#bro has a siren in his head for video game go time

[weebsinstash]

Really like the idea of a yandere Vox who is so ride or die for his overconsumerist capitalist Musk-esque lifestyle UNTIL he sees it negatively affecting his darling and does a complete 180

like take that poly red string soulmate Vox x Reader x Alastor concept and, you've got Alastor KINDA warming up to technology and willing to watch TV and do other things with you but he's still not a fan of you being on your phone constantly and some of the video games and movies you consume. He's on the couch reading a paper and (affectionately) rolling his eyes as you and Vox take turns headshotting each other in a video game and hollering "hell yeah, suck my fucking dick!!"

Meanwhile Vox is just 200% chronically online and loving it until one day he asks you why you wear baggy clothes all the time and you're ever so casually replying "because my body is fucking icky, duh" and Vox has absolutely no idea what you're talking about until you break down on a tangent about it

I was watching a clip the other day where someone was pointing out that Marilyn Monroe was considered the 50s icon of beauty and there are plenty of photos with her with thick thighs or a visible belly pooch and, imagine Vox sitting there, the disbelieving 'are you joking?' smile falling off of his face as you just, go OFF, "why would I wear anything other than sweatpants? I have fucking CELLULITE VOX, I'll NEVER have leggings legs no matter how thin I am, and look at my hip dips, they're so fucking GROSS, and my butt isn't shaped right, I have banana rolls, and, do I have siren eyes or doe eyes?! Am I bunny cute or am I frog cute?! And look at how bad my facial balancing is! Ugh, where's my gua sha?! I'm so tired of being UGLY!!"

Later that week Alastor is looking up from his paper to see Vox just, slowly entering the room, sloooooowly shutting the door behind him, looking to his old friend, "so hey! Funny idea, stop me if you've heard this one before but, I was thinking we could uh, maybe take their phone away annnnnnnnnnd... not give it back?" and here's Alastor, "oh, funny story! So earlier today they asked me if I 'wouldn't like them anymore' if they got COSMETIC SURGERY, yeah, ON THEIR FACE BELIEVE IT OR NOT, so, naturally, I'm already one step ahead of you :)" as he just casually gestures to the smashed wifi router in the garbage can in the corner of the room

You just get home from work one day and Vox has his CRT head back on and you're told 'if you want to look something up online, you can use the desktop in the computer room, and only 3 hours of screen time' and it all but blasts you 15 years into the past 💀 no more nights where you're gaming for 5+ hours straight and ruining your sleep. No more skipping meals because you're hyperfocused and binge-watching an anime while also playing an idle game on your phone. No more Alastor and Vox finding out you're just smoking bowls for hours literally nonstop because you need some sort of extra stimulation while you doomscroll and watch 3 hour long roast reviews for shows you've never watched

Alastor catches you swiping through an app and you get a divisive video thrown in your face from some alpha dude bro podcast, "yeah, a real man knows how to protect his lady! She should be at home cooking and keeping the house clean, not running around like a tramp and doing dumb chick stuff! All women need to focus on is marriage and being good wives, you know, a TRADITIONAL relationship!" and Alastor is just, swiping that shit out of your hand, "he DOES have a bit of a point, repulsive as he is! I suppose I'll have to start looking at potential dwellings that can fit you, me, and, I SUPPOSE Vox too 🙄" and little do you know he's already got a cute little home in the 'burbs set up already. He's just... you know! Waiting for the right moment to let you and the annoying TV bastard know that you'll be moving! Maybe he'll just... wait until the day of! Nothing beats a fun surprise, right? ^^ he doesn't want either of you... trying to run away or anything after all haha!

[apoptoses]

JESS i’m having louis/armand/daniel brain rot again, i wanna know your thoughts 🥺 specifically like, are there any things that armand and daniel enjoyed during their DM years that you think they might pick back up with louis at trinity gate? i feel like in my head, daniel is always kind of the third wheel (at trinity gate, at least), but i’m really fascinated by the idea of LOUIS being the one to step into their world for a change

oh man oh man, I LOVE this question!! and i have so many thoughts!!

Movies: we know Louis watches movies from how he kept showing up at Lestat's in body thief to stare at his tv lol But I think Armand and Daniel have so many inside jokes from all of the weirdo movies they used to watch, or quotes that they repeat and Louis doesn't get it. So I think they'd really enjoy sitting him down and subjecting him to the Worst Hits of Armand's Movie Phase.

And Daniel especially would enjoy the validation that some of these are fuckin terrible films LOL They could mind gift back and forth about how insipid Louis finds the plot until Daniel is sitting there choking back laughter because finally, someone who agrees Time Bandits isn't that funny.

Video Games: I don't mean modern console games, I mean like classic arcade games and pinball machines. Which Armand probably has a whole room of them in the basement somewhere, lovingly restored and in perfect condition. And I think Louis would be a little hesitant- he seems like the type who acts 'above' certain things just because if he tries it and sucks at it he'll feel humiliated. But even he can't resist the siren call of PacMan and eventually he's knocked them both down on the scoreboard and taken the top spot.

(Also they like to go out a lot so sometimes they end up at like, Dave n Busters LOL Which is far more contentious because ugh, it's noisy and tacky and smells like that radioactive 'cheese' mortals cover their nachos with. But your jock!Louis headcanons have bewitched me and I think they could soothe him by getting him to shoot hoops on the basketball game)

Going Out-Out: Louis is such a homebody when left to his own devices and now that they've got Trinity Gate, home to whatever vampires want to stop by, what's the point in spending time among mortals?

So they'd ease him in with some random one-off classes ("Come, Louis, we've an appointment to learn to make fresh pasta tonight" "Yeah, I know, what's the point when we don't eat, just don't argue with him, it'll be fun" And you know what? It is). And then they'd take him to random stuff from the meetup app (or not so random, because both of them know Louis wouldn't be able to resist debating strangers at a weekly book club).

And then they're back to running around strange apartment buildings to meet up and coming artists, and accepting invites to follow their classmates down to a local bar, and crashing the sets of night shoots around New York. It goes better when it's the three of them because when someone is over it and ready to go home there's no obligation to stay and keep their partner company. No pressure to do anything but enjoy existing together out in the world for a few hours.

Special mentions:

board games (the more obscure the better)

travel (this time Louis and Daniel are more mentally present lol)

letting armand play sugar daddy and picking their outfits for the ballet (which leads to some altercations that have armand feeling like that post about 'help my subs have unionized')

weird 70s/80s craft nights (louis ends up gifting his tie dye shirt to lestat, armand and daniel send theirs to marius)

'treasure hunting' aka scamming the wealthy out of their art collections (louis doesn't care about the value, he does however feel some righteous indignation over important historical pieces being kept in vaults as some tech bro's 'investment'; daniel is just happy to finally understand how armand does it, and take part in it himself)

abusing kitchen gadgets (doesn't matter who you are, playing 'will it blend' can catch the fascination of even the most arrogant, erudite vampires)

[fff777]

Watched Dojaejung on vacation (Part 1) (Part 2)

Part 1

Doyoung rejected Jungwoo's hand holding TAT

Doyoung wants to get into a fight so bad. Like, in general.

Flip flops with accessories on them uwu

Immediately start playing pool/snooker.

Doyoung: Shouldn't we look around...?

Doyoung trying to get the others to pay attention while he's reading the instructions. Only Jungwoo listens.

Jungwoo and Jaehyun straight up just not listening to Doyoung while he tries to set down rules for pool/snooker.

Sir, where is your hand

Doyoung is way more enthusiastic about this. Jungwoo and Jaehyun are just being silly lol.

Jungwoo and Jaehyun soap song?

More food puns.

I HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE!!!!!

Doyoung scolding Jungwoo for cutting ingredients wrong ^^;;

Jaehyun struggling with the watermelon and Jungwoo just eating and feeding watermelon to Doyoung. I feel like the way Jaehyun is cutting watermelon is a little weird though lmao. Just not how I'd cut it.

Doyoung said Jungwoo was in the way and told him to go elsewhere to be the cheering squad.

Doyoung made 98% of the pad thai himself lol.

Jaehyun fake drinking Jungwoo's orange juice ^^;;

Doyoung telling Jungwoo to compliment Jaehyun's watermelon juice and vice versa ^^;; Older sibling duty

So Mandu game is basically like the 5-10-15-20 drinking game (I don't know the name but it's a similar concept)

Muay Thai class up next, and the winner gets a massage

Jungwoo: Teacher, do you know Ong Bak? Only the most famous Tony Jaa movie of the time lmfao

Jungwoo: How old are you? Teacher: 29 Jungwoo: 29? BROTHER!!

I feel like the room isn't quite big enough for an actual class tbh. Maybe they could have done it outside if there was space because the open air would make the space feel larger?

Yeah now that they're actually sparring this space feels way too small.

Doyoung @ Jungwoo when they were sparring: Why are you taking this so seriously ToT

How is this three-person spar going to even work

Jungwoo is enjoying this 'shop' roleplay sooooo much

Jungwoo's just being a general nuisance during Jaehyun's foot massage lmao

I have seen the clip of Doyoung getting a massage but this is already starting on a wild ass note?!?!

Jungwoo has been adamant all this time about using oil but the way he is forcibly rubbing it on Doyoung's back inside his shirt?!

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON

Part 2

We're resuming from the end of last video where Doyoung was like omgggg what are you doing

Jungwoo just lifts Doyoung's entire shirt up ToT

I literally had to turn the sound down on my computer because I was watching this on speaker and someone walked past ToT

Doyoung's mic is all muffly, presumably because he's lying on it

Doyoung needs a good reason from Jungwoo as to why he keeps pushing his shirt up ToT

Lol the head scratcher thing. Jungwoo was using that on Jaehyun before.

Yeah this is just...

Doyoung has turned into liquid bunny

Bro why is this all so ??? the way Jungwoo got tossed on the bed ToT

Doyoung: Sir, you don't have to take off your shirt Jungwoo: I don't tell you how to do your job

I was NOT warned about this video okay ToT

He's getting stretched?

I don't even know what to think anymore

And...?

I thought I was going to be free from these vibes as they moved on to the next segment but now they're choosing each other's swimming shorts...

Doyoung trying to paddle away as a mischievous looking Jaehyun sidles over

Always bullied by Jungwoo and Jaehyun

Playing in the water

Jaehyun with a vengeance

Jaehyun just splashing everyone now that he's on a roll

More splashing...Jaehyun really enjoys splashing :P

Never mind, vibes are still ??? Jungwoo jumped directly on top of Jaehyun

And then Jaehyun taking a photo of Jungwoo

Siren Jungwoo taking Doyoung hostage under the sea

Jaehyun continuing to take photos

Sportsball time

Jungwoo and Jaehyun constantly obstructing Doyoung when he tries to shoot ToT

Wow are they actually going to drink beer on screen?

Jaehyun and Doyoung are just wearing plain white shirts and Jungwoo is wearing this.

They've been preparing for almost a year :o

Jaehyun copying Jungwoo's hand gestures

I forgot about the highlight medley! :P I remember watching it when it came out and finding it kind of cute

They chose scents for themselves for this promotion. That feels kind of magical girl-like to me lmfao. Love that for them.

Creating a greeting as a rookie group ^^;;

The "harmonizing" one lmao

How does Jungwoo have so many of these cheesy bright sounding greetings

Doyoung: We need a leader Doyoung: *Talks about qualities of a leader* Jungwoo: You just want us to choose you.

[kirito-said-what]

But even with that mental fog, the warning light in a corner of my brain was flashing as I took the tablet from her.

Sword Art Online: Early and Late 8; Page 145

[jonnnysuh]

Dating Yugyeom would include

Dating GOT7 would include |  SERIES

Just based off my observations/my perception of him. Obviously I have no idea what dating him would be like but thought it would be fun to do. This is more playful than romantic bc what is romance???

Literally never shutting the fuck up

Having meaningless fights about little things and then going back to normal 

Having your own language that makes no sense to everyone else

Laughing til your stomachs hurt and trying to recreate what just happened but laughing again 

Roasting each other as a sign of affection 

Too many nicknames that have weird origin stories that y’all can’t remember 

Both needing to get your ways so you’ll pout until one of you budges 

He is such a simp tho 

Mocking each other after someone says absolutely anything

Dance battles

saying “YOOOOOOOU” like soulja boi

Resting his chin on your head

BOYBOYBOYBOY ((((you kno like when they yell like a siren)))

“WHY ARE YOU YELLING” “IM JUST HAPPY” 

Having to make the hard decisions for him 

Not being able to complete a task bc you’re both so annoyingly distracting 

Something that should take 30 minutes to finish takes 3 hours instead 

Both being confused all the time so you discuss how things should be done and then fight over it

he’ll purposely hide things to make it hard for you 

Holding things over your head bc he wants to watch you jump 

“You’re a bully” “you’re a bully too” “ya but it’s only okay if I do it” 

Saying the same shit at the same time and hitting each other in excitement

He’s funnier than you but you won’t admit it 

SENDING VOICE NOTES INSTEAD OF TEXTING AND YALL HAVE SHORT ATTENTION SPANS SO SOMETIMES IF YOU DONT REPLY IN A FEW MINS YOU FORGET WHAT YOURE SUPPOSED TO SAY SO YOU START A NEW CONVERSATION  

He has a meme folder and has a meme for every occasion 

Bro he’ll MAKE memes using pictures of you 

If he doesn’t reply within a few seconds it’s bc he’s trying to find the perfect meme or making one 

A never ending game of iMessage connect 4 

How he’d annoy you:

Rock Paper Scissors to get out of doing something but even if he loses he’ll refuse for a bit and then do it

Acting shocked even though he knew something you didn’t 

acting like he’s listening but really he’s doing something else

making you call him oppa or he’s not listening

Laying on his shoulder during long car rides

He makes a big deal about your birthday and will plan everything to a t

He sucks at surprises though bc you he tells you everything

it’s always either by accident like he slips it in

OR you’re like “tell me” “no” “fine” “OKAY I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE WE’RE GOING ON A TRIP TO PARIS”

Gossiping with him and he hates all the people you hate and then will also bring up something he heard about them 

he would tour new places with you on facetime and bother everyone in the process

the facetime photos you guys take are so frightening and confusing to look back on bc there’s so much movement and emotion on your faces

buying you dessert/pastries when you’re sad

LITERALLY LAUGHING FESTS BEFORE BED

IT’S ALWAYS STUPID BRO

BUT Y'ALL WILL CRY LAUGHING TOGETHER EVERY SINGLE TIME

Y'ALL JUST SAY THE STUPIDEST SHIT

“YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS” SHOVING THE PHONE IN THEIR FACE AND IT’S THE DUMBEST FUCKING VIDEO IN THE UNIVERSE BUT WHY ARE YOU BOTH DYING

Every single one of the boys know he’s whipped and he’s embarrassed but also you’re his person so who wins now

he’s literally so thoughtful

he knows all your favourite songs and makes a playlist

flowers and flowers and flowers

he’ll drop anything he can to be with you

will remember your childhood stories better than you

can finish your sentences

messages you every time you post a new picture

“hey this thing made me think of you” text

gets you guys matching chain bracelets/rings

finishes the food you can’t

doing tiktok dances but not posting them bc you’re both embarrassing

but he will start the video literally ANYWHERE.

on the plane? in the parking lot? at a restaurant?

His hand is always on you especially when you’re walking through a crowd

having to ask him to slow down bc you have short legs

Tippytoing to kiss him 

innocent flirting that turns dirty really quick

he definitely likes being small spoon

he talks in his sleep

he has the most irrational fears in the world

“THAT TEXTURE IS SOOOO UGLY I CAN’T LOOK AT IT PLEASEEE”

doing something cute and HE’S JUST SO EASILY LIKE “I LOVE YOU”

always wants to slow dance with you to any song just so he can hold you and lead

he’ll whisper in your ear just to get you hot like fuck offffffffff

his skincare routine takes soo long to do he’ll be in the washroom for 30 minutes

“You’re such a kid”

“Are you a baby?” “YA YOUR BABY”

One of you will start singing and the other joins in but the boys are like shut the fuck uppppp

I feel like he’d like to play wrestle bc this man chooses violence every single time

he can do a perfect impression of you 

both of you will up the cheesiness when u notice that it’s making everyone else cringe just to make them cringe more

be prepared to kill the spiders 

also be prepared to watch scary movies with the lights on bc he is spooked!

Always saying “woooow” sarcastically when someone does something unimpressive

he is an attention whore so when you’re ignoring him he will do cartwheels🤸🏻‍♀️ and try to be funny

making him blush is so easy it’s like a superpower he just gets flustered 

Making a bad decision and saying “yolo ✌️😗”

[salenakingston]

Mystery March Day 6 - Games

(I’m not entirely happy with how the second quarter of this writing came out, mostly because I don’t know the first thing about Grim Fandago. I did a little research, but still not as confident about it. Hope it still turned out good regardless.)

Vivi and Lewis sat together on the couch of Vivi’s home, chilling music haunting the space around them. It sounded like a mixture of sirens and someone banging loudly on metal. In a way, it reminded them of some of the noises Arthur made when he busied himself with his work. Whether it be at Kingsmen Mechanics, or on his downtime, the clang of metal always seemed to be ringing.

Still, it was a nice combination, certainly befitting of the atmosphere. Well, at least in terms of the game being played. Her friends always seemed to be surprised by the kind of stuff she enjoyed. Who would think that the sweater and scarf wearing, blue haired girl with more general excitement for the world around here would be interested in horror and mysteries?

She certainly didn’t look it, but then again, looks could be deceiving.

Lewis was content relaxing at her side, watching her as she played. Truth be told, he couldn’t really follow a lot of what was happening. It wasn’t that the game was poorly designed, but rather that it seemed a lot of things were not told to whomever was playing on the surface level. Characters in this story spoke far more cryptically. They spoke like cult maniacs, and they would know. A couple too many close calls, crossing the wrong path.

It made him feel a little uneasy, at least until recognizing that at least in the current situation, it was only a game. They had done their best to steer clear of any other dangers. Arthur was probably the most thankful for that.

His arm reached over, pulling the bluenette closer to him, her offering a smile in turn. She took her eyes off the screen, long enough to turn her bright gaze up at him, “Enjoying yourself Lew?”

He smiled back down to her, “I’m always enjoying myself when I’m with you.”

“Didn’t take you for much of the ‘sit down and watch their girlfriend play video games type.’”

“Well then you don’t know me all that well.” He planted a kiss along her forehead, letting her get back to playing. She seemed to be in some otherworldly hospital, nothing but the color of rust covering the screen. The path her character walked on was nothing but steel grating, feet ‘clanging’ with each step she made him take. The hospital itself seemed to be more like a maze than what a normal layout would be like. Some of the rooms he could pick out as ones he had seen her go into earlier in the game.

A sudden thought crossed his mind, “Why didn’t you invite Arthur over?”

“Oh, you know how he is with,” she set the control down, making air quotes with her fingers, “scary games.”

“But it’s not even that scary. I mean sure, some of the places look unsettling, but it’s not like the graphics are super detailed.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t seem like his type of thing. I’m sure he could find something to get scared at.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Vivi leaned over again, offering him a quick kiss on the cheek, “Besides, it gives me some time to spend with you.” Yes, and he was never going to turn down an opportunity like this. His smile grew, nearly ear to ear as he heard her shout, “Take this you nurses!”

----

Arthur and Lewis sat together at the desk in the latter man’s room. The Peppers seemed like the kind of people that didn’t have much in the form of technological entertainment, and Lewis seemed to follow suit, well mostly. Phones were kept to allow for easy communication. Since the three friends started their little “hunts,” the computer was a good source in terms of research. Each member had one of their own, though the various content on each one was vastly different.

The Pepper son carried an extra chair into his room, giving his friend a place to sit that wouldn’t create distance between them, nor would force him to stand. It seemed like a good idea at the time, to have the guys handle searching for stuff while Vivi checked through books. Guess that was a bonus to having a girl that worked around all kinds of books for a living.

There was only so much the two of them could take before they needed a break. Maybe it was just that the bluenette was able to help keep their focus, something they were lacking here. The blond’s came with sparks of inspiration, and the two friends figured a little down time would do them some good.

Sometimes it almost felt hard to come by with how ‘gung ho’ Vivi could be. Even so, they both still loved her.

Arthur had begun going over some sketches he had made when the voice acting kicked in. It was obvious to all of them Lewis loved cooking, so much so to helping his family any chance he got. And of course, something they bonded over was gaming. Each one of them had their own specific genre, and a game to pair with it.

Come to think of it, when was the last time he had poked around with games his taller friend liked? What did that say about him as a friend? Maybe…?

Arthur leaned over, eyes peering at the screen. Well, it certainly wasn’t anything he was expecting. Oh no wait, once it began to go more in depth with the world, he began to understand. He had no doubts the slight spanish inspired nature of the game attracted Lewis to it.

He kept himself quiet, content at his friend’s side as he watched. It was some kind of adventure based game, lots of collecting items and using them in other places to get more items. Not exactly his type of game, but he could see the appeal of a puzzle based game. Putting the three friends’ heads together, they could work out just about any one. Each of them brought a unique perspective, looking at a situation from all angles.

Even if he felt that his portion was nowhere near the level of his other two friends.

Lewis’ head turned, taking notice of the blond observing. He found his smile again, or rather the one that he gave to his friends. There was something softer to that smile, inviting the warmth shared between them, “You alright Artie?”

“Yeah. Just watching.”

“I thought you only liked action games.”

“I never said that.” Suuuuure. It wasn’t hard to tell the blond was backpedaling on the accusation.

“Do you uhh, mind if I keep watching?” As if he even needed to ask.

“Of course not.”

----

Arthur Wins!

Vivi tried not to toss her control to the side in annoyance. She probably should have seen this coming. What on earth was she thinking when she agreed to partake in his favorite game? There was a reason it was his favorite, and the one thing he could always count on to beat them at. A wide grin covered his face, falling back against the couch. The three of them decided to come over to his house for a change.

And when he proposed the challenge at some rounds of Smash Bros… it was almost like he was baiting her into playing with him. Who was she to turn down an offer when he was acting so smug about it.

Oh, she was going to wipe that grin right off his face.

She huffed, facing away from her gloating opponent. A playful nudge was what she received in return for this sulky gesture, “Aww come on, don’t be a sore loser Vivi.”

“You’ve won every round we’ve played.”

“I’ve warned you every time we do this.” He has, but it never seemed to make a difference. There had to be another angle she could tackle this problem from. It couldn’t have been the character she was using, as he would either have a good counter for whomever she picked, or she was just confident she might be able to throw him for a loop with someone new. Spoiler alert, it didn’t work.

It couldn’t have been the stage. The three of them played enough times to have them memorized, and Arthur probably knew just as much, if not more. So what could she do?

Oh wait. She knew.

The bluenette raised her arm along the back of the couch, “Lewis, can you come here?”

“What are you doing?”

The Pepper man stepped through the doorway, “Yes Vivi?”

She was quick to pass him a controller, “I need your help.”

“W-Wait!”

“Alright.”

One round later… Vivi wins!

Now it was the blond’s turn to sulk. Of course, when she couldn’t win alone, she had to recruit someone else to help her. A huff escaped from his lips, turning a bit away from her now. Salty. That was how someone might describe him right? Vivi leaned over, a smug look on her face as she gave him a little nudge, “Don’t be such a sore loser Artie.”

“You only won because Lewis helped you, and then he let you win.”

The man in question gave a shrug of his shoulders, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Artie.”

“You know what, one more game. I’m going to beat both of you this time.”

His two friends just gave an endearing laugh.

----

It was late at night, the only light coming through the home was the dim of the television screen. The Yukino household was near silence, Vivi already having gone to bed, as well as the rest of her relations… so then who could still be up at this hour?

A human with spiky red and black hair relaxed along the couch, controller in hand. The screen displayed a white wolf, a disc with flames hovering just above its back. The wolf’s body was covered in black markings, the graphics making it look like the markings themselves were alive. The landscapes of the game were in a similar style, flowers growing behind the wolf as it ran.

A smile formed on the human’s face.

He set the controller to the side, letting the game’s music quietly echo in the room. The volume was turned down low enough that it would not wake anyone else in the household. It gave him a sense of longing… or perhaps better a sense of nostalgia. It reminded him of home, the soft tunes taking his mind back to a time long in the past. Everything was so different now.

A soft clearing of someone’s voice made him turn his head.

Vivi’s grandmother staring at him.

His smile faltered, especially when she began to step closer to him. She had always been wary of him, from the moment Vivi brought him home, and that feeling only grew when she declared she was keeping him. It was no surprise she had little to say about his sudden change in appearance. So then what was he bracing himself for? A scolding? Her trying to throw him out? Threats?

She might be old, but she still had a lot of fire left in her.

Instead, she found herself settling down on the couch, right next to him. That was unexpected.

The music continued to play as the two sat in silence. What was he supposed to say to her? Any thought he had became blank, red eyes drifting over to her form every now and then. After a while, he head raised up, “音楽はいいです.”

Mystery blinked, head turning back to the game. Did she miss their hold home as much as he did? His hands found the controller again, finding more investment, if only to give both of them a sense of home, “はい。 はい、そうです.”

----

(Translations in order: The music is nice / Yes. Yes it is.)

[onelastfic]

Nenet, Nico, & Dylan

Nico struggled to push back the beast’s jaws that were currently trying to snap shut and gobble him down. He pushed harder and looked towards Nenet.

"Hey, sis, um, little help here…" He gulped.

Nenet stayed put as she leaned back on her perch and continued to look at her phone.

"No fucking way, baby bro. You wanna become a Titan then you gotta learn to deal with shit like this on your own. Now I KNOW you can do BETTER than that so grow some fangs and take your prey. Right. Now." She demanded.

——

“That was fudging unfair…” Dylan grumbled, as he panted for air. He couldn’t believe he lost to Nenet…AGAIN?! He was so sure she had her this time.

“I said I wanted a challenge, twerps. Not a lesson on how to get your ass beat.” Nenet says, twirling Daybreaker in her hand. She wasn’t even winded.

“How are you still standing?” Nico groaned, pulling himself up and wincing as he did so. Even his bandages seemed to hurt.

Nenet scoffed. “Because I spend most of my time training, not playing video games like you two dummies. Now get up and have JJ heal your busted asses. We’re going again. I obviously haven’t been training you two hard enough.”

——

Dylan smirked, charging up his voice. “I think this calls for a Siren so—”

Before he could finish Nenet punched him right in the throat. Hard. “Here’s another rule for fighting. Don’t announce what you are gonna do next.”

——

Nenet raised a brow. “What the fuck am I seeing right now?”

Dylan smirked. “Nico found a spell to give us sick beards. Take it in and bask in our godly awesomeness.” He gestured to his bombastic new facial hair as he and Nico struck a pose.

“Those won’t make you idiots any wiser.”

Dylan scoffed. “Says YOU.”

“Let's see you do it then you fucking player hater!” Nico retorted.

“Do I look like I need a fucking beard?!” Nenet hissed.

“Well—”

Nico quickly covered Dylan’s mouth before he could say what would most likely be his last words. “Don’t say it, bro. There ain’t no right answer. Just lots of pain.”

——

“I learned a long time ago when you’re my size and eye level with basically every dude’s crotch, that’s where you punch.” Nenet said, flexing her arm.

Dylan chuckled. “That’s funny. Considering you have all those guy ‘friends’, I thought it was something entirely different.”

“Fuck off!” Nenet punched forward, hitting Dylan right in the crotch.

Nico cringed, knowing that had to hurt. “…Well, bro, good thing you didn't plan on having kids.”

“Shut up…” Dylan mumbled, curled up on the ground.

——

“This is fucking bull, sis!” Nico fumed, pouting as he clutched his spellbook to his chest.

“Aunt Jia gave this mission to us!” Dylan crossed his arms.

Nenet grunted. “Yeah and she told me to fucking chaperone you twerps.”

“We don’t need a dang chaperone!” Nico remarked as Dylan nodded in agreement. “When will you finally let us go on solo quests?”

“When you learn how to drive.”

“We know how to—”

“Playing Mario Cart doesn’t fucking count.”

——

“I can’t fucking believe it…” Nico said, trying to hold in his laughter as he clutched the old scrapbook in his has.

“Hahahaha! This is too good! Oh my god! She’s wearing a sparkly leotard and everything! I can’t believe Nenet used to do gymnastics!” Dylan laughed hysterically, clutching his stomach.

“Yeah, which gave me the physical skills I need to strangle you with my fucking feet.” Nenet spat from behind them, causing the two boys to jump. They hadn’t heard or sensed her coming. “How about I show you?”

——

Nenet’s eyes narrowed at the two little pains in her butt. They thought they could skip sparring with her and sneak off to Mewni. Too bad for the two boys. She found them.

Nico held up his hands in defense. “Hey, sis. We can explain—”

“Five seconds”

“W-What?”

Nenet cracked her knuckles. “You have a five second headstart. Better get to stepping or each second wasted is a bone I’m gonna break.”

“No need to tell me twice!” Dylan shouted before taking off fast enough to leave a sonic boom.

“I’m out!” Nico yelled, portaling out of there.

Nenet smirked, looking like a cat on the hunt. This was going to be fun.

——

Nenet looked at the injured demi-god and monster. Nico had a gash on the side of his head and his glasses were busted. Dylan was clutching his ankle and panting hard.

Nenet’s eye twitched and tail wagged. She growled angrily, her sclera turning a bloody red and her pupils becoming gold like the sun. She tapped Daybreaker on the ground as burning hot plasma sprouted from the tip to form a scorching fiery scythe.

She turned towards the creature. Uncle Astro told them to bring it back to Tarturus alive but now things were different.

“Hey, you hurt my little brothers…I’m gonna fucking kill you now.”

———

Dylan belongs to @laylaylamode

(Had the urge to write some ficlets for these three. Nico and Dylan might be taller than Nenet but she’s still in charge. Nenet might not show it much but she really care about Nico and Dylan.)

[pyronado-moved]

HEY ALEX :) hope itz alright bUT i wanna kno abt ur ocz if thtz ok!!!! aka basically *hands you a free pass 2 gush abt ur ocz* go wild. i wanna kno everything i can abt ur ocz bc im rlly interested !!!!!! :D

gasp tysm

this is an under the cut kinda thing bc i have... a lot to say abt my babies

okay so the main oc of this is carter and hes the anti-christ but hes actually super sweet and just a walking talking puppy with a heart of gold. he can do no wrong and i love him to death. he’s dedicated to loving his bf, his friends, and his mom and sometimes he dedicates himself to hating his dad.

then there’s his bf jackson who’s a sad boy until carter moves in w/ his mom who is jackson’s next door neighbor and they end up getting along rlly quickly and jackson is just suddenly ‘huh what if im worthy of love’ and suddenly he has friends and bf and hes baby

and carter’s friend serah is a half-angel who has 1 volume setting and its Loud As Fuck but thats okay. she’s a lowkey stereotypical dumb blonde but at the same time shes the only one of the group who knows the symbols for every element. she’s been dating brick for 6 years and has yet to even consider dating anyone else

and serah’s bff violet is just a normal human girl who’s head cheerleader and constantly angry. she pretends to not care abt a lot of things but she’s actually a total mother hen. she spends so much time around people in relationships that she starts hating them until she meets roga and suddenly decides love might not be That Bad Actually

vi’s twin brother and serah’s bf brick (aka chad but thats a dumb name so he goes by brick) is literally baby. he’s sick a lot so he lives his life to the fullest in any way possible. he worries abt his friends who constantly have to fight demons and monsters and shit but hes always ready to help no matter what.

carter’s bff and ex-boyfriend jae is an incubus with half a brain cell. he does not use it and is an idiot. he met violet and the two instantly decided that they would cause problems on purpose. hes basically the goose from that one game except gay. he and ara are stupid idiot bfs who are a whole ass foot apart in height and it only adds to the chaos. he dated carter for 1 whole month before they decided ‘nvm actually’ and went back to being best bros.

umm classic mean girls Paris, Trixie, and Chloe are there. Paris wants to use carter to summon the devil. trixie and chloe are just there bc theyve been friends since kindergarten and wanna make sure paris doesnt do anything super stupid. theyre all girls who support girls who want to summon the devil and thats rad.

AND THEN THERE WERE THE 7 DEADLY SINS WOW! They were hired to be the devil’s guardians but then they got bored of that so they fucked off to earth and tried to live normal lives until oops their ex-boss’ son is here now and they have to protect that ray of sunshine out of both spite and pity. they’re all basically siblings and stupid. also they dont meet carter and the gang until college years so like... all the ones up there are adults when they meet the guys down here to avoid any confusion.

Arazukiean is the sin of lust and he’s a siren. hes a trans king who met jae and decided that legally no one else could have him. all he does on earth is attend different colleges because he didnt register as a legal living human so now he just wanders around campus’ and sits in on diff classes. he doesnt rlly represent his sin bc he never even liked being a siren in the first damn place.

Panya is the sin of wrath and she’s a pheonix and I hate to love her but god i love her. shes not a good person and shes loud and seriously if i met her irl i’d deck her in the face. but at the same time she was the one who decided they should protect carter so like... +1 karma point i guess. she and mentu-ra knew each other b4 being hired by the devil so they’re rlly close

the sin of gluttony is Lilian. She’s an aswang but also she’s just soft baby. shes a total nerd and could probably beat jeopardy tbh. although she loves all 6 of her siblings, Ameera is her closest friend/sister and they do everything together.

Ammera is an al-mi'raj and the sin of sloth. shes actually not sleepy or lazy because she decided in order to keep herself from sleeping all day she chose to not sleep at all. shes an expert on all things video games and could probably beat you in mario kart with her eyes shut. on rainbow road. 

The sin of greed is represented by local dragon idiot Roga who owns a big rich company but never participates in anything involving it. he just collects the money. hes a capitalist until he meets violet who is the only person who’s ever put him in his place. he instantly gave up being greedy for money to be a very protective boyfriend to this fiery cheerleader. they dont look like a good couple on the outside but they’re really actually soft as fuck

pride is taken by mentu-ra, a sphinx who ran for state governor in rhode island and actually won despite being a complete fumbling moron. hes a very bad politician and just kinda... exists. he hangs out mostly with roga but he keeps tabs w/ panya the most since she was the one who got him out of scrapes before they were hired as the devil’s guards.

aand then there’s elva, the sin of envy. shes a pixie who decided instead of being envious of others, she’d make them envious of her. she’s a part-time model, part-time olympic figure skater, part-time olympic gymnast. she loves the spotlight more than anything else in the world and shes very annoying but less annoying than panya so she’s got that going for her.

also i was gonna have angels as the 7 heavenly virtues but i only got around to creating penelope, the virtue of purity so she’s there. she doesnt take other people’s shit and is actually serah’s shoulder to lean on as everyone grows and starts to do their own things.

[storiesaboutcole]

Pointless (Part 2)

This is a part 2 of Pointless as requested. I am tagging @wanhedavaliquette @sweetest-siren​ for this one. Part 1 to this is here.

SPRING

Your heart was all jumpy when you got a text from Cole earlier. It has been two weeks since Paris and you knew that it would come to this. 

“Hey, I’m gonna drop by to get my stuff.”

Cole was really moving out. Flashbacks of memories you shared with him started to replay over and over again in your head, as though your brain was trying to remind you why you had loved Cole so much for almost four years. And then it brought you to the awful memory of the day you and Cole broke up - Cole said nothing else ever since. No texts. No calls. Just pure ghosting from him. You were so heartbroken that you shut everyone else out. When you saw his text in the morning, you were hopeful that it was an apology. Or Cole was telling you how much he missed you. That he changed his mind, but, no. He was really certain about ending your relationship with him.

Cole barely looked at you when he entered through the door. You said nothing, as he rushed into the bedroom the both of you used to share. Stubborn tears were trickling down your cheeks, but you remained as silent as possible. Cole didn’t need to know that you were crying. He wouldn’t care.

As much as the last two weeks had rushed by, you knew the next few minutes would drag on and on. It was going to suck, but you had to let it happen, no matter how much it hurt. Hearing Cole walked out of the bedroom, you snapped yourself out of your thoughts. Cole was carrying a box filled with his stuff. That was it. He was finally moving out. Stepping through, he murmured, “I think I got most of my stuff in here. Everything else should be yours.”

Your heart was breaking, but you were able to step up a smile. “I’ll let you know if you left anything behind.” 

Frowning, Cole shook his head. “I double checked. Everything is in this box.” Slowly walking towards the kitchen counter, he turned his head back to you and placed the key to your apartment on the marble top. His face was resolute as he stood in front of you. You had to look down. You had to stare at the floor. For a brief moment you though he’d change his mind. You thought that you both would reconnect in your mutual grief, but you were wrong. His face didn’t look like he was welcoming you back in his life. His face looked like he was certain to bid the final goodbye. You almost choked up when you realized that was it. You and Cole were really over. You balled your hands into fists to stop the strong desire sweeping through you as you silently watched him. 

“I’m gonna go now Y/N,” he said lowly, adding, “Are you gonna be ok?”

Grief threatened to cut through you again at the thought of him leaving. You wanted to tell him to stay, that you needed him, that you both needed to find a way back to each other, but you just couldn’t. So you nodded your head instead.

“Of course.”

SUMMER

You were glad that you felt moderately comfortable with your new life - a new apartment and a new job as a marketing associate at a beauty company.

Dating was still out of the question, but there’s this one guy at work who’s been very ‘friendly’ - a very cute one you might add. He asked you out for a date a couple of times but you told him that you were not ready to date and he understood. He seemed okay with it as you both managed to keep it in the friend zone.

On Labour Day, your dear friend Duan had hosted a dinner party at her place. You were quite reluctant to go, but she insisted that you come since you guys hadn’t hung out for so long. 

“I have plans,” you told her, chuckling over the phone.

“Shut up. A boyfriend you never tell me about? Y/N! Since when do you keep secrets from me?”

“He is just a friend. It’s not what you think.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” Duan laughed. “Bring him over. Any friends of yours is a friend of mine, remember?”

“I don’t know, Duan. I mean...”

“Cole’s not gonna be here, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Duan interrupted. “You need to come and I’m gonna hang up!”

“But!”

“No buts!” And the line went dead.

You eventually obliged and went to Duan’s later that evening. You brought along that friend-from-work and felt extremely nervous about introducing him to your friends. You didn’t want to give a wrong idea anyway. 

“Y/N!” Duan greeted you at the door with a very huge smile, as she threw you the biggest hug.

“Duan,” you giggled in her tight embrace until she let go. “I brought pie.”

“AKA the world’s greatest apple pie! Argh Y/N! I missed you! How have you been?” Duan was beaming with happiness. You were so glad that you came because you realized that you missed Duan a lot too.

“I’ve been... great,” you gave her a knowing look. “Brilliant, as the matter of fact,” you added with a smile. 

Duan glanced over at the guy-from-work and gave you a smirk.

“Oh, right!” you smack your head. 

“This is [HisName] and, [HisName], this is my best friend Duan.”

“Very nice to meet you,” Duan smiled at him.

“Nice to meet you too, Duan. Nice place you got here,” he smiled.

Your eyes then wandered around her living room. You saw a few of your friends scattered around the living room and the kitchen as you entered the apartment. You said your hellos and you were greeted by her boyfriend, Craig, who was playing some video games. He then glanced over to your friend-from-work who was standing next to you.

“[HisName]?! Is that you?”

“Craig?!”

The two boys then greeted each other with those typical male fist bumps and awkward boy hugs.

You and Duan gave each other a stare.

“You two know each other?” Duan asked Craig.

“He is my classmate in high school!”

“We’ll let you two catch up then,” you told them as you dragged Duan away from the reunion.

“Are we expecting anyone else Duan?” you whispered.

“I told you, he’s not coming, if that’s what you are asking,” Duan muttered. You nodded as a sign of relief. 

“Y/N,” you heard a voice from behind you. You almost jumped when you turned around. His face was far too familiar. 

“Holy shit! Dylan...” 

“What?” Dylan laughed, like he understood why you were so shocked. “I haven’t seen you for so long! How are you?” he threw you a big bear hug.

“I’m gonna check on my brownies,” Duan excused herself from standing in between you and Dylan.

“Okay, Duan. Be with you soon, yeah?” you told her. You looked around for Dylan’s girlfriend and didn’t see her anywhere “Where’s Dana?”

“Ha! About that. Let’s talk,” he tilted his head to the direction of the balcony to which you gladly obliged. The air was crisp and you can hear the sound of traffic and sirens from the balcony.

“So...”

“So...” you chuckled.

“We broke up.” 

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Long story, but, I’d rather not talk about it. I screwed up real bad.”

“Oh.” you glanced at Dylan, nodding.

“You sort of disappeared after, you know...” he swallowed. “Didn’t get a chance to tell you about it. And Dana, she’s still mad at me. She probably couldn’t stand being around me yet...”

You chuckled and shook your head. “I can relate.”

Dylan sighed and glanced at you. “Are you okay? You’re acting like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You’re close enough to be his ghost, trust me,” you nervously chuckled, tucking a few strands of hair behind your ear.

“He misses you, you know?” Dylan looked at you thoughtfully. “He acts like he doesn’t but... he really does. In fact, everyone can tell. Cole’s... he’s not his usual self. He’s been moody, snaps at people and hides in his own bubble a lot.” Dylan stopped talking and bit his lip. “Anyway, just know that he hasn’t moved on or something.” 

You stayed quiet, swallowing. Your stomach made a 360 degrees flip and you were catching breathes to cool yourself down.

“Sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

You shook your head. “No, it’s okay. I mean, I haven’t heard from him for months. So...”

He was the one who left.

He was the one who disappeared.

“Do you want to hear from him?” Dylan teased. 

"No!” you firmly said. “I just want to get over it. I mean, I’m over it.”

I still love him. And I hate myself for it.

“So that guy back there. He’s your new boyfriend?” Dylan asked with furrowed brows. The way he did it resembled his twin so much that it pained your heart to just look at him.

You shook your head. “I mean, we’re just friends. I know him from work. Duan invited him over. Turns out to be Craig’s long lost friend,” you muttered as you stare at both Craig and your friend-from-work who was still immensely catching up.

Dylan chuckled as he bit his lip. “Cole would be glad to know that. Or displeased. I’m not sure.”

You shrugged. “Can we stop talking about your twin, Dylan?”

And all the sudden...

“Hey, bro, do you have...”

That was it. His voice. You remembered it so vividly that you knew it was most definitely him. You instantly froze. Your mind went blank.

“Y/N?”

Your body refused to turn around. 

“Hey, brother,” Dylan chuckled. You could feel your stomach dropped to the floor. Cole was not supposed to be there.

You eventually turned around and saw him. The one person you wished to avoid. You were silently creating a strategy to get out of the apartment when Dylan was greeting his twin.

“I’m gonna go,” you pointed towards the kitchen.

“Y/N, wait!” you heard Cole calling from behind you, but you just kept on walking. 

“Y/N! Please stop!”

“Y/N!”

“Y/N!”

“Y/N! Please! Just talk to me for a sec, please!”

You abruptly stopped your tracks and turned around to face Cole who standing two steps behind you. That caught him off guard.

“What do you want from me?” you asked.

“I... I just want to talk...”

“There’s nothing to talk about?” you tried to keep your cool.

Cole sighed and brought his eyes to you. “Y/N...”

Stop saying my name, idiot.

You started walking aimlessly again, with Cole still following you closely.

“Y/N...” Cole exhaled your name again. It punched a hole straight into your heart.

“Y/N,” Cole grabbed your arm, making you flinch. He didn’t let you go though. He made you follow him to the hallway outside of the apartment where it was quieter. Like he had some weird control over you, you obliged. You hated it. You really hated how he was able to do that.

You stayed silent while watching Cole pace back and forth like he was processing the situation in his head. You leaned against the wall as you saw him ran his fingers through his hair. He then tilted his head to the ceiling, closing his eyes, before sitting down on the steps next to him. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”

You just looked at him with furrowed brows. The pain that washed through you had almost made you bolt again, but you made yourself close your eyes and stayed there.

“Say something... please?” Cole painfully grimaced, bringing his eyes to you again. You saw pure pain and sadness in his eyes. 

“Cole... maybe I should go back inside,” you croaked out

“I know I messed up, Y/N. I really messed up. I thought I’ll be strong enough to forget you. I tried to take back what I did, But I was just so scared. I know how much I’ve hurt you and I didn’t want you to go through the pain again. But, seeing you again today just... I just know that I need you, Y/N. I can’t lie to myself anymore,” Cole blurted out, ignoring you.

“You’re the one who left, Cole. Not me,” you reminded him. Your throat felt coarse, knowing that a cry is going to come.

“I know. It’s stupid. I’m stupid! I am still in love with you, Y/N. I have always been. I was just trying to protect you from getting hurt again. I just couldn’t bear seeing you get upset over something I have no control of. I should’ve...”

“Y/N? Hey, I was looking all over for you,” your friend-from-work suddenly came up to you. After hearing Cole poured his heart out like that, you blinked a tear, to which you quickly brushed off. “Are you okay?” He hadn’t realized that Cole was sitting five feet apart from you. 

Irritation instantly flared in Cole’s eyes as he glanced up.

You looked over at him. He had an odd look on his face as he watched you and your friend-from-work.

“So, you’re with him now?” Cole asked you softly, like his insides were being torn apart.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that somebody else is here,” your friend-from-work said, when he saw Cole just sitting there on the steps.

You cleared your throat. “HisName, I’ll join you soon, yeah?” 

“Don’t worry about it, Y/N. I was just leaving.” Cole’s voice was cold and flat, it gave you chills. His eyes were glassy and red. Your stomach clenched as you knew that Cole might have processed the situation wrongly.

“Cole...” 

Cole flinched a little. “No, actually, I have somewhere else to go. Glad to see you, Y/N.” He walked by you and your friend-from-work, avoiding eye contact.

Your friend-from-work watched him leave with a frown. Your stomach gave you a fluttery panic attack, but you managed to run towards Cole.

“Cole...”

Stoppin his tracks, Cole gave you a long look. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking and he said nothing. You really didn’t know how to feel about Cole. 

“Forget what I said,” Cole breathed out, giving you one last glance before turning his back against you, again.

[csykora]

I love how Kutzy still teases other players even if he doesn't fight and isn't strong in that sense lol Also your fight descriptions make me laugh out loud for like 10 mins hahaha Thank you :)

Q – It seems that you were picked on more than the others. Provocations?EK – Not at all. In fact, I pick on everybody else.

“Teasing” is a nice word for it. But yeah, like you said, he talks when other guys would shove or fight. I haven’t heard him insult or even swear at an opponent, but oh god, the taunting. The yowling.

One time when he was Captain Russia, some fan accused the team of getting rowdy drunk in an airport, and Kuz threatened to make fun of him.

“I would like to say a few words, face to face, to that lawyer, or whoever he was. That’s the kind of person I am – I always say everything openly. I would find something to tell him. Everybody would laugh, and he would have left early, without even going to his seat.”

Terrifying. 

But that seems like how he thinks: making people laugh is his superweapon. 

He can make people want to do what he wants. When he’s scared or pissed and  that’s the first thing thing that comes into his head.

There are such beautiful photos of the exact moment he thinks, “I could just let this go. …YOU KNOW WHAT—“

“I’M GONNA DO IT”

Q – Canadian journalists kept the story going for quite some time.

EK – Let them look at what color their medals are.

Q – What was the most memorable moment, aside from this fantastic victory?

EK – Probably, the eyes of the Canadian fans. When I looked into the stands after the final siren, I saw a real sorrow. People were crying. I was shocked. And one more thing: when we made it to the finals, I saw some guys that printed out my picture, and drew a beard and mustache on me, and added a few not so flattering words. After the game, I skated up to them and asked: “What’s the score?”

The World Cup video (where the Mushrooms convo comes from) is one of my favorites because he cannot stop talking to the opposing bench. Mark Scheifele  says something to him, he scores, he shrieks.

“HEY? SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!… Something like that? Something like that? (A teammate asks him to chill and he claims he has always been the coolest:) Just a little bit… No, no. I calmed down. Now he’ll shush me, see, but I’ll stay quiet.”

He did not stay quiet.

One time he eviscerated Team Finland’s Sami Valtanen on camera, and then had to tell us that Sami is too scared to talk to him anymore:

“We met, and he did not say a word. It’s his fault. I did not say it for no reason….How could he say: “Who are the Russians? Who are Tarasenko, Kuznetsov, Orlov, Kitsyn? I don’t know them.” You should be more humble. You haven’t beat us yet, and you are talking about playing in the final. That’s not nice.” x

he should tattoo “That’s not nice” above his eyebrow, save media the time

I think he just has this Vision of how everybody else should be doing everything all the time. He orders his teammates and specifically Ovi around like a toddler positioning toys at a tea party. No, Ovi doesn’t WANT to go there. Ovi goes here! Most of the Mushrooms video is him shouting like, “Come on, bro! …. On the blue, Pasha. We are doing the standard one, like we do the breakout with the Capitals!” Pasha is of course Pavel Datsyuk, hockey legend and Kuznetsov’s own childhood idol. But Kuz still cannot fuckin stop himself.

Then he loses it when anyone else does anything he didn’t Plan for.

Not like that’s an excuse—he’s a big boy, he could not scream at everyone—but like he’s hockey’s Hermione Granger. He can’t stand other people misbehaving. He’ll always go to the media and say, That’s not nice. That’s unsportsmanlike. That’s Against The Rules, so you understand I had to do what I did.

Which seems odd to say about a noted weirdo, but..his hockey powers are only game-breaking if everyone else is playing by the rules, you know? If someone decides fuck sportsmanship and crunches him, he’s got no other way of defending himself.  

The most heartwarming howling captured here: 

Todd: What you did last game, how you were on the bench—Kuz: Bad?Todd: Unbelievable. I don’t know what you were saying to Holtby at the end, maybe that wasn’t. But you’re helping other guys out. Kuz: Yeah.Todd: End of the game, cheering for guys…it’s a little thing, but it means a lot, and I just want to let you know I appreciate—Kuz: Specially like young guys, the more they lose, they can play better I think.Todd: I just like that you’re into it. Like I said after the game, ‘the bench was good’: without giving you a compliment in front of everybody, that was [points to Kuz’s heart]…you were part of that.Kuz: Thanks.Todd: That’s the next phase for you. People look up to you, and respect you, and the things you can do. And when you’re cheering for lower-end guys on the team, that means a lot.

Holts has to get the aside because Kuzy cannot fuckin stop himself “teasing” his own goalie...

[recentanimenews]

CR Features Argues About the Best Opening Sequence of 2018

Anime Awards voting starts TONIGHT and WE'RE SUPER EXCITED! However we have gotten so loud with our individual opinions on who we think should win that we’ve been told to duke it out via written words instead of continually disrupting our coworkers (sorry fam).

  We’ll hit each category by the time we hit the evening of Anime Awards! Today’s piece gets down to the nitty gritty of Best Opening Sequence, Best Ending Sequence, Best Animation, and Best Character Design. Let’s down to business!

Best Opening

Pop Team Epic from Pop Team Epic

    The opening so nice you saw it twice every episode, and it was a banger every time. It wasn’t just the song, either--the OP was full of little things to keep looking for, so you never skipped it unless you were a total monster.

-Nate Ming

Black Rover by Vickblanka from Black Clover

  The music for Black Clover OPs and EDs has always been top notch, but Black Rover is on another level. The sequence put together by the animators is also the perfect combination of cool, goof, and heart. It’s probably the opening I’ll associate with the series forever.

-Peter Fobian

  UNION from SSSS.Gridman

    This song, like SSSS.Gridman itself, made me so happy. It was light and deft, but somehow perfect for the opening of a show about kicking the crap out of kaiju. For a genre that can sometimes feel as tired as “robot man saves the world (and his friends),” this OP, along with the rest of the show, proved that SSSS.Gridman was going to pay a lot of tokusatsu homage, while still being a breath of fresh air.

-Daniel Dockery

Rightfully by Mili from Goblin Slayer

    I’ve been following Mili’s works since I played Deemo, and their songs always have a way of worming right in and refusing to leave. So when I heard that they were doing Goblin Slayer’s opening, it was a very welcome surprise! Mili delivers a powerful performance that has a calm, yet a very vicious tone to it. Combined with the opening visuals, it really ties it all neatly together to set the mood for the show.

-Nicole Mejias

Adabana Necromancy from ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

    Dapper dancing zombies. Super sentai action scenes. Idol dancing. ZOMBIE LAND SAGA’s opening sequence somehow manages to straddle several disparate genres without losing its own unified personality. Set to the theatrical “Adabana Necromancy” performed by the main Japanese cast, main character Sakura’s defiant proclamations of chasing her dreams and the truly unprecedented amount of explosions meld into something strange and charming--a perfect fit for this series.

-Cayla Coats

Best Ending Sequence

Hibana from Golden Kamuy

    You always heard this one warming in the background as an episode would come to a close, and the striking imagery of  “Hibana” just made me more excited for what the next episode of Golden Kamuy had in store.

-Nate Ming

  Pulse from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -

  Although I’ve still got Hizuru Basho bumping in my head from Fall, no ED in 2018 was as much of a thematic masterstroke as Asobi Asobase. After a misleading opening giving the series the appearance of a serene high school slice of life and a very confusing episode featuring mean-spirited pranks and Hanako shrieking, the ending dumps you straight into hell.

-Peter Fobian

  Book-end, Happy-end from Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

    I feel ya, nervous skeleton man. You had a hard day, and then you just go sit on the floor and read manga. And then you lay in the bed and read manga. What a beautiful life.

-Daniel Dockery

Hibana from Golden Kamuy

    Banger alert! This song is incredibly GOOD! Not only is this song catchy, but the lyrics are a pretty good representation to what Golden Kamuy is all about, with lines about an “erased destination” and “accepting everything, pain and all.” If you skipped this ending, I don’t even know what to say; it’s too good of a song to skip!

-Nicole Mejias

Pulse from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -

  Peter pretty much nailed it. After the fake-out cutesy pop opening, Asobi Asobase presents us with three middle school girls who make heinously ugly expressions and are just really, hilariously terrible people. The death metal anthem “Pulse” is a perfect fit for the horrible little nightmare children that comprise the show’s main cast.

-Cayla Coats

Best Animation

Violet Evergarden

  You don’t really expect TV anime to look this good--and then it does, and you’re treated to gorgeous, theatrical-quality animation every single episode. I wasn’t invested in Violet Evergarden, but just witnessing it made it worth the watch.

-Nate Ming

Violet Evergarden

    This one is really difficult to argue with. It’s Kyoto Animation on their absolute A game. The studio doesn’t often delve into fantasy but their backgrounds and character designs were breathtaking. Kyoto is always top shelf but they maintained damn near movie quality animation for the entire series run. Even their 3D integration was something to behold.

-Peter Fobian

Violet Evergarden

  LOOK AT HOW PRETTY EVERYTHING IS. Look at the backgrounds! And the shadows! And the way that the hair is animated! I know that that seems like a really small thing, but it irks me sometimes when everyone seem to have immovable Super Saiyan hair (though there’s nothing wrong with your hair, my beautiful shonen bro’s). Violet Evergarden was a bounty to look at.

-Daniel Dockery

Violet Evergarden

    I’d be crazy to not pick Violet Evergarden for this category. I mean, just LOOK AT IT! Absolutely GORGEOUS and BEAUTIFUL animation! I initially thought this was a movie, but nope. Kyoto Animation weren’t playing any games when it came to showing off their amazing animation skills, and my goodness, was it ever a sight to behold! Just look at how they animated the characters’ HAIR! Amazing stuff!

-Nicole Mejias

  Pop Team Epic

If you asked me two weeks ago, my answer here would have been Violet Evergarden for sure. But then my mind was changed when I saw our own Noelle Ogawa argue for Pop Team Epic’s stellar animation in this article. Pop Team Epic employs a wide range of animation styles--from 16-bit video game sprites to the horrifying, MS Paint-esque Bob Team Epic sequences to the use of unfinished storyboards seen above. The series is practically a showcase for experimental animation, and that suits the surreal humor quite well.

-Cayla Coats

    Best Character Design

  Devilman Crybaby

  Akira Fudo and Ryo Asuka are some of the most iconic, memorable, and legendary characters in anime and manga, so seeing them (along with Miki, Siren, and the rest of the cast) get clean, modern redesigns for Devilman Crybaby was a real treat.

-Nate Ming

DARLING in the FRANXX

Just based no sheer amount of fan art, it’s hard to argue with this prediction. Masayoshi Tanaka has developed a well-earned reputation for his designs, in fact one of Atsushi Nishigori’s motivations for working with TRIGGER was the opportunity to work specifically with Tanaka. The character designs are great and so much work from accompanying DARLING in the FRANXX designs to multiple uniforms went into it. It’s probably my favorite part of the series.

-Peter Fobian

Hinomaru Sumo

There’s not a lot of amazingly intricate variety among the characters of Hinomaru Sumo. But I appreciate any anime where all the main characters look like they’d be equally at home being lackeys in a separate anime that get the crap kicked out of them in an alley by the Kenshiro-esque main character. Also, I love this show and so should you.

-Daniel Dockery

Cells at Work

Cells at Work is so beloved for the way it illustrates our hard-working cells as they work night and day to protect our bodies. Keep on kicking ass and taking names, cells! But on the other end of the spectrum are the threats and bacteria that invade our bodies, and some of them are depicted in very frightening ways. Remember to take care of yourself to avoid illnesses! Your cells are counting on you!

-Nicole Mejias

Laid-Back Camp

  There wasn’t a show I watched in 2018 that had more effective character designs than Laid-Back Camp. Everything visual choice made about these characters conveys something about their personality. Nadeshiko’s downward-sloping eyelids and messy pink hair are the perfect compliment to Rin’s alert eyes and neatly tied up hair. These choices echo how the characters themselves play off of one another, and gosh, it’s just delightful.

-Cayla Coats

    Anddd that's all folks! Check back in to see us argue about who else we think should win the rest of the Anime Awards categories. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites starting TONIGHT!

  Do you have a super intense devotion to a 2018 show or character or want your opinions shared to the world about Anime Awards? Send us an op-ed in written or video form. The nitty gritty details are in here and you may get published in a future article!

Who do you think should win: Best Opening Sequence, Best Ending Sequence, Best Animation, and Best Character Design? Tell us in the comments below!

Ricky Soberano is a Features Editor, Script Writer, and Editorial Programming Coordinator for Crunchyroll. She’s the former Managing Editor of Brooklyn Magazine. You can follow her on Twitter @ramenslayricky.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[grimelords]

I realised I finished writing up my January playlist and then forgot to post it, so I’m doing it here and now at the tail end of February. It’s 3 hours of good music, complete from A$AP Ferg to ZZ Top. Please enjoy.

​Dream House - Deafheaven: I started the year off with extreme mental anguish at the realisation that Sunbather is five years old this year and that I am thusly one million years old and have wasted my youth. That aside, Dream House is still an incredible song. It does what the best songs do and speaks directly to the teenaged part of your brain that thinks nobody will ever understand you like this song does right now. It is an overwhelming experience, the whole album is, and very good for having an embarrassing amount of emotions while you're driving alone and it's very loud.

Hold My Liquor - Kanye West: When this song came out I remember someone said the best musical moment of 2013 was when you couldn't tell the difference between Chief Keef and Justin Vernon on this song and I'm inclined to agree.

Melody 4 - Tera Melos: I've talked about this album at length in these playlists and probably featured almost every song at this point but I'll just say, what I like so much about this song is how it moves so effortlessly between a very melodic almost pop-punk type chorus before disintegrating into stop start mathematics and back again before you even notice.

B Boy (feat Big Sean & A$AP Ferg) - Meek Mill: I don't know how the fuck he did it, but somehow Meek Mill got a bunch of rappers who are normally nothing amazing (Meek included) to operate at the absolute top of their game for whole verse each. Highlights especially are 'I got commas on commas on commas, and I ain't talkin about a run on sentence!' 'put my P up on her head like that bitch is reppin Philly, and I wheelie in the pussy like my n**** meek milly' and the immediate about turn of A$Ap Ferg saying 'You thinkin' Khloe don't know me, I'm in the car dashin' haters/I'm in the Kardashian, get it? I'm lyin', can't I pretend?/They say fake it 'til you make it, well let the fakin' begin!'

Shabba REMIX - A$AP Ferg, Shabba Ranks, Busta Rhymes, Migos: This song's a good example of how many different flows you can get to work over one beat, and how much it improves the song. Ferg is so fast and so varied, then Migos even it out with straight triplets for most of their verse before Busta kills it by just doing absolutely everything. Great job everyone.

Attak (feat. Danny Brown) - Rustie: I normally can't stand Danny Brown but he kills this song. I still have a lot of feelings about Rustie, who showed so much promise for being the weirdo that dance music needed before presumably watching HudMo make a million producing for Kanye and friends and deciding to remove every interesting element from his music to make it palatable for rappers. That is, at least, my theory. This song is great, but every other song on this album is an example of this approach not working and instead producing boring, half assed songs where nobody's at their full potential.

Ultra Thizz - Rustie: Compare it to this, the busiest song in the world. The way the melody of the bassline that sounds like it's about to swallow you whole contends with the synth melody AND the pitched up vocal melody for your attention, they all come it at once and trade barbs before being superseded by a fuzzy, inscrutable guitar solo which fades out and leaves us back at the start. What I love about this song is the absolute maximalism and hypercolour sounds, combined with the only simple melody being the big chord stabs that centre the piece combine into a total sensory experience. Not to mention the rhythms, where absolutely every part of it seems to be slightly stranger than you expect, constantly dropping one beat before or after you expect - your first clue is the snare build at the start suddenly splitting into triplets.

If I Were A Carpenter - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: My girlfriend showed me this song and it unlocked a third of the triangle in my brain where this song, Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell and The Engine Driver by The Decemberists make a sort of trinity of songs about having a job and thinking about Wife. They're all very very good too.

12 Bricks - OG Maco: Outside of the famous video, which is very good, this song is also incredible. Another in the pantheon of songs with extremely minimal instrumentation where the vocal performance is so good it doesn't need anything. The slight delay makes all the screaming and wooing toward the end just pile on top of each other in waves building the texture up until it finally levels out.

Requiem Para Um Amor - Toquinho: I really cannot get enough of the organ in this song. I don't think I've ever heard a classical guitar/electric organ duet before and now I'm hungry for more.

You Can Be A Robot, Too - Shintaro Sakamoto: This song appeared on my Discover Weekly playlist and I'm not really sure why but it's very good. I can't tell if it's actually a children's song or just playful like one but I appreciate it either way. When it started playing from the playlist the album cover was a cartoon of a kid surrounded by robots, but when I tried to add it to a playlist the art changed to a green picture of a skeleton playing a lap steel guitar with an explosion in the background, which felt very cursed to me.

Raver - Burial: This song has always stood out to me on Untrue because of how straightforward the beat is. Under anyone else's control this would be a normal song but instead it's this incredibly detailed, messy piece of work that feels like looking at a house song through a dirty window. I also have no proof at all to back this up but in my mind the xylophone line is sampled from Donkey Kong 64 or possibly Banjo Kazooie.

Cavalettas - The Mars Volta: I remember reading a bad review of this album when it came out that was mad because it pulled 'the most egregious studio trick in recent memory' by having the whole mix except for one guitar get sucked down into a wormhole multiple times, including the bass getting physically detuned until you can hear the strings slack before resuming as normal a second later. In my opinion it's incredibly funny and it sounds good so more bands should do it. Also the other day I saw the drummer Thomas Pridgen comment on Omar Rodriguez's instagram 'check ur dms bro'. Imagine being in a band with someone for a decade and not having their number, insane.

Flash Back - Rustie: Honestly I cannot get enough of this bassline. This song is another good example of what I was talking about with Rustie dumbing his melodies down after this album, the main line in this winds around and around itself in this loping confused rhythm and against the bass that's also syncopated it just ends up sounding like hypercolour, which is a feat for a song that's basically just those two melodies against each other for the bulk of it with some plastic choir stabs throughout.

Heaven - DJ Sammy: What an absolute perennial banger. Can you believe this AND Boys Of Summer were on the same album? Incredible stuff DJ Sammy. I've been meaning to make a playlist of all the 90s/2000s lame rave songs that are secretly very emotional and have definitely inspired absolute emotional turmoil in ravers the world over like this Better Off Alone and Heaven Is A Place On Earth, but for now just enjoy the Bryan Adams classic as reimagined by DJ Sammy.

Stalking To A Stranger (Planets Collide Remix) - The Avalanches: I owe this song a lot because it not only for me into Hunters And Collectors, who it turns out have far better and angrier songs than Holy Grail, but it also turned me onto Vertigo/Relight My Fire by Dan Hartman which is sampled at the start. When this song came out it was the first new Avalanches song in a decade or so and nobody knew what to make of it because suddenly Avalanches songs just have screaming men in them, which was very good.

Miracle - Kimbra: I think that very soon everyone is going to figure out that Kimbra has been the pop genius the world needs and she's been here all along.

Wayfaring Stranger (Burial Remix) - Jamie Woon: Jamie Woon got a raw deal in my opinion. He had a song remixed by Burial, and then Burial co-produced Night Air for him and he was the king of dark and mysterious British dubstep wave, but then James Blake and everyone else came along and sort of overshadowed him totally. Now that whole movement is sort of clouded because of how quickly 'dubstep' came to mean 'skrillex', and for some reason the only place this song is on Spotify is a compilation called The World's Heaviest Dubstep, Grime & Bass.

Chanbara - At The Drive-In: A lot of writing about At The Drive-In focuses on how they never really captured the ferocity of their live shows on record until Relationship Of Command but the absolutely big screams on this working against the salsa bongo rhythms is an amazing thing. I also kind of prefer the weedy half-clean guitar sounds on this and their first album especially to Relationship of Command's crunchier sound, it feels like it gives a lot more space to the weird noodling melodies that come and go.

All Medicated Geniuses - Pretty Girls Make Graves: The intro of this song absolutely blew my 15 year old math rock mind with how simply it transitions from the snare on the beat to the snare off the beat. It is endlessly fascinating to me because I am a dummy. Every part of this song is amazing to me, from the big swing band bassline behind the guitar that's sort of just screaming through the verses and absolutely on its own journey through the chorus to the drums for the reasons I already mentioned but also the way they keep everything straight and absolutely refuse to indulge the guitar's worst math impulses.

Dangerous - The xx: I really love the horns in this song, and the big air raid sirens toward the end. It is still shocking to me that The xx transitioning to making upbeat bangers worked out for them but I'm so glad that they did.

Running - Bully: I was listening to a podcast about water management policy and infrastructure called Water You Talking About because I am young and cool and for some reason they were using the chorus of this song where she goes 'I'LL ADMIT IT! I GET ANXIOUS TOO!' as their theme song in an episode which is I suppose appropriate but also really made me laugh.

Simultaneous Contrasts - Warehouse: The singer in this band has my new favourite voice, it's amazing. She sounds like she's eaten a belt sander or something. I love the way the guitar line follows her vocals up in the chorus and also just how extremely busy the whole band is around her. They remind me of some kind of alternate universe Life Without Buildings where she's pissed off instead of just beguiling.

Light Up The Night - The Protomen: There's no reason this band should be good. They wrote a rock opera based on the story of Megaman inspired by Queen and Bruce Springsteen and it actually turned out incredible somehow. Unfortunately since this album came out almost a decade ago all they've done is a couple of live albums and covers albums, so I may never get the resolution I crave on the story of Thomas Light and Joe and whoever.

Tonto - Battles: Here's what's so good about this song: it spends 2 and a half minutes winding up to a huge centrepiece that's over way too soon and then the next 4 minutes slowly slowly slowly winding down to absolute zero. It's like the opposite of how to write a good song but it's absolutely enthralling.

Wall Street - Battles: Around a minute into this, there's two snare hits where it sounds like it's part of a roll that got digitally muted that I am obsessed with. Every part of this song is incredible, but the drums throughout alternate between sounding like he's desperately trying to keep up and sounding like pure power and total command. I especially love the big brassy snare sound that comes up from underneath occasionally to pull the brakes. The performance of this song that Battles did for La Blogoteque is one of my favourite videos on youtube.

Every Single Line Means Something - Marnie Stern: For about a week this month I developed a quiet mania about John Stanier from Battles filling in on drums in the Late Night With Seth Myers Band (for some reason), and then I found out that Marnie Stern is apparently in that band as well and it really threw me for a loop. I don't really know why this was such an incredible thing or why I focused on it so much, maybe something I need to figure out, but it reminded me of this great song so that's a positive. This is some of my favourite work Zach Hill has ever done because he's being forced to play pretty much a normal backbeat for a lot of this song and it feels like he's been cursed by a witch. The amount of power he's putting out for such a straightforward idea is incredible. Of course because it's Zach Hill he's also doing the absolute most in every other part of the song. I haven't even mentioned how much I love Marnie on her own song! Anyway, listen to this whole album.

Hacker - Death Grips: I never got into the hype around Death Grips when they were the thing, and haven't really investigated their discography past this album, but this song is an absolute masterpiece and probably everything you ever need to know about them. Lyrically between this and 'I've Seen Footage' there's a pretty neat summation of their worldview, paranoid because your existence is inextricably linked to the internet and everything that entails, 'having conversations with your car alarm'. 'make your water break at the apple store,'

Pass The Word (Love's The Word) - The Mad Lads: I was looking up where the sample's from in Hilltop Hoods' Chase That Feeling and it turns out it's this song. Try to listen to this whole intro. He's trying to give a sermon but his dumbshit friends simply will not shut the fuck up for fully three whole minutes. Other than the intro the song is very, very good.

Monkey Time '69 - The Mad Lads: I also found this other song by the Mad Lads called 'Monkey Time '69', which to me is the definition of comedy.

She's Got Guns - The Go! Team: New Go Team album! Unfortunately nothing on it sort of lived up to the promise of the first two singles Mayday and Semicircle song, but this song is still a hit. The way this is mixed is so good, the brass behind the massive bass and spacious drums and the vocals sort of backgrounded within it all, very appealing.

Coast To Coast - Tune-Yards:It feels weird that a Tune-Yards song can be this smooth. A sort of apocalyptic, politics is ruined, new york is sinking, funky smooth jam.

Cattle And The Creeping Things - The Hold Steady: I've never listened to much of The Hold Steady outside of this album because I don't feel like I really need to, it's got everything I'd ever need. Sorry to always to talk about drums but the amount of reverb on them in this song makes them sound absolutely huge and I really love it, especially in the last verse they just become massive. Also I went through a long period of being obsessed with the lyrics of this song, it's a good distillation of this whole album's christian cult/drugs in middle america story and it is completely my shit.

Losing All Sense - Grizzly Bear: There's something about Painted Ruins that's impenetrable to me. I keep listening to it and only absorbing about one song at a time, totally loving that song and then ignoring the rest of the album. Now it's Losing All Sense.

Blue Cheese - Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile: This song is like Kurt Vile in his purest form, just sort of strumming and talking about whatever the fuck. The best part of this song is when they go 'woo hoo!!!' then he whistles a little bit and then says 'here come the lone ranger!' in an elvis voice and plays a solo that sounds like he's tuning his guitar. Also right at the end you can hear someone's phone message tone going off.

Catch Me If You Can Theme - John Williams: John Williams didn't have to go as hard as he did with the Catch Me If You Can theme. I have this in my head all the time. I love the rapid shifts in this recording, because I guess it's functioning as the overture so he's just cycling through every different variation he's got in his aresenal.

I've Seen Footage - Death Grips: It's good that Death Grips' most popular song is about how the internet melts your brain There's a good quote from Zach Hill about where the title came from: 'The line “I’ve Seen Footage” was from a conversation I had with this street-person dude in Sacramento named Snake Eyes. A friend of ours recorded him on the porch in a conversation– he didn’t know he was being recorded. He was all fucked up on drugs and shit, just rattling off all this crazy information. He was talking about structures on the moon. I mean, I talk about those things, too. So we were talking about moon structures, and Snake Eyes says, “I’ve seen footage! I’ve seen footage of it!” And I was like, “That’s good!”

The Bucket - Kings Of Leon:It seems impossible that Kings Of Leon were a really good band at one point but here's the proof.

Standing Next To Me - The Last Shadow Puppets: I'm a truther for Muse ripping off Knights Of Cydonia from The Age Of The Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets but that's a post for another time. This is a perfect song in my opinion. The absolute pace of it, the minimal drums that are just sort of accenting the strumming, the huge sweeping strings elevating the whole thing, the fact that it's over in just over two minutes. Incredible.

Jesus Just Left Chicago (live) - ZZ Top: Nobody believes me when I tell them but ZZ Top are very good. I have a fantasy about this song that ZZ Top were ringleaders of a sort of revival blues cult and this song is gospel to them. Jesus did really leave Chicago and he's heading towards California and we will be here waiting for him. You may not see him, but he sees you and he loves you. This and the La Grange recording are absolutely furious for live recordings, I love how much crowd noise there is in it throughout, they are truly fucking loving it.

La Grange (live) - ZZ Top: Especially here, my god they love it. La Grange is a good song because it's just a good riff and one verse of nonsense lyrics that are just an excuse to go the fuck off for the remainder. The huge drum fill and the 'have mercy everybody!!' is massive, the solos are ferocious, and somehow this song that feels like it could jam out for 15 minutes is reined in and tightly structured and has somewhat abrupt end.

Barracuda - Heart: Hey remember Guitar Hero? Cause I had ptsd flashbacks when this song came on during I, Tonya.

Bloodmeat - Protest The Hero: I don't know how exactly Protest The Hero pivoted from a concept album about a goddess(?) being executed(?) and bringing about a new genderless utopian age(?) to their second album opening with this very bicep emoji classic metal song about the mongol hordes slaughtering all who oppose them, but good for them I suppose.

Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise - Black Moth Super Rainbow: The drums in this song have no place being that huge. Black Moth Super Rainbow are good and I can't believe I hadn't listened to them in years until I woke up with this song in my head one morning, like an omen.

Been Drinkin' Water Out Of A Hollow Log - Mississippi Fred McDowell: Literalyl every Mississippi Fred McDowell song sounds exactly the same which is good because if it works why change it. In my understanding this song seems to be about a man dying of hunger and thirst on purpose to meet god, which is very good to me.

Listen here.

[talking-head-productions]

If I Go Back In Time Part 2

I realized that were I to actually pitch the movie, the executives and producers would probably ask about more movies going forward. After all, this is supposed to be a cinematic universe to compete with Marvel. I've given it some thought- firstly, the casting of the heroes will be the same, because as far as I'm concerned they all did okay. Secondly, here's a list of possible films in my version of the DCEU:

Man of Steel 2

Plot: See the old post.

To Be Released: Given I said I'd go back to 2012, earliest release would probably be mid 2014

Marketing Notes: Keep it to a minimum. Maybe 2 trailers and a handful of tv spots. Around 4 minutes of footage total, all of it from the first half of the movie. Lower people's expectations a little so they can be surprised if it's any good.

Wonder Woman

Plot: Mostly the same as the one we got for real, but a few significant changes...

Lois Lane is the one conversing with Diana about the photograph, not Batman.

Ares did not kill all of the gods, they simply withdrew from the world of man once humans got too violent. They're in some pocket dimension version of Mount Olympus, waiting for future movies.

Diana does not think that Danny Houston's character is Ares. But she does think he knows where Ares is, because she has a very black-and-white view of the world right now, and Steve told her that Britain and their allies were the good guys. So obviously Ares is on the side of the 'bad' guys, the Germans.

Towards the middle of the movie, when Charlie the sniper is having his breakdown, Diana takes him aside and tells him that the older Amazons still have nightmares about battles from thousands of years ago. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It tends to help them when their friends are nearby. Now, they're not going to force him to fight, but they do want him to come with them. After all, if he stays, who will sing for them? I just think that having that conversation beforehand would be a bit more respectful of his condition. Also it comes back in the climax, Diana at one point has a gun to the back of her head in the middle of a fight, and Charlie shoots the guy first.

When Ares shows up towards the climax, he's actually a good guy who's been trying to end the war peacefully. Turns out, the mythology Diana was taught was wrong. The gods withdrew towards the end of the reign of the first Amazon queen, Otrera. Otrera according to the real world myths had a fling with Ares, which probably ended badly. Here, she would have lied about the reason for the gods' leaving just because she doesn't like Ares. And turns out, mankind really are just a bunch of warmongering assholes. Sometimes.

The real big bad is Doctor Poison. She uses Diana's discarded sword to stab Ares in the back, poisons Diana to weaken her, then huffs some of her own super-serum gas to make the boss battle a fair(-ish) fight.

When Steve comes up to Diana to tell her about his plan to destroy the plane, she can hear him and actually gives him her blessing. So no more 'hung up on her ex' version! It's just not possible if she told him to do it.

There are a couple bits of set up for the next film. First, at some point underwater ruins are mentioned, and Diana asks if Atlantis has fallen in the war. Steve asks if it actually exists, to which Diana replies, “Last time I knew...” The second part is a mid-credits scene where Lois sends Diana another message, asking her to look at a video. The video is exactly the same as the one we got in BvS, of Aquaman underwater stabbing the camera with his trident. During the clip, we hear a part of what will be Aquaman's theme, same as how WW's theme played in her pre-credits scene.

To Be Released: Probably late 2015, early 2016

Marketing Notes: Nothing is released or announced regarding this film until after MoS 2 has been in theaters for a week. I want people to go absolutely fucking apeshit in theaters when they realize that Wonder Woman of all characters will be the next film. Considering how she'd been regarded by Warner Bros. in the past.

The Aquaman

Plot: It's like a crazy Star Wars/Black Panther/Moana fusion. An Operatic Superhero Political-and-Family Drama based out of a futuristic Polynesian magitek version of Atlantis, with only a few scenes above the water.

To Be Released: Mid to late 2017.

Marketing Notes: Don't have a lot of action in the trailers. There will be action in the movie, including a badass final fight, but it'll be less than most superhero films. Focus on the drama in the trailers to accurately represent the movie.

Knight of Gotham

Plot: This movie will be the smallest scale movie in the franchise. It'll focus in on Batman's detective skills more than anything (though he'll still kick major ass).When the movie begins, all of Batman's more famous foes are locked up in Arkham Asylum. He hasn't been seen much lately. So smaller criminals are starting to think it's safe to operate in Gotham again. Mob boss Don Carmine Falcone wants in on it. So he puts out a hit on Commissioner Gordon, the only non-corrupt official in the city. The first taker is Deadshot (setting him up for you-know-what, but a better version). After that a couple of small-time killers. Then Ra's Al-Ghul shows up and tells Batman that every assassin not a part of the League will likely be heading to Gotham to try and kill James Gordon. However, there's only one to really be concerned about: a man named Victor Zsasz. The rest of the film is a cat-and-mouse game between Batman (plus Jim and Batgirl) and Zsasz, culminating in a boss fight that would rival both John Wick movies put together. At the end, Zsasz is a sore loser and blows up Arkham, releasing the villains for future films. At some point, Batman talked to Deadshot in prison and got him to give up Falcone as the one who put out the hit, so Falcone goes to jail and Deadshot is placed in lesser security, with his name marked under the Task Force X label.

To Be Released: Early to mid 2018.

Marketing Notes: Give a significant amount of focus to Batgirl's involvement. People will love that, so long as there's no hint of anything between her and Bruce (there won't be).

Justice League

Plot: We introduce The Flash and Cyborg as a comedic duo of superheroes from STAR Labs, with a dynamic not too dissimilar from Deadpool and Cable, or maybe Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch. The villain of the film is Abra Kadabra, a Flash villain from the distant future who uses nanomachines to do... a lot of different things. He styles himself after a stage magician. As a character in the film, he wants to shunt the Earth into a pocket dimension (make the whole world... disappear!) in order to save it from future disasters. However, the process would kill most of humanity, which is why the League have to stop him. It takes all five powered heroes to hold him down, while Batman delivers the disabling blow using one of his gadgets.

To Be Released: Day after New Year's, 2019.

Marketing Notes: In the film, Abra Kadabra will use his powers to shape shift into the heroes at multiple points. We can use this to run a “Who can you trust?” tagline, with emphasis on the fights, because this movie is spectacle incarnate. With a simple plot.

Man of Steel 3

Plot: This is the one where Lex Luthor reveals his true nature. The big fight will be Warsuit Lex vs Superman. Kryptonite will be introduced here. Other than that, I'm not sure.

To Be Released: Fall 2019.

Marketing Notes: Fake anti-Superman propaganda clips put out by Lex Corp.

Wonder Woman 2

Plot: Villain will probably be Cheetah, since she's the one of the most popular. Might be good to have Diana team up with Flash, just to bring that fun element in, and maybe some time travel stuff. Possibly bringing Steve Trevor back.

To Be Released: Late spring 2020.

Marketing Notes: If Flash is involved, focus on his and Diana's dynamic.

Gotham Sirens

Plot: Catwoman and Lady Shiva have been partners in thievery for a while now. They're hired by Silver St Cloud to steal a sacred amulet (it's actually magic), and they decide to team up with Arkham escapees Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn for the extra muscle. Ivy has her own plans, however, and it involves using the amulet to turn the whole city into a jungle.The reason they needed the extra muscle to steal the amulet is because it was guarded by a private security firm named Grayson and Sons. One guess to who the survivor of the Siren's attack is. Yeah, this movie introduces Nightwing (he skips the Robin identity). He teams up with Batman, Batgirl, and most likely our two thieves to stop Poison Ivy.

To Be Released: Mid fall 2020. Hitting a rhythm now.

Marketing Notes: One half of the material is about the all-girl villain team, the other half is about the growing Bat Family.

Fall of Justice: Tower of Babel

Plot: After Abra Kadabra's tricks, Batman realized how dangerous the rest of the League were and created weapons to stop them if they ever went bad. Unfortunately, someone (maybe Joker? Who would not be played by Jared Leto- I'm thinking Nicholas Hoult, considering his performance as Nux in Mad Max Fury Road) has stolen those weapons and the League is in genuine danger. If not the Joker, perhaps The Rogues came over from Central City and this is Leonard Snart's origin as Captain Cold (the cold gun is in the weapon cache).

To Be Released: Spring 2021.

Marketing Notes: This'll be the darkest entry in the canon so far. Someone will probably die, though who I don't know. Probably a supporting character, but an important one.

There will of course be more movies, but I'm not sure of the order or most of the details. Here's a really quick list:

Constantine (introduce the weird mythos of Dream and the Endless)

Dark Justice (aka, Justice League Dark- the villain will be Enchantress)

Titans (a second superhero team is started by Nightwing and includes Beast Boy, Starfire, and a couple others, and Deathstroke is the villain)

Crisis on Infinite Earths (eventually)

Fall of Justice: The Crime Syndicate (evil versions of our heroes from another Earth)

Flashpoint (without the major reboot aspect)

An Untitled Green Lantern Film (used to introduce planets like Thanagar and Tamaran, as well as the Manhunters)

Identity Crisis (without the “Doctor Light is a serial rapist” part)

Final Crisis (not the last movie)

Suicide Squad (alternately titled “Task Force X”, with a different villain)

Untitled Justice League Sequel (with the Legion of Doom as the bad guys)

Untitled Titans Sequel (with Brother Blood as the villain)

New Gods (I don't know enough about them to even speculate, but this oughta be cool)

Untitled Man of Steel Sequel (uses “Death of Superman” plot)

The Dark Knight Lives (at some point, probably in a League film, Bruce Wayne retired and Batman was believed to be dead. Now he comes back, because Gotham City truly does need him)

Batman Beyond (so it turns out Bruce needs to retire, too, so he finds a protege to take his place)

Justice League Kingdom Come

Man of Steel: Rising Son (deals with the “multiple heroes trying to be Superman” scenario from the comics, before bringing Kal-El himself back)

Shazam

Green Arrow

Untitled Flash Movie

Untitled Green Lantern Sequel

Untitled Justice League Dark Sequel

Blue and Gold (Blue Beetle and Booster Gold buddy comedy film)

All Female Justice League Film

The final film in the entire universe would be titled Fall of Justice: Blackest Night (the “FoJ” title is applied to all the truly dark entries). This is the finale because it would include every character ever introduced in all the films, at least as a cameo; even the dead ones would return as Black Lanterns.

[more-than-they-see]

3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 33, 36, 38 Sorry for asking so many. I'm just super curious!

No need to apologize ^^ I love answering questions and Carter has been wanting to interact with the outside world more.

3. Describe the funniest thing you’ve seen happen between two alters

C: I’ve got one. Watching Kyr and Jason be awkward. He’s relatively new, so he was still trying to figure everything out. And the bedroom was a mess. Stacks of receipts, dirty laundry, comics everywhere. The rest of us have given up on trying to get Kyr to clean. They just...don’t. And Jason, well, he’s likes everything tidy. There was a two hour disagreement about the laundry before Jason hijacked the body and ended up cleaning half the room. He’s still not sure how Kyr isn’t dead.

4. How many interpersonal bonds are there? Describe one (or a few!).

C: All right. So Kyr and I are siblings. Kyr and Zeus are cousins(?), kind of. Hari and I have become brothers. Jason has taken over the roll of caring for the younger ones and is very attached to Kat. Jason and Kyr are dating. Kyr was married, but we’re not sure if he was an alter or if he was an NPC type thing to keep Kyr company. Either way, they argued a lot and broke it off. There are kids involved with all that. Lavi is Kyr’s ex, but they’re bros now. Ja’far and Lavi study together. Kaz mostly hangs out with Siren. Mayu and Masamune may be together? I know for a fact that they’re sparring partners. There’s a book club with Hari, Jason, and Kat. All of us are connected in one way or another.

7. Who holds the most anger? (We see you, and we love you)

C: Siren. And Kyr. Jason also has a temper, but tends to be fairly level headed, all things considered.

8. Who needs the most support (and are they getting it)?

K: That’s a tough call. I’m going to therapy and trying to help those that need it. Hari and I have been working on his anxiety. Jason has been helping me, and maybe Siren, with trauma stuff. So, we’re trying.

11. Who is prone to backseat driving, ie. directing the fronter without fronting themselves?

K: Jason. So many disagreements about food and chores.

14. Does anyone have any special interests?

Kyr: Comics and food

Carter: Video Games

Siren: Dark fashion

Mayu: Plants

Lavi and Ja’far: Learning (people/current events and life/business skills respectively)

Hari: Books, especially kid/teen fantasy.

33. Describe what switching fronts feels like.

K: It’s hard to describe. My head feels kinda fuzzy and it’s harder to concentrate. End up with a headache a lot of the time. I never fully retreat into the headspace, so I get to blearily watch what’s going on and can give input. Occasionally someone hijacks the body to say or do something without me realizing it, so that’s fun. But mostly it’s just fuzzy and mildly uncomfortable.

36. Is there a place, like a round table, where everyone can get together to communicate?

K: I recently got dragged to a meeting room I hadn’t realized existed, actually. Most of that first meeting was spent with be settling and taking everything in. I kept getting distracted, so I don’t think we actually accomplished anything.

38. Describe someone who doesn’t usually get a day in the limelight (if they consent).

K: Kaz, our dragon, has volunteered. She’s happy, hyper, and enjoys physical activities, like biking and hiking. She doesn’t come forward very often because of how little energy we have left after working and health stuff. I want to say she’s between 5′4 and 5′6. Teal hair, gold eyes when in humanoid form. Big black feathered dragon the rest of the time. Likes to sing along when we’re playing fun songs (I’ve got a dream from Tangled, for instance). She’s overall just very positive. And doesn’t always understand human concepts.

[multi-fandom-writers]

(Written by Admin Jad)

"Finished!" yelled Edward as he placed the last domino piece in its position. Mikey and Kaz - who were both playing video games at the time - turned to face Edward.

"Wow, Ed." Kaz said half-heartedly, followed by sarcasm. "That's amazing... " He removed his headphones from his ears. The headphones left a red mark around his ears, just neighbor the sideburns of his blonde hair.

"Behold, my art!" said Ed as he tipped the first piece over. The domino pieces spread around Ed's bedroom started tipping over in a chain reaction. The ebony colored plastic rectangles made a satisfying 'tick' noise with each peace that fell over. When the final piece was finally knocked over, Ed turned to face his two friends, hoping for some praise. But the two already returned their attention to the screen. "You could at least pretend to be interested!" Ed stood up and stomped his foot.

"Sorry," Mikey said. "I don't lie." He laughed and high-fived Kaz.

"Nothing personal, Ed, we're just not -" Kaz wanted to stand up and place a hand on Ed's shoulder. However, his legs - which fell asleep - failed him. He started tipping over. He tried to hang on to Mikey, but he ended up dragging him down with him. As a last resort, he grabbed on to Ed. The three of them tumbled to the floor, and over the painful pile of dominoes. A series of cursing filled the room.

"Why did you pull us down with you?!" yelled Ed. He rubbed his back in pain. The other two did the same.

"If I fall, we all do! First rule of the Bro Code!" he explained.

Mikey raised a finger. "Isn't the first rule: bros before -" He didn't finish that sentence. The bedroom door was kicked open. An angry woman holding a bar of soap held her hands at her waist. Her face held an angry and stern expression.

"M-mom!" stuttered Ed.

"There will be no cursing in this house!" For the remainder of the evening, the three teens had their mouths scrubbed with a bar of soap over and over.

<~>

"From now on, we're hanging out at my place." said Kaz as soon as he boarded the school bus. He spoke without context, so everyone except Mikey and Ed were confused.

"You got dominoes?" asked Ed, perking up at the voice of his friend. Kaz rolled his eyes and sat next to the pair at the very back of the bus. The three vividly discussed video games and anime throughout the bus ride, occasionally yelling some unintelligible words.

They arrived at the school, suddenly overcome with a feeling of dread and remorse. They fought the urge to leave. A banner hanged over the green double doors. 'School Pep Week!" it read, accompanied by the picture of a roaring lion; the school's mascot.

Coming inside, the three saw flyers taped to every locker in sight, with cheerleaders parading through the halls. "This is dumb." said Mikey. "And useless." He fiddled with a fidget spinner in his left hand, which completely undermined his entire argument.

While ridiculing the school event, a leg shot out from behind a corner, tripping Ed in the process. He landed flat on his face. "Oops. Sorry about that Eddy." said a voice. A tall individual, nearly twice the size of Ed, appeared. He wore a red letterman jacket in addition to a menacing grin.

"Ed, you're bleeding!" warned Mikey. He pointed to the blood slowly streaming from Ed's nostrils. The tall individual saw this as an opportunity. He took out a crumpled napkin from his pants pocket and wiped the blood off Ed's nose. He then proceeded to shove it up the nostril, making Ed yelp in pain. The yelp of pain alerted another individual just around the corner.

"Simon Evans!" yelled the principal. "For the love of God All Mighty, stop it with these shenanigans or so help me, I'll have you expelled!" he warned.

"Won't happen again, sir." said Simon. A cold sweat ran across his cheek. Once the authority figure was out of sight, Simon shoved Ed into the wall. "See you around, Eddy." Even when entering the sea of students, the letterman still stood out.

"You ok?" asked Kaz, offering a clean napkin. Ed gladly took it, discarding the blood-covered one.

"No," he complained. "I'm not."

"You really shouldn't let him bully you like that."

"What am I supposed to do? The dude is twice my size. The principle may act strict but he won't expel his star quarterback. What can I do?"

"Yolo it, I guess." He chuckled. Upon entering homeroom, Ed immediately noticed something was off. For once, there was no paper files, no chalk, and no grading book on the teacher's desk. Ed knew the teacher wasn't absent, for he saw her not a few minutes ago in front of the teacher's lounge.

He took his seat in the second-to-last row and dropped his bag at his side. He entered his dreamscape; started imagining and re-imagining arguments that would never happen. The national anthem blared through the class speaker, for which they all stood. Once the last lyric was chanted, the principal's blurred voice replaced the silence. "Students: First of all, I would like to congratulate our football team for making it to nationals." The class cheered. "And because of that wonderful accomplishment, a pep rally will be held for the entirety of the day. Thank your class representatives and pep committee for that decision."

Books and loose pieces of paper were thrown into the air in celebration. Students shot up from their seats and started dancing. "Sit back down!" yelled the Math teacher. "You lot are two lessons behind schedule! You're going to study for half the day!" And so they did.

The lunch bell rang. The students rushed outside the classrooms, escaping from the torment of education. "Get back here!" the teacher called after them. "The bell doesn't dismiss you! I do!" She was ignored.

Ed quietly took his lunch to the stairwell, where peace and quite rained supreme. "What'cha got there, Eddy?" asked Simon, leaning over Ed's shoulder. Ed jolted upwards, dropping his lunch in the process. "You almost got me in trouble today." he said as he took a few steps forward. "Almost." He pushed Ed into the corner. He forcefully placed his hand on Ed's face. "This time, take what you have coming for you, quietly." A heavy blow landed on Ed's cheek. Then another on his stomach. Then another. And another. Ed waved his arms in anger, but hit nothing.

Simon grabbed both hands and pinned Ed to the wall. In a last-ditch attempt, Ed kicked Simon in the unmentionables. Simon flinched. Ed saw an opportunity and rammed into Simon. He tumbled over. Fell on the stairs, then laid motionless on the tiled floor. Ed sat in the corner of the staircase. He saw a pool of blood forming around Simon.

His heart raced. His breathing became shorter and inconsistent. His screeching echoed throughout the halls, yet unheard to others over the noise of their own chatter. Ed trembled in his corner. He drove his head in between his knees in search of refuge. He found none.

Then he ran. Ran down the stairs, tripping over Simon's body. He continued to scamper through the halls, sprinted uphill through the streets which lead to his believed sanctuary; his house.

He thanked his lucky stars that none of his parents were home. He slammed the door of his bedroom and retreated underneath his bed sheets. He was trembling with such intensity that the bed itself shook. After what seemed like an eternity for him, but only ten minutes in the real world, police sirens disturbed the silence in the neighborhood. Ed held his bed sheets tighter. He was relieved when the sirens became distant. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Eventually, the exhaustion - both mental and physical - caught up to him, and he was overtaken by sleep. "Ed? Ed honey, wake up." said a soft as it gently woke Ed. Though his vision hasn't focused, he recognized the comforting face of his own mother. "Dinner is ready in ten." she said as her hand slightly pinched his cheek, giving it a pinkish tint.

Memories of today's events flooded his mind. He stifled the urge to scream at the top of his lungs. His phone, which was on his bedside, had a beeping red light on the top right corner, meaning he just received an important message.

From his friends: 'where are you?!' From Candy Crush: 'Your energy has refilled.' And from the local news: 'Murder at public high school'.

A wave of nausea washed over him. He stumbled over to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet bowl.    After an excruciating session of vomiting, he managed to calm himself down. But it didn't last for long. The squeaking of car breaks was audible outside.

   Intreeged, Ed peeked through the curtains and immediately regretted it. Two police cruisers were parked in front of his own home.

   They knocked on the wooden front door, loudly. Ed quietly made his way downstairs, making as little noise as possible. He made sure he wasn't visible to anyone who might be watching through the windows. He slowly closed the back door behind him.

   His mother - who was in the kitchen at the time - walked towards the front door. She looked through the peephole, had a moment of confusion, then opened the door.

   "Can I help you officer?" she asked, still lost on what was happening.    "Evenin' Mr.s Breker. Is your son home?" asked the officer.

   "He's upstairs in his room. Why do you need to know?"

   "Eh, there's no easy way to say this but..." The officer scratched the back of his neck. "Your son is the main suspect of the murder of Simon Evans." She froze.

   "It ain't April Fools! My son is scared of butterflies! He ain't about to murder someone twice his size!"    "Ma'am, we have a warrant to take him into questioning." Mr.s Breker stepped aside and ushered them upstairs. "He didn't do nothin'." She repeated.

   Not even a minute later, the officer came rushing back downstairs. "He's not here!"

<~>

   A rapid series of knocks sounded on Kaz's front door. Annoyed, he angrily stomped towards the doors. "What?!" He yelled the moment he opened it. His emerald eyes widened. "Ed! Where were you?! Everything went to shit after you disappeared!" Ed barged into Kaz's home in a rush.

   "The cops are after me, man!" He said nervously as he tried to hold his composure.

   "The cops are not after you, man. Chill out. They're after whoever... killed.... Simon." His eyes widened in realization. "Ed... Did you...?" he said hesitantly. Ed slowly nodded. Kaz took a step backward. "I think you should go..." Kaz said quietly.

   "There's nowhere to go. You're the only person that can help me."

   "Ed, if the cops find it that I was hiding you, they'll arrest me!"

   "But what about what you said? 'If I fall, we all do'?!"

   "We're not like your fucking dominoes, Ed! You act as if your fate matters to us. Well, guess what? It doesn't! You will fall, and you will fall alone!" Kaz pushed Ed out the front door. Ed tumbled over on and fell on the grass. He held back the tears as he disappeared into the night.

    Overnight, fifteen-year-old Edward Breker had completely disappeared. Or rather, that's what everyone thought.

Nearly a week after Ed's disappearance, the wall phone at Kaz's residence rang.

"Hello?" answers Kaz.

"Kaz." said a panting voice.

"Ed?" he exclaimed. "H-how's it goin' man?" He stuttered.

"I'm skipping town. Tonight."

"R-really? Where are you goin'?"

  "I can't say. But hey, listen. Let's meet up at the Spot. All three of us.   "Why do you want to meet there?"    "One last hangout, I guess."

"S-sure... I'll call Mikey and we'll bring some Mountain Dew, I guess."    Kaz hung up. He turned and faced the officer who was listening to the conversation. "It's him." He said. "He wants me to meet him at the Cliffside." The officer dialed a number on his flip phone and held the phone to his ear.

   "We got 'em."

<~>

   Kaz and Mikey walked through the Red-Wood forest, with a six-pack of Mountain Dew in hand. From a distance, they saw Ed's ragged figure sitting on a piece of land outstretched from the rest of the cliff overlooking the sea.

    The Spot.

   "Ed." They called out to him. His head turned in a fast, robotic manner, as if he was possessed. He brandished a smile at the sight of his two friends. They sat next to him, and each opened up a bottle of Dew.

   "Been a while since we all came here." Said Kaz, followed by a sip.

   "It really has." replied Ed.

   "Ed." Mikey said as he put a hand on Ed's shoulder. Ed immediately flinched but then calmed down. "Did you really kill Simon." Ed reluctantly but surely nodded his head.

   "I did." Kaz and Mikey turned and faced each other. They nodded. The sound of heavy footsteps crushing the fallen leaves was loud enough for Ed to hear. He jolted up from his place and focused his attention at the source of the noise.

Flashlights cut through the darkness of the night. The barks of the K-9 units were audible.

  Heartbroken, Ed faced his friends. Kaz raised his shirt, revealing a communication device strapped to his stomach. "I'm sorry, man. They forced us to do it."

   Half a dozen officers had their guns trained on Ed. "Freeze!" Ed relaxed his body. He raised his hands upwards. Two officers approached him.

   "Do I at least get to say goodbye?" he asked. The commanding officer on site motioned him to do whatever.

   Ed hugged his two friends, an arm around each of them.

   "NO homo!" They all yelled in unison, followed by a series of laughs.

"One more thing." said Ed. His arms still enveloped his two friends.

   "Which is?"

   "If I fall, we all do!" He yelled as he leaned his weight over the side of the outreach. His two friends were dragged along with him. They fell into free fall until meeting their fate at the hand of the jagged rocks below.

[septirapdork]

Fic: We Should Be Together Tonight

It was just a normal evening in America. It rained heavily and you could hear the waterdrops hit the roof. Jack sat in his chair - he had moved in a few months ago - and stared at his computer monitor intensely. He had just finished a new video, but so mething felt off. It was some new scary game with ghosts and zombies, stuff like that, but still - something about it made him cringe, and not in the good kind of way. It just felt like filming a scary video with all the rain outside was a bit of a cliché. After some thinking he sighed and closed the  recording program - Robin would have to edit it tomorrow, so Jack had to wake up pretty early the next day to send the unedited video to him.

“Eh, damn it”, Jack shrugged and decided to go to sleep after washing his face and teeth. He and Signe had broken up before Jack had moved to the USA, because of the distance - unfortunately. The man was just about to hop in bed, when someone rang his doorbell. “Who the heck?” he murmured and walked to the door, opening it with a puzzled look on his face. “Arin?”

“Hi Jack”, the all-wet man answered. “I- Can I, well… Can I sleep here tonight?”

“You drove all the way to Santa Barbara?” Jack was clearly surprised. “Why didn’t you stay at Dan and Barry’s place? Or… home?”

“I need to talk to you”, Arin seemed flustered when he came inside and put his jacket away, next to Jack’s own. “Something happened at home.”

Jack immediately started to look for a place for Arin to sleep, but then remembered he hadn’t taken any mattresses with him from Brighton.’

“Fuck”, he scratched his head, “I don’t have anywhere for you to sleep in.”

“I can sleep next to you”, Arin seemed very depressed, which made Jack question everything. From all the people in the world, being depressed was not something Arin was very often. That made Jack say yes.

“Okay. But only if you tell me what’s going on.” He was very serious and got Arin to wipe his right eye.

“Shit, dry eyes”, Arin tried to laugh a bit and went to sit on the couch. Jack followed him and sat right next to him.

“Tell me what happened”, he said quietly.  “What is wrong at home?” Arin went silent and looked at his toes like they were the most interesting thing in the world.

“We broke up.”

“What?”

“Me and Suzy. We broke up.”

Jack was so surprised he didn’t know what to say at all. What the heck? They were the perfect couple!

“We had this coming”, Arin continued after some awkward silence. “We tried to make it work many times, but this time… It just didn’t work anymore, you know? Everything was different. Silent and made us both feel bad. I still love her and she still loves me, though, that’s the reason we’re doing this.” There were tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Oh no”, Jack almost cried himself. “I’m so sorry, buddy.” They hugged for a long time and Jack tried to come up with something to say. “So what will you do now?”

“I dunno. I will probably stay at Brent’s for a while.”

“You can stay here too”, Jack made a proposition. “I live closer to the Grump Studio than Brent. It would be easier for you.”

“Thank you so much man”, Arin hugged him again. “You’re an actual Irish angel.” Jack smiled for the first time in days - stress had taken the best of him and had made him a bit sad.

“Love you, bro”, Jack said while yawning. “Should we go to sleep? You can pour out anything bad you have in mind in bed.”

“This is so straight”, Arin cracked up a joke and made his blue-haired friend laugh.

They lied next to each other in silence. After a while, Arin started opening up and just stared at the ceiling.

“I don’t think me and Suzy can see each other in a while. You know, I need some kind of a… a distraction. Or something. She always hangs out at the studio, what will I do? I can’t let the lovelies down.”

“Take your time, buddy”, Jack looked at him. “I’m sure people will understand. And besides, you guys have a lot of material pre-recorded. Just, like, put out two episodes instead of three per day. I am very sure that the lovelies can live with that for a while.”

“You’re right. Thanks, Seán.”

“Since when have you called me that?” he smiled widely and made Arin question himself. It took a while for him to answer.

“Since now”, Arin smiled back at Jack. They stared at each other for a minute or two, before Arin changed sides. “Goodnight, potato boy.”

“Night, American.”

“Is that really the best you got?” Arin chuckled.

“… Yes.”

Jack woke up at the middle of the night after seeing a nightmare about his own breakup, Arin’s misfortune must’ve brought it up in his mind. He noticed that Arin had rollled over and slept now with his head on Jack’s shoulder. The other man swallowed and tried to lightly tap Arin on the forehead, making him come even closer.

“Oh man”, Jack muttered to himself. ‘Since when has Arin been that cute?’ he noticed to be thinking. Jack closed his eyes and listened to Arin’s sleepy breathing - it made him happy in a way no one had made him since the breakup. It was weird, they had been friends for a long time, but this was different. Very, very different.

“Sleepy…” Arin said in his sleep, very quietly and incoherently.

“Shh, you sleep now”, Jack got frightened that Arin would wake up so he started to pet his hair slightly. Soon he was in very deep sleep again. “That was close”, Jack muttered. He didn’t know what was wrong and it made him feel uneasy. It was like someone had stabbed him in the heart repeatedly - it was almost like he had a crush for the first time in months. It couldn’t be that, right? Right…? Jack closed his eyes and thought of Arin in a warm, cute kind of way. He would make him coffee every morning. Every time Arin would see a nightmare, he would wake Jack up and kiss him on the cheek, thanking of him being there for him. Jack opened his eyes and felt blood rush into his face. “This is not good”, he shaked his head, but only a bit, so Arin wouldn’t wake up. This was only the start.

In the morning Arin had woken up before Jack, so Jack woke up to the smell of coffee in the room.

“What the -” he looked around him, only to find no one in the room.

“Oh no, you woke up”, he heard Arin’s voice from the door. Jack’s eyes jolted to him.

Arin smiled and made the other man feel all fuzzy inside.

“It’s hard not to wake up when you have coffee in the room”, he laughed and sat up. “By the way, where is it?” “On your night desk”, Arin pointed his finger at Jack.

“Oops.”

“You did like coffee, right?”

“I sure do”, Jack took a gulp. “No coffee for you?”

“Nah, too much caffeine for my taste, at least at the moment. I have to get my stuff from my place - I mean Suzy’s place.” Arin looked a bit sad again, which made Jack sad. He didn’t want anybody to be sad, goddammit!

“Do you think you will be okay?” Jack asked when Arin sat next to him on the bed. He shrugged, but smiled afterwards and opened his mouth.

“I’m happy if you are here for me.”

“Oh man”, Jack blushed against his will. “I -”

“You are all red.”

“Dammit! I blush far too easily”, Jack buried his face to his hands. Arin just laughed and patted his friend on the back.

“I know man, it’s hard to take compliments. But you, my Irish angel, need those a lot. You’re like the best guy in the world for letting me stay in here.” Jack just waved his hand and made Arin grab it. His hand was soft and warm, and made crush-having Jack want to jump out of the window at the very moment.

“Oh please, Brent was an option too”, he tried to sound casual, but noticed how Arin started to almost giggle.

“If I wanted to be at Brent’s, I would’ve driven there last night. I knew I could count on you so I came here instead.” Jack was the one who was flustered now and didn’t know what the heck to think of all of this. “Really, tho, the European tour made us a lot closer, I think. I’m so glad you decided to move to the States.”

“Same here”, Jack noticed what he had just said. Same here? A few days ago the move had broken up his life. He had lost Signe, he had lost a few friends back in the UK, he had lost a lot of stuff. But if it meant a new beginning, then it was all okay.

The next evening they both slept in the same bed again. Jack tried to not think how close Arin had been last night, and how his heart started racing every time he thought about it. Arin just stared at the ceiling again and made Jack question his life choices.

“I love this room”, Arin said suddenly. “It’s a bit too cold at nights, though.” Jack almost gasped, but luckily was able to hold it back.

“I agree.”

“It’s good we both sleep here then”, Arin smiled and closed his eyes, before - wait a second, he didn’t roll over, but stayed on his back. Jack’s head was full of warning sirens. ‘Do not fall for him. Do. Not. Fall for him.’ The Irish one had always known he’s bisexual, he just hadn’t talked about it to pretty much anyone. Signe was the only one who knew about it and that was it.

“True. It’s warmer that way”, he tried really hard to sound casual.

“Jack, I need to tell you something.”

“I’m all ears”, Jack smiled and looked at Arin. “What do you want to tell me?” Arin clearly thought about it for a second before he started talking.

“I think I know why it… why it didn’t work out with Suzy. I have never told about this to anyone.”

“Tell me”, Jack waited eagerly for Arin to continue his story. He knew what he wanted to hear, but this was something so very different.

“For a long time, I… I had a crush on Dan.”

“What?” Jack was so confused at that moment. At the same time he was happy, and at the same time he was… angry. Angry at himself for not noticing anything earlier. Should he tell Arin his secret too?

“Yeah. I know I always made jokes about it, but eventually I noticed they weren’t jokes anymore. I think Suzy is an exception. Like, I have always had crushes on boys but I really fell for her.”

Jack really didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell him, he really did, but was it okay now that Arin wanted to open up? For a small silent moment he thought about it, and made his decision.

“Arin, I’m bi.”

“Really?” Arin was clearly a bit shocked. “Since when have you known this?” Jack counted with his fingers.

“About since I was twelve. You are the second person to know about this. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Have you ever kissed a boy?” Arin suddenly payed great interest to this new information he had heard. “I have.”

“I haven’t. I have only been with girls”, Jack scratched his head. Thank God it was dark in the room, because otherwise Arin would’ve seen how bright red Jack’s face was at the moment.

“I want to give you a reward for letting me stay here”, Arin bit his lip a bit. “If it’s okay?” Jack nodded but realized then it was too late to say no. He had no idea what Arin had in mind and he had just basically said yes. Slowly Arin crawled closer to him and kissed Jack on the cheek. “There.”

“You know what?” Jack smiled and was redder than ever. “Thank you.” Silence. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Same here.” Silence. A slow kiss that started sweetly, like the first kiss between a young couple. They started switching kisses more quickly and after that Arin pressed his forehead against Jack’s.

“I really like kissing you.”

The next day Jack was the one who woke up first. He noticed that Arin had wrapped his arm around his waist and had a steady hold of him. Jack had to smile. If he could help Arin to get over his ex-wife, he would do that. If he was just a bandaid, that was okay too. He just wanted to kiss him again.

“Good morning”, Jack said softly.

“That isn’t the way you usually say it”, Arin smirked after he had had a good yawn. “Normally you sound much more… enthusiastic.” Jack had to laugh a bit before answering.

“Please kiss me again”, Jack then said in a quiet voice. Arin sat up and smooched one of his best friends properly. “I could do that all day, you know.”

“I know”, he smiled like never before. “I think this new beginning isn’t so bad after all. I mean, I get to be with you. I’ve, eh, I’ve had a small crush on you since the European tour. I know I have to get over Suzy, but if you are there to help me do that… I think I will be just fine.” Jack knew he was doomed to have this crush for a long, long time. After all, he had had some part of it inside his soul for some time already - Jack just had needed this to happen to realize it was there. ‘Do not fall for him? Fuck that. I will fall for him so hard I’m gonna break every bone in my body’, Jack thought to himself and kissed Arin again, more softly than ever before. His lips were perfect to kiss. He felt this feeling of… belonging. It was the best feeling in a long time.