#thought these scenes looked really pretty

[pinkboaclub]

Scene Stealers

Summery: You and Harry decide to film yourself having sex for fun, until you decide to upload it and become famous over night.

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: a lot of smut, sex tapes/filmed sex, pornstars, slight dom Harry, fem!reader (you and Harry attend a University in the US, but he is still English :)

It started as an intimate moment between you two, something that you thought would be funny. You were cuddling in your dorm room, squeezing yourselves into the twin bed, watching a movie on your laptop. Your roommate was gone, she was spending the weekend with her family, which allowed you two to get close.

It was slow, Harry giving you light kisses on your head as it rested on his chest, your hand resting on his abdomen, slowly rubbing up and down every once in a while. It wasn’t until Harry paused the movie and closed the laptop that you climbed on top of him, straddling his body. You leaned down to start making out with him, letting your hands grip his shirt as you started to grind yourself against his crotch. Your already short shorts were starting to ride up while he gripped your ass.

“Mmm, let me see you.” He lightly pushed you forward, motioning you to sit up as he pulled away from your lips. You giggled, not really knowing what he was trying to do. “I want to take a picture of you.”

“No, my hair looks so crazy right now.” You laughed, covering your face as he grabbed his phone from the nightstand.

“You look so perfect.” He placed one hand on your hip, capturing you while you hid behind your hands. “C’mon baby, let me see your pretty face.”

You finally uncovered your face to let him quickly snap his photos.

“Are you done yet?” You laughed as he kept his phone pointed toward you.

“I’m taking a video.”

“Harryyy.” You said, drawing out his name. “I wanna keep kissing you.” You tugged on his shirt, hoping to get back to where you were and leaned down to kiss his neck.

“We can keep this on.” He whispered, gesturing to his phone, you both stared at each other for a moment. He leaned over to place his phone on the nightstand, propping it up against his water bottle, the camera pointing towards the bed. “Is this okay?”

You slowly nodded your head, “You’re not going to go around showing this to all your frat buddies, are you?”

“Hell no, this is only for me.” You knew he was telling you the truth, not only because you trusted him, but because you knew he wasn’t wasn’t the stereotypical frat boy—going around showing intimate photos of his girlfriend to everyone.

You leaned down again, going back to kissing him, his hands immediately finding their way back to your ass. He flipped you over, still being careful in the smaller bed. His hand traveled up your shirt, feeling every inch of your chest.

As he began to lift up your shirt you stopped him, remembering the camera pointed at the both of you. “Are we going to keep recording?” You smiled, looking up at him.

“We’ll do whatever you want, baby. Do you want to keep recording? Get your pretty face on camera, taking my cock?”

That was the first time you made a sex tape together. And it definitely wasn’t the last.

It was almost three times a week that you would film yourselves. There was something about it that was so exciting and sexy. It was a deeply intimate and vulnerable moment between you two and filming it to watch over and over again made it much more fun for some reason. It was very casual though, you weren't worried about getting certain shots, about anyone viewing it, it was just two University students filming themselves for fun.

Until it wasn’t.

You couldn’t remember who suggested you upload the videos to PornHub, but you do remember sitting on his bed in his frat house, watching the video slowly upload to the website.

“I can still cancel it, if you want to change your mind.” He reminded you.

But you didn’t cancel it, you both watched it upload with no regret in sight. You stared at the video for minutes, watching the view count. When the number went from 0 to 1 you both jumped. Someone just watched you two have sex.

Though it wasn’t your initial intention to make money from this, when you woke up to 100,000 views on your first video, after going to bed with under 50, and 20,000 subscribers, it wasn’t a conversation you could avoid. You were two broke students who needed extra money…and now you could get that by just having sex.

“I mean it’s not a bad idea…we’ve already made 100 dollars, for one video.” You said, pacing back and forth in your dorm room while Harry sat on your bed. “I guess I just worry about people finding out…our friends, our parents…that’s the only thing I worry about.”

Harry thought for a moment. “Fuck ‘em.” He shifted to the edge of the bed and grabbed your arm to pull you closer. “We’re making good money just off one video, we’re not showing our faces, it would be a wasted opportunity. Who cares what other people think, assuming they’d ever even find out.”

“I know……but we can’t tell anyone, if they find out, they find out, but let’s just try to keep it a secret as long as possible.”

Harry gave you a kiss, letting his lips linger on yours for a moment, until he moved to your jawbone, then your neck.

“Plus, I’ve been enjoying having these…..watching my pretty girl get fucked whenever I want…and you’re so good on camera, you’re a natural. You’re pretty moans…pushing your beautiful tits together, I want people to watch us, knowing I’m the only one who gets to fuck you.”

So you continued making videos. You still weren’t worried about the quality, it was the only art form where people were quite content with quantity over quality.

You still didn’t show your faces, only shooting videos from the neck down as he fucked you in missionary, setting the camera up behind you as you were riding him, and yet, people loved it.

You were getting millions of views per video with thousands of comments…people were actually taking the time to create an account and comment on a porn video for you guys. They loved how gentle Harry was with you while also being dominant, how he praised you, gave you the best aftercare, sometimes even stopping before his orgasm to cuddle with you and help you come down from yours. They loved your moans and how you knew how to be a perfect mix of sweet and sexy.

Comments (1.3k)

User497063848:

i’ve never commented on a video before but i created an account just to let you know how perfect this video is 👍

KeeponWorking0527

I need a relationship like this. You two are perfect.

cherryangel444

he is sooooo hot,,,she is very lucky

Keepcumming8742

→ HE is the lucky one she has such a perfect body

It wasn’t long until you felt like porn celebrities.

You were constantly being featured on the home page, people in your comments were begging for more videos minutes after you just posted…but most of all, they were dying to see your faces.

“I mean…it’s not a horrible idea, and a lot of people are demanding it.” Harry pointed out, as you debated whether or not to reveal your identities.

“But it’s also something we can’t take back…once our faces are out there, they’re out there forever.”

“That’s true…but is that such a bad thing? We'll make so much more money if we use our names and show our faces, that we'll be rich enough to just disappear if we end up regretting it.” Harry replied, knowing that pornstars who had a face to their content make way more money than anonymous performers. “We could buy a house in the Italian countryside as retired pornstars.”

You laughed as he outlined your future together. “This is something you’ve thought about a lot?”

“Of course I have, the only thing I’ve been worrying about since we started dating is how we’re going to comfortably spend the rest of our lives together, and we’re making a fuck ton of money…this is the only time that weight hasn’t been on my shoulders.”

You looked at him softly, not knowing he had been stressing over your future together. You would be lying if you said your life hadn’t improved once you became sex workers. Not having to worry about tuition, food, finances after graduating, you felt liberated.

“Let’s show our faces then.”

For your next video, not only did you show your faces but you upgraded everything. You went from iPhones to a professional camera and microphones, capturing the perfect shots and noises of each position.

You decided to film in Harry’s bedroom at his frat house while all his friends were at some party at a sorority. You could be as open and loud as you wanted. You swapped out Harry’s gray and navy blue sheets for some pretty florals that matched well with your lingerie.

Harry set up the camera on a tripod at the side of the bed as you waited on the bed, sitting on your heels. Once he hit the record he walked over to you, his hands immediately finding your hips and pulling you close.

“Tell me if you want to stop, or if you need a break, whatever you need.”

You nodded and smashed your lips onto his, eager to make your video. His hands roamed your entire body to highlight each feature for the camera.

“You look so sexy, I love this set.” He complimented you, reaching behind you to unclasp your bra.

“I figured I needed to wear my best for the special occasion.” You cheekily replied, pulling him down with you as you threw your bra aside and layed down on your back.

It wasn’t long until the camera was off the tripod and in Harry’s hand, filming you as he hovered above you, running his hands up your stomach and kneeding your breasts.

“So perfect.” He whispered, admiring your body.

His hands slowly fell to your panties, hooking his fingers in the waistband and pulling them down. Teasing you, his fingers danced around your pussy, but never touching where you wanted him to.

“mmm, please Harry.” You whined, trying to roll your hips into his fingers. It felt odd to say his name on camera, which you had previously avoided doing.

“Okay, baby, I’ve got you.” He finally slid two fingers inside of you, causing you to let out a heavy breath and continue to roll your hips as he curled his fingers upward.

“So good, Harry.”

Your fingers found the waistband of his briefs in between your legs and pulled them down. As his cock sprang out you grabbed it and started to slowly jerk him off.

“Can I suck you off?” You ask, looking up at him and the camera.

You both definitely played up your sexuality when you were filming, because you knew how porn worked, but what made people like you so much is that it was still natural and realistic, it never crossed the line of being theatrical.

“Do you need to ask, pretty baby?” You gave him a satisfactory smile and shifted to where he was sitting on the bed, still holding the camera, and you sat on your knees in front of him.

You grabbed his cock again, using your mouth and lips to lick and kiss along his entire shaft. Your eyes stayed on him, and the lense of the camera, most of the time, giving them a seductive look.

“Such a perfect cock sucker.” Harry ogled, switching between looking directly at you and through the camera.

Your mouth found his tip, preparing him and yourself before lowering your mouth down repeatedly. You moaned as you pleased his cock, another thing your viewers loved. From your very first videos they would comment how you seemed to love Harry’s cock by your repetitive hums and moans as it was in your mouth.

FranksPH1985

Listen to how much she moans while his dick is in her mouth, she looks so perfect.

lovelylovely<3

her moaning every time he praises her as she sucks him 😩 you are such a cute couple!! 💞

User29394682031

She sucks him off like it’s her favorite pastime. Lucky man.

You eventually found yourself back on the bed, laying down in the same position you were prior, laying down on your back. This time, you held the camera as he laid down in between your legs.

He peppered kisses on your inner thighs until his mouth found your clit, giving an initial lick before lapping and sucking at it. Your free hand grabbed his hair, gripping and pulling as he pleasured you.

“Oh, fuck, Harry, that’s so fucking good.” You cried, lifting your hips up and down, unable to stay still.

“Yeah? You like your pussy licked sweet baby?” You moaned in response. He lifted one of your legs, pushing it to your chest to get better access as his motions sped up.

“Need you to fuck me, please Harry.” You said after a couple minutes, knowing you wouldn’t last much longer, but wanted to cum on his cock.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.”

He got off the bed and grabbed the tripod, placing it on the other side of the bed, focused on you two.

“Flip over, let me see you on your knees.” He requested in a dominant tone, helping you flip over.

He dragged his cock up and down against you as a way to tease you, which worked. You whimpered out impatiently, causing him to lay a light slap to your ass.

“Be patient baby, you’ll get my cock eventually, no need to be a whiney girl.”

He finally slid himself into you and pushed his entire length in, causing you to slightly wince. His pace was very quick from the get go, causing a string of long moans to repetitively leave your mouth.

“Uh huh, fuck Harry…please keep going.”

He stayed quiet, focusing on slamming his hips into your ass. You struggled to hold yourself up as he pounced into you, both your arms and legs almost giving out at his fast pace.

Your stomach began to churn, a familiar warmness beginning to fill your stomach. Then suddenly, right as you were nearing your orgasm, his thrusts drastically stopped, causing your breathing to hitch. As he started to move again, his thrusts stayed slow, feeling like there were minutes in between each one.

Taking matters into your own hands, after silent whines didn’t work, you started to back yourself into him, hoping to get as close to your orgasm as you once were. Harry immediately stopped you, roughly grabbed your hips and pulled you into him, bottoming himself out in you.

You cried out as you felt his long cock reach the deepest it could go.

“Shhh, shhh, stop baby.” He told you, leaning down to wrap an arm around you and talk in your ear. “Are you going to be a good girl and let me fuck you how I want? Or do we need to stop?”

“I’ll be good…please, I was about to cum Harry.” You complied. He gave you a kiss on the cheek before leaning back up.

“I know baby, I know. We’ll get you there.”

After continuing working on an extremely slow pace from behind, he turned you around, so you were still on your hands and knees, but now facing him. Taking your chin in his hand, he looked down at you.

“Can you suck my dick again?” He kindly asked. You almost laughed, this was one of his ways he liked to edge you, roughly work on you until you were so close to climaxing, then take all the attention off you. You can’t say you didn’t mind it, it made the orgasm 10x, and your viewers sure didn’t mind.

“You’re so mean.” You sarcastically said, trying to hide your smile.

“Oh, I know, so mean.” He replied, pouting his lip.

You grabbed his cock again, giving it all your attention, knowing that would get him back to fucking you sooner. Your ass stayed in the air, almost as if you were trying to entice him. And it definitely worked as he leaned forward to move his cock farther into your throat and to grab a handful of your ass.

Once you couldn’t take it anymore, you kissed up his abdomen, coming and crawling toward him.

“Please Harry.” You begged, leaning in to kiss him with your pouty lip. “I’ve only asked nicely, and I’ve been good.”

“I know you have baby, you’ve been so good. Why don’t you lay down for me, hmm? On your back.”

You didn’t hesitate. You placed your back on bed and opened your legs as if there was no time to waste.

“Let’s grab you a pillow, make sure you’re comfy.” He grabbed a pillow and placed it under your head. Once you were finally situated, his thrusts went back to a steadily fast past.

Harry placed one of your legs on his shoulder, holding the other one at his side as he watched your breast bounce at the rhythm of his thrusts.

“So fucking pretty…I love watching you.” He admired you. You didn’t reply, letting your repeated moans speak for themselves.

“Harry, ‘m so close.” You cried out, arching your back.

“Let go baby, wanna feel you squeeze my cock.” He encouraged you.

You reached back, grabbing a fistful of your pillow and letting your mouth fall open in pleasure . Your stomach twisted again until you reached your peak, your orgasm erupting through you. It was almost like you blackedout from how powerful it was. You squeezed your eyes shut as all the sound around you was shut out.

Your breathing was heavy as you came down, like you had just run 5 miles. Harry’s pace slowed again, letting your now sensitive body rest.

“Need a break, baby?” This was the question he always asked after bringing you to an orgasm, knowing they could be quite powerful. It was something both you and your fans found endearing (and hot).

cycybaby1999

notice how he immediately checks in on her after she cums? 🥺 take notes men!

CherryLoved

The hottest thing a man can do is give you aftercare before he finishes. Y’all are so perf. 🫶

He pulled himself out of you, laid beside you and pulled you into his chest. He gently rubbed your back and rested his lips on your head.

“My legs are so shaky.” You noticed, smiling into his chest.

He chucked, looking down at your trembling limbs. “Poor girl,” He kissed your head and continued to help you come down. You felt your eyes become heavy, Harry’s now steady heart putting you to sleep. “All done?” He questioned, still rubbing your back.

“No, no, I wanted you to cum on my face.” He chuckled at your blatant vulgarity. “I thought it would be a good shot for our face reveal.”

You kneeled back down on the floor as Harry grabbed the camera again. You spit in your hand and began rubbing his shaft, using a mix of your spit and cum to get him off. The camera picked up Harry’s heavy, now unsteady, breathing as his orgasm approached.

He freed one of his hands and held the back of your hair before cumming all over your face. He took a moment to let the camera capture the white fluid that laid on your lips, cheek, and forehead.

After Harry gave you his sweet aftercare and stopped filming, you both cleaned up before getting back into his bed.

“That was so perfect, baby.” He complimented you as you rested against his chest, wearing one of his shirts and his sweatpants. “You still want to upload it?” He asked, clarifying once again.

“Of course, I think people will really like it…At least I did.”

Three days later, the video was uploaded and quickly became your highest viewed video, and the comments overwhelmingly positive.

Finally doing a face reveal!!! | HARRY & Y/N

CherryLoved

OMG??? YOU GUYS ARE WAY HOTTER THAN I IMAGINED?!?!

User29394682031

Never thought I’d see this day. Very hot.

lovelylovely<3

you guys are sooooo cute 😩😩😩 im going to love watching you even more now!!!

cycybaby1999

damn girl, you are so gorg !!!

FranksPH1985

Big day for horny people.

You would open your computer every morning and read all the wonderful comments you were getting, which motivated you to make more and more videos.

“This is crazy…we’re going to become sex fiends after this.” You joked as you sat in his bed.

“So not much will change.” He joked back.

As you continued to read through each comment, your phone dinged from the nightstand. It was a text from your roommate.

Laila

Are you and Harry pornstars?

Tag List!

@mema10 @lizsogolden @harrrrystylesslut @tulips4harry @cloudyluun

[gb-patch]

Structure Poll Results

Hello again everyone, GB here!

The release structure poll for Our Life: Now & Forever has closed. Nearly 10,000 people voted, and we got hundreds and hundreds of thoughts people left about the idea. I want to say thank you so much for the supportive and understanding messages. It made me pretty emotional to see how much people loved the game and cared about the team 😭 💖

To restate how this worked, players could vote for or against the idea of OL: N&F releasing Step by Step. We would change our original plan to launch the first three Steps together if people wanted us to. But we wouldn’t do such a major shift if people weren’t interested or there was more of a split in the community. With that said, this is the poll-

Yeah, it’s almost exactly 50/50 between people who want the episodic release and those who don’t actively want it! That could have made this complicated, but after thinking about it and reading the reasons for and against the options, I do think the decision we’re going with will be for the best.

Our Life: Now & Forever will not release episodically. However, there’s going to be truly massive updates to the demo this year.

And this is why: a true early access release with DLC content becoming available would impact things in ways that might not be worth it. Us as a company would have to promote an episodic release the same way we would the entire game launching, and then we’d have do that again when the next Step came out. We’d have to be concerned with sales numbers and such before the base game was even done. Also, the game would be releasing for the entire world, not just for our current players. That isn’t the type of work we want to jump into ASAP unless it was what a majority of players really wanted. The point of this was always meant to be something good for the people most excited about the project.

If we keep OL:NF as a demo and focus on putting out a ton of the free-to-play parts of the story, we can make this all about our fanbase and that’s it. We could drop a 100,000 word demo update and move on with our day like it’s nothing ‘cause it’s not a proper launch. A lot of the best content has been left out of the demo, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. We could make the demo a more fulfilling experience without impacting anything behind the scenes or putting anything up for sale.

Not only that, but those who don’t want to see too much of the game before it’s fully launched will then be able to avoid the extra content more easily since it’s hidden away as a demo instead of getting the full marketing treatment. Sure, it might confuse newcomers who try the demo and find out it’s absurdly long for a demo, however that’s not the end of the world.

Since there is this clear divide, I think a compromise that tries to avoid the main things people were worried about while keeping as many of the benefits as we can is better than simply choosing one side or the other.

I hope that sounds like a positive development. Look forward to future announcements about the mega-sized demo expansions that will be on the way in coming months! And thank you again for following along with the development of Our Life: Now & Forever 🥰️

[4chensungs]

just got an idea how about a one-shot of giving js the best head and you both know you give the best head but HE doesn't know he's also the best at eating you out so he rarely does that but he accidentally catches you ranting to of your friends about how much you miss him eating you out cuz his lips are so plump so it feels just PERFECT UUUGGHHH PLZ

notes: anon the wait is FINALLY over. thank you sm for the request i had the time of my life writing this <3

18+. smut. oral (f. receiving.) just overall messy.

-

what a crazy day when your boyfriend came home after spending a whole week, seven days overseas for one of his schedules. crazy how you wasted no time the moment he got there in getting on your knees and sucking him off, your favorite activity to do cause you're simply the best.

"fuuuck oh my god i'm going-" you cut jisung off when you trailed your lips to the underside of his dick, letting a out trail of spit to drip onto his shaft. you hum, mouth full of him - so good at teasing.

jisung groans nonstop, keeping your hair tangled in his long fingers to help you, fingers that you wish were inside you right now.

so in that day, when you sucked him off til he came two times in your mouth, you left unsatisfied. and wet.

panties all sticky, needy pussy asking silently for his attention. his mouth, moist and plump lips that make you go feral.

the question kept replaying in your head, why do you seem to enjoy giving head more than he does?

why are you the only one that makes sure to put your mouth on him to work?

-

"i'm sure he loves it, look at him. he's so whipped for you." one of your friends said. you had your phone in hand, the voices being heard through the other side of the voice call.

you spoke lowly, "i just.. just miss it. and i don't know how to tell him."

"oh cmon! he's your boyfriend. offer him some pussy and he'll go down on you immediately."

god. you ended the call just when jisung left the bathroom, being met with your figure sprawled on his bed. running his hands through his hair and looking at you with a sharp, interesting grin.

you smiled too, getting up a bit to lay with your head on the headboard.

"ji." your voice cracked. dumb, stupid because of him.

he got on the bed, crawling to your body. you were actually so innocent, the thought that he might've heard your call went missed by you.

he just grabbed your hands to pull your body closer and off the sheets, his lips meeting yours in a tender, warm kiss. jisung was always this sweet.

"why didn't you tell me, baby?" jisung leans away, his voice was quiet, tone sincere.

your lips were pressed in a thin line, and instead of answering him, you just lay back and part your legs, slowly - inviting him.

jisung hums in approval at the scene you're giving him, baby pink panties peeking out from your sleeping shorts as you give him the perfect view. the pair he bought for you.

he sighs before getting comfortable between your legs, big hands pulling them apart - chest pressed onto the mattress while his lips meet the skin of your thighs.

"i'm such an asshole." his pointed nose brushes up and down on your soft flesh.

you hold back a whine, "n- no ji you're not.. don't say that"

"didn't give my princess the attention she deserves. i'm s' sorry- shit."

jisung pulls your shorts off in an instant, your legs closing involuntarily at the sudden arousal that builds up your body and senses.

"it's okay ji, really... feels good."

he parts your legs again, pressing one knee to your still covered chest as the other leg went to rest around his head.

his glasses fogged up as he kisses your awaiting cunt through the already damp material of your panties - the lacy pink, he chose with so much love for his princess to look pretty for him.

"can't live without this pretty pussy mhm i'm sorry, love." he mumbles in your core.

one finger hooks around the edge of your underwear, pulling it to the side to give him direct contact to your sweet wet spot.

"she’s so fucking beautiful."

this time you couldn't hold back a moan, hand coming to mess with his darkish hair and just as you were about to push him straight into your cunt, he was faster - licking all the way from your pussy up to your clit.

"ji fuck! ji- "

you tried to breath but it was hard, he was really making up to you. he meant it.

jisung leans his mouth away just to throw his glasses on the other side of the bed - big fingers now spreading your pussy open to give him better access.

“jisung mgh stop- wait sungie!” you squirm, hands gripping the sheets when he sucks your clit into his mouth, repeating this process tons of times til he notices you’re getting close.

he kisses your clit, tongue darting out to lick it, “want to make you know that i’m in love with you and this sweet pussy. always been.”

you cry out, hands shaking and throat hoarse from moaning his name. your mind’s all blurry, the smooching wet sounds of his plump and red lips eating you out like you were really the tastiest thing on earth.

the friction was so strong that you couldn’t help but slowly start moving your hips on your boyfriend’s face, riding his perfect features - feeling his nose bumping and his saliva and spit wetting your whole cunt.

that’s what you missed. messy, just how you crave it. and jisung seems to love this just as much as you do.

“fuck, princess. so wet, yeah?” he tries to sooth you by rubbing his huge hands on your waist and hips.

two more minutes and you’d cum, but he stopped.

you looked down at him between your legs. the loss of contact made you pout, whining like a baby.

“ji.. please.”

jisung eyes you, massages your swollen pussy with two fingers for a minute before getting up to meet your face, cute begging eyes staring at his, a little drool on your chin from how you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.

he smiles, “you’re the prettiest, so gorgeous.” tucking the stray hairs out of your face.

jisung lands a kiss, two, three kisses on your lips, a blush growing on both of your cheeks - “let me suck you o-“

“no, love. i want to make this all about you.”

you blush again, messing with the fabric of his black hoodie to pull him closer when he starts to trail his wet kisses down to your jaw, neck, chest, stomach.

and in fact, he made sure that itd be all about you. making you cum so easily on his fingers at first, then his tongue. all the rounds of him fucking you and you just kept cumming on his cock. so it went.

© 4chensungs

[lukolastrong]

Objective?

I need to talk about what’s on my mind regarding blonde Pen🫣

Let’s talk about why its shock factor is so prevalent. The obvious being she’s blonde. No one predicted this happening. I know we all collectively did a double take when this popped up! I scrolled back to make sure I was seeing it right. So, keeping it surface level, it’s just Pen’s costume for the masquerade ball.

On a deeper level (aka my thoughts since seeing it) it’s so real. It’s almost too real to even process. When you think about it, there will more than likely be a scene of her and Colin being intimate in some capacity while she’s blonde. Either it being a kiss/make out or something more👀 Now, my thing is, if Nic and Luke actually aren’t a thing and Lukola isn’t something they want to keep happening, do you think they’d let this happen? Like going to the writers and Shonda and saying “hey this is too much/too real” I mean this is really pushing the blurred lines. Lines that were already pretty blurry from season 3. Even if they don’t have an intimacy scene with this look, it’s still playing into the idea of them being something more than “just friends”.

If I’m going to go deeper and play with an idea that popped in my head, what if this is their way of hard launching in a fun way? I wouldn’t put it past Nic to be the one to come up with this. She’s very creative. They get to take off Penelope’s wig (which, let’s be honest, is the only thing separating it being fictional to it feeling real) and be a happy (married) couple while she’s blonde. Even if it’s just for a scene. It’s still going to feel so real. I don’t think we realize how unprepared we are for this 🫣

Shonda… I see what you’re doing 👀 you can’t convince me she isn’t the biggest Lukola shipper. She just hides behind Polin being her favorite. Have you ever wondered why?🤭😉

[kominigiru]

this fic is a part of my series: there is no other love, it’s only yours. feel free to check out part 1 and part 2 on ao3! you can also read part 3 here. nonetheless, this can be read as a standalone :)

you’re the closest to heaven (that i’ll ever be)

summary: Whenever Satoru is tired, you’re the one he seeks out—his anchor, his peace. You help him find rest, even when the weight of the world is on his shoulders.

contains: female reader, fluff, reader being a cursed speech user, just something very domestic for valentine’s (even tho i’m four days late)

Satoru’s footsteps echoes softly as he walks through the quiet hallway of your shared home. He’s tired���beyond tired, really—but it’s nothing new. It had been a grueling mission, and even the strength of the strongest sorcerer couldn’t protect him from the exhaustion that weighed him down after a day like today.

But even in the midst of his physical and emotional fatigue, there was a single thought that kept him moving.

You.

When he reaches the kitchen, he finds you exactly where he expected—quietly brewing tea. You stand by the counter, your back to him, with only the soft sound of the boiling water filling the air.

Satoru pauses at the doorway, standing still for a moment longer than usual.

There’s something about the scene before him that makes his heart thump in his chest. The way the soft light from the window frames your figure, how the steam from the kettle dances in the air, and how, even in the midst of such a simple task, you seem so perfectly… serene.

Pretty.

The thought hits him like a wave, and for a second, he almost forgets to breathe. He can’t believe how lucky he is to have you in his life. You, who’s too perfect for him—too good for someone like him.

He remembers all the times strangers—non-sorcerers—would look at the two of you when you go out together; how they would say how lucky you were to have a handsome man like him.

He remembers the sharp words of Nanami, even his (his best friend; his second other half), telling him that someone like him didn’t deserve someone like you. And Satoru agrees.

It wasn’t you who was lucky to have someone like him.

It’s me. I’m the lucky one.

Satoru doesn’t believe in gods. He doesn’t believe in fate or destiny. He’d been told for so long that he was something above ordinary humans, that he was something more—the honored one. And though it did get to his head when he had been much younger, none of that mattered now. Because the only thing he can truly believe in is you.

You must be heaven-sent.

He stands there for a moment longer, watching you as you focused on your task, before you finally turned around. The instant your eyes meets his, everything else in the world faded.

There was no weight, no expectations, no mission, no curse. Just you, and the way your gaze softened when you saw him.

A smile tugs at your lips, and without hesitation, you wave a hand in greeting, like you always do when you see him. The simple gesture—so natural, so effortless—made Satoru’s heart stutter in his chest.

You’re so pretty, he tells himself for the second time that moment. Pretty doesn’t even do you justice, but it’s the word that comes to him, the one that always surfaces no matter how many times he sees you, no matter how many times he’s in your presence.

His breath catches, and for the briefest second, he forgets what it’s like to be the strongest sorcerer in the world. Instead, he is just a man, standing in front of the woman he loves.

You, who had agreed to marry him, to bind yourself to him, to trust him with your life. And he could never quite wrap his head around how lucky he is. How you—someone so pure, so beautiful, so good—had chosen him.

His thoughts spiral, but he’s snapped back to the present when he notices you tilt your head slightly, an inquisitive expression crossing your face.

And just like that, the flush creeps up the back of his neck. His heart races faster, and for a fleeting moment, he feels like the high school kid who’d first fallen for you. He can’t help but smile sheepishly, ears burning.

“Guess I’ve been standing here a little too long, huh?” His voice is hoarse, tired, but the warmth in it is unmistakable.

The tips of his ears feel like they might combust, and the thought that he’s still this enamored by you—after everything—makes him feel like a teenager again.

You give him another smile, one that’s soft, comforting, and full of understanding. Without a word, you reach out, guiding him over to where you’re standing. The tea is almost ready, but more importantly, so are you.

You always know what he needs.

He doesn’t deserve you, but somehow, you’ve made him feel like the luckiest man alive. And maybe, just maybe, that’s all the proof he needs that you really are something out of this world.

Satoru approaches you languidly, his movements unhurried but deliberate. The moment he’s close enough, he buries his face in the crook of your neck, his breath warm against your skin.

He has to bend slightly to fit against you, but he doesn’t seem to mind—not when the scent of you is enough to ease some of the weight pressing down on him.

At a glance, he might look relaxed, but you can feel the tension in his shoulders, the heaviness he carries even now. Without hesitation, you reach over and turn off the stove, the bubbling water momentarily forgotten. You don’t move away, don’t push him back, simply letting him hold onto you for as long as he needs.

But then, after a few quiet moments, Satoru pulls away just enough to look at you. Though his eyes remain hidden beneath his bandages, you don’t need to see them to know—his brows are furrowed.

“Are you sure?” he asks, voice softer than usual, almost hesitant.

You nod without missing a beat, taking his hand in yours, your fingers curling around his as if to anchor him.

You don’t speak, but Satoru understands. He always does. After years by your side, he knows you better than anyone. The slow, reassuring circles your thumb traces against his palm say everything your voice does not.

You come first.

And that’s all he needs to let you lead him away, your grip firm yet gentle as you guide him to your shared bedroom. The moment he sits on the edge of the bed, you press lightly against his shoulders, urging him to lie down. He doesn’t resist, letting himself sink into the mattress with a quiet sigh as his head comes to rest in your lap.

Your hands move with practiced ease as you begin to unwind the bandages from his eyes. And when the last strip falls away, Satoru blinks against the dim light, his vision adjusting.

The first thing he sees is you.

Not the weight of the world on his shoulders, not the ghosts of his past—just you.

And for the first time in what feels like forever, he feels like he can finally breathe.

Your hand hovers over his eyes, gently covering them as if to shield him from the world. The warmth of your palm is enough to calm him, and for a moment, he feels the weight of everything start to slip away.

Then, for the first time today, he hears your voice.

“Sleep.”

It’s all you say, but it’s enough.

He feels his body relax, the exhaustion from the mission and the day’s tension draining from him as your words settle into him like a lullaby. His eyelids grow heavy, and he feels his mind slip into that quiet, drowsy space between waking and sleep.

He can never get tired of your voice. Even when it’s just a whisper, it’s more comforting than anything. He knows why you speak so rarely—your cursed technique, the fear of unintentionally hurting someone—but sometimes, just sometimes, he wishes you didn’t have to hold back.

Satoru wants to hear you sing, to hear the melody of your voice flow freely without fear. He wants you to say his name, call him whatever cute nickname comes to mind, to tell him you love him in the same way he pours his heart out to you without hesitation.

But tonight, he’s too tired to ask. Too drowsy, his thoughts slipping away like the threads of a dream. His lips part, but no words come out. Instead, he feels himself falling deeper into the softness of the moment, into the calm you’ve created around him.

And before he completely drifts away, before sleep fully takes him, he hears it.

Your voice, soft and steady, just for him.

“I love you.”

[aliwritex]

franco thoughts: valentines between friends pt2 18+ 1.7k part1

warnings: oral (f rec), piv, realistic-ish (?) scene, sweet

You hadn’t realized how much you actually wanted him till then but since you got a taste you couldn’t stop yourself. Your hands met the back of his neck, pulling him closer as his fell to your legs, guiding you to straddle him. In no time you were sat on his lap, making out, tasting each other’s mouths as you felt heat travel from your faces down to your cores.

His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling your chests closer. You thought the line was crossed, there was no coming back, but as his hands reached down to rest on your ass you realized there were multiple lines in between. The action made you stop in your tracks, pulling away from his lips.

“Fran” you sighed “what are we doing?”

“I don’t know, fuck. Guess I just realized I’m into you. Don’t wanna stop” he admitted.

You smiled and pulled him back into a kiss, your tongue making its way past your lips this time, till you were licking into each other’s mouths. You let your hands rest on his chest as your lips slipped from his to kiss his neck. Franco practically melted under you, the light brush of lips sending shivers through his body and making him let out the prettiest sigh you had ever heard.

His hands gripped harder on your ass, testing the waters as he guided you back and forth on his lap. You could start to feel the heat directly between your bodies as he pushed your hips down to his, you couldn’t help but let out a noise too, something between a strangled groan and a sigh.

“You smell so good” you mumbled against his skin, your nose buried on his neck.

Franco smiled, his hand moving up to cup your face, fingers burying under your hair, so he could look up at you. You kissed him again, still moving your hips subtly as your hands reached for the hem of his hoodie. He let you part the kiss to pull it over his head but pulled you back into it immediately. His hands sneaked up your top, laying flat against your back.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked, out of breath.

You just nodded, looking down at him, his eyes were heavy from the alcohol, his brows were furrowed and lips parted, as pretty as ever. You were knocked down from his lap when he moved, making you lay back on the couch, your legs still over his as he hovered over you.

His hands gripped your waist, his thumbs pressing down on your sides as he pushed your shirt up. He lowered down to kiss the exposed skin making you shiver and he noticed. Franco looked up at you, kissing the way down to the waistband of your pants only to kiss back up, pushing your top up all the way. He looked at you as if to make sure that you were comfortable, you gave a small nod and helped him take it off. A smile broke through on his face and it made you blush.

“Are you gonna do something about this or you gonna let me freeze?” you teased, guiding him up to face you.

“It is really cold in here” he chuckled, letting his body flop down as you reached to hold his face.

You kissed his smile away as his hand met your chest, a groan passed from his mouth to yours when he cupped your tit, feeling the soft flesh against his fingers. His palm against your hard nipple made your hips buck up involuntarily and feel his hardening cock. The soft moan you let out made him pull away, moving to kiss down your neck.

The kisses lowered till he was back on your chest, lips brushing against the skin between your breasts, teasing till you brought your hand down to his hair, guiding him to your nipples. His curls were so soft and the way his lips and tongue worked on you was insane. Your back arched off the couch to push your chest up to his mouth but it made your hips meet again, making groans leave both of your mouths.

His hand lowered all the way to your pants, almost making its way in but you stopped him “Fran, I- didn’t actually have this in mind so…” he looked up at you, waiting for a decent explanation to why you would stop him “I, like, didn’t prepare for this, you know?”

“You should know I don’t mind that”

You nodded, still a little self conscious but he kissed you, making you melt into his touch as his fingers went past the waistband. They were cold and contrasting with your warm skin but they traveled lower, meeting the wet patch on your underwear. He couldn’t help but smile after finding out the effect he had on you.

He teased you through the fabric, still kissing till you were squirming for more. So he pulled away, sitting up to get rid of your pants. You blushed when he saw your heart print underwear, covering your face with your hands.

“Feeling festive too?” he teased, bending down to kiss down your stomach.

His hands brushed up and down your thighs as his lips inched closer to your middle. When they finally reached your panties he kissed along the band while his fingers hooked on the sides, pulling them down. A small sigh of ‘fuck’ leaving his lips as he watched the scene.

His fingers were on you immediately brushing between your lips till they were covered in your wetness. He watched like he was mesmerized when his fingers started dipping into you, barely penetrating. Your hips moved involuntarily, lowering onto his hand, almost begging for more.

So Franco laid down on the couch, head right between your legs and that’s when you lost your mind. Never in your life did you think one of your best friends would be going down on you but there he was and he looked majestic as he kissed your clit. His fingers penetrated you completely, curling up to reach the right spot as his lips worked a little higher, sucking your clit into his mouth.

You let your hands meet his hair again, fingers running softly through the strands as he pleasured you. It wasn’t long before he had you biting your lip, trying to hold noises back. He was working you perfectly, pushing all the buttons that made your core tighten. And you were going to warn him but it came so suddenly, washing over your body in strong waves.

You clenched around his fingers as your legs closed around his shoulders, your hand fisting his hair. A porn worthy moan left your lips and Franco couldn’t help but grind against the couch, his cock twitching at your reactions. He waited for you to come down before he started kissing back up your stomach, slowly unplugging his fingers from you.

“‘M sorry I pulled your hair” you whispered to his cheek but he shook his head, the curls tickling your face.

“I like it” he kissed your neck, “need to fuck you.”

You nodded, pulling him into a kiss again. His tongue worked into your mouth as you reached down to unbutton his jeans.

“Fran-“ you mumbled against his lips, catching his attention “con- let me get a condom”

He nodded and reluctantly pulled away, letting you get up and walk to your room. He wasn’t gonna waste any time though. He worked on getting his tshirt and his jeans off, by the time you were back he was sitting in just his boxers. You walked over to him, straddling his lap again so your bare cunt rubbed against his covered middle, making you both groan.

You moved back on his lap, giving you space to pull him out of his underwear and put on protection. You could tell he was big from the tent in his boxers but when you saw his girth your mouth watered and your cunt clenched, ready to be filled up.

“Ready?”

You nodded, holding his face in your hands as he guided your hips onto his cock. He teased, brushing his tip against your hole a couple times before pushing you down on him. The moan that escaped your lips was inevitable and louder than you intended it to be but Franco enjoyed it.

He encouraged you to move, gently guiding your hips back and forth till you were doing it on your own. Then his hands wrapped around your waist, hugging you close to his chest. His mouth met your nipple again, licking and flicking the nub. Your arms rested around his shoulders for support as your fingers scratched the short hairs on the back of his head.

Franco couldn’t be happier, he didn’t know if he should melt into the scratches or enjoy the feeling of your tit in his mouth. Both the feelings added to the way your cunt was gripping him were enough to send him over the edge but he was holding on.

“Kiss me” you sighed

His plump lips met yours again, drowning all the moans coming from both of you when you started bouncing on him. His hands followed your movements, giving you stability. Neither of you could even concentrate on kissing, all the pleasure already building up down in your cores.

“Fran, so close, fuck!” you whined against his lips.

“Me too, don’t stop. Come with me, yeah?”

You nodded, barely being able to register how hot his voice sounded. But it didn’t matter, what was really taking up your mind was the way his cock dragged against your walls. Your moves faltered when your orgasm approached but Franco helped you through them till you were clenching around him, coming with a whiny moan right to his neck.

He came like domino effect, your muscles tensing bringing him over the edge. His groan was deep and broken, possibly the prettiest sound you’d ever heard.

“Fuck!” he groaned. You just nodded, chuckling as you let your head fall to his shoulder. You peppered kisses on the skin as he ran a hand through your hair, waiting for your bodies to come down from the high. “You said something about a box of chocolates earlier?”

[ladykailitha]

The Caged Bird Still Sings Part 23

Here we are, the penultimate chapter. And the second sex scene. So definitely be forewarned there. This is the chapter where they talk and Steve explains the title. Well, they both do really.

I'm sad to see this story end, but I've got so many good stories waiting in the wings so it's a good thing, too.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22

~

Steve was waiting up in the foray of the hotel lobby reading the newspaper when Eddie and the rest of Corroded Coffin got in.

He looked up at the sound of the chains and jewelry jingling above the hushed whispers. They all looked happy and excited. Which meant their day with Mike went well. Which was good.

Eddie spotted Steve first and stopped in his tracks, as around him the boys rough housed. Then one by one they too spotted Steve. They took in what he was wearing and teased Eddie before they left him standing there, staring at Steve, frozen in place.

Steve was wearing a white suit with a sheer white mesh top, so that it neatly showed off his hairy chest and happy trail. His hair was artfully styled and the whole outfit was topped off with black designer boots. In other words he sat there looking like sex on legs.

Eddie ran his fingers through his hair as he placed the other hand on his hip. “Damn, little Canary, you look good enough to eat.”

Steve smirked, licking his upper lip. He put away the newspaper carefully and deliberately. Then he stood up and Eddie was able to take in the full effect including that delicious show of the outline of Steve’s cock.

Eddie crooked his finger and Steve came willingly. Eddie tugged on the golden chain around Steve’s neck and pulled out the gold and citrine canary necklace that Eddie had given to Steve that first day at the hotel.

“Are you mine, baby?” he purred. “Have you decided that you’ll take everything I have to offer. But especially me?”

Steve nodded looking into his eyes. “Everyone kept calling me a kept man or sugar baby to your sugar daddy. But both of those things imply that I’m accepting everything you gave in exchange for sex. But we’ve only ever had sex the once.”

Eddie smiled softly. “That’s right, little Canary. You’re not either of those things. So what are you then?”

“I’m a caged bird,” Steve replied with a soft smile. “The price for a roof over my head and all my needs met is a cage. On that is open for me to fly out at any time, but why would I want to? Not when I have you to take care of me.”

“The caged bird still sings,” Eddie said, his smile growing, “because it is loved and cared for, is that it?”

Steve’s smile transformed into a grin. “Yeah.”

“I like the metaphor, little Canary,” Eddie breathed and then pressed his lips to Steve’s, his fingers still wrapped around the necklace, keeping Steve tethered to him.

Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie’s neck and leaned into the kiss. Eddie’s free hand slid under the jacket of the suit and to the small of Steve’s back, pressing them even further together.

“You look too pretty to just take you up to your room and rip those delicious clothes off,” Eddie murmured. “So let me at least buy you a drink in the hotel bar and chat you up a bit first.”

Steve giggled and nuzzled their noses together. “I think that sounds like a great idea, Eddie.”

Eddie shivered at the sheer desire in Steve’s voice. It took everything in his power to take that step back, and slide his hand into Steve’s. Then he led the way to the bar and ordered them both a drink.

“So what made you decide you wanted this with me, darlin’?” Eddie purred as he swirled around the whiskey in his hand.

Steve cocked his head to side as he sincerely thought about it. “I think the first step was bitching out Chrissy for her ideas about us. I wasn’t going to let her chose the narrative of someone she had only met once in a dimly lit bar. I may have been a queen bitch in high school, but trust me, I won’t stand for people talking shit about me behind my back if I can help it.”

“That was an impressive speech you gave, little Canary,” Eddie murmured, rubbing his thumb over Steve’s knuckles.

“Like before you came back,” Steve murmured, running his fingers through his hair nervously, “I had even wondered if the only reason I wasn’t your sugar baby was because you were on tour. But then you came home and were so respectful, it kind of pushed those thoughts out of my head.”

Eddie smiled gently and took Steve’s hand to give it a squeeze. “That was what I was hoping I was doing.”

“Congrats, it really worked,” Steve replied with a chuckle. “Then when I met your uncle and saw his home and the life you had given him.” He shook his head fondly. “Then you said that me marrying you for buy me a house was an incentive and not a deterrent...I–”

“And you wanted that too,” Eddie finished for him. “Make no mistake, little Canary, I will buy you a house with everything you’ve every wanted in a home and make it ours.

Steve blushed and then got this far away look in his eyes and sighed wistfully. “Then when you got out of your car to pick up Mike, it was the hottest thing I’d ever seen and I wanted all of it. I want to be your little Canary, I want to sing for you in all the ways I know how. So Robin helped me pick out the outfit to seduce you in.”

“Consider me seduced,” Eddie purred. “I wasn’t lying when I said you looked good enough to eat.”

Steve blushed and ducked his head. He looked up at Eddie through his lashes. “I can’t wait for you to take care of me.”

Eddie’s eyes widen and his nostrils flared as his desire ramped up. “Damn, little Canary, I’m going to make you feel so good, you’ll think you rocketed to the moon with all the stars you’ll be seeing.”

Steve through back his head and laughed. “I wasn’t aiming for an innuendo, but I really still should have seen that one coming–” He stopped to snort at his own joke. “Wrong word! God!”

Eddie burst out laughing too. “Someone’s got sex on the brain today,” he smirked, wagging his eyebrows.

“Have you looked in the mirror, babe?” Steve purred. “I’m pretty sure you short-circuited poor Mike’s brain when you stepped out of that sports car. It took everything I had not jump you right there in front of the thirteen year old.”

“I wasn’t really thinking about what I was wearing today,” Eddie said with a huff of laughter. He took a sip of his whiskey, his other hand never leaving Steve’s. “I just threw on what was clean and that I would be comfortable recording in.”

Steve smiled. “Well it worked on me.”

Eddie hummed his agreement.

They talked and had a couple of drinks, just reveling in each other’s company. Like they were slotted into each other’s lives like they had always been right there.

Then Eddie stood up and gently led Steve up the elevator to Eddie’s room. It was almost identical to Steve’s, but minus all the bird paraphernalia and instead covered with guitars and band merch.

His hands came up and slowly slid Steve’s suit jacket off his shoulders and on to the floor. Steve smirked, but allowed Eddie to undress him. Eddie untucked the shirt and got his fingertips on the happy trail that had been tantalizing him all night.

Steve let out a little gasp of pleasure as Eddie’s thumbs caught in his belt loops, pulling them closer together. Then the shirt came off and Eddie sank to his knees, pulling on the belt to undo it. He unbottoned and unzipped the pants.

Eddie licked his lips at the sight before him. “Naughty boy, going commando in those tight pants. You must be a sin.”

“I thought I was your angel,” Steve breathed, burying his hands into his own hair, back arching from the sheer want rolling off Eddie in waves. “I’m pretty sure you called me heaven sent at the very least.”

Eddie’s head rocked back and looked up from the tasty, teasing morsel in front of him. “You remember that?”

Steve grinned. “I don’t remember a lot about what happened that, but yeah. I called you sin and you called me heaven sent.”

“Well, I take it back, baby,” Eddie said, returning his attention back on the bounty in front of him. “You’re sin and I’m the sinner.” He slid Steve’s pants down his legs and then gently removed each boot until Steve was standing in front of him stark naked and looking good enough to eat.

“I’m going to feast tonight,” he murmured and then slowly stood back up. He kissed Steve deeply as Steve wrapped his arms around his neck, his hands going for that gorgeous ass. He swept Steve off his feet and carried him laughingly to the bed.

He gently laid Steve on the bed and then began to strip himself. Steve propped himself up on his elbows as he watched Eddie uncover more and more of his skin. And that’s when he spotted it; a new tattoo.

Right where the torso met the leg was a little yellow canary.

“See something you like, sweetheart?” Eddie said lasciviously. He crawled on the bed and straddled Steve’s thighs.

Steve flopped back onto the pillows and his thumb rubbed the tattoo. Then he looked up adoringly at Eddie. “When did you get that?”

“You like that?” Eddie teased and then kissed him on the lips. He whispered into Steve’s ear, “I got that in Indy the day after I met you, baby.”

Steve moaned, throwing his head back. “It took me four months to realize I was in love with you, but here you are going out and getting a tattoo about me the next day! I thought I was unhinged.”

“Sorry, Stevie,” Eddie cackled, “but you had me hooked since day one.”

He grabbed the lube from his nightstand and pressed a kiss to Steve’s neck. “I’ve spent so much time jerking off to that first time because it was all I could think about.”

Steve’s body shuddered with desire and lust. “I’ve come thinking about you, too. Your voice has the power to turn me on like nothing else.”

“You like my voice, baby?” Eddie purred as ground down, causing Steve to gasp. “You like it when I talk to you?” Steve nodded, biting on his lip.

“The things I’m going to do to you, pretty boy,” he continued, his free hand tracing the lines of Steve’s torso, going low.

Steve grabbed Eddie’s thighs for dear life as Eddie kept grinding their cocks together.

“I’m going to lube you up,” Eddie purred. “I’m going spread those pretty thighs, so deliciously thick.” He slithered down the bed to bite Steve’s left thigh, causing Steve’s back to arch off the bed.

Eddie spread his legs, kissing and biting where he could. “Then I’m going to start with one finger all nice and slick from the lube.”

Action followed his words and he pressed one finger into Steve’s hole.

“Oh god!” Steve breathed. “It feels so good.”

Eddie continued to work at Steve’s hole, pushing in and out as his other hand wandered over his thighs, his stomach, his sides, everywhere but his cock.

“Then I’m going to add a second finger,” Eddie purred. “Really work you open.”

He must have hit a really good spot because Steve shuddered and moaned. “Look at you, little Canary. Singing for me.”

Steve’s sounds got louder and more enthusiastic with that little encouragement.

Eddie kept describing what he was going to do and then doing until Steve was on the edge and was as open as Eddie could comfortably get him.

“You ready, baby?” he asked, lining up his cock.

“Yes, Eddie,” Steve begged. “I need you fuck me so good. I need it.”

As Eddie slid in he leaned over to kiss Steve filthily on the mouth. “And whatever you need I’m here to give it to you.”

Steve whimpered. “You’re so good to me.”

“It is my honest pleasure.”

Eddie began thrusting deep inside him, Steve continuing to make the most delicious sounds as they fucked.

“Touch me, Eddie,” Steve murmured. “Let me come. I want to come, please. I need it, so much.”

“”You’ve got it, Stevie,” he said softly. “I want us to come together, do you think you can hold off just a little more?”

Steve’s eyes were wide and blown with desire. “I’ll try. For you.”

Eddie pressed a kiss to Steve’s jaw. “I know. You’re so good to me.”

He gently took Steve’s cock in hand and began to slide up and down in time with his thrusts.

Soon Steve was arching off the bed. “Please, Eddie!”

“Go ahead, baby,” Eddie moaned. “Come for me.”

He jerked his hips one more time and was coming in Steve as he spurted out ribbon after ribbon of cum all over his chest.

Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut as he finished. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Steve was completely blissed out underneath him.

He pressed a quick kiss to Steve’s jaw and then got up to clean them off. When he came back with a wet hand towel, he had to stop and stare at the sight before him.

Steve had one arm thrown behind his head and the other hand was pressed into the cooling cum on his stomach, panting for breath.

“Did I wear you out, little Canary?” Eddie teased as he loped over to the bed.

“Fuck, Eddie,” he murmured. “If this how sex is going to be all the time, I don’t think I’ll ever get out of bed ever again.”

Eddie chuckled and then got to work cleaning up his newly minted boyfriend. Then he tucked them into the large bed.

“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered into Steve’s ear as they curled up together.

Steve pecked his lips. “I love you too, Eddie. So much.”

Then they drifted off to sleep together.

~

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @itsall-taken @wheneverfeasible @zerokrox-blog @beelze-the-bubkiss @blondie1006

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @themoonagainstmers @cryptid-system @maya-custodios-dionach

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1

5- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

6- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

7- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @w1ll0wtr33 @sticknpokelightningbolt @just-a-tiny-void

8- @scoops-aboy86 @kurofuckingshi16 @watermelonmite @eyehartart @dreamercec

9- @little-birch-boy @yearningagain @micheledawn1975 @sadisticaltarts @steddieislife

10- @fearieshadow @kultiras @thesecondfate @tartarusknight @genderless-spoon

[abbielauren2024]

Sonic 4 Scene Idea

Hey all! Just had the thought that maybe the opening scene of Sonic 4 could go something like this:

(Start scene)

Sonic: Who are you?!

Amy: Oh my gosh it’s you! It’s really you!

Sonic: Um… I noticed?

Amy: I’ve heard so much about you, Sonic the Hedgehog! And to think that I’m here and you’re here and you’re not dead…

Sonic: Sorry, who are you?

Amy: Oh sorry, I can get a bit ahead of myself.

(Amy takes off her cloak to reveal her in her pretty red dress. Sonic freezes, never having encountered a girl hedgehog before. Especially not one this pretty.)

Amy: I’m Amy Rose, it’s an honor to meet you, Sonic the Hedgehog!

Sonic: uh… um… *clears throat* nice to… meet you too… but how do you know me?

Amy: Well, where I come from, everyone knows about you! You were a legend!

Sonic: Yeah that sounds about right… wait, WERE?!

Amy: (Looks down sadly) Yeah… in the Great Battle with Mephiles, you… you never made it out. He was too powerful and devastated the world.

(Sonic looks like he’s seen a ghost and steps back, looking at his hands in horror.)

Sonic: I… die?

Amy: *tries to comfort him* But never fear, Amy Rose is here! I found you, didn’t I? And we won’t let it happen again.

Sonic: Yeah about that… how did you find me? If you’re from the future where I’m… you know… dead… then how did you know how to find me?

Amy: Well, you weren’t the first hedgehog I ran into.

(Amy steps to the side, and Shadow emerges from behind a tree.)

Sonic: SHADOW?!

Shadow: Greetings, Faker.

Sonic: Shadow!

(Sonic runs over and nearly knocks Shadow over with a hug)

Shadow: Woah woah, what was that for?

Sonic: I thought you were dead! I was so worried!

Shadow: *cocks his head* Why?

Sonic: You’re my friend, of course I care!

Shadow: Friend…

Amy: Yeah, I kinda thought he was you.

Shadow: This pink hammer-wielder ran up and tried to attack me.

Amy: I wasn’t trying to attack you! A hug is not an attack!

Shadow: You wrapped your arms around me and pinned my arms to my sides. How is that not an attack?

Amy: Okay that is seriously sad.

Sonic: Don’t worry… Amy… once everyone else sees that Shadow survived and he gets welcomed into the Wachowski family he’s gonna get all the affection he deserves! *Gasps* Oh my gosh we could be twins!

Shadow: No. Not gonna happen.

Sonic: Yes yes yes we could get matching beds and… and oh my gosh you even reawakened on my B-earth day, so we basically share it! We’re twinsies!

Shadow: The more you say the word ‘twin’ the harder I want to hit you.

Sonic: Like a true twin would!

Shadow: You little—

Amy: Guys, guys! We can work this out AFTER we save the world, got it?

Sonic: Yeah, I guess you’re right. We gotta stop that cosplaying tin can and his noobs first.

Amy: You mean Metal Sonic?

Sonic: NOW THAT’S JUST PLAGIARISM!!

Shadow: Who would want to imitate this faker?

Amy: He was a cyborg created by Dr. Robotnik…

Sonic/Shadow: EGGMAN?!?

Sonic: He survived?

Shadow: No one could’ve survived that explosion!

Sonic: The guy’s like a cockroach!

Amy: At least in my timeline, yes. He was alive and well until Mephiles claimed the Flames of Disaster.

Sonic: Wait wait… the Flames of Disaster?

Amy: Yes…?

Sonic: *Looks like he’s gonna be sick* How did Mephiles get the Flames of Disaster?

Amy: Well, Iblis was once sealed inside a vessel, a living being strong enough to never cry. But when a tragedy finally broke the spirit of this vessel the flames were released and set the world into the apocalypse.

Sonic: Knuckles!! We have to go!

Shadow: The echidna?

Sonic: Yes! He’s in danger!

(End scene)

Aaaaand, there you have it! Please don’t mind my rambling, but if you made it to the end of this you’re probably a nerd like me and dont mind lol. Also I had the thought that maybe in the movies they’ll have Knuckles replace Elise in the events of 06, since it showed him getting the Flames of Disaster, and everyone knows that Knuckles is not one to cry. Buuuuuut…. What is Knuckle’s deepest passion? Ding-a-Ling! Honor and family. So if one of his brothers—say maybe Sonic for example—was brutally killed in front of his eyes while he was helpless to stop it, chances are he would finally break *sobs*. Also, maybe Amy and Metal could be from the same future as Silver, Blaze and Mephiles, since I’ve heard there will be multi-verse and time-travel elements in Sonic 4.

Also idk if Jim Carrey will come back as Eggman, but I really hope he does! I don’t really think Metal can carry an entire movie as the villain like Eggman can, or maybe they’ll have Stone take Robotnik’s place. We’ll see! The movies haven’t disappointed me yet, so I doubt they will with such an excellent cast and crew.

Also I got the idea of Sonic and Shadow being twins from this incredible post here:

And also I kinda feel like Shadow and Sonic would act a lot like Donnie and Leo from Rise of the TMNT lol.

Let me know what you think :)

[amemoryofwot]

In regards to WoT show Liandrin I think there's a certain point where a character in a show needs to portray concepts that are otherwise lore or exposition. Like, the writers didn't do so much with her because they think she's Super Neat in the books or something, but because as a relatively one noted early intro character she's in a convenient place to tackle some Stuff onto. Some examples I can think of are:

The Vileness - as this is like one of my personal fave WoT topics I YELLED at her intro in the very first episode. It's the Vileness!!! She's hunting down and Gentling men unsanctioned without a trial! She only has Reds with her there, and it's so completely different to the procedure for Logain where she has the Greens. She even put them into a position where they felt they had to Gentle Logain early, I maintain that she slipped that shield for a fraction of a second.

The ability of the Black Ajah to lie - The rewatchability of the show remains peak, it's super fun to see all the places she's definitely lying, bringing into play that hidden Black Ajah wild card of Being Able to Say Anything. Again, the first intro scene, where the critics were so pressed she misrepresented the taint. Ah yes, famously man hating Black Ajah Liandrin just might have something to say about that, yeah.

The unnaturally long lifespan of a channeler in relation to others - Watching your child age and die is a pretty horrific consequence of this, and one example is enough to explain why none of the other women have children either. This does get verbalized in the books but again showing examples is going to be more impactful in a visual medium than someone saying it out loud.

Black Ajah recruitment - I don't know whether she truly thought she would get Nynaeve as a Black, certainly at least she thought she could argue her into the Red (why Heal the aftereffects when you can go after the cause?) but it does show there is a recruitment process involved. Albeit in the books it seems to be limited to capturing a person and demanding they swear to the Dark or they will be killed, the show has at least tried to provide some hot nuance with Liandrin, Min, Dana, etc. You can argue RJ had some clear cut ideas of what made a Darkfriend (petty, selfish, etc) but these are human emotions in general, the world for the most part isn't divided into a subsection of Bad People that only have these emotions. Plus some of RJ's ideas of what a Good Person is (namely, self-sacrificing) isn't always, uh, good.

The general idea that Darkfriends may appear helpful or good, but have a secret agenda - when the eps first came out there was a lot of pushback that Liandrin got some of Siuan's scenes. I think this was all to entirely sell us on Liandrin is On Our Side Actually, because in the book it is actually hilarious how Min's like "hey gang I have a bad feeling" and then Liandrin shows up out of nowhere to whisk them away. Plus the scene with the sword and wrapping them up in Air and stuff is not really a great look. It was enough to seem like she's trying to help, but coming across in a really traumatic way that on hindsight of the betrayal makes it even more abusive. Now, we are constantly suspicious that other Aes Sedai may end up being secret Blacks

That the Forsaken have different agendas, and use Darkfriends to implement them - using one single character like Liandrin and shunting her from Ishamael to Lanfear (and ultimately to Moghedien) helps illustrate how the Forsaken work without giving away too many secret identities.

Anyways that's the one's I can think of now. Again truly the show is so efficient with its writing, practically every line has some lore or foreshadowing or twist to it, and expanding on these honestly somewhat flat characters is a really effective way to illustrate these concepts.

[piratekane]

Angie get bent? Like over by isles or something bad in the timeline that is our stupid reality?

Oh no, we’re forgetting the ancient lore. (Though, you’re forgiven, because I think three queer people and my grandparents watched this show and it *is* from 2010-2016.)

Angie Harmon famously denied there were any queer undertones to this show, despite her insane acting choices (????) and got angry with fans who held onto this narrative. Like, really doubled down on the “there is nothing but family love between Jane and Maura” card. (During this time, she also attended the RNC and spoke about the sanctity of marriage…) She was a denier to the point of discomfort. Which was weird, because was she not watching the same show we were??? I know she’s just acting what was written, but her face (and hands!) didn’t get the memo. She has a pattern of this kind of behavior, too. Don’t get me started on Women’s Murder Club…

Sasha Alexander, on the other hand, loved the idea and definitely supported fans who thought that Jane and Maura were madly in love. She has talked about it in interviews somewhere but I’d have to do a deep dive to find the sources and I’m typing this with one eye open, still in bed. She also stopped interacting outside of the show with Angie during this. (I’m pretty sure, at least?)

Overall, clown behavior on Angie Harmon’s part. I mean, for goodness sake, the whole ending (can you ‼️ spoiler alert ‼️ a nearly 10-year-old show??) is Jane chasing Maura to Paris—on Maura’s miles! They nearly raise multiple babies together. Jane can’t marry Casey because it would take her too far away from Maura. Maura considers moving to Maine and Jane immediately says she’ll give up her very tight-knit family dynamic to go with her. Maura’s crime boss bio dad threatens Jane because he knows it’ll get Maura’s attention. Maura meets her bio mom and when she disappoints Maura, Jane goes up one side of her and down the other. Jane’s mom lives with Maura. There’s a scene where Maura thinks she might be attracted to Jane’s brother because he’s an attractive chess master and it turns out that Jane taught him everything she knew and Maura gets this look on her face and Jane smirks and Maura’s attraction to Tommy is never brought up again. And this is just what I remember off the top of my head. I could name a hundred more examples, but I’m tired.

Anyway, “get bent” not in a fun way. Very much in a “Angie Harmon you were not watching the show you were acting in and there are legions (read: six) queer people mad at you about it” way.

(Wow, this is a long response. Sorry.)

[mirai-e-jump]

Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger Character Book Final Ignition: Best Bakuage Graffiti Main Cast & Voice Actor Interviews (translations below, long post)

Publication: February 7, 2025

Iuchi Haruhi x Hayama Yuki

"Please tell us about your first impressions of each other, including how they've changed."

Hayama: When we met at the audition, Haruhi and I were seated next to each other, and I thought his voice was so quiet since I couldn't really understand what he was saying (laughs). At that time, the judges started talking to us about our outfits, and then we'd each take turns presenting our fashion points.

Iuchi: Yeah, that happened.

Hayama: When Haruhi was presenting, there was some dust on his left arm (laughs). I wasn't sure what to do, but I thought I'd make a good impression there if I brushed it off for him (laughs), so that's what I did. At the time, I had the impression that Haruhi was a very innocent kid, however…

Iuchi: However?

Hayama: My impression after passing the audition together and him filming as Taiya Hando for a year was that in his private life, he's the youngest who has a gentle, airheaded and healing personality, but once he entered the set and became Taiya, he was someone you could rely on. Throughout the year, I think I finally understood why Haruhi was picked to play the role of Taiya. I also think he's an actor who's careful about when to "switch on and off." I have nothing but respect for that. There are so many things that I've learned from Haruhi!

Iuchi: We had a really good time. I also remember the audition, and I had the impression that Yuki-kun was a "cool looking slender guy." I also felt that he maintained his personal space and seemed abit scary. During the audition, he was really good at playing a cool character, and I thought that was the kind of person he actually was, but…well, he turned out to be the complete opposite (laughs).

Hayama: In other words, you didn't have a good first impression of me, but then it gradually got better?

Iuchi: Yeah (laughs). What I gradually came to understand is that he's someone who loves his role, and would think about various different things he could do for it. Without any hesitation, he'll say, "I love Ishiro," which I think is a wonderful thing.

"Next, let's talk about your roles…generally speaking, both Taiya and Ishiro can be classified as cool types. Did you have meetings or share opinions with each other on how to differentiate between the two?"

Hayama: We never discussed how to make a difference like that.

Iuchi: We didn't. When we were acting on set, we'd talk about things like, "I want to do this scene like this, can we try it?," but we never talked about how to make sure our characters didn't resemble each other.

Hayama: At a glance, both Taiya and Ishiro look cool, but Taiya's the charismatic type who moves forward and says, "Follow me." Ishiro however isn't the type to try and lead the Boonboomger members by himself, but is the type to just pull along those who are behind him, he's instead more interested in supporting Taiya Hando, the person who fell in love with him. The coolness of being his right hand man, or rather, the quality of his coolness is different. I'm sorry for talking about Taiya like this for my own gain, but that's what I think.

"Taiya and Ishiro are a pair that have had alot of dialogue together, but which scenes in particular were most memorable?"

Iuchi: The flashback scene from when Taiya and Ishiro first met. There was a small one in Bakuage 2, with the proper one being depicted in Bakuage 29, but since they hadn't become friends yet at that time, I was conscious of my gaze and voice so that he wouldn't look like the usual Taiya. Ishiro also had eyes that didn't trust him at all. Aside from that scene, the only person Taiya sees before him is his friend Ishiro, so it felt pretty rare. In that sense, it left a lasting impression on me.

Hayama: It'd probably be the last scene in Bakuage 37, when we're on the rooftop. The exchange of, "As expected, the one I fell in love with never fails me," and "Cranked up, isn't it?" It was very fitting. Director Hayama's direction was stylish. The Director was grinning when he told us, "(whispering) Let's go in a sweet direction" (laughs). Also, I got goosebumps in this episode when Taiya was talking with the "fake Ishiro." He didn't make eye contact with him even once.

Iuchi: Yeah, they were completely out of sync.

Hayama: I was impressed by the detailed setup. When fake Ishiro touches the computer console to activate the system, Haruhi kept looking down. I thought, "He's angry~" (laughs). Still, when I looked at the footage, I could see that although he looks like Ishiro, he perceives him as a stranger, and I learned alot from the way he used those expressions. Also in Bakuage 37, there was something that Haruhi suggested to me. For the "I trust him (shinjiteru)" line between Taiya and Ishiro, we say it at the same time towards the end, but in the script it was originally "I trust in him (shinjiteiru)." It's not an unnatural word for these two to say, but I thought it'd be more appropriate if the "i" was left out, and since Haruhi thought the same thing, we decided to change it to "I trust him." That also left an impression on me. (*it's the same meaning, but the one they went with is casual while the original is formal speech)

"In Bakuage 43, Ishiro betrayed them, and in Bakuage 47, it was revealed that it was a plan to defeat Waruido Spindo. How did you feel about that kind of development happening towards the very end of the show?"

Iuchi: I thought it was interesting. It's good when the story advances without a hitch, but since Super Sentai is a team hero production, it's exciting when the story has the team fall apart atleast once, and then has them overcome their differences in order to strengthen the bonds between them. I thought it'd be exciting for the viewers to see that happen in the final stages of the story, and we were also excited to perform it.

"What were you mindful of with that development?"

Hayama: Before filming began, Director Nakazawa told me to "trust Taiya 100%," so I continued to perform with that same unchanging trust. No matter what words Ishiro uses, Taiya's able to fully grasp what he says, so I wasn't concerned about trying to include any hidden meanings.

Iuchi: What I was conscious of was to make sure that the viewers wouldn't figure it out. Taiya knows what Ishiro's trying to do, but if he doesn't go along with things, the enemy will find out. It was difficult trying to find the right balance there. One way of putting it is I had to trust my friend while simultaneously looking into the eyes of the enemy…I was curious to see how Ishiro would act since there were so many characters involved. Then, when I saw the footage during the recording session, I saw the expression on Ishiro's face and thought it was really good. Because of Bakuage 37's "I trust him" line, I thought, "It's alright, Ishiro won't betray us," but he had a really evil look on his face, so I started to have some concerns. After the truth was revealed in Bakuage 47, I wanted to rewatch Bakuage 43 to see the expression on Ishiro's face, and I hope that all the viewers do so as well.

"Are there any scenes that you'll never forget due to them being difficult or painful?"

Iuchi: In the very beginning, I had a hard time making Taiya look mature. The age of Taiya's character is older than I actually am, and even Director Nakazawa, who directed Bakuage 1-3, told me to be more mature. As the story progressed, it was Bakuage 45 and 46. It's right after Ishiro betrays him and Boonboom is taken out. I wondered how I would present Taiya, who's now totally different from before after unleashing his raw emotions, and how far I should let him "fall." He hasn't fallen to the dark side, but he's being consumed by dark feelings. Still, I thought that if I expressed things too negatively, it would stray too far from Taiya, and with such positive lines like, "I have no regrets" and "I trust him," I had to keep the passion burning. On set, there were some parts that required many takes, so it was still difficult.

Hayama: I had alot of trouble with Bakuage 14's aquarium episode. I remember it took me awhile to understand Ishiro's feelings during the first flashback scene, and the scene in the beginning where he's watching the sea lion show. I know I shouldn't be judgmental, but normal people don't cry when they see fish, right?

Iuchi: Well, yeah, that's true (laughs).

Hayama: At the time of Bakuage 14, Ishiro's foundation had yet to be completely solidified and was still being explored, and then the setting of him crying at the aquarium was added. I was confused with, "What do you mean by crying?"

"As a spy, Ishiro must've had a tough life up to that point, so much so that it'd be hard for those with normal perspectives to grasp it. In the flashback scene, he was covered with scars."

Hayama: Yeah, his body jolts from the slightest sounds. I felt pressure because I knew that I couldn't compromise this scene, as it would lead to the present day Ishiro. I was incredibly nervous right up until the start of filming. No, I wasn't nervous, I was scared. I felt that if things didn't go well here, it would affect the future of the show. He's usually cool, but feels relaxed when looking at fish, however, if he laughs too much, then that's not Ishiro. I had alot of trouble making adjustments. One more thing I'd like to mention is the scenes with Horibe Keisuke-san's Tokoyari Eiichiro, which started to increase around Bakuage 29. It was a valuable and rewarding experience for me to work with a veteran actor, but the pressure almost overwhelmed me. However, if I was overcome by Horibe-san's presence, the footage would look as if Ishiro was intimidated by Tokoyari. At the same time, it wouldn't be good if I were overly confident. Making those adjustments was also difficult.

"In this character book, the six Boonboomger members are divided into three pairs, and each pair will be asked to talk about another pair. We'd like to ask you about Suzuki Miu-san and Saito Ryu-san. It can be about your impressions of them in their private lives or as actors."

Hayama: I was impressed with how quick of a learner Ryu was with action. He practiced diligently, but he was able to handle it well from the very beginning. In his private life however, he's the youngest just like Haruhi, so his smile is absolutely adorable. There are all sorts of gaps with him. From the point of view of someone the same age, what do you think?

Iuchi: Him just being there brightened up the set. I'd talk when I had to, but there were also times where I'd just sit around without talking (laughs). With Ryu however, he'd always be talking with a smile on his face.

Hayama: He'd talk right up until the "get ready!" yell to start filming was heard. I'd occasionally get angry at him for that (laughs). But that's also one of Ryu's specialties, as it makes everyone around him feel at ease.

Iuchi: Miu-chan has…a broad perspective.

Hayama: She really does, doesn't she? She's always looking at her surroundings.

Iuchi: She tells us what she notices and will bring everyone together. Thanks to her, I feel that I've enjoyed my work.

Hayama: This is just my assumption, as she never said anything like this to us, but among the six Boonboomger cast members, she's the only female member. I think the five of us were able to consult with each other because we were all male, while on the opposite end, I'm sure that there may have been things that Miu-chan wanted to consult with us about but couldn't. However, she'd never show any signs like that and would always keep the set in harmony. She's a tolerant and incredible person. And, she's the same as Mira too, don't you think?

Iuchi: She really is.

Hayama: If you asked me, "Which part of her?," I'd say it's everything.

Iuchi: Ryu and Jou also have some parts that overlap between them, but Miu-chan seems to be Mira herself.

"You've been working with these friends to create this production, but what did you learn from your role throughout the year? In addition, how do you feel you've grown as actors?"

Hayama: I was tasked with a role that I would continue to play for a year, and it's an experience that I may not be able to replicate in the future, where I can take the time to develop my role. I was also able to perform action scenes and learned alot of things that can only be learned on a set like this, such as the unique way tokusatsu productions are filmed. More specifically, there's a Director, Cameraman, lighting crew, sound team, costume designers, makeup team, artists, and so on…I'm embarrassed to say that I now have a better understanding for the reason why these types of work are divided up. I want to continue to be an actor, and for that reason I learned some valuable basics. Honestly, I don't know if my acting has improved. That's for the people around me to judge. However, I have grown in the sense that I've learned the basics and gained a real feel for what acting is like.

Iuchi: Since this was my first time filming a drama, I didn't know how to ask questions or express my opinions even if I had questions or didn't understand something. To begin with, I thought anything I'd say would be wrong. However, the Director would ask me what I thought, and I learned that it was okay to look at all my costars and voice my opinion. I learned the basics of how to act on a set, and it was a fulfilling year for me.

"This book will be released before the final episode. What are some highlights of the final episode and your message to the fans who have supported the show for the past year?"

Hayama: There's the final battle with the Hashiriyan boss, Waruido Spindo…or rather, that's the main thing, as the battle scenes are a bigger highlight, but I think you'll enjoy it even more if you pay attention to how each character spends the final episode, or rather, how they're portrayed. And! There's also some highlights for BoonBlue, played by myself and Suit Actor Yoneoka Takahiro-san, so I hope that you'll pay attention to that.

Iuchi: Thank you for loving Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger and all of us in the cast. The Super Sentai series will continue into the future, so I hope you'll enjoy that as well. I also hope that you'll be interested in the actors of Boonboomger's cast and continue to support us. I'd be grateful if you'd keep an eye on us and see how we progress. _

Suzuki Miu x Saito Ryu

"What were your first impressions of each other?"

Suzuki: Ryu-kun was sitting near me during the final audition…I think Haruhi-kun, Yuki-kun and Satorun were also there, right?

Saito: Yeah

Suzuki: Out of everyone, Ryu-kun in particular left an impression on me. This is because I had fun doing our performance together. We played the roles of Mira and Jou respectively, but Ryu-kun was beyond perfect for a role like Jou. My first impression was that this person would without a doubt be selected. In addition, he talked about how confident he was in his muscles at the audition, and someone had to stop him when he suddenly said, "Can I take my clothes off?!" (laughs). I was also impressed by his eager attitude, which still hasn't changed.

Saito: The only impression I had of Miu-chan was ramen (laughs). When the topic of liking ramen came up during the audition, Miu-chan told the Producer that she "likes well arranged and beautiful looking ramen," but the Producer, who liked hearty ramen with tons of ingredients, replied to her with, "That doesn't sit well with me" (laughs). Still, I thought she had good communication skills, as she was able to skillfully respond to them and their conversation went on naturally. After that, when we were both selected to appear and were set to meet for the first time, Miu-chan arrived alittle late.

Suzuki: Yeah, I was.

Saito: All four of us guys were there, and as we were all thinking, "I wonder who this last person is?," Miu-chan arrived and I was like, "It's the ramen person!" (laughs).

Suzuki: That's how you remembered me? (laughs).

Saito: I think this happened after that, during costume fitting. Miu-chan came to our dressing room and asked, "Should we go out for a meal together?" Up to that point, us four guys hadn't been communicating well, as we had just been glancing at each other to see things would play out, but thanks to Miu-chan, we all started talking to each other. People tend to say that the Boonboomger cast get along well with each other, and I believe it's thanks to Miu-chan.

Suzuki: That makes me happy!

"It may be similar to her relationships depicted in the show. Mira treats everyone equally and doesn't distance herself from any of the other members."

Suzuki: I don't think that Mira and myself are as similar as people say, but after listening to what Ryu-kun said, I guess I might be abit like Mira. I definitely thought that I approached everyone pretty aggressively (laughs).

Saito: Still, I was really grateful for that personally. Haruhi's the same age as me, so I felt somewhat at ease with him. Satoru-kun's eight years older than me, while Yuki-kun's three years older than me, so I wasn't sure how I should treat them. Well, as you can see, we're now talking to each other on a first name basis.

"Soma-san and Miyazawa-san said that they were constantly teased by the younger members."

Suzuki: It's because of the tolerance those two have. It was helpful.

Saito: I went to Satoru-kun's place yesterday and ate some oden.

"Didn't you visit him just the other day?"

Saito: At that time, I did muscle training at my place and then went to Satoru-kun's place for a meal. He had asked me, "I've got some extra food, do you want to come over?" I don't have to worry about who I'm with now that I've gotten along so well with everyone.

"Both Mira and Jou are neither wealthy nor aliens, they're both ordinary people who share a common perspective, but did you ever feel that your characters were similar to each other?"

Saito: They're similar in that they both have an honest way of thinking. Another similarity would be that they don't know anything (laughs). They both didn't know the secrets that everyone else shared or sensed.

Suzuki: Neither of them ever made deductions (laughs). Also, they're similar in the way they expressed their feelings in a straightforward manner. However, since Jou's a police officer, I think he had a greater sense of responsibility as a member of society compared to Mira, and I think he's a character who had the belief of "I'm a police officer" at his core.

"Because of that, his decision to quit being a police officer in Bakuage 46 carried alot of weight."

Suzuki: He said, "If I can't help those who are screaming, then I'll quit being a police officer." Since the viewers saw how things unfolded up to that point, they know what he did wasn't a reckless decision.

Saito: Quitting being a police officer is a big decision for Jou, so I consulted with Director Hayama and thought about it as I performed. But then there was the line, "I don't have to be a police officer to protect those who need protecting." It's true, being a police officer is just a profession, and you can quit and still protect citizens. I felt like that line represented Jou's growth.

"Can you tell us what you think is great about each other as actors?"

Suzuki: Ryu-kun's honesty and pureness overlaps with Jou's passion, which is very emotionally appealing. The episodes with scenes of Jou being emotionally charged are all excellent. I thought the Keytarou episode (Bakuage 15) in particular was a divine episode. I cried.

Saito: What I admire about Miu-chan is her ability to instantly change the atmosphere of the scene. In the scene where Boon-chan talks about his past at the Deliverer's garage, and the scene where everyone talks after Boon-chan is defeated by Spindo, the atmosphere instantly changed when Mira said her lines. When Miu-chan spoke, it tugged at my heartstrings. The atmosphere changing also made it easier for me to perform.

Suzuki: I'm glad. Alright, here's one more wonderful thing about Ryu-kun. Expressing your emotions is naturally important, but since this is a hero production, I think it's important to look like a hero in the footage and to learn how to use your body for that purpose. In the beginning, Suit Actor and Action Director Jun-san taught me how to stand like a hero, and told me to learn how to use my body throughout the year. People have said that my movements look stiff (bitter smile), but Ryu-kun uses his body well, and his movements are sharp and cool. When you look at the footage, he's able to do movements that'll make you think, "Ah, he's a hero!" without even realizing it. That's why I consulted with Ryu-kun when I was set to get up from a crawling position after being attacked by an enemy. I'd ask him how I should angle my legs so that they don't look awkward, and how to stand up so that I look like a hero. He's like my nearby Action Director.

Saito: It's not that big of a deal, but I've loved heroes since I was little and used to play pretend. It may be ingrained in my body.

Suzuki: You've been practicing alot of action moves lately. You even did a forward somersault.

Saito: I practiced under the teachings of all the Action Team members, but they were good at giving me compliments. They'd give advice like, "That was good! But, you could do it abit more like this." I felt motivated by their encouragement.

Suzuki: His motivation is amazing! It doesn't matter what it's for. I know he's probably thinking that it could be useful in the future, but he practices action all the time, even after filming finishes, so I respect him for that.

Saito: Miu-chan would ask the Director detailed questions during postrecording. Things like, "What kind of CG effects will be used?" and, "What kind of attack will be shown that knocks me down?" As a professional, she never left out any details. I tended to act based on whatever came to my imagination, but Miu-chan listened to what the Director said, and she thoroughly incorporated it into her work as set tasks.

Suzuki: That makes me happy. I wish we could hold these kinds of "mutual praise meetings" atleast once a month (laughs).

Saito: They'd really increase our motivation! (laughs).

"Please list some memorable scenes of each other's character. We got the impression that Mira and Jou were often together at the Deliverer's garage. When Boonboom Marine and Boonboom Safari were activated in Bakuage 13, Mira said, "Let's see who can get the approval first," to which Jou agreed."

Suzuki: There were definitely alot of scenes like that.

Saito: We were given alot of freedom, as the Director's instructions were sometimes as simple as, "They're both really excited" (laughs). Then we'd talk about what we were going to do and act it out.

Suzuki: The beginning of Bakuage 25 left an impression on me. After Jou said, "The firework festival is finally tonight" we were instructed to "make it look like they're both having fun," so we did some cheering and went, "Boom boom" (laughs).

Saito: Another memorable scene was when Mira's tears fell onto Nicola's pendant in the warehouse during Bakuage 45. I couldn't see Miu-chan's face from where I was standing, but I knew that she was crying the moment she started speaking. And, when they got the take, I saw that she had real tears in her eyes. I had a really hard time trying to cry during the Keytarou episode. Miu-chan however was able to cry immediately.

Suzuki: No, it was because we shot that scene atleast 3 times. The first time we shot it, I still hadn't sorted out my emotions, so I thought that I wouldn't cry, but the instant they got the final take, Ryu-kun turned to me to check my face (laughs). I felt that Ryu-kun was acting pretty childish (laughs).

Saito: I'm sorry. I was just so curious.

Suzuki: At that time, Mira was looking at Taiya, but due to the angle, Taiya wasn't in frame, so the scene was just of me. Haruhi-kun was still there performing with me, and he gave me some great facial expressions. Without him there, I'm sure that I wouldn't have been able to cry.

"In this book, we'll also have you talk about the pairs featured in the other interviews. We'd like to ask you about your impressions of Soma Satoru-san and Miyazawa Yu-san as actors, along with some behind the scenes stories about filming. First, please start with Soma-san."

Suzuki: Satorun positioned himself as the silly one, making us laugh with his ridiculous jokes, but when we'd borrow his scripts to check his lines, he wrote detailed notes on every page, stuff like, "I think this is what Genba's feeling at this moment." During the time he took on the appearance of Genbard in Bakuage 27, he was watching the monitor closely as Suit Actor Ono-san performed as BoonOrange after transforming. He was trying to get into character as Ono-san did his role so that they'd overlap. An attitude like that is something I want to emulate as an actor.

Saito: Well then, I'll tell you about his private life. His room is very clean (laughs). He doesn't have much stuff. He's a good cook, and he has his own particular way of thinking, which he's uncompromising and thorough about. I think that comes out in his acting. That being said, he's usually calm and kind.

Suzuki: He's in the top three of kindest people I've ever met in my life.

"What about Miyazawa-san?"

Suzuki: I guess you could say that Zawa-kun's a level headed person. He treats both his superiors and those younger than him with the same attitude. When we'd go out for a meal after filming finished, he'd give us advice like, "For that scene, it would've been good if it was done like this, don't you think?"

Saito: He's a big bro you can count on. When I was alone with Zawa-nii, he'd never tell me what he thought of my performance, but when I requested it by saying, "Tell me what you thought," he'd give his opinion with, "That part was good, but I think this part could've been better…" I can tell that he's doing this job because he loves acting, as what he says is always precise.

Suzuki: It's easily understandable, isn't it?

Saito: It's like he's "Google" Sensei (laughs). He's able to teach me anything. Also, he's really good at making keema curry (laughs).

Suzuki: I can't imagine him doing detailed work like that (laughs).

Saito: That's why I had jokingly said to him, "You can't make meals that look like this" (laughs).

"And now finally, please tell us about the highlights of Bakuage 48's final episode, as well as a message to the fans who have supported you for the past year."

Saito: The part in Bakuage 47 where they stop Mira and Spindo's wedding deeply moved me. The scene is like a homage to Bakuage 1, but in Bakuage 1, only Taiya showed up at the wedding hall, in Bakuage 47 however, all of her friends rush in. I think it once again depicted how the Boonboomgers have grown over the past year and what kind of team they've become. From there, the final episode will be about how they'll defeat Spindo. I think many people are wondering what'll happen to the Sanseaters, and of course what'll happen to the Boonboomgers, so I hope that you'll watch and see where each and everyone one of them ends up. It's meant to be the next episode after Mira's wedding was stopped…but even though it's the final episode, I think of it as the second episode, or the beginning of a season 2.

Suzuki: I have a message for all the fans. Thank you so much for your support over the past year. When I first heard the title Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger, I thought it'd be a happy, cheerful, and energetic Super Sentai, and it definitely was just that. But that's not all, as I think that the viewers enjoyed things such as what each character had been carrying on their backs and the type of justice they wanted to uphold, as well as the depiction of the human drama, one which you wouldn't expect based off the show's title. And…(she turns to Saito), is there anything else you'd like to say?

Saito: Tons of people came to the events, and it became a hot topic on SNS, with words related to Boonboomger trending after each broadcast, so there were alot of people who liked it. I'm glad that I was able to be apart of such a production. Or rather, that's what Miu-chan wanted to say (laughs).

Suzuki: (laughs). I'm happy that this production was so well loved. _

Soma Satoru x Miyazawa Yu

"What were your first impressions of each other?"

Soma: That he was "the most intimidating guy" (laughs). His appearance left an impression on me, and I think the other members felt that way too, but still, I thought he looked scary.

Miyazawa: Did you think I was gonna yell at you? (laughs).

Soma: However, my impression changed when I actually got to know him, as he was overflowing with kindness and consideration for others.

Miyazawa: Thank you (laughs). When I first met Satoru, I thought he was a "fluffy" person. My first impression of him was that he "seemed kind and had some soft vibes," and that still hasn't changed. It's like he's Buddha. He's always smiling.

Soma: Thank you.

"You two are the oldest out of the main cast members, so did you take on the role of being their big brothers on set?"

Miyazawa: They knew we were the oldest, and yet they mistreated us, isn't that right?

Soma: (he immediately takes over) That's right. I think we were the top two when it came to being teased. Well, I do think it's good that the younger cast members were able to be so carefree.

"If it's just between the two of you, who's the funny guy and who's the straight man?"

Miyazawa: I'm totally the funny guy, right? (laughs).

Soma: It's either hit or miss with you (laughs).

Miyazawa: The two of us are together quite often, wouldn't you say? We go to bathhouses together. We're easy going people. On days when we finished filming in the morning and had free time in the afternoon, we'd go to an onsen and enjoy the ganbanyoku.

"Now then, we'd like to ask about your impressions of each other as actors."

Soma: When it was time to screw around, Zawa-kun would screw around. When it was time to perform, he was completely focused. There was a clear contrast between the two, which made me feel like I had to act the same. He has alot of experience, is passionate about acting, and has a wide range of skills, so there was much to learn from him. When I saw Zawa-kun's performance, I thought, "I see, so that's how he expresses it. If that's the case, then I'll do it like this," and from there, I begin to think about things more thoroughly.

Miyazawa: The atmosphere changed tremendously when it was revealed that Genba was an alien and left Boonboomger in Bakuage 27. What I felt most at that time was that Satoru was thinking deeply about the role of Genba Bureki, and how to convey the character of Genba to the viewers. He would discuss things with the Director, including how to express himself, and wrote alot of notes in the script. Those around him were inspired by that, and it caused them to bring out the best in their own performance, so I'm very grateful to him for that. Being able to work together with him made me happy.

"We got the impression that Genba had alot of scenes with Sakito during his withdrawal, but when filming scenes with just the two of you, would you discuss things beforehand?"

Miyazawa: We'd talk about what we were going to say, but we didn't want to force it. We didn't talk about specifics like, "I want to take it in this direction, so here's what I'm going to do," but rather, how I would respond to the Genba that Satoru had in mind. I wondered what kind of expressions he'd use and how I'd respond to them.

Soma: That kind of attitude was very important to me. When I spoke my lines, I'd carefully watch how Zawa-kun responded to them, and if he responded to them in "this way," then I'd "go with this." We made it a point to express exactly what we were feeling while acting.

Miyazawa: Our characters didn't exactly have a close relationship with each other, so I think we had to explore them even more.

"When it comes to memorable scenes involving Genba and Sakito…"

Miyazawa: It's the sumo match during Bakuage 32.

Soma: Yeah. I'm sure some of the viewers watching may have been thinking, "Why sumo here?" (laughs). It was hot during that shoot, and we had to use every muscle in our body when performing, so it was difficult, but it also brought out more emotion in us, which made it easier to get into it.

Miyazawa: We got so into it that we ended up getting brain fog (laughs).

Soma: We were like, "What do we do next again?" (laughs).

Miyazawa: We were both sweating so much, that we could squeeze out the sweat that had soaked into our clothes. It was really hot, in part because we were standing on concrete. Still, even after Genba left Boonboomger, Sakito would often show up in front of him just to mess with him, so that sumo match left a strong impression on me due to the fact that it was the only time they both seriously discussed their feelings with each other. Up to that point, Sakito had been saying some nuanced things in order to get him to return to Boonboomger, but Genba wouldn't listen. Then, Nijino Akira appeared and they decided to wrestle, and he was finally able to express his true feelings in a straightforward way.

Soma: It's because Sakito kept digging into him that Genba was also able to vent his frustrations. He left Boonboomger to not get them involved in his plans for revenge, and even though he wanted to go back, he couldn't let himself do it. But when Sakito, whose sense of distance is different compared to the other four told him, "Quit being stubborn and just go back to them," he was able to once again validate his feelings. I think it was a big deal for Genba, as he was able to do it once he truly spoke his mind.

"Speaking of, Soma-san was told from the beginning that Genba was an alien, right?"

Soma: Yeah. Still, all they said to me was, "We want you to be aware of it, but we don't want to make it obvious, so we may make small mentions of it in future lines." In the beginning, they apparently hadn't decided on the development of his withdrawal, and I wasn't informed of his Burekiian form until shortly before it was set to happen. Then he was removed from the opening credits…

Miyazawa: Seems like it was pretty intricate.

"Another time the two of you were featured together was in Bakuage 41's soccer episode."

Miyazawa: We were very grateful for that. I was happy that there was an episode where the two of us were the main characters. Since we're both experienced soccer players, we were invited to participate in a collaboration event with Shimizu S-Pulse in September 2024. After that, Producer Kuji-san said to us, "We can probably include a soccer episode somewhere."

Soma: I had the opportunity to meet head character designer Shimamoto-san, and at that time I told him how I'd "like to do a soccer episode." At that time, I was just talking about my desires, but then it became a reality.

Miyazawa: During filming, we had our first experience with napalm explosions in the scene where flames rise up from behind us while we were dribbling the ball. We kicked the ball in the shoes of the Boonboomger suit, which are usually worn by the Suit Actors.

Soma: It was hard to kick with them (laughs).

Miyazawa: The top of the shoes are large, which made it difficult to catch the ball. However, as expected of Satoru, he was able to do "keepy uppies."

Soma: No, no, it was still difficult with the napalm.

Miyazawa: The path also had quite abit of gravel.

Soma: I was worried that the ball would bounce and that our dribbling would become out of sync, but we managed to pull it off somehow. If I was going to be involved in a tokusatsu production, I wanted to experience napalm, so it was a good experience for me.

"What's the most memorable scene that doesn't involve Genba and Sakito together?"

Soma: In Bakuage 18, when Taiya says, "I can hear Sakito's screams" Sakito responds with, "I hate it. Guys like you who sugarcoat crap." Him being able to express his true feelings left an impression on me. I love that scene. I'll often rewatch it just to see Sakito's expression.

Miyazawa: I liked the scene in Bakuage 33, where Genba goes to the Deliverer's garage while everyone else is away and stares at the Champion Jacket that Shirabe-san hands him. But, the best scene was the last scene in Bakuage 26, where he confronts Disrace and jumps at him. Genba exploded with the emotions that he had kept bottled up, and it left a huge impact on me, as the impression I had of his character changed all at once in that scene. The atmosphere Satoru created was completely different from the previous scenes.

"When you feel that kind of change, the atmosphere of the cast members around you also changes, right?"

Miyazawa: Yes. What I thought was amazing about everyone is that when it came to scenes that were important to someone else, or scenes that depicted strong emotions, they'd think about the actor who would be performing in those scenes.

Soma: We all create an atmosphere where we could concentrate, right?

Miyazawa: It was a truly wonderful set.

"We'd like to ask you about your role in the scene where you jump at Disrace."

Soma: Genba had never really shown his emotions up until that point, but after hearing about the appearance of Disrace, his destined rival, I wanted to show a contrast in his personality. This is why I was conscious of having more fun performing in the episodes that had comedic elements, such as in Bakuage 21, in which he calls himself the "candy detective."

"Were there any scenes that were difficult for you to perform, or that you felt helped you grasp your role better?"

Miyazawa: Sakito's a character who tends to be loud and childish, but he's also quite sensitive, so I found those parts of my role as a good challenge. However, I think that how he understood people's emotions and how he expressed what he was feeling was a theme I struggled with until the very end. Like in the scenes that involved Genba, or towards the end of the show, when everyone was in shock over Ishiro's betrayal, only Sakito expressed his anger. I tried to be conscious of that when performing.

Soma: I wasn't able to express my emotions until about halfway through the show, so I sometimes wondered whether it'd be better to suppress my expressions "here" or not, but if I suppressed them too much, nothing would be conveyed, so I guess you could say I struggled with that. However, after separating from his friends and coming back, I changed it to show alittle more emotion. The turning point of the story also became a switch to change up my performance.

Miyazawa: Can I add one more thing? Rather than myself, there's a scene where I felt that Sakito had grown. It's the scene in episode 45, where he's harshly critical towards the citizens. When Bundorio was defeated and everyone looked down on the Boonboomgers as the enemies of Earth, he shouts, "Didn't the Boonboomgers save you?" and, "I won't tolerate you guys calling them villains!" If it had been Sakito from around Bakuage 18, he would've never said that. He left Earth once, but now he loves his Boonboomger friends who he met on Earth, which is the reason why he spoke so sharply against the citizens. That was really passionate.

"Since you've brought up the topic of character growth, do you feel that you yourself have grown over the past year?"

Soma: I feel that I have. It's not often that you get to work on the same production for a whole year, so it was great to be able to experience that. In the past, I was often led by my seniors, but in this production, I was working with people who were younger than me, so I felt that I had to be more reliable, and I think I've grown in that I've become more aware of the need to lead others.

Miyazawa: I learned alot in the very beginning, such as how to behave towards cast members on set, and I think it'll definitely be to my advantage on the next set I participate in. As for my performance, I only joined midway through, but even so, it was a rare experience to play the same role for more than half a year, so I felt that I've gained alot from it, and that I'll make use of it in my next job.

"This book will feature interviews between three pairs. We'd like you to talk about the changes you've seen in the Iuchi Haruhi-san and Hayama Yuki-san pair over the past year. What do you think?"

Soma: First, Haruhi became more responsible as Red as the show progressed, and he consulted with the Director more frequently about his performance, so I could tell that his confidence was improving. In the beginning, I had the impression that he was timid, but in a good way, he started insisting on doing things his own way, and in the latter half of the show, the number of times he asked for advice increased, which made me happy.

Miyazawa: Well then, I'll talk about Blue's Yuki. He was always thinking about the role of Ishiro Meita, and he would perfectly embody that role on set. He made us realize just what kind of person Ishiro is. That's what I like about him. On the other hand, in private, he's got abit of a junior like quality to him, which makes me want to look after him (laughs). Still, he's got his own opinions, and could say what he needed to say to his seniors. That's the kind of thing that helped us out too. I'm confident that he'll continue to absorb alot of things from now on and become a wonderful actor.

"This book will be released just before the final episode airs. What are some highlights of the final episode and your message to the fans who have supported you over the past year?"

Miyazawa: The highlight will be the final battle of course, but also what'll happen with the Big Bang Grand Prix, which Taiya and the others have been aiming for, and what'll happen to Sakito. All I can say is that it's gonna be hot! I think it's because he became friends with the Boonboomgers and spent time with everyone that this is what happens. I hope you'll look forward to it.

Soma: Yes, that's exactly right (laughs). Now that all the highlights have been said, I have a message. Tons of people have watched the show and visited our events over the past year. Multiple people commented on SNS, which made me realize every day that this show was loved by so many people, and I can only be grateful for the happiness I felt. After the final episode airs, I hope you'll be immersed in a sense of Boonboomger loss…although, it's strange to wish for loss (laughs).

Hashiyasume Atsuko

"There's only one episode left in the story, but please tell us again what your impressions were when it was decided that you'd play the role of Saibu Shirabe, as well as some of the things you discussed with the Directors and Producers about your character's image."

Hashiyasume: I don't think there were many requests for me to "do things like this." When I first received the script and read it, the impression I got was that she seemed cool and cold, but as I read further, I learned about her interesting parts and unexpected side, and realized that she was a woman with an incredible gap in her personality. I had a feeling she'd become more involved with all the Boonboomgers in the future, so I decided to keep her cool image during the beginning, but as the story progressed, I played the role with the hope that she'd slowly warm up to everyone and that tensions would gradually melt away like ice.

"That kind of gap was wonderful for Shirabe, don't you think? How did you decide to act out the cute part of her that radiates love for Boonboom?"

Hashiyasume: Every time I'd go to the set, I had my own image in mind of what I wanted to do, but when I actually did it, the Director would give me advice like, "Wouldn't it be cuter if you did it alittle more like this?" (laughs). I think this part is where I got the most advice on my performance.

"Can you give us some examples of the advice you received?"

Hashiyasume: The Director himself gave form to these ideas by saying things like, "I think you should act more head over heels with Boon-sama" or, "Move your body more like this!" (laughs). The direction was that it was "fine to make it more exaggerated" than what I had in mind. The Director also suggested the scene where I become excited with Boon-sama and spin around while saying, "Alright!," and so, Boon-sama and Shirabe spun around in circles together (laughs). This was how new ideas like that were created on set.

"Was there anything memorable regarding your performance with Boonboom?"

Hashiyasume: In the film "Promise the Circuit," there's a scene where Shirabe's leaning against Boon-sama underneath the shade of a tree, but I think I wanted to be embraced by him more softly…(laughs). No, he was naturally embracing me with his gentle heart!

"Hashiyasume-san, have your feelings toward Boonboom changed over the year?"

Hashiyasume: Shirabe was smitten with Boon-sama from the moment they met, so I personally didn't stop loving him throughout the year. Of course, it was Boon-sama who was on my phone background, Boon-sama who I talked to the most, and I was even jealous of Belora (laughs). From beginning to end, I've always loved Boon-sama, and my feelings haven't changed for the past year!

"This is Hashiyasume-san's first time taking on the challenge of working on a tokusatsu production. We guess you haven't had much opportunity to get involved with tokusatsu up until now…"

Hashiyasume: I naturally knew about the Super Sentai series, but I never thought I'd be cast for it, so I was very surprised.

"But since this was your first time participating in a tokusatsu production, we're sure you must've been surprised by tons of things, no?"

Hashiyasume: That's true. I was surprised to see more CG than I was expecting. In Bakuage 39, there's a scene where Shirabe gets into the Boonboom Car by herself to deliver the Changer to Taiya, and it was only then that I finally learned that the back of the Boonboom Cars were CG (laughs). Shirabe was often at the ISA headquarters or Taiya's house, so I'd often find out when something irregular was done, and there were many moments when I thought, "This was CG too! Modern technology is amazing!"

"It seems like you noticed something every time you filmed."

Hashiyasume: Everything felt fresh. This is exactly why I was so surprised when I learned of the existence of Suit Actors, because at first, I really thought it was the actors themselves who were fighting. I have no doubt that this was obvious to all the fans, but there were so many things that I didn't know about. I had no idea that so many people were involved in the making of this, so I was deeply moved by each and every one of them.

"How was the response from those around you when your appearance in the Super Sentai series was announced?"

Hashiyasume: I received many comments from those I worked with on variety programs saying, "I'll watch Boonboomger." I've had comedians, artists, actors, and so many others mention Boonboomger to me. In addition, people who were accompanied by their children would often say things like, "My son's watching Boonboomger. Look, it's Shirabe!" (laughs). Through Boonboomger, I realized that I had made myself known to a wide variety of people. When I appeared on variety shows, people not only responded to me as "Former BiSH member Hashiyasume," but they'd also say on SNS, "Shirabe-san's appearing on a variety show!," so it was very refreshing for me that people knew me from my role. I realized that I was receiving support from a new demographic of people, and I was again surprised by the power Boonboomger's show had.

"When people actually called out to you, it must've also given off a real sensation of "this child is watching me," huh?"

Hashiyasume: It did. Even during filming of the movie, small children would call out to us during the middle of filming with, "Wow! It's the Boonboomgers!" Unlike live performances, you don't know what kind of response you'll get from video work until it airs, so I would sometimes wonder if it would be properly received by the viewers…When I got to meet viewers like that, it made me happy knowing that there really was a wide age range of people watching.

"Once again, if you had to pick the most memorable scene you appeared in among the ones that have aired so far, which episode would it be from?"

Hashiyasume: The scene that I knew would receive alot of feedback was the one in Bakuage 39, where Shirabe rushes to the scene in the Boonboom Car without wearing a Boonboom suit. From the moment I read the script, I had a feeling that this would be a very important episode for Shirabe. I thought I had been recognized as a member of Boonboomger…it may be an exaggeration to say that, but I thought it was a scene where I had become one with everyone. Actually, after the broadcast, I received very warm words, and I felt as if Shirabe was recognized, which personally gave me a boost of confidence. This episode once again made me feel very happy to have been able to appear in Boonboomger.

"We became overwhelmed with emotion the moment Shirabe rushed to the Boonboomers without any hesitation. We also got the impression that Taiya and the others were surprised and happy to see her."

Hashiyasume: That's right. In the scene where Taiya catches Shirabe after collapsing, we talked alot about how I should fall over. We discussed it with, "How do people collapse when they lose their strength?," and then went into filming.

"The progression of Shirabe becoming the Boonboomger's friend is also a highlight, and one of the reasons for this is Bakuage 39."

Hashiyasume: That's true. Up to that point, Sakito would call her "Shirabe-chan," but after Bakuage 39 it became "Nee-san." It was as if the way they looked at Shirabe changed, or rather, everyone's consciousness changed from thinking she was "that ISA person," to "Shirabe-san (ISA)." While the Boonboomgers and ISA are two different entities, Bakuage 39 was like Saibu Shirabe had become a member of Boonboomger.

"As an ISA member who was there to investigate and monitor their situation, we're sure Shirabe herself must've felt conflicted about it, no?"

Hashiyasume: With her gradually becoming more suspicious of the ISA, Shirabe was always thinking about what she could do in the moment. Even with her position at the ISA, I think she was able to maintain a good balance while dealing with various conflicts. Her first priority was to protect the peace for the sake of Earth. And, I believe that she had thought, "Someday, I'll fight together with the Boobboomgers."

"In Bakuage 46, there was a line where she said, "I'm also a member of Boonboomger." It was a very moving line."

Hashiyasume: That scene was the moment when Shirabe made a big decision, and I said it with the thought of, "This might be the last time…" From the time I read the script, I knew it would take alot of commitment to say that one statement. Uttering those words in the midst of the Boonboomger's critical situation, all while each and every event that had happened so far flashed before her eyes, made me put all the feelings that Shirabe had felt up to that point into it.

"When you think back on past days, were there any parts that made you think, "That really happened"?"

Hashiyasume: It'd be something from the beginning, like when I started things off by grabbing Jou by his chin~ (laughs). Her role at the ISA was to eliminate the Boonboomgers, so that was the kind of determination she had. Looking back to the beginning, things have really changed.

"Shirabe has a cool side, but when she's in front of Boonboom, she shows her cute side, causing this gap to make her a memorable character. Still, we gradually got a glimpse of her passionate side, which made us think that she was a wonderful person."

Hashiyasume: We were just talking about progression, but when I played the role of Shirabe, I imagined that she would gradually become a member of Boonboomger, so in the beginning, I didn't try to get to know the other Boonboomger performers that well. I thought that'd be a better relationship to perform in. I thought it'd be wrong to get too friendly with everyone from the beginning, so just like the ISA and Boonboomgers, I kept a certain distance from them. As the story progressed, I felt that Shirabe and the Boonboomgers had gradually become one, so the seven of us would go out to eat together. From that point on, I was able to perform with the feeling that I really fit in as a member of Boonboomger.

"What are your impressions of the actors playing the Boonboomgers, and what was the atmosphere like when you interacted with them?"

Hashiyasume: From the very beginning, the impression I got was that they were really close. The five, and eventually six of them, always looked like they were having fun while talking. They were so close all the time, that you'd think they were siblings, and the things they'd discuss were things that young boys tend to talk about (laughs), it was so cute.

"What would they talk to Hashiyasume-san about?"

Hashiyasume: An example would be with Mira-chan, who consulted with me for advice by saying, "Isn't it difficult doing variety shows?," and we also talked about work. Jou-kun once suddenly asked me, "Wanna play a card game?" (laughs). In his role, he's a mature and dependable older brother! Behind the scenes however, I often got to see the boyish side of him. All of the fans would say, "The Boonboomgers are so cool!" and, "They're heroes of justice!" but in reality, they're all quite cute……sorry for thinking out loud (laughs).

"Hashiyasume-san's birthday was also celebrated on set."

Hashiyasume: It was a great celebration! I was very happy and thought, "When you end up doing this for a year, these kinds of things happen~"

"It must've been a rare experience to play the same role for a year, so looking back, what were your days like?"

Hashiyasume: Shirabe was a character that didn't appear every week, so there were times when I wouldn't film for about a month. When the time did come, I had to remind myself what kind of voice I used when performing. Shirabe's tone is slightly lower than my natural voice, so trying to fine tune it for filming was difficult. It was the same for my appearance too, as before we started filming, we always had to do things like adjust the length of my bangs and the shape of my eyebrows in order to make it to "Shirabe's specifications." It was only after being prepared by the makeup artist did I think, "My eyebrows weren't Shirabe's until now!" (laughs). After a month had passed, my eyebrows would go back to their natural shape. It was a strange year for me, as I returned to being Shirabe every time I went to filming. It's been a really long year…is what I want to say, but it went by so quickly that I thought, "Huh? It's over already?" When I heard about the end date, I couldn't help but say, "I thought we had atleast another 6 months!" It all happened so quickly.

"And now we're approaching the final episode. Finally, please give a message to the fans who have supported you over the past year."

Hashiyasume: First off, I'd like to thank you for your support of Boonboomger over the past year. In the beginning, some of you may have had a bad impression of Shirabe, or thought she was terrible. It was the Boonboomgers and Boon-sama who softened Shirabe's harsh side. More than anything, it's because of all the little and big friends out there who've supported Shirabe up to this point and shown her so much love that she's been able to become this kind. I don't think things would've changed this much if it was just Shirabe on her own. I'm sure we can win if everyone supports us, so I hope you'll support us to the very end. And, please don't forget about the Boonboomgers or the ISA's Shirabe. I'll also fight until the very end, with the feeling that I was the seventh Boonboomger member. _

Suwabe Junichi x Mizuki Nana x Morohoshi Sumire

"Everyone, this was your first regular appearance in a Super Sentai series. Please tell us how you felt when you were chosen to appear."

Suwabe: Before I received an official offer, Screenwriter Tomioka Atsuhiro-san told me something like, "I've been asked to work on Super Sentai, but I have a role I want you to play." I had voiced minor characters in past series, but I had never been cast as a regular, so I immediately said, "Absolutely!" I've been familiar with the Super Sentai series since I was a child, so I have a strong emotional attachment to it. I was very happy that what I wanted to do most became a reality.

Mizuki: I had previously been involved as minor characters, but I had dreamed of one day being a regular, so I was very happy. I'm secretly into cars (laughs), and many of my fans who support me are also motor sports enthusiasts, with some of them even coming to my live venues in their own decorated cars. Furthermore, I have a cat, so I personally felt that it was fate to play a character named Itasha with a cat motif (laughs).

Morohoshi: I was also very happy when I was first requested to play the role. I was also informed that I'd be playing something of a bad guy or enemy, and since I didn't have much experience playing roles of characters on that side, I thought it'd be a new and fresh challenge for me. My family lineage is female oriented, or in other words, I haven't had much of an opportunity to experience the Super Sentai series being mainly surrounded by girls, but a few years ago, my cousin gave birth to a boy. I was excited in many ways, as I was hoping to enjoy it together with him. The other day, I brought a Boonboom Killer Robo toy to my cousin's child to play with, and he seemed to be into it.

"How much was explained to you about the characters you'd be playing once you were chosen for the role? Please also tell us your thoughts when you were shown their designs."

Suwabe: The initial description of the Sanseaters was, "They're bad guys who aren't the capable type. They're the antagonists of the main characters, but they're a pitiful group that you just can't hate" (laughs). We saw the character designs in the documents we were given when we received our formal offers. They were more rough looking than I was expecting, but I was excited once I learned that they were designed by Shimamoto Kazuhiko-san.

Mizuki: At the time I was approached for the role, they told me the general setup they were aiming for were "enemies you can't hate, and to make them charming villains who, even if they fail, will spin their wheels with all their might." When I was shown the design drawings at the time, I thought they were "cute," and as I read through the script, I found them to be even more adorable (laughs). I was excited about the fact that there was alot of freedom in how we could portray these characters, and that we'd be able to try out alot of different things.

Morohoshi: When I saw the design drawings, I was told, "His voice should give off the impression of being babyish, and he's normally small enough for the other two to hold in their hands." I had almost no experience playing villains, so I wondered how I'd play the role, but I remember thinking that I could do it. After that, they contacted me and said, "We want you to send us some samples of your intimidating voice." They said, "We'd like a voice for if Yarucar is taken over by a bad guy named Madrex. Madrex is a rough man and head commander, so that's the kind of voice we want." I wondered what was going on (laughs).

Suwabe: This setting doesn't appear in the show.

Morohoshi: Yeah. I recorded multiple patterns and sent it to them, and they decided on the direction to take by saying, "Please use the most intimidating voice you can make." At that stage, I couldn't imagine what kind of character I was going to become, but on the flip side, I was still looking forward to it.

"When Yarucar inhaled Gyahsoline and entered into his reckless state, his voice becomes intimidating. So, with the take over setting being removed, it was used here instead? Does that mean you had trouble doing that voice every episode…?"

Morohoshi: No. It was a voice I don't normally make, and I was surprised at how frequently I went into that mode once recording began, but I wouldn't consider it something I struggled with. I had fun.

"Did Suwabe-san and Mizuki-san also receive instructions to be more intimidating?"

Suwabe: According to what Tomioka-san had told me beforehand, Decotrade was a character with pretentious vibes, but when I read the script that I received for Bakuage 1, he was totally different (laughs). I also took the impression his appearance gave off into account as I adjusted the direction I'd go in. I was glad that the performance plan I prepared was able to get an OK from the production side so easily.

Mizuki: Itasha always takes her job seriously, but things don't always go smoothly. Even if she made a cool entrance, her true colors would immediately be found out, and her distinct personality would be revealed (laughs). I was hoping that I could bring out that kind of funny contrast. It seems that my image and the Directors image matched up, as I remember that they immediately gave me the OK.

"We'd like to know if you had been influenced in any way from each other's performance."

Mizuki: Every time we'd watch the footage at the recording set, we'd see Decotrade's Suit Actor Ogura-san and Itasha's Miyazawa-san doing moves that weren't in the script…

Suwabe: They really did, huh? (laughs)

Mizuki: We'd check it out in surprise, thinking, "What is this scene?!," and then we'd do our actual performance immediately after the test, so our reflexes were tested every time. Suwabe-san would take the lead every time, and then Itasha and Yarucar…

Morohoshi: Would interrupt him (laughs).

Mizuki: That was the kind of balance they had. In Bakuage 38, it was revealed that Decotrade had asked Itasha and Yarucar if they "wanted to run together," and pulled them along, but it was also us actors who were being pulled along by Suwabe-san (laughs).

Morohoshi: We'd just sorta followed him (laughs).

Suwabe: No, no (laughs). I was always inspired by the characters that you both played so wonderfully. Well, I thought it was my role to throw in some comedic adlibs (laughs).

Mizuki: He even included puns that weren't in the script (laughs). I thought he was way too good at coming up with ideas after just one look at the footage!

Suwabe: When we'd watch the footage at the recording set, it wasn't uncommon to see people doing things differently from the scripts we were given in advance (laughs). They were more interesting, adorable, and lively in their movements. We thought this was a challenge from the Suit Actors, and so we, the Voice Actors, did our best to bring out the appeal of our characters.

"The "Ka-click" part in "Ka-click, Ignition" when Itasha inserts a key to create a Kurumaju was also a line that wasn't in the script, right?"

Mizuki: That's right. There was a short pause before I said, "Ignition." I thought that music and sound effects would be added for the broadcast, but I also thought that these were the type of guys to say the sound effects themselves (laughs). So when I added the "Ka-click!" and it was accepted, it then became standard.

"Moving on now, we'd like to know who your favorite characters are."

Suwabe: Mine are the Sanseaters. I naturally like Decotrade himself, but I'd like to support the Sanseaters as a set. I was moved to tears when Yarucar abandoned the road to becoming a super elite and returned to Itasha and Decotrade.

Mizuki: In that episode, the scene where Decotrade and Itasha declare that the "Sanseaters are disbanding" really hit me. I could really feel how much they cared about each other.

"Who was Mizuki-san's favorite?"

Mizuki: I also like the Sanseaters. I had the impression that we spent the year raising them, so I have a strong emotional attachment to them. All three of them were always positive. Even when things didn't go their way, they never gave up. Even though they're villains, they had cores similar to heroes. They cherish their bonds. I love them…I really do.

"Will Morohoshi-san also choose the Sanseaters?"

Morohoshi: That's right. They're villains, but you just can't hate them, and that's not all, as watching them made me feel energized, and I loved how positive and honest they all were. I also liked how direct they were in expressing their beliefs. The fact that they understood each other and balanced each other out well was wonderful, and I can feel the bond between them. Also, I really liked Ita-san's motherly side (laughs). I felt that she was very patient with Yaru-chan. And above all else, she's a young lady, so she's cute.

Mizuki: That makes me happy.

Morohoshi: Deco-san was also a very passionate man. He made alot of mistakes (laughs), but at his core, he had more passion and stronger feelings than anyone else, which I respect. Other than the Sanseaters, I was interested in Weiwei Yarucar, who appeared in Bakuage 38. I was surprised that he and Yaru-chan were of the same race, and I wanted to see the other Yarucars. He was a character I would've liked to have seen explored alittle deeper.

"Including Bakuage 38, which episode left the strongest impression on you?"

Suwabe: I'll mention one that's not connected to the Sanseaters, that being Bakuage 15. That episode between Jou and Kaseki Grumer made me cry. It was incredibly sad and memorable.

"What about Mizuki-san? As a viewer, Bakuage 42 left a strong impression on us."

Mizuki: I didn't expect to sing in such a serious way either (laughs). I was informed beforehand that, "There's going to come a time when Itasha will be in the spotlight, and it'll be like a musical," but I thought I'd just adlib and do some humming. But then I was surprised to find out that Itasha's singing part was fairly long.

Suwabe: Basically, when we'd record, we only watched footage of scenes where our own characters appeared. I wasn't able to record that episode with Mizuki-san, so I was surprised when I saw the broadcast. I didn't expect it to be a real musical (laughs).

Morohoshi: It was sung properly, don't you think?

Mizuki: Yes. My lines were recorded at the usual record, while the singing part was recorded in a recording studio, but just like in regular recording sessions, they placed a screen in front of me and I sang along with the actors movements. I was also impressed by the scene depicting the three's love for Madrex-sama. Madrex-sama became a star in Bakuage 33, and while the three of them don't know this, they decide to carry out what Madrex-sama left unfinished. That scene was sad and made me teary eyed. I could also feel Madrex-sama's manliness in the fact that he was about to self destruct, but flew into space alone, and I realized that this is why the three of them adored him so much.

"What impressed Morohoshi-san the most?"

Morohoshi: It has to be Bakuage 38. Yaru-chan's emotions were intense, and I felt like I was able to play a more profound role than I had ever played before. For the scene where he decides to take on the challenge of becoming an elite and is driving on the highway, but then remembers the past and hesitates, they adjusted the length of the footage on the spot. It's a scene that was recorded carefully and over a long period of time to make it easier to perform so that Yaru-chan's feelings would be conveyed more clearly. I was able to put so much emotion into it, that tears ran down my face as I performed, so it's stayed with me ever since. I also like the sports episodes (laughs).

Suwabe: Bakuage 23's baseball episode and Bakuage 41's soccer episode, right?

Morohoshi: That chaotic feeling, or rather, the feeling that anything was possible and went beyond your imagination was typical in Boonboomger. I laughed during the baseball episode, like when Yaru-chan drove recklessly (laughs).

"And now finally…Morohoshi-san, please give us your thoughts on the past year. It seems that you were confused by your first villain role."

Morohoshi: Looking back on it now, I don't have the impression that I had a hard time because I enjoyed every recording. Whenever I was shown the footage at the recording, it always exceeded my imagination. It was inspiring to see all the cast members and Suit Actors doing their best to match up with the others acting and movements, and being able to experience Suwabe-san and Mizuki-san's acting up close made me feel increasingly excited both as a viewer and as a fan of the Sanseaters. I'm really sad to see it come to an end, but I'm happy to have been apart of a production that never stalled and kept going at a high speed until the very end.

"Mizuki-san, what are the highlights of the final episode?"

Mizuki: I can't talk about specifics if we wanna avoid spoilers…(laughs). The conclusion for both the Boonboomgers and Sanseaters will be a hot development. The final lap of show, including the final episode, was full of many serious developments that included a variety of complicated speculation, such as the collusion between the Hashiriyans and those on Earth's side, and while it felt exciting to see the foreshadowing resolved, it's not aimed at being some kind of warning for modern society, but it wasn't just a refreshing story either. It wasn't just passionate and fun, as I think that this is what made it unique to Boonboomger, and will remain in the hearts of everyone who enjoyed it over the past year, especially children. Your children may not understand everything now, but someday when they look back, even if they have a passion for something, it can be difficult to do it alone, so it's important to keep running and not give up, and to find friends you can trust to help you do it. I hope that people will be able to rediscover the message we wanted to convey through this show. Make sure that even after you've become an adult, you'll rewatch it through discs or a streaming service (laughs).

"Suwabe-san please give a message to the fans who have supported you over the past year."

Suwabe: The Super Sentai series is a "path" that many Japanese children walk across…I personally believe it should be a required school subject. The time I spent as Decotrade was a wonderful memory that'll stay with me for life. The recurring phrase that appeared in this show was to "take control of your own wheel." In the current age of being overwhelmed with information and being easily influenced by others, I think it's a very important saying. I hope that the Boonboomger's passionate message has left a lasting impression on you that'll enrich your life for years to come. Unless Earth is destroyed, the Super Sentai series will continue to be available for viewing in some form or another. The characters will live on in these productions. The Sanseaters will also keep running towards the top that they're aiming for. That said, I'd like to ask for your continued support of Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger. And once again, thank you so very much for your support over the past year. Thanks for watching, and good work Sanseaters!!

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

IN PART 7 OF THE SERIES (TITLED “THE BREAKING POINT”], IT shows Sergeant Bill Guarnere and Edward “Babe” Heffron in a foxhole, wondering if I was about to take a step off the deep end.

“You’ve seen him,” Heffron says. “He’s all wound up like a spring.”

“He’s fine,” Guarnere says. “It wasn’t getting shot [in Holland] that got him, it was being in that hospital. I been there—okay? It ain’t pretty. Besides, once he was up and moving around, he was his old self again. I’m telling ya, Buck Compton’s fine.”

In real life, the events surrounding this time of the war are perfectly clear in my mind. This is what I remember:

One day in early January the anticipation we had been feeling for so long was shattered. Very suddenly, broad daylight, really bad shelling started coming in—big, heavy stuff. Ka-Boom! Ka-Boom! Ka-Boom! Ka-Boom! Landing on us was the most shocking display of firepower I had ever seen. It was absolutely merciless. I yelled to the guys—Incoming! Find cover!—something like that. Shrapnel flew and shredded every which way. Bursts of dirt and snow exploded all over. You could feel the ground bounce. You could taste gunpowder in your mouth. It was all very close. Thirlkeld was only a few feet from me. What he was doing aboveground for so long, I never knew, but he didn’t make it—we had been in the woods for so long you got used to the lulls. The shelling blasted away tree branches; huge limbs fell with thuds all around us. I could hear someone yelling, “I’m hit! I’m hit!” For some time, all was complete chaos.

The shelling stopped almost as suddenly as it began.

I think I was the first out of my foxhole, because I remember being the first to scream at what I saw. “Medic!” I hollered for all I was worth. “Medic!” Nobody seemed to be within shouting distance. I have a hard time explaining today how narrowed the focus is of anybody in my position. A platoon leader is down pretty low on the officer scale. Most of the time, no matter where we were, I was unaware of the bigger picture. My focus was a ditch or a road—just the fifty-yard stretch of land around me.

When I got up to survey what had happened, I couldn’t believe how my fifty yards had been ravaged. It looked like slaughter alley— huge trees blown down, ground ripped up, a whole bunch of guys lying all over the place, some motionless, some gasping, unintelligible words coming out of their mouths. It’s a terrible thing to see your guys like that. Death was everywhere. These were the first heavy losses we’d taken at Bastogne.

In the series it shows me coming out of my foxhole to survey the damage. I scream for a medic, then drop my helmet and just stand motionless. In the next scene there’s a fury of activity around me while I’m sitting on a fallen tree with my head in my hands. Then it shows me lying on a cot in a field hospital. I’m in the fetal position in tears with Malarkey next to me, trying to read me a letter from back home to cheer me up.

I appreciate the series for doing that (even though all but one of those scenes were fictionalized) because it shows the progression of a soldier who suffered from combat stress reaction, commonly known as shell shock. Truly, there were men in World War II—in any war— who are so affected by the horror of their experiences that they break under pressure. But although I was affected by the horrors of Bastogne, I do not believe I was clinically shell shocked, as the series portrays me. In real life, while I was hollering for the medic, trying to figure out what to do, I remember two distinct thoughts:

How are we going to help the wounded guys? We were so alone out there. Company headquarters, battalion headquarters—they were all far away.

My second thought was: Maybe this is the time the Germans are really going to get us all. They’ve been softening us up. Now, this is it. With all these guys wounded, what the hell are we going to do to fight back?

Truly, it was an impossible sight to take in—to know what to do, to know how to help. I had seen men die before. I had seen men get wounded before. But this was different. This was unprecedented gore.

More than a dozen of our guys lay bleeding in the snow. Guarnere and Toye, probably the two toughest guys in the unit, had both taken it bad. Toye had gotten hit first. I guess Guarnere had crawled out of his foxhole after him, trying to drag him to safety. In the process, Guarnere had taken one as well. Both were missing legs. Our medic, Eugene Roe, got to Toye first and tied a bandage around what was left. He gave him a large hit of morphine, then went to Guarnere to do the same. Toye had only recently returned to our unit from an aid station where he got his arm patched up. He and Bill were good friends of mine. Deep red smears were all over the ground.

Dick Winters wrote in his book (not critically of me) that I suffered a serious mental trauma after the shelling and simply “walked off the line.” He was at battalion headquarters at the time and not present in the area of my platoon, so his information came secondhand. I mean no criticism of him by clarifying the facts.

In truth, I did not “walk” off the line.

I ran.

~ Buck Compton

[dellamortethelesser]

The Wigmaker Job (Final)

Notes and Thoughts - Part 7

pt1 | pt2 | pt3 | pt4 | pt5 |pt6 | pt7

This is my final installment in my attempt to organize my thoughts nearly line-by-line as I go through and analyze the relationship between Lucanis and Illario. These are my personal opinions and I'm open to discussion about any points I present here. DISCLAIMER: These posts I'm doing are my own analyses and are done with the intentional eye to examine the relationship between Lucanis and Illario. I try to source all my assertions from what the text is giving me. This is not Lucanis critical nor should it be taken as such.

this is going to be a longer post because I'm going to try to cover the last of everything at once. also as my disclaimer says I'm really in this for the relationship analysis which means I'm going to be breezing over a lot of this final fight with Ambrose. okay all of my caveats out of the way lets dive in

Lucanis felt no sympathy. They were, all of them, Venatori supporters, who either knew what Ambrose was doing or chose to turn a blind eye to indulge their own vanity. Ignorance is bliss, not innocence.

hm. okay hang on this is a doozy right off the bat in terms of Lucanis's subjective experience and opinions re: the Venatori when we remember that he is an assassin. a professional who kills people for money. Does Lucanis remember that? or does he think himself better because he's walking into this eyes wide open? so fucking chewy love this.

we can discuss it a little more when we skip down into the scene to where Lucanis and Ambrose are actually exchanging dialogue. wheeeee

"Normally, there's no judgment—only a contract. But for you, Ambrose, I made an exception." The Wigmaker raised a brow. "Oh? What makes me so special?" "You upset my delicate sensibilities." It was Ambrose's turn to laugh. "I thought a Crow could stomach anything—for the right price." Lucanis leveled the Wigmaker with a pointed look. "Not red lyrium." "Morality is not static. Right and wrong are a matter of perspective."

This interaction, to me, is the thesis of Lucanis's character. We can go line by line and pick apart what each one means to get everyone thinking. Come on guys come with meeeeee!

Line 1: Illario has been referring to the contract throughout this entire short story and it's been a point I've hammered in at pretty much every turn: Lucanis is not thinking like an assassin. He's letting his emotions, his morality, take precedence over the job.

Line 2: well. i actually don't have so much to say about what Ambrose says here but it is a good question. what DOES raise Lucanis's hackles so much as to cause a CROW to change their modus operandi?

Line 3: Lucanis is deflecting with a bit of humor here. He's not above the same dry wit that Illario is prone to, though his is usually more internal throughout the story expressed through his narration.

Line 4: Ambrose brings up the same point—they are PAID, HIRED KILLERS. paid money to kill. What about a trained killer implies that they'd blanch at anything? They certainly have a reputation to uphold.

Line 5: I had to go back to look at the red lyrium mention earlier in the story. Quick refresher—Ambrose was using red lyrium to keep his victims drugged and subdued and demon fodder pretty much lol. But Lucanis wasn't necessarily appalled at the use of red lyrium—not like he's been consistently appalled and horrified on behalf of the victims and slaves that fall under Ambrose's shadow. It also makes the previous lack of sympathy to those being killed by the demons interesting—guilty and not worthy of Lucanis's sympathy + vengeance by association, even though Ambrose tramples right over his guests and kills them, too.

Line 6: THIS. It's an excellent point to make to Lucanis specifically; morality is not static. Right and wrong are a matter of perspective. Sure, it means nothing to most people coming from the guy summoning demons and drugging people with red lyrium and killing them. But… let's just compare Lucanis and Illario? The "right" thing to do was different for them—the "right" thing in Illario's eyes was to finish the contract and leave. But the "right" thing to Lucanis—well, it was to get vengeance, pass judgment. Is it not so subjective? Lucanis says that the party guests deserve to die. Someone else might not.

Nothing irritated him more than self-righteous excuses. If you're going to do something terrible, just own it.

I'm really so obsessed with Lucanis and his mentality. Right here I just circled and scribbled the words "you're an assassin" but I suppose the point I wanted to make was that self-righteous excuses could be applied to him too? was that not what he was doing when he was changing up his plans on Illario to get vengeance and free the slaves? If you're going to do something noble, just own it.

You could argue that he did own it, but he just couched it behind the red lyrium excuse.

Hopelessness flooded the mage's eyes. "One day, someone will turn your work against you. Only then will you have some semblance of the emptiness you've made me feel."

I think this is the one good point I gave to Veilguard re: the Lucanis and Illario story-line because I did feel like this was interesting foreshadowing.

Fight ensues. Nothing really more interesting there that I want to dig into? Honorable mention to him talking to the abominations at the end, I guess; "you have your vengeance". Interesting. I don't think all of these abominations are victims, some of them are the high-blood mages that were there at the party, because he mentioned it earlier? Hmm. Thoughts to consider!

Immediately skipping past looking for Illario on their ship to check the CLEANEST TAVERN on the docks. And he's right. really fucking funny that did get me lmfao.

"get that man to stop yelling at me" ← see Illario's skills are useful!!! ok now we're about to get into the meat of the Lucanis&Illario dynamic that everyone loves to reference (even me)

"Yes, yes. I did my good deed for the year." ← Illario does keep his word! Just like Lucanis said.

The back and forth about the wine and bribery does something to me. "I think it makes it taste all the sweeter" from Illario versus Lucanis drinking it and saying that bribery hadn't spoiled the bottle. Obviously it's just saying that it isn't bribed? Or at least that Lucanis doesn't think— it means nothing I think I'm reading into this passage too much

Camille didn't make it and Illario is unfazed; "ah, well, frees me from promises I didn't intend to keep". sorry he's so fucking funny. Interesting that Lucanis chooses to tell him this? Does he think Illario was serious about the flirting? Does he feel bad about her death? Lucanis knew her NAME. Illario had to be reminded by referring to her as the guard-captain.

Illario offers to get a healer for the blood and Lucanis stubbornly refuses. Here we go everyone.

"All right," Illario said, topping off his glass. "We'll just pretend that's wine you're dripping all over the table." "What do you want me to say?" Illario's gaze grew hard. "How long are you going to keep doing this?" "Doing what?" "Caterina's bidding."

Obviously I don't think that Lucanis is thinking—or really wants to think—about how this ends, while Illario understands the game, the politics, the fact that Lucanis is passively letting this happen, and that Lucanis is continiously justifying Caterina's controll.

The wine turned in Lucanis's mouth. "Illario. Stop." "If I was in charge, you wouldn't have to do this anymore," he cajoled. "You could quit."

The main reason why I didn't write this out as an essay was because the very unsatisfying thesis is that you have to decide for yourself whether you think the writing from WMJ is consistent across The Wake & Veilguard. There's no indication from the narrator or from Lucanis whether Illario is being genuine here or not.

But I'm operating on the good faith that he is. Lucanis could quit! He's making an offer. Lucanis wants him to stop bringing Caterina into it, stop thinking ahead, stop making HIM think about where this road leads.

Lucanis stared at his cousin. "I don't want to quit." Illario sat back. The distance between them suddenly felt much wider than a table. "Even if it kills you," Illario whispered.

I actually don't think this was an indictment on Lucanis but an observation that Illario was making. He's not going to quit—even if it's going to kill him. I'm not sure those words were necessarily intended for Lucanis even if he heard them. My opinion though.

"Death is my calling," Lucanis stated, matter-of-fact. "Just as yours is to become First Talon."

I can go either way on this one. Lucanis is either saying that he wants to remain as a mere assasin who doles out death—or truly wants to die trying to avoid Caterina's placement of him as First Talon.

He clearly sees Illario as the one more suited for the task, but he won't tell Caterina that. His refusal to tell her 'no' is justified by how she raised them but it is crazy, man…

He smiled, hoping to ease the tension, but Illario's posture remained taut. "And if Caterina disagrees? If she thinks you're the better man for the job—" "I don't want it, Illario," Lucanis insisted. "But you wouldn't refuse."

Illario already knows that Caterina prefers Lucanis; they discussed this at the beginning. Everyone knows. Even Lucanis.

Lucanis finally answers Illario's question from that early scene! He doesn't want the job! But, no. He won't tell Caterina no, which is the real money question here. He's stuck and can't actually offer a solution to satisfy Illario—in fact, he offers no real solution at all.

"It's impossible to refuse Caterina," Lucanis admitted reluctantly. "Only prolong her, until she sees reason." He knew it wasn't the answer Illario wanted, but it was the truth. And in their line of work, honesty was hard to come by. Illario exhaled and lifted his wineglass in salute. "To reason, then." "To reason," Lucanis echoed."

To reason. [OUGH] I don't have a lot to add to this specific passage that I haven't already covered i just wrote "augh AUGH AUAUUUGHGHGH" all over my paper at this point. To reason! I'd argue Illario's crashout was justified but perhaps not reason. I see his reasoning.

Caterina was never going to see their reasoning. Only her reason matters. Why should she see reason? She has the way of it.

One last thing I want to cover before we part ways, lovelies. Although I will be making my Wake analysis later but that'll just be one long post lol.

Zara paused to marvel at herself. Every feature and proportion were in perfect symmetry. And yet, when she smiled, there was something ugly behind it.

Echoes Illario's description at the start of this story.

Quotes are either paraphrased or taken directly from The Wigmaker Job, written by Courtney Woods.

[before-it-felt-like-a-sin]

Do I Wanna Know?

Shauna x Melissa (Shaunahat? Shaunlissa? Whatever they're gay.)

Summary: Melissa's inner monologue during the kiss scene at the end of 03x02. Mostly Shauna being insane and Melissa being an idiot who's here for the insanity.

Warnings: major s3 spoilers, canon typical violence, Shauna Shipman (atp she's just a warning all on her own)

First character x character since my one shitty lottienat fic from my early writing days that's since been deleted. I'll probably continue this once we get more episodes so like part one I guess? Idk we'll see.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Look, when Melissa left the flowers she had ulterior motives. Sue her. Was it bad that she wanted Shauna to notice? She assumed, wrongfully, that they'd have some sort of bonding moment. Or like, she didn't know, a heartfelt conversation?

Instead, she was pressed against a tree with Shauna's knife to her throat. Cool. Should have been expecting it, honestly.

A million thoughts flashed through her head on how to get out of this situation. Really, Shauna was only threatening to kill her. But it seemed pretty real.

God, why did she find this hot? Why did Shauna motherfucking Shipman with a knife to her throat, screaming in her face, make her want Shauna even more? What was wrong with her?

A lot of things, apparently. Because she liked the way Shauna was a grade-A cunt to everyone. Was even slightly jealous of Shauna allegedly spitting in Mari's soup. Yeah, she was a freak. Whatever.

Without thinking, Melissa leaned forward and pressed her lips to Shauna's. She wasn't exactly sure why. Sure, she had a crush, that was part of it. But she wasn't sure if it was to get Shauna to stop, to satisfy her own cravings, or just to do something about these feelings before Shauna inevitably killed her.

For a moment, Shauna kissed her back. She almost forgot about the knife to her throat, the fear that she'd be gutted. Shauna was kissing her. Rough and raw, exactly how she imagined it.

Then, Shauna pulled away. Lips slightly parted, eyes wide, and breathing heavy. Melissa's next thought was that Shauna was truly going to kill her now. But she didn't look angry, well not exactly. She looked surprised. Or maybe confused. And almost... sad? Shit, she was pretty. Even like this. Especially like this

Melissa expected a blow, a cut, hands around her throat. What she didn't expect was Shauna's lips crashing back into hers with renewed hunger. Her hands moved to Shauna's waist, gripping her flannel and pulling her closer.

The two moved in tandem, pushing and pulling. It was rough and messy, nothing like the kisses she'd shared with Gen before. And Melissa liked it. Maybe even loved it.

She let Shauna have control, knew she needed it. Who was she to deny the whims of Shauna Shipman? Especially after having a knife to Melissa's throat. A knife that was still there, but didn't feel nearly as deadly. She was more focused on the way Shauna's lips felt against hers. They were rough, demanding. Chapped. She tasted like like blood and berries. Melissa couldn't get enough.

Shauna bit her lip, hard enough to draw blood, and gasp escaped Melissa's mouth. It felt... good. Weirdly good. Painful, sure. But Melissa liked it. Wanted more.

"God, shut the fuck up," Shauna growled, pulling away for a moment to shoot her a glare. She almost replied, bumbling and apologizing. Then, Shauna's lips were back on hers.

It was like Shauna needed this, somehow. Needed someone to want her. And God, did Melissa want her. Wanted her moody and brooding. Liked how she seemed completely insane. Grieving her best friend and her child.

Melissa was going to hell, for sure. And she didn't entirely mind, if it meant she could keep kissing Shauna.

They kissed for what felt like hours. Shauna gripped the collar of her shirt, not letting her pull away even if she wanted to. Shauna was in charge here, Shauna was the one in control. Melissa may have started it, but what happened was always going to be up to Shauna.

Eventually, Shauna pulled away again. When Melissa went to chase her lips, drunk on the taste of her, Shauna shoved her back up against the tree. Her knife, previously forgotten, was pressed to her neck once again.

"If you tell anyone, and I mean fucking anyone, about any of this, I truly will kill you. No one has any right to my fucking baby, and no one has the right to know who I'm kissing." Her words were harsh, but the expression on her face was full of fear. Fear of judgement, maybe. Fear of having nothing left that was truly hers.

Melissa knew she wouldn't tell anyone. She didn't care if people knew, at least about the kiss. But she did, for some insane reason, care about Shauna. And she'd prefer to keep her life. Maybe this place wasn't the best to keep secrets in, maybe it would come out anyway. The Wilderness was hard to read like that.

"No- no, I won't. Um, like I said, I agree? That no one has any right to your baby. He's yours. I think It's kind of fucked that Lottie and the others tried to make him into this symbol. Especially without talking to you. But seriously, this is between us." Melissa knew she was rambling, knew there was a high likelihood that if she didn't stop talking soon, the knife threatening her throat would be more than just a threat.

Shauna, to her credit, finally pulled the knife away. She didn't look relieved, and Melissa could tell that she still didn't fully trust her. But she wasn't still being threatened, which seemed to be a good sign. It wasn't like Melissa expected trust, anyway. Shauna didn't trust anyone. Not even Tai, not anymore. It was clear Shauna was done putting her trust in things.

No, it wasn't that. Shauna was done putting her trust in people. She trusted a knife. In a weird, fucked-up sort of way, trusted The Wilderness. But she didn't trust people.

To be fair, Melissa didn't trust Shauna, either. The only person she relied on, other than herself, was Gen. And even that was iffy now.

"Go back to camp. And don't fucking follow me again unless I tell you that you can."

Melissa knew better than to try to argue. Shauna could handle herself, and so could she. They weren't too far out, anyway. If something happened to her, the others would hear her screaming.

"I'll, uh, see you later?"

"Jesus Christ, Melissa. Just go." The threat in her voice was clear, and Melissa had enough knives to her throat for one day, so she didn't argue. Instead, she cut her losses and made her way back to camp, still trying to piece together what just happened to her.

[gasoline-drinker]

Reverie head cannons again!!!!

Casey and Honey :

Honey has this thing where, every time they call Casey a pet-name, they feel like they sound cringe. To combat this, Honey calls Casey shit like oomf, which pisses Casey off. (In a silly way dw)

Casey dyes his hair, and by this point it's so fried it fucking crunches when touched. The shit feels like aluminum foil.

Casey, if he ever were to actually fight someone, fights dirty, teeth and nails and shit like that. Mainly because he grew up the youngest, and most anxiety ridden, with 2 older brothers.

Casey grew up on those old cheap 2000s movies like spy kids and fuckin. Baby geniuses idk

Cyril and Dove :

Cyril smells funny. Not BAD, he just doesn't really shower often. He's a little greasy. (He also has a lot of body hair. No beard cuz he's totally a twink, but enough leg hair to knit some nice socks)

You'd think Cyril has shit posture, but surprisingly he has like perfect posture. His back is a straight line. Father and papa would kill him if he saw him slouching. Dove has shit posture tho

Dove is actually pretty fuckin' good at art, they just don't use it for anything other than drawing stupid shit

T-t-t-t4t..🥺🥺

Detective and Marlowe :

Detective and Axel are homies!! They talk shit together and Axel tells them the most foul stories!!!

Marlowe was like. In severe bisexual denial before going on the run. His whole thought process was like 'i can't like men, I have a girlfriend!! I am sososo heterosexual😁😁' (this is vergy much male Detective, sorgy.)

Marlowe usually sleeps on his back, never fully relaxed, always ready to wake up and attack someone. However, whenever he's really comfortable (like the first time he slept over at Detective's place, if that eventually happens IT WILL IT WILL IM DELUSIONAL IT WILL.) he is GONE. He does that thing cats do where they sleep so good they seem like they're definitely dead.

I feel like Marlowe will tear up when finally offered regular ass home cooked food. Dudes been living off fast food and chef boyardee for years.

Detective feels like they'd have just a shit ton of scars people can't see under their clothes, not as many as Marlowe totally, but still more than a normal guy should have. They're also all from much less cool things than Marlowe

Axel and Sunshine :

Axel grew up going to his grandma's house every weekend, so his nostalgia mainly flares up from those old 'as seen on TV' commercials, and bad 80s movies. Also his grandma had a clock that spouted one of the same 15 Bible verses every hour, and he very vividly remembers the little chime it made before each one. Knockoff soda is very nostalgic too.

Bunny, Kane, and Dion :

Bunny had just the most extensive PC setup. Everything was RGB, they're one of those weirdos who cares what their keyboard sounds like. That thing was their baby, before it was FUCKING DESTROYED. :(

Bunny, Experiment, and Dearest are family. Doesn't matter how close. attracting demons runs in the family.

Others :

Fausten is mute. Idk man we've never seen him talk :/ also the idea of your mentor just like. Silently looking over your work, emotionless, is HORRIFYING.

Lauren feels very 2000s older sister. (I'd let her call me a loser.. please have sex with me Lauren please please please please) (jokies!!!!)

Whenever Lauren leaves the house, and she knows she's gonna take like under 2 hours, she puts on those nature videos people use to keep pets from tearing up the house. Casey and Honey do watch them. (Just like Papa Reverie..)

Yk that scene in Still Wakes The Deep with the elevator shaft? The one where Caz is going up, and there's violin playing, and the sight above is so hauntingly beautiful, moreso than anything humans could make? That's what Mother looks like. She also has the same effect on people, body horror included :D

Essence eaters purr. Sorgy, I don't make the rules guys.

[madbard]

Putting this in your askbox cuz I know you're also an Epic the Musical fan but yknow I think if Loop saw that musical they'd get very emotional about Would You Fall In Love With Me Again, just in the context of thinking of their old party... :'>

Oh, a thousand times, yes.

I’ve been thinking about Epic and ISAT a lot recently, and honestly I think the entire musical would be such an intense experience for the entire party, but especially Siffrin and Loop. After all, Epic is, at its core, the story of someone who loses himself while desperately trying to return home.

(I know you were talking about ‘Would You Fall In Love With Me Again’ specifically, but this is about to get really out of hand. Also, I’m going to frame Epic as a musical that Loop, Siffrin and the post-canon party (likely sans Bonnie considering some of the subject material) are watching.)

Starting off with the Troy Saga, we have some striking similarities between Odysseus and Loop and Sif already - we know he’s been away from his home island for years, and so badly wants to see his family again. The homesickness here would resonate with them, I think, but the situation is also very different since Odysseus has such strong memories of his home and his family, and his home still very much exists. So that creates a little bit of distance as they are watching. ‘Open Arms’ would probably hit pretty hard though - I could see Polites’ encouragements reminding them of the party trying to help them after the loops. (Note for ‘Warrior of the Mind’ - I think this song would start some of the party off on the wrong foot with Athena. I think Mirabelle and Isabeau at least would be put off by the line “I see you changing from how I’ve designed you” as a bad thing. Here we have this character trying to change for the better, and another character is telling him that that’s a bad thing and he should stay the same? Yeah, they might not be the biggest Athena fans at this point.)

But then… oh, the Cyclops Saga is going to be uh… interesting. I wonder when any members of the party might have encountered a giant… led a fight against said giant… tried to barter with the giant to find a nonviolent solution for everyone… thought for a moment that they had succeeded… realized they had failed in a terrifying moment when they were told they would be the final one to die… witnessed helplessly as that giant brutally crushed one of the people they love most in the world as that person called out their name in agony… (The first time I listened to Epic after finishing Act 3 I had to pause it for a minute because I kept visualizing Bonnie during ‘Survive’ and it was doing psychic damage.) As much as I like to imagine the party watching Epic, I can’t imagine Siffrin watching that scene without having a panic attack. After that I doubt they are finishing the musical. (Now, we do have a fair bit to go and fascinating songs to think about so for the sake of this post maybe they were somehow all distracted during that scene? I don’t know, for whatever reason they keep watching.) If the party didn’t like Athena before, they definitely don’t like her after she abandons Odysseus - though I could see Odile giving her a little more grace in that regard, as she might see a bit of herself in Athena’s intelligence, the age difference between her and Odysseus and her clear difficulties with friendship and emotions.

The Ocean Saga is called than the Cyclops Saga. I could see Siffrin and Loop exchanging some looks at the “you rely on wit and people die on it” line but while there are some parallels between that song and their own discussion post Act 3, the similarities are ultimately far outweighed by the differences. Then we have the ultimate paranoia/insomnia/exhaustion/homesickness anthem in ‘Keep Your Friends Close,’ which I could see Siffrin and Loop getting pretty invested in.

As much as I love the Circe Saga, I’m not sure the party is getting much from it aside from enjoying the story and music.

Then we have the Underworld Saga and STARS. Loop is NOT going to be handling this well. ‘The Underworld’ is an absolute nightmare - gotta love being haunted by the screams of your friends that you couldn’t protect, tee-hee! Odysseus’ mom dying while waiting for him to come home is also an intense scene considering how little Loop and Siffrin know about what might’ve happened to their own parents when the island disappeared, but that scene is also just generally heartbreaking. ‘No Longer You’ is where things become viscerally painful for Loop - after all, there is a reason there are at least two full length Loop-centric animatics of that song. I want to ramble about this one but… “we’ve suffered and sailed through the toughest of hells, now you tell us our effort’s for nothing” and “I see a man who gets to make it home alive, but it’s no longer you” speak for themselves. The universe doesn’t care how much you suffered - someone is going to get that happy ending that you fought and died and bled for, but it’s not you. Not anymore. Then we reach ‘Monster’ and Odysseus has reached a state of self-loathing and dehumanization that Siffrin and Loop are far too familiar with. The death of diplomacy in exchange for brutality matches with post-Act 3 Siffrin, but it also aligns with Loop, and their willingness to do whatever it takes to help Siffrin escape the loops, even if that means sacrificing the party. And of course the perceived loss of humanity is very applicable to Loop, always.

On to the Thunder Saga, and Odysseus’ rage in ‘Different Beast’ is his own personal Memory of Sadnesses moment. This saga is just… tough to listen to for the entire party I think. The way Odysseus and Eurylochus’ friendship falls apart - that still hurts so much every time I listen and I’m sure it would be painful for them as well. (I could probably elaborate more but this post is already far longer than I had expected and I’m starting to run out of steam so I’ll leave it here.)

The party has made it to the Wisdom Saga! Odd opinion incoming, but I think ‘Legendary’ would resonate with Isabeau a lot - a song about this young, less-than-intimidating guy who desperately wants to be bigger, braver, stronger, the kind of person that can protect the people he cares about. Also, I could see Telemachus activating some protective instincts in the party, considering how some of his eagerness and fighting attitude are mirrored in Bonnie as well. ‘Little Wolf’ and ‘We’ll Be Fine’ would cause a massive shift in Mirabelle and Isabeau’s opinion of Athena - the character who opposed change at the beginning has changed for the better! Athena’s regret in ‘We’ll Be Fine’ would also hit really close to home for Odile, I think - “maybe if I’d made a different call, maybe if I hadn’t missed it all, maybe he’d be fine” aligns so painfully well with her own guilt and regret for not being able to figure out the loops and help Siffrin sooner. I think ‘Love In Paradise’ would be a surprisingly tough listen for Loop and Siffrin. The context is so different, but this song contains lyrics like “under my spell we’re stuck in paradise, no one can come or go - not til the end of time, there is no way, you’re mine, all mine.” Calypso is so scared of being alone that she traps Odysseus on the island with her for years - meanwhile, Odysseus is slowly broken down by his grief and his desperation to go home. For Loop and Siffrin, there’s an uncomfortable understanding of both characters, I think. (The entire party loves Athena after ‘God Games,’ I don’t make the rules.)

Next up, Vengeance Saga. This is where things start to get intense. As one might guess from the fact that I made a Loop-centric lyric comic for ‘Not Sorry For Loving You,’ I think they would relate to this song on a visceral level. “Someone came by today, they said they’re taking you away, that you’re not mine to save, and sooner I won’t get to see your face” - this so perfectly fits with Loop’s realizing Siffrin won their happy ending and is going to be leaving Dormont with THEIR family. Not theirs to save. Not anymore. “I spent my whole life here, was cast away when I was young, alone for a hundred years, I had no friends but the sky and sun” - this is literally an exaggerated description of their own life, washing up on the shore of Vaugarde as a teenager, completely alone with no memory of ever having been known or loved. “So when you washed ashore, I thought for sure that you were my dream come true - I thought I knew” - Loop/Siffrin being so desperately lonely when they met the party and bonding with them so deeply and desperately, starved for love and connection to the point where they clung TOO hard, loved TOO defensively. And then we reach the final lines of the song and I honestly think the comic explains better than I could exactly how perfect those lyrics are for Loop. At the end of this song, Calypso is left sobbing on a beach, watching as Odysseus sails into a future without her in it, with people that love him, so desperately lonely and full of the knowledge that nobody will ever, ever love her again. Yeah… I think this song might mess with Loop a bit. And then, of course, we have ‘Six Hundred Strike.’ This is another song that I imagine Siffrin for - specifically Act 5 Siffrin fighting the King. “How does it feel to be helpless? How does it feel to know pain? I watched my friends die in horror - watching as they were all slain!” Honestly, this song is a big Act 5 moment for Odysseus - except that he actually defeats Poseidon. I can’t imagine that this song wouldn’t cause at least a shudder in Siffrin and Loop.

And now, finally, the Ithaca Saga. (Which is what you were actually talking about. This got extremely out of hand.) I’ve mentioned the party would feel protective of Telemachus. They are not handling ‘Hold Them Down’ well. ‘Odysseus’ is interesting to think about actually, because for whatever reason this has become such an Act 5 Isabeau loops AU song to me. I imagine that an Isabeau loops AU would involve him undergoing a change that mirrors Odysseus a lot, becoming steadily colder rather than becoming manic like Siffrin does. I think he’d cope with the loops by essentially shutting down his emotions, using his intellect to be a truly terrifying force in combat. Under it all though I think there’d still be a core protective rage - “my mercy has long since drowned” vibes. He’s going to protect his family, even if it means becoming a monster. Alright, AU talk aside, the fact that the suitors literally refer to Telemachus as “the kid” in this song (as they’re planning to maim him to control Odysseus) is going to mess with Loop and Siffrin at least a little bit. Moving onto ‘I Can’t Help But Wonder,’ for whatever reason this song makes me think of Bonnie and Nille. I actually have a half-sketched lyric comic with this song set to their reunion, but only time will tell if I ever actually get around to finishing it.

Alright. We’ve made to the song this ask was actually talking about.

‘Would You Fall In Love With Me Again’ is a beautifully painful song to think about in connection with Loop because it is such a cruel inversion of what actually happens. Odysseus returns home, changed and certain Penelope won’t love him anymore, convinced that when she looks at him she will see a monster. But when she sees him again, she sees her husband. She sees him, she recognizes him, she tells him she still loves him, that he is still the same person, that she will fall in love with him over and over. She tells him everything Loop wishes they could hear from their own party. In reality, the party didn’t recognize Loop, because they aren’t the same person anymore. In canon, Loop never gets the confirmation that the party loves them still. They know the party is grateful, but that’s only because they were able to help them find Siffrin. Siffrin thought the party loved him after he helped each of them during the friend quests, and it’s only after Act 5 that they realize that the party loved them already, and will continue to love them even if they mess up. Loop never gets that confirmation. As they fade back into the Universe, they do so knowing the party will not grieve them.

Part of my love for post-canon Loop content stems from my desire to see Loop asking, in their own way, without even realizing it, if the party would fall in love with them again.

The answer is yes. No matter how long it’s been, and how much Loop has changed, I believe that the answer is yes.