#i appreciate that they take inspiration from heavier music

[worm-priest]

Growing pain by txt is so weird. It’s basically a melodic metalcore song without unclean vocals and with light guitar

[melobin]

behind the mask ✧ anton lee

cw. mask kink, dom!anton x sub reader. no pronouns used but reader is female bodied, rough sex, hair pulling, recording, strength kink, manhandling, porn without plot. minors dni

wc. 2.5k

summary. in which the ghostface mask your boyfriend brought for an easy halloween costume becomes an accessory he wears to bed because he just feels so different in it.

an. thank you so much for 500 followers, i appreciate you all and i’m so glad you like my work🫶🏻

inspired by this tiktok

anton was shy, so sweet and so doting on you, always making sure you were okay and you had everything you needed for your day, but he was shy. no matter the situation he was in, he always found himself having the quietest voice in the room, always felt as if other people had more control over him because of how quiet and relaxed nature. whilst that may have not been the case for everyone, it was for you. you were the only person anton enjoyed giving that control to. he trusted you, enjoyed when you took care of him, in every sense. truthfully, he hadn’t had much experience taking control of you in a sexual manor, he tried but dominance didn’t seem to run in his veins. or so he thought.

with the situation anton found himself in, he was sure he had some form of imposter syndrome. had he really convinced himself that he couldn’t dominate you because he lacked experience with it? was he really doing it just because he was hiding behind a mask? well, it’s not as if you didn’t know it was him; in fact, you had encouraged the boy to wear the mask. so why did he feel so different? anton reminisced on the events of the night in hand as he looked down at your trembling body, he could get used to the sight of you laying on your stomach, hair a mess with his cum dripping out of you. yet, he wondered what flipped in him that caused him to treat you the way he did.

“anton?” you called out from your bedroom after hearing your front door, you knew it was him who had entered. he hummed as he walked into your room, a white plastic bag swayed in his hand. “did you have fun?” he nodded and sat on the edge of your bed, removing the jacket he had on. you shifted to kneel behind him, arms wrapping around him as your head rested on his shoulder.

“of course” he placed the bag down on the bed next to him and leaned back a little into your arms, fingers opening the bag and removing the contents. a mask? more specifically, a ghostface mask.

“what kind of cliche are you planning on dressing up as for halloween?” he laughed at your comment, releasing the mask from his hand once you reached down to take it.

“it was the best i could given the places we had go to, i’d take dressing up as a serial killer over some smurf costume that sohee hyung found” dispute his subtle diss toward his friend, his voice was still as sweet as ever. it had always been music to your ears, never once had you wished for him to change it.

“hmmm i don’t know, i think you’d fit right into the village as papa smurf” he rolled his eyes and smiled, fingers moving to trace patterns over the skin of your arm. “i think it’s hot though” his eyebrow perked up at your words.

“hot?”

“mhm, always see those girls on tiktok fawning over the idea of their boyfriends fucking them whilst wearing the ghostface mask” he gulped at your words, noticing the way your fingers curled a little over the mask.

“do you think about that?”

“i mean, i didn’t until you came home with one in your bag” anton paused momentarily, unsure of how to go about the thoughts that were brewing in his head.

“want to try?” the boy himself didn’t know what confidence had come over him, he had never gone into an intimate moment with you were he had planned to take control before hand. he heard your breathing grow a little heavier at his question, he turned his head to look at you, your eyes glazed over as you looked at him.

“do you?” he gulped, unable to stop his eyes from falling to your lips.

“i mean, im not opposed to trying everything once” you giggled at his response, free hand going to his hair to pull his head back a little before leaning down to kiss him. the kiss was messier than usual, your tongue entering his mouth immediately. it wasn’t something anton was used to going straight into, the tongues, the spit, the bitting on his lip. he could already feel how hard he was getting, but he knew he had to turn the situation around to favour him.

you moved around, climbing on to his lap so you could straddle him, mask in the hand that was hanging over his shoulder. the kiss didn’t break, not for at least another 30 seconds. the boy found himself easing more into it, fingers inching down and digging into the skin of your ass as the kiss deepened. he felt a hand sneak under his shirt, his following so he could rid himself of it. once the kiss broke, the two of you didn’t reconnect.

you looked at him, eyes wide, lips swollen. there was a glimmer of playfulness in your eyes, he could tell you were enjoying yourself with this.

“are you ready?” you giggled as you lifted the mask above his head, he couldn’t help but smile at you. it was cute, he hoped and prayed that he could fulfil the fantasy you were dreaming of.

“mhm” he hummed, still in a slight daze from the kiss you two had shared. you smiled slightly, bringing the mask down to pull it over his head. you moved to lay on the bed, anton stood up.

the sight in front of you left you weak as he stood tall, eyes travelling from the mask down to his toned body and then to the bulge in his jeans. your mouth watered, you could feel the slick dripping from your core as you eyed him. he was delicious.

anton could sense the change in your demeanour, the aura you were radiating changed into something weaker. you seemed quiet, withdrawn. submissive. it ignited something inside of him, an unfamiliar feeling. you just looked so sweet and helpless watching him, he felt powerful. he believed it was time to play into the character you wanted.

“you okay, love?” his soft voice sent shivers down your spine as he moved closer to you, fingers trailing over the bare skin of your legs, you thanked yourself for only being in his shirts and a pair of thin panties. “you seem a little frazzled” he sat on the edge of the bed and brought his hand higher, fingers resting on the skin of your thigh beneath your panties. you were frazzled, sure you’d seen the mask things before on twitter and such but having it in front of you, having your own boyfriend in front of you with one on made you dizzy.

his fingers skipped over your cunt, moving to push the skirt you were wearing up and removing it from your body. dropping it to the floor before standing back up to remove his jeans. he didn’t say much, his silence left you feeling nervous, no part of you could guess what was going on inside his pretty head at that moment.

the answer was nothing. nothing was going through his head, it was blank. he had nothing in his brain, you looked so pretty already braless and in just your panties for him. he took note of them, pretty, thin, red. his favourite colour on you, sure you had no idea he was going to come in with the mask and that you’d end up in this position but he couldn’t help but think you wanted him anyway tonight. it made his cock throb in the cool air of the room.

as he climbed between your legs, he sat back on his knees. his gaze focused on your panties and the way they seems to stick to your slick cunt. he brought two fingers forward and pressed against it, breathing hitching when he felt just how soaked you were through them. you were really into this, so aroused, so ready to take him. it inspired him more to play into what you wanted.

his hands grabbed at your lower legs, pulling you down the bed slightly before flipping you onto your stomach, you couldn’t stop the gasp that fell from you as his sudden action. you knew he had strength, you could visibly see it on him everytime he moved his arm in a certain way. it was something that always left you foaming at the mouth, only having dreamed of being on the receiving end of it before now. you felt as if you were gushing wetness at this point, that feeling was confirmed when you felt anton grab your hips to pull them up before hooking a finger over the band of your panties that covered your slit, pulling it out then letting it go so it hit you. you shivered.

he didn’t say much, in fact he didn’t say anything and that just built up your anticipation more. something about the silence aroused you, how he grabbed at your hips and pressed the front of your body against the mattress, all of it left your mind dizzy.

anton opted against removing your panties, thinking the red lace looked perfect against your ass. instead he slid them aside, bringing the fingers of his other hand up to run through your slit. soaked was an understatement. you were drenched, anton swore he had never felt you so wet before, never seen you so compliant to let him do whatever he wanted. he believed it was something he could get used to, he just had to find the confidence within himself to get into this position again.

you whimpered at his actions, “please, just need you” your words seemed slurred “need you to fuck me” never in his life had anton felt how he did in that moment, if it wasn’t for the hour long edging sessions you had put him through in the past he definitely would came, instantly. you sounded so broken without him even doing anything, so needy for his cock. if he wasn’t buried inside of you in the next 5 seconds he felt as if he would’ve gone insane.

so he done just that, wrapping his hand around his cock as his other hand still had your panties pushed aside. guiding himself into you felt like a treacherous act, the initial push of his tip inside of you had you gripping the bed sheets beneath you, eyes squeezing shut as his thick cock invaded your walls.

“anton..” your voice trailed off, it was all he took to push the rest of his cock inside of you. the stretch made you feel weak, legs already skating from the intensity of his thrust. he leaned forward and wrapped an arm around your waist, testing the waters by thrusting into you again, you whined at the feeling and it spurred him on to continue.

everything felt surreal to anton, from the way your panties dragged along his cock with each thrust, how you were squeezing his cock so tightly to the way you cried into the bedsheets when his cock hit a particular spot. neither of you had ever experienced something so intense together, sex had never seemed to feel this good before now. maybe this was how it was meant to be, you played face down ass up for your sweet, loving, strong boyfriend who fucked you from behind.

his cock reached depths you were sure he never had before, when he moved to kneel up he pressed his hand on your back, pressing down causing you to arch it a little more before he thrusted into you again. thrusts now harder that before. you couldn’t control yourself, you were a wreck. tears falling from your eyes, his name the only thing you could seem to remember. anton anton anton. it was your anton behind the mask who was fucking you into oblivion.

nothing could’ve made the intimacy hotter, nothing could’ve made the pit in your stomach grow more. or so you thought. that was until you felt his hand grab at your hair, he yanked you up, you gasped at the feeling, eyes going wide at the sudden light that appeared in front of you. he was recording you, the selfie camera showed the scene to your eyes, you almost broke down at the sight. you were a mess, eyes red, mascara under your eyes from the slight makeup you’d worn earlier in the day, anton on the other hand had you clenching around his cock. the mask moved a little either each thrust, his body damp from the sweat that was falling down him. everything about the sight of the two of you turned you on even more. you weren’t sure what to was about anton being mute through all of this, but it made it hotter.

he dropped his phone, still recording, once he felt your shaking more. he let go of your hair, your body falling into the mattress as his hand moved under your body to your clit. in the past you’d given him direct lessons to where the clit was and how to find it and it seemed they had paid one as his fingers attached themselves to it instantly and he began rubbing it in circles. you needed to cum. anton needed you to cum. there was no way he was going to do all of this only to cum before you, he wasn’t going to let that happen.

his attack on your clit done justice as you felt yourself begin to fall apart, you wanted to tell him you were cumming, wanted him to know that he had fucked you right into an orgasm but you physically couldn’t speak. everytime your mouth open a moan fell out, words getting caught in your throat, stuck there as he fucked you.

it hit you, hard. your legs shook under his grip, you bit down on the pillow under, your orgasm triggered his. he had been holding off for a while, the moment he felt you release after him he let it go. fucking you through it, long spurts of his cum shooting deep into you. any other day he would’ve panicked cumming inside of you but today he decided he wanted to, no, he needed to see his cum dripping out of you once he pulled out.

when he did pull his cock out he heard you whine, his eyes falling to where his cum began leaking down your leg. he almost grew hard again, but then he looked at you laying there, limp, eyes closed, hair a mess. he had to lay with you. h picked up his phone and stopped recording, throwing inside before laying with you, arms wrapping around you. your own hands lifted up to remove the mask from him. his face was flushed, eyes wide as he looked down at you, lips swollen and a little bloody, you realised he’d been biting them the whole time. not much was said, you placed your hand under his chin to beckon him down to kiss you and he did. it was soft, sweet, nothing like the boy who’d just fucked you. when the kiss brine you looked at him and laughed.

“we’re keeping the mask”

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

tag list. @starrypen @austirecs @antinitonny @wonbons @nctxtrash @iridescentboba @annton-s @moons4yu @kpoprhia

[cloveroctobers]

DECEMBER PROMPTS 🧊 — 4. NERON “CREEPER” VARGAS

A/N: idea inspired by a required outing for me and encouraged by @darqchilddaydreamz 🤭 this is so unserious but not at the same time? I also don’t like how I learned to appreciate creeper after the fact? This is my first time ever writing for the man with a heart of gold. Smh. Him and Coco deserved better and in AU…Creeper & Coco would be the true besties. This is also somewhat that. Enjoy!

Synopsis: As a pizza chef you’re bound to keep your house just as stocked as your restaurant. However with a ice storm heading your way in two days…you persuade your husband, Neron to take you to the store to grab just a few extra things but soon find yourself in a battle with another shopper, who doesn’t know the first thing about personal space.

ADDED PROMPTS FROM HERE + I’m using: 3.) Shopping + 6.) “You’re really making me wear matching pajamas with you?”

WARNINGS: language + “reader” is given a name but not physically described yet I always have a black or woc in mind. + a sexual/steamy moment towards the end ;)

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙

What was supposed to be more of a in and out kind of thing, turned into at least a thirty minute adventure. Sure Mariatu could blame it on the tasteful playlist the grocery store was playing—currently, “let it snow,” by Boyz II Men & Brian McPetty but she’d take the blame when she got back outside to her husband.

The original plan was to run in and get five items: a pack of mineral water full of electrolytes for Neron, a pack of cocoa powder, eggs, toilet paper rolls, and disinfectant wipes.

With the way prices are in this economy?

Mariatu knew it was probably best for Neron to run in grab everything but he suddenly got a call from Coco that had to do with business—which the founded brothers always stood on—so she did the honors of slipping out. She honestly didn’t mind, shopping was always thrilling to her because she knows regardless of what she picked up—whether she needed it or not—the items would always be put to good use. Mariatu was never one to let anything go to waste, it was something her parents always instilled.

Perhaps that’s why the carriage was getting heavier as she explored every other aisle, ending up in the international section, just for some lady to eye the contents of her carriage before settling her judgmental eyes on Mariatu. Their eyes connected but one was less friendly than the other, which was enough for Mariatu to pick up the speed. The previous aisle was more of a game of “chicken,” since one boulder of a man thought the aisle was a one way, the frozen section had one of its fridges leaking onto the floor and the constant call to, “clean up aisle 21,” seemed to go unheard, and just from entering the store a mother had to excuse herself and her screaming child who thought it would be best to start knocking over one of the displays.

Those should have been enough signs for Mariatu to do what she was supposed to do. Although the upbeat Christmas music was enough motivation to just make this a speed round, Mariatu couldn’t help that she spent longer than expected; even if she had a mental list of what they needed. Soon she found herself making a circle in the store towards the organic and produce section.

Eyeing the pomegranate seeds, Mariatu makes a bee-line for the fruit. Parking her carriage upwards from herself, she picks up the container eyeing the expiration date and then the quality of the red toned fruit. From her peripheral she sees someone leaning by the front of her carriage. She thinks not much of it figuring that they’re simply looking at a item that aligns with the end of her carriage. Silently debating over the snack for a moment longer, she opts for the larger pack instead before adding it to the carriage.

Seconds after, the handle of her carriage digs harshly into her stomach as the customer pushes their hip into the end of the carriage to reach for a bag of jumbo grapes. Mariatu blinks to herself in astonishment as the man holds the bag up to the light and moves his hips to do the same movement again!

This time Mariatu yanks on the carriage and goes around the man but not without muttering, “this is how you say excuse me,” on her way as she continues on up ahead. Eyeing the bag of baby spinach, she decides against it after grabbing a few green juices not long ago and just as she goes to push away from the section, she can hear the irritating sound of a broken carriage wheel pushing behind her.

Ever since Mariatu was a little girl she had great senses. Some may call it a gift while others maybe oblivious but she’s almost always right in judging distances and sensing presences that may or may not physically be there. In this present time as Mariatu is briefly glancing from the cart to make sure she’s not forgetting something and watching where she’s going, she can feel and hear the carriage behind her getting too close for her liking. Just as she’s reaching the corner, she peers over her shoulder to the pale as ice skinned man with a beanie that barely covers his thin salt colored hair and in that moment they come to some sort of understanding.

His shoulders relax, his lips pursed, grip still strong on the handle, he seems to slow down as his eyes connect with Mariatu’s. The side-eye game was always strong and she whips her head back, ringlets of curls bouncing with her underneath her beret as she does, a satisfying smile begins to grace her lipstick painted lips while she gets ready to turn the corner.

That’s short lived as a bump of the carriage from behind pressed into her backside first, thrashing her forward, followed by the knocking wheel which clips her ankle. A yelp escapes her lips, gaining the attention of a cashier who’s handling the handicap section and Mariatu has to exhale the steam that’s probably seeping from her eardrums.

Rubbing at the stinging skin above her ankle socks in her trainers, she glares at the older man who looks sheepish at the fact that his carriage actually interacted with his target.

“What’s your problem? You bump my carriage out of the way instead of using your manners, which you clearly lack and now you wanna play bumper cars with my ankle?” Mariatu questions the man who lifts his shoulders nonchalantly.

“I needed grapes,” the man started, “you could have done what I did and placed your carriage to the right so that way you’re not blocking other items that fellow customers need.”

Mariatu scoffs in disbelief, “well I’m not you and the proper thing to do if you need to get something is say excuse me or patiently wait until I’m done.”

“Sorry…but no?”

“No?” Mariatu felt her eye twitch and just to think, she was having a pretty solid day off, considering it was only twelve in the afternoon but still!

“Yeah,” the man continued, “you’re in my way and I have places to be too. Don’t know if you know this but a ice storm is coming and I need—

“Excuse me, I don’t give two shits what you need. Everybody that’s in here needs something, so honestly you can take that entitlement and shove it up right your ass, Mr.” Mariatu stated to the man without raising her voice but her brows definitely did, which means she meant that shit, “and happy holidays.”

With that she sorta limps from the man, enjoying that she had the last say and that his presence was no longer felt as he scrambles to go to one of the other aisles instead of to the self-check out area, which Mariatu was headed to.

Mariatu braced herself heading back into the breezy sixty degree weather, slowly letting out a sigh to herself as she crossed through the parking lot. She spots Neron waiting outside of her bronco and jumps into action as he looks up in time. “Ten minutes huh?” He teases with a shake of his head as he unlocks the trunk.

She scrunches her nose at him as they maneuver around the cart, taking turns adding the bags into the back. It doesn’t take Neron long to pick up on the way Mariatu is walking different once they get down to the the last few bags. “What’s up?” He asks.

Mariatu shakes her head as Neron points at her leg, “I’ll tell you in the car.”

The hoodie wearing man dips his head and takes the task of bringing the carriage back to its spot after opening the door for Mariatu. Neron doesn’t miss a certain man looking over in his wife’s direction as Neron crosses the parking lot one more. Once he gets into the driver’s seat, it’s Neron’s turn to have his eyes in slits as the strange man starts tossing his bags into his station wagon.

“That man with the pedophile car…you know ‘em?”

Mariatu hums, looking up from her phone to follow Neron’s trail and immediately scoffs, “oh yeah, we got friendly not too long ago. That’s the man who tried to run me over after I told him he basically needs to learn some manners.”

Neron flicks his eyes to his right, “what happened?” He pressed and Mariatu has no issue giving her husband the quick rundown of what just occurred.

He’s rubbing at his lengthy beard in slight irritation but also pride. “Put your seatbelt on,” he commands and Mariatu tilts her head to the side at this.

However the hardened stare Neron shoots her way and then back out the window shield was enough for her to listen this time. The tatted man places one hand on the steering wheel, tightening his grip and sitting up straight—which was always enough indication that someone was about to float their ride…so Mariatu braced herself.

Rightfully so.

As soon as she blinked, they were across the parking lot blocking the man’s path from completely backing out from the parking space.

“Neron,” Mariatu hissed as he pressed his brimmed hat further down on his head then flung the door open, leaving it wide open as he walked in between the cars to get to the man’s driver’s side, knocking on his window.

Mariatu couldn’t exactly hear what Neron was saying to the strange man as he was crouched over, talking to him in a manner that would send a chill down anyone’s spine. Her heart rate picked up as she saw Neron reach into the rolled down window, possibly snatching the man up by the throat and then shoving him forward that his horn announced his face made contact with it.

With that Neron sniffs as he turns back to the bronco, holding a bag now as he climbs back into the driver’s seat. He plops the bag of grapes into Mariatu’s lap and says, “Poe Cramer sends his apologizes. Eat up.”

“Neron, what did you do that for? I thought I told you that I handled it.” Mariatu brings her eyes up from the fruit in her lap to the profile of her husband’s face who begins driving through the parking lot.

Neron dips his head, “and I’m proud of you, Cariño. But he assaulted you so I returned the favor. Roughed him up a bit, he’s lucky that’s all he got and that’s out of respect for my lady being somewhat a witness…that I didn’t take it further. got his name from his license—just in case you run into him again and he decides to start some more shit but I doubt it. I clocked his ass—that’s all. No harm, no foul.”

“I can’t,” Mariatu snorts resting a hand against her edges, “I love you and I don’t need you locked up before Christmas.”

“I’m just contributing to society so I know Santa would forgive me,” Neron shrugs with a slow smirk appearing on his lips.

Mariatu laughs, “Oh that’s what you want to call it?” Before kicking her ankle up and over her opposite knee to examine, “don’t know why some people get so shitty during the holiday season, especially if you didn’t do anything wrong to them! They just feel like it’s okay to take it out on strangers. Like? What you say fuck me for?”

“You don’t even gotta worry about him no more, trust me,” Neron laughs at the joke, “you good though?”

Mariatu nods reaching over to feed Neron a grape before pecking his cheek, “always with you by my side, baby.”

“Likewise,” Neron winks over at the woman he was ecstatic to call his wife, resting the palm of his hand on her thigh.

Back in the gated, yes gated! suburbs of their coastal mobile home after unloading and packing the groceries, the married couple made it their mission that today would be a easy day. They rarely had days off at the same time so Neron and Mariatu wanted to take advantage of this with Mariatu persuading Neron to go shopping today rather than putting it off for the busiest day—Saturday. Now they had the rest of the day just to be up in each others faces, spending quality time together.

She’s in the bathroom, tending to her night time skin routine, already solidifying they were in for the rest of the day, while Neron’s perched on the edge of the bed tuned into the weather channel. The bathroom door’s wide open as Neron says, “you know your pa is trying to get coco and I to come out to Wyoming, huh?”

Mariatu frowns, “that’s where he snuck off to? The hell is he doing out there?”

The woman knew exactly what her father was doing out there. He made it a mission to travel more after the lost of his wife three years ago but…Wyoming? Really? Very Kanye coded but a lot less unhinged.

“Starting a new business adventure. Plans to do something either with construction or a food truck for a rest stop…he’s weighing his options based on how those meetings go.” Neron informed, “he sounds real determined and said he’ll keep me posted while also sending his love to you.”

Neron and Johnny had their own business together that consisted of mechanics and all things restoration, computers and guns, you name it! After things went terribly south (she often found it hard at times that they both made it out alive) with the club, they figured this would be their best option and Mariatu couldn’t be more supportive of the two. In whatever way she was often confused on her father bringing up his multiple business ideas to her husband and good friend. Neron and Coco seemed quite comfortable making their roots here and not all over the place like her father commonly did.

Yet of course she understood networking being a business owner herself…she just couldn’t picture Neron or Johnny elsewhere now that they were secure here and out of the tainted Santo Padre.

Mariatu rolls her eyes at this, loving how Neron threw that in there but she knew this was true with the way her father’s brain was constantly running with ideas. He’s always been a hardworking, successful man but he also didn’t know when to slow down. He was getting older and it’s like Mariatu was always fighting to have time with him, she valued that considering the lost of her mother but perhaps this was all his way of grieving?

You tend to do that sometimes at the end of the year they say.

“Will he back for Christmas? Kwanzaa, maybe?”

Neron wouldn’t lie and he knew how important Mariatu’s relationship was with her parents, which he did not receive personally but he always had his sisters so he understood to some degree, “he didn’t say honey but I’m sure he’ll try.”

“Right,” Mariatu is quiet for some time before starting up her spin brush again for a few minutes before rinsing her face and continuing the rest of her work.

The room is thicker now with Mariatu’s inner feelings about it all but Neron knows not to push it. They were similar in that way, holding everything in but Mariatu was better in letting it out when she was ready while Neron struggled with his own issues of people not hearing him when he did speak. However he knew not to feel that way with his wife, they confided in each other countless of times and felt seen being vulnerable with each other. It’s what drove them forward through the hardships.

Neron’s not sure how long he’s dazed off but a pair of pants smack across his face, followed by a snort of laughter that belonged to no other than his wife. He blinks, gripping onto the printed pants and scowls as he eyes the same print that Mariatu is sporting. Except her’s are shorts and he gets to eye her smooth legs in them.

Licking his lips Neron rubs at his beard, fighting to keep his thoughts clean as she slips a printed long sleeve set over her camisole, “You’re really making me wear matching pajamas with you?”

“Uh huh,” Mariatu nods her head with a smile, “we’ll be cozy and cute.”

Neron mumbles, “And lookin’ like the elves on the fucken shelf.”

Mariatu cackles as Neron shakes his head in disagreement. She stands before him, resting her hands across his shoulders, massaging them while staring down into his tense but loving brown eyes. Neron doesn’t hesitate to wrap his solid tatted arms around her waist, while she gets comfortable locking her legs right around his hips so they’re face to face now.

“I think you need a little more persuading and a thank you.”

“A thank you?” Neron ponders as Mariatu nuzzles her nose against the man’s, who breathes her in.

Mariatu pecks his lips, then trails those kisses along his jaw and up to his large ear, whispering, “for always looking out for me and especially for today. Will you let me take care of you?”

She can feel Neron shudder against her and she knew that Neron just wanted to be loved in return for the love that he gave out. Mariatu had no problem providing that and the confirmation of his fingertips digging into her waist was all she needed to make their lips collide. The scratch of his beard against her chin, the weight of her clung to his body, the force of shoving him back against the sheets, scrape of her stiletto nails that greeted his skin briefly as she helped him out of his tops, kissing of his wounds that were buried beneath his tats, the trick of her tongue against the round of his raised flesh which contained a hooped piercing that always evoked a breathy moan from his lips, the teasing and pleasing to his lower region with only her mouth was enough to bring joy right out of Neron’s heart.

Mariatu took the reigns but Neron couldn’t let that slide without getting his hands on her in the way he wanted and the way they both needed as well. A shower and clean up routine later, both now sporting red festive wear, they’re lounging against the headboard together, container of pomegranate seeds placed in between them while the skies in San Didacus continue filling in with a gray haze.

Neron and Mariatu both meet each other’s eyes after the dark haired man settled on, one of his favorites, “Krampus,” (2015) after finding one of the cheesy romantic Christmas movies to be too corny for their tastes.

“Ready to keep the festive spirit going?” Neron asks, wrist draped over Mariatu’s shoulder while she curls into him, leg tossed over his torso.

Mariatu covers her yawn, “yeah I am, I don’t know about you but I don’t want any demons hunting this house, especially once some kids come along.”

“Nah, krampus don’t got nothin’ on me.” Neron tells with a grin, “he better ask Poe and check my resume.”

“I haven’t even seen that resume.”

“I’m keepin’ it that way. Like I said when we took those vows, you don’t got to worry about nothing on that end. Just the restaurant and the good parts of life that we’re building together only.” Neron reassured in which Mariatu nodded with a smile.

Neron leans forward capturing Mariatu’s lips in a brief kiss before brushing his lips against her forehead then tunes back into the movie.

One thing is true, this holiday, equally the pair hopes this season brings further blessings to their table after growing what they both went through. The little moments mean just as much as the big ones and when they frequently stare into each other’s eyes…maybe in the end they can always say that’s the best gift the universe could have ever gave them.

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙

Continue the rest of my~5 days of Xmas~December anthology prompts here.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Twilight of the Apprentice"

The shadow of Malachor looms in the very highly-anticipated Season 2 finale.

Right, so, technically I've already liveblogged this before and you can go here for some of my more, ah, realtime reactions.

(Spoiler alert: There was a LOT of screaming.)

So for this and other episodes that I've already reacted to before I'm mostly going to be focusing more on commentary and meta observations and also my favorite bits and moments, music and animation, that kind of stuff.

Let's dive in!

Ooh right off the bat we have the more serious version of the "Shenanigans" cue.

I know this exchange here between Ahsoka and Rex is a callback to when they first met. So a heart stab for TCW fans.

One thing I notice about Malachor right away is how dead it looks, even from space. Just a featureless plain gray marble.

We get down to the surface and it's even eerier. In the middle of a giant crater there's this wide, unnaturally glasslike smooth plain, only broken up by weird towering stone monoliths.

Malachor's whole aesthetic leans very heavily into the idea and theme of descending into the Underworld, into a place of darkness and shadows where the light can't reach. Somewhere underground, somewhere full of devils and demons lurking in wait, with many hidden traps and temptations to stumble over.

Like the one Ezra triggers by touching the monolith lol.

This really isn't a survivable fall but whatever.

The Sith Temple is actually kind of beautiful in a stark, harsh, Gothic kind of way.

This whole environment is really excellently creepy and ethereal. The ceiling above recalls a night sky, the holes like pinprick stars casting beams of light down. The palate is almost colorless, mostly grays and blacks with some splashes of red and white. The lighting is muted and dim, heavy contrast with the shadows. The music relies on dissonant chords. The sound effects are full of watery rumbles, voices whisper quietly that apparently only Ezra can hear.

Oh and there's the scorched ground and statues of people frozen in distress, like the casts at Pompeii.

"To defeat your enemy, you have to understand them." A sentiment echoed and repeated later by both Maul and Thrawn, and inspired by the writings of Sun Tzu in his Art of War. You have to figure your enemy out, learn how they operate and what motivates them, in order to beat them. "Knowledge" is another word they keep using this episode, our heroes need to seek knowledge about the Sith in order to figure out how to defeat them.

I'm still not quite sure what knowledge they were actually able to gain during this trip. Certainly the Force did basically slap the truth of Vader's identity in Ahsoka's face, to get her to confront it and break through her denial. There's maybe a lesson to be learned about not seeking quick, easy solutions to one's problems, which wouldn't fully sink in until "Twin Suns". (Ezra's obsession with finding "the key to destroy the Sith" can be traced straight back to the Malachor plot thread.) There's definitely a cautionary tale and warning about the nature of the Dark Side, that Ezra completely ignores due to his guilt and shame and self-blame.

On the surface level, technically, the mission does accomplish what it set out to do. All the Inquisitors we know about wind up dead, Vader no longer has any interest in harassing them, they keep the base safe. But boy the cost of it all.

It's probably really fitting that the finale takes place here on Malachor, a dead world with nothing left but stone remains and a creepy Eldritch Sith Temple housing a superweapon that must have killed everyone and everything on the surface, in the vein of The Deplorable Word or a nuclear bomb metaphor. The victory is hollow and meaningless, because there is no one left alive to appreciate it. Likewise our heroes' "victory" is pyrrhic and empty, they kill the Inquisitors but take more and heavier losses in return.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. We haven't even met Eighth yet.

Hi Eighth!

He's not really developed or explored at all and is really just a generic episode-specific antagonist and ancillary to Seventh and Fifth, but he serves his narrative purpose in splitting the party.

Kanan's worried shout for Ezra after he falls. <3

Ezra looking very nervous here, don't blame him.

HI MAUL!

Oh man, the pre-finale trailers spoiled Maul's appearance and fandom was bonkers about it. (The pre-finale anticipation and hype was crazy man, so much over-analyzing and hypothesizing. There was a Bingo Card we could fill out with our theories. This one was mine.) Not a small amount of people were speculating about the possibility of Maul corrupting and/or abducting Ezra at Malachor.

I was one of them. Obviously. Still a smidge bummed it didn't come to pass, just imagine how devastating that would have been on top of everything else.

Anyway, Maul pretends to be frail and weak and old and harmless like some kind of sick parody of the scene in ESB when Yoda's introduced to Luke.

The appropriate reaction to creepy old men lurking in the shadows lol.

Maul plays on Ezra's compassion at first, and then tempts him with what they came for, "knowledge". Ezra keeps a guard up, but cautiously allows Maul to lead him. I think he's figuring he's going to play this by ear like he did back in "Brothers of the Broken Horn", so he's not giving out his name or really trusting Maul yet. That would come later.

Lol, Maul has met Jabba, he knows full well Ezra's playing him.

There's some excellent tense music for the chase with Eighth Brother but I'm not going to really talk about those segments much since, frankly, all the interesting stuff is happening in the Maul and Ezra scenes.

They're in the roots of the Temple now, very Mines of Moria-esque vibe down here with the columns.

Maul still trying to break Ezra's guard down, playing himself up as an enemy of the Inquisitors and the Sith (even though for all intents and purposes Maul still is a Sith) and I love how awkward things get when Ezra asks him if he was a Jedi, he's all like, "ERRRRRRMMMM."

Talking about his Tragic Backstory though unlocks Ezra's empathy and Ezra lets slip his own grievances with the Empire that Maul immediately tries to manipulate to his advantage, sensing Ezra's anger about it.

Boy if I had a nickel for every time my favorite shows explored the "creepy older villain forcibly trying to make a younger hero their apprentice" plotline...

(I would actually have three nickels now because the Big Hero 6 cartoon also decided to do that plot YOU GUYS GOTTA FIGURE OUT SOMETIME THAT THIS PREMISE IS BASICALLY CATNIP FOR ME.)

Anyway, at this point I think Maul's mostly just using Ezra as a means to an end, he's not planning to kidnap him yet, just needs him for the doors. It's really interesting that whereas the Jedi Temple on Lothal emphasized the individual journey and separated the master and padawan, the Sith Temple forces them into kind of a codependent symbiosis--if one betrays the other like Sith are wont to do, the prize is lost and both of them die--making them have to use teamwork and a certain level of trust.

Chopper stealing Eighth's TIE to use against him is pretty awesome, admittedly.

Maul gives Ezra an abridged lesson in Sith/Dark Side philosophy: Channel your passions--your fear, anger, hate, any strong emotions etc.--through the Force for a lot of quick easy power. Ezra expresses misgivings but attempts it and this time does not immediately pass out, though he's clearly tired by the end of it.

Oh man the sound design here.

Also love that annoyed look Maul gives when Ezra complains about their progress. XD

"Yeah I'm killing you after this, I don't have to deal with this shit."

Watching the expressions on Maul's face is a trip, you can see the subtle little flashes of conniving and triumph.

Aaaaaand every time Maul puts his hands on Ezra I still feel an immediate uncomfortable protective rage. You leave him alone you cockroach. >:(

Enjoy the last vestiges of Ezra's innocence folks, this episode is what shatters that to pieces.

Always loved this sequence, it feels very evocative of the Cave of Wonders segment of Aladdin and also several scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

SO much symbolism with the precipices and pits here.

Love this music cue too.

I already noted in a different post way back when that something subtle I love is how Maul's Force Grip catch around Ezra is clearly much rougher than how Kanan has caught him. Ezra's tiny panicked glances down are great too.

So riiiiiiiiiight about here is when I think Maul decided he was going to keep Ezra, you can see in his expression the mean satisfaction when he grabs the holocron, like he's gotten what he wanted. Ezra gets a prolonged moment of regretting all of his life's decisions before Maul finally decides to haul him up.

Look I know fandom makes fun of the helicopter sabers but I never minded them so this is my only comment about them.

Gah, Ezra's innocent little uncertain expressions here always hurt me.

You know, given the added context of TCW Seaason 7, along with the fact that they had already clearly integrated the unfinished arcs into the background continuity while writing Rebels, AHSOKA YOU SHOULD HAVE REALLY WARNED THEM ABOUT MAUL.

Cool shot is cool.

I haven't talked about the music much because it doesn't really stand out until the climax but it's appropriately menacing and dramatic and ominous, as it should be.

Sam Whitwer's vocal progression through the episode is also amazing, along with the slow shedding of his hood it's like Maul is revitalizing himself, reinvigorated, reclaiming his strength and purpose.

He found something (Ezra) to hang his legacy on and seized it. Or tried to.

Ezra sounds just a bit desperate to convince Kanan, this is likely a product of the straining tensions between them. Maul, meanwhile, takes full advantage of Ahsoka and Kanan's uncertainty to suggest using the holocron to activate the obelisk, not telling them of course that it will turn on the Sith superweapon. Which he's counting on to kill Vader and the Inquisitors.

Ezra's theme in cello bass here, as Kanan decides to trust Ezra.

Almost forgot about Seventh's ID-9 Seekers, didn't we?

Love Kanan's protective bitchiness towards Maul this whole episode. The conflict between him and Ezra is just a little bit contrived, Kanan's been harder on Ezra recently yes, but it also feels a smidge rushed. Then again Ezra's been fixating on trying to solve the fundamental problem of the Inquisitors possibly as a way to assuage his grief over losing his parents, like Anakin he thinks if he can maybe just get enough power he can prevent it from happening again, so he's letting his impulsiveness reign in the quest to find "the key to destroying the Sith" and it's making him have a repeat of "Vision of Hope" where he trusts the wrong person.

Ezra's bright little, "Trust me." here hurts so much because Kanan does trust Ezra, that's the only reason why he decided they would stay and then it all goes HORRIBLY WRONG *SOBS*.

This is a nice sentiment and all Ahsoka, and it shows how much faith you have in Ezra's goodness and Kanan's ability as a teacher BUT ALSO YOU SHOULD HAVE WARNED THEM.

Ezra's out of sight for like a minute and Maul's already picking at his insecurities and need for validation and trying to get him to murderize Seventh.

The momentary pride we feel that Ezra can't bring himself to strike in anger and hate vanishes when Maul tests the veeeeeery limits of the Y7 rating.

Ooof.

I hate this man I hate this man I hate this man I hate him so much. He snarls at Ezra for hesitating, berates his merciful Jedi instincts, and then picks up with that soft manipulative fake concerned tone again. He always uses this tone when he's trying to manipulate Ezra, we'll be watching for it next season, trust me.

Hhggnnl Maul glancing up and seeing the shadow passing over the gaps in the ceiling, he knows Vader's on his way. And he's definitely already made the decision that he's taking Ezra.

Love this brief triumphant cue here, for a moment it looks like they've won.

The matching "Oh crap" expressions on Kanan and Ahsoka's faces when Maul says, "You mean... my apprentice?" they are just a hair too late to prevent disaster.

Yeah so this moment pretty much traumatized fandom. For months.

DUEL OF THE FATES BABY!

And a very unhinged Maul getting a little too excited about using the Sith superweapon to kill everyone.

The presence in the holocron is likely a trace of the Sith Lord who created the superweapon, Darth Tanis.

Sound design appreciation moment, just LISTEN to it.

"The power will be mine! Ezra will be mine!" Very hinged. Much sane. If you had waited maybe five minutes, Maul, and resisted the urge to murder everyone you could have actually had what you wanted! But such is the nature of the Dark Side, the quick and easy way offers fast solutions but hollow ones, in the grasping for what you want it slips through your fingers.

ALL MAUL HAD TO DO WAS NOT TRY TO MURDER KANAN AND AHSOKA AND EZRA PROBABLY WOULD HAVE GONE WITH HIM. At the very least Kanan might have tentatively let Maul hang around. This is the tragedy of Maul's life, he is the king of self-sabotage.

[Insert ramble about the symbolism of Kanan taking up a Temple Guardian mask and how that relates to his role as Ezra's protector.]

I don't remember I think there was maybe one or two people who complained that Kanan shouldn't be able to beat Maul here, but for the most part fandom was agreed that this was awesome.

:(((

Please do note: Maul just kind of... assumed Ezra would use the Sith superweapon when he learned what it was. Ezra's too pure for that, alas.

WELL THAT'S NOT ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING.

Ezra sassing Vader like Kanan sassed the Grand Inquisitor back in "Call To Action" lol.

And there goes Ezra's blaster-saber. :(

I've been a very good girl conserving my limited photos so now you get a lot of Ezra's terrified face.

The Ahsoka-Vader confrontation is pretty much perfect, even for someone who never really watched TCW and doesn't really have the same level of investment as a long time fan would have. Even without the context the emotions and drama come across well.

Ezra veeeeeeerrrrrrrry slowly and carefully trying to scoot away from Vader always makes me giggle.

Vader threatening to torture the information out of Ezra if Ahsoka won't give up any remaining Jedi she knows about. :(((

:((((((((

Still love how TCW recontextualized Ahsoka's angry, "I am no Jedi!" by reframing it as, "I can't be a Jedi anymore, you took that away from me, you killed the Order I loved and wanted to return to!"

I think I heard someone trying to describe Vader here as, "Picture an upright locomotive with a lightsaber." and that's apt, Vader is so heavy and powerful with every movement and swing. This is Vader in his prime, unleashed, against an opponent he won't hold back on and it is glorious.

Chopper guiding Kanan by the hand. :(((

Ezra's horrified realization. :(((((

Small note: Ezra's been nursing his right wrist this whole time, possibly sprained or burned a bit when Vader destroyed his saber. Also a nice parallel to ESB and Luke.

Ahsoka does her best but you can tell she's tiring here.

Some gorgeous animation as the Temple begins to seal back up.

How annoyed do you think Vader must have been to have a blind half-trained ex-Padawan and a scrawny 16-year-old kid managing to fight his Force Pull on the holocron?

Ahsoka swoops in for a Big Damn Heroes moment and breaks open his mask. You're welcome for the nightmares, kids.

Hello so many parallels to Luke and Return of the Jedi.

:(((((

Very effective bringing the orchestra full to the fore with almost no other sound or dialogue here. This whole sequence is brutally powerful.

Kanan and Hera's heartbreaking reunion. The sorrow on Rex's face, feeding into Ezra's clear guilt. Maul surviving to menace us another day. Vader limping off, out of the wreckage of the Temple. Tracking the convor as it flies towards the vague form of Ahsoka descending further into the Temple. The cut to the Ghost with everyone's silent worry and sorry. And closing on Ezra's murderous Kubrick Stare as he gets the holocron to open.

This finale is on people's favorite episode lists for a reason, lol. It's so dramatic and game-changing and tightly-written, leaves us perfectly fuming in anticipation for more.

You know how shows promise that, "Nothing will be the same anymore." in taglines to trick you into watching for the Next Big Twist? Rebels actually delivers on that promise.

It's an amazing ride.

Overall Season Thoughts:

Season Two is stronger than Season One in a lot of aspects. The animation is even prettier with the added budget, the stories remain well-balanced and woven together even with the added breathing room of twenty-two episodes to Season One's fifteen. The show takes advantage of that extra room to build up the finale, especially in the last few episodes, to very good effect. The expanded scope means we're facing bigger and greater threats, and also widening our cast, and yet none of the guest stars overshadow or overpower our mains, who are given plenty of chances to develop and shine.

Aside from one minor misstep in "Blood Sisters", this season is solid through and through.

Onwards to Season Three!

[fromallie]

Running in the Rain ☆ ｡ - ᴛꜱᴜᴋꜱʜɪᴍᴀ ᴋᴇɪ

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

characters: tsukishima kei x reader

contains: intentional lowercasing and some more sweet fluff <3 nothing too romantic just yet ;)

a/n: i have a thing for writing about tsuki, could you tell? this piece can be read by itself or as a continuation of "fulfilled seat". my inspiration for this comes from having to run in the rain this afternoon T-T please enjoy!

━━━━━━━━━━━ 🦕 🦖 ━━━━━━━━━

as the bell rang indicating the end of the school day, you packed up your items and got ready to leave school. your first day at karasuno was eventful to say the least, you had acquainted yourself with two of your classmates tsukishima and yamaguchi, who were both a part of the boys volleyball team.

as you walked off the school grounds, you could hear the sound of footsteps from behind you. "oi princess y/n, are you also headed this way?" turning around to reveal the familiar voice, you were greeted by your two classmates, you nodded your head in response as you waited for them to catch up to you. "you wouldn't mind if we walked with you, would you?" yamaguchi asked, you shook your head happily knowing you would now have company on your walk back home.

as the three of you walked, yamaguchi had made friendly conversation whereas tsukishima chose to listen to his music, insisting he was "above your nonsensical chatter". as you continued to walk, the street had split into two "i turn this way so i'll be seeing you two tomorrow, get home safely!" you waved goodbye as you watched yamaguchi walk down the right side of the street.

walking alongside tsukishima it had become quiet, without yamaguchi there to spark conversation the two of you walked in comfortable silence. despite the quietness, you found content in focusing on the sound of wind brushing past the leaves and the smell of freshly moved grass which clashed with the gloomy overcast weather.

as you inhaled deeply, your moment of peace was interrupted by the feeling of raindrops beginning to trickle down your skin. you were expecting rain today, but it wasn't supposed to come until later that evening.

"shit, it's raining." the acknowledgement of weather seemed to only make the clouds heavier as the rain began to pour harder. the two of you shielded your head with your arms, running to seek shelter from a nearby bus stop.

"is your house far from here?" you nodded your head and tsukishima seemed displeased with your response, "i don't think it's going to stop raining anytime soon, it's best if we made a run to my house." you were surprised by his invitation but agreed hastily wanting to escape the harsh rain, "lead the way".

by the time the two of you made it to his house, you were both out of breath and drenched. as you took off your coat and shoes you winced at the amount of water that dripped onto the floor of tsukishima's house, "i apologise for the inconvenience i'm causing", he waved off your apology and removed his own coat and shoes "i'll be back with some towels, try not to make a mess".

you watched as he walked down the hallway and took the time to look around at your surroundings, the tsukishima household felt uncharacteristically warm which was surprising as tsukishima had a rather cold persona.

the decoration around the house was simple, but the house felt like a home. the faint scent of vanilla made the house smell clean and somehow, familiar? your train of thought was interrupted as a less wet tsukishima had returned with a towel and clothes in hand "i brought you some clothes, you shouldn't stay in your uniform, you might get sick. there's a bathroom over there so, go change".

taking the towel and change of clothes you thanked him, appreciating his hospitality. who knew someone like tsukishima was capable of being considerate? as you dried off your hair and body you realised the clothes he had given you were, well, rather large. nevertheless, you put them on and mentally noted you would have to find a way to pay tsukishima back.

squeezing out the water from your wet clothes into the bathroom sink, you left them in your backpack choosing to deal with that later. as you exited the bathroom, you entered the kitchen where you found tsukishima warming up some food.

"are you hungry? mum isn't supposed to be home until later tonight, so i'm going to reheat some leftovers." you walked over to him, inspecting the leftovers "woah, this looks good. did your mum make this?" he nodded as he grabbed another portion of food to heat up, "yeah, she's good at cooking."

sitting down on a stool next to the counter, you waited for the microwave to finish heating up your food. glancing at your classmate you knew when you first met him, he was handsome but you hadn't taken the time to really look at his features.

he was tall and had pretty honey coloured eyes, his figure was rather lanky and he wore black glasses that contrasted his pale skin. his whole appearance was rather contradictive to the average japanese person, but you doubt anyone in the right mind would deny his physical appeal.

the beeping of the microwave had snapped you back to reality as you clapped your hands, ready to indulge in a warm and delicious meal. bringing your food to you, tsukishima had taken a seat next to you "let's eat, shall we?" "thank you for this meal!"

as you took your first bite, the powerful flavours of the katsudon had overwhelmed your taste buds and you were unsure of how to digest such deliciousness. you continued to dig into the food when the sound of lightning could be heard from outside.

"i don't think it's going to stop raining anytime soon, do you know how you're going to get home?"

originally you were planning to call one of your parents to pick you up, but they often worked late into the night so it wouldn't be until a lot later that they'd be able to take you home.

"both of my parents are working late so, if you could lend me an umbrella i'll probably just walk home."

tsukishima looked at you as though you had told him something outright repulsive, "you, walking home in this weather? don't be stupid, i'm not going to let our new student catch a cold. you can stay here until your parent's get off from work."

your visit to the tsukishima house seemed like it was going to extend a lot longer than you were expecting. however, you weren't necessarily displeased with the outcome as you looked forward to getting to spend more time with your classmate.

"hey tsukishima, thank you for letting me stay over."

"don't get all sappy on me, yamaguchi would scold me if i let you get a cold."

you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding and laughed, you felt a new sense of comfort around your classmate that you could now call your friend.

[thisworldisablackhole]

This week in listening 02/23/24

Okay, wow. Today was a massive day for new releases, so let's get a few of those out of the way first. Starting with...

Job For A Cowboy was like... not on my radar AT ALL this year. I listened to this band a bit around 2010, but they were always a little too extreme for me. I'll be honest, the album cover is what sold me on this. The art is giving me huge Born of Osiris vibes, which is another band I used to listen to in the 2010s and have actually been getting back into lately (The Discovery is a fucking incredible record). So, inspired by amazing psychedelic alien artwork, vague nostalgia, and a healthy dose of morbid curiosity, I decided to jump in to this as soon as I woke up. I am actually blown away by how good this is. I'm not a huge metalhead, so I struggle to describe the intricacies of this type of music, but I know for certain it's activating some disgusting primal neurons in my brain. It's heavy, technical, colourful, thoughtful. The guitars whip around with the sharpness of wire torture devices as the bass paints terrifying rhythms into the background of every song. The drums don't just keep up, they hold the leash to maintain control over the chaos and do so flawlessly. The vocals? They add a nice flavouring to the sound but I'm honestly so intrigued by what's going on underneath the surface of these songs that I keep forgetting to listen to him. It's not really a bad thing.

When I was just starting to get back into metalcore a few years ago, I spent a night swapping the aux and drinking beers with my best friend, and he threw on Darkest Hour's song DEMON(S). I was blown away by their ability to inject melody into their sound in a very subtle and nuanced way. They had a much heavier melodeath influence and didn't rely on huge soaring pop choruses like every other -core band of the 2000s. A lot of the melody in their songs comes from the riffs themselves and I love that about them. Even when clean vocals are present, they are mellow in pitch and are used almost more like a texture to enrich the riffing instead of being the main show. When Darkest Hour started dropping singles for this new album my ears perked up right away. Societal Bile showcased a more straight forward thrash influence and I was a little worried that this album would be lacking in melody, but I'm relieved to find that isn't the case. This song in particular is a perfect showcase of the band ability to be heavy and also execute insanely beautiful choruses without being corny about it. Another absolute standout track from this album is Mausoleum, which sounds almost like if Elliot Smith wrote a melodeath song. Trust me, check it out and you’ll know what I mean. I also want to take a second to appreciate that the artwork for this is clearly a nod to The Black Dahlia Murder (rest in peace Trevor Strnad).

Okay, massive diversion away from metal for a second. MGMT is a band that I have always reserved a spot in my heart for despite not being interested in... well... anything they've put out since their debut. Like many other people my age, Electric Feel is more than just a song, it's a core memory. I've listened to few tracks here and there from their other albums out of curiosity but nothing clicked. Not because they weren't good, but because I just wasn't at a place in my life where I was willing to let the magic of MGMT back into my heart. Loss Of Life may very well be the album to change that. When Bubblegum Dog dropped in 2023 I was immediately captivated by the strange, off kilter folkiness of it. Weird, and catchy? Wait a minute, that's the same reason I fell in love with Oracular Spectacular! I haven't listened to this full album yet so we'll see how much of it delivers on those qualities, but I have been jamming this single a lot over the past few days so I had to include it in the list.

I posted a full review for this album here, but I'll do a quick summary. I've racked up about 270 scrobbles out of this album over the past week since it was released, that's like listening to it about 24 times in full (or 3.4 times a day). I absolutely adore this album because it brings back to life everything I loved about music growing up. It's passionate, catchy, emotional, and heavy. Seriously, if you are a fan of My Chemical Romance, early Escape the Fate, AFI, The Used etc etc.. I can not beg you enough to give this album a chance. It's a very well written love letter to that era of 2000s post hardcore and emo bands and you will find it immediately familiar and comforting.

Okay, we are moving away from new releases now. I mentioned in a previous post how I was getting back into prog by listening to bands like TesseracT, Aviations and Artificial Language. The Contortionist is the newest addition to that roster and they bring something very unique to the table. Their instrumentals are heavy but methodical and hypnotic, much like the image on the album art. The thing that stuck out to about this band the most is their singer. I can't get over how much I love his mellow, folky approach to singing on a metal album. I've never heard anything like it. Seriously, take out the metal instrumentation and replace them with Nick Drake's Pink Moon and his voice wouldn't feel out of place at all. The result is a progressive metal album that feels extremely down to earth. If this album had a scent it would be of bark and dirt. Again, somehow the album art has done an immaculate job at representing the sound of the record. I'm obsessed. This is their last album (released in 2017) and is far from their most popular, but I'm curious to go backward and see how their sound progressed to this point.

Thursday is probably going to keep popping up on these roundups because they are my favourite fucking band right now and I never want to stop listening to them. I initially glossed over WATT as a “good but stagnant” entry to their discog, but after hearing lots of people say this is their favourite Thursday album, I knew there had to be something about it that I was missing. Don’t get me wrong, I always enjoyed it, but I felt it lacked the hooks and the gut wrenching punches of Full Collapse, and it also did nothing to push their sound forward like ACBTLD did. Well, I’ve spent the last two weeks listening to it non stop in honour of their WATT tour, and I have to say it’s grown on me so much to the point where it’s become my go to choice when I need a kick in the teeth. I think this album has some of Thursday's heaviest material both sonically and thematically, and it's also a bit more nuanced in the way it shows it's colours. It has a tough shell that takes multiple listens to crack, but it's so worth the time. “Signals Over the Air” was always my fav song from this, but recently “Steps Ascending” and the closer “Tomorrow I’ll Be You” have started to stand out as serious highlights to me. The ending of this song when Geoff yells “I’M CALLING FROM YOUR HOUSE, IN YOUR ROOM, IN YOUR NAME. LAYING IN YOUR BED, FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS” sends chills up my spine.

Last but not least, I’ve been jamming this album again for pure nostalgia purposes. This album came out when I was 11 and was one of the first/most life changing CD's I ever owned. I was actually inspired to spin this again because of The Requiem’s song “Less Than Zero” has riffs that remind me soo much of some of the songs here. This album just never gets old though, despite it turning 20 next years (I want to cry thinking about that). In fact, I think the older I get, the better these songs sound. I was listening to this while on a long walk the other day and kept finding myself being wildly impressed by the songwriting and guitar riffing. There are so many subtle switch ups happening underneath the surface, and the way the two guitars play around each other is just incredible. The closer you listen the more depth there seems to be. "Under The Knife" and "Injection" are straight up two of the best melodic punk songs ever written. Pure genius.

[fiannalover]

Public relations

(Content warning: drugging, second person POV)

7 a.m. classes suuuuuuuck.

Trying to ignore your bad life decisions, you focus on just looking around at the people already waiting for class alongside you. No one too fancy, no one who stands up too much.

With one exception.

Fluffy, long black hair, preppy shirt and skirt in low-key, cozy colors. Such a perfect girl next door vibe, it feels unreal. 

And then it becomes unreal in a different way, as she holds a beaker to her face, swirls it around a bit, seems unhappy with it, puts it to the side, grabs a mortar and begins to energetically pestle something in it.

“I’m sorry. What are you doing?”

“Chemistry.” She answers, with the specific tone of voice that carries a hidden ‘obviously’. “I really need to get this done, so I’m prepping some things before the teacher stops by. My name is Medeia, by the way. Since you kindly asked.”

Oh. You never talked to her, but you’re pretty sure you saw her running all over the place through the previous year. She joined a couple semesters after you did, most likely, but already had quite the reputation. “You’re that magician girl.”

“Potion maker, not magician. The distinction is meaningless, but it matters to me.” She stresses, like you know a single thing she is talking about.

At that point, the professor arrives, and she openly leaves it clear she’ll apply full focus to that. Eh, so be it.

—----------

“Why bother with doing that? Isn’t magic bullshit worthless?”

“As I so kindly keep telling you, and you so kindly keep ignoring, it is not magic. Just potions.” She reaffirms. “And I find your ignorance very interesting when, amongst others such students, one of your underclassmen is a recently shifted werewolf, just as an immediate example.”

“There is one of those here? Gross. Not like that interests me, so I don’t bother to learn about it.”

The girl’s eyebrow raises inquisitively in response to that. “I’m sorry. What major are you doing again?”

“P.R.”

“Ah. Figures. Don’t worry, I’m sure you'll sell yourself off real quick.” She snarks, before opening her bag, picking a small sachet of some mysterious powder, and letting the substance fall into her water bottle. “You should be careful. Ignorance opens many blind spots. Before long, one of them will make use of your confidence in a way you’ll be lucky to live to regret.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It is a warning.”

“Hum. Perhaps if you try to teach me what I’m mi-”

“I have a girlfriend.” She said, shutting down your move with zero hesitation. Tsk. Boring girl. What was up with that holier than thou attitude.

“Of fucking course you do. Well, the faeric shit you seem to like was trouble for my grandma’s time not today. We’re the ones to rule the world nowadays.” She hums while shaking her bottle, leaving it clear she has no interest in the topic. “What are you even doing, anyway? Love potion? Mercury? Magic acid?”

“Lemonade. Non alcoholic. Just water and lemon juice powder.”

You blink. “That’s it?”

“I'm thirsty. The fact I know a thing or two of alchemy does increase my appreciation of it, though. The mundane strengthens the awe of the fantastical, and that inspires the beauty of the former. One way or another, the more you know, the better you see the dangers in both.” She matter of factly answered, taking a sip with joy. “Hum, I should add an extra pinch of sugar next time. Maybe make it from scratch and figure out how to add honey.”

—-------------

Your mouth is salty.

You try to soothe it with some more beer, but it only makes it worse, somehow. Something is wrong. Something is… weird.

You get up from the bar’s table and wobble your way out. The music and cheering feel like howls to your throbbing head, specters hovering around you while you’re unable to make out any distinguishing qualities. Eventually, you’re out on the street, with the cacophony of the party replaced by the all encompassing madness of the moonlight.

The car… I gotta get to my car.

Each step feels heavier and more unstable, as if your blood had turned into pure lead. You turn a corner, then another, unsure of your directions, until you can determine two things.

This street is deserted.

There is someone here.

Your body gives up on sustaining itself, falling to the ground. You probably should be worried about how you felt no pain at all from the impact, but that comes as a relief right now.

… Hrgh… red. 

Looking ever slightly forward, struggling to keep your eyes open as the trail of color goes on, you see someone in front of you. You can't really make any characteristics, but the person's mouth is wide open.

You must be dreaming. No one has teeth that sharp and sparkly white, is all you can think of as it leans towards you.

"Back off!"

A brown object swings towards the mystery person, and you can't quite make sure if it hit or not. You think you see something thrown in its direction, and before long some girl kneels by your side.

"O- ourse- you." Your ears fail you. You're so sleepy… "Drink- ow."

Something is pressed to your lips, reminding you that it still feels like pure salt is coating your tongue. Unable to resist, you open wide and begin drinking.

It's sweet. So delightfully, amazingly sweet. Somehow, all you felt these last couple minutes of pain fade away, shifting into a pleasant dream.

Yes… you can fall asleep, finally… So thick and syrupy… like honey…

—-------

You wake up the next day on your dorm's couch.

Jerks. Might as well have tossed you on your bed.

You react with confusion over your flatmates' tease about your latest fling, and the fact you think your headache isn't as bad as it should be. Your face feels itchy too. Are those scratch marks and bandaids? What the hell went on-

Reaching for your pocket, you feel something in it which most certainly wasn't there before. Taking it out, you see a paper napkin in which, alongside a phone number, was scribed:

Medeia Camille

Potion Maker and student, here for your needs.

You open your bedside table's drawer and throw the paper in, memories of a night that never happened beating from behind a curtain of wood.

[robbiefischer]

Can I ask 🎶 for Julian AND any other OCs you’d especially like to answer it for?

Of course you can, anon! Sorry to sit on this for a few days, but apparently music taste is a thing I will agonize over. Hopefully it's okay, but I think I'm going to do this for Niko, Alexei and Elijah as well. Thank you so much for this lovely ask, I really appreciate it and I hope you're having a great day! 🖤

🎶 MUSICAL NOTES — what type of music does your oc like? do they listen to music very often?

Julian listens to music all the time. Well, okay, that's likely hyperbole but he'll often have music playing in the background if he's doing something else and really likes being surrounded by it whenever it's practical. He just really enjoys setting the vibe with music, and also thinks it's crucial for him to listen to a wide range of genres and artists to inspire him as a musician. He considers it research, in a way and gets a lot of inspiration for his songs and new sounds to explore with fables from listening to other bands and singer-songwriters. There are very few genres he won't explore and doesn't enjoy, but if he's just listening for pleasure he tends to gravitate towards indie folk and indie rock, alternative, emo, singer-songwriter, indie pop, twee, chamber pop and avant garde. Think some Matador Records (both current and historical - he loves Belle & Sebastian, Cat Power, boygenius, Shearwater, Sonic Youth, Boards of Canada, Modest Mouse) with a twist of Sufjan Stevens/Elliott Smith/Seabear confessional and that'll give you a good starting point for what he tends to like. I'm really hoping to upload a Spotify playlist pretty soon of what I imagine a lot of his all-time favorite songs are, but it might take me a little bit because it needs to be perfect for my boy.

Niko's also a fan of having music playing whenever he can. His tastes in music tend to run a lot heavier and darker than Julian's in general. He's more into post-punk, art rock, alt rock, funk, electronica, goth rock, industrial metal, darkwave, synthpop, glam rock, that kind of thing. He loves The Cure, Soft Cell, Joy Division, The Talking Heads, Sisters of Mercy, The Birthday Massacre, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Bauhaus, PJ Harvey and Queen, to name a few. He also loves Hozier, go figure.

Alexei likes anything pop or dance pop. Really, if it's got a good beat, he's into it. He doesn't listen to music all the time (partly because he can't) but it's always on in the car or when he's getting ready for work to pump himself up. He tends to especially love female artists most - he really loves Carly Rae Jepsen, Dua Lipa, old Madonna, The Go-Go's, Kesha, La Roux, Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Ladytron, Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, The Donna's, Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, Ladyhawke, Billie Eilish... but he's pretty open to new genres and artists.

Elijah tends to have music going in the background most of the time, but what it is depends on what he's doing. He listens to a wide variety of genres and will try pretty much anything. When he's streaming, in scrims or running strats with his team, he's probably listening to some lo-fi hip hop/chillhop kind of thing because the lack of lyrics works better for him and it doesn't distract him from whatever game or match he's focusing on. Other than that he tends to gravitate towards electronica, techno, house, EMD, electronic pop, synthpop, triphop, dance-punk and new wave.

[adultalternative]

2022 Best of is finally here. I had like three-quarters of the list figured out pretty early on, but just had a general playlist where I added people before I listened to them to try to get more artists in at once. Turned out that was a bad idea.

Renaissance- First new Beyonce era I could appreciate live due to it instantly being on streaming. It is hard to write a real review for this album, because this is a going out album and I am still quarantining, and I primarily listen to my year end albums in a Free for All shuffle mode, but Beyonce still finds a way to surprise people 9 years after her self-titled album. My favorite songs are Break My Soul, All Up In Your Mind, Virgo’s Groove, and Thique.

Las Ruinas- Rico Nasty swung big and it paid off. Rock, G-Funk, drum and bass (amongst other genres) all make appearances on this album. People seemed to constantly mention that it was a mixtape, and you can tell, but so what? I liked the different sounds and Rico was able to stand on her own in each song without getting lost. Gotsta Get Paid, Intrusive, Into the Dark, Black Punk and Easy are my favorite songs.

Giving the World Away- Hatchie was able to make an ethereal baggy album. Another casualty of still quarantining, as this album was meant to be listened to on your way back from nights out in quirky outdoor downtown cafes in the spring. Shoegaze guitars make an appearance throughout this album, too. My favorite songs are Giving the World Away, Till We Run Out of Air, Don't Leave Me in the Rain, and This Enchanted.

Unsoothing Interior- Vero went from a cute EP to directly commanding first chair at a reality show reunion with this album. While usually, 90’s inspired albums are power pop/sunnier alternative rock and sometimes grunge, Vero dip into shoegaze and noise rock. If you primarily like Kim Gordon’s songs on Sonic Youth, then this album is for you. I like the songs Cupid, Sex, Me & TV Shows, and Beluga the most.

Sometimes, Forever- Embarrassed to say this, but this is the first Soccer Mommy album that totally got me. Her usual guitar only sound is balanced with sonic experiments like the jazzy Unholy Affliction. Also, her lyrics got to me more with songs like Don’t Ask Me and Feel it All the Time.

Nova Twins- Fun, angry and brashy. I like Cleopatra and Antagonist.

Bronco- Austin Butler wasn’t the only Elvis impressionist this year. Orville Peck sanded down his edges to make a more general country album, with unfortunately, less commercial pay off than there could have been. Bronco and Outta Time are still highlights.

Skinty Fia- Fontaines DC continue to excel at dark and brooding alternative rock music. Jackie Down the Line, In ár gCroíthe go deo, and I Love You are my highlights.

Strawberry- Dreamy alternative dance music. Patience etc… and Happy Happy are the highlights, but with such a concise project, just listen to all of it.

Stumpwork- I never would have thought that post punk would be a genre that I would fast track to my best of list, but here we are. Dry Cleaning continues to soundtrack rainy day Sundays with their detached, spoken word vocals with their expressive guitars. I like Anna Calls from the Arctic, Liberty Logs, and Kwendy Kups.

Lady for Sale- In a year with both crossover and alternative country releases, this release with a throwback sound drew my attention the most. While I was initially just drawn to Lola Kirke, the actress from underrated Mistress America, making a countrypolitan album as a Brit, I was soon surprised by how good (and accurate) it was. I like Pink Sky and Falling in Love Again.

Hypnos- Ravyn Lenae continues to be ahead of her peers at such a young age. A good take on psychedelic R&B. My favorite songs are Venom and Inside Out.

SQUEEZE- Very unique mishmash of heavier, noisy, alternative music, and more mellow singer-songwriter music. Now that I’m thinking about it, it sort of reminds me of To Bring You My Love. I enjoy the epicness of The Greatest and the sadness in Tried to Understand. 

SOS- Too late of a release (and not relevant enough in a quarantine lifestyle) for me to appreciate, but it did a good job at putting its foot in the door. I like Blind, Kill Bill, and Gone Girl.

Crash- Though Sucker and Charli could have been interpreted as pop compromise albums by some of the fans, this album definitely steals the title from either with no contest, but not in a bad way. I don’t really know how to describe this album, but it’s more Superlove and Doin’ It than Blame it On Your Love. Good Ones, Yuck, Lightning, and What You Think of Me are my favorite songs, although New Shapes is also good.

Coping Mechanism- Willow came back with an even rockier album. My favorite songs are Split, ur a stranger, and Maybe it’s my Fault.

Blue Rev- Alvvays went from a punchline for random indie bands with corny names to making a late in the year highlight for me out of nowhere. Great shoegaze in catchy pop formats for walks outside. I like Pharmacist, Easy On Your Own, and the Saint Etienne-esque Very Online Guy.

Traumazine- Megan thee Stallion had a rogue’s gallery that would be perfect for a 90’s kids action cartoon this year (Or the anime inspired visualizers for the songs on Youtube). Unfortunately, for her antagonists, you can’t keep Megan down. My favorite songs are Her, Anxiety, Red Wine, and Flip Flop.

American Gurl- Kilo Kish came back with a poppier version of her EPs. Good combination of poppy sheen and melodies but still experimental. My favorite songs are Death Fantasy, Choice Cowboy, and American Gurl. 

Froge.mp3- A drum and bass album that came out of nowhere but very catchy and fun. I like the songs Words and on and on.

Black Girl Magic- Honey Dijon provides us with more house bops after working with Beyonce for Renaissance. My favorite songs are Everybody and Downtown.

Finally, New- While They Hate Change's Finally, New is called experimental hip hop, for me the drum and bass made it more accessible and memorable. Some Days I Hate My Voice is my favorite song.

Us Ephemeral- Very coherent electronic album. A little Toonami and a little Telepopmusik. The title track is my favorite song.

Kaitlin Butts- Short sweet to the point country music with the right amount of sadness. What else can she do and bored if I don’t do a great job at capturing the melancholy of being bored in a rural area without being prepared for the bigger pond yet.

SRSQ-  Theatrical dream pop that makes me feel like I’m flying in the night. Used to Love, Saved for Summer, and Elan Vital are my favorites. It reminds me of Tamaryn but also Sky Ferreira.

Janky Star- I found Grace Ives too late in 2019 to include her in my best of (Or have her compete fairly), but Janky Star had a better chance this year. Grace makes cool music to dance to, good for either an imaginary pop up silent rave or by yourself in a kitchen while doing chores. Burn Bridges and Loose are my favorites.

[handsofdarkness]

WITHIN TEMPTATION's SHARON DEN ADEL Praises IRON MAIDEN: 'They Never Fell Out Of Love With Music'

In a new interview with "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", WITHIN TEMPTATION singer Sharon Den Adel spoke about her admiration for IRON MAIDEN whom her band is currently supporting on the fall 2022 North American leg of the "Legacy Of The Beast" tour. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's what I appreciate about IRON MAIDEN. Every night when we are playing, Steve Harris [IRON MAIDEN bassist and founder] is actually standing on our stage watching our show, behind our gear… And he's enjoying himself. And every night when we come off stage, he's at the side of the ramp giving hi-fives and stuff. He's really nice, and the rest of the band as well, and crew. But it's really fun to see someone still like a 16-year-old enjoying every show we play — almost every night the same kind of songs, more or less; because we only have 45 minutes, we wanna give the best we have. And he's still every night there. And I think that's what music is about.

"[IRON MAIDEN] never changed," Sharon continued. "They never fell out of love with music, which I think, when you're on the road that much, can easily happen to a lot of bands, and does happen to a lot of bands, I guess."

In recent years, WITHIN TEMPTATION shifted its focus from releasing albums to releasing a series of singles, enabling the bandmembers to indulge themselves in their creative processes thus delivering freshly inspired music. The group has released "Entertain You", "The Purge" and "Shed My Skin", singles that have all thrilled their fanbase, had great critical reception in Europe, peaked in the Top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Indicator charts and topped the official German charts. In July, WITHIN TEMPTATION also released the official Jeb Hardwick-directed music video for the band's latest single, "Don't Pray For Me". It was the fourth single of the band's independent releases and will lead up to WITHIN TEMPTATION's next studio album.

This past summer, Sharon told Finland's Chaoszine about WITHIN TEMPTATION's plans for a new studio LP: "We don't have an official [release] date yet, but we are working, as we speak still, on finishing songs. And, of course, we have released a lot of songs during the corona time; those songs are gonna be on the album as well. So I think we have to finish up, like, a third still, and we're gonna do it in the beginning of next year. And somewhere next year we will release a new album — with the songs that we already released, of course."

Den Adel previously said that "Don't Pray For Me" "strives against forcing beliefs and fears on to others and bears witness to being acceptive of everyone's own journey. It is an anthem about coming to terms with the fact that beliefs can be fluid, multiple or, frankly, different. The song is about allowing people to pursue their own destiny."

The remainder of WITHIN TEMPTATION's 2022 will be filled up with a much-anticipated and long-delayed co-headlining European tour with EVANESCENCE.

WITHIN TEMPTATION's last album, "Resist", was released in February 2019 through Spinefarm Records, the specialist hard rock label of Universal Music Group.

"Resist" featured guest appearances by PAPA ROACH's Jacoby Shaddix, IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén and ARID's Jasper Steverlinck.

Prior to "Resist"'s arrival, Den Adel said that the LP was inspired by "modern music" but with "a very dark" twist. She explained: "Sometimes, it feels that today's pop music lacks a rebellious edge. Our main goal was to collect pieces from sounds we did like and roughen it up as much as we could, resulting in a surprisingly new musical world that is heavier, dirtier and more futuristic than we've ever created before. 'Resist' is our take on metal in a new way: to give modern music its rebellious edge."

[pixelrender]

Top 10 games I missed in 2022

This was in many ways a transformative year. Or maybe that’s an overstatement and 2022 was end of an era. It followed a long term trend of me playing games less and less. I haven’t played a game on Steam since January. With that a maybe even some time prior I stopped paying attention to new releases. Until yesterday. Yesterday, I succumbed to the calling of Steam winter sales and visited my wishlist. I noticed that it was slightly messed up, because some of the games got released. After that I spent several hours looking for new releases and here we are. I admit It’s different, because many of these games are titles I’ve only found out about them being released.

Ofc, this year was massively, more than any of the previous years, influenced by board games and board game media. But getting around to actually buying some board games, I found out that the new hotness is rarely what I’m after. So, there are only 3 board games from this year I would like to own and 2 more I would like to try and write about (Stroganov’s take on colonization of Siberia could be made way better if it took a simple lesson from my n. 1 game). The three board games differ from each other a lot and video games on the list are reasonably diverse too. There are narrative experiences, Metroid and Castlevania inspired games both with jumping and without and free games I haven’t got time to try out yet. I also have one honorable mention: Victoria 3. Normally, this probably would make the list, but I don’t know enough to be excited and I’m still happy with my older Paradox games and I don’t need new ones (also, I know that Victoria 3 is beyond capabilities of my half-dead laptop).

10. Maptroid: Worlds

This is a commercial follow-up to a free game, you can still find online (not sure if flash?). It looks terrible, music probably does its job. It’s also an original and interesting take on the genre of Metroidvanias. It requires at least basic knowledge of the genre to get it and to appreciate it too. Because in Maptroid, you play on the minimap only. You explore and move around. The pacing is fast and that makes it fun. The commercial version promises more and that’s exactly what I want. Also, It’s only 2 bucks and some change.

9. Infernax

At first this looks like a straight clone of Castlevania but there’s more to it. There are choices and different endings. If you watch any footage of Infernax and like the genre of non-linear platformers you know the game is fun. It looks difficult with good controls and smooth movement. The fiction full of crosses and demons is something I can appreciate. The look is appealing too. A must play in a surely coming year of non-linear platformers.

8. Haiku the Robot

The third and final game of jumping and exploring on this list. Haiku is by far the most stylish one with beautiful sepia tones and detailed modern pixel art. It also looks like the most expansive one with many bosses, interesting puzzles and original lore. I’m afraid it might be too difficult as Hollow Knight seems to be a source of inspiration here. But without this baggage it looks like a fun and tight addition to the genre. One more thing, I like haiku.

7. Three Sisters

The first board game on the list is a heavier than average roll and write about tending to vegetable garden. The main reason this is here is the production. These warm pumpkin colored dice are just attractive and the whole game feels warm and welcoming in the similar manner. The game itself is about rolling dice and using them to tick boxes and form combos. Or if you go for the theme, and I think you should, planting seed, harvesting fruit and veggies, crafting in your garage. And that might be quite lovely when rainy and you can’t manage your garden for real.

6. Sunset Shift

This free game is about collecting and disposing garbage at a small private island. I watched some footage of it and it looks right up my alley. Basically, you drive around and the other friend is talking to you via radio giving the whole thing subtle story beats. I also enjoy games with either social or environmental message and this one seems to have both.

5. Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between

The original free Glitchhikers was one of my favourite cruising games. In it you drive on a highway while having random dialogues. This one expands it in all directions and adds many new environments and means of transport. I wonder about the message. Is it more than just more volume? Anyway, because of the original this one is on my bucket list too. Also, it’s the first game with no green or greenish pictures.

4. Citizen Sleeper

Frankly, I don’t quite understand what Citizen Sleeper is supposed to be. It’s a cyberpunk science fiction rpg controlled by dice, so there’s this tabletop element. Also, it seems to be focused on social issues, equality and such. You’re a working person and that reminds me of Cart Life, one of the greatest games ever. Jump Over the Age  also made In Other Waters, an exciting UI experience I haven’t played yet but It’s one more reason to be interested in this game.

3. Village Rails

It’s a small and crunchy card game about building tracks with bucolic tones. The second part of the Village series from Osprey and designed by Matthew Dunstan with Breet J. Gilbert in a little unassuming box with a pleasant blue frame. It got praised by all of my board gaming sources including Dice Tower, Shut Up and Sit Down and Board Game Barrage. The game’s almost a filler but the combination of different goals and a special puzzle makes all decisions crunchy. For me it looks like a kind of game I would enjoy.

2. Roadwarden

Out of the green and into the brown. Roadwarden is a game I’ve been interested for a while. I think it does something interesting and that the devs limited themselves well to make a bigger game. The illustrations in this game look great too. I feel like I might enjoy its bleak fiction too. Being this highwayman and delivering messages, burning bodies sounds mundane, but also super atmospheric.

1. John Company: Second Edition

John Company is an unwieldy game from  Wehrelig Games and Cole Wehrle of the Root fame. It’s complicated and long and an experience I want to have. I even managed to watch most of the five hours long session of Heavy Cardboard streamed on YouTube. In the game you and other players run the titular company and exploit India in order to get yourself a good retirement. The second edition tweaked almost everything and it looks great with one of the nicest board and components I’ve ever seen. Also, John Company: SE Is clear with its message and criticism of colonialism through its mechanics, something games like Stroganov ought to learn from.

All of the pictures used in this article are either from official sources or posted by the publisher at BGG(Village Rails).

[lucianadjanic]

Film Journal #4: The 1950's

"Alice in Wonderland" made in 1951 and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The story was adapted off of Lewis Carroll's book so some of the general public were already familiar with the tale regarding Alice and the quirky creatures around her.

The story regarding this film is that a little girl named Alice falls down a large, almost seemingly never ending hole in the ground where she ends up in a different world than her own. She must find her way home, but before she can she bumps into a large cast of strange and mysterious beings.

Alice in Wonderland is such a well known story within pop culture even to this day, and it's quite remarkable how relevant it's stayed whether through its colorful animation, live action, video game, it'll continue living on through various forms of storytelling.

Game's like "Alice Madness Returns" (2011) which put a spin on the genre with horror, created a heavily inspired from Alice in Wonderland concept into a much heavier and darker tone. Which definitely resonated a lot more with edgier teens and adults, which admittedly to me atleast was abit jarring to see such a joyful Disney icon put into such a grim world though. However I appreciate the guts they had for going for it and the new design for Alice.

Of course the live action "Alice in Wonderland" that came out in 2010 is the version I feel like really stuck with most people and definitely helped shape people's nostalgic childhoods. I remember for me, seeing it for the first time it I fell in love with the whimsicalness of it all and how weird it was, and I just really loved Mia Wasikowska's performance in it as well as the rest of the star studded cast.

Alice Madness Returns (2011)

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

"The film took five years to finish ", taking a lot longer than the studio had imagined as they even created a live action version of the film as in to help aid the animators create everything life like as possible. It also cost the studio about $3 million dollars to fund the film, mainly due to that live action segment. Luckily though Disney were able to use some left over profits from their hit "Cinderlla" and hire some of the best voice actors and acquire the "largest musical score of any Disney classic". As well as, can't forget, the beautiful attention to the detail that was put I to the "elaborate backgrounds and visual styling (by Mary Blair), as well as Salvador Dali influenced animation sequences".

Also I should mention, the inspiration behind the design was heavy on Mary Blair concept visualization work. However the team definitely started out with the ideas from John Tenniel's book illustrations to help guide them on the direction they were heading towards for the film's final design.

The movie then was released on July 26th of 1951.

The audience reactions weren't as positive as the studio intended, "the audiences were disappointed. They felt that Disney had failed to capture the atmosphere and intellectual humor of Lewis Carroll’s story".

Even Disney felt that there wasn't enough heart in the film, that it was lacking that essence and that's what caused the film to fall short. However, atleast the music left a long lasting impression on the people watching.

I extremely enjoy the aesthetics of this movie and the vibrant colours, as well as just the crazy imagery in general. I really do think this film has inspired so much in film to this day and it's influence is well deserved, even if people didn't like it much back then.

[cow-goes-moozart]

How would the ikevamp guys react to metal music?

Napoleon - he's indifferent. Doesn't flinch at all when listening, and that's why Comte thinks he's a metalhead. Even when he finds out that he isn't, he's still worried.

Mozart - hates it with passion. He can handle hard rock, but metal is a big nope. Maybe he will appreciate a lyric, just don't tell him it's from a metal song (def doesn't work with death metal lyrics).

Arthur - not a big fan of metal, but he would definitely want to headbang and windmill (he calls them "twerking for metalheads" ugh cringe), infinitely annoys Theo with it.

Isaac - definitely not a fan. Not even on low volume 😂 (he will have nightmares, pls protect him)

Jean - like Mozart he hates it... at first. He then becomes the one thing he swore to destroy (he only listened to a softer song like "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica and already thinks he's "doomed").

Theo - kinda regrets getting into heavier music because he has to hide from Vincent, but he has to release his anger somehow.

Vincent - very aware of his brother's obsession. A certain snitch by the name of Sebastian told him. He is certain that "whatever broer listens to is great, even if my ears can't recognise that".

Dazai - nothing fazes him, not even metal music, because he's dead inside (help him). It doesn't mean that he wouldn't relate to the lyrics.

Shakespeare - he's intrigued for sure. I can see him taking inspiration for writing new plays (don't let him listen to Cannibal Corpse and other death metal bands).

Comte - is puzzled "why would anyone listen to this? Are they ok?", thinks that anyone who listens to metal is not ok and asks them if they need help.

Sebastian - he isn't super into it, but he can see the appeal because he's open-minded. Is amazed at Napoleon (and the other residents for that matter).

Leonardo - I feel like he would dig System Of A Down. Theo listens to them often and at first Leo is like "What the heck? This isn't classic rock. What did my dude get himself into?"

Vlad - listens to metal every now and then, almost became a metalhead once (he was just trying to understand why Faust likes it so much).

Faust - this guy listens to Avenged Sevenfold religiously xD and if you catch him listening to death metal, run.

Charles - scared of death metal, he's a soft boi after all, but low-key likes power metal (he's amazed by powerful vocals). He likes anything that doesn't remind him of his past life.

[shirtlessfelix]

(Hehe pt 2 of artist reader) Can I request PH worshipping f!reader this time? She too are chesty & have cake and PH wants to show his appreciation, perhaps after a tiring day, PH found some of those scene sketches and was... inspired 😉

Most certainly, I was hoping someone would ask >:) I hope you enjoy~~ <3

[M] PH Worshipping You (x f!Reader)

NSFW 732 words

Since your time with Pyramid Head, he's been spending more time around you in and out of trials. He was flattered when he saw your drawings of him for the first time, so he's willing to pose for you to draw him again so he has more pieces in his collection. Perhaps it's made him a bit overconfident, but he knows he must look good since your drawings accentuate every chiseled angle of his body. He's made it a point to show off in trials with you now, and it excites you every time.

Again, you find yourself in the Midwich School, this time teasing him as you lean against the piano with your chest puffed out and your eyes on him, waiting to see what he'll do next. He lays his knife against the wall and reaches behind you for the sheet music. "What are you doing with that?" you ask with a smirk, and he unfolds it like a book as another sheet of paper slips out.

It's like a blow to the gut when he shows you what it is; you thought you'd hidden those drawings well enough, and you wonder how long he'd kept it there. He knew nobody would find it, so he kept it just for you, just to tease you with your own work of art. It's you on the piano with him, no wonder he brought you here. Your eyes dart back and forth between the drawing and the flat iron plane, and eventually he puts the paper back on its stand in front of the sheet music.

Pyramid Head rubs your arm and moves his hand to your leg, hiking your leg up onto the bench like it is in the drawing. Your skirt rides up a little, and he picks you up to sit on the keys as they ring out in a terrible sound that just makes you laugh. It breaks the mood just a little, but when his fingers are pressed up against your panties, you're brought back in one heavy heartbeat.

A shaky breath leaves your lips as he rubs you around in circles, teasing you through the fabric that soaks in your arousal and rides between your lips. Your nipples show through your loose shirt, and he teases them with his other hand, guiding you to take it off so he can massage your breasts. Hearing your moans, he knows you want more, so he pulls your panties aside and rubs your bare skin, marveling in the sounds you make as his fingers pleasure you.

And then you feel one inside of you as his thumb keeps circling around; the other hand slides all up your torso and down your sides, feeling your movements as your back arches and your breaths grow heavier. If he could kiss you all over, he would, but his rugged palms will have to do. He slides his finger out and picks you up again to sit you on top of the piano, where he spreads your legs apart and massages your thighs.

Staring right between your legs, Pyramid Head makes you feel so exposed and vulnerable, but it feels so good the way he's turning your fantasy into something real. He likes you more than you thought he did, the way he pays such close attention to making sure he reaches every inch of you and touches you in all the right places. He won't be done keeping you on edge for a long while, and the more he plays with you, the more you want him inside you.

By now, you're turned over and facing away from him, and his hands are sliding along your back and down to your cheeks, prodding you more with his fingers and making himself so, dangerously desperate. But he won't give himself the release he needs; he keeps up with his hands, speeding up the thrusts of his muscular arms that don't seem to tire no matter how long he fingers you.

Pyramid Head only stops when you're telling him you're done, that you can't take it anymore, but it feels so good. Then, he simply continues with his massaging, caressing you all over as you come down. His breaths are oddly soothing despite their dullness, and you just want to be in his arms forever. He already has a hold on you, after all.

[alolowrites]

Gymtleman

Summary: Nothing irks you more than a random guy ruining your workout session. Luckily, Bakugou sets him straight.

Author’s Note: Helloooooooooo! Yes, it is me popping in with a new fic after almost two months of NOTHING (the dabi story was pissing me off, so i had ignore it ripppp). So this story was born from a video on saw on TikTok where a guy urged men at the gym to be more respectful toward women during their workouts. While I never encounter any harassment at the gym, there are others who have >:( 

Inspiration for the title came from a comment section on TikTok. Thought it was pretty clever. Please enjoy ^_^

Warnings: Slight harassment; maybe a few curse words but this is Bakugou so...

Word Count: 884

Gloves? Check. 

Water bottle? Check. 

Wireless headphones? Check. 

You close the gym locker and hit the main floor, determined to get in a good workout tonight. As you walk toward the treadmill, your eyes glance around the place. It’s not as packed as the dreaded peak hours where one must fight to the death for the coveted treadmills or weight benches. You value your life and avoid that bloc like the plague. 

Besides, there’s no fuss nor drama during the night sessions. Only a calm vibe that radiates throughout the gym floor thanks to the chilled regulars, or the “night crew,” as you like to call the group. A few stragglers may pop in once in a while, but you would know the familiar faces even while blindfolded. Especially when one has those menacing red eyes that burn through the cloth faster than a sprinter on the treadmill. 

Those same eyes briefly land on you as Bakugou chugs down his water bottle while striding past you. He acknowledges you with a curt nod and slight grunt—nothing more than that. Yet, this silent greeting always makes your palms sweaty and your heart race before stepping foot on any machine at this gym. You swallow your nerves to return the gesture. 

Despite months of crossing the same paths, you know very little about Bakugou. Sure, you know his usual routine or his preferred machines, but you never heard him speak before. His voice is one big mystery that you are curious to unravel. Unfortunately, Bakugou keeps to himself just like everyone else in the “night crew” since personal space is highly respected—a bright side that’s both a blessing and a curse. 

You sigh wistfully, hopping on the treadmill to start your workout. A random man slides on the machine on your left, catching you off guard. He smiles, and you nod stiffly. Right off the bat you know he’s not a regular; his face isn’t familiar, and he’s too close to you. That’s strike one; it irks you, but you act like the bigger person and just ignore him with your music. 

The ten minutes fly by in seconds. You wipe down the treadmill, ignoring the man’s wandering gaze on you. Just walk away, you tell yourself as you head over to the dumbbells. Your heart skips a beat when you spot Bakugou standing nearby, his ripped biceps pushing through the pain from his grueling set. He grits his teeth and casts a quick glance at you from the mirror’s reflection—Bakugou lets you stay.

Either he’s in a good mood, or lady luck is working her magic; you smile and take this as a win for tonight. 

The giddiness wipes off your face when you see the random man again. He lingers around the area like a shark eying its prey, except he lacks any sense of subtlety. You roll your eyes when the guy sneaks a peek at you: that’s strike two. Obviously, he doesn’t understand the whole “no fuss, no drama” vibe, but you do and focus on lifting your dumbbells. 

Eventually, you forget the weirdo as the music blasts through your headphones. You are in the zone, watching as your arms move slowly and in control. Beads of sweat roll down your face to cool down the firestorm soaring along your skin. You push through one more rep before releasing an exhausted but satisfied sigh. 

You bend over for a quick stretch when—

“Damn, that’s a nice piece of ass.” 

You shot up, appalled. “Excuse you?!”

“Think you can bend over a little lower for me, sweetcheeks?”

The random man finally stands next to you and shamelessly rakes his eyes all over your body like a piece of meat. You growl—that’s strike three. 

“What?! No!” You grip the dumbbells with an iron fist, fully prepared to whack the sleazy grin off his disgusting face. “Get away from me!” 

“Oh, don’t be like that—” 

“Oi, you fucking deaf or something?!” 

You nearly drop the dumbbells, snapping your head over your shoulders with astonished eyes. Bakugou spoke. His voice is sharper than the stainless steel barbells and heavier than the iron olympic plates scattered across the room. He stalks closer like a ferocious lion, his red eyes glancing at you momentarily before glaring at the bastard. 

He sweats bullets. “H-Hey, man, I-I—”

“Shut the hell up, idiot,” Bakugou snarls, thrusting his finger hard against the guy’s chest. “Quit harassing them and get the fuck outta here before I shove this dumbbell up your own damn sweetcheeks.”

The guy stumbles over a random kettlebell before rushing out the door without looking back.

Bakugou rolls his eyes and peeks over his shoulder. He locks his gaze at you, catching you off guard; you blink and quickly compose yourself, giving him a slight nod. 

“Thanks for having my back there. Really appreciate it.” 

“Tch, that damn perv was annoying,” Bakugou scoffs. “Bastard should learn some fucking manners.” 

“And some human decency,” you snort, placing one hand on your hip. “Too bad he won’t be coming back, though. You shoving that dumbbell up his ass would’ve been a sight.” 

Bakugou flashes an amused grin, sauntering toward the racks to continue his set. You smile when he returns and stands at a respectful distance. 

Guess chivalry isn’t dead after all.

As always, thanks for reading :D! 

Don’t know when I’ll drop another story though slkdjlfrlfek

[imagineabrighterworld]

Summary// Ground Zero has been your crush since you were rescued by him, and ever since then, you've been writing love songs that your manager is sick and tired of hearing. One day on a live broadcast, you admit that the songs were inspired by your admiration for said hero. Little did you know, he was just in the other wing of the building getting his own interview done and decides to see you after the cameras are off.

A/N: I know his hero name is Dynamite but I wrote this before it was decided so I'm sticking with Ground Zero, sorry ^^;

————

You were never camera shy, you loved the stage and all that came with it. The lights, the flurry of makeup artists and the adrenaline rush of seeing the On-Air light turn red.

But the moment you saw him walk into the room, you swear your heart fell into your stomach and all the words you've ever sang were sucked right back into your throat.

- -

Ever since the accident that nearly took your life, you have been an active fan of Ground Zero. He was constantly in the news, either due to his heroics or due to being spotted with other top heroes such as Deku or Shoto. Considering he was their classmate in high school, the media gobbled up any coverage they could with the trio.

You on the other hand, were mostly into the tabloids for information on Ground Zero.

The accident was after one of your concerts. You had been on your way to your tour bus when a villain had attacked. Luckily none of your crew were hurt, but you were trapped under the rubble of the concert hall that had fallen when the villain rammed into the wall. It was cramped and had little oxygen, the air was full of dust and your lungs were heavy with the ash. You had broken your arm and had to use it to support yourself to keep from getting crushed under the rubble that was slowly but surely pressing down on you.

You had little hope for yourself as the rubble grew heavier, your arm giving out under the weight of your body, but before it could fully crush you, you heard the sounds of explosions.

Not long after, you felt the weight of the rubble lift.

Ground Zero had sent smaller blasts to break up the larger pieces of rubble before finally moving the giant piece that was pinning you to the ground. He scooped you up into his arms and murmured the same line under his breath as he brought you to the paramedics.

"You're safe now."

He lowered you onto the gurney and waited by you as the paramedics asked you questions, soon finding your rib was cracked as well. Ground Zero gave you a once over before parting with a quiet goodbye and a thank you to the medics that were helping you.

You didn't get the chance to thank him as the medics placed an oxygen mask on your face.

So you wrote him songs. You never used his name, but a hero was always implied when it came to songs about him. You tried to be subtle with the crush you had developed, but apparently you weren't subtle enough.

Your manager was sent an invitation for an interview to talk about your new album full of love songs. The album was crammed with songs about a one-sided pinning for someone who could never love back, but the last song was a ray of hope that they might find a way to each other.

Was it based on reality? No. Ground Zero couldn't have liked you like you liked him, he didn't know who he had saved and likely didn't look back on that event. He was a busy hero who saved people daily. He wouldn't know your name, but you could always dream maybe he would hold you like he did when you were hurt.

So there you were, in a chair with the lights on you and your interviewer.

"Your album is named Loved One, are you trying to send a message to a certain someone?" The man asks as he cleans his glasses with a wipe.

You fiddle with your hands on your lap, a half smile on your face. "It's a love song for someone, yes. But if he's ever heard it I'm not sure."

"Your songs have been in the top ten, with Sweet Delights being number one for seven weeks straight. Surely he's heard one of them."

True. Your music was popular. But did he ever hear them? Would he know it was him you were talking about when you sang?

Of course not. That's why you wrote your feelings with no fear of being found out.

"He's a very special man, I can't say he has the time for music." You turn your face as a small blush fans your cheeks. "He's a hero, I'm sure he's too busy to listen to the radio."

The interviewer leans forward in his seat, a grin tugging at his lips. "A hero?"

The live audience begins to whisper and you can hear the names of heroes being tossed around.

Deku. Shoto. Chargebolt. Cellophane.

Ground Zero.

"Yeah." You chuckle. "He saved me during an accident. I'll be forever grateful to him for saving my life."

"Love at first attack."

"Something like that."

"What would you say to him if he were here right now?" The interviewer leans back in his seat.

You look down at your lap, twiddling with your thumbs as you try to come up with the words. You've written dozens of songs, but what words would you give him?

"Thank you. For being my hero. I've written you love songs I never thought you'd hear. Maybe I thought it would make you feel the same way I feel for you." You look up from your lap and chuckle, this time a tad bit weaker. "Silly isn't it? I get to know so much about him but I'm just a dime a dozen that he saves. He doesn't even know my name."

The interviewer scoots forward and hands you one of the tissue boxes on his desk. You aren't about to start crying but you appreciate the gesture and take it from him anyway.

"Love can be tough. But you've written plenty about it haven't you?"

A light chuckle comes from the crowd.

You smile. "I know enough about pinning for someone who will never know me."

"What is his name? Maybe we could get him on here, get you a coffee date." He says in a playful tone.

What's the worst that could happen?

"Well, this is a little embarrassing, but it's Ground Zero." You rub your neck as the crowd collectively gasps. "He saved me after a concert I held, and ever since then he's been on my mind. I thought it was creepy, so I figured I would use my music as an outlet. My album is dedicated to unrequited love and accepting it. Hopefully I'll accept it one day too."

For a moment the interviewer is quiet, but when you look closer you see a smile is building on his face.

He clears his throat and lifts his remote control to the screen behind the both of you. "Ironically, in the west wing of the building, we're holding an interview with Ground Zero himself."

The screen turns on to show Ground Zero seated with his own interviewer.

They were watching your interview live.

And he just heard your admission to liking him.

Your grip on the tissue box tightens as you see his eyes scanning you.

Oh god you were going to be sick.

He stands up and walks out of the room. All you feel is lead in your gut as you watch the television move onto commercial.

Your interviewer presses on the Bluetooth in his ear and nods along to whatever the people were saying. But you didn't want to hear any of it. All you felt was dread.

He heard.

He heard.

He must think you were crazy. It was his job to save people! He didn't do it out of chivalry or kindness like some knight in a fairytale!

You let go of the box and cover your face with your hands. The crowd was talking now, you couldn't catch what they were saying but they were going wild.

Deciding to see what was getting the crowd so riled up, you look to the doors.

And there he is.

Standing across the room with his eyes glued to yours.

- -

So there you are. No words were forming and you felt like you were being sucked into the Twilight Zone.

The crowd cheers as he walks down the aisle in his full gear and makes his way straight to you.

You cover your face again as the interviewer speaks to him.

"The man of the hour, Ground Zero ladies and gentlemen!" He announces, but the crowd was already roaring with energy.

You feel the hero stand in front of you, mostly because he blocked your light, and soon you were wondering if you could sink into the cushions and disappear forever. Let Loved One be your momento mori, your swan song before you disappeared off the face of the earth.

"Hey."

No no no no- no!

You hear his gear shift and from the cracks between your fingers you see him crouch in front of you.

"Stop filming." He says to the interviewer.

"We still have five minutes to break-" The interviewer starts up but stumbles on his words. You hear the pop of small explosions and the murmur of the crowd.

"Break for two!" The producer calls from backstage.

"Hey."

This time, you lower your hands to cover your mouth, looking at Ground Zero with half of your face covered.

He looked just as he had when he rescued you, minus him being in his winter gear. But it was all the same. Even the tone he was using with you. Like you were fragile.

"Did you mean it?" He asks, his head nodding towards the screen above. "What you said about me."

"I.. I did." You uncover your face, using your nervous energy to hold onto the box of tissues instead, squeezing the life out of the poor box. "Every word. You saved me and I'm grateful." You look down in shame, unable to utter the next words while looking him in the face. "I- I know it's weird, to like someone you know so little about-”

"Bakugou Katsuki."

"Huh?"

"My name, is Bakugou Katsuki." He grips your chin gently and tugs you to look at him. He had a small grin on his face. "Go to dinner with me and I'll debate letting you call me Katsuki."