#which is such a lame and annoying side effect

[0cta9on]

Beach Day

length: +3k words

Genre: smut

Nmixx Haewon x Male Reader

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Your teacher dismissed the class as the sound of shuffling bags and miscellaneous chatter filled the room.

“Yo, Minhyuk!”

You turn to your best friend, Junseo, who was sat next to you.

“Did you invite anyone to our beach party yet? Jaewon and I already got Lily and Yoona to tag along,” he asks. Your stomach dropped at the question.

“U-uh, no, sorry. I think I’ll just sit this one out, you guys go and have fun without me,” you say.

Junseo sighs, annoyed at your lame excuse. “Dude, quit being a bitch and ask Haewon already. The worst thing she’ll say is no.”

You and your friends had planned on going to the beach this weekend, and Jaewon suggested that all three of you would invite a girl to make things more “interesting”. It’s not that you didn’t have any girl to invite; it’s quite the opposite. You had your eyes dead set on one girl: Oh Haewon. You’ve had a crush on her since you first laid eyes on her and you would gladly sell your limbs if it meant getting to spend one second alone with her. There’s only one problem - She’s the most popular girl in school, and you were just… You.

“That’s the thing, Junseo. She’s obviously gonna say no,” you reason as you grab your things and exit the classroom, Junseo following closely behind you. 

“Why do you think we invited Lily and Yoona? Those three are close, of course Haewon is gonna say yes.” Junseo suddenly grabs your shoulders, stopping you in your tracks. “Speak of the devil, they’re right there.” He points towards the end of the hallway where, lo and behold, Haewon, Lily, and Yoona were talking.

You gulp as your throat suddenly becomes dry. Even in a simple school uniform, she was the most beautiful girl you have ever seen. The overwhelming feeling of attraction towards her makes your heart race, which has the unfortunate side effect of turning you into a blubbering nervous wreck.

Junseo starts pushing you towards her. “C’mon dude, just go and ask her.” You try to stop him, but your legs are practically wet spaghetti noodles at this point. Before you know it, you find yourself right in front of the three girls, their eyes staring back at you.

“H-Hae… H-hhhhh… Hi…” you stutter breathlessly. Junseo smacks the back of your head, bringing you back to your senses.

“Hello ladies, my friend Minhyuk here has something to ask Haewon,” he says, patting your shoulder reassuringly.

You awkwardly clear your throat, staring at the ground as you’re too intimidated to look her in the eye. “U-uh, do you wanna… go to the beach with us tomorrow?” You brace yourself, expecting rejection.

“Yeah, sure, sounds like fun!” she says in a bright, cheery tone. You couldn’t believe your ears at first. Your lips curved onto a goofy smile as Junseo held you up from fainting, your legs reduced to jelly.

“Cool, we’ll see you girls tomorrow then,” Junseo says as he drags you away. Right as you round the corner, you see Haewon and the other two giggling amongst themselves.

______________________________________________________________

*Beep beep beep*

You groan as you shut off the alarm on your phone. 7:00 am. You had a couple hours before Jaewon would pick you up for your beach trip. The excitement from being able to spend alone time with Haewon made you restless, so you decided to put in a quick workout to make sure you looked your best for the beach. While you weren’t an athlete like Junseo and Jaewon were, they always forced you to go to the gym with them, resulting in you having a pretty solid physique that you hoped Haewon would notice.

Time flies by, and after a shower and getting your stuff ready, you hear a honk from outside, signaling Jaewon’s arrival. You head outside and see Junseo hanging his head out of the passenger side window.

“Yo Minhyuk! Hurry up and get your ass in the car!” he yells, a mischievous smirk adorned on his face. You give him a weird look before opening the door to the back, only to be faced with Lily and Yoona.

“Hey, Minhyuk.”

“Hiiiii.”

You give them an awkward nod, feeling a little confused. You assumed the girls would be going in a different car and the three of you would meet them at the beach.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I went ahead and picked up the girls since they live close,” Jaewon says, looking at you through the rear view mirror with a smirk on his face. Jaewon was the most soft spoken out of the three of you, but he always had some kind of trick up his sleeve. You scoot next to Lily, oblivious to whatever he was planning.

“Alright, we just gotta pick up Haewon and then we’ll be good to go. The back is only meant to seat three, but I’m sure you guys don’t mind squeezing her in there, right?” Jaewon says, his smirk growing into a full on toothy smile. Your eyes go wide with shock as the realization hits you - he was planning on smushing you in the back with Haewon. While you weren’t completely opposed to the idea, you can only imagine how much of an awkward mess you’re going to be with her practically breathing down your neck. After a short drive, Jaewon stops in front of what you assume is Haewon’s house.

“I’ll tell her that we’re here,” Lily says, typing on her phone. You gulp, suddenly feeling very anxious. The girl of your dreams was about to be squished next to you and you were almost 100% sure that you would find a way to fumble this. While lost in thought, the car door opens, revealing a smiling Haewon wearing baggy sweatpants and a white, tight fitting tank top that accentuated her breasts.

“Hey guys!” she greets. Lily and Yoona greet her back, while all you can muster is an awkward hand wave.

“Yo Haewon, are you alright with squeezing in the back next to Minhyuk?” Junseo asks, a sly twinkle in his eyes. Your only wish right now is to strangle his neck with the seatbelt.

“Yeah, that should be fine,” Haewon replies as she scoots next to you. You give Lily and Yoona an apologetic look as you push them to make room for Haewon. Miraculously, the four of you are able to successfully pack together like a can of sardines. The soft skin of Haewon’s arm brushes against you, causing your cock to spring to life from the sudden contact. You mentally facepalm as you try to focus on something else, hoping none of the girls notice your bulge.

“Yoona, you can come sit on my lap if it’s too cramped back there,” Junseo says.

“In your dreams, pervert,” Yoona says, grimacing. The rest of the car erupts into laughter while Junseo sulks in his seat.

______________________________________________________________

Junseo and the girls fell asleep on the drive to the beach, while you were way too excited to even think about sleep. 

“Wake up y’all. We’re here,” Jaewon says, shaking Junseo awake. All of you step out of the car, taking in the warm sun and the salty scent of the ocean. You, Jaewon, and Junseo grab your stuff from the trunk while the girls excitedly run towards the sea, kicking up sand behind them.

“Yo Minhyuk, did you have fun back there?” Jaewon teases. You punch his arm in rage while he chuckles at you.

“I fucking hate you, man.”

Junseo wraps his arm around your shoulder. “Chill out dude, we’re just trying to help you out. Remember, you would have bailed on us if I didn’t shove you towards Haewon.” He slaps your back before heading in the direction of the girls.

“He’s right. You're basically a mess without us,” Jaewon says, snickering to himself. A feeling of determination suddenly fills you up. You were dead set on having a good time with Haewon and, if things went well, you would confess your feelings to her by the end of the night. With a huff, you march through the sand, following behind your friends.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the beach,” Haewon remarks. “Thanks for inviting me, Minhyuk.” She turns to you, flashing a bright smile.

At that moment, all your confidence immediately leaves your body. “Y-yeah, n-no problem, hehe…” you stutter awkwardly. To make things worse, you catch Haewon covering her mouth in an attempt to hide her laughter.

Jaewon places a large picnic blanket on the sand while you set up the umbrella. Junseo sets down a bag of snacks and a cooler full of drinks, completing the preparations. 

“Thank you boyssss,” Yoona says. “Alright, let’s hurry up and get in the water!”

The three of you can’t help but stare in awe as the girls start stripping, revealing their bikini clad bodies underneath. While Lily and Yoona had nice bodies, all of your focus was on Haewon. Her bright yellow bikini top revealed a generous amount of cleavage, while her matching bottoms left practically nothing to the imagination. You felt yourself drool as you imagined getting to explore her smooth curves with your hands.

“Hey perverts, are you gonna join us or not?” Yoona yells, snapping the three of you back to your senses. Jaewon and Junseo quickly discard their shirts before running into the ocean, joining Lily and Yoona. You start to do the same before noticing Haewon, who was sitting underneath the shade of the umbrella.

“Aren’t you gonna go in the water?” you ask her.

“I want to, but I completely forgot my sunscreen at home like an idiot,’ she says, sighing disappointedly. “I’d rather not risk getting sunburnt, y’know?”

You rummage through your bag and pull out a small bottle of sunscreen. “Here, you can use some of mine.” 

She flashes you a bright smile as she takes the bottle from your hand. “Thank you, Minhyuk! You’re a lifesaver!” 

“”Y-yeah, no problem.” Your cock begins to stir in your swimming trunks as you watch her rub the white cream into her smooth skin, your mind filling with sinful thoughts. Then, the unthinkable happens.

“Hey Minhyuk, do you think you could put some sunscreen on my back?” Words you’ve only ever heard in the beginnings of cheap porn films have now come out of Haewon’s mouth. You try to keep a calm expression as she hands you the bottle of sunscreen. 

“Y-y-yeah, I c-can do that,” you stutter, trying and failing to maintain your composure. Thankfully, Haewon doesn’t notice as she lies on her stomach, giving you the perfect chance to ogle her cute ass, barely covered by her bikini bottoms. With trembling hands, you squirt some sunscreen on your fingers and begin gently massaging into her back. 

“Mmmmm, you have such strong hands,” she says, moaning from your touch. You felt your heart pound in your chest with excitement as your hands caressed her lower back. Her skin was as smooth as you had imagined, your fingers easily gliding over her curves. This intimate situation felt like a dream come true that you never wanted to wake up from.

“Oh Minhyuk, that feels so good.” You felt your ears burn bright red as your cock stood at full attention. Everything else faded away as you focused on giving Haewon the best massage you could muster. The sunscreen acted as lube as you gently pushed your digits into her back, eliciting more moans. It became a game to you as you figured out which spots she liked most. Your breathing became heavy with arousal as the chorus of Haewon’s moans filled your ears.

Suddenly, Haewon sits up and grabs your wrists, glaring at you. You gulp, worried that you may have taken things too far. Without a word, she pulls you up and drags you away from the picnic blanket.

“U-uh, Haewon? Where are we going?”

She ignores you as she drags you behind a large boulder, away from everyone else. Her demeanor suddenly turns timid as a pink blush appears on her cheeks and her shaky eyes are unable to meet yours.

“Haewon? What’s wrong?” you ask, becoming increasingly bewildered by her behavior. Despite the circumstances, you couldn’t help but find her cute as she nervously twiddled with her fingers, her impressive cleavage on full display.

“U-um, I’m sorry if this is weird, but that massage got me all h-hot and…” Her words trailed off as the pink on her cheeks evolved into tomato red.  You couldn’t believe her words at first. Did Haewon want you to…? Without hesitation, you pulled her closer and smashed your lips against hers. Your gamble pays off as she wraps her arms around your neck, moaning into your mouth. With newfound confidence, your hands explore more of her body, tracing her every curve. Your right hand cups her plump ass cheek while your other hand gently squeezes her breast, giving you the perfect chance to shove your tongue inside of her mouth as she opens it to moan. The sweet taste of strawberry lip gloss covers your taste buds as your tongues squirm in an erotic dance.

You eventually break the kiss as the need for oxygen manages to trump your carnal desires. Haewon stares deep into your eyes as she catches her breath, her hand snaking down your torso before stopping on your erect bulge. A low groan escapes your lips from the contact, sending a wave of pleasure through your body.

“C-can I touch your cock?” she asks, her voice trembling. You always saw Haewon as an outgoing bundle of energy, so seeing her this timid and horny made you go feral. With a nod, you lower your swimming trunks, revealing your rock hard cock to her in all its glory. Haewon gasps as she kneels in front of you, inspecting your full length with wide eyes. The sight of her innocent face next to your cock would be forever etched into your mind. 

“Oh my god, you’re so big, Minhyuk,” she whispers in awe, gently wrapping her fingers around your member. Her hands felt like Heaven against your cock as they clumsily stroked it. “U-um, I’ve never done this before. Can you help me?”

“Y-yeah, sure. Uh, why don’t you try kissing it first?” you suggest. Haewon obediently complies as she places gentle kisses on your shaft, staining it with her lip gloss. Each kiss sends a shockwave of dopamine throughout your entire body.

“Is that okay?” Haewon’s large eyes look up at you, searching for approval.

A smile grows on your face as you pat her head. “Yes, that’s great, Haewon. You should try sucking it now.”

Haewon giggles excitedly before taking the tip of your cock into her mouth, running her tongue against your slit. A moan escapes your mouth as your hands instinctively reach for the back of her head, encouraging her to take in more of you. You would’ve never guessed that she was inexperienced with how easily your cock slides down her throat. The sensation was unlike anything you had ever felt before - pure ecstasy.

“F-fuck, Haewon. You’re so g-good, holy shit..”

Lust takes control of your body, your fingers interlocking with her hair as you roughly fuck her face. Haewon’s eyes well up with tears, but she makes no move to pull away, happily accepting your whole length. Saliva dripped from her mouth, the dirty image only fueling your arousal. Without warning, you shot your load down Haewon’s throat, the heavenly feeling of her mouth becoming too much for you to handle. After what feels like an eternity of cumming, you release her from your grasp. Haewon collapses backwards onto the sand, drool and cum staining her perfect face.

“S-Shit, are you okay?!” you ask, worried you may have been too rough on her. 

Haewon props herself up and smiles at you. “Th-that was… i-incredible…” she stammered, catching her breath. “C-can you put it inside me? P-please?”

Her words reinvigorate you causing your cock to become hard once again. You quickly pull Haewon to her feet and untie her top, tossing it aside to reveal her ample breasts. Your mouth latches onto her tits while you shove your free hand inside of her bottoms, rubbing her moist slit.

“Oh fuck! That feels so good, Minhyuk…” Haewon whimpers as she plays with your hair. Any ounce of common sense left in your mind was thrown out the window as your only goal right now was to pleasure the girl of your dreams in every way possible. Your heart chugged like the engine of a steam train as you worshiped Haewon’s body with every flick of your tongue and every swipe of your finger against her heat. Eventually, you detach your mouth from her breasts, staring into her eyes while you finger her pussy.

You lean into her ear and whisper, “I’ve wanted to do this for so long. I-I like you, Haewon.” You curl your fingers inside of her, coercing a high-pitched moan out of her as her body is reduced to putty in your hands.

“I-I l-like you too, Min- Ah, fuck! P-please fuck me!” she exclaims. Haewon holds onto your shoulders for balance, nibbling on your neck to muffle her erotic noises. Her confession only increased your skyhigh libido, ripping her bottoms away and lining up your cock with her dripping pussy. Slowly, you thrust forward, impaling her with your erection.

“H-holy shit…” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

“A-are you okay, Haewon?” you asked, pausing your motions to check up on her.

“Y-yes, k-keep going please. Fuck, y-you’re so big…” Haewon looked up at you with pleading eyes. You could’ve sworn her irises turned into hearts for a second.

You continue thrusting forward, catching her lips in a kiss that was much gentler than the one before, eventually bottoming out inside of her. Gripping her supple thighs, you mentally thank Jaewon and Junseo for dragging you to the gym as you lift Haewon’s body with ease. You increase your pace, each thrust punctuated by Haewon’s cute whimpers and the occasional “fuck”, “ah”, and “yes”. Her ample breasts bounced in front of your eyes as Haewon threw her head back with pleasure. You still couldn’t believe that you were fucking your crush on the beach.

The pressure built up inside of you as you savored the feeling of her warm, tight cunt around your penis. You did your best to hold on for as long as possible, but the sensation was becoming overwhelming. “H-Haewon… I-I’m gonna… c-cum…” you groaned.

“F-fuck… C-cum in me, M-Minhyuk… I-I wanna feel you fill me up…” The vulgar words coming out of her mouth were enough to send you over the edge as you shot your second load deep inside of her womb. Haewon continued to bounce on your cock, her own orgasm taking over. Your legs eventually give out as both of your naked bodies collapse onto the sand, your cock never leaving the warmth of her pussy. Haewon laid on top of you, planting kisses on your neck and chin as you caught your breath.

“That… was fucking amazing, Minhyuk,” she giggled, tracing random patterns on your chest with her index finger. You wrapped your arms around her, the warm rays of sunshine beating down on the two of you.

Eventually, the two of you get up and put on your discarded bathing suits. “We should do this again sometime,” you quipped. Haewon laughs and grabs your face, planting a gentle peck on your lips.

“I would like that a lot.” Hand in hand, you return to your friend group, ready to enjoy the rest of your day at the beach with your new girlfriend.

[tommysversion]

That’s My Girl - [ Joel Miller x Reader 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ ]

Anon requested jealous, possessive Joel with a filthy mouth, so here you are! General CW for spice, unsafe sex, Joel with a filthy mouth, & a slightly red flag possessive streak.

Joel slammed the door behind you, expression mutinously annoyed as he crossed his arms and turned to you.

“What the fuck was that back there?” He demanded.

You had to resist the urge to smirk; if you weren’t so annoyed yourself, you’d feel smug about pissing him off. Joel liked to pretend he didn’t give a rat’s ass about you, but it was obvious that you were more than… whatever he thought you were. A quick fuck. Something casual. There was nothing casual about the way he’d grabbed your hand and practically dragged you out of the bar.

“What was what?” You asked sweetly, enjoying the way his eyes darkened.

“You know damn well what.” He glared, “letting that random fucking informant buy you drinks.”

“Maybe I like free booze?” You suggested, innocent. Oh, you knew exactly what you were doing.

“Not enough to let someone like that put their hands on you, surely?”

Your own temper flared. “What’s it to you, Joel? I’m not your goddamn property. Besides, you can’t lecture me on exclusivity when-“

You stopped, still angry, still hurt, by what you had seen. By what had driven you to provoke him, to try and draw out his jealous side in blatant vengeance.

“When what?” He demanded, exasperated. Honestly he had no damn clue what had possibly driven you to act the way you had, flirting with anyone and everyone. You were his, dammit. Nobody else should be able to hold your attention. Nobody else was worthy of it.

You were so angry at the memory, you wanted to cry.

“When I show up at your place looking for you and Tess answers the door wearing your fucking shirt and says you’re busy.” You snapped, glaring at him. “You don’t get to demand I don’t look for attention elsewhere when you’re clearly more than happy to fuck both of us.”

He stared at you. He hadn’t been home at the time, had been at work. He knew which shirt you were referring to, though. It was an old one he’d given her on a laundry day, almost a year ago.

“That… is not what’s happening here.” He said flatly.

“No? You think I’m stupid?” You demanded. Honestly if he wasn’t so worried about fixing this, wasn’t so pissed about you letting that fucking rat touch you, he’d almost find this funny.

“I haven’t been with Tess like that for… Fuck, almost five years.” He shook his head, “that shirt was too small for me, I handed it down on a laundry day when she had nothing clean. And I was at work, by the way.”

You cut your building tirade, mouth open but nothing coming out, feeling monumentally stupid.

“Oh.” You manage, knowing full well how lame you sound.

“Yeah, oh.” He frowned at you, “you know better than to let her rile you up.”

He was already making a note of talking to Tess, though. He’d have a few choice words for her, that was for damn sure. But that wasn’t his focus.

“Now we’ve cleared that up, you wanna tell me again why you were getting so cosy with our good friend the local rat, there?” He backed you right up against the wall, one arm on either side of you, effectively trapping you there.

“I-“ You had absolutely no good answer for him.

“I’m gonna take a guess,” he suggested, “that you thought it would be a good idea to piss me off, by acting like a complete slut.”

“No, I-“

“No? You weren’t? Cause that’s not what it looked like to me, baby.”

You could feel the heat coming from him; in a very short sentence: you’d fucked up. Big time.

“I just-“

“I don’t care what your damn reason was, honestly. But I have a suggestion for you.” He was leaning in close now, mouth so close to yours. You leaned in, wanting so badly to kiss him. He turned his head at the last minute.

“You want to put that mouth to use? Get on your knees and show me.”

Fuck, he was mad. You were only starting to realise just how far you’d pushed him now, but there was no going back, and no hiding the thrill you were getting from it as you dropped to your knees to obey him, hands going to his belt.

“Not making a case for yourself here, are you darlin’?” There was a sort of wry amusement to his voice as you unzipped his jeans, wrapped your hand around his already hard length.

He kept one hand on the wall, the other reaching down to stroke your hair.

“Be a good girl now and I might be less mad.”

You looked up at him, staring into those depthless dark eyes, as you leaned in to lick a slow stripe along his cock, watching his reaction before you took him into your mouth. You didn’t hold back, sucking him eagerly.

“This what you were gonna do to that other bastard? Or am I special?” He was taunting you, he knew deep down you’d never have let anyone else touch you, but fuck, he was angry about it. You were his. His. Nobody else got to touch you. Even thinking about it made him see red.

You, of course, couldn’t answer, mouth otherwise occupied as he started to thrust shallowly into your throat. He groaned softly when you sucked him, swallowing around him. He knew exactly what you were doing, pulled out of your mouth and tapped you sharply on the lips with his cock.

“Not yet. Get up.”

You got up, a little shaky, only to find yourself pinned against the wall, your dress being pushed up around your hips.

“Tell me, is this what you’d let anyone else do to you?”

“N-no,” you admitted, voice shaking with a little fear, a lot of desire.

“No? Are you sure?” His lips grazed your throat, teeth nipping the skin.

“I’m sure…” you were absolutely soaked; you could feel your own wetness drenching your panties as he dragged them aside, wrapped your leg around his waist.

“Good.” He almost growled it, “you’re mine.”

He slid into you in a single, deep, rough thrust, drawing a cry of surprised pleasure from your lips.

“I don’t give a damn if you want to be a whore, as long as it’s only for me.” He kept one hand wrapped around you to steady you, keeping you braced against the wall with his other hand as he fucked you, harder and faster with each deep thrust.

“Fuck-“ you whimpered, tightening your leg around his waist, bringing him in deeper.

“None of that.” He slapped your ass sharply, “talk to me, baby, use your words. Tell me who you belong to.”

He was barely thinking straight himself, driven by a deep and primal feeling of jealousy, rage, and possessiveness. You brought out the best in him, but that was a double edged sword. You could also bring out the worst, when needed.

Luckily, you understood, knew how to play him.

“You, Joel,” you cried out as he hit your sweet spot, again and again, “I’m yours, I promise!”

Your cries faded into incoherence, loud and desperate sounds of pleasure as he brought you closer and closer, finally reaching the apex of your pleasure, tightening around him, soaking every inch of him that was buried inside you.

“That’s goddamn right,” he agreed, pressing a searing kiss to your mouth, “you’re all mine, darlin’, don’t ever forget that.”

He could feel his own pace start to get erratic as he drew closer and closer to his own release, incoherent growls and groans falling from his lips.

“Fuck, darlin’, you feel so fuckin’ good, prettiest damn pussy I ever felt, gonna fill you up so good…” he punctuated each word with a sharp snap of his hips, “gonna make you forget anyone else you ever had… fuck…”

He couldn’t control it any longer, feeling himself throb and ache inside you as he filled you with his release; usually he was so careful about pulling out of you, but well… accidents happen. And if that accident so happened to keep you around and with him? All the better for it.

“Mine, darling. You’re all mine.” He murmured into your ear, holding you close.

You sighed, kissed his throat.

“I’m sorry…” you admitted; you’d pushed him too far, and you knew it.

He gave you a small smirk. “Don’t be sorry, baby. You more than made up for it.” He paused, and then, “just don’t do that shit again.”

You smiled back, rested your forehead against his.

“I won’t. Promise.”

He kissed your lips gently. “That’s my girl.”

[silverstonesainz]

“ taking advantage of the fact that they're walking through a crowded place and holding their hand so that they "don't get lost"

for the frat au with jack :)

just in case, just because

hand holding & first kisses frat!jack x reader 1.2k words warnings: n/a

d rambles. . . again, took way to long n this was kinda lame. but i hope u liked it. thanks for requesting lovely!!

“i dunno…” you look back over at the house, the never ending flow of people walking in and out. it was packed— filled to the absolute brim with drunk college students and it didn’t quite look like your scene. 

“this can’t be new to you,” your roommate looks over at you in disbelief, already starting to take slow steps to the front of the frat house. 

it wasn’t. you had your fair share of parties, attended the best and the worst of them during your brief stint in college. but there was something different— something more intimidating about the double doors of the house. it was just different. 

but you would never admit that, not even to your roommate who knows you a little better than most. 

a girl manages to squeeze past the people pushing into the house, a sheen of sweat over her skin and her mascara smudged under her eyes. she looked worse for wear, but she wears an almost euphoric smile as she looked back into the house. 

“look at her,” you mumble to your friend, “the house just spit her up like that. it must be hell in there.” 

“oh stop looking for excuses, you’ve come home looking worse.” 

you roll your eyes, half amused. she isn’t exactly wrong. your roommate loops her arm through yours, laughing as she tugs you into the house. she’s a force, thank god, pushing through sturdy fraternity men and drunk girls, leading the two of you all the way to the bar. the air is thick, humid, you can already feel the sweat begin to form on your back. 

one poorly mixed drink and another push to the dance floor later, you were thoroughly soaked. you couldn’t enjoy the music, couldn’t enjoy the alcohol, couldn’t enjoy a damn thing. you leaned into your roommate, let her know you’d be back and that you needed a bit of air. she didn’t hear, and you took her lack of a response as an okay to go. 

you push past the heavy crowd, mumbling unheard sorries and ignored excuse-me’s. it felt like miles before you hit the clearing, before a rush of semi-cool air hits you in the face and puts your fiery skin at ease. you huff a breath of a relief, fanning yourself with your hand as you move deeper in the house. 

the kitchen is still full, but not nearly as bad as the dance floor. you make it back to the bar, smiling over at yuki as you yell for another drink over the music. 

and then you see him, snapback sitting backward on top of his head, laughing at his fraternity brother’s probable misfortune. his cheeks are rosy, an effect of the alcohol. he’s tipsy, happy, and completely unaware of the way you gawk at him. 

but he does turn his head eventually, catches you staring and makes you blush. he excuses himself from the conversation, squeezes past party-goers to get all the way over to you. and that’s when the air shifts— thick and filled with nerves. he’s what makes the difference. 

“hey sugar,” jack grins, slinging his arm over you. 

“hi jack.” 

he leans down, presses a wet kiss against your cheek, laughs when he sees the grimace on your face. you grumble complaints, none of which he can hear as he looks around the room. jack pulls you into his side, body heat radiating off him like it always done. and what is usually something comforting is now annoying. you feel yourself begin to overheat, irritation rising with your discomfort. you pull away from him, shrug off his hold as you take a step back. he pouts down at you, but the expression falls as soon as it comes. 

“what’s wrong?” 

“it’s so hot in here,” you yell, fanning yourself with your hand. 

the boy adjusts his hat on his head, revealing the beads of sweat that line where the brim of his hat lay. he looks around the room, “wanna go take a walk? cool off a bit?”

you nod. just about anything sounds better than being in that house at that point. anything. 

“lead the way.” jack holds his palm out, gestures you to step ahead of him. you don’t question why he doesn’t lead the way instead, considering his taller built. you allow your irritation lead the two of you through the heavy crowd, but it only takes you so far. even with jack’s hands on your shoulders, gently pushing you through, it only takes you so far. 

a couple blocks your way. and to the left another pairing and to the right very drunk sorority women who lack the concept of personal space. you were stuck, trapped in the center of the humid mosh pit of the frat house. you turn your head, pouting up at jack like a silent plea. 

you see the way he smiles knowingly, reads your expression with no trouble. he slides ahead of you, fingers intertwining with yours without a thought. you can feel you heart speed up, breath hitched in your throat. suddenly the hot air didn’t bother you as much, the sweat sliding down your back wasn’t as uncomfortable, and the lack of personal space as jack leads you through the crowd really wasn’t all that bad. 

jack squeezes past people with ease, pulls you along with him. with jack in the lead, it isn’t long until he’s yanked you out the door and into the cold air. you sigh in relief, head thrown back as you accept the cold fall air to kiss your skin. you hear jack chuckle, and you look up to catch his boyish smile as he watches your repose. his fingers are still interlocked with yours, curved so that you don’t slip away from him so easily. he lets you walk as far as both your hands would allow, before he’s pulling you back to him. you bump into his chest, hair over your face from the wind. he smiles, uses his friend to push the stray hairs to get a clearer view of you. 

“you look happy.” he comments. 

“i am,” you mumble, squeezing his hand. “you’re holding my hand.” 

he chuckles, squeezing your hand back, “i am. didn’t wanna lose you.” 

“and what’s your excuse now?” you tease, standing on your tip toes so that your noses brush. 

“just in case,” he mumbles, leaning forward ever so slightly. 

your heart speeds up as you catch his gaze fall from your eyes to your lips for split second. you catch a glimpse of his smile, feel it ghost over you lips before he presses into you. his lips are warm, taste like cherry and vodka. soft, sensual, jack kisses you like he has all the time of in the world. his kiss dims the world around you, renders the cold ineffective as his touch heats your skin. 

but he pulls away before you get too hot, panting softly as his eyes search yours for a bit of emotion. maybe regret, or discomfort— anything that might tell him that he just made a big mistake. but instead he sees your shy smile, you flushed cheeks as he leans in to press one more peck against your lips.  

“and what was that for?” you ask, nose still brushing against his. 

jack smiles, shrugs. “just because.” 

[rosemarytrash]

me drama posting cuz i actually had a really good experience today but it was rly nerve wracking lmao

in case some of you didn't know, i currently live in montana!! it's a nice enough state for its nature and the like, but politically it's kind of a shit show. pros and cons y'know, but as a trans guy it's fairly lame. also, bcuz geography is important, i live in eastern montana, not on the cool western side where all the mountain queers go hang out. that's generalizing a lot but it is what it is so bare with

anyway, back in 2021 there was a bill passed (SB 280) that effectively made it impossible for trans people to change their gender marker on their birth certificate or other identifying documents without having a sex change surgery, while at the same time writing in that no surgery exists to change your sex on a chromosomal level or any of that bullshit. whereas before that bill was passed, montana law was a little more loosey goosey about it. mainly in that it didn't yet have a republican legislature hyperfixated on a culture war to drum up support so trans people weren't really IDENTIFIED by the law, which was ironically kind of easier to navigate. idk, shit weird, i'm no expert

anyway, tbh, i never really CARED about changing my gender marker. i changed my name legally back when i was like 15 or 16 and i believe, at that time, i had the option to simultaneously change my gender marker. for whatever reason, i decided not to. i think it had something to do with healthcare and trying not to fuck up the future possibility of getting on T, which didn't happen for another year for me. i've also always been fairly loose about my gender identity in terms of a full identification with maleness/manhood. like, i'm a guy, i'm a dude, don't call me anything except that, but on a deeply personal level i see myself a little more in between on that kind of scale. maybe something inherently non-binary but no label has ever quite fit the bill, so trans guy with an asterisk will have to do. anyway!!! i don't really recall why i made that call, but i had, and it truthfully never really got me into any trouble. for all the times i later had to flash my ID, even to this date, i can only really recall one time where a gas station clerk gave me a weird look and said "sir... ma'am... sir-ma'am... here ya go" when i was buying cigarettes lmao. i was never questioned about it by employers and as far as i know was never turned away from a job because of it (which is good because montana doesn't have employment protections for trans people (last i checked)). so i truthfully spent a good 7 or so years relatively unbothered by this fact or by the fact that i had an F on my driver's license. it was inconsequential to me

recently though with republicans doing more and more lines of anti-LGBTQ cocaine and more people becoming aware of trans people, it's been unsettling here. y'know just mildly discomforting. and mentally that is fatiguing. i've also only now encountered some bureaucratic bullshit that's like okay, wow, this is actually going to be a bigger problem in the future and i'm not wanting to deal with that. mainly in the form of i'm getting married here soon, we want to try and do some kind of honeymoon adventure in the distant future, so for that i need an passport and from what i've read that can be a real fucking headache for trans people and it can be even harder to change in the future. so like blugh. i'm also in the process of applying to grad school and it's just--kind of annoying to have to identify myself a certain way. it's weird cuz i won't pretend it's put me in some life-threatening situation or there's anything that feels DIRE about needing to change it, but it just feels like there'd be a lot less awkwardness and vulnerability if i did. ironically when montanans were less redpilled i didn't care about changing all my legal shit over, but now that your average grandpa here thinks of trans people as botched teenage girls or child predators in bathrooms and THAT's their reason for getting out of the house to go to the polls next year, well yeah now i give a shit about "deceiving" the system. idk it's dumb

anyway i actually KNOW the girl who is the plaintiff against the govt in the lawsuit against SB 280. she's really cool and it's cool that i know her. i ended up reaching out to her a few months back to ask how that was going and what it meant for changing your gender marker in MT. and fantastically i had found out that late 2022 the judge on the case had issued an order that forced the DPHHS to suspend its practice under SB 280 since it was a fundamentally unworkable law and to return to its original practice prior, which allowed trans people and frankly anyone else with good enough cause to change their gender marker without meeting some bullshit made up requirements by the state.

it then took me months to get the gumption to actually write, edit, and file a petition for it. which i finally did today, and it surprisingly all got done in an afternoon, even though hypothetically the courthouse at 1PM on a tuesday should've been fairly busy. i'll be interested to see how it goes, because just cuz it's filed doesn't mean anything is certain. to my knowledge, LEGALLY, it should be a done deal, i should get an order from the judge that will allow me to get a new birth certificate and a new driver's license and all that jazz. but what do i know? the judge may want to have a hearing about it, which could be incredibly awkward in a courtroom full of other people waiting to have their cases heard, but idfk. my fingers are crossed that it'll go okay.

and it was kind of a good experience? i was as anxious as one could imagine. i'm a bearded dude walking in with paperwork asking kindly for an F to become an M lol. and the gals at the courthouse were momentarily confused, raised a few brows, had to talk to someone to see what the current rulings were in that previously mentioned lawsuit, but they were nice enough about it. they got my shit filed, they took $120 from me rather apologetically cuz that's what shit costs to file a civil petition in the state district courts. i get to find out by email if the judge will just approve the order i drafted or if he's going to want to speak to me. and i'm hoping either of those things happen before the wedding so none of that paperwork becomes a headache.

anyway this is a long post cuz i have a lot of thoughts and either i ramble on and on to my fiancee about it or i just splurge on whatever few unfortunate souls decide to read this :) thx if you do. there's no point really to any of it yk just airing out some thoughts i guess. i'll go draw some gay shit now <3

[tastybluesprite]

Practice (Blue Lock)

YAY!! FINALLY WROTE FOR THESE TWO!!! I love Sae so much 😭 I also feel bad for him that he has to deal with Shidou lmao.

Warnings: Cursing, this is a tickle fic so if that’s not your thing just keep scrolling

Summery: Saes had enough of Shidous antics. Unfortunately there isn’t much he can do about it.

Sae Itoshi was going to kill Ryusei Shidou.

He decided he wanted to give him a very painful death and swore he’d follow through with it when he could. Why, may you ask? Well it all started from an incident that lead him into a downright humiliating situation.

“Sae-Sae pleeeeeaseee???” Shidou whined playfully.

“No.” Sae replied for the millionth time. The grumpy tone telling how fed up he was.

“But Sae-Sae I wanna practice with you!!!” Shidou cried, still following the pink haired prodigy around the field.

The U-20 team had another practice session for the upcoming match against the Blue Lock team, and Sae Itoshi finally agreed to join a practice. But only because he was on the team now for a while, and felt he needed to know who he had to work with. Certainly not because of Shidou. Definitely not. Not in a million years. Maybe…

“Stop with that nickname already! And would you give it a rest?! I’m not practicing with you right now. I’d rather just practice on my own. Juts fuck off.”

Shidou pouted at that.

“Well you’re no fun…” he said with disappointment, reaching to poke him in the ribs.

“Hnhg!”

….

Wait…

“Itoshi Sae what the fuck was that?” Shidou asked with a sly grin, taking notice how he had brought his hand to his side, possibly as a lame form of protection.

“N-nothing. Go away. Leave me alone!” Sae demanded, trying to regain the last bit of composure and pride he had left.

Shidou just smirked.

Sae looked back at him into his eyes almost as if to say, you better fucking not.

Suddenly the two had broke off into a full on chase. Saes legs were working over time today and he hated it.

The team soon took notice as they watched Shidou chasing Sae around the field.

“Wonder what’s got them so riled up?” Oliver Aiku commented as he finally noticed them, watching the two play chase.

Shidou seemed to be gaining on him, but Sae prided himself on being extremely quick and agile.

That is unless he forgot to tighten his shoe lace… which had in fact come complete undone during their little chase scene.

Just like that his agility went out the window, and Sae had fallen flat on his face.

He turned around to stand up. Before he could get up however, a massive weight had fallen on top of him, making him fall on his back, therefore keeping him straddled at the waist by Shidou on the damp and grassy ground of the field.

Unfortunately Shidou was a lot bigger and stronger than Sae could dream of becoming, so simply pushing him off was pretty much off the table. Regardless that didn’t stop his pride from trying to do just that. But it was futile no matter how much strength he put into his shoves.

“Where ya goin Sae-Sae?” Shidou teased, clearly not effected by the defense.

“Sh-Shidou get the fuck off!!” Sae protested, when he had nothing left. Getting angry was his last line of defense to try keeping his pride.

Shidou unfortunately had a counteract for that too.

“So, Sae… are you ticklish? Shidou asked with an evil grin.

“N-No!”

Crap, he said that way too fast.

“Then why’d ya run? Hmm~?”

“Because you’re annoying!”

“Then why are you so nervous?”

Well shit he got him there…

Without further ado, Shidou began wiggling his fingers up and down the pink haired boys sides.

Sae could do nothing but suppress his reactions, keeping his mouth sealed shut as he still continued to push at Shidou. If he was going down he wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Awe Cmon Sae-Sae don’t resist~ I already know you’re ticklish now so what’s the point? Well you could hide it for now… but it’s all fun in games till I find a partICKLulary bad spot~”

That damn bastard. He knew he was just trying to rule him up. Sae would rather kill himself than admit that stupid little pun almost made him break.

Suddenly however, Shidou next found a spot on his ribs. He just had to go for the ribs. The giggles finally overflowed.

“Sh-shihihihit!!!!” Sae cried, squirming around more vigorously as he pointlessly tried pulling his hands off him.

“Awwww there it is!” Shidou said with a wide grin of pure, gleeful satisfaction. Encouraged now, he dug into his ribs, pressing in between each groove as Saes laughter filled the air.

A bunch of other team mates had taken notice and stared in awe as they watched the usually stoic and clam prodigy squealing and laughing right there on the ground as he squirmed and writhed helplessly under Shidou.

“Should… we go help them?” One of them asked, sounding conflicted between concern and amusement.

“Nah~” Oliver Aiku said with a playfully lazy tone. “Little sir genius other there is probably just getting what he deserves.“

On their end however, Sae was having a not so easy time.

“SH-SHIHIHIDOHOHOU WAHAHAHAHAIT!!!!”

Sae had convulsed and threw his head back into loud cackles, as Shidous hands went around and found a spot on the back of his topmost rib.

“Uh-oh~ is this spot sensitive for you~?” Shidou teased with a smirk.

“FUHUHUCK YOHOHOHOHUU- NAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

As soon as he said that, Shidou decided screw it and went right for his armpits.

Sae wildly kicked out his legs from behind Shidou, arching his back and clamping his arms tightly, despite that not doing anything to help.

“FIHIHIHINE!!! FIHIHIHINE IHIHIHILL PRAHAHAHACTIHIHCE WIHIHIHITH YOHOHOHOU!!!!”

Shidous expression brightened. “Awe you mean that Sae-Sae?”

Sae would’ve replied. That is, if not for the fact that his laughter had gone hysterically silent.

Shidou realized this, because he had stopped his hands, pulling them out.

Sae Itoshi, usually the most cool, calm, and collected out of most, was a mess. His face was red from being flustered and laughing so hard, his usually tamed hair was all messy now, and residue giggles were still leaking out of his mouth.

“Fuhuhuuck I hahate yohou…” Sae groaned, rubbing away at his overexcited nerves.

“Yeah sure you do Sae-Sae…” Shidou grinned, grinning as he poked at the pink heads cheek.

Shidou then held out a hand. “Well? Are we gonna practice or not.” He asked with a knowing grin.

Sae, finally gaining his composure back, accepted the hand.

“Yeah sure. But only on the condition that you don’t get too overexcited. It’s exhausting.”

He got up to see the whole team staring at the two.

Right. First he was going to have to think of a really good excuse to spare himself the embarrassment of teases from the entire team. Ryusei Shidou was so fucking dead.

[imagine-silk]

Number 9/20 please, with either Preston or MacCready, with them being the one injured (Preston preferred, but which ever got you more inspired!)

》Nah, you're getting the two for one special. But Imma do it one at a time. [Ignore that last thing I lied]

Preston survived again. A band of super-mutants attacked a group of raiders, then those raiders ran to Sanctuary to get cover, or at least bodies between them and the mutants, resulting in the biggest raid since they took over. They picked up arms quick but quick is never enough. He survived but not everyone did.

The bullet taken out of his leg would effect him for weeks and you knew it. And he did what he always did in tragedies like this; he tried to keep going. He purposely refused painkillers to make sure he wasn't out of it enough to have to sit down, you weren't in the room at the time to make him take it. You would have shoved it down his throat.

His leg was barely wrapped when you caught him limping out to help with the clean up. You thought getting shot in the leg would persuade him enough to stay still but of course it wasn't. You quickly forced him back inside. It was ugly, the fight that came after. There was blood, sweat, and tears on both sides. You yelled at him and he yelled back.

In the heat of the moment, in that anger, you kicked his leg to grab him and get him to bed. It worked. He screamed and didn't struggle, he held onto you with all his trust knowing you would never drop him. You were both crying when you got to the bedroom, all of the anger faded away and everything left was mourning. "You're going to kill yourself."

"Would that be so bad?" In truth you didn't want him to go outside and see the devastation, especially if he was uninjured. You didn't want him to see the aftermath and you counted your lucky stars he was shot. He immediately saw your face and backtracked. "I didn't mean that-"

"Yes you did." You brought his hand to your mouth and kissed it, hard. It was pressing it against your teeth really. "I know you did."

MacCready would never consider himself a lucky man but being shot in the throat and living felt pretty lucky. It was a joke between the two of you that your luck rubbed off on him but now it felt true. Well, it didn't feel true when it happened. A farm needed to get water filters and none of them were fighters. Go figure.

You would think you would be caring and doting but the two of you were talking shit, about the gunners and each other. You said he was stupid to get shot. He said you were lame for not killing them in time for them to do it. But you both agreed they were dumb for successfully shooting him and failing to kill him. It was gallows humor but hey, it was the apocalypse.

He wasn't happy about it but you settled in an abandoned building for the foreseeable future. Annoyed, he sat on the couch and took the whole of it. No matter how hard or incessant you kicked he didn't move, just stuck his tongue out and said he couldn't because he was injured. To which you said if he was injured he shouldn't be talking and that his legs were fine. In the end you gave him the couch. He won the battle but you won the war; he was resting, so as far as you were concerned he was untitled to it.

In the night however, you woke up and he was sitting on the floor curled into a ball. He had his gun in his hand. Being shot at was nothing new for either of you, but having one be successful, and to be so close to a fatal shot...

It took a while to get him to sleep again and even then he woke up not too long after. You sat on the floor with him and he got closer and closer. When his thighs touched yours you kissed his neck, not doting but affirming. He responded by moving between your legs and laying on your chest, placing his ear right on the center. You held him with no judgment. "It's okay, man."

[thatgirlwithasquid]

Disabled Billy and Steve Week - Family

It isn't until Max switches off her stereo that she's able to pinpoint what the noise is. At first she thinks it's probably nothing. Why should she pay attention to some bumps and grumbling? Her and Billy are two growing kids in a shitty little house; it wouldn't surprise her if the whole thing had just been banging on their shared wall for her to turn her music down.

It's not though, at least not this time.It isn't Billy taking advantage of the mostly empty house to get himself in shape to either intimidate or impress Steve (she honestly can't be sure which it is anymore), and he's not even pounding on the other side of the wall for Max to be quiet. It sounds like he's redecorating his room... violently.

Another thump and--despite a small, petty part of herself saying 'just leave him to it, he's been more of an asshole than usual lately'--Max gets up and pushes her bedroom door open. It's barely two steps to Billy's door (again, tiny house, rooms right net to each other's... it doesn't leave much room for privacy or personal space) and then Max is raising her hand to knock; the sound of it is mostly lost beneath a final, louder crash and then a muffled thud.

For a second she hesitates, and then she opens the door. The final crash, apparently, seems to have been caused by Billy's desk chair being kicked across the room in a fit of rage. Or at least that's what Max is assuming from the fact it's on it's side across the space from where it belongs. It's not like Billy's room's huge, but that's probably still not good for the chair.

Then, finally, she registers Billy. He's sat on the floor, back to the wall and hands over his ears. The guy's looking up at her from beneath brows set into a furious scowl, but the effect of that is lessoned by his posture and the shining potential for tears in his eyes.

"Um," she says, rather eloquently.

Billy is still glaring.

"What's up?" she finishes, feeling lame.

For a long minute she just remains subject to Billy's glare. And then he looks away from her, staring at the floor like he wants it to burst into flames.

'Fine,' she thinks, 'be that way. See if I care.'

She's almost about to leave and go back to enjoying herself in her own room, listening to decent music and not the crappy metal Billy blasts all the time and--

"I can hear the fucking bubbles," Billy grumbles, and Max thinks for a second that she misheard him but, no, he's now subjecting the can of coke on his bedside table to his Death Stare.

Ah.

She gets it now. Billy's back may be facing the wall but it's not actually touching it, and he's wearing that faded band tshirt he always does when he's uncomfortable, and he's got his hands over his ears. So, it's one of those days.

Without saying another word, because doing anything will annoy Billy when he's like this and an annoyed Billy is an insufferable Billy, Max walks into his room, grabs the can, and walk straight back out.

Pouring the drink down the kitchen sink feels like a waste, but it's definitely not going in Billy's room, and Max certainly isn't drinking it because who knows what germs her brother has. The guy's pretty gross sometimes.

Rather than head straight back to her room, she swings through the living room and-- yep! There they are. Bright red ear defenders.

Billy doesn't snatch them from her hands when she offers them out, but it's a near thing. She counts that as the thanks it is and considers leaving but... She's seen the way he can't leave his hair alone on some days. She doesn't pretend to know if it's a restless movement thing, a preening thing, or a 'my hair is touching my neck and I hate it' thing, but she's definitely noticed him moving it around a lot on some days. Not because she cares or anything. Because she doesn't. They just live together and, y'know, small house...

With a huff of a sigh, she takes the hair tie from her wrist and holds it out to him. There's a pause where the both of them are just staring at the thing, and then Billy takes it, slow and careful. When he ties his hair up with it Max feels good for being useful... and, okay, maybe she cares about him a little. They're not, like, actually siblings or anything but she lives with him so she has to care. At least, that's how she justifies sitting across from Billy.

The silence is so loud. She hopes the ear defenders are helpful, because she'd love to block out whatever this pause right now is.

"Fucking autism," Billy murmurs. Finally. It feels like a truce. Some sort of olive branch.

Max nods. "Do you want some space?"

Billy just frowns at the floor again. Max shakes her head to herself and stares at the floor as well. The silence is a little less stifling now, suddenly. And maybe Max doesn't get all this perfectly, and Billy is still a pain in the ass... but she thinks that maybe they're okay. Maybe, weirdly, they are family, even on messy bad days.

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Pretty sure everyone is tired of the shipping discourseᵀᴹ that’s been going around. So let’s do something different with it. Between Stannis and Renly, who would be the better non-incest shipping partner for Jon Snow? I’m being serious. [Be sure to scroll down for the character explanations; you’ll need them to vote].

READ ME 👇:

Stannis Pros:

- Rightful king of the seven kingdomsᵀᴹ; Jon is on his side

- One of the greatest military generals in Westeros

- Knows about siege tactics; this will be important pretty soon once the Others breach the Wall

- Dutyᵀᴹ

- The King Who Caredᵀᴹ

- Badass war chant that got Jon going in ASOS: “Stannis! Stannis!! STANNIS!!!”

- Actually cares about the administrative crap and is probably good at it; point of commonality since Jon is quite concerned about interest rates and food rations

- Has a magic sword; Jon has one too so they can be couple swords

- May or may not be a prophesied hero of legend; Jon is a prophecy baby

- Good wartime king; would help Jon a lot when the Others breach the Wall

- Intimidating af; Freys and Boltons beware!

- BONUS POINTS: has an uber hot and powerful fire mage in his service; she’s also obsessed with Jon

Stannis Cons

- Rude and probably ugly

- Not the most personable; people who hate Jon would hate him even more once he and Stannis become a thing

- Probably most definitely a boring lover

- Grinds teeth which is annoying

- Doesn’t know how to have fun; Jon is already boring so Stannis would make him worse

- Him and Jon together: doom and gloom galore

Renly Pros:

- Popular; everyone likes him

- Because he’s so personable, he’s got great diplomatic potential; Jon needs this as he tries to convince Westeros to care about the WW threat

- Super hot; Jon is canonically into himbos

- Very funny; could probably launch a lucrative career as a comedian (Jon needs some joy in his life)

- Has experience in ✨governance✨ and ✨finances✨; Jon took out a bank loan once and Renly could give him helpful investment advice

- Pragmatic politician with a good sense of how to effectively neutralize political enemies; Jon could’ve used some of his advice in ADWD rip

- Big ass army; the NW is severely undermanned so big W for Jonno

- Close to the Tyrells who control all the grain so the NW wouldn’t have to starve (we can hear Jon yelling in the distance, he’s very happy about this)

- Him and Jon: grumpy x sunshine trope (which is adorable!)

- Being with him would give Jon a nice status boost; maybe people would be more willing to listen to him if he’s linked to an extremely popular king

Renly Cons:

- Jockᵀᴹ; Jon is already a jock so two jocks together is just not good

- Doesn’t seem to actually care about the administrative stuff; Jon won’t like that, he’s a certified beet counter

- Little evidence that he’d actually be good at ruling, or that he’d actually care to try (yikes)

- NOT a prophesied hero and does NOT have a magic sword (lame)

- Jon would have to fight Loras for him; rip Jon

- Willing to put children in danger; Jon WOULD NOT like that

- Willing to starve people for political points; Jon won’t like that, he’s very food conscious!

[jichanxo]

hey i'm back to be annoying about sensei fic i don't remember if you've talked about that before (i think you did), and also i'm afraid that it may be considered as a spoiler (?), but! how much of amasawa and itokura's story will you include here? (they are very important to me, your honour) (the potential of parallels to kwgm is here as well and everything)

never annoying! I’m enjoying writing my paragraphs of rambling, so thank you more under the cut again lol. spoilers for lost judgment and also my own fic i suppose lmao

this is kind of difficult to answer because I don’t want to overpromise anything… I am unfortunately a “fuck it we ball” writer which means I am not really used to planning anything at all really (which is why I write mostly oneshots. I usually write everything blind) and that means that while I have ideas about what I want to do, I can’t really say anything definitive until I feel out my plans more concretely…

for what it’s worth though, I’d be shocked if amasawa and itokura didn’t appear the most out of everyone (aside from yagami and kitakata), since the mrc is effectively the centrepiece of both plots: being the main reason kitakata and yagami see each other, and of course I’m going to try and make an altered version of the school story plot work here. I expect there’ll be more of them than kaito and sawa, certainly…

one of the planned major beats in the kuwagami plot is having yagami actually let kitakata in on the professor investigation and not just blow him off. he might think that kitakata will just get in the way, but he has to accept that kitakata’s interest in the investigation and care for his students is legitimate and valid! keeping him in the dark and ignoring how he feels is wrong! anyway. my point is, that to resolve this plot beat, it’s unavoidable to talk about itokura and the professor, so no matter how I end up getting there, itokura (and by extension amasawa) are going to be crucial. you’re right about the parallels angle too… gonna gnaw on that… gotta figure that out… kuwagami but if they were both girls and in highschool and more emotionally intelligent… the idea of kitakata and yagami being a mess and super lame while the kids in the club are much more put together? it’s just too funny to pass up on… I can already imagine itokura complaining to amasawa about how she wishes they would just grow up already.

amasawa and itokura are really great and I also like them a lot! there’s a lot of interesting stuff with them to grab onto, both with canon – yagami’s relationship to them both, and with new stuff – inventing new stuff for them with kitakata! itokura and kitakata especially feel like a surprisingly natural fit – kitakata who wants to make sure no student around him feels the way that kusumoto mitsuru did, and itokura who was estranged and pushed out of school by her peers… it’s a relationship that would be engaging and interesting to develop on both sides… I really can’t pass up on that… so thematically rich… I imagine their relationship rn as being kind of awkward and a little tense. they probably get along best when they’re talking (cough arguing cough) about mystery novels.

one of the things on my to-do list for sensei fic right now (aside from taking thorough notes on school stories and general editing) is definitely trying to feel out this relationship, in particular before yagami enters the picture (@/four-white-trees poked me about this ages ago. thank you!!) presumably kitakata doesn’t let all of that happen to itokura without trying to do something about it, right? and yet, he still fails. yagami’s intervention is the one that brings itokura back to school. hence why I imagine things between them being a little awkward… that shared history…

though I imagine that it piques kitakata’s interest that yagami succeeded where he’d previously failed. So yknow. This Too Is Kuwagami. A surefire way to make kitakata fall in love with you: 1. be hot 2. legitimately care about and take action for the wellbeing of students

anyway! while nothing is set in stone, that’s what I have in mind about amasawa and itokura right now… though most of it ended up being about itokura… there’s still a lot I gotta figure out, but I’m definitely looking forward to poking at them some more! Itokura’s attitude is going to be a lot of fun to write, and amasawa is always a delight, and I love having her be the voice of reason between kitakata and yagami when they’re being ridiculous lol. thank you for the ask o7

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #4

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. In my world, we've had a bit of a weird sickness going on around the world for the last several years now. People jokingly refer to it as "The Plague" sometimes. But it's not really a joke, because lots and lots of people have died from it, and still more have had to be hospitalized, and still others have suffered permanent effects because of it. It's really rather scary, so most everyone tries really hard to avoid getting it or spreading it around. On the bright side, there are vaccines for it now, and tests to detect it, so that really helps a lot, but the danger isn't quite over. I don't have The Plague, thankfully; I checked. But even if I did, I'm vaccinated, so that if I do end up catching it, I won't feel like I've been hit by a truck nearly as hard. It's about time for me to get my immunity boosted for it though, so I'm going to go do that later today. It'll be lame, because anytime my immune system gets poked by a thing that it feels like it's gotta challenge to a street fight, I get really tired. Still, feeling a bit tired is better than the alternative. I seem to have a generic and very mild case of the sniffles. The inside of my nose feels just a little weird, and it was really only annoying for one day, and it's already a lot better; I'll probably be fully recovered by tomorrow. All the same, I thought to make a batch of my famous (it's not really famous, except amongst my closest friends, haha!) bone broth:

Ahah... I know it probably looks really bad right now, but that's because it's not all done yet! It's made of leftover chicken bones, fruit and veggie scraps, and various herbs and teas. You have to simmer it for a day or so in water with a little bit of vinegar to help everything break down nicely, so that all the juicy nutrients can seep deliciously into the water! Once it's all done with simmering, you have to use a cheesecloth to squish the water out of everything, strain it, and then season it. It'll be very good when it's ready, and the resulting concoction will lend a body a bit more strength and energy, which speeds up recovery time from illness or stress by just a little bit, and makes the waiting to become well again a bit more bearable. You can use it to make soups, make rice with it, or just drink it straight from a cup; it's good stuff! It's certainly not like the potions and elixirs and whatnot that are available in your world, which can instantly revitalize a body, ahaha! But this sort of thing, made with love, is imbued with a very weak (but still meaningful!) kind of magic, which makes it the next best thing, in my book! There will probably be a lot more here than I can use on my own, so once it's ready, I'll put a bunch of it in jars and give it away to my friends, if they want some. I wish I could give you a jar; I know you're doing lots of very difficult stuff where you are, and so I'm sure you could use all the passive buffs you can get! Maybe you could have a few sips, and then feel just a little happier or a little more at ease. Or maybe you could have it as a nice soup or stew; when's the last time you've eaten anything, anyway? I imagine you're being sustained by SOMETHING, but that doesn't mean that you don't need basic creature comforts like a good soup from time to time; for all your phenomenal power, you're still human after all, and you deserve nice things. I wonder if you've ever been sick with the sniffles, or with generic gut yuck, or anything similar. I wonder if you've had someone nearby to bring you soup when you're feeling unwell. If you've not had these experiences, I hope you can have them someday; even if mild illness is unpleasant temporarily, to experience it and to be cared for in its duration is good medicine for the soul in the long term. Tell you what: if you're ever feeling icky and you're in my neighborhood (unlikely to the point of being absolutely and utterly impossible, I know, haha! but still...), pop on by for tasty snacks, a good nap, random conversation, and wholesome stuff to do; it'll set you to rights lickety-split, without a doubt - I promise. Please be safe out there, won't you? And remember to take good care of yourself while you're doing whatever you're doing; too many people are counting on you to allow yourself to break down from stress and overwork. And please remember to ask for help should you find yourself struggling; you might be surprised by just how many hands are willing to reach for you and lift you up. You are loved. Please come back to us in one piece. Your friend, Lumine

[mooifyourecows]

okay here are my thoughts on Netflix’s Wednesday as someone who loves the Addams Family and hates Tim Burton, spoilers obviously:

Wednesday being perfect at everything and having everyone love and idolize her is so very “boring main girl” of her. like if your protag’s only flaw is that she doesn’t trust people and wants to be a lone wolf, then don’t even bother

the weird almost love triangle thing was dumb and unnecessary. the artist guy came off as whiny and insufferable and the coffee shop guy felt insincere from the get go. also really? two pasty beanpole boys with no discerning characteristics other than one is a ‘tortured artist’? lame.

I’d rather watch a series about Bianca, tbh

the cello cover of Paint it, Black made me laugh so hard. Cheesy!

the cello cover of Nothing Else Matters was sick as hell though

Wednesday just selfishly uses everyone throughout this show. The only person she’s nice to is Eugene and yet EVERYONE pines for her attention. and they don’t do a good job of telling us WHY. she’s unpleasant. she makes it clear from the beginning that she’s not interested in anybody. she’s cold and callous, spitting out these abrasive quips and showing everyone up in classic Main Girl fashion. she’s constantly making demands of Enid for her own selfish gain. even when she “returns the favor” the show makes it ALL ABOUT HER

i hate the isolation of Wednesday from the rest of the family, especially since they were trying to convince us that she “doesn’t fit in” when Wednesday canonically is the perfect Addams. She is the ideal representation of what an Addams is. PUGSLEY is the black sheep, and i would have loved to see a show about THAT

the best episode was literally ep 5 when the family is together again. i actually genuinely enjoyed watching that one, and Wednesday wasn’t an annoying, selfish bitch, which was a total bonus. her little interrogation of Gomez in the prison was awesome, the back and forth was SO classic Addams Family wit and banter. i loved Luis Guzman’s performance. he was perfect.

Gwendolyn Christie was such a smokeshow awoooga. though i was kinda disappointed with how her character went. i wish she was given a bit more nuance. i thought she was going to be portrayed as a somewhat dopey and pitiful woman who has a secret badass side that comes in clutch at the end but eh that’s what i get for getting my hopes up i guess

Eugene was cute. i didn’t care for his horny side and think he would’ve been better if he didn’t have that tiny bit of girl craze. i mean, they drop it so quickly that it was a complete waste of time anyway. though, credit where credit is due, when he’s out in the woods, watching the cave, and he hears that cricket and then has it in a jar the next time it shows him, that was cute and funny and i liked it

i enjoyed Wednesday’s dance. it was quirky and unnerving and fun and took a step away from her “i’m too good for this shit” attitude that she’d had the entire show thus far

i’m glad that Bianca had some depth to her rather than just being the popular bitch to rival Wednesday. she deserved more time though.

The CGI!!!! was TACKY!!!!! lmaoooo???? there’s nothing in the Wikipedia page for this show about the budget and that’s INCHRESTING because it’s a big production, and Netflix sunk a LOT of attention and time into it, so I would assume that the budget was massive, and yet the CGI looked like THAT???? lmaooooooo stop. how embarrassing

On the other hand though... Thing was great. Viva la practical effects!!!! i’m so glad they didn’t try to cg him because that would have really annoyed me. I’m not anti CGI but i am anti lazy CGI when practical effects could have done a better job

Uncle Fester was great too! disappointed that he was only there for one episode. god i long for the entire family to come back. i understand that they wanted to do something different, but overall i felt like i was watching a goth rip off of harry potter.

it was fine though. i get that it was meant for an audience that wasn’t Me. I think Jenna Ortega was a good Wednesday, even if i didnt care for how she was written, and the rest of the family was cast well too. the second half of the show was better in terms of direction and pacing, and those were the episodes Tim Burton didn’t direct so, wow go figure, to nobody’s surprise whatso-fucking-ever.

anyway eehhhh i wasn’t going to watch it because im a big fan of the originals and i knew it was going to stray far far away from them, but here we are. i’m sure they’re going to milk it for 5 or 6 season and im not sure i’ll watch them. maybe. if they entice me with more Family involvement.

[innsjovide]

some misc thoughts about modern horror (especially indie horror video games & internet horror [such as args and whatnot])

tw for discussion of horror topics obv and also my very biased opinions

[please note that my interests are usually peripheral to this stuff and I don't actually consume almost any of it, but I still have opinions on it bc I am an opinionated bitch]

rant under cut

it seems to me that a lot of modern popular horror media follows the same general trends and themes & that this has been happening for the past decade or so

those themes in question being 'sick and twisted horror under the guise of innocence'

this has always been an element of horror obv its not like fnaf invented the idea of making a children's thing creepy but its definitely had a rise in popularity in the past few years

in part bc of fnaf

and now you see it everywhere, its the most prevailing theme in modern horror media.

its in horrible steam games called 'bimbaps playtime' its in every new arg that comes out its in fucking yandere simulator its in everything you see and because its in everything you see there's nothing else interesting

and yes there are interesting things to do with this concept but when its all that's being done then the amount of things you can do with horror based on children's media

like I genuinely thing having horror based on children's media and this pretense of innocence limits the depth of theme you can actually go into bc ur limited by the aesthetics of 'childrens media but with blood'

bc even when you're twisting it into something dark and evil and horrific its still in some capacity got the trappings of children's media. it's limited by the fact its pretending to be something else and that's ugly

and its not like this sort of theme cant work well I mean. religious horror (which I am a huge fan of always) typically does the same thing but with jesus instead of chuckie cheese but idk it works better IMO there's more u can do

its like. we get it. the children's thing is secretly fucked up bc of whatever reason its seems like theres nothing there its just lame

also body horror gets extremely more lame when its a plush/puppet/toy/whatever instead of an actual human being with actual guts. miss me with all that symbolism shit it just doesn't pack the same punch

the inside of a build-a-bear will never illicit the same visceral reaction as actual legit intestines

[little side note obv horror doesnt need to be gory to be effective but theres something to be said about how the lack of actual violence against humans tones down the horror]

[little side note 2 I am mostly referencing the welcome home arg with this point and also fnaf and those are 2 separate things bc I'm pretty sure that imitation gore is not what the wh creator is trying to do with their story (their project actually seems pretty well written for this genre) and ik fnaf has actual gore but its lame and all kinda the same concept IMO (machine stabs u or whatever) also I hate fnaf and all the terrible things its done to this genre]

these projects seem to be lacking some of the things that make horror such an evocative genre. things such as themes. and social commentary. and things that are actually scary instead of just jumpscares

it all just seems so vacant and stupid and I also hate the culture around having to dig around for the actual secrets of a story. arg culture has done a lot for internet culture and unfortunately that is one of the annoying things. the actual plot of ur thing should not be hidden in ASCII art in the code of ur development blog

idk man I guess I just cant take ur horror concept seriously when the thing I'm supposed to be afraid of looks like a funko pop

the genre just seems so confining rn and I know that's bc this sort of stuff is extremely popular bc it appeals to people who want lighthearted stuff in addition to horror content but its just so fucking. lame.

horror for children is lame and bad. its too violent for children and too simple for adults (at least adults who enjoy actually thought out stories) and all the horror that's really popular rn is. pretty much just horror for children

TLDR

cj innsjovide is pissed off bc modern horror/horror for children lacks themes and stories bc its. for children. also fnaf still sucks

[allbeendonebefore]

🧑‍🦰🗣🤔💖🎲 for Ed if you’re feeling up to it!

🧑‍🦰 - Have they ever dyed their hair? Ever cut it themself?

Hmm this is probably a more loaded question than people might think. On the lighter side I've joked that oh yeah didn't ed dye his hair black because of that meme a while back remember when your whole city had a goth phaseeee. I would also assume he cuts his own hair because he is cheap af.

But it's loaded because growing up Ed did have long hair and was forced to conform to a certain image upon becoming capital. Having long hair would have been culturally significant to him and having it cut and keeping it short has a painful cultural impact that still affects him to this day, so his relationship with having long hair has become... complicated to say the least.

🗣️ - How do they handle public speaking?

Ed has had over a century to practice public speaking and I think while he has improved he's rarely been good at getting people to listen to him or take him seriously. He was a lot more withdrawn near the turn of the 20th-21st centuries and only within the last decade or so has he actually taken more of an interest in a leadership role (though less of the province and more of other big and mid-sized cities across the country). He's trying to get away from the lecturing approach he usually took in the past but it's hard to shake sometimes.

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand?

the rest of the province, lol. how he condemned himself to lead such a contrary annoying bunch and whether it was worth it.

💖 - How and how often do they try to impress their partner(s)? How and how often do their partner(s) impress them?

This is something that depends on which of us is writing the canon probably hahaha. I only vaguely gesture at Ed's romantic history on the blog and generally leave it for others (read: Quatsch and Windex) to interpret and explore haha.

when he was younger he definitely tried changing a lot about himself to be whatever he thought someone wanted, which i suppose is understandable because his time to figure himself out was strewn with obstacles anyway. he has a tendency to get stuck in uneven relationships where one person is the object of admiration and the other is bending over backwards to be acknowledged (and has probably been on both ends of that spectrum)

Nowadays I like to think he's sort of growing out of that and is focusing much more on figuring himself out and that has the happy side effect of impressing people without having to try as hard. He still gets flustered and self conscious when he realizes something he's doing is "lame" or "stupid" though, even though he's trying harder not to hide pieces of himself under bad habits.

🎲 - Pick a random question to answer from this list.

uhh let's see how about 🎶 - What’s a song they really like?

this is the question where i plug my own local music taste hehehe

I feel like Polarized - Scenic Route to Alaska is one getting repeated on his rotation a lot lately.

[bmpmp3]

recently i read sora wo kakeru yodaka and it was NUTS i really liked it! another manga on my list of things i desperately want official physical translated releases of LOL

it was mostly really well written and handles some tough topics pretty good (and maybe some tough topics not so well but you know) and it was absolutely bizarre which is all i can hope for from a bodyswapping drama story

and the ART it wasnt perfect but the facial expressions were really strong, specifically with Shiro..... bro was INTENSE and so fucked up i loved it

and OF COURSE kaga was mvp he was my little guy i wanted to pinch his wittle cheeks. this is what happens when youre 25 reading shoujo manga set in highschools btw, u start treating these anime boys like youre their annoying auntie <3

it was short and sweet at only 3 volumes. is sweet the right word. um. well it has sweet moments LOL you know between this and shit like Arisa, i really love psychological drama type shoujo manga -- like if you ever wanna see the scariest 16 year olds in your life you know where to find them

also mild spoilers:

but yeah like everyone else i thought the ending with ayumi getting back together with shiro was weird as hell LOL LIKE the rest of the ending was super satisfying with friendship and forgiveness and all that good stuff but like the romance part.....

i really love shiro, his aforementioned facial expressions are great and this kid has so much wrong with him <3 but alas as a side effect of the premise you get so little interaction with him and ayumi, not even much in flashbacks either outside of like one or two, so you really don't feel their relationship very much. i definitely feel that shiro loves ayumi, but on page we see very little as to why ayumi likes him compared to her chemistry with kaga

of course i dont mind that she didn't get with kaga, romance isnt the end all be all, but i would have preferred either that OR moreso i would have preferred an ending where no one gets together and its kinda ambiguous and focused on friendship. i think i like those types of endings with this kind of story because i like the idea that they have a bit of time to grow and rework their friendships and get better WHICH IS LAME I KNOW but i like it <3

there seems to be a live action adaptation (if no one got me (shoujosei manga reader) i at least know jdrama fans got me!!!!) and from what i can tell its pretty accurate (although kaga and shiros actors have like. switched hair colours compared to their drawn counterparts which is throws me off LOL) based off the fact that the complaints about the ending are the same HDKFJSDFD but yeah i dunno. part of me wonders if maybe the author didnt want it to seem like ayumi was cheating or unfaithful or something by getting into a relationship with kaga while her body is still dating shiro? my definition of cheating is not as loose as that but i know some people can be sensitive about it

either way its the journey not the destination for me as a shoujosei reader (especially because of how many series get canned early and have to wrap up in like 2 chapters LOL) and it was one hell of a journal with some batshit art and concepts. also a 40 year old man to parakeet to human woman situation in the background. is this gender? maybe

[bearpillowmonster]

Mass Effect 3 Review (Legendary Edition)

I played the original 2 back to back so I took some time between 2 and 3 because I knew it was the last one *clears throat* but it puts me in a unique situation because I can view it fresh rather than trying to compare it oh so much.

So in terms of aging, it starts out very linear. There were a lot of things added with the Legendary Edition to the other games but this one, being the more recent one, didn't seem to get all the glow ups I think it should have. Controls can seem janky like trying to target what you're trying to select/interact/melee with. Running forces your perspective to whatever direction it requires. It carries over some of that darkness from before where I can barely see where I'm going at times, I've explained it before. I had a few bugs and glitches where something gets in the way or Shep will start floating, audio like a broken record, prompts that don't do what they say. PC might not have those same problems though.

I've heard it criticized as either the best or worst in the trilogy and now I see why. It focuses more on "action over RPG" as they describe it but there's a lot of welcome additions like the pummel. It just seems like it's trying to show you this spectacle yet it's PS3 Era explosions and kind of lame ones at that. The sky boxes can be gorgeous as well as busy though, so I guess it evens out a little bit.

I got to where I hit the Citadel DLC and decided that was a good time to break. I came back and my opinion of this game was changed. The writing was great, the action was tight, the moments were cool, it really brought it back for halftime.

In terms of story, a lot happened off screen but it's not too much of a hamper because you get the gist that it's just trying to get the band back together (again). The characters are a bit even, we don't seem to have as many new characters but most of the old ones return, some get good treatment, some don't, it's a toss up. Even the villains I feel could've got a bit more with Kai Leng being introduced kind of late.

With the impending doom of everywhere, there comes some interesting choices you can make just off hand with random strangers to try to make them make peace rather than wasting what precious moments they have left, so you'll hear a lot of arguments that you can take a side on. Interesting dialogue too, someone asking for a refund and the clerk refusing, an immigration refusal, a wife leaving.

The Mako...I miss it. I get that it was complained about but now we have no vehicles, its a shame. That was some of the the best fun I've had with the games and is most of why I hold ME1 higher than the rest, it just seemed like something you'd do in space. The world setup is different too, in 2 you could go around and inspect systems and planets and find weird side missions by doing so and complete the index. Some had materials worth using for the ship. And you can look at these worlds but they might as well be ornaments. Outside of already set up side mission waypoints, the remaining ones serve no purpose. It's almost like they planned to include that system from 2 but ran out of time. Instead the reapers chase you if you scan an area, which is cool and makes sense in context but that's it. They catch you and you just start over, no battle, no cutscene, nothing.

As far as the DLC, it's not really DLC anymore because it's just part of the game with the remastered edition but if you were curious...

From Ashes just adds Javik and guns, stuff that was originally cut so worth it. Leviathan was kind of annoying but gives you more insight and explanation as to the Reapers and their origin rather than just shoving it all at the end, still some cool moments though. Omega was disappointing because it dragged on and on and was dark in little corridors, the story was weaker than it could've been but at least we had Aria...As I mentioned Citadel kind of became essential for me and the most worthy out of this list, really cool stuff that added naturally to the game. Even with these though, I spent about the same amount of time with it as the second one, but where I felt a lot of tedious stuff with ME2, I felt more mainline (aside from Omega) with this one. So same score but better than 2, lesser than 1. 3.5/5

Oh...that ending thing...so a lot of people don't like the ending and I can kind of see why but it's not really the worst ending or anything. As I mentioned, some inclusion of the DLC made the ending worthwhile so vanilla might seem salty. By this point, I was already satisfied with the game and really the ending is kind of bittersweet no matter which route you go. They all have similar cutscenes (or rather, paintings) just with different colors and meanings and stuff. I suppose Green is probably the happiest, Red probably being something you'd expect, Blue being a somewhat middle ground and Empty being more bittersweet than any of them. It's really only questionable because it tries to redefine the game for you at the very end. What do you fight for?

[curestardust]

Dust Watched: Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka IV: Shin Shou - Meikyuu-hen | Fuka Shou - Yakusai-hen

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Non-Isekai with Isekai rules // 22 episodes //  S01 (x) | S02 (x) | S03 (x) | Alt (x) | M01 (x)

Well. colour me surprised (a bit)!

✧  story  ✧

Danmachi Season 4 got split into 2 but as they’re all just one long story I’ll be reviewing it as one and instead focus on the arcs. Also spoilers.

The first arc is pretty run of the mill boring stuff I usually expect. Bell, his Familia and some others form a party to go to the lower floors for the first time. Their first mishap is some odd moss monster aka Moss Huge. Bell gets split off from the group, meets the Waifu-of-the-Season who’s a mermaid Xenos with super-effective healing blood. He then trots his way back to his party who’re in a desperate battle agaisnt the Moss Huge, unlocks a new power and sends it to the shadow realm. 

Most annoying of all, besides the forced waifu introduction, was the powercreep. They have Aisha with them, her and Bell being the only Level 4s in the party. Well, while Bell is gone, Haruhime casts her level-up spell on Aisha, making her a Level 5... which is completely ignored by the plot. Lame.

Anyway, onto Arc 2 where things get a bit spicier. Ryuu makes an appearance as she is chasing after the last remaining member of the Evilus (yes, EVILus) Familia who slaughtered her Familia. This dude, Jura, with the help of his lackies manages to summon the monster that was the actual cause of it. An almost undefeatable, insanely deadly Irregular spawned by the Dungeon itself when it feels threatened, the Juggernaut. THIS thing was a TREAT. The very first monster that actually managed to pose a threat to the protagonist!! Insane!! It actually slices off Bell’s arm and almost snaps his neck in half but alas, this is where our mermaid waifu makes her appearance once again and literally just fuses back his arm. FUCK! We were *this* close to perfection. Khm, anyway. Bell comes back, him and Ryuu fight the bitch then when all seems lost they get swallowed by a Lambton which is just a giant snake.

This is where season 1 ends. It was... meh. Standard fair in the beginning, shows some promise near the end. I was almost enjoying it but then Bell got his arm back which was lame. Ryuu’s past and actions also got completely flipped on its head when Jura reveals how her Familia *actually* died (more in that in the character section). Thankfully this gets addressed in the 2nd season, though.

Onto Arc 3, which is by far the best in probably the entirety of Danmachi in my opinion. Now, considering that I hated all previous seasons that doesn’t say much but for real, it was pretty good.

The focus is split into 2. The Lambton barrels down all the way to the Deep Floors (10 levels down) where Bell and Ryuu finally get out of it. Meanwhile, the rest of Bell’s party is back on Floor 25 where they have no idea what’s going on as they never saw the Juggernaut, only know that the Dungeon is freaking out. 

Here comes the accidentally best part of the anime; Bell’s harem has been left alone without him coming to help them thus giving them screentime and finally letting them show that they ARE badass even without the plot-armoured main character. The Floor Boss actually spawns ahead of time and as all exists are blocked off, the small team has to fight for their lives against it. In the episodes where this is going on we occasionally get glimpses at Bell and Ryuu in the Deep Floors but those are usually only a few minutes before we get back to the Action. Similarly, as things quiet down with this group we slowly switch focus to the other two and soon stick to only following them.

This part was honestly... great? The side-characters finally getting screentime, Bell actually shitting his pants for once and Ryuu keeping him from falling apart while not only having to deal with the Juggernaut itself but Floor 37′s monsters.

Story-wise, keeping everything inside the dungeon was a 10/10 decision.

✧  characters  ✧

Again, seeing Bell actually losing it was good to see. As was seeing his harem fight without him, although they kept talking or thinking about Bell constantly which was a bit annoying. “Do NOT let the viewers forget for a second who the most important character in this anime is, even when he is not on screen!!!!” is what I imagine the writer thought.

Delving into Ryuu’s backstory more, I was initially a bit scared. What we have been told all this time was that another Familia killed hers, the Astraea Familia, and thus she went on a “righteous” rampage and murdered them in revenge.

However, we have now been told that in fact.... it was an accident? The Astraea Familia and the Evilus Familia have been constantly fighting for a long time and during one of these encounters in the Dungeon, the Evilus blow up so much of the place that they ACCIDENTALLY summon the Juggernaut. The existence of this creature is a Top Secret, so no, it wasn’t planned. The Juggernaut then proceeds to not only murder the Astraea Familia but the OTHER ONE AS WELL with only Ryuu and Jura escaping from it.

?????????? Well, this certainly changes things. However... However! Despite me thinking that the writer was gonna brush off the implications of the truth, how much this can alter the viewers’ perception of Ryuu, they didn’t. Through her, we get acknowledgment that she really is not righteous who slaughtered the Evilus Familia for justice. She... wanted to die. And was hoping to bring as many people who had even the slightest bit to do with her misery with her to the grave. But she survived. And this whole time she thought she has lost who she was, that she didn’t deserve to live, and deep down was hoping to meet her end defending someone because she couldn’t defend her Familia.

Ryuu would’ve been great of course, and was for the majority of the Season but it was like the writer remembered at the last second that each season needed a waifu for Bell and as these 2 were the only ones together... sigh. Well, now she also wants to ride his dick. *eye roll* 

Small things I wanted to mention but don’t feel like getting too deep into: Cassandra’s God is an asshole for not telling everyone that her visions are actually true and making not only them but Cassandra herself doubt everything.

Jura was the most run-of-the-mill, screeching, evil-laughing, basic-ass villain I’ve seen in a while. Good thing the monster took him out. Juggernaut my beloved <3.

Lack of Hestia was great, I really can’t put up with her jealous antics. Lili is plenty by herself, jesus christ. 

New mermaid waifu got shifted, she was literally introcuded as a deus-ex-machina. The Xenos are still insanely boring btw.

✧  art  ✧

Fight scenes get big focus (especially the ones involving Bell, but 2nd season puts effort into his team’s too). The environment design was pretty nice but the monsters quite cliché. It’s a bit hard to see much in the Deep Floors but it adds to the atmosphere so *shrug*.

✧  sound ✧

OP’s immediately went on my Spotify playlist. The VA’s (especially Ryuu’s) were great (but Bell had a very funny scream when his arm got cut off hahahaha).

✧  overview ✧

Ryuu is great, please let Bell actually lose a limb or smth next time, and I’m forver missing the Juggernaut who made my dreams come true (actually posed a threat to MC).

My Rating: 5/10 | 7/10