#i didn't know you acknowledged my existence oh WOW

[idontcare4urmom]

wrong || matt sturniolo

stepbrother!matt x fem!reader

summary: where your dad found a new woman on his life after one year of your mom's death,so you are forced to live all together after a lot of pressure,but what you didn't know yet is that her son is a total temping being that will send you over the edge..in many ways.

warnings: smuttt,unprotected sex,not proofread,porn with plot,dirty talk,eating out,pet-names,suggestive,scratching,tits sucking,etc.

a/n: my first language is not English,this sure has some grammar or other errors so i am sorry<3

."🎀".

"what the fuck you mean we have to move in with her?" you were basically shouting on your dad,and you weren't sure if you were more annoyed at the fact that he had moved on so far already or cause he didn't even cared to ask you if you acknowledge with it.

"i told you too many times that this is a very big and important step to me honey,besides her place is absolutely flawless,you will love it" his words only made you angrier,but you decided not to push it anymore since you knew deep down it would be waste of time,he had made his decision.

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

the days passed quickly,and you found yourself holding your suitcase in front of a captivating building that would change a part of your life for many years,at least your dad did not lie,it was trully more than luxurious,so with a deep sigh you walked until the doorway with him,your anxious levels on high.

after a few knocks the door opened to reveal a surprisingly tall,appealing woman standing there,with brunette silky highlights and a pretty good enough shaped body,the sight made you furrow although you could tell why your father had fallen for her.you were caught off guard when you were the one she even pulled into an embrace first and seemed in general eager to meet you.

"oh sweetie your dad has told me many things about you,i am Lana,come in,come in" you didn't had much time to process because she was pushing your hand gently inside,your eyes widening as you took in the house with your eyes,it was for sure bringing vibes of a cozy,modern place.

you didn't want to be in your normal pissy mood for the reason that she was treating you politely for now,so you made a small comment "wow,the decoration is really nice"

"oh thank you,i want you to be comfortable and feel welcomed here,you can go check the guest room that will be your own,is down the hall,if you need any help just call out my name" you nodded a little and began making your way towards the apparently new space you will probably spend most of the day at.

but,without realizing a sudden unrecognized human figure appeared in front of you while making it's way to another room,making you leave a small yelp from your lips "who are you?"

the blye eyed boy raised an eyebrow once he heard the question,letting a sarcastic laugh as he spoke "very ironic for someone to ask when they are the one in my house" oh? well he had sure attitude for the few seconds you had met him. you were about to say something in response even so he continued, a sheepish grin forming on his lips when he examined your presence through his dark eyelashes "wait..you must be my stepsister"

"huh?" was the only word you could express,you were incredibly confused--who was he? "i am Lana's son, Matt,no one informed you about me?" it was like he was able to read your thoughts,it only creeped you out more.

"no..my father must forgot to announce your existence to me" the words snarked out of your tongue as you were trying hard to act sassy,but for a disguise,cause shit the more you were observeting him the more perfect he got.

he had the necessary amount of beard to sense in case he ever trailed kisses down your body,his blue orbs seemed like they could stare deep into your soul yet in a enjoyable way,and hell those fingers were too distracting for no reason,especially with those silver rings that were practically begging for attention.just any of his facial features were ideal--however you weren't supposed to fall for him,it would be wrong.

you snapped out of your thoughts when there was a sound of a familiar voice snapping across the end of the hall,approaching the both of you excitedly,even though she was addresing specifically to you "i see you guys met,sorry darlin' i forgot to have a quick chat with you about that i have a kid..anyway he may be a pain sometimes but i am sure you will get along well with him"

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

two weeks have passed,and she was completely wrong.every day the urge of smashing a bottle on top of his head is only increasing,he would suddenly barg into your bedroom searching for his own belongings,asserting that he often lost things by accident since he is being here from time to time--why? his set-up pc is on your area for years now.

despite that,his own bedroom is just a few steps away from yours,you have been struggling with sleeping peacefully cause he would blast music on his speaker at 2-3 am,you are almost confirmed that he must be doing it on purpose--and it doesn't end here,there is worse.

you are aware of a guy having 'needs' so the occasional echo of moaning could be heard to you from the thin paper walls,you swear that it's music to your ears and you feel like your mind is sabotaging you.he is annoying,that though didn't stopped you from having a weird desire rising in you for him,a pang on your chest with guilt for possessing the most unholy fantasizes whenever he would roam around in just a pair of sweatpants.

with all this being said,you produced a baffling bond with Matt,signs showing that he is on the same page as you,which leads you to today.laying down on your bed with your phone on your hands,stressfully ignoring his presence a few meters away.him entirely concentrated on his screen computer playing--God knows what--video games,with the controller on his hands.the silense more than unbearable.

you were determined to prove to yourself that maybe you can spend some time with him,you took advantage of him not wearing any headphones and lightly tapped his shoulder,pointing towards the black console afterwards "can i try?" you anticipated for his response,silently hoping that he doesn't mind.

Matt was kind of surpised by your request,nevertheless he had finished the round so he nodded "umh..sure" he slid off from the gaming chair while handing you the controller,your fingers barely brushing with his yet enough to make your head spinning.

you rested your body on the mesh fabric as he sat on the bed,and with a glance of the buttons you were clueless of the task in hand,not having any idea on how to participate in the online game.luckily,he noticed the confused look written on your face so he came next to you and started to make a fast learning lesson,

he taught you how to jump,how to run,how to kill,and other features you require to have in case of a proper match.as he did so,you caught him taking a few glimpses of your chest--it's not like he could help it,your crop top was exposing a certain amount of your cleavage,making it hard for him to focus.

a devilish smile curled to your face when you noticed,feeling bold enough to adjust down the shirt such as leaving only your breasts covered--matt could feel his heart beat raising,the temperature of the room turning thick once he stopped talking.

"can you show me how to jump again? i don't think i get it" you spoke,a hint of suggestiveness leaking from your tone--and he didn't want more than just to devour you right there, your father and his mother had left for shopping,so you were both totally alone which sent shivers down your back,

the tension bloomed into a insufferable feeling between the two of you,causing your breath to hitch around your throat,especially when you felt his fingers starting to touch yours fully in attempt to answer your previous 'request'.a hushed gasp breaking out from you when there was a unexpected hand gesture tracing your thigh in a agonizingly pace--screw this.

with a smooth shift of your face and waist you palmed his cheeks,bringing his lips to yours into a fiery dance.he didn't hesitate to shove his tongue in your mouth,impatiently exploring your taste before nipping down your bottom lip,eliciting a moan from you that get's shallowed against him,

the sound you made vibrated through matt's whole body,landing directly straight to his core and he could feel his jeans growing tight around his crotch,he didn't ever remembered himself getting hard from just a making out session--he craved more,he needed more,and so did you.

his hands started travelling their way to your stomach,crawling upwards until he squeezed your nipples over the fabric of your top and reaching to lift it up, "is this okay?" you nodded desperately at the question,he didn't wasted time by taking it off over your head,unclasping with one motion your bra afterwards to shower your bare chest with open-mouthed kisses,

your hums of approval soon turned into whimpers when he wrapped his mouth on the flesh of your left breast,swirling his tongue around it while his hand pinched the other between his free fingers,he repeated his actions by giving the same treatment to your right one after.

with a loud pop he pulled away,slowly reaching under the gaming chair so he is on his knees,his eye pupils half-lidded and fluttering over your face before he yanks off your shorts with panties,exposing your already wet dripping pussy to his hungry gaze,

"fuck you are soaked,how long have you been dreaming this? have you been waiting for me to finally pleasure you sweetheart?" you could him mutter cooing through gritted teeth,licking at your thighs in a intractable speed as he itches towards the arching spot in between your legs,lavishing his attention there as he made a long stripe up on your clit,making you buck your hips against his face shamelessly,

your nails found his hair,gripping and tugging on it for support,dragging a hiss from his mouth as he began to lap on your juices like you were his last meal,you started riding his face while whining pathetically,the obsence resounds filling the room as he continued to satisfy you.

his index finger rubbed your entrance,letting you shaking for more and barely hearing his gagged whispers "you taste so fucking amazing,such an intoxicating cunt",your lower abdomen started quivering into the familiar knot,reminding you of your approaching release,making you clench uncontrollably around his mouth,

"come on,finish all over face baby" matt sneered out when he sucked on robs of your pre-cum, your lips forming a perfect 'o' shape in the same time you swirled your digits on his roots so his head is forced to be still there,with a long pornographic moan you erupted,spurting thick,white jets that made your legs glistening.

after pulling away he swooped you into his arms,carrying you bridal-style on the mattress of the bed,him laying down firstly before grasping your sides stronly,helping you to be on top of him as he guided your hips so you can push against his clothed erection,the sensation maddening for the both of you.

your still sensitive heat grinded back and forth,feeling his cock poking under you so your hands progress to tug the zipper of his jeans down,sliding them down along with his boxers to his ankles in a way of exposing his throbbing tip,you usually didn't liked how dicks looked but matt's was different; a needy tenderness to have it deep inside you,he adjusted with ease the head down your folds,and with no doubt you sinked down on his length.

a unbidden squeal slipped from you as he grunted repeatedly,his grunts turned into loud groans of pure filthiness as soon as you started bouncing yourself,your tight walls squelching him, sending him closer to the edge even though it hadn't passed a minute of you riding him,his back arching forward which gave you the opportunity of scratching down the skin of his behind shoulders,

"such a good girl,fucking yourself on your stepbrother's cock, such a whore f'me" his words actually made you feel pitiful yet encouraging your movements to speed up their pace,his hips thrusting up to meet yours so he can pound into your hole frequently, "c-close" you panted out,your second orgasm increasing through you as your walls clinged around him,the actions driving matt insane "going to fill you up,do you want that? do you want me to cum inside you?"

you miserably sobbed in bliss and let a ''hphm'' of approval,before you knew it matt had busted,his climax exploding extremely hard into your pussy,following suit after him with your head throwed back and stopping after a minute so you can pull yourself out of him,both of you being a panting mess,

"that was incredible" "i am never letting you to even enter my room again"

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

evelyn speaks!! thank you so much for 250 followers jixijcmjg,my last post with Matt got more than 800 notes likeee insane,thank you ALL for the support it means everything xoxo🤍🤍

tags! @writtensturn @pixiespax @verywonderlandpolice @itsnotmariahh @user9383738392 @monroesturnns @badussybumper @nwlluvsturnsstars17 @shadowthesim

[blueaetherr]

welcome to eden

pairing: trent alexander-arnold x fem!reader [she/her]

warnings(s): none

summary: the one where trent recounts his journey to discover eden

author's note: something small to get me back into writing again

now playing: she's mine pt. 1 by j. cole

With the day slowly fading into the night, people retiring inside, both parties equally wanting to rest and repair for the following day—the day had come to an end, simple and peaceful. Quiet too, only minimal and distant noise interrupting the silence of the early night. Despite this, activities both calm and loud continued within one's walls.

As for Trent and Y/N, they had opted for both. Loud activity—that leftover piece of cake on the kitchen counter, the game controller stuck and forgotten in the folds of the couch, the music speaker misplaced in the garden, the UNO cards left on the coffee table. It all remained scattered across their shared home as remnants, now existing as cherished memories to discuss in later years. 

Calm activity, they saved for the end of the day. Something as simple and uncomplicated as laying in bed together, feeling the wind touch up against exposed skin, acknowledging one another's presence through straying touches, tangled limbs and soothing breaths. How they finished their day would be how they would, too, start their day in the coming hours. 

Adjusting her position Y/N exhaled, saying, "Tell me something I'd like to hear." Her voice came out as a whisper, small and slightly muffled against Trent's chest, like she was shy and scared to speak. But in truth, it was simple; she wanted to hear Trent speak. To hear him lift up his voice and pronounce words the way that he did so perfectly every time, something Y/N felt like she would never get over.

Asking to hear Trent's words and voice wasn't anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it was habitual and familiar to their relationship. In times when they wanted to sleep but couldn't, when they wanted to relax and falter a bit after a taxing day, when they wanted to bring about a sense of calm in a moment of chaos—whether in person or over the phone—Y/N would request Trent's words. 

Tell me a story. Tell me about your day today, honey. How did you find the movie? From the hypotheticals to the yes or no wonders of life itself. Anything and everything was on the table and Trent would, of course, always say yes to her requests. 

Normally, if Trent was given free rein about what he could discuss with his partner, he would have to think for a moment, always looking to capture the perfect exchange of words. This time, however, he found no need to wander his mind for thoughts. "You weren't the first person I ever fell for."

"Oh wow, wow, wow." In any other situation where Y/N had the energy, she would've reacted more to his opening statement. Perhaps a questioning look or a warning yet joking pinch to the chest. Instead, she remained inert in Trent's arms and expressed in a neutral tone, "I feel so, so loved right now."

"I didn't mean it like that, obviously," Trent laughed a bit, his laughter bouncing off the walls. Even with the neutral tone, he could hear the dramatic undertone behind it. "You gotta hear everything I have to say and then make up your mind about how you feel."

"And how do you think I'll be feeling post-explanation?" A fooling curiosity settled behind her voice. Will it be worth it to listen to your words? After all, she did request something she would like to hear.

Tilting his head to look towards the window, Trent noticed the shining light rising into the night sky. "Over the moon and beyond."

Humming, Y/N nodded against his chest and relaxed further into his embrace. Big expectations to meet. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to hear him out. "Let's hear it."

"Well you already know I've had a few girlfriends before you, and it was with my previous girlfriend where I personally felt like I fell in love for the first time. Everything was good, great if you want to go that far. She was the one partner I was always going to my friends and family to talk about. I loved it because she made it so easy; I was happy and she made me happy, and I thought that was more than enough for me to be content with the relationship."

She shifted away from Trent's chest– the distance quite small though not enough to prevent body contact– so she could face him well. "Sounds like you were in Eden," Y/N shaking her head slightly, feigning disappointment. She couldn't allow Trent to get through his story without bringing some cause for laughter to the conversation.

"Just like me get to it. I promise it gets better," Trent huffed out a small laugh, and Y/N soon followed suit. An instant of delight under the night sky. 

Soon laughter fell short into silence and Trent continued, "Anyways, eventually she ended up breaking up with me and I was heartbroken. I was confused and devastated. Everything always felt right to me so I didn't know where it went wrong. I thought she was the one and only, my one and only. I'd fallen, like, pretty hard and I didn't think I would again after that. I found everything in her. She was everything to me. It doesn't get better than that," he exhaled, his eyes drifting randomly around the room, "I mean it shouldn't get better than that."

"But then I met you," Smiling, his gaze returned to his partner, fondness soon collecting in his eyes, "... and I quickly discovered that I was so, so wrong."

"Where she was giving me happiness, you're giving me happiness and more. Where she was giving me joy, you're giving me joy and more. Where she was giving me peace, love, content— you know what? Let me not ramble before I'm just listing everything great about you." Noticing her smile wobble a bit, he took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it. A request to comfort and ease her mind. Against her hand, Trent spoke with a small voice, "I mean you get what I'm sayin' right?"

Tell me more, keep going, let me know your thoughts– among many things she wanted to say. But she found herself in her feelings, far too deep, so much so that she failed to find her voice. So instead she simply nodded through sniffles and a struggling smile, allowing him to continue.

"So sure she was my first real, honest love. I fell for her first and that's fact—that'll never change. But she could never reach your ankles, honey. 'Cause I fell for you and suddenly, I felt it again but with you. Heck, I still feel it with you, over and over, every single day. I remember how it felt when we first met. I felt it yesterday. I felt it when we were washing the dishes together a few hours ago." Humming, he wiped away the stray tear escaping her eyes. "And I hope to feel that way tomorrow and every day after that."

"I am and have everything and some with you. You give me more than I need; you are quite literally abundance."

In truth, Trent didn't always have the words for everything, often spontaneous and unintentional in his speech. Still, his love language always pointed back to words of affirmation. Forever with pleasure, he would continue to offer Y/N his voice and words of her choosing. 'Cause in his eyes, it was easy to speak for someone you felt so passionately about, someone who you could never seem to pull away from even when you should.

Speaking on this aspect of the relationship made Trent reflect a bit, his mind rekindling recent thoughts. It made him lean back and think wow. He once believed that he had found true paradise in someone else. That she was everything ideal and secure, and Trent would never find himself in want of something else. 

But then there came Y/N, the genuine living proof of everything ideal and secure and more. In the words of Y/N, Trent found Eden in her. She was this person of paradise, harmony, perfection and ultimate beauty. In mind, spirit and body. Someone to appreciate, love and acknowledge at every point in space and time. And in his words, she was someone of abundance. Always ever-giving and forever infinite in her person. Never would he ever lack with Y/N. The primal things—loud activity, calm activity—continued to leave Trent without wants beyond his partner.

"So how did that meet your expectations?"

Y/N strung out a sigh, exhaling those overwhelming sentiments. Some would think Trent was speaking just to speak, to pass time or for the two to fall asleep well, and that was true. But what was also true was that Trent found delight and happiness in speaking on this subject, speaking about how, actually, Y/N was his one and only. How she was everything—how she gave him everything and more. Yet all she ever asked for in return were his words and speech. 

So here were his words, a mellow proclamation of love and affection, and like every other time it left Y/N joyfully devastated.

The soft breeze in the room shifted her attention towards the opened window for a moment. Soon, she noticed the moon, now high in the sky daintily shining into the bedroom. She hung her head back as she let a small chuckle through her tears. "I'm over the moon and beyond."

[whatsaninterestingplacethisis]

summer love

Imagine

Adam Fantilli x Latina!Reader

synop: Adam and y/n meet during dinner in Italy, spending what seems an endless summer together.

song-spo: mystery of love by sufjan stevens + crazy for you by madonna (this song captures the final scene so perfectly like 13 going on 30 lmao)

genre: slowburn rom-com, heavy on the comedy bc i think i'm hilarious, but def has cute scenes. 7.1K words! (longest i've written??)

Prompts: building tension prompt

an: call me by your name vibezz + one day trip to greece vibez. shy adam with no rizz hehe. too many bad jokes/mentions of his italian ancestry lmao, witty & snarky friendship 😆 i literally forget what team adam favored for his draft my bad. also i know zip of italian culture so hopefully i didn't butcher anything nor have i visited italy lmao

cw: drinking, cussing, skinny dipping, innuendo with spoons?

It was a spontaneous trip which only it made it all the better.

Saving up the money, booking the flight, and the stay. With no itinerary, you spent the past two days on the beach and sleeping in from the jet lag.

You figured you would put your new wardrobe to use by wearing it out to dinner. It was a warm night, the sky turning into a dark blue, eventually turning black with stars sprinkled above.

You wore a loose summer dress to try an Italian cuisine. It was daunting to eat alone in a foreign country but then again you made it across the pond into a foreign country all alone. It didn't come this far to starve. So you ate and drank a bit of wine.

In between sips and chewing, you people watched. Noticing the large touristy family trying to eat dinner in peace. A native Italian couple staring at each other lovingly. And then there was you, all alone with no one across from you but it was okay. You were content. No one there knew you or even acknowledged your presence. With a light breeze in the air and the muffled sounds of people it put you at ease.

You took another and final sip from your glass, as your eyes hooked with a stranger's eyes. They stayed there until the stranger bashfully looked away, failing to hold back a smile.

You noticed this stranger sitting with what seems like his family. Him being the only one on the restaurant patio acknowledging your existence put you on edge.

You avoided looking at his direction as you waved the waiter for the bill. You fidgeted nervously with the table cloth as you waited. When he returned, he not only came back with the bill but a small bowl of pink, you assumed, what was strawberry gelato.

"Oh I didn't order this," you looked at the waiter with confusion,

"No, he did." he pointed across the outdoor patio to said stranger. He had a slight blush to his cheeks, nodding his head to the both of you.

"I see, thank you." you bid goodbye the his service after paying for your meal. You looked back down at the cold dessert and right up the stranger. You took a big sigh as you signaled him to come over to your table. You noticed how his eyes widened and him talking to his presumed family. He made his way to your single table as his family's eyes followed his path.

By the time he sat across from you, his family's eyes were on you, but you ignored them for now,

"Bold move with the soft serve." you finally took a bite of the gelato, waiting for him to make another move.

"Is it? I was just trying to be nice I guess."

"Just nice? What if I didn't call you over? Would you send another dessert?" you teased him, curious of his thinking.

He laughed, "Maybe I would have ordered one for me after the rejection," he took a clean spoon from the table and dove into your dessert, "but you did call me over, so thanks." the spoon made a pop sound when he licked it clean.

"I'm Adam."

"Well Adam, you just took a bite of my gelato."

"Well technically I paid for it." He said as he took another spoonful from your bowl.

"Wow, so thats how you treat a lady?" you dramatically say as you eat more of you and Adam's dessert.

"I'm y/n." you lean back into your chair, staring this man down. You caught what seems like his brother and mother peeking behind his shoulder from their table.

"Is that your family?" you nodded towards their direction. He turned around and saw them snap their heads in any other direction.

He chortled, running his hand through his hair, "Yeah, don't pay attention to them. They'll just embarrass me."

"What, you don't pick up girls often? Especially with dessert?" you joked and he laughed too,

He shook his head as he laughed but stared at you intently with a soft smile, "No, no I don't."

You didn't think his sweet gesture would lead anywhere, but you were starting to like him.

"So, Adam, have you been in Italy before?" It was a silly question to ask but you didn't know anything about him. He went on to tell you how he had family here and he had visited often. He even mentioned his last name and that definitely proved his rich culture to your amusement,

"Fantilli?! Wow, I don't think I've ever heard such an Italian name before!"

"It's not that Italian..." he basked in his shyness as he rambled off on his culture,

"Oh you're kidding, you got the double i and everything." you enjoyed teasing him because you both knew it was light hearted.

"So where are you from?" The shared gelato had been long gone yet the conversation flowed smoothly.

"Nobleton, it's near Toronto, but I live in Columbus for work."

"Columbus as in Ohio?!" you squinted at his answer, forcing him to hold back a laugh.

"Well it wasn't really my choice, LA would have been my first choice."

"Somehow LA is worse than Ohio." you blatantly say making him laugh. Before you could ask him more about which lesser of the cities were his choice, a tall figure appeared at your table.

"Hey bro, mom and dad are ready to head back." The standing figure smiled to you and smirked to Adam making him scoff at him.

"I'll be there in a few." Adam replied

"For sure," he said with another grin as he loudly slapped Adam's shoulder as he walked off.

"Was that your brother?" you asked the obvious,

"Unfortunately," he tried to not reach for his shoulder but his face grimaced in pain.

"Well." you said waiting to see how Adam was going to end this night,

"Well...what?" he chuckled ignorantly

"It was nice talking with you." you said honestly,

"Oh yeah, it was" he stands and gets ready to leave "have a goodnight y/n"

"Adam!" you raise your voice before he turns all the way, "Are you really not gonna ask for my number?"

"I didn't know you still wanted to talk with me." he rubbed the back of his neck,

"You know you have to be more bold than ordering dessert across a restaurant to know if a girl is in interested." you stood up to sort of reach his level, "So?"

He pulled out his phone and handed it to you,

"There, now we can talk more if you want to." you gave back his phone,

"Oh, I want to."

"Then I expect a text whenever possible." Both of you were aware that you would have less than a week together in Italy but it would be enough.

"Your family is waiting," you whispered,

"I'll see you soon y/n," he whispered back,

"I hope so." you watched him walk back to his family and left before they could catch another glimpse of you.

--- Day One ---

The next morning you got dressed for whatever the day presented with. You walked to a near cafe for a freshly brewed cappuccino and buttered pastry.

You were in the middle of journaling your trip so far, about to detail the discourse of the night before, when said discourse sat across from you.

"Morning stranger, I was just going to text you," he said with sunglasses on.

You nonchalantly closed your journal, "Were you? before or after ordering breakfast?"

"Well it looks like you just finished yours," he reached to the small and last portion of your croissant,

"You know what Fantilli, you are making a habit of eating my food."

"I'll make it up to you, c'mon," he softly grabbed your hand and pulled you away from the incoming tourist traffic,

"And where are we going?" you struggled to put your journal back into your bag.

"It's a surprise."

"Let me guess, the beach?"

"Somewhere where only the locals know about," he teased his idea. He noticed his hand was now intertwined with yours and hesitated to remove his hand. Before you even noticed his hand placement, he slyly moved his away to fix his hair under his hat.

After complaining of walking for at least 15 minutes, you finally went off trail, into nature, walking on sand to a huge cove opening of a secluded beach. The both of you stood in the cove's shade, watching the small waves crashing onto shore.

"I'll give you props of your local knowledge," you yelled over the ocean's noise that echoed in the cove with your hands on your hips.

"Does it make up for the croissant?"

"It does. But you still ate my gelato last night,"

"Yeah I knew you wouldn't forget about that so I have another surprise location after this one,"

"Woah, you came prepared Fantilli," you jokingly pushed him away, noticing his newfound confidence in comparison of last night.

"Do you have swim shorts on?" you asked him, inching closer towards the shore,

"Like you said, I came prepared."

"Then, last one to the water owes the other a gelato!" you bolted running halfway through your sentence, tossing your bag to the side, leaving Adam shocked but he was right after you.

Adam was far behind to see you swiftly take off your sundress and dive into the cool clear waters. Coming up for air, you saw him struggle to take off his regular shorts on the shore, leaving him embarrassed by your gaze.

"C'mon Fantilli, do you need my help?!" you yelled across the distance with a smirk. Soon he came into the water too, his shoulders shaking from the cold.

"You owe me a gelato." you said with a grin.

"Fine. But I'll just eat some of it, again." he said with a dumb smirk,

"I won't let you," you splashed a bit of water at him which ensued in a way too serious water fight. After both of you surrendering for the nth time and coughing up water, you dried out in the sun. You started a new journal entry, describing the cove and its scenery.

Adam on the other hand, noticed your small camera in an open pocket of your bag, and took it to himself to capture the late morning with photographs. He caught a single candid of you journaling, the immediate next shot was you noticing him taking pictures.

"What are doing?"

"Capturing memories." he turned the camera over the take a selfie of the two of you, "smile!"

You snatched your camera back to look at the photos and they were actually pretty good.

"So where is this second secret location, hm?"

"It's a secret for a reason."

“I don’t like secrets.” you admitted

“Yeah I can tell.”

“Don’t be rude.” you nudged his shoulder again

“I’m not, I’m just making an observation.” he laughed at your faked offense,

“Just promise me we won’t have to walk as far.”

“I promise we won’t have to walk at all.”

“Now I’m starting to like the sound of this.”

After drying in the sun completely you made it back to the city to call a taxi to take you said secret location.

The taxi dropped you off in the outskirts of the city, off the road there was a large shed of racks on racks of bicycles.

“Okay what exactly is this secret location?” you asked perplexed,

“This is only halfway to our destination, we bike the rest way in.”

Adam rented two bikes for the both of you and although you were caught off guard, you enjoyed biking, catching a breeze rather than walking in uncomfortable shoes.

You wanted to bug Adam again of where you were going on the ride to there, but you soon figured it out. In the distance there were rows of what you assumed were grape vines.

You were so preoccupied of where you were going that you didn’t appreciate the view of the countryside. It was beautiful to say the least, the skies were clear expect with big silky white clouds, the fields were bright green with patches of yellow, and the winding hills in the distance were mesmerizing.

When you reached the vineyard there was again racks on racks of bikes and once stocked away, Adam guided you to join a tour of wine tasting the freshest grapes of Italy, at least that’s what he said.

You weren’t a big drinker, nor a fan of wine but it felt appropriate to wine taste when in Italy. You didn’t want to drink too much because you did have to bike back. Which left you curious on how many people crashed into bushes on the way back.

Luckily the vineyard also had a restaurant so you could finally get something proper to eat along with the alcohol.

“Cheers,” you clinked your glass with Adam’s as the crumbs of lunch sat on your plates.

"I'll give you credit Fantilli, your locations are superb for a tourist like me. I've been graced with your existence to be my personal guide." You had a trait for theatrics.

"Thank you, but to be regarded as only a personal tourist guide hurts a little." Adam put his hand over his heart. He reached your level of theatrics very well.

"Okay in addition to a phenomenal guide, you are becoming a friendly friend."

"Friendly friend." he repeated robotically, mocking you.

"That is what I said." you took another sip of your wine to hide your embarrassment on how to describe what the two of you have. Luckily the waiter had returned with none other than strawberry gelato.

"Here you go, friendly friend, your promised gelato." He pushed the bowl towards you, "And I promise this time I won't eat it," you could tell he meant it as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"How nice of you," you took the first bite of the cold dessert which was much needed for the hot and fun day you two had. Which only made you feel bad for him.

"Do you want some?" you asked as licked your spoon clean,

He stumbled onto his words as he stared at you, "Nope I'm good."

If he really wanted some he would order one for himself, you thought. But hell, he can have a spoonful or two of your gelato. He's made a habit of paying for them so might as well.

You slightly sighed as you pushed the bowl towards him, "Go ahead have some."

"I'm fine really. Plus I bought it for you since you won fair and square." He tried to be humble but you could read him like a book in the moment.

"I can practically hear your salivating all the way from here." You dipped a new spoon into the bowl and gestured to him, "So have some."

"Are you sure?" he finally broke as he uncrossed his arms,

"Yes I'm sure. I don't want you passing out from not eating a cold soft serve on a hot day."

He didn't hesitate on your yes and dove in but was able to mumble with a mouth full, "gelato isn't a soft serve, actually."

"I should have let you passed out."

He smiled as he wiped gelato off his lips. You smiled at how stupidly cute he was. The first day spent together was short as he had plans with his family the later half of the day but promised to have a fun itinerary to spend with you.

--- Day Two ---

Your afternoon was shared with Adam this day. And he went all out this time. He told you to meet him by a near ship dock, which already had you stressed of where this was going.

He texted you the night before to wear active clothes but have a swimsuit on. When he mentioned the first you tried not to complain so early.

So you found yourself dressed in appropriate clothing waiting for him.

"Yo!" you turned to see who was calling and you saw Adam standing in a small size boat with his arms stretched out all proud.

"Hi," you walked forward, "So what's the plan for today?"

"Well do you see that island not that far away?" he pointed towards a small but very clear island across the water, "There is one my best local locations, but we have to get there on boat, obviously." he stretched out his hand to help you step inside.

"And whose boat is this?" you asked out of concern how costly these expenses were,

"My family's." he said with a soft smile. You couldn't tell if that was better or worse.

You placed your bag on the many of available seats, "Okay, so whose steering the boat?" you turned to him with your hands on your hips, looking for any other sign of the driver.

Your eyes followed Adam as he got behind the wheel, staring the engine, turning back to you; "I'm your captain this evening." he said with a big grin as he steered away from the dock, making you lose your balance,

"Oh! Of course you are!" you sarcastically yell over the loud engine. We are so dead, you thought, as you sat down in the passenger seat.

You held onto your hat as the strong winds were begging to pull it off your head. Adam noticed your uneasiness and tried to calm you with his stories of driving since a young age. After the short ride to the island and docking safely you felt slightly confident into his skills.

As soon as you two docked, you didn't notice much of the Island besides a small beach and the mountain itself.

"We're not hiking this Island, are we?" you asked as you both walked towards a base of a trail,

"Fortunately, yes." he answered as he fidgeted with his sunglasses on his nose,

"You do remember me complaining of walking yesterday right?"

"Yep" he said ever so nonchalantly

"So you thought hiking would be the next best thing to do?" you tried to reciprocate his calm demeanor but you could already imagine how sore your legs would be in the morning.

"Listen, the hike is not that bad and the view on top is rewarding!"

Ten minutes into climbing elevation, he lied. You were trying your best to control your breathing as he looked like he was barely breathing.

He was kind enough to stay with your pace though, "Just a little more," he said to inspire motivation,

"Out of curiosity, why are you not heaving like me?" He tried to laugh it off until you came to a stop. You were glad his answer was long enough for you to probe with more questions to give you a break. Nevertheless his answer left you surprised and impressed.

"Now you know why Ohio wasn't my first choice." He grabbed you hand and pulled you to keep on walking.

Now, you didn't hike the whole Island but just high enough to make matters worse, cliff jump. Still holding your hand, Adam slowly guided you towards an opening of trees and bushes to look over a cliff at dark blue water, which only made you feel sick.

"This view is not rewarding. My stomach is churning." you admitted as you pulled back from the scary view, removing your hand from his.

"Oh c'mon we are barely that high up,"

"We are high enough! Even if I were to jump, how do we get our clothes back?" you stared at him intently waiting for an answer,

He just stood there grimacing knowing you wouldn't like the answer, "We hike back...?"

"You're joking." you say exasperatedly. You didn't say it aloud, but these plans were a huge downgrade the day before.

He stepped forward and grabbed your hands, "We already made it up here and technically there is only one fun way down, so why not?"

You stood there staring at him blankly. "I'll hike back alone to get our stuff. Would you do it then?" he tried to negotiate but you were not budging,

"You would have to throw me off this cliff before I jump." your statement led him to raise an eyebrow and smirk,

"You are not throwing me off this damn cliff!" you lightly pushed his arms away,

"I would never. But think about it, if you jump you don't have to walk or hike at all!"

"If I jump, I'll probably never walk again!"

He tried to hold back a laugh, "Literally we are not that high up and if you land right you'll be fine. We'll jump together and I'll make sure."

You looked at him like he was crazy. You slowly walked over to peek over the cliff again and you guessed it wasn't that high. You shut your eyes tight and cursed him out in your head.

"Fuck it if this dive doesn't kill me you better hope it does." You started to take off your shoes and clothes revealing your swimsuit.

Adam stood there watching you and how quickly your mood changed, "You better start stripping because this adrenaline is temporary." He quickly followed suit and was ready to jump.

Your body shook in nerves and excitement, "Ready?" he asked as he held your again for the nth time,

All you could sound out was a scared mhm as you squeezed his hand. Then he started counting, "One...Two...Three!" You felt your body go numb as you ran off that cliff, involuntarily screaming before holding your breath for the cold impact. You opened your eyes underwater as you quickly tried to swim back up for air.

As soon as you broke the surface you looked for Adam. When you found him he broke the surface too and flipped his soaked hair behind him. When he saw you, he smiled making you break out into a huge grin, "You did it!" he yelled in pride,

"That was insane!" you bursted out laughing, almost turning hysterical but Adam started laughing too.

As the ocean's movement was nudging you, you admired at the island and it's size. You took in nature's colors from the dark blue water to the grey and browns rock formation to the bright green foliage of the trees. The sun was heading west on the opposite side, leaving you and Adam to float in the Island's shade.

As your adrenaline started to wear off, you started to feel how cold the water really was and decided to swim back to shore.

As you walked back to the dock, Adam asked, "So do you still want to kill me?"

"Not at the moment, no. Just don't try that scenario ever again."

You patiently waited, wrapped in a towel, for Adam to bring back your stuff, and you didn't feel any bit guilty for it.

He made it back less than 20 minutes, as you saw a glimpse of him jogging down the hill with your bag around him.

"Here you go, my lady" he passed you your bag, out of breath.

"Thank you, kind sir." you slipped on a sun dress you packed away.

After a few minutes of readjusting, you were on your way back to the mainland. Just in time as golden hour was setting in. The cool breeze felt calming after that rush. The breeze slowed down as the boat came to a slow stop.

"What's wrong?" you asked Adam, assuming the worst, if you two were now stranded right between two land markings.

"Just wanted to stop for a bit to enjoy the sunset on the water," He made his way over the rear of the boat with the cushioned seats. You followed his actions, taking a seat next to him; your torsos turned to the vast water. It was nature's silence filled with the calm waves splashing against the boat. Both of you sat there in shared existence, wishing the moment could last longer than it would end.

Adam turned his head to look at you, he noticed how the sun lit up your warm skin tone perfectly. How the golden hour made your hair shine. He couldn't describe it more awkwardly by saying, "You look shiny."

You furrowed your brows with a smirk on your face, "shiny?" you questioned as you looked at him,

"I mean you're glowing." he stumbled over his vocabulary as he wanted to smack himself,

"Glowing?" you poked fun at him crumbling right before your eyes.

"Ugh the sun is hitting your face perfectly. You look good." he said tired of his attempts to simply compliment a girl.

You reiterated plainly as possible, "I look good." ensuing him to groan in embarrassment, covering his face with his hands.

You nudge his shoulder laughing at his embarrassment, "You're adorable," you whisper.

You sat there, hugging your knees, laying your head on them as you admired the boy who has made this trip more special than you could have possibly imagined.

He turned to look at you only to be met with your intimidating gaze, but he held it as he realized for the past 48 hours, his mind has been flooded of you and only you.

As he held your shared gaze, you lifted your head, straightening your posture expecting him to lean forward. Although he considers it, he turns away and clears his throat, "We should head back before it gets dark."

He leaves you sitting at the back of the boat to start the engine. You could have sworn something was happening but didn't think twice of it. You pulled out your journal and began to start a new entry for the unexpectedly thrilling day.

Adam, now seated behind the helm, peered back at you as he started to drive off. He put his sunglasses back on as he shook his head at himself, stupid, he whispered to himself.

--- Day Three ---

The evening of the boat was two days ago. And in the habit of texting, sending voice messages, and calling whenever possible Adam had said his family were insistent on the plans they made beforehand so he couldn't meet you often as he wanted. With unfortunate timing, today was your last full day in Italy, tomorrow morning you will be on a flight back home.

You spent half the day to yourself checking things off your bucket list and trying all the cafes social media influencers suggested. When Adam texted you he was finally available, you told him you wanted to shop at a local market to buy some souvenirs. In less than half an hour he was able to meet you there, props to his running skills.

He found you admiring the gold necklaces at one stand, chatting with the vendor. He admired how bright your face lit up as you laughed, even with blacked-out shades on that made you look so, in the nicest way possible, unapproachable.

He stayed away for a bit to catch his breath. He found himself always running for you, but he would never complain. As he slowed his breath he found a site that he never thought would bother him as much as it did.

He felt his body freeze and go numb as he saw that famous smile of yours show because of a young man. He had dark, almost black hair and was slightly taller than Adam. He saw how he took the necklace you were looking at from your hands and positioned it around your neck. There was a small mirror hanged up and the man guided you to turn towards it to get a better look.

He saw your reflection as you nodded to whatever he was saying. Adam felt his jaw clenching as he saw the man move your hair off your shoulder to help you better.

As the vendor's son was trying to convince you the necklace was perfect for you, your eyes caught Adam in the reflection behind you. You turned to the overly kind man and thanked him but declined his offer for now.

You lightly jogged towards Adam and noticed his stoic expression, "Hey stranger, haven't seen you in a while," It was like he didn't even noticed you ran up to him, his gaze was still stuck on the tall dark haired man.

You placed your shades on your head, "Hello?" you grabbed his left hand to sway it side to side. Your touch is what finally made him acknowledge your presence.

"I don’t see you for two days and you’re already trying to replace me with another Italian?" he sounded so literal but he was joking, kind of.

You noticed how he looked down at you with an ever so slight pout. So you couldn't help to tease him, "Don't kid yourself Fantilli, you're from Nobleton, not Tuscany." you kept fidgeting with his hand,

His jaw dropped just a bit before he pulled his hand away after that comment, "So I'm not Italian enough for you?" he scoffed.

"No I guess not" you say in a sad voice with a pouty lip before grinning,

He crossed his arms across his chest, "I could easily use my Italian skills to get you half the price of whatever jewelry you want."

"Wait you're Italian? You haven't said so at all!?" you replied sarcastically to how many times you've heard the word Italian in a conversation.

He rolled his eyes, making you giggle, as he took two steps to walk away. You stopped him with your hand on his chest to bring him back in front of you,

"I'm just messing with you Adam, I mean your last name speaks for itself does it not?" you smiled up at him hoping you didn't actually hurt his feelings.

"You're a bully." he muttered as he looked at the general view of the market, avoiding your eyes.

"Hmm, I don't think so. But if you say so!" You interlocked your hand with his, "C'mon I really want that necklace and like you said I could use your useful Italian skills." you enunciated the overused word,

"You can get a similar necklace from another vendor." Adam stated as he led the way to another jewelry vendor, "They all sale the same products anyway." he muttered in annoyance at how he couldn't stay mad at you long.

With his help, Adam suggested and was kind enough to buy another a piece of jewelry you were eyeing. And of course he helped you to wear it as soon as you bought it. After more window shopping, you headed to have your final dinner in Italy. It was also the final shared dinner with Adam, but it was fulfilling. As you took advantage of consuming alcohol in a foreign country, conversation flowed with curiosity as you and Adam learned more about each other and life back home. Even if both of your homes were far away from each other.

“I’m gonna miss authentic strawberry gelato,” you licked your lips as you and Adam walked to the outskirts of the nearest beach. You suggested to stargaze on the beach after dinner.

“You have me to thank for that.” He bolstered himself as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you finally met sand.

As you walked a bit further to find the perfect spot to lay down, you plopped yourself to the ground, pulling on Adam’s arm with you. As you laid back you saw the twinkling stars spinning, most likely from the wine.

Adam laid down right next to you and admired the same stars, his stars not spinning as much.

“This is nice,” he whispered over the soft waves,

“This is perfect.” you whispered back,

Your left hand hesitantly searched for Adam’s and once you found it, he instantly interlocked his fingers with yours. He fidgeted with one of the rings he bought you a few hours earlier.

After the shared moment with the ocean as ambient noise, Adam sat up, making you copy him.

“Should we take a final swim?” He asked as he looked ahead at the moon reflected water,

“I don’t have a swimsuit under my dress,” you practically replied,

“So?” he said confidently,

“What are you insinuating, Fantilli?” you started to giggle, some fault at the alcohol.

“C’mon,” he stood up and he helped you up to stand. He walked closer to the water and started to take off his shirt.

“Are serious?” you sobered up quick as you fixated on his back muscles, “the water is going to be freezing!” He continued to take off his shorts, “you might want to turn around,” he offered and he stripped completely naked.

You quickly covered your eyes and shrieked at him for his boldness, “Adam what the hell are you doing!?” You heard him laugh and heard the calm water being disturbed before he shouted from the cold.

Assuming it was safe to look, you saw him floating upright in the dark water,

“Is it cold?” You whispered-yelled, afraid of someone seeing you two but it was late at night and the streets were practically empty.

“It’s alright.” He said through chattering teeth.

“Your turn.” He yelled back from the water,

“You’re insane! I’m not stripping naked!” you crossed your arms as the chilly breeze gave you goosebumps.

“Oh c’mon it’s your last night here, you have to do something insane like skinny dipping!”

You stood there contemplating. If you were going to be honest, you really did want to. You were just afraid of someone catching you two.

“You’ll regret if you don’t.” he broke your silence,

“Turn around!” You caught a glimpse of him smiling before turning around and covering his eyes. You did a final scope of the area and swiftly took of your dress and underwear. You slowly stepped into the freezing water, which felt like torture.

“It’s fucking freezing,” you nudged Adam’s shoulder as he finally turned around.

He smiled very mischievously, “What?” you nervously chuckled

“We’re both entirely naked, yet we can’t see each other because it’s so dark out.” His smile turned into a smirk.

You rolled your eyes and splashed him, not too hard because you were still afraid of being too loud. But that was hopeless as Adam splashed you back harder, ensuing part two of the water fight from the first day.

“Adam stop!” you tried to grab his hands from making any more noise. He finally put his hands down stifling his laughter at your nerves.

“We’re definitely gonna get caught with your loud ass,” you flicked water at him for the final time.

“No we’re not.” he whispered back as he flicked water at you for the final time too.

You stared at him wondering how he’s not at all worried as you are. He stared at you finding how adorable your concern was. The more you stared into his eyes and examining his face, you realized he was doing the exact same thing.

“Why are you staring at me?” you scoffed at his gaze,

“You were staring at me first.” he said matter of factly

“No I wasn’t.” you scoffed again.

Besides the water slightly rippling from trying to stay afloat, something change. You were no longer cold, as you felt heat rush to your cheeks. You noticed how shallow your breathing and how it matched to Adam’s.

Adam felt the change too. He felt his heart racing, he could hear his blood pumping through his ears. His eyes wandered over your face and looked down at your lips.

He slightly cocked his head as he leaned forward, almost immediately you reciprocated as you two slowly kissed in the ocean. Before your lips could savor his touch, your mind pulled you away from him.

“Sorry,” he quickly apologized as soon as he felt your lips disconnected from his.

“No it’s okay. I just wasn’t prepared.” you tried to cool your warm cheeks with the saltwater but it didn’t help. “I didn’t think I was going to kiss you tonight.” you admitted.

“Really? Because I’ve been thinking about it non stop since we were on the boat.” He confessed as he tried to cool the back of his neck with the surrounding water, it didn’t work either.

“Yeah- I mean- I thought about that moment on the boat too. I guess I wasn’t sure if you were going to kiss me or not.”

“I wanted too. I really did, I was just second guessing myself, so I didn’t.” he trailed off his sentence as honesty poured out from the both of you.

Both of you floated there in silence which made you giggle. Before Adam could question you, you pulled him closer for another, longer and sensual, kiss. Neither of you pulling away but each others lips melting into one another’s.

You felt his lips smile making you reciprocate but your paranoia was getting to you again as things were escalating in the water. So when you pulled away to see if anyone was nearby, Adam’s forehead bumped into your nose as he followed your lips for another kiss.

“Ow” you said simultaneously. Both of you laughed it off, Adam cutting off your laughter with multiple swift kisses.

You put a hand on his chest to stop him, “Okay lover boy, let’s get out of here before I wrinkle like a raisin.”

You got out first to dress and Adam followed second. As soon as you both got dressed, he pulled you into another kiss on the beach, making smile into the kiss, again.

He walked you back to your hotel, holding hands of course. Both of you, but Adam especially, were acting delirious. A teenage summer romance in Italy, it couldn’t be anymore perfect.

You dreadfully reached the outside of your building, signaling the end of this night and trip. You turned to Adam for the final time that night, “I’m leaving tomorrow.” You whispered as you wrapped your arms around him as you gazed up at him.

“I’m aware.” He snaked his arms around you.

“It just had to be the last hour we have together for you to kiss me.” You placed the blame on him for not speeding up the process.

“Trust me I’ve been beating myself up since our boating day.” He titled his head back in frustration.

Although the moment was bitter sweet you were elated to get to know Adam, spend your trip with him, and to fall for him.

“Adam, it’s late. I should head in, I still have to pack.” you picked at his chain around his neck.

“Right.” he hoarsely whispered. For a second he had forgotten that the sun would rise again and you would leave to go back home.

“Adam?” you softly held the side of his face to make him to look at you,

“Hm?” he softly responded,

“Will you see me out tomorrow morning? A taxi will be picking me up right here. Can we say goodbye then?”

He fondly smiles as he nods into your hand. You move your hand to the back of his neck. Steadying yourself onto your tip toes to pull him into a kiss. You pulled away first, like always. You whispered, “I’ll see you in the morning.” you took one more look at him for the night and walked inside.

Adam’s long walk back to his bed felt short as he relived the night. The smell your perfume on him. The feel your touch on his lips. He didn’t think of the goodbye. He only thought that he would see you again tomorrow.

--- Final Minutes ---

You regretted booking such an early flight. Too early to have a final Italian breakfast. You would have something at the airport, you thought as you heard your stomach growl.

You messaged Adam last night right after you headed inside what time to meet you, wincing at how early the time would be.

Now you were waiting, in the lobby with your bags, for the taxi to pull up. You checked your phone noticing Adam hadn’t texted you since last night’s meeting time confirmation.

You started to feel a knot in your stomach. Even after what happened last night, hell the whole trip: you second guessed Adam’s intentions. What if he slept in? Or worse, he didn’t show up at all? You were hoping neither.

You saw a taxi pull up front the glass windows of the lobby and stood up with shaky knees because Adam still hadn’t arrived.

As you walked outside, looking around to find him running like you always found him, you didn’t see him. You sighed as you confirmed the taxi was indeed for you. You popped the trunk as you struggled to place your luggage inside. You took one more panoramic glance and opened the back seat door.

“Wait!” you heard someone faintly yell and you knew it was him.

You saw him run up the hilly street, the same road you two walked up last night from the beach. You shook your head as he struggled to sprint up the road. As he neared, you told the driver to wait a few a minutes.

You crossed your arms and leaned back on the cars rear, visibly judging Adam’s tardiness.

“I’m so sorry. I kind of slept in, I got home late last night, but that’s no excuse. Sorry. But you’re still here and now I’m here!” He rambled on showing clear remorse, which only made you grin.

“For a second Fantilli, I thought I imagined everything that happened last night.” you softly laughed off your worries now that his presence proved otherwise.

“Everything that happened last night was very real to me.” He stated its importance of the previous late night.

“And now it’s all coming to an end.” You stood up straight, never losing his eye contact.

“Maybe it’s the end of us in Italy, but it could be more back in the states?” he ended his sentence with hope making you smile, yet again.

“If you wanna say something Fantilli, now’s your chance.” you softly chuckled at his still timid self.

“Will I see you again?” He tucked both of his hands into his pockets, nervous for your response.

“Maybe, who knows?” you shrugged your shoulders sarcastically, “Maybe I’ll see you in Ohio.” you smiled fondly at him,

“Or LA.” he replies as he remembers your first ever conversation.

“Or LA.” you repeated softly.

There was a melancholy silence shared between you two that was quickly interrupted with the taxi drivers loud horn, making both of you jump.

As you admired Adam’s laugh and smile for the last time, you pulled him in for a goodbye kiss. He quickly melted into you, his hands finding your hip and face. This kiss lasting the longest, it was Adam who pulled away first, only inches from your face as he rests his forehead against yours.

“I’ll see you whenever and wherever, Fantilli.” you whispered to him. You titled your head back to give him a soft kiss.

“Goodbye Adam.”

“Goodbye y/n.”

Adam stood there body warm and sweaty from his run but also how naturally you made him felt. He stared at your taxi driving off. As he went to turn around he saw your head pop out the window, dramatically sending him an air kiss. He laughs at your behavior, indulging your antics by dramatically catching it.

As he saw your head pop back into the car he felt his phone buzz. A text message from no one other than you, reading:

Save that kiss, it’ll be a while before I can kiss you again.

[chibigo-ma]

Preview of ❝The Little Human Experiment❞ [Legoshi]

Summary: Misaki was just your typical teenage girl living in Japan, but not in the eyes of her society. She's a human in a life where animals live and think like "humans" in our society. She is now brought in as an experiment for her new life outside her facility to see if humans can co-exist with different other species. A certain wolf gets quite attached to our human friend as he is tasked to protect her.

Edit (13.07.2024): Man... after two months of being inactive... AhhCHOO 🫴 WATTPAD STORY LINK | AO3 STORY LINK I can't believe I didn't share a link..............

"Going already?" Mei asked as Misaki grabbed her bag. "Yeah, I have to go over there now to facilitate the choreography for the Light Ceremony," Misaki said as she patted Haru's head. "Get back soon!" Haru waved at her human friend before she left.

Misaki opened her phone to text Shiela that she would go to the clubroom as soon as she walked down the stairs. As she made her way to the clubroom though, she witnessed Juno carrying a sloth to the restroom. "Misaki-senpai!" Juno greeted with a smile as she placed the sloth down. "Ah, hello, Juno. Late for rehearsal?" Misaki asked as they walked to the clubroom together. 

"Yeah, I am. I apologize. Are you late too, Misaki-senpai?" Juno asked as Misaki texted Shiela once again that Juno was with her. "Not really. I come in and out of the clubroom as I have two clubs to deal with," she shared. "Woah, really? You must be very busy then. It's still remarkable as you're still the assistant head," Juno had great admiration for the human as she clung to her.

"Assistant director, but still the same," Misaki corrected as she opened the door. "Sorry, I'm late!" Juno announces her arrival while still holding onto Misaki. Misaki raised an eyebrow as she noticed how tense the room was until they came in the room. The majority of the members went up to the two.

"Come on, Juno! You're supposed to text Sheila-senpai when you're late," Els informed the first-year. "She was carrying a sloth to the restroom, so her hands were occupied. It was very kind of you, Juno," Misaki acknowledges Juno's willingness. "Why, thank you, Misaki-senpai!" Juno was happy with Misaki's compliment. 

"I've also made sure that Shiela got the memo and to not get you in trouble, so no need to worry," Misaki shared as everyone was wow-ed by Misaki's consideration. "But it doesn't excuse me for being late, so I want to clean the training hall after school. Sorry, Louis-senpai," Juno apologized as she bowed. 

"Oh, Legoshi-senpai!" Juno called out to the gray wolf. "I saw the dinosaur in the plaza. It was really pretty. The stage crew is doing their best, so we actors are going to do our best with our dancing practice. We're very inspired!" Juno smiled widely and only had her eyes on him. "...Mm, good, good," Legoshi doesn't seem affected by Juno's comment. 

"Yeah, you guys did great. Seeing as it's also my first time seeing it, I'm proud of each one of you. I'll be sure to take pictures of all of them when they're finished," Misaki smirked and showed that her lock screen was now the T-Rex Statue they painted, making sure she looked everyone in the eye. 

"Aww, Misaki!" Dom looked flattered. "I'm happy it exceeded your expectations!" Kibi smiled as everyone in the creatives team was appreciative of Misaki's honest remark. "Ah, speaking of, Misaki," Shiela walked up to the human and dragged her towards Louis. "We have some sudden news to share with you," she shared as Louis glared at the cheetah due to her comment before. 

"Yes, Sanu suggested that you'll be our main dancer," Louis mentioned and Misaki was shocked. "What!? What do you mean? I'll be at the front?" Misaki covered her mouth with her hand. "One of our dancers won't be available for the festival and you know the dances well. So, they made Juno be back up and you in the center since you know the dance very well," he shared.

"There's only two days left though," she looked worried. "You'll do fine, you the entire dance anyway," Louis was confident. "Did... did Tarok tell you that I'll be revealed too? Is that why you weren't opposed to it?" Misaki asked. 

"Yes, he did tell me. I asked his permission for the dance and he's fine with it. You won't be wearing that get-up anymore," Louis smirked and Misaki sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll do it. I'll text Haru that I have a big role here so they won't have to worry about my whereabouts," Misaki shared as she went to grab her phone to text her. 

"We'll do a quick fitting with you. I'm sure they'll just readjust one of the existing outfits," Louis told her as Misaki was ready to walk away. "I'll let Legoshi know," Louis smirked upon seeing Misaki frozen in place. He chuckled and patted her back and walked away from her to talk to Legoshi. She quickly ran to the changing room and walked out wearing her PE Uniform. 

"Woah, you do have fur in your legs," Juno wondered as she gave a close inspection of Misaki's legs. "They're called Hair for humans. Despite it being short and thin, they make sure they regulate our body temperature and keep dirt away such as my lashes here," Misaki pointed her eyes to let Juno get a closer look. 

"Woah, they're so tiny," Juno giggled. As everyone was talking to Misaki and was excited to see her fully perform on stage, Legoshi kept his eyes only on her. He looked up and down her figure as he felt aroused by her appearance. 

"Stop eye fucking, my sister." Legoshi snapped out of it and shrank away as Louis glared at him. Louis was most annoyed upon seeing Legoshi's wagging tail when Misaki came into the room. "Sister?" Legoshi questioned. "She's like a sister to me, so don't go hurting her," Louis crossed his arms as it would seem that he was finally open for Misaki to be together with Legoshi. 

"So whatever happened before they came in was a misunderstanding on your part," Louis pointed out. "You got the tape measure ready?" Louis asked. 

"Oh, yeah, I do," Legoshi went to pull it out, "Fix your problem first," Louis interrupted and he walked away. "Problem?" Legoshi questioned. He looked down to see a tent in his pants. He panics and quickly runs to the restroom. He could not believe he just had a hard-on. It embarrassed him more to notice his tail wagging faster than ever. He really wants to disappear.

"Where's Legoshi?" Misaki asked after she got away from the questioning members. "He went to the restroom real quick. Dom will be measuring you instead," Louis informed her as he tried hiding his laughter, which Misaki noticed but she didn't question it. She would truly have a heart attack if she knew that she had such an effect on Legoshi.

[tobiasdrake]

How strong (in the manga) is Shin/East Supreme Kai? I remember hearing something about him or someone else stating he could have killed Frieza in a single attack, but I'm not sure if that's canon. As a side note, what led me to this was thinking about the Buu arc, and how it's interesting how (from what I know) the a big part of the first part of it is the gods (Shin and Kibito) realizing that Goku, Vegeta, and co. are far, far stronger than even Shin - the literal highest divine entity (according to canon at the time) in the universe. It acknowledges and points out how freakishly strong the protagonists have gotten, which I find interesting seeing as that's a common criticism I feel of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Super - but here it is being pointed out as a big part of the story of the original manga!

Sorry it took me a bit to respond to this; Haven't done one of these in a while.

You remember correctly.

All five Kaioshins are so strong that they could oneshot Frieza. We only have East Kaioshin's word for that, but Frieza is kind of a big deal and well known among the gods.

Battle of Gods goes on to assert that even Beerus knows Frieza by name. As Strongest in the Universe by an unbelievable margin and head of Genocide Incorporated, he's important enough to ping all of the celestial radars. Everyone who is anyone in the heavenly realms has got eyes on him.

So I can believe Kaioshin when he makes this assessment. I don't think he's talking out of his ass.

Additionally, knowledge of his role as Kaioshin intimidates Piccolo into standing down.

Piccolo is so intimidated by the realization of Kaioshin's identity that he forfeits their match right at the outset.

This, however, is an ambiguous moment. Kaioshin's been keeping his ki to himself, so to speak. Prior to this match, he hadn't shown a hint of his power. Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo could all tell that there was something about him, but no one knew what.

Piccolo wasn't reacting to the size of Kaioshin's ki signature here. He didn't sense Kaioshin's power and go "OH MY GOD HE'S SO STRONG."

Piccolo freaks out about Kaioshin's identity. He realizes that this man is so high up on the celestial hierarchy, and he doesn't dare. He's basically having an attack of propriety.

In fact, he's actually mistaken about who Kaioshin is. He's got the wrong guy.

He quit the fight because he thinks Shin is secretly this guy.

Daikaio, the Great World-King, or Grand Kai in the anime dub. That's who Piccolo thought he was scurrying away in intimidation of. Even right there in the ring, he had no idea who Shin truly was.

So we can't really make an assessment of how Piccolo compares to Kaioshin in fighting strength based on that. Piccolo forfeit due to presumptions of Kaioshin's Daikaio's reputation and cosmic importance.

When in actuality Kaioshin is a super-secret ultra-class of god whose existence is merely fabled even among gods.

That's why Piccolo thought he was Daikaio. Kaioshin is not supposed to be a real thing that exists.

This is all setup for when the other shoe drops: The revelation that actually we mere mortals left Kaioshin in the dust a ways back, and nobody - neither him nor us - initially realizes it.

Earth has gotten fucking weird in ways Kaioshin couldn't fathom. He was expecting Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan to back him up and be his sidekicks. He sorely underestimated them.

Goku compares Dabra to Cell, which gives us a bit of a yardstick to work with for Kaioshin. Because Kaioshin is freaked out by Dabra.

Kaioshin's reaction to seeing a Cell-tier force on the field is "Oh wow, we are fucked."

An assessment that Dabra agrees with.

In fact, when push comes to shove and Kaioshin does get the chance to fight Dabra, he decides he'll take the weaker foe, thank you very much.

Despite their differences, Kaioshin and Dabra are in agreement on one point: Kaioshin could not have won the Cell Games.

This is not proof of weakness on his part but proof of incredible strength on the others' parts, however. To put this in perspective, let's remember that Frieza was the most powerful mortal in the universe by a factor of 1000x over the second-most. It took a freak 1-in-a-trillion mutation to make him that strong, and that's beyond the other freak 1-in-a-trillion mutations.

Cell, meanwhile is a fart on the winds of time. On the cosmic scale, he was barely a blink of an eye. He existed for four years on one planet where he accomplished nothing of note and then died. He was a big deal to that one trash-tier scrub world but nobody outside of Earth has ever heard of him.

That this nobody Earthling who did nothing and died immediately was so unbelievably powerful that he dwarfed even Frieza - and pushed others of that world to become unbelievably powerful too - is a weird footnote in the history of the universe.

So we get this odd dynamic where Frieza is the yardstick by which Kaioshin measures mortal strength.

Literally name-dropping Frieza to try and convey to Vegeta just how powerful Buu is, as if that's a name we're still meant to be impressed by.

But Cell is the yardstick that Hipster Goku uses.

"Yeah, I'm over Frieza. I'm really into this new guy called Cell. He's pretty obscure; You've probably never heard of him."

So that's where Kaioshin lies, and the crux of the bitter irony at the start of the Buu arc. By mortal standards, Kaioshin should be beyond anything they could possibly imagine. And Dabra is terrifying beyond even him.

But here on Earth we had this little thing called the Cell Games where we had to fight a dude that was in Dabra's league so we got fucking jacked. And then kept going afterward and got even more jacked.

The result is a god who is unfathamable by mortal standards, yet thoroughly outclassed by these specific mortals and their exceptional circumstances.

[ashistired37]

Yes the nap was refreshing. Let's talk about what I think is going on with Erin!

So. Spoilers for 2-2-32!

sorry most of this is based on speculation but that's the fun of this! If you disagree or think there's something I missed I will very gladly read through it! I love theories even if they aren't mine feel free to share yours <3

Okay so I literally wrote a draft of my theory the night before so I'll summarise it.

Basically I think what's going on with Erin- atleast subconsciously is tied to the backstory theory I cooked up.

I think his soul was either very prone to elemental corruption or the elements were just too much for him to control.

I think maybe using one element like we've mostly seen him do was alright but using it for too long would cause problems. So using them would usually lead to him being bedridden or sick in some way.

Because of this he probably felt powerless in a way. Sure he could use all the elements but he can't do anything meaningful with them without injuring himself (or others depending on how out of control his powers were before the magic tats/seals)

I mean obviously he felt helpless when it comes to helping Tess. He was a child what could he say to his father to get through to him? We don't know much about his parents but from what we know his father was definitely a douche. We know Erin and Tess seem to like/respect their mother and she was probably a Soul mage but that's about it

I think the line about holding him back just meant Tess would TRY to stop him from overworking himself which probably came before the seals. Maybe he kept trying to make his magic work despite knowing how much of a toll it takes or even after he got the tattoos he probably wanted to feel useful now that he could actually use his powers safely. He had to.

This is why I think he's a good person to parallel Kendal. They're both trying to justify their existence by doing.

Kendal with saving Vash.

And Erin by solving problems.

Is it fair to him to assume he can do all that? No. This whole thing really reminds me of the first episode of I think justice league?

I know it was a DC animated show- where in the first episode they assign superman to protect the whole world and when people protest saying he doesn't have enough hands for that he reassures them he will take care of it.

Erin's kinda like Superman in this case- oh wow I never thought I'd say that. But you understand why I draw the comparison. They're both insanely powerful and taking on way more than they can in these instances.

Now I know I mostly used 2-2-30 and 31 but I had to use them so we can get to the 32 stuff.

Him saying no one can help him and that it always comes back yo him to carry the weight because nobody can catch him if he falls as hubouris it sounds it's also. Really fucking sad.

I think he probably had a lot of instances where people expected him to fix things because of how much power he has (probably his father or even fellow students of The academy but that's just a guess) so he internalised it.

"But Atlas didn't you say he probably feels like this because he feels the need to justify his existence so he doesn't feel as helpless?" yes. Because I think it's both. Things mixed together to create the awful storm that is Erin mc hubris pants.

On another tragic note he's been one of the core members for so long. Since like chapter 4-5. This guy has fought with atleast Alinua and Kendal for AWHILE now. He knows they can help but the one thing they can't help him get rid of or solve?

The dragon.

He's right. He's absolutely right but that's only if you think about directly helping. By directly getting rid of it. If you think about helping him more indirectly so he can get the help he needs? They've been doing that since they met him!

Obviously he's not thinking completely rationally if he was more level headed he could probably acknowledge this but I NEEDED to mention this.

I might add to this sometime but I am exhausted I'll see you after ANOTHER nap

[lassieposting]

I think in KoS duology Nikolai actually mentions that Vasily tried to poison him once.

The discord mentioned this to me when I came up with that theory! Apparently Niko was twelve.

Ngl, I'm wheezing at the idea that this was at a dinner Aleksander was actually present for. And Nikolai bribed Vasily to swap seats so he could sit beside his crush, which Vasily allowed because like. Sure. Drop dead wherever you like, lil bro. The Black General scares the shit out of him anyway.

In Niko's head, he wows General Kirigan with his wit and charm and extensive knowledge of many things. In reality, Kirigan spends 95% of the time talking to Pyotr, and only really acknowledges Nikolai to ask how his lessons are going and whether he's thought about what he wants to do for his military service - infantry? Cavalry? Artillery?

At some point, still focused on talking to the Tsar, Kirigan reaches out without looking and picks up Nikolai's wine glass by accident. When he notices, he makes a face at the taste, laughs it off and makes a joke out of it - terribly sorry, moi tsarevich, I appear to have stolen your drink...more of a whiskey man myself - and has a servant get Niko a fresh glass, no biggie. Vasily, sat opposite, goes rather quiet and slightly pale the rest of the dinner, but Nikolai isn't really focusing on his brother.

The next time he sees Kirigan, a couple days later, he looks like he's been a bit unwell, and that's exactly what he tells Niko - just a little under the weather, moi tsarevich, nothing I can't handle - but unlike Vasily, Nikolai likes to read. He knows Grisha aren't supposed to be able to get sick. He's a smart kid, and he figures out that Kirigan's 'sick' because his body's fighting off poison, and since the rest of the dinner guests are fine and dandy, it was his glass that was spiked, not the wine. Process of elimination leads him to suspect his brother, but he has no proof, so again, best to say nothing.

He doesn't bring it up with Kirigan at that point, because they absolutely do not have that kind of relationship. It's not until many years later that he asks whether Aleksander knew there was something wrong with Niko's glass at that dinner.

"I didn't know," Aleksander tells him, sprawled out like a housecat with his head in Nikolai's lap, "Not until I tasted it. But I suspected."

"I didn't. What gave it away?"

"Vasily. As soon as that wine was brought out, he couldn't take his eyes off you. He was waiting for something. It was cyanide, you know. Vicious little bastard, your brother."

Niko flounders a little, his fingers stilling in Aleksander's hair. "But you barely noticed I existed back then. Why risk your life for me?"

Aleksander quirks an eyebrow at him. "Oh please, sobachka. Poison enough to kill a scrawny otkazat'sya boy will hardly have the same effect on an adult grisha. Besides, while I certainly understand the impulse to poison one's relatives - do not give me that look, you met my mother - I draw the line at doing it at the dinner table."

Nikolai can't help himself. He laughs.

[yanderes-galore]

Platonic older sibling of Cartman that is his opposite that tries to teach him to be a better person concept? Thanks!

Honestly, I was excited for this as it would be such a shitshow. Pardon my language but if you're reading my stuff you're atleast 16 anyways. This concept bounces between younger you and Cartman and older you and Cartman, for sibling stuff.

Note: Wow, I actually loved writing this- I wish I put more cute moments but I had to still acknowledge the fact Cartman is an ass. Probably one of my new favorite platonic concepts I did. I do not mind feedback!

Yandere! Platonic! Eric Cartman with Older Sibling! Darling

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Jealousy, Mature language, Platonic behavior, I actually made some cute moments, Family issues, Manipulation, Murder, Violence, Clingy behavior.

Your existence confuses many who meet your family immensely.

How did the first child come out fine, but the second child came out... Cartman?

It's speculated that it's because Cartman was never given proper discipline.

He's also very hard to control.

You're so nice to everyone, you help your mother, you don't try to exploit anyone.

Meanwhile Cartman does the opposite of all that and makes people eat their parents.

The only person he's really compassionate to is you.

You're were the only older kid he liked when he was younger.

He did hate that all of his friends liked you too.

"Why aren't you like your sibling, Cartman?"

"Shut the hell up!"

You look so different compared to him.

In your grade, in fact the entirety of you growing up, people were astonished you were related.

"Cartman? The little fat punk? You're related to him?"

You look like you don't get along.

Of course, your sibling relationship isn't perfect...

But you are probably one of the only ones he genuinely cares for.

There's times Cartman tries to not show he cares for you...

Yet he can't help but like your comfort.

If you're wondering... is he affectionate?

Yes... with lots of grumbling.

Cartman secretly does like your hugs and sibling bonding.

He just doesn't want anyone around to see it.

If he isn't trying to pester his friends into hanging out, he comes to you.

He's nervous asking due to his pride.

You do try to put him on the right path, feeling that's the right thing to do as a sibling.

He's a horrible person... yet he's still your brother.

You try to teach him good morals and respect...

He doesn't pick up on it.

He's only ever good to you.

He's always been a moody kid.

Yet there has been times when you were younger he was... softer for lack of a better word.

For example you were watching TV together after school, he feel asleep almost on you.

R.I.P your breathing.

It was... cute.

You didn't even bother bringing him up the stairs and instead just tucked him in there.

You do love him.

Even with you both being older, him being around 18 and you somwhere in your 20's, you still care for him deeply.

Cartman acts like he doesn't want a sibling.

Although he probably can't imagine his life without you.

Now... the yandere part?

Cartman is selfish and easily jealous.

He's still manipulative even to you.

You just know to shut him down.

Cartman doesn't want his friends talking about you.

God he'd be so fucking pissed if one of his friends complimented you.

Even more so if you started talking with someone like Scott Tenorman.

You mention that man's name?

Cartman is actually screeching about it.

Cartman is very protective/possessive about his older sibling.

Ever since he was young he clung to your leg in public if you were doing something.

Which felt like you were being weighed down.

Your mother thought how Cartman feels about you is sweet.

You may have no father but she's happy you have each other.

Obviously no kidnapping in this concept.

You live with each other and he finds that really weird to do to his sibling anyways?

Murder?

Oh, well, that's an exception.

If the whole feeding people their parents wasn't a warning... then that's on you.

He'd definitely threaten, manipulate, and possibly even injure/murder those he hates around you.

He does not fuck around. Ever.

You do not get to talk to Scott, you do not get to talk to Kyle.

He hates them... that would be the ultimate betrayal!

He gets pissy at you at times and you've learned just to tolerate it.

He's screaming at you and you're just petting Mr. Kitty.

He then runs off to his room.

Thirty minutes later?

He's whining for you to come and comfort him....

That was just when he was younger, too.

When you're both older he isn't much better.

He's still giving you hugs and hating who you hang around.

Due to your childhood he's probably still clingy.

Even when you have a job and move out, kissing your mom goodbye, Cartman throws the biggest fit ever.

You took forever leaving the house that day-

"Eric... I'll show you where I live, you can visit anytime."

"NO. YOU'RE ABANDONING ME. DON'T TRY TO ACT LIKE YOU AREN'T."

Will always be a child with his behavior.

Hell, to you he's always a child since you grew up together.

Yes... he does visit.

It just takes forever to get him to leave.

Have a spouse?

He's criticizing you and them just to be an ass.

If you yell at him to stop or you'll kick him out he goes silent for awhile.

Overall, Cartman is a very jealous sibling who hates to share.

He clings to you and does like how nice you were to him, trying to correct his ways despite failing.

He loves you and wishes you two didn't have to go seperate ways...

Unfortunately he'll always be a controlling brat even if you tried to change it, you just need to know when to shut him down.

[charmac]

random question but my friends and i were wondering: was glenn more attractive, less attractive, or just as as attractive as you expected when you met him? i’ve met celebrities that look a lot different irl than in pictures so we were curious

Good question. I think the very first thing I said upon laying eyes on Glenn was "oh my god, he's so beautiful," for which both @thetrolltolls and @macdenlover can vouch.

I think, in the moment, it was a huge blur of feeling anxious and sick and hyped up and excited and insane that the whole first meeting was crazy and I really didn't acknowledge a lot of *Glenn existing* in my mind as I did just, everything that was happening, but I did meet him again, and again, and again, and I can say: he is much more attractive in person.

And I don't know if I can say that's like a photo thing or an on camera thing or whatever, but just that seeing him, his *real* presence, interacting with him, holding a conversation with him, making him laugh, seeing him interact with other people, etc. just made him infinitely more attractive to me than ever before.

By the third time I had seen him in person, the night of the infamous video, I was so focused on just *capturing his presence* above all else. And it was impossible, honestly. I could not fully capture on my phone, in a camera, how beautiful this man was. Whack.

And same goes for Charlie, maybe ten-fold.

Okay, whatever, say I'm down bad, yes I'm answering this ask while tipsy, but I'm serious. He's. Wow. They're both, wow. I dunno, I dunno, man. They're just really like that. Beautiful. It's not capturable on camera, you can't fully understand it until you really see it.

[aihoshiino]

Since you haven't yet, could you please tell us your thoughts about the recent interview with Ai? After all, it seems to reveal a lot of interesting things about her.

For those who haven't read it yet, this is referring to the four-page in character interview with Ai that was published in the January 2024 issue of Da Vinci magazine!

Off the bat, it was really interesting to get such a direct and length look at Ai's public persona as it exists in OnK. Ironically enough, despite so much of the series being about people who are unable to get past her 'Ai of B-Komachi' mask, we actually don't get a ton of time spent with it as readers — we mostly see Ai in her private life, with Saitou, Miyako and the twins, where she is considerably more unfiltered and explicitly not on the job and we even get peeks directly into her POV from our perspective as out-of-universe observers. In fact, apart from the Da Vinci interview, the only other time we see Ai 'on the job' to this degree is a really quick exchange she has with a TV presenter just before her first post-hiatus performance. So it was really interesting to chew on!

The thing that stands out to me most from the interview is kind of a confirmation of something I've been saying for a long time — which is that Ai is a lot more honest than a lot of people (both in universe and in the fandom!) give her credit for. A lot of her answers are surprisingly frank and in line with what we know to be her true feelings and her more honest way of expressing herself elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, she's absolutely full of shit in plenty of spots here (EL OH EL ABOUT B-KOMACHI'S 'IRREPLACEABLE BOND') and her answers are still very polished and pretty, but there's a lot more of Ai herself here than I think even she herself would want to acknowledge.

This matches up with how Ai describes herself in 45510 — that, even though she's afraid of opening up, she does want people to know her as she really is and to accept her as such. It's interesting to see that expressed, even indirectly, through the interview like this.

It was also super cool to see a lot of my more incidental headcanons/personal interpretations confirmed! In particular, seeing Ai talk about Kana so warmly got me really excited. I'd always liked to imagine that she felt pretty fondly towards Kana and that she admired her hard work and dedication at such a young age so seeing Ai talking about her so effusively was really cute.

Less sweet was the confirmation that Ai's shitty home life in Ayumi's house stretched way back prior to Ayumi beginning to physically abuse her. Reading Ai calling herself a 'nasty brat' (almost definitely her mom's words) and then talking about her feeling so unwelcome at home that she'd sneak out of the house in the dead of night and wander around near the traintracks, daydreaming about being able to run away… it pains a really horrible image of what growing up in that house must have been like.

Speaking of parents, though… uh, wow, holy shit, Ai's dad! This is the only direct mention of him we've ever gotten and it definitely raises more questions than it answers. Prior to this, he'd been such a non-entity in Ai's life that I just kind of assumed he'd either passed away when she was very young or that he'd never been involved in her life — Ayumi is consistently referred to as her only parent to the point that, once she's out of the picture, Ai's only other option for stable family is, specifically, her mother's relatives. The idea of Ai being cared for by her dad or his side of the family is just never addressed as a possibility, so it's clear that past a certain point he was unable or unwilling to care for her.

The Da Vinci interview does imply she saw him occasionally — she describes their shopping trips as something that 'didn't happen often' — which supports the idea that he and Ayumi divorced or separated when Ai was quite young and he wasn't really involved in her life. It's honestly kind of depressing that he's the center of her happy childhood memory because like… man, it really says something about how abjectly unrelentingly dogshit her life was that "my dad sometimes took me to the grocery store" was happy enough in comparison to everything else in her life that she thought of it as a cherished memory.

Overall, the Da Vinci interview was a really nice surprise! We don't really get a lot of additional info about Ai from that time period specifically — a lot of the new reveals about her as a character tend to come from periods of her life prior to the timeline of the story, so getting a little extra peek into her final days really was a treat.

[haleigh-sloth]

I'm sorry for the vent but I had to get this off my chest.

One of the many things that are annoying me about the people complaining about "so-called critics" is that they're either hero stans, dudebros, shippers (esp B*D* shippers) or Bakugo stans. And the latter genuinely annoy me the most. Like yeah so sorry that your fav was saved through the efforts of pro heroes TWICE and even got an awe-inspiring comeback and got to Save his childhood hero™. Yeah you ofc don't care about the story and think we're just being bitter over nothing because AT LEAST YOUR FAV DID NOT MEET A TRAGIC AND MISERABLE END!!! The hero who we thought would die saving you was instead revealed to be doing fine! See he's even growing his limbs back! Ofc you think your fav did not murder a villain (who mind you was pleading for Afo to give back Tomura) because *gasp* my boi can do no wrong!! And even if he were killed so what? Kurogiri's dead anyway! No point in saving a corpse! Instead let's focus on how Deku never ever acknowledges Bakugo for dying twice for him (OH HOW DARE HE!!!)

I do think deku and bakugo might have a talk about this next chapter. Hopefully maybe.

It's insulting how they seem to think we're viewing this story from the perspective of "Western lens" which is utterly baffling and stupid?? Because not everyone is western and our criticism is from a story telling perspective (hello?? themes? narratives? they do exist ya know). We're not someone to disrespect Japanese culture because I guarantee you we're not like that. Like honestly if this story wasn't so insistent on the whole "saving the villains" then we wouldn't be upset. If the manga didn't have Deku say "OFA is a power meant for saving" then we wouldn't have been so hopeful for months (like at least I would've known not to expect anything happy).

Oof....nail on the head.

Also. Let's be clear. When people try to divide the fandom by saying "western" and "eastern", what they usually, typically mean is AMERICAN. Maybe Europeans are lumped in with "western" also (because most of them they're not eastern culture), but honestly the commentary I see is mostly catered toward Americans.

Which I'm not gonna tell people to not make fun of Americans because lmao. Fair.

But acting like Japan is this enigma of a country for having conservative-like values regarding family units and societal expectations and that nobody outside of it, especially on the western half of the hemisphere, can possibly relate to it is just stupid. Would like to remind that other cultures that are vastly different from the US and share a lot of similarities with eastern culture are on the western half of the globe, idiots.

Not gonna dwell on the details of east and west. This isn't a "east" vs "west" issue. Yes there are people who do not take cultural contexts into consideration, either through simply not being aware or not bothering to research/hear what the contexts might mean. I personally do try to do my best to read what might be normal for Japanese people in the situations portrayed in the manga so I'm not wondering wtf is going on or why.

Disliking this ending has nothing to do with disrespecting Japanese culture. Todorokis for example: sorry but abuse is abuse. Hating the ending the Todoroki siblings were portrayed having is completely fair. Doesn't matter where you're from. Where I feel people need to start understanding why Hori might do something differently, or just shut the fuck up otherwise, is how he handled Rei in regards to her relationship with Endeavor. And the kids toward Endeavor. But saying "damn, that finale is fucking depressing, none of them look happy, there was no emotional release or anything, just damn" is not saying "fuck Japanese culture!" Like lmao.

There were plenty of people explaining that MHA is commenting on aspects of Japanese culture. Explaining how. Also, MHA is not the only manga that does shit like that. I also don't think saying "Wow these character arcs that were strongly hinted at going one way falling flat on their faces and going straight to hell is really shitty writing choices" is saying anything in regards to Japanese culture.

Also insisting that anyone who wanted the villains to be saved is disrespecting Japanese culture or opinions or whatever....I would like to ask where the fuck they think these tropes come from. Naruto says hi. Among others. We're not pulling these ideas out of thin air. They exist, WITHIN THIS MEDIUM, already. And MHA heavily resembles Naruto as is. So yeah. Idk, I'm not really reading anybody's bitch fits about the critics because I don't care. If they're happy then good for them. I'm not, and I'm not gonna pretend to be. I'm not trying to convince anybody to be mad with me. I'm really trying to make my peace with the manga and tell myself it's fiction, I can draw an ending I want later when I have the energy and motivation. I'll learn to live with it. If anybody has an issue with that then, well, they can argue with a wall.

[fireemblems24]

Golden Wildfire Ch 9

Spoilers for GW up to Ch 9 below.

STORY

Edelgard makes no progress in the war. More news at 6.

Wow, 6 month time-skip. Part 1 finished. Didn't think we were getting another time-skip, but with Edelgard licking her wounds, it makes sense because no one tries to murder anyone when she stays in her own country.

"End of the Alliance" - sounds ominous.

Oh. It's now a Federation. Like Star Trek. But shady as fuck. Because Claude just crowned himself king so he could take more control. Weird how everyone just accepts this. It doesn't really fit the narrative that people don't trust Claude.

So . . . Edelgard's war actually made the Alliance less progressive 😅. Because now the Liecester is just a monarchy.

Claude didn't tell Shez, lamo. It really feels like these two aren't close at all. I feel like Shez is closest to Dimitri -> Edelgard -> Claude.

It would be nice if this was an Alliance focused part and not about Edelgard's nonsense anymore.

There's trouble in Alliance territory with areas that didn't want King Claude and they're rebelling. Honestly, don't blame them. Ohhh, they want to join Faerghus. They like King Dimitri better. Agreed.

This really is heading towards an Edelgard Claude team up, isn't it? With the people who don't want to bow to king Claude wanting to leave and join the Kingdom. Welp, at least it'll be different. And hey, Claude's funeral, not Dimitri's so what do I care? As long as it's interesting and different from VW.

Don't blame Claude for wanting to put down the unrest. Happy not everyone drank the Claude kool-aide. And don't blame anyone for wanting to leave the Alliance. It's kind of a no one is the bad guy here (except Edelgard), unlike with Dimitri with the Western Lords where they are definitely the bad guys.

I don't trust Claude farther than I can throw him though.

MAP/SIDE QUESTS

This "battle suggestions" is interesting, but it makes it seem like Shez is in charge of the whole army lol.

Can someone explain how the "merc whistle" works? It seems like you can take someone's special ability and give it Shez. But you could also equip it on someone else? So I could make someone else invulnerable like Lorenz if I gave it to him? But that person's "ability" goes away? Anyone have a list of what those abilities are exactly?

You can actually tell Claude you don't support his actions (or are unsure). Edelgard routes could never.

NPC says the minor lords now get no say in what happens.

Yep, here it goes. Claude's meeting with Edelgard to ally with her again. At least here Claude's calling out her shit on attacking them for no reason.

Edelgard is so two-faced, denying that her end goal is take over.

"We'll take tangible resources over insincere apologies any day." - Lamo, Claude, if you know she's a two-faced, insincere liar why on earth are you doing this?

I like this version of it better since at least Claude seems like he has two brain cells at least. In SB, he really came across like Edelgard's mindless bitch.

Now he's calling her out for creating her BS southern church lol. Holst called it an "obvious sham."

Arval said Edelgard wouldn't even acknowledge Shez's existence.

Shez is actually not supporting Claude's decisions in cannon.

See, this makes it WAY more interesting. SB/CF cram what you should think down your throat (SB less than CF, but still doing it), but GW is giving it more nuance.

I think I can say GW is by far my 2nd favorite right now.

Oh, another time limit one! I liked that in the paralogue.

Hurt having to fight the Kingdom again.

Judith also calls out Claude, saying he's talking about people's lives like they're just pieces on a chessboard.

Marianne and Ignatz are also upset.

"You let the Empire talk you into buying the whole store." - Judith

Claude claims he's using the Empire right back. I'd like to see how. Like, I think GW is a way more interesting take on this, but I'm honestly super confused why he thinks this is a good idea for the Alliance.

Lorenz also said he's throwing the Kingdom to the wolves for no reason.

Claude drags up ancient history as an excuse. Which is hysterical since recent history the Empire just killed Alliance people.

Seems like Claude just hates the church and that's why he's siding with Edelgard. Even though that leaves it really easy for her to take over and she said she would through non-military means later.

Claude is a complete dumbass here, but at least it's interesting.

Aww, Shez checked on Shamir, making sure she's ok fighting Catherine. This game really ships Shamir x Catherine and I'm here for it.

Shit. I missed Claude x Hilda's B Support. Did I miss something amazing? Does this mean I'll have to play GW again? Not sure I care enough. I like them both well enough and all, but I can really only see myself replaying AG. IDK, maybe one day.

Anyone else find it shady that Claude is killing any noble who doesn't want to follow his new system? I get it, but that's sus as hell. It's esp funny because the Empire is trying to smear Dimitri for taking out the Western lords (who all helped in a genocide), but their allies doing the same to not-evil people is fine.

CLAUDE & SHEZ B SUPPORT

This is going to be funny with how openly Shez isn't trusting Claude right now lol.

They're just talking about him being king and how Shez first suggested that the Alliance had a king.

Claude wants to open up to Shez because she doesn't have any strings attached.

Talking more about Shez's mystery mom who just died of illness. Then she got kicked out by everyone else. Wonder why?

SHEZ & HILDA B SUPPORT

Hilda still lecturing Shez on charging to the front lines, but thinks Shez is skilled enough to handle it.

Hilda compares it to Holst who also leads the charge, unlike most leaders who stay in the back.

Hilda doesn't think her brother is capable of dying because no one is good enough to kill him, and now thinks the same for Shez. No one told the poor woman about arrows.

Hilda now fights more up front but denies it.

Shez can tell Hilda her cheerleading annoys people, lamo.

Welp, that explains why she's ok with attacking innocent people and continuing war because rHeA bAd, because she's convinced herself the people she loves can't die. Ummm. Ok.

SHEZ & LORENZ A SUPPORT

I feel like Lorenz got flanderized a bit in this game. Like, there's not much to any of his supports so far but "I am noble, so I am better." I honestly don't care much about him, but he had more depth in Houses.

Shez expects Lorenz to complain more. But he's just her to brag about why he's grown stronger.

She can assume he did it to get the ladies lol.

But nope, of course not, it's because he's a noble and a noble is better than commoners than he needs to be stronger than her.

He wants Shez to get in trouble so he can rescue her. Ugh.

Shez says that Lorenz fulfilled his oath to get stronger bc Shez only does what she does bc she relies on allies.

That was really one-dimensional, and Lorenz was just unlikeable in it.

HOLST & BALTHUS A SUPPORT

Oh, Hilda's here. So they just squeezed her in his support with Holst to excuse giving her a support with Balthus.

Hilda is worried that Holst is acting weird and thinks Balthus might be behind it because they've been hanging out.

Hilda is convinced that Holst is uncurroptable because he only like things that are just. Balthus seems to hint otherwise.

Seems like Holst is DRUNK. Or just being cringy. Hilda's mad that Balthus set her up so Holst could listen in.

Hilda's embarrassed, understandably.

Holst calls Hilda his "hope." Yeah, I get why she's annoyed.

CLAUDE & LORENZ A SUPPORT

Lorenz points out that his family has always been friendly with the Empire, so this change is no big deal.

He accuses Claude of just copying his father.

He says House Gloucester should rule and not Claude, and says he will be the next king.

Claude accuses Lorenz of his ego being out of control.

Claude suggests letting the people of the Alliance pick the king. Lorenz thinks it's silly until he changes his mind.

Lorenz, rightly, points out that Claude's new position in precarious and its success or failure is on Claude.

Claude is a doo-doo bird though. He thinks that the Empire and King in Adrestia and Faerghus, respectively, are upheld because of "the Goddess's blessing" and not, you know, really complex stuff. Like, both Edelgard and Dimitri face getting thrown out in the two games over things that have NOTHING to do with religion.

That's weird, their support had a picture.

SHEZ & LYSITHEA B SUPPORT

Lysithea feels that their relationship is strained and wants to clear the air. Shez didn't even notice lol.

Shez is a pretty simple character, but I like it.

Oh, wow, Lysithea realized she acted like a brat and apologized. This self-awareness makes me like her a LOT better.

Aw, Shez is helping Lysithea feel mature and older. But then put her foot in her mouth when she referred to people under Lysithea's command as "real adults" lol. Lysithea struggled but kept her head!

Honestly, I like this a lot for Lysithea. Character flaws are great, but they're annoying as shit when they're not acknowledged properly (I still get flashbacks to her awful Ignatz support), but when they're used to show growth, that flaw is suddenly sooo much better.

SHEZ & LEONIE B SUPPORT

Leonie wants mercenary advice.

Lamo, Leonie thinks the bow isn't good enough to be a first-class mercenary. Homegirl's been watching too many movies and not reading enough military history. Mounted archers were unmatched.

So now they're just discussing over specialization vs versatilty.

It's kinda nice seeing Shez in a mentor role.

SHEZ & MARIANNE A SUPPORT

They go out to eat together. Marianne didn't eat her meat and Shez is concerned.

Marianne is now determined to believe she doesn't curse people around her.

Shez encouraged Marianne to just be herself, which Marianne wants but worries about her father.

Marianne accused Shez of talking without thinking and thought it was a good thing lol.

BALTHUS & LORENZ B SUPPORT

Lorenz absolved Balthus of his debts to House Gloucester.

Lorenz credits it to Balthus helping and saving Lorenz on the battlefield.

Lamo, I forgot that Balthus investigated Claude and claimed he found all kinds of dirty laundry.

Lorenz wants him to hold onto it so he can use it later to unseat Claude and take over the Alliance instead.

Balthus is upset Lorenz isn't a lady because he's impressed with him being a scoundrel lol.

MAIN BATTLE

Hahahaha lamo, the Knight of Serios are beating Edelgard's army, which has to be like 5x bigger.

Oh - led by Randolph, THAT explains it. Against Catherine? Pft. Catherine wouldn't even consider that a bout it's so one-sided.

Shez still doesn't understand what Claude's doing. I'm not the only one who thinks these two aren't even remotely close, right? I feel like Shez is way more invested in Edelgard and Dimitri, and like Claude's just some dude who hired her.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Claude legit just left Randolph to die, lamo.

I think we just killed Catherine :(

😂😂😂 Edelgard's forces got wiped out. Randolph is really the punching bag of Fodlan. They should've made it Dorothea or something if they wanted us to give a shit.

Yep, time for Claude to get chewed out. As if Randolph isn't foaming at the mouth to invade the Alliance in SB.

It's funny how offended everyone is. As if this didn't happen in real life all the time. I mean, they'd only be mad a noble died because you can make money taking them as hostage.

Is this evil!Claude, the route? Like because he was such a goody-goody in Houses? I still think it's funny it's always Randolph.

xxxxx

[trust-and-jump]

FANON batfam things to (dis)like

To like:

Tim Drake taking photos at night - you know what I'm talking about.

Lazarus Pit's influence as some intrusive thoughts.

Jason Todd being literature nerd.

Not mentioning Cassandra Cain's second "adventure" with Lady Shiva, because I love Cass and I'm happy for all the stories it didn't happen.

Not destroying Clocktower.

White streak in Jason Todd's hair (I know, I know, it was in some comics too, but I consider it as fanon thing because— the ones who read comics would probably understand (I hope) what I mean).

Cassandra getting her name even without Barbara Gordon naming her.

Bruce accepting Tim Drake as a son almost immediately.

To dislike:

Bruce accepting Tim Drake as a son almost immediately.

Cassandra Cain having no personality outside of her weird body-reading thing/outside of her being Batfam therapist (which is— just WHY???? She's the worst option for this! I love her but she can't be perfect and she has SO. MANY. PROBLEMS. She deserves better than being that!) Guys she will beat all the criminals up if it means she doesn't have to talk about feelings and all that. Besides, knowing the person's intentions or guessing emotions doesn't mean knowing how to talk through it or how to handle these emotions or how relationships between people 'should' or 'should not' work.

Assuming that she understands everything people say before she learns how to speak.

Not mentioning her problems with reading&writing and thinking she would learn ASL immediately (and MAYBE she would, in some stories, IDK, but I saw only one fic that actually discussed why ASL would be as difficult for her as other languages)

Fucking... autopsy scar. it should not exist.

"Replacement". It's a good thing, actually, I just don't like it.

Shiny Dick. (KDJDISKSOXBXJSKOSSLSS I LAUGHED AFTER I WROTE IT I WON'T CHANGE IT)

Jason slitting Tim's throat at the Titans Tower. I know it would be kinda poetic after THE BATARANG ™ but - no. I remember Jason/Clayface thing with Hush and I accept this canon but all I see at the Titans Tower fight is beating. I'm not even sure Jason wrote the note in blood, because guys, have you ever tried to write big letters with BLOOD? I DID. It's so fcking inconvenient. and takes too much time! and oh my god, even if Jason DID write it in Tim's blood, why slitting his throat? do you have any idea how ridiculously difficult the whole thing is? I think people just kinda confuse Tim-Jason situation at the Titans Tower and Tim-Jason situation with Hush. Because. Slitting throat thing. And they often forget about that Jason/Clayface thing with Hush. I forget it too, sometimes.

Lazarus Pit Madness as a form of mind control or something that excuses everything Jason did. And turning him to a different character.

Impulsive Jason Todd who has no control at all. like with the white streak - I mark it as a Fanon thing despite it being in comics. not because previous reasons but because. because retcon. fuck off. I mean, as Robin he could be, sometimes. But all Robins were like that sometimes. And they all still were professionals. Well. Can vigilantes be professional????? I don't think so but who knows.

Shiny Dick [2]. I won't apologise. (wow I just found out that apologise and apologize are both correct, just British and American variants. Cool!!)

Duke Thomas having half-existence. - would it hurt to actually choose if Duke exists in your story or not? he's an amazing character and it's better not to write him at all if he's a ghost here, my guy.

Weird Tim who worships Jason while getting beat up by him. Did you see how Tim's all sassy while fighting? NOT a deer with big eyes at all. ROBIN. He's Robin!

Not acknowledging what Damian al Ghul or Damian Wayne has been through. I get it, you like Tim and Damian's acting hostile makes you hostile towards him but— seriously?

Woobifying any character while completely changing personality. Dick, Tim and Jason are suffering the most from it. Damian is there sometimes too.

"Jason doesn't try to kill Bruce anymore". He never tried to kill Bruce except this one time in Lost Days where he decided not to do it after all.

Not acknowledging Jason Todd being a hypocrite.

guys do you remember Jason's dead eyes in Lost Days. literally the last glimpse of life in him was when he found out that Joker was alive. It's sad.

___

okay there's a lot more than that but I just can't remember anything else right now. And I'm not going to touch all the fandom's opinions on Bruce Wayne as a parent because it's even more meaningless.

___

sorry for bad English.

[growling]

Top 10 favourite narcissist moments

parasocial hatred. we never talked and I'm not sure you know I exist but I fucking hate you and hope the worst happens to you

getting so pissed over actual talented people that get like 50+ notes minimum for every art and endless praise from their 100+ followers every damn day whining about how much their art sucks and nobody appreciates them or whatever. like shut the fuck up do you just not know how good you have it or are you just fishing for attention. nevermind i have already decided which one and i decided i want you boiled in a pot

not being able to have a normal one without a constant string of supply aka attention and praise from everyone. every time someone talks to me or compliments my epic art skillz or acknowledges me in any way I get such a high I feel like a literal god and feeling giddy nonstop for the whole day, then it fades i start to feel a bit too ignored these past 2 days and a half and i just feel so empty and terrible and my world is destroyed and i need to hurt something now- oh someone said im cool again nevermind i have been fixed the universe is beautiful my future is bright mentally healthy people want me carnally

having a really fucked relationship with the concept of "unconditional love" everything is conditional what are you talking about. and "love" in general, when i say i'm loveless, whether romantically or platonically, i mean it. that doesn't mean i cannot get attached to people or care about them in some other way, no i am not going to explain it in detail right now

there is zero point in talking to anyone else or getting into any relationships because none of these people could ever be on my level. their thinking is so shallow and stupid and they all behave so predictably and enjoy the most nonsensical of things and it's like everyone just gets something that i don't and they're inferior in every way but it feels like they are out for me specifically because I'm not like them and as soon as they find me out I will never be safe there. It's lonely and terrifying but yeah sure I'm the asshole apparently because I secretly feel superior or whatever. contrary to popular opinion being extremely self-centered is not a positive thing for the guy that has it

not caring about anything that doesn't concern me specifically in any way. it's all "support people with low empathy" until they can't ""make up"" for it with high sympathy or just trying harder or something. Everything bad that ever happens is here just for my entertainment or an annoyance. vents and crying and whatnot make me incredibly uncomfortable or annoyed and i mean i will try to listen (because i am a wonderful kind person) but i will have zero idea on how to respond because thorought the entirety of it i didn't really pay attention and just kinda thought "oh my god stfu i don't careeee when can i leave" while envisioning rain code amvs in my mind. unless you unlock my easter egg that is

only doing nice things for praise and making people love me or just to feel good for being such a great person, and getting incredibly dissapointed and sometimes really pissed whenever they're not grateful enough

wow society is a shitshow i don't respect literally any of you people. i should run away and live away from everybody forever but i need to acquire my riches and fame first which will not be hard whatsoever. the struggle never ends

just. lying all the time. and not being able to tell whether you actually like somebody or their attention.

not seeing other people as people (i know they are, it doesn't change that i still feel they aren't), having to slowly spend enough time talking with them and find out enough information on them in order to start seeing them as an actual person. if i don't know who you are then you just aren't that important in the great scheme of things. and if i do know you and get attached (and maybe you also happen to have traits that make you special and better than others almost like me which makes me like you even more) then I decide you're my person now. not in a weird or entitled way, it's just how many of us show protectiveness and whatnot thanks radiostaticsmile for putting that into words. I do feel a bit of an ownership over people I like, kinda like a cat or dog with their people. i'm really not escaping the kittycat allegations am i. god damn it.

[intuitive-revelations]

Doctor Who Thoughts! (Ep 1 and 2)

Since the spoiler situation is so risky this year, I'll keep my usual episode notes below a read more for now. Took these non-chronologically while watching and rewatching (becuase even though I'm ridiculously busy rn with thesis and work stuff, of course I'm doing that), so it's less of a reaction and more of a moment-to-moment breakdown.

Ep 1: Space Babies

"I was adopted and the planet that took me in... they were kinda posh. They'd use titles like the Doctor, or the Bishop, or the Rani, or the conquistador. Say Doctor for a thousand years and it becomes my name." So we're right in with the recap. Good. Also still leaning on the Timeless Child thing, which I have mixed feelings about. I love it not being ignored... but I would still rather it not become THE origin for the Doctor. At least not without acknowledging some of the ambiguity on how exactly the Timeless Child is linked to the Doctor. (Personal favourite explanation: they're just the Other. They're not a previous 'incarnation' of the Doctor, but a previous 'REincarnation', something which we know existed on Gallifrey even prior to regeneration, and opens up its own questions about Gallifrey.)

A little odd emphasis on the titles, given it's such a renegade thing. Makes me think of entry-level fans who assume all Time Lords use such titles.

Love the Rani name drop though, of course. A bit odd to get one now, considering there was JUST almost one in The Giggle. Russell what are you up to...?

"You're the Doctor, but you're… the police?" "Police box, no! No, no, no, no, that's a disguise." "Oh." Ruby takes a deep breath realising she didn't just join a cop.

You CAN'T just spring This is Gallifrey on me like that Murray Gold. Not this early.

"I am the last of the Time Lords"... ugh again. Thanks Chibbs.

Also still a bit interesting that all Time Lords are assumed to be gone, given there's nothing as catostrophic as the Time War that caused it, just the Master raging out. There's still plenty of room for surviving renegades and such. (cough!Rassiloncough!) Pretty sure the Division agents in Flux were Time Lords too, though who knows if they're from the 'present' era. More on this in Ep 2.

"And I am so, so glad to be alive." Wow, you can tell 14 went through his break. Quite a turn around from 12 hesitating to regenerate and 13's hidden struggles.

The Doctor healing the butterfly... on one hand, it's not unprecedented with stuff like 10 and the TARDIS crystal, 11 healing River's hand or 12 and Davros, but compared to those cases it's a little odd seeing it done so easily for something with no tech or inate regenerative ability.

I find it interesting that Lizard!Ruby looks almost Silurian, but clearly isn't given her hair and antennae.

The TARDIS trip gags of this and 'mavity' are a fun stylistic switch for the show, but I do hope we don't get too many of them.

"Is that a matter transporter like in Star Trek?" "We've got to visit them one day." Assimilation^2 canon?! /s (but seriously, love stuff acknowledging the 'everything is canon' nature of the DW uni-/multiverse).

So much emphasis on the coincidence with Ruby. RTD loves that trope doesn't he?

"Baby farms boost the population. Sometimes a world goes sterile or... I don't know, goes mad and bans kissing." Or in the case of Gallifrey... maybe both, depending on how you follow Platt or Parkin's lore for the looms.

Don't think I didn't spot that Mavity easter egg on the overlay.

The phone call is a nice moment... even if entirely RTD ripping himself off.

So... the space babies! It's charming, it's campy, it's fun... it doesn't really work... I'm still glad for it, because what is Doctor Who if not being exceedingly ambitious with a dumb idea (if anything I'm glad that even with Disney money, DW's production value shines through!), but the babies expressions always match so poorly to the dialogue that it's pretty distracting. I hope kids will like it though.

I kinda wish these were just child actors, instead of cgi, babies, and voice acting. It would have made a lot more sense in the story, and probably been cuter tbh. (Side note: didn't Disney ask RTD to propose a more ambitious first episode? I wonder if that had some part in this.)

"I made this for you. It's a little flower." Some of Eric's expressions with the dialogue do make me crack up a bit though.

Also glad to see more "[blank] in space" formula episodes, since that was one thing the RTD era always really shined with.

The waiting for Mummy and Daddy thing is very charming too. As is the Doctor and Ruby taking time to give them all hugs.

The multi-pronged satellite design weirdly evokes the Division's timeship design. Definitely just a funny coincidence though. It's cool seeing less 'one-way-up' station designs though.

"Did we grow up wrong?" 😥 (Also with looms on mind, this weirdly feels like a reverse 'childe' situation.)

"Oh 'Nanomatrix electroform'." With the revelation that 'Nan-E' is a person, I like to think this is the Doctor just bullshitting his way through.

The snow and the memory changing is... interesting. More later.

"Oh, I thought my birth was crazy!" Let's not get into it Snail.

The shutting down of the baby station, yet it being illegal to actually stop birthing them even though the station has a limited lifespan feels VERY topical to me, in a weird way. It evokes the post-Roe abortion bans in America, and how pro-life people only care about the fetus, regardless of viability or post-birth care.

"That's the fate of every refugee in the universe. You physically have to turn up on someone else's shore." Again politics, quite explicitly with the use of 'shore' rather than orbit or a similar term that makes sense in an interplanetary context.

"Children will return to the upper levels, or have no /expletive/ dinner. Let Nan-E say fuck!

I love all the actual info in the screen art. If I was an active wiki editor I'd love to take the time to break down all the system info.

At first I thought the bogeyman would be a more 'fantasy' creature a la the Goblins, between it's storybook nature and scaring the Doctor, so it being an artificial creature designed to be scary down to its sounds was a cool twist. Also being made out of bogies?

The fact the story also firmly decides that it's worth saving too? That it's "one of the children"? Muah! 👌 No notes.

The way the airlock works with the 'oxygen field' is a little counter-intuitive and confusing, but I'll allow it. I take it as a safeguard force field gradually powering down, hence the slow depressurisation.

"A great pile of sh-" Let the Doctor say shit"

I buy the methane working to get them to Mondo Caroon a bit less. Hopefully planetary orbit is close enough for refugee status.

Again, Eric's face cracks me up.

TARDIS key! I like this tradition.

A bit cruel to not take Ruby to Ruby Road after bringing up the mystery during the episode, even if it makes sense. Clearly also a bit of a callback to Father's Day.

The emphasis on Ruby's adoptive mum vs bio mum is good.

This arc with Ruby feels weirdly like RTD giving his own take on a Series 6/7 story arc, even down to the ambiguous TARDIS bioscan like with Amy.

When the Doctor mentioned Time Lords and titles again, I was bracing myself to see something related in the scan, so didn't even realise it was snowing until the wide shot. But it said her species was human, so nevermind...

"My name was..." Such a tease! I doubt he's actually giving his birthname, even though it's not unprecedented for the Doctor to tell people. Probably either just explaining the title or something.

Ep 2: The Devils Chord

Maestro emerging from anything playing music is so Wordlord-core.

"Henry get away from him." "Them." Woo!

I could have sworn 'Timothy Drake' would be a real person (at first I assumed he was somehow linked to the Beatles), but a quick google doesn't seem to find anything? All I found was a modern-day composer, who seems to have done an album based on Voyager data. Weird choice to go with just a random person sharing the name of a DC character.

Henry Arbinger is neat. If he's actually a seperate character, I guess he's technically the Toymaker's grandson? He does seem to pre-exist Maesto's imprisonment.

Maestro is so good throughout the whole episode.

The fourth wall breaking with the theme! Transition into the main theme could have been smoother though. I kinda wish they just kept a full piano version all the way through, like Capaldi's guitar.

Speaking of the theme, it somehow appearing in universe on the jukebox?! Really funnily lines up with a later joke in retrospect.

"My mum she had a girlfriend: Claire." Between this, the "heartbroken lesbian song" later and Maestro, this episode really starts to showcase the queerness of this era.

Ruby's first plaid dress is so Clara-ish. As for 15… while I don't mind the Doctor being a bit more casual, seeing him wandering the TARDIS in jeans and trainers is kinda meh. The period costumes are great though. Always happy to see those.

Speaking of 15 and Ruby. They continue to be a delight.

Not gonna lie, as someone who's never really listened to the Beatles but knows their songs only vaguely, it took me a moment to realise there was something wrong with their 'dog' song.

Wasn't expecting the Cilla Black cameo!

Very weird doing a historical with living people. Particularly Paul McCartney, given he has a fairly prominent role, along with John Lennon.

Probably a bunch of easter eggs I'm missing because I don't know the Beatles. I only just discovered while writing that the "Mr Epstein" the Doctor mentioned was their manager.

Weird that we've had two mentions of the First Doctor and Susan in 1963 in two episodes. With it being Feb 11th here… cue more fan debate about when exactly they arrived in London, especially if you account for the "bad smog" in December 1962 line.

"You've got children?" "I did have. I will have." Now he could just be referring to the First Doctor's future, but I can't help but imagine this as a Miranda Dawkins reference! In fairness, he does say that "Time Lords get a bit complicated" which doesn't really match that interpretation. Could also connect it to the future!Other + Other'sGranddaughter!Susan interpretation of things I suppose.

"Where is she?" "I don't know. The Time Lords were murdered. The genocide rolled across time and space, like a great big cellular explosion. Maybe it killed her too." Uhhhhhhhhhh, WTF does that mean? It doesn't sound like the Master's actions, unless he went on a killing spree beyond Gallifrey? My best guess is it's referring to the Time War (in general, rather than just its ending - which tbf does at least match our current knowledge about Susan's fate). If it does refer to it, it kinda seems to ignore both the Moffat and Chibnall arcs with Gallifrey, both its return and its destruction again, by referring to the Time Lords as being 'murdered' in that genocide. Sounds more like The Ancestor Cell than anything tbh. The wiki connects it to the Death particle, but I doubt that.

Maestro giving the Giggle, already connected to music, and the Doctor immediately grabbing Ruby's hand and running running?!

The Doctor removing the sound with the sonic sure is... another sonic power. I've never been one to complain about the sonic use, but between this, plugging in the sonic last episode and the holograms and force field in the anniversary specials, this is getting a bit much. I'll allow it in this case though, as I assume it's working through the TARDIS translation circuit.

The sound design is great this episode.

Also again, the fourth wall breaks rule.

"That thing must be part of the pantheon" Wait... it's obviously linked to the Toymaker but... the pantheon as in the Pantheon of Discord? Like the Trickster's part of?

"One trick once: that's all you get with gods."

June 2024. Woah, so it's been a big time skip! 6 months from Ruby's perspective, and she has been travelling at least some of that time. The Doctor might know what's up with Ruby by this point?

Kinda crazy how much emphasis we've gotten ever since Flux on time's malleability, with the time tracks shifting so easily. Really supports my idea that the Ravagers' attempt to undo the Anchoring of the Thread has had an ongoing effect.

The ash turning to confetti when Maestro appears!

"Lord Temporal" ooh, how Obverse Books of you Maestro!

"Child of the Toymaker" Huh. That works surprisingly well with the version of the Toymaker's origin that has a sister (Hecuba from "The Queen of Time"). Interesting, considering The Giggle seemed to lean more in the Crystal Guardian direction.

"The Music of the Spheres" I know it's an actual term, but you can't say that without me thinking of the Prom minisode.

"You might be bright, and hot, and... *dun du-dun* timey-wimey." Heck yeah. Only contention is it could have been slightly more perfect if Maestro played the four-beat baseline, since 'heartbeat of a Time Lord' and all that. I guess that's kinda synonymous with the Master though, which might have been misleading.

Though they do then play four beats when attacking the TARDIS (also awesome), so I guess they could have gone with it in the first place.

"The only thing I can do is take us back to 1963!" Fast return switch time?

Him kissing the TARDIS better!

Weird emphasis on the TARDIS groan once they exit. Seemed disconnected from Maestro, but didn't come back again.

"I thought that was non-digetic" Perfect! So should we take this to mean that the Doctor can hear the show's soundtrack?!

The music while Ruby is dragged away. At first I thought it was "The Sun's Gone Wibbly", but listening closely it sounds closer to the music from the climax of Waters of Mars, itself very similar.

"Playing lovesick songs for heartbroken lesbians." I mentioned the queerness of the episode already, but can I also point out I think this is the first time we've actually used LGBT terminology in the show? We've certainly used the descriptors before and plenty of people have explicitly had partners of the same gender etc., but for example, Bill never called herself a lesbian, nor did Clara ever identify as bi. Only exception is 'gay', and even then it's mostly only been jokes (eg. the thin fat gay Anglican marines, Rose calling Nine gay as an insult etc.).

"How can a song have so much power, and power like him? The Oldest One. The night of her birth, he can't have been there. What for?!" Oooh, so the One Who Waits is connected to Ruby. Interesting... also another connection to the Guardians and/or 'pantheon'. Is the One Who Waits one of either of those? If a Guardian, then the only candidate is the Red Guardian (who was technically there that night being the Doctor), but that would be ridiculous to be the answer. If connected to the latter, then... the Trickster? Or more likely someone completely new, of course.

Ngl, at first a little part of me thought the 'reverse devil's chord' would end up being part of the theme song.

The Beatles were surprisingly underused through the episode, but them finding the chord is a decent use of them, even if it could be seen from miles away.

The wink launching into a song and dance number, less so! I was wondering when the musical scenes from the trailer were coming...

Shout out also to the Murray Gold cameo on the piano, somehow playing himself according to the credits, despite this being in the 60s.

I'm not familar with them so not 100%, but I think the two dancing with the Doctor and Ruby here are cameos from Strictly Come Dancing too? Specifically Shirley Ballas and Johannes Radebe.

Speaking of "the twist in the end" pretty cool that "Harbinger" survives. It's unlikely, but I'd love to see Maestro return, maybe for a full-on musical episode?

The piano dancing was cute. Very 'Big'!

Overall thoughts in a few words?

Space Babies was kind of meh, even if I appreciate the campiness of it and the ending is pretty good. Pretty standard decent, if not great, episode.

The Devil's Chord however might actually be one of my favourites? Maybe even my favourite RTD episode, though I'd have to think through them all. And that's without being a Beatles fan and probably missing all sorts of flourishes.

Looking forward very much to next episode too, with Moffat back! I saw the episode was about the Doctor stepping on a landmine, but I thought that was a joke before the Next Time teaser. 😅 Apparently it's Ncuti's favourite episode of the season, which is a good sign!

[hinamie]

oh my god ok so i know im late I didn't talk about it because it happened during one of my Offline Eras but . but listen ok lisn the new former vandal album sent me THROUgh the FUCKINNG ROOF to be fair i knew it would like i joked about going upstairs to listen to it and cry when it dropped but i didn't think that every fucking song would hit me so hard in the kokoro it made me wail because I too have immense religious guilt ANYWAY im gonna rant incoherently and at length now hope u all missed me

ok first of all gotta shout out the fuckin album title i knew it was gonna be devastating when I saw it . fuckin. divine interference????? music for god's playthings indeed i eat that shit up i was like yoooooo hes also got a bone to pick with jesus go off bestie <333

so former vandal are artists visionaries kings so ofc tracklist is all mythology n religion-inspired (lazarus/goliath/ouroboros etc) and i think its so cool that theyre all in caps until u get to the end and the final song is denial and it's in lowercase and maybe its simple but i was like ART. ARTTTTTT. and it made me go back and look at the tracklist of their previous album and I realized that the whole thing was about vices and unhealthy coping with an overwhelming and forsaken existence but then the final song was Get Right (still my go-to comfort song to this day tbh tbh tbh) and it's like an acknowledgement that ok maybe none of this is the answer and something has to change anyway wrong album oops back 2 divine interference

i made a point of listening to the songs that hadnt been released as singles first so the first song i listened to was Lazarus and tbh probably my fav song on the album maybe tied with parables and maaaaybe even icarian. BUT LAZARUS SLAPS SOS SOSOOSO HARD god the theme of not knowing how to leave something behind even when it's bad for you,,, both criticizing but also mirroring the actual story of lazarus in the lyrics being like "wow kinda fucked up of god for resurrecting u without ur consent" but also acknowledging that he himself is guilty of holding onto the things that kill him.,,, GOD ITS SO FUCKING G GOOD I FDFGSADFGDG

salt also !!! BANGER not quite up there with the likes of lazarus but it gets bonus points because a. i lov the idea of starting to recognize that you're coming into yourself n an identity apart from your vices n traumas and b. for having two of the most RAW lines in the entire album imo which is reaaallly saying something: "now that everything's bright I guess I'm fine/but there's an art in the dark that took years to refine" and "the spark of divine intervention/that I'm still terrified I've left behind" (ALBUM TITLE DROP ALBUM TITLE DROP) god these two just dont miss and i love it but i am far too neurodivergent to contain myself they need to give me a break pls i am v i b r a t i n g

ok gonna move into the Chill(tm) tracks I think with goliath as well as shame/rotten I vibe more with the lyrics than the actual songs because i prefer my angsty alt pop to be Upbeat thank u very much but can i just say. the lyrics of these two songs ESPECIALLY SHAME/ROTTEN LIKE ok first of all i love the tonal shift halfway through that manages not to make them feel like completely different songs it's just jarring enough like there's been an acceptance of sorts,, like omg same i too am like 'god i feel like the scum of the earth might as well own it a bit',, "the fear of god/the need for blame" fuckin bullseye ow,, "I starve to feed the parts of me/far from who i oughta be/tell me are you proud of me yet?" FUCKIN BULLSEYE OWW

I know i just said i prefer my angst upbeat but crocodile tears (very upbeat very rock wuaw) is probably my least favourite track if i had to pick but it does have a lyrical BANGER of an opening verse ("holding the hand that's holding me under" g o d) i think i just don't dig the overall melody too much and find the ending a bit repetitive fr my tastes,, who knows though it took a while and many re-listens for ouroboros to grow on me maybe this'll b a similar story ,, but then again ouroboros had the advantage of echoing mine own mental health and self-destructive behaviours shdgj

ok so i was crying from the beginning right but the songs that made me ugly bawl were growing pains (very similar vibes to get right but in a "i know that i'm healing" way rather than a "i need to heal" way) and denial,, but starting w growing pains,, my god idk What they did with the mic/vocals after the bridge but it felt like the music was being injected directly into my ears secret direct path 2 my bloodstream god I hadnt felt chills like that in such a long time and idk just the whole Mood of the song having been hurting for so long and only now starting to recognize the damage you've done but also appreciate the progress youv made,,, i have so so many emotions but DENIAL (its funny saying it in caps bc its the only track in lowercase getit getit) oh my god ths going straight on the list of Songs That Make Me Think About My Relationship With My Dad but also Songs That Make Me Emo About All The People I've Grown Apart From and i think its so powerful to frame a personal transition away from faith as growing apart from an old friend and missing them despite any hard feelings holy shit though holy shit . the first listen by this point i had already been emotionally devastated by the Whole Album so i was like ok surely ill get a break by the last song lol nope sorry i ended up crying so hard i think i gave myself a headache

I think I must have yelled about the songs that they released as singles when they dropped individually but it's been so long that i forget what i said but honestly parables and icarian are still just as good as when i heard them for the first time (when parables dropped i spilled my tea on my fucking notes bc i was vibing too hard),, I love parables' msg of accepting the lessons ur (traumatic) past taught u and how it shaped u as a person even if u recognize that that person is someone hurt and in need of healing and maybe that has to happen alone! and i know for a fact i've gushed about icarian (still one of the most gojocore songs Ever imho dont fight me on this) but now looking at it in the context of the rest of the album i love that it's first cause it really frames the whole icarus thing of having flown too close to the sun or to god and getting burned and that pain essentially being the catalyst for the entire Journey tht the rest of the album outlines (obsessed w the fact that the next song is jaded like fr having these two songs one after the other is literally "fucked around/found out" gsfhjsh)

but all that being said not to b dramatic but this album destroyed me it rearranged something deep in my soul and i don't know who i was before it but i probably wont ever be the same :) i literally love these two so much im so appreciative of them its so rare to feel so Seen by a piece of media so to have an entire album hit so incredibly close to home for me and slap while doing so????? i feel so lucky . this entire album feels like taking the first step to address years of hurt and self destruction it feels like losing a friend it feels like finding yourself and i just . i love it so much