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wen-kexing-apologist · 1 year ago

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Fight Night

ALRIGHT! Life is wilder and crazier than normal and I have finally had a singular moment to breathe so it is time to do my first scene breakdown of Only Friends. Jojo and co have been feeding me so well, a literal feast of good sex choreo, hand placements, and puppy dog eyes that it has been impossible for me to figure out where I want to start. But the end of episode five was just so expertly executed I couldn’t not talk about it, the build up, the explosion, the cool down?! Zero people in this production came to play, they showed up on set day one, gave some of their best performances, and just went about their goddamn day. [insert thirty more minutes of showered praise here].

So let’s get in to it:

The Calm Before the Storm

We’re going to start with Sand and Ray before shit goes downhill, at a moment of genuine connection. This is not the first time we have seen them connect. The first of their peaceful, friendlier interactions are paid for by Ray but Sand quickly moves towards free hang outs with Ray after he gets to know Ray a bit better. I think we can all agree that 95% of the time that Sand and Ray are spending with each other, Ray is asking to be serviced (either seeking out sex, or being fed, clothed, or protected by Sand) [and I do think it is pretty telling that Ray’s idea of friendship is being taken care of in every way, and that Sand fully calls that out as being the role of a father]. But the 5% they do have of these moments of getting to know each other, primarily center around their own family dynamics, but in Episode 5, Ray does start dipping his toes in to getting to know more about Sand’s own hopes and dreams.

Where before Ray wasn’t really interested in Sand’s backstory as much as Sand was interested in Ray’s, now on the balcony of Sand’s dingy apartment, Ray finally starts to ask Sand about himself. And Ray is locked in, just absolutely attentive to Sand as he is talking, rarely looking away, asking follow up questions, and making statements based off of what Sand is saying. Things seem to be flowing smoothly, Ray seems slightly sad that Sand doesn’t know his father, he has an actual smile on his face with he tells Sand that he thinks his mother is really cool, and that he respects her. And of course he would respect the relationship that Sand and his mother have, the obvious love they have for one another, because he never got that from his own family.

Sand has asked about Ray’s family before now (they talked about Ray’s mother in Ep. 2) but when they were first starting to get to know eachother, Ray brushed off any further conversation around his mother’s death. But that willingness to be honest with Sand is beginning to shift. Ray sits there listening to a birth story that runs parallel to his own, a mother with an unexpected pregnancy after a hookup, a father that wasn’t really intending on having a child, and Ray is faced with what his life could have possibly looked like if his mother was a different person.

And they’ve been hanging out all day, Ray has seen much more of Sand’s personal life, his family life, it’s Sand’s birthday, they are cross faded, and Sand asks Ray once again what happened to his mother, and Ray takes the opportunity to be honest. He watches Sand refill his glass, and he says “she drank herself to death”.

Now, personally, this is a very important moment to me in terms of both understanding Ray better as a character, and getting Sand and Ray to connect to each other more. A really important thing to remember about substance use disorders is that they are aware of the health consequences of long term substance use. Ray knows his mother drank herself to death, Ray knows that alcohol in the quantities that he is consuming are dangerous, and he cannot stop drinking. Ray does not have any good coping mechanisms for when his life gets hard, (and we will see a much stronger example of that near the end of this scene), but in the build up to the blow out, we are taking some time to re-establish that Ray has a drinking problem. And we are gaining a bit of further insight in to the genetic history of Ray’s own mental health problems.

I’d have to go back and rewatch all the episodes to be completely certain, but I think so far the only person we haven’t see call Ray a burden is Mew, Mew who knows that Ray tried to kill himself two years ago, Mew who remembers that Ray said if he was gone he wouldn’t be a burden anymore on his goodbye phone call. I mention his mostly because, if that is true, then that is an indication to me that Ray’s other friends don’t really know that much about him. They don’t know how deeply the idea that he is a burden to everyone around him is rooted in to his psyche. They probably don’t know anything about Ray’s relationship to his mother, after all, she died when he was still in high school.

We know from the end of Episode 4, that Ray has shifted his interests from Mew to Sand. That is not to say that he is not still in love with Mew, or that he wouldn’t drop Sand as soon as possible if presented the opportunity to date Mew, at least from my perception. But what it does indicate to me, is that Ray is beginning to at least consider Sand someone that care about him, that will listen to him, that will be an emergency contact, and as such Ray is more willing to be upfront and honest about who he is as a person. How his mind works, what his place in his own family is, what his own connection to family is.

Ray senses he is bringing the mood down, and makes a comment to change the subject, shutting down any potential deeper conversation or exposure to pity that he could have with Sand. We know Sand has been down bad for Ray since like…Dick Down 1, but he is really just embarrassingly obvious with his interest in Ray. The way his face goes slack jawed when he looks at Ray’s face for a second too long? Your cool guy persona is in the fucking gutter. ANYWAY, the point of this is that Sand and Ray are vibing, having a good time, connecting, Ray is opening up more, and Sand is falling deeper in to this infatuation at the first sign of Sad Boi Hours when we cut to Nick and Boston.

Boston, who has had a genuinely peaceful day thus far. He got some work done for school, he and Nick clarified their relationship to one another, he made out in the pool, and he’s looking to reward Nick for changing by asking if he can stay over. We know that Boston has been blackmailed by someone, we know that as a result of that Boston has decided to “settle down” a bit as it were, spend more time with people who he can talk with afterwards. (If you ask me, this isn’t really what Boston wants, it’s just how he is trying to justify laying low with Nick, someone he thinks he has control over and someone I don’t think Boston suspects is capable of blackmail).

It is Boston who suggests staying over (I am not going to dig too much further in to his choice to ask Nick, but I will just look respectfully towards the thought that he doesn’t want to be found).

Anyway, Boston asks if he can stay over, and Nick smiles like he’s won something, and leads Boston inside, where they both promptly interrupt Sand and Ray. Boston’s face lights up when he sees Ray there, but not in any way that indicates that Boston is actually excited to see his friend. More so, that he has gotten +1 Information in his notes on Ray’s comings and goings.

Boston sees Sand and Ray, and he is scheming already. The very first fact we learn about Boston in Only Friends is that he is The Hunter, and while we have primarily seen this in the way that he hunts-for-that-d, Boston is a hunter through and through, he doesn’t just aim and fire, he plays with his prey. He toys with Top and Nick’s emotions to try to manipulate them in to what he wants, and he sees Ray and Sand together here, and the douchebag gears begin to turn.

But, Boston needs to know what these two are to each other first, so he can figure out his best approach to fucking with the two of them, so he asks:

“What’s with you and Sand?”

“What? We’re just friends,” Ray says with a smile and a small laugh, like he is trying to brush off any attempt for Boston to think of Sand and him as anything more. Sand is of course, devastated (and it is at this point I would like to make a tangential remark about the brilliance of the cinematography in this entire scene because it frequently moves between blurry and clear, like the camera is having as difficult of a time focusing on any of the characters as the characters themselves are, since they are under the influence).

Nick, having already interrupted the SandRay foreplay once today, tries to pull Boston along quickly, to give everyone in the apartment some motherfucking privacy, but no no, when it comes to every other person in the world besides himself, Boston does not do privacy. So he cockblocks himself and SandRay and suggests they all party instead.

The Build Up

There is this moment of awkward tension, that Nick tries to break by saying that Boston is bothering Sand and Ray, but Sand, having just been reminded that Ray does not think of him as anything more than friends, agrees to all hang out together, thus shifting the mood between himself and Ray from sexual to casual.

And Boston?

Oh Boston has already won.

Now, before I get further in to breaking down this episode, I just need to take a minute and just give a huge MASSIVE shout out to Neo motherfucking Trai. He has absolutely been destroying this role, he is clearly having such a good fucking time. But I don’t care about that part (I do but it’s not the relevant aspect here), I care about how much of Boston’s character, Boston’s internal monologue Neo reveals through Boston’s eyes.

Boston has been watching how Ray and Sand interact with one another, he saw them make out, he saw Ray grab a cookie from Sand’s mouth with his own, and now, he is sitting here, with Nick pressed up against his chest watching Ray flirt with and cling to Sand. That boy has mischief in his eyes, that boy is a hunter and he smells fresh meat. Boston is The Drama, and while he’s in the middle of his own blackmail saga, he’s found new toys to pass the time until the dust settles.

This is the face of a man who will cause problems on purpose. This is the face of a man who does not give two shits about upsetting the people in front of him. Boston is a miserable, manipulative piece of shit, and he will drag everyone down to his level.

I am showering praise in Neo’s general direction, anyway, Boston is studying Ray and Sand’s interactions, the way they talk with one another, all the little things that point towards there being some genuine feelings.

“The cookie’s getting to me”

“I told you to hold back”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not driving”

“Can I stay over?”

“More often than this I’m going to start making you pay rent”

“Go ahead”

They aren’t talking like this is a one time thing, they aren’t talking like they are just fuck buddies. The way that Ray and Sand are slightly bickering/scolding each other, the way that Ray just so absentmindedly reaches to put his arm around Sand, it reads a very particular way. Especially when you add on the fact that Nick interrupted them in the kitchen that morning.

Now, something happens here that could have been good. If Boston was a good person, if Boston actually cared about his friends, if Boston wasn’t such a fucking Masshole. Because Sand has been very obviously dopey and doe eyed for Ray for ages and the lines between lust and love have been blurring heavily for him. But when they started fucking, Ray and Sand both discussed and established the nature of their relationship. Only friends. No love, only sex. Friendship can come from sex. Sand wouldn’t take someone like Ray as his boyfriend (liar). But things have changed since their first hook up, at least for Sand. Sand is catching feelings and Sand has not talked with Ray about how his feelings are shifting.

And Nick actually opens up the potential for Sand and Ray to have that conversation when he asks “Are you and Ray going out?”

See, Nick is definitely nasty4nasty when it comes to his desire to be with Boston, and Nick is by no means whatsoever a pure person, the man bugged Boston’s car and kept the recording for fuck’s sake, but he is also not an asshole the way that Boston is an asshole. Nick isn’t asking Sand if he and Ray are going out because he wants to fuck with them, he’s asking because he is genuinely curious, because this ain’t the first time that he’s walked in on them.

But don’t pay attention to Mark Pakin’s body language here, because Nick is obviously drunk, relaxed, content, and curious. Look at Neo. Look at Boston. Look at the way Boston is looking at Nick when Nick asks if they are going out:

And look at the way Boston turns his gaze upon Sand and Ray the second Nick finishes asking the question. Boston is picking apart every action, every expression, every movement between Sand and Ray. Boston is calculating. This is not a dude that is just turning to look at the next speaker in a conversation. He’s staring deep into their souls to figure out how they actually feel about each other so he can decide if one or both of them cares enough about each other to be hurt by him.

So naturally, the next shot we get is Ray drunkenly cozying up to Sand, resting his head on Sand’s shoulder, in a way that feels very couple-y, in a way that feels different to the casual arm Boston throws over Nick like he’s got his prize on a leash.

“You two talk all lovey-dovey like you are a thing, you know?”

Consider the fact that the second that Nick starts saying “you two talk all lovey-dovey, you know?” Ray peels himself off Sand’s shoulder and stares at Nick. And he’s smiling casually, like he finds the question funny, though he doesn’t fully break physical contact with Sand, still resting his arm across Sand’s shoulders.

Sand is taken aback for a second, like he’s been caught, but he knows that he is not supposed to be falling for Ray. He knows he isn’t supposed to be wanting a relationship with Ray. He knows that this is not the time or space for a “what are we?” conversation, so he puts on a smile and squeezes Ray’s cheeks and says:

“Look at his face. Look how squishy he looks. He looks just like a dog my mother has.” (Which we can interpret as Sand saying look at him, we cuddle cause he’s cute, I think of him like a pet). Associating Ray with his mother’s dog for me, feels like a way for Sand to try to get Boston off his back, to put his feelings in alignment with how Boston typically views his hook ups, as pets, as toys, as prey. But Sand’s face betrays him more than Boston’s ever could the very second that Ray says “I’m not a dog and I’m not his boyfriend”

Sand has a moment of quiet devastation hearing that, even though he SHOULD KNOW BETTER. He should not be so upset about an objectively true statement. Sand may think of Ray as special, and may want to date Ray, and may want Ray to be his boyfriend, but they have never revisited their initial conversation about the nature of their relationship. As far as Ray knows, Sand would never take someone like him to be his boyfriend. Sand is just getting caught up in his feelings and this brief reprieve from the hard and labrous and exhausting life he leads is clouding his judgment.

And Boston goes in for the kill

“Ray, I bet Sand likes you. I can tell.”

And here is the question of the hour, a question I personally do not believe we have the full answer to, why the fuck is Boston targeting Sand? (beyond the fact he finds it fun). Boston and Sand clearly know each other, Boston knows Sand well enough to know that the weed he is smoking is not his typical supply. Boston came in to Sand’s home, smoked Sand’s weed, and then went straight for Sand’s throat.

And Sand is a little mad and more than a little anxious. The way First plays the emotions in this moment is brilliant, you can see all these little moments of Sand feeling put on the spot, the way his mouth moves like he is trying (and failing) to maintain his composure. Like he is looking for an escape route, but can’t find one. Especially because Boston will not let him escape, explicitly calling Sand in to the conversation:

The Blow Up

“So what is it, Sand? Do you like him? My buddy here has both the looks and the dough. His type is hard to come by, you know?”

Sand tries to dodge, by putting on his logical person hat for the first time in what is most likely weeks. “Now that you said that” he starts with Ray literally moving his hand to brush it gently against Sand’s shoulders. “My answer has to be yes now, doesn’t it? But if you really want to know the answer, ask me again when I am sober”

Sand is willing to let Boston win this, to concede here, to admit to liking Ray as if forced to agree expressly because Boston is poking at him about it. But he will not engage in an important conversation like the one Boston is setting up for him and Ray about what they are to each other when they are under the influence and when they are in public.

Nick is like “alright”, but that is not enough for Boston. (SERIOUSLY LOOK AT NEO, LOOK AT HOW MUCH FUCKING DISATISFACTION IS BEHIND THOSE GODDAMN EYES! Jojo and Ninew fucking thank you for giving me Neo in this role, he’s been craving complex roles since his time on The Eclipse and I’m glad he’s getting to have some).

Boston is watching, waiting, wanting to see how Ray reacts to Boston speaking for Sand. Unfortunately for everyone, but Boston especially, Ray does not have the reaction I think Boston is expecting. Instead of Ray getting uncomfortable, instead of Ray pushing himself away from Sand, instead of Ray doubling down on him and Sand not being boyfriends, instead of Ray reacting negatively to the idea that this “not his type” poor boy might actually like him he leans in close, he smiles wide, he teases Sand a little in a way that does not feel cruel.

So Boston has to escalate. Boston has been stalking his prey in the grass for as long as he has been in this apartment, and now it is time to strike.

“Even if you really do like Ray, I doubt it will work out between the two of you. Ray’s whole ass is owned by Mew”

BOOM. Instant kill. Boston just made this entire encounter go from 0 to 100. Especially because (as far as we know), he has no goddamn idea about the dent in Ray’s relationship to Mew, and his realization about how Ray and Mew’s feelings are never going to align.

Ray did not spend all that time sitting in the bathtub staring at a keychain and a Poor Boy shirt for nothing. Personally, I am uncertain where Ray stands with Sand, I think Ray is probably chasing the endorphins of a good and easy lay. I think he is drawn to Sand’s inherent need to act as a caretaker. But as I’ve said before, Ray uses Sand far more as a service provider than he does a person he wants to make genuine connections with, only recently has he started to open up more and seem more interested in Sand as a person.

But Boston is poking at an extremely sore spot. A spot I don’t think Boston considers as a nuclear option, because I don’t know that Boston is aware that Ray tried to kill himself. I don’t think Boston knows that Mew came and saved his life. I don’t think Boston is truly aware of just how deeply important to Ray Mew is because he seems to be one of the first people to make Ray feel less alone.

Immediate anger. Boston has struck a nerve, gotten a bullseye. If he actually cared at all for his “friends” and their feelings he could have stopped there. Boston is a voyeur, a photographer, all he does all the time is watch, record, manipulate bodies. He can read people well, but he is cocky and overconfident about his own understanding of the situations that have occurred between people in his social circle. If Boston cared, he would see that Ray just turned on a dime, that the loose, casual, fuzzy, flirty person that was just wrapped around Sand has turned in to a tense, focused ball of rage. ““What the hell are you saying, Ton?”

“What? Sand doesn’t know you’ve been in love with your best friend for years? But Mew is with Top now. Someone beat you to it, man.”

So…my Dad has this habit of saying shitty things, and over the years we have made safewords with him to tell him when he is approaching saying something out of pocket and he should change the subject (“pothole”), and for when he has said something out of pocket and should probably stop talking immediately (“sinkhole”). My father consistently blows right through “sinkhole” and continues to dig his hole deeper. Boston reminds me of my father.

Pothole: “Ray’s whole ass is owned by Mew”

Pothole: “Mew is with Top now. Someone beat you to it, man”

I honestly don’t feel like I need to use too much space here on Sand’s reaction, because I read a really good post by @bird-inacage about how this revelation hits Sand hard because he may feel stripped of his dignity and see himself as a fool.

“What a shame for my pal”

Shout out to Jojo and co for this shot of Nick. Nick who looks horrified. Nick, who I don’t think has seen this behavior of Boston’s up close. I mean, he knows that Boston has something on Ray and Mew, he didn’t really seem to care at that point. But Nick doesn’t really know Mew, Nick only cares about Top insofar as he is competition for Boston’s attention, he’s not really friends with Ray. But he is friends with Sand. And the implications from the beginning of the episode that Ray has stayed over and hung out with Sand all day multiple times, feels like Nick is at least starting to develop some modicum of care/friendship with Ray. And Nick is sitting there, watching Boston be cruel. Cruel to people that Nick actually cares about. Cruel to people that Nick doesn’t think deserve it, and the wheels are turning, so there isn’t much more he can do about it.

“Oh wait. My bad. I remember you and Mew making out. Did you take his virginity?” (Sinkhole. Boston should probably shut his goddamn little whore mouth at this point)

“Ton, what the shit are you going on about?” Ray asks, shooting up from the ground and in to a standing position [and lord almighty is Khaotung just a powerhouse actor between the way he is able to physically embody Ray’s anger, and just look and act drunk all the time). This has turned in to a fight, Boston has riled Ray up, Boston has already punished both Ray and Sand at this point. But he has to make everyone around him as miserable as humanly possible in as little time as he can, so:

“Oh? I saw everything. I took some photos, actually.” (SINKHOLE. No seriously dude you need to shut the fuck up right now).

“What the hell did you do that for, bastard?” Ray is shifting his weight, Khaotung’s breathing has changed. You can fucking tell Ray’s heart is racing, that a blind rage is seeping in to his bones. Ray is livid.

“What? I just want to keep track of my best friends’ romantic moments. Was I wrong?”

(Spoiler alert to those reading this post for the body language breakdown: Boston does not actually give a single flying fuck if he is wrong)

“Keep track?”

And finally someone punches Boston straight in the mouth! And even still! EVEN STILL Boston cannot shut the fuck up. Boston is righteous in the worst possible way. Boston is hurting everyone around him for the sake of “honesty”, “clarity”, “visibility” in a way that Boston himself in his own life actively avoids. With Nick he keeps their relationship status unclear, with Nick he refuses to get photographed, with Nick he hides the fact that he hooked up with Top. But Boston will air everyone else’s dirty laundry, Boston will record and photograph everyone else’s private moments, Boston will give facts as best as he knows them when literally anyone else is involved:

“Sand has every right to know. Ray is in love with Mew. They even screwed! But good thing you came along, Sand. He needs to get over Mew”

“What does it have to do with you?” Ray is still fucking pissed, and this is a really important and relevant question to ask. Boston has no place in Ray and Mew’s private business. Boston has no right to record them without their permission. Boston has no right to have this conversation about Ray’s feelings with Sand. And Boston does not answer this question. He will not answer this question, because for Boston everyone else’s business is his, and his business is no one’s.

Now, do I think Boston is lying about Ray and Mew having sex? No. I think there are actually a number of layers to that statement. I think we are either a) setting up to have a killer conversation about people’s perceptions of sex/people’s perceptions of what counts as sex or b) that Boston fully thinks he saw Ray and Mew do something sexual when they actually didn’t [think Ray throwing up while doubling over Mew so it looks like he’s giving head]. And it is worth noting that Ray doesn’t deny the statement, although this doesn’t necessarily mean anything because there are lots of words and fists and vitriol being thrown around at this point, confirming or denying any sexual relationship with Mew is not really going to do anything to calm this situation.

“If you’re not in love with him anymore, then why did you get so mad?” Boston asks, and I love that this is phrased as a gotcha! moment. Boston thinks asking why someone got mad enough to punch him in the face after he said he was keeping track of his friends' romantic lives by holding on to pictures he had taken of them in secret is definitive proof that he is correct. Ray got real mad about Boston’s doucheness, and that must mean that Ray is love with Mew.

And he isn’t totally wrong. We know that Ray is in love with Mew, we know part of why Ray is in love with Mew. We know that Sand is now filling a similar role in Ray’s life as the only person who is willing to take care of him. But this question for me highlights a huge aspect of Boston’s character that I do not think we appreciate enough.

Boston does not know everything, and he acts like he does.

Ray is getting so mad at Boston because what Boston is saying is true AND Ray is getting so mad at Boston because Ray almost compromised his relationship with Mew by kissing him when he was sleeping. Ray is in a weird place right now in relation to how he sees Mew and how Mew sees him. At the moment, Mew is patient, kind, and forgiving, and willing to maintain their friendship and accept Ray’s apology as long as Ray can get it through his head that Mew is never going to see him as a potential romantic partner. If Ray cannot do that, Ray loses a very important person in his life. (And we see Mew punch Ray in the promo for next week, my hunch is that Nick tells Ray about Boston and Top and Ray tries to warn Mew about Top and Mew takes that as Ray lying to break them up, but that’s beside the point).

Boston may be correct that Ray is in love with Mew, but Boston has no idea what the fuck he is talking about when it comes to Ray’s current relationship to Mew. Boston does not know that Mew and Ray are in a rocky relationship right now because of Ray’s feelings. Boston thinks that he is right that Ray is in love with Mew because Ray gets so mad so quick, because he does not understand that a huge part of what is riling Ray up is that Boston is poking at a deep injury he thinks is just a flesh wound.

And still after Boston has gotten a fist to his face, and swung back; even after he has shoved Nick out of the way so hard Nick fell on to the couch; even after they had blown off some steam and were de-escalating to the point of screaming at each other rather than beating eachother up. Boston

Still

Can

NOT

Quit

“Oh, are you going to be two-timing?”

Boston is literally just…going in to a house that is not his and lobbing grenades all over the place cause he’s fucking bored. Cause he sets Ray off again, leaving Sand, screaming at Boston and Ray to stop fighting (IN HIS OWN FUCKING HOUSE, AFTER SHARING HIS OWN FUCKING WEED).

Boston listens to Sand, Boston walks away, Boston goes to Nick’s room. But the look in his eye?

He is not done with this. Boston is not surprised that Ray got mad, Boston was reveling in Ray’s reaction, but I think Ray’s rage went beyond what Boston had anticipated, and this feels to me like an act of war.

The Cool Down

Boston and Nick remove themselves from the scene and Ray and all his infinitely perfected coping skills rushes to chug as much alcohol as he can.

Again, thank you to Jojo and co for spending this amount of time highlighting Ray’s addiction, reminding us that Ray is not just a party boy, but is an alcoholic. Ray’s using alcohol to calm his nerves, possibly to forget what happened, and definitely because he has no idea what else to do but run to the most comforting item he can.

We cut to the silence of Sand’s bedroom. Sand and Ray laying awkwardly side by side. Ray, to his credit, does try to comfort Sand

“Hey, don’t listen to what Boston said. If there’s something you want to know, ask me”

The problem is, while Boston does not have the full context for the depth at which he has just hurt Ray, he is still right. Ray loves Mew, and if Ray didn’t, he would not have gotten mad the way he did. Ray can say whatever he wants here, Ray can ask to be trusted by Sand to tell him what he wants to know. But Sand has seen enough of Ray’s behavior, been jerked around enough by Boston, heard too many times in too short a period that Ray does not consider them anything more than friends, and so Sand is back to boundaries and barriers.

Sand lost sight of himself, and he fell too quickly for a deeply broken boy that he cannot fix, and who is not emotionally available enough to be a good fit for him right now.

And God, for as much as Sand exists to be jerked around by the narrative and shit on and used by the wealthier characters, I see why First was picked to play this role (besides the fact that there is no one else but Khao that I think could have done Ray, and it’s hard to kick the GMMTV pair-ups.) We have not even gotten to the height of First Crying Over Problems That Are Partially His Character’s Fault in this show yet, but First is a master at microexpressions, and despite the fact that his face is pretty neutral, that Sand has put on this mask, there is just such a palpable disappointment radiating off of Sand. The shine in his eyes is dulled, I saw someone on tumblr say this really looks like the first time that Sand has seen Ray, looked at him without the rose-colored glasses.

Sand’s mother loves him, I think he is special to her, but it is hard to feel special to someone you have to take care of. In the montage at the beginning of the episode, Sand is shown working, working, working, working and we don’t really see him interacting with other people who he isn’t providing a service to. He sings at the bar, he seems to enjoy that, he seems to have a good time with Yo and Atom, but he is only that close to them because they pay him to play there. He is providing them a service. The only classmates he is shown interacting with are clients he is selling plum wine to. It’s really possible that Sand’s only friend is Nick, and we don’t see them hanging out that much.

And, I know there is always some contention about how any and all of these characters feel, how much or how little they are telling the truth, etc. But for me personally, I think about when Ray said that he does care about Sand’s feelings, and I at the time he said it, I don’t think he did, but I think by Episode 5 he is starting to genuinely care.

Ray is getting better at reading Sand, Ray is trying to have a serious conversation, or at least to open the floor to one, and Sand is sad and so he isn’t saying anything, and Ray is able to tell that something is wrong. Ray wants Sand to talk to him, Ray says Sand’s name multiple times, trying to get him to answer verbally.

And Sand can’t do it, not if he is looking at Ray, not if he has to actually face the reality of how much of a fool he has been, to fall this deep, to fall this fast, to get it in his head that he and Ray were becoming something more than friends. To actually believe for even a second that someone could think he was special.

So he closes his eyes, and he takes a deep breath, and he says:

“Forget it. I’m tired. One more thing…This has nothing to do with me.”

Who is he talking to here, Ray or himself?

Sand’s inhale in this moment is deep, it’s weary, unsteady, and sad. Sand is gathering the strength to let go of what he thought he had. He is rebuilding his walls, and placing Ray on the other side of them. He cuts Ray out completely the second he turns his back. And you can just see the guilt all over Ray’s face, you can see all these little bursts of realization moment after moment where Ray realizes that he’s losing Sand now too. Even though Sand is likely more of a consolation prize to him, an easy victim of his puppy dog eyes.

Alone o’clock is not just for Sand, it’s for Ray too. Boston has won yet again because Boston is a miserable sack of shit lashing out because Mew and Top finally fucked and he has to make it everyone’s problem

Tagging the ephemerality squad: @lurkingshan, @waitmyturtles, @chickenstrangers, @ranchthoughts, @twig-tea, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @distant-screaming

and my blessed mess crew: @so-much-yet-to-learn, @ginnymoonbeam, @bengiyo, @shortpplfedup, @neuroticbookworm, @emotionallychargedtowel because I want attention :)

#only friends the series #only friends #ofts #sandray #bostonnick #firstkhao #neomark #first kanaphan #khaotung thanawat #neo trai #mark pakin #jojo tichakorn #ninew pinya #wka long post #only friends analysis #only friends meta #ofts meta

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princesscallyie · 3 months ago

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Here's Kingsley's redesign. The unexpected glow up!

Kingsley's whole arc is that his desire for justice and to protect everyone, awakens a rage within him. He also develops a kinda twisted sense of morality as time goes by. As he starts to believe the end justifies the means, and the only way to get the upper hand is to play the same game their enemies are playing. Whatever the costs. As mentioned in the plot synopsis, Kingsley is angry, mostly at himself for being so weak. He feels like he's not meant to lead if he doesn't have the strength to protect everyone. He must become stronger to defeat the YBA and all evil. This leads to him finding and injecting himself with Jojo's Chemical X serum.

This serum is unstable as it's been sitting dormant for so long, and would have killed him if Hank and the rest of the Technology Department didn't band together to save him. Though his case is way more complicated than they can handle, so Kingsley is under the care of Blossom and the VL's generous benefactor, Dexter. Kingsley wears Dexter's invention, the Vita-Pack, to track his vitals and forces him into a "Cool-Down Cycle" if he happens to approach his limit, as limit breaking could be catastrophic for him. He can reach Limit Break by overexerting himself or by being consume with an intense rage, which he is prone to under the serum. Being called weak is a big trigger for him.

He uses a bo staff he designed himself after being trained by Taiyang and Xiang. His super enhanced muscle memory allowed him to learn to fight quicker than normal, though he still prefers to use his mind to gain the upper hand.

#ngl I thought kingsley before was a pretty okay character #I mean he's sweet and friendly but also kinda boring?#this arc makes him soooooo much more interesting imo #like Drake was curve stomping him in the multi dimensional department lol #like they are supposed to be kinda equal as the main characters #plus he's cooler!#my art #next gen #g:rs #kingsley

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ewingstan · 1 year ago

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I've been thinking about how Worm differs from Ward in it's approach to action, and I'm realizing that my dissatisfaction with the latter isn't just "the powers got more complicated." Its that action scenes are being used in completely different ways for completely different ends in each text, but are being paced the same way.

In Worm, each fight was a scenario where a problem was set out that seemed unbeatable given what the protagonists had at their disposal. The satisfaction of the fight was seeing the problem being "solved" through clever and unexpected use of the protagonists abilities. We get this time and time again:

The Undersiders plan for dealing with a few wards at the bank heist, and they get the full team plus the Dallon sisters—how will they make it out of a fight we know they're not prepared for? Time to change things up and go on the offensive!

The villains unexpectedly run into Lung during the ABB crackdown, and we've seen how much trouble he gave Taylor last time. How can she fight someone who seemingly no-sells all her powers? Time to get creative with how she uses her bugs!

Taylor's great at attacking an enemy's weak spots, but now someone with no weak points is on her doorstep. How can she fight off not just one of the feared Slaughterhouse Nine, but the one seemingly most built to no-sell her abilities?

Butcher needs to be dealt with, but she's incredibly powerful and anyone who kills her ends up inhereting a host of problems. How do we deal with her and her team? Hey, who left this emotion-manipulator-in-a-face-worse-than-death lying around for us to use?

It's like watching a puzzle being solved. Here's a clearly defined problem, here's how it's especially hard for Taylor because of her limitations, here's how she uses her powers and surroundings in clever ways to come out on top. It also means that basically every fight advances Taylor's character in some way—for it to be convincing, the audience needs to clearly believe in the limitation, which since we're in Taylor's head so much usually means she needs to belive in the limitation. So when we see her overcome this limitation, we're seeing how we (and she) were wrong about her. We learn that Taylor's willing to take insane risks and be agressive in the bank heist, we learn she can take advantage of other parahuman's powers in brutal ways during the Lung fight, we learn how she can use bugs in fully unnatural ways and inspire people to help her in her fight with Mannequin, we learn that she's thriving in the scarred state of Brockton Bay to the extent of utilizing its spankin-new suicide zone to deal with enemies, etc. This is part of why I never had much of a problem with the all-battles-no-breaks pacing that characterizes so much of Worm: it was never just battles! Every fight advanced Taylor's character an incredible amount!

This is a pretty common genre of action, but it requires a few things: namely, a thorough understanding of an enemies abilities. Its only fun to see a character outsmart a powerset if we understand the powerset. And we need to see the way an enemy is a problem for a character's apparent limitations if we want to appreciate how they're overcome. There's a reason why JJBA villains spend so much time monologuing about their stands, or why Sanderson spends so much time establishing exactly how each magic system works. If an enemies powers were vague and unknowable, then deafeating them wouldn't seem clever and limitation-overcoming, it would seem lucky or brute-force. So, Worm has Taylor teamed up with miss-can-explain-everyone's-deal and has her go up against villains famous enough for their powerset to be common knowledge.

But Ward isn't built for this type of clever power-munchining in its action. It's less Jojo's and more Berzerk, with its protagonist defeating her enemies though indomitable power and horrific force rather than cool tactics. Furthermore, Ward is interested in exploring the fog of war and how it affects violent engagements. Victoria is constantly thrown into situations where she has little idea of her enemies powersets, and defeats them without having ever fully grasped their intricacies. And part of this is because the powers in Ward are too complicated to be wholly "got" through simple demonstration, but also because she isn't approaching each fight with the goal of countering the enemy's specific schtick. She's trained to have specific tactics against different broad types, and doesn't typically analyze her opponent past the point of categorizing them as a breaker or a changer. And it makes sense! That style of engagement is gonna be common for anyone who doesn't have a Tattletale! (Kenzie is not a Tattletale. Her specific brand of all-seeing doesn't extend to being able to quickly give the lowdown on a powerset. It does extend to giving a full view of a battlefield and enemy positions, which helps facilitate the more "military engagement" mode for narrating action that Ward adopts). And unlike Taylor's useless-at-first-brush yet endlessly adaptable powerset, Victoria's powers are a blunt hammer that is very good at giving every enemy the nail treatment. Her action scenes are like watching a kaleidescope being smashed to pieces; we're constantly watching someone plunge into a bizzare sitation and smash their way out of it without really understanding what "it" was.

And to be clear I think this low-information style of action can lead to really cool moments. All we get about Mama Mathers for a while is "she can see you when you think about her" and "this is enough to keep the whole compound in line," so the reader's left to speculate on the actual extent of her abilities. And so when she starts driving people into violent spasming fits all of a sudden during the Fallen raid, its shocking and intense! You really get the sense that existing in the world of Parahumans means being subject to countless horrible and unknowable dangers you can't plan around, and when it works, it rocks!

But it also means that when fight scenes can only go on for so long before they start to drag. There's less satisfaction to seeing an enemy defeated without the puzzle component, and there's less character narrative being advanced in each fight outside of "what is Victoria willing to fight for/against" or "how much is Victoria willing to treat this enemy like a nail." Ward needs breaks in its action in a way Worm didn't, and when fights go on for the same length as they did in Worm it feels like Wildbow's using pacing that worked in one area without realizing how it could only work in that area. It might also be why I appreciate the quieter moments of inter-team banter and therapy sessions Ward is full of (besides those moments being, on the whole, really goddamn good).

#parahumans #wildbow #taylor hebert #victoria dallon #leo reads ward #leo reads worm #leo says

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soulc-hilde · 3 months ago

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Ch. 05 - Locked Down

Pairing: Jey Uso / Josh Fatu x Aries / Ezmeralda Bey

Synopsis: Devoted to her craft and her family, WWE Superstar Ezmeralda has a library of accolades accomplished on her own and by the side of her family like never before. As she leads the Women's Revolution to glory, romance seems to find her at the most unexpected moment... in the ring.

Warning(s): SFW, OC is a black woman, swearing, WWE-canon violence, Non-scripted fights, body shaming, body insecurities, WWE's consistant misogyny is blatant until later chapters, etc.

Cross-posted: Wattpad

Ch. 01 | Ch. 02 | Ch. 03 | Ch. 04 | Ch. 05

Atlanta, GA

Unfortunately, Ezmeralda couldn't attend Jojo and Eva's housewarming party as she originally planned to spend time with her family and spend some time with a certain man. For the afternoon, the triplets had set out to teach their eldest nephew, Leon, how to drive and out of all the cars they had, Ezmeralda's had to suffer.

And to think, she just replaced the breaks on her Ford F-150.

The custom painted evergreen and silver accented truck was filled with Ezmeralda, Ezra, Ezekiel, Leon, and their older brother and his father - Elijah while Josh and their other older brother, Emry, sat in the bed. Pulling into the empty parking lot, the boys begin to set up their own course of cones while Ezmeralda turns on the cameras.

Once everything was set, they begin the video with Ezmeralda in the passenger seat as Leon takes over the driver seat. Emry and Josh sit in the backseat while Ezekiel and Ezra sit in the bed of the truck.

"Alright, nephew," Ezmeralda starts. "If you can drive a pickup truck, you can drive damn near any car on the planet. Now, with my truck, the gear shift is in the steering column. That is known as a column shift, not every car has this design, but the function is universal. You just grab and pull down."

Leon nods, "okay."

She points at his feet. "There are only two pedals. On the left is the brake which your foot's already on and the gas is on the right." Emry cuts in, "no, the brake's not... what?"

Josh laughs, trying to appear relaxed. "Nope, she's right. Brake's on the left, gahdamn." "Yuh," she resumes her lecture.

"So, when you remove your foot from the brake, the car will move. Not full throttle, but it will roll forward. Go ahead and give it a little, right now." He begins to press on the gas, forgetting to shift the vehicle into drive. The engine revs, its healthy growl was loud and deep as it settles in their bones.

"Oh, it's still in park," Emry notes. "Ok, a little rev. Little rev. How'd that feel though?" Leon laughs, "that felt like it was about to take off."

Ezmeralda shakes her head, "gahlee, you got a heavy ass foot. I know y'all felt that shit." The two men laugh, Josh's eyes widening with fear he tried so hard to play off. "What you mean did we feel that? Hell yeah!"

"Aye, son," Emry leans forward, tapping Leon on the shoulder. "You remember that episode in Spongebob? Where they were like 'big toe. Only the big toe?' You gotta do that, son. Do that, just your big toe."

"America," Ezmeralda huffs, rubbing her face with frustration. "We gon' die. And I just fixed my truck, too!"

Ezekiel and Ezra sit in the bed, chewing on honey buns while singing: "Guess who's gonna die, tonight? Uh, die tonight."

Ezmeralda's House

After spontaneously gaining the car back with no markings and unanimously declaring that Leon could not drive until he's reached the age of 40 which is a good age seeing as the whole Bey crew would be dead and gone, Ezmeralda and Josh decided to have a little date night to about, well, them.

"So," Josh starts, sipping some of the peach flavored Moscato. "When you think about us and our relationship, where do you see us? What do you see?"

Keeping her eyes on her plate, Ezmeralda nods and takes the moment to answer. "I can see myself being happy when I think of us. I don't know if it's because of how long we knew each other or what, but there's an unsaid understanding between us. Like, I know what you're thinking or feeling before you even say a word and vice versa."

"Before you, I never thought of myself with someone and felt real happiness and infatuation," her voice falls into a whisper as her face slowly begins to turn red. "Seeing the way you get along with my family, treating them as if they're yours and the way you don't judge me for my career and my looks. I just... I feel loved."

Josh grins, taking a hold of her hand from across the table. "Baby, gon'head and look at me," he coos. Once her toffee brown eyes meet his dark ones, he begins to speak.

"Ezmeralda, since like '08, you've been my rock. Now, don't tell Jonathan that cause he'll throw a fuss, but from the moment we stepped into FCW and you became our mentor, I'd fallen in love with you." Her eyebrows raise, ellicting a soft chuckle.

He shrugs, "I already had a little celebrity crush on you beforehand, but seeing you in person, watchin' you work in the ring, and getting to actually have a conversation with Ezzie - The Chaotic Beauty instead of Aries - The Future Hall of Famer... I knew I had to make you mine."

"It for sure doesn't help that our families are so connected, girl, you can't get rid of me even if you tried," Josh giggles. "I know being vulnerable ain't your thing and expressing yourself like this is something new, but I want you to know that I see you. I see the effort you put in letting me know that you're feeling me, too. I see you opening your heart for me despite your fear. And I appreciate you, okay?"

A tear escapes down her cheek as she nods. Josh's grin, if possible, stretches even further as he walks around the table and pulls her into a hug. "I appreciate you, boo," he pecks her on the forehead. "And I love you." She whispers in his chest, voice trembling with her tears. "I love you, too."

"Joshua," she sighs, a timid smile taking over. "As a little girl, I've always wanted to find happiness like parents have and that includes their marriage, you know? And for the longest, I could never find it. I never found someone who looked at me like I was something valuable or treated me like so. I was always too masculine or aggressive or looking for too much - hell, there's one who complained that my family and I was too close!"

Ezmeralda bites her lip, "and for a long time, I believed that my career was going to be my first and my last love. I even made a to-do list of accolades I wanted to do before I retired or died, but meeting Josh was like a blessing, I guess. My first love introducing me to, probably, the love of my life. I'd say that it's very poetic."

After dinner, the two were cuddling on the couch, watching tv. "Since TJ and Nattie's bachelor party's comin' up and we're officially locked in," Josh jokes with a light giggle. "How do you wanna go about the vacation?"

"For one, we can definitely share a room," Ezmeralda hums. "Ezra's bringing Charlene, rightfully taking personal time for themselves from the kids, while Ezekiel's a freak. I'on't, no, we're not kids being forced to share a room anymore." Josh laughs, shaking his head at the adorable yet disgusted grimace that takes over her round features.

"Okay, what else?" He laughs. She adds on, "we can fly out together. Instead of us meeting down there, you can just bring your bags over here and then we can leave together."

He nods, "say less. I'll probably start packing either tomorrow or the day after." Josh leans more of his body weight onto her as an exaggerated pout shifts onto his face. "You gon' help me, boo? You know, I forget things. Please?"

"Yes, yes," she laughs, pushing him off. "All up on me." He kisses his teeth, side eyeing her. "Girl, please. You love when all this delicious caramel is all up on you," he rubs up and down his puffed out chest.

Ezmeralda snorts, her head falling back as the outburt switches into a hyena laugh. "Get away from me before I kick you out my house, JJ!" He shakes his head, smiling. "Nah, come on and get you some girl. Last night, you couldn't get enough," he begins climbing on top of her as she screams, laughing.

"Omg! Josh!" She laughs. She wraps her thick thighs around his waist and her arm around the back of his neck, rolling their bodies off the couch. He begins fake choking, arms wiggling as he goes to tap out. "Nah, go to sleep. Take yo' Niquil."

Las Vegas, NV

Touching down in Vegas, both the bride and groom's parties road to the hotel in a shared limosine. As they infiltrate the hotel, rowdy and disturbing the poor patrons, they make their way to Natalya and TJ's room. The room was decked out with a bar and an open space living room where everyone settled for the moment.

Josh and Ezmeralda sit down at the table as Jojo and Justin check out the shower room with a stripper pole incorporated in the center while Bri and Nikki sit with Bryan, accidentally popping open the bottle of champagne. Ezra and his fiance, Charlene, sat beside, laughing at the chaos that surrounds them.

Nikki starts a quick toast, "oh, here's to boners, shit. Bachelor and bachelorette, yay!" Everyone laughs, joining in.

After everyone settled into their rooms, they decided to head down to soak in the pool. Ezmeralda was dressed in an emerald bikini with gold accents, the swimsuit came in a set with a sheer skirt, and matching flip flops. Her and Charlene walk side by side, flanked by Josh, Ezekiel, and Ezra. Both of their men kept an arm around their waists, eyeing down any man who dared look their way. Ezekiel, on the other hand, trailed after them mindlessly as his hands rub over his pecs and his torso, hoping he didn't appear ashy.

The group settles beside Trinity and Jon's shared layout. While Jon, Ezra, and Ezekiel set out for the water, Josh lays beside Ezmeralda, his eyes staring her down. "Look at you," he hums, moving his sunglasses up. "All glowy, girl yeh look goodt."

She laughs, nudging him with her shoulder. "Boy, hush," she playfully scolds. He shakes his head, "you want me to be quiet while you here, lookin' like a full course Michelin Star meal."

He leans over her ear, "I won't lie, though. Some folks got one more time to be starring like they got eye problems or else they really gone need that vision checked." She snorts, smacking his chest, "ignore them. At the end of the day, you the one that finna eat this meal."

"Oh," he leans back, eyebrows raised. "Is that so?" She raises her eyebrows, shrugging. "Depends... if you're hungry." He cheeses, nodding. "Girl, I'm always hungry."

She shakes her head, "well you just ate breakfast this morning, so you gone have to wait. In the meantime, gon'head and take yo' ass for a swim. You look dehydrated." Charlene snorts, leaning away from them as Ezmeralda lightly pushes the younger Fatu away from her.

Pre-Game | Hotel

Everyone was dressed and back in the party room, pre-gaming before the parties were to separate for the night. Ezmeralda dressed in a dark purple dress that stops at the knee with a cheeky slight on the side, the top of the dress was off the shoulder with thin long sleeves and paired with black booties. They all cheer Nattie to take a shot before mingling.

Trinity, Ariane, Nikki, Charlene, and Ezmeralda sit on the couch beside Bri, talking. "So, are we gonna see Bri Mode, tonight?" Trin asks. The twin smirks, "maybe not tonight," before taking a sip of her champagne.

Ariane and Ezmeralda laugh while Trinity groans. "She's like, 'maybe not tonight,'" Ariane mimics the Bella twin, the group laughing.

TJ calls for a toast, raising his pink solo cup. "A toast to Natalie Neidhart, who has definitely kept me level," everyone 'aw's at his moment of vulnerability. "And from flying off the deep end. And, the one person who's the reason I'm still here and still kicking, so..." Everyone raises their glasses, sending their praises for the childhood sweethearts.

Nikki then stands, walking off to the side. "I'm sorry, but, us girls, are getting ready to go to Chippendale and we can't be late for the show. We love you guys, but you gotta go."

Josh shakes his head, arms gripping Ezmeralda's waist. "Y'all really kickin' us out, twin." Nikki shrugs, laughing, in response. Josh turns to the older woman, pecking her on the lips repeatedly. "You just gone let her kick us out?"

Ezmeralda shrugs, laughing, "aye, that ain't my fight, Uce." He playfully glares at her, pinching at her sides. "Girl, shut up and give me my kiss." She does so, laughing against his lips. "Be safe, alright? And call me if you need, I love you."

"I will and I love you," she whispers, gently backing away. She watches as he leaves out the door with the rest of the men, trying to ignore Trinity's bouncing eyebrows.

While Jojo couldn't participate in the activities because of her age and Eva personally stayed away from alcohol, the two decided to just walk around and enjoy each other's company while the others partied and enjoy the show. As the night continues, Bri becomes lost in the alcohol and the music as her, Nikki, and Ariane dance on top of the mini tables in the section. She even ran across the couch with the drink in hand.

"Oh, Lord," Ezmeralda laughs, shaking her head as Nikki falls off the couch. Trinity shakes her head, "y'all we gotta wrestle next week."

Before the girls... Bri, could get too far gone, they decided to retreat back to the bachelorette room where they continued to drink and have fun in a safer space. Bri and Ezmeralda sit beside Natalya, noticing that her mood turned dark quick.

"I don't know what it is," Natalya laughs, "but Brie, Ezzie, please don't get mad at me. I know you guys are gonna get so mad. But, I honestly can't get Jaret out of my mind. I don't know what it is and what's wrong with me?"

Both women's faces drop, eyes slightly widening at the bomb. They don't say anything yet, allowing the woman to continue. "I don't know why, but I wanna text back and Nicole told me not to text back. But I already have."

"This is your bachelorette party," Brie points out. Nattie takes a seat, "Yeah, I feel so overwhelmed to be honest. I feel like there's nobody on the planet that I love more than TJ. Bit, I feel like I'm not ready for it." Her phone vibrates.

Brie and Ezmeralda follow her to the master bedroom. "What's wrong with me?" She asks, eyes tearing up. "Like, I wanted to have this fairytale wedding, but part of me is like so scared."

"When we were seeing the Chippendales, I was not looking forward to it. But when we went there, it was something fun, right?" Brie speaks. "The way the guys looked at you and it was like... ugh and you're just like, 'whoa.' You feel wanted. And you just feel like, 'wow, in these guys' eyes, we're it.' And that's what Jaret's making you feel."

Ezmeralda chimes in, nodding. "Nattie, you and TJ have been rocking with one another for 13 years," her eyebrows raise, "there's some marriages that don't even last that long, but y'all have. You guys have spent so much of your lives with one another, that a part of you becomes jumpy when this new spark of attention is given to you."

"Once TJ had his injury, your relationship took a bump and he wasn't willing to actually hear you. Instead, he kept shoving you onto the back burner. So, when a guy like Jaret comes through and he's saying all these nice things, he's giving you the attention that TJ should be."

Nattie nods, "and it's funny to me because no matter how many times, Jaret tells me all these nice things, at the end of the day, it's just TJ that I love. A part of me, though, feels like, scared to totally seal the deal."

"And you have the right to be," Ezmeralda smiles. "For all these years, you both had the opportunity to leave one another. Try to find someone else to start over with, but you didn't because y'all are meant for each other. With marriage, that's not something you can just get up and leave when things become tough."

Nattie nods, wiping her face. "I think I'm just becoming overwhelmed with everything." Ezmeralda nods, "that's okay, I'ma head to my room with Josh. Have a goodnight, Nattie."

Ezmeralda makes her way out, reaching the hotel room. Unlocking the door with her card, she walks in, trying to be as silent as possible with every step. Just as she turns the corner to the bed, Josh's body flashes from behind the wall as he screams. Her body freezes, leaping in the air as a delayed shout explodes from her lungs.

"Oh my God," she pants, hand over her heart as it pulses against her ribs. Josh laughs, clapping his hands before pulling the woman into his chest. "I'm sorry, mamas. I'm sorry, I had to."

Calming down as her soul returns to her body, she sends a chop to his chest, teeth gritted together. "Joder tu madre, cabron!" She curses as he laughs, following her to the bed. "I'm sorry, baby!" He apologizes once again, collapsing on the bed beside her.

"How was your night?" He asks, lightly stroking her exposed thigh. She smiles, "it was good. Brie went into Brie Mode, I ain't never seen someone run across a couch with heels on and a full cup of liquor in hand."

He laughs, shaking his head at the image that pops into his head. "Y'all was cutting up, huh?" She shakes her head, "I was not cutting up, sir. Do not add me into that equation, I was innocent."

He hums in disbelief, pulling her in closer. "However, I ain't worried about all that. Since you back and we both got some energy left, how about that meal I was promised? What's on the menu?"

She hums, making her way to her feet, slowly stripping herself from the dress. "The chef has yet to prepare the food, sir. Not even the meat has been cleaned." He jumps to his feet, "don't even worry about the mean. Salmonella ain't never killed nobody."

"Shut up!" She laughs, backing up for the bathroom. "Just wait, it won't take long, just like 20-30 minutes." He takes slow steps forward, "nah. I want my meal now." He goes to lunge but she evades him, ducking into the bathroom.

As she goes to shut the door, he bursts through, arms wrapping around her naked waist. "Joshua!" She screams as he kicks the door closed.

◼︎◼︎◼︎

How are we liking the story so far? I've always wanted to do a fanfic based off of Total Divas since I got into wrestling, but nobody was making Jey Uso fics except for like a few quick imagines on Tumblr.

I'm happy that my man is getting his shine in the spotlight; however, it's coming at a great cost because he still has yet to win a solo match for a solo title whereas Baby Fatu is spearheading a main event storyline with Roman, chasing after the title and he's only been in the main roster for about a year, I think.

Like, what's the purpose of being Main Event Jey Uso if y'all not finna give him a winning chance? He's leaving his family for damn near 5 days a week to put that work in and nothing to say for it except the crowd reception.

And don't even get me started on the rumors folks have been starting about his marriage. Like, Ms. Takecia has never been one to have her face all up in a camera even before Jey's big solo push. Even at events such as HOF, there's photos on Pinterest of her posing with Trinity and Galina, but there's none of her being caught on live camera because she's not into it.

But she was there by Jey's side in one of those WWE vlogs, her and both of his sons. Leave that family alone and stop making lies about his marriage because Takecia is that man's high school sweetheart and doesn't owe y'all her damn appearance. She's living her life as a wife and a mother, leave them alone!

#jey uso x black oc #jey uso x oc #jey uso fanfic #jey uso fic #jey uso fanfiction #jey uso angst #jey uso fluff #black fanfic writers #main event jey uso #wwe x black oc #x black!oc #wwe fanfiction #wwe jey uso #soulc.hilde series #Jey Uso #josh fatu x oc #Joshua Fatu #joshua fatu x reader #joshua fatu x oc

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aifanfictions · 1 year ago

Note

Write a fanfiction about Jotaro Kujo from Jojos Bizzare Adventures falling in love with the Stardust Crusaders seventh member (Y/N) who is helping the other Stardust Crusaders defeat DIO. Hovewer Jotaro Kujo is still a teen and a closed up person so despite falling in love with (Y/N) he doesn't know how to express his feeings.

Silent Hearts

The relentless Egyptian sun bore down on the scorched desert landscape as the Stardust Crusaders continued their arduous journey to defeat DIO, the malevolent vampire. Their quest had brought them to the brink of exhaustion, but the determination to save Holly and stop DIO spurred them forward.

Among the travelers was a new addition, (Y/N), the seventh member of the Stardust Crusaders. Her arrival had been unexpected, but her Stand power had already proven invaluable in their battles against DIO's minions. She had quickly earned the respect and trust of the group, and there was one person in particular who found her presence captivating—Jotaro Kujo.

Jotaro, the group's stoic and enigmatic leader, was known for his cool demeanor and rarely displayed any emotion. Yet, from the moment (Y/N) had joined their ranks, something had shifted within him. He watched her from a distance, his dark eyes lingering on her with a mixture of curiosity and admiration. Her unwavering determination and courage in the face of danger had piqued his interest.

However, Jotaro was a teenager, and the complexities of his emotions were foreign territory. He didn't quite understand why his heart raced whenever (Y/N) was nearby or why he couldn't help but think about her, even in the most perilous of situations.

As the group set up camp one evening beneath the vast expanse of the Egyptian night sky, Jotaro found himself sitting by the campfire, staring silently into the dancing flames. (Y/N) was nearby, her presence as comforting as it was perplexing to him.

Polnareff and Joseph, ever the chatterboxes, were engaged in lively conversation nearby, leaving Jotaro and (Y/N) in a rare moment of quiet together.

"(Y/N)," Jotaro began, his voice rough and hesitant. He cleared his throat before continuing, "About your Stand..."

(Y/N) turned to him, her eyes meeting his inquisitive gaze. "Yes, Jotaro?"

He struggled to find the right words, a rare occurrence for the normally composed teen. "Your Stand power is... impressive. It's helped us more than once, and I appreciate that."

A faint smile tugged at (Y/N)'s lips as she acknowledged his words. "Thank you, Jotaro. I'm here to help in any way I can."

Jotaro's fingers traced the edge of his hat nervously as he searched for a way to express what he felt. "It's not just your Stand. I... I've noticed how fearless you are in battle, how you never back down from a fight. It's admirable."

(Y/N) shifted closer to him, their shoulders nearly touching. "We're all in this together, Jotaro. We're a team."

He nodded, but there was something more he wanted to convey, something he couldn't quite put into words. "Yeah, a team... but there's something else." Jotaro hesitated, his gaze dropping to the ground before returning to (Y/N)'s eyes. "I don't know how to say this, but... I've been thinking about you a lot. More than I should."

(Y/N)'s heart skipped a beat at his admission, and a soft blush graced her cheeks. She had sensed Jotaro's internal struggle, his unspoken emotions, and now they hung in the air between them.

The desert wind whispered around them, carrying with it the weight of unspoken feelings. Jotaro, for all his strength and bravado in battle, found himself at a loss when it came to matters of the heart.

(Y/N) reached out and gently placed her hand on Jotaro's, the touch sending a shockwave through him. "Jotaro," she said softly, "you don't have to have all the answers right now. We've been through so much, and it's okay to feel what you're feeling."

Jotaro looked down at their joined hands, his fingers entwining with (Y/N)'s. It was a small gesture, but it held a world of meaning.

"Sometimes," (Y/N) continued, "our hearts know things that our minds can't quite grasp. And that's okay."

The two sat there in companionable silence, the campfire crackling and the stars above them bearing witness to a moment of unspoken understanding. The journey to defeat DIO was far from over, but in that moment, Jotaro found solace in knowing that he wasn't alone, that he had (Y/N) by his side, and that their hearts, though silent, spoke a language all their own.

NOTE! This story was generated by OpenAI

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rose-and-thorn-fanfics · 2 months ago

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Kars x Fem! OC (Ivy Joestar) Part 3:

Kars remained an enigma in Ivy’s eyes, unpredictable with his words, and irresistible with his sexual advances. She often wondered if he was hiding something, and every once in a while he’d slip up and show affection like that night when he held her in his arms in his sleep. He (of course) played it off as “you were squealing in your sleep, woman. I had to shut you up somehow.” But she sensed that he enjoyed and cherished those moments of trust when he held her. Kars let her look at the stars a few more nights, and as thanks she would indulge his hedonistic tendencies.

The pillar-men had left one day (or night, Ivy was still unsure). And she laid in Kars bed, breathing in his lingering scent. He always smelled like warm amber and Mamey Sapote, an earthy and mildly sweet fruit she had tried once when she had followed her brother Joseph to Mexico. She hugged the pillow that Kars always slept on, hoping he’d walk through that doorway any minute now. She then heard the door unlocking, and the creak of it opening. She bolted upright, ready to greet Kars with the usual attentive nature. Instead, she was met with unexpected familiar faces.

“Jojo?” Ivy sputtered, shocked to see her twin there. And next to him was a tall dark haired woman with big earrings and a red scarf.

“That’s RIGHT! We are here to save your sorry ass!” Joseph exclaimed dramatically.

“This is your sister?” The tall woman asked, somewhat incredulous.

“yeah, or as I like to call her—“ Joseph started.

“-You!!!! Y-You SERIOUSLY can’t be here right now!” Ivy interrupted,her voice getting higher with both frustration and fear. “Lord Kars could come back at any moment a-and he isn’t to be underestimated!”

“I bet I could take him in a fight,” Joseph said cockily, crossing his arms. “Lisa Lisa over here has been training me in Hamon skills!”

The dark-haired woman frowned. “Ivy is right, the pillar men are stronger than you can imagine and Kars is especially to be taken seriously as he is their leader. Let’s go, Joseph.” She walked towards the bed where Ivy was sitting and grabbed her arm, ready to yank her out from under the sheets. Ivy flinched and recoiled, her worry turning to embarrassment as she knew the sheets were the only thing covering her nakedness from this “Lisa Lisa” and her brother. “I-I’m not…. wearing anything, and you two are in more trouble if you take me away from Kars.” Ivy squeaked, embarrassed and desperate to get them to leave. “Please go!”

Joseph Joestar’s goofy demeanor changed to vengeful anger when he realized what Ivy’s words and lack of clothes implied. “He-heeeeeeeee! What?!!!!” Joseph fumed.

Lisa Lisa seemed to understand the urgency. “We are going NOW, Joseph. You are not ready to fight Kars! And you!” She looked at Ivy. “You are coming with us.”

“But—“ Ivy searched for words that wouldn’t betray her feelings for the leader of the pillar-men while still emphasizing that she wanted to stay. Unfortunately, she came up empty. Lisa Lisa grabbed her by the arm, wrapping her in the sheets like a bath robe and dragging her out the door with surprising strength.

Ivy struggled hard, but eventually complied when Lisa approached the car parked outside. Ivy was shoved into the cab, and Joseph followed, muttering venomous words about Kars. Lisa Lisa got in the front seat and sped off, probably breaking every traffic law in Italy. They ditched the car at some point in Venice, taking a small motorboat to a secluded island. Ivy was silent the whole time, stomach burning with anxiety. She hoped they weren’t being followed…. At least… that’s what she told herself. ‘For Jojo’s sake… I don’t want Kars and the other pillar men to fight him.’ But her heart wished for a way to teleport back into Kars’ bed. ‘What a mess….’ Ivy thought.

On the secluded island, Ivy was led through the front gates of a fort-like structure and immediately handed clothes by a blonde woman in a maids uniform. Ivy found a bathroom and changed, but only after sulking. She heard a sharp knocking on the bathroom door.

“Still using it!” Ivy replied, although all she was doing was crying quietly as she sat on the marble counter.

“Don’t care. I need to talk to you, Ivy Joestar.” Lisa Lisa’s voice came from the other side of the door. “I need to know what went on while you were being held captive.”

Ivy slid off the edge of the counter and opened the door with irritation. “Why?” She frowned, looking directly into Lisa Lisa’s icy blue eyes.

The raven-haired woman didn’t flinch. “We need all the information we can get about these pillar men.” She said calmly.

Ivy’s cheeks turned red. She got the feeling she was going to have to tell… everything. Lisa Lisa wasn’t about to let her off the hook.

So she did. And when she’d told all there was to tell, in gratuitous detail, she felt somewhat relieved. But Lisa Lisa? The woman looked pissed.

“You’re telling me you were essentially used as… some sort of whore? Repeatedly? By Kars? Not the others? Just their leader…..”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t against my will…. I…” Ivy felt backed into a corner with the way Lisa Lisa was looking at her.

“You…?”

“I love him.” Ivy sniffled, wiping under her eyes with her wrist to stop the tears from pouring.

“You…. Love Kars.” Lisa pursed her lips together and a a shadow fell over her expression. “Ivy…. What you’re feeling isn’t love. He manipulated you, and now you’re confused.”

“That’s not true!” Ivy snapped back. “Lord Kars wouldn’t waist his time manipulating or deceiving me… he… I think it’s mutual. He just shows love differently.”

“You poor thing.” Lisa Lisa said icily. “You’re really that blind? I never expected to see…. you be foolish like this, Ivy. Not to this extent.”

Ivy shook her head, confused and upset by Lisa’s demeanor. “You just met me a little over an hour ago! Besides! What do you care? It’s not like you’re my mom. Quit being so judgmental. Geez.” Ivy huffed.

Lisa’s eyes widened momentarily, taken aback by Ivy’s comment. Then her expression returned almost robotically to being blank and unreadable. She turned around, and stormed off, her heels clicking on the tiles of the fortress. Ivy burst into tears.

Little did she know… Lisa Lisa was also crying, alone in her bedchambers.

“Ivy….” Lisa whispered shakily. “If only it didn’t endanger you to know the truth. Is this my fault? For not being there to raise you? My daughter… my precious, foolish child.” She wept.

Thanks for reading! Reblogs are appreciated!

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babysizedfics · 6 days ago

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Healing Hands and Home

Chapter 1: The Yucky Feeling

Summary: Feeling yucky and smaller than usual, Grian wakes up at an impromptu sleepover in need of extra care. With Lizzie’s nurturing touch and Joel’s unexpected displays of affection, his babysitters rise to the challenge of comforting him through his littlest moments. Surrounded by their love and warmth, Grian starts to feel a little better—even in the absence of his primary caregivers.

TW: mild illness (no emetophobia warning!), missing a CG, very brief mention of pull-ups (a lite type of diaper) to aid regression

Word count: 5.2k

Take me to chapter 2! (There is another link at the end of this post)

Also on AO3!

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Grian’s eyes struggled to open against the heavy pull of sleep. It took a moment of his brain booting up to realise he was in bed and it was evidently (going by the glow of the night light and solid black behind the blinds) the middle of the night. It took another moment for him to notice where he was… not in his bedroom.

With a flicker of worry in his chest, he arduously sat upright. He flinched at an unfamiliar ache in his back. Had he slept in a weird position? Then he noticed a few things at once:

1. The hand he raised to rub his eyes was gripping his stuffed bunny, Tasha. This realisation made him cradle her to his chest in a comforting hug. 2. He could feel a slight padding beneath his butt; one of his pull-ups. This realisation made his tummy swoop, dragging him halfway to little space. 3. Impulse and Scar weren’t here. This realisation made his chest grip tightly. 4. He didn’t want to notice anything else, he just wanted his Dads.

Not wasting any time (and brave because of the nightlight), Grian clumsily slipped out of the blankets that weren’t soft enough and didn’t smell right and headed towards the door. Where was he? He snuggled Tasha up to his chin, running his pinky along his lip for comfort. Of course, he could tell he was feeling a bit little. But he knew he wouldn’t slip fully into it without Impulse or Scar or one of his babysitters present. It never worked when he tried it alone anyway.

And the final realisation hit, just as he pulled the door half open and the bright light of the hallway hit his eyes painfully. He was at Joel and Lizzie’s base still! The memories flooded back as he tiptoed along the corridor to where he saw the flickering, multicoloured TV light from under the living room door.

Impulse and he had visited Jojo and Azzie last night. Then Impulse went somewhere because—Grian remembered—this was a sleepover they had planned last minute! It was a really fun evening even though Grian had been anxious that he would be anxious (stupid anxiety). The three of them played Mario Kart and had snacks and played hide and seek and had a pillow fight and it was a really fun evening! He even got to show Azzie his secret way of stroking Tasha (behind the ears, in little circles; it was the softest part). Grian smiled faintly behind his pinky finger which had pushed just inside his lips. But beyond the warm memories there was a yucky feeling inside him somewhere. He didn’t know what it was, but it made him want Impulse even more. So he pushed into the door and poked his messy head of curls into the gap. “Oh! Hey, honey,” Lizzie greeted cheerfully. But she was scrambling to grab the remote and lift herself from cuddling Joel at the same time. “What are you doing up?”

The TV noise was loud now that he was inside the room, and there were fighting noises and monster growls coming from the speakers. It was a relief when Azzie muted it.

But Grian became shy seeing Joel look over to him when he was feeling quite vulnerable; it was because of that buried yucky feeling! And the fact he was still just a bit embarrassed being little around his big friends. His soft pyjamas and stuffed animal and pinkie sucking (and the uppie hidden by his pyjama pants) were all pretty obvious tells he was little right now, it wasn’t like he could keep it a secret like he tried sometimes…

His cheeks flushed quickly, and he lowered Tasha and his pinky away from his mouth. “Um… I dunno.”

“It’s alright, buddy,” Joel said hurriedly, sitting ramrod straight and plastering a soft smile on his face. “You can be up if you want. You couldn’t sleep?”

“No, I was sleepin’, I fink—think,” Grian corrected. He looked down, still feeling strange being little with Joel. He could make himself big, if he wanted, but he was still feeling a bit bad, even if he wasn’t sure why. Being little meant he got the comforting, warm tummy feeling which helped a lot, so he let himself stay there mentally. To avoid eye contact, Grian dropped his eyes and watched his finger circling behind Tasha’s ear. With a shrug, he muttered, “Woke up feelin’ weird.”

“C’mere, baby.” A series of soft pats meant Azzie was inviting him to join them on the sofa, which he gladly did.

Grian half-ran to the sofa with a little grin pulling at his lips and launched himself at the cushions.

“Woah, woah, woa—kay!” Joel wheezed, doubling over as Grian’s knee had caught him in the stomach despite his hands being out to prevent such an attack.

Of course, Grian giggled at Jojo. Meanwhile, he smushed himself between both his babysitters gladly—separating their previous cuddle and inserting himself right into it. Normally he didn’t like asking for cuddles, especially not from Jojo, but Grian really wanted them right now.

“Wow, someone’s feeling extra energetic and extra cuddly, huh?” Azzie teased lightly, twisting in her seat to get comfy with Grian pushed up against her arm. She wrapped it around his shoulders. “Usually you’re dead on your legs when you’re sleepy.”

“‘M not sleepy no more,” Grian whined, snuggling his head on Azzie’s shoulder. The small burst of energy from jumping on the sofa had caused his whole body to ache, which was confusing. Grian frowned and whined a little. There was that yucky feeling again. Why was it hurting on the outside too? It felt really bad, worse than when he first woke up. But it was nice to be next to both his babysitters, so he curled up his legs and lifted his feet onto Jojo’s lap.

“Oh, so I’m on foot duty now, am I?” Joel complained.

To make it funnier, Grian pushed off his socks with both feet, wriggling his toes in triumph. He laughed when Jojo made a disgusted sound (but still rested one hand across Grian’s shins).

“Stroke, please!” Grian said all too proudly.

“Yeah, yeah. I know the drill by now, little man.” Jojo sounded annoyed but Grian could tell when it was fake - especially since he was chuckling under his breath and began running his fingers in stripes on Grian’s leg.

“Why did you wake up feeling weird, baby?” Azzie’s finger poked at Grian’s side.

She did it a lot because normally it tickled a bit and Azzie always liked making Grian giggle! But this time it made his nerves light up in pain, and sent a weird chill across his whole torso.

“Oww,” Grian whined loudly and hugged his arm around his ribs. It made the whole yucky feeling get even worse, and before he knew it there were tears blurring his vision. But he didn’t want Azzie or Jojo to see because they freaked out when he cried. So he lifted Tasha to his face and buried his head further into Azzie’s shoulder, not letting the tears fall. “I don’ like it…” he whimpered.

“Lizzie, what did you do to him?” Joel asked, affronted. His fingers had stopped the nice strokes on Grian’s legs.

“I didn’t do anything! It was just a tickle!” Azzie near-shrieked in defence.

It rang in Grian’s ears in a way it didn’t usually. How come the loud felt so bad? Oh no, now the yucky was hurting his ears too! Grian sniffled and held his spare hand up to the ear not pressed against Azzie. It was all too much. Now that the yucky was louder, he couldn’t ignore it. He knew this was a level of yucky he couldn’t handle when he was little, and Impy and Scar told him to ask for help when he couldn’t do something alone.

“I don’t feel good,” Grian explained pitifully, knowing the tears were nearly audible in his voice. He couldn’t give much more information than that and just hoped his babysitters would know how to make the yucky leave. But until then, he sniffled and pressed Tasha more against his eyes. “Really, really yucky,” he whined.

A soft, cold hand touched his forehead. He hummed, shoulders relaxing at the soothing touch.

“Oh shi—sugar, he’s got a fever,” Azzie whispered. “He must’ve woken up because he’s sick!”

Everything moved too quickly and loudly after that. Azzie made him move Tasha down from his face and saw he was nearly crying (and made a fuss). Jojo kept rubbing Grian’s shoulder trying to make him feel better but it just hurt his skin more. A glass of cold water was pressed into his hands and he pouted at having to hold something he didn’t even want instead of Tasha or sucking his finger. Then Jojo went to get medicine and Azzie was soothing him by pulling him into her lap with her arms looped around his tummy, which hurt even more! It was all really overwhelming and scary.

When Azzie made Grian try to sip water, and his shaky hands made it spill down his chin, he lost control of his grip and dropped the whole glass. He gasped as it spilled all over his lap and front, making his favourite pyjamas not nice and warm and soft anymore. It was too cold and wet and he didn’t like those things anyway, but with how sensitive his skin was tonight…

Grian instantly started crying, fully sobbing and tears streaming.

It was not like him at all to cry outright, especially if not in private with Impulse or Scar. And even then it was rare and mostly because of sensory overload. But he felt so extra sensitive from being sick and from not having his primary caregivers around. Now what felt like the last thing helping him feel normal—his creeper pyjamas—were ruined and cold and wet and Grian just wanted to go home.

“I wanna go home!” he hiccuped between sobs, letting Tasha gallantly soak up his tears. “Everythin’ gone bad!”

“I know, baby. It’s okay,” Azzie gently shushed him, swaying gently back and forth with her arms wrapped softly around his torso. Her hug was warm, even though Grian’s skin was still tingling painfully with every touch and with the cold, wet fabric sticking to it. “You’re just a little sicky and wet, it can be fixed.”

“I don’ like it!”

“I know, it’s not nice, is it?” Azzie murmured sympathetically.

“Wan’ Impy.”

“Aww, honey… You know he’ll be here in just a few hours. He’s coming back.”

“Wan’ now!” Grian whined, voice shaken by his crying. Why couldn’t they just get his caregivers? “Scar?” he chanced.

“He’s with Impy, remember?”

Another wave of tears came up. Grian shook his head and kept quietly sobbing. He shuffled around so he was still curled up sort of in Azzie’s lap, but now he could hide his face on her shoulder again.

"Wan' my Dads!"

“Aww, baby, I’m sorry.” Azzie sounded really sad that he was sad. Her hand softly cupped the back of his head and Grian sniffled wetly into her own pyjamas, probably making them wet too with his tears and snot. “I really wish I could get them, honey. But they’re somewhere important,” she tried to explain.

But Grian couldn’t understand. He just wanted one of his Dads to pick him up and make things all better!

“What the heck happened?!” Jojo turned up with hurried footsteps, sounding shocked (it was justified—Grian had never cried like this at their house before). The sofa dipped at Grian’s feet and again his nerves fired when Jojo rested his hand on Grian’s ankle. “Hey, what’s wrong, buddy?”

“He’s—”

“Impy an’ Scar gone forever!” Grian squeaked against Azzie’s shoulder. (Azzie corrected him quietly that they were only gone for tonight.) “An’ jamas wet,” he finished with a sniffle.

“Oh… Buddy, it’s okay. Impulse gave us more pull-ups just in case—”

“No!” Grian yelled and faintly (not too hard or he’d get in trouble) kicked Jojo’s thigh.

“No, he just spilled the water on his top,” Azzie explained quickly, still holding and rocking Grian. She knew Grian got annoyed when they talked about his uppies. “I told you he needed the sippy.”

“Yeah, I thought he looked older I guess…”

“Am…” Grian defended weakly, knowing it was pointless. He knew they’d all noticed he was regressed younger right now.

Azzie, thankfully, moved on. “We’ve just gotta find you some spare PJs, big boy Grian. Then you’ll be back in bed, all comfy and warm.”

Grian pouted against her shoulder. He wished he could stay in his own jamas. “But these really soft!” he argued.

“I know, but they’re wet now, so—”

“Hey, kiddo, I can put yours in the dryer!” Jojo said suddenly in a bouncy voice, as if he just thought of an amazing idea. He sounded really kind and like he knew how to take care of things. So Grian looked up, a little bleary-eyed, and found Jojo smiling softly at him. It was something that made the yuckiness a bit quieter. Not go away, but covered over with softer things and muffled. “You just have to wear something for 20 minutes ‘til your cute PJs are dry and ready to wear again. Yeah?”

Grian’s pinky found its way to his lips. “Mmm… Can I wear the Jojo oodie?”

An even bigger smile met his request. “Sure, bud-”

“Please!” Grian promptly remembered.

Jojo laughed and ruffled Grian’s hair. Grian playfully snapped at the hand with his teeth, but missed.

“Yeah, you can borrow my oodie, you lil’ monster!” Jojo’s finger booped Grian’s nose (milliseconds before he could bite it! One day Grian would succeed). “Aha! Gotcha,” Jojo cried triumphantly, then made his way out of the room.

Grian was bounced a little because Azzie’s legs were kicking up and down while she squealed, “Aww, Joel, that was so cute!”

“Whatever, can’t hear you!” Jojo shouted grumpily from the hallway.

“You’re a good uncle!” Azzie yelled back in challenge. Grian was watching her face now, seeing how happy she was, and when she looked back at him her eyes sparkled. “Jojo is a good uncle, isn’t he, honey?” she asked, a big smile stretching her cheeks.

A little shyness creeping back in, Grian just nodded his head gently and sucked the tip of his finger a little. (Just a little was okay, but if he sucked it too much grown-ups always tried to make him use his dummy. Grian tried to avoid it because he wasn’t a baby! But he had to admit, it was really soothing to suck his red one… Anytime he used it it made him feel soft and a lot smaller.)

When Grian was comfy with him, it was true Jojo was getting really good at being an uncle. But he was a lot better at the funny stuff and playing games. Usually if Grian was at their base, he went to Azzie if he wanted more cuddly time or was feeling upset—or if he was littler than normal. But maybe Jojo was good at helping too, like he was tonight. It made Grian hum thoughtfully. Maybe he could go to Jojo when he needed little help.

“Alright, cutie patootie.” Azzie peeled her torso off the sofa cushion and reached over Grian’s shoulder to the side table. “Do you know what time it is?”

A game! “Ooh, ooh, um…” Grian thought hard — maybe 3:30. Or, maybe it was a trick and she meant it was bedtime. Usually Grian didn’t wanna go sleepy or bed, but his skin and back still hurt and he wanted more stuffed animals… Maybe Azzie would let him cuddle the giant Stitch one! “Stuffy time?” he asked quietly (hopefully) with a smile.

“Ah,” Azzie had a guilty look. “I don’t think you’re gonna be a fan of the actual time compared to that…” Then she revealed from behind Grian’s head, as if by magic: a small brown bottle with a pink label. “Medicine time!”

Grian was so thoroughly unimpressed, he shoved himself out of Azzie’s lap and stood at her feet with shaky legs.

“No!” he barked, softly stomping one foot with a quiet smack. It stung his nerves again, but this was too important a battle to pay attention to that.

“Grian,” Azzie cautioned, her hands out placatingly and inching her way to the edge of the sofa. She clearly knew he was going to run. “You don’t have to do stompies. It doesn’t taste bad, I promise!” By now she was slowly standing up too.

Grian started shuffling backwards from her, hiding half his face behind Tasha. He was still grumpy and if Tasha weren’t hiding his mouth, Azzie would have seen his powerful pout. “I don’ wan’ it!” Another smack of barefoot on hardwood.

“It’s strawberry flavour~” Azzie sang, probably believing that was a good enough bargain.

Until she cried, “Dammit, Grian!” when Grian started running.

“No!” Grian yelled between panting breaths, already exhausted from the short run. It was the stupid yucky’s fault again! Otherwise he could (and did) run circles around his babysitters. He halted in the kitchen and turned his back to the laundry room door. Tasha was held out like a crucifix to a vampire when Azzie caught up and slid into the other side of the island.

“Don’ like strawby!” Grian lied.

“Baby, that’s not true, you love strawberries!” Azzie groaned. She was right. But not when it was yucky medicine strawberry. “Come on, just take a little bit. I can take some first if you like.”

Then ensued a cartoonish chase in circles around the kitchen island, started by Grian trying to escape the kitchen. “Can’t catch me!” Grian taunted.

Suddenly, a big fluffy pair of arms caught him from the side and stopped his running legs in their tracks. “Oh, really?” Jojo’s voice teased. Grian was pulled back against Jojo’s tummy — the babysitter’s arms still held like a vice around his ribcage. “No-one can escape the oodie monster!”

With as powerful a pout as ever, Grian looked up, over his shoulder at Jojo with a whine. “Not fair…”

“Sorry, little G. Had to be done.” Though Jojo didn’t exactly sound apologetic.

Again, Grian got shy realising Jojo was still holding him… They had never hugged for this long before; it was usually a quick, one-armed bro hug kind of situation. But Jojo’s arms were holding him really strong and even though his skin still stinged lightly from it, Grian really liked being held by his uncle like this.

“Um, it’s okay…” he whispered. Then, with pink cheeks and before his adult mind chimed in too much, he spun around to hug Jojo back. “Love you,” he added, making sure his face was hidden in Joel’s shoulder.

It took a couple seconds of Jojo’s arms faltering (and of Azzie making choked sounds of adoration), but he moved his hands to hold more of Grian, hunching his back just a little to meet the little’s height. “Yeah, love you too, buddy.” The oodie was fluffy and warm and so big on Jojo that it wrapped them in a cocoon.

It was a heartwarming moment, and Grian even smiled to himself privately. He was gonna tell Impy and Scar how much he liked Jojo looking after him now!

“Now, let’s take your medicine before you get this oodie on. Okay, little man?”

Grian pulled away from the hug to stare Jojo dead in the eyes. “You ruined it.”

Azzie burst into laughter behind him while Jojo and him argued some more.

While Grian held his stance against the medicine for as long as he could, he soon gave in. After deliberations, they agreed he would take it if Azzie let him have Big Stitch for the night. Although in all honesty, Grian would have given in whether they agreed to his terms or not. The few minutes of standing up had taken a toll on his body and he was getting aches, shakes and chills from the yucky feeling. Not to mention the wet patches on his pyjamas were still uncomfortable and he would be glad once they were warm and dry and he was under the blankies again. He was really yearning for bed at this point. So he let Jojo lead him by the hand to whatever they needed to do to make that happen sooner.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Tasty medicine swallowed; oodie snuggled in; pyjamas warm, soft, and perfectly dry. He would never tell anyone (except maybe Impy and Scar if they asked the right questions), but wearing Jojo’s hugely oversized oodie had made him feel even littler… Like, almost a baby! That nearly never happened, but tonight it just felt right. It was still a secret, though!

With Big Stitch in tow, Grian was lying in the guest bed once more with Azzie crouched next to it checking his forehead again. He was feeling thoroughly looked after and relaxed.

“Feels like you’re good to go,” Azzie smiled, pulling her hand back from his head. “Not too feverish anymore. Are you feeling any better, baby?”

As much as he wanted to say yes, Grian hummed and shook his head gently on the pillow. It still felt yucky, but at least he was comfy and warm and soft in bed now. His pinky was fully in his mouth and he knew there was just a little dribble on the pillowcase already. Usually he wouldn't suck it this much in front of anyone, but sick boys were allowed to suck their pinkies, he figured.

“Poor thing. But you’ll feel a bit better in the morning, I pinky promise.” Azzie held a pinky up to him, then faltered with a snigger when she looked at Grian’s mouth. “Maybe we’ll save the pinky part for later, yeah? I don’t want baby dribble on my fingers!”

“Nu-uh!” Grian garbled, not taking his finger away from his lips. “Am big boy! Always!” he lied.

Azzie nodded very seriously. “You’re right, I forgot. My mistake, sir.” Then she held up a familiar red piece of plastic and silicon. “Y’know, I hear big boys like having dummies nowadays too.”

The dummy called to him and his gaze gravitated towards it, following how Azzie teased it left and right… But Grian snapped out of it with a strong blush. He ducked his face a little under the blankie to hide how he sucked his pinkie more. “Mm, I dunno…”

With a small, reassuring smile, Azzie said, “That’s alright, honey. You don’t have to, but it’s here if you want it.” She rested her chin on her forearm and her hand lowered to the bed, finger hooked in the handle of the dummy and idly holding it on the mattress. Grian’s eyes were still fixated on watching it. “Although, Impy told me a certain cutie patootie feels nice and melty and comfy when he has his dummy in.” Her eyes met his inquisitively, knowingly. Then she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “I’ve heard nice, melty, comfy feelings really help with feeling yucky.”

“Weally?” Grian asked in wonder, then hurriedly corrected, “Um, w—really?” The covers swallowed even more of his warm tingly cheeks as he shifted down in embarrassment.

Azzie broke into a big adoring smile at his verbal slip up. “Yeah, really!”

“Did someone say wheelie?” Jojo piped up from the doorway with a toy car in his hand, wearing a big goofy smile like he was a clown. It dropped when no one laughed. “Wasted on you guys, I swear.” He chucked the failed comedy prop on the carpet.

“I was just telling Grian he doesn’t have to be a baby to have his dum—”

She was cut off by a loud, indignant whine from Grian and the sound of him kicking his feet a few times under the blankies. How come all the caregivers and babysitters told each other everything, especially the embarrassing stuff!

“Stompies don’t quite cut it when you’re not on the floor, do they, mate?” Jojo teased with a smirk, pacing over to the bed and crouching next to Azzie. “She’s right though, ” he nodded, completely serious, “only the coolest kids have dummies.”

Grian furrowed his eyebrows in half-confusion, half-grumpiness. “Jojo jus’ sayin’ it to be nice…” he mumbled, not unaware of their intentions. He was a smart baby. No, a smart big boy.

“Am not!” Jojo retaliated, then after a second of thought he reached out to the dummy. “Look, I’m a super cool bad boy, right, G?” At Grian’s nod (and Azzie’s eye roll) he continued, “Watch me use a dummy like a cool kid.”

Grian’s chest squeezed in panic. The dummy was only lifted an inch from the bed when he yelled, “No, mine!”

The tears filled his eyes within a second, shocking Grian. Was he really gonna cry for a second time that night? He didn’t like being so sensitive… It was all the stupid yucky’s fault for making him look like a baby. Grian lost his battle and felt his face crumple into a tearful pout. He sniffled, his throat making a small, sad sound. “Mi-ine…” he repeated with a hitch.

“Aw, buddy,” Jojo slumped, looking apologetic. He reached his other hand down to stroke Grian’s leg through the blankie soothingly. “ I wasn’t really gonna take it, it was just a joke. I’m sorry, please don’t cry.”

“Can’t believe you tried to take a dummy from a baby…” Azzie tutted, shaking her head and glaring at him.

“I wan’ my dummy now,” Grian admitted in a squeak as one tear rolled down and soaked into the pillowcase. Then he added, to save face, “J-jus’ cos I’m feelin’ yucky.”

Jojo sighed deeply and smiled with sad eyes. “Yeah, G, that’s okay. Here.”

The sucky part was promptly held up to his lips and though Jojo had never been allowed to do this for him before, Grian latched onto it instinctively. As soon as it filled his mouth and he ran his tongue along the smooth silicon, he sighed with relief he didn’t realise he needed. His eyes closed and he sucked the thing over and over, loving the soothing repetition of it. It really did help him to not focus on the yucky feelings.

Slowly, Grian opened his eyes and found them both watching him; not unkindly, but it was too much attention for his liking. He wanted to say something but felt shy—and really didn’t like how babyish his dummy voice was—so he reached one hand out of the covers to take Jojo’s finger and squeeze it twice. Thank you.

“You’re welcome, Grian,” Jojo smiled. Then his mouth dropped open in disgust and he looked down at his hand. “Eww, why is it so wet?!”

Grian smirked behind the red plastic.

“Oh no,” Azzie gasped, covering her beaming smile and rocking back with laughter. “I think you got the dribble hand!”

“Eww!” Jojo emphasized with a horrified look at Grian while the little giggled quietly, proudly nibbling on his dummy. “You’re a little menace, you are,” Jojo declared, pointing a wet finger at him. “Alright, that’s it for me tonight. I need to wash off your gross spit!”

As much as he played into the disgust, Jojo did take the time to awkwardly falter at the bedside, lean down, stand back up, blush, and give Grian an awkward squeeze on the shoulder by way of a good night wish before hurrying out of the room. Awkwardly. “Uh—g’night, kid.”

“Nunigh’, Bobo!” Grian giggled at how silly the dummy made his voice.

“Okay, you little trickster,” Azzie started, just getting out the last of her giggles. Grian liked making babysitters laugh, he still liked to play jokes on them when he was little after all! “Your sippy is on the nightstand, you’ve got your uppie, creeper PJs, Big Stitch, your cute lil dummy—” Azzie pinched the handle and wiggled the dummy in his mouth a little to make her point, earning an embarrassed whine. (Although it did make Grian’s tummy swoop pleasantly, cementing his baby space.) “—Anything we’re missing, sweetie?” she asked, clearly getting ready to stand upright.

There was something he wanted, but Grian didn’t want to bother Azzie anymore tonight. She had stifled a couple yawns since he got in bed, and being close up when she knelt beside him, he had seen there were bags forming under her eyes. He shook his head no, all the while feeling a pit in his tummy telling him he didn’t want her to go…

“Okay, baby,” Azzie got up, moved away (the pit sunk deeper), and stood by the door to turn off the main light. When it clicked, Grian looked around worriedly. But he was relieved to see the nightlight was sufficiently warm and bright and there were no dark spaces that made him anxious. “Remember, I showed you where our bedroom is if you need one of us, yeah?”

Grian nodded, gripping Big Stitch’s ears too tight under the blankies. Because he had gotten used to the feeling of Impulse stroking his hair until he fell asleep whenever he woke up from a nightmare. And he just missed his Dads a lot and felt extra tearful and little and scared right now and being awake and sicky felt similar to being awake and scared after a bad dream, so…

“Alright. Good ni—”

“Um…” Grian squeaked, and was impressed it stopped Azzie as somehow she had heard the small sound. “Um, can Azzie… stwoke hair?” he asked, sinking into the mattress wanting to hide from both his dummy voice and the fact he had just asked for something so silly. “Pwease?” he winced, overwhelmed by guilt. The only thing overtaking that guilt was the idea of falling asleep alone. It was just too big and scary.

Azzie was by his side again in an instant. “Of course, honey. I’m so glad you asked.” Her voice was genuine, and as soft as Tasha’s ears.

Then Azzie’s hand stroked gently and slowly from his forehead up into his hair and back again. Over and over and over.

It wasn’t quite the same; Impy always stroked his hair in little circles—which is why Grian did it on Tasha’s ear. And another thing Grian was missing at this moment was that Scar sometimes hummed a lullaby when he was really little… But Grian liked Scar’s deep voice when he did it and knew Azzie couldn’t replace that. Plus, what if she didn’t know the right ones? Azzie was still good at the hair stroking, though. Just not the same as his Dad. But it would do for tonight.

Though the tingle across his scalp from the feather-light touch of her long nails was what sealed the deal. Impy and Scar didn’t have long nails and the soft, tickly yet slightly scratchy sensation was really nice. All guilt forgotten, Grian’s eyes shut heavily.

“Wuboo, Azzie,” he slurred and lisped through the dummy and the thick curtain of sleepiness.

“Love you too, baby. Thank you for trusting us tonight.”

A long awaited pull of melty, comfy, soft, warm, loved feelings took Grian away into a deep sleep within moments.

It only lifted briefly, some time later, when he thought he felt a gentle kiss on his forehead.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Feel free to stop here if you prefer reading solely regressed POVs, as chapter 2 is from an adult’s (Impulse’s) perspective. I wrote the end of this chapter to be a satisfying close for those of you who are this way inclined ♡ Otherwise, please continue!

Take me to chapter 2!

Also on AO3!

Reblogs, comments, and asks are very appreciated! ♡

#in this Grian is neurodivergent and semi-verbal—feel free to read whatever diagnosis you want in it #healing hands and home #little grian #cg joel #cg lizzie #cg impulse #cg scar #<- just implied in this fic #agere fic #hermitcraft agere #life series agere #(technically i guess since lizzie isn't a hermit... idk i don't go here)#little grian series #little grian series fics

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invisiblegarters · 6 days ago

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The Heart Killers Ep 2

Continuing the liveblogging for my own amusement.

Bison you've known this guy for two weeks please calm down.

I continue to adore Fadel above all. Maybe because he's literally the only one who seems to be thinking in this entire show.

STYLE WHAT ARE YOU DOING. The fact that he has no clue that Fadel kills people somehow makes this absolutely hilarious.

Oh honey don't just stand there smugly you have to know better.

I am not the right audience for this particular bit lol. Ah well.

I like the song though.

LOL well Kant is certainly fine with whatever they're doing here. Another grab and squeeze good for you buddy. Also the glasses are hot I will fight people. Let Kant let his inner lesbian librarian shine.

Ooh okay I like that Bison's pain kink seems to go both ways? Wonder if we'll see that in action (genuinely don't care if we do just curious).

Dammit Kant I was hoping you'd the be professional here but I guess that was too much to ask. Sigh.

KITTY.

These two are ridiculous am I supposed to take either of them seriously? The only person I'm taking seriously here is Fadel.

He's so pushy. So pushy that it's obvious. I kind of want to sneak into the show and give him a good slap.

Another Babe scene yay! I like Kant with Babe. Their dynamic is fun and believable.

Oh my GOD Kant do NOT listen to this. But also, the idea of Kant getting someone to hit on Bison to "prove" himself never occurred to me and now I want it and will be dissatisfied if we get anything else lol.

Style really is the most shameless person. Fadel is going to murderize him (no he's not actually I feel like the more Style does random shit like this the more confused Fadel becomes, and then he just kind of...freezes lol). I love these two hands down the best thing about this show so far.

Fadel: They might be working together

Bison: Oh you have no idea.

Ooooh look at this. Style inadvertently helping to convince Bison Kant is serious. Kant should be paying him for this.

Wait is Fadel actually playing along a little? Even if he acts utterly exasperated about it? That is cute.

Ooop Bison wants to get laaaaaid. Good for him. But also Kant babe if this is what I think it is maybe don't find your guy in your tattoo shop (this is a guess). Then again it could be just that Bison has a type (I mean I do think he does but I also think this is a set up).

Set up or not this is cringey as hell. I can't. And anyway Bison's not gonna like this shit. Posturing is so blergh.

Or maybe that's just me idk.

See? Confused. It's a good look on Fadel, keep up the good work Style I believe in you.

I will say this. The way that Kant pries for real information is actually good.

This is Pulp Fiction. Right down to the milkshakes. Jojo I see you.

But also there went any chance I ever had of taking any part of this show seriously. Like, ever.

Oh ho hoooo I see you Fadel.

Style you little freak I love you.

Called this but also why the hell are you doing this NOW he could be RIGHT THERE you LOSERS if he catches you you'll deserve it. Why can NO ONE in these shows do this stuff right? Cameras out like you're gonna post your pics on Insta, doing shady fake jealousy deals five seconds after the person you're trying to fool walked away. Forgetting gloves when you're off to do your less acceptable night job. Next thing Kant will have a conversation at full volume with Captain Chris right in front of Bison.

Kant you are a numbskull.

Bison honey you've been made. Fadel definitely knows where you were and who you were with lol.

Bison, I am not getting the impression parts of you are taking this slow at all.

Fadel's totally gonna go to bed to fantasize/dream about Style. Meanwhile little bro is in the throes of puppy love pretty much regardless of what he says.

Good job Kant, I guess.

Well all right Fadel.*blinks* This was unexpected and made me feel like way more of a voyeur than watching Kant and Bison go at it. 😳

Are we seriously getting the nipple clamps next episode?

Also Kant we don't make bets with Bison, remember. Not that it matters I'm sure you'll find a way to get in his house regardless.

Thoughts: Fadel and Style continue to be the main attraction for me. I've seen stuff floating around about Fadel maybe being a virgin and honestly, if they did that it would go a long way towards soothing my worries about this show. Style's way of flirting is so weird but also perfect because Fadel really has no clue what to make of it. His immediate assumption - that Style wants something - doesn't add up with all the wacky shit Style keeps doing to get his attention. Like the Kant kind of seduction - all smooth and over the top interested and very handsy - I almost think Fadel could handle better Maybe not the handsy stuff. But then I don't think Kant would even get that far Fadel wouldn't even entertain him the way Bison is.

But Style...Style is so obnoxious and exasperating that even though Fadel is sure that there are ulterior motives he's too confused and reluctantly intrigued to put up a proper defense? Because the way Style is going about it is so absurd that it loops back around to having to be about actually liking Fadel, because no one in their right mind would flirt like this otherwise.

Little does he know that Style is both nuts and shameless, a dangerous combination. Also, I think he really thinks that Kant is 1000% down bad and he wants to help his friend out. That's sweet. He's gonna be so mad when he learns the truth my god.

Kant and Bison fired for me a little better in this ep, but are still kind of falling flat as a romantic pair. I said above and I will say again that if Kant should thank Style because I do think that Style's conviction that Kant is down bad (not saying he won't get there but I'm still not really getting that from him at all, lol) did a lot of work in convincing Bison that he might actually be genuine, if a bit full on. It helps that Bison clearly wants to buy in, whether because he wants to be in love or because he's bored or because he wants to keep playing, I don't know. There's also the option that he could actually like Kant a lot, lol. Mustn't forget that one.

I am a little surprised that I believe Bison's feelings a little more. Maybe all his swooning when alone is a cheap trick to fool us too and then I will be the one with egg on my face (it wouldn't be the first time), but for right now I'm definitely getting more from him than Kant. But I kind of love that tbh. If Kant is going to get as unhinged as he does in the trailer ("do you think I'd go on living if you died") then this current version of him kind of makes sense, in a way? Also maybe I'm fooling myself because it was what I was hoping for but didn't dare to dream - a Kant who is super reluctant to fall for this guy because he knows the game he's really playing and then goes and does it anyway. And enough so that he's willing to risk his own personal freedom - which means leaving his beloved baby brother - to keep him.

Speaking of which, I didn't mention this last ep but I am glad it was way more about Captain Chris blackmailing Kant and threatening to take him away from baby bro that made him reluctantly take the case. Not just because it's less dumb than the novel but also because it both gives Kant a reason for reluctance but also a reason to feel like he can't back out. Stakes, man!

I also said this before too but I kind of love the way he digs for info from Bison? Like it's all OTT flirting most of the time and then just these casual little questions while he clocks the way that Bison diverts the subject whenever he gets too close to something he shouldn't - maybe I'm giving him too much credit here. We'll see. But I will say that I like that seem pretty evenly matched, in a lot of ways. I may not be feeling their "romance' right now but I am enjoying how well they match each other - no one is going to be bored here.

They're interesting, I'll give 'em that.

#the heart killers #episode 2 #rambles #i'm glad i am bad at waiting this was fun #some mild novel spoilers i guess #blink and you''ll miss it

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joltai-showa · 3 months ago

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okay it's way too late to continue working on chapter 6 of FQTP and I can't really pull an all-nighter cuz I got medical check-up in the morning for my unexpected job (my ao3 writer notes are gonna be fucking insane), so i'm gonna be rambling about the random stuff that i've been doing today

i finally started doing the natlan archon quest and GOD THE PRIMAL FEAR THAT I FELT IN MY SOUL when Ajaw spoke for the first time

for context i play genshin with japanese voiceover and with the new region we got a number of new characters (welcome to gacha world) and two of them are Kinich and Ajaw who are always attached at the hip but also argue a lot. and whoever is responsible for casting decisions in the japanese department really loves doing silly funny little things, thus Kinich is voiced by Sugiyama Noriaki, while Ajaw is voiced by Takeuchi Junko.

Yes, we've got Sasunaru in Genshin Impact.

This is not even the funniest thing that japanese dub did here. Half of major characters in Fontaine arc were literally voiced by people from the Attack on Titan's cast. Ono Daisuke (and his most famous role is arguably Jotaro from JJBA) voices Wriothesley there. Only in japanese dub Wrio does the "ora-ora" thing. It's insane and surreal and I love every second of it.

anyway, back to the original point, Ajaw appears and he sounds excatly like Naruto. my soul started to leave me when i was confronted with the idea that Kinich is seconds away and can sound just like Sasuke. thank god Sugiyama did the less bitchy and more calm pitch, otherwise i would have been bouncing off the walls screeching like a vulture.

also there was an absolutely hilarious explanation on what a piligrimage in natlan is. close enough, welcome back chunin exam.

at least after the piligrimage your god will resurrect you if you actually die fighting in the war. after a chunin exam the leader of the village will give a pocket knife and, if you are really lucky, a pat on the back. oh, the enemy village is dropping an damn entire cave on your head? gotta pray that your moldy ancestor and his army of undead cacti is somewhere nearby, grandpa hiruzen is too busy smoking that pipe🚬😎🚬😎🚬😎🚬😎

after that i read the latest chapter of csm and HOOO BOYYYY WHAT THE HELL FUJIMOTO

that shit was absolutely insane.

first of all, i am crying from the fact that fuji is capable of writing incredibly complex and realistic female characters, but can not draw them for his life. like lmao what even is that.

anyway, this is the least interesting thing that happened during this chapter, BECAUSE HOLY MOTHER OF LORE BOMBSHELLS WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

YORU HAS BEEN A MOTHER THIS ENTIRE TIME? MOREOVER A MOTHER OF TWO? THE FANDOM'S BEEN CALLING MAKIMA MOMMY FOR YEARS AND NOW WE LEARN THAT THE REAL MOMMY HAS BEEN YORU?

ALSO HER CHILDREN? GUN DEVIL??? THE SAME ONE FROM PART 1???? THE SAME ONE THAT TOOK OVER AKI BEFORE BEING KILLED BY DENJI????? HOLY FUCK DID MAKIMA REALLY SPEND AN ENTIRE PART MAKING UP BEEF WITH HER NEPHEW?????

(also on unrelated note it's always such a jumpscare/reason to lol whenever there's a sudden reminder that soviet union is still a thing at the end of the 90s in csm lore. thanks pochita)

anyway yoru ate and left no crumbs holy fuck. happy motherhood reveal day i guess, being a terrible mother figure likely runs in the family.

but also it's so funny how the devil family tree is getting to the point where we really should be doing the infographics like JoJo fandom has. for now we certainly know about the Horse(wo)men of Apocalypse aka Conquest (Makima then Nayuya then ehhhh good luck Denji), Famine (Kiga), Death and War (Yoru) and War's got babies in Gun and Tank devils. hopefully in a few years the entire plot devolves into a gigantic family drama i will die from crying of laughter.

(also fuji is so fucking real for making the four of the most powerful devils to be all women. my man.)

but the implications of this chapter are fucking insane, cause are Gun and Tank the only Yoru's kids? Did the Weapon Hybrids use to be her children? Is it possible for Chainsaw devil to be born of her as well? Nuclear Weapons devil is supposed to be inside Pochita and Yoru refers to them as her comrades??? Anway holy shit just what a chapter.

(but also Makima's monologue about getting rid of death, famine and war sounds very reasonable rn cause wtf those insane bitches that happen to be her sisters are birthing into this world)

i am also so insanely hyped for Death Devil, because she is bound to be absolutely fucking insane, like horror beyond human comprehension. also i feel like she has to not only be one of the Horse(wo)men, but a Primal Fear as well like Darkness and Aging (I believe that's what the most recent one was supposed to be)? the entire devil classification system is so confusing lmao

(also i remembered my shock at chapter 167. like. i wrote the finale for LTFG about a month before it was released and then i read it and was like. do i and fujimoto go to the same astral plane where the voices are whispering to us that we must do a handjob in a seedy alley scene? lmao)

#jolt showa's ramblings

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gaygayaurel · 1 year ago

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(Edit of Mega Man 3 Stage Select Screen. Inspiration also taken from PS1 Jojo fighting game and other Mega Man games).

When everyone in La Squadra Escuzioni get overtaken by hypnosis stand, it is up to the unexpected help from different part of Passione to help them. Can he rise to the fact, considering his non-offensive stand? (Wow I sure hope he can!) notes under the keep reading

This was pre state exam project - one of them and I wanted to finish them now. I am disapointed by how this turned out in the end. That is because I am a big idiot and do NOT KNOW THE TECH DETAILS. As far as I understand it sprites can only have 3 colours plus transparent and each sprite is assigned one of four palettes. Mega Man used special technique to make sort of a hybrid sprite that could have more. The way it looks is nicely laid out on https://www.spriters-resource.com/nes/mm3/sheet/40171/ (thank god for this site lol). I managed to get into 6 colours with everypony but man was it a squeeze. But then I actually ACTUALLY learned about NES limit of 4 palettes for sprites and four palettes for bg and man I was crushed. It is. understandable I missed it the first time but :( I don't have time to work on this anymore and it was not real game anyway so? If I make it in NES dev kit or something I will think about how to do it but this is just stupid edit. I still wanted it to be vaguely technologically possible so it makes me sad.

Also my redesign for frames reads way worse than the elegant original one but I did not know what to do? And to be fair I am bad with lighting still so I couldnt not stimulate cool 3d effects. Overall I am really sad this did not work out and pretty mad that I missed the big red flag of same palette for sprite!!! same palette for sprite (which explains why half of the robot mastets are fucking BLUE). But it was fun and I hope it looks fine. Maybe I will animate it as a proper selection screen.

#jojo's bizarre adventure #pixel art #edit #la squadra #nes limitations make me wanna cry ejdjenjwnfnjwef half of the colours are ugly too #leone abbacchio #cw: blood

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alias-sam · 6 months ago

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Pierced by a Golden Soul

Chapter 43. Little High, Little Low

Platonic Jojo's x Reader

Summary: Fate is a bizarre concept with countless more bizarre implications. In life sometimes such extraordinary events happen that the only reasoning left must be fate. The tragedies that constantly befall the Joestar bloodline for example may be the unluckiest series of cards drawn in human history, or perhaps the work of a greater power. There is no way to tell for sure. Had Dio Brando or Jonathan Joestar moved slightly on a divergent path the world itself would be left very different. The fate or luck of the noble Joestar bloodline has led to destruction of evil likes of the Pillar Men and DIO. This story is of a similar caliber to that of the other Joestars (as I am sure you are familiar with them). This is a story of lost souls, compassion, hope, and above all fate.

Word Count: 2,214

(Crosspost from Wattpad, full fic is already posted there.)

Friday morning was eventful to say the least. At seven o'clock you were climbing out of Vita's second story window in a pair of poorly fitting jeans, and a Pink Dark Boy T-shirt. Vita offered to sneak some breakfast up to you before leaving, but you decided to leave before his parents realized you were there. The climb down was much less daunting with an absence of killer crawlers and heavy rainfall.

You also didn't feel like eating as you made the walk of shame back home. Thinking about the tongue lashing you were about to get from Senora Jones made you lose your appetite.

The streets were empty as you headed home. Every crack and divot in the asphalt had been turned into a puddle.

You relaxed a bit when the bakery came into view. After the hectic evening you had, it was nice to be home, even if there was a reprimand behind the door. You tried going through the front door, but it was locked. Luckily you had a key to the back door. When you entered the bakery kitchen you found a note in your mother's handwriting.

'Do not go anywhere after school. You will work a shift in the bakery.'

It was unexpected, but given the fact Senora Jones probably stayed up late waiting for you, it made sense for her to want to sleep in before getting to work. As quietly as possible, you got your school supplies and left. The walk from Vita's house are up most of your time, so you weren't left with enough time to change out of Vita's loaned clothes.

The walk to school was uneventful. You hadn't seen or talked with Jaya since the hospital incident, and Vita was nowhere in sight when you left the bakery. Julius was also out of the hospital now, so you assumed Jaya was busy helping him recover, and readjust to life now that he was a stand user. Given your luck, it wouldn't be long before you ran into him again, especially since he was a stand user now. You were starting to think your excited utterance yesterday about stand users being magnets for one another wasn't that far from the truth.

The school was as lively as it always was. Despite the fact you came to school alone, you had the oddest sensation of being watched. It wasn't quite the same as when you were fighting Quiet Riot. This sensation was much less supernatural. You could have sworn you caught a bubblegum pink blur in the corner of your eye every time you turned around.

As you were heading to your first class of the day, you stumbled upon a familiar scene, and a familiar face you weren't expecting. Blake Greenmin. He was harassing Tim, however this time it seemed Tim was standing up for himself.

You couldn't tell what the boys were talking about, but Tim looked ready to bitch slap the guy. It was difficult to invoke that level of emotion in Tim, you knew it firsthand. Blake noticed you approaching before Tim since the usually stoic boy was in the midst of a bit of an outburst.

"Just because I never did anything before doesn't mean I wont say something when you act like such a bast-"

"What's going on here?" You quickly interjected, placing a hand on Tim's shoulder as he calmed down.

"Timmy and I were just talking." Blake gave you one of his typical mocking smiles. "No need to get involved."

"Well now you're talking with me." You said coldly. "If you would excuse us." Tim looked at you worriedly, but you motioned for him to go ahead and get to class. Blake made no move to stop Tim as he left. He also made no objections as you led him to a more private area. After making sure the two of you were tucked away in an isolated corner you let go of your façade and openly glared at the boy. Meanwhile Blake calmly positioned himself against a nearby wall.

"My offer still stands Jojo." He teased.

"Don't call me that."

"What? Worried your darling little Jaya's feelings will get hurt?" Blake failed to hide a smile at how the mere mention of Jaya's name from his mouth got a rise from you. "I'll admit," he continued, "I wasn't expecting her to be so strong, however she's still not a stand user, I could make her do whatever I want. I bet with some persuasion and a bit of force I could-"

Before you knew it, Blake was doubled over on the ground, cradling the side of his face.

"Shut. Up." Your fist hurt from how hard it collided with his jaw, but you didn't care. For a split second you saw surprise flash in Blake's eyes. Typically, you wouldn't stoop to random violence, but you had been waiting since first grade to do that. Before you could revel in the moment, Blake began laughing.

"Daring." He looked up at you smugly. "You'll be getting expelled if I have anything to say about it."

"You had the element of surprise before." You pointed to the upper corner of the area you were staying. "I know how to play your games Blake. I know what kind of a person you are." You picked this place deliberately. Not only was it a place where no passersby would interrupt, but it was an area you passed during your first fight with Know Your Enemy. "The mistakes I made during our first encounter won't happen again."

You were pointing up at a broken security camera. Blake's expression soured.

"We'll see about that." Blake seethed. It was the first time you had heard his voice so cold and lacking in any mocking tone. Almost like he realized his mistake; he flipped a switch. A disturbingly sudden grin played across his lips. He righted his posture, and looked you directly. "Tell your mother I enjoyed her sfoliatella. She has a real talent for her craft."

Your shoulders stiffened. The Jones Family Bakery didn't sell sfoliatella. But it was your mother's favorite. It was concerning when she didn't have some stashed away somewhere in the upstairs kitchen. For a moment you felt cold fear freeze your very blood, but the following anger was much more powerful.

"Go near her again, and I'll make sure it's the last mistake you ever make."

Blake didn't even look back as he responded.

"We'll see about that Jojo."

....................

You left school that day feeling more perturbed that usual. The conversation with Blake left you in a weird headspace. Interactions with Blake had a tendency to do that.

Senora Jones looked up from the cash register when the welcome bell chimed. She greeted you curtly before telling you to man the front while she worked in the kitchen. You were slightly off put by her demeanor, but in hindsight, you really messed up last night. That stunt was going to cost you.

A part of you wanted to tell your mother about everything. It was hard to lie to her. But you realized how dangerous all of this was, it would also probably make her worry even more. How would she even react to you explaining how you had an invisible ghost you could control with your mind? She'd probably flip after finding out about how Jotaro had trained you to fight. Or how beaten up you were after said lessons. So for now, you decided to keep stands a secret.

You placed your backpack behind the counter and put on a work apron. It was a decently packed day. There was a consistent stream of costumers, even past the normal afternoon rush. Eventually when business slowed down you grabbed a book from your school bag. It was the old fairytales treasury. For the sake of nostalgia, you had picked it up, and been flipping through it between classes or when you had time. You didn't have much time now though since you heard the bakery's welcome bell chime.

A group of boys, ten or so, entered and made themselves at home in the corner of the store. None of them made a move to order anything except one.

"Can I help you with anything?" You asked, setting your book aside.

The younger boy looked up at you from his place in front of the counter. He wasn't exactly what one would call a normal looking child. He wore a beanie that covered most of his light green hair, yet some still peeked out on his forehead. He also possessed a peculiar crescent shaped mark under his left eye. It was hard to tell if it was a birthmark or makeup of some sort. His clothes were much like the rest of the group's, baggy and old. They all looked like delinquents.

He averted his gaze from you to look over the display case of baked goods, ignoring what you had asked.

"Let me know if you need anything!" You smiled, showing off your top notch customer service act.

The boy flashed you a glare and continued scanning the display. After a moment, you went back to your book.

It only took a few minutes for you to tell this group was rowdy. They were talking loudly, and knocking over their chairs. You were usually cautious about telling people to scram, but these guys were starting to scare off other customers, and you didn't want them to break anything.

"If you kids aren't going to bother buying anything I'm going to need you to leave." You said from behind the counter. A few made inappropriate hand gestures, some others cursed at you, one kicked over a chair and tipped the table. After said table hit the floor with a loud bang the delinquents ran out the door. You were about to go fix the furniture yourself when someone unexpected beat you to it.

The boy in the beanie from earlier was picking up the chair.

"Thanks." You said as he helped you turn the table right side up.

"It's no problem." He mumbled, sounding oddly irritated. "I'm sorry about them."

"Were those your friends of something?"

"Brothers."

"You guys on vacation?" You questioned, deciding to make some casual conversation. The boy in the beanie awkwardly followed as you went back to the counter.

"Our parents went out for lunch and left us to our own devices.... again. Me and my brothers got bored."

Hating to see a sad face in the bakery, you decided to try and get the boy to lighten up. You moved to the display he had been eyeing up earlier and grabbed a cookie from it. The boy looked almost panicked as you held the cookie out for him to take.

"I- I don't have any money." He said shaking his head.

"Consider this a thanks for helping clean up." You smiled, holding out the treat. The boy graciously accepted the cookie after you assured him he didn't have to worry about paying. "So what brings you and your brothers to the area?"

"Our parents like to travel and a ton of their work has them go to tourist places like this."

"So you've been all around the U.S?" The boy seemed to get excited at your question.

"That and some! Me and all of my brothers have been born in different countries! For example, I was born in Egypt!"

"What's your name kid?" You asked, going back to work cleaning the counter.

"Ungalo." He introduced himself. He definitely seemed less tense than before, happier too. His demeanor reminded you of Vita in a weird way.

"Nice to meet you Ungalo. I'm Y/n." You introduced yourself, pointing to the badge on your work apron.

"You're nice." He said matter of factly. You laughed at his bluntness and childish personality. He definitely reminded you of Vita. The two of you conversed as you cleaned the shop and Ungalo ate his cookie. When you picked up your book from earlier Ungalo eyed the cover curiously.

"Fairy tales? Aren't those for kids?"

"I wouldn't say that. While yes I got this book when I was younger, the stories are still just as entertaining." Ungalo looked at you skeptically. "Here." You handed the book to him.

"Huh?" He looked surprised.

"I'v read it about a hundred times. Besides you mentioned that you and your brothers were getting bored. Why not spend your time reading?" Ungalo took the book and looked at the cover quizzically. "If you don't like it, you can always come give it back to me. But if you do wind up liking it, consider it yours."

"Thanks." Ungalo glanced over at the wall clock and froze. "I have to get back to the hotel. Ummm, I'll read the book but I can't promise I'll like it." You smiled at the boy and waved to him as he left. Despite your short interaction you felt a connection with him, like you wanted to help and protect him.

Unfortunately that small interaction would be your only one with Ungalo for a very long time.

.....

When you locked up the bakery that night you took care to double check every door. Blake had gotten in somehow and you weren't going to let it happen again.

By the time you were done checking the security, Senora Jones was in bed already. You glanced at the phone. There was something you needed to do.

You picked up the receiver and started dialing.

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wickedsrest-rp · 2 years ago

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Name: Metzli Bernal Species: Vampire Occupation: Artist / Art Curator Age: 160 Years Old (Looks about 32) Played By: Jojo Face Claim: Roberta Colindrez

"Art speaks for you when nothing else can."

TW: Emotional abuse, domestic abuse, parental death, torture

Metzli Bernal was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1862 to a carpenter, Baltazar Bernal, and his wife, Guadalupe Bernal. The family lived in the small, quaint town of Teocaltiche, in a run-down house that Baltazar found and renovated into a humble dwelling. There was always work, but the money never really made a difference with bills, an unexpected newborn, and the growing presence of what the town believed to be a gang. This meant that every peso was stretched and an abundance of food became a luxury, leaving the family to struggle.

Poverty came with its frustrations, resulting in Metzli receiving both physical and emotional abuse as punishment for any and all misbehavior, or rather, whatever annoyed their parents that day. Metzli learned quickly what it meant to overcome, adapting constantly to the adversities that came with their parents' stress. It was with this that Metzli sought comfort, and found it in illustrating and painting.

Scrounging what little money they were given for the help they’d give their father on jobs, they purchased pencils, paints, and a notebook, which they took wherever they went. Any chance they got, especially when they were set free from the basement, Metzli ventured around the town and its woods to find beautiful subjects. This was their means of escape from the atrocities at home, and it did well to shape their love for the arts.

On one particular day though, Metzli returned from the woods, only to find Teocaltiche’s citizens being torn apart, and homes being destroyed by what seemed to be feral people. Watching in horror, Metzli saw as the monsters bit into and drained people right before their eyes, motivating them to bolt home. Despite what their parents had done to them, they couldn’t help but worry, fear that their family was in danger.

Metzli reached their home, just barely escaping detection, and found several vampires feeding on their parents. For what seemed like hours, all they could do was stare fearfully, until all signs of life left their eyes. Without even a chance to run, Metzli was attacked by those same vampires, prompting them to fight for their life. No matter how hard they fought though, they were eventually overtaken and bitten, about to meet the same ending as their parents, until a man named Eloy Coronado stepped in. With a wave of his hand, the vampires retreated, and he smiled down at their blood-soaked body, just barely hanging onto life. “Such resolve and determination. How refreshing,” Was the last thing Metzli heard before everything went black.

Metzli woke up days later in white-hot pain, surprised to find that their wounds were healed and they were no longer home. But, that wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Laughter echoed around them as Eloy approached them, happy to see his new recruit made it through the change. From then on, Metzli was forced to fit a mold that Eloy felt suited his needs the best, becoming a powerful part of the clan. They became a numb soldier, a murderer on call for whatever their master needed. They felt nothing, and really, they made themself believe that was fine, that it was better. Even physical pain did very little, proven when Eloy ripped part of their arm away as punishment for failing a mission.

There was so much pain before, and Metzli began to think that they liked being free of it, even if it came at the cost of losing touch with everything else. That was a small price to pay. They were better off numb and needed to submit to this new, monstrous life, even if they knew their life was meaningless. But art, on the other hand, was something they couldn’t let go of. It still held a place in their heart that still sparked some sort of past humanity, much to Eloy’s dismay. He began to resolve the issue, little by little, and soon enough the emotion creating art ignited, slowly faded. Until it was nothing and they were just a shell of a mindless soldier. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and after over a century of Eloy’s terror, they planned their escape. It took months, but finally a coup was coordinated, and Metzli and their own army of vampires attacked Eloy, killing him.

With their newfound freedom, and a push to leave Mexico, Metzli traveled the U.S. and found Wicked’s Rest. The town was perfect, pulling them in until they settled in and opened a gallery where they could curate other’s artwork, including their own, whenever they deemed a work worthy of being displayed. This has given them a faint spark again, but they were still uncomfortably numb. Now they’re beginning to wonder where did Eloy’s erasure of their emotions begin and end, and when did they begin to do it themself? Metzli was feeling more with each passing day, but it has since plateaued, causing them to wonder if they would ever be able to comprehend the full spectrum of emotion, or even express them correctly.

Regardless, Metzli is determined everyday to live their life fully and give their life meaning—if there was one to be found, that is. They invest this determination primarily through their gallery, painting and analyzing incoming pieces to ensure authenticity. Sadly, with their line of work, people take to either stealing the art, or simply cash in a piece’s worth, utilizing fakes. This meant people attempted to forge well-known art, claiming it to be legitimate. Attacking them for money was one thing, but forging artwork was blasphemous. Nothing got past their eyes, and in a strange town like Wicked’s Rest, they could hand out the appropriate punishment: death by their bite. And why waste their blood? Metzli would never let that go to waste. Besides, it was always better to sate their hunger. Keep it under control. What blood tasted sweeter than bad blood anyway? Metzli does recall having a sweet tooth.

Character Facts:

Personality: Nihilistic, Pessimistic, Stoic, Loyal, Deadpan, Passionate, Honest, Curious, Quiet, Witty

Usually has a dry sense of humor and doesn’t understand most jokes. They just want people to speak plain.

Expressionless and hard to read, but the occasional smile does happen.

Had their left arm torn off by their Sire, Eloy Coronado.

Has started developing the ability to compel, and they only use it when extremely necessary as they don’t want to be like their master.

Enjoys pranks, but their idea of them differs from most. Like making pictures askew or moving décor an inch off.

#bio #taken #taken vampire #taken undead #vampire #undead #roberta colindrez #emotional abuse tw #domestic abuse tw #parental death tw #torture tw

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pb-dot · 1 year ago

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Shag & Scoob

Every once in a while I will delude myself into thinking the internet can't surprise me anymore. It's not that it's a less wild and wacky place than it was in my youth, although the frontier days are certainly over, I've just seen more things now. I was wrapped in such a blanket of hubris when I came across the webcomic titled Shag & Scoob and Friends, let me tell you I was once again wrong. The internet has out-stranged my wildest dreams yet again.

The most fascinating thing about Shag & Scoob is undoubtedly how the series has rapidly evolved. It starts as this purposefully shitty gag-a-day format featuring Shaggy and Scooby from Scooby doo that isn't quite Sweet Bro & Hella Jeff-level, but certainly can see that exercise in metatextual foreshadowing and oddly quotable dialog pretty clearly from its level. A storyline eventually coalesces as our two go on a rambling amble with a clearly stoned Kermit The Frog that takes them to a seemingly abandoned underground laboratory where the party gets split up by plot-convenient Horrors.

This is where the story goes what is medically known as "off the fucking chain." Our heroes encounter a menagerie of cartoon characters, most of which seem to know the pair already, and a menacingly grody Mickey Mouse who definitely is up to something.

What follows is a series of escalating reveals. The cartoon characters are aliens who broadcast the cartoons they're based on (well, that are based on them in this setting I suppose) as an olive branch to earth, being watched and known by humans gave the toons specific themed superpowers somewhere between a Jojo stand and a HeroAca quirk, Scoob used to be an alien general before he lost his memory, Scoob is frenemies with Bugs Bunny who is seriously badass, the cartoons are at war with the martians who use an evil edgy version of their superpowers, oh yes there are martians I forgot to mention, and it just keeps going. Trust me when I say I have not even begun to mention all the intensely anime shit that happens in this story.

I will admit I initially kept with this thing mostly to see when the show ran out of crazy but cool fight anime tropes to have our goofy-looking protagonists experience first hand, but now I'm kind of into it? The characters arcs are following your typical anime formulas, but implemented with dexterity that has you going "about fucking TIME" rather than the bored, sarcastic "wow, how unexpected."

It also helps that there's a strong horror bent to the proceedings. I never thought, for example, Miss Bellum from Power Puff Girls could be quite as terrifying as she appears in this series, but by jove she a fresh new nightmare. It also makes for an interesting way of pacing the anime fight shenanigans as new foes are either disturbing abominations who are terrifyingly strong, or Just Dudes, which we all know to be the scariest thing in a battle anime.

I should also mention the series seem to be on some sort of hiatus as the last upload was in December 2022. I hope it returns one day, but for now, enjoy the gloriously genuine battle anime madness.

#shag and scoob #webcomic #things I read that I swear is real and not something I made up #good stuff

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soulc-hilde · 4 months ago

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02. Love

Pairing: Jey Uso / Josh Fatu x Aries / Ezmeralda Bey

Warning(s): SFW, OC is a black woman, swearing, WWE-canon violence, Non-scripted fights, body shaming, body insecurities, WWE's consistant misogyny is blatant until later chapters, etc.

Cross-posted: Wattpad

It's been a few weeks since Wrestlemania and not much has taken place for Ezmeralda as they weren't scheduled for anything until SmackDown. In the meantime, she relaxed backstage. When it came to the new girls, she enjoyed the company of Jojo for the much younger girl was like the little sister she never had whereas Eva Marie sent Ezmeralda's intuition in a spiral.

Something wasn't right about that girl.

Traveling to catering for some grub, she runs into Trinity and Ariane. She's pulled into a hug by the women as they all greet each other, "que lo? What's goin' on y'all?"

They all shrug in reply. Trinity sighs, grasping Ezmeralda's shoulder. "Ezzie... she," Trin points at the small woman, "wants to get someone else to do our gear."

"You wanna go against Miss. Sandra?" She laughs, shaking her head. Ariane quickly comes to her own defense, "uh, you and your brothers don't always have Sandra do your gear. Why is it so bad that I do the same?"

Ezmeralda smirks, "because before we met Sandra, we've always either bought or had Ezra's fiancé create our gear, but she's been overloaded with work and watching my niece and nephew. What you're doing is straight betrayal to Miss. Sandra."

"It's not that big of a deal," Ariane complains, her whines mimicking that of a child.

Ezmeralda purses her lips playfully, "all I'll say is that if you want this to work out, make sure those outfits are good and fit both of y'all. Trinity's a lot thicker than you are. If it turns out good, Miss. Sandra might not be too pissed."

3 Days Later | Trinity's Apartment

Stationed in Florida still, Ezmeralda decides to spin her last day at Trinity's place. Lounging on the couch between Jon and Jojo, the three watch the tv when Trinity opens her phone.

"Ariane left a voicemail," she notes, letting the audio play out loud.

"It's me, just calling to let you know that I spoke to a fabulous designer that is about to make some awesome gear for us that is supposed to be off the chain. So, you can have a little booty meat hanging out, titties like stickin' out so we can have some boom all the time."

Both Jon and Ezmeralda side eye Trinity's phone, faces scrunch at the thought. "Why does she want her boom hangin' out?" Jon mimics Ariane's emphasis.

Ezmeralda laughs, shaking her head. "Ariane and I are not as close as I am to Trinity. Like, those two have been partners since development and that's a wrestling variant of boot camp, you know? You can't break that. To me, Ariane isn't someone I could hang out with consistently. She's insanely extroverted and has no filter, she drains my battery... fast."

"Not too much booty meat cause I don't want Jon to kill me, but," she retracts her last statement, "it's gonna, it's gonna be hot." Ezmeralda just shakes her head side eyeing the phone as Jon pulls his to his ear, imitating Ariane.

"What kind of shit is that?" He scoffs. "Check this out girl, I found this fabulous designer guy. We got booty meat hangin' out, we got titties hanging out. Everything is gonna be out, just hangin' out. Don't tell Jon though cause he might just say something back to me."

Jojo and Ezmeralda laugh, shaking their heads. Trinity turns, "I got too much booty for myself to be out like that. I'm not gonna do that. My stuff is gonna fit different from how her's are so, it sure won't fit. Okay?"

"How'd you even get in this mess with Ariane anyways?" Ezmeralda laughs.

Trinity sighs, "it's mainly because during Wrestlemania, Sandra was late with our costumes and when she did finish, it wasn't what we wanted and it's been going on like this for some time now. Ariane then suggested that we should get our outfits done by someone else."

Ezmeralda winces, nodding her head. "Now, I see. Does she know your measurements at all and was just talking crazy or did she just dive head into all of this?" Trinity shoots her a straight face, "what you think." The older woman simply nods, "got it," before laughing.

"Ariane means well and she's like my little sister," Trinity winces, "however, she's putting us in a predicament right now. More importantly, me. She's so much smaller than me, if she has her booty meat out and titties hanging, she'd be cute. But if I was to have all of my stuff hangin' out? I'd be every name in the book."

Tulsa, Ok | Preparing for Raw

After being informed by Trinity that Eva was to audition for the part as Fandango's valet, Ezmeralda was quick to be a little nosy. So much, in fact, that her, her brothers, and Josh all piled in a corner near the seats as the music began to play. On stage stood Jane and Mark while just a few steps in front were some of the Divas like Natalya, the Bellas, Trin, Ariane, and Jojo.

"Apparently, Eva is now attempting to audition for Fandango's valet role and usually, I don't knock people down for stuff like this. However," she points at the camera, "Talent Relations has to know exactly what your skills and experiences are for moments such as this one: Fandango needs a valet with ballroom experience. Rather than having to go outside the company, they can look within which makes the process easier."

"It does not make it easier for them if someone lies about said talent. In this case, Eva very much is lying her ass off about knowing to dance. I'm nervous for her, honestly. She already disobeyed one order - which worked out for her - but you'll only get away with things for so long."

As the music plays, Eva comes around with a strut rather than a rhythmic sway that fell along with the music. Fandango comes after, grasping her hand for a twirl; however, she didn't understand forcing him to aid her through the steps with his body. Ezmeralda shakes her head, amused yet embarrassed at the same time. Behind her, Ezra and Ezekiel fight back their laughter as they watch whereas Josh just grins, having to look away.

"As a situational liar," Ezmeralda laughs, "I could never get as caught up as Eva has. I mean, girl, if you're a dancer then I'm President of the United States." She mockingly salutes, "hoo-rah! Oh? That ain't it? My bad, thought we were naming what we wished we could be when we grow up." She falls forward, laughing again.

As they cut the music, she's confronted by Mark as Fandango stands frustrated and embarrassed himself while Jane storms off. Shaking her head, Ezmeralda turns to leave, "a hot mess, I tell you, lord." The boys following, laughing.

Atlanta, Georgia | Ezmeralda's House

Ezmeralda is in the middle of grating fresh american cheese when the doorbell rings. She walks over, opening it to reveal a cheesing Josh. "Hey, pretty lady," he greets her, pulling her into a hug.

"What's happenin', boo," she smiles, nuzzling into the side of his neck before pulling him further into the house.

"Nothin' much, what's the plan for today?" He claps his hands. She leads him into the kitchen, "we're currently waiting for Zeke and Ra to get here before we start the stream. In the meantime, I'm starting lunch. Do you wanna know what we plan to play?"

"Last year, my brothers and I created a YouTube channel dedicated to gaming. It gives us a breather from having to play these intense characters, that we love from the bottom of our hearts, but sometimes, you search for hobbies. Things to make you feel alive and in touch with reality."

"The channel is called Ez.Ezz&Ezzie and since we started the channel, our popularity on the platform has risen. These games are probably the most fun I've ever had."

Josh raises an eyebrow, his face scrunching with reluctance. "What we gon' play?" She giggles, "so, first, we'll be playing some Halo:Reach since we were sent the Master Chief Collection that's scheduled to come out soon."

He cheers, clapping his hands, "yessir, yessir!" She laughs, calming him down in order to continue. "Then after that we plan to start a series called 'Random Horrors.'"

Abruptly, the Samoan stops, turning to face her with some wind in his sails. "We gon' do Random-what now?" Ezmeralda waves him, starting back on the food.

"You gon' be fine, bebe," she laughs. "Besides, we're all gonna take turns with each game." Josh mean mugs her, "girl, stop lyin' before I go tell my mama."

"I didn't-" She stops, glaring at him. "Bro, stop that!" He lightly pinches the side of her neck causing her to yelp, laughing. "Who the fuck you callin' bro, huh? And you're mama is my mama, don't get it twisted."

He points between the both of them, "this right here? This shit is for life...forever. You got me? E faavavau. Para siempre." She cracks into her iconic hyena laugh, trying to push him away.

"You crazy as hell," she snickers, easing her way out of the kitchen, the food long forgotten. Josh chases after, smiling, "crazy for you, now let me rub on yo' fine ass."

"No!" she squeals, running for some form of safety. She goes to jump the couch only for her body to become swallowed between the cushions of the sofa and his heavy ass body.

"Oh my God, Josh!" Ezmeralda screams, wiggling underneath the man as his ginormous hands trail across her body, his teeth playfully biting along her thighs and ass cheeks.

"This boy is too much, y'all," She laughs. "He for sale on eBay if anybody wants him cause he needs to go. I can't stand this man. I promise you, I can't."

Later That Night

"Alright, now, y'all when you get home safe and tell my babies, Tia Ezzie misses them," Ezmeralda guides her brothers out of the house after finishing damn near 4 hours of gaming.

Just as they left for the night, Josh decided to stay the night and have dinner with her. The two sat together, happily diving into their meal of baked hen, baked mac & cheese, rice and green beans mixed and seasoned with chicken bouillon, and some wine. Josh hums with every bite, leaning back in the chair as he looks at the ceiling.

Ezmeralda looks at him with a smile, "is it good?" Swallowing, he huffs, the remaining bits of food stuffed into the corner of one cheek. "You know your food is always good. You're third on my list."

Her eyebrows raise, "third?! List? What list?" He smiles, "my list of favorite cooks. First is my mama - obviously, second goes to my soul mama - you know, since you my soulmate and all, and finally, you. Y'all the only three women, hell, people in my life I'd blindly trust with my food."

Instinctively, Ezmerald slightly sucks in her cheeks in hopes to hold back the massive grin that dared to appear across her face. Keeping her head down, she continues eating; however, her movements were slower than before as she becomes flustered. Josh grins, scooting closer to her side.

"Nah, don't hide from me, lo'u loto," he coos, gently turning her head to face him by the chin. "I wanna see them pretty eyes, I love the way them big eyes be dazzlin', ya feel me? Lookin' like stars, baby, you're mother nature personified. You so pretty," he sings, leaning closer to her.

She bites her bottom lip, debating if it would be wise for her to risk everything she's worked hard for over some measly, high school feeling. She squints her eyes as her hearts nearly stops, settling with her decision as she thrusts her lips against his. Setting his fork down and twisting the bar stool to face her, Josh pulls her in closer as he deepens the kiss.

The only sound echoing amongst the marble tiles was the wet sound of their lips meeting and departing with each turn of the end. Ezmeralda moans, falling deeper into Josh's chest.

Ezmeralda sits in silence, jaw opened wide as her eyes stare ahead. "Don't allow me to socialize ever again, y'all. I mean that shit cause now I'm over here kissing and feeling up all on my best friend. Man, my parents be watching this. Cono!"

#jey uso #joshua fatu #josh fatu #jey uso x black oc #jey uso x black!oc #main event jey uso #x black!oc #wwe x black oc #wwe fanfiction #jey uso fic #jey uso fanfic #jey uso fanfiction #divider by cold carnage #soulc.hilde series #black fanfic writers

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