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live4lust01 · 3 months

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sex, mouth fucking, head(both recieve), public teasing fingering, sex, backshots in car, names(baby), degradation like once, makeout, begging

triplets bday, you plan a dinner for them to go out but you and Chris just end up touching alot I'm awful at captions. (3.9k word count)

We gon pretend my boy Chris in a suit in the first pic. He giving those "I'm gonna fuck your throat till you choke on this dick" ahh eyes.

Chris sturniolo

I was waiting in the triplets house, sitting alone and uncomfortable in their living room. Uncomfortable due to my attempt to not ruin my dress. It's Chris, Nick and Matt's birthday today and I've planned a surprise dinner for them and their close friends. I'd also planned a major after party that was currently brewing at Larrays. I'd got a text five minutes prior that decorations were almost done and people would start showing up in an hour.

The table i'd reserved was on the roof of a well reviewed, formal restaurant so we all had dressed in suits, ties and fancy dresses. Partially because we just wanted a reason to dress up. I was in a black tight dress that looped around my neck and laced up the side of my thighs, sitting just bellow my ass. My hands were covered in black gloves and my neck, arms, ears and gloved hands were dripping in gold jewelry that blinged white gems and pearls. My hair thick and wavy.

"Chris are you done yet? Were gonna get late" i shout hoping for a response this time, being ignored the past three times I asked.

"can you help me with the tie, I don't know how to do this thing." Chris whined, walking into the room I was in. He stops directly Infront me, towering over me as his head hangs to make our eyes meet.

I look up from my phone and see Chris in the birthday suit I bought for him. I just gawked, mouth open for a few seconds having never seen him and outfit like this. It might just be my new turn on. He stands their, so innocently holding out the tie to me but my thoughts have took me to a world that's anything but innocent.

"Close that mouth baby, and it's rude to stare" he smirks down seeing me explicitly check him out. He hasn't even done anything and I'm soaked through just looking at him.

"you look so handsome Chris" I smile standing up and taking the tie from him. He stands with an inch between our bodies, drinking in my features. I put the tie around his neck but seconds later Chris' arm is around my waist and he's pulling me in and I'm stumbling into his arms with my hands on his chest as support to keep me upright.

"you look so gorgeous tonight princess. I don't think I could take my eyes off you" his words a shared whisper only we hear in the universe hear. A whisper that turns me to a slut. "Do we have time?" My eyes run all over his face and hair.

"I've always got time for you baby" I say backing up towards the wall, yanking the tie so he's pulled into me. Our bodies collided and our lips become a kissing sloppy mess as they swallow each other. Chris' yearning hands roam my body. Up and down my sides then back up to my shoulders and neck and face. My heartbeat beating faster than the speed of light at the urgency of everything happening.

My hands are now stuck in his hair, ruffing them up then sliding down his faces mushing his lips against mime while our bodies grind of each other. I pull the tie downwards again keeping Chris close. We share the same breath, inhaling each other as my back is slammed into the wall. Chris pushes himself onto me, his throbbing hard dick could be felt through the smooth material of his suit pants. Everything is so frantic and needy. I feel wet between my legs as Chris grinds himself onto me, one of my legs raised letting him in between further.

He lets go off me as I run my hands down his chest, sliding out his grasp to get on my knees, leaving the tie draped over his shoulders. He looks down at me smirking, hair all messy from my pulling. I take off my gloves and place them on the table next to my phone. His bulge in my eyeliner, I begin zipping open his zipper and pulling down his pants and boxers just as frantically as our kiss was. His dick springs out into my bare hands.

Chris rests his hand on my head and lovingly strokes it as he watches me work. I spot on his pink tip and use my hands to stroke the spit over his dick all while giving him puppy dog eyes knowing how it turns him on.

"fuck baby, the sight of you is enough to make me come all over that pretty face. Do something please" he gently moans out, pushing himself in my hands. I wrap my lips around his tip and circle my tongue around it. I grab his hips to keep him steady as I take his full length down my throat, lips touching the base, earning a groan from Chris. His eyes closed, head throws back,sharp jawline,messed strands of hair falling to his eyes. Seeing him feel so good alone made me feel like I was drowning in a pool of my own wetness. My warm breath and saliva hugged his dick. I started bobbing my head up and down slowly, sucking and licking and curing hit tip with my tongue occasionally.

"Faster baby, please" his desperate whines ring out and I do as he says. I move my head faster, now both my hands in rhythm with my mouth movements. Chris pushes himself a little more into my mouth everytime my head moves closest to him,hitting the same spot at the back of my throat causing tears to form in my eyes.

My phone rings. I take my mouth of his cock for a second before telling him to answer then moving my head back and forth again, sucking hard and fast.

"where are you guys? You said you'll be here for seven it's five past?" It was Matt. My hands run over Chris' clothes thighs, up to his balls as I start massaging and playing with them. Rubbing my thumbs in circles around them as the rest of my hands hold them up.

"y-yeah Matt, we'll be there soon. I'm just getting changed." He mutes the phone to swear as he grips a fistful of my hair in his hand. He tilts his head sideways as he looks down at me, admiration and unstable composure clear on his face. His knee buckles a little as he bends down, knowing he's about to come.

"You're not even changed yet?! Chris you always do th-" Matt's voice is cut off mid sentence.

"Yeah don't worry we'll be there in te-en" Chris stutters. I see his stomach tighten and I stop instantly. I want to hear him when he comes in my mouth. He hangs up the phone immediately after his sentence.

"Did I tell you to stop? Open that pretty little mouth of yours." He says as he cups my face with both hands, narrowing his eyes the littlest bit. I do as he says, sticking my tongue out. Chris places his tip onto my tongue and I close my lips over it again. Without warning Chris fucks rough thrusts into my mouth, using me for his pleasure as I gag and struggle to breathe.

"Yeah baby, just like that." He groans, keeping eye contact with me, smiling. His hands are back to the back of my head as he pushes my head back and forth in sync with his thrusts. His pace quickens, fucking my mouth relentlessly. I'm a whore for his wild rough side, just knowing he's using me to get himself off makes me so horny I can't comprehend any more thoughts throughout this.

He pushes harshly into me, making my back hit the wall. Chris rams his thick dick down my throat. He bends backwards slightly, moaning small sounds everytime his hips snapped into my mouth. I'm left hopelessly holding onto his hips to ease the pressure as my face is being used as a fuck toy. I'm practically buried into his cock and I can't move anywhere.

"Swallow for me baby." He breathes, keeping my face pressed against his stomach. I can't breathe at all being crammed in-between the space of the wall and Chris pelvis. He finishes down my throat then lets me go as I take deep breathes gasping for air. I run my thumb across the side of my mouth picking up a stray drop of come and suck my finger clean as my chest rises up and down. Chris shamelessly stares at the mess he's made of me with a cocky grin. "Shit ma, you're good"

He offers his hand to help me up. Chris tucks his dick back down his boxers and zips himself up.

"You okay? Was it too much?" He asks once he's done, pulling me in and kissing my forehead. I'm fine but my aching wet throbbing clit isn't. I need to be ate out bad but we're already late and Matt gets angry.

"You know I like your rough hands, here let me help." I reply to his question with a soft voice, grabbing the tie draped over his shoulders and tying it for him. I look into his gorgeous blue eyes and the way they look like tiny blue orchids blooming so bright.

"I could never ask for a better birthday gift than you" Chris smiles "We're fifteen minutes late we gotta go" he gets his suit jacket on. I fix my hair and makeup in the mirror quickly, slip into black heels and grab the keys to my car.

"nuh uh, I wanna drive" Chris says running out after me, locking the door.

"Chris you crash my fucking Porsche and I'm going to chop your dick off and let it marinate in a jar of pickle juice and use it as decoration for my room."

"So you can look at it and think of me 24/7. You're such a sweet girlfriend nothing gets as romantic as that" Sarcasm. Chris catches the keys with one hand as I throw them over the car, both of us getting in.

"Drive." My voice stern as I strap myself onto the red leather seats.

"Yes ma'am" Chris says eyebrows raised and a slight chuckle in his voice as he starts the car and begins driving. I was very excited for dinner but now I can't wait until it's over. I just want Chris inside me again.

I thought a forgotten thought. Nate was also waiting at the reserved restaurant. I didn't tell anyone that I asked Nate to fly from Boston to LA secretly because I know everyone will be thrilled seeing him as a surprise. Especially the three boys. Nate's birthday isn't too far from theirs so this is an excuse for them to celebrate together and continue tradition.

Twenty minutes later

"Why'd you have to book a table on the roof?" Chris pants walking up the stairs behind me.

"We wouldn't be doing all this if you would just man up and stop being scared of lifts." I say feeling my legs burn myself.

"Me and Matt got trapped in one when we were younger. It's called unhealed trauma, don't pick on me for it" He says as I roll my eyes.

"Then quite complaining birthday boy"

"Who's birthday is it? I'll complain as much as Id like to" he says with a fake snobbish tone. We finally reach the top of the stairs. Feeling like I've completed a hike I turn to Chris just before we go through the door to the open roof. "Wait" I say fixing his hair to sit better and smoothing out his tie and jacket. "Need to make my boyfriend looks his best on his special day. There you look flawless" i say kissing his cheek and grabbing his hand to walk.

"This is why I date you, you got you're priorities straight" he chuckles letting go of my hand and pulling me into his side by my waist instead. We walk through.

"Chris you absolute mo-" Matt starts but is cut off.

"Finally! What took you guys so long" Nick says loudly acknowledging us, knowing Matt was about to go for a rant.

"You really wanna know what they two were up to?" Nate laughs as I punch him in the arm and tell him to shut up. The fact his guess was right too.

"Yeah what the hell were you doing taking this amount of time?" Matt walks over angrily. Followed over by Ramona and Alahna.

"Calm down Matthew, it happens it's okay" Ramona rubs his shoulder. I hug Alahna a greeting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Chris' face lights up with pure joy. That's exactly the reaction I wanted to see. He hugs him.

"Here for your wedding obviously. You're girl invited me, can't believe you got one. Finally over you're fear commitment issues huh?" Nate hugs him back tightly.

"Bro shut up. You asked him to come?" Chris talks to me now. I nod my head.

"Mhm, I knew you guys always celebrate your birthday together, I didn't want you to break that tradition since you are in La now and I know how much he means to you guys."

"You're the fucking best, this is why I love you so much. Seriously. Thankyou for literally everything you've done for me and my brothers today this is unreal and definitely unnecessary." He lets everyone hear his praise to me. I smile smugly.

Matt leads us towards our table and I hear Chris whisper something in my ear for only me to hear. "You're getting fucked good tonight". He pulls back to flash me one of those grins that make me weak in the knees. He walks with his arm around my shoulder. I'm in pure heat and I need some sort of relief.

I booked a VIP booth, which was unnecessarily expensive. However its next to the balcony that overlooks the lively city hustling with busy people walking into entertainment clubs or shops. There's a potential aroma of the grill cooking away and we're sitting in a busy but comfortable and chatty atmosphere. There's live jazz music playing in the background on a small stage with people dancing in the space Infront. People talk and eat and laugh and drink which completes the happy vibes of this place.

Chris lets me have the balcony seat so I can looks at everything going on. He knows I love pretty views. There were a generous amount of other tall buildings surrounding us too. It was a dark breezy night. Slightly chill but bearable. It was also a full moon which was the only source of light other than the dim lamps listen in the middle of each table. I looked over at Chris who's seated next to me. Nate next to him, Alahna next to him. Nick across from me,his partner next to him, Matt and Ramona next to them.

Chris looks unreal. The way the moonlight and dim lanterns cast dancing shadows across his face,his pink full lips and sharp features. His eyes, the way the light blue pops more in the moonlight. I look at his laugh and I feel like I'm falling in love all over again.

I listen to the conversation Nate makes with everyone. Soon enough a waitress takes our orders. Chris leans back and rests his hand on my exposed thigh, rubbing slowly. My breath hitches as his hand gets higher under the table. He keeps it rested there, squeezing my not doing anymore.

Our dinner goes well, the food arriving and definitely living up to it's famous reviews. We ordered deserts and conversation flowed again as our wait began.

"seriously though, Thankyou for everything again baby, you didn't have to do all this but we appreciate it" Chris says so the whole table hears that everything was organised because of me. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and kisses my forehead.

"Yeah man, youre real for this, we appreciate it thankyou" Matt says.

"You're my bestfriend I already loved you but the fact you go out your way to do all this is insane. Thankyou" Nick also talks and everyone else at the table thanks me for inviting them and making it happen.

"funny you say this is too much. I booked us all a holiday to Brazil for next week, you better pack your bags" I say as everyone's jaws drop.

"YOU BOOKED US A HOLIDAY OUT THE STATE FOR NEXT WEEK AND DIDNT THINK TO TELL ANYONE IN ADVANCE?!" Nicks eyes widen in disbelief.

"..... Surprise?" I shrug my shoulders. Everyone talks over each other. "Shut up" "no way". All of a sudden question are being launched at me. Chris finds this the perfect opportunity to slide his hand back down my body and place it on my thigh again. He squeezes hard as I try not to make a sound. I feel his fingers slip under my dress and hook my thong to the side. He runs his fingertip across my folds, circling around my entrance. I mean back, knowing how cocky Chris is gonna get knowing I'm already dripping wet.

"Am I coming too?" Alahna perks up in her seat.

"Of course you are, I've booked it for everyone here, I wouldn't ever leave anyone out" I smile. Chris index finger rubs on my clit. I squeeze my legs tight, wanting to feel the sensation of his rough hands touch everywhere but not be confronted. He takes the same hand to open my thigh then snake his hand down my dress again except this time plunging it straight inside me.

"How long for?" Nick inquires.

"two weeks" Chris squirms his fingers inside letting my heat build up again.

"TWO WEEKS?" Matt says in his gentle scream.

"Mhm." They all remain oblivious to the pure heavenly sensations I feel whilst talking to them with a poker face. Chris wet fingers are back on my clit, rubbing circles up and down and left and right. I subtly rock my hips with his hand, trying to feel more. His fingers are slipping and squirming inside me again as I arch my back, playing it off as a back scratch. I feel deep butterflies in my stomach. Everyone's still oblivious. I just want to moan out his name. Archig just makes his fingers dig deeper. My pussy pulsates around his hand as my clit rubs of the palm of his hand. I fight the urge to start grinding on his hand right there, his fingers slick moves driving me crazy but it isn't enough.

Our deserts arrive. Chris removes his hand gently wiping the wetness off onto a tissue in his lap, staring at his hands. I also stare at his hands, wishing I could suck my own wetness off him. I'm partially relieved, partially left feeling lika a desperate whore for his fingers to spread me apart and make me come right here right now. I need to feel him so bad.

I take my ice-cream ice-cream and watch as Chris eats his, licking the spoon clean after each bite. The way his tongue spreads into the dip of the spoon to clean it off. I look away over the balcony, lust spreading over me at the thought of what else he can do with his tongue.

The city could be heard singing joyful songs from different streets and cars could be scurrying down roads like beetles. The lights beamed skywards from some buildings as they faded off into the pure dark abyss of the sky. Buildings in all shapes and sizes were spurting up from the ground around us.

Half an hour later, the desert plates were empty and the bill was paid. Everyone already knew of the party and had brought clothes to change into. We agreed we get changed either in the bathroom here or at his house. Everyone was going to go in the same ride they arrived at the restaurant with. Everyone said temporary goodbyes and headed to part ways.

It was just me and Chris left now. He picked me up bridal style as I squealed, walking down the stairs with me in his arms. He took long quick strides across the parking lot towards our car that was parked under the shade of a tree. I watched his serious expression, my arms clinging around his neck to stop me from falling. I inhaled the sweet aroma of his perfume, wanting it to intoxicate every part of me.

Without a word and with a swift movement, Chris opens the back door to my car and gently lays me down onto the backseat not taking his eyes off me. He climbs on top of me and closes the door gently with his foot knowing how protective of my car I am.

His lips latch on to mine whilst undoing his tie in the almost complete darkness of my porsche. There's little to no light and we can only make out the outline of each others bodies. The smell and the feeling of Chris makes me open my legs wider letting him kneel in-between them. I feel a heart beat bouncing inside my pussy having his hands and lips all over me. Our breathes and wants desperate, Chris takes his lips off mine only to undo the top two buttons off his shirt before cupping my face in his large hands and kissing me again. His tongue slides into my mouth licking mine as our mouths inhale each other. He sloppily moves to my jaw as his knee moves between my legs, pressing against my clit. I arch against it, letting out a breathy moan, fueling the sensation

"Chris.." I get out before he puts his finger on my mouth to silence me. His lips move to my neck and down to my chest where he runs his hands over my clothes nipples. He tugs down my dress taking my tits out to grope and suck them. He leaves a hickey on my left breast before kissing down my body.

"Hips up baby" he breathes. "I'm so desperate for you" he moans as I do what he says. Lifting my hips slightly giving him access to pull my dress up my stomach. He hooks a finger around my pants and pulls them down and throws them to the front seat.

I now lay bottom half bare and exposed Infront of his eyes. Pressing his hands into my thighs he snaps me legs open. Through the dark car, I see a faint version of his eyes look up at mine. The deathly grip on my thighs has me painfully soaked. He leisurely lowers his head but pause for a minute.

His hot breathe hits off my clit which makes me arch my back pushing my pussy forward for him to taste. The sensation of his breath on my clit, the anticipation of his open mouth centimetres from the place that needs him most. I'm almost, I really need him but I know what he wants.

"Chris please. I've been longing for you all night I need you to touch me please. I can't wait any longer. Please Chris, please touch me." I moan out desperately trying to wiggle my hips closer to him but proving impossible from the added pressure Chris has on my thighs to keep me pinned down.

"Needy whore" Chris smirks before flattening his tongue against my clit and licking up. I let out a moan of relief after longing for this all evening.

"mhhh, Chris fuck, more please" I beg as I feel his tongue circle around my clit and dance over my folds. He removes a hand from my thigh just to plunge two of his lengthy fingers into my hole making me string out satisfied moans. He keeps his eyes on mine. He looks, wild, the unbuttoned shirt, collar bone slightly exposed, his hair disorderly. The eye contact he doesn't let go off. This sight alone pushes my orgasm. He works with his mouth sucking and spitting until I'm arching and his fingers are slipping and sliding and speeding and I'm screaming his name and it's all so much so quick and my stomach tightens and i grip onto the seat heads and he stops.

"Baby, please dont stop" but he's unzipping his pants again and throwing them on the floor of the seat. His hands find my waist flipping me onto my stomach faster than i can comprehend.

"i can't take this longer" he says to himself. My clit left again, swollen, wanting, throbbing and deprived of touch once again.

"baby you know how it goes, face down ass up" he says bending down to my right ear to kiss the top of it, hands still placed on hips. He assists me in pushing myself up. He pulls down his boxers and makes me feel his thick cock, snapping his hips deep without letting me get used to his size.

"oooh, baby" I cry out arching my ass, pushing against him as his hands on my waist move me in time with his body. A loud slapping filling the air.His fingers on my clit again.

"Back it up on me" Chris sighs out as I feel the heat between my legs get hotter. I listen. He stops moving and I start shaking my ass on him,my arms straight gripping the door handle and my face lay sideways on the red leather seats.

"Yeah just like that" Chris moans dropping his hands arms by his side watching my ass shake and bounce off his pelvis. I feel the top of his dick inside me punching my g spot with every move i made, this making my legs loose strength. Chris slapped my ass and spread his harsh hands across my cheeks before thrusting into me again moving my ass with his hands. His head leans back to groan then he looks down at the mess he's making off me.

I knew he was coming when he bent over me, stilling inside me as far as he could go. Hands still positioned on my ass. I arched and moved foreward,screaming as Chris kept pushing into me.

"Chris I can't" I squeeze myself tighter causing Chris eyes to squeeze shut and let out a crude moan before keeping his thrusts going after fucking out his high. He touches my clit, rubbing. Seconds later im moving back into him,making the same face and sounds letting myself go all over his girthy dick. Chris slaps my ass one more time and let's go.

He pulls out and smirks flipping me back over again in his arms as he lies on my chest for a minute in silence. After hours of needing I finally feel satisfied. We both catch our breathes. Chris then kisses my neck, his after sex glow flushing his cheeks pink making him look adorable in the distant light of the moon.

"baby?" He says softly breaking the silence. He looks up at me. I look down at him.

"hm?"

"i don't think I wanna go to the party. Can we just go home and watch something together?" He asks. A lot of effort went to this party but if that's what he wants then what's he gets.

"that's sounds perfect." I say smiling. He pecks my lips before we get up and get dressed. Chris drives us home.

Ik it lacks plot It was mainly written for the sex lmao 🙏

#chris sturniolo smut #matt sturniolo #fanfic #sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #cars #nick sturniolo #sturniolo smut #smut #writing #dinner

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anna-no-emma · 3 months

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batfam social media:

Bruce has a very boring insta, regularly updated and filled with pictures of galas and fancy dinners. he also has a slightly unhinged twitter where he "drunk" tweets and responds to his children's shenanigans. He also has facebook.

Dick posts workout posts to his tiktok. many of the posts come off as thirst-traps. he also has goofy-hanging-out with his friends posts on his insta. he also has twitter where he says some of the most questionable things you ever seen in your life. He's also old enough to have had myspace.

Jason just has twitter. it's an unverified account. everyone else in the family is verified. his digital footprint is super-light.

Tim posts skate-boarding videos to his insta and tik tok. he also does some of the tik-tok trends, usually with steph. He also does unboxing videos with Dick where they unbox the stuff companies send them and they review the stuff. tim and dick have a reputation for being brutally honest about the products, even having a popular meme created of them saying "you don't need this. don't buy it. it's just pretty landfill". Tim also does gaming videos with Jason on youtube/twitch.

Steph loves posting family fails to her tiktok, like Tim wiping out on her skateboard or jason walking into a street light. She also has a fairly wholesome insta that is her hanging out with her friends. she does little baking vidoes/pics with Jason, videos of her and Dick working out, pics of coffee dates with Cass, re-posts Damian's art, and does goofy videos of her and Tim etc. She got a lot of heat online, especially on twitter, when she dated Tim Drake Wayne so she's fairly careful about Twitter. She has it but doesn't post much, just jumping into the occasional bit of family shenanigans.

Cass has accounts for basically all the social media but doesn't post at all.

Duke works very hard to have a 'normal' instagram, twitter and tik tok presence. He doesn't want anyone to look to closely at his private life and worries not having 'normal' socials will raise flags.

Damian only has insta and twitter. He just posts his art on insta (never pictures of himself or his family/friends) and sometimes comments on twitter when someone's being, in his opinion, very stupid. All in all he doesn't post that much and the general public speculate it might be because Bruce is strict about social media. The batboys also didn't post much when they were his age (due to being busy with Robin) and publicly this supports the strict Bruce theory.

#batman #bruce wayne #jason todd #red hood #robin #tim drake #red robin #nightwing #dick grayson #dc #dc comics #damian wayne #stephanie brown #spoiler #cassandra cain #duke thomas #signal

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clownboymcchucklefuck · 3 months

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🌹Eternally Your's And Mine 🥀- Chapter One

Ayo let's good Corpse Husband Zachary AU. It's taken me a while to get this written out but I'm liking how it comes out so far. ♥️

Word count: 2k, holy shi-

Fic starts under cut:

Just how lucky did you get? After getting in an argument with your ex you had decided to finally pack your things and leave even if it was a bit….difficult to do so. You spent your time sleeping in hotels for about 2 weeks as you searched online for a place to stay that was preferably not close to your old place.

Your efforts finally paid off when you found an old victorian house for a surprisingly cheap price. The pictures you had seen looked like the house would need just a little bit of work but also appeared to have kept itself together and tidy all throughout the years. It was quite a drive but you would take anything to get out of this town.

Your thoughts of the house were interrupted by the sound of the radio, it was some radio show and the two hosts were discussing some paranormal activity in the past “So, Crybaby Lane is up next on the list! Those who visit the spot of the wreckage claim to smell burning woods and hear voices. One may also see a shadow guarding the entrance to the trail. Look closely and you'll see rubble from the former orphanage. This all due to an incident back in 1958 when-”

The voices were put to a stop when you reached down and changed the radio station. “Dumbasses….” You muttered to yourself as he kept your eyes on the road. It was so stupid how easily people would fall for some myth made to keep kids from doing stupid shit. Even if it wasn’t, it was probably because of the high electromagnetic field making people paranoid and seeing things. Everything had an explanation after all.

Your hands would clench tightly before unclutching around the wheel to keep your body moving somewhat, driving for almost 7 hours straight probably wasn’t a good idea…. But it paid off when you finally entered the neighborhood you had seen in the pictures. The neighborhood had good reviews from what research you had done with all the neighbors being nice, you had seen there had been an incident back in 1884 but with that being almost 200 years ago there was no bothering to dig deep into it.

There was a slight change as you pulled up into the driveway while driving over the gravel. You sighed softly once the car was finally parked. You rubbed your eyes before glancing up at the house and to put it short….it was way more beautiful than what you had seen in the photos.

It was a beautiful victorian house, the decor and the style seemed to be a mix of dark blue and red with gold. It had at least 3 floors from what you could tell, the website had also mentioned a basement too. Walking around the yard of the house to admire it, you walked into the back yard and your breath was taken away by a beautiful rose garden. Most of the roses had been wilted however. Oh well, you knew there would probably be some work to be done anyways.

After a few minutes of walking around the house and finding the key, in a pot next to the door like the landlord had told you, who oddly wasn’t here to give you a tour of the house or anything. You shrugged it off and put the key into the lock of the door before pushing it open. You took a few moments to let your eyes adjust to the lighting of the house as your hand felt the wall until it turned on the lightswitch. Well that was good, for such an old house it had modern electricity. Wouldn’t have to worry about wasting money to have somebody come in and do a little bit of wiring for a fortune.

You took a few minutes to look around the area, the decor seemed to have a theme of blue and gold and it was quite pretty. There was an old record player with some vinyls on the shelf under it, and a grand piano in the corner of the corridor. Most of the furniture was what you expected with it being old fashioned and fancy. You were surprised at how clean and tidy it had been kept after supposedly being left alone for almost 200 years. But eh, less work for you. You would have to do some more exploring after getting everything settled.

Sighing softly, you walked back out of the doorway and towards your car and started to start taking in boxes of things, the sun was setting and so it was better to just go ahead and get this all over with so you could go lay down after driving for so long. It was going alright as you just brought your bags of clothes in first and set them down in a guest room you found that was suitable to sleep in for tonight until you got fully settled. The problems came as you started to bring in the boxes of heavy things, you had already been pretty tired from driving. Grabbing a box of books, you stumbled as your arms threatened to accidentally let go.

You just about did when there was the sudden feeling of another pair of arms on the other side of the box, helping you lift it up before you dropped it.

Surprised, you jumped and stepped away from the box immediately out of fear that it might be somebody possibly trying to steal all your shit, you hadn’t really thought that would happen since this was a nice neighborhood but maybe this was the opportunity to let out some anger if this mf was actually trying to take your stuff. Your thoughts of beating a bitch up were interrupted by the person clearing their throat quietly before speaking up, his voice soft and mellow.

“H-Hello, Y…Y-You’re the….uhm… new t-tenant here, right?” He stuttered between his words and appeared very nervous but also had a soft and kind demeanor at the same time. His hazel eyes that were averted away to the ground seemed to glow slightly with the way the sun shined down on them as he spoke. He had dark green hair and was wearing a light green shirt with some comfy looking tan pants.

You raised your eyebrow in slight suspicion, why the hell was he asking this as if he hadn’t just spawned out of nowhere? The man seemed to notice the look on your face and he quickly tried to explain. “S-Sorry- I forgot to….introduce m-myself, I-I’m Simon, I uhm….I live in t-the house b…beside you. I’ll be y-your neighbor.” Simon explained softly as he gestured over to the house right beside your new one. It was a nice cozy looking one and you could see many plants growing around and inside the house.

You calmed down a bit as you realized the situation and nodded your head. “Name’s [MC], nice to meet you, Simon.” You responded while you started taking the rest of the boxes out of the trunk and setting them down on the ground so they would be easier to pick up later “Say….You wouldn’t happen to know where the landlord is right? They were supposed to give me a tour, or…at least I thought they would.”

Simon perked up a little, he seemed like the type of person that just liked to help people but had been walked over by a lot of people. “O-Oh, uhm….I-It’s a bit w-weird I guess, they'll p-probably be here a-around uhm….n-nighttime? I don’t t-think I’ve seen them in the d-daytime at all….B-But! They’re r-really kind s-so you w-won’t have any p-problems!” Simon assured as he adjusted his grip around the box in his arms. You nodded and gave him a kind smile, picking up another box off the ground, you two started to bring the boxes inside and into the room you had picked.

You two had just finished bringing all the boxes at last and you flopped down on the fancy couch in the living room. Fortunately for you, Simon had brought some pastries and some homemade lemonade as a housewarming gift so luckily you didn’t have to worry about making food or anything.

“Gonna be honest with you Simon, I can’t cook for shit so you can be expecting me to be coming over more often for some food.” Simon looked a bit surprised at your words before he smiled shyly and glanced down to the floor. He seemed a bit…nervous to be in the house almost?

“I-I’m glad you e-enjoy it…..” Simon responded quietly as he rubbed his arm in a nervous manner. “Have….Have you h-heard a-any of the…uhm….rumours before you moved in?

You raised your eyebrow at that. Rumors? You hadn’t seen anything and if there was anything about it you were too focused on getting out 0f your past situation to care about any dumb old rumors. It would probably stay that way too.

“light on. After saying your goodbyes to each other, Simon walked back towards his house right beside your new one. Rumors? No…? Should I have? I’m not the superstitious type really.” You responded as you took another sip of the lemonade. Simon shifted his weight from one leg to the other nervously before finally speaking up again.

“Back in about…the late 1800s there was a man that lived here….I-I haven’t h-heard exactly what h-happened but there was an incident with a camera and it ended up killing his partner and he died in the hospital later that day. There’s rumors that say you can see him in the upper stairs windows or the uhm…rose garden….The most popular one is that if you take a picture of the house then your camera will explode too just like what happened to him…” Simon explained with a solemn look on his face as he spoke. “I-I’m not s-sure how true i-it is….I keep seeing him stare at me through the window when I go out.....B-But I j-just wanted to let you know.”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh at his words. Simon’s face instantly went from solemn and worried to confused as he looked up and his eyes darted onto your laughing face. You quickly stifled your laughter before trying to explain. “Sorry, but like I said, I’m not the superstitious type and I don’t believe in all that. I mean….I’ve been interested in it back when I was little and had my own encounters but all of those ended up having reasonable explanations. I appreciate you for telling me but I think I’ll be fine.” You assured him with a smile.

Simon looked surprised but he nodded his head nonetheless at your words. “O-Okay….Y-You’re very b-brave, [MC]. N-Not that t-there’s anything t-to be a-afraid of, like y-you said!” Simon responded as his nervous smile came back on his face and he twidled with his thumbs as he spoke. You stood up and set your cup down on the table before walking over to Simon and putting your hand on his shoulder. He slightly tensed up for a second at the sudden touch as he looked up at you. It was about 9pm at this point so it was already dark.

“Thanks Simon, and also thanks for the food and helping me with my boxes. I think I’m going to be heading to bed though soon. I had a really long drive here.” You explained to him as the two of you started to walk back out onto the porch where you had already flipped the porch Once he was finally gone you let out a loud sigh as you closed your eyes and leaned against the door for a minute to collect yourself. It had taken a lot out of you to just hold that conversation for that long especially with everything you’ve been through in the past month overall.

You walked back into the bedroom down the hallway where boxes had accumulated in the corner of the room. Scouring through the boxes for a few minutes until you found your bag and changed into something a bit more comfortable so you could lay down. You got underneath the rose imprinted quilt and sighed softly, pulling the covers up to your chin because of the chill in the house. You’d have to bring that up to the landlord when you met them. You reached over and turn off the light from the lamp before closing your eyes for the night.

………………

“What a shame…” He thinks as he looks at the figure laying in the bedroom from the end of the hallway. Don’t worry, my love. You’ll meet me very soon.

____________________

Zachary and Simon belong to: @clrdgaze

#Curse my good writing skills of wanting a setting set up #I wanted him to be in chapter one but yall just gonna have to be patient cause this shit is already at 2K WORDS #But we're #Planning on making multiple chapters so stay tuned 🖤#yandere vn #yandere visual novel #yandere #male yandere #visual novel #coloredgaze #yandere male #clrdgazevn #colored gaze #coloredgazevn #Please please let there be no mistakes or i will [REDACTED] myself

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adobe-outdesign · 4 months

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Could you review the ixi?

Briefly limited edition for a very short period after their release, Ixi are mostly just goats, and there's really nothing fancy about them beyond being goats (unless you want to count the collars). They are pretty nicely designed goats though, with distinct eye shapes, lots of black accents on the hooves, eyebrows, and horns, and some nice markings around the face and muzzle that really help to break up the body.

I also like the personality Ixis have, being mischievous and sort of sassy. This was more obvious in their old circle art, but you still get it a bit from the converted version as well. It's fun and helps make them stand out.

This might be a controversial Hot Take(TM), but I'd argue that Ixis mostly benefited from customization. The old art was just a bit janky all around—the circle pose mostly looks good, but the default happy poses could look kind of off. The converted version cleans up a lot of that, removing things like the second fur tuft on the head that's too close to the horn to be noticeable, the unpleasant lines around the mouth, the shaggy fur lines, etc.

It also refines some aspects, like giving the lighter tail tip an outline to match the rest of the lighter areas and fixing the hind torso, which was all kinds of screwed up on the original art. It also improves the eyes so they're closer to being the same size (it still looks a smidge off to me, but it's at least better). The shading is also less messy (what was up with that pink reflective light on the tail?), the eyebrows have been thickened to match the other black areas more, and it's easier to make out aspects of the design.

Another benefit is that the collars can be removed. I do think Ixi collars look better than Aisha collars (mostly because they can be interpreted as chokers when anthropomorphized, and they at least match the color of the eyes), but it's nice to have the option to remove it if one wants to.

However, there were a few things that don't look as good—namely, the head is both a bit too big and too wide compared to the original, giving it a weird rectangle shape that doesn't quite feel right. Here's a super quick edit of the converted version to try to get the point across:

Also, for some reason the chest fur also stops below the collar instead of under it, and the red Ixi's mouth is no longer the lighter shade like it is on every other Ixi. The sideways hair ruffle at the top is also weird due to them adding a line underneath. So overall an improvement—but not perfect.

Favorite Colours:

Mutant: What a great color! It's just messed up enough to look properly mutant-y, with the fangs, mismatched horns and ears, bipedal stance, spots, and a long, drooping tail. The color palette is subtle and muted, and it's detailed but still completely coherent as a whole. This design also didn't change with customization at all, so it's still as enjoyable as it ever was.

Grey: I already covered this one a bit in my grey color review so I won't get into it much here, but this color is great. The customized version is so-so (good as a neutral base, but the eyes look a bit weird due to lack of top lids), but the UC version is beautiful with its forlorned expression, huge droppy ears, and pretty dull red accents. Even the collar is drooping!

Robot: Converted robot Ixis unfortunately aren't very good—yes, they have to proportionally match the default base, but the chunky round legs, overly large head ridge, and completely botched shading look pretty bad. It looks weirdly rubbery in a really unpleasant way. On the plus side, the unclothed version is terrifying, so it has that much going for it.

However, the UC version is fantastic! It has a super sleek design that manages to look unusually elegant and cute for a robot pet, with a subtle dark green and black palette and high-contrast red eyes. There are lots of good details in there too, like how the neck matches the legs and ears.

#I didn't. realize I had so many opinions on Ixis before writing this #neopets #neotag #ixi #neopet reviews

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nocturneblight · 1 month

Text

An… exhilarating midnight… Writing:

The door bent open, out came Edward and jenecis.

Their bodies were adorned by black coats, Long sleeves extend out on each of their arms and only presented the hue of their hands and nails, the collar of their coats were slightly bent upward, covering each of their necks a little, the small buttons that stitched the coats together were really the only other difference up in their color schemes of what they wore, and even then, The silver didn’t stand out enough to catch any eyes.

The long black pants completely shadowed their legs, had they clung to a wall they would be nearly invisible, the only possible way of seeing them would most likely be through the glint of the shoes they wore, the clogs were matching colors with they’re pants and shirt but the slight sheen on the leather could be spotted under the dim moonlight. Other than that, they were relatively shadowed over.

Jenecis used her hand to motion Edward to follow, they both began walking through the cobblestone streets of the city, Looking at the closed down stores and places all around.

The town looked different compared to daytime, a blue hue coated everything, shadows from the buildings shut off any light trying to peer into corners and alleyways, it was somewhat comforting but also terrifying, the air was still and nothing made a noise, well, Except for the local tavern, Bright orange lights shined out of the windows in the establishment and loud jeers and chants could be heard.

They continued walking through the roads of the town, each step they made left a clacking noise through the still streets.

Jenecis pointed at one dark alleyway,

“Yo! Check it out, that’s where I arrested you”

Edward looked at the shadowed corner that she aimed at.

“Yeah yeah, very funny, I nearly wetted myself the first time I saw you in that freaky armor.” He replied.

Jenecis chuckled, “Man, that almost feels like yesterday to me already, Oh wait…”

Edward rolled his eyes, “har har, It’s so funny I’m not laughing”

They both let out a small chortle and continued along their way.

“So anyway… You said you wanted to show me around right? Like some special places and all?” Edward asked.

Jenecis looked at him, “yep, a sorta personal guide to the best places around here, and some interesting personal spots”

She looked around, thinking about where to go first.

“Well, It’ll probably be more like a tour guide since we’re not going to be entering any place, but allow me to guide ya along, since you’ll be staying here soon enough”

Edward looked up at her again, “Well uh, Is there any sort of magic place around here? I’ve always seen magic being used by better-off individuals but I never got a grasp on it.”

Jenecis nodded, “Definitely, here, let’s do a run over to the other side of the town, the magic shops are usually way far from here.”

Edward got into the swing of things, picking up his walking pace to a jog and then into a sprint, both began jogging and sprinting at different intervals to the farther side of town.

*Tok Tok Tok*

“Here we are!” Said jenecis, pointing at the grand-looking shop that was beautifully decorated with colored glass.

Edward panted heavily behind her, heaving his chest from such a vigorous run.

“Woah, That looks amazing!” He said.

A sign poked out from the front of the stores walls reading:

“Biyat’s malignant wonders”

Edward raised his brow, “Fancy names huh? it sounds like how it looks”

Jenecis nodded, “Pssh, yeah, magic is always flashy but trust me, it’s so worth it.”

Both of their eyes fixed onto the strange object near the door of the closed shop.

“What is that?” Asked Edward, curios to the oddly colored post sticking out of the floor.

It was no sign, nor a fence, it looked somewhat similar to the tablet jenecis made before but instead, it was physically crystalline, Like a shining stone.

“Ah, That’s just another way to leave a message for the owners, You can leave a review for others to play on that thing to make the shop look great if you had a splendid time with their service, or you could demand an order.” She answered.

Edward looked back at her, “Say, you conjured up quite a few enigmas earlier, did you learn those from that’s shop?” He questioned.

Jenecis shook her head, “Well… kinda, I mean like, the way you obtain spells and stuff varies on person but for my sake I learned a bit from biyat and then transferred that knowledge into my own understanding, ya know?”

Edward paused for a moment, “that’s… unclear… so like, can anyone do spells and stuff? Or is it for a select few?”

Jenecis shrugged a little, “Oh no, anyone can do it, it’s just some aren’t too keen on growing their understanding of it, like say for me, I wanted to be able to craft and conjure stuff out of thin air, so i was able to take a focus on that EXACT thing and now look at me! I have infinite storage!” She proudly said, showing off her magic once more by summoning a teeny portal and taking items in and out of it as example.

Edward nodded in understanding and a bit of interest, “That’s really neat, So basically, if you want it you’ll receive it?” He questioned, still a bit unsure to her words.

Jenecis put away her magic portal, “Tell you what, This’ll be a long talk but if you’re willing to learn I’ll be more than happy to show you some more, extreme examples.”

Edward nodded excitedly, “Oh yes! Talk away and do show! I’d really appreciate it.”

Jenecis smirked, “Alright then, First off. We need an open area, somewhere away from the town, dont wanna hurt anything, ya know”

Edward pointed out to the road leading to the gate and into the grasslands.

“Wanna take a trip outside the gates? I’m pretty sure the fields will be enough space to show off your incantations” he said.

Jenecis pointed her fingers like guns at Edward, “Precisely, I’ve already got a spot in mind, it’s more of a relaxing space but it’ll also serve well as a sporting ground for our endeavors.”

And with that being said, they both calmly took a walk through the streets to the gate.

The big gates were swung open, the heavy wood and metal accompanied by big wall torches and sconces, two guards stood at the outer side of the gate, torches clutched in their hands as they leaned against the stone wall.

“Shit, I was hoping they would be on break” said jenecis, ever closer to the gate with Edward.

She looked back at him, “It’s probably not a good idea to let your face get seen.” she spoke, thinking of what she could do with him.

“Pssst, Edward, cling to my side and let me wrap my arm around your head, it’ll cover your face up.” She said, now whispering to him because of how close they were getting.

Edward thought on it,

“Ahhhh, a hug from my friend! My magnificent friend at that… Alright, keep it cool Edward. Don’t make it weird, jenecis is a goofball anyway, she’ll probably not even think about this in anyway odd”

He nodded, “Gotcha, Here I come!”

He latched onto her side, wrapping his arms around her waist and back, his height matched his head with her bosoms side, he could feel the cloth from the coat rubbing against his face, it felt nice, She was warm to the touch.

“Ummph!”

Edward’s face was coiled around by Jenecis’s meaty arm, Her bicep blocked his eyes side view, he could only see forward through his right eye, the other side of his face was buried up against her side.

“You good Edward? I’m not gripping too hard am I?” She asked, looking down at him in her side, slightly relaxing her grip so he could move his head.

He shifted his face upward to stare at her, he pulled his mouth out from the cloth that was muffling his voice.

“Y-yup! I think this’ll work out for covering my face alright” he jested.

Jenecis gently tightened her arm around his head again,

“Good, If by chance you need to change positions just tell me and I’ll ease up, Okay?”

He raised his one hand that wrapped around her waist, giving a small thumbs up,

“All set to go, Disguise on!” He chuckled.

“Hehe yeah, disguise activated” snickered jenecis, Now wrapping her bicep tighter around his head and securing him up against her armpit side.

The two approached the gates, Edward kept quiet and so did jenecis, hoping that the guards wouldn’t get suspicious of the two’s looks.

As they walked by the two guards they finally reached the outer rim of the town, stepping foot into the grasslands that were covered with trees and rocks.

“Yes! We made it through! And not a single word from anyone!” Thought jenecis.

She lessened her grip on Edward’s face as they continued into the deeper part of the grasslands, still keeping him covered a little but getting ready to release him. They were now leaving the bright lights reach of the torches at the gate.

Edward wiggled his face a little to free his maw upward again, now looking up at jenecis from her side. He gently whispered “We’re out!”

“Hold it right there you two”

Jenecis froze up, Suddenly pressing Edward even deeper than before into her side without warning.

“It’s dark in here” thought Edward to himself in this quick moment, his entire face mushed into the black fabric of her coat, taking away his sense of sight.

The voice spoke again, now in unison with another following voice, “We know that gray tail anywhere, that’s jenecis Renauld!”

Jenecis’s eyes widened, “Damnit! I didn’t tuck it in!” She thought.

She slowly turned around, still smashing Edward’s face into the pit of her shirt, blocking his face from viewing sight.

“Ayyy, What’s up boss? Whatcha doing up so late for?” Asked the two gate guards, curios to her schemes.

“Oh well, I felt like taking a little escapade at night to a couple neat spots, ya know, sights to see, cool night sky and all” she said sloppily.

One of the guards mouth opened slightly, they now cusped their own chin and stroked it in confusion.

“Who’s the little guy? I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a small guy with red hair like that around here”

Jenecis kept her firm vice on Edward’s entire face.

“Oh yeah! This fella? This is my buddy… Maroon” she stuttered off, unable to keep her act up.

The guard nodded.

“Maroon huh? What’s up with them? It doesn’t even look like he’s moving”

Jenecis patted Edward’s head reassuringly, “I Know right? Deader than a door nail is what he is, Little guy had a night in the town and got super wasted, I told him I could drink him under the table but he insisted on getting beat by me haha”

“I hope you can sense me mentally rolling my eyes and scoffing at you Jen” thought Edward, cringing at her horrible attempt to narrate.

The two guards chuckled, “That’s our boss for ya, haha”

After their chuckle they turned their attention back to jenecis.

“Well anyway, Where are you gonna take him? Doesn’t he live here?”

Jenecis shook her head dismissively, “Oh no no! He lives a bit of ways from here, I’m gonna return him back home for the night, maybe visit him in the morning to see if he survives through his sleep.”

She continued her persuasion on the two guards without pause.

“He was thinking on moving in here this month actually… That’s why we spent the night seeing all this town had to offer, I’ve been trying to get him to move here for a while, I’m sure our little drinking game tonight will be the final straw in finally getting him to move in, yeah?” She finished, finally.

The two guards snorted, “Hah, yeah. Alright then, you two be on your merry way then, tell maroon we said hi when he wakes up”

Jenecis grinned and nodded, “Haha yeah, Later folks”

She quickly turned back around and waddled away with Edward still in her clutch, after about a dozen and a half more steps, Jenecis released Edward’s face, knowing they were now far enough to drop the act.

“Puh!” Edward gasped, having his face freed from her grip, the cool air splashing against his heated Head. Now smoothing his facial fur tufts down with his knuckle.

They continued to walk forward as they talked.

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad” said jenecis, reasoning with him over her grip.

“What? The fact that you drank MaROoN under the table, or the fact that you smell like sweat” he sassily remarked.

“What?! I smell!?” She exclaimed, shocked by his insult.

“And your story STINKS” He said, escalating his voice stupidly, laughter spilling out of his mouth.

Jenecis animatedly dramatized her distraught over his words,

“Oh! Woe is me! The stinky lizard who is garbage at telling stories! Oh whatever will I do!” She sarcastically replied, grinning slightly at his sassy remark.

“Tsk tsk, You didn’t even think about cleaning yourself up after all that exercise, That really tells me something about your hygiene jen” he said, hiding his smirk away from her.

“Shuuuut up, i got distracted, I always make sure I’m clean as fuck no matter what” she replied, still playing on his laughter.

“Don’t worry jenecis I know what distracted you earlier, it was that awesome story you just used, it must’ve took a lot of brain power to tell such a creative tale…”

Jenecis choked upon hearing his words, “Your so sharp tongued today, Big words for a little man, eh?”

Edward’s eyes narrowed, “Little man? Oh yeah? Well-“

She interrupted him “Hey wait a minute Weren’t you on the streets all your life, And your calling ME musky?”

He squinted at her, still walking along but not making a peep.

“Hypocrite” she muttered under her breath, with a sly smile.

“Stinker” He said, pointing at her.

“Hypocritical Small man” she said, using her finger to poke him as she taunted him.

“Olid big lady lizard” he responded, now jousting his finger at her, The two jabbing each other with their words and pointer fingers.

The two consistently jabbed and insulted playfully as they made their way to the spot, after numerous slangs, pokes, and giggles, they finally reached a big tree near a lake.

“Alright then we’re here!” Exclaimed jenecis, Presenting the place out with her hands.

Edward looked around, admiring the sheen of the night against the multicolored water and tree.

The sky was a mixed hue of colors, Purple, blue, orange, yellow. These colors bounced off the lakes reflecting surface, even the water was a bright mixture of sorts.

The stars in the sky looked like glitter, large quantities of speckles were like freckles amongst the shifting clouds, even the stars colors were mixed.

The large tree that stood below the sky and next to the pond was a dark shade of blue, its leaves a lighter color than the trunk,everything was… different at this spot, it seemed as though the two stepped through another world the moment they entered further into the grass fields, far off the main road.

“This is amazing…” said Edward in awe, Still spinning around to take in everything.

“I know right? This was a good night to go out eh?” Said jenecis, Noticing his excitement.

Edward smiled brightly, “Absolutely”

Jenecis smirked at his delight of the view, She then motioned her hand for him to follow her.

Jenecis parked herself on the floor next to the tree and pond, her back resting on the trunk of the tree as she kicked her legs out to the lake, Edward did the same, resting next to jenecis in a smiliar position.

“So this is the place you wanted to practice at right?” Asked Edward, sitting up a little and facing her.

“Oh yeah! You’re right!” She said, standing back up quickly from her relaxed position on the tree.

She dusted her clothes off from the grass and stretched a little,

“Now that I think of it, You wanted to learn how to do magic right?”

Edward nodded, standing up and brushing himself off,

“Correct! I mean… if it’s even possible for me to do so”

Jenecis nodded, “Of course it is, You just have to get an understanding of it a small bit to use it, and that’s what I’m exactly going to show you” she said.

Edward replied excitedly, “Oooh! I’m so ready!”

Jenecis gave a toothy grin, “Let’s get down to the basics then, shall we? First, what would you like to do?”

Edward looked up and down, contemplating on what he wished for mostly.

“What do I want? Well, A good life I guess… like, something that allows me to be happy. Somewhat like uh, a reason to keep living? I dunno, I’ve just been moving forward constantly all my life and have been scrapping by just to exist, Like, I never wanted to eat rats, nor did I ever want to lay outside in the cold, neither did I want to be alone all this time with no one to take care of me.” He thought, reminiscing on all that had occurred.

“But, Despite all of this, now I’m on the road to being better! If things keep going good I’ll be able to live happily in this town! With my own house! My own food! My… Friend jenecis! Life is changing for once!.

If all goes according to plan… What I really want is… For this type of blessing to keep up! Oh the times I could spend with others once I’m living better, I could hang out with jenecis, have fun, eat together, play together, An actual bonding activity! It would just be her and me, Being happy through each others company.” He thought to himself.

“You good there Edward? You’re kinda being quiet” she asked.

Edward looked up at her from his original state, “I know what I want”

“Oh do tell” she urged him on.

Edward confidently nodded his head, “I want joyful times ahead of me and for this type of peace to maintain itself.”

“Oh? Peace and happiness eh? That’s really wholesome” she said, Her eyelids going higher from surprise.

Jenecis put her hands on her hips and affirmed his choice, “Well then, it looks like you would specialize in healing magic and other spells that bolster you OR another’s soul.

Edward tilted his head, “I’d have the ability to heal folk? Like, quickly sealing a wound with a touch?”

Jenecis gave a thumbs up, “yup, Oh! And you could also boost yourself or another’s natural instincts, like say you wanted to be quicker, Then you would think on that exact topic, focus your magic and daydream about what it would be like to be really fast, ya know, Picture yourself running and seeing the tree’s as a blur, the stones kicking up and yourself bouncing off them with ease, just like that.”

Edward raised his hands up in delight, “That sounds awesome! Though, How do I focus my so called.. mana?”

Jenecis put her finger to her chin, “Well, it’s all about belief, So, let me show you this. She said, moving towards the waters edge and standing near it.

She looked in the water, the starry sky and its bright colors stared back at her intensely.

She pointed at Edward and back to the water,

“Watch closely, I’m going to quickly bolt over this water and make it to the other end, It’s not deep water but i would sink to my shoulders if I went in” she said, dipping her shoe by the tip into the water, causing ripples to sound off the surface.

She readied herself up and looked at the end of the water and her starting position, imagining what it would be like to run across without falling in, only scrapping the surface.

Edward watched intently, seeing how she focused up and got into an athletic running startup position.

Jenecis dug her right foot into the floor, then- without hesitation-

The dirt kicked up from where she stood, blades of grass shredded and launched behind where she once stood, Her body became that of a blur as it sped across the top of the water.

Wet slaps echoed into the still night as the water gently rippled along her run path, in the next 5 seconds, she was already at the other side of the large lake.

A voice echoed across the lake from where she ran,

“Eeeedwaaaard! You see that?” Yelled jenecis, waving her hands.

Edward jumped up and clapped, “I sure did! That was Insane!”

“Prepare to see it again!” She yelled again.

“You can do that twice??-“

*SHWUP*

“Sorry, You say something?” Said jenecis, now standing in front of him in an instant.

“Holy crap” Said Edward In awe, His mouth slightly agape.

“It’s as easy as that, Wanna try your magic out? I’m sure we’ll see something cool out of it”

Edward nodded, “Sounds good to me! Although… I don’t know if we’ll get a result really, I mean, This would be my first time doing such a thing”

Jenecis shook her head and waved her hand dismissively, “Nah nah, We’ll unlock that potential of yours tonight, you’ll see, just follow my lead and it’ll be easy”

Edward nodded again, “Okay, I trust you… let’s do this!” He said, revving himself up for whatever lied ahead.

Jenecis grinned, “That’s the spirit! Alright then, First, What do you wanna do and or see?”

Edward thought for a moment, with a snap of fingers he raised his head back to hers, “I wanna try to bolster my jumping height, ya know, so I can jump over let’s say… That rock over there!”

He pointed his finger towards a large rock next to the lake, It was roughly around the height of jenecis, not really a rock but more of a boulder it seemed, One that could not jumped by either of them.

“Great idea! So what your gonna do now is try to think on jumping over it, Think about the imagery of yourself going over it. Do your feet touch the tip of the rock? Do you soar over it with a breeze and land gently? Is the grass soft as you land? Everything. Try to feel for the scene that you want to occur, believe it’ll happen once you get ready.” She explained.

Edward and jenecis walked closer to the rock, lining up to it from a shot away, A swift sprinting path was clear for him to run and jump.

Edward turned his head from the rock to jenecis,

“isn’t there some sort of exhaust limit on how much you can do these certain things? Like, if you did that sprint that you did before a couple more times, would you eventually not be able to do it?” He questioned.

Jenecis thought on it,

“Well, sort of, this whole magic thing is dependent on how heavily you can believe it, like, for me, I’m pretty much set as to what I can do, because I’ve already gathered enough evidence for myself to the point where I see magic as a splendid factor of life, therefore I can pretty much do the certain spells I want.” She continued

HOWEVER, This type of belief is also dependent on your endurance and or stamina, Meaning you can’t just cast what is essentially the power of the sun ten times over, instead, you’d have to build up to how many times you can do such a thing. It’s setting a goal for yourself and your belief, like with those weights I lifted back at my house, I started out only being able to do one routine that left me unable to do more exercise for about the whole week, then after a couple months of doing that same work flow I eventually reached a day where I wasn’t horrendously sore afterwards, and it shot up from there.” She throughly explained.

Edward nodded at her details, “Gotcha, so to play it safe, I’ll only be doing this one time tonight”

Jenecis pointed at him, “AND you’ll succeed on doing it this one time tonight, You will not fail, you have got to trust that it’ll work out, no room for doubt needs to be left”

Edward was taken back by her sternness’s but he agreed, “That’s right, Just once, and I’ll make it” he said.

Edward moved back towards the starting path that lead to the rock, giving him a clear runway into it, Jenecis stood at the side, out of the way to see how this event would turn out.

As he prepped to dig his feet into the floor, suddenly-

“Oh and Edward!” Called out jenecis.

Edward whipped his head to her location, “Yeah?”

Jenecis stood with her arms crossed in a mentor-like pose, coming off serious and stoic.

“You have to pay the price to obtain what you wish for, The cost depends on how far you’re willing to strive for it” she replied.

He stopped, “a little ominous, don’t you think? What’re you gonna do? Throw a ball into my run path and trip me for the heck of it?”

Jenecis chortled confidently, “Pssshhh,I was trying to be serious, but no, what I mean is, anything can happen when you take this jump. Maybe you’ll run face first into the stone and break your nose, maybe you leap high and break your ankles on the fall, or maybe, just maybe, You’ll make it and suffer no permanent pain, a slightly harmed base of your foot from the fall or something of that sort, but regardless, Whatever may come ahead of this act you do, you’ll live on”

Edward tilted his head, replying:

“Okay but what if I jump really high and land on my neck and die instantly-“

Jenecis’s cool stance broke,

“psssshh, Damnit Edward, I cant even take myself seriously when you act just like yourself, You’d have to be the closest definition to living embodiment of silly I’ve ever seen.” She said, tittering between her words.

Edward smirked, knowing she was trying to come off as stoic in front of him, but regardless he understood, her words stayed in his mind still.

“Knowing you, I don’t think I have to worry about any damage being done to your body, you’d probably just make a squeaky noise the moment you hit the floor and then bounce right back into the position you had before you jumped without a scratch on you. Haha” she continued laughing between words.

Edward smiled at her, “Exactly, We’ve got nothing to fear my friend, I’m gonna come out fine”

Edward without warning then scrapped his foot against the dirt and darted directly at the stone boulder, picking up speed as he made his way towards it, his hands raised and so did his legs, even his hair gusted behind his ears as he dashed.

Jenecis flinched in shock as he quickly ran at the boulder, he was so small compared to it, but he was going to go for the high jump anyway.

“He’s not stopping?! he’s gonna go for it without hesitation!” Her mind screamed in surprise.

Edward became ridiculous close to the boulder on his run path, with a strong stamp into the floor with his right leg, he launched off of the grass and into the air, leaving Jenecis’s sight and making his way up and over the boulder by a decent amount of space, his arms spread out, his hair pulled by the gravity, it was as if he did it naturally.

Swiftly, he fell back down onto the floor behind the boulder with a heavy THUD, As his legs hit the floor he continued to run forward, using the momentum from the jump to keep him quick, the shockwave of hitting the floor slammed into both his heels, pulsing up his legs and into his gut, it hurt quite a bit, but it was somewhat nulled out by him dividing the momentum between each leg as he kept rushing forward.

As he kept trekking across the floor he swiftly skidded into the dirt by using his left legs heel to brake himself from running further, Extending it out and halting his run path, he turned himself around and looked back at the stone with the distance he covered.

He jumped with joy, getting off the ground once more, “I DID IT! I MADE IT PAST THE ROCK!” He yelled happily.

A voice called out from the beginning of the rock, “Edward! You okay!?”

Heavy footsteps were heard against the floor,

*THUMP THUMP THUMP*

Jenecis came sprinting towards the scene, a small glowing orb of light in each of her hands.

“Edward! Are you-“ she stopped herself, Looking at him happily parading himself into the air, jumping joyfully. His eyes closed and his smile wide, Victoriously chanting about his success.

Jenecis smiled, tucking away the orbs of light back into her body and watching him cheer.

“I’ve done it! I’ve done it! I’m a Magic user!” He roared giddily.

“Is he STILL jumping that high!?” Said jenecis out loud, realizing his jump height was still the same as it was when he made the jump.

He jumped higher than usual, once more, and again, and again, and again…

“Edward! Come down here real quick!” She said, putting her hands to the sides of her mouth to echo her voice towards his height.

Edward snapped out of his jumping trance, “Oh! Yeah! My bad” he said, ceasing his high jumps and landing on the floor.

As he landed, his weight divided into his knees, they buckled downward and his arms spreaded out again, his head lowered, He then pulled himself up from crouching and stood back up to face jenecis.

“Did you see that? I actually did it!” He declared happily.

Jenecis’s eyes widened, her voice a little higher than usual.

“Yeah you did! How in the world did you keep jumping that high consecutively?” She questioned.

Edward paused for a moment, “Is that not normal? After I did that jump I kept feeling the surge to continuously maintain my speed and height.”

Jenecis rubbed her jaw, “Yeah, about that… usually if your just getting into the whole magic scheme, it takes a ridiculously long time to actually consistently do the things you want with it, and yet… You just did it in a row, only pausing because I asked you to come down” she said.

Edward joyfully grinned, “That was fun! Just a bit of belief and I was able to glide so easily! Do you think I could do other things as well? Like that conjuring stuff you did earlier?”

Jenecis put her hands on her hips, questioning his idea.

“Well… since you did so well on that one, I’d say give it a go! Maybe you can summon something I haven’t seen before.”

Edward nodded, “So… what should I try? Are there any restrictions?”

Jenecis shook her head, “Quite literally not, it all depends on how willed you are in the subject, say like, I was able to summon that dagger, that dagger never existed on this planet before, I poured great amounts of effort into thinking of its design, The way it felt, and how it would be used, Now I made that when I was much younger but I was able to essentially keep it forever, because it remained in my mind of course.” She explained.

Edward tilted his head, cocking his brow.

“So… could I summon a monster that doesn’t exist? If I have an idea for something like, A four legged abomination that’s covered in eyeballs from head to toe, Could I summon that right here and now? Since it’s in my head and all” he asked.

Jenecis stared blankly at him for a second, wondering where he got this idea from.

“Hold on hold on! Don’t get any ideas!” She ushered, waving her two hands frantically at him in a denying gesture.

She eased herself down,

“Okay, For me? I never have tried making a monster from magic, BUT I do think you could PROBABLY make a creature real and summon it if you belief it hard enough and focus your energy into building it up, with that being said, DONT YOU DARE SUMMON THAT THING”

Edward started chuckling, She seemed so scared from his little imaginary monster.

He raised his hands up and pointed them at the floor,

“Hummmmmmm, Hummmmmm, Jenecis back up I’m trying to make it real” he jested.

“Edward No!” She squeaked.

He started twirling his hands and shifting around, dancing slightly in rhythm with his hums, Purple aura coated his hands and frothed off of his fingers.

“Here it comes Jen! It’s gonna be awesome! I’m gonna give it lots of teeth up and down its body! It’s gonna have eyeballs on areas it shouldn’t have eyeballs! Holes will coat its thin fleshed body like cheese! And! You won’t be able to stop it! It’ll have a permanent invincibility against each of us!” He laughed, Putting all his effort into creating it.

Jenecis grabbed her head with both hands, panicking as the ground began to rumble, the grass shifted near him, He was about to actually do it!

“Edward Stop! You have no idea what you can do!” She screamed, dashing at him to stop the ritual.

Edward smirked, now running away and around the lake as jenecis chased him, his hands still enchanting the beast to be real.

“It’s gonna be greaaaaat! Truuuuust meeeee! Hahaha! What’s the worst that could happen” he cheered, still speeding away from her.

“You dolt! You can’t just summon an abomination so quickly without reason! If you do it’ll have dire consequences!” She roared.

Jenecis dug her feet heavily into the floor, A orange glow wrapped around her clawed feet, The blood in her legs pumped, her muscles squeezed together, She focused her thought into her legs, Needing enough speed to catch up to Edward to stop him.

Her momentum picked up, her legs shifted at increasing speed, the grounds dirt jutted out behind her in greater quantities as she sped up after him.

Edward turned his head back, seeing her now glowing body powering up after him.

“Two can play it that way!” He chuckled, increasing his running speed effortlessly with magic, now turning his head forward to focus on his getaway near the rim of the water.

“Jackass! Stop using your prodigy powers for this! Didn’t you hear what I said!-“

“Says who? How would you know?” He replied, sassily.

Jenecis growled and gritted her teeth, her snout wrinkling, “ITS OLD FOLKLORE BUT I DON’T WANNA SEE IF ITS REAL”

Her quickness took a huge soar, She lifted off the ground with one of her kicks, now taking a direct lunge at the far away Edward.

Edward giggled, turning his head around again to see how far he was from her.

“Haha! Don’t worry, I’ll make it really fast too! just like us! then I’ll give it-“ he said, interrupting himself as he now saw her flying directly at him with her arms splayed out like a net at dangerously high speed.

“OH MY GOD-“ He shrieked in fear, Moments before taking Jenecis’s full weight into his body.

*SPLASH*

Edward and jenecis both slammed into the lakes water filled circle, A humongous eruption of liquid launched upward as their bodies crashed into it.

A few seconds passed by as the water died down, the ripples calmed from such a heavy smash, the water droplets came down from the geyser created by their premature cannonball, they were nowhere to be seen, then suddenly-

*GASP*

Edward and jenecis both came up from the water, their heads poking out from the liquids reflecting surface.

Jenecis’s hair was mattered and dark, it sopped over her eyes and dripped with the lakes water, Edward had the same affect, his hair ran ragged over his face clumsily, Each of their black clothes were soaked to the collar with water, like they both had just been hit by tsunami.

Jenecis squinted at Edward from her spot in the lake, “Thank goodness, That was ridiculously close. You should have listened to me dude! If you kept going with that we both might have been in deep Trouble!”

Edward kept chuckling, “Hehe, Alright alright, You win”

Jenecis scowled, “You better not try that again, I mean it! Your lucky all I did was tackle you, I might have had to hurt you to pull you out of that trance you were in” she said, raising her hand out of the deep water and pointing at him.

Edward frowned, slinking deeper into the liquid, “Aww, I’m sorry jenecis, I didn’t mean to disturb you like that, I was just playing, ya know?” He said, becoming apologetic for the panic he caused.

Jenecis’s eyes eased, she lowered her hand back down, “It’s okay, I’m just glad we didn’t get hurt, Just remember, Never again, Okay?”

Edward nodded sadly, “Yeah I guess you’re right…”

He turned around, facing away from her in the lake.

Jenecis heard a couple of sniffles coming from his direction, his head bobbed a little.

“H-hey come on now” she said, sloshing forward in the water to get to him.

“you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings” she said, grabbing his shoulder to turn him around.

Without effort, he turned with the motion of her hand, a sly smile spread across his face from ear to ear, his two hands raised from under the water and were presented to her, They were still charged with the previous conjure, And they were were still concentrating.

“Say goodbye Jenecis!” Laughed Edward evilly.

He rised out of the water, holding his two hands up in a preaching manner, aiming his hands to the sky.

“H-hey-“

Edward interrupted her “Is for horses! Now die!”

He forced his two hands together, creating a bright purple sheen in-between them, with another quick movement, he casted the bright glare directly into the grass beside the lake.

The waters wobbled, the big trees leaves shifted around, the wind picked up as a circle formed around the light that was thrown into the grass.

“COME OUT, COME OUT AND RAVAGE THE WORLD MY CREATION!” Yelled Edward, proudly holding his hands out towards the manifesting monster.

Jenecis rose out of the water and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him, “What have you DONE!?” She panicked, her eyes jittering from the fear of seeing the thing form.

“Take it back! Now!” She pleaded.

Edward smirked, “Say please”

Jenecis frowned, “Fuck you!”

Edward rolled his eyes, “Well I guess we’ll just have to all die a horrible death by the hands of leviathan then, eh Jenny?”

A horrible roaring thunder sounded off from the forming monstrosity, A dark purple cloud suffocated around the area of it being born, The element of wind swayed into the purple forming clouds, it was like the creation was devouring the air, everything from nature around it was being sucked into its vortex.

Jenecis looked in fear, Her pupils shrunk to small slits as she realized it had already been made.

The creature stepped out of the now clearing smog, One foot plunged into the floor with a soft step, its clawed toes poked out a little, another foot came out, The same as the last one, Then its maw poked out, a little snout and whiskers stemmed out of its face, two ears flopped out from its head, dragging along its sides, its purple toned fur tone was unnatural, like a miasma of poison. To top it off, the brim of a black hat poked out near its forehead.

A heavy accented voice suddenly called out from the boggy purple steam.

“Oi Mates!” Cheered the thing in a light tone, It took off its hat and waved it with one hand at the two as it made its way out of the dark clouds.

It stood up to about 4ft tall with dark purple fur, wearing a black top hat with blue earrings decorated along its lanky lop ears, its iris covered all of its eyes, shining with a bright neon pink that glowed, a black pupil neatly placed in the middle of each socket. It bore a resemblance to a hare.

Jenecis swiftly gazed at Edward’s face, His big bright smile brimming from side to side of his face, She squinted once more at him, showing him her disappointment.

“Oh, you’re a dick, Ya know that?”

Edward busted into laughter, “That’s for teasing me about undressing previously”

Jenecis palmed her face, Rubbing her eyelids with her hand and sliding it down in disbelief to his prank.

“Okay fine, you got me-“

“And for that prank involving barging on the door and threatening me with authority action” he interrupted.

“Alright I get it-“

“AND for biting me on the neck” he finished, cutting her off once more.

Jenecis inhaled deeply and exhaled heavily, “Okay, I deserved that one” she said, accepting her fate.

“YOOOOWHOOO” Interrupted the same voice from earlier, ceasing the two from talking.

“Oh my god” mumbled jenecis, Turning over to see the Creature with a swanky hat still attempting to talk with them.

The thing whipped out a cane from seemingly nowhere, now propping itself up on the object with one arm, almost as if it were posing.

“Man! that little summoning circle was dangerous! I only made it out of that one by the skin of hair!” It jested, Now laughing at its own joke.

Edward clapped, “Woooo! Alright! That was great!”

Jenecis frowned, staring at the hare with almost malice over its dumb joke.

The strange thing looked back at the two, seeing Jenecis’s dismay with it, “Well someone is a wet noodle, Do you always dampen the mood? HAHAHAHA-“

*CRACKLE*

Lighting bolted down from the sky, The hare exploded into nothingness within an instant, Leaving behind only a hat and cane, with a smoked pile of ashes against the dirt.

“GIUSEPPE! NOOOOOOOOOO” Screamed Edward, in disbelief at the pile of black and gray left on the floor.

Jenecis’s right hand smoked from the finger tips, a slight burn marking the tip of her middle and pointer fingers, She tucked her hand away under her shirts pocket.

“Oh nooooo, Not the hilarious hare!” Said jenecis, sounding apologetic.

She waded her way over to Edward, wrapping her left arm around his head and Patting his shoulder for comfort.

“Awww, don’t worry Edward, Some backfire from summoning does this sometimes, ya know? It’s no one’s fault, I’m sure he had a good 11 seconds of existence” she said, comforting him at the loss of his creation.

Edward looked back at her, his eyes weren’t glossed with tears but his face was a little upset.

“You think so?” He asked, genuinely curios.

Jenecis’s nodded, “Yeah, he didn’t even feel that bolt of pure energy, he went out happy, don’t worry, I’m sure once we train your abilities a little more we’ll be able to summon him again, Without the haphazardly lighting.”

“Come on, we’ve had a lot of excitement for tonight, let’s relax for a little, okay?” She said, issuing him to move along with her back into the solid ground near the tree.

“Y-yeah, let’s go” he agreed, following her back to the tree and sitting down.

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ecargmura · 4 months

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Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Episode 21 Review - Clash Between Geriatrics

What’s a better way to end the first part of the exam than with an epic magic showdown between two geriatrics? Unfortunately for Denken, the geriatric woman much older than him defeats him. He did put up a good fight, though. And speaking of old people, we also get an introduction to Serie, Flamme’s elf master, meaning she’s an elf much smarter and much older than Frieren. This should be interesting.

The battle between Frieren and Denken was great. It shows off how strong these two are as mages, but even if Denken has been around for a long time, Frieren has been around longer. Despite that, these two may have been fighting as enemies, but it looks more like a rivalry as both are mages who enjoy the fun of searching and discovering magic rather than having it handed to them. Because Frieren and Fern’s spells are a bit basic, it’s finally nice to see a mage with some fancy spells. The way Denken used that fire magic was gorgeously animated. His sparkly light spell was great too. Despite that, Frieren shows why she’s stronger; in fact, that old trinket she carries around is proof that she is the last Great Mage. Yep, she’s basically Saitama in this universe. I also like the scene where Frieren breaks the barrier to give Kanne the advantage against Richter. I do like that she’s watching over her teammates like they’re her granddaughters and that she wanted to give Serie a big middle finger after she had recalled her encounter with her. The way it was animated was great.

The battle with Kanne and Lawine against Richter was also quite nice. It’s like watching an Earthbender against two water benders but one only uses ice while the other is lacking natural water and is just defending. Though, I do wonder why Kanne couldn’t just use her sweat. I do like that despite having the advantage, Richter’s main flaw was that he was looking down on his opponents. They were kids, so he was holding back in a way? Once Frieren broke the barrier, Kanne used a powerful water spell and destroyed Richter; no deaths here, by the way. Also, I’m sorry to all the Avatar: The Last Airbender fans because you guys do not deserve to have the magnificent show get butchered by Netflix.

Now that I’m done talking about the battles, I want to talk about two major characters. The first I’ll be talking about is Serie. She’s an elf who was Flamme’s master. Because of her long live, she has accumulated and learned practically every spell in existence. So, she can give spells to mages too. She’s like a mother computer of spells in a way. From her screen time here, she’s easily the opposite of Frieren in every aspect; she’s like an antithesis of her of sorts. Serie has stayed in one place, gathered knowledge and doesn’t seem to care about people outside of mages. Frieren was once like that, but meeting Himmel, Heiter and Eisen changed all that. Realizing how much of an impact Himmel had left on her, she seeks to collect magic but also make connections with people. That’s how she managed to be where she is now because of her desire to connect. Other than that, not much else is known about Serie. Her voice is very deep. She’s voiced by Mariya Ise, who you might know to be the voice of Killua from Hunter x Hunter and Ray from The Promised Neverland. Ise is excellent with voicing boys and girls; she has distinct voices she use for the characters she plays. The voice that she uses for Serie is normally the one she uses when voicing boys, but Serie is a girl. I was surprised to see her use her young boy voice for this character. I like it though. It gives the impression that she’s the opposite of Frieren who has a soft voice.

The next character and the last major thing I want to talk about for the review is Denken. He’s surprisingly an intriguing character. I never knew someone could write this guy so cleverly. Props to the authors. At first, he may seem like the typical old guy, but he shows off rationality, wisdom and logic in his scenes. I like him a lot now that he had a lot of screen time in this episode. He knows when to back down, but he knows when to charge in. I like how he grabbed Richter with his legs to save him from being washed away by Kanne’s magic. My favorite scene with him was when he decided to throw hands against a team that had a Stille but lost a teammate. He had run out of mana due to his fight with Frieren, but that didn’t mean he lacked options. I never expected the old man of all people to settle things with an old-fashioned beat down; he won too given that his team passed!

There’s also a scene with Stark at the very end where he’s sort of enjoying the days without Fern and Frieren, but he also kind of misses them. Stark feels like a husband who’s wife and mother-in-law went on a business trip, so he has to fend for himself for a few days. Maybe I just see it like that because I ship Fern and Stark together.

Now that the first day of the exam ended, what will the second day be about? I’m a bit excited as the next round, no one is teamed up anymore. They’re all on their own. Maybe we can see Lawine and Kanne fight? Frieren and Fern fight? If anything, I’d like to see a rematch between Wirbel and Ubel with them going all out now. What do you want to see in the next round?

#frieren beyond journey's end #sousou no frieren #frieren #lawine #kanne #denken #laufen #richter #flamme #serie #review #anime #anime review #ecargmura #arum journal

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the-nameless-juan · 1 year

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So guess what just came in the mail today! (Err well not technically today as I was out of country but y’all know what I mean!)

That’s my copy of the 2nd edition Oracle Dice by @publishinggoblin, as you might know by my posts I am a big fan of Tarot and tarot adjacent practices but I also a big fan of the first oracle dice which I got as an add-on in one @publishinggoblin’s previous crowdfunding campaigns (believe it was for The Narmol Tarot 2nd Edition) which I absolutely adored. Haven’t really posted it much about it mostly because it more than an other form divination seems to almost gleefully cut to the heart of things and hit nothing but nerves, but not in a bad way? Honestly don’t know how to explain it, it’s just the reading we’re always intensely personal and raw, so I never felt comfortable posting about my readings with them.

Anyways, when this 2nd edition was announced I backed it almost immediately at the Etched in Stone tier, to get those fancy dice made of, you probably guessed it stone. So I’ve decided to do this rambling review first impression thing for… well anyone who wants it!

First a look at the mat

The very that jumps out at me is what an improvement it is over the first one! Not to say the first mat is bad, the things takes center stage of my tarot reading and in fact has shaped it radically I love it to bits but the design of this new mat is just 💋.

Plus the texture is just fantastic, has that fantastic smooth silky thing going that I just love to glide my hand along.

And then there is the second side, while the loss of the rubber bottom to prevent slippage is regrettable this second reading space is wonderful. I haven’t even cracked open the guide to see the traditional use and interpretations but I am already feeling inspired. I cannot wait to get started, and I have a distinct feeling this may well be taking over as the centerpiece of my divination practice going forward.

Now then, onto what is probably the main event, the Dice

Ahhhhhh they’re so preety 😍 As a reminder these are the fancier Etched in Stone tier dice, each is made of a different stone and the faces are all etched in and inked and look absolutely stunning in person. Just holding them is a treat and the noise they make when you shakey-shakey them in preparation for a throw is fantastic. I fear now that I have experienced non-plastic dice I will never be able to go back, I have yet to even properly cast them but I love them already.

But wait, there’s more!

There were two Oracle decks on offer so of course I had to get both.

On the right we got the Dice Face Oracle which turn each dice face into its own individual card along with a guide to reading them as cards, but also encourages you to read them as their dice versions meaning you have options when performing readings and I love that shit, there is nothing that I love more than a reading that evolves and shifts the more you stare and stew on it. Also every one of the dice face icons are excellently designed and having them in a bigger blown up form is wonderful.

On the left we got the 22 card Lords of Oracle deck. Each of the dice has its own lord who is an embodiment of their die with their own lore and my god I love this art! I can absolutely see myself pulling one of these cards and having on of these lords color a reading in a completely new light, the potential is just breathtaking.

And last but certainly not least, the tomes.

I haven’t had a chance to truly sit down and read the guide, but from a quick skimming it is still written in the same easy to understand way as the 1st edition. The first edition was a fantastic guide to a admittedly complex divination practice and as long as this second edition continues that with the new dice it is a welcome edition to the books I reference on the regular, plus having page size version of the Lords of Oracle art is just wonderful.

The reading journal is a fantastically designed tool especially for those beginning with these dice. I would have loved something like this for when I started with the first edition as it was a tad bit overwhelming with it’s… everything. I will most certainly be making use of it

Righto, that’s my first impressions/ review of the Oracle Dice 2nd edition done. Will be trying a few reading when I have a chance and will hopefully remember to talk about is here! So if you got any questions or if I forget to talk about the reading experience feel free to textually yell about it here or in my ask box, see y’all!

#tarot cards #oracle deck #oracle dice #2nd edition #publishing goblin #review #first impressions #dice #unboxing #divination #cartomancy #magic

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thisismehappy · 1 year

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Olivia's Apartment: A study with terrible gifs

Season 15/Early 16

Seems like the back door leads to a bedroom, but you never see it so that's debatable. Brian said it was a small apartment which would seem to imply one bedroom, but it's not explicit. When Noah has been with her for four months already, she had his crib in the living room which also kinda implied there was only one bedroom. When she opens the door for Melinda there are not big lights in the hallway which we'll look at more later.

Late Season 16

Partway though season 16 the crib moves so that it's visible through the back door which is a little confusing. Is that a bedroom? Is he sleeping in a little vestibule area? In this scene there are now the big lights in the hallway that we see when Elliot shows up in OC 2x03.

Season 17-19

Partway though season 17 the back door starts showing a shelf instead of a crib. We only ever see a bedroom in this apartment in season 19 and it's Noah's. It opens to a little hallway that has a couple of doors. The implication I assume is that one is the back door we've seen since season 15 and the other is Liv's room (never seen). When someone knocks at the door she goes through the one that seems like it's the backdoor to the apartment. But when she walks through it there's a chair and an end table but when she lets the lady in, it's the same shelf we've been seeing since season 17. (The Munch scene is from 18 and the scene with the lady is from 19 right after she walks out of Noah's room.) Also, when she lets the lady in, the door is brown instead of white like it is when Elliot shows up later, but I think we can say there were some upgrades over the years.

Season 22

As far as I can recall we don't see much of the apartment in 20 or 21 and if we did it wasn't much different. The apparent in this scene is pretty much the same as always, but I like that Liv's idea of decorating for Christmas is to just drape light over things. This looks like essentially the same furniture as when Elliot shows up. Same TV stand and couch I think and the same lamp the TV too, but there's a new giant fancy one in the next scene too which is maybe why it's brighter lol.

OC 2x03 (SVU Season 23)

Okay I thought this was a different apartment which is what started me on this whole road, but upon further review, it's the same one. The door is different (could have been upgraded) and as far as I know this is the first time we've gotten a full view of the hallway. But idk for sure about that. Someone let me know if I missed it before. Also, the walls seem whiter to me but it could be lighting or she painted. They were super white in season 16 though too. So if she painted, she's done it at least twice. I just realized it didn't make it into any of these gifs but the ugly brown chair Elliot sits in has been around since season 15. In the first shot we see when they're unpacking the apartment, it's there. I like to think it was Brian's chair that she adopted when he left. (No real reason except I enjoy the idea of Elliot sitting in Brian's chair lmao.) The lights above her kitchen island are a little different too I think, but again just could have been upgraded sometime. It's also just way cleaner, but maybe she was going through a phase. (Re: the brown chair. I thought I remembered seeing it in the new place but I only have 24x10 downloaded so far and I couldn't find it so I'm not sure if I imagined that or if it's in one of the other episodes.)

The 500th Episode (later in Season 23)

This looks like a completely different apartment to me. Now it is possible that the mystery door from Noah's hallway leads to an intensely long hallway that doesn't stylistically match the rest of the apartment, but it seems like maybe this is when she moved. Or the first time we would have seen evidence of it. I think this hallway could work with the new place as far as style and size. As far as I know, these are the most recent 3 times we've seen Liv's apartment, but I could be wrong about that so if anyone's still with me let me know if you've seen other things that support or refute this idea.

@rahleeyah - Just in case you're interested lmao. You were right about the apartment in OC 2x03. I think we were just seeing it from weird angles which threw me off lol.

#lmao these really are the worst gifts known to man. maybe i should have just used pictures but i wanted to have it pan around the room #hope someone enjoys this as much as me😂#olivia benson #elliot stabler #svu #mariska hargitay #chris meloni #noah porter benson #law and order svu #law and order oc #law and order: svu #svuedit #my gifs #i posted a post #long post

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shakks · 4 months

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Music tech startup closing doors due to low investor, public interest in flagship product

April 18 - ALEPH

Earlier this week, the CEO of AbleSound Acoustics sent out notice that the company would be closing its doors, citing lack of initial investment and poor first impressions of their flagship product, the Tondeker modular guitar.

"While disheartening, we must face the reality of music production in the current day and age. The DAW has its place in the studio, as do those who are serious about recording their own performances. We were searching for that weird combination of live performer, disc jockey, and audio technician, but ended up missing the mark for all three. I'm still proud of my team and the strides that they were able to make in the name of music production, but the world has chosen to head in a different direction."

The CEO continued, citing AI-assisted music generation as one of the many reasons behind the lukewarm audience reception. Critics and reviewers provided a multitude of additional reasons for the Tondeker's failure to launch.

The guitar was lambasted for its appearance among the public, with one such post on social media decrying it as "an ugly metal box that has no right to call itself a guitar". While those willing to give it a chance found it easy to use, they noted that they also had difficulty understanding the niche it was meant for.

"Not every performance needs to be recorded, and not every composition needs to be performed. I play my actual guitar and compose on my tablet. I don't need to tape the two together!"

In spite of its shortcomings, the Tondeker is still technically impressive. It is lauded for its hard-light integration, a first for the emerging technology. However, even there it was not free from criticism, as the idea of interfacing hard-light with music led to safety concerns among testers.

"Take away all the extra doodads, and this thing is nothing more than a fancy theremin. It's fun to mess around with, but the novelty wears off quickly."

AbleSound Acoustics will cease operations in June. The company's employees are hopeful that they will be able to continue collaborating and innovate in a different field that is better suited to their strengths.

Investors speculate that the technological uniqueness of the Tondeker combined with the limited nature of its manufacturing run will lead to both the guitar and its modules being highly sought-after by collectors and enthusiasts.

#hard-light heartline

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blazeofnight · 11 months

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PotO Italy (Trieste) review - Act 2

We did enter the intermission with high spirits: All I Ask of You did get us interested and on board, and despite some disappointing or confusing choices the first act was overall enjoyable. The solid vocal and acting performances surely didn't hurt, either.

No pictures this time since I'm at work and can't access Instagram, I'll add them later if I remember. You can find the review for Act 1 here.

The same disclaimer applies: I have not seen other replica productions in full, only pictures, but I have seen the West End production in March. I do consider using Broadway/West End/replica productions as the one and true standard to judge non-replicas unfair in general, but I think it's fair to use them as a comparison to try and understand how these changes affect character dynamics and stuff like that, and to help in trying to understand the reasoning behind the choices made.

My visual memory is VERY poor, so if you've seen the show too and notice I remember something wrong please tell me so I can correct it! Also this is a long post, so please consider how much you want to scroll before clicking the read more.

MASQUERADE/WHY SO SILENT

There are a couple of videos of Masquerade floating around, so I believe everyone interested in this specific scene already has seen them. I have to say that the videos and pictures do not capture just how a light, peaceful and joyous moment it is.

After ending Act 1 with ominous red lighting and a lot of sharp shadows, Act 2 opens with a soft diffused light, slightly yellow as to mimic sunlight. In the beginning they turned on the little constellation lights in the ceilings, and it was absolutely beautiful! Then as the song progressed the lighting got a bit stronger and they also used some of the seating are alights, to create this impression of the stage being bigger and almost overflowing towards the audience. For a split second, it did feel as if we too were part of what was going on on stage.

The scene opens as always with Firmin and André covered by cloaks and recognizing each other. André is wearing a regular fancy suit, and Firmin reveals a super poofy and VERY pink dress. I knew about this going in and tried to keep my opinion neutral, I'm happy to report it's not played for laughs beyond the initial reveal (you REALLY do not expect that after seeing André is dressed in a fancy but uncreative way), it really feels as if Firmin thought "Hmmm a fancy dress party, I don't see why I should not wear a nice, pink, huge dress!" and that's it.

The ensemble is dressed in what look like Venetian masks inspired costumes and they get on stage dancing with similarly attired mannequins. The effect is very nice and just the right amount of creepy, the mannequins move very smoothly so at times you really can't tell which figures are actors and which ones are mannequins.

At one point the sea of masks parts and the named characters appear. Madame Giry is dressed in her usual black dress, Meg is dressed like the music box's monkey, and Piangi, Carlotta, Raoul and Christine are dressed in "regular" elegant clothes. I can confirm Christine's dress is white, it looks pale yellow at times due to the lighting being warm for most of the scene. Christine's dress is actually pretty nice from what I could see, especially the lovely, decorated train. I have not checked but it could also be pretty historically accurate in general! Also, it moves beautifully when Christine is picked up by Raoul, I'm not sold on it being white but

There is a moment where Raoul and Christine are alone on the stage, golden confetti start pouring down from the ceiling and it looks extremely pretty, then you see that the ensemble didn't just leave the stage but spilt over into the galleries and near the orchestra pit! Between this and the lighting effects, it does look like the aim of this scene was easing the audience back into the "theatre world" after intermission, if so it does work quite well.

My one complaint is that the second half of Masquerade sounds very slow and I can't figure out why? For the title song getting sped up I do at least have other elements that help guess why, but here I'm completely stumped and it's driving me crazy!

The atmosphere in the scene is extremely relaxed and airy, so the sudden mood change at the Red Death's arrival is very jarring in a good way. I won't lie, I do miss the "traditional" costume, but considering how complex and time-consuming it must be to create and maintain, I do understand why they opted for a simpler solution.

So, the Red Death is just a red, formless cloak holding the huge Don Juan Triumphant manuscript. I actually liked it, it did remind me of the way Death or Destiny/Fate are often represented in illustrations, and it looks like the cloak is made in a velvet-like fabric that made the red even more intense and blood-like. The slow, ominous advance is still very effective and creepy, and when the ensemble falls over the figure only to reveal the cloak is empty it's a nice moment of old-fashioned stage magic.

But wait, Christine is not on stage, so what about the final verse? It turns out Christine was still in the audience, nearby the orchestra pit, made invisible by darkness and our attention being elsewhere. Then she gets suddenly illuminated and we see that the Phantom is actually standing beside her, he says the "your chains are still mine/You will sing for me!" lines, all very effective. I like this staging because it does make you feel that Christine's safety was all just an illusion, the Phantom can get near her whenever he likes and his illusions and tricks make him hard to stop. It makes it more believable that Christine is later willing to put herself at risk to make it all stop despite the huge emotional toll it takes on her, because we are shown just how Raoul could not help her here even if he wanted, despite his promise and willingness to protect her.

The second complaint I have about this scene is that at the very end you can clearly see and hear the Phantom just... running away from Christine and into the wings, which ruins the overall effect a bit. If they find a way to make him disappear more gracefully, then it'd be a perfect way to end the scene.

There's the interlude between Madame Giry and Raoul, and oh boy is Raoul PISSED. Other people have already commented that he doesn't play a super sweet, naive Raoul, but rather a more serious and mature one, and it's nice to see how Bradley portrays him as capable of great tenderness but also of having a spine. He's not politely requesting or pleading with Madame Giry, he's commanding it. This lady is withholding information that could be used to make Christine's life less scary and he won't allow it!

It's not my favourite portrayal of all time, but it fits well with the overall mood and themes and makes for a more tridimensional Raoul which is good in my opinion.

NOTES II/TWISTED EVERY WAY

This scene is set in the same way as Notes I, but since the mood is quite different I found that it being kinda showed in half of the stage wasn't as much of a problem. The stage set is once again angled to create a wall of the managers' office, but this time it gets used as Christine, more and more overwhelmed, leans against it in a dramatic fashion.

A couple of things I noticed: André does a long-ish pause after the first "But why not?" as if he needs a second or two to realize that something's wrong with Christine's refusal, it's a nice touch. Christine starts having her breakdown when everyone is asking her questions, Raoul gets all protective, and when he sings "They can't make you" he's GLARING at the others and physically putting himself between them and Christine (you can hear the quiet menace in his voice perfectly in the audio I took, it's amazing how much emotions Bradley puts in that line). Carlotta has a dark orange dress, which I like less than her green one in Notes I but it would be pretty with a bit more texture, chile Christine is wearing a cute green dress (the colour is a bit of a mix between sage and mint green, similar to the cloak she wears in Wishing).

After the Phantom's letter has been read (Madame GIry keeps silently mouthing the words throughout), Christine says "I can't. I won't do it" in a frankly panicked but determined tone (I don't remember if it's something in the current West End version, but I don't have it on my Original London Cast CD). It's pretty clear during the scene that what happened to the end of Masquerade shook her to the core, and now everything that reminds her of the Phantom or, worse, having to face him directly is a big trigger for her. Amelia has some truly great anguished and conflicted expressions in this scene.

The next part has some nice details: one of the managers (I don't remember who, sorry) bangs his hand on the table during the "We make certain our men are there!" verse, Raoul flips through the Don Juan Triumphant manuscript trying to find something to be used against the Phantom, and there is another perfectly timed longer pause before Raoul, André and Firmin ask Madame Giry to help them during which the three men exchange a meaningful look. Just before Madame Giry's cry of "Madness" turns the attention on her, Carlotta can be seen approaching a very strained Christine and opening her mouth as if to speak to her in a more regular, non-diva way, but then she gets interrupted and nothing comes of it.

Thanks to the way AIAOY has been changed, Raoul's bits in Twisted Every Way sound very sincere and not manipulative as sometimes they risk doing. His change of heart clearly comes 100% from realizing that this is a dangerous plan but Christine clearly can't be happy or even just serene knowing the person she rightfully fears can get to her whenever he wants. Christine's "I know I can't refuse" is truly heartbreaking, there's a sharp, painful intonation that really makes you feel her desperation and how trapped she must feel in this moment.

SITZPROBE

This one plays pretty close to what you can expect, there's not much that can be changed. BUT! Do you remember that Reyer is never seen? In this scene the piano is turned so you don't see him, apart from an admonishing hand when Piangi keeps missing his note. So when the creepy music starts and the piano turns revealing there's no longer anyone behind it, and it's playing on its own... let me tell you, it felt pretty chilling even knowing that the moment was coming!

WISHING YOU WERE SOMEHOW HERE AGAIN

Ok, this and Wandering Child are the scenes in Act 2 that need some work to be more than a vehicle for some nice singing.

Christine is wearing a mint green cloak with sleeves, I don't hate it BUT the sleeves make it bulky and a bit goofy at times. I think a sleeveless cloak works better for this scene since it allows for some more dramatic swishing and looks more elegant, but the one used is serviceable. Oh, no red scarf, but Christine has a red rose she puts...where?

The big issue here is that this scene is painfully empty, there's a projection of silhouettes of tombstones in the background but otherwise, there is NOTHING. Now, listen, I'm not a fan of the giant sarcophagus used in the West End, but having some tasteful fake tombstones, some weeping angels, etc., would go a long way to add visual interest to the scene and make it clearer that Christine is paying homage to her dead father, instead of just leaving a rose on the ground seemingly at random. Have her father's tomb be decorated with, say, an angel playing a musical instrument, maybe a violin, and you're set! and this would also be useful in the next song, so it's a 2x1 deal! Also, it would be nice to see this specific production lean into this scene's gothic aesthetic.

Vocally, as I said elsewhere, Amelia Milo's voice could use a bit more strength but she's not bad at all, and she does put a lot of emotion into the song. She starts mournful, but quickly ramps up the energy and you can really feel that this Christine is so ready to stop clinging to the past and face the future, a new life, that will be different from the one she knew but can make her just as happy if not more.

WANDERING CHILD/BRAVO, MONSIEUR

Ok, we have to talk about the angel wings. I tried to avoid this as long as possible, but the moment has arrived.

Why why why WHY does the Phantom hover while sporting a pair of black angel wings.

I suspect this... thing happens because there are no pyrotechnics in the scene. The use of flames, sparks and the likes in performances is STRICTLY regulated in Italy, especially in indoor venues, so I think these were added to have the Phantom do something "cool" in the scene instead of using the skull cane spray sparks everywhere.

The issue is, they are so random and don't fit the aesthetic of the rest of the musical at all! I would LOVE if there was a suggestion of wings: the Phantom appearing in front of an angel statue, or the wings being a shadow, so you're left wondering if this is Christine's suggestion showing itself to us. As it is now, it is something that throws you out of the show's immersion and that's the second worst crime a musical can commit in my eyes (the first one is being boring).

And another thing is, it is a nice effect, and it works well, I can see it fitting in nicely if they went in a different direction when it comes to themes and overall aesthetic. It's not bad per se, it's just misplaced.

The start of the scene, before the wings appear, isn't bad. Apart from still being empty, the fact that Christine is in a confused emotional state due to the stuff that happened between the end of Masquerade and now and so she falls again under the Phantom's influence is made quite clear, she even falls on her knees similarly to how she did in The Mirror. But then the wings come out, the Phantom starts to hover, Raoul arrives and everything gets confused. I admit I really don't know if something happened and I missed it, or if I was just confused by the scene in general. you could even tell the audience's applause sounded a bit uncertain.

So yeah, that's two other scenes that will need a bit of work to be made good. Luckily Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again just needs a proper background, and that in turn can help a bit with Wandering Child.

DON JUAN TRIUMPHANT/THE POINT OF NO RETURN

There are some interesting changes in this one, so first let's get the small stuff out of the way.

There is only one "Secure!" being shouted, and while there is the usual Phantom's projected voice effect you can tell that it's achieved differently since there are no speakers scattered across the theatre. The second one is a technical limitation so it's understandable and it's still cool, just a bit less impressive, but having 2-3 "Secure!" coming from the main doors is a very cool effect that I absolutely loved in London, it helps so much with the immersion and I wish they'd kept it. Also, the sharpshooter is not in the orchestra pit, but rather in one of the other boxes of the prop stage, which makes sense given the staging.

Sooo, let's get to the Don Juan Triumphant bit and the infamous cloak. First of all, I want to make clear that I've never been 100% on board with the classic disguise. It always looked to me out of place in the play-within-a-play, it is definitely something that the Phantom would use in the "real" world, but clashes with the clothing of the other characters we see in DJT and doesn't really make sense if you assume that Aminta is expecting yes a secret meeting, but not to be deceived. One could argue that the Phantom insisted the costume be this way, but then this would be suspicious and I'd find it strange that no one suspected it would be needed for something. So, in short, I don't dislike the classic costume but I don't really love it either because it's clear it's a costume made for us, the real audience, instead of the fictional audience/play.

I don't love the hat+cloak combo, either, but it makes sense in the way the scene is set. The atmosphere is quite convivial, the ensemble is not only setting the table but some folks (Passarino included) are sitting at it, it looks like they all just finished conspiring and laying the plot. The costumes aren't super elaborate, but I think they worked well in conveying that in the scene there are folks of different social extraction and ways of life.

Passarino's hat and cloak work well to signify that he's a dashing young man, yes, but he's also a working servant: these are believable attire for someone who has to travel or spend time outside, they do tell you something about this character that we see for a handful of seconds, but if we were watching the actual play it would be important to get a nuanced portray of the character!

So yeah, while I don't love this costume? It does look like something made for the play-within-the-play, not something made for PotO, if this makes sense. I do have some issues with the colour, it does work well with Aminta's red and white and it's an ochre yellow that does photograph horribly but isn't too bad in person. And yes, it's very wide and in a stiffer fabric than the classic cloak so it looks clumsier when the Phantom is standing still, but it looks fine when he's moving. Maybe making it in black and a lighter fabric could work, I'd personally love for it to be a dark red similar to Red Death's cloak but then it would be too similar in tone to Aminta's dress (where the red or pink paired with the white is Symbolyc and thus important).

So, yeah, it's not the best, it is a bit weird at first if you're used to the classic black cloak, but it makes so much sense if you consider this is a costume diegetic to the DJT play! Aminta's dress is also simple, a bit of a "generic young country girl", but it has a silhouette that's quite flattering on Amelia and it does its job of representing the young, innocent girl ready to embrace passion etc.

Ok, I think that's enough words spent talking about something that's not the actual music and singing of this piece! The Point of no Return starts sung by Paingi up until "You've decided, decided", then the Phantom takes over and Ramin does his "singing imitating Piangi's accent" thing for a while, before dropping it. I saw people complaining about this, it looks like during the first night the switch was a bit later, but as it is now it works. I think it could be improved by making the change a bit more gradual as it is for the various notes. I did see a lady that was clearly at her first viewing of the show making an "Oh!" surprised face when the voice change happened, so I think it works especially well for first-timers that don't know what will happen, but only that something is bound to happen.

Please don't ask me to tell you stuff about the blocking because I was distracted by everything going on to really take note of it beyond lots of touching, very sensual vibes overall, and a nice bit of leg from Christine at one point. A notable difference is that Christine does realize what's going on only at the end of the song. I do like the timing because it matches with the last "We passed the point of no return" and the music's shift. The song doesn't end abruptly because the Phantom has been unmasked, but quietly and sadly because now Christine knows and the Phantom has to choose what to do. And the Phantom chooses to reveal himself to her (not the unmasking, just taking off the hat).

Raoul jumps onstage, along with the police officer, and Christine moves in order to protect the Phantom. She's clearly terrified but still doesn't want to see him shot dead. What follows is, simply put, one of the saddest All I Ask of You reprises I've ever heard or watched.

I always kinda wondered, what exactly is the Phantom's aim here? Does he just want to share the stage with her? Does he plan to kidnap her again? Does he believe that if only Christine sees the (creepy) opera he's written for her and sings the (creepy) longing song he's written she'll just fall for him as if nothing ever happened? Does he have a plan at all?

I am happy to report that in this staging there is one, simple reply: this Phantom is utterly, completely broken. His music is no longer enough, he needs/wants his music AND Christine to perform him. He wants her to see him, to acknowledge him, yes she does recognize him first in the scene, but he still has the chance to just get out of there. Instead, he reveals himself because he so desperately hopes, against all odds, that singing again together with Cristine the music he composed for her will have changed her mind, made her see how much he cares, made her feel how he feels for her etc. It was honestly a heartbreaking moment to witness, but yeah reading "the Phantom reveals himself at the end of PonR" and seeing it in context is VERY different.

The impression I got is that the Phantom spent six months spiralling into depression and THIS is the best he could come up with to try and make Christine speak to him again. He's desperate, and he knows it. You can feel it in his voice, you can see it in the way he's calm, almost resigned until the unmasking. For him, it all boils down to Christine's reply, to her accepting him or not. I don't think he's even stopped to consider what to do after she replies because that will be such a defining, world-changing moment. and I think that just for a moment the Phantom allows himself hope, the tiniest bit of it. Christine is clearly scared to death, but she's not running away. She's even protecting him, in a way. And then she unmasks him.

DOWN ONCE MORE/TRACK DOWN THIS MURDERER

The gondola does not disappear in the wings, so there's no quick change and Christine is in her AMinta dress. The Phantom does give her the veil, putting it on her head when he sees she's not doing it herself, and gives her what looks like a wedding dress but Christine is understandably thinking about her current predicament and when the Phantom sees she does not intend to wear it he just tosses it away and gives her the bouquet instead. I do like that there's no implication of Christine being forced to change, and it does keep intact the fact that the Phantom did have a wedding dress, veil and bouquet prepared for her.

When singing "A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing" Ramin raised a hand to touch the disfigured side in a way that is just heartbreaking. I know I'm using this word a lot, but I feel it's true for this portrayal: a very physical Phantom with a lot of self-loathing, a lot of repressed emotions that get directed inwards with no way or no one to help express them, accompanied by the occasional outburst when they get simply too much to be repressed any longer. Isolated and emotionally stunted is the name of the game here, but in a way that makes you see just how deprived of regular socialization and company he was during his life.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that when Christine sang "It's in your soul that the true distortion lies", in the split second before noticing Raoul's arrival the Phantom raised a hand and was starting to reply to Christine, and I'd really, really like to know how he'd try to get himself out of that one! It was a blink-and-you-'ll-miss-it moment, but I found it interesting that this Phantom's reaction to Christine's accusation was not dismay or anger, but rather trying to talk it out.

Then our boy Raoul appears in all his damp, well-toned and bare-chested glory! Bradley Jaden is quite ripped, I think by now we've all seen the pictures, and let me tell you they do not do him justice. He's also barefoot, and he stumbles on the scene while very convincingly gasping after the swim in the underground lake.

The suspenders are still on because they are clearly used when he gets hanged by the Phantom, since in this scene he is literally hanging, his feet a good 50 cm or so from the ground. My guess is that the "Y" part of the suspenders on the back latches onto some kind of support built into the Phantom's bedframe to take pressure off the neck or something like that. It still looks extremely uncomfortable, and Bradley was clearly tensing a lot of muscles to maintain the position. So yeah, apart from the eye candy, it looks like a challenging thing to do while you're also singing and acting. I still have no explanation for why they did this instead of dampening his shirt, I guess they took a good look at Bradley Jaden's pecs and thought "Oh people will love that!" and asked him if he minded spending the last 10 minutes onstage half naked? I really don't know.

Raoul was convincingly rational (as much as possible) in this scene, he did get angry but it was also clear he was trying to keep his cool and reason if possible because his #1 priority was: to help Christine get out of there. And I think this creates a beautiful dynamic in this scene, where Christine starts angry and scared but then sees that Raoul is trying to keep his promise and jumped into a freezing lake to reach her and be at her side despite the danger. And this in turn gives her the strength to face her fear, which is now not just hypothetical but becoming very real, and find the will she needs to save Raoul in turn. They can save each other because they have built a reciprocal trust and do actively support each other during most of the second act.

Unfortunately, there is the choking. For those who don't know what I'm referring to, when Raoul comes in Christine tries to run to him and the Phantom stops her, and ends up choking her a bit before realizing what he's doing and letting her go. I really didn't like it in this instance. I think there are some actors that can make it work if they play a very aggressive, wounded Phantom that lashes out at the world, but I am having trouble fitting it in this portrayal where his negative emotions are clearly almost all directed inwards and where the Phantom tends to be quite gentle with Christine. Also, not only is he a murderer (twice), kidnapper, damaged property, and maybe kinda drugged Christine, but he's also physically abusive. Cool cool cool. I'd rather like it if they removed it.

When the Phantom realizes what he's doing he immediately lets Christine go (at least) and Christine tries to run to Raoul's side but he gets hanged by the Phantom. Christine gets PISSED in this version, while the Phantom is a bit more on the cooler, controlled side, and Raoul seems to sincerely regret his actions since they only made the situation worse. I have to say that even despite the distracting shirtlessness of Raoul, having him actually hanging instead of just… being mildly inconvenienced by a noose clearly big enough for his head to pass through does make it all a bit more believable. I do buy that this guy is really in a situation where he can't free himself.

I also really liked the "Angel of music, you deceived me /I gave my mind blindly" delivery: it's not angry but rather deeply mournful and regretful, since now it's Christine's turn to realize that her trust in the Angel of Music because of her clinging desperately to any scrap of her father's presence/memory is what led to all of this. In a way, this version underscores Christine's growth as she tries to become her own person without the influences of her father or of the Phantom guiding but also limiting her, it's one of the main themes and I liked how her realization is delivered here connects it clearly to All I Ask of You and Wandering Child conceptually.

So the big moment, the choice, arrives. In the preceding moments Raoul struggled even more frantically and now is losing consciousness, so when the Phantom delivers his ultimatum (a very weary, exhausted ultimatum) Christine just looks at Raoul one last time (she thinks) and this gives her the strength to decide and act.

After the kiss, the way the Phantom stands still for a while before sloooowly walking to Raoul and cutting the lasso is… I don't really know how to explain it. You take all the defeat, resignation and brokenness of when he revealed himself to Christine at the end of PonR and double or triple them, then add in all the self-loathing he displayed during the rest of the musical. He does now realize with crystal clear certainty that he'll never, ever have what he wants in the way he wants it, and this time he can't blame the world but only himself and his actions. He's beyond broke, beyond everything really. Weary and with nothing left to look forward to.

Raoul collapses to the ground, and Christine runs to him and physically helps him up and to the boat. No elegant, composed sitting: here Raoul and Christine are physically and psychologically exhausted, so there's no time for all of that as they almost stumble into the boat and it's the Phantom that shoves it away, sending them towards their freedom and out of the stage.

The Phantom sounds so distressed in the bit just before this, and the fact that the last "go now and leave me" is sung when he's alone on stage, having physically pushed away the one person that, despite everything and despite making the choice under extreme duress, was capable of staying beside him… ooof. You really feel that he has nothing left now, and maybe for the first time ever he truly wants to be alone, to disappear completely. Which of course makes the brief Masquerade reprise even more devastating than usual.

Now, the other big controversial change: the ring return. The Phantom is facing the other way when Christine comes in. It looks like she's debating whether to approach him or not, and then when he sings "Christine, I love you" she just leaves the ring and silently leaves. The Phantom hears something, turns, sees the ring and picks it up, and in that moment from off stage the All I Ask of You final reprise is heard, accompanied by a soft, golden light coming from above showing that Raoul and Christine are making their way to the surface and to the (metaphorical) light.

Why no interaction during the ring return? In this production, they are leaning a lot on the Phantom as being a toxic influence/relationship for Christine, not without its allure and charms, but also very dangerous and controlling. And when Christine sees him kill because he didn't get his way… well, she gets it quite quickly and actively tries to avoid him, but realizes that she's still pretty vulnerable to him and his influence. And I think not interacting with him at the very end represents her cutting off a toxic person, at this point any interaction would be dangerous to her, and an unkindness to him.

She knows she's still vulnerable to him, that despite everything he did she can still care about him because she's just that kind of person. At the same time, the Phantom did the morally right thing by pushing her away from him and it's clear it took him every ounce of willpower he had and he might not be able to do so again. So, when Christine hears him declaring his love to an empty room, she doesn't risk wasting all the effort they BOTH put in (plus Raoul, who literally risked his life for her) to say one last goodbye.

It's a big change, it does change the ending and their dynamic a lot, so I get it if you don't like it. But it makes sense, it has its place in the narrative of this specific production, and since it makes such a difference I think if you're used to the "regular" ring return you need to experience it after getting through all the previous emotional beats in order to be in the right mind space to accept it.

When the Phantom realizes that Christine is truly gone, he slowly makes his way to the bed and covers himself with the sheets as the ensemble (led by Madame Giry) bursts in. Meg approaches the covers and pulls them away, revealing an empty bed save from the Phantom's mask, which she brings to her mother who looks at it somberly, and they both raise it for the classic final "shot".

I am ambivalent about this choice. On one hand, I think it looks a bit silly and could probably be implemented better, on the other hand I think it's meant to be a reference to the Phantom letting himself die in the book, and I did like it as a metaphor for his death, and having the ensemble kinda witnessing it and him not being so alone in his final moments.

I've decided to make a different post for my opinion about the singing performances and my overall opinion about what works, what doesn't, and so on, which can also be a TL;DR of sorts since I realize not everyone is interested in a song-by-song comparison.

For now, I'll just say that if you go in expecting West End or Broadway levels of opulence you will be disappointed by the stage sets, costumes, etc., which are rarely memorable, at times flops, more often are ok and serviceable (meaning they are not distracting and don't get in the way of the performance, even if they're not anything special).

If you want to see the story and characterization you already know, then you can watch one of the tens of bootlegs available and enjoy the subtle changes each actor brings to the characters (I know I do!), but if you'd like a different take on the main characters and key scenes then this will get your brain going.

If you go in with a preset idea of what you want to get out of the experience, chances are there'll be areas where it underdelivers and interesting stuff you might not notice while if you go in without trying to force your expectations on the show, then you'll probably come away with some stuff you liked, some stuff that you're not so sure about but is interesting or might work with a change or two, and yes, some stuff you didn't like at all, or left you confused, or is just plain weird.

Overall it was a fun and interesting experience, the vocal performances were great, the acting choices captivating and I went home with some new interpretations of the main characters while thinking about if I can make a trip to Milan in October to see it again. Despite some major flaws, it is doing something interesting and engaging in its own way and I'd love to see it again knowing what to expect.

#poto italy #phantom of the opera #long post #phantom of the opera italy #ramin karimloo #amelia milo #bradley jaden

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knickynoo · 9 months

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Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s02ep04 “Marty McFly PFC” Review and Commentary

Previous episodes linked here.

In this episode: Lots of jitterbugging, Marty accidentally joins the military, and using German words is strictly verboten.

Another green screen opening! Our good friend Doc is in the 1940s, where he's entered a jitterbug dance contest. He's having a blast watching the other competitors.

A few things here...

There was a missed opportunity to have Doc's contestant number be 88.

Also, you can't just drop information about Doc apparently being able to jitterbug well enough to enter a contest and then NOT show him dancing. This is Doc Lore that shouldn't just be glossed over! The man can jitterbug??! Show. Us.

Why did this form of dance ever go out of style? I LOVE swing dancing. We should still be doing this.

Doc leads us into the cartoon by reminiscing about the time that Verne, who was taking dance lessons, accidentally entered a jitterbug contest as well in 1944.

We begin at the Hill Valley Dance Academy, where we quickly learn that Verne is not a very good dancer. He's attempting to waltz with his partner, but keeps stepping on her feet and messing up the footwork. His teacher is quite displeased with his lack of progress over the previous three weeks.

Look at Vernie with his slicked back hair and fancy little outfit. Adorable.

After a terrible class, Verne goes home to beg Clara to let him quit. She tells him that it's important to finish what you start. Also! We've got a new and improved Clara this season! First of all, her character design is much better—her features aren't quite as wonky as they were at the start of season one—and she's got some new clothes! It seems that Clara has been adjusting well to living in the early 1990s.

I love that we never see Clara not wearing purple. The girl knows what she likes and sticks to it.

After realizing he isn't getting anywhere with trying to convince his mother, Verne goes to Doc to vent about his dance woes. Doc says that he, too, took dance lessons as a kid, and that it was, "a humiliating experience."

To help Verne out, Doc digs through a trunk for an old invention: a pair of boots that are programmed to help the wearer perform certain dances. Unfortunately, as with most of Cartoon Doc's inventions, they malfunction pretty much right away, making him dance too quickly before spinning him out of control and then exploding.

Doc searches for the blueprints to repair them, but he can't find it anywhere in his files. Using a different invention to help jog his memory, Doc has a "flashback" to where he had stored the original blueprints.

We learn that Doc lived in a small apartment above a gas station in 1944, and he tells Verne a bit about World War II and all the fear and uncertainty of the time. He recalls hiding the blueprints under some clothes in a drawer just before the siren announcing a blackout sounded. This is 1944 Doc, by the way.

Not sure why he has such dark hair. There was that episode last season where we met him as a four-year-old, and he had very light blond hair. By 1955, his hair is still a light blond, heading toward white. Did he dye his hair at some point? Hmm.

Anyway, Doc goes on to tell Verne that the dresser holding the blueprints was lost the next year in a fire. Verne suggests they just take a quick trip back to 1944 to nab the blueprints, but Doc doesn't want to take the risk of running into his past self. Verne is not pleased.

We cut scene to Marty, who is rummaging through the Browns' fridge like a starving man since he apparently doesn't have a family of his own to feed him. Verne promises to buy Marty a big, greasy burger if he'll go on an "errand" with him. This is enough to get Marty to agree, and he and Verne set off for 1944. And this right here is another major difference between Movie Marty and Cartoon Marty. Movie Marty wouldn't be swayed by the promise of food. That kid doesn't even need food. He'll go through all sorts of exciting and nightmarish adventures on a completely empty tank—no food, no water, no sleep. He's just built different.

After arriving, our little Chaos Duo partake in some breaking and entering and find the blueprints.

Just when it looks like their errand is already done and they're in the clear, Marty and Verne are stopped by a Blackout Warden, who questions them on why they had lights on in the apartment during a scheduled blackout. Were they trying to signal enemy planes?

The warden then finds the DeLorean, which he assumes is some type of advanced weapon. He goes to inform the military while Marty and Verne take off running. The two hide out in some bushes overnight in a victory garden, and are found in the morning by a girl named Rosie and her little sister, Dorothy.

We then meet Sergeant Frank Tannen, who obviously has a thing for Rosie and, in typical Tannen fashion, starts being much too forward and handsy with her. Marty intervenes, and Frank chases them for a while before they manage to get the upper hand.

But if you think that this is the end of the trouble for Marty and Vernie, you're wrong. The warden shows up then, announcing that he's placing the both of them under citizen's arrest. They take off running again, with both Frank and the warden in pursuit.

Verne, who is smart, takes cover in a movie theater. Marty, who is a doofus on a good day, runs straight into a recruiting center. For some reason, he thinks it's a restaurant?? And when he asks if people are on line for food, the guy in front of him says they'll get three square meals a day. Marty, who is still very hungry, is thrilled and asks what he has to do to get some food. He's told to sign a form, which he immediately does.

Marty has accidentally joined the Army.

This all could have been avoided if he'd been able to find some food in the fridge earlier. Or even if he'd had a granola bar stashed away in his pocket or in the car.

After learning of Marty's predicament, Verne starts trying to figure out how to rescue him. While he's out in town, he runs into Rosie and Dorothy, who ask him if he'd like to come to their house for a Salisbury steak. "Nah, but a hamburger would be great!" Verne replies, promptly getting a hand clamped over his mouth by Rosie. He's informed that he shouldn't say "The H-word," or people might think he's a Nazi spy.

At their house, Dorothy asks Verne to stick around and be her partner for the jitterbug contest (if you hadn't guessed, Dorothy is Verne's dance teacher as a little girl). Verne says he can't possibly hang around; he's got to save Marty.

"You kidding?" Rosie replies. "The Army will make a man out of him."

Immediate cut to this scene:

Poor guy.

Returning to the "H-word" scene for a moment, I'd like to point out that in the initial scene with Frank Tannen, he keeps using German phrases and catching himself. He calls Marty and Verne "wisenheimers" (great word that isn't used nearly enough, by the way. It means a smart-aleck/wise-guy), as well as "dummkopfs."

If people aren't supposed to be using German words, Sergeant Tannen isn't doing a very good job. Maybe...he's a spy!!

(side-note: I don't know for sure, but I'd assume Frank is Biff's uncle? Maybe he's Irving "Kid" Tannen's brother?)

Okay, back to Marty. He's—

Wait, wrong piece of media.

After eating some very questionable food in the mess hall, Marty is rescued by Verne, who is dressed as a medic.

They run off to the town square, where the dance contest is being held. Frank and the warden from earlier are both there searching for Marty and Verne. Marty dons a wig and poses as one of the "Anderson sisters" up on the stage, while Verne goes with Dorothy to dance. Using the power of swing-dancing, Verne and Dorothy basically beat up Frank and the warden. Verne also discovers that he really likes to dance!

The pair win first place in the contest, and Marty and Verne then steal the DeLorean back from the men who were guarding it and return home.

After seeing the blueprints, Doc says he doesn't approve of the trip to the past, but it's okay as long as they didn't interact with anyone or interfere with anything. Verne and Marty trade mischievous smiles, then Verne runs off to his dance class.

We return to Real Doc, who leads us into a fascinating lesson about center of mass, and shows us a very interesting experiment demonstrating how men and women have different centers of mass (due to the way a woman's hips are positioned), thus allowing women to easily perform a maneuver that involves taking a certain number of steps back, leaning forward with the top of your head against a wall, picking up a chair, and standing straight up—something the majority of men apparently can't do. Here are gifs of a woman (in a spectacularly 90s outfit) and Bill Nye demonstrating.

I actually was so interested in this that I searched up several videos of people doing it on youtube. All the women could do it easily, but only one guy could, lol.

Looks like a fun game to play at a party or family get-together!

This was an enjoyable episode. Lots of silly Marty and Verne shenanigans. I would like to start seeing more of Clara and Jules, though. They're not utilized nearly enough in this cartoon. I think that's because they both have too much common sense, so it's easier to leave them out of the picture and let Doc, Verne, and Marty run wild.

Join me next time to see Marty and Verne throw caution to the wind and let Verne's friend in on the secret of time travel.

#back to the future #bttf: the animated series

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jones-friend · 9 months

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I FINALLY PLAYED TWO NEW GAMES TONIGHT

Zoo Vadis & Cryptid Cafe

I recommend them both but with an asterisk*. They have some wonderful strengths but also have some specifics I’ll get into that may or may not make them suitable for your friends.

Zoo Vadis was a game I found off kickstarter that is actually a remake of the game Quo Vadis?: where players in a roman senate advance their senator tokens and make deals along the way. From the changes I’ve seen Zoo Vadis makes some good tweaks!

In Zoo Vadis each player picks an animal in the zoo. You have 6 tokens of that animal. The board has four starting enclosures at the bottom and through branching paths and enclosures of varying sizes ends with the star enclosure at the top. On your turn you place one of your animal tokens on the bottom, advance one to the next enclosure, advance a peacock, or move the zookeeper.

The trick of the game is you need to accrue more laurels, victory points, than the other players AND you need to get one token in the star exhibit. If you aren’t in the star exhibit you get 0 points.

To advance your animal token you need the majority vote of the enclosure you’re in. An enclosure with 3 spaces needs 2 votes, 5 spaces needs 3 votes, and so forth. You require minimum those votes, so if you’re the only animal in a 5 space enclosure you aren’t going anywhere. You can use your victory point laurels to bribe the neutral peacock faction OR make deals with other players.

And thats the heart of Zoo Vadis. This is a highly social negotiation game. If you play solitaire and secure your own path to zip to the end you will end the game with barely any points. Voting for another animal awards you a 1pt Laurel as the winning player claims a laurel token between 2-5pts. You need to spend time advancing your tokens and helping others advance, aka extorting your friends. All deals made within the turn must be abided by but not if the deal extends beyond that turn. “If you pay me 2 laurels I’ll vote for you this turn” must be abided by. “You vote for me this turn I’ll vote for you next turn” can be broken as a deal. But if you aren’t trustworthy, who will make deals with you?

And thats what I love about Zoo Vadis. There’s a balance here: shoot right to the end and you barely score any points. Spend too much time racking up laurels the other players can and will block you from the star exhibit.

The zookeeper token allows you to advance without a vote, but you don’t acquire the normal laurel token for advancing. The peacocks also add a lot of strategic depth, using them to block paths or gum up enclosures for rough votes. Our 4 player game had 5 spaces in the star enclosure and 2 spaces were taken up by peacocks so one player ended with 0 points since we all couldn’t make it.

The production design is also stellar. I love the art direction, each faction is a different kind of fancy. The art looks great, the pieces are high quality, its amazing.

There are optional powers but every review I’ve seen says the powers cause unnecessary clutter so we opted not to use them.

This is where I bring in the asterisk*. If your friends enjoy more solitaire style games like Earth where we largely work on our own engines then compare scores at the end you won’t have a good time. Everyone needs to be social and be aggressive, you get the most points if you make the most deals. If your friends enjoy lots of gotcha! mechanics or interaction heavy games this is a top tier one for the group. Just light enough on mechanics to keep the game from bogging down with 3-7 people making it a great game for large groups.

Cryptid Cafe! I bought this game just bc of the flavoring and art and I don’t regret it! In Cryptid Cafe you have cryptids coming to your cafe! They have an order at the top you’re looking to fulfill! Send your three server tokens to the chef up top to get ingredients like Brain-Lettuce-Tomato sandwiches or Hot Apple Spider, Cinnemonster Rolls. Serve them before your cryptid guests get mad and walk out on you. Play 8 rounds and the highest score wins!

This is a game I bought bc it looked cute and I’m glad its mechanics had some meat on them bones. You have 3 worker tokens (your servers). The kraken chef’s board has all 3 ingredients with 3, 2, 1, 1 spaces beneath each. Place your worker on a chosen spot to gain that many of that food. At the end of worker placement players can tip the chef. If you’re last in line you can pay one money (victory point) per space to go higher, get more ingredients while bumping everyone down. Its a fairly cutthroat mechanic, one tip from my roommate at the last round stopped her brother from being able to fulfill his last order. Its also a great worker placement mechanic, since you can place anywhere 3-1, you can intentionally place last to tip, and just bc you snagged the first spot doesn’t mean you’re safe.

At its heart its an efficiency game. Guests request 2-4 foods and you can only gather with three workers per turn. Figure out how to use your gathers efficiently and serve your guests. Its theming is an absolute delight and its puzzle of getting the right food was just meaty enough for us to enjoy. Its not the deepest game but for what its doing its good.

I will mention, if this is a dealbreaker for you, that the developers aren’t aware of the taboo nature of the wendigo and that is included here.

The rulebook also lists out origins of each cryptid in the game with brief descriptions. We had a lovely time with Cryptid Cafe if you don’t mind a simpler worker placement with a twist. My asterisk comes in with the wendigo part as well as this is a thematic game, if you’re charmed by the theme you’ll have fun. If you aren’t you might not have the same experience I did.

#Tabletop #board games #zoo vadis #Cryptid cafe

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romanarose · 1 year

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Leather and Lace: Final Chapter (12)

Santiago Garcia x Fem!OC

Triple Frontier Master List

Chapter 11

Leather and Lace master list

Continue the story with Frankie and Jana in Take Your Time

Summary: For Laci's birthday, all she wants is a weekend at a cabin with Santi and the guys, but she ends up giving Santiago a gift too. Less of a coherent storyline, more of a collection of random scenes of their weekend together, telling the story of how far they've all come. Also: sex

Warnings: Insomnia, addiction recovery, mentions of drinking problems, scary incident involving almost drowning kinda? No real danger with the boys there but still. Santi is a horny teenager. For the smut: PIV sex (you heard me), thigh riding, so, so much dirty talk, so much. praise kink, light dom/sub dynamic IG but theres no rough sex, daddy kink (im so sorry), so much praise it's sickening, fingering, sickly sweet sex idk how it can get cuter, it's practically fluff. protected sex, talk of cum (is that a warning? idk but I get grossed out about stuff so fair warning), food, eating problems, weight, insecurity, potential fertilty problems from trauma but its a brief mention. uuuhhhhhh I think thats it

************************

“They are going to be like this all weekend, aren’t they?” Will said from his driver's seat as him, Benny and Frankie watched Santi exit the doors of the women's shelter, giggling with Laci as she hung off his arm.

Benny sat in the back. “I love them, but jesus christ they are like teenagers.”

“I think they’re sweet” Frankie smiled, watching his best friend so happy made him happy.

Will turned to Frankie incredulously. “What’s going on with you lately? Acting all lovely dovey”

Benny kicked Frankies seat “Yeah, I thought being there all summer you’d get sick of them”

Will glared at Benny for mentioning Frankie’s living situation, something they were supposed to be pretending wasn’t happening while Frankie focused on sobriety. He had taken a basic engineering job to give him something to do, something to focus on. Nothing fancy, not a lot of pay, he didn’t want to take the money from anyone who actually needed it, but a simple 9-5. A place to be, a schedule, and it had seemed to be helping. Not that it was a cure, by any means, he was a full time pilot when Rosa was born and his license came under review due to his coke use. Coming back from Columbia, he lost it, but could reapply in another two years. He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to. For one, he wasn’t sure he could trust himself with that sort of thing anymore. If he relapsed and flew, people could die. However, engineer jobs were in high demand, so he took one, and it was helping him keep focus, rather than sit around all day thinking ‘a little couldn’t hurt’.

It had been Laci’s idea. She had started volunteering at the shelter Jana worked at, and said it had helped her, gave her more purpose. Frankie had been spending a lot of time with Pope’s girl lately. She was sweet, cooking breakfast and dinner for him and Santi, and taking care of them and the Millers when they worked on projects. Of course, her new-found friendship with his ex-girlfriend had lead to seeing a lot of Jana. At this point, Jana was comfortable with Rosie being alone with Frankie, even for over nights, although with him staying with Santiago, it wasn’t exactly alone. But still, Jana came over quite a bit, the four of them and Rosie spending hours together. Frankie never stopped loving her. He always would love her, even if by some miracle there was someone else in his life, but he couldn’t foresee that. Frankie didn’t deserve Jana, he didn’t deserve Benny, Will, Laci and especially not Santi, in his unwavering loyalty. Frankie sometimes felt like Santi only stuck around him from a sense of duty, that last family either of them had left. They weren’t blood related, but the two of them had grown up in Huston most of their lives together, and were as much family as the broken pair had. As much as he hated being a burden to Santi, he hated being a burden to Laci even more.

Frankie sat on the couch, watching some infomercial when the door opened. He didn’t even know infomercials were even a thing anymore. Laci emerged from the room she shared with Santi, frowning when she saw him on the couch at two AM.

“Hey Frankie, can’t sleep?”

“No” Fish shook his head. “You?”

“Nightmare. Didn’t wanna wake Santi.”

She was very considerate. It wasn’t like Santi had to be up for anything, he could sleep in as late as he wanted, but she never liked to bother him, as much as Santi never saw it as a bother.

She headed for the kitchen “Hungry? I was gonna make some pizza rolls”

God, her and Santi shared the same braincell half the time, that fucker loves his pizza rolls.

Frank shrugged. “I could eat”

“Don’t tell Santi I’m microwaving them, he’s an oven purist.”

Laci and Frankie giggled watching some strange add for wearable towels. “Is it bad this makes me want it?” Laci asked, mouth full of the last few pizza rolls.

“That is the ugliest towel I’ve ever seen in my life Laci”

“I’m a sucker for advertising, what can I say?”

There was a pause, and Frankie watched Laci yawn. “You don’t have to stay up with me”

“I’m not” She lied, watching the TV.

“Laci.”

She turned to him. “I know how it is. I didn’t hardly sleep when I first came here. It’s a lot better now, but I know how hard it can be.”

Frankie nodded. “Pope told me you guys used to spend the night on this couch when you both were up.”

Smiling fondly, looking away as she tugged on the hem of her floral PJ’s. “Yeah, that got me through a very hard period in my life. He was there for me, never asking anything in return. I didn't need to talk if I couldn’t, he was just… there.” Laci looked at him, carefully. “I want to be that for you.”

Frankie was overcome with emotions. He wasn’t quite sure what he did to deserve Laci, Jana and the guys in his life. “No, sweetheart, you haven't even been back a year, you have enough to focus on without this old addict's problems.”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’ll just do what Santi did for me. If I’m up, I’ll come out here, and if you’re awake too, we can eat pizza rolls and watch TV. This way, I can have company without waking Santi. This was our special place for a time.” Laci patted the couch and smile at Frankie. “It can be ours now.”

When Santiago woke up that morning, he assumed Laci had already gotten up. He pulled on a shirt and padded out in his boxers to find Laci and Frankie asleep on the couch, Laci’s head resting on his shoulder. Another time in his life, another group of friends or another girl, he might have been jealous or suspicious. But he knew Laci, and he knew Francisco, and it warmed his heart to know they took care of each other. They were family to each other as much as they were for him.

Santi listened to Laci chatter about her day as he walked her to Will’s truck. When she first started volunteering at the beginning of summer, it had been for one hour increments. The first day Santi took her in, he felt almost like a dad at the first day of preschool. He had half expected her to get overwhelmed, to cling to him as she often did, maybe even backing out. But with a kiss on the cheek, she said goodbye and almost skipped away from a stunned Santi, over to where Jana waited to introduce her to the people in the childcare department. Jana waved at Santi, and by the cocked eyebrow on her face, she seemed to be thinking the same thing Will, Frankie, and Benny would tell him ‘she’s not as fragile as you think she is’.

It wasn’t that Santiago thought she was fragile… well maybe he did… after what she went through? Could you blame him? Sometimes it was hard to reconcile the girl he found all those months ago, handcuffed to a chair, blue lipped and face covered in blood with her hair matted to her skin, to the healthy girl who smiled and ran around parks with Rosie. It was hard to reconcile the girl he thought was dead, who didn’t initially respond to him, who couldn’t even look at him, with the girl who completely submitted and trusted her body to him. The juxtaposition between the girl he had to carry the last leg of their journey out of the woods, whose feet were bloody in the misfitting shoes Benny had found her in the house, who wouldn’t leave Santiago’s presence for months, to the girl he watched happily walk away from him to go help children and family in need, despite her own trauma. She continued to blow him away.

Santi was tempted to wait in the parking lot, but she made him promise to go somewhere. He went to the McDonalds down a few blocks, and by the time he came to pick her up he was fairly certain the anxiety he had been fighting back was entirely one sided. She was fine. Laci asked him to still come in to drop her off and pick her up, still getting used to being alone. Two months in, she was well liked and did good, and Laci had been volunteering longer hours. Santi had shifted from nerves to pride. Here she was, going to therapy, still regularly checking in with doctors and nutritionists, but she still took time out of her week to help children. Every day, he found another reason to fall further in love.

Opening the door for her and holding her hand as she climbed up in Will’s stupidly high truck, Santi followed in after her, pulling out the bags Laci asked several times today for him to remember to bring.

“Hi everyone!” Laci chirped, everyone said hi, and happy birthday. Despite only volunteering for a few months, Laci had been surprised with cupcakes when she came in today. One of the moms at the shelter heard it was her birthday and whipped up the treat for her. Laci promptly began crying, but happy tears. Laci didn’t want anything for her birthday, joking that compared to last year, a regular day was a treat. Santi was not thrilled with her dark joke, and said ‘Well, now that you say it like that, we have to do something’ They settled on a weekend trip, Santi getting a cabin on a lake a few hours out. They’d spend the weekend together, coming in Friday, fishing on Saturday, and head home sunday. Benny had found that the country was having a little concert with a local band, and suggested they all go Saturday night, which Laci seemed excited about. Other than that, just a simple weekend away. Frankie and Will agreed to grill for their ‘gift’ after Laci insisted she didn’t want anything but their presence. “I got you guys all presents for the trip!” .

“It’s your birthday, and you got us gifts?” Fish turned around to look at her, as did Will as they were still parked.

“Oh so that’s what you bought” Santi commented.

“I told you not to look!”

“I didn’t! I just saw a charge from etsy on my card statement, I swear I didn’t snoop, baby”

Laci eyed him suspiciously, but went back to the others. “Okay, so everyone remembers Benny’s ‘women want me, fish fear me’ hat right?”

Frankie groans.

“The one fish threw in the bonfire?” Will asked rhetorically. “Yeah I remember”

Benny made the sign of the cross. “RIP to a real one”

“Okay so these are like. A play off of that. And no one has to wear them outside of this weekend, I just thought it was funny. Sorry Frankie.”

“Let’s see what you got, manita” Frankie encouraged.

“Okay, first, for Santi” Laci pulls out a hat and hands it to Santi.

He reads it out loud “Fish want to have a beer with me, women want to fix me.” He glances over to Fish “Well, it’s not wrong”

Frankie smiled. “Women do want to fix you.”

“ME NEXT ME NEXT” Benny was bouncing in his seat.

“Okay okay okay” She handed the next hat to the right where Benny sat.

“Women want me, men want me, fish want me” Benny barely got the words out through his giggles. “Ah yes, the three genders“

“Well, there was one that said they/them want me, fish fear me, but I felt that didn’t really encompass” Laci gestured vaguely “You’re whole thing”

“She’s calling you a whore, Ben” Will called from the front.

“No I’m not!”

Benny hugged her “I love it, Laci, I’m never taking it off” He covers his blonde hair in the hat, grinning.

“Frankie, this is yours. I know you like your regular hat, but if you can at least wear this for a picture-”

“You got me a hat?” Fish interrupted her, his face so serious, brown eyes wide.

“Well, yeah” She said, finding his. “I wouldn’t just leave you out”

Frankie took his, reading it outloud with a smile “Women want me, the minds of fish are unknowable.”

“I thought it was funny, because, like, you’re a bit of an enigma, but women do love you. It was kinda hard to find one for you, because you are fish in this hats scenario but… yeah”

Frankie took of his ’standard oil’ hat, adjusting his new one with a shy smile, trying to not let his emotions get the best of him. “I love it, Laci, thank you”

Laci smiled, then Will spoke. “Okay hun, lets see what you got for me” he held out his hand for his, then read it. “‘Let any fish who meets my gaze” Will tried to hide his little giggle. “Learn the true meaning of fear-” The stoic, quiet man laughed loudly “Jesus christ, Laci.” He unsuccessfully composed himself to try and read he last line through laughs. “For I am the harbinger of death” He covered his face laughing, a broad smile on his face.

Laci grinned, looking around at her friends all wearing the hat she got them “And this one” Laci pulled out the last one “Is mine”

Santi leaned over to read it, amused by Laci wearing a fishing hat with her white shirt and pink skirt. “Government agents want me, fish fear me”

Laci clarified. “Well, I figure you’re a government agent, and you…” She trailed off, blushing.

“Want you?” Santi finished, taking her chin in his hand. “Fuck yeah I do, babydoll” and took her in for a passionate kiss.

Will, ever literal, chimed in. “Calling him a government agent is a bit of a stretch. That implied the work he did was legal”

The evening went smoothly, everyone settling into the cabin and Will firing up the grill on the patio to make baked bean and sausages. They were far removed from any other cabins, so the music was loud, Laci jamming to it.

“Pope” Will said, watching Laci go to town on a guitar solo. “Wanna explain why the 5 foot girl in a ruffled skirt is head banging to Avenge Sevenfold?”

“Hey” Santi raised his hands defensively “This is her playlist”

“Really? I thought she’d listen to like. Matchbox 20, or Taylor Swift or something”

Benny laughed “Taylor Swift? Why, because she’s blonde?”

Will was going to argue, but he shut his mouth, knowing Ben was probably right.

Ben continued. “Laci and I are going to Breaking Benjamin next month, that girl can rock”

Laughing, Will looked at Ben incredulously. “Santi’s letting you take her to a rock show?”

Laci turned around to give Will a pointed look. “Santi doesn’t ‘let’ me do anything, Miller”

“Sorry Laci” Will apologized, then turned back to his brother. “You can’t be drinking, that girl is going to get trampled”

“Laci!” Frankie called, stepping onto the deck, swinging a colorfult gift bag. “I got your gift!”

Laci turned down the music, looking at him. “Frankie! I said no presents!” But she approached him, eyes wide with excitement.

Fish shook his head. “You said you didn’t need anything, not to not get you anything”

Santi smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Don’t fight it, munequita, being friends with Catfish and getting gifts goes hand in hand.” He leaned in to see what his friend got his girl.

“Frankie!!!” She jumped up excitedly. “Oh my god I love it!”

Santi frowns as Laci pulls out the ugliest thing he’s seen in his life. “Mi amor, what the fuck is that shit”

“It’s a wearable towel!” It was a towel with four holes in each corner like they had seen on the infomercial they watched together that first night. She put the horrific thing on over her shirt and skirt, making Benny look as confused as ever.

“Fish, what the fuck?” Benny wandered over, taking in Laci, who was almost always dressed up so cute, in this ugly towel.

“It’s a wearable towel” Frankie said with a smile. They wouldn’t get it. But Laci would.

Laci practically tackled Frankie in a hug. “I fucking love it!”

That morning, Santi make breakfast for everyone. Just scrambled eggs and sausage as well as starting the coffee, but an attempt none the less. He didn’t have the kitchen skills Will and Frankie did, but he didn’t want them to have to do all the food this weekend.

All the guys were up, and Santi was leaning over the counter talking to his old buddies alone, enjoying some time with just them. Frankie was teasing him over Laci calling him daddy, something Will decided he’d absolutely never let go, and Benny was reminding them they can make fun of Santi, but no one is allowed to mention it to Laci.

Will leaned in front of Santi, hands folded together in front of his face in concentration. “So let me get this straight. No sex”

Santi felt his upper lip curl up in a laugh. “No, Ironhead, no sex, but I swear to god we’re all good in that department”

“Yeah man, I know you are” Will grabs Santi by the scuff of his neck, laughing. “Your neck had no less bruises than when you got fucking strangled!”

The guys all join in on the laughter, Santi giggling as Will touches his sensitive neck, until the bedroom door opens. “Hey Laci, sorry, did we wake you?” Laci looked groggy as she robbed her eyes and padded in, and Santi had to suppress his morning wood at the sight of her in his Fleetwood Mac shirt. It was long enough it went past the shorts he knew she was wearing but god… did it look like she had nothing on under…

“No” She mumbled with a small smile, trying to remind polite despite being so tired. “Jus’ a lil sleepy” she murmered, walking up to Santi who was sitting on the stool, and wrapping her arms around his neck and she nuzzled her face into his shoulder. “Morn’n guys”

Everyone said good morning, and Will offered to make her a cup of coffee. “I don’t know if we have any creamer, but theirs sugar”

A small, loud whine immites from Laci, still buried in Santi’s shirt, before she looked up. “Sorry, that was was rude. That would be great, thank you Will.”

Santi clarifies. “She usually drinks iced coffee from this shop down the street”

“Regular coffee with sugar will be fine, thank you. I’ll survive” She tried to look more excited for it.

“Actually” Frankie gets up and heads to the fridge, pulling out a carton “I brought this” He holds up caramel iced coffee. “I know you liked this sugary shit, and Santi barely remembered to bring the hamber buns, so I got some for this weekend.”

“Oh thank GOD” Laci said, flopping her head back down on Santi, muttering about a hundred ‘thank you’s to Fish as he poured her a cup over ice.

“I’m not wearing a lifejacket!” Laci insisted as Benny, Will and Frankie sat in the boat, waiting for Laci and Santi to stop arguing. Well, as much as the pair could possibly argue with each other.

“Then I’m not wearing sunscreen” Santi countered, knowing how particular she was about that. “And neither is Frankie”

“Oh no,” Fish raised his hands in defeat while Will groaned. “Don’t bring me into this”

Laci ignored him, as he wished. “You’re wearing sunscreen, you’re not getting skin cancer. I don’t need a lifejacket”

“And I don’t need sunscreen, so we’re even”

She pouted at him. Santiago scrubbed his face, trying to hold on to his resolve, but it was hard when she looked so fucking cute. She wore a white two piece, the bottom was cheeky, but she wore the wrap skirt that went with it, uncomfortable with showing that much buttcheek, but perfectly happy with the minimal coverage over her chest and waist. Laci was insecure about her body being so underweight, and her A-cup and lack of ass, no matter how much Santi couldn’t keep his hands off her. She didn’t seem to understand how much she turned heads, thinking the outfit was simple and cute, not realizing how feral it made Santi. The second she stepped out of the bathroom, Santi felt himself getting hard quicker than he can remember since his teens, pulling her into the bedroom of the cabin under the guise of a ‘quick question’ and ate her out, grinding his hips into the mattress until he came in his swim shorts. Luckily, he brought a spare.

“The water isn’t even deep!”

“You are barely 5 feet tall!” Santi crossed his arms.

Benny chimed in. “So are you, Garcia”

Will smacked him.

Frankie was tired. “Santi, put on the fucking sunscreen. Laci, wear a lifejacket”

Laci shot him a look for not taking her side. “You guys aren’t wearing life jackets either”

He rolled his eyes. “Because we’re all over 6 feet!” Fish groaned, taking off his new hat before running his fingers through his curls and putting it back on.

Just like the old days, Santi could easily read her expression. ‘You aren’t 6 foot.’ Laci crossed her arms right back at Santi, mirroring his determined stance, and raising an eyebrow with a small smile. He knew there was no malice behind it, and she knew he only meant well, even if she did feel a little childish. “I thought we were past you babying me”

Santi smiled back, and took her face in his hands, squishing them until she made a cute pout. “I’m not babying you, I just want to protect my baby” he let go of her face and tickled her neck just a bit

Laci giggled, beaming up at him.

The guys all groaned.

Will flopped his head back. “Y’all can’t be doing this all weekend, I’m gonna get sick.”

Laci ignored him too, looking up at Santiago through her lashes, giving her best, sweetest smile that she knew drove him mad. He’d do anything for her when she did that. “Santi,” She wrapped her arms around his thick waist. “It’s my birthday”

Santi groaned, hanging his head. Like the devil who went down to Georgia, he knew that he’d been beat. “You promise you can swim?”

Grinning, she affirmed her earlier promise and went to get in the boat with no lifejacket, taking Will’s hand he extended to help her in, leaving Santi to get in carrying the bag she had brought. Will offered his hand to Santi with a cheeky grin, but Santi smacked it away.

The day was warm, the Florida sun beating down on them, reminding the group why it was called the sunshine state

Santi and Benny had taken off their shirts in the sweltering heat, Frankie keeping his on to not make Will feel out of place for not taking his shirt off due to the scarring on his back.

Laci didn’t want to do the fishing, feeling bad for the fish as they flopped around. The guys had promised to kill the fish quickly to ‘put it out of its misery’ as Ben said. Santi was not having good luck. He didn’t really fish often, that was more Benny and, ironically, Catfish’s thing, the pair of them going out on fishing/drinking trips that Will was certain would end up with one dead. Santi had very politely asked for no alcohol on the boat. The cabin was fair game, but given Benny’s inability to pace himself and the way Frankies drinking picked up since attempting sobriety, Laci didn’t want to worry about anyone drowning. They all happily sipped on the wide variety of pop Laci was sure to bring, as well as the water she made them drink.

Everyone ate the sandwiches Laci had packed, taking a break from fishing and simply enjoying each other's company.

Santi was applying sunscreen to Laci’s fair skin, wondering how long he could keep fighting the boner that was growing in his shorts, when Frankie looked up from the lake he had been peering in and nudged Laci “Hey, look”

The two of them peered over the edge, Will telling them to be careful and not fall in, when Laci saw what Frankie was pointing out.

“Santi look! A turtle!” She pointed.

But before Santi could look, Ben came shouting “WHERES THE TURTLE!”, barreling to the opposite end of the boat, tipping the entire thing over.

Santi’s instincts went to grab Laci in some vain attempt in keeping her in the boat, but everything went wildly confusing before he even registered he was in water. Quickly, he oriented himself, popping up under the capsized boat. He could touch the bottom of the lake floor, but the water still rose to his mouth. Not taking more than half a second to take a breath, her dove back in, swimming under the boat and popping up the other end, only one thought on his mind as his head came over the surface

“LACI!”

Santi can’t see shit in the water, not from where he is barely standing. Will spots a ball of white in the water and quickly scoops Laci up in his arm bringing her up into the air where she gasped for breath. She quickly tried wrapping her arms around Will’s neck, clinging to him for dear life as she sputtered for air. Will pried her away, slinging her over his strong arm and smacking her back a few times until she spit up the water that had gone in her mouth.

“Lace!” Santi quickly swam over, trying to stay above water as he held her face. “Baby, are you okay?”

Regaining her breath, she held onto Will’s strong arm for dear life. “Yeah” Laci gasped out, smiling softly to let her know she’s okay. “I’m okay”

Santi wanted to yell at Benny, but he knew that would only upset Laci more.

Benny had gathered up everyone's hats, and luckily the coolers had remained locked up tight. “Fish, help me tip the boat up. Santi, get the cooler since you need a fucking floaty”

Santi glared, but went to get the cooler. Will grabbed the dry box and Fish and Ben got the boat tipped back up. Frankie helped lift Benny into the boat, and Benny instinctively reached out for Laci as Will lifted her up. As the others climbed in (Santi needing extra help, to his grumbling) Benny pulled a towel out of the dry box (the ugly ass towel Frankie got for her) and tried to dry her off until Santi got in the boat. Benny quickly moved aside, sitting on the bench beside her as Santi knelt between her legs, holding her face tenderly as if she would break. “You doing okay? Can you breathe? Does your throat hurt? Is there water in your lungs?”

“Santi, please I’m fine” She smiled, mostly recovered from her little scare. She thought it probably freaked Santi out more than her.

“Do you wanna go home? We can go home. Or to the ER, do you think you breathed in water-”

“Santi” Lace held his stubbled face in return, looking into his brown eyes with an intensity she only used when she really needed him to listen to her. “Look at me. I didn’t drown, I’m okay, I’m perfectly fine, okay?”

He wanted to argue, he wanted to keep doting on her, but he knew he needed to dial it back. “Okay, if you’re sure your fine. You’ll tell me if you feel funny, right?”

“Of course, baby” Laci kissed his forehead.

Will had already started the motor, guiding the boat back to the cabin.

“Well” Benny said, breaking the tense silence. “This still went better than the last time we were all on a boat together”

Will and Frankie laughed a bit, and after a pause, Santiago smiled, adding “Well to be fair, the boat went fine. It was the whole prior part” Which made the guys laugh more.

Laci smiled back, happy Santi relaxed, but was curious. “What happened the last time you were all on a boat together?”

The guys all exchanged looks; Benny had assumed Santi had told her the story.

“Oh” She said “This is the story about the money, isn’t it? It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me” She knew they were all secretive about it.

Santi wrapped an arm around her, pulling that monstrosity of a wearable towel around her. “I’ll tell you all about when we get home, baby. It’s a hell of a story”

“Yeah” Frankie added “You could make a movie out of that shit.”

Laci and Santi took a nap that afternoon. Well, Laci did. Santi held her tightly in his arms, carefully watching her incase of any warning sign something was wrong.

“You guys ready?” Laci called from the bathroom in the master suite where she was getting ready.

The guys were all waiting in the living area where Santi called “Just waiting on you, hermosa”

He heard her come through the door. “Sorry guys” She apologized for taking so long.

Sant turned to look at her and- holy fucking hell. She was, predictably, in white. A simple dress, nice and snug at the waist with a skirt that flared out, flittering around her thighs as she did a spin for Santi who was, also predictably, gobsmacked as he watched the short skirt, thinking about how he’d like to get under it. The neckline is what got him through. Laci was small chested, thus she had the ability to wear deep cut dresses… ones that required no bra.

Swallowing thickly, Santi stood up, ready to grab her and pull her into the bedroom for the second time that day and holy fucking shit when did he become this fucking horny? “Quick question La-”

“Oh no” Fish caught his hand, pulling a distraught Pope back. “None of that shit, lets go”

The concert was fun, even Will had to admit. For being a local band, they weren’t half bad, and the food venders were good too. Will could be a bit of a foodie, and even he gave his stamp of approval to several as he sampled along.

Santi hadn’t stopped doting on Laci all night, caressing her hair and leaning in, asking how she was feeling, despite her insistence she was perfectly okay. Will couldn’t imagine Santi as a dad, he’d out do every helicopter soccer mom there ever was, and god forbid someone or something actually hurt his kid. Will had geared up for a fight after he fished Laci out of the water, certain that Santi was going to yell as Ben, Will had seen that spark in his eyes that was a surefire sign one of the two hotheads of their group was going to start something. But Laci smoothed his edges, and she was almost as defensive of Ben as Will was. So Santi sat back, dialing his anger in and concentrating on Laci.

Santi could tell Laci wanted to dance.

Santi could not dance.

“I’ll be right back” Santi got up, and Frankie wondered what got him so suddenly flustered.

As he came back, refusing to tell them where he had been, Frankie stood up, holding out his hand to Laci, who was sitting at the bench under Santi’s arm, drinking a lemonade in contrast to Will and Frankies beers, and Benny’s weird girlie drink. Boston by Augustana was playing.

“Can I have this dance, manita?” He smiled at her, Laci’s face lighting up as she took it.

Santi watched her walk away, kicking himself.

Benny leaned in “You gonna do something about that, old man? Or you gonna wait until one of the young men eyeing her like a piece of meat ask her to dance next.”

“Santi can’t dance” Will clarifies.

“Bullshit! I’ve seen you dance with a shit tone of other women.”

Santi groaned. “Not like that.” Santi gestures to a grinning Laci, who was happily dancing in a square waltz with Frankie. “I can dance like…”

Will chimed in at that. “Like a man-whore”

Groaning yet again, Santi slumped in his seat and hung his head back, until he felt Ben grab his hand.

“C’mon, Santi, let’s go” Ben pulled him to stand up.

“Ben, what the fuck-”

Benny moved Santi’s left hand to his waist. “I’m teaching you to dance.”

Frankie glanced over, and started laughing, gesturing for Laci to look at the scene before them. Benny was holding Santi close as Santi watched his feet, Ben yelling at him to keep his eyes up. Will was leaned against the lit lamppost, smiling widely as he laughed at the train wreck before him.

Laci smiled fondly at the pair. Santi and Benny were definitely the most high strung of the group, and between how much they loved each other, how much they loved her, and the demons they both were fighting, tensions sometimes bubbled over, the two of them fighting only second two the Miller boys brotherly bickering. Laci knew Santi was irritated at Ben for knocking the boat over, but refrained from yelling at him for her sack. It was nice to see scenes like this, to see them getting along so well, a reminder of how much they adored each other. Benny looked up to Santi like Benny did Will, and Santi loved Benny like a little brother, both would do anything for each other.

“Hey Laci?” Frankie spoke, drawing her back to look up at him.

“Yeah?”

“I’m really happy you're here with us.”

“Me too, Frankie” She opted to wrap her arms around him, and danced like that until the song faded out. When the next song started, she heard the ever familiar sound of ‘Leather and Lace’ start. Gasping, she lifted herself off Frankie’s chest and looked to where she thought Santi and Benny would still be “Santi!” But he wasn’t there. She looked around a bit, disappointed he was missing their song, when she felt a tap on her shoulders.

Santi stood behind her, smiling and handsome as ever. “Miss Lacina” With one hand in front of him and one behind, he bowed, then extended him hand to her. “May I have this dance”

Jumping up a bit, she squealed, then composed herself. Laci curtsied, “You may” she whispered a thank you to Frankie who took his leave as the band started singing Stevie Nicks part.

Is love so fragile? And the heart so hollow, shatter with words, impossible to follow

It was sloppy, it was not smooth, nor was it nearly as graceful as Santi wanted for her, but he didn’t step on her toes.

Laci gave him a quick peck on the lips. “You did this, didn’t you? The song.”

Saying im fragile, I try not to be, I search only for something I can’ see. I have my own life, and I am stronger than you know

Smiling, he returned the kiss on her forehead. “Yeah, local bands will play about anything when you pay them good money”

“Santi! You did not”

You in the moonlight, with your sleepy eyes, could you ever love a man like me? And you were right, when I walked into your house, I knew I’d never wanna leave

“I did” he grinned at her. “Anything for my perfect girl”

She snuggled up close to him, not caring about a perfect dance, just wanting him close. “You know, you never actually asked me to be your girlfriend” She teased with a smirk.

Santi gives a little shrug, a cheeky smile on his face. “We’re just hanging out”

“Hey!” With mock offense, she gently pushes him.

Sometimes I’m a strong man, sometimes cold and scared and sometimes I cry

Santi moved his hands to cup her face, holding her close as she pouted. “I’m kidding, muncequita” He pinches her cheeks before he kissed her little nose. “Will you be my girl?” He let go, taking her hand and girl her a spin, admiring her little skirt twirling up to give a peak of her lavender underwear that he distinctly remembers mouthing over last week. His hands settled on her hips. “Will you go steady with me?”

Laci giggled, beaming at him. “Yes, you goofball.”

First time I saw you, knew with you to light my nights, somehow I would get by

Holding her close, Santi couldn’t help but think how much he’s changed for the better. Will always said she softened him, and it was becoming clear how apparent that was. Not that he was completely softened; he had just killed someone for her two months ago, but he was getting her anger issues underwraps. She had helped him with Frankie over the summer, helping his best friend get sober. And she called him a goofball? Him? No one had called him a goofball since he was a kid. She saw something in him no one else did.

Lovers forever, face to face my city your mountain, stay with me stay

Santiago kissed her forehead and sang along. “I need you to love me, I need you today”

Her hand trailed down his back. “Give to me your leather, take from me, my lace.”

Santi helped Laci drag Benny into bed, placing him on his side with a trash can on the floor and a water bottle on the counter; same way they set up Will and Frankie, both of who were also drunk off their ass. Santi had refrained from drinking so he could drive them, and Laci didn’t drink, leaving them to take care of the three drunks.

Waiting at the doorway, Santi watched as she kissed Bennys forehead (this move was reserved exclusively for Benjamin) and thought she’d make a good mom. Santi had never wanted kids before. Not that it was an active decision against, but more than the idea of having kids with someone never seemed like a plausible scenario. His job, his life, the way he was, he didn’t think anyone would even want kids with him. Laci was different. She was so, so different. She was kind, she was patient, she was forgiving. She cared for their friends in a way that makes him think she’d only ever excel as a mother.

Santiago wraps an arm around her, gently closing the door to not wake Ben, and they retire to the bedroom, Santi getting ready for bed first.

Laci was suspiciously secretive as she grabbed clothes from her suitcase and took suspiciously long getting ready for bed.

“Lace?” Santi called as he sat on the bed in his boxers. “You okay in there? Need anything”

Laci couldn’t help but smile and roll her eyes as she heard him. God, what did she do to deserve him? Everything that had happened since her brothers death told her she deserved bad things, and yet, with Santi, those nasty inner voices didn’t stand a chance. He protected her with a ferocity, and loved her so passionately she couldn’t help feel, yes, she deserved everything he gave her, and in turn she’d give everything she could to him. It was a partnership, and she had never felt so whole in her life. “I’m okay, just stay there, I got a surprise for you”

“Ohhhh, a surprise for me?”

She could almost picture the boyish grin that was sure to be on his face, something that was reserved only for her. Laci looked at herself in the mirror in the lingerie she got earlier that week with Jana, who insisted on buying it for her birthday gift, since she couldn’t be at the cabin due to work. Too skinny, she thought. She always had been, long before drugs took hold or her year being starved, it hadn’t taken much for her to go from skinny to gaunt, it was no wonder Santi still treated her like something delicate.

Of course, it didn’t help that she dressed the way she did. Laci considered her clothing choices. She often felt she dresses immaturely, pink dresses and ruffles and lace, but she was uncomfortable dressing in what might be considered ‘sexy’. Shopping with Jana, she would tease Laci by holding up leather bra’s or strappy bodysuits that made Laci blush. She wanted to look like, to dress up for what she was about to do. She knew Santi would devour her either way; she distinctly remembers his hands between her legs many a morning, begging for her as she wore sweats.

But tonight was different. Tonight was special.

“Are you ready, Santi?” She called out, taking a deep breath.

“Always, for you.”

She opened the door and Santiago Garcia stood up, flabbergasted. It was no secret that whatever Laci wore had a tendency to make him hard, especially the clothes she wore this weekend, but this was special. This was something he knew she picked out specifically to get a reaction out of him. And a reaction it fucking got.

He walked over to her, the light make up she wore to the dance had been retouched, and the gentle waves Benny had put in her hair still stayed, but to his shame, his eyes were drawn to her body. She wore a bra and panty set, the light pink that always matched her lips and cheeks. It was skimpy, flattering her body type well, but the thing that got Santi’s mind whirring was the mesh. The breasts and the crotch were a thin mesh material, over slightly covered by the flowers embroidered in the cups and panties, but that did fuck all to cover her nipples.

“Do you like it?” She asked nervously.

“How about this one?” Jana called in the lingerie store.

Laci turned and felt her eyes widen in embarrassment at the damn near contraption Jana was holding up, a leather corset that had so many straps and buckles Laci wasn’t sure which end was up.

“Laci” She said, laughing as she put it back. “Girl I’m just fucking with you.”

Covering her mouth, Laci spoke through her fingers. “Oh my god, is that what Santi wants?”

Jana shrugged. “I dunno, that’s what Frankie always liked” She joked, looking through the lingerie some more, but stopped when Laci didn’t join her. She looked up to see a horrified and embarrassed Laci, and decided to stop teasing her. Jana took her hands and spoke in earnest. “Laci, Santi likes you for you. That stuff” She gestures to the more risque items. “Is more my speed, but he’s not dating me, he’s dating you. Flowy skirts and flowers in your hair and all. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, you could wear granny panties and he’d rip them off.”

Laci visibly relaxed at that.

Looking over to the side, Jana spoke again, “Speaking of flowers, what about this?”

“Do I like it?” Santi sputtered out, approaching her. “Baby, if you touched me right now, I’d cum in my fucking boxers.”

Laci was still nervous, wringing her hands together. “It’s not stupid looking? Everything else was leather and crotchless and it just didn’t feel right and-”

Santi dove in with a soul consuming kiss, like he was trying to inhale her, sucking her tongue before pulling back, taking in her body again. “Holy fucking hell, Lace, jesus christ”

She giggled now. “I take it that’s good?”

“Good?! You’re fucking crazy” ‘Good’ was no where near enough to explain how she looked in that. “It’s your birthday but I’m getting the gift” He went for her neck with gentle kisses, but she lightly pushed his back.

“Actually, there's another reason I’m wearing this…” She looked nervous still, but significantly more relaxed, oddly, after feeling Santi’s aching erection pressed against her stomach, knowing how desperate he was for her.

Santi watched her intently, dialing back how feral he felt for her.

She continued, holding his strong biceps and looking up at him. “I’m ready”

All he could do is blink at her. “For what?”

The pink on her face was evident, even in the dark room, lit only by the full moon pouring in. “I’m ready” She said again, just slightly more assertive, a light smile on her face.

“Baby, all my blood immigrated from my head to Dicktown, USA the second you stepped out in that, you’re going to need to be very clear with me”

Entangling her fingers in his soft curls, peppered in gray, she kissed his lush lips. “For sex, Santi”

The man was too stunned to speak. “Oh shit. Are you sure? We don’t have to-”

“I know, baby, I know, But I want to. I trust you” Another kiss, to the corner of his mouth this time. “There’s no one I love and trust more in this world”

Santi grinned at his pretty girl in his arms, hands trailing as he wrapped them around her, toying with the material that barely covered her butt in little flowers. “Tu eres mi flor, mi sol, y mi corazón” He kisses her right cheek. “Mi todos” a kiss on her little nose. “Tu eres el amor de mi vida, mi chica bonita” Finally kissing her lips.

“Tu eres…” she starts, trying to think of the right words “Mi hombre guapo?” Laci asked tentatively.

Santi’s smile split into a wide grin. “Oh yeah? My smart girl can speak spanish?” He kissed her again, this time with a need, with desire, walking her back against the wall, slotting his thigh between her legs, knowing how much she loved to get off on them.

“S-Santi…” Laci whimpered, chest already flush in the moonlight as Santi worked her up, hands on her hips. “Always feel s’good” She tried to focus on kissing him and moving her body along his bare leg, the boxers having ridden up, the thick curly hair of his thigh adding to the sensations between her still-clothed sex.

“Yeah? You like fucking yourself on my thigh, pretty girl? Could spend my entire life like this, watching you unravel and I don’t even need to take my clothes off. You that desperate? Needy little thing.”

“Only for you” She braced herself against his strong arms, using the leverage to work herself up and down him. “Never felt like this with anyone else, wanna come on your leg, please?” She said breathlessly, little blue eyes pleading.

“Oh baby, I’ll never make you beg.” Santi watched her come apart, and knowing how she reacted when she was close, Santi cupped the back on her head, just in time as she threw her head back, the only thing preventing her from smacking into the wall. “Good girl, my good girl, take what you need, use me, use me to come, sweetness”

She cried out, getting close but her pace was faltering. “Please Santi, it’s too much, need you, need you to help me”

The feeling was too intense, she couldn’t concentrate on her own pleasure, her legs were shaking with her approaching orgasm, but that made it impossible to work herself on him. “Laci, need you to look at me babydoll” He coaxed her blissed out face to him, her lips parted and eyes cloudy in a lusty haze. “Daddy will take care of his little girl, always, but I can’t have you hitting your head, I need you to rest on my chest, okay? Don’t move, can you do that for me?”

“Uh-huh” She nodded desperately, and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his to keep herself glued to his warmth and his hands moved to her hips, taking over the work for her. She was a doll in his hands, malleable and submissive, but he only used that to bring her pleasure. “Be good for you”

“Good girl” He kissed the top of her blonde head. “I got you, munequita, just relax, focus on the feeling, focus on me” Santiago guides her as she remains tightly nestled in his firm chest. “Think about how good it feels, how wet you are, how sexy you look in that underwear, fuck! Fuck baby, you look so fucking good.”

Tears were brimming in her eyes, her body felt hot and flushed as her core tightened sharply. “I'm your pretty girl” She whimpered, so close to the edge.

Santi beamed; his face buried in her hair. “Yeah you are, you’re my pretty girl, say it again"

"I'm your pretty girl, Santiago, your pretty baby"

Her thighs clenched around him, nails digging into his skin and it was a good thing everyone else was out cold, because Laci shouted his name. He held her close, wrapping both arms around her as she continued to wriggle against him, prolonging her orgasm in the throws of the pleasure he had given her. “That’s it, let go, let me hear those pretty sounds”

With one last whine, she slumped against him, feeling soft and relaxed the way Santi always made her feel.

“Jesus, Lace” Santi peaked at his watch. “You came in less than five minuets.” he grinned at her. “New record.”

“Did I do good?” Laci, to Santi’s delight, kept wriggling on his thigh, looking up at his, so doe-eyed, so eager. “Wanna make you feel good” She cupped his face, giving him a deep kiss, running her tongue over his lips. “Do I deserve it? Do I deserve you? Please, wanna feel you inside me, want you to claim me” She continued rutting against him. “Want you to make me yours, ruin me so no other man could ever be good enough.”

Fucking hell, he loved when she got like this, when she acted like he was something she had to earn. He said he wouldn’t make her beg, but when she did it on her own volition…

Santi scooped her up, knees be damned, carfully craddling her as he laid her down and- fuck.

“What’s wrong?” Laci saw his hesitation.

“You’re not on birth control, are you?”

She shook her head.

Santi signed, taking all his restraint to not tear apart the flimsy material of her underwear. “I don’t have a condom”

Laci desperately pawed at him, clutching him to her, not wanting his warmth to leave. “Santi, it’ll be fine” A flicker of embarrassment came across her face and she dodged her eyes, looking distant. “Everything cleared up, I promise. I wouldn’t have done anything with you if it hadn’t”

Santi realized what she was worried about. “No! No, baby, I know, I’m not worried about that.”

“It’ll be fine once, Santi, I don’t even know if I can get pregnant“ She was aware that bringing up her trauma wasn’t the sexiest thing.

Santi shook his head. “You’ve been through so much, an unplanned pregnancy would just-”

Laci’s face lit up “I know! Benny!” She exclaimed, scrambling out from under Santiago and pulling the top sheet over her shoulders.

“Laci, what-” But she was out the door, surprisingly bold in her compromising attire barely covered by the sheet. She must really be desperate for it.

She crept into Benny’s room, gently nudging him awake. “Ben. Bennnyyyyy”

“HM?!” Benny jolts awake, still very drunk. “What’s going on?”

“Benny” She leans over, whispering still. “Do you have a condom?”

A wide, sleepy grin splits across his face. “Aw shiiiit, y’all finally doing it”

Laci returns the grin and nods.

Pointing to the wallet on his bedside, Benny lays back down. “In my wallet, it’s XXXXXXXXXL so I dunno if it’s work for Santi” he jokes, awfully proud of himself.

Laci grabs what she’s after, kisses Benny’s head, and scampers out the door as Ben mutters something about ‘crazy kids’

“Got it!” She skips in, nearly tackling Santi in a kiss as they roll around on the bed.

“I hope Benny doesn’t remember this in the morning” Santi mutters between sweaty, wet kisses.

“Santi, please?”

“So fucking desperate.” He licked a straight line from her collar bone up to her jaw, groping at her tits. “Wanna taste you first”

He feels her shake her head against him. “Just want you, please, I’m ready, I need you, need you inside me”

“Lace-”

She pulled back, pouting. “You said you’d never make me beg”

How could he say no to that? “Can I open you up first? Get you ready to take me? I’ll give you every inch, I promise, Muñequita”

“Okay.” She begins sucking into his neck, giving the bruises Will had earlier remarked on.

Sliding off her underwear, Santi’s rough fingers feel her slicked up core, and he smiled a shit-eating grin. “God damn, all that cum on my leg and you’re still dripping”

Laci smiled, but was in no mood to fuck around, bucking her hips up, before Santi pinned her down with one hand. “Patience, mi vida.” His voice is low and close to her ear before she feels two fingers tap at her lips. “Get them nice and wet for me” With a nip at her collar. “Not that you need it”

When he felt she was accustomed to his fingers, he slowed down, asking gently as he looked her in the eyes. “Would you like to be on top, so you can control the pace, my love?”

Laci thought about this. “Can I start on top, then switched?”

Santi nodded, eyes shining with love. “Of course, baby girl, anything you want.”

Clothes fully off, Santi sat up against the bed frame as Laci knelt before him, straddling his hips as Santi gently kissed her. “I have to ask, one more time… You don’t have to do this because we danced together, or this trip…”

Laci kissed him. “We don’t have to do this because of the trip, or any of the nice dates you take me on, because you take care of me, or you saved me, or because you give me the best orgasms of my life. I want to do this because I love you, I know I’m safe with you, and I trust you to protect me and make me feel good.” She assured him, hands in his hair again and she raised her hips up.

“My good girl, my brave girl, my pretty baby, mi amor” Santi’s lips took her in for a kiss, feeling her inhale as she sank down on him, carefully but not slow. He had prepared her, and she really was ready for him. He groaned, feeling her warmth envelope him, tight and hot and wet, everything she had felt on his fingers but tenfold on his cock. Fucing hell, he was so worked up by this point he had to actively concentrate on not coming. “You okay, baby?”

Laci was enraptured. She fell so full with him inside her, so secure in his arms, and so, fucking, good. “Great, Santiago, you feel so good, so fucking perfect” She began to rock her hips, when Santi hissed, eyes clenched tight and he firmly held her still. “What’s wrong baby?” She asked, hands touching his face, suddenly very concerned. He looked in pain.

Santi shook his head. “Nothin. Just… sit still for a minuet.”

“Why-”

“I’m trying not to blow my load inside you right now” He grunted, taking calming breaths.

A wide, cheeky grin came across her face, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than for Santi to come. Tentatively, she moved on him, and his grip harshed.

His large brown eyes opened. “Lacina…” he said sternly, a warning in his tone.

But all she could do was giggle as she continued moving.

“Fucking brat” Santi leaned over, effectivly switching positions from a giggling Laci straddling him, to make her lay down. The last bit of his resolve falters, and after months of dreaming about it, he begins fucking into her at a punishing pace. “Give me a color, Laci” He checks in, just to be sure.

“Green! Fuck, harder, please? Fuck Santiago, you’re so fucking deep”

Santi leans back, watching himself disappear inside her. “Fucking hell baby, you’re doing to good, can’t believe you’re taking me so well when you’re this fucking tight.”

Her hands tug on his dark and light hair, spurring him on. “Wanted you inside me for so long, you always take care of me, wanna be yours want to make you feel good, daddy”

He kissed the litany of scares sporadically littered across the fair skin, landing on the one on her forehead she always tried to cover with her long bangs. “Always feel so good with you, always. You make me so fucking happy, never been happier than I am with you.” He felt her tightening again and concentrated him hands on giving her more pleasure. “You gonna come again? So soon? Gonna come on my cock?”

“Uh huh” She nods, giggling and smiles melted into a girl on the verge of orgasm, fucked out and sweaty, but ever pretty. “Make me come, please, wanna squeeze your cock when I come, wanna make a mess all over you.”

He felt her fluttering around him, a familiar feeling on his fingers she was about to spill over. “Come for me sweet girl, you earned it. Say my name when you come, fucking say it.”

“SANTI!” She met his eyes as she shouted before it all became tied in with a moan, her legs shaking from orgasm number two. “Thank you, thank you daddy, thank you, thank you.”

His own release had his vision blurring and his hips sputtered, spilling into the condom as he collapsed onto her breathless form. Santi moved to eat her out, determined to give her a third on his mouth, but he felt her grab him.

“You okay, Laci?”

“Yeah” She breathed out, smiling. “M’just too sensitive for another one, is that okay?”

“It’s always okay, pretty girl, always. Lemme get you cleaned up.”

She held onto him. “Can we just lay here for a while? Wanna be close to you”

Santi hoisted her up, draping her over him to lay atop his chest like she used to when they kissed on the couch late at night. He noticed her shiver, the layer of sweat getting cold as the cabin air conditioner blew over them. Santiago pulled the blanket over them. “I love you, Lacina Dumas”

“I love you, Santiago Garcia” She replied sleepily. He had a feeling she was going to be out cold in a few minuets, but he had no problem getting her settled in bed while she slept.

Just before he thought she was asleep, she spoke again, barely awake. “Santi?”

“Yeah Lace?”

“Is Frankie gonna be okay? Benny?”

Fuck, how long had she been worrying about them?

He held her close, kissing her soft blonde hair. “Yeah Lace, they’ll be okay. Might take some time, but I think everyone is gonna be as happy as we are.”

****************

Wow. Okay. It's real a trip guys.

When I posted the sneak peak into chapter 1 months ago, I didn't think anyone would be interested. and yet, here you all are!!!! I love you all, thank you for joining me on this ride. Laci is very special to me, and this has been a journey. I love exploring her and the guys, getting to know Jana, meeting Lorelei etc. Please let me know your thoughts! This chapter took forever to write!

Comment here if you'd like to be tagged in chapter 1 of Frankies story set in this same universe: Take Your Time, which will start after I get Sunshine, Starlight, Sweetheart, Brightside finished.

Frankie’s story starts here, Take Your Time

Also comment if you’d like to continue getting updates for occasional one shots. I have a Valentine’s Day fic planned, and although santi and lacis story will continue through the eyes of the others, I want their big events (I.e. wedding) to have short one shots, so those who don’t want to read the others stories can still keep up with our two fav horny teenagers

Also coming up if you like The Card Counter, my story Black with OCD!William Tell and Autistic!OC

And huuugggeeeeee shout out to my love, @welcometostayingawake for helping me with outfits, for brainstorming developing Jana, and all around being so enthusiatic about something so important to me, always being willing to talk about these guys <3

(p.s. i hope the smut was worth it. I know I edged your for 12 chapters and like. 5 bonus chapters.)

@littlenosoul @bensolosbluesaber @milkymoon2483 @gogh-with-the-flow @itspdameronthings @trinkets01 @p0edameronswife @welcometostayingawake @spxctorsslxt @username21mk @lucianadraven32 @sgt-morgan @xaestheticalien @howaboutcastiel @soapjay

#santiago garcia #santiago garcia smut #triple frontier #triple frontier smut #triple frontier fanfiction #oscar isaac #santiago pope garcia #santiago garcia fluff #triple frontier fluff #frankie morales #frankies morales angst #santiago garcia hurt comfort #leather and lace fic

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