#big fan of this. it's obviously supposed to be played for laughs in game and I can suspend my disbelief there

[cosmos-dot-semicolon]

epic moment!!

terrorism.

[britt-kageryuu]

The audience of the stream is watching Leo move about the set checking a laptop, tablet, and his phone all sitting on a desk with a blue gaming chair. He was also swapping his models outfit, not sure which would fit with whatever he was about to talk about.

He finally chose a full Lou Jitsu jumpsuit, with gloves, platform shoes, and shield glasses worn over his usual mask. He plopped back into the chair and poses with his one of his ligs crossed over the other, and leaning onto his left hand.

"Sorry 'bout starting the stream while I wasn't ready. I found some amazing news, and wanted to track down as much actual facts, to make sure I had everything correct." He leans over to the laptop to set something up. Once he was satisfied he turns back to facing the camera.

"So, it's fairly obvious we're big Lou Jitsu fans here, so imagine our surprise to hear about someone attempting to claim his supposed left behind fortune. Because people for some reason think he's dead, and not just trying to live peacefully somewhere." Leo clicks on something, and a news article pops up.

"Woman claims to be Lou Jitsus 'long lost' Daughter/Granddaughter."

"Either the Lady couldn't keep her story straight, or whoever wrote this kept getting conflicting evidence. Part of why I wasn't quite ready. Had to check is with my journalist sis to see if she could help get things straight." He clicks over to something else and a different article takes the place of the previous one.

"Woman attempts to steal fortune of Lou Jitsu with faulty Scam. Surprised by the results!"

"So to set the scene better, this lady shows up out of nowhere, claiming she's, let's see by age... Daughter! Of Lou Jitsu. I don't know how she planned to have this work with modern DNA matching and everything, but she apparently refused to do a DNA test to prove this. If this was literally 30 years earlier she wouldn't have to worry, but I guess she didn't bank on people asking so many questions." He gets rid of the article, and brings up a badly edited birth certificate. "Seems she believed she could just wave around a doctored Birth Certificate, and some flimsy 'photographic evidence' that looked like they were put together in a bootleg photoshop program."

A couple of pictures appear on screen, they were obviously edited pictures of Lou Jitsu "holding" a baby, or child. Then a couple with a little girl that looked very off, the lighting didn't match between the girl, and Lou.

"Yeah, this didn't fly with the people at the banks, or whichever government offices, she had attempted go to, especially since there was a different thing blocking her from succeeding in this sham of a scam." Leo looks proud of himself for that slight word play. Something is thrown at him from off screen, and he glares at whoever threw it before continuing.

"You see, Lou Jitsu had set up an interesting set of security questions and or tests for getting access his bank accounts. He did include a DNA matching test as a last ditch security, but it never got that far. No she got caught at a slightly obscure set of security questions that required you to answer a random on set inside joke from one of Lou Jitsus first movies!" Leo laughs and spins in his chair a couple times. He stops and brings up a new document.

"Okay, so this is a copy of the security tests list we got ahold of, as you can see," He points at a spot near the top that's highlighted, "Lady didn't get very far into the security tests. Yeah there are alot of them, he apparently set this up not long before completely disappearing from the limelight. Though why there's so many tests is anyone's guess! Maybe it's just to annoy whoever attempts to fake their way into his accounts?"

Leo thinks it over a bit before muting the mic and shouting off to the side, then waiting for an answer, where he nods his head, and talks to whoever's off screen, with a couple of odd gestures and head tilts. After a couple minutes he unmutes the mic.

"So, just asked Dee a couple questions, and while we can only speculate why Lou make such a complicated set of tests, what we do know is that the tests were actually updated a few years back. So Lou is still out there, and he knows the Lady made this attempt. And has filed a lawsuit against her! That will be an interesting day in court!!" He quickly stands up and throws his arms up in the air with jazz hands.

After sitting back down he swaps out the documents still on screen with a couple of pictures of the Lady's headshots from getting arrested for attempted fraud, and scam. Her name is blurred out.

"This is the Lady, we don't want to give out her name since she either has a very unfortunate name, or she would only give them a very crude name instead of her actual name. Plus some places can't legally tell the names of people who were arrested, so let's go with that." Leo reads some notes on the laptop then added, "And she might have a record already, but we can't read or find any legal documents that confirm or deny this."

The pictures are taken off the screen, and the lighting changes.

"Well, there's not much more of that incident that's public, so let's move on to something else Lou Jitsu related! They've announced a new special anniversary movie bundle! And we have some info on the special bonus features!" Leo announces, and brings up some graphics for this movie bundle.

The stream continues from there, and even though some people in chat are still shouting questions about the scammer lady segment, they get ignored and buried under other things spammed in the chat. Especially since donation notifications were disabled for the stream.

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

Masterpost

[lukeevangelista]

surprising jj when u told him i couldn’t go to the champion game but he finds u in the stands making at him

Champions - JJ McCarthy

I decided to make some of my requests full fics, this being one.

Idk any GF names, so FICTION HI.

Also I know the game was in Indiana at Purdue. But I’m making it in Michigan

*********************************************************

It was one of the best times of the year for Michigan Sports, especially when they had a killer team to take them all the way.

Michigan Football was in the BIG10 race, people already counting them out against Ohio State, but they surprised people and surpassed expectations when they beat them, causing Michigan fans to be pumped for what was to come.

You, however, hadn’t been able to make any of the games this season. You knew this disappointed JJ as you had never missed a game if possible.

Work and school had you stressed to the max, your time being fully consumed by both, plus an extra curricular activities you had as well.

You were lucky enough to go to Michigan State, although you didn’t mind wearing maize and blue for him. It did make things easier because you were able to see him, but it still sucked you weren’t able to be there for him all the time- like you had hoped when you applied at MSU.

“Are you going to be able to make it tonight?” JJ asked over the phone.

You had a grin on your face, waiting for the question he asked pretty much every home game.

“Not tonight J. They scheduled me right during the time you’ll be playing, but we’ll be watching.” You tried to sound disappointed, but you weren’t sure if you were hiding it very well.

“Oh.” He whispered, “I just thought- never mind. I’ll talk to you later babe.” He said before hanging up, not even giving you a chance to response.

Perfect.

You were hoping he wouldn’t figure it out. He had you location on his phone, but you knew he wouldn’t be checking it hours before the game. The only time he really looked at it was when you weren’t responded, just to see if you were okay and where you were.

It was a protection type thing- not a controlling thing.

You met up with some of his teammates girlfriends, they grinning ear to ear that you had finally been able to make a game for his sophmore season. The season had been important to him, everyone realizing this- especially because he had became the full time starter after Cade McNamara had transferred out, instead of splitting games like it was supposed to be.

“I’m glad you decided to come.” Myra grinned as she tossed her around around you.

She had helped you plan this, especially because of where the parking would be sparse with this game being a big one.

“Me too. I know it’s bothered him.” You sighed, “He just hasn’t said anything.”

“It has. He’s talked to the boys about it and obviously they’ve mentioned it to us, but he’s not going to make you feel bad over it.”

“Well that doesn’t help.” You mumbled, “That makes me feel worse that he didn’t come to me about it.”

“He didn’t want to make you feel bad, like I said.”

You shrugged as you two kept walking, eventually finding yourself on the first row in the student section- right behind where the boys would be.

The game was close to starting so JJ was still on the field warming up with his teammates, getting ready to throw one of the biggest games of his career.

The coaches called the boys over, him walking towards the huddle with his head down.

Donovan Edwards nudged him arm, him pointing over to where you were standing with his girlfriend, “She’s here.” He grinned.

JJ’s head shot up, “Where?”

“There.”

****

JJ played the best game he’s played in a while, the final score not being close. Not that he hadn’t played well in other games, this one meant the most to him. He was in a championship game and you were here.

“You came!” He laughed as he saw you running towards him, “You said- what?”

“You really thought I’d miss this?” You laughed as you jumped in his arms, him spinning the two of you around.

“You said you had to work.” He said as he put you down, “I thought-“

“It was to throw you off. I wanted to surprise you. I’ve missed every game this year and I figured if I missed this one, you wouldn’t suspect anything.” You admitted, “but really, it pissed you off.”

“It did. It hurt a lot too.” He laughed, “but I wasn’t going to tell you that. I know you have things going on as well.” He added, “I’m just glad you’re here.”

“I am too. I wanted to make the others, I just couldn’t get off work.” You sighed, “But I made it to this one, that’s all that matters.”

“And the fact we’re champions.”

“That too.”

[taihua]

omg can you please talk about beefleaf as a ship, dynamic, friendship.

oh also what are your thoughts on that scene in last arc - when he xuan diguised as hua cheng comes to help them out for a bit and gives back sqx's fan - and when he sees sqx being himself still, his talking way and brag?, his laugh/antiques. he snorts/ humphs/ scoffs. honestly to me i loved that seen i just don't know how to explain my thoughts on hx reaction to that but i loved it.

thank you<33 [i love your blog sm]

*english isn't my first lang so forgive me for the grammar and wrong words that i might have used ig..

Sorry for taking so long to answer, this landed while I was on my way to Boston and I wanted to wait until I was back on my laptop to answer!

I also really like the scene where He Xuan gives back the fan because of how subtle it is--it's the kind of thing that you can miss if you're not paying attention. I think I probably missed it the first time I read the book and had to go back to verify. Doing it undercover is such a He Xuan way to handle it, too. He spends most of the book in disguise so it feels right that a big gesture like this would also be done in disguise.

My thoughts on them as a ship are mostly that I don't like the fanon focus on them as cute silly girlfriends. From what I've seen in fandom, their female forms are kind of just taken as representation for its own sake, but I think what it's doing as a metaphor is showing how both He Xuan and Qingxuan are not who they say they are. It's almost like a fun game to Qingxuan to flit around in pretty dresses and act like the arbiter of justice, but he's not even supposed to be there and the fact that he is there is actually the ultimate injustice. (Compared to Ling Wen, meanwhile, who is forced to present as male to even be taken seriously, Qingxuan just seems frivolously out of touch.) And He Xuan is obviously pretending to be Ming Yi, so there it's just like... a double reveal about "she's not who we thought she was." It's all disguises to He Xuan anyway, so why not throw some gender on there too.

Anyway, Shuangxuan aren't really that interesting to me as a ship until Qingxuan is being held prisoner in the creepy underwater prison--to me, they're a darkship that I would compare to Xuexiao in MDZS. I guess that's like... the moment that they're honest with each other? He Xuan reveals who and what he really is, and Qingxuan comes to the understanding that he didn't ascend on his own merit. That's when it's interesting to ask "so what if they're attracted to each other?" because now they have to contend with the issues.

The thing is that both of them care about each other, which is important to me for a ship (and also something that I think tends to be dismissed by people who don't ship it). Qingxuan clearly feels remorse and understands that he stole something irreplacable from He Xuan (who he genuinely saw as a friend while he was Ming Yi), but He Xuan doesn't blame Qingxuan and doesn't go out of his way to hurt him even when he had the opportunity to. It's not really enough for them to reconcile, but it sure is enough to play around with a doomed and toxic post-canon relationship.

Lastly... ghosts in TGCF can disperse if they give up on whatever's tying them to the world. I think Xuan Ji gives up her resentment for Pei Ming and is able to disperse and move on since that was what kept her there as a fierce ghost. He Xuan's revenge is supposed to be what keeps him around, but he doesn't disperse even after enacting his perfect revenge plot. His story is deliberately left unfulfilled because it's supposed to show that revenge is unfulfilling, but that also leaves a really nice opening for He Xuan to rediscover what it means to love instead of hate.

Also, Qingxuan definitely ascends for real sometime post-canon so they have time to work it out. MXTX herself told me so in a dream

[br1ghtestlight]

gene and louise headcanons bcuz why not

despite being a physically affectionate person gene doesn't really hug or touch louise unless he's specifically invited to bcuz he knows she doesn't like that (sensory issues and touch aversion) so he's always surprised when she randomly hugs him bcuz he isn't expecting it lol

louise is VERY defensive of gene despite being younger than him and gene isn't usually very big into arguments or conflict but if he hears someone being mean to louise or feels like she genuinely can't stand up for herself he goes into big brother mode and tells them to leave her alone (as seen in that one shrimp episode) but he has an anxiety attack about it for like 20 minutes after esp if its an older scarier kid. he never regrets standing up for her tho

gene and louise have sleepovers in each others bedrooms all the time, either bcuz they're bored or one of them had a bad day or they're just doing it for fun :) they used to have these in gene's bedroom but since louise got her loft bed they're usually in her room, they'll stay up late playing games together stealing snacks and talking until they eventually pass out and their parents find them sleeping on the floor together the next morning and they're like wtf

they frequently and regularly just leave class to hang out together in the hallways at school and they have a special signal they use when this happens, they enjoy sneaking into bathrooms together or messing around in the teachers lounge!!!! louise has fun causing trouble but gene just likes hanging out with his sister (and getting out of doing schoolwork) (they would invite tina along with them but she feels bad about skipping class and breaking the rules)

gene actually does feel protective of louise and feels responsible as her older brother. this rarely if ever comes up but he does view her as his little sister and thinks of himself as her big brother (but more often they're just tina's younger siblings and act more like twins. they have been mistaken as twins on several occasions when they were younger)

they have like a million random games they play together whenever they're bored and don't know what to do or just whenever. they're always starting random shit and it annoys everyone but when they're like waiting in line at the bank w/ parents or going grocery shopping working at the restaurant etc they have games they play. throw louise is definitely one of the stupider ones but it usually involves coming up with a pointless challenge or competition (we see on the show that they do this A LOT just bcuz they're bored and its fun like with the jawbreaker)

when they're in detention together without tina (which happens somewhat regularly with all the trouble they get into) they pass notes back and forth and play games like hangman and tic tac toe together until frond catches them and they get in trouble, at which point they still do it just secretly :) they also have a game where they try to draw or write the stupidest thing to make each other laugh without getting caught

louise obviously is not a huge fan of doing feminine or girly things but gene loves doing that stuff and vice versa!!! they have an unspoken understanding that if one of them gets like a present from extended family like gene getting a tool set or louise getting a princess costume or makeup that they trade with each other and get something they actually want, also applies to birthday parties and school projects etc

^^ neither of them judges each other for not liking things stereotypically associated with their gender and its actually comforting to have a sibling who doesn't really act like they're "supposed to" regarding gender. tina is obviously very supportive but she's more feminine than louise and sometimes its just nice to talk to someone who gets it. they frequently rant about how annoying gender roles and expectations are to each other

also related when louise is old enough to start receiving stuff like razors from relatives as a right of passage or hint that she should start shaving she just gives them all to gene, who is very happy to start shaving EVERYWHERE and honestly same goes for makeup. gene loves wearing makeup but louise not so much (tina is alright with makeup but doesn't wear it all the time and usually goes for natural looks vs gene who goes crazy with it)

louise DOES enjoy painting her nails black and gene helps her with doing that when she's old enough bcuz he's pretty much an expert and she is very impatient. transgender sibling solidarity

louise is not somebody who lets anyone win games bcuz she feels bad for them but after learning that gene feels like a failure bcuz he doesn't win games and everyone is so much better than him she does OCCASIONALLY let him beat her when they're playing board games or something similar. more often she goes out of her way to help him get second place even when they're on opposite teams (she will deny this if asked)

louise finds gene's music really comforting esp when he's playing his keyboard at night before they go to sleep. she loves listening to him play and thinks he's talented, when they're older gene will give her a mixtape of some of his music to listen to when he's away so that she doesn't miss him too much <3

they do always get each other something for their birthdays!!!! ever since they were babies, louise would find a small rock for gene's birthday and then gene would give louise an old stale cookie he found under the couch for her birthday. they're usually just silly little gifts that don't cost much (if anything) but they always keep them!!!!! louise often gets gene a flower bcuz she knows they make him feel pretty. when they're older they start giving each other cards too (that they stole from their family's unused holiday card drawer)

[hestzhyen]

!!CW: DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE/SA (and spoilers, obviously)!!

Highlights from my Paradise playthrough. Shout out to my saint of a partner for letting me spam him with my bullshit.

I use generic names for my partner's benefit (they're a sane person with no interest in BL VNs), so MC-kun is Azuma, Fluffy-kun is Takara, Asshole-kun is Mitsugi, and Reliable-kun is Madara. Let's begin!

Paradise is the 20th VN I've played and I think it's the first one to have this option. Overall I really liked the technical presentation.

I generally avoid checking spoiler tags when going in so at this point all I had was my experience with other BL games and a few hints about this game's brutality. Overall the content itself is in line with things I've seen before, but hoo boy did some of Azuma's inner dialogue hit hard. That poor guy.

As an aside: I always approach a VN blind until I get an ending. After that I choose who to target and get all their bad ends first, then the good before moving on to the next LI. This approach was perfect for Paradise since the bad ends gave you the context needed to fully understand the good endings and greater mystery in the narrative. Mitsugi > Madara > Takara is definitely the best experience.

(This is subtle foreshadowing of me using up the nation's entire copium supply a few days later)

(And this is subtle foreshadowing of my choice for Best Boy)

The translation for this game was pretty good until the last arc. Mitsugi and Madara's routes all felt natural. I'm not the kind of person who wants everything to be literal, so it was nice to see a real effort put towards localizing their routes. I think the only line I raised an eyebrow at was the Scooby Doo reference (which I'm assuming is localizing an extremely Japanese joke/reference). Sadly this didn't hold up in Takara's route. Suddenly it felt like a very unpolished machine TL- stilted phrasing and sudden tense switching pulled me out of some big moments. Inconsistent terms were suddenly an issue too; namely, the literal transliteration "log house" being used instead of the localized "cabin" in a few places. Lastly, the many instances of "we're" instead of "were" in the script. C'mon! I've read fan TLs with more polished writing and editing y'know? Was it due to a deadline crunch? Careless oversight? Don't know, but I do care.

My heart broke for Azuma over and over again. Just, all the time. At this point I knew the game was an utsuge so I just sat back and let my feelings get trampled as intended.

Classic BL problems.

Classic BL "solutions".

Go ahead and laugh at past me. I am so disappointed in him.

I can't tell you why I like having my heart crushed, spit on, set on fire, and launched into the sun. But at least I know what I like.

I have mixed feelings for the story itself but the characters are above par for a BL VN. Faint praise? Maybe. But I get the sense that the happy ends are supposed to make you feel despair too despite the upbeat music and framing. It's not a good thing that MC-kun comes to accept the guys who have fucked him up. It's uncomfortably true to life how he makes excuses for their abuse just because they showed him some kindness, and it leaves me feeling hollow to watch him disappear into the sunset with them. Yes even Mitsugi. He doesn't get a pass just because he sticks to verbal abuse in the same story as a violent sadist and a murderous cannibal.

Case in point about the "good endings still feel bad".

I was down so, so bad. Good job Paradise you successfully got me to pin all my hopes on this little fucker.

I'll spare y'all the long barganing phase I went through but it ran the gamut from "maybe he's possessed" to "split personality" to "unholy experiment gone wrong". By his first bad end the scales had started to fall, though. I hit rock bottom at last in the second bad end.

I generally limit the title of Best Boy to a LI, even if it's closer in spirit to "Guy I Hated the Least". The only VN I've changed that for is Tokyo Onmyouji because none of those men deserved Tengenjibashi. It wasn't even a fucking contest. Here? Well...

Badly stilted TL in a crucial emotionally heavy scene. This is just the worst example I snipped while playing but man, did anyone look at the script for this route after the machine TL spat it out?

I learned nothing.

And here is where all of my negative feelings about Paradise stem from...

I understand that writers need to rein in the story at some point. You don't have infinite budgets for VAs and all. But the janky, sudden skip to the reveals being recited right away followed by the drive off into the sunset soured the whole experience for me. I wasted hours of my life trying to figure it out when the writers just said shit we gotta go here's the Cliff's Notes see you never. I bought in and was rewarded with the most underwhelming delivery I've seen this side of Phantom Thief Jade. The payoff is the second most important part of a mystery story guys! You gotta take the time to pace the Big Reveal and let the player chew a bit before taking the plate away! It's such a shame that they went through so much effort to layer and misdirect only to give up right at the finish line.

Despite that, I still had enough fun that I consider Paradise a worthwhile investment. I hope the fan disk can be brought over too someday.

Never mind- burn it all down. No survivors.

[theclearblue]

Sorry if I'm late for the ship ask game. Can I ask for these ships :

- Gojo/ Utahime or Yuta/ Maki [I know these two ships are not that popular, but my friend really love them, and i can't understand their reasons. Maybe your opinion could help me (?)]

- Shanks/ Buggy (just some rare pair, that I fell into because of a certain fan arts & fan fics)

- Kenjaku/ Takaba (their fight is one of my fav in JJK until now, entered my top 5)

- Zuko/ Katara (one of my first otp, although now I love Zuko x Sokka more)

No worries, I like this ask game a lot!

Gojo/Utahime

Don't Ship It

1. This has the exact same problem as Nanago for me, except maybe even worse lol. I love a good bickering couple but...this is Utahime genuinely disliking Gojo, and Gojo being oblivious to it. They are not on the same page and I don't think either of them truly respect the other? At least not a respect that would build an actual relationship. I don't see any chemistry between them. It gives very much "Hot man and hot woman stood next to each other, and they're about the same age."

2. There's never a moment between these two where I think they would ever be emotionally vulnerable with each other, or truly trust the other with something important. So I guess if there was ever a moment hinting that maybe the teasing and bickering was just something they did in a friend way rather than "I can't stand you/I'm oblivious" way that it is in canon. But as it currently stands you first have to convince me these two are friends before we even get to a shipping context.

3. God I think you have to ask a gojohime shipper directly, because I don't understand this ship at all. Unfortunately this one is just not for me either.

Yuta/Maki

Don't Ship It (lightly)

1. This one I do completely understand as a ship, at least much more than Gojo/Utahime. My only hang up is that I think Maki is a lesbian and NobaMaki is so superior to me 🤧 I probably also like InuOkko more than than this ship, so it just kinda falls to the bottom of the list even though I am a big fan of their friendship!

2. Hmm maybe more interaction between these two beyond JJK 0 would of convinced me on them.

3. I think this is a very classic girlboss x malewife ship lmao, which I usually do like so I do completely understand the appeal. They both clearly care for each other and have a good friendship, and have learned from each other too. I understand this ship completely, I just like their friendship a little more.

Shanks/Buggy

Ship It

1. Didn't really get this ship until we got the Roger/Oden backstory and we got to see them grow up together. This is the kind of bickering relationship I can believe lol, where they fight over stupid things but they do obviously care about each other, Shanks didn't go to Laugh Tale in order to watch over Buggy! Very cute childhood friends/crush kind of ship.

2. In hindsight I think it's kind of funny that when they reunite for the first time in decades at Marineford, they both kind of go back to being kids lmao, as if no time has passed. I'm looking forward to them meeting again where Buggy realizes that Shanks dreams of becoming the Pirate King, which that fight was what drove them apart in the first place.

3. Hmm I don't think so, this more of a casual ship for me, I just think it's cute lol.

Kenjaku/Takaba

Ship It

1. I think the first moment in the fight that piqued my interest with them was when Kenjaku was explaining to Takaba why the wifi joke doesn't work lmao. I think it's interesting where they both are playing the wrong roles in the beginning, Kenjaku isn't supposed to be the straight man and Takaba isn't meant to be the funny one. But when they switch roles.

2. Probably 100th time I've said this lol but JJK is so big on duos, but neither of these characters had another half, which is so interesting for both of them. Takaba is a comedian doing Manzai comedy, you literally can't do it by yourself. Kenjaku has maybe the most connections/relationships in the entire series, yet they don't have another half. They work off of each other incredibly well and help each other grow in their fight, and there really is undeniably a bond they share, I think highlighted in the scene where Takaba is crying about not wanting it to be over, and Kenjaku practically comforting him about it? Yeah, this ship hits.

3. It should be more popular 😭🤧

Zuko/Katara

Don't Ship It

1. Don't tell 12 year old me about this, they were a big Zutara shipper, but yeah it just doesn't do it for me anymore. Honestly most of the ships I don't really care for in ATLA? The romance plotlines are undeniably the weakest part of the show, funnily enough I like the Sokka ships (Zuko, Suki, Toph, Yue, truly the bachelor of the atla universe) lmao but that's it. I can't even really pinpoint why I don't like Zutara anymore, I think I just want my girl Katara to be single lol.

2. I think maybe if there was a bit more to them outside of trauma bonding? Idk I do still really like their friendship and love that they can open up to each other about similar struggles and the way they watch each other's backs in the last fight. But I think at the end of the day there probsbly would have just had to be more content of the two of them to fully sell me on it.

3. While I fell out with this ship I do understand why people like it, this feels like one of the few relationships where Katara isn't projected onto as a mom and I think they do have a relationship where they can talk about things that they feel they can't talk about with anyone else. Plus yeah they look cool together lol.

[devsgames]

I've Been Playing Postal 2 and I Have Some Thoughts

Since I am both trapped in COVID isolation and also incredibly timely and relevant to all things, I've been playing Postal 2 (2003) because it's something I've owned for a long time and only played once and also because my tiny notebook can't play much else.

I have some thoughts and reflections on it, don't expect anything groundbreaking or insightful here!

(cw: racism, homophobia, violence, abuse)

Recently I saw a post (that I am now failing to locate) that talked about how the punchline of South Park's comedy was largely pointed at one group of people: people who believe in something. It doesn't matter who they are or what they believe in, but if you believe in something strongly enough to have opinions or beliefs about them then you're worthy of derision.

I feel like Postal 2 - like many pieces of post-9/11 media - occupies exactly the same space as South Park does in this regard where the butt of the joke are really any people with strong beliefs, and also some racial minorities thrown in there for good measure.

(Side-bar: as someone who grew up in rural Canada in the post-9/11 era I can't help but notice that a lot of people who enjoyed this type of humor at the time the most tended to be of two categories:

Kids and teenagers who didn't have enough experience to know what they believed yet, but being rebellious teens anything edgy or shock-humory is inherently funny.

Centrists and Right moderates who enjoyed laughing at things like racial minorities and queer people. After all, when you're a member of the dominant social class who have the most power (i.e. white men) everything is much easier to shrug off as 'just a joke' when you have nothing actively threatened by this type of humor.

Inevitably kids who started in group 1 either grew out of this type of humor or turned into group 2 and made this humor their whole personality)

The game opens with some casual spousal abuse which I guess is supposed to be funny. The first enemies the game introduces to you are violent video game protestors, then book protestors, then 'al-Quaeda terrorists' (who all look exactly like Osama bin Laden)...you get the idea. There's an Asian man named "Cock Asian", an Indian man (I think he's supposed to be Arabic, but the assets they use surrounding him are definitely Indian as is his store's name) who runs a grocery store as a front for a terrorist organization, queer people, etc. Gary Coleman is in there for a bit. You can kill cats and dogs. It's all basically exactly what you'd expect from 'edgy 2003 game made by a group of white men'. It goes without saying that these people didn't even associate with any of these minorities when they made this game, because it's certainly not the kind of thing you make if you have any friends who are minorities - but that's just 2003 for you.

One thing that interests me is how apparently the developers and fans made a big deal about how "you don't need to do bad things in this game" and "any bad acts made in the game are by player choice".

Why this is interesting is because by the basic design of the game this is obviously misleading: you're constantly presented with guns, bladed weapons, explosives, ammo, hallways full of enemies... While sure okay **technically** all the objectives are gated by arriving at a certain location, the paths there are littered with violence and people trying to kill you; there's really zero player incentive to act non-violently, so it sounds like an argument a child tries to make to get out of trouble. The player is given about 1000x more incentive to murder minorities in this game than they are to leave them alone, much less learn to love them. It's like saying you don't HAVE to drive if you're playing a racing game, except for the fact you're given a car and nothing else to do. It's sort of the primordial equivalent of Spec. Ops.: The Line's "How could you kill all these innocent people (that we forced you to kill)" angle. When all you're given is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.

The gameplay itself is.......fine I guess? Like it's honestly whatever. Sort of a really simplistic old-school GTA if all there was to do is fetch quests and kill people. The combat is by most accounts pretty substandard, and it doesn't do anything particularly well. I think there was maybe one joke that made me laugh only because it was so extreme and sterotypical that it came more from a place of "holy shit you actually thought this back then" as opposed to a place of comedy. I really wouldn't recommend it from a gameplay point of view even, there's really not much there and what is there is pretty thin.

In 2023 I don't know what I really gained from playing this. The reminder that the post-9/11 era was supremely fucked up and I'm glad that we're no longer making minorities the butt of every joke just because they exist, I guess? Yeah let's go with that.

The whole game just feels to me like something desperately fighting to prove its relevancy, and think if you made this game nowadays it would just be incredibly mediocre even by its own standards. Like it just wouldn't work by any stretch of the imagination.

Wait a minute...

Cool!

[berlinini]

Louis mentioning Arctic Monkeys during Faith in the Future promo

Euphoria Magazine interview, Sept 1 2022:

The album immediately switches it up and dives straight into “Written All Over Your Face,” an infectious indie floor-filler that we both agree is reminiscent of the first two Arctic Monkeys albums. “I’m a big fan of that sound, big fan of that energy,” Tomlinson says. “I went into the room with these people I’ve done a few sessions with, and I said, let’s try and take this as punk as I can get away with. I suppose that’s where the Arctic Monkeys reference comes from; there are obviously punk elements within what they do.” At just two and a half minutes long, Tomlinson confesses it wasn’t a song he was trying too hard with. The aim was to create a “punchy energy,” declaring this was another song he could imagine performing live.

Alternative Press interview, Sept 6 2022:

That incorporation of dance melodies is something that erupts on “Out of My System,” a pulsating, punk-tinged Arctic Monkeys-inspired track that recalls the heyday of early aughts indie rock. The day Tomlinson made the track, he had been listening to “Teddy Picker” or “Dancing Shoes” (he can’t quite remember), but he knew exactly what kind of music he wanted to make. “I went in and said, ‘Let's try to write a song that is as punk as I can get away with,’” he recalls. And he led with that kind of intensity and energy from early Arctic Monkeys albums to craft the song. 

Interview for 98.5 KRZ, Sept 19 2022:

[What would your theme song be (a song that would play whenever you walked into a room)?]

I’ve got no idea. No idea! It’s almost like what would be a boxing walk out. Maybe Teddy Picker, Arctic Monkeys?

Jack Saunders Show on BBC Radio 1, aired Sept 25 2022:

Jack: Last time you were here, you were in 2019, [...] and we played this game, called "Keep or delete?". Do you remember what happened during that game?

Louis: Not specifically, I do remember the game.

Jack: Ok. Let's see if this docs your memory [replays the 2019 game which Louis says he would get "delete" Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor"]

Louis: I must've turned up drunk that day, I must have, honestly. That's a crime! What was The Strokes song? What was it again? Did you know? (...) It's a though pick, but I don't imagine why I picked that? "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor" is a super nostalgic song for me, to be fair.

(...)

Jack: [The chorus is] the first thing that I thought when I listened to [Bigger Than Me]. I was like 'This chorus feels so big'. For you, those kinda of like big and kinda of indie choruses that you think about, what comes to mind? The ones that you always hammer or sing along? That kinda of thing...

Louis: You know what, the irony is the first thing that comes to me mind in terms of a chorus that I can remember singing, is ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’, which I cancelled the last time I was here, like an idiot!

Jack: [laughs] I'm not surprised, man, that is essential, a banger, isn't it?

Louis: It is, it is!

Jack: You worked with [producer] Mike Crossey on this one (...) Now, look, I've got a list of the credentials to display. He's worked with [lists artists] Arctic Monkeys - you can tell Mike you got rid of one of his songs--

Louis: No, no, I didn't, I didn't !

(...)

Jack: Louis, one more thing before you go (...) I'm gonna give you a chance of redemption

Louis: I like it

Jack: Would you like to bring [I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor] back?

Louis: One hundred percent, man!

Billboard.com interview, Nov 11 2022:

11. What’s your favorite album to listen to from top to bottom?

AM [by] Arctic Monkeys has got to be up there. Probably [their] Favourite Worst Nightmare, as well. Those two albums were absolutely massive for me growing up, so yeah, let’s go with them. Trying to think of a more recent one. The Snuts’ debut album, I absolutely loved. I loved their follow up as well. 

LADbible TV Ask the Audience, aired on Nov 11 2022:

[If (you) were part of another band (which one would it be)]

It’s an hard question to answer, really. I mean, I fucking love Arctic Monkeys, just down the road from where I’m from, Sheffield.

Afterglow on Pandora, aired Nov 12 2022

On his musical influences

Growing up, as you’re kind of forming your opinions on different songs, artists, genres. For me, growing up in the north of England, guitar music was absolutely massive with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, etc.

[prof-peach]

if fans wanted to include peach in stuff they write, would that be okay? and how would they write peach's personality? aside from "FIGHT ME" anyway, i think that much is a given lol. i only really write the anime characters 'cause that's what i know, but it sounds like it'd be kinda fun to try making a version of ash that fits into this blog's universe! nerf'd Obviously, but i think she'd probably appreciate how hands-on he gets when training his pokemon!

Ok, I get a lot of these messages, and I often hear folks wanting to throw peach into their stories and comics and writings, and I will always simply ask that if it’s published online publicly, to be linked to it so I can snoop and enjoy the content too. If someone asks about her in your work, let them know about the blog I guess? But literally I love that people take this stuff, these characters and stories, and make new stuff with it. No ones making money off my work here? So where’s the issue? Go for it buddy, knock yourself out, I’m all for it.

For you, and all the others out there who want to add peach, and other characters to your world building, I will give you a detailed rundown of the main lot, and how they behave, what they do, how they function. You can use that, use bits, or use none of it, I do not mind at all. If you’re creating something, you’re in control, not me.

So, peach doesn’t actually fight people as much as you’d think. She’s very aware most cannot and do not want to do that, and so she likes to keep to herself with regards to that aspect of her life, she doesn’t ask to spar with people, or even bring it up at all, but people ask her all the time, even if they clearly would lose or become hurt should she miscalculate during the fight. She looks at people like they usually create problems, and often has a somewhat reserved nature to other humans. You have to work quite hard to get anything more than formalities out of her. She will dead-pan handle people with blunt and very to-the-point statements, aid whenever possible, but very quickly get back to handling the Pokemon she so carefully tends. Her focus is clear, she’s all about hard work, her very small select family, and the Pokemon.

Her brutal, loud and brash personality only comes out with friends, family, difficult humans, OR any Pokemon. She will joke and laugh and play with Pokemon, but clam up around humans, maintaining tight body language and generally will be a little cold by regular standards. She does however have some weaknesses in this emotionless shield she puts up. When peach was young she was always angry, which swung so fast to sadness, back and forth. Her teenage years it just got worse and worse, it was crippling at points. She is to this day, full of fire and rage, even sadness, but now she has learnt to control it, to use it. When she sees that in others, it’s familiar, and she is pushed to drop the front, and be very real with the person. Underdogs I suppose, people who get bad reps, but deserve the same as everyone else. She can’t ignore it.

Once you start to pry open her personality, you’ll find she’s a lot more laid back and fun than originally appeared, you just have to work hard to find that side of her. She will meme reference, can’t dance to save her life, loves her coffee, and can be caught in quiet contemplation while gardening. This hobby is her calmest, and often is why she can stay so level headed when her quiet rage boils up again. Without time outside she will become grouchy, a little snippy, and lethargic. Will not go in the ocean for any reason other than life or death, is fine with ponds and rivers, or water at wading height. Likes the rain.

With regards to her training others, they usually have to tolerate her somewhat strict nature. She is a little....unforgiving, holds a grudge if you make a lot of mistakes, and has no tolerance for ignorance in the age of information that we all live in. In previous posts I’ve mentioned she’s only recently selected two students, after many years of testing kids who want to learn from her. Hundred tried out, only two have ever been approved. How she teaches is very fast paced, be prepared to get some scrapes and bruises, she will test your physical and emotional tolerances with intense tasks, carefully watching students like a hawk. Bad posture in your stance? She’ll be the first to tell you to sort it out. Not hearing your Pokemon partner? Right, now you spend the day without using words trying to communicate, let’s see how you like not being listened to.

This is a woman who has spent her life saying very little, and watching everything, she watches Pokemon and can see an issue from a mile off, and in battles, her observations are why she can react fast, and chose effective strategy to avoid damage and achieve results. Don’t let her body fool you, her strongest asset is analysing, watching, planning. Those skills have over the years transferred to people too. As a student, mistakes don’t go unnoticed with this professor.

Her methods are harsh but fair, and should you prove yourself, she will protect you with her life.

Because of her disinterest in kids and lots of noise, she does pass the training of students on to the other staff members whenever possible. Grey takes on the lions share of battle lessons, he is far calmer, more open and friendly, with patience for people, and an empathy that peach sometimes struggles to have. When you go through a lot of harsh training, and difficult events, it’s hard to change how you feel or think, with peach, well, she’s been through it. Most do not come out the other end in one piece, but she did, and it made her strong. You may think I mean strong like buff and big, and yeah sure she is, but I mean it mentally more than anything. Peach will not quit. She has learnt to destroy the boundaries that stop people getting hurt, gone is the fear that freezes you in your tracks, that feeling that you’ll pass out if you go one more step. She’s learnt to ignore it.

This means she’s a little forgetful at how it is to be normal, to be vulnerable and soft and squishy like students so usually are.

She has her issues, but for the most part, visitors get a laugh, a smile, a calm assertive confidence, and facts. She will indulge those who have genuine interest, or show a connection with nature, an understanding of the balance that needs to be struck for everyone to live well together.

Despite her many flaws, she’s fiercely protective, and will go above and beyond to defend the island, it’s staff, the Pokemon and the visitors. Injustice is her biggest gripe, along with littering, and she doesn’t stand by quietly if something happens that seems unfair.

You will not see her without Valka, her vulpix, close by. That Pokemon doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, at all, and will run the second someone comes at her with that intent. Peach will scold you for pushing yourself onto her, should you persistently try to get close to pet Val. They are in sync, if peach is sad, Val is sad, if Val is stressed, peach is stressed, and so on. They are inherently connected, it’s just been that long, the psychic bridge between them has been built, and reinforced over the years.

The only other Pokemon who follows her so endlessly is Booker, a teddiursa who’s pretty rough looking. He quietly trots behind, grouchy and stoic, they fight closely together a lot. He lost his mom a long time ago to poachers, and peach took him in, and changed her whole life for him. Not many people know, but Booker was the reason she left the rangers, changed career, and got so strong. Will tolerate people petting him but isn’t keen at all, grumbles a lot and tries to move away.

You may also need to know about the others, for the sake of writing, she here a few more bits that may be important to you, or others wanting to do this.

Grey is very tall, very burly, composed, tells bad dad jokes, is a bit of a goof if allowed to be. If he sees a pun, he’ll say it. Can’t help himself. Very nice guy to work with, good at keeping people calm and grounded. Pokemon are drawn to him like a moth to a flame, he gives off warm energy, and has inhuman amounts of patience. If you wrong his family however, he will snap back.

He grew up in the city, loves to swim and hike and cycle, can snowboard, is really sporty. A total brain box with held items, and boosting stats. He will explore many paths, to make sure visitors and students get the information they need, in a way that can be remembered and retained for later. Is a huge guy, but will get on the floor to play with a tiny Pokemon. Treats big “meaner” looking species like babies, very good with all pokemon.

His free time is spent either tinkering, swimming, or trimming his bonsai trees. This guy stares at screens a lot, so appreciates time away from them. Peach built him his own little greenhouse for his trees and tools, which he keeps clean and loves dearly.

His methods as a teacher are built around fun and games, he makes hard work easier to do by distracting trainers from the difficult bits, and focusing in on something more interesting or compelling.

His most commonly seen Pokemon would be a houndoom, Saxon, old battle veteran, retired now to herding and being a good boy. Very gentle, loves a pet.

Pari, now a fully fledged nurse, often oversees the labs front desk and pokecentre features, such as healing pokemon, and informing trainers who come to visit. Her skills with eggs and hatchlings is high, she’s great with younger Pokemon, and hands out good advice to trainers a lot. She’s not a fighter, never was, but can find any file, any study, any book, and any refrence you may need. A true bookworm, loves her romance novels, chat shows and upbeat celebrity gossip mags. Will cry at a lot of stuff, be it sad or happy.

She’s got a seriously upbeat personality, but if caught off guard or shocked, she gets a little flustered. Too much chaos will overwhelm her, but usually she’s on top of things. The years spent on the island have made her better at maintaining composure in emergencies. With lots of siblings, she’s very competent with others, and has a good ability to disarm cagey people with her jolly nature. Because of this, she can sometimes gain information from trainers that some of the more harsh professors may not have access to. Charming is a word for it.

Her partners are an eevee, and a happiny. They are quite sweet and well adjusted, the eevee gets a bit bouncy if you get it too excited.

[honorguk]

dating➔ jeon jungkook

» navigation | REQUESTED

what it’s like to date jungkook from bts (based on my assumptions)

────✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰*.:｡✧*.｡:｡*.｡✱ ────

─ • OVERALL:

is literally your child

makes you snort laugh whether you like it or not

definite hardcore dance offs in your living room - you’ve never seen anyone shake their ass like him oh my god why is he so eager

sharing earpods/headphones 24/7, or at least sharing a spotify

also joint netflix parties when you’re supposed to be isolating - watching the same movie whilst he’s in his room and you’re in your own, but also facetiming to see each other’s reactions

he can’t help but think of you when writing lyrics or thinking of chord progressions

his english is already pretty good, but he’ll work much more diligently to be fluent for you

and you’ll overhear him saking namjoon about how to say certain phrases, and giggle when he runs over and says them to you, pretending like you didn’t know this was going to happen

doing stupid voice impressions to cheer you up and sing offs in the shower as he’s shampooing your hair 

and a lot of tickle fights, where he mostly just pokes you until you’re annoyed

(he really loves testing your boundaries..)

cuddling (he’s usually the big spoon unless he’s had a hard day) and scrolling through instagram on one phone, or watching crime documentaries on your laptop

also playing against each other in video games and always placing bets, or making the loser do something the winner wants (whatever the winner’s wish is, it’s usually wholesome, but….)

you are the children of all of the other members, it’s no doubt

yoongi will knock on guk’s door and peek in to see you both battling each other over the last chicken wing, and he’ll sigh before closing the door

and guk, although not very good at expressing emotions, will always let you have the last chicken wing, because to him, you’re everything, and always will be <3

─ • DATES YOU GO ON:

honestly, cuddling and playing video games is definitely something you’d do most of the time

and he’d crush you in his embrace and then you’d have a playfight (obviously he wins, and he pins you down so he’s hovering on top of you. it’s the same result every time but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?)

he’ll also suddenly jump up from the bed and be like “alright, let’s go get dinner” and by that he means either getting delivery from the shop that’s literally two minutes away or going to a fancy restaurant

he’ll also wake you up early in the morning through a phone call and tells you to get dressed, and that he’ll be at your door in 5 minutes, and then you’ll both go down to a cafe and have early breakfast together

gives you his jacket, no matter the weather. He just really likes seeing you in his clothes

─ • PET NAMES:

you mostly call each other by your own names, but oftentimes “babe” or “honey” will come out and it’ll feel just a tad more special 

his ears perk up whenever he hears you call him in general, let alone by a pet name

he also blushes like super hard, still not used to the intimacy of some words and names 

and he’ll hop over to you with a cute little grin on his face and peck your cheek, asking you to call him that again

─ • WHILE ON TOUR:

as he barely gets the chance to talk to you properly, he’ll make sure to mouth your name on stage so that the camera picks up his words, and throw up a few finger hearts and whatnot to make sure you know you’re loved, and very publicly at that

he’d also thank you, alongside all the fans, for being at the concert. he definitely knows you’re watching, at least in spirit

sending you memes whenever he can, and random chaotic videos and photos from the hotel rooms and the tour bus

i can definitely see him filming as he pushes hobi and just runs off, for literally no reason, and sending it to you

you see all the photos before he posts them on twitter 😌 and he even sends a few stupid ones that will never get released 

─ • ARGUING/MAKING UP:

he’s not one to get completely angry — if anything, he despises that feeling, so he’ll just be extra annoyed most times

he’ll huff and pout and scowl but never yell or shout

it’s out of character for him, so he tries to remain calm and neutral, but really, the only way he gets out his anger and stress is either by going on a run or crying

once he cries, so do you, and you just make up naturally because it’s genuinely a really hurtful sight to see jungkook in tears 

if he does yell, his eyes would widen right away and he’d close his mouth before running up to you and apologizing

he’s stormed out of your apartment before, too, but he always came back, and usually with a delivery bag in his hands

so you’d have your favorite food and sit, watching some stupid show in silence before one of you speaks up, and you talk it out 

─ • NSFW:

he’s a complete switch: a really tough dom and a whiny, ready sub and NO ONE can tell me otherwise 😤

will also to experiment a lot - what’s the harm in trying?

he’ll choke if you ask, pull on your hair, leave bites -- but will also want the same in return

and he will easily switch from pounding into you from behind to flipping you over so you’re on top of him and giving puppy eyes, wanting you to use him

he’ll love for his hands to be pinned up, or even restrained

other than that i would say he’s pretty vanilla..

he can be ironically cheesy though, and scatter some rose petals and light a few candles to surprise you, but that’s mostly for bants

not afraid to laugh or make jokes during foreplay, but he gets serious when it comes to the act

LOVES LINGERIE AHHH

(and he also loves ripping it from you so buy you another pair, which will end up equally damaged..)

has a playlist, for sure

aftercare includes a lot of kisses and cuddles, perhaps a bath and wrapping you in oversized clothing as you fall asleep on his chest

[lovesanmotion]

yandere!ateez reacts: filming a rated scene with you, their 9th member

A gift from me in reaching 500 followers!

Hongjoong:

The company had finally granted him to produce, record and compose his first studio album. And courtesy to your lending hand, he asked permission if he could have you as a featured artist to his very first album, to which you gladly accepted. Hongjoong produced and composed 3 out of 4 songs in the album, when the fourth song (approved by the management) was handed to him, he was shocked to see that it was a rather for older fans. But Hongjoong is up for the challenge and included it.

When filming began, he didn't know that the staff had asked you to be their model in his music video, but he didn't objected as well when he found out. And Hongjoong found it a little awkward, the first scene he has you straddling on his lap and arms around your thighs, if he looked a bit down, he would be eye level with your breasts.

"More intimate! You call that intimate?"

The director shouted at the two of them, Hongjoong, stepping his game a little, pulled you by the hips closer to his frame until there was no longer space between you two. Running his hands up and down on your thighs, digging his fingers on your plump skin.

Seonghwa:

Seonghwa couldn't stop staring at your frame. This is the first time he's seeing you in a black lace lingerie and an open white button down. When the director called back to resume the filming for the movie, Seonghwa assured you that he would take care of you while filming.

But amidst of filming, he felt himself getting too carried away. He ravished the skin of your neck, licking and sucking every corner with his tongue and mouth, leaving deep purple marks all over. He had you moaning and squirming underneath him which drove him even further, his hands slipped inside your bra and massaged your breasts. This is the first time he's touching a member of his group. Sure he'd have fantasies of you and now his fantasies are coming to life and its making him wanting more. He unclasped your bra and tossed it away, teasing and licking your nipples while his left hand palmed and rubbed your clothed pussy.

Just as he was about to slid a finger inside your entrance, he heard the director's voice shout "Cut!" Seonghwa closed his eyes in frustration and pulled his hand out of your underwear.

Yunho:

The company wanted to create a powerful yet iconic duo just like Troublemaker. They wanted to create a more visual representation of modern Bonnie and Clyde, and thus, entrusted this upcoming duo group of you and Yunho. Of course, Yunho is excited for this upcoming sub unit. Finally will he and you be able to exude your charms more to the audience.

And while filming for the movie track, Yunho couldn't help but get flustered to himself. It was the first time he's seeing their only female member strip before him. He couldn't help but scan his eyes all over your body, were you always this voulptuous and curvy? He gulped, messing with his hands until the director called to stop filming and direct him what he's supposed to do with his hands.

Yeosang:

Yeosang and you were directed to be submerged inside the pool for an underwater kiss. It seems romantic, but Yeosang was panicking on the inside. The moment he learned that he is supposed to kiss their female member, he started chewing a lot of gum while the other members were filming for their individual scenes. When the director finally called for the last scene, Yeosang threw the gum away and inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Action!"

Yeosang took the lead and lets his body fall first before yours, before hitting the waves of the water, he presses his lips on yours. Nibbling on your lower lip as he kisses you feverishly, placing a hand on the back of your neck as he deepens the kiss. Sucking on your bottom lip and biting it lightly and nipping it between his teeth. As he felt their bodies ascend up the water, the director and along with the staffs were clapping as they delivered their scene well.

San:

He didn't know what would happen between the two of you once filming wraps up. You and San successfully got the role of an upcoming kdrama, typical friends to lovers. Of course, San is happy to find out that he'd be working along side with you, it made him feel less lonely and that he has someone to talk with on set.

So far, filming a lot of skinship scenes with you were making his heart beat. But when he found out that there was a rather suggestive scene, San felt like fainting. The scenario is about him and you standing inside a packed bus and San would be pressing his hips on your back, the director informed them how there would be a lot of bumps and San had to hold onto your hips to secure himself. When San was picturing how the scene would look like, he felt himself blushing madly.

And so as the filming rolled in, San pressed his hips on your back. He felt like blushing but he had to remain cool. When the first speed bump came, he immediately placed his hands on your hips. When the second bump came, he gripped on your hips tightly and accidentally pressed himself more onto you. When the third speed bump came, San felt himself growing, the scene kept going and San is praying to himself that you wouldn't feel anything at all.

Mingi:

Mingi felt his hairs standing up whenever his scene with you is nearing. He was told by the producers how he was having a car scene with you, kissing inside the car while parked at the edge of a cliff. But when he heard that the two of you had to be topless, Mingi felt a bit scared, nervous and excited.

As he removed his shirt and got inside the back of the car, shirtless, he couldn't take his eyes off your half topless figure. Just like San, he felt like fainting right on spot. Mingi slouched himself a bit in the back seat so you could straddle on him.

"3, 2, 1, Action!"

Both you and Mingi sucked on each other's lips, but Mingi bit on your lower lip a little hard, tilting his head to the other side and then slipping his tongue inside your warm mouth. Your lips parted, welcoming him and his tongue touched yours in search of more.

Mingi growled, making you gasp. Before the scene ends, Mingi pulled away from the kiss and cupped your face, staring straight into your eyes.

"And cut!"

Wooyoung:

Wooyoung and you were chosen to portray the Korean version of the hit anime Scum's Wish. You portraying Hana and Wooyoung portraying Mugi.

Wooyoung was a little bit hesitant and scared on their first mature role and scene, but he tried his best to make you feel comfortable around him. And as filming takes place in Mugi's (aka Woo) room, he laid you down in front of him and slowly unbuttoned your uniform, before cupping your clothed breasts. Wooyoung felt his face reddening and heating up as he massaged and fondled them. Were you this big? He gulped and continued to play with them before sliding his hands down to unzip your skirt.

Jongho:

The movie's story starts with a couple escaping the party to have a little makeout session somewhere cozier. And that couple happened to be you and Jongho. When the two of you learned of your small role in the upcoming summer horror film, you both blushed and laughed it off. Obviously not prepared for such a scene, and so the director and producers had instructed you two to spend more time together so that the intimacy in the film would look natural.

"Scene 1, Act 1....action!"

Jongho roamed his hands all over your body as you grinded on him, spinning you around to place a needy kiss on your lips. His hands cupped your ass cheeks and brought your body closer to him, to which you wrapped your arms around his neck. When he pulled away from the kiss, he flashed a devilish grin at you.

"Let's go somewhere private." Jongho said, according to the script.

"Cut!" The director called, preparing for the next scene with you two.

[iravaid]

Character meme - LaCroix, obviously. If he has already been picked, how about Mercurio?

heehee hell yeah >:)

Favourite thing about them:

Absolutely love his slow devolution into both obsession and madness, as the game slowly reveals just how loathed and isolated LaCroix really is in a city he’s supposed to be ruling over. It’s really compelling and interesting and I think a lot can be extrapolated about his background, inner thoughts, and emotions that the game plays straight, no big twists like he was actually the good guy or w/e, just a wretched, pathetic little bastard til the end, and that’s something I really love lmao, lots to play around with. The way everything culminates with his staring at the sarcophagus and just Watching the timer tick down while he starts laughing? delicious. love it

Least favourite thing about them:

White Wolf/Troika does a Lot to emasculate him and like. portray less masculine men as a joke or laughing stock and there are parts where the fans etc can make it work but like. hmg. concerning. 

Favourite line:

lmao it’s between ‘STOLEN? HOW! GARY. Gary you TREASONOUS MAGGOT. I should have anticipated your TREACHERY, SEWER RAT’ like. go off i guess akjdfjsd, big up to his va for such a solid job at portraying LaCroix, he really brought a lot of depth to LaCroix with his performance. 

or, 

‘Did you ever think about what it takes to live as long as I have, to come this far?’, like. shit. hell yeah, what have you Done little man? what wretched crimes and humiliations have you committed and suffered through to get to this point both as a Prince and as a person. What were you like before you were embraced, a coward? a hero? how rotted is your soul for you to do such things.

brOTP:

Him and the Sheriff and him and Mercurio are definitely up there as fun dynamics that can go multiple ways and it’s Very fun to imagine more comradeship between them. But also. maybe. With Skelter, another veteran. If they manage to either ignore or see past political allegiances and hostility, which is uh. difficult lmao

OTP:

You probably haven’t heard of it but LaCroix / Nines is pretty fun,,,, It’s a pretty niche ship and idk if anyone has hear me talking about it or anything 💅🙄

nOTP:

I’m usually squicked out by any ship that portrays LaCroix as an abuser/manipulator. It’s a valid read of his character but not one I want to consume, really. other than that; probably him and Cross, but i’ve talked about not rlly vibing with that ship before

Random headcanon:

Had two older brothers who died in different campaigns and a young sister who was born via surrogate when he was about 19. She’s all that’s left of the La Croix line and LaCroix never managed to find her when he was free to search. She just kind of disappeared, with his and his brothers’ things ending up in the Napoleonic sections of museums around Europe and NA, including LaCroix’s journal from that time. 

Unpopular opinion:

Woobifying LaCroix would be so so easy and if the fan circle for VtMB gets a bit bigger/full of people who kind of impress their own pre-set fandomification onto different characters without like actually investing or thinking critically about it, I’m v concerned that that will happen lmao. It does a disservice to both his character and his actions in the story.

Song I associate with them:

I will do this in three parts because I have too too too many thoughts about this wretched vampire

Canon LaCroix - Werewolf Gimmick, Be Nice To Me, Little Lion Man

Sabbat LaCroix - Crucified, Lion, A Burning Hill (gets immensely fucked up by the SI)

Malkavian LaCroix - Piano Man, I Bet On Losing Dogs, Little Dark Age

Favourite picture of them:

I don’t have it on me but the one where he’s grimacing like the banana cat. Also the one where he’s got his stupid neck Stabbed and he’s just sitting there gagging on his blood smh 🙄

[kimnjss]

unconscious confession | jhs

⤑  series: heartbreaker

⤑ pairing: stoner!hoseok x cheerleader!reader

⤑ genre: fluff !! 

⤑ rating: pg13

⤑ word count: 3.4 // unedited

⤑ warnings: use of recreational drugs..!!

⤑ A/N: hiiii! thanks to everyone who has been reading along so far and giving me feedback with each and every update !! i really appreciate it honestly it’s a really big motivator for me. sooo i hope you like this part as well, don’t forget to let me know what you think . and also it’s this hoseok walking around lmao .

OCTOBER 3RD, 2020 | 19:26

Hoseok showed up to the game while the players were still practicing and you and the rest of the squad were in the middle of stretches. He looks effortlessly handsome from the quick glimpse you get before he's slumping down onto the metal. Focus on tucking each crumble of weed into the paper, but he'd occasionally steal glances at you on the field.

And your eyes meet each and every time. He played into the casual feel he wanted to set for tonight, an oversized pale yellow shirt underneath his light denim jacket. The pants he wears matches the jean of his jacket but are covered in rips, hair being held back by a headband. You've never noticed it before, but staring at him from the field when you really should be stretching had you realizing how well he carried himself. All of the time.

Thankfully, you're able to keep focus while you're actually cheering. Ignoring the fuzzy feeling that rises in your chest at the sight of him cheering for you (it's not for the players on the field who are losing, badly). He even waves cutely at you as you're being thrown in the air and you consider ruining your form to wave back. But decide against it, Jimin would throw a fit.

His attention is on you from kickoff through overtime, taking the steps two at a time as the players line up to congratulate the winning team. “Ooh. Here comes your biggest fan,” Jimin points out from beside you, slightly breathless from the back-to-back routines.

You're gulping down mouthfuls of water, so you actually don't see when Hoseok makes his way over to you. Not until Jimin's words are registering and your head is whipping around to catch the wide smile on his pretty face. He doesn't hesitate to drop his arm over your shoulders, easily tucking your body into his side.

Instantly, you're engulfed in the familiar scent of him. The subtle stench of weed masked by his sweet cologne. You've never been around a guy who smelt as sweet as Hoseok always did, used to the overpowering stink of AXE body spray, but you're convinced he's never purchased a bottle. 

He's offering a quick nod of acknowledgment to Jimin, which is met with a halfhearted wave as he leans down to tie his laces. “You were pretty cool cheering,” He tries to be nonchalant with his compliment, eyes focused on the sky as he talks. Which is pointless, you already caught the way he had been cheering from the crowd.

“'Pretty cool', that's it?” There's a playful smirk on your lips that he finds way more inciting than he should. But, he's determined to keep his cool in front of you so all he does is lift his shoulders in a slight shrug. “Yeah, pretty cool.” He repeats in the same tone as before.

You don't even bother to mask the snicker that sneaks past your lips. “I put my leg behind my head it was just 'pretty cool'? Maybe you need an up-close demonstration?” It's the one that you use that catches him off guard, highlighting the meaning behind your suggestion.

He stumbles slightly, eyes widening slightly. That was obviously something he's thought about before... respectfully. This wasn't the first time he's seen what your body could do and it never failed to get his mind wandering. Of course, he's thought if he had the chance to sleep with you, would you pull out the same tricks you do on the field. Who wouldn't wonder that with someone they were pursuing? 

But, the fact that you were mentioning it. Hinting at it like you were planning for exactly that to happen, that was a whole different ballpark. And it's obvious from the slightly dazed look in his eye, that you can't help but laugh at. Pulling him from his thoughts with the sound of your laugh.

“You're funny,” You say through your laughter, which he's quickly catching on to – soft chuckles leaving his lips.

He leads you all the way to the locker rooms, where he waits outside for you to change out of your uniform and into the sweater and jeans you had picked out for your date. Compliment at the edge of his tongue the moment you're stepping out, arm dropping back down around your shoulder.

While the two of you walk to his car, he fills you in on the hilarious thing Jeongguk did that morning. And you laugh along with him. Like an actual laugh, not one of those forced ones to boost his ego. He's animated as he speaks, gesturing wide and goofy voices tagged as his friend's voices.

You're a few steps from his car when he's rushing ahead of you, pulling the car door open before dramatically gesturing to it. “M'lady,” He says as you pass him and you know he's just kidding, but your heart skips a beat.

There's got to be something wrong with you, you're sure of it. You've been on tons of dates in the past and here you were all warm and fuzzy inside and the date has barely started. It was comforting being around Hoseok, though. As if you've always known him, you hardly had to do any thinking when you texted and it was no different in person.

You can't help but wonder if it felt like that for him too. A connection like that can't just go unnoticed, right? Or maybe you were getting ahead of yourself. “Will you tell me now where we're going?” You're asking as he's settling into the space beside you, tugging his seatbelt around his waist.

“I won't tell you until we're there.” You had spent the entire night before trying to guess where he was taking you, which was no use. The shrug emoji was a favorite of his you were quickly realizing. “It's really cool, though. You're gonna like it,” He says with a grin.

If that was supposed to ease your curious mind, it does the exact opposite. A place he was sure you were going to like? How would he know? Talked for seven days straight, but that's only one week. Do you really know what someone likes after one week?

Hoseok's quiet the entire car ride, a small smile playing on his lips as he drives. You're too busy striking out possible date locations to make any conversation, so the soft sound of his music is the only noise that fills the car. He's humming along to the beat, fingers tapping against the steering wheel, hair being swept by the wind. He's something out of a movie, it's hard to really focus on anything else.

Ten whole minutes pass of you shamelessly admiring his profile before he's shoving the car into park. “We're here,” Arms stretched out in front of him and your eyes squint, figuring you're missing something. “Where's here?” You're asking when you can't find the answer for yourself.

Hoseok lets out a small laugh, hand reaching to unbuckle his seatbelt. “You gotta get out to see it,” He's at your door seconds later, pulling it open and offering his hand out to you. Which you take, allowing him to pull you from the warmth and into the night wind. With his fingers laced with yours, he leads you away from the car.

You were standing on a cliff and the closer you get to the edge, the prettier it gets. Lights from the city below twinkling, but it looks so quiet. “You can see everything up here,” His fingers are still laced with yours, forgotten between you. “Right. I like to come here sometimes and just look,” Even with the endless conversation the two of you shared throughout the week, there were still quite a few things you didn't know about him.

Like the fact that he had a spot or the reason, he felt like he needed one in the first place. “How come you wanted to have our date here?” Aren't spots supposed to be private? Wouldn't showing you where he goes to 'just look', take away from that?

All at once, he's becoming all too aware with the warmth of your hand in his. The small tingle he feels throughout his palm that he had done a good job at ignoring up until now. It's the reason he's wiggling his fingers from your grasp and shoving his hand into the front pocket of his jeans.

He's plopping down on the rock with a thud, shoulders shrugging. “I don't know. Sometimes when we talk, I feel like bringing you here. So I did.” He's trying to be cool and you're not too sure why. There's a code in his words that isn't at all hard to read. He wanted to bring you here, let you in on a piece of him and no matter how nonchalant he tried to act about it, that's what it was.

So you're lowering yourself to sit beside him. From his pocket, he's pulling out a pre-rolled blunt and tucking it between his lips. He's quick with lighting it, taking his time with inhaling. “I don't really go on dates like that, you know. I mean, I do... but I don't. When I take girls out, it's like a gratuity, you know? But, I like talking to you and I wanted to show you something cool too. So I brought you here,”

His free hand rests on the ground behind you, inadvertently pulling your body closer to his. “Do you like it?” There's a bit of hopefulness in his voice that's hard to miss.

You're smiling brightly up at him, nodding your head to rid him of any confusion. “I like it. It's really pretty. Thank you for showing it to me,” Just your smile was enough to have the flutter starting up in his chest, but the way you talked to him? He'd turn into a blubbering fool if he wasn't careful.

He extends his hand, wordlessly offering the smoke out to you. And you're assuming that he just wants you to hold it for a second, so you pluck it from his fingers. And wait. He's snorting out a laugh at the patient look on your face. “You gonna hit it or...?”

“Oh! Uhm... no?” He's quick with pulling it from your fingers at the rejection, no desire to waste anything. “Why not? Are you like a good girl or something?” He teases, words coming through a cloud of smoke.

You're letting out a scoff, eyes rolling at his words. “No. I'm an athlete. My body is my most important instrument. Which includes my lungs,” He's bursting out laughing at the snootiness hidden in your tone. A loud laugh contagious laugh that could probably be heard throughout the entire city.

“Well, excuse me,” He speaks through your dying laughter.

With his arm resting behind you, you're naturally leaning into his side. The calm of the night and having him so close has a warm feeling settling in your chest, so much so that it's hard to contain the smile that has spread onto your features. Sitting in comfortable silence and watching the city below and it doesn't feel weird.

Content with just being around him and that's something you've never felt before. Whether or not he was feeling it too was lost on you, his focus on moving the blunt to and from his lips, a cloud of smoke forming above your heads.

“You see that greenish building?” You're pointing a little ways ahead of you. He has to lean forward and squint to see what you're referring to but nods once he spots it. “That's my middle school,” Punctuating your words with a grin up at him.

His fingers move to flick his scraps into the window, his body moving closer to you now that his focus wasn't split. “What was Middle School Yn like?” His free hand fidgets with the pebbles on the other side of his body, the other resting over your shoulder.

“Middle School Yn?” You repeat with a laugh, head tilting to the side as you're brought back to what you were like in middle school. Nothing like how you've turned out. “She was... different?” You're laughing again, planning on leaving it at that.

But, he's got this expectant look on his face, waiting for you to go on. So you do. “I kept to myself mostly, didn't have many friends. Not nearly as confident as I am now. I read a lot and did my homework. That's it,” He doesn't seem shocked or even surprised by the fact that you weren't always this popular magazine cut-out creation of yourself.

He doesn't even bat an eye, simply nodding at your words. “So you were a little nerdy?” His words don't come out in the rude unconvinced way that you've heard before when showing your past yearbooks. It's more like he's trying to get an image of what you looked like back than despite anything else.

“You could say that,” He's nodding, brushing the dirt from his hands. “Cute. Middle School me would've had the biggest crush on you.” Hoseok speaks as if it's just another fact like his words don't have a flutter shooting through your chest.

And with how sure he was that you two would've hit it off in middle school, you can't help but become curious. “What were you like back then?” You try to picture what a younger version of him would look like. How he'd act. Probably still cool, unbothered by most things that would usually send kids into a rage.

Your imagination doesn't get too far before he's answering. “I was a bit of a hothead... always wanted to fight someone. I was sensitive and emotional, so I argued a lot with whoever. I had a ton of friends, though. But looking, they were probably just afraid of not being my friend.” He laughs so you offer up a small giggle.

Your hand had been mindlessly resting on his thigh before, fingers tracing patterns into the fabric of his jeans as he speaks. “So why do you think you'd have a crush on me?” From the way he described himself, it seemed like you two wouldn't even sit by each other – let alone be close enough that he'd develop a crush.

He's shrugging at your words, an action that you've quickly realized is his favorite. A way to give off nonchalance, but looking close enough it's not hard to detect the light blush that dusts over his cheeks. “You said you were quiet. I think I would've liked being around you. Listening to you talk... like now,” His arm drops from your shoulders to wrap around your waist, using his grip to pull you closer to him.

“Think if I met you then or now, I'd still be into the way you smile... or the pretty way you roll your eyes when you're trying to act annoyed. And yeah, just you.” His hand reaches for yours in his lap, loosely twisting your fingers with his. “Any version of me would like you,” It's so soft, you're not sure if that last part was meant for you to hear.

His eyes are focused out in front of you, not even slightly looking like someone that just confessed. So you ignore it, summing it up as a slip of the tongue. You don't comment, but that doesn't stop the butterflies from taking over your stomach.

All at once, you're being met with the undeniable urge to kiss him. Just to see what it feels like. Throw out the self-proclaimed challenge you set for yourself because Arya was probably wrong. You've spent the entire night with the guy, he cheered you on from the crowd, brought you to his spot, and now this... unconscious confession. The fact that he liked you was on his mind so much that he was saying it without even realizing it.

You found it extremely hard to think someone like that would have the wrap sheet he was given. Or, maybe he did in the past... but with you it was different. Why else would he take you here, invite you into his space and talk to you the way that he has if it wasn't anything different? Right?

Right.

So before you can talk yourself out of it, you're tilting your head to the side to face him. “It's pretty here, huh?” Voice much softer now, you've taken control of the fiddling of fingers. Twisting yours around him and occasionally brushing your nails against his skin. It's subtle enough to be taken lightly but just enough to leave his skin tingling.

He's quick to pick up on your change of demeanor, brows raising in slight surprise, but he doesn't say anything. In fact, he's following your lead, leaning his body in closer to yours. “Mhm. Quiet too, nobody really comes over here,” His fingers tug at the belt loops in your jeans, tongue pushing out to wet his lips.

“That's good,” Your breath brushes against his lips as you speak, eyes dropping to his lips. He doesn't say anything else, gently pulling his fingers from your grasp just so he can spread his palm on the side of your neck. And then his lips are crashing down onto yours, hand holding your head in place.

Hoseok kisses you slowly at first, mouth molding with yours. But it's not long before he's brushing his tongue over your lips, testing the waters before he's plunging in. Fingers pressed into his jeans, you try to keep your head from spinning as his tongue pushes against yours. He tastes earthy... but a little sweet. It's intoxicating.

With two hands planted firmly on your hips, he's easily lifting you onto his lap. The movement so fast it's forcing you to break the kiss, a squealed laugh breaking the kiss. Which he meets with a wide grin, reaching to push your hair from your face. Slowly, he drags the tips of his fingers over your jawline, until he's holding your chin between his thumb and index finger.

“I really like your lips,” He says through a groan, leaning in to cover your mouth with his once more. Hands dropping to cover the curve of your ass, pushing your body further up on his lap so your hips collide. You can feel his half-hard cock pressed against your thigh and it takes everything in you not to grind your hips forward.

The feeling of his cool hands slipping underneath your sweater has a shiver running down your spine. Body reacting to the way his fingers climb up your skin, grazing over the underwire of your bra. His teeth tug at your lower lip and you feel the twitch of his cock hardening as his hands slide underneath.

Your slow with pulling back, not fully wanting to pull away – but knowing if you didn't stop now you wouldn't be able to convince yourself later on. It's cute, though, the way his lips chase yours as you put distance between the two of you. When he's not tasting the peach of your lip gloss, his eyes flutter open.

Two large hands resting over your breasts, cheeks matching the color of his eyes. “You don't want to?” He looks genuinely confused, like someone not wanting to sleep with him right away was some foreign concept. Still, he's pulling his hands from the inside of your shirt, resting them behind him.

“Not yet,” He nods, glossy lips spreading into a smile. “Okay,” He leans up to press a reassuring kiss to your nose before he's sliding you off of his lap. And then, without missing a beat he's saying. “I bet I can name more constellations than you,” Completely wiping away any possibility of an awkward moment rising.

Challenging you with a smirk on his face and the comfortable atmosphere you had been in before is quickly returning. “Yeah, okay.” He's stretched out on the ground so he can look at the sky properly and you're quick to lower yourself beside him.

And just like that, you're pointing out clusters of stars, laughing at the ridiculous names that you come up with. Your head pressed to his shoulder and his arm wrapped around you. You don't even notice as the hours tick by.

— you’re just his type. so it’s no surprise when all of his time and effort goes into making you his. though, they’ve always said… you only want it because you can’t have it.

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[gallifrey1sburning]

Hi 👋 a prompt you can take or leave: Draco is very unsure whether he is being flirted with or this is an extension of their office rivalry that he doesn't understand (or the reverse!) Ty!

@skeptiquex and @ihavesomeideawhatimdoinghere, I read both of your prompts back to back, and they worked really well together, so I squished them into one. I hope you enjoy! Thank you both for sending me things, and thanks to @mxmaneater for the fast beta ❤️

—

The Tally

“One more for me!” Harry crowed, scratching a new tally mark next to his name on the chalkboard behind Draco’s head. “Better luck next time, Malfoy.” The board had a partner behind Harry’s desk, and the tallies recorded on one would reflect on the other, but Harry took great joy in invading Draco’s space and rubbing his victories in his face at every opportunity. Not that Draco was any better. It was part of the fun.

“Please, that one hardly counted,” Draco objected reflexively. “You only caught him because you tripped, for Merlin’s sake. Hardly an impressive arrest.” 

Harry shrugged and grinned, perching on the edge of Draco’s desk. “An arrest is an arrest.”

“Whatever,” Draco grumped. He and Harry had been playing this game for over a year now, and the margin was always extremely close. Harry was just barely ahead, at the moment, but Draco would catch up to him soon. He and Parvati had a potions ring bust coming up that Harry and Weasley weren’t involved in. Once that was done, he’d have overtaken him, and the smug expression currently gracing his colleague’s face would disappear along with his lead.

“So, any big weekend plans?” Harry asked, ignoring Draco’s pout.

Draco dropped the expression when it failed to produce the desired reaction. “Nothing too exciting. Yourself?”

“I’ve got tickets for the Puddlemere game on Saturday, actually. Ron was supposed to come, but something came up, so I’m trying to find someone else who might want to go. It would be a shame for the ticket to go to waste.” Harry was biting his lip and looking hopeful, and for just a moment, Draco thought— but no. If he’d wanted to ask, he would have asked, he told himself firmly. 

Taking care to keep his expression light, Draco pondered for a moment before saying. “I think McCutcheon is a Puddlemere fan. Maybe try him?”

“Oh, right.” Draco almost thought that Harry looked disappointed for a moment, but on second glance, his expression was clear and friendly. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll see if he’s free. Have a great weekend, Draco. Parvati.” He knocked his knuckles against the desktop twice before straightening and walking off, hands in pockets. Draco watched him go, sighing as he rounded the corner. It really was a pleasure watching him walk away.

He was brought back to reality by his partner smacking him in the back of the head with a stack of paperwork. “Ow! What the fuck, Patil?”  

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she hissed, looking even more exasperated with him than usual. “Every time he’s over here, you spend the rest of the day mooning, and he finally asks you out, and you say NO?!” 

“I do not moon!” He did moon, and he knew it, but he wasn’t about to say so. He still had his pride. “And he didn’t ask me out, either.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“He didn’t! He just said he had an available ticket! He very clearly had an opening to invite me, if he wanted to, and he very clearly didn’t.” There had been a number of moments like this, in recent months, and Parvati kept insisting that Harry was flirting with Draco. For his part, Draco kept insisting that she mind her own business, because she obviously could not read Harry Potter at all if she thought he was interested in Draco.

“You are an absolute moron.” Parvati shook her head in disbelief, but let it drop.

— 

They made the bust on Tuesday. Monday had been a rush of preparations and contingency planning and final logistics, and the stakeout had lasted all day, but in the end, it had been worth it—they’d brought in six players in one sweep and were confident that at least one of them would give up the rest in exchange for sentencing leniency. Draco had dropped into bed exhausted but elated.

He was still riding high when he sauntered into Harry and Weasley’s office on Wednesday. He leaned ostentatiously over Harry’s desk, stretching almost directly over his perpetually-tousled head to grab a piece of chalk and carefully add six perfectly straight tally marks to his own side of the board, giving him the lead by three. 

“And that’s how you do it,” he gloated as he straightened, smirking smugly down at Harry. “Suck it, Potter.”

Across the office, he heard Weasley groan and mumble something that sounded suspiciously like ‘he wishes’ under his breath. Harry looked a bit pink, but still smirked right back up at Draco, so it was probably just the heat. “Played that one close to the chest, didn’t you? But don’t worry, I’ve got something in the pipeline. I’ll be back on top before you know it.”

In Draco’s peripheral vision, he saw Weasley bang his head against his desk. “I’m getting tea,” he announced, stalking out of the office. Draco raised an eyebrow at Potter, who shrugged. 

Now that he was here, Draco didn’t quite want to leave yet, so he searched for something else to talk about. “How was the game?” he finally asked.

“Huh? Oh, the Quidditch game. Yeah, I didn’t end up going, actually.” Harry rubbed the back of his neck, not making eye contact. “Wasn’t really in the mood.” 

Draco wrinkled his brow, not really sure what to make of that, but then Harry asked a question about the potions bust, and Draco forgot about it, instead focusing on a dramatic retelling of his glorious victory.

— 

Harry’s next arrest came after a particularly brutal double homicide. It was all anyone was talking about when he arrived that morning, but, despite Draco’s expectations (and perhaps anticipation), Harry didn’t appear at his desk to brag about it. He was feeling a bit anxious by the time he finally saw him passing by his door in the late afternoon, and the feeling only grew when he did. Harry had bags under his eyes, and his usually confident posture was slumped. He didn’t look as though he had slept. He also didn’t look like he was going to stop.

“Hey,” Draco said, rising from his desk to catch him before he passed by completely. “Haven’t seen you today.” Are you okay?, he didn’t say, but he thought it was probably audible in his tone anyway.

“Oh. Hey, Draco.” Harry looked up at him, seeming a little lost. He looked hollow behind his eyes, and Draco could feel his eyebrows furrowing in concern. “Yeah, I’ve been…” he trailed off and glanced past Draco, into his office, to where the chalkboard hung prominently on the back wall. He seemed to curl even further in on himself. “I don’t want to count this one, okay?” he said, finally. “It doesn’t really feel like a victory.”

“Yeah, of course,” Draco said immediately, and he suddenly felt completely helpless. “Can I—” he hesitated, and then put a tentative hand on Harry’s slumped shoulder. “Do you need anything?”

He was half sure that Harry would pull away from his touch, but he didn’t. If anything, he seemed almost to relax into it. “I’m okay,” he said, and it wasn’t convincing, but Draco didn’t want to push it. “Thanks, though.” He reached up and gripped Draco’s hand where it lay on his shoulder, so briefly that his hand was gone before Draco could even fully register it, and then stepped back, continuing on his way.

Draco stood and stared at the chalkboard for a while when he got back to his desk. Then, he picked up his eraser and carefully removed one tally from his own side.

— 

Their next bust, they were on together. A small Neo-Death Eater group that the department had been keeping an eye on, but who hadn’t done much of anything until now, had suddenly decided to make a grand statement by threatening a large-scale attack on Diagon Alley if their (entirely insane) demands weren’t met. Needless to say, the Ministry was not interested in negotiation, and the whole Auror force had been called out en masse. 

Somehow, Harry and Weasley had ended up working in tandem with Draco and Parvati, and now Harry and Draco were back to back in a dead-end alley, dueling a pair that seemed to be the last desperate stragglers, while Parvati watched the street, ready to block anyone who might try to interfere, and Weasley stood to the side, clutching his ribs and sweating but still managing to hold a fairly steady shield charm. There was an unconscious, Incarcerous-ed body on the ground near him; his Stunner’s aim had been true, but the assailant had gotten off one last hex before it hit. He wasn’t in imminent danger—Draco had been hit by the same spell before, and it was extremely painful but didn’t cause any lasting damage once reversed—and although that would be easy enough to do, they didn’t have a wand to spare at the moment.

Harry and Draco worked together like they’d been born to it, and if their respective partnerships hadn’t been working so well for so long, Draco might have considered it a waste that they weren’t paired together. Spells flew around them like fireworks, and they cast and dodged and shielded and attacked without speaking, without pause, until, suddenly, it was over. 

“Ron!” Harry cried as soon as his wand dropped, but Parvati was already by his side, countering the spell, and Ron’s body relaxed almost immediately.

“I’m fine, mate. Great work.” 

Harry breathed out a sigh of relief and then turned to Draco, chest still heaving with exertion. Draco couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face even as he tried to catch his breath. He could feel sweat tracking down his face, his neck, his back, and he was streaked with dirt and—he suspected—blood; but they had won, and no one had died, and he was almost high on the rush of it. “I’m not sure who those count for,” he said, half laughing. “It happened too fast. Did you catch who took them down?”

Harry was grinning now, too, the buzzing energy of their win almost visibly coursing through him. He beamed at Draco, and he looked so fucking beautiful, even though he was just as dirty and dishevled as Draco was, that Draco couldn’t help but glance, just for a second, at those lips that he’d surreptitiously observed for so long as they stretched wide with joy. When he snapped his eyes back up, however, it was clear that Harry had seen, because the smile had morphed into something that Draco couldn’t put a name to, and his eyes were searching Draco’s for something. And then— 

“Fuck it,” he heard Harry say, and then there were hands on either side of his head and he was being—quite thoroughly—kissed, right there in the alley. He melted into it immediately, pulling Harry closer to himself almost instinctively. There was an iron tang of blood as their tongues met, and Draco wasn’t sure whose it was, but he didn’t particularly care. He didn’t care about much of anything, right now, besides Harry’s hands, and Harry’s lips, and the press of Harry’s chest and hips against his own, and whether Harry might want to reenact this moment later but somewhere with a bed and a lot less clothes.

“I TOLD YOU!” Parvati yelled triumphantly in the background.

“Fucking finally.” Ron sounded both amused and exasperated.

Draco ignored them in favor of sliding his hands into Harry’s birdsnest of hair, pulling lightly and making him groan into the kiss. He supposed this one counted as a win for both of them.

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Why I Never Really Talk About Claude

Because there's nothing to say. As much as I hate to say it.

NOTE: I love Claude, and this is in no way meant to say anything bad about him, but Verdant Wind and how it handles him. I didn't tag him, but I want Claude fans to give me their amazing meta analysis and help me indulge in his character. So if you see this - no hate. Please send love.

Gronder Field was obviously a huge turning point for AM and Dimitri - and trust me, I'll definitely get to that - but ironically it was also an eye-opener for VW.

This game is four routes, and at first I tried to give all four their dues, but lately I've talked almost exclusively about CF and AM. With CF on hold until the other routes are also at their final chapter(s), it's become more apparent how little I mention SS and VW.

SS is obvious. It lacks a strong central figure. Rhea is MIA. Edelgard has no presence. Claude and Dimitri weren't supposed to be big characters here, and they aren't. Byleth is too much of a non-character (by design) to pull the weight of a route on his own (my SS is M!Byleth).

But what about VW? What happened?

Initial Impressions of Claude

Claude's writing, before any other character, got my attention. Edelgard I was already biased towards before even opening the game, fueled by her stark difference in design/unit type than other FE leading ladies and knowledge that her route had a split. Hilariously, Dimitri's the one I paid little attention too. But once I actually started the game and heard the characters talk and such, it was Claude who stood out the most.

Claude was witty, promising, and mysterious in a natural way and not the "yeah, sure" way I felt towards Dimitri's "darkness." 😅Edelgard turned out exactly how I expected (and not in a bad way); it was Claude who proved unexpected. It was his prologue dialogue I enjoyed the best, his class introductions that made me laugh.

But sadly that interest burned out.

Edelgard continued to demand my attention throughout part 1. I didn't always agree with her, but I did stay invested in figuring out what her deal was, what she'd do next, etc . . . She surprised me, intrigued me, made me want to discuss her ideas.

Dimitri blindsided me. He tore at my heartstrings without even trying. Ever since the Lonato rebellion, Dimitri got my attention and never let it go. His empathy and stark contrast with his revenge, the truth about his darkness, and so, so much more took him from "there's a third guy" to hands down favorite.

But what did Claude have going for him? Looks? Sure. A fun personality? Definitely. But what about plot, conflict, growth? Throughout part 1, I wanted to know more about what Edelgard planned behind the scenes and her ideals. And during that time, my heart ached for Dimitri as I watched a battle he kept losing and felt so conflicted about his desire for revenge.

What did Claude feel? What did he want? I still kind of don't know. Lack of prejudice between borders? Me too! But what does that have to do at all with what's happening in the game? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Gronder Field

Gronder Field made it just how apparent Claude and VW feels like an awkward third wheel.

During the cut scene, Dimitri and Edelgard had parts that made me (or would've made me) desperate to know what on earth was going on with them. Why is Edelgard invading everyone and, once again, trying to kill her classmates? If she's sad about it, why did she start this war? WTF happened to Dimitri? WTF is going on in the Kingdom? If I wasn't in the middle of it, I'd plan to get to CF and AM asap.

Claude says nothing interesting. Nothing intriguing. It's a throwaway line any character could've said about how this is such a bad class reunion. Honestly, it feels like he got dumped with the lines they needed for advertising because the other two were too caught up in having an actual storyline.

Throughout the game, there's moments that would've made me desperate to play CF and AM, but Claude really hasn't gotten the same treatment.

Claude Deserves Better

The thing is, I like Claude. Writing this reminded me what a fantastic impression he made initially. I love his drive for knowledge, the almost idealistic world he lives to create despite his world-weary character, and how he seemed far more mysterious than the other two (and still is frankly), and didn't get used as a tool to pander to the player self-insert nearly as much either.

But he's been given nothing to work with. Rhea, Edelgard, and Dimitri all have desperate stakes in what happens. Claude doesn't. Or it feels like he doesn't. Even more of the students and faculty have more going on than poor Claude. Things are desperate, emotional, full of conflict, growth, and action. This is what makes someone connect to a story, but Claude feels so disconnected that it's hard to invest.

VW feels less like a cohesive story that could stand on its own and more like a series of battles strung together. Claude has neither Edelgard's strong motivations and active presence nor Dimitri's strong motivations and dynamic development.

It's in the details too. In CF, people are fighting for Edelgard and the Empire. In AM, people are fighting for Dimitri and the Kingdom. In SS, people are fighting for Byleth, Rhea, and the Church of Serios. In VW, people are fighting for . . . Byleth.

I mean, even in FEH Claude doesn't get special treatment. It seems Legendary Edelgard got a giant advertisement video for her release, and Legendary Dimitri got his own mini-foreging bonds with full voice acting. Legendary Claude got nothing. Maybe he's not as popular are the other two (I've stayed out of the fandom outside of my blog for obvious reasons - so I don't really know), but maybe the reason he's less popular (I'm assuming) is because there's a lack of emotional resonance compared to the others.

Honestly, it makes me irritated. Claude has so much potential as a lead character. There's so much to work with, but the game just doesn't play to his strengths, doesn't connect his desires and goals to the plot, ignores Almyra, and has him remain distant from everyone - including the plot. He deserves better.

Claude Fans, I Need Your Help

That said, I know, for fact, I am overlooking parts of his character. Claude fans, please help! Send me your analysis of his characters, what you admire, what his faults are etc . . . (please just no spoilers post Gronder, if you let me know I need to read it later, I'll like it go back to it).

I'm playing all 4 routes at the same time, which means I'm doing monastery weeks back-to-back-to-back-to-back - which means lots and lots of supports all at once. It's impossible for me to retain all that information. There are definitely Claude moments I've overlooked and forgotten.

I also know, for fact, that when you love a character, you can write an entire essay off of one line of dialogue/scene (yes, I've done it 😅). Please send me those essays. I want more Claude love on here, because I'm quickly remembering how much I loved Claude.