#anyway i love that ian is described as

[gallawitchxx]

hi beeee!! i hope you're doing okay 💖💖💖

ooohohohoho okay for the kiss thingy: god knows why cuz it sounds potentially very painful but i feel so compelled to request 28 🙏

sweet deanna! i'm hanging in, thanks love! 💖 so you & @lingy910y both requested #28 & i want to fill both of your prompts. but because you were (rightfully) afraid of pain, i gave you one that's a bit strange, but has a promisingly happy ending? you can be the judge! xx

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send me a number & i'll write you a smoocheroo 😚

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#28: ...as a lie ps. this is inspired by this post about dealer!mickey & insomniac!ian, who have now rotted my brain.

Ian hasn’t slept in days.

It’s happened before—endless energy is one of his tried-and-true symptoms of mania—but this isn’t that. He’s taking his meds, his skin isn’t crawling and his mind is fairly quiet. Quiet enough to frustrate him as he tosses and turns and wonders what the fuck’s going on.

His schedule has been all over the place lately; his normal routine lost to the endless cycles of employment and Gallagher family responsibilities. He’d been hoping to add school to the mix this semester so that he could have other, less hectic options than a rig-riding EMT, but he’d pushed it off. A pity, now that all-nighters are apparently his thing.

Night two, he googles a few things, which is a huge mistake. Who can fall asleep after reading about how even just twenty-four hours without sleep can begin to derail your bodily systems? Sleep deprivation can cause or worsen conditions like Type 2 diabetes, High blood pressure, Stroke, Heart attack—his pulse leaps as his phone clatters to the ground.

Night three, he takes to the streets, running around the Southside until his lungs burn and his knees wobble. As he passes the clinic that gave his seventeen-year-old self a lifetime prescription for antipsychotics, he knows that if this lasts much longer, he should call his doctor. Tell them his nighttime meds aren’t putting him to sleep anymore. Nip this insomnia thing in the bud before it can overthrow the delicate balance he’s worked so hard to maintain.

Night four, desperate and a bit delusion, he pulls up a number he hasn’t used in years, saved under a contact labeled, DO NOT TEXT.

He breaks his own rule: Hey. Still making house calls?

The response is almost immediate: the fuck u care for?

Ian rolls his bloodshot eyes, typing: It’s an emergency.

Three little dots herald a response that makes him laugh: a weed emergency?

He stays strong: Wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need it.

The next text makes his chest clench: u ok?

He decides to keep it vague—I can’t sleep, but it’s not what you think.—and hopes he doesn’t have to explain further and is relieved to read: u want ur usual?

Another clench: Indica

Two texts arrive in rapid succession: what else do u want? can i give u head while u smoke or no?

There it is: the reason Ian doesn’t use this number anymore.

Maybe in another life it would be a blessing to have a weed dealer to lovers arc with your childhood crush, but in this one, it was a curse. A curse that lasted almost a whole year, bringing with it an endless bouquet of blissful fucks and free weed, and a million moments of tenderness Ian knew nobody else was getting out of the guy. A curse that eventually came to collect payment in the form of bloodied knuckles, broken hearts and ego wounds. A curse that still clings to Ian’s psyche, filling his dreams with gentle, tattooed fingers and bright blue eyes and a sweet and savory scent that can only be described as Mickey.

Mickey, now DO NOT TEXT.

On second thought, maybe he should never sleep again.

The knock at the door makes him hard—a Pavlovian response that irks him more than the three sleepless nights he’s suffered so far. Three raps, one right after the other. The last one no more than a brush of his hand.

Ian adjusts himself and answers the door.

Fuck, one look at that smug asshole and he’s immediately right back in it. Lust and like and maybe even a little bit of reckless fucking love fill his body, rising to the surface like sweet cream. A layer of fat on the roof of one’s mouth; a treat to lick later, a reminder that they didn’t end things because they weren’t insanely hot for one another and potentially soulmates. They were just idiots. Stubborn, petty dicks.

Oh Pride, the great slayer of men.

Jesus, he needs to sleep.

“First one’s on the house,” Mickey says as he crosses the threshold, a joint held tightly between C and K.

Hours slip by. They laugh, they smoke. It feels like old times. Ian’s body is loose in a way it hasn’t been in years. It feels good. Like maybe-he-could-sleep-tonight good. And as he melts further into the couch, he starts to get a little horny too. Because Mickey’s yapping on and on about some asshole that frequents the bar he works at, and Ian’s listening, he swears he’s listening, but he’s also staring at Mickey’s mouth like he wants to take Mickey up on that text message and shut him the fuck up with his dick.

Like he wants to taste the stale smoke of his tongue.

Wants him to stay the night.

Forever, maybe.

Mickey finishes his story. His eyes go soft and he drums his fingers against his knee. “Should get outta your hair, Gallagher,” he says. “Letcha sleep.”

That’s the last thing Ian wants.

“Not tired,” he fibs.

Mickey cocks an eyebrow. “You’re not? ’S been days, man. This shit’s gotta be hittin’ ya by now.”

It’s true. It has been days and this shit is hitting him. Or maybe he’s having a sleep-deprivation-induced stroke. He just knows Mickey can’t go.

“Can’t go to sleep without a goodnight kiss.”

Mickey’s already leaning in when he asks, “Then you promise you’ll hit the hay?”

Ian nods as Mickey presses a kiss to his lying lips.

#welp - throws whatever this is at you #alskfjalkj #i realized that both of my kisses are at the very end of the ficlet & aren't actually described #lolol #maybe my next attempt should be 1K words of just describing the kiss #no actual context needed #just tongues #anyway THANKS DEANNA I LOVE YOU DEANNA #shameless #shameless fanfiction #prompt fill #ian x mickey

[threadsun]

Hello! So, this may be a kinky one so feel free to skip if you don’t like it!

But uh, can I request for some headcanons about the sdj boys doing oral for their fem.S/O,,,? Please !

As someone who has been active in my local bdsm scene for years, it's so funny to me that you thought this might be too kinky for me 😂

But yeah, of course!!

Content: oral sex, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, begging, praise, edging

Jack:

Oh is he generous~

He could spend hours between your thighs, tongue on your clit, fingers pumping slowly in and out of you as he draws orgasm after orgasm from your body

Tangle your fingers in his hair. If you want a little more control, you can use it to push him where you want him to go. And if you don't... well, it's a good idea to have something to hold onto anyway

He won't stop until you tap out. He'll find your limit and keep pushing it until you use your safeword

Seriously, however long you can go for, he can match. He doesn't need to breathe either, so his mouth will be on you for as long as you can stand it

He's especially fond of going down on you when you're stressed. He wants to be the one to drive all the thoughts from your brain and replace them with the feeling of his tongue deep inside of you

He's a tease. He likes to make you beg for him. He always starts by teasing you over your panties, hot breath on your thighs and tongue pressing flat against the front of them until you're begging him to eat you out

If you try to muffle your sounds with your hand, he'll pin both of your wrists to the bed while he goes down on you. He wants to hear exactly how good he's making you feel

Ian:

When you first start dating, he doesn't really know what he's doing

He's eager! He's got the enthusiasm! He just needs a little guidance from you about what you like best

But that's not a bad thing! It means you can train him to eat you out exactly how you like it. Once he learns, he'll be perfect for you, he'll know exactly how to make you squirm for him

He loves to kneel between your legs when he eats you out. You, sitting on the edge of the bed, or on the couch, or on the kitchen counter. And him, kneeling between your legs, looking up at you like you're his god

The best way to describe him generally is desperate, and this includes eating you out. He eats you out like a man starved. Rest your legs on his shoulders and he'll make out with your cunt like it's the only thing he lives for

And oh god does he get hard from it. The taste of you is enough to get him horny. Hell, even the smell of your pretty pussy makes him moan

The best way to tease him and get him to beg for you is spreading your legs and telling him you'll let him eat you out if he's a very good boy for you

Seriously, he can't get enough of you. He's absolutely pussywhipped and he'd do anything to get between your legs again

Shaun:

This man is a tease

Seriously, he's mean. He wants to hear you beg for him, cry for him, absolutely desperate for him before he so much as touches you

Before his tongue is put to work, he uses it to whisper the filthiest things you've ever heard, lips brushing your ear as he feels you shiver against him

And when he finally gets between your thighs, he'll give you a cheshire cat grin before licking a stripe right over your pussy. He loves the way your toes curl as the tip of his tongue flicks against your clit

He loves watching you ride his face. Peeking up from between your legs as you bounce on his tongue. Something about that angle is just so perfect~

He'll hold your thighs, pulling you back onto his tongue when you try to pull away because you're overstimulated. He's mean and he likes to make you whine and squirm

His favourite sounds from you are when you're begging. Whether it's for more or for mercy, he's not picky.

He just loves to experiment and see what reactions he can draw out of you by doing different things! He studies you very carefully to figure out exactly what you like

Nick:

The only time his mouth is away from your pussy when he's eating you out is to praise you

He'll tonguefuck you through your orgasm and only pull away long enough to rasp out "good girl" before lapping up your cum with a moan

He's vocal when he eats you out. Moaning, humming, growling if you try to pull your hips away before he's done with you. You can tell exactly how he's feeling

His fingers dig into your thighs, keeping them around his head so he can get his tongue deeper into you. He can never seem to get close enough, deep enough, he's always trying harder

He loves to edge you. Bringing you to the brink of orgasm over and over and over, only to pull away and warm your clit with his mouth while he waits for your orgasm to subside so he can build it up again

You have to earn every orgasm you have. If you don't reward him with moans, thighs clenching around him, fingers tugging at his hair... well, then you don't get to cum!

He's patient. He can spend hours and hours teasing you with his tongue, rolling his tongue stud over your clit and fingering you. And you won't get to cum until he's decided you've earned it

But once he's decided you've earned it? He'll make you cum over and over until you're a shaking mess on the bed

Joseph:

He's a very generous lover

His favourite way to eat you out starts with him pushing you up against the wall to make out

And once you're moaning against his lips, grinding against him, needy... Then he sinks to his knees and pulls one of your legs over his shoulder

His tongue is talented. He knows how to get you squirming while he sucks your clit, flicks it, laps at it... And when he brings his fingers into the mix... oh you're fucked

Seriously, when his tongue and fingers work together, he'll have you seeing stars. And once your knees are too weak to keep holding yourself up, well he'll just pull your legs over his shoulders and carry you to the bedroom, still eating you out all the while

He'll throw you onto the bed, getting between your legs and going back to eating you out. He's not going to be done until you're soaked for him. Until you've cum so many times you're numb

His face is drenched by the time you're done, soaked in your cum. And he couldn't be happier about it, licking his lips clean and going on and on about how amazing you taste

And if you'd rather take charge and pull his hair while you ride his face? Well, he'll just be a good boy for you and take it!

Jean:

He takes his time

He starts slow, with hot kisses pressed to your hips, your thighs, the little bit of tummy right above your pussy. He might leave the occasional hickey here and there too

He likes to use his tongue when he's teasing. He'll lick over every mark he leaves, he'll run his tongue along the lines where your hips meet your thighs, he'll lap at your folds teasingly

When he finally gets around to your pussy, he explores every inch of it with his tongue. He starts by lapping at your slit, teasing at your hole, running it around your clit

And then he finally pushes it into you. He tonguefucks you nice and slow, trying to reach every inch of you he can. He can't get enough of you!

He likes to keep you talking while he eats you out. He'll pull away to ask a question, just so he can hear the way your voice shakes and your words get muddled when his tongue presses back into you

He also likes to hold your hands when he eats you out. The only time he'll accept them not being in his hands is if they're tangled in his hair. In that case, give it a tug and he'll moan for you

Seriously though, he'll take hours to build you up and edge you until he finally lets you cum. And then he won't stop

#swwsdj #something's wrong with sunny day jack #sdj jack #sdj ian #sdj shaun #sdj nick #sdj joseph #sdj jean #sunny day jack x reader #ian duff x reader #shaun durand cofer x reader #nick herraras x reader #joseph haberdae x reader #jean laurent x reader #f!reader #sdj headcanons #18+ only #sunshine

[myocsfanfictions]

South Side Story

Shameless Fanfiction Season 1

Desna Hills has come living in the Southside of Chicago four years before. Taken in by Kev and V, Desna is close friends with the Gallaghers. Let's see how this Southside story unfolds.

Masterlist

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Chapter 2

Fucking Lip Gallagher!

That was all Desna could think about that day. He had even promised her he would have helped her with math, that asshole.

She was trying to study, but her fight with Lip kept repeating in her mind. She was used to it. It wasn't the first time it happened. For as much chemestry there was during sex, and how close they seemed to get everytime they did it, as they spoke there was always some distance.

Lip was like that: sassy and intelligent, but he was also a smartass and closed off. For Lip everything could be risolved with quick remarcs and everytime Desna felt like they were going somewhere in their relationship he put off acts like the one of few hours prior.

"Fuck..." she muttered as she closed her book.

"You're here, babe?" Veronica's voice came from the living room.

She liked to be called V and she was beautiful. That how Desna would describe her, beautiful inside and out. She had a great heart and she was strong, Desna hoped that one day she would have become just like V.

"In the kitchen!" Desna said. V's steps could be hear clearly, since she was wearing high heels, as always.

"I saw the lights," she said putting the keys on the table before walking towards Desna, "You're not sick, right? I thought you were going to be at the Alibi this evening," Desna smiled at her worried tone, but she shook her head.

"I just..." the girl said, flipping the pages of her notebook, "I had to study, and my head hurt, so I decided to stay home."

V's eyes were on her as she set down next to Desna.

"You sure it's the only reason?" V asked waiting for her answer.

Desna shrugged her shoulders, "I may have had a fight with Lip," she admitted.

"Again?" V asked with a frown as she stood up to fill a glasses of water, before moving to the medicines drawer, "Seriously what's going on between the two of you, lately?"

Only Ian knew about Lip and Desna situasionship. They were just having fun, nothing to say to the world about, that's what they had said at first, even because it was thrilling, the thought of sneaking away to have sex together. But since they started it, they had started to fight more, and that really affected Desna. She liked Lip, a lot, and she wanted to lose him as a friend, but she didn't want to lose what they had now.

"Just stressed... I think..." Desna muttered sipping the water V had given to her, to swollow a pill.

"Babe," V said sitting again next to her, "I see how you look at Lip."

"I don't look him in anyway," she said trying to hid the blush on her cheeks.

"Oh you look at him alright," she fired back making Desna cover her face with her hand.

"V," she begged, but the woman kept talking.

"Why don't you tell him?"

Desna turned towards her with wide eyes, "Tell him what?"

"That you like him," she said nugging the girl, who shook her head.

"It wouldn't make any difference," Desna said shrugging her shoulders, "I like what... we have now, I don't want to ruin it," V took a breath but she kept listening, "That does not mean that I like fight with him, or what we said to each other."

"Why? What Gallagher said?" V asked, ready to defend Desna. And she really appreciated her reaction, but that was something between her and Lip only.

"Nothing that I didn't say to him as well," Desna said, "It's that, I don't know... today is more difficoult than other times," she finished getting a deep breath.

Lip was so involved with her during sex. He said that he wanted her, just few hours ago, that he loved fucking her, why could he not say those things even in other situations?

"Hey, babe" V said making Desna look in her direction, "Boys will be boys, too stupid for us," that made Desna laugh, a laugh followed by on of V's, that moved her hair from her shoulder, "What about going out with me and Fi, tonight?"

"What? Really?" Desna asked happily, "Can I really come?"

"Of course!" V exclaimed, "Now run up, get washed up, do make up and put on a pretty dress, and we are going to have lots of fun tonight. Only us girls, no boys."

"I like the sound of that," Desna said nodding her head. And V smiled brightly at her.

"Then go on!" She said, "Go get ready!"

Desna liked to go out with V, but she didn't do it frequently. V and Fiona were best friend and Desna was only sixteen now, so it made sense that most of the time the two of them wanted to spend time together alone. But when they asked her to join, she was truly happy. It made her feel like an adoult, and even beautiful, powerful.

She looked at her dresses, but she already knew what she wanted to put on. It was a simple black short dress, but she liked how it fit on her. It had simple strapes, and the skirt was short, but it hugged her body perfectly. She had bought it with V for her sixteenth birthday and V had told her that it seemed like it had been created for her.

Desna was quick to put it on, running to her wordrobe once again to take black high heels. Then she put on some make up and fixed her hair, deciding that she would gave left it loose. She looked at her reflection for some more, before heading out the stairs where V was waiting her, ready to go.

"Are you reade, pretty lady?" She asked opening the door. The two of them though had to go to the Gallaghers first, waiting for Fiona. Desna wasn't exactly happy to had to see Lip, but there wasn't much she could do, so she followed V into the house right next to theirs.

The two of them entered from the kitchen door, the one at the back of the house and V immediately ran up the stairs, calling for Fiona. Desna decided to stay there, everybody seemed to be upstairs, so that seemed tge safest place.

"Wow!" Carl's voice made her turn to the living room, where the boy was looking at her with wide eyes "You're hot..."

Desna chuckled, "You're drooling, buddy" then she set on one of the stools in the kitchen. The boy walked towards the fridge, glancing at where she was as he was taking something to eat, then suddenly he turned towards Desna.

"So, I really have to be eighteen before asking you out?" He said curiously.

And she nodded, "You really have to be eighteen before asking me out," she confirmed. Carl scoffed.

"It's too far away," he said before giving her a smirk, "I can make you happy."

Desna couldn't help but chuckle, he was so young and already a flirt. Carl Gallagher would have had many girls crushing on him as he got older.

"I'm sure you can," she said nodding her head, "But not now."

Carl looked at the sandwich in his hand nodding his head, then his gaze went on her.

"Just wait and see," then he want into the living room.

He was so persistent. Desna looked at him fondly as he watched the TV, such a little troublemaker. Carl was probably her favorite Gallagher.

Then suddenly she heard some steps coming from the stairs next to her, and as she turned, Desna saw Lip stopping midway, looking at her.

"Oh..." he muttered and Desna didn't miss the way his eyes observed her body, but she decided to ignore the blush coming to her cheeks because of that stare.

"Hey..." she said quietly.

"Hey..." he muttered, before taking those last few steps that kept him from the kitchen, "You are..." Desna looked at him, waiting for what he wanted to say, but he just coughed shaking his head, "You are going out."

Desna could not help but feel disappointed, why was he looking at her like that if he could not even give her a complimenti?

"What give me away?" She said standing up.

He shrugged his shoulders, "You either going out or you are here to seduce me," but she just shook her head.

"I think I'll pass, thank you," Desna answered turning her back to him. And he gave out a chuckle that only pissed her off.

"Are you still angry?" He asked.

"I don't know," she answered with fake calmness, "Are you still an asshole?"

At her words he make few step to get close to her, "Look whose talking," he said as she gripped her own arms, giving a glance in Carl's direction to make sure he wasn't looking at them.

"I'm not an asshole," she answered turning to look Lip in the eyes.

"And what makes me one?" She could feel his breath against her face beacuse of how close he had gotten.

"Let's check, did you fuck Karen?" Lip gave out a mocking chuckle.

Desna could not stand him anymore so she walked out the door. But she could hear Lip's footstep behind from behind following her outside "So, you're acting crazy because you're jealous?"

"No, because you are a jackass!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, a jackass too?" He asked the mocking tone never leaving his voice.

"And I've got many more, don't tempt me," she said trying to walk faster feeling him close behind.

"You always find a way to get pissed at me and I am the jackass?" He said before gripping Desna to make her turn stopping her from leaving, by taking her arms in his hands, "What's wrong with you?"

She was doing her best to not let anything slip from her lips; she didn't want to tell him that him going to Karen Jackson only to hurt her actually did, she didn't because they weren't a couple and they were not exclusive and she liked to have him close, she didn't want for he to not be there. She didn't want to ruin shit, but Karen's presense really pissed her off.

"Hey," he said moving a strand of black hair from before her eyes, to behind her ear, "What's wrong?"

Desna bit her lips, she really didn't want to cry in front of him, she didn't want to seem desperate for his touch, even if she was. And she didn't want to lose him.

"I..." she muttered "I might be jealous of Karen Jackson," he smiled at her words but she shook her head, "But because you always bring her up when we fight, and it feels like..."

"Like?" He asked as his hands moved to her hips.

"Like you want to hurt me," she admitted, finally looking him in the eyes. He was intensingly staring at her, as he brought her closer to him. He leaned forward his head so that his forehead touched hers.

"I don't wanna hurt you," he whispered, his arms sneaking around her waist, "Not on porpuse," then he chuckled, "I guess I am an asshole after all," he then looked at her again, she could not look away from his eyes, and before she knew it, she whispered "I want to kiss you," and in a moment his lips clashed on hers, the hold around her waist was thighter as her hands moved to his face, so to pull him more into the kiss. Desna closed her eyes as she savored every second of that moment. Soon her hands move to his hair as the kiss got more passionate.

"I have to tell you something," Lip said when they broke off to take hair, his hold still secured around her hips as he got ready to talk, "I didn't have sex with Karen," he said looking in her eyes, then he took a breath, "But she blow me."

"Fuck, Lip," she said trying to get away from him, he didn't let her move.

"Hey, hey" he kept say to get her attention.

"I really don't want to know!" She protested still trying to break free from his arms, but he didn't let her go, "Let me go, please!"

"I am sorry," he said making her stop her movements, "I am sorry, but I..." he continued before taking a deep breath, then he leaned forward to put his forehead against hers, that didn't move. Still wondering why he was apologizing, they weren't exclusive. They had decided it.

"Please, don't..." Lip took another deep breath, "I want you" he said, and she didn't know the reason why those words had such a strong impact on her, but she found herself bringing her hands in the back of his head once again.

"I want you too," she said before leaning forward to capture his lips with her gor another kiss. He immediately responded eagerly, briging her even closer, so that in between their bodies there was no space. His arms hugged her, as she deepened the kiss more. They felt so great in the arms of the other, it was so beautiful and addictive. It didn't matter what they said they would always found each other like that.

"I don't want to hurt you," Lip said, not letting her go, those words made her smile, as he put his forehead against hers, "I just got angry because I wanted your support with Ian."

She observed his blue eyes got clouded with nervousness once again, "You know what I think about it Lip."

But he shook his head, "No, he would have tell me," he said finally, "If he really was he would tell me, he would trust me," Now she understood what has gotten him so worked up.

Desna put a hand on his cheek so the he could look at her, "Maybe he is just scared, this things aren't easy to figure out."

But he shook his head, "He would have told me."

"Alright, alright," she said caressing his cheek to calm him down, he seemed to enjoy her touch, "Why don't you try to talk to him? Maybe he wanted to tell you."

Lip seemed to think about what she had said before nodding his head, "Yeah, yeah, maybe I'll talk to him," he muttered. Desna looked at him for a moment before leaning forward to give him a kiss on the forehead.

"So, we good?" He asked, rubbing his nose against hers, who smiled.

"Yeah we're good," at her answer he pecked her lips again.

"Des!" V's voice made Desna looked at the house, then she turned to Lip.

"I have to go," she said, not that she really wanted to leave his arms.

"Yeah," he answered nodding his head, "Are you planning on having sex with someone tonight?"

His question made her smile, and she shook her head, "No, no sex tonight," she said and for some reason he let out a breath, before giving her a kiss on the cheek, "Have fun."

"Thanks," she said ready to walk away, but before doing so, she leaned closer to him to whisper in his ear, "But tomorrow I could use some help finding my phone," Lip chuckled.

"Really?" He asked with a grin, before pulling her close by the back of her neck, "Tomorrow morning at 7.00 in the van?"

Desna pecked his lips "Tomorrow, at 7.00 in the van."

#shameless #shameless imagine #shameless fanfiction #shameless smut #lip gallagher smut #lip gallagher x oc #lip gallagher x reader #lip gallagher imagine #lip gallagher fanfiction #lip gallagher #fiona gallagher #ian gallagher #carl gallagher #debbie gallagher #liam gallagher #frank gallagher #smut

[maboroshi-no]

Hamefura LN11 Extra Story Translation (Part 5) (Final)

I have started translating the extra story which comes with the special edition of volume 11 of the Hamefura light novel.

I posted some notes about it a while ago.

This part is the final Jeffrey's POV part.

Previous parts: Part 1    Part 2    Part 3 Part4

~The Story of the 4 Stuart Brothers~ (Part 5)

Jeffrey’s POV

While walking alone in a hidden passageway inside the castle that only royals and a handful of people knew about, I, Jeffrey Stuart, was in very high spirits.

Because no eyes were on me, I was humming a song while lightly skipping.

Before long, I finally reached my destination and then knocked on the wall as a signal. After a little while,

Ian: Come in.

I got this short reply.

After getting it, I softly slid the wall in front of me and went inside the room.

The room was about as large as mine with mostly the same furniture and furnishings except they were arranged grandly. It very much reflected the personality of its occupant.

My little brother was sitting up straight at his neatly ordered desk. I called out to him.

Jeffrey: Hi, Ian. How are you doing?

Ian: There's not much change on my side.

…replied my first little brother, Ian.

It sounded a bit curt, but this was how Ian normally was.

Unlike me who was said to be exceedingly amiable, Ian had a slightly limited register of facial expressions.

However, it didn't mean he had a limited register of emotions. When he was happy, the corners of his mouth would go softly upward, and when he was sad, his eyebrows would go a little downward. It was oh, so cute.

Jeffrey: I see, then I am glad. Anyway, can we talk a little?

After I had said this, Ian sighed and closed the open book on his desk,

Ian: You'll still talk even if I say no, right? I'll listen, so make it short.

…he said.

Jeffrey: Okay, I'll try.

I started telling Ian about the happy exchanges I had with my little twin brothers over the last few days. Until a little while ago, I had been most worried about them since they mostly didn't talk to each other and Alan even seemed to hate Geordo. 

And these boys had just recently started to have conversations with each other normally.

On top of this, the two of them had told me "Thank you for worrying about me!" 

If I had to describe my feelings at that time, I was so happy that I thought I might have ascended to the heavens.

While I was excitedly telling the story, Ian was quietly listening, as always.

When Ian was born, when my little twin brothers were born, I, Jeffrey Stuart, had been so taken by their adorableness that I had vowed to protect them as their big brother.

But after that, my little brother Alan fell severely ill, which resulted in my mother constantly attending to him. In addition to this, the royal palace was also in chaos because the former king had died without designating an heir.

Following these events, we brothers were left in the care of our servants and got all scattered.

Because I was still young at the time, I couldn't do anything about this situation. I couldn't do anything but worry about my little brothers.

Our parents weren't the kind of people who had no love for their children, but this period seemed to have been really difficult.

They did their very best just not to let any dangerous-minded people near us.

Eventually, our father was enthroned, and we went from being royals to becoming princes and heirs to the throne.

Now sitting on the throne, our father purged the corrupted royal palace, and our mother helped him as queen. The two of them seemed to be considerably busy.

And while we were out of reach of our parents like this, the people who curried favor to us, scattered siblings, had created factions before I had known it.

Then I was set up for some kind of succession struggle that I had absolutely no desire to participate in.

As a result, even though we were born of the same father and mother, we all grew up separately and got thrust into a fight for the throne.

When I was little, I couldn't oppose the faction as they took extensive care of me, but as I grew older, I gradually became able to handle them.

I also became able to lose the escort following me everywhere.

Then I was finally able to go where my scattered little brothers were.

Geordo had grown up into an unchildish child with icy eyes.

When he was just tiny, he was extending his hand towards me with sparkling eyes, and laughing with a wide smile. He was a child brimming with so much curiosity… but there was no trace of this left.

Because our mother had constantly been attending to the terribly sickly Alan, Geordo had grown up with mostly no motherly contact, or rather no family contact. Because of this, Geordo was mocked as "The Forgotten Prince" and he had lost interest in other people.

He looked at me like he would a stranger, and even though we had hardly met each other, it made me sad.

Despite being eight years old, his fake smile was flawless. He already was like a noble walking through high society.

He seemed uninterested in childish games, and no matter what I would ask him, he would give me extremely adultlike and mundane answers. This pained me terribly.

Even when, one way or another, I showed concern for what he wanted to do among other things, his responses didn't change.

As for Alan, his eyes were the polar opposite of Geordo's as they were retaining violent emotions. He always looked irritated and in pain.

I knew right away that Geordo was the cause of this.

The imbeciles who wanted to kick Alan out of the fight for the throne were spreading contemptuous rumors comparing him to Geordo, and Alan had been taking them seriously. 

"These rumors are just slander spread by the people who want to kick you out of the competition."

No matter how many times I told Alan these words, he obstinately refused to listen and kept intensely overreacting to Geordo.

Even though both lived in the same castle, they could barely look at each other.

I wanted to do something about it and thus tried to get my point across, but in the end, I couldn't do anything and rather got him to hate me as well.

And then, Ian. To be honest, I felt the most nervous while going to Ian's place.

Because Ian and I had been set up as rivals by our completely formed factions, I had been worried about him possibly seeing me as an enemy.

But the day I first took the hidden passageway to visit Ian's place, he readily let me in his room after I had stated my name.

Ian: It has been a while. Have you been well?

…he said.

I was so happy that I shouted "Ian~!" and hugged him.

But he pulled me off him right away, looking annoyed.  

Then, since Ian was way more friendly than I thought, I asked him if he found me unpleasant now that I was said to be his rival.

Ian: It's just what people around are saying. I didn't know how you were feeling about me, but looking at you, it seems like you don't see me as an enemy. 

It seemed like Ian had also been wondering whether I saw him as an enemy. With this situation, it couldn't be helped.

Jeffrey: Far from it, I've always been worried about you!

When I honestly said this, Ian made a relieved face, and…

Ian: Is that so? So you haven't changed since that time, long ago, when you enthusiastically said you would protect us.

…He said.

Jeffrey: Ian, you remember!

Ian was still two or so at that time, so I was surprised. Ian quickly told me this.

Ian: I don't remember the time just after my birth but I clearly remember things starting from a little while after.  Along with how you were profusely doting on me.

Jeffrey: …Ian, you're amazing.

I was deeply moved by my younger brother's wonderful ability.

However, Ian quietly shook his head.

Ian: It's just that I have a fairly good memory. I'm poor at guessing people's feelings. So until you came to visit me like this, I had no idea how you were feeling about me.

After saying this, Ian told me little by little about what had happened while we were separated.

About how he had been trying at first to somehow have contact with me and our brothers. 

About how he had no success with it, how he thought he might be able to do something if he gained more power, and then made great efforts to that end.

These didn't seem like pleasant days in any way but… Ian seemed to have been blessed with both a wonderful memory and wonderful people around him, and despite having slightly limited facial expressions, he seemed to have grown up into a straightforward person. 

Even regarding the succession to the throne, he wasn't like me, reluctantly studying because the people around him forced him, but he was making efforts of his own because he wanted to be of help to the people of the country.

My little brother was so wonderful!

In that case, maybe I should just throw away my succession to the throne, but… I already knew that filthy and nasty people would then approach him for political power.

On the surface, I would pretend to compete with Ian and draw the filthy people towards me, thus pulling them away from Ian and my other little brothers.

It originally was something I had thought about before, but after talking with Ian, I decided that I would absolutely do this.

Of course, I would make sure that the serious and straightforward Ian wouldn't find out. After all, if he did, he would probably get worried and oppose it.

We decided not to act too intimate on the outside because of our formed factions and to meet like this behind the scenes from time to time.

Then, later on, all while checking up on Geordo and Alan, I kept sneaking into the castle's hidden passageways to secretly interact with Ian.

Most of the time, I would complain because I was so frustrated over not being able to do anything for Geordo's empty eyes and Alan's stubbornness, and Ian would quietly listen to me. But today was different.

The situation had started to completely change from around the time I heard that Geordo had gotten engaged, a little while ago.

Geordo's eyes had regained their twinkle, and soon after, Alan had also calmed down.

They seemed to have changed through the interactions they had with their fiancées.

I get it, little bros. Girls before your big brother, right? I felt a bit lonely, but it meant that you had become more adult.

One day, when I would meet them, I would express my gratitude to their fiancées.

Then, with them back to their original selves, the twins had come to interact even at the castle.

I was so, so, happy to see them this way that I called out to them without thinking. And then each of them…

Geordo / Alan: Thank you for worrying about me.

They told me this!

Aaah, there was nothing happier than this.

I could talk about this for hours! When I passionately told Ian this…

Ian: Sure. I've heard that part three times already, so that will be enough. I'm fairly busy myself so let's call it a day.

After saying this, Ian cut the conversation short and pressed me to go back through the hidden passageways.

Jeffrey: Uuuh… But I still want to talk…

After I had mumbled this, Ian…

Ian: For the rest, have Lady Susanna listen to it.

…he said, mentioning the name of my fiancée.

Susanna knew about my love for my little brothers, so I could indeed talk to her, but…

Jeffrey: Rather than listening to me, Susanna will completely ignore what I say and read a magic book the whole time. 

Susanna Randall, to whom I got engaged a few years ago, was beautiful and extraordinarily brilliant, but… She was a magic nerd who basically didn't care about anything but her magic research. She was quite a peculiar girl.

The first time I had met her, she had declared to me, "I have no interest but magic research." To this day, it was still a nice memory.

Ian: …You seem intimate.

Following my story, Ian said this.

Huh? What part of my story made him think that we were intimate? It was the big question.

Then I felt like he was a bit jealous, so…

Jeffrey: Ian, how are things between you and Lady Selena?

About six months before Geordo and Alan's engagements, Ian got engaged to a girl from a ducal family called Selena Berg.

I hadn't met her but I had heard that the Bergs was a fair and upstanding family.

As their daughter, she must be a proper girl, but… Come to think of it, I hadn't heard anything from Ian about his fiancée.

Ian: What do you mean, "How are things between us"?

Ian's face had become stiff. I said,

Jeffrey: Well, I haven't really heard anything from you about your fiancée, so I was wondering if you were getting along.

After I had replied with this,

Ian: …We are interacting to some extent. Just, I don't know what to talk about with her.

Ian slightly lowered his eyebrows.

This was his troubled face.

Jeffrey: Ian, you're not particularly bad at making conversations, right? You can have conversations with anyone without trouble.

Ian usually was the one listening to my talking, but it didn't mean that he, himself, was bad at talking. 

Because he was a prince shouldering the expectations of everyone, he could skillfully talk and adapt the topic to each of his interlocutors.

Ian: …It might be the case, but in front of Selena, I can't seem to know what to talk about.

After he had said this, Ian's cheeks had become slightly red.

Oooh, this is…! I can't believe it, the straight-laced Ian is in love! 

And for the one he loves to be his fiancée, this is truly a joyful thing.

Jeffrey: Ooh! So this is how it is! Ian, you're finally… I'm so happy for you.

It seemed like my little brothers were steadily growing up, which made me happy. Though, I also felt a bit lonely…

When I ruffled Ian's head, he got away, looking displeased. 

Jeffrey: And so, Lady Selena, what kind of girl is she?

I was curious about the one Ian loved, so I tried to lean close and ask about her, but Ian looked even more bashful, and…

Ian: Isn't that enough? Get out.

After saying this with an even redder face, he pushed me to the hidden passageway.

Still, when he closed the door, he muttered in a very low voice,

Ian: …Selena is incredibly cute.

…he said but I couldn't catch it.

Aaah, Ian was just too cute!

I wanted someone to hear about it. No, I wanted to talk about it. I wouldn't be able to endure not talking about it. 

After that, I finally did as Ian had suggested and went to Susanna's. I passionately talked about how my little brothers were wonderful and cute.

As I had expected, Susanna mostly didn't listen and just read a book on magic, but even so, since I could somewhat talk, I felt lighter.

In this way, Susanna, who paid no attention to my talking that I couldn't have with others, was important to me.

To be able to get good fiancées like them for political engagements, I thought we brothers really were so lucky.

#hamefura light novel #hamefura #my next life as a villainess: all routes leads to doom #jeffrey stuart #ian stuart #geordo stuart #alan stuart #and I happen to post this story at christmas time again ^^

[smoshidiot]

sorry in advance if this is rambly or doesn't make sense. it's 3am and i just have a stupid amount of love for smosh in my heart rn and i wanted to make a lil appreciation post 💕

first off i wanna say: happy birthday smosh! i can't believe this silly youtube channel is already 18 years old. it's hard to exactly describe how much smosh means to me. i discovered the channel nearly 10 years ago (my anniversary is on the 25th!) and even at the times in my life when i wasn't actively watching smosh, they always had such a special place in my heart. ian and anthony have always been able to make me laugh in a way that other channels have never really been able to, and it has been such an absolute delight to see them working together again.

ever since june 20th my life has really been centered around smosh and it's been amazing. if you told me a year ago that this is what my life would look like i never would've believed you. i am so unbelievably grateful for all of the joy, laughter, and opportunities smosh has brought me since anthony's return. i wanna say how happy i am that smoshblr exists and was so welcoming as soon as i made my blog. i honestly don't know if i would've stuck with smosh so strongly if i didn't have this great community to chat with and rediscover my love of this channel with.

and then of course, smoshblr and my friends here led me to joining the smoshcord which has been my absolute home these past few months. i have made so many incredible friends on that server and i wouldn't trade it for the world. all of the neighbors mean sm to me and i absolutely cannot wait to meet a bunch of them at vidcon 2024. also! i am still so honored that erica from the team over at smosh chose me (as well as a few other amazing ppl!) as a community mod for smoshcord. it feels so amazing to be able to give back to the smosh community, for how much it has given me over the years. and just to be recognized by smosh as a respected member of the community means the absolute world to me.

along those lines, while i'm being sappy i think i'm allowed to be a lil selfish and say ?? holy shit if you told 12 year old me that i would go on to have regular conversations with anthony padilla i would tell you you're absolutely insane. it has been such an absolute wild ride but it's so fucking cool that ian and anthony (ok mostly anthony but i think ian too bc of streams n stuff!) know who i am. i have an insane amount of love in my heart for these boys and it's so nice to interact with them on a slightly more personal level. it still feels like an absolute dream to even see them sit next to each other, let alone sit next to each other while saying my name.

but anyways i just want to say thank you smosh. thank you for all of the love and laughter and hope you have given me. you've shown me that friendship DOES truly always win. i am so fucking proud of these boys for mending their relationship and coming through such a hard time to create something genuinely beautiful.

anyways i wanna shoutout @smoshmonker @squig-s @yourinterestisnotcringe @lilac-hecox @kubabamia @only-frann for being just so lovely and fun to talk smosh with ♡ i am so grateful i met you all and that smosh brought us together like this! (sorry if there's any other neighborhood friends that i simply forgot the tumblr urls for ilyy)

#shut up.txt #is this rambly enough #i just have so much fucking love in my heart for them #i cried a lot tn over smosh #just watching old lip syncs #and getting emotional over how far they've come #i'm so fucking proud of these two floppy-haired emo boys #smosh

[lupeloto]

shamey meta

frank/monica and ian/mickey parallels and how crazy they make me

One thing that both Frank/Monica and Ian/Mickey had? Deep fucking love for each other. The kind that most people don't find in their lifetimes.

A basis of Ian's character was how he was “similar” to Monica in the sense that they shared the understanding of bipolar disorder and how he tried everything to not end up like her. However, when it came to he and Mickey, I see it as them framing Ian more as the "frank" in the situation in the beginning.

As we all know, Monica kind of trainwrecked Frank's life in a way. While he had full autonomy over himself, he was in college when he met Monica and then everything spiraled down for him from there. They tried to frame it as Ian "making it out" of his relationship with Mickey because it would only bring trouble and chaos and pain. He was “on track" before Mickey got married to Svet and hurt him in a deep way, leading him to flee his life (not saying it is Mickey's fault that Ian spiraled, but it was the first domino knocked down in a whole series of events). They described Mickey as "setting a match" to Ian's life. Which, I believe they would have probably maintained this metaphor throughout the series if Noel hadn't come back (thinking they did something with the whole analogy *yawns*) However, he did and it turned into something a lot more beautiful and impactful in my opinion.

Instead of pushing this idea that although Ian loved mickey, he was trouble and not good for Ian and his new life, and that by leaving Mickey, he escaped his destiny to end up like one of his parents...However in this scenario, it was Frank rather than Monica (unlike his arc regarding his mental health and that desperation and effort he put it to not end up like his mother). But, in the later seasons, they shaped it more into this idea that Ian and Mickey both escaped this assumed "destiny" of ending up as bad-for-each-other as it was all they had ever known. They were willing to work and devote themselves to making each other better, something that Frank and Monica never could do.

Overall, I think that the comparison between the two relationships and framing of Ian as the "Frank" who escaped the "Monica" (Mickey) was an interesting turn for the character as most of his story had been attempting to escape the path of his mother. I think that instead of the sloppy "He didn't turn into his parents because he chose stability over love", Ian got to carry a much richer character arc of "He chose love. He chose the person who makes him feel alive, without falling into hurtful and toxic patterns like his parents. And that takes more work and dedication than simply denying something out of fear it could take a turn for the worst." does that make any sense?

anyways, i lvoe ian gallagher and the entire season he was distanced from frank quite a bit but the fact that the one aspect they shared being this ability to have such a deep and all-consuming love for someone…this magnetic pull in a way is so important to me. he was like frank in that way but still managed to come out the other side. i love him. that’s all.

#i could be totally wrong but these are just some thoughts i've had #does this make any sense #it's kind of a brain-dump #so i hope y'all get what i'm saying #gallavich #mickey milkovich #ian gallagher #shameless #gallavich meta #monica gallagher #frank gallagher #shameless meta #yes frank sucks #yes monica sucks #but they made that show so fucking interesting in regards to their relationship with each kid and how little parts of them are shown in each

[yukidragon]

Hi, first of all I'd like to say that I love your fics and theories/hcs/asks and I can't wait for The Phantom of Sunny Day Jack knowing that you were also working on it.

Secondly, there's something I've always been wondering. Since all characters with routes are male and the MC dated Ian it's kind of a given that (and necessary for the story to progress) that Sunshine is attracted both romantically and sexually to men. But what if Jack wasn't that lucky and MC was asexual? Since sex is kinda what lovers do so in Jack's mind so it seems to make him more sure of their love/feel secure in the relationship.

And what if they were asexual and aromantic and just couldn't love him back so friendship is all Jack will ever have. He's not their only friend either, and MC has known Shaun longer so his position as someone most important in his Sunshine's life is even more threatened, how would he deal with those feelings and the jealousy?

Or even worse, what if MC was attracted to women exclusively? In aroace friendship you can still technically make him #1 very best friend or something, but here Sunshine would actually LOVE someone else without him having the chance to win them over because it's impossible for them to ever reciprocate and naturally they'd be dating someone eventually, perhaps even married a woman, and naturally most people put their spouse above all. They don't neglect other relationships, but this one is simply the most important. How would he cope with that? Since whether he even gets to exist depends solely on whether MC wants him to. Would he get involved or just let his Sunshine be happy?

Ah... you really flatter me. Thank you! It makes me happy to know that you enjoy my writing and ideas so much that it makes you look forward to the Phantom of Sunny Day Jack more. I'm still blown away whenever someone tells me that. Thank you for being so kind.

Anyway, onto the ask...

You do raise an interesting question about an MC who simply isn't attracted to men. While we have evidence that the MC is attracted emotionally/romantically/physically to men, that doesn't mean that we can't go the AU route, or examine a scenario where they realize that it's not truly what they want after breaking things off with Ian.

I have touched on MC being asexual/aromantic in a previous post and how Jack might deal with that. I believe that if MC simply was incapable of romantic and/or physical attraction, that would Jack some worries, not because he's not supportive, but I think that Jack finds love to be the closest bond people can have. I also talked about how I believe he feels that sex is closely tied to that.

The fact of the matter is that Jack needs MC. From what we've seen on the "no" route in the demo, if they stop needing him, he'll become less real and will probably disappear. In that case he'll most likely return to a place that he described as hell.

That's why I think Jack insists on MC remembering him. If he stops being important in their mind, if they stop caring about his existence... then he's gone. Not to mention the fact that it hurts like hell when the person you love doesn't love you back.

If MC was incapable of feeling romantic love, that would be painful for Jack. Still, I imagine he would hold out hope that maybe someday that could change, especially if we're still talking about a continuity where they were in a relationship with someone before they met.

I can imagine that Jack wants the relationship Ian and MC had, which I'm sure is one of the many reasons why he probably dislikes Ian. Ian wasn't satisfied with the person Jack loves and needs so desperately. Jack can't lose MC, but Ian threw them away for a fling. It's kind of a maddening thought if you think about it.

If the relationship with Ian played a part in MC realizing that they weren't sexually or romantically attracted to men, it might be just another reason for Jack to not like Ian, to be honest. Not that Jack needs even more reasons to want to take care of Ian at this point.

Anyway, since you brought up a lot of different possibilities about MC's orientation that Jack could potentially deal with, I'm going to break them down one at a time. Let's keep going with the assumption that MC figured out this aspect about themselves after breaking up with Ian rather than it always being the case for the sake of simplicity.

First, let's go with an asexual MC who is sex repulsed. They don't want sex at all, but they still can feel attracted to men romantically. It's less than ideal for Jack considering his high libido and how he associates sex with love. However, he cares about MC's happiness and consent, so he won't do anything they don't want.

A quick reminder here - the "no" route was not intended to be a case of non/dubious consent. The team behind the game have repeatedly stated that Jack cannot do anything MC doesn't want. He can't even touch them they don't want him to. The intention in the narrative seems to be for MC to be reluctant about having sex, but still making the conscious choice to have sex with Jack in that route. The option to turn down sex altogether in either route is something that the team said will be added in a future update to the demo.

That said, I think Jack could accept not having sex with MC, provided that they showed him that they love and need him in other ways. I think he'll only truly feel secure if he's convinced that he's the most important person to MC, and they'll never stop loving him. As long as they could get together romantically, and MC could show him love other ways, I think he could be happy and eventually feel secure that a strong relationship doesn't need sex to solidify a strong bond of love.

With an aromantic MC, that's a different beast, especially if they have any sort of desire to have sex with people. I have a bad feeling that if MC was incapable of romantic love, Jack would continue to pine for them. He would no doubt consent to being friends with benefits in a heartbeat. After all, it's something he can give them that they want. I think that the mood would in a lot of ways be like the "no" route, since that is a prime example of MC and Jack having sex while MC doesn't want him romantically. The sex would be him desperately giving them what they desire just to make sure they never stop needing him... while he keeps loving them one-sidedly. He might even hope that one day things will change and they'll eventually love him as long as he just keeps giving them whatever they want. It would make for a pretty depressing situation, not going to lie.

It would make things worse if the aromantic and sexually active MC wants to have multiple sexual experiences with different partners without emotional attachment. I'm sure that would fuck Jack up mentally, and we'd see his worst yandere tendencies come out. I'd expect more and more people would be getting the Nick treatment, and even wind up killing themselves because of his manipulation.

After all, MC can't choose someone else if there's no one else left to choose.

With that thought in mind, an asexual/aromantic MC might be a little easier on Jack's state of mind, at least relatively. If MC doesn't want anyone else, romantically or physically, there's no one else who they're pursuing as a lover or partner. Jack, unfortunately, is no doubt going to remain constantly insecure, especially if MC has other friends, and he might start chasing them away and encouraging MC that they don't need anyone else but him, their best friend in the world.

I believe that Jack needs to feel like he's the most important person to MC. If he can't have reassurance that they'll always care about him and want him around, then he's going to have to make sure to do something about it himself.

Now... when it comes to MC not being romantically attracted to men... it would likely be the same functionally as just not being attracted to Jack in general. It doesn't matter who the person is or their sexuality - if they become more important than Jack to MC, then he can't feel secure in his existence. He might lose them. I'm sure he can live with being their best friend if not their lover, but not if they take someone else as a lover.

Jack seems willing to be whatever MC wants him to be, give them whatever they want as long as they'll always remember him.

That isn't to say that Jack would change into a woman to suit their desires if that's the only type of person they can feel attraction towards. His body might be affected by supernatural powers given the hints we've been given, but that would be pretty messed up.

Rather, I think Jack would try to figure out what about women that MC finds so appealing in a partner. Sometimes people with strong sexual preferences have exceptions despite their sexuality. He could potentially bank on becoming that exception by giving MC everything they could ever want in a relationship with a woman. Sure they might sigh and wish they knew a woman like him, but as long as he made sure no women get close to MC, then maybe eventually they'll change their mind.

It's a foolish hope, but it might be all Jack has at that point.

Of course... this is all speculation based off the idea that MC never really realizes that Jack is insecure about his relationship with them or why he needs them so badly. Not that he's going to tell them since that might risk losing them. It's possible if MC could find other ways to reassure Jack, maybe even help him deal with his issues and his tenuous grip on reality, then maybe he could become less insecure. Maybe he could accept just being friends with MC and accept his beloved being happy with someone else romantically, even if it breaks his heart.

Naturally, since the name of the game is Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, that's probably far easier said than done.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask #yeesh this post got depressing

[such-a-barbarian]

Thanks @callivich for some fun questions! and thanks to @jrooc and @zutaralesbian for the extra push to actually sit down and think about these! haha

What’s a fic you’ve read more than once?

Oh man, the better question might be is there a fic I've only read once. haha. If we are talking about fics I've reread the most then probably Cooperative Gameplay and Like Real People Do by Grayola, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace by Shamelessquestions, The Only Fans series by GallavichGeek13 and every single fic on this soulmate AU recommendation list. I am a chronic rereader - it's a problem. lol

What’s a gifset you always have to reblog?

Dock scene. Always the dock scene.

What’s a fanart you love looking at?

@darthvaders-wife's Kinktober collection is insane. I'm not ok about it.

What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration?

I really loved the movie Nimona and have thought a lot about a Gallavich Goldenheart crossover. If you have not seen Nimona yet 1) I highly recommend it and 2) this probably won't make a lot of sense, but... Like does it take place during their training years? Sure. Are Mickey and Ballister childhood best friends from the wrong bloodlines to be knights? Probably. Has Ian been forced into knighthood because of his bloodline? Also probably. Do Mickey and Ian somehow meet through Ballister and Ambrosius and immediately hate each other?! For sure. Do they fall madly in love when they realize they have more in common than they originally thought?!?! Obviously!

Anyway, I am not a writer so this will just stay a lovely little idea in my head.

What’s something you’ve discovered since entering this fandom? A new trope you love? A different analysis of the show? Something else? I had only ever dabbled in fandom before this, so I had no idea soulmate AUs were a thing. And oh boy do I LOVE soulmate AUs!

What’s an underrated trope or concept you’d like to see more of?

I haven't really gone out of my way to look for any, so maybe there are a ton and I just don't know about them, but I'd love to see more historical AUs! I'm also open to recs even though I already have 20+ fics on my "to read later" list. What's one (or ten) more!

What line/dialogue/description from something else (a poem, a book, a tv show, a movie, or something else) do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship? "It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect." From A Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

What do you think is next for Ian and Mickey post-finale?

They will eventually become parents and you will never convince me otherwise. I also think Ian will eventually get out of their business and go back to school to become some type of mental health counselor or advocate or I don't know, but he needs to help people.

The original questions are here if you feel so inclined! @lupeloto, @krystallouwho, @sgtmickeyslaughter, @francesrose3, @juliakayyy, @catluvver118, @transmickey, @tanktopgallavich or anyone else!

#tag game #gallavich

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

my thoughts on sandy milkovich:

(buckle up because i have a lot to say, as always)

so, for starters, one thing that i’m not incredibly fond of is how her character isn’t really original. like, it is, but it isn’t. her name is sandy, for christ’s sake- which is literally one letter away from mandy, also not to mention the fact that she was practically raised as mickey’s sister. and in many way’s she’s like a female version of mickey, i’ll explain why:

obviously one way she’s like mickey is that she dated a gallagher, but i think that the way she acts in the relationship is very much like how mickey acts in gallavich. well…acted. more seasons 1-5 gallavich.

she’s a bit less… idk, fearful than mickey was? i mean, it’s understandable why mickey was so fearful- have you seen terry? did you watch 3x666? or 4x11? i would’ve been fearful if i were him, too. we don’t know much about how sandy was raised, but she probably wasn’t raised well. again, she seemingly was raised as mickey’s sister rather than his cousin (he does have a brother who is also his cousin, to be fair, but that’s not what i mean) but sandy’s parents may not have been as threatening or terrifying as terry was. terry does seem to be the most well-known milkovich. everybody knows terry. maybe sandy’s parents were homophobic in a way where they looked down on queer people, but didn’t literally murder them. you can see how much more open she is with the whole “he’s gay, terry. i’m gay. people are gay.”

but sandy can be mean. and so can mickey. i love them both to death but sandy’s fight with debbie in season 11 really reminded me of gallavich in seasons 2/3. specifically “you’re nothing but a warm mouth to me” and “you love me; and you’re gay” she wins the fight by using something to hurt debbie, and it works.

and what was the fight all about? sandy leaving her husband, who she was with as a teenager but felt no love for him whatsoever, and also leaving her kid. sound familiar? ian never held yevgeny and svetlana against mickey, but it’s similar.

and when they break up on the front porch all i, and many other gallavich fans, could think of was “5x12!!!!”

also she was a drug dealer and in juvie and it was implied that she was in prison. this isn’t exclusive to mickey, the only milkovich i can think of (other than yevgeny) who hasn’t been incarcerated is mandy, but we don’t know for sure that she hasn’t been to juvie before. she’s certainly done things that could land her in prison for a very long time.

and i feel like with the same amount of time and development sandy can be as great as her cousin is, because mickey changed A LOT over the seasons which made him even more lovable.

but sandy’s ending was pathetic and i hate the writers for it. it was unnecessary and damaged debbie’s character when she didn’t need it because sandy left literally 4 EPISODES BEFORE THE SERIES FINALE. the only thing that sandy leaving added was the evidence that debbie would stick with franny no matter what, but fuck that, it was too late in the show for most people (not me ofc) to give a shit about that. people overlooked that a lot.

i feel like sandy helped out debbie’s character a lot, while simultaneously fucking her up even more. but i loved sandy for most of her run on the show, i just wish that they had done more- or less. idk. they made her character more complicated than she needed to be, and it’s hard to put my feelings about her into words because they didn’t give us enough to work on.

i think that her relationship with royal was bad, and i think that he was probably a creep who impregnated her, and i bet that he knew she was a lesbian after they got married and things probably got messy. the way that royal described sandy’s choices to prince was good, though. i respected that.

anyway, if they kept making shameless seasons (which they wont) i would love a sandy redemption. possibly like the returns of mickey, jimmysteve, or kelly.

im not reading this over before i post it so if it doesn’t make sense then oh well

#shameless #sandy milkovich #debbie gallagher #mickey milkovich #ian gallagher #gallavich #female gallavich #royal shameless #prince shameless #shameless us #sandy was good but she left too soon #they were just starting to develop her then they fucked it up and wrote her off #it’s sad tbh

[drowninginredink]

Hi. Okay. I am about to talk about Shian for a really long time because I have thoughts. And @generaltrashshecox reminded me of them by talking about one of the huge draws to shian, which is that they are not the obvious other half to each other and yet they choose each other anyway. I love that aspect of it, but I'm not talking about that here.

A comparison a million people have made is Ian and Anthony to Shayne and Damien. Shayne as Ian 2.0 and Damien as Anthony 2.0. The idea that Ian and Shayne are the same is what really fascinates me about Shian, because they so are, and they so aren't.

Let's look at that on the most surface level. Ian is the face of Old Smosh and Shayne is the face of New Smosh. They both have carried the company and been the face of it. They both very much are Smosh in some people's eyes. When some people think Smosh, all they picture is Ian; when other people think of it, they just think of Shayne. They both very much have the weigh of this brand and entertainment enterprise on their shoulders. If you want a great case study/exploration of that, please read "drive it like you stole it". Talking to @furry-jackson about that fic is really where all of my Shian thoughts came from. Also God can she fucking write. Everyone should read everything he's written ever.

But. I want to take it a step beyond that. Because yes... the brand has both been on them... but not in the same way. Ian created Smosh with Anthony. Ian is attached to Smosh. We all know that when Anthony left, he asked Ian to come with him and Ian refused to leave this thing they created behind. Ian was the one who saved Smosh when Defy collapsed. Ian was the president of Smosh under Mythical; he's now the co-owner.

Shayne? Shayne is just talent. Well, talent, and a director, and presumably an unofficial writer/producer... but like... he's not in leadership. He has no stake in the company. One thing I think about so much is a single line from this video by Swell Entertainment about being on Reddit Stories. She talks about having a conversation with Shayne about her life as a self-employed YouTuber, and Shayne said he could never do that and he's so glad that working at Smosh means he can do YouTube as a 9-5. Most people with 9-5s are not that invested in them, you know? I mean clearly Shayne cares about Smosh way more than most people care about their jobs, but still... he's just an employee. He does not have the deep-seated ties to it that Ian does. He didn't create it. It's not his. He's just one part of a greater whole.

That's what really fascinates me about Shayne and Ian as a dynamic. Because yes. They are similar in so many ways. They're both very extroverted and yet reserved at the same time in interesting ways. They're figureheads of the company. They're leaders. And there is just a general simpatico vibe between them that I can't quite describe, but you feel it and you can tell that while they're cut from different cloth, they've been sewn into the same pattern. Their general vibes, for all they are different from each other, are also very much the same. But the one key difference between them is that weight. Shayne is fundamentally freer than Ian will ever be, because he did not create the brand, he does not own it, and he's never been more than a really prominent employee.

I've never actually seen anyone explore that. I think the closest I've seen to capturing it was the way @casblueeye wrote Shayne in The Kintsugi Kid. Shayne is a stay-at-home dad in that, and I do think that speaks to the fact that in a lot of ways, he is just along for the ride. He's happy in the role he's fallen into, even if that's not the most important one. I really haven't seen other fic writers capture that side of him that isn't ambitious but is instead just happy with where he is in life right now. I love it, and I think about it so much, and I'd love to see other people write Shayne the way that they did. But that's not a shian fic. I haven't seen anyone do it with Shian.

I am sure I'll eventually find a story beat where I can explore that, but right now I just have not found a shian premise for myself. I've got the dynamic, but there's no actual plot in my head. So since I have nothing to write with it, instead I am screaming about it on here so the rest of you can share my brainworms.

#Shian #shayne topp #ian hecox #smoshblr #RPF #shayne x ian

[lingy910y]

Gallavich Questionnaire

Thank you @energievie for tagging me to do this! I get too unhinged when talking about these two boys, so warning for very elaborate ramblings 🙏

1. What’s a fic you’ve read more than once?

This fic is the prime example of why you should write a fic even if you think nobody’s going to read it, because it’s my favorite gallavich fic even though most people don’t want to read about them getting a divorce. But I do, okay, because a normal break-up doesn’t cut it (especially since we already see those in canon, but post-canon is up to our interpretation) and it’s just more serious. I think they will work out their issues before it gets too far in canon but it just hurts so fucking good. The reason for their divorce is so realistic too, in fact it’s not one but a lot of problems piled on top of each other. They think it’s only going to hurt everyone involved including their children, which is arguably true in context, but they can’t resist each other and it’s this back and forth push. There’s parallels to canon, the writing is so good without being drawn out, and there’s so much nuance, emotion, and subtly hinting at something beneath the surface. The pining is just delicious because it’s not “I don’t know if you feel this way about me” or “I’m not allowed to be with you,” it’s “I want to be with you so badly but I’m trying to resist that because it’s going to hurt everyone.” Then the trying so hard not to care because “we’re over, but you’re in trouble and I’m trying to move on and I’m never going to love someone else like I love you” 😭😭😭 anyway I actually had to stop myself from rereading too often for comfort because it was too much LOL

the author said they were going to update it January of this year so I’ll be patiently waiting 😔

3. What's a headcanon you can't stop thinking about?

You know that post abt how when you're sleepy you imagine your favs sleepy? I keep imagining Ian wrapping their comforter around Mickey like a cocoon when he has a nightmare and cuddling him, it's cute

4. What's a fanart you love looking at?

The first image of this by @gallavichonly JUST GETS ME SO FERAL. THEIR FUCKING EXPRESSIONS.

5. What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration?

I want to draw a character concept art sheet for their outfits/weapons/mechanics for kinda a zombie apocalypse AU. Designing that sounds fun but I need to research more

6. What’s something you’ve discovered since entering this fandom? A new trope you love? A different analysis of the show? Something else?

The jealousy trope, especially jealous Mickey. I guess in other fandoms, people write jealousy in a really possessive, cringy way. Not saying gallavich aren't possessive as fuck but at least they earned it, you know? There's too many ships where one of them is breathing down the other person's love interest's neck but they don't even know you exist, like calm down 😭 Meanwhile gallavich tease and try to get each other to admit it first, and Mickey is biting his tongue trying not to say anything and then "Fucking cheat on me, Ian?!", "Whatcha doin' here then?" AND THEIR EXPRESSIONS WHEN THEY EACH SAY "WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW" ARUGHHHHHH I'M SO GONE

7. What’s an underrated trope or concept you’d like to see more of?

Touched on this earlier but basically the more tragic/gritty ones—a huge argument, break-ups, unrequited love, falling out of love, hanahaki, amnesia, MCD...

10. What scene or moment do you feel isn’t discussed enough?

Eh I think we've dissected the shit out of every scene lmao, but probably their s4 reunion? The lap dance?

11. What line/dialogue/description from something else (a poem, a book, a tv show, a movie, or something else) do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship?

Obviously "I'll take care of you. / It's rotten work. / Not to me. Not if it's you."

12. What do you think is next for Ian and Mickey post-finale?

I want Ian to go back to being an EMT no matter what :( but their current security gig fits Mickey a lot. Ian also gets really into gardening, he'll be so good to the point where he'll be known in the neighborhood. And Mickey has a little hobby for drawing. They'll adopt a pitbull because Mickey was actually enthusiastic about that idea, which meets Ian halfway by still giving him something to take care of. Now for the elephant in the room: I think it's okay if Mickey never wants a kid, and there's a lot of issues ingrained in them that unless they go to therapy for a couple of years, hinder them from becoming perfect parents tbh. Now I'm not saying they'll be bad, but will their best be enough? Will they be content? Idk, I don't have any experience and I see them with more issues/flaws than the majority of the fandom? Honestly I just don't see that future for them (but I do enjoy kid AUs because who doesn't.) They'll stay on the West Side because I want them to get out but not stray too far from their family. I also can't think about them getting old or I'll sob, but I wrote a fic about how they'll retire and just live comfortably because it's what they deserve, and they'll take tons of vacations when they save up enough money.

oh my god that was way too much but in my defense i rarely get to rant abt them ok!! anyway now that I went through the whole spectrum of emotions, i'm tagging @michellemisfit, @lupeloto, @jademickian & @softmick 🚶‍♀️

[golden28s]

tag game wednesday friday ! 🌻

im late again for this but anyways thank to the cool lovely people that thought of me and tagged me 💖 @mickeysgaymom @milkovichrules @guinguin1984

1. if you could switch bodies with anybody for only one hour who would it be and what would you do? someone rich just to transfer the money to my bank account and then i can go back to my body

2. whats your most trivial / dumbest hot take? I’m so sorry

uh, idk that maybe fictional characters are just fictional characters and half of the discussions about them aren't that deep but half of the time they're also representation and give visibility to something, to some people's reality and you have to treat with respect and empathy

3. if you had to teach a college course what would it be in? anything related to medieval literature

4. season 12 of shameless is suddenly happen and youve been put in charge! what plot point(s) are you gonna make happen?

ian and mickey navigating marriage and see them learning how to communicate even better, allow them to have moments for them and be romantic and cheesy and embarrassing because they couldn't be any of that during at least 10 season so they deserve that. probably try to fix lip and tami relationship or simply make them break up because they don't see to understand each other and lip needs peace and space to try to get on his feet again, try to find new goals and aspiration, a new horizon. also maybe open the conversation about ian's experience with grooming and let him heal that wound and at some point after that, and some therapy for mickey too why lie, ian and mickey having an actual and honest conversation about kids and deciding that they're ready for that.

also give debbie a real chance to try to built her own life.

5. who would be your godly parent? (can be any mythology).

idk never thought of this

6. what’s something you love about yourself?

that i cant be angry for too long, i get upset but i cant be mad for hours or days or weeks i just can't

7. describe your day in 5 emojis: 📖📚📒🎧🎶 i've been basically doing uni assignments

8. what shameless character do you think you could beat in a fight? lip because i probably wouldn't even have to touch him, id just say that he's wrong about something and he would be crying shaking yelling

9. tell us 2 truths and a lie, we’ll try to guess the lie!

-ive been writing poems and stories since i was 8

-i hate pickles

-im scared of darkness

10. do you have a pet(s). if so how did they get their name?

i have a cat and idk i just thought it was cool

11. show us a meme (or picture) that captures your essence

12. whats your typical coffee / tea / beverage order?

I don't like coffee and i don't really drink tea but peach iced tea is so good

13 . use a song to describe the last 5 years of your life?

you're on your own kid by taylor swift, it's been a hell of a journey but i have some kind of peace now let's just say that im like mickey and change is not my thing

im late to this like i said so im just gonna tag a few people and feel free to do it or not ! and feel free to ignore too if youve been tagged already @lupeloto @juliakayyy @energievie @creepkinginc @transmickey

#gallavich #shameless #tag game fandom

[whatthebodygraspsnot]

ray baby, do you have any tips for writing really good bdsm/kink stuff? i really want to write something centered on subspace but i’ve never done it before, and you’re the first person i think of when it comes to “really good bdsm/kink stuff” so i figured i’d ask 🥰

oh shit, well thank you! im honored and also wanna point you in @metalheadmickey's direction (who im sure you're already familiar with) because jessie is stupid-amazing at this topic - subspace especially 💙 anyway! tips under the cut 😌

so honestly and frankly, i think one of the biggest mistakes out there is getting too overloaded with action descriptions. what they're physically doing. do you know what i mean? like a step by step "ian picks mickey up. he walks them over to the bed. he tosses mickey down onto it." etc. yes, it's good to know what's happening, but in my experience, it's more about the feeling that comes out of it - the reaction. if you're sticking in the POV of the character receiving the attention, then the reader is going to be "feeling" what that character feels, pleasure-wise.

SO THAT BEING SAID, what works for me personally is focusing on the reactions. the horny swoops. the tingles up their spine. the heat pooling in their lap. and sometimes you don't even have to describe that - if it's an extra potent pleasure, sometimes all you need is an 'oh fuck' or something like that. (ex: Ian gets Mickey's legs spread and dips down and oh fuck... Yeah. More of that...) (pls note this is successful if we're sticking in only one POV. and usually if it's very heavily narrated in the character's voice.)

and since you're talking about subspace, i think it's important to note that eventually things will be drifting into this reaction-heavy narration anyway, as the receiver starts to slip more and more into the headspace. they're probably not grounded enough to be noting every little move being done to them anyway. it's vibes based lmao. and also im sure you know this already, but subspace can take a while to reach, so just making sure the pacing is reasonable is a good idea :)

some things i like to focus on when they reach this point:

- the weight of their limbs/body on the mattress - the emotions being stirred up from this attention (affection, physical neediness, etc) - what's their speech doing? are they still using full sentences? can they express needs? is their partner seeing this and checking in on them?

since it's gallavich, i think there's a HUGE emotional/affection component that needs tending to. i know im a sap, but it just doesn't feel right if it's set in a stage where they're reasonably in love with each other and that doesn't happen. (aus are trickier - i understand.) they don't have to be falling all over each other, but the sex just hits better when they're able to show some emotion, you know?

okay what else... this is long...

🗣️🔊AFTERCARE!

honestly i would say just go for it. let your freak flag fly and don't worry about it being perfect right off the bat. think about things that feel good for you under those circumstances (if that's your thing) and just trust yourself. the fandom will eat it up regardless <3

okay love you, i can't wait to read <3

#asks #sorry im late to this - i was out of state

[evenaturtleduck]

I really want to like A Test of Wills (the first Ian Rutledge book) because everyone said, "oh if you like the Lord Peter Wimsey books you should try these!" And I do like Inspector Rutledge a lot--what a brilliant, miserable, tormented little guy who can't get out of his own head. Five stars, no notes.

ON THE OTHER HAND every single woman in this book is so, so boring. All the ones with speaking parts are, at the oldest, no more than thirty, and they're all described as beautiful and intelligent and mysterious and haunted and say all kinds of poetically cryptic things for the detective to mull over.

(If they're over thirty then they're just background)

Anyway, I would love to transplant, say, the Dowager Duchess or Miss Climpson, or perhaps the entirety of Shrewsbury College, into this book and watch the whole  oh-no-we-are-all-lovely-haunted-and-unknowable vibe collapse into a massive heap of confusing literary references and stray hairpins.

#currently reading #a test of wills #ian rutledge #lord peter wimsey

[unhinged-jackles]

i heard somewhere that anger is just a mix of grief, heartbreak and betrayal and that's what anthony's letter REALLY is about - it was him trying to process why a relationship so meaningful had crumbled the way it did, but it came from a place of love, like he loves ian so much which is why he was LOSING HIS MIND, so desperate to understand WHY - was it his fault? had he done something to hurt ian? and saying SORRY multiple times if he ever did wronged him bc he wanted to talk it out, find a way to fix things ("please give me a chance to speak with you") anyways this was what got to me the most bc i thought the letter would be more mean? assholeish? and yet it was anthony's attempt to reach ian so in conclusion i'm so happy they're besties again cause god knows how difficult it is to repair a burnt bridge, that they can communicate and be honest and vulnerable with each other and be their happiest selves cause they're better together <3

this sums up how i feel about the video perfectly. the letter is just so real, in the sense that while ian and anthony's situation is unique to them, the emotions that anthony felt and expressed are so very common.

him describing it as an angry letter is honestly very sweet, because it kind of shows how much he cares about ian and their relationship. anthony actually said very few negative things about ian in that letter, and the anger wasn't even directed at ian, but more of what their friendship had become, and that anger came from the sadness of losing that relationship.

i relate so deeply to anthony in this video, and i feel that he and ian are very emotionally mature to be able talk through the letter with such grace.

#ask tanoo #smosh #ian hecox #anthony padilla #ianthony #(besties) #☀️🔍

[sage-nebula]

Game Review — Sonic Frontiers

Well, it's been a hot minute since I've done one of these, hasn't it? In fact, this is the first review I've written this year. The truth is, for the other games I've played this year I kind of lost steam partway through writing the reviews, and since so few people read my reviews anyway I figured there wasn't much of a point. But I know that at least a couple people have been waiting for my opinion on this game, and since I've gained quite a few new followers thanks to my Sonic posting, I figure I owe it to Frontiers to give it a proper review.

Overall Score: 8/10

When it was first announced that Ian Flynn was going to be writing the script for Sonic Frontiers, I was super excited. It’s not a secret to anyone who follows me that I really enjoy the IDW Sonic comics, even if I don’t always love every new character or plot beat, so I had full confidence that if he was at the helm of Frontiers, then—at least on the story front—the game was going to deliver. And I’m happy to say, my confidence was rewarded. For more details, let’s head under the cut (and on my blog for prettier formatting).

The Pros:

— As mentioned in the above paragraph, Ian Flynn was put in charge of the English script for Frontiers, and while I know that he didn't have full control over the story (it was a collaboration between him and the writers on the Japanese side), his influence showed in a big way and it was fantastic. Every single character was on point. Sonic had a good balance between snarky, confident, and serious; Amy's compassion shone through and, though her story did touch heavily on her romantic feelings for Sonic, that's not what the main focus of her character was; Knuckles was allowed to be intelligent again, and his struggle between his duty and his feelings of loneliness really came through; and Tails was done so much justice after the absolute nonsense he was put through in Forces, showcasing not only his intelligence, but also his struggles with self-doubt, his love and worry for his brother, and his desire to grow up and out of his insecurities. Ian's influence really shone through with the writing for Tails; without veering too far into spoilers, Tails himself uses the word "inconsistent" to describe his past exploits, which is the exact word Ian has used to describe Sega's handling of Tails in the past as well. Nonetheless, Tails was done justice in this game and I can't wait to see where future games take his character.

But of course, the core four aren't the only characters in this story. Eggman, for as few appearances as he had in the game, ended up really surprising me and touching my heart at the end. Again, I don't want to veer into spoilers here, but I never thought I would feel my heart ache for him, and it actually did in the end. And as for the new character who bears my name, Sage . . . I love her. Her character arc is stunning, and while there is one thing in particular they should have touched on with her but didn't for some reason, everything about her was handled marvelously. I couldn't be happier with what they did with my namesake, truly.

— Characters aside, the story itself was truly heartfelt and, honestly, something that I would expect from the current comics. While Sonic's central conflict was wrapped up very quickly with a moment that most would justifiably call cheesy, this is a Sonic game. Of course it's going to have cheese. You can't play a game with candy-colored anthropomorphic animals and not expect to get some cheese. Plus, I have a feeling that the reason everything wrapped up as quickly (and vaguely) as it did in that critical moment was due to crunch time, but I'll address that in a later section. Point is, the story was truly poignant, and is, in my opinion, the most beautiful Sonic game we've had since Adventure 2 in that regard. But I also haven't played every single game since Adventure 2, so take that with a grain of salt, I guess.

— The music was, of course, amazing. I feel that goes without saying, because Sonic games pretty much always have amazing music, but I'll say it anyway. All of the boss themes were hype as hell, even if I couldn't really hear the lyrics over all of the battle noises (I can always listen to the soundtrack later), but the music in the open world areas was really great, too. I will say that some of the cyber space levels had forgettable music (and I felt personally offended that a cyber space level that looked like it was based on City Escape didn't have some variation of the City Escape music, wtf), but overall the soundtrack is great, and the credits theme for the true ending made me weep actual tears. Again, spoilers, so I won't say which one. But I cried.

— The open world gameplay was really good for the most part (Chaos Island notwithstanding, more on that in a later section). When you were allowed to have full camera control and just sprint across the landscape, the controls worked really well. An open landscape is great for a game like Sonic, where you can sprint across the map in no time at all, making the lack of fast travel at the beginning of each island a non-issue. The 3D platforming segments were great as well; most of the issues I had with landing on rails came from my own clumsy playing (I have a tendency to panic jump when I really shouldn't) than any sort of actual issues with the controls, and there were tons of fun segments with springs and boost ramps and ziplines. The little island challenges were also fun, for the most part, and the fact that there were multiple times I had to look up a solution only to realize I was a dumb-dumb that forgot that cyloops were a thing again was on me, not the game design. So for the most part, the open world worked really well.

— The stat increase system (for speed, ring count, strength, and defense) was a neat little addition to the gameplay, and for me at least, leveling all the way up to 99 lasted the length of the story. (And this was with me cheesing a bit at the very end and just buying a bunch of kocos and seeds from Big so I would be buff enough to fight the final boss on Hard Mode.) I can say that I did notice an increase in speed as the game went on in 3D sections, and having more rings helped whenever I got hit (which happened a lot because I suck at dodging and block with Sonic's face). I can't say I noticed anything happening strength/defense wise, but maybe I would have noticed more difficulty if I'd neglected to level those up. Also, when visiting the Hermit Koco to increase your strength/defense, he just gathered all the seeds and increased both strength and defense all in one fell swoop, which made the process speedy and not a chore at all. (Yes, this is foreshadowing for something in a later section.)

— The combat was fun as well. There's a skill tree that you can use to unlock new abilities, and while I have some not-so-great things to say about that in a later section, I will say at least that it was nice to be able to fight in ways that weren't jumping and homing attacks. There are actual button combos you can use to attack with different moves, and honestly just mashing the attack button over and over won't get you anywhere very fast. You really do need to learn at least a few of the basic attacks in order to be able to do well, as well as parrying (which thankfully doesn't require timing and yes I did learn to parry for the bosses / enemies that required it, it's just not my go-to). Combat was something that Sonic Team could have slacked on for this game, but they didn't, and that was a nice surprise.

— For that matter, most of the Titan fights were sick. Sure, there were times when it felt a little cheap, or that first Titan fight where I forgot that parrying was even a thing in this game and died because of it. But, they really amped up the spectacle in the Titan fights with finishing cutscenes that could have been straight out of shounen anime, and it was awesome. Again, this is a Sonic game. We're here for cheese and spectacle. If you're not here for cheese and spectacle, then I have no idea what you're doing playing a game about an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog whose super form is what it is because the creators of the series looked at Dragonball and were like, "that looks cool, let's do that." The Titan fights have hype music and spectacle and intense gameplay. What more could you want?

— There are side conversations peppered through the islands that give you more time with Sonic's friends, and Sage. These moments aren't necessary, but I really appreciated them. Not only because I am a sucker for character interaction (I don't care half as much about lore as I do about characters talking to each other), but also because it really helps flesh out the character arcs and relationships even more, in addition to giving you a bit more information about what's going on with the islands. I know I just said that I don't care about lore nearly as much as I care about characters talking to each other, and I stand by that, but if you do care about lore then you really will want to do these side conversations, because they give you more information on the lore of the islands as well. Additionally, these side conversations are not hard to find; they are marked with an icon of the character's face on the map, and you can see their little digital self standing out on the field, so it's easy to track them down and initiate them if you want to.

The Neutrals:

— The 3D cyber space levels were fine. That's the nicest thing that I can say about them. They were short enough that they didn't take up too much time, the red star ring locations were in relatively sensible locations for most of them, and they played okay. I will say that it was disappointing how few of Sonic's past adventures the cyber space levels pulled from (if I never have to see Chemical Plant Zone again it will be too fucking soon), but again, they were a relatively inoffensive part of the game overall and they passed quickly enough that it's not like too much time is spent on them, in comparison to how much time is spent in the overworld.

— The length of the game is not the best. As anyone who has read my past reviews knows, I like to get one hour of gameplay per dollar spent on the game. I paid $60 for Frontiers, and got almost 40 hours of gameplay from it. This is being generous, because there were numerous times when I left it sitting idle while I got distracted doing other things (I have ADHD, let me live). Still, having a twenty hours-to-dollars discrepancy isn't too horrible, and it's definitely better than the 5 hours I got out of Sonic Forces after spending $40 on that, so it can go here instead of in the cons section.

— Frontiers has a True Ending, which is only accessible if you beat the final boss on Hard mode. This is in the neutrals section because you can play the entire game on Easy or Normal if you want to, so long as you change the difficulty to Hard right before the final boss, which is a good thing. However, what's not great is that there's nothing in the game (to my knowledge) telling you that you need to do this, and that you haven't seen the True Ending if you haven't done it. The closest I think there is is that if you try to change the difficulty during the fight against Supreme, I hear that a popup appears telling you that the boss fight that would come after Supreme will be skipped. Admittedly, I'm not positive on that though. I only knew about the True Ending thanks to some friends who beat the game before me, otherwise I probably would have missed it since I was playing on Normal due to the time crunch I had with Pokémon coming out on Friday. The True Ending is very good though, so if you can swing it, I would recommend fighting Supreme on Hard. Trust, it's not actually hard. (And neither is the final final boss; I got it on my second try.)

— Speaking of which, the final final boss was . . . interesting? To say the least, in terms of gameplay. It wasn't traditional Sonic gameplay at all, but was instead a bullet hell battle. To be fair this is not completely out of left-field for Frontiers; they give you a few bullet hell stages before this to prep you for how it's going to go down. But it was still a bit odd for a final final boss in a Sonic game to be bullet hell. Additionally, I couldn't hear half of what the boss was saying during the fight, which was a bit disappointing since I like to hear actual dialogue. Nonetheless, I'm glad I did it; the True Ending was worth it, and maybe it just felt easy to me because I've played Undertale and Deltarune (and the secret bosses in both chapters of Deltarune) so bullet hell is old hat to me now. (But seriously, this was much easier than Jevil or Snowgrave Spamton.)

— Without going into spoiler reasons as to why, Sonic's physical condition deteriorates as the story progresses. This is shown by his idle poses, as well as in certain cutscenes. However, although Sonic's physical condition is deteriorating, the gameplay doesn't change at all. Sonic can still run, boost, and fight just as well when he's in the worst shape of the game as he could at the very start. I understand why this is; hampering the movement of the player's character, especially in a game series that is all about movement, is risky business. Even if you're doing it for storytelling purposes, it can come across very badly to the audience. Although Sonic Team is known for taking some risks (they change up gameplay on a whim and clearly don't care too much about what fans think, otherwise we'd have a Chao Garden game by now), I doubt they'd want to go so far as to make it so that Sonic could only walk or barely fight during pivotal moments of the game. So I understand why it is the way it is, but the gameplay and story segregation here still pulled me out of the story a little bit, whereas I would have felt what Sonic was going through much more strongly if it became harder to move as him as well.

— There's a skill tree in this game, which I touched upon briefly above by mentioning that there are different attacks that Sonic can learn as the game progresses, and that it really behooves the player to learn because just spamming the attack button won't get you very far against the guardians and especially not the Titans. However, what's disappointing about the skill tree is that it is very small. You accumulate skill points pretty quickly, and I had the skill tree completely mapped out by the time I was halfway through the third island. For reference, there are five islands in this game. So ultimately, I ended up collecting skill points for literally no reason, which was pretty disappointing. It was nice to have a skill tree, but having a more robust one would have felt more rewarding, and also would have made the player have to think about which skills they wanted to unlock as well.

— It's not a huge deal, so I won't put it under cons, but having a little cutscene play every single time you reach maximum rings got really old after a while. There's a similar little flash of Sonic's eyes every single time he reels something in while fishing, and both of these things just felt like padding at best (for the fishing) and really intrusive on the gameplay at worst (the full ring count). Similarly, the reset for enemies and items in this game comes in the form of shooting star nights, which is really cool at first! It fits with the name of the Starfall Islands, is very colorful and pretty, and overall is a much more pleasant experience than Breath of the Wild's Blood Moon. However, the little slot machine that pops up on the screen is intrusive and makes it hard to see what you're doing, which is really frustrating when you're in the middle of things when the shooting stars hit. So by the second time this event happened, I was over it.

The Cons:

— The 2D gameplay in this game is atrocious. I literally don't know what happened; I was just playing Generations a week before this game came out, and the 2D levels in that game—which, remember, came out something like ten years ago—were fine. In Classic Sonic's levels in Generations, when you press right on the control stick, he runs. Just right out the gate. All you have to do is press right. Similarly, in other recent games such as Sonic Mania, the characters have no problem running when you press right on the control stick. You press right, they run. Sometimes this means you run into badniks or spikes or whatever, but hey! That's how you learn. Live and learn. We had a whole song about this in Sonic Adventure 2.

But for some reason that I cannot for the life of me understand, this is not the case in Frontiers. I don't know if it's just an issue with the Switch version or what, but for some reason, I could jam right on the control stick as hard as I could on the Switch version, and in the 2D areas (both cyberspace and overworld, which was basically all of Chaos Island), Sonic would just walk. He walked. You could almost say it was gameplay and story integration, except this also happened in the 2D cyberspace levels that came before his condition got really bad. I had to literally boost to get him to run at base speed when comparing it to the gameplay of the 3D segments. Worse still is that the camera is very zoomed out in the 2D segments, which makes spikes and other traps difficult to see. The 2D segments felt like honest to god torture in this game given how great the 3D segments were. At least if Sonic could run normally in the 2D segments it wouldn't be so bad, especially since I've played side-scrolling Sonic more than I've played 3D Sonic so, honestly, I'm pretty confident in my side-scrolling Sonic skills. Or hell, when you first boot up the game you're asked whether you want to play in Action Mode or Speed Mode; if he walked in Action Mode I'd understand, but I chose Speed Mode, so he should run. And he does, in the 3D areas! Just not in the 2D areas without really forcing it with boost. It's a nightmare. I don't know what went wrong here, but something sure did, because god fucking christ it was awful.

(And again, most of the third island—Chaos Island—is 2D segments, which made it hell to play through. If not for the fact that the third island hosts the best character, I'm not sure I would have made it through.)

— Earlier I mentioned that you can boost Sonic's stats in this game. I also mentioned that increasing strength and defense, which happens with Hermit Koco, was very quick and easy. Unfortunately, this is not the case for increasing speed and ring count, which happens with Elder Koco. To be fair, Elder Koco takes all of the koco you have collected in one fell swoop. However, you then have to manually choose whether you want to upgrade speed or rings. You have to choose this each time for every single level upgrade you have available to you, which is based on how many koco you brought back, and there's no in-game way of knowing exactly how many koco it takes per level boost of either speed or ring count. You can't move your cursor as soon as the option appears to choose each one, because although the words are on the screen, the menu isn't fully loaded yet. So you have to slowly, very slowly, click through to increase speed or ring count over, and over, and over again. If you wait a while to visit Elder Koco (due to not being in an area where he is for a while, for instance), you could be doing this for ages. I understand not wanting to lock players into spending all their koco on one or the other right away, but there are a few ways that Sega could have sped this process up:

Perhaps make it so that both speed and ring count are increased at the same time, a la strength and defense, without making the player choose.

At LEAST make it so that if you max out one stat, you can just bulk upgrade the remaining one. I maxed out speed before ring count, but I still had to manually select ring count for every subsequent level increase for some ungodly reason.

Perhaps let the player choose which they want to upgrade, and then they can choose how many levels they want to upgrade, in accordance with how many koco they have. This way if they have enough koco for 8 upgrades, they can choose to split 4 and 4 if they want.

In a game that's all about speed, AND one in which we have another stat increasing character who doesn't take nearly so long to go through the process, it feels bonkers bananas that it takes so long to upgrade things with Elder Koco. For someone with ADHD like me, it felt honestly torturous to have to sit there and slowly click through the menus to upgrade the levels one at a time. I felt like I was dealing with one of the sloth DMV employees in Zootopia. It was awful.

—This is a really minor thing comparatively, but it's related, so: the koco are annoying af. I don't find their incoherent gibberish to be cute (and actually . . . mocked them during cutscenes where one of the koco would babble on for a while), and more to the point, it bugged me how, when standing idle, the koco would materialize around Sonic and just start babbling. The koroks in Breath of the Wild were annoying too, but at least once you found them they poofed away and didn't continue to bother you every time you set the controller down for a second. The koco in this game actually made me mute my TV a couple times when I needed to do something but didn't want to shut the game off, because as nice as the background music was, I couldn't enjoy it with the koco babble. Thematically, the koco are beautiful. Audibly, I want them to shut up forever. Again, minor quibble, but still a complaint.

— One thing I was really excited about with regards to this game going into it is that it is chock-full of references to Sonic's past adventures, friends, and even other media (such as a shout-out to Tangle from the IDW comics). However, most regrettably, these shout-outs are extremely hard to trigger, to the tune of I didn't get a single one in my entire 40 hours of playing. The closest I got was two idle lines where Sonic talks to Amy and Knuckles toward the very end of the game, but that's it. There's been talk online about what it takes to trigger them, and some say you have to stand in one place for at least 10 minutes, which a.) who does that, and b.) actually I did that while waiting for nightfall (more on that in a second) and it still didn't help. So I don't know. I think it's really cool that there was fanservice, but the point of fanservice is to service the fans and I was a fan who was not serviced. So overall, I came away from the game feeling a little bitter about it. (And a little extra salty that Amy mentions an allegedly non-canon character in the end credits scene, but couldn't mention an allegedly non-games canon character from a non-games Sonic media I actually like in that scene . . . this is vague because of spoilers, but I'm being petty in this parenthetical, so maybe being vague is okay too.)

— While this is also not a huge deal, I think that this game would have benefited greatly from having a way to change the time from day to night, a la Breath of the Wild's campfires. The reason for this is because there are certain island challenges that can only be done at night. These aren't marked on the map (or at least the nighttime challenges I found weren't, but I also had glitch issues on the third island that prevented me from completing the map on that island so who knows), and if you happen across them during the day your only options are either to a.) stand there like a doofus and wait, or b.) mark it with a beacon and the run around while you wait. Since you can't set multiple beacons (another gripe in and of itself), your best option is to just stand there like a doofus, which can take a really long time (much longer than ten minutes, and yet I still didn't get any character references! yes I'm bitter). There aren't too many nighttime specific challenges so, again, it's not a super huge deal, but it's still something that I think a little developer foresight could have prevented. But alas, that brings us to the final point in this section . . .

— It's really obvious that this game experienced crunch time. I can't pretend to speak for what goes on at Sega, but it's really obvious that the last part of the game was rushed. Evidence of this includes:

The fourth and fifth islands are basically the exact same, landscape wise, as the first island.

Sonic's condition being cleaned up in a finger snap. I don't mind the cheesy aspect of how it happened, because again, this is a Sonic game. But the speed at which it happened, along with the vague handwave of how it happened, speaks to me that they just didn't have time in the game to spend on it and so they rushed it along to keep the player moving.

A lot of the later guardians are just slightly upgraded versions of previous guardians. This is especially noticeable on the final island, wherein we get two "new versions" of the tower guardian, only the only thing different is their coloration and their name. Like what was even the point of that, besides being able to re-use assets like they did by making the fourth and fifth islands the same as the first island.

Sage's memory tokens are the exact same memory tokens used for Amy. While you could claim that this is because she's thematically motivated by the same thing, it still feels . . . not lazy, but like maybe they just didn't have time to design and program in separate memory tokens for her. Something like a floppy desk (save icon for younger players) would have worked a lot better for her.

And so on and so forth. Again, this doesn't make the game bad, not by a long shot. But you can tell that they were rushing toward the end of development, and I wish they hadn't. They could have delayed the game by another few months, or even another year, and it would have been fine. I've waited years and years for Zelda games before; I'd be willing to do the same for Sonic games. It's OK to delay games to make them perfect and avoid putting your devs through crunch. It really is more than okay.

With all of that said, though, as I said at the top of this review, this game is an easy 8/10 and very, very good. While the cons might seem long, that's just because I'm a verbose person. Overall, there's much more to love about this game than there is to dislike about it. This is easily the best modern Sonic game we've had in a long time, and I hope that Sonic Team takes note of the positive reception, and keeps Ian Flynn on to write the next game, too.

#sonic frontiers #2022 game reviews #i kept this as spoiler free as i could #but read the review at your own risk all the same #sth