you had just set in front of him. "I haven't had one of these in forever."

"Not enough time?" you asked, taking a bite as well when he offered it to you.

"I order in a lot," he nodded. "I don't really like leaving my apartment."

You furrowed your brow as you chewed thoughtfully. "Why not?"

Heaving a sigh, Jungkook glanced up at the cameras before looking back at you. "Things can get a little crazy when you're a..."

"Idol?" you supplied. "Celebrity?"

"Something like that."

"Right,' you said slowly. Of course he treasured his privacy. He had so little of it. "But I'm curious, if you like to keep to yourself, why sign up for My Idol?"

"Why'd you sign up?" he shot back quickly with a teasing tone.

"I asked you first," you smirked.

Smiling in return, Jungkook resumed picking through the food. "I've realized that since I became an adult, I've gotten really introverted. It's hard to meet people when you're locked behind a door with your pets all day. I had some talks with friends, and they all thought this experience would be good for me."

You supposed you could appreciate that. "It's a chance for you to grow then?"

"Mmm," he hummed, mid chew. "In a way. I want to grow as a person, but it would be nice to grow with someone as well. You'll have to understand, I haven't really been "alone" since I was 15, so it's a double-edged sword. I crave that comfort, but at the same time, I've been burned by people who I thought I could trust."

"It's hard to be vulnerable," you nodded. "This is a chance to do that while also keeping rails around it."

"Exactly," he grinned. "I wasn't going to crawl out of my hole unless I felt safe to some extent.

Now, what about you? What made you submit your audition tape?"

"Alcohol," you laughed. "And a friend who said I needed to live a little."

"I think our friends would like each other then," he chuckled. "Both sat in front of a 7-Eleven because we were peer pressured to go on the highest stakes blind date possible."

"Hey, the 7-Eleven has been fabulous," you hummed. "And it's sentimental to you."

Looking over his shoulder, Jungkook gazed fondly at the building. "It really is. There's nothing like the feeling of practicing for eight hours and then stumbling down the street for some ramen."

"Eight hours?" you croaked.

"I was an underachiever, really."

You quickly narrowed your eyes at him, but immediately realized he was joking. Letting out a small huff, you shook your head. "How were your leg muscles even willing to make the trip after all of that?"

"It wasn't great," he winced. "But I was young and running off of the feeling of just belonging to something. When my members would be too tired to come out, I'd offer to carry them. Many a piggyback ride happened on the way to this place."

You tried to picture it. Jungkook who was barely a teenager and the slightly older teenagers who were made to raise him. They worked as hard as their bodies would allow until they finally got some recognition. They were sent catapulting into fame only to work harder than they ever had. There was something admirable about the journey to become an idol, but there was no way you could ever push yourself as hard as them. It took a special type of dedication.

You looked at Jungkook, assessing his features as he snacked. There was still so much of his youth in his adult features. While his softness had changed into hard edges, that child-like light never left his eyes. That mischievous tug never fell from his lips. The world had tried to beat him down so many times (and that's only what you saw on the tabloids.) Each time though, he picked himself back up and tried again.

You felt your chest give a tug. He really was someone you could grow close to if given the right circumstances.

Glancing up, his eyes caught yours. Smiling shyly, he dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. "Is there something on my face?"

"Oh," you squeaked. "Oh, no."

He leaned in close to you as if to share a secret. "You were supposed to say "Yes, Jungkook, there's beauty dripping everywhere."

You let out a surprised laugh as he crinkled his nose. "How silly of me! Here, let me help you."

Grabbing for his napkin, you began to dab his face playfully. "I'm worried that when I'm done, there won't be anything left to look at!"

Jungkook was erupting into full on giggles at this point, smacking your hands lightly as they roamed around his cheeks.

"Maybe if I took some for myself," you murmured, dabbing the paper on either side of your face. "I'll be as good looking as you."

"You already are," he said, breathless from laughing.

Getting caught on an exhale, you stilled. "Yeah, okay."

"Seriously!" he smiled, reaching up to boop your nose. "Sure, you might have things that you consider imperfections, but they give you character. I like looking at you."

You laughed through your nose. "I like looking at you too, Jungkook."

"That's as good as a declaration of love!" he gasped. "Move me on to the second round!"

"I'm not exactly sure that that's how it works," you sighed. "But nice try."

Jungkook looked down with a small smile. "I really would like to make it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he continued, still not looking at you. "I've had so much fun. And now I know you enough to make me want to know you even more."

"Hey," you chimed, setting your hand lightly atop of his. "You will be a very hard act to follow."

"You think so?" he smirked, finally looking up. "Maybe I should have taken you somewhere more special. Something the viewers-"

"Nope," you cut in. "This place of full of memories that you actually wanted to share. That's not easy when you're giving a small piece of your world to a stranger."

"It is a small piece of my world," he affirmed. "And it's been nice to be able to come back. I was worried it may have turned into something else by now. Thank you for taking care of that memory for me."

"No more talk about the next rounds or what viewers will think," you nodded. "Only talk about what's on your mind and show me pictures of your dog."

This would be the part of the show where the cameras cut away and come back to a montage of you and Jungkook laughing together, the two of you crowded around his phone, or tossing food into each other's mouths. You could almost see the editing as the time ticked by. While your conversation remained light and silly, it was so beneficial in getting to know the person you were expected to form a connection with.

Before you could even realize, hours had flown by. Glancing up in a daze, you realized the producers had been signaling for the two of you to wrap things up. Looking from the camera crew and back to you, Jungkook smiled sadly. "I don't think I want this night to end."

Ruffling his hair now that it had long ago abandoned his ponytail, you stood. "The sun is going to come up pretty soon and end it for us."

Jungkook nodded as he pulled himself to his feet as well. Wrapping his arm around you, he tucked you neatly into his side before strolling slowly toward the My Idol SUVs. You felt completely drunk without a single drop of alcohol coursing through your system. The two of you had entered your own little bubble, sprinkled with magic, and the promise of new beginnings.

"Even if I don't make it, we'll have to do this again," his voice cut through your thoughts.

You looked up at him with wide eyes. The implication of that sentence immediately sent your mind reeling to the previous two seasons.

"No, no, no," he said quickly, spinning you by the shoulders to face him. "Not like that. Just...spending time with you. It's been damn near therapeutic. I don't want to let that go. Whether it's as friends or something more."

"Oh," you breathed, your shoulders relaxing.

"I hope you had as much fun as I did," he smiled. "You did, right? If not, lying is acceptable. I'm fragile."

"I had a great time," you laughed. "It's been a treat getting to know you, Jungkook."

"You were better than any snack," he continued, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Well, maybe not the choco pies. Not much is better than choco pies."

"Understood and no offense taken," you grinned. "I'll see you soon."

"Soon," he confirmed, pulling you into his arms and wrapping them tightly around your waist. Setting his chin on the top of your head, he let out a sigh.

You took a deep breath in, trying to let yourself be surrounded by all things Jungkook. Although you had spent hours outside, he still smelled lightly floral. Pressed to his chest, you had never felt so warm and secure.

Finally pulling away, the loss of Jungkook's body was a stark one. You could've stayed in his arms for much longer, but you would still be unhappy when you had to let go.

Opening the car door for you, he provided his hand to grasp and ease your way in. Plopping on the seat, you turned to face him. "Thanks for tonight."

"I should be thanking you," he said quietly. Before you could realize what he was doing, he placed a soft kiss on your cheek. You sat in silence as he took a few steps back and shut the door.

Your hand immediately flew up to your face, gingerly touching the area of skin that now felt like it was on fire. Looking out the window, you smiled as he gave a small wave. Before you could return it, the driver steered away.

You sat on the feeling for a moment, trying your hardest to take everything in. Jungkook felt like a schoolyard friend that you had a crush on and were finally getting to act on it. It was that elated feeling of liking someone and finding out that they liked you back.

If you already had this level of warm and fuzzy from a man you just met, what would happen on your next six dates?

"Get it together, Y/N," you muttered, watching the 7-Eleven fade behind you. "You're just getting started."

To Be Continued.

[rickgrimesdoingrickthings]

He had been following the two men for weeks. The two abusers, predators, now destined to be his pray. Such a contrast- all the cold planning containing that anxiety- that good anxiety to finally savor his victims- and that night he was even more excited than usual- for there would be two victims. It was his addict- to hunt down abusers- to kill monsters- so he felt like the greatest of them all- so he felt justice was being made- so he felt he was justice. All of that was just a delirium, he knew- he was well aware- nothing of that actually mattered- but he felt it- he felt- and if he felt...then it was enough. Soft fog that evening, as if preparing the opera. Mark even dressed for the occasion, his dark blazer with a dark blue shirt- as if he was going to an event- it was. He sneaked, near their place, he knew they would leave and go to the park- as usual. He couldn't hear anything though...had they left earlier? Always moving through the darkness of the evening, he hurried following the abusers' usual path, it was cold- the streets almost empty- the park wasn't fun when it wasn't comfortable-

He walked around the square, eye on the alleys- until he heard, a shout, far away- fuck- they were doing it and he was late- Not that he cared much- he told himself- but he wish he had gotten in time to not see another innocent victim suffer. It happened fast- the two men had dragged a teenager to the alley, they had already done their abuse- one of the brothers was holding her, the other had a baseball bat, ready to kill her- Shit- he wasn't supposed to act on impulse, but for some reason...he did... Mark drew his sharp large knife and buried in the neck of one of the men- he fell fast- the brother, scared, was quick to run. The teenager wasn't even shouting- she was in shock, watching- Richards' eyes met hers for an instant- her phone was on the ground, she had managed to call the police... They were never in time...such irony... He knew he had to move, but he froze- it was so rare- Shit. He hated to cross paths with a victim... He normally trapped the abusers before anything happened...but this time...she was so hurt...her eyes...had the same agony as his mother's... Help would come. She would be safe if he left. The other guy had escaped and he had killed one....fine. He would get the other eventually- but now he had to run before the- Too late. The sirens were already close. Mark looked back and saw the blue and red lights, before he could run deeper into the alley he heard the voice of a woman. FREEZE- He heard...and the sound of a gun being unlocked.... She was ready to shoot wasn't she? .... .... If he got caught...it was death penalty- specially now- with all the evidence and even a witness... He sighed, turning off the emotions for a brief moment- and then he exploded running into the fog- he had to escape- into the alley he dashed and hoped the officers wouldn't be fast enough to get him.

@vuulpecula

[bdoubleowo]

New Life series general spoilers and also a bit of personal taste neg (under a read more just in case u don't wanna see it)

me, yesterday: Yeah last life was probably my least favorite of the 3 seasons. I didn't really like the boogeyman mechanic, I thought it disrupted the players relationships in a relatively unsatisfying way. Similarly the extra lives made the deaths feel less dramatic and less important. Some of the most compelling moments were when people resisted this, Scott taking the life penalty, or Etho refusing to abandon Bdubs when he turned red. Frequently people who were red/boogey and became green again didn't face consequences because they were just following the rules of the system. Bdubs boogey kills Tango and its a VERY funny moment because of how Tango reacts, but its mostly brushed aside by the team as a whole, compared to when Cleo held a grudge against BigB for his boogey kill, leading to the absolutely iconic "do me a favor, die for me". 3rd Life I think also benefited from contrast, everyone was very kind and excited at the beginning before id devolved into chaos and bloodshed, whereas everyone was distrustful from the start in LL. So yeah, I'm glad other people like it but really wasn't my cup of tea like 3rd Life was.

Limited Life (same acronym as LL): Boogeyman is back :] and we did extra rounds of it

me: cool

LL: everyone basically has 24 lives

me: sick.

LL: like 10 deaths already on episode one

me: awesome

[tayasui-mono]

Hi there I need your help understanding something in the first season why Hannibal framed Will if he was already in love ? He wasn’t that confident about Will not getting death penalty right ?

Hannibal is the devil; he doesn't subscribe to ordinary human emotions. Whether or not Hannibal loves Will depends on your definition of love. Personally, I see his initial interest in Will as indulgence. He will probably eat him, but first, he wants to play with his food. And the fact that he wants to play with him is an honour in Hannibal's mind.

Sending Will to prison was an action meant to strip Will off his power and control, because he wanted to see what Will would do when he was cornered. At this point, I'd call it scientific curiosity. He saw a creature he never saw before and wanted to know how it truly ticked. But I think he hoped Will would kill, so that there was a possibility that they could eventually be equals and become friends. And Will tries to kill him, which I imagine made Hannibal very excited.

As for the death penalty, he did interfere with the trial by killing the judge. I think this is because Hannibal would like to control even how Will dies. He's like a fat spider and all the characters are the small insects caught up in his web waiting to be eaten when he sees it fit.

edit to add: I think the more he interacted with Will, the more he liked him. In s1e7 "Sorbet", he is tentative about the idea of befriending Will. He seems to be considering just how "alone" he is, you know, being who he is, he can't just reveal himself to anyone and hope they understand. I think his gears shifted gradually as time passed by in Will's company until he reached the point of surrendering himself to have Will's continued attention.

[buldakdrama]

Upcoming Dramas in August 2023 that are a must watch!

It is never too early to get your calenders decorated with what will really keep you busy in the upcoming month and honestly, I am a huge procrastinator in almost every other subject except one... can you guess it? Yep, it's kdramas. I need to get that mental preparation running so I can be thrilled, haunted, humoured and of course, romanticised to the point of desperation. And if you are like me, then I can guarantee: August is going to be your month!

The First Responders 2

Starting with this sensational thriller that took us by storm with its first season, The First Responders is finally back with its sequel. We are finally going to be off that cliffhanger that made us lose our minds. As a fan of crime thrillers and *ahm-ahm* drool-able people in uniforms, can you imagine the sequences with firefighters and cops at play, together?! I am excited to see how their combined efforts will continue on the restless path of justice. Well, if somebody looks for me in August, you all have a clue now for where I would be.

This season will follow on the tracks of its prequel and air on Disney+ for all audiences and will take over the slot occupied previously by SBS' Revenant on Fridays and Saturdays.

Moving

Moving is a webtoon adaptation from Writer Kang Pool's webcomic. The story captures three high schoolers, who have superpowers that they want to hide from people. They, however, have inherited these powers from their parents who struggle to protect them from letting their powers be misused.

I'm not too empathetic about the latest inclination of kdramas towards webtoon adaptations but as an avid viewer, I cannot deny the crazy amount of interesting tales that have come to life from toons, all of which are a sight for sore eyes. But Moving really grabbed my attention from the distinct plot. I am expecting a lot of parent-child dynamic and a lot of (hopefully credible) action scenes.

Moving will be airing on Disney+ for all audiences.

My Dearest

Yet another period drama that will tug at your heartstrings. Set in the Joseon era during the Qing invasion, there is a great suffering of people from all works of life. In an unforeseen storytelling, love blooms in the ruckus between a man of complex character and dark secrets and an almost-too-confident noble lady. Will their journey be a smooth sailing or will it be overturned by storms? We'll have to see.

With the serene covers and the bright, picturesque snippets, I do feel a very strange conviction that we'll be dragged through the darkest angst in this series. I am praying that they won't pull a Scarlet Heart Ryeo with this one *cries in sad endings*.

My Dearest will be airing on the slot previously occupied by MBC's Numbers on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Killing Vote

Do the loosely tied law bindings sometimes call for extreme measures by the anonymous greater masses? Such happens in The Killing Vote when all citizens over 18 years old begin to get a polling message that makes them choose whether a person should receive the death penalty or not. If the majority votes in favour of the death penalty, the offender is then taken out by an anonymous masked persona. This stirs up the authorities and hence begins a blind pursue of a murderer in the facade of a lawless justice lender and the real national safeguards.

And we are at my favourite genre! This one is based on a webcomic too written by Eom Se-yoon. Ah, the way I am already jittery awaiting this drama. I feel like this has the potential to be one of the biggest dramas of 2023 or it could be a massive disappointment and a mess of plot holes. Either way, strap up your seat belts because this will be a ride for sure!

The Killing Vote will occupy the airing time of SBS Thursday's 21:00.

My Lovely Boxer

A story of a coerced bonding between a professionally ruthless Sports Agent and a lost boxer, who was previously undefeated in all her matches. Sports agent, Kim Tae-young begrudgingly takes the duty of bringing back the lost boxer, Lee Kwon-sook. Will he, whose strongest suit is extracting the most from his players, succeed in convincing someone who has no intention to return?

A sports drama with what I expect to be a painful back drops awaits us in My Lovely Boxer. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the developments that the two visibly hard headed characters will have. The action will be added bonus!

My Lovely Boxer will take over the slot previously occupied by Heartbeat on Mondays and Tuesdays.

How many of these are you going to watch? Or do you have already more dramas scheduled in your itineraries? Do let us know! I'll get the spicy chicken ready and you set up the dramas, okay? I'll see you next time.

- Admin Kiara