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iamasaddie · 5 months

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hangry

paring: Tim Rockford x f!Reader rating: explicit (18+ minors DNI) word count: 3k~ summary: You and Tim get stuck in a shitty motel in the middle of nowhere with only one bed to share.

warnings: one bed trope kinda but it's not the center of the fic; explicit sexual content (don't wanna ruin the surprise with too descriptive tags); talk of food, mentions of eating; age gap (Tim is twice the age of the reader, but reader's age is not specified); no use of y/n.

a/n: an absolute gem @beefrobeefcal once (last fucking year but i'm as fast as a snail in a coma) suggested to write fics using the prompt "Wait, why didn't you tell me you had a bag of those?" and I rolled with it. Here's the result! also it wouldn't have been as pretty as it is without the help of the loveliest @noxturnalpascal who helped me correct all of my silly mistakes!

MY MAIN MASTERLIST

“This is some fucking bullshit.” Detective Tim Rockford threw his case to the floor, still catching his breath from climbing four floors up.

“Don’t be so negative, Detective Rockford, at least we have a bed.” You chuckled, looking around the poorly furnished room. Wallpaper that was yellow from time, and not because of a designer’s choice; two uncomfortable looking armchairs with a small coffee table straight from the 70s between them; a TV with a “not working” sign attached to it with a sticky tape; and the bed, that caused most of the controversy between you and your new partner. The bedspread was a tacky shade of orange, causing you to scrunch your nose and pray that it was at least changed once this week.

Apparently, a small town in the middle of nowhere couldn’t keep a cafe open in the middle of the night even if it was a crime scene, and yet it had a fully booked motel straight from Lovecraft’s novels. The yellow glow of the bedside lamp cast a sickly light over the room, adding to the stark feeling of isolation. You did suspect that the bookings were a total lie and the tired looking owner just didn’t want to clean two rooms after your inevitable check out in the morning. You didn’t tell Tim about your suspicions, though.

The man was still standing next to the front door, both of his hands on his hips and a frown on his face.

“No fucking cars in the parking lot, and yet they’re fully booked. They think I’m that stupid. Fucking lazy ass people.”

You just groaned in response and kicked the armchair before throwing yourself on the bed.

“Oh for Christ’s sake, Rockford, stop being such a wuss. If you’re so scared about your virtue I can sleep on the floor.” You pointed at the raggedy carpet, but hoped he wouldn’t accept your offer. After spending 6 hours in a car you wanted nothing more than to take a shower and slip into bed. In some ways, you were even glad you had to postpone your crime scene investigation until the next day.

Tim just huffed and shook his head. He picked up his case where he’d thrown it and placed it on one of the armchairs instead, disposing his trench coat on top.

“You wanna head to the shower first?” The man asked, easing his tie with one hand and pointing to the only other door with his head.

“No, you go,” your stomach grumbled and you remembered something that made you curse inwardly with annoyance. “I forgot something in the car, gonna run down and back.”

“Poor thing,” he said plainly, his intonation not showing an ounce of care, “I would leave it there, if I were you.”

“Of course you would,” you looked him up and down, his broad shoulders tightly bound in the gun holster, following lower where his white shirt was straining along his soft, slightly protruding belly, and lower still to his thighs in his usual black slacks. Tim cursed every living and dead being on his way up, and when you heard his knees pop you felt genuinely sorry for him, even though you felt your mouth fill with saliva as his buttocks flexed right in front of your face.

Tim coughed, and as your eyes came back to his face you saw one of his eyebrows almost disappear into his hairline. His raised brow revealed his bemusement, making you realize that your hunger, that went beyond just food, had been so consuming that you had become lost in your thoughts and your lingering. He shook his head and disappeared behind the creaking door that led to the bathroom.

The only thing that rained on your parade as you ran to the car Tim drove was exactly that - rain. You tugged your thin jacket tighter around yourself, feeling the cold wetness already seeping through it.

“Bingo! Here you are.” You drew two celebratory fists in the air and then tugged the crinkling bag from under the car’s backseat. It must’ve fallen while you were on the road and for a moment you had a scare that you just imagined taking the thing with you. You pressed your treasure to your chest as you quickly returned to the room you left moments ago.

Rockford was nowhere to be seen when you sat on the edge of the bed, your soaked through jacket and jeans disposed of on the vacant armchair. Your much less formal attire that you wore to work finally did you good, and you tugged your oversized t-shirt a bit lower as you rummaged the plastic bag you brought for the thing you wanted most. A brightly colored pack of mini-waffles warmed your heart almost as much as the memory of your first kiss with your high school crush. Anticipating the sweetness on your tongue, you opened the pack in a hurry, fully tuning out everything else. You didn’t hear the water in the shower stop, or the wet sound of Rockfords bare feet closing in on you. A sudden wave of relaxation washed over you as you bit into the soft, buttery waffle, indulging in its delightful sweetness. Just as the flavor exploded in your mouth, a voice startled you from behind.

“Wait - why didn’t you tell me you had a bag of those?”

Your head snapped in the direction from where the voice was coming, and you almost choked on the sweet delight. Tim was wearing a big towel wrapped around his hips, letting the water droplets fall from the curled strands of his hair and travel down his chest. You followed one drop that slowed down on the slope of his belly, and then went even faster over the soft curve, hiding into the soft fabric.

You weren’t sure if you already forgot what Tim asked or you didn’t hear it from the beginning, so you just made an uncertain sound between ‘huh’ and ‘why’, still chewing on your waffle.

“I asked you if you had anything to snack on, and you said ‘yeah, there are some mini waffles left in the bag.’” Your partner looked way angrier than the situation called for, confusing you even further.

“So?”

Tim looked at you like you had grown out a second head. His eyebrows couldn’t decide whether to frown or to jump up, making him look funny. “So I did the gentlemanly thing and left those for you because I thought you’d get hungry again pretty soon!”

“Aww, you’re so sweet when you want to be, Detective.” You didn’t think a grumpy old man like Tim Rockford would be so attentive to small details like that. You felt your cheeks warm up, teasing him was only a way to not embarrass yourself, because you knew that you were two or three sentences away from making a lovesick fool out of yourself. Well, you didn’t love love him, but it was hard not to develop a crush on the man.

“I was fucking starving and you had a full bag of snacks that you didn’t tell me about?” He stepped closer to the bed, his eyes dropping to where your naked thighs were pressed together.

“Uhh… I just didn’t think?” You shrugged your shoulders, feeling the wave of fresh warm smell coming from Tim. Was he still hot after the shower or was it his normal body temperature? It was definitely higher than a normal human’s. You felt the urge to stretch your hand and place it where his tummy moved with his breathing until you heard stern muttering.

“You never fucking do.”

“Hey!” Your hand dropped to the mattress, pushing you out of your trance. “That’s not true!”

“Give it here,” it was Tim’s turn to stretch out his hand, pointing towards the opened bag of waffles clutched in your left hand.

“Not until you say you’re sorry and that you were wrong.” You didn’t actually need him to apologize, you knew he was tired and you were quite used to him being mildly rude and snappy when he was in a bad mood (which was 95% of the time you spent together). But having something that he so desperately wanted - even though it was something as ridiculous as a half-empty bag of mini waffles - made you giddy with power.

“Not in a million years, now give me the mini waffles.” His knees bumped into the edge of the bed, his hand almost gripping your arm, but you were quick enough to pull the snack away. “Stop being a child.”

“Stop being a dick,” you said nonchalantly and shrugged your shoulders. “That's all you did for the last seven hours.”

“Give me the goddamn waffles!” He surged forward, miscalculating his movements and his size and ending up falling on top of you with his whole body, pressing you into the bed with his chest and stomach while his hand traveled up, finding the waffle that spilled out of the opened bag on top of the bedspread. He shoved the tiny snack in his mouth, moaning in satisfaction as the sweetness hit his tongue. You could barely stop yourself from accompanying him with your tiny whimper.

“Oh, so you were just hungry,” you whispered, breathless. Your eyes watched as his jaws clenched and unclenched savoring the food before he swallowed soundly. You were very aware of his curious eyes searching for something on your face and you hoped he would find it. The heavy weight of him on top of you was pleasant, and you moved your hips up, your already moist panties crushing into the stiffness beneath the towel with the motel’s initials on it. Apparently it was the only thing Tim needed, the sweet smell of waffle that still lingered on his lips and tongue becoming more apparent as he brought his face closer to yours.

“Yeah, and I’m not full yet.”

His lips crashed into yours before you could even process it. The gentle vanilla flavor of the waffles made Tim’s taste sweeter than you could ever imagine. Your tongue as if having a mind of its own found a way between Tim’s lips, collecting every bit of sweet taste mixed with something very Tim. Your lips fought for dominance, as he squeezed both of your hands in one of his above your head. Your kiss was akin to a science project, the chemical reaction when both of your tastes mixed caused your brain to shut down. It wasn’t something you dreamed about every night, but as soon as you got it you knew you wouldn’t be able to leave.

Tim’s lips freed yours, hasty kisses covering your jaw and neck as he hiked up your t-shirt, leaving you in a sports bra that didn’t match your panties neither in color nor in style. He didn’t seem to care, eyeing your tits with hunger.

“Up,” he growled, and you didn’t need to be told twice. You awkwardly slid up until your head hit the pillow. You waited for Tim to join you, but he had other plans. His hands grabbed your ankles, almost throwing your legs apart as he laid between them, getting comfortable with his face right in front of your pussy. You knew he could feel the hotness exuding from you, he didn’t take his eyes from the wet spot between your legs as he let his thick thumb travel up and down your slip, teasing you through the damp material.

“Never knew I had such a sweet tooth,” he grinned, before replacing his finger with his nose, the tip pushing into you harder and eliciting a moan from somewhere deep inside of you. Tim moaned in response, inhaling lungs full of your smell. He swiped his nose up and down a few more times before you couldn’t handle the teasing anymore, deciding to get rid of your panties yourself.

When your hands traveled to do just that, Tim noticed it, biting your thigh and humming in disapproval. “You need to learn how to be patient, sweetheart.”

“You’re the one to talk,” you huffed out of breath, still remembering the fit he threw over the waffles. Tim’s head lifted up and he looked into your eyes, for a moment you were ready to apologize, unsure if you said something wrong. However, that night detective was full of surprises. He nodded, giving you a little smirk.

“You’re right,” his eyes never left yours as his hands made quick work of ripping the simple cotton of your panties apart and throwing what was left of them somewhere to the floor, “I am quite impatient.”

Instead of reply, a ragged moan dripped from your lips as his tongue licked a fat stripe along your slick pussy. Tim’s movements were confident, and didn’t lack the hungry passion that you saw in his eyes a moment ago. His tongue concentrated on your clit, flying around it in tight circles. You felt like the warmth of his mouth on your pussy made even your bones feel like red-hot iron. With trembling hands you gripped still damp strands of his hair, unsure if you wanted to press him harder into yourself or push him away with the amount of unfiltered pleasure he gave you. When the tip of his tongue played with the hood of your clit, exposing the throbbing bud to the pleasurable torture, your legs clasped together, thighs crashing Tim’s head between them. Though the man devouring your pussy was clearly happy with it, his hands quickly pushed your thighs apart. As he lifted his head up for a moment, you saw that the lower part of his face was drenched with his saliva and your arousal, and your thighs twitched again when he licked his lips with a pornographic moan.

With his left hand still squeezing your right thigh and pressing it into the mattress, his right gave your burning pussy a slap, that ripped a choking breath out of you.

“Keep ‘em open, you don’t want me to tie you up, do you?”

You weren’t sure because there wasn’t an immediate ‘no’ in your head, instead, you felt a new gush of arousal seeping from your pulsing hole. Noticing your visible reaction, Tim raised an eyebrow, “interesting. But not tonight.”

He dived back into your pussy without any other comments, his fingers pushed your pussy lips apart and his mouth found your clit once again. His tongue slid further down without letting the pressure off your clit when the tip found your entrance.

You wailed shamelessly when the thumb that was helping keeping your pussy spread open replaced Tim’s tongue on your nub as the wet muscle fucked into your hole. He lapped and licked into your welcoming cunt, the more of your arousal seeped on his tongue the deeper and more animalistic were the sounds he made.

In your desperate attempt to reach pleasure you didn’t notice Rockford’s hips rut into the mattress beneath him with cruel abandon. He moved his hips in perfect sync with the push of his tongue and the circling motion of his fingers. The pressure on his cock wasn’t ideal, but with the accompaniment of your taste and smell enslaving his senses it was enough to drive him further and further down the road to his own orgasm. You threw your hands to your face, squeezing your eyes shut and biting your fist under the relentless abuse of Tim’s mouth and fingers. Every grunt he made resulted in vibrations that started at the soft skin of your pussy and traveled straight to your brain, spreading the pleasure all over your body in shocking impulses. You felt possessed as your body thrashed with upcoming orgasm, every lick to your core was akin to an electrical charge. Your hands fell apart, hitting the mattress as a cry left you hoarse and breathless when one of the most powerful orgasms you’ve ever felt hit you. You were half out of your mind to stop Tim from continuing grinding his face into your pussy and licking up your release without the previous finesse as his body started shaking as well. When the grunts stopped shaking the room, his head fell limp between your legs, hairs tickling the naked skin of your sensitive pussy.

“I need to take a shower again,” he murmured, before placing a wet kiss on your sweaty thigh.

“So, when am I getting my treat?” You laid together in bed, now on the same face level. Your body was still recovering from your orgasm, but your mind was greedy for more. Your hand lightly caressed Tim’s soft belly on the way down. The fresh towel was hiding his cock that wasn’t fully hard yet. Tim shuddered with oversensitivity when you gently squeezed the promisingly fat shaft.

“Give me a few moments, darlin’. You’re undeniably sexy, but my body’s twice as old as yours.”

You kissed his shoulder, placing your head on the same spot afterwards and letting your finger trace patterns on his skin. You were satisfied, and happier than you’ve been in a while, you didn’t care how long it took him to recover as long as he’d still want to fuck when it happened.

“Maybe we’ll both wake up for a midnight snack,” you murmured in Tim’s neck, biting the soft spot a little.

Tim’s voice was a bit out of breath, and he tried to keep it even-pitched as he spoke. You felt his hand travel to your buttock and squeeze the meat. “I always crave something sweet in the middle of the night,” he half-whispered, placing a kiss on top of your head.

please leave a comment and reblog if you liked this fic!

#iamasaddie fic #tim rockford x female reader #tim rockford x you #tim rockford x reader #tim rockford fic #tim rockford smut #pedro pascal fanfiction

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marvelousmagicalaura · 2 months

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Thoughts on Secret History Part 1: Empire

I've finally started Secret History. I've heard it's very important to Mistborn and the Cosmere, so this is something I want to take my time reading. I'll be posting my reactions to each part, starting with Part 1: Empire. This part was short but had a surprising amount of info.

I'm beyond happy to see Kelsier again. "I am hope" always gets me and I SCREAMED in the final scene of book 6. It seems like Secret History will reveal different sides to Kelsier's personality. Here, I saw his fear of death and unwillingness to pass away, his drive to discover the truth behind secrets, his justified lack of faith in God, regret for hurting Vin and the crew. And the absolute BALLS to punch God then finesse God! That was totally unexpected, comedy gold right there! 🤣

The words Spiritual Realm and the capital C word - Connection - showed up. I remember from book 6 that Connection is a Spiritual Realm property, includes Connection to lands, and includes Connection between people (i.e. Connection between Handerwym and koloss). I'm confident the magic system of The Emperor's Soul manipulates the Connection within the souls of people and objects. Guess I shouldn't be shocked it's in the workings of Allomantic malatium (gold too?).

Here I bear witness Rashek's final moments. It's honestly depressing. I would've loved to seen Rashek's personality from his POV or the Firsts, people very close to him. And even though he was a scumbag, he was essential to Preservation's Plan. I like to theorize Rashek was either religiously motivated or had a duty to protect Scadrial once he glimpsed Preservation’s Plan. But lost his sense of devotion after so long. I don’t think Rashek just starting out would’ve silenced Fuzz or called him an impotent mouse 😂

I’m surprised to learn Ruin was attacking Preservation even before his release. So the hologram must be showing a representation of Preservation taking Ruin’s attacks and losing his mind. The passage about Ruin’s alterations is pretty shocking as well. At this time, no one knew about the Terris Prophecies or religion outside of Alendi’s logbook and kandra. But there were the Steel Ministry and the 600+ religions studied by Keepers. We know from WoBs and book 3 implications that Preservation wrote the Terris Prophecies and hid gems from Ruin in all of humanity’s religions. IIRC those gems were hidden to help the Hero of Ages his gambits would lead into. My speculation is Ruin wasn’t just altering Sazed’s rubbings. He was altering Alendi's logbook, the Keepers’ copperminds, the Keepers’ texts, and the Steel Ministry’s texts. And it appears Preservation has been actively writing stuff that Ruin altered. Pretty hypocritical for Pres to dislike Ruin for “making the religion all about him” even though Pres did the same thing 💀

A lot about Preservation in this section. Fuzz is a living contradiction. He's the god of stasis, yet he accepts that death is the natural progress of things... Though, The Plan is a contradiction to begin with. And it doesn’t seem like his planning was as certain as I thought. When I look back to the Mistborn Trilogy, one of my personal gripes was Preservation and mortals outsmarting/overcoming Ruin around the time he appeared to Vin at Fadrex. But it turns out I might be wrong lol.

Fuzz didn’t foresee that Kelsier would have a 100% chance of dying by letting the Lord Ruler kill him, or at least didn't foresee it as a likely possibility. He even said futuresight is cloudy - made of many possibilities. He didn’t understand why Ruin let Kelsier use malatium. And all these distortions are definitely because his mind has been degrading for millennia. It seems like Fuzz - Leras - Preservation - knew the Well of Ascension wouldn’t trap Ruin/Ati forever, that he would break free eventually. So he set up gambits that **might** eventually come to fruition, like the army of atium Mistings preventing Ruin from regaining his full power.

I have to respect the fact Fuzz’s mind has been dying for millennia, yet he has the cognition to manifest holograms that move and have conversations wiyj every dying soul. As well as the cognition to watch the fight between Kelsier and the Inquisitor.

Going back to Rashek, my theory is Fuzz's anger at Rashek's death is an instance of Preservation not remembering this part of the plan. The way I see it, Rashek needed to die for many of Pres’ gambits to come to fruition, cuz Rashek would’ve killed or captured the pawns like Vin, or Sazed, or the mistfallen. But Preservation can’t remember this.

There's the magic number sixteen! The mistfallen! I remember that Harmony said Preservation hid clues about the number sixteen, before he imprisoned Ruin. Guess this means Preservation set up the snapping Mists before the imprisonment, planting unaware Allomancers over the course of thousands of years. Setting up the gambit of Allomancers who can burn Ruin’s atium.

To close off the post, I gotta call crap on Fuzz's claims. There’s no way Kelsier is the only person in history to punch him or beg for revival. I suspect whatever he did to Kelsier is a gambit that’s part of the plan... which I don't remember well lmao. Was the plan made when Fuzz was smarter the Terris Prophecies and the Hero of Ages?

#mistborn #mistborn trilogy #wax and wayne #cosmere #brandon sanderson #mistborn secret history #secret history #the hero of ages #the bands of mourning #kelsier #the survivor #the survivor of hathsin #mistborn preservation #mistborn fuzz

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silvermoon424 · 2 years

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You know that one manga cap you posted about Mami and how she destroyed her soul gem? I'm pretty sure it was inspired by something that happens in the PSP game that is somehow even more soul crushing. The game establishes that Mami failed to save the life of a young boy at the local park and it weighed heavily on her already pretty heavy survivor's guilt for not saving her parents. The game itself is split up into routes, each focused on a different Mitakihara magical girl. In the final route (which is based around Homura), depending on which actions you take, there's a chance Homura finds Mami sitting on a bench at that same park and it takes her a minute before she realises Mami destroyed her Soul Gem and left a note explaining her guilt and how she did this so the boy she couldn't save would no longer be lonely. I highly recommend trying to look up "Madoka PSP - Mami Loves You All" by Blick Winkel" for the scene in question for both comparison's sake and the heartwrenching voice acting.

Oh, trust me, as someone who's greedily consumed every piece of PMMM content available I'm well aware of this scene and this video!! I agree, it's an absolutely heart-wrenching scene. I also remember Mami specifically thanks the person who finds her body in her suicide note. It's a nice touch when you remember that magical girls who die in Witches' barriers (including Mami herself in some timelines) have their bodies disappear and are considered missing persons forever. Mami was grateful the person who found her body would ensure she would be put to rest ;__;

Oh, and you know what else is absolutely gut-wrenching? In another route of the game, Mami runs into the mother of the boy she failed to save in the same park where he "disappeared" (in reality was killed by a Witch). The mother is under the influence of a Witch's kiss and is trying to kill herself. Mami saves her life... only for the woman to angrily tell Mami she didn't want to be saved, because her life is pointless and painful now that her son is gone. She wants to die and be reunited with him.

Madoka and Homura (this takes place during Homura's first time loop btw, so she's not yet a magical girl) find Mami later and Mami is a wreck. She starts talking about how she wished she died in the same car crash that killed her parents or how, at the very least, she wished she had used her wish to save them as well. Then she reveals her Soul Gem, which is completely clouded over. She turns into the Witch Candeloro.

(btw, Mami doesn't fall into despair just because of her failure to the save the boy. It's heavily implied that Mami is jealous of the relationship between Madoka and Homura because Madoka is Mami's magical girl partner but spends most of her time with Homura. So, like in most other timelines, Mami is extremely lonely)

Oh, and the PSP game also includes a route where Sayaka's body is separated from her Soul Gem long enough for her body to start rotting. Then when she, unaware of what's going on, goes to see Kyousuke, he calls her a monster and it causes her to Witch out.

Man, the PSP game is so brutal but so awesome for character and world-building. I really hope we get a full translation someday.

#pmmm #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #mami tomoe #analysis

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dreamii-yume · 7 months

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idk if ur into bl but there’s a rlly good game called “slow damage” by nitro chiral. they’re the same company who made dramatical murder…so if you know. then you know how this game will play out 😭 but i’m pretty sure slow damage is more of their darker games.

it’s not free, but for what it’s worth (about $20 usd), id say i don’t regret buying it myself. i think it would fit right into your ally bc when i’m talking dark content…i mean it! if i remember correctly, it follows a depressed desk worker (bc ofc) who’s also a painter trying to get some cash yk?? and the cool thing about the mc is he has the ability to see people’s deepest darkest desires, which he uses as inspo to create art.

and this game is not afraid about getting depraved 😅 one of my fav characters (besides the mc bc i actually love him) is this dude named madarame, iirc??? and he’s every masochists wet dream 🫣 don’t @ me for that lmfaooo

it’s such a wild game!! i loved the nsfw scenes so much, i encourage you to look up some of the cutscene art bc it’s genuinely so beautiful 😩 there’s always some kind of blood involved and they’re usually banging at some decrypt place that prolly stinks so hard. despite all of that, the mc always looks like he’s on cloud nine, even when he’s chained up and bleeding profusely 😳

and it’s not just the nsfw scenes that has me drooling, but the story itself is intensely gripping??? like i’m hooked from beginning to end. and this is coming from someone who studied/s classical lit or literature in general…dunno if that holds any substance, but trust me when i say i’ve read countless of books and consumed enough media that it’s tantamount to mt kilimanjaro, but by far slow damage is one of the best visual novel games i’ve ever had the pleasure of playing 😖 usually vn games have good art and spicy scenes, but never plot. but this game blew my exception. so if you’re not much into how gorey it can get (bc the spicy scenes are low-key eroguro 80% of the time) then i’d say go for the story. it’s an absolute gem and thought provoking.

anyway sorry for the long rant 😭 this game is my guilty pleasure and idk if you’ve heard of it or what, but i don’t hear many people talk about it!! if you like euphoria, slow damage is not graphic in the same way, but it’s definitely dark and they’re not afraid to show the pleasure that comes from the pain 🫣

ps…in terms of yandere themes, idk if i’m remembering anything right bc it’s been a hot min, but it’s not really set in canon or directly in the game whether the yandere trope is applicable. but ngl, almost all characters display some kind of yandere characteristic where they’ll say the craziest shit and do something 10x crazier 😭 i mean if it wasn’t evident enough with some of them tying down and forcing themselves on the mc, then idk what is 🤔 but yes, it does get super intense!! highly recommend it, if i haven’t expressed that enough. they also have the opening soundtrack on youtube if you just look up slow damage op!! the soundtrack in general is actually good and fits with the vibes.

☠️☠️☠️

I personally haven’t played Dramatical Murder but during my teenage years, that game’s influence over the internet is ASTRONOMICAL ☠️ So, I always assumed that it’s something crazy, but never really bothered to know anything about it lol (Because I was an edgy little highschool girl who hated men ☠️) I just laugh every time I hear someone talk about it, because they’re so passionate. It’s cute ✨

Man, BL games always has the craziest fucking plot in the visual novel genre, and they always have the craziest characters too!! 😭 Otome games can only hope to have that kind content on their games lol Because eroguro is kind of a taboo topic, right? But I love to see more creative ways into corporating it into “dating” games 🧎‍♀️ This game seems like it checks the right corners of my brain, every single guilty pleasure so I don’t blame you for the enthusiasm! But don’t worry, we don’t judge other people here ☠️

Anyway, I personally haven’t played much BL games in general, (Because I’m personally more of a GL girl because women) and my knowledge of it only comes from friends who really loves them, but this sounds really interesting! Thank you for sharing ♥︎

#talk with yume

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aaghht · 2 years

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random Usagi Chronicles tid-bits (I'll add more as i remember):

as mentioned in my previous timeline post, Neo Edo is a futuristic Edo-inspired city, powered by a mythical/sciency Ki-Stone

the city lights seem to kep on at all times (purple/purplish, like the Ki-Stone)

there are flying cars, refridgerators with AI, vending machines

hover cars, TRON-esque racing games, robots for different tasks

cameras, modern surgery....

no phones (sdfsdfsd sorry i just thought that was funny)

I'm guessing they just don't need phones cuz everyone lives in the city (and we haven't seen any other cities yet)

Usagi's the first rabbit Gen has seen in the city

Usagi and Kiyoko have the same bday (in the first ep)

Usagi states he is almost 16 in the opening scene of the show (and that's why he should be allowed to the city)

Usagi is 16 and definitely acts like a teen seeing a city for the first time

he sees a newsbotto and says "I've heard of these before"

Usagi plays in an arcade for the first time

Spot has never seen bubbles before that ep in s2 where Usagi buys him a bubble-blower

Usagi has a very low attention span (getting distracted by anything new, i.e. streets, games, food, signs)

Even though it's modern, the show still bases itself in many traditional japanese elements

i.e. - kimono and other similar clothes are worn left over right side

traditional japanese games are still popular in Neo Edo

edo-style japanese buildings still exist, even with modern additives

the show has a nice subtle message about letting nature rest from the city (turning off the lights eg light pollution)

Kitzune and Chizu are both orphans

apparently, so is Toshiko sort of (Gen's twin? sibling) who left for a life in the circus and other things before re-uniting with Gen during the 3rd ep of season 1

Gen and Toshiko separated as children after their parents and family were chased out of town due to fear

You can see Gen and Toshiko playing with a Gen and Tomoe Ame figures in their flashback in s1, the characters who Gen and Chizu are based from og Yojimbo series.

Gen is a germaphobe;

He spends a lot of time at the hospital, for stuff where he's just worried about something and thinks he has a symptom for;

at the same time, it seems he is just as much there to see the the Shiba-inu doctors, who raised him after his family fell apart (s1 e6)

Gen is also arachnophobic (he seems to be scared of most bugs, but is maybe semi-okay with crickets(s2 e5))

Kitsune grew up in the streets (I assume) while Chizu grew up in the Neko Ninja crew, a childhood without friends or any normalcy

farm boy Usagi absolutely hates farming

Tetsujin and Lady Fuwa used to date (for Fuwa, mostly to get the Ki-Stone scroll, which Tetsujin planted only because he knew - so neither was really dating for real?)

Usagi is pretty skilled with a sword, but sort of like an unrefined gem bc of his brashness and dis-respect.

Karasu-Tengu said the yo-yo is the only interesting thing about him but he's not very good with it yet

(edit nov 22) Auntie trained Usagi "for years" in the sword and other stuff

Auntie is a war veteran as seen by multiple elements in the show hinting at it - her ear and leg prosthetics, her experience with the sword (training Usagi enough that he has some raw skill), her words at Usagi ("the greatest master needs their sword the least"), her fight with Lady Fuwa

(OG post continued from Oct 25th)

Usagi is a nerd for Yokai and all things samurai and that's one reason he's still pretty good at fighting+knows enough info to help the team

that's all for now but sdfsdf hope to add more as I remember stuff

edit for nov 22nd (og post from Oct 25th):

On rewatch I also noticed that Chizu's left ear with the tear in it looks a bit like it could be from ear rings being torn out. I noticed this based on art director Khang Le's concept art, where Chizu has a white streak in her hair and also earrings) this could be anything though, as this is a common injury on real-life cats and she also has it in her first flashback scene (s1 e4)

Usagi is actually pretty good at noticing small details/bigger picture stuff, also at fight coordination. I noticed the first time but even moreso on rewatches:

1st ep he notices a small crevice/hole in the mogura tunnel's ceiling where he jammed his sword to create a small tunnel slide to escape the mogura gang

for the s1 finale, he has trained more with Karasu-Tengu, but when fighting in the dark with the Bat Crew later on, he followed Chikabuma's instructions on fight moves flawlessly, based on nothing more than the latter quickly throwing out what to do in an exact way

he seems to come up with battle-saving plans a lot, and doesn't even boost his ego with that knowledge

Usagi is probably really proficient at picking up other weapons too! He briefly fights and doesn't actually take that much time to take a liking to his yoyo. On that note....

Usagi's yoyo has saved him/been useful on more than one occasion, not just as a weapon

he can block attacks via the chain/string of the yoyo

it can sense Yokai

when Usagi used it to spiderman out of a fight, then to stop a warbotto from rampaging by tripping it via the chain

saved Kagehito from disappearing by putting him back in the Ki-Stone to recuperate

I'm sure I'm forgetting something else here

when Usagi and Kagehito went into a coma and almost got stuck in the prison orb at the tail end of s2

it's gotten broken once (the string/chain was broken at the end of s1) and Usagi is heartbroken over it (+ disappointed at himself)

Gave Usagi the access to the Ki-Stone's extra power boost, letting Usagi ascend the heavens and transform into a giant samurai-armored spirit-version of himself (think, like the susanoo avatar in Naruto, or like a spirit-mech)

the Ki-Stone can repair and give out new Kaikishi weapons

at the start of s2, it chooses Gen, Kitsune and Chizu as it's new Kaikishi warriors (closing the door on a comically sad-about-it Usagi, who still wanted a 2nd sword)

we haven't seen yet what the other Kaikishi weapons special abilities are (Usagi's yoyo is so far the only one able to capture and control/move the various Yokai in the series)

all of the mystic weapons can still interact with ghosts/apparitions, so that's probably why the team is careful not to hit Tetsujin with them while fights happen in the temple

possibly the secondary abilities are the secondary weapon transformations and abilities they show in some of the new episodes:

Kitsune can summon her tessen at will, not having to carry them

Gen change the size and form of his war clubs by merging them into one big kanabo

Chizu's bow is collapsible and she can shoot fire arrows and homing arrows with them (it seems she can materialize whatever arrow she needs at a moment)

The Ki-Stone couldn't have held in the Yokai for more than it did, so it was actually good that Usagi accidentally released all the Yokai (s2 e7, "Willow Branch", stated by O-Dokuro)

little visual references like this (prob not og Kitsune?)

Kitsune's little sister Kiyoko is not so little in this animated adaptation (in the comics she is a smaller fox, in this series she is a big robot)

Gen's sister Toshiko doesn't like visiting the hospital, but does like hiding out at the arcade toilets for some reason

it's unknown what happened to the criminal that Gen was bounty-hunting in the first episode, but in a later s1 episode, he is seen laughing and clapping with the rest of the crowd, but is then approached menacingly by the Shiba-Inu doctors (this is bothering me to no end bc I can't seem to get the inside joke, that might be a cultural difference? I guess we'll never know)

For an apparition on "another plane of existence" (we know you're a ghost Tetsujin), Tetsujin is pretty good at building all sorts of mechanical stuff

Tetsuji also made the prosthetic horn gen receives in ep 4 and we can assume that builds the rest of his horns too.

I'll post more as I rewatch the series :D (end edit 22.11.2022)

#usagi chronicles #samurai rabbit the usagi chronicles #samurai rabbit #yuichi usagi #srtuc #lemme know what else this show is tagged #aghhtposts #aghht fantalk

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animebw · 1 year

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Short Reflection: Fall 2022 Anime

Was Fall 2022 the single most stacked season of anime ever? It’s certainly a contender, at least. Not only were there once again far too many good shows to keep up with, not only were a lot of those shows really fucking good, but there was such a wide variety that no matter your tastes- shonen, slice of life, mecha, political drama, whatever the fuck Akiba Maid War counts as- you were basically guaranteed at least one phenomenal show to stay hooked on. And if you’re someone like me who appreciates pretty much every genre as long as it’s done well? Then my god, I hope you skipped lunch, because this feast never fucking ended. I’ve already given my thoughts on Yama no Susume’s underwhelming fourth season (6.5/10), Mob Psycho 100′s safe but deeply satisfying finale (8/10), and the bonkers roller coaster of Chainsaw Man (8.5/10), and there’s still way too many anime left to talk about. So without any further ado, let’s dive right in to the disappointments, the hidden gems, and the runaway smash hits that closed out this fantastic year for anime.

My Hero Academia Season 6: Unfinished/10

There’s not much I have to say about this one yet, as I’m planning to give it a full review when it’s all over. But I at least wanted to say this: I fucking told y’all My Hero Academia was going to reclaim its crown. I told y’all this show was eventually gonna earn its place back as one of the greatest long-running shonen of all time. But nooooo, you were all busy pretending that a few lackluster fight scenes meant this show was the worst garbage ever and handing out accolades to gorgeously animated pieces of stale cardboard like Demon Slayer for plastering pretty wallpaper all over the vapid nonsense at their core. Well, how does it feel now, huh? How does it feel to remember what an actual great shonen action series looks like? This is the best that MHA has been since season 3, and while it’s gonna fall to the next cours to determine where season 6 ends up on the pantheon, it’s so fucking good to see this show operating at full capacity again.

To Your Eternity Season 2: Unfinished/10

Genuine question: what the absolute fuck happened to To Your Eternity? I still remember when that incredible first episode dropped back in 2021 and everyone was ready to crown it the new patron saint of cry-inducing philosophical fantasy. How did we get from that to this? To increasingly hacky production values that rarely rise above passable and never once manage to capture the awe and wonder this story is so clearly shooting tor? To writing so tonally inconsistent it decides to introduce a cast of wacky over-the-top camera-muggers in this serious and serene fantasy yarn? Didn’t this show used to be good? Didn’t it used to be a genuinely compelling exploration of human nature and immortality and moving on from loss? When did it fall apart so badly that it barely even resembles the show it used to be? And that’s not even getting into some of the most abysmal queerbaiting I’ve seen in a very long time. There were definitely worse anime this year, but nothing else left me feeling so utterly betrayed. I can only pray the slight upswing of quality it’s experiencing in its current arc continues, because otherwise this is going to end up the most crushing disappointment of anime in 2022.

Reincarnated as a Sword: 3/10

Let us all stop for a moment and consider the absolute state of the isekai genre. Here we have yet another story of some personality-deficient schlub transported to another world that runs on JRPG logic, where he instantly becomes the most OP person (or, well, sword) around and never has to struggle for anything. The characters and setting are all as painfully generic as every other entry in the genre. The plot wastes so much time rattling off video game stats to justify its boring OP worldbuilding that it forgets to write any sort of interesting or nuanced personalities for the people in its world. The production values are passably okay without ever showing a single shred of personality beyond the most by-the-basics staples of this watered-down Dragon Quest backwash. There is nothing worth recommending here, nothing you can get from this show that you can’t get in a million better ways elsewhere. And yet, Reincarnated as a Sword has one thing going for it: it doesn’t try and justify slavery. In fact, its real protagonist is an enslaved catgirl who breaks free from her chains and seeks to prove her worth, with the titular sword serving as her paternal guardian. And that alone puts this dull, uninspired, pointless slab of processed anime loaf above a decent chunk of its contemporaries in the isekai genre. Because that is how fucking far the bar has been lowered at this point. God help us all.

My Master Has No Tail: 4/10

The frustrating thing about My Master Has No Tail is that there’s not really anything wrong with it. It’s a cute little historical anime about a tanuki girl learning rakugo from a fox spirit in a time of huge technological upheaval for Japan, a time when all the old spirits are at risk of losing their place in the world and must find some way to adapt to the new era alongside humanity. That premise should result in something really interesting, or at least unique enough for a mellow slice-of-life hobby show with a supernatural twist. And yet despite the lack of things to complain about, I just could not get on this show’s wavelength. It just doesn’t push far enough in any direction to be memorable; the animation is competent but also as basic as it gets, the characters are inoffensive but simple, the comedy is decent but rarely rises above a chuckle. Every single aspect of this show is just a little too underwhelming to really make an impact, and with nothing but average everywhere you look, the whole thing ends up kinda boring. I do like the themes it’s playing with, how art is used as a vessel for spirits and humans to keep their connections strong in an increasingly secular, industrialized world, but it’s not enough to bring this show up anywhere above harmlessly mediocre. What a shame.

Arknights Prelude to Dawn: 4.5/10

I find myself fairly conflicted about the first season of Arknights. On the one hand, it’s a relief to get a gacha game adaptation with some actual gravitas behind it, and the story of a post-infection dystopian world struggling between compassion and justice has some genuinely complex things to say about the morality of living through hellish situations. And its cinematic production ambitions ensure it’s rarely boring to look at. On the other hand, though, I get the sense that whoever was behind the script didn’t take into account the differences between what works narratively in a video game and what works in a TV show. Divorced from their role as an audience surrogate/POV who needs to be explained everything so the player can understand how to play, the mostly silent Doctor comes off as a nothing character who could be cut from the show without changing anything. Ditto the under-explained, underutilized tactical cell phone that probably only existed in the first place to justify how the game’s combat looked and functioned, and the dialogue that’s mostly a series of plot points taking us from one Important Setpiece to the next. I want to like what Arknights is doing, but it’s not until the shockingly great final two episodes that it starts to feel like a proper show and not just a lavishly animated cutscene compilation. Hopefully the second season continues that upward trajectory, and maybe then we’ll be able to call this a truly excellent gacha anime.

Do It Yourself: 5/10

Between this show and Healer Girl from earlier this year, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need more than vibes to keep me interested in a show. Don’t get me wrong, vibes are good! But there’s a whole subsection of cute-girls shows that are basically nothing but vibes, and absent anything else to sink my teeth into, I find myself feeling very little connection to them. You’d think Do It Yourself might have a little more going on, what with its near-future setting, stabs at commentary on the importance of not letting automation fully run everything, and extremely gay undertones. But no, it’s mostly just cute girls doing DIY carpentry for twelve episodes. It’s a show for you to turn your brain off to and just, well, like I said, vibe to the expressive FLCL-esque art style and richly detailed guide to DIY carpentry with a bunch of intermittenly interesting characters. And while I can appreciate those vibes well enough, there’s so little intrigue to anything that I can’t really bring myself to care about it all that much. I dunno, maybe they shouldn’t have kept the one character who actually generates interesting narrative friction at arm’s length for nearly the entire show. And maybe they should’ve let Serafu and Pudding kiss. Actually, no maybes there, they definitely should’ve done that.

Play It Cool, Guys (1st Half): 5.5/10

Here’s a pleasant little surprise I don’t think anyone saw coming. Sure, this slice-of-life about a bunch of clumsy dudes navigating their own awkwardness isn’t gonna set the world on fire, but it’s become one of the more unusually absorbing short anime I’ve encountered in a while. I think what draws me to Play It Cool, Guys is that it’s just very unpretentious; it promises a chill twelve minutes every week of low-key sweet-natured comedy, and that’s exactly what you get. The punchlines aren’t amazing, but they pretty much always hit. The characters aren’t very complex or interesting, but they all carry themselves well enough that you enjoy seeing them on screen. It’s even got a certain kind of confidence to just be so low-key and not try to overextend itself with cheap gimmicks or recycled plot beats to grab your attention, because it trusts that its word and characters are charming enough to earn your investment on their own. And you know what? That confidence is not misplaced. It might not be my favorite thing in the world, but I have a sneaking suspicion it’s just going to keep growing on me as it moves into its second cours. Check back at the end of winter, and I might just end up giving it a much more enthusiastic recommendation.

Urusei Yatsura (1st Half): 6/10

Is there still a point to Urusei Yatsura today? Yes, Rumiko Takahashi’s groundbreaking rom-com about an alien girl falling in love with a philandering douchenozzle invented the anime rom-com as we know it, not to mention possibly starting waifu culture itself with Lum. But fifty years later, with all its component parts iterated upon by basically every romance-adjacent anime that followed it, does the original property have anything left to offer on its own merits? Or is it a relic of a bygone time, no longer useful as anything but a historical artifact for tropes and archetypes that have all been used better by the works it ended up inspiring? Halfway through this modern reboot, I’m still not sure what the answer to that question is going to be. What I can say for sure is that this show makes me laugh more often than it doesn’t, and while not all of it has aged gracefully, it’s oddly refreshing to see just how much more egalitarian the anime rom-com used to be. This is no incel wank fantasy where a loser guy gets all the hot girls by doing basically nothing; this is a show where everyone’s just a little bit nuts, and you’re not so much rooting for anyone to get together as you are just enjoying the chaos that results when all these different flavors of asshole butt heads. That’s far more my speed than any of the wish fulfillment harem slop that learned all the wrong lessons from Urusei Yatsura’s success. Whether or not it’ll end up anything more than a series of mostly amusing episodic sketches remains to be seen, but for now, I’m content to just watch the madness unfold. Plus, it’s got Hiroshi Kamiya and Mamoru Miyano sniping at each other like every episode, you can’t not love that.

Pop Team Epic Season 2: 6/10

Sometimes, you just need a little chaos in your life. That sentence probably sums up the appeal of Pop Team Epic better than anything else I could ever write. Sometimes, you just want to let loose on a stream of consciousness through utterly batshit comedy skits that switch tone and animation style on a dime, packed with references to countless things you’re only vaguely aware of, never quite sure if all this insanity has any kind of point or if the pointlessness is itself the point. Pop Team Epic is just fucking weird, y’all. But it’s the kind of weird that clearly comes from a group of talented people having a blast throwing anything and everything at the wall just because they can, not caring about whether any of it sticks or not because the messy, nonsensical act of creating the damn thing in the first place is reason enough for it to exist. What other show will give you a dating sim spoof, yaoi lesbians, legitimately great mecha action, a final fantasy parody, gratuitous violence, a live action flipbook segment, and a full-on tokusatsu show starring Aoi Shota as a time-traveling sentai hero, all in the space of 12 episodes? If that kind of memetic insanity is your jam, then you need to get this show in your eyeballs yesterday. Pop Team Epic makes no goddamn sense, and god bless it for that.

Spy x Family Part 2: 7/10

Does a show need a plot? Is it enough for it to simply wander through a bunch of random side quests and coast on charm alone? That certainly seems to be what Spy x Family is banking on; after a relatively plot-solid first part where most episodes had at least a little in the way of new developments, part 2 seems content mostly to put the Forger family members in a variety of amusing scenarios and leave all the big picture stuff in the background until the final episode. And it’s a testament to just how damn charming these characters are- and how slick the production continues to be- that it mostly gets away with it. it’s fun watching Loid, Yor, and Anya bumble about as they slowly figure out what it means to live a “normal” life. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impatient for the plot to pick back up. I dunno, after so many episodes of just faffing about, I felt myself getting kind of burnt out on the sitcom hijinks. And it doesn’t help that the biggest new character introduced is basically just a genderswapped Yuri, a.k.a. the worst character in the series. Spy x Family works best when it’s balancing its fluffy and kickass sides, and part 2 just leaned a little too far into fluff for my tastes. I still had a lot of fun, but I’m more than ready for the Ostania-Westalis conflict to be important again.

Blue Lock (1st Half): 7/10

The premise of Blue Lock is one of those immediately head-slapping moments of “Wow, why has no one tried this before?” brilliance: what if you took a shonen sports anime and made it an edgy death game? Sports anime are already full of larger-than-life personalities and conflicts, so taking that over-the-top competitive camp and applying it to a situation where the characters have to destroy each other to get ahead in a winner-takes-all battle royale is such a no-brainer, I’m shocked it’s taken this long for someone to come up with it. Sure, you don’t actually die if you lose Blue Lock, but losing the ability to play competitive soccer ever again might as well be death for a shonen sports boy, so it still counts. Point is, this premise is certifiably genius. Which makes it slightly disappointing that so far, the show isn’t taking as much advantage of it as it could. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some of the skullduggery and backstabbing you’d expect from your typical death game, but for the most part, Blue Lock just plays like a traditional soccer anime. A very good soccer anime, to be sure, but I find myself wishing it was willing to get nastier and edgier and really take advantage of its premise. Hell, it’s not even the best straightforward soccer anime this year; Ao Ashi has it beat in everything but animation. So count me a fan, but also count me hopeful that it leans more into what makes it unique going forward.

Raven of the Inner Palace: 7.5/10

In a fantasy-tinged version of Medieval China, there lives an imperial courtesan known as the Raven Consort. But unlike the other courtesans, her duties do not involve, well, nighttime visits. No, her mission is to put to rest the wandering spirits of the dead, the shades of those who died with regrets or unfinished business that still tie them to the world of the living. As long as anyone can remember, she’s lived alone, existing for nothing but her mission with no bonds to the world around her. But when a new emperor deposes the corrupt regime, he makes it his mission to set right everything his forebearers set wrong... including freeing the Raven Consort from her isolation. Thus begins one of the most absorbing anime I’ve watched all year, a story of the sins of the past as they claw at the fabric of the present, the struggle to untangle eons of societal oppression, and what it truly means to make amends for mistakes that left scars too big to ever heal. Raven of the Inner Palace is a bit of a slow burn, but when it takes off, it fucking takes off. And I know most of you barely even heard about it because it was overshadowed by all the louder, flashier shows this season, so consider this your wake-up call. Don’t sleep on this one, it’s really damn good.

Akiba Maid War: 8.5/10

Honestly, I don’t even want to say anything about this one. I just want to tell you all that you need to fucking watch Akiba Maid War and let you experience its many surprises as deliriously blind as I did. So if that alone is enough to convince you to go watch it, then stop what you’re doing and go watch it before you’re spoiled on anything. But if you need a little extra convincing, then consider the following: what if I told you that this seemingly innocuous maid cafe show is not, in fact, a quaint little otaku-centric slice of life, but a full-on pastiche of yakuza movies that takes all the genre’s bloodshed and mayhem and filters it through maid-colored glasses? A show where maids gun each other down and jockey for power and get in vicious turf battles and yet never once break maid keyfabe? Where the simple joke of “yakuza movie but they’re maids” is played so straight and pushed so far to its absolute limit that it somehow wraps back around to being both a completely ludicrous parody of itself and a completely genuine, 100% heart-on-its-sleeve love letter to both seemingly incompatible sides of its double identity? And walks that seemingly impossible tonal tightrope near flawlessly before bringing it all home in a final episode so pitch-perfect it forced me to pump my score up half a point just from how hard it stuck the goddamn landing? Are you convinced yet? Did I mention there’s a thirty-six year old murder maid who totally kicks fucking ass and doesn’t let anyone shame her for being a middle-aged woman working a cutesy job? What more do you want from me? JUST GO FUCKING WATCH THIS SHOW ALREADY I SWEAR TO GOD

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury: 8.5/10

I had no idea what to expect going into my first ever Gundam anime. Sure, I was excited to finally get a taste of what this storied franchise had to offer, and the excellent prologue and promise of an interesting female protagonist were certainly reasons to be hopeful, but as someone who’s rarely clicked with mecha as a genre, I wasn’t sure how this first foray into the definitive mecha anime would turn out. What I never expected- what I don’t think anyone could’ve expected- was that The Witch From Mercury wasn’t content to just be the first even female-led Gundam. No, this show decided to be REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA. IN SPACE. WITH MECHA BATTLES. And I don’t think I need to say a goddamn thing more to convince you to watch this show. It’s goddamn Gundam Utena! It’s the queerest, most socially conscious anime of all time re-imagined with a futuristic metal exoskeleton, only with Utena’s symbolism-drenched ruminations on gender and patriarchy replaced with a no-less-compelling grounded portrayal of the evils of space capitalism and the political consequences of corrupt systems. Well, presumably; this first cours has mostly focused on the ground-level school romance antics as it builds up all that big picture stuff in the background. But I say again: GUNDAM. FUCKING. UTENA. I couldn’t have picked a better introduction to the world of Gundam if I tried. And as long as the second cours doesn’t shit the bed, this is going to go down in history as one of the greatest things to over come out of the mecha genre.

Bocchi the Rock: 9.5/10

And yet. Despite all the big shonens and bold anime originals, despite Chainsaw Man and My Hero Academia and Gundam Utena, when all was said and done, one series rose above them all. One series that looked at all those big names with a smirk and sailed past them as naturally as breathing. Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, Bocchi the Rock is a goddamn motherfucking masterpiece. It takes the band-girls coming-of-age majesty, the painfully relatable social anxiety of Watamote, and the sheer animation flexing of Nichijou, and blends them all together into a gut-busting, tear-jerking, jaw-dropping tour de force that raises the bar on what slice-of-life anime is capable of just as thoroughly as K-On did thirteen years ago. Hitori Gotou is a socially paralyzed weirdo who’s never had a real friend because her anxiety’s too overwhelming to make friends, but she knows how to play some mean guitar. So when a chance encounter leads to her joining a band, she resolves to stick with it and try to finally break out of her shell, one hilarious misstep at a time. It’s a wonderful story of overcoming what holds you back and finding a community that accepts you for who you are, brought to life with some of the most astonishingly Extra(tm) animation that regularly left me choking on my own laughter. And the music uniformly kicks ass, and the incredible supporting cast provides a wide array of perspectives of introversion and extroversion, and Ryou is such an asshole and I love her, and fucking hell, I love this show! Other anime may be deeper or more complex or have more to say, but almost nothing else is so consistently charming. Every second of this show is delightful. Every moment is lovable. It’s a new gold standard for animated comedy, for cute girls, for coming-of-age, and for music anime in general. Bocchi the Rock fucking rules, and every single one of you needs to give it a watch. Something tells me this is gonna be one of those shows we’re still going to be gushing over for many, many years to come.

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feathers-fallen-on-riverdale · 2 years

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Season 1, Episode 1: Chapter 1 - The River's Edge These Aren't The People From My Polycule! (They Said What?)

[Ep. Statues: Already Watched/First Time Watching + Remember/Vaguely/Don't Remeber]

First off. It sort of slipped my mind that Jughead narrates the opening of each episode. Doesn't he become like a God type writer in the new season? Very Jensen coded of The CW to only know how to do one (1) thing.

Oh god that nasty "Welcome to Riverdale!" board.

Also I will probably be saying this a lot but what are these outfits? Cheryl and Jason are going for thier stupid little boat ride (really? A boat ride? In the morning? On July 4th?) dress all in white expect for Cheryl's bright red stilettos. Like no wonder first time watcher me though Cheryl killed her brother. All the white, the creepiness of the scene and the "are you scared Jason?" just convinced me Cheryl had ritualisticlly killed her brother in a fucked up horror movie girl kinda way. Instant way to make me stan her. Kinda disappointed she didn't (would now would also be a good time to mention that I completely forgot who actually killed Jason? Oops?). Anyway where is that AU? Where is that show?

"In those last moments I hope he suffered. May Jason Blossom burn in hell" ? Miss girl. Are we sure Betty's mom isn't the real family psychopath?

Also can we talk about Jughead in season 1. With his lil beanie and his camera. I'm like 90% he was written to be a movie nerd/buff then it was retconed to books and they never talk about it again? That was weird.

Lol okay so I forgot how privileged the Lodges are made out to be. But honestly, Veronica's mom? Kind of a MILF. Now that I think about it, aren't they like, the Riverdale Kardashians?

Girl naurrr the gay-bestfriend-ification of Kevin 😭💀. My mortal enemy. I will make Kevin a full fleshed character if it kills me. Kevin walked no-crawled so that Will from Stranger Things could stumble over to Mike only to be called a slur.

Also how old are these bitches supposed to be? 15 year olds do not look like that. What is in the water in Riverdale? Pfffff what am I talking about Archie is Just Like That TM.

Also something about the way the actors deliver thier lines. I can't explain it but it's hilarious. Maybe just cause it's the pilot and everything's a little stilted still.

Also I think Kevin wants to hit that (Archie). #LetKevinHitThat2022 #LetKevinBeArchiesGayAwakening2022

Oh Archie's music passion my beloved. I forgot that one too. Season 1 may not be as batshit as its descendants but it has it's gems.

Betty and Archie: having their disgusting little heterosexual talk

Me looked in the background: omg Pop Tate 😍😍😍

I used to laugh at the sketches of Riverdale on tiktok because the facial expressions were so greatly exaggerated. But nope, it's actually Just Like TM.

Omg Veronica's slow-mo entrance my beloved. Some would say it's over the top but honestly she's an icon, she's a legend and she is the moment. She deserves this.

Also I know I should be focused on the Archie and Veronica's meet-cute but there's this one shot of Betty's face that is absolutely sending me.

Betty said gay rights because I'm going to be homophobic towards a straight couple.

ALSO FRED ANDREWS. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. ARCHIE STOP BITCHING AT YOUR FATHER.

Forgot just how... Karen-like Betty's mom was in season 1. I know it's out of worry but I can't wait for her character to flesh out (as much as it can on a CW show). Also I did not know Betty has ADHD?

Archie, honey, what is your handwriting. Okay, if Betty has ADHD then I want Archie to be dyslexic. They bond over being neurodivergent and mistake that comradery for love.

Nasty ass early season Chad Reggie 🤮🤮🤮. Where is my is my mafia bimbo meow meow. Give him to me now.

What. What was this moment. ONLY The CW. I would only accept this moment if Veronica was wearing a little bi or pan flag. Hold on.

Guys she sewed them on herself! (her mother taught her!) (I know it looks like shit alright I'm horrible at editing)

JOSIE! AND THE PUSSY CATS. Okay but genuinely they sound really good.

JUSTIN GINGERLAKE ??! Oh she's savage I love her. Also Josie and her girlies all use she/they pronouns because I said so.

Also the way Veronica talks. How does Camilla Mendes pull it off. What ever they're paying her, double it.

"Are you two dating?"

"No we're just friends."

"No he's straight.'

I stand by my earlier statment, #LetKevinHitThat2022

Oh god. The one plot line I wish I could desperately forget is the one where Archie fucks his music teachers. How is nobody noticing these 2 eyes fuck infront of the entire gymnasium.

Oh Fred and Hermione 😔

"Is cheerleading still a thing?"

"Is being the gay best friend still a thing?"

Shots fired. I am loving the mlm wlw hostility. At least The CW got gay on gay violence right.

Cheryl? Body shaming! What year is this?

They're trying to make me like or feel sympathy for Grundy and it's not working. I'm just waiting for her to leave.

Okay no actually I need her to DIE. A student is asking for help because he's feeling guilty and scared of something he's witnessed but your saying no because you fucked him? 🔪🔪🔪

Beronica kiss hello? Young sapphic me blocked this out because they could not deal with the emotions and revelations this brought her. Also this is beginnings/foundation of the Riverdale polycule. Also that kiss was.... a little longer than necessary 😏.

Cheryl is not impressed tho and honestly good for her. But that baiting scene. Sheesh I'm not one to judge be get a better coping mechanism honey. Betty's half moon scars I remember vividly. I wonder if they ever resolved that plotline.

Also. VERONICA ACTUALLY POPPED OFF NOT CLICKBAIT!???!!!???

WE COME AS A MATCHING SET? I AM THAT RECKONING? SORRY CHERYL BOMBSHELL MY SPECIALITY IS ICE?

I am losing it. Is this Riverdale's version of "Freedom is a lenght of rope and God wants you to hang yourself"?

Nope, now I've lost it. That scene! Where Veronica is zipping up Betty's cheerleading outfit and the sweet music is playing and they're all smiles and giggles and she turns around and Veronica compliments her and Betty just touches her in the same way Veronica did her even though Veronica was already set! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GOODBYE! The entire show could end right here and I wouldn't care. Also, I see you Veronica's black nail polish.

Oh Betty and Veronica's little chat after that felt very very real. Oh no this Supernatural all over again. Shit show, good moments that keep u coming back.

Okay Betty's mom is giving my mom vibes and that is not okay.

Fred's words to Archie about his future are ringing really true and are a really fresh and good twist on the parents dont support the kids passion trope.

Maybe this first season is actually good? Skdjkskdjd nah.

Omg our favourite trouple doing their entrance!

"What does your heart say?"

Archie: *looks over at Grundy*

Me: Come on, Grundy?!

Archie: *demands lessons*

Me: Oh he chose music!

Oh god.... I keep pausing the fantasy couple scene because I just can't.

Veronica and Kevin, mouthing: ask him about the polycule!

Betty, who can't read lips for shit: power couple? 🤔

The absolute silence on Archie's side. WHY did he look at Grunkle what's her face.

Let's see who's riding the ginger stallion tonight? WHO IS WRITING THESE SCRIPTS?

"Who are you asking for, you or Betty?"

Me: SAY BOTH

Veronica: *doesn't say both*

Me:

Me watching Archie and Veronica kiss even tho the polycule is in shambles before even fully forming:

Veronica and Hermione's relationship. God I wish I had something like that.

"Archie went looking for the girl next door. Instead he found me." Okayyyy, it's giving Jarchie.

Archie and Jughead's scene. First of all Jughead's dark humor. Love it. The talk to her. It'd go a long way. It'd have went a long way with me. Ooof. But also what did happen? Omg gay coming out went wrong!

Me watching the "I can't give you the answer you want" scene trying to focus on literally anything else but the forced monogamy in front of me: huh the way they shot this reminds me of the "I was there where were you scene".

Okay but let's put a pause on the polycule and talk about Barchie. Archie says something along the lines of "You are always perfect, I could never be good enough for you" and earlier on Betty said she's sick of being perfect, the perfect x,y,z for everyone else. I don't know if she's realised this but that may include being the perfect love interest for Archie. And Archie perceives her as Perfect when Betty just wants to be perceived. So if they were ever to get together, polycule or not they'd need to work past that.

Oh Moose. Didn't he just fade into the background as the show moved on or did I just forget him?

Oh Jason? Neat ig. Was he shot and his body dumped after the lake was searched? I can't even remember.

Unhinged rating: 3/10. There were some moments (mostly from Cheryl) mostly from the dialog and things I'd forgotten but this episode is really tame reconsidering my expectations for later seasons.

Tag list (you can ask to be added [or removed] though I doubt anyone will ask: @youre-only-gay-once

#riverdale #riverdale polycule #unhinged ep. review #barchie #jarchie #beronica #season 1 episode 1 the river's edge #archie andrews #betty cooper #jughead jones #veronica lodge #cheryl blossom #jason blossom #josie mccoy #josie and the pussycats #kevin keller #live slug reaction #live betty reaction #the cw

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luckyqueenreign · 2 years

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Honestly I always thought Hope was pretty toxic to Noah to the point I felt bad for him every time but couldn't bear to leave Bobby loveless in love island (considering he's always in a friend couple in every other route, bless him). I'll leave saving Noah to you, bestie.

Another thing is that I personally found the drama in s2 with Jo and everything on the girls' getaway lamely written, because if I remember right after you resolve everything correctly, out of nowhere Jo will calling everyone names and then everyone starts fighting again like what? Like that was unnecessary and then we'd have to pay gems to make it all better?

But I do love LOVE s2 despite the fact I usually play as a frustrated doormat because, if you felt like it you could just pop off and cause a scene. And the boys as long as you raise hearts with them absolutely adore you AND ACTIVELY ACT LIKE IT looking at you s5 writers. I think just having the option of burning the villa in s2 is what makes it the best season.

Yes she was!! Even when you're not with him she's still very toxic. Their "fights" were so childish...the TOASTIE one?! MY GOD! DW Bestie I'll save Noah out of that loveless coupling every time 🥰🤭

The drama in S2 was poorly written I think in general, even for example Operation Nope. Sure it was Priya's idea but I was the one that kissed Noah and everyone's up and arms mad at her and even when I go check up on her Bobby's trying to protect her from me. I'm like no BOB I'm trying to help my friend because these idiots aren't blaming the right person!! Also I know literally everyone hates beach day because of the drama but I love it because of the interactions I get with Noah after 😭😭😭 He's always so proud we resolved the fight...like duh babe of course! And he always wants to know our Spice Girl 🥰

This is so true everyone always loved us 😭😭😭

#luckyqueenreignask #litg s2

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chorusfm · 18 days

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Liner Notes (May 18th, 2024)

Buckle up—we have a lot to discuss this week. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here. If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here. A Few Things * One of the recent member-only episodes of the ATP podcast was all about “computer origin stories” or “first computer memories.” I’m roughly the same age as Casey and Marco and their core memories and histories mirrored mine quite a bit. And hearing them talk about their origin stories had me thinking about mine. My first memory of seeing a computer was in first grade when there was a computer in the elementary school library. Maybe an Apple IIGS? It was too long ago and I don’t know for sure. But a found family film makes it pretty clear I spent time with it. (Cool haircut first grade Jason.) I remember playing games like Carmen Sandiego. However, it wasn’t until middle school that my memories of using a computer start to solidify. I can remember vividly the computer labs at Twality Middle School. This is where I can remember my obsession beginning. At some point my parents bought a home computer for “the family.” It was a PC running DOS and Windows 3.1. Look, I’m very clearly old. I’m 41 and remember typing book reports on a typewriter before that computer. And this is when my obsession went into overdrive. I liked playing video games, what kid didn’t?, but I loved trying to figure out how all the software worked. I wanted to learn all the tips and tricks. I wanted to know how the system worked. Which meant I broke that computer. A lot. A lot a lot. I re-installed Windows on that thing from floppy disks more times than I can count. And this was where I first started playing around with Qbasic and did my first “programming.” My first memory of seeing the “internet” was at OMSI. My mom used to take my cousin and me there during summer vacation, and they had a computer lab. I remember downloading Simpsons WAV files and Dark Forces cheat codes, so this would have had to be around 1995, and I would have been around 14. At some point, breaking the family computer became a thing my parents got sick of, and my grandparents helped them purchase my own. Windows 95 and having my computer is where the already probably unhealthy technology obsession went supersonic. And this would be when I started playing around with HTML for the first time and soon after would begin writing what would turn into AbsolutePunk. That’s, best I can remember, my computing origin story. High school was primarily spent tinkering with PCs, installing various Linux distros, and using Windows throughout college. It wouldn’t be until around 2010 that I bought my first Mac. But, that’s probably a story for another time. * Anadivine was one of the hidden gems of the early 2000s scene, and they released a new 2024 remix/remaster of their album, Zoo_. It sounds great, and even if you never checked them out back in the day, it holds up all these years later. Also, if any labels read this and are interested in doing a limited vinyl pressing of the album, I can put you in contact with the band. Just let me know. * Aaron Mook, a contributor to AbsolutePunk and Chorus, has launched a GoFundMe to raise emergency medical funds for his cat. Please take a look if you’re able. In Case You Missed It * Review: Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism * Review: Keane – Hopes & Fears * Review: Broadway Calls – Coming After You * Review: Cold Years – A Different Life * Rise Against Announce New Tour * The Blood Brothers Announce Tour * Interview: Tony Lovato of Mest * The Used Announce B-Side Album * Alice Wallace – “Imposter” (Video Premiere) * Head Automatica – “Bear the Cross” * One OK Rock Announce World Tour * Avril Lavigne Announces Greatest Hits Album * Albums in Stores – May 17th, 2024 Music Thoughts * Lot’s of music to catch up on! Origami Angel released a new single, and it rules. I’m absolutely ready for a new Gami album. Their last… https://chorus.fm/features/articles/liner-notes-may-18th-2024/

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why-so-serious-lucifer · 3 months

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K-pop Discography Deep Dives: SHINHWA (Part THREE) 📼

Run, as befits its name, is all about a group of criminals running away while SHINHWA attempts to save Eric, and it’s good to know that even if the band themselves are wearing shirts (albeit under a laughable amount of leather), the bad guys will be predictably shirtless. But really, this is another song I respect for the very reason that it knows exactly what it is and doesn’t take itself too seriously, instead just deciding to throw up its hands and have a good time. Its “oh, eh, oh, let’s move it” is now stuck in my head, and I suppose I had that one coming.

From the album, Volume 9, I enjoyed the gently swaying chorus of Voyage, the slowly rising vocals in Just One More Time, the layered rap verse under the harmony in 2 My Luv, and the laughter in their voices in spoken-word Do You Remember?.

Venus has a lighter electro beat that I was expecting, and feels tailor-made for a dance-floor in the same vein as Kara’s Lupin or SHINee’s Ring Ding Dong with its call-and-response, the slinking quality of the verses, and distorted EDM background. Unsurprisingly, I really enjoyed this one, and it became one of my favorites right away, especially after the trap breakdown and excellent final chorus.

From the album, The Return, I enjoyed the palpable emotion in Hurts (I even didn’t mind the rap!), the sharp disco of Red Carpet, the upbeat drive of Let It Go, and the classical flourishes in Be My Love. So far, though I’ve enjoyed a few songs, I haven’t liked any enough to feature as a hidden gem, but here, I finally did! My hidden gem was the hopeful, acoustic-guitar driven, soundtrack-worthy On The Road, with its swirls of emotion and lovely warmth. It would be absolutely perfect for a road trip. Overall, I really liked this album; I think it’s one of their strongest.

This Love picks up where Venus left off, taking a very SHINHWA drive and combining it with a very early-2010’s-Katy-Perry-Party-Rock EDM beat and high pitched piano that creates a marriage in the middle of 1st and 2nd gen k-pop that was super interesting for me to see. It’s not the most unique track, certainly, but I did enjoy it.

From the album, The Classic, I enjoyed the smooth harmonizing in both Guy Who Knows and While Smiling and the dance floor beat of Hurricane, but my hidden gem was absolutely the alt-rock driven That’s Right (that high note especially!).

Sniper follows Venus and This Love to an extent, though seems more rooted in their earlier work than mid-2010’s synths with its harder-hitting, grungier EDM. It’s more like 2002 SHINHWA has been given a glossy makeover, basically, which I’m not against. I like the unique whistling hook here, and the building tension of its pre-choruses really makes the song feel unique, though I wish there was more of a payoff.

Memory is a special track released for SHINHWA’s 17th anniversary in 2015, and thank the heavens, it’s pretty good quality. It’s not that out of the ordinary for an inspirational ballad: it’s got the inspirational strings, the great harmonizing, the building vocals, the BTS footage from concerts and their lifelong friendships, and even a bunch of shots of an ocean. And you know what? It totally worked! I’m a complete sap and I adored it; I wanted to run off into the sunset on a road trip with my best friend immediately.

From the album WE, I loved the classical flourishes in Alright (my hidden gem!), but I also enjoyed the whistling hook of Sniper, the soaring vocals in Don’t Cry, and the gentleness of Never Give Up. There’s a reason I’m mentioning harmonizing and vocals so much: SHINHWA’s voices work so well together, in a way I’ve only really seen in SNSD, Red Velvet, SHINee, and Exo. Say what you will about SM (and I will), but they’re great at choosing vocals.

Orange follows in what’s become a tradition with SHINHWA’s music videos, just being them behind the scenes singing and having fun, and honestly, I love that for them. Though I still have my gripes about the rap not being necessary, the song is honestly too sweet and fluffy for me to dislike it, and I especially love the last chorus with its hand-clapping percussion and gentle harmonizing. Though the album’s called “Unchanging”, SHINHWA in these later songs, this one in particular, seems a world away from the angry, angsty, slur-saying group that we started with. It would be hard for me to even believe that it’s the same people if I hadn’t witnessed the change for myself over three weeks of listening to their music.

Touch is the first of SHINHWA’s music videos and songs that I would identify as feeling like k-pop from the second that it began it; while it keeps their EDM background, dramatic strings, and their very specific voices, the synths layered on top, anti-drop chorus, and toned-down production definitely bring it forward into the 2010’s. This isn’t one of my favorites of theirs, since I’m not usually a fan of anti-drops and this chorus doesn’t really change my mind, but I do like the rest of the song.

From the album, Unchanging, I enjoyed the springy energy of the too-short We and the rising warmth of Like A Star, and swingy energy of Bye Bye Bye, but the excellent driving beat under the chorus and whistling hook of Super Power made it my hidden gem.

All Your Dreams (the 2018 version) had me excited from the second I heard the lovely beginning strings of Bach Invention No.4, and when the guitar came in, I knew I’d like it. It’s certainly a revamped and improved version of their old music, absolutely more polished but without losing the theatricality and strength that defined their beginning. It feels like a second try in more ways than one on what’s their 20th anniversary, taking the good of the past and leaving the bad behind, and I’m very happy to hear it. And see it, for that matter; they remade the music video shot-for-shot too, in what feels like an homage done with love.

Kiss Me Like That, like Touch, feels like modern k-pop, albeit with a pared-back and gentle acoustic instrumental more reminiscent of Orange. In a way, I was both surprised and not by how explicit the English verses are, but they’re forty. They should live their lives. Either way, I enjoyed the inclusion of the brass samples and how they add texture to the last verses, though the song is a little too plain for me in general.

From the EP, Heart, I enjoyed Yoon Mirae’s feature in In The Air, the sunny, summery guitar in Level, and the album (and my time with SHINHWA) ends with the gentle yet passionate Don’t Leave Me, which fades out into nothing.

I’m glad I did this! I didn’t know what to expect when I began this deep dive, but it wasn’t to actually enjoy the greater part of their discography. I absolutely have criticisms—the appropriation, overuse of AAVE, and slurs chief among them—but I’ve gained a lot of respect for SHINHWA. I feel a little bit of pride that they’ve existed so long, and I hope that they continue breaking records and being together for as long as it makes them happy.

It’s difficult to pick so few after hearing over two hundred, but my Top 5 songs were Perfect Man, Yo!, Memory, How Do I Say, and Venus, with On The Road, Mistake, and All Your Dreams (2018) as honorable mentions. SHINHWA gets an 8.5 out of 10 from me, incredibly solid with genuine respect, but I feel like I can’t rate them any higher, both for my own lack of a lot of emotional connection and because I can’t get past the issues from the beginning, even if they were years ago.

Alright, so, phew, finally done! Next week, we’ll finally be back to our regularly scheduled programming with a one-week girl group. (Hallelujah), and I'll be starting 2x a week posting, just because I've been writing fasting than my own blog can keep up, lol. Tschüss!

#k-pop #review #k-pop deep dive #k pop boy groups #Shinhwa #dongwan #Andy #Eric #minwoo #hyesung #junjin #memory #run #Venus #kiss me like that #touch #all your dreams #sniper #this love #Spotify

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adrianharley · 11 months

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My Top 10 Reads of (the first half of) 2023

I have lucked out in reading so far this year, so it is now my duty, nay, my privilege, to insist that everyone else read these books as soon as humanly possible. These are all books I read from January through June--I haven't read a single thing in July yet.

10. The World We Make, by N. K. Jemisin. Everything Jemisin writes is gold, and even though this one didn't quite hit the highs of the first, it was a solid conclusion to the duology.

9. Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo. Early Hollywood, but make it magic--fae magic, where stars become literal stars and a Wild Hunt happens behind the scenes.

8 You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, by Akwaeke Emezi. I will read anything Emezi writes. I would have trusted very few authors with this premise: an artist grieving the loss of her husband starts seeing other men again, but then starts falling for the father of the man she is seeing. The lavishness of the descriptions, my goodness. The book comes alive.

7. Witch Hat Atelier (volumes 1 through 5), by Kamome Shirahama. It's a testament to the strength of the books I read this year that the series with baby penguin-gryphons is this far away from #1. I cannot emphasize enough how cute they are--and in case you care about something other than baby penguin-gryphons, I cannot explain in words how incredible this world is. Just look. You'll see.

6. An Immense World, by Ed Yong. I am an animal nerd. I love sinking into a good nonfiction animal book, and this one is miles above most. I was blown away and humbled by how little I know about animal senses, and I thought I knew a lot. The writing is engaging and charming, too.

5. The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jiminez. I have never read a book like this before, and that's saying something. The frame structure of the dream theater, the way the narrative points of view flow back and forth, the dips into everyone's (EVERYONE'S) thoughts... this is one of those books that shows how arbitrary some of the fundamental "rules" of writing are, and how vivid a story can be without them.

4. Little Thieves, by Margaret Owen. A good first-person narrator is worth their weight in gold. This was a delightful romp with a selfish protagonist. She's robbing the rich and trying to outwit the fantasy law enforcement! She might have to Learn About Friendship! She's slowly turning into gems! I loved her and all the supporting cast.

3. The Monsters We Defy, by Leslye Penelope. I hope historical fantasy heists keep on coming, but they'll have a hard time surpassing this one. Features a prickly protagonist who slowly learns to trust and folktale-esque spirit magic, with spirits that can't be trusted and bestow a gift alongside a "trick." The pairing of "You will be a flawless actor who can take any role, but nobody will remember your true self" is one that's going to haunt me for a while.

2. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty. An absolutely flawless piratical adventure. A retired pirate captain gets called away from her peaceful life and motherhood for One Last Job. This has everything you could want in a pirate adventure--a crew of lovable characters, a sinister job that's more than it seems, sea creatures, and a rich and teeming world (the better to be looted). In any other year--half-year--this might have been my very favorite...

1. Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed. ... but Shubeik Lubeik won my heart and hasn't let it go. You know when you finish a book and want to shove it in everyone's hands immediately? This is that book, and all the more so because I had never heard of it before picking it up in the library and devouring it in one glorious evening. This graphic novel is about a world like ours, but where wishes are real. Three interconnected tales in Cairo follow three people who end up with a first-class wish. If you like graph-based humor about mental illness, gorgeous art, well-thought-through alternate worlds, and getting emotionally torn apart and put back together again, read this.

#book reviews #booklr #bookblr #still don't know why there are two book tags #but just rolling with it

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tootiredmotel · 3 years

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Give him the real thing

For @floral-cas 's event!!! First time writing from an outsider/oc's pov so bear with me. Huge huge congrats on your milestone K!!! You are a PILAR of this lil community and we all love you 💚🌺💚🌺💚🌺

Read on ao3. 1.7k words

"Alright, uh… confession. I got no idea what I'm doin' here."

He looked around the shop like a monster was about to pop out of any corner. Like the carnations were going to bite him and the pots lined up on the windowsill next to them would come to life and crush his feet. The poor guy looked terrified, but it's nothing Maya hadn't handled before.

"That's what I'm here for. What's your name?" She asked, sensing they'd be there a while.

"Dean."

On any other day, Maya would've been resenting a burly, middle-aged guy with no idea what he wanted coming into the shop twenty minutes before closing, especially on a Thursday. Jade had their A.A. meetings on Thursdays so Maya was alone for the evening. But this Dean guy? He looked so lost, so nervous, so utterly out of place. There was something else about him that made her want to help, too. Maya wasn't sure what, but she'd figure it out.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Maya. Let's start with this: why are you here today, Dean?"

"Anniversary tomorrow."

Concise and to the point. Maya made a mental note. She also noted how he wiped his palms on his jeans and clenched his jaw. Nerves.

"How many years have you been together?"

That got a smile out of him. "A lot. A whole lot. But this is, uh. First wedding anniversary."

She donned a wide smile. "Congratulations. That's wonderful."

"Yeah. Thanks, thank you." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, still not meeting her eyes.

"Doing anything special?"

"Nothin' fancy. My brother and his wife are taking the kiddo for the night so, picnic in the backyard, lookin' at the stars, all that cheesy romantic crap."

His words didn't match his tone. It was evident Dean was absolutely smitten, Maya recognized the look, and he was making an effort. He was filled to the brim with giddiness and adoration for this person, and it shone through from him just thinking about them. Jade still looked at Maya like that every morning and night, and so did Maya at them. Every day since freshman year of college. Maya's chest swelled.

"Thing is," Dean continued, a bit more relaxed now. "Cas knows all about this stuff. We got this huge garden behind the house that I'm not allowed to even touch. There's a million books about nature and trees and flower meanings on the shelf, and Cas has read all of 'em. I didn't even know flowers had meanings, I don't know jack shit about any of it, but…"

"You want to impress Cas."

"I wanna impress Cas. It's gotta be good."

"You've come to the right place then." Maya kept an eye on Dean as she circled the counter. He was studying the pride flags hanging in the window with a clenched jaw, and Maya went on alert. She pulled out the binder they kept in the drawer and plopped it down in front of him a little harder than she needed to, calling his attention. "My partner Jade is more of a nerd about this stuff than I am, but they made this for situations like these."

Dean read the cover, Jade and Maya's Quick Guide to Flower Meanings, and smiled. "Nice."

They spent forty-five minutes walking around the store, binder in hand, slowly constructing the message Dean wanted to convey with his bouquet. He was adamant on it containing blue, so Maya went for the Forget-me-nots first. “Love and hope,” said the binder, which she deemed fitting enough for a first wedding anniversary.

Dean looked like someone content with his life, and he agreed when Maya suggested they look under the happiness category. “Well, Cas makes me happy,” he said, and they settled on Felicias, also blue.

Dean eventually got comfortable enough and leaned over to look at the binder in Maya’s hands. “Think there’s anything in there for grace?”

Highly specific, but possible, Maya thought. “Let’s find out.”

And they did. Plumerias, white.

“Anything else?” She asked him. Dean donned a thousand-yard stare as he thought about it, and Maya figured this man had been through a lot. More than she could ever imagine. She was glad he’d found some peace.

“Freedom,” Dean said finally. Freesias, white as well.

It was an odd bouquet, Maya admitted, but Dean was an odd man, and he looked happy with it. He was still nervous, still out of his element, but there was more excitement in the twinkle of his eyes than anything else.

“Cas will love it,” Maya assured him, and he beamed. She still knew very little about this Cas person— Dean could speak a lot without really saying anything, careful and reserved, even dancing around using gendered pronouns for Cas, which Maya found interesting—, but she could see Dean was living a happy life as their husband. That was good enough for her.

“Here’s hoping,” he said as he handed over his credit card, but he seemed a lot more sure than hopeful. He knew Cas would like it, and Maya couldn’t help a sense of pride grow inside her. Dean also put some cash in the tip jar and left with a smile. A good day’s work, and maybe a new friend in town.

---

“Maya?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

Jade poked their head in the door, beaming at Maya as she ran the books in the back room.

"There's a gentleman asking for you."

"By name?"

Jade nodded. Maya sent them a questioning look, to which they just shrugged. If Jade wasn't all that worried about it, Maya supposed there was no reason for her to be either. She made her way out, squeezing Jade's hip as she passed them, and stepped up to the counter. The trenchcoat-clad man smiled at her.

"Maya?"

The depth of his voice caught her by surprise, but she recovered in time to reply "That's me."

The man smiled wider. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Cas. You might not remember, but last week you-"

"Did you say Cas?" Maya couldn't contain her interruption, or the eagerness as she asked: "Dean's Cas?"

Cas's smile widened even more, which she didn't think was possible. It was blinding, and Maya, even in all her queerness, could definitely understand what Dean saw in him. "That's right."

Dean’s fixation on blue flowers suddenly made sense too, as she noticed his eyes. "He adores you, you know. You're his heaven and earth."

Cas's smile faltered at her words, and Maya feared she'd said something wrong.

"I'm sorry if I'm overstepping."

“No, no, it’s alright.” He looked down at his wedding band, and his smile returned. “He’s all that and more to me.”

Cas stared at his ring for a second longer. It was silver and had a small blue gem embedded into it. Maya could swear it appeared to swirl with light.

“Dean spoke wonders of you,” she said.

He looked back up at her. “You, too.”

She blinked in surprise at that.

“I loved the bouquet. I thanked him for it, over and over, and every time he said you were the miracle worker. That he was clueless the whole time and couldn’t have done it without you.”

“That’s not true,” Maya deflected, a steady heat rising to her cheeks. “He had a pretty good idea of what he wanted. And, if anything, he and I couldn’t have done it without Jade’s expertise.” She gestured toward her partner, helping a customer at the other end of the shop, and also tapped the binder, which was out on the countertop today.

“Then I suppose I’m here to thank both of you.”

He reached into a tote bag that Maya hadn’t noticed he was carrying and pulled out a plastic container. “We run a small baking business out of our home. These are on me. Apple and honey tarts.” He placed the container in front of her. On top of it was a label that read D&C’s Pastries. “They are also gluten-free, just in case.“

“What’s going on?” Jade asked, approaching Maya’s side with an expectant smile.

“Jade, love, do you remember Dean? From last week?”

“You told me about him, yeah, wedding anniversary.”

“Well this is Cas,” she gestured to him.

“Dean's husband,” Cas interjected. Jade and Maya shared a knowing smile. “I just wanted to drop these off as a thank you for helping Dean. Apple and honey tarts, gluten-free.”

“That is so sweet of you,” Jade exclaimed, eagerly taking the pastries. Maya rolled her eyes fondly at the pun, which Cas didn’t seem to catch.

“I was just doing my job,” Maya said. “But thank you.”

“Papa!”

They all turned to the child, blond and adorable, running excitedly toward Cas. At the door, where the child came from, stood an exasperated Dean.

“Jack,” Cas started, scooping the child in his arms. Jack wrapped his arms around Cas’s neck. “I thought I told you and Daddy to wait for me at the café, I wasn’t going to be long.”

“He missed you. We both did,” Dean gazed at him as he approached. “Dude, what are you-”

Dean scanned over the scene he’d just walked into and seemed to realize what was happening.

“So that’s what the tarts were for. Hey, Maya.”

“Hi, Dean.”

“And you must be Jade,” Dean said, extending a hand toward them.

“Yes! Heard about you, nice to finally meet you, Dean.”

“You too. You and that book of yours are life-savers. If I’d known the tarts were for you guys, I would’a made more.”

“These are more than enough, thank you. In fact, here...” Maya turned to a vase of daisies they had on a shelf and pulled out three. “Now I feel like we’re even.”

“Not by a long shot,” Dean said as he took his flower and Cas’s. He put his behind his ear, and Cas’s in his trenchcoat’s lapel, as Maya handed Jack his own flower.

They all promised to not be strangers, and kept their promise. Dean and Cas would bring over baked goods, and in exchange, Jade and Maya would let them take home a potted plant for their garden. Jack would always leave with a small flower in his hand, a different one every time, wrapped in Cas’s arms as he explained the flower’s origins or symbolism to his son. Dean would be the last one out the door, always turning back and mouthing a “thank you” to Maya. Every time, without fail.

And every time, Maya would think that she wanted what they had. Happiness, peace, a family, unconditional and true love. And every time, she would look over at Jade, and know she was well on her way.

171 notes · View notes

kokokabana · 2 years

Text

𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞

✧ Jonathan Hayes and Albert Bishop ✧ soldier ✧ interest: adrenaline, parties, fitness, fashion, sex, drinks, dancing, travel, sports, movies, brunch, podcasts

Touch-deprived and overly confident military men, who know they are the shit, haven’t given up the search for true love yet.

« 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

✧-✧-✧

How to read this guide

The choices are portrayed like this: A | B. The one in bold or with an exclamation mark gets you (the most) affection.

Sometimes both choices work! They get you a different dialogue from your match, but you or they give the same amount of emoji reactions, balancing everything out.

Make sure to equip the interest that is about to be unlocked when you fill up that relationship bar! That gives you 15 additional gems. Don’t accept the gems and close the app if you haven’t already.

Message me or comment below if you found something else!

✧-✧-✧

Chat History

#1 Texting

✧ Do you believe in fate? | Maybe we crossed paths and don’t remember 🤔

✧ At the risk of sounding like a complete train wreck, yours is the only profile I even bothered swiping… → ❤️! |😮

✧ Because so far you haven’t ask me for a shirtless picture of me holding a gun in a very particular way. → 😳|😉!

✧ Guilty! | Not really…

✧-✧-✧

#2 Texting

✧ 1st CG for 180 💎

✧ Everything I say sounds sexy 🔥 (gem choice for 120 💎) | It’s just a fact, Jonathan. → not worth it, only for boost, boring additional dialogue

✧ Sounds dangerous 😳 | SO. FREAKING. COOL! 😎

✧ Making plain words sound hot. → 🔥! | 😜

✧ They met at some protest to save the whales back in the day. → 🥹! | 🤭

✧ After that selfie, I know you’re all ALPHA baby! | Values are just as sexy as self-confidence on you.

✧-✧-✧

#3 Texting

✧ Mmmmm … Burrito … right up my alley … | Not exactly my idea of a good time…but OK

✧ 2nd GC for 300 💎

✧ Oh Jeez… Are those 12-packs..?!? | Your friend’s even hotter than you!

✧ Well… I could always hypnotize you. → 💋! | 👏

✧-✧-✧

#4 Texting

✧ Sounds like a fun night! | Uggg, jealous

✧ I hope you’re not just saying that because you’re drunk 😏 (Gem choice for 120 💎) | I don’t kiss and tell 💋 → only boost

✧ OMG! I gotta get to where you are ASAP → 👏! | 😂

✧ I’m no good without sleep. | I’m actually a night owl…

✧ Best kind of foreplay, no? | All part of my plan of attack!

✧ If it makes you feel any better, I’ll be taking one too… | LOL! So I’ve got you on the ropes huh!?

✧-✧-✧

#5 Texting

✧ Is he OK? | With a friend like you, I bet he’s fine

✧ Sorry, not sorry LOL! | Oh no! It’s my fault!

✧ Thank God I’m not alone in this!!! → 💏! | 👍

✧ OK! | Finally!

✧ Nothing, but if you really want me, you’ve gotta wait (gem choice for 120 💎) | Not saying 😘 -> not sure if you have to buy this in order to get the free clothing items

✧ Yeah. But you’re too difficult to resist → 😏! | 😐

✧ free clothing item 🎁 (the dress... holy shit)

✧-✧-✧

#6 First Date

✧ I’d love to. (gem scene for 150 💎) | Tempting… but no, thanks. -> make-out session, very nicely described but gets PG-6 for the actual thing. Hmm… I would have rather watched a YouTube playthrough of it

✧-✧-✧

#7 Texting & Second Date

✧ 😳 | I’m the lucky one 😉 → only when you paid for the gem scene during the date

✧ Phew, you scared me a bit! | I’m not exactly convinced…

✧ OK! Let’s spend the rest of the day together! (Gem choice for 150 💎) | I can’t. Tomorrow, you’ll be gone. → imo not worth it. Sweet but too short wtf bro and nothing explicit like that’s why I paid for I don’t even know if they fucked or just had a make out session ugh

✧-✧-✧

#8 Texting

✧ But I’ll be leaving a little piece with you as well. → ❤️! | 🥹

✧ There’s a rumor our departure MIGHT get pushed a few days… -> 🫢 | 🎉!

✧-✧-✧

#9 Texting

✧ Very little… | Absolutely nothing

✧ Yeah, you could say that! 💦 | Wouldn’t you like to know! 😏

✧ 3rd GC for 300 💎

✧ Hell yeah, but there are things I just can’t do to a photo. 🌶 | It’ll keep my company during lonely nights 😏

✧ Believe me – I WANT TO BE. → 💏! | 😫

✧ Not sure I can at this point | No way! I’m busy doing something else… → Why are you doing this to me? 😫 → 😈! | 😐

✧ Not sure I can at this point | No way! I’m busy doing something else… → Just pretend my arms are around you. → 😊! | 👎

✧-✧-✧

#10 Texting

✧ Duh…of course | Lol, buzzkill rules

✧ If we don’t get orders to ship out by tomorrow night, our mission is cancelled. → 😮 | 😄!

✧ I think I like where you’re going with this… (gem scene for 120 💎) | BEHAVE!

→ Touching you would completely set me off right now! → 😍! | 🙄 (two screens of graphic sexting, nice)

✧ I’m gonna send a cold shower if I’m gonna get ANY sleep tonight. → 💦! | 😐

✧ I’ll make it worth your while! | We can't have you going to military prison!

✧-✧-✧

#11 Texting

✧ You’re gonna be fine! | I’ll give you a hand!

✧ And you drive me crazy → 💋! | 😐

✧ Maybe I should enroll in architecture as well... (gem choice for 120 💎) | I think I just made myself jealous 🫢 → Everyone will be SUPER jealous 😉 → 🔥! | 😂 → 2.5 screens of fluff

✧ Maybe I should enroll in architecture as well... (gem choice for 120 💎) | I think I just made myself jealous 🫢 → I’ll give you anything you want → 😈! | X

✧-✧-✧

#12 Texting

✧ I missed you 🥺 | It felt like you were gone so long 😣

✧ But I can make up for lost time 😏 → 😳 | 😜!

✧ Missing you terribly… | Responding to other Lovelink matches…

✧ What if I was next to you right no? What should I do, MC? → 😏! | 😳

✧ What do you want to do? I’m open to suggestions 🔥 (gem choice for 150 💎) | Maybe we can save it for later? → pick “Give me details 😈” for a little over 3 screens of sexting or else it’s 1 screen of fluff

✧ Now that you’re back, I’m not letting you go!! | I’m not sure…what if you have to go somewhere else

✧-✧-✧

#13 Texting

✧ Every minute I can’t talk to you I’m thinking of you ❤ → 🥺! | 😐

✧ Good thing there’s no cap on my fondness for you 💋 | There might be a limit to that 😐

✧ Staying in the military | If you’re where you want to be right now

✧ Maybe you have other dreams for the future! | Are you gonna regret spending so long in the service?

✧ I don’t know about you, but I’m all on ❤️ → 😮 | 😍!

✧ I’m talking completely naked 💦 | Maybe if you were in a maid outfit 😏

✧ That camo isn’t surviving the night 🔥 (gem choice for 150 💎) | If only 😣

✧-✧-✧

#14 Texting

✧ Was it a sexy dream? 🌶 | Was it one of those dreams that totally doesn’t make sense?

✧ And I was holding you close in my arms, drinking in the fact that we could be together → 😍! | 🥺

✧ I’d want to see where it would go 💦 | Being cuddled up with you is all I want right now!

✧ And what I want is you → 🫢 | 💋!

✧ I want that too!! 😍 (gem choice for 150 💎) | I’m not there yet 😬

✧-✧-✧

#15 Texting

✧ I still really want to see you though 🥹 | Is it really worth it?

✧ 😏 You just want to see my body → 😏! | 🫢

✧ I might have trouble staying quiet 💦 | Someone might hear us talking 🫢

✧ I gotta say MC, all this secrecy is getting me… in a good way → 🔥 | 💦!

✧ 4th CG for 300 💎

✧ And where would we be doing that? 😈 | Honestly I would love just to cuddle with you right now 😫

✧-✧-✧

#16 Texting

✧ I’m glad I didn’t keep you up! | I was hoping my fantasies would keep you up 😈

✧ That’s amazing!!! | Are you sure?

✧ clothing item 🎁 (navel piercing for 70 💎)

✧ And I don’t think your clearance is gonna come through before we have to leave → 😭! | 😮

✧ Your dedication is still hot as hell 😜 | You at least know how much I admire you, right?

✧ What I wouldn’t give to sneak into you barracks… | Imagine sneaking off base to stargaze 😍

✧ I hate not knowing if you’re safe or not! | This is so frustrating 😐

✧ No matter what, I’m coming back to you → 🤔 | 🥺!

✧ You better come back to me! (gem choice for 150 💎) | You can’t promise that

✧ …I love you (gem choice for 150 💎) | …I care so much about you (if you didn’t choose the first gem choice. it’s free if you did) → 😮 | 😍!

✧-✧-✧

#17 Texting & Third Date

✧ Yes! I’m so glad to hear from you 😭 | Maybe just a little 😘

✧ I told you I’d come back to you safe 💋 → 😍! | 🥹

✧ We can finally video call, if you wanted to → 🫢 | 🎉!

✧ I would rather do anything else 🙄 | OF COURSE | WANT TO??

✧ Let’s do it. (gem choice for 180 💎) | I’m not sure... | Why would you even ask me that? → cyber sex scene holy shit yes. you get more dialogue if you tell him to he should tell you what to do

#18 Texting

✧ I would call if I could! -> 😫! | 🥹

✧ I almost miss you more! | This feels easier -> gets you 💋

✧ If I could have you on a video call every second of the day I would -> 🫢 | 🥹!

✧ I’d make it worth your while 🔥 | Who knows what we could do? 😉

✧ It’s not his fault! (gem choice for 180 💎) | I might deserve some of the blame... | I can’t do this.

✧-✧-✧

#19 Texting

Nothing.

✧-✧-✧

#20 Texting

-> If you chose to say nothing in the previous part, you’ll get this choice

✧ Ugh I should have said something! | XXX -> gets you 😐 (oops)

✧-✧-✧

#21 Texting

✧ I feel like this is all my fault 😭 | Maybe you shouldn’t have called me...

✧ Why would you say that? 😭 | If that makes the most sense…

-> And right now us staying in contact is a threat -> 😭 | 😱!

✧ It’s been hard enough trying to keep us together | I can’t believe I’m a threat

✧ I don’t want to give up you! -> ☹️ | 🥹!

✧ I’m sorry, I do (gem choice for 150 💎) | Ido, but…

-> gets you many screens of fluff

✧-✧-✧

#22 Texting

✧ Yeah l’m in a tight spot, but that’s not an excuse to fight with you -> 😘 | 🥹!

✧ Being able to touch you irl 😏 | Like our romantic date! 🥹

✧ I’m loving this side of you!

✧ Are you really ok? | There’s something you're not telling me

✧ Going dark includes texting sweetheart -> 😭 | 😱!

✧ Makes me wonder if anyone else was caught breaking the rules 🤔 | I mean that would be shitty

✧ 🥹 You’re amazing | I’ve heard that before 😫

✧ Of course I see a future with you! (gem choice for 150 💎) | I don’t feel like I can answer that 🫢

✧-✧-✧

#23 Texting & Possible Date

✧ I’m glad you did! | I can’t believe it...

✧ Do we know how long this’ll last? | Why are they doing this??

✧ Screw these rules, let me call you -> 😍! | 😮

✧ Yes! Call me! (gem choice for 180 💎) | That’s not a good idea 😫

✧ You better 😏 | Just coming home safe is worth it to me 🥹

✧ I’m holding you to that 😍 | Hopefully it won’t be for nothing ☹️

✧ I’m leaving it with you -> 💋! | 🥹

✧-✧-✧

#24 Texting

✧ Ooh, back AND starting off with roleplay? 😈 | Tell me you don’t have amnesia 😫 | Uh... yeah, aren’t you Jonathan?

✧ Jonathan/Albert was injured on our last op -> ☹️ | 😱!

✧ Tell me everything you know!! | I can’t hear any more 🫢

✧ Wait, tell me EVERYTHING he’s been saying!! (gem choice for 210 💎) | I’ll let him tell me about that himself 😉 | Can you tell me... broad strokes about what he’s been saying? (gem choice for 180 💎)

✧-✧-✧

#25 Texting

✧ It’s Jonathan/Albert! -> 😍! | 🤔

✧ How bad were you injured?? 😱 | Do you know if you’re getting sent home? | How’re you feeling?

✧ How could I not worry? 😫 | If you say so… 😐

✧ 5th CG for 330 💎

✧ Hmm, lemme think about it 😜 | Never! ❤️ | No, but maybe he could join us sometime 😈

✧-✧-✧

#26 Texting

✧ This is still Jonathan, right? | Uhh good, you? | Better now that you’ve messaged 😏

✧ i loveuuuuuu MC -> 😐 | ❤️!

✧ Give me coordinates, I’ll airdrop in!! | I wish I could! 😭 | Get better first, ok?

✧ Then let’s do it!! (gem choice for 210 💎) | Actually, I think you should rest now | Let’s just keep texting- I don’t want you caught with your phone! (gem choice for 180 💎) |

✧-✧-✧

#27 Texting

to be played...

#kikkis.guides #lovelink guides #jonathan hayes #albert bishop #lovelink jonathan #lovelink albert #ludia lovelink #lovelink #kikkis.swiping #kikkis.stuff #i hope my description is true haha i just went off jons bio which makes him pretty vulnerable if you ask me

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falcor-thee-luck-dragon · 3 years

Text

Interviews - Henry Cavill x wife/actress reader

Summary: You and Henry have been married for a couple years now, and when you’re both part of the Witcher cast, fun interviews are to be had.

Warning: nothing but a good time, btw I’ve never written anything like this so I hope it’s good enough that I might feel motivated to write more

-Readers Witcher character is loosely based off my Geralt fic from here (just a little self promotion), but in this case you play a full vampire in this Witcher universe

The days have been long and grueling, filming hours upon hours of stunts and regular acting had taken its toll. Not to mention the countless times in hair and make up paired with costume changes and traveling to film on certain locations.

To say being apart of Netflix’s The Witcher was full of tiring days and some accidental bruises would be a huge understatement. But none of that mattered, nor did you bother to complain when through the thick and thin of it all did you have Henry with you along the way. And your favorite big slobbery bear, Kal whenever he was allowed on set.

Fortunately for you in the beginning of all the craziness, the casting and writers had wanted you specifically for the part of Y/C/N in the new series before Henry even auditioned for the role of Geralt, that was soon given to him after you accepted your fresh role of vampiric heroine.

It was ironically strange in a good way, you had watched your dork of a husband play the Witcher: Wild Hunt a few times before, eventually learning of what Geralt of Rivia was, who Y/C/N was in the story, who Yennefer and Ciri were, Tris and even Jaskier.

Who would have thought that you’d finally get to snag a role side by side with Henry in quite literally one of the most fantastic shows you’ve ever heard of. You didn’t even need to see the show yet to know how well it was most likely to be reviewed. Being a key character in the grand storyline was enough to convince you of how amazing it would most certainly turn out in the finished product.

And after all was said and done, you couldn’t believe how well loved and popular the show truly became in the following months after shooting and its eventual release onto Netflix. The after parties and cast celebrations truly made you blessedly grateful for pulling through to the vary end.

Then again you had your mans Henry by your side every step of the way. He was your rock and you were most definitely his. You know life on set would have been far less entertaining and dreadfully long if not for the lovely company of your dear Witcher, Henry. And so far after the fact, you and a good portion of the cast have been placed in random interviews for the majority of the day.

Reason being, The Witcher has at long last finally premiered and as per usual the people and media live for those cast interviews that always reveal some interesting events. So far this morning you’ve done some interviews with Anya that have gone perfectly fine since the two of you seem to click so well.

Also it helps ease the anxiety of your fellow newer cast mates to the world of continuous interviews with an experienced veteran actor like yourself, who’s gone round the ring more times then you can count. Though you can’t help but wonder how Henry’s doing, considering you’ve been separated since the sessions began at 10am, you’ve had lunch and now it’s about 1 in the afternoon with more hours to go.

Luckily for you, you’ve just been informed of another interview with the man of the hour himself. Saying your goodbyes and well wishes to your fellow cast mates, you stand and follow the guide into the advised place. Aka some really nice hotel room that’s been done up real nice for efficient interviewing, complete with the Witcher insignia on a large background poster and three chairs that happen to look rather comfy.

The camera and sound people nod in acknowledgment as you walk in, you nod back no doubt making their day with your friendliness and adorable smile that quite literally lights up a room. Soon you spot the bubbly yet nervous interviewee who instantly welcomes you into her space like you’re an old friend.

You sit, a bit confused as to where your partner happens to be at the moment, the interviewer, Lauren makes small talk before a door opens and her big bright doe eyes go wide in nervous excitement. A telling smile upon her face as she shifts in her chair before looking back to you again with a happy grin.

Henry says a quick hello to the behind the scenes crew before waving to Lauren, you smirk while watching him get comfortable next to you, “Well, well, well. Get lost on your way up, you know they have guides for a reason.” You tease as he chuckles at your humorous jab, relieved to see you again after a couple hours apart.

“Traffic.” He quips with a shrug.

“Uh huh.” You mutter with a shake of your head before drawing your attention back to Laura, “Can’t take him anywhere I swear, he does this all the time.”

She laughs as Henry pretends to gasp at your teasing, you chuckle along with them before she finally collects herself, “Well, welcome back to London. It’s fantastic to have you both in town once again, and your big beautiful faces all over Leicester Square.”

You both laugh, “Right.” Says Henry, “I guess we do look pretty cool.”

“Hell yeah, I mean where else can I see myself with a giant sword on a building? And anyways look at this beautiful mug,” You say gently squeezing Henry’s cheeks in your hand, “he’s literally killing it out there.” They laugh as you give Hen another playful squeeze before letting go and setting your arm against the chairs cushioned armrest.

“Alight let’s start.” She says enthusiastically before glancing down at her cards then back up to you and Henry. Then into one of the two the cameras, “Hi I’m Lauren from Entertainment Weekly and today we’re here with the two stars of Netflix’s The Witcher.” She says enthusiastically while giving a nod to you two, indicating that the camera is now focused on you both, “Henry Cavill and Y/N Cavill.”

You both smile in acknowledgment as Henry gives a slight nod, “How you doing?”

“I’m great,” She beams, “So, I’ll get right into it, what do you like most about the story? What really drew you into the script that made you say, yes this is going to be awesome?”

Slapping a hand against Henry’s muscular leg, you hum, “I’ll let Hen take this one he’s a real expert on the linguistics of the whole show.”

“Thanks Y/N/N.” Replies Henry, bemused that you’re making him take the first question.

You nod to him knowingly with a smirk, “Of course.” Knowing how much he loves to talk about the show and also because you’d rather have him use his energy to talk about it then do that yourself. Priorities, right, though in your defense it’s been a long day.

“Well I absolutely love the games and the books themselves are phenomenal works of literature.” He explains, his face glowing with that usual glimmer of excitement in his eyes, “The story and the world of the Witcher is just so rich and full of potential that when I signed on for the show, I immediately knew it would be amazing, no doubt.”

You lean into the arm of you chair, “And of course I was there so that’s always a bonus.”

“That too.” He smiles adorably, “That too of course.”

Lauren smiles, “Great. So, what was it like working together, how was it having your characters interact with one another?”

You smile, setting a hand against Henry’s forearm, “This guy right here.” You deadpan before waving him off dramatically, “So annoying, my god he whined all the time and he was such a drama queen dear lord so ugh....” You start cackling before you can even finish the sentence causing Henry to loose it as well and with that the interviewer.

Shaking your head you rest your hand against his shoulder, “I joke, he was a gem to work with as usual...I mean I feel incredibly blessed to be able to act alongside my husband for months and months every single day. It’s a rarity in this line of work and I’m grateful to have shared this experience...and I guess more so this whole adventure with him as well.”

The interviewer aww’s as Henry tilts his head to lean into your hand that’s still resting atop his shoulder before pulling away just as quickly, the intimate sentiment not going unnoticed by you or Lauren who looks to be enjoying your loving yet calm energy with one another. “That’s so sweet, what about you Henry?”

“Oh yes absolutely,” Agrees Henry to your recent statement, “not only did I have her by my side through it all but the dynamic of our characters interacting together was so fun to shoot. I think the audience will really be able to see their relationship grow on screen into something strong and beautiful like in the books.”

Slow clapping you give him a curt nod of approval, “Well said.”

Lauren smirks, “Seems like it. Well, I was able to catch the premier yesterday and I gotta say...it was fantastic! I couldn’t believe how diffident the two of you looked from how you are now.” She gushes enthusiastically.

The corners of Henry’s lips curl into a proud smile for the fellow crew of the Witcher’s, “Oh that’s great then, honestly we gotta give all the props to the costume and makeup team, they’re so talented and know how to make us look like real badasses.” He adds.

You nod in agreement before grinning at a positive memory of your first interaction with Henry as Geralt, “Oh for sure, I remember during the early stages of production when our characters met each other for the first time, before this we came to set together but went separate ways to shoot our own stuff in the meantime so I never got a real look at him.” You recall with a bright smile as Henry watches your every move, beaming just the same.

“It was so funny, I was in the tent with Freya Allen, the wonderful girl who plays Ciri, and then suddenly her eyes got all big and nervous and I was like, that’s not me right? Something weird didn’t just happen with my costume? And then I turned around to find this man, wig on, face a mess, and his eyes looked so fearsome and different...it was a bit startling.” You say with a chuckle, “I clearly wasn’t expecting to see Geralt right then and there. He just looked so unlike Henry.”

“Yeah, I was almost hurt.” Laughs Henry, “She had to like squint and make sure it was me.”

Rolling your eyes, you shrug, “He had some real creepy looking colored contacts, yunno?”

Henry fake scoffs, “You’re one to talk, I mean when I first say her, Y/N’s eyes were red and she had fake blood spattered all over her face and shirt. Oh, and not to mention those fangs they put on your teeth...we probably traumatized poor Freya that day.”

“Oh shit you’re right!” You exclaim with a snort of concealed laughter, “God I completely forgot about how I looked...now since I think about it, I did that a lot too. I would just walk up to people and be completely oblivious as to what kind of nightmare I looked like, honestly I might have scared one of our producers a couple of times.” You add with a half nervous laugh, it’s true, you did scare some of the crew unintentionally. Most of the time.

Lauren lightly chuckles, “That sounds like you were quite the sight to see then.” She says before glancing back down at her notes, “Alright I have’ta ask, is there anything that you two took home with you from set?”

“Besides Henry every night,” He holds back a laugh while covering his mouth as you nonchalantly continue, “Uh, yes actually I got to take home Y/C/N’s wolf ring that I loved so much and just thought was the coolist thing ever and....uh, I might have stolen some socks too.”

“So that’s why after filming the amount of socks of yours I had to fold increased?” Wonders Henry with a surprised snort of realization.

Turning your head to give him a “no shit” kinda look, you look back at Lauren, pointing your thumb at Henry, “Master sleuth right here, but hey, he folds my laundry.”

“Aw that’s great.” Adds Lauren with a smile before turning her attention to Henry, “What about you Henry? Take anything from set?”

“More then Y/N did actually...”

“He just about took the whole makeup trailer most nights, I swear.”

Henry chuckles, “That. Is true.” He agrees with a nod, “Interesting enough, at home I’ve got Geralt’s armor hung up in our living room and a multitude of other nicknacks that I’ve collected during filming.” He adds, glancing over to you, “So uh, yeah, we were fairly lucky to be able to snag what we could.”

Lauren smiles, absentmindedly shuffling her cards, “That’s awesome to have such special memorabilia, you guys really are fortunate.” She adds before reading off from another card, “Alright you two, care to play a game called guess the image? Witcher style.”

Your face perks up at this, you’re a sucker for interview games and Henry knows it, “Are you reading my mind or something, I have been waiting all day for someone to ask about playing a game.” You gush rather enthusiastically.

He smiles at your adorableness and how excited you’ve just become, Lauren grins, happy that her suggestion has been so well received, “Okay so how it works is, I’ll show you an image on my iPad and then you have to guess who or what I’m showing you.”

“Oh, cool I’ve heard of this,” You reply, turning to Henry with a smirk, “Loser has to clean Kal’s yard poop for a week.”

Rolling his gorgeous blue eyes he chuckles, “You’re on.”

“Alright, the stakes are high, you two ready?” Beams Lauren, holding her iPad to her chest as she awaits an answer.

“Yes, I’m ready to kick his ass.” You quip, leaning an arm against your chair while Henry does about the same, though he does his best to contain his laughter.

“Okay, first image.” She holds up the device to show some sort of weird golden thing, it’s shiny and hard, worst part is that you’re not entirely sure what the hell it could be.

Sensing your confusion Henry nudges your shoulder, though you ignore it before he smartly answers, “Oh, is that...Renfri’s brooch?” Little shit knows exactly what that is, of course he does.

Lauren claps, “Correct.” Zooming out of the image to show the full picture of the golden brooch, “Right on, that’s one point for Mr. Cavill.”

You scoff playfully, “Beginners luck.” While Henry side eyes you with a humorous grin upon his plush lips, he nudges your arm, “I’m going to really enjoy not cleaning up Kal’s grass turds for awhile.” He mutters lightheartedly, though you know deep down he’s being serious, no way is he going to win this, you think. You won’t have it, hopefully the next few pictures aren’t as difficult, Kal duty is not fun by any means.

“Shut up.” You grumble with a dismissive wave of your hand, though just teasing of course.

“Okay next image.” This time the blurred photo looks much more familiar, soon it clicks as to what the obscured blurriness actually is, yes!

“Got it! Anya’s er I guess Yennefer’s dress from the fight at Sodden.” Lauren giggles, zooming the image out to reveal Yennefer in her tasseled blue and purple dress from the battle at Sodden Hill. “I’m amazing I know.” You boast at Henry with a casual little bow in your seat.

“It’s the second question.” He deadpans, eyes crinkling in amusement as you shake your head at him.

“Pffff get outta here.” You mutter back, gently pushing his arm off of your chairs armrest and setting yours in its place while he gives you a fake shocked expression.

In turn you can’t help the smile that tugs at the corner of your lips, so instead of saying some sassy remark that would no doubt get a reaction out of him, you turn your attention back over to Lauren who’s looking over her notes again.

“Fantastic,” She says, glancing back up at you and Henry, “you’re both tied with one point each. Alright, anyone know what this is?” She asks showing something red and fuzzy, a bit of dirty skin showing from one corner but with The Witcher this bloody image could literally be anything.

The both of you squint, puzzled as to what this could be, “Y/N you got any ideas.” Wonders Henry, brows furrowed as his face contorts into deep concentrated thought.

Raising a brow, you hum, “If I knew I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Fair point.” He chuckles.

Lauren smiles, “Any guesses?”

After a few concentrated moments, Henry shrugs in defeat, “I’m stumped.” He admits as you study the image harder, mind racing to put the pieces together as to what the hell you’re looking at.

“No, I think I might know this....erm is it...me?” You wonder, voice raising in question, hoping to be correct about this or face the teasing of Henry.

Lauren quickly zooms out of the obscured image, “It is!” She says excitedly, revealing the picture of you from your characters debut in episode 2 where you save a girl from a werewolf, your mouth is covered in blood and so is most of your costumes chest area and left arm from the struggle. Not to mention the make-up teams fun 20 minutes of throwing fake sticky blood all over you to get the right look for the taxing scene.

You grimace a bit, “Oh god that was quite the day on set,” You recall with a half smile, “I was doing stunts all day covered in that red syrupy dye, I think it took a week to get out of my skin.”

Henry suddenly snorts with laughter, “Right! That reminds me, I thought Kal had gotten cut or something, it was just Y/N who had hugged him not realizing she still had some fake blood on her arm.”

“Jeez that’s right, I felt so bad, but I couldn’t stop laughing once we realized it was just me.”

Lauren grins, excited to hear some hidden information about little things that happens behind the scenes, “Oh wow that must have been a sight, alright Henry, Y/N’s taken the lead with a two to one score.” She says as you playfully nudge his strong shoulder. “Second to last image, what is this?”

Without missing a single beat Henry replies, “Jaskier.”

Squinting at the image you lean closer to the iPad, “How the hell do you see Jaskier?”

Smiling the interviewer zooms out to reveal the bards full outfit from the banquet scene, though he’s in the background of a fight between Geralt and some Cintran knights. “Right on!” She exclaims as you lean back into your seat dumbfounded, shoulder flush against Henry’s as he clutches your arm and squeezes it affectionately.

Ignoring his silent show of victory you shrug, “And they say he’s just another pretty face,” Earning a laugh from Lauren and some of the crew as you smirk at the camera, face them shifting to apologetic, “also I’m so sorry Joey you beautiful bastard apparently I’m blind. Uh, we don’t have to dwell on it, Lauren whatcha got?”

“You guys are both tied with two points each, last chance to win.” She replies before glancing down at her iPad, “Alright, what is this?” She asks, her iPad showing that of fuzzy bright colors, with a small corner smear of dull white that clearly wouldn’t make much sense to the untrained eye.

Smirking you glance at a puzzled Henry before sitting up in your seat, feeling rather good about yourself, “Would that happen to be, Hen in Stregobor’s illusion?” You answer with, though sounding a bit as a question considering you aren’t entirely confident as to what image this is.

Lauren’s brows raise in surprise, “Henry, looks like we have a winner. Y/N you are correct.” She beams, enlarging the image to reveal Geralt’s side profile as he talks to the old wizard while the background stays colorful and shrouded in various arrays of sunlight..

Shaking your fist victoriously in the air you give a couple enthusiastic whoop whoops while Henry simply takes it like a champ, “Have fun cleaning up Karl’s monster turds, cause this lucky lady doesn’t have to.” You boast as Henry and the crew laugh.

“Well that was something,” Beams Lauren, “I’m so glad to have chatted for a bit about your guys’ amazing new series, and maybe ended a relationship in the process.” She says jokingly as both you and Henry chuckle.

Patting his thigh affectionately, you smirk, “He’s a tough old bear, but yeah, it was awesome having you talk to us.”

“Yes, take care now.” Adds Henry while the interviewer Lauren stands, saying her goodbyes as she goes to exit the room.

The camera crew take a small break to adjust things and whatnot as you and Henry wait patiently for the next interviewer. He turns, an adorable smile pulling at his lips while you pretend to ignore his fiery gaze. “Well that went pretty well, minus the fact that I’m on Kal poop duty for a week...but uh...” He leans in close to you now, “I missed you all morning.”

Breaking out into a smile you raise a brow, “Boring without me huh?”

“Always.”

You casually shrug, “I figured as much. Don’t worry, we have a hotel all to ourselves tonight.” Your brows wiggle suggestively causing your blue eyed lover to shake his head with amusement.

“Say it louder next time.” He jokes.

Side eyeing the oblivious crew you begin to speak a couple octaves louder, “Henry I can’t wait to fu..” Suddenly his hand presses against your mouth before you’re able to call any attention to yourself. He gives you a warning look before slowly pulling his hand from your mouth.

You grin mischievously, “I wasn’t gonna say that...”

“Sure Y/N,” He mutters in your ear as a new interviewer walks into the room and finds their chair, “and I’m wasn’t going to make you scream tonight.”

Your brows raise in surprise and admittedly slight arousal at his choice of wording in this room of all places. Eyeing him up, face still showing surprise, you finally break out into a satisfied smirk. “You know what? I think you should consider changing your offer.”

He thinks deeply for a moment, though you know he’s only pretending to get you riled up, “Hrmm...maybe, possibly, should I? Should we? You are my co-star after all, that wouldn’t be very professional now would it Y/N?” He states with a shit eating grin, all done while the crew and interviewer get ready, minding their business and completely unaware to yourself and Henry’s teasing.

Scoffing playfully you lightly swat his arm, “We are way past being professional.”

He chuckles, looking from you to the rest of the room, “Oh, they have no idea.”

#the witcher x reader #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill x female reader #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill

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