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illfoandillfie · 3 years

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Pet Names, Double Dates and Other Fiascos

READ PLATONICALLY

Request: SECOND ARO FIC OH MY GOD !!!! maybe them getting a lil dirty and ben really does a number on reader, so he takes her to mcdonalds or sumn and the waiter says something along the lines of “you’re such a cute couple!” and reader gets really uncomfortable with it maybe??? and ben being taking her home and cuddling her PLATONICALLY and he’s like “it’s ok we don’t need to let anyone else’s opinions affect us”

Pairing: Aromantic!Fem!Reader x Ben Hardy

Summary: It's (nearly) all fun and games until someone assumes your relationship is romantic.

Warnings: Smut, kitchen sex, floor sex, oral sex (f receiving), a mild hint at choking, vaguely dom!Ben but not intentionally lmao, discussions of aromanticism and queerplatonic relationships, not as dialogue heavy as the first part though.

Words: 7, 264

A/N: Happy Arospec Awareness Week!! Big thanks to the anon who sent in that request when I asked for ideas for future chapters. I put a little bit of a twist on your idea but it’s fundamentally the same. Also the last scene is one that I’ve been thinking about for literal months now and I finally managed to fit it into a fic!

As always, if you’re curious about anything to do with aromanticism I am very happy to talk about it and answer questions!

Taglist: @atomic-watermelon @kellypenac @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor @hannafuckingsucks @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming @queenmylovely @ilovequeenmorethanyou @johndeaconshands @borhapbois @stardust-galaxies @cherries-n-rocknroll @scorpiogemini

The day had started off well. You woke with Ben tucked up under your arm, his legs curled up towards his chest since you’d stole the covers as you’d slept. Your face was pressed against the back of his neck and you felt him shift as you sighed sleepily and tried to keep from waking. Squeezing your eyes shut and pretending you hadn’t stirred must have worked because the next thing you knew was waking up to an empty bed and tinkly tapping sounds from somewhere else in the apartment. Groggily you shuffled out from the inviting comfort of the mattress, stretched, and pulled down the hem of the shirt you’d slept in to better cover your otherwise bare thighs before following the noises. You found Ben, still in his pyjamas (well, his boxer briefs) in the kitchen, dropping a couple of toasted waffles onto a plate, humming to himself.

“That for me?” you asked, stifling a yawn. “It can be,” he said, passing the plate to you with a quick kiss on your cheek, “There’s some cut up fruit and the maple syrup out on the coffee table and there’s coffee brewing over there,” “Thanks Benny,” “You’re welcome, Puddin’,” “Puddin’?” “I thought it was cute,” “Very cute.” You laughed as you reached for your coffee, unable to help but smile as you left the room. The first few months of your partnership had taken some adjusting and one thing Ben had decided he would do to make you both feel more at home with the dynamic was to come up with some non-romantic based terms of endearment for you. You’d vetoed things like baby and honey straight away, all of them a little too heavily skewed towards romance, or just reminders of past relationships you’d tried to force yourself into, for you to enjoy them. But, as Ben had said, he liked a good pet name, and he’d seemingly been determined to prove as much, constantly coming up with new things to call you. You, never really one for pet names anyway, mostly stuck with Benny or Benjamin if the situation called for something longer but you had a few other go-tos – things like Pet and Blondie as signs of affection, or Handsome and Tiger when you wanted to make him blush.

A few minutes later Ben joined you on the couch, placing his coffee down beside yours, almost spilling it as he watched the news story that was playing. “Remember we’ve got that double date with Jill and Martin this afternoon,” you said, the memory only just coming to you yourself. “Yeah, what time was that?” “Hang on, I’ll check the chat.” You scrolled through the messages on your phone with one hand while you ate with the other, “uhhh right, yeah, meeting at the bowling alley at 1.30.” “Bowling? Good, better than another shitty movie,” You laughed, “hey the last one they picked wasn’t too bad.” “Yeah I know, just not in the mood for it since I’ve been on set all week. I know if I went to the cinema now I’d just get distracted thinking about all the behind the scenes stuff which isn’t ideal for becoming invested in the story. Plus they’re always choosing romcoms, doesn’t that get annoying for you?” “Not really,” you shrugged, “I mean, do I sometimes wish they’d branch out? Sure. But I enjoy romance in fiction I just don’t need it in my real life. Don’t get me wrong though, very happy to do something different this time.” “How long d’you think we’ll be out?” You shrugged, “A few hours maybe?” “We should pop to the shop on the way back then. You need milk and we could get something nice for dinner.” “Sounds good. Does that mean you’re staying over again tonight?” “I was planning to, yeah. Barely saw you last week so I was hoping to spend all weekend with you to make up for it.” “Bet you regret agreeing to go out with them now,” “Kinda. S’pose it’s too late to cancel though,” “Nah you still could but you know they’ll get stroppy about it and we’ll have to go out with them next week. They don’t have any other couple friends since Neil and Percy split and Bianca took her fella overseas.” “Yeah, wasn’t seriously suggesting it.” “What would the plan have been if we did cancel?” Ben chewed a mouthful of fruit thoughtfully, “you, me, your bed. No need to be too quiet since Sophie’s still out,” he glanced at your roommate’s bedroom door, his eyes swinging back to you as he continued, “Or y’know, we could do a puzzle and listen to music all day, have a cat nap after lunch, whatever.” “You’re cute when you’re being all lazy,” “There would be nothing lazy about it thank you very much,” “Cat naps aren’t lazy?” “You know that’s not the part I was talking about,” “It wasn’t? Then what won’t be lazy,” you tried to hold back a giggle in the middle of your faux confusion but broke when Ben blew a raspberry at you in response.

Nothing more was said about cancelling as you finished your breakfast, though truthfully you probably wouldn’t have minded if Ben had cried off sick and rescheduled the double date. But you both decided that Sunday would be a day for just the two of you to make up for having to spend Saturday afternoon with others. Instead, you spoke of the week just passed and commented on the news still playing on the TV. When you were finished (Ben using the last corner of one of his waffles to swipe the remnant syrup from his plate) you stood and stacked the sticky dishes in your arms. Ben collected the coffee cups and a few other assorted dishes from the previous night, leading the way towards the kitchen and the dishwasher. He loaded his small collection onto the shelves before turning to grab the top plate from the pile you held. A noise of disgust rose from his throat as you held the plate out and he miscalculated the trajectory, his palm landing in a puddle of syrup and fruit juice. You were torn between laughing at his expression and taking the opportunity to toy with him a little but, always ready to tease him, your desire to see him blush won out. Trying not to smile too much, you reached forward and wrapped your hand around his wrist, pulling his palm closer so you could lick the sweet syrup from his skin. Predictably his cheeks turned pink and he pulled his lip between his teeth as you let him go with a laugh. “Bet you’re really wishing we didn’t have to go out now, huh Tiger?” Ben didn’t respond but he did react, his eyes locked on you as he swiped his fingers along the same plate and held them out in offering. Not quite sure where things were heading but very keen on finding out, you leaned forward and let your lips part slightly. He took the action for what it was, an invitation, and trailed his fingertips across your lower lip before slipping them between the two. He watched closely as you sucked his fingers deeper, using your tongue to lick up the sweet residue. There was still an element of novelty with this aspect of your partnership. Still part of you that was intensely aware that it was Ben’s fingers in your mouth. There wasn’t any hesitation though, hadn’t been since that first time when you’d both had to psych yourselves up to actually look at each other naked. But there was a part of your brain that was almost surprised when you found yourselves at the edge of a sexual situation. You suspected he was similarly discombobulated by how easy it was for you to end up there, how frequently playful teasing and friendly jokes turned into hands grasping at bed sheets and breathless moans against sweat-slick skin. He pulled his fingers free from your lips, unwilling or perhaps unable to shift his gaze away from the thin string of saliva that connected them like some kind of erotic spider web that you were both already caught in. You waited to see what he’d do next, feeling your heart race in the pregnant pause so full of potential. And then he moved. You laughed as he grabbed you around the waist and lifted you at the same moment he stepped towards the bench, your legs instinctively wrapping around him. He kissed you too, hungrily, as if it were impossible to resist. You’d looked down at him and suddenly been pulled towards each other, lips meeting with all the force and attraction of a magnetic field. Usually, he would have had a hand against the back of your head or your jaw but carrying you meant both his hands were already occupied so instead you substituted your own, tangling your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck to keep him from pulling away too far. As soon as you were safely positioned on the edge of the bench though his hands were free to fall elsewhere. One pressed against the small of your back as the other squeezed your thigh, encouraging you to keep your legs spread. Not that you could have closed them with Ben standing between them and not that the thought had even crossed your mind.

If you’d had all day Ben probably would have taken his time with you. Despite what he’d said earlier, you’d discovered Ben had a soft spot for slow and sensual intimacy. Making out that gradually built to passionate kiss-filled sex, foreplay that included soft caresses and whispered praise, anything that let him explore your body in intricate detail with his hands and lips. You’d been with guys like that before and had hated their insistence on linking hands and kissing you slowly. Those relationships never lasted long but with Ben it felt different, it felt good. Maybe it was because he knew you weren’t on board with overtly romantic acts and respected those boundaries you’d talked about so you never felt as if he were pushing you into a roll you didn’t enjoy. Or maybe he was just a better lover than they had been. Either way, it came to same result. You still preferred something less gentle and more energetic, though you felt you better understood the appeal of being held so close and kissed so tenderly. But with only a few hours before you’d have to start getting ready, Ben was inclined to speed things up a little. His hand quickly slipped up your thigh to press against your pussy, the cotton knickers you’d slept in the only thing keeping him from direct contact. You broke the kiss suddenly, the smacking sound loud in the small room, and dipped your head to press your lips to the notch between his clavicles. In response, Ben lifted his chin, exposing more of his throat to you and you took the chance to playfully nip at the junction where his neck and shoulder met. “Oi, no marks,” he said lwoly as you moved to kiss back up towards his jaw. “Afraid I’ll brand you with my initials?” “If you could legibly write your initials in hickeys I’d put up with whatever teasing the makeup ladies gave me,” “I’ll give it a crack then shall I?” Before you could so much as flick your tongue over his skin, Ben had raised a hand and placed it over your mouth to keep you from testing our your writing abilities, “Don’t think theres enough time, Sugar, but if you really want to I’ll let you try tonight, on my thigh where no one is likely to see it.” “Make it your arse and you’ve got a deal,” you said though it was a little muffled by his palm. “Fine,” he laughed, drawing his hand away, “But then I get to try it on you too,” You nodded, grinning, and then both fell into giggles, leaning against each other’s shoulders. This was what you’d hoped for when Ben had first approached you with the idea of being partners, what you’d been afraid you’d never actually find. Someone who would follow your tangential jokes even if it delayed sex. Someone you could be yourself with. You were distracted from the thought as Ben pressed his lips to your shoulder over the sleeve of your shirt. “Should I continue?” he asked, still smiling though softer, his fingertips lightly dancing over the crease of your thigh. “I’d be offended if you didn’t” “Can’t have that,” he leaned in to catch your lips once again, at the same time resuming stroking you over your panties so that you felt all the air leave your lungs in a rush. It felt good but you need more and so shifted your hips, trying to press yourself harder against his fingers. To get more leverage and better brace yourself as your centre of gravity changed, you dropped a hand behind you. Intuitively, Ben shifted the hand on your back higher and closer to your side to help keep you steady, the other still drawing lines along your clothed slit. You gasped as his thumb took up residence against your clit, rubbing it firmly so a visible damp patch began to form on your panties.

Ben grinned at you as your breath came harder and dragged his thumb back down away from your clit towards the leg of your underwear. Still watching your reactions, he twisted his fingers up under the material, gently tracing them along the same path they’d just followed only now he could feel your wetness directly. “I’ve got an idea,” he said, leaning close to your ear, as he circled your entrance with a fingertip before pressing it into you, “of how I’d like to fuck you right now. It might take a little flexibility on your part though. I mean, nothing too much, just getting your legs up on my shoulders.” Curious, and more than a little distracted by the addition of a second finger inside you, you nodded, “Sounds fun.” “Knew you’d say that. Just tell me if it’s too uncomfortable,” “Will do.” You leaned forward as Ben moved back a little, taking his fingers with him, giving you enough room to drop your hand to his crotch and grasp his stiff length through his undies, “Just get on with it.” “Puddin’ was too nice a nickname for you. Sugar too.” he gasped as you dragged your palm along his length and back again. “What’s the matter, Tiger?” “Maybe I should call you Tiger, if you’re going to keep grabbing my cock like that,” You laughed and let him go, leaning back on your palm again, “Tigress? Whatever, doesn’t matter. Are you going to fuck me or not?” “No I just wanted to get my dick hard for no reason,” he said sarcastically, poking his tongue out at you as he pushed his underwear down. “You’re such a –” you broke off with a sharp gasp as Ben tugged your underwear aside and pressed into you without warning, “dork.” Ben chucked and leaned in to kiss you quickly before readjusting your position a little by pulling you closer to him so your arse was right against the edge of the bench. Slowly he rolled his hips against you, pulling back and thrusting forward again, finding a rhythm that worked. You leaned back on both palms as Ben grabbed you by the waist, the other resting on your knee to keep it pressed against his side. “This feel alright?” he asked as he gave another thrust, hitting a spot deep inside you. “Mmhmm,” you nodded, able to feel yourself growing wetter with each stroke of his cock. “What about this?” Ben shifted first one of your legs and then the other to his shoulders, encouraging you to bend them at the knee. His hands moved to your sides, fingertips digging into your back as he pressed you even closer. The effect was that you felt as if you were almost folded in half but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. There was an almost weightless feeling to it and any slight awkwardness you felt with your chest meeting your thighs was a small price to pay for just how good Ben felt once again moving inside you. You tightened your fingers against the benchtop, wishing there was something you could grab onto as your whole body rocked with each of his thrusts, the position allowing him to penetrate you deeply, continuously brushing against a number of spots that sent electric spikes of pleasure through you. “Fuck,” was about all you could think to say. “That a good fuck?” Ben questioned, voice gruff with his exertions. “Yeah, yes, fuck, so good,” “So you like when I do this?” You let out a soft moan as he roughly fucked into you again, timing it just right. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he half laughed, turning his head to kiss your leg before leaning forward to catch your lips again. After that there wasn’t much room for talking. Ben, having assured himself that you were happy, speeded up his rhythm, clutching you tightly to keep your legs from slipping off his shoulders. His breathing became rougher, matching your own, as he drove into you, though he still kissed you as much as he could, panting against your lips, swallowing your moans and pushing whatever air he had into your lungs.

You could feel your orgasm bubbling up, like a pot of water on the verge of boiling, but knew Ben would reach his first, recognising his expression as the one he wore when he was trying to hold back from the edge. “Fu-ck you’re s-so tight,” he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut as he leaned his forehead against yours, “gonna have to pull out soon,” You could feel him pulling away and tightened your calves on either side of his neck in an effort to stop him, needing just a little more to reach your own release. “Not helping,” he groaned, suddenly unable to hold off any longer, “Shit. Y/N.” You whined as he stilled to shoot his release over your walls. “Jesus,” he said a little breathlessly, as he pulled out, your underwear slipping back over you, and rubbed his neck absentmindedly, “Didn’t expect that to finish me off. Did you…?” You shook your head, letting your leg slip to be caught in the crook of Ben’s arm. “Well let’s fix that, shall we,” he said, already letting you go to bend forward, his face right between your thighs. You felt a puff of his hot breath against you as he hooked his index finger into the crotch of your knickers, pulling it aside, and then his tongue was on you, lapping up your arousal and coming to rest against your clit. He set up camp there, focusing all his attention on the small nub. You let yourself drop back so you were holding yourself up on one elbow, your other hand on the back of Ben’s head, tugging on his hair as he drew a series of moans from you. With a particularly firm suck, you felt your cunt pulse and something warm and wet ran from you, dripping over the edge of the bench onto the cupboard door. You had an idea what it was so it surprised you when Ben released your clit to lick between your lips, catching it with his tongue and spreading it along your slit. “We taste good together,” he mumbled, going in to trace the same path over again, greedily licking up the mixture. You swore under your breath, feeling yourself right on the edge of your orgasm, unspeakably turned on by Ben lapping up the load he’d just left in you. Sensing how close you were he dragged his tongue over your clit again, quickly sliding two fingers into you to help you along. You whined his name as he pushed you over the edge, continuing to pump his fingers into you as he again sucked at your clit, not stopping until he was sure it had worked. “Thank you,” you said as he straightened up again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re such a dork,” he laughed as he kissed you again, tracing his tongue over yours. The man clearly wanted you lightheaded from lack of air. “Shut up,” you pushed yourself to sit up straight again, expecting Ben to step away and let you hop down from the bench. He didn’t though, instead absentmindedly toying with the leg of your underwear as his gaze fell to your lips. “Seriously?” Ben shrugged, “Eating you out made me hard again. And,” he quickly ran his fingers along the edge of the bench, collecting some of the mess you’d left there, “I think it’s only fair you should taste us too,” If he’s said it less earnestly you might have batted his hand away and laughed off the suggestion but something about his tone made you grab his wrist to pull his fingers towards your mouth. He hadn’t been wrong, the mix of you both did taste pretty good, though you’d already got a hint of it as he’d kissed you. “Good girl,” he breathed out, eyes heavy with lust, “think you’re up for more?” “Can we move elsewhere? The edge of the counter is digging into me.” “Okay,” Ben began tugging your underwear down and kicked off his own before pulling your shirt over your head, making you laugh. He Helped you stand and then immediately pushed you to the floor. For a moment you thought he was suggesting you give him a blowjob and were about to question him but half a second later he was following you down, laying down and pulling you on top. “I meant like the bed or the couch at least,” you said somewhere between incredulity and amusement. “Too far,” he grunted, bucking his hips to encourage you to mount him properly, “need you now.” You rolled your eyes as you sank down onto his dick, “Do I actually get to cum this time or…?” “Only if you move,” Ben growled as he grasped your hips and pulled you down onto him, making you cry out at the unexpectedly sudden sensation of being filled. He let you ride him for a bit, alternating between squeezing your thigh as he rubbed his thumb over your clit and cupping your breasts, teasing your nipples as he encouraged you to fuck yourself on his cock faster. You kept to the same steady pace though, intending to drag it out a little, make him wait. But it wasn’t long before he got fed up with the deliberately slow pace you’d cultivated. Without warning you found yourself on your back, Ben grasping your thighs as he kneeled over you, pulling your hips up a little so he could fuck you the way he wanted. Your voice shook as you moaned and writhed in his shadow, your own fingers dancing over your clit to keep building your orgasm. “Isn’t that better?” he said roughly, laughing a little as you nodded your agreement, “Making me wish I had cancelled our plans. Could stay in your pussy all day.” You whimpered and rubbed your clit harder. “C’mon Pumpkin, so close aren’t ya,” You squeezed your eyes shut, moaning when you finally tipped over the edge. But that didn’t stop Ben. He waited until your orgasm had subsided and then pushed your legs wide and up into the air so he could lay directly on top of you as he continued to pound you. Your voice shook as a moan was pulled from your throat and you squirmed beneath him, feeling yourself once again being drawn towards release. There was something about his weight pressing down on you, his breath against your ear. Something about how close he seemed, almost panting as his hips stuttered in and out of the rhythm he was desperately trying to hold on to. He mouthed at your neck as you tilted your head to accommodate him, reaching a hand down to squeeze his arse cheek. You were sore from every other way he’d fucked you, tired from the two orgasms he’d already wrung from you, and yet the thought of stopping him, of ending the incredible pleasure you felt at his hands, was the furthest thing from your mind. A scream caught in your throat as he seemed to press you even harder into the floor, your legs shaking in the air as he grit his teeth and grunted with each harsh drive into you. And then he came, gasping against your throat as he felt you cum too, finally releasing the scream you’d been holding onto until the noise turned to breaths so ragged they felt like sobs.

Ben kissed your throat and then your jaw as he came back to earth, still laying on you. “How was that?” he asked softly when you’d remained quiet for a while. You drew in a deep breath, “Pum-Pumpkin?” “What?” “You called me fucking Pumpkin of all things, while trying to get me off?” “So?” “Jesus Ben,” you half-heartedly swatted at his side, “you’re lucky I was so close that it didn’t matter otherwise I might have laughed and completely lost the orgasm.” Ben joined in your laughter, the sensation of his shaking body on top of yours slightly odd but mostly quite comforting. Until he shifted his hips without thinking and made you wince. “Sorry,” he said, pressing his lips to yours again as if to kiss away the discomfort before he gingerly pulled out of you and sat back on his knees, “But you did cum that time, right?” “I think you know I did,” you sighed, already able to see what was coming, as you let your legs drop to the floor. “So wait, how many times exactly?” You sighed and shook your head slightly. “Because if my maths is right, I think we got you to three times. Once on the bench and twice on the floor. One plus two is three, yes?” “Yes that’s how basic addition works Ben,” “And who was it again that got you to three orgasms? Was it,” he pointed a finger as his one chest, “Moi?” “Alright asshole, you’re very impressive and a somewhat decent shag,” “I think you could be a little more grateful considering that performance. Might have been my best ever moves,” You pushed Ben in the middle of the chest, exaggeratedly rolling your eyes but, truthfully you were inclined to agree that it had been his best performance yet, at least in your experience. “Here let me help you,” he chuckled as you tried to stand, almost falling over as your legs shook. Quickly, Ben pushed himself to his feet and then offered you a hand up too, wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you steady. “Thanks,” “I hope I haven’t made it too hard for you to walk. Wouldn’t want to throw off your bowling cos you were fucked so right.” “Jesus Christ,” you couldn’t help but laugh.

The rest of the time you had before you had to leave was spent tidying up the kitchen, cleaning up the evidence of the mornings activities in case your roommate got home before you, washing up and getting ready to go. Which is really when things started to go downhill. If you’d realised you might have told yourself to stay home, come up with a quick excuse to get out of it and just played video games with Ben for the rest of the day or something. But there was no way to know what was coming so you didn’t. You talked happily as you got into Ben’s car (which was already parked on the street), excited to see your friends and looking forward to the afternoon.

The double date itself was quite fun, although draining. There was always an element of playing pretend at these sorts of occasions. Not that you minded so much. It was either play up the romance of your relationship or have to explain what you were to everyone and a few hours of pretending Ben was your boyfriend was honestly much simpler. At least bowling was better than the cinema. The first time you’d gone on a double date to a movie you’d sat down beside Ben, the popcorn you were sharing balanced on the arm rest between you. Martin and Jill had raised their armrest and were virtually sitting on top of each other, hands entwined. Which would have been fine except Martin had leaned over and said, “you know these things move” and looked expectantly at you. Ben and you had shared a glance and then tried to say you were both fine with the space but they’d given you matching looks that said they thought you were being weird or prudish or judging their willingness to cuddle in public. So you’d relented and shifted the armrest so you could spend the next two hours sitting with Ben’s arm around your shoulders, both of you more tense about the situation than you ever would have been if you’d just been allowed to sit in your seats like normal. Things had improved a bit since then. Ben had told you that one night when you’d gone out to a bar together, Martin had pulled him aside as asked why he never kissed you properly. Ben had shrugged and said he didn’t like PDAs, that he didn’t want photos to spread or anything like that, especially since it was still so new, and Martin had accepted it. They began to see that your ways of being affectionate were quieter, stealing sips from each other’s drinks, a warm hand against a knee, dumb nicknames that made you both laugh. Even if Jill did sometimes still try to convince you that there was nothing wrong with snogging in the middle of a busy street. Nonetheless you never felt fully able to relax when it was just the four of you. Always conscious of how they saw you, always worried that they’d decide you weren’t being affectionate enough and would tell everyone else you were going through a rough patch which would lead to more scrutiny. While at the same time worrying that one of them would start asking how serious it was between you and Ben, were you thinking about the future? Could you see yourselves moving in together? Was he the one? And it took a lot of energy to constantly be alert about what you were saying, always careful to not accidentally give away the secret truth of the situation. Bowling was fun though and less pressure than other double dates you’d been on. You could get away with not holding hands or sitting on Ben’s lap since everyone was standing up frequently and it didn’t make sense to be on top of one another. You could share small pecks on the lips or else tight hugs to celebrate strikes. And Ben made sure to tease you for missed pins, just like he always had, with a few added silly nicknames. He called you his sweet little hotdog after a particularly bad gutter shot which had made you laugh so hard you choked on your drink, and made Jill give him a disapproving glance. He’d smoothed it over by letting her overhear him saying he loved you, whispering the platonically just for you.

By the time Jill had been declared the winner of the game, you were ready to head home and spend a night forwarding Ben weird videos and dumb memes. Ready to be allowed to just exist without needing to be romantically linked to anyone. But it wasn’t quite to be. Martin made the suggestion that all of you should head to McDonalds for dinner and before you knew it you were standing in line, waiting for the kid at the cash register to serve you. You leaned your head on Ben’s shoulder as you stared at the menu, and vaguely wondered how someone working in a fast food joint could be so bright and bubbly. Right up until Ben nudged you and asked what you wanted. “Um, can I get a quarter pounder and a frozen coke, thanks.” “And?” Ben supplied. “And what?” “Y/N I know you want dessert, get dessert.” “And an Oreo McFlurry,” you smiled and bumped Ben’s shoulder with yours as he laughed and finished paying. “You guy’s make a cute couple,” the girl who’d served you said, eyes following the path of Ben’s gaze to you, still smiling. She seemed to realise what she’d said, her ears turning red, but Ben thanked her and added, “I think I have to agree,” as he squeezed your hip, before moving away so Jill and Martin could order. You’d smiled at her too but it wasn’t quite genuine.

It wasn’t that you weren’t used to it, people assuming you and Ben were in fact a couple. You were. One or two weeks after you’d first agreed to try out being queerplatonic partners, most of your friends had put two and two together and worked out that something was going on between you. Of course they didn’t know you were aromantic and they probably didn’t have any idea what a QPR was so they’d really added two and two and got five but you weren’t about to correct them. As you’d said to Ben, it was too much too soon to do that. Maybe if the QPR thing worked out long term, maybe then you could tell them. And besides, they weren’t exactly wrong anyway. They’d originally assumed you and Ben were just hooking up after Martin had dropped in to pick up something he’d left at Ben’s and had seen you spread out on Ben’s couch with sex hair and a rather large hickey on your neck and Ben’s sweater hanging off your shoulder. He’d asked Ben who’d just shrugged in response and said it wasn’t a big deal. You estimated it took about a minute and a half to reach everyone else. The next time you’d gone out as a group you’d felt them all watching you and Ben closely, trying to determine if Martin with bullshitting them all or not. They’d all decided it was just sex though. Until you were clearly still together a month later and they decided it had to be serious since Ben had never successfully fucked a girl for that long without catching feelings. That was when they started referring to you as boyfriend and girlfriend. That was also when the comments about how cute you were or how they’d always known you’d get together had first started. The first few times you’d heard it, it felt weird but you figured that was just because it was you and Ben and you were still working out how to be partners without the romance. You’d been in relationships before though and didn’t have any major objections to anything they said so you found it fairly easy to deal with and mostly you didn’t notice it anymore.

Except now it was bothering you. Something about the girl’s comment had rubbed you the wrong way. Which made you feel bad because she was just a kid with a shitty minimum wage job who didn’t know you from Adam. She had no idea. She was just trying to say something nice to a couple of strangers. You supposed your dislike of the comment probably had something to do with spending all afternoon putting on the romantic act for the benefit of your friends. Maybe even something about the sex from earlier. Probably just exhaustion from everything, a shorter fuse. It could even just be PMS though you’d have to check how far off your next period was to be sure. Whatever the reason it felt…not wrong exactly just off. You stayed quiet during most of the meal, aware you weren’t being great company and aware that Ben had realised something was wrong since he kept glancing at you when the other two weren’t looking. “Y/N,” Jill’s voice cut through your thoughts, “Still with us?” “Yeah,” you said, pulling a smile onto your face, “sorry, just a bit tired. Didn’t sleep well last night,” That statement was met by high pitched oohing noises and Martin jokily reprimanding Ben for keeping you up. You forced yourself to laugh with them, “Not like that you pervs. Ben was filming a night scene yesterday so didn’t actually get to mine until what,” you looked to Ben for confirmation, “One-thirty was it?” “Something like that. I don’t know I fell asleep almost as soon as I put my head down.” “Me, not so much,” you shrugged, “It’s all just catching up with me now.” They accepted that excuse without question and didn’t aim too many more comments in your direction, letting you finish your food without having to keep your mind on their conversation. And pretty soon you were hugging them goodbye and promising you’d organise the next date as Martin told Ben to get you home to bed before you fell asleep in your ice cream.

Ben waited until you were safely back inside your apartment before he asked if you were okay. “We were meant to get milk,” you sighed, trying to push away the annoyingly persistent discomfort. “I’ll go out later and get some. Or we can get Sophie to bring some back when she comes home. Are you okay though?” Unsure if this was a situation where you’d want space, Ben hovered at a respectful distance until you stepped in close and leaned your head against his chest. As soon as he knew you wanted him there he wrapped his arms tightly around you, “What’s wrong?” “Not sure. Think it all just got a bit much.” “How do you mean?” You shrugged as much as his embrace would allow and talked against his chest as you tried your best to explain how flat you felt, “I think the girl who served us was just like the straw that broke the camel’s back, y’know.” “Did me agreeing with her make things worse?” You shook your head, “Don’t think so. I knew you meant it in a different way to her. Besides, the other two were in earshot so there wasn’t much else you could say.” “You know that what everyone else thinks of us doesn’t change anything about what we have, right, or what we mean to each other. It doesn’t change who you are.” You didn’t mean to say it but the words had escaped before you could stop them, “Wouldn’t it be easier if it did though.” “But then you wouldn’t be you and I love you, platonically.” You smiled and nodded as you stepped back a little, though Ben’s arms wouldn’t let you go too far, “I know, thank you. And I’m fine, just having a bit of an off afternoon.” “Are you sure? Is there anything else I can do to help?” “No, you’ve been perfect.” You leaned up to give him a quick kiss, “And I know I’m being stupid about it. I knew what I was signing up for when I decided not to come out to them. Besides, being back home with you has definitely made me feel better already.” “Do you want a cuppa or anything?” “Nah, think I might just go lie down and read for bit. Decompress a little, y’know.” “Okay. Give me a shout if you want anything, yeah,” he pressed a kiss to your temple and give you an extra squeeze before he let you go.

Slowly you headed to your bedroom, kneeling down at your bookshelf and running your fingers along the spines until you found the one you wanted. That particular book had seen better days. It’s spine was cracked, the image on the cover peeling away from the cardboard underneath. More than one page had begun to fray around the edges like an ancient treasure map in a cartoon, with little triangles missing and the corners permanently creased where they’d been dog eared a hundred times. But as you settled into the bed, Ben’s pillow still smelling faintly of his hair pomade, you began to feel more yourself. Ben was right. What other people thought of your relationship didn’t matter. He was still your Ben, the same Ben who’s hoodie had been living in your cupboard for years now because he spent so much time at yours anyway it just made sense to keep a spare there. The same Ben who’d bought you your favourite pair of sunglasses when you’d left your old ones at home by accident. The same Ben who’d gradually been reading his way through your entire bookshelf rather than buying his own paperbacks. You had too much history there and too much love for each other for anyone else’s opinions to matter. And your partnership was good. It made you happy so it had to be good.

The time passed quickly as you read so when you looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and saw that a couple of hours had passed, you were a little taken aback. Ben poked his head round the corner and then stepped through the doorway when he saw you looked better. “Nice to see you smiling again,” he said softly as he crawled up beside you. Without thinking you lifted your arm so he could snuggle against you, his head on your chest. “What’re you reading?” “First Test by Tamora Pierce. First book in her Protector of the Small series.” “What’s it about?” “A girl training to become a knight. Gran bought it for me as a kid while we were on a holiday at the seaside.” Ben glanced at the worn pages, “Do you reread it a lot?” “Yeah a bit. The main character, Kel, is like the only aromantic character I know of so she’s kinda important to me.” “The main character’s aro?” “I mean, not explicitly. It was published in ’99 and the terminology to describe aro experiences didn’t really start being used until like the late 2000s and even then only in certain communities online. But Tamora Pierce did answer some questions on her website and said that as she was writing the series Kel became less and less interested in romance and sex so even though she didn’t have the words for it back then, she would consider Kel aro and probably ace too. And I mean, rereading them I definitely feel an aro sort of reaction to a lot of the romance stuff, even when Kel does start kissing boys and all that.” Ben leaned back to better see your face, “Will you read to me?” You leaned down to kiss him, unhurriedly, softly, letting your lips linger on his. “Is that a yes?” “That was a sorry I’ve been weird this evening kiss actually.” “Don’t worry about it,” he said simply, snuggling back down, his head once again resting on your chest and his arm thrown over your waist. You adjusted your grip on the book and began to read from where you’d left off, one hand running absentmindedly through his hair, both of you sighing softly as you relaxed into each other.

#my writing #my fics #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy smut #ben hardy imagine #idk i hope its okay #also if you have any more idea for potential future chapters about these two send them my way #i like having an aro character to come back to every now and again lmao

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nightswithkookmin · 4 years

Text

JIKOOK: ARE CONGRATULATIONS IN ORDER?

Disclaimer:

Everything expressed in here is my opinion. It is not intended to be malicious or disrespectful to any of the parties mentioned in here. Please do not hate on or send hate anyone mentioned in her expressly or by inference.

In my previous posts, I pointed out how this past year, from August 2019 to June 2020 has been a rollercoaster ride for Jikook. Their relationship has been all over the place with some even concluding they have broken up for good- you wish!

My inbox has been flooded with questions such as: Are they still broken up, are they good, are they married...

Y'all think I'd be here blogging at 1 AM for Tumblr if Jikook were married married?- Ok, I would. Lol

But No, Sis. Jikook aren't married. Not that I know of. But don't be sad though because THEY ARE BACK! Fully back to function. By that I mean Jimin mostly. Jk never left. Lol- I'll explain in a bit. But yes, I'm happy to report that they are Jikooking again!

I refrained from posting about their new moments especially this July moments because even though they've been back together after a long period of on and off again relationship during ON comeback through to festa season, and then May when JM finally asked for space in their relationship(see previous posts for details)

I've being unsure about Jimin. I've been anxious to know what the outcome of his asking for space to think things through would be.

Jikook have a push and pull relationship dynamic. We been known. Mostly when one steps back from their relationship for whatever reason, the other leans in to pull them back in.

Same thing has been happening from January where Jimin would be pulling one minute, the next he would be like meh and JK would be push to pull him back in.

That was the case in this (June-July) Japan comeback interviews. Jk was front center with expressing interest in JM pulling him whereas JM was like meh, I'm down for this baby but let's keep it professional for the group's sakes.

Just look at them here... (Photo of them at 2020 Japan interview where Jk said he was looking at JM)

See what I mean? Now you may not notice at first but look at JM's demeanor and compare it to moments in past interviews whenever JK is talking about him or their relationship.

Jk was on his flirting game which he usually is when he wants to break the ice with Jimin if there's been tension between them or when someone around is making a pass at JM and he wants them to know what's up- he ain't slick. Lol

At times too he takes the initiative to flirt when he is feeling super confident and cocky and hella bold and just wants to. Trust me, when he flirts with Jimin, IT IS NOT FOR FANSERVICE. He means that shit.

Now compare JM's body language in that Japan interview moment this one right here: (photo of JM and Jk at the interview where JK said from now on together)

Jimin usually acts very coy, giddy and whipped even around JK when JK flirts with him but most importantly he seems to egg JK on in such moments. He enjoys being claimed openly by JK just as much as JK loves being claimed by JM publicly- which is why as nervous as that makes him he keeps going back for more.

Now this is gonna sound controversial but I have seen JM tell Suga off at times when Suga has tried to initiate skinship with him. I won't show you the picture but you can watch it for yourself during the On Come back where they wore Purple and black. It happened right at the moment Suga touched JMs back. JM mouthed 'Hajima' to Suga to stop touching him. That's all I'm gonna say y'all. Lmho. Don't want trouble.

My point is, these boys have a filter. If they don't want something done to them they won't hesitate to say it or show it. Much like when JK pushed Tae's hand away during a VLive- and he's pushed JM off sometimes too. He is assertive more so than all the members. If he doesn't want something he won't do it or allowed it.

Suga asked him not to get the tattoos when he first expressed interest in them way back in American Hustle life. But he told them if army loves him they would love everything he does and not try to limit him. Jk does as JK pleases.

So yea, if JK didn't like what Jimin has been doing with him he wouldn't be around him much less reciprocate those feelings and actions and initiating them on his own at times. Their interactions are MUTUAL.

And yes, that was shade.

Jimin understands the guts it takes JK to take such initiatives with him and so he kinds of encourages Jk to go on with it or acts in a way that boosts JK's ego. Like when JK shouted 'arrest me' in the middle of an interview. Jk... SMH.

So it was a bit unsettling to watch JM not even try to flirt back with JK in moments like this like he usually would. Dude wasn't even initiating their shtick during this period first of all nor was he responding to them in a way he usually would.

Not sure the aesthetics he was going for here but it screamed let's keep this professional on camera and get naughty when we get home. Or much like, dude I asked for space and I'm realizing I like you just as much but stop coming on too strong.

Which frankly, is what the members have been asking them to do since October last year when the hashtag to cancel Jikook in S.K trended. So JM wouldn't be wrong to take such a stand....

Given that the crux of their issue has been that Jikook is developing into a brand almost independent of BTS' brand and this in a way is affecting the dynamics of the group, a little discretion wouldn't hurt.

The cheers for Jikook moments are getting louder and louder each year even at events such as awards and not just on stage. Jikook is taking a lifeform of it's own. Its becoming a brand almost as powerful as BTS' brand. They are a power couple or becoming one. Like or not. Their fans are becoming loud and large too. So often, lately, it seems they tend to steal the show and direct attention away from the band. It's crazy.

Tae literally had the floor, delivering his speech at the MMA 2019 but people weren't even paying attention to that at all. They were more interested in Jikook and whatever they were doing and they went nuts the moment JK held Jimin and even wilder when he placed his head on Jimin which is what lead to infamous standoff with RM.

JM had literally bumped his butt against Hobi's crotch region moments before the Jikook moment but the crowd didn't lose it as much. Please go back and listen to the deafening sounds of the crowd for yourself.

As much as we love Jikook, there are some that don't and they can be very loud. I'll leave it there. Please support Jikook. Thank you.

BTS had a whole concert end of October 2019 and the hashtag that trended was 'cancel Jikook.' That took away from the hardwork of the band and reduced it to a few seconds of two boys fanboying over eachother. That's.... sigh.

When you see it this way, the RM separating them at Jingle bell red carpet, on stage or even BigHit trying to regulate their Vlives make sense.

Moving on. So yea I wasn't sure about JM all this past few months especially as I believe he had asked for space in their relationship. You might not think much of it but given as JM had said in the past how if he had a lover he would want to be with them all the time and Jikook do spend a lot of time around each other but suddenly hear them talk about spending time apart and enjoying it and what not....

But I think I can stop worrying now because HE IS BACK! There is a new Jimin in town and he is taking names! Good for him!

And I don't mean his new hairdo this August. I mean the new attitude. This attitude:

In this interview he says he would take JK to an island which smart decision. I would take JK too cos dude can do anything, cant he?! Bless him.

But thats beside the point. What I think is happening here is, Jimin finally took a stand. He made up his mind and he is not getting pushed around anymore. Because this Jimin hasn't showed up in a while now. Now he seems quite defiant most times if you've been paying attention to him, so rebellious, so sure of himself. Good for him. Spending time to himself has done him some good. It's given him room to reflect and sort out his priorities.

He loves his work, his band and he loves JK and it's hard when all of those start rubbing against eachother. But Fuck professionalism. He is in love with JK and that is professionalism too. Add loving JK till the end of time to his profession bishes!! :p

Sorry. I got carried away.

But seriously, he seems like his old self but it's also a new self because he hasn't been that self for a hot minute. This is JK's sweat tastes like holy water Jimin. This is I promised Jk I will go to the moon with him Jimin, this is I wanna go on a trip alone with JK Jimin- but badder. If you are a hardcore JM stand like I am you'd understand what I'm talking about.

HE IS BACK BABY! Our daddy is back!

The point of this post is to say, I believe JM finally figured out what he wants. So now hopefully the up and down should die down because quite frankly it's hard to keep up with those two I swear! We need a smooth sail Jikook. Make it happen!

I love it. I love where this is going and I can't wait to see more of their interactions so cheers to Jikookers and congratulations to Jimin for putting his shit together. We wanted rain. We about to be hit with a tsunami of Jikook moments.

Stay blessed. Stay beautiful. Jikook forever.

Signed,

Goldy

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stardancerluv · 3 years

Text

Brother’s Keeper

Rewrite Part 7b

Summary: Branden and reader, set the tone for their dynamic in front of the others.

Warning: Language, sex scene, emotions are realized and felt, confessions are made.

You sipped from the juice. “What shall we do with your first full day of freedom?”

He turned and smirked. “I have some ideas.”

You caught yourself. “Well, that is if you want me tagging along.” You caught his eye.

“You’re not going to be a nuisance are you?”

You sat a little straighter. “Nope.” You plastered a winning smile on your face. “Sam wants me to show you a good time, so whatever you want to do.”

“Good.” He came and stood between your legs and took the glass of orange juice. “I don’t want a pain in my ass hanging around me.” He took a hearty sip.

“I won’t be.”

The kid came jogging in. “Oh!” He became flustered. “I’m sorry.”

Branden turned, giving him a look. “About what?” His pinkie grazed your thigh as he put the glass back down.

“Didn’t want to intrude.”

You looked him up and down and then looked away.

The kid grabbed something from the fridge and disappeared back into the house.

Taking the spatula, he scooped up the eggs and slid them onto a plate. Then he grabbed some forks and put them on the plate, “Let’s eat on my balcony.”

“All right, I will grab some more juice.” You hopped down.

“Sure.”

You poured some and grabbed a bit of fruit before making your way back to his room.

Seeing him leaning against the railing you smiled. Damn, this was far better than you could have ever imagined. With a swish of your hips you closed the door. Freeing a finger, you pressed the button and his room was locked and once again was a sanctuary for the two of you. Putting the glass and fruit down, you went and pressed a kiss to his upper arm already warming from the mid-morning sun. “I grabbed us some fruit.”

He looked back at you. “Yum.”

Going over to the sofa in the shade, you slouched and relaxed. He pushed off the railing and turned to you. “How are you simultaneously sexy and demure?”

You smiled up at him as he drew close. “Because I’m in your shirt.”

With his knee close to you he bent down and captured your mouth with a kiss.

“Maybe.” He said against your lips before coming to slouch beside you. “So how was that? Was I enough of an asshole?”

You pressed your lips together. “I hope so but it’s gonna be hard. When I asked you about this afternoon, I had forgotten about the walls having ears.” You sighed and laid your head against his arm.

“It’ll be ok. I can be an asshole. It’s being sweet to you that’s difficult.”

You giggled and met his eyes. “I always did like it when you were a bit of an asshole.”

He chuckled then, it was a nice rich deep sound. It warmed your heart. “Good to know.” You could see the mirth in his blue eyes.

Grabbing the plate, he sat back and you took a fork. “This is really good.”

He bopped your nose with his fork. “I told you I could cook.”

You smiled. “You did.”

**** *

As you got up, he grabbed your wrist. “Where are you going? The plates can wait.” Sometimes that feeling that everything could change in an instant still remained strong in him. It made his throat tighten and his heart begin to race.

You smiled back at him as you placed what was left of the toast and fruit on the plate and put it on the table.

“Nowhere, well right here actually.” Turning, you easily went and straddled his lap. Feeling your softness this close, seeing how his shirt rose up to your hips pulled a deep sound from him. It made him hard.

He smoothed his hands on your thighs. “I like this.”

You draped your arms around his neck. “I certainly do.” When you leaned in close, he closed his eyes and felt your lips on his throat.

“I think I will have to show you what dressing in just your shirt does to me.” You whispered as you rolled your hips.

“I- We could get really loud.” He told you and he let you see the smirk that curled his lips.

You shivered while still on top of him. When you did, he felt as you grew wetter against him. It pulled a deep sound from him.

Your eyes met his as your noses barely grazed. “Then fuck me Branden, make me scream. Let the whole house hear it.” You suggested and rocked against him. He had been growing harder and bigger as you were astride him.

*****

Perhaps you were drunk on the lust of finally being with him, you were not sure. Though the thought of him just fucking you right now sounded incredibly appealing.

“Baby, I’ve had fantasies of fucking you.” He slipped his hand under the shirt and caressed you. “But those were from a man locked up, hungry for the feel of you.”

“I had the same ones. I want you too, I want you to own me. I want everyone to know I’m yours.”

“Hold onto me then, baby.”

You nodded.

Easily he stood, you held on tighter and wrapped your legs around him. He carried you in and placed you on the bed. “Take all of that off.”

“Yes.” His voice had taken a command you thought you’d only ever hear in your fantasies.

Looking down at you as you laid there, he shed his shorts and shirt. It wasn’t long before you enjoyed the feel of his weight partially on you as he was over you, kissing you. There was a new hunger in it. His beard scratching just the right way.

He broke the kiss and met your eyes. “After about a year of you sending me pictures, you began telling me about your sex life. You naughty, naughty girl,” He pressed his lips together, shaking his head. “You sent a couple that sent me over the edge.”

“I was hoping, well I don’t know what I hoped for. I needed to talk to someone.”

“Well, I had pushed any thought of sex so far away. Sure, to relieve my pent up tension my hands were great company, but then I began imagining you.” He nibbled on your jaw, your lips. “I grew insanely jealous of the men who could get their hands on you.”

You took a deep breath at his words. “I began talking to you about it after my first dreams of seducing you occurred.”

The nibbles turned into kisses here and there, a moan came from you as he gently sucked at your throat. “I stopped jerking to pictures of random girls in magazines that I’d been ripping from its pages. Your pictures and letters filled my imagination.” His voice was raspy and deep in your ear.

A deep sound came from you. “Oh Branden.” You breathed, but arched and a sharp moan poured from you. “I’d touch myself reading the letters from you. Imaging you.”

He easily moved his hand between your legs and cupped you.

“Look at you, so wet.” His fingers began caressing you. You could no longer think. “When your fingers were here, did you imagine mine? Did you wonder what they’d feel like?” He moved his fingers across your wetness before slipping them inside of you, he smiled at just how tight you were.

“Yes.” You whimpered and arched against him.

He moved up so he looked down at you. He slipped his fingers from you.

“Please don’t.” You beg.

“Patience.” He brought your fingers to his lips. “So good.” He murmured licking his lips. “Open for me, baby.” Climbing over you, he opened you wider as he moved you into a half reclining position. “You’re lovely.”

He teased your opening, but then he entered you. As one with no space in between, your breaths mingling. He wrapped his arms around you. A smirk curled his lips. “Ready?”

“Yes.” It was almost too much to have him this deeply in you without moving.

Then he did it. It wasn’t long till he made you a mess. He filled you so deeply as he moved in and out of you. You could feel him everywhere. It wasn’t long before sweat built up between your bodies.

“Damn, oh Branden!” You called out as your fingers tugged on his hair. Kisses, hungry and sloppy were broken up as moans came from the two of you.

You clawed at him. You were not sure if you left marks but you couldn’t help it. “Oh!” You gasped shaking. “I... I-”

“Is my cock gonna make you cum?”

“Yes, yes.” You whimpered and moaned as he moved deeper.

“Good. Cum for me. I want to feel it.”

Your body trembled against him, you held onto him tighter. He made you forget all of them. Made you forget your ugly past. It was only you and him. Shaking, you arched against him as you called out and you came hard. Wilting in his arms.

“You feel so good. So damn good.” He growled. You felt his body tighten before he came hard deep in you.

“Wow.” He was breathless, he smoothed some hair from your face. “I think you marked me up, baby.” He smiled.

“I’m sorry.” You hid your face into his chest. Your passions hung on him like a special musk. It turned you on almost immediately. You pressed kisses on his sweaty torso.

“Don’t be. I like it.” He made soft sounds as he felt the kisses.

“Branden, why don’t we go down to the beach and wade around in the surf?”

“Could be refreshing.” He smiled and cupped your face. “You,” He licked his lips. “you’re special baby.”

“So are you.” You whispered.

******

“Branden, I don’t want to be the only one in here. Come join me.” You came over to him in your polka-dotted bikini.

“Oh, all right. I was seriously just taken with the view.” He chucked, he let you pull him to his feet. The sand was warm and felt good under his feet.

@mrskenobi19 @thebeckyjolene @sithonis @brookisbi @johallzy @blondekel77 (starting to tag you with him..remember please just write the ones labeled rewrite)

#femi!reader #ewan mcgregor #ewan mcgregor imagine #ewan mcgregor fanfiction #ewan mcgregor angst #ewan mcgregor fluff #branden lynch x reader #branden lynch x y/n #branden lynch x you #branden lynch fluff #branden lynch imagine #braden lynch fanfiction #brother’s keeper #part 7b

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fireladybuckley · 3 years

Text

911 Verse this or that

Indirectly tagged by @perfectlynervousbeard <3

Buck or TK. Look I adore TK, Ronen is seriously one of the cutest guys I’ve ever seen and TK is adorable and easily my favourite LS character. But it’s not even close when comparing him to Buck, Buck is my comfort character, my absolute favourite of just about anything, ever. I adore Oliver and there’s not a single person you could compare to Buck that I would pick over him, lol.

Eddie or Carlos.

Again, I really do like Carlos. I firmly believe Carlos (Rafa) doesn’t get enough screen time and his character development suffers because of it and I hate that. But again, I love Eddie just SO much. Comparing him and Carlos isn’t fair because they’re very different and Eddie’s storyline and character in general are SO much more developed, I feel like we’ve gotten to know him so much better and that just makes me love him more, I’m more attached. Plus Eddie’s relationship with Christopher alone is just so precious and I love it so much.

Bobby or Owen.

Easiest question ever. Bobby is amazing and the best dad and Owen sucks.

Chimney or Judd Not that I hate Chimney or anything (he gets on my nerves sometimes but overall he’s fine) but Judd is just wonderful. I love his whole southern gentleman vibe while also being a bit of a mischievous little shit which makes me laugh. And the way he loves and respects his wife is just so refreshing to see. <3

Hen or Marjan I wonder if this is kind of like how I feel about Carlos; I really like both Carlos and Marjan, but I feel like I barely know them. Marjan is badass and awesome and everything but aside from her arranged marriage stuff, I feel like we barely know anything about her. Whereas with Hen, I feel like we know her so well she could just be my best friend and it would be amazing. She’s smart, compassionate, hilarious and just awesome and I adore her. I also love her relationship with Karen and Denny and now Nia. If they take Nia away I’m going to riot

Maddie or Grace. This one was tougher, and REALLY close. I really love Grace, she’s amazing and badass and I love her and Judd’s relationship. I just like Maddie slightly more. I love how much Maddie has overcome and how strong she is, how she took care of Buck their whole lives (which was NOT fair to her), and I love their sibling dynamic. I love her relationships with the other 9-1-1 operators.

I will say though that they are both BADASS 9-1-1 operators and they are both queens.

Athena or Tommy Tommy’s fine but she’s very new and I feel like I don’t know her at all (though I love Gina Torres). Not that that matters, however; Athena is QUEEN and no matter how awesome Tommy could be, she would never surpass Athena. Athena is just so amazing and I love her so much. She is compassionate, badass, hard working, hilarious, terrifying when mad but at the same time so gentle and kind. Her and Bobby are amazing together (especially earlier in their relationship), she’s such a good mom to Harry and May (and by extension Buck, and maybe even Eddie). She’s just amazing, ok.

Albert or Mateo I’ll be honest, I was going to choose Albert because I find him adorable and funny and I wish we knew more about him. But this time it’s the opposite problem of the others... I feel like we barely know Albert, even though he’s been around for a while now. The 9-1-1 writers have done a terrible job giving him meaningful backstory imo. Like he’s been in LA for how long now? Does he even have a job? Is he still speaking to his parents? We know barely anything about him besides that he’s Buck’s roommate and he has been on some dates.

Mateo on the other hand is much more flushed out. I loved the story arc where he is just SO dedicated and driven to become a firefighter despite his dyslexia and I’m so glad it was made possible for him to have allowances for the test. I love that his crew doesn’t mock him for it or treat him like he’s stupid, they ALL help him as much as they can, and I LOVE when Marjan goes and gives the tattoo parlour who intentionally fucked up his tattoo a reaming. He’s an earnest, eager younger brother who just wants to help and prove himself and I think he’s adorable.

Michael or Paul. I like Michael, but I like Paul a bit more. I just wish they would give him more screen time and a storyline that doesn’t involve people being transphobic. I’m sorry (not sorry) but the sister storyline thing still pisses me off

118 or 126. The 118, no question. They feel far more cohesive as a team and I love their relationships more, both with each other and with other people. The 118 feels so much more real than the 126, and I’ve no doubt it’s because of LS’s continued sidelining of its characters that are not Owen (and, I’ll admit, TK. I love that he gets a lot of screen time, but not if it comes at the expense of Marjan/Paul/Mateo being shunted to the side).

Maybe the 126 will get better with time. I’m certainly hoping that with TK in his new role, maybe they’ll bring in another firefighter to replace him (hopefully a woman! Both shows definitely lack women in the fire-fighting department imo - but the OG is definitely worse; only Hen in 9-1-1, and only Marjan in 9-1-1 LS but at least LS has Tommy and Nancy as medics. the 118 needs another featured woman firefighter!!)

California or Texas. I don’t know if it’s the filming choices or if Texas is just like that (having never been there, I have no idea), but Texas doesn’t seem nearly as nice as California. That could just be my personal preference; I love lush greenery far more than the more desert-y types of things, and I love the ocean so much. I feel like LA has prettier settings, and LS is more gritty. Not that there’s anything wrong with that at all, I just prefer pretty haha.

Buddie or Tarlos I feel like this is a bit of an unfair question, since it’s still up in the air whether Buddie even exists in canon, and Tarlos is unquestionably real.

But of course, if I’m forced to choose, it’s Buddie. And that’s not to say Tarlos isn’t amazing, because it is... I adore BOTH ships so much. I’m just too drawn into Buddie, and how their personalities compliment each other, and Buck’s special relationship with Chris that places him firmly into the Diaz family unit, Buddie or not. I really do feel like they’ve set them up 100% as a potential romance and as far as slow burns go, it’s amazing so far. Plus, even if they don’t become a couple, I am still so invested in them as best friends.

That being said, Tarlos is fucking adorable and I live for their scenes on LS <3

Tsunami episode(s) or Tornado episode. There was just SO MUCH going on with the tsunami. Of course the entire plot arc with Buck and Christopher is amazing and easily one of my favourites in the entire series, but I also loved that the tsunami episodes showed EVERYONE in their element, doing everything they could to help people. I love that it brought Lena into the mix (I know the fandom is divided on her but I love her unashamedly). The amazing scenes with Athena and May, the scenes with Maddie and that girl with the drone... it was just SUCH A GOOD ARC and I love it. The fact that I can remember SO much about it and I barely remember what happened with the tornado tells me just how much more I enjoyed it, as well.

911 or 911 Lone Star. Unquestionably 9-1-1. I feel like the firefam has become part of my own extended family and I just don’t feel that with LS. Maybe after a couple more seasons it’ll be more like that, but for now, 9-1-1 is EASILY my favourite. I do love LS too, though. I just wish there was less of Owen and more of everyone else. AND I WANT MORE CROSSOVERS!!!

I have no idea who has been tagged so I’m just going to pick a few random people. If you’re reading this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged by me! (And tag me back so I can read yours! <3) @firemedicdiaz @that-firehouse @bicepsie @tulipsfrom-medusa @evaneddie @kittycat-cas @bvckleydiaz @ashavahishta @matan4il And anyone else!!

#911 #9-1-1 lone star #this or that #make me choose #this was fun #and it's become very obvious that Lone Star criminally under uses most of its characters #FIX THAT LS #lksjdflkjsd

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

Text

Women are Space Orcs

Alright ever one, been pretty excited to give you this one. I have a few female characters, including Sunny, that I thought deserve a little love. Plus I wanted to explore the dynamic between Sunny and other members of the crew.

Its just supposed to be a fun little adventure, so nothing philosophical or anything :)

Sunny walked beside Adam as he paced through the cargo bay checking off shipping manifests on his clipboard, checking and rechecking the equipment they would need for re-supply. They had stopped on the Tesraki home world for a much-needed rest and some recuperation. They would be here a couple days, so shore leave was in order for a night or two, a prospect the entire group was excited about considering what the Tesraki home world had become.

If the Tesraki and humans had one thing in common, it was their desire for a good time. It had probably been a horrible idea to introduce the Tesraki to the idea of gambling and casinos. Honestly it had probably been a bad idea to introduce the Tesraki to capitalism as it was, since they took to the idea like fish to water, but mistakes had been made and there was no turning back.

On the coattails of that debacle, the Tesraki;s home world had quickly transformed itself into the Vegas of the galaxy knowing, in true business fashion, that humans couldn’t resist debauchery and a good time. The sheer amount of revenue and inherent benefits that had come to them simply by way of human tourism had been astonishing, raising their planetary gross income to 7% more than any other planet in the GA system.

Commander Vir paused beside another pallet of cargo.

“Hey, SUNNY! SUNNY!.”

Sunny Turned her head in a wide arc searching for the voice and found a group of women standing next to one of the shuttle doors, each waving at her. She left Commander Vir out of curiosity and walked over.

Dr. Katie was there with a few women from engineering and a couple female marines. Maverick, a short female marine with buzzed blond hair and grey blue eyes greeted Sunny with a wolfish grin. “‘Bout time. I’ve been yelling at you for half a minute.” Sunny looked around the circle. It was strange seeing the marines in anything other than their usual uniforms. Maverick was wearing camouflage cargo pants, a black tank top and a pair of blue tinted sunglasses perched atop her short blond hair. Dr. Katie wore a form fitting black dress and pointy red shoes. Another marine had her warm strawberry blond hair curled down past her shoulders.

“Where are you guys going?” Sunny wondered.

“Out on the town, where else. A couple of us decided to get together and go get wasted, or whatever trouble we can get into, maybe lose some money. We don’t know, yet.”

Sunny glanced back towards where the Commander was standing, still going through inventory. “Oh, well I don’t know if we were-”

“Oh come on, the two of you hang out all the time. I think it’s about time you got out more, besides we’re prettier.” The group laughed. Dr Katie flipped her hair and grinned at Maverick, “Well, except for Maverick, but we had to have an ugly one to make the rest of us look better.”

Maverick snorted and waved a hand, “Are you kidding me?” She motioned seductively, “Nothing can top ‘this’.”

“A sack of lard,” more laughter.

“Keep laughing ladies. You’re just jealous of my stunning physique. As I was saying though, seriously Sunny, you need to get out. The Commander has work to get done anyway and he's going to be boring for the next 48 hours.”

Sunny wavered on the edge of indecision as a pair of boots thudded on the ground next to her.

“What are you jackals trying to get sunny into?”

Katie linked an arm through one of Sunny’s, “Girls night, and YOU aren’t invited.”

“Yeah only women or those who identify as such are allowed’” one of the engineers piped up from the back.

Commander Vir snorted, “Y’all better be glad I don’t identify as a woman,”striking a quick pose and flipping imaginary hair over his shoulder, “because I’d be the prettiest.”

“Yes, a beautiful monkey, sir.”

Jackie tilted her head, “You know, now that I think about it probably not the prettiest, or the smartest, or even the strongest. Bet Mav could crush you with her thighs if she wanted to, pop your head like a melon.”

He raised an eyebrow, “As fun as THAT sounds, I am afraid you might be right. You all are too much for my delicate sensibilities. I was actually coming over here to give you the pre-leave lecture.” He cleared his throat, “Don’t get pregnant, don't get anyone pregnant, don’t sell your body for money, don’t accept drinks from strangers, any bail, ransom, or parking tickets will be paid out of your monthly wages. Keep all debauchery, drunkenness, fighting and gambling to a minimum, and please for the love of Jupiter, try not to kill anyone.”

“Yes sir, I will try very hard not to get anyone pregnant,” there was laughter about the group.

The commander raised a hand, “It is 4023, so I am SURE you could find a way.”

“What if I get kidnapped Commander, can I hurt them then?”

“You wouldn’t need to hurt them Jackie. They would bring you back and I would make them pay ME ransom to take you back,” he tucked the clipboard under his arm and looked at Sunny. “Good luck with this group. Don’t die, and don’t kill anyone.”

She hadn’t exactly decided to go with them just yet, but it appeared as if that decision had been made for her. She waved a hand at the Commander who turned back to his earlier duties as the group of marines, engineers and one doctor stepped their way into the small shuttle. The strawberry blonde CJ was a passable pilot and took them down through the clouds with a loud whoop. Sunny’s stomach flew into her face reminding her rather unpleasantly of what she had had for breakfast.

Mav sat next to Katie opposite and over the roaring of entrance into the atmosphere Sunny heard bits of conversation. “I hate it when people assume that you have to choose one or the other. It’s the 41st century, if I want to play with big guns and explosives AND get my nails done afterwards, I am going to damn well do it. You’d have to be stupid to turn down either option, so I say, best of both worlds.”

Katie raised an eyebrow.

The way the light cut across Mavrick’s arms and shoulders made it pretty clear she spent a good portion of her time at the gym.

Dr. Katie through a strand of hair over her shoulder, “Ok, yes I agree, but also at least be careful when you do that sort of thing. I have been a doctor long enough to know what degloving skin looks like, and yes it is exactly how it sounds. So please for the love of all that is holy BE CAREFUL. Personally, just give me a good book and a bag of chips and I’m set for the afternoon.”

“What genre?”

“Meh, whatever strikes my fancy. Mostly fantasy if I am being honest, sometimes romance hits the spot, but other times I can do for a western. It just depends on the day.”

Sunny tilted her head, listening intently. While she had spent a lot of time with the marines, she had never actually gotten to know them on a personal level and she barely knew the name of the women from the engineering and science departments.

If she was being honest, she didn’t really have much of a relationship with anyone, especially not women.

She never really had, considering her history with her mother.

She grew up spending most of her time with her brother and her father and eventually she had become such good friends with Adam that she had become rather short sighted with her other options aboard the crew. To be honest though, it didn’t much matter on her home world, so she couldn't imagine that it would be much different here.

She couldn’t help but pipe in on the subject of weapons which turned into good natured banter between her and Mav who had some pretty strong opinions about the nature of projectile vs energy weapons. Though when it came to other subjects, she was a bit lost. The humans were an interesting race in that they enjoyed both their war and their relaxation in equal measure, so the topics they were discussing went heavily over Sunny’s head.

She got involved in a couple of conversations she probably could have done without. Humans were gross no matter which group of them you talked to. The only difference was this group of humans was more willing to share

The discussion on how to properly scratch a nipple in public was followed by a debate that included but was not limited to scratching in other unmentionable places, random overgrown hairs, body fluids, body smells and on and on.

Sunny turned the conversation back to music, something she was comfortable with. Mav liked punk, alternative, and hard rock, Dr. Katie was ok with anything as long as it was catchy. Jackie, the engineer, had a thing for country music, and CJ was some strange mix between classical and R&B it just depended on the day. The other women chimed in with their favorites and soon all genres were accounted for.

They were all laughing about something by the time they hit planet side and Sunny stepped from the shuttle, eyes wide as she turned in a circle talking in the bright neon lights and a million billboards shamelessly advertising for human tourists. Billboards hundreds of feet across showing pictures of half-naked models, both men and women, rose high into the sky.

The one sad thing about the future was that it hadn’t stopped the objectification of the human body, but had simply equalized the amount of objectification between the sexes, men and women in equal measure, because it was always easier to sell a product when you were really just selling sex instead.

The Terasaki certainly had no moral qualms about doing it either. It wasn’t their species after all.

CJ clapped her hands together throwing her strawberry blond curls over one shoulder, “Alright, we need a game plan.”

Mav eyed one of the billboards, “How about we start there?” she pointed.

The group of them turned to find an advertisement for nightly ring fighting, “It’s just like what I was saying, gotta go see someone get fucked up before I get my nails done, that's just how things should be. Plus twenty bucks says there will be alcohol for those of you who are less interested.” “Hey, I am down for anything as long as I get a massage later.”

Mav nodded, “Deal, I get to watch someone get the snot beaten out of them and you can get wasted. Everyone wins.” Sunny wasn’t entirely sure what she had expected, but she liked what she got. Sunny, Mav and CJ got seats just outside the ring while Jackie, Katie and a few others stormed the bar. Turns out CJ had a thing for yelling at the referee. Mav didn’t care what happened just as long as someone was getting punched in the face and Sunny, well Sunny loved it yelling and screaming with the rest of the humans as Drev and Humans alike beat the pulp out of each other.

Halfway through the night Sunny was interrupted

“Hey,, HEY, Scarab.” Sunny turned around to find a large human looking at her from the aisle, “Why don’t you go stand with the rest of the Drev. I reserved these seats.”

Sunny looked down at him, “Uh ... yeah, there’s room.”

“Let me talk slow since you don’t seem to speak good human, but you’re big and I don’t want your arms getting in the way of my view so why don’t you get lost.”

Sunny was ready to ignore him, but before she knew what was going on Mav and CJ were standing in front of her arms crossed, “The hell you say, you DON’T talk to our friend, bitch.”

The guy looked a bit nonplussed, but straightened himself up, “I told her to go sit with the other Drev.”

“I didn’t know these seats were segregated.” Mav shot back, “but if that’s the case, I think idiots are seated on the other side.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No, I’m not. Now either you can back up, or I can back you up.” Mav was right in his face now, but CJ put a hand on her arm warningly. It was human culture that the first person who threw a punch, whether man or woman, was opening up to a fair beating.

Sunny stood from her seat looming a good foot to two over her short companions glowering down at the man. She didn’t say anything. The man backed up a few steps.

“Aww….. little bitch gonna cry to mommie,” Mav taunted, much to the chagrin of CJ.

The guy’s face turn beet red, “If you weren’t-.”

“Here let me finish-”

CJ grabbed Mav by the arm and pushed her back to her seat, “Down Mav.” She turned her eyes back to the guy “Look Imma make this as clear as I can. We aren't moving, so either you get over it and take a seat or you get the hell out. Pick your poison.”

The guy took his seat and shut up. Sunny couldn’t help making a point to step in front of him a few times blocking his view with her bulk. Mav got a kick out of her pettiness, but eventually they left to find Jackie, Katie and the others at the bar. Just a few drinks in and already they were coming up with stupid dance moves.

Grabbing them, they moved out of the bar and onto the street. It was leaning towards late evening, but managed to get themselves checked into a nice little spa hunched between two buildings, a bit out of the way and pushed back from the rest of civilization. Everything going on here was pretty foreign to Sunny.

The Drev had nothing comparable in their culture to this practice, and she watched in confusion as the other humans took their seats at strange tables. Mav was “getting her nails done,” pointing out that there was nothing better than a hand massage and anyone who disagreed could go right ahead and fight her. Katie had her feet soaking in a pool of hot water, while Jackie lay on her stomach on a strange flat table towel wrapped around her curly dark hair obscuring her face while her dark skin shone in the delicate white light overhead.

Water trickled somewhere in the distance, and the entire room was done in shades of white and pastel giving it a very un-Drev aesthetic.

It was an extreme 180 from the earlier venue and Sunny wasn’t entirely sure how to behave.

Eventually, someone came to her rescue as she was ordered to take a seat and relax by CJ, who determined she was in for a treat. Sunny had to admit the warm towel around her neck was nice and she hummed softly as her feet soaked in a pool of water. The human that walked in looked a little surprised to see her, but shrugged and got to work. It took a little more elbow grease to get through Sunny’s tough hyde, but when they managed it Sunny had to admit it was probably the best feeling she had ever experienced… in pretty much ever.

Mav snickered, snapping a picture of the big blue Drev, face covered in a green mask, cucumbers over her eyes, sprawled in a chair as one person messaged her huge neck muscles, one worked on the claws of her left upper hand, and another knelt at her feet.

Sunny was quite displeased when her time was up. She needed about an hour more work on her shoulder muscles and at least another ten minutes on each of her hands, but her time was up so they paid, leaving just as a few familiar faces walked in. Another group of tipsy marines, who made it very clear that they intended to get their feet done while they were here, were filing in.

Sunny found the image somewhat amusing, but was glad to see they were having fun and agreed with their decision. She had a new favorite pastime now and understood why they had chosen it.

With that amazing ritual behind them, they went out to eat. The humans ordered a round of drinks and Sunny asked for some water, not actually capable of getting drunk in the same way that humans did. The berries and fruit that her species ate were often fermented when preserved, giving her species an extreme tolerance to ethanol such that it wasn’t even worth trying to get drunk since you would likely die of heightened liquid consumption before actually reaching the point of intoxication.

Humans on the other hand reached that threshold pretty quick. A few of them were a bit closer, having consumed a few drinks earlier in the day and were not yet totally down from that high. As the night grew on the conversation got louder, and much more interesting.

Dr. Katie raised her hands, “ok ok… you wanted to hear it so I’ll give it to you. I’ve worked in the ER for fifteen years plus trauma centers and other level one clinics and there is NOTHING I haven't seen, and I mean nothing.”

“Worst story,” Mav urged.

“No…. no, no, no, not at the dinner table,” begged one of the ladies.

Katie took a drink, “There was this one time I come into a room to check on a patient, and there is this guy with real shifty eyes and he can’t stop squirming. Real professional looking type right, so immediately I know he’s got something crammed up his ass.” The table burst into a fit of giggling. “So I go up to him and I ask him what’s wrong and he hems and haws and he's all like ‘Doc, I have some intestinal pain, a stomach ache,’ you know because of the thing he's got jammed in his ass.” More giggling. “So of course I ask him all the usual questions, where is the pain, is it something he ate, how long has this been going on, you know and the entire time I am just trying to figure out what he's got up there, because I KNOW he's got something up there, but of course he won’t admit it. We go around like this for like twenty minutes, right, and eventually I am just like send him down to radiology. If this guy won't give me a straight answer, I bet an X-ray will.” Sunny shook her head. “Low and behold, the x ray comes back and what does this guy have spelunking in his insides? None other than… a Barbie doll.”

“No!”

“Yes, and he had thought about this, like, he had tied her arms down to her sides with rubber bands to make sure they stayed in place. So I go back in there, I look at him and I show him the X-rax and of course he plays it like I’m a moron. ‘Well doctor, I was cleaning my kids playroom, naked,’ as you do, ‘and I slipped and fell.’” Maverick snorted into her drink. “And of course I am like yeah sure, but why didn’t you tell me that when you came in, and you know what this sucker does? He Looks me dead in the eye and goes…I forgot.”

The table erupted into laughter. CJ laughed and wiped her face with a napkin, “Now hold on, I got one. It was in boot camp.”

Mav rolled her eyes, “Oh no.”

“Oh yes, some of the guys had been clearing an abandoned hotel, as part of our training. I wasn't there at the time, but I guess while they were looking around they find this nine inch, monstrous rubber dong stuck to one of the walls. So of course they laugh it off right, and go back to what they were doing. Well, when they come back later, it isn’t there. Kind of weird, but whatever. At least whatever until this thing starts SHOWING UP around barracks. Like our Sergeant walks in one morning to do an inspection and we had all just gotten up right, so none of us were paying attention. She starts yelling at us like she does and then goes all quiet. She tilts her head one way and then the other. I swear I have never seen someone look so confused in their entire life and she’s all like, “What the fuck is that?” We all turned around to look and this thing is sitting in the middle of the damned floor and it just flopped to one side, and you know of course we can’t stop it so we just start laughing. The sergeant is trying not to laugh and everyone is trying not to laugh, but it just gets worse. When she could finally talk she just starts screaming at us, trying to figure out what the hell we had been doing the night before. I don’t think I’ve ever done so many pushups in my life.”

Jackie raised a hand just then, “No hey, I have always had a question for you guys about the whole boot camp thing. So what do you do when it’s your time of the month? I mean do they let you guys off easy to go fix things? Or do you just have to suffer?”

“Suffer,” Mav piped in. “Mostly suffer. Like I knew girls who would be bent doubled in pain and still had to stand in formation with us like it was nothing. I mean honestly the shit we had to go through. Seriously, there is nothing worse than standing in front of your sergeant and feeling half your innards just sort of shlop out of you and you have to look this guy in the eye like nothing is going on. Like yes sir, no sir, like insides aren’t totally falling out right now.”

Jakie moaned, “Tell me about it, cramps are the worst.” She glanced towards Dr. Katie, “Seriously, when is the medical field going to do something about that?”

Katie finished off her drink and set it back on the table with a thud, “You would think after more than 200,000 years of menstruation we would know how to fix cramps, but nope, the medical field still has no friggin clue how to deal with them. The general consensus is to throw an anti- inflammatory, a heating pad or a shit-ton load of chocolate at it and pray, but otherwise sucks to suck.”

Sunny looked between the group of them, “Cramps? Your insides falling out…er ... are you guys ok?”

The group turned to look at her with incredulous looks on their faces, “You aren't serious?” Jackie asked.

Sunny stared at her blankly.

“You guys don’t have cramps, periods on your planet…like really?”

“Explain?”

Sunny wasn't entirely sure that she appreciated the explanation once it was over and shook her head vigorously, “EWWW no…. no,” she shivered. Battle sounded like a more amusing pastime.

“How does it work on your planet?” Katie wondered, the scientist in her taking over.

Sunny shifted awkwardly, “Well uh…we have a mating season. The female can become fertile twice a year. It’s during the dark season, so generally all the kits are born during or right before the bright season.”

“So, what? Do you guys just get really horny twice a year or something?”

“Er…. well no. Any time of year is fine but you are just more likely to get a kit during those times of year.”

“Uh huh, how interesting.”

Sunny didn’t exactly see how it was all that interesting. She had never been caught in this sort of conversation, oddly enough. Adam had never asked so she had never been forced to answer the question. In fact, she learned more about humans in the last ten minutes than she had learned about humans in the last year she had been aboard the ship and not all of it was great.

One of the biggest things she learned was that humans get slightly strange the more they drank.

“Ok, Ok,” CJ slurred, “Hottest guy aboard the ship, go.”

“Ramirez,” Katie responded almost immediately.

Mav snorted into her drink again, “Really….. no…. no way.”

“What, he's cute, I’d do him.”

Jackie raised her hands over her head, “I couldn’t tell you who the hottest guy on the ship is, but I CAN tell you who the hottest girl is.”

Mav didn’t bat an eye, “Well of course that would be me, like we even have to debate that subject.”

Jackie rolled her eyes and the rest of the table laughed, “Ha ha, your confidence never ceases to amaze, but you're not my type.”

Katie waved a hand, “Oh come on, I know you don't’ LIKE guys like that but you must be able to tell when one of them LOOKS nice . Come on, a shot in the dark.”

Jackie shrugged, but thought about it for a second, “Uh…. well, how about Adam, he’s good looking, right?”

The table thought about it for a moment. Mav tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, “Well I mean yeah he is, but he's also a super massive juvenile.”

CJ shrugged, “I don’t know, I think it's kind of cute.”

Katie waved a hand at all of them, “Not like it matters, because I have a couple of theories.” Sunny and the other’s looked on in interest, waiting, “I’m pretty sure he's: A into guys, B not into anyone or C a closeted extrial. There was some muttering from around the table, but Mav shook her head in disagreement.

“No, he’s too uncomfortable around women to like guys, and you can’t say he’s hiding it because he has no reason to. If he really liked guys he would be indifferent to women and awkward around men. If he wasn’t into anyone, he wouldn’t be nearly so awkward… however, I can probably get behind C.”

Sunny did not noticed the glances pointed her way

The conversation moved on to the hottest girl on the ship which sparked a furious debate despite Jackie being the only one that like girls. Turned out though that female humans had no issue discussing the perceived hotness or notness of other women. Nairobi down in engineering took the title with almost unanimous agreement.

That lead into the subject of who was the best looking DREV aboard the ship and once Sunny explained that height and carapace color were the most important outside factors mixed with fighting status, it turned into a rather entertaining debate as the humans tried to decide which Drev was the hottest while continuing to steadily drink. It finally devolved into a slurred argument between Cannon and another of their Drev members, Roc.

Sunny would have found the entire thing funny if it wasn’t also rather disturbing. Her vote was the tiebreaker which was obviously biased considering that Cannon was her brother and that was super weird, so of course Roc won the title.

The drunker they got, the worse they got, until the conversation was oscillating constantly between being mildly lewd and hilariously embarrassing stories that Sunny wouldn’t have admitted to in her wildest daydreams.

In the end, it was up to her and Mav, who also didn’t drink to get the other girls back to the shuttle. That was all before realizing that CJ was the only one who could fly the ship so they had no way of getting back on their own. In the end, they had to call for backup and a rather amused shuttle pilot showed up on scene to take the staggering party back to the ship.

Sunny wobbled onto the ship holding up two drunk women while Mav helped a third.

Together they collapsed onto some cargo containers laughing and slurring.

A shadow fell over them a moment later and Sunny looked up to find Commander Vir standing over them with a raised eyebrow, “Fun time, Ladies?”

A burst of giggling, “Yes sir,” Mav smirked.

Katie almost fell off her seat, but Vir caught her by the arm, “Alright, to bed with the lot of you.”

Kate tried to wave him off but nearly fell over once more. “Krill is going to have a fit when he sees the state of you. Come on, let’s get you to bed to sleep it off.” He glanced over at Mav, “Get the rest of them back safe.” Mav saluted and Katie giggled drunkenly, but managed to make it to her feet and together they wandered off towards the medical bay where the medical staff usually slept.

Sunny also helped Mav get the other two to their quarters before retiring to her own room exhausted, but happy.

It had been a good day. She determined to do it more often.

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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Top 20 BEST Animated Series of the 2010s-6th Place

…

Can someone please explain how it is possible that #6 can somehow be one of the best shows in the 2010s, yet somehow it can also be one of the worst?

#6-Rick and Morty (2013-)

The Plot: A nihilistic scientist named Rick Sanchez returns to his daughter and joins her family to the dismay of...well, everyone else. The one who gets the most anxiety is Rick’s grandson, Morty, who ends up getting dragged alongside Rick on adventures across the cosmos and even the multiverse. From there, they face dangerous aliens, Rick’s old enemies, and even evil alternate versions of themselves. Not because those threats are a danger to the universe. It's because they’re just a pain in the ass to deal with.

Now that I got the plot out of the way, I want to take the chance to briefly rant about why Rick and Morty is one of the worst things that could have come to television. It has nothing to do with the show itself (far from it, in fact). The real reason why Rick and Morty is the worst has everything to do with its fandom. I know, I know. I shouldn’t use a show’s fandom to judge it. Because if I did, then half the series on this list would be blasted into the sun. But the Rick and Morty fandom is the one exception to that rule. Because unlike most toxic fandoms that stick with being a-holes to other people on the internet, the Rick and Morty fandom actually affects real life. They take quotes from the show that were fun to say and repeat them so much that those quotes become the most annoying words created by man. This fandom also drove McDonalds up a wall because Rick briefly mentions how delicious the Szechuan sauce was, and the “fans” ended up breaking McDonalds when they briefly brought it back. But nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is more annoying than how these people react when someone says they don’t like the show.

You see, according to the fandom, “Rick and Morty operates on a higher form of intelligence that far exceeds all shows known to man. If you don’t enjoy it, then you’re just a big old dumb fjdlfjkdlfjoidsahjipfojewoitufd9gt9geijo parwfu9--” SHUT THE F**K UP! Ok?! Shut up! Just shut up! Because Rick and Morty is NOT the smartest T.V. show on the planet. It’s not even CLOSE to the most intelligent show on television. It’s smarter than most shows. I’ll give it that. But if you want to ask me which show was the most intelligent, I will more than willingly say Futurama. You know. The show is actually written by people with three PhDs and seven master's degrees. Hell, I’d be more willing to say that The Amazing World of Gumball is smarter than Rick and Morty. That’s right. I wholeheartedly believe that the show aimed for children-F**KING CHILDREN-is smarter than the show aimed for adults. And guess what, Rick and Morty fans! It doesn't require Stephen Hawking's levels of intelligence to enjoy the show. You can easily be a C+ high school student and still think the show is good. I should know because I’ve caught classmates who are C+ students watching the show while IN CLASS! AND THEY ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! NOT BECAUSE IT WAS BRILLIANT! NOT BECAUSE IT WAS A MASTERPIECE SENT BY THE BIG GUY HIMSELF! BUT BECAUSE IT IS LIKE EVERY OTHER SHOW THAT IS AIMED FOR ADULTS! WITH LOW BROW AND HIGH BROW HUMOR, GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE, BUTT UGLY ANIMATION, AND CHARACTERS WHO ACT LIKE A**HOLES TO EACH OTHER BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT ADULTS LIKE TO SEE ON TELEVISION!

>SCREAMS WITH INSANITY<

>Huff<

>Puff<

Man, that’s twice in a row when a show has nearly driven me to the brink of insanity. That can’t be any good.

…

Aw well. Not that I’ve got that rant out of the way, allow me to actually talk about the show itself and why it actually is pretty amazing.

First and foremost is the show’s comedy. While the jokes aren’t “brilliant masterpieces,” they are jokes that get you thinking from time to time. They also come pretty fast, so even when one dies, another funnier joke immediately comes after. This show also dabbles in two different senses of humor: Absurdity and being super dark. The way absurd and dark humor works are by giving viewers no other reaction other than laughing at a situation. Because how else would you react to squirrels running the government or the idea that Hitler cured cancer in an alternate dimension? I mean, other than being confused and disgusted by things such as that. This is why humor, like most things, is subjective. Not everyone will find the same things funny, and, understandably, they don’t. I personally can’t stop laughing in most episodes of Rick and Morty, but I would never verbally attack another person for saying something different. So chill the f**k out when a person says they don’t think the show is funny! Besides, other cool pros that come from Rick and Morty.

One spectacular thing is the show’s attention to detail. And I don’t just mean in terms of animation. The stories are pretty airtight most of the time, and rarely do I find a plot hole within. The best example is the twist in “The Ricklantis Mixup.” The episode itself is already pretty good, but having prior knowledge of the final big reveal leads to looking at specific scenes in a new light. As for the animation, there’s also great detail within it. Like in the background, to be more exact. The show goes out of its way to make each new world that Rick and Morty visits look as unique as possible, which should really be the goal for a sci-fi series if you ask me. And can we give a round of applause to whoever designs the characters in this show? I mean, the characters look hideous (which is something I never understood in adult animation. Seriously, who was the idiot that thought it was a good idea that you have to make your characters look as ugly as possible to be considered for adults?), but each character in this series--background and foreground--looks unique. Usually, most shows stick to having similar models reused and redesigned to give the illusion that the background characters are different. But in Rick and Morty? There is rarely a time when one creature looks the same as the other. And when they do, it’s usually for a purpose such as an alien species that looks the same or making an identical alternate version of Rick and Morty.

Speaking of, what is by far the best thing about Rick and Morty is...well, Rick and Morty. These two not only have a great dynamic, but they even have great chemistry with each other. Because whenever a show advertises its central hook being its dynamic duo, the same pair must have perfect interactions. And boy, is it hilarious seeing these bounce off of one another. Their synergy is always hilarious, and at times it can be surprisingly heartwarming. In fact, what I love most about these two is how they sort of learn from each other. Rick is still a nihilistic a-hole to those around him, but he seems to back off the most when he’s around Morty (most of the time). And while Morty still puts his foot down when it comes to Rick’s pure unadulterated...Rickness, he also has moments where he seems to share his grandfather's nihilistic views. I rarely ever seen this, as most dynamic duos keep their intended personalities to keep audiences entertained. And while I’ve heard fans complain about how the show makes Rick more human and Morty more like a Rick, I personally enjoy how much of an engaging character study these two represent.

Unfortunately, while Rick and Morty are easily the most intriguing characters in their series, they are also the only characters worth mentioning. Summer is fine, I guess, but most of the time, it feels like the writers aren’t sure what to do with her. Is she a slacker? A cliche teenage girl? Rick’s number one fan? I don’t know because most of the time, it feels like her personality is dependent on what the writers want in an episode. She isn’t bad, but some consistency would be nice. As for other characters, there really aren't that many who are worth mentioning. Most of them are either bit characters who serve the purpose of making a joke or are just one-off villains that our “heroes” face. Now there isn’t anything wrong with that, especially considering the latter. After all, when you watch Bugs Bunny screw around with someone who's wronged him, it’s always that Wascally Wabbit you remember the most. Still, I wish there were a couple more characters the show could invest in. And I know, last time I complained about a show that had too many characters. However, the opposite extreme isn’t that great either. Personally, I feel as though a series should have a moderately sized cast, where there are enough personalities to work off of, and you won’t have to recycle ideas you’ve used with the characters you already have.

And seeing as how we’re on the topic of characters, there are two individuals that I need to talk about. In fact, these two characters are easily the worst thing about Rick and Morty (aside from the fandom). Those characters are Beth and Jerry. Sweet mother of all that is holy, these two are downright insufferable! For some reason, the writers think it would be entertaining to have a married couple always argue and bicker with each other. It isn’t. In fact, every time an episode moves away from Rick and Morty and decides to focus on these two, the show’s quality plummets on a lot of notches. You’ll want to see them get a divorce. You’ll PRAY that they get a divorce. And (actual spoilers) when they finally get a divorce in season 3, do you want to know what the worst part is? They are somehow worse apart than they are together (spoilers over). And you can argue who you think is worse all you want, but to me, the worst character is easily Beth. I personally don’t mind Jerry all that much. At his best, he’s hilariously pathetic, has a great dynamic with Rick, and I legitimately feel bad for him when the universe seems to kick him when he’s down. Can he get a little grating at times? Yes. Absolutely. But while Jerry can be annoying, Beth can be a downright psychotic moron. She will willingly endanger her family, all in the efforts of pleasing a narcissistic a**hole of a father who consistently has a god complex. And when a person points this out to her, she will insult them and point out how “great” it is to have her father back again. Even though Rick didn’t seem like that great of a father anyway. It is physically and psychologically unhealthy for Beth to have these disillusions, and it isn’t until four seasons does she actually tries to show some backbone. Which I still don’t believe because it feels like it won’t last by how quick it is.

And seeing that we’re on my own personal hang-ups with the show, there’s one last topic that I want to cover. And it’s a topic that, to my knowledge, nobody else is bothered by. This problem affects me personally, and I want to give a word of warning to those who might not actually feel the same way. And that’s the fact that Justin Roiland is not the great of a voice actor that he thinks he is. This doesn’t mean he’s a bad voice actor because he's far from it. In fact, I can’t even hear the similarities between his voice for Rick and for Morty. But there is a problem: Justin Roiland has two modes. It’s either his normal voice or his high pitched voice. Both with minimal modulation, and it’s the latter that he seems to focus on the most when he voices 80% of the characters. The problem is that I not only think his high-pitched voice is annoying but with how consistently Roiland uses it, it will always break the immersion for me. Because I’m not hearing a unique character. I’m hearing Justin Roiland doing the same high pitched voice for nearly every character he voices. Just look at Seth Macfarlane and the characters he voices. You can tell it’s him, but he at least offers different modulations for each character (If you don’t believe me, then compare some of his famous roles with Justin Roiland’s).

While we’re still talking Justin Roiland’s acting, it’s also his improv that could use a little workshop. Now, for the most part, the improvisation is pretty good in the show. Like actual good improv, it feels natural within the dialogue exchanges, and you wouldn’t know until someone else points it out. However, there are times when Roiland’s improv can feel like verbal barfing. It’s fine when he voices Rick’s drunken rants, but for the Interdimensional Cable episodes? Yeah, needless to say, it can get a little noticeable. So noticeable that even the characters point out how blatant it is within the episode. Again, this is something that bothers me personally. To my knowledge, there isn’t anyone else who complains about this aspect of the show, which is perfectly fine. I just feel like other people should get a word of warning before they dive right in.

So is Rick and Morty the godsend of a series that surpasses all other television shows? F**k no. No series that has ever been made is 100% perfect. Not even the good ones. And if you disagree, then you are in denial over how many faults a show has. For instance, Rick and Morty have plenty of issues. There’s not that many likable characters, it has the worst cartoon couple ever with Beth and Jerry, and Justin Roiland needs to work on his acting despite being an already good actor. That’s everything wrong with Rick and Morty in a nutshell. But despite these problems, the show still has phenomenal attention to detail, hilarious comedy, and the best dynamic duo in recent memory. So while it isn’t the perfect show that its fans believe it is, it is still pretty damn good. And that alone is good enough for me.

(Just do yourself a favor and avoid joining the fandom. It’s already too late for those poor bastards who are already in too deep, but it isn’t too late for you!)

#top 20 of 2010s #rick and morty #what i thought about

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silver-wield · 4 years

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Final Fantasy 7R review

I finished the game this morning and I already have regrets that there’s nothing left for me to do besides replay and anxiously wait for news of the next installment. I want more. I want to not have finished it yet. I need to know what happens next, not just in the updated story, but with the game mechanics, too. I’m happy the team is taking their time to make the game as good as it deserves to be, but on the other hand I wanna throw a toddler tantrum demanding the rest of my game!

Beware, spoilers.

The bad stuff

To be fair, not a lot from where I’m sitting. I’ve seen people bitch about textures and how the scrap yards don’t look dynamic enough and some stuff is flat, but seriously, why are yall looking at the walls? They’re the least interesting thing about the game and you’re just nitpicking. The graphics overall were amazing and I stopped multiple times just to rotate the camera and take in this massive city we actually get to really explore for the first time ever!

I have to admit a slight disappointment in the amount of space, verbally, that was happening. There were times where I expected characters to make comments and they said nothing. Things were overlooked or just not addressed and it wasn’t even anything plot related, just a point where there could have been dialogue and it didn’t happen. It wasn’t often, but those few times the air was left dead I noticed it. The most notable time was in chapter 17, right after Sephiroth appeared on the gangway. Now, I get them being too shocked to say anything when he’s right in front of them, but after, when they separate and fall into two groups? Nothing? No comment? Tifa, I definitely expected to say something in a shocked tone, but even after they found Cloud again, she didn’t mention it. It was like the moment didn’t happen. I know the other times nobody else but Cloud saw him, but this time they saw him, and he’s linked to Tifa’s past too, so she definitely should’ve had some kind of comment in that empty space.

That was the only major point, but other small ones were when people were talking and one character remains silent. The only one I expect to never speak if he doesn’t have to is Cloud. Because it’s Cloud. Everyone else should have something to say. Like when they climbed the stairs. If you took the stairs - I was all done in from so many fights and just wanted a break - then you got hilarious commentary from Barret, Cloud and Tifa. It showed how close they’ve become. Cloud made a joke! His second one of the game! If you missed the first, it’s likely because you obsessed over him going on about money all the time and saying that’s all he cares about when he’s with Tifa. So, yeah, after being shown how the group can talk to each other and banter I’m hoping Square adds more chatter to the next game. I know some people prefer less chatter, but this is a group of people who are supposed to be shown as friends, so conversation is important.

The other thing that got on my nerves was the mechanics of the weapons upgrade. Unless I missed a shortcut, having to go out of each one and then into the next one instead of just switching over to the next weapon’s skill tree. It took a long time to level things up and I wish there was an option in the auto to just unlock every skill one at a time, so they’d do it on auto without me having to go in there. And the ATB. That got on my nerves. I’m lazy af, so I’d like for action to just pause whenever someone’s atb fills so I can give them a command and then go back to the battle instead of having one eye on all the atbs. It’s probably more classic than Square wants to go with it, but having that as a battle option would be nice and a further throwback to the old style of gameplay.

The good

Everything from chapter 3 onwards. The intro chapters were good, too, but I really just wanted to dig into the game and that didn’t happen until chapter 3. The VAs killed it! Graphics were amazing! The weapon abilities were fun and added something different to the regular gameplay style of just grabbing the next strongest weapon. Side quests were enjoyable and I wish there was more of them, especially a save the citizens for after the plate fell. That really would've hammered home the tragedy.

The story

I’ve seen people - mostly OG fans - bashing the new elements. Sure, the whispers are a weird angle to come at it from, but the explanation for them, that they’re trying to maintain the OG storyline, made for an interesting twist on a 25 year old story. Sephiroth’s early appearance was just something that had to happen, along with a Jenova fight, because, come on, this section of the OG was like 3hrs worth of content and this is 40hrs, so ofc they had to include new things and it matches with the new storyline and I think people need to release their death grip on the OG storyline and enjoy this game for what it is.

I found the ripple effect(?) interesting too. From what we learned, the OG happened in the future. If things hadn’t changed that’s the future everyone was heading towards. Ok, cool, pretty simple.

This timeline had small changes. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie survived!? Or did Wedge finally get shoved off a building at the end, I really couldn’t tell if he bought it that time, but if he did I’m mad cause he was adorable. The plate falling didn’t have as big a casualty number as originally, either. And Hojo almost spilled the beans to Cloud early, but was cut off, and that’s the other thing Cloud ignored in dialogue afterwards, but it’s Cloud, so we’ll give him a security pass for that. The others ignoring his Ptsd induced freak outs isn't cool though and I expect Square to fix that level of callousness towards him from the others.

Those are the only two changes from the OG. Sephiroth showing up early instead of in Nibelheim doesn’t really matter. He’s his usual cryptic asshole self and his goal is unchanged. The team just knows he’s the big bad earlier now and have a solid goal instead of just randomly wandering after they leave Midgar. So, yeah, does Biggs, Wedge and Jessie living make a big difference overall? Will that ripple from them being alive make further changes?

We also saw that Zack survived because of our team, but the Zack in their timeline is still dead. I think we saw it this way because the planet is trying to find a way to prevent being hit with Meteor and ending up with geostigma, so the OG timeline, everything was still bad. Our timeline gives possibilities for a slightly better future and then the timeline behind it - the one with Zack - offers even better odds, not that we’ll see that. That’s the timeline I think Aerith will live through, so that way Square can say Aerith lives, just not in the game we play now.

Shipping

I’m not into wars, so if you love Aerith, cool good for you, I was focused on building affinity with Tifa and Square didn’t disappoint! There were so many romantic moments between them! And damn do they have chemistry! I squeed at such a high pitch the dog next door started howling! All the small touches, longing looks, affection, support, trust and OMGOSH IT WAS JUST THE BEST!!! They were so damn cute!!

I have no idea how the game changes if you focus on Aerith and to be honest I don’t want to. I think that’s what I love about the options for that. You can choose and no one can say your choice isn’t valid.

One thing though, I would like an end to it because it’s 25 years of people arguing and it’s made the entire fandom toxic af and it’s actually the reason I avoid most of the final fantasy discourse because people can’t be civil to each other. Square should finally say once and for all that Cloud/ is canon and the other isn’t, instead of throwing a bone to them and being all “maybe if things were like this”, like no, pull on your big boy pants, Square, man tf up like Barret on a mission, and tell people who is the canon pairing in this damn game so people can just stfu and enjoy playing it without getting flamed.

This is why I want a FF8R because at least there’s no doubt who the couple is in that one.

Smol stuff

I’ve seen complaints about new characters being 1 dimensional, but they’re new characters in a game series that’s a trilogy, so they’re likely gonna appear again. Roche seemed added not just to give Cloud a boss to fight in the bike event, but also to show there’s other SOLDIERs beyond Cloud and Zack and the ones from Crisis Core, which not everyone has played.

Same goes for Leslie. I liked that dude and I’m interested to see him pop up again. His design wasn’t the typical bad guy henchman, easily disposed, thank you very much for playing. He has a story and I’m betting that’s not the last we see of him.

Again, same goes for Cloud’s infantry buddies. I’ve not played CC, but I get they’re from that, so will we see them again at some point? What about other CC characters?

Best Bits

Cloud in a dress. “Nailed it, thank you, moving on.”

Cloud dancing. Boy got moves and I wanna see him dance again!

Cloud/Tifa. Complimenting her like a smooth mutherfucker.

Cloud/Tifa Battle couple. They were my absolute favourite fighting combo and definitely kicked all the ass!

Cloud/Tifa. All the shipping bits, but especially jumping off the train and then trusting her to go kick Corneo’s ass. That’s how you show you know your girl

Wedge. Kitty momma

Biggs death. Damn you, Square, you got me all choked up.

Red. Specifically the bit where he highfived Barret with his tail lool

Barret. “Damn it, Red.”

Reno. Just Reno in general killed me. Love his conscience though and that he’s not a 1 trick pony.

Tifa/Aerith. Had more chemistry than Aerith/Cloud. Yeah, I said it.

Barret and Marlene. Such a good daddy! His expression with her was like a whole different person!

Aerith bitchslapping a would-be rapist with a chair.

Cloud/Tifa/Aerith teamup to threaten Don Corneo’s balls - though I only include Aerith since she was there and she was about as threatening as a cupcake.

Conclusion

I want moar! I really hope the next one comes out soon! It’s not the same as OG, but has the best bits of OG along with something new to bring in a new generation of fans. The alt timeline angle feels fresh and open to possibilities and I’m excited to play this game for what it is, instead of comparing it and demanding for the OG like a crusty whisper lool

#final fantasy 7 remake #ffviir #FF7R review spoilers #FF7R spoilers #FFVIIR game review #I fucking loved this #I'm just sad it's over for now

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onceuponamirror · 6 years

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11 questions game

tagged by @raptorlily, who prepared 11 questions for her tag-ees:

1. The core four + Kevin and Cheryl are attending a literary character party. What costume does each of them wear? Bonus: What costumes are the Southside Serpent characters wearing?

OH BOY. well, betty is elizabeth bennett. her instinct is obviously be nancy drew, but then decides she wants to play dress up a little bit. she tries valiantly to get jughead into a darcy couples costume, but his instinct is to just be sal paradise because he won’t have to buy anything for the costume.

betty tells him that if she’s not going to be nancy, he should go outside the box too. he then decides on dressing like the titular mummy from jane loudon’s the mummy! (he’s still a weirdo, remember)

veronica goes as daisy buchanan if not purely for the extravagant opportunity to dress like a flapper, archie comes as jim hawkins from treasure island, cheryl bucks expectation and attends as a female robin hood (she already loves archery), and kevin is absolutely sherlock holmes. he’d look so natural in a trenchcoat!

2. What extracurricular activities are Reggie, Ethel, Fangs, Midge, Toni and Sweetpea involved in?

besides sports, reggie’s extracurricular activity is definitely selling ground up oregano to middle schoolers and telling them it’s weed.

ethel is canonically a drama geek and that’s valid, but she’s also probably in band. i’m gonna go with....flutist.

fangs is also canonically a drama geek and a regular geek (less we not forget jughead used a larping club to lure fangs out of a self-imposed suspension) so i honestly am just waiting for him and kev to start up their dungeons and dragons club. (wow they are perfect for each other tho??? a dorkier bughead)

midge (RIP) was probably into 4-H bc i can’t get the concept of “klump farms” out of my head. she seemed like a genuinely sweet person who also was a regular teenager and was a cheerleader and probably volunteered at hospitals too idk

toni wanted to get laid so bad she became a cheerleader. or, ok, seriously i mean my headcanon is like, it’s bring it on, where toni was into gymnastics and dance in a v serious way but southside didn’t offer any curriculars that would allow her to do that, and she couldn’t afford gymnastics herself. turns out the closest thing riverdale has is cheerleading, which’ll do.

sweet pea is probably the lowkey nerdiest of them all. i was joking earlier that he’s probably secretly into anime, but more seriously: feel like he’d go for basketball officially and also probably has an interest in engineering. i mean, that interest began with pipe bombs, but. yanno. ya dreams gotta start somewhere!!!

3. Give me three of your favourite headcanons for Reggie

had a crush on betty until high school

does his dumbest shit for his dad’s attention, painfully unsubtle about it

is cripplingly afraid of being alone, which is why he surrounds himself by teammates at all times and/or can’t get past the pack mentality. has difficulty being vulnerable in spite of all that, can’t be honest with himself and/or with others.

4. It’s Saturday night and the core four are all hanging out by themselves at home. What is each of them up to?

betty is listening to the memory palace podcast while laying on her bed, feet crossed up in the air, doing her homework. cleaned her room earlier. wants to call polly. she doesn’t. stays up till two am for no reason other than her room is warm and full of golden light and it’s the only time the house is quiet. plugged back in her old nightlight, half out of spite after polly nearly threw it out, half genuinely. sometimes she thinks she’s still afraid of the dark. the irony isn’t lost on her.

jughead is working on his novel, american crime story is playing on the TV in the background, a bag of popcorn slowly rotating in the microwave. the trailer is empty and he chooses to think his dad is at work. emails his sister. he doesn’t remember when, but they’ve stopped talking about their mom. his tattoo itches. toni told him not to scratch at it.

veronica is drinking chamomile tea on a tray, scrolling through pinterest and making a european vacation mood board for the post-graduation trip she’d like to take with her friends. she wants to surprise them with it, all-expenses paid. she resists the urge to book flights years in advance. browses the barney’s website. doesn’t know why she gets such a thrill from online shopping. isn’t sure why she can’t stop.

archie is in the garage, his fingers strumming aimlessly over the strings of his guitar. wonders why his mother can’t be a lawyer here in riverdale. isn’t sure if music was ever his own, or something he thought he should want, because he didn’t want to work construction. or worse, because a woman found it attractive. brought his history textbook out with the intention to study. doesn’t. practices wonderwall, even though jughead laughs whenever the song comes upon.

5. What’s your headcanon for Jughead’s hat? Why does he wear it? What’s the origin story?

his mom made it when he was a kid, and growing up in threadbare clothes donated down the line of serpents or thrift store finds, it was the one thing that was truly his---made for him. with love.

being scrawny and quiet and outgrowing his pants too fast to replace them already set him apart. might as well let the hat seal the deal.

6. What is your Riverdale guilty pleasure ship? One that you don’t necessarily ship in canon but wouldn’t mind reading fanfiction for?

don’t think i have one, honestly?

7. Can Chuck be redeemed in your eyes? Any caveats or things that would need to happen to make this count?

yeah, it’s really interesting answer this question post 2x18, but---yes, i definitely think chuck can be redeemed. i never wanted him to be a villain in the first place, for so, so many reasons.

i mean, comics!chuck was a deliberate bucking of specific stereotypes that riverdale slid right back into without seeming to think about what it was they were saying by doing that. (related readings: x) and then the way they did it---ack.

outside of the vacuum of comics vs. show, i think that where we’re at culturally, we’re really asking men to unlearn their toxic masculinity. especially of adolescents who are still growing and changing---and what chuck did was certainly part of the vacuum of male privilege/toxic masculinity, but he faced consequences for that, and then he acknowledged it. actively has announced he wants to change, and i genuinely believe it at this point.

and while i wish chuck wasn’t the character they’re doing this with in the first place, “cancelled culture” can be really frustrating because it’s way too binary. it undermines the growth and self-crit we want people to be doing.

obviously, it doesn’t apply unilaterally, some people are abusive or cruel or malicious to the point where they lose their ability to profit off of it, and rightfully so---but with a character like chuck, whose main crime appeared to just be slut shaming, i actually appreciate a narrative where a male character owns up to how that was bad, why it was wrong, and how they’re going to change.

8. What is a storyline you’d like to see most explored on the show?

just---more familial dynamics. i cannot wait for gladys and JB, i think that’s going to be so meaty and tragic and emotional in the right ways. i want more of polly and betty’s relationship, and/or how betty feels watching her sister run away constantly, or just their dynamic in general. more of archie and fred navigating dreams vs. reality. i kinda don’t love veronica’s parents tho, and i’m not sure where they could take that in a way that i enjoy.

9. What is your favourite Riverdale fanfic trope or cliché?

pining, man. just. pining.

10. What is existing scene or storyline would you rewrite to better suit your tastes?

HAH. how much time do we have

BONUS: Archie starts a band. He settles on ‘The Archies’ but what were some of the other suggestions for the band name? Name three songs that show up on their debut album.

jughead’s suggestion is: red drum, red drum and he thinks it’s hilarious

three songs: midnight ride, smoking gun, and can’t fly

my 11 questions for my taggees

1. which twist did you least see coming? genuinely.

2. we all know riverdale loves hopscotching through genre elements (true crime, musical, grease, etc), and sometimes it’s too much, but which has been your favorite? what other ones would you like to see from the show?

3. riverdale does dirty on its secondary characters. what storylines would you give to reggie, kevin, josie, etc? or, what would you like to see for them in s3? anything you thought the show really fumbled? did right?

4. what are your backstory headcanons for sweet pea, fangs, and toni?

5. what’s your theory on the old riverdale riots?

6. it’s the ten year high school reunion. where did everyone go to college? (core four + the secondary pals) what’s your headcanon for their future careers? who’s still together? who wishes they were still together? who hooks up unexpectedly in a storage closet?

7. what’s a storyline you just didn’t buy this season?

8. any headcanons for the riverparents? like, how they grew up, who they were in high school, why they went the directions they did?

9. what’s one trope that you’d wish the show would do? or something you wish you saw more in fic?

10. thoughts on reggie? will he ever be fleshed out? will it make him more of a villain, or less of one?

11. if you could have anything happen in s3, what would it be?

and i tag @village-skeptic @stillscape @sylwrites @lessoleilscouchants @myrmidonofmelodrama @heartunsettledsoul @raptorlily (tagging back, bc i want your answers on these too!) @theatreofexpression @imreallyloveleee

or anyone who wants to answer!!! just tag me, i wanna see yer answers. these games are fun

#tag games #chuck clayton #reggie mantle

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patternsintraffic · 4 years

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My Favorite Albums of the Decade

I generally don’t like to stray from the topic of my music on this site, but I’m making an exception today. With the decade coming to a close I’ve seen a lot of folks sharing their personal top albums of the decade lists, and I thought it would be a fun exercise to try out myself. I ended up creating a top 20 list and turned it into somewhat of a long-form writing project, writing a few sentences about each album and my connection with it. Rather than throw it into the void of social media, I’d rather keep it here where I can better organize and present my thoughts. So if you ever wondered what kind of music inspires me or informs my musical output, give this a read!

I love writing about and sharing music in general, so this project was a lot of fun for me. I hope you find something to love in here, or just enjoy reading a little bit about someone else’s musical journey with some albums you may or may not be familiar with. As the title says, this is a list of my personal favorite albums of the past ten years. I would never attempt to present the most popular, or influential, or even best, albums in a list like this. I wouldn’t have much interest in that endeavor, and the albums on this list are almost certainly none of the above. These are simply the albums that I found the most enjoyment in, and that meant the most to me personally, in the 2010s. Without further ado:

01. Civil Twilight - Holy Weather (2012)

I would be hard-pressed to come up with an album that better encapsulates the kind of music that I was drawn to in this decade. The tracks on Holy Weather are dynamic, emotive, and draw a perfect balance between accessible and experimental. I was so enamored with this album upon release that I felt a genuine sense of pride watching the band command a large room while opening for Mutemath during 2012's Odd Soul tour. These songs deserved to be heard in arenas.

02. Lights - Skin & Earth (2017)

This one missed the top spot by the thinnest of margins. If I want to have fun listening to music, I know I can throw on Skin & Earth at any time and have an absolute blast. Nothing else I heard this decade made me want to move as much as this album does. Wall-to-wall standout tracks on here that range from delicate to acutely powerful. There are moments on this album that carry the kind of electricity that I’ve rarely felt from music since I was first forging a connection with it as a teen. Just the perfect pop album for my tastes.

03. Bear’s Den - So That You Might Hear Me (2019)

I really enjoyed Bear's Den's 2016 sophomore album Red Earth & Pouring Rain, and was disappointed in my initial listens of this year's follow-up. Further listens have revealed an album that has grown on me as much as any in my lifetime. The depth of beauty and poignant songwriting in these 10 tracks, some of which are anthemic rock tunes and some of which are acoustic confessionals, is astonishing. Of all the artists on this list, this is probably the one that has me most excited to hear what they do next.

04. Butch Walker - Afraid of Ghosts (2015)

Butch is my favorite songwriter of all time, and I could have just as easily put 2011's The Spade or 2016's Stay Gold in this spot. While those albums are primarily fun and lighthearted, I gave the edge to Afraid of Ghosts, which is built on melancholy atmosphere and heavy-hearted lyrics inspired by the death of Butch's father. The songwriting is beautiful and dripping with longing, even when it comes in the form of dirty, lusty rock tune and album standout "Bed On Fire."

05. Wild Party - Phantom Pop (2014)

If Skin & Earth is the perfect pure pop album for my tastes, Phantom Pop is the perfect pop-rock album. These songs are breezy, fun, infectious, and charmingly quirky. It's a shame that this album never found an audience in the indie rock scene, as I could have easily seen these guys taking the torch from a band like Motion City Soundtrack. Instead they went radio silent shortly after this album's release until resurfacing this year with a couple of singles.

06. Marianas Trench - Ever After (2011)

If it's not already evident at this point, I love a great pop song. It doesn't get much poppier than these tracks, which go right up to the line of being too sugary without quite going over. Josh Ramsay's soaring vocals carry this fantasy-inspired concept album that stacks hooks upon hooks upon hooks. I was making frequent four-hour drives at the time of Ever After's release, and it was usually the soundtrack, as it would reliably keep me upbeat and awake. The constant exposure ensured that these songs would be branded in my mind forever.

07. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods (2012)

Silversun Pickups have become one of my favorite bands over the past decade, as they continue to pump out consistently great albums without, in my opinion, a misstep in their career to date. If 2009's Swoon had been released a year later, it would be here (or likely even higher), but Neck of the Woods somehow lives up to its predecessor's impossibly high bar. The driving bassline in "Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)" is a piece of music that I think about with impressive frequency even when I haven't heard the album in months.

08. Graham Colton - Pacific Coast Eyes (2011)

There was a period around the turn of the decade when Graham Colton was the 1B to Butch Walker's 1A on my list of favorite songwriters. He doesn't have the same sonic range as Butch, but there's something warm and welcoming about his southern singer-songwriter output that feels like home. Listening to Colton's records and watching him play live around this time was deeply inspirational to me. What he was doing was simple, sincere, and relatable in a way that made my dream of pursuing my own music seem attainable. Pacific Coast Eyes was also the first album that I crowdfunded, and I remember waiting with baited breath in the months before the album’s release for updates and insider info about the creative process of one of my favorite artists.

09. The Wombats - Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2018)

This is another charming, quirky, magnetic pop-rock album that is helplessly catchy. Besides the infectious single "Turn," Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life gives us "White Lies," "Out of My Head," and "Ice Cream," which are all just undeniable. The other tracks more than hold their own. These are the huge choruses I live for.

10. Thursday - No Devolución (2011)

The first time I heard this album was on one of those aforementioned four-hour drives, and it almost put me to sleep at the wheel. This wasn't the Thursday I'd fallen in love with on War All the Time and A City by the Light Divided. The vocals were buried in the mix and the songs just weren't connecting. But I returned to it after a few months and found a beautiful and layered piece of work that I never expected from this band. Nowadays it's hard not to call this my favorite Thursday album, despite how much some of their earlier work affected me during my formative years.

11. Paper Route - The Peace of Wild Things (2012)

Paper Route crafts a brand of experimental indie rock that doesn't sound quite like any other band I've heard. A lot of that individuality stems from frontman JT Daly's unique vocal performances, which drift effortlessly from falsetto to a more speak-singing delivery. This album is full of intricate drumming, electronic flourishes, and of course, big hooks. Their 2016 album Real Emotion is just as good. I could have flipped a coin to decide which one to put on this list.

12. The Maine - American Candy (2015)

I wouldn't argue with anyone who said that this band continued to improve with their subsequent records Lovely Little Lonely (2017) and You Are OK (2019), but this is the album that I personally enjoy listening to the most. This was the moment that I realized that The Maine had graduated from their neon-scene beginnings and become a band that I could really get invested in. I love the classic, breezy pop sound of this album and how it doesn't always take itself so seriously (see "My Hair," "English Girls," and "Diet Soda Society"). Another album that always feels good when I hit play.

13. Acceptance - Colliding by Design (2017)

Acceptance somehow returned 12 years after their debut album with a near-perfect version of what their band could sound like in 2017. They carried over the tunefulness and great songwriting from Phantoms and threw in some maturity and a few synths. The end result is an album full of impressive moments that is even better than I remember every time I put it on.

14. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (2015)

Andrew McMahon is one of my favorite songwriters, full stop. However, the final Jack's Mannequin album People and Things and his first solo endeavor, The Pop Underground EP, didn't excite me as much as his previous music had. Just when I was ready to accept that his newer output may never connect with me quite like his early records with Jack’s and Something Corporate, he dropped this first album under the Wilderness moniker and pulled me back in in a big way. Tracks like "Canyon Moon," "High Dive," and "Maps for the Getaway" retained the earnestness of his early songwriting while glossing it up with a new pop sheen. I guess I'll never grow out of McMahon's music.

15. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It (2016)

The 1975 have become a buzz band during this decade, and for my money this is their strongest collection of songs to date. They took a big swing here, with 17 tracks clocking in at 74 minutes. It is remarkable that this album takes a spot on my list even though I don't care much for some of the more extended cuts, which are primarily the experimental and instrumental offerings. It speaks to the strength of the rest of the songs, which include "A Change of Heart" and "Somebody Else," two of the most simultaneously heart-wrenching and danceable songs I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

16. Blindside - With Shivering Hearts We Wait (2011)

For most of the first decade of the 2000s, Blindside were my undisputed, all-caps FAVORITE BAND. I channeled all of my awkward, pubescent, high school teen angst into their 2002 album Silence, and it was such a close companion during those formative years that it might never be replaced as the most important album of my life. By 2011, my taste in music had become considerably less aggressive, and songwriters like Butch Walker and Graham Colton were assuming Blindside's former mantle. But the band returned for one last gasp, six years after the release of their previous full-length. With Shivering Hearts We Wait was easily Blindside's best output since 2004's About a Burning Fire, mixing some more experimental elements in with their brand of radio-ready (if the radio were to ever play rock music again) post-hardcore.

17. Small Talks - A Conversation Between Us (2019)

Myrtle Beach, SC native Cayley Spivey hit me out of nowhere with this album in 2019. I had never heard of Small Talks prior to this year, and decided to check out this album on a whim. What I got was a collection of pop and rock songs that are diverse, infectious, and, true to the album title, feature lyrics that sound like they were plucked from intimate conversations with a trusted friend. I saw the band perform this album in full in front of an audience of about 20 people this year. I won't be the least bit surprised to see them selling out exponentially larger venues in the near future.

18. Hellogoodbye - Would It Kill You? (2010)

I enjoyed a handful of early Hellogoodbye songs. "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn," "Call N' Return," and "Here (In Your Arms)" are catchy as hell, but the band's output as a whole was uneven. Since they had a number of tracks I would classify as joke songs, I wasn't inclined to take them entirely seriously. That all changed with the release of Would It Kill You?, which ditched the bombastic electronic noises for more natural instrumentation and featured songs about relationships and self-examination as we age into adulthood. I was a year out of college and beginning my career when this album was released, and it was the perfect pop album for the coming-of-age moment I was living.

19. Steve Moakler - Wide Open (2014)

I had never heard of Steve Moakler when I saw him open for Graham Colton in 2011. Despite his youthful appearance, I was blown away by his songwriting and stage presence, and left the show with his first two full-length albums on CD (truly a sign of the times). His 2011 album Watching Time Run captivated me with its charming approach to pop singer-songwriter fare, but the 2014 follow-up Wide Open was where Moakler really found his voice. It retained some of the pop elements of his earlier output, while the overall sound and production started leaning into country territory. His albums after this one fully embraced the country sound and put him on the map as an up-and-coming star, but Wide Open still stands above the rest to me as the perfect blend of Moakler's former and current musical styles.

20. Arctic Monkeys - AM (2013)

Arctic Monkeys aren't a band that I would have ever expected to end up on this list. Their debut album, critical darling Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, doesn't really mean anything to me. I casually followed their career and kept up with their singles, but was never tempted to dive into their full albums until 2011's Suck It and See. I enjoyed that album a fair amount, but I was truly infatuated with AM in 2013. That was a tumultuous year in my life when I was enduring a lot of change and being pushed far out of my comfort zone. This is a straightforward rock record that is brash, groovy, sexy, and exactly what I needed at that time. I latched on tightly, and am still glad to rock out to AM at any opportunity.

There you have it, folks! My decade in 20 albums. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wish everyone a relaxing holiday season and a happy New Year. My resolution is to release the next PiT full-length album in 2020! It won’t be easy, but I did treat myself to some new recording equipment this Christmas and I’m eager to get to work. When there’s news, you’ll see it here. Wish me luck!

#albums of the decade #top20 #best of the 2010s

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isilie-kins · 7 years

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We’re back everybody (and once again, I’m absurdly behind in my reviews)! After a brief and glorious respite from the heavy formation choreography and the blatant pushing of an Ace member – it’s all made a comeback in Brand New Morning, Momusu’s declaration of war on 2017.

Ok, well it’s actually not a war declaration. It’s an uplifting song about moving forward in confusing times and using all your power for good and so forth; it’s the usual morning fare with perhaps a whiff of politics (although to say this song is about Trump seems stupid to me). But this is a BRAND NEW morning (get it?) and we have two fabulous new members to shake things up.

I didn’t expect this kind of a pv though. I mean, it certainly suits the song, but this is taking the formation dance thing to an absurdly literal place.

The last couple of singles haven’t struck me as heavily formation the way Help Me or Brainstorming are, and there hasn’t been any Ace to push either. They gave Maria a chance to center in Sou Ja Nai and BOSS, Masaki-kins, Fuku-hime and Oda have all had their moments. Mostly, 2016 was a year of unity for Momusu; I was just getting used to the idea of ‘no ace’ and enjoying how much everybody has grown (except maybe Haga, who just is kinda there – adorable, but not really a big part of things yet).

But as soon as I saw this face:

I thought, “Yep. Yokoyama’s gonna be the promoted one, for sure.”

You know how I know? It’s not just because she’s younger and has the kind of generic idol face the Japanese public loves (settle down – I’m not saying she isn’t cute because she definitely is), it’s because I ALWAYS like the one they don’t promote as much better than the Ace.

And I LOVE Kaedi. I think she’s fierce and poised and has strong deep vocals that are really going to add a lot in the future. Besides, she’s demonstratively worked her ass off to be here. We already know she has drive and ambition and you can tell me that the fruits of her labour aren’t clear in her fabulous debut, but I won’t believe you. More than possibly any new member I’ve ever seen, she just blended into the group like she’d always been there. I still notice her, look for her, appreciate her, but she fits in so well that you can only tell she’s new when she’s answering questions; when performing she’s all in and on fire.

Yoko, on the other hand, got in after barely three months of work. Which is fine, I mean, good for her, but if we compare them to each other, I’m not seeing why Yoko deserves to be pushed more. Maybe because of her lack of experience/exposure, but I doubt it.

I also need to point out what many people have pointed out: that she has the same confidence and sly ambition as Riho and that she sings EXACTLY like Zukki. And her name is Reina.

I mean why don’t you just punch me in the FACE, Momusu!?

WOA! Ok, sorry! Also: perfect solo line is perfect. I love her voice. Duet with BOSS about who is more ikemen – now!

You know as much as I complain about one being promoted more than the other, I love the dynamic between these two. Kaedi worked hard for years to get a major debut and now that she has it, she still seems so floored with her victory that she’s perhaps a bit absentminded when she talks. However, her background with H!P Eggs (they will always be Eggs – don’t bother correcting me) has given her confidence and poise in both singing and dance. There’s a real ikemen feel to her even though she has an elegant stature. After working for years for this chance, I seriously doubt she’ll let Yoko just take over.

Yoko, as I’ve said, reminds me of debut-age Riho: she’s absolutely ambitious without alienating anyone (she has that cute, reassuring smile, after all), she has a background in dance, with singing being a bit more difficult for her, and she’s instantly getting a ton of close-ups and attention from the Japanese fans. Her smirk is the same debut face as Riho. When given the chance to talk, she’ll talk a ton. Have you seen her replies in the Pocket mornings?? Then there’s the crooked-baby-teeth-super smile…

As I mentioned before, they have such an odd senpai-kouhai paradox: Kaedi is the senpai but now they’re part of the same generation, so they’re equal. Kaedi has worked diligently while Yoko (I can’t call her Reina; it’s too traumatic) got into a group quickly on some mysterious charm. The other members cried in happiness that Kaedi had finally gotten in, while they are now constantly mentioning and promoting Yoko in their blogs…Our 13th gen seem to be on good terms, but they definitely get their digs in to each other.

It’s gonna be a fight indeed…in fact it looks like Kaedi kinda punched our little Yoko in the back of her head. Oooh that smarts.

After all, isn’t this pv all about aggression? It’s absolutely saturated in red. Red is an aggressive colour; it means passion and fire and no-time-to-mess around. Coupled with that militaristic marching, what else are we supposed to think about?

Also did anyone else notice this thing:

This red flash happens a few times and I really have no idea what it is. Some angry swiss cheese?

My first thought was, “blood cells”, which it isn’t. There is something biological about that image. Unless, it is angry cheese, in which case, colour my face… red.

*rimshot*

Fuku-hime mentioned the theme is “marching band” and since Momusu have had a few years to get used to formations, they seem to form their X, circle and triangle shapes effortlessly. The costumes are the right mix of cute and strong, although I was hoping for a revival of the Rival Survival concert gear. I suppose I’d have to wait for a concert for that one.

Since the theme is marching band, we gotta have some flag-bearer action! BOSS!

BOSS seems pretty excited in this one, although I honestly didn’t notice her much until her solo lines.

B: “I don’t care if you didn’t notice me – I’m INVINCIBLE.”

B: “RISE MY FANGIRLS AND SWEEP THIS STAGE CLEEEEAAAAAN-“

The terrifying power of our Ikemen: everyone is swooning and they don’t even know why! Look at her eyes people; she’s losing it!!

I love everything about this cap, especially Maria’s very matter-of-fact way of punching the camera. And what’s with that extra hand on Ayumin’s shoulder??

Seriously though, good luck competing with Kaedi for who’s the most boyish, Boss. She’s already protested that her and Kaedi look too much alike and their interests align and therefore clash too. If you notice in some of the performances, Kaedi started to part her hair on the other side…

Y: “Haaaaay, guuuuuuys. Dis about me?”

No, Yoko. No, no. I’ve talked about you already. Just cause there’s a million shots of you doesn’t mean you can just keep popping up like this.

Y: “Whatevs.”

Ahem.

Moving right along…

Today she isn’t Fuku-hime…she is RIIDA!

Honestly, Fuku-hime seems so leader-like in this pv, in a way I haven’t really seen before.

F: “Don’t you steal now. As your princess, I simply don’t approve.”

As far as her performance, it’s pretty much flawless as always. The only thing close to a complaint I have is how quietly she sings during lives. Some times she just doesn’t project enough. I mean, that could be the sound guys screwing up, but since it’s happened so often, I don’t think so. I hope she’ll really belt it out in concert, because you can’t just be ‘cute’ in this kind of song.

…Ok, fine, maybe you can.

F: “Hail to da riida, baby!”

Case and point about cuteness: Haga-chin, who is so adorable whenever she pops up that I don’t even mind how I keep forgetting she exists.

Look at that little face – how can you get mad at her??

Y: “Dat’s just like meeeeee!”

HEY! What did I say, Yoko?! Get outta here! And you STOP that winking!

Ikuta brandishing the MM flag like a weapon! That outta keep them haters away.

Does anybody actively hate Eri-pon? I’m planning a post about her so I won’t go into it too much, but I’ve noticed she’s gotten a lot more sullen in the past few years. She’s still trying really hard, she’s still smiling and being adorable and being the most photogenic of all the members (except maybe Oda, who is so freakin’ gorgeous this year that I can’t even sentence make!), but there always seems to be a frown in her eyes.

But let’s talk about her solo part please!

She gets the second bridge line and I don’t think she’s ever sounded better. It’s a bittersweet line and she delivers it with that unique, but rarely seen Eri-pon vulnerability; I even hear some of that vibratto she’s developed. It was just such a sweet delivery. I nearly teared up I was (am!) so happy for her. I feel happy when members we never hear from get solos, but I’m almost never emotional about it! Eri-pon just wants it so badly! >_<

I think a lot of the girls, despite speaking in rather high registers, don’t have the singing range for super high-pitched melodies. You could also argue they aren’t sure how to hit those notes without bellowing.

I have said it before and will continue to say it forever: singing is a skill and your voice is a muscle as well as an instrument. Using it properly, so that it won’t crap out in three years or get ruined forever, is critical for girls who sing constantly and sing LIVE. We laugh at singers who take ridiculous precautions before their concerts: drinking odd herbal concoctions or not speaking at all until the performance or making ridiculous noises repeatedly to “warm up”, but then these people sing and we shut the hell up because all those preparations WORKED.

This range is somewhere between low and high; it’s easy to sing, just girly enough.

I’ve seen Eri-pon perform this line on shows and she’s clearly not used to getting a center part, but I hope her shyness and insecurity won’t get the better of her. She’s probably the Musume I’m rooting for most, even if she isn’t my favourite.

Y: “Haaaaaay, I’m totally fiiiiiiine with center parts, ne?!”

Yoko, for fracks sake…

ERI-PON WILL ROUNDHOUSE YO’ FAYCE IF YOU DON’T QUIT IT!

Let me just mention here again how amazing Kaedi is during her solo moments.

*dies*

Close-up shots are usually a clear indicator of how much improvement is needed, or how much the girl’s confidence has developed. Kaedi is wonderful to watch. I didn’t get any of the derp I usually find in 12th gen, or the wide-open mouths I find with the 10th. Kaedi seems to already be able to feel the song and not fuss about whether or not she’s enunciating a lot.

Plus there’s the fact that she’s so gorgeous and elegant.

K: “Don’t forget the guns.”

Epic elegance.

I’m not actually sure if that is Kaedi or BOSS…

B: “I-I can’t remember either!”

B: “Who….who am I?”

Boss, settle down. This is Kaedi!

Y: “Hey…hey MOVE KAEDIIIIII-“

An example of both derp and the wide-open-mouth-syndrome. The struggle is real.

I had to include all three of the best shots of Maria, because if you can’t cap Masaki-kins, Maria is where you’re going to get all your unbashed joy. She doesn’t get to do much in this pv, but I always notice her and she always has at least one moment like this one.

…Then she’ll turn around and be gorgeous. She’s totally won me over folks, even with all the Loverinrinwhateveritis nonsense.

Y: “Haaaay, listen, I won’t evar do gags like that, ok? I am an ace.”

Well Kaedi will give us a random Aiiiii~n fail-face in the middle of pwning the choreography. I think you can afford to give us at least one fail-face.

If you’re gonna keep popping up, at least you can give us a renewed Reina-fail.

Y: *random goat noises*

…Okay.

Let’s move on to a completely different kind of awkward and talk about Ogata now.

Ogata has finally gained enough weight to be able to hoist the MM flag. Well..hold it anyway…well mimic holding it. They probably CG-ed in the actual flag…

O: “Look, I didn’t come here to grow an angry Riida out of my head and listen to insults, ok?”

It’s not an insult, really. I’ve just noticed how skeletal she looked in the past few years and now she looks a bit more healthy now. That isn’t really the point though. The point is that there is something about Ogata that means I keep noticing her. It’s probably because she’s just so damn odd.

There’s something odd about that whole 12th gen, isn’t there? Haga is like a stuffed-animal, but can be a bad-ass when she gets the idea; Maria is s giant-smilie-face come to life, but is incredibly versatile as a performer (even if her voice is still pretty rough); Nonaka is derpy even though she’s the most composed out of all of them; and then there is vacantly smiley Ogata who can’t sing and always seems awkward until you strap a pair of skates on her (seriously, look it up – she’s quite capable and looks very comfortable on the ice).

What is this expression? I DON’T KNOW!

Ok…we’ll leave on that note.

Perfect Oda is perfect. Wait…that IS Oda, right?

HAH! Found you!

O: “Woa, center again! No waaaaay!”

I confess 2016 was all about Oda for me. Once I discovered her strange tension with Ayumin and her ‘bullied’ character, I was intrigued. I’d been thoroughly blown away by her birthday solo performances, but I’d never quite seen her as an ace, or potential ace. She’s kept powering up, and I’ve kept wanting to learn more about her. Ultimately what I discovered is, I really like her.

I think she’s gorgeous and I love her voice. I feel like she didn’t really have a character before last year. She was just sorta there as a pleasant back-up. Then one line from Ayumin in a dvd magazine (“I don’t wanna be on camera with Oda.”) led me to discover that they bully her a bit. And rather than shrinking away, she loves it. She requests that they bully her more. It’s like finding her place has given her the confidence to really push herself in performances. Yasuda Kei was a bullied character and it turned her into probably the most infamous member of them all! Being bullied can be a gold mine!

Before the Sexy Cat business, I really couldn’t say she was a potential ace, but that single felt like a starting point. Even if Yokoyama is gonna be pushed, I doubt Oda will stay on the sidelines for too long.

I couldn’t honestly say she’s my favourite member though; I don’t really have a favourite, which is another strange and wonderful thing about this lineup. I feel like I’ve always had someone I’m watching or noticing more than others. Sure, Oda has my favourite voice, but I also love Fukuhime’s voice; I love BOSS’s ikemen stuff and the craziness of Masaki-kins; I’m rooting for Eri-pon and I adore Maria’s nonsense. I simply can’t decide.

There isn’t anyone to really dislike either. Call me boring, but I like that.

Y: “Oh, so dis means you like me? Oooooh…”

Sure, Yoko. Now please be quiet. *sigh*

Turning around is apparently Ayumin’s specialty. I don’t get it any more than you do…

Ayumin has changed so much. I still get that Daichi feeling from her, but now that I know she doesn’t get along with Oda (“they don’t ‘match’ well” – however you wanna say it), she seems a bit more cut-throat to me.

You can call it bias if you like, but I don’t think she’s really shown that side of her. All that aggression in her dancing is finally coming out in her personality. It’s like Riho’s exit finally freed her to aim for center. Or maybe I’m just more wary of her because this Oda thing doesn’t feel like it’s just for tv. Played up some times, sure, but it feels pretty real.

I certainly don’t dislike her and some tension in the group doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’s not like Oda and her can’t do variety together, it’s just pretty tense when they do. I guess I didn’t think Ayumin was that kinda girl.

Hey, sometimes when you’re wrong, you’re pleasantly surprised.

If she’s pushing forward, I’m loving it. Her voice isn’t my favourite but I respect how much work she’s put into her singing. I love that they’re finally using her rap skills (not in this song, but in Jealousy, Jealousy – the Tsunku addition to this lovely single) and I hope that will become a permanent thing.

Be honest: H!P rap is usually a sad, albeit cute, failure, with lots of ‘uh’, ‘like dis’, and ‘you know?’s. Let’s not forget ‘yo, check it out, yo’.

*facepalm*

Speaking of facepalms, who are the derp-iest derps who ever derped?

Both: “It’s YOU!”

That’s correct!! Both: “Hooray!”

It made me laugh so much when I saw they’d paired up Mega-Derp Iikubo and Derp-chan Nonaka. The two Derps sound great together, blending surprisingly well. It’s fitting as they both seem to cycle from derp-to-cool over and over. Iikubo has fewer instances now, but she’s probably the originator of the derp-face. I was so happy they were together here.

It’s nice to see them get some play. Iikubo felt oddly absent last year, I think suffering from some health issues (please correct me if I’m wrong here) and when she was around she’d sorta fade into the background. There wasn’t even any of her “sweet, sweet honey time” in backstage moments.

Nonaka has been moving up steadily. I read a few rants about how her English-speaking was going to alienate Japanese fans. I don’t know if that’s true, but whether the fans are intimidated or not, she’s gotten a lot of opportunities with those language skills. Her singing has improved every year and her confidence never seems to waver. She always looks so comfortable, even when she says she’s nervous.

N: “Haaaaay, man, don’t like- don’t -no, I’m not that – no…”

I: “Oooh, I’m not derpy at ALL in this!”

True enough, Iikubo, but you’ll always be Mega-derp to me, no matter how many sweet-sweet-honey-times you have.

LOVE the dance-break! So much fist-throwin’ and stompin’ goin on!!

That’s really all I got here. Two new members kill it.

*squee*

So 2017 is starting to take shape as a year about unity. Everything about this slams strength-in-numbers into your face: the formations, the militaristic feel, the flag brandishing. After all, the idol-business is a war for fans and sales and how does Momusu compete?

By dancing and singing…

Together, in unity!

And of course, they want all the fans to move forward and do positive things with whatever strength they have. It’s a lovely message at any time, but I suppose if you’re taking it as a political statement, it’s particularly fitting right now.

This is ‘brand new morning’, pushing forward with their new members, their long history, and their strong unity holding it all together. You could argue the song is “too strong”, but after last years Mukidashi de Mukiatte I feel they are at a level to pull this off. The new members don’t slow it down one bit.

Y: “I’m da ace. Dats why.”

I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Yoko.

~Isilie

Brand New Ace Formation We're back everybody (and once again, I'm absurdly behind in my reviews)! After a brief and glorious respite from the heavy formation choreography and the blatant pushing of an Ace member - it's all made a comeback in Brand New Morning, Momusu's declaration of war on 2017.

#Fukumura Mizuki #H!P #Haga Akane #Iikubo Haruna #Ikuta Erina #Ishida Ayumi #Kaga Kaede #Kudou Haruka #Makino Maria #Morning Musume #Nonaka Miki #Oda Sakura #Ogata Haruna #PV #Sato Masaki #Sayashi Riho #Suzuki Kannon #Yokoyama Reina

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