#can you tell that I ship her with quite a few characters? is it obvious?

[thecheshirerat]

On TAZ-

Wow that sounds like I’m about to summarize some sort of discourse but I promise I’m not. I guess I’ll say that I really like this show and I will keep listening even if my worst fears come to pass, so keep that in mind!

For reference, I started listening near the end of Amnesty.

I’ve noticed, with the past few arcs- really since Ethersea- the narratives have just… not been fulfilling their promises, so to speak. They’ve been placing a lot of guns that don’t go off. What I mean by that is, the characters are great. Excellent, really. Lady Godwin? HELL YES. Emerich Dreadway? Fuck yeah! And so on! And the settings and premises have been epic- the goofiness and also horrifying nature of Engrave, the mad and thrilling world of Steeplechase- these things are COOL AS FUCK.

and then the actual narratives keep flopping?

And honestly, I notice it most in the endings, because you can really tell when an ending doesn’t land. You feel the sense of disappointment. But with vs. Dracula, for example, I could kinda see leading up to it that the ending couldn’t really BE anything special, because they lowkey didn’t set themselves up for it.

They spent the campaign fucking around in Engrave, finding clues and solving problems and not really experiencing any particularly meaningful character arcs or growth or, idk, forming relationships? So there wasn’t much to pay off, I’m not gonna lie!

Of course it doesn’t feel quite as dissatisfying when you’re in the thick of it, because they’re funny and the stuff is cool and- oh hey! Lady Godwin’s been turned into a werehorse against her will?? that’s got some real potential for a LOT of allegories and exploration of some fun character development! And then it’s kinda played as a joke. And then they do that again and again.

And they actually said that that was a move they made intentionally, in the TTAZZ. I’m not quoting them perfectly here, this is from memory, but I do remember them mentioning that they wanted lighthearted comedy without the burden of real life story stuff. And I get that, honestly, but… it’s not the choice I would’ve made. I do think you can keep a lighthearted tone while also, idk, forming relationships and wholesomely engaging with some amount of emotion. And sometimes going way too deep is funny as a tone shift!

But I digress. One thing that’s also popped out to me is the almost complete lack of any kind of romantic storyline or even references. This becomes obvious if you’re in a fandom because everyone is always dying to ship SOMEONE, and you can tell when people are really getting desperate. I don’t blame them for not wanting to roleplay romance with their family, and I do think stories lacking romance are COOL and SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED!

However if you can’t find ANYBODY to ship together… that may mean you just don’t have character bonds. The growing popularity of the PC polycule is interesting to me; I wonder if it’s partially because

a) none of the pcs have significant relationships outside of their party and

b) even within the party, there doesn’t seem to be much chemistry between any given pair of characters…? I hope I’m making my point well here- the PCs all seem equally close and have more or less the same relationship to all of their compatriots with little distinction, meaning, essentially, no shipping fodder that doesn’t involve just all of ‘em.

Either way, it makes me wonder if I can blame the “Graduation has too many NPCs!” critique. They really stopped giving the parties tag-along main NPCs after graduation, with the exception of maybe.. Urchin? Kodira? Shlabethany? Poppy? and even they get relatively little “screen” time. Steeplechase has great NPCs, I love them to death, but none of the PCs seem to ever have one on one conversations with NPCs or each other that do not explicitly focus on the plot. And I think that’s part of why the characters feel so underdeveloped despite having spent a lot of time with them- because in this character-driven genre, we get very little insight into their feelings or motivations or even their rudimentary backstories.

I started watching Fantasy High recently and it made me realize a couple things about TAZ.

1) Recently, TAZ has sooo few core NPCs, and it’s weird that the characters aren’t doing more one-on-one purely character based scenes. And that makes it really tough to develop them.

2) TAZ is- and I should have realized this before- one of many good dnd podcasts. They’re probably looking for a niche they can master.

And it sounds like they’re trying to get back to that old “Here there be Gerblins!” energy. They’ve referenced it so many times in recent TTAZZes- they wanted to be job-focused, allowing story stuff to happen organically, so they tried a more open world vibe with Ethersea. They wanted to be less afraid to kill stuff, so they tried playing criminals (and were still afraid to kill stuff). They wanted to be silly and light on character, as they tackled with taz vs dracula. Now they’re trying to bring in the silly cartoon vibe with Abnimals. I think they’re trying to make that family-friendly, funny and goofy show their niche. Something other actual plays can’t be better at them at.

And honestly it kinda makes me sad, that they keep trying to go back to Balance while ignoring everything they learned during it. Because I loved Dust. Because I loved Amnesty. Because I loved Ethersea. I loved these past arcs! But they keep doing their brilliant characters dirty for some reason!!! And i don’t know why!!!!

You know that meme about people who ask questions in movies and then the person responds “Have you ever been to a movie before? You watch them and the information is revealed.” There have been so many times in TAZ recently where information has Not been revealed and if they keep doing it the audience will stop bothering to suspend their disbelief, because the trust just isn’t there.

What is Montrose’s deal? What on earth was Carmine Denton’s whole thing? Tell me more about Zoox’s feelings, about Devo’s past, about Amber’s future. Show me how Lady Godwin feels about the body horror that is her life- like, seriously! WHY DID WE HAVE TO COMPLETELY DISMISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS GENERATIONAL TRAUMA IN MUTT’S LIFE FOR A JOKE??

Do you remember in Steeplechase where the boys were getting medical attention or something- i don’t remember, but they were all in one room and only talking about The Plot. And Poppy literally banged on the door (speaking for both Justin and me, tbh) and was like “does anyone want to share any feeeeelings??” and they were like NOPE! and they moved on!!

like. cmon. you can’t just put a character like montrose out there and then leave them severely underdeveloped to the point that what would be interesting in proper context, with audience insight, becomes confusing and chaotic.

I just wish they would take their stories as seriously as we do.

It feels to me like they don’t believe in themselves, and it makes me sad. Maybe they didn’t get the response they wanted from Ethersea and so they’ve been trying to pivot, hoping to recapture whatever it was that earned them a loyal audience.

Again, I love them. They’re so funny and I’ll keep listening until the day they stop making this show, and when it happens I’ll cry.

But i KNOW they have more in them. Remember the “we’ll grow gills” monologue from Justin in the Prologues? Remember Travis’s SOLID acting with Devo? Or his awesome choice to give Lyndon/Beef a clearly delineated work/irl identity? His excellent narration and prose? Remember when Montrose described being lonely?! Remember all those moments where Shit Got Real and you cared??? The nanofather said some dope shit! dracula and victor and sweater dracula had such a wild dynamic! Clint’s acting in Dust 2- I can’t remember the characters name right now- was ASTOUNDING, I genuinely didn’t know he had that in him and it blew me away!

I’m not referencing Balance on purpose, both because the fandom is way to hung up on it and because I want to prove that you don’t even have to look at Balance, or even Post-Balance arcs, to see this kind of good cool stuff!

GAAAAAAAGHHHH!!! I want them to have fun. But also. We’re starving out here.

[fruityfroggy]

ASGKJKUYFG TYSM @anonymocha FOR GIVING ME A DIRECTION TO GO WITH MY RAMBLINGS<3

Anyways…oh Verdigris, I’ve come up with so many extra bits and pieces to her lore in the past month or so and I didn’t really get to talk about her in the first place, so I’m glad that someone’s interested (this is gonna be so long, I can feel it)

First things first, we’ll get the big thing out of the way: her arcane skill. Kind of a big part of her story is how she is a “plant whisperer”, which means that she’s able to hear the voices of plants and therefore communicate with them. This made her form a prominent sense of empathy for plants, as they are unheard by everyone except her.

(Now, a lot of the things I’ll mention about Verdigris will make a lot more sense)

So a fun little fact is that plants have a “way of speaking” that sounds more poetic than your normal speech, since they’re just describing things based off of what they know from nature. And because of her arcane skill, Verdigris does talk like them a little (which just comes off as being poetic/dramatic). Another thing that comes with this “way of speaking” are “Titles of the Plants”, which is the thing that you remind the plants of, that they therefore refer to you by (Vertin is “The Wandering Wind”, Sonetto is “The Shade in Daylight”, etc).

Why am I mentioning this? Well but of course it’s for yuri reasons! Because this is the perfect way for Verdigris to subtly and sapphic-ly pine for a certain arcanist by the title: Ray of Sun (and who this refers to is not disclosed). She mentions this “Ray of Sun” quite frequently in her diary, which I’d imagine could be one of those pages of text you can find between stages, as well as in her intimacy voiceline (which I haven’t written, but we can imagine, okay).

Anywho…when it comes to interacting with other arcanists, Verdigris is very much the most likeable out of my three ocs here (she’s just a cinnamon roll, not toxic or hard to communicate with). So she gets along with basically everyone in the suitcase. Chaotic or calm, she’s patient enough to talk to them. Tho she’s the closest with Lilya I’d say, since they’re bonding over a shared language/heritage and shut up, it’s adorable. Especially since Verdigris didn’t have anyone to speak Russian to for a long time (she lived in Spain, that’s why) and Russian was her mother’s language (she never got to meet her, so it holds special significance to her (things are getting angsty haha)). This problem was the whole reason she created her own critters actually. But hey, now she has someone and the vibes are good again.

As for their dynamic, it’s obvious that they have a “balancing each other out” situation, and I like to call it “Lilya and her designated driver” as a joke. But truthfully, Verdigris is surprisingly down with most of her shenanigans and no one understands why. Lilya kinda just wants to show Verdigris all the “fun stuff” she usually does, and she just goes along with it while some of the other arcanists watch them in horror (they’re just having a good time tho). When Verdigris is busy, Lilya would go visit her workshop to see what she’s doing like: "What you making, Verdie?:]" (she finds it interesting).

Considering what she does, I feel like Verdigris would probably be crossing paths with Medpoc kinda often as well (hehe). Verdigris just isn’t super affected by Medpoc’s hostility, and still treats them very well after getting yelled at. Once they warm up to her tho, she kinda becomes their emotional support (aka the person they rant to while she hands them a cookie or smth), and they’d pass out together while working across from each other, since neither of them remember to sleep (or do anything else).

I also think that she could help Shamane repair and/or upgrade his mechanical arm (since that’s kinda her specialty), and in turn gain a new father figure. Shamane would definitely like her Dendrogues and greet them when he sees them hopping around as well.

Some honourable mentions are the other calm healers (Dikke and Tooth Fairy). Dikke would grow fond of Verdigris for how fair and thoughtful is, but she'd tell her to not be so tolerant of everything. As for her and Tooth Fairy’s situation, they actually have pretty similar vibes, so they’d probably do some somewhat questionable things together that aren’t so questionable if they’re doing it, like baking together (there’s definitely no tooth fairies in the muffins they’re making, don’t question the taste of plums) and going out into the forest to look for teeth.

Oh right! Verdigris also has a small interaction with Pristine after implanting the new heart she made for her, since Pristine’s original heart (crystal) is the thing that makes her body possessable to Arcana (there’s some context from this post that is needed to understand what I’m talking about). This is a big plot point in Pristine’s story, so guess who’s growing attached to Verdigris. Yeah, she kinda just follows her around whenever she sees her from there on out, maybe even tugs on her sleeve saying “Where art thou headed to? Let me go with thee!” (Welcome to motherhood, Verdigris!)

[rivetgoth]

The fact that I’ve seen a few people try to analyze I Saw the TV Glow through a lens of it being about like, fandom and obsession with media and nostalgia being bad ?? is genuinely blowing my mind. Obviously there’s the fact that this movie is as unambiguously about being trans as it can possibly be without just saying outright “this is a movie about being trans” but I also think this is crazy because I would say it actually has one of the most unambiguously positive relationships with concepts like “media consumption” and “nostalgia” that I’ve seen in a movie.

Like, to say it’s a shallow interpretation of the film to call it “about media/fandom” (and especially a negative depiction of such things!) is putting it quite kindly because I kind of feel that anyone who utters such sentiments didn’t actually understand the core element of the entire movie: “The Pink Opaque” is not a show. Commentary the film makes about watching “The Pink Opaque” cannot translate to commentary on watching shows broadly because the movie spends half its runtime making it explicitly clear that “The Pink Opaque” may be a show that exists in a literal sense but is not one in a figurative sense. “The Pink Opaque” represents the possibilities of childhood and innocence. Innocence that still is not free from judgment—Owen gets told the show is for girls, Maddy’s friend accuses her of sexual harassment on account of her sexuality while they were watching it together—but it’s the moment in your youth (or any time! it doesn’t have to go away!) when the possibility of queerness and more explicitly queer utopia feels real to you. The external pressures to conform are still there but you can tune them out if just for a moment to envision a future and a life for yourself free of it and living authentically. I think this is an experience all LGBT people can relate to, but in the case of ISTTVG it’s very explicitly primarily focusing on queer femininity, predominantly transfemininity, but in Maddy’s case as well she is a queer woman (I’ve seen some interpretations of her as transmasculine but I disagree personally). Hence the on-the-nose nature of it being PINK.

What feels very genius about Schoenbrun making it about a show though is that it’s so generational, right? For all of us LGBT people who grew up in the age of screens that WAS where a lot of that early imagination going wild resided. The first time you explore a new name is on anonymous forums. The first time you explore your masculinity or femininity is with which character you relate to in a show, or which gender you select in Pokémon. Movies and shows with “queer subtext” or even without give young LGBT people the chance to envision relationships and futures for themselves, what many grow up and call “shipping.” You have your first gay crush while watching your favorite movies. You envy those of your true gender while watching your favorite movies. Amongst many other things when Maddy watches “The Pink Opaque” she’s given access to a world where two women share this intimate connection and overcome obstacles together. When Owen watches “The Pink Opaque” they’re given access to a world where femininity is a real option for their future.

The relationship these characters have to “The Pink Opaque” is a net positive and the movie makes that so incredibly obvious when Owen goes back to rewatch it later and finds that it’s nothing like how they remembered, it feels childish and immature and dumb. That is a bad thing. This is a bad thing. The movie wants you to see this as a bad thing. This is the result of repression, of conversion therapy, of violent coercion into normative lifestyle—That sense of limitless possibility is destroyed and the idea of accessing one’s transness, of imagining this utopia where you CAN be yourself and live as a woman, strong and beautiful on the other side of the screen as said in the film, is lost. Now you tell yourself it feels silly, it feels childish to imagine such things, it’s not nearly as deep and meaningful as you believed it was when you were younger and less inhibited, or it’s at the very least easier to tell yourself that. Owen’s feeling embarrassed is of note here. If it weren’t for these external pressures that have been internalized they very well may have been able to still enjoy the show, even as they’ve aged and grown and matured, even if their perspective has changed a little. But they can’t. Not yet, at least.

I feel kind of out of my mind seeing people try to approach it through a lens of commentating on media consumption because it’s so deeply missing the layers of what’s actually being said… and not even in a wildly obfuscated way. The movie is ABOUT the relationship these characters have to “The Pink Opaque” and how the loss of that is a bad thing. How you can possibly watch it and see it being about some kind of growth from obsessive media consumption is mind boggling to me. Seeing multiple reviews and posts in tags about it is crazy. One thing I really like about this movie is that it so confidently argues for a more positive interpretation of being obsessed with “fantasy” and the childlike wonder of the limitless possibilities of fiction. I think that’s a very very trans narrative, as I mentioned it feels tied deeply into Queer Utopia, and I find it much more bold of a stance to take. In a world where people tell trans individuals (and especially trans women) that their identities are works of fiction or products of the imagination or even caused by excessive media consumption, to embrace these things and turn them over and use them as a symbol of the whimsy and innocence and excitement that first ignites that spark as a positive, thrilling, beautiful thing is very cool.

[tamelee]

i just saw a posts about novels that went like

sarada told sasuke he has lipstick stain, sasuke tries to wipes it off and she says he doesn't have one and sakura doesn't wear lipstick.

how do they defend this novels with their lives? it confirms sasuke never kisses sakura and doesn't know if she wears lipstick or not and kisses someone else who wears lipstick. it also confirms naruto likes to wear lipstick XD.

Please. These novels are ridiculous. Kishimoto already confirmed they’ve never kissed in Gaiden. Twice. 

(* something nicer = meant the forehead poke)

Though I wouldn't believe anyone if they said they actually like these novels, because the story (or lack thereof) is complete shit, but it’s fine if they do. A good story isn't the intention unfortunately. I genuinely wish that people understood what exactly it is they are defending. I’m writing a post for someone who asked something regarding canon, but I need to take brakes from it because it pisses me off that this happens constantly to franchises— not just Naruto. 

And in this case it’s even worse, or perhaps it’s just a prime example, because Jun Esaka (writer for some of these novels) made such a fool of herself on twt by making it all too obvious what her intentions were by writing them. (If it wasn’t already obvious.) First, when people pointed out the many flaws, she admitted that it’s “just her story” and “just her interpretation” (she had only read 'Naruto' for the first time a few months before that), but when other ss-shippers started to defend her and said she was a better writer than Kishimoto (as there’s 0 love between SS when he writes), she basked in that glory and went along with it. Even to the point that she completely disrespected Kishimoto, the story, the craft, openly made fun of other characters (mostly Hinata) and ships like NH and demanded her other novels to be animated as well. It’s unprofessional af. And then when fans asked her for a nsfw novel for SS she agreed and told them to harass the company about it. (She didn’t say ‘harass’ exactly, but come on you can’t be that dense given their reputation with staff.)

What are they defending? 

How can you defend anything when the motive is so obviously just personal bias/gain and/or financial profit to a company where both in this case don’t give a shit about the original story. It's not about shipping though, it happens all the damn time to all my favorite franchises and I'm genuinely sick of it. And it's not even about a writer writing about what they want either because I already expected that, but Esaka did her absolute best to try and disprove the bond between Naruto and Sasuke and change narratives completely even for individual cases for the sake of telling her "story". SNS-moments weren’t romantic to her and she quite literally made fun of it by copying them in her story to point out its "irrelevance", but give them to her het-ship and now all of a sudden it is romantic???? She basically calls Kishimoto a liar because ‘Sasuke Retsuden’ in particular is a direct response to ‘Gaiden’ (made by Kishimoto). She blatantly tried to disprove anything he said and indicated about her ship. She wrote about characters that, yes, have the same name as those in ‘Naruto’, but are so out of character it hurts. It took me months to recover my lost braincells. 

I don't think my post about it is still up, but to name a few things in that novel if you're interested: Sasuke resents Naruto and his test-tube daughter because he’d rather travel with Sakura, his wife whom he loves so much. But he has to do stuff just because Hokage Naruto said so and his daughter wants to stay in Konoha so he has no choice but to comply. Being apart from his wife-(did we mention he loves her so much? because he does. so much.)- makes him feel so very lonely and he misses her body so much because he knows it so well. He fails to do anything other than being jealous about the women-deprived prisoners going after the new hot doctor, Sakura, who is his wife btw. that he loves a lot in case you missed it. and he rather stares at trees that remind him of her than helping his friend Naruto who’s apparently dying from his own chakra or whatever kind of bs. Sasuke lets himself be bullied by prison-guards that aren’t even Shinobi, for having long hair and looking like a girl, though Esaka makes sure to mention how so very handsome he is and he looks like a cat. Sasuke loses a battle against an overgrown lizard and tries the same damn jutsu 4 times(!!!!) before realizing it may actually not work, I think because he forgot how to fight, but he can however create anything from ice like Elsa (Frozen), or from dirt like some Gaara-hybrid to make Sakura a ring because he loves her so much ofc… oh and he’s now a healer too. Sasuke sacrifices people’s lives even when it’s not necessary at all bc ig Esaka thinks he's a killer, and also he wouldn’t mind being brought back with Edo Tensei if it means he can stay with Sakura, because fuck everything they’ve been through in the original story, yeah? They also immediately forgive the bad guy cuz he's so relatable even though he just murdered I dunno how many people. SS kiss while an injured Naruto is squished in between them because SS-shippers have some sort of “Naruto has to watch our ship being in love to really make it legit because that’ll learn him for getting in between!”-kink (that's real actually) and according to Esaka, Sasuke is so worried about his daughter and in fact did meet up with them during those 10+ years because he loves them oh-so-much and fuck you Kishimoto that’s why. 

Be so fr right now. It’s such a joke. And these are just the few things on the top of my head that I remembered ;-; ...

Again, what are they defending exactly? It would be nice to just have a genuine fan of the story write an actual story. No other motive other than "I really like the story and would love to explore some options while respecting Kishimoto's work because it'd be fun!" Except, that's unfortunately not very marketable and ffs it's just sad. (I know there's a Kakashi version and I personally really want to know more about his role as Hokage and what he's done etc, but alas.)

[spookyspecterino]

For the Drinking and the Dancing

Sam Coe x GN! Reader

GN! Reader. They/Them Pronouns, no use of Y/N, or reader descriptions used. Reader is referred to as Captain once or twice.

No real warnings besides use of alcohol, mentions of drugs (aurora), and language. Lots of pining and soft moments. Sam is protective and a bit jealous.

Your night with Sam and Walter at the Astral Lounge may be the first time you can sit down and have a drink together.

Characters: Sam Coe, Walter, a little bit of Cora Coe.

This was silly and fun to write. If it gets a little sappy that's because I was listening to the La La Land soundtrack while writing 🥲

“Cheers to a successful deal that didn’t involve me shooting anyone!”

“Here, here!” Walter raises his glass with his usual reserved smile. His cheeks are tinted red. This was not the first round of drinks, but perhaps the third. Further back, the music boomed, and patrons of all sorts danced.

Sam laughs, raising his own beer. “Kinda wish we did shoot him, but cheers anyway!”

Downing the rest of your cocktail in one gulp, you nudged Sam who sat between you and Walter at the NEON bar. “The point is, I can get stuff done without violence. I’m quite proud of that.”

He grins, playfully nudging you back. “I never doubted you couldn’t. You’ve got a certain charm to you.”

“Oh, do I now?”

Walter, oblivious to the conversation, signals the bartender for more drinks. By the end of the night, he may end up paying a small fortune.

Waving off the offer for another beer, Sam gives you a secret, side-eyed smile. “Thought that much was obvious.”

“No, but I’d love to hear more.” You pick up your new drink and take a sip, eyeing Sam from over the glass.

“Maybe some other time, can’t be giving away every secret.”

“I bet if I could convince you to drink some more, you’d tell me everything.”

This makes him laugh, a wonderfully deep sound you desperately wanted to hear more of. “No can do, someone has to get you two back on the ship in one piece when the night is over.”

Walter leans closer, nearly bumping Sam’s beer out of his hand. “Who said we’re going back to the ship? Already? We’re just getting started.”

“Not yet, Walter. Sam was just telling me how he’s graciously playing chaperone tonight.” You wink at Sam as you take another gulp. The alcohol was definitely taking effect now, you’d never had such flirtatious confidence—or maybe this was just the first time you could really sit down and enjoy yourselves together.

Walter huffs, turning his nose up. “The only chaperone I accept is my wife.”

Your laugh is so sudden you almost spit out your drink. Sam is laughing too, both at Walter and your reaction. Recovering, you grin at the older man. “That brings up an excellent topic I’d love to explore.” You waggle your eyebrows. “Issa is so hot. And smart too. I couldn’t believe it when I first saw her. Seriously, nice catch!”

Now it’s Sam’s turn to choke on his beer.

Walter drunkenly nods his head in approval. “Well, my friend, it was a hard-won battle. She nearly outwitted me at every turn.” He held up a finger. “But it helped that I used to be quite a fox back in the day. And, if you can believe it, money had nothing to do with that.”

Leaning forward, you wrap an arm around Sam’s shoulder. Your cheeks nearly touch. “Whaddya say Sam, can you believe that?” You’re either too intoxicated or too caught up in the act to notice Sam’s face turn a light shade of red.

“It’s hard to picture.” You can hear his tone pick up a teasing lilt. “Maybe he recited Sebastian Banks’ speech with so much gusto she fell in love with him then and there.”

Walter barks out a laugh. “Too true, Mr. Coe. She’s heard me perform it more than a few times.”

“That is painfully cute.” You say, trying to stifle a laugh. Unhooking your arm from around Sam’s shoulders, you turn back to your drink, vision tunneling a little as the alcohol’s effects begin to set in with earnest.

Walter keeps talking with Sam, but you’re too busy trying to think of how many shots you’ve had that you zone the conversation out. Failing to come up with a number, you decide one more couldn’t hurt. Catching the bartender’s eye, you order a shot of something strong.

What you said earlier was true, not having to hurt anyone to get what you want was a very welcome change of pace, something you would try to do more often if it left you feeling this good after.

Or maybe it was the proud look in Sam’s eyes as you left the meeting.

On cue, like your brain had been holding back, your mind is filled with images of him from all manner of your adventures. It was most certainly the alcohol’s doing that made you smile all to yourself right before throwing back the freshly placed shot with enthusiasm.

Swaying a little, your arm leans against Sam’s as you recover from the harsh burn in your throat. It’s a light touch, but it serves to remind you that you’re sitting right next to him—you need only to turn, hold his face between your hands, and lean in a little…

Woah there. Reign it back in.

And, as if you share a neural link—as if he knew you were thinking about him, Sam’s leg leans into yours as he talks to Walter.

Something pangs in your heart, a strong and unspoken longing. Maybe you’re just drunk, the alcohol allowing your feelings to run wild. It was probably just a mistake on his part, nothing to put much thought into. Sneaking a glance at him, he’s smiling and talking carefreely.

Wow.

Was he always this handsome? Or is it the light and shadows making him look particularly dashing?

He glances at you, catching you staring. That small, almost imperceptible smirk that curls his lip as his eyes hold yours is enough to send your heart racing.

“Care to weigh in on this?” He asks, eyes reflecting his growing smile.

Your face flushes red. “On, uh—this?” Walter leans over to hear you more clearly, he sways slightly. Clearing your throat, you stammer, “Well, my opinions have always been—uh—my own. So…please, er—continue. I’d like to hear where this goes.”

Good save...probably.

“Sam, I doubt our Captain here has any knowledge on the complex inner workings of NEON corporation politics, you won’t find your saving grace with them.”

Sam continues watching you for a heartbeat. Leg still against yours. “Oh, I think I might.”

You sip your drink, acting as if you’d been a part of the conversation the whole time and quickly adopting a false confidence—all thanks to the alcohol. “I don’t like discussing politics.”

“Except when you talk about the UC.”

Walter chimes in too. “Or the colony war.”

You snort. “I have a strong opinion against tyranny. You do too, Sam.”

“It’s still politics.” Sam teases, sipping his beer. He’s nearly run out.

Looking to change the subject, you signal the bartender. “He’ll have a Whiskey.”

“No—” Sam starts to protest.

“Just one? I’m sure you’re more than capable of handling us. Plus, how am I going to get you to dance with me if you don’t have a drink?”

Good God. It was like your mouth had a mind of its own now. Maybe the lighting will hide the scarlet shade of red on your face.

Sam’s brows shoot up. “Dance with you? You want—dancing? Here? With me?”

“You’re my first choice.”

He shifts in his chair. “Dancing isn’t… I don’t really… I’m not very good at it.” His whiskey arrives in a neat, little glass. As if on instinct he takes it. He can see the disappointment on your face.

A spear slices through your heart. Your leg moves away from his. Feigning detachment and turning dramatically in order to keep the mood light, “Guess I’ll have to look elsewhere.”

You can see Sam fighting with himself as Walter, speech somewhat slurred, laughs. “My Issa wouldn’t take no for an answer. I had no love for dancing, but then I met her.”

It brings a smile to your face. “Invite her down, I’m sure she could use a drink and a dance, you haven’t seen each other in a while.”

“This isn’t the kind of dancing she enjoys, it’s more of an old age type—the waltz for example, is her favorite.”

Sam grunts, sipping his Whiskey. “I could get on board with that easier then…” he looks behind at the crowd swaying and dancing with their arms up. “Then whatever that is.”

Maybe he is just shy. Pushing away the feeling with expert precision, you’re back in high spirits again. “Where would you take Issa to dance, Walter?”

“Sometimes just in our living room, or on the roof. We have a cozy garden at home that tends to be her favorite. The lighting at night is particularly wonderful.”

You smile, leaning on the palm of your hand. “Sounds very romantic.”

Walter turns to stare deep into his drink, a smile from thoughts and memories just for him wrinkles his eyes. “To be young...” He chuckles, taking a sip. “Enjoy it while it lasts.”

Sam’s eyes are on you as you raise your glass. “I plan on it.”

“Speaking of Issa again,” Walter pushes back from his stool at the bar, “I’ve made up my mind. I’ve missed her very much and to talk about her like this… I fear I cannot leave without seeing her at least once more.”

Sam moves to get up, but Walter waves him off, straightening his shirt. “I’m quite alright. The bartender has my account, that will cover our tab. Please, stay, enjoy yourselves. I’ll be well taken care of with Issa.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am, young man. I’ve had a lifetime to perfect the act of sobriety.” And with a dip of his head, he turns to leave.

The way Walter can manage himself to seem entirely sober was a very impressive feat. He strides out the door, not stumbling once, walking in a straight line, with such casual suave that no one would be the wiser.

It leaves just you and Sam at the bar.

You can feel Sam’s eyes on you as your drink is nearly empty. He asks, gently, “How ya feeling?”

“Like I’ve got at least one more round in me. You?”

“I’ll be good after I finish this. You ok leaving after that? I don’t want to cut your well-deserved night short.”

“I might pass out if I continue, so it’s for the best honestly.”

His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He pauses, chewing on his lip. “Listen, about the dancing—”

Hm. Not a topic you really want to get back into.

You wave a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I understand. I don’t want to force you or make you uncomfortable.”

His mouth opens to say more, but the bar tender—prompt as usual—appears for your order. Whatever Sam was going to say dies before he can say it.

“One more please.”

“Actually, make that two.”

This time, when you look at him, his smile reaches all the way to his eyes.

“Are you sure?” You ask, trying to hold back a smile.

“Why not. I should live a little. Enjoy my youth while it lasts.”

The shots arrive as if on cue. The service is really excellent here, you had to give it that.

Sam takes the small glass in his hand, raising it. “To you.”

You mirror him, smirking. “To me.”

His award-winning smile dazzles you just before he throws back the shot like an expert. When you throw the shot back you have a hard time not coughing as the burn threatens to scorch your throat on the way down.

You wipe your mouth, eyes nearly shut with a grimace. “I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be.” Without hesitation he picks up his whiskey and does something similar.

Holy shit, that’s hot.

He continues speaking as if he never drank anything. “It’s just a remnant of my younger days. I’ll probably be paying for it tomorrow morning.” He pauses, giving you a quizzical look. “What’s that look for?”

“Hm? Oh—uh, nothing.” You turn hastily back to your cocktail and try to do the same thing. You couldn’t fathom why you tried, this time you were reduced to a coughing and sputtering mess.

Sam’s hand is gentle on your lower back. He’s chuckling. “Easy, easy. You don’t need to impress me—you already have. In fact, you do all the time.” His face turns scarlet red as you look at him. “Er—ignore that. It’s the alcohol talking. We should—uh.” He looks toward the exit, through the sea of dancing people. “We should get going. Maybe get you some water when we’re back on the ship.”

Getting up from his stool first, he helps you down from yours, catching you as you stumble a little. It was an entirely different game trying to walk this drunk. Suddenly the dancing throngs of people seem fun, the loud music tempting.

Sam is by your side, a steadying presence. He smells like whiskey and pine. “Stay close, don’t want you to get lost.”

“Yes sir.” You laugh, leaning into him.

His chuckle fans out against your ear as his fingers tangle with yours. “Follow me.”

In the lead, Sam begins guiding you down into the crowd. The music becomes louder, the swaying beats tempting you to stay and move with them. Your heart sings to the melody of the song, bass thrumming in your bones. For a moment, surrounded by dancing and swaying people, you shut your eyes. Simply living and enjoying the happy crowd.

You aren’t sure when, but your hand is separated from Sam’s as your body begins to move and sway with the music. The alcohol clouds your mind, the people blend together. The only thing you feel is the music. It’s euphoric.

Why would you leave? Where were you even going?

Unable to remember what you were just doing, you give in, letting your body move to the rhythm, swallowed into the crowd. The dancers on the stage, in their silly costumes, make you laugh and dance along.

Someone bumps into you; hands catch you before you can fall forward. Turning, you weren’t expecting to see a tall stranger. He smiles down at you, the light playing off the angles of his face.

“S’cuse me.” He purrs as he gets a closer look at you.

“All good.” You say with a half-smile. He’s not bad looking.

“Care to dance with me?”

“Oh, well—I mean, I think I was supposed to be doing something. But…”

“One dance won’t hurt, will it?” His gaze turns thoughtful. “I’ve got something here that could make our night even better—if you’d like some.” He begins to pull something out of his pocket, a small cannister with blue and neon pink trimming.

Just as the tiny voice in the back of your mind, one you were more than fine with ignoring in your drunken state, tells you to decline, an arm snakes around your lower back.

“No, they wouldn’t. We were just leaving.”

Sam, your savior, stares down the man. Un-yielding and firm. Holding you close.

The man deposits the little cannister back into his pocket with a nod. “Apologies, I didn’t realize they were taken. Have a good night.” The man turns, weaving through the crowd and out of sight.

Sam keeps his arm around you. The lights reflect off his teasing smile. “I’m gone one minute, and you manage to get yourself a new dancing partner. I can’t let you out of my sight.”

“To be fair, he bumped into me.”

Sam leans in, lips brushing feather-light against your ear. “I’m not surprised. It’s that irresistible charm of yours again.” He starts guiding you out of the crowd, his arm snaked around your back and holding your hip.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous, Sam Coe.”

“Damn right I am.”

It catches you by surprise. All you can do is look up at him, studying his face as he navigates you both through the crowd. He glances at you, no doubt sees that look in your eyes, and smiles. It melts your heart on the spot.

Out of the crowd and leaving the astral lounge, Sam unwraps his arm from around you. “Now I’m really serious, stay close. If you get distracted on the streets of NEON, I’ll have a much harder time finding you—and rescuing you.”

His hand finds its way to yours, linking your fingers together feels natural and easy. “I don’t need rescuing.” You scoff, playfully.

“So, you had that whole situation under control?” He asks, beginning to walk by your side.

“Absolutely.”

“Even when he was trying to offer you aurora?”

“That’s what that was? Huh…”

“What did you think it was?”

“I don’t know, something, I guess. I’ve never tried aurora... I wonder what it’s like.”

Sam chuckles. The bright lights of the NEON streets were starting to hurt your eyes. “It’s a hallucinogenic, really addictive.”

“Is it fun?”

He takes his time answering. “It was when I was younger, but I’m not going to let you try it this drunk—or with a complete stranger.”

You laugh, bumping your shoulder into him. “So protective.”

“Can you blame me? You’re very—you’re special to me.”

If your mind hadn’t been swimming with alcohol and your vision swaying, you might have caught onto his more serious tone. Instead, you’re grinning and teasing him. “But not special enough to dance with?”

His hand squeezes yours. “I knew you were still hung up on that.” You’re nearing the exit now. “Just be patient.”

Outside, the wind blows, a harsher and more uncomfortable setting than the warmth of the city. “What does that mean? Be patient?”

The NEON guards pay you no mind as you walk through the sensors. Sam keeps holding your hand even as you near the ship. “It means exactly what it means.”

“Saaam.” You playfully complain. “You know I’m too drunk for games. Are you even affected by the whiskey?”

“I’ve had a lot of practice with drinking.” When he sees your expression turn to a half pout, he grins. “But just a little. It’s enough.”

He opens the hatch of the ship for you. Your face tilts into a full-on pout as his hand leaves yours. “Enough for what?”

Sam strides onto the ship and guides you toward your quarters, a fully separate room outfitted just to your liking. He finds your age-old record player—that cost a few favors and quite a lot of credits—without much trouble.

Turning on a slow song, one of your favorites, he takes your hand again and brings you close, placing his other on your lower back. “Enough for this.”

Moving gently at first, he sways with you. His footwork is simple, but he doesn’t stumble or even step on your feet. You’re so surprised your mouth opens and closes, unable to find words. He’s obviously pleased with himself as he smirks and slowly twirls you around to the soft music.

“You look surprised.” He whispers, inches away from your face.

“You’re—you’re good at this.”

He chuckles. “It feels natural with you.”

Continuing on, you’re both swaying and twirling around your room, occasionally giggling, and laughing as you try new moves or stumble a little. You lean your head onto his chest, wrapping your arms around his neck as you begin to slow down, groggy from drinking. You can feel his heartbeat—it’s fast and strong as his chest rises and falls.

This little moment in a vast universe is everything.

When the music falls quiet, you both keep swaying slowly. Too enraptured to let go. Sam’s strong hands held you close, his head leaned against yours. Only when a yawn sneaks its way out of you does he gradually stop.

Sam pulls back, still keeping you in his arms. “Should get you to bed now.”

The way his voice rumbles through his chest keeps your head there. “I want to stay like this. Just a little longer.”

“You’re already half asleep.”

“I like this. I don’t know when we’ll be able to do it again.”

He hums softly. “We can do it as often as you like, just ask.”

“Really?”

“Promise.”

“Ok.” Lifting your head from his chest you sleepily smile at him. Your faces are very close together. It’s intimate. For a moment you think you might kiss.

“Sam.” You whisper, eyes glancing at his lips. But you hold back—that familiar voice in your mind warning you.

Something changes in Sam’s eyes, there’s a hint of sadness in his gentle smile. His thumb lightly brushes against your jaw line. He presses a kiss to your cheek. It’s soft and lingering. “Sleep well.” He whispers. “There’s water by your bed for you.”

Pulling away from you he steps out of your quarters, eyes never leaving yours. He disappears behind the hatch as he closes it.

Instead of feeling rejection, there’s a sort of relief. Your first kiss shouldn’t be when you’re too drunk to stay awake.

Sam is a good man.

. . .

“And when Charles Dickens first wrote David Copperfield in 1847—”

“Cora, honey, that’s really interesting, but please talk a little quieter.”

The girl smiles at you knowingly. “I’ll come back later, Captain. But you won’t be able to escape my summary forever.”

You lift your head from the table, trying to use your arms to shield your eyes from the ship’s lighting. “I’m really not trying to escape, but I appreciate you.”

Cora giggles and makes her way to another part of the ship, taking her book with her. You set your head back down on the cool surface of the table, covering it partially with your arms. Someone sits across from you, scooting a glass your way.

“Did you not drink the water I left you last night?”

You groan. “You left that for me? Wasn’t sure where it came from. A fairy godmother maybe.”

Sam chuckles. “Please don’t start calling me that.” His weight leans on the table. “Last night was too much for you, huh?”

“Maybe. I feel like absolute death—and I can’t even remember how much fun I had.”

He pauses. “You can’t remember anything?”

Making an effort to sit up fully, a slow and nauseating process, you squint, trying to see him. “I remember being at the bar. That’s about it.”

He watches you with a smile—a smile that says he knows more than you. “Well, that’s a real shame.”

Your stomach flips, and it isn’t from the hangover. “Don’t tell me I made a complete ass of myself last night?”

“No. No, nothing like that.”

“You look quite pleased with yourself—it’s very suspicious.”

He leans back in his chair, grinning from ear to ear. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

You’re almost relieved, except… “Then why are smiling at me like that?”

Sam gets up from his chair. Leaning closer toward you, voice low, “Well one thing happened.”

“Which was…?”

“We danced a little.”

“We what? Are you serious?”

“Mhm.” He begins backing up further away into the ship. “It was nice.”

You’re in no position to move, even sitting up has your head reeling—not to mention this new discovery. “We danced and I can’t even remember it?”

“It’s a real shame. I’m also guessing you don’t remember what I told you last night before you went to bed, either.”

“That’s not funny. What’d you say?”

He chuckles. “Maybe it’ll come back to you.” He’s rounding the corner now, turning out of sight.

“Hey, hey!” You wince at the volume of your own voice. “Get back here and tell me how I convinced you to dance with me!”

Sam’s laugh echoes off the walls.

[worriedvision]

HII it's my first time requesting so idk but ye

I really like your "stood up thrice" fic, I'm so obsess I keep coming back to it. I've been trying to find more stood up fics but can't so

Request:

Can you do stood up w Childe, Zhongli, Al haitham and Tighnari!! Super angsty if possible!!

On my sad era rn 🙏

Tyyyyy in advance<33

Okay so this has been in my inbox for a while (I think haha) and I've been meaning to get to this! Gender neutral reader, angst. Each of these characters will have different ways of them not showing up for a date, and while Alhaitham has had one done on this blog that was the reader being a wet wipe and letting Alhaitham do that three times instead of completely passing him by after he did so.

---

Tartaglia:

He was the one who asked you out, when he was in Liyue on a mission. You accept, somehow not knowing about his job, and he makes a time and place for you to meet up. You put on your best outfit, your best fragrance, as much effort as you could to leave a good impression during the date.

As you stand at the harbor, the location he told you, you wait with baited breath. After a few minutes pass, you start to worry. fifteen minutes after, you see him walking towards you.

...Only to walk past you, onto a boat. Before you could go after him, the ship leaves. He didn't make eye contact with you, he didn't turn his head or apologise in any way when you called out for him.

You look around, seeing the people around you give you a look of empathy as they realise you were stood up. Nobody had seen you this nice before, they knew you were looking forward to this date based on how you held yourself, as well as how you shrunk when he ignored you.

Zhongli:

You asked him out, finding him interesting and Hu Tao had played matchmaker in this case. He told so many interesting stories, and he was an intelligent man. Not to mention the looks, however he was the full package for you.

Sitting at the tea room you agreed on, you start to think you've thought too much about how lovely he was. You were sitting there for an hour, only leaving when one of the staff tell you that they were closing shop for the day.

He never told you why he didn't show for the date, and Hu Tao tried her hardest to reassure you this was just a one time mistake. She tries telling you that Zhongli is a smart man, and he would never turn down the chance to date you.

But you knew better, you knew that he didn't respect you enough to date you. He played you, and when you asked him why he wasn't there, he clears his throat before looking down at his pocket. He didn't apologise, either. He didn't give you any words, actually.

Alhaitham:

When you got asked out by Alhaitham, you had to ask him to repeat himself. Being the person who delivered whatever letter needed to be sent out regarding applications for the open Sage positions, you thought he didn't return your feelings. You look away bashfully when you say yes, and he tells you the location and time.

When he didn't show up, you decide to order for yourself. Halfway through your meal, Kaveh is the one that shows up instead of Alhaitham. Turns out, Alhaitham 'changed his mind', Kaveh quoted. Kaveh decided to sit with you, knowing it would only look embarrassing for you if he walked out after saying one thing.

Kaveh tried his best to cheer you up, but nothing could work after the excitement you felt when you waited for him. After he walks you home, you thank him for making it at least look like he was who you were waiting for.

The next day, Alhaitham asks you how your night was. After seeing you glare at him, he tells you that you need to stop putting people on pedestals. He explains that he knew about your feelings - how obvious it was to everyone - and he decided it would be the best way for you to move on. As much as you wanted to quit, you knew you had to find a job to fall back on, so from that point onwards you were cold to him.

It was only fair after he toyed with your feelings to 'make you realise you were being urealistic'.

Tighnari:

When you asked him out, he said he would be happy to be there. You tell him a time and place, him nodding and noting it down before reassuring you he would be there.

When your shift ended, you changed out of your forest ranger uniform to clean yourself up before going for the date. After making sure you look good, you head off. You actually showed up a little bit late, as something came up with your work.

Ten minutes later, Tighnari is there. You thought he was there for you, only to feel humiliated when he walks over to the table with his friends. He sits down, apologising for being late as he pulls out his deck of cards. When you hear someone pull out a chair across from you, you expect it to be someone needing a spare chair for their own table.

Only to see Dehya there. She asks you if you wanted her to drag Tighnari over, knowing about the date he was talking to her about being tonight. Shaking your head, you tell her you'd rather forget about this incident. Shrugging it off, you instead treat Dehya to a meal, your heart sinking because you heard Tighnari talking as if he didn't remember you had a date.

The next day, Tighnari assigns you your duties for the day before turning to leave. You ask him if he enjoyed his night, and he brushes it off by saying he enjoyed his time with his friends. He caught your disappointment, but he didn't know why.

He didn't approach you in the days after that, and you slowly processed the fact he stood you up despite looking like he was happy to go on a date with you while working alone on your shifts.

[intosnarkness]

i am proud of this scene, so have a fic preview for the magical realism kaz-and-inej-share-dreams thing I'm working on

(rated t for teen; characters get themselves into a compromising position and kissing just so much)

Inej dreams of a tall ship with soaring sails, of rocking decks and salt-spay air.

She dreams of a crew of people answering to her orders, committed to righting the way things are and creating the way they should be.

She dreams of cannons and knives, of blood in the water and hopeful hands, outstretched to her as their salvation.

She reaches out to a wretched soul in the dark, dirty hold of a slaver's ship, and she feels a dark thrill run through her body as her fingers meet leather where there should be skin.

The eyes that look up at her are big and dark, intense. The thing inside of her that has just fought a great battle whispers that they look like pools of blood on wet wood. She holds onto the hand as she sinks to her knees next to him, and his fingers find her biceps, gripping her tightly through silk and leather.

"Kaz?" she asks, but he doesn't say anything in return. Instead the ship is gone and there is rain falling soft against the window of Kaz's garret bedroom. His hands are hot on her waist. He sighs softly, leans in, and kisses her.

Inej has been kissed any number of times. By her parents, first. Her aunties and uncles and the others who rode in the caravan with them. The familial hands were steady and sure as they held her heart aloft.

Later she was kissed by the terrible monsters who came to her in the menagerie, taking from her body without question or permission, their mouths hot and wet and unwelcome on hers.

And then, when it was safe again, by her friends. The gift of light brushes of lips from Jesper or Nina, fond kisses on her cheeks or her forehead.

This is a different kiss. This is a kiss of hunger and intensity, and it sets her alight in a way nothing else ever has. She wants it like she has never wanted anything before, and it ignites her. She climbed six stories of burning rock a few hours ago, and his kiss scorches with a fire that is hotter and wilder than anything she found in the Ice Court.

It consumes her, engulfs her, transforms her. Inej ceases to be the wraith in the crucible of his kiss, and becomes, quite simply, a girl. A girl who wants more, who wants to be kissed and touched and held and loved by the inferno of this man. 

"Inej," he whispers, when she pulls back so she can breathe. His lips find her cheek, and he lays kisses trailing down to her neck, teasing her with feather-soft brushes.

"Kaz," she replies. "How-- how?"

"It's not real," he says, his voice matter-of-fact as if it should be obvious to her. "I can do anything with you, if it isn't real."

He nips at a spot on her neck that sends a jolt of electricity through her - he is danger and he is desire and if she is half afraid that if she lets him, that he will take everything she is until she has nothing left to give.

Inej's eyes flutter closed as she leans into the brush of his mouth. His hands move from her waist, one running up the column of her spine to gently cradle the back of her head, the other finding the small of her back to pull her body against his. Her heart stutters as she realizes he's not wearing his gloves, that he's touching her skin with his fingertips and it feels more scandalous and sacred than all the kisses she's ever had.

"I want it to be real," she whispers, moving to capture his mouth again, to try and put all the longing she can never show him into the world of this fantasy.

He smiles against her lips when she relents, letting his fingers tangle into the strands of her hair.

"No, you don't." His voice is heavy and dark with something that Inej thinks is either sadness or longing, but either way it is an alien sound coming from Kaz's mouth. "But I do."

The answer makes her dizzy. She can't understand why he would tell her such a lovely lie. Usually his lies hurt, they wound, but this one is almost soothing. He wants it to be real. He wants her. She can let herself believe it, she thinks. She can let it be true for the duration.

She puts her hands on his shoulders and shoves, watching as he falls backward to the bed slowly, like he's falling through water. She doesn't move, but she finds herself straddling his hips, her knees splayed obscenely and her center pressed against his arousal. They're still dressed, but that could change any moment. That's the way of dreams. She could fuck him here and they would both be fine.

She wants to be fine with him.

"Inej," he says her name like a prayer. Like he's finally found a god that he doesn't want to mock. His hands are on her waist again, and his eyes are wide and dark as the night sky above them, the roof having disappeared at some point. The bed is gone, too; his back is cushioned in grass and trees loom over them like soldiers standing guard. She knows this place. She grew up in places like this.

"Tell me what you want me to know," she says, reaching down to trace the line of his lips, her fingers like brave explorers on the frontier of his skin. He lets her touch him, showing none of the panic he had in the wagon. His breath stutters, but she thinks it can't be from that familiar panic. It's a new panic to her, but she knows it a kind people have been finding together as long as there have been people. He has never done this before, never been with a woman. She doesn't care.

Inej can feel his interest pressing hard and insistent and just off from where she wants him. She shifts her hips and lets herself touch the high planes of his cheekbones and the hinge of his jaw and the soft scar on his neck that she had seen back in Ketterdam, when he was carrying her to the boat and she was fighting for consciousness. His skin is imperfect - there are marks from some long-ago disease, one of the childhood poxes, probably, and freckles and scars and the dark suggestion of stubble - but it's Kaz, and she thinks it's beautiful. He is beautiful.

Kaz's eyes flutter closed while she touches him, and he tilts his head back to bare his throat in a move that might have been romantic on another man, but on Kaz seems to be a submission. He is a being made of deadly grace and the heat of a gunshot, and if he is baring his throat it is an invitation to cut, not to kiss.

She presses her lips to this neck anyway, and he lets a broken little sound escape his mouth. "I--" Kaz swallows, his throat bobbing, and Inej looks up, her eyes meeting his and finding him still utterly stunning. 

"Inej, I lo--"

[straightasaaro]

my review of the agggtm live action tv show

hello! I just finished watching the agggtm tv show and I have some thoughts. Here are some warnings before you read below the cut.

I have literally only watched the show and (and read) book once so not every detail will be accurate. If I think I got something wrong, I will make it known.

This is my opinion!!! If you hated or loved the show with all your heart, don’t make that my problem!

I’m not British so I can’t comment on Emma Myers accent.

and finally because they are always some lurking in fandom, racists DNI

spoilers for the rest of the agggtm trilogy below

Alright so to start I think the show, on its own, is good television. It’s got intrigue and the pacing is good and the humor is pretty good at some parts however. I have three main issues with how it deviates from the book.

Show don’t tell.

what many shows have trouble with is telling the audience something instead of showing it. In the books, Pip pretends to be a CNN reporter and e-mails old students of the school about drink spiking. She’s told that it happened to quite a few female students. She hears that Andie sold roofies. She was told by Jesse that Becca got the morning after pill and wouldn’t tell who she slept with. She was told by Andie’s friend (or Becca’s, I do not remember) that Jason was controlling and pit them against each other often.

So pip makes the connection that Becca was raped by Max Hastings and found out that Andie was the one who sold the drugs. Pip is the one who connects the dots that Becca must’ve confronted Andie and it went awry. But in the show Pip is just told outright to protect her drink and that Becca was raped. I think the show did a lot of this, cutting Pip’s slow process of unraveling the murder in exchange for quick answers to immediate questions. It also dials down how clever yet morally questionable Pip is.

Cut cast and scenes

I get that a show with a low budget probably won’t be able to afford as many actors or sets as a high budget show but I’m genuinely shocked how many side characters (or interviews) were cut or down sized in the show. Stanley Forbes is the most obvious one because he plays a much larger role in the second season. Andie’s best friends too-in the book it was specifically mentioned how she could be emotionally manipulative and terrible. It showed how, while everyone thought that Andie was perfect and Sal was the villain, Andie was actually awful. It plays to the trilogies bigger theme of stories never being what they seem from the outside. The show did not show this as well.

Pip x Ravi took front and center

I get that BookTok prioritizes ships and romances and that well liked tropes and hot couples can be a great aisle of advertising. But what the fuck? Everyone on BookTok also talks about how much the romance as a subtle yet powerful thing was so beautiful. I don’t have a good enough memory but I really feel like way too much emphasis was but on their relationship, pushing away Pips love for her friends and family and even Ravi’s family. Was it just me but who else thinks it’s really weird that they cut the scene where Ravi’s parents passionately thank Pip for clearing Sal’s name? It showed how much the family had been freed from being the “shun” “scum” family.

Thank you for reading. Go watch the show if you want. Emma Myers was adorable. Good day ✌🏽

[willothewispwisteriadawn]

Do you think there was a plan for Josh and Sam to have a romance in Until Dawn? I feel like it was implied that they at least have feelings for each other by Josh's "joke" about helping Sam with the bath/specific mention of her being there and Sam's comment at the end of the game, but if so i wonder why they didn't give more lore or moments between them. I mean the big obvious reason is that Josh was playing his elaborate prank on the others and he was obviously not in a good mental state and just lost his sisters and would be gone the majority of the game. But idk i just wish we could have had more knowledge about them or scenes with them. Josh gives the vibe that he talks more game than he has. I believe when he truly likes someone he is quite smitten and sometimes surprises himself with the things he may blurt out. Honestly, i don't think Sam didn't want to "take advantage" of Josh considering the events going on so she was being very careful and considering her feelings but this traumatic event was bringing them together *cough what Josh said Chris and Ash needed* so it was getting hard to deny those feelings.

Oh I like this question! I’ve mentioned it before, but Josh x Sam is my favorite ship.

I don’t think there’s much evidence they were originally intended to be a couple or that the devs see it that way. Even so, I definitely got the impression that Josh cared for Sam more deeply than anyone but Chris. His stats show that Sam is 3-way tied for second with Ashley and Jess, and Sam’s have most people equal (Mike and Jess are lower), but there’s a lot of lore connecting Josh and Sam.

Josh comes across as kind of girl-crazy to me, because of his comments towards Sam, Jess, and Ashley. But there are several things that jumped out to me about him and Sam:

There’s dialogue where Josh tells Sam that he’s happy everyone could make it to the lodge. Then he emphasizes the fact that he’s happy Sam could make it.

Sam says in her interviews that Josh had told her that he felt a special bond with her. Josh had claimed that Sam understood him more than anyone and that they had a connection.

Josh talks a ton about finding her pretty. Again, he does this to other girls, but there’s quite a lot of it during Sam’s psycho chase.

There are some little gestures and statements the characters make that I find sweet too. If Sam is nervous to explore the sound in the basement by herself, she’ll hold onto Josh’s arm when they look together. When Josh and Sam get chased by Chris in the monk costume, Josh will hold out his arm to prevent “the masked monk” from getting to Sam. Sam, if she finds the psycho lair, can tell Josh she thinks he’s crying for help which is very empathetic and caring, considering what he put her through.

Finally, I did write an analysis for Reddit at some point, just unpacking Josh’s motives, and I did find it interesting to reflect on Josh showing Sam the tape of him dying, particularly because (as you also noted) he admits/hints a few times that his prank has been intended to bring people closer, and the game gives a lot of indicators that it was meant to be psychological manipulation.

Josh is deeply disturbed, obviously, and it’s not always clear what his exact logic is— but I do get the sense/headcanon that he genuinely wanted to see what Sam and Chris would do in situations involving his death. His dialogue towards Chris while he’s “dying” is very much “we’re still friends, right?” and he’s legitimately pissed later if Chris chooses Ashley.

Josh: Bro! Bro, we've been through so much, come on... I don't wanna go out like this...!

Josh: I know... I know we haven't been the best of friends lately... and I've been kinda messed up and everything... but I'm getting better, man... I swear!

Josh: I thought we were FRIENDS man! I thought we were FRIENDS why would you DO THIS!?

Josh: NO! OH GOD WHAT DID I DO!??

I mean, this can be read a few ways, certainly. Josh is definitely trying to terrify and mess with Chris, and the last line could also be fake-directed at the psycho. But some of this dialogue sounds like it has a grain of truth in it. Josh may be safe, and he does want Ashley to ultimately think Chris saved her, but he is genuinely learning whom his best friend loves more and truly does have to make sense of why Chris doesn’t choose him, if that’s the case.

Now, with this context, I feel like he plays a similar game with Sam. He, as the psycho, asks Sam how she feels about seeing Josh die.

Sam turns back around to see Josh getting cut in half.

Sam: Josh!

Psycho: How does it make you feel?

I sense there’s a level of dark curiosity Josh has with Sam and Chris. And my interpretation here tracks with how I view their relationships. I believe he cares about what Sam and Chris think. He wants the whole group, particularly the couples (DOUBLE particularly to Chris and Ashley), to get closer. But when he goes about attempting this bonding for himself— it’s most clear that he might be trying to do so with Sam and Chris.

All this said, I do think there’s less canonically indicating that Sam has quite the same level of feelings for Josh. Sam is very independent while also being something of a “Team Mom.” I think she’s known Josh a long time due to her friendship with Hannah, and it’s evident that she spent a lot of time talking to him after the twins vanished. Josh just has a bit more indicating he loves Sam as more than friends than vice versa.

So uh TL;DR—

I think it makes a lot of sense that Josh has a crush on Sam. It’s unconfirmed, but there are many things that caught my eye and made me interpret that. The reading that feels the most accurate is that it’s a bit one-sided, because it feels stronger on Josh’s end. That said, Josh and Sam as a ship fascinates me and has SO MUCH GOOD about it given their defined history. Also, the conversations they can have feel less superficial than how most of the couples talk. I like it a lot.

[sjsmith56]

Two Steps to the Left - Part 2

Summary: The interrogation of Arnim Zola gets the information needed for Steve and Bucky to perform their mission of retrieving the serum.

Length: 3.6K

Characters: Colonel Phillips, Arnim Zola, Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: Arnim Zola (lying POS), WW2 Bucky feeling left out of the loop.

Author notes: Bucky is starting to believe in his abilities and that he won’t become something dark, but there is still some mistrust.

<<Part 1

🪖 🪖

Interrogation Room

Knowing that Zola would have to be interrogated again on the subject of how much serum had been given to Bucky was the next step to be completed before the Howling Commandos could undertake the mission to retrieve the serum.  Although the voice said that Bucky and Steve could retrieve it together, even he admitted the mission stood a better chance of success if the whole team was involved.  The Colonel made it very clear that he would find out the dosage, especially now that he knew the diminutive doctor was a shrewd and manipulative character. 

With Peggy Carter beside him, they entered Zola's cell.  This time, the Colonel brought a tray of food better suited to the doctor's preferred vegetarian diet, lentil soup, whole grain bread and a jar of Marmite, along with a glass of tomato juice.  It was gratifying to see how Zola's eyes widened at the sight of the meal, considering how many previous meals he had barely nibbled at.  The Colonel pushed the tray towards him, smiling genially at the man, while Carter watched from the corner of the room.

"You took the trouble of making a vegetarian meal for me, Colonel?  I appreciate it."

"Well, we're not cruel, Dr. Zola," answered Phillips.  "You do need sustenance.  The cook tells me the lentil soup is quite good and that marmite, although an acquired taste, is liked by many of the Brits.  Go ahead, please, eat."  Zola took several spoonfuls of the soup, smiled and took another before looking up at the commanding officer.  "I do have some questions for you."

"I assumed as much," said Zola.  "What do you wish to know?"

"Exactly what did you do to Sergeant Barnes when he was your prisoner at the HYDRA factory?"

A slight hesitation as Zola lifted the spoon was the only indication that he hadn't expected that question.  Without making eye contact he responded.

"What makes you think I did anything to him?  Has he said anything?"

"No, nothing specific other than you experimented on some of the prisoners, but his behaviour has drawn some attention and after what happened last night ... well, let's just say the Sergeant may not finish the war in uniform."

Phillips and Carter observed the doctor carefully as he processed what was just said.  Putting his spoon down he opened the jar of Marmite and spread a thin layer on the bread, then bit into it, chewing it slowly, before sipping some of the tomato juice.  Only then did he look at the pair.

"What exactly happened?  I am a medical doctor.  Perhaps I can help."

"I doubt that," drawled the Colonel.  "Our doctors are sure it was something you did to him that put him in this state.  Quite frankly, after seeing what he is capable of most of them don't think he can be helped.  They wish to ship Barnes back to a nice psychiatric facility in the States, where he won't be a danger to anyone, except himself."

"He hurt someone?  That is most unfortunate."  Zola took a few more sips of his juice.  "We did give the Sergeant a new medication when we realized he was suffering from pneumonia.  Perhaps, it is a delayed reaction to it?"

"Like penicillin, you mean?" Carter spoke, then shook her head.  "It was over a year ago, Doctor.  I doubt the body would react to a medication that long after it was administered.  At least, that's what our doctors said.  Steve ... I mean Captain Rogers said it was like he was fighting ...."  She looked at the Colonel.  "Sorry, sir, it just slipped out."

Zola studied the looks between them, at the obvious way the Colonel glared at the woman for admitting that Barnes fought Captain America.  His mind whirled with excitement.  Even more than a year after the last serum treatment the benefits were still present in the Sergeant, enough for him to possibly injure the one man who had been a thorn in HYDRA's side since he rescued all those soldiers.  It was imperative that the Sergeant receive the remaining serum, as well as completing the reconditioning treatment to turn him into the Winter Soldier.  They wouldn't let him free to return to his lab but perhaps he could convince them to get the serum here.  The reconditioning treatment could be done later, after Barnes had received most of the serum, but not enough to lock the effects permanently which would prevent the reprogramming of the soldier's brain.  With the several HYDRA moles already in place in the American military, a memory suppression machine could even be set up at an allied base and the Sergeant's treatment continued in secret without the Allies even being aware of their true nature.  Without even thinking the doctor took an energizing breath then realized the pair were looking at him strangely.

"Doctor, is there something you're not telling us?"

Phillips' stare bore into the doctor.

"Well, yes," he stammered, pretending to be telling them this information, reluctantly.  "We did give the Sergeant an experimental treatment; nothing that harmed him, I assure you.  In fact, it was something similar to Dr. Erskine's initial plan for his serum; something that could help the human body heal itself quicker and more efficiently.  It seemed to do wonders for the Sergeant who was frankly in danger of dying but it was interrupted before it could be completed by the arrival of Captain America and the rescue of all the soldiers at the factory.  Perhaps, his body is at a stage of withdrawal where he needs the balance of the treatment."

"You mean you also have a serum like Dr. Erskine's?" asked Phillips, trying to add some excitement to his manner.  "How much does he need to complete the treatment?  I know how many vials we injected into Captain Rogers to achieve the results of his."

"Yes, I do, but you needed to infuse him with Vita Radiation after to activate the serum, am I correct?" countered Zola, effectively admitting he had access to intelligence on Project Rebirth.  "My serum does not require the radiation although I suppose it would draw out every last benefit if it were done all at once as the Captain's was.  We injected it on a daily schedule, with the initial plan to extend it to six months, allowing the body to adjust at a slower pace.  If, by the young lady's admittance, Sergeant Barnes was strong enough to affect Captain Rogers during an encounter, I would think we could double the dosage.  However, the serum is all in a lab in Germany.  Without it, I anticipate that the Sergeant's behaviour will continue to deteriorate."  He shook his head sadly, making sure he appeared to be concerned about Barnes' health.  "Such a sad outcome for a fine young man."

"How much serum are we talking about, Doctor?"  Phillips looked at him.  "Perhaps, we can send a team to retrieve it and bring back enough for the Sergeant.  I agree that the prospect of sentencing Sergeant Barnes to a lifetime in a psychiatric facility for what is obviously a medical issue vexes me."

"Perhaps I could trouble you for a pencil and paper," smiled Zola.

Peggy Carter stifled the ill feeling that Zola's smile brought up in her.  It was enough to make her vomit.  She reached inside her pocket and pulled out a small pad of paper as well as a pencil, placing it on the table in front of the doctor.  As he drew it in closer and began to make calculations she stole a look at Phillips.  He seemed ready to lean over and knock the doctor's head off but glanced at her before resuming his troubled commander look.  After several minutes of calculations Zola wrote something down on several clean sheets of paper and pushed them towards the Colonel.

"There, that is my best calculation of how much serum Sergeant Barnes needs to lock in the benefits of the serum and be at a fully operational status.  I have also provided you with the location of my lab, along with the lock combination to get in and out quickly as time is of the essence if we wish to relieve the Sergeant of his dilemma."  Phillips reached out to take the slips.  "I only ask one thing."  Phillips stopped then looked at Zola without changing the position of his head.  "I wish to be present while he is undergoing the treatment.  I understand he doesn't trust me but as a doctor and a scientist, I feel it is important for me to be there for what is sure to be a momentous occasion."

Phillips grasped the papers then stood up and looked at the doctor.  "Of course, I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement."  He waved the slip of papers like he would a flag.  "Thank you, Doctor.  You've been most cooperative, and I'll make sure to tell my superiors that.  Enjoy your meal."

Phillips and Carter exited the interrogation room, where a trusted SSR captain and an MP waited.

"Once he's finished eating, I want him moved to another location," ordered Phillips.  "We're certain there are HYDRA agents in sensitive positions in both the American and British military so find the most innocuous installation and transport him there where he can't contact anyone or be tracked.  If Army Intelligence comes looking for him, I want them to know they have HYDRA moles that must be neutralized first.  Once you find that place you send me a coded location message.  I will reply when our mission has been accomplished."

Both soldiers saluted as the Colonel and Carter left with the location of Zola's lab and the amount of serum needed.  In the jeep on the way to the airfield where the Howling Commandos waited, they said nothing, as the driver wasn't cleared to hear any top-secret information.  He dropped them off in front of the stolen German aircraft, then drove a short distance away as Steve, dressed incognito and Bucky approached the Colonel and Peggy.  Handing them the information he gazed at Bucky with concern.

"Zola said the schedule for your dosage could be doubled but it would still take weeks.  He didn't disagree that all the serum could be given in concert with the Vita-Ray radiation treatment.  Seemed to think it would draw out every last benefit.  What does your voice say to that?"

Bucky waited for his counterpart's voice to make itself known.  Just as he was about to tell Phillips that the voice wasn't answering he heard him.

"Theoretically it should work just as Steve's did, but it is a copy of the original incomplete formula that was used on Schmidt, which is why they had to inject you over a period of time.  My medical colleague here would be willing to come and supervise the process, but he can't guarantee the results.  It would also have to be in secret because his appearance may cause concern."

"He can come here?" Bucky repeated.  "Would you come as well?"

There was no answer for a long time then he heard his voice.  "I'm not sure that's a good idea but my medical colleague says he would feel easier if I was there with him, just in case.  It's your call, Bucky."

Everyone was looking at him.  The whole balance of the mission was on him, a sergeant with some unstable serum setting up shop in his body.  Removing it wasn't an option.  His only real choice was to take the full treatment, but something was coming soon that he would be needed for, so the treatment had to be sped up.  He looked at Steve, whose impassive face showed that this was Bucky's decision.  He wasn't going to pressure him in any way, but he would support his friend, like he had done since Bucky finally confided in him.

"Alright, I'll undergo the same treatment," he said to the Colonel.  "The voice said he and a medical colleague are coming to supervise it, but it will have to be a secret location because of the colleague's appearance.  He also can't guarantee the results."

"Very well," said the Colonel, without question.  "While you're away, I'll contact Stark to set up the radiation chamber in a new location.  When you return, we'll go there.  Does your counterpart need any advance notice?"

"No, just let us know where the place is and when, and we'll be there.  Bucky?  No heroics from you and Steve on this.  No matter what you might see there, don't interfere.  Just go in and out then come back.  Got it?"

"Understood," he replied, then looked at everyone.  "Let's go."

As the aircraft took off, Colonel Phillips and Peggy Carter looked at each other, hoping this would go to plan.  The driver was waved over, and the pair climbed into the jeep to be taken back to their base.

The Mission

As the Commandos looked at the camp in front of them, Bucky repeated what his future counterpart said about getting in and out of the lab quickly.  They weren't to interfere with what was going on.

"What were his specific words?" Steve looked at his friend.

"No heroics from you or me on this."  Bucky saw a grin appear on Steve's face.  "No, he was quite specific that we get in, get what we came for and get out."

"Yeah, but he didn't say the guys couldn't do some damage."  The superhero waved his hand at the obvious purpose of the facility, as the work crews of what were obviously civilians lined up while guards with snarling dogs on leashes approached them.  "There's nothing stopping them from creating a diversion that might also allow a lot of these prisoners to escape.  You and I won't be involved.  We'll already be inside the lab."  He raised his eyebrows.  "I think your future Bucky just wanted to make sure that you and I stayed on the most immediate task.  Remember, at first, he said we could do it alone.  Then he agreed the Commandos could come.  Why else would he say that?"

Shaking his head, Bucky waited for the voice to counter what Steve just said but he remained silent.  With a resigned breath, Bucky nodded his head, then rolled his eyes as Steve gleefully went to the others and gave them the go-ahead to implement a plan they had already drawn up.  He returned to Bucky's side with a grin, then pulled his black headgear on, the need to hide his true identity necessary.

"Ready?  Race you to the fence."

He took off, and Bucky groaned then ran after him, still dealing with the realization that he could keep up with Steve, at least for a time.  Just as he began to slow down, they reached their destination, and Steve jumped up to the top of the observation tower, tossing the two guards over like they were trash.  Bucky finished the job, punching them for good measure then tied them up.  Both men took the weapons with them.  Just as they reached the second tower an explosion at the far side of the facility drew the attention of every guard near them, sending them running towards the scene.  Steve jumped up to the top of the next tower and tossed those two guards over then landed on the other side of the fence, waiting for Bucky to finish them off.  Both men grasped hold of the wire and pulled it apart, allowing room for Bucky to get through.  They ran towards the administration buildings, stopping along the way as teams of soldiers ran towards the obvious sounds of a gun battle.  Just as they were about to run, a hand on Bucky's shoulder startled him and he whirled around ready to shoot.  The obvious prisoner stepped back, holding his hands up.

"American?" he asked.  "Rescue?"

"American, yes.  Rescue, no."  Bucky looked at the man's disappointment then unloaded all the weapons he took from the tower guards, grabbing them off of Steve as well, and giving them to the prisoner.  "Hole in the fence.  There."  He pointed towards the second tower.  "Escape.  Go."

With understanding in his eyes, the man gathered the weapons close then ran to a nearby building, where an outer door opened then closed as he entered.  A few moments later it opened again to several armed prisoners leading the others towards the second guard tower.  As they encountered other guards, they engaged them in battle then distributed their weapons amongst the others.  Returning his attention to Steve they ran towards the building where Zola said his lab was and entered it, finding the door to the lab locked with a combination lock set into the door.  They dialled the correct combination and opened it, turned on the light and looked for the locker where the serum was supposed to be stored.  Finding it, Steve broke that lock with his hands and opened the doors.  Both men gasped when they saw all the serum that was sitting there, dozens of cases with six vials in each container. 

"There's enough here for many men," said Steve.  "Bucky, we can't let them keep it and it's too much to safely carry."

"Fuck.  Hey!  What are we supposed to do with all this serum?" he cried out, wanting an answer from the voice.

There was no answer and once again he was faced with the dilemma of it being his decision.  Grabbing a satchel, he took out what was needed for himself, then added several more cases, grabbing some lab coats and stuffing them in to cushion the cases.  Steve did the same then looked at all the serum that was left.  Noticing a Bunsen burner attached to a gas outlet, Bucky opened the valve and several others fully as Steve did the same then they retreated to the door of the lab.  Lighting an emergency lantern that was just outside the door, Bucky tossed it inside, watching as the fire spread.  The two men glanced at each other then began running towards the hole in the fence, where dozens of prisoners were lined up to get out.  Ignoring them, they both pulled another portion of the wire fence apart and burst through followed by other prisoners.  After quickly leaving them behind, the two men ran to the rendezvous point where they were joined by rest of the Howling Commandos, spread between two stolen motor cars, their faces flush with the knowledge that they had destroyed a Nazi concentration camp.  Jumping inside the vehicles, the order was given to return to the aircraft.  Along the way a large explosion occurred behind them and both Steve and Bucky smiled at each other, knowing they were the cause of it.  Their pilot started up the aircraft as they abandoned the vehicles and clambered on, taxiing it to the end of the runway.

"We got company!"

Steve and Bucky both looked out the cockpit window at several trucks of German soldiers approaching them.  The pilot applied full throttle then lifted off well before they had set up their anti-aircraft weapons.  Circling towards the west they were soon approaching the border with France, taking some flak from the defences there.  After Gabe successfully contacted the base in England they were left alone as they flew over the channel and prepared to line up for the runway.  In all that time, the voice never spoke a word until just as the tires made contact with the pavement.

"Good work."

"Where were you?" asked Bucky.  "You seriously expected that Steve and I wouldn't help them?"

The Commandos watched, having been read in on Bucky's future counterpart.

"No, I never expected that, but you still had to stay on mission.  History just never knew that the Commandos and either of you were involved in this.  We had to keep it that way.  You were a mystery Allied unit that helped a bunch of prisoners escape from a concentration camp that was also a site for human experimentation.  It was always going to happen, but the circumstances dictated how, and I didn't have the information to tell you that."

Bucky grunted, slinking back into the bench as the aircraft taxied towards a far building.  They were being picked up far away from prying eyes, transported directly to a camp where Colonel Phillips would advise him where he had to go for the full treatment.  One more step completed since that first step to the left that started this whole thing.

"Bucky?"

"What?"

"It's hard to be out of the loop but if I tell you too much too soon, then there's a good chance we don't get the outcome we want.  When I get there, you and I will have a private talk and I'll tell you everything that I'm permitted to tell you."

"Alright, I guess.  Tell me something.  Is Steve in your future just as impulsive as he is now?"  There was no answer.  "Bucky?" 

Still no answer.  Why didn't he answer?  Better yet, why didn't Steve from the future have a connection to this Steve?  There was no time to dwell on that as the aircraft came to a stop and the exit door was opened.  But it was definitely something he was going to bring up to his counterpart.

Part 3>>

Series Masterlist

[baileypie-writes]

Hello!!! I just stumbled upon your blog as soon as I saw that your the first few people that write x readers of precure characters!!! So I kinda wanted to request something too if you don't mind^^

ATM I'm not sure of how it could be,but do you have atleast some dating headcanons for Rosemary? I would genuinely appreciate that! It's okay if you don't have

Have a good day!!!

A/N ~ Yay! Another Precure request! Rosemary is probably my favorite Delicious Party character, so I was really happy to receive this request. Hope you enjoy!

~Rosemary Dating Headcanons~

~~~💜~~~💜~~~💜~~~

Fandom: Delicious Party♡Precure

Fanfic Type: Headcanons

Reader: Gender neutral

Relationship: Romantic

Characters Included: Rosemary

Genre: Fluff

Rating: PG

Warnings: None!

~Masterlists~

~Delicious Party♡Precure Masterlist~

~~~💜~~~💜~~~💜~~~

~ When Rosemary likes you, it’s quite obvious. He’s always fawning over you, and hangs out with you the most. He probably confessed first. He just can’t keep his feelings to himself, so he has to tell you.

~ Rosemary loves every single part of you. Even the things that you yourself don’t like. He sees you as a person who’s perfect and can do no wrong.

~ This man is so affectionate! You always have lipgloss stains on your face because he can’t stop himself. He’s always holding your hand too. Fun fact: his hands are super soft!(Ask him about his skin care routine, I need to know his secret!)

~ The girls ship you two so hard. Especially Ran. It’s hard to have a romantic moment alone, because she’s always spying. Thankfully, Fuwa and Amane have your back, and manage to drag her away(most of the time).

~ Rosemary is very romantic. Dates with him are always the best. He gets so creative with them, so you’re always pleasantly surprised!

~ He spoils the heck out you. He takes you shopping a lot, buying you clothes, makeup, and most of all, food. No way in hell would he ever tell you how much this hurts his wallet, because he loves doing it. It gets so bad to the point where he asks the girls to borrow money. After finding out about this, you scold him, and are now the one who pays for things.

~ Rosemary is a very emotional person, so it’s easy to tell how he’s feeling. Not that he ever attempts to hide his emotions. Redoing his mascara is an almost daily occurrence, because he can cry simply from eating good food.

(If you’re not a Pretty Cure)

~ When it comes to Pretty Cure business, he wants you as far away from harm as possible. He’d hate himself forever if you ever got hurt.

~ Giving each other makeovers is something that happens at least once a month. Rosemary loves makeup, and he loves how you can make him look more beautiful than he already is. He likes doing the same to you, of course!

~ He definitely calls you cheesy nicknames. My love, honeybun and sweetie pie are his favorites. But he’s always coming up with new ones, each one more embarrassing than the last.

~~~💜~~~💜~~~💜~~~

~~baileypie-writes

[heliads]

Hello how are you ? may I request a Thomas tmr fic ( yes again !) it’s very weird I saw a headcanon about him and it was so cute sooo I had to ask you. It’s a magic/ medieval au when the reader is a villager living in front of the woods she heard thanks to tales told by her mother about some legendary being living in the trees. One time she ventures into the forest and comes face to face with Thomas a woodland in the beginning she was scared of him but by the time she fall in ✨love with him✨. It’s very weird ok ?! I’m sorry 🤣��

oh this is good. vibes off the charts

masterlist

Everyone knows about the Beings. Few have actually seen them. That doesn’t stop the stories from spreading.

In the small village of your birth and subsequent upbringing, it is easy to mistake strangeness for menace. The rules are simple, unspoken, and followed blindly: do not stray too far from the village gates, do not go out after dark, and most importantly, do not think that you can get away with visiting those that live beyond your reach. The Beings are separate for a reason, and they are not to be trusted.

It is obvious to all who live inside the boundaries of your town that the outside world is dangerous. Your ancestors came here a very long time ago and fought a very hard war to make it work. It is this place or nothing else; the ocean encloses your island on all sides, but with the untamed forests sprouting up in between the shores and your village, you haven’t seen the water in your entire life. No one has.

Sometimes, you have dreams that tell you otherwise. One rusting ship carrying dozens of starving, terrified people to a place free of violence and horror. You can hear snippets of conversation, their words muted with grief. They speak of events that have never been recorded in your history books, monsters and men with names utterly unfamiliar to you. You would think it was nothing but a nightmare were it not for the fact that it seems so crushingly real.

This is the part where the village elders step in and tell you to stop indulging yourself in such wild flights of fancy. Thinking about what lies beyond the walls of your settlement is not proper thought at all. The founders of this town made unimaginable sacrifices so that your father and your father’s father and the father before that could live in peace. When you ask what battles they fought, you are reprimanded. Details were only made for the dead to hear, not the living to truly care about. You’d do well to stay silent and move on.

Moving on, however, is the one thing you cannot do. You are surely not the only wildhearted child of this village to grow up and wonder why the rules are so strict. If it feels like that, perhaps it’s because the other wide-eyed explorers of your town have all been crushed without another word. You refuse to join their ranks.

In truth, you already know another like you. Your mother understands your need to push beyond the expectations of the village elders, and in the dark of night, she whispers to you stories of what truly lives past the shadow of the walls, why your village was raised to lock its doors and shut out intruders. It all has to do with the world your ancestors escaped when they fled here.

It happened a long time ago, of that much she is certain. Most of the facts of the stories have long since disappeared, evaporating from the heat of the too-bright sun. It wasn’t always that hot, she says. It’s getting better, but at one point the flares of the sun didn’t burn quite so badly into your back when you headed out in the morning. The world is healing, but it takes its time, licking its wounds as it watches the rest of you suffer.

After the sun lost its mind, the rest of the population did too. Madness swept the lands, monsters roamed the hills. The main characters of such stories always try to find a way to save the day, and in those times, people did the same. Their solutions were more cruel than successful, however, and in the end the real heroes ran away from their wicked oppressors and came here, a place where they would be free. They watched the fires burn across the world they left behind and promised that they would never leave this island, the one place they could truly go without fear. Their one Safe Haven.

No moment of peace lasts forever, though, not in this world. You cannot turn your back on one monster without another taking its place. Soon, rumors spread about the Beings, unknown supernatural foes that lurk outside of the village. If the old stories are to be believed, they were once people who lived in this very town. Something happened to make them leave, and now they roam the outskirts of the island still, keeping to themselves, letting the shadows of the forest keep away any intruders.

You always found that part a little hard to believe. There’s no way anyone from the initial wave of people could have possibly lived this long, especially if they were on their own in the forest. Whenever you raised this point with your mother, however, she just shrugged and said that this particular bunch were rather adept at surviving under difficult circumstances. She wouldn’t put it past them to have made it this far.

You can’t ask anyone else their opinion on the matter, as such conversations are kept solely within the walls of your own home. To speak of the Beings is seen as encouraging the townspeople to leave the borders of the village and seek out danger. After all that your ancestors gave up to protect this dream of a normal life, how could you possibly be so selfish as to want something more?

You can answer that hypothetical question quite easily. What is the point of endless sacrifice if you do not use it? This island was once clear, full of rolling hills and burbling streams, but it’s long since fallen into disrepair. Thick, dense forests crowd out the horizon, stretching tall up to the sky as if to cast a permanent shadow on the backs of those who live in the village. It is impossible to go about your business without feeling the weight of the wilderness pressing in on you.

It should come as no surprise, then, that at last you could take it no longer. If you do not find out the truth about the Beings, you think you might die. So, if you’re seen slipping out of your bed in the early morning before even the farmers rise, it should at least be expected that you would be headed towards the forest.

You bring a few things with you; some food and water, a cloak in case the shadows are even half as cold as they seem, a compass, a blade. The knife is kept close at hand, although you hope not to use it. All this time, you’ve been promising that you never once believed in the Beings, but something about having to go into their homeland steals a little of that confidence from you.

At last, you’re setting off in search of the truth. The shine of the dawn lights your path for you and you sneak away from the streets of the village. The gates are tall and thick, but you find a way out nonetheless. Soon enough, you’re walking briskly towards the wall of vegetation known affectionately to the townspeople as the terrible, cursed forest, and at last it swallows you whole.

It is much darker in the forest, but as you walk, patches of golden sunlight filter in through the leaves and guide your way. It is quite beautiful here, actually. You could see why some immortal soldier would want to live out their endless days in the woods.

You have yet to see such undead creatures, though, no matter how far you creep into the forest. There are no signs of life, no indication that there is anything in here but you and the trees stretching on forever. You’ve almost given up hope of ever finding anything when someone coughs pointedly behind you.

You whip around instantly, knife flying to your hand. If the boy behind you is remotely afraid, though, he gives no sign of it.

“Easy,” he drawls, “Don’t put your eye out.”

You squint at him. There’s a figure half hidden in the shadow of a neighboring oak tree, and you can only make out the roughest details of his appearance.

“People of the village aren’t supposed to be here,” you say irritably.

You can see a sliver of a grin through the dark air. “I hope you’re going to give me an explanation for your presence, then. I’d hate to think that you’re trespassing for no reason.”

You’re about to demand that this boy give you a reason first when it occurs to you that this isn’t a boy from the village at all. Nobody was around, nobody saw you go. The only place this boy could have come from is the forest.

Your eyes widen and your grip tightens on the knife. “You’re one of them!”

The boy raises his hands in mock surrender. ��Can I ask you to put down the knife again? If you know what I am, then you know I’m not really all that threatened by that small of a blade.”

You consider this a second, then decide he’s right. “Did immortality take away your fear of death?” You quip.

“On the contrary,” the boy whispers, “it made me want it more than anything. There are some people I would love to see again if I could only manage to die.”

You stare at the boy in the shadows, and slowly, carefully, he emerges from the depths of the woods. You don’t know what you were expecting of the creatures of the forest, but this is certainly not it. You’re face to face with a boy who seems about your age. His dark brown hair is tousled, eyes sharp with centuries’ worth of pain. He blinks it away quickly enough, choosing instead to pull up a facade of quiet strength as easily as if he’d worn it his entire life. In truth, he probably has.

“I’m not doing a good job of introducing myself, am I?” He asks distractedly.

“You’re not,” you answer, barely focusing on the question. This is an immortal being, and he looks like a normal boy. A cute boy. This is fascinating.

He laughs. “Thanks for that. I’m Thomas, by the way.”

You nod. “Y/N.”

Thomas folds his arms across his chest. “And, Y/N, what are you doing in the woods? I thought your people only ever cowered behind the walls of your village.”

You arch an affronted brow. “And, Thomas, why do you look so normal? I thought your people were some kind of monster that never dared show their faces.”

He pauses a moment, then chuckles. “Alright, I’m being unfair. It just so happens that visitors are rare. Don’t tell me attitudes are changing in there, they never do.”

Your brow furrows. “How would you know?”

Thomas’ face grows cold. “I know because I was there. I set up that damned place. I know who they are because I made them think like that.”

Your heart seems to still in your chest. “So it’s real. You’re actually hundreds of years old.”

Thomas lifts a shoulder. “I aged wonderfully, I know. We all did.”

“Your whole group,” you ask slowly, “you’re all like this?”

Thomas nods decisively. “It wasn’t some sort of curse that forced us here, it was a sickness. My friends and I were immune, so the doctors in the old world experimented on us. We were never quite sure what they did to us. I suppose they wanted good test subjects, so making us free from pesky things like death would certainly be helpful. We can die from a stabbing or gunshot like anyone else, but old age isn’t a thing. Why replace your lab rats every seventy years if you can just keep the first round the exact same?”

His voice is bitter, and you find yourself staring in shock. “Other people did this to you?”

Thomas’ eyes dart over to you, icy as a winter frost. “What, you thought we were monsters of our own choice? No, we’re not that terrible. They made us into this, and now we have to deal with the consequences. We thought the other Immunes could live with it when we first came here, but it turns out no one likes dying when they know that others are going to stay young forever. They hated us for not sharing in the burden of growing old. Soon enough, they forced us out. We’ve been here ever since.”

You raise a hand to your mouth. “That’s awful.”

“Tell me about it,” Thomas says pleasantly, “but it’s the past. We assumed everyone in the town had long since forgotten about us, but you’re a clear indication of the opposite.”

You hate to crush the faint light of hope in his eyes, but you must nonetheless. “You’ve grown into legends, sure, but not good ones. Most everyone is afraid of you.”

“Not you, though?” Thomas asks.

“Not me,” you reply, “I wanted to know what you were actually like.”

“And are you disappointed?” Thomas poses the question casually, but you can sense some other layer to it, some level of desperation affixed to every syllable.

“No,” you decide, “I’m not. I’m glad that you’re the hero I hoped you were.”

Thomas blinks in surprise, then nods slowly. “Hero. Huh.”

You dare to smile. “What, not used to thinking of yourself as anything but a monster?”

Thomas’ own smile grows. “Something like that.”

He takes a moment more to revel in your words, then starts to walk past you. When you’re side by side, he turns to you and extends a hand.

“Coming?”

You tilt your head to the side, curious. “Where are we going?”

Thomas grins. “To meet the others. I have a feeling that you’re going to like them just fine, and I wouldn’t mind the company.”

You take his hand without question. Somehow, you get the feeling that you’d follow him anywhere, nor would you be the first. “Let’s go, then.”

If you were to think about the legends, you decide then and there that you’d add on an important postscript to every story about the beings of the forest. They’re strong, sure, and utterly beyond the reach of most, but to those who can journey beyond their usual comforts and dare to track them down, it is completely worth it. Your own story is just beginning, but you have a feeling that Thomas is going to figure quite prominently in it.

requested by @hope92100, i hope you enjoy!

tmr tag list: @rogueanschel, @ellobruv, @retvenkos, @neewtmas, @thatfangirl42, @hiya-its-amber, @gods-fools-heroes, @23victoria, @w1shes43

[fxllingout]

cait! cait! do you read op fanfics? cause i need some recommendations i don’t really have any preferences romantic, platonic, ship, non-ship, all fine by me i guess the only thing would be no heavy angst i can’t handle that - op anon

i do read op fics! ive read a bit of everything so im gonna rec a bit of everything that i really love to reread

Older Brother's Duties (and also i recommend reading the second fic in the series as well but the first is my favourite of the two). au where luffy is the older sibling and ace just joined the whitebeard pirates and luffy comes to check up on him. i find it very cute (gen fic)

Who We Were Meant to Be, au where luffy joined the marines for reasons and now ace is about to be executed and im not gonna say more because even though me telling you the plot wouldn't really spoil anything cause it's obvious i think you should just experience it all for the first time with no huge primer on it (gen fic)

Watashitachi wa Roger kaizoku desu (we still stand proud), au where the remaining roger pirates come to save their captain's son from execution, also heavy on the shanks and buggy friendship and their not so good past with their former crew members (like in terms of the au not canon stuff) (gen fic)

Shanties for the Weary Voyager okay so this is a series not a singular fic but i have to rec the whole series cause god damn. shanks/makino fics, the first few in the series all follow the main story and then after that are au's of the og fanfic or are one shots connected to the og fanfic. overall summary is it's just shanks and makino falling in love when he first is in foosha and then her waiting for him to come back after he has to leave and then them living happily ever after. first fic in the series is all fade to black but a lot of the ones after are explicit, like straight smut just to warn you so yeah big nsfw warning on this one

You, Drowning Between My Arms usosan fic, interesting concept where sanji keeps reliving the day after he turned down usopp's confession and is trying to fix it EXCEPT it's told from usopp's pov which i really enjoyed it. its like. kinda angsty obviously cause usopp got turned down and sanji is suffering cause he's trying to fix it but it's not heavy heart breaking angst

the demon perched upon the sun zosan pokemon au, another interesting concept, as the fic is told through an oc character. their goal is to beat the pokemon world champion but the world champion, zoro, has disappeared from society so they have to become the world champion and then find zoro where ever the fuck he is to reach their ultimate goal. sanji tags along on oc's quest. you meet the other strawhats every so often. so really its just zosan from outsider pov but done really really well imo. again, kinda angsty, but not heavy i promise

the thing that remains lawlu fic, its just law falling in love with luffy over the course of them meeting until wano. really, thats it. well written. nsfw stuff, though i believe its only right near the end and its not plot relevant so you can skip if you want (iirc i havent reread it in a bit). the rest of the series it's in i also enjoy, though the sanji/katakuri ones are just straight smut so. yeah lmao

Wine and Dine and... Guns? zolusan (is that their correct ship name????) mafia/gang au, the strawhats (excluding sanji) are a gang, and due to certain actions sanji has to join them. nothing much else to say

A Split Thread zolu fic, luffy and zoro get sent back in time after their journey and have a chance to make everything right. zoro goes off on his own to kill blackbeard while luffy gathers the crew. i also quite enjoy the sequel that is zoro's pov

and yeah thats all of them i hope you enjoy !!!!!!!

[pangolinheart]

FFXIVWrite 2023 DAY 28 - BLUNT

Sid can be a little bit indelicate, but Rielle can be pretty blunt herself.

(I swear I don't want to become "The SidWoL Guy" but I went to a movie tonight so I didn't have a lot of time to brainstorm/write and this was such low-hanging fruit. I swear I'll come up with a better ship eventually. Until then, please enjoy Rielle being smarter than Sid and Rhiki combined. And also a teenager.)

Rating: General Genre: Fluff, humor Characters: Rielle de Caulignont, Sidurgu Orl, Z'rhik Irhi (Warrior of Light) (referenced) Relationships: Sidurgu Orl/Warrior of Light (implied) Word Count: 876 Content Warnings: None

The door to the Forgotten Knight didn’t need a bell – it creaked loudly enough to signal the arrival of any new patrons. Out of the corner of her eye, Rielle saw Sid stiffen, his eyes flying to the open door, only to relax again when he saw the mud-caked laborer slumping through it. She rolled her eyes. This was getting painful to watch. Sid had been jumpy ever since they’d received word that Rhiki would be passing through Ishgard in the next few days. Well, not jumpy, per se – he wasn’t really expressive enough for that to be accurate – but she could tell he was anxious with anticipation.

“I don’t know why you’re so excited about Rhiki visiting,” she complained as he settled back into his beer.

“What? What are you talking about?” He was trying to sound confused, but doing a poor job. She’d come to realize he wasn’t actually very good at lying. Despite the muted quality of his expressions and mannerisms (well, other than the angry ones), he was quite easy to read if you knew what you were looking for.

“I said I don’t know why you’re so excited. You obviously are: you’ve been watching the door like a hawk for the past two days, and you’ve insisted on going out to wander around more than usual.”

He huffed, frowning and trying to play off his unwillingness to meet her gaze as offense rather than embarrassment. “I am not excited. To see Rhiki, or about anything else.”

Ugh. Why did he always have to be so difficult? “You’re just going to say something stupid and make her mad again.” She informed him in annoyance. The two were always bickering over something. They rarely got into real fights anymore, not like they had in the beginning, but they did seem to enjoy their petty arguments. She had no idea why. It was like they didn’t know how to be nice to each other without veiling it behind playful jabs and affectionate pejoratives. Though he tried to hide it behind a scowl, she could tell that Sid secretly liked it when Rhiki teased him. Usually, anyway. But sometimes he still said things so blunt that they actually upset her.

“And even if you don’t end up fighting, you’re just going to stare at her with that look on your face whenever you think she isn’t watching.”

“What look?” Sid demanded, seeming more convincingly annoyed this time. Probably because he was.

Rielle made a face. “That look that you do. Like an abandoned chocobo chick that’s been left out in the cold. I don’t know what you would call it, but it’s sad to look at.”

“Hey!”

She rolled her eyes at him again. She wasn’t telling him anything that wasn’t true. He wasn’t as subtle as he obviously thought he was. She was honestly surprised that Rhiki hadn’t noticed it – she was usually so perceptive about other people’s feelings. Sensitive to them. Not like Sid, who wouldn’t recognize an emotion if it bit him on the arse. It seemed so obvious to her, but Sid seemed to be something of a blind spot for Rhiki.

“You two should just kiss already and get it over with.” She said, giving him a pointed look.

“What?!” The firelight made it hard to tell, but she thought he was blushing. Rhiki was right, it was funny to see him so flustered. No wonder she liked teasing him so much.

Rielle shrugged. “It’s obvious you like her. So, you should just tell her, or kiss her, or… do whatever adults do when they like each other. I mean, I know what normal adults do, but-“

Sid grimaced, still trying to hide his mortification behind a stern expression. “Well, of course I like her. She’s a fellow Dark Knight and a friend and she’s helped us out more than a few- Wait! What’s that supposed to mean?!” He didn't wait for an answer. “You know what, I don’t even want to know.”

He was so stubborn. Or stupid. Or maybe both. It was hard to tell. “Well, suit yourself then,” she relented in exasperation. “Sit there and pine, or whatever you want to call it. See if I care. I just don’t want to watch you sulk when someone else finally gets up the nerve to admit their feelings to her. It’s bound to happen, you know. She’s the Warrior of Light, after all. And she’s fun. And nice. I’m sure she has lots of admirers.”

Sid looked affronted, but also too rattled to form a quick rebuttal. When he had found his words again, all he had to say was: “I don’t know what sort of books you’ve been reading or what’s gotten the idea into your head, but I do not like Rhiki. Well, I like her, of course, but not, you know….”

“Sure, Sid. Whatever you say.” Fine. He could be that way if he liked. He was only hurting himself. And her, a little, by forcing her to watch him brood. If he wanted to suffer, he was welcome to it. Far be it from her to get in the way of his masochism.

She was definitely still going to tease him about it, though.

[wispforever]

Can you do 17 and 18?

17. Is Sakura useless?

This is another question like the "is sakura a shitty character" question. I think it's kind of stupid and I don't like it very much lol why all this attention to sakura specifically like there aren't a shit ton of characters in naruto that lots of people would consider "shitty" and "useless"? Feels a bit like the posts I talked about in my other asks from the antis LMAO telling on yourself a bit here, aren't you?

Anyway, let's first determine what constitutes a character's use in a narrative. First things that come to my mind are to drive the plot, present a problem, present a solution, be funny, be interesting, etc. Pretty standard storytelling stuff. In this way, I don't believe any character is truly "useless". Every character has a function within their narrative, and if they weren't given a specific one by the author, their presence still impacts the story, so in that way they're not void of use or purpose.

I think Kishimoto wrote Sakura into this story to serve a few purposes, but of course, to know exactly what her use is, we'd have to ask him. Her most obvious use is to serve as a love interest to naruto and also sasuke. This is the same role almost every female character in Naruto occupies. Separately, while she isn't the sole character that does this, she serves a narrative purpose as a stand-in for the viewer. Many minor characters share this role to stand by and ask what's happening, convey simple emotions like surprise, sadness, outrage, etc. Also to offer explanations the viewer could have missed, in-turn minimizing the chances of narrative confusion.

Sakura isn't a character Kishimoto is concerned with developing like the male characters, so she doesn't often serve a lot of purpose as the object of the plot. She doesn't participate in many key fights in a meaningful way, and we aren't frequently given any complex insight into her thoughts/emotions. She isn't handled with the intention to fulfill the narrative or connect to the viewer. That's just how girls in Naruto are treated unfortunately.

So, is Sakura useless? No, there aren't any characters in a narrative that serve no purpose. And in light of the sexist writing Kishimoto's quite famous for, I think it's unfair to talk about Sakura like she somehow could not have been a compelling, thoughtful, and badass character if she had only been given the same care that Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, etc. had been given.

18. Ship wars or power scaling debates?

Why not both LMAO I love a good fucking fight

as far as character analysis goes, I like to look at the canon more than create things myself, so if I'm obsessed about two characters that have real onscreen chemistry? It's ship wars babyyy

but if I'm obsessed with the complexities of naruto war as it relates to different shinobi's unique jutsus? hell yeah power scaling

[medea10]

My Review of My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Humor me. Who else thought this was going to be a sequel to Ore Monogatari (My Love Story) where Takeo and Yamada go all the way? I can’t be the only one with that sick thought. Okay completely unrelated anime, let’s see what you got.

Akane Kinoshita is out with her boyfriend Takuma…and she gets dumped. Yep, not even 30 seconds into the first episode and she gets dumped. He’s leaving Akane for a girl he met in an online game that he and Akane were playing together. After the breakup, Akane went on the game she got into because of her ex and went on a killing-spree of monsters. Just then, she meets another player named Yamada who looks like Saitama if he had a weird afro on. It takes him two minutes just for a simple reply. Akane gets annoyed and basically tells him off. After some time from the breakup, Akane decides to go to this on-site event for the game she was playing. Never mind getting freebies for the game, she’s going merely for the fact her ex might be there and wants to flaunt the goods to make him regret leaving her.

Things did not go according to plan. Akane trips and falls down on her way to stalk her ex. The person she bumped into is a handsome young man of few words. Akane realized that this mysterious boy is that Yamada she met in her game prior to this event. Well, Akane is face-to-face with her ex. What does she do? Lies and says Yamada is her boyfriend and even bribes him to keep up the farce. Yamada is quite aloof and can be blunt with the things he says…if he says anything. But what Akane doesn’t know is that Yamada is a pro-gamer.

While the boyfriend lie is merely for whenever Akane’s ex is around, Akane has a nice friendship with not only Yamada, but his inner circle as well.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Even though this was a Crunchyroll exclusive (in association with Aniplex of America), this didn’t see a dub until a good six months after the series had started. Normally, I’d be concerned. But this did happen during the actor’s strike, so I’ll think no more on the matter. And that’s all I’ve got here. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Akane is played by Inori Minase (known for Rem on Re:Zero, Prushka on Made in Abyss, Makinohara on Bunny Girl Senpai, Ruruka on Danganronpa 3, and Hidomi on FLCL: Progressive)

*Yamada is played by Kouki Uchiyama (known for Soul on Soul Eater, Yurio on Yuri on Ice, Rui on Demon Slayer, Shigaraki on My Hero Academia, Ikuya on Free!, Ichijou on Nisekoi, and Yuuki on Shiki)

ENGLISH CAST: *Akane is played by Abby Trott (known for Nezuko on Demon Slayer, Shizuka on Zom 100, Machi on Hunter x Hunter, Veronica on Seven Deadly Sins, Inui on Aggretsuko, and Fou on Fate/Grand Order)

*Yamada is played by Stephen Fu (known for Weather Report on Jojo’s Pt. 6, Naofumi on Shield Hero [season 2+], Douma on Demon Slayer, Henry on Black Clover, Kaname on Darwin’s Game, and Pax on Mushoku Tensei)

DISLIKED CHARACTER: No, it’s not Runa. As much as I love to dunk on those little girls who latch onto the hot character and glare at the obvious main attraction, I actually hate jerky ex-boyfriends who quickly dump their girlfriends over trivial shit more. Yeah, Akane’s ex can kick rocks for all I care. While we only see him two times in the whole show, his breakup with Akane really messed her up.

SHIPPING: Yamada is oblivious when it comes to females. He didn’t even know a girl was confessing to him in the second episode. There’s no way in hell he’s going to fall for Akane. Never mind, dragging her drunk ass to his home in the first episode. As it turns out, Akane and Yamada had quite the cute friendship for the greater majority of this season. And as the series progressed, several of their friends were all for them getting together (even if the two characters aren’t going to do so). But we have to remember that Yamada is going to do what Yamada does. He can be blunt and slow to respond. Yet he somehow acts differently when it comes to Akane. The blunt and slow responses are still there, but he almost acts on a weird impulse at times with her.

Elsewhere, Yamada is quite the favorite around school and elsewhere. There are so many girls at his school that think he’s cute. And then there’s Runa! A lot of insecurities to unpack with this little one. But the fact that she at first wanted to keep Yamada all to herself and push Akane on some rando guy really speaks volumes. That action of Runa’s almost landed her on my dislike category. But I left her off because I grew to like her throughout the rest of the series. She even became a Akane x Yamada shipper. I thought it was adorable when she tried to have Akane bump into Yamada while eating a piece of toast.

But what about Yamada’s silent classmate, Yukari? And what of the girl from Yamada’s past that liked him? The girl from Yamada’s past is someone we’ll never see again. Yukari on the other hand…well, that’s a topic for the ending.

ENDING: Does Akane like Yamada for real? That’s a pretty big question for her as she kinda sees him in a new light after Yamada took care of her when she was sick. There is one big thing that seems to be holding her down and that’s the way things were left off between Akane and her ex. As most people do when they’re dumped, they go through a myriad of thoughts to narrow down what they did wrong. However, she still wants to tell Yamada how she feels. It’s just that the timing never seemed right with the two of them.

Meanwhile, let’s move onto Yamada’s silent classmate, Yukari. We see her a few episodes towards the end of the season. She’s on speaking terms with Yamada in class. And she recently joined the FOS guild that Akane, Eita, and Yamada are in. Her reasons for joining the video game guild were to of course get closer to Yamada. And in the second to last episode, Yukari let it slip out to Yamada that she likes him. Oooooh, right before Akane got the chance to. I sure hope the hint Eita dropped about Yamada about to get confessed to will make a dent. I think it did!

Yamada meets up with Yukari after the confession. Yukari spills everything out and admits how long she’s liked him and every reason in the world she likes him. And Yamada still rejects her! It wasn’t like those airhead replies he gave to the other girls that used to confess to him. This was genuine as he even says that there’s another. Yukari knows it’s Akane and he confirms. Called it!

The guild met up for a dinner with special food and drinks. Eita thought it’d be perfect for Akane and Yamada to have some alone time during the dinner. Things didn’t go according to plan. Yamada was late to arrive. And by the time he showed up, Akane was drunk. Déjà vu from the first episode. Yamada drags her to her home and that’s when Akane asks if he likes her. Yamada says yes. And to make sure that this is real, he promises to remind her when she sobers up that this is true.

Yamada x Akane is official!

This was a cute story despite how things started. It’s not like we haven’t seen similar things happen in other animes. Akane wasn’t even trying to become Yamada’s girlfriend after that time in front of her ex. It was just a sweet friendship that eventually blossomed into a relationship in the end. I always respect a story like that. One has to wonder if the anime will continue with a second season or if it will stay as is with the happy ending given in the 12th episode. By the looks of things, the manga is still on-going with at least 100+ chapters at the moment. I honestly think that the anime will stay with just this season. Well, if you’re looking for a cute slice of life, romcom, maybe check this out. It’s a short series.

Crunchyroll has every episode for streaming.