#ghost acts like such a tough guy but the reality is that hes so ridiculously in love with soap its nuts

[bluegiragi]

post match interview.

patreon for nsfw

[dalishthunder]

The Negotiating Table

Rate: Explicit Pairing: Cronus Ampora/Kankri Vantas Words: 1,539 Power Bottom, Degradation, Kink Negotiation, Use of Safe Words

100d under the cut

You can feel him inside of you, writhing, undulating like a little slice of human heaven. You want to sing, but all you can do is hum against the ball gag in your mouth, drool dripping uncomfortably down your chin, but then he says something. He always fuckin says something. He can never keep that big mouth of his shut for more than a moment.... But you- you don't mind. You don't mind-

He says your name and you try so hard to fixate on that. Just that. But he won't shut up. And you....

Your name is Cronus Ampora, and right now you really wish it wasn't.

This was supposed to be fun. When Kankri had asked you to help him understand the physicality of relationships, you had imagined something sweet as your first time.... Together or course. Because you were a real romantic guy who got tail on the regular and... yeah even in your head that sounded fake.

But sweet little overbearing Kankri? It should have been gentle and... and... not with your hands bound to your horns because, yeah, you were into that shit but you'd always imagined your first time being more... magical? No. Magic was fake and stupid. Even in daydreams.

Not that you'd complain though. You were Cronus fucking Ampora and you were having the time of your life... right? So what if he yelled at you when you tried to touch him? It was fine as long as he was touching you. So what if he had some kinks that really didn't do it for you? His bulge certainly was....

"You really do give highbloods a bad name when you act like this, Cronus." You wish you could see him, see that stupid smile on his face. The mocking one. You'd called him out the first time, never figured him for the kind of person with a degradation kink. He was so high and mighty and preachy though... maybe it wasn't such a stretch for him to be like this.

Now he just had you muzzled with a gag in your mouth so you couldn't talk back. You could if you really wanted to... It was just made of plastic, you could easily crunch it if you needed to. Not that you would need to because you were having a blast-

"You really must be ever so desperate to let a mutant penetrate that nook of yours; Honestly such desperation is quite unbecoming. It's fortuitous for you that I'm so beneficent isn't it?" He absolutely purred. "After all, could you imagine what your fellow caste-mates would have to say if he knew you were debasing yourself so?"

Debasing.... How were you debasing yourself? You were getting fucked, right? That was the opposite of debasing. That was basing. You were based.

So why did it matter what other people thought? Why should you ca-

"I wonder what your lusus would say if it knew just how much of a degenerate you were? Human kin and mutant chaser.... You probably want to be filled up like a little mammal."

Even just in your mind the look of abject disappointment on pops' face was palpable. Your lips peeled back in a grimace because this was heading towards some very unsexy territory which was really problematic because he had his bulge up your nook and you really wanted to get off.

If only you could get him to shut up for a glubdamn minute.

"Or even our peers, could you imagine what they would say about us if they knew?"

Probably 'About time!' or 'Good for them!' or something like that or-

"The gossip. 'How could someone as discerning as Kankri bring himself so low to mix slurry with the desperate Cronus Ampora?' Not that anyone will ever know, will they."

The heat of his skin lit a fire along your jaw. The first time he'd touched you outside of tying you up. It hit you dead on like a scuttlebuggy cruising full speed. This was the first time he'd touched you and...

And you were going to bite him. You were going to sink your teeth into that little neck of his until there was ruby red rivulets running down your chin. Claim him so thoroughly and visibly that he would be forced to admit to everyone he was fucking you.

"I'm not even sure I'd have an answer for th-"

The dig of plastic along your gums brought you back to reality.... You opened your mouth, the remains of the ball gag falling out... And all you could do was let out a shaky breath.

"Xylophone."

Your own voice surprised you. After all, you'd told yourself you were tough enough, you could do this, you could... dear glub you just wanted him to touch you and.... It felt shameful pulling it out.

Kankri on his part immediately stopped moving. Probably just as uncomfortable as you were now. Fuck, you shouldn't have pulled out the safe word you should have just let him get you off then maybe ghost him.

Haha ghost him.

Because you were both ghosts....

"Are you okay, Cronus?" He sounded about as awkward as you felt and that brought you some modicum of comfort.

"Just gimme a minute, chief." You tried to put on a smile, but you were sure it fell flat. "You mind untyin' me a little?"

You felt him shift, sitting up to loosen your bindings. And after what felt like forever he started talking again. "Do you want to-"

 "Why  are   you fuckin' me?" You interrupted him.

  "We agreed to explore our interests in a non-judgemental environment."

  So it really was just that... huh....

  "Can we try something different today?" You asked, finally confident enough that you weren't going to cry in front of him to lift up your blindfold.

  He looked at you peculiarly. "I suppose you are allowed to explore as well."

  You grinned, leaning down to kiss him which he... sort of reciprocated with a very chaste, tight lipped stance where he didn't pull away.  He didn't particularly like kissing... he'd said so but you figured he got to take you out of your comfort zone then you got to take him out of his for a little while.

  Thems the breaks.

  He held your eye contact and you slid your point stubs under his sweater and he grit his jaw. "Is all this touching really necessary?"

  "What do you mean 'is it necessary?' Of course it's necessary, we're pailing!" You snapped.

  "You know how I feel about touching, Cronus."

  You pinched the bridge of your nose doing your best not to reach down and bite him like you had wanted to only a few moments ago. "Well, maybe I   like   touching, Kanny." You ground your hips against him, bulge tangling with his searing hot one. You were pretty sure that's what human heaven was supposed to be like. You hoped you'd go there if you double died.

  "Cronus, I don't mean to kink shame you  ,   but you're being very difficult and inconsiderate right now. If you don't stop touching me I'm going to have to call this whole thing off. Also do not ever call me Kanny again. Kankri is my name."

  You sighed, placing your hands on your own thighs instead of his grubscars. "Fine."

 You rocked your hips so that his bulge lined up with your nook again and slid home. God his mutant body was so fucking hot both literally and metaphorically.

  "Fuck, you feel so good." You murmured as he started writhing in you again, the tip bumping up against your seedflap in the most delicious way. "That's it.... Just like that."

  He for the most part remained silent, a look of concentration on his face. You were tempted to kiss him again, but he'd probably just shove you off and go on his way. So you just renewed your efforts, trying to get off as fast as possible so that you couldn't fuck this up any more than you already had. You could feel it all building, getting ready to  burst.

  He said something about a bucket so you reached over and got the little disposable one taking both of your bulges twined together with your hand and stroking them. It came as a swift relief, your violet mixing with his mutant candy red as he let out a strangled cry.

  You flopped down on the plank beside him, narrowly missing the bucket with your knee. "Wasn't that so much better, kitten?"

  He turned away from you, which was understandable because he was little, prudish Kankri, and got up, cleaning himself off and getting dressed in his ridiculous pants.

  He was cute.

  "It appears we may not be as compatible with our exploring as I had hoped." He said after a while.

 Oh.

  You were pretty sure that your pump biscuit  was trying to worm its way out of your throat  . "I can change!"

 Yeah... you could change.

 Kankri looked over his shoulder, a glint in his eye. "Well I suppose if you're willing to put in the work it would be remiss of me to not at least try giving our arrangement another look over."

[puckinghell]

For Mr. William please!😘

❝ why don’t you just stay the night ? ❞

When you look back, you realize it was a pretty stupid idea.

It hadn’t felt like that back then, though. It had felt like a brilliant idea. It made sense: you liked Will’s care free personality, you thought he was attractive, he was apparently attracted to you too, and after one drunken night that you barely remembered anything about except that his hands lit a fire in you you hadn’t ever felt before, it was the logical thing to do.

You know they always say friends with benefits never worked.

But surely you would be the exception. For one, William wasn’t your type: you had always dated quiet, studious boys, a little shy but nice enough. Stable, someone you could depend on.

And Will wasn’t like that, at least, not in the ways you’d known. He was the fire burning in your fireplace, making you feel warm and safe even though you know there’s a risk of the entire place burning down. He was smart in a way that makes you think differently about things. He definitely wasn’t stable, not someone you could – should – depend on, and yet he’s always there when you seem to need him the most. And he’s beautiful but in a way that unnerves you, makes you feel like there’s things in the world you will never quite understand. He makes you laugh harder than anyone else, but he also makes you sad: whenever he doesn’t answer the phone for a week or you see him talking to other girls.

Because that’s the rule. Will isn’t yours, even though he feels like he could be your everything. And you promised yourself you wouldn’t fall in love with him vehemently and with all the right intentions, but you broke that promise just as quickly.

Maybe you should stop answering the phone, but there’s a difference still between having him like this – halfhearted, in dark nights and quiet evenings – and not having him at all.  

The rule also includes that you’re not his. A person can’t belong to another person if that sentiment isn’t returned. But lately he’s been acting like there is no rule, like he wasn’t the one that put that rule in place in the first time.

“I don’t want anything serious, right now,” he said back then. But now he sends you texts every day and he orders your favorite food when you come by, so it’s not just sex anymore. Maybe it was never just sex, not to you, not even if you told yourself so often it was. But now you’re starting to wonder if things have changed for him, if maybe there’s a chance or if this is just him being a nice guy and you overthinking things again.  

You climb out of bed when Will’s still catching his breath, staring at the ceiling in some sort of blissful daze. He had a tough game only hours before so you expect him to just fall asleep.

It’s fine. You can show yourself out: by now, you know his apartment like you know the back of your own hand.

You quietly walk towards the en-suite bathroom, let the door fall closed before you flick on the lights. You managed to grab your jeans on the way there but somehow your top seems to be lost, so you grab one of Will’s hoodies, draped over the edge of the bath like it was laid out there just for you. That’s ridiculous, of course, so far out of the friends with benefits realm that you don’t even waste energy thinking about it. You wash your hands, then get caught staring in the mirror.

It’s funny. You feel empty, washed out, but you look happy. You’re giving too much, knowing you will never get the return. Not like you want, anyway, not meaning what you want it to mean. Because Will has been returning, has been giving and caring and loving and that’s not fair. You don’t want to be confronted with things you can’t have.

So why do you look so happy? So content? Does your soul not realize what your heart is telling you? That it isn’t real, it will never be.

“Y/N.” Will’s voice is quiet. You hadn’t even noticed the door opening but it’s open and he’s staring at you with a curious look in his eyes. “You okay?”

God, you must look stupid, staring into his mirror like you saw a ghost there. But Will doesn’t look annoyed or even like he’s finding it funny. He looks worried, if anything.

“Fine,” you bring out, even though you’re clearly not. You push past him, intending to get to the front door, but his hand reaches out and wraps around your wrist.

“You’re not fine,” he says, and it sounds like he’s accusing you of something. Then, suddenly his voice more gentle. “Why don’t you stay the night?”

The one thing you’ve never done, because staying the night makes it feel more intimate than it should be. Staying the night is what you do when it means something.

And now he’s asking, but it’s out of pity and you hate it, hate the caring look in his eyes and the gentleness in his face, like you’re a scared puppy and need rescuing.

“Because you don’t want me to,” you bite, which you don’t think is quite what he was expecting. It was probably a rhetorical question, anyway.

You pull your arm loose from his grip and walk fast towards the hallway. It’s not yet running but it comes close, and if it was anyone else you would’ve gotten away.

But it’s Will, and he’s fast and more determined than anyone you know, so he catches up with you before you can even reach your shoes. He doesn’t touch you, just stands in front of you, blocking the door. His blue eyes are bright in the dark hallway, and there’s something wild about the look in his eyes.

“And what if I do?” he asks. There’s a hint of vulnerability in his voice now, like he really cares about your answer. “If I do want you to stay? Would that be a bad thing?”

You freeze in your spot, like your feet are suddenly nailed to the floor. No, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, not for you, but you simply can’t imagine…

Will takes a step closer, carefully and almost tauntingly slowly. He raises his hands in front of him like he’s trying to calm down a spooked animal. “I want you to stay tonight.”

And you shouldn’t, not like this, not when it’s only such a tiny sliver of the dream you would love to make reality. 

Not when it’s gonna make you want, no, ache for what you’ll never have. 

“I’ll stay,” you say, the words feeling foreign in your mouth. Foreign, but right, like a native language you haven’t spoken in a long time.

“Okay,” Will says, and his smile turns real, now, bright and open like it always is, like you’ve learned to love it.

It’s not a promise of forever, it’s just one night. It doesn’t mean anything, and when he repeats the word, softly, as he starts pulling you into his arms, it shouldn’t sound like a promise.

“Okay.” 

It sounds like a promise anyway. 

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Genesis OCs

In the middle decades of the 21st century, explosive events occur that gives some of the world’s population superpowers. One such person is David Paine, who was rendered homeless by the event and due to his power being a Wolverine-esque healing factor, he found himself unable to die before finally finding shelter in a brothel/safehouse for empowered young women. Years after finding this new home, he soon has to protect it when someone from his past shows up in his life and a superpowered supremacist begins to make moves against the city and its people.

Finally got at least SOME stuff about these OCs written down. Kinda weird when I think about this story, it’s almost a dark contrast to Six Shots. 

HEROES

David Paine

Once your average teenager, David’s life was turned upside down when his home and family were seemingly destroyed during the Genesis Event. Surviving due to the event giving him a healing factor, David was rendered depressed, homeless, and suicidal; he would often wake up in the morgue, especially during winter. This all changed when he pulled himself together and began protecting people on the street, which led to him saving one of the sex workers who lived in Mac’s safe house. Mac soon gave David a home, and he has lived there ever since, protecting the girl’s living there from harm as well as finding love in the form of Alice.

6’, dark brown hair, blue-grey eyes, white, heterosexual.

Unlike many healing factors in fiction, his works even if his head is separated from the body. In such an event, his body will move on its own in an attempt to get the head back. During this period, his headless body has increased strength and speed, though it will only continue moving for an hour before collapsing, at which point the head needs to be brought over to the neck by an outside source to heal.

He almost always looks exhausted.

He’s a very calm guy, and it takes a lot to make him angry.

He is 27 years old.

Ashley Walker

David’s ex-girlfriend from high school, Ashley fell in with the wrong crowd, leading for David to part ways with her. Caught up in the Genesis Event, she gained fire powers, though this came with s ome unexpected side effects. She mainly used her powers to commit petty crimes, and hung out with unsavory folks, though part of her desperately wishes her life could get better.

5’6”, black hair, green eyes, white.

Her powers act much like any other pyrokineetic character in fiction, but if she exerts herself too much in too short of a time, she “burns out” and transforms into a 7’ tall charred skeletal monster known as “Ashwalker.”

She has a bit of a temper.

She’s kind of stubborn.

She regrets a lot of her criminal actions over the past ten years. However, she’d never say it willingly.

She has always been in to goth and punk subcultures.

She is 27 years old.

Alice Doe

A mysterious young woman. One night, she appeared bleeding on Mac’s doorstep; he took her in and he and the girl’s helped nurse her back to help. She doesn’t remember anything about her past, or how she became injured, and she seems to be nothing but an average young woman, albeit a bit pale and sickly.

5’8”, long black hair, very pale, dark blue eyes.

She has frequent dizzy spells.

She’s very sweet, perceptive, and patient.

She is 25 years old.

Mac Palmer

Once part of an average family, Mac’s life was turned upside down after the Genesis Event, which led to his brother being killed by a pimp in the ensuing gang activity that erupted during the chaos. Mac, unaware of his new powers, accidentally killed the pimp. He soon discovered said pimp had been gathering up girls with powers in the weeks after the Event, planning on using them to please himself and clients. Deciding to offer them help, he converted the pimp’s hideout into a safe house for at-risk young women with superpowers, though he allowed anyone who wanted to continue doing sex work to do so. He keeps up a front of being a hardcore pimp to keep away those who would do the girls harm, and he has David help keep them safe when he’s not busy protecting the rest of the streets.

He is 5’9”, black, black hair, brown eyes.

He is bisexual.

His power allows him to focus incredible strength and force, but only through his right arm. While normally a weakness, he works out to ensure his other arm is at least of peak normal human strength just in case.

He really enjoys watching old Nickelodeon cartoons.

He wanted to be a veterinarian, but he put this on hold to keep the girls safe.

He was frequently an Honor Roll student in school.

He is 30 years old.

CRIMINALS: THE UNDERWORLD

Piper the Rat King

One of Ashley’s old friends, and a renowned empowered individual in the underworld.

Piper has the ability to control rodents, though he is most fond of rats. With his psychic link he can command them to perform actions they normally would not on their own, as well as boost their power.

He is gay.

He is mute.

He is a huge fan of the band Ghost.

He wears a green hooded cape to keep his identity hidden.

He is 5’7”, black hair, and yellow eyes.

Sebastian Darke

Piper’s bodyguard and his lover.

He is 6’6” and very thin.

He is albino.

He has the power to move through and hide in shadows.

He’s very stoic.

He almost always wears sunglasses.

CRIMINALS: THE FULL DECK GANG

Based at least partially on the Royal Flush gang.

Suicide King

A superpowered criminal and leader of the Full Deck gang. His real name is Rex Hart.

Suicide King has the power to instantly reappear somewhere nearby after dying, leaving behind his corpse. Said corpse turns into a bomb and will explode shortly after he reappears. He is entirely immune to his own explosions.

He wears an outfit that can only be described as a red-and-black straightjacket (obviously the arms are not tied)

Before getting his powers, he suffered from suicidal depression. Getting his powers and finding out he actually couldn’t die now drove him crazy.

In reality, the above is just a cover story used to garner sympathy and get his gang viewed as counter-culture anti-heroes; in actuality, Suicide King is a sick, sadistic monster who revels in the murder and mayhem he causes.

Dancing Queen

A member of the Full Deck gang.

She is an expert dancer in nearly all styles.

She has the ability to perform powerful attacks via her dancing.

She needs to consume a ridiculous amount of calories a day, as each and every attack consumes a large chunk of calories and can leave her weak if she isn’t careful.

Her real name is Anna Beatrix Belinda Armandi.

Jack the Ripper

A member of the Full Deck gang.

His real name is Jack Tripper.

His power has given him razor-sharp knives for fingers. They appear to be made of some sort of metal and are hard to break; if they do, he can regrow them.

He was a violent misanthrope even before he got his powers, being involved in numerous debacles when he was still in school.

Joker’s Wild

A member of the Full Deck gang.

His power is the ability to alter the perception of anyone around them, causing them to see his movements as erratic and nonsensical; in other words, he extremely disorients his victims without them realizing it.

He is incredibly flexibile.

His real name is Joseph Carwylde. 

Ace in the Hole

A member of the Full Deck gang.

He wears a mask that makes his face seem to be entirely blank. He also always wears gloves, and is rumored to have burned his fingerprints away.

He has the power to generate portals that allow him and allies to pass through solid objects.

His real name is Dodger Holyfield. 

CRIMINALS: GANGS - OTHER

Nora Hawking

A tough girl who was forced to grow up on the streets after her parents vanished and she had nowhere else to go. Despite this and her dangerous powers, she tries to stay as upbeat as possible. She leads a street gang known as the Deathhawks. 

Her power is to drain out the lifeforce of anyone she touches with her bare hands, similar to Rogue. She has very little control over this ability. 

She’s mixed race, half black, half Latina.

She tris to stay upbeat and positive, but she’s still very much hurting.

She started a street gang so that she could always be surounded by people even if she can never touch them.

She’s 5′8″ with black hair and green eyes.

She is 19 years old.

Scout Sawner 

A former Boy Scout, he formed a radical Neo Nazi street gang shortly before the Genesis Event. His gang, known as the Pure Scouts, frequently clashes with the Deathawks.

He has X-Ray vision as well as enhanced sight, able to focus his vision to see far away people and objects. However, he needs to stand still to use any of these powers.

He is bisexual, but he frequently tries to suppress his urges. This has led to him raping and murdering many of his gang’s targets.

He is skilled at using hatchets and axes.

He is 5′8″, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Lady Raptor

A British woman and one of the most renowned gang leaders in the worldwide criminal underworld. Essentially the Godfather of gangs, being under her protection is what any gang should want. Her gang is known as the Illuminati, and they have agents all over the world.

She has the power to shapeshift into a giant, vicious reptilian monster that stands at 8′7″, has razor-sharp teeth and claws, and enhanced regenerative abilities. She has increased strength and durability even when not in her lizard form.

Her real name is Lyn Icke; she inherited the gang from her mother, and was raised since birth to take it over. She reverted to her mother’s name - McDowell - after her mother died, but occasionally uses hr father’s last name for undercover work.

She rarely wears shoes, as they would only be destroyed when she transforms. She tends to wear tanktops or very stretchy clothes so that she is not naked when she transforms back. She tends to wear a black trenchcoat over everything.

She is 5′7″, red hir, and green eyes.

She is in actuality a “neccesary evil,” a terrifying force to keep even worse criminals from rising to power, and works together with world governments.

Her powers are based on the Hulk and Lizard.

CRIMINALS: SERIAL KILLERS AND MURDERERS 

Skinwolf

One of the first superpowered criminals David fought after finding his new home.

His power is to be able to slit people’s skin, take it off, and wear it as his own.

His real name is Skinner Lobos.

He is a sadistic serial killer, though sometimes he gets lost in his victim’s lives for days at a time.

He is partially based on the Batman villain Jane Doe.

CHILDREN OF THE GENESIS

Lucius Bright

The son of a preacher, Lucius Bright grew up with a strong belief in God, and set out to do great things in the world. However, hardships struck; his father was killed in a hate crime, and he began to feel lost without him. Wanting to do something good in the world, he adopted several troubled children who had nowhere else to go. All of these children were caught up in the Genesis event.

Bright saw this as a sign from God. Recalling the cruelty that ended his father’s life, Bright seeks to create a world where those with great power such as himself  keep the world safe and protected. For ten years he and his remaining orphans trained so that they could bring about his vision: a world where people can understand their powers and live in harmony with those without powers. However, his peace and love style of teaching may not work with everyone.

He is 66 years old.

He is 6’2”, black, and has hazel eyes.

He is fluent in many languages, particularly French.

He is incredibly intelligent.

He has a strong appreciation for ancient cultures and their mythology.

He is heavily based on Samuel L. Jackson characters such as Elijah Price, Valentine, etc.

He has the power to manipulate light, meaning he can fire lasers, create illumination, and so on. However, to maximize the effectiveness of his power he needs to absorb light beforehand.

Kitty Olsen

One of the children from the Genesis Event.

She has the power of movement synchronization. If she is able to make consistent, direct eye contact with someone for five seconds, their movements become synched and Kitty mirrors everything they do for up to an hour. As long as she is synched with someone, any sort of damage that Kitty would take from the person she is synched with appears on that person instead. However, once she is synchronized she is incapable of de-synching until enough time passes.

She is 5’6”, brunette, blue-gray eyes.

She is a bit snarky, snide, and condescending.

She is 25 years old.

Babette Bonheur

One of the children. She was adopted when her parents died shortly after immigrating to America.

She is 5’5”, red hair, blue eyes, white.

She is French. She still has an accent despite not having lived there since she was little.

Babette is a very skilled artist, and can draw very well with just about anything.

Babette has the power to bring her drawings to life. Anything she draws she can make ‘real,’ in a manner of speaking; the living drawings only live for an hour at a time, and can be destroyed by water rather easily.

She is 16 years old. She was adopted shortly before the Genesis Event, about four months prior to it.

Bright is closest to her; he learned French specifically so he could help Babette keep that part of her heritage alive.

She spends a lot of time with Allen.

She is gay, though she doesn’t realize it.

Allen Lecarde

One of the children; he was impaled by several glass shards, but his inherent power coupled with energy from the blood dripping from a dying friend healed him.

He is 6’, with long black hair, red eyes, and very pale skin.

His power is similar to that of a traditional vampire; he has enhanced strength, speed, and regenerative abilities but he must feed on human blood to power himself. Interestingly, if he drinks the blood of someone with powers, he gains their power in a weakened form. His friend who died, for instance, had psychic powers, and getting his blood gave him the ability to speak into others minds as well as read thoughts. He still needs to eat and drink as a normal human, but he becomes extremely weak if he does not drink blood; currently, he is rather thin and a bit sickly as he has actively fought against his urges.

He is very close with Babette.

He is often quiet and brooding.

He is extremely persuasive.

He is 20 years old.

Bright has not allowed him to purposefully feed in a long time, insisting that Allen try and suppress his dangerous urges. This has made Allen rather bitter towards his adoptive father.

Jazz

One of Bright’s children.

Jazz has shapeshifting as their power.

Jazz is genderfluid and goes alternately by Jasper or Jasmine depending on what gender body they currently are shifted into. Most of their friends just call them Jazz, a s it is a gender-neutral nickname.

Jazz has shapeshifted so much since getting their power that they have started to forget what they were originally and have started suffering from identity crisis and depressive episodes.

Jazz is very melancholy.

They are 21 years old.

OTHER CHARACTERS

Davy Jones

Considered to be little more than an urban legend, Davy Jones is in fact real. During the Genesis Event, a man named Dave Bowie was caught in the blast and launched into the bay, where he drowned. His body fell into a seaweed bed, which somehow absorbed the power he would have been granted and took over his body. The seaweed, now in control of the corpse, became a strange guardian of the old lighthouse.

Its power seems to involve controlling the body it is within, making it incredibly strong and able to regenerate as well as utilize seaweed offensively. 

It is unkown if it can talk.

Hardly anyone believes it is real.

It is based on the Pokemon Dhelmise. 

His former name is a reference to how David Bowie had to change his name from “David Jones” when pursuing his musical career due to Davy Jones of The Monkees fame. 

Corpus Christie

A mysterious woman.

Her power is telekinetic energy, which she can also focus into corpses to make them turn into zombies for a brief time. 

Her skin is grey; apparently she had a near-death experience at one point.

She has no idea who she was prior to getting her powers. Only that her name was “Christine.”

Skyhigh

Sonny Skye was an average young man gifted extraordinary power by the Genesis Event. With it, he rose to fame in the Midwest and South of America by performing noble deeds, though it did draw him some ire from more conservative sources. At this time it is assumed he is a heroic figure.

He has quite a lot of powers: he has flight, the ability to communicate with and control any creature that is able to fly, he has limited ability to control the weather, and he has increased durability and cold resistance. 

His name is a reference to the song “Sky High” by Jigsaw.

His powers are a combination of Storm, Superman, and Aquaman.

Tetsuo Madden

The son of the president of the United States. He is secretly the katana-wielding vigilante known as Black Shadow.

He hunts down and kills superpowered criminals due to his girlfriend being killed by one during a home invasion.

However, he still by day champions the rights of these people, just like his mother and father.

He has no powers of his own, but he is very smart, atheletic, and skilled with the blade.

He is 30 years old.

[cynicallystiles]

Beach Sunrises: Kid in Love

Author: @cynicallystiles

Warning: Physical harassment, slight physical abuse, mentions of girls loving girls, bar fight, cop evasion, reckless behavior, cursing, and some slight teasing of smut.

Abbreviations: y/e/c = your eye color

Pairing: Shawn Mendes x Reader

Summary: While on tour one day, Shawn sees a woman watching the sunrise by herself. Thinking that he’ll never see her again, he tries to forget as he goes on with the rest of his day. But, serendipity seems to have other ideas…

Notes: Yo, I gave up sleep to finish this on time for y’all. Enjoy my dark and twisty mind. PLEASE REBLOG OR COMMENT if you like it! I always welcome messages and asks about my work! Enjoy! P.S. Two fics in one day is unheard of for me.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 2 Part 4

Words: 5,560

First P.O.V.

I manage to shakily get the tray back to the table. When Xander notices my return, he immediately starts acting weird. "You got my favorite!!" He exclaims before he pulls me in for a hug. "Okay, so I have the perfect song for you to sing next!"

I look at him skeptically. "What if I wanted to pick my own solo song?"

"Then I would have to say tough luck," he says truthfully. "Because your birthday night is really about me and what I want. Didn't you know?"

I cock my head to the side. "What's going on? Not even you would dare make my birthday about you," I squint at him.

"Technically, it's not your birthday. So ha!" He grins at me mischievously.

I sigh heavily. "What's the song?" I know there's no changing his mind once he starts bringing loopholes into the equation.

"Yay! Okay. So you're gonna sing IDEKYN," he says excitedly.

I lean against the tall table, despite my small height. "Okay...why that one? I mean there are so many Shawn songs you love hearing me sing. That's not one of them," I interrogate him.

"Maybe I want to hear something new on my own personal radio," he beams at me.

I glare at him intimidatingly. After not being able to read any clues on his face, I give in. "Your wish is my command," I say as I roll my eyes. He claps excitedly and we both grab a toothpick with a melon ball.

I raise mine to him and he does the same before we both eat it and then down the shots they came with. Anna finishes her song just as I leave the table. We pass each other and I shoot her a wink before we high-five.

I settle in on a bar stool as I adjust the mic. After doing so, the DJ makes a corny joke about me getting a standing ovation for this next one. The alcohol must be starting to set in because I find that extremely funny and can't help but laugh.

After signaling that I'm ready, the songs starts. I start out sitting down and by the time the song picks up, I'm standing and walking around the stage with the mic. It's fun to just bop along and do my own little dance moves to it.

As I get to the end of the song a glance over at our table to see Xander and Anna cheering me on. But, they're not alone. I can't quite make out who it is from this distance. It's a guy. Tall. Curly-ish hair. Surely, Xander hasn't picked up a guy already?

I finish the last lyric and bow while everyone claps. Of course, I can hear Anna calling for an encore. "I'm gonna take a brief intermission, guys! And when I come back...prepare to have your socks knocked off!" I giggle as I set the mic back in the stand and hop offstage.

My head is feeling slightly dizzy, and I can tell that I should probably start cutting back on the drinks or I'm not waking up until the evening tomorrow. I glance at the clock as I make my way back to the table. 12:39. A little less than two hours until I'll be cozy in my bed.

The closer I get to the table, the taller this mystery person seems to get. Xander sees me approaching and a wicked grin takes over his features. Meanwhile, Anna stands behind him and eyes the man suspiciously. I cock my eyebrow at her and she just shrugs like she had no part in it.

As I am finally within earshot of the table, I begin speaking. "Xander, what have we told you about picking up strays-" I begin to chuckle but it gets caught in my throat as the man turns his head toward me. I must be really drunk because there is no way that this is who I think it is.

He smiles broadly when he sees me. It's when he introduces himself that I know this isn't an alcoholic hallucination. "I'm Shawn. Though you probably already knew that seeing as how you were at my concert..." he laughs nervously.

My mouth almost drops but I force it to stay closed. I don't want to seem too weird. "Uh...yeah? Yeah, I did know that..." I shoot a glance at Xander who is giggling to himself. "Did you buy me Shawn Mendes for my birthday?"

Xander almost spits out his drink and even Shawn lets out a chuckle. I look back and forth between the two, while still observing the quietness of Anna in all this.

"Xander...It's really sweet and all, but I think he's a little out of your price range," I say feeling the alcohol in my system. He's about to say something back when I continue speaking, "I think you should probably return him to the store and get your money back. You'll be in debt for a very long time if you don't."

Oh, my god. Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking!

I'm convinced that I'm thoroughly making a fool of myself when Shawn cracks up laughing. Xander does as well. "Oh honey, I'm well aware he's out of budget," Xander tells me as he lays a hand on my shoulder.

"Xander invited him to come when he went back to get your purse," Anna explains uninterestedly.

I look over at Shawn, who's already looking at me with concentration. "Why'd he do that?" I blurt out.

"Because I actually asked if I could tag along," Shawn tells me with a small giggle. He is even more beautiful up close.

I continue to stare intently at his honey eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you're more beautiful up close? 'Cuz you are..."

He shakes his head with a bashful smile. "Thanks. I don't think I actually have," he confesses.

My cheeks heat up and I realize that I'm being ridiculous. "I'm sorry! I didn't know I'd be meeting anyone important or I wouldn't have drank as much..." I comb my hair out of my face gently.

"No! It's alright," he says through laughs, "you're being honest. I like it." He smiles sincerely and I remember that Xander and Anna are still here.

I tear my gaze away from Shawn as I turn back to the group. "So, who's singing with me next?" I ask with a smile as I drum my hands on the table.

Xander and Anna exchange a look before looking back at me and Shawn. Xander with an excited look and Anna with a roll of her eyes. What is with her tonight? I glance down at the tray of shots.

"Hey...where'd all the shots go?" I look around concerned.

Xander speaks first, "I drank some and gave the rest away. Neither of us needs anymore..."

"Xander!! I paid for all of those! They were a lot," I say incredulously, the words coming out slower than I intended.

He shrugs. "You'll thank me for it later."

"Yeah, I'll thank you when you pay me back for each one you gave away," I grumble at him.

I feel a light touch on my shoulder and swing my head in the direction of it. This action caused me to get lightheaded for a brief moment. The source of the touch is Shawn, and my whole arm tingles.

"I still haven't gotten your name," he says with a shy smile.

My eyes widen and I laugh slightly. "Right! Sorry. I'm y/n. It is very nice to meet you," I say happily as I shake his tattooed hand. God, his hands are big.

Xander clears his throat and I let go of Shawn's hand. Not realizing that he was still holding onto mine as well.

Third P.O.V.

As she lets go of Shawn's hand, a slight blush creeps up her neck. She turns her attention back to Xander and Anna to begin discussing her next song. Shawn hardly hears anything they're saying because he's so focused on looking at her. She's so close he can see every single feature clearly now.

Even in the dimness of the bar lights, he can see that her eyes are an intense y/e/c. Her lips look soft despite the tiny cracks from dry weather. And when she smiles broadly as a laugh overtakes her body, he can see the dimples at the corners of her mouth. God, he wanted to kiss those dimples.

"Shawn?"

The sound of his name being called brings him back to reality. "Huh?" He asks shyly as he looks around at the staring faces. His eyes keep coming back to hers though.

Her nose crinkles again as she giggles with a closed smile. "We were asking what you thought I should do for my next song," she says.

"Oh. Uh..." He tries to think quickly as if he weren't just studying her as if she were some sample under a microscope.

She can tell that he wasn't paying attention. But, it doesn't bother her. She knows exactly what it's like to get so wrapped up in her own world that she doesn't know other people are around.

As she looks at him, her features light up with the ghost of an idea. "What if you did a duet with me?" Her smile slants as she chews on the inside of her lip.

"Me? No, I couldn't," he says nervously as he looks around. Her smile almost disappears and he quickly continues. "I-I mean I want to. It's just-I mean the people," he looks around again.

She contorts her face in a silly but confused way as she cocks her head at him. "Shawn, you just sang in front of a whole bunch of people. It's what you do," she finishes with a giggle at his awkwardness.

He loves the way she says his name like they're best friends. Like they didn't just meet in a bar after one of his concerts. It rolls off of her tongue as if she's been saying his name for her entire life.

He takes too long to respond as he thinks these things. So with a determined look on her face, she makes up his mind for him. "No one here is gonna know who you are. They're all old," she explains.

Before he can protest, she grabs his hand with her much tinier one and begins to drag him towards the stage. Despite him being a foot taller and probably a lot heavier than her, she's got some pull when she wants something. Not that Shawn was trying that hard to fight it. He was too focused on relishing in the fact that she was holding his hand.

She pushes him toward the stage as she goes over and whispers a song into the DJs ear. He grins as if it's a great song selection and begins setting it up. She bounds back over and up the small stairs to the stage, grabbing his hand along the way. Once onstage, she drags him to the middle and comes to a stop. She bounces in place with so much energy that it eases his nerves.

"So, what song did you pick?" Shawn asks as he looks down at her.

She immediately grins widely. "You're friends with Charlie Puth, right?" She bites her lip to contain her excited giggles.

"Um, yeah. But, I don't-" he begins but is cut off by the DJ getting the attention of the club.

He feels a slight pressure on his hand and he looks down. She never let go of his hand. Is she only being this touchy because she's been drinking? Is it only because he's him? Shawn said he likes the honesty that her tipsy state brings, but it also brings the question of what her regular personality is.

"If you forget the words, they're in front of us," she says encouragingly as she points to the screen.

She lets go of his hand to get the mics and he realizes how sweaty his hands are. He tries to discreetly wipe them on his pants as she approaches and hands him his mic. Before he can say anything else the song begins with his turn.

He stumbles at first. Partly because of nerves and partly because it took him a second to realize the song. But, he got into the groove of it. She danced adorably as he sang his verses, chiming in as the background singer. Seeing her so vibrant and having fun helped him relax.

It was when her turn started that things got interesting. She started dancing around him. Innocently, at first, as she made sassy gestures along with her lyrics. He sang backup for her and even bopped his body along to the beat. He couldn't help the smile that took over his face. Then she began running her hands over his chest and shoulders as she circled him. Every touch left a trail of tingling.

She reached the pre-chorus and he lost all focus. At the line "I won't fall to the ground on my knees" she proceeded to press her back against his chest and slide down his front to the floor. Then, she slid back up. It was quick in reality, but for Shawn, it felt like an eternity. He managed to sing his backup lines, his voice almost cracking when he repeated the word "knees."

He couldn't count how many times he gulped during the rest of that song. Before he knew it, the song was over and she was bowing over dramatically for the crowd. As she looks over, she realizes he's not bowing. She scoots over and grabs his hand so they can do a theater-style bow.

She moves to let go in order to return to the table, but he holds on. As she looks at him with wide eyes, he steps closer to her. In that moment he forgets that anyone else exists. He just wants to kiss her. As he switches his focus between her eyes and her lips, he steps closer again.

Shawn really should've remembered that there were people watching.

First P.O.V.

Still breathless from all the dancing and singing, we make our way back to the table and Anna decides to go sing another song. If I'm being honest, I'm also breathless from the way Shawn was looking at me. The way he was looking at my lips and inching closer.

I had let go of his hand when Xander started hollering about getting a room. As we sat at the high-chairs next to the table we didn't say much. I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of him like I did at the beginning. Anna begins singing "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles.

"Xander! You let her pick this song?" I say as she begins singing sadly.

He looks at me shocked. "I'm not her mother, y/n. If she wants to sing a sad song, then let her," he states.

"She just depressing herself. I thought she was over this," I say as I roll my eyes.

Shawn speaks up as we continue to watch this sad display. "Uh, thought she was over what?"

"She fell in love with one of her friends," I begin as my eyes remain on Anna.

Xander chimes in to finish as my heart starts hurting for her. "The girl didn't like her back. Not that she didn't like girls. But, she specifically only saw her as a friend," he trails off as his eyes ghost over mine before turning to Anna.

Neither of us dares to say the name of the girl out loud. Not being able to bear watching it anymore, I excuse myself from the table. "I'm gonna go get water or a soda. You guys want anything?"

Xander shakes his head and I turn to Shawn. "Yeah, I'll come with you," he offers as he throws one last glance back at the stage.

Once at the bar and our orders are taken, he turns to me. "You were the girl weren't you?" He asks.

All I do is nod once, not elaborating on the story. "How'd you know?"

"Just this vibe I got from her. Like she wasn't exactly happy that I tagged along and sang with you. Or that I probably seem interested in you," he says as his voice grows quieter.

My eyes snap up to his. "You're interested in me?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can't get you out of my head since-" he cuts himself off but I finish his sentence.

"Since, you saw me on the beach this morning."

"How-"

"Instagram. Obviously." I chuckle and he visibly releases a breath he was holding. As if he was relieved that I'm not mad about him recording me.

"Sorry..." He says shyly.

I step closer to him, craning my neck to look into his eyes. "Don't be..."

He leans his head down as I rise up on my toes to lessen the distance. As if neither of us had any control over our bodies, the distance got smaller. His nose brushed against mine and both of our lips are hesitant. Before we can kiss, Shawn is yanked back by an unknown force.

"Hey!" Shawn and I both yell instinctually.

I come out of my haze and see the full picture. A hand had grasped Shawn by the collar of his jacket and pulled him back before shoving him hard into the wall.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yell angrily.

The man stares at me with hatred in his eyes. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You pretend like you don't want attention coming to the bar dressed like that. But, then you get onstage and dance provocatively up against some kid?!"

It's the man from earlier who hit on me. At this point, I'm no longer scared. I'm pissed. "Listen, I don't even fucking know you. So, why don't you quit being a creep and go hit on someone who doesn't have standards?!" I spit the words out, repulsed.

"You're gonna pay for that-" he begins as he ascends on me. He grabs my arm and twists it towards him.

The grasp is ripped free when the man is shoved to the ground. I look up and see Shawn standing there, seething. "Don't you fucking touch her." His words are like ice and nothing I've ever heard on him before. Threatening.

The disgusting man doesn't give up so easily, though. He quickly stands to his feet and sucker punches Shawn. At this point, the whole bar has turned their attention towards us.

Anna stands frozen onstage, the song cut off by the DJ because of the commotion. Xander is attempting to get to the bar but people have gotten up from their seats to see better.

"Shawn!" I yell as I attempt to move toward him.

"I don't think so, little lady," the man grumbles as he advances toward me.

Years of self-defense classes kick in. As soon as he's within range, I wind up my foot and kick squarely in between his legs. He hunches over in pain, and as he's distracted I take the back of his head with my hands to slam his face into my knee. He looks at me, barely standing anymore.

Win all the next fights. Finish him off.

Without hesitating a second further, I pull back my fist with all my strength and bash his face once before he goes down. Still running on adrenaline, I race over and find Shawn.

"Shawn!" He looks at me and removes his hand from holding his face. "Oh, my god your lip!"

"It's fine. Are you-" he begins as his hand reaches for my arm, but is cut off by the sound of sirens outside.

Our heads whip around the room and see the DJ on the phone. Apparently, he thought it was gonna get nasty.

"You gotta go! If the press finds out-" I begin rambling in panic-mode as I look for a way out that's not the front.

"What about you? I'm not gonna leave you!" He says urgently.

"I'll meet you outside, but you gotta go now! I'll be right behind you," I command as I push him towards an employee entrance.

"But-"

"GO!"

He rushes through the door and the cops charge through the door. Everyone panics and begins running around drawing the attention of the cops, all running for their own reasons. I dart toward Xander at the table.

"We gotta go!" I say as I grab my purse.

"How the hell did you pummel that guy?" He asks incredulously.

"Now is not the time!" Without waiting to see if they were behind me, I run to the employee entrance and out the emergency exit. Once outside, I can see there are still a few cops standing in front of the door.

I discreetly begin walking toward Xander's car. As they see me they immediately call for my attention. "Hey! Miss! No one is allowed to leave!"

As they take a step toward me, fight or flight kicks in. I choose flight. I break off into a sprint away from the parking lot, not bothering to wait for Xander. As I'm running down the street in the direction of the hotel a car pulls up beside me with the window down.

"Y/n, get in!" It's Shawn. He must've seen me bolt. I quickly clamor into the car and he takes off speeding away from the venue.

As soon as we are a few blocks away, he slows to a regular speed. The adrenaline begins to slow down and I breathe heavily, muscles shaking. Shawn is breathing the same.

Despite myself, I begin giggling.

"Y/n?"

I continue giggling and it breaks into full-on laughter. The longer Shawn watches me, the more a smile breaks out on his face. Eventually, he's laughing hysterically with me.

The laughter dies down and the situation sets in. I'm still feeling the alcohol, and also the adrenaline. So, I unbuckle my seatbelt and begin crawling out the window.

"Y/n! Get back in the car! What the hell are you doing?"

I come to a sitting position in the window with my legs hanging inside the car, steadying myself with my arms on the roof. "I'm living, Shawn!" I yell happily.

As he drives down the empty streets, I let out several "WHOO-HOOS" at the top of my lungs.

"Do it with me, Shawn!" I urge him.

Eventually, he joins in and I can tell he's having fun. Our fun is interrupted when my stomach growls. I lower myself back into the car and look at the time. 1:15.

"Hey, Shawn?" I say as I look over at him.

"Yeah?" He glances at me as he bites his bottom lip to contain his grin.

"You hungry?" I smirk as I imitate his lame pick up line.

He glances at me again. His eyes different this time. "Absolutely."

Third P.O.V.

“Know any places that are open this late?” Shawn asks as he keeps his eyes on the road.

“Oh, my gosh. Yes,” she says giddily before giving him directions.

A few minutes later they pull up to a drive-thru on the outside of an old-style diner. The machine crackles and a voice comes through the box.

“Welcome to Benny’s Diner, home of our famous cheesy dogs. May I take your order?”

Before Shawn can lean out the window and respond, y/n has unbuckled her seatbelt again. She quickly climbs over him, hanging her top half out of the window and her bottom half in the air in front of Shawn.

He shifts in his seat trying to contain his arousal by this position. She looks back in the window and smirks at him. She knows exactly what she’s doing to him.

“Bennyyy!!! My man!! How’s the midnight rush?” She jokes as if she’s familiar with the server.

“Y/n? Is that you?” He asks with a chuckle.

“The one and only! And I brought a friend!” She continues chatting as her butt wiggles unconsciously.

Shawn has got to get her off of his lap because this view is killing him. He’s about to just have at her in the drive-thru.

She finally makes an order. A rather large one, Shawn thinks, for someone of her size. But, he remembers she also ordered for him as well. They pull up to the front window and he shifts in his seat to reach his wallet.

“No, no, no! This is on me!” She says before crawling across him again. This time quicker than the last. Finally, the food is ready and they park in the lot to eat the food.

He begins to open the bags, but she quickly exits the car. She takes her food and shake with her. “Y/n, where are you going?”

“Just c’mon,” she says as she pokes her head back in the window before disappearing just as fast.

It’s 1:30 at night. They’ve already evaded cops tonight, drove down the streets screaming as she hung out the window, and yet he would still follow her further.

He gets out and follows her to the rear of the car where she climbs up and sits on the top of the vehicle. Chuckling, he imitates her actions. He already knows better than to question her motives.

They sit in silence as he watches her basically inhale 3 large orders of cheesy bacon fries, 2 small mozzarella stick orders, and half of her shake. He must be staring because she stops mid-sip and looks at him.

“Oh, my god. I’m being disgusting aren’t I?” She shakes her head as she covers her mouth with her hand.

He reaches over and tucks some hair behind her ear. His fingertips brush her cartilage piercing and she heats up at the touch. His touch did things to her. Dangerous things.

“You’re not,” he says reassuringly with a content smile. “I’m just trying to figure out where you put it all.”

She giggles. “I’m like the Flash,” she says as she takes another sip, “I burn calories so fast that I have to eat all the time.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

He laughs at this. God, she was funny. She takes her phone out as he continues eating. “Oh, shit.”

“What’s wrong?” He looks up from his burger.

She sighs as she sets her phone back down. “My phone is dead so I can’t call Xander to let him know we’re okay. We kind of bailed on him.” She holds back a laugh because she knows it’s inappropriate.

“You can use mine,” he hands it over without hesitation.

She takes it shyly and opens up the dialing part. Her thumbs hover over the numbers. “Fuck. I have no idea what his number is,” she laughs.

“How do you not know your best friend’s number?” He questions with a chuckle.

She shrugs as she hands his phone back. “It’s automatically saved. Speed dial, ya know? The only numbers I have memorized are mine, my mom’s and-“ She cuts herself off, looking down at her criss-crossed lap.

“And?” He asks but immediately regrets it.

She sips her milkshake again and realizes that it’s empty. “And nobody. Just my moms and mine.” Just like that, her outgoing and giggly demeanor was gone. Locked away behind something that hurt her.

“So...” he tries to find something to say to lighten the mood, but he’s at a loss for words.

“What time is it?” She asks abruptly.

He checks his watch. “1:45, why?”

She takes a sharp inhale of breath. “It’s late, I should really get home.”

She gathers up her trash and walks over to throw it in the dumpster. Her movements slower than they were when they were on their wild adventure. When she returns she immediately gets in the car and waits for Shawn to drive her home.

He’s mentally kicking himself, wondering what flipped so quickly. And how he could get her to come back out of her shell. He didn’t want her to retreat. He wanted to know everything about her. But, she didn’t want him to know anything.

It’s not long before they are back at the hotel. She hesitated at the elevator, debating whether to go back to her room or his. She steps in just before the door closes.

“Can I use your phone when we get in?” She asks quietly.

“Of course.”

Once inside his room, she takes the phone to the bathroom. He looks at the bedside table. The clock says 2. He begins to hear her voice muffled on the other side of the door. He doesn’t want to eavesdrop so he begins to change out of the sweaty and slightly bloody clothes.

After about ten minutes, she exits the bathroom. Her expression a little brighter than before. “Thanks for letting-“ she stops when she looks up and sees him standing there shirtless.

“Oh! Sorry, I was just,” he fumbles around for something to put on. “I was just changing, I didn’t know-“

She silently walks over to the bedside table and sets the phone down. Then, she turns to Shawn and her eyes roam the bareness of his chest. She makes her way closer to him.

He doesn’t know what’s happening so he stands still. Almost as if he were trying not to startle a deer. Once she reaches him, her hand extends out to cup his jaw. Her thumb brushes over the cut on his lip from the punch. It’s scabbed now.

“Oh, no,” she says quietly. Almost to herself as she continues to scrutinize the cut.

“Y/n, I’m alright,” he tries to assure her. But, his physical health his not what she’s worried about.

His arm reaches out and brushes over her arm where the man grabbed her. She almost winces, the outline of a bruise forming. “You’re hurt,” he observes.

“I’m not the one who has a meet and greet in two days where tons of pictures will be taken...” Her thumb strokes his lip absentmindedly. Her gaze betrays her and Shawn knows that she blames herself somehow.

He moves his hand to brush her cheek, his fingers finding resting places behind her ear and into her hair. His large thumb strokes her cheekbone lightly. “Why is the press your only concern? Even when we were in the bar, your first thought was to protect me from getting caught in bad publicity...”

Her eyes finally leave his lip and she looks into his honey eyes. Her expression softens. “Because that’s your life, Shawn. Your life is about your image and I didn’t want to be the one to screw it up...”

“Hey,” he says as his eyebrows furrow. “You do not have to put the weight of my career on your shoulders. We just met-“

“We just met and I’m already almost getting you arrested,” she cuts him off, but there is only shame in her voice. “I admire you. I admire you and the way you treat people with kindness. Your newest song? It’s gonna reach people in ways that music should. You have important messages to share and what kind of fan would I be if I ruined your image?”

She’s so good. Wise beyond her small age of 21. She sees the big pictures and the tiniest details that go into them. She was hurt, and he could tell she had a past and secrets that she didn’t want to share. But, she was kind. And she was radiant. Most importantly, she saw him. She sees through the celebrity part of it all to understand him, and what he’s really about.

His entire body moves of its own accord as the hand in her hair pulls her forward. The other hand snaking behind her to the small of her back. He leans down and gently, but fiercely attaches his lips to hers. She sighs into his lips and one of her hands grips the hair at the base of his head. Her other one reaching up to cup his hand around her ear.

It’s passionate. Neither had even used their tongue yet. Just movement and synchronicity in their kisses. Shawn is surprised by how much restraint he’s showing. That is until she instinctually nibbles his bottom lip. Hell breaks loose inside of him as he grips her thighs raises her up. She assists with a jump and wraps her legs around his waist.

He walks slowly towards the bed, wanting to give her time to back out. But, she didn’t. His knees reach the bed and he lays her down gently, but quickly as he hovers over her. His pendant dangles just over the space between her collarbones before he reconnects their lips.

Both of them are kind of in a trance with how much every touch tingles. Shawn knew deep in his bones that this was meant to be. But, a question lurked in the back of his mind the whole time. Did she feel the same?

[fantisci]

A “Story of Seasons” gripe to break the silence...

I don’t generally look for my Story of Seasons (formerly Harvest Moon) games to be feminist breakthroughs, but for some reason the most recent Trio of Towns is really getting on my nerves in regard to stereotypes and sexism.

The HM/SoS games have always had some outdated ideas, from the good old “any woman over the age of 25 who is unmarried has been left on the shelf, will forever be alone and has generally Failed at Life” being one, the much more disturbing (and weirdly prevalent) “if you smile at / look at / talk to a man like that, he’ll get the wrong idea” (thanks, Harvest Moon, just what I needed in my farming simulation games: the oblique threat of sexual assault along with victim blaming. Great). However, a lot can be neutralised by the fact that you’re pretty much free to project a personality onto your character, even though your potential responses are so limited that they’ll generally be A Good Guy / A Nice Girl unless you want to see your relationship values plummet. 

So why is Trio so determined to make my character - a young woman who defied her family in order to go it alone, restoring a long-abandoned farm and turning it into a successful business venture - lose absolutely all of her competence, maturity and common sense in some of the love events?

Rest under the cut for spoiler, grumbling and dashboard-protecting purposes...

EDIT: Added a bit more to this on the heels of a really good message from a kind Anon. 

Let’s have a look at the three Love Events that you can do for the main bachelors - the ones you can see before having to “confess” and therefore commit to their relationship path:

Ludus: 

Ludus is the worst offender for this. I know it plays into his “big brother of the town” thing, but  it’s hugely annoying when your farmer’s IQ nosedives every time a love event is triggered. Before I played the game, he was the candidate I thought I’d start out with...but who wants to be lectured by a romantic partner every minute of the day?

Event 1: Oh no! My door won’t open! Months of building and farmwork did not prepare me to fix a broken hinge! Manly Ludus will have to fix it for me! (Note: you are actually given the option to kick the door or try to fix it, only to be told that you are too weak or too incompetent to do it yourself. And remember that Ludus requires you assistance every time something substantial is built on the farm).

Event 2: Oh no! Kitty is stuck on a cliff! I must rescue it...but lookie, I’m too cute and clumsy to avoid falling off the ledge! Manly Ludus will have to rescue me, and then lecture me about doing stupid stuff like this. And of course, the cat was fine all along, so now I look like an idiot.

Event 3: I’m watching Ludus build a chair, and it ends with me being given the aforementioned “you’re going to lead me astray when you say things like that!” speech.

EDIT: Out of curiosity, I loaded my old save (pre-commitment with any bachelor) and had a look at Ludus’ confession, where he admits that he was out of line in Event 3 and apologises. Which is  nice, but doesn’t eliminate the weird bossy-older-sibling vibe.

Ford:

Event 1: Oh no! Doctor Ford hasn’t eaten! I must fulfil my feminine duty and make him something immediately, because it’s too hard for him to walk the ten metres to the restaurant he always eats at! (This is harmless in itself, since everybody feeds everybody else in this game, but Ford’s “I’m too weak to walk to the restaurant three doors down from me in this tiny town” is pretty ridiculous, and it certainly adds to the pattern of stereotypically “feminine” roles).

Event 2: Oh no! I’ve passed out from exhaustion and get lectured on taking care of myself! Then I need to hold the doctor’s hand in order to fall asleep. (I quite liked how this one tied in with the stamina mechanic, but was really irritated that it triggered as I was heading to the restaurant!)

Event 3: Don’t drink the coffee. Other than that, nothing to see here!

Hinata:

Event 1: Oh no! Hinata warned me that ghost story night could be scary and that I better go home, but silly li’l me just had stay and listen! Now I’m too frightened to go home alone, and big, manly Hinata has to comfort me and escort me back to the farm!

This is the only event of Hinata’s that annoyed me, but it was the event that drew my attention to the fact that my player character was being given uber-”feminine” weaknesses. Look, everyone has their weaknesses, but if you maintain that the character is a blank slate, at least let the player assign that weakness to them instead of assuming “woman=scared of ghosts” and railroad me into it. Notably, there isn’t any player choice in this event - it’s one big cutscene. And Hinata looks like he’s twelve years old, so I don’t think he’ll be much use if Freddy Krueger pops up. Who would you back in a fight - the baby-face merchant/actor, or the farmer who does manual labour for a living?

EDIT: As Anon mentioned, Hinata, like Wayne, has a “GASP! FARMING IS TOO TOUGH FOR SUCH A CUTE GIRL!” thing at the start.

Wayne:

Wayne’s events are actually pretty nice - he respects your character’s job as a farmer, plays pranks with the kids in his town while reminding them not to take it too far, and goes stargazing with you. Once you’re an item, he fetches a loudhailer to announce how much he loves you to the world - including his fangirls, who he gently warns to back off. A nice change of pace after your character’s “I’m jealous because you’re a flirt” reaction in Raeger’s Flower Events in the game before. I ended up choosing Wayne in my first save file because he didn’t seem hell-bent on making my character look like she had the common sense and ability of a toddler.

EDIT: As pointed out to me by an Anon, Wayne’s lines BEFORE building a relationship with you aren’t exactly hallmarks of equal opportunity. Wayne “respects” women in an old-fashioned, chivalrous way...which isn’t really respect at all, as it focuses on calling them pretty, “protecting” them from the realities of the world, and being charming and gracious while making no promises. Initially, his attitude is one of “what do you mean, a pretty li’l thing like you doers a tough job like farmwork?” His flower events see him improve in this respect - the first one is when he visits you at your farm and comments on how happy and skilled you are at your work. Even if you don’t romance him, his green flower line is that he never thought men and women could be friends, but you’ve made him reconsider. Nonetheless, his initial views definitely reflect a certain stay-in-your-ivory-tower mindset. I’d forgotten this rather salient fact since it’s been a while since I started the game.

Yuzuki:

Like Wayne, Yuzuki’s pretty sweet - there’s a silly “GASP! A LADY’S STOMACH CANNOT POSSIBLY BE HEARD TO RUMBLE WITH HUNGER!” reaction in his first event, and there’s another event that makes it clear that you player character is ridiculously superstitious (again - fairly stereotypical “girly” trait), but you help him out with his job and fetch help when he’s in trouble, so there’s more give-and-take in your relationship with him, which makes you main character look competent instead of needing to be constantly protected from her own clumsiness.

Honorary mention: Woofio

Another game, another bizarre romance choice for the female PC while the male equivalent gets yet-another pretty girl.

All of this would be totally understandable if the male PC was equally dorky and awkward. If he tripped over his own feet, or needed to be rescued from falling into rivers and ponds, or generally had some traits that gave him canon weaknesses, all of the above would be more or less acceptable. But nope - his love events involve bailing out the bachelorettes whenever they screw up, or helping them with the jobs they’ve been doing for years, or generally working through their issues with them - in short, being the competent party. There are a couple of incidents in Siluka and Kasumi’s events where you’re suspected of doing something questionable, but the bachelorette always sticks up for you and you are vindicated. Also: shout out to Komari, whose dad, Ginjiro, demands that she be more “ladylike” and scolds her for being too “boyish” with the customers, all while Ginjiro himself acts as the most histrionic and melodramatic person in the town.

Whew! And now that I’ve vented, I feel better. I love the HM/SoS games, and there’s a lot to like in Trio - a single mother who has explicitly broken up with her partner (rather than the usual approach of “he’s dead or we never mention him”), marriages where the couple clearly adore each other (including one highly successful arranged marriage) and the broad variety of personalities. It’s just that it really struck me that my character was constantly getting so-called “girly” behaviours foisted on her, and as the player I wasn’t getting a say in how she expressed herself.

[thesinglesjukebox]

TAYLOR SWIFT - BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS

[3.50]

Taylor takes a chonce...

Thomas Inskeep: Where we learn that Swift has ambitions of writing relentlessly overblown, ridiculously florid Broadway songs just like her co-writer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. And god, her keening vocal on this makes me want to punch someone. [0]

Alfred Soto: Her voice is not her strongest element, a fact this farrago overlooks. By comparison her accent on "London Boys" is a Meryl Streep Oscar stroke. [2]

Katherine St Asaph: I don't mind Taylor Swift being on this, in theory (in voice is a somewhat different proposition); Sarah Brightman was a dancer in Hot Gossip. Nor do I want to reassign this piece to Andrew Lloyd Webber's cat. I could even, begrudgingly, stop minding that Nile Rodgers worked on this, or that there's a gratuitous Phantom reference, or that the whole thing is a worse version of Jekyll and Hyde's "A New Life," when Cats already had the blueprint for "A New Life." But I do mind there being no structure, melodic, emotional, or otherwise. [3]

Katie Gill: The idea of adding in a song to CATS kind of misunderstands the structure of the musical. You see, CATS already has a big awards bait song, "Memory," which is musically is integrated into the show via a prelude at the end of act 1, other cats singing the tune at various point, and the prelude ending with a leitmotif often heard throughout the show. HOWEVER, now "Beautiful Ghosts" exists. It's positioned as a direct response to "Memory" and ALW loves his goddamn leitmotifs so logically it should sound like a response to "Memory", but it doesn't! It just sounds like a Taylor Swift song! Likewise, if this song is a direct response to "Memory" then one would think it would come AFTER "Memory" or the "Memory" prelude. However, "Memory" is the emotional climax of the show and the prelude is the Act 1 finisher, neither of which are a good time to add in a pop song to kill the plot. "Beautiful Ghosts" should really be positioned as a response to "Grizabella the Glamour Cat" because the transition between that song and the next one is an awkward spot in the musical that the pop song + a bit of dialogue could help smooth over. HOWEVER, if you position "Ghosts" as a response to "Grizabella" then it'll occur way too early in the film and also rob "Memory" of its lyrical impact. Part of the big impact of "Memory" is that you've had two goddamn hours of fiddle-dee-dee Jennyanydots whimsical nonsense and then WHAM, we go right into "touch me / it's so easy to leave me" which gives us the big, giant, emotional impact that "Memory" deserves and dammit, I don't have anywhere else to write about how this addition means that ALW fundamentally misunderstands his own musical so y'all are going to have to put up with me here. [4]

Jackie Powell: What makes this recording so charming is how practically imperfect it is. And I mean that as a compliment. The attempt at a British accent aside, Taylor Swift did her homework. And I'm not talking about T.S. Elliot, which I'll return to. This performance reminded me of Roland Barthes' "The Grain of the Voice," an essay that discusses how perfect vocals aren't what always sell a performance. The French philosopher and critic pontificates that a singer who is compelling has what he refers to as a "grain" or the "body in the voice." In other words, when Swift embraces her weaker while spectral head voice on the verses, cracks on the last line of the bridge and forces her belt on the last note of the entire song, she embraces Barthes' "Grain of the Voice" almost to a tee. Her belting is far from bodacious and like Jackson McHenry of Vulture, I question if this Andrew Lloyd Webber penned melody was really meant for Swift. But ALW did, in fact, need her. "If you can't get T.S. Eliot, get TS," she said while in the studio with Webber. "I'm here for you." And TS does study up on T.S. In "Beautiful Ghosts," Swift penned a lot of gerunds and descriptive nouns that have shapeshifted into gerunds. Or sometimes she just uses the suffix -ing more than twice the amount that Elliot employed it in his 1915 poem "Hysteria." In between all the "Chonces" being "Bawn into Noothing" and being "let intou," it's endearing to get a sense of Swift's acting chops via listening to her inflection, diction and even her ability to weld some dynamics that we don't often hear in her own catalog. But Swift was in between too many decisions. Was this supposed to be a pop version of a Broadway-style song? Was this supposed to be akin to Demi Lovato on "Let It Go?" (Maybe not, as we all know which version of the song is sung at karaoke.) But with all else being equal, Swift shalt have made a commitment to one of these two worlds: she's now clinging to pop but Broadway is now calling? She's straddling between these two islands and it doesn't work as well as she might have "waaanteed." [7]

Isabel Cole: Is it weird that I think I would like this better if it were more awful? Taylor Swift and Andrew Lloyd Webber are not similar artists, but they are two people who have between them made [checks spreadsheet] a million bajillion dollars by being wildly extra and unafraid of leaning the fuck in. Many of my favorite Taylorisms are fun because of their hyper-earnest theater kid melodrama (just think of the tremor with which she sings another girl in "Style"); many of my childhood memories involve belting "Memory" in my bedroom. But this is just so... dull. TS + ALW 4 CATS sounds like a nightmare of unhinged excess, but this could be any generic Best Song Oscar also-ran; the most interesting part is that she reuses the best line from "Fifteen." Worse, these artists who can write a hook that will be stuck in your head until the end of time somehow came together to write a melody so sprawlingly uninspiring I cannot hum it after several listens. There's nothing here even to make fun of beyond (objectively funny) Taylor's sporadic British affectations. Like, come on, guys: I'm not sure you can do better than this, but I know you have it in you to do worse. [2]

Alex Clifton: Cats didn't really need a new song (nor, frankly, did we need the new nightmare adaptation) and I'm mixed on Andrew Lloyd Webber at best, but this still hits my heart somewhere, especially with Swift's breathy delivery for the first half of the track. I am both surprised and annoyed to relate to a song sung by a cat. Points deducted for chooooooooooonces. [6]

Natasha Genet Avery: Let's dispense with the obvious: 1. That newfangled British accent is...something. 2. Playing into her favorite victimhood narrative, Swift's contribution to Cats *had* to one-up Grizabella ("At least you have something!". 3. This is blatant Oscar bait. Now onto the meat: Cats is a corny and embarrassing head-scratcher. Cats is why people don't trust musicals. I love Cats. To me, to anyone who has been in a musical, musicals are about unreasonable, outsized commitment--you peel off your self-protective shield of irony and spend dozens, if not hundreds of hours donning clown-school makeup and spandex, somersaulting across the stage and belting the praises of storybook animals. If you're entrusted with a big number, you practice and practice until your delivery is technically masterful, if not heavy-handed. Beat me to death with that vibrato. Fuck me up with those dynamics. Leave it allll on the stage. And so, when Taylor set out to out-emote "Memory", she agreed to take on 30 years of mockery, three key changes, Elaine Paige, 600+ professionally recorded covers, and countless school productions and karaoke renditions. A lot of people fault Taylor for being a try-hard (I've always found it sort of endearing), but here, she simply didn't try hard enough. Swift admitted that she wrote most of "Beautiful Ghosts" "immediately after hearing the song for the first time." Without T.S. Eliot's hand, Beautiful Ghosts" is empty, untouched by whimsy. Oh, and the singing: Swift is sorely out of her depth, and mostly opts for limp falsetto, culminating in a strained, awkward belt. We'll see what Francesca Hayward does with it, but for now "Beautiful Ghosts" should get booted from the clowder. [3]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: I consume music of all genres voraciously -- with the exception of musical soundtracks. This is for a number of reasons: 1) I haven't seen a lot of musicals, 2) for the ones I have seen, I tend to find the music and lyricism overwrought and boring, and 3) I would prefer to just listen to artists' original music outside the parameters set by some make believe world. I was worried that I would have a tough time trying to check my own bias in reviewing this song, but am now relieved and confident in asserting that "Beautiful Ghosts" is objectively bad. In an alternate reality, this could be a compelling country-lite track on Fearless or Red, or even a synth heavy ballad on 1989, but here, Taylor just sounds drowsy with a weird British accent, selling a metaphor that makes about as much sense as the utterly bizarre Cats movie trailer. [3]

Andy Hutchins: One tweet that has stuck with me is the one that correctly called Reputation — before its release, even! — the final boss of 2017. I think Cats might play a similar role for the final days of 2019 and the first month or so of 2020, even if its pitch is obviously to a smaller segment of the population than pre-Crisis Taylor reached. So how convenient it is that we have Taylor here, indulging her theater kid impulses with none other than Andrew fucking Lloyd fucking Webber co-writing, singing her heart out in the ingenue role she's clung to throughout her 20s for better and worse (which is, hilariously, not her role in the film itself!), pining for something wild for what feels like the 20th time. "Beautiful Ghosts" is as subtle as a hurricane, and churns powerfully, and Taylor almost hits that note at the end — the strings wouldn't swell if she'd hit it perfect, of course. It's good. Fine. Whatever. This sort of hopeful schmaltz is so safe, though, that it mostly makes me wish that Taylor were still willing to take excursions from beaten paths: That way lies "Style," even if you might have to double back from the doorsteps of "Look What You Made Me Do" or "End Game" on occasion. [5]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[thesinglesjukebox]

THUNDERCAT FT. KENNY LOGGINS & MICHAEL MCDONALD - SHOW YOU THE WAY [6.62] We got somethin' to say about yacht rock, yes we do...

Thomas Inskeep: Thundercat's a weirdo. I mean, his resume is beyond ridiculous: the much-sought-after bassist has played with Suicidal Tendencies, received a Grammy for his work with Kendrick Lamar, and is a crucial part of new jazz great Kamasi Washington's posse. So how does he lead off his third full-length, this year's Drunk? With a Yacht Rock dream single (especially in 2017) featuring lyrical and vocal contributions from the twin titans of yacht, Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, both of whose voices still sound like creamy perfection. And this isn't Yacht Rock just because of Loggins and McDonald, either; Thundercat is an avowed yacht fanatic who reached out to the guys and asked them to collaborate with him, not to just sing on his record. The Yacht Rock guys -- meaning, the four guys who invented the term via their web series a decade ago -- gave "Show You the Way" a 66.0 on their Yachtski scale earlier this year. I'd go even higher: as a Yacht Rock single, I think this is at least a 75, maybe even close to an 80. (Modern yacht is tough.) This is smooth, this is soulful, this has the Voice of God (a/k/a McDonald) on it, and Thundercat's not fucking around; he's utterly sincere. "Show You the Way" dropped in January, and it's been one of my favorite songs all year long. [10]

Julian Axelrod: Thundercat is not fucking with you. Yes, he's a bass virtuoso who sings odes to his cat in a boyish falsetto. Yes, he collaborates with Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. Yes, he uses this outro to warn listeners to drink water while they're raging. But this song would be unlistenable if it weren't so achingly sincere. Thundercat doesn't bring in these forgotten icons for an ironic deconstruction of their public persona. He works with Loggins and McDonald because he fucking loves yacht rock, and you hear that love in every bass line, harmony and keyboard squeal. And the lyrics, a tender testimony to the healing power of compassion, are similarly starry-eyed. But when it's all so expertly executed, you can't help but fall under his spell. Thundercat is not fucking with you, but he's also not fucking around. [8]

Maxwell Cavaseno: As the Brainfeeder crew appeared to have spiraled out of the land of instrumental hip-hop into a dimension of quasi-"black prog" to succeed where the Sa-Ra axis failed to be recognized, likewise we find them beginning the strange transition away from freeform muso-experiments into a sophisticate's MOR. So the seemingly "random" aspect of someone like Thundercat grabbing Loggins & McDonald is actually quite predictable; in fact I'm surprised he didn't get Bernard Purdie on it, or get the remaining Brecker brother to do a solo. Nonetheless, the pared down approach for Thundercat is still a surprising home for him that the more he slips into, the better he sounds. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: Feels soft and inviting. Soft, pillowy synths softly sink around the twisting horn of the bass and the muffle thump of the loose, light drums as McDonald swirls around it, Loggins tiptoes up on it and Thundercat lets himself get pulled along with it. [8]

Tim de Reuse: Thundercat cleans his usual shtick of all the usual clutter and wah-effect resonance, even scaling back significantly on his virtuosic bass noodling. What's left is sincere, smooth eighties schlock in slightly more modern trappings, buoyed by a team-up that I couldn't have predicted but that still makes a kind of cosmic sense. This song is proof of Thundercat's chops as a songwriter, and the chorus contains one of the best melodies he's ever written, but the whole composition isn't terribly distinctive as an example of his style; a lovely single, but one that isn't nearly as interesting as it could've been given the people involved. [7]

Ian Mathers: With a potentially gimmicky guest list and a genuinely excellent video (especially if you go back and watch "Them Changes" again first), it'd be easy to overlook the actual substance of "Show You the Way." But honestly, even though Loggins and McDonald are clearly still up to the task of being smooth as hell and low-key but effectively empathetic, his verse shows that Thundercat could have handled this one on his own if he needed to. It's downright lush, like the emotional inverse of a good Steely Dan track. [8]

Alfred Soto: So long as these old beards sing through their face hair over "Minute by Minute" electric pianos "Show You the Way" does for seventies nostalgia what "Get Lucky" was supposed to. As it is, I prefer faster, disco-ier pastiches: Holy Ghost!'s "Some Children," Michael McDonald's own "Sweet Freedom." [6]

Brad Shoup: Vocally, Thundercat's outclassing his heroes, which you can credit to their age or his giving himself all the intense imagery. Still, when he drags Loggins through shallow water, or introduces each guest, or talks about hydration, you wonder if his yacht's run aground on The Lonely Island. [5]

Katherine St Asaph: There is no number high enough to count the Faustian bargains I would make to never again be told, usually by a man, to care about or canonize -- of all the music of the '70s and '80s! -- the limpid, diarrheically oily, sweaty-polyester-scented, sub-porn-music, unctuously synth padded, near-exclusively and incredibly male bullshit that is yacht rock. [1]

Jonathan Bradley: Where languid becomes flaccid. [3]

Cassy Gress: 70s smooth rock through a shimmery kaleidoscope. Sounds sort of like the feeling of when you tip your chair back too far and start falling, stretched out into four weightless minutes. [7]

Julian de Valliere: I read a genuinely lovely tweet about sex a few days ago. It read, "The most damaging reality warp of porn is that porn acts like sex is SERIOUS when the best sex involves lots of laughs, giggles, teasing, chatting, and playing around to get things right for everyone." I thought back to this while listening to "Show You the Way," because Thundercat seems to subscribe to that same belief. "Show You the Way" is unafraid of being earnest, and sensual, and playful -- all at the same time. These characteristics are best displayed in Thundercat's parting words, when he reminds you to bring a bottle of water with your vodka. Sure, he wants you to have a good time right now, but he'd also really like you to stick around for a while after. [8]

Rebecca A. Gowns: The recorded single is good in a mystifying kind of way. After listening to it, I click through to a live version of this song, which is even more mystifying. Thundercat could have performed this with a wink, but instead, he presents it with 100% reverence of Loggins and McDonald. On his own, McDonald, plonking away at the keyboard with white hair, hand up to his ear to nail the harmony, looks like any other older man performing with his weekend band at a coffee shop. Loggins looks like he's performing his favorite deep cut at karaoke night. Thundercat looks like he's jamming in his garage on a sleepy Saturday morning. But the looks that they all give each other have a passionate energy -- each one of them nodding and egging on the other two, encouraging each other to solo and riff and keep those vocals going. This isn't Thundercat featuring yacht rock samples as a joke. This is Thundercat featuring two musicians he admires greatly, and, it must be said, the feeling appears to be mutual. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]