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mamaestapa · 1 year

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The Party

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: : Y/n Hubbard, the younger sister of Cincinnati Bengals Defensive End Sam Hubbard, finds herself in a difficult situation after a steamy hookup with her brothers best friend, who just so happens to be the quarterback for the Bengals. In just nine months their lives will be changed forever. How will Y/n and Joe manage to to go through parenthood together? more so, how will Sam take the news he is going to be the uncle of his best friends baby?

•chapter summary: You attend the Bengals Christmas party and have a little too much fun. One thing leads to another and you find yourself in a steamy situation with the teams beloved quarterback…

•word count: IDK I think around 6k?

•warnings: SMUT (it’s actually kinda bad lol) unprotected sex, alcohol consumption, language, drunk people, another SMUT warning

series masterlist

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december 17, 2022

pre-hookup

"I’ll be, switchin the positions for you."

"Cookin’ in kitchen and I’m in the bedroom"

You belted out the lyrics to Positions by Ariana Grande as you put dishes away and did some much needed cleaning up in your kitchen. As you put a coffee cup away on the rack, you looked at the digital clock that sat on your wall. You knew you’d need to stop cleaning soon.

The clock read 3:45

You sighed, grabbing the last plate out of the dishwasher and drying it off. You figured you should start getting ready for the party now so that Sam wouldn't have to worry about the two of you, well more like just you being "late" to Zac’s. You are the queen of being fashionably late, but don't let Sam fool you, he is too. You can't even begin to talk about the amount of times he's been late to family get togethers because his "outfit didn't look right" or he "didn't know what to do with his hair". You swear sometimes men can be a lot worse than women in the “being fashionably late” department, good lord.

After being satisfied with how the kitchen looked for now, you decided to head to your bathroom and start getting ready for the party. You live in a one bed, one bathroom apartment in Cincinnati, Ohio. You shared an apartment with Morgan Mead,!Logan Wilson’s wife, for a while, but she never re-signed her lease so she could go live with Logan . Which you completely understood, they did just get married during the offseason. Now, living with friends is amazing,bbut sometimes it's nice to have a space all to yourself.

You walked into your grey and pink themed room and connected your phone to the bluetooth speaker sitting on the bedside table. You clicked shuffle on your playlist titled "the no skip zone". You smiled as you heard the beginning tunes to Gimme More by Britney Spears. You were more than satisfied with the song selection, so you set your phone directly em next to the speaker. You walked over to your walk in closet on the other side of your bedroom and you began to look through your clothes. You were hoping to find the red dress you planned on wearing, but you couldn’t seem to find it. It was bright red in color and form fitting with a cutout in the middle, the straps crossing over your chest to show off your cleavage. You tossed some rompers to the side, your eye’s lighting up as you saw the signature bright red color of the dress.

"Ah ha!" you smiled triumphantly. "I found it."

You carefully pulled the red fabric off the hanger and made your way to the bathroom to change. After you slipped the skin tight dress on, you moved onto styling your hair and doing your makeup. You didn't do anything too crazy and over the top, since it’s only a work Christmas party afterall. You decided on giving yourself a simple blowout. It didn't take you too long to do you hair, as you’re basically a pro at styling your hair now. Hey, what can you say? You’re a girl who loves anything to do with beauty—especially hair and makeup. Speaking of makeup, you decided to go with a more natural look for the tonight. You put on your favorite light pink blush, some false lashes, a little bit of contour and highlight on your cheekbones, and last but not least, your favorite lip plumper to finish off the look. Once you finished your makeup, you decided to put your mint chapstick into your small clutch bag.

It is a Christmas party, so you know what that means? There will be mistletoe...and if there's mistletoe, that means there's bound to be some kissing tonight. So you have to keep your lips nice and soft, because you never know who you might snog under mistletoe.

You’re just kidding, of course.

Once you were satisfied with your appearance, you took a few selfies in the bathroom mirror and posted your favorite one to your Instagram story. You captioned it: “Merry Christmas ya filthy animals❤️" Home Alone was one of your favorite movies. You turned the bathroom light off and headed back to your bedroom to grab your favorite pair of black heels. You glanced at your phone to make sure you were good on time, which you were because Sam would be at your place in about ten minutes. Well, ten minutes if he's ready on time, which you highly doubt he is. You walked over to the body mirror in the corner of your room, taking in your appearance one last time and doing any last minute fixes to your hair, makeup, and outfit. As you grabbed your clutch bag from your bedside table, you heard a knock at your front door. Wow, Sam is actually on time? That’s a first. You thought to yourself.

"Coming!" you yelled out, quickly making your way to the door to let Sam in. You brushed a piece of hair out of your face, and opened the door. You were then greeted by the face of your brother.

"Hey Y/n, you ready?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets. Sam was wearing khakis and a Black polo. Not his nicest attire, but he was definitely more dressed up than usual.

You smiled, "Yep! Just let me go grab my phone real quick, then we can go."

"Alright. Please hurry, sis." He said, chuckling sarcastically.

You rolled your eyes, giving him your best RBF, "Yeah because it's going to take me forever to find my phone." Shaking your head, you left to go grab your phone off of your nightstand, while also turning the bluetooth speaker off in the process. You looked in your body mirror one last before heading back out to the kitchen.

Sam tightly smiled, "You ready to go now? Or do you need to check yourself out one more time?”

"Sam, I swear,” you began, "if you don't shut up, I’m not going."

He laughed, "Yeah, whatever.“ He rolled his eyes, walking out of the apartment, with you following behind him.

After you were both out of the apartment, you locked the front door securely and but your key back in your wallet. You walked down the hall down a short flight of steps, and out the main doors to Sam’s car. He got in the drivers side, while you made your way to the passenger side. Once you both heard the click of your seatbelts, Sam pulled out of the parking space.

~time skip~

About fifteen minutes later, you pulled up to Zac’s house. Okay, screw house, it was more like a mansion.

“Can I take my acceptance back?” You asked, raising an eyebrow as you surveyed the front lawn of the Taylor residence.

Sam laughed, "Nope. The guys would be pissed if I didn't bring their favorite social media manager."

You rolled your eyes, "Okay Sam, whatever you say,” you smirked playfully, “We don't want any pissed off boys now do we?"

Sam just laughed and turned the car off. He looked in his rear view mirror and ran his hands through his short hair. After he was satisfied with how he looked, he unlocked the car doors and stepped out onto the pavement. You stepped out of the car right as he did, your heels clicking on the concrete drive way. You took in the outside of the house once again, your eyes going wide. It had been a while since you’ve been at Zac’s house. Since the last time you were here he had made many new outside renovations. It made you wonder how different the inside looked now. You followed Sam up a few stairs and into the house. As the door opened, the smell of sweat, alcohol, and the sound of music greeted the two of you.

"We’re here!" Sam yelled, waltzing into the house.

"Aye, what's up man?" Ja’Marr Chase said, walking up to Sam and pulling him into that “bro hug” that all men do.

Ja’Marr turned to you, smiling. "Well if it isn't my favorite Hubbard sibling? How you doin’ girl?"

You smiled, pulling Ja’Marr into a quick hug. "I’m good! How about you ‘Marr?”

He chuckled, "Can’t complain."

"Hey Y/n!" You heard someone yell. You looked to see who called your name.

You smiled widely, seeing another Bengals wide receiver, one of the sweetest guys you know, Tee Higgins.

"Tee!" you yelled, "running" over to him. It was more like a little shuffle/trot mix. You didn’t want to trip and fall in front of everybody, that would be so embarrassing.

Tee picked you up and twirled you around, making a giggle escape from your lips. Tee is your best friend from the team. Well, him and Ja’Marr of course. Tee however, has been a close friend of yours since your first day working with the Bengals. You had gotten lost on hour first game day at Paycor—which was still Paul Brown stadium at the time. It’s such a huge stadium, and you had never been there before, so it makes sense why you would get lost easily. Luckily, Tee had noticed that you were lost and he helped you find your way around the stadium. Since then, the two of you have been best friends.

Tee put you back down on the ground and pulled away, giggling as you asked, “How are you?"

He grinned, “I’m great! Better now that my best friend is here though."

"Awe, thanks Tee. I could say the same about you." you said with a smile.

"Of course. I gotta go talk to some other guys, but it was great seeing you, babe." Tee said, reaching out to softly touch your arm.

"Okay, sounds good. It was great seeing you too! I’ll see you later though, don't worry." You said, blowing him a playful kiss.

You and Tee shared these gestures often with each other. It was never in a 'flirtatious' way though, just friendly.

As Tee walked away from you, you looked around to see who else was here. Ja’Marr and Sam were over in a corner laughing, beers in their hands. Tee went to talk to a group of some defensive players. Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon, and Logan Wilson were in another part of the room, laughing wildly about something. Your eyes scanned over to the open bar, where coach Zac Taylor stood, talking to few other players. He noticed you starting to walk in his direction, so he smiled and waved at you.

"Hey Y/n, glad you could make it!" He happily smiled, pulling you into a side hug.

You hugged back, smiling. "Hey coach, thanks for letting Sam bring me.”

He nodded, "Of course, it was no problem. It wouldn't be a party without you. Do you want a drink?"

"Sure!” you nodded. A playful smirk pulled at your lips as you said, “as long as you're the bartender. I’m not sure if I trust this guy." You chuckled, patting Evan McPherson on the back.

He chuckled, "Thanks Y/n, I wouldn't trust me either."

Zac laughed, "Yeah, honestly I wouldn't trust him either,” he pay Evan on the back, “just kidding Mcpherson, I love you man."

You chuckled to yourself. Either this is what Coach Taylor is actually like outside of the stress that comes with coaching an NFL team, or he's had a lot of booze.

"What can I get you Y/n?" Zac asked, placing his palms flat on the bar counter as his lips formed a straight line, awaiting your answer.

"Got any wine? I could use a couple glasses of red."

"On it, m'lady." he said, getting a wine glass down from the rack and filling it almost to the top. He handed you the glass, "there you go, enjoy."

You smiled, reaching for the glass, “Thanks coach."

You took a big swig of the bitter, red liquid. Hey, it's been a long week, and you could really use the wine. Maybe Sam was right, you really did need to let loose—and this party would be the perfect way to do that.

You turned to Zac, "Your house looks really nice by the way, the decorations look great!"

He grinned, putting his hands on his hip. "Thanks! Sarah and I had a fun time getting all of these up last minute."

Evan laughed, "Gosh coach, I didn't know you enjoyed putting Christmas decorations up."

Zac shrugged, "Hey, when your wife offers a good time between the sheets, you'll do anything."

Yours and Evans eyes widened at Zac’s words. You brought the wine glass back up to your lips, taking a another swig. Damn, I didn't think I would ever hear that come out of Zac Taylor’s mouth. You thought to yourself.

You let out a little laugh, "Oh lord...thanks again for the drink Zac, and for letting me come to the party, I appreciate it!"

He raised his beer bottle, which was probably his 6th one of the night already. “Any time, Miss. Hubbard. See you Monday!"

You waved, goodbye to both Zac and Evan. “See you monday! Bye Evan."

Evan waved, "See ya Y/n."

You took another sip of your wine, scanning the room once again. As you were looking around at the room full of football players, you made direct eye contact with the handsome quarterback of the team: Joe Burrow. Your breath hitched as you swallowed nervously. Every time you had any sort of interaction with Joe, the butterflies started to majorly flutter. There was just something about the tall, pale blue eyed, dirty blonde haired, kind soul of a quarterback he is that made your heart flutter. You’d never admit it out loud, but he really makes you weak in the knees. Which, by the way, would really bother Sam if he found out about the effect Joe Burrow has on you.

Sam and Joe are best friends. They have been friends since college when both of them met at Ohio State University. Even through Joe’s transfer to LSU the two still were inseparable. Their friendship is so strong that you think it’s safe to assume they see each other as brothers. That’s why you could never let Sam find out about your secret attraction to Joe.

You took another swig of your liquid courage, (which was already making you slightly tipsy) and made your way over to say hello to Joe. You greeted him with a soft smile. He smiled back, waving slightly at you.

"Hey Joe, how are you?" You asked once you got close enough to where he could clearly hear you over the commotion of the party.

Joe pulled you into a hug, leaning down slightly as his arms draped tightly over your waist. You snakes your arms around his neck.

"I’m pretty good, how about yourself?"

You slightly blushed at the contact. "I’m good too, thank you." you said, starting to get flustered. The two of you pulled away and you cringed at the feeling of your sweaty palms.

Joe raised an eyebrow at you, taking a swig of his beer. "So, Sam convinced you to come, huh?"

You chuckled, finishing off the rest of you wine. "Yeah, he uh, he did. It took a little convincing, but I’m glad I agreed to come."

Joe’s mouth quirked up in a small smirk, “I’m glad you did too,” after the words left his mouth he looked down, a shade of pink tinting his defined cheeks. Either Joe was nervous, or he was just warm. It was pretty hot in here, honestly…

"Hey,” Joe cleared his throat, causing you to snap out of your thoughts, “I could use another drink, what about you?" he asked. He must have noticed your empty wine glass that was in your hand.

You smiled, tucking your right side of your hair behind your ear. "Yeah, actually, I could."

Joe chuckled awkwardly, "Heh, me too. Shall we?" he asked, holding out his arm for you. You wrapped your arm in his as he lead you back to the open bar.

You and Joe are actually friends. Not as good of friends as you and Tee are, or even Ja’Marr, but you’re still great friends. You’ve known him since you were 17 years old from him and Sam being friends. Granted, you were never really close with him like Sam is, but you’ve still known him for a long time. Joe is also one of the players you barely ever get to see while you’re at work. Most of the time you’re taking pictures, videos, or collecting information from the receivers or the defensive players—not the quarterbacks. During a typical work day, you’re lucky to even interact with Joe at all. He’s usually busy conversing with coaches about plays, techniques, and ways he can be better. However, on the rare occasions that you do see him, they're some of the highlights of your day. Plus, you just think he's really sweet...and really hot too. But you have to keep things professional. Besides, Joe is probably unaware of any of your feelings towards him, which by the way there are none. Okay fine, maybe there's some slight feelings, but that's all. Deep down you’ve always had a little crush on Joe. But he's your brothers best friend, and for the sake of their friendship, you know you can't get between that.

You followed Joe over to the open bar to fill up your drinks. As you walked through the crowds of players, Joe kept his arm linked with yours the whole time. When the two of you neared the bar, you could see Coach Taylor behind the counter pouring more drinks. Once you reached the bar, Joe put his glass down, as you did the same with yours.

Zac looked up from the shot of whisky he was pouring for himself. He smiled, the look on his face making it obvious that he was very tipsy, “Ah, Joe. What can I get for you?"

"I’ll take another Mojito please, sir."

Zac snapped and pointed at Joe. "You got it, dude."

Okay he was definitely drunk now. You giggled at Zacs little gesture. Joe turned to you, chuckling as he asked, "what?"

You shook your head, "nothing..." You got on your tip toes to whisper in his ear. Even in heels Joe was still quite a few inches taller than you, “your coach is definitely going to be blackout drunk by the end of tonight.."

Joe let out a laugh, his eyes crinkling up as he smiled, “I wish I could say you're wrong, but..."

"WOO! Almost dropped that one, oh shit-." Zac yelped from behind the counter after he dropped a beer bottle onto the floor.

Joe pursed his lip, and looked away from the scene in front of him while you just grimaced. You both, however, were trying to hide your laughter. Zac turned back to you, a drunk smile on his face as he held out a beer bottle for Joe. Joe didn’t ask for a beer, but he took the drink from his coach anyways.

"There you go, big guy. Sorry about that!"

Joe grabbed the beer, "Thanks coach. Hey, uh, how many drinks have you had..?"

Zac scoffed, "Pfftt, like five or six beers? Maybe a couple shots of whiskey here and there..."

Your eyes widened, "Dang..."

Zac turned to you, just now acknowledging your presence, “Kate!"

"Y/n." you corrected him. You tried and your best to suppress a giggle from coming out of your mouth. Kate is the other social media for the Bengals.

"Y/n!” he corrected himself, “what can I get for you?"

"I’ll have another full glass of red and how about two tequila on the rocks please."

Zac winked, "Ah tequila. My type, and Burrows type of woman too."

Joe rubbed his neck awkwardly, a blush rising to his cheeks. "He,!he's just drunk,” he said as he gestured to his coach, “I don't know what he's saying. I don't even think he knows what he's saying."

You laughed, your cheeks growing red, “It’s alright Joe, don't worry." you paused before whisper yelling up to him, "And I agree. I don't think he knows what he's saying either.”

Joe chuckled and took a swig of his beer.

"Here you," Zac hiccuped, "Go. Red wine and tequila for the lady,” he hiccuped again. "geez that's going to get annoying really quick..." he said from under his breath.

Joe put his hand up in a waving motion, “Take it easy, okay coach?“

You waved goodbye to Zac and handed Joe one of the tequilas. "Merry Christmas." you said, smiling sweetly.

He grabbed the tequila, thanking you with a soft smile.

"BYE GUYS!” Zac yelled out, making your eyes widen, “don't get too drunk, or else there’s going to be hookups, and those hookups can sometimes make babies, and no buns need to go into any ovens, not in my house at least.." Zac said, slurring his words here and there as he spoke nonsense.

Joe grabbed your waist and led the two of you away from a rambling Coach Taylor. He led you into an empty corner in Zac’s large game room. As soon as you reached the room, the two of you burst into laughter.

"Oh my god, he just kept on going,” Joe laughed.

"BYE GUYS! don't get too drunk, or else there will be hookups!" you laughed, imitating a drunk Zac.

You and Joe were to a point where you were crying from all the laughing you were doing. Had the two of you been sober, you probably wouldn't be laughing that hard at the situation. But since your systems were full of alcohol, it was the funniest thing both of you have heard all damn day. You and Joe finished off your tequilas and other alcoholic beverages while you conversed about whatever your drunk minds thought of on the spot. After finishing off your wine, you let out an annoyed sigh, obviously very drunk now.

You looked up at Joe and bit your bottom lip. "Hey.”you said, a little tipsiness laced in your voice. Joe looked up at you, his blue eyes drooping slightly, “Yeah?"

You moved closer to him and grabbed his hand, "Let’s go dance..."

Joe smirked and put a muscular arm around your waist. "Alright babe, sounds good to me."

You were way too drunk to even register that Joe had called you babe. Honestly, if anything, his actions and words just made you horny. Some people are sad drunks, crazy drunks, angry drunks, but you? You’re a horny and bubbly drunk. Hopefully Joe hasn't noticed the horny part of it yet...but you know he's definitely noticed the bubbly drunk side of you. You led Joe out to the middle of Zac’s living room. A bunch of the guys were crazily dancing with each other and the plus ones they brought. You looked around, seeing that Sam was no where in sight. As soon as you stopped in a spot for you and Joe to dance, the song No Hands by Waka Flocka started playing.

You jumped excitedly, “I love this song!”

As the lyrics started, a wave of drunken confidence hit you. You got close up to Joe and started grinding on him as the two of you threw your hands up in the air. Joe bit his lip, putting his hands gently on your waist as you grinded along to the beat. As you continued dancing all over Joe, you could feel the warmth radiating off of him. he threw his head back slightly, groaning. "Fuck..."

You bit your lip and moved yourself off him, but still continuing to dance. You started to sway your hips, and of course shake some ass to get him even more hot and bothered— which totally worked. You glanced around the room, making sure no one, especially Sam, could see you grinding on their beloved quarterback. You knew if anyone saw, you would never hear the end of it. Plus, you could lose your job for being unprofessional. But let’s face it, you shouldn't be too worried about that because even Zac Taylor was getting down to the music too. You soon noticed that everyone was too drunk and too focused on doing their own thing to even notice you and Joe, or even anyone else for that matter. You continued to do my your thing, your own thing being grinding on Joe.

The song changed to The Way I Are by Timbaland. Joe had the biggest smirk on his face, his breathing growing heavy as he watched you continue to work your magic on the “dance floor”.

"Oh god dayum!" you heard Ja’Marr yell as he approached you and Joe. Your movements against Joe came to a halt. You started laughing as Ja’Marr wiggled his eyebrows at you. You just laughed as Ja’Marr walked away to leave you and Joe alone. As the song came to an end, Joe pulled you out of the crowd of his teammates and led you to a less crowded place. He leaned down and moved your hair away from your ear.

"We need to talk. What do you say we get out of here, and go somewhere more private...please?"

You giggled. Of course he added please to the end. Even when Joe was drunk, and very much turned on he was still polite.

You looked up at him, smirking slightly. "Sure. My place or yours?"

He wrapped an arm around your waist, leaning down. His hot breath hit tickled your neck as he spoke, “Mine works. I live just down the road and...” he glanced down, “the sooner we take care of this issue the better.”

Your breath hitched as shivers went down your spine. You are definitely getting lucky tonight…

You glanced up at Joe. His chiseled jaw was clenched and his baby blues full of lust. You took your gaze away from his jawline when you noticed what was above the two of you, “Hey...look up."

Joe furrowed his brows. "Huh?"

You pointed up at the doorway. "Mistletoe," he smiled, "you know what that means?"

"I don't think so, the alcohol is really clouding my knowledge.." you joked. Of course you knew what mistletoe meant. However, you weren’t wrong about the alcohol clouding your brain, that part was very true.

Joe reached out and gently cupped your cheek, “Then why don't I just remind you?"

You pulled your head back, “Hold up, are we about to kiss right now?" you asked, a sly smile plastered on your face. You were so drunk right now…

A smile tugged at Joe’s pink lips. He leaned down, and captured your lips in a kiss. You were taken aback at first, but you of course kissed back. This is just the alcohol talking. You remind yourself. But oh did it feel amazing to be kissing the Joe Burrow. You and Joe pulled away, both of our breaths were heavy. He leaned down, his veiny hand ran up your hip and torso before it settled on the side of your left ribcage. He brought his lips to your ear.

"Stay here, I’ll be right back..." he purred.

You shivered from the sudden wave of arousal that took over your body. You involuntarily bit your lip before saying, “Joe, please hurry. I don't know how much longer I can wait."

He winked, "You and me both, sweets."

With that, he walked out of your sight. You assumed he went to say goodbye to coaches and his teammates, and of course, thank Zac for putting the party together. You should've said your goodbyes too, but your mind was too occupied on other issues anyways. You heard your phone ding. Looking down at the screen, you saw that you received a text from Sam.

Sam- Hey Y/n. I thought I’d let you know I just left Zac’s. Emma called and said she wanted to see me...😏

You rolled your eyes at your brothers text. Snickering at his message. You read the rest:

Sam- Anyways, thanks for coming tonight. I’m assuming you're having a great time since I couldn't find you before I left lol. Don’t party too hard Y/n/n, the hangovers after Zac’s parties are never fun. Also, I’m sure Tee or Ja’Marr will be happy to take you home when it's over, but if you need me to come get you, just let me know.

You smiled and replied back to his text.

You- Hey Sammy! Thanks for letting me know, have fun with Em😉 but yeah, I’m having a great time. Thank you again for convincing me to come. This party is a BLAST, like seriously. i got the ride thing covered, but thank you! see ya monday Sam:)

You hit send and re-read the message. You did sound a little drunk, so you decided to send another text to him.

You-also, i'm like SUPERR drunk so like if my messages come off a little weird, you know why lolol🤪

After hitting send again, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist. You jumped at the contact, but relaxed once you realized it was just Joe.

"You scared me!"

Joe smirked, "Oh really? Didn’t notice."

You giggled as you leaned against his hard chest. You could feel the alcohol really hitting my system now. Tequila always makes you super drunk, it never fails.

Joe cleared his throat, "I said my goodbyes to everyone, and told them you left with Sam, soooo..." he trailed off, "I’m ready whenever you are, sweetheart.”

"Mmm," you hummed, "Joe, you have no idea what you calling me sweetheart is doing to me right now...I’m so ready to get out of here."

He scooped you up in his arms and rested his forehead against yours. "you and me both...sweetheart."

You threw your head back, letting our a groan as Joe chuckled in amusement. Oh how his drunken state absolutely loved seeing the effect he has on you.

"Awe, don't do that yet,” he whispered in your ear, “save some for the bedroom."

You bit your lip and jumped out of his arms. You ran over to the front door, quickly opening it. You and Joe quickly got out of the house and made your way down the steps. As you left, you could hear the booming vibration of the loud music from outside the Taylor’s house. Grabbing your hand, Joe quickly led You to his benz. He opened the passenger door for you.

"After you,m'lady." He said, gesturing for you to get in.

You curtsied, "Thank you, sir."

Oh you both were so drunk…

You quickly sat down on the seat, immediately feeling wetness beneath you. You jumped slightly at the feeling between your thighs as Joe got in his seat and buckled his seatbelt. After pulling out of Zac’s driveway, Joe rested his hand on your upper thigh, trailing a finger up your thigh and under your dress, starting to tease you.

You let out a moan, already looking forward to the events that would be coming so soon.

Joe glanced at you, "Just you wait, in five minutes, i'll be doing a lot more than that."

~time skip~

"Jump." Joe said huskily as soon as the two of you walked in through his front door. You did as he said, jumping up so you were straddling his hips. His hands roamed your back as the two of you made out, passionately. Every once in a while you’d pull away, both of you leaving a trail of hickeys down one another's neck.

You moaned as he kissed that sweet spot on your neck. Joe gently put you down on the ground for a second, before picking you up bridal style. He walked up the flight of stairs so you could continue in the bedroom. As he carried you into the bedroom, a few articles of clothing had already made their way off of the two of you. His blazer was one, while your panties, well those made their way off your body a long time ago. Joe pushed you into the doorway, your bodies moving in sync as you made your way to his bed. The two of you hastily undressed eachother, urgency evident in your touches as there was no time for foreplay. You were both so impatient to get the fun started. You ripped Joes dress shirt off his broad, but lanky build. Your eyes trailed down his body, taking in his firm chest and muscular biceps with veins traveling down each arm. Joe wasn’t exactly ripped, but his abdomen was toned and his hips were a wonderful sight, just like those bulging thighs. Joe was absolutely perfect in your eyes.

As you took in his appearance, he began to slowly unzip your dress. Teasing you as he grazed his long fingers along the skin of your bare back. You hung your head, trying to suppress a moan from escaping from your pursed lips. Joe pulled the dress down your body, leaving you in just a strapless, red-laced bralette—which Joe had unclipped in the process of taking your dress off. Realizing that you didn't have any undergarments on anymore, your hands instinctively wrapped around your body. Joe’s expression softened as he saw you try to cover yourself from him.

"Oh Y/n,” he smiled softly, “there no need to hide from me, sweetheart. You are perfect." he cooed, pushing you gently down onto the bed and hovering his larger frame over you. You blushed, feeling so vulnerable, yet so good at the same time. Joe had a way with his words. He could be so sweet and humble one minute, but so dirty and dripping with confidence the next. What a man…

Joe gently moved your arms away from your body, taking in your figure beneath him. He sucked in a breath before he began to leave a trail of kisses down your body. Every time his soft lips came into contact with your smooth skin, it sent a wave of shivers down your entire body. As he kissed about every inch of your body, you scratched at his back, moaning with pleasure anytime he hit that sweet spot.

"Mmm..." You breathed out. Joe’s head made its way down to your area. He started to kiss your inner thigh, making sure he teased you just enough before coming up and to kiss your lips instead. His tongue begged for entrance and fought for dominance against yours. Of course, he ultimately "won" that fight. Joe pulled his pants down in one swift motion, leaving him in just his underwear. A very evident bulge had formed. You filled nervously as this all became clear to you. You are about to hook up with your brothers best friend. You’re OK Y/n. You can do this. You can do him. Just breathe. It’s not like this means anything to either of you. You’re both super drunk that you don’t even realize what you’re doing…you mentally remind yourself. There was no talking yourself out of this one, especially with the current state you’re in. It’s clear that you and Joe both want this.

Joe pulled his underwear down and threw it to the floor beside him, leaving him in nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Your breath hitched as you eyed his cock, eyes growing darker with lust. They don’t call him “Big Dick Joe” for nothing…

Joe got back on the bed, hovering over you as he got ready to thrust himself into you.

"are you ready?" he asked, making sure you were comfortable. Even though Joe spoke in a soft tone, you could tell from his lustful eyes that he was more than ready to take you right there on his bed.

“Yes,” you nodded, “Please Joe, I need you inside of me.."you whined, barely able to keep your words from coming out in a moan. Joe smirked and grabbed your hand, lacing his fingers with yours as he pushed you up against the headboard of his bed. He lined himself up with your entrance, thrusting into you repeatedly. He buried his face in your neck as you threw your head back, whimpering from the pleasure you were feeling from Joe’s rough movements. The sounds of Joe’s grunts and your whimpers filled the room, along with the sound of skin hitting skin.

“You feel so good,” Joe grunted, “Gonna make you cum so hard you won’t be able to walk.” He all but groaned out as his thrusts picked up in pace, causing your eyes rolled to the back of your head in pleasure. You threw your head back as complete bliss took over you. You arched your back and moaned like there was no tomorrow as the two of you reached your climax at the same time.

There’s no going back now…

hey loves!!

this chapter was so long omg lol. i’m already having so much fun re-writing this series! i forgot a lot of what i wrote, so it’s so much fun going back and seeing all the stuff i forgot i wrote

i apologize for the bad smut btw, i tried lol. i feel like i just can’t write it very well, but i wanted to include it for this story. if it’s cringy just LOOK AWAY and keep scrolling lmao

i hope you’re all enjoying this story so far! it’s different from welcome to the jungle, that’s for sure. but i still think you will all enjoy this one ;)

as always, thank you for reading!🤍

tags: @dandelionwrites8 @joeburreauxsworld @theflawedwriter @mrsshiesty @ann288 @ijustcrypretty @theoneandonlyfanz @wickedfun9 @venus-b @hummusxx @stainednailpolishremover @a-moment-captured @joyfulfrienddonkeybanana @alternativemadchen @erinmartin1987 @sirlewisworld @kkrenae @unhingedfangirl @sublimemusic-rebel @meameagirl @emherb10

#joe burrow #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow x y/n #joe burrow x you #joe burrow smut #daddy issues

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connan-l · 5 years

Text

Ciconia Phase 1 Ramblings

Well, it sure was a wild ride, but I enjoyed it quite a bit!

The whole thing was very Heavy and Intense and Long and a lot of stuff happened. I’m not sure I really digested everything yet, but I have Thoughts.

GOD I spent so much time writing all of this... At first I just wanted to make a short Twitter thread about it, but it ended up a lot longer than initially... 😔

Those are just some messy ramblings and I don't think I said any more new or interesting stuff than what other people have already said, but I still felt the need to write it down, so...

Ciconia spoilers for Phase 1 and the tips:

So I thought overall it was pretty good and interesting! As someone who didn’t play the demos, I went in completely blind, and it was a nice read. (As such the flood of Okonogi memes some time ago were kinda confusing to me at first lol.)

It was radically different from Higurashi and Umineko, but that was something I expected (Umineko was radically different from Higurashi, after all.)

I’m not sure if it’s going to hit me as personally as Higurashi and Umineko did yet, or even if I’m going to like it as much — I enjoyed Phase 1, and the story is really intriguing, but it’s not quite on the level of its predecessors for now. Then again, it is only the first part of the story so it’s a bit unfair to compare them now, and I remember I was far from being into Higu and Umi by just their first installments too. So I guess I’ll just have to wait for the other phases and see!

On a technical level, this is definitely ones of Ryukishi’s most sophisticated visual novels — with the big animations and sound effects during the battle scenes, of course, but also with the numbers of different backgrounds and the visuals for the Kizuna thing. The sprites are also my favorites from all of Ryu’s games, they have the uniqueness of his artstyle all while being more polished and with really pretty coloring. And the character designs are SUPER GOOD — the best of 07th Expansion works to me (well, I was still a bit disappointed in Vier’s design, though. I mean. She’s just Takano with a lab coat. You could’ve at least changed her clothes or something, Ryu.) The music was the only thing that was... pretty average. It wasn’t bad, there was a lot of neat OST in it... but there wasn’t really anything memorable either (Alright, except for Apocalypsis Ciconia II. This one was dope as hell and it gave me chills.)

I was pleasantly surprised by how good and compelling the worldbuilding was too, as personally I find this peculiar part of Ryukishi’s writing has always been one of his weakest points. I don’t know much about sci-fi stuff admittedly, so I’m not sure how that would be perceived by fans of the genre, but Ciconia’s world is still quite fascinating — the different factions, the technology and selcom stuff, the way childbirth is managed or the history of World War III, all of that was good. Although to be honest, some stuff felt kinda contrived too (like, sure, let’s say the entire history of WWIII is entirely erased, like that we don’t have to deal with the political issues of our current real world lmao), and I don’t know all of the histories of the countries mentioned, so I can’t really tell if some things were insensitive (for example, how Africa was “unified” by a single king felt a bit off to me, but, er... I don’t know...)

The more absurd elements like the conspiracy theories, the chivalric orders or the freaking ILLUMINATI KINGS were pretty hilarious, honestly. I’m... not sure what to make of them. Obviously none of Ryu’s stories were ever going to be realistic (and well, the entire premise of Ciconia is about children soldiers who have the strength of an entire army in one gauntlet, which is ridiculous enough), but knowing him I wonder how much of this is going to be played straight and how much of this is meta stuff. Especially with all the religious/spiritual references (the blue bodies of Evil Miyao and of the gauntlet girls alluding to the Hindu god Shiva, Seshat being a Egyptian goddess, etc.)

I have more mixed feelings about the plot, and especially the pacing. Most of it was okay, but some scenes were really dragging and redundant. Which, isn’t really something new with Ryukishi’s writing, but here especially with the political stuff and the long blocks of exposition it was... kinda boring and hard to focus on it, and after a while it even felt quite egregious. Some of those parts weren’t needed, or at least didn’t need to be that long. Especially given that after the first hours, there were not a lot of more peaceful moments that would give the player time to breath.

Which is another one of my complaints: a lot of intense things happened, but the narrative rarely give you the time to actually digest those things, especially in the second part of the story. It often pretty much felt like “X event happen > Discussion of X event between the characters > Y event happen > Discussion of Y event between the characters,” and this without any breaks (with the exception of some exposition here and there in between, of course). The events, discussions and characters were interesting enough to more or less keep my attention, but it still felt like too much at times. Part of this may be volunteer, as it put a stressful and opressive feeling on the reader (God, the clock and quotes between each chapters stressed me out a lot lol), and after a while I really felt like I was kinda suffocating with all of this like the characters — but even so I think it would’ve been better to give us some pauses here and there. Which is something we could have had with, say, the tips. I thought it was a shame all of the sixteen tips could only be read once the main story was over, because the narrative could have really benefited from having them fit into the plot or in-between chapters, like in Higurashi.

Also, I know Ciconia wasn’t exactly marketed as an horror story unlike the other WTCs, but hoo boy, I think some of the sequences in it are honestly among the most gory and disturbing things Ryukishi wrote? I haven’t read Iwaihime or TRianThology, so I can’t really say for sure, but damn, those human factories really are big nightmare fuels...

Now, I think the most tricky parts and the ones who are gonna get the most criticisms are, likely, the whole political and military stuff. Ciconia is probably Ryukishi’s most political and provocative work so far, maybe on par with Rose Guns Days — not to say Higurashi and Umineko are not political, they definitely are, but here it truly is in-your-face. Which is not a bad thing, per se, but... let’s say it all depends on how Ryukishi handle and criticize all those stuff down the line in the other installments, when so far it’s been... meh?

Like, the whole military stuff, specifically, was... shaky, at best. The thing with fiction that portray militaries with soldiers as their main characters is that they walk a thin line between just portraying this thing and actively glamorizing it. The narrative was definitely critical of some of it (lol the whole massacre at the end was very obviously there for a reason), and I appreciate Ryukishi often makes a point in his stories to frame a problem with different persepectives... but the whole “healthy military balance” and “Walls of Peace” thing was still iffy, and I’m... unsure about how much of it is going to be criticized within the narrative in the end. Now, again, it is just the beginning of the story, and Ryukishi has always been good at presenting a thing at the start for later on tearing it down to pieces, so... I don’t know.

It’s way too early to decide what kind of themes and messages Ciconia is going to have, so here too I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m just a bit wary given some things that were in RGD were... definitely questionable. Now I actually think Ciconia got to a better start than RGD, but... well. I’m also not really someone who know much about these stuff, so I’m not the best placed to talk about it, but it’s definitely something worth to be under scrutiny.

On the more positive side, there were times where some things felt really, really real, as well as pretty in tone with some of today’s social issues. Like all those news about the terrible things going on in the world and that a war can happen anytime, the military propaganda to recruit young people who “want to fly” in the army but who just end up killing each other, or the feeling that these kids have about how in the end they’re just powerless pawns who can’t do anything used by selfish old men... I saw someone said Ciconia was basically Fuck Boomers: The Game, and... yeah. Yeah, that’s basicaly it lmao. All of the adults being assholes is not new in WTC or even in Ryukishi’s works in general, but here it was definitely a big theme. God even the whole thing at the end about how the planet is dying and that everyone knows it but people just don’t care about it... lmao, if that wasn’t directly referring what we’re living right now with climate change, I don’t know what is.

I just really loved too the way the game was sort of sold as this “cool sci-fi battle royal,” but in the actual story all of those kids are desperately trying to not kill each other, until the very end where everything just goes to hell.

I said it before, but there really was a huge feeling of suffocating and being powerless the more and more you reach towards the end, and the way everything culminated in this huge massacre truly sent shivers in my back. I know at some points I could really feel for the kids who were like “Well, fuck it, let’s just let all those awful people kill each other and the world get destroyed.” The final scene with the Christmas party was really powerful and also so uncomfortable to read, it was really well done.

Otherwise, if there was one work I wasn’t expecting to scream “LGBT+ rights,” it was Ciconia, but here we are I guess lmao. Honestly, that entire conversation was super neat, not just in a “Oh it’s great they acknowledge gay and trans people exist in a positive way,” but also because it really adds a lot to the worldbuilding. I remember some people talking about it when a similar thing happened in the comics of The Legend of Korra, and honestly more stories should do that, not just in term of representation but because, well, it’s just good writing to put this much thought in your fictional world. The conversation in itself was a bit clumsy (GAYS DON’T FUCK), but it also felt very sincere and a pretty believable discussion a bunch of teenagers with very different backgrounds could have on the subject (and I really loved the narrative acknowledge how different cultures and religions feel about those topics, without it being judgemental.) I’m also thankful it was here at all because of the, uh, gay jokes made about Miyao and Jayden early on that were a bit tasteless to me.

(Now it would be even more great if we could have actual canon gay and trans characters too. Ryukishi... please...... I beg you........)

And of course, the characters were also really good!

It was so nice to have such a big diverse cast all constituted of likeable characters, and I was honestly impressed Ryukishi managed to handle it. That was something I was wary of when the game was first released, but in the end I think he did a good job so far. Of course, that’s only from my point of view, so I can’t say if other people found there were some things he did badly or that was offensive...

But personally, I honestly love all of the Gauntlets kids so much. They’re all so good and charming! And I kinda want to adopt them all lol.

I think my favorites for now are Miyao, Gunhild, Naima, Rethabile, Chloe, Koshka, Rukhshana, and Lingji... But like I said, they are all really good it’s hard to choose!

However... when it comes to their writing I felt Ciconia went in the continuity of Rose Guns Days and concentrated more on the plot than the characters, and that’s something that... honestly bother me a bit. I liked RGD, but Ryukishi’s writing is still at its strongest when it comes to very human, character-driven narratives, like Umineko and Higurashi. Like I said, I love all of these kids a lot, and some of them have pretty solid characterization and screentime... but in the end a part of me still feel like we didn’t really... get to know them much, if that makes sense? Even with the main ones, like Miyao, Jayden or Gunhild — most of their scenes were principally focused on the Plot Stuff, and not much about them as people.

I know there are a lot of folks who criticize the slice-of-life parts of Higurashi and Umineko, where there are lots of scenes of just the characters spending time with each other or goofing around and that don’t do much to advance the plot — and in a way I understand that, because yeah, some of these scenes can be pretty long to get through and drag the pacing. But personally, I always thought those sequences are very important. Even if some of them are admittedly unnecessary or are a bit too long, they’re really needed to humanize the characters and make you invest in them — which was something that was a bit lacking in Ciconia. Basically I guess I’m saying the VN needed more slice-of-life stuff, and that rejoin with what I said earlier — that including some of the tips in the plot here and there instead of putting all of them at the end would have really helped with that.

Now, that said, again I’m aware this is just the first part of the story. I understand Ryukishi needed to have all of those exposition blocks and truly pose the basics of his story first and foremost. So I’m really hoping that after that he’ll be able to focus more on its characters — especially on those who got almost no screentime, like the Yeladot Shavit and Cairo Squad girls. Having characters and human grounded moments is especially important in a story where war is a big focus like Ciconia.

Now, on the characters themselves...

Miyao was a really charming protagonist, and I love him a lot! He was so endearing to me during the whole story. He was instantly more likeable as a male protagonist than Keiichi and Battler, where it took me some time for them to grow on me — principally because, well, Miyao don’t have the shtick of sexually harrassing the female characters around him, which was profoundly annoying in the other WTCs. I loved his serious but caring and friendly personality, his friendship with Jayden and Gunhild and with all the other kids, and his anger against the adults trying to use him and the others. His relationship with his father too was interesting. His interactions with Evil Miyao were also pretty intriguing, even if I’m not sure yet what to think of him being a “murder program” or about what even is Evil Miyao.

Now, the only thing I am on the fence about him is... his whole DID thing and Meow. Like, on one hand, I think it is neat to have a likeable protagonist with a named mental illness, and the narrative felt sincere on not wanting to present this as a bad thing and just a part of who Miyao is... but on the other hand, there were all the jokes made as a result of this, which made the whole thing pretty awkward to me. Furthermore, there’s the problem that this “CPP” thing is not really DID, as if I recall it doesn’t actually seem to come from any trauma-related reason, and is almost a made-up condition? It kinda gave me Kara no Kyoukai flashbacks, in which Shiki, the protagonist, also has an alter, but it is not as a result of trauma or anything — it has a fantasy explanation. And, I mean... An author taking an actual, real condition that a lot of people have to bend it at their will to fit a story isn’t super cool, especially if you’re going to make some jokes at its expense... The other kids calling out Jayden on how he didn’t act properly with Miyao about this was nice though. (Also, now that I think about it, did Miyao just... randomly told all of the other gauntlet knights about it? Wasn’t it said that “CPPs” were something most people didn’t like to talk about? It’s a bit odd.) Plus there’s also the fact Miyao is possibly a “program” and it adds another layer of not-so-great stuff... So I’m just really wary of how Ryukishi is gonna handle this going forward...

Those problems aside, Meow herself was... fine. She’s cute, but she doesn’t really have much going on for her. She and Jayden are dorks together and their scenes definitely made me smile, but their relationship still felt kinda shallow so I don’t have much feelings about them as a couple (like, it’s just that to me Miyao and Jayden have a lot more chemistry and have been friends for quite some time, so it’s just odd that he instantly decides to date Miyao’s sister whom he just met. And, also, he was definitely flirting with Miyao before meeting Meow, too.). It was also pretty jarring the way she just... almost disappears once the war stuff began, so in the end I had this disagreeable impression that she really was just here to be Jayden’s girlfriend, and not as a character on her own or to develop Miyao more...

Jayden was pretty neat too! He’s a character that could be “yikes” pretty easily, but in the end he really did come across as a awkward but kind teenage boy who may be clumsy at times but is still trying his best. In fact, I really wish Ryukishi had wrote Keiichi and Battler more like Jayden. It was nice in general that none of the guys in Ciconia acted inappropriately towards the girls (with the exception of Toujirou, I guess. The way he acted towards Valentina especially made me go “ehh dude please no.” Like I know the LATO girls are said to be older than the other kids so they’re probably 18 or something, but still, it was a bit ugh... But even then it wasn’t something that was too overt, so it didn’t bother me too much), because some of Keiichi and Battler’s antics towards the female characters was something that annoyed me greatly. Don’t get me wrong, I did end up liking Keiichi and Battler despite this, they’re both good kids at heart — but it’s possible to write horny teenage boys without them ~comically~ sexually harassing the girls around them, if you feel me? Aside from that, I like that the story made a point to show that Jayden is actually a pretty lonely and kinda socially awkward kid just like Miyao, and that’s why their friendship work so well. On the other hand, though, his character mostly only turned around Miyao and Meow, and so we didn’t get much of him as a person? Which is a bit disappointing as he is meant to be one of the main kids, so I’ll hope he’ll get more interesting later on.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE GUNHILD, she really intrigue me! I wasn’t expecting to love her so much — for the most part I thought she was okay but nothing more... though now that I finished the story, she’s probably my favorite character for now? Her scene in the restaurant with her sibling, and especially the tips focused on her, really got to me. I loved her cool personality and her backstory was really interesting, as well as her relationship with Miyao and Jayden. She seems to honestly like and care for both of them, but at the same time resent them, and the way she obviously have a lot of pent-up anger towards the world and some self-hatred make her a truly compelling character. I’m pretty intrigued by Maya and her relationship with her too. She’s honestly one of the characters towards who I look forward the most, and I really hope Ryukishi will deliver on her.

Chloe has definitely a lot of Rena Vibes, so of course I was going to love her lol. Although honestly for now I find her mostly... confusing. She’s obviously really fucked up (CHLOEVIL), and she made me pretty nervous during the entire story because there was this “Okay so when is she going to snap?” kind of tension with her. And her last scene with Lilja gave me chills... At the same time, her kindness and caring nature as well as her friendship with Koshka, Lilja and the others felt genuine, so it was an interesting contrast. Other than that I wasn’t a fan of the running gag of Okonogi hitting her whenever she mess up (or do not mess up, for that matter)... Like obviously Okonogi is meant to be a Bastard, but the thing being presented as comical made me go :/ I really wish it’s going to stop.

Koshka was cute and also Extremely Relatable in a lot of ways (I, too, would rather spend my time playing silly games on my phone rather than socialize lmao). I love her a lot, and like Gunhild she really fascinate me. I like the fact that she’s meant to be an asocial, cold person but that at the same time it’s pretty easy to see glimpses of the affection she has for Lilja, Chloe or Miyao, and how she’s actually a deeply traumatized and angry teen. I’m pretty intrigued by what kind of “crime” she must have committed and how she ended up being an “equipment”... Not sure what to think about her super brain or the thing about her being some sort of “chosen one” lol. It sounds really shady.

For Lilja, I have to say I wasn’t exactly fond of her at first, but then the small moments we got with her where she obviously care a lot about Koshka and Chloe still got to me. That scene in the tips where she fiercely defends Chloe made me go “awww.” She really give me the impression of being the sort of person to hide her vulnerability behind a tough façade and her odd tics, and in that way she’s pretty similar to Koshka, which is how their friendship feel really special. The revealation at the end that she’s probably faking a lot of her personality and of her friendship with Koshka because it’s an assigment made her and her relationship with Koshka a lot more interesting to me, and I hope it’s going to result in a lot of compelling character stuffs.

Lingji was great! She’s pretty cool. I liked her optimism and her will to do the right thing, and how that actually cover the fact she’s a pretty fragile and sheltered person. Her scene where she break down after her grandfather’s death is really illustrative of this especially, and where I really felt for her too. I think she’s the most interesting character in term of possible development. I quite enjoyed her friendship with Miyao too, but here again I wish these two had gotten more moments together. Like, how much more impactful the scene where Miyao kill her would have been if we had actually seen these two have some intimate moments before? But, oh well...

Aysha was really cool too, and I especially loved the way her sharp and down-to-earth personality contrast to Lingji’s idealism. The moment where she calls out both of her teammates was super good. Momotake was okay, and I love his intense admiration for Lingji (I’m a sucker for male characters really looking up to cool female characters lol)... but otherwise I felt he was honestly the most stereotypical character of the bunch — especially compared to Lingji and Aysha.

NAIMA IS THE BEST, SHE’S MY BABY I LOVE HER SO MUCH. She was my favorite before I even start the game because of her design alone (SHE’S THE CUTEST CHARACTER RYU EVER DESIGNED OKAY), and I wasn’t disappointed from seeing her actual personality. She’s not especially complex or anything for now, but she has a lot of potential. I loved her relationship with Naomi and Stan too — it kinda felt like two older siblings looking after their annoying youngest one reluctantly, but who still have a lot of affection for them. Also she’s such a little badass, I literally cheered out loud during that rescue scene or during the last battle scene where she screams she wants to protect all of her people. I want more of her in Phase 2 pleaaaase!

Naomi was really overshadowed by Naima and Stan, so as a result I don’t have much to say about her. I think she’s cool, and her backstory about how she apparently lost a lot of her memories and emotions is interesting, but again I can’t say much given we barely see her at all. Stanisław was a good boy, but despite the fact we see him a lot during the story, I... don’t really have a lot of thoughts on him? I liked his implied friendship with Gunhild as them being death metal buddies, but we didn’t actually saw them interacting at all, which was a shame.

Rethabile was the coolest character of the cast, I love her dearly! I like how she can be so adorable and such a dork but at the same time she’s probably the one who has her shit together the most out of all the kids. I feel she really has a good grip on politics and how the adults just want to use them compared to the others — which, well, isn’t all that surprising given she’s literally a princess. The scene with her brother’s death was pretty harsh, and I’m sad they didn’t really... put much attention to her reaction to such a traumatic event. I know the plot hadn’t time for that, really, but I feel even Lingji got more focus when her grandfather died, so I wish we had more of that with Rethabile too.

Ishak and Abdou... well, they didn’t really get much time for them either. They seem like nice dudes, and I really love their relationship with Rethabile, how they tease her quite a bit but there’s still obviously a lot of complicity and respect among them. So I hope we’ll get to know them more, especially on an individual level — as for now they were only present as a duo.

The LATO girls were... interesting too. I especially love Valentina, because she really give me Bad Bitch vibes and I love bitchy female characters lol. It’s pretty clear she has some Secrets and I’m really curious about her goals. As for Maricarmen, I thought she was mostly going to be comic relief like the Yeladot Shavit, but towards the end she actually showed some interesting depth so she did grew on me quite a bit.

And then there was just the teams no-screentime lol. Alright, I guess Suparṇa did get some time, and Rukhi is ones of my faves, but they still were really sidelined. I liked Sujatha, she’s such an uptight idiot, and her scene towards the end where she says she was aware that Miyao’s plan was doomed but still played along for Lingji made me kinda emotional. Rukhshana is the cutest and the greatest — I really liked her personality, how she can be extremely shy but then also completely goof around when she actually trust the people around her. And that moment at the end where she just say to her superiors to fuck off was glorious and one of my favorite scenes. Her relationship with Sujatha and Andry is adorable too. Andry himself was also... not present at all, but I really love the small glimpses of him we have seen, he’s pretty cool. I like how he sincerely seems to care a lot about his teammates despite his aloof character (him protecting Rukhi when their superiors try to hit her at the end was sweet.)

Still, Suparṇa wasn’t sidelined as much as Yeladot Shavit and Cairo Squad, though. I mean, I do like those girls — I adore Gannet because she’s cute as hell, Noor seems cool and Mariana intrigue me, but I can’t actually say much about them. Leah, Fatma and Stephania were also mostly comic relief except for one or two scenes towards the end. So I really hope Phase 2 will remedy to this, ‘cause I want more of these six, definitely!

I’m not sure I have a lot of thoughts about the adults characters quite yet — GERMAN TAKANO cracked me up, but she’s just as great as her Higurashi counterpart for now, and I always trust Ryukishi to write good Terrible Women. Especially Terrible Mothers, which is one of my personal weaknesses. Though I guess it’s not actually been confirmed she’s Miyao’s mom? It’s heavily implied, but we all know Ryukishi love to troll his audience so I wouldn’t put it past him that it is in fact just a red herring, but well, we’ll see I guess.

Toujirou is obviously a bastard, but he’s an interesting one, and I have no fucking idea what is going on in his head. Like it’s interesting that on the one hand he seems to genuinely care about his son, but on the other hand he has no problem manipulating and screwing him over (and the implication of Miyao being maybe just a program is... ooof.) Okonogi was... a bit less worse than in the other WTCs, I guess? He obviously care about the kids in his own way, and him defending them at the end was nice... but I still can’t really feel anything but contempt towards him. He’s still a pretty bad instructor, and like I say, I’m really not a big fan of the way he treats Chloe at all, even if it’s meant to be “comical.”

The Three Kings mostly made me laugh to be honest, and they’re more plot devices than actual characters for now so I really don’t care about them (a part of me even wonder if they “exist” at all, because, you know, meta stuff). I absolutely LOVED Jestress on the other hand! I have no idea what’s the deal with her, whether she’s Lambda or whatever, but she’s really intriguing and her design is top notch and I want more of her. Seshat was so fucking cool and I don’t have much thoughts about her yet other than I wanna marry her.

And that’s pretty much it!

I’m not really good at predictions or at throwing theories around (sorry, Ryukishi), so I’m not sure what to expect for the rest of the story. I guess my only thoughts are that the moles are probably Gunhild and/or Chloe, but then they seem like obvious candidates, so I don’t know. I kinda suspect Valentina too, because, er, I do not trust her at all and she just have that traitor vibe.

I really hope too that we’ll have time loops here again instead of a linear story because... well... I don’t wanna these kids to die okay... I also know that Ryukishi said Ciconia is only going to have four parts, and that’d make sense given how long Phase 1 was... but a part of me still kinda hope we’ll have a bit more... I guess it’s just that only four phases seems really little compared to the density of the story, and I’m really hoping he’ll have the time to develop well all of his narrative points and characters...

In any case, I think my thoughts on Ciconia for now pretty much get down to: it’s interesting and it has the potential to be a really great story, even if it’s far from being flawless and that I’m still very wary about how Ryukishi is going to handle some elements in the future.

But I’d definitely recommand it to people who love 07th Expansion stuff and sci-fi stories, and am very much looking forward to Phase 2!

#Ciconia: When They Cry #Ciconia no Naku Koro ni #Ciconia #07th Expansion #Connan's posts #Connan's ramblings #My posts #Ciconia Spoilers #Ciconia: When They Cry Spoilers #Ciconia no Naku Koro ni Spoilers #Text #Ciconia Phase 1 #Phase 1 #Phase 1: For You The Replaceable Ones #Ciconia: When They Cry Phase 1

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