#Ball Buster Wheel

[differentcowboyland]

Chemical Guys ACC400 Ball Buster Wheel and Rim Polisher System

[sweatertheman]

I have exhausted by daily brain cell count thinking about DELTARUNE Lore. What have I come up with?

Well, let's start with some observations.

Kris, Susie, Ralsei, and even Noelle are all capable of straight up ignoring our commands. They can refuse to perform an action we tell them to and straight up "leave the party" when it suits them. Kris will stop you from dropping the Cards in the Light World, and the narration will scold you for attempting it. Kris will stop you from walking into their mother's line of sight while carrying a ball of trash. Kris will refuse to allow you the choice to watch Susie and Noelle on a Snowgrave route. Kris, in 2 chapters, has removed their Soul from their body and, by extension, "left the party," 3 times. Kris will refuse to allow the player to tell Noelle to "Proceed" through their own voice. Kris isn't going to say it for us, because they refuse to participate. Kris is also capable of speaking and even moving without our say-so. Susie doesn't even join the party until the last section of Chapter 1, and even then she will refuse to flirt with an enemy when instructed to. She also straight up says that if you tell her to do something dumb, she'll stop listening to you. In Chapter 2, she leaves the party to go off with Ralsei regardless of whatever you choose. Ralsei is the least willing to disobey commands, which is fitting of him as a Darkner, a being with its own mind but not its own will. He does however occasionally override a descision, like insisting that Chapter 1's Susie intermission be viewed. Noelle is second least willing to disobey a command, but that's part of her character flaws. She can't say no. Even then, she doesn't just do as she's told mindlessly. She refuses to use Snowgrave 3 or 4 times and will only use it when she gets fed up with being told to use it. She then leaves the party of her own accord.

Spamton desires Kris' Soul on the grounds that it will allow him to be the one making the calls. That with it, he can see past the dark, and look into "heaven." When speaking to Spamton, they say they refuse to give up their Soul because of their friends.

Kris, despite being able to undo, ignore, and prevent our control of them, chooses to allow us to control them. They will veto a descision they don't like, but they willingly give up their autonomy. They only occasionally decide to stop us controlling them, and they always bring us back.

ACTing is an ability that, despite explicitly NOT being magic, is capable of doing literally anything. An ACT can give buffs or debuff, it can damage and heal, it can summon things that aren't there and make them disappear when not needed.

ACTs are only ever used in battle, and only by characters who are "in the party." When Susie saves Noelle from Werewires, she does it by using Rude Buster on the control wires.

When a character is "in the party" it means they can recieve commands from us regardless of whether or not Kris is up. The fact that Susie doesn't join the party for so long means that, while she is in the battle, we can't issue any commands to her directly. She is also unwilling to listen to directions from Kris. However, even after she joins the party, she retains the ability to reject our commands. Being in the party solely ditactes the ability to recieve our directions.

During either Susie intermission, Kris' Soul remains inside their body, and dialogue options are spoken directions from their mouth. Susie can barely hear Kris in Chapter 1 because they're in another room behind a brick wall, and in Chapter 2, she doesn't react to those choices because she literally isn't in the room.

ACTing is strictly necessary to beat DELTARUNE. K. Round cannot be defeated without using it, and neither can the Music Guys.

In most cases, ACTing will create a heart-shaped particle effect. This is diegetic to some extent, as the dialogue options for the Ferris Wheel reference it.

"Point and hearts come out."

Ralsei consistently preaches the value of ACTing. He claims FIGHTing is unnecessary, and insists that Susie learn to ACT, partially out of fear of what could happen if she doesn't.

Ralsei has a prevalent Heart motif, with the heart on his robe and on the big door in his castle.

Ralsei claims Kris' Soul contains the FATE OF THE WORLD. As a fitting parallel to this, the DELTA RUNE, an image representing the Propehcy of the end of the world and the heroes that undo and/or prevent it, is heart-shaped, with the three triangles and winged circle contained within.

Dual Heal, Red Buster, and Courage are all accessed via the ACT menu.

In Chapter 2, ACTs initiated from Kris' ACT menu will be more powerful than ones from Susie and Ralsei's Magic menus.

After the Goner Maker but before the Opening, a distinctly Non-Gaster voice will discard your vessel, state that no one can choose who they are in this world, then tell you your name is Kris, though that last part comes through the mouth of Toriel. This voice shares speech patterns with Chara Dreemurr.

It is implied Gaster has seen a future in which the heroes fail, and brings in the player to create a new future where they succeed. It is also implied Kris has seen this "old future" as well.

Kris Dreemurr shares many similarities with Chara Dreemurr. A love of chocolate, a green shirt with a yellow stripe, non-descript pants, some kind of preoccupation with knives, a snarky attitude and prankster streak, etc.

Putting all this together, I present my latest theories.

For one, ours is the power to ACT. Only characters in the party can ACT, and ACTing can create things that aren't there, as well as cause anything to happen. Kris, our defacto vessel, can ACT better than anyone else, because they have the most direct connection to us. We are represented by a heart, and hearts appear when an ACT is used. Ralsei, a proponent of ACTing, has a heart on his robe, and on his big door. The DELTA RUNE, the prophecy of the heroes, is heart-shaped. The Prophecy requires that ACTs be used in order to progress. In this theory, Gaster brought in the player specifically because they have the power to ACT. They have the power to change things, to make anything happen. Spamton wants Kris' Soul in the hopes that he will be able to change things. That he won't be a slave to someone else's will.

The second part of this theory is that Kris was the one to reject the Vessel. Kris allows themselves to be controlled for their friends' sakes. While capable of removing us directly or telling someone about us, they don't, because it was their choice to allow us in the first place. In this theory, Kris already failed to save the world, but the timeline was reset. Gaster, seeing that Kris failed, calls in the player, but Kris decides to steal a second chance. While not his intention, Gaster does not object to Kris' interjection, because it doesn't matter to him. As long as they player is there, there's hope. This theory actually goes hand in hand with the first, as Gaster summons the player for the power to ACT, and Kris takes them in by their own descision, as their own autonomy is not as important as that power. It's a small price to pay. Kris, when they do remove our influence, seems less concerned with getting away from us, and more concerned with keeping us around. They could just crush that heart or stab it, or even just throw it away, but instead they keep it locked up in a cage, hidden in a cabinet, or stuffed in the couch. And when they're done making a Dark Fountain in their own living room, they put us right back in place, but not before holding up the heart, as if staring at it in awe.

anyway as i said i have no braincells left feel free to tell me why im wrong have a good nighttfftffx

[gumballavocadoharry]

Harry and River;

Boo boo buster:

River was playing on the sidewalk riding his tricycle. I was sitting on the steps, occasionally going through my phone and replying to emails. "Look at me daddy, I'm going faster than a car!" River shouted for his bike. I waved to him, making sure he doesn't wheel into the street. It wasn't until River was going really fast that I began to panic.

"River watch where you're going!" But it was too late....he had already slammed into a tree and fell off his tricycle. I immediately ran to him and helped him up. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" River's lip quivered; looking down to see his slightly bloody knee. He touched it only for a sharp burn to sound within his exposed flesh.

"Wahhh" I scooped him up in my arms and held him close to my chest. "It's okay, we'll fix you up." I said in my baby voice. I took River inside after moving his tricycle away from the tree and taking it inside. I set him down on the bathroom counter and got out the first aid kit. "Okay, Mr. River, we're gonna make that boo boo better." I tried to closely imitate a doctor. River giggled because in his words, I sounded "funny".

"Would you like me to bring in my assistant nurse rexie?" "Yeah! Rexie said he always wanted to be a doctor, we practice on each other all the time." I smiled softly and went into River's room and got rexie.

"Here you go- I mean....hello nurse rexie. Today my little patient was in a bicycle accident and he hurt himself. So we gotta fix him up. First we'll pour the alcohol on this cotton ball..."

"No daddy! It's gonna burn!" I snapped out of my doctors mode and comforted River. "It'll be okay baby. I'll tell you what, you can hold rexie's paw and listen to him tell jokes while I clean it." River wasn't convinced. "I'll be quick I promise." I said in my baby voice. I went as fast as I could but it still didn't stop River's cries.

He put his hand over his mouth but cries still escaped from his lips. "Oh my big boy..." I set the cotton ball down and wrapped River into a warm, affectionate hug and pressed soft and loud smooches on his chubby wet cheeks. "I'll make it better." I said in my baby voice. I finished up cleaning River's knee, and then I added some antibiotic ointment on it. "Now you're favorite part my little special patient, Bandage."

I applied a dinosaur bandage to River's knee. "Cool! Pterodactyls are on it."

"And now for my special treatment of boo boos..." I said in my doctor's voice. "....a kiss and a cuddle." I kissed River's cheek loudly and gave him another warm and tight hug. "Oh I can't forget about the knee." I bent down and kissed River's knee and made rexie kiss his knee too. "Mwah! There River now you feel better." I pretended rexie was speaking which made River laugh.

"Now how about we try again on that trike?" My little boy looked to the side before smiling and nodding. I had won him over. I took him gently off the bathroom counter, cleaned up and went back outside with River's bike, prepared to try again.

[pluralsword]

Trans Samus Transformers Triplechanger (Polychanger if you count different suits)

Thinking about canonical Samus Aran's appearance in Transtech in fanfic writing terms. She's basically Scrounge with integrated gun & bombs etc. Is she a human/chozo/metroid hybrid, or transformer, or all 4. What if Samus reformatted? Full on crossover could be fun though/as well.

Now we want a Blaster-Samus teamup. Thank you Budiansky. And since Scrounge was a blacksmith in IDW1 what if Samus knows Anode and Wipe-Out?

Ultimately what if Samus, Blaster, Arcee, Aileron, Anode, Lug, Wipe-Out, Scarlett, Marissa Faireborn, Thundercracker, and Buster had a team-up fic?

Image depictions of Samus in her Varia suit armor alongside blue robed Geno, Samus’s morph ball form, and Samus Scrounge in her small yellow-gold robot mode with a triangular head, and transforming into her wheel mode below.

[ash-the-porcupine]

Bustash moments.

OOH OKI. THE DUMB THINGS THEY HAVE DONE AS A COUPLE GO AS SUCH....

-They love going out to see movies. One time, they started dancing and singing to the song in the credits because the animals behind them were being annoying. Payback time.

-They stole mini-golf balls to go mini-golfing and bribed the waiter to give them half-price on French fries

-Found a cheat flaw in a game at the arcade and came up to the desk person with well over a thousand tickets because of it. XD

-Ash forced Buster into riding a ferris wheel. He dumped a water bottle on her head while she was distracted face-timing Rosita. Rosita was laughing but just let Buster do it without telling Ash what was about to happen but for an offhand comment about getting a shower. Ash thought she meant it might rain. NOPE.

-She also made Buster go on a roller coaster, and through this learned that his screams were the funniest thing she’d ever heard in her entire life

-They sang Brighter by Patent Pending in the middle of the Roc’s parking lot because the rap music coming from an alligator’s car was annoying. They actually got quite the crowd.

-Ash once tripped holding ice cream cones. Scratch water, Buster got an ice cream cone dumped on his head this time.

-Ash likes to spook Buster. He is very jumpy and she finds it hilarious. She did learn her lesson when she dressed up as a clown though. Buster locked himself in his office for a full day and a half, and would have stayed there had Johnny not picked the door lock.

-Buster tried to make Ash a birthday cake, but ended up having to call Meena because he messed up so many times.

-One time, Ash asked Buster to grab a bag of flour in the store. He yanked on it too hard, and the whole thing poured out on him, leaving him white and odd-looking for the rest of the trip. The workers had a laugh at this, making them less mad about having to clean up the mess.

-Buster told Ash at a Halloween festival that he wanted her to bob for apples. She dunked the back of her head in the bucket and came out with her spikes holding ALL the apples.

-Buster has to do parkour all the time because he’s such a smol bean. More than once Ash has had him fall from the rafters of the theater and face plant in front of her. It scares the cheezits out of her, but it’s funny. She tells him often, “You’re going to break your nose one day.” And I have a feeling that day is fast-approaching.

-Ash went on a trip all the way to Japan. At the train station, she kissed his cheek. He stood there grinning like an idiot for the next ten minutes.

[new-arcade]

We went to Dave & Buster’s on 42nd St and there were a lot of arcades in it! I forgot the name of it but it’s a four-player game with pure physical interaction. Each player controls a hippo, trying to catch the ball in the middle.

- Hippo: You sit on it and grab the handle on the back. If you pull it back and forth, the mouth of the hippo will open and reach out to the ball. - Ball: In the center of the four hippos, there’s a hole that can spit out the ball. Around the hole is a spinning wheel that can change the direction of the ball. You need to find your chance to eat the ball when it’s coming to you!

It’s totally physical so no screens at all. The lighting and sounds are attractive, but I got so into the game and forgot about the sounds and lights. The bad thing is that the hippo was quite vulnerable and there’s one already been shut down.

If I can change the interface, I hope to make the hippo movable to the left and right, so that I can have more control and fun with it. I’ll also have more balls flying around, and also a physical scoreboard around my hippo.

- Yixuan Liu

[cjp-film]

RTWW PROPS!

Over the course of about two weeks my job was to source and create all the props which where needed for our upcoming shoot. I organised my list into things I needed to buy, things I had to create myself, and things I could borrow:

Buy 

Frame for photo (A4) shop. 

Nokia phone. Charity shop. 

Stress ball. Toy shops. 

Oils

Body butters

Massage instruments 

Baskets/boxes

Bad wigs. Costume shop. Sunglasses. 

Fake moustaches

Towels. £12 for 3 in primark

Ply wood

Make

Portrait painting

Janet’s paintings

Office documents

Busters office poster

Ggjj poster

Name tag

Lanyard 

Questionnaire (on iPad)

Borrow

Mug of coffee. Lucas 

TV

Laundry ?

Books

Bottles ?

Post it notes

Poster tubes

Stationary items (pens etc)

Rucksac. Jacks

Second hand suit

Massage table

Salt lamps 

Mrs Muskaan’s watch 

My own items

Easel

Art supplies

Art clutter

iPad

My biggest worry was the massage table, as of course we are on a budget and don’t want to spend too much on a table which we are only going to use once. I put out an advert in a facebook film makers group asking to borrow a portable massage table in hope someone would have one they’d be willing to let us use. Luckily enough, I had plenty of responses, and we decided to go with a blue folding table from a man in Glasgow who was willing to let us have it for free. We couldn’t believe our luck, so Luca and I went through to Glasgow as soon as we could to pick it up. Our vision for this table was to have one of the masseuses wheel it along during the chase scenes to add to the humour, but sadly this table didn’t have wheels. We considered attaching some but came to the conclusion it would be too time consuming and might mean that the table wouldn’t properly fold with them. So instead we kept it as a folding table, and it would still work perfectly.

Costumes wise, I wasn’t to worry too much. Luca and I decided it would be best (and cheapest) to work with what the actors already had. As the film is set over the course of one day, the main two wouldn’t have to change. The masseuses however, would need to have two outfits, their scrubs, and their business attire. We managed to get some help from Luca’s mum who is a talented seamstress to create the scrubs, and then just buy a few business jackets from a charity shop. As when they are in the business attire they are in ‘disguise’ I bought some fake moustaches and found a Halloween wig as well as some sunglasses for them all to wear in this scene. The rest of their costumes was their own clothing.

As for everything else, it was easy enough to find online or in shops. We went through a lot of toys for the stress ball, but we knew that we wanted one with the eyes that popped out. This was actually a little bit hard to find, but I found a multipack of animals on amazon which matched this description. I decided to give Janet the Lion, as a symbol of her trying to be brave and strong in the face of danger.

Above: Costume items, including Janets Cardigan which we borrowed from Cara, and the scary wig.

Above: The massage table from Facebook.

Stress ball.

FP

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

01/21/2024 – 01/27/2024

Sunday

Manga Sunday is back in full swing and to start us off, it’s Girl Meets Rock! Nice to know that gay people exist in this story, and the art is still super charming. I like how bad Hatocchi’s band is, but it feels like we’ll soon cross over into “chasing your dreams and being rewarded for it” territory so it won’t be exactly what I was looking for…but I’ll stick around and see how it goes.

Undead Unluck was super good, as usual. I love getting these little hints about what each Master Rule is, and the main guy is particularly interesting.

An interesting dissection of parasociality in the latest Oshi no Ko chapter… Truly, Ai and all celebrities like her are made up of the perceptions of everyone else in the world, which leaves little room for their true selves. Not to mention the purity streak of the Japanese idol industry… I’m glad Ruby is eking out her own way in contrast to her mom, though, and understanding why Kana did what she did. Hopefully everyone will be alright by the end…

Dandadan: Oh, so that’s Zuma’s design… I mean, it’s certainly different from the other boys, but I don’t know if I necessarily like it. It’s mostly his hair that I think is a little stupid lol but his personality’s fun, it’s about time we got a stoic guy in the group. I’m pretty fatigued with all these “oh no we lost the ball again” shenanigans but whatever, I’m just looking forward to when this arc ends and Zuma joins the friend group.

Magilumiere was fine, I wish Shigemoto developed his own feminine style instead of just emulating that clearly fridged woman from his flashback, but oh well.

One Piece was great, this is the most I’ve been invested in the manga in ages. I’m glad Kuma has a chance at survival and this Buster Call feels like an exciting and exhilarating end to the Egghead arc.

SpyFam was…okay. The side characters trying to lean into the Detective Conan-esque murder mystery and the protagonists’ overpowered abilities thwarting that immediately made for some decent comedy, but nothing too special.

CIPHER ACADEMY IS SO GOOD… THE PUN ON MORG/MORGUE BUT IT ALSO HAVING THEMATIC RELEVANCE… THE CALLBACK TO THE FIRST CODE IN THE SERIES… THE AMAZING FULL CIRCLE TETE-A-TETE BETWEEN IROHA AND TOSHUSAI… YOSAIMURA GETTING ANON’S CHAIR FOR HER LIKE A TRUE GENTLEMAN… NOHIME’S ONE POINT LESSON… TOSHUSAI FINISHING FIRST JUST LIKE BEFORE, BUT IROHA PUTTING HIS OWN SPIN ON IT BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT TOSHUSAI’S PRIVACY… USING CODES/DUPLICITY FOR A GOOD CAUSE… TOSHUSAI’S SMILE AND IRORINNNNNNNNNNN AND THE CAESAR CODE AND THE CAESAR STATUE AND AHHHHH OUR BOY’S THE EMPEROR!!!! The statue’s shield being a cipher wheel is so cute… I really hope this is just the beginning but not the end, but even if it isn’t, I’m satisfied with this triumphant conclusion…probably. I’ll be really heartbroken when Cipher ends because I love reading it every week…

I checked out the first episode of High Card… My history with this franchise is somewhat interesting (to me, anyway) – I followed this one Japanese artist on Twitter for their Yowamushi Pedal fanart way back in the day, and over the years they’ve become an actual character designer in the anime industry. High Card is one of their projects, so I’ve been hearing about it for a while… And recently they announced a stage play adaptation starring one of the guys I like from A3! and one of the girls I like from Revue Starlight, so I figured I’d finally get around to watching the anime to see if the rest of the franchise is worth checking out. All that preamble aside, I stopped watching the episode about eight minutes in LMAO My suspicions that they wouldn’t be able to capture the character designer’s style in animation were confirmed, and the story is just a juvenile mess… As a kid I literally wrote stories about fantasy kingdoms based on the different card suits, and here it’s being presented in all seriousness with haphazard style and zero substance. I didn’t look into anything beforehand, so I had the impression it was some sort of crime drama with a dash of heist shenanigans? But the magic element is just too goofy and nonsensical to take seriously. I don’t know, maybe I’ll still check out the stage play because they’ll have singing and acrobatics, but the anime will be a hard pass from me.

With the Twitter timeline abuzz with the news of more Monogatari, I figured it was as good a time as any to actually watch the whole series and catch up before the new anime starts. I first watched Bakemonogatari as a kid and didn’t really get it, but after I fell in love with Cipher Academy I wanted to get into more of Nisioisin’s work, so I rewatched Bake and had a fun time. Today I finally started chipping away at the movies, and I watched Kizumonogatari: Tekketsu. What I liked the most about Bake, and Monogatari in general, was the unique and heavy sense of mood and atmosphere that I haven’t really seen in any other anime. The surreal and almost liminal locations, the odd and staged way characters move through them, the unique directorial flourishes we now call SHAFT-isms, I really vibe with all of it. The story itself hasn’t gotten far enough for me to get attached to anyone yet, but we’ll see how that goes as I work my way through the series. This first movie was a fun dive back into Monogatari mode and all its eccentricities, even if the story felt like it was moving painfully slow at times. But the walk down into the station and the slow lead-up to Kiss-shot was great.

Monday

Shamefully, I must admit that I read Vtuber Confucius. It’s a deeply stupid premise that’s not even executed that well, and once they started shoehorning in other philosophical teachings as Vtubers I truly lost interest. This is something that should’ve been a shitpost Tweet at the most.

Things in Oni to Tengoku got resolved a lot quicker than I’d thought – I was definitely expecting a dramatic rescue by Manabu, but I can also get down with Oni to Tengoku’s usual realist approach. The way that the story uses these conventions to actually explore the main couple’s relationship in depth is what’s really engaging… The high schooler had a nice bit of a characterization too, with all the trappings of insecurity that come with a high school romance. What I love most of all about Oni to Tengoku is how a lot of things go unsaid/communicated non-verbally and are presented through illustrations alone – I feel like most manga tend to have their characters over-explain things, as if the mangaka isn’t confident that their drawings are conveying what they want to convey, but Oni to Tengoku lays it all bare and leaves it up to interpretation. And the drawings are so gorgeous in the first place, too… I love just how this work uses the medium to the fullest. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Manabu responds to Aoki’s proposal.

A Second Goodbye to You: Lol oh nooo the university student got stabbed to save Hiroki huh oh nooo whatever shall he do? Yeah I’m just sticking with it to see how it ends at this point.

Next I tried reading this BL called OΣG!!! = Oh My God =, and while I like the art style, the compositions and character designs are just such a busy mess that I didn’t want to read any further.

I finished reading Akuheki volume 3…and it’s really good… I love how this BL started off seeming like a dark BDSM sex manga, but it’s become a genuine exploration of how trauma can shape your beliefs and affect your relationships as an adult… ALSO, THE EX JUST HAVING A SIDEPLOT BL PREMISE WITH THE COWORKER????? I really respect the mangaka for actually going there because it’s sooooo funny (but also cute! And had thematic relevance!). The detailed look at Kojima’s backstory was so chilling and illuminating – it’s dramatic, but in a way where it still feels believable, and you can really get a sense of why Kojima turned out the way he did. I’m sure that he and Daimon can work their twisted relationship out somehow, but it’ll take some effort.

Last on my BL binge today was this manga called We Won’t Call It Love, and it looks like it’ll be an angsty ride. It’s interesting to start the main couple off with one of them just starting a comphet marriage while the other realizes his feelings, but we’ll see how it goes.

Tuesday

I don’t know what’s going on with Amazon Prime, but I guess sometimes they just lie to you about what’s leaving the platform because Downton Abbey’s back after a short absence from the service. It’s all the typical soap opera shenanigans with a dash of war drama, but it’s fine as background noise. As ever I feel really bad for Edith, and as ever the sense of time is so weird in this show…one scene Ethel’s announced that she’s pregnant and the very next she’s already had the baby. I loved that little scene where Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes talk about his move to be with Lady Mary, I think Hughes is the only person who could call Mary a minx in Carson’s presence and not be reprimanded for it. Their closeness to each other is so sweet and comforting. I’m annoyed that the show tends to cheat on the difficult decisions facing the characters by having the problems resolve themselves, like “Patrick” leaving on his own or Matthew’s legs miraculously healing or Lavinia conveniently dying. I almost wish the Lord Grantham and Jane plotline had gone on for longer – I find master/maid stories to have a more interesting dynamic than lady/servant ones. And given how morally upright Lord Grantham’s been up to this point, it was fun to see him engaging in some actions that torture his conscience.

Chainsaw Man good.

Wednesday

I guess ghosts are now canon in Downton Abbey? It’s a little lame that they drudged up Lavinia’s corpse to bless Mary and Matthew’s marriage with a blank slate of morality but whatever. It’s also a little lame that they’ve written in a new thing for them to argue about all season but also whatever. Thomas and O’Brien’s hater alliance finally collapsing is funny, at least. I’ve noticed that on Downton, they tend to leave a lot of important moments implied/off-screen, like characters telling each other information or even things like Matthew and Mary actually saying “I do” to each other at the altar. It feels like some lost opportunities.

Wow they really can’t stand Edith getting even a moment of happiness, huh? Mary gets all the bells and whistles and the whole town cheering for her as she drives up to the church for her wedding, meanwhile Edith gets left at the altar… Also I’m just now remembering that Carlisle’s threat has yet to come into light…I hope it does, because otherwise that’ll be another bullet that the Crawleys dodge by deus ex machina and make all that tension surrounding Mary’s conundrum a moot point (lol I looked it up. Guess it was all for nothing). God the Swires are just tools to absolve the living of all their guilt, huh? Sure, they’ll get to hem and haw about it for a couple scenes to cause drama, but then the hand of Swire reaches down and clears them of all their hang-ups so that they can do what’s most convenient for them anyway. Meanwhile, Anna and Bates’ romance is so filled with misery after misery that I’m actually getting bored of it. Branson is also majorly getting on my nerves, and I don’t really buy his and Sybil’s relationship.

…I’ve been complaining a lot, so I will say that the Mrs. Hughes cancer scare plotline ended very cutely, with Carson being relieved about her health. Those two are really the highlight of the show for me. And I’ll also say that I’ve been enjoying Thomas’ slow redemption arc from gay villain to mischievous over-achieving failgay (girl why did you think the black market thing would work…or the dog thing…).

God it’s so ghoulish and stomach-churning to watch the doctors argue while Sybil’s pregnant when you know what’s about to happen… Oh I just thought of another thing that annoys me about this show lol but by and large it feels like people catch feelings each other for literally no reason other than the writers want them to. Whenever a new character enters the scene they always have a knowing glance at their prospective paramour so that we in the audience know that they’re going to have relations, but there’s seemingly no rhyme or reason to why the characters are attracted to each other in the first place other than physical attraction, I guess, but that’s such a shallow basis to a relationship. It really feels like the writers know they want certain characters to date but have no idea how to actually naturally lead them there, so it just jumps to them declaring their love for each other when we’ve barely seen them hold a conversation or have any sort of dynamic or romantic chemistry.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been slowly working my way through the A3! Blooming Live 2022 livestreams and having a grand old time hearing the seiyuu’s actual voices, and I’ve finally finished them today. As suspected, Tasuku Hatanaka and Shunsuke Takeuchi are the steadiest of the bunch, and their duet was so amazing… Kentarou Kumagai and Toshiyuki Toyonaga were other stand outs, and I have to commend Chiharu Sawashiro for hitting those Bb4’s in chest voice (!!!??) and Daisuke Hirose for doing all that actual dance choreo on top of singing. Junta Terashima also made me emotional with Hisoka’s solo, Shake the Shape and Road to Manjuu Master were incredibly hype, and Tooi makes me cry everytime. My only gripe was with Shintarou Asanuma…he didn’t sing half of his lines…they just played the recording while he passionately lip synced…it was especially painfully obvious in his duet with Chiharu, which just ended up sounding like a solo song… It’s just so jarring when Chiharu is literally singing his heart out while Shintarou is miming… I wonder if he had some throat issues…? But they would’ve had to prepared all this audio in advance so like?? I don’t know, maybe he had other circumstances, but this was a really disappointing showing for me. The live as a whole was fun, though, and it’s was funny to catch all the errors they made that got covered up in the Blu-ray version.

Finally, after months of stalling, I’m bringing back Movie Roulette……….but for my ever growing list of live shows instead. Today’s selection was Liyuu’s koii concert tour, and I watched the Shanghai leg because of course I did. It’s really funny to hear her talk to the audience in Chinese, as it’s a lot different from the kind of semi-prepared MC you’d get in a Japanese idol concert. She’s truly going off the cuff here, and the venue is small enough that the audience is yelling stuff at her and she can respond right back. Liyuu’s a lot more brusque in Chinese – it’s like a special side of her that only we Chinese fans get. The concert itself was cute, it introduced me to two Chinese songs of hers I hadn’t heard anything about?? And they were both bangers too… I was also impressed by her pitch control – her tone isn’t always my favourite, but at least she can usually hit the notes.

Thursday

As I’m finishing Downton season 3 this morning, I wanted to gather my thoughts before watching more. Overall, a fairly dark season, huh? I know it was the actors’ decision to leave the show, but having Sybil and Matthew die right after each other was a huge shock when I watched it for the first time, and it’s dreadful watching it happen all over again now. And then we had Bates in jail for most of the season, Anna miserable, Edith left at the altar only for them to write in yet another older gentleman who loves her but can’t be with her “for her own good”, Thomas failing every scheme he concocts and being subject to homophobia, Downton nearly going bankrupt…it seems like no one on this show can ever catch a break.

Despite all my griping about the writing on this show, I do care for a lot of the characters… Thomas and Mary have become so soft and sympathetic despite their slyness, and Edith has really endeared herself to me in how she tries to strive forward on her own path. (Strangely, I remember liking Anna and Bates on my first watch, but now their relationship bores me).

I will say though, season 4 hasn’t been impressing me thus far, as I don’t really care about any of the storylines… I don’t care about Mary tussling with her dad over how to run Downton, I don’t care about the love square between the footmen and the kitchen maids, I hate what they’ve done with Anna, Edna is annoying as hell and just another carbon copy “evil woman character” and I had to look her up on the wiki to make sure that she’ll be gone soon, I don’t care about Mary or Tom finding new romance, I Really don’t care about Rose, and I don’t really care about Edith’s romance either (the editor guy has as much personality as a paper bag)… It’d be faster to say what I am interested in, and that’s Carson/Hughes and Thomas, I guess. Hmmm okay I think I do also care about Mary and Tom’s awkward little friendship/in-law relationship, since they have some stuff in common now. And Tom’s definitely lost his edge after everything that’s happened, so he’s become more likeable in my eyes. I also like the elderly trio, as Violet and Isobel’s rivalry/begrudging friendship is always fun, and Dr. Clarkson provides some valuable wisdom to the ladies when they need to be knocked down a peg or two. Plus, after Dr. Clarkson’s weird little failed proposal to Isobel, I can’t help but read him as still interested in her, which adds some nice flavour to their interactions.

Took a break from Downton to travel to DunMesh. God it’s so good to eat food while watching this show. The episode was perfectly serviceable, but it’s a testament to Kui’s writing and considered world building that it’s still fun and engaging throughout.

Okay back to complaining about Downton. Rose is so annoying…with all the tragedies and serious problems going on in this house, her teenage fancies are so grating… I like Jack Ross, but I don’t care about their relationship, and also the actor’s American accent is so stilted that I can’t take him seriously. Great singing, though! It’s so funny that Thomas is still being vaguely threatening even though he’s just asking Baxter to keep an eye out for information. It’s not like he can do anything with most of it anyway. (God if Thomas, Violet, and Mary ever interacted…category 9 motherquake on the cunter scale).

Friday

New episode of Undead Unluck! Despite it being a pretty major turning point, the episode itself was just sort of perfunctory, with some odd janky animation here and there. I can only hope that the production team took it easy on these episodes in preparation for the big fight coming up (if I’m remembering correctly…?)

Also watched episode 15 of Kusuriya, and the first half was just fine and unnoteworthy, but once Lakan entered the scene I liked how they tried to vary up the visual style and compositions. This stretch of mysteries is just a little boring to me, though, so I’m not really looking forward to it.

Drag Race was also pretty uneventful – I never care for the improv challenges, but Plasma, Nymphia, and Sapphira’s skit was fun (actual singing and three-part harmony on Drag Race…wow). I don’t think Mirage should’ve lip synced…a really heartbreaking elimination.

Saturday

Weeks later, I’ve finally read another chapter of Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge and…it looks like my quest for an adult fiction book I enjoy is still unfruitful. The beasts themselves are decently interesting and I love cryptozoology, but I don’t like or care about the narrator and the romantic stuff they have going on, and their investigations are pretty shallow and boring. There just aren’t any real stakes for me to get invested in, and the writing feels so lethargic. I long for a book where things actually happen. (Meanwhile, every BookTuber I come across is recommending their 500th character-driven introspective study on the human condition and I’m sick of it!!! Where are the books with plots!!!!)

[wtfcraigslistnyc]

I’m back motherfuckers!! YES!!! To the roots of where this whole sorted mess began.. CRAIGSLIST… Life has handed me some of the sweetest cherries via CRAISGSLIST. I can’t ever quit you….

This first foray back to the OG art form comes to us from some DOUCHE in VIRGINA… It’s not just for LOVERS apparently. Having spent a fair amount of time in the mid-atlantic region I feel connected to this world this strange query springs from… ENJOI 12.6.23

CHRISTMAS ELF…

It’s really profound what the human mind is capable of. Curing cancer, overcoming tremendous adversity, dragging what’s left of your body after a bear mauls you… But other times the mind wanders in the cold, bleak, dark of winter. The walls close in and everyone begins to look like a bucket of KFC that complains too much. So the wheels spin and land on a very intuitive and obvious solution as you drift across the sewage treatment plant liquid surface of the modern popular cultural zeitgeist.

One can only try to imagine the wretched and pitiful mind that would solicit another human for their sick holiday fun….

WILL FARRELL!!! OF COURSE!!! ELF!!!

My cheating wife and asshole children will be so goddam stoked on this utter tidal wave of yuletide inspiration. Nothing will prepare them for the TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET-esque reveal I have on deck for them all…

The whole concept actually appeared in a fever dream as I took a stroll down memory lane to revisit my old childhood haunts of the web… EBAUM'S BABY!!! All the most vile stuff really. It brought me back to the time of dial up and TUB GIRL. Of lesser and greater evils I may or may not have been privy to.

The issue is that I know my dog is gonna rape the ELF… It’s the ELEPHANT in the room really.

BUSTER has been really not adjusting well to any of the many hurdles we’ve presented him with. First, we switched him from a VEGAN, non protein based diet. This caused our beloved pup to really take a turn for the worse almost instantly. His poor canine rectum became a fire hydrant of angry, hateful excrement. He seemed to charge at passing cars with what little life force remained, chasing his own death like a ball sadly…

Thankfully we found a DOGGIE LIFE COACH who really set us straight on the path of nothing but freshly butchered chicken and raw veg. His stools are now like baseballs, one saves in a bin and are carefully burned over the winter months to warm the family at our cabin in the stix…

The unfortunate byproduct of this new vigor BUSTER’s meat infused doggie heart is that he basically tries to penetrate ANY creature that he perceives as a possible for him to mount and dominate.

We found out the hard way… The kids had just come back from school. I was busy cutting brush out back with our gardener… Lord knows his idle hands won’t execute my desires if I’m not there to micro-manage each and every gesture of his hands.

The sound made JUAN and myself quite concerned. The state has advised me not to really provide any other details as the investigation is still pending. I think that in the end everyone will come out on the other side of this unfortunate misunderstanding far more cognisant of BUSTER’s potential for solo doggie breeding supremacy.

We take him to a place now. JUAN introduced us to the guy. He refuses to tell me his name because he says I have a big mouth and will make problems if I know it. He’s got a system where two times a week I drop off BUSTER and he lets him just pound all these dogs making more of his ilk to populate the gene pool. The guy is giving me a really good deal on this dog therapy. BUSTER is much more manageable now that his balls are drained of the hateful poison that bubbles like molten lava…

I’ve already hired a gregarious fella named AL to be the ELF. I actually held “AUDITIONS” in my minivan at the mall. AL was the only one to swallow and that goes a very long way in my book. He didn’t even complain about the ether fumes that engulfed the cabin of the van as I let my drippy rag make me forget why I had a little person blowing me at WALMART, nibbling on a churro….

AL says he has a lot of mascott experience which is going to be very important…. The guy who helps keep BUSTER chill, is on holiday for the next month and as such he left him with a rubber dog we chained up next to his kennel… The poor thing is barely intact and it’s only been a couple of days.

I see this whole holiday ELF reveal meets my psycho dog extravaganza going one of two ways… AL will be smiling counting his money driving home… AL spends the holidays chilling as BUSTER’s bitch in the kennel waiting for the “BONUS” I keep telling him is gonna be life changing and super sweet… It’s yet another YULETIDE MIRACLE.

[miranatoys]

  Toys and Games for Kids | Mirana Toys

Title: Mirana | Toys and Games for Kids.

Welcome to India’s leading online toy store. With Mirana, go beyond the regular toys and immerse in our world of Mirana Gaming App! Explore the adventure and real-world experience of Mirana Toys with its Games, Football, and more. Fuel your passion to play with App-Enabled technologically advanced smart toys and explore a new world of unmatched immersive play experience. As we come from the background of Design and Technology, our goal is to make aesthetically and ergonomically good designs with reliable and modern technology in the toy industry.

Air Football

Mirana Toys contributes indoor and outdoor gaming toys for kids. Air Football Pro floats on the cushion of air with soft foam edges giving you an amazing playful experience. Air football is a safe indoor toy having foam and LED lights that attract children which is best for small gliding spaces.

ATV-ACV

One of the most popular two Wheel Drive (2WD) App-Controlled Vehicle (ACV1) in India is made by Mirana. The Mirana App lets children experience their own world where freedom exists. This ACV1 car with a powerful engine helps the player go faster and get better performance out of the car. This App enhances your child's experience enabling them to be confident players. The 2WD ATV ACV1 is apt for children aged 5 years or above. If you want to drive such an exclusive car then buy it on https://miranatoys.com/

ATV-RCV

An outstanding product by Mirana, the 2WD ATV RCV1 comes packed with the best-in-class remote controller. It also comes with an in-built rechargeable 1200 mAH li-ion battery. You can experience the power of this ATV with its 1.5x nitrous boost. A kid’s source of happiness, this toy can also be a great stress buster after a long day at work. 

 Explorer

The Explorer is a never before mobile app-controlled Bluetooth enabled smart toy.  An in-built high power 2000 mAh battery gives you a thrilling experience to drive this smart toy with 1.5X powerful boost. This high-power 4WD is adaptive to a variety of terrain, be it dirt, sand, snow, beach, lawn or gravel. The Explorer comes with features such as C-type charging for fast charging, smart on-off switch and auto sleep mode to save battery life. The Explorer is made with durable plastic material and strong ABS plastic chassis for long life and is power packed with servo steering, responsive speed control, front and back independent shocks, RGB headlights, functional bonnet and comes in premium hi quality food grade paint finish with camouflage colors. The Explorer can be upgraded with multiple accessories thanks to the 4 independent accessory slots to attach various compatible accessories which can be operated through the Mirana app. The detachable front bumper which can be replaced by other accessories.

Mothership Air football

Presenting all new Mothership Air football by Mirana is an exciting toy for your kids to play indoor games. The way it works is that a fan creates an air cushion which lifts the ball off the ground and makes it glids. This Air football looks like spaceship with the latest super slider technology, which slides more smoothly and with less noise. This Air football offers 30 minutes of play time with USB C-type fast charging support. This Mothership Air football comes with rechargeable 2000 mAh Li-ion battery. This mothership is equipped with unique features like Auto sleep mode in 1 Minute when you stop playing and offers attractive rainbow effect of led lights having more than 20 light modes for unrestricted night-time play and added fun for your child. It helps to increase curiosity and pursue good habits of your kids. This is an apt toy for children aged 4 years and above. This toy set as your special gift for Boys & Girls in Birthday’s, Thanksgiving Day & festivals.

Warrior

Mirana Warrior is true to its heritage, combining capable features with updated design and materials to deliver a vehicle ready for the future. This remote-controlled stunt car comes in three amazing colours Coral Red, Onyx Black & Milky White. A fun stunt car which performs amazing stunts like 360-degree horizontal & 90-degree vertical spin. It not only attracts children but also keeps them engaged for a longer time. A top roller is offered for support & balance, single antenna having 50-meter Bluetooth connectivity range and eye catching 8 RGB LED lights in rear wheels. The Mirana Warrior App Controlled Stunt Car is equipped with a Micro USB rechargeable 600 mAh Li-ion battery that requires about 1 hour to fully charge and offers a play time of up to 30 minutes. A (5V-1A) DC input charging slot is provided at the bottom. Charge the toy using the Micro USB charging cable provided in the box. This toy can be a perfect gift for Boys & Girls aged 4 years and above.

Tracer

Experience high-speed racing with the all-new futuristic car that comes with an Aerodynamic body. It is available in attractive colors. The Tracer Remote Control racing car comes with a rechargeable 1200 mAh Li-ion battery. The box comes with a C-type charging cable. The Tracer has (5V-2A) DC input charging slot at the bottom. For the Tracer Remote Control, install 2 batteries of 1.5V ‘AA’ type. Tracer racing car offers 30 minutes of playtime and has a USB rechargeable battery that requires about 1 hour to fully charge. Tracer is an apt toy for children aged 4 years and above.

[i-jakeb]

Best apps to kill time on 😻

I've been seeing some posts circulating about popular websites/apps and wanted to make my own version.

These are apps I’m way too addicted to. Am I missing any?

Edit: Sorry for all the time I’ve taken away from your life

Commaful - popular fanfiction, story, and poetry community 👑

Photo Filters - makes my Insta feed look perfect

Spellbinding - super addictive bite-sized stories

Sweatcoin - get paid to walk

Terrarium 🌱 - build the ultimate garden empire

Idle Human - build a human from scratch. for reals.

Palm Reader - get your palm read!

Meditation and Sleep - helps me find happiness and calm!

Choices - get crazy in this role play choose your adventure game!

Fitnesss Coach - your indoor fitness coach, get fit!

Cat Game - cutest cat game ever 😻

Byte - watch the funniest videos on the internet

Weed Factory - grow your weed empire 👿

Idle Construction - build a city!

Tabou: juicy HS stories

Sushi Bar - run your own sushi restaurant and win big

Zooba - zoo battle royale!!!!

BIGO Live - the best live streaming app!

BitLife - a life simulator

Calm - how i deal with my mental health

My Story: go to back to HS in this choose your own adventure

Well - an awesome hypnotherapy app that makes you feel better

Idle Workout -get fit in this virtual workout game!

Draw it - how fast can you draw? So addicting!

Tennis Clash - the best multiplayer game on the app store

Hily - a privacy + safety conscious dating app!

Repair Master 3D - open up some electronics and fix em up!

Perfect Paint - how fast can you paint?

AMAZE - taking mazes to the next level!

Video Editor - an easy video editing app for your phone!

Bake It - bake some masterpiees for your customers!

Yubo - come make friends!

Cold Cases - solve some cold cases!

Go Fish - win trophies by catching hella fish

Golf Orbit - ever play golf on mars?

Basket Throw - just throw the ball into the basket. Easy right?

Gun Gang - build your gang and shoot your way through

Avakin Life - your 3D virtual world

Knock'em All - shoot balls, destroy everything!

Adventure Escape Mysteries - investigate clues and solve the crime!

Drop and Smash - smash it all!!

Bunch - really fun way to play games with friends

Crazy Shopping - spend as much as you can, as fast as you can!

Army Clash - build the biggest army and destroy them all!

Shoot out! - kill the bad guys, save the good guys 🔫

Dental Bling - pull out the rotting teeth

Fam - video parties!

Aquapark - race you down the water slide! (and push you off it!)

Jetpack Jump - fly this addicting jetpack!

Scribble Rider - Draw your wheels in this crazy adventure

2048 Balls - how far can you go in this one?

Ball Blast - upgrade those cannons and shoot some balls!

Smash Cars - race and smash some cars!

Taimi - finally a good lgbtq+ dating app

Wired For Youth - get knowledge and learn from interviews and books

Ultrahuman - a very calming meditation app for sleeping

Flex - work out with friends!!

FitnessAI - your personal home workout trainer

Unfold - make your Insta stories awesome

Flip Jump Stack - flip and stack all the way to the cheer tour!

Run Sausage Run! - Avoid the knives and save the sausage

Bee Factory - build and raise your bee empire!!!!

Draw Joust - draw your own cart and crush the other player!

Sniper - are you a good shot? prove it!!

Rolly Legs - race your robot to victory

Let's Be Cops - you're the only good cop in the city. Can you keep the peace?

Good Slice - slice that food!

Go Fish - win trophies by catching hella fish

AmpMe - amp up your phone speakers!

Betternet - a safe, fast VPN to get around bans!

Demolish! - demolish everything!

ASMR Slicing - the most satisfying slicing game

Paint The Cube - paint through a 3D cube maze

Car Restoration - let's restore some cars!

Curvy Punch 3D - swipe to punch!

Line Color - paint the road!

Flip Tumbling - just keep flipping! Parkour!

Baseball Fury - hit that home run!

Summer Buster - play these summer mini games!

Sharpshooter Blitz - your mission, storm the enemy base

Shred - your personal home workout planner

Spiral Roll - dig wood, make spirals, destroy enemies

Tower Run - grow your tower of humans

Foot Clinic - run a foot clinic to fix all types of feet!

Farmer Hero - run your own ranch! step into the farm land!

Jumpero - can you get through this obstacle course?

Sleepzy - Your sleep cycle tracker

Crash Landing - anyone can fly, but landing takes skill

Farmers.io - harvest as much as you can!

Ball Slider - slide that ball!

Blast City - Be the hero the city needs

Fast Driver - It's a race! Can you win?

Magic Woods - chop those trees!

Five Hoops - shoot hoops with millions!

Super Sniper - be the best sniper you can

Sleep - awesome bedtime stories!

Off The Rails - control the train!

Tie Die - make some awesome shirts, bikinis, and more

Woodturning - create your wood masterpiece!

Crowdmaster - blast those enemies away!

Ramp Car Jumping - do some crazy jumps with some crazy cars!

Stunt Truck Jumping - do some crazy stunts in trucks!

Doodle Run - it's a race!

Overtake - a racing game, can you overtake your foes?!

Acrylic Nails - run a virtual nail salon!

Spark - ran easy mobile camera and video editor

Braindom - figure out who's lying, cheating, and married!

Ramp Car Jumping - drive off a ski jump...in a car

Super Salon - run your own salon!

Bullet Rush - shoot everybody!

Itsme - hang out with your BFFs!!

Idle Slice and Dice - the most satisfying game for cutting all kinds of stuff!

9 Months - a pregnancy simulation!

NERF Epic Pranks - epic nerf battle!

Flipper Dunk - pinball meets basketball!

Ibotta - save money on everything you buy!

Wish - the funnest way to shop!

Wishbone - fun game for comparing stuff like hair, celebs, sports

Sticker Stack - epic stickers for you to send!

Celebs - the app that shows you what celeb you look like

Palm Reader - get your palm read!

Yarn - stories that are seriously creepy af

RemNote - the best freenotetaking site for students and professionals

WeBull - get 2 free stocks valued up to $1k!

Sweatcoin - get paid to walk

Idle Human - build a human from scratch. for reals.

Terrarium - build the ultimate garden empire

Spellbinding - super addictive bite-sized stories

You’re welcome 😉

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

BFCD Masterlist: Black Female Cartoon Characters

A

Abbiejean Archer Archer | Agura Ibaden Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 | Aisha The Winx Club  | Alex Magical Girl Friendship Squad | Allura Voltron |  Amber Bennett Invincible | Amina Ramsey Star Trek: Lower Decks | Ana Spanakopita Bojack Horseman | Andra Master of the Universe |  Andrea Star VS The Forces of Evil | Angel Dynamite Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated | April O’Neil Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |  Ashley Boulet Recess |

B

Babs Pinky Malinky | Beckett Mariner Star Trek: Lowerdecks | Bismuth Steven Universe | Bree James Fancy Nancy | Briar Beauty Ever After High | Bumblebee DC Comics |

C

Candy Dave the Barbarian | Carol Freeman Star Trek: Lower Decks | Catalina Leone (Lioness) Alpha Teens on Machines | Catty Noir Monster High | Cedar Wood Ever After High |  Claire Motorcity |  Claudeen Wolf Monster High | Claudia Grant Robotech | Cleo De Nile Monster High | Cobra Big Hero 6 Series | Connie, The Hormone Monstress Big Mouth | Connie Rock and Riot |

D

Daria Roselyn Rainbow High | Diana the Acrobat Dungeons and Dragons | Dijonay Jones The Proud Family | Doc McStuffins Doc McStuffins |

E

Elise Abadeer Adventure Time | Enid OK KO! Let’s Be Heroes |  Erica Wang Captain Underpants |  Esther Hopkins Twelve Forever |

F

Felicia Bratz |  Foxxy Love Drawn Together | Francine Frye Marvel’s Spider Man |  Frida Hilda |

G

Gaia Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Garnet Steven Universe | Gigi Thompson Inside Job |  Goo Goo Gaga Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends | Grace Monroe Infinity Train |

H

Helena Troy Spy Groove | Holly Phineas and Ferb | HoneyBee Black Dynamite Animated Series | Honeybee Shaw-Tobin The Great North |

I

Indigo Rainbow Brite |  Iridessa Disney Fairies |

J

Jackie Cyberchase | Janai The Dragon Prince |  Jane Amphibia | Janet Dragon Ball Super | Jasmine Total Drama | Jasper Steven Universe | Jenny Pizza Steven Universe |  Jessica Gordon Captain Underpants | Jessica Williams Craig of the Creek |  Jo Kid Cosmic |  Jodie Landon Daria | Jojo Williams Craig of the Creek |  Justine Dancer Ever After High |

K

Kat Elliot Wendall & Wild | Keesha Franklin The Magic Schoolbus | Kelly Star VS The Forces of Evil |  Khessa, The Sunfire Queen The Dragon Prince | Kiki Pizza Steven Universe | Kipo Oak Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts |  Koala Princess OK Let’s Be Heroes |  Koki Wild Kratts |  Krystal Bailey Rainbow High |

L

Labarbara Conrad Futurama | Lana Kane Archer |  Leshawna Total Drama |  Libby Folfax Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius | Luna The Hex Girls, Scooby Doo | Lunella Lafayette Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Luz Noceda The Owl House

M

Mae Turner Jurassic World: Camp Cretacious |  Maureen Parker The Proud Family |  Maxine Gibson Batman Beyond |  Maya Craig of the Creek | Megan Gandlym Star VS The Forces of Evil | Mel Medarda Arcane League of Legends | Mia Abara Duncanville | Miranda Killgallen As Told By Ginger | Molly Blyndeff Epithet Erased | Molly Tillerman Central Park | Mona Big Mouth |  Monie Hey Monie |  Muses Greek Mythology |

N

Nella Nella the Princess Knight | Nessa Pokemon | Netossa Shera and the Princesses of Power |  Nichole Daniels South Park | Numbah 5 Code Name Kids Next Door |

O

Obsidian Steven Universe | Olivia Pokemon | Orange Blossom Strawberry Shortcake | Ororo Munroe X-Men

P

Penny Proud The Proud Family | Piper Storm Hawks | Princess Ariel Thundarr the Barbarian

Q

Quinn Ergon Final Space | Quinta Foreman Big Mouth

R

Rae Sloane Star Wars Rebels |  Rashida Remington Big City Greens | Rhonda Vega Children of Ether | Roberta Tubbs The Cleveland Show | Ruby Steven Universe

S

S.A.M. Cannon Busters | Samantha Monster Buster Club | Sara Over the Garden Wall | Sasha Bratz | Shana Elmsford Jem | Sister Helley Wendall & Wild | Skara The Owl House | Sparkle Cadet COTC | Storm Goddess Courage the Cowardly Dog | Sunny Madison Rainbow High |  Susie Carmichael Rugrats |

T

Tam Ryvora Star Wars: Resistance |  Tamiya Diop Code Lyoko |  Taranee Cook W.I.T.C.H. |  Tiana The Princess and the Frog |  Tip Tucci Home | Trixie Carter American Dragon Jake Long | 

U

V

Valerie Brown Josie and the Pussycats | Valerie Gray Danny Phantom |

W

Wilhamena Mettle OK Let’s Be Heroes | Wolf Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts |

X

Y

Yvette Hey Monie |

Z

[stilldani24]

is that ur ex?

corpse husband x reader

words: 1015

request: “Can I request one where you run into an ex boyfriend while out to eat or something with corpse and he’s like protective and intimidating?” from anonymous

You didn’t make Corpse go out when he didn’t want to. You knew about his social anxiety well before the two of you began dating, and it didn’t bother you any. You enjoyed going out on your own, especially to the grocery store. It was a cathartic time for you, listening to the soft, generic supermarket music and the slightly squeaky wheel of your cart. It was almost soothing. 

However, you did request one night out of the year where you wanted to go out with him, and that was your anniversary. He couldn’t say no to you, even if you asked him to go out every night. You would never make him do that, though. So, your anniversary was the one night you wanted to go on a proper date. Corpse let you choose, so you chose Dave and Buster’s. You wanted to have fun that night so you wanted shitty food while playing games. It was a Monday as well so it wasn’t as busy, so hopefully he wouldn’t be too stressed.

The both of you had dressed up slightly nicer than you usually did, wanting to be a little fancier for your special day. You got there at six in the evening and just as you predicted, it was almost a ghost town. From the corner of your eye, you saw Corpse’s shoulders relax. You gave him a smile before taking his hands, following the hostess to your table and leaving a table marker on there before the two of you head out to play some games. 

“Watch this, watch, bowling champ of 2014,” you joked as you grabbed a skeeball and bowled it up the machine, gaining a smooth twenty points. Corpse barked out a laugh as he hit his hip against yours, moving you out of the way as he grabbed a ball next.

“At that rate, we’re gonna go home with a handful of Laffy Taffy,” he teased as he threw his ball next, making you bump his elbow so he would miss. 

“Hey, Y/N!” you heard a familiar voice from somewhere next to you, and your eyes widened as you locked eyes with your ex-boyfriend. You hadn’t seen him in ages, since he cheated on you and you had kicked him out of your apartment. Not to mind he had also been manipulative and mentally abusive, but you didn’t realize that until a few months after leaving his sorry ass. 

“Oh, um. Hey, Brian,” you grimaced a little as you faked a smile, wanting to put on a face just so it would make him go away. 

“What are you doing at a Dave and Buster’s on a Monday night, huh? Hot date?” he joked as he jabbed you in the side with your elbow, making you recoil at the feeling and stand closer to Corpse. Corpse immediately stood closer to you, wrapping his arm around your waist tightly and holding you close. He wasn’t one for public affection, so this was a huge jump from his comfort zone.

“Yes, actually,” he replied, looking down at your ex. While Corpse wasn’t insanely tall, standing at five foot ten, he was a hell of a lot taller than your ex. While there’s nothing wrong with shorter guys, Corpse was a huge improvement in more ways than just height. “We’re on a date for our anniversary, so if you’ll excuse us.”

Brian’s eyes were widened slightly. The combination of Corpse’s voice along with the height difference between the men, he was definitely intimidated. Corpse then led you away from the skeeball machine, having grabbed your tickets, and walked you back to your table so you could finally order dinner. 

“I’m sorry about that,” you apologized sincerely, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “We ended on bad terms and he’s been trying to hit me up for months.”

Corpse offered you a gentle smile, squeezing your hand in return and promptly planting a kiss on it. “Don’t worry, okay? You’re here with me and that’s all that matters.” 

You nodded in agreement before picking up your menu to skim through it. Throughout the night, whether at your table or playing games, you noticed Brian out of the corner of your eye. Just, staring at the two of you. It was making you uncomfortable, no matter where you were.

He approached you again when you were at the prize counter.

“Need some extra tickets? Maybe I could get you a teddy bear,” he told you, and you could hear the smirk in his voice. He had obviously been drinking. 

“Alright, cut the shit,” Corpse spoke up before you even had a chance to respond. He gently grabbed your arm and pulled you behind him, guarding you from him. “I’ve been watching you watch us all night. Get it through your tiny brain that they aren’t going to miraculously take you back, asshole. If you’re smart, you’ll tuck your tiny dick between your legs and waddle out of her with whatever pride you have left before I kick the shit out of you.”

Brian scoffed as he shoved Corpse by the shoulder. You think he tried to say “I’m not scared of you” before Corpse punched him square in the mouth, shutting him up in under one second. He hissed and shook his hand from the pain of the impact, since punching something with hard bones behind it would hurt. Brian grabbed his mouth, blood trickling between his fingers as he stared at Corpse.

“Fuck off,” Corpse told him before turning to the prize booth attendant, who was staring at him with wide eyes. “Listen, pal, we’re leaving right after I get my person a teddy bear.”

The attendant just shrugged and nodded. “Purple or orange?”

“Purple, please,” you grinned happily, staring up at your boyfriend with such adoration. Never in your life would you ever think that Corpse would punch someone. He just wasn’t that kind of person to hit first. But when it came to you? 

He would kick the shit out of everyone in that fucking building.

[teddy06writes]

A Night In Las Vegas

requested by this anon: “I had the BEST idea: CC!Quackity came up with the idea of his Las Nevadas character arc after going to Las Vegas and meeting Reader there. Maybe one night the reader decides to go and twitch and finds quackity doing a lore stream and the reader is like: no way, it’s the guy I met in Vegas.”

{I love this concept, sorry it took so long for me to get out}

Quackity x reader

trigger warnings: some swears

premise: after getting ditched by your friends on the last night of your long weekend in vegas you run into a very interesting guy who doesn’t hesitate to befriend you. But what happens months later when he still seems to be running circles in your mind?

{covid don’t exist here, no sir}

{for the sake of the story, readers favorite color is blue, if its not, either pretend it is, or get over it}

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10:34pm

“You can’t just- you can’t kick me out!” You yelled. 

Your bestfriend laughed, “Just find somewhere to go for a few hours! Me and Hunter want alone time!” 

“A few fucking hours!?! Seriously?!” But your duffle bag had already been thrown at your feet, and the hotel door room was swinging closed, muffled giggles coming from inside.

Groaning, you picked up your bag, where were you supposed to go now? 

“Not that I was like- listening in or anything- but damn that sucks.” 

You jumped turning to see a man with black hair sticking out of his beanie standing in front of the door diagonal from yours. 

“Uh- yeah. Last night in Vegas and I get ditched for a random hook up,” You scoffed, “I should’ve known it would happen.” 

“That’s not cool, uh- I’m Alex.” He stepped forward, offering his hand. 

Somewhat reluctantly, you shook his hand, “(y/n).” 

He nodded, “I was going to head out for a late night wander, find something to do-, preferably away from all the hookups that seem to be happing around us right now. If you want to come.” 

You glanced around, “Seriously?” 

“Oh- god that did sound kinda creepy didn’t it,” Alex scrubbed a hand over his face, “Sorry- I- you can just forget about this then-” 

“No! I mean- You don’t seem like a rapist or anything. I’ll come with.” 

He grinned, “Poggers, you can, leave that, in my room, if you want. Just seems like a pain to lug around everywhere.” 

You bit your lip, “Leaving my belongings in a strangers room while I go with said stranger to find something interesting to do, sure- why not?”

~~

10:57pm

Somehow, you found yourself wandering out of the hotel lobby, and onto the crowded streets along side Alex. 

“So.... whats your favorite color?” He asked as you walked.

You laughed, “What?” 

“We’re like, total strangers- it was a question, to get to know you.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. 

“Oh, well-” before you could finish your sentence, there was a large amount of gasps and yells from the crowd in front of you.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked quietly. 

You craned your neck to look over the crowd, gasping, “The water show! With the fountains outside of Caesar’s Palace!” You grabbed his hand, tugging him with you to push through the crowd, “This was the whole reason I agreed to this trip- but we never got to it!” 

You shoved your way through the crowd until you got to the front, pressing against the barrier to watch the fountain display. 

“Holy shit.” You heard him mutter from beside you. 

You grinned, “It’s impressive right?” 

“Imagine the coding it would take to get those things to stay on time.” 

~~

11:27pm 

After the show had ended, you had kept wandering for a while, up the strip, asking various questions back and forth. 

You had found out that he was a Minecraft youtuber and a law student, though you’d had to admit, you weren’t too knowledgeable on either that subject. 

Now you were both staring up at the Dave and Busters sign, “This is a good idea right?” 

He nodded, “Definitely. Come on, I’d bet I could beat you at skee ball!” 

Laughing, you followed him into the building, and up the stairs toward the arcade entrance, “Your on!” 

After buying the credit cards for access to the games, you grabbed his hand, dragging him over to the skee ball lanes. 

“Lets go!” He shouted, a few minutes later, upon realizing your score was a total of 10 points behind his, “I’m popping off!”

You laughed, “Okay, what game’s next?” 

Nearly an hour later, you had both run out of credits, and laughing, made you way up to the prize area. 

“Do you think its possible to compile our tickets?” He asked. 

“Why?” 

You followed his pointing finger to the large stuffed dragons sitting on one shelf. 

“We need him.” You said immediately.

After picking out a bright red dragon, you began to argue over the name as you made your way to the counter. 

“What about Carl?” You suggested. 

He shook his head, “I have a friend named Karl.” 

“How ‘bout........ Phil?” 

“I also know a Phil.” 

“Hmmmm, what about Sebastian?” 

“He doesn’t look like a Sebastian!” 

You frowned, “Well do you have any ideas then?” 

Alex thought for a moment, “Albert.” 

You looked down at the dragon, “Albert it is.” 

At the counter Alex convinced the reluctant worker to allow you to use both the cards credit totals, and then you went happily on your way out of the building, stopping to take a picture of Albert in front of the sign, which Alex posted to twitter with the comment of, “Look at our son!” 

You’d staid mostly out of frame, but he managed to get about half of your side, since you were the one holding Albert. 

“Do you think any pf the buffets are still open?” Alex asked. 

“I hope so, I’m starving.” You giggled. 

~~ 12:06am

The buffet was somewhat deserted, and you and Alex had grabbed seats in one of the corners after getting plates full of food.

Albert sat on the table between you as you talked. 

“So it’s roleplay- but in Minecraft?” You asked, barley holding back a laugh.

He nodded, chuckling, “It sounds stupid, I know, but it’s like- huge. Especially since technically I’m getting back into the main lore now, with the whole project: vegas thing.” 

“Project Vegas?” You asked. 

He nodded again, “My character, he’s been through almost everything that's happened, and everything always ends to blow up in his face, literally sometimes. He’s built contries from the ground up- as stupid as that sounds- but they always fail, but this one won’t fail.

“I’m partnering with another guy on the server to set up a whole economy, he’s making a bank, and I’m making- well I’m making my own Vegas.” 

You took a sip of your drink, “What’s it going to be called?” 

“I haven’t figured it out yet,” He admitted, “I wanted to just call it Las Vegas but the names already taken.”

With a chuckle you shifted in your seat, “What about....- what about Las Nevada's?” 

He laughed, “I like that.” 

“Tell me more about this server then, I still don’t understand the story.” 

With another chuckle he launched into the story, “Well, it all started when this guy called Wilbur Soot decided he wanted to start a nation....”

~~ 3:18am

“Blue.” 

You were back at the hotel now, still with Quackity, sitting out on the balcony of his room. Some how, you had ended up having some slightly deep talk about life and death and a million other things before lapsing into silence, simply watching the blinking lights of the city. 

“What?” He asked softly. 

“You asked me my favorite color, ten minutes after we met. It’s blue- that's my favorite color.” You shivered against a cold breeze. 

Alex shifted minutely closer, “Why?” 

You shrugged, “It can be so many things. Deep and dark and mysterious but also light like the summer sky and filled with hope. There’s a million shades from happiness to anger, and to everyone it could mean something else.” 

“I like that.” He said quietly. 

~~

7:04am

You yawned, rubbing sleep out of your eyes as the car drew closer to the airport.

Alex tapped on the steering wheel in time with the music, quietly humming along. 

“Oh, I see my friend, they actually waited for me.” You said as the car pulled up to the curb. 

“How considerate.” He chuckled, climbing out of the car. 

You followed suit, retrieving your duffle bag from the back seat. 

“Well, it was cool knowing you Alex.” You said. 

“Likewise.” 

Before you started to walk away you remembered, and quickly turned back to where he was standing, pulling Albert out of your bag, “Here, he’s yours. You spent more tickets on him than I did.” 

He shook his head, “Keep him. I give you full custody of our son.” 

“Oh- okay... bye then.” 

You barley made it a few steps before he was quickly catching up to you, grabbing your arm and spinning you to press his lips on yours. 

“Good luck with your shitty friends.” He breathed, before hurrying back to his car, leaving you flustered and running to catch up to your friend. 

~~

One and A Half Months later

It had been over a month since the Vegas trip, but you still hadn’t gotten Alex out of your head. 

You had clicked, on some level, and the late night conversation you had shared seemed to keep you thinking about him.

Now, you scrolled aimlessly through twitter, checking the trending tags until you came across one called “LAS NEVADAS” 

Now that piqued your interest, and clicking on it, you found posts of people live tweeting an event- no a live stream. And not just any live stream- a Minecraft stream.

Quickly you opened a new tab, pulling up twitch as fast as you could. 

What was the name of his channel? Oh god why did you forget?

Returning to twitter you searched until you found a link, following it to a new twitch tab. 

And there he was. 

The boy who had been doing laps around your mind was actually there, talking to another character. 

“Look Sam, you and me, we could control everything. I need the bank to help fund Las Nevada’s, we can be partners.” 

You sat, watching the stream, enthralled. 

Once it had ended, you still could hardly believe you found him, quickly following another link back to his twitter and opening a direct message. 

Y/n: Um, this is awkward, idk if you remeber this, but we met in vegas, about a month ago, and I had no idea how to find you until the stream today

quackityHQ: uh, hi? 

qusckityHQ: proof?

Quickly you sent him the picture you had taken of him with Albert, 

y/n: uhhh, bam, proof? 

y/n: our son is sitting on my head board right now

quackityHQ: holy shit

[mach-speed-spin]

Can we just appreciate how Beyblade aesthetics have evolved over time

Spin Dragoon was the first ever Beyblade release. Sorry for the low res but it’s from 1999. It’s very barebones. It has some detail, sure, but ultimately it can be easily described as “white cross over grey hexagon,” save for the bit-beast (this was before the manga, when Dragoon was a red fire dragon)

Wolborg, released toward the end of the Spin Gear system, is much more detailed. It had the same basic structure as Spin Dragoon (and also had a 4-sided attack ring), but is much more detailed. The blades look like wolf heads, and they have much more color

Dragoon Victory marked the debut of the Magnacore system. Detail-wise, it’s about as intricate as Wolborg. From here until HMS, beys don’t get more detailed. They just get bulkier

Dranzer Gigs Turbo from the Engine Gear system. Visually, there isn’t much difference between Magnacore and Engine Gear

Samurai Charger MS. HMS made the beys more compact. This meant less detail, but rather than being plain like Spin dragoon, they’re simply more abstract/ stylized. You can see the sword designs here, even if they’re not as detailed as Wolborg’s heads. Also, the bit beast design in the center was replaced with the bit protector, which is less an image of the bit-beast and more of a logo based on the bit-beast (like how the Chicago Bulls logo isn’t just a picture of a real bull)

Pegasus was the first bey in the Metal System (also known as Pre Hybrid Wheel). Much like HMS, the center design is very stylized (and often in a graffiti-like style). The shape of the bey also has elements of a pegasus (like the wings), but isn’t as detailed as say, Magnacore beys

Evil Befall. Hybrid Wheel beys like this keep the facebolt style from the Metal System. The fusion wheels are less detailed, but the inclusion of energy rings makes up for that. Like here, the metal doesn’t resemble a peacock in the slightest, but the plastic parts do

Jade Jupiter. 4d beys look a lot like Hybrid Wheels. The facebolts keep the same arstyle and the energy rings have most of the detail. Jade Jupiter is unique in that its fusion wheel also has detail. Not aesthetically, but the 4 metal balls represent the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter

One of, in my opinion, best looking beys of all time, is Samurai Pegasus. The Zero-G system added much more detail to the metal portions, while sacrificing detail from the plastic. The stone faces have the same art style as facebolts

Valkyrie  was the first every Burst bey. The single layers in Burst, structurally, took after the HMS system. Visually, they remind me of Zero-G minus the stone faces. All of the detail is in the energy later, but it’s still not as detailed as pre-HMS. Here for example, you can see Valkyrie’s head and helmet, even if it’s not 100% clear.

Dual layers like Storm Spriggan have more detail than sungle layers, but not by much. The difference is that while single layers had one colored plastic piece covered by a clear plastic piece, dual layers have the clear and colored plastic both make contact. Dual layers brought back “facebolts” in a sense, like how here you can see the S for Spriggan, but they’re even less detailed than in the HMS beys, as most of the detail is on the layer anyways

God layer beys like Beat Kukulcan have even more detail. Firstly, the facebolt-ish logos are replaced with God chips, which while still very simple, are more visible (like Kukulcan’s backwards K). In addition, due to no being constrained by only being allowed 2 plastic layers, there is much more detail

Cho-Z beys like Buster Xcalibur did away with the God chips, which allowed more detail towards the center. They do have a level chip slot, but those are small and not very visible, so don’t make much difference visually. The only other rule of Cho-Z beys is that they must incorporate metal on the energy layer, which is fairly easy to do

GT beys like Union Achilles are in some ways more restricted than Cho-Z beys. First, they have layer weights, and second, they use GT chips. GT chips, while smaller than a full layer, allow for more customization, both performance wise and visually. If I wanted to put the Achilles chip on the Judgement base I could. The layer weights take up the center where a God chip would be, but visually, layer weights are less pretty than God chips

Sparking beys like Tempest Dragon have Sparking chips, much like GT beys had GT chips. The difference is that the layer weight is replaced by a chassis, which is less visible from above (mainly because chassis go below the ring). The chip cores take up the space that weights used to, but chip cores actually have color

DB beys like Guilty Longinus have a a core, blade, and armor. Assuming the bey is in low mode (like in the image), the armor is barely visible. The core itself looks like a combination of a GT chip and layer weight, but painted (which is my main complaint about layer weights). DB is, visually, an improvement on the basic layout of GT

[softowlhours]

by the lakeside

bokuto koutarou(horror!AU)

it should’ve been the perfect summer getaway. you were both in need of some down time away from your busy careers. but things get a little eerie when there’s a voice in your head that isn’t yours and you find out that you’re not alone in that pristine white house on the hill.

genre: horror, angst, fluff if you squint

tw: descriptions of drowning, asphyxiation, strangulation. suggestive sexual situations.

a/n: i promise i’ll proofread this later and also write an epilogue but until then please enjoy this story it took me way longer than necessary to write. i’ve read it so many times that i don’t find it scary anymore. but i hope you do! :)

word count: 6k

my body feels like an empty shell sometimes, a carcass I am dragging around. when I look into the mirror I don’t recognise myself. i don’t recognise him, either.

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

bokuto’s hair gleams silver in the glorious morning light. wind blows through your own strands as you zip past the lush green meadows. you could see the sheep dotted on the grassy planes like puffs of pure white clouds. far away, there stood giant mountains. their high peaks looked like they were breaching the baby blue ceiling of the sky. you only notice your gorgeous surroundings with half a mind, because your eyes keep trailing back to the man besides you. you admire his profile, the sharp slope of his nose, the chiselled cheek bones and jaw line. you zero in on the plush of his lips and it is then that you notice his teasing grin.

‘admiring the view?’ he asks.

‘mhmm. a sight for my sore eyes.’ and he truly is. your gaze drops a little lower. his toned chest peeks from where the buttons of his shirt have come undone. his biceps flex and strain against the fabric as he manoeuvres the steering wheel. he looks like a movie star, straight out of the golden age of film. the red vintage convertible he drives only adds on to your day dream. you can’t help but feel like a heroine starring in your own block buster romance. heat rises to the tip of his ears and the back of his neck at your shameless appraisal. bokuto notices the way lust is barely concealed on your face. he fucking loved the way you looked at him, like he was the guiding star you were always attuned to. the one for whom you’d always search for in an endless night sky.

‘your eyes are sore from staring at your computer screen all day everyday.’ he  ignores your attempts at flirting,  and instead addresses what has been eating away at his mind lately. he’s been worried about you. you often called him out for pushing himself to the point of breaking when it came to volleyball. but, you never noticed how you were inclined to do the same when it came to you own work; buried under papers and ink, day after day as your work ethic kept you confined to your study room. you being a best selling author, him a pro volleyball player; you truly were the power couple worthy of everyone’s envy and admiration, but your lives could get stressful at times.

‘kou, I’m sorry ‘m dragging you away from your routine. the game season starts in two months. you should be hitting some balls right now.’ you withdraw your hand, and he instantly misses your touch. you appear a little crestfallen as you opt to idly fiddle with the lace bordering your sundress.

‘hey,’ his voice is silky, tone slightly chastising. ‘don’t apologise. this was my idea anyways. we need some time away. from everything.’

‘you know that,’ he continues, ‘i’ll never be too busy for you, right? it makes me feel lonely when you just withdraw from me... shut me out.’ his face eyebrows furrow a little. ‘for you I’ll always carve out  time.’

bokuto had a way with words that always left you stupefied. they weren’t embellished and gaudy, like yours. all you ever did was spin fairy tales. Yes they were beautiful, but they were also false. unlike you, he always spoke from his heart, and you wonder if that was why his sentiments without fail reached others.

‘oi- don’t fall asleep.’

‘i’m not sleeping!’ you snap out of your reverie. ‘i’m sorry i… never realised you’d feel that way’ puffing out a sigh, you lean back lazily on the leather seat. ‘i haven’t been feeling much inspiration lately, and when i do write i just hate every word of it.’ 

‘maybe I should retire,’ you muse. ‘never write a word again. let people remember me as the genius author I’m not.’

‘but you are a genius writer!’ bokuto insists. ‘give it a fifty years and they’ll be teaching your work as a part of the curriculum. i’ve never read anything better!’

‘that’s because you rarely read!’

‘i am a picky reader,’ bokuto shrugs, cocking an eyebrow as he looks at you haughtily. ‘so congratulations that your writing actually piqued my interest.’

snorting, you pinch his thigh.

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

it’s almost evening by the time you drive past a small sleepy town. the few houses have their curtains drawn. there’s a small supermarket and a polyclinic but you notice how the streets are mainly empty, save for a couple of children who play seven tiles on the roadside. fifteen minutes and more grassy meadows and sheep later, you arrive at what looks like the edge of the world. surely you’re being a little dramatic calling it that, but the road winds up the gentle slope of a hill and on top of it sits a pristine white house. bokuto pulls up the car in front of massive wrought iron gates, a chain holds it shut.

‘okay, but when nori said ‘vacation home’, this is not what I had in mind. Is he actually the heir to a conglomerate or something?’ you observe, definitely appalled.

‘uh- knowing his stingy ass, i’m not sure?’ bokuto sounds and looks puzzled as well, so you know he wasn’t expecting it either. he reconfirms the address konoha had messaged him. ‘do we climb the gates? because he never gave me a key or anything. he said the place has a caretaker who’d-’

‘how can I help?’

your heart leaps to your throat, and both you and bokuto snap your heads to your left to look at a man who stands on bokuto’s side of the car. neither of you had seen him approaching and it  was as if he were a magician, materialising out of thin air. old, sinewy and dressed sharply in a suit, he’s hunching to be at your eye levels. upon closer look the fabric of his clothes looked worn out and they fray at the edges. his hair is slicked back and he wears gold rimmed spectacles, its lenses the shape of half moons. his smile is serene, demeanour dignified but there’s shrewdness in his tone.

‘um- hi.’ bokuto greets recovering first. ‘i am konoha’s friend. i assume you’ve been expecting us?’

a beat passes.

‘indeed. allow me to show you around.’

bokuto parks the car under a shed close to the gates and you walk down the stretch of the garden. it is immaculately kept, and roses of all colours bloom neatly in rows. a giant sycamore tree stands close to the house, its branches brushing the roof. when you stand on the porch of the house the gate seems miles away. bokuto wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close to his side. he sneaks a soft kiss under your left ear as the caretaker opens up the door for you.

the inside of the house is splendidly furnished and it leaves you awestruck. simple but gorgeous, a modern castle of sorts. a cream colored leather sofa sits in the centre of the living room, the rug in front of it is white and fluffy. There is a box television- the kinds popular decades ago, and you wonder if it actually works or if it’s just for show. the chandelier above is a million crystals and an open kitchen makes up the far end of the living room. a stair case winds its way up. but, what truly catches your eye are the massive french doors which open up to the stretch of a green lawn. calling it a backyard would be a bit inadequate; for the trimmed grass meets the surface of a great lake, its water like molten lava reflecting the evening sky. you can see the outline of ducks waddling away, probably on their way home. the lake stretches out for almost a mile and after that you see nothing but the thicket of the woods. it is almost the end of july, so while the days are warm, the temperatures tend to dip quite a bit at night. you shiver a little and snuggle closer into bokuto’s side. the caretaker, in his monotonous voice,  explains to you how your room shall be upstairs,  the one to the right. there were four other rooms which were mostly empty and locked for the sake of easy maintenance. you tune him out when he moves on to the instructions regarding the heating and locking systems.

you’re entranced by the house, and standing there in its magnanimity you feel like you’ve been drawn into a picture book. you can imagine breakfasts every morning on the front porch. afternoons spent lolling on the grass besides the lake. you would keep a vase filled with freshly cut roses from the garden, in the centre of the kitchen table. spend the nights sitting in front of the fire place when winter laid its thick blanket of white snow outside. your high flying careers felt like a distant dream. your laptop back home could collect all the dust it wanted to. you could just stay here forever wrapped up in each others arms.

i’m lonely. i hate how you’re always away from home because of volleyball.

bokuto notices your distant look , the slightest way your lips are set in a grimace. it tugs on his heartstrings. makes it difficult for him to breathe.

bringing his mouth close to your ear, he whispers your name bringing you out of your head. you blink, biting back the ugly realisation that had just intruded your brain. you had never felt that way before, you had forced yourself not to. it was long ago when you had decided that you’d never make him choose between you and volleyball. or maybe that loneliness was something you’d always felt. but because you were afraid of it; you had hidden it under your skin, in between your bones.

if i could, i’d steal you away and keep you all to myself. in a cage just for me and you.

too afraid that he’ll somehow read your mind, you step away from him, disoriented by the venomous voice of your subconscious as you look around for the old man.

‘he left while you were zoning out, princess. said he’s going home.’ he pulls your back against his chest, long fingers begin snaking up a well known trail up your thighs. your cute little sundress does little to stop him. ‘he’ll be back by noon tomorrow, to tend to the garden and all that.’ bokuto speaks in between the kisses he’s placing along the side of your neck. ‘apparently, he lives in that town we drove by earlier.’

‘mhmm.’

‘want to live in a house like this someday.’ he asks you, his voice hushed.  you rest your head back on his chest, as love and lust pools in your stomach and clouds your thoughts.

i’m scared someday you’ll leave me behind.

“me. you. maybe a dog. maybe… children?” he continues and your eyes widen at that.

‘you want all that?’

‘with you? yes I want everything. i’ll take everything that you can give me.’

liar.

you turn around and pull bokuto into a heated kiss. his chapped lips meld into yours and your teeth clack a little from the suddenness of your movement. by now it is completely dark outside and the living room is dimly lit by a lamp. bokuto seems unaware, too lost in you to be notice space and time. but, a weird sensation surrounds you. you feel the whisper of a cool breeze, a murmur disturbing the stillness of the house. with one hand, bokuto cups your behind. the fingers of his other rake through your hair. it’s a buzz now, like a thousand bees hovering over your heads. you feel dazed, you’re needy, you’re confused.

there’s someone else here. the two of you are not alone.

‘ow,’ you yelp in pain.

bokuto jumps away from you, but his hands are badly tangled in your hair.

‘I told you to tie your hair in the car!’ he is laughing. ‘it’s a nest in here!’

the buzzing dies down. the silence that follows is deafening. you wonder if you’re delusional with the lack of sleep.

as bokuto carefully weaves his fingers out he places a chaste kiss on the little crease in between your eyebrows. he finds you so cute, it physically hurts him.  

‘don’t worry, babygirl,’ his voice drops a few octaves. ‘windswept looks sexy on you.’

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

later that night as you are lie under the drapes and canopies, you notice how the bedroom is much like the rest of the house- fit for royalty. bokuto snores softly, but you lie awake with your head on his chest. his heartbeat is a mind-numbing rhythm. a thin sheet of sweat covers your bodies and you try to ignore the wetness in between your legs. you should probably change the sheets as well, but your body refuses to move and you don’t know where to find any new ones. sleep evades you so you let Bokuto’s question roll around in your mind. a forever with him. of course you would say yes. there was nothing more that you wanted than that. but the dread from earlier which you had managed to keep at bay with lust, slowly begins to resettle in the pit of your stomach.

he promises you an eternity now, but he’ll leave you behind soon.

you somehow clamber out of bed, making sure not to awaken bokuto. picking up his shirt from where it lies on floor, you put it on. the bedroom has identical doors from the living room, made of glass, and they open onto a small balcony. you draw open the lacey curtains and step out into the chilly night air. the sight that awaits you makes you gasp.  a fine mist rolls over the water, but the lake itself is still.  its surface is like taut cellophane. beyond the lake where the woods begin, it is pitch black darkness and you cannot tell where the woods meet the moonless sky. it’s a new moon night, but where you expect to see the stars is an empty hollowness. its eerily silent. too silent. no insects trill. no wind blows. you stare intently into the water for so long that you swear you see something lurking just underneath its surface.  the mist that hovers slowly inches towards the house, coiling like endless bony fingers.

that pool of velvety darkness, i wonder what it’d feel like against my skin.

come to me then. feel it for yourself. your voice, no, her voice purrs.

you whirl around to see bokuto. he’s standing a feet away from you, rubbing sleep from his eyes. 

‘whoah! easy,’ bokuto exclaims, surprised by your jumpiness. no way it had been him who had spoken moments ago. ‘what are you doing outside?’ he asks. ‘i nearly got a heart attack when I saw someone standing out here.’ 

you look back towards the lake, and you’re utterly confused. the mist seems to have instantly vanished. you can even hear the water now, softly undulating. it appears akin to a creased sheet of silk.

had you been hallucinating? dreaming with your eyes open?

you fight down the growing panic and instead walk over to him, squishing his cheeks. you softly kiss his pout. ‘aww. baby’s scared?’ you coo.

he grumbles something about you catching a cold but tugs you inside and you decide to let it all go. you’re tired and tomorrow will be a new day.

had you turned around, you’d notice how the stars were glittering like cold hard gems in the night sky.

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

you were pleasantly lazing about in the sun. the lake was a glittering blue and the woods looked benign during the day. they weren’t as dense as they appeared to be in the absence of light. from where you lay, the house looks like an entity of its own. imposing and regal. bokuto is dressed casually in a t-shirt and sweatpants as he plays around witha volleyball, tossing and spiking it all by his lonely self. you didn’t remember seeing him pack a volleyball, but then again somehow he always seemed to miraculously have a one at his disposal. today,  he hasn’t gelled his hair up in its usual style, so it flops onto his  forehead in a way you wished he’d leave it more often.

‘y/n! nice receive!’ he hollers at you.

he spikes the ball aiming straight for your stomach and you somehow manage to block his assault. thank god he hadn’t used a quarter of the strength he usually puts into his spikes.

your strong and annoying man.

‘you trying to murder me or what?’

he pulls you up to your feet. ‘i’ll be teaching you how to spike, drama queen. it’s insane how you’ve been with me for all these years and haven’t learnt a thing or two about volleyball. people would die for a one on one training session with me.’ he brags as he fetches the ball from where it had rolled off to.

you try to copy his motions, but what he can effortlessly pull off is an impossible feat for you. you send the ball upwards and jump as you try to match your timing to spike it. but before you can hit the ball it lands on your head.

bokuto is losing his shit, doubling over with laughter. and you try to look angry but end up giggling with him.

‘i give up!’ you complain. plus my boobs jiggle since i’m not wearing a sports bra,’ 

‘babe, thats kinda the point!’ he beams.

a perfect spike lands on his face.

‘owww, that’s foul play, y/n! ’ he yells. rubbing his nose, he walks over to you.

‘you should be punished!’ he scolds you, but places a kiss on your temple. his hands wander downwards to unzip your dress. he lets it fall to the ground. you know where this is headed. you think he’s going to kiss you so you close your eyes and lean towards him but before you can react, he’s bending down and suddenly you’re being lifted. he has you over his shoulders and your peals of laughter warm his heart. he hadn’t heard that sound in a while.

bokuto marches straight into the lake and dumps you in. the water is cool and refreshing, just as you had imagined it. it’s shallow enough so you’re chest deep in the water when your feet are planted at the bottom. his body glistens with dampness, hair a floppy wet mess. he was so beautiful, that even though it was irrational you felt a little bit shy. you’re splashing each other with water, the atmosphere’s light and bubbly with amusement. bokuto tries to catch you but you slip out of his reach. he is being his loud and  dramatic self as he falls face down into the water, complaining as he comes up with his eyes screwed shut. 

‘i swear i’d rather be blinded by your beauty than this water.’

you shake you head, feigning disdain and then you’re swimming away from him, towards the safety of the house. it must almost be noon, and you vaguely remember its time for the care taker to come around. you did not want to be seen in your wet underwear. bokuto calls out to you, apologising. there is water in your ears, it laps all around you as you swim. it dulls all sound and every other sense until the only thing you hear is your thumping heart. when you come up for air, you can see the blue sky, when your face is in the water you can see the stones and pebbles littering the bottom.

but, when you come up for air again, the sky is overcast. laden with dense gray clouds.

the water runs icy, lead flows through your veins. your body is sinking like a ship. it feels like you’re trying to move through viscous jelly. when you try to pull up for air you cannot break through, the surface traps you like its the cellophane you remember seeing the night before. a tight grip on your waist, abruptly pulls you under. your flailing hands try to grasp at nothing in particular. you wonder if its bokuto just messing around, but you know it isn’t. you don’t feel his presence anywhere. your fingers suddenly entangle into something. your eyes burn when you try to open them and look. jet black strands of hair, a bone white face, a mouth that is open like a gaping wound. you scream and nothing but gurgles and air bubbles escape you. you try to pull back but your hands are stuck in the weedlike hair. Funny you think of the evening before, when bokuto’s fingers had entangled in your messy hair the same way.

‘kou…koutaro!’ you try calling for him. you hear your disembodied voice, feel the water flood your mouth, your nose. but you feel all alone with that woman straight out of nightmares. fear has you in its grip, your minds a mush.

you hate him so damn much. you hate him, you hate him, you HATE him.  a voice repeats the same words in your head. you wonder if it sounds like your own or someone else’s. you cannot tell the two apart.

you feel a hand wrap around your arm, its large and warm and it feels like home. as it drags you out of the water the ashen face seems to quiver and distort. her eyes flicker open. they roll in their sockets but when they fixate on you, you see eyes just like your own. but they are transparent like marbles; burning with betrayal and accusation.

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

you wake up with a start to screams piercing the air. they are shrill and blood curdling. your hands are on your ears as you try to block out the sound but it only gets louder. it takes you a moment to realise that the screaming had been you. bokuto holds you in his arms, you can feel him shaking underneath your palms that grapple at his back.

he’s crying.

no! why is your bokuto crying? you pull away a little just enough to look at him, but the way his features are twisted in melancholy punctures a hole through your heart.

‘y/n, babe… babe,’ his lips quiver stealing away speech but he forces himself to speak. ‘ i looked everywhere in the water but I couldn’t find you. you were swimming and then you just stopped. i thought you were fooling around but you were down there for too long. so i come over but... I couldn’t see you anywhere at first. i panicked! holy shit... i was panicking.’ he shifts away from you, an arms length away. leaning back on the sofa, he stares up at the ceiling. ‘You weren’t even struggling, just stopped moving. Do you remember what happened?’ bokuto drags a hand down his face. he’s visibly distressed.

‘i don’t know what happened,’ you croack. ‘it felt like I was stuck. my feet wouldn’t come lose. as if someone was there with me in the water, holding me down…’ a sob escapes you.

bokuto pales a little at your description. but there had been no one but the two of you in the water. hell he hadn’t even seen any fishes.

he had pulled you under in the first place hadn’t he. there’s no one here but the two of you.

you remember not being alone in the water. you remember the heaviness. but nothing else.

bokuto opens his mouth to say something, but you cannot concentrate. the urge is too strong. before you can think, before you can answer. you are bending over and puking your guts out.

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

you spend the rest of the day, clinging to bokuto. and he doesn’t mind. he seems to be craving that constant feeling of your skin on his. something to remind him that you were okay, that you were here now. he makes his way around the kitchen with you stuck to him like a little koala.

“sit down on that chair just for a minute, y/n. i can’t find the plates!” he tries to loosen your chokehold on him but you only tighten it and bokuto booms out a laugh.

‘i swear you’re lucky you’re cute.”  

‘just consider this weight training.’

bokuto had put together a light meal. you reckoned you’d be unable to stomach anything too heavy.

‘we were supposed to be having fun. i feel like i’ve ruined everything.’ you mumble gloomily. you’re sitting on the chairs you pulled up around the kitchen island. a make shift dining table.

‘it’s okay. its enough to just be together.’

‘oh no been away from you for a five whole minutes.’ your expression is of mock worry as you rush over onto his lap. you immediately bury your head in the crook of his neck, his familiar scent calms you down. he chuckles at your antics.

‘do you think we can just go home?’ you ask apprehensively, still feeling bad about having spoilt your perfect little getaway.  ‘i don’t feel like staying here anymore.’

‘sure, baby girl .’ bokuto replies in a heartbeat, and you wonder if he feels the same unease in remaining here any longer.

‘we can leave tomorrow morning.’ he suggests. ‘it might be a bit too late to leave now. plus, caretaker-san didn’t even show up today.’

‘is it okay to just leave?,’ you ask.

from where bokuto sits on the dining table in the kitchen, he can see the doors in the living room that open up to the porch. it’s around three in the afternoon. the weather was beginning to turn awfully gloomy.

clouds slowly fill the sky eclisping the sun that had shined all day. it leaves everything in shades of gray.

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

you wake up alone in bed. the remnants of an eerie dream still lingers in your mind. you had been combing your hair, which was unusually thick, dark and long. you kept brushing the silky smooth strands, on and on and on, until they started coming loose in your hands. shuddering as you recall it, you turn around to see the wall clock read nine p.m. where was kou? at some point you had fallen asleep although you did not remember coming upstairs to the bedroom. he must’ve carried you from where you and him had been lying on the sofa downstairs, idly chatting.

your body is still heavy with exhaustion but you force yourself to sit up. hearing the water running in the bathroom, you call out to bokuto. ‘kou?’  you pad your way over to the bathroom. when you open the door there is no one inside. water drips from from a leaky tap into an empty bath tub. strange. where had the sound been coming from then?

you find yourself mesmerised by your reflection in the mirror right across from you. when you step inside the bathroom, the tiles are dry and frigid underneath your feet. the lights are off, however, the bathroom is faintly lit up by the light filtering in from the frosted windows. the bags under your eyes are dark and puffy, your lips look ashen. you look like you had lost a tonne of weight over the span of the past few hours. tracing a finger along the outline of your reflection, you notice how your eyes were a forlorn abyss. hollow like the dead.

mine. stay with me. don’t leave me alone. a voice whispers to you and you listen, enchanted.

you see the corners of your lips quirk up in your reflection. your expression twists into that of deranged happiness.

so, you’ll stay?

you don’t feel the smile on your face.

you’re backing away slowly. a scream dies in your throat.

that isn’t you. it’s her.

you’re running full speed out of the bathroom and you make it just in time as the door slams shuts behind you. the edge of your thin white slip gets caught in between but you yank it loose with enough force. bursting out of the room like a bat out of hell you’re hurtling downstairs. you have to look for bokuto. you must leave. now!

you’re me, i am you. he doesn’t love you, so just stay with me. I’m lonely.

you try to call out to bokuto but you cannot find your voice.

and then you see him. sitting on the sofa. the relief you feel is momentary. the old television is on, and the screen is grainy with static but bokuto’s eyes are intent on it. he’s still as if he were carved out of stone. he doesn’t acknowledge your presence just keeps staring ahead with an owlish gaze. you place a shaky hand on his shoulder and he finally turns to look at you.

his eyes that usually are like pools of golden honey are dark and murky like cheap kerosene. his features are sharper, more cunning. a devil in your lover’s skin. the mist outside thickens, appearing as if they were pale white walls surrounding the house.

i told you to just stay with me. you should’ve stayed with me in that cool dark water.

he doesn’t love you, i do.

suddenly bokuto is stalking towards you, his movements hypnotic like that of a panther, sinuously fluid, predatory. a feral look glints in those foreign eyes. he slams you against the nearest wall, his hands tightening over your neck. your head meets the hard surface with a thud. those large arms that have always felt like home suddenly feel empty and cold like a prison cell.

you’re just a prisoner in his cage. he doesn’t love you like I will.

black spots fill your vision, as your air supply is slowly being cut off. ‘kou- please don’t.’ you whimper. a flicker of recognition flashes through those eyes, but the grip around your neck only tightens. ‘kou-’ you call again softly. tears fall freely down your face. your hands go limp by your sides and in the process you knock over a vase that had been on table besides you. it falls to the marble floor with an obnoxious crash. the ceramic splinters into a hundred pieces. bokuto’s eyes widen and the darkness from his face lifts. it is as if a thick patch of clouds obscuring the moon had drifted past, letting its pure light fall to the earth once again. he’s your bokuto once again.

horror struck he lets go of your neck and catches a glimpse of the angry red fingerprints left behind like a morbid necklace. you collapse to the ground.

a door bangs shut somewhere in the house, startling you both. bokuto is about to crouch down next to you when suddenly the volume of the television is cranked up. the harsh static sound grates your ears, like a drawn out growl. there’s thumping coming from behind every surface of the house- the walls, the floors, the ceilings. every door, every window  swings open only to shut back with a bang, over and over until shards of broken glass lie like a carpet all over the floor. the house is alive with the breath of countless souls that live in its every crack and crevice. you both look on with horror as heavy mist begins to pour into the house. bokuto’s teeth chatter with fear, and he tries to get you to stand. he follows your gaze which is fixed to where your bedroom had been. and he sees it then. on the door which opens into the room, there’s a shadow of a woman. he can discern the long straight hair which she combs on and on and on.

‘f-fuck!’ he spits.

he harshly pulls you over his shoulders but transfixed you crane up your neck to continue looking at the shadow. hastily he manages to grab the keys which he had hung on a hook by the main door.  the shadow grows darker, more defined as if  whoever it belonged to was coming closer. he feels you struggling and you scream to be let down.the main door to the house is already open so with one last glance at the chaos behind, you are both bolting out of the house.

‘y/n, run! to the car. hurry, hurry, hurry!’ he shuts the door, hoping it would buy you some time. he’s not really sure what he’d just seen or what any of it meant. but thinking would come later. he grabs your hand as you start the mad dash across the front garden. you notice despite your compromised vision due to the mist, how the roses look wilted. the grounds gooey and wet underneath, and your feet sink into the soft mud making movement sluggish. but you don’t stop. moments later, the door behind you flings open with enough force that it comes loose from its hinges. the whole house seems to be angry.

come back here.

don’t leave me alone.

an overgrown root coils around your calf and yanks you back. your hand slips out of bokuto’s and he turns around, horrified, to see you being dragged into the ground. like you were falling into quicksand.

‘hold on to my arm,’ bokuto bellows, ‘and just don’t. let. go!’

the circulation in your leg is being cut off and you cry in pain. you can feel the disgusting way the soft earth keeps parting further to let you in. you want to let go, give in to the struggle. maybe it’d be better to just lie buried here, decomposing till you forget whats fear, whats pain.

your name is rolling off bokuto’s tongue like a chant. his muscles burn with strain. the sweat and slick makes his grip on you weak and he notices how you’re  letting go. he reads the resignations on your face. but why are you letting go? why are you trying to leaving him alone?

bokuto loses his footing and falls backwards and almost loses you, but he manages to interlock your fingers. he’s grunting with effort, and roars with frustration when it doesn’t seem to be working. it is then when you see the blood covering his feet, the glass splinters buried deep into his soles. in your haste to get away you never noticed how he had walked all over the shards with you over his shoulder. the ache in your heart swells. you know he’d never leave you behind. it was the two of you, or none of you who’d make it alive out of here.

the thought of bokuto buried deep into the ground, lips blue and crusted with mud gives you a renewed conviction. with the last spurts of energy you hold tight onto bokuto’s arm with one hand. the other digs into where you find soft but solid ground. you attempt to claw your way out and fight the drag of the noose around you ankle that tries to pull you in the opposite direction. away from bokuto. bokuto is inching backwards, his voice hoarse with all that screaming as he does his utmost to haul you out. 

rain begins to pour in heavy cascades even though there hadn’t been a single cloud in the obsidian sky. and suddenly you feel earth’s hold on you go slack. bokuto and your efforts come to fruition as your foot comes loose and you tumble straight on top of bokuto’s body. but its too early to celebrate. a loud thunderclap spurs you both into action and you run and run, fighting the burn in your lungs until you reach the car. bokuto, is grateful, infinitely grateful that the keys had remained in his pockets during that struggle. he hands you the keys and with no time to waste you’re  running to the car, afraid that something inauspicious might happen again if you didn’t hurry. bokuto notices with relief that the iron gates are not chained shut like they had been upon your arrival, and with some effort he swings them open.  bokuto clambers into the passenger seat and you floor the gas as you drive straight out of the gates, into a calm quiet night. 

it takes you a moment to notice that the rain had stopped. 

∷  ∷ ∷  ∷ 

the two of you are covered in dirt, in blood. absolutely shattered with exhaustion. bokuto finally feels the pain that had been dampened by adreneline. it now ignites like an inferno. he almost tears his lip trying to bite back a whimper. in the rear view mirror, you catch a glimpse of the house. it looks regal and imposing, as it had when you’d first arrived. you can see the dimly lit bedroom, the curtains billowing gently in a slight breeze. the glass on the doors is intact. the garden is immaculate once again and you can see patches of soft grass spread out where the mud had almost eaten you up alive just a few moments ago. a shaky laugh escapes Bokuto, and before you know it, feeling delirious, you’re laughing with him. 

bokuto’s phone rings and the sound cuts short your hysteria. with some effort he retrieves it from the dashboard where he’d left it two days ago. he had planned on not letting anything distract him from you on this short getaway. he puts it on loudspeaker.

‘they picked up!’ you hear Konoha say to someone and the collective sighs of relief are audible.

‘dude, where have you both been? we’ve been calling you all day. ms. nakamura told me that you never made it to my vacation home?’

‘ms. nakamura?’ bokuto rasps.

‘yeah, the caretaker I told you about?’

‘the caretaker was a man!’ you snatch the phone with from bokuto with one hand while other remains on the steering wheel. you’re yelling at the receiver like a mad woman. ‘we came to your villa, but that man opened the gates. listen, there’s something wrong with the house and lake behind it is-’

‘what lake? there are only corn fields behind my house. which is, by the way, a traditional japanese one. where the fuck have you both been?!’

you and bokuto look at each other in confusion, and you hit the brakes. you glance back at the house which is now far, far away. if you squint your eyes you can see the outline of a man at the gates. the lamp in his hand glows golden like a distant star.

a woman’s shadow is dark and lonely against the delicate lace of the bedroom’s curtains.