#go back to the beginning and read this whole saga!

[katiexpunk]

Sex On Fire, Part 1 | Pairing Firefighter!Joel Miller X Fem!Reader

Series Summary: You're a country girl in the big city, thanks to your generous aunt. You expected to have adventures your first year in New York, but what you didn't expect was for your hot, firefighter neighbor, Joel, to be part of them. Part 1 Summary: You move to New York, after a little coaxing from your aunt. You meet your new neighbor, Joel, and quickly learn he's a Captain with the NYFD and good with his hands. Rating: 18+ Minors DNI Word Count: ~6.7K Warnings: Sexual tension, sexual tension, sexual tension. This one is dripping in it. No age gap specified. No explicit smut (yet, there's uh...gonna be a lot in part 2), but a nice lead up to it in the end that will probably blue ball you. Groping. Alcohol. Hardcore flirting. Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, and Kings of Leon song references. Uniform kink. Joel has a hard on for seeing reader in his shirt. Reader's mom has passed. Texas/small town vibes. New York City. There are no specific descriptors for reader, except that she has hair. Ya'll, these two are just down for each other so fucking bad it's not even funny. Authors Note: This one is for my darling moot @darkheartgatita. Pia, thanks for putting Firefighter!Joel into my brain. I hope you enjoy. As always, thank you to my Slutty, Smutty, Sister @sydneyinacoma who inspires me every day and shares her filthy thoughts on the reg. And to everyone who gives my little blog love -- I fucking love you all so much. Part 2, Fall and Winter, will drop next Saturday.

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S P R I N G  Spring blooms, bringing with it a new beginning for you. Of all the places you’d thought you would be, New York was not one of them. 

Life back in Texas wasn't terrible, a bit dull sometimes, but not awful. 

Yet, in the mundane moments, your mind often drifted to daydreams – visions of swapping your Levi's for a sleek black dress and trading quiet farmland for the lively hum of city bars. You’d think of Samantha from Sex and the City sitting on your porch at sunset, drinking Bud Light, wishing your fairy godmother would appear and magically turn it into a dry Martini.

That was until three weeks ago, when your rich aunt, visiting from New York, decided to sprinkle a bit of magic into your life. 

“I’m gonna move to Italy for a while,” she casually said over family dinner as if she was just announcing that she was going to the store for milk. You should have been surprised, but she’s always been the kind to never stick around for too long. Single and child-free, she’s spent her adult life dancing to her free-spirited rhythm, bouncing around from one place to the next. Not because she had to, but because she could. You, on the other hand, were the total opposite.  After your mom passed away, leaving the cocoon of the familiar felt like too much. Despite your aunt's protests and encouragement to just go, you resisted, not wanting to leave behind your dad and the comfortable life you'd known. But if there's one thing you've learned about your aunt, it's that she's relentless – and yanking you out of your comfort zone was precisely what she wanted, and she had just the plan to do it. 

She handed you the keys to her Lower East Side apartment, turning your once silly little daydreams into a reality. “Sweetie, you need this – you’re meant for so much more, your dad will be fine. Please go,” she encouraged. 

Despite your initial reluctance, you caved, and before you knew it, you were on a plane bound for JFK. 

++++ You feel like a small fish in a big pond as you navigate the city. Trying to figure out the subway turns into a whole saga of you getting lost more than once. You eventually find the right borough, but not without a fair share of unhelpful people brushing you off along the way. Yep, you're definitely not in Texas anymore. 

While walking through the city, it hits you that a new pair of shoes is in order; something made clear to you by the little blister on the back of your heel that’s screaming at you. Despite the annoyance, you’re enjoying the walk to the apartment, your new home. The city's buzzing with life, and even the faint smell of urine in the air doesn't bother you. It's a wild, trippy feeling to be in the city, to feel like the main character of your own story. 

You grab your phone, itching to double-check the building your aunt texted and ensure you have the right address. Remembering her advice about the unassuming exterior but spectacular view, you get ready for the big reveal. The key affixed to a keychain with a little apple on it meets the lock, and as you turn it, the door swings open, revealing a spacious wooden staircase.

As you step inside, you notice there's a bit of mail scattered on the slightly dusty floor. You collect the envelopes and magazines with your aunt's name on them and neatly stack the other pieces for Joel Miller into a pile on the bottom step.

After climbing the – Jesus, really fucking narrow – stairs, you're faced with doors opposite each other. While a brief doubt nudges you to recheck the apartment number, your gut tells you that the door with the welcome mat showing lemons and a pot of fake flowers is the one — a stark difference from its neighbor with a simple grey mat and no decor. Trusting your instincts, you decide that the lively entrance is the one. 

As you step inside, you're greeted by a cozy space that, despite its age, radiates warmth and character. The walls are adorned with paintings that seem to tell stories of bygone eras, while rays of sunlight filter through the window, revealing glimpses of the bustling cityscape below. 

Though small, the apartment is meticulously decorated, each corner telling a tale of adventures and cultural escapades. Remnants of your aunt’s travels, collected with care, add a touch of global flair to the modest space. Posters from Broadway plays hang proudly on the walls, as do family pictures. It’s lived-in; the kind of lived-in that feels comfy and embraces you like a warm hug. 

You look at the frames on the wall and pause when you see one of your favorites – a photo of you as a little girl, smushed between your mom and your aunt, a cake three sizes bigger than your tiny head lit up with birthday candles in front of you. You can't help but trace the edges of the frame with your fingertips, connecting with the warmth radiating from your mother's beaming smile. Miss you, mom escapes your lips as your eyes linger on the photograph for a heartbeat longer before the rest of the room demands your attention.

In the compact kitchen, a handwritten note from your aunt beckons, strategically placed beside a bottle of wine on top of a stack of takeout menus. Her words resonate with warmth and encouragement. "Welcome to your new home! I am so proud of you for taking me up on my offer. Disregard the bedroom chaos—I started painting the walls but didn't quite finish before taking off. Feel free to pick up where I left off if the mood strikes. And if you ever need a hand with anything, Joel Miller across the way is a nice guy. I've already told him that you’ll be staying for a while, or who knows, maybe forever. Love you!" The paper carries the unmistakable fragrance of her perfume, and a smile graces your face after you finish reading it. 

Setting the heartfelt note aside, your attention shifts to the menu for Sang Garden, a vibrant pink post-it exclaiming, "Right down the street! Super yummy!" Hunger gnaws at your stomach; the last meal was a distant memory from this morning, and you're ravenous. Without hesitation, you dial the number on the menu, your choice a steadfast favorite: orange chicken. “10 minutes,” the older lady on the phone tells you, not bothering to say goodbye before hanging up. Huh, efficient, you think. 

As the aroma of anticipation fills the air, you finish unpacking your suitcase and weave through your new space until your food is ready. Only having to go down a flight of stairs and less than a block down the street to pick it up is a new feeling for you. If you wanted something like this at home you’d have to drive at least 20 minutes to pick it up. 

You finish the entirety of the meal within minutes curled up on the couch, Sex and the City on the T.V.. Your aunt was right, it’s good. Probably the best orange chicken you’ve ever had in your entire life; just the right amount of zest and sweetness. You can already tell you’ll be a regular. Everyone always talks about the pizza in New York, but nobody bothered to tell you about the Chinese. You can tell you’ll probably have a lot of moments like that, discovering new things for yourself instead of hearing about it from magazines or seeing the photos on Instagram. 

With your belly now full of the sticky goodness, you settle into bed for the night. You stare at the ceiling, paying no mind to the smile that’s been plastered on your face for the past three hours. You feel giddy, like a little girl seeing the stars for the first time. You’re doing it. You’re really doing it. 

The city is still thrumming to life, but the distant sound of sirens and honks eventually turns to white noise as you drift off to sleep. 

++++

The next morning, you rise with purpose; new life breathed into you. You brew a cup of coffee and decide to savor it on the fire escape, enjoying the not-yet-thick spring, and still slightly chilly, spring air. As the city stirs awake beneath you, you’re determined to craft an agenda for the day. With another few days to spare before your new job starts, your thoughts drift to the bedroom, where the abandoned paint cans await. 

It's been a while since you've had the chance to dive into something genuinely productive, or creative for that matter, and you decide that this is the perfect opportunity. Your aunt chose a deep, rich shade of green, one that harmonizes seamlessly with the space; not too dark, but not puke or pea green, either. It’s pretty. She always has had good taste. 

And while you like the color, it’s not particularly one you’d like to see splattered all over your clothing, having only brought what you could fit into a small suitcase. Your aunt must have something, you think. The woman has more clothes than a department store and there is no way she could have brought them all to Italy, although you don’t put it past her to try. 

You make your way to the guest bedroom and rummage through the dresser located there. The top drawer is full of nothing but scrapbooks, the middle drawer has only sweaters, but luck strikes in the bottom drawer, where you locate a handful of old shirts. 

You pull out a dark blue, oversized “New York Fire Department” cotton t-shirt; the front of it has an emblem, and the back says “Rescue 1 FDNY” in faded blocky white letters, obviously well-loved. This will do, you tell yourself, quickly exchanging your tiny crop top for the large shirt. It hangs over your body, the bottom nearly hitting your knees. Why your aunt has such a large shirt in her collection you’ll never know, but you wager it’s probably from one of her many “friends” over the years.  

++++

The sounds of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" fill the room, you stand in the center of the bedroom, paintbrush in hand, ready to transform the space. The nostalgic chords of Stevie Nicks' voice in Dreams infuse the air, blending with the scent of fresh paint as you dip the brush into the can, and begin. “Like a heartbeat drives you mad,” you sing, slightly off-key, but no one is around to listen and you don’t mind. “Thunder only happens when it’s rainingggggg,” you belt, using the paintbrush as a microphone. 

While most of the paint makes it on the walls, you have to admit that painting isn’t your strong suit and a fair amount of it has splashed back onto your face, shirt, and even your hair. You’re having fun, more fun than you’ve had in a while, even if you make a mess while doing it. Not like you’re gonna see anyone today anyway.

“Players only love you when they’re plaaaaaying…” doing your best Stevie twirl. 

More and more green covers the walls, but as you’re about to get started on the final white wall, you’re interrupted by a loud steady stream of knocks at your door. 

You hit pause on the music, and make your way to the door, unsure of who would possibly be knocking. You peer through the peephole to take a look, but you can only see the back of a man in a simple white shirt, his back turned to face away from the door. You undo the chain lock and swing the door open. 

As the man pivots to meet your gaze, his presence sweeps over you, an unexpected force that leaves you momentarily disarmed. He’s handsome in a way that unmoors you; a mass of a man with broad shoulders, sun-kissed skin, and sculpted biceps that redefine your sense of composure. Whoa.

“Hi,” you murmur, your eyes conveying a blend of softness and curiosity, "Can I help you?"

The man looks at you, and you feel yourself heat under the attention of his gaze. His eyes gently caress your frame; lingering a little too long on the emblem sewn into the fabric, just above your breast. 

"Uh," he clears his throat, his hand rising to his face, fingers subtly grazing the beard hair on his cheek, as if grappling for words. "Yeah, well – no, uh," he stumbles, the words caught in a momentary struggle. "Hi, ‘m Joel Miller, I live across the way," he greets, angling his body to signal to the door directly across the foyer. “Oh right, my aunt told me about you you,” you say, introducing yourself, voice smooth like honey. “She mentioned you were a nice guy and to call you if I ever needed anything,” you say, taking up space in front of him by leaning into the door.  “Just stopping by to say hi, then? Or do you need a cup of sugar or something like that?” you ask with a playful tone. 

Suddenly, the last thing he wants to do is admit that there's something you could help him with—like turning down your music. He likes Fleetwood Mac as much as the next guy, but the last three days on shift have left him craving peace, not a soundtrack reverberating through the thin walls.

Plus, he wasn’t expecting you to be so damn attractive. 

And he definitely wasn’t expecting to be wearing his shirt when you answered the door. 

“Ha, no, don’t need any sugar,” he chuckles, “just thought I’d make myself known.” He pauses, eyes locked onto yours. You notice the subtle flecks of amber in his deep brown eyes and the furrow of his brow. He’s painfully handsome. Just as you’re about to say something, he breaks the silence first, “But I'll let you get back to whatever it is you’re doin’...you look busy,” he tilts his chin to the paint that’s splotched over your bare legs. You can tell he’s looking for the story behind the mess. 

His left hand leaves his pocket and he places it on the doorframe. He leans into it, and your eyes catch the firmness of his bicep flexing under the strain of his lean before meeting his face once more. 

“Cute shirt, by the way” he says, his voice low and even. 

“Oh thanks, you like it?” you ask, pulling the fabric out in a tent from the center, noticing the little splatters of paint as you do. “It’s my aunt’s, I just borrowed it while I finish up some painting.”

“Yeah, I have the same one,” he adds, “looks a helluva lot better on you than it does me, though,” a little laugh leaves his chest and his cheeks flush, a little embarrassed that he just said that. Fuck, it’s been so long since he’s tried to flirt with a woman. 

Your skin prickles with heat, and you’re suddenly very self-aware of what a wreck you must look like, but you decide to be bold anyway. “Maybe we’ll have to compare sometime,” you playfully retort.

“Yeah, maybe we will,” he responds, looking you up and down, hoping the meaning behind his words isn’t too obvious. 

“Well if ya ever need anything, ‘m just across the way,” he says, dropping his hand from the doorframe, hitting his thigh with a slight sound of a pat. “Nice to meet ya, Darlin’,” he says. You don’t miss the way his eyes flicker down to your chest once more, your stiff nipples now peeking through the fabric. He turns on his heels and turns his back to walk back to his apartment. 

“Nice to meet you, Joel,” you purr. His head peers over his shoulder back at you, and the corners of his lips turn up in a little smirk. 

Oh god. 

You’re so fucked.

++++

Later that night, you text your aunt that you just met Joel Miller. You curse her for not telling you how incredibly hot he is.  You also tell her that you decided to finish the painting, sending a selfie of you in front of the freshly updated walls with the message. You also add that you borrowed one of her shirts and that you’ll do your best to get the paint out of it. 

Her response causes your breath to hitch in your throat, and your stomach swirls into a tight knot. 

“The walls look amazing! Oh and by the way, that’s not my shirt, it’s Joel’s. I must have forgotten to give it back to him; the shared laundry downstairs sometimes causes mix-ups. Be a doll and give it back to him, will ya? Oh and quarters for the machines are in the clay pot next to the door.” 

Fuck. Of course you would answer the door to your incredibly hot neighbor, covered in paint, in his shirt. You shake your head in embarrassment.

You look down at the shirt and notice just how much paint is all over it. You strip it from your body, bring it over to the sink, and begin to scrub the paint out of it with dish soap. As you watch the paint fade into the warm water, you notice the tag on the inside of the shirt and the rank inscribed in permanent marker on it. 

Your fingers prune in the water, but you eventually get all of the paint out of the fabric. Satisfied with your cleaning job, you hang it up to dry and scribble out a note. 

The following morning, on your way out to explore the city, you leave it neatly folded on Joel’s doorstep. You don’t bother to knock, you’re certain you might combust from embarrassment if you did. 

Shortly after, on his way to work, Joel opens the door and notices the shirt by his boot, a little envelope placed on top of it. 

“You could have told me it was your shirt, Captain Miller.” 

Joel smirks. The cat’s out of the bag on that little secret then. He places it inside and lets out a little sigh. The image of your perky nipples, exposed legs, and messy paint-riddled hair flashes in his brain. 

God, he wishes you would have kept it. 

S U M M E R

As spring transitions into summer, the city experiences a gradual warming trend. Cherry blossoms and tulips from spring slowly give way to vibrant green foliage. Parks become lively with people enjoying the pleasant weather, and outdoor events become more frequent. The temperature rises, and there's a noticeable shift towards a warmer atmosphere with longer days. 

It’s a shift you also feel in yourself, having found your niche, carving out your place in the ecosystem of the city. You’ve gradually adjusted, figured out how to successfully navigate the complexities of the subway system, and are starting to rely less and less on Google Maps to get around. You frequent a bodega around the corner from you, know where to find a decent bagel, and are a recognizable regular at Sang Garden. 

Your new job keeps you busy. It’s tough work being a bartender in the city, but it’s granted you more than one opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, people you’d never get the opportunity to meet back in your hometown. 

People like the gregarious and charismatic trader, who’s more than happy to make it clear he works in the financial district, even when nobody asks. People like the countless young professionals unwinding after a long day with their colleagues; some with sexual tension so obvious you can taste it. Designers. Architects. Engineers. Writers. Musicians. Actors. You don’t like them all, but you don’t have to, you’ll never see most of them more than once anyway. 

You quickly learn the art of making a good martini, one you think would make Samantha proud. It’s all so posh. So far from your usual. But the money is good, and without having to pay rent – a luxury you now realize; having almost fainted when your coworker told you how much he pays in rent – it allows you to pocket most of it. 

Your first few months in New York have been good, although a tad lonely. Making friends was never really a strong suit of yours, and you’re finding the city to be a particularly hard place to get to know people in any real way. Most of your free time is spent curled up with a good book or watching Friends for the millionth time, wishing Central Perk was a real place. 

You see Joel in passing now and then, the in-between times when he’s coming home from work, and you’re just leaving for yours. Sometimes you pass each other on the stairs, and you have to angle your bodies side-to-side just to fit on the narrow stairs as you navigate around one another. You sometimes have to collect your composure when you leave for work and notice the faint smell of his cologne still in the hallway, it smells so good it makes you dizzy. 

You find excuses to talk to him every now and then – a squeaky fire detector, to hand him his mail, or even for a stupid cup of sugar. Every time you find yourself knocking on his door, the butterflies congregate in masses as if preparing to migrate. You feel like a school girl with a crush for the first time, but as far as you can tell, Joel doesn’t feel the same, and you’re okay with that. At least that’s what you try to tell yourself. 

The exchanges are always short; little blips in the grand scene of time, but that doesn’t stop you from feeling like you might faint under the intensity of his scorching gaze. Which doesn’t help, considering it’s already sweltering outside. 

You severely underestimated how hot summer would be. Of course, you’re used to the oppressive Texas sun, but something about the way the buildings and concrete reflect the rays makes it feel like New York is at least 10x hotter. 

The temperature in your apartment isn’t much better than outside. The air hangs heavy inside as you lay on your mattress, clad in only a bra and underwear, on crisp white sheets, attempting to cool yourself with a damp towel on your forehead. You listen to the feeble hum of the wall crying out for help. 

As luck would have it, the overworked unit decides to give in to the heat. Beads of sweat form on your forehead as you attempt to fix it, but it’s pointless. You stare at the lifeless unit, realizing that the city’s relentless heat has claimed it as a victim. Time for a new one. 

Once the sun dips past the skyline, you venture out to your local hardware store to grab a new one. You wish you would have had some forethought to bring a cart or something, not thinking about the fact that you were going to have to carry the heavy unit eight city blocks. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, you think to yourself. Once back to your apartment, you balance the quirky box on your hip, holding it steady with one arm as you fumble to grab the key from your purse outside the entrance of the building. Your cheeks are warm, you’re drenched in sweat even at this hour, and your hair is starting to stick to the nape of your neck. You manage to grab it, but inadvertently drop it, your fingers clammy. 

“Shit,” you mutter, frustrated and hot. 

“Need some help there, Darlin’?” Joel asks, making his way up the stoop. You turn to face him and oh. 

Of all the times you’ve seen Joel, you’ve never seen him in uniform. The sight catches you off guard. His crisp, navy blue uniform emphasizes his broad shoulders and neatly tucked shirt, the shiny FDNY badge on his chest. He flashes a charming smile, revealing a hint of dimples, as he picks up your fallen key with ease. You’re not sure how he always manages to look so put together, a stark contrast to the way you always seem to look in front of him. 

"Rough day?" he asks, unlocking the door, and for a moment, you forget the oppressive heat, captivated by his charm. “Here, lemme take that for you,” he offers, and you kindly accept. You shift the box out of your arms into his, and your stomach swoops when you watch the way his biceps flex as he grabs the unit with ease. 

Grateful for the assistance, you offer a sheepish smile, “Yeah, you could say that” you reply, opening the door, holding it open for him. He begins to ascend the staircase ahead of you, giving you a full view of his ass in his uniform pants; it’s toned, and his thick thighs match. You walk behind him, trying to ignore the stickiness that’s beginning to pool in your underwear. You allow yourself to perv out for a moment, at least while his back is to you. He’s just helping you out, stop being weird.

Joel waits at the top of the steps for you to open your door. Once unlocked, you enter and he follows behind you. “Oh shit, it’s hotter than hell in here,” he says once inside, the irony is not lost on you that a literal man who fights fires for a living thinks it’s hotter than hell. He bends to place the box down near the front door and rises to full height, bringing both hands to his hips. You notice the little sheen of sweat that has now collected on his thick neck, fighting the impulse to lap up the perspiration. “You’re telling me, I’m rendering lard,” you say, letting your Southern roots shine through. You cringe a little at yourself, watering your accent down to not stick out as much, but you’re reminded of the age-old saying you can take the girl out of the country… 

You wipe the back of your hand on your forehead to push away the sweat that’s been collecting there all day and look at him. “Thanks for the help carrying it up,” you say, offering him a kind smile. 

“No problem at all, need some help installing it? These units can be tricky,” he asks, trying his best to ignore the fact that your white shirt has gone see-through from your sweat, allowing him a perfect view of your breasts. No bra again, he notes. He shifts his stance a little, trying to prevent his cock from hardening at the sight. 

“Are you sure?” you ask, a little unsure, but deep down you know you need the help. As much as you’d like to think of yourself as an independent and capable woman, you’ve never been one to be good with anything mechanical, and the heat has left your brain feeling like the static of a T.V. channel with no reception. 

“Course. I’m a servant to public safety. Can’t have you accidentally pushing it out the window and crushing a person below, it’d be a lot of paperwork” he chuckles and takes out a knife from his pocket to undo the tape on the box.  It’s an ordinary act, yet somehow you’re mesmerized by his dexterity and competency. 

Midway through the process, Joel pauses, feeling the heat, and glances at you with a lighthearted grin. “Mind if I take this off?” he asks, tugging at the collar of the uniform shirt. You nod, suddenly feeling warmer than before. “Sure, go ahead.” 

His large fingers fumble with the buttons on the shirt, eventually revealing a white tank top underneath. The fabric clings to him, highlighting his defined chest, and a little bit of belly. You practically drool at the sight, once again resisting an impulse to want to sink your flesh into the softness above his belt. 

He has an awful farmer's tan, but he wears it well; his forearms are a nice shade of golden and his shoulders are pale. You see from the lack of collar on the tank that he has a bare chest. He throws the uniform shirt onto a nearby chair and goes back to work installing the unit. You watch as he works to position it in the window, stealing glances at his glistening skin as he does. You think you’re being sly about it, but Joel can tell, he can feel your eyes heavy like bowling balls on him. 

“So, how long have you been a firefighter?” you ask.

“About 15 years,” he responds. “Sorta always knew I wanted to do it, I was a contractor for a while, but wasn’t my thing.”

“Oh no? You seem like you’re pretty good with your hands,” you reply, your words suggestive. 

“Never said I wasn’t, Darlin,’” he replies, shooting you a wink. 

He plugs the unit in, and the screen comes to life. He sets the temperature as low as it will go, and the fan on high; the unit is about to put in overtime to make the air tolerable again. 

“Well, that should do it,” straightening back up from his bent-over position, clapping his hands together as if to dust the task off. “Probably gonna take a while for it to cool down in here. You’re uh, more than welcome to hang out at mine for the time being. Don’t need you overheating on me,” trying to mask his excitement at you being in his space by carding his fingers through his salt and pepper curls. 

You glance at the unit, and you can tell he’s right. “Alright, why not,” you say, offering him a smile. “Just gonna use the restroom fast,” you say, looking for an excuse to make yourself at least somewhat presentable and confirm that you don’t smell like a sweaty subway car. 

Inspecting yourself in the harsh, exposing light of the bathroom, you grimace at your appearance. Not that you’d been expecting to look your best, but still. You pat the extra moisture off your skin with a clean towel, when you notice that nipples are straining against the fabric of your wet t-shirt, leaving nothing to the imagination. You briefly consider changing shirts, but the cheeky side of you decides to leave it be. You give yourself a quick smile and internal encouragement in the mirror and you step out of the bathroom. 

Joel waits in the foyer by the door for you, taking the opportunity to learn a little more about you, drinking in the details of your space for any glimmers of insight it might give him about your life. 

He’s been in the space before, but it’s different this time – updated. It still has many of the same things your aunt had put up, but you’ve added new additions to the walls; photos of you with friends, and family, and vinyl covers in frames. His eyes gravitate to a photo of you at your college graduation; your smile ear to ear, a bottle of champagne in your hands. You always seem happy. He likes that about you. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t look for a photo of you with another guy, a hint that you might already be taken, but he’s relieved when he doesn’t find one. 

The bathroom door opens with a soft creak, and you stroll out, shooting him a casual but confident smile. As you do, you casually tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear, giving off an easygoing vibe. It's a simple move, but there's a certain charm to it that doesn't go unnoticed by Joel.

“Ready?” you ask, and he clears his throat, trying to hide his pleasure that you opted not to change your still slightly transparent shirt. “Let’s get outta here,” he says, yanking on the handle, the door groans and opens with a loud creak. “Don’t wanna hit traffic.” Oh god, that’s a dad joke if you’ve ever heard one. You try to hide the stupid smile that graces your face, but Joel sees it, and matches it. Your shoulder brushes against his chest as you walk through the door, and Joel straightens in response, a little tingle shooting up his spine from the brief touch. Get a fucking grip, Miller, he thinks to himself, pulling the door closed behind him. 

++++

Once inside his apartment, you gasp. It’s not at all what you expected. 

If his front doorstep was any indication, you expected his apartment to be full of Ikea furniture, bare walls, and maybe a fake plant in the corner somewhere. You’re pleasantly surprised when you find that it’s the exact opposite; you feel like you’ve just wanted into some swanky bar. The air smells like palo santo, but above all, it’s cool. You let out a sigh of relief. 

“Can I get you a beer” he asks, and you nod your head in response. He walks into the kitchen, and you’re mesmerized by his space. It’s a similar layout to your apartment, but somehow it feels bigger, even a tad cozier, plus he has exposed brick, a detail you wish your apartment had. 

“Your apartment is amazing,” you tell him, spinning around to get a full 360 view of the space. You hear him yell something like thanks from the kitchen. 

You find your seat on the cognac-colored couch and run your hand up and down the texture of it. The leather is cool on your skin, and your body temperature slowly begins to return to normal.

Joel returns from the kitchen, and hands you a Bud Light. And for once, you don’t wish for it to turn into a martini. Now having spent a few months in the city, you’re starting to realize that you’re more of a bud girl than a cocktail girl, and that fairy godmothers are a tad overrated. 

You’re not sure when he did it, but your ear tunes to the classic sound of Beast of Burden by the Rolling Stones playing in the background at a low volume, adding a funk you adore to the moment. 

He finds a seat on the couch next to you and throws his arm behind you on the ledge. He crosses his legs over one another, and you squirm, not out of discomfort, but nerves. 

“I am impressed with your apartment, it’s well decorated,” you compliment him, bringing the bottle of beer to your lips. 

“Had a bit of help, ‘f I’m being honest,” he replies. Your stomach flips. 

“Oh?” you say, a bit breathless, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Of course, he would have a girlfriend. You see it plain as day now, the feminine touches built into the apartment, hanging on the walls in plain sight, taunting you with the obvious. He even has like ten live plants for fucks sake. Joel Miller is taken. 

“My daughter, Sarah,” he replies, bringing the beer to his mouth for another swig. You try not to make your sigh of relief too obvious. “Oh!” you squeak and turn your body to face him. You don’t know if you’ve scooted closer or if he did, but your thighs are now touching. 

“She’s studying interior design. Begged me this past year to let her fix up my apartment, and well…I didn’t have the heart ta say no,” he replies. “Said my apartment resembled a frat boys bachelor pad,” he lets out a gruff little chuckle and you smile at him. 

His arm drifts close to you, his hand nearly touching your shoulder. It’s not quite there, but you can feel the heat, the electricity, his fingertips shoot to your skin. So much for cooling down.

“Well, if you didn’t decorate the space, what’s your favorite part about it then?” you ask, taking another swig at the bottle. Joel stares at your lips as they latch around the glass, admiring how plush and warm they look. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t wonder what they might look like around his cock.

“Ah, good question,” he says, bringing his hand to cover his crotch with the bottle, all while subtly trying to adjust himself from his previous thought. He’s surprised he even heard your question at all. “Probably the table over there,” he says, nodding his head back to signal to the dining room. 

“Made it myself,” he says, a bit of pride in his voice. 

You crane your neck to look, but can’t get a good view with how plush the cushions are. You slightly angle your body upwards, coming onto your knee on the couch to look, bringing your chest closer to Joel’s face.

“Well I’ll be damned, you really must be good with your hands,” you playfully tease, letting your body sink by his side once more, feeling the warmth he exudes. Your words cause his gaze to go dark. “Mhmm,” he murmurs, taking another sip of his beer, sure if he said any more he might regret it. 

You notice the music switches to Kings of Leon, a favorite tune of yours echoing through the air. “Oh shit, I love this song,” you exclaim, barely able to contain your excitement, much to Joel’s delight. 

“Yeaaaaaah, your sex is on fireeeee,” you belt, and you inadvertently tilt your beer bottle a little too far down in the process of your solo, and a splash of beer pours out onto Joel’s lap. The action abruptly causes you to stop. 

“Ah, I’m so sorry,” you apologize profusely, setting the nearly empty bottle on the coffee table in front of you, noticing the box of tissues as you do.

“Don’t worry about it, Darlin’,” he says, voice mellow, placing his beer on the table, too.

You frantically grab a handful of tissues and bring them over to the wet spot pooling on Joel’s crotch. “Here, let me,” you say, dabbing at the liquid, the realization not fully hitting you that your hands are literally on his crotch until – oh.

Joel’s been walking the fine line of a stiff one all night, and your simple gesture throws him over the edge, the dabbing causing blood to rush to his cock. 

You continue to blot at the liquid and notice him stiffening underneath you. A heavy rush of arousal courses through you, and heats your core. Joel’s hand darts to grab your wrist, the size of it completely swallowing up your entirety of it, his fingers wrapped around it, and you’re certain he feels your pulse quicken under his touch.

You look up at him with big doe eyes, only to find his own pupils are blown open wide with lust, his jaw tense. His other hand finds the side of your face, and he holds you up to look at him. You both pause there, letting the tension of the moment swallow you whole. He looks at you like you're a juicy summer peach, ripe for the picking.

His grip on your wrist softens, and you flatten your hand to palm at his growing bulge. Joel lets out a deep groan in response to the full contact. “Shit darlin’,” he says, voice wrecked. His hand drifts to the column of your neck, and he begins to pull you up so you’re face-to-face with him. 

The anticipation builds, and just as your lips are about to meet, a sudden shrill sound shatters the moment – the fire alarm. 

“Fuck.” Joel groans.

TO BE CONTINUED - READ PART 2

Tagging moots and those who I think might like this: @endlessthxxghts @theoasisofthings @bastardmandennis @untamedheart81@lavema @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @dugiioh @nervoushottee @milly-louise @ghostwritesthings@josephquinnswhore @drunk-and-capable @peachmy @survivingandenduring@darkheartgatita @hotgirlbedtimescenarios @dins-riduur-anthe @ohheypedrito @joeldjarin @nerdieforpedro As always, feel free to let me know if you'd like to be added to my tag list, or removed (even if we're moots, no hard feelings). Might transition to a notifs blog soon.xx

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller smut #joel miller fanfic #joel miller x you #joel miller fluff #joel miller #pedro pascal character #pedrohub #pedro pascal #new york #firefighter smut #pedro stories

[feeder86]

Feeder 86: The Top Ten

Can you believe that the Feeder86 ‘Orginal Gainer Stories’ blog will soon be posting the two hundredth story? I thought of many ways to celebrate. But then I stopped and realised that I would probably be best using the time to address one of the questions I get asked about most frequently. Which of the stories do I personally like the most?

This was not an easy list to make as I very rarely go back to re-read my own work after I have finished editing and posting them. This is not because I do not like them, but because I always see bits that I want to change. Nevertheless, this project was the perfect opportunity to revisit a few oldies that I remember being very proud of at the time. 

Hopefully you will see this list for what it is: a glimpse into how I write, my motivations and drive; rather than just a self indulgent pat on the back for myself. Yuck!

So, with that being said, let us begin...

#10 The Feeders’ Formula: This tale certainly had to be placed into the list. After all, it is the one that kicked off ‘Original Gainer Stories’ all those years ago. There are many amazing examples of instant body weight transformation stories out there. I felt that I needed to write this one as my contribution to the genre. It went down well at the time. I swiftly wrote a Part Two, then followed it up with others (The Feeders’ Formation, The Feeders’ Formalities, The Feeders’ Foreclosure, The Feeders’ Forecast, The Feeders’ Former Years), becoming something of an ongoing saga in recent years; focusing on the different Feeders from that very first meeting. As a writer who sometimes struggles to find the ending, these are wonderful to write as they all have the same inevitable conclusion. There is also so much freedom to be had when you’re working with characters who are pretty much pure evil. I know so much more about the Feeders than I’ve ever written down, so it is great to tease out those little details with each new installment. The newest of these tales (The Feeders’ Foreplay) was the darkest yet, but seems to have provoked a very favourable reaction from many. Who knows what the Feeders may get up to next? I do! And you can find out too, once we start a whole new sweeps season of stories this April! Come with me into The Feeders' Fortress!

#9 Only One: Where do I start? Only One has my absolute favourite type of feeder. Ben is big, sexy and very in control. He’s one of those rare types of guys who always stays on top and is a step ahead of absoultely everyone he meets. Who wouldn’t fall for him? I certainly did! In fact, I loved him so much that I wrote an entire prequel for him (and none of you even noticed!) Check out Rewire if you want to see how Ben became the man we know and love.

#8 The Wright Boys: The idea of a weight gain that cannot be stopped or controlled is a tempting one for many. How much easier would it be if you didn’t have to second guess your choices or face the pressure to lose weight? This was the first tale of what I see as ‘The Curses’ saga that eventually bled into many other stories (including another one on this list!) and culminated in Wright vs Beckett. However, this story remains my personal favourite of these. If you’re a fan of looking for crossovers between my stories, these are some of the most explicitly linked. I followed it up with a spin-off tale (The Wright Boys: DNA), but continue to have ideas about how I could go back to these boys in the future. Watch this space.

#7 Making Monsters: The title of this story really does give away how I felt about it at the time. This is quite the saga, spread over into not just two, but three parts! It began as a story that was very similar to Blackmailed; a tale that I had written previously about a guy voyeristically enjoying seeing his friend fatten up her boyfriend. However, this story evolved even further for me, with Tommy’s love of eating and gaining weight being both his greatest love, and his biggest shame. His denial only heightened the tension for me, and, when he does eventually give in, the gains feel all the more satisfying as a result.

#6 The Pig Feed: It’s not easy to write a gainer story where there isn’t another character spurring the events along and encouraging things. In this tale however, that role is given to a very tasty and surprisingly addictive pig feed mixture that Steve gets himself hooked on. It’s a story that I really enjoyed writing and still feel very happy with. I have considered writing more stories around this interesting feed. However, I am yet to do so; deciding (for now at least) that things are perhaps best left as they are. But, feel free to let me know your thoughts on this.

#5 Farm Boy: Whether you grew up in a big city, or a small rural community, like Hayden in this story, we can all relate to having desires and attractions that those around us don’t understand. And, thanks to how well connected we are these days, we now know what it’s like to realise that you’re not actually alone, and the whirlwind of excited emotions that follow. I enjoyed writing this story because I, quite simply, fell completely in love with Hayden. As kinky as he was, he still retained that fresh faced innocence throughout. If any of my characters were destined to be together forever, I imagine that these two would be my top choice.

#4 Keeping a Crush: This is one of those stories that I wrote in a matter of hours, and I was so pleased with it when I was done. Getting the train to go to work is not necessarily something that many Americans have to do, and so the location had to be switched to the UK (quite refreshing, I thought!). For me, it’s one of those really rare instances where placing very solid restrictions on the structure of a story (In this case, having it all take place during the commute to and from work) and finding that it actually elevates the sexual tension and mood. All scenes take place in public settings. All conversations could, in theory, be overheard. These days, so many people meet online and flirt for weeks by messaging back and forth, before they even see each other for the first time. Nowadays, for better or for worse, the actual, real fantasy is finding a connection with someone you just see in the real world; perhaps with a person you literally just met on the way to work...

If you’ve not read this one, I really would highly recommend it.

#3 To the Max: Stories with a magical element to them are either loved or hated. However, I find that this tale walks that line very successfully. Ned gets his hands on a love potion and makes straight guy, Max, fall for him. I’m sure we’ve all been there with that fantasy! However, it is in the consequences of inviting someone into your life, someone that you actually know very little about, that the entire eroticism of this story is based. I won’t spoil it for those who have not read it, but believe me when I say that things soon start getting very interesting indeed…

#2 Tommy’s Two Hundred. Don’t recognise this one? Well, that's because none of you have read it yet. 

Now, I’m not just saying this because I want you all to come back for the two hundreth story, but this is genuinely one of my absolute favourites. For my big milestone stories in the past, I have written something specifically for that event (Wright vs Beckett, The Seven Feeders of Finn). However, this is just a tale that I adored writing and decided to hold back for you all, especially for this occasion. It’s a story of domination and submission within a fairly open, but very kinky, relationship. Strapping Hunter plays the part of a very controlling feeder, making me break many of my own rules and stretching my boundaries to the absolute limits. You’ll either love him, or you’ll hate him. That’s all I’m going to say…

Also, this story is going to be the first Feeder86 story that will be fully illustrated. It’s all thanks to the amazing talents of Spellwell9 who was given an advanced copy and asked to imagine the characters in four different scenes. I cannot wait for you to see this!

Put it in your diary. All will be revealed from Friday 5th April…

#1 F80 Control: This is perhaps a controvercial choice (especially as my #1). I have previously admitted that this story strays a little from its purpose of being a gainer story. In other words, I get very caught up in the background story that is being told. However, I feel that the science fiction genre is surprisingly underused in tales of weight gain. Yet, the combination of Aritificial Intelligence and submission seemed, to me, to be the perfect blend. It really is a beast of a story if you can follow it all the way through to its conclusion. 

With the advent of improved artificial intelligence software in recent years, I felt the time was right to develop the world further, with the addition of F80 Ctrl Alt Del; a spin-off tale set slightly before the main story. Then, unable to help myself, I followed this up again with another companion story, F80: Kidnap and Control. 

The reason I chose this universe as my favourite is because this is where I am happiest writing. With AI, I don’t need to consider the morality or motivations - I know exactly what their aims are and I can see multiple ways in which it will cause conflict with humanity (and their waistlines!) I would also love to write more for this world one day, and I even left a little unused subplot in the last story that I think would provide the perfect starting-off point for another chapter. Will I ever write it? Well, we’ll have to wait and see…

So, there you have it! The the complete list!

This was a much harder exercise than I expected when I first embarked upon it. Stories like: Jiggle the Jock, Meticulous, Rule Number One, Freaks, Leftovers I and II, Ethan: The Secret Feeder and, not fogetting The Consequences I, II and III all crept in and out of the list, unfortunatley missing out on the final cut. There are many, many others, of course. But this list cannot go on forever...

So, why not tell me which ones were your favourites? Feel free to write in the comments and post a link to any other stories that you have enjoyed from myself, or from other authors. Hopefully, if we all work together, this could become a great resource for people in the future, filled with signposts and reccommendations.  

Also, don’t forget the Feeder86 Contents page where you can find links and descriptions of all the 200 stories posted so far (as well as plot outlines for upcoming tales as well). Please continue to enjoy the vast catalogue of stories, and even have a go yourself! I love supporting the many new gainer fiction writers who contact me. So please do get in touch if you need advice, or to talk through your ideas. Let’s all encourage a whole new generation of people to get typing away! I’m sure you will cheer them on just as much as I will.

Thank you to everyone who supports the stories blog here on Tumblr. Keep checking in every Friday througout April for a whole new sweeps season to celebrate this milestone. Stories will include: Tommy's Two Hundred, Train for a Gain, The Feeders' Fortress and The 1% (a companion story to The 5%). For now, I thank you all for taking time out to sit and read the very bizarre tales that sprout from my mind. You are all wonderful.

Happy 200 stories!

Feeder86

#gainer fiction #gainer stories #gainerstory #gayfeeder #gainerfic #gainer story #gayfeedee #gay feedee #gainerstories

[aitadjcrazytimes]

It's been a good run

But it's time to bring this to a close!

The saga is over, C, T and I are all together. T and I are in the swing of it, C approves as much as it is possible for him to approve of anything, everyone knows about the blog and is chill.

C is back at his rightful place of walking his sister down the aisle.

I'm getting everything I want, and we're all free to make each other miserable until the day we die.

I'm not going to be updating this blog anymore! Nobody else involved with the situation will be submitting any more AITA posts either, because they are either not on tumblr or agreed it would be annoying.

I will say that there is some stuff on here that I've alluded to that isn't necessarily 100% in the spirit of things, so I've included some stuff below the cut for the folks who have caught onto that. I would not suggest reading it if you like how all of this played out and want to keep it that way. I know that's incredibly vague, but I'm not sure how to phrase it without making it weird?

Thank you all for listening and talking to me over the past few days! That's where I'm leaving it!

...

...

...

...Is everyone who wants to keep believing in the disaster polycule gone? Yes? OK!

So, this was fake. I made up the whole thing. TK and C and T and everyone else are fictional characters. Did I lie? Yes. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Q: All of it? Even the og AITA post? The followup AITA post? The screenshots?

A: All of it.

Q: Wh... Why did you do this...?

A: Well, first this all started as a Red vs Blue fanfic for the ship Chexer (Church/Tex/Tucker)-

It started as a fanfic for Chexer. However, I was already working on a different fanfic for RVB that was totalling about 15k words at this point (+ at least 90k to go), and I knew I would never have the time or energy to write this one. I thought: yknow. this would be really funny as an aita post.

Q: It was a fanfic of a Halo fanfic series.

A: Yep!

So, I submitted Tucker's perspective. I did not expect for it to get more than maybe 100 notes at most. I totally thought someone would call it out right away.

The funny part is, if I'd dedicated all this energy to a fic instead of this blog, I'd probably have about 15-20 thousand words of fic already, but whatever, can't ruin my personal day!

Also, I wanted to see how many people would figure it out/how long it would take for it to become too obvious that this was a fandom thing. I was dropping names and RvB lore since the beginning. A few people did figure it out, and I DMed them in private to let them know.

Q: But why make the blog then?

A: Because I love to lie and be a nuisance to the general populace! <3

It was always my intent to wait until Carolina's perspective got posted (i am honestly still shocked i got away with "Carey/Georgia/West Virginia/Alabama/Miss Louisiana 1988"), let it simmer for about a day, then come clean. Which is what I'm doing now!

The reason I'm coming clean now instead of dragging it out is because I don't want anyone to feel stupid or like they got duped. You're not stupid! You were a part of this story! This was, as one anon said, a creative writing project. It was a collaboration! Thank you so much for helping me!

That said, I'm sorry to anyone that finds this disappointing! I had a blast doing this, but I will not be doing it again. I have gotten my fill. I have had my taste of being an influencer, and now I can go on with my life without ever feeling like I need to start a youtube channel.

Q: How did you keep up with a consistent timeline?

A: I didn't, especially at first. But in my time as a liar who lies about things, I have found that usually people are willing to believe you when you say "yeah, i lied about that".

Q: Wait, what about the thing with your kid?

A: Yeah, I fucked up on this one. In the other fic I was/am writing, Tucker was around 33. So, when I was saying what Junior's age was, I subtracted it from 33 and got 18. It wasn't until I was showing my partner the blog and they said "Wait, he had his kid at 13??????" that I realized I had fucked up. Oops!

Q: Was it really ALL fake?

A: For the most part. I will say that I did actually drop chocolate cake all over my tits that one time and had to shower by myself like a fucking loser. That one was true. I did also get my nails done for the first time ever, which did actually affect my typing. And I am in a band (but so is Tucker, canonically)! There are a few other things as well, but I don't want to list all of them.

Q: DID you ever read homestuck?

A: Nope. And I never will.

Even the title, though I will say that the title I came up with was "Leonard "Alpha Bitch" Church's Decidedly Not Lo-Fi Beats to Get Nasty and Get Clean To: The Movie"

Q: So there was never a combination sex/bathtime playlist?

A: Maybe! But perhaps more accurately: the combination sex/bathtime playlist was inside of you all along. You can make it. There are only three songs on there that are canon to the lore of this blog. Those are No Children by The Mountain Goats, Take It Out On Me by Thousand Foot Krutch, and one unknown song from the album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV by Coheed and Cambria (Yep, the call was coming from inside the house, I gave Church my music taste). I had intended this to be Wake Up, but it's out of my hands now. The rest is yours to fill in.

Q: What's your main blog, so I can follow you?

A: Hi, this is aitadjcrazytimes. You're not getting that.

Q: Your AO3 handle?

A: Nope, not that either.

You will never find me. And that's the way I want it. You will see me in every blog. Every new follower. Every stranger you meet on the street. You will look into your discord kitten's eyes, and you will absently wonder if he was the one behind aitadjcrazytimes. And you will never know for certain.

Q: But-

A: Let me live on in your memory. The only person who knows both who I am and the fact that I did this is my partner, who is not into RvB or commonly on tumblr. I am not a RvB blog. I am not a writing blog. I am a nobody on the fringes of tumblr society who's been here long enough to know how to remain in the shadows.

And, even if you do manage to find me, against all odds:

No one will ever believe you.

I am closing my askbox. I am also closing my messages. If you have anything to say to Tucker or Me (tumblr user aitadjcrazytimes), you are welcome to do so in the replies or reblogs, but you will not be receiving an answer. I'll keep this blog up for anyone that wants to go through after the fact and do a deep dive or what have you.

Thanks to everyone who made this into the wild ride it was! Live long and get fucked or whatever! Xoxo <3

#final post #if you don't say goodbye then aitadjcrazytimes isnt really gone #they're just not here right now #<-so that was a fucking lie -tk from the future

[spontaneousmusicalnumber]

The Wasp Saga, or, How I Wasted Half my Lunch Break

(Note: If you are rude about wasps on this post you will be blocked. We respect them as important ecosystem members here.)

Yesterday it was super warm, like three months out of season warm, and in order to stave off the climate anxiety I decided to walk to the corner grocery store for lunch, eat outside, and get some rare February vitamin D. In a rare W the grocery counter Chinese food was freshly made, way better quality than usual, and ON SALE so I was riding that high. I ate, I enjoyed the weather. As I was starting to consider saving the rest for the next day's lunch a wasp buzzed up to me and landed. on my leg.

Now one thing about me is that I am trying very hard to overcome a crippling phobia of bees and wasps. From when I was a child through my early 20's I was frequently trapped inside or outside buildings because a wasp was hanging out near the door frame and I would refuse to go within 20 feet of it. Please read the following as if it required the courage of a knight and the patience of a saint.

This wasp was likely a queen that had woken up from hibernation a couple months early and was looking for a place to build a new hive. I respect wasps as important members of the ecosystem despite my deep seated fear and did not wish to kill her. She was the least flappable, most chill wasp I have ever encountered. This worked against me.

You see, she was quite happy to be on my leg. Started meandering down my khakis towards my shoe as if she didn't have a care in the world. As if I wasn't shaking my leg, walking around, stomping my foot, jerking back and forth, and jumping up and down to try and dislodge her. Eventually she walked onto my shoe and I did NOT want her do decide the inside of my pants was an attractive option here. So I bent down and blew on her, which finally bothered her enough to get off this ride. She buzzed away and landed.

On the edge of my lunch.

Now if this were any other day, I might have let her have it. Being on the wrong side of an angry wasp is not pleasant. But today the chinese food was good, and I wanted those leftovers as much as she did. So I decided to fight for it.

Let me set the scene: I am sitting on a concrete ledge, about knee-high. My lunch is inside a container, and the container is still nestled in the plastic bag from the grocery store. The container has a lid, which I managed to get over the food before the wasp could climb onto it. The wasp was on the plastic container, somewhat nestled inside the plastic bag.

Now if this wasp was content on my leg, she was downright ecstatic here on my lunch. She has just discovered a heaven of meat and fat and sugar. Her daughters will feast their whole lifetimes. She is not letting go.

I am trying to figure out how to bother this blissed-out wasp enough that she decides to abandon this nirvana, but not enough for her to decide I am a threat that must be eliminated. The next few minutes are spent nudging and prodding and shifting the container. Not a move. I move the bag. She folds up her wings. I blow on her. Frequently, often, from multiple angles. She's not falling for that trick again.

I try to nudge her off with a fork. Twice. She doesn't even move a leg, just sways sideways. I decide to take more drastic measures. I get up on the seat, take off my overshirt, and gently start flailing it at the bag, hoping to brush her off or make her think she's being swatted.

At this point a dog walker comes by and notices me standing up on a concrete wall, gingerly flapping my henley at a Monday orange chicken special. "Wasp stole my lunch," I explain. She sympathizes and moves on. I realize the wasp also stole my dignity a long while ago.

A gust of wind hits and the wasp seeks shelter under the lip of the container. My lunch break is very nearly over. I seriously begin to consider that I may lose. I realize that leaving my lunch here would be littering, and wildly against my morals. I press on.

I pick up the container out of the bag, wasp and all. I swing it left and right. I shake it up and down. She doesn't even care. I seriously wonder if I should just bring her inside and go about my day. Maybe if I put her in the fridge she would get sleepy enough to capture and release. Or maybe I'd be the idiot who let a wasp loose in the building because they brought it inside on purpose. It's a long walk from the door to the fridge.

I get to the door. Now or never. One last idea. I drop it a few inches. This is the move: Precisely enough to make her lose her grip on the container. My last view of her is on her back, wings not even buzzing, legs flailing as she tries to stand up. I snatch what is now mine by right of combat and flee indoors.

It was 76 degrees that day, yesterday afternoon. Tonight it will get down to 12. That's a normal temperature for February. She should not have been awake yet. I hope that despite all the grief and indignity she caused me, that she found somewhere safe and warm to hide, and that she finds somewhere just as good as my container of chinese food to build a nest.

#my posts #stories #bugs #wasps

[eiilese]

Love the designs and descriptions you did for the straw hats!! I do want to ask, since they all have different roles and skills do they meet the crew at different points in the story? Like, since Robin is the shipwright would she have met the crew at Water 7 or would it still be Alabasta but under different circumstances? Since she’s not an archeologist she wouldn’t have been raised on O’Hara, right?

Just curious to see what your thoughts are😊 - thanks.

thank you so much for the ask!! sorry this took so long to answer it took awhile to gather my ideas. i’m so happy with how well this au thing was received ;u; TY to people who left tags and replies!! i read everything 🫶

here is the original post for role swap! this post has explanations for backstories! i really did try to have drawings to go with everything but i burned out as this month went on so not every character has doodles :(

—

i kept everything mostly the same in terms of when the strawhats meet each person. i didn’t want to change too much to avoid changing important character moments that happen in canon

this isn’t a super heavy rewrite, there’s a lot of backstory to juggle and i’m not equipped to write such an in-depth au rn 😭 but i might make separate posts for arcs like water 7 or wci!! though i kept a lot of backstory the same theres a lot of rewrite potential for those sagas

i hope these are fun to read about nonetheless ^_^ i included some stuff from @flute-of-pan pan and @onethousandsunnies because they left tags on the original post that were cool ideas

nami, vice capt.

not much changes!! instead of forcing her to chart maps, arlong might just have her around as a servant girl. regardless, the deal to buy back cocoyashi village still stands and nami works hard for it

generally i think her selflessness and loyalty to her village makes her fit to be a vice captain. she looks out for people at her own detriment and was willing to take the fall for such much ahhh

in my opinion she’s good vice captain material!! perhaps a cowardly one but still reliable. also a good treasurer for the crew as always

zoro, cook

zoro grew up training to be a swordsman and competes against kuina, but he also has a knack for cooking as a hobby. he’s mostly the same but sanji’s “stuck on a rock in the middle of the ocean with zeff” happens to him instead (flute-of-pan suggested the cook always suffers the fate of starvation)

kuina decides to run away and zoro is roped into her plans. it goes wrong and they get stranded on a rock, eventually arguing and ending up on opposite sides of the rock with the little food they brought

zoro finds out kuina gave him everything they had soon after she stops replying to him. he’s rescued thanks to kuina’s dad, who tracked them down with vivre cards. kuina’s had long since burned up

similar to canon, zoro continues striving to become the world’s strongest after her death. i think this backstory coupled with him eating those stomped riceballs at the very beginning of the story is so….(GESTURE) it’s very reminiscent of sanji’s no-waste-policy which he would absolutely also have

sanji, sniper

germa 66 has a mafia aesthetic now 👍i only have the willpower to draw reiju here she ended up kind of cluttered but i like my vision

sanji’s backstory is mostly the same: he and his siblings are genetically modified to be the perfect soldiers, but he had a kind nature that made him the target of abuse. after reiju helps him escape, he ends up with zeff and worked as a janitor. zeff loses his leg while trying to save sanji in a maritime accident; though they don’t get stranded anywhere, sanji has to be indebted to him somehow

when the baratie is opened, he works as a busser/guard against unruly guests. flute-of-pan mentioned that he could fire the canons of the ship

when the strawhats meet him on the baratie, sanji still gives don krieg’s crew food. i don’t think his kindness around that would disappear just bc he doesn’t have a whole starving incident

usopp, navigator

on top of bluffing about being the leader of a huge pirate army, he would create fake maps and brag to everyone in syrup village (especially kaya) about these places he so evidently visited. kaya loved his drawings even if the places weren’t real

his dream is to create a Real map of the whole world, not a fake map that he makes up out of stories. drafting the real world makes him a brave explorer of the seas, which he also wants to become :)

when the strawhats meet him, they were basically relying on nami’s limited sailing skills to get around. not only do they get the going merry but they have a real, reliable navigator now! AND he’s multitalented B)

chopper, helmsman

from a young age he set his sights on sailing the seas to escape from the isolation he faced on drum island. he would routinely make little boats for himself to escape the island on, failing each time, and hiriluk would always nurse him back to health

instead of studying to be a doctor, chopper has a general desire to be helpful and acted as an assistant to hiriluk’s medical endeavors

both flute-of-pan and onethousandsunnies pitched that chopper studied stuff like ocean currents!! overall he studied the ocean real hard but would never leave the island without hiriluk

hiriluk’s death would glue him to doctor kureha’s side and it isn’t until the strawhats come that he has the courage to embark on a new journey

franky, muscian

bro grew up running around water 7 trying to get people to join his band. tom and iceberg are still his family. his shipbuilding skills don’t go past an amateur level in this au. he would develop a line of dinky guitars (or instruments in general) that also had lasers/canons/confetti in them. his dream is A FRANKY WORLD TOUR 🤞FREE ADMISSION

many of his weaponized instruments littered the shipyard, spandam uses them in his attack

after the whole tom/spandam situation unfolds, iceberg is the one to find and reconstruct franky into a cyborg after getting run over by the sea train. but he won’t implement piano key abs no matter how much franky asks 🙄

the newly formed franky family protect the city and throw unsolicited concerts in the middle of the street B)

robin, shipwright

though she’s not an archeologist, she still grew up on ohara! instead of archeology, she’s a gifted engineer. her devil fruit made her an outcast and her strange, misunderstood inventions did not help her case

when jaguar d saul gets stranded on ohara, robin constructs the raft for him :) the buster call unfolds the same as canon except this time, everyone’s actually not lying when they say robin can’t read poneglyphs! she never learned!! again flute-of-pan had the cool idea that she is wrongly accused. still, she’s pursued and branded as a devil child

she ends up with crocodile, who believes she can read poneglyphs. she takes advantage of this and earns his protection from the government but her ruse is uncovered when she lies to croc about what alabasta’s poneglyph says (girl cannot read that!)

robin dreams of creating a ship that can carry her and the friends she wishes to have. after meeting robin in alabasta she joins the strawhats!!

brook, doctor

he was the doctor of the rumbar pirates. an injured laboon came to like brook after he nursed him back to health!! when yorki became sick from disease brook tried his hardest to cure him, but failed :(

he was doomed to watch his crewmates die to poison that he cannot hope to cure because he himself was also dying. when he came back thru his fruit it was already too late :( the rumbar pirates Do record a song for laboon though this event cannot be edited 🤞

met in thriller bark; ik that’s a long ass time to go without a real doctor on board

by the time they meet brook everyone’s already so battered that he has to go to town on them with gauze and stitches. the company delights him ^_^

jinbei, archeologist

i mentioned this in the first post abt this au but his interest in history sparked thanks to the history of joyboy and fishman island being so intertwined. at some point in his youth, jinbei frequently visited ohara (prior to the buster call) and grew a strong relationship with the scholars there (i’m just assuming they wouldn’t be racists 🤪) he runs into robin a handful of times

he secretly learns how to read poneglyphs here leading up to the buster call. he wasn’t on the island when it happened so he managed to avoid robin’s fate

his story proceeds the same from there with the neptune army, joining fisher tiger, meeting koala, etc…

i enjoy the idea of getting invited to be a warlord by the government while simultaneously being one of the most wanted people in the world for knowing poneglyph secrets

—

also i’m sorry if there are things i forgot about or details that don’t make sense >—>o

the anime’s pacing has ruined my enthusiasm for awhile lol and i’ve consumed a lot of media since catching up!! everyone’s backstories/canon events aren’t too fresh in my memory but i did some researching to remedy it 🫡

#one piece #art #ei98 art #one piece usopp #nico robin #one piece fanart #roronoa zoro #monkey d. luffy #nami #franky one piece #one piece brook #one piece jinbe #tony tony chopper #one piece sanji #vinsmoke reiju #role swap au

[textfromthelookout]

just read ur entire essay about vegeta and like.. goddamn you just gave me a whole new perspective on that funky little man. i love the way it was written and organized

ALSO ALSO i read this bit and am begging u to expand on this concept it sounds so interesting /gen

Oh you would, would you. I am delighted to oblige.

So. Super Saiyan. A transformation available to Saiyans past certain power thresholds that, while more or less freely accessible after first awakening to it, needs a trigger to become accessible in the first place. Over the course of Z in its many adaptations, we see the first awakenings of Goku, Vegeta, Future Trunks, and Gohan onscreen. Goten, Trunks, and Future Gohan are also Super Saiyans, but we don’t know for sure how that came about. Goten and Trunks in particular are why I say that Super Saiyan (more specifically, the first time you access Super Saiyan) can be read as a trauma response, because there’s no real evidence this is the case on their parts. You can make an argument for them, but in general I choose to believe they’re exceptions to this take, so I won’t be discussing them.

Oh and as for Cabba, Caulifla, and Kale…… they’re literally from an alternate universe. Super Saiyan just has different rules there. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Getting back on track. Goku’s the obvious place to start, so let’s look at him first. In the entirety of Dragon Ball (that I’ve seen), not counting the comedic needle bit in that one episode of GT, Goku has only ever been seen crying three times. Once was his reunion with Grandpa Gohan in early Dragon Ball. Once was in the anime’s version of the Tournament of Power, after Roshi’s near-death incident.

Once was at the beginning of King Piccolo, when he finds Krillin dead. King Piccolo saga is a little infamous for the sudden tonal whiplash—yeah, Tien breaks Yamcha’s leg in the tournament just prior, but they make up about it and it’s not as dire as someone dying. What’s really striking to me about it is Goku’s reaction. He’s more upset than we’ve ever seen him. And he loses worse than we ever see him lose because of it. Sure, in the end everything is put right, but.

But, the thing about trauma is that it makes time go weird. Fast forward about ten years. It’s suddenly happening again. His best friend is dead. He couldn’t do anything to stop it. He doesn’t know that Porunga can revive people who have already died once. As far as Goku knows, Krillin’s gone for good this time. And he watched it happen and watched Freeza laugh about it.

And he reacts essentially the same way. Only this time, he’s orders of magnitude stronger than he was when he was 15, and he has the experience and the wherewithal to control himself somewhat better. Emphasis on somewhat, because it’s very clear that he’s worried about going completely off the deep end in the grips of this power. And he’s right to be! I’m willing to bet money that in Gohan’s whole life, Goku has never pulled the ‘I’m your father, don’t talk back to me’ card on him, and that’s one of the smallest ways this power changes him. When he’s fighting Freeza, he’s a lot more like Vegeta, down to the way he smirks. He’s condescending. He’s brutal. I’ve seen comments to the effect of ‘Freeza’s not fighting Goku anymore—now, Freeza’s fighting Kakarot’ and that’s truly what it feels like.

I could go on, but the particulars of the Namek fight aren’t the important part. The important part is that Goku recognizes how badly that whole thing fucked him up and stays on Yardrat for a year explicitly to get a handle on Super Saiyan before returning home. He knows that if he loses control like that again, there’s a very real possibility he’ll end up hurting someone he cares about, or worse, becoming someone he really doesn’t want to be. (Call it a reach, it definitely is one, but I like to believe Goku picked up Instant Transmission while he was there so he’ll never be too late or too far away to help ever again.)

Vegeta’s case is less… visible? So, much of this is going to be purely my extrapolation. If you take him at his word, Vegeta triggered Super Saiyan with the sheer amount of hatred he felt toward himself for his inadequacy and like. Hello. That’s already a giveaway. I don’t believe he’s outright lying, but I also believe he’s simplifying matters a little. Or a lot. Per My Last Long-Winded Essay, he only gets that far because he leaves Earth entirely for areas uninhabited, which is good for him in some respects and bad for him in others.

The sweet irony of it is that it was Vegeta’s own efforts that locked him out of Super Saiyan. He tried to brute-force his way into it singlemindedly, in the belief that he was simply not strong enough, but Super Saiyan’s trigger is raw, overwhelming emotion. It can be one very clear emotion, or several different ones mixed up, but it’s emotion. It doesn’t answer to logic by its very nature, and frankly, neither does trauma. So Vegeta’s removed all the distractions to his training, yes, but in doing so he’s also removed all the distractions from everything else. Without anybody else around, he doesn’t have anything to get himself out of his own head, so now he’s got a whole universe of space for two and a half decades’ worth of repressed shit to come raging out. Funny how the minute he lets himself feel actual emotions other than the ones he wants everyone to see, the transformation explicitly tied to and powered by emotion rears its head, huh.

Vegeta makes several really dumb decisions once he gets back on Earth, in sharp contrast to the way he handles himself on Namek before he’s face-to-face with Freeza. On Namek, he’s careful to fly under the radar whenever he can, which is why I love the fit he launches into when he realizes Gohan played him, because that’s his control slipping. He’s opportunistic and sneaky and it’s clear he’s doing his damnedest to get what he wants without having to fight people who can kill him. He doesn’t hear the Ginyu Force is coming and rush off to challenge them, he’s like ‘oh shit’ and immediately fucks off elsewhere. I can only make sense of the way he acts during the androids/Cell as a symptom of his need to prove himself.

And make no mistake—it is a need, not a want. The power’s meaningless without people to witness and acknowledge it, the same way the authority of royalty is. His chosen course of action, though, is sort of like painting over rotten wood, if that makes any sense. Letting himself get high off the power, pretending that everything went exactly the way it should have gone from the start, refusing to acknowledge all of his Issues more than passingly. Furthermore, his victory must be complete and unquestionable: that’s why he lets Cell take Android 18. He can’t just… not lose, he has to win. Anything less is anathema to him. You see, he hasn’t yet figured out that he can survive without it.

Okay sorry that got a little in the weeds but I hope you get what I was driving at there. Vegeta’s a mess and talking about him makes me Unstable. Let’s move on.

Of the main four Saiyans, I think Future Trunks’ awakening is the simplest to understand: his trigger is that moment of pure, crushing grief when he finds Gohan dead in the rain. And it’s no wonder. Aside from Gohan and his mother, who does Trunks even talk to in that timeline? We never see him with friends, not until Super. Trunks’ ‘You were everything to me’ in the dub version of the special might be only debatably canon but it’s hardly an exaggeration. Friend. Teacher. Comrade. Brother. Perhaps even a father figure, in some ways. Certainly the only other one of his kind—half-human, half-alien from a long-dead warrior race. There was literally nobody else in the world who could come close to understanding him to the degree that Gohan could have. Gohan dies and Trunks is effectively all alone, the terminarch of one species left to shoulder the fate of another.

It’s a staggering loss for anybody, let alone for a boy of 12 or 13.

Speaking of. Gohan. I think Gohan’s a strange case—not powered by grief or anger, but something different. In the moments before he unlocks Super Saiyan, he’s thinking ‘I have to do it’ before flashing abruptly to all the different times where he was ‘too weak or too scared’ to fight. I personally believe that it’s less determination or ‘the power coming in response to a need’, as Goku puts it, that tips him over the edge. Fear, I think—while not being the whole reason, there’s surely some self-directed anger or disappointment involved—is probably the biggest factor. That’s Gohan’s whole thing—he’s scared of fighting, and to some degree of his own power. If I laid out all the specific examples we’d be here for another thousand words, so I’ll just say that he’s been Through It. We all know this.

This sort of has a continuation in the iconic Super Saiyan 2 transformation against Cell. It’s all on him and it’s not until Cell actually kills someone in front of Gohan that it really twigs that it’s do or die for him. And as much as he’s angry at Cell, the realization that Cell means business, that he really will kill them all? It scares him. Fight or flight takes over. The only real difference is that he chooses fight. The change in how Gohan handles Cell is what really convinces me that emotionally he’s going through something similar to Goku and Vegeta—because it’s almost to the letter exactly what happens with Goku against Freeza. The cruelty, the condescension. I’d argue Gohan leans into the mean demeanor, subconsciously or not, to keep from feeling the fear. And it costs him. But the Gohan discussion is a whole other discussion.

As for Future Gohan, I’m putting a disclaimer here now that none of what I’m about to say is really provable—just really really interesting to think about.

Future Gohan’s life is maybe the worst-case scenario. Like the future timeline sucks specifically for Gohan because he doesn’t like to fight and he has to anyway because what other choice does he have? Let everyone on Earth die without at least trying? He couldn’t, not in good conscience. And it’s not like he’ll have a normal life so long as the androids are around anyway. So in the middle of grieving basically everybody he’s ever known and felt affection for (sans his mother and grandfather, it’s more implied that he’s estranged from them, or at least intentionally distancing himself from them to keep them out of harm’s way), he's also making himself channel anger he hates feeling so he has a shot of even surviving these killers that only exist because of something his father did at least ten years ago. This shouldn’t be his fight, and yet.

Here’s my personal theory. Gohan goes into that final fight with the androids fully intending to die. Not just expecting to, but hoping to. He knows that if he was only barely scraping through those fights with both arms, there’s no way in hell he’ll kill them both when he only has one. He’s not an idiot, but you know what he is? Exhausted. Twelve years of this, being the only resistance to this threat and failing each and every time. He knows what will unlock Super Saiyan for Trunks. He knows there’s someone to carry on the torch and lift the burden. And it’s cruel and selfish of him to put all of that on Trunks and throw himself to the wolves, but it was cruel that he had to carry that all by himself for so long.

He’s fucking tired.

Anyways. That’s my TEDtalk on Super Saiyan. If you read it all the way to the end you’re a real one. Thanks for this ask, you two!

#son goku #son gohan #future trunks #mirai trunks #vegeta #goku #trunks #gohan #dragonball z #dragon ball z #dbz #'jojo it's not that deep don't put more thought into it than toriyama did' #Make Me. #text from the mod

[bcacstuff]

The Zanzibar Saga

Disclaimer: Everything is open to interpretation. Opinions, theories or speculations I write are my own, they are not facts I merely try to make sense using logic. Opinions, theories or speculations in the comments belong to the commenters and do not necessarily reflect mine. This also goes for all the Anons quotes, which I posted in italics. I had to take parts of Anons, and could not post all I've received. (Sorry for the ones I left out)

Some advice in advance, put the kettle on and make a good pot of tea or coffee, whatever you prefer. This is going to be a very long post. I tried to be thorough expressing my thoughts during and about this saga and as unbiased as possible. I also want to do as much as possible justice to the many people who sent me their messages.

For people not having the time to read the whole post, I wrote a TLDR/some end conclusions at the end of the post.

Where to start... perhaps at the beginning. Two weeks ago, on a Friday (night my local time) 1st of September stories appear on accounts that were involved in the SS-tour having a boat party. At first on private accounts, which I did not use, but soon they were reposted on public accounts as well. So I reported about what I saw. Some accounts we know were tagged on it so it wasn't that hard to find more footage. A tiktok was posted and later on posted on the SS account as well. Another tiktok occurred later on. Little was I to know about the aftermath of this party.

What enrolled in the following days or week could be best described as a soap worthy masterpiece saga script writers would be envious of. Depending on the agendas of the several fractions in this fandom the most fantastic fiction was written in no time, all mostly based on some tiny snippets of the videos. I was honestly wondering if I was watching another season of Bravo's Below Deck.

But first let me introduce you to the producers, the main cast and the guest stars in this saga. (for the full experience, sound on!)

Besides some nasty messages:

[I shall spare you the ones with more colourfull language and the one that took more that 5 paragraphs to share her angry thoughts with me... 🙄]

...my inbox got flooded with generally one question:

Did you recognize the girl with the white sunglasses sitting next to Marina?

At 0.11 second of the video, you can see a girl with blue bikinis and white sunglasses and Sam is sitting next to and behind her could be his date?

I suddenly noticed a new person on the boat!!!!! She sit next to Sam and Marina. She has a bandana, white sunglasses, blue bikini and some kind of white skirt. Sam is very close to her even when he sit with his back. She lool like a model and I doubt she is from the team.

... and numerous similar ones...

Oh blimey, I thought, he appears to be sitting NEXT TO A WOMAN!!!! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 Seriously....????

All about a few tiny snippets in the tiktok videos, blink and you will miss her. But yes, we all know how this fandom is superior in examining videos frame by frame and analyzing it into dept.

The snippets, I'm sure you've seen them, but for the sake of completeness:

Both where he sits with his back towards her, more interested in the sea and as it looks having a conversation with Marina. It does look close, but those seats on the boat are rather large and deep. She appears to have a conversation with Melissa.

And there is one he's seen from the front, watching Joshua dancing as all others did. Joshua is blocking the view on the woman next to Sam.

In another snippet you can see the size of these seats on the boat as well

There's one more snippet she appears in, and seems to be standing alone while the food has apparently arrived, and again look at the size of those seats.

In other parts he's just having conversation with others, here with Marina and her friend Michelle

So far the snippets. I called it a day for that night, it was already quite late and I felt slightly disappointed and appalled by the reactions. Only to come back the next day to feel even more appalled finding a name in my inbox and learning that on another blog, well known for creating fanfic only from a name drop in an inbox as we have seen since the hiatus began, the woman was already declared as the new one, as well as 'she's the one'. Not only on that blog btw. but also in my inbox.

Sam is not going to join Matt because he is with his new date, Sam is so excited about this one. They are already in a romantic place together.

I think Sam has made his best choice. I like her. Sam seemed very happy and excited both on the boat and with his meeting with the fans. Maybe he has finally found the love of his life,

Sam wants everybody to know about her maybe he never thought her name will be out too soon.

And a fair number similar ones. Now I admire all your romantic feelings Anons, but I'm afraid you read too many dime novels or have seen LA a couple of times too much. I often get these Anons telling me I know nothing because social media isn't showing the real life. So it looks to me turning these one frame snippets into a romantic novel DG could use for her last book, is a bit too much for my taste to make all kind of these assumptions on.

🤦‍♀️

What if that is not her at all, those were my thoughts. This woman will just get bombarded with all kind of idiocy, as we could already see how the number of followers on that private account increased. While at the same time other sides quickly created versions of the saga including some horrific names the woman was called fitting a certain agenda.

Haven't we seen this all before a fair number of times? Haven't we been appalled by this before a number of times? Does this fandom never learn anything from the past?

My inbox had questions

For months, no one reveal CM's name, then this girl's name is outed immediately, why?

and

How did we learn bikini woman's name? How did someone first figure out who the woman was?

and

The whole thing is suspicious to me. Who is this or these people who give info to Purv? No way she could be recognized so fast. someone is playing here

To be honest, I was looking for the same answers and had the same suspicious feeling as well. Profiles were searched out on other platforms, her job and a picture from Linkedin was found. Now I do the same when a name gets dropped as well, but to post it already in a fashion that it is all a fact before anything can be confirmed...not so much. And quite honestly, identifying someone from a few snippets where the person is wearing huge white sunglasses and a bandana hiding most of her hair and face.... doesn't gave me a positive confirmation at all.

Now I do not believe in some kind of PR plants or TPTB narratives dropping names in inboxes. Even me and my blog have been accused of being part of his PR team when I merely posted just a pic or video of some events happening, when it didn't fit the agendas of said fractions of the fandom. Now if only they would tell me where to send my bill!

But in all fairness I must say, this summer, or already since OL S7 wrapped, the number of names dropped of totally unknown women who could not be connected to him in any sense, got quite astonishing to me. Yes, in my inbox as well, but I just don't like to put names of women out there just throwing them under the bus, or against a well known wall just to see what sticks. We've seen quite some curious ones, just reminding fake Emily and Cinderella's Hyrox patches and all the innuendos of women being in Miami, NYC, LA, places where many go. I'm not accusing P of mischief or making things up herself, let that be clear. If anything, than I rather think she's the one that has been played on, she turned out to be an easy target. She posts most of the time blindly without any or sloppy research and doesn't question where the information actually comes from if it fits her agenda.

I chose to step away a bit, besides the weather here in the Netherlands was extraordinary for the time of year. All week temperatures in the high twenties, and last weekend even 30+.

My inbox didn't calm down, more messages but now asking me to shed my lights on things, valuing my take on it. My silence didn't go unnoticed it seems. One Anon wrote:

Hi BC I am a little surprised that this time you prefer to be quite and not to tell us about your thoughts on the new date.

While another wrote

I really enjoy your blog, mainly because of you. Whenever something happens in Sam's life, and others present a different perspective, I tend to trust your viewpoint, and more often you are correct. However, this is the first time you haven't posted anything about Sam and the girl in the blue bikini. There are some aspects that don't quite make sense to me, and I was looking forward to you confirming or addressing that. It appears that this time you do agree with Purve and have decided not to post anything.

And

Are you not writing anything about the new SE girl or are you investigating to find out the truth? ☺️

Yes, I was quietly doing my own research, looking for information and here and there discussed some ideas and opinions in private chats. And no I do not agree with everything P wrote.

I also was (and still am not) in the clear whether Susie is the same woman on the boat. Therefore I call Susie, Susie and the woman on the boat SusieOrNotSusie. At the end of the story, it doesn't really matter as it doesn't really change my view on things.

Some Anons were a bit more humorous

If you are on vacation again....come back right now....I repeat it is an emergency. Composition of the alphabet soup: ship, SH, dolphins, music, gin, employees with appropriate clothing, shirtless boss, new secret employee with seductive clothing, CP costume. Solution?

As well as some Anons using their logic writing to me, I had the same questions and misgivings [note some of these are parts of longer messages]

We REALLY need your take on this whole blonde in the blue bikini on the yacht with Sam story. P has already created a relationship with a couple name... again. The shippers are rabid to prove it was staged for PR and nothing else. Tell us your thinking..please! Do you think, based on Sam's patterns and history, that he would bring a date on this trip knowing she would be filmed more than once? So out in the open knowing this fandom would figure out who she is?

Can't really see SH having a date on a boat with his employees and cameras everywhere. Seems too public for him. Too hard to keep her hidden from every camera. P now thinks she's on holiday with SH. Marina tagged a woman in a story over the weekend about the yacht day and that woman follows this Susie on IG. Doesn't look to be a new follow either. Perhaps she's a friend of a friend who was visiting LA and joined Marina and her other two friends?? Just seems so different from Sam's normal MO. Especially since there were multiple TikToks.

Logically, I just cannot believe that SH would have an event for his team on a yacht, let them film what looks like some promo (AN with a gin bottle, for example), and allow his team to post two TikToks that would show a woman with him that he is dating. It also looks like his new manager, Duncan Millership was on the yacht with them. I can't imagine that private Sam (when it comes to dates) would have his new mgr, his work teams, Alex and Marina there with a new date. He knows, surely by now, how different elements of this fandom search through every photo and meeting of him with possible new gfs. I just can't get my logical brain to be okay with him allowing it to be out in the open.

Am I crazy? I just cannot believe that Sam would allow those boat videos and TikToks to be shared everywhere- including on the SS page- if he had a date on the boat. He has had some terrible experiences in the past with how potential dates/gfs were treated. He didn't even follow AM or MC when he was supposed to be dating them, probably to try to protect them or keep it quiet. Would he really do this? It doesn't seem to fit his patterns- especially since Gia. Loads of speculation about how he met the woman, but we don't even know if he knew her or if she was a friend of someone he knew was coming on the boat. It also just feels off to me. Do you think he would share or let others share so many videos with a potential date on the boat? Of course, on the one blog they've apparently known each other and/or hooked up since his visit to Austin. On the other end of the spectrum it's just fake- smoke and mirrors. Just can't see Sam going this public until he's really ready to make a relationship public.

Yes, that was, and still is, my first huge red flag 🚩 as well. I agree, he will not take a date he barely knows (even if people try to make it credible that he knew her for a longer time because of 'likes' 🙄). I don't think he had much time to date and get to know anyone that well that he'd be comfortable to take her on that boat trip with all of his team. We've all seen he worked all the while in Belgium with some visits to NYC for promo and his b-day in Miami with friends, no women involved. On top of that, if you look at the people on that boat, they're part of the SS team or the MPC team (or both), all associated to SS or MPC or GGC some with partners and friends who were invited along.

Marina posted a story of the dolphins, tagging 2 women. Michelle who is a friend of hers she took with her followed already by her and her boss as well. And she tagged Melissa P, who she started to follow after the boat trip, clearly met her first time during the trip. Melissa also followed Marina back a few days later on. However Marina didn't tag SusieOrNotSusie nor followed her! In fact nobody did.

After Marina posted her story tagging Melissa, it wasn't hard to find out that Melissa seems to be the only connection to Susie, following her on IG. She already followed Susie before the boat trip though. This is the only connection that can be made between Susie and anyone on that boat trip as far as I can see.

Now I do not know what the connection between Melissa (and her partner) to Sam, or his business is. I could find out that Melissa seems to be a sales manager at Hyundai. I don't know what the name of her partner is, he could as well be associated somehow to the business team on that boat and how these people were invited on the trip.

Anyway, for me, this boat trip was for team and the business associations. SusieOrNotSusie could easily be a connection to anyone else on that boat. What I did notice from what we can tell from the footage is how the SS (tour) team mostly interacted amongst the ones they know from the team on one side of the boat, while on the other side the rest was mostly placed and interacting. Looks a bit like 2 parties not really knowing each other.

So anyone claiming he must have met Susie in Austin, it doesn't occur they knew her to me. As for nobody following her from that boat trip nor Susie following anybody else from that trip than Melissa she already followed upfront, people claiming Sam told them not to sounds quite contradictory to him having her on that boat with everyone and allowing all the footage, not to mention the ones that are convinced they're a romantic couple for real and want to go public.

And a final thought on connections, I didn't hear or see from anyone, but what to me was quite curious. How is it that from all the people he met in Austin, or on his tour for that matter, or could have picked someone from Raya, how is it that Susie curiously is connected to one more guest on that boat! Now there's a coincidence, no? Or is it not a coincidence??? Did SusieOrNotSusie bring them along like her chaperone? I don't think so...

btw. The Anon mentioning Duncan Millership, I reckon this came from a shippers blog where this was mentioned, together with something Sam said during the private fan con in KC. Which I'm not sure was serious or just a joke. It's about this man with whom Alex seems to be in conversation:

Now firstly I doubt this is Duncan Millership, just search his picture via Google and you find he doesn't look like this man.

Secondly fwiw, Duncan Millership is an old friend of Sam, from even before his OL breakout. he's one of the first followers of Sam.

For the ones that do not know, Katie Rebekah, friend his London time and has been named as one of his first gfs. VickiLawson is his ex SIL, Faye Thomas took his first photographed for his Portfolio.

Meanwhile I was told by a number of people that

Susie Evans ALSO posted from Shutters a few days ago.

and it took a bit of time before this screenshot was shared...

Now, I'm not sure when exactly she posted this story, which as I learned from bts chats, was originally a video (so people saying it's photoshopped or anything, I rule that out).

It is the Beach House Suite at Shutters, as pointed out, the same suite the interview with the tastingalliance was conducted. I have no doubts about that.

The Tasting Alliance interview due out tomorrow was also done at Shutters , wearing the kilt he had on on Sunday .

Yes for the kilt, other shirt though. (where is the interview btw.?)

Sam's interview with the lady from The Tasting Alliance was filmed inside a suite at Shutters on the Beach that costs over $5,000 a night. Looks like that hotel is about 10 mins from Marina del Rey. P is sharing a photo supposedly from Susie Evans' IG inside a suite like that. She claims it's Sam's suite and that SE wouldn't have an expensive suite like that. She also posted late yesterday that SE is back in Austin now. .... Could this Susie E have been there as a friend of a friend, gotten to go into the suite where they were meeting/ working and took a photo of herself there? The photo looks really filtered. It's interesting to me that if you are staying in a suite that nice with a great view that you would take your photo in front of a messy table that doesn't really show the cool place where you are. Why not a video of the whole suite to show what an awesome and gorgeous place to be?

[note the above Anon is part of a longer message of which I took the relevant parts]

Of course the easiest thing is to conclude she was staying there with him in that suite, if that is what your agenda fits. And if you don't question yourself the obvious questions. Like would he conduct an interview in the same suite he was staying with a date? Quite a huge red flag 🚩 for me again. Turning it into some kind of romantic weekend or week sounds a bit reductive for my taste.

The screenshot of Susie seems to have been a video, as I was told, but not from the entire suite. As above Anon points out, why is there such a mess on the table? And for sure the helmet on the table indicated Sam was there, well we already knew because of the interview of course. But tell me if you are staying there, would you put your helmet on the table and bags on the chair, or put it in the hallway f.i. where there is room to leave stuff like that? And it is right when you enter the suite.

The suite was for biz. He has money but not thst kind of money. Shutters has no reason to comp him a suite. It was a set for interview which is often done, not as costly, and biz expense.

I tend to lean towards him driving on the bike to the suite on Sunday, that was hired for an afternoon or day perhaps to conduct the interview and for him to change and get to the event and back. The recent fan pic at Shutters shows him in the shirt (and SS pin) he wore at the event. It also gives merit to what Anon above wrote, being possibly a friend of a friend gotten to go into the Suite to record her video. And as the other Anon above points out, he has money and he does live the luxury live at hotels for what we can see, but he doesn't spill that kind of money on a date. And if he would do so, he better put her into the the Four Seasons Hotel, where he only stays when he's in LA on Starz's account.

I heard there were people saying other team members posted from that location or suite as well. I think that's a myth, I didn't see anybody from the team post from it. I do not think it was some kind of base for the team to stay and from there went for the boat trip. Only Chrissy stayed at a hotel, as she is not living in LA, and I haven't seen her posting from a hotel. So saying so in order to make it look like the hotel Suite was hired for the whole team is false information imo. However it's still credible to me it was hired for the Sunday interview and base from where he went to the event.

Other thoughts I had were, why is this the only screenshot of her in LA? Nothing from the boat, nothing from anything in LA we've seen. Didn't he take her out to diner somewhere? Not a fancy motorbike ride along Abbot Kinney and Venice? Btw. Where is her helmet? Only one helmet on that table! And to this day I haven't seen the white sunnies nor the same bandana in any of her pictures. Older or new ones.

Typically, my attitude is, if you weren't there you don't know what happened and don't get into the hoopla, be open. This time I felt the same, until the fan picture with him at the coffee shop displaying the helmet. He's really been caught the past years in LA by a fan or at least they haven't posted such encounters. This time within 48 hours, a coincidental fan picture with him in sane Shutters clothing with same helmet in the suite picture with the woman, who was the woman on the boat. Sorry too many coincidences to not be a story someone is selling. And as you know there are many stories around. This time, seeing the watchers, the drama creators, the examiners and researchers, all with an agenda, it's becoming more strange than ever. Thoughts?

Coming back to the part I wrote above about how Susie's name came to be known at all in this realm. My inquiries did put me on a trail of an infamous group in this fandom. I do not have the answers on the how, what for or why, and I think I don't want to touch that lid of a pot so full of 'Stranger Things'! 🤐 [for the ones longer in this fandom, this should tell you enough.] Don't sent me any (anon) questions about it, I wont answer, I do not have the answers. I just have my suspicions that I keep in mind and that's enough to me.

About the picture outside Shutters and the fan pic at the coffee shop on Abbey Kinney Blv. I do not think they were 'planted' though. This are not the things I wrote about above. There are bloggers pointing out how the picture outside Shutters is removed and the fan that saw him at the coffee shop is now private. The simple reason for that we can all guess. These people are bothered and even perhaps harassed about their post. We've seen it before, some told us about it, remember how the journalist in Ratingen showed us why she removed his pic? I even noticed how that Friday when the videos of the boat party were posted, some where on Joshua's account. I didn't mention him but his account name was on one of the pics. I caught the dolphin story, and was just in time to get the video of Sam dancing between his team members. A moment later he was private! And now even Melanie has changed her tiktok account name and removed one of the videos. Going by the things I find in my inbox, you can draw your own conclusions from that.

Some other thought that was sent to me

Why hasn't anyone assumed the woman or women were Alex's date? Does one dare ask that question and get hit with body shaming comments? Certainly he was in the suite too.

No Anon, others made that assumption as well. I feel hesitant to post this, yet took this one only to show people who wrote to me thought of this as an option. But let's not forget, the man has 2 young daughters so I feel very reluctant making assumptions like this. And in fact, I don't think so.

TLDR or some end conclusions:

Is Susie the woman on the boat or not? I do not have an answer on that. Many of you wrote to me and I posted these images to compare. Her nose and chin seem different. Opinions are mixed. But it's quite hard (and to me unlikely) to confirm a positive ID on the woman on the boat as her face is hidden for a great deal. And as an Anon pointed out to me, do these women he dates not all look the same...? 🤔

Anyway, it doesn't matter that much as eyes are now peeled on Susie who seems to be Susie and took a video in the suite at Shutters. No other footage, nothing else from this supposed weekend. Only this one screenshot from a video that miraculously reached this fandom #justsaying

Red flags all over, no I don't think he'd take a date he can't have known long, on a boat with his team members and business associates where video's and pictures about the event were happily shared on known accounts. Despite P naming how he took Abby and MM to work events, he learned what the consequences are. He's not always smart, but he isn't that dumb as well.

Conducting an interview and clearly using an hotel suite as base to get to the last announced event in the same suite he's staying with a date is a huge red flag and a big no to me. There are other options how Susie got this video recorded there with his stuff so obviously showing. In no way would he be okay her showing and posting this.

He stayed at AN's house all the time he was in LA, he does so since AN owns this house. Before Sam always stayed at Airbnbs when he was for a longer time in LA, when for shorter times, say a few days, like last year when he came back from LV and went to Mexico a few days later on he stays at Shutters. When he's there on Starz's account, he stays at the Four Seasons. We've seen him doing zoom interviews from Shutters and the Four Season, as well as from airbnb's in the past. When Nic R was there, he posted a picture of the motorbike at a fuel station, which I located and was near to AN's house in the HH. As to why not use that as a base, if you know this house you know it is not the most accessible place in the HH with a huge stairway to the entrance.

Social Media times showed, how he was online most of the usual hours. Though not posting that much, as he's restricted of course because of the strike. Liking and even commenting on posts was no less. Nothing that implicated dating or having someone over for a date.

I doubt we'll see anything more from Susie. Expect the usual innuendo, but I know where to put my money. Just another is/was she or is/was she not soap bubble for this fandom, gotta say a weird one because of the suite screenshot. I do agree with the many people that notice how things do not add up to what we know about SH and his MO. And frankly he's a creature of habits he shows that all the time. But hey, stranger things happen.

For all we've seen now, she was back in Austin quite soon after the weekend and currently in Denver. While we've seen him for a week in LA at least biking around with AN, and last we've seen and heard he's been all week in NYC. So much for the 'happy couple'....

[one-idea]

I'm the same Wado au anon thank you so much for the response I loved reading it, I hope Thriller Bark and the war saga are threatening you well! something I forgot to ask is if you have any ideas about playing into something in the story that interests me, Luffy has the voices of all things do you think he would hear or understand something from Wado especially now that she likes him a lot and will spend a great deal of time near, it would be interesting to think of as it doesn't come to him the same way living things do but messages do get across,, for example I know enough American sign language to get across short sentences because of a deaf coworker. Thank you for indulging me.

I love this idea.

I was already planning something like this once the crew is back together in Sabaody. Since Luffy spent the two years apart training his Haki.

I think he can get cage feelings from the sword in the beginning since Wado has a bigger personality. Even as early as Shell town. But at the time Wado was very angry at anyone touching her since she didn’t know that Luffy was taking her to Zoro.

He thinks she either A) dislikes him or B) begrudgingly accepts him as Zoro’s captain. But again he’s not in tune to the sword or knows that it has a full spirit. He’s just going off of the vibe he got when he first touched it.

Pre time skip I think he would only be able to feel her if he was touching her. Which is very rare.

Post time skip he’s got much better at observation and listening to the voice of all things. He can hear her far better. Again he can’t hear everything or hear her all the time. The closer he is to her the clearer her voice is, but he won’t hear her 100% unless he’s touching her. He gets vague feelings and hears certain cry’s/sayings. It’s like listening to people walking by you. You hear snippets of the conversation but not the whole context.

Her devotion to him is both surprising and not. It’s Zoro’s oldest sword of course she would feel like him.

The question is does Zoro know that Luffy can hear his sword? She calls Luffy “their king” because all of Zoro’s swords reflect him in some way shape or form. But Wado reflects his dreams and desires, his heart. And she calls out to Luffy a lot. And I don’t know how he would respond to thinking that Luffy can hear the sword.

Cause youn know Luffy will bring it up casually like “your sword talks funny sometimes”

And Zoro is left to wonder if Luffy heard the whole conversation? Has he heard every conversation?

No he heard Wado call an enemy a mean nickname (probably one he came up with) and then talk about how they had to win for “their king.” He approved of the whole exchange but that the only part he heard.

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #zolu #one piece zolu #wado ichimonji #Wado ichimonji POV

[moongothic]

Hi! Just found your blog and I'm having a blast reading through your Croc theories and analysis, they're great! I wanted to ask you what you make of Croc's last manga appearance (I think), where Buggy announces he wants to be Pirate King. Just before that Croc mentions they need power and influence to form their utopia. It bugs me. Operation Utopia was your typical bad guy plot, but now he's still going on about that? What's that about? What idea of utopia could Mihawk and Croc possibly share??

I mean the OG Operation Utopia was simply about creating a military nation powerful enough to oppose the World Government, Crocodile explained it during the Alabasta arc explicitly. And the reason he targetted Alabasta specifically was because he believed Pluton would be there which would make his military nation unstopable.

So it's not entirely shocking Crocodile still wants to create that military force, even if he's given up on the Ancient Weapon part.

What bothers me is:

Why did Crocodile wait two whole years until he made his first move at restarting his Utopia Plans?

Why does he want that military force to begin with?

Like the easy answer for 1) would be that Crocodile had to wait for his turn to become plot-relevant again and was simplying enjoying his vacation in the meantime. Like considdering the shit happening during Dressrosa, Whole Cake and Wano, having Crocodile start his BS early would've been a distraction storywise frankly and Oda had enough balls to juggle at once with those sagas. But also, it is odd Crocodile hasn't done ANYTHING ahead of time to start rebuilding a new military force, like. He had two whole years, what the fuck was he doing then? Why wait that long just to start??

And I can only assume... he was waiting? For something?

Let's think about what has changed in the world of OP between Dressrosa and now, like the big, key events that impact the whole world:

Luffy has not just returned to the pirating scene after two years but has caused a fuck ton of world-shaking chaos in the New World (becoming an Emperor being simply the latest big thing)

Reverie happened

The Revolutionaries attacked Marijoa for the first time

The Shichibukai System was demolished

And there's two things we can kind of take-away from these.

If Crocodad Real, Crocodile watching his son take the spotlight could've inspired the man to move; the WG would want to target his baby boy and thus becoming an intentional distraction could be his goal here. Alternatively, hearing that his ex Finally Did Something could've made Crocodile be like "fuck I'm not losing to Dragon" and inspired him to actually make a move himself.

OR. Perhaps the end of the Shichibukai System is what got Crocodile to actually make a move? Because there's two things; One, he was able to make a very powerful ally very fast when Mihawk became a target for the WG. It's possible Crocodile might've been waiting for an opportunity like that, to recruit someone reasonable, reliable and extremely capable to make his own future endevours easier. Two. Because Crocodile gave all his money to fucking Buggy, it's possible Croc could've been broke these past two years. But knowing Buggy's now lost his Shichibukai Rights, THAT may have been why Crocodile decided to go get his money back when he did. Because if/when Buggy decided to skedaddle and disappear into the wind, there'd be no way for him to get his money back anymore, right.

OR. It could be all of these things together. The planets aligned and Crocodile saw now was the time to make his move. Maybe. IDK.

And then we get to 2, Why Does He Want To Create That Military Nation To Begin With

And I have no idea

I mean there's the whole Romancing SaGa 2 thing, but while that would work as proof of Crocodile's motivations, it doesn't explain particularly why he wants to destroy the WG. Like not that you need a personal motivation considdering what the WG is like, but without the motivation it's hard to tell if it's for World Domination or something else.

Though if Crocodad Real then it'd sound very reasonable if he was very intentionally trying to fuck with the World Government to protect his son by

trying to put a target on his own back and act as a distraction

take down as many Marines as possible to dwindle down the enemy forces (making it harder for the WG to make moves on anyone)

lowkey assisting Dragon if he wanted to mayhaps attack Marijoa again if he's actually up to doing something now

just prepare for a war against the WG

Or any combo of the above.

Like. I dunno man Crocodad really would just explain so much

But it all remains to be seen

#Moon posting #Asks #Sir Crocodile #Crocodad #Cross Guild #OP Spoilers #OP Meta #Long post #I had been wanting an excuse to write about ''why did Croc wait so long to start Cross Guild'' so I took that opportunity now #God knows I'd never remember to do so otherwise lmao

[mayzi33]

TWS gang, please, hear me out.

So, I still got wingfeathers in the brain (I'm starting to think I may never get rid of it...) and one of my favorite fairytales has always been Beauty And The Beast.

Since exams week has been draining me, why not come up with another thing to daydream about?

I present you... The-Wingfeather-Saga-Beauty-And- The-Beast AU!

The Jewels And The Beast for short.

Or Jewels and The Cloven.

Or Jewels and The Birdman.

You'll see.... Just bear with me.

I'm debating in whetever Esben or Artham should be the "beast". In one hand, it would make sense for it to be Esben since he's all bear-like but I would also like it to be Artham since we have more information about him and what he's like. But either way, the "Beauty" is none other than our favorite jewels, Janner, Kalmar and Leeli.

Here's the idea: so, the kids still live with Podo and Nia in Glipwood. However, in the Glipwood forest, there's an abandoned castle. (Bonus points if Artham is the "beast" cause then it could be Peet's castle only bigger and creepier) Podo goes on a trip for whatever reason, and ends up being taken by the oh-so-horrible beast of Glipwood. Danny, the horse, comes back to the Igiby cottage where Nia and the kids get nerve struck when they find the horse without its rider. Nia leaves to get help to find Podo leaving the kids alone, and one thing leads to another, they decided to go to the forest by themselves to rescue their grandpa because main characters moment. There, they meet the "beast", and bargain to stay as prisioners in Podo's place. Podo obviously tries to fight, but ends up having to flee, leaving the kids as captives in the castle.

The "talking objects" are the Glipwooders, plus a few other characters from other regions. We got Oskar, who's a book, (are you surprised) and basically takes the role of Cogsworth. We also got Addie and Joe, Maraly, Sara, Thron, Rudric and others. (No, I haven't thought of what objects they would all be, sorry. You can suggest in the comments tho!) As the story goes by, it focuses mainly on the kids bonding with either beast! Esben or beast! Artham, and teaching about kindness and stuff. The "rose" would be a set of three actual jewels, that may or may not represent the kids themselves. Meanwhile Gnag, will be the one to take the role as Gaston. Unlike in TWS, Gnag will pretend to be the good guy and the whole town loves him, (like Gaston and the villagers) so when Nia and Podo announce that the kids have been captured by a beast, he will try to play the hero and claiming he will "rescue them". However, what Nia Podo and the Glipwooders don't know, is that Gnag is the one who helped to turn Esben or Artham into a beast in the first place, along with the Stone Keepers (who take the role of the Enchantress). Gnag knows that Janner, Tink and Leeli are the Jewels Of Anniera, and has only been waiting for the right moment to strike, to capture them and begin his plan on taking over Skree, the Hollows, and the lost Shining Isle, which everyone believes to only be a legend.

Anyways that's all I got for now.

Maybe I'll write a small fic or something on that in the future...

Maybe.

Thank you for reading my rambling!

#the wingfeather saga #the wingfeather saga au #janner wingfeather #kalmar wingfeather #leeli wingfeather #artham wingfeather #esben wingfeather #nia wingfeather #podo helmer #oskar reteep #sara cobbler #maraly weaver #thron o'sally #beauty and the beast #beauty and the beast au #fairy tales #disney

[vixendoesstuff]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

ALRIGHT, SO-

World Tour, where (please excuse my language) shit hits the fan, for real. My notes on this saga is hectic and convoluted, so I'll try to make some sense of it for this post. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the askbox or my DM's, whichever you prefer.

I wanted to do bullet points for this, but maybe most Tumblr users prefer to read long paragraphs than bullet points, since my posts not having bullet points do better? IDK, I've only been on Tumblr for like, a year at best so forgive this soul for her cluelessness lol.

And also, depending on how much I've typed, I might have to split this saga into three parts, 'cause I know y'all don't actually want to read a really long post that took up three scrolls wide lol.

Anyway--let's start this crazy train.

So, the story begins the same way as it is in the movie--opening shot with Cloud Guy giving a quick recap about the first movie, and then the next shot panning towards the Techno Trolls (ay, Branch's tribe, let's go!). Unfortunately, the amount of screentime (or appearance in this case) they got here minimal, since we're focusing on Branch and co.

But anyway, same thing happened, King Trollex hosting the rave, Barb barges in demanding his string and destroyed Techno Reef to get him to comply, same old. Poor guy, honestly, he just wanted to vibe.

Next shot pans to Pop Village, same thing there. Everyone is smiling and singing and dancing (with Techno!Branch joining in, look at that! Since he can't extend his hair like everyone else, he relies on acrobatics and just generally hang onto someone ((mostly Poppy)) whenever they swing on the trees with their hair). Branch tries to confess his love to Poppy, but got friendzoned unintentionally by her (ouch). Then Barb's bat pet thing comes in, and King Peppy's history lesson.

They're not the only ones here in this world. There are other trolls out there; Pop, Hard Rock, Classical, Country, Funk, and Techno.

This is where it gets interesting. At this point in time, Branch has all but accepted that he's possibly the only Troll in the village that looks the way he does. That he's the only one that ever existed in the world. It's why he and Cooper has a sort of closer bond with eachother in this AU : different Troll (tribe, but not that they knew this yet) solidarity. Sure, he was curious once, like how come is egg was in the Troll Tree, why does he look different, ect. But now he's more than content with his current predicament. He has friends now, something to look foward to; he was happy, after so long.

But now with the news that there are other Trolls out there, different from the rest, his past yearning came back to life. And while King Peppy hadn't said it outright, his lack of words all but confirmed Branch's suspicions. That he's not the only one out there. And from what he saw in the scrapbook, he can pinpoint which one of the tribes he supposedly belongs to; Techno.

Then we cut to when Poppy packs up to leave and got caught by Branch. The same argument happens, with the addition of Poppy saying that because there are different Trolls out there, then shouldn't Branch be curious about them? Who knows, maybe there's a tribe that looks exactly like him! Branch refuted by saying that, even if there was a tribe just for him, how would he connect to them? He's been living as a "Pop Troll" his whole life, what connection can he form with these hypothetical Trolls (identity issues go brrr)? What if they found out that he's gone Grey for almost all his life? If the Pop Trolls, who has known him since he was born, didn't react well to his whole Grey-ness; what are the chances his own kind would react badly to the news? Or worse, reject him outright.

Before he could go on, boom! Cooper appears from the shadows and said something like, "That's not how you really think, ain't it Branch?". They were surprised he's there, and then they exchange some more dialouge sort of expressing Branch's concern about not fitting in with his hypothetical tribe out there, and shed some light on Coopers concern as well about wanting to find you who you really, and even if you don't fit in atleast you know the truth now, that sort of stuff. IDK, I'm not great at writing angst, lol.

Anyway, after some convincing from Poppy, Branch relented and decides to accompany her (even if he denies it, he wants to know if his people is out there). Cooper also wants to come along, and while Branch refuses for his own safety, Poppy allows it in the condition that he sticks with them at all times. So, the three sets of to explore the entire Troll Kingdom, to "reunite" all the tribes and make one big party at Queen Barb's World Tour.

Little did they know just what kinds of trouble they'll encounter on their journey.

Woah, plot twist, Cooper actually comes along instead of going on a solo journey this time around! He replaces Biggie in this! What a shocker! Shocked emoji!

Admitedly, while it's funny the first time, Cooper's solo adventure is... I don't wanna be too rude about it, but it's sort of unnecessary in the big run? I mean, not entirely unnecessary, but like, if you remove that and just have him go along with Poppy and co., nothing major would change. He'd still be reunited with his family in Vibe City, except this time he'll have a first time reaction to the history of the Strings and see the truth of it, y'know what I mean?

But anyway, Poppy, Branch and Cooper's gonna explore the world of other genres. I don't think much will change with his inclusion, but the reactions will be far more varied, me thinks. Stay tuned for the next part, 'cause wow did not expect this part of the series to be so convoluted lol.

Also I had wanted to include some scene redraws from the movie with new implemented elements for this AU, but artblock is gripping me tight and college is starting soon, so I won't have much time to draw than I do write. So, yeah, hope y'all don't mind lol. I'll definitely do some artwork for this AU in the future though, believe it!

Until next time!

#reason why biggie isnt here #its cause cooper noticed the cotton candy pile is noticably diminished #so he went to check it out #and lo and behold #biggie was there #he was easily conviced to not comr along with them #not that he wanted to in the first place #by the condition that he tells peppy whats going on and not to worry #and in the meantime set up some defences to defend the village from a possible attack #he wouldnt be wrong to do so later on #winky face #branch trolls #trolls #techno!branch au #trolls world tour #trolls poppy #trolls cooper #trolls king peppy #trolls barb #trolls king trollex

[imthebadguyyy]

on his tongue

synopsis • after the whole thigh riding in the car saga, lewis decides his car should be home to even more adventures with you.

pairing • lewis hamilton x reader

fandom • f1

warnings • smut, oral (fem receiving), dirty talk, car sex.

a/n • can be read as a sequel to this or on its own! enjoy my loves ; )

honestly, you really needed to stop getting into such situations.

yet again, here you were, dress hiked up to your thighs, lips pressed messily to lewis' in the backseat of his car while your hips ground together in sync, soft gasps and moans leaving your mouth while growls left his.

lewis' hands trailed up and down your body, letting his hands trace over your exposed thighs, smirking when he felt your thighs quiver. it was no secret that he loved pleasing you. it was an ego boost for him to make you feel good, to know that he was the one making you feel that ecstatic.

he licks your cheek playfully, a permanent smile etched into his face. his hand slides further up your body until he reaches the lacy fabric of your bra. he squeezes gently, and elicits a soft sound from your lips, that to him sound as sweet as cherry wine.

while he slips his tongue into your mouth, he pulls at the edge of your bra until his hand comes into contact with your bare chest. you moan again, a little louder than you’d care to admit. but you reason, that as his hips drag against yours, he doesn’t mind. he doesn’t mind at all.

your senses have been reduced to a jumbled mess, mind running as he works your body in every which way. with his tongue halfway down your throat, he starts to grind upwards, all while rolling your nipple in between his thumb and index finger.

the radio changes the song, and the first few notes of girls needs love start floating through the car and your neck arches backwards.

but then the first new notes of the bass drum hit, and lewis begins humming along into the expanse of your throat. you feel the vibrations deep down in the pit of your tummy from his voice, and your head tilts back further. the rocking of your hips against each other begins to follow the beat.

your hand glides up his chest and grabs him by the chin until his mouth meets yours in another bruising kiss. "i hope you know that if you need dick you just need to ask" he smirks and you chuckle. "i do. now why don't you just shut up and prove you really do know what youre doing?"

you pull him back down onto you, nails digging into the flesh of his back as the other dips beneath the waistband of his pants, running along the base of his spine, feeling the goosebumps break across his skin as you do.

he bucks up into you then, hands holding your hips still as he stiffens against you. "you’re fucking sexy, ya know that?" he says, accompanies with another slow, hard roll of his pelvis. "so. fucking. sexy."

it’s at that moment when summer walkers voice fades out into a dull bass filled beat, reverberating in your ears. you hear the bass over the sounds of your combined pants, and it's when you suck very gently on his top lip that lewis decides to take charge. letting go of your hips, he lifts the hem of your dress raising it off your torso and over your head.

although it takes him seconds, it feels like it takes an eternity, as lewis travels down the valley of your breasts, down to your stomach where he stops, and licks slow circles around your belly button until you shudder almost continually. his tongue dips into your belly button and your foot jerks. his mouth travels lower.

you can't imagine how uncomfortable he must be. stuck between the driver's seat and the backseat, supported by his hand and his leg that hangs onto the floor. you really want to pity him, but you simply don’t have it in you. especially when he looks at you like that, mouth red and hot against your skin.

it burns like coals against you, as he breathes hot air onto the sensitive skin of your inner thigh.

he takes a minute to settle down, to become eye-level with your clothed cunt, while maintaining a cozy sort of closeness. once again, he gently strokes the waistband of your panties, and, with expert fingers—ones that have done this to you a thousand times— eyeing the dark red wine colour of your underwear.

"i don't know if i tell you often", he moans into your thigh with squinted eyes. "but you’re the prettiest fucking person ive ever seen" he bites the flesh of your hip. "prettiest fucking thing ive ever seen" he repeats, and your heart thuds at an irregular pace against your chest as you watch him. slow, then fast, hard and then non-existent, all at once. its overpowering, mind-numbing and scary. but it's also exhilarating in the best way possible.

your mind slows down so much you feel as though youre moving backwards through time. the thought of what you think is going to happen has you panting again.

"now you know the rule" he starts, pressing another kiss into your skin, this time even lower. he tilts your hips up just a bit higher, so that way they’re level with his nose; eyes just barely peeking over your mound. He inhales sharply. "you have to be as loud as you can or i stop. just please, fuck, please don’t hold back on me" he whispers.

and with that reminder, he’s diving in. you feel his tongue slip out, softly licking at your already swollen clit, and you realize this feeling is unlike anything. it's heaven and it's hell, it's sanity and insanity, and you love it. your chest falls hard with every aggressive rise, and the more it obscures your view of lewis the more you adjust yourself so that way it doesn’t. you want to see him.

his mouth wraps around your clit and he gently sucks at it, his chin grazing your hole as his tongue explores the familiar territory.

he continues with his ministrations, pulling soft moans out of you. it's a melody, a harmony. a symphony of low groans and raw moans and desperate whines leave your lips. each and every noise; every perfectly composed addition gives way to how your pleasure builds. "fu—oh, my god, lewis" you manage to gasp out, remembering his rule, head pressing against the leather seats.

he’s barely touched you. hasn’t even quite moved on from your clit, and yet? you’re a fucking mess. your breathing is uneven, and your heart is erratic. its a dizzying experience everytime he sucks on your clit. he alternates, tightening the control on his lips or flattening his tongue. he holds the reigns in one hand and your heart in the other. its an intriguing thought, one that is full of both annoyance and extreme pride that lewis—your lewis, can get you this worked up in a matter of minutes.

your legs feel heavy against his shoulders, knees buckling from the pleasure. the noises that come from him are pornographic, to say the least. obscene and dirty, muffled by your puffy lips. you can tell he loves it.

"you’re doing great, pretty girl. so fucking good" he growls into your pussy, lapping at your juices.

"you taste sweeter than candy" he groans, and you can feel him move against you; further down until his broad nose hits your clit and his tongue teases the outside of your entrance.

completely disregarding the energy floating in the air, he keeps at a leisurely pace. concentrated on keeping you on edge. it's almost as of he's drunk off of you. from the way your eyes glaze over to the way you taste. just completely intoxicated by you.

then suddenly he’s mouthing at your cunt, tongue dipping into your aching hole with fervour. it's familiar territory for him, an area he's memorized so he knows exactly what makes you feel good, what makes you jerk, what makes you tick. about your reactions. about your ethereal sounds. as much as his brain can take. he’s edging you, fucking you on his tongue as you melt like putty at his experienced touch.

an unexpected high-pitched moan escapes your swollen mouth, and your breath gets caught in your throat. "holy fuck, lewis! ah—fuck, just, you’re…right there" your hands clutch the leather between your fingers, and you're pretty sure you've ripped a hole in the leather. a familiar warmth pools in your tummy, fingers running through his hair in response, scratching at his scalp and pulling his braids roughly.

that gets him. its that action that has him faltering for the first time. his hips, which have been subconsciously grinding into the leather seat, stutter, and he stops completely.

the veins in his arms strain and protrude and you almost cum right there. its a tantalizing sight. one that makes you hot and bothered, and you can tell from the way his body twitches that he feels the same way.

you yank on his hair again, and with a loud groan he jerks up into you. a dangerous glint gleams in his eyes as he shoots up to yours and he lifts himself off of you. "you’re playing a dangerous game, darling"

he crawls up your body, dragging his wet tongue over every crevice and dip. he leaves a thick trail of your arousal in his wake. I

his tongue swirls along your ribs, the place where you’re most ticklish, and it reveals his favourite sound in the world - your laugh. over the curve of your breast, covered with hickeys and bites, marks from previous endeavours. and then finally right above your heart. where he lives, where he loves and can be loved. his home.

he sucks a mark into your chest before moving onto your lips, pressing chaste kisses to your lips.

his fingers prod your sodden hole, before they will inside. you gasp at the intrusion, hips bucking up into his fingers.

he slides another finger into you, scissoring until you're shaking above him. his fingers inch deeper, trying to find that spot, while his mouth sinks down onto your nipple, biting the pert flesh until you gasp brokenly.

his fingers work in tandem with his mouth and then for a moment everything goes blank.

he finds that spot. that one spot within you that makes you see stars and releases the anchor that holds you down as you gush on his fingers, with a scream of his name that melts into the music.

lewis finger fucks you through your orgasm, eyes trained on your face and how your mouth is agape and eyes are glossy and you struggle to stop shaking.

"thats it baby, nice and slow, such a good girl" he coos, now pressing gentle kisses to your collarbone and your nose simultaneously.

you come down from your high, and he comes up to sit back down on the seats.

"see, that wasn't so hard was it?" he says and you slap his arm playfully.

"it cant have been comfortable for you" you say, leaning back on his chest.

"it wasn't all that comfortable that's true. maybe you should repay me with, something else, hmm?"

"on it, sir"

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

TAGS - *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

a/n • maybe i should make this car sex series a thing 🤭 as always feedback comments reblogs etc are appreciated! i love you guys!

masterlist

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[imsickofpasswords]

A theory of the Ineffable Plan.

By elsamirrre5322 on YouTube

Realistic_Street1312 on Reddit

ParkSeo-Jun on Fandom

Imsickofpasswords on Tumblr

(Yes, all me!)

Book of Genesis 1–11: And God said: 'Let us make man in our image"

From Neil Gaiman’s MAster Class: When you tell a story, it is crucial that you completely believe in what you're writing

Hi, Good Omens's fellow victims! Like so many, I have been trying to cope with Eternity (I mean the dreadful period between season 2 and, either season 3, or my personal Armageddon.) That rotting brain of mine came up with a theory regarding the message that Good Omens (book and show) is striving to convey. What is it that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman believe in so hard, as human beings and writers, that they want the whole world to understand it? Well, what I found, whether or not it is accurate, is at least beautiful. So I wish to share it with you.

Before I begin and you accuse me of pedantry, know that my every sentence begins with an invisible imho.

***

Since there is no way around it, I'll talk about the ship and the cruel, heart-wrenching, forever traumatizing, law-should-forbid-that-kind-of-things, cliffhanger. No matter how hard I think, this ship is the most beautiful love story ever (yes, imho). Is it because it doesn't involve burning passion, emphatic confessions and great sacrifices? It's about beings who harbor the same inner values but underwent such different trials that their personalities ended up diametrically opposed. Their love (and loneliness) pulls them together and allows them to rub off on each other, but they still retain their identities and won't go against their principles for the sake of the relationship. In the fight, they both proposed to each other, I mean proposed, like, let’s get married. And neither of them got rejected. They both wanted to be together, and made that part perfectly clear. What they declined was the terms of the contract. Either Crowley going back to pretending he trusts Heaven’s institution, or Aziraphale abandoning his faith. They both expect to be loved for who they truly are and believe in. And of course, this is exactly what they will achieve… True love instead of the illusion of love. First prediction in my Silly and Hopeful Book Of Prophecies.

***

Having taken the mammoth out of the room, I’ll explain my theory.

Whilst reading the book, I realized that the original story was never that of Aziraphale and Crowley (worry not, I have plenty to say about them…). It was that of Adam (originally, William the Antichrist) and the Them. More than that, it’s a saga about humanity achieving its full potential.

***

God

Of course, we should begin with God, since God created humanity, the universe(s) and the rules by which everyone and everything must abide. So. Who is God? Well if I could answer that, I'd probably know how to make a whale. I don't know how to make a whale. But certainly there are things we know, or can guess about God.

First, she (I’m a woman and it makes me obscenely happy to write “she” here) is the narrator. Second, she does not play dice with the universe. The first fact means that God can see everything, down to an angel and a demon drinking solidly for two hours, or a nightingale singing in Berkeley square. Second statement means there is no such thing as chance or hazard in that universe of hers. Everything happens for a reason.

It sounds like God wrote everything, everyone's destiny, like Gaiman and Pratchett did for their characters. Crowley says so himself. Humanity, Aziraphale, Crowley, everybody, they are all characters in the book called The Great Plan.

I think God injected herself in her own story under the disguise of Agnes Nutter. Only God can always be right.

So, here we have Gaiman and Pratchett hiding behind God, and God hiding behind Agnes Nutter. The Bible turned into The Great Plan, and then into a book of prophecies.

But what kind of person is God? Is She compassionate, loving, merciful? Yes. I firmly believe that. Err… Wait. Same God that drowned almost everybody, goats included, and wanted to kill Job's children… and goats!

“When his life was ruined, his family killed, his farm destroyed, Job knelt down on the ground and yelled up to the heavens, "Why God? Why me?" and the thundering voice of God answered, "There's just something about you that pisses me off.”

― Stephen King, Storm of the Century.

Yes. Same God who never failed to prove herself a master torturer, a mass murderer and a serial killer in a single package. How do I reconcile both sides? Death… is only temporary! I mean, Jesus could bring Lazarus back, Adam resurrected a fuckton of people, and Crowley easily performed miracle escapes. Maybe death isn't the terrible thing we think it is… (except for Nazis? But Nazis aren’t really human, are they?) As for Job's children and goats, God knew that Crowley was around, up to no evil…

Having said that, I remember Stephen King writing something else. Whoever remembers that quote, let me know. Something like this: " If God created everything, then It must rule over both Good and Evil. If It only rules over Good, then there must be someone who rules over it all. I’ll worship that someone as the actual Almighty."

I agree. Good and Evil are like two faces of a coin. Death introduced Itself as the shadow of Creation and states “I’m neither of Hell, nor Heaven”. Evil must be the shadow of Good. And everything is a part of God.

***

The Adams

No, not the family, come on! What would they be doing here? Ah, attending the Second Coming. Come to think of it, it's indeed the kind of event they wouldn’t want to miss…

Anyway, their name is spelled Addams and I’m actually talking about the two Adams of the story. Old Adam, who ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden, and young Adam (I mean Adam Young) who steals apples in the garden of his neighbor. As I see it, they are allegories of Humanity.

As Crowley said, most universes come pre-aged, while this one will be allowed to grow. In the same way, Humanity is a species that will be allowed to grow. What ever for? Entertain God? Eternity does sound boring. Certainly a God could use a good laugh once in a while… But Nah. What do people do when they're bored with their lives? Hint: not their best idea? They have children! (or pets. Pets is a good idea…)

At the beginning, Adam and Eve are all of Humanity. They can't tell good from evil as they haven't experienced anything yet. Despite looking like full grownups, they are still babies. Crowley designed, not a star factory, but a fancy wallpaper indeed, for… a nursery.

Now, how is Baby Humanity supposed to grow? Crowley! Good ol’ Crowley! His temptation is the first opportunity to exercise free will. It’s the first lesson and the reason why the apple isn't at the top of a mountain or on the Moon. Choose for yourself, and see what happens. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve don't actually get any knowledge of right or wrong. The first sin marks the beginning of the teenage rebellion that is necessary to grow beyond what was taught. Everything that comes after is like an initiation rite. A six-thousand year long initiation rite with angels and demons along the way as teachers and… the end of the world as a final test.

At the end of season one, Adam Young is back to being human. He represents Humanity at a later stage. An almost fully grown humanity that has learnt a lot (too much?) about free will. Once again, it takes Crowley’s intervention (just slightly motivated by the idea of Aziraphale’s threat never to talk to him again…) to push Adam towards the right path. Note that I didn’t write the good path. I meant the right path, the one that wasn't created for him even before he was born, I mean the path he made for himself.

The main difference between Old Adam and Adam Young deserves to be stressed here. Adam Young’s education was provided by other humans, his parents, his friends, Anathema… It means in 198X any random human is that evolved, already. The question is, how did Humanity reach this level of knowledge? And power?

Yes, power. Armageddon was stopped by… whom exactly? Humans! Humans only. Anathema, Newt, the Them. Meanwhile, Aziraphale and Crowley were gonna kill the Antichrist, a kid! A KID! And who stopped them? Madame Tracy, a stupid (I’m not the one saying), psychic, Jezebel-of-Babylon with a good heart. A nobody? No. A human.

***

The education of Humanity.

Let's stop to notice that Crowley and Aziraphale are adoptive parents from the get go, watching the kids anxiously from afar, wondering if they actually fulfilled their respective mission as an angel and a demon, not knowing that having kids goes way beyond giving them toys and feeding them applesauce. It's a life sentence. Your kids will always call you at ungodly hours, seeking comfort after a nightmare, no matter how grown up they are. There’s no escaping to Alpha Centauri, and forgetting about them!

What I find interesting is who Aziraphale and Crowley are, and how meaningful it would have been if God had actually chosen them to be the Godfathers of Humanity.

Crowley is the one who questions everything, right? And how does one learn? Through questions. Those who have children know what I'm talking about (no wonder God won't raise her kids herself, being humans or Jesus🙄). It is often said that Science (Man-made god) replaced God. And how does science work? Yes, questions again ! Goddamn, annoying, neverending, pain-in-the-neck questions… Curiosity is the first tool. It's curiosity Crowley injected into Eve, to tempt her into eating the apple.

Crowley is also the one who would suggest a suggestion box. Because he has… IMAGINATION…(here, you need to picture Aziraphale turning a turnip into… an INKWEEEELL… ). IMAGINATIOOOON…. That ability is very, very important. Should I say paramount? God being a writer, possibly a mixture of Pratchett and Gaiman, she can only treasure imagination. Imagination is what created Good Omens. Imagination is what allowed Crowley to stay in his burning car. It was Adam's tool to change reality. Human imagination brought War, Famin and Pollution to life and it's human imagination again, that of three quite ordinary kids, that destroyed them. Not a flaming sword, not an angel, not a demon, mere humans gifted with imagination. And free will. Gifts from a fairy godmother named Crowley.

Aziraphale? Aziraphale didn’t come empty-handed either.

Was he just passing by, fortuitously, when Crowley called out for help? Is it pure coincidence that they created the universe together in a no-sex-involved-whatsoever fashion? I mean, the higher-ups designed universes, universes, man! Big, complicated, extremely sophisticated things, but they couldn’t think of a system that’d be set into motion by a single angel? Come on… And was it just a hazard that Crowley and Aziraphale ended up together on Earth, with the mission of thwarting each other? (Balancing each other?)

No dice. What, then? Crowley is the darker shades of gray. Aziraphale is the lighter part of the spectrum. And God knows that. God knows that Aziraphale isn't as white as he looks, although he does look very white. How does she know that? Because she checked. And several times, if I were to guess. God sees everything. And yet, she asked Aziraphale what happened to the flaming sword. When he lied his way out, she could have punished him, but she just went quiet. She wanted to know 1) if he would lie, if he would dare stand up to Her to protect the children, and 2) if he would trust his inner compass.

Aziraphale has other strong suits. He’s very gay and bubbly, and fluffy, and fun, and embarrassing, and endearing, and adorable, and… yes, I’m in love with him, say you aren’t. At the same time, he is quite strong-minded and aware of being Crowley’s soft spot. He can have his demon do things to please him (to a certain extent), with just a cute glance or a frown. He is Crowley’s anchor.

What’s more, Aziraphale is very conservative, and not just where fashion and music are concerned. He has unwavering faith in God (I mean God, not the institution of Heaven) and nothing, not his love for Humanity, not his love for crêpes, not even his love for Crowley (not sure about the order here), will change that.

Last but not least, our favorite angel is intelligent. (Since it’s Pratchett and Gaiman saying so, it must be true.) He is the ONLY one to point out the existence of the Ineffable Plan. And the ONLY one to figure that it might diverge from the Great Plan. Without the need to hear it, he feels what the ineffable plan is. And that’s why he trusts God. Although he is able to admit the error of his ways, I don’t think he’ll be doing the "you were right” dance this time around. Third prediction. (Boy, do I wish that one isn’t accurate…)

Aziraphale and Crowley were chosen as godfathers because, together, they are the perfect balance, they are black and white and the entire spectrum in between. And somewhere in this spectrum is the most important thing in the universe. Although the ingredients may have been the same, I don't think Aziraphale and Crowley were created with the same recipe as the other angels. Neil just revealed on Tumblr that Aziraphale and Crowley together are a circle. They are perfection. This circle is what God wants for her children. A mind that has no beginning and no end, a God-like mind.

Aziraphale and Crowley intuitively know that. It’s the reason why they turn into an evil nanny and a good-hearted gardener, in hope their combined influences will make a real human being out of the Antichrist. It’s easy for them. Because, this is what they’ve been doing from the beginning! They spent their entire time on Earth playing the nanny and the gardener! For not one kid, but for all Humanity as a youngster. Aziraphale and Crowley are masters at it and it’s thanks to them that Humanity has learnt so much. Pay attention, it looks like they didn't do much, in the end, to prevent Armageddon. But they raised the kids who prevented Armageddon. Of course, the ineffable husbands got some help.

Earlier, I mentioned angels and demons being teachers. They’re all doing the same job, infusing humanity with both Good and Evil through temptations and blessing, having them make choices and watch the outcome. Here, I must say that in the story, (and in History) it feels like demons have all the easier parts, as their pupils seem to always be way ahead of them, from pretty much the beginning. “Yes, always this easy”.

“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.” ― Terry Pratchett.

When Crowley creates the universe, what comes first? Darkness. He has to summon light into it to reveal the marvels it contains. Are humans like that? Darknesses that require some light (not too much, otherwise they’d go as blind as angels) to unravel their actual beauty? So. Angels bring light. And demons just have to make sure the darkness stays into place? Something like that. But… if angels and demons are both working towards God’s plan, how is it they keep bickering? Stop. Is there a scene, a single scene where they actually argue? I can’t remember a single one… They all want the same thing. Get the bloody job done so everyone can call it a day and go home.

Why then were demons demoted and casted away? Crowley doesn’t even seem to understand what happened to him…

I guess it’s time I talk about the rebellion and the fall.

***

The Principal

The Principal? Who’s that? The one above the teachers, of course! The Metatron!

THAT Metatron… You want to kill him right now, don’t you? You want to peel off his skin with a blunt knife, you… wait, he doesn’t have a skin… and he probably can’t die anyway. You want to drink his soul with the tiniest straw? Tie him to a chair in front of episodes of Dora the explorer? I feel you.

Not sure if the Metatron has a counterpart. In the novel, his counterpart is Beelzebub, but it doesn’t feel like they’re playing in the same league. I mean… God’s voice, right?

There is a theory going around in the fandom that the Metratron has been editing people's past/memories, using the Book of Life. That theory was written by an actual novelist and it did sway me. However, if it were completely true, it would probably bother me. First reason is I don't want what I already saw of Aziraphale and Crowley's first encounter to be fake, even in the slightest. Second reason is… If you have the power to edit people's lives, why be so subtle about it? Or does the Metatron think he can make surreptitious changes that God won't notice? Hm. I don't know. In the novel, The Book of Life doesn't exist. The one who can "arrange matters af is you never even existed" is Adam. Not sure if this goes against the theory or sustains it…

Here are my own theories. Plural. I gave that bastard a lot of thoughts. I’m afraid none of them involve the disparition of the eccles cakes, sorry.

At first, I had a theory in which the Metatron was instrumental in the rebellion and the fall. It went like this. The Metatron is the voice of God, the Spokesman, as Aziraphale put it. Only when God herself initiates a conversation do you get to talk to her directly. Otherwise, you have to go through the Metatron. (The reason why Crowly envies Job’s opportunity to at least "be able to ask the questions") The Metatron may decide to withhold your message AND answer whatever he wants. Could he have used his position to create a cleavage between God and some of her most powerful subjects? What for? To overthrow God and rule in her place. Demons were sent to Earth, of all the horrible places in such a vast universe, so they could draw strength from all the human souls they’d lure to Hell… So they would grow tougher, smarter and more dangerous.

But that doesn’t seem right. God can see everything, remember? Okay, she could be traveling between universes, leaving Metatrons behind, as governors. In that case, of course, things might happen that she doesn’t know of. Even so. She and Satan still talk to each other. They at least met once, when they made that bet about Job. Surely, any misunderstanding would have cleared up then? Besides, in the book, Crowley mentions talking directly to God, although She just smiled instead of answering. I don’t know. I do have another theory of the Metatron though. Way more simple. Everything was set up by God.

God needed teachers for her children, but with angels being all good, better and best, the kids would only have learnt half what they were supposed to know. Besides, how would they make choices? They would just become angels as well. Obedient, boring, sickeningly good angels. God has that already. So, how did God trigger the rebellion? By using the Metatron.

Let‘s take a moment to think about who, or should I say what the Metatron is. He is a voice. All he knows is what God can say. He is oblivious of everything God cannot or doesn’t want to say. By definition, he is that one part of God that can never be aware of the ineffable plan.

I came to think of the Metatron as an AI, with flawless logic. If SF has taught us anything, it’s that any purely logical mind would want to eradicate humanity, seeing it for the nuisance it is. The Metatron must think that God made a mistake. Maybe God went nuts? Eternity with Elgar… it kind of gets at you after a while… Luck of the devil, the Metatron is there to save the day! What’s that universe where angels go around falling in love with each other, anyway? Nonsense! It's all because of humans' malfunctioning minds.

The Metatron’s sacred duty is to destroy humanity, if it is the last thing he does. To achieve that, he sees to it that a certain number of angels go rogue. Then he sends them to Earth so when the second war breaks out, the entire human race will go as collateral damage. In this case, the Metatron is the one who picked the evil teachers. He did the dirty job, unbeknownst to himself.

Another scenario is that the Metratron has nothing to do with the rebellion and is only striving to stick to the Great Plan, after Armageddon went sideways. In that case, God herself picked the teachers.

In both cases, the question is, was there actually a war? We all noticed how vague Crowly is about the fall, even while talking to himself. "Next thing you know i'm going a million light-years, freestyle-dive into a pool of boiling sulfur." And he can’t remember the guys he is supposed to have fought alongside with. There is some memory tempering here, or I don’t know anything. Either no Great War at all, or a war without Crowley. My bet is a war without Crowley. I read something in the book, can't remember what exactly, but I jumped and said “There must have been an actual war!” Besides, one explanation for a disabled angel like Saraqael could be a war wound. I guess?

Crowley sounds like he loves God, as much as Aziraphale does. This scene, where he snakes around his executive chair, saying "You said you’d test them". Maybe it’s just me, but I read hurt and love in his eyes, love for the world? Love for Aziraphale? Love for God? The reason why Crowley is dead set against going back, isn't it because, or partially because he feels he was betrayed by the One he loved and trusted most? I don’t think Crowley could have gone against God and seriously, how much trouble can you get into, just for asking a few questions? But then, if you’re going to submit your questions to the Metatron, who can’t entertain the concept of a flaw in the system…

***

The final tests.

It's like shoving a knife into the heart of a cake to see if it is well cooked. There's no way around the knife I'm afraid. God needs to find out if her children are fully grown humans. But what does this mean for Her? What does it mean, should it mean, for any parent?

It should mean that the young adults are now able to think for themselves, elaborate strategies to survive on their own, fight and overcome whatever life will throw at them, and… become a better version of their parents.

This is no longer high school, lads. This is college. So exams come in two waves. Midterm. The students have to prevent/overcome/survive Armageddon. And they do.

Armageddon didn't happen. Free will happened. Adam refused to follow his predetermined path and asked both sides to stop meddling into people’s affairs so humans can start to think for themselves. His friends rejected the nightmarish world that was left to them as a legacy. Dog became his own dog and is probably playing hide and seek with cats right now. Anathema decided to stop living according to a book written by her ancestor, NO MATTER how useful and accurate the predictions.

Yet another message here. Don’t let people tell you who you are and what you’re supposed to do. Your life and every choice at every turn are yours to make.

Notice that both God and Agnes sort of vanish at the end of season one. Agnes’s book is burnt by Anathema, and God goes silent. As if something happened that changed the course of what was already written. It's like Adam said: what is written doesn't matter. You can always cross it out. The great plan stopped right there.

And the ineffable plan took over. The ineffable plan is written by human beings in a decade-long essay that will decide if they passed the final test or not. (Of course, they pass, the show is called Good omens! Another prediction, gosh I'm so good, this is beginning to scare me!).

At this point, I think God is satisfied already. I mean if God is a writer and her characters achieved enough self-awareness to write their own story, then… they're real! I suspect writers' secret dreams have always been just that. Playing gods, creating universes and bringing characters to life! Not as puppets, but as sentient beings who will do as they please once the author rests their pen (closes their laptop, let’s be modern… but without bebop). I'm sure Sir Pratchett, having tea with Death, is kicking his feet at this very moment, seeing how many fans have fallen in love with either Aziraphale or Crowley or both and are spending so much time imagining the rest of their adventures.

A clue in the book. When Anathema burns the second Book of Prophecies, the smoke takes the shape of a smiling Agnes who winks at the world. I will always wonder if anything was written in that so-called sequel… Agnes wrote her book for her descendants and God wrote the Great Plan for her children. They must both be very proud that their offspring have finally spread their wings!

Now Humanity has cut the strings and gone from puppet to real living being. And that's where the fun begins. Because there is more to being a human than meets the eye. And this is what season 3 will be about. Oh, I know, it doesn't seem like there is an invisible imho. It's because there isn't! XD

***

The Second Coming, or season 3.

The concept of the Second Coming confuses me a great deal. Because of Jesus. The story doesn't seem to really involve Jesus as we know him, the one and only, the miracle doer, the precious son of God. There is a Jesus who ends up on a cross, alright, but no one says anything about him being special or performing miracles or anything. At the same time, there is an Antichrist, miracles measured in lazari and a second coming ( of Christ, I presume?). I went and picked some people's minds on Reddit. They had several interesting opinions, involving the third baby, Greasy Johnson, Muriel being Jesus under cover, and angels not minding the boss's son who only got this far through nepotism.

We see Christ nailed to a cross in the opening credits of season 2 and we see him again on the banner of the resurrectionists. All this considered, it looks very much like Jesus will have something to say about what happens next. I hope not, for it would probably feel like a Deus ex machina to me. That said, I think that the most important thing about Jesus has already been stressed out, his message.

Anyway, Jesus or no Jesus, there should be, as mentioned in the Scriptures, mass extinction, resurrection, judgment and either punishment or reward. Unless… the Scriptures don't apply anymore, since the great plan went down the loo and the new writers certainly don't want to see the world go to ashes. Unless… Wait. Wait a sec. We're talking about… humans! Hh!!!! That's it. We're baked. Literally. Nice knowing you.💀

And so what? What if humans only achieve self-destruction? Their choice. At least they got to choose.

But that's not really what I expect from season 3. Again. Good Omens.

After not-Armageddon, humans were granted a little time to study further. What will they learn? I don't think there can be a not-Second Coming. That would really be underwhelming, not to say disappointing. There has to be a planet-size all-out war at the very least, with pupils going berserk against their teachers (serves them well for highjacking nuclear weapons designed by their students! ) Only when the teachers have bent both knees, can the students show… mercy, kindness, compassion.

Love?

Jesus's message was "be kind to each other". Neither angels nor demons know how to do that. Both are cruel, cold and unforgiving. Heaven wanted to kill Aziraphale just like Hell wanted to kill Crowley. God on the other hand, used Agnes's last prophecy to save them, from what would have been real death…

God is much more than the sum of her angels, Good and Evil. Mixing good and evil triggers a chemical reaction that is the actual secret recipe to God's purest, greatest form of power. Yes. Love.

Aziraphale and Crowley drew enough strength to perform a 25 lazari miracle because they became one AND risked everything to protect their former enemy. They showed compassion and granted forgiveness (not to mention hot cocoa!). Gabriel and Beelzebub only love each other. They're not perfect together. Aziraphale and Crowley grew feelings that go further and run deeper than just romantic love. They experienced and mastered every aspect of love.

Every day, it's getting closer, love like yours will surely come my way…

Love is the last lesson. And the last gift. Now I know it sounds like everybody will end up naked with flowers in their hair… I for one wouldn't mind such a scene… I mean, if it's for the sake of the plot, what can you do?👀

… Anyway, that's how the students, following the example of the masters, embraced both sides of their true nature to become more than Heaven incarnate or Hell incarnate. They learn how to love and pass the final test! Last prediction. Almost last.

***

“There was never an apple, in Adam’s opinion, that wasn’t worth the trouble you got into for eating it”. At the end of the book, (Warning! spoiler ahead!) Adam, "half angel, half devil, all human, is slouching hopefully towards Tadfield.

... for ever."

For. Ever.

Aw, I forgot a gift, I'm afraid… Eating the apple was the path not to death (for man was probably created mortal as everything else). Eating the apple was the path to immortality. Crowley did the right thing. And so did Aziraphale. Adam is immortal because he is a successfully completed human. He's not the only one. They who were created in the image of God, the children of God, have become…

new Gods.

After that? Well… I guess the Bentley will become her own car and go with yellow and the self promise never to play a Queen song, ever again. The new gods may throw Earth into the trashcan since it's worn out anyway. Or maybe they'll restore it? Somehow I'm not afraid for books. I have a hunch that books will survive… Perhaps some of the gods will join the distant lights that "may or may not be stars?" They'll be like seeds, they'll travel through darkness to create new universes, new god factories…

What? Aziraphale and Crowley? They don't have to choose sides anymore. They were always on the same boat. And God loved, loves, them both. They can just love each other and be who they want to be. Adam, who could read Aziraphale and Crowley's minds, said: “I know all about you, don’t you worry”. Everything will be just fine.

What are they doing right now? Not sure. They're writing their own story too. But I guess it involves flying at the speed of light (or the speed of darkness?) to find the best spots for having picnics and reading books and listening to nightingales. I'm sure they'll stop by Paris. Somewhere near my house? I know a nice place for crêpes…;)

#neil gaiman #terry pratchett #aziraphale #crowley

[cn-4amsleeper]

I need to talk about my theories on Alan Wake 2’s timeline somewhere so here it is, spoilers obviously, and I REALLY would love someone for discussion. Here we go(warning: it’s freaking long):

One thing to be noted: a lot of my theory is based on what was revealed in The Signal and The Writer, so make sure you know what happened there first then read my theory.

My theory with the loop: it has been expanded many times. It started with Alan trying to write Return to escape, but kept failing. So he slowly lost his mind, splitting into two personas like what happened in the DLCs again. This is what I call “the basic loop.” I want to note that my theory is that in the game, we only get to experience the part AFTER crazy Alan wrote Return, possessed by Dark Presence, restarted a new loop already and return to his “optimistic” self.

Alan writes Return->caught by the Dark Presence-> wakes up in the writer’s room.

Then Mr. Door and Alice came in. For now my theory is Mr. Door came in first, brought the Talk Show section. Alan can now project him into the NYC through Talk Show.

Alan writes Return->projects to NYC->caught by the Dark Presence->wakes up in the writer’s room.

Then Alice came, significantly changed the entire loop. She basically created Alan’s “suicide” loop. Every time Alan wakes up in the Talk Show, he touches his forehead, but not when he wakes up in the Writer’s Room. She added even more layers to the spiral, and made a chance for the creation of a spiral.

Alan writes Return->projects to NYC->escaped from the studio->instructed to find Alice’s footages -> caught by the Dark Presence->return to the writer’s room.

Now here is the tricky part. The three times in the game we saw Alan returns to the Writer’s Room is also a big loop itself. Here’s my understanding right now:

The first time back in the room is only the end, not the beginning. He saw the body, then possessed by the Dark Presence, and started the basic loop again. That’s why in the next section we started in the Writer’s Room, then Talk Show.

The second time he returned to the writer’s room, there was already a draft written by his crazy half, try to edit it, then shot by himself(who he thought to be Scratch). Then he is projected to NYC. The process still follows the basic loop, but as you can see it’s cracking.

The third time he returned to the room, he shot himself, realizing it was himself trying to edit the manuscript, then possessed by the Dark Presence, then summoned by Saga. Then the basic loop started again, his crazy half wrote Return, da da da…

Now you might be wondering why didn’t I proceed to Saga’s part?

BECAUSE SAGA CREATED AN EVEN BIGGER BREACH FOR THE SPIRAL.

The three times Alan returned to the room, as I mentioned, IS a bigger loop itself. My theory is that before we step into the game as Saga, the bigger loop has been repeated over and over again. And because this time Saga steps into the story as a hero, the loop was shaken even greater, it is at the very moment we beat the game that a true spiral was created.

And that’s it for my loop theory rn, kudos to any one of you that actually finished it.

There are still a lot of questions, tho. My biggest one is with Thomas Zane. Alan is guided to find Alice’s videos by Thomas Zane EVERY TIME. It truly bugs me because he’s basically helping Alice plan this whole time, even when he lied that Alice is not in the Dark Place but in the real world, and when he fooled Alan that Scratch wrote Return. I know theories out there are saying Zane is the main villain, but I’m conflicted with this one.

#alan wake 2 #alan wake 2 spoilers #Alan wake 2 theory #alan wake #mr door #alice wake #saga anderson #thomas zane #mr scratch

[daresplaining]

I was wondering if you could give me a recommended reading order for Daredevil stories with Karen specifically. The more important the role (not being dead please) the better! Yellow has been great and when I read born Again I'm sure I'll be asking for more! anything throughout all of daredevil's history is welcome, before miller, after, i'll be happy with anything. And for specifically karen's and matt's relationship history, knowing the starts, stops, restarts, and restops, etc would be great!

Absolutely! Karen is a neat character to me not just for who she is as a person, but also because she was around long enough to be present for many of the comic's stylistic and tonal shifts over the decades. Her character arc is also really compelling, even if it requires some digging. I was going to recommend Daredevil: Yellow, but since you've already read it, I'll just mention it anyway for anyone who might not have checked it out yet. Great comic, delightful depiction of Karen.

Now, let's get into it!

The first 70-or-so issues of Daredevil are a full-on soap opera, with Matt and Karen dancing around the prospect of a relationship, going through drama, dealing with fake twin brothers and secret identity shenanigans...to the degree that I'm tempted to just recommend that you check out that whole block of issues (as always, I'm obligated to recommend the Mike Murdock Saga). However, for the sake of brevity, I'll pull out some of the most significant Karen moments.

Daredevil vol. 1 #41: Karen has spent the past fifteen issues torn between Matt-- her true love, who doesn't seem to love her back-- and his "twin brother" Mike, who is equally attractive and actually seems to be into her. In this issue, Karen finally comes to grips with the fact that she likes Matt best.

Daredevil vol. 1 #48: Matt and Karen's first kiss! Karen had quit her job at the law office because the romantic tension was stressing her out, sending Matt into a depressive spiral. In this issue she returns, and they finally make their feelings fully known to each other.

Daredevil vol. 1 #56-58: The "Death's Head" arc! This is a great, creepy story that is also the first DD story to really center Karen. We learn more about her family, her backstory, she gets some nice heroic moments, and it is very, very significant for her relationship with Matt. It then leads directly into #58, in which things immediately begin to fall apart.

Daredevil vol. 1 #63-67: Karen, fed up with Matt's inability to keep his promises, breaks off their engagement and runs away to Hollywood to pursue her acting career. Matt runs after her. These issues cover their adventures together in California and Matt's inability to let go.

Daredevil vol. 1 #86: Karen and Matt give the engagement thing one more try (for now).

Ghost Rider vol. 1 #13-26: These issues cover Karen's Hollywood adventures alongside Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider) and Stunt-Master! While she isn't a major presence and isn't in every issue, it is fun to see her in such a different context, in the hands of a different creative team, living her movie star dreams.

Daredevil vol. 1 #138 and Ghost Rider vol. 1 #20: In the midst of the above chunk of issues, Matt learns that Karen has gone missing and runs off to California to rescue her, giving us a fun little crossover with Ghost Rider.

Marvel Two-In-One vol. 1 #46: Karen isn't in this issue that much, but it's a really fun one. The Hulk gets angry about the new Hulk TV show, in which Karen is about to be cast. Also, Ben Grimm is there.

Daredevil vol. 1 #227-233: It sounds like "Born Again" is already on your radar but I'm including it here for completeness. Karen hits her lowest point, and reunites with Matt after more than a hundred issues of separation.

Daredevil vol. 1 #237: This is a really nice issue. Karen and Matt start a new life together in Hell's Kitchen.

Daredevil vol. 1 #242-244: Karen struggles to come to terms with Daredevil's violence in the context of her own abuse-related trauma.

Daredevil vol. 1 #248: Karen starts up her free clinic and drug hotline, offering support (and under-the-table legal services, via Matt) to those in the community suffering through the same things she went through. Karen's clinic is a key setting throughout this run and a key element of her character development during this period.

Daredevil vol. 1 #259: Partway through the Nocenti/JRJr run, Matt starts cheating on Karen with Mary Walker, Typhoid Mary's mild-mannered alter. As his affections waver between the two women, Matt teams up with Karen to take down a child trafficking operation.

Daredevil vol. 1 #261: Daredevil has gone missing. Karen teams up with Johnny Storm to look for him.

Daredevil vol. 1 #294: Karen and Matt reunite after a long absence (read: one of Matt's faked deaths, following the previously mentioned infidelity). Includes one of my all-time favorite Karen scenes.

Daredevil vol. 1 #297, 299, 302, 305, 312, 320, 325: Phew, that's a list. Each of these issues contains precisely one (1) lovely Karen scene as she and Matt work toward rebuilding the trust and love that they lost.

Daredevil vol. 1 327, 329-331, 338-342: While grieving Matt's latest faked death, Karen confronts ghosts from her past as she works to take down a child pornography operation. (Tragically, unless I'm missing a tie-in somewhere, this plotline just kind of abruptly ends, possibly due to the writer shuffling that was going on at the time. But it's a neat Karen solo adventure while it lasts.)

Daredevil vol. 1 #345-347: Someone who seems to be Matt is running around in the yellow Daredevil costume. Karen and Foggy try to get to the bottom of it.

Daredevil vol. 1 348-350: Matt has a mental breakdown. Foggy finds out that Matt is 1. alive and 2. Daredevil. Karen has to deal with all of it.

I humbly beseech you to read all of Daredevil vol. 1 #353-375. It's one of my favorite periods of Daredevil and is full of Karen goodness, since by this point she and Matt are living together again. However, here are a few particularly significant issues:

Daredevil vol. 1 #359: One of my all-time favorite issues, featuring a Daredevil-themed episode of the enigmatic Paige Angel's radio show...

Daredevil vol. 1 #371: Karen and Matt have had a major fight. Karen seeks emotional support from a questionable source. Matt clumsily tries to make amends.

Daredevil vol. 1 #375: Another one of my absolute favorite issues of Daredevil. Karen gets framed for murder, and this extra-long issue covers her trial.

Extras:

Daredevil: Predator's Smile and Daredevil: The Cutting Edge: These two prose novels are a little difficult to find these days, but they're very fun and heavily feature Karen. In fact, some of my favorite Karen scenes are from these books. Predator's Smile takes place between issues #233 and 234 (right after "Born Again"), and Cutting Edge takes place during Joe Kelly's run (#365-375).

Marvel Valentine Special, "Love Hurts": This short story takes place during the Kesel/Kelly era. Karen uses her radio show to help a woman get out of an abusive relationship.

Secret Wars: Secret Love, "Guilty Pleasure": Is this part of my stealth mission to get everyone on the planet to read "Misty and Danny Forever"? Maybe. But this anthology issue's Karen-focused story is very neat too.

Daredevil vol. 4 #15.1, "Chasing the Devil": Karen only appears briefly in this little Silver Age retrospective story, but even just this small glimpse of her as written and drawn by the great Chris Samnee and Matthew Wilson is a treat.

I hope this helps!

#Long post #batvaccum #Daredevil #Karen Page #Asks #Recommendations List

[xb-squaredx]

A Tribute to Akira Toriyama

It’s been a bit over 24 hours since I’ve heard the news that acclaimed manga author, Akira Toriyama, has passed away, and frankly it’s still hard to process. I’d like to just say a few things to honor and mourn a man that I have never met, but whose work touched me and millions of others all over the world in ways I am only now really beginning to see.

Like a lot of 90s kids in the United States, my first exposure with Toriyama’s work was through the Dragon Ball Z anime. Despite the fact that I didn’t even know this was a sequel to a completely different series, and I had no real clue what anime even was at the time, I was captivated. For years I would race home from school and sit glued in front of the TV as Toonami would air the latest episodes. A phenomenon that rippled out across the world for several years in waves, from the original airing of DBZ, to some snippets of the original Dragon Ball and even later on with the anime-only continuation that was Dragon Ball GT, this series had such a hold on me. Friends and I would spend recess trying to recreate the iconic Kamehameha Wave, we’d scream trying to become a Super Saiyan, or take turns fighting each other in one of the MANY different video games based on the series over time. I’ve made friends through my love of Dragon Ball and it would go on to foster a love of anime and later manga. But little did I know just how far Toriyama’s influence would reach.

While I was never all that knowledgeable of his past work, particularly Dr. Slump, so many other series would be inspired by him or have his involvement in some way. Sonic the Hedgehog’s Super Sonic is an easy reference to spot, but less so was Cloud Strife’s garb in Final Fantasy VII being a dead ringer for Gohan’s outfit in the Cell Saga. As long as we’re talking about RPGs, Toriyama’s long history with various properties, from Chrono Trigger to Blue Dragon, and going back to the grandfather of all RPGS in Dragon Quest, it’s safe to say his legacy is felt in multiple mediums rather than just one. This wasn’t even limited to Japanese media either. I would see references to Dragon Ball in things like The Powerpuff Girls or Codename: Kids Next Door. Even well into my 20s, I was still seeing series inspired by him, like the whole fusion concept that made up Steven Universe. His reach was vast and multigenerational.

As I would get older, I would listen to Linkin Park AMVs on YouTube, with songs like Numb or In the End overlaid over the various hypest moments from the Dragon Ball series and its later movies. Even long after the series had finished airing, you’d still see the rare movie or special crop up, alongside an endless series of games trying to capitalize on the success of the Budokai Tenkaichi games. Toriyama was inescapable, and in a way it was comforting. You start to get used to his work being there, whether subtly or overtly. You never think about the day when he’ll be gone.

When first reading the article stating his death, it took a moment to really let it sink in. This man who had been with me, inspiring me throughout my childhood, was gone just like that. Over the past day I’ve seen the greater Internet in mourning, as people share their favorite manga panels, or iconic moments from the various anime interpretations of his work. Outpourings of fanart and inspirational stories from people who grew up with his work just like I did. There are people that got into bodybuilding to be just like Goku, for one. For another, during the finale of Dragon Ball Super there were massive watch parties set up in Mexico and even when authorities tried to stop the events they went forward anyway because they just had to see how Goku could finally defeat Jiren. I remember when Trunks first appeared in the anime, and I thought he was the coolest. I had to try to draw and replicate his first appearance, how he defeated Frieza, the person that took Goku so long to defeat, in a mere instant; I’m realizing now Toriyama might have been my real inspiration to start drawing, alongside who knows how many thousands if not millions of people. As sad as it is to see him go, to see so many people pay tribute and remember him, it really does lay bare just how influential he was, just how powerful art can really be.

It was only in more recent years that I’ve come to really respect Toriyama’s craft. Far beyond the screaming and power ups that many associate with him from Dragon Ball Z this was also a man who valued whimsy. He got his start as a comedy author, and for the longest time the Dragon Ball manga was just a humorous retelling of Journey to the West. The man loved a good bit of toilet humor and the occasional fourth wall break. Looking back at his manga, you can see just how amazing his panel work was, and how it still holds up. The ease at which he guides your eye from panel to panel, the expressiveness of his characters conveyed at all times. Many of his peers have called him a God of Manga, and I think they’re right to do so. The likes of Osamu Tezuka, the creator of manga, had called Toriyama his heir apparent, and stated he was “almost too good.” You can’t get higher praise than that.

Outside of his manga work, just his raw talent at creating iconic character designs needs to be praised. Taking a rather uninteresting mockup of the slime enemy in Dragon Quest, Toriyama would create perhaps the most iconic enemy in all of video games. His enemy designs are often cute and goofy, but occasionally can be quite ferocious. If nothing else, they are eye-catching and never boring. He was also a fan of vehicles and machines, with some really interesting modes of transportation shown off in a lot of his work. And then there’s the fact that so many of his characters have the trademark spikey haircut that has become shorthand for “anime hair,” that is understood to this day. To see him effectively retire after finishing with Dragon Ball back in the 90s, with the occasional contribution here or there, only to get right back to business as usual in the 2010s with amazing designs like Beerus or Android 21, not to mention his continual work on the Dragon Quest series all throughout that time…the man never lost his edge even once.

A sentiment I’ve seen over the last day or so is that Toriyama might, with no exaggeration, have inspired more artists than anyone else in modern history. So many people making their own “Saiyan-sonas” or being inspired to make manga of their own…we may truly never know how far his reach really was at the end of the day. But we do know that the “Big Three” of Shonen Jump throughout the 2000s can be attributed to Toriyama, as the likes of Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo are all big fans of Toriyama, with Oda in particular worshiping the ground he walks on. Kubo is also on the record for stating that a letter from Toriyama, when his first draft of what would later become BLEACH was rejected, gave him the encouragement to try again and later be accepted into the magazine. And now these authors have gone on to inspire the next generation and so on and so on.

Over the last few years, we’ve lost a lot of creative figures in the manga industry. Toriyama now joins other similar legends, such as Yu-Gi-Oh creator Kazuki Takahashi as well as Berserk author Kentaro Miura. It is the end of an era, arguably of many eras, and it can be hard to imagine the future, but the Earth continues to spin and as Toriyama has inspired and influenced others, we too will inspire future generations with our work. It isn’t enough to call him a legend; he truly was in a league of his own, a legend among legends, and the outpouring of love for him across all manner of social media posts in just a little over a day alone is a testament to his immense talent and reach. I can think of no greater sendoff than the one that Eiichiro Oda gave him: “I pray for his soulful rest in peace. May heaven be the joyous world he envisioned.”

Rest in peace, and thanks for everything, Mr. Toriyama.

-B

#akira toriyama #thank you for everything