#great job if you get all the band puns

[vimbry]

*if you've heard a couple songs but don't really know much about them, or haven't listened in a long while, you can play!

update: the highest votes went to gudetama. but was it correct? here are the full titles and albums.

❌ "put your hand inside the puppet head" - they might be giants

the opening verse makes reference to leaving one's job and how "it's sad to say, you will romanticise all the things you've known before. it was not, not, not so great". according to flansburgh, "the lyric revolves around the idea that looking back on anything colors it in sentimentality".

❌ "I'll sink manhattan" - they'll need a crane (ep)/miscellaneous T

this is a flansburgh song, but linnell explained its meaning in a 1989 interview with NME as "a song about a guy who somehow figures out how to sink the island of manhattan just to kill his ex-lover, so it's his apology to the other people he's gonna kill in between. he's just gotta do it!"

❌ "meet james ensor" - john henry

it's about james ensor (belgium's famous painter).

❌ "wicked little critta" - mink car

from the tmbg unlimited collection: "forged in the crucible of an eastern massachusetts junior high, this song expresses the dreams, fears and hopes of a new england young adult" the lyrics seem to suggest said young adult fantasising about being a sports star alongside bobby orr and john havlicek while goofing off outside.

❌ "working undercover for the man" - mink car

from flansburgh: "it's more a meditation on the "mod squad" [a 1968 crime series about cool undercover detectives] than anything else. the idea of the narc just seems... like, those episodes of "dragnet" where they have the young undercover dress in a hippie suit."

✔️ "talent is an asset" - kimono my house

the lyrics illustrate an overly-cautious family shielding their very gifted child from others, to keep him studious and soak in all the glory, and is heavily implied to be little albert einstein through puns on relatives and relativity. it's not by them, tho. it's by the band sparks. it came 2nd, so I think many of you recognised it (or really wanted to see the results!)

❌ "bee of the bird of the moth" - the else

"this is a song about a creature called a hummingbird moth, which imitates another creature, which imitates yet another creature. it's completely fucked up, and can only be explained in song!" so they did.

❌ "2082" - join us

thewrap's review of the album describes this song as, "a science-fiction short story (...) a protagonist who travels into the future, finds himself hobbled but still unhappily alive all the way into the next millennium, and travels back to the title year to smother himself with a pillow in a mercy killing". fun!

❌ "call you mom" - nanobots

referred to by linnell as an "oedipus pan" song, the lyrics follow an unfortunate young man beginning a relationship with a woman, getting dumped due to his behaviour of treating her like a mother figure, then infantilising a possibly younger woman in a different relationship and in turn leaving her, who goes on to experience the same issues. fun! (altho, the final chorus actually still refers to her Mom leaving, not her dad, I got the details wrong there in the poll).

❌ "gudetama's busy days" - dial-a-song / my murdered remains

yes, that's a real song. quote flansburgh: "(...) it is really just about feeling isolated from the world, even if you are in a crowded place and manically trying to keep up with your life. the character of gudetama appealed to me because he is such a mopey sad sack."

❌ "marty beller mask" - album raises new and troubling questions

this is real, too! it's just about how marty beller was actually an alter ego of whitney houston the whole time. he's not, but wouldn't that be interesting. the song name-checks multiple of her own in the lyrics. it was temporarily retired out of respect following houston's death (4 months after its release), returning to live performances ten years later in 2022.

[legend-of-thyme]

Today is @ikaishere 's birthday (at least in my time zone, and I know I'm barely squeaking it in here) and tomorrow is mine. I borrowed the modern AU boys to write some sibling fluff and GrooZeLink. Hope you had a great birthday!!!

---------

“What do you guys think? The feather earrings or the swords?” Sky turns his head side to side critically eyeing his reflection in the mirror.

“Personally I think you should worry more about finding some pants first,” drawls Wars from where he’s sprawled over bed without even looking up from his phone. “Sun and Groose might not mind your ratty old pajama shorts, but the restaurant will probably have some objections”. 

Sky flops backwards into a pile of laundry with a groan earning himself an indignant squeak from Wind. 

“Sky!” he complains, snatching up one of his hands before he can run it through his hair. “You’re going to ruin my masterpiece” 

“Sorry, sorry,” he replies, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “At least my nails will look nice even if I have to go dressed in a burlap sack”. Wind beams and he can’t help but smile. The kid did a good job on the nails, even forgoing his usual favorite neon oranges for a softer shade of blue coated in white crackle.

Warrior’s eye roll is nearly audible. “Don’t be dramatic. Didn’t you buy a skirt for tonight just last week?”

“That was before I knew we were going indoor skydiving between the escape room and dinner! I have to bring a change of clothes and if I put it in my bag it will get all horrible and wrinkly.”

Wind pokes through one of the discarded piles of shirts, picking things up to examine them before tossing them to the side. “Just wear your date jeans. It’s your birthday. Shouldn’t you just wear what you like?”

Sky pouts. Wind is right of course, but it’s the principle of the thing. He has plenty of clothes that hit the sweet spot of being comfortable while also making him feel confident and attractive, but he’s hoping for more tonight. Something to really wow his partners. There’s a warmth that curls through his chest whenever Groose gives him a slow once over and a low whistle, or when Sun reaches out to trace the pattern of his shirt or play with a bit of lace or tassel that he would bottle and keep forever if he could. And maybe War’s is right and he is being a little dramatic, but that warmth is going to be his birthday present to himself if he has to turn his closet inside out to get it. 

A balled up sock hits him in the head, breaking him from his thoughts. He looks around in time to seek Wars drop his phone on the bedside table and swing to his feet. 

“Do you trust me?,” he asks, smiling.

“A terrifying question,” Wind mutters under his breath and Sky can’t help snorting a laugh into his fist as Warriors sticks his tongue out at their youngest brother, dignity forgotten. 

“I would trust Wild at this point if it gets me to my date on time”.

“All right then,” Wars cracks his knuckles with a grin. “Grab your date jeans. We’ll pair them with Sun’s old band shirt she did that diy fringe on”.

“The ‘without music life would B♭’ one? Are you sure?” Sky frowns as Wind begins searching. 

“Very. The stupid pun makes you smile and it shows a little skin,” Wars nods and circles him slowly as he pulls on the clothes. “The purple silk scarf would make a cute belt and if you promise not to scuff them I’ll lend you my jacquard docs”. He nods, satisfied. “It’s going to get cold tonight so you should top it off with Groose’s old leather jacket you stole when he wanted to get rid of it”. 

Sky spins slowly, getting a feel for the outfit and letting Wars examine his work before turning to the mirror. It’s comfortable and easy to move in and the shoes and belt make it feel special enough for a date outfit. Wind clambers up onto the bed behind him and swiftly does up the clasp to a necklace before jumping down to hug onto his side. He reaches up and smiles softly as he feels the familiar iris brooch.

“There,” Wars returns his smile and ruffles Wind’s hair. “Now you look perfect”.

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

“Sky!” Sun calls, rushing across the parking lot to pull him down for a kiss before leaning her head on his shoulder and tangling her fingers in the beaded tassels of his shirt. “We were starting to worry you’d fallen asleep or something.”

He sticks his tongue out at her and hugs her tighter, admiring the way she looks with his old fuzzy green sweater hanging off one shoulder. “And miss my perfect birthday date? Never. I bet Legend we could beat the escape room’s record time”. 

Butterflies erupt in his stomach even as he teases her, reminding him of the early days of his crush.

“Well, well, well,” Groose saunters more slowly across the lot, hands shoved in his pockets. “I never thought I’d see the day, but I think you wear that jacket better than I ever did”. He pulls Sky in to kiss him, once on the lips and once on the forehead, before holding him at arms length and whistling slowly. “I like the different earrings”. 

The different– Sky’s hands fly to his ears and, sure enough, he’s still wearing one feather earring and one sword. “Yeah,” he says, doing his best to sound casual and knowing he’s failing, “I wanted to try something new”.

Groose smiles down at him knowingly as Sun bursts into laughter. He can feel his cheeks reddening and desperately searches for a change in subject. “What about you?” he asks Groose, gesturing at his too tight plaid shirt. “You look like you’re about to burst out of that thing? Where did you even get–”

He cuts himself off and looks at the shirt again. “Wait. That’s my shirt.” He looks between them, baffled as Sun begins to grin and Groose looks sheepish and almost nervous. “Are you both wearing my clothes?”

“We thought it might be fun to match,” Groose admits, embarrassed. “You’re wearing our things”.

“It was Groose’s idea,” Sun nods enthusiastically. “And I told Wars to text us what you picked out. Did you really change your outfit six times?”

Warmth blazes through Sky’s chest as he looks at his partners. It’s such a fun idea and the sort of thing he would normally suggest. The sort of thing other people had teased him for in the past. They put so much effort into today and they did it all for him. His mouth opens and closes and he finds himself at a loss for what to say. What words could possibly be enough?

Sky swallows the lump in his throat and beams at them as hard as he can. “I really love you guys, you know?”.

[slamminslamminmcgill]

okay hear me out- Jesse/reader, the reader rides Jesse as Jesse is cutting up the reader’s thighs a little- also Jesse praises the reader. Calls him a good boy and shit like that.

HEHEHEHEHE TRAUMA FETISH GO BRRRRRRRRR took some liberties w/ this hope that's ok. this is heavy so i'm putting it under a cut (no pun intended teehee) also if i left this in my inbox for a month no i didn't 🖤

warning: bloodplay, cutting, self harm

anatomical terms: tits, strap-on, dick, cock (jesse's), cunt (reader's)

How does that saying go? Misery loves company?

Whatever it is, it's true. Misery does love company. You guess that's why when you and Jesse stripped in front of each other for the first time, you both laughed at the barcodes carved into each of your thighs.

Jesse had pointed at the marks on his chest, the remnants of what were once his tits, "Ayo! I guess we got even more in common than we thought!"

You had cackled with cathartic laughter, "Dude, nice!" and pointed at the scars on his leg, "Who did your procedure? They did a great job!"

"I did! Self-made, yo!" Jesse replied, tears streaming down his face. You had thought they were from laughter, or maybe you had hoped.

From then on, cutting became your couple's therapy. Whenever one of you grabbed a blade, the other would pop in and say "Want some help?". No more words need follow. Just an arm around the other, a relay of the razor, and a love letter written in red ink.

It also became your foreplay. This was on accident (the first time at least). It doesn't take a genius to figure out that intimacy begets more intimacy. A hand on the inner thigh, a pleasant sting, what's a kiss or two on top of that? Certainly couldn't hurt more than an open wound, at least.

Today was an especially productive session.

It was your turn to bleed. You were about to take the razor to yourself when Jesse sniped it from you.

"Yo, don't cut with that shit. Look, it's all rusted and nasty. I'll get us a fresh one." Chivalry was alive and unwell. In going to grab the razor, he stumbled upon another hedonistic object, his strap-on. Right next to the band-aids and lube, duh, where else would it be? He grinned, turned around, and waved the dildo at you, "You, uh... you wanna go for a ride?"

You shrugged, wiped your tears away, and answered with a weak laugh, "Eh, what the hell. Sure." You patted the spot on the bed next to you.

Jesse set the razor on the nightstand and stepped into the strap, securing it around his bony hips. He hopped onto the bed and flopped onto his back, gesturing to the silicone dick. “Your throne awaits, my liege.”

You snorted, straddled his body, and mimed a curtsy. “Oh, thank you, sire.” You sank down onto the cock with a loud moan. “Fuck, Jesse, I- SHIT!”

A searing pain blitzed across your thigh when you least expected it. Your palm slapped over the epicenter almost reflexively. A muscle cramp? No, this felt too… precise. You pulled your hand away. Blood. Lots of blood. You looked at Jesse, who had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Good boy... you like that?" He thrust his hips up into your sopping, needy cunt. Crying always made you wet. "You want another?"

You bit your lip and nodded, shifting your weight back and forth on top of him. "Mhm..."

"That's what I thought... Good boy."

You closed your eyes, tears pooling from your clenched lids, and grit your teeth as you rode, bracing yourself for the next slice. Part of the fun was not knowing when it was coming. When you were about to sneak a peek, the razor showed itself, tearing open your skin, your eyes, and your mouth. "Ah! Jesse!" you cried.

"Good boy. God, you're fuckin' gorgeous like this."

Misery loves company. That's how the saying goes. And how does that other saying go? Right, that's it. Great minds think alike...

but fools rarely differ.

[spectacularspatula]

Just over 7 years after the show debuted, I think I've figured out what the Blue Lion's purpose in the team is.

While at first glance, Voltron seems to follow the five man band trope (Leader, Lancer, Smart Guy, Stong Guy, Heart) pretty closely, color-coded and all.

Black is the leader: cool under pressure, and always able to see reason and the best course of action, and Shiro fits this perfectly.

Red is the Lancer: the leader's right hand man, the one to challenge them, the one who is almost as good as them, and the character foil for them. Keith matches up with this as well.

Green is the Smart Guy: the one with knowledge specialized to the setting, the one the team always looks to when they need something niche, and Pidge/Katie definitely fits here, with her extremely broad and extensive knowledge of technology.

Yellow is the Strong Guy/Tank: the team's hard hard hitter, the one who can take the most damage, and generally stereotyped as super loyal, and Hunk checks all of these boxes (his name even fits!)

Generally next in the list would be the Heart: the emotional center of the team, the one who keeps everyone together, the one always ready to give a pep talk, the one who makes sure no one is left behind. As the pattern follows, you would think this would go to blue (and so Lance), but it isn't. Allura is actually the one to fill this role.

Then where does that leave Lance? He clearly struggles with this question himself, saying he feels like a 7th wheel, like he's just an extra person. He struggles to find his worth on the team, surrounded by amazing people. This internal conflict over self-worth is what makes him so relatable and lovable to the audience, along with his humor. And here, I think is where we find his purpose.

Lance fills the role that I am going to call the diplomat in this variation of the five man band trope. He is the one that makes the team feel like it's not just the most amazing, perfect people out there that we could never compare ourselves to. He feels down-to-earth (pun intended), he's someone a lot of people can see themselves in. He's an extrovert who's great with people and longs for companionship. He's funny, and can make light of a situation, but when he needs to be serious, he is. Overall, Lance is a people person.

And to think of this in context of the show's universe, I think that position is quite important. Imagine if Voltron was real, and was what was protecting you and your home planet. Voltron is a great weapon, but it's larger than life. Even if it's protecting you, you'd probably still be at least a little scared of it, especially if the people piloting it were the best of the best. That's really intimidating. To have one of the pilots be someone you can see yourself in, it makes it feel more real, and less like it's something beyond your comprehension.

It's also important to have the diplomat for, well, diplomatic purposes. To charm those you want to make an alliance with, to mediate arguments, and to have someone the people of each civilization love. This part of the job is why Allura is able to pilot blue in the absence of Shiro.

However, she doesn't really fill Blue's role, and niether do any of the others. Allura is great, but she suffers from the same thing Shiro does in this regard, they're just too amazing. They're paragons of themselves. Allura is one of the last of the mythical Alteans, and she can perform the practically lost art of Altean Alchemy. Shiro is a perfect leader, he's handsome, and that makes him a little intimidating. Hunk is great in the way that he's loyal, but he's more focused on the people he cares about than anything else, and also just doesn't have the charisma that Lance has. Pidge is not the easiest to talk to, and you can find yourself getting lost in all the science lingo she throws around, and her long tangents that don't quite have all the context you need to understand them. Coran Keith speaks for himself, our little asocial emo boy. To be clear, this is not to bash the other characters, it's just to show why they don't really fill the role.

All in all, Voltron is a deviant of the five man band trope, not the poster perfect example it seems to be. Furthermore, Lance is far from the worthless misfit he sees himself as, he is the true charmer of the team.

[doveriathegoddess]

Burning Constellation floods a waterpark (Storytime)

So I recently mentioned to my good friend @erigold13261 about how everyone’s chaotic rock band known as Burning Constellation has gotten into a lot more trouble than just blowing up the Grand Qwasa, and one of their acts of mischief involved the flooding of a waterpark that they were at to film a music video as a part of their album “Beach Episode” (Yes that’s what they came up with for the name).

Anyway I will tell you the story of Burning Constellation and the Waterpark Flooding of Akusuka :3

Orion decided on the idea to film a music video so the band could get more attention on their album since the method of promoting their previous album last time with the satellite hacking and blasting it on repeat for 2 weeks didn’t work out as intended. And it would just so happen that a popular waterpark in the Akusuka District had recently added their reservation program so people could host al kinds of events. I’m sure you can see where this is going-

After a few phone calls and pulling some strings as her job as the manager/lead guitarist, Orion had booked the waterpark for the day of filming and Sonya, Mason, and Danny were ready to have a great time making a splash (I’m sorry that pun was not funny I’ll leave /j)

So the band gets to the waterpark wearing nothing but their swimsuits and sets up for filming, and after making sure everything was ready the filming began. A large group of fans were also there to see the band film their music video and also go swimming as well, so it also became a meet in greet at the same time. So when filming started, the fans watched as it was done all in one take the band performed their song and at the end of it Sonya punched the water tank for the funnies, but since she has super strength everyone realized they make a huge mistake when the water tank completely broke and the waterpark was now submerged in water. Luckily the cameraman got out of there before the waterpark got completely underwater with the equipment, and the fans were quickly evacuated as well, but the band had to cling onto a floating inflatable of their choice as the water rushed at them. Thankfully no one was hurt but the band was still stuck inside the waterpark on their floating inflatable devices and a rescue team had to come and get them out before the water could be drained. Needless to say this incident made the news and memes were made because the band were just having a good time swimming and sunbathing since the waterpark being submerged meant that it was just the four of them having the place all to themselves. 

After the band was rescued and the water was drained, Titanium proceeded to give them a lecture about punching water tanks and the waterpark officials banned Burning Constellation from coming back, which did spark outrage from the fans but luckily other waterparks were open to having the band come visit them. And that’s the story of how Burning Constellation flooded a waterpark and got banned from going back there afterwards-

Idk how everyone else (Bunk Bed Junction, Kliff, Tatiana, NSR Artists etc.) would have reacted to Burning Constellation flooding a waterpark but I’m sure there would be some concerns over them being trapped, some sighs of disappointment, and even being in disbelief that the four band members were completely unfazed by this whole thing. 

[darkerthanblack-666]

Thank you for tagging me @another-sun and @lizardbrainhours 💖

blank game is here

N.I.K.O. stands for Now I Kiss Outcasts If I ever get the chance to speak to Niko I probably won't know what to say 😅 Knowing Niko, in 2023 I expect more rap, more cat, more puns Of all the lyrics Nio wrote so far my favorite one is breakdowns for breakfast ___ Venom, aka Joel, would say about Niko that he's doing a great job I heard about Blind Channel the first time before the Eurovision 2021 finale Little, Man aka Aleksi, loves Niko because he's a perfect partner in crime (teasing Porko) Hearing Blind Channel without Niko would be impossible, nu-metal bands with rap are the best! Every line Niko raps makes me either laugh, feel that it's relatable, or gives me energy. Last year my highlight with Niko and Blind Chanel was all these Eminem and Limp Bizkit covers on stage! My favorite Blind Channel song right now is Autopsy 🥰🥰🥰 ___ My favorite scene from Titanic is spit like a man 😂 One day Blind Channel will get old, it all awaits us 🤷‍♀️ I love Niko because he's the meme king Life is a bitch but I annoy it by being cringe 💖 After a Blind Channel gig I worry if I'll have money for more 😫 Never have I ever sent anon hate to anyone 😌 ESC 2023 will be pee breaks during the ballads, as usual. NC Enroe is in da house! So you better watch your spouse 👀

I tag: @kaunisbaby @tomorrows-unknown @rem-oscar @alexgersher @rbf451 @because-its-eurovision @sinking-into-mist @joonas-curls

[twistedtummies2]

The Price May Be Right - Number 20

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’m counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Today we move into the Top 20 for this countdown! The time has come to focus on my choice for Number 20: Egghead, from the 60s Batman Series.

In recent years, the 1960s Batman TV Series – starring Adam West & Burt Ward as the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder – has been making a bit of a comeback. This pleases me, because I’ve always loved the series, but for many years, the show was treated in a very backhanded and dismissive manner: people believed it ruined the world of comics, since for a long time it was blamed for the perception of comics as silly kid’s stuff and campy nonsense. Ironically, with so many comics and their adaptations nowadays growing darker and more “edgy” as time has gone on, especially on DC’s side of the market, this has led to a resurgence of popularity with the goofiness of the Silly Sixties. The 60s Batman show featured many great villains from the comics, all portrayed excellently for the time (and sometimes for ALL time) by fine actors of the period. However, it also had its fair share of original villains made just for the series itself. Most of these characters – such as Shame, the Minstrel, and Zelda the Great – never really caught on or went anywhere. A few of these original villains, however, were pretty popular, and often proved to be antagonists just as effective as such famous rogues as the Joker or the Penguin. One of the most well-known of these original villains was Vincent Price’s memorable mastermind, Egghead. His true name unknown (which was the case for most of the villains in the show, to be fair), Egghead was a supervillain who claimed to be the second smartest man in the world. His intelligence was attributed to his unusually oversized and incredibly bald cranium, which was the cause of his alias. Garbed in a dapper cream-and-gold suit, he was one of the slickest sleazebags the Dynamic Duo ever faced. Egghead lived up to his name well: not only was Price’s dialogue littered with egg puns in just about every line, but the character apparently ate nothing but eggs and bacon, and used a variety of explosive gadgets hidden inside of eggshells. From tear gas grenades to pressure-based bombs, his egg-scruciating weapons were no yolk! Of course, he’d always be caught at the end of each story, proving that the life of an outlaw was not all it was cracked up to be. …I am SO sorry, I won’t make any more egg puns, I swear. XD Anywho…Vincent always claimed that playing Egghead was one of the most fun jobs he had, and the character remains iconic, as well as one of Price’s most lauded performances. My only issue with Egghead is that, as the show went on, it felt like the character went through a sort of de-evolution: in his first two-parter appearance, Egghead basically worked alone, barring the usual band of hired mooks and his personal biographer, Miss Bacon. However, later appearances teamed him up with another original villain – Olga, Queen of the Cossacks – and it often felt like the two stepped on each other’s toes. In some episodes, Olga seemed like little more than an overblown moll; in other episodes, it seemed like Egghead had gone from being a crafty crook in his own right to just becoming a bumbling stooge for the Queen of the Cossacks. Still, the character was fun no matter how smart he actually seemed. Fun fact: not so long before his sad departure, Adam West visited my hometown for our local ComicCon. I sadly did not get the opportunity to meet him, but a friend of mine did, and agreed to ask a question for me. They asked Adam West what it was like working with Vincent Price. West apparently answered: “Well, it was exactly what you would imagine it would be like, working with a man who loved his wine, loved his art, and loved his work. In that order.” How I wish I could have heard those golden words firsthand. Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 19!

[redeyeflyguy]

Top 7 Most Wonderful Power Rangers Theme Songs #7: Wild Force: I’m going to be honest. Figuring out the lower half of this list was absolutely brutal but out of the available options, Wild Force made the cut. It’s the kind of high energy tune that hypes you up to watch giant CGI robot animals fight pollution monsters. The animal sound effects add to the hype as well. #6: Turbo: While the third series' theme carries parts of its predecessors, Turbo’s theme sounds distinct while being all about the adrenaline and it does a good job at invoking it. It really pumps you up to drive some fast cars and not getting baked into a pizza (though sadly that may happen). #5: Zeo: Effectively a sequel to the original theme but with the epic dial turned to 11, primarily thanks to the addition of a choir. Makes it sound like something out of a Queen album or…I’m not sure. What other rock bands use choirs? I’m sure there’s plenty of them. Awesome theme regardless. #4: In Space: The first “final” season of Power Rangers and this song assuredly plays the part. It sells the feeling of the franchise flying higher than ever before despite the cheesy voice over’s best efforts…I kid. He actually adds to the charm. #3: Dino Charge: Like other PR themes, this song incorporates parts of “Go Go Power Rangers”, but unlike others I could name, it feels like its own ancient reptile bird. You might not think that a deep continuous chant of “Power Rangers” would be badass but you would be wrong. That and the tone and lyrics are quite inspiring. “Don’t you ever stop!” indeed. #2: Mighty Morphin: The OG. I’m willing to bet that even if you don’t give a hoot about the Power Rangers, you know about this theme song. What you may not know is that there is a full song not just “Go go Power Rangers”. I’m serious. Even so, there’s a reason that this piece is so iconic and it's not just because it was the first…or because of the many remixes…or because-look, this song is fantastic. End of discussion…oh wait, I still have #1 to write. #1: Space Patrol Delta: It’s catchy, it’s intense, that electric guitar rocks and that percussion hits so gosh darn hard. It even works in a police siren. This theme feels like a 70 mile per hour car chase and I love it.  Thank you, Ron Wasserman for this wonderful theme song…and also thank you for most of this list. Honorable Mention: Ninja Storm: This one was soooo close to making the list. I do think Wild Force is a bit better but that early 2000’s rock sound and those weather puns still make my heart melt. Also, its usage in the show is so much better than “theme song cuts” I found but what you gonna do. Well, I know what I gonna do: give it an honorable mention. R.I.P. Jason David Frank. I'm not sure if you were “The Greatest Ranger Ever” but I can say that you made many a childhood all the more wonderful and that’s pretty great to me.

[gojos-thot-patrol]

I now present you with:

Random JJK men head cannons I made while in my feels~

Only my main 3 for now: Suguru, Gojo, Nanami.

SUGURU

Suguru is a music guy. I dont make the rules.

Like, he had an alternative phase back in the day, I lean to mall goth personally, and learned guitar he was such a music guy

Always knew where the best shows were at and was always at them. His favorite type of first date

He doesn't just listen to rock either, he listens to it all. Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, hell he'd even listen to County is the song was a hard enough bop

His love language is albums and playlist.

He has an actual record player and plays actual records. Like a hipster.

Also, the man can cook. Idk, I just get those vibes.

Like, hes naturally really good at it, but never does it cause he hates it.

Unless it's for you baby.

If his SO asked him to cook, he would do it without hesitation. Eating is important

Gets kinda distant when you ask about his technique. Hates talking about it. The most anyones ever gotten out of him is that curses taste like vomit

Which, is probably why actual foods tasting good is so important to him

Former smoker. He actually stopped once he left Jujutsu Sorcerery. He just, wasn't stressed anymore.

Still craves a cigarette whenever Mahito opens his mouth though.

His favorite color was formerly blue. These days it's more of an emerald green

Is fucking fantastic at wii sports. Especially the boxing game, that is where he shines.

GOJO

CONTROVERSIAL TAKE: this man hates drugs. Like, even weed he can't stand it. And he tried too, back in his younger days, just not his thing.

He hates when things mess with his head or his perception. It's why he's not big on drinking either. Especially if it slows his reflexes, he's not about it

Owned a bucket hat and puka shell necklace and at one point is not nearly sorry enough for it.

Hes a bitch for coffee. Don't ask me why, it's just the vibe.

Ok, let me rephrase, he likes creamer with a dash of coffee, add in lots of sugar and milk.

Hes actually a huge sweets guy. Like, to the point that he for sure has a giant candy bowl in his classroom and it's not for his students

Hes not great at communicating his feelings and needs. He has a hard time identifying then in the first place honestly

So, the clearest insight as to how he's feeling is through whatever music he's currently listening too.

Like "Hey babe..you ok?" "Oh? Yea of course doll! Why would you ask that?" "Well, we've been listening to the Johnny Cash cover of 'Hurt' on repeat and people that are ok don't typically do that"

Once it's pointed out to him, he is willing to talk about it to figure out what's going on. Can't fix a problem when you don't know what it is anyway. But, it's gotta be pointed out first.

Cats just love him. No, that's not a pun. Like, stray cats will come up to him on the street and rub up against him and love on him. Cats love him.

And while I wasn't going to make it, he has made the "what can I say? Imma pussy magnet" joke

NANAMI

This man kicks ass at mortal Kombat. Like, that's how he used to blow off steam when he worked his office job and now that's just a skill he has

Any fighting game really. That includes smash bros. Gojo onces convinced Itadori that Nanami never really played games, then challenged him to a bet

Easiest 5000 yen Gojo ever made. Until Nanami found out and demanded half

Hes secretly a huge nerd in general. Like, he has the entirety of star trek on DVD and listens to D&D podcasts

Hes a thin guy. You'd think he wouldn't eat much, right? WRONG that man's legs are hollow. He is every all you can eat buffets worst nightmare

Hes secretly punk. It's some of his favorite music, The Misfits are his favorite band.

Really, he just likes any music that could be considered aggressive. He never has nor would he ever dress like it though

Actually loves fruity drinks. Like he keeps a bottle of Pink Whitney at his apartment for mixed drinks.

Hes not picky though, he'll drink whatever you give him. Unless it tastes like pear. Not a big fan of pear

If he drives a car, it's the most worn our beater you've ever seen. He has the money to replace it, but why do that when it still runs just fine?

Probably because the passenger side door is held together with duct tape, but whatever.

His favorite color is yellow. Like, a pastel cozy yellow, and also more saturated warm yellows. He says it's a happy color and it makes him smile.

Used to have a coffee addiction, but didn't like being addicted to anything. So he's more of a tea guy now.

Can't stand messy, but also loves cleaning so it works out for him. He says cleaning is calming.

Especially when he's playing Dragula at 7am. Much to his neighbors, and sometimes his So's dismay.

Genuinely, as an autistic person, I think he's autistic. Like, the monotone voice and the "I don't give praise or ridicule, I just speak facts" gives me those vibes

Also, he just says what's on his mind and has little to no filter. Sometimes that's a good thing, more often than not it's bad.

Will just randomly crack random body parts. His knuckles, back, neck, his elbows. He snap crackles and pops.

Hes also double jointed in his shoulders, so good luck trying to pin/wrestle with him ever

[five-rivers]

Beltane

Written for Ectober 2021 Day 1: Trick vs Treat. This is part of the Exhumed series.

.

Danny Fenton walked into the precinct. As often happened when he did this, all attention slowly turned to him. “Hi, Detective Patterson. Have you ever heard of Beltane?”

Patterson took a long swig of coffee through the plastic stir straw, because she felt the need to be at least a little drugged before dealing with whatever this was, and then said, “Is this the kind of thing the whole precinct needs to know about, or is it more specific to me?”

“Mm, not specific to you, but I’m not sure if everyone needs to know about it, yet.”

Despite only select members of the Amity Park police force knowing Danny Fenton had another identity, he’d become a sort of ‘ghost liaison’ for the precinct. Better him than the adult Fentons, who tended to break things even (especially) when they were being careful.

“Actually,” continued Danny, “you might have already noticed some things about it. I mean, it’s seasonal, and Mom and Dad were detecting ectoenergy and ghost activity spikes for events like this before they got the portal up and running. Although, the portal was supposed to stabilize and reduce those spikes… I guess reducing one isn’t bad?”

“Okay,” said Patterson. “I don’t really know what you’re talking about. Do you want me to go find Collins?”

“Oh, that might be a good idea.”

“Great,” said Patterson. She turned her head to shout across the room. “McGee. Go find Collins.”

“Still the new guy?” asked Danny, sympathetically.

“It isn’t like we’re a popular posting,” said Patterson, “and, thanks to the ghosts, we don’t really need new people.”

Danny nodded placidly. “I know. But it must be hard for him, don’t you think?”

.

McGee had done his job. He’d discovered the corruption in the Amity Park Police Department and plumbed its depths. The problem was that he could never, ever, report it. Even if they didn’t have a perfectly good cause for it all, what they were ‘hiding’ (and they were only barely doing that) was so ridiculous that McGee had thought he’d gone crazy at first.

Ghosts.

The whole of Amity Park was haunted. Just like it said in those touristy brochures at the front of the local diners.

He stuck his head into the break room. “Collins, Patterson and Fenton want you,” he said.

“In the normal room?” Collins asked, shoving a sugary monstrosity of a donut into his mouth.

“I have no idea. She didn’t say.”

“Normal room then. Great job, McGee.”

McGee rolled his eyes. Great job, he said. As if he’d done anything.

God. What would Halloween be like?

.

“So, it’s like, reverse Halloween?” asked Patterson.

“Well, not exactly,” said Danny. He patted Daisy, the department mascot slash corpse sniffing dog who had followed them into the small interview room, gently on the head. “Actually, there are more similarities than differences. Basically, like Halloween, we’re going to get a spike in ectoenergy. Maybe even some ectoplasmic storms. More portals. That kind of thing.” He shrugged. “Most holidays and seasonal divisions have them, you know.”

“So… we’re getting Halloween round two?” asked Collins.

“What do you bet that this is what gets McGee to snap?”

“He’s been here since December,” said Collins. “I think he’s too stubborn to leave.”

“Is he still spying?” asked Danny.

“No,” said Patterson, waving a hand. “He gave up on that, after a while. But there’s a new office bet about whether or not he’ll stay stay, or if he’ll decide to quit. We’re not allowed to join in because we know him too well.”

“Mm,” said Danny.

“I don’t actually know if I feel like I know him that well,” said Collins.

“Well,” said Danny, “it shouldn’t be as extreme as Halloween. Since, I mean, there aren’t as many religious holidays directly associated with death and stuff happening on or around May first. So. Yeah. But the thing is, there are some traditional, er, activities. Spirited activities.”

Collins suppressed a groan, and was glad that Captain Jones wasn’t available today. He and Danny could sling puns at each other for obscenely long periods of time.

“I’ve never noticed ghosts doing anything on May Day,” said Patterson.

“This is only the third year anyone’s even acknowledged that ghosts exist,” said Danny, “so I’m not really all that surprised. But the reason that I came to talk to you guys is that some of the ghosts want to do Beltane stuff. Like the fire blessings. Also, I’ve been told that some of the trees in town are secretly ghost trees, and if we don’t want to deal with another tree army, we need to do some stuff to appease them.”

“Secret ghost trees.”

“My source is very reliable,” said Danny. “Also, while I say ‘we don’t want to deal with it,’ I think we all know who’d be dealing with most of it.”

“You would,” said Patterson.

“Got it in one. Like, I can convince most of the ghosts to either do their Beltane stuff in the Ghost Zone, or somewhere out of the way. They’ll be disappointed, but I can do it. The ghost tree thing, though…”

“Can’t we just, I don’t know,” said Collins, “get rid of the ghost trees?”

“Well, they aren’t really evil ghost trees. Or even really ghost trees. They’re more… ghosts that live in trees?”

“What, like dryads?” asked Collins, raising his eyebrows.

“That’s what I said, but they’re different species, apparently.”

“Okay,” said Patterson, “so. Appeasing the trees. How many trees are we talking about here, and how are we going to appease them?”

.

“Okay, so, this is definitely a whole precinct kind of thing,” said Patterson.

“And possibly an ‘all civil servants’ type of thing,” added Collins. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Where are we going to get the funding for this?”

“Oh, don’t worry about money,” said Danny. “I’ll just blackmail Vlad, and if that doesn’t work, I can get Mom and Dad to pay for it.”

“What,” said Collins.

“I think this might be a bit beyond your parents’ budget,” said Patterson, “but knock yourself out as far as Masters goes.”

“Well, I guess if it is,” he allowed, dubiously, “I could get the cults to pitch in?”

.

“This is nice,” said Danny. The sky was a bit overcast, which was a shame, but the hundreds of bright flowers and cheerful music more than made up for that.

The May Day celebration was, in Danny’s opinion, a success. At least, this half of it was turning out to be. He’d have to wait and see how the Spirit Bonfires went tonight before he could really make a judgement.

He’d only had to blackmail Vlad a little, too. It turned out that the ‘ruthless businessman’ in Vlad was ludicrously easy to manipulate, and once Danny brought up how a celebration like this one could revitalize local businesses and bring in tourism, he’d caved.

Although, that might have been the threat of an angry tree army. Vlad had definitely come off worse for wear in the last one, on all fronts.

Then, publically putting the Phantom Stamp of Approval (and Necessity Given The Potential Angry Tree Army) on the event had gotten buy-in from his fans and (sigh) the cults. The cults were, in fact, very enthusiastic about their new Holy Day. Danny had made a map of all the places they’d set up booths, and was studiously avoiding them.

Sam and Tucker were doing a walkthrough of that area, now, to check for problems and unadorned thorn trees. They’d arranged to meet up soon.

So, Amity Park was decked out in ribbons and flowers. All of the schools had gotten Maypoles and the day off of classes. Several bands, both human and ghostly, were playing in different parts of town.

It was chaotic, but great.

Danny briefly cut into the street to dodge a pair of college-age men play-fighting with tree branches (a genuinely important tradition symbolizing the battle between winter and summer), then walked through a wall to avoid two ghosts doing the same thing.

Finally, he reached Madame Babazita’s table.

“Hi,” he said, “three readings, please.”

“Three?” she asked. “Just for you?”

“My friends should get here before mine’s done,” said Danny. Was he channeling some predictive powers? Maybe. Holidays did make his powers weird.

.

“I have no idea what your reading is saying,” said Madame Babazita, after fifteen full minutes. “The cards simply aren’t speaking to me today. Also,” she held up an Uno card, “I’m not sure how this even got here.”

“That’s okay,” said Danny, “I just wanted to make sure it was the same as last time.”

.

“Hey! Phantom!” called Ember across the crowd of ghosts that had gathered in the cemetery. Most of them were fire or nature themed. “You’re in for a treat!”

Danny, who had been examining the flowers left on his grave, looked up. “I am?”

Ember draped her arm around Danny’s shoulder. She’d been a lot more friendly with him since the corpse incident. “Sure are.” She stepped up onto the surface of his memorial, pulling him up behind her. Danny shook off a brief chill and looked around.

Ghosts were streaming into the cemetery from various directions, bringing armfuls of flowers with them. Danny could see two, huge bonfire piles of flowers growing near the cemetery gates.

“Are there going to be cows?” asked Danny, who was still fuzzy on the details of the ghostly side of the celebrations.

“I don’t know,” said Ember. “When I’ve seen this done in the GZ there are. Here? Who knows. Maybe we’ll just walk through.”

Danny nodded, unworried. Beltane sure was an interesting holiday.

The last armful of flowers was placed, and every flower in the cemetery caught on fire at once. Including the ones on Danny’s grave. Danny yelped, jumping into flight. As an ice core ghost, he vastly preferred cold to heat.

This went without saying, but fire was very hot.

Ember grabbed his foot, and he almost kicked her. “You knew that was going to happen,” he accused.

“Sure did, babypop,” said Ember, grinning. “Come on, don’t you want to pass through the bonfires?”

Danny eyed the very large bonfires on either side of the cemetery gates. They were lit up with sparks like fireworks, shifting like flowers blooming and withering and blooming again. They were beautiful and impressive, and Danny felt like melting just by looking at them.

“I don’t know…” He wanted to, but… melting…

“Well, if you want to go out the other way and be horribly unlucky for the next year…”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “Is that another trick?” he asked.

Ember’s grin grew wider, and she took off towards the gates. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Danny sighed and followed her.

.

“Unbelievable,” said McGee. “Absolutely unbelievable.” He gave the elderly cultist a boost into the wagon.

“I know, right?” said Patterson. “All this property damage and a low-key kidnapping,” she gestured to the hapless late night partier who had called the police when the cult got too insistent about their message, “and they didn’t even have the good drugs?” She shook her head. “Not that we ever arrest anyone just for drugs in this town.”

“I did not just hear you say that,” muttered McGee.

“We’ll make an Amity Parker out of you yet,” said Collins, heartily, slamming the back door of the wagon. He thumbed the button on his radio. “Any other disturbances?” he asked.

“No, you’re good to come back,” said the dispatcher.

“What I don’t get,” said McGee, leaning against a nearby wall in a moment of weakness, “is why we aren’t breaking up whatever cult thing is happening in the cemetery.” They’d seen it quite clearly on their way here.

“Because those are ghosts,” said Patterson.

McGee took a deep breath. “The ghosts are having some kind of ritual in the cemetery, and you aren’t worried.”

“Not really, no.”

“I hate it here,” said McGee.

“Do you, though?” asked Collins, sounding genuinely interested in the answer.

McGee opened his mouth to snap back that, yes, he did. But…

Hm. Huh.

Collins patted him on the back.

[inkdemonapologist]

[BatIM Call of Cthulhu Masterpost]

WE STARTED.... A NEW SCENARIO..... as you may have read in Boo’s summary post, for some unknown reason aLL MUSICAL AND PERFORMANCE ABILITY SEEMS TO BE??? GONE??? Sammy woke up, realised he couldn’t hold even the simplest tune in his head, and immediately lost THIRTY-ONE SANITY in one hit

..... YOU KNOW THAT MAKES SENSE HONESTLY

 anyway i have a some out-of-context quotes from the game for u all under the readmore if ur into that kinda thing!!!

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[GM] It's a tough voice to do, so you can't be as choosy, and your resident Bendy cannot act to save his life, so that's no good-- [Joey] Uh-oh. [Jack] Sorry, Lurks. [Joey] I'm just so worried he's going to have to act now... [Jack] Clearly, he should've used the time between scenarios to train that! [GM] Yeah, that's just what everybody wants I'm sure, is the Lurker training in LYING. That sounds like a great idea!

[GM] *asking for dice rolls to see how well our actual jobs are going* We can do a little bit of mundanity to, to treasure, and keep you warm later!

[Henry] Should I spend Luck points on this? No, I'm not spending Luck on work. [Sammy] That's a good general life policy

[Jack] Does Jack have any contacts? [Joey] No, he has glasses! :D [Jack] noooo that's my job! It's my job to make Jack's puns! ....Contacts probably didn't exist in the 1930s, that's okay. [Sammy] No, don't say that! Boo's going to have to look it up now!

[GM] What spell is Joey working on? [Jack] (Spell of Make Investor Like You)

[Joey] I think he probably has filing cabinets specifically to put occult stuff in and lock. And then the rest of his office is just piles and tables of animation stuff that you're like "...shouldn't this??? be??? in the filing cabinet???"

[GM] Allison remarks, "The companions of our childhood always possess a certain power of our minds, which hardly any later friend can obtain." [Sammy] Y'know, normal, just nORMAL CASUAL CHATTER, [GM] Tom, working on the pipe, just kinda mutters, "I enjoy friends, dear not only by habit and association, but from their own merits." And she gives him a look! [Jack] ...love at first whATEVER THIS IS,

[Sammy] ...Sammy's not amused. [GM] The band's amused! [Jack] Jack is probably amused.

[GM] So far things are going very well, but y'know, [Jack] Only so long until we crit fail something! [Sammy] NEVER TOO LATE TO MESS IT UP!

[GM] Allison's vibe is like, I Didn't Study This Exactly, But I Was Hoping It Could Just Work Out! [Jack] ...She has a lot of practice at just... making things work out, huh.... 

[GM] Is there anything else Joey would try to show off? [Joey] Tries to think... what else is at the Studio... [Jack] "Do you wanna talk to our janitor? He's really cool!"

[Joey] I roll to see if Joey can put two brain cells together,

[Jack] I have to appreciate that Bendy said he didn’t have the keys today. He’s been stealing them before, but THIS TIME isn’t his doing!

[Sammy] If there’s anything he needs to do himself, then he’ll come in early, but I don’t know what state we’re in -- [Joey] Uh, New York. [Sammy] ...what? [Joey] You didn’t know what state we’re in. :) [Sammy] [Sammy] thanks

[Joey] Oh Joey’s absolutely coming in early. Joey woke up, and felt great, so he’s going to menace every other department today, because he has the energy to get his fingers into everything! [Sammy] *distressed sounds in the background*

[Sammy] Hey how come when we did a Halloween cartoon, we all went to Haiti, but we’re doing a cartoon about a fair and we’re not going to a fair? [Jack] [Jack] I think we all know why.

*trying to decide who goes to Joey’s fancy dinner with an investor* [Sammy] I don’t know if Sammy will help you... [Sammy] Unless you bring Sammy and put him on a piano, like a small child that needs to be immediately handed crayons.

[Joey] Joey will say that they’re essentially the second hands in each of the departments-- [Jack] Yeah, Abby, the second hand… entire Art Department director, [GM] Uh-huh. [Joey] She… she knows,, [GM] Joey, [Joey] She knows that Joey… is … Big Gay for Henry,,, [GM] This is true, but I think she likes nominal acknowledgement that she holds a position, [Jack] He can just say that they’re high-ranking, and not-- [Joey] No I rolled badly, Joey’s going to say that Sammy and Henry are busy, so he brought his second-best! :) [GM] Abby is massaging her temples. [Joey] Sorry, Abby. He is,, an idiot,,, [GM] I think she’d be a lot more bothered if she couldn’t go and commiserate with Henry about it. Like, “why can’t he keep it straight?” [GM] ……………….well. She knows why he can’t keep it straight.

[GM] It’s about midnight, and something... strange.... happens. The trumpet player, who is leading the band -- [Joey] -- has a trumpet for a head! [GM] what no

*Joey succeeds a sanity check, Jack fails it* [GM] Joey, roll 1d10! [Joey] Uh, 3? [GM] Okay, you’re only down three sanity, that’s not so bad! [GM] Jack, roll 6d10! [Jack] what? [Joey] Six??? SIX d10s????? [GM] Yeah! [Joey] nICE KNOWING YOU, JACK!!! It’s time for Sillytime Jack.

[Jack] Smash cut to Henry, curled up in bed, nice and cozy,

[GM] I will also note, you cannot seem to Fast Talk. [Joey] ...what else can I do? [GM] Just normal talk. Like a normal person.

[Jack] I feel like Jack probably has a hunch that it’s weird nightmarish horror nonsense, on account of he just lost nineteen sanity,

[GM] Abby’s gonna try to take him to the hospital. [Jack] Jack’s just going to let that happen, because he’s shaken enough that he doesn’t have any significantly better ideas! Other than AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,

[Sammy] *rolling sanity damage* 9… 9, stop that…. 4, [Jack] You’ve already lost more than Jack! [Sammy] 2, ...6, and 1! [Joey] That’s 31. [GM] Okay, Sammy has six sanity! [Sammy] eXCUSE ME?????

[Joey] Joey does want to head home… what day is it? [GM] Friday, the 13th! [Jack] HM, [Sammy] I GUESS IT IS, ISN’T IT… I wasn’t keeping track, but I guess it sure is! [GM] A delightful treat for myself, when I was looking up days in July, in 1934, [Sammy] WAIT, NO, ITS ACTUALLY A COINCIDENCE? Oh my gosh, [Jack] Because Friday the 13th wouldn’t even be a spooky day at this point in time! [GM] It is now! [Jack] It’s spooky, but just for us!

[Sammy] Sammy would try to call Jack, he’d try to call Joey, he’d try to call Henry -- probably several times, [Henry] sammy gets jack’s cat [Henry] phone is answered with meows [Jack] That does seem fitting for a really bad luck roll; the phone gets answered, and Sammy’s really relieved -- and it’s just the cat. [Sammy] Sammy, at 6 sanity: “jack’s tuRNED INTO A CAT,”

[Joey] The phone kept on ringing, so the cat just batted it off the cradle, [Jack] I feel like Jack probably doesn’t usually get a significant number of calls, so like, this many calls in a row is just obnoxious! [Jack] Cat’s having none of it. [Jack] Phone ring isn’t breakfast! [Jack] Where is the soft provider of food.

[GM] Oh no, you know what’s going to happen? Henry’s gonna get through to Jack, and then when Sammy calls it’s busy! [Sammy] cALLS JACK IT’S BUSY, CALLS HENRY IT’S BUSY, [Jack] I was gonna say maybe Henry would call Sammy first, because Sammy was one of the original three. [Jack] …Henry calls Sammy, Sammy is busy because SAMMY is trying to call someone, and then Henry calls Jack, and Sammy tries to call Jack again-- [Sammy] *laughing* THE HORROR, The deep, bone-chilling horror of A TIME BEFORE CALL-WAITING!!

[Henry] Is Joey there? [Jack] Yeah. [Henry] Are you guys alright? [Jack] ……………….hm,

[Jack] Cat is just sat on Joey, purring. Something is wrong with the human. Purr to fix the human.

[Henry] I called Sammy to make sure he’s okay, but-- [Abby] Was he? [Henry] No.

[Joey] Joey is going to be… obstinate feels like the wrong word? [Joey] He’s being the cat where you put the leash on, and the cat just sits down. [Joey] That is the Joseph mood right now.

[Sammy] *muttering* First one boyfriend turns into a cat, now the other boyfriend’s voice is wrong, today is terrible,

[Joey] This is Joey’s everything. [Sammy] That’s Joey’s contribution to the party! That’s like, your bard can no longer play music. [Sammy] ……….which is also true, but Sammy contributes other things. [Jack] Like Intimidate! [Sammy] Right now he contributes paranoia!

[nectarous]

— ᴘʟᴜɢɢᴇᴅ ɪɴ.｜ᴏᴊɪʀᴏ ᴀʀᴀɴ x ᴄᴀᴍɢɪʀʟ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ꜰᴇᴀᴛ. ᴍɪʏᴀ ᴀᴛꜱᴜᴍᴜ

WARNINGS: sex work, camming, use of anal plug, solo male mastrubation, bicurious atsumu.

W/C: 1.2K.

SUMMARY: atsumu might’ve just found his new favorite camming couple.

⇦ RETURN TO ARAN WEEK MASTERLIST.

you were worried, introducing your boyfriend to your job. not that aran would judge you if were in sex work, but the reactions of the audience that took you months to acquire mattered a whole lot in an industry as brutal as camming; introducing a new person to that persona it’s taken you so long to craft was pressurizing. people signed up for a one girl act, and that’s what you’ve delivered for so long, but it can get so dull sometimes. sitting in your camroom alone talking to a glaring screen until 4am.

but, like always when it comes to aran, there was no reason to worry. welcomed with open wallets and positively perverted comments. it’s easy to tell how handsome he is just from his voice and those lame puns he opens up with caught the hearts of your loyal viewers each night. the flecks of his kansai accent and, of course, his body meant that he quickly became a regular on your streaming nights. it seemed like all he had to do was sit there and he was fawned over.

from an outsider’s perspective, how could they not take pleasure in your dynamic? you’re both comfortable in your skin, him with a body chiselled from years of dedicated volleyball, you and your soft curves and dips, good humored and substantial, and even after being on live for hours on end he can yank orgasms out of you until you can barely keep your glassy eyes open.

the two of you weren’t the most popular by any means, staying anonymous and not showing your faces being one of the biggest reasons for that, but the dedication you put in your job shows. clear camera work and immodest colorful sets and a decorated space for the long nights with fairy lights and naked posters, sets you apart from the other girls on the site. 

atsumu logs into his favorite camming site with practiced ease. it’s a practiced habit at this point; come home from a gruelling msby practice, shower, choose from the meal prep osamu begrudgingly cooks for him every sunday, and settles in for a great night. it’s close to midnight, the moon winking teasingly from behind the curtains. 

browsing the couples tap while roughly drying his hair, he absentmindedly scrolls until he sees a cropped photo of a couple he’s not familiar with. the girl’s smiling, glossy lips quirked up and a cobalt lingerie set, while the man behind her holds a tit in each hand.

cute.

clicking on the video link , he leans back into the soft chair and waits to see who he’s working with tonight, pulling down the band of his gray sweats. 

all that’s visible, is a zoomed in frame of her folded up legs in a variation of a seated cowgirl, feet tucked underneath her ass. the sides of her tits are visible, nipples pressed into the man’s chest. the sight of big, rough hands spreading her ass so the twinkling pink butt plug flashes with every roll of your hips has him humming in satisfaction.  

wait. that’s aran. 

it’s easy to instantly identify even with all the blood rushing down, deep rumbles of his childhood friend egging some girl on, is that you, cooing at how good of a girl she is, you are.  atsumu could recognize that voice anywhere, he hasn’t gone a day without hearing it, and that hand painted polka dot mug he gifted aran when they were barely teens placed next to the bottle of lube on the desk.

he’s not familiar with that room, but he faintly theorizes it’s the one door that you keep locked. even the discovery of the room he’s been pestering you to let him peek in fades from the thought that some of his closest friends are so hypnotizingly, fucking hot. 

the few minutes of watching are one of the best things he’s ever seen— the shelves of whips and collars and pastel dildos framing the both of you, your glistening skin and aran’s solid thighs, has everything hardening up.

the loud  disgusting arrangement of slapping skin and duos groans echoes in the lone apartment. his hand absentmindedly traces down his rapidly rising torso until he can grip at his pulsing cock. thumb dragging over the slit, and biting at his flushed lips. he could only imagine how whorishly your faces look right now, how aran’s stone-sculpted face looks sweaty, and how you’d look heated and jumbled,

even though he feels slight awkwardness at gawking at one of his best friends fuck his girlfriend, he can’t look away. the few times his cock pops out of you, atsumu appreciates the pretty pink tip and the manscaped pubes and the muscles in aran’s thighs flexing. aran’s bigger than he expected, it looks like your cunt’s barely taking him in. and that little lingerie set you’re wearing, crotchless panties and lace and thigh highs has him imagining what it would feel like grabbing at the fat in your thighs and tasting all of you.

 there’s no harm in watching, is there? 

how would it feel to be on top of you, underneath him, shoved between you two with one of those toys on the plexiglass shelves. to feel your nails rake against his tense muscles and aran’s hands squeezing at his waist, and all the gooey electrifying energy you two excude.

your little pants and that fucking plug, that keeps catching his attention, and he wishes he was earlier to see how aran shoved it in you, how much your spread around the silicone. the way aran spouts filthy, dirty praises has atsumu’s thighs twitching and a faint red hue dusting at his face.

any embarrassment atsumu might’ve felt fleets away when he watches the way you cream around arans cock, and how that light layer of cream forms on the base, and those squeaky, steamy keens forced out of your throat every time he bottoms out. 

he silently curses at the camera cuts off at your necks; it doesn't catch that expression on your face or the way aran’s lips tug up at your eyes rolling back. 

aran’s harsh hisses boom through the speakers, that he’s so lucky only he gets to see the mess he makes of your face; tinged voice demanding that you to stare into those intense eye, hissing how he’s going to pump a baby in you, and how he’s going to let hundreds of viewers watch it happen. the way he slams into you, he’s going faster, somehow harder, feet planted on the ground and nimble hips meeting yours with a thundered precision.

what isn’t aran good at?

aran comes inside you with a groan, and atsumu tumbles down after him; furiously yanks at his cock, matching to the bouncing pace aran yanks your hips with. fuck, it might’ve been one of his most intense sessions in a while, coating his bare chest in limpid strings of white, a few drops on his chin squirting on his chin. 

it feels like his heart is going to burst out his chest with how fast it’s pounding, and his hands are still shaking just a bit, and he stares up at the ceiling comically wide with the realization that he just jacked off to his best friend of a decade absolutely obliterate. you.

he sends in a couple thousand tokens, that’s his splurge of the week it seems, with a private message attached. 

from blondeballs85: nice work, aran-kun ;)

[exauhstedsunflower]

Ok so, I saw six on Broadway

First three thoughts in order, and I will never forget this:

“They’re taller than I thought they’d be”

“Holy shit those costumes are shiny”

“THEY SOUND EVEN BETTER IN PERSON”

-

Now here is a word vomit in the form of a list!

• first of all we have Jane Seymour all wrong Bc abbey muellers version of Jane Seymour has keeping it all together by a thread and then twerks at the club vibes

Also I knew abbey mueller was attractive but I didn’t know that I was attracted to her until today and the gay panic that her squatting in get down caused will affect me for the rest of my life

I started crying immediately when the show began

Ex wives is so good and the HARMONIES (they’re amazing all the way though but the build up and life altering feeling of LLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE almost killed me on the spot

It’s no secret that Aragon and parr are my favs but you know that part where Aragon is like “I hit that high c so donde esta my crown por favor” ??? She’s right she should win specifically Bc of that fucking note oh my god oh my god oh my god

Adrianna Hicks kept looking at me and laughing Bc I really was just acting like my soul was being extracted from my body the whole time and you know what it was a very religious feeling my religion is Adrianna hicks’ voice thank you

Maria on the drums is fantastic and that drum solo needs more hype petition to make that longer

I’ve made a post about Adrianna hicks having great characterization and her facial expressions and mannerisms comedic timing being fantastic and I stand by it even more now that woman is so talented and she does a great job. Aragon has such a personality with her I love it

She also sounds even better in person and has great control of her voice

She makes Aragon so DRAMATIC like she’s already dramatic but like she’s VERY dramatic to the point that the other queens are like 🙄 here we go

Andrea’s Boleyn is so good her voice is so good and her delivery is so good she is so good

I like the way she delivers literally everything she says it’s perfect 10000000000/10

“IM NOT SORRY” “just saying hi 😊😉” “oH mY GoD ThReE MIstReSsEs. g e t o v e r i t .” “JANE CHILL OUT! It’s not her fault that no one remembers her Bland and Uneventful Life…” “yea there WAS that one time where I had a daughter and then he cut my head off…” “HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA………. what?”

Ok back to Abbey for a sec y’all Bc if we’re talking line delivery, “it’s funny because when I wanted to hold mY NEW BORN SON,,, I!!! DIED!!!!!” AND THEN SHE PHYSICALLY CALMS HERSELF DOWN, LOOKS AT THE CROWD AND GOES “sorry about that😊✨”

Adrianna’s FACE AFTER THAT SHES LIKE WOAH WOAH OK SORRY PLEASE WHAT THE FUCK CLEARLY I STRUCK A NERVE

“EVERYONE NOTICES JANE CANT DANCE!1!2!1!!!” *extremely offended* “UUUUUUUHHHHHMMMMM????”

Anne and Aragon calling each other babes ✨💕

Haus of Holbein is so good it’s a masterpiece

So funny

Jane Seymour IS the pun queen and like I found it funny and the queens were consistently like telling the audience not to laugh they were like this is not funny n o .

But then she was like hahahaha and then she would turn around and see the others are not laughing and be like oh, ok. :( Well I thought it was funny anyway. :)

Abbey mueller is the kind of person to squat Bc it feels nice and I will be extending that trait to my headcanons for Jane.

Anna!!!!!!!!! Brittany Mack !!!!!!! Amazing

She’s so funny!!

“It was just 😭😭😭…….. tragic 😉”

Opera voice made my soul ascend for a sec

The way that she interacts with the crowd is so good and makes me so genuinely excited

I FORGOT IN NO WAY WHEN THEY SING LIKE A CHIOR BITCH I AM DECEASED THATS ONE OF THE TIMES A CAST MEMBER LOOKED AT ME AND LAUGHed

Brit was having so much fun and the band was also having so much fun and the audience was having so much fun that shit was such a party

“Henry?” “Nope haha” “Nuh uh” “you can’t. Stop. Me! because I’m the queen of the castle GET DOWN YOU DIRTY RASCAL get down!!!!” THE DELIVERY! The comedy!!! She’s beautiful!!!! I’m dying her voice is so strong and amazing. And everyone was partying and I was vibing so hard

Again I will mention abbey mueller squatting during get down Bc it’s important the the plot

Also??? Can’t believe I didn’t mention this but abbey mueller shakes her ASS in get down Jane Seymour more like Jane see my ass wowoeoeoeowowoiwisiwi

I’m the gayest person alive I apologize

Ok but like that aside everyone always talks about the choreo in no way and they’re right but the choreo in get down had me shook asf and deserves more from us

The tinder scene had me ROLLING those accents are so good so funny I’ll die rn

The part in get down where the music stops for a beat is actually a comedic thing which I did not know. The music stops and everyone stops like ahh 😯 and they look like momentarily embarrassed and confused before the music starts again and they’re like YES and continue to kill it

Brit is lovely and picks the people in the front row very carefully and like pokes fun gently if they don’t seem happy about it

SAM is amazing

Her portrayal leaves me absolutely speechless every time

The last verse especially is just heartbreaking and she’s like crying and I’m crying and the theater is silent

“I wanna thank all the powerful men who got me where I am today!” Is such a dark joke Bc powerful men literally got her dead and being reanimated in a musical talking about how horrible her life was,

K Howard roast was even fucking funnier in person

She’s very good at like picking up awkward silences when a joke falls a little flat and making people laugh which didn’t happen often but she was so adept at it I’m so impressed

“Are you sure you don’t wanna just stick to backing vocals where you belong?” Is now “we won’t mind if you want to sit this one out. You must be so tired from all those backing vocals😉”

Cathy parr then proceeds to kill it and hold a long ass riff while making eye contact with k Howard

It was very funny and also very pretty

Also Anna Uzele is so cute as Cathy parr and I love her

Her comedy is literally so physical like when she pops back onto the stage toward the end when Anne is like “this is our show and we can have whatever ending we want :)” she holds the funniest pose until the last second and it’s so cute and hilarious

Her little smile aw

During the argument scene she’s trying to stop them from fighting and she just like please don’t I get that you’re upset but o h m y g o d please.

The whole show they’re all being assholes to each other and she’s in the back like Jesus Christ will y’all just s t o p

“MISCARRIAGES!!!!!” Cathy: “. 😳Woah hold on a sec that’s a lil far”

Her facial expressions kill me

“I said, WE HAVE A VOIOIOIOIOIIIIICEE!” STOP IT ILL DROP DEAD TO HEAR THAT AGAIN OH MY GOD

So Anne goes “MY SIXTH FINGER!” And Aragon is like “put it away babes” but what was hilarious is that Andrea was like offended asf she was like “woooow” like how dare she believe I have a sixth finger I do not ACTUALLY have a sixth finger it was a JOKE

Seriously I could not stop laughing the whole show

Six is so good and the super high harmony was so loud it filled the theater and i was freaking out in my seat I can’t believe real people make these noises like they actually sound like angels and they’re human people holy shit they don’t seem real

But they ARE REAL AND ITS INSANE

They’re all beautiful

The audience participation in six was so good and so fun and made me happy

The band were having a blast and killing it!!!!!

During the mega six they took a selfie!!!!

Everyone was jumping and clapping and dancing during the mega six

I was so excited about the mega six I dropped everything I owned and danced like I was at a party

I felt like I was at a party like this was one hell of a concert my dude

I got three pieces of confetti

Adrianna interacted with the audience a LOT but especially with the top rows and especially during the mega six

Actually speaking of, during dlyh she keeps looking at the audience and being like “do you see the shit I’m dealing with here??? God I hate her” and she tells the people in the front row “she’s crazy” when Andrea puts an arm around her

The part where she starts saying “don’t be bitter cause I’m fitter” Aragon goes to keep singing the “oohhooo” but stops when Anne starts talking to her and her face is very “oh. We’re doing this now. Alright.” And then she stands there with a forced smile and let’s Anne talk shit because it’s Anne’s turn and she’s not going to interrupt and I love that. It’s such a good way to act in that moment Adrianna is an amazing actress.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Don’t mind me I’m just so happy I got to see six

I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and I could not stop smiling

They couldn’t stage door Bc of Covid but people did wait to see them walk out and like everyone cheered every time the door opened

Andrea definitely interacted with the fans more than she was supposed to when she came out and she’s so TINY and she was wearing a cute yellow beanie and I love her

They payed the organ version of Havana several times before the show started

The theater was beautiful!! It was the perfect place for it

The LIGHTING OH MY GID THE LIGHTS IT WAS MAGICAL AND THE FUCKING LIGHTS WENT WITH THE COSTUMES SO WELL BC THE SEQUINS MADE IT SO SHINY AND FLASHY AND BEAUTIFUL AND EVERYTHING ABOUT THE DESIGN WAS INCREDIBLE BUT THE LIGHTING OH MY GOD

The playbills were funny but I think I’m gonna make a separate post for that Bc I have thoughts

[justice4canyonmoon]

i have a little request for a small little fluff piece of y/n taking care of harry on the tour bus when he’s really sick ( stomachache nausea headache etc)

Hi! I loved writing this one; it was nice to get a fluff request amongst all of the smut lol. It's a little bit on the short side, but I hope you like it!!!!

Warnings: illness, other than that just a lot of fluff :)

WC: 987

Harry was lucky there wasn’t a show tonight. He felt like he had gotten hit by a bus. As soon as he woke up, he noticed a dull throbbing in his skull, and not long after, he felt sick to his stomach. As the morning progressed, so did his headache, and by lunchtime, it hurt so badly that he crawled back into bed. The only saving grace was that despite the ache in his stomach, he hadn’t thrown up. He didn’t really know what brought these feelings on; he was feeling perfectly fine yesterday, and he didn’t do anything that he thought would bring on a headache or stomachache this awful. But he didn’t feel like he could eat and definitely couldn’t move, so he lied down on one of the tour bus bunks and covered his head with a blanket, wrapping himself in a cocoon of his agony.

It wasn’t too long, though, before his cocoon was broken. He looked up and saw the concerned face of his girlfriend looking down at him. She had noticed that he was feeling off, how quiet he had been in the beginning part of the day as the band was exploring Mantua. Usually, he was googling little fun facts about the cities they were in or making terrible puns about the surrounding area. But today, he barely spoke at all, just holding tight to her hand and following along as they wandered around with their friends. She wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong at first, until she saw one of his hands travel upwards to run at his temples. She especially knew when they returned to the tour bus and he went back to the bunks, skipping out on lunch. Harry never actually told anyone when he was feeling well, not wanting to worry anyone, and not wanting to slow anyone down. But she also knew that if he didn’t take care of himself, he’d be miserable when it came time for the show tomorrow. So, here she was, hovering over his bed.

“You okay, baby?” Y/n asked softly, even though she knew the answer.

“‘M fine,” he rasped, nodding his head slightly.

Even while going through that motion, the pain in his head increased, and he winced.

She looked at him, growing increasingly concerned, “Harry, you know if you’re not feeling well, you can say so. I don’t mind taking care of you. I am your girlfriend, after all.”

“Don’ want y’ t’ have to worry abou’ me,” he murmured, rubbing his temples again.

She smiled softly at him, “It’s my job to worry about you, baby. You take of me all of the time when my period makes me feel like absolute garbage. Let me take care of you now.”

“Okay,” he croaked, a gentle smile now on his face as well, “‘M sorry ‘m so stubborn.”

She laughed quietly, “No, you’re not. But that’s okay, I’ll baby you either way. Do you feel like you can eat anything, bub? You should have something in your stomach before I have you take some medicine.”

“Maybe somethin’ small, but m’ stomach don’ feel t’ great” he replied.

“Okay. If you think you might be able to eat something small, you should. I’ll be right back, hon,” she told him, pressing a sweet kiss to his forehead. She disappeared and gathered a few materials. When she was sick, all she ate was toast and applesauce. Both were easy on the stomach, so she popped some bread in the toaster and grabbed an applesauce cup and spoon. She wasn’t sure if he would eat both now, so she figured she’d save one for later if need be. She also put some peppermint tea on the kettle; their tour bus was surprisingly large, meaning that there was enough room for a kitchen, albeit a small one. Her mom would always drink it if she had migraines, and she filled up a waterbottle for him as well. Hydration is key to recovery, after all, and the tea wouldn’t be ready for a few minutes. Y/n dug through some drawers until she found some painkillers, then plated the newly cooked toast and returned to Harry’s bedside.

“Eat some of this. If you don’t finish it, that’s okay, but you need to eat at least a little bit so you can take some painkillers. I brought you some water and I’m making you peppermint tea to try and help with the pain,” she explained quietly, handing him the food and placing the other materials by his side.

He smiled at her, “You’re jus’ the best, m’ love. How did I get s’ lucky?”

She giggled softly, “You’re too sweet, Harry.”

He reached out for her, “Cuddle?”

“I have to get the tea soon, Har. Promise I’ll cuddle you after that,” Y/n replied, running her fingers through his unruly curls.

He pouted, “But I wan’ snuggles.” She couldn’t help but giggle again. He was just too cute when he was sick.

“Baby, I’ll cuddle you once you’ve drank some tea and you’ve taken your medicine, okay?” she promised.

He relented, “Okay,” and she disappeared to retrieve the tea.

She came back shortly after, tea in hand. He had eaten one of the pieces of toast and was reaching for the medication. She handed him the waterbottle and he took the pills, reaching for his girlfriend immediately after. She cautiously set the tea and applesauce down in a place where neither of them could spill it in their sleep. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly to her chest. He smiled sleepily as she ran her fingers through his hair again; it was one of his favorite feelings.

“Thank y’ f’ takin’ care of me,” he mumbled, before immediately falling asleep.

“I’ll always take care of you, Harry,” Y/n whispered into his hair before allowing herself to do the same.

[lovebirdgames]

Time to put our foot down!

It’s National Shoe the World Day and today I want to shoe you the shoes of Band Camp Boyfriend. I was going to make up something about Shoe Appreciation Day, but I should have known something like it already existed.

Anyways, it’s a well known fact in dating sims we don’t always get to see full body sprites of the characters unless we visit a wiki, which can leave you very confused and wondering why someone supposedly sane would wear that many belts. So today I want everyone to appreciate what a great job Flora did on the full body sprites, including those fancy shoes! Seriously, where can I buy some of these?!

If the shoe fits, try taking a guess at which shoe belongs to who!

I’m shoeting myself in the foot with all these puns so I’ll just walk myself out.

[innytoes]

21 + 46 and Reggie/Alex/Willie?

Dystopian AU + Blind Date

Anon I am so sorry but I cannot not make this pun. This is a Day of the Triffids AU. Basically, everyone who saw a mysterious asteroid shower woke up blind the next day (which is a huge portion of the population since everyone was really hyped about it). Also there's walking plants who will murder you with their tongues and then feast on your corpse.

Considering the chaotic mess the world was, they'd done alright for themselves, really. It probably helped that the band had been super tight beforehand, and that Carlos and Reggie had been super into zombie apocalypse movies. It was really not that big of a stretch to turn a zombie apocalypse plan into a 'my entire family and the whole world is blinded' plan.

In the beginning, Reggie had been the only one in their group who could see, and that was pure dumb luck. He'd forgotten what day it was, worked a full shift at the coffee shop, worked on the song he'd wanted to show Luke later, and then crashed like thirty minutes before the meteor shower was supposed to start, sleeping through all of it.

So yeah, in the beginning, it had been rough. Terrifying. Getting around as a sighted person had its own perils. Plenty of people were willing to get really violent for their chance at a sighted person to lead them around. They'd quickly worked out a system: Luke up front, Reggie subtly steering his shoulders through squeezes. That way, they moved like the others, didn't attract unwanted attention.

It was better when they'd linked up with Flynn's family. Flynn's mom was blind, had been most of her life. She'd helped the others, taught them how to get around. She's started teaching them braille. Alex' little sister, Stevie, and Carlos were picking it up quick as anything. She also loved to garden, so over the summer they'd turned a lot of the available front yard space into edible plants. Reggie's job was to do the morning patrols, finding and burning any triffid podlings that had taken root before they could become dangerous.

That's how he'd found Willie, who had been crouched in front of one of the tomato plants, shoving them in his mouth. He'd spoken before he could think about it, scolding him about not waiting until they were ripe, and Willie had shrugged and said 'they're red aren't they'. Both had realised their mistake almost immediately, but before Willie could run - or skate - away, Reggie had offered him a place to stay.

Willie fit in with their little group perfectly. He was friendly, funny, and just the right amount of chaotic. He was also beautiful, and kind, and great with kids. His laugh was the prettiest sound in the world and he knew how to get pretty much anyone out of a funk. So yeah, Reggie was smitten.

But when he’d seen Alex and Willie grow closer, of course Reggie had taken a step back. Alex deserved the world. Besides, Reggie had other responsibilities, he shouldn’t waste time mooning over some boy. He’d done it before, pushed down his crush on Alex even before the whole world fell apart, and now that was just a dull ache. In time, the same would happen with Willie, and he could move on and be happy for them.

It would be easy to hide his feelings, he figured, since only one person was around to see him. But one day Julie had followed him out during his morning patrol and confronted him about it in the most gentle way she could, and he’d spent an hour just crying in her arms. She’d urged him to talk to Willie and Alex, hinting that there might be feelings there as well, but he’d blown her off, taking her hand and describing the gardens to her while he weeded out any problems. They’d only gone back when Julie had promised his voice didn’t sound all wobbly and hoarse.

He’d forgotten to check if his eyes were still red and puffy. Because of course he had. He hadn’t had to worry about what he looked like in literal years. Which Willie of course noticed. Which had lead to the whole thing coming out anyway, Julie dragging Luke out of the studio by his ear so they could have some privacy.

They’d been dating ever since. And it was perfect. Except dates in the post apocalypse were really more ‘having dinner in the garage alone’ or ‘going to pick the tomatoes together’. It was dangerous to go outside of their little fenced off corner of the neighbourhood. It was hard for Alex to get around in the empty houses on the street, because he hadn’t memorised where everything was.

Still, on the nights the spent together on the pull-out sofa in the garage, the privacy was heaven. Curling up against Alex, playing with Willie’s hair, kissing them both without fear of being interrupted by his little brother or Luke who had an amazing song idea, it was bliss. Tonight, they were discussing things they missed from before the apocalypse. Willie missed skating competitions, and the internet. Reggie was sad they’d never make the next season of his favourite show. Alex sighed, and said he missed the beach.

Which was totally a fixable thing. It had taken them a few weeks, talking to the others behind Alex’ back, making sure everyone was okay with their day trip, preparing the safest route. Willie was the one who usually went outside their neighbourhood, scavenging and skating around. He’d mapped the safest route to the safest beach, getting rid of as many triffids as he could along the way.

But then the day had come. Ray had waited for them at the door, giving him a hug. Reggie had clung to him, nervous. He didn’t want to leave them alone. He’d been responsible for their safety for so long, it felt wrong to leave. Which was exactly why he should, Flynn’s mother had told him firmly, the week before. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” Ray said. “You boys deserve this. Go have fun. And Reggie...” He paused, and Reggie tensed. “Remember to wear sunscreen.” Ray winked at him, squeezing his arms before ushering him out of the door. 

The walk to the beach was long, and slightly tense. Willie had a make-shift molotov cocktail in one hand, and Alex’ hand in the other. Reggie was on Alex’ other side, quietly leading them around debris and muttering a running commentary of what he saw around them.

They set off at first light, so they didn’t really run into many people, and they were mostly able to avoid the ones who were out, only stopping to make polite conversation with a group of women lead by an old lady with a guide dog. They told them that the beach seemed to be clear today, as Rover hadn’t alerted once while they heard the waves. They even let Reggie give Rover a quick pet, and Alex joked that whatever happened, Reggie’s day was already made.

When they could hear the waves, Willie climbed one of the palm trees to scout the area, declaring Rover was right and it seemed to be all clear. As soon as they hit the sand, Alex laughed, stopping. He yanked his shoes off, and Reggie smiled, shoving them in his backpack while Willie pulled Alex towards the waves.

They played in the sand and the water for hours, taking turns floating on their backs, splashing at each other, just sitting in the surf and letting the waves crash over them. Kissing each other with salty lips. Eating the lunch that Flynn’s mom had packed them. Laying on their backs and soaking up the sun. Maybe even spreading out the big towel they’d packed and... taking advantage of the privacy they had (after they checked and reassured Alex there was nobody around, of course).

And when they got home, salty and sated and happy, they were welcomed with open arms, a home cooked meal, and a good bit of healthy teasing when the first thing Reggie said when asked how it had been was: “I pet a dog!”